EP0370202A1 - Apparatus for reclaiming tobacco from defective cigarettes - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for reclaiming tobacco from defective cigarettes which are sorted out downstream of the cigarette making machine (1) and are passed to a reclaiming apparatus for the destruction of the paper wrappers and the separation of the tobacco from the pieces of paper and, if appropriate, filters. The defective cigarettes from each cigarette making machine (1) are continuously fed to an associated reclaiming apparatus which is of space-saving design and is fitted onto the particular cigarette making machine (1) in a manner adapted to the performance of this machine. A surge in the occurrence of defective cigarettes is taken up by a buffer within the reclaiming apparatus, which is equipped with a rotary conveyor (3). The mass flow of the reclaimed tobacco is fed to the cigarette making machine (1) at a uniform rate. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a method and a device for the recovery of tobacco from defective cigarettes, which are sorted out behind the cigarette manufacturing machine and fed to a recovery device for destroying the paper wrappers and for separating the tobacco from the pieces of paper and, if appropriate, filters, the recovered tobacco together with fresh Tobacco of the cigarette making machine is abandoned again.

In the manufacture of cigarettes, defective cigarettes are automatically rejected by the extruders or filter attachment machines, collected and torn open in central systems. The tobacco is separated from paper and filter residues and returned to the cigarette manufacturing machines together with fresh tobacco.

Various systems for tobacco recovery are known, which are always large-scale systems on which the defective cigarettes of several cigarette manufacturing machines are processed. For example, it is known to pour the defective cigarettes onto a rotating disc, on which they are transported to the edge of the disc by means of centrifugal force and are thereby radially aligned; the cigarettes aligned in this way are guided past small circular saw discs, which open the paper envelopes slit. In another known system, the cigarettes are flung outwards over a plurality of disks mounted on a vertical shaft and torn open on the cylinder wall by means of fixed knives or knife heads. Finally, it is known to axially align the defective cigarettes by means of a vibrating trough and to feed them to a roller system, between the rollers of which the cigarettes are slit.

The known systems described above have the overall disadvantage that cigarettes with different types of tobacco have to be collected and stored separately, which is associated with an undesirable transport and storage effort. In addition, cigarettes with different types of tobacco must be processed in batches, which, depending on the respective production planning for certain types of tobacco, can mean longer storage times before the respective type of tobacco is recovered; this is associated with a not inconsiderable commitment of capital. Finally, the known processes have the disadvantage that the tobacco dries out due to the intermediate storage, so that the valuable long-fiber components of the tobacco in the recovery devices are damaged in the subsequent reprocessing. This affects the quality and reduces the percentage of recovered tobacco that can be processed with fresh tobacco.

The invention has for its object to provide a method and an apparatus for the recovery of tobacco from defective cigarettes of the type described above, which avoid the disadvantages described above and enable immediate tobacco recovery without sacrificing quality in terms of the recovered tobacco .

The solution to this problem by the method according to the invention is characterized in that the defective cigarettes of each cigarette manufacturing machine are continuously fed to their own recovery device which is designed to be space-saving and adapted to the performance of the respective cigarette manufacturing machine and from which the recovered tobacco is directly used by the cigarette manufacturing machine is given up, a batch-like occurrence of defective cigarettes being caught by a buffer within the recovery device and the mass flow of the recovered tobacco being fed evenly to the cigarette manufacturing machine.

By assigning a separate recovery device to each cigarette manufacturing machine according to the invention, it becomes possible to dispose of the tobacco immediately after the defective cigarettes, i.e. without additional transport and storage costs. Drying out of the tobacco is thus avoided, as is loss of quality of the tobacco during intermediate transport and during intermediate storage. Since defective cigarettes can also be produced in batches, buffering is possible within the recovery device according to the invention, so that as uniform a stream of recovered tobacco as possible is fed to the cigarette manufacturing machine together with the fresh tobacco. In this way, quality fluctuations are avoided.

Since the space available in the case of cigarette manufacturing machines is extremely limited and the accessibility to the cigarette manufacturing machines must not be impaired by the recovery device according to the invention, the device according to the invention is subject to the requirement for a small space requirement and a good possibility of attachment even to existing cigarette manufacturing machines.

This requirement and the above task are met with the device according to the invention in that a rotary conveyor with a pot-like receiving space is arranged below the elevator of the cigarette manufacturing machine for the defective cigarettes, from which the defective cigarettes are transported tangentially and aligned in the transport direction and fed to a roller system , in which the paper casings of the cigarettes are separated, and that a sieve conveyor is arranged behind the roller system, in which the tobacco is separated from the paper and, if necessary, from the filters of the separated cigarettes and then continuously fed to the fresh tobacco of the cigarette manufacturing machine.

The use of a rotary conveyor known per se with a pot-like receiving space creates the possibility, even in the event of a batch-like attack of defective cigarettes, to accommodate them in a type of buffer and then, with simultaneous equalization, to align them with the transport direction in such a way that they are fed to a downstream, also known roller system for destroying the paper sleeves can be. Since the rotary conveyor, on the one hand, occupies a small floor space and, on the other hand, contains a sufficiently long conveying path, it can also be attached to existing cigarette manufacturing machines without difficulty. According to the invention, the tobacco is separated from the paper casings slit in the roller system and possibly from existing filters in a sieve conveyor which continuously feeds the recovered tobacco to the fresh tobacco of the cigarette manufacturing machine. In this way, the recovered tobacco arrives immediately and evenly into the inflow of fresh tobacco to the cigarette manufacturing machine, so that losses in quality are avoided.

According to a further feature of the invention, the rotary conveyor can be designed as a device provided with a cylindrical receptacle with a controlled lifting cone and with a horizontally rotating transport ring, which is provided with a second transport ring arranged obliquely next to the first transport ring for the removal of the cigarettes aligned by chicanes. As an alternative to this, the rotary conveyor can also be designed as a conical vibratory conveyor pot with a spiraling transport path.

In a preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention, baffle plates running parallel to one another are arranged in the tangential outlet of the rotary conveyor for dividing the individual cigarettes into a number of rows lying next to one another. If, according to a further feature of the invention, these baffle plates are designed with different heights that decrease towards the outside, the possibility is created to discharge and eject cigarettes stuck together, which would result in a malfunction in the downstream roller system.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the base is perforated in the outlet of the rotary conveyor and the space below the base is connected to the fresh tobacco supply of the cigarette manufacturing machine via a collecting pipe and at least one transport device. In this way it is achieved that loose tobacco is fed separately from the aligned cigarettes of the fresh tobacco supply to the cigarette manufacturing machine, so that contamination of the devices arranged behind the rotary conveyor is avoided by this loose tobacco. The loose tobacco can be fed directly to the fresh tobacco supply or fed to an elevated conveyor which feeds the tobacco from the slit cigarettes back into the production machine.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention is between the outlet of the rotary conveyor and the rolling System arranged a water-wetted conveyor belt, the transport speed is preferably greater than that of the rotary conveyor. With the help of such a transport belt, the cigarettes, which are isolated and aligned from the rotary conveyor, are selectively fed to the downstream roller system, which according to the invention has at least one slotted roller provided with rotating knife rings. The knife rings of this slit roller can either be arranged at an acute angle to the roll axis of rotation or can be designed as a slit knife running helically over the entire length of the roll. In both cases, it is ensured that each cigarette case is slit open reliably, but without damaging the tobacco contained in the cigarette.

In order to be able to arrange the screen conveyor trough used to separate the tobacco from the paper casings and possibly filters in order to save space and to supply the recovered tobacco without an additional, space-consuming device solely due to the force of gravity above the cigarette manufacturing machine, the invention further proposes between to arrange a roller conveyor for the roller system and the sieve conveyor. This high conveyor is preferably designed as an elevator with a knob belt. Such a knob belt has a gentle transport effect, so that the tobacco is not used when it is being lifted up or its long fibers are destroyed. The sieve conveyor trough is preferably driven by a crank mechanism with a relatively large stroke and low frequency and releases the recovered tobacco directly into the stream of fresh tobacco supply due to gravity.

Since the device according to the invention has to work without an operator, the invention finally proposes suggest installing sensors for monitoring the flow of cigarettes and tobacco, which emit acoustic and / or optical signals and switch off the device in the event of a blockage or other overload.

• Fig. 1 eine Draufsicht auf eine strichpunktiert darge­stellte Zigarettenherstellungsmaschine und die Vorrichtung der Erfindung,
• Fig. 2 eine Draufsicht auf die erfindungsgemäße Vor­richtung in vergrößerter Darstellung,
• Fig. 3 eine Seitenansicht der erfindungsgemäßen Vor­richtung gemäß Fig.2,
• Fig. 4 eine Stirnansicht der Vorrichtung gemäß den Figuren 2 und 3,
• Fig. 5 eine Draufsicht auf eine vergrößerte Darstellung des Auslaufs des Rotationsförderers,
• Fig. 6 eine Seitenansicht dieses Auslaufs nach Fig.5 und
• Fig. 7 eine Stirnansicht des Auslaufs nach den Figuren 5 und 6.

The drawing shows an exemplary embodiment of a device according to the invention for recovering tobacco from defective cigarettes, namely:

• 1 is a plan view of a dash-dotted cigarette manufacturing machine and the device of the invention,
• 2 is a plan view of the device according to the invention in an enlarged view,
• 3 shows a side view of the device according to the invention according to FIG. 2,
• 4 shows an end view of the device according to FIGS. 2 and 3,
• 5 is a plan view of an enlarged view of the outlet of the rotary conveyor,
• Fig. 6 is a side view of this outlet according to Fig.5 and
• 7 shows an end view of the outlet according to FIGS. 5 and 6.

The cigarette manufacturing machine 1 shown in dash-dotted lines in FIG. 1 has an elevator 2 for defective cigarettes which are sorted out in the cigarette manufacturing machine 1, for example because they are incomplete Tobacco filled or because the filter is missing or incorrectly set. Such errors occur particularly when starting the machine. The tobacco contained in these defective cigarettes represents a not inconsiderable value and should therefore be recovered.

To recover this tobacco, a rotary conveyor 3 is arranged below the elevator 2 of the cigarette manufacturing machine 1, an exemplary embodiment of which is shown in FIGS. 2 to 7. This rotary conveyor is a conical vibrating feeder 4 which is set into oscillating vibrations electromagnetically. As a result, the cigarettes located in the pot-like receiving space 4a are conveyed upwards on a spirally rising transport path 4b, at the same time being aligned such that their longitudinal direction lies in the conveying direction. The correspondingly aligned cigarettes leave the oscillating feed pot 4 approximately in the tangential direction via an outlet 5, which is shown enlarged in FIGS. 5 to 7.

5 shows various cigarettes Z in dash-dot lines, which move due to the vibrations of the vibrating feeder 4 in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. You get into the area of baffle plates 5a, which run parallel to each other and divide the isolated cigarettes Z into several rows lying next to each other. This supports the separation effect of the rotary conveyor 3.

As can be seen in particular in FIG. 7, the baffle plates 5a are designed with different heights that decrease towards the outside of the outlet 5. As a result, cigarettes or filters stuck together, which could not enter the space between the individual baffle plates 5a, laterally ejected outside, thereby avoiding that such stuck together cigarettes clog the downstream transport facilities or otherwise interfere with the flow of cigarettes. In addition, it is possible to scrape cigarette lumps lying on the baffle plates 5a to the side by means of an air stream or a knob belt. For the sake of clarity, such aids are not shown on the drawing.

The tobacco which has fallen out during the transport of the cigarettes Z in the rotary conveyor 3 and which is located on the spiraling transport path 4b of the vibratory conveyor pot 4 is separated out in the outlet 5 of the rotary conveyor 3 by holes 5b. The loose tobacco falls through these holes 5b. According to FIG. 3, it arrives in a collecting tube 6, which feeds the loose tobacco in the embodiment of a transport device in the form of a vibrating trough 7. This vibrating trough 7 could feed the loose tobacco directly to the fresh tobacco supply of the cigarette manufacturing machine 1. In the exemplary embodiment, however, various further transport devices are interposed.

The cigarettes Z, which leave the outlet 5 of the rotary conveyor 3, reach a conveyor belt 8 wetted with water, which can best be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. This transport belt 8 preferably runs at a higher transport speed than the transport speed of the rotary conveyor 3, which supports the axial alignment of the cigarettes Z. Since the loose tobacco has already been discharged through the holes 5b in the outlet 5, contamination of the transport belt 8 wetted with water by this loose tobacco is avoided.

The cigarettes Z are now fed to a roller system 9 which has at least one slit roller 9a provided with revolving knife rings. The knife rings of this slit roller 9a can either be arranged as closed individual rings at an acute angle to the axis of rotation of the roller or as slit knives running helically over the entire length of the roller. In any case, it is ensured that the paper casings of the cigarettes entering the roller system 9 in axial alignment are gently slit open without the long-fiber tobacco being damaged.

The cigarettes destroyed with regard to their paper wrapping fall, according to FIG. 4, into the receiving funnel 10 of an elevated conveyor 11, which in the exemplary embodiment is provided with a knob belt 11a. Such a knob belt 11a results in a gentle transport of the slit cigarettes, which at the same time are conveyed up so far that they reach a sieve conveyor 12 running above the cigarette manufacturing machine 1. This sieve conveyor trough 12 is preferably mounted on swivel members 12a and driven by a crank drive, not shown, with a relatively large stroke and low frequency, so that the tobacco is separated over a short distance from the cut paper from the paper sleeves. The tobacco falls through a sieve 12b (see FIG. 4) and arrives in the lower part of the sieve conveyor trough 12 at an outlet 12c, which immediately feeds the recovered tobacco to the fresh tobacco which is fed to the cigarette manufacturing machine 1. There is thus a continuous supply of the recovered tobacco to the cigarette manufacturing machine 1. The paper of the cigarette cases conveyed above the sieve 12b in the sieve conveying trough 12 and the filters which may be present emerge from a lateral outlet 12d from the upper part of the sieve conveying trough 12 and become suitable Dissipated way.

Since the rotary conveyor 3 is equipped with a pot-like receiving space 4a, it constitutes a buffer which can easily accommodate different amounts of cigarettes, that is to say coming in batches from the cigarette manufacturing machine. These cigarettes are moved in a circular and gentle manner, at the same time forming a stream of cigarettes which rises from bottom to top on the spiral transport path 4b. This prevents jams and blockages, so that the cigarettes reach the outlet 5 of the rotary conveyor 3 in the conveying direction. At the same time, a long sorting path is achieved by such a rotary conveyor 3 with a small amount of floor space, which additionally results in a homogenization of the amount of cigarettes, so that the tobacco subsequently released from the cigarettes can be fed directly and as a continuous stream to the fresh tobacco of the production machine 1. The components of the device described above result in a space-saving recovery device which is matched to the performance of the respective cigarette manufacturing machine 1, so that it can be attached directly to this machine without its operation or maintenance being hindered.

Reference symbol list:

• Z cigarette
• 1 cigarette making machine
• 2 elevator
• 3 rotary conveyors
• 4 vibrating bowl
• 4a recording room
• 4b transport track
• 5 outlet
• 5a baffle plate
• 5b hole
• 6 manifold
• 7 vibrating channel
• 8 conveyor belt
• 9 roller system
• 9a slitting roller
• 10 receiving funnels
• 11 conveyors
• 11a knob belt
• 12 sieve conveyor
• 12a swivel link
• 12b sieve
• 12c spout
• 12d exit

Claims (16)

1.Procedure for the recovery of tobacco from defective cigarettes, which is sorted out behind the cigarette manufacturing machine and fed to a recovery device for destroying the paper wrappers and for separating the tobacco from the pieces of paper and, if appropriate, filters, from which the recovered tobacco together with fresh tobacco are returned to the cigarette manufacturing machine is abandoned
characterized,
that the defective cigarettes of each cigarette manufacturing machine are continuously fed to their own recovery device, which is designed to be space-saving and adapted to the performance of the respective cigarette manufacturing machine, and from which the recovered tobacco is fed directly to the cigarette manufacturing machine, a batch-like attack of defective cigarettes by a buffer caught in the recovery device and the mass flow of the recovered tobacco is fed evenly to the cigarette manufacturing machine. 2. Device for performing the method according to claim 1, characterized in that below the elevator (2) of the cigarette manufacturing machine (1) for the defective cigarettes, a rotary conveyor (3) with a pot-like receiving space (4a) is arranged, from which the defective cigarettes and aligned lying in the direction of transport tangentially transported away and fed to a roller system (9) in which the paper casings of the cigarettes are separated, and that behind the roller system (9) a sieve conveyor trough (12) is arranged in which the tobacco is removed from the paper and possibly separated from the filters of the separated cigarettes and then continuously Lich the fresh tobacco of the cigarette manufacturing machine (1) is abandoned. 3. Apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the rotary conveyor (3) is designed as a device provided with a cylindrical receptacle with a controlled lifting cone and with a horizontally rotating transport ring, which is used to transport the cigarettes aligned by baffles with a slant next to the first Transport ring arranged second transport ring is provided. 4. The device according to claim 2, characterized in that the rotary conveyor (3) is designed as a conical vibratory feed pot (4) with a spirally rising transport path (4b). 5. The device according to claim 4, characterized in that in the tangential outlet (5) of the rotary conveyor (3) parallel baffle plates (5a) are arranged for dividing the isolated cigarettes into several adjacent rows. 6. The device according to claim 5, characterized in that the baffle plates (5a) are designed with different, decreasing to the outside height. 7. The device according to at least one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that the bottom is perforated in the outlet (5) of the rotary conveyor (3) and the space below the bottom via a collecting tube (6) and at least one transport device (7) the fresh tobacco supply of the cigarette manufacturing machine (1) is connected. 8. The device according to claim 2, characterized in that between the outlet (5) of the rotary conveyor (3) and the roller system (9) a water-wetted conveyor belt (8) is arranged. 9. The device according to claim 8, characterized in that the transport speed of the conveyor belt (8) is greater than that of the rotary conveyor (3). 10. The device according to claim 2, characterized in that the roller system (9) has at least one slotted roller (9a) provided with rotating knife rings. 11. The device according to claim 10, characterized in that the knife rings are arranged at an acute angle to the roll axis of rotation. 12. The apparatus according to claim 10, characterized in that the knife rings are designed as a helical slot knife extending over the entire length of the roller. 13. The apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that a conveyor (11) is arranged between the roller system (9) and the screen conveyor trough (12). 14. The apparatus according to claim 13, characterized in that the elevator (11) is designed as an elevator with a knob belt (11a). 15. The apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the screen conveyor trough (12) is driven by a crank mechanism with a relatively large stroke and low frequency. 16. The device according to at least one of claims 2 to 15, characterized in that sensors for monitoring the flow of cigarettes and tobacco are installed, which emit acoustic and / or optical signals and switch off the device in the event of a blockage or other overload.

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