EP2352676B1 - Method and device for producing bundle packages and bundle package - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a method for producing bundle packs, in particular bundle packs for cigarettes (cigarette rod), wherein a group of packs, in particular cigarette packs, is wrapped in an outer wrapper to form the bundle pack, and wherein the packs each have a coding, in particular a barcode, and the group of packages is wrapped in the outer wrapper so that the coding of the packages is not obscured by the outer wrapper and thereafter a means for masking the coding of the packages, in particular a blank or a (stick) label, and a coding Furthermore, the invention relates to a device for carrying out the method according to the preamble of claim 9. Finally, the invention relates to a Gebindepackun produced in particular by the method g according to the preamble of claim 8.

Bundle packs have been known for a long time, especially in the cigarette industry. In this case, the packs or cigarette packs which form the contents of the bundle pack or cigarette rod are usually arranged next to one another and preferably in several rows one behind the other. A preferred formation is an arrangement of the packages in two rows of five packages each. The package contents are usually wrapped in an outer wrapper of packaging material such as paper or paperboard, which may optionally be surrounded by an additional protective cover, for example made of polypropylene, polyethylene, cellophane or the like, in order to seal the bundle pack in an aroma-tight manner. Furthermore, it is customary to provide the packages each with a coding, in particular a machine-readable code such as a barcode. The coding can provide information for the production or via the manufacturer and information for sale to the end customer, for example, information for querying the sale price from a product database or the like.

In addition, package packages are known in which the outer envelope is formed such that the packages are partially visible. This kind of bundle packs also includes the so-called "naked wrap", in which the outer wrapper is formed only by a transparent protective cover made of polypropylene. This has the consequence that the packages or their coding through the outer sheath are visible or readable. However, when selling these and similar bundle packs, there is the problem that it may happen that the coding of the pack is inadvertently read in instead of the packaging of the bundle pack, which can lead to an erroneous calculation of the retail price of bundle pack.

A solution to this problem is that the bundle pack is provided with a blank, for example a label, to cover the coding of the package. This label may also have the coding for the bundle pack.

Proceeding from this, the object of the invention is to propose measures which lead to a favorable production of bundle packs of this special type.

A method according to the invention has the features of claim 1. It is therefore provided that the bundle pack is fed to a coding station for applying the coding for the bundle pack to the outer wrapper and / or for attaching the means for concealing the coding of the packs, wherein the bundle pack transports at least in the region of the coding station by a cyclically driven conveying means and that the coding and / or the means for covering are applied during a short-term standstill of the conveyor in the coding station.

Preferred embodiments and further developments of the method according to the invention will become apparent from the dependent claims and the description otherwise.

Preferably, the coded bundle pack is subsequently fed to a test station, in particular for checking the coding and / or masking of the coding of the packs, with faulty bundle packings being discarded in the region of an ejection station arranged after the test station.

A special feature may be that the bundle pack is transported at least in the area of the coding station and / or the test station, with its longitudinal extent substantially transverse to the transport direction of the conveyor, and that the coding of the bundle pack in the coding of the packs by a side next to the Conveyor arranged coding station is attached, preferably in the range of transverse end faces of the bundle pack. This arrangement allows easy attachment of the coding and / or labels in the area of coding of the packages.

Preferably, the bundle pack is first transported with its longitudinal extent substantially parallel to the transport direction of the conveyor and rotated by about 90 ° before reaching the coding in a turning station, so that the bundle pack is transported with its longitudinal extent substantially transverse to the transport direction of the conveyor, wherein the bundle pack after the coding station and / or the test station is rotated again in a further turning station by about 90 °, so that it is transported with its longitudinal extent substantially parallel to the transport direction of the conveyor. This way is easy integration into existing devices for the production and packaging of bundle packs possible.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the method, the coding of the packs is overprinted in the coding station and the coding of the pack of packings attached to the outer wrapper is particularly imprinted. This eliminates the need to attach a blank to hide the coding of the packages.

With regard to the attachment of separate blanks to mask the coding of the packs, it is conceivable that a continuous strip of material at intervals with a coding for each bundle pack is provided and then separated by cutting the strip of material between the codings to blanks and that the blanks provided with glue and be attached in the coding station to each outer wrapper of a bundle pack.

It may be advantageous to arrange the coding station in the conveying path between a device for producing the bundle packs (bar packers) and a device for grouping and / or cartoning the coded bundle packs (cartoning machine) in order to ensure integration into existing packaging machines.

An apparatus for solving the above-mentioned problem has the features of claim 9. Accordingly, a coding station is arranged along a conveying path formed by a conveyor for the bundle packs for attaching the means for concealing the coding of the packs and / or for attaching the coding to the bundle pack in the area of the coding of the packs, wherein the conveying means is cyclically driven for mounting the means for covering and / or coding on the bundle pack during a standstill phase of the conveyor.

Preferably, a test station is arranged downstream of the coding station in the region of the conveying path for checking, in particular, the coding. Downstream of the inspection station, an ejection station may be arranged for the purpose of separating bundle packs, in particular with faulty coding.

The bundle pack can be arranged at least in the region of the coding station and / or the test station on the conveyor with its longitudinal extent substantially transverse to the conveying direction, wherein end faces of the bundle pack are facing an arranged next to the conveyor path coding.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is provided that blanks for covering the coding of the packages from a reel to Codierstation (30) can be supplied, wherein on the reel a continuous strip of material is wound as carrier material with spaced successively labels as blanks, and wherein the strips of material in a plane which is parallel to the end face of the bundle packs, is transportable, and wherein the labels are preferably printed in this upright conveyor section in a printing station, and wherein the labels are detachable by deflection of the strip of material from the carrier strip, and wherein in the Deflection is arranged a slider for receiving a label detached from the carrier strip and wherein the slider is movable in a substantially horizontal plane against a facing end face of the bundle pack for attaching the label to the outer envelope of the container ackung.

Alternatively, it may be provided that the coding station is assigned a reel with a continuous material strip of packaging material for forming blanks for concealing the coding of the packages, wherein the material strip is removable from the reel and fed to a printing station for applying a coding and / or an additional Printing on the continuous strip of material and that the printed strip of material can be fed to a glue station for attaching a gluing on the strip of material and that the glued strip of material can be fed to a separating station for separating blanks from the strip of material and that the isolated Blanks by means of a slider on an end face of the bundle pack is movable for attaching the printed, glued and individualized blank on the outer wrapping of the bundle pack.

Another special feature may consist in that two coding stations are arranged consecutively along the conveying path, wherein always only one coding station is in operation for uninterrupted operation of the coding station when feeding new material to one of the two coding stations or during a material change.

A bundle pack according to the invention has the features of claim 8. A special feature consists in the fact that the coding of the packs is covered by a print on the outer wrapper and that the outer wrapper has a preferably additional printing for coding the bundle pack. This eliminates the need to attach a blank to hide the coding of the packages.

Fig. 1

eine Gebindepackung in Form einer Zigarettenstange in schematischer räumlicher Darstellung,

Fig. 2

eine Stirnseite der Gebindepackung gemäß Fig. 1 gemäß einem alternativen Ausführungsbeispiel,

Fig. 3

eine Vorrichtung zum Anbringen von Etiketten an Gebindepackungen in einer schematischen Draufsicht,

Fig. 4

die Vorrichtung gemäß Fig. 3 in einer Seitenansicht,

Fig. 5

eine Seitenansicht der Vorrichtung gemäß Fig. 3 in vergrößertem Maßstab 5 in vergrößertem Maßstab,

Fig. 6

einen Vertikalschnitt durch die Vorrichtung entlang Schnittlinie VI-VI in Fig. 4,

Fig. 7 und Fig. 8

eine Einzelheit der Fig.6 in vergrößertem Maßstab während verschiedener Phasen des Anbringens eines Etiketts,

Fig. 9

eine Einzelheit der Fig. 6 in verkleinertem Maßstab während eines Materialwechsels, und

Fig. 10

eine alternative Lösung zur Anbringung von Etiketten in einer Darstellung analog zu Fig. 6.

The invention will be explained with reference to preferred embodiments according to the drawing. In this show:

Fig. 1

a bundle pack in the form of a cigarette rod in a schematic spatial representation,

Fig. 2

one end of the bundle pack according to Fig. 1 according to an alternative embodiment,

Fig. 3

a device for applying labels to bundles of packs in a schematic plan view,

Fig. 4

the device according to Fig. 3 in a side view,

Fig. 5

a side view of the device according to Fig. 3 on an enlarged scale 5 on an enlarged scale,

Fig. 6

a vertical section through the device along section line VI-VI in Fig. 4 .

FIGS. 7 and 8

a detail of Figure 6 on an enlarged scale during various phases of applying a label,

Fig. 9

a detail of Fig. 6 on a reduced scale during a material change, and

Fig. 10

an alternative solution for applying labels in a representation analogous to Fig. 6 ,

The invention will be explained below with reference to an example from the cigarette industry. Shown is a bundle pack 10 in the form of a cigarette rod 11. The package contents of the cigarette rod 11 consists of cigarette packs 12 which are arranged in two rows of five cigarette packs 12 as a group. Within the rows, the cigarette packs 12 are adjacent to each other with narrow sides facing each other. The two rows are arranged one behind the other, so that an upper or first row of the cigarette packs 12 with a large-area back on or on a large-scale front of a lower or rear row on or rests.

The contents of the package are wrapped in an outer casing 13, which in the present case is made of a polypropylene film and is transparent, thus allowing a view of the cigarette packs 12. The outer sheath 13 is wrapped around the group of cigarette packs 12 like a tube and closed in an overlapping region 14. In the area of front pages 15 of the Bundle pack 10 are folding flaps of the outer sheath 13 couverton superimposed and connected to each other, in particular by sealing. To open the outer sheath 13, a tear thread 16 is provided, which extends eccentrically and transversely to the longitudinal direction of the bundle pack 10 extending around it. One end 17 of the tear thread 16 is bounded by a U-shaped punched cut 18 in order to more easily grip the end 17 for opening the outer wrapper 13.

The cigarette packs 12 have an encoding 19 in the region of their narrow side. The coding 19 in the present case is a barcode, ie a machine-readable identification. Due to the fact that the outer sheath 13 consists of a transparent material, the coding 19 of the cigarette packs 12 in the region of the end face 15 of the bundle pack 10 is visible from the outside.

So that the coding 19 is not accidentally detected when selling the bundle pack 10 by a checkout scanner is in accordance with Fig. 1 provided that in the region of the front side 15 of the bundle pack 10, a separate blank 20 in the form of a (adhesive) label is attached. The blank 20 covers on the one hand due to its positioning and size the coding 19 of the two cigarette packs 12 in the region of the front side 15. In addition, the blank 20 carries a coding 21 for the bundle pack 10. After attachment of the blank 20 to the outer casing 13 of the bundle pack 10th the codes 19 of the cigarette packs 12 can no longer be read or recorded, but only the coding 21 of the bundle pack 10th

Another special feature is that the blank 20 has an additional, in particular individual, printing 22. This printing 22 may have design and / or information-containing elements.

After a in Fig.2 2, the coding 19 of the cigarette packs 12 is not concealed by a separate blank 20 but by a printing 23 on the outer wrapper 13. The printing 23 extends in the present case only in the area of Coding 19 of the cigarette packs 12. In addition, the coding 21 for the pack of packs 10 is printed on the outer wrapper 13, but laterally offset to the printing 23. It is also conceivable that the coding 21 is part of the printing 23.

Another embodiment not shown in the figures may be configured such that the group of cigarette packs 12 is partially encased in a blank of packaging material, namely such that the end faces 15 are not covered by the blank. The wrapped with the blank group of cigarette packs 12 is then as in the embodiment according to Fig. 1 wrapped in an outer sheath 13. In this case too, the codings 19 of the cigarette packs 12 are visible through the outer casing 13 and can be concealed with either a blank 20 or a print 23.

Fig. 3 shows a part of a device for producing and handling bundle packs 10. The construction is roughly as follows: The bundle packs 10 are transported by a bar packer (not shown) on a conveyor, in particular an endless conveyor belt 24 in a transport direction according to arrow 25. On the conveyor belt 24, the bundle packs 10 are transported lying flat on a large-area side and with their longitudinal extent in the conveying direction according to arrow 25 transported pointing.

The bundle packs 10 then come into the region of a first turning station 26 in which the relative position of the bundle packs 10 is rotated by 90 °, so that the bundle packs 10 point transversely to the conveying direction with their longitudinal extent.

The bundle packs 10 come after the turning station 26 in the area of another conveyor 27 for transporting the transverse bundle packs 10. In the area of the conveyor 27, the bundle packs 10 rest on a conveying plane 28 on the underside and are arranged on the upper side by spaced drivers 29 of a conveyor Conveyor belt transported, which is designed as a circulating endless conveyor. The drivers 29 capture the bundle packs 10 at an upper edge located in the transport direction.

The conveying means 27 is cyclically driven for the intermittent feed of the bundle packs 10 along the conveying plane 28. In this way, the bundle packs 10 transported at a distance from each other pass through this region of the device in a stepwise manner.

In the transport direction according to arrow 25 consecutively several stations for processing the bundle pack 10 are arranged in succession in the region of the conveyor 27 following. These are initially two coding stations 30 as well as a test station 31 and an ejection station 32.

In the coding stations 30, first of all the blank 20 or the printing 23 and coding 21 are shown in FIG Fig. 1 and 2 attached to the bundle packs 10. In the area of the test station 31, the processed bundle pack 10 is then checked for proper design and, if necessary, rejected for rejected packs 10 in the region of the ejection station 32 from the conveyor 27. These steps will be described in detail below.

In the further transport path of the bundle packs 10, a further turning station 33 is arranged to return the bundle packs 10 to the original relative position on the conveyor belt 24. In the area of the turning station 33 and subsequently the bundle packs 10 are transported again on conveyor belts 24 and thereby rotated by contact with a curved guide plate 34 during transport. In the area of the second conveyor belt 24, the processed bundle packs 10 are fed to a machine for packaging the bundle packs 10 in cartons, that is to say a cartoning machine (not shown). In the area of the first turning station 26, the bundle pack 10 is detected by means of a pivotally driven by a motor 35 in a horizontal plane pivot arm 36 and below System pivoted at a further curved guide plate 37 in the transverse position.

A special feature exists with regard to measures for integrating the coding stations 30 into existing systems. Thus, the bundle packs 10 are transported before the first turning station 26 and the second turning station 33 on the two conveyor belts 24 in the longitudinal direction of the bundle packs 10. The conveyor belts 24 run parallel to each other and along an imaginary straight line. Laterally offset thereto, but parallel to the conveyor belts 24, the conveyor 27 is arranged, in whose area the coding stations 30 are positioned. By this arrangement, it is possible to separate a continuous conveyor belt 24 and parallel and laterally offset to integrate the conveyor 27, which is connected via the turning stations 26, 33 to the two conveyor belts 24. It is also conceivable that the conveyor 27 is integrated in the course of the conveyor belts 24, ie without lateral offset.

It should also be mentioned that the coding stations 30 can optionally also be arranged on the opposite side of the conveying means 27, depending on the position or arrangement of the cigarette packs 12 within the bundle pack 10, ie, depending on which side the codes 19 of the cigarette packs 12 in the area the front side 15 of the bundle pack 10 are visible. The use of two coding stations 30 is not absolutely necessary, ie only one coding station 30 can be provided. In order to avoid a stop of the device during a material change or supply of other blanks 20, however, two coding stations 30 are preferred, which are alternately in use. Preferably, only one of the two coding stations 30 is therefore in operation, with the respective other coding station 30 assuming that the other coding station 30 has to receive or maintain new and / or different material for the blanks 20. In the Fig. 3 and 6 the coding stations 30 on the other side of the conveyor 27 are indicated by dashed lines.

Subsequently, the attachment of a blank 10 in the form of a self-adhesive label according to Fig. 1 explained. Fig. 6 shows a schematic representation of the device in the form of a vertical section transverse to the transport direction. It can be seen here, on the one hand, that the conveying plane 28 is formed by two web-like members, which extend at a distance from one another in the longitudinal direction of the conveying means 27 and on which the bundle packs 10 rest on the underside. The blanks 20 are located on a carrier material 37, which is kept wound up on a reel 38. The carrier material 37 is unwound from the reel 38 and initially guided down to a first deflection roller 39. From there, the carrier material 37 extends obliquely upward to the area of a printing station 40. In the area of the printing station 40, the carrier material 37 is transported in an upright plane and printed. Can be imprinted on the one hand, the coding 21 in the form of a bar code and the additional printing 22. Instead of attaching the additional printing 22 in the printing station 40, this may also have been applied during the production of the reel 38. The same applies in principle to the coding 21 in the form of the barcode. Preferably, however, both the coding 21 and the printing 22 are applied in the region of the printing station 40.

In the region of an upper end of the printing station 40, the blank 20 or labels are detached from the carrier material 37 and transferred to a slide 41, which attaches the blanks 20 to the end face 15 of the bundle pack 10. For this purpose, the slider 41, for example by means of a pneumatic cylinder 42 in a horizontal plane back and forth. The slider 41 therefore operates in the same plane in which the bundle packs 10 are transported. The blanks 20 are held on the front side of the slider 41 by means of vacuum or vacuum, so that the sticky side of the label faces the end face 15 of the bundle pack 10. By extending the pneumatic cylinder 42, the label is pressed against the end face 15 and attached there. The detachment of the blanks 20 from the carrier material 37 can take place in that the carrier material 37 is deflected at a large angle, so that the labels are automatically detached. In the present case, the carrier material 37 in the region of Bottom of the slider 41 is deflected at a deflecting rail 43 by approximately 180 ° and then conveyed via a guide roller 44 in an upright plane down. After reaching a further deflection roller 44, the support material 37 is conveyed obliquely downwards and fed via a further deflection roller 45 of a take-up roll 46, on which the empty carrier material 37 is rolled up.

The coding station 30 is pivotally mounted on a machine frame not shown in detail. For this purpose, a support 47 for the coding station 30 is pivotally mounted on an axle 48 and serves to receive the elements of the coding station 30, ie essentially the reel 38, the take-up reel 46, the printing station 40, the slider 41 and the guide for the carrier material 37 To replace the bobbin 38, the coding stations 30, as in FIG Fig. 9 shown pivoted about the axis 48.

Fig. 10 shows an alternative solution for concealing the codings 19 of the cigarette packs 12. In this case, an endless material strip of a packaging material 50 is withdrawn from a reel 49 and fed via a deflection roller 51 to a printing station 52. Thereafter, the packaging material 50 enters the area of a glue station 53, in which the packaging material 50 is glued. This is followed by a separating station 54 for separating blanks 20 from the continuous material web of the packaging material 50 and comparable to the exemplary embodiment according to FIG Fig. 6 to 9 a pneumatic cylinder 55 for actuating a slider 56, which presses the severed blanks 20 against the end face 15 of the bundle pack 10. Opposite the printing station 52 and the glue station 53, the packaging material 50 is driven and / or supported by a conveyor belt 57, respectively.

The packaging material 50 can be already printed material, which is already provided, for example, at intervals with the coding 21, with the aid of the printing station 52 only the additional printing 22 is attached. Alternatively, the packaging material 50 may also be material that neither the coding 21 nor the printing 22 so that it is applied in the area of the printing station 52. For glueing the material web, permanently tacky glue is preferably applied, so that the singulated blanks 20 can be glued against the end face 15 of the bundle pack 10.

For checking the bundle packs 10, a monitoring element, in particular a surveillance camera 58, which is aligned with the end face 15 of the bundle pack 10, is arranged in the test station 31. In this way, with the aid of the surveillance camera 58, an image of the front side 15 can be taken and compared with a reference image. This can be done in a control device, not shown. If the coding 19 of the cigarette packs 12 is not completely concealed or the coding 21 of the packs 10 is defective, the corresponding pack pack 10 can be discarded in the ejection station 32: Of course, further features of the pack pack 10 can be tested in the test station 31.

In the ejection station 32, two slides 59 are arranged on both sides of the conveyor 27 for ejecting a faulty bundle pack 10. The slider 59 act in an upright or vertical direction and serve to eject a faulty bundle pack 10 down. For this purpose, a section of the conveying plane 28 can be pivoted about a joint 60, so that an opening 61 is formed in the conveying plane 28, through which the bundle pack 10 are ejected by the slides 59. Preferably, the slides 59 can be actuated by pneumatic cylinders.

At the location of bundle packs 10 for cigarette packs 12, other types of pack contents may be processed accordingly. The bundle pack 10 does not have to consist of two rows of cigarette packs 12, but may have a greater or lesser number of rows. Also, the number of cigarette packs 12 within a row may vary without departing from the invention. The arrangement of the coding stations 30 with respect to the conveying means 27 can be selected within the bundle pack 10, depending on the arrangement of the coding 19 on the cigarette packs 12 or the orientation of the cigarette packs 12. Also conceivable is an adaptation of the device to cigarette packs 12, in which the coding 19 is not arranged in the region of narrow sides of the cigarette packs 12.

It is also conceivable that the blank 20 or the print 22, 23 need not be attached to the outer casing 13 at the same time or in the same station, but that this can be done in two or more successive steps. In this case, the coding station 30 in the sense of the invention comprises all the organs which are required to carry out these operations.

The codings 19, 21 are preferably barcodes. However, other codings may also be used, in particular other machine-readable markings.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

10

multipack

11

cigarette carton

12

cigarette pack

13

outer wrapper

14

overlap area

15

front

16

opening thread

17

The End

18

chad

19

Coding (cigarette pack)

20

cut

21

Coding (bundle pack)

22

Printing (cutting)

23

Printing (outer wrapping)

24

conveyor belt

25

arrow

26

turning station

27

funding

28

conveying plane

29

takeaway

30

coding station

31

inspection

32

ejection station

33

turning station

34

baffle

35

engine

36

swivel arm

37

support material

38

reel

39

idler pulley

40

printing station

41

pusher

42

pneumatic cylinder

43

deflection rail

44

idler pulley

45

idler pulley

46

up roll

47

carrier

48

axis

49

reel

50

packing material

51

idler pulley

52

printing station

53

gluing station

54

separating station

55

pneumatic cylinder

56

pusher

57

conveyor belt

58

Security Camera

59

pusher

60

joint

61

opening

Claims (16)

1. A method for producing bundle packages, in particular bundle packages (10) for cigarettes (cigarette carton 11), wherein a group of packs (12), in particular cigarette packs, is encased in an outer casing (13) to form the bundle package (10), and wherein the packs (12) respectively exhibit a code (19), in particular a barcode, and the group of packs (12) is encased in the outer casing (13) such that the code (19) of the packs (12) is not concealed by the outer casing (13) and that a means (20, 23) for concealing the code of the packs (12), in particular a pre-cut piece (20), for example in the form of an (adhesive) label, and a code (21) for the bundle package (10) are then arranged on the bundle package (10), characterized in that the bundle package (10) is fed to a coding station (30) for applying the code (21) for the bundle package (10) to the outer casing (13) and/or for affixing the means (20, 23) for concealing the code (19) of the packs (12), the bundle package (10), at least in the region of the coding station (30), being transported by a cyclically driven conveying means (27), and in that the code (21) and/or the concealing means (20, 23) are affixed in the coding station (30) during a brief pause of the conveying means (27).
2. The method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the coded bundle package (10) is subsequently fed to a checking station (31), in particular for checking the code (21) and/or the concealment (20, 23) of the code (19) of the packs (12), and in that defective bundle packages (10) are separated out in the region of an ejection station (32) arranged after the checking station (31).
3. The method as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the bundle package (10), at least in the region of the coding station (30) and/or of the checking station (31), is transported with its longitudinal extent substantially transversely to the direction of transport (25) of the conveying means (27), and in that the code (21) of the bundle package (10) is affixed in the region of the code (19) of the packs (12) by a coding station (30) arranged beside the conveying means (27), preferably in the region of transversely directed end faces (15) of the bundle package (10).
4. The method as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the bundle package (10) is firstly transported with its longitudinal extent substantially parallel to the direction of transport (25) of the conveying means (27) and, prior to reaching the coding station (30), is turned in a turning station (26) through about 90°, so that the bundle package (10) is transported with its longitudinal extent substantially transversely to the direction of transport (25) of the conveying means (27), and in that the bundle package (10), after the coding station (30) and/or the checking station (31), is turned in a further turning station (33) once more through about 90°, so that it is transported with its longitudinal extent substantially again parallel to the direction of transport (25) of the conveying means (27).
5. The method as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in the coding station (30) the code (19) of the packs (12) is overprinted by a print (23) on the outer casing (13) and the code (21) of the bundle package (21) is affixed to, in particular imprinted on, the outer casing (13).
6. The method as claimed in one of the preceding claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a continuous material strip (50) is provided at intervals with a code (21) for respectively a bundle package (10) and is subsequently separated into pre-cut pieces (20) by cutting of the material strip (50) between the codes (21), and in that the pre-cut pieces (20) are provided with glue and are fastened in the coding station (30) to respectively an outer casing (13) of a bundle package (10).
7. The method as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the coding station (30) is arranged in the path of conveyance between a device (carton packer) for producing the bundle packages (10) and a device (cartoning machine) for grouping and/or cartoning the coded bundle packages (10).
8. A bundle package comprising a group of packs (12), in particular cigarette packs, which are encased in an outer casing (13) to form the bundle package (10), in particular a bundle package (10) for cigarettes (cigarette carton 11), and wherein the outer casing (13) consists of an at least partially transparent material, so that a code (19), in particular barcodes, of the packs (12) is visible or readable through the outer casing (13), and wherein the bundle package (10), in the region of the code (19) of the packs (12) has means for concealing the code (19) of the packs (12), and wherein the bundle package (10) exhibits a code (21) for the bundle package (10), characterized in that the code (19) of the packs (21) is concealed by a print (23) on the outer casing (13), and in that the outer casing (13) exhibits a preferably additional print (21) for the code of the bundle package (10) produced according to a method as claimed in claims 1 - 7.
9. A device for producing bundle packages, in particular bundle packages (10) for cigarettes (cigarette carton 11), wherein a group of packs (12), in particular cigarette packs, respectively exhibits a code (19), in particular a barcode, and for the formation of the bundle package (10) are encased in an at least partially transparent outer casing (13), so that the code (19) of the packs (12) is visible or readable through the outer casing (13), and wherein on the outer casing (13) are arranged means (20, 23) for covering the code (19) of the packs (12) and a code (21) of the bundle package (10), characterized in that along a conveyor line formed by a conveying means (27) for the bundle packages (10) there is arranged a coding station (30) for affixing the means (20, 23) for concealing the code (19) of the packs (12) and/or for affixing the code (21) to the bundle package (10) preferably in the region of the code (19) of the packs (12), wherein the conveying means (27) is cyclically driven to allow the application of the concealing means (20, 23) and/or code means (21) to the bundle package (10) during a stationary phase of the conveying means (27).
10. The device as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that downstream of the coding station (30), in the region of the conveyor line, there is arranged a checking station (31), in particular for checking the code (21) and/or the concealment of the code (19) of the packs (12).
11. The device as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that downstream of the checking station (31), in the region of the conveyor line, is arranged an ejection station (32) for separating out defective bundle packages (10) from the conveying means (27).
12. The device as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the bundle package (10), at least in the region of the coding station (30) and/or of the checking station (31), is arranged on the conveying means (27) with its longitudinal extent pointing substantially transversely to the direction of conveyance (25), with outwardly directed end faces (15) for application of the code (21) in the coding station (30) arranged beside the conveyor line (27).
13. The device as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that upstream and downstream of the conveying means (27) are arranged conveyor belts (24) for transporting the bundle package (10) with its longitudinal extent pointing in the direction of conveyance, which conveyor belts are aligned parallel to the conveying means (27) and are arranged in an imaginary straight line, the conveying means (27) being positioned preferably laterally offset to the conveyor line of the conveyor belts (24).
14. The device as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that pre-cut pieces (20) for concealing the code (19) of the packs (12) can be fed from a reel (38) to the coding station (30), wherein on the reel (38) is wound a continuous material strip (37) as the backing material carrying, as the pre-cut pieces (20), labels arranged one behind the other at a distance apart, and wherein the material strip is transportable in a plane running parallel to the end face (15) of the bundle packages, and wherein the labels preferably in this vertical conveyor section are printed in a printing station (40), and wherein the labels are detachable from the backing strip (37) by diversion of the material strip, and wherein in the region of the diversion is arranged a slide bar (41) for receiving a label detached from the backing strip (37), and wherein the slide bar (41) is movable in a substantially horizontal plane toward a facing end face (15) of the bundle package (10) in order to affix the label to the outer casing (13) of the bundle package (10).
15. The device as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that to the coding station (30) there is assigned a reel (49) bearing a continuous material strip of packaging material (50) for the formation of pre-cut pieces (20) for concealing the code (19) of the packs (12), wherein the material strip can be drawn off from the reel (49) and can be fed to a printing station (52) for the application of a code (19) and/or of an additional print (22) on the continuous material strip, and in that the printed material strip can be fed to a gluing station (53) for applying a coating of glue to the material strip, and in that the glued material strip can be fed to a cutting station (54) for separating pre-cut pieces (20) from the material strip, and in that the separated pre-cut pieces (20) are movable by means of a slide bar (56) onto an end face (15) of the bundle package (10) for the application of the printed, glue-coated and separated pre-cut piece (20) to the outer casing (13) of the bundle package (10).
16. The device as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that two coding stations (30) are arranged consecutively along the conveyor line, wherein always just one coding station (30) is in operation for the uninterrupted operation of the coding station (30) during the supply of new material to one of the two coding stations (30) or during a change of material.

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