Conveying of cigarettes and other rod-like articles

Claim 2

A cigarette tray handling machine including means defining a junction zone; means defining a delivery channel for receiving a stack of cigarettes from said junction zone, said delivery channel having a width sufficient to accommodate a plurality of cigarettes in side-by-side relation; means for delivering cigarettes into the junction zone; and a reservoir comprising a conveyor for carrying a stack of cigarettes into or from the junction zone as required, and means for continuously driving the conveyor at a first predetermined speed while moving in one direction and at a second predetermined speed while moving in the opposite direction, so that the reservoir absorbs or discharges cigarettes at the full rate at which the machine is capable of handling cigarettes while each tray is being replaced by the next tray, and discharges or absorbs the cigarettes at other times at a slower speed.

Claim 3

A machine according to claim 1 further comprising sensor means for detecting the level of cigarettes in said junction zone and to control movement of the reservoir conveyor in both directions to maintain the level of cigarettes in the junction zone within predetermined limits.

Claim 4

A machine according to claim 1 in which the delivery channel extends downwards from the junction zone, and in which the reservoir conveyor extends substantially horizontally from the junction zone.

Claim 5

A machine according to claim 3 including a top band which is parallel to the reservoir conveyor to confine the upper surface of the stack of cigarettes in the reservoir and means for concurrently driving said top band in the same direction and at the same speed as said reservoir conveyor.

Claim 6

A machine according to claim 1 wherein said means for delivering cigarettes into the junction zone comprises parallel bands arranged to grip the cigarettes in a single row between them and deliver the single row of cigarettes into the junction zone.

Claim 7

A cigarette tray filling machine including means defining a junction means; means defining a delivery channel for receiving a stack of cigarettes from said junction zone, said delivery channel having a width sufficient to accommodate a plurality of cigarettes in side-by-side relation; means for delivering cigarettes into the junction zone; and a reservoir comprising a conveyor for carrying a stack of cigarettes into or from the junction zone as required, and means to continuously drive the conveyor in a first direction at a first, high predetermined speed from a substantially predetermined starting position, whereBy the reservoir absorbs cigarettes at the full rate at which the machine is capable of receiving cigarettes while each tray is being replaced by the next tray, and in the opposite direction at other times at a second, slower, predetermined speed, whereby the reservoir conveyor gradually returns to the starting position from which it can again begin to receive cigarettes at said full rate for a predetermined period.

Claim 8

A cigarette tray filling machine including means defining a junction means; means defining a delivery channel for receiving a stack of cigarettes from said junction zone, said delivery channel having a width sufficient to accommodate a plurality of cigarettes in side-by-side relation; means for delivering cigarettes into the junction zone; and a reservoir comprising a conveyor for carrying a stack of cigarettes into or from the junction zone as required, and means to continuously drive the conveyor in a first direction at a first, high predetermined speed from a substantially predetermined starting position, whereBy the reservoir absorbs cigarettes at the full rate at which the machine is capable of receiving cigarettes while each tray is being replaced by the next tray, and in the opposite direction at other times at a second, slower, predetermined speed, whereby the reservoir conveyor gradually returns to the starting position from which it can again begin to receive cigarettes at said full rate for a predetermined period.

Claim 9

A machine according to claim 6 wherein said means for driving the conveyor comprises reversible drive means for selectively driving said conveyor in said first and opposite directions and different-ratio transmission means for selectively driving said conveyor at said first and second predetermined speeds.

Claim 10

A machine according to claim 7 further comprising means for exchanging trays.

Claim 11

A machine according to claim 6 wherein said means defining a delivery channel comprises wall means defining a channel below and communicating with said junction zone, said wall means including two walls at opposite sides of said channel which diverge in the downward direction from said junction zone to a point where the distance between said two walls is substantially the same as the width of a tray, and a flow divider positioned in said channel between said diverging walls forming two downwardly diverging channels, each defined by said flow divider and one of said diverging walls, whereby the stream of cigarettes moving downwardly from said junction zone is divided into two narrower streams by said flow divider, said narrower streams flowing through said respective downwardly diverging channels and merging to form a single wide stack of cigarettes in said channel below said flow divider.

Claim 12

A machine according to claim 9 wherein said flow divider comprises a longitudinal member extending substantially parallel to said two diverging walls, said member including two further diverging walls, each said further diverging wall defining with one of said diverging walls one of said diverging channels and rotatably driven means along the lower edge of each of said further diverging walls for directing cigarettes from said diverging channels beneath said flow divider to form said wide stack of cigarettes.

Claim 13

A cigarette tray unloading machine including means defining a junction zone; means defining a delivery channel for receiving a stack of cigarettes from said trays, said delivery channel having a width sufficient to accommodate a plurality of cigarettes in side-by-side relation; means for delivering cigarettes into the junction zone; and a reservoir comprising a conveyor for carrying a stack of cigarettes into or from the junction zone as required, and means to continuously drive the conveyor in a first direction at a first, high predetermined speed from a substantially predetermined starting position, whereby the reservoir discharges cigarettes at the full rate at which the machine is capable of delivering cigarettes while each tray is being replaced by the next tray, and in the opposite direction at other times at a second, slower, predetermined speed, whereby the reservoir conveyor gradually returns to the starting position from which it can again begin to discharge cigarettes at said full rate for a predetermined period.

Claim 14

A cigarette tray unloading machine including means defining a junction zone; means defining a delivery channel for receiving a stack of cigarettes from said trays, said delivery channel having a width sufficient to accommodate a plurality of cigarettes in side-by-side relation; means for delivering cigarettes into the junction zone; and a reservoir comprising a conveyor for carrying a stack of cigarettes into or from the junction zone as required, and means to continuously drive the conveyor in a first direction at a first, high predetermined speed from a substantially predetermined starting position, whereby the reservoir discharges cigarettes at the full rate at which the machine is capable of delivering cigarettes while each tray is being replaced by the next tray, and in the opposite direction at other times at a second, slower, predetermined speed, whereby the reservoir conveyor gradually returns to the starting position from which it can again begin to discharge cigarettes at said full rate for a predetermined period.

Claim 15

A machine according to claim 11 wherein said means for driving the conveyor comprises reversible drive means for selectively driving said conveyor in said first and opposite directions and different-ratio transmission means for selectively driving said conveyor at said first and second predetermined speeds.

Claim 16

A machine according to claim 12 further comprising means for exchanging trays.

Claim 17

A machine for loading cigarettes and other rod-like articles into a sequence of trays comprising: a. means defining a junction zone for containing said articles at a substantially constant rate, b. means for delivering said articles into said junction zone, c. means defining a delivery channel for receiving a stack of said articles from said junction zone and delivering said articles to said trays, said delivery channel having a width sufficient to accommodate a plurality of cigarettes in side-by-side relation, and d. a reservoir communicating with said junction zone and comprising a conveyor for carrying a stack of said articles into and from said junction zone and means for continuously driving the conveyor in a direction away from said junction zone at a fast predetermined speed sufficient to absorb said articles at the full rate at which the machine is capable of handling said articles while each tray is being replaced by the next tray and for driving the conveyor in the opposite direction towards said junction zone at a slower predetermined speed to discharge said absorbed articles into said junction zone while each tray is being filled.

Claim 18

A machine for loading cigarettes and other rod-like articles into a sequence of trays comprising: a. means defining a junction zone for containing said articles at a substantially constant rate, b. means for delivering said articles into said junction zone, c. means defining a delivery channel for receiving a stack of said articles from said junction zone and delivering said articles to said trays, said delivery channel having a width sufficient to accommodate a plurality of cigarettes in side-by-side relation, and d. a reservoir communicating with said junction zone and comprising a conveyor for carrying a stack of said articles into and from said junction zone and means for continuously driving the conveyor in a direction away from said junction zone at a fast predetermined speed sufficient to absorb said articles at the full rate at which the machine is capable of handling said articles while each tray is being replaced by the next tray and for driving the conveyor in the opposite direction towards said junction zone at a slower predetermined speed to discharge said absorbed articles into said junction zone while each tray is being filled.

Claim 19

A machine according to claim 14 further comprising sensor means for detecting the level of cigarettes in said junction zone and to control movement of the reservoir conveyor in both directions to maintain the level of cigarettes in the junction zone within predetermined limits.

Claim 20

A machine according to claim 14 wherein said means defining a delivery channel comprises wall means defining a channel below and communicating with said junction zone, said wall means including two walls at opposite sides of said channel which diverge in the downward direction from said junction zone to a point where the distance between said two walls is substantially the same as the width of a tray, and a flow divider positioned in said channel between said diverging walls forming two downwardly diverging channels, each defined by said flow divider and one of said diverging walls, whereby the stream of articles moving downwardly from said junction zone is divided into two narrower streams by said flow divider, said narrower streams flowing through said respective downwardly diverging channels and merging to form a single wide stack of articles in said channel below said flow divider.

Claim 21

A machine according to claim 16 wherein said flow divider comprises a longitudinal member extending substantially parallel to said two diverging walls, said member including two further diverging walls, each said further diverging wall defining with one of said diverging walls one of said diverging channels and rotatably driven means along the lower edge of each of said further diverging walls for directing articles from said diverging channels beneath said flow divider to form said wide stack of articles.

Claim 22

A machine for unloading cigarettes and other rod-like articles from a sequence of trays comprising: a. means defining a junction zone for containing said articles, b. means defining a delivery channel for receiving a stack of said articles from said trays and delivering said articles to said junction zone, said delivery channel having a width sufficient to accommodate a plurality of cigarettes in side-by-side relation, c. means for discharging said articles from said junction zone at a substantially constant rate, and d. a reservoir communicating with said junction zone and comprising a conveyor for carrying a stack of said articles into and from said junction zone and means for continuously driving said conveyor in a direction away from said junction zone at a slow predetermined speed sufficient to absorb some of said articles from said junction zone while each tray is being discharged into said delivery channel and for driving the conveyor in the opposite direction towards said junction zone at a faster predetermined speed to discharge said absorbed articles into said junction zone while each tray is being replaced by the next tray.

Claim 23

A machine for unloading cigarettes and other rod-like articles from a sequence of trays comprising: a. means defining a junction zone for containing said articles, b. means defining a delivery channel for receiving a stack of said articles from said trays and delivering said articles to said junction zone, said delivery channel having a width sufficient to accommodate a plurality of cigarettes in side-by-side relation, c. means for discharging said articles from said junction zone at a substantially constant rate, and d. a reservoir communicating with said junction zone and comprising a conveyor for carrying a stack of said articles into and from said junction zone and means for continuously driving said conveyor in a direction away from said junction zone at a slow predetermined speed sufficient to absorb some of said articles from said junction zone while each tray is being discharged into said delivery channel and for driving the conveyor in the opposite direction towards said junction zone at a faster predetermined speed to discharge said absorbed articles into said junction zone while each tray is being replaced by the next tray.

Claim 24

A machine according to claim 18 further comprising sensor means for detecting the level of cigarettes in said junction zone and to control movement of the reservoir conveyor in both directions to maintain the level of cigarettes in the junction zone with predetermined limits.

Claim 25

A machine According to claim 1 wherein said means for driving the conveyor comprises reversible drive means for selectively driving said conveyor in said one and opposite directions and different-ratio transmission means for selectively driving said conveyor at said first and second predetermined speeds.

Claim 26

A machine according to claim 20 further comprising means for exchanging trays.

Claim 27

A cigarette tray handling machine including means defining a junction zone; means defining a delivery channel for receiving cigarettes from said junction zone; means for delivering cigarettes into the junction zone; a reservoir comprising a conveyor for carrying a stack of cigarettes into or from the junction zone as required; and means for driving the conveyor, comprising a reversible motor, different-ratio transmissions, and a plurality of unidirectional clutches to selectively drive said reservoir conveyor at different predetermined speeds while moving respectively in opposite directions; so that the reservoir absorbs or discharges cigarettes at the full rate at which the machine is capable of handling cigarettes while each tray is being replaced by the next tray, and discharges or absorbs the cigarettes at other times at a slower speed.

Claim 28

A cigarette tray handling machine including means defining a junction zone; means defining a delivery channel for receiving cigarettes from said junction zone; means for delivering cigarettes into the junction zone; a reservoir comprising a conveyor for carrying a stack of cigarettes into or from the junction zone as required; and means for driving the conveyor, comprising a reversible motor, different-ratio transmissions, and a plurality of unidirectional clutches to selectively drive said reservoir conveyor at different predetermined speeds while moving respectively in opposite directions; so that the reservoir absorbs or discharges cigarettes at the full rate at which the machine is capable of handling cigarettes while each tray is being replaced by the next tray, and discharges or absorbs the cigarettes at other times at a slower speed.

Claim 29

A machine according to claim 22 in which the delivery channel extends downwards from the junction zone, and in which the reservoir conveyor extends substantially horizontally from the junction zone.

Claim 30

A machine according to claim 23 including a top band which is parallel to the reservoir conveyor to confine the upper surface of the stack of cigarettes in the reservoir and means for concurrently driving said top band in the same direction and at the same speed as said reservoir conveyor.

Claim 31

A machine according to claim 22 further comprising sensing means to detect the level of cigarettes above said junction zone and to control movement of the reservoir conveyor in both directions to maintain the level of cigarettes in the junction zone between predetermined limits.

Claim 32

A machine according to claim 22 in which said means for delivering cigarettes into the junction zone comprises parallel bands arranged to grip the cigarettes in a single row between them and deliver the single row of cigarettes into the junction zone.

Claim 33

A machine according to claim 22 further comprising means for exchanging trays.

Claim 34

A cigarette tray filling machine including means defining a junction zone; means defining a delivery channel adapted to receive a stack of cigarettes from said junction zone and carry the stack towards a tray; means for delivering cigarettes into the junction zone; a reservoir comprising a conveyor for carrying a stack of cigarettes into or from the junction zone as required; and driving means for continuously driving the conveyor in a direction away from the junction zone at a faster speed sufficient to absorb cigarettes at the full rate at which the machine is capable of receiving cigarettes while each tray is being replaced by the next tray, and towards the junction zone at other times at a slower speed so that the reservoir conveyor gradually returns to its starting position from which it can again begin to receive cigarettes at said full rate when the next tray is changed.

Claim 35

A cigarette tray filling machine including means defining a junction zone; means defining a delivery channel adapted to receive a stack of cigarettes from said junction zone and carry the stack towards a tray; means for delivering cigarettes into the junction zone; a reservoir comprising a conveyor for carrying a stack of cigarettes into or from the junction zone as required; and driving means for continuously driving the conveyor in a direction away from the junction zone at a faster speed sufficient to absorb cigarettes at the full rate at which the machine is capable of receiving cigarettes while each tray is being replaced by the next tray, and towards the junction zone at other times at a slower speed so that the reservoir conveyor gradually returns to its starting position from which it can again begin to receive cigarettes at said full rate when the next tray is changed.

Claim 36

A machine according to claim 28 wherein said means for driving the conveyor comprises reversible drive means for selectively driving said conveyor both away from the junction zone and towards the junction zone and different-ratio transmission means for selectively driving said conveyor at said faster speed and said slower speed respectively.

Claim 37

A cigarette tray filling machine according to claim 28 in which said driving means is adapted to drive the reservoir conveyor at different predetermined speeds in different directions.

Claim 38

A cigarette tray filling machine according to claim 28 arranged to deliver cigarettes as a wide stack, corresponding to the width of a tray, in a downward direction into the tray, the delivery channel includinG wall means defining a channel below and communicating with said junction zone, said wall means including two walls at opposite sides of said delivery channel which diverge in the downward direction from said junction zone to a point where the distance between said two walls is substantially the same as the width of a tray, and a flow divider positioned in said channel between said diverging walls forming two downwardly diverging channels, each defined by said flow divider and one of said diverging walls, whereby the stream of cigarettes moving downwardly from said junction zone is divided into two narrower streams by said flow divider, said narrower streams flowing through said respective downwardly diverging channels and merging to form a single wide stack of cigarettes in said channel below said flow divider.

Claim 39

A cigarette tray filling machine according to claim 31 in which said flow divider comprises a longitudinal member extending substantially parallel to said two diverging walls, said member including two further diverging walls, each said further diverging wall defining with one of said diverging walls one of said diverging channels and rotatably driven means along the lower edge of each of said further diverging walls for directing cigarettes from said diverging channels beneath said flow divider to form said wide stack of cigarettes.

Claim 40

A cigarette tray filling machine according to claim 28 including sensing means to sense the level of cigarettes in the junction zone, said driving means being controlled in response to a signal derived from said sensing means.

Claim 41

A cigarette tray unloading machine including means defining a junction zone, means defining a delivery channel for receiving a stack of cigarettes from the junction zone, said delivery channel having a width sufficient to accommodate a plurality of cigarettes in side-by-side relation; means defining an input channel having a width of several cigarette diameters and adapted to deliver a stack of cigarettes into the junction zone from the trays; a reservoir comprising a conveyor for carrying a stack of cigarettes into or from the junction zone as required; and driving means for continuously driving the conveyor in a direction towards the junction zone at a high speed sufficient to discharge cigarettes from the reservoir at the full rate at which the machine is capable of delivering cigarettes while each tray is being replaced by the next tray, and away from the junction zone at other times at a slower speed so that the reservoir gradually absorbs cigarettes so that it can again discharge cigarettes at the full rate when the next tray is changed.

Claim 42

A cigarette tray unloading machine including means defining a junction zone, means defining a delivery channel for receiving a stack of cigarettes from the junction zone, said delivery channel having a width sufficient to accommodate a plurality of cigarettes in side-by-side relation; means defining an input channel having a width of several cigarette diameters and adapted to deliver a stack of cigarettes into the junction zone from the trays; a reservoir comprising a conveyor for carrying a stack of cigarettes into or from the junction zone as required; and driving means for continuously driving the conveyor in a direction towards the junction zone at a high speed sufficient to discharge cigarettes from the reservoir at the full rate at which the machine is capable of delivering cigarettes while each tray is being replaced by the next tray, and away from the junction zone at other times at a slower speed so that the reservoir gradually absorbs cigarettes so that it can again discharge cigarettes at the full rate when the next tray is changed.

Claim 43

A machine according to claim 34 wherein said means for driving the conveyor comprises reversible drive means for selectively driving said conveyor both towards the junction zone and away from the junction zone and different-ratio transmission means for selectively driving said conveyor at both said high speed and said slower speed respectively.

Claim 44

A cigarette tray unloading machine according to claim 34 in which said driving means is adapted to drive the reservoir conveyor at different predetermined speeds in different directions.

Claim 45

A cigarette tray unloading machine according to claim 34 in which said input channel, said reservoir, and said delivery channel meet at said junction zone to form a T-shaped junction having two arms extending substantially in line and the third arm substantially at right-angles to the two in-line arms.

Claim 46

A cigarette tray unloading machine according to claim 37 in which the two in-line arms of the T-junction are substantially horizontal.

Claim 47

A cigarette tray unloading machine according to claim 38 in which the two horizontal arms of the T-junction are the input channel and the reservoir.

Claim 48

A cigarette tray unloading machine according to claim 38 in which the input channel, the delivery channel, and the reservoir are all adapted to accommodate stacks of substantially the same height.

Claim 49

A cigarette tray unloading machine according to claim 34 including sensing means to sense the level of cigarettes in the junction zone, said driving means being controlled in response to a signal derived from said sensing means.