Plate with tilted reversal heads for a device for orientating cigarettes

Claim 1

A rotatable plate for orienting cylindrical objects such as cigarettes and adapted to cooperate with a drum rotatable about an axis perpendicular to the rotational axis of the plate for taking up said objects from a first channel portion of said drum and placing said objects after orientation in a second channel portion of said drum, said taking up and placing of said objects being carried out substantially simultaneously, said plate comprising reversal heads mounted on said plate, each reversal head comprising a shaft having an integral tip provided with two apertures opening into two recesses, said shaft having two slots and rotatable in a spreader mounted in a support in which two passages are provided for the intake of suction air, means for rotating said plate, and means for rotating said reversal heads such that they effect a half revolution while the plate effects a complete revolution in an opposite direction, each of the reversal heads effecting no other movement but its rotation in relation to said plate and being rotatable about an axis fixed in relation to said plate and forming with the rotational axis of the plate an angle whose tangent is greater than the ratio of the diameter of the objects to be oriented to the distance separating the rotational axes of two adjacent reversal heads.

Claim 5

A device for reorientating elongate objects having a maximum transverse dimension, the device comprising: a body member rotatable about an axis and having an end surface at one axial extremity of the body member, a plurality of reversal heads equispaced about the rotation axis of the body member and each mounted on the body member for rotation about respective axes of rotation, the axes of rotation of the heads each being inclined at a common angle to a direction parallel to the rotation axis of the body member, first rotative drive means arranged to rotate the body member about its rotation axis, second rotative drive means coupled to said first drive means and arranged to rotate each head a half revolution about its respective axis while the body member effects a complete revolution, the body member being rotated in use of the device and the reversal heads operating one by one to accept into the device a continuous supply of elongate objects and to present for removal from the device a continuous supply of said objects whose orientation has been reversed in the device, wherein each reversal head is mounted on the body member so as to project from said end surface of said body member, wherein the product of the spacing apart of the axes of the reversal heads measured perpendicular to said axes and the tangent of said common angle exceeds said maximum transverse dimension of said objects, and wherein, in use of the device, each head, in turn, accepts an object and presents another object at the same time.

Claim 6

A device for reorientating elongate objects having a maximum transverse dimension, the device comprising: a body member rotatable about an axis and having an end surface at one axial extremity of the body member, a plurality of reversal heads equispaced about the rotation axis of the body member and each mounted on the body member for rotation about respective axes of rotation, the axes of rotation of the heads each being inclined at a common angle to a direction parallel to the rotation axis of the body member, first rotative drive means arranged to rotate the body member about its rotation axis, second rotative drive means coupled to said first drive means and arranged to rotate each head a half revolution about its respective axis while the body member effects a complete revolution, the body member being rotated in use of the device and the reversal heads operating one by one to accept into the device a continuous supply of elongate objects and to present for removal from the device a continuous supply of said objects whose orientation has been reversed in the device, wherein each reversal head is mounted on the body member so as to project from said end surface of said body member, wherein the product of the spacing apart of the axes of the reversal heads measured perpendicular to said axes and the tangent of said common angle exceeds said maximum transverse dimension of said objects, and wherein, in use of the device, each head, in turn, accepts an object and presents another object at the same time.

Claim 7

A device for reorientating elongate objects having a maximum transverse dimension, the device comprising: a body member rotatable about an axis and having an end surface at one axial extremity of the body member, a plurality of reversal heads equispaced about the rotation axis of the body member and each mounted on the body member for rotation about respective axes of rotation, the axes of rotation of the heads each being inclined at a common angle to a direction parallel to the rotation axis of the body member, first rotative drive means arranged to rotate the body member about its rotation axis, second rotative drive means coupled to said first drive means and arranged to rotate each head a half revolution about its respective axis while the body member effects a complete revolution, the body member being rotated in use of the device and the reversal heads operating one by one to accept into the device a continuous supply of elongate objects and to present for removal from the device a continuous supply of said objects whose orientation has been reversed in the device, wherein each reversal head is mounted on the body member so as to project from said end surface of said body member, wherein the product of the spacing apart of the axes of the reversal heads measured perpendicularly to said axes and the tangent of said common angle exceeds said maximum transverse dimension of said objects, wherein the reversal heads each comprise a shaft having an integral tip provided with two apertures opening in two recesses, said shaft having two slots and being rotatable in a spreader mounted in a support in which two passages are provided for the intake of suction air, and wherein, in use of the device, each head, in turn, accepts an object and presents another object at the same time.

Claim 8

A device for reorientating elongate objects having a maximum transverse dimension, the device comprising: a body member rotatable about an axis and having an end surface at one axial extremity of the body member, a plurality of reversal heads equispaced about the rotation axis of the body member and each mounted on the body member for rotation about respective axes of rotation, the axes of rotation of the heads each being inclined at a common angle to a direction parallel to the rotation axis of the body member, first rotative drive means arranged to rotate the body member about its rotation axis, second rotative drive means coupled to said first drive means and arranged to rotate each head a half revolution about its respective axis while the body member effects a complete revolution, the body member being rotated in use of the device and the reversal heads operating one by one to accept into the device a continuous supply of elongate objects and to present for removal from the device a continuous supply of said objects whose orientation has been reversed in the device, wherein each reversal head is mounted on the body member so as to project from said end surface of said body member, wherein the product of the spacing apart of the axes of the reversal heads measured perpendicularly to said axes and the tangent of said common angle exceeds said maximum transverse dimension of said objects, wherein the reversal heads each comprise a shaft having an integral tip provided with two apertures opening in two recesses, said shaft having two slots and being rotatable in a spreader mounted in a support in which two passages are provided for the intake of suction air, and wherein, in use of the device, each head, in turn, accepts an object and presents another object at the same time.

Claim 11

A device for reorientating elongate objects having a maximum transverse dimension, the device comprising: a body member rotatable about an axis and having an end surface at one axial extremity of the body member, a plurality of reversal heads equispaced about the rotation axis of the body member and each mounted on the body member for rotation about respective axes of rotation, the axes of rotation of the heads each being inclined at a common angle to a direction parallel to the rotation axes of the body member, first rotative drive means arranged to rotate the body member about its rotation axis, second rotative drive means coupled to said first drive means and arranged to rotate each head a half revolution about its respective axis while the body member effects a complete revolution, the body member being rotated in use of the device and the reversal heads operating one by one to accept into the device a continuous supply of elongate objects and to present for removal from the device a continuous supply of said objects whose orientation has been reversed in the device, wherein each reversal head is mounted on the body member so as to project from said end surface of said body member, wherein the product of the spacing apart of the axes of the reversal heads measured perpendicularly to said axes and the tangent of said common angle exceeds said maximum transverse dimension of said objects, wherein, in use of the device, each head, in turn, accepts an object and presents another object at the same time, wherein the reversal heads each comprise a shaft having an integral tip provided with two apertures opening in two recesses, said shaft having two diametrically opposite slots respectively communicating with said two apertures, said shaft being rotatable in a spreader mounted in a support in which first and second passages are provided, said first and second passages being, once each, in a essentially alternative manner, connected to a suction air source in the course of a revolution of the body member, and said two slots each communicating with at least one of said first and second passages at the same time.

Claim 12

A device for reorientating elongate objects having a maximum transverse dimension, the device comprising: a body member rotatable about an axis and having an end surface at one axial extremity of the body member, a plurality of reversal heads equispaced about the rotation axis of the body member and each mounted on the body member for rotation about respective axes of rotation, the axes of rotation of the heads each being inclined at a common angle to a direction parallel to the rotation axes of the body member, first rotative drive means arranged to rotate the body member about its rotation axis, second rotative drive means coupled to said first drive means and arranged to rotate each head a half revolution about its respective axis while the body member effects a complete revolution, the body member being rotated in use of the device and the reversal heads operating one by one to accept into the device a continuous supply of elongate objects and to present for removal from the device a continuous supply of said objects whose orientation has been reversed in the device, wherein each reversal head is mounted on the body member so as to project from said end surface of said body member, wherein the product of the spacing apart of the axes of the reversal heads measured perpendicularly to said axes and the tangent of said common angle exceeds said maximum transverse dimension of said objects, wherein, in use of the device, each head, in turn, accepts an object and presents another object at the same time, wherein the reversal heads each comprise a shaft having an integral tip provided with two apertures opening in two recesses, said shaft having two diametrically opposite slots respectively communicating with said two apertures, said shaft being rotatable in a spreader mounted in a support in which first and second passages are provided, said first and second passages being, once each, in a essentially alternative manner, connected to a suction air source in the course of a revolution of the body member, and said two slots each communicating with at least one of said first and second passages at the same time.