Method of and machine for packaging cigarettes

Application filed July 24, 1931. Serial No. 552,992.

Our present invention relates to a method of and machine for packaging cigarettes and has to do mors particularly with a method of and .means for packaging cigarettes with a o humidifying insert included in the finished package.

At the present time the more popular brands of cigarettes now upon the market . are enclosed in what are known as “cup” 20 or “pouch” packages consisting of an inner wrapper of foil or foil and paper and an outer wrapper of relatively stiff paper. Cigarette packages of this type are macle by automatic machinery, which operates to suc15 cessively select or segregate a given number of cigarettes, as, for instance, 20 cigarettes from a hopper or magazine and then enclose the same within the cup or pouch, the latter being usually formed about hollow 20 mandrills carried by a rotary turret in the pockets or carriers of which the groups of cigarettes have been previously inserted. The cigarettes are then pushed out of the . pockets along with the “cup” or “pouch” and 25 the projecting ends of the inner foil or foil and paper wrapper folded to closed position and sometimes sealed, as by an overlying revenue stamp, or otherwise.

We have shown our improvements as ap30 plied to such a known type of machine, although we do not wish to be understood as limiting ourselves to the particular machine illustrated and described except as we may be limited by the appended claims. Brief35 ly and generally stated, our invention includes the method of packaging cigarettes with a humidifying insert therein, which consists in segregating a group of cigarettes . from a mass, then associating a humidify40 ing insert with said group, and then delivering the said group of cigarettes along with the insert into a prepared wrapper, such as a formed “pouch” and sealing the same; and further includes a means for automatically 45 feeding the humidifying inserts to successively selected groups of cigarettes prior to the. step of inserting the group, with its associated insert, into a wrapper such as a “pouch” or “cup”.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to understand, make and use our said invention, we will now proceed to describe a preferred embodiment thereof, which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein.— ₆₅

Fig. 1 is a side elevatiton of a portion of an automatic machine for packaging cigarettes, with our improvements incorporated therein, and including the means for automatically feeding the inserts; co

Fig. 2 is a similar view looking at the opposite side of the cigarette carrying turret shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the broken line 3—3. of Fig. 2: β5

Fig. 4 is a view of one form of “humidifying insert,” and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a cigarette package made according to our invention, a portion of the walls thereof being broken jq away to expose the “insert.”

In the said drawings the reference numeral 1 designates an intermittently rotatable shaft upon which is mounted a turret frame 2, carrying at its periphery a plurality of 75 spaced cigarette pockets 2^a. As all the pockets are of like construction a description of one will suffice. Each pocket consisting of a fixed upstanding side wall 3, having an overhanging top flange 4, and a movable up- 80 standing side wall 5, having a bottom section 6, extending toward and meeting the inner face of the opposite fixed side wall 3, so that said side walls 3 and 5 and bottom and top walls 4 and 6 constitute 85 a pocket 2^a, of a size and shape to hold a group or selected number of cigarettes, as, for instance 20, to be included in each package. The overhanging top flange 4 of the fixed, wall 3, terminates short of the eo inner face of the movable side wall 5, for a purpose presently to be described.

Each movable side wall 5, is mounted upon a slidable bar 7, each bar carrying a roller 8, mounted for rolling movement in t>5 a cam-slot 9, formed in the face of a fixed, cam-plate 10, which is mounted concentric with the intermittently rotating shaft 1.

The cam-slot 9, as more clearly shown in Fig. 1, is so arranged that the movable side loc

1,870,533 humidifying inserts into position in association with the group of cigarettes in the pocket. . ...

The track 22,. is provided at one point with a cam-plate 24, as more clearly shown in Fig. ‘° 1, and with which the roller 21 carried by the arm 20, contacts during the rotation of the turret so as to move the top wall 17 on its pivot at the moment the pockets successively arrive at the station C, indicated in Fig. ⁷⁵1, and thus raise the downwardly projecting portion 18, from the pocket and leave a free space for the insert to enter the top of the pocket and become associated with the cigarettes therein.

The humidifying inserts 16, are carried by a hopper or magazine 25, in the forward open end of which is mounted a rotatable drum 26, carried by a shaft 27, driven by a.belt 28, from the intermittently rotating main shaft ⁸⁸1, or from any other suitable source, said shaft 27, and its drum 26, being so timed that an insert will be delivered into each cigarette pocket 2® as the pockets successively appear at the station C. The drum 26, ear- ⁸⁰ries longitudinally extending peripheral depressions 26^a, into which the humidifying inserts may enter as the drum rotates in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 1. The inserts are prevented from falling from the ⁸⁵pockets by a curved plate 29, having a depending portion 30, so positioned that the inserts will be discharged from the depressions at the proper moment to permit them to fall into the cigarette pockets. A rotat- ¹able wheel or brush 31, is mounted in the hopper 25, above the drum 26, and operates to assist the inserts in finding their way into the depressions in the periphery of the drum.

The operation of the mechanism described is as follows:

Assuming the turrets 2 and 14 to be rotating intermittently in the direction of the arrows, when the cigarette pockets of turret 2, reach the station A, at which the pockets have their largest dimensions, a group of cigarettes is fed into each pocket. As the turret continues to rotate in the direction of the arrow, the movable wall 5, is moved relative to the fixed wall 3, of each pocket, so that the cigarettes will become gradually compressed, and as the pockets successivei ly appear at the station G, the compression is relieved by the rollers 8, moving in the : flattened portion 32 of the cam groove 9, and i at this moment the overhanging top wall 17 will be moved back or to open position as ' the roller 21 engages the cam 24 of the cam track 22. At this point a humidifying insert which has been brought to position by the drum 26, drops into the open pocket, whereupon the overhanging top wall 4 is immediately brought to position to cause its downwardly extending portion 1.8 to. enter the cigarette pocket directly above the insert.

wall 5, with its bottom 6, may be progressively moved relative to the fixed Avail 3, and its 1 overhanging top flange 4, so that as the turret rotates in the direction of . the arrow . shown in Fig. 1, the group of cigarettes in each pocket will be slightly compressed. The letter A, in Fig. 1, indicates approximately the station at which the groups of cigarettes are pushed endwise into the pockets. 2^a as π; they successively appear at said station, so that when they reach the discharge position B, the groups of cigarettes will be pushed successively from the pockets 2^a, into the pockets 12', formed by the mandrils 13, car.. ried by a second , intermittently rotating turret 14, moving in the direction of the arrow indicated in Fig. 1. As the cigarette pockets 2^a carried by the turret 2, register with the pockets 12, carried by the turret 14, a plunger indicated by the numeral 15, transfers the cigarettes from one pocket to the other, a suitable “cup” or “pouch” having already been formed about each hollow mandril 13, before it reaches the position B, as is well .-.-, understood in machines of this type.

According to our invention we propose to associate with each group of cigarettes .in each of the pockets 2^a, a humidifying element or insert, which in the present instance, so is in the form of a cylinder or tube carrying moisture. As shown in Fig. 4, this humidifier may consist of an open-ended tube . 16 formed of wax paper or the like, and which carries a filler of moistened absorbent mate., ₅ rial 16^a, all as shown and described in the copending application for patent, Dr. Paul M. Groce and George H. Flowers, filed July 15th, 1931, serially numbered 550,978.

In order to feed the humidifying inserts 40 or tubes 16, into the pockets carried by turret 2, and in association with the cigarettes therein, we provide each pocket with a movable substantially hook-shaped top wall 17, having the upper face of its end 18, slightly 4-, beveled and projecting downwardly into the pocket 2^a and positioned to enter the space, between the overhanging wall 4, of the fixed side wall 3, and the inner face of the movable side wall 5, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. Each 50 top wall 17 is formed as a part of a casting pivoted at 19 to the outer face of the fixed side wall 3, and each has a downwardly and rearwardly trailing arm 20, carrying at its end a roller 21, which normally rides on a 55 track 22, also formed on the fixed turret plate

10. A spring 23 (Fig. 3) is coiled about, the pivot pin 19, of each pocket, the free projecting ends of the spring acting respectively upon the fixed wall 3, and the casting of the co overhanging top wall 17, so as to normally hold the top Avail 17, in position to have its downwardly projecting end 18 enter the pocket between the overhanging portion 4 of the fixed wall 3, to completely close the cigC⁵ arette, pockets, and to engage and push the

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The group of cigarettes together with the inserts are thereafter agaip placed under compression by the upward movement of the movable wall 5, and are held under com_e pression until the pocket is brought opposite and in register with a pocket 12, in the mandril turret 14. As heretofore stated each mandril carries a formed “cup” or “pouch” like that shown in the cigarette package illustrated in Fig. 4, with its open end arranged opposite an open side of the cigarettes, whereupon the plunger 15, is brought into action and the group of cigarettes along with its insert are pushed endwise into the ; .·; “cup” or “pouch” and at a later position of the turret 14, the projecting end of the pouch is folded to closed position and thereafter pushed out of its hollow mandril in a finished state, to be then stamped or other2(s wise sealed, as desired,—these several operations occurring successively and in regular sequence during the intermittent motion of the turrets.

We have not illustrated herein the mechanism for pushing the separate groups of cigarettes into the cigarette pockets, nor have we illustrated the mechanism for forming the “cups” or “pouches” and for closing them, as these mechanisms are all well known in the art and do not constitute a part of our present invention, the latter residing primarily in the application to such a known cigarette packaging machine of a means for so compressing the groups of cigarettes to be packed and as:·.:> sociating with each group a humidifying insert, such as herein described, so that each group of cigarettes wrapped or packaged by the machine will have incorporated in the sealed or closed package, a humidifying in40 sert which will raise the moisture content of the tobacco in the packaged cigarettes,—all as more clearly described in the before mentioned application for patent of Groce and Flowers.

While we have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of our invention, and have shown the same in connection with a known type of cigarette packaging machine, we do not wish to be understood as limiting 50 ourselves to the precise mechanism shown or to its employment in connection with the packaging machine shown, except as we may be limited by the appended claims. Obviously minor changes may be made without de•A parting from the spirit of the invention, and it will be further obvious that the mechanism shown may be employed in connection with the packaging of other articles besides cigarettes and wherein it is desired to associate ^G0 an insert of some kind with the packaged articles.