Cigarette grouping apparatus with yieldable stop member

A reciprocable pusher 18 ejects cigarette pack groups 17 from magazine shafts 12 in three stacked layers, with one cigarette 11a in the middle layer being retained in the magazine by a stop 24 having an end 25 extending across and blocking the ejection path of the cigarette. The stop comprises a pivotably mounted lever spring biased to enable the expulsion of the cigarette when a predetermined mechanical load is exceeded, to thereby prevent jamming and blockage due to non-uniform cigarettes and stacks.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The invention relates to an apparatus for forming groups of cigarettes by 
pushing them out in several layers on top of one another from vertical 
magazine shafts, a gap being formed within the group by retaining an 
individual cigarette against a stop during the pushing-out movement. 
In the packaging of cigarettes, it is frequently or predominantly the 
practice to work with a cigarette magazine as an intermediate container 
for a relatively large number of cigarettes aligned in the same direction, 
but not yet grouped. The approximately funnel-shaped magazine is equipped, 
in the lower region, with a plurality of cigarette shafts which are 
limited by thin walls such that a self-contained vertical row of 
individual cigarettes is accommodated in each shaft. In the lower region 
of each of the shafts formed immediately next to one another, cigarettes 
are pushed out in groups, such that a group extracted in this way from the 
cigarette magazine corresponds in number and formation to the of the 
cigarette pack to be produced. Pushing-out devices are used to push out 
the groups of cigarettes, and are equipped with a plurality of tongues 
each penetrating into a cigarette shaft. 
To guarantee a formation of the cigarette group which corresponds to that 
of the particular pack to be produced, it is necessary to retain 
individual (or even several) cigarettes in a shaft during the pushing-out 
of the group. This problem arises especially in the production of 
conventional cigarette packs with a formation arranged in three rows with 
different numbers of cigarettes. Here, the middle row conventionally has a 
smaller number of cigarettes than the outer rows and is shifted 
transversely so that a "saddle arrangement" is obtained. In the case of 
this widely used relative disposition of the cigarettes within a pack, 
when the group is pushed out a lateral cigarette must be retained in the 
middle layer in the appropriate shaft. For this purpose, it is known to 
arrange on a shaft wall a nose which projects into the shaft region and 
which retains an individual cigarette. 
The above known design of a cigarette magazine or of the cigarette shafts 
has, however, many disadvantages. The cigarettes sometimes do not lie in 
the exact relative arrangement required within the respective cigarette 
shafts. The result of this is that possibly two cigarettes are retained by 
the projecting nose. Since one of these is to be pushed out, that is to 
say is loaded by a tongue of the pushing-out device, considerable 
constraints arise, and frequently deformations of material which result in 
lengthy disturbances in the packaging process. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The object on which the invention is based is, while avoiding the 
disadvantages of known appliances, to provide measures by means of which 
the considerable machine interruptions, or even greater damage, are 
prevented when cigarettes or the like are pushed out in different numbers 
in individual rows. 
To achieve this object, the apparatus according to the invention is 
characterised in that, when a predetermined load is exceeded, the stop can 
be moved out of the path of movement of the cigarettes. 
Accordingly, if, in the apparatus according to the invention, the stop is 
loaded unduly because of an incorrect relative position of the cigarettes 
in the cigarette shaft equipped with the stop, the latter moves aside and 
opens the path of movement to the cigarettes. The group can be ejected 
completely as a result, though with at least one faulty cigarette. This 
can be separated out elsewhere in a known conventional way. 
According to a further proposal, this movement of the stop as a result of 
overloading is associated with the generation of a control signal which 
causes a visual or acoustic alarm and/or stoppage of the machine. 
Consequently, in this case of a malfunction, appropriate measures can be 
taken immediately. 
According to the invention, the stop is designed as a pivotable lever which 
is stressed by a restoring spring and one end of which projects into the 
path of movement of the cigarettes. As a result, a relatively stable and 
permanently durable retaining means is provided for the individual 
cigarettes. 
Further features of the invention relate to the arrangement and design of 
the stop and to an adapted form of the cigarette magazine and of the 
pushing-out device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
The embodiment illustrated in the drawings relates to the design of a 
cigarette magazine 10. A relatively large number of cigarettes 11 is 
accommodated in a funnel-shaped container, not shown in detail, which can 
be designed, for example, as disclosed in German Patent Specification No. 
2,428,168. In the lower region of the cigarette magazine 10 a plurality of 
vertical cigarette shafts 12a, 12b, etc., is formed. These are limited by 
likewise vertical shaft walls 13a, 13b, etc. The thin shaft walls 13a, 
13b, which consist, for example, of spring steel, are anchored in a 
suitable way in side walls 14 and 15 of the cigarette magazine 10. The 
cigarette shafts 12a, 12b, etc., limited in this way have a width which is 
suitable for receiving one vertical row of cigarettes 16a, 16b, etc. each. 
Accordingly, a vertical cigarette row 16a, 16b, etc., consisting of 
cigarettes 11 following closely on one another is located in each 
cigarette shaft 12a, 12b. As a result of their own weight, these 
cigarettes are conveyed out of the upper part of the cigarette magazine 
10. 
In the lower region, namely underneath the appropriately dimensioned side 
walls 14, 15, cigarette groups 17 are successively ejected by a 
pushing-out device 18 which is movable to and fro and are introduced into 
an adjoining discharge conveyor track 19. The cigarette group 17 separated 
out simultaneously by the pushing-out device 18 corresponds in number and 
formation of the cigarettes to the contents of a cigarette pack to be 
produced. 
The pushing-out device 18 is equipped, for executing the pushing-out cycle, 
with a number of tongues 20a, 20b, etc., corresponding to the number of 
cigarette shafts 12a, 12b, etc., to be emptied. Each tongue 20a, 20b, 
etc., of rectangular cross-section penetrates into the cigarette shaft 
12a, 12b, etc., assigned to it and grasps on their rear side a number of 
cigarettes 11 corresponding to the constructional height of the tongue 
20a, 20b, etc. In the present embodiment, three cigarettes lying on top of 
one another in a cigarette shaft 12a, 12b, etc., are pushed out with each 
working cycle of the pushing-out device 18. Accordingly, the cigarette 
group 17 thus formed consists of three transverse rows 21, 22 and 23 
arranged above one another. 
The desired formation of the cigarette group 17 makes it necessary for the 
middle transverse row 22 to have a smaller number of cigarettes 11 than 
the top and bottom transverse rows 21, 23. In the embodiment shown, a 
seven/six/seven grouping is produced. 
For this purpose, whenever the cigarette group 17 is pushed out, one 
cigarette 11a in the middle transverse row 22 is retained in a cigarette 
shaft, specifically in the lateral cigarette shaft 12a. This reduction in 
the number of cigarettes 11 pushed out is brought about by a stop 24 fixed 
in place, but movable, in conjunction with the special design of the 
pushing-out device 18. The stop 24 is mounted on the outlet side of the 
cigarette shafts 12a, 12b, etc. and laterally beside them in such a way 
that one end of the stop 24, namely a retaining nose 25, projects into the 
path of movement of the outer cigarette 11a in the middle transverse row 
22. 
The tongue 20a assigned to this cigarette shaft 12a has a similar design, 
namely is provided with a longitudinal slot 26 which is located at the 
height of the cigarette 11a and is dimensioned so that the above-mentioned 
cigarette 11a is left untouched during the pushing-out movement. In the 
course of the pushing-out movement, the stop 24 or its retaining nose 25 
also penetrates into the longitudinal slot 26. 
During the rapid and frequent pushing-out cycles, disturbances can arise 
due to the fact that the stop 24 is subjected to a relatively high load. 
For this reason, the stop 24 is mounted movably, in the present case so as 
to be pivotable about a pivot bearing 27. Accordingly, the stop 24 is 
designed as a two-armed lever, one arm of which forms the retaining nose 
25 and the other arm of which is loaded in the initial position by means 
of a restoring spring 28. In this position shown in FIG. 1 by unbroken 
lines, the stop 24 rests against a shoulder 29 of the cigarette magazine 
10. 
As is evident from FIG. 4 (the position shown by dot-and-dash lines), a 
movement of the stop 24 under appropriate stressing by pivoting, results 
in the path in the region of the stop 24 being opened. Furthermore, 
however, because of a movement of the stop 24 caused as a result of a 
malfunction, a signal is generated, specifically by the actuation of a 
(non-contact) initiator 30 of known design. As a result of the pivoting 
movement of the stop 24, the arm facing the initiator 30 moves away from 
the latter, so that a signal is generated in a known way. In FIG. 1, this 
first possible position of the stop 24, in which the initiator 30 is 
actuated, is shown by dot-and-dash lines. Under greater stress, the stop 
24 is then moved into the positions shown in FIG. 4, which finally leads 
to a complete movement out of the path assigned to the cigarette 11a. 
FIGS. 5 and 6 show examples of the causes of malfunctions of this type. In 
principle, these are based on the fact that the cigarette 11a to be 
retained in the cigarette shaft 12a is not located exactly in the region 
of the stop 24, but is offset vertically relative to the latter. The 
result of this is that part regions of two cigarettes lie at the height of 
the stop 24 and these cigarettes are thereby retained by the latter during 
the pushing-out movement. However, since the associated tongue 20a of the 
pushing-out device 18 is also set at the height of the stop 24 as regards 
the longitudinal slot 26, in changed relative positions both cigarettes or 
at least one cigarette located partially in the region of the stop 24 are 
stressed, namely pushed out. This necessarily leads to the upending shown 
in FIG. 4, although for the reasons described this cannot lead here to a 
serious disturbance. The load applied by the (upended) cigarettes to the 
stop 24 finally becomes so great, during the pushing-out movement, that 
the stop 24 is pivoted in the way described and is moved back out of the 
path of movement. The complete group can therefore be pushed out and 
separated out in a suitable way. 
Causes of malfunctions of this type are, for example, mis-shapen, namely 
flat cigarettes 11b, (FIG. 5) of accumulated residues of tobacco 31 (FIG. 
6) which form an elevation on a bottom wall 32 of the cigarette shaft 12a 
and thus disturb the proper positioning of the cigarettes. 
The discharge conveyor track 19 adjoining the cigarette shafts 12a, 12b, 
etc., is provided with special lateral guides 33 and 34. These are made to 
converge in the conveying direction, so that the cigarettes of a cigarette 
group 17 are pushed together in a transverse direction, as a result of 
transport from the discharge conveyor track 19, with the given distances 
between them being eliminated. Furthermore, the lateral guides 33, 34 are 
provided, at the level of the middle transverse row 22, with ribs 35, 36 
projecting inwards. These cause lateral displacement of the cigarettes in 
the transverse row 22, in such a way that they assume the desired saddle 
arrangement. 
A further special feature relates to the design of one of the longitudinal 
walls 37 and 38 of the cigarette magazine 10. The longitudinal wall 37 
facing the tongue 20a with the longitudinal slot 26 is designed, on the 
side located opposite the pushing-out side, with a projection 39 which 
penetrates as a guide member into the longitudinal slot 26 of the tongue 
20a. The relatively thin parts of the slotted tongue 20a are thereby 
stablised and guided.