BAR-LIKE ARTICLE SUPPLYING APPARATUS IN HOPPER

Abstract: The present invention provides a supplying apparatus for supplying bar-like articles to a hopper, and more specif­ ically to an apparatus for supplying bar-like articles such as cigarettes or filter plugs to the hopper, wherein a bottom lid, preventing fall of the articles into the hopper, comprises a plurality of small bottom lids, these small bottom lids being rotatable in a radial direction of the bar-like articles to make the moving stroke of the bottom lid small to miniaturize the entire apparatus and bar-like articles are supplied preferentially from a depressed portion in the upper surface of the bar-like articles within the hopper, thus eliminating a disturbance of the bar-like articles.

Description: This invention relates to an apparatus for supplying bar-like articles, more specifically bar-like articles such as cigarettes, filter plugs, etc, to a hopper. In the past, for example, in the case where filter plugs are supplied to a plurality of cigarette producing machines, a plurality of plug supplying apparatuses are provided below a hopper in which filter plugs are arranged in one direction and received in an accumulated fashion, and each of the plug supplying apparatus is connected to the cigarette producing machines. Filter plugs should desirably be received within the hopper so that the upper surfaces of the mass of plugs should be flat. However, the rate of consumption of the filter of the plugs by respective supplying apparatus is different or varied in dependence upon the producing speed or operating rate of respective cigarette producing machines, and therefore, the rate of consumption of filter plugs is not even throughout the mass so that the upper surface thereof becomes rugged and uneven. Filter plugs are normally supplied in quantity to the hopper in a generally rectangular parallelopiped box and they are arranged in parallel mass; the filter plugs are supplied into the hopper from the box by means of a supplying device constructed as described hereinafter. The supplying device of the prior art is composed of a mounting frame that is reversible between up and down positions and on which said box is mounted, and there is a bottom lid that may be opened and closed to close the otherwise open bottom surface of the box. First, the box is mounted on the mounting frame when in the down position so that the open bottom surface of the box is directed upward, the open bottom surface of the box being closed by a bottom lid of the supplying device. Next the box is reversed to move the said bottom lid adjacent the upper surface of the hopper, and then the bottom lid is pulled out and/or opened whereby the filter plugs fall from the box into the hopper. The aforesaid bottom lid is composed of a single plate, which is pulled out horizontally and therefore the stroke thereof becomes extremely great and the entire apparatus becomes large-scaled. Invariably, when the filter plugs are so supplied, the upper surface of the mass of filter plugs within the hopper is rugged and uneven due to the difference in consumption speeds as explained herein, some of the filter plugs falling from the box wall rolled slantwise from a raised portion of said surface toward a depressed portion which can cause a loss of attitude, thus posing inconveniences such that the filter plugs disturbed in attitude tend to foul the supply of the bar-like articles causing a loss of efficiency. The present invention seeks to overcome the above-described drawbacks as noted above, and an object of the invention is to provide a supplying apparatus which reduces the loss of attitude of bar-like articles to a minimum. According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a combination of a supplying apparatus for supplying bar-like articles to a hopper and a box containing said bar-like articles wherein the box is filled with bar-like parallel arranged articles, said box being arranged in the hopper in a condition such that said box is closed by a bottom lid means, characterised in that the said bottom lid means is divided into a plurality of bottom lids, said bottom lids being provided so that they may be rotated until an upper end of each of the bottom lids projects into said box each of said bottom lids being pivotally mounted. According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided apparatus for supplying bar-like articles to a hopper wherein, a box filled with bar-like parallel arranged articles is arranged on the hopper in a condition that the box is closed by a bottom lid means preventing the articles from falling into the hopper, said bottom lid means being divided into a plurality of bottom lids, said bottom lids being provided so that they may be rotated to create openings through which the articles can fall. According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided supplying apparatus for supplying bar-like articles to a hopper wherein a box filled with bar-like parallel arranged articles is arranged on the hopper in a condition that the box is closed by a bottom lid means, said bottom lid means being divided into a plurality of small bottom lids, said bottom lids being provided having secured thereto rotational shafts, said shafts being rotatably supported; whereby when shafts are not rotated, said bottom lids are maintained in a closed state, whereas when rotated, the bottom lids are opened by their own weight. According to the preferred supplying apparatus of the present invention, the plurality of bottom lids obtained by division of the bottom lid means are respectively rotated about axes parallel to the bar-like articles to supply the bar-like articles through the openings left by rotating the bottom lids. Therefore, the moving stroke to pivot the bottom lids becomes extremely small as compared with prior art in which the bottom lid in the form of a single plate is moved in a horizontal direction of bar-like articles and is pulled out. The invention enables a miniaturization of the entire apparatus, and as bar-like articles will fall directly onto the depressed portion of the upper surface of the mass of bar-like articles within the hopper, whereby the upper surface of mass of bar-like articles within the hopper is maintained approximately flat, with the result that bar-like articles are not rolled slantwise from the raised portion toward the depressed portion of said surface and disturbance of attitude and the bar-like articles is avoided. Furthermore, in addition to the aforementioned effect, a preferred feature of the invention provides an arrangement wherein each of the bottom lids is oscillated when in the open position to distribute the bar-like articles within the box evenly, and therefore, bar-like articles may be supplied very quickly and orderly from the box toward the hopper so that there is enough time to insert the succeeding box and no delay in work occurs. Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:- Fig. 1 is a front view of a bar-like article supplying apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a side view of the apparatus of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view in an enlarged scale of the apparatus of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional plan view of the apparatus of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a front view showing a bottom lid in an enlarged scale; Fig. 6 is a view of the bottom end in an opened condition; Fig. 7 is a front view showing a bottom lid of the second embodiment of the invention; and Fig. 8 is a view showing a pivotal state of Fig. 7. A first embodiment of a first invention will now be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 6. In Fig. 1, a hopper is indicated at 1, a supplying device at 2, a controller at 3 and a supplying device at 10. The hopper 1 comprises, as shown in Fig. 3, two plates 1a disposed parallel to each other and spaced apart approximately equal to the length of bar-like articles B in a lateral direction, and bottom plates 1b defining a V shape disposed therebelow, a plurality of supplying devices 2 being juxtaposed below the bottom plates 1b. Partition plates serve to define cavities leading to the respective supplying devices 2. Each bottom plate 1b consists of two bottom plates which are superimposed, and where only two supplying apparatuses 2 are used, the bottom plates may be extended to block off the apparatuses 2 as shown by the broken lines. Each supplying apparatus 2 consists, as shown in section in Fig. 3, of two cylindrical bodies 2a, in the form of gears, which are movable up and down. The bar-like articles B are engaged one by one in the tooth-grooves 2b of the cylindrical bodies 2 and eventually the bar-like articles are moved out one by one from a hole 2c provided at the bottom of the supplying apparatus 2. Each supplying apparatus is connected to a respective cigarette producing machine not shown. Pivotal arms 11 are respectively provided on the opposite sides of the hopper 1, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and said arms can be pivoted up and down, and a supplying apparatus 10 extends over the front end of the pivotal arms 11. The pivotal arms 11 are operated such that when the pivotal arms 11 are in an upper portion, the supplying apparatus 10 assumes a position above the hopper 1 as shown in full lines in Figs. 1 and 2, whereas when the pivotal arms are in a lower position as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 the supplying apparatus 10 assumes a position frontwardly of the hopper 1. The supplying apparatus 10 principally comprises a bottom plate 12, a bottom lid means A, a mounting plate 13, a mounting frame 14, an air cylinder 15 and an anchor plate 16,as shown in Figs. 1, 4 and 5. The bottom plate 12 is designed so that as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, an elongated plate 12b in the form of a gate in section extends over side plates 12a which are pivotally mounted on the pivotal arms 11. Rotational shafts 17 are juxaposed at predetermined intervals on the elongated plate 12b and on one projecting end of each shaft 17 is a bottom lid (a), all of the bottom lids thereby constituting a bottom lid means A. Operating arms 18 are respectively connected to the rotational shafts 17, respectively as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, and engaging rollers 19 are provided respectively on the ends of the operating arms 18. The engaging plate 16 comprises engaging pieces 16b which are parallel to each other and are spaced at predetermined intervals on a horizontal plate 16a. Plate 16a is parallel to and below the bottom plate 12, the horizontal plate 16a having one end connected to an air cylinder 15 provided on the end of the bottom plate 12. The air cylinder 15 is designed so that when it is at one end of its stroke, corresponding to an OFF position, it is extended and each engaging piece 16b urges each engaging roller 19 to keep arm 18 in a position in which each bottom lid closes the space between its neighbours (Fig. 5), and when the piston is at the other end of its stroke, the ON position, it is withdrawn to disengage each engaging piece 16b from each engaging roller 19 and each bottom lid moves to an open position by its own weight (Fig. 6). As shown in Fig. 6, when the lids are in open position, the upper end of each of the bottom lids projects onto box C. A mounting plate 13 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 stands upright on the bottom plate 12, and a mounting frame 14 extends over the mounting plate 13. The mounting frame 14 is composed of a front plate portion 14a, a side plate portion 14b and an upper plate portion 14c so that a box C filled with bar-like articles can be placed on the mounting frame 14 as indicated by the broken lines in Fig. 2 and maintained so as to be reversed into the position as indicated by the solid lines. The apparatus described operates as follows: First, the consumption of the mass of bar-like articles B within the hopper 1 to such an extent that the hopper needs to be replenished is detected by means of a detector or visually. Subsequently, the box C filled with bar-like articles is fitted on mounting frame 14 as indicated by the broken lines in Fig. 2 and is inverted as indicated by the solid lines. At that time, the air cylinder 15 is in the OFF condition as shown in FIG 5, and the bottom lid means A is closed preventing the bar-like articles from falling from the bottom of box C which is otherwise open. Then, the level of the box C is adjusted to the upper surface of the bar-like articles B within the hopper 1, and the air cylinder 15 is turned ON. Where the surface of the mass of bar-like articles B is such that there is a space between any of the bottom lids (a) and the surface of the bar-like articles B, such bottom lid is opened and the bar-like articles B fall through such spaces. In the case where the bar-like articles are present directly below any bottom lid (a), such bottom lid is prevented from opening and the supply of the bar-like articles B will not take place until the level in the hopper is under such lid. Whilst in the above-described embodiment, the apparatus is designed so that each of the bottom lids (a) is opened by its own weight, it is to be noted that a torsional coil spring may be provided on each of the bottom lids (a), so that the lid may be urged by spring pressure in the direction of opening. Another embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to Figs. 7 and 8. In this embodiment U-shaped engaging pieces 16c are provided in place of the inverted L-shaped engaging pieces 16b in the first embodiment, and each of the bottom lids (a) is in the form of a projection so that when the ends are opened as shown in Fig. 8, the upper ends a' front or project into the box C. In addition, in the second embodiment, the controller 3 periodically turns on and off the air cylinder 15 during the time the bottom lids (a) are opened and the lids (a) may be pivotally moved back and forth continuously or from time to time with stroke of S in Fig. 8. Other mechanical structures of this embodiment are substantially the same as those of the first embodiment, and explanation thereof will be omitted. With the aforementioned arrangement, in the second embodiment, when the bar-like articles B are being supplied through open bottom lids (a), the air cylinder 15 is periodically turned on and off by the controller 3 and the bottom lids (a) are pivotally moved with the stroke S. Since the upper surface of the bar-like articles B within the hopper 1 is partitioned by the bottom lids (a), the bar-like articles B are preferentially supplied to the depressed portion of the surface of the mass of articles in the hopper. The portion where the bar-like articles B are preferentially supplied within the box C corresponds to the said depressed portion, but the bottom lids (a) are pivotally moved whereby the bar-like articles B within the box C are forcibly distributed in the box C and the upper surface of the barlike articles B in the hopper becomes flat. Namely, periodically turning on and off of the air cylinder 15 causes pivotal movement of the bottom lids (a) to vibrate the bar-like articles B. With this, the bar-like articles B are never rolled to be slanted within the box C, and a very smooth supply of articles from the box C to the hopper 1 is carried out.

Claims: The combination of a supplying apparatus for supplying bar-like articles (B) to a hopper (1) and a box (C) containing said bar-like articles wherein the box (C) is filled with bar-like parallel arranged articles (B), said box being arranged on a hopper (1) in a condition that said box is closed by a bottom lid means (A), characterised in that said bottom lid means is divided into a plurality of bottom lids (a) said bottom lids being provided so that they may be rotated until an upper end of each of the bottom lids projects into said box, each of said bottom lids being pivotally mounted. An apparatus as set forth in Claim 1, characterised by rotational shafts (17) secured to the plurality of bottom lids (a), said shafts being rotatably supported in a predetermined spaced relation, whereby when said rotational shafts are not rotated, said bottom lids are maintained in a closed state whereas when rotated, the bottom lids (a) are opened by their own weight. An apparatus as set forth in Claim 1, characterised by pivotal arms (11) mounted pivotally up and down on opposite sides of the hopper (1), a mounting frame (14) for mounting the box (C) carried by the said arms so that said mounting frame may be raised and lowered, and a bottom lid means (A) is provided to cover a bottom surface of the box, whereby when said pivotal arms are moved upward to reverse the bottom plate (12), the box (C) is arranged on the hopper (1). An apparatus as set forth in any of the preceding claims characterised in that rotational shafts (17) are secured to a plurality of bottom lids (a) and are supported in a predetermined spaced relation, and has operating arms (18) connected to said rotational shafts and engaging plates juxtaposed reciprocatingly along the bottom plate (12) movable in a first direction whereby all the respective rotational shafts are rotated by said engaging plates engaging said operating arms to switch the bottom lids (a) to a closed or open state. An apparatus as set forth in claim 4 characterised in that said engaging plates are reciprocated by means of an air cylinder connected to one end thereof.

Inventors: ENDO, ISAO C/O TOKYO AUTOMATIC, KUMATA, KATSUHIKO C/O TOKYO AUTOMATIC, NISHIKIMOTO, TARO
Applicants: JAPAN TOBACCO INC., TOKYO AUTOMATIC MACHINERY WORKS LIMITED
Application year: 1987
Main classification: A24C5
IPC codes: B65G65, A24C5