PACKAGING SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF PACKAGING

Abstract: A sealing conveyor (80) is arranged at the exit of a machine for producing wrapped articles. The conveyor includes a series of packets (82) and carries heat sealing means which may be pivotally mounted. Discharge means (86) operate transversely of the conveyor to transfer sealed articles towards an exit station. Where the articles are packages they may be produced on a twin line machine for subsequent supply to a double bundle cigarette packaging machine. Such packages may contain different number of cigarettes supplied from a hopper (10) by a common transfer conveyor (18) to separate parallel wrapping lines (40A, 40B).

Description: Packaging Systems and Methods of Packaging. This invention relates to packaging systems, particularly but not exclusively for packaging articles including or containing groups of rod-like articles of the tobacco industry such as cigarettes or cigarette filter rods. It is known to pack or wrap articles in heat sealable material (which term is used herein to include material to which adhesive or similar has been applied and which may be partially set, cured or dried by application of heat). In the tobacco industry cigarette packs, particularly those comprising a hinged lid pack are commonly wrapped in heat sealable transparent plastics wrapper material which assists in protecting the packet and maintaining freshness of its contents. So-called soft packs have a wrapper material, often including a metal layer or a metalised plastics laminate, which is sealed around a group of cigarettes. WO 98/22367 and WO 98/22368 disclose a cigarette pack in which wrapper material comprising a sealed barrier layer, which may comprise a metalised plastics laminate, is formed around a group of cigarettes partly surrounded by an inner frame. Slide and shell cigarette packs, in which one or more groups of cigarettes wrapped in foil are contained in a tray-like slide received in a rectangular sleeve or shell, are also known. The invention is particularly but not exclusively useful in connection with wrapping articles including or containing groups of cigarettes in the production of packs in any of these styles. According to one aspect of the invention, a packaging system includes apparatus for wrapping articles, particularly articles consisting of or containing groups of rod-like articles, including a sealing conveyor provided with a series of locations each of which is arranged to receive at a first position an article and a wrapper at least partly surrounding the article and having at least one overlapped region, heat sealing means preferably carried with the conveyor and arranged to heat seal said overlapped region before discharge of the article and wrapper at a second position, discharge means operating transversely of the conveyor for removing successive articles from said locations at said second position, and receiving means for transferring received articles to an exit station. The receiving means is preferably selectively operable, e.g. so that articles which inspection means in the system has indicated as faulty are not picked up (and may subsequently be moved by the discharge means to a reject bin or the like). The receiving means may include suction pick-up means, and may compπse a rotary conveyor. Where the sealing conveyor is also rotary the conveyors may rotate about parallel axes, but in one preferred arrangement the axis of a rotary conveyor of the receiving means is inclined to that of the sealing conveyor, so that articles received are shifted laterally (i.e. in a direction parallel to that of the axis of the sealing conveyor). This latter arrangement has particular utility where the system is one of two such systems arranged at the downstream end of a twin track machine where parallel lanes of articles are wrapped, and allows lateral spacing between articles produced by the respective lanes to be adjusted. One circumstance m which this arrangement may be useful is where the wrapped articles are subsequently delivered to a double bundle cigarette packing machine, which produces slide and shell packs each containing two articles side-by-side. The sealing conveyor may be constructed and operated in accordance with the disclosure of our co-pening International patent application No PCT/G BOO/02147, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety According to another aspect of the invention a method of packaging articles, particularly rod-like articles of the tobacco industry, includes the steps of forming first and second groups of articles containing different numbers of articles, deliveπng the first and second groups in seπes, preferably alternately, along a first path, transfemng first groups from a first position on said first path to a second path, and transferring second groups from a second position on said first path to a third path. Preferably said second and said third paths are parallel, and may extend transversely to the first path. The groups may be wrapped on the second and third paths. Delivery means may be provided to receive wrapped first and second groups along parallel paths in pairs. Where the articles are cigarettes or similar articles, the wrapped groups may be delivered to a machine for packaging one first and one second group in a common pack, e.g. in a double bundle slide and shell-style pack. According to a further aspect of the invention, a method of packaging articles, particularly articles consisting of or containing groups of rod-like articles, includes the steps of paπly surrounding the article with a card or other semi-rigid frame, enclosing the article and frame within a sealed wrapper to form a package, and forming a packet including a package contained within a sleeve-like container. Thus the packet may comprise a slide and shell packet with the package contained in the slide. The invention extends to packages or packets produced by or apparatus for performing said methods. The invention will be further described, by way of example only, with particular reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings (which are not to scale), in which: Figure 1 is a side view of a cigarette package, Figure 2 is a view in the direction of arrow II in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a plan view of a blank for a wrapper for the package of Figure 1, Figure 4 is a plan view of a blank for an inner frame for the package of Figure 1, Figure 5 is a side view of a pair of packages similar to that of Figure 1, in open condition, Figure 6 is a view in the direction of arrow VI in Figure 5, Figure 7 is a side view of a cigarette packaging system, Figure 8 is a plan view of the system of Figure 7, Figure 9 is an end view of the system of Figure 7 in the direction of arrow IX in Figure 7, Figure 10 is a side view of part of a modification of the system of Figure 7 showing further detail, Figure 1 1 is a plan view of the part of the system shown in Figure 10, Figure 12 is a perspective view of another cigarette packaging system, Figure 13 is a plan view of the system of Figure 12, and Figure 14 is a side view of the system of Figure 12. Referring to Figures 1-4, the cigarette packaging system of Figure 7 is capable of producing packages 100 each comprising a group of cigarettes partially suπounded by a card inner frame 102 and enclosed in a wrapper section 46 comprising a barrier layer panel 46A and a label 46B adhesively secured to the panel. More particularly, the wrapper comprises a heat-sealable metalised, plastics laminate having an aperture cut 46C and which is covered by a label (which may also be of metalised plastics laminate material) adhesively secured over the aperture cut. The packages produced by the system may be similar to any of those disclosed in said WO 98/22368 but specifically the illustrated system is intended for packages 100 including an inner frame similar to that shown in Figures 13 and 14 of said specification (as shown in Figure 4 of the present application). Referring to Figures 7-10, a mass flow conveying system (not shown) supplies a multi-layer stream of cigarettes from one or more cigarette making machines to a cigarette hopper 10 having four outlets 12 each including channels divided by vanes for assembling collations or groups of cigarettes. The outlets 12 could be identical but in this case are arranged to deliver alternate cigarette groups each comprising two rows of six cigarettes or two rows of six cigarettes with an additional single cigarette (i.e. 6-6, 6-1-6, 6-6, 6-1-6). The system produces packages which are subsequently delivered to a double bundle packing machine producing slide and shell packets, which machine places one 6-6 package and one 6-1-6 package in a slide for subsequent insertion in a shell, each packet thus containing twenty five cigarettes as is customary for some markets. Figures 5 and 6 show packages 100A and 100B, containing thirteen and twelve cigarettes respectively, as inserted in a slide and shell packet (not shown). The use of four hopper outlets 12 allows a slower and hence gentler transfer of the cigarette groups, but two outlets (one for each of the different cigarette groups) could be used. If the groups were identical a single hopper outlet could be used but in that case transfer of the groups would need to take place at a correspondingly higher rate for a given output speed, and this could be damaging to the cigarettes at high speed. The cigarette groups are removed from the hopper outlets 12 by plungers 14 and passed through mouthpieces 16 to a pocketed conveyor belt 18. Cooperating with the mouthpiece is a reciprocating surface (not shown) over (or under) which the groups pass. The surface ensures that each group passes over (and without catching on) the leading edge of an inner frame already received in each pocket of the belt 18, as explained hereinbelow. Inner frame card material is supplied in web form from one or other of a pair of reels 20 which feed material in web form to a splicer 22. The inner frame web material as supplied from the reels 20 is of double the required width and is slit longitudinally by a rotary cutter 24 and the resultant webs 26 subsequently laterally spaced by separation rollers 28. Individual inner frame blanks 102 are cut from the webs 26 in respective units 30 and subsequently accelerated to space them apart. As indicated in Figure 4, each inner frame blank 102 includes a pair of side flaps 102A, a base flap 102B and a pair of top ears 102C, all defined by respective fold lines (which may be pre-formed by roller means (not shown)). The upper part of the blank 102 has a recess 102D, corresponding in shape to that of the base flap 102B. Side flaps 102A are folded by stationary rails on a transfer conveyor 32 which supplies the partially folded inner frames to a reciprocating mechanism 34 which places each inner frame into a pocket of the belt 18, at respective positions 18 A, 18B (Figures 8 and 9). Each pocket of the conveyor 18 thus already contains an inner frame 102 when it reaches the hopper outlets 12 to receive groups of cigarettes. The conveyor 18 indexes through a distance coπesponding to the spacing between two pockets on each machine cycle. Downstream of the outlets 12, at an inspection station 36, there are reciprocating pin-type detectors for loose ends of the cigarettes and optical cigarette inspectors. At the inspection station 36 the optical cigarette inspectors could include detectors for sensing a missing cigarette, mis-formed collation, missing filter, or a cigarette reversed in the group. During further movement on the conveyor 18 stationary ploughs fold the base 102B of the inner frame and the leading top ear 102C, and a rotary tucker folds the trailing ear 102C. More details of and alternative constructions for suitable inner frames may be found in said WO 98/22368. The system has a twin lane filler bed, including a left hand lane 40A and a laterally-spaced πght hand lane 40B. At positions 18C and 18D respectively pockets of the conveyor 18 are aligned with the lanes 40A, 40B and a continuously moving pusher conveyor 42 (one for each lane) operates to remove the respective cigarette group and inner frame from the pocket and convey it along the lane 40 A or 40B. The arrangement is such that the lane 40 A receives only cigarette groups having thirteen cigarettes and the lane 40B receives only cigarette groups having twelve cigarettes. The pushers on the conveyor 42 operate on the base 102B of the inner frame. Along the path of the conveyor 42 stationary guides ensure that the inner frame side flaps 102 A move into or remain in contact with the cigarette group. A pivoted end control member 44 ensures alignment of the front end of the cigarette group. The conveyor 42 advances each group towards a position at which each group (and inner frame) is plunged through a wrapper section 46 at a wrapping station 48. At the station 48 a moving mouthpiece 50, into which the group and inner frame pass, contacts the wrapper section 46 before the cigarette group, thereby preforming the wrapper section and minimising any impact on the cigarettes themselves. Flighted side belts 52 maintain the inner frame ears closed prior to the plunge of the cigarette groups and inner frames through the wrapper sections 46 at the station 48. At the station 48 the wrapper section 46 is supported by laterally- spaced suction bands and further by guide plates including reciprocating venturi plates 72 below the level of conveyor 42 to control the leading end of the wrapper section 46 prior to and during each plunge. In an alternative arrangement (not shown) the wrapper sections 46 are supported on a suction roller at the station 48 immediately prior to and during interception by the cigarette groups. Each wrapper section 46 comprises a main panel 46A of metalised plastics laminate material (hereinafter referred to as "foil") to which a label 46B has been adhesively secured. Foil is supplied from a double width foil reel 54 delivering a foil web to a foil splice unit 56, a foil slitting unit 58, foil separation rollers 60 and foil drive and registration rollers 62. It will be appreciated that the rollers 60 are effective to align the laterally-spaced foil webs downstream of the slitting unit 58 with the lanes 40A and 40B. A twin lane foil tongue or aperture cutter unit 64 is provided to cut or partially cut the foil to provide or facilitate provision of an access aperture in the finished package. Individual pre-cut labels carrying adhesive are supplied on a carrier web from reels 66A and 66B for supplying labels 46B for the respective foil webs associated with the lanes 40A and 40B. The labels are applied to the foil at an applicator 68 at which each label with adhesive is peeled from its backing carrier and pressed onto the foil web. Downstream of the applicator 68 the composite wrapper web thus formed is delivered to a wrapper section cutting and separating unit 70 at the station 48. Note that the labels and wrapper sections 46 for the lanes 40A and 40B are of slightly different dimensions to accommodate the different cigarette groups. In particular the widths of the labels, wrapper sections (and inner frames) are slightly different (the lengths being the same). Note that at the applicator 68 the label is applied in a predetermined position relative to the aperture cut made by the unit 64 and that the latter is in a predetermined position relative to any printing or print registration marks on the foil. Although the label carries adhesive over substantially its entire surface for securing it to the foil, a small region, forming a tab 46D in the finished package, does not carry adhesive and allows access to the package contents by way of the tab and aperture cut in the foil. By way of further explanation, Figure 3 shows a wrapper section 46, comprising a foil main panel 46A and label 46B. The label 46B is located over an aperture cut 46C and has a non-stick portion 46D providing the tab. In use, and referring also to Figures 1 and 2, a package 100 comprising a group of cigarettes partially suπounded by an inner frame 102 becomes wrapped in a wrapper section 46 with the label 46B and aperture cut 46C overlying the upper part of the package, where the inner frame has an access recess 102D. When a consumer lifts the tab portion 46D for the first time the label 46B lifts that portion of the main panel 46A lying within the aperture cut 46C and to which it is adhesively secured, to expose the cigarettes. On closure the label 46B is resealed on the main panel 46 A around the periphery of the aperture cut 46C. The main panel 46A of each wrapper section 46 may carry a prepπnted slip coating in certain regions which coπespond to those regions of the panel which are not required to be heat-sealed in the finished package and to which the label is not required to be adhesively secured. This slip coating may assist movement of the wrapper section and/or package, where required duπng processing in the apparatus. It will be appreciated that the foil aperture cut and the application of the label must therefore be synchronised with the speed of the foil web, and for this purpose the web cames registration marks which allow appropπate timing of the units 64 and 68. Similarly the wrapper section cutters in the unit 70 at the station 48 are synchronised with the feed of appropπate registration marks earned by the web. The unit 70 severs the wrapper web at predetermined positions to produce the wrapper sections 46, and feeds them in synchronism with the feed of the cigarette groups and inner frames at the station 48. Beyond the wrapper station 48 the conveyor 42 moves the partially wrapped cigarette group and inner frame between stationary plough folders 74 leading to side tack bands 76, which tack the wrapper section side folds to allow subsequent transfers to take place. The bands 76 extend almost to the end of the operative run of the conveyor 42 at which the partially-completed packages are transfeπed to a pocketed reciprocating shuttle 78. During transfer in the shuttle 78, reciprocating cam-operated tuckers mounted on the shuttle carry out the side end folds and bottom end fold of the wrapper section. The reciprocating bottom tucker controls the position of the inner frame base flap 102B pπor to folding of the side flaps of the wrapper section. This may be achieved by moving the bottom tucker very slightly into registration with the wrapper as soon as the pusher on the conveyor 42 leaves contact with the flap 102B. In this way any tendency for the base flap 102B of the inner frame to open, which might result in creasing or other malformation when the side end tuckers are operated, can be avoided. After the side folds are made the bottom tucker motion is completed. A reciprocating transfer pusher completes the top end fold and transfers the package into a pocketed sealing drum 80 (one for each of the lanes 40A, 40B). The shuttle 78, and operation of the side and bottom end tuckers, may be substantially similar or analogous to the shuttle mechanism used in Molins' HLP5 packing machine or as disclosed in GB 2017627A. The sequence of folding could be different, so that a top tucker controls the inner frame base flap 102B, prior to operation of the side tuckers, completion of the top fold, and completion of the bottom fold by means of the reciprocating transfer pusher. Each sealing drum 80 comprises thirty six pockets 82 each of which receives a package and maintains the shape of the package during sealing and drying. Each drum 80 is indexed one position for each machine cycle. Side seal heaters (not shown), which are retracted during transfer of a package into a pocket 82, are moved into operative contact with the package as soon as the transfer is complete. Similarly end seal heaters to control the base folds are moved into operative position as soon as the shuttle transfer pusher is retracted. Side and end seal heaters remain in contact with the package during normal running; during a machine stop the heaters are retracted from the bundle to prevent overheating. The side and end seal heaters may be pivotally mounted on the drum 80, and may be individually adjustable, particularly for temperature and pressure. In the latter respect achieving correct compression of the package assists in obtaining desired sealing pressures. The number of pockets 82 in the sealing drums 80 is determined by the time required to achieve an adequate seal for the packages (with predetermined heat and pressure being applied). The control of the movement of the heaters and required exit positions for the packages will also affect the useful sealing time in any sealing drum aπangement. At an exit station 84 all sealing heaters are retracted and a reciprocating pusher removes the package from the drum 80 in a radial direction. Adjacent packages are brought together downstream of the station 84 for transfer to the downstream machine (for inserting the packages in slide and shell packets) at the correct pitch. Although the system shown in Figures 7-9 is specifically intended to produce packages which will be delivered to a further packing machine, as described above, the packages need not be inserted in further packets or packaging material and could be sold in the form in which the system produces them, or alternatively could simply be wrapped in transparent plastics wrapping material. Clearly the system of Figures 7-9 can be readily adapted to produce packages containing groups of cigarettes containing numbers more commonly sold in individual packets, e.g. containing ten or twenty cigarettes. Figures 10 and 1 1 show a modification of the packaging system of Figures 7-9, particularly a modified exit arrangement from the sealing drum 80. In this arrangement packages travel almost a complete revolution from an entry position in which packages are received from shuttle 78 to an exit station 184 at which an indexing chain carrying pushers 86 removes each successive package from a pocket 82 at the station and delivers it to an angled vacuum cup wheel 88 which conveys the packages to side-by-side overhead conveyors 90 along which the packages travel to the downstream machine. By having the wheels 88 angled the lateral spacing from each of the sealing drums 80 can be adjusted to suit that required by the downstream machine. Packages required to be rejected (i.e. because of missing components or otherwise failing inspection at some stage) can simply be not picked up by the wheel 88 and are then discharged downwards as indicated at 92. The sealing drums 80 could be replaced by any of the sealing drum arrangements disclosed in the above-mentioned International patent application No PCT/GBOO/02147. Figures 12-14 show a cigarette packaging system which is similar to that of Figures 7-9 (particularly as modified as shown in Figures 10 and 11). Similar parts have been given similar reference numbers.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A packaging system including apparatus for wrapping articles such as articles comprised of or containing groups of rod-like articles, including a sealing conveyor provided with a series of locations each of which is arranged to receive at a first position an article and a wrapper at least partly surrounding the article and having at least one overlapped region, heat sealing means arranged to heat seal said overlapped region before discharge of the article and wrapper at a second position, discharge means operating transversely of the conveyor for removing successive articles from said locations at said second position and receiving means for transferring received articles to an exit station. 2. A packaging system according to Claim 1 wherein the heat sealing means is carried with the conveyor. 3. A packaging system according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the receiving means is selectively operable to transfer only certain articles. 4. A packaging system according to any preceding claim wherein the receiving means includes suction pick-up means. 5. A packaging system according to any preceding claim wherein the receiving means comprises a rotary conveyor. 6 A packaging system according to Claim 5 wherein the sealing conveyor comprises a rotary conveyor. 7. A packaging system according to Claim 5 and Claim 6 including two rotary sealing conveyors and two rotary receiving conveyors 8. A packaging system according to Claim 7 wherein the axes of the rotary sealing conveyors are parallel and the axes of the rotary receiving conveyors are inclined to those of the sealing conveyors. 9. A method of packaging articles such as rod-like articles, comprising forming first and second groups of articles containing different numbers of articles, delivering the first and second groups in series along a first path, transferring first groups from a first position on said first path to a second path, and transferring second groups from a second position on said first path to a third path. 10. A method according to Claim 9 wherein said first and second groups are delivered alternately along said first path. 11. A method according to Claim 9 or Claim 10 wherein said second and third paths are parallel. 12. A method according to Claim 11, wherein said second and third paths extend transversely to said first path. 13. A method according to any one of Claims 9 to 12 wherein the groups are wrapped on the second and third paths. 14. A method according to Claim 13 including receiving the wrapped first and second groups in pairs on parallel paths at delivery means. 15. A method of packaging articles such as articles comprised of or containing groups of rod-like articles, including the steps of partly surrounding the article with a card or other semi-rigid frame, enclosing the article and frame within a sealable wrapper to form a package, and forming a packet including a package contained within a sleeve-like container.

Inventors: BAILEY THOMAS WILLIAM, CAHILL MICHAEL JOHN, HILL BRIAN, TAYLOR ROBERT HOWARD, BAILEY, THOMAS, WILLIAM, CAHILL, MICHAEL, JOHN, HILL, BRIAN, TAYLOR, ROBERT, HOWARD
Applicants: BAILEY THOMAS WILLIAM, CAHILL MICHAEL JOHN, HILL BRIAN, MOLINS PLC, TAYLOR ROBERT HOWARD, BAILEY, THOMAS, WILLIAM, CAHILL, MICHAEL, JOHN, HILL, BRIAN, TAYLOR, ROBERT, HOWARD
Application year: 2000
Main classification: B65B
IPC codes: B65B19