Patent Publication Number: US-6336896-B1

Title: Automatic filter tip attaching machine

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to an automatic filter tip attaching machine, particularly to one attaching a three-stage filter tip to cigarettes automatically. The three-stage filter tip includes three plastic filters a, b, and c with nicotine absorbing chemical powder filled in the b stage to completely get rid of nicotine and toxic tar contained in cigarette smoke. 
     2. Prior Art 
     The inventor has obtained a U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,546 on Sep. 17, 1991, titled “Filter and method of treating tobacco smoke to reduce materials harmful to heath”, wherein the filter contains a chemical to absorb more than 90% of the nicotine and more than 70% of the tar. 
     Conventional filter tips for cigarettes are classified into two kinds. One kind is the filter tip that is integrally attached to cigarettes, and the other is the type that is an independent filter tip made of wood, plastic, or metal, generally filled with active carbon, cotton fiber or something mixable with hot cigarette smoke, etc. However, these conventional filter tips do not function to completely remove nicotine or tar. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of the drawbacks described above, this invention has been devised to offer an automatic filter tip attaching machine. 
     The feature of the invention is a rotatable disc fixed on a cam divide rotator driven by a motor and a plurality of air pressure cylinders spaced apart equidistantly, and fixed on an outer circumferential edge of the rotatable disc, and an air pressure cylinder with two pairs of clamping fingers for clamping two filter tips a, b or c, orderly moved to be filled with a chemical powder in the filter tip b or fill fiber in the filter tip c and the filter tip a combined together with the filter tips b and c during intermittent rotation of the rotatable disc, controlled by the computer program. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     This invention will be better understood by referring to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a flow chart representing eight stages of automatically making a filter tip of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is an upper view of an automatic filter tip attaching machine, with eight stations for a group A and eight stations for a group B. 
     FIG. 3 is an upper view showing a cam divide rotator rotating a rotatable disc with plural air pressure cylinders with clamping fingers of the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a side view showing a filter tip b feeding device and two pairs of clamp fingers of each air pressure cylinder of the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 is a side view showing a filter tip bar being fed into and cut by the machine of the present invention. 
     FIG. 6 is an upper view showing filter tips c and b being pressed together in the present invention. 
     FIG. 7 is a side view showing the filter tips b and c being pressed together and then inverted upside down by the clamp fingers of the air pressure cylinder of the present invention. 
     FIG. 8 is a side view showing chemical powder being pressed into the transparent filter tip b of the present invention. 
     FIG. 9 is a side view showing the filter tip material cut for the second time and pressed into the other end of the filter tip b of the present invention. 
     FIG. 10 is a side view showing the filter tip a being pressed together with an upper end of the filter tip b of the present invention. 
     FIG. 11 is a side view showing the finished filter a, b and c being counted, checked and collected in a container of the present invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     First, manufacturing processes of filter tips by an automatic filter tip attaching machine of the present invention is shown in FIG.  1  and described as below. 
     1. Preparing transparent plastic filter tips b; 
     2. Filling filter material in the filter tips b; 
     3. Pressing a filter tip c with a filter tip b; 
     4. Inverting the filter tip c together with the filter tip b, to locate the filter tip b upside down; 
     5. Filling chemical powder to absorb nicotine and tar in the transparent filter tip b; 
     6. Filling another filter material on the chemical powder filled in the filter tip b, preventing the chemical powder from falling out of the filter tip b; 
     7. Pressing the filter tip a and the filter tip b tightly together to become integral; and, 
     8. Checking and counting the finished filter tip and storing them properly. 
     In order to accomplish the above processes, the automatic filter tip attaching machine of the present invention, shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, includes a rotatable disc  004  divided into  16  sections,  16  air pressure cylinders  005  positioned around the outer circumferential edge of the rotatable disc  004  and are rotatable through 180 degrees. Each air pressure cylinder has a shaft  006  connected to another air pressure cylinder for moving two pairs of clamp fingers  008 ,  009  to catch different sections of filter tips and cigarettes. The rotatable disc  004  has  16  work stations, and the manufacturing process for completing the filter tips needs  8  stations, so the rotatable disc  004  has two units of automatic filter tip attaching work stations. 
     The filter work station has a filter tip feeding device  012  moving filter tips b arranged in a row to be clamped by the two pairs of clamp fingers  008 ,  009  of the first work station, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. At this time, the rotatable disc  004  rotates for 22.5 degrees as shown in FIG. 3, permitting the air pressure cylinder  004  with the filter tips b to then face the second work station. 
     The second work station cuts the fiber filter material and presses the cut fiber filter material into one end of the filter tips b as shown in FIG. 5, with the rotatable disc rotating a further 22.5 degrees to move to the third work station. 
     The third work station moves the filter tips c to two pairs of clamp fingers  045 ,  046  of a robot arm  043  to be clamped, and then inverted, rotated through 180 degrees and moved down by the air pressure cylinder  049  to tightly combine the filter tips c with respective filter tips b. The robot arm  043  then rotates back through 180 degrees to the original position as shown in FIG. 6, and the rotatable disc  004  then rotates a further 22.5 degrees to move to the fourth work station. 
     The fourth work station inverts the filter tips c combined with b through 180 degrees to position the filter tips b facing upward, as shown in FIG. 7, and then the rotatable disc turns a further 22.5 degrees to move to the fifth work station. 
     Next, the fifth work station fills a chemical powder in an upper end of the filter tips b for absorbing nicotine and tar in cigarette smoke, as shown in FIG.  8 . The rotatable disc then turns another 22.5 degrees to move to the sixth work station. 
     At the sixth work station a fiber filter material is cut and pressed into the other end of the filter tip b as shown in FIG. 9, with the rotatable disc  004  then rotating another 22.5 degrees, to move to the seventh work station. 
     The seventh work station moves the filter tips a to an inlet of the rotatable position disc  072  by a material transporter  070 , and then rotates through 90 degrees to align with the filter tips b. The filter tips a are then tightly combined with the filter tips b by a robot arm  080 , as shown in FIG.  10 . The rotatable disc then rotates another 22.5 degrees to move to the eighth work station. 
     Finished filter tips are checked and counted at the eighth work station, and then slid down a sloped plate  087  into a collection container  085 , as shown in FIG.  11 . 
     Next, the detailed structure will be described with reference to FIG.  3 . The rotatable disc  004  is fixed on the cam divide rotator  003  driven by a motor  002 , and all those components are positioned on a base  001 . Then  16  air pressure cylinders  05  are positioned to be spaced apart equidistantly around an outer circumferential edge of the rotatable disc  004 , and are rotatable through 180 degrees. Each air pressure cylinder  05  has a rotating shaft  006  connected to another air pressure cylinder to move two pairs of clamp fingers  008 ,  009  to clamp the filter tips a, b, c and then move them to each work station for automatic combination. 
     FIG. 4 shows the first work station where the filter tips b are arranged by a vibrating feeder  12  and moved to a guide rail  013  and then to a forked guide rail  014 , on which the filter tips b are moved to the left end of the rail  014 . Then, the filter tips b are clamped in the clamp fingers  008 ,  009 , and then the rotatable disc  004  turns a further 22.5 degrees to move to the next second work station. 
     FIG. 5 shows the second work station, where filter bars  019 , stored in a storage tank  018 , are moved by a vibrator  036  to two outlets  023 ,  024 . The filter bars  019  are then clamped by the clamp fingers  008 ,  009  of an air pressure cylinder  022 , and then rotated for 90 degrees by the air pressure cylinder  020 . Then, an air pressure cylinder  029  rotates a rotatable base plate  027  through 180 degrees to align the filter bar  019  with a hole  089 . The filter bar  019  is pressed in one end of a filter tip b and then cut off by a circular saw  035 . The thickness of the filter bar  019  to be cut is controlled by a linear air pressure cylinder  025 . Then, the rotatable disc turns another 22.5 degrees o move to the third work station. 
     FIG. 6 shows the third work station, where filter tips c stored in a vibrating storage tank  037  are arranged to move along guide rails  038 ,  039 , to be clamped by clamp fingers  045 ,  06  of an air pressure cylinder  044 . Then, an air pressure cylinder  041  on a base  040  moves an arm  043  reversibly through 180 degrees to align filter tips c with an upper end of respective filter tips b. The filter tips c are then pressed into a lower cap  053  to be combined with corresponding filter tips b. After that the arm  043  is rotated back through 180 degrees to the original position, ready for the next cycle. 
     FIG. 7 shows the fourth work station, where the air pressure cylinders  005  together with the shaft  006  and the air pressure cylinder  007  with the clamp fingers  008 ,  009  are rotated through 180 degrees, to invert the filter tips b, the filter tips c then being faced downwardly. 
     FIG. 8 shows the fifth work station, where chemical powder, stored in a storage tank  054 , is moved by spring leaves  058  by a motor  057  to fall through an outlet  059  into a funnel inlet  060 . Then, a feeding disc  064  is rotated by the air pressure cylinder  062  to align the inlet  060  with the upper end of a respective filter tip b. Then the chemical powder  069  is pressed into the filter tip b. Then the disc  064  is rotated through 90 degrees, and then a further 90 degrees, to fill the powder into another filter tip b. 
     FIG. 9 shows the sixth work station, where filter bars  019  stored in the storage tank  018  are moved by the vibrator  036  to the two outlets  023 ,  024 . Two filter bars  019  are clamped in the clamp fingers of the air pressure cylinder  022  and then rotated through 90 degrees by the air pressure cylinder  020 , and then further rotated through 180 degrees by the air pressure cylinder  029 , and also rotating the base plate  027  to align the filter bars  019  with a corresponding hole  089 . The filter bars  019  are then pressed into the upper end of the filter tips b, and then are cut by the circular saw  035 . The thickness of the cut of the filter bar is controlled by the linear air pressure cylinder  025 . Then, the rotatable disc rotates another 22.5 degrees to the next work station. 
     FIG. 10 shows the seventh work station, where filter tips a, in the vibrating store tank  070 , are arranged by vibration to move on the guide rail  071  to drop two filter tips into inlets  073 ,  074  of the position rotating disc  072 , which moves once through 90 degrees by an air pressure cylinder  076  under the rotating disc  072 . The rotating disc  072  has four pairs of inlets  073 ,  074 . then, an air pressure cylinder  080  presses down, and a piston rod  082  presses the filter tips a to be tightly combined with the filter tips b, finishing a complete filter tip having a, b, and c stages all combined together. 
     FIG. 11 shows the eighth work station, where finished filter tips passing from the first to seventh work station are released from the clamp fingers  008 ,  009  to slide down the sloped plate  087 , to then be checked and counted by the check device  086  and the counter  088 , and then fall into the collection container  085 . 
     As can be understood in the aforesaid description, the automatic filter tip attaching machine has advantages of hygiene, time-saving and labor-saving.