Patent Publication Number: US-2022219911-A1

Title: Transport system for an at least partially complete cartridge, in particular for an electronic cigarette

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This patent application claims priority from Italian patent application no. 102019000008817 filed on Jun. 13, 2019, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a transport system for an at least partially complete cartridge, i.e. for a cartridge that can be fully complete or missing one or more elements. 
     The present invention finds advantageous application in the production of a cartridge for an electronic cigarette, to which the following disclosure will make explicit reference without thereby losing its generality. 
     PRIOR ART 
     A packaging machine for cartridges for an electronic cigarette comprises a transport system which is designed to move the cartridges for an electronic cigarette along a processing path and through a series of processing stations in which processing is carried out (e.g. element additions, welding, weighing, optical or electrical controls, folding . . . ) on the cartridges for an electronic cigarette. 
     The transport system must be able to hold the more or less complete cartridges for an electronic cigarette in a delicate way (so as to not damage the same) and, at the same time, sufficiently firm to ensure that the cartridges for an electronic cigarette are not lost (or, in any case, are not subject to unwanted shifting) during movement. In particular, to allow the packaging machine to reach high hourly productivity (for example of the order of several hundred cartridges for an electronic cigarette produced per minute) it is necessary to impart relatively high acceleration and deceleration to the cartridges for an electronic cigarette which therefore require a firm and secure control of the position of the cartridges for an electronic cigarette within the transport system. 
     An extraction station is normally coupled to the transport system in which an extraction device is arranged that is designed to extract a cartridge from the transport system because the cartridge has been identified as defective (and, hence, to be removed from the production cycle to be discarded) or to perform random checks. When cartridges full of liquid but not (yet) capped are provided, proceeding with the extraction can lead to an unwanted contamination of parts of the packaging machine if the movement of the cartridges following extraction causes an (unwanted and involuntary) liquid spillage. When the cartridges have a shape that allows them to remain in a vertical position (i.e. to “stand up”) by themselves, it is possible to proceed by simply pushing a cartridge to be extracted from the production flow so as to collect said cartridge in an underlying collecting device. However, when the cartridges have a shape that does not allow them to remain in a vertical position (i.e. to “stand up”), it is very difficult to extract said cartridges without spillage onto the packaging machine. 
     Patent application US2015223522A1 describes a method for assembling cartridges for smoking devices and in particular for aerosol dispensing devices; the cartridges are assembled by transporting trolleys between various substations where the parts are added to a base. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The object of the present invention is to provide a transport system for an at least partially complete cartridge, in particular for an electronic cigarette, which machine transport system allows to reach high hourly productivity and is, at the same time, easy and inexpensive to manufacture. 
     According to the present invention, a transport system is provided for an at least partially complete cartridge, in particular for an electronic cigarette, according to what is claimed in the attached claims. 
     The claims describe embodiments of the present invention forming an integral part of the present description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will now be described with reference to the attached drawings, which illustrate a non-limiting example of embodiment, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of cartridge for an electronic cigarette; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the cartridge of  FIG. 1  with the removal of a removable cap; 
         FIG. 3  is a front and schematic view of a packaging machine for the production of the cartridge of  FIG. 1  provided with a transport system made according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective and schematic view of part of the transport system of the packaging machine of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a side view of the transport system of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is an enlarged view of a detail of  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a plan view of the transport system of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective and schematic view of an extraction station arranged along the transport system of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 9  is a side and schematic view of the extraction station of  FIG. 8 ; and 
         FIGS. 10-16  are respective side and schematic views of the extraction station of  FIG. 8  during different operational steps. 
     
    
    
     PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
     In  FIGS. 1 and 2 , number  1  denotes as a whole a single use cartridge (i.e. disposable which is therefore used only once and is then replaced) of a known type, for an electronic cigarette. 
     The electronic cigarette comprises a reusable part having a parallelepiped shape that is used several times and contains, among other things, an electric battery (which provides the energy necessary for the functioning of the electronic cigarette) and an electronic processor that oversees the functioning of the electronic cigarette; a new disposable cartridge  1  is coupled to the reusable part to be used (i.e. to be “smoked”) and is thrown away after use to be replaced with a new disposable cartridge  1 . 
     The cartridge  1  comprises a main body  2  having a substantially parallelepiped shape which, in use, is coupled to an electronic cigarette from which it receives power supply through two electrical contacts arranged in the area of a smaller base of the main body. Furthermore, the cartridge  1  comprises a cap  3  which fits on the main body  2  to cover the area in which the two electrical contacts are arranged. 
     In  FIG. 3 , number  4  denotes as a whole a packaging machine for the production of the cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette described above. 
     The packaging machine  4  comprises an assembly section in which the materials forming the cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette are assembled to process the cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette and a feeding section, in which the materials forming the cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette are received and directed towards the assembly section. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the assembly section of the packaging machine  4  comprises an initial part A, an intermediate part B, and a final part C. 
     The packaging machine  4  comprises a support body  5  (i.e. a frame) which rests on the ground by means of legs and has a front vertical wall on which the operating members of the three parts A, B and C are mounted. The intermediate part B of the packaging machine  4  comprises a transport system  6  which moves the partially complete cartridges for an electronic cigarette (i.e. still devoid of some elements) along a processing path P (illustrated in  FIG. 4 ) which extends between an inlet station S 1  and an outlet station S 2 . The transport system  6  comprises a plurality of movable equipment  7  in each two seats  8  (illustrated in  FIGS. 4-7 ) are provided each suitable for housing a partially complete cartridge (i.e. still devoid of some elements) in a stable and precise position. According to other embodiments not illustrated, each piece of movable equipment  7  has a different number of seats  8  (generally from a minimum of one seat  8  seats to a maximum of six/eight seats  8 ). The transport system  6  comprises a conveyor  9  to cyclically move each piece of movable equipment  7  along an annular processing path P with intermittent (at step) movement which provides for cyclical alternation of motion steps, in which the conveyor  9  moves the movable equipment  7  and stopping steps, in which the conveyor  9  keeps the movable equipment  7  stationary. 
     The processing path P comprises a straight operating section which extends from an inlet station S 1  (which forms the end of the initial part A and the beginning of the intermediate part B) in which the partially complete cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette are cyclically fed to the seats  8  of the movable equipment  7  to an outlet station S 2  (which forms the end of the intermediate part B and the beginning of the final part C) in which the partially complete cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette (to which elements have been added by crossing the intermediate part B) leave the seats  8  of the movable equipment  7 . Furthermore, as illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the working path P comprises a straight return section parallel and opposite to the straight operating section and two semi-circular connecting sections which connect the operating section and the return section to one another. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the conveyor  9  comprises an annular guide  10  (i.e. closed in a ring on itself) which is arranged in a fixed position along the processing path P; in particular, the annular guide  10  is formed by a single fixed track (i.e. without movement) which is arranged along the processing path P. Furthermore, the conveyor  9  comprises a plurality of slides  11 , each of which supports a corresponding movable equipment  7  and is coupled to the guide  10  to slide freely along the guide  10 . Finally, the conveyor  9  comprises a linear electric motor  12  which moves the slides  11  carrying the movable equipment  7  along the processing path P; the linear electric motor  12  comprises an annular stator  13  (i.e. a fixed primary) which is arranged in a fixed position along the guide  10  and a plurality of movable sliders (i.e. movable secondaries), each of which is electro-magnetically coupled to the stator  13  to receive a driving force from the stator  13  and is rigidly connected to a corresponding slide  11 . 
     According to a different embodiment not illustrated, the conveyor  9  is a belt conveyor and comprises (at least) a flexible belt which supports the movable equipment  7  and is closed in a ring around two end pulleys (at least one of which is motorized). 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , along the processing path P (i.e. between the inlet station S 1  and the outlet station S 2 ) are arranged in succession (i.e. one after the other) processing stations S 3 -S 6  in which processing is carried out (e.g. additions of elements, welding, weighing, optical or electrical controls, folding . . . ) on the partially complete cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette carried by the seats  8  of the movable equipment  7 . Furthermore, along the processing path P and immediately upstream of the outlet station S 2  (i.e. between the processing station S 6  and the outlet station S 2 ) an extraction station S 7  is provided, in which an extraction device is arranged (better described hereinafter) designed to extract from (at least) a corresponding seat  8  of a piece of movable equipment  7  a corresponding partially complete cartridge  1 . 
     As better illustrated in  FIG. 6 , each seat  8  is delimited by a movable wall  13  and by a fixed wall  14  facing and opposite one another so that the cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette can be housed between the movable wall  13  and the fixed wall  14 ; i.e. when a cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette is inserted in a corresponding seat  8  it is located between the movable wall  13  and the fixed wall  14 . The movable wall  13  of each seat  8  is movably mounted on the movable equipment  7  to move away from and closer to the fixed wall  14  between a holding position, in which the movable wall  13  is at a minimum distance from the fixed wall  14  (and, hence, presses, gently, the cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette against the fixed wall  14 ) and a release position, in which the movable wall  13  is at a maximum distance from the fixed wall  14  (and, hence, allows the cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette to enter or exit into/from the seat  8  effortlessly and without scraping against the walls  13  and  14 ). In other words, the walls  13  and  14  of each seat  8  form the two jaws of a pincer which is designed to close around a cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette to tighten, and, hence, house, the cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette. 
     According to a different embodiment not illustrated, in each seat  8  both walls  13  and  14  are movable, i.e. they are movably mounted on the corresponding movable equipment  7 . 
     As better illustrated in  FIG. 6 , the movable equipment  7  comprises, for each seat  8 , an elastic element  15  which pushes the movable wall  13  towards the fixed wall  14  and, hence, towards the holding position with a predetermined and calibrated elastic force so as to ensure that a cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette is kept inside the seat  8  without, at the same time, damaging the cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette. 
     As better illustrated in  FIG. 6 , the movable equipment  7  comprises a control appendage  16  which is mechanically connected to the movable wall  13 , is movable so as to remove the movable wall  13  from the fixed wall  14  and then move the movable wall  13  towards the release position, and is designed to be moved (in the manner described in the following) from the outside of the movable equipment  7  (i.e. from the outside of the conveyor  9 ). According to a preferred embodiment, each control appendage  16  ends with an idle roller  17  that rotates freely around a rotation axis  18  which is perpendicular to the processing path P followed by the movable equipment  7 . 
     As better illustrated in  FIG. 6 , each movable wall  13  is rotatably mounted on the movable equipment  7  to rotate about a rotation axis  19  which is parallel to the processing path P followed by the movable equipment  7  and perpendicular to the rotation axis  18  of the corresponding idle roller  17 . According to a preferred embodiment, each piece of movable equipment  7  comprises, for each seat  8 , a rocker arm  20  which is centrally hinged so as to rotate about the rotation axis  19  and has an arm  21  which forms the movable wall  13  and an arm  22  which forms the control appendage  16 ; in other words, in each rocker  20  the two arms  21  and  22  are divided from one another by the rotation axis  19  (therefore the rotation axis  19  is arranged between the two arms  21  and  22 ). 
     As better illustrated in  FIG. 6 , each elastic element  15  is formed by a coil spring compressed between a fixed abutment  23  of the movable equipment  7  and the arm  21  of a corresponding rocker arm  20  on an opposite part of the seat  8 . Preferably, each fixed abutment  23  of a movable equipment  7  is formed by a screw which is screwed onto the movable equipment  7  and can be screwed/unscrewed to adjust the compression of the coil spring so as to adjust the elastic force generated by the coil spring. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the transport system  6  comprises three operating devices  24  (schematically illustrated) which are arranged, respectively, in the inlet station S 1  (in which it is necessary to “open” all the seats  8  of the movable equipment  7  to allow the insertion of the cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette inside the seats  8 ), in the outlet station S 2  (where it is necessary to “open” all the seats  8  of the movable equipment  7  to allow the removal of the cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette from the seats  8 ), and in the extraction station S 7  (in which it is occasionally necessary to open a single seat  8  of a movable equipment  7  to allow the removal of the corresponding cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette which must be discarded, i.e. removed from the processing path P). 
     Each operating device  24  is external and independent from the movable equipment  7 , is arranged in a fixed position along the processing path P, and is designed to act on the control appendages  16  of the movable equipment  7  to move (temporarily) the corresponding movable walls  13  from the holding position to the release position by compressing the corresponding elastic elements  15 . 
     Each operating device  24  comprises a control member  25  (illustrated for example in  FIGS. 4, 5 and 7 ) which has the function of a cam and is designed to touch and move each control appendage  16  when the movable equipment  7  is in the area of the operating device  24 . In the operating devices  24  arranged in stations S 1  and S 2 , the respective control members  25  are arranged in a fixed position (i.e. they are able to act always upon the control appendages  16  of the movable equipment  7 ) since in stations S 1  and S 2  it is always and in any case necessary to insert the cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette inside the seats  8  (inlet station S 1 ) or to pick-up the cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette from the seats  8  (outlet station S 2 ). In the operating device  24  arranged in the extraction station S 7  and illustrated in  FIGS. 4, 5 and 7 , each control member  25  is movable between an inert (resting) position, in which it does not touch the control appendage  16  when the movable equipment  7  is arranged in the area of the operating device  24  and an operating position, in which it touches and moves the control appendage  16  when the movable equipment  7  is in the area of the operating device  24 . In other words, in the extraction station S 7  only a small part of the cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette must be extracted from the corresponding seats  8  of the movable equipment  7  and, hence, the operating device  24  arranged in the extraction station S 7  must be able to “open” only the seats  8  of the movable equipment  7  containing cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette to be discarded without “opening” all the other seats  8  of the movable equipment  7  containing cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette that are not to be discarded. Consequently, the control member  25  of an operating device  24  located in the extraction station S 7  must be movable between the inert position, in which it does not touch the control appendage  16  (to be assumed when a seat  8  containing a cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette not to be discarded passes through) and the operating position, in which it touches and moves the control appendage  16  (to be assumed when a seat  8  containing a cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette to be discarded passes through). 
     According to a preferred embodiment illustrated in  FIGS. 4, 5 and 7 , each control member  25  is mounted rotatably about a rotation axis  26  so as to rotate between the inert position and the operating position; each rotation axis  26  of a control member  25  is perpendicular to the processing path P followed by the movable equipment  7  and is (substantially) parallel to the rotation axis  18  of each idle roller  17 . 
     According to a possible embodiment, each control member  25  is mounted eccentric relative to the rotation axis  26  so that by rotating around the rotation axis  26  it can modify its radial dimensions at the area where the control appendages  16  are located. According to an alternative embodiment, each control member  25  has a side surface which is suitable for coming in contact with a control appendage  16  and is arranged at a radial distance variable from the rotation axis  26 . 
     The “opening” of the seats  8  can also take place by means of operating devices  24  shaped differently (for example provided with levers or hammers which act upon the control appendages  16 ) but the control member  25  operating as a cam minimizes the consequences of a violent impact against the idle rollers  17  in the event of the system being out of step (i.e. if, due to a control error, the control member  25  is not in the inert position when the movable equipment  7  arrives). 
     In the embodiment illustrated in  FIGS. 4, 5 and 7 , each piece of movable equipment  7  is provided with two seats  8  which are arranged one next to the other and one following the other relative to a moving direction of the movable equipment  7  along the processing path P and the extraction station S 7  comprises two operating devices  24  which are arranged beside one another and are each designed to act upon the control appendage  16  (therefore on the movable wall  13 ) of a corresponding seat  8  of the same movable equipment  7 . So when a/the movable equipment  7  is standing still in the extraction station S 7  it is possible to operate only the right operating device  24  to discard only the cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette which is housed in the seat  8  on the right, it is possible to operate only the operating device  24  on the left to discard only the cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette which is housed in the seat  8  on the left, or it is possible to operate both operating devices  24  on the left to discard both cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette which are housed in both seats  8 . 
     Once a seat  8  has been “opened” in the extraction station S 7 , the cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette contained in the seat  8  can be extracted from the seat  8  by gravity (i.e. it falls downwards and is no longer held by the movable wall  13  which pushes it against the fixed wall  14 ) or can be extracted from the seat  8  by means of an extraction device that picks up and lifts the cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette from above. 
     It is important that in the extraction station S 7 , some cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette can be extracted from the corresponding seats  8  because the cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette are defective, or to make a sample check of the production, or for any other reason related to the production of cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette. 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 , the extraction station S 7  comprises a collecting device  27 , which is designed to receive and contain the cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette that are extracted in the extraction station S 7 . 
     In addition, the extraction station S 7  comprises four holding heads  28  (partially shown in  FIG. 8  while a single holding head  28  is illustrated in  FIGS. 9-16 ) which are arranged side by side; each holding head  28  is designed to grab (and firmly hold) one end of cartridge for an electronic cigarette  1  which protrudes from a corresponding seat  8  (i.e. which is left free by a corresponding seat  8 ). According to other embodiments not illustrated, a different number of holding heads  28  are provided side by side: e.g. a single holding head  28 , two holding heads side by side, three holding heads  28  side by side, five holding heads  28  side by side . . . . 
     In the preferred embodiment illustrated in the attached Figures, each holding head  28  comprises a pincer provided with two opposing jaws which are movable for approaching one another and, hence, gripping one end of a cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette or to move away from one another thus releasing the end of the cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette; the movement of the two opposing jaws of a holding head  28  could be controlled by a dedicated (electric or pneumatic) actuator. According to a preferred embodiment, the four holding heads  28  can be controlled singularly independent from one another; i.e. each holding head  28  has its own dedicated actuator which controls its jaws independent from the other holding heads  28 . According to other embodiments not illustrated, each holding head  28  comprises a different gripping system instead of the pincer provided with two opposing jaws, for example a suction pad or an electromagnet (obviously only in the case of cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette provided with ferromagnetic metal parts). 
     The extraction station S 7  comprises a moving device  29  which supports the four holding heads  28  and moves the holding head  28  between a pick-up position where the holding head  28  is in the area of the transport system  6  and grabs the cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette, and a release position, in which the holding head  28  releases the cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette in the collecting device  27 . As previously stated, preferably the four holding heads  28  can be singularly controlled independent from one another, so that, when the holding heads  28  are all in the pick-up position a holding head can grab a corresponding cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette while another holding head  28  may not grab a corresponding cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette; in this way, it is not mandatory to extract all four cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette which are in the area of the four holding heads  28  in the pick-up position, but it is possible to choose which cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette to extract and which cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette to not extract. 
     The collecting device  27  comprises a pair of twin containers  30  and a discharge duct  31  which is inclined downwards (i.e. forms a “slide” along which the cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette slide downwards by gravity) and bifurcates to extend from a single inlet opening  32  arranged horizontally to two outlet openings  33 , each being arranged in the area of a respective container  30 . In other words, the discharge duct  31  has a single upper branch which starts with the inlet opening  32 , two lower branches which end inside the containers  30  with their respective outlet openings  33 , and an inverted “Y”-shaped bifurcation that connects the single upper branch to the two lower branches. In the area of the bifurcation of the discharge duct  31  a motorized deflector member  34  is provided (therefore remotely controllable) which is designed to assume two different positions in order to alternatively direct a cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette into a container  30  or into the other container  30 . 
     According to a preferred embodiment, a pair of sensors  35  are provided (only one of which is illustrated in  FIGS. 10-16 ), each coupled to a corresponding container  30  and designed to determine both the presence of the corresponding container  30  (i.e. if the container  30  is present or absent), and the attainment of the filling of the corresponding container  30  (i.e. whether or not the container is completely full). For example, each sensor  35  could be of the optical type. Obviously, the motorized deflector member  34  is controlled according to the readings of the two sensors  35  to direct the cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette which slide along the discharge duct  31  always and only in a container  30  present and not completely full. The presence of two twin containers  30  allows to empty/clean a container  30  (temporarily removing the container  30  from the collecting device  27 ) while the other container  30  is used. 
     According to a possible embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 8 , the discharge duct  31 , which extends from an inlet opening  32  to the two outlet openings  33  is delimited by an inspection wall  36  which faces the opposite side of the transport system  6  (therefore it is visible from the outside of the packaging machine  4 ), it is transparent and is arranged above the bifurcation (i.e. between the inlet opening  32  and the bifurcation). 
     As previously mentioned, the inlet opening  32  of the discharge duct  31  is arranged horizontally so as to offer the maximum possible reception area to cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette which is dropped from above by a holding head  28  which release (abandon) the cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette; in other words, each holding head  28  is initially moved to the pick-up position in the area of the transport system  6  to pick-up a cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette from a seat  8  and then is subsequently moved to the release position (in which the head  28  is located above the inlet opening  32  of the discharge duct  31 ) to release the cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette which falls by gravity downwards entering the discharge duct  31  through the inlet opening  32  (before releasing the cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette, the holding head  28  could be lowered to reduce the “free” fall distance of the cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette). 
     According to a preferred embodiment better illustrated in  FIG. 12 , the extraction station S 7  comprises four sensors  37  (only one of which is illustrated in  FIGS. 10-16 ), each arranged in a fixed position in front of the release position of the holding heads  28  and is designed to determine whether a corresponding holding head  28  arranged in the release position is actually grabbing a cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette. The function of each sensor  37  is to verify whether the corresponding holding head  28  arranged in the release position is actually grabbing a cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette and, hence, whether it has correctly picked-up the cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette from the corresponding seat  8 . For example, each sensor  37  could be of the optical type. 
     In the embodiment illustrated in the attached  FIGS. 13 and 14 , the collecting device  27  comprises a moving device  38  which moves the inlet opening  32  (i.e. an end part of the discharge duct  31 ) between a receiving position (illustrated in the  FIGS. 13 and 14 ) in which the inlet opening  32  is in the area of the holding heads  28  arranged in the release position and is designed to receive the cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette released by (at least) a holding head  28 , and a waiting position (illustrated in  FIGS. 10, 11 and 12 ) in which the inlet opening  32  does not interfere with a movement of the holding heads  28  and with a movement of the transport system  6 . 
     In the embodiment illustrated in the attached  FIGS. 13 and 14 , the moving device  29  moves the holding heads  28  only in a vertical direction of movement between the pick-up position and the release position; consequently, the moving device  29  is simplified as it is provided with a single degree of freedom, and above all cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette which is lifted by a holding head  28  is subjected only to a vertical movement (therefore only to vertical accelerations). As illustrated in  FIG. 9 , the moving device  29  comprises a horizontal bracket  39  which rigidly supports the four holding heads  28  and a linear actuator  40  (for example a pneumatic cylinder or an electric motor provided with a mechanical transmission that transforms the rotating movement in a linear way) which supports the bracket  39  in a cantilevered manner and vertically moves the bracket  39 . 
     In the embodiment illustrated in  FIGS. 13 and 14 , the discharge duct  31  is telescopic in the area of the inlet opening  32  to lengthen or shorten, due to the action of the moving device  38 , causing the inlet opening  32  to move between the receiving position and the waiting position; i.e. an end part of the discharge duct  31 , provided with the inlet opening  32 , is telescopic to lengthen or shorten causing the inlet opening  32  to move between the receiving position and the waiting position. 
     In the embodiment illustrated in  FIGS. 13 and 14 , the moving device  38  comprises a linear actuator (for example a pneumatic cylinder or an electric motor provided with a mechanical transmission that transforms the rotary movement in a linear way) that moves the two parts of the discharge duct  31 , which slide one relative to the other and form the telescopic mechanism. 
     In the embodiment illustrated in  FIGS. 13 and 14 , the discharge duct  31  (i.e. the upper portion of the discharge duct  31  having the inlet opening  32 ) is arranged inclined relative to a horizontal plane to form an acute angle with the horizontal plane preferably comprised between 30° and 60° (or, from another point of view, it is arranged inclined relative to a vertical plane to form an acute angle with the vertical plane preferably comprised between 30° and 60°). In this way, the telescopic sliding of the discharge duct  31  determines both a vertical movement of the extraction opening  32  and a horizontal movement of the extraction opening  32 . 
     In the embodiment illustrated in  FIGS. 15 and 16 , the inlet opening  32  (i.e. the entire discharge duct  31 ) is arranged in a fixed position and, hence, the movement mechanism  38  is absent and the moving device  29  moves the holding head  28  both in a vertical direction of movement and in a horizontal direction of movement. In this embodiment, the discharge duct  31  is simplified (which no longer has moving parts), but the moving device  29  which must be designed to precisely move the holding heads  28  in two directions perpendicular to one another is complicated and above all a cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette which is lifted by a holding head  28  is subjected to both a vertical movement and a horizontal movement (therefore both vertical accelerations, and horizontal accelerations that combined together could increase the risk of liquid spillage). 
     To summarize the above, the collecting device  27  comprises a lifter (formed by the holding heads  28 ) which picks-up (at least) one cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette from its transport path (i.e. from its seat  8 ) and keeps it in an elevated position and oriented as during transport (therefore the liquid contained in the cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette in this case undergoes only a modest vertical acceleration). Furthermore, the collecting device  27  comprises a collecting chute (i.e. the discharge duct  31 ) which moves diagonally and is arranged below the cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette which has been extracted from a holding head  28 ; at this point the holding head  28  descends towards the inlet opening  32  of the discharge duct  31  and then releases the cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette inside the discharge duct  31  which may or may not accompany the descent movement (to further reduce the accelerations on the liquid contained in the cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette). When the discharge duct  31  has received the cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette it performs the reverse movement and returns to the waiting position. Product presence photocells (the sensors  37 ) will then complete the whole, which point to the top of the lifting movement of the cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette so as to know for sure if a holding head  28  has actually extracted the cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette and is actually releasing the same in the discharge duct  31 . 
     The present invention can find application in the production of any type of disposable cartridge not necessarily for an electronic cigarette, for example a disposable cartridge for medical devices (i.e. a disposable cartridge containing medicine or the like). 
     The embodiments described herein can be combined with each other without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     The transport system  6  described above has numerous advantages. 
     First of all, the transport system  6  described above allows to reach high hourly production (i.e. a number of pieces produced per unit of time) while ensuring a high-quality standard of the cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette. This result is obtained thanks to the fact that the transport system  6  is designed to hold the more or less complete cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette in a delicate way (so as not to damage the same) and, at the same time, in a sufficiently firm way to ensure that the more or less complete cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette are not lost (or in any case are not subject to unwanted shifting) during movement even when this movement imparts upon the more or less complete cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette relatively high acceleration and deceleration. 
     Furthermore, the transport system  6  described above allows to extract from the processing path P, efficiently and effectively, also one single cartridge  1  for an electronic cigarette, thus separating the same from all the other cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette. 
     Finally, the transport system  6  described above is also easy and inexpensive to manufacture, as it is formed by structurally simple elements provided with few movements that are easy to manufacture. 
     The extraction station S 7  described above has numerous advantages. 
     Firstly, the extraction station S 7  described above allows the cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette to be extracted from the seats  8  without running the risk that the liquid present in the cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette can spill in an unwanted way onto the packaging machine  4  thus soiling the same; this result is obtained thanks to the fact that the cartridges for an electronic cigarette are always kept in a vertical position and are not subjected to high acceleration (which could cause spillage of liquid product coming out of the cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette). 
     Furthermore, the extraction station S 7  described above ensures effective (i.e. it is always designed to guarantee the correct extraction of the cartridges  1  for an electronic cigarette from the seats  8 ) and efficient operation (i.e. it requires a limited number of movements which can be easily carried out). 
     Finally, the extraction station S 7  described above is particularly compact and robust as well as being easy and inexpensive to manufacture.