Abstract:
A machine for making one or more cigarette rods or analogous smokers&#39; products is provided with a cooling apparatus for one or more cooling elements, one for each rod. Each such element has a finger which frictionally contacts and is thus heated by the respective advancing rod preferably immediately downstream of a station where one or more tobacco streams is or are converted into one or more rod-like fillers, and a guide wall which carries the finger and frictionally contacts and is thus heated by the advancing filler at a wrapping station for the rod. The cooling apparatus has at least one part which is cooled by a circulating fluid coolant and is movable into and from surface-to-surface contact with the finger(s) and the guide wall(s).

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED CASES  
       [0001]     This application claims the priority of the commonly owned copending German patent application Serial No. 103 54 815.7-23-DE filed Nov. 21, 2003.  
         [0002]     The disclosure of the above-referenced German patent application, as well as the disclosures of all US and foreign patents identified in the specification of the present application, are incorporated herein by reference.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     This invention relates to improvements in machines for making cigarettes and analogous rod-shaped smokers&#39; products, and to improvements in apparatus and parts of apparatus for cooling selected portions of such machines. The selected portions can include components which are heated as a result of frictional engagement with one or more running streams or rod-like fillers of comminuted tobacco leaf laminae and/or other smokable material.  
         [0004]     Cooling apparatus for guide walls for rod-like fillers of smokable material are disclosed, for example, in Japanese patents Nos. 2997246 B1 and 2000-253864. The cooling systems which are disclosed in these patents serve to withdraw heat from walls which guide the rod-shaped filler in a cigarette making machine. As a rule, the part to be cooled includes a so-called finger which is borne by and is installed upstream of a substantially strip-shaped pressurizing cover. This part is installed between an endless conveyor which gathers a stream of comminuted smokable material and a wrapping mechanism which confines the stream, normally subsequent to a trimming or equalizing operation which converts the stream into a rod-like filler, in a continuous web of cigarette paper or the like. The strip-shaped cover and even the aforementioned finger can be installed in such a way that they form part of the wrapping mechanism, i.e., such cooled parts can be said to carry out an important part of the wrapping operation.  
         [0005]     The aforementioned endless conveyor which gathers a tobacco stream ahead of the finger of the cooling apparatus normally employs an endless foraminous belt having a lower reach or stretch which cooperates with a suction chamber to attract tobacco particles being supplied thereto in the form of a shower. The front end portion of the lower reach of the endless foraminous belt is deflected upwardly by a pulley and the finished (fully grown) tobacco stream is caused to advance toward and along the aforementioned finger into the wrapping mechanism. The finger and the cover of the cooling apparatus are in direct contact with the particles of the advancing stream.  
         [0006]     Since a modern cigarette making machine is operated at a very high speed, the frictional engagement between the rapidly advancing tobacco stream and the parts of the aforementioned cooling apparatus is very pronounced with the resultant generation of heat which cannot be fully withdrawn or at least reduced to an acceptable level with presently known cooling systems to a temperature which is acceptable for proper operation of the machine. The heating action is even more pronounced because the finger and the cover of the aforedescribed conventional cooling apparatus are arranged to compress and thus reduce the diameter of the rapidly advancing tobacco stream which evidently generates additional heat. Presently known cooling systems employ cold water streams which are conveyed through conduits in the guide wall including the cover and the finger of the cigarette making machine. Such proposals failed to satisfy the requirements to adequately cool the parts which are heated as a result of contact with a rapidly advancing stream or filler of comminuted smokable material.  
       OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     An important object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved apparatus for cooling selected parts of a machine which is designed to turn out one or more continuous rods of smokable material, such as a cigarette making machine.  
         [0008]     Another object of this invention is to provide a cooling apparatus which is superior to presently known cooling apparatus and which can be put to use in the latest versions of cigarette making machines or the like.  
         [0009]     A further object of the instant invention is to provide novel and improved parts which can be put to use in the above outlined cooling apparatus.  
         [0010]     An additional object of our invention is to provide a machine for making one or more continuous cigarette rods or the like which is equipped with the novel cooling apparatus.  
         [0011]     Still another object of the invention is to provide a cooling apparatus for component parts which are heated as a result of frictional engagement with one or more rapidly advancing streams or fillers of comminuted tobacco leaves or other smokable material.  
         [0012]     An ancillary object of the invention is to provide a cooling apparatus which can be readily installed and put to use in existing machines for the making of cigarettes or the like.  
         [0013]     A further object of this invention is to provide an apparatus which can be installed in a cigarette making or an analogous machine in such a way that it affords convenient access to the constituents of the machine, such as the wrapping mechanism and/or the tobacco stream trimming mechanism and/or the mechanism which imprints one or more running webs of cigarette paper or other suitable wrapping materiql and/or ascertains the diameters of wrapped tobacco filler rods.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0014]     One of several features of the present invention resides in the provision of an apparatus for cooling a guide wall for at least one rod-like filler which is being turned out by a machine for making smokers&#39; products, e.g., a cigarette making machine. The improved apparatus comprises a cooling element which is arranged to indirectly cool the guide wall. The improved apparatus can further comprise means (such as one or more conduits, pipes, channels or the like) for conveying a fresh coolant (e.g., cold water) to and for conveying spent coolant from the cooling element. The cooling element has at least one contact surface which is arranged to abut at least one surface of the guide wall when the cooling apparatus is in use.  
         [0015]     The arrangement can be such that the at least one contact surface of the guide wall is at least substantially complementary to at least one portion of the at least one surface of the guide wall.  
         [0016]     The guide wall of the machine can include at least one cover-shaped part and at least one finger-shaped part which is or which can be borne by the cover-shaped part; the at least one contact surface can be arranged to abut a surface of at least one of such parts of the guide wall. This at least one contact surface can include a plurality of portions one of which abuts a surface of the cover-shaped part and another of which abuts a surface of the finger-shaped part. The just mentioned portions of the at least one contact surface are or can be at least substantially normal to each other. Furthermore, the at least one portion of the at least one contact surface can be at least substantially parallel to and can be arranged to exchange heat with the surface of the cover, and such surface of the cover can face away from the rod-like filler being turned out by the machine. The aforementioned surface of the finger-shaped part can constitute a lateral surface of such part and the other portion of the at least one contact surface can be at least substantially parallel to and can be arranged to exchange heat with the lateral surface of the finger-shaped part. Furthermore, the lateral surface of the finger-shaped part can include several sections and the at least one contact surface can include several sections, one for each section of the lateral surface. Such several sections of the at least one contact surface can be at least substantially parallel to each other and can be arranged to exchange heat with the respective sections of the lateral surface of the finger-shaped part. Also, the cooling element can include a plurality of at least substantially parallel rods having free ends and diverging from each other in directions toward such free ends; the aforementioned sections of the at least one contact surface can be provided on such rods.  
         [0017]     At least two of the aforementioned portions of the at least one contact surface can include conical portions.  
         [0018]     The improved apparatus can further comprise means (e.g., one or more coil springs) for biasing the at least one contact surface and the at least one surface of the guide wall against each other when the apparatus is in use.  
         [0019]     Still further, the improved apparatus can comprise means for mounting the cooling element for pivotal movement about a predetermined axis, e.g., about an axis which is at least substantially parallel to the rod-like filler being turned out by the machine.  
         [0020]     It is often preferred to design the cooling apparatus in such a way that the cooling element is arranged to maintain the guide wall within a temperature range of substantially between room temperature and about 100° C.  
         [0021]     Another feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a cooling element for at least one guide wall for at least one rod-like filler containing a smokable material and being turned out by a machine for making smokers&#39; products. The improved cooling element is arranged to indirectly cool the guide wall and is provided with means for conveying a flowable coolant therethrough.  
         [0022]     A further feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a machine for making at least one moving rod and for subdividing the rod into a plurality of rod-shaped smokers&#39; products. The machine comprises at least one rod guiding wall which is heated as a result of contact with the moving rod, an a cooling element which is arranged to indirectly cool the guiding wall.  
         [0023]     Still another feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a machine for simultaneously making a plurality of moving rods and for subdividing such moving rods into pluralities of rod-shaped smokers&#39; products. The machine comprises a cooling apparatus including a cooling element for each of the rods, and each such cooling element has a first rod-contacting surface and includes a finger having a second rod contacting surface. Each cooling element is arranged to cool a different one of the moving rods and the apparatus further comprises means for indirectly cooling the elements. Such machine can further comprise means for movably mounting the cooling apparatus on the housing or body of the machine for movement between first and second positions in which the cooling elements are respectively in contact with and spaced apart from the means for indirectly cooling such elements.  
         [0024]     The novel features which are considered as characteristic of the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The improved cooling apparatus and the improved machine themselves, however, both as to their construction and their modes of operation, together with numerous additional important and advantageous features and attributes thereof, will be best understood upon perusal of the following detailed description of certain presently preferred specific embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawing.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING  
       [0025]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a cigarette making machine which is arranged to turn out a single cigarette rod or the like and is adapted to be provided with a cooling apparatus embodying one form of the present invention;  
         [0026]      FIG. 2  is an elevational view of a cooling apparatus which embodies another form of the present invention and is arranged for use in a machine for simultaneously turning out plural cigarette rods or the like;  
         [0027]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the cooling apparatus of  FIG. 2 , with its parts in operative positions; and  
         [0028]      FIG. 4  is a view similar to that of  FIG. 3  but with certain parts of the cooling apparatus in inoperative positions.  
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0029]      FIG. 1  shows a cigarette making machine  50  which is designed to produce a single continuous cigarette rod  28 . This machine comprises a distributor including a gate  1  which is arranged to supply (when necessary) batches of shredded tobacco leaf laminae or other suitable smokable material (such as substitute or reconstituted tobacco). It will be appreciated that the machine  50  of  FIG. 1  constitutes but one of numerous machines which can be equipped with the cooling apparatus of the present invention. Thus, FIGS.  2  to  4  illustrate a cooling apparatus  60  capable of being assembled with or incorporated in a machine which is designed to simultaneously turn out two cigarette rods. Such machines are disclosed, for example, in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,640 granted Jan. 16, 1990 to Heitmann et al. for “MULTIPLE-ROD CIGARETTE MAKING MACHINE” as well as in numerous other US patents of the assignee of the present application. It is also possible to embody the improved cooling apparatus in cigarette making or analogous machines which are designed to simultaneously turn out three or more continuous cigarette rods.  
         [0030]     The gate  1  of the distributor in the machine  50  is arranged to supply batches of comminuted smokable material (hereinafter called tobacco shreds for short) to a preliminary distributor  2 . The latter includes a rotary drum-shaped withdrawing member  3  which supplies shredded tobacco to a storage facility  4 , e.g., a magazine which is arranged to maintain an at least substantially constant supply of tobacco shreds adjacent the ascending reach or stretch of an endless elevator conveyor  5  serving to deliver controlled quantities of tobacco shreds to a tobacco gathering duct  6 . A rotary carded drum  7  is arranged to withdraw a uniform layer of tobacco particles from the bottom portion of the duct  6  and cooperates with a rotary picker roller  8  having radially outwardly extending needles which propel tobacco particles from the carding of the drum  7  onto the upper reach of a driven constant-speed wide endless band  9  serving to gather and advance a layer of tobacco. The leader of such layer is propelled against an air curtain which is generated and maintained by a classifying device  11 . The less acceptable heavier particles of the layer on the endless band  9  penetrate through the air curtain of the device  11  but the latter intercepts the more satisfactory lighter particles and causes them to descend into a funnel  14  having a stationary wall  13  and a carded roller  12 . The latter propels the satisfactory tobacco particles from the funnel  14  into a guide channel  16  which gathers a stream of particles for transfer to the underside of the elongated lower reach of an endless foraminous belt conveyor  17 . The lower reach of the conveyor  17  is disposed at the underside of a suction chamber  18  which attracts the tobacco stream to the underside of the belt conveyor  17 . This conveyor advances the stream lengthwise. The manner in which the foraminous belt conveyor  17  gathers and advances (lengthwise) a continuous stream of comminuted smokable material is fully disclosed, for example, in commonly owned German patents Nos. 4215059 and 19733443 A1.  
         [0031]     Successive increments of the tobacco stream which is advanced by the underside of the lower reach of the belt conveyor  17  are equalized by a trimming device  19  which removes the surplus so that the stream is converted into a continuous rod-like tobacco filler ready to be draped into a continuous web  21  of cigarette paper supplied by an expiring bobbin or reel  22  in a wrapping mechanism  26 . Successive increments of the web  21  advance through a printing mechanism  23  which applies thereto information (such as the name and/or the trademark of the manufacturer) before such increments advance to the upper reach of an endless belt conveyor  24  (known as garniture) which converts the web into a tubular envelope surrounding the rod-like tobacco filler coming from the foraminous belt conveyor  17 . The lower reach of the conveyor  17  is deflected upwardly and away from the trimmed tobacco stream (filler) by a pulley  17   a.    
         [0032]     The draping of the cigarette paper web  21  around the rod-like tobacco filler is carried out in such a way that one longitudinal marginal portion of the web is provided with a coat of a suitable adhesive and is thereupon folded over the other longitudinal marginal portion to form therewith a seam extending lengthwise of the thus obtained tubular envelope of the finished cigarette rod  28 . The reference character  27  denotes a customary tandem sealer which heats and thus strengthens the aforementioned seam before the cigarette rod  28  advances through a standard density measuring device  29  and thereupon into a severing device or cutoff  31  serving to subdivide the rod  28  into a continuous series of discrete plain cigarettes  32  of twice unit length.  
         [0033]     A cooling apparatus for certain parts of the cigarette making machine  50  is located at and can form part of the wrapping mechanism  26 . A modification of such cooling apparatus, namely a cooling apparatus  60  adapted for use in a cigarette making machine which is designed to simultaneously produce two continuous cigarette rods, will be described with reference to FIGS.  2  to  4 .  
         [0034]     The density measuring device  29  controls the operation of the trimming device  19  so that the latter converts the tobacco stream into a rod-like filler having an optimum density. The cigarettes  32  of double unit length issuing from the cutoff  31  are taken over by the controlled arms  33  of a transfer device  34  which delivers such cigarettes to a drum-shaped conveyor  36  for introduction into a filter cigarette making machine  37 , e.g., a machine of the type disclosed in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,008 granted Aug. 4, 1992 to Oesterling et al. for “METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING FILTER CIGARETTES”. The machine  37  comprises a rotary drum-shaped conveyor  38  cooperating with a driven circular knife serving to divide each cigarette  32  into a pair of plain cigarettes of unit length.  
         [0035]     The machine  50  of  FIG. 1  further comprises two endless belt conveyors  39 ,  41  which serve to transport trimmed-off surplus tobacco from the equalizing device  19  to a receptacle  42  which is installed in the distributor beneath the magazine  4  adjacent the upwardly advancing (ascending) stretch or reach of the elevator conveyor  5 , i.e., the trimmed-off surplus tobacco is delivered to the duct  6  for readmission into the tobacco stream at the underside of the lower reach of the foraminous conveyor  17 .  
         [0036]      FIG. 2  is a side elevational view of the aforementioned cooling apparatus  60  which embodies one form of the present invention, which is designed for use in conjunction with a machine for simultaneously producing plural continuous cigarette rods  28 , and which can be readily modified for use in the cigarette making machine  50  of  FIG. 1 . As concerns the utilization of guide walls in the region of the cooling apparatus  60  and the installation of such guide walls in a cigarette making machine, reference may be had again to the aforementioned Japanese patents Nos. 2997246 B1 and 2000253864.  
         [0037]     The section  17   b  of an endless foraminous belt or band conveyor  17  of  FIG. 1  is trained over the pulley  17   a  which is adjacent a transfer zone  62  immediately upstream of one wrapping mechanism  26  (it will be appreciated that the cigarette making machine which embodies or cooperates with the cooling apparatus  60  of FIGS.  2  to  4  comprises two foraminous conveyor belts  17  having sections  17   b , and that such machine employs two wrapping mechanisms  26 ). In the transfer zone  62 , one of the two continuous rod-like tobacco fillers (not shown in FIGS.  2  to  4 ) is guided first by the tip (free end portion)  64  of a so-called finger  66  on a guide element or wall  68 , thereupon by the major portion of the finger  66  and further by a strip-shaped cover  70  of the guide wall  68 . The finger  66  and the cover  70  effect a narrowing or reduction of the cross-sectional area of the rod-like filler which entails a compression of the filler to a cross-sectional area which is desirable or necessary for the draping of the filler into the cigarette paper web  21 , i.e., for the making of a continuous cigarette rod  28  having a desired diameter and cross-sectional area.  
         [0038]     The guide wall  68  is heated as a result of frictional engagement with the rapidly advancing rod-like filler, and the purpose of the cooling apparatus  60  is to maintain the temperature of this wall within a desired (acceptable) range (e.g., between room temperature and about 100° C.) or at an optimum value. This apparatus comprises conduits or pipes  72  or like conveying means which serve to convey a suitable fresh flowable coolant (e.g., water) to and to convey the spent (heated) coolant from the cooling station(s) in or at the wrapping mechanism(s)  26 . The reference character  71  (see  FIGS. 3 and 4 ) denotes a connector for the conduits  72  which attaches the conduits to a source (not shown) of flowable coolant and to an arrangement (not shown) which receives spent coolant.  
         [0039]     The apparatus  60  further comprises one or more additional conduits (not shown in FIGS.  2  to  4 ) serving to convey the coolant from the coolant supplying conduit(s)  72  to first contact surfaces  74  for the cover  70  and to second contact surfaces  76  (see  FIG. 3 ) for the fingers  66 . The first contact surfaces  74  are provided on plates  73  and the second contact surfaces  76  are provided on rods or bars  78   a ,  78   b ,  78   c  and  78   d  having free end portions  80 . The plates  73  and the rods  78   a  to  78   d  together constitute a composite cooling element of the apparatus  60 .  
         [0040]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the cooling apparatus  60 . The purpose of the rods  78   a  to  78   d  is to establish large-area contact between the second contact surfaces  76  on these rods and the adjacent sides of the two fingers  66  (not shown in  FIG. 3 ). To this end, the rods  78   a  to  78   d  are substantially parallel to each other. In the embodiment of FIGS.  2  to  4 , the contact surfaces  76  diverge slightly from each other, as seen in directions toward the free ends  80  of such rods; this ensures or makes it possible to pivot the rods  78   a  to  78   d  over the fingers  66  and to thus ensure that progressive pivoting entails the establishment of increasing pressure between the fingers and the rods. Such progressive increase of pressure is attributable to the rather slight conicity of the rods.  
         [0041]     The cooling apparatus  60  preferably further comprises means (not specifically shown) for biasing the first and second contact surfaces  74  and  76  to thus further enhance the exchange of heat between the contact surfaces and the surfaces of adjacent parts in the operative positions of mobile parts of the apparatus; such operative positions are shown in  FIG. 3  in which the contact surfaces  74  are in abutment with the cover  70  and the contact surfaces  76  abut the fingers  66 . The biasing means can comprise one or more coil springs and/or any other suitable resilient elements.  
         [0042]     The cooling action (output) of the cooling element including the parts  73  and  78   a  to  78   d  of the apparatus  60  is selected in such a way that the temperature of the guide wall  68  (which includes the fingers  66  and the strip-shaped cover  70 ) is maintained at an optimum value or, at the very least, within an acceptable range. As already mentioned hereinbefore, a presently acceptable range in a high-speed cigarette making machine is between the room temperature and about 100° C.  
         [0043]     The character  82  denotes in  FIGS. 3 and 4  the pintle (pivot pin) of a hinge or an analogous device which pivotably connects the cooling apparatus  60  to the housing or body of the cigarette making machine. The pivot axis of the pintle  82  is preferably at least substantially parallel to the axes of the rod-like fillers which are produced by the cigarette making machine.  FIG. 3  shows the cooling apparatus  60  in its operative (lowered) position. In  FIG. 4 , the apparatus  60  is lifted (to this end, it comprises a handle or the like) so that its parts and the neighboring parts of the cigarette making machine are more readily accessible (e.g., for inspection and/or cleaning).  
         [0044]     An advantage of the improved machine (such as the machine  50  of  FIG. 1 ) and cooling apparatus (such as the apparatus  60  of FIGS.  2  to  4 ) is that the guide wall  68  and the fingers  66  need not be pivoted or otherwise moved away from their operative positions. In presently known cooling apparatus, the fingers are pivotable with the conveyor including the endless band  17 .  FIGS. 3 and 4  further show that the position of the conduit  72  need not be changed when the cooling apparatus  60  is pivoted (at  82 ) to or from its operative position.  
         [0045]     Another important advantage of the improved cooling apparatus  60  and of the rod making machine (such as  50 ) embodying or cooperating with such apparatus is that the guide wall  66 , and hence the finger or fingers  66  and the cover  70 , are readily accessible because such component parts are not integral parts of the improved cooling apparatus. This is of particular advantage in cigarette rod making or analogous machines for making rod-shaped smokers&#39; products which are designed to simultaneously turn out two or more rod-shaped fillers and cigarette rods  28  because access to such fillers or rods is not blocked by the coolant supplying conduits, pipes or channels which, in conventional cooling apparatus (such as those disclosed in the aforementioned Japanese patents), are necessarily integral with the guide wall or guide walls of the rod making machine. Thus, the improved cooling apparatus  60  can afford access to all of the rod-like fillers which are about to be draped into cigarette paper or other suitable wrapping material. All that is necessary is to pivot the improved cooling apparatus  60  from the position which is shown in  FIG. 3  to that which is depicted in  FIG. 4 . It is also within the purview of the present invention to assemble the cooling apparatus  60  of several components, e.g., a first component which is pivotable or otherwise movable to and from a heat-exchanging (operative) position with the plate or plates  73 , and a second component which is pivotable or otherwise movable into and from heat-exchanging position with the finger or fingers  66 .  
         [0046]     Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of pror art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic and specific aspects of the above outlined contribution to the art of apparatus for cooling cigarette rod making machines or the like and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the appended claims.