Patent ID: 7866122

Claim:
A system for manufacturing a container for smoking articles, the system comprising: a hopper configured to hold blanks; a gear train; a hot-melt adhesive applicator; a feed belt operatively coupled to the gear train to move the blanks from the hopper to the hot-melt adhesive applicator; an encoder coupled with the gear train and configured to track the translational movement of the blanks through the system; an electronic blank sensor approximately opposite from the hot-melt adhesive applicator configured to signal when a blank enters the hot-melt adhesive applicator; an electronic control unit in communication with the encoder, the electronic blank sensor, and the hot-melt adhesive applicator, the electronic control unit being configured to cause the hot-melt adhesive applicator to apply a pre-determined pattern of adhesive to the blank when the electronic control unit receives the signal from the electronic blank sensor; and a folding station configured to receive the blank from the hot melt adhesive applicator and to fold the blank into a container about an assemblage of smoking articles.