G.d S.p.a.

Alberto Casagrande

Sergio Morelli

Luca Federici

Gilberto Spirito

Mario Spatafora

A transferring and inspection unit for transferring and inspecting a group of elongated elements that are rod-shaped for smoking articles that includes a forming pocket, having a longitudinal axis, which is provided with a hollow housing suitable for housing a group of elongated elements to be inspected; a transporting conveyor of the forming pocket which is configured to advance the pocket along an advancing path through a first inspection position; a first tridimensional inspecting optical assembly configured to perform in respective successive scanning instants a plurality of first tridimensional optical scans by projecting a first light blade over a first head face of the group, during advancing of the forming pocket through the first inspection position; a processing device configured to obtain, for each first tridimensional scan, a respective first scanning line associated with the respective scanning instant and to reconstruct a first tridimensional profile of the first head face on the basis of the plurality of the first scanning lines, positioned in respective first reference positions. The forming pocket includes a first front face that in turn includes a first shaped surface be the first optical assembly is configured to perform simultaneously with each first tridimensional scan of the first head face also a respective first tridimensional scan of the first shaped surface to obtain a respective further scanning line; the processing device is in addition configured to calculate the reference position of each first scanning line analyzing the respective further scanning line.

Transferring and inspecting unit of a group of elongated elements

An inspection group is proposed for inspecting cylinder-shaped elongated elements for smoking articles, in which a working plane is selected passing through a longitudinal axis of a first elongated element and there are considered a first half space and a second half space arranged on opposite parts with respect to the working plane. The inspecting group includes: a projecting device adapted to project a first stripe of light from the first half space onto an inspection portion of an external surface of the first elongated element and to obtain a first three-dimensional light trace, and also adapted to project a second stripe of light from the second half space onto the inspection portion to obtain a second three-dimensional light trace; an optical assembly adapted to frame the first elongated element and to process a first view and a second view; a processing device adapted to reconstruct a first closed curved section profile of the first elongated element processing an identified first curved light line in the first view and a second identified curved light line in the second view and comparing the first reconstructed closed curved profile with an ideal section profile to identify possible deformations of the reconstructed first closed curved profile with respect to the ideal section profile. The projecting device includes a single projector of a single stripe of light; a shield, arranged between the single projector and the first elongated element, adapted to split the single stripe of light into a first part of a stripe of light and into a second part of a stripe of light; first deflectors of the first part of a stripe of light arranged in the first half space and second deflectors of the second part of the stripe of light arranged in the second half space to obtain respectively the first stripe of light projected from the first half space and the second stripe of light projected from the second half space by a single stripe of light.

Inspection group of an elongated element

A method is proposed for inspecting cylinder-shaped elongated elements for smoking articles that provides projecting from a first half-space a first stripe of light onto an external face of a first elongated element and projecting from a second half-space onto the first elongated element a second stripe of light. The method reconstructs, by means of a first identified curved line and a second identified curved line respectively in a first acquired view and in a second acquired view of the first elongated element, a first closed curved section profile of the first elongated element and identifies possible deformations of the reconstructed first closed curved profile with respect to an ideal section profile. The method further includes the step of arranging an ideal elongated element alongside the first elongated element, respectively in a reference position and in a first position, inspecting simultaneously the first elongated element and the ideal elongated element by the first stripe of light and the second stripe of light; reconstructing, by a first identified curved line and a second identified curved line respectively in the first view and in the second view a first closed curved section profile of the ideal elongated element; monitoring the reconstructed closed curved profile of the ideal elongated element generating a warning if the reconstructed closed curved profile of the ideal elongated element is different from an ideal section profile, for example circular.

Method for inspecting an elongated element

Groups of cigarettes approaching a packer are transferred and inspected by a conveyor equipped with receptacles advancing along a set path, and an inspection device such as will verify the presence and the integrity of each cigarette in each receptacle and generate signals to indicate the outcome of the inspection. The conveyor also incorporates emitters in the form of permanent magnets, each associated with a relative receptacle and interacting with a receiver consisting in an array of magnetoresistors ordered along the conveying path; the receiver is capable of emitting signals synchronized with the steps of the inspection procedure and indicating the position of each receptacle relative to a fixed inspection position.

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Castel Maggiore, Italy

Alberto Casagrande