Molins Plc

Robert William Davies

Leonard Thornton

Peter Ernest Willett

Leonard Henry Calver

Maxwell Francis Veness

Leonard Richard Wager

Desmond W Molins

Robert E Williams

David C Carter

Reginald C Bolt

Barry G Applegate

David J Farrar

Michael Gordon Pearse

Frederick Pratt

A conveyor system for distributing packets from two packing machines among the two tracks of a wrapping machine includes an indexing conveyor and a rotary pusher for each track. Packets are fed from the packing machines along respective conveyors and delivered by plungers on to the conveyor at every second stoppage period thereof. The rotary pushers operate in phased relationship, so that an equal number of packets reaches each track.

Distributing streams of articles

A hinged lid packet has an inner frame provided at each side with a downwardly facing edge, which engages with a upwardly facing edge in the side wall of the packet to limit downward movement of the inner frame. The edge in the inner frame may be formed by an outwardly bent corner; and the corresponding edge in the side wall may be formed by a rectangular cut-out, such as a slot.

Cigarette packets

A cigarette hopper, especially for a packing machine, has a number of flow channels (6) incorporating restraining devices to arrest cigarettes which are faulty, e.g. in size, shape or orientation, thereby preventing the formation of defective cigarette bundles. The lower ends of the channels (22) may be curved to catch non-horizontal cigarettes (C3), and may include photo-cell devices (FIG. 3) which detect and arrest inadequately filled cigarettes and which additionally serve to monitor the flow of cigarettes so that the machine operator can receive a fault warning.

Feeding cigarettes and similar rod-like articles

In a cigarette packing machine bundles of cigarettes are wrapped in metallic foil and fed along two parallel rows. Successive foremost articles in the rows are inserted into holders of pairs of planetary mechanisms. After indexing of the mechanisms in opposite directions, the articles are ejected at a spacing less than that between the rows.

Article conveying mechanisms

In apparatus for producing two-piece foil wrappers for wrapping bundles of cigarettes, a web of foil is cut alternately by two cylindrical cutters operating against fixed blades. A suction roller receives each successive newly cut end of the foil before the next cutter operates. Each resulting pair of foil wrapper pieces is then transferred to a suction drum having a sector arcuately movable thereon to produce an overlap in the wrapper pieces.

Apparatus for the production of wrappers

In apparatus for feeding blanks for hinged lid packets, the blanks are supported in a stack by two pairs of pivotal claws which operate alternately so that at any given time only one pair of opposed claws supports the stack. A plunger device, having a central and two tiltable outer sections, engages the lowermost blank by suction and bends down opposite ends of the blank through a small angle, thus progressively withdrawing the blank from the stack. In a modification one pair of claws is replaced by fixed ledges, and a fixed finger is associated with each pivotal claw.

Blank feeding

A wrapping machine for cigarette packets has a cyclic drive for cutting the wrappers and feeding them towards cigarette bundles to be wrapped. The drive, which may take the form of a cyclic gearbox having an eccentric gear, passes through a clutch which can be disengaged at the minimum drive speed, for example when a bundle is missing or the wrapper web is being spliced.

Wrapping machines

Packet blanks are fed stepwise along an elongated blank bed by a succession of pawls reciprocating along the length of the bed. Mechanism is provided for lifting the pawls at the end of their working strokes, and for lowering them at the end of their return strokes. In the event that the blank feed is to be interrupted, the mechanism can keep the pawls lifted without stopping reciprocating movement of the pawls.

Apparatus for conveying articles

A packing machine for cigarettes comprises a carton blank reservoir, a carton blank hopper, a blank feeding device,a blank transfer conveyor, a bundle drum, a packet forming drum,a packet stacking unit and a packet orientation unit. Carton blanks are removed one at a time from the hopper by a suction device and fed intermittently by the transfer conveyor to a position adjacent a pocket in the packet forming drum, the blank then being pushed into the pocket so as to partially form it into a carton. While on the transfer conveyor adhesive is applied to certain parts of the blank and initial folding of the blank takes place. Foil wrapped bundles of cigarettes are pushed, two at a time, into pockets provided on the bundle drum and transferred one at a time into a partially formed carton contained in a pocket on the packet forming drum. Further folding and gumming of the partially formed carton takes place on the packet forming drum and the carton is completed on being pushed from the packet forming drum into the stacking unit, in which the adhesive is reheated and the packet passes between spring loaded walls to ensure it is of the required external dimensions. The completed packets are then fed onto the orientation unit which presents each packet in the correct orientation for further operations to be carried out.

Packing machines

Wrappers of metallic foil are formed around groups of articles to be packed, in a machine which comprises a cigarette hopper, a cigarette bundle conveyor, a metallic foil feeding assembly, a foil conveyor, a cigarette compression device, a foil folding and tucking unit, a bundle transfer unit and a bundle orientation and ejection unit. Bundles of cigarettes are fed from the hopper into pockets on the bundle conveyor from which they are removed two at a time, at spaced locations, and pushed into the compression device. A single web of metallic foil is supplied to the foil feeding assembly which produces pieces of foil consisting of two overlapped portions which are fed, in turn, to the foil conveyors. The bundles are removed from the compression device and the pieces of foil are formed around the bundles as they are conveyed through the foil folding and tucking unit. The wrapped bundles are then fed into the bundle transfer unit which brings them closer together, after which the bundles are pushed into pockets on the bundle orientation and ejection unit, which comprises an intermittently rotatable turntable. While on the latter the bundles are orientated on each stepwise movement so that further operations may be carried out, including ejecting the bundles separately, or together, from the turntable at either of two positions.

A hopper for a cigarette-packing machine has a number of vertical channels each accommodating a single column of cigarettes, with their axes horizontal. Plungers reciprocating across the lower ends of the channels remove a selected number of cigarettes from each channel during each forward stroke. During each return stroke of the plungers, vanes interdigitated with the plungers support the cigarettes in the channels above the plungers, said vanes lowering before the next forward stroke of the plungers to control descent of the cigarettes on to a base plate. To allow faster operation of the hopper without increasing the speed of vane lowering so that cigarette descent is not sufficiently controlled, the plungers are pivotally mounted to permit them to be downwardly inclined during their return stroke and then allow vane lowering to begin earlier in each operating cycle. The base plate may also be pivotally mounted, and downwardly inclined during the plungers' return stroke to increase the angle of inclination possible for the plungers.

Cigarette hoppers

A machine for packing cigarettes in which packets, having one open end, are made by successively wrapping an inner layer of foil and an outer layer of paper round a former, transferring the open ended packets into a pocket on a conveyor, and then inserting a batch of twenty cigarettes into each packet. A plurality of packet-making devices, and batch-forming devices are provided, the conveyor being so positioned that each pocket first passes all the packet-making devices in succession and then all the batch-forming devices in succession.

A packing machine for cigarettes comprises a carton blank reservoir, a carton blank hopper, a blank feeding device, a blank transfer conveyor, a bundle drum, a packet forming drum, a packet stacking unit and a packet orientation unit. Carton blanks are removed one at a time from the hopper by a suction device and fed intermittently by the transfer conveyor to a position adjacent a pocket in the packet forming drum, the blank then being pushed into the pocket so as to partially form it into a carton. Whilst on the transfer conveyor adhesive is applied to certain parts of the blank and initial holding of the blank takes place. Foil wrapped bundles of cigarettes are pushed, two at a time, into pockets provided on the bundle drum and transferred one at a time into a partially formed carton contained in a pocket on the packet forming drum. Further folding and gumming of the partially formed carton takes place on the packet forming drum and the carton is completed on being pushed from the packet forming drum into the stacking unit, in which the adhesive is reheated and the packet passes between spring loaded walls to ensure it is of the required external dimensions. The completed packets are then fed into the orientation unit which presents each packet in the correct orientation for further operations to be carried out. In an alternative arrangement the transfer conveyor consists of cooperating endless bands and is driven continuously.

A cigarette packet is closed at one end by an air impervious tube which is sealed flat, the resulting margin and triangulated ends being folded against the packet. In one packet the tube extends to both ends of the packet, which are sealed in the same manner; in a second packet the middle part of the tube is omitted and replaced by a tubular body of card and aluminium foil; and in a third packet one end is closed by a foil cap. The packets described may be used inside a conventional hinged lid packet.

Growing community of inventors

London, United Kingdom

Robert William Davies