Apparatus of assembling arrays of cigarettes in packing machines

Abstract

The magazine for parallel cigarettes in a packing machine has several groups of ducts each of which serves to accumulate successive layers of cigarettes at different levels so that the layer which is formed in the first group is disposed at a level below the layer formed in the second group, and so forth. A conveyor advances stepwise along the groups of ducts and has openended receptacles for layers which are transferred from the groups of ducts during each period of dwell of the conveyor by an intermittently actuated transfer unit. The conveyor is flanked by two stationary guide members whose undersides have sections disposed at different levels and staggered with reference to one another, as considered at right angles to the direction of travel of the conveyor. The guide members further have end faces against which the ends of cigarettes abut during travel from a preceding toward the next-following group of ducts. The sections of the undersides of the guide members overlie the respective end portions of the cigarettes during travel of corresponding receptacles between successive groups of ducts and while the receptacles are held in positions of register with such groups. The sections of the undersides of the guide members prevent the cigarettes in the lower layer or layers from shifting their positions owing to abrupt acceleration during the initial stage of movement from a preceding to the next-following group as well as owing to abrupt deceleration preparatory to movement into register with the next-following group of ducts. The fully assembled arrays of cigarettes in filled receptacles are converted into parallelepiped blocks at a station which follows the last group of ducts.