Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
  • A24C—MACHINES FOR MAKING CIGARS OR CIGARETTES
  • A24C5/00—Making cigarettes; Making tipping materials for, or attaching filters or mouthpieces to, cigars or cigarettes
  • A24C5/32—Separating, ordering, counting or examining cigarettes; Regulating the feeding of tobacco according to rod or cigarette condition
  • A24C5/34—Examining cigarettes or the rod, e.g. for regulating the feeding of tobacco; Removing defective cigarettes
  • A24C5/3412—Examining cigarettes or the rod, e.g. for regulating the feeding of tobacco; Removing defective cigarettes by means of light, radiation or electrostatic fields

Definitions

• the invention relates to a measuring arrangement for measuring at least one rod-shaped article of the tobacco-processing industry containing at least one active substance unit, having at least one sensor unit, at least one transmitter and at least one spaced apart from the at least one transmitter and at least temporarily with the at least one transmitter associated contact-free operative connection standing receiver, and with a rotatably mounted conveyor drum for conveying at least one rod-shaped article.
• the invention further relates to a device for producing filter rods or multi-segment filter rods containing at least one active substance unit, having a filter production machine which has a delivery area for delivering the finished filter rods or multi-segment filter rods.
• the invention relates to a device for producing filter cigarettes containing at least one drug unit, with a filter attachment machine having a delivery area for dispensing the finished filter cigarettes.
• rod-shaped articles of the tobacco-processing industry are filter rods, multi-segment filter rods and tobacco rods, and parts made therefrom. te filter cigarettes to understand. But other articles of the tobacco processing industry, such as filterless cigarettes, cigarillos u. Like., Can be understood in the present context under rod-shaped articles of the tobacco-processing industry.
• filter cigarettes may contain portioned active substance units in the region of the filter or the tobacco rod which have been introduced, for example, in the form of capsules, tablets, dragees or the like in a preceding production process.
• active substance units are used to influence the taste of a smoking article in a specific way targeted.
• Active ingredient units can be present, for example, as solids or pellets in which the taste-influencing substance is bound. Such solids or pellets may also have an agglomerate of particles of different taste-influencing substances. It is also possible to use hollow bodies with a filling of taste-influencing substances in the form of cushions.
• active ingredient units may also be formed as capsules, which are hollow and filled with at least one taste-influencing substance, which is preferably present as granules, powder or liquid.
• at least one taste-influencing substance which is preferably present as granules, powder or liquid.
• DE 1 532 119 A1 discloses a device for testing filter material in the region of a conveyor drum, in the lateral surface of which are formed depressions for receiving filter rods.
• the troughs extend in the axial direction, ie, run parallel to the central or rotational axis of the conveyor drum and are arranged in the rotational or circumferential direction of the conveyor drum side by side over the entire circumference of the conveyor drum. Therefore, such a conveyor drum is also referred to as a hollow drum.
• a slot is formed, which connects the trough with the interior of the conveyor drum.
• a light source is arranged, which irradiates the slots and thus their light rays emerge through the slots.
• a photocell is stationarily arranged, each of the emerging through a slot from the conveyor drum light rays detected to determine the position of the recorded in the associated trough filter rod or -zee. Since the conveyor drum with its lateral surface moves past the photocell, the filter rods in the wells are sequentially detected in this way.
• EP 1 463 421 B9 discloses a device for measuring properties of multi-segment filters in the transmission method using a radiation source and a radiation receiver.
• the radiation source is arranged stationarily radially outside a conveyor drum and is designed so that longitudinal axial uniform irradiation of a multi-segment filter is possible.
• the conveyor drum is formed as a hollow drum, wherein the wells are provided at their bottom with openings in the interior of the conveyor drum.
• a radiation receiver is arranged, which detects the radiation generated by the radiation source, which passes through the openings in the wells in the interior of the conveyor drum.
• testing devices which perform a test of a tobacco rod or a filter strand during the longitudinal axial promotion immediately after the introduction of the active substance unit and thus on the semi-finished product and in particular use microwaves for the test. ...
• This object is achieved in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention with a measuring arrangement for measuring at least one rod-shaped article of the tobacco processing industry containing at least one active substance unit, with at least one sensor unit having at least one transmitter and at least one of the at least one sensor unit.
• the spaced and with the at least one transmitter at least temporarily in non-contact active connection receiver are assigned, and with a rotatably mounted conveyor drum for conveying at least one rod-shaped article, characterized in that the at least one transmitter on or in the rotatably mounted conveyor drum and the at least one Receiver arranged outside the rotatably mounted conveyor drum substantially stationary and the conveyor drum is formed so that in operation during the rotation of the conveyor drum, the at least one transmitter moved past at least one receiver and the at least one rod-shaped article for a period of time in a position between the at least one Transmitter and the at least one receiver can be brought.
• the at least one receiver is arranged substantially stationary outside the rotatably mounted conveying drum, reliable data transmission can be realized.
• the invention makes use of the knowledge that the measured data are generated as output signals from the receiver. Since the receiver is not seated in the rotating conveyor drum, but is arranged substantially stationary outside of this, technically particularly simple and uncomplicated measures for the transmission of the output signal can be provided. For this purpose, in particular a fixed wiring of the receiver, which is naturally characterized by a particularly high reliability. Even if a wireless data transmission is selected, it remains unaffected by any negative influences on the part of the conveyor drum, in particular due to a shielding of the conveyor drum housing or the rotational movement of the conveyor drum.
• a non-contact operative connection between a transmitter and a receiver are preferably sensor units in question, which operate on the transmission principle, according to which therefore emits a transmitter radiation, which is received by the receiver.
• the design of the sensor unit is essentially determined by the material of the rod-shaped article to be tested and the material of the active substance units to be detected.
• measuring arrangement according to the invention is suitable for use of different sensors, which are to be used depending on the measurement requirements and in particular the properties to be measured.
• the solution according to the invention is therefore very flexible with regard to the use of the sensor system.
• the measuring arrangement according to the invention is flexible and can be adapted to it without major difficulties. Because the solution according to the invention allows an at least within wide limits arbitrary training and arrangement of the transmitter and the receiver, which is essentially only subject to the restriction that the transmitter and the associated receiver must be positioned such that between them ensures and maintains the non-contact operative connection remains.
• the measuring arrangement according to the invention enables a multiple polling or multiple measurement data acquisition, which increases the reliability and safety of the measurement system.
• a multiple measurement can also be advantageous for redundancy reasons.
• a multiple measurement can exclude so-called 'outliers' that would otherwise corrupt the measurements; This applies in particular to the presence of fiber crumbs, dust or other foreign bodies that can adversely affect optical measuring methods.
• the measuring arrangement according to the invention also offers the possibility of setting or changing the parameters and the characteristic of the non-contact active connection between transmitter and receiver with regard to the respective measurement situation, for example by switching over transmission frequencies, which results in additional analysis possibilities.
• the conveyor drum can also be referred to as a test drum.
• the transmitters and the receivers stand during one revolution the conveyor drum along a defined angular range in pairs in operative connection.
• the at least one sensor unit which is at least one transmitter and at least one spaced from the at least one transmitter and associated with the at least one transmitter at least temporarily in non-contact active connection receiver, designed as a property, the presence, position, integrity and / or To detect composition of at least one active ingredient unit in the rod-shaped article.
• the rod-shaped article of the tobacco processing industry is in particular a tobacco rod or rod, a filter plug of a filter cigarette, a filter rod or a multi-segment filter rod.
• a further preferred embodiment of the invention in which the rotatably mounted conveyor drum has at least one outwardly open trough for receiving a rod-shaped article, is characterized in that a transmitter in the trough and / or in a provided below the trough and communicating with the trough Recess is arranged, wherein the trough and the transmitter are arranged so that when receiving a rod-shaped article in the trough of the transmitter and the rod-shaped article lie in approximately radial alignment with each other.
• the trough should be divided into a first section, in which the at least one transmitter is provided and in particular embedded, and a second section, which at a Suction air system has connected Saug Kunststoffbohrept.
• the troughs are formed over the entire circumference of the conveyor drum, so that such a drum is also referred to as a trough drum.
• the transmitter is detachable on or in the rotatably mounted conveyor drum and thus arranged interchangeable. This embodiment has the advantage of using different transmitters on one and the same conveyor drum, depending on the particular application, without having to replace the conveyor drum itself.
• the detachable and thus interchangeable arrangement can be used in particular to adapt the measuring arrangement to other formats and / or configurations.
• the at least one transmitter and / or the at least one receiver is arranged to be adjustable parallel to the axis of rotation of the conveyor drum, in particular in the longitudinal axial direction of the rod-shaped article. Due to the adjustable arrangement and design of at least one part or a component of the sensor unit, this embodiment offers the possibility of being able to adapt the measuring arrangement to the respective conditions without a complete replacement of at least one part or component of the sensor unit being necessary. Therefore, this embodiment is particularly suitable for adaptation to changed formats and / or configurations of the rod-shaped articles, for example with other active substance units and / or other dimensions, in particular if such changes are required more frequently.
• the at least one receiver is coupled to an evaluation unit, wherein the evaluation unit is connected to a position detection unit, which preferably has a rotary encoder, for detecting the instantaneous angular position of the rotatably mounted conveyor drum.
• the position detection unit is used in particular for synchronizing the measurement times or measurement angles in order to obtain correspondingly reproducible measurement results.
• the evaluation unit can contain at least one shift register executed in hardware or in software.
• the at least one receiver is arranged in its distance from the rotatably mounted conveyor drum, preferably automatically adjustable.
• the at least one receiver, relative to the axis of rotation of the conveyor drum mounted radially adjustable on an external frame.
• the adjustability of the distance of the at least one receiver from the conveyor drum not only allows the use of different conveyor drums with different diameters, but is also helpful for the adaptation of the measuring arrangement to different formats and / or configurations of the rod-shaped article.
• another advantage of this embodiment is to take into account the signal strength of the transmitter and the sensitivity of the receiver in the dimensioning of the distance between the at least one transmitter and the associated at least one receiver accordingly. This ensures that the non-contact active connection between transmitter and receiver can be realized in the required quality without being impaired by overload or too weak signal transmission. This applies in particular with regard to an exchange of the associated transmitter for another transmitter with a different sensitivity or even different function.
• a plurality of receivers adjoining each other transversely to the conveying direction of the conveyor drum can be grouped together to form a receiver module, which is preferably arranged to be detachably stationary.
• the length of the effective range of the receiver module transversely to the conveying direction of the conveyor drum is about a multiple of the diameter of a rod-shaped article.
• the distance or the division between in each case two adjacent transmitters and receivers is preferably substantially the same.
• the length of the effective range of the receiver module transverse to the conveying direction of the conveyor drum may be about a multiple of a trough width.
• a plurality of receiver modules are arranged side by side transversely to the conveying direction of the conveyor drum, these receiver modules forming a receiver matrix group.
• a group of adjacent transmitters is combined to form a transmitter module, which is preferably detachably and thus removably attached to or in the conveyor drum.
• the transmitters of a transmitter module are attached to a common housing or insert, which may be formed as a pluggable transmitter module.
• the number of transmitter modules can be at least equal to the number of wells of the conveyor drum.
• a development of this embodiment is characterized in that the transmitter module is arranged parallel to the axis of rotation of the conveyor drum, in particular in the longitudinal direction of the rod-shaped article, adjustable.
• the adjustable arrangement of the transmitter module is also advantageous in order to be able to easily adapt the measuring arrangement to other formats and / or configurations of the rod-shaped articles, in particular with other active substance units and / or other dimensions.
• a plurality of transmitter modules and receiver modules may be provided, wherein the number of transmitter modules is greater than the number of receiver modules and the transmitter modules and the receiver modules are arranged such that a first receiver module with a first transmitter module and at least a second receiver module with a second Transmitter module temporarily interact.
• This embodiment is particularly suitable especially for multi-line systems, in which a transmitter module and a receiver module are assigned in pairs to a strand path.
• a further preferred embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the at least one transmitter is designed to generate electromagnetic radiation in the visible range, and the at least one receiver is designed to receive this radiation, laser radiation preferably being used in the visible range.
• Light or high-energy light such as high-energy red light or high-energy xenon light is used.
• the at least one transmitter can also be designed to generate and / or transmit electromagnetic radiation in the non-visible region, preferably microwaves, and the at least one receiver can be designed to receive this radiation.
• microwaves are particularly advantageous for measuring moisture, density and position of a drug unit.
• the at least one transmitter can be designed to generate and / or emit electromagnetic radiation in the form of pulses.
• the at least one transmitter is designed so that the electromagnetic radiation generated and / or emitted by it can be changed with respect to frequency, intensity, focus and / or phase and thus adjustable, in particular between at least two frequencies , is.
• This makes it possible, in particular, to make comparison measurements for one and the same configuration or one and the same state of a rod-shaped article or to adapt the measurement to the material of the active substance units to be detected and possibly also to the material of the rod-shaped article to be tested.
• it is alternatively conceivable to form the at least one transmitter to generate and / or transmit sound waves, preferably ultrasonic waves, and to form the at least one receiver, to receive these sound waves.
• the at least one transmitter is designed such that the sound waves generated and / or emitted by it are variable in terms of frequency, intensity and / or focusing and thus adjustable. This makes it possible, in particular, to make comparison measurements for one and the same configuration or one and the same state of a rod-shaped article or to adapt the measurement to the material of the active substance units to be detected and possibly also to the material of the rod-shaped article to be tested.
• At least one capacitively operating or acting sensor unit and thus to design at least one transmitter and at least one receiver in such a way that they act together as a measuring capacitor by the at least one transmitter having one capacitor electrode and the at least one receiver the other Capacitor electrode forms and thereby between the at least one transmitter and the at least one receiver, a high-frequency electric field, preferably in the range of 30 kHz to 300 MHz arises.
• Capacitive high-frequency sensors can be used particularly advantageously for measuring the density of a strand or a material web and for detecting foreign bodies within the strand or the material web.
• the at least one transmitter is designed so that the electric high-frequency field with respect to frequency, intensity, focus and / or phase changeable and thus adjustable, in particular switchable between at least two frequencies.
• This makes it possible, in particular, to make comparison measurements for one and the same configuration or one and the same state of a rod-shaped article or to adapt the measurement to the material of the active substance units to be detected and possibly also to the material of the rod-shaped article to be tested.
• a structurally particularly simple structure on the side of the transmitter or transmitter modules is given when all transmitters or transmitter modules are operated together with the same setting as for example to generate the same frequency response and in particular supplied with the same supply voltage from only a single voltage source.
• the surface or top of the at least one transmitter should be designed depending on the format of the rod-shaped article to be detected.
• the configuration of the surface or upper side of the at least one transmitter can be determined by its positioning on or in the conveyor drum. In many cases, the surface or top of the at least one transmitter is curved. If the at least one transmitter is embedded in a depression of a well drum, then the surface or upper side of the transmitter should be provided with a preferably format-dependent, concave curvature.
• a device for producing filter rods or multi-segment filter rods containing at least one active substance unit with a filter production machine having a delivery area for delivering the finished filter rods or multi-segment filter rods, characterized in that a measuring arrangement according to the first aspect of the present invention in the delivery area of the filter provided and the measuring arrangement is a discharge station for discharging defective filter rods or multi-segment filter rods or downstream.
• a device for producing filter cigarettes containing at least one active ingredient unit with a filter attachment machine having a delivery region for dispensing the finished filter cigarettes, characterized in that a measuring device according to the first Aspect of the present invention provided in the delivery area of the filter attachment and the measuring device is a discharge station for discharging defective filter cigarettes or downstream.
• the invention differs from conventional test devices, in particular using microwaves make an examination of a tobacco rod or a filter strand during the longitudinal axial promotion immediately after the introduction of a drug unit and thus already in the semi-finished product.
• the invention makes use of the knowledge that after introduction of the active substance units during the subsequent further processing process, the active substance units introduced in the tobacco or filter strand can still be exposed to certain influences and changes which are not detected by the previous testing devices.
• FIG. 1 shows schematically in cross section a measuring arrangement according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, with a conveyor drum partially shown, transmitters arranged therein and a receiver module stationarily arranged outside the conveyor drum;
• FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the measuring arrangement of FIG. 1;
• FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the measuring arrangement of FIG. 1;
• FIG. 3a - c schematically in cross section a portion of the conveyor drum in
• Fig. 4 shows a schematic block diagram of the entire measuring system with the
• the measuring arrangement shown by way of example in the figures has a conveyor drum 2, which is rotatably mounted about an axis of rotation 4 and is rotated by a drive device not shown in rotation in the direction of the arrow A.
• a conveyor drum 2 which is rotatably mounted about an axis of rotation 4 and is rotated by a drive device not shown in rotation in the direction of the arrow A.
• depressions 6 are formed, which extend parallel to the axis of rotation 4 and thus in the axial direction and are distributed over the circumference of the conveyor drum 2.
• the troughs 6 are arranged equidistant from each other by the distances between each two adjacent troughs 6 in the circumferential or rotational direction of the conveyor drum 2 according to arrow A at all troughs 6 are the same.
• the conveying drum 2 is a hollow drum. As can be seen in FIG.
• all depressions 6 have first sections 6 a 1 and 6 a 2 , in which suction air bores 8 are formed.
• These Saugluftbohrungen 8 form the end of suction air ducts, not shown in the figures, which are formed within the conveyor drum 2 and connected to a suction device, also not shown in the figures.
• the troughs 6 serve to receive rod-shaped articles containing at least one active substance unit. no tobacco processing industry by means of negative pressure, which is generated by suction of air through the suction air hole 8.
• the rod-shaped articles of the tobacco-processing industry are preferably a filter rod or a tobacco rod or a substantially already finished filter cigarette, in which the at least one active substance unit is introduced into the filter plug.
• a filter cigarette 10 is subjected to a test to be described in more detail below, which has a filter plug 10a and a tobacco rod 10b, as shown in FIG.
• the filter plug 10a of the filter cigarette 10 contains one or more active substance units, of which in FIG. 3a, in cross section, an active substance unit 11 is shown schematically. Active ingredient units are used to influence the taste of a cigarette in a specific way targeted.
• Active ingredient units can be present, for example, as a solid or pellets in which a taste-influencing substance is bound. Such solids or pellets may also have an agglomerate of particles of different taste-influencing substances. It is also possible to use hollow bodies with a filling of taste-influencing substances in the form of cushions. Alternatively, active ingredient units may also be formed as capsules, which are hollow and filled with at least one taste-influencing substance, which is preferably present as granules, powder or liquid. As can be seen in particular Figures 1 and 3a to c, the troughs 6 are formed as concave grooves, which have a nearly semi-circular cross-section whose curvature and radius are adapted substantially to the filter cigarette 10 to be processed accordingly.
• 6 transmitters 12 are embedded in the wells, as Fig. 1 reveals.
• the transmitters 12 are arranged in the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 2 in the wells 6 within two second sections 6b-i and 6b 2 , 6a and 6a 2 of the wells 6 separated from the Saugluftbohrept 8 containing the first sections containing 6 defined are.
• the transmitters 12 are below the troughs 6 in their second sections 6bi and 6b 2 arranged, as Fig. 1 reveals.
• 2 depressions or recesses 13 are formed below the wells 6 in the second sections 6b and 6b 2 in the conveyor drum, which extend radially in the illustrated embodiment. In these recesses 13, the transmitter 12 are arranged or embedded.
• the arrangement of the transmitter 12 is preferably made so that they do not protrude with its radially outer top into the trough 6, but complete with the bottom or at least slightly below this, as also Fig. 1 shows schematically. Further, in Fig. 1, an annular supply line 14 is shown, which is laid in the interior of the conveyor drum 2 and to which all transmitters 12 are connected in the illustrated embodiment in the manner of a busbar together. Thus, the transmitter 12 are supplied in the illustrated embodiment via the supply line 14 together with an operating voltage and also controlled in the same way together.
• each well 6 more transmitters 12 are provided, 'in accordance with arrow A lie in the axial direction, and thus transverse to the rotation or the direction of conveyance of the conveyor drum 2 side by side.
• the transmitters 12 within each of the second sections 6bi and 6b 2 of the wells 6 are grouped together to form a transmitter module 16.
• two axially spaced transmitter modules 16 are present.
• several transmitter modules 16 can be combined in the direction of rotation or conveying direction of the conveyor drum 2 according to arrow A to a transmitter module matrix, if required.
• receivers 20 are provided outside the conveyor drum 2 at a radial distance from its jacket 2 a, which are shown in FIG. embodiment are attached to a cup and bow-shaped frame or holder 22.
• the holder 22 is radially adjustable in the rotational or conveying direction of the conveyor drum 2 according to Case Astationär, but stored in the presently described embodiment with respect to the axis of rotation 4 of the conveyor drum 2 on a machine frame, not shown, whereby the distance of the receiver 20 to the lateral surface 2a of Conveyor drum 2 and thus to the transmitters 12 in the troughs 6 of the conveyor drum 2 is adjustable.
• the adjustment mechanism to be provided for this purpose which can be actuated manually or by a drive, preferably automatically controlled or regulated, depending on the embodiment, is likewise not shown in the figures.
• the transmitters 12 and the receivers 20 are in non-contact operative connection with one another and each define in pairs a sensor unit, which is assigned a receiver 20 and the transmitter 12 closest to this receiver 20. Since the holder 22 is arranged stationary in the direction of rotation or conveying direction of the conveyor drum 2 according to arrow A, the transmitters 12 move along the receivers 20 during rotation of the conveyor drum 2, whereby the assignment of a transmitter 12 to a receiver 20 changes constantly. In this case, the transmitters 12 and the receivers 20 are designed and arranged in such a way that they lie in an approximately radial alignment with one another in order to achieve an optimum non-contact operative connection with one another.
• the ability to adjust the distance of the receiver 20 to the lateral surface 2a of the conveyor drum 2, has the advantage of taking into account the signal strength of the transmitter 12 and the sensitivity of the receiver 20 in the dimensioning of the distance accordingly. This ensures that the non-contact operative connection between the transmitter 12 and the receiver 20 can be realized in the required quality without being impaired by overload or too weak signal transmission.
• FIG. 2 furthermore shows, a plurality of receivers 20 arranged one behind the other in the direction of rotation or conveying direction of the conveyor drum 2 are combined to form a group, which form a receiver module 24.
• the length of the Effective range of a receiver module 24 in the rotational or conveying direction of the conveyor drum 2 according to arrow A is about a multiple of the diameter of a filter cigarette 10, wherein the distance or pitch between each two adjacent transmitters 12 and receivers 20 is substantially equal.
• several transverse to the rotation or conveying direction of the conveyor drum 2 according to arrow A adjacent receiver modules 24 are combined to form a receiver module matrix, as further Fig. 2 shows schematically.
• the receiver modules 24 are shown in dashed lines in FIG. 2, since these are arranged on the side of the dish-shaped holder 22 facing away from the observer of FIG.
• the transmitters 12 and the receivers 20 are temporarily in non-contact operative connection with one another and each time temporarily define a sensor unit in pairs, the assignment of a transmitter 12 to a receiver 20 constantly changing due to the rotation of the conveyor drum 2.
• the sensor units formed in this way are used for testing the filter cigarettes 10 received in the troughs 6 in order to detect certain properties of an active substance unit 11 (FIG. 3a), in particular their presence, position, integrity and / or composition in the filter cigarettes 10. Since such a test takes place on the conveyor drum 2, which at the same time transports the filter cigarettes 10 to be tested in the direction of rotation or conveying according to arrow A, the conveyor drum 2 can also be referred to as a test drum.
• the transmitter modules 16 and the receiver modules 24 are detachably arranged. This allows for the possibility of replacing the modules with other modules suitable for other formats and / or configurations. Furthermore, especially for this purpose, the transmitter modules 16 are still parallel to the axis of rotation 4 of the conveyor drum 2 and thus in the longitudinal axial direction of the filter cigarettes 10 in the grooves 6 along arranged adjustable.
• the receiver modules 24 are parallel to the axis of rotation 4 of the conveyor drum 2 and thus stored adjustable in the longitudinal axial direction of the filter cigarettes 10, including either the receiver modules 24 arranged correspondingly adjustable on the holder 22 or the holder 22 itself arranged correspondingly adjustable on a machine frame, not shown is.
• the already mentioned radial adjustability of the holder 22 for the receiver 20 can also be used for adaptation to other formats and / or configurations of the filter cigarettes 10.
• the entire conveyor drum 2 can also be exchanged for adaptation to other formats and / or configurations.
• the radially adjustable mounting of the holder 22 is advantageous in order then to be able to set the distance to the lateral surface 2a of the conveyor drum 2 used in each case to the desired value. Since, as shown in FIG.
• the arrangement of the receivers 20 has a curved or curved shape, wherein the curvature runs approximately parallel to the curvature of the lateral surface 2a of the conveyor drum 2, it is advantageous in this context to arrange the receiver 20 or the receiver modules 24 or the receiver module matrix in such a way and / or to arrange on the holder 22 that the curvature is adjustable and thus correspondingly adapted to the conveyor drum 2 used in each case.
• the cup-shaped holder 22 is provided with a correspondingly curved shape, wherein the cup-shaped holder 22 may be configured such that its curvature is adjustable.
• a rotary encoder 26 is also shown schematically in sections, which is provided for detecting the instantaneous angular position of the conveyor drum 2.
• FIG. 3 a a section of the conveyor drum 2 according to FIGS. 1 and 2 is shown schematically in cross-section in the region of a trough 6 and a recess 6 embedded therein.
• th transmitter 12 shown enlarged. 3a shows that the bottom 6c of the trough 6 is concave with a corresponding curvature in adaptation to the filter cigarette, shown in FIG. 3a in the cross section of the filter plug 10a containing an active substance unit 11a.
• Fig. 3a shows that the transmitter 12 shown there is formed as a light emitting diode. Accordingly, the embodiment shown in FIG. 3a is an optically operating transmitter 12 or a light source.
• the light emitting diode 12 positioned slightly below the bottom 6c of the trough 6 and between the light emitting diode 12 and the bottom 6c of the trough 6, a lens 28 is arranged, the light radiation 30 generated by the light emitting diode 12 in the direction the respective associated receiver 20 bundles.
• the lenses 28 can also be seen schematically in plan view in FIG. 2.
• the cup-shaped holder 22 is broken accordingly in Fig. 2 for a recognizable representation of the lenses 28.
• the light-emitting diode 12 is arranged in an insert 32, which is inserted into the radial recess 13 in the manner of a cassette.
• the insert 32 is detachably arranged with the light emitting diode 12 in the radial recess 13, which offers the possibility to replace the light emitting diode 12 in a simple manner against another transmitter.
• the light-emitting diode 12 may preferably be provided for generating laser light or high-energy light such as high-energy red light or xenon light. Accordingly, the receivers 20 must be configured to receive such radiation.
• transmitters for generating electromagnetic radiation in the non-visible range preferably microwaves
• the receivers 20 must be correspondingly designed to receive such radiation.
• microwaves are advantageously suitable for measuring moisture, density and also the position of a drug unit 11.
• the transmitter can be provided in the form of pulses according to the two variants mentioned above for generating the electromagnetic radiation.
• the transmitter should be designed such that the electromagnetic radiation generated and / or emitted by it is variable with regard to frequency, intensity, focusing and / or phase and thus adjustable, in particular switchable between at least two frequencies.
• FIG. 3b shows a further embodiment, which differs from the embodiment according to FIG. 3a in that an ultrasonic transmitter 34 is provided as the transmitter, whereby the receivers 20 (not shown in FIG. 3b) must be designed accordingly by the ultrasonic transmitter 34 generated ultrasonic waves 36 to receive.
• the ultrasound transmitter 34 should be designed so that the sound waves generated and / or emitted by it can be changed in terms of frequency, intensity and / or focusing and thus adjustable.
• FIG. 3 c shows a further embodiment, which differs from the embodiments according to FIGS. 3 a and 3 b in that it uses a capacitively acting sensor unit and thus forms the transmitters and the receivers in such a way that they act together as measuring capacitors.
• a capacitive transmitter 38 is provided in Fig. 3c, which forms the one capacitor electrode, while the receiver 20 (not shown in Fig. 3c) each form the other capacitor electrode.
• a high-frequency electric field 40 is generated between transmitter 38 and associated receiver, preferably in the range from 30 kHz to 300 MHz.
• Capacitive high-frequency sensors can be used particularly advantageously for measuring the density of the filter plug and the tobacco rod (not shown in Fig.
• the capacitive transmitter 38 is designed so that the high-frequency electric field 40 with respect to frequency, intensity, focus and / or phase changeable and thus adjustable, in particular switchable between at least two frequencies.
• sensor units which work according to the transmission principle, ie, a transmitter emits radiation which is received by the receiver, are preferred for producing a non-contact active connection.
• an insert 32 is provided in order to arrange the transmitter (s) in the radial depression 13 underneath the depressions 6 of the conveyor drum 2 in a detachable and thus replaceable manner.
• the use of the insert 32 is, so to speak, suitable not only for the transmitter or the light emitting diode 12 according to FIG. 3 a but also for the ultrasonic transmitter 34 according to FIG. 3 b and the capacitive transmitter 38 according to FIG Fig. 3c.
• the receiver 20 on the holder 22 are detachable and thus arranged interchangeable.
• the measuring arrangement with the conveying drum 2 described above is preferably used in the dispensing area of a filter attachment and / or filter production machine (not shown in the figures) in order at the end of a production chain to determine the properties, in particular the position and integrity, of an active substance unit 11 (FIG ) within a filter plug 10a of a filter cigarette 10 ( Figure 2).
• an active substance unit 11 FIG. 1
• the measuring arrangement is a (also not shown in the figures) discharge station for discharging defective filter plug or filter cigarettes on or downstream.
• a two-lane arrangement is schematically shown, in which along a first lane I (in the upper half of Fig. 2 shown) and arranged adjacent to the first lane I and extending parallel to this second lane II (in the lower half 2) each filter cigarettes 10 in the transverse axial direction corresponding to the rotational or conveying direction of the conveyor drum 2 are transported according to arrow A.
• the troughs 6 of the conveyor drum 2 are formed continuously and each receive two filter cigarettes 10, which are adjacent to each other with their filter plug 10a, as shown in FIG. 2 can be seen schematically.
• a measuring arrangement according to the embodiment described above is provided, wherein the two measuring arrangements, the conveyor drum 2 is assigned together.
• each measuring arrangement in the exemplary embodiment illustrated has five receiver modules 24, which lie next to one another in the axial direction and thus transversely to the direction of rotation or conveying of the conveyor drum 2 according to arrow A and together form a receiver matrix.
• a control unit 42 is connected to operate in the illustrated embodiment, all transmitters 12 and transmitter modules 16 together with the same setting as in particular for generating the same frequency response and to supply the same supply voltage of only a single voltage source ,
• the voltage source is not shown in the figures, but may be included in the control unit 42, for example.
• each receiver 20 is connected to a processing device 46 via a signal conditioning unit 44. Since in the illustrated embodiment according to FIG. 2 the receivers 20 are combined to form five receiver modules 24, the signal conditioning units 44 are correspondingly five times available.
• the measuring system shown schematically in Fig. 4 is shown only as an example of a web, so that in the case of the two-lane embodiment shown in FIG. 2, two measuring systems according to FIG. 4 are to be provided accordingly.
• a transmitter 12 comes into operative connection with a receiver 20 (FIG.
• the length of the effective range of the receiver modules 24 in the conveying or rotating direction of the conveyor drum 2 is a multiple of the width of a trough 6 or of the diameter of the filter cigarettes 10 according to arrow A.
• Each transmitter 12 irradiate a plurality of receivers 20 simultaneously or sequentially over a defined angular range.
• At least one first receiver 20 or a first receiver module 24 interact with a first transmitter 12 or a first transmitter module 16 and simultaneously at least one second receiver 20 or a second receiver module 24 with a second transmitter 12 and a second transmitter module 16 temporarily together ,
• so-called 'outliers' can also be singled out, which are based on temporary disturbances such as soiling, for example, and would otherwise falsify the measurement result.
• a synchronization of the measurement times or measurement angles takes place, for which purpose the output data from the rotary encoder 26 are used accordingly. Further, in the conditioner 46, an article measurement data passing takes place using a multi-channel mapping register not shown in FIG. 4.
• an evaluation device 48 Connected to the processing device 46 is an evaluation device 48 which, using the output signals from the rotary encoder 26, correspondingly evaluates the article measurement data obtained by the evaluation device 46.
• the evaluation device 48 inter alia, a threshold value circuit and a shift register, which are each not shown in Fig. 4.
• the evaluation device 48 finally takes place the test, the result of which serves a discharge control 50 for operating a previously mentioned, but in the figures, not shown Ausschlatestation for discharging defective filter cigarettes 10 to control.
• the check result is displayed on a display unit 52.

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• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Toxicology (AREA)
• Manufacturing Of Cigar And Cigarette Tobacco (AREA)

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Citations (6)

• 2012
  • 2012-07-04 DE DE102012211648.6A patent/DE102012211648A1/de not_active Withdrawn
• 2013
  • 2013-06-25 WO PCT/EP2013/001860 patent/WO2014005677A1/fr not_active Ceased

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