US20060180166A1 - Method and a unit for testing production quality in a line for manufacturing tobacco products - Google Patents
Method and a unit for testing production quality in a line for manufacturing tobacco products Download PDFInfo
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- US20060180166A1 US20060180166A1 US11/179,603 US17960305A US2006180166A1 US 20060180166 A1 US20060180166 A1 US 20060180166A1 US 17960305 A US17960305 A US 17960305A US 2006180166 A1 US2006180166 A1 US 2006180166A1
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- 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
-
- 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
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a method and a unit for testing production quality in a line for manufacturing tobacco products.
- the invention is applicable to the art field of systems for the manufacture of tobacco products, and of cigarettes in particular, comprising both cigarette maker and filter tip attachment machines, albeit no limitation is implied.
- the invention is concerned with testing the various characteristics or properties of cigarettes sampled at the outfeed of the line during the course of the production cycle.
- sample cigarettes taken at the outfeed end of the manufacturing line for quality control purposes will undergo tests conducted by a specialist operator who selects single cigarettes at regular intervals.
- the samples are subjected to a quality control procedure implemented in part visually and manually by the operator, and in part instrumentally by dedicated testing devices.
- the procedure in question serves to verify whether or not the different characteristics of the sample cigarettes are within given limits, which in the case of certain characteristics, at least, will be determined by the experience and judgement of the operator.
- the operator will identify those parts of the cigarette maker or the filter tip attachment machine to which any defects found in the finished product are attributable, and proceed to take the appropriate action.
- the object of the present invention is to provide a method and a unit whereby all the characteristics of products turned out by a manufacturing line of the above noted type are evaluated on the basis of rigorously objective criteria that remain constant over time.
- the stated object is realized, according to the present invention, in a method for testing the quality of production in a line for manufacturing tobacco products that consists in sampling a given number of finished products taken from the outfeed stage of the line, then subjecting each of the sampled products to a step, performed by a testing unit, in which the quality of a predetermined number of characteristics is evaluated in such a way as to obtain a plurality of signals each reflecting the quality of a single characteristic.
- the stated object is realized likewise in a unit for testing the quality of production in a line for manufacturing tobacco products, typically a line equipped with a cigarette maker and a filter tip attachment machine, comprising a unit such as will test the quality of a given number of characteristics presented by single products sampled at the outfeed stage of the line and generate output signals reflecting the quality assignable respectively to each of the single characteristics of each sampled product, also a central processing and sorting unit by which the output signals are received from the testing unit, processed, and used to create video displayable graphs.
- FIG. 1 is a block diagram representing a line for the manufacture of tobacco products, equipped with a unit for testing the quality of production such as will implement the method according to the present invention
- FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective representation of the line for manufacturing tobacco products as illustrated diagrammatically in FIG. 1 ;
- FIGS. 3 and 4 show two graphs obtainable using the unit of FIG. 1 ;
- FIGS. 5 and 6 show a table and a corresponding graph, respectively, obtainable using the unit of FIG. 1 .
- numeral 1 denotes a production line, in its entirety, for the manufacture of tobacco products such as cigarettes, denoted 2 , comprising a cigarette maker 3 and a filter tip attachment machine 4 .
- the cigarette maker 3 incorporates a plurality of devices and machine units and, more exactly, is equipped at the upstream end with a carding unit 5 in receipt of tobacco from an infeed hopper (not illustrated); proceeding downstream, the tobacco is taken up onto a carding drum 6 and projected by an impeller roller 7 , operating in conjunction with the carding drum 6 , into a descent duct or chute 8 , thence onto a belt conveyor 9 and into an ascent duct or chimney 10 .
- the top end of the chimney 10 is enclosed by an aspirating belt 11 on which the tobacco particles collect and are formed gradually into a continuous stream 12 that will ultimately provide the filler for the cigarettes 2 .
- the stream 12 of tobacco is released onto a strip of paper 13 decoiling from a roll 14 along a path that passes initially through a printing device 15 , and advances into a garniture section 16 where it is enveloped longitudinally by the aforementioned strip 13 to form a continuous cigarette rod 17 .
- the continuous rod 17 is fed toward and through a cutting station 18 where it will be divided up by a rotary cutter device 19 into discrete segments of predetermined and constant length, and more exactly into sticks 20 of length measuring twice the length of a stick making up a single cigarette 2 .
- Numeral 21 denotes a device by which the double length sticks 20 are transferred, through a set of infeed rollers 22 forming part of the filter tip attachment machine 4 , to a cutting station 23 where each successive double length stick 20 is separated into two single cigarette sticks 24 by the action of a roller 25 and a disc cutter 26 .
- the single cigarette sticks 24 are directed from the roller 25 of the cutting station 23 , first onto a distancing roller 27 on which the two sticks 24 separated by each cutting stroke are spaced apart axially one from the other, then onto an assembling roller 28 , whereupon a double length filter plug 29 supplied by a respective feed unit, denoted 30 in its entirety, is interposed between the two single sticks 24 of each advancing pair.
- the resulting assemblies each consisting of two single cigarette sticks 24 and one double length filter plug 29 placed between them, are released from the assembling roller 28 onto a roller 31 that forms part of a finishing station 32 , comprising a unit 33 by which tipping papers 34 are cut and fed to the selfsame station 32 , and a rolling device 35 such as will take up the stick/double-filter/stick assemblies and the tipping papers 34 and roll each successive tipping paper 34 about a corresponding assembly to fashion a double length cigarette 2 .
- the double length cigarettes 2 are fed by way of an intermediate roller 36 to a cutter device 37 and divided by a cutting stroke made through the double length filter 29 to generate two successions of single filter cigarettes 2 appearing identical one to another.
- the two successions of filter cigarettes 2 are directed toward an outfeed stage 38 of the filter tip attachment machine 4 , advancing first onto an overturning roller 39 by which a single succession of cigarettes 2 is established, then passing onto a final train of rollers denoted 40 in its entirety, along which the cigarettes 2 will undergo further finishing steps of a familiar nature.
- the final train 40 of rollers supported together with the aforementioned rollers 22 , 25 , 27 , 28 and 31 by a vertical bulkhead 41 associated with the frame 42 of the filter tip attachment machine 4 , comprises a roller denoted 43 on which ventilation holes are pierced in the cigarettes 2 by a laser generator device 44 , and a roller denoted 45 on which the cigarettes are scanned.
- the manufacturing line 1 comprises a unit 46 by means of which to test the production quality of the cigarettes 2 , connected on the input side by way of a single cigarette sampling device, indicated as a block 47 , to a roller 48 coinciding with the outfeed stage 38 of the filter tip attachment machine 4 .
- the unit 46 in question is designed to test the quality of a plurality of characteristics presented by the single cigarette 2 , and in particular, the integrity of the paper wrap, the consistency of the end fill, the degree of ventilation obtained with the holes pierced by the laser generator 44 , the quality of the print, the weight, and so forth.
- the quality testing unit 46 is connected on the output side to a central data processing and sorting unit or CPU 49 , connected in turn to a keyboard 50 , a video display unit 51 and a printer 52 .
- the CPU 49 can also be connected by way of a web network 53 to the Internet, represented schematically by a block denoted 59 .
- the CPU 49 will receive signals relating to each of the characteristics tested, which it processes and outputs in the form of graphs, as illustrated by way of example in FIGS. 3 and 4 , viewable on the video display unit 51 .
- the CPU 49 comprises processing means 54 by which each signal received from the testing unit 46 is assigned a value on a predetermined scale common to all of the tested characteristics.
- the “x” axis represents the succession of cigarettes 2 subjected to quality testing, whilst the “y” axis is marked 0 to 10 , denoting the values on the aforementioned scale.
- the information provided will enable the operator to take corrective action on the devices of the line 1 to which the negative trend is attributable.
- the action in question might occur automatically, triggered by feedback control circuits indicated schematically in FIG. 1 as blocks denoted 55 and 56 , by way of which the CPU 49 is connected to the various devices and units of the cigarette maker 3 and of the filter tip attachment machine 4 .
- the CPU 49 further comprises sorting means 57 by which the signals reflecting the characteristics of each single cigarette 2 tested can be represented as numerical values in a table as illustrated in FIG. 5 .
- each column in the table of FIG. 5 provides information amounting effectively to a “report” on a respective cigarette.
- the central data processing and sorting unit 49 is equipped with computing means 58 able to produce an overall assessment of the tested characteristics for each cigarette 2 sampled.
- each of the overall assessments indicated on the bottom line of the table is attributed by computing the average of the values assigned for the single characteristics.
- the processing means 54 are able to generate a graph of the type shown in FIG. 6 , which indicates the trend of the overall assessments relating to a given series of sampled cigarettes 2 .
- the line 1 is equipped in conventional manner with a succession of devices serving to monitor the cigarette-making process, and devices serving to reject any cigarettes 2 of which the characteristics may not register within prescribed limits.
- all of the cigarettes 2 scrutinized by the quality testing unit 46 will be identifiable, at least in theory, as conforming to an acceptance threshold defined in the graphs of FIGS. 3, 4 and 6 , by the line A parallel to the “x” axis.
- selection means might be installed at the outfeed stage 38 of the line 1 , with the end in view of organizing the tobacco products into distinct lots destined for different markets.
- the system might also comprise a printing device 60 , associated with the quality testing unit 46 and driven by the computing means 58 and/or the processing means 54 , such as will impress the sampled cigarettes 2 with marks 61 serving to indicate the overall quality assessment attributed by averaging the values assigned for all of the characteristics tested, or to indicate the value assigned for one such characteristic.
- a printing device 60 associated with the quality testing unit 46 and driven by the computing means 58 and/or the processing means 54 , such as will impress the sampled cigarettes 2 with marks 61 serving to indicate the overall quality assessment attributed by averaging the values assigned for all of the characteristics tested, or to indicate the value assigned for one such characteristic.
Abstract
Single cigarettes selected as samples at the outfeed stage of a manufacturing line undergo a systematic quality control operation, performed by a testing unit, that consists in verifying a given number of characteristics for each cigarette and generating a set of signals each reflecting the quality of a respective characteristic; the succession of signals, each assigned a value on a predetermined scale, is represented in the form of a graph. Once a significant sample has been processed, the values assigned to all the characteristics of the tested cigarettes are displayed in a table, ordered such that each column will serve effectively as a production report on an individual cigarette.
Description
- The present invention relates to a method and a unit for testing production quality in a line for manufacturing tobacco products.
- The invention is applicable to the art field of systems for the manufacture of tobacco products, and of cigarettes in particular, comprising both cigarette maker and filter tip attachment machines, albeit no limitation is implied.
- More exactly, the invention is concerned with testing the various characteristics or properties of cigarettes sampled at the outfeed of the line during the course of the production cycle.
- Among the characteristics of cigarettes subjected to such tests, certain items are notably important: the weight, the consistency of the filler at the cut ends, the degree of ventilation, the quality of the print, the integrity of the paper wrap, and the soundness of the join between filter and cigarette.
- Conventionally, sample cigarettes taken at the outfeed end of the manufacturing line for quality control purposes will undergo tests conducted by a specialist operator who selects single cigarettes at regular intervals. The samples are subjected to a quality control procedure implemented in part visually and manually by the operator, and in part instrumentally by dedicated testing devices.
- In practice, the procedure in question serves to verify whether or not the different characteristics of the sample cigarettes are within given limits, which in the case of certain characteristics, at least, will be determined by the experience and judgement of the operator.
- In the event of at least one among the tested characteristics failing to meet the standards of acceptance, the operator will identify those parts of the cigarette maker or the filter tip attachment machine to which any defects found in the finished product are attributable, and proceed to take the appropriate action.
- It will be appreciated from the foregoing that the quality control procedure in question depends to a large extent on the experience and judgement of the operator. Consequently, the evaluation of certain characteristics presented by the cigarettes is necessarily subjective and may not always be made uniformly, even within the scope of a single production run.
- The object of the present invention is to provide a method and a unit whereby all the characteristics of products turned out by a manufacturing line of the above noted type are evaluated on the basis of rigorously objective criteria that remain constant over time.
- The stated object is realized, according to the present invention, in a method for testing the quality of production in a line for manufacturing tobacco products that consists in sampling a given number of finished products taken from the outfeed stage of the line, then subjecting each of the sampled products to a step, performed by a testing unit, in which the quality of a predetermined number of characteristics is evaluated in such a way as to obtain a plurality of signals each reflecting the quality of a single characteristic.
- The stated object is realized likewise in a unit for testing the quality of production in a line for manufacturing tobacco products, typically a line equipped with a cigarette maker and a filter tip attachment machine, comprising a unit such as will test the quality of a given number of characteristics presented by single products sampled at the outfeed stage of the line and generate output signals reflecting the quality assignable respectively to each of the single characteristics of each sampled product, also a central processing and sorting unit by which the output signals are received from the testing unit, processed, and used to create video displayable graphs.
- The invention will now be described in detail, by way of example, with the aid of the accompanying drawings, in which:
-
FIG. 1 is a block diagram representing a line for the manufacture of tobacco products, equipped with a unit for testing the quality of production such as will implement the method according to the present invention; -
FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective representation of the line for manufacturing tobacco products as illustrated diagrammatically inFIG. 1 ; -
FIGS. 3 and 4 show two graphs obtainable using the unit ofFIG. 1 ; -
FIGS. 5 and 6 show a table and a corresponding graph, respectively, obtainable using the unit ofFIG. 1 . - With reference to
FIGS. 1 and 2 ,numeral 1 denotes a production line, in its entirety, for the manufacture of tobacco products such as cigarettes,denoted 2, comprising acigarette maker 3 and a filtertip attachment machine 4. - The
cigarette maker 3 incorporates a plurality of devices and machine units and, more exactly, is equipped at the upstream end with acarding unit 5 in receipt of tobacco from an infeed hopper (not illustrated); proceeding downstream, the tobacco is taken up onto acarding drum 6 and projected by animpeller roller 7, operating in conjunction with thecarding drum 6, into a descent duct orchute 8, thence onto abelt conveyor 9 and into an ascent duct orchimney 10. - The top end of the
chimney 10 is enclosed by anaspirating belt 11 on which the tobacco particles collect and are formed gradually into acontinuous stream 12 that will ultimately provide the filler for thecigarettes 2. - The
stream 12 of tobacco is released onto a strip ofpaper 13 decoiling from aroll 14 along a path that passes initially through aprinting device 15, and advances into agarniture section 16 where it is enveloped longitudinally by theaforementioned strip 13 to form acontinuous cigarette rod 17. - The
continuous rod 17 is fed toward and through acutting station 18 where it will be divided up by arotary cutter device 19 into discrete segments of predetermined and constant length, and more exactly intosticks 20 of length measuring twice the length of a stick making up asingle cigarette 2. - Numeral 21 denotes a device by which the
double length sticks 20 are transferred, through a set of infeedrollers 22 forming part of the filtertip attachment machine 4, to acutting station 23 where each successivedouble length stick 20 is separated into twosingle cigarette sticks 24 by the action of aroller 25 and adisc cutter 26. - The
single cigarette sticks 24 are directed from theroller 25 of thecutting station 23, first onto adistancing roller 27 on which the twosticks 24 separated by each cutting stroke are spaced apart axially one from the other, then onto an assemblingroller 28, whereupon a doublelength filter plug 29 supplied by a respective feed unit, denoted 30 in its entirety, is interposed between the twosingle sticks 24 of each advancing pair. - The resulting assemblies, each consisting of two
single cigarette sticks 24 and one doublelength filter plug 29 placed between them, are released from the assemblingroller 28 onto aroller 31 that forms part of afinishing station 32, comprising aunit 33 by which tippingpapers 34 are cut and fed to theselfsame station 32, and arolling device 35 such as will take up the stick/double-filter/stick assemblies and the tippingpapers 34 and roll eachsuccessive tipping paper 34 about a corresponding assembly to fashion adouble length cigarette 2. - The
double length cigarettes 2 are fed by way of anintermediate roller 36 to acutter device 37 and divided by a cutting stroke made through thedouble length filter 29 to generate two successions ofsingle filter cigarettes 2 appearing identical one to another. - The two successions of
filter cigarettes 2 are directed toward anoutfeed stage 38 of the filtertip attachment machine 4, advancing first onto an overturningroller 39 by which a single succession ofcigarettes 2 is established, then passing onto a final train of rollers denoted 40 in its entirety, along which thecigarettes 2 will undergo further finishing steps of a familiar nature. - As illustrated in
FIG. 2 for example, thefinal train 40 of rollers, supported together with theaforementioned rollers vertical bulkhead 41 associated with theframe 42 of the filtertip attachment machine 4, comprises a roller denoted 43 on which ventilation holes are pierced in thecigarettes 2 by alaser generator device 44, and a roller denoted 45 on which the cigarettes are scanned. - Referring again to
FIG. 1 , themanufacturing line 1 comprises aunit 46 by means of which to test the production quality of thecigarettes 2, connected on the input side by way of a single cigarette sampling device, indicated as ablock 47, to aroller 48 coinciding with the outfeedstage 38 of the filtertip attachment machine 4. - The
unit 46 in question is designed to test the quality of a plurality of characteristics presented by thesingle cigarette 2, and in particular, the integrity of the paper wrap, the consistency of the end fill, the degree of ventilation obtained with the holes pierced by thelaser generator 44, the quality of the print, the weight, and so forth. - With reference in particular to
FIG. 1 , thequality testing unit 46 is connected on the output side to a central data processing and sorting unit orCPU 49, connected in turn to akeyboard 50, avideo display unit 51 and aprinter 52. TheCPU 49 can also be connected by way of aweb network 53 to the Internet, represented schematically by a block denoted 59. - Once the
quality testing unit 46 has inspected a significant number of single cigarettes 2 (say 10, for example) selected at theoutfeed station 38, theCPU 49 will receive signals relating to each of the characteristics tested, which it processes and outputs in the form of graphs, as illustrated by way of example inFIGS. 3 and 4 , viewable on thevideo display unit 51. - The
CPU 49 comprises processing means 54 by which each signal received from thetesting unit 46 is assigned a value on a predetermined scale common to all of the tested characteristics. - In the graphs of
FIGS. 3 and 4 , the “x” axis represents the succession ofcigarettes 2 subjected to quality testing, whilst the “y” axis is marked 0 to 10, denoting the values on the aforementioned scale. - Observing the graphs relative to a succession of
cigarettes 2 sampled from theoutfeed stage 38, the quality of production as reflected in each of the tested characteristics will be readily discernible. Self-evidently, a substantially flat line indicates that the quality of the tested characteristic has remained substantially constant over time, whilst an upward trend toward the higher numbers on the scale indicates an improvement and a downward trend indicates a deterioration. - In the latter instance, the information provided will enable the operator to take corrective action on the devices of the
line 1 to which the negative trend is attributable. - The action in question might occur automatically, triggered by feedback control circuits indicated schematically in
FIG. 1 as blocks denoted 55 and 56, by way of which theCPU 49 is connected to the various devices and units of thecigarette maker 3 and of the filtertip attachment machine 4. - The
CPU 49 further comprises sorting means 57 by which the signals reflecting the characteristics of eachsingle cigarette 2 tested can be represented as numerical values in a table as illustrated inFIG. 5 . - Accordingly, each column in the table of
FIG. 5 provides information amounting effectively to a “report” on a respective cigarette. - The central data processing and
sorting unit 49 is equipped with computing means 58 able to produce an overall assessment of the tested characteristics for eachcigarette 2 sampled. In the example ofFIG. 5 , each of the overall assessments indicated on the bottom line of the table is attributed by computing the average of the values assigned for the single characteristics. - On the basis of the overall assessments produced by the computing means 58, the processing means 54 are able to generate a graph of the type shown in
FIG. 6 , which indicates the trend of the overall assessments relating to a given series of sampledcigarettes 2. - It will be seen that the
line 1 is equipped in conventional manner with a succession of devices serving to monitor the cigarette-making process, and devices serving to reject anycigarettes 2 of which the characteristics may not register within prescribed limits. Thus, all of thecigarettes 2 scrutinized by thequality testing unit 46 will be identifiable, at least in theory, as conforming to an acceptance threshold defined in the graphs ofFIGS. 3, 4 and 6, by the line A parallel to the “x” axis. - Thus, with the graphs described above providing an index as to the quality of a given production cycle, the manufacturer will be able, on the basis of these same graphs, to select the most suitable market for a particular type of production lot.
- Accordingly, selection means might be installed at the
outfeed stage 38 of theline 1, with the end in view of organizing the tobacco products into distinct lots destined for different markets. - As illustrated in
FIG. 1 , the system might also comprise aprinting device 60, associated with thequality testing unit 46 and driven by the computing means 58 and/or the processing means 54, such as will impress the sampledcigarettes 2 withmarks 61 serving to indicate the overall quality assessment attributed by averaging the values assigned for all of the characteristics tested, or to indicate the value assigned for one such characteristic.
Claims (20)
1) A method of testing the quality of production in a line for manufacturing tobacco products, including the steps of:
sampling a given number of finished products taken from the outfeed stage of the line;
subjecting each of the sampled products to a step, performed by a relative testing unit, in which the quality of a predetermined number of characteristics is evaluated in such a way as to obtain a plurality of signals each reflecting the quality of a single characteristic presented by each product.
2) A method as in claim 1 , including a further step in which the succession of signals reflecting the single characteristics of the sampled products is represented in the form of a graph.
3) A method as in claim 2 , including a step of evaluating the signals according to a predetermined scale of values.
4) A method as in claim 3 , wherein the scale of values is the same for all of the characteristics.
5) A method as in claim 4 , including the step of displaying a table of values assigned to all of the tested characteristics, for each of the sampled tobacco products.
6) A method as in claim 5 , including the step of attributing an overall assessment in respect of each sampled tobacco product, based on the values assigned to a plurality of the tested characteristics.
7) A method as in claim 6 , wherein the overall assessment is the average of the values assigned to the tested characteristics.
8) A method as in claim 7 , including a step in which the succession of overall assessments attributed to the sampled products is represented in the form of a graph.
9) A method as in claim 8 , including a step in which marks are printed on the tested tobacco products to indicate the overall assessment, or to indicate the value assigned in respect of a given characteristic.
10) A unit for testing the quality of production in a line for manufacturing tobacco products, typically a line equipped with a machine for making the tobacco products and a filter tip attachment machine, comprising a unit such as will test the quality of a given number of characteristics presented by single products sampled at the outfeed stage of the line, and generate output signals reflecting the quality assignable respectively to each of the single characteristics of each sampled product, also a central processing and sorting unit by which the output signals are received from the testing unit, processed, and transmitted to video display means on which the selfsame processed signals are represented in the form of graphs.
11) A unit as in claim 10 , wherein the central data processing and sorting unit comprises processing means by which each signal received from the quality testing unit is assigned a value on a predetermined scale.
12) A unit as in claim 11 , wherein the central data processing and sorting unit comprises sorting means by which the signals reflecting the characteristics of each tested tobacco product are listed in a table.
13) A unit as in claim 12 , wherein the central data processing and sorting unit comprises computing means by which each tested tobacco product is attributed an overall assessment in respect of all the tested characteristics, based on the predetermined scale of values.
14) A unit as in claim 13 , wherein the overall assessment attributed to each tested product is the average of the values assigned to the tested characteristics.
15) A unit as in claim 14 , wherein the central data processing and sorting unit comprises processing means by which a graph is generated to indicate the trend of the overall assessments for a given number of sampled products.
16) A unit as in claim 15 , comprising means, interlocked to the central data processing and sorting unit, by which the end products emerging from the line are selected and organized into identifiable lots, according to the trend of the overall assessments.
17) A unit as in claim 16 , comprising print means connected to the quality testing unit and driven by the central data processing and sorting unit, by which the tested tobacco products are impressed with marks indicating the overall assessment or the value assigned to a given characteristic.
18) A unit as in claim 10 , comprising print means connected to the quality testing unit and driven by the central data processing and sorting unit, by which the tested tobacco products are impressed with marks indicating the overall assessment or the value assigned to a given characteristic.
19) A method as in claim 1 , including a step of evaluating the signals according to a predetermined scale of values.
20) A method as in claim 1 , including a step in which marks are printed on the tested tobacco products to indicate the overall assessment, or to indicate the value assigned in respect of a given characteristic.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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IT000073A ITBO20050073A1 (en) | 2005-02-16 | 2005-02-16 | METHOD AND UNIT FOR QUALITATIVE PRODUCTION CONTROL IN A SMOKE PACKAGING LINE |
ITBO2005A000073 | 2005-02-16 |
Publications (1)
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US20060180166A1 true US20060180166A1 (en) | 2006-08-17 |
Family
ID=36299167
Family Applications (1)
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US11/179,603 Abandoned US20060180166A1 (en) | 2005-02-16 | 2005-07-13 | Method and a unit for testing production quality in a line for manufacturing tobacco products |
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Country | Link |
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US (1) | US20060180166A1 (en) |
EP (1) | EP1692956A1 (en) |
CN (1) | CN1820667A (en) |
IT (1) | ITBO20050073A1 (en) |
RU (1) | RU2005121502A (en) |
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WO2024033754A1 (en) * | 2022-08-09 | 2024-02-15 | G.D S.P.A. | Cigarette production plant |
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CN100422890C (en) * | 2006-11-22 | 2008-10-01 | 山东中烟工业公司 | Method for detecting quality stability of rolled cigarette |
CN202043618U (en) * | 2011-03-22 | 2011-11-23 | 蚌埠市科达电器有限公司 | Empty-head filter-missing detector circuit |
RU2586030C2 (en) * | 2014-04-22 | 2016-06-10 | Иван Сергеевич Котяшкин | Testing method and system |
CN113475747B (en) * | 2021-07-28 | 2023-05-16 | 河南中烟工业有限责任公司 | Method for monitoring quality of cigarette products |
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2005
- 2005-02-16 IT IT000073A patent/ITBO20050073A1/en unknown
- 2005-05-31 EP EP05011659A patent/EP1692956A1/en not_active Withdrawn
- 2005-06-30 RU RU2005121502/12A patent/RU2005121502A/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 2005-07-13 US US11/179,603 patent/US20060180166A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2005-07-21 CN CNA2005100875201A patent/CN1820667A/en active Pending
Patent Citations (10)
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US4280187A (en) * | 1978-09-29 | 1981-07-21 | Hauni-Werke Korber & Co. Kg | Method and apparatus for pinpointing the causes of malfunction of machines for the manufacture and/or processing of cigarettes or the like |
US4484591A (en) * | 1981-04-14 | 1984-11-27 | Hauni-Werke Korber & Co. Kg. | Method of testing and classifying cigarettes or the like |
US4599699A (en) * | 1982-06-01 | 1986-07-08 | British-American Tobacco Company Limited | Cigarette manufacturing machines |
US4716912A (en) * | 1986-02-14 | 1988-01-05 | R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company | Filter cigarette having adjustable air dilution |
US4771794A (en) * | 1986-04-24 | 1988-09-20 | B.A.T. Cigarettenfabriken Gmbh | Method and apparatus for controlling at least two physical properties, decisive for the quality of the finished product, of a rod made of smokable material |
US5284164A (en) * | 1991-11-07 | 1994-02-08 | Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation | Method for improving the quality of products produced in the cigarette manufacturing process |
US5695070A (en) * | 1994-05-11 | 1997-12-09 | G.D Societa' Per Azioni | Unit for sampling and quality controlling tobacco items, particularly cigarettes |
US6075882A (en) * | 1997-06-18 | 2000-06-13 | Philip Morris Incorporated | System and method for optically inspecting cigarettes by detecting the lengths of cigarette sections |
US6636818B1 (en) * | 1999-09-15 | 2003-10-21 | Becton, Dickinson And Company | Systems, methods and computer program products for constructing sampling plans for items that are manufactured |
US20050022831A1 (en) * | 2003-07-30 | 2005-02-03 | Hirsch David W. | Method for automatically controlling the quality of cigarettes produced in a manufacturing process |
Cited By (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
RU2531750C2 (en) * | 2012-01-05 | 2014-10-27 | Интернэшнл Тобакко Машинери Поланд Сп. з о.о. | Method and system for laying of rod-like elements |
US8918201B2 (en) | 2012-01-05 | 2014-12-23 | International Tobacco Machinery Poland Sp. Z O.O. | Method and system for arranging rod-like elements |
WO2024033754A1 (en) * | 2022-08-09 | 2024-02-15 | G.D S.P.A. | Cigarette production plant |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
RU2005121502A (en) | 2007-01-20 |
CN1820667A (en) | 2006-08-23 |
EP1692956A1 (en) | 2006-08-23 |
ITBO20050073A1 (en) | 2005-05-18 |
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AS | Assignment |
Owner name: G.D S.P.A., ITALY Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:BENCIVENNI, MARCO;TRIVISIONNO, EURA;REEL/FRAME:016776/0788 Effective date: 20050518 |
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