US 12,441,500 B2
Forming unit and forming method to manufacture a group of articles
Roberto Ghiotti, Monte S. Pietro (IT); and Yuri Negrini, Bologna (IT)
Assigned to SASIB S.P.A., Castel Maggiore (IT)
Appl. No. 18/561,911
Filed by SASIB S.P.A., Castel Maggiore (IT)
PCT Filed Jun. 3, 2022, PCT No. PCT/IB2022/055193
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Nov. 17, 2023,
PCT Pub. No. WO2022/254393, PCT Pub. Date Dec. 8, 2022.
Claims priority of application No. 102021000014411 (IT), filed on Jun. 3, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2024/0246708 A1, Jul. 25, 2024
Int. Cl. B65B 35/40 (2006.01); A24F 15/01 (2020.01); A24F 15/20 (2006.01); B65B 19/20 (2006.01); B65B 35/32 (2006.01); B65B 35/52 (2006.01); B65B 43/52 (2006.01)
CPC B65B 35/40 (2013.01) [A24F 15/01 (2020.01); A24F 15/20 (2013.01); B65B 19/20 (2013.01); B65B 35/32 (2013.01); B65B 35/52 (2013.01); B65B 43/52 (2013.01); B65B 2230/04 (2013.01)] 14 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A forming unit (A) to manufacture a group of articles (14), wherein the articles (14) are arranged at a given distance from one another; the forming unit (A) comprises a forming conveyor (26), which moves a plurality of forming boxes (27) each designed to support a group of smoking articles (14) along a forming path (P2); a hopper (24), which is arranged in an input station (S1) along the forming path (P2) and is provided with at least one output mouth (25) comprising a plurality of dividing walls (31) defining channels (32), each configured to contain a vertical stack of articles (14);
an extractor (29), which is configured to extract the group of articles (14) from the channels (32) of the output mouth (25) and to insert, in the input station (S1), the group into a corresponding forming box (27) of the forming conveyor (26) by means of a work stroke, which is perpendicular to the forming path (P2);
a wrapping conveyor (21), which moves along a straight and horizontal wrapping path (P1) a plurality of wrapping boxes (22) each designed to support a group of smoking articles (14); and
a transfer station (S2) in which the groups of smoking articles (14) are transferred from the corresponding forming boxes (27) of the forming conveyor (26) to corresponding wrapping boxes (22) of the wrapping conveyor (21);
wherein each forming box (27) of the forming conveyor (26) comprises a plurality of through holes (28) with a cylindrical shape, each being separate from and independent of the other through holes (28) and being designed to house a corresponding single article (14) of the group.