Method and apparatus for cutting, forming, and inserting cups into tubes

• Main Authors: BABBITT; TERRY, RAYNOR; ROBERT H, GILLESPIE; ANDREW J, BRAUNSHTEYN; MICHAEL S, RITT; RENZER R, KEEN, JR.; BILLY J, TALLEY; ROBERT E, JONES; DONALD H
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 15.09.1992
• Subjects: CIGARETTES; CIGARS; COMBINED OPERATIONS; HUMAN NECESSITIES; MACHINE TOOLS; MACHINES FOR MAKING CIGARS OR CIGARETTES; MANUFACTURE OF TOBACCO SMOKE FILTERS OR MOUTHPIECES; MECHANICAL METAL-WORKING WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVINGMATERIAL; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; MOUTHPIECES FOR CIGARS OR CIGARETTES; OTHER WORKING OF METAL; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PUNCHING METAL; SMOKERS' REQUISITES; TOBACCO; TOBACCO SMOKE FILTERS; TRANSPORTING; UNIVERSAL MACHINE TOOLS; WORKING OR PROCESSING OF SHEET METAL OR METAL TUBES, RODS ORPROFILES WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL

A method and apparatus is provided for cutting a disk of material from a continuously advancing strip of material, forming the disk into a cup, and inserting the cup into the end of a tube. The apparatus comprises a first rotating member having a plurality of workstations positioned around its periphery, a second rotating member into which tubes without cups are loaded and from which tubes containing cups are unloaded, and a set of stationary cams which control the operation of the workstations. The strip of material passes around a section of the periphery of the first member, advances at the same rate as the circumferential velocity of the first member, and comes into relative stationary contact with a number of the workstations. The rotation of the first member relative to the stationary cams provides motion to a cutting mandrel, a forming mandrel, a cutting and forming die, and an insertion mandrel associated with each workstation to perform the tasks of cutting, forming, and inserting.