A smoking article assembly machine

Abstract

The present application relates to a smoking article assembly machine. The smoking article assembly machine has a filter rod receiving section configured to receive filter rods ( 9 ) containing an inserted object ( 36, 36 ′) and an assembled smoking article discharge section. The smoking article assembly machine also has a smoking article assembly path between the filter rod receiving section and the assembled smoking article discharge section along which filter rods ( 9 ) pass in a transverse direction to the longitudinal axis of filter rods, and a microwave sensor unit ( 51 ) through which filter rods ( 9 ) pass in a transverse direction, the microwave sensor unit ( 51 ) being disposed along the assembly path. The microwave sensor unit ( 51 ) is configured to provide an indication of one or more properties of an inserted object ( 36, 36 ′) in each filter rod ( 9 ) passing transversely along the smoking article assembly path. The present application also relates to a method of assembling a smoking article on a smoking article assembly machine.

1 . A smoking article assembly machine comprising:
 a filter rod receiving section configured to receive filter rods containing an inserted object,   an assembled smoking article discharge section,   a smoking article assembly path between the filter rod receiving section and the assembled smoking article discharge section along which filter rods pass in a transverse direction to the longitudinal axis of filter rods, and   a microwave sensor unit through which filter rods pass in a transverse direction, the microwave sensor unit being disposed along the assembly path and configured to provide an indication of one or more properties of an inserted object in each filter rod passing transversely along the smoking article assembly path through the microwave sensor unit.   
     
     
         2 . The smoking article assembly machine according to  claim 1 , further comprising a conveyor drum arrangement including a rotatable drum configured to receive the filter rods, or at least partially assembled smoking articles including the filter rods, around its periphery and thereby to transport the filter rods along an arced path during its rotation, the microwave sensor unit being configured to provide an indication of one or more properties of an inserted object in each filter rod received by the rotatable drum. 
     
     
         3 . The smoking article assembly machine according to  claim 2 , wherein the microwave sensor unit comprises a first detector unit and a second detector unit configured to provide an indication of one or more properties of an inserted object in each filter rod when each filter rod is interposed between the first detector unit and the second detector unit. 
     
     
         4 . The smoking article assembly machine according to  claim 3 , wherein the first detector unit is outside the diameter of the arced path of the filter rods, and the second detector unit is within the diameter of the arced path of the filter rods. 
     
     
         5 . The smoking article assembly machine according to  claim 3 , wherein the first detector unit is a microwave transmitter and the second detector unit is a microwave receiver. 
     
     
         6 . The smoking article assembly machine according to  claim 3 , wherein the first detector unit is a microwave receiver and the second detector unit is a microwave transmitter. 
     
     
         7 . The smoking article assembly machine according to  claim 3 , further comprising a base about which the rotatable drum is rotatable, wherein at least one of the first and second detector units is on the base. 
     
     
         8 . The smoking article assembly machine according to  claim 1 , wherein the microwave sensor unit comprises a planar resonator on the smoking article assembly path. 
     
     
         9 . The smoking article assembly machine according to  claim 2 , wherein the rotatable drum is an intermediate drum. 
     
     
         10 . The smoking article assembly machine according to  claim 1 , further comprising a linear conveyor arrangement configured to receive said filter rods, or at least partially assembled smoking articles including said filter rods, and thereby to transport said filter rods along a linear path, the microwave sensor unit being configured to provide an indication of one or more properties of an inserted object in each filter rod received by the linear conveyor arrangement. 
     
     
         11 . The smoking article assembly machine according to  claim 10 , wherein the microwave sensor unit comprises a fork resonator on the smoking article assembly path. 
     
     
         12 . The smoking article assembly machine according to  claim 1 , comprising at least two microwave sensor units configured to provide an indication of one or more properties of an inserted object in each filter rod at two or more points along or adjacent to the path of each filter rod. 
     
     
         13 . The smoking article assembly machine according to  claim 12 , wherein each of the at least two microwave sensor units are selectively operational, so that the number of operational microwave sensor units can be set to correspond to the number of inserted objects in each filter rod. 
     
     
         14 . The smoking article assembly machine according to  claim 1 , wherein the filter rod receiving section configured to receive filter rods containing an inserted object is a filter rod receiving section configured to receive filter rods containing a capsule. 
     
     
         15 . The smoking article assembly machine according to  claim 1 , wherein the microwave sensor unit is configured to be stationary during operation. 
     
     
         16 . A method of assembling a smoking article on a smoking article assembly machine comprising
 receiving a filter rod containing an inserted object,   assembling the smoking articles including the filter rod containing the inserted object, and   discharging the assembled smoking article,   the method further including passing filter rods in a transverse direction to the longitudinal axis of the filter rod through a microwave sensor unit to provide an indication of one or more properties of the inserted object in the filter rod passing in a transverse direction between receiving the filter rod and discharging the assembled smoking article.