Method and a unit for testing production quality in a line for manufacturing tobacco products

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.

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.