Apparatus for monitoring the operation of cigarette making machines or the like

摘要

The absence of continuity of a single file of rod-shaped articles which are formed by the cutoff of a cigarette or filter rod making machine is monitored by an apparatus having two spaced-apart air discharging nozzles one of which is located upstream and the other of which is located downstream of the accelerating cam which propels successive articles of the file into successive flutes of a row-forming drum. At least one of the nozzles is sealed by an article when the machine produces a continuous file of articles. If both nozzles can discharge air at the same time, the pressure in a conduit which communicates with the nozzles decreases and such drop in pressure is detected by a diaphragm transducer or by the cylinder and piston unit of a pneumatic bridge circuit. This results in the generation of a signal which is used to arrest the prime mover of the machine.