APPARATUS FOR MANIPULATING EMPTY AND FILLED TRAYS FOR CIGARETTES AND LIKE ROD-SHAPED ARTICLES BETWEEN MAKING AND PROCESSING MACHINES

Apparatus for distributing empty and filled trays in a production line wherein the output of a cigarette maker is normally processed by a packing machine has a tray filling unit which withdraws the surplus of cigarettes from the transporting unit between the maker and the packing machine, a tray evacuating unit which admits stored cigarettes from trays into the transporting unit when the requirements of the packing machine exceed the output of the maker, at least one mobile magazine for empty and filled trays, and a transferring device which can advance filled and empty trays directly between the two units or between either of the two units and the magazine. The transferring device has an inclined holder for a filled or an empty tray and motors which can move the holder up or down as well as about a vertical axis. A control circuit receives signals from suitably distributed detectors to store information pertaining to the distribution of empty and filled trays in the tray filling and evacuating units and in the magazine, as well as the locations of empty spots for trays in the magazine.