BR112013016832B1 - smoking article, method of forming a smoking article with low ignition propensity - Google Patents

Abstract

SMOKE ARTICLE, METHOD OF FORMING A SMOKE ARTICLE WITH LOW IGNITION PROPENSION A smoke article with a low propensity to ignition comprising a stick of smoky material, an inner wrapper comprising reconstituted tobacco material wrapped around the smokeable material and a wrapper outer wrap around the smokable material and the inner wrap.

Description

Field

[0001] The invention relates to a smoking article with low ignition propensity comprising a stick wrapped in smokable material. Scenario

[0002] As used here, the term "smoking article" includes smokable products such as cigarettes, cigars and cigarillos whether they are based on tobacco, tobacco derivatives, expanded tobacco, reconstituted tobacco or tobacco substitutes and also unburned heating products.

[0003] Low-ignition propensity (LIP) cigarettes were previously manufactured with the provision of circumferential flare suppressor strips on specifically developed cigarette papers. Burn suppressor strips are designed to inhibit the burning rate of the tobacco stick and to cause the cigarette to self-extinguish unless a smoker regularly swallows the filter.

[0004] The ASTM E2187-04 standard specifies a standardized test from which the ignition propensity properties of smoking articles can be accessed. National regulation often requires that smoke articles with a low propensity to ignition are suitable for specific requirements when tested according to ASTM E2187-04. For example, when tested according to ASTM E2187-04, national regulation may require that at least 75% of a tested sample of forty LIP tobacco articles self-extinguish before they are burned to the end of the tobacco stick.

[0005] The development of specific LIP cigarette papers with burning suppressor strips has enabled the tobacco industry to produce cigarettes that meet regulatory requirements for LIP tobacco articles in accordance with ASTM E2187-04.

[0006] The manufacture of cigarette papers incorporating flare suppressor strips has involved the application of flare suppressor strips to a preformed base paper to create the LIP cigarette paper. The firing suppressor application process is usually carried out separately from the cigarette assembly process and requires specialized equipment for applying the firing suppressor to the base paper. The use of a flare suppressor also adds costs to the cigarette production process as a whole. summary

[0007] According to the invention, there is provided here a smoking article with a low propensity to ignition comprising a rod of smokable material, an inner casing comprising reconstituted tobacco material wrapped around the smokable material and an outer casing wrapped around the smokable material and the inner casing.

[0008] The inner and outer sheaths may not comprise strips of fire suppressing material.

[0009] The circumference of the smoke article can be between 15 mm and 22 mm.

[0010] The circumference of the smoke article can be between 15 mm and 19 mm.

[0011] The circumference of the smoke article can be between 15 mm and 17 mm.

[0012] The circumference of the smoke article can be between 16.9 mm and 17.0 mm.

[0013] The circumference of the smoking article can be between 20.5 mm and 21.5 mm.

[0014] The length of the smoke article can be between 80 mm and 120 mm.

[0015] The length of the smoke article can be between 82 mm and 84 mm.

[0016] The permeability of the inner shell can be 40 UC or less.

[0017] The permeability of the inner shell can be 25 UC or less.

[0018] The permeability of the inner shell can be 15 UC or less.

[0019] The permeability of the inner shell can be 10 UC or less.

[0020] The permeability of the outer shell can be between 25 and 100 UC.

[0021] The permeability of the outer shell can be between 70 and 100 UC.

[0022] The inner wrapper may be made of reconstituted tobacco material, such as a reconstituted tobacco leaf.

[0023] The outer wrapper can be a cigarette paper with a low lateral air outlet.

[0024] The smoking article may be a cigarette comprising a filter, a rod of smokable material and a filter paper overlapping the filter and the rod to axially join the rod and the filter.

[0025] In a LIP test according to ASTM E2187-04 performed on several cigarettes, for example, forty, at least 75% of the cigarettes self-extinguish before the burning end of the stick reaches the filter paper.

[0026] According to the invention there is also provided here a method of forming a smoking article with low ignition propensity comprising an inner wrapper comprising tobacco material reconstituted around a rod of smokeable material and the wrapping of an outer wrapper around the smoking rod and the inner casing.

[0027] For the purpose of exemplification only, modalities of the invention are described below with reference to the accompanying figures, where: Brief Description of the Figures

[0028] Figure 1 is a perspective illustration of a low propensity to ignition comprising a rod of smokable material wrapped in first and second wrappers;

[0029] Figure 2 is a perspective illustration of a partially assembled rod of smokable material for a smoke article with low propensity to ignition. The stick comprises a tobacco core wrapped in an inner wrapper and partially wrapped in an outer wrapper; and

[0030] Figure 3 is an illustration of an end face of a smokeable material rod containing a smokeable material core, an inner wrap around the smokable material core and an outer wrap around the inner wrap. Detailed Description

[0031] Figure 1 shows an example of a smoke article with a low propensity to ignition (LIP) (1).

[0032] The smoking article (1) shown in Figure 1 comprises a LIP cigarette (1) containing a filter (2) and a stick (3) of smokable material such as tobacco. The smoking article (1) may, however, comprise another type of smoking article such as one of the above.

[0033] The filter (2) and the rod (3) are coaxially joined by an overlapping sheet of filter paper (4), which is fixed around the outer surfaces of the rod (3) and the filter (2) of a conventional manner so as to hold the two together. The dotted line in Figure 1 indicates the location of the terminal faces of the filter (2) and the rod (3) that touch, overlapped by the filter paper (4).

[0034] If several smoking articles (1), for example, forty, are tested according to ASTM E2187-04, 75% or more of smoking articles (1) self-extinguish before the burning end of the stick of smokable material (3) reach the filter paper (4). However, 25% or less of the various smoking articles burn the entire length of the smokeable material stick.

[0035] The filter (2) can be substantially cylindrical in shape with a conventional construction. For example, a substantially cylindrical plug of filter material comprising a cellulose acetate plug may be wrapped in a plug wrap sheet around its circumferential surface. Any type of filter (2) can be used, including, for example, more complex filters (2) comprising carbon and / or one or more flavoring materials to flavor a gaseous flow within the filter (2). The filter (2) can be aerated using aeration channels produced using laser or electrostatic drilling techniques. The aeration channels can provide a total percentage of aeration between 20% and 80%, preferably between 50% and 70%.

[0036] The rod (3) can also have a substantially cylindrical shape, with an outer diameter substantially equal to the outer diameter of the filter (2). With reference to Figure 2, the stick (3) comprises a substantially cylindrical core of compressed tobacco material (7) enclosed in a first wrapper (8) and a second wrapper (9). The tobacco material (7) can comprise a mixture of ground tobacco and can also include reconstituted tobacco material. In the examples discussed below, the first wrapper (8) is positioned inside the second wrapper (9) and is then closer to the tobacco material core (7). From now on, the first housing (8) will then be referred to as the internal housing (8). The second housing (9) is positioned outside the first housing (8) and will henceforth be referred to as the outer housing (9). The outer shell (9) can make up the outer surface of the rod (3), with the inner shell (8) positioned between the outer surface of the tobacco material core (7) and the inner surface of the outer shell (9).

[0037] The inner wrapper (8) is a leaf wrapping material comprising reconstituted tobacco material and can be configured to convey characteristics of varied and desirable flavors and sensations to the smoking article. For example, the inner wrapper (8) may comprise or consist of reconstituted tobacco leaf, which may in turn comprise or consist of one or more types of reconstituted tobacco material. The reconstituted leaf may comprise a range of different types of tobacco selected to enhance the transmission of aromas and flavors to a cigarette smoker. For example, the reconstituted material may comprise one or more sun-cured tobacco, air-cured dark tobacco, fire-cured tobacco or any other suitable tobacco. The permeability of the inner shell (8) can be in the range between 5 Coresta (UC) and 50 Coresta, preferably between 17 Coresta and 38 Coresta. The thickness of the inner shell layer (8) can be any value in the range between 85 and 121 micrometers. The dry weight of the inner shell (8) can be any value between approximately 35 g / m2 and approximately 45 g / m2. The diffusivity of the inner shell (8) can be any value between approximately 0.8 cm / s and approximately 2.8 cm / s.

[0038] Examples of three internal enclosures (8) that can be used are given in Table 1 below. All the inner wrappers (8) shown in Table 1 are sheets of reconstituted tobacco material.

[0039] As shown in Figure 2, the inner casing (8) can extend around the circumferential surface of the tobacco material core (7). For example, referring to Figures 2 and 3, the inner casing (8) can extend completely around the circumference of the core (7) and completely along the axial length of the rod (3). The inner shell (8) can then substantially cover the entire circumferential surface of the core (7). Alternatively, the inner shell (8) can extend partially around the circumference of the core (7) and / or partially along the length of the rod (3). The inner shell (8) can then comprise a flap under the entire length of an outer shell (9). The terminal faces of the core (7) are left open to allow a gaseous flow to enter and exit the rod (3) at its distal and filter ends, respectively.

[0040] The outer wrapper (9) is also a sheet of wrapping material, for example comprising or consisting of a cigarette paper or a low lateral air outlet (LSS) cigarette paper. Alternatively, the outer wrapper (9) can comprise or consist of a plurality of types of cigarette papers and / or LSS cigarette papers.

[0041] The dry weight of the outer shell (9) can be any value between approximately 28 g / m2 and approximately 40 g / m2, with between approximately 16.0 g / m2 and approximately 32.0 g / m2 of fiber , between approximately 0.3 g / m2 and approximately 2.0 g / m2 of K3 citrate, between 0 g / m2 and approximately 2 g / m2 of MgO and between approximately 4 g / m2 and approximately 11 g / m2 of CaCO3. Other intervals can be used. The total amount of filling in the outer casing (9) can be any value between approximately 6 g / m2 and 10 g / m2, which is a total percentage in fill weight between approximately 15% and 40%. Other intervals can be used.

[0042] The permeability of the outer shell (9) can be any value between approximately 25 Coresta and approximately 100 Coresta. Within this range, the permeability of a cigarette paper can be approximately 25 Coresta, while the permeability of an LSS cigarette paper can be between approximately 70 Coresta and approximately 100 Coresta. The diffusivity of the outer shell (9) can be any value between approximately 0.30 cm / s and approximately 0.50 cm / s.

[0043] Examples of three specific outer shells (9) are given in Table 2 below. Example 1 is a cigarette paper, while examples LSS 1 and LSS 2 are cigarette papers with a low lateral air outlet. LSS 1 is aerated by electroperforation (EP) and has a permeability of 70 Coresta units. LSS 2 is also aerated by electroperforation and has a permeability of 100 Coresta units.

[0044] The outer shell (9) can extend around the outer circumferential surface of the inner shell (8). For example, as shown in Figures 1 to 3, the outer shell (9) can extend completely around the outer circumference of the inner shell (8) and completely along the axial length of the rod (3), then substantially covering the the entire outer circumferential surface of the inner shell (8). In this way, the outer shell (9) surrounds both the inner shell (8) and the tobacco material core (7). The end faces of the rod (3) are left open to allow a gaseous flow to enter and exit the rod (3). In the examples shown in Figures 1 to 3, the outer surface of the outer wrapper (9) makes up the outer surface of the rod (3) where the filter paper (4) is adhered to the end of the filter.

[0045] In terms of dimensions, the cigarette (1) can have an outer circumference of approximately 16.96 mm and a total length (before consumption) of approximately 83 mm. The length of the rod (3) (before consumption) can be approximately 56 mm and the length of the filter (2) can be approximately 27 mm. It will be appreciated that these dimensions can be varied. For example, the external circumference of the cigarette (1) can be any value between 15 mm and 22 mm, while the total length of the cigarette (1) can be any value between 80 mm and 120 mm. The outer circumference can, for example, be approximately 21 mm. The total length of the cigarette (1) can be varied by increasing / decreasing the length of both the rod (3) and the filter (2).

[0046] The cigarette (1) does not comprise a LIP cigarette paper specifically developed as having firing suppressor strips designed to limit the burning rate of the stick (3). Therefore, the manufacture of cigarettes (1) does not require the pre-production of LIP cigarette papers with specifically developed strips, and therefore does not require specialized equipment necessary for the application of a burning suppressant to cigarette paper.

[0047] Ignition propensity tests performed on samples of forty cigarettes (1) show that significantly less than 25% of cigarettes (1) burn up to the filter paper (4) when tested according to ASTM E2187-04. For example, Table 3 below illustrates the propensity to ignite six different cigarette samples (1) according to the invention (Samples 1-6). For each cigarette sample (1-6), forty cigarette units were tested according to the ASTM 2187-04 standard. The rightmost column of Table 3 indicates the number of cigarettes that did not self-extinguish before the burning end of the smoking rod (3) reached the filter paper (4).

[0048] Cigarette (1), therefore, has low ignition propensity (LIP) properties that are comparable to cigarettes that incorporate specifically developed LIP papers, but can be produced without the need to manufacture LIP papers.

[0049] The cigarette (1) has a relatively high number of puffs when compared to single-wrapped cigarettes. For example, when smoked in accordance with the conditions of the ISO standard, the cigarette (1) may have an average number of puffs of 7.5 compared to an average number of puffs of approximately 6.5 for a single wrapper control cigarette involved. in the outer casing # 1 (see Table 2 above).

[0050] The diffusivity of the combination of the inner wrapping (8) and the outer wrapping (9) of the cigarette (1) is comparable to the diffusivity of LIP cigarette papers with specifically developed burning suppression strips. The diffusivity value for the combination of inner and outer shells (8, 9) can be any value in the range between 0.080 cm / s and 0.095 cm / s.

[0051] The cigarette (1) exhibits a low incidence of side smoke compared to that of control cigarettes manufactured with commercially available materials.

[0052] For example, Table 4 below illustrates chemical results of side smoke incidence for the six exemplified cigarettes (1) listed in Table 3 (Samples 1-6). Also shown in Table 4 are chemical results of side smoke incidence for two single-cased control cigarettes. The tobacco density for all cigarettes in Table 4 is 263 g / cm3 at 13.5% humidity. The tobacco blend used in the tobacco stick (3) is the same for all cigarettes except Control # 1, where a different blend was used.

[0053] As can be seen in Table 4, the side incidence of dry nicotine-free particulate material (NFDPM) and the side incidence of nicotine are significantly reduced when compared to control cigarettes.

[0054] The visible side current of smoke produced by the cigarette (1) according to the invention is also reduced compared to control cigarettes manufactured with commercially available materials. For example, cigarettes (1) can emit approximately 40% to 60% less visible side current of smoke than a single wrapper control cigarette wrapped in outer wrapper # 1 (see Table 2 above). The amount of visible side current of smoke is the least when the outer wrapper (9) comprises an LSS cigarette paper. Any of the LSS papers described above can be used.

[0055] The visible side smoke reduction can be calculated by comparing a photograph of a lit control cigarette with a corresponding photograph of a lit cigarette (1) according to the invention, counting the difference between the number of pixels in the two photographs representing the side smoke.

[0056] Table 5 illustrates the visible side smoke of three cigarette examples (1) (Samples 4-6), together with the visible side smoke of a single-cased control cigarette (Control 2). Lateral smoke reductions are calculated using a photographic method described above, with each measurement being made at a percentage of the equivalent burning length of the stick (3). The filter, tobacco density and tobacco mixture used in the stick (3) are the same for all cigarettes listed in Table 5. The density of the tobacco is from 263 g / cm3 to 13.5% humidity.

[0057] An example of cigarette manufacturing (1) will now be briefly described. Starting with the filter (2), as known in the field, a plug of filter material can be formed by feeding a substantially continuous stream of cellulose acetate into a funnel to provide a generally cylindrical body of cellulose acetate material. The cellulose acetate material can be guided through a pad that engages the buffer wrapper with the filter material of a buffer wrapper coil. The resulting wrapped filter material can subsequently be cut into individual segments for use in the manufacture of the filter (2). The cut length can be convenient to produce two cigarettes (1) in series or individual cigarettes (1), as required. In addition, the cut can be performed as a multistage process where the lengths of the filter material for use with multiple cigarettes (2) are cut initially and then later cut to lengths suitable for use in the manufacture of cigarettes (1) in series or individually.

[0058] The assembly of the cigarette (1) can be carried out using a suitable rod maker equipped with a filter attachment unit. The inner wrapping (8) and the outer wrapping (9) can be supplied as coils with lengths of approximately 2500 m and widths of 16.2 mm. Alternative widths can be 15.8 mm, 18.5 mm, 20.0 mm or 23 mm, depending on the desired circumference for the cigarette. The casings (8, 9) are pulled by bobbin loaders located close to the rod maker and guided simultaneously to the trim by a series of rollers and a paper guide for the assembly of the cigarette. The inner wrapping (8) of the inner wrapping coil is wrapped around a column of smokable material, being simultaneously wrapped with the outer wrapping (9) of the outer wrapping coil. The relative positions of the inner (8) and outer (9) shells can be adjusted in the rod manufacturer in order to adjust the size of a joint overlap for each sheath (8,9).

[0059] As an alternative, the cigarette assembly (1) may comprise cutting flaps from the inner wrapping (8) and applying the flaps (8) to an inner surface of the outer wrapping (9) in a gluing process. The combination of outer casing (9) and flaps (8) can then be fed into a pad to wrap the column of smokable material.

[0060] The alternatives described above can be used alone or in combination to achieve the effects of the invention. It will be appreciated that the cigarette (1) may alternatively comprise another type of smoking article such as a cigar or a cigarillo.

Claims (15)

1. Smoke article with low propensity to ignition (1) characterized by comprising: a stick of smokable material (3); an inner wrapper (8) comprising reconstituted tobacco material wrapped around the smokable material, the inner wrapper having a permeability between 5 and 50 CORESTA; and an outer shell (9) wrapped around the smokable material and the inner shell, the outer shell having a permeability between 25 and 100 CORESTA. 2. Smoke article according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that the inner and outer sheaths do not comprise flare suppressor strips. Smoke article according to any one of claims 1 to 2, characterized by the fact that the circumference of the smoke article is between 15 mm and 17 mm. Smoke article according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the circumference of the smoke article is between 16.9 mm and 17.0 mm. A smoking article according to any one of claims 1 to 2, characterized by the fact that the circumference of the smoking article is between 20.5 mm and 21.5 mm. A smoking article according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the length of the smoking article is between 80 mm and 120 mm. Smoke article according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the length of the smoke article is between 82 mm and 84 mm. 8. Smoke article according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized by the fact that the permeability of the inner shell is 40 UC or less. Smoke article according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the permeability of the inner shell is 25 UC or less. 10. Smoke article according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized by the fact that the permeability of the inner shell is 15 UC or less. 11. Smoke article according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized by the fact that the permeability of the outer shell is between 70 and 100 UC. 12. Smoke article according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized by the fact that the inner wrapping is reconstituted tobacco paper. 13. Smoke article according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized by the fact that the outer wrapper is paper with a low lateral air outlet. 14. The smoking article according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the smoking article is a cigarette. 15. A method of forming the smoke article with a low propensity to ignition as defined in claim 1, characterized in that it comprises: wrapping an inner wrapper (8) comprising tobacco material reconstituted around a rod of smokable material, the inner wrapper having a permeability between 5 and 50 CORESTA; and wrap an outer wrap (9) around the smokeable material stick and the inner wrap, the outer wrap having a permeability between 25 and 100 CORESTA.

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