CA1052655A - Tobacco smoke filter and method - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a cigarette filter composed of two concentric cylindrical layers of fibrous filter materials, in which the inner cylin-drical layer has a lower draw resistance than the outer cylindrical layer, and a method and apparatus for the manufacture thereof.

Description

~Q5',~655 This invcntion relates to a filter rod suitable for use in nlaking filters for cigarettes. In particu-lar, the present invention involves a cigarette filter composed of two concentric cylinders of fibrous filter materials possessing different filtering characteristics coupled with means for air dilution.
llerctofore, various types of filters have been dcvised for use in cigarettes in order to screen out various filterable materials in the smoke generated during smoking. For example, filters made up of fib-rous matcrials, such as a cellulose acetate, have been known for filtering out particulate matter from the smo~e generatcd during smoking. However, such a fil-tering medium between a smoker's mouth and the tobacco column of the cigarette generally required additional drawing or inhaling forces on the part of the smoker in order to draw the smoke through the filtering material. As a result, a practical limit has been imposed on the amount of particulate matter that can be filtered out by a particular filtering material due to,the need to have a pressure drop across a fil-tcr that can ~e tolerated by a smoker without discom-fort.
In more recent times, attempts have been made to dilute the smoke stream from a cigarette with ventilating air to reduce the quantity of particulate matter drawn into a smoker's mouth for each puff while allowing the taste to pass through as taught in U.S. Patent 3,242,925. Some of these attempts have use~ bypass arrangements by which a greater or lesser proportlon of the cigarette smoke can be bypassed 105'~55 drOUn~ d ~ilt~r mediuln an~ drawn into a smoker's mouth . I 1l some case~, tlle ~ilters have been provided with passageways througll wnich a portion oE unfil-tered smokc can be passcd directly to the smoker's mouth. Such passageways hav~ usually been provided dircctly in the filter material and the filter ma-terial has been constructed so as to be collapsed manually about the passageway to constrict the size of the passageway and, thus, reduce the proportion of unfiltered smoke passing through to a smoker, for example, as described in U.S. Patent 3,270,750.
On~ of the reasons for utilizing filters with smoke passag~s was to provide a passageway through whicll a str~am of concentrated, unfiltered smoke could pass. Thc impingement of this concentrated smoke strcam on th~ smoker's tongue and taste buds was be-lieved to impart a greater taste to the smoke, thereby lowering the amount of smoke required to be delivered to the smoker's mouth to achieve a given taste level.
Since a smaller proportion of smoke can be directed - into the smoker's mouth a concomitant decrease in the .
amount of particulate matter is drawn into the smoker's mouth. ~ filter which makes good utiliza-tion of this principle is described in U.S. Patent 3,860,011 to Norman, et. al. The Norman, et. al., filter makes use of a non-deformable rigid tube cen-tered inside a cylindrical layer of filter material, such as cellulose acetate, to deliver a high velocity stream of undiluted and unfiltered smoke into a smoker's mouth. Though the amount of smoke delivered 105;~655 is r~duced in quantity, the intensity of smoke has the effect of enhancing the taste of the cigarette to the smoker. Norman, et. al., use ventilation air drawn-in from the surrounding environment to comple-ment the ~raw resistance of the smoke passage. How-~ver, it has now been found that the smoke stream, issuing from the tube of the Norman, et. al., filter, remains too cohercnt and concentrated, and impinges ; on only a small area of the tongue, and that the smoke drawn into the smoker's mouth is too hot during the last few puffs when the tube intake is fairly close to the burning cone. In addition, the tube is hard to ccnter in the filter which is undesirable from an acsthctic viewpoint.
~ccordingly, it is an object of the present in-vention to provide a filter having a centered smoke passage of minimal filtering capability with~n a fil-ter media to accurately direct a concentrated stream of smoke into a smoker's mouth without any of the . 20 disadvantages of the Norman, et. al., filter.
- It is another object of the present invention to accurately regulate the amount of smoke delivered to the smoker's mouth while simultaneously maximizing the taste characteristics thereof.
A further object of the present invention is to eliminate ~he need for additional extensive capi-tal investment when a manufacturer decides to make cigarettes from the same tobacco blend having diffe-rent smoke delivery capabilities by eliminating the need for additional equipment.

~05Z655 ~ riefly, the invention provides a filter for a cigarette which allows a portion of relatively unfil-tered smoke to enter a smoker's mouth at a relatively hi~h con~ntration while reducing the volumetric de-liv~ry of smoke with drawn-in air from the surrounding environment. The invention also provides a method and ~pparatus for making a continuous filter rod for m~king ci~3arctte filters.
: Th~ filter of the present invention is used in combination with a cigarette tobacco section and is joined to the tobacco section by a cylinder or outer wrap of tipping paper. The filter is composed of two concentric cylindrical layers of compacted filter material and a cylinder of perforated or inherently porous plugwrap paper. The inne~ cylinder defines a smoke passage of constant cross-sectional area throughout having a draw resistance for controlling hc amount of smoke delivered to the smoker's mouth for a givcn draw. The filter material which makes up the inner cylinder should be of a structure that , allows it to have a minimal effect on the filtration ; of the delivered smoke stream but yet creates a ~; sufficient turbulent smoke-flow pattern so as to lower the temperature and coherency of the smoke stream drawn into the smoker's mouth. An outer ; layer of filter ~aterial surrounds and is concentric .. ~ .
to the inner cylinder of filter material. The plug-wrap paper is porous, e.g., the paper is either in-herently porous or has numerous perforations some of which are aligned with perforations in the 105'~655 tipping paper. In either case, the number and size of the perforations in the tipping paper define the air flow ~ath through the tipping paper and the layers of filter material to a smoker's mouth. The flow path is of a draw resistance to complement the draw resis-tance of the smoke passage whereby for a given draw a desired amount of smoke and ventilation air are drawn into the smoker's mouth.
~; ~ccordingly, the filter of the present inven-tion delivers through a low resistance filter core to the smoker's mouth a concentrated smoke stream which ,' is balanced off with additional air from the outside to yield a smoke stream containing low smoke solids and a high taste value in each puff de,livered to the ', smoker's mouth.
, The filter materials used to make the respec-tive concentric cylindrical layers of the filter can be made of any suitable filter material provided that ', the inner cylinder has a lower resistance to the -~ 20 passage of smoke than the outer cylinder. Preferably, the fiiter materials are of cellulosic origin and most preferably both smoke filter cylinders are made of cellulose acetate.
The method of the inventlon includes the steps '~ of generating a first stream of fibrous filter ma-, terial and a second stream of fibrous filter material, ' of placing these streams in juxtaposition during travel at a first station while simultaneously en-, veloping the first stream of fibrous filter material ,-, 30 circumferentially about the second stream of fibrous ~OSf~655 filt~r rnaterial, and of circurnferentially enveloping a s~re~m of p~er about the juxtaposed streams of fi~roucs filter material during thcir continued travel to form a filter rod. ~uring movement of the various continuous stxeams of materials, the first stream of fibrous filter material is constricted about the second stream to frictionally engage the second stream so that the second stream is positively gripped for continued travel with the fibrous material.
~n embodiment of this method involves subjecting the second stream of fibrous filter material to a longi-tudinal tension greater than the first stream of fibrous filter material during the rod making process.
The apparatus of this invention includes means for supplying a first and second continuous streams of fibrous filter material, a means for maintaining the second supplied stream of fibrous filter material under a longitudinal tension greater than the first supplied stream, a mandrel having a passageway for ~ -recciving and passage of the second supplied stream of fibrous filter material, a forming means for re-, ceiving the supplied streams of filter material anda stream of paper, said forming means circumferen-tially envelopes said mandrel to direct the first supplied stream of fibrous filter material and the i paper circumferentially about the mandrel and the second supplied stream of filter material to form a filter rod. The mandrel is adjustable relative to the forming means to accurately position the second stream of filter matexial at the center of the first stream.

~05Z655 S 'l'hese and other o~jects and advantages of the invention will b~come more apparent from the follow-ing detailed description and appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 illustrates a schematic view of an apparatus for making a filter rod according to this invention;
Figures 2 through 6 illustrate enlarged cross-sectional views of the apparatus at various stages, vicws 2 through 6, of filter formation;
Pigure 7 illustrates a part cross-sectional view of a cigarette having a filter made in accor-dance with this invention;
`J, Figure 8 illustrates a cross~sectional view of thc filter in Figure 7; and Figure 9 illustrates an enlarged view of the forming section of the apparatus of Figuxe 1.
I~o~erring to Figure 1, the apparatus 10 for ~0 making the filt~r rod 11 oE the present inv~ntion in-cludes conventional means, not shown, for supplying ~ , .
two streams of fibrous filter material 12 and 13, such as cellulose acetate tow. In addition, the .- ~j .
apparatus 10 includes means 14 and 15 for adjusting the tension applied on each of the streams 12 and 13 of filter material. A guide means 16, for example, a funnel or trumpet shaped member, for positioning in a predetermined path the first stream 12 of tow for delivery to and in axial alignment ~elow a guide-shaping means 17, to which has been delivered the sccond stream 13 of filter materiai, and a rod former 18 of conventional construction for wrapping the first str~am 12 of filter material about the second stream 13 of filter material and wrapping the two formed con- I
centric cylinders into a filter rod 11.
Referring to Figures 1 and 9, the guide-shaping means 17, whicll receives the inner stream 13 of fil-ter material, is positioned downstream of gùide means 1~, which positions the first stream 12 of filter ma-terial with r~spect to the guide-shaping means 17.
-~ ~uide-shaping means 17 includes a hollow mandrel 19 of elongated, tapered length which passes through positioning means 20 and into the rod maker 18. The entrance end 21 (Figure 2) of the guide-shaping means 17 is sized to receive the stream of filter material '$i 13 with the material in a spread and decrimped manner.
,~j The diameter of the exit end 22 of mandrel 19 can vary ;, depending upon the amount of fibrous material supplied and the desired bulk dcnsit~ of this material in the .; 20 ~inAl rod 11, but i5 usually smaller than the en-trance end 21.
: As illustrated in Figure 2, guide-shaping ~, means 17 is positioned so that its base is parallel and contiguous to the flattened U-shaped stream 12 of fibrous material supplied from guide means 16.
.~ Furthermore, the guide-shaping means 17 is adjustable ,~ r~lative to the forming means (not shown) of the rod ,' maker 18. For instance, the guide-shaping means 17 ~: can be mounted in a cantilever manner (not shown) on : 30 a support for adjusting the mandrel 19 vertically or `

~05;~655 riz~n~;llly, as dcscribed at column 3, lines 17 through 23 i~clusivc of U.S. Patent 3,860,011, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by ref~rence.
The rod former 18 is of conventional construc-tion and contains a forming block 22 and a tongue 23 mounted on the topside of the block 22. The block 22 and tongue 23 form a passageway (not shown) into which the mandrel 19 projects. This latter passage-way is sized to receive the two streams 12 and 13 of ~ilter material and is tapered internally to form an inwardly tapering surface for the passageway so that the passageway gra~ually diminishes in cross-section.
In addition, the rod former 18 includes a conveyor 24 having a conveyor belt 25, such as a continuous fabric belt, which is driven by a belt drive wheel 26 over guide rolls 27 through the passageway formed by the block 22 and tongue 23. The belt 25 is used to move a stream of porous web 28, e.g., plugwrap paper, from a suitable supply reel 29 into the passageway via guide rollers 30 as well as to convey the two streams 12 and 13 of filter material. The web 28 , has a uniform pattern of perforations 31 (Figure 7) throughout, or is inherently porous for purposes ex-plained below.
~s shown in Figure 1, the rod former 18 in-cludes a pair of folding sections 32 as are known, s a glue or adhesive applicator 33 and a sealer 34.
The folding sections 32 serve to fold the edges of the delivered web 28 towards each other in enveloping 105;~655 relationship to the two concentric cylinders of fil- '~
ter material 35 and 36 (Figure 8) which are in a con-tiguous relationship at this point. The adhesive ;~
applicator 33 serves to apply a line of adhesive on the top surface of one edge so that the undersurface of the opposite edge can be sealed thereto by the sub-sequont folding section 32 and the sealer 34 to form the filter rod 11. The web 28 may also be of the typ~ wllich has a heat activated resin preapplied to th~ surface, in which case, the applicator 33 may be ' eliminated.
,' A suitable cutting mechanism utilizing a knife ,~ 37 is disposed downstre,~m of the sealer 34, as is known, for cutting the filter rod 11 into predeter-~, mined lengths 38. Each length may thereafter be cut '~! into a multiplicity of filters.
~efcrring to Figure 1, in operation, two ~', separate streams of filter material 12 and 13 are 5, fed from,~heir respective supply sources, spread out ... .
,~ 20 and decrlm~od in a conventional fashion as i9 known, passed through a plasticizer chamber 39 and delivered ' into their respective guide means 16 and 17. The two streams of filter material 12 and 13 are pulled by '', conveyor belt 25 and a predetermined speed. As the flrst stream of filter material 12 passes through guide means 16, it is spread into a flattened U-shape (Figure 2) and positioned so as to be in a parallel and contiguous relationship with the guide-shaping means 17 as it passes through guide means 20 into the rod maker 18. As filter stream 12 passes ~` .
:"

105'~6S5 int~ th~ r~d mclker 18 b~twecn t}le folding block 22 and the tongue 23, the fibrous material is gradually reduc~d ~ircwnf~rentially due to a tapering of the tonc~ue 23 r~lativ~ to the forming block 22., thereby causing the filter material 12 to circumferentially envelop m~ndrel 19 to which has been supplied the second stream of filter material 13 which is in a compressed state due to the tapering of mandrel 19.
'1 . ~
., .
~s the filter material 12, which is now in the shape of a hollow cylinder, passes over the exit 21 of mandrel 19, it is brought into frictional contact with the filter material 13 which passes out of man-drcl 19 within the rod former 18 whereby the first stream of filter material 12 is juxtaposed in en-veloping, contiguous, circumferential relationship ~ith the sccond stream of filter material 13. At the same time., the web of paper 28 is guided into the rod former 18 underneath the stream of filter material 12 and i~ folded into a general U-shape.
. ., ~ 20 Continued travel of the streams 12 and 13 of filter ::' material causes filter stream 12 to be further con-stricted circumferentially about filter stream 13 q~ to grasp or to frictionally engage filter stream 13 under a force sufficient to continuously pull the remaining portion of filter stream 13 from its 'l supply source.
' The movement of the fibrous material streams ; 12 and 13 is facilitated by the conveyor belt 25 and i. and the paper web 28 as is known. In addition, the paper web 28 is subsequently folded about the con-, .

~os~655 ~:

strictcd concentric, cylindrical layers 12 and 13 with the paper edges scaled together to form a filter rod 11 of continuous length. The filter rod 11 is t~len severed into predetermined lengths 38 by the knife 37.
, Thc streams of filter material 12 and 13 may I)e ~ed from their respective supply sources at a rate pproximately equal to the rate of consumption, with allowances being made for the blooming and decrimping of the ilter material in accordance with conventional s practices. The rate of consumption is governed by the specd of drive wheel 26 which may be driven by any conventional means.
Figures 3 through 6 illustrate the respective positions of the two streams of filter material 12 and 13, thc plugwrap paper 28 and the conveyor drive ~, helt 25 just prior to entry into the rod maker 18 and at various stages inside the rod maker 18. Figure S
illustrates the relationship between the positions of the streams of filter material 12 and 13 just prior to the passage of filter stream 13 from the inside of mandrel 19. At this point, the stream of filter ma-terial 12 has completely enveloped mandrel 19 and due to the circumferentially constrictive force applied .
by the inner surface of the rod maker 18, the stream of filter material 12 will frictionally engage stream of filter material 13 upon its exit from man-drel 19.
!, In one embodiment of the present invention filter material stream 13 is placed under a linear .. .
.

105'~655 ten~ion ~reater than that of filter stream 12 during th~ rod Eorming proccss. This can be accomplished ~y running the pair of frictional rollers 15 at a linear surface s~eed helow that of conveyor drive whecl 26. This results in a lower pressure drop and higher flavor yield for the inner cylinder 35 (Figure 8) of filter material. At the same time, the filter ; material stream 12 is delivered to the rod maker 18 at a linear surface speed higher than that of the conveyor drive wheel 26. This can be accomplished by regulating the speed of the pair of friction rollers 14. This results in a packing of the filter material in the outer concentric cylinder 36 (Figure 8), thereb.y giving it a higher prcssure drop and a greater filtering ability than the inner filter cylinder 35.
Subjecting the inner tow to a greater tension than the outer làyer of tow 12 permits the attainment of a greater bulk density of filter material inside the inner cylinder of filter material 35, thereby giving the smoke passageway 35 greater structural strength ; so that it remains substantially non-deformable during .
smoking. The use of a cellulose acetate tow that still retains some degree of registration for the .
inner tow 35 of the filter has proven to be of par-ticular effectiveness, as discussed below, when used in this embodiment of the invention.
Referring to Figures 7 and 8, a filter 39 formed from the filter rod 11 includes an inner cylindrical core of coarse fibrous filter material 35 surrounded hy an annular layer of compacted filter ,:~

-- r ~ 05'~655 material 36, a wrapping of perforated plugwrap paper 40 and an outer wrap of tipping paper 41. The filter ~9 is m~unted, as is known, by means of the outer wrap of tippin~3 paper 41 on a tobacco column 42 to form a cigarette. The outer wrap of tipping or mouthpiece pap~r 41 is provided with a circumferential row of perforations 43 which are located at about the mid-section of the filter 39. The number of individual perforations 43 or the number of rows thereof will vary with the amount of ventilating air desired to be drawn in with each puff of the cigarette.
' As shown in Figure 8, the inner cylindrical core of filter material 35 i8 centered on the axis of thc filter 39 and form~ a passageway through which ~;~ substantially all of the smoke will pass into the ~, smoker's mouth.
~ Referring to Figure 7, as the smoker takes a ,! puff of his normal puff volume, the flow of smoke `; through the cigarette into and through the two annu-lar concentric layers of filter material 35 and 36 and the air flow through the perforations 43 in the ~A~ tipping paper 41 will be proportional to the draw resistances of the two annular layers of filter ma-terial 35 and 36. Inasmuch as the draw resistance of the outer annular layer of filter material 36 is ~ relatively high, there is virtually no delivery of ;' smoke between the tobacco column 42 and the smoker's .
mouth through the outer annular layer 36.
The smoke generated in 'che burning cigarette cone during the puffing process predominantly passes 105'~655 through the inner annular layer of filter material 35 due to its lower pressure drop. This smoke reaches the smoker's mouth in a relatively concentrated state and at a relatively high velocity. Even though the quantity of this smoke i5 reduced when com~ared to normal filter cigarettes, its relatively unfiltered state, high concentration and high impingement velo-city have the effect of enhancing the taste of the cigarette to the smoker~
That portion of smoke generatcd in the ciga-rette cone which passes into the outer annular laycr of filter material 36 from the tobacco column 42 passes back into the inner layer of filtcr materis~l 35 before entering the smoker's mouth thereby achieving complete radial flow across the fibers for the smoke entering this outer annular layer. This is due to the combined effect of the lower pressure drop of the inner layer of filter material 35 and the laminar flow of ventilation air drawn in from the surrounding ` 20 environment through perforations 43. This laminar ~, flow of ventilation air tends to compress and form an annular ring around the smoke strcam within thc inncr layer of filter material 35. Surprisingly, only a small amount of actual mixing of the smoke strcam with the ventilation air occurs before entering thc smoker's mouth.
In addition to the smoke generated in the cigarette cone, the smoker's puff will contain, as indicated above, air drawn in from the surrounding environmcnt via thc pcrforations 43 in thc tir~r~ing 1~)5;~655 paper, through the plugwrap paper 40 and the filter materials 35 and 36 into the smo~er's mouth. Only a relatively small proportion of the air mingles with the smoke before it is delivered into the smoker's mouth. This enhances the possibility of the smoker getting an increased flavor impression from the de-livered smoke stream, whereas in conventional ciga-- rettes utilizing perforated tipping, diluting air and smoke mix within the filter resulting in the de-livered smoke stream being substantially prediluted before impinging in the smoker's mouth. The air drawn through the perforations 43 appears to form a laminar ~I sheath within the peripheral layer of filter material and the outer extremities of the inner layer of filter material and essentially confines or compresses the smoke path to the central core element. Experimental and mathematical models have confirmed this effect.
Initial smoke deposition occurs on the whole surface of the tobacco end of the filter, but from the per-forations on downstream, the deposition occurs sub--~ stantially only on the inner cylindrical coarse layer of filter material.
The amount of air drawn in from the surrounding environment can be varied by the number of individual perforations in the tipping paper and the porosity of the plugwrap paper. A suitable amount of air to be drawn in from the outside, measured as percent dilu-tion though substantially no dilution of the smoke stream occurs, is from about 15 percent to about 60 percent, preferably from about 25 percent to about :

,:~

105;~55 55 ~erc~nt, and most ~referably from about 35 percent to about 45 percent, of the total volume of the puff delivered to the smoker's mouth.
The amount and velocity of the smoke stream and of the air stream can be regulated by varying the respective draw resistances of the two annular laycrs of filter material and the number of perfora-ti~ns. The smoke yield of the cigarette can be varied over a wide range by a choice of proper combinations of these variables.
~ rhe filter matcrials suitable for use in the manufactur~ of the filter of the present invention can be any conventional filter material provided the inner layer is of such a construction so as to have a lower pressure drop than the outer annular layer. Preferably both layers are made from cellulose acetate tows.
The cellulose acetate tow used in the manufacture of the inner layer of filter material shouid be coarse enough to offer only minimal draw resistance, have relativcly little effective filtration efficiency and should be able to diffuse the smoke stream issuing from the ~ilter to only a moderate degree. This would result in an increase in the impingement area on the ..
tongue so as to remove the objection of too concen-trated a smoke stream, as in the filter of U.S.
Patent No. 3,860,011, but not increase the area of impingement on the tongue to the eY.tent that you would ~estroy the essential feature of the filter, e.g. still yield a much more concentrated smoke stream than issues from a normal cigarette filter.

.

~ -17-: 1052655 `
-~ Illustrative of the cellulose ~cetate tows which are suitable for the inner cylinder of filter material in this invention are those having denier per filament values (dpf) of 6 or higher with concomitant total denier bundle values of from about 10,000 to about 50,000 total denier. Preferably the cellulose ace-tate tow used in the inner layer of filter material as a dpf valuo of from about 7 to about 9 with con-comitant total denier values of less than about 25,000 being limited on the lower end of total denier values by the capabilities of tow manufacturers.
~he cellulose acetate tow used for the outer annular layer of filter material in this invention should ' offer more draw resistance than the tow selected for the inner layer. Illustrative of cellulose ace-tate tows which are'suitable for use in this outer J layer of filter material are those of from about 1 ~ dpf to about 5 dpf and 10,000 to 50,000 total denier . , .
values. Preferably the outer tow is one having from ~bout i to about 4 dpf value with a concomitant total ,~ .
` denier value of from about 35,000 to about 45,000.
The inner tow should have a dpf value of from about 1. 5 to `5 times the dpf value for the outer tow, preferably from about 2 to about 4 times as great I as the outer tow's dpf value. These ratios should hold truo for the majority of the tows provided thcir total denier values fall in the range of from about 10,000 to 50,000.
., A filter whose outer annular layer of filter tow has bcen substantially deregistered as opposed ~05'~55 t~ inner l~yer of filter material has proven to b~ ~.r par~icul~r utility in t}lO pre~ent invention.
Filters o~ this typ~ may b~ prepared by thc use of a c~llulosc acetate tow that still retains some de-gree of rcgistration, from about 5 percent to about 30 perc~nt, prcferably from about 10 to 25 percent, registration for the inner layer of filter tow and a substantially deregistered tow for the outer annular layer. The degree of registration of the respective tow layers may be regulated by varying the cxtent of blooming and decrimping of the tows and the amount of tension placed thereon during the ro~ making process.
~eferring to Fi~ures 7 and 8, the inner layer of filter material 35 may assume any geometric shape f but preferably is substantially cylindrical in shape and of substantially uniform cross-section throughout.
The diameter of the inner layex of filter material 35 preferably is no more than one half of the A 20 diameter of the filter, e.g., the cross-sectional arca is preferably less than about 25 percent of the total cross-sectional area of the filter. A diameter of from a~out one millimeter ~mm) to about 5 mrn, prcfcrably from about 3 mm to 4 mm, for the inner layer of filter material 35 is suitable in the practice of the present invention.
; .
The apparatus and method have been used successfully to make 126 mm long, 24.6 mm circum-ference filter rods on production machinery at a ~ 30 production rate of about 500-600 cigarettes per :: s ' ~ .
' .

- . - .. : : ,, . - : . . -, . ~ , . ~. , : . . .

- 105;~655 mil~utc u~in~ 2.8 dpf/38,000 total denier cellulose acetate tow for the outer annular layer of filter ma-terial and 8.0 dpf/20,000 total denier cellulose ace~
: tate tow for the inner layer of filter material.
The same production rate above was achieved : using the following cellulose acetate tows for the . outer annul~r layer of filter material while using the 8.0 dpf/20,000 total denier tow for the inner `. laycr.
10.SAMPLE INNER TOW OUTER TOW
4 A 8.0 dpf/20,000 1.8 dpf/38,000 total denier total denier ~ B 8.0 dpf/20,000 3.3 dpf/40,000 ., - total denier total denier ,3, C 8.0 dpf/20,000 5.0 dpf/30,000 -total denier total denier - Vsing the above filter rods, four 85 mm (21 mm filter section) sample cigarettes were fabricated and , submitted to standard analytical smoking tests. The data listed in Table I below are typical of results ;~ that can be obtainod with the filter of this inven-' tlon. The yield reductions are calculated on the basis of the same tobacco column smoked without a filter.
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105;~655 T~PsLF~ I

. _ n ~ ~ rt 3 O rJ~t-- O ~ ~-- C tt U~
rt ~ n. rt ~ ~ Q rt 1 ,, ID C a~ ~ ~
rt ~ ~t ~
r,t r,t r,t ~- ~ --O
O ~ O :~
3 ~
: dP _ ~n r~ o ~D O r ~ o ~ o ~ W
- ' o r,~

' X
o vl ~ rJ~ a~ . o ~--~ ~ ~J o .. , ~n ~o ~ w ~ ~ O
' ~ . . ~ ri~D O . C~
~ W ~ ~D O C~
., - ~ ~ *
* *
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w r.l a. o ~-- w ~ o w :` W 1~ ~ ~ W :`
w o o :

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`:` ~ `~ ~ ~ ~ o o :i ~ o ~ - l o o t '.i ' .

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*NFDS - Nicotine free dry solids.
, **Not determined.
.,. :~
, ~*~Duplicate.
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` ' ~ -21-~' :~
, .-. ~ . . , . : -- . : -,. . , -lOS~S5 Using calculations based on the nicotine gen-erated in the smoke stream of a non-filtered tobacco column, a filtered tobacco column without perforations and a filtered tobacco column with perforations it was found that the perforations in the filter caused a yield reduction in the amount of nicotine of 9.1%.
Thc cigarettes used in this experiment were the same as those of sample 2 in Table I.
~xperiments have shown that the use of the filter of the present invention on cigarettes allows the use of cellulose acetate tows for the inner smoke passage having effective filtration efficiencies wh1ch closely approximates that of present commercial high taste and high smoke solids (nicotine + NFDS) cigarettes ~about 40~), and still deliver a high taste low total solids smoke stream to the smoker.
~n inner smoke passage of minimal filtration effic-iency and low draw resistance, without the concomi-tant deficiencies of the Norman, et. al., filter dis-~,~ Z0 cussed above, is desirable.
The cigarettes were prepared using a conven-tional citrated web having a Griner porosity of 20 :, .
~3 seconds. The inner tow, 8.0 dpf/20,000 total denier, . ~ . .
used in the manufacture of the above cigarette fil-ters was only approximately 80% deregistered. In the manufacture of the above cigarette filters, the inner tow's 13 linear surface speed was 80~ that of ~ 2 ~ the conveyor belt 25, the linear surface speed of - which was only 80% that of outer tow 12, thereby causing a degree of packing higher than normal of , ., :
: ,- .- .. .. .
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~. ~ ~ ... . . . .
. . . .

~05'~655 the outer tow 12 and subjecting the inner tow to a t~nsion along its longitudinal axis which is greater than normal and greater than outer tow 12. In work-ing with tows which are not substantially deregister-cd a suitabl~ tenqion may bo created by running the linear sur~ace speed of the tow, in this particular apparatus the rollers 15, from about 75 to about 95 percent that of the rod making apparatus, which in this particular case would be the linear surface speed of conveyor belt 25. In order to achieve the proper amount of packing of filter material 12 in the outer annular layer of filter rod 11, the outer tow may bc fcd at a sueed of from about 5 percent to about 25 perccnt of the linear surface speed of , . tllc rod making machine, conveyor belt 25.
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Claims (8)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. In a method of making a filter rod for cigarette filter tips, the steps of generating a first stream composed of fibrous filter material;
generating a second stream composed of fibrous filter material;
maintaining the first stream of fibrous filter material under a longitudinal tension greater than said second stream during the continued travel of both streams to form a filter rod;
placing said streams in juxtaposition during travel while simultaneously enveloping said second stream of fibrous material circumferentially about said first stream of fibrous material;
generating a third stream of paper;
circumferentially enveloping said third stream about said juxtaposed first and second streams during continued travel of said first, second and third streams to form a filter rod; and moving said rod to continue movement of said three streams while constricting said second stream about said first stream for continued travel therewith.

2. In a method as set forth in Claim 1 the steps of folding opposite edges of said paper stream over each other and adhering said edges together after enveloping said paper stream about said juxtaposed streams to form said filter rod.

3. In a method as set forth in Claim 2 wherein both streams of fibrous filter material are cellulose acetate.

4. In a method as set forth in Claim 3 wherein the first stream of fibrous filter material has a dpf value of from about 7 to about 9 and the second stream of fibrous filter material has a dpf value of from about 1 to about 5.

5. An apparatus for making a filter rod for cigarette filter tips comprising means for supplying a first stream of coarse filter fibers;
means for applying tension on said first stream during its continued travel;
means for supplying a second stream of fine filter fibers in substantial alignment with said first stream;
en elongated mandrel having a passageway for receiving and consolidating said first stream fibers, said second stream fibers positioned about the periphery of said mandrel to at least partially envelop the same;
means for supplying a stream of wrapping paper;
filter rod forming means positioned downstream from and receive said mandrel for receiving said first and second stream fibers and said wrapping paper, said forming means receiving said elongated mandrel and adapted to concentrically surround and frictionally engage said first stream fibers issuing from said mandrel with said second stream fibers and to circumferentially envelop said wrapping paper about said stream of fibers to form a filter rod; and means for cutting said filter rod into predetermined lengths.

6. An apparatus as set forth in Claim 5 wherein said forming means includes a forming block for folding the sides of the stream of paper around the streams of filter fibers while compressing the second stream of fibers around the first stream of fibers and a tongue mounted on said forming block to guide the streams of fibers therebetween, and wherein said mandrel projects into said forming means under said tongue.

7. The apparatus set forth in Claim 5 wherein the tensioning means comprises a pair of friction rollers positioned between said first stream supply and said mandrel.

8. In an apparatus as set forth in Claim 7 wherein said mandrel is adjustable with respect to said forming means.