DE1094176B - Method and device for manufacturing filter cores - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a method and a device for producing filter cores which for example used as filter plugs for cigarettes, for cigarette holders and other smoking devices will.

Known forms of filter cores, for example for use as filter plugs in cigarettes, consist of a cylindrical rod made of fiber material, such as. B. Cotton wool in one at both ends is wrapped in an open tube made of cigarette paper.

There are already cigarette filter cores known in which fiber material of approximately the same density as Cigarette tobacco is contained in an outer shell, this fiber material, for example, made of shredded Paper, cellulose, bleached wood fibers or the like. Can exist. The manufacture of this well-known Filter cores are made according to a method that is also known by means of the cigarette machine, whereby only the filter material is filled into the paper envelope instead of the tobacco.

Furthermore, a \ ^ is experienced in the production of Filter mouthpieces for cigarettes known, according to which a continuous synthetic fiber or a Web of such continuous fibers is thrown so freely in space that it is in the form of a loose mass on the ground. This mass is then torn up and straightened so that it becomes a Forms lap or a sliver, and this in turn is treated on a coating machine and then shaped into a strand. According to this method, it is also known for tying the filter fibers to use binders, where appropriate, heat is also applied for this purpose will.

The first-mentioned cigarette filter cores have a certain filter effect, but these filter cores served less the actual purpose of filtering smoke than the purpose of saving tobacco in the mouthpiece area of the cigarette. For this reason, it was sufficient in view of the demands at that time to shred the filter material in tobacco processing machines in the same way as the cigarette tobacco used and then to insert the same into the paper sleeves in the same way as the cigarette tobacco in cigarette machines. With the cigarette filter cores produced in this way, however, it can be difficult to meet the current requirements with regard to the filter effect, the hygienic and taste requirements and with regard to the economy of the production process. The second-mentioned known method for producing cigarette filter cores is primarily suitable for using long-fiber filter material, whereas the processing method and device
for the production of filter cores

Applicant:

Cigarette Components Limited,
London

Representative: Dipl.-Ing. R. Holzer, patent attorney,
Augsburg, Philippine-Welser-Str. 14th

Claimed priority:
Great Britain July 2, 1954

Eric George Herbert Mauthner, London,
has been named as the inventor

processing of short-staple or short-fiber material according to this known method is hardly advantageous appears.

In contrast to these known methods, the invention aims to produce filter cores, which not only meet the demands of smokers, but also with the use of short-stacked Material can be produced economically. The invention accordingly relates to a method for Manufacture of filter cores in which an uninterrupted, uniform sliver of fiber is produced and the tape is combined into a continuous strand and compacted, with subsequently the fibers are bound together with a binder, and it is characterized in that the uninterrupted, uniform fiber web by dispersing the fibers in air by means of a disintegrator and by gathering the fibers dispersed in the air on a continuous η tape will be produced.

It is true that a filter element for tobacco smoke has already been proposed, which at.s one rod-shaped fiber mass in which synthetic fibers or threads, in particular cellulose derivative threads, together to form a self-supporting, cohesive and dimensionally stable, at least in Distances along the fibers or threads connected, optionally sheathed bundles are combined, according to this method, the fibers or threads by a solvent and / or

009 650/81

3 4

fused by heat. The method according to manure it is thus possible that cigarette filter cores

the invention differs from this older one, which is made in terms of economy

already proposed method in that, like manufacturing, versatility of applicability,

already noticed, according to the invention the incessant ease of further processing in the cigarette

Broken, uniform sliver by dispersing 5 th production, uniformity and quality of the achieved

of the fibers in the air by means of a disintegrator and th filter effect, freedom from disturbing

by summarizing the taste dispersed in the air when smoking and the purity of the

Fibers is produced on a running belt. ten filter fibers meet the requirements

This results in the profitability of the meet. In the method according to the invention

Manufacture of the filter cores Properties of this io are preferably pulp, wood pulp or

Filters, which will be explained in detail later, and textile fibers with a staple length of up to about 6 mm

be appreciated. Nonetheless, length is used in the length. Of course you can too

drive according to the invention also the possibility of using as fibrous materials of greater staple length

Find binders to bind the individual together, but they are generally more expensive than

Fibers also use such liquid binders, 15 short-staple fibers.

As mentioned, in a further embodiment of the method according to the already proposed

a dissolving or softening effect on the invention can be an impregnating binder as a binder

Exercise surface of the fiber material of the core. Find binders application.

The fibers of the strand can advantageously disfigure filter elements for tobacco smoke either by soaking them with a liquid binding agent, in which the threads of a fiber strand are temporarily tied to one another and then dried on the surface, or they can be converted into a liquid state by adding a binding agent by using a solvent for the threads by means of being bound to one another in the dry state, these binding being united at any one essentially point-like at a point in time in the course of the treatment of the forming nozzle that a dimensionally stable fiber web can be made,
ger, homogeneous rod is formed, which is cut into filter The invention finally also comprises a single element of corresponding length, direction for carrying out the method, which according to this method is characterized by the fact that a channel provided driving steps continuously one after the other - 30, the bottom of which is designed as a conveyor belt, and a continuous strand from which the threads dispersed in the air are laid down and which are crimped in a known manner and which runs in the upper part of a suction device over a passage section, in which he has under, by means of which air is spread out of the channel in tape form is loosened so that it leads.

matted threads are separated from each other, and that 35 The method carried out according to the invention for the so exposed threads by spraying with the manufacture of filter cores is now for example sticking agents at the points, on, with reference to the schematic drawings, the agent impinges on the threads , superficial voltages in connection with the invention are converted into a sticky state, wherein trained device described. It shows the rod pretreated in this way in a known manner, FIG. 1 shows an elevation of a device for carrying out the method according to the invention in a manner similar to that of a rod of tobacco into a cigarette,
the dimensionally stable, homogeneous filter rod together.
Length is cut. Fig. 3 is an elevation of a modified device

According to this last-mentioned, already proposed 45 for carrying out the inventively proposed

A process is therefore an expansion of a process that is seen continuously, and

the fiber strand in a pass-through section in front of FIG. 4 is a plan view of the one shown in FIG

seen in this strand in ribbon form such a device.

is loosened, that matted threads from each other that to be used in the manufacture of the filter cores

be separated. The continuous fibers remain 50 and the starting material consists of bleached cells

so lie essentially parallel to each other and fabric fibers. This material is usually obtained

are only separated from each other. In the case of the manufacturer in the form of solid arches, which

drive according to the invention, in contrast, will have to be shredded before the material is

for this, not continuous, but more or less can be needed; for example are pieces

short-staple fibers are used, which are used in panels or 55 of these sheets in a disintegrator of a known type

Arches are delivered pressed. Accordingly, have to give up. The loose fibers are taken out of the mill

these fibers according to the invention are completely opened and pulled off by an air stream and come together

and be separated or isolated. This is done with this air flow in a cyclone

in air by means of a disintegrator, whereby the fibers are separated from the air stream

completely separated from each other or isolated and become 60. The fibers settle at the bottom of the cyclone

swirled through and then after previous off and are removed from there and the next

Deflocculation with withdrawal of the air on a conveying work stage of the device, or else it

tape, where they are then placed in all directions for storage and later use.

messed up. As a result, the desired one comes sunk.

Filter effect. It is also advantageous that & 5 The separated pulp fibers are

abandoned according to the invention comparatively short fiber and weighing device 10, which is so arranged

short-staple material is used as filter material, that the fibers on a first, with prak-

can be used in numerous production processes as a conveyor belt moving at a constant speed.

Waste accumulates and now band 11 is discharged according to the invention. The weighing device is from

can find useful use. Manually or automatically actuated by the invention, in order to

5 6

constant weight of the fibers over time. In general, the coated or

unit on the moving conveyor belt soaked strand as a result of absorbing the binding agent

load. on. For this reason, the coated resp.

The conveyor belt 11 discharges the fibers onto an impregnated strand through a second drawing nozzle or deflocculating device 12, consisting of a pair of 5 sets 26 drawn and then runs between the intermeshing spiked or toothed rollers, pressing and forming rollers 27. The high speed drawing nozzle; This device ensures that and the rollers or rollers press the strand together to all the lumps still present in the fiber mass, pressing the excess liquid into fibers. From the deflocculating device and bring the diameter of the strand up, the fibers pass into a dispersing device 13, io the desired value and also give it their desired value in which the fibers are dispersed, isolated and approximately exactly circular, oval or otherwise evenly distributed in the air. The dispersed cross-section. The strand then goes through a yawing device can for example consist of drying tunnel 28 through to bring the liquid binding of a disintegrator of the known type to dry using the beater to hurl the fibers against a grate, 15 of for example hot air or infrared heating through which the fibers emerging from the mill or high-frequency induction heating,
go through. The dispersing device is driven by the coating of the dried binding agent on a motor 14 via a gear transmission 15 for the outside of the strand, the speed of which can be varied under certain circumstances, in order to be sufficiently rigid to allow a tubular casing to be discharged from the device in the unit of time 20 to make paper dispensable, although it is desirable to be able to change and adjust fibers. may be worth using such a cover,

The air-dispersed fibers are dispersed into a shaft-like channel around the filter plug to give a better external appearance. The dried strand, whether he is a blown, constituted by two vertically arranged envelope has or not, by a knife 29 in side walls 16. In this channel there is a 25 conventional W ^T else cut into suitable lengths werzweites, in the lower part ordered by the same, those who go to a packaging point,
serving as the bottom conveyor belt 17. The airborne In the cigarettes the filter plugs are held by dispersed fibers migrating in the channel in which the tube of cigarette paper, which surrounds the same direction as the conveyor belt and store tobacco. The outside diameter of the filter itself grafting on the latter under the influence of its own 30 must be within narrow limits, e.g. B. 8 mm weight so that they form a loosely contiguous minus 0.10 mm or less, during the manufacture uniform path. A suction device 18 can be kept constant, since the filter plug is provided at the upper part of the channel, and if the size of the finished cigarette is too small, the end opposite the point of entry of the fibers could slip out and the end, which affects the filtering effect, around the air from the channel, while if the filter plugs are too large, sucking and thereby the deposition of the fibers dispersed in the air in the clothing of the cigarette machine could be jammed by their own weight,
support. Another in the manufacture of the filter cores

The starting material to be used in the movement of the second conveyor belt will be cotton the sliver located on the same by 4 ° fibers of about 2 to 5.5 mm in length (z. B. cotton two endless circumferential converging, edgewise linters), which were previously covered by dust and other understanders Ribbons 19 to a strand or stream were freed from impurities. It can also with a uniform U-shaped cross-section - fibers other than cellulose fibers and cotton linters moved and compacted. To be used at the point of contact, such. B. the known bast fibers Both belts 19 are covered by a forming roller 20 which 45 such as hemp, jute or flax fibers, seed fibers such as upper surface of the fiber strand and forms to- z. B. cotton wool, leaf fibers such. B. Sisal or Manila seeds with the ribbons 19 the strand so that it hemp, animal fibers such. B. wool or hair, receives a circular cross-section. To the mineral fibers such. B. glass or asbestos fibers even larger Part of the circumference of the strand is then made from regenerated cellulose (rayon) fibers a pulling tape 21 is wound, and this tape pulls the 50 cellulose esters and other synthetic synthetic cords through a first nozzle or set 22, in fabrics.

which the diameter to the required value At the one described in the details above

is brought. The process was then followed by the fibers

The process of combining and compressing comes from the first drawing nozzle or set

Strand on a third conveyor belt 23 of generally 55 liquid binder added. It is clear

U-shaped cross-section. On this conveyor belt, the addition of the liquid binder is used instead

the strand is supported as long as it is in a known manner before or during this merging

with an impregnating, liquid binder and compacting through the appropriate arrangement of the

is coated or soaked, z. B. with a solution nozzles 25 can be effected.

of cellulose acetate in methyl ethyl ketone. In this 60 It is also possible to use other liquid binders as an embodiment, the strand is impregnated by straight solutions of cellulose acetate. B. known animal and vegetable glues, strand from a container 24 through the nozzles 25 alkyl celluloses, cellulose esters or ethers, synthehindurch. If, however, the strand is only intended to be coated with thermosetting or heat-forming resins, then it can easily be sprayed with a liquid 65 as required in the form of solutions or as long as the same is on the suspensions. The liquid binding agent can be located in addition to the third conveyor belt, or it will be one which is coated in a dissolving or soft known manner by rolling on by exerting a setting effect on the fiber material,
the strand is brought into contact with rollers, the circumference of which corresponds to that of FIGS. 3 and 4 show a device in which liquid is coated. 7 ° the starting material to be used from bleached

Wood fibers in the form of a thin, narrow strip 30 wound into a roll 31. The strip is fed through the feed rollers 32 of a chopper at a constant linear speed 33 supplied, in which the strip is divided into coarse particles. The particles migrate to one Dispersing device 34, driven by a motor 35 via a gear 36 for variable speeds. This dispersing device is of the same known type as the device 13 (according to Figs. 1 and 2).

The air-dispersed fibers are vertically arranged by the dispersing device into one of two Side walls 37 formed channel 37 blown. At the opposite of the dispersing device At the end there is a second conveyor belt 38 made of a wire mesh. At the back of the Part of the conveyor belt 38, which is located within the channel, a negative pressure is maintained, by means of a suction box 39. The vacuum ao causes the fibers dispersed in air to separate are deposited on the conveyor belt 38 in the form of a loosely connected web or pile, the part of the conveyor belt located in the channel moves downwards. Outside the channel at the bottom At the end of the conveyor belt, the vacuum is released and the loosely connected fibers are stored on a horizontal conveyor belt 40, on which the fiber web is summarized and through the upright rotating belts 41 and the forming roller 42 is compressed into a rod.

In an embodiment not shown here, the conveyor belt 38 and the box 39 are through replaces a rotating hollow drum in which part of the circumference forms a circular conveyor belt. This part of the circumference consists for example of a wire mesh, and inside the drum a negative pressure is maintained.

A strip 43 of cigarette paper, coming from a roll 44, is then attached to the underside of the Strand laid while a pull tape 45 wrapped around the greater part of the circumference of the strand will. The pulling tape pulls the strand through a pulling nozzle or set 46 in which the diameter of the strand is brought to the desired value. One edge of the strip 43 is left protrude, and this edge is detected in the usual way by a glue application wheel 47 and a with it cooperating pressure wheel 48. Thereafter, the strand goes through a pressing and heating device 49, in pressing down the edge of the strip 43 and drying the glue so that the strip becomes a forms tubular sheath for the strand with a seam overlapped in the longitudinal direction.

The apparatus shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is intended for a mode of operation in which the binder the fibers in dry form, e.g. B. is added in powder or in fiber form. Is the binder in powder form, then it can be used before or during the gathering and compacting of the loosely connected Fiber web are added, for example by means of one arranged above the conveyor belt 40 Vibrating trough 50, which is fed from a feed hopper 51. But if the binder is in fiber form, then it can either be added by means of the vibrating trough or by means of a second dispersing device as at 52, the two fiber sets being deposited together on the fiber web 38.

The fully formed and encased strand coming from the pressing and heating device 49 is picked up by a conveyor belt 53 which guides the rod past a knife 54; this latter cuts the strand into sections of the desired length. The cut sections then go to a Heater 55 which heats the sections to a temperature at which the binder is in a position is to serve its purpose, namely to bind the fibers of the strand together. One becomes without further ado see that both in FIGS. 1 and 2 and in the device shown in FIGS the loosely connected fiber web can be formed from a fiber mixture by feeds the mixed fibers to a single dispersing device or the different fibers corresponding dispersing devices that blow out into the same channel. Also can the two methods described above of bonding the gathered and compacted web together be exchanged, d. H. in the device according to FIGS. 3 and 4, a liquid binder, in those of FIGS. 1 and 2, a dry binder can be used.

The filtering effect of the resulting filter cores depends on a number of factors, e.g. B. on the diameter of the chosen fibers (the filter effect usually decreases with decreasing Diameter to), on the weight of the fibers per unit volume of the cores and on the proportion of the existing Binder. Various substances can be added to the fibers, and these additives can be used to modify the filtering effect of the filter. Serve as additives, for example powdered clay, kieselguhr, anions and cation exchange substances in the active ion exchange agent Conditions, carboxylic acids, catalytic salts, such as. B. ferric chloride, catalytic oxides, such as B. manganese dioxide and cobalt oxide, salts of polybasic acids, such as. B. potassium bitartrate, oxides the alkaline earths, such as. B. magnesium oxide, sodium bisulfate, sodium bisulfite, bone carbon, surface-active Clay and silica gel. In the case of substances that are more active when wet, low Amounts of a hygroscopic or a moisture-attracting material, such as. B. cane sugar or calcium chloride, can be added together with the substance or substances.

Claims (5)

Patent claims: 1. Process for the manufacture of filter cores, in which an uninterrupted, uniform Sliver produced and the tape combined into a continuous strand and compacted the fibers are then bound to one another with a binding agent, characterized in that the continuous, uniform sliver is formed by dispersing the Fibers in air by means of a disintegrator and by combining those dispersed in air Fibers is produced on a running belt. 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that an impregnating agent is used as the binder Binder is used. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the fibers of the strand through Impregnations are bound together with a liquid binding agent and then dried. 4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the fibers of the strand through Addition of a binder to be bound together in the dry state, whereby the binding the fibers is effected. 5. Device for performing the method according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that that a shaft-like channel (16) is provided, the bottom of which acts as a conveyor belt (17) is formed on which the air-dispersed fibers can be deposited, and that in the upper part 10 has a suction device (18) by means of which air is removed from the duct. Documents considered: Swiss Patent No. 276 403; British Patent No. 665 278. Older patents considered: German Patent No. 1 028 926. 1 sheet of drawings