DK153354B

DK153354B - METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING COMPOSED TOBACCO SMOKE FILTERS

Info

Publication number: DK153354B
Application number: DK079674AA
Authority: DK
Inventors: John H Sextone
Original assignee: British American Tobacco Co
Priority date: 1973-05-07
Filing date: 1974-02-15
Publication date: 1988-07-11
Also published as: IT1003705B; ZA738775B; DK153354C; CA1000152A; BR7402527D0; NL7405271A; GB1431634A; FI58717C; DE2421847A1; AU6317073A; CH577800A5; JPS49134899A; AU467028B2; FI58717B; BE810695A; JPS5147799B2; US3844200A

Description

DK 153354B .DK 153354B.

Den foreliggende opfindelse angår en fremgangsmåde af den i indledningen til krav 1 angivne art til fremstilling af sammensatte tobaksrøgfiltre samt et apparat til anvendelse ved fremgangsmåden.The present invention relates to a process of the kind set forth in the preamble of claim 1 for the manufacture of composite tobacco smoke filters and to an apparatus for use in the process.

5 For at forbedre de absorberende egenskaber af tobaksrøgfiltre har man inkorporeret forskellige additiver i form af partikelformede eller granulære materialer. Til dette formål har der været indført findelt trækul, silikagel, vulkanske salte, ionbytterharpikser, 10 lerarter og lignende, såvel som andre absorberings- og adsorberingsmidler. Denne indføring har været udført ved at drysse, sprøjte, opslæmme eller på anden måde inkorporere additiverne i det materiale, der danner hoveddelen af filterstrukturen. Dette filtermateriale 15 kan være papir, bulkgarn ("bulked yarn"), blår eller andre kendte materialer. Når de granulære additiver indføres eller indstrøs i fibrene, er der en tendens til at additiverne udskilles eller vandrer under fabrikationen af filteret eller mens filterelementet er i brug. Det kan desuden 20 vise sig, at udskillelse af det partikelformede materiale kan være ubehagelig, navnlig når vandringen resulterer i at granulaterne finder vej ind i rygerens mund. Det kan i denne forbindelse nævnes, at forsøg på at indføre klæbemidler for at fastholde additiverne ik-25 ke har været vellykkede, fordi sådanne klæbemidler som regel vil deaktivere adsorberingsegenskaberne hos additiverne .5 To improve the absorbent properties of tobacco smoke filters, various additives in the form of particulate or granular materials have been incorporated. For this purpose, finely divided charcoal, silica gel, volcanic salts, ion exchange resins, clays and the like have been introduced, as well as other absorbent and adsorbents. This introduction has been accomplished by spraying, spraying, suspending or otherwise incorporating the additives into the material forming the main body of the filter structure. This filter material 15 may be paper, bulk yarn, tow or other known materials. When the granular additives are introduced or sprinkled into the fibers, there is a tendency for the additives to secrete or migrate during the fabrication of the filter or while the filter element is in use. In addition, it may be found that excretion of the particulate material can be unpleasant, especially when the migration results in the granules finding their way into the smoker's mouth. In this connection, it may be mentioned that attempts to introduce adhesives to retain the additives have not been successful because such adhesives will usually deactivate the adsorption properties of the additives.

En anden metode til fremstilling af sammensatte filtre med granulært eller partikelformet materiale ind-30 befatter håndtering af korte filterdele af et udvalgt materiale og arrangering af disse med en afstand fra hinanden, hvorefter additiverne indføres mellem delene til tilvejebringelse af en sammensat filterstang med en løs granulær sektion. Filterstangen skæres til sidst til 35 sammensatte filtre med en mellemliggende granulær sektion. Selv om denne teknik er virkningsfuld, indebærer den store omkostninger, som øges betydeligt med prisenAnother method of preparing composite filters of granular or particulate material involves handling short filter portions of a selected material and spacing them apart, then introducing the additives between the portions to provide a composite filter bar with a loose granular material. section. The filter bar is eventually cut to 35 composite filters with an intermediate granular section. While this technique is effective, it involves the high cost, which increases significantly with the price

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2 på det indførte partikelformede materiale. Desuden vil håndtering af korte filterpropper og indførelse af det partikelformede materiale på den foreslåede måde give mange vanskeligheder indbefattet svind og tabt tid for 5 produktionsapparatet, navnlig ved maskiner med høj hastighed.2 on the introduced particulate material. In addition, handling short filter plugs and introducing the particulate material in the proposed manner will cause many difficulties including shrinkage and lost time for the production apparatus, especially at high speed machines.

Som regel følger der enorme rengøringsproblemer med de fleste hidtil anvendte eller påtænkte teknikker og metoder. Der har derfor været anvendt temmelig store 10 og kostbare anlæg, hvilket også bidrager til de færdige filterstængers samlede pris.As a rule, there are enormous cleaning problems with most of the techniques and methods used so far or envisaged. Therefore, quite large and expensive systems have been used, which also contributes to the total cost of the finished filter bars.

Der er foreslået flere fremgangsmåder og apparater til undgåelse af ulemperne ved de tidligere kendte metoder. Fx angiver USA-patentskrift nr. 3.371.000 og 15 "Defensive Publication" nr. 755.576 en teknik til indførelse af det granulære additiv-materiale med mellemrum i et filtermateriale, der bevæges kontinuerligt. Der dannes til sidst en filterstang med sektioner der er anbragt med indbyrdes afstand og som indeholder kornfor-20 met materiale.Several methods and apparatus have been proposed to avoid the disadvantages of the prior art methods. For example, U.S. Patent No. 3,371,000 and "Defensive Publication" No. 755,576 disclose a technique for inserting the granular additive material at intervals into a continuously moving filter material. Finally, a filter rod is formed with spaced apart sections containing granular material.

På grundlag af det der kendes fra det nævnte USA-patentskrift nr. 3.371.000 er der stadig problemer med vandring af det granulære materiale. Dette patentskrift angiver en proces ved hvilken det er vanskeligt at re-25 gulere tilførsel af granulat og placering af granulat inden for den dannede cigaretstang, således at stangen kan overskæres mellem de granulære zoner på en sådan måde at det undgås at granulatet afdækkes ved rygerens læber.Based on what is known from said US Patent No. 3,371,000, there are still problems with migration of the granular material. This patent discloses a process by which it is difficult to regulate the supply of granules and the placement of granules within the formed cigarette bar, so that the bar can be cut between the granular zones in such a way that the granulate is not covered by the smoker's lips. .

30 En anden vanskelighed ved indførelse af partikel formet materiale i kontinuerligt fremført blår er forureningen af snitfladerne og dermed af tobakken som følge af vandringen. Desuden forværres denne situation på grund af triangulering af mønsteret af med mellemrum an-35 bragt pulverformet materialet, idet mønsteret ikke er ensartet eller koncentrisk arrangeret med hensyn til stangens akse. Dette er forårsaget af sugetrykket på den DK 153354B.Another difficulty in introducing particulate material into continuous feed is the contamination of the cut surfaces and hence of the tobacco as a result of the migration. Furthermore, this situation is aggravated by the triangulation of the pattern of the spacer material spaced apart, the pattern not being uniformly or concentrically arranged with respect to the axis of the rod. This is caused by the suction pressure of the DK 153354B.

3 ene side af blåret på den stangdannende masksine, hvilket resulterer i at mellemrumsmønsteret i den færdige • stang bliver snoet.3 one side of the bladder on the rod-forming machine, which results in the gap pattern in the • finished rod being twisted.

Det vides at ingen af disse patenterede tilnær-5 melser har resulteret i en kommerciel anvendelse, og den foreliggende opfindelse er udformet med henblik på at muliggøre en sådan kommerciel anvendelse.It is known that none of these patented approaches has resulted in a commercial use, and the present invention is designed to enable such commercial use.

Det er formålet med den foreliggende opfindelse at imødegå ovennævnte ulemper og tilvejebringe en frem-10 gangsmåde til fremstilling af et filter formet af fibrøst filtermateriale, såsom filamentblår, med indbyrdes afskilte zoner med et pulverformigt eller findelt additiv, såsom pulverformigt trækul, til ændring af den røgstrøm, der passerer gennem filteret, således at der 15 mellem zonerne med partikelformet additiv er rene fibereller filamentzoner, som ved brug isolerer rygerens mund fra det partikelformede materiale og forhindrer, at dette slipper ud.It is the object of the present invention to address the above-mentioned drawbacks and to provide a method for producing a filter formed from fibrous filter material, such as filament tow, with spaced zones with a powdery or finely divided additive such as powder charcoal. smoke flow passing through the filter such that between the zones of particulate additive there are pure fiber or filament zones which in use isolate the smoker's mouth from the particulate material and prevent it from escaping.

Dette opnås ved en fremgangsmåde til fremstilling 20 af sammensatte tobaksrøgfiltre, hvilken fremgangsmåde i henhold til opfindelsen er ejendommelig ved det i den kendetegnende del til krav 1 anførte.This is achieved by a process for producing 20 composite tobacco smoke filters, the process of the invention being characterized by the method of claim 1.

Ved anvendelse af denne fremgangsmåde opnås på en forenklet og effektiv måde et sammensat tobaksrøg-25 filter, som ikke er behæftet med førnævnte ulemper. Når afmålte mængder af partikelformet materiale med mellemrum anbringes på den veldefinerede U-formede filterbane, sikres det nemlig, at det partikelformede materiale efter foldning af banen befinder sig i midten af filter-30 materialet, og at det partikelformede materiale herved er anbragt i veldefinerede lommer i filtermaterialet.By using this method a composite tobacco smoke filter is obtained, in a simplified and effective manner, which does not suffer from the aforementioned disadvantages. Namely, when spaced amounts of particulate material are applied to the well-defined U-shaped filter web, it is ensured that the particulate material after folding the web is in the center of the filter material and that the particulate material is thereby placed in well-defined pockets. in the filter material.

Opfindelsen angår tillige et apparat til udøvelse af fremgangsmåden, hvilket apparat er ejendommelig ved det i den kendetegnende del til krav 8 anførte.The invention also relates to an apparatus for carrying out the method, which is characterized by the features of the characterizing part of claim 8.

35 Opfindelsen skal forklares nærmere i det følgen de under henvisning til tegningen, hvor35 The invention will be explained in more detail in the following with reference to the drawing, in which

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4 fig. 1 viser en maskine til kontinuerlig fremstilling af en filterstang i overensstemmelse med opfindelsen set fra siden, fig. 2 viser en længde af en filterstang dannet 5 ved hjælp af apparatet ifølge fig. 1 med viste dele skåret bort og figuren viser lommer der er anbragt med indbyrdes afstand i blåret, og som indeholder et udvalgt additiv i partikulær eller granulær form, fig. 3 er et tværsnit langs linien 3-3 i fig. 2, 10 fig. 4 er en forstørret gennemskåret del af appa ratet ifølge fig. 1, der viser et målehjul i forbindelse med en granulatsilo og en del af dette afsnits indgang og udgang, fig. 5 er et tværsnit langs linien 5-5 i fig. 4 15 der viser dannelsen af filtermaterialet i den U-formede profil, fig. 6 er et tværsnit langs linien 6-6 i fig. 4 der viser foreningen af hjulets underside og det U-formede filtermateriale og frigørelse af granulatet fra må-20 lehjulet, og fig. 7 er et tværsnit langs linien 7-7 i fig. 4 og viser filtermaterialet der er ved at blive formet over granulatet til dannelse af en kontinuerlig stang med lommer der er anbragt med indbyrdes mellemrum og 25 som indeholder det granulære materiale.4 FIG. 1 is a side view of a machine for continuous manufacture of a filter bar in accordance with the invention; FIG. 2 shows a length of a filter bar formed 5 by the apparatus of FIG. 1 with parts shown cut away and the figure showing pockets spaced apart in the bladder containing a selected additive in particulate or granular form; 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2, 10 FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 showing a measuring wheel in connection with a granulate silo and part of the entrance and exit of this section; FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4 shows the formation of the filter material in the U-shaped profile, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 4 showing the union of the underside of the wheel and the U-shaped filter material and release of the granulate from the target wheel; and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 4, showing the filter material being formed over the granulate to form a continuous bar with interstitial pockets and 25 containing the granular material.

Fig. 1 viser et apparat 10 til kontinuerlig fremstilling af en sammensat filterstang med lommer der er anbragt med indbyrdes mellemrum og som indeholder et findelt additiv i partikulær eller granulær form. Ved 20 hjælp af apparatet 10 afskæres længder af denne kontinuerlige stang, hvorefter de hensigtsmæssigt fjernes fra apparatets udgangsside. En eksemplificeret stanglængde 12 dannet på et sådant apparat er vist på fig. 2. Under dannelse af denne længde 12 af en sammensat filterstang 35 kan der anvendes et filtermateriale såsom fibrøst cel-luloseacetat-blår 14. I stedet for celluloseacetat kan filtermaterialet være papir, bulkgarn eller andre typerFIG. 1 shows an apparatus 10 for the continuous manufacture of a composite filter bar with interstitial pockets containing a finely divided additive in particulate or granular form. By means of the apparatus 10, lengths of this continuous rod are cut off and then conveniently removed from the outlet side of the apparatus. An exemplary rod length 12 formed on such an apparatus is shown in FIG. 2. In forming this length 12 of a composite filter rod 35, a filter material such as fibrous cellulose acetate tow 14. may be used instead of cellulose acetate, the filter material may be paper, bulk yarn or other types.

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5 trådformet blår (filamentary tow), som alle er velkendte i den omhandlede teknik. De med mellemrum placerede lommer 16 kan indeholde et additiv 18 der har de ønskede absorberende eller adsorberende egenskaber og enten 5 er i partikelform eller granulær form. Granulatet 18 kan være findelt trækul, silikagel, vulkanske salte, ionbytterharpikser, lerarter eller lignende. Som et specielt additiv kan der ved den foreliggende opfindelse anvendes ionbytterharpiksen "Duolite", som kan være af 10 den type der er angivet i USA-patentskrift nr. 3.716.500.5 filamentary tows, all of which are well known in the art. The interstitial pockets 16 may contain an additive 18 having the desired absorbent or adsorbent properties and either 5 is in particulate or granular form. The granulate 18 may be finely divided charcoal, silica gel, volcanic salts, ion exchange resins, clays or the like. As a special additive, the ion exchange resin "Duolite" may be used in the present invention, which may be of the type disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 3,716,500.

Det kontinuerlige celluloseacetat-blår trækkes fra en sædvanlig opbevaringsbøjle til en blår-åbnende enhed 20, som spreder eller bloomer ("bloom") blåret på en måde der er velkendt ved fremstilling af filtre. Det åb-15 nede eller spredte blår 22 føres gennem et konventionelt organ 24 til påføring af blødgøringsmiddel. Det anvendte blødgøringsmiddel til celluloseacetatblår kan sædvanligvis være triacetin. Blåret med blødgøringsmiddel overføres til klemspalten mellem en valse 26 og en valse 28.The continuous cellulose acetate tow is drawn from a conventional storage bracket to a tow-opening unit 20 which spreads or blooms ("bloom") in a manner well known in the manufacture of filters. The opened or spread tow 22 is passed through a conventional fabric softener means 24. The cellulose acetate tow softener used can usually be triacetin. The softener bladder is transferred to the clamp slot between a roller 26 and a roller 28.

20 Det kontinuerlige udtagne blår føres derpå gennem en tragt 32, der er placeret ved indføringsenden af afdelingen 34 til påføring af granulat. Tragten 32 er udformet til at placere det udfladede blår 22 i en hovedsagelig U-formet profil, som vist på fig. 5, hvorved det 25 er rede til at modtage med mellemrum anbragte portioner af granulært materiale 18. Den formede blårbane 22 føres ind i afdelingen 34 langs en bane 36 af udvalgt papir eller svøb tilført fra en forsyningsvalse 38. Et fremdrevet rørformet bælte 40 medvirker til fremdrift af svø-30 bet 36 gennem mekanismen til fremstilling af cigaretpropper 10 langs blåret 22. Svøbet omslutter til sidst blåret og medvirker til at bestemme den ønskede i det væsentlige cylindriske udformning af filterstangen. Afsnittet med målehjul 34 er vist detaljeret på fig. 4 og 35 6. Ved hjælp af dette afsnit anbringes afmålte portioner af det udvalgte granulære materiale med indbyrdes mellemrum inden for U-profilets basis på banen 22 der kom-The continuous withdrawn tow is then passed through a hopper 32 located at the insertion end of the granule application compartment 34. The hopper 32 is designed to place flattened tow 22 in a substantially U-shaped profile, as shown in FIG. 5, wherein 25 is ready to receive intermittently sized portions of granular material 18. The shaped tow web 22 is inserted into the compartment 34 along a web 36 of selected paper or wrapper supplied from a supply roller 38. A propelled tubular belt 40 contributes to propelling the sleeve 36 through the mechanism for producing cigarette stoppers 10 along the bladder 22. The sleeve eventually encloses the bladder and assists in determining the desired cylindrical shape of the filter rod substantially. The measurement wheel 34 section is shown in detail in FIG. 4 and 35 6. Using this section, metered portions of the selected granular material are spaced at intervals within the base of the U-profile on the web 22 which

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6 mer fra tragten 32. Fra en silo 42 fyldes det granulære materiale 18 ved hjælp af tyngdekraften ned i hulrum, indskæringer eller lommer 44, der befinder sig med fastlagte indbyrdes mellemrum langs periferien af et måle-5 hjul 46. Påfyldningen af granulat i lommerne kan fremmes ved at der er tilvejebragt sugning indvendigt i hjulet 46. Når lommerne således er fyldt, kan det granulære materiale holdes på plads i disse under roteringsbevægelsen af hjulet 46 ved hjælp af en lukkesko 48 eller 10 ved at opretholde den nævnte sugning indtil man når det tidspunkt, hvor de fyldte hulrum når den nederste del af hjulet 46's bevægelse, hvor materialet derpå afleveres til den i bevægelse værende U-formede blårbane 22.6 from the hopper 32. From a silo 42, the granular material 18 is filled by gravity into cavities, incisions or pockets 44 which are spaced apart along the periphery of a measuring wheel 46. The loading of granules into the pockets may be promoted by providing suction inside the wheel 46. When the pockets are thus filled, the granular material may be held in place therein during the rotary movement of the wheel 46 by means of a closing shoe 48 or 10 by maintaining said suction until the time when the filled voids reach the lower part of the movement of the wheel 46 where the material is then delivered to the moving U-shaped tow web 22.

Der kan anvendes sugning på dette sted under blåret ved 15 hjælp af en vakuumkilde 50 til at lette denne overførsel. Betjeningen af målehjulet 46 er synkroniseret med rørbæltet 40 fortrinsvis i et forhold 1:1, således at periferihastigheden af hjulet 46 tilnærmelsesvis er lig med fremføringshastigheden for svøbbanen 36 og blårba-20 nen 22. Den U-formede blårbane 22 med med afstand værende portioner af udvalgt granulært materiale 18 føres gennem et omslutningsorgan 52 umiddelbart efter målehjulsafdelingen 34. Enheden til dannelse og føring af stangen virker på den måde at den samler den U-formede blårbane 25.....22's sider og lukker dem omkring de med mellemrum væren de portioner af granulært materiale 18. Den i det væsentlige cylindriske blårbane med med mellemrum anbragte lommer af granulært materiale 18 føres sammen med svøbet 36 ind i omslutningstungen på den normalt anvend-30 te måde ved fremstilling af filterstænger. Derpå bringes den ene ydre sidekant af svøbet 36 i kontakt med et klæ-bemiddelpåføringsorgan 54. Derefter føres stangen gennem limpåføringsorganet 54 og der påføres klæbemiddel til den ene ydre sidekant af svøbet 36. Derefter påvir-35 ker et foldeorgan 55 denne sidekant og føjer den til kontakt med den anden kant med det påførte lim imellem, således at svøbet forsegles omkring blåret. Det omsvøb-Suction can be used at this location under the bladder by means of a vacuum source 50 to facilitate this transfer. The operation of the measuring wheel 46 is synchronized with the tube belt 40 preferably in a ratio of 1: 1, so that the circumferential speed of the wheel 46 is approximately equal to the feed rate of the wrapper web 36 and the tow web 22. The U-shaped tow web 22 with spaced portions of selected granular material 18 is passed through an enclosure member 52 immediately after the measuring wheel compartment 34. The unit for forming and guiding the rod acts in such a way that it assembles the sides of the U-shaped tow web 25 ..... 22 and closes them around the intervening ones. portions of granular material 18. The substantially cylindrical tow web with intermittent pockets of granular material 18, together with the scoop 36, is inserted into the envelope tongue in the usual manner in the manufacture of filter bars. Then, one outer side edge of the scoop 36 is contacted with an adhesive applicator 54. Then the rod is passed through the adhesive applicator 54 and adhesive is applied to one outer side edge of the scoop 36. Thereafter, a folding member 55 affects this side edge and inserts it. for contact with the other edge with the applied glue in between, so that the sealing is sealed around the tow. The enveloping

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7 te blår føres igennem et opvarmningsorgan 56 og derefter til et afskæringsorgan 58, hvor den omsvøbte stang skæres i længder 12 (fig. 2). Afskæringen af stangen er synkroniseret med rotationen af hjulet 46. En registre-5 ringsmekanisme 60 registrerer den perifere bevægelse af hjulet i forhold til skæringen, således at man kan sørge for at skæringen ligger midt imellem lommerne 16.7 th tow is passed through a heating member 56 and then to a cutting member 58, where the wrapped rod is cut into lengths 12 (Fig. 2). The cutting of the rod is synchronized with the rotation of the wheel 46. A recording mechanism 60 detects the peripheral movement of the wheel with respect to the cutting, so that the cutting can be arranged between the pockets 16.

Når de enkelte propper af stanglængder 12 er skåret som vist på fig. 2 og er fastgjort til cigarettens 10 sugeende er det sikret at røgen fra den tændte cigaret, når denne indsuges af rygeren vil blive ført ind i lommen 16 og dermed vil komme i kontakt med det deri værende granulære materiale fordi denne zone repræsenterer et nedsat tryktab. På denne måde vil røgen blive konditio-15 neret i det ønskede omfang ved hjælp af det udvalgte granulære materiale 18.When the individual plugs of rod lengths 12 are cut as shown in FIG. 2 and attached to the suction of the cigarette 10, it is ensured that the smoke from the lit cigarette when it is sucked in by the smoker will be introduced into the pocket 16 and thus come into contact with the granular material therein because this zone represents a reduced pressure loss. In this way, the smoke will be conditioned to the desired extent by the selected granular material 18.

De brudte linier 14 på fig. 2 viser hvor der kan skæres ved hjælp -af skæringsorganet 58 i propfremstil-lingsorganet 10 for at tilvejebringe firdobbelte længder 20 af dobbelte filterstænger af den på fig. 2 viste type.The broken lines 14 in FIG. 2 shows where cutting means 58 can be cut into plug making means 10 to provide quadruple lengths 20 of double filter bars of the one shown in FIG. 2.

Disse firdobbelte længder føres til en filtertoppåfø-ringsmaskine, som skærer hver firdobbelte stanglængde i halvdele til dannelse af to dobbelte længder af dobbelte filterstænger, som hver samles i aksialt indret-25 tet opstilling med enderne stødende sammen med to tobaksstænger med et svøb. Et sidste snit udføres langs midterlinien af den dobbelte afskårne stanglængde til dannelse af to dobbelte filtercigaretter.These quadruple lengths are fed to a filter top application machine, which cuts each quadruple rod length in halves to form two double lengths of double filter bars, each of which is assembled in axially arranged arrangement with the ends abutting together with two tobacco bars with a wrapper. A final cut is performed along the center line of the double cut rod length to form two double filter cigarettes.

Der kan naturligvis blandes og anbringes separa-30 te og forskellige additiver i de enkelte lommer 16. Til dette formål kan der være anbragt en eller flere lommer 16 med de samme eller forskellige additiver 18 i hver enkelt filtersegment til anbringelse på sugesiden af en cigaret til opnåelse af den ønskede behandling af rø-35 9en·Of course, separate and different additives can be mixed and placed in the individual pockets 16. For this purpose, one or more pockets 16 with the same or different additives 18 may be arranged in each filter segment for application to the suction side of a cigarette. achieving the desired treatment of the tube 9

Claims

A method of producing composite two back smoke filters, wherein: a) providing a web of filter material (22) 5 consisting of paper, bulk yarn or tow which has a longitudinal axis and is continuous in the direction of the axis; b) advancing the web continuously in the direction of the axis; and c) extending the web (22) to a predetermined width; characterized in that it performs the following steps: d) shapes the widened web (22) into substantially U-profile by inserting it into a member of U-shaped cross-section (32) and pressing both its inner and outer surface 15 against the member of the member. surface; e) advancing a continuous shroud (36) into contact with the underside of the U-shaped web (22); f) providing the supply of particulate material (18); G) continuously recording a metered portion of the particulate material (18) from its supply source (34); h) transfer the measured portions of particulate material (18) to the web (22) immediately after the U-profile is provided; i) placing metered portions of the particulate material (18) in the middle of the web (22) at the base of the U-profile and between the legs of the U, so that metered portions of particulate material are placed on the web at spaced intervals; j) closing the edges of the web (22) around the interspersed portions of particulate material substantially immediately after the transfer of the particulate material, forming the web into a cylindrical rod; K) applies the scoop (36) around the cylindrical rod; and l) cutting the wrapped bar transversely into pieces of such length (12) that each piece has at least one intermediate portion containing a pocket (16) with the particulate material (18) within the web of the selected filter material. .

Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the spread web (22) is formed into a substantially U-shaped profile by passing the spread web (22) through a funnel (32), the web being formed by both the the inner and outer surfaces of the web are transferred to the U-shaped profile by the funnel (32).

Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the supply of particulate material (18) is effected from a silo (42) from which the particulate material (18) is transferred to the web (22) in measured portions.

Method according to claim 3, characterized in that a measuring wheel (46) receives the particulate material (18) from the silo (42) and transfers it to the web (22), which has spacers (44) spaced along the periphery. ) of a fixed size capable of accommodating the metered portions of the particulate material (18), the metering wheel (46) rotating continuously and the metered portions of the particulate material being transferred at spaced intervals from the silo to the web.

Method according to claim 4, characterized in that the measured portions of particulate material (18) are retained during rotation in the pockets (44) on the periphery of the wheel by means of a closing shoe (48) until they are placed on the track.

6. A method according to claim 4, characterized in that the rotational speed of the wheel (46) and the feed speed of the scoop (36) and the web (22) are synchronized such that the peripheral speed of the wheel is approximately equal to the feed rate of the wheel (46). the scourge and the pitch.

Process according to claim 4, characterized in that suction is applied to facilitate the transfer of the particulate material to the web.

Apparatus (10) for carrying out the method according to claim 1f, comprising: a) a filter material supply device (20, 24, 26, 28) supplying a web (22) of filter material 10 consisting of paper, bulk yarn or tow, which web has a longitudinal axis and is continuous in the direction of the axis; b) a feeding means (40) for continuously advancing the web in the direction of the axis, characterized in that the apparatus (10) further comprises: c) funnel (32) for forming of the web (22) in a substantially U-shaped profile, d) a silo (42) for supplying a particulate material (18), e) a measuring wheel (46) connected to the silo (42) and at intervals positioned pockets (44) along the periphery for receiving fixed portions of particulate material (18) and transferring those portions to a delivery site, f) a retaining means (48) for retaining the particulate material (18) in pockets (44) (g) a delivery device ( 34) for dispensing the particulate material (18) 30 in the pockets on the ϋ-shaped web (22) immediately after the funnel, which particulate material is deposited on the U-profile base between the U-legs at defined intervals; h) an enclosing means (52) located immediately adjacent to the wheel which closes the web (22) around the particulate material (18) immediately after the particulate material has been applied to the web and extends the web to a rod, i) a wrapper (54,55,56) for closing a wrapper (36) around the bar, and j) a cutter (58) for cutting the wrapped bar into lengths (12), each having at least one intermediate portion which contains a pocket (16) with the particulate material (18) within the web of selected filter material.

Apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that the retaining means (48) is a closing shoe.

Apparatus according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that a suction means (50) provides for the transfer of the particulate material (18) from the pockets (44) of the wheel (46) to the web (22).

Apparatus according to claim 8, 9 or 10, characterized in that a synchronizing mechanism synchronizes the peripheral speed of the wheel (46) with the forward speed of the web (22).

Apparatus according to claims 8, 9, 10 or 11, characterized in that a recording mechanism (60) detects the position of the pockets (44) at the intersection with the intersection device (58). 25 30 35