EP0233530B1 - Mouthpiece for a cigarette or the like and method for the manufacture thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a mouthpiece (2) for a cigarette or the like, in particular a ventilated unfiltered cigarette, substantially comprising a cylindrical sleeve (3) to be attached to an end of the tobacco rod (6) which is wrapped in paper (5), said sleeve having an external diameter substantially corresponding to that of the wrapped tobacco rod, in which sleeve a support member (4) provided with ribs (9) is arranged, whose ribs extend substantially in the longitudinal direction of the sleeve and are supported in each case at their outer edge on the inside wall of the sleeve, each of the ribs consisting of at least two layers (F1, F2) (F3, F4) of a web-shaped material, at least one layer (F2) of one rib in each case being connected to at least one layer (F3) of another rib (Fig. 1).

Description

The invention relates to a mouthpiece for a cigarette or a cigarillo, in particular a ventilated, filterless cigarette, consisting of a cylindrical sleeve consisting of a first paper strip, at least at one point permeable to air, and a rib-supporting body arranged in the sleeve and provided with ribs Paper, the integrally formed ribs of which essentially run radially to the longitudinal axis of the mouthpiece each consist of two adjacent folded sections of a leporello-like folded second paper strip, the rib-supporting body being connected to the sleeve by adhesive material at the outer edges of its ribs.

As is already expressed from the name or the above generic description of the patent subject, the mouthpiece can in principle also be used for example for a cigarillo, although it is primarily intended for a cigarette, in particular for a ventilated cigarette which is not provided with a classic filter, the smoke flow of which is therefore diluted by air drawn in from the environment when smoking, although the mouthpiece is in principle also suitable for non-ventilated cigarettes, as well as for cigarettes that are provided with a conventional filter (section).

It is known that filterless cigarettes are provided with a mouthpiece in various embodiments of cigarettes in order to prevent tobacco particles from getting into the smoker's mouth from the mouth end of the tobacco rod when smoking. For this purpose, for example, DE-B-16 32 222 discloses a one-piece mouthpiece made of pressed plastic and provided with a covering, which consists of a hollow, cylindrical sleeve and three ribs which are formed integrally with the sleeve and extend radially inwards, which are integrally connected at their inner edge to a tubular, central chamber which connects the tobacco-side end of the mouthpiece to the mouth-side end of the mouthpiece, a filter insert possibly being provided between the sleeve provided with ribs forming a supporting body and the tobacco rod. The connection of the mouthpiece to the tobacco rod wrapped with cigarette paper takes place by means of a wrapping, also referred to below as covering paper, which extends from the mouth-side end of the sleeve extends over the sleeve and a section of the wrapped tobacco rod and is connected to both (for example by gluing), the covering paper being provided with a perforated opening in a design with a filter insert, through which air sucked in from outside enters the filter when it is smoking and there smoke flowing from the tobacco rod to the smoker's mouth, so that the channels formed by the ribs and the inside of the sleeve lead to air thinned smoke to the smoker's mouth, while practically only undiluted smoke flows through the central, tubular chamber of the mouthpiece to the smoker's mouth, since the air sucked in through the perforation openings does not reach the middle section of the filter insert due to the existing resistances, especially since it is still provided that the actual filter material of the filter is covered with a cover made of perforated or porous paper.

This known mouthpiece is extremely disadvantageous because it consists of plastic, that is, a non-decomposable material and is accordingly correspondingly hostile to the environment, since the mouthpieces of discarded, smoked cigarette butts accumulate in the environment.

Another disadvantage of the known mouthpiece in a filterless version is that the smoker has a clear view of the mouth end of the tobacco rod when looking at the mouth end of the cigarette, which is a dark hole offset inward from the mouth end of the sleeve offers, from which tobacco smoke oozes, which many smokers find mostly unpleasant for aesthetic reasons.

Finally, with this known mouthpiece it is not possible to achieve optimal smoke guidance, ie a smoke flow that is too leads to optimal smoking pleasure, as will be explained in more detail below, since the smoke reaches the smoker's mouth parallel to the longitudinal axis of the mouthpiece practically without being influenced by the mouthpiece.

From GB-A-955 639 a mouthpiece consisting only of a cardboard sleeve is known which surrounds and is connected to the wrapped tobacco rod at its mouth end via a section and which is between the mouth end of the tobacco rod and the mouth end of the mouthpiece is provided with perforation openings through which air is sucked in from outside when smoking in order to dilute the tobacco smoke drawn in from the tobacco rod. Although this known mouthpiece is more environmentally friendly than the mouthpiece previously discussed, because it is made of cardboard and thus of rot-proof paper material, it also has the other disadvantages mentioned above with reference to the mouthpiece according to DE-A-16 32 222. In addition, it is also disadvantageous because it does not have sufficient strength so that when smoking - especially if it gets wet through the lips or tongue of the smoker - it can be easily deformed and possibly largely or completely compressed. If the sleeve of this known mouthpiece consists of a relatively thin material, the strength is not even sufficient to introduce the perforation opening into the mouthpiece without deforming it.

From US-A-3 789 855 a mouthpiece is known which consists of a sleeve provided with perforation openings and a plastic support body provided with ribs (FIGS. 1-4), the mouth-side end section of the mouthpiece according to the filter of DE- AS 16 32 222 is formed, and the tobacco-side end portion of the mouthpiece has a further cylindrical sleeve section within the sleeve, which abuts the inside of the outer sleeve and merges with a conical intermediate section into the central tubular smoke channel, which is considerably smaller in diameter, so that the smoke sucked in from the tobacco rod from the inner one present at the tobacco-side end of the mouthpiece Received sleeve and is passed over the conical intermediate section into the mouth-side end section of the tubular, central chamber supported by the ribs with a considerably smaller diameter and from there into the smoker's mouth. The air sucked in through the perforation openings flows into the smoker's mouth when smoking through the outer chambers formed by the ribs and the inside of the sleeve.

This well-known mouthpiece is already made of plastic due to its complicated construction and is accordingly also environmentally harmful. Here too there is no optimal smoke guidance and the smoke flows separately from the dilution air into the smoker's mouth.

US-A-3 789 855 also discloses a further embodiment (Fig. 8) in which the support body of the mouthpiece can consist of corrugated cardboard. However, there are no essentially radially extending ribs at the mouth-side end of the mouthpiece, but concentric, conical sections, so that the mouthpiece can be correspondingly deformed at the mouth-side end section when smoking through the lips of the smoker and, moreover, the available free flow cross section is considerable is narrowed. Furthermore, in this mouthpiece there is also no optimal smoke guidance and the suctioned ventilation air reaches the smoker's mouth separately from the suctioned smoke, so that this known mouthpiece also resp Manufacturing is extremely expensive.

From DE-A-34 42 412 a generic mouthpiece is known, the ribs of which, however, in contrast to the mouthpiece according to DE-B-16 32 222, do not connect with their inner edges to a central, tubular smoke channel, but instead are integral with an air - And smoke-tight, cylindrical core part are connected, which fills a significant part of the cross-sectional area of the mouthpiece. Apart from the fact that this known mouthpiece is also integrally made of plastic and is correspondingly hostile to the environment, here, as with the mouthpiece according to DE-AS 16 32 222, there is a clear view from the mouth end of the mouth end of the tobacco rod with those described above Disadvantages are given and the smoke guidance is not optimal, although this known mouthpiece is more advantageous than the mouthpieces known from DE-AS 16 32 222 and US Pat. No. 3,789,855, because - just like the mouthpiece according to GB-PS 955 639 - feeds only thinned smoke to the smoker's mouth.

The mouthpieces discussed above differ fundamentally from mouthpieces, such as are described, for example, in DE-B-16 57 261, in which, in the case of a ventilated version of a cigarette, the smoke flow is supplied to the smoker's mouth separately from the ventilation air sucked in during smoking, which in the case of Mouthpiece according to DE-B-16 57 261 in that the sleeve is provided on the outside with grooves and surrounded by a further sleeve, which is in communication with the environment, for example through perforation holes, so that the air sucked in from outside through the grooves formed in this way flow to the smokers mouth, while the undiluted smoke flows to the smokers mouth through the hollow interior formed by the sleeve is fed. Such a separate smoke and air duct, which only leads to a thinning of the smoke in the smoker's mouth, is not to be regarded as advantageous.

From US-A-3 205 791 a mouthpiece is known, for the manufacture of which corrugated paper material is used. The starting material consists of a first paper strip (which forms the sleeve after deformation) and a leporello-like folded second paper strip, the aligned of which are a series of folded edges, which face the first paper strip, are glued on the outside to the side of the rectangular first paper strip facing them . The starting material or semifinished product for forming the mouthpiece known from US-A-3 205 791 is therefore smooth on the one side formed by the first paper strip and wavy on the side formed by the prongs of the leporello-like folded second paper strip.

When this corrugated paper semi-finished product is deformed into a ribbed mouthpiece, the sections of the second paper strip that are linear between the two adjacent folding edges of the second paper strip are each to be deformed in a circular arc in order to ultimately form a cylindrical sleeve. However, this inevitably has the consequence that the mutual distance between two mutually adjacent fold lines or apexes of the first paper strip is reduced with a corresponding deformation while simultaneously reducing the apex angle of the section of the first paper strip lying in cross section and triangular, and accordingly due to the deformation resistance of the first paper strip, not inconsiderable forces on the (adhesive) connection points between the outer sides of the folded edges of the second paper strip and the the side of the first paper strip facing the second paper strip. Accordingly, one does not get by using such a semi-finished product with a slight fixation between the fold lines of the second paper strip and the first paper strip, since such mutual attachment could loosen during the deformation at least at individual connection points, which overall leads to the formation of an irregular rib support body and would lead to a reject production, since such mouthpieces or cigarettes provided with such mouthpieces or the like. would not be acceptable in practice.

The mouthpiece according to US-A-3 205 791 therefore requires a very intimate connection of the folded edges of the second paper strip to the first paper strip. Such, however, obviously requires a flat gluing between the folded edges, which in the finished mouthpiece form the radially outer ends of the ribs of the rib support body, with the first paper strip, so that the second paper strip - at least on the folded edges facing the first paper strip - does not may be folded with sharp edges, since in such a case only linear folding edge sections are available for connection to the first paper strip and not flat ones. However, if the second paper strip is not folded with sharp edges and is only rounded at the folded edges, the finished mouthpiece clearly shows two-layer ribs running at a distance from one another, each of which enclose an intermediate space. However, such a design is disadvantageous in particular in ventilated cigarettes in which the smoke sucked in during smoking is diluted with air which enters the mouthpiece through the jacket of the mouthpiece (generally through a perforation), because of that from the two of them Layers of a rib formed by smoke channels sucked in smoke the ventilation air is practically not diluted. This is particularly the case if the paper material used is airtight. The same applies evidently to the central smoke channel present in this mouthpiece.

In addition, the deformation of the semifinished product according to US Pat. No. 3,205,791 for the actual formation of the mouthpiece does not in any way result in a uniform circular or arc-shaped deformation of the originally straight sections of the first paper strip between adjacent folding edges. Rather, this deformation can at least partially result in a section of the first paper strip fixed between two fold lines remaining more or less stretched and consequently not in the form of a circular arc but polygonal in the deformation process or deforming or warping radially inward, as without it is also reasonable to assume that the connection points between the folded edges of the second paper strip and the first paper strip are joints.

In addition, in the case of the mouthpiece known from US Pat. No. 3,205,791 or the method for its production, the rib support body is not twisted about the central longitudinal axis of the mouthpiece, as can also be extremely advantageous for the reasons described below is possible.

In general, it should also be pointed out that in the case of filterless, non-ventilated cigarettes, smoke enters the smoker's mouth as it arises during smoking, that is to say without filtering and without the addition of air, so that the nicotine and condensate values are correspondingly high.

Basically, two measures are possible to reduce these values, namely the use of a filter (generally an acetate filter) and the addition of air to the smoke (ventilation), whereby the first step was taken in the course of development and then created cigarettes in which both measures are provided, that is, both a filter and ventilation.

The different variants each have advantages and disadvantages - not only with regard to the manufacturing costs - and enjoy different acceptance among smokers.

The present invention has for its object to provide a generic mouthpiece suitable for all configurations of cigarettes or cigarillos, in particular for ventilated, filterless cigarettes, which is inexpensive to produce, and a method for its production, which consists of an inexpensive, relatively easy to process, thin, fast rotten material is to be produced and nevertheless has the strength required when smoking and possibly when attaching ventilation openings, but it is also intended to create the possibility for the smoker to look at the mouth-side end the mouthpiece cannot see the mouth end of the tobacco rod and it should be ensured that, in the case of training for a ventilated cigarette, the smoke flowing from the tobacco rod can practically completely mix intimately with the sucked-in air before entering the smoker's mouth and the ribs can not only exert a certain filtering effect on the smoke-air flow, but can also impart a flow behavior which leads to a largely stable outlet flow, so that the smoker can direct the flow entering the mouth into particularly taste-sensitive zones. In addition, in the case of a ventilated design of the mouthpiece, it should be ensured that the smoker receives a smoke-air mixture when smoking, which has nicotine and condensate values which actually correspond to the values determined on smoking machines and are not changed due to the smoking habits of the smoker, as can be the case with mouthpieces with peripheral air flow separated from the smoke. In addition, the free flow cross section of the mouthpiece predetermined by the sleeve should be narrowed as little as possible by the support body.

As a solution to the product-related above part of the task, the invention provides that the two folding sections forming a rib lie flat against one another over the entire height of the rib.

In an embodiment of the present invention, it has proven particularly expedient if the two folding sections forming a rib are glued to one another, it also being expedient if the outer edges of the ribs are (at least partially) glued to the inside of the sleeve.

In a preferred embodiment of the mouthpiece according to the invention, the ribs are in each case twisted on at least one longitudinal section (preferably over the entire length of the support body) in such a way that their outer edge runs essentially helically to the central axis of the sleeve or of the mouthpiece. Such a twisting of the support body or its ribs leads to various advantages. If one end of the support body is rotated relative to its other end from an initial position in which the ribs run parallel to the longitudinal axis of the sleeve, at least by an angle which, with the same rib pitch, is equal to the pitch angle (360 ° divided by the number of ribs) , there is first the advantage that you can no longer look from the mouth end of the mouthpiece to the tobacco end of the tobacco rod. The smoke therefore no longer comes out of a "dark hole".

Another significant advantage of such a twist is that each line of the sleeve running parallel to the central axis is supported at least at one point by a rib, so that overall a considerably better strength than a non-twisted version of the mouthpiece.

Furthermore, there is an advantage in such a configuration that the smoke emerging from the tobacco rod in parallel strikes the twisted walls of the ribs, which can have a certain filter effect, in particular if the support body consists of a gas-permeable, porous material.

Finally, it should be noted that a mouthpiece with a support body twisted like this gives the smoke flow - in the case of a ventilated cigarette the mixed smoke-air flow - gives a certain twist around the central axis of the mouthpiece or the cigarette, which leads to a certain stabilization of the smoke flow, so that the smoker can direct these particularly sensitive areas of the mouth. This obviously applies in the same way to non-ventilated as well as to ventilated cigarettes, whereby this effect is of particular importance for ventilated cigarettes, since the smoke flow is diluted by the intake air and the smoke-air flow when it hits particularly taste-sensitive zones in the The smoker's mouth tastes particularly intense.

In the case of a mouthpiece for a ventilated cigarette, for which the mouthpiece according to the invention is particularly intended, the sleeve either consists of an air-permeable material or is provided with perforation openings at a distance from its mouth-side end and at a distance from the end of the tobacco rod, which in an annular path one or more rows can be provided.

Is the sleeve in a manner known per se with the covering of the tobacco rod connected by a covering paper, as this is preferably provided, which is glued on the one hand to the sleeve and on the other hand to the sheathing of the tobacco rod, so the usually gas-impermeable covering paper or the like is at least at one point by perforation. air-permeable and this air-permeable point is arranged in the region of an air-permeable point of the sleeve, so that when smoking air can enter from outside through the covering paper and the sleeve into their hollow interior - except for the support body - and mix there with the smoke. This mixing is very intimate in the mouthpiece according to the invention, since the air sucked in from the outside, when applying negative pressure at the mouth-side end of the mouthpiece, enters the interior of the envelope essentially radially through the small openings of the covering paper and the envelope, and since the speed of the smoke entering the mouthpiece in the longitudinal direction is relatively slow. It is also not significantly increased because the cross-sectional narrowing of the sleeve is extremely small due to the thin ribs. Moreover, in the case of a mouthpiece with a twisted support body, its twisting still contributes to an intimate mixture of smoke and air, so that ultimately a largely uniformly mixed flow of smoke and air emerges from the mouthpiece and reaches the smoker's mouth.

The solution to the procedural part of the above object for producing a mouthpiece according to the invention, in which a second rectangular paper strip is folded in a fan-like fashion on folding edges running parallel to its longitudinal edges, the mutual spacing of which is essentially equal to the height of the ribs, with an aligned row of folding edges its outer edge is glued to a first rectangular paper strip, which forms an air-permeable sleeve at least at one point, and the leporello-like folded second paper strip and the flat first paper strip are deformed to form a cylindrical element about an axis parallel to the folding edges formed during folding such that two adjacent ribs each enclose a substantially equal pitch angle, according to the invention takes place in that the second paper strip is folded and deformed in such a way that after the deformation two each one other adjacent folding sections (F₁, F₂; F₃, F₄; ...) lie flat against each other to form a two-layer rib over the entire height of the rib, while the opposite surfaces of these folding sections are not connected to surfaces of adjacent folding sections; that the folded second paper strip is covered with the first paper strip only after being deformed, and its folded edges are only glued to the first paper strip during this wrapping; and that sections are separated from the mouthpiece strand thus formed, the length of which is equal to one or more times the predetermined length of a mouthpiece.

Further preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in the claims.

• Fig. 1 einen mittleren Längsschnitt durch eine ventilierte, filterlose Zigarette mit einem erfindungsgemäßen Mundstück mit einem nicht geschnitten dargestellten, vierrippigen, nicht gedrillten Stützkörper aus zweischichtigem Papier;
• Fig. 2 eine mundseitige, stirnseitige Draufsicht auf das Mundstück der Zigarette gemäß Fig. 1 in Richtung des Pfeiles II in Fig. 1 gesehen;
• Fig. 3 eine Fig. 2 entsprechende Darstellung für ein Mundstück, dessen Stützkörper um die Mittelachse gleichmäßig so verdrillt ist, daß seine dem Tabakstrang zugekehrte Stirnfläche gegenüber der Ausbildung gemäß den Fig. 1 und 2 um 90° verdreht ist;
• Fig. 4 einen Schnitt durch das Mundstück gemäß den Fig. 1 und 2 in Richtung der Schnittlinie IV-IV in Fig. 1 gesehen;
• Fig. 5 eine verkleinerte perspektivische Darstellung des Mundstückes gemäß den Fig. 1 und 2 ohne Belagpapier;
• Fig. 6 eine perspektivische Darstellung des Stützkörpers gemäß Fig. 5;
• Fig. 7 eine Fig. 6 entsprechende Darstellung eines um 90° verdrillten Stützkörpers;
• Fig. 8 eine Draufsicht auf den Stützkörper gemäß Fig. 6;
• Fig. 9 eine stirnseitige Draufsicht auf das mundseitige Ende des Stützkörpers gemäß Fig. 8 in Richtung des Pfeiles IX in Fig. 8 gesehen;
• Fig. 10 eine stirnseitige Draufsicht auf das tabakseitige Ende des Stützkörpers gemäß Fig. 8 in Richtung des Pfeiles X in Fig. 8 gesehen;
• Fig. 11 eine Draufsicht auf den Stützkörper gemäß Fig. 7;
• Fig. 12 eine stirnseitige Draufsicht auf das mundseitige Ende des Stützkörpers gemäß Fig. 11 in Richtung des Pfeiles XII in Fig. 11 gesehen;
• Fig. 13 eine stirnseitige Draufsicht auf das tabakseitige Ende des Stützkörpers gemäß Fig. 11 in Richtung des Pfeiles XIII in Fig. 11 gesehen;
• Fig. 14 einen rechteckigen, ebenen Streifen aus Papier als Zuschnitt zur Bildung eines erfindungsgemäßen Stützkörpers in der Draufsicht;
• Fig. 15 den Streifen gemäß Fig. 14 in einem gefalteten Zwischenzustand in einer Seitenansicht;
• Fig. 16 den Streifen gemäß den Fig. 14 und 15 in einem weiteren Zwischenzustand;
• Fig. 17 den unverdrillten Streifen gemäß Fig. 14 im Endzustand in einer stirnseitigen Draufsicht; und
• Fig. 18 eine Fig. 17 entsprechende Darstellung einer Variante mit zehn Rippen.

The invention is explained in more detail below using exemplary embodiments with reference to a drawing, wherein FIGS. 2-4, 17 and 18 are not exemplary embodiments of the invention, but examples which facilitate understanding of the invention. It shows:

• Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section through a ventilated, filterless cigarette with a mouthpiece according to the invention with a four-rib, non-twisted support body made of two-layer paper, not shown.
• FIG. 2 is a top view of the mouth on the front side of the mouthpiece of the cigarette according to FIG. 1 in the direction of arrow II in FIG. 1;
• 3 shows a representation corresponding to FIG. 2 for a mouthpiece, the support body of which is twisted uniformly about the central axis in such a way that its end face facing the tobacco rod is rotated by 90 ° with respect to the embodiment according to FIGS. 1 and 2;
• Fig. 4 seen a section through the mouthpiece according to Figures 1 and 2 in the direction of section line IV-IV in Fig. 1.
• 5 shows a reduced perspective illustration of the mouthpiece according to FIGS. 1 and 2 without covering paper;
• FIG. 6 shows a perspective illustration of the support body according to FIG. 5;
• 7 shows a representation corresponding to FIG. 6 of a support body twisted by 90 °;
• Fig. 8 is a plan view of the support body according to Fig. 6;
• FIG. 9 is an end plan view of the mouth end of the support body according to FIG. 8 in the direction of arrow IX in FIG. 8;
• FIG. 10 is an end plan view of the tobacco-side end of the support body according to FIG. 8 in the direction of arrow X in FIG. 8;
• FIG. 11 shows a plan view of the support body according to FIG. 7;
• FIG. 12 is an end plan view of the mouth end of the support body according to FIG. 11 in the direction of arrow XII in FIG. 11;
• FIG. 13 is a frontal top view of the tobacco-side end of the support body according to FIG. 11 in the direction of arrow XIII in FIG. 11;
• 14 is a plan view of a rectangular, flat strip of paper as a blank for forming a supporting body according to the invention;
• FIG. 15 shows the strip according to FIG. 14 in a folded intermediate state in a side view;
• 16 shows the strip according to FIGS. 14 and 15 in a further intermediate state;
• FIG. 17 shows the untwisted strip according to FIG. 14 in the end state in a frontal top view; and
• 18 a representation corresponding to FIG. 17 of a variant with ten ribs.

As far as in the drawing (Fig. 2 - 4, 17, 18) between two rib sections F₁, F₂ forming a rib 9; F₃, F₄ etc. a space is shown, this was done solely for graphic reasons to illustrate the double-layered nature of the (paper) ribs 9. In fact, the two folding sections each forming a rib 9 (e.g. F₁, F₂ or F₃, F₄ etc.) lie flat against one another over the entire height of the ribs.

1 shows a ventilated cigarette, generally designated 1, with a mouthpiece generally designated 2. The mouthpiece 2 consists of a cylindrical sleeve 3 made of 30 g paper and a (rib) support body, designated overall by 4, which consists of the same material as the sleeve 3. The mouthpiece 2 is attached to the front of the tobacco rod 6 wrapped with conventional cigarette paper 5 by means of a covering paper 7, namely by means of two ring-shaped glue points 8. It can be seen that the outer diameter of the mouthpiece is equal to the outer diameter of the wrapped tobacco rod 6.

In this exemplary embodiment, the supporting body 4 is shown with (only) four ribs 9 to illustrate its basic design, although more than four ribs 9 are preferably provided (see preferred exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 18 and claim 7), as will be explained further below is. The ribs 9 run parallel to the central axis 10, extend over the entire length L of the sleeve 3 or the mouthpiece 2 and each extend radially from the inner wall 11 of the sleeve 3 to the central axis 10, two ribs 9 each having an angle α of Include 90 °. The ribs 9 are therefore each supported on the inner wall 11 of the sleeve 3 and are glued there. Because of their (double-layered) construction from a relatively thin paper, they hardly narrow the free flow cross section of the sleeve 3 and nevertheless considerably increase the strength of the mouthpiece compared to a ribless design.

The ribs 9 each consist of two folding sections F₁, F₂ or F₃, F₄ etc. made of paper, as will be explained in more detail below, wherein the two folding sections forming a rib 9 are glued to each other and each a folding section (for example F₂ ) a rib 9 is connected to a folding section (F₃) of an adjacent rib 9. This connection is established in that all the folded sections of all the ribs 9 are integrally formed, that is to say are formed from a coherent paper section 12, as is explained in principle below with reference to FIGS. 14 to 17.

Fig. 14 shows a plan view of a flat (paper) section 12 'in the initial state shown for forming support bodies 4, more precisely first of all a support body strand. The section 12 'has a width b, which is equal to the product of the double rib height r of a rib 9 and the number of ribs. The strip-shaped section 12 'is folded on parallel fold lines f₁, f₂ etc. leporello-like, as can be seen from Fig. 15, so that between the longitudinal edge f₀ and the adjacent fold line f₁ or respectively between adjacent fold lines f₁, f₂; f₂, F₃ etc. or between the other longitudinal edge f _n and the adjacent fold line f _n-1 each fold sections arise which extend in the longitudinal direction of the strip-shaped paper section 12 '. With a distance from the mouthpiece length L corresponding to the front edge 21 of the strip-shaped section 12 ', a cut line 15 running parallel to the front edge 21 is drawn in FIG. 14 with a dashed line and, in turn, with a distance L there is a further cut line 15 etc., which the strip-shaped section 12 'each divide into strip-shaped sections 12, which later each form a support body 4. These cutting lines 15 are already introduced by definition at this point because they divide the folding sections formed during folding of the strip-shaped section 12 'into folding sections F 1, F 2, etc., which each form the layers of a rib 9 of a support body 4 as a pair.

In order to achieve a sufficiently high production speed, the production of a support body 4 in mass production expediently does not take place in each case from a strip-shaped section 12, but rather the web-like material (paper) forming the support body is removed from a bobbin forming a material stock by means of a corresponding device in the direction of arrow 20 peeled and folded in the longitudinal direction as described above.

15 folded strip 12 '(for example, about its longitudinal edge f₀) pivoted as can be seen from Fig. 16, so each form two adjacent folding sections F₁ and F₂, F₃ and F bilden etc. one of two layers of paper existing rib 9, each having a layer (eg F₂) with a layer (F₃) of an adjacent rib 9 by integrally forming the folded sections (F₂, F₃, F₄, F₅) etc. are connected at their base.

If the support body 4 were to be left in the state shown in FIG. 16, then a section 13 shown in broken lines in FIG. 16 would have to be connected to the folding section F₈, for example, which folds the folding section F₈ with the folding section F₁ of the adjacent rib 9 (for example by gluing). 16 actually only corresponds to an intermediate state during production, since the inside F _1i and F _2i or F _3i and F _4i etc. of the layers forming a rib 9 (= folded sections) are connected to one another by gluing, so that the support body 4 - or initially a support body strand - with a cross-section according to FIG. 17 is formed, the ribs 9 of which are therefore each in two layers and are connected to one another by an integral design.

17 is then surrounded with sleeve-forming paper 3 ', as indicated in Fig. 17 with a dash-dotted circular line, the outer edges 14 of the ribs 9 glued to the inside of the paper 3' will. Sections of a length 1 are then cut off from the mouthpiece strand thus formed, the length of which corresponds to six times the length L of a mouthpiece 2, which are then fed to the usual further processing (e.g. perforation, separation into mouthpiece sections, connecting the mouthpiece sections with wrapped tobacco strands by means of covering paper, if necessary only then perforation of the sleeve material together with the covering paper etc.), whereby it is evident that, in principle, mouthpiece sections of the final length L could also be immediately separated from the sleeve strand created if this is desired.

It should be added that the covering paper 7 connecting the sleeve 3 with the tobacco rod 6 wrapped with cigarette paper 5 is provided with perforation openings 16 and the sleeve 3 is provided with perforation openings 18 aligned therewith, so that when smoking according to the arrow 18 (see FIG. 1 ) Air can enter the mouthpiece 2 from the outside through the openings 16, 17 and mix there with the tobacco smoke which, according to the arrows 19, enters the mouthpiece 2 from the tobacco rod 6 essentially parallel to the central axis 10.

As can be seen in FIG. 2, when the mouthpiece 2 is designed according to FIGS. 1 to 6, the mouth-side end of the tobacco rod 6 is visible from the mouth-side end of the mouthpiece 2. Since it is offset inwards from the mouth-side end of the mouthpiece 2, the tobacco-side end of the tobacco rod 6 presents itself to the smoker as a "dark hole" from which tobacco smoke (mixed with air) oozes out when smoking. A not inconsiderable number of smokers apparently find this unsatisfactory for aesthetic reasons. In a variant of the mouthpiece 2 according to the invention (see FIGS. 7, 11 to 13), the support body 4 is twisted by 90 ° about its longitudinal axis 10, so that, for example, that of the central axis 10 in the embodiment according to FIGS. 1 to 6 is radial rib 9 running upwards only runs vertically upwards at its mouth-side edge and is pivoted along its length by the twisting in such a way that its outer edge 14 extends essentially helically to the central axis 10, so that the radially running edge of the tobacco rod facing it Rib 9 runs horizontally. The same applies to the remaining ribs 9 of the support body 4 according to FIGS. 7 and 11. Such a twisting generally takes place before the Support body 4 or support body strand is surrounded with sleeve material 3, however, can optionally also take place here and can be realized in manufacturing technology without problems by appropriate conditioning of the paper material forming the support body 4.

Such a twisting first of all has the effect that the smoker can no longer look at the tobacco-side end of the tobacco rod 6 with a top view of the mouthpiece 2 on the mouth side, since this is covered by the twisted ribs. Furthermore, such a twisting, which is preferably at least as large as the preferably the same pitch angle α between two adjacent ribs, means that each line of the sleeve 3 running parallel to the central axis 10 is radially supported at at least one point, which increases the strength of the mouthpiece. Finally, such a twisting also has an advantageous effect on the smoking properties of a cigarette equipped with such a mouthpiece. This is because the smoke emerging from the tobacco rod 6 parallel to the central axis 10 in accordance with the arrows 19 cannot flow freely through the mouthpiece 2, but rather hits the ribs 9 which are spatially curved due to the twisting. The ribs 9 can exert a certain filter effect, and in particular if they consist of a gas-permeable paper. In addition, the twisted ribs 9 give the smoke flowing out of the tobacco rod 6 and the ventilation air flowing in through the openings 16, 18 a certain swirl about the central axis 10, whereby there is an intimate mixing of the smoke with the air and at the outlet end of the mouthpiece 2 there is an intimately mixed flow of smoke and air, which the smoker can direct, if desired, to particularly taste-sensitive areas in the mouth in order to obtain a particularly intense smoking experience.

It should be noted that the support body 4 in the illustrations according to FIGS. 1 to 17 is provided (only) with four ribs 9 for reasons of illustration, but that a preferred embodiment according to FIG. 18 consists in the support body 4 having ten ribs 9 is provided, each of which has the same pitch angle α of 36 ° to an adjacent rib 9, in order to give the mouthpiece 2 the strength required for smoking and making the perforation openings 18 with a relatively thin starting material made of, for example, 30 g paper, 18, the ribs 9 of the support body 4 are preferably twisted by an angle of (at least) 36 ° in order to obtain the advantages described above. Training with e.g. ten ribs 9 is therefore also compared to training with e.g. only four ribs are advantageous because a twist angle of approx. 36 ° for a support body 4 can be achieved more easily with the material used than a larger angle of e.g. 90 °. Nevertheless, the support body 4 does not significantly narrow the flow cross-section of the sleeve 3 even in an embodiment with ten ribs 9, so that the smoke flow entering the mouthpiece 2 from the tobacco rod 6 flows through the mouthpiece 2 accordingly slowly and an intimate mixing with the suctioned ventilation air takes place can.

It can be seen that with the mouthpiece according to the invention not only a possibility has been created for creating a quickly decomposable filter, but at the same time a possibility that can be realized cheaply and thus economically, with considerable advantages being achieved over comparable mouthpieces are described in detail above.

Claims (11)

1. A tip for a cigarette or a cigarillo, more particularly a ventilated filterless cigarette, consisting of a cylindrical tube (3) which is air-permeable at at least one place, such sleeve consisting of a first strip of paper, and of a paper ribbed support member (4) disposed in the tube (3) and having ribs (9), the integrally formed ribs (9) which extend substantially radially to the longitudinal axis of the tip each consisting of two adjacent folded portions of a second paper strip folded concertina-fashion, the ribbed support member (4) being connected, at the outer edges of its ribs (9), to the tube by adhesive material, characterised in that each two folded portions (F₁, F₂; F₃, F₄ ;...) forming a rib (9) bear superficially against one another over the entire rib height (r).

2. A tip according to claim 1, characterised in that each two folded portions (F₁, F₂; F₃, F₄ ;...) forming a rib (9) are glued together.

3. A tip according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the outer edges (14) of the ribs (9) are partially glued to the inside (11) of the tube (3).

4. A tip according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the ribs (9) each extend as far as the centre axis (10) of the tube (3) or of the tip (2).

5. A tip according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the ribs (9) are each so twisted at at least one longitudinal portion that their outer edge (14) extends substantially helically to the centre-line (10) of the tube (3) or of the tip (2).

6. A tip according to claim 5, characterised in that one end of the ribbed support member (4) is twisted relatively to its other end through at least an angle (α) equal to the pitch angle between two adjacent ribs (9).

7. A tip according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the ribbed support member (4) has ten ribs (9).

8. A method of making a tip according to claim 1, in which a second rectangular paper strip is folded concertina-fashion at fold edges extending parallel to its longitudinal edges, the distance between the fold edges being substantially equal to the rib height; one aligned row of fold edges is glued at its outer edge to a first rectangular paper strip forming the tube which is air-permeable at at least one place and the concertina-folded second paper strip and the flat first paper strip are so deformed into a cylindrical element about an axis extending parallel to the fold edges formed during the folding operation that two adjacent ribs each enclose a substantially equal pitch angle, characterised in that the second paper strip (12) is so folded and deformed that after deformation each two adjacent forded portions (F₁, F₂; F₃, F₄ ;...) bear height in order to form a two-layer rib (9) in each case, while the opposite surfaces of these folded portions are not connected to surfaces of adjacent folded portions; in that the folded second paper strip (12) is not enclosed by the first paper strip (3′) until after deformation and its fold edges (14) are not glued to the first paper strip (9′) until such enclosing operation; and in that portions of a length equal to one or more times the predetermined length of a tip (2) are severed from the resulting tip rod.

9. A method according to claim 8, characterised in that before the connection to the first paper strip (3′) the rib rod is twisted about its longitudinal axis.

10. A method according to claim 9, oharacterised in that the rib rod is in each case twisted over a portion corresponding to the tip length through an angle (α) which is at least equal to the angle between two adjacent ribs (9).

11. A cigarette containing a tobacco rod enclosed in cigarette paper and to which a tip is secured at the end by means of covering paper, characterised by a tip according to one or more of claims 1 to 7.

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