EP3552500A1 - Device and method for producing rod-shaped tobacco segments each having a heating strip - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus for producing rod-shaped tobacco segments (9) comprising a heating strip (6) having a strand forming unit (15) to which is fed an endless strip of wrapping strip (12), tobacco material (1) and heating strip material (3) in which an endless strand (4) fixed in form by the wrapping strip (12) with the tobacco material (1) and the heating strip material (3) arranged therein is formed in the strand forming unit (15), and a cutting device (14) which separates the tobacco segments (4). 9) in a predetermined length of the endless strand (4), wherein the endless strip of Heizstreifenmaterials (3) in the longitudinal direction regularly arranged weak points (5), wherein the distances of each two adjacent weak points (5) in the Heizstreifenmaterial (3) the predetermined length of the tobacco segments (9), wherein the cutting device (14) the tobacco segments of the strand (4 ) cuts through a section in the region of the weak points (5) of the Heizstreifenmaterials (3). The invention further relates to a method for the production of rod-shaped tobacco segments with a heating strip.

Description

The present invention relates to a device for producing rod-shaped tobacco segments, each having a heating strip with the features of the preamble of claim 1 and a method for producing rod-shaped tobacco segments with a heating strip having the features of the preamble of claim 10.

Rod-shaped tobacco segments with an inserted heating strip are used in so-called heat-burn products (HNB products) or similar products, which are intended for inhalation by a consumer. In addition to the tobacco or the tobacco particles, the tobacco segments may additionally contain ethereal or medicinal substances for inhalation.

The prefabricated tobacco segments are then assembled in a further processing with other rod-shaped segments such as filter segments, tubular cooling sections, or other taste-affecting segments to produce rod-shaped products and, for example, formfixiert by a wrapping strip. The tobacco segments themselves each comprise a tobacco rod form-fixed by a wrapping strip which may be formed by both loose tobacco fibers and a crimped tobacco sheet. The tobacco foil comprises a carrier material in which the tobacco material is arranged in the form of tobacco particles or tobacco pigments. In addition, additional flavor-influencing additives may be present in the tobacco sheet. The tobacco sheet is pre-stamped in a preprocessing process with a plurality of fold lines extending in the longitudinal direction of a subsequent tobacco rod to finished tobacco rod, and then folded together in a strand unit using the pre-embossed bend lines to form an endless strand with a chaotic cross-sectional distribution. Subsequently, the tobacco sheet is placed in the folded state in an endless strand on an endless wrapping strip and then fixed in shape by turning over the wrapping strip and gluing the edges of the wrapping strip. If the tobacco rod is formed by tobacco fibers, the tobacco fibers are placed in a known manner in a strand unit in an endless strand on the wrapping strip and fixed by folding and gluing the edges of the wrapping strip.

After the production of the endless, formfixierten strand this is then cut by a cutter into tobacco segments with a predetermined length.

The inductive heating strip in the tobacco segment serves to heat the tobacco in the tobacco segment by a non-contact, external energy source, whereby the aerosols outgas from the tobacco. The consumer then does not inhale the tobacco smoke produced by combustion of the tobacco, but instead inhales only the exiting from the outgassing aerosols from the tobacco. For the inductive heating strip itself different materials can be used, as far as they are inductively heated. These include z. As ferromagnetic metals or alloys or carbon materials with such metallic particles. In order for sufficient heat to be generated by the heating strip, it must have a suitable mass, and thus can not be made arbitrarily thin. Furthermore, the heating strip forms a comparison due to its material and the required minimum thickness to the tobacco material dimensionally stable core in the tobacco segment.

One problem to be solved in the production of such tobacco segments is the arrangement of the heating strips in the tobacco segments.

From the publication WO 2016/184928 A1 It is known to introduce an endless strip of Heizstreifenmaterials before the closing of the endless strand, ie before turning over and bonding the wrapping strip, in the strand of tobacco fibers or between the tobacco sheet during the folding process as centrally as possible. Subsequently, the tobacco segments are cut off by means of a cutting device in a predetermined length of the endless strand.

A disadvantage of this solution is the fact that the Heizstreifenmaterial due to the properties described above has a significantly higher cutting resistance than the tobacco fibers or the tobacco sheet, so that the subsequent cutting of the endless strand in the tobacco segments is made considerably more difficult by the internal Heizstreifenmaterial. As a result, the cut quality of the tobacco segments is deteriorated and significantly increases the wear of the cutting blade when cutting the tobacco segments.

From the WO 2016/184929 A1 It is also known to insert the heating strips already as pre-cut individual pieces before closing the strand in the endless strand. However, this solution is disadvantageous in that the manufacturing process by the additionally required, preceding cutting process or tearing off the heating strips of the Heizstreifenmaterial becomes more expensive. Furthermore, the insertion of individual pieces compared to the introduction of an endless strand of Heizstreifenmaterials requires a more complex technical solution to introduce the individual pieces according to exact position in the strand, so that the device is more expensive and more expensive overall. Furthermore, the cutting device must be controlled according to synchronized, so that the tobacco segments are always cut exactly in a arranged between the heating strips cutting plane, otherwise the cutting resistance and wear of the cutting blade would be increased by the section through the heating strips.

Against this background, the present invention seeks to provide an apparatus and a method for producing rod-shaped tobacco segments, each with a heating strip, which allow cost-effective production of the tobacco segments with a high quality cut tobacco segments with a simultaneous reduced wear of the cutting device.

According to the invention, a device having the features of claim 1 and a method having the features of claim 10 are proposed for achieving the object. Further preferred developments of the invention can be taken from the dependent claims, the figures and the associated description.

The inventive solution is fundamentally based on the principle of inserting an endless Heizstreifenmaterials, since this eliminates the otherwise previously required cutting process, or in other words, the Heizstreifenmaterial is cut in a cut together with the strand of tobacco material, as from the WO 2016/184928 A1 is known. To avoid the disadvantages described above, the invention proposes that the endless strip of Heizstreifenmaterials longitudinally arranged regularly weak points, the distances correspond to two adjacent vulnerabilities in the Heizstreifenmaterial the predetermined length of the tobacco segments, wherein the cutter the tobacco segments of the strand by a Cut in the area of the weak points of Heizstreifenmaterials.

The advantage of the proposed solution is the fact that the heating strips can be designed to perform their function with the necessary thickness and mass, while the cutting is made in the preferred trained weak points, which oppose the cutting blades of the cutter cutting resistance lower, so that a cut with an improved cut quality can be realized with a simultaneous reduced wear of the cutting blade. Furthermore, separating points formed by the weak points are preferably formed specifically for separating, which also enable severing of the heating strips when the cutting blades are already slightly worn. In addition, the position of the parting planes are indirectly determined by the weak points, since the Heizstreifenmaterial also preferably ruptures in the weak points or sheared off when the cutting blades do not meet exactly in the weak points. The weak points thus form the preferred separation points of the heating strips, which define by their distances the lengths of the heating strip separated from the Heizstreifenmaterial or the length of the severed from the strand tobacco segments. The solution according to the invention thus offers the advantage of using a endless Heizstreifenmaterials with a simultaneously reduced cutting resistance and thereby reduced wear of the cutting blade, the heating strips between the vulnerabilities can be deliberately sized with a sufficient thickness and mass to achieve the required heat output.

According to a first preferred embodiment, the weak points may be formed by thin spots. The thinnings have a smaller cross-sectional area and can be formed either by diluting the heating strip material in relation to the thickness as well as in relation to the width.

In this case, the heating strip material may preferably have a thickness of at least 0.05 mm and the thin areas preferably have a thickness of less than 0.025 mm.

Alternatively or additionally, the weak points can also be formed by cutouts. The cutouts may e.g. be formed by punching or by a perforation, by which the cross-sectional area of the Heizstreifenmaterials is reduced similar to the thin areas. Through the cutouts preferred separation points of the Heizstreifenmaterials be formed, and the cutting resistance of Heizstreifenmaterials is deliberately reduced at these locations.

In this case, the cross-sectional area of the heating strip material should preferably be reduced by at least half in the region of the weak points through the cutouts and / or the thin areas.

It is further proposed that the weak points are formed alternatively or additionally by a layer structure which differs from the basic construction of the heating strip material. So it is e.g. It is conceivable to form the heating strip material in the form of individual heating strips, which are connected to one another in the weak points by a layer of another material or by a layer having a different layer composition, wherein the layer or the layer composition in the region of the weak points is deliberately designed such that it has a lower cutting resistance than the Heizstreifenmaterial between the weak points.

The dimensioning of the cutouts, the thinnings and / or the layer structure including the choice of material each form parameters by which the reduced cutting resistance in the weak points can be designed, whereby it should be noted in principle that the strip material in the area of weak points still sufficient tensile strength must have for transmitting the necessary to supply the Heizstreifenmaterials tensile forces, so that the supply of the endless Heizstreifenmaterials does not break.

It is further proposed that the Heizstreifenmaterial has a width of at least 4 mm. The Heizstreifenmaterial can be folded in itself, for example, in a V or a W-shape, extending in the longitudinal direction of the tobacco segment folds, and thus be folded from an even greater width to a smaller diameter, so that it can be arranged in a tobacco segment can, which has a smaller diameter than the width of the Heizstreifenmaterials. Thus, on the one hand, a larger mass of Heizstreifenmaterials arranged in the tobacco segment On the other hand, the tobacco segment can be heated more uniformly over the cross section, since the heating segment has a larger surface facing the tobacco and further distributed over the cross section of the tobacco segment.

It is further proposed that a sensor device detecting the weak points is provided, and the cutting device is controlled as a function of the signal of the sensor device. By means of the sensor device and the detection of the weak points, the cutting process can be synchronized with respect to the weak points, so that the heating strip material is reliably cut in the weak points provided for this purpose. The sensor device is specially adapted to detect the weak points, which is e.g. can be realized by an inductive measurement, by an optical measurement.

In this case, the sensor device can be arranged so that the weak points are detected before the Heizstreifenmaterial is introduced into the strand or even after it is inserted into the tobacco rod. Both solutions have advantages. Thus, a detection of the weak points before insertion into the strand is advantageous insofar as the heating strip material is thus freely accessible so it is very easy to optically detect. Furthermore, it is advantageous to detect the weak points after the insertion of the heating strip material into the strand, since the position of the weak points is thereby fixed by the tobacco in the tobacco segment and the probability of a subsequent change is much lower. Furthermore, it can be defined at the same time a sectional plane of the strand and the cutting device are driven accordingly. In addition, the sensor device can thereby be arranged closer to the cutting device, so that transport-related Displacements of the strand and / or the Heizstreifenmaterials have a smaller impact on the accuracy of the position of the cutting planes to the respective vulnerabilities have.

Fig. 1

eine Vorrichtung zur Herstellung eines endlosen Stranges mit einem darin eingelegten endlosen Streifen eines Heizstreifenmaterials; und

Fig. 2

ein Heizstreifenmaterial gemäß einer ersten Ausführungsform; und

Fig. 3

ein Heizstreifenmaterial gemäß einer zweiten Ausführungsform; und

Fig. 4

ein Heizstreifenmaterial gemäß einer dritten Ausführungsform; und

Fig. 5

einen endlosen Strang mit einer Sensoreinrichtung und einer Schneideinrichtung.

The invention will be explained below with reference to preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying figures. It shows

Fig. 1

a device for producing an endless strand with an inserted therein endless strip of Heizstreifenmaterials; and

Fig. 2

a strip heater material according to a first embodiment; and

Fig. 3

a strip heater material according to a second embodiment; and

Fig. 4

a strip heater material according to a third embodiment; and

Fig. 5

an endless strand with a sensor device and a cutting device.

In the FIG. 1 is a strand forming unit 15 can be seen, which is supplied via a driven format strip 2, an endless strip of a wrapping strip 12 with an endless strip of tobacco material 1 placed thereon. The tobacco material 1 can be applied either in the form of a strip of loose tobacco fibers or even a crimped tobacco sheet, wherein both the tobacco fibers and the crimped tobacco sheet in a preceding Shaping process can be pre-processed to a favorable for the strand formation cross-sectional shape and density. Further, an endless strip of heating strip material 3 is introduced into the tobacco material 1. In this case, the endless heating strip material 3 is preferably introduced centrally into the tobacco material 1 at one point. When using a tobacco foil as tobacco material 1, this is preferably a point at which the tobacco foil is not yet folded completely to the endless strip, the Heizstreifenmaterial 3 is introduced practically centrally between the crimped tobacco sheet and before entering the strand forming unit 15 together with this folded to the strip shape. In the strand forming unit 15 of the wrapping strip 12 is laterally turned up the tobacco material 1 and inserted Heizstreifenmaterials 3, applied to an edge with glue and then form-fixed by a complete turning of the edges to form an endless strand 4, which also in the FIG. 5 can be seen.

In the FIGS. 2 to 4 different embodiments of Heizstreifenmaterials 3 can be seen. The Heizstreifenmaterial 3 has at constant intervals to each other vulnerabilities 5. The strip material 3 is prefabricated with the weak points 5 and is introduced into the tobacco material 1 in an endless strip. As a result, the continuous strand 4 which is fixed in form in the strand forming unit 15 has both the tobacco material 1 and the strip of heating strip material 3 inserted therein.

That in the FIG. 2 to be detected strip material 3 has weak points 5 in the form of thin spots 16 and is made of a single material. The thin spots 16 have a reduced thickness of 0.05 mm compared with the thickness D1 of the heating strip material 3 Thickness D2 less than 0.025 mm. The heating strip material 3 thus has in the thin areas 16 a reduced by at least half cross-sectional area. The thin spots 16 can be produced, for example, by embossing the heating strip material 3 in a preprocessing step.

That in the FIG. 3 to be detected strip material 3 has weak points 5 in the form of side cutouts 7 and is also made of a single material. For example, the cutouts 7 may be punched out of the heating strip material 3 and may alternatively have other shapes. For example, it is also conceivable to provide a plurality of smaller cutouts 7 or holes in the heating strip material 3, which complement each other to form a perforation. The cutouts 7 are here also preferably dimensioned such that the cross-sectional area of the Heizstreifenmaterials 3 is reduced in the weak points 5 with respect to the cross-sectional area of the Heizstreifenmaterials between the weak points 5 by at least half.

That in the FIG. 4 to be detected strip material 3 is formed by a plurality of layers and has in the weak points 5 on the layer structure of Heizstreifenmaterials 3 between the weak points 5 deviating weakened layer structure. The Heizstreifenmaterial 3 is here formed by individual heating strips 6, which are spaced apart and are fixed in the spaced arrangement by a sheath 8. The sheath 8 may be, for example, a cellulose layer, a film or the like. The casing 8 should be as far as thermally conductive or heat-permeable by the choice of the material and / or the dimensioning of the thickness that the heat generated by the heating strips 6 penetrates into the tobacco material 1 and heats the tobacco thereby. Further the material of the sheath 8 should be chosen so that it does not release any harmful substances when heated. Due to the spacing of the heating strips 6, the heating strip material 3 is formed in the region of the weak points 5 between the heating strips 6 exclusively by the casing 8 and thus has a different weakened layer structure than in the region of the heating strips 6. Furthermore, the heating strip material 3 thus additionally has a reduced cross-sectional area in the region of the weak points 5.

In the FIG. 5 the endless strand 4 can be seen after emerging from the strand forming unit 15. The endless strand 4 is transported on the format strip 2 further in the transport direction T and thereby passes a laterally arranged, directed to the endless strand 4 sensor device 10. Subsequently, the endless strand 4 is guided by an abutment 17 with a slot 18 and thereby passes a cutting device 14 with one or more radially projecting cutting blades 13th

The sensor device 10 is signal-wise connected to a control device 11, which in turn is signal-technically connected to the cutting device 14. The sensor device 10 is specially designed so that it emits a signal when passing a weak point 5. The signal can either be used directly, or it is alternatively conceivable to generate a corresponding activation signal on the basis of a data evaluation of a parameter detected by the sensor device 10, wherein the underlying parameter and its change on the different mass, the different geometry or due to the different Composition of Heizstreifenmaterials 3 in the area of weak points 5 can be based. Based On the signal of the sensor device 10, a signal for controlling the cutting device 14 is then generated, taking into account the running time of the strand 4 from the sensor device 10 to the cutting device 14, wherein the signal need not necessarily be generated with respect to each weak point 5. It is also sufficient to detect the distances of the weak points 5 and thereby control the cutting frequency of the cutting device 14.

The cutting device 14 is here formed by a rotating knife carrier, which is arranged and aligned so that it passes through the slot 18 of the abutment 17 during rotation with the radially projecting cutting blades 13 and in each case a tobacco segment 9 with a heating strip 6 of the endless strand 4 in a weak point 5 cuts off.

Claims (11)

Apparatus for producing rod-shaped tobacco segments (9) having a heating strip (6) with - A strand forming unit (15), which an endless strip of a wrapping strip (12), a tobacco material (1) and a Heizstreifenmaterials (3) is supplied, wherein - In the strand forming unit (15) an endless, by the wrapping strip (12) formfixierter strand (4) with the tobacco material arranged therein (1) and the Heizstreifenmaterial (3) is formed, and a cutting device (14) which cuts the tobacco segments (9) at a predetermined length from the endless strand (4),
characterized in that - The endless strip of Heizstreifenmaterials (3) in the longitudinal direction regularly arranged weak points (5), wherein - The distances between two adjacent weak points (5) in the Heizstreifenmaterial (3) of the predetermined length of the tobacco segments (9) correspond, wherein - The cutting device (14) cuts the tobacco segments of the strand (4) through a section in the region of the weak points (5) of the Heizstreifenmaterials (3). Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that - The weak points (5) by thin spots (16) are formed. Apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that - The Heizstreifenmaterial (3) has a thickness (D1) of at least 0.05 mm and the thin points (16) has a thickness (D2) of less than 0.025 mm. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that - The weak points (5) are formed by cutouts (7). Device according to one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that - The cross-sectional area of the Heizstreifenmaterials (3) in the region of the weak points (5) through the cutouts (7) and / or the thin points (16) is reduced by at least half. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that - The weak points (5) are formed by a different from the basic structure of the Heizstreifenmaterials (3) layer structure. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that - The Heizstreifenmaterial (3) has a width (B) of at least 4 mm. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a sensor device (10) detecting the weak points (5) is provided, and - The cutting device (14) in response to the signal of the sensor device (10) is driven. Apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that - The sensor device (10) is arranged such that it detects the position of the weak points (5) before inserting the Heizstreifenmaterials (3) or after inserting the Heizstreifenmaterials (3) in the strand (4). Method for producing rod-shaped tobacco segments with a heating strip - A strand forming unit (15), which an endless strip of a wrapping strip (12), a tobacco material (1) and a Heizstreifenmaterials (3) is supplied, wherein - In the strand forming unit (15) an endless, by the wrapping strip (12) formfixierter strand (4) with the tobacco material arranged therein (1) and the Heizstreifenmaterial (3) is formed, and a cutting device (14) which cuts the tobacco segments (9) at a predetermined length from the endless strand (4),
characterized in that - The endless strand of Heizstreifenmaterials (3) in the longitudinal direction regularly arranged weak points (5), wherein - The distances between two adjacent weak points (5) in the Heizstreifenmaterial (3) of the predetermined length of the tobacco segments (9) correspond, wherein a sensor device (10) detecting the weak points (5) is provided, and - The cutting device (14) in response to the signal of the sensor device (10) is driven. A method according to claim 10, characterized in that - The cutting device (14) is arranged in relation to the strand movement downstream of the sensor device (10), and - The cutting device (14), taking into account the duration of the detected weak point (5) from the sensor device (10) to the cutting device (14) is driven.

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