EP3771350A1 - Filter, in particular conical filter, for cigarette or similar - Google Patents

Abstract

A cigarette filter or the like comprises: - an outer envelope of the shape of a revolution about a longitudinal axis, - inner walls (8, 10) connected to each other by folds (4, 6). At least two folds (4 ) extend along the inner face of the outer casing and at least one fold (6) is made away from the inner side of the outer casing. The filter further has a free space around the axis longitudinal.

Description

The present invention relates to a filter for a cigarette or the like. This filter is in particular a conical filter but it can also be a filter of cylindrical shape (which corresponds to a particular cone).

By cigarette or the like is meant here a rolled sheet, generally of paper, surrounding a dried and prepared vegetable substance, tobacco in the case of a cigarette, other substances for similar devices, and intended to be smoked. The filter is intended to be integral with one end of the envelope containing the tobacco, or other plant substance, and to form an interface between the tobacco, or the like, and the mouth of a smoker. Indeed, to smoke the cigarette or the like, the smoker draws air through the cigarette or the like and the filter is present to then prevent pieces of tobacco or the like from then coming into the mouth of the smoker.

To smoke certain substances, in particular substances which are less easily consumed than tobacco, it is preferable to have a conical envelope to have a better draft and to promote the combustion of the substances. In this case, it is preferable to have a filter whose shape is adapted to the shape of the envelope to be able to more easily assemble the filter and the envelope (to be filled or filled).

Currently, the manufacture of conical filters is carried out manually, at best semi-automatically. These filters most often have a conical outer casing and include internal walls inside the cone thus produced which come, on the one hand, to stiffen the outer casing and, on the other hand, to form a barrier to prevent pieces. of tobacco or other substance to pass. The internal walls have, for example, a W shape inside the conical casing.

By virtue of their manufacturing process and their shape, current conical filters are difficult to integrate into an automatic manufacturing system and are also difficult to manufacture automatically.

The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a filter having an outer envelope of revolution (conical or circular cylindrical) which can be integrated into an automated unit for manufacturing an assembly formed by a filter and by an envelope (conical or circular cylindrical ) intended to contain a dried vegetable substance (tobacco or other).

Preferably, the proposed filter could also be produced in an automated manner.

summary

This disclosure improves the situation.

There is provided a filter for cigarettes or the like comprising an outer casing having a shape of revolution about a longitudinal axis.

According to the present invention, this filter has interior walls interconnected by folds; at least two plies extend along the inner face of the outer shell; at least two folds are made at a distance from the inner face of the outer casing, and the filter has a free space around the longitudinal axis.

Such a filter, by virtue of its shape, has, on the one hand, good mechanical resistance and, on the other hand, can be held by a rod at its center for possibly the manufacture of the filter but also subsequently for the integration of the filter into a cigarette or the like.

According to a first embodiment of a filter described above, inner walls are arranged between two folds which extend along the inner face of the outer casing. According to this first embodiment, it is possible for example to provide that there are several successions of a first wall arranged between a first fold made at a distance from the inner face of the outer casing and a first fold made along said face. interior, a second wall arranged between the previous fold and a second fold made on the along said inner face and a third wall disposed between the previous ply and a second ply produced at a distance from said inner face.

According to a second embodiment of a filter according to the invention, each inner wall, apart from at most two of them, are arranged between a fold extending along the inner face of the outer casing and a fold made at a distance from the inner face of the outer casing.

• les plis réalisés à distance de la paroi intérieure de l'enveloppe extérieure forment des génératrices autour de l'axe longitudinal d'une forme sensiblement parallèle à l'enveloppe extérieure ;
• l'enveloppe extérieure est de forme tronconique ;
• le filtre est réalisé en papier ou carton ;
• le filtre est réalisé à partir d'une feuille coupée et pliée, éventuellement collée localement.

The characteristics exposed in the following paragraphs can, optionally, be implemented. They can be implemented independently of each other or in combination with each other:

• the folds made at a distance from the inner wall of the outer casing form generatrices around the longitudinal axis of a shape substantially parallel to the outer casing;
• the outer envelope is frustoconical in shape;
• the filter is made of paper or cardboard;
• the filter is made from a cut and folded sheet, possibly glued locally.

This document also relates to an assembly formed by a rolled sheet and a filter as described above, in which the outer envelope of the filter extends the rolled sheet.

Brief description of the drawings

• Fig. 1 est une vue en perspective d'un filtre conique.
• Fig. 2 montre le filtre de la figure 1 selon une autre perspective.
• Fig. 3 est une vue de face du filtre des figures 1 et 2.
• Fig. 4 est une vue de face à 180° par rapport à la vue de la figure 3.
• Fig. 5 est une vue en perspective, sous deux angles différents d'une variante de réalisation d'un filtre conique.
• Fig. 6 montre une autre variante de réalisation en vue de face.

Other characteristics, details and advantages will appear on reading the detailed description below, and on analyzing the appended drawing, in which:

• Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a conical filter.
• Fig. 2 shows the filter of the figure 1 from another perspective.
• Fig. 3 is a front view of the figures 1 and 2 .
• Fig. 4 is a front view 180 ° to the view of the figure 3 .
• Fig. 5 is a perspective view, from two different angles, of an alternative embodiment of a conical filter.
• Fig. 6 shows another variant embodiment in front view.

Description of embodiments

The drawing and the description below essentially contain elements of a certain nature. They can therefore not only serve to better understand this disclosure, but also contribute to its definition, if applicable.

The figures 1 to 4 illustrate a first embodiment of a conical shaped filter.

The illustrated filter is intended to form a cigarette mouthpiece or the like. A cigarette comprises a sheet of paper, of the cigarette paper type, rolled up on itself so as to define a circular or conical cylindrical space in which the tobacco is located. It is also possible to put another plant substance in the rolled up sheet of paper. We then obtain a device similar to a cigarette.

The illustrated filter is intended to serve as an interface between the cigarette or the like and the mouth of a user. It is intended in particular that by smoking a cigarette or the like, the substance (tobacco or the like) which is in a state chopped into small fine pieces does not come into the mouth of the user.

The filters illustrated in the appended figures can be produced by cutting and folding a sheet, possibly with a gluing phase to keep the folded sheet in its final position. The sheet used is, by way of illustration and without limitation, for example a sheet of cardboard, having a thickness of approximately 0.15 mm and a basis weight of between 90 and 140 gm ^-2 .

As it emerges from figures 1 to 5 , the filters shown, also that of the figure 6 , have a frustoconical outer overall shape. The filters illustrated thus generally have a shape of revolution around an axis called hereafter the longitudinal axis (symbolized by a cross on the figures 3 and 4 ). By way of non-limiting illustrative example, the base of the filter, that is to say the base of the frustoconical shape, has a diameter of approximately 8 mm corresponding to a conventional diameter for a cigarette, the top of the filter, c 'That is to say the top of the frustoconical shape has a diameter of about 6 mm and the height of the filter (distance between the base and the top measured along the longitudinal axis) is between 20 and 30 mm.

Note in the figures an edge 2 on the outer surface of the filter. This edge 2 corresponds to the edge of the cut sheet used to form the filter. This ridge 2 extends along a generatrix of the frustoconical shape, from the base to the top of the truncated cone.

For each of the embodiments, the sheet (of cardboard) used to make the filter is rolled to form the frustoconical exterior surface of the filter and is also folded to form internal walls within the truncated cone thus produced. The different variants illustrated in the accompanying drawing are distinguished by the different folding effected and the different arrangement of the internal walls in the space delimited by the truncated cone.

In the embodiment of figures 1 to 4 , the internal walls are arranged so as to form a shape reminiscent of a flower.

Each internal wall is of substantially trapezoidal shape. It is placed between two folds of the sheet and is delimited by two edges of the sheet cut to make the filter. We notice on the figures 1 to 4 two types of folds: a first type of fold 4 with an angle of between 90 and 135 ° and a second type of fold 6 with an angle between 135 and 180 °.

The first folds 4 are arranged against, or in the immediate vicinity (less than 0.5 mm) of the inner face of the truncated cone. There are at least two first folds 4.

The second folds 6 are arranged around the longitudinal axis, between the truncated cone and the longitudinal axis, being closer to the longitudinal axis than to the inner face of the truncated cone. There are at least two second folds 6. On the figures 1 to 4 , the second folds 6 are twice as close to the longitudinal axis as to the truncated cone. This is a particular embodiment. It would not be departing from the scope of the invention to change this proportion.

Here, in the illustrated embodiment, corresponding to a preferred embodiment (among others), the second folds 6 define generatrices of a truncated cone parallel to the truncated cone forming the outer surface of the filter. Note that the interior space of the second truncated cone defined by the second folds 6 is empty. In this way, a space free of any wall is created around the longitudinal axis. It is thus possible to position the filter on a rod, preferably a rod having a taper close to that of the filter. By placing it on such a rod, the filter is positioned and centered. It can then be maintained without having to make contact with the outer peripheral surface of the filter.

Just as there are two different types of folds, there are two different types of internal walls. A first type of internal wall 8 corresponds to the internal walls arranged between two first folds 4. These first internal walls are oriented tangentially because they are parallel to planes tangential to the truncated cone of the filter.

The second type of internal walls 10 corresponds to internal walls arranged between a first ply 4 and a second ply 6. These second internal walls 10 can be qualified as radial walls even if they do not pass exactly through the longitudinal axis of the trunk. cone.

Several successions of three internal walls are found in the truncated cone forming the external wall of the filter in this order: second internal wall 10, first internal wall 8 and second internal wall 10. Each of these successions of three internal walls forms a "petal". flower ". In the embodiment illustrated on figures 1 to 4 , we notice that there are five "flower petals" but only four first internal walls 8. Indeed, an internal wall is a bit special because it is not delimited by two folds but by a first fold 4 and by an edge of the sheet used to form the filter (the edge of the sheet opposite to that forming the edge 2). This particular internal wall which can be assimilated to a tangential internal wall is called internal wall 8 ′.

The first internal walls 8 and the second internal walls 10 form barriers in the filter which prevent tobacco, or the like, from passing through the filter. They do not, however, prevent the passage of air and hardly create a pressure drop for the air flow sucked in by a smoker drawing air through such a filter.

The figure 6 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the embodiment of figures 1 to 4 . The structure of the internal walls is much the same, but here instead of having five "flower petals", there are eight. On the side of the apex of the truncated cone forming the outer surface of the filter, the second plies 6 meet and come into contact. Here too we find a free space around the longitudinal axis (symbolized by a cross). Advantageously, there will preferably be at least two “flower petals” and preferably at least three.

The embodiment of the figure 5 shows a different arrangement of the internal walls. In this embodiment, there are first plies 14 which are arranged in the immediate vicinity (for example less than 1 mm) of the inner face of the portion of rolled sheet forming the frustoconical outer surface of the filter, as well as second plies 16 arranged at a distance from said inner face and closer to the longitudinal axis of the conical shape than to said inner face.

In this embodiment, the internal walls 18 are each time arranged between a first ply 14 and a second ply 16. There is then a configuration internal walls 18 which forms a star. In the embodiment shown, the star has six branches but those skilled in the art will understand that it is possible to have a different number of branches (either more or less, preferably at least two and more preferably , at least three).

Here too, there is a free zone around the longitudinal axis of the filter. The latter is here also of frustoconical shape, this second truncated cone being substantially parallel to the truncated cone defining the external shape of the filter and the second folds 16 forming generatrices for this second truncated cone.

Industrial application

The various embodiments described above have a filter with a conical exterior shape. This shape could also be cylindrical to adapt to cigarettes which are also cylindrical. There is thus a filter with an outer shape of revolution about a longitudinal axis. Inside the space delimited by this outer shape, there are internal walls which, on the one hand, form barriers preventing tobacco or the like from passing and, on the other hand, leave free a delimited space around it. the longitudinal axis.

The filter thus produced has good mechanical strength despite the presence of a central free zone. It is greater than that obtained by carrying out a W (or M) folding known from the prior art.

Thanks to the proposed shape, it is possible to hold the product by its center by positioning it on a rod (preferably conical). The embodiments described provide a free space around the longitudinal axis which has an overall shape of revolution around the longitudinal axis. The filter can thus take all the positions on the rod on which it takes place. It is therefore useless to orient it angularly before holding it. The filters can thus be packaged in bulk and it is unnecessary to provide an operation to orient them before coming to assemble them with a cigarette sheet or the like.

The proposed product also has an aesthetic singularity which adds a plus to the finished product (filter and cigarette or similar equipped with this filter).

The present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, only by way of example, and to the variants mentioned, but it encompasses all the variants that a person skilled in the art may envisage in the context of protection. wanted.

Claims (9)

Filter for cigarettes or the like comprising an outer casing of shape of revolution about a longitudinal axis, characterized in that it has inner walls (8, 10; 18) connected to each other by folds (4, 6; 14, 16), in that at least two folds (4; 14) extend along the inner face of the outer casing, in that at least two folds (6; 16) are made at a distance from the inner face of the outer casing, and in that the filter has a free space around the longitudinal axis. Filter according to Claim 1, characterized in that internal walls (8) are arranged between two folds (4) which extend along the internal face of the external envelope. Filter according to Claim 2, characterized in that there are several successions of a first wall (8) arranged between a first ply (6) produced at a distance from the inner face of the outer casing and a first ply (4) produced along said inner face, a second wall (8) disposed between the previous fold (4) and a second fold (4) produced along said inner face and a third wall (10) disposed between the previous fold (4) and a second fold (6) made at a distance from said inner face. Filter according to claim 1, characterized in that each inner wall (18), apart from at most two of them, are arranged between a ply (14) extending along the inner face of the outer casing and a fold (16) made at a distance from the inner face of the outer casing. Filter according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the folds (6; 16) produced at a distance from the inner wall of the outer casing form generatrices around the longitudinal axis of a shape substantially parallel to the outer casing. Filter according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the outer casing is frustoconical in shape. Filter according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that it is made of paper or cardboard. Filter according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it is produced from a cut and folded sheet, optionally glued locally. Assembly formed of a rolled sheet and of a filter according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the outer casing of the filter extends the rolled sheet.

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