EP4358752A1 - Apparatus and method for manufacturing a rod of aerosolisable material - Google Patents

Apparatus and method for manufacturing a rod of aerosolisable material

Info

Publication number
EP4358752A1
EP4358752A1 EP22736338.9A EP22736338A EP4358752A1 EP 4358752 A1 EP4358752 A1 EP 4358752A1 EP 22736338 A EP22736338 A EP 22736338A EP 4358752 A1 EP4358752 A1 EP 4358752A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
tobacco
belt
speed
rod
aerosolisable material
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Pending
Application number
EP22736338.9A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Inventor
Mark GOODEVE
Glen Elgar
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
British American Tobacco Investments Ltd
Original Assignee
British American Tobacco Investments Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by British American Tobacco Investments Ltd filed Critical British American Tobacco Investments Ltd
Publication of EP4358752A1 publication Critical patent/EP4358752A1/en
Pending legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
    • A24C—MACHINES FOR MAKING CIGARS OR CIGARETTES
    • A24C5/00—Making cigarettes; Making tipping materials for, or attaching filters or mouthpieces to, cigars or cigarettes
    • A24C5/14—Machines of the continuous-rod type
    • A24C5/18—Forming the rod
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
    • A24C—MACHINES FOR MAKING CIGARS OR CIGARETTES
    • A24C5/00—Making cigarettes; Making tipping materials for, or attaching filters or mouthpieces to, cigars or cigarettes
    • A24C5/14—Machines of the continuous-rod type
    • A24C5/18—Forming the rod
    • A24C5/1807—Forming the rod with compressing means, e.g. garniture
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
    • A24C—MACHINES FOR MAKING CIGARS OR CIGARETTES
    • A24C5/00—Making cigarettes; Making tipping materials for, or attaching filters or mouthpieces to, cigars or cigarettes
    • A24C5/14—Machines of the continuous-rod type
    • A24C5/18—Forming the rod
    • A24C5/1857—Belt construction or driving means

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for manufacturing a rod of aerosolisable material, for example a tobacco rod for a tobacco industry product such as a cigarette.
  • the invention also relates to a tobacco rod manufactured according to the apparatus and method of the invention.
  • Known apparatus for manufacturing a tobacco rod includes a suction conveyor device that draws tobacco material from a vertical tobacco feeder onto a moving foraminous belt.
  • a stream of tobacco material is formed on the foraminous belt and is trimmed by counter-rotating trimming discs.
  • the stream of tobacco material is then transferred from the foraminous belt into a garniture.
  • the stream of tobacco is allowed to drop from the belt onto a ribbon of wrapping material which is in frictional contact with, and is being driven by, a circulating garniture tape, so that the ribbon and the tape are moving at the same speed.
  • the tape carries the ribbon of wrapping material and the stream of tobacco material downstream so that the ribbon is wrapped around the tobacco stream by the garniture to form a continuous wrapped tobacco rod which may then be cut by a cutter into individual rod sections used to make tobacco industry products such as cigarettes.
  • apparatus for manufacturing a wrapped rod of aerosolisable material comprising: a control unit; a garniture including a garniture tape on which a ribbon of wrapping material is conveyed and wrapped about a stream of aerosolisable material received on the ribbon of wrapping material; and a suction conveyor device comprising a belt to receive aerosolisable material and for delivering aerosolisable material onto the ribbon of wrapping material as it is conveyed by the garniture tape; wherein the control unit is configured to drive the belt at a speed that is faster than the speed of the garniture tape.
  • the control unit may be configured to drive the belt at a speed that is between 120 to 140% of the speed of the garniture tape.
  • control unit maybe configured to drive the belt at a speed that is 128% of the speed of the garniture tape.
  • a method for manufacturing a wrapped rod of aerosolisable material using the apparatus according to any preceding claim comprising driving the belt of the suction conveyor device at a speed that is faster than the speed of the garniture tape.
  • the method may comprise driving the belt at a speed that is between 120 to
  • the method may comprise driving the belt at a speed that is 128% of the speed of the garniture tape.
  • the method may comprise controlling the quantity of aerosolisable material delivered to the belt from a feeder in dependence on the speed of the suction belt.
  • the method may comprise controlling the relative speed of the belt of the suction conveyor device and of the garniture tape to produce a rod having a predetermined firmness, and/or tobacco Fill Value.
  • a method of manufacturing a tobacco industry product comprising manufacturing a rod of aerosolisable material according to the invention and combining the rod of aerosolisable material with a further component.
  • a wrapped rod of aerosolisable material comprising a part of a tobacco industry product manufactured according to the method of the invention.
  • the tobacco industry product is a cigarette.
  • the further component may be a mouthpiece and/or a filter.
  • FIG. l shows a rod of aerosolisable material according to an embodiment of the invention
  • FIG. 2 shows part of apparatus for manufacturing the rod of aerosolisable tobacco material shown in Figure 1.
  • rod of aerosolisable material is intended to encompass rods of combustible aerosolisable materials, in which a constituent aerosolisable material is combusted or burned in order to facilitate delivery to a user.
  • These may include cigarettes, cigarillos, cigars, (whether based on tobacco, tobacco derivatives, expanded tobacco, reconstituted tobacco, tobacco substitutes or other smokable material).
  • rod of aerosolisable material is also intented to encompass rods of non-combustible aeorsolisable materials that release compounds without combustion, and which are intended to be used in a tobacco heating products, such as in a heat-not-burn system.
  • a “non-combustible” aerosolisable material is not combusted or burned in order to facilitate delivery to a user.
  • an aerosol generating component may interact with the aerosolisable material to release one or more volatiles from the aerosolisable material to form an aerosol.
  • the aerosol generating component may be capable of generating an aerosol from the aerosolisable material by applying heat thereto or, for example, via one or more of vibrational, mechanical, pressurisation or electrostatic means.
  • the aerosolisable material may comprise an active material, an aerosol forming material and optionally one or more functional materials.
  • the active material may comprise nicotine (optionally contained in tobacco or a tobacco derivative) or one or more other non-olfactory physiologically active materials.
  • a non-olfactory physiologically active material is a material which is included in the aerosolisable material in order to achieve a physiological response other than olfactory perception.
  • the rods of aerosolisable material maybe produced with mouthpieces of different lengths, from about 30 mm to 50 mm.
  • a tipping paper connects the mouthpiece to each rod of aerosolisable material and will usually have a greater length than the mouthpiece, for example from 3 to 10 mm longer, such that the tipping paper covers the mouthpiece and overlaps the rod of aerosolisable material to connect the mouthpiece to the rod.
  • embodiments of the invention can relate to an apparatus, and a method, for the manufacture of aerosolisable rods using cut rag tobacco, in which the tobacco leaves are shredded into short fine strips
  • the apparatus described herein can also be used for producing rods in which the tobacco is formed of a plurality of tobacco strands that extend longitudinally along a tobacco rod.
  • the tobacco strands can be formed from a sheet of tobacco material, for example a sheet of reconstituted tobacco, which is slit into a plurality of tobacco strands for incorporation into a tobacco rod.
  • Reconstituted tobacco sheets may be produced, for example, by a paper making process, band casting or extrusion.
  • the reconstituted tobacco sheet may be paper reconstituted tobacco.
  • Paper reconstituted tobacco refers to tobacco material formed by a process in which tobacco feedstock is extracted with a solvent to afford an extract of solubles and a residue comprising fibrous material, and then the extract (usually after concentration, and optionally after further processing) is recombined with fibrous material from the residue (usually after refining of the fibrous material, and optionally with the addition of a portion of non-tobacco fibres) by deposition of the extract onto the fibrous material.
  • the process of recombination resembles the process for making paper.
  • the feedstock may comprise or consist of one or more of tobacco strips, tobacco stems, and/ or whole leaf tobacco. Scraps, fines and winnowings may alternatively or additionally be employed in the feedstock. It will be appreciated that reconstituted tobacco sheet formed by any process may be used.
  • the reconstituted tobacco sheet used to produce the tobacco strands may comprise glycerol.
  • the reconstituted tobacco sheet maybe impregnated or otherwise formed with glycerol.
  • the glycerol When heated, the glycerol may be volatilised to form an aerosol, which may enhance user experience of an aerosol-generating device, or any suitable “heat not burn” device, with which the tobacco rod segment maybe used.
  • each rod comprises a wrapper 2 containing an aerosolisable material 3 such as tobacco.
  • the rod may include a mouthpiece and/or a filter 4.
  • the filter 4 and the aerosolisable material may be joined together by a joining wrapper (not shown) that circumscribes and at least partially overlaps the filter 4 and the wrapper 2 of the rod 1.
  • the wrapper 2 circumscribing the tobacco 3 is preferably made of paper.
  • the wrapper 2 may, for example, be or comprise one or both of paper and aluminium foil, for example a laminate of paper and aluminium foil.
  • the wrapper 2 may have a glued seam that secures the wrapper 2 about the tobacco rod 3.
  • a continuous wrapped tobacco rod 1 is formed by wrapping the wrapper 2 about a stream of tobacco material 3.
  • the continuous wrapped tobacco rod is subsequently cut to form individual tobacco industry products 1.
  • FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of part of an apparatus for manufacturing a continuous rod of aerosolisable material.
  • the apparatus 5 includes a suction conveyor device 6 which receives aerosolisable material 3. Aerosolisable tobacco material 3 is supplied via a vertical feeder.
  • the vertical feeder has a vertical chimney 7 that receives tobacco material 3. The tobacco material 3 is fed into the bottom of the vertical chimney 7, in the direction of arrow “A” in FIG. 1, and is urged upwards towards a foraminous belt 8.
  • the foraminous belt 8 has suction holes (not visible in FIG. 1) to draw tobacco material 3 upward through the chimney 7 and onto the belt 8.
  • air flow is induced within the vertical chimney 7 to urge the tobacco material 3 vertically upwards towards and onto the belt 8.
  • the belt 8 is driven on rollers 9 such that it has an upper run 10 and a lower run 11.
  • the chimney 7 is disposed beneath the lower run 11 of the belt 8.
  • a suction chamber 12 is located between the upper and lower runs 10, 11 of the belt 8.
  • the suction chamber 12 is a closed box (or similar) defining a closed area within the suction conveyor device 6, which has one or more openings on its lower side, adjacent the lower run 11 of the belt 8.
  • the suction chamber 12 is connected to a vacuum pump via an outlet 13.
  • the belt 8 includes suction holes (not shown) formed through the belt 8.
  • the belt 8 moves across the upper, open end of the vertical chimney 7, as illustrated in Figure 2.
  • Suction air flow induced by the vacuum pump creates air flow from the chimney 7, through the suction holes in the belt 8 into the suction chamber 12 and outlet 13.
  • This suction air flow draws the tobacco material 3 onto the underside of the lower run 11 of the belt 8.
  • the suction holes are sized such that the tobacco materials 3 are retained on the underside of the lower run 11 of the belt 8 by suction. In this way, the tobacco material 3 is entrained on the belt 8.
  • Guides may be provided to guide the tobacco material 3 along the underside of the belt 8 as it circulates.
  • the belt 8 carries the stream of tobacco material 3 towards a garniture 14.
  • the tobacco material 3 may be trimmed by a trimming unit 15 whilst it is on the belt 8.
  • the trimming unit 15 can include a pair of counter rotating blades 16 that are spaced from lower run 11 of the belt 8 so that they trim the tobacco material 3 to an appropriate thickness prior to delivery of the tobacco 3 to the garniture 14.
  • the strands generally extend in a longitudinal direction parallel or aligned with the direction of movement of the belt 8 as they travel along the belt 8 towards the garniture 14.
  • one or more additional vertical chimneys 7 and suction conveyors 6 could be arranged in series to create a stream of tobacco material 3 having two or more different types of tobacco material arranged in a profile.
  • the stream of tobacco material 3 is transferred from the belt 8 into a garniture 14.
  • the garniture 14 comprises a continuous garniture tape 17 having an upper run 22 that drives a ribbon of wrapping paper 18, lying in frictional contact with the upper run 22, through the garniture 14.
  • the wrapping paper 18 is drawn from a bobbin 19 along a series of rollers 20 (one roller being shown in FIG. 2), and into the garniture 14.
  • the garniture belt 17 is endless and is disposed below the ribbon of paper 18 and circulates about spaced parallel rollers 21.
  • Tobacco material is transferred from the lower run 11 of the belt 8 of the suction conveyor device 6 onto the exposed surface of the ribbon 18 of wrapping paper. In this way, a stream of tobacco material 3 is arranged on the ribbon of paper 18, and the paper 18, together with the tobacco material 3 received upon it, is moved through the garniture 14 by the garniture tape 17.
  • An adhesive applicator applies adhesive to the top of the ribbon 18 of paper along one edge
  • the garniture 14 includes a wrapping unit 23 through which the ribbon 18 of paper with the tobacco material 3 is conveyed.
  • the wrapping unit 23 has an inlet which tapers from the upstream to the downstream end.
  • the garniture tape 17 runs along the floor of the channel and the ribbon 18 of paper in frictional contact with the garniture tape 17 is dragged through the channel on top of the tape 17 and progressively wraps the wrapping material 18 around the tobacco stream 3.
  • the function and operation of a garniture 14 for the purpose of forming a continuous wrapped rod 1 of tobacco 3 is well known to persons skilled in the art.
  • the continuous tobacco rod 1 is cut to the appropriate length for forming tobacco industry products, for example the tobacco industry product 1 shown in Figure 1.
  • the continuous tobacco rod is cut on the tobacco rod making machine by a cutter assembly 24.
  • the continuous rod maybe cut on subsequent assembly apparatus.
  • the continuous tobacco rod can be cut into double-length rods, quadruple-length rods, and so on, and transferred to an assembly machine for further cutting and combining with a filter to produce complete tobacco industry products. In examples, this can be referred to as a ‘two-up’ or ‘four-up’ manufacturing process.
  • US 4,574,816 discloses apparatus in which a density monitoring device generates signals representative of the density of successive increments of tobacco in a continuous rod. Those signals are used to vary the pressure generated in the suction chamber, or the rate at which tobacco is fed to a duct which feeds an apron conveyor, and from which a stream of tobacco is attracted to a belt of a suction conveying device.
  • the belt of the suction conveying device and the garniture tape are controlled so as to run at the same speed.
  • the speed of the belt 8 of the suction conveying device 6 may be controlled to determine the amount of tobacco 3 delivered to the garniture tape 17. For example, by increasing the speed of the belt 8 of the suction conveying device 6 relative to the speed of the garniture tape 17, the amount of tobacco 3 delivered to the garniture tape 17 from the belt 8 will increase per unit length of the garniture tape 17 and the resultant tobacco rods will be more densely packed with tobacco 3. Conversely, if the speed of the belt 8 of the suction conveying device 6 is reduced relative to the speed of the garniture tape 17, the amount of tobacco 3 delivered to the garniture tape 17 from the belt 8 will also be reduced, and the resultant tobacco rods 1 will be less densely packed with tobacco 3.
  • the relative speed of the belt 8 and the tape 17 maybe controlled by a control unit 25.
  • the control unit 25 maybe provided with a user input 26 to enable a user to set the relative speed of the belt 8 and the garniture tape 17.
  • the counter-rotating blades 16 of the trimming unit 15 can also be controlled to compensate for an increase in the speed of the belt 8.
  • control unit 25 may control the speed of the garniture tape independently from the speed of the belt 8.
  • a paper registration kit fitted to the machine can be used to control the speed of the garniture tape 17 so that there is a differential between the speed of the garniture tape 17 and the speed of the belt 8.
  • the inventors have established that by controlling the relative speed of the belt 8 of the suction conveying device 6 and the garniture belt 17, the problem of controlling the Fill Value of reconsituted tobacco 3 in the final rod 1 is controlled. Whilst controlling the amount of tobacco 3 supplied to the belt 8 of the suction conveying device 6 may be an adequate solution for conventional, cut rag tobacco, in which the height of the tobacco bed attracted to the belt doesn’t overly affect the residual suction available to draw and attract further tobacco onto the belt 8, the strands that form reconstituted tobacco 3 tend to lie flatter on the belt 8 and have a larger surface area to block the suction openings in the belt 8. This tends to limit the height of the tobacco bed and so the amount of tobacco 3 that can be delivered to the garniture tape 17. Independently controlling the speed of the garniture tape 17 and the belt 8 of the suction conveyor 6 so that they travel at different speeds to each other addresses this deficiency.
  • a rod 1 with equivalent firmness obtained by increasing the speed of the belt relative to the garniture tape without altering the rate at which tobacco is delivered to the belt has also been determined that the pressure drop across a rod 1 may be increased without any significant change in tobacco weight by increasing the speed of the belt relative to the garniture tape, and by controlling the amount of tobacco supplied to the belt so that the quantity of tobacco being delivered onto the garniture tape remained the same as if the belt was travelling at the same speed as the garniture tape.
  • a machine was used to make cigarettes in which the ratio of the speed of the garniture tape 17 to the speed of the belt 8 was set at 1:1, i.e. they were both running at the same speed.
  • the mean weight across the samples produced using the machine was 559-44mg, and the mean pressure drop was i79.i7mmWg.
  • the same test was carried out, but the machine modified so that the belt 8 was running at a faster speed than the garniture tape 17 and by controlling the amount of tobacco delivered to the belt 8 so that essentially the same amount of tobacco is still delivered to the garniture tape as if the belt 8 was running at the same speed as the garniture tape 17.
  • the ratio of the speed of the garniture tape 17 to the speed of the belt 8 was 1:1.28, i.e. the belt 8 was run at a speed 28% faster than the garniture tape 17.
  • the strands of reconstituted tobacco 3 fold over as they decelerate upon contact with the garniture tape 17.
  • the strands occupy more volume than if they lie flat, such as when the rod 1 is produced on a conventional machine in which the belt 8 and the garniture tape 17 are running at the same speed.
  • the folded reconstituted tobacco 3 also produces a more tortuous path for the aerosol, so increasing the pressure drop across the rod 1.
  • the term ‘aerosolisable material’ includes materials that provide volatilised components upon heating, typically in the form of vapour or an aerosol.
  • the aerosolisable material includes a tobacco material.
  • the aerosolisable material consists of a tobacco material, or a blend of different tobacco materials. In other examples, the aerosolisable material is free from tobacco material.
  • the apparatus described herein may be used to manufacture a rod of any aerosolisable material.
  • the tobacco material may have different types of tobacco leaf (e.g. hurley, oriental, Virginia), or different blends of these different types of tobacco leaf.
  • the tobacco material 3 may be tobacco that is dried, cured or treated differently (e.g. flue-cured, air-cured etc.).
  • the tobacco material 3 may have different additives. Additives may include, for example flavourants (e.g. menthol) in the form of granules or liquid additives, burn rate modifiers, smoke modifiers etc.
  • the tobacco material 3 may include tobacco substitutes, for example reconstituted tobacco materials, or blends of tobacco substitutes with tobacco materials.
  • tobacco industry product is intended to include smoking articles comprising combustible smoking articles such as cigarettes, cigarillos, cigars, tobacco for pipes or for roll-your-own cigarettes, (whether based on tobacco, tobacco derivatives, expanded tobacco, reconstituted tobacco, tobacco substitutes or other smokable material), electronic smoking articles such as e-cigarettes, heating devices that release compounds from substrate materials without burning such as tobacco heating products, hybrid systems to generate aerosol from a combination of substrate materials, for example hybrid systems containing a liquid or gel or solid substrate; and aerosol-free nicotine delivery articles such as lozenges, gums, patches, articles comprising breathable powders and smokeless tobacco products such as snus and snuff.
  • smoking articles comprising combustible smoking articles such as cigarettes, cigarillos, cigars, tobacco for pipes or for roll-your-own cigarettes, (whether based on tobacco, tobacco derivatives, expanded tobacco, reconstituted tobacco, tobacco substitutes or other smokable material), electronic smoking articles such as e-cigarettes, heating devices that release compounds
  • tobacco material refers to any material comprising tobacco or derivatives or substitutes thereof.
  • tobacco material may include one or more of tobacco, tobacco derivatives, expanded tobacco, reconstituted tobacco or tobacco substitutes.
  • the tobacco material may comprise one or more of ground tobacco, tobacco fibre, cut tobacco, extruded tobacco, tobacco stem, tobacco lamina, reconstituted tobacco and/or tobacco extract.
  • flavours refer to materials which, where local regulations permit, may be used to create a desired taste or aroma in a product for adult consumers.
  • One or more flavours can be used as an aerosol modifying agent and may include extracts (e.g., licorice, hydrangea, Japanese white bark magnolia leaf, chamomile, fenugreek, clove, menthol, Japanese mint, aniseed, cinnamon, herb, wintergreen, cherry, berry, peach, apple, Drambuie, bourbon, scotch, whiskey, spearmint, peppermint, lavender, cardamom, celery, cascarilla, nutmeg, sandalwood, bergamot, geranium, honey essence, rose oil, vanilla, lemon oil, orange oil, cassia, caraway, cognac, jasmine, ylang-ylang, sage, fennel, piment, ginger, anise, coriander, coffee, or

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  • Manufacturing Of Cigar And Cigarette Tobacco (AREA)

Abstract

Apparatus for manufacturing a wrapped rod of aerosolisable material is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a control unit (25) and a garniture (14) including a garniture tape (17) on which a ribbon of wrapping material (18) is conveyed and wrapped about a stream of aerosolisable material received on the ribbon of wrapping material. The apparatus further comprises a suction conveyor device (6) comprising a belt (8) to receive aerosolisable material and for delivering aerosolisable material onto the ribbon of wrapping material as it is conveyed by the garniture tape. The control unit is configured to drive the belt at a speed which is faster than the speed of the garniture tape. A method of manufacturing a wrapped rod of aerosolisable material is also disclosed.

Description

Apparatus and Method for Manufacturing a Rod of Aerosolisable Material
Field The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for manufacturing a rod of aerosolisable material, for example a tobacco rod for a tobacco industry product such as a cigarette. The invention also relates to a tobacco rod manufactured according to the apparatus and method of the invention. Background
Known apparatus for manufacturing a tobacco rod includes a suction conveyor device that draws tobacco material from a vertical tobacco feeder onto a moving foraminous belt. A stream of tobacco material is formed on the foraminous belt and is trimmed by counter-rotating trimming discs. The stream of tobacco material is then transferred from the foraminous belt into a garniture. In particular, the stream of tobacco is allowed to drop from the belt onto a ribbon of wrapping material which is in frictional contact with, and is being driven by, a circulating garniture tape, so that the ribbon and the tape are moving at the same speed. The tape carries the ribbon of wrapping material and the stream of tobacco material downstream so that the ribbon is wrapped around the tobacco stream by the garniture to form a continuous wrapped tobacco rod which may then be cut by a cutter into individual rod sections used to make tobacco industry products such as cigarettes.
Summary According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided apparatus for manufacturing a wrapped rod of aerosolisable material, the apparatus comprising: a control unit; a garniture including a garniture tape on which a ribbon of wrapping material is conveyed and wrapped about a stream of aerosolisable material received on the ribbon of wrapping material; and a suction conveyor device comprising a belt to receive aerosolisable material and for delivering aerosolisable material onto the ribbon of wrapping material as it is conveyed by the garniture tape; wherein the control unit is configured to drive the belt at a speed that is faster than the speed of the garniture tape. The control unit may be configured to drive the belt at a speed that is between 120 to 140% of the speed of the garniture tape. In particular, the control unit maybe configured to drive the belt at a speed that is 128% of the speed of the garniture tape. According to another aspect, there is provided a method for manufacturing a wrapped rod of aerosolisable material using the apparatus according to any preceding claim, comprising driving the belt of the suction conveyor device at a speed that is faster than the speed of the garniture tape. The method may comprise driving the belt at a speed that is between 120 to
140% of the speed of the garniture tape. In particular, the method may comprise driving the belt at a speed that is 128% of the speed of the garniture tape.
The method may comprise controlling the quantity of aerosolisable material delivered to the belt from a feeder in dependence on the speed of the suction belt.
The method may comprise controlling the relative speed of the belt of the suction conveyor device and of the garniture tape to produce a rod having a predetermined firmness, and/or tobacco Fill Value.
According to another aspect, there is provided a method of manufacturing a tobacco industry product comprising manufacturing a rod of aerosolisable material according to the invention and combining the rod of aerosolisable material with a further component.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a wrapped rod of aerosolisable material comprising a part of a tobacco industry product manufactured according to the method of the invention. In various examples, the tobacco industry product is a cigarette. The further component may be a mouthpiece and/or a filter.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying Figures, in which: FIG. l shows a rod of aerosolisable material according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 shows part of apparatus for manufacturing the rod of aerosolisable tobacco material shown in Figure 1.
Detailed Description
The expression “rod of aerosolisable material”, is intended to encompass rods of combustible aerosolisable materials, in which a constituent aerosolisable material is combusted or burned in order to facilitate delivery to a user. These may include cigarettes, cigarillos, cigars, (whether based on tobacco, tobacco derivatives, expanded tobacco, reconstituted tobacco, tobacco substitutes or other smokable material).
The expression “rod of aerosolisable material” is also intented to encompass rods of non-combustible aeorsolisable materials that release compounds without combustion, and which are intended to be used in a tobacco heating products, such as in a heat-not-burn system. A “non-combustible” aerosolisable material is not combusted or burned in order to facilitate delivery to a user. For example, an aerosol generating component may interact with the aerosolisable material to release one or more volatiles from the aerosolisable material to form an aerosol. The aerosol generating component may be capable of generating an aerosol from the aerosolisable material by applying heat thereto or, for example, via one or more of vibrational, mechanical, pressurisation or electrostatic means.
The aerosolisable material may comprise an active material, an aerosol forming material and optionally one or more functional materials. The active material may comprise nicotine (optionally contained in tobacco or a tobacco derivative) or one or more other non-olfactory physiologically active materials. A non-olfactory physiologically active material is a material which is included in the aerosolisable material in order to achieve a physiological response other than olfactory perception.
The rods of aerosolisable material maybe produced with mouthpieces of different lengths, from about 30 mm to 50 mm. A tipping paper connects the mouthpiece to each rod of aerosolisable material and will usually have a greater length than the mouthpiece, for example from 3 to 10 mm longer, such that the tipping paper covers the mouthpiece and overlaps the rod of aerosolisable material to connect the mouthpiece to the rod. Whilst embodiments of the invention can relate to an apparatus, and a method, for the manufacture of aerosolisable rods using cut rag tobacco, in which the tobacco leaves are shredded into short fine strips, the apparatus described herein can also be used for producing rods in which the tobacco is formed of a plurality of tobacco strands that extend longitudinally along a tobacco rod. The tobacco strands can be formed from a sheet of tobacco material, for example a sheet of reconstituted tobacco, which is slit into a plurality of tobacco strands for incorporation into a tobacco rod. Reconstituted tobacco sheets may be produced, for example, by a paper making process, band casting or extrusion. For example, the reconstituted tobacco sheet may be paper reconstituted tobacco. Paper reconstituted tobacco refers to tobacco material formed by a process in which tobacco feedstock is extracted with a solvent to afford an extract of solubles and a residue comprising fibrous material, and then the extract (usually after concentration, and optionally after further processing) is recombined with fibrous material from the residue (usually after refining of the fibrous material, and optionally with the addition of a portion of non-tobacco fibres) by deposition of the extract onto the fibrous material. The process of recombination resembles the process for making paper. The feedstock may comprise or consist of one or more of tobacco strips, tobacco stems, and/ or whole leaf tobacco. Scraps, fines and winnowings may alternatively or additionally be employed in the feedstock. It will be appreciated that reconstituted tobacco sheet formed by any process may be used.
The reconstituted tobacco sheet used to produce the tobacco strands may comprise glycerol. For example, the reconstituted tobacco sheet maybe impregnated or otherwise formed with glycerol. When heated, the glycerol may be volatilised to form an aerosol, which may enhance user experience of an aerosol-generating device, or any suitable “heat not burn” device, with which the tobacco rod segment maybe used.
In a conventional tobacco rod that has been formed from strands of reconstituted tobacco, the plurality of strands in the tobacco rod extend in a direction along a length of the tobacco rod, and each of the plurality of longitudinal strands are substantially non-coiled. The tobacco strands are substantially parallel to one another and are substantially straight. Each strand extends along substantially the entire length of the tobacco rod. Heating the tobacco strands can release an aerosol for inhalation by a user. Figure 1 shows an example of a rod 1 of aerosolisable material. In the described embodiments, the tobacco industry products are cigarettes, and the rod of aerosolisable material is a tobacco rod. As illustrated, each rod comprises a wrapper 2 containing an aerosolisable material 3 such as tobacco. The rod may include a mouthpiece and/or a filter 4. The filter 4 and the aerosolisable material may be joined together by a joining wrapper (not shown) that circumscribes and at least partially overlaps the filter 4 and the wrapper 2 of the rod 1. The wrapper 2 circumscribing the tobacco 3 is preferably made of paper. The wrapper 2 may, for example, be or comprise one or both of paper and aluminium foil, for example a laminate of paper and aluminium foil. The wrapper 2 may have a glued seam that secures the wrapper 2 about the tobacco rod 3.
During manufacture, a continuous wrapped tobacco rod 1 is formed by wrapping the wrapper 2 about a stream of tobacco material 3. The continuous wrapped tobacco rod is subsequently cut to form individual tobacco industry products 1.
Apparatus for manufacturing the tobacco industry products 1, in particular the tobacco rods 2, is described hereinafter with reference to Figure 2, which is a schematic diagram of part of an apparatus for manufacturing a continuous rod of aerosolisable material.
The apparatus 5 includes a suction conveyor device 6 which receives aerosolisable material 3. Aerosolisable tobacco material 3 is supplied via a vertical feeder. The vertical feeder has a vertical chimney 7 that receives tobacco material 3. The tobacco material 3 is fed into the bottom of the vertical chimney 7, in the direction of arrow “A” in FIG. 1, and is urged upwards towards a foraminous belt 8.
The foraminous belt 8 has suction holes (not visible in FIG. 1) to draw tobacco material 3 upward through the chimney 7 and onto the belt 8. Optionally, air flow is induced within the vertical chimney 7 to urge the tobacco material 3 vertically upwards towards and onto the belt 8.
The belt 8 is driven on rollers 9 such that it has an upper run 10 and a lower run 11. The chimney 7 is disposed beneath the lower run 11 of the belt 8. A suction chamber 12 is located between the upper and lower runs 10, 11 of the belt 8. The suction chamber 12 is a closed box (or similar) defining a closed area within the suction conveyor device 6, which has one or more openings on its lower side, adjacent the lower run 11 of the belt 8. The suction chamber 12 is connected to a vacuum pump via an outlet 13. The belt 8 includes suction holes (not shown) formed through the belt 8.
The belt 8 moves across the upper, open end of the vertical chimney 7, as illustrated in Figure 2. Suction air flow induced by the vacuum pump creates air flow from the chimney 7, through the suction holes in the belt 8 into the suction chamber 12 and outlet 13. This suction air flow draws the tobacco material 3 onto the underside of the lower run 11 of the belt 8. The suction holes are sized such that the tobacco materials 3 are retained on the underside of the lower run 11 of the belt 8 by suction. In this way, the tobacco material 3 is entrained on the belt 8. Guides (not shown) may be provided to guide the tobacco material 3 along the underside of the belt 8 as it circulates.
The belt 8 carries the stream of tobacco material 3 towards a garniture 14. Preferably, as shown in Figure 2, the tobacco material 3 may be trimmed by a trimming unit 15 whilst it is on the belt 8. The trimming unit 15 can include a pair of counter rotating blades 16 that are spaced from lower run 11 of the belt 8 so that they trim the tobacco material 3 to an appropriate thickness prior to delivery of the tobacco 3 to the garniture 14. It will be understood that the strands generally extend in a longitudinal direction parallel or aligned with the direction of movement of the belt 8 as they travel along the belt 8 towards the garniture 14.
In a modification of the embodiment described with reference to Figure 2, one or more additional vertical chimneys 7 and suction conveyors 6 (along with appropriate belts/removal drums) could be arranged in series to create a stream of tobacco material 3 having two or more different types of tobacco material arranged in a profile.
As described above, the stream of tobacco material 3 is transferred from the belt 8 into a garniture 14. The garniture 14 comprises a continuous garniture tape 17 having an upper run 22 that drives a ribbon of wrapping paper 18, lying in frictional contact with the upper run 22, through the garniture 14. The wrapping paper 18 is drawn from a bobbin 19 along a series of rollers 20 (one roller being shown in FIG. 2), and into the garniture 14. The garniture belt 17 is endless and is disposed below the ribbon of paper 18 and circulates about spaced parallel rollers 21. Tobacco material is transferred from the lower run 11 of the belt 8 of the suction conveyor device 6 onto the exposed surface of the ribbon 18 of wrapping paper. In this way, a stream of tobacco material 3 is arranged on the ribbon of paper 18, and the paper 18, together with the tobacco material 3 received upon it, is moved through the garniture 14 by the garniture tape 17.
An adhesive applicator (not illustrated) applies adhesive to the top of the ribbon 18 of paper along one edge, and the garniture 14 includes a wrapping unit 23 through which the ribbon 18 of paper with the tobacco material 3 is conveyed. The wrapping unit 23 has an inlet which tapers from the upstream to the downstream end. In operation, the garniture tape 17 runs along the floor of the channel and the ribbon 18 of paper in frictional contact with the garniture tape 17 is dragged through the channel on top of the tape 17 and progressively wraps the wrapping material 18 around the tobacco stream 3. The function and operation of a garniture 14 for the purpose of forming a continuous wrapped rod 1 of tobacco 3 is well known to persons skilled in the art.
The continuous tobacco rod 1 is cut to the appropriate length for forming tobacco industry products, for example the tobacco industry product 1 shown in Figure 1. In various examples, the continuous tobacco rod is cut on the tobacco rod making machine by a cutter assembly 24. However, the continuous rod maybe cut on subsequent assembly apparatus. In various examples, the continuous tobacco rod can be cut into double-length rods, quadruple-length rods, and so on, and transferred to an assembly machine for further cutting and combining with a filter to produce complete tobacco industry products. In examples, this can be referred to as a ‘two-up’ or ‘four-up’ manufacturing process.
It is known to increase the density of tobacco, or Fill Value, in the continuous tobacco rod formed using the process described above. For example, US 4,574,816 discloses apparatus in which a density monitoring device generates signals representative of the density of successive increments of tobacco in a continuous rod. Those signals are used to vary the pressure generated in the suction chamber, or the rate at which tobacco is fed to a duct which feeds an apron conveyor, and from which a stream of tobacco is attracted to a belt of a suction conveying device. In conventional apparatus, including that disclosed in US 4,574, 816, the belt of the suction conveying device and the garniture tape are controlled so as to run at the same speed. However, the inventors have established that a variation in Fill Value can also be obtained by adapting the speed of the belt 8 of the suction conveying device 6 relative to the speed of the garniture tape 17, i.e. so that they are not travelling at the same speed as each other.
The speed of the belt 8 of the suction conveying device 6 may be controlled to determine the amount of tobacco 3 delivered to the garniture tape 17. For example, by increasing the speed of the belt 8 of the suction conveying device 6 relative to the speed of the garniture tape 17, the amount of tobacco 3 delivered to the garniture tape 17 from the belt 8 will increase per unit length of the garniture tape 17 and the resultant tobacco rods will be more densely packed with tobacco 3. Conversely, if the speed of the belt 8 of the suction conveying device 6 is reduced relative to the speed of the garniture tape 17, the amount of tobacco 3 delivered to the garniture tape 17 from the belt 8 will also be reduced, and the resultant tobacco rods 1 will be less densely packed with tobacco 3. The relative speed of the belt 8 and the tape 17 maybe controlled by a control unit 25. The control unit 25 maybe provided with a user input 26 to enable a user to set the relative speed of the belt 8 and the garniture tape 17. The counter-rotating blades 16 of the trimming unit 15 can also be controlled to compensate for an increase in the speed of the belt 8.
In some embodiments, the control unit 25 may control the speed of the garniture tape independently from the speed of the belt 8. For example, a paper registration kit fitted to the machine can be used to control the speed of the garniture tape 17 so that there is a differential between the speed of the garniture tape 17 and the speed of the belt 8.
The inventors have established that by controlling the relative speed of the belt 8 of the suction conveying device 6 and the garniture belt 17, the problem of controlling the Fill Value of reconsituted tobacco 3 in the final rod 1 is controlled. Whilst controlling the amount of tobacco 3 supplied to the belt 8 of the suction conveying device 6 may be an adequate solution for conventional, cut rag tobacco, in which the height of the tobacco bed attracted to the belt doesn’t overly affect the residual suction available to draw and attract further tobacco onto the belt 8, the strands that form reconstituted tobacco 3 tend to lie flatter on the belt 8 and have a larger surface area to block the suction openings in the belt 8. This tends to limit the height of the tobacco bed and so the amount of tobacco 3 that can be delivered to the garniture tape 17. Independently controlling the speed of the garniture tape 17 and the belt 8 of the suction conveyor 6 so that they travel at different speeds to each other addresses this deficiency.
Other particular and surprising advantages may be obtained when the feed material is reconsituted tobacco 3. For example, altering the speed of the garniture tape 17 relative to the belt 8 of the suction conveying device 6, so that the garniture tape 17 is running at a slower speed than the belt 8 of the suction conveying device 6, would be expected to result in the garniture tape 17 becoming overloaded with tobacco 3. However, it has been found that an increase in the relative speed of the belt 8 of the suction conveying device 6 produced the unexpected advantageous effect of disproportionately increasing the firmness of the resultant tobacco rod, i.e. the firmness of the tobacco rod 1 is increased over and above what might be expected for the increase in the total weight of reconstituted tobacco. Hence, a rod 1 of equivalent firmness to a conventionally made rod can be made using less reconstituted tobacco, by running the belt 8 of the suction conveyor device 6 at a faster speed than the speed of the garniture tape 17.
As explained above, a rod 1 with equivalent firmness obtained by increasing the speed of the belt relative to the garniture tape without altering the rate at which tobacco is delivered to the belt. However, it has also been determined that the pressure drop across a rod 1 may be increased without any significant change in tobacco weight by increasing the speed of the belt relative to the garniture tape, and by controlling the amount of tobacco supplied to the belt so that the quantity of tobacco being delivered onto the garniture tape remained the same as if the belt was travelling at the same speed as the garniture tape. In one test a machine was used to make cigarettes in which the ratio of the speed of the garniture tape 17 to the speed of the belt 8 was set at 1:1, i.e. they were both running at the same speed. It was found that the mean weight across the samples produced using the machine was 559-44mg, and the mean pressure drop was i79.i7mmWg. The same test was carried out, but the machine modified so that the belt 8 was running at a faster speed than the garniture tape 17 and by controlling the amount of tobacco delivered to the belt 8 so that essentially the same amount of tobacco is still delivered to the garniture tape as if the belt 8 was running at the same speed as the garniture tape 17. In the test, the ratio of the speed of the garniture tape 17 to the speed of the belt 8 was 1:1.28, i.e. the belt 8 was run at a speed 28% faster than the garniture tape 17. It was found that the mean weight across the samples produced using the machine was now 505.45mg, and the mean pressure drop was 232.48mmWg. From this test, it is apparent that the pressure drop increased by 53-3immWg with an insignificant change in tobacco weight. In each case, the pressure drop was measured using the same test station (in this case, a Quantum Neo test unit). It was also found that, despite the quantity of tobacco being deposited on the garniture tape being essentially the same as if the belt and the garniture tape were running at the same speed, and weight of the samples being substantially the same, the firmness or hardness of the samples produced when the machine was operating with the belt running faster than the garniture tape also increased.
These benefits are generally obtained because the strands of reconstituted tobacco 3 fold over as they decelerate upon contact with the garniture tape 17. Thus, the strands occupy more volume than if they lie flat, such as when the rod 1 is produced on a conventional machine in which the belt 8 and the garniture tape 17 are running at the same speed. The folded reconstituted tobacco 3 also produces a more tortuous path for the aerosol, so increasing the pressure drop across the rod 1. As used herein, the term ‘aerosolisable material’ includes materials that provide volatilised components upon heating, typically in the form of vapour or an aerosol. In some examples, as described above, the aerosolisable material includes a tobacco material. In other examples, the aerosolisable material consists of a tobacco material, or a blend of different tobacco materials. In other examples, the aerosolisable material is free from tobacco material. The apparatus described herein may be used to manufacture a rod of any aerosolisable material.
In various examples, the tobacco material may have different types of tobacco leaf (e.g. hurley, oriental, Virginia), or different blends of these different types of tobacco leaf. Alternatively or additionally, the tobacco material 3 may be tobacco that is dried, cured or treated differently (e.g. flue-cured, air-cured etc.). Alternatively or additionally, the tobacco material 3 may have different additives. Additives may include, for example flavourants (e.g. menthol) in the form of granules or liquid additives, burn rate modifiers, smoke modifiers etc. Alternatively or additionally, the tobacco material 3 may include tobacco substitutes, for example reconstituted tobacco materials, or blends of tobacco substitutes with tobacco materials. As used herein, the term “tobacco industry product” is intended to include smoking articles comprising combustible smoking articles such as cigarettes, cigarillos, cigars, tobacco for pipes or for roll-your-own cigarettes, (whether based on tobacco, tobacco derivatives, expanded tobacco, reconstituted tobacco, tobacco substitutes or other smokable material), electronic smoking articles such as e-cigarettes, heating devices that release compounds from substrate materials without burning such as tobacco heating products, hybrid systems to generate aerosol from a combination of substrate materials, for example hybrid systems containing a liquid or gel or solid substrate; and aerosol-free nicotine delivery articles such as lozenges, gums, patches, articles comprising breathable powders and smokeless tobacco products such as snus and snuff.
As used herein, the term “tobacco material” refers to any material comprising tobacco or derivatives or substitutes thereof. The term “tobacco material” may include one or more of tobacco, tobacco derivatives, expanded tobacco, reconstituted tobacco or tobacco substitutes. The tobacco material may comprise one or more of ground tobacco, tobacco fibre, cut tobacco, extruded tobacco, tobacco stem, tobacco lamina, reconstituted tobacco and/or tobacco extract.
As used herein, the terms "flavour" and "flavourant" refer to materials which, where local regulations permit, may be used to create a desired taste or aroma in a product for adult consumers. One or more flavours can be used as an aerosol modifying agent and may include extracts (e.g., licorice, hydrangea, Japanese white bark magnolia leaf, chamomile, fenugreek, clove, menthol, Japanese mint, aniseed, cinnamon, herb, wintergreen, cherry, berry, peach, apple, Drambuie, bourbon, scotch, whiskey, spearmint, peppermint, lavender, cardamom, celery, cascarilla, nutmeg, sandalwood, bergamot, geranium, honey essence, rose oil, vanilla, lemon oil, orange oil, cassia, caraway, cognac, jasmine, ylang-ylang, sage, fennel, piment, ginger, anise, coriander, coffee, or a mint oil from any species of the genus Mentha), flavour enhancers, bitterness receptor site blockers, sensorial receptor site activators or stimulators, sugars and/or sugar substitutes (e.g., sucralose, acesulfame potassium, aspartame, saccharine, cyclamates, lactose, sucrose, glucose, fructose, sorbitol, or mannitol), and other additives such as charcoal, chlorophyll, minerals, botanicals, or breath freshening agents. They may be imitation, synthetic or natural ingredients or blends thereof. They may be in any suitable form, for example, oil, liquid, or powder. In order to address various issues and advance the art, the entirety of this disclosure shows byway of illustration various embodiments in which the claimed invention(s) may be practiced and provide for superior apparatus for manufacturing a rod of aerosolisable material, a superior method of manufacturing a rod of aerosolisable material, and a superior rod of aerosolisable material. The advantages and features of the disclosure are of a representative sample of embodiments only, and are not exhaustive and/or exclusive. They are presented only to assist in understanding and teach the claimed features. It is to be understood that advantages, embodiments, examples, functions, features, structures, and/or other aspects of the disclosure are not to be considered limitations on the disclosure as defined by the claims or limitations on equivalents to the claims, and that other embodiments may be utilised and modifications maybe made without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Various embodiments may suitably comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of, various combinations of the disclosed elements, components, features, parts, steps, means, etc.
In addition, the disclosure includes other inventions not presently claimed, but which may be claimed in future.

Claims

Claims l. Apparatus for manufacturing a wrapped rod of aerosolisable material, the apparatus comprising: a control unit; a garniture including a garniture tape on which a ribbon of wrapping material is conveyed and wrapped about a stream of aerosolisable material received on the ribbon of wrapping material; and a suction conveyor device comprising a belt to receive aerosolisable material and for delivering aerosolisable material onto the ribbon of wrapping material as it is conveyed by the garniture tape; wherein the control unit is configured to drive the belt at a speed which is faster than the speed of the garniture tape.
2. The apparatus of claim l, wherein the control unit is configured to drive the belt at a speed that is between 120 to 140% of the speed of the garniture tape.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the control unit is configured to drive the belt at a speed that is 128% of the speed of the garniture tape.
4. The apparatus of any preceding claim, comprising a cutter adapted to cut the continuous rod of aerosolisable material.
5. The apparatus of any of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a feeder disposed below the belt of the suction conveyor device, said feeder being adapted to feed the aerosolisable material to the suction conveyor at a constant feed rate.
6. A method for manufacturing a wrapped rod of aerosolisable material using the apparatus according to any preceding claim, comprising driving the belt of the suction conveyor device at a speed that is faster than the speed of the garniture tape.
7. The method of claim 16, comprising driving the belt at a speed that is between 120 to 140% of the speed of the garniture tape.
8. The method of claim 7, comprising driving the belt at a speed that is 128% of the speed of the garniture tape.
9. A method according to any of claims 6 to 8, comprising controlling the relative speed of the belt of the suction conveyor device and of the garniture tape to produce a rod having a predetermined firmness, and/or a predetermined tobacco Fill Value and/ or a predetermined pressure drop.
10. A method of manufacturing a tobacco industry product, comprising manufacturing a rod of aerosolisable material according to any of claims 6 to 9, and combining the rod of aerosolisable material with a further component.
11. A wrapped rod of aerosolisable material comprising a part of a tobacco industry product manufactured according to the method of any of claims 6 to 10.
EP22736338.9A 2021-06-23 2022-06-23 Apparatus and method for manufacturing a rod of aerosolisable material Pending EP4358752A1 (en)

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GBGB2108972.7A GB202108972D0 (en) 2021-06-23 2021-06-23 Apparatus and method for manufacturing a rod of aerosolisable material
PCT/GB2022/051612 WO2022269270A1 (en) 2021-06-23 2022-06-23 Apparatus and method for manufacturing a rod of aerosolisable material

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US5497794A (en) * 1993-03-29 1996-03-12 Japan Tobacco Inc. Cigarette
JP3807564B2 (en) * 1996-10-15 2006-08-09 日本たばこ産業株式会社 Cigarette supply device
JP2001204454A (en) * 2000-01-31 2001-07-31 Japan Tobacco Inc Method for producing cigarette and cigarette production unit

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