GB1342931A - Smoking articles - Google Patents

Abstract

1342931 Treating tobacco rod; filters BRITISH-AMERICAN TOBACCO CO Ltd 4 Oct 1971 [7 Oct 1970 5 Aug 1971] 46007/71 and 36901/71 Divided out of 1336433 Heading A2C An additive is introduced into rod material for a smoking article, i.e. tobacco rod or filter rod, by needleless injection at. intervals along the length of the rod. The additive may influence the nature of the tobacco smoke and/or the burn characteristics and/or the physical properties of the tobacco rod of a cigarette or cigar, and the injection process may also provide ventilation holes in a wrapped tobacco rod. The tobacco rod may be of natural or reconstituted tobacco or tobacco substitute. Filter rod may be made of cellulose acetate or extruded polyethylene or polypropylene foam material and the additive may be injected before or after the rod is wrapped. If more than one additive is to be injected, more than one nozzle, each with an associated pump for delivering measured quantities, is employed. Suitable additives for filter rod are solutions or dispersions of organic or inorganic acidic or alkaline material or a slurry, e.g. of carbon, alumina, finely divided metals such as zinc, or small beads of ionexchange material. Specific substances mentioned are manganese dioxide, zinc oxide or acetate, polyethylene imines, lithium chloride, sodium carbonate, trisodium phosphate, ethylenediamene diacetate and zeolites, and for smoke flavour modification, menthol, sweetening agents, &c. Suitable substances for addition to tobacco rod are solutions of organic or inorganic acidic or alkaline materials, or slurries e.g. of carbon, chalk, zinc oxide. Such additives, which may be humectants, tobacco extracts &c, include cane sugar, invert sugar, liquorice, cocoa, maple syrup, citric acid, tartaric acid, &c. Both the tobacco rod section and the filter section of a cigarette may be treated. As shown, a single additive is injected into a rod 11 by a nozzle 7 fed by a pump, both pump and nozzle being of the kind used for fuel injection in I.C. engines. The rod is supported as it passes through the apparatus by a spring-loaded plunger 12.