JP2010512778A - Smoking filter - Google Patents

Abstract

  A filter comprising a first section and a second section, the first section being located on the mouth end side of the filter and comprising a hollow cylindrical element wound around a wrapper, the second section being a first section A filter that is longitudinally aligned with and adjacent to a section and contains filter material. The second section includes a particulate material in its circumferential region, the particulate material extending to an end of the second section located in the immediate vicinity of the first section. Also provided is a smoking article incorporating a filter according to the present invention.

Description

  The present invention relates to a smoking article filter and a smoking article incorporating a filter element.

  Smoking articles and their filters vary from market to market due to many different factors such as consumer preferences and traditions. In certain markets, a filter having a recess in the mouth end that is used to lengthen the entire filter is preferred. This recess is obtained by wrapping a plug made of a filter material with a plug wrap extending beyond the end of the plug at the mouth end of the filter. The portion of the plug wrap that extends beyond the mouth end of the filter wraps more than a conventional cigarette plug wrap, for example, to minimize damage or deformation that can occur during packaging or handling by smokers or smoking. Thick plug wrap is used. Such plug wraps have a basis weight up to four times that of conventional plug wraps, and thus are more resistant to deformation and provide a high degree of rigidity at the mouth end of the filter. However, the need for such a thick plug wrap means that conventional (more economical) plug wraps cannot be used for filters with recesses at the ends, and the process of providing ventilation holes in the filter, especially online in the filter This is a problem in the process of making holes in the laser and means that a high level of ventilation cannot be obtained.

  Various known filter configurations are disclosed in British Patent Nos. 2303324, 2170695, 2150415, 2150413, 2135865, 0781654, WO99 / 65343 and US Pat. No. 3,396,733. Has been.

  The present invention includes a first section and a second section, the first section being located on the suction end side of the filter, having a hollow portion extending over the inside thereof, and a cylindrical shape wound around a wrapper A second section is longitudinally aligned with and adjacent to the first section to provide a filter for smoking articles including a filter material. The second section includes a particulate material in its circumferential region, and the particulate material extends to the end of the second section located in the immediate vicinity of the first section.

  It is well known to use particulate materials such as carbon or activated carbon in tobacco smoke filter elements to reduce the vapor phase component of smoke. As a method of including carbon or other additives in a filter, a method of adhering additive particles to a wrapper enclosing a filter element is known. British Patent Nos. 2,260,477 and 2,261,152 describe various forms of additive bonding. In some situations, granular carbon is more likely to spill from the filter end when provided at the end of the filter section. This is undesirable because the granular carbon can break apart and enter the smoker's mouth. The provision of a first filter section with a hollow interior at the mouth end of the filter helps to prevent the particulate material from spilling out while maintaining the appearance of the filter recess.

  The particulate material may extend over the entire length of the second section. The particulate material may be distributed over the entire width of the wrapper. In this case, the granular material may cover the entire surface of the wrapper, but the seam is coated with an adhesive and left uncovered with the granular material so that the wrapper is sealed around the filter material. May be. Alternatively, the particulate material may be disposed only over a portion of the length of the wrapper. Similarly, the particulate material may be disposed over only a portion of the width of the wrapper.

  The particulate material may be distributed over two or more portions of the second section. These two or more portions are preferably located at a distance from each other in the circumferential direction.

  Alternatively, these two or more portions may include three, four, five, six, seven or eight portions.

  In some embodiments, the filter material of the second section may further include particulate material interspersed with the filter material.

  The granular material scattered in the filter material may be the same as the granular material provided in the circumferential region of the second section of the plug wrap. Apart from this, the granular material scattered in the filter material may be different from the granular material provided in the circumferential region of the second section of the plug wrap.

  In some embodiments, the wrapper may further include ventilation means. For example, the ventilation means may include one or more ventilation holes provided in a gap between the two or more parts.

  Typically, the cylindrical element has a thickness (in the radial direction) sufficient to prevent at least a portion of the particulate material from moving. In other words, the cylindrical element serves as a physical barrier located at the mouth end of the particulate material to prevent the particulate material from escaping from the second section of the filter. The thickness of the cylindrical element is in the range of 1 to 4 mm, preferably 1 to 3 mm.

The cylindrical element is preferably surrounded by a wrapper, and the wrapper is preferably a plug wrap. The plug wrap having less than 50 g / ^{m 2,} less than 45 g / ^{m 2,} less than 40 g / ^{m 2,} less than 35 g / ^{m 2,} or a basis weight of less than 30 g / ^{m 2.} This plug wrap may have a basis weight equivalent to a conventional plug wrap (wrapper), ie a basis weight of about 23 to 27 g / m ² .

  In a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a smoking article comprising a filter according to the present invention.

Preferably, the particulate material is an adsorbent (eg, selected from activated carbon, charcoal, silica gel, leptite, alumina, ion exchange material, etc.), pH modifier (eg, alkaline material such as Na ₂ CO ₃ , acidic material). , Flavoring agents, other solid additives and mixtures thereof.

  The particulate material is advantageously selected from the group of relatively high surface area materials that can adsorb smoke components without a high degree of specificity. Suitable adsorbents include carbon, activated carbon, activated charcoal, activated coconut carbon, activated coal-based carbon or charcoal, zeolite, silica gel, gypsum, aluminum oxide (active or inactive), carbonaceous resin or combinations thereof Can be selected from the group consisting of

  Examples of suitable coal-based charcoal include those made from semi-anthracite coal that is about 50% denser than coconut-based charcoal (available from Calgon Carbon, Pittsburgh, USA).

  Examples of suitable carbonic resins include those obtained by thermal decomposition of sulfonated styrene-divinylbenzene, such as Ambersorb 572 or Ambersorb 563 (available from Rohm and Hass). Metal oxides or other metal-based complexes may optionally be included or impregnated in the general adsorbent section to increase the efficiency of the general adsorbent.

  In one embodiment, the particulate material used in the present invention is carbon, such as activated carbon or charcoal or other adsorbent. In one aspect, the activated carbon is preferably activated coconut carbon. The particulate material used in the present invention may all be a single substance or a mixture and / or may be a mixture with other materials.

  In one aspect, the particulate material is disposed in two separate regions spaced circumferentially from one another. Alternatively, the particulate material may be placed in three, four, five, six, seven or eight separate regions spaced circumferentially from one another. Furthermore, you may arrange | position a granular material to more area | regions as needed.

  Each individual region or portion of the granular material is composed of the same or different granular material as the other regions. In one aspect, the granular material in each region is preferably the same.

  In one aspect, the particulate material may be provided in two or more portions on the inner surface in the longitudinal direction of the wrapper.

  In one aspect, the particulate material is disposed on the circumferential inner surface of the wrapper so that the wrapper has longitudinally extending overlapping edges that provide a seam free of particulate material to hold the wrapper around the core. Is done.

  The particulate material may extend continuously over the entire length of the wrapper in the longitudinal direction. The term “continuously” as used herein means that the granular material is provided so that the filling amount at any point in the longitudinal direction of the wrapper is the same (or substantially the same) as the filling amount at other points. Further, “continuously” means that when the granular material exists at a certain point in the longitudinal direction of the wrapper, there is no portion that does not include the granular material at other points. The particulate material is preferably applied continuously in the longitudinal direction of the wrapper (eg, plug wrap). The particulate material is preferably present as a continuous flow (eg, without breaks or gaps) along the longitudinal axis of the wrapper. In other words, the particulate material is continuously disposed along the longitudinal axis of the wrapper.

  The particulate material may be disposed continuously over the entire width of the wrapper.

  In some embodiments, the particulate material may be present in a patch.

  The wrapper of the filter element is preferably a paper wrapper. The wrapper is preferably a conventional plug wrap.

  In one aspect, the wrapper may be a conventional plug wrap that covers the core 360 degrees, where the plug wrap has overlapping seams that hold the wrapper around the core.

  In one embodiment, the filter element of the present invention has a filter material interspersed with granular materials, and a plug wrap that covers the filter material by 360 degrees.

  In another aspect, the wrapper (especially the plug wrap) preferably does not extend 360 degrees around the filter material. In other words, in one aspect, the wrapper is preferably a split wrapper. A split wrapper is a wrapper that extends circumferentially around a filter material but extends less than 360 degrees around the circumference of the filter material. In such an embodiment, there are no overlapping seams to hold the wrapper around the filter material. Instead, the split wrapper is held in place by other known means such as bonding the wrapper directly to the filter material.

  The wrapper used for the filter element may be porous or non-porous.

  The wrapper used for the filter element may be provided with a ventilation hole or may not be provided with a ventilation hole.

  The filter material of the second section may comprise (or consist of) conventionally used fibrous cellulose acetate, polypropylene or polyethylene material or gathered paper.

  The filter material preferably contains cellulose acetate.

  In one embodiment, the second section filter material is a Dalmatian filter material.

  The particulate material may be dispersed throughout the filter material. Alternatively, the particulate material may be scattered in several parts (not all) of the filter. These portions may be distributed uniformly or non-uniformly.

  The particulate material adhered to the wrapper may be homogeneous in the sense that it is composed of substantially the same components (in some embodiments, preferably all the same). Alternatively, the particulate material adhered to the wrapper may be heterogeneous in the sense that it is composed of two or more different components. The particulate material adhered to the wrapper may contact the filter material. Part or all of the particulate material adhered to the wrapper is preferably in contact with the filter material. In some embodiments, it is preferred that substantially all of the particulate material adhered to the wrapper is in contact with the filter material.

  The filter is preferably connected to a smokable (eg tobacco) rod by a chipping wrapper. The chipping wrapper is advantageously paper.

  In one aspect, the filter may include one or more additional sections. These additional sections will be located at the tobacco rod end of the filter. One, two, three or more additional filter sections may be provided in the filter. These additional filter sections may be any type of filter section known to those skilled in the art. These filter sections are preferably arranged in the longitudinal direction with the end of each filter element in contact with the end of the adjacent filter element.

  The wrapper surrounding the second section of the filter is preferably precoated with particulate material.

  The particulate material may be adhered to the wrapper with a hot melt adhesive (eg, various polyester adhesives), a high melting point polyethylene glycol or an emulsion type adhesive such as PVA.

  The particulate material may be bonded directly or indirectly to the wrapper. As an example of direct bonding, there is a method of bonding a granular material to a wrapper (on its inner surface or the like) with a suitable adhesive. As an example of indirect bonding, the particulate material is bonded to an intermediate layer (another suitable support matrix such as paper or fiber material, or a combination thereof) with a suitable adhesive, and the intermediate layer is bonded to a suitable adhesive. The method of sticking to a wrapper (the inner surface etc.) is mentioned.

  The additional filter section may be composed of conventionally used fibrous cellulose acetate, polypropylene or polyethylene material or gathered paper. These additional filter sections may optionally contain one or more additives, for example the above mentioned flavors that are released or eluted from the filter element in use may be further arranged on or in the material of the filter element.

  The cylindrical element of the filter section on the mouthpiece side is made of various materials such as cellulose acetate tow, cellulose, paper, paper, cotton, polypropylene web, polypropylene tow, polyester web, polyester tow or combinations thereof. Good

  Further, the pressure drop and / or mechanical filtration efficiency of the filter section can be selected to obtain the desired smoking mechanism and filtration characteristics required by the desired specific product design.

  A part of the filter may contain a catalyst. Advantageously, the catalyst facilitates the conversion of carbon monoxide (CO) in the vapor phase of smoke into carbon dioxide (CO2). As the catalyst, a catalyst having a high selectivity for carbon monoxide is particularly preferable. The catalyst is preferably one of the group consisting of fiber metal oxide, silica, alumina, zeolite, impregnated carbon, for example carbon impregnated with metal.

  Filters and / or smoking articles according to the present invention may include ventilation means. For example, the ventilation means may include one or more holes provided in a wrapper that engages around the second section of filter material. The holes are advantageously provided in the region of the wrapper where the particulate material is not bonded. In most cases, the ventilation holes are formed by piercing the filter wrapper with a laser. If carbon particles are present in areas that require ventilation, the laser can cause a spark to scatter when drilling. This problem is addressed by placing ventilation holes in the gaps between the parts of the granular material.

  The ventilation means may include perforations provided in the tipping paper used to interconnect the filter and the packaged smokable filler (eg, tobacco) rod.

  Alternatively, the ventilation means may be provided by using a combination of perforated plug paper and porous chipping paper. Porous chipping paper may be porous throughout it or only locally to the extent that it is aligned with the perforated plug paper located below it.

  Further, ventilation means may be provided at or near the end of the packaged smokable filler (eg tobacco) rod. Ventilation means may be provided in a cigarette paper wrapper that wraps chipping paper or a filler (eg, tobacco).

  The filter is preferably attached to a packaged smokable filler rod (eg, a packaged tobacco rod) by conventional overwrap using tipping paper to form a smoking article. The wrinkle packaging with the tipping paper may be ventilated or not ventilated.

  The length of the smoking material rod is advantageously at least 60 mm, so that the rod is preferably smoked 6 puffs or more, more preferably 7 puffs or more when smoked under standard machine smoking conditions. There must be. The rod is preferably of uniform cross-sectional shape and dimensions throughout its length.

  The wrapper enclosing the smoking article may include a combustion additive such as sodium citrate and / or potassium citrate. Other suitable combustion additives such as sodium or potassium salts such as acetate and tartrate, monoammonium phosphate and disodium monohydrogen phosphate are also well known to those skilled in the art. The combustion additive is present in the range of 0.5 to 2.5% by weight of the wrapper.

  The smoking article wrapper may alternatively or additionally be a non-paper wrapper such as the wrapper described in International Patent Application Publications WO 96/07336 and WO 01/41590. Such a wrapper reduces sidestream smoke components, but provides a smoking article having similar combustion and ash-forming properties as a conventional product, i.e., the wrapper burns and ashes a smoking article like the conventional product. .

  Suitably the smokable filler is a tobacco-containing material or a tobacco substitute material. The smokable material is preferably a tobacco material. Suitably, the tobacco material comprises one or more of petioles, leaf pieces, tobacco dust and regenerated tobacco. The tobacco material preferably includes one or more of Virginia or fire-dried tobacco, burley tobacco, oriental tobacco, regenerated tobacco. More preferably the smokable material comprises a blend of tobacco materials. The smokable materials are 10-80% Virginia tobacco, 10-60% Burley tobacco, 0-20% Oriental tobacco, 0-120% regenerated tobacco, 0-30% expanded tobacco. Is advantageously included.

  As used herein, the term “carbon” is considered to cover all carbon precursors, such as materials consisting essentially of carbon and carbonaceous materials. As used herein, the term “carbonaceous” includes materials that have been pyrolyzed and preferably contain carbon, although some unburned material may be present. For example, easily pyrolyzed coconut fiber is a carbonaceous material from which carbon can be obtained.

  As used herein, the term “smoking material” or “smokable filler” includes any material that can be used in a smoking article. It does not mean that the material itself will necessarily sustain combustion.

  The term “smoking article” as used herein refers to any product used in the tobacco industry and includes smokeable products or similar products that provide aerosols to smokers. Smoking articles include cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos and similar products.

  The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings so that the present invention can be clearly understood and easily implemented.

It is longitudinal direction sectional drawing of the filter which has a recessed part in the conventional suction mouth end. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a filter according to an aspect of the present invention. It is the end view seen from the mouth end of the filter by one mode of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a filter according to another aspect of the present invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the filter by another structure of this invention.

FIG. 1 shows a filter 1 mounted on a tobacco rod 2 (only a portion is shown) to form a cigarette. The filter 1 includes a cellulose acetate plug 3 (filter material) packaged in a plug wrap 4. The plug wrap 4 is longer than the cellulose acetate plug 3 and protrudes beyond the cellulose acetate plug at the mouth end of the filter 1 to form a recess typically having a depth of about 5 mm. The length of the protruding portion of the plug wrap 4 is indicated by the reference character x in FIG. The filter 1 is attached to the tobacco rod by a chipping wrapper 5 in a conventional manner. The plug wrap 4 is typically a wrapper having a high basis weight of, for example, 100 g / cm ^{2 in} order to give the filter 1 rigidity.

  FIG. 2 shows a filter 1 according to the invention, in which the first section at its mouth end comprises a tubular plug made of cellulose acetate 6 having a hollow center, indicated by reference numeral 7 in FIG. The filter 1 has a second section adjacent to the first section at the tobacco rod end of the filter 1. The second section includes a plug made of cellulose acetate filter material wrapped in a plug wrap 4, and the plug wrap 4 also wraps the cellulose acetate plug 6 of the first section. Alternatively, the plugs 3 and 6 may be wrapped with different plug wraps. The filter 1 is attached to the tobacco rod by standard chipping paper 5 to form a cigarette. The plug wrap 4 and / or the chipping wrapper 5 may be provided with ventilation means (not shown) in an amount depending on the particular product at any point on their face. The cellulose acetate plug 6 of the first filter section has a length of, for example, 7 mm, provides rigidity to the mouth end of the filter 1 and allows the use of a conventional plug wrap 4 without loss of strength.

  FIG. 3 shows an end face on the mouth side of the filter of FIG. A cylindrical cellulose acetate plug 6 forms a hollow core 7 extending in the longitudinal direction along the center of the plug 6. A plug 3 made of the cellulose acetate filter material of the second section is visible at the far end of this hollow core. The thickness of the cylindrical cellulose acetate plug 6 is determined by the outer surface of the plug 9 and the inner surface of the plug 8. This thickness, indicated by the reference letter z in FIG. 3, may vary depending on the desired size of the recess at the mouth end of the filter 1. A cylindrical cellulose acetate plug 6 is wound around a plug wrap (not shown) and surrounded by a chipping wrapper (not shown) to join the filter 1 to a tobacco rod to form a cigarette. The inner surface of the plug of the first filter section may have any desired shape and is thus shaped so that the hollow core 7 can be recognized.

  The filter 1 of FIG. 4 includes all the features of the filter of FIG. 2 and shows the same features using the same reference numerals, which filter of the plug wrap 4 surrounding the cellulose acetate plug 3 of the second filter section. It further has granular activated carbon 10 bonded to the inner surface. The activated carbon 10 extends over the entire length of the second section, and its length is 20 mm. The wall thickness of the cellulose acetate plug of the first filter section covers the activated carbon at the abutment position between the first and second filter sections, and the activated carbon breaks down into the first filter section, or the filter 1 It is thick enough to prevent it from coming out of the mouth end.

  FIG. 5 shows a filter 1 that includes all the features of the filter of FIG. The granular activated carbon 10 extends only over a part of the plug wrap 4 surrounding the cellulose acetate plug 3 of the second filter section. The activated carbon 10 extends from the end of the cellulose acetate plug 3 closest to the mouth end of the filter 1 toward the tobacco rod 2 at a position separated along the plug 3.

  All the publications mentioned in this specification shall be referred to in this specification. The content of British Patent Application No. 0613483 filed on July 6, 2006 by the applicant of the present application is also incorporated herein by reference. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the method and system of the present invention without departing from the scope of the invention. Although the invention has been described with reference to certain preferred embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to these embodiments. Of course, various modifications of the above-described form for carrying out the invention which are obvious to those skilled in the art also fall within the scope of the following claims.

Claims (18)

  A filter comprising a first section and a second section, the first section being located on the mouth end side of the filter and comprising a hollow cylindrical element wound around a wrapper, the second section being a first section A second section that is longitudinally aligned with and adjacent to the section, includes filter material, and the second section includes granular material in its circumferential region, the granular material being proximate to the first section; A filter that extends to the end of the filter.   2. A filter according to claim 1, wherein the particulate material extends over the entire length of the second section.   3. A filter according to claim 1 or 2, wherein two or more portions of the circumferential region of the second section contain particulate material.   The filter according to claim 3, wherein the two or more portions are spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction.   5. The filter of claim 4, wherein the two or more portions are disposed in a control around the second section.   6. The filter according to claim 1, wherein the wrapper surrounds the second section, and the granular material is adhered to the surface of the wrapper.   7. A filter according to claim 6, wherein the particulate material is adhered to the inner surface of the wrapper surrounding the second section.   The filter according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the particulate material is an adsorbent.   The filter according to claim 8, wherein the granular material is activated carbon.   The filter according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the second section further includes a granular material scattered in the filter material.   A cylindrical element has a wall formed by its outer wall surface and a hollow portion extending through the element, the wall being granular in the circumferential region of the second section at the abutment position of the first and second sections 11. A filter according to any one of the preceding claims, having a thickness that at least partially covers the material.   The filter according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the wrapper surrounding the first section is a plug wrap. 13. A filter according to claim 12, wherein the plug wrap has a basis weight of less than 50 g / m < ² >.   14. A filter according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cylindrical element of the first section comprises cellulose acetate.   15. A filter according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising at least one additional filter section at the tobacco rod end of the filter.   A smoking article comprising the filter according to any one of claims 1 to 15.   The filter described with reference to the accompanying drawings.   Smoking article described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

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