JP2010531151A - Patterned wrapping paper with increased chalk level - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a wrapping paper for use in smoking articles, particularly cigarette manufacture. A wrapping paper for cigarette manufacture is disclosed that includes a laterally extending strip region 26 applied by a printing technique such as gravure printing. The band region is preferably applied in two layers 50, 52, one layer containing starch and the second layer comprising a combination of starch and calcium carbonate. The ratio of calcium carbonate weight to starch weight in the banded region is greater than about 35%.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  This disclosure relates generally to smoking articles, and more particularly to banded wrappers for use in cigarette manufacture.

US patent application Ser. No. 60 / 924,666

“Standard Test Method for Measuring Ignition Strength of Smoking Articles”, “ASTM E 2187-04”

The smoking article includes a tobacco rod formed of a base web whose wrapping paper has a nominal permeability. Additional material sections are preferably added to the base web such that the sections extend laterally of the base web and are spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal direction of the base web. Preferably, each compartment is added to the base web in two layers, one layer preferably comprising starch and another layer preferably comprising a mixture of starch and calcium carbonate.
Although merely a preferred arrangement, by adding a starch layer over a layer containing a mixture of starch and calcium carbonate, the reflectance of the compartment of the additive material will change, which is the reflection of the base web. The enhanced reflectivity of the calcium carbonate content, which varies from the rate to the degree that facilitates the predicted machine vision inspection for such variations, can overwhelm the machine vision detection operation, Shielded by a superposed layer of starch without calcium content. Thus, the optical inspection of the additional material section is enhanced. Furthermore, the reflectivity to the front side of the base web is substantially uniform, so the presence of additional material sections is not visually apparent when viewed by the consumer from the opposite side of the base web.
Many objects and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading this specification together with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals are applied to like elements.

1 is a schematic perspective view of a smoking article according to the present disclosure. FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a wrapping paper according to the present disclosure. FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2. It is the schematic of wrapping paper printing and inspection.

  In accordance with this specification, the smoking article 20 (see FIG. 1) can include a tobacco rod 22 formed of wrapping paper 23. The wrapping paper 23 surrounds a certain amount of tobacco 24 so as to create a generally circular cylindrical tobacco rod 22, although the tobacco rod 22 may be oval or other cross-sectional shapes. One end 28 of the tobacco rod 22 is ignitable and may be referred to as the “ignition end” for reference purposes. The second end 30 of the tobacco rod 22 may be referred to as the “tip end” or “labial end” for reference purposes. If desired, a filter 32 can be provided at the labial end 30 of the tobacco rod 22 to remove certain components from tobacco smoke during use of the smoking article 20. Typically, the filter 32 is attached to the tobacco rod 22 by a tip paper 32.

  Between the first and second ends 28 and 30 of the tobacco rod 22, the wrapping paper 23 has a compartment or region 26 of additional material. The additional material section 26 preferably extends circumferentially at spaced locations about the tobacco rod 22 of the smoking article 20. Although the present disclosure discloses the additional material compartment 26 as being substantially continuous in its circumferential direction, other shapes of the additional material fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, the additional material section 26 may be substantially continuous as shown, or a C-shaped section disposed substantially symmetrically when viewed in a cross-section transverse to the longitudinal axis 34 of the tobacco rod 22. Or it may have one or more longitudinally extending separations to form several arcuate portions. Further, the additional material section 26 may be two or more spaced apart from each other along the axis 34 by a distance that typically does not exceed the width of the ring measured in a direction generally parallel to the axis 34 of the tobacco rod 22. Can be separated into substantially ring-shaped parts. The spacing configuration provides a “slit” in the band structure. As taught in commonly assigned U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 60 / 924,666, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, compartment 26 includes tobacco rod 22. It is also within the assumption of the disclosure of the present invention that a plurality of patches can be included that are circumferentially arranged around and the patches of the adjacent compartments 26 are circumferentially displaced from the patches of the adjacent compartments according to a predetermined pattern. is there.

For purposes of illustrating the present invention, an additional material section 26 is added to the wrapping paper 23 to provide improved ignition tendency characteristics and improved self-extinguishing characteristics.
Ignition tendency as described in “ASTM E 2187-04” entitled “Standard Test Method for Measuring Ignition Intensity of Smoking Articles”, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. It is a standard test conducted in The ignition tendency measures the probability that a smoking article will generate enough heat to maintain the smoldering of the tobacco rod when smoldered and placed on the carrier. Low ignition tendency values are desirable because such values correlate with reducing the likelihood of burning the underlying carrier when smoldering smoking articles remain inadvertently left unattended. .

  The self-extinguishing properties in this specification refer to the smoldering properties of smoking articles under spontaneous combustion conditions. In order to evaluate self-extinguishing properties, laboratory tests are performed at a temperature of 23 ° C. ± 3 ° C. and a relative humidity of 55% ± 5%, both values should be monitored by a temperature and humidity recorder. An exhaust hood removes the combustion products formed during the test. Prior to testing, the smoking articles to be tested are conditioned for 24 hours at a relative humidity of 55% ± 5% and a temperature of 23 ° C. ± 3 ° C. Just prior to testing, the smoking article is placed in a glass beaker to ensure access to free air.

  The SE test is performed in a housing or a test box. A single port smoking machine or electric lighter is used to ignite the smoking article for testing. During testing, the device or “angle holder” holds the smoking article to be tested by holding the end at 0 ° (horizontal), 45 °, and / or 90 ° (vertical). Preferably, twenty (20) smoking articles are tested at each of the 0 °, 45 °, and 90 ° positions. If more than one device is used, they are preferably arranged so that the smoking articles face away from each other to avoid mutual interference. If the smoking article disappears before the smoldering charcoal front reaches the tip paper, the result will be recorded as “self-extinguishing” while the smoking article will remain until the smoldering charcoal front reaches the tip paper. If smoldering continues, the result is recorded as “non-self extinguishing”. Thus, for example, a self-extinguishing value of 95% indicates that 95% of the tested smoking articles exhibited self-extinguishing properties under spontaneous combustion conditions, while a 20% self-extinguishing value of the tested smoking articles It shows that 20% showed self-extinguishing properties under natural combustion conditions.

The self-extinguishing value can be referred to by “self-extinguishing value at 0 °”, “self-extinguishing value at 45 °”, or “self-extinguishing value at 90 °”, and each value of self-extinguishing property at a specified test angle. Means. Further, the self-extinguishing value is “average value of three angular positions”, ie, (i) “self-extinguishing value at 0 °”, (ii) “self-extinguishing value at 45 °”, and (iii) “90 °. It can be referred to by the “self-extinguishing average value” which means the average value of “self-extinguishing value”. Reference to “self-extinguishing value” does not distinguish between self-extinguishing value at 0 °, self-extinguishing value at 45 °, self-extinguishing value at 90 °, or self-extinguishing average value, and refer to either of them Can do.
As used herein, the phrase “self-extinguishing under natural combustion conditions” or “self-extinguishing under natural combustion conditions” is used to smolder without smoke when the cigarette is subjected to or exposed to natural combustion conditions. Refer to the self-extinguishing properties of cigarettes.

  The additional material section 26 is adjusted by determining the ignition tendency and self-extinguishing characteristics of the smoking article 20. Those compartments 26 of additional material are added to the base web 40 (see FIG. 2) of the wrapping paper 23. The permeability of the base web 40 can be in the range of about 25 to about 100 coresta. Currently, the preferred permeability of the base web is in the range of about 33 to about 65 coresta, with the most preferred permeability being about 33 and about 60. The base web 40 has a longitudinal direction 42 extending along the length direction of the wrapping paper 23 and a transverse direction across the width of the wrapping paper 23 so as to be substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction 42 or laterally. And a lateral direction 44 extending.

  Those compartments 26 of additive material can be applied to the base web 40 preferably by printing techniques. One or more printing techniques selected from the group consisting of direct printing, offset printing, ink jet printing, gravure printing, and the like can be used to add the compartment 26, but preferably gravure printing. The process will be used. Gravure printing provides sufficient control over deposition speed, deposition pattern, etc. and is suitable for high speed printing on the base web 40. For the purposes of the present invention, “high speed” printing refers to a printing process in which the base web 40 advances forward through the printing process at a linear speed greater than about 300 feet / minute. For cigarette manufacturing purposes, base web printing speeds greater than 450 feet / minute are preferred, and speeds greater than or greater than 500 feet / minute are more preferred. In this context, when the wrapping paper prepared by the high speed printing process is compared to the wrapping paper prepared by the low speed printing process, the rate of deposition of the additive material is similar to the quality of the deposited additive material pattern. It has been found to vary significantly. Surprisingly, it has been found that faster printing operations achieve an improved situation where the desired ignition tendency value (performance) and the desired self-extinguishing value (performance) occur essentially simultaneously.

  One purpose of this document is to provide a wrapping paper 23 (FIG. 2) produced at high speed on a commercial scale that exhibits an ignition tendency value not exceeding 25 and a self-extinguishing value not exceeding 50 when formed on a tobacco rod 22. Reference). Thus, the deposition rate and properties of the resulting printed area are important features of high speed printing in this case. Their ignition tendency and self-extinguishing value are considered appropriate at the present time, but it is more preferred that the ignition tendency value of the resulting smoking article does not exceed about 15, the most of the resulting smoking article being A preferred ignition tendency value is not to exceed about 10. Lower self-extinguishing values are also desirable. In this regard, more preferred self-extinguishing values are less than about 25, and most preferred self-extinguishing values are less than about 10.

  In order to obtain their preferred ignition tendency and self-extinguishing properties, the compartment of the additional material 26 is preferably prepared in two layers 50, 52 (see FIG. 3). Preferably, a first layer 50 of additive material is provided on one side of the base web 40 at a first gravure printing station. After drying, a second layer 52 of additional material is provided on the wrapping paper. Preferably, the second layer 52 is superposed on the first layer 50 and arranged substantially coextensively.

  The materials used for the layers 50, 52 have been found to be important in the ignition tendency and self-extinguishing performance of smoking articles made using the wrapping paper described herein. More particularly, one of the layers 50, 52 is preferably printed using a starch solution. The use of water-insoluble starch solutions is also within the spirit and scope of the present invention, although starch aqueous solutions are currently preferred because the aqueous components easily dry. The other of the layers 50, 52 is preferably printed using a solution comprising a mixture of calcium carbonate (chalk) particles and starch. Similar to the first layer, the second layer is preferably added as an aqueous solution, although non-aqueous solutions are within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

The relative thicknesses of these layers need not be the same and are preferably different. For example, the layer containing starch and calcium carbonate can be at least about 1.5 times the thickness of the starch layer. More preferably, the layer containing starch and calcium carbonate can be at least about twice the thickness of the starch layer. More preferably, the layer containing starch and calcium carbonate can be at least about 2.5 times the thickness of the starch layer. Most preferably, the layer containing starch and calcium carbonate can be at least about 3 times the thickness of the starch layer.
Although many types of starch are contemplated, tapioca starch is presently preferred for the starch component of layers 50,52. A suitable commercially available starch is “FLO-MAX8”, commercially available from “Nata1 Starch & Chema1 Co.”.

  Similarly, many types of calcium carbonate particles are considered within the spirit and scope of the present invention. However, calcium carbonate currently available from “So1vay Chemicals, Inc.” as “SOCAL 31” is a suitable commercially available calcium carbonate. “SOCAL 31” is an ultrafine precipitated form of calcium carbonate having an average particle size of about 70 nm (nanometers). Larger particles of calcium carbonate are used in greater amounts, at least in part because larger particles tend to precipitate more quickly from solution, and at least in part to obtain the useful properties described herein. It has been observed that it does not function as well in this application compared to the ultra-fine precipitated form of calcium carbonate because of the need.

Surprisingly, the CaCO ₃ / starch ratio can be a significant factor in determining the ignition tendency and self-extinguishing performance of smoking articles made from the wrapping paper of the present invention prepared by high speed printing. Has been found. The CaCO ₃ / starch ratio is determined as the weight ratio of calcium carbonate to starch for the additive material compartment 26, ie for both layers. More particularly, a CaCO ₃ / starch ratio of at least about 35% is preferred to obtain an ignition tendency and self-extinguishing properties (0) performance of less than about 25%. More preferred is a CaCO ₃ / starch ratio of at least about 45% to obtain an ignition tendency and self-extinguishing properties (0) performance of less than about 20%.
If desired, the layer 50 (see FIG. 3) printed on the base web 40 can be a starch layer, and the layer 52 can be a layer containing a mixture of starch and calcium carbonate. The presently preferred arrangement, however, is to place a mixture of starch and calcium carbonate in the first layer 50 and add only the starch in another layer 52.

It has been observed that (i) the optical reflectivity of the base web 40 and (ii) the optical reflectivity of the mixture of starch and calcium carbide are quite similar. In fact, the two reflectivities are sufficiently similar that an optical inspection instrument may have operational difficulties. On the other hand, it has been observed that (i) the optical reflectance of the base web 40 and (ii) the optical reflectance of the starch-containing layer are substantially different.
In order to enhance the optical inspection properties of the wrapping paper of the present invention, the different reflectance properties of the layers 50, 52 are advantageously used. Optical inspection of the wrapping paper is materially enhanced with a starch layer deposited on top of the starch-calcium-carbonate. More particularly (see FIG. 4), the web 40 can also pass through the inspection station 64 while the base web 40 travels from the supply bobbin 60 through the gravure printing device 61 to the take-up bobbin 62. Within the inspection station 64, the light source 66 is focused on the moving web 40. The light beam 70 emitted from the light source 66 reflects from the surface of the moving web 40 so that the reflected light beam is collected by the sensor 68. As each section 26 of additive material moves through the inspection station 64, the section 26 interrupts the light beam 70 and adjusts the amount of light reflected back to the sensor 68. Since the reflectivity of the starch layer is different from that of the base web 40, the sensor 68 can be configured to sense the presence or absence of the compartment 26. When combined with the input related to the speed of the base web through the inspection station, the more advanced sensor 68 provides the width of the longitudinal section 26 of the base web 40 to obtain quality control and manufacturing consistency, and It is possible to determine the vertical interval between adjacent sections.

  Surprisingly, it has been observed that as calcium carbonate levels increase in banded compartments 26 exposed to optical inspection or machine vision systems, those systems become less reliable. This reduction in reliability appears to result from an increase in the reflectivity of the surface of the banded section 26. Such an increase in reflectivity is probably a phenomenon that occurs because the reflectivity of the banded region 26 with high calcium carbonate levels is comparable to the reflectivity of the base web itself and may be substantially equivalent. Overwhelm or “shield” the inspection system. The reflectance parity appears to occur when the calcium carbonate level in the surface area of the banded section 26 exceeds approximately 80% of the starch level in the surface area of the banded section 26.

  This reflectivity parity problem is that the surface area has a reflectivity that is sufficiently different from the reflectivity of the base web, and the inspection system, as an example, is the presence of reflectivity change (at the beginning or end of the banded area 26) Lack of reflectance change (missing banded area 26 or misplaced banded section 26) and longitudinal extent of banded area 26 or spacing between banded areas 26 (eg, sensing of base web through inspection station) Establish a structure for the banded section 26 that consistently identifies the change in reflectivity to identify parameters associated with the banded section 26, including how long the specific reflectance will last for a given speed or speed) Can be relaxed. One way to establish the desired structure of the banded compartment 26 is to provide a layer of increased calcium carbonate at a location that is essentially farther from the inspection system than the layer with starch. In other words, by overlaying the starch layer on the calcium-carbonic acid containing layer, the effectiveness of the optical inspection system will remain unimpeded.

Such an arrangement of layers in the banded region 26 provides another surprising and beneficial contribution to the wrapping paper. When the first layer of the banded region added to the base web contains both calcium carbonate and starch, the presence of the banded region 26 is due to the presence of the base web opposite the side where the banded region 26 was added. Less obvious when viewed or investigated from the side, that is, the side opposite to the side where machine vision operates. In fact, as the calcium carbonate level approaches the high level that is the subject of the present disclosure, the presence or presence of the banded region 26 is less visible to the consumer and substantially completely invisible to the normal consumer. There is a case.
Such visual shielding is important because consumers of smoking articles are accustomed to wrapping paper products that exhibit a uniform and homogeneous appearance. The preferred arrangement of layers 50, 52 (FIG. 3) provides a further significant advantage for smoking articles made using the wrapping paper of the present invention.

  Those skilled in the art will understand from the foregoing description and accompanying drawings that a method for producing a wrapping paper for smoking articles has been described. In that process, the banded region 26 (see FIG. 2) of the layered additive material is established as a spaced position on one side of the base web 23. The spacing between the banded regions 26 can be selected to be substantially greater than the width of the banded regions 26 in the longitudinal direction 42 of the base web 40. The width of the banded regions 26 can be selected to be in the range of about 5 mm to about 10 mm (millimeters), and the spacing between the banded regions 26 should be in the range of about 12 mm to about 40 mm. Can do.

  To establish the banded region 26, a first layer 50 of additive material (see FIG. 3) can be applied to one side of the base web 40 where the additive material contains a reflective agent. The reflector is selected for calcium carbonate or chalk, and the banded region 26, which can be in the form of ultra-fine precipitates of calcium carbonate, further comprises a second layer that is essentially free of the reflector. It is formed by adding or adding to the position where it is overlapped. The step of superimposing the second layer 52 on the first layer 50 can be accomplished such that the second layer 52 is substantially coextensive with the first layer 50. Both the first layer and the second layer preferably contain a starch, such as tapioca starch, in the aqueous solution, the starch having a reflective property that is substantially different from that of calcium carbonate. As mentioned above, the starch and calcium carbonate layer composition can be formed by mixing starch and calcium carbonate in substantially equal proportions.

  When the banded region 26 is added to the base web 40, a reflectance-based inspection operation 64 (see FIG. 4) is performed toward the surface of the base web 40 where the additional material has been added. The reflectivity-based inspection 64 uses different reflective properties of the base web 40 and the second layer 52 and illustratively and non-limitingly includes the presence of the banded region 26, the beginning of the banded region 26, the banded Information about the banded region 26 is provided, such as the end of the region 26 and the width of the longitudinal banded region 26 of the web 40. The inspection is performed while the base web 40 moves through the inspection station 64 at a commercial production rate.

  When a base web 40 including a banded region 26 is used to form the tobacco rod 22 (see FIG. 1), the base web 40 corresponds to the circumference of the tobacco rod plus the width of the adhesive seam. It can be cut longitudinally into portions having a lateral width. Using conventional equipment, such as a manufacturing machine, the base web 40 is tobacco cut on the side of the paper web 40 (see FIG. 3) added so that the banded region 26 is inside the tobacco rod 22 obtained. It is fed into a machine for depositing the filling. Also, in a conventional manner, the wrapping paper is wrapped around the cut tobacco filling and sealed with longitudinal seams. With the previous configuration, any visual inspection of the tobacco rod is performed toward the side of the paper web 40 without additional material. In this way, the presence of the banded region 26 of additional material is visually ambiguous from detection by the consumer, and the appearance of the wrapping paper is more uniform. To achieve this goal, when the portion of calcium carbonate in the mixture approaches the portion of starch in the mixture, the presence of banded region 26 becomes less visible to the consumer side of the tobacco rod, and the two components are substantially If equal, it becomes difficult if not impossible to detect the presence of the banded region 26 for visual inspection.

  The preferred configuration of the additional material layer thus facilitates or achieves mechanical inspection of the wrapping paper having the banded region 26 in the base web 40 using the optical properties of the banded material. If the composition of one layer has optical properties equivalent to those of the base web 40, then that one layer is shielded from the mechanical inspection device by a second layer superimposed on the first layer, in which case The second layer exhibits optical properties that can be distinguished from the optical properties of the base web 40. The optical property to be inspected can be paper reflectivity, brightness, or other reflective properties.

Where the term “about” is used herein in connection with a numerical value, the intent is not only to that number, but also to a tolerance or range of ± 5% of the exact numerical value accompanying the term “about” Is to include.
It will now be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present specification has described novel, useful and non-obvious smoking articles. It will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that many modifications, variations, substitutions, and equivalents exist for the various aspects of smoking articles described in the above detailed description. Accordingly, all modifications, variations, substitutions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims are expressly intended to be included in the present invention.

26 Additive Material 40 Base Web 50 First Layer of Additive Material 52 Second Layer of Additive Material

Claims (15)

A smoking article having desirable ignition tendency and self-extinguishing properties,
A certain amount of tobacco,
A wrapping paper surrounding the amount of tobacco and forming a tobacco rod having a pair of ends;
Including
The wrapping paper has a transverse direction, includes at least one banded region between the ends of the tobacco rod, and includes a base web;
The banded region has at least two layers, the first layer is adjacent to the base web and includes calcium carbonate, and the second layer essentially free of calcium carbonate includes the first layer. It is in a superimposed relationship with the layer of
A smoking article characterized by that. A smoking article having desirable ignition tendency and self-extinguishing properties,
A certain amount of tobacco,
A wrapping paper surrounding the amount of tobacco and forming a tobacco rod having a pair of ends;
Including
The wrapping paper has a transverse direction and includes at least one banded region between the ends of the tobacco rod;
The banded region has at least two layers, one layer comprising starch material, and the second layer comprising a mixture of starch material and calcium carbonate particles;
The content of calcium carbonate particles in the second layer is at least about 80% of the content of the starch material in the second layer;
A smoking article characterized by that.   The smoking article of claim 2, wherein the weight of the second layer of calcium carbonate particles is at least about 80% of the weight of the starch material of the second layer.   The smoking article according to claim 3, wherein the weight of the second layer is larger than the weight of the first layer.   The smoking article according to claim 2, wherein the first layer is positioned on the wrapping paper, and the second layer is positioned on the first layer.   The smoking article according to claim 2, wherein the second layer is positioned on the wrapping paper, and the first layer is positioned on the second layer. A smoking article having desirable ignition tendency and self-extinguishing properties,
A certain amount of tobacco,
A wrapping paper surrounding the amount of tobacco and forming a tobacco rod having a pair of ends;
Including
The wrapping paper has a transverse direction and includes at least one banded region between the ends of the tobacco rod;
The banded region has at least two layers, one layer comprising starch material, and the second layer comprising a mixture of starch material and calcium carbonate particles;
The content of calcium carbonate particles in the banded region is at least about 35% of the content of the starch material in the banded region.
A smoking article characterized by that. Wrapping paper for smoking articles having desirable ignition tendency and self-extinguishing properties,
A base web of paper comprising a plurality of banded regions having a longitudinal direction and a transverse direction and extending in the transverse direction while being spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction;
Including
The banded region has at least two layers, one layer comprising starch material, and the second layer comprising a mixture of starch material and calcium carbonate particles;
The calcium carbonate particle content of the second layer is at least about 80% of the starch material content of the second layer;
Wrapping paper characterized by that.   9. The wrapping paper for smoking articles according to claim 8, wherein the calcium carbonate content of each band is greater than about 35% by weight of the starch content of each band. The base web surrounds the tobacco to form a tobacco rod;
The tobacco rod has an ignition tendency of less than about 25;
A wrapping paper for a smoking article according to claim 8. The base web surrounds the tobacco to form a tobacco rod;
The tobacco rod has a self-extinguishing property at 0 ° of less than about 25;
A wrapping paper for a smoking article according to claim 8. A method of manufacturing a banded paper,
Adding a first layer of additional material having a reflective agent, and adding a second layer essentially free of the reflective agent in a superimposed relationship with the first layer; Establishing a banded region of layered additive material at spaced locations on one side of the base web;
Performing a reflectivity-based inspection operation on the second layer;
A method comprising the steps of:   The method of manufacturing a banded paper according to claim 12, further comprising the step of adding a first layer comprising a mixture of starch and calcium carbonate as the reflective agent.   The method of manufacturing a banded paper according to claim 13, further comprising the step of mixing the starch and calcium carbonate in substantially equal proportions. A method for producing a tobacco rod, comprising:
Orienting a banded paper configured according to claim 12 to receive a cut tobacco filling on one side receiving the layered additive material;
Wrapping the cigarette so that the visual inspection by the consumer is directed toward the side of the base web that does not contain additional materials;
A method characterized by.

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