KR20110059644A - Filter for a smoking article - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a filter element for a smoking article. The filter element comprises a plug of filter material, and a tobacco thread, wherein the tobacco thread extends substantially longitudinally through the plug of filter material. The filter element can be used in various smoking articles.

Description

Filter for smoking goods {FILTER FOR A SMOKING ARTICLE}

The present invention relates to a filter for a smoking article.

It is well known that filtration of tobacco smoke in smoking articles, such as cigarettes, can affect the flavor and flavor characteristics of the product during smoking. Filters generally include an adsorbent material, such as activated carbon, to reduce certain components of tobacco smoke during smoking. However, activated carbon in the filter can adversely affect the flavor and / or flavor characteristics of the cigarette.

Accordingly, in a first aspect, there is provided a filter element for a smoking article comprising a plug of filter material and a tobacco thread, wherein the tobacco thread extends substantially longitudinally through a plug of filter material. do.

The inventors have found that the provision of substantially longitudinal tobacco threads significantly improves the flavor of tobacco smoke (including gas and particulate matter) inhaled by smokers.

Preferably, the tobacco thread extends substantially longitudinally between the opposing cross sections of the plug of the filter. Preferably, the tobacco thread extends in a direction substantially parallel to the side of the plug of filter material, wherein the side is preferably substantially perpendicular to one or both cross sections. Preferably, the tobacco thread extends through and is surrounded by an inner portion of the filter material. Preferably, the tobacco thread extends through substantially the center of the plug of filter material.

Advantageously, the tobacco thread is placed very close to the path of the vapor flow because it travels through the filter element, and thus can affect various features of the vapor flow before it reaches the smoker's mouth. In addition, since the tobacco thread is disposed substantially longitudinally within the plug of filter material, this does not adversely affect the direction or speed of the gas phase flow, thus allowing smokers to notice a significant difference in resistance to draw through it. Not aware of.

Tobacco threads may include shredded tobacco, powdered tobacco, reconstituted tobacco and / or cut tobacco. However, preferably the tobacco thread comprises tobacco fibers and / or tobacco sheets. Tobacco threads can be made using techniques known in the art. By way of example only, a slurry comprising tobacco particles (eg, tobacco powder and / or tobacco stems), and preferably a suitable binder may be prepared. This slurry can be spread on a support surface, such as a conveyor, thereby forming a wet tobacco sheet. This wet sheet can then be heated, for example by an oven, so that the slurry can be dried to form a tobacco sheet. This tobacco sheet can then be cut to form a thread having the appropriate dimensions.

Tobacco threads may be about 0.2 mm to 5 mm in diameter and preferably about 0.4 mm to 3 mm in diameter.

Immediately after being produced, the tobacco thread can be wrapped by the filter material to form the filter element of the first aspect. The plug of filter material may comprise any suitable filter media known to those skilled in the art. Preferred filter materials include cellulose acetate. The diameter of the plug of filter material may be about 5 mm to 15 mm, preferably 6 mm to 12 mm, more preferably 7 mm to 11 mm, and most preferably 8 mm to 10 mm. The diameter of such plugs may be between 5 mm and 10 mm.

Preferably, the ratio of the diameter of the plug of filter material to the diameter of the tobacco thread is from 2: 1 to 25: 1, more preferably from 4: 1 to 10: 1.

The filter element may comprise a flavorant. In embodiments in which flavoring agents are used, the flavoring agents may be introduced into a plug of filter material. However, the flavoring agent is preferably introduced into tobacco threads. Immediately after being formed, the thread can be immersed in a container containing the flavoring agent. However, the flavoring agent is preferably included in the slurry from which the thread is prepared.

It will be appreciated that the filter element according to the first aspect can be used in the manufacture of a filter for use in a smoking article.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is thus provided a filter for a smoking article, comprising the filter element according to the first aspect.

The filter of the second aspect may comprise a plurality of filter elements according to the first aspect, wherein the tobacco thread extends through a plug of filter material. For example, the filter may comprise two, three, four, five or more filter elements of the first aspect, wherein adjacent filter elements may be connected to each other or the elements may not be present according to the first aspect. ) Can be separated from one another by other filter elements.

Accordingly, the filter may comprise a plurality of filter elements, at least one of which is a filter element according to the first aspect of the present invention. For example, in one embodiment, in addition to one or more filter elements according to the first aspect (ie containing tobacco threads), the filter of the second aspect also comprises an absorbent filter element comprising an adsorbent material. It is understood that it can include. Adsorption filter elements are provided for adsorbing certain components of tobacco smoke during smoking to reduce these components. The adsorption filter element may comprise a plug of filter material in which the adsorbent is dispersed. The filter material may be cellulose acetate. Preferred adsorbent is activated carbon. The activated carbon may preferably be in the form of granular activated carbon which is distributed substantially throughout the volume of the plug of filter material. Preferably, the adsorption filter element does not comprise tobacco threads.

In another embodiment, in addition to the filter element according to one or more first aspects (ie, containing tobacco threads), the filter of the second aspect also comprises a filter material (eg, cellulose acetate) and does not comprise tobacco threads or adsorbents. May include a filter element.

The filter may comprise at least two, and preferably at least three filter elements, provided that at least one filter element is in accordance with the first aspect. Preferably, the filter comprises a filter element according to the first aspect, an adsorption filter element comprising an adsorbent and a filter element which does not comprise an adsorbent or tobacco threads. Preferably, the multiple filter elements are arranged longitudinally with one another such that the cross section of one filter element abuts the cross section of an adjacent filter element. It is preferred that the filter elements have substantially similar diameters. It will be appreciated that several filter elements may be present in any order in the filter, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

The filter element of the first aspect, or the filter of the second aspect, may be incorporated into a smoking article.

Thus, according to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a smoking article comprising a filter element according to the first aspect or a filter according to the second aspect.

The smoking article preferably comprises a section of smokeable material, such as a cigarette. As used herein, the term “smoking article” refers to cigarettes, whether based on tobacco, tobacco derivatives, expanded tobacco, reconstituted tobacco or tobacco substitutes. , Smokeable products such as cigars and cigarillos, and heat-not-burn products.

Sections of the smokeable material and the filter may be attached by tipping paper.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a filter element for a smoking article, comprising providing, via a plug of filter material, a tobacco thread extending substantially longitudinally through the plug of filter material.

The method preferably includes introducing a tobacco thread substantially at the center of the filter material. The method may comprise using a guide means to guide the tobacco thread by forming a tow of the filter material around. The guide means may comprise a guide tube into which the thread enters. As the thread exits the inducing means, it is preferably surrounded by filter material.

All features described herein (including any appended claims, abstracts, and drawings), and / or all steps of any method or processes described herein, are in any of the above aspects, and in such features and / or Or at least some of the steps may be combined in any combination except combinations that are mutually exclusive.

To better understand the invention and show how embodiments of the invention are practiced, reference will be made to the accompanying drawings as an example:

1 shows a perspective view of a smoking article comprising a rod of smokeable material, a filter according to the invention, and a tipping paper attaching the rod and the filter together.

2 shows a side sectional view of a first embodiment of a filter according to the invention.

3 shows a side cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of the present filter.

4 shows a cross-sectional side view of a third embodiment of the present filter.

1, a smoking article 2 in the form of a cigarette is shown, comprising a filter 4 according to the invention. Although the smoking article 2 is shown as a cigarette in the figure, it can be appreciated that the smoking article 2 may have other forms, such as cigars and small cigar cigarettes, which may comprise a filter 4 according to the invention. have. Referring to FIG. 1, the smoking article 2 comprises a generally cylindrical paper-wrapped rod 6 of smokeable material such as tobacco, which rod 6 and one end of the filter 4. It is coaxially attached to the filter 4 by a tipping paper 8 glued around.

Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown a first embodiment of a filter 4 attached to a rod of tobacco 6. In this embodiment, the filter 4 is formed of a single filter element 12 about 27 mm long, which element is a continuous plug of filter material (eg cellulose acetate) 20 having a diameter of 9 mm. It consists of. Filter element 12 has first and second generally circular cross sections 22, 24, and a circumferentially or longitudinally extending side that is substantially perpendicular to the first and second cross sections 22, 24. 26). As shown in FIG. 2, a thin tobacco thread 10, 0.8 mm in diameter, extends between two cross sections 22, 24 through a plug of filter material 20. The thread is substantially parallel to the longitudinally extending surface 26 and extends substantially through the center of the plug of filter material 20, thereby forming a core.

Threads of tobacco 10 are made from tobacco fibers and / or tobacco sheets, using techniques known in the art, and materials available from LTR Industries, France or Deli-HTL, Holland. . For example, after a wet slurry of tobacco flour, cut tobacco stems, and a binder is initially prepared, it is spread on a stainless steel conveyor to form a wet tobacco sheet. The conveyor enters an oven that heats the slurry until it is dry, thereby forming a band cast reconstituted tobacco sheet. For example, suitable heating can be performed at about 70-100 ° C. for about 6-8 minutes. The tobacco sheet may then be cut into appropriate dimensions (0.8 mm diameter) by the cutter to form the thread 10 and then provided on a reel ready for use. Before being formed into the thread 10, a flavoring agent may be added to the sheet. Another example for manufacturing the tobacco thread 10 is to entangle the tobacco plant fibers in a manner similar to that used to make a cotton yarn.

The resulting thread 10 is approximately 0.8 mm in diameter, which is then introduced into the center of the filter material 20. One method of introducing tobacco thread 10 into the plug of filter material 20 in the manufacture of filter element 12 is as follows. The method includes introducing tobacco thread 10 through a lumen of a guide tube having a diameter of about 1.5 mm. At the same time, the feed of fibrous filter material 20 (eg cellulose acetate) proceeds through a series of blowing rollers so that this feed is unfolded. The tow of the unfolded filter material 20 is then formed around the thread 10 as the thread exits the induction tube, thereby creating a continuous load of filter material 20 surrounding the thread 10. Form. The rod may then be cut into sections to form a complete filter element 12 as shown in FIG. 2. The length of the filter element 12 will depend on the type of filter 4 required. For example, the length of the standard cigarette filter 4 is about 27 mm. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the total 27 mm length of the filter 4 consists of a filter element 12 such that the thread 10 extends throughout this element. 3 and 4, however, another embodiment is shown in which the filter 4 comprises a shorter section of the filter element 12 containing a thread 10 in which another section is coupled as described below.

Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a second embodiment of a filter 4 attached to a rod of tobacco 6. The filter 4 comprises a plurality of different separate filter elements 12, 14, 16, each of which may have a different material composition. In this embodiment, the filter 4 comprises three different filter elements 12, 14, 16. Each filter element 12, 14, 16 has a generally cylindrical shape with a substantially uniform diameter. Each filter element 12, 14, 16 is wrapped by a layer of thin sheet material in the form of a wrapper (not shown) known as a plugwrap, which layer may be formed of conventional paper material. Can be. The filter element 16 furthest away from the tobacco rod 6 (and closest to the smoker's mouth in use) comprises a generally cylindrical tow of filter material 20 such as cellulose acetate. The filter material 20 provides a filter through which cigarette smoke can progress as the smoker inhales the cigarette. The filter element 12, disposed adjacent to the element 16, contains a continuous plug of filter material 20 with tobacco threads 10 extending substantially longitudinally. This filter element 12 is similar to that shown in FIG. 1 except that it does not extend along the entire length of the filter 4.

The third filter element 14 disposed between the filter element 12 containing the tobacco thread 10 and the tobacco rod 6 comprises a plug of filter material 20, which includes an adsorbent, for example For example, activated carbon 18 is dispersed. The activated carbon 18 may be in the form of granular activated carbon 18, which is known throughout the art and shown in FIG. 3, throughout the volume of the plug of cellulose acetate 20 in a “Dalmatian” style. Evenly distributed over. Alternatively, activated carbon 18 may be sprayed on the tacky outer surface 26 of the plug of cellulose acetate 20, adhered to the inner surface of the plug wrap surrounding the cellulose acetate, or attached to the plug of cellulose acetate 20. It may be glued to a cotton thread surrounded by (not shown). Activated carbon 18 may also be held in a cavity surrounded by a plug of cellulose acetate 20. Activated carbon 18 is provided to improve the characteristics of inhaled tobacco smoke by removing toxic chemicals.

Referring to FIG. 4, a third embodiment of the filter 4 attached to the tobacco rod 6 is shown. In this embodiment, the filter 4 comprises the same three filter elements 12, 14, 16 as in the second embodiment, as described above, except that the order of the components has changed. As shown in FIG. 4, the filter element 16 farthest from the tobacco rod 6 comprises a filter material 20, such as cellulose acetate, as in the second embodiment. However, in the third embodiment, the filter element 12 disposed adjacent to the element 16 contains a plug of filter material 20, in which particles of activated carbon 18 are dispersed. Finally, the third filter element 12 disposed between the element 14 and the rod of tobacco 6 contains a continuous plug of filter material 20 through which the tobacco thread 10 extends. Accordingly, the positions of the filter elements 12, 14 are changed in the second and third embodiments.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the filter elements 12, 14, 16 are arranged in the longitudinal direction of each other such that the cross sections 22, 24 of each filter element 12, 14, 16 are in contact with the next one. . Although the lengths of the three filter elements 12, 14, 16 are shown substantially the same in FIGS. 3 and 4, it will be appreciated that these may have different lengths. For example, in FIGS. 3 and 4, the length of filter element 12 containing tobacco thread 10 may be 12 mm, while the other elements 14, 16 may each be 7.5 mm, accordingly. The overall length of the filter 4 may be 27 mm. It will also be appreciated that the filter 4 may comprise only two filter elements. For example, filter 4 may, in any order, filter element 12 containing tobacco thread 10 (about 15 mm long) and filter element 16 containing only filter material 20 (about) 12 mm long). Alternatively, the filter 4 may comprise a filter element 12 containing tobacco threads 10 and a filter element 14 containing activated carbon 18 in any order.

In addition, the filter 4 may comprise more than three filter elements 12, 14, 16. For example, the filter 4 may comprise a first filter element and a second filter element 16 composed of cellulose acetate, a third filter element 14 comprising cellulose acetate and activated carbon 18, and as described above, It may comprise a fourth filter element 12 comprising a longitudinal tobacco thread 10 core. It will be appreciated that the various filter elements 12, 14, 16 may be arranged in the filter 4 in a variety of different orders. However, in each embodiment, at least one filter element 12 containing tobacco thread 10 is included in the filter 4.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the filter 4 allows the smoking article 2 to move through the filter 4 before a gaseous flow comprising tobacco smoke exiting the rod 6 of smokeable material enters the smoker's mouth. It is located at the mouth-end of. The tobacco thread 10 is located in one or more filter elements 12 and extends longitudinally between the cross sections 22, 24 of the plug of filter material 20, as described in connection with FIG. 2. In this way, the tobacco thread 10 is placed very close to the path of the gas phase flow as it moves through the filter 4, thus affecting various features of the gas phase flow before the gas phase flow reaches the smoker's mouth. Can have

Tobacco thread 10 may affect the overall properties of the gaseous flow, for example, so that the flavor and flavor of the gaseous flow is improved. One application of tobacco thread 10 is the flavor and flavor of gas phase flow that may be lost as the gas phase flows through the activated carbon 18, which is known to affect the flavor and flavor of filter material 20 or tobacco smoke. It is intended to replace the degree of features. The inventors have surprisingly found that an arrangement of thin threads 10 of tobacco extending longitudinally through the plug of filter material 20 improves the flavor of tobacco smoke without compromising the flow characteristics of the tobacco smoke.

The invention also includes other modifications and variations that fall within the scope of the claims.

Claims (21)

A filter element for a smoking article, comprising a plug of filter material and a tobacco thread extending substantially longitudinally through the plug of filter material. The filter element of claim 1, wherein the tobacco thread extends substantially longitudinally between the mutually opposite sections of the plug of filter material. 3. The filter element of claim 2, wherein the tobacco thread extends in a direction substantially parallel to the side of the plug of filter material that is substantially perpendicular to one or both cross sections. The filter element according to claim 1, wherein the tobacco thread extends through and is surrounded by an inner portion of the filter material. 5. The filter element according to claim 1, wherein the tobacco thread extends through substantially the center of the plug of filter material. 6. The filter of claim 1, wherein the tobacco thread comprises shredded tobacco, powdered tobacco, reconstituted tobacco and / or cut tobacco. Element. 7. The filter element according to claim 1, wherein the tobacco thread comprises tobacco fibers and / or tobacco sheets. 8. The filter element according to claim 1, wherein the tobacco thread is between 0.2 mm and 5 mm in diameter, and preferably between 0.4 mm and 3 mm. 9. The filter element according to claim 1, wherein the plug of filter material comprises cellulose acetate. 10. 10. The filter element according to claim 1, wherein the plug of filter material has a diameter of 5 mm to 15 mm, and preferably 8 mm to 10 mm. The filter element according to claim 1, wherein the filter element comprises a flavorant. 12. A filter for smoking article, the filter element comprising the filter element according to any one of the preceding claims. 13. A filter according to claim 12, wherein the filter comprises a plurality of filter elements, and at least one of the filter elements is a filter element according to any one of claims 1 to 11. 14. The filter of claim 12 or 13, wherein the filter comprises an adsorptive filter element comprising an adsorbent. The filter according to claim 14, wherein the adsorbent is activated carbon. The filter of claim 12, wherein the filter comprises a filter element comprising a filter material (eg, cellulose acetate) and not comprising tobacco threads or adsorbents. A smoking article comprising the filter element according to claim 1 or the filter according to any one of claims 12 to 16. A method of making a filter element for a smoking article, the method comprising providing a thread of tobacco extending substantially longitudinally through a plug of filter material through a plug of filter material. 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the method comprises introducing tobacco threads into a substantially center of filter material. 20. A method according to claim 18 or 19, wherein the method comprises using guide means to guide the tobacco thread by forming a tow of filter material around it. 21. The method of claim 20 wherein the guide means comprises a guide tube into which the thread enters.

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