US2893399A

US2893399A - Smoking article with filtering means

Info

Publication number: US2893399A
Application number: US674193A
Authority: US
Inventors: Hans G Jacoby
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1957-07-25
Filing date: 1957-07-25
Publication date: 1959-07-07
Anticipated expiration: 1976-07-07
Also published as: GB823027A; DE1773725U

Description

July 7, 1959 H. G. JACOBY SMOKING ARTICLE WITH FILTERING MEANS Filed July 25, 1957 IN V EN TORI Hans 6i Jacay BY 477'0/5'WEK5 more or less conventional; dry filters. posed previously to provide for the 'wetting of filtering the smoking article.

United States Patent 9 This invention relates tosmoking articles provided with filtering means and more particularly to filterequipped smoking articles, having provision fior selectively moistening the filtering medium. The invention is especially applicable to so-called filter-tipcigarettes.

As is now publicly well known, there have, in recent years, been numerous surveys and studies according to 3 which impurities, such as tars and nicotine, in tobacco smoke have a deleterious effect onsmokers, it being believed by many that such impurities when drawn in by the smoker in the quantities normally in unfiltered tobacco .smoke are conducive to serious disease, particularly disease of the lungs. Thewidely held belief that the smoking of conventional or non-filtering cigarettes or cigars may bring on such serious results has led to many proposals for filtering the tobacco smoke, as for example by causing the smoke to be drawn through a so-called filter tip in the mouth end of the smoking article and usually comprising a cotton or cellulose mass either Wadded or rolled. Laboratory tests reported recently in the public press have indicated that there is a rather wide divergence between the effectiveness of such filter tips in removing injurious substances from tobaccosmoke, and many persons share doubt as to the substantial effectiveness of the It has been promaterial, e.g. normally dry cotton or cellulose, just prior to smoking, and as a result of tests I have found that such wetting of the filtering material does increase the effectiveness :of the filter in producing a more enjoyable and cooler smoking sensation or taste; and I furthermore believe that wetting of the filtering material enhances its purity removing qualities.

Among the difiiculties inherent in previously proposed filter tip cigarettes intended to be smoked only after wetting of the filtering material, have been that the moistening means sometimes interferes with the normal flow of .smoke through the filtering material and that sometimes,

because of the construction ofthe cigarette, the smoker may forget to'wet the filtering material before smoking the cigarette.

An object of the present invention is to provide a smoking article equipped with filtering means and filter Another object of the invention is tov provide an article of the class referred to in which the filter moistening means is so connected to a filter tip as to permit its connection with the smoking article .without necessitating substantial changing of the machinery used for producing In achieving this object, I prefer to connect a container for liquid detachably to the month end of a filter tip cigarette or the like.

Another object of the invention is to Provide a smoking article of the kind referred to in which a liquid supplying means is so associated with a filter ,tip as to require handling and removal ofthe'liquid supplying means prior Patented July 7,1959

2 to smoking of the cigarette or the like, so that the iisi necessarily is reminded to wet the filtering material before smoking.

Another object of the invention is to provide a smok ing article equipped with a detachable container for liquid, the container having a protuberance or the like for facilitating its being detached from the filter tip.

A further object of the invention is to. provide a smoking article Of the kind referred to including, as part of the filter tip construction, a non-hygroscopic lining for the relatively porous and hygroscopic filter tip wall, usually of cardboard or the like, normally used in filter tip constructions for enclosing the filtering material, the arrangement being such that when the filtering material is moistened the hygroscopic cardboard or the like wall accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a filter tip cigarette embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a view partially in axial or longitudinal section and partially in elevation of the cigarette shown in Figure l, drawn on an enlarged scale;

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view on the line 4-4 of Figure 2; and

Figure 5 is a view partially in longitudinal or axial section and partially in elevation, showing a modified construction.

The smoking article shown in Figures 1 to 4, inclusive, is in the general form of the now familiar filter tip cigarette, including a burnable paper wrapping or casing l, a filling of smoke producing material, e.g. tobacco 2, and a filter tip at the mouth end, comprising a filter casing constituted by a relatively stiff wall 3 of hygroscopic material such as relatively thick paper or thin cardboard. A thin wall 4 of non-hygroscopic material, such as metal foil, forms a lining for the inside of the casing wall 3 .so as to be interposed between the casing wall 3 and a relatively thick mass of filtering material 5 which may be of wadded cotton or rolled gauze, rolled crimped cellulose sheet material or the like. The filtering material 5 extends from the smoke inlet end of the filter adjacent to the tobacco filling 2 to a zone short of the month end or smoke outlet end of the filter tip so as to leave a free space 6 between the filtering material 5 and the extreme mouth end of the cigarette. Aside from the provision of the lining wall 4 of non-hygnosoopic material, the cigarette with its filter tip is of substantially conventional and well known construction.

In accordance with the invention, a container member for liquid, in the form shown a resilient squeezable or compressible bulb 7 of rubber or suitable synthetic plastic or the like, and holding a quantity of liquid 8, is detachably connected to i.e. is removably mounted on the month end of the filter casing beyond the filtering material 5. For this purpose, the container may be provided with a peripheral flange 9 having its edge turned in thedirection of the cigarette axis so as to embrace the filter casing and hold the container in the position shown in Figure 2, extending across or spanning the outer end of the casing and thereby substantially sealing and closing the casing. A part of the container 7 extending into the space 6 in the filtering material casing 3, 4 is adapted, or is formed in a manner, to permit liquid 8 within and contacting theinside of the container to be discharged from the container upon squeezing of the latter. In the form shown, the container 7 is formed integrally wih a neck 10 having a passage 11 of substantially capillary or relatively very small size as compared to the cross section of the casing 1 so as normally to prevent the leakage of liquid 8 from the container 7. The container 7 is completely closed except for the opening 11 and is mounted with the container wall or part opposite the'opening 11 positioned at the outlet end of the casing 1 so as to be exposed and uncovered.-

It is intended that each of the cigarettes in a box or package be provided or fitted detachably with a container 7 containing liquid 8 as illustrated in Figure 2. The manner of attaching the containers 7 to the cigarettes by circumferential engagement of a portion of the container member with the inner wall of the casing is such that the containers may be fitted or attached to the cigarette constructions proper, so to speak, after the latter have been formed or manufactured with existing equipment, thus obviating the necessity of making expensive changes in the basic cigarette manufacturing machinery.

In use, the smoker in withdrawing a cigarette from the package immediately sees that the smoking end is closed by the container 7, and is thus reminded that the container should be squeezed and removed before smoking, in turn insuring that the filtering material 5 will be moistened before a cigarette is smoked. The smoker may squeeze the desired amount of liquid 8 from the container 7 prior to detaching the container from the filter tip casing, experience having established about how much squeezing will be necessary to effect the required degree of moistening of the filtering material 5. After the container 7 has been squeezed or compressed to discharge liquid 8 into the filter 5, the container is simply pulled off the end of the casing and the cigarette is ready for smoking. For facilitating detaching the container from the filter casing, the exposed end of the container 7 opposite the discharge opening 11 desirably is provided with a protuberance 12 extending outwardly from the container and cigarette, the protuberance being easily graspable by the fingers. Alternately, and at least until :a particular smoker has determined the amount of moistening the filter requires to suit his taste, the container 7 may be detached from the filter tip casing before being squeezed, the detached container being then held above the space 6 and the container then compressed to cause liquid to be delivered drop by drop onto the filtering material 5. Usually, about 2 to 3 drops of a solution of about .l% to about 25% of glycerine in water by volume is advisable. Such a quantity of liquid dispersed in the filtering material 5 would be sufficient to moisten and thereby render the casing wall 3 weak or limber if the filtering material were permitted to be in contact with the wall 3. In accordance with the present invention, the lining 4 of non-hygroscopic material shields the casing wall 3 against moisture and permits the filter tip conasoasso f struction, as a whole, to remain firm which not only is' desirable from the standpoint of the smokers comfort, but which also prevents the filtering material from being compacted by partial collapsing or pressing in of the filter tip wall structure.

The construction shown in Figure 5 is similar to that described above with reference to Figures 1 to 4, with the exception that the liquid container is of modified form. The Figure 5 construction includes a wrapping 1, tobacco filling 2, casing wall 3, casing wall liner 4, and filtering material mass 5, all of the kind described with reference to Figures 1 to 4, and in the same general relative arrangement. The Figure 5 construction, however, includes a modified bulb or container 7', again of squeezable or compressible material such as rubber or synthetic plastic. The liquid contained in the bulb 7 is indicated at S. The bulb 7 has a flange 9 embracing the tip end of the cigarette, a neck 10 formed with a capillary opening 11 for delivering liquid, and a finger graspable protuberance 12'. The bulb 7, shown in Figure 5, differs from the bulb 7 shown in Figures 1 to 4 in that the bulb 7' is relatively flat on its outer end surface, as distinguished from the relatively hemispheric outer end surface of the bulb 7 shown in Figures 1 to 4. The bulb 7 shown ing Figures l and 2 has the advantage that the hemispheric outer surface, facilitates squeezing of the bulb prior to its being removed from the filter tip, Whereas the bulb 7 shown in Figure 5 has the advantage that its relatively flat outer surface may be substantially flush with'the adjacent end of the filter tip construction so :as to make it possible to enclose a number of cigarettes in a package of shorter length.

An advantage ofboth of the constructions shown in Figures 1 to 4 and in Figure 5 is that the user may very easily control the extent to' which the filtering material 5 is moistened before smoking. As is generally known by smokers, the smoke drawing characteristics of cigarettes, including filter tip cigarettes as well as ordinary cigarettes, varies considerably according to the condition of the cigarettes when removed from the package, which in turn depends importantly upon atmospheric conditions. Thus, cigarettes which have been kept in a heated enclosure in the winter frequently will be quite dry, despite purported hermetic sealing of the packages, whereas, in the summer and particularly in humid climates, cigarettes are relatively quite damp when removed from packages. The degree of moistureina body of filtering material as removed from' a packagejmay vary to such an extent that for best smoking enjoyment and impurity removing results, more or less liquid should be added to the filtering material before smoking. Constructions according to the present invention make it very simple for the user to introduce into the filtering material the amount of added moisture he has found to produce the best results according to the condition of the filter as respects moisture when the cigarette is removed from the package.

The constructions disclosed embody the invention in preferred forms, but it is intended that the disclosure be illustrative rather than definitive, the invention being defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. In a filter tip cigarette or the like smoking article, a burnable casing having an inlet end and an outlet end; smoke producing material within said casing between said inletend and said outlet end terminating short of said outlet end; filtering material other'than said smoke producing material within said casing between said smoke producing material and said outlet end; and a resilient container member having liquid therein contacting the inside of the container itself and being removably mounted on and supported by said casing at said outlet end thereof beyond said filtering, material, extending across and substantially closing said outlet end, and having a discharge opening directed toward said filtering material for delivering liquid from said container to said filtering material upon compressing of said resilient container memher, said dischange opening being of relatively very small size as compared to the cross section of said casing, and said container member being completely closed except for said discharge opening, the part of said container member opposite said discharge opening being exposed and uncovered at said casing outlet end.

2. A smoking article according to claim 1 in which said filtering material terminates short of said outlet end to leave a space within the casing adjacent the outlet end thereof, said container member being mounted to extend within said space, whereby when said container is removed from said casing there will be a free space within said casing between said outlet end and said filtering material.

3. A smoking article according to claim 1 in which said container member comprises a portion circumferentially engaging said casing whereby said container member closes said casing Outlet end.

4. A smoking article according to claim 1 in which said container member is formed as a squeezable bulb fitting within and contacting the inner wall of said casing, and is provided with a flange extending across said casing 5 outlet end, said flange having an edge extending in the direction of the axis of said smoking article and embracing said casing at the outlet end thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS 6 Mulford Dec. 27, 1927 Shapiro Oct. 26, 1943 Fields Sept. 8 1953 Troy Feb. 23, 1954 Statia July 17, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Jan. 21, 1932 France Mar. 29, 1924