A bead delivery disk, system and method of delivering flavor beads to a tobacco rod or tow including a bead source, a bead delivery disk in communication with the bead source, including a central disk portion having front and back sides and a first central thickness, an inner annular rim around the central disk portion, the inner annular rim having a second thickness less than said first thickness, a series of pockets spaced around the inner annular rim and multiple vacuum transmission apertures located on one side of the disk, each aperture communicating with at least one of the pockets.

Equipment for forming a tubular rod of fibrous material comprises: a gathering station constructed to receive a continuous supply of fibres and to gather the fibres into a bundle as the fibres advance through the equipment; a divider arranged in the path of the fibres through the equipment and constructed to from a cleft along the length of the bundle as it advances through the equipment; a mandrel positioned in the path of the bundle of fibres in alignment with the divider and constructed to form the cleft into a passage through the bundle of fibres as the bundle of fibres advances over the mandrel; and a die constructed and arranged to cooperate with the mandrel to form the fibres in a tubular configuration around the mandrel.

A bead delivery disk, system and method of delivering flavor beads to a tobacco rod or tow including a bead source, a bead delivery disk in communication with the bead source, including a central disk portion having front and back sides and a first central thickness, an inner annular rim around the central disk portion, the inner annular rim having a second thickness less than said first thickness, a series of pockets spaced around the inner annular rim and multiple vacuum transmission apertures located on one side of the disk, each aperture communicating with at least one of the pockets.

A bead delivery disk, system and method of delivering flavor beads to a tobacco rod or tow including a bead source, a bead delivery disk in communication with the bead source, including a central disk portion having front and back sides and a first central thickness, an inner annular rim around the central disk portion, the inner annular rim having a second thickness less than said first thickness, a series of pockets spaced around the inner annular rim and multiple vacuum transmission apertures located on one side of the disk, each aperture communicating with at least one of the pockets.

A die or die assembly for forming a bundle of fibres into a rod or tube includes a body defining a passage for conducting the bundle fibres through the die from an inlet to an outlet, a constriction in the passage having an entrance shaped to form the fibres of the bundle into a desired configuration as the bundle passes through the die, and one or more conduits through which a treatment fluid e.g. steam, for curing the bundle of fibres may be introduced into the passage, and wherein at last one conduit is arranged to discharge fluid in the immediate vicinity of the entrance to the constriction to facilitate passage of the fibres through the die and reduce the risk of blockage.

An aerosol-generating article comprises an aerosol-cooling element. The aerosol-cooling element comprises an extruded member (100) having a length (108), and comprising an external surface (104) defining the perimeter of a cross section perpendicular to the length of the extruded member; and an internal surface (102) defining one or more pathways (110) through the length of the extruded member. The internal surface or the external surface or both the internal surface and the external surface comprise surface irregularities.

A filter part (1, 1) for use in an aerosol generating article and a method of manufacturing the filter part (1, 1). The filter part (1, 1) includes an aerosol permeable core (2) within a sleeve (3) formed integrally therearound. The core (2) is shorter than the integrally formed sleeve (3). The method includes conveying a plurality of aerosol permeable cores (2) along a conveying path at a first speed (S1) and forming a sleeve (3) around each core (2) at a second speed (S2). The second speed (S2) is greater than the first speed (S1) to generate a space between consecutive cores (2) within the sleeve (3).

A filter part (1, 1) for use in an aerosol generating article and a method of manufacturing the filter part (1, 1). The filter part (1, 1) includes an aerosol permeable core extrusion (2) surrounded by a sleeve (3) formed of predominantly linear, axially oriented fibres. The method includes forming two or more strips (4a, 4b) into segments surrounding a conveying path, bringing the segments together into a sleeve former (7) to form the sleeve (3) and introducing an aerosol permeable core extrusion (80) between the segments upstream of the sleeve former (7) and bonding the segments together to form a sleeve surrounding the core extrusion (80), thereby forming a filter rod (9). The filter rod (9) is then cut to form the filter part (1, 1).

Equipment for forming a tubular rod from a bundle of fibrous material comprising a mandrel constructed to form a space within the bundle of fibres; the mandrel includes a passage for delivering a treatment fluid to facilitate the formation of the fibres into a tubular structure as the fibre bundle as the bundle passes over the mandrel.

A die or die assembly for forming a bundle of fibres into a rod or tube comprises a body (84) defining a passage 86) for conducting the bundle fibres through the die from an inlet to an outlet, a constriction (91) in the passage having an entrance shaped to form the fibres of the bundle into a desired configuration as the bundle passes through the die, and one or more conduits (92) through which a treatment fluid e.g. steam, for curing the bundle of fibres may be introduced into the passage, and wherein at last one conduit is arranged to discharge fluid in the immediate vicinity of the entrance to the constriction to facilitate passage of the fibres through the die and reduce the risk of blockage.