The invention relates to a suction belt for transporting tobacco and/or filter material in the production of cigarettes. The suction belt has a flat belt material that is formed into a ring and has a plurality of openings that are disposed so as to be distributed across the surface of the belt material. The suction belt is characterized in that at least 75% of all openings have an available extent of 0.3 mm or less.

An apparatus for the formation of machine-made tobacco rods for use in the production of smoking articles, such as cigars, from tobacco comprising a tacky material. The apparatus includes a pair of transfer and compression belts for receiving and compressing the stream of tobacco, the transfer and compression; a pair of squeeze bars for compressing the tobacco in a direction perpendicular to the pair of transfer and compression belts, the pair of squeeze bars produced from a material comprising a poly(aryl ether ketone); a tongue for receiving the compressed tobacco, the tongue produced from a material comprising a poly(aryl ether ketone); and a folder for folding a wrapper material around the compressed tobacco so as to form a continuous rod of tobacco, the wrapper material provided from a source of wrapper material, the folder produced from a material comprising a poly(aryl ether ketone).

A machine for making sub-units of smoking articles includes a conveyor, a feed unit and an applicator. The conveyor conveys a succession of tubular segments transversely along a conveying direction. The feed unit feeds and conveys a continuous web and advances the web along a feed direction parallel to the conveying direction of the tubular segments so that the web faces respective application ends of the tubular segments. The applicator is movable along an application direction parallel to an axis of predominant extension of the succession of tubular segments and is configured to engage the web so as to separate respective closing elements from it. The applicator is also configured to apply the closing element internally or externally on an application end of a respective tubular segment in such a way as to form a closing wall to at least partly close the application end.

A method of forming a wrapped article, comprising the steps of: forming a continuous stream of material such as an agricultural product; moving the continuous stream of material along an elongated path; compressing the continuous stream of material to reduce the cross-sectional area thereof until a predetermined cross-sectional dimension is achieved; drawing the compressed continuous stream of material through a rod-forming arrangement, the rod-forming arrangement having a non-contact displacement transducer associated therewith; folding at least one web longitudinally around the compressed continuous stream of material to form a continuous rod of material; and detecting variations in rod density within the rod-forming arrangement from a signal obtained from the non-contact displacement transducer.

The garniture includes at least one first garniture section with a first upper surface, a first groove being defined within the first upper surface, and at least one first insert overlaying the first groove, a second upper surface of the at least first insert defining a second groove, a width of the second groove narrowing from a first end to a second end of the second groove, a first upper portion of the first upper surface and a second upper portion of the second upper surface being flush with each other.

This filler element 6 is used in a flavor inhaler 1, and comprises: a folded part 36 in which one sheet 34 composed of a nonwoven fabric has been folded in the width direction Z intersecting the longitudinal direction X thereof, and the diameter thereof has been reduced to a size not greater than the diameter of the filler element 6; and wrapping paper 18 that is wrapped on the folded part 36. The sheet 34 is subjected to a compression process in which at least a portion thereof in the width direction Z is compressed, such that if the total of the widths D1 of the compressed sections of the sheet 34 in the width direction Z is defined as the total compressed width Dt1 of the sheet 34, the ratio of the total compressed width Dt1 relative to the sheet width Ds of the sheet in the width direction Z is a prescribed ratio.

Provided is a filling element used for a flavor inhalation article, the filling element including: a sheet fill section obtained by randomly gathering and reducing the diameter of one sheet in a width direction that intersects the longitudinal direction of the sheet; and, a roll paper wrapped around the sheet fill section. The sheet is a dry nonwoven fabric obtained by bonding plant-derived fibers together with a binder and drying the fibers.

A gathering assembly for production of an aerosol generating article is provided, the assembly including a gathering element and a support assembly, the element to receive and to gather a material on the support assembly, the element including an inlet to receive the material, an outlet for outward passage of the material, and a converging portion to receive the material from the inlet and to gather the material on the support assembly as the material passes between the inlet and the outlet, the support assembly including a first portion having a fixed position relative to the support assembly, a second portion movable relative to the first portion, the gathering element being coupled to and movable with the second portion, and a sacrificial member to couple positions of the first and the second portions, and to fail when force applied on the gathering element by the material exceeds a predetermined level.

A rod for use in a smoking article comprises a gathered sheet of homogenised tobacco material circumscribed by a wrapper. The sheet of homogenised tobacco material may comprises one or more aerosol-formers and have an aerosol former content of greater than 5% on a dry weight basis or of between 5% and 30% by weight on a dry weight basis. The rod may comprise a continuous element to which one or more additives have been applied, which is incorporated into the gathered continuous sheet of homogenised tobacco material. A method of forming the rod comprises the steps of: providing a continuous sheet of homogenised tobacco material; gathering the continuous sheet of homogenised tobacco material transversely relative to the longitudinal axis thereof; circumscribing the gathered continuous sheet of homogenised tobacco material with a wrapper to form a continuous rod; and severing the continuous rod into a plurality of discrete rods. The sheet of homogenised tobacco material is preferably crimped or otherwise textured.

A rod for use in a smoking article comprises a gathered sheet of homogenised tobacco material circumscribed by a wrapper. The sheet of homogenised tobacco material may comprises one or more aerosol-formers and have an aerosol former content of greater than 5% on a dry weight basis or of between 5% and 30% by weight on a dry weight basis. The rod may comprise a continuous element to which one or more additives have been applied, which is incorporated into the gathered continuous sheet of homogenised tobacco material. A method of forming the rod comprises the steps of: providing a continuous sheet of homogenised tobacco material; gathering the continuous sheet of homogenised tobacco material transversely relative to the longitudinal axis thereof; circumscribing the gathered continuous sheet of homogenised tobacco material with a wrapper to form a continuous rod; and severing the continuous rod into a plurality of discrete rods. The sheet of homogenised tobacco material is preferably crimped or otherwise textured.