Method for supplying a continuous sheet of aerosol-forming substrate from a bobbin and aerosol-generating article

Abstract

The method for supplying a continuous sheet of aerosol-forming substrate (10) from a bobbin (1) comprises providing a bobbin (1) of continuous sheet of aerosol-forming substrate (10) and unwinding the continuous sheet of aerosol-forming substrate (10) from a center (11) of the bobbin (1). Preferably, rotational movement of the bobbin (1) is prevented during unwinding of the continuous sheet of aerosol-forming substrate (10).

Claims

1. Method for supplying a continuous sheet of aerosol-forming substrate from a bobbin, the method comprising: providing a first bobbin of continuous sheet of aerosol-forming substrate; unwinding the continuous sheet of aerosol-forming substrate from a center of the first bobbin; providing a second bobbin of continuous further material, wherein the continuous further material comprises one of a continuous susceptor material or a continuous carrier material, and the continuous further material comprises a metal; unwinding the continuous further material from the second bobbin; and merging the unwound continuous sheet of aerosol-forming substrate and the unwound continuous further material.

2. Method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of preventing rotational movement of the first bobbin during unwinding of the continuous sheet of aerosol-forming substrate.

3. Method according to claim 1, wherein the continuous sheet of aerosol-forming substrate comprises tobacco material and an aerosol former.

4. Method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of aligning the rotational axis of the first bobbin in a horizontal direction or in a vertical direction, and unwinding the first bobbin in a horizontal direction or in a vertical direction.

5. Method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of arranging the rotational axis of the first bobbin and the rotational axis of the second bobbin under an angle, such that the unwound continuous sheet of aerosol-forming substrate and the unwound continuous further material are merged under a merging angle between 5 degree and 90 degree.

6. Method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of: aligning the rotational axis of the first bobbin and the rotational axis of the second bobbin along a first common axis; guiding either unwound continuous further material or unwound continuous sheet of aerosol-forming substrate from an upstream arranged bobbin along the first common axis through the center of a downstream arranged bobbin; and merging unwound continuous sheet of aerosol-forming substrate and unwound continuous further material forming a merged strand.

7. Method according to claim 6, further comprising the steps of: aligning at least one further bobbin of continuous further material with its at least one rotational axis along the first common axis upstream of the first bobbin and the second bobbin; guiding unwound continuous further material from more upstream arranged bobbins through centers of more downstream arranged bobbins; merging at least one unwound continuous further material from the at least one more upstream arranged further bobbin with unwound continuous further material and unwound continuous sheet of aerosol-forming substrate from more downstream arranged bobbins.

8. Method according to claim 6, further comprising the steps of: providing and arranging one or several additional bobbins of continuous further material with their rotational axis at an angle to the first common axis, and merging unwound continuous further material from the one or several additional bobbins with the merged strand under a merging angle between 5 degree and 90 degree.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the metal is a ferromagnetic material.

Description

(1) The invention is further described with regard to embodiments, which are illustrated by means of the following drawings, wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a central unwinding of a bobbin of continuous sheet of aerosol-forming substrate in a horizontal direction;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a central unwinding of a bobbin of continuous sheet of aerosol-forming substrate in a vertical direction;

(4) FIG. 3 shows supply of aerosol-forming substrate and a further material under an angle;

(5) FIG. 4 illustrates the manufacturing of two merged strands of continuous solids, wherein the two strands are merged under an angle;

(6) FIG. 5 shows supply of aerosol-forming substrate and a further material along a common axis;

(7) FIG. 6 illustrates the manufacturing of a merged strand by supply of three continuous solids along a common axis.

(8) In FIG. 1 a bobbin 1 of a continuous sheet of aerosol-forming substrate 10, for example a nicotine or tobacco containing aerosol-forming substrate, is unwound from the center 11 of the bobbin 1. The bobbin 1 is arranged with its rotational axis 12 oriented in a horizontal direction. The unwinding direction 100 of the sheet of aerosol-forming substrate 10 corresponds to the horizontal direction. The unwound sheet of aerosol-forming substrate 10 is transported linearly in a horizontal direction to a rod making machine 9. The sheet of aerosol-forming substrate 10 enters a garniture tongue 90 of the rod making machine 9, wherein the sheet 10 is gathered and formed into a rod shape.

(9) During unwinding of the sheet 10, preferably the bobbin 1 is kept stationary such that the unwound sheet has a twisted form, that is, the sheet is rotated around its longitudinal axis or along the unwinding direction, respectively. One entire twist then corresponds to a 360 degree rotation of the sheet around its longitudinal axis and to an unwinding of the sheet once around the circumference of the center 11 of the bobbin 1.

(10) FIG. 2 shows the same arrangement as FIG. 1 but with the bobbin 1 being arranged with its rotational axis 12 oriented in a vertical direction. The sheet of aerosol-forming substrate 10 is unwound downwards in the vertical direction 101 and is guided into the garniture tongue 90 of the rod-making machine 9. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, gravitational force supports the unwinding. In combination with a linear insertion of the sheet of aerosol-forming substrate 10 into the garniture tongue 90, also an alignment of the sheet 10 with the garniture tongue 90 is supported.

(11) FIG. 3 shows a method for manufacturing a rod-shaped article comprising a sheet of aerosol-forming substrate 10 and comprising a continuous further material. Therein, the sheet of aerosol-forming substrate 10 and a sheet of continuous further material 20, for example a continuous band of susceptor material, are supplied from the center 11,21 of two bobbins 1,2.

(12) The two continuous solids 10,20 are transported to a garniture tongue 90, wherein the two solids are merged. The two continuous solids are supplied to the garniture tongue 90 under a merging angle 68. In FIG. 3, the merging angle 68 is about 30 to 45 degrees, depending on the arrangement and sizes of the bobbins 1,2.

(13) The sheet of aerosol-forming substrate 10 is unwound from the center 11 of bobbin 1 in an unwinding and transporting direction 200. The sheet of further material 20 is unwound from the center 21 of bobbin 2 in an unwinding and transporting direction 201. The two unwinding direction 200, 201 encompass an angle corresponding to the merging angle. In FIG. 3, the merging angle 68 corresponds to the angle under which the bobbin 1 of aerosol-forming substrate and bobbin 1 of continuous further material are arranged. This is due to the fact that both continuous solids are unwound in a linear direction parallel to the rotational axis 12,22 of the corresponding bobbins 1,2.

(14) The angle under which the bobbins 1,2 are arranged may also be smaller or larger than the merging angle 68, and may, for example, be in a range between 5 degree to 160 degree.

(15) FIG. 5 shows the supply of a continuous sheet of aerosol-forming substrate 10 and a continuous sheet of further material 20 along a horizontally arranged common axis 70. The bobbin 2 of further material is arranged upstream of the bobbin 1 of aerosol-forming substrate. The rotational axis 12,22 of both bobbins 1,2 are arranged parallel to the common axis 70. The sheet of further material 20, for example a band of susceptor material, is unwound from the center of bobbin 2. The unwound sheet of further material 20 is guided along the common axis 70 downstream through the center 11 of the more downstream arranged bobbin 1 of aerosol-forming substrate. The sheet of aerosol-forming substrate 10 is unwound from the center 11 of bobbin 1 and merged with the unwound sheet of further material 20. Sheet of aerosol-forming substrate 10 and sheet of further material 20 form a merged stand 60. The merged strand 60 is then guided further along the common axis 70 into the garniture tongue 90 of a rod-making machine 9, where a rod is formed from the merged strand.

(16) FIG. 6 shows the method of FIG. 5, wherein three bobbins 3,4,5 are arranged serially, preferably equidistantly along a common axis 71. Unwound solid from the three bobbins 3,4,5 form a strand 61 comprising three continuous sheets of solid.

(17) Compared to the method shown in FIG. 5, a further bobbin 5 of aerosol-forming substrate is arranged upstream of the bobbin 4 of continuous further material. Aerosol-forming substrate is unwound from bobbin 5 and guided along the common axis 71 thought the center 41 of bobbin 4. There, the unwound sheet of aerosol-forming substrate 50 is merged with the unwound sheet of further material 40. This partial strand is guided further downstream through the center 31 of bobbin and is merged with the unwound sheet of aerosol-forming substrate 30 unwound from bobbin 3.

(18) In a series of bobbins, preferably similar or identical materials are arranged in alternating manner with a bobbin of a continuous further material. Similar or identical materials may, for example, be two identical or different aerosol-forming substrates or two identical or different susceptor materials. In a series of bobbins, all bobbins may comprise entirely distinct solids. For example, a series of three bobbins may comprise an aerosol-forming substrate, a susceptor material and a carrier material, for example a flavour carrier material.

(19) In FIG. 4 a manufacturing process for a rod-shaped article is shown using two merged strands 60,61 formed according to the methods shown and described in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6.

(20) In the example shown in FIG. 4, two merged strands 60, 61 are merged under the merging angle 68, for example 30 degree to 70 degree, while entering the garniture tongue 90 of the rod-making machine 9. Thus, a rod-shaped article manufactured in the rod-making machine 9 is formed of two merged strands 60,61 and of a total of five continuous solids, for example, five different continuous solids, wherein at least one continuous solid is a continuous sheet of aerosol-forming substrate. In FIG. 4 the first strand 60 preferably comprises a sheet of aerosol-forming substrate 10 and a band of susceptor material 20, while the second strand 61 preferably comprises two sheets of aerosol-forming substrate 30,50 and a band of susceptor material 40.

(21) In FIG. 4, two bobbins 1,2 are arranged along a first common axis 70 and three bobbins 3,4,5 are arranged along a second common axis 71. The first common axis 70 and the second common axis 71 are arranged at an angle corresponding to the merging angle 68. The continuous solids are all unwound from their corresponding bobbins 1,2,3,4,5 and in a direction along their respective common axis 70,71.

(22) Preferably, in all the methods described, shown in the drawings and in variants thereof, continuous solid is unwound from the center of a bobbin.

(23) Preferably, in all the methods described, shown in the drawings and in variants thereof, all bobbins are kept stationary while unwinding continuous solid from a bobbin. Keeping stationary is herein understood in view of a rotation around the rotational axis of the bobbin. However, a bobbin may be kept entirely fixed or may, for example, be moved in order to twist, intertwine or braid unwound continuous solids with each other (while the bobbins are preferably not rotated around their rotational axis).

(24) Preferably, continuous solids on different bobbins are different, for example different in view of composition, size or shape. In particular, if two or more sheet of aerosol-forming substrate are used for manufacturing a merged strand or a rod-shaped article, preferably, the two or more sheet of aerosol-forming substrate are different, for example different in composition, size or aerosolization profile.