FILTER COMPONENT

Abstract

The present invention relates to a filter component comprising a plug of filter material comprising a body of a first filtering material and at least one element of a second filtering material, wherein the at least one element of the second filtering material is inserted in the body of a first filtering material, and wherein a volume ratio between a volume of the at least one element of a second filtering material and a volume of the plug is comprised between about 0.3 and about 0.8.

Claims

1-22. (canceled)

23. A filter component comprising a plug of filter material comprising a body of a first filtering material and at least one element of a second filtering material including cotton fibers, wherein the first material is different from the second material, the at least one element of the second filtering material is inserted in the body of a first filtering material, and wherein a volume ratio between the volume of the at least one element of the second filtering material and the volume of the plug is comprised between about 0.3 and about 0.8.

24. The filter component according to claim 23, wherein the first filtering material comprises a synthetic filtering material.

25. The filter component according to claim 23, wherein said at least one element extends in a longitudinal direction between a first and a second axially opposed faces of said body of a first filtering material.

26. The filter component according to claim 23, wherein the ratio between the transversal dimension defined by said at least one element and the corresponding transversal dimension of said plug is comprised between about 0.55 and about 0.89, said transversal dimension being in a direction transversal with respect to a side face of said body substantially perpendicular to at least one of said first and second axially opposed faces of said body.

27. The filter component according to claim 23, wherein said at least one element extends in a direction which is substantially parallel to a side face of body of first filtering material.

28. The filter component according to claim 23, wherein said at least one element extends through substantially the center of said body of first filtering material.

29. The filter component according to claim 23, wherein at least one end of said at least one element extends flush with a corresponding face of said body of first filtering material.

30. The filter component according to claim 23, wherein said body of first filtering material is a hollow body and said at least one element protrudes from at least one of a first and second axially opposed faces of said body of first filtering material.

31. The filter component according to claim 23, wherein said at least one element is one continuous element.

32. The filter component according to claim 23, wherein the second filtering material comprises vegetable fibers different from cotton fibers.

33. The filter component according to claim 32, wherein said vegetable fibers different from cotton fibers comprise paper fibers, polylactic acid fibers and any combination thereof.

34. The filter component according to claim 24, wherein said synthetic filtering material comprises cellulose acetate.

35. The filter component according to claim 23, wherein said first filtering material comprises at least one plasticizer.

36. The filter component according to claim 23, wherein said filter component includes a wrapping material and wherein the plug of filter material is overwrapped by the wrapping material.

37. The filter component according to claim 36, wherein said wrapping material comprises at least one sheet of paper.

38. The filter component according to claim 23, wherein said filter component comprises at least one flavor release agent.

39. The filter component according to claim 23, wherein the body of first filtering material has a hardness comprised between about 40 percent and about 60 percent.

40. The filter component according to claim 23, wherein the element of second filtering material has a hardness comprised between about 40 percent and about 60 percent.

41. The filter component according to claim 23, wherein said filter component comprises at least one dye.

42. The filter component according to claim 23, wherein said filter component has a hardness between about 75 percent and about 82 percent.

43. A filter for an aerosol-generating article, wherein said filter comprises the filter component according to claim 23.

44. An aerosol-generating article, wherein said aerosol-generating article comprises the filter component according to claim 23.

Description

[0109] Specific embodiments of the invention will be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0110] FIG. 1 illustrates a method for measuring the hardness used in the present invention;

[0111] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an apparatus for determining the hardness of a filter or a smoking article, in a first configuration;

[0112] FIG. 3 is a side view of the apparatus of FIG. 2, in the first configuration;

[0113] FIG. 4 is a side view of the apparatus of FIGS. 2 and 3, in a second configuration;

[0114] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a filter component according to the invention

[0115] FIG. 6 is a longitudinal section of a filter component according to the invention;

[0116] FIG. 7 is a schematic lateral cross section of the apparatus according to the invention;

[0117] FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 illustrate the apparatus for testing the hardness of the smoking articles filters element of the invention, operating according to the principle depicted in FIG. 1.

[0118] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an apparatus 4, such as a DD60A Densimeter device, for determining the hardness of a filter of a smoking article. The apparatus includes two parallel load applying rods 24 positioned over a support plate 30. The support plate 30 includes two parallel, spaced apart walls 12, with each wall 12 having ten equally spaced recesses. The recesses are arranged to prevent the smoking articles 10 from contacting one another during testing.

[0119] As can be seen in FIG. 2, ten identically designed smoking articles 10 are aligned parallel in a plane, and placed on underlying cylindrical rods 14. The smoking articles 10 extend between corresponding recesses in the walls 12 to hold the smoking articles in place. The underlying cylindrical rods 14 extend parallel to the walls 12. Each smoking article 10 contacts the underlying rods 14 at two points, making for twenty total points of contact between the smoking articles to be tested and the underlying rods 14.

[0120] To test the hardness of a smoking article's filter, the smoking articles should be positioned such that the portion of the filter to be tested is in contact with the underlying rods 14. If filter is too short and the portion of the filter to be tested either does not contact both rods or contacts the rods very close to the ends of the portion of the filter to be tested, then it would appreciated that this could be achieved by using twenty cigarettes in a back-to-back configuration, such as that shown in FIG. 3.

[0121] As shown, the concept of the DD60A Test is that the underlying cylindrical rods contact the sample material to be tested at twenty contact points. If the filter is sufficiently long to extend across the underlying rods, then the twenty contact points can be provided with ten samples (as shown in FIG. 2). If the filter is not sufficiently long, then the twenty contact points can be provided with twenty samples, as shown in FIG. 3.

[0122] As can be seen in FIG. 3, portions of the tobacco rods have been removed from each smoking article 10, and the filter portion of each smoking article 10 rests on a respective cylindrical rod 14. In the present case, the hardness of the mouth end segment is being tested, and therefore it is this portion of the filter which rests on the rod 14, and the mouth end segment is approximately centered on the rods 14. If necessary, the tips of the smoking articles extending away from the cylindrical rods 14 may be supported by an underlying supporting means to prevent pivoting of the smoking articles.

[0123] The apparatus is shown in FIG. 3 in a first configuration, in which the two load applying cylindrical rods 24 are raised above and out of contact from the smoking articles 10. To test the hardness of the smoking articles, the load applying cylindrical rods 24 are lowered to a second configuration, to come into contact with the smoking articles 10, as shown in FIG. 4. When in contact with the smoking articles 10, the load applying rods 24 impart an overall load of 2 kg across the twenty contact points of the smoking articles 10 for a duration of 20 seconds. After 20 seconds have elapsed (and with the load still being applied to the smoking articles), the depression in the load applying cylindrical rods 24 across the smoking articles is determined, and then used to calculate the hardness.

[0124] The above measurement is applied to the filter component, plug, body and element of the present invention, as described below.

[0125] In FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 a filter component 100 realized according to the invention is shown.

[0126] Filter component 100 comprises a plug of filter material 110 comprising a body 120 of a first filtering material and at least one element 130 of a second filtering material.

[0127] The body 120 comprises first and second axially opposed first and second faces 140, 150 and it is hollow, that is, a through hole 161 defines a first and a second aperture 141, 151 formed in the first and second faces 140, 150. The body 120 is preferably cylindrical and it is formed in a synthetic material such as acetate tow. Further, the body 120 defines a cylindrical external surface, or mantle, 160, which is perpendicular to at least one of said first and a second axially opposed faces 140, 150 of said body 120.

[0128] The plug 110 defines a longitudinal axis 170, which is preferably also the axis of the cylinder defined by the body 120.

[0129] The at least one element 130 is inserted in the through hole 161 of the body 120.

[0130] As depicted in FIG. 6, said at least one element 130 preferably extends in a longitudinal direction between the first and the second axially opposed faces 140, 150. Further, preferably, the element 130 defines a longitudinal axis, coincident with axis 170. In the figures, the element 130 fills up the through hole 161 completely, that is, there is substantially no void space in the hole 161 after the element 130 insertion. Preferably, said at least one element 130 extends in a direction which is substantially parallel to the mantle 160. As depicted in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the component 130 includes a first and a second end 180, 190 which are flush with the corresponding first and second faces 140, 150 of said body 120.

[0131] The element 130 is a cotton yarn.

[0132] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, in the filter component 100 the ratio between the transversal dimension, that is, in a plane perpendicular to axis 170, defined by said at least one element 130 and the corresponding transversal dimension of said plug is comprised between about 0.67 and about 0.77. The plane in which the transversal dimension is taken is parallel to one of the faces 140, 150 of the body 120 and it is depicted in FIG. 6 as a dash-dotted line 171.

[0133] A volume ratio between a volume of the at least one element 130 and a volume of the plug 110 is of about 0.6 or 0.5.

[0134] FIG. 7 depicts an apparatus 200 suitable for producing the filter component 100 of the invention.

[0135] The apparatus 200 comprises a first feed path 201 adapted to continuously feed at least one layer 202 of a first filtering material along a first longitudinal transport direction 203 and a second feed path 204 adapted to continuously feed at least one strand 205 comprising at least one thread of a second filtering material along a second longitudinal transport direction 206 and intersecting said first feed path 201.

[0136] Upstream to said second feed path 205 the apparatus 200 preferably includes a supply device 205 adapted to withdraw said at least one strand 205 comprising at least one thread of a second filtering material.

[0137] Connected to a terminating end 207 of said first feed path 201 and to a corresponding terminating end 208 of said second feed path 204, the apparatus 200 includes an aligning element 209.

[0138] As depicted in FIG. 7, the first feed path 201 preferably comprises three pairs of rolls 218, 219 and 220 adapted to allow said at least one layer 202 to pass therethrough and one or more rolls 221 adapted to convoy said at least one layer 202 to the aligning device 209.

[0139] Said aligning element 209 is adapted to collect said at least one layer 202 and said at least one strand 205 and to allow said at least one layer 202 to incorporate said at least one strand 205 in such a way to form a rod 210 of filter material including a sheath of a first filtering material incorporating at least one element of at least a second filtering material.

[0140] The apparatus 200 depicted in FIG. 7 furthermore includes a wrapping station 211, included in said aligning device 209, adapted to wrap a wrapping material over the rod 210 of filter material. In FIG. 7 said wrapping material in form of a sheet 212 is withdraw by a bobbin 213 and fed to the wrapping station 211 through a third feed path 214 along a third longitudinal transport direction 215. The third feed path 214 depicted in FIG. 7 comprises a pair of rolls 222 adapted to convoy said sheet 212 to the wrapping station 211.

[0141] At a point positioned downstream to said aligning device 209, the apparatus 200 includes a forming device 216, wherein said forming device 216 is adapted to form the rod 210 of filter material into a plug 110 of filter material comprising a body 120 of first filtering material and at least one element 130 of a second filtering material, in such a way that said at least one element 130 is inserted in the body 120 of a first filtering material and that a volume ratio between a volume of the at least one element 130 of a second filtering material and a volume of the plug 110 is of about 0.6 or 0.5.

[0142] The forming device 216 depicted in FIG. 7 includes also a cutting station 217 (not represented in detail in FIG. 7) that is adapted to cut said plug 110 of filter material.