Method and apparatus for manufacturing smoking article components having a removable wrap

Abstract

A method and apparatus are provided for manufacturing multi-component segments for smoking articles, each having a removable wrap. The method includes feeding a stream of heat sources and aerosol-forming substrates along a moving delivery path; compacting into groups at least one heat source and an aerosol-forming substrate, each group corresponding to at least one multi-segment component, each multi-segment component having a first end adjacent the heat source and a second end adjacent the aerosol-forming substrate; wrapping the heat sources and aerosol-forming substrates in a web of material, said web having spaced apart lines of weakness; aligning each line of weakness proximate to a respective heat source; and cutting said web at a position proximate to the first end of the at least one multi-segment component, wherein at least a portion of said web forms a removable wrap being removable by breaking the wrapper at the respective line of weakness.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing multi-segment components for smoking articles, each having a removable wrap, comprising: feeding a stream of heat sources, aerosol-forming substrates, and caps along a moving delivery path; compacting into groups at least one heat source, an aerosol-forming substrate, and a cap, each group corresponding to at least one multi-segment component, each multi-segment component having a first end adjacent the heat source and a second end adjacent the aerosol-forming substrate and each cap being disposed at the first end of the at least one multi-segment component and directly adjacent to the heat source; wrapping the heat sources, aerosol-forming substrates and caps in a web of material, the web of material having spaced apart lines of weakness; and cutting the web of material at a position proximate to the first end of the at least one multi-segment component and adjacent the first end of the cap, wherein at least a portion of the web of material forms a removable wrap, the wrap being removable by breaking the wrapper at the respective line of weakness, and wherein the removable wrap in combination with the cap forms a removable cap for protecting the heat source.

2. A method of manufacturing multi-segment components for smoking articles, each having a removable wrap, comprising: feeding a stream of heat sources, aerosol-forming substrates and elongate segments along a moving delivery path; compacting into groups at least one heat source, an aerosol-forming substrate, and an elongate element, each group corresponding to at least one multi-segment component, each multi-segment component having a first end adjacent the heat source, a second end adjacent the aerosol-forming substrate and an elongate segment positioned at the second end; wrapping the heat sources, aerosol-forming substrates and elongate segments in a web of material, the web of material having spaced apart lines of weakness; and cutting the web of material at a position proximate to the first end of the at least one multi-segment component, wherein at least a portion of the web of material forms a removable wrap, the wrap being removable by breaking the wrapper at the respective line of weakness, and wherein the web of material is cut such that a portion of the elongate segment from one of the at least one multi-segment components is cut at the second end of the multi-segment component, such that the cut portion of the elongate segment in combination with the removable wrap from an adjacent one of the at least one multi-segment components, forms a removable cap disposed at the first end of the adjacent multi-segment component and directly adjacent to the heat source of the adjacent multi-segment component.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising aligning each line of weakness such that each is proximate to a respective heat source.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising applying an adhesive remote from the line of weakness, to affix the wrapper to the heat source and the aerosol-forming substrate.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the spaced apart lines of weakness are arranged such that they circumscribe the at least one multi-segment component.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein a further set of spaced apart lines of weakness are arranged such that they are substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the at least one multi-segment component.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the length of each line of weakness in the further set of spaced apart lines of weakness is at least about 50% of the length of the heat source.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein each line of weakness is non-linear.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising applying a strip of material to the web of material adjacent each line of weakness configured to extend from an edge of the web of material, and across at least a portion of the web of material, wherein the strip of material forms a pull-tab for removing the removable wrap.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising perforating the web of material to form the lines of weakness.

11. A method of manufacturing smoking articles, comprising: feeding a stream of first multi-component segments manufactured according to claim 1, onto a receiving means; feeding a stream of second multi-segment components, each comprising at least a mouthpiece, onto the receiving means; and combining a first multi-segment component and a second multi-segment component by wrapping at least a portion of the first multi-segment component and the second multi-segment component in a web material to form an individual smoking article having a removable wrap at a distal end and a mouthpiece at a proximal end.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein, during the step of combining the first multi-segment component and the second multi-segment component, the first multi-segment component is further wrapped with a heat conducting element, wherein said lines of weakness and the heat conducting element are positioned such that they do not overlap.

Description

(1) Embodiments of smoking articles manufactured according to the present invention will now be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a smoking article manufactured according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a schematic representation of a portion of the manufacturing process according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

(4) FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of a smoking article manufactured according to the invention;

(5) FIG. 4 shows a further embodiment of a smoking article manufactured according to the invention; and

(6) FIG. 5 shows a yet further embodiment of a smoking article manufactured according to the invention.

(7) The smoking article 100 manufactured according to one embodiment of the method of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1. The process is described in detail below with reference to the following features of the smoking article. The smoking article comprises a combustible carbonaceous heat source 102, an aerosol-forming substrate 104, an airflow directing element 106, an expansion chamber 108 and a mouthpiece 110 in abutting coaxial alignment. The combustible carbonaceous heat source 102, aerosol-forming substrate 104, and airflow directing element 106 are formed as a first multi-segment component wrapped in wrapper 112, and the elongate expansion chamber 108 and mouthpiece 110 are formed as a second multi-segment component. The first and second multi-segment components are overwrapped in an outer wrapper 113 of cigarette paper of substantially low air permeability.

(8) A removable cap 114 is provided at the distal end of the smoking article 100, and is directly adjacent to the heat source 102. The removable cap 114 comprises a central portion 116, and is wrapped in a portion 118 of the wrapper 112. In the embodiment shown, the central portion 116 comprises a desiccant, such as glycerine, provided to preferentially absorb moisture from the atmosphere in the proximity of the combustible heat source, so as to reduce or prevent performance degradation of the combustible heat source upon lighting and use. The portion 118 of the wrapper is connected to the wrapper 112 at a line of weakness 120. The line of weakness comprises a plurality of perforations that circumscribe the smoking article 100.

(9) The aerosol-forming substrate 104 is located immediately downstream of the combustible carbonaceous heat source 102 and comprises a cylindrical plug 122 of tobacco material comprising glycerine as an aerosol former and circumscribed by plug wrap 124.

(10) A non-combustible, substantially air impermeable barrier 126 is provided between the downstream end of the combustible heat source 102 and the upstream end of the aerosol-forming substrate 104. As shown in FIG. 1, the non-combustible, substantially air impermeable barrier consists of a non-combustible, substantially air impermeable, barrier coating 126, which is provided on the entire rear face of the combustible carbonaceous heat source 102.

(11) A heat conducting element 128 consisting of a layer of aluminium, preferably aluminium foil, surrounds and is in direct contact with a rear portion 130 of the combustible carbonaceous heat source 102 and an abutting front portion 132 of the aerosol-forming substrate 104. As shown in FIG. 1, a rear portion of the aerosol-forming substrate 104 is not surrounded by the heat conducting element 128. In an alternative embodiment not shown, a second heat-conducting element wraps around at least a portion of the heat-conducting element 128. At least part of the second heat-conducting element is radially separated from the heat-conducting element 128 by one or more layers of a heat insulative material, such as paper.

(12) As shown in FIG. 1, the portion 118 of the outer wrapper which forms part of the removable cap overlays the rear portion 130 of the heat source 102.

(13) The airflow directing element 106 is located downstream of the aerosol-forming substrate 104 and comprises an open-ended, substantially air impermeable hollow tube 134 made of, for example, cardboard, which is of reduced diameter compared to the aerosol-forming substrate 104. The upstream end of the open-ended hollow tube 134 abuts the aerosol-forming substrate 104. The open-ended hollow tube 134 is circumscribed by an annular air permeable diffuser 136 made of, for example, cellulose acetate tow, which is of substantially the same diameter as the aerosol-forming substrate 104.

(14) The open-ended hollow tube 134, and annular air permeable diffuser 136 may be separate components that are adhered or otherwise connected together to form the airflow directing element 106 prior to assembly of the smoking article 100. For example, the open-ended hollow tube and annular air permeable diffuser may be parts of a single hollow tube of air permeable material having a substantially air impermeable coating applied to its inner surface.

(15) In a particularly preferred embodiment, the central portion 116 of the removable cap 114 is manufactured from the same material as the airflow directing element, and so comprises an open-ended hollow tube.

(16) As shown in FIG. 1, the open-ended hollow tube 134 and annular air permeable diffuser 136 are circumscribed by an air permeable inner wrapper 138.

(17) As also shown in FIG. 1, a circumferential arrangement of air inlets 140 is provided in the wrapper 112 circumscribing the inner wrapper 138.

(18) The second multi-segment component comprises the expansion chamber 108 which is located downstream of the airflow directing element 106 and comprises an open-ended hollow tube 142 made of, for example, cardboard, which is of substantially the same diameter as the aerosol-forming substrate 104.

(19) The second multi-segment component also comprises the mouthpiece 110 of the smoking article 100, which is located downstream of the expansion chamber 108 and comprises a cylindrical plug 144 of cellulose acetate tow of very low filtration efficiency circumscribed by filter plug wrap 146. The first multi-segment component and the second multi-segment component are circumscribed by the outer wrapper 113, such as a tipping paper.

(20) According to the preferred embodiment, the first multi-segment component is manufactured by feeding individual combustible heat sources 102 from a hopper onto a moving delivery path. Aerosol-forming substrates and airflow directing elements are also fed into the moving delivery path, and are compacted together with individual combustible heat sources to form discrete multi-segment components. Each discrete multi-segment component is directly adjacent a further multi-segment component, and no gap is required.

(21) The discrete multi-segment components are wrapped in a web of material that is provided with spaced apart lines of weakness. The lines of weakness comprise a plurality of perforations which are formed before the step of wrapping the multi-segment components using a laser. Alternatively, the lines of weakness may be formed mechanically, using, for example, a toothed wheel, a series of blades, a punch, or a combination of any of these methods. Alternatively, the perforations may be formed after the wrapping step.

(22) An adhesive is provided on the inner surface of the web material to affix the web of material to the components of the multi-segment components. The adhesive is interrupted in the region proximate to the lines of weakness to enable the removable cap to be removed more easily.

(23) As can be seen in FIG. 2, the continuously wrapped series of discrete multi-segment components 200 are cut using cutter 202 to form individual multi-segment components. The cutter is oriented such that a portion 204 of the airflow directing element is cut at the first, distal, end of the multi-segment component, thus forming a removable cap, affixed to the multi-segment component at the line of weakness. In this way, an efficient manufacturing process is provided.

(24) The first multi-segment components 200 are each then combined with further, second, multi-segment components which comprise an expansion chamber and a mouthpiece. The first and second multi-segment components are combined feeding a continuous stream of first and second multi-segment components into a moving delivery path, compacting the first and second multi-segment components together, and then by wrapping both components in an outer wrapper, such as tipping paper to join them together. In this way, a smoking article having a removable cap is provided.

(25) As can be seen in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, further embodiments of removable wraps on smoking article multi-segment components are provided. The embodiments shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 are manufactured in a similar manner to the embodiment of FIG. 1 described above.

(26) FIG. 3 shows a first multi-segment component 300 comprising a tear-tab 302 provided between the wrapper 304 and the heat source 305. The tear tab is provided adjacent the line of weakness 306, and enables the user to more easily remove the removable wrap portion 307 of the wrapper 304. The multi-component segment shown in FIG. 3 is manufactured by provided a strip of material, such as aluminium foil, on the inner surface of the web of wrapper material before the components, such as the heat source, aerosol-forming substrate and airflow directing element are wrapped. The strips of material may be aligned with pre-formed lines of weakness, or the lines of weakness may be subsequently formed after the wrapping step in a similar way to that described above.

(27) FIG. 4 shows a further embodiment of a multi-component segment 400, in which a non-linear cut 402 is provided in the wrapper which extends from the distal end of the multi-segment component to the line of weakness. The non-linear cut, in this embodiment, is in the shape of a semi-circle. The cut provides a tear tab, and enables the user to more easily remove the removable wrap. The non-linear cut extends substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the multi-segment component.

(28) FIGS. 5a and 5b show further multi-segment components manufactured according to an embodiment of the present invention. The multi-segment component 500 shows the line of weakness 502 provided in the wrapper. In use, the user removes the removable wrap portion by tearing the wrapper along the tear line starting at the free end 504, as shown. The multi-segment component 506 shows a line of weakness 508 that extends linearly from the distal end of the multi-segment component. In use, the user removes the removable wrap by tearing the wrapper from the distal end towards the proximal end of the multi-segment component, and then subsequently tearing the wrapper circumferentially around the multi-segment component. In further embodiments (not shown), the line of weakness 502 in the wrapper is provided in combination with a line of weakness 508 that extends longitudinally from the distal end of the multi-segment component. In use, the user removes the removable wrap by tearing the wrapper along the line of weakness 508 from the distal end towards the proximal end of the multi-segment component, and then subsequently tearing the wrapper circumferentially along the line of weakness 502 and around the multi-segment component.