Patent Application
20130139837
This invention relates to improvements in embossing techniques. In particular, the invention relates to embossing techniques for smoking articles.
As used herein, the term “smoking article” includes smokeable products such as cigarettes, cigars and cigarillos whether based on tobacco, tobacco derivatives, expanded tobacco, reconstituted tobacco or tobacco substitutes and also heat-not-burn products.
Conventional filtered cigarettes generally comprise a rod of tobacco wrapped in a cigarette paper and a filter plug wrapped in a plug wrap. The filter plug and tobacco rod are connected using a tipping paper. The amount of smoke drawn through the filter depends on various factors, for example the air permeability of the cigarette paper, plug wrap and/or tipping paper. For instance, a cigarette paper of a high air permeability will permit airflow through the cigarette paper and will dilute the smoke more than a cigarette paper of lower air permeability. The air permeability of the cigarette paper used in cigarette manufacture is therefore a factor in controlling, at least, the smoke dilution of the cigarette.
One method of modifying the air permeability of paper is through an embossing process, as discussed, for example, in GB 1524211. The embossing process generally comprises exerting pressure at localised areas on the surface of the paper in order to open or stretch the fibrous structure of the paper to create indentations or holes in the paper. This has the effect of modifying the air permeability of the paper. Controlling the embossing process provides a means for controlling the air permeability of the paper.
Disadvantageously, the embossing process can cause a reduction in the tensile strength of the paper. This reduction in tensile strength can result in papers such as cigarette papers, plug wraps and tipping papers tearing as the paper is put under stress and/or strain during the cigarette and/or filter manufacturing process. This is undesirable and has the effect of limiting the rate of production.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided an embossing apparatus for applying an embossing pattern to a wrapper for a smoking article, the embossing apparatus configured so as to act to at least partially minimise the reduction, in at least one direction, in the tensile strength of the wrapper resulting from the application of said embossing pattern. In this sense, partially minimised may be taken to mean that the reduction in tensile strength caused by embossing the wrapper may be offset though configuration of the embossing apparatus for that purpose.
Advantageously, minimising the degree to which tensile strength is reduced by the embossing process may avoid or mitigate some of the problems associated with reduced tensile strength. In particular, improving the tensile strength of the wrapper in this manner may mitigate the problem of tearing of the wrapper, which can reduce production.
Typically, the embossing pattern is applied so as to increase the diffusivity and/or permeability of said wrapper and wherein the embossing pattern is selected such that for a given increase in diffusivity and/or permeability, the embossing pattern minimises an embossing stress and/or strain placed on the wrapper, during application of the embossing pattern, in at least one direction.
Variations in the stress and/or strain on the wrapper can alter the effects of the embossing process. For example, deeper embossing, by applying a greater embossing force, can cause larger holes/indentations which affect the diffusivity and/or permeability of the wrapper. It is a further advantage of the present invention that a desired amount of diffusivity and/or permeability may be better controlled, having better consistency, by selecting an embossing pattern which minimises the embossing stress and/or strain placed on the paper.
Preferably, application of the embossing pattern is arranged to result in an embossed wrapper having different strength characteristics in different directions.
Preferably, the embossing apparatus comprises an embossing roller for applying the embossing to the wrapper; and means for maintaining the embossing roller at a predetermined distance from said wrapper so as to limit the depth of the embossing. Advantageously, maintaining the predetermined distance is one method for minimising the stress placed on the wrapper as the embossing roller applies the embossing pattern to the wrapper.
In a preferred embodiment, the embossing apparatus comprises at least two embossing rollers for applying the embossing to the wrapper running in a longitudinal direction between the at least two rollers, wherein the maintaining means maintains a minimum distance between circumferential surfaces of the at least two embossing rollers.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided an embossed wrapper for a smoking article, wherein the embossing is applied in a pattern selected such that for a given increase in diffusivity and/or permeability resulting from the embossing, the embossed pattern acts to at least partially minimise the reduction, in at least one direction, in the tensile strength of the wrapper resulting from the application of said embossing.
Preferably, the embossed pattern is selected to minimise weakness lines running through an embossed region of the wrapper, in a least one direction. Weakness lines are introduced during the embossing process as the fibrous structure of the wrapper material, typically cigarette paper, is opened and stretched. It is an advantage of selecting an appropriate embossed pattern that the extent to which the weakness lines cause a reduction in tensile strength can be minimised.
Preferably, the embossed pattern comprises an embossed region and a non-embossed region, and a leading edge between the embossed region and the non-embossed region, the leading edge being arranged to be non-perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the wrapper.
Optionally, the embossed pattern comprises a spiral or helical pattern when the wrapper is wrapped around the smoking article. This arrangement of embossing pattern has further advantages in that the spiral or helical pattern is a mechanism for encouraging the smoking article to self-extinguish in the absence of being drawn. This is a particularly an advantage in relation to Low Ignition Propensity smoking articles.
In a preferred embodiment, the embossed pattern of the wrapper comprises indentations which have no substantially perpendicular edges with respect to a longitudinal direction of the wrapper. Optionally, the embossed pattern of the wrapper comprises indentations of rhomboidal shape which have no substantially perpendicular edges with respect to a longitudinal direction of the wrapper. In one optional embodiment, the embossed pattern is formed from an array of indentations in which transversally adjacent indentations are longitudinally offset from each other.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an embossing roller for applying an embossing pattern to a wrapper for a smoking article, wherein the embossing roller comprises a plurality of embossing protrusions arranged such that for a given increase in diffusivity and/or permeability of a wrapper embossed using said roller, the embossed protrusions act to at least partially minimise the reduction, in at least one direction, in the tensile strength of the wrapper resulting from the application of said embossing.
Preferably, the embossing protrusions are arranged such that applying the embossing roller to the wrapper results in a wrapper as described above.
The above embossing patterns advantageously reduce the strain and/or stress placed on the wrapper when the wrapper and/or smoking article is being manufactured.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of embossing a wrapper for a smoking article, the method comprising applying an embossing pattern to the wrapper so as to act to at least partially minimise the reduction, in at least one direction, in the tensile strength of the wrapper resulting from the application of said embossing pattern.
In a preferred embodiment the applying step comprises applying an embossing roller to the wrapper, the method further comprising maintaining the embossing roller at a predetermined distance from said wrapper so as to limit the depth of the embossing.
Preferably, running a web of wrapper material, in a longitudinal direction, through at least two embossing rollers, and the maintaining step comprises using a coaxial cammed movement limiter and a mechanical stop to prevent radial movement of at least one of the rollers in at least one direction.
Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to accompanying figures, in which:
a is a front elevation of an embossing drive roller and a contrast roller showing a non-embossed region of the embossing drive roller in communication with the contrast roller;
b is the front elevation of
a is a side elevation of an embossing drive roller, of one embodiment of the present invention, having a cammed movement limiter for maintaining a minimum distance between the drive roller and contrast roller;
b a front elevation of the embossing drive roller of
a and 8b are example embossing patterns according to embodiments of the present invention; and
A smoking article 100 is shown in
Typically, the smokable material rod 300 comprises a substantially cylindrical core of tobacco material 310 wrapped in a wrapper 320. The wrapper 320 provides a circumferential boundary for the cylindrical core 310, as is shown in
The permeability of the wrapper 320 may be inherently low so as to substantially limit the permeation of external air through the wrapper 320 into the burning tobacco core 310. One reason for restricting the flow of external air to the burning tobacco core may be to cause or encourage the cigarette to self-extinguish if it is not regularly drawn upon by the smoker. Smoking articles displaying this characteristic are often referred to as Low Ignition Propensity (LIP) smoking articles. National regulation often requires that low ignition propensity smoking articles exhibit full length burn percentages of less than a particular threshold, for example 25% of the tobacco rod, when tested in accordance with ASTM E2187-04 or ASTM E2187-09, which are standards against which the ignition propensity properties of smoking articles can be assessed. In one embodiment, the permeability of the wrapper 320 may be less than 30 Coresta and preferably is less than 20 Coresta. This provides the cigarette 100 with a low ignition propensity to meet industry standards defined by ASTM E2187-04 and ASTM E2187-09.
The properties of the wrapper 320 can be improved by forming an embossed region 321 in the wrapper 320, as shown in
The embossed region 321 of the wrapper 320 has a higher air permeability than the non-embossed region 322. This allows a greater amount of external air to pass through the embossed region 321 of the wrapper 320 into the tobacco core 310, thereby increasing smoke dilution during puffing. As such, the permeability of the embossed region 321 will differ from that of the non-embossed region 322. Selection of the required permeability value of the embossed region may be made in dependence on factors including the permeability of the non-embossed region 322 and the relative area of the embossed region 321.
In addition to having higher air permeability, the embossed region 321 of the wrapper 320 also has significantly higher gas diffusivity than the non-embossed region 322. For example the gas diffusivity of the embossed region 321 may be at least five, preferably six or seven times greater than the gas diffusivity of the non-embossed region 322. The higher gas diffusivity of the embossed region 321 of the wrapper 320 allows smoke components such as CO and nitrogen oxide to diffuse out of the burning tobacco rod 300 through the embossed region 321 of the wrapper 320. As such, smoke components which would otherwise be drawn into the filter 200 during puffing are diffused out of the cigarette before reaching the filter 300 due to the higher gas diffusivity of the embossed region 321. Furthermore, the additional oxygen diffusing through the cigarette paper toward the burning tobacco due to the higher diffusivity of the embossed region 321 increases the burn rate and, therefore, reduces the puff number of the cigarette 100.
The combination of the embossed region 321 and the non-embossed region 322 provides a cigarette 100 which may conform to recognized LIP standards as above, and which provides a smoking experience arranged to have a particular puff number. While this is one reason for manufacturing a cigarette paper having an embossed region 321 and non-embossed region 322, a person skilled in the art will appreciate that there may be other reasons, and that the present invention relates generally to embossing processes irrespective of the application for the embossed material.
As described above, the embossing process can cause a reduction in the tensile strength of the wrapper because creating indentations or holes results in lines of weakness 240 through the embossed region, as shown in
In addition, as described above, the wrapper 320 may have embossed and non-embossed regions, 321 and 322, meaning that at least once as the wrapper 320 is being embossed there will be a change from a non-embossed region 322 to an embossed region 321. This change corresponds to a leading edge or leading row 250 of the embossing pattern on the embossing roller 510. As described in greater detail below, in relation to the embossing apparatus and process, a significant line of weakness may be caused at the leading edge/row of the embossing pattern.
An example embossing unit 500 is schematically illustrated in
The circumferential surface of the embossing contrast roller(s) 520 are forced against the circumferential surface of the embossing drive roller 510. In one embodiment, the force may be applied by a pneumatic system comprising a piston 530. In an alternative embodiment, the embossing unit 500 may use a set of cams to control the relative positions of the embossing contrast rollers 520. The force exerted on the paper web 320 between the embossing rollers 510, 520 is proportional to the air pressure exerted against the piston 530 in the pneumatic system. The air pressure on the piston 530 can be varied by a control unit 540 which is configured to increase or decrease the air pressure in the pneumatic system according to a set of control parameters, which may be predetermined or may be adaptively determined according to the results of the embossing process. In one embodiment, the diameter of the piston 530 is approximately 2.75 inches. However, in an alternative setup, the diameter of the piston 530 may be reduced to provide greater control over the embossing force applied to the paper 320 by the embossing rollers 510, 520. The use of a smaller diameter piston 530 will result in a smaller increase in embossing force for a given increase in air pressure applied to the piston 530. A corresponding effect will be provided for decreases in air pressure. A suitable alternative diameter for the piston 530 may be approximately 1 inch.
The embossing unit 500 may also comprise one or more drive rollers 550 configured to drive the paper web 320 through the embossing unit 500, in addition to drive provided to the embossing drive roller 510. In
The embossing unit 500 further comprises an analysis unit 560 which is configured to analyse the properties of the paper web 320 after it has passed between the embossing rollers 510, 520. The analysis unit 560 comprises one or more sensors 561 for collecting information about the structure of the embossed paper 320. The collected information may, for example, include one or more of the air permeability of the paper 320 in the embossed 321 and non-embossed regions 322, the thickness of the paper 320 in the embossed 321 and non-embossed regions 322 and the transmission of the paper 320 in the embossed 321 and non-embossed regions 322.
As shown in
The air permeability and gas diffusivity of the embossed region 321 of the paper 320 can be selected by varying the force applied to the paper 320 during the embossing process. As such, the force applied to the paper web 320 as it passes between the embossing rollers 510, 520 can be varied in dependence of the exact properties which are desired for the wrapper 320. An example embossing force applied to the wrapper 320 by the embossing rollers 510, 520 is in the range of between 2 Kgf and 55 Kgf. The precise embossing forces will depend partly on parameters such as the thickness and inherent air permeability of the wrapper 320 being used.
In addition, the air permeability and gas diffusivity of the embossed region 321 of the paper 320 can be selected by varying the size and number of the embossing protrusions 260 as well as varying the coverage area of the embossing protrusions 260.
As described above, the embossing process reduces the tensile strength of the paper 320. Configuring a wrapper 320 to have embossed 321 and non-embossed 322 regions can add to this problem because applying an embossing drive roller 510 having embossed and non-embossed regions to the paper web 320 results in a variation in the pressure which is applied to the paper web 320. This is particularly a problem for embossing wrappers 320 with bands or other patterns which extend transversally across the wrapper 320, as shown in
As the wrapper is passed longitudinally through the embossing drive roller 510, a weakness is caused in the paper web 320 transversally at the start of each new embossed region. This is further explained with reference to
The embossing rollers 510, 520 rotate at a sufficiently high number of revolutions per minute such that the embossing drive roller 510 pulses against the embossing contrast roller 520, or vice versa, as the portion of the circumferential surface of the embossing roller which contacts the paper web changes from an embossed region 620 to a non-embossed region 600. This pulsing movement causes inertia as the circumferential surface of the embossing drive roller 510 moves closer and further away from circumferential surface of the contrast roller(s). This pulsing movement and inertia cause an increase in pressure on the paper web 320 as the leading edge 250 of the embossed region 620 is pressed against the paper web 320, and this results in a deeper embossing indentation. As described above, this introduces a significant weakness line 240 in the paper web 320, which can cause tearing of the paper web 320 during the cigarette manufacturing process. In addition, there is the further disadvantage of inconsistent embossing through the wrapper results in inconsistencies in the air permeability and diffusivity of the wrapper 320. The example arrangement in
According to embodiments of the invention, the pressure applied to the moving web is controlled by limiting the movement of the embossing drive roller 510 as it moves toward and away from the contrast roller(s) 520 (or vice versa), in order to limit or prevent the pulsing movement described above. This may be achieved by limiting the movement of either the embossing drive roller 510 and/or the contrast rollers 520. This method stops the circumferential surfaces of the rollers 510, 520 from moving together in the non-embossed regions 600 of the embossing pattern which could occur as shown in
An example configuration of a suitable cammed movement limiter is shown in
In addition or alternatively, another solution to the above problem of reduced tensile strength is to determine an embossing pattern which minimises the stress under which the paper web is placed. In one embodiment this is achieved by disrupting or altering the leading edge/row of the embossed pattern on the embossing drive roller 510. In this sense, disrupting or altering the leading edge means changing the embossed region 620 from having a substantially perpendicular row of embossing protrusions 260 (as shown in
In one example, the embossing drive roller 510 has embossing protrusions 260 in a spiral or helical pattern. An embossing drive roller 510 with such a spiral or helical pattern would result in a cigarette wrapper 320, as shown in
A person skilled in the art will appreciate other formations for embossing protrusions 260 which may help mitigate the problems of reduced tensile strength of the paper web 320. For example, any pattern which interrupts the leading edge 250 may provide improvements in relation to tensile strength. In particular, staggering the leading edge 250 of the embossing protrusions 260 can give the desired result.
In addition or alternatively, the formation of embossing protrusions may also be altered to minimise the strain exerted on the paper web 320 during the embossing process. As an alternative to the embossing formation shown in
In one embodiment, the embossing formation is a rhomboid pattern shown in
In another embodiment, adjacent embossing protrusions 260 are offset from each other in the longitudinal direction A, as shown in
In addition, or as an alternative, to changing the embossed pattern and/or formation, it is possible to minimise the depth of the embossing in order to improve the tensile strength of the paper, without reducing the desired effects on the permeability or diffusivity of the wrapper 320. As described above, the air permeability and gas diffusivity of the embossed region 321 of the paper 320 can be selected by varying the size and number of the embossing protrusions 260 as well as varying the coverage area of the embossing protrusions 260. In order to minimise the depth of the embossing to improve the tensile strength of the paper, the embossing drive roller 510 is provided with a higher number of protrusions of a smaller dimension than those shown and discussed in relation to
In addition, or as an alternative to the above solutions, a further method for preventing or diminishing the problem of reduced tensile strength may be achieved by having non-embossed strips which run longitudinally along the length of the wrapper, as shown in
A person skilled in the art will appreciate that the above solutions any be utilised in any combination to produce desired results.
Although the invention has been described above in relation to a cigarette paper, the invention is also applicable to other smoking article wrapping materials, such as tipping paper, plug wrap and cigar papers, as would be appreciated by those skilled in the art.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1006725.4 | Apr 2010 | GB | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP11/55781 | 4/13/2011 | WO | 00 | 2/25/2013 |
