Fluid Release Mechanism

Abstract

A fluid release mechanism for a smoking article comprises two longitudinally arranged parts (2,3), rotatable relative to one another from a first to a second position, a space to receive a fluid- containing member (4,5) and a contacting member (6,7) for contacting the fluid containing member in the second position, wherein the contacting member is arranged so that rotating from the first position to the second position causes relative angular movement between the contacting member and said space which causes the contacting member to enter the space for contacting and rupturing the fluid- containing member, thereby to release fluid.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a fluid release mechanism for a smoking article such as a cigarette.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is known to provide a breakable gelatin capsule containing a fluid flavourant, for example menthol, inside the plug material of a cigarette filter. When pressure is applied to the outside of the filter, the plug material surrounding the capsule presses against the capsule, thereby rupturing the capsule and releasing the flavourant. Smoke drawn from the cigarette is then flavoured by the flavourant as it passes through the filter. In this way flavour can be selectively added to the smoke drawn from the cigarette by squeezing the outside of the filter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an alternative approach for selectively modifying the characteristics of smoke.

The present invention provides a fluid release mechanism for a smoking article, comprising first and second longitudinally arranged parts rotatable relative to one another from a first to a second position, the second part having a space to receive a fluid-containing member and the first part having a contacting member for contacting the fluid-containing member in the second position, wherein the contacting member is arranged so that rotating from the first position to the second position causes relative angular movement between the contacting member and said space which causes the contacting member to enter the space for contacting the fluid-containing member, thereby to release fluid.

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.

Preferably, the fluid release mechanism is comprised in a smoking article filter, which in turn may be comprised in a smoking article. The fluid release mechanism may be arranged inside the smoking article filter so that when the fluid is released, smoke passing through the filter comes into contact with the fluid, which acts to modify the characteristics of the smoke, for example, by flavouring the smoke.

As used herein the term fluid includes any substance which flows and therefore includes liquids, gases and solids (e.g. in powder or granule or grain form, or plastic solids) which are able to flow.

Preferably, the fluid is a fluid flavourant. As used herein, the terms “flavour” and “flavourant” refer to materials which may be used to create a desired taste or aroma in a product. They may include extracts e.g., licorice, hydrangea, Japanese white bark magnolia leaf, chamomile, fenugreek, clove, menthol, Japanese mint, aniseed, cinnamon, herb, wintergreen, cherry, berry, peach, apple, Dramboui, bourbon, scotch, whiskey, spearmint, peppermint, lavender, cardamon, celery, cascarilla, nutmeg, sandalwood, bergamot, geranium, honey essence, rose oil, vanilla, lemon oil, orange oil, cassia, caraway, cognac, jasmine, ylang-ylang, sage, fennel, piment, ginger, anise, coriander, coffee, or a mint oil from any species of the genus Menth a), flavour masking agents, bitterness receptor site blockers, receptor site enhancers, sweeteners e.g., sucralose, acesulfame potassium, aspartame, saccharine, cyclamates, lactose, sucrose, glucose, fructose, sorbitol, or mannitol, and other additives such aschlorophyll, minerals, botanicals, or breath freshening agents. They may be imitation, synthetic or natural ingredients or blends thereof. They may be in any suitable form, for example, oil, liquid, or powder.

Optionally, the fluid-containing member may contain a smoke-modifying fluid other than a flavourant. For example, the fluid-containing member may contain a humectant, or liquids such as water or Vitamin A solution for filtering certain elements from the cigarette smoke

The fluid-containing members are preferably breakable fluid-containing capsules and are further preferably formed from gelatin.

Preferably, the fluid release mechanism comprises a restriction mechanism configured to prevent further angular movement away from the first position when the first and second parts are positioned in the second position.

Preferably, the fluid release mechanism comprises a locating mechanism configured to locate the parts in the first position and the second position. The locating mechanism ensures that the parts are located securely in the desired position so that capsules are not accidentally ruptured by unwanted rotation of the parts caused for example by movement of the eventual cigarettes during transport or in a consumer's pocket.

The locating mechanism may be adapted to generate an audible sound upon rotation from the first position to the second position. The audible sound provides an audible indication to the user that a capsule has been broken.

Preferably, the fluid release mechanism is adapted to house two capsules and comprises two spaces, one for each capsule. The two parts are preferably further rotatable relative to another from the first position to a third position and the first part preferably comprises a further (second) contacting member for contacting a capsule in the third position. While rotating from the first position to the second position causes relative angular movement between the first contacting member and a first of said spaces which causes the first contacting member to enter the first space for contacting and rupturing a first of the capsules, rotating from the first position to the third position causes relative angular movement between the second contacting member and a second of said spaces which causes the contacting member to enter a second of the spaces for contacting and rupturing a second of the capsules. Preferably rotation from the first position to the second position is in the opposite direction to the rotation from the first position to the third position. For example, the direction of rotation from the first position to the second position may be clockwise and the direction of rotation from the first position to the third position may be anticlockwise. In this way, the user may selectively rupture either the first or the second capsule by twisting the filter either clockwise or anticlockwise.

The first and second capsules may contain different flavourants for example menthol and orange essence respectively. Thus, the user may release either a menthol flavourant, an orange essence flavourant, or both flavourants.

Optionally, the first and second capsules contain the same flavourant. In this case, the user may select the intensity of flavour by either breaking none, one or both capsules.

Preferably, the first part is formed from moulded plastic and the second part is formed from moulded plastic.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the invention may be more fully understood, an embodiment thereof will now be described by way of illustrative example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1( a), 1(b) and 1(c) are perspective views of a fluid release mechanism.

FIG. 2 shows a smoking article comprising the fluid release mechanism.

FIG. 3 shows a cross section and an end view of the fluid release mechanism in a first position.

FIG. 4 shows a cross section and an end view of the fluid release mechanism in a second position.

FIG. 5 shows a cross section and an end view of the fluid release mechanism in a third position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows an exploded perspective view of a fluid release mechanism 1 for a smoking article filter. As shown, fluid release mechanism 1 comprises first and second substantially cylindrically shaped parts 2, 3 which fit together so as to be rotatable relative to one another. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the fluid release mechanism 1 houses two breakable, flavourant-containing capsules 4, 5, which can be selectively ruptured by twisting the second part 3 relative to the first part 2 in either a clockwise or an anticlockwise direction. As shown in FIG. 1, the first part 2 has protrusions in the form of bosses 6, 7 to break the capsules. Preferably, the capsules 4, 5 are formed of gelatin and contain different flavourants, for example menthol and orange essence respectively.

FIG. 2 shows a smoking article 8 having a filter 9 incorporating the fluid release mechanism 1. As shown, filter 9 comprises two rods of cellulose acetate 10, 11 axially aligned at either end of the fluid release mechanism 1 and is wrapped with a first wrapper in the form of a plugwrap paper 12.

As shown, the smoking article 8 has a paper wrapped tobacco rod 13 axially aligned with filter 9. A tipping paper 14 is wrapped around an end portion of the rod 13 and the filter 9 to join them together.

The wrappers 12, 14 are circumferentially perforated at the peripheral region where the parts 2, 3 meet so as to allow the filter 9 to be twisted. The wrappers 12, 14 could be pre-perforated or alternatively laser perforation could be performed after the filter 9 is wrapped.

In this way, the first part 2 of fluid release mechanism 1, the first rod 10, a first portion of the plugwrap 12 and a first portion of the tipping paper 14 form a first filter segment 15 of filter 9. Similarly, the second part 3 of fluid release mechanism 2, the second rod 11, a second portion of the plugwrap 12 and a second portion of the tipping paper 13 form a second segment 16 of filter 9.

A capsule 4, 5 may be ruptured by holding one of the filter parts 15, 16 in place and twisting the other part either clockwise or anticlockwise, thereby breaking the circumferential perforation in the wrappers 12, 14. Twisting the second filter segment 16 in one direction causes the second part 3 of the fluid release mechanism to twist relative to the first part 2 so that the first capsule 4 is ruptured and the menthol flavourant is released. Thus, smoke drawn from the cigarette will be flavoured by the menthol flavourant as it passes through the filter. Similarly, twisting the second filter segment 16 in the opposite direction causes the second capsule 5 to be ruptured so that the orange essence flavourant is released. Thus, the menthol flavourant or the orange essence flavourant may be selectively released by either twisting the filter clockwise or anti-clockwise. Alternatively, the user may release both flavourants by first twisting in one direction, then twisting back to the original position and then twisting in the opposite direction.

As shown in FIG. 1(a), the second part 3 has a cylindrical body 19 and a cylindrical collar 20 and the first part 2 has a cylindrical body 21 which defines a cylindrical sleeve 22 which receives the collar 20. Referring to FIG. 2, the sleeve 22 has an annular outer lip 23 which fits into groove 24 which runs circumferentially around the periphery of the outer wall of the collar 20, adjacent to the body 19. In this way, the first and second parts can be rotated relative to one another while being held in longitudinal position by the lip 23.

As shown in FIG. 1(a), a longitudinally extending groove 17 is formed in the body 21 of first part 2 and a longitudinally extending groove 18 is formed in the body 19 of second part 3. The grooves 17, 18 are visible as indentations in the filter 9 when the wrappers 12, 14 are applied, and thus provide a visual indication of the relative alignment of the parts 2, 3 and hence of the filter parts 15, 16.

As shown in FIG. 1(b), the second part 3 has two capsule-receiving recesses 25, 26 for the capsules 4, 5. The capsule-receiving recesses 25, 26 have inner openings 27, 28, which lead into first and second cylindrical holes 29, 30, which extend longitudinally through the second part 3 and define outlet openings 31, 32, as shown in FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 1(b), the second part has three recesses 33, 34, 35, each adapted to receive the bosses 6, 7 of the first part 2 in the positions illustrated in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5. In the position illustrated in FIG. 3, the first boss 6 is aligned with and received in the recess 33 and the second boss 7 is aligned with and received in the recess 35 and neither of the capsules 4, 5 is broken. In this way, the first and second parts are securely located in position and are prevented from moving out of place until the user decides to twist the filter.

The bosses are made from a resilient plastic so that when the second part 3 is rotated by a user relative to the first part 2, the bosses 6, 7 longitudinally compress and move out of the recesses 33, 35. Continued rotation then brings one of the bosses 6, 7 into register with the central recess 34. Once aligned, the boss 6, 7 resiles and snaps into position in the recess 34, causing a “click” sound.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the boss 7 is in alignment with the recess 34, the boss 6 is positioned in the capsule-receiving recess 26. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 5, when the boss 6 is in alignment with the recess 34, the boss 7 is positioned in the capsule-receiving recess 25. Twisting the fluid release mechanism from the position shown in FIG. 3 to the position shown in FIG. 4 thus causes the boss 6 to be brought along an angular displacement path, into the capsule-receiving recess 26 where it contacts, presses against and bursts the capsule 5. The capsule 5 is held in position by the sidewall of the recess 26 as the boss 6 presses transversely against it. In this way, the capsule 5 is laterally pinched between the boss 6 and the sidewall of the recess 26 until it bursts.

In a similar way, twisting the fluid release mechanism from the position shown in FIG. 3 into the position shown in FIG. 5 brings the boss 7 along an angular displacement path into the capsule-receiving recess 25, where it ruptures the capsule 4. In this way, one of the capsules 4, 5 can be selectively ruptured by twisting the filter from the position of FIG. 3 to either the position of FIG. 4 or FIG. 5.

As described above, when the boss 6 is brought into the position of FIG. 4 so as to rupture the capsule 5, the boss 7 snaps into position in the recess 34, causing a “click” sound. The “click” sound provides an audible indication to the user that a capsule has been broken. Furthermore, the boss 7 is securely located in the recess 34 and thus the first and second parts will not move out of position until the user decides to twist the filter again.

Similarly, when the boss 7 is brought into the position of FIG. 5 so as to rupture the capsule 4, the boss 6 snaps into position in the recess 34, thereby causing an audible indication that a capsule has been broken and securely locating the parts 2, 3 in position.

The capsules may also make an audible sound when ruptured by the bosses 6, 7. This audible sound adds to the sound made when the bosses snap into place in the recess 34 and thus provides a louder audible indication for the user that a capsule has been broken.

As shown in FIG. 1, in addition to the holes 30, 29, two further holes 36, 37 extend through the second part 3 defining two further outlet openings 38, 39. As shown in FIG. 3, the hole 37 is arranged so that smoke can pass through the hole 37 from the first part 2 to the second part 3, even when the capsules 4, 5 have not been ruptured. In each of the positions shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 5, smoke may pass from the hole 40 into the hole 37.

As shown, the first part 2 has a substantially kidney-shaped hole 40 having two lobes. As shown in FIG. 3-5, the two lobes are arranged to allow smoke to flow through the hole 40, through recesses 25, 26 and through the holes 29, 30 (via openings 27, 28) and out of the outlet openings 31, 32 in any of the positions shown in FIG. 3, 4 or 5, provided that the respective capsule 4, 5 (or both capsules) has been ruptured. This ensures that smoke will pass through the region in which flavourant is released so as to become flavoured.

Many modifications and variations will be evident to those skilled in the art that fall within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A fluid release mechanism for a smoking article, comprising first and second longitudinally arranged parts, rotatable relative to one another from a first position to a second position, the second part having a space to receive a fluid-containing member and the first part having a contacting member for contacting the fluid-containing member in the second position, wherein the contacting member is arranged so that rotating from the first position to the second position causes relative angular movement between the contacting member and said space which causes the contacting member to enter the space for contacting the fluid-containing member, thereby to release fluid.

2. A fluid release mechanism as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a locating mechanism configured to locate the parts in the first position and in the second position.

3. A fluid release mechanism as claimed in claim 2, wherein the locating mechanism is adapted to generate an audible sound upon rotation from the first position to the second position.

4. A fluid release mechanism as claimed in claim 3, wherein the locating mechanism comprises: a resilient locating member comprised in the first part; andfirst and second recesses comprised in the second part, the first and second recesses being adapted to respectively receive the resilient locating member in the first and second positions;wherein rotating from the first position towards the second position causes the resilient locating member to move out of the first recess and compress against the second part and wherein further rotation causes the compressed resilient locating member to rotate until it becomes aligned with the second recess, into which it resiles so as to snap into place in the second recess, thereby causing said audible sound.

5. A fluid release mechanism as claimed in any preceding claim, including the fluid-containing member.

6. A fluid release mechanism as claimed in any claim 5, wherein the fluid is a fluid flavourant.

7. A fluid release mechanism as claimed in claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the fluid-containing member is a breakable capsule.

8. A fluid release mechanism as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising a restriction mechanism configured to prevent further angular movement away from the first position when the first and second parts are positioned in the second position.

9. A fluid release mechanism as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the second part has a further space to receive a further fluid-containing member, wherein the first and second parts are further rotatable relative to another from the first position to a third position, wherein the first part has a further contacting member for contacting the fluid-containing member in the third position, wherein the further contacting member is arranged so that rotating from the first position to the third position causes relative angular movement between the further contacting member and said further space which causes the contacting member to enter the further space for contacting the further fluid-containing member, thereby to release fluid contained in the further fluid-containing member.

10. A fluid release mechanism for a smoking article as claimed in claim 9, comprising a locating mechanism configured to locate the two parts in the first, second and third positions.

11. A fluid release mechanism as claimed in claim 10, wherein the locating mechanism is adapted to generate audible sound upon rotation from the first position to the second position and upon rotation from the first position to the third position

12. A fluid release mechanism as claimed in any of claims 9 to 11, wherein the first and second contacting members are resilient and the second part comprises first, second and third recesses, wherein: the first and third recesses are adapted to receive the first and second contacting members in the first position;the second recess is adapted to receive the second contacting member in the second position and the first contacting member in the third position;wherein rotating from the first position towards the second position causes the second contacting member to move out of the first recess and compress against the second part, and wherein further rotation causes the compressed second contacting member to rotate until it becomes aligned with the second recess, into which it resiles so as to snap into place in the second recess, thereby causing an audible sound;wherein rotating from the first position towards the third position causes the first contacting member to move out of the third recess and compress against the second part, and wherein further rotation causes the compressed first contacting member to rotate until it becomes aligned with the second recess, into which it resiles so as to snap into place in the second recess, thereby causing an audible sound.

13. A fluid release mechanism according to any of claims 9 to 12, wherein rotation from the first position to the second position is oppositely directed to rotation from the first position to the third position.

14. A fluid release mechanism according to any of claims 9 to 13, including the fluid-containing member and the further fluid-containing member.

15. A fluid release mechanism according to claim 14, wherein the fluid contained in the fluid-containing member is a flavourant and the fluid contained in the further fluid-containing member is a flavourant.

16. A fluid release mechanism according to claims 14 or claim 15, wherein the fluid contained in the fluid-containing member and the fluid contained in the further fluid-containing member are different fluids.

17. A fluid release mechanism according to any of claims 14 to 16, wherein the fluid-containing member and the further fluid-containing member are fluid- containing capsules.

18. A fluid release mechanism according to any preceding claim wherein the first part is formed from moulded plastic and the second part is formed from moulded plastic.

19. A filter for a smoking article comprising a fluid release mechanism as claimed in any preceding claim.

20. A smoking article comprising a filter as claimed in claim 19.

21. A fluid release mechanism for a smoking article substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

22. A smoking article substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.