Claims
- 1. A method for manufacturing a filter rod containing a filter tow having portions thereof colored with a dye which comprises
- (a) moving a continuous multifilament filter tow through a succession of treatment steps, the direction of movement coinciding generally with the longitudinal axis of the filter tow,
- (b) subjecting the moving filter tow to sufficient tension to produce a longitudinally oriented assemblage of filaments having individual filaments of the tow in substantial alignment,
- (c) moving the longitudinally oriented assemblage of filaments through converging means designed to gather and compress the assemblage of filaments thereby producing a longitudinally oriented filter tow with a rope-like configuration,
- (d) injecting a quantity of a dye into the interior portion of the filter tow by nozzle means positioned in the path of the moving filter tow at a selected location that is downstream of a point at which the filter tow has been sufficiently gathered and compressed by the converging means to envelop the nozzle means in substantially encircling fashion,
- (e) forming the filter tow treated with the dye into a stable, continuous filter rod, and
- (f) cutting the formed continuous filter rod into suitable lengths for subsequent use in the manufacture of smoking products.
- 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said dye is contained in a liquid medium that is injected into the interior portion of the filter.
- 3. The method of claim 2 wherein said liquid medium is injected in the form of a radial spray pattern that is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the moving filter tow.
- 4. The method of claim 2 or 3 wherein said liquid medium is injected in the form of a gas-atomized spray.
- 5. The method of claim 2 wherein said liquid medium includes a plasticizer.
- 6. The method of claim 5 wherein the injected dye imparts a red color to portions of the filter tow.
- 7. The method of claim 1 or 2 wherein said longitudinally oriented, rope-like, treated filter tow is wrapped in a continuous paper web as it is formed into a stable, continuous paper-wrapped filter rod.
- 8. The method of claim 1 or 2 wherein said longitudinally oriented, rope-like, treated filter tow is heated sufficiently during the rod-forming step to give a stable, continuous non-wrapped filter rod.
- 9. The method of claim 1 or 2 wherein the advancing filter tow is motivated by a pressurized gaseous medium directed onto the tow as the tow moves through said converging means.
- 10. The method of claim 1 or 2 wherein said longitudinally oriented assemblage of filaments having individual filaments of the tow in substantial alignment is produced by subjecting the moving filter tow to tension created by contracting the advancing filter tow with one or more circumferentially grooved rolls.
- 11. The method of claim 1 or 2 wherein said longitudinally oriented assemblage of filaments having individual filaments of the tow in substantial alignment is produced by subjecting the moving filter tow to tension created by advancing the filter tow through a tow-blooming jet device.
- 12. The method of claim 1 or 2 wherein said dye is continuously injected into the moving filter tow.
- 13. A smoke filter comprising a plasticized, continuous multifilament filter tow formed into an elongated filter rod having individual filaments of said filter tow in substantial alignment with the longitudinal axis of said filter rod and characterized by the fact that a portion of the filter tow is treated with a dye to impart color to a discrete elongated zone of dye-treated filaments that is in substantial alignment with the longitudinal axis of said filter rod and substantially circumferentially surrounded by plasticized, continuous multifilament filter tow not treated with said dye, the cross-sectional area of said discrete elongated zone of dye-treated filaments constituting between about 1 and 75 percent of the maximum cross-sectional area of said filter rod.
- 14. The filter of claim 13 wherein the filter tow is circumferentially enveloped by a paper wrap.
- 15. The filter of claim 13 wherein said discrete elongated zone of dye-treated filaments is spaced radially inwardly from the outer peripheral surface of said filter rod.
- 16. The filter of claim 13 wherein said discrete elongated zone of dye-treated filaments is substantially coaxial with the longitudinal axis of the filter rod.
- 17. The filter of claim 13 wherein said continuous multifilament filter tow comprises cellulose acetate.
- 18. The filter of claim 13, 14, 15, 16 or 17 wherein the cross-sectional area of said discrete elongated zone of dye-treated filaments constitutes between 3 and 50 percent of the maximum cross-sectional area of said filter rod.
- 19. A filter cigarette comprising a rod of smokable material having a smoke filter axially aligned with and affixed to one end of said rod of smokable material, said smoke filter comprising a plasticized, continuous multifilament filter tow formed into an elongated filter rod having individual filaments of said filter tow in substantial alignment with the longitudinal axis of said filter rod, said filter cigarette being characterized by the fact that a portion of the filter tow of said smoke filter is treated with a dye to impart color to a discrete elongated zone of dye-treated filaments that is in substantial alignment with the longitudinal axis of said filter rod and substantially circumferentially surrounded by plasticized, continuous multifilament filter tow not treated with said dye, the cross-sectional area of said discrete elongated zone of dye-treated filaments constituting between 1 and 75 percent of the maximum cross-sectional area of said filter rod.
- 20. The filter cigarette of claim 19 wherein said discrete elongated zone of dye-treated filaments in said filter rod is spaced radially inwardly from the outer peripheral surface of said filter rod.
- 21. The filter cigarette of claim 19 wherein said discrete elongated zone of dye-treated filaments in said filter rod is substantially coaxial with the longitudinal axis of said filter rod.
- 22. The filter cigarette of claim 19 wherein said continuous multifilament filter tow in said smoke filter comprises cellulose acetate.
- 23. The filter cigarette of claim 19, 20, 21 or 22 wherein said cross-sectional area of said discrete elongated zone of dye-treated filaments in said filter rod constitutes between 3 and 50 percent of the maximum cross-sectional area of said filter rod.
Parent Case Info
This is a divisional of co-pending application Ser. No. 759,894 filed on July 29, 1985 which, in turn, is a divisional of co-pending application Ser. No. 500,418 filed on June 2, 1983, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,549,875.
US Referenced Citations (4)
Divisions (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
759894 |
Jul 1985 |
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Parent |
500418 |
Jun 1983 |
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