Patent Grant
11259561
This application is a U.S. National Stage Application of International Application No. PCT/EP2018/063827 filed May 25, 2018, which was published in English on Dec. 6, 2018 as International Publication No. WO 2018/219826 A1. International Application No. PCT/EP2018/063827 claims priority to European Application No. 17173650.7 filed May 31, 2017.
The present invention relates to a cylindrical rod for aerosol-generating articles. The invention further relates to a method for preparing a cylindrical rod for aerosol-generating articles.
It is known in the art to have cylindrical rods for use in aerosol-generating articles. The cylindrical rods comprise a rod component which is circumscribed by a wrapper. Laterally opposed edge portions of the wrapper do overlap in an overlapping zone. The overlapping edge portions of the wrapper are adhered to each other by glue.
Adhesion of the overlapping edge portions has to be sufficiently firm so that it can withstand the physical stress which is applied to the cylindrical rods during manufacture and during handling of the finished product. For example, when the cylindrical rod is squeezed it will be somewhat deformed towards an oval shape. The deformation creates shear forces that may lead to the destruction of the adhesive connection.
Generally, adhesion between the overlapping edge portions of the wrapper is improved by using an increased amount of glue or by increasing the width of the wrapper material resulting in a larger overlapping zone. However, increasing the amount of raw material is usually undesirable, because it makes the manufacturing process more expensive. Additionally, a larger overlapping zone means that a larger part of the circumference of the rod comprises two layers of the wrapper. As a consequence the rod is likely to be less circular in shape.
It would, thus, be desirable to be able to manufacture wrapped cylindrical rods, which provide stronger resistance to physical stress. It would further be desirable to be able to produce such improved wrapped cylindrical rods using existing production machinery.
According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a cylindrical rod for aerosol-generating articles comprising a rod component being circumscribed by a wrapper. The wrapper comprises laterally opposed edge portions which overlap so as to form an overlapping zone. Glue is applied to the overlapping edge portions of the wrapper, by which the overlapping edge portions are adhered to each other. The glue is applied in such way, so as to form one or more glue zones within the overlapping zone. The wrapper further comprises a plurality of cavities, wherein at least a part of the cavities is provided in the one or more glue zones.
The cavities in the glue zone provide additional anchor surface for the glue. The additional anchorages advantageously improve adhesion. Further, the cavities increase the total glued surface area of the wrapper which improves adhesion. Thus, the wrapper is bound stronger and risk of breaking of the adhesion due to physical stress is reduced. The rod according to the invention advantageously improves adhesion without increasing the width of the wrapper. Hence, a cost-intensive modification of the production machinery is avoided.
A cavity is defined as to be a local modification of the structure of the wrapper. This includes a modification of a surface of the wrapper. The modified part of the surface of the wrapper is defined as to be the surface of the cavity. Generally, the cavity leads to an increase of the surface area of the wrapper.
In some embodiments the cavity is a recess on the wrapper. This means that the thickness of the wrapper is reduced at the location of the cavity. The recess may be created by removal of wrapper material. The recess may also be an indentation which is created by locally compressing the wrapper. Alternatively, the cavity may be created by local corrugations of the wrapper.
In other embodiments the cavity penetrates completely through the wrapper so as to define a through-hole in the wrapper.
In some embodiments the thickness of the wrapper at the location of the cavity is reduced by at least 20 micrometers, by at least 50 micrometers, or by at least 70 micrometers.
The cavities can be of any desired shape. In some embodiments the cavities are of one or more of a cylindrical shape, a pyramidal shape, a cuboid shape, or an irregular shape. In some embodiments the cavities are longitudinal wedges such as scoring lines or creasing lines.
In preferred embodiments the size of a cavity is less than 0.3 millimeter, less than 0.2 millimeter, or less than 0.1 millimeter in diameter.
In some embodiments one or more of different shapes of cavities and different sizes of cavities are used in a single embodiment. In some embodiments recesses and through-holes are used in a single embodiment.
In some embodiments the cavities are created mechanically by debossing, embossing, or pinning. In some embodiments the cavities are created by electrostatic perforation or by laser perforation.
The wrapper is made of a flexible sheet-like material. In some embodiments, the wrapper is one of a plug wrap, a tipping paper, or a cigarette paper. In preferred embodiments the wrapper is made of a fibrous material, for example a cellulosic material. In these embodiments, the creation of a cavity causes the fibrous material to create fringes or spikes of the fibers at the surface of the cavity. The fringes or spikes contribute to a roughening of the surface. Accordingly, in these embodiments the surface of the cavity is rougher than the surface of the wrapper outside the cavity. The roughening of the surface leads to an increase of the surface area. An increased surface area in the glue zone improves the adhesion. Moreover, the roughening of the surface leads to an increased exposure of the fibres. This facilitates lateral penetration of glue into the fibrous material. The facilitated penetration additionally increases adhesion.
The glue zone is defined as to be the portion of the overlapping zone in which glue is present between the two overlapping edge portions of the wrapper. Thus, a cavity in the area of the glue zone is filled with glue. The glue filling the cavity acts like an anchor preventing the overlapping layers of the wrapper to move with respect to one another.
The total glued surface area of the wrapper is the total surface area of the wrapper upon which the glue acts. Hence, the total glued surface area includes the surface area of the side walls of a cavity in the glue zone.
In some embodiments, only part of the wrapper comprises cavities. In particularly preferred embodiments the wrapper comprises cavities in the overlapping zone, only. In some embodiments the wrapper comprises cavities in the one or more glue zones, only.
In these embodiments, advantageously, the air permeability of the cavity-free part of the wrapper is not or only little affected by the presence of the cavities. Moreover, the tensile strength of the cavity-free part of the wrapper is not or only little affected by the presence of the cavities.
Generally, the overlapping zone comprises an inner layer of the wrapper and an outer layer of the wrapper. In some embodiments both the inner layer and the outer layer comprise cavities. In these embodiments the cavities in the opposing layers may be aligned to each other or may be arranged arbitrary to each other. The inner layer is located between the rod component and the outer layer. Thus, the outer layer covers the inner layer of the wrapper. The outer layer of the wrapper comprises an inner surface and an outer surface. The outer surface is visible from the outside of the cylindrical rod. The inner surface is located adjacent to the inner layer of the wrapper.
In some embodiments the outer surface of the outer layer of the wrapper does not comprise cavities and, optionally, the outer layer of the wrapper does not comprise cavities. In some embodiments only the inner layer of the wrapper comprises cavities. In some embodiments only the inner surface of the outer layer of the wrapper comprises cavities and the cavities are recesses.
Accordingly, in those embodiments, the cavities in the overlapping zone are covered by the outer layer. This means that the cavities are not visible from the outside. Hence, the visual appearance of the cylindrical rod is not altered by the presence of the cavities.
Generally, during manufacture of the cylindrical rod one or more lines of glue are applied on the wrapper along a direction in parallel to the cylindrical axis of the later formed rod. The glue can be applied continuously such that continuous lines of glue are formed. Alternatively, the glue can be applied in form of dots of glue such that discontinuous lines of glue are formed.
In some embodiments the cavities are randomly distributed on the wrapper. In preferred embodiments the cavities are arranged on the wrapper in a regular pattern. In some embodiments the cavities are substantially evenly distributed on the wrapper over the whole length of the later formed rod. In some embodiments the cavities are arranged in one or more lines in parallel to the longitudinal axis of the rod.
The lines of glue can be applied directly onto the lines of cavities during manufacture of the cylindrical rod. Thereby, the area of the cavities can be matched to the area of the lines of glue in an efficient manner. Preferably, there are substantially no cavities present outside the glue zone. Moreover, if discontinuous lines of glue are applied each dot of glue can be applied directly onto a cavity.
In some embodiments the cavities are equidistantly arranged in one line with a nearest neighbor distance of between 0.1 millimeter and 0.3 millimeter, between 0.15 millimeter and 0.25 millimeter, or of about 0.2 millimeter. This ensures that the distance between the cavities is long enough such that the structure of the wrapper is not substantially weakened by the cavities. Preferably, the diameter of the cavities is smaller than the distance to the closest cavity. Preferably, the distance to the closest cavity is twice the diameter of the cavity. More preferably, the distance to the closest cavity is three times the diameter of the cavity.
In some embodiments the cavities completely penetrate through the wrapper so as to define through-holes in the wrapper.
The glue may penetrate completely through the through-holes such that the glue adheres the rod component to the underlying wrapper. Thus, the through-holes additionally increase adhesion between the rod component and the wrapper. Hence, the overall adhesion is increased. Further, it is less likely for the rod component to fall out of the wrapper due to the increased adhesion between the wrapper and the rod component. This is particularly advantageous in embodiments, wherein the wrapper is a tipping paper and the rod component is a filter plug.
In some embodiments the outer layer of the wrapper does not comprise any through-holes and, optionally, only the inner layer of the wrapper comprises through-holes.
In a preferred embodiment the inner layer of the wrapper comprises cavities which are through-holes, the inner surface of the outer layer of the wrapper comprises cavities which are recesses, and, optionally, the outer surface of the outer layer of the wrapper does not comprise any cavities. Thus, the through-holes in the inner layer additionally increase adhesion between the rod component and the wrapper. Further, the recesses in the outer layer additionally increase the adhesion between the outer layer of the wrapper and the inner layer of the wrapper.
In a more preferred embodiment the recesses in the outer layer of the wrapper coincide with the through-holes in the inner layer of the wrapper. This means that in the overlapping zone the recesses in the outer layer of the wrapper and the through-holes in the inner layer of the wrapper substantially overlie each other. This has the additional advantage that there is additional adhesion between the rod component and the recesses in the inner surface of the outer layer of the wrapper via the through-holes in the inner layer of the wrapper.
In those embodiments, wherein the outer layer of the wrapper does not comprise any through-holes, the through-holes are not visible from the outside. This has the additional advantage that the outer layer acts as a barrier for the glue because there are no through-holes in the outer layer through which the glue could penetrate. This means that no glue can be accidentally deposited on the outer side of the cylindrical rod. Glue on the outer side of the cylindrical rod is undesired because it may negatively affect the visual appearance of the rod. Further, glue on the outer side of the rod may contaminate the production machinery with glue.
In embodiments wherein the cavities are recesses, which means that the cavities do not completely penetrate through the wrapper, the presence of a cavity creates a caved surface of the wrapper. The surface area of the caved surface exceeds the surface area of the flat wrapper surface in the absence of the cavity. Thereby, the total glued surface area is increased by the presence of the cavity. Thus, the overall adhesion is increased. Accordingly, the wrapper is bound stronger. The risk of breaking of the adhesion due to physical stress is reduced.
In embodiments wherein the cavities are through-holes the surface area is not increased by the presence of the through-hole if the through-hole exceeds a certain maximum size. Thus, if the through-hole is too big the adhesion will not be improved. Accordingly, there is a limitation to the size of the through-hole. The maximum size of the through-hole is dependent from the geometry of the through-hole, the thickness of the wrapper, and the roughness of the newly created surface.
In some embodiments the thickness of the wrapper is between 0.02 millimeter and 0.2 millimeter, between 0.05 millimeter and 0.15 millimeter, or is about 0.1 millimeter and the diameter of each through-hole is smaller than four times the thickness of the wrapper. In some embodiments the thickness of the wrapper is about 0.1 millimeter. In some embodiments the diameter of each through-hole is less than 0.4 millimeter. In some embodiments the diameter of each through-hole is between 0.05 millimeter and 0.35 millimeter, between 0.1 millimeter and 0.3 millimeter, or is about 0.2 millimeter.
Hence, the total surface area on which the glue is applied to act as an adherent is increased by the presence of the through-hole. Accordingly, the overall adhesion is improved. As a consequence the wrapper is bound stronger and the risk of detachment of the outer and inner parts of the wrapper is reduced.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided an aerosol-generating article comprising a cylindrical rod according to the invention and an aerosol-generating material.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method for preparing a cylindrical rod for aerosol-generating articles. According to the method a wrapper is provided. A plurality of cavities is provided in a lateral edge portion of the wrapper. A rod component is provided and the rod component is placed on a surface of the wrapper. Glue is applied on the lateral edge portion of the wrapper. The rod component is circumscribed with the wrapper such that laterally opposed edge portions of the wrapper overlap so as to form an overlapping zone of the wrapper. The glue adheres the overlapping edge portions to each other. The glued area thereby defines one or more glue zones within the overlapping zone, wherein at least part of the cavities are provided in the one or more glue zones.
The sequence of the step of providing the cavities, the step of providing the rod component and placing the rod component on a surface of the wrapper, and the step of applying glue on the lateral edge portion of the wrapper is arbitrary, with the exception that providing the cavities happens before or simultaneously with the step of applying glue to the lateral edge portion of the wrapper. Accordingly, the order of these steps can be adapted to the particular requirements of a specific embodiment.
In preferred embodiments the cavities are provided before the steps of providing the rod component and placing the rod component on a surface of the wrapper, and applying glue on the lateral edge portion of the wrapper.
In some embodiments of the method the overlapping zone comprises an inner layer of the wrapper and an outer layer of the wrapper and only the inner layer of the wrapper comprises cavities.
In some embodiments of the method the cavities penetrate completely through the wrapper so as to define through-holes in the wrapper.
In some embodiments of the method the cavities penetrate completely through the wrapper so as to define through-holes in the wrapper and the through-holes are provided by perforating the through-holes in the wrapper by electrostatic perforation or by laser perforation with a manufacturing speed of between 700,000 and 1,300,000 through-holes per second on a wrapper moving in a manufacturing direction of between 500 and 900 meters per minute, or the through-holes are provided by a mechanical tool, for example a pinning tool. This has the advantage that the through-holes can be precisely formed at high speed. Thus, the method can be performed at typical production speeds for cylindrical rods for aerosol-generating articles.
Features described in relation to one aspect may equally be applied to other aspects of the invention.
The invention will be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Further, in the embodiment of
The cavity 26 creates a caved surface of the wrapper 14. The cavity 26 is filled with glue 24. The glue 24 filling the cavity 26 acts like an anchor preventing the overlapping layers 18,20 of the wrapper 14 to move with respect to one another. The surface area of the wrapper 14 in the glue zone 22 is increased by the presence of the cavity 26. Accordingly, the total glued surface area of the wrapper 14 is increased by the presence of the cavity 26 which improves adhesion.
The wrapper 14 is made of a fibrous material. Wrapper fibers 28 are substantially aligned parallel to the plane of the wrapper 14. Therefore, inside the cavity 26 the wrapper fibers 28 are substantially aligned perpendicular to cavity axis 30. In effect, spikes are formed by wrapper fibers 28 at the surface of the cavity 26. Accordingly, the surface of the cavity 26 is roughened. The surface area is increased due to the roughening in comparison to a smooth outer surface. Hence, the total glued surface area of the wrapper 14 is additionally increased by the roughening of the surface. Thus, adhesion is additionally improved due to the roughening of the surface.
Moreover, the roughened surface provides many additional anchorages for polymeric components 32 of the glue 24. Accordingly, the glue 24 adheres more firmly to the roughened surface. This provides additional resistance against physical stress along cavity axis 30.
In the embodiment of
The diameter of the cylindrical through-hole 26 is smaller than the thickness of the wrapper 14. Accordingly, the surface area of the wrapper 14 in the glue zone 22 which is newly created by the through-hole 26 exceeds the surface area of the wrapper 14 which has been removed by the creation of the through-hole 26. Thereby, the total glued surface area of the wrapper 14 is increased by the presence of the through-hole 26, even without taking into account any effect of roughening of the surface. Thus, adhesion is improved.
Moreover, the glue 24 penetrates completely through the through-hole 26 such that the glue 24 adheres the rod component 12 to the wrapper 14. Thus, the through-hole 26 additionally increases adhesion between the rod component 12 and the wrapper 14. Hence, the overall adhesion is increased.
In the embodiment of
The opposing cavities 26 shown in
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17173650 | May 2017 | EP | regional |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2018/063827 | 5/25/2018 | WO | 00 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2018/219826 | 12/6/2018 | WO | A |
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| 20200337368 A1 | Oct 2020 | US |
