Patent Application
20250120429
The invention relates to rolling papers, and in particular the types of rolling papers that may be rolled into around a combustible material for smoking.
Rolling paper is a specialty paper typically used for making cigarettes. The paper is commonly made from thin and lightweight non-wood plant fibers, such as flax, hemp, sisal, rice straw, and esparto. The paper is typically available in rolls and rectangular sheets of varying sizes, and has a narrow strip of glue along one long edge. It may be transparent, colored and flavored. It typically has a high filler content and a basis weight of 10-28 g/m2. To control the smoking properties, this paper has a porosity that is suited to the intended type of combustible material, such as tobacco, and contains additives that regulate burning.
While such papers are effective in holding various combustible materials for smoking, the ingredients that combine to create the papers, including the glues that bind the papers in rolls, can have harmful effects on the smoker.
What is needed, therefore, is a rolling paper made from a substance that mitigates the health concerns of conventional papers and a corresponding method of manufacture.
The invention is a rolling paper made from seaweed and a method of manufacturing said paper that directly mitigates the health concerns arising from harmful additives in traditional papers. More specifically, the paper is comprised of a mixture of seaweed, a gelling agent such as agar agar or sodium alginate, and water that blended to create a semi-liquid mixture that dries into a form of paper.
Once the semi-liquid mixture is formed it is poured on a paper-making screen where it is drained, and then transferred to a fabric sheet, such as a Pellon sheet or a type of felt sheet. An additional sheet, such as a Pellon sheet, is laid on top of the mixture. In one embodiment, Pellon sheets are placed on either side of the mixture and then layered with additional felt sheets, stacked, and pressed to remove more moisture; the wetted felt sheets are then removed and replaced with cardboard for final drying. A fan may be used to circulate air to assist in drying the paper. The sheets are put under pressure during the final drying process to prevent curling.
Upon removal, the paper may be cut to the desired size and used to wrap a substance where, again, it provides an effective rolling paper that omits the sort of harmful additives found in traditional papers. A number of specific types of seaweed may be suitable for use in creating the semi-liquid mixture, however, kelp has proven to be particularly advantageous.
The present invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements. The drawings are not drawn to scale.
The present invention will now be described more fully in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention should not, however, be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, they are provided so that this disclosure will be complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.
The specific types and amounts of seaweed used in the mixture may vary. For example, kelp is a particularly good type of seaweed for this mixture. When using kelp, a suitable ratio of kelp to water may be from 2 parts water to 1 part kelp all the way up to 7 parts water and 1 part kelp. Often, 4 cups of water and 1 cup of kelp form a particularly beneficial mixture. There are a number of suitable sources for such kelp which of course grows in nature and is either harvested or farmed by any number of commercial sources. For example, Atlantic Sea Farms produces a frozen whole raw seaweed that, when thawed, is particularly advantageous.
Once the amount of water and seaweed is determined, it may be blended in a conventional blender. For example, again using the 4 to 1 ratio, adding these components to a conventional Vitamix blender and operating the blender on level 6-8, or ideally level 7, for approximately 45-60 seconds produces a mixture having the desired viscosity. To create a complete mixture it is likely that the seaweed and water are blended first, that the gelling agent is in a powered form that is dissolved in heated water, and then the gelling agent added to the blended seaweed mixture. For example, 2 teaspoons of gelling agent may be dissolved into 1 cup of water. Once the first step is completed the mixture likely has a drainability in the range of 100 mL to 400 mL using the Canadian Standard Freeness (CSF) test.
Following the blending step, step 1, the second step of the method is for the semi-liquid mixture to transferred to a drainage area, for example, it may be poured into a paper making screen. For small batches, a 4″×6″ or 5″×8″ screen is likely to be appropriate. There are number of suitable screen, such as those made by Mold and Deckle, and there is no limit to the size in terms of effectiveness, larger dimensions may be used to produce larger batches of the rolling paper. The third step is to allow for the liquid in the semi-liquid mixture to drain through the screen as waste, the remaining mixture, which has the form of a pulp or slurry, is worked back and forth on the screen to create a thin, even and consistent layer. Ideally the layer of mixture should have a depth of approximately 1/16 of an inch to ⅛ of an inch.
Step 3 typically takes approximately 30 seconds to allow for proper drainage. Following that, step 4 of the method is for the screen to be flipped onto another fabric sheet, such as a sheet of Pellon40, Pellon 50, Pellon 60, Pellon 70, or a tight knit cotton fabric. The mixture is couched from the screen onto this sheet as the screen is slowly lifted away. An additional sheet having a similar composition, e.g. Pellon 40, may be placed on top of the mixture, and felt sheets may be layered on either or both of the Pellon sheets. The fifth step is to press the combination of seaweed mixture, Pellon sheets and felt sheets to force more moisture out of the mixture to be absorbed by the sheets. The fifth step may be accomplished manually with a user physically applying pressure, or it may be done with conventional automated means. The wetted sheets may be removed and the 4th step repeated with dry sheets to further assist in the drying process.
In a separate embodiment, following the drainage process in step 3, a felt sheet is placed over the mixture and the screen inverted so as to allow the mixture to transfer from the screen to the felt, the felt is then placed against a glass panel and the mixture transferred to said panel where it is left to dry. The glass may also be heated using conventional means to expedite the drying process.
The mixture dries over time, with the amount of time varying based largely on how many times a user repeats the fourth and fifth steps. Once the mixture is dry it is in the form of the rolling paper formed any final layering of sheets may be removed, after which the rolling paper may be cut into the desired size and used by an end user. Once the paper is cut into individual rolling papers each paper the sheet of paper has a frontside surface for receiving a consumable material, a backside surface, a lengthwise edge, and a widthwise edge. In general it is rolled along the lengthwise edge.
The resulting paper is naturally adhesive when wetted, such that a user may roll the paper into the desired from and simply wet one edge in order to seal the roll in the desired from so that no additional adhesive is strictly needed. However, a natural adhesive, such as honey, may be incorporated to enhance the adhesive nature. The end product is also resistant to oil and grease.
Additionally, the paper, which lays flat upon production, exhibits natural curling properties when exposed to small amounts of moisture. For example, even the small amount of moisture produced by a person's breath is often sufficient to initiate a minor curling effect that is beneficial in helping a user roll the combustible substance. This curling property is naturally facilitated, devoid of any additional additives, thus highlighting the natural integrity of resulting paper.
As noted, various types of seaweeds may be suitable for use in the method. While the disclosure largely discusses the method in terms of a relatively small scale, it may also be used at a larger scale. Some minor modifications may be used at a larger scale to improve the efficiencies, for example, rather than pouring the mixture onto the screen, a screen may be dipped into a large container of the mixture and then placed onto pieces of felt. This may also be done in stacks, where screen and felt combinations are placed horizontally on top of one another.
The final drying process may also utilize heat rather than only allowing the mixture to dry naturally at room temperature in order to expedite the process.
It is understood that the embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the present invention. Variations in the construction of the rolling paper and method of manufacture may be contemplated by one skilled in the art without limiting the intended scope of the invention herein disclosed.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63543806 | Oct 2023 | US |
