U.S. patent application number 11/300583 was filed with the patent office on 2006-08-24 for filter cigarette and method of making filter cigarette for an electrical smoking system.
This patent application is currently assigned to Philip Morris USA Inc.. Invention is credited to John R. Hearn, Wesley G. Sanderson, Barry S. Smith, Susan E. Wrenn.
Application Number | 20060185687 11/300583 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36169119 |
Filed Date | 2006-08-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060185687 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hearn; John R. ; et
al. |
August 24, 2006 |
Filter cigarette and method of making filter cigarette for an
electrical smoking system
Abstract
A cigarette of an electrical smoking system includes a filter
tipping including a web including added filtering material and a
tubular wrapper around the web, and a tobacco rod portion adapted
to generate a puff of smoke upon being heated by one or more
heating elements during smoking, the tobacco rod portion being
attached to the filter tipping.
Inventors: |
Hearn; John R.; (Midlothian,
VA) ; Sanderson; Wesley G.; (Chester, VA) ;
Smith; Barry S.; (Hopewell, VA) ; Wrenn; Susan
E.; (Chesterfield, VA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BUCHANAN INGERSOLL PC;(INCLUDING BURNS, DOANE, SWECKER & MATHIS)
POST OFFICE BOX 1404
ALEXANDRIA
VA
22313-1404
US
|
Assignee: |
Philip Morris USA Inc.
|
Family ID: |
36169119 |
Appl. No.: |
11/300583 |
Filed: |
December 15, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60637862 |
Dec 22, 2004 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
131/360 ;
131/194; 131/361 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A24B 15/286 20130101;
A24D 3/14 20130101; A24D 3/17 20200101; A24D 3/16 20130101; A24D
1/20 20200101; A24B 15/282 20130101; A24B 15/288 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
131/360 ;
131/361; 131/194 |
International
Class: |
A24F 1/32 20060101
A24F001/32 |
Claims
1. A cigarette of an electrical smoking system, comprising: a
filter tipping including a web including added filtering material
and a tubular wrapper around the web; and a tobacco rod portion
adapted to generate a puff of smoke upon being heated by heating
elements during smoking, the tobacco rod portion being attached to
the filter tipping.
2. The cigarette as set forth in claim 1, wherein the web is
porous, the web includes paper, the web is a laminate, the web
includes carbon paper, at least a portion of the web is formed into
a non-planar shape, or an accordian shape, or the web is crimped or
swaged.
3. The cigarette as set forth in claim 1, wherein the filtering
material includes an aminopropylsilyl group covalently bonded to a
non-volatile inorganic substrate.
4. The cigarette as set forth in claim 3, wherein the
aminopropylsilyl group is a 3-aminopropylsilyl group.
5. The cigarette as set forth in claim 3, wherein the substrate is
silica gel.
6. The cigarette as set forth in claim 1, wherein the filtering
material is an ammonium containing compound filler used in the
web.
7. The cigarette as set forth in claim 6, wherein the filler
includes an ammonium magnesium phosphate filler.
8. The cigarette as set forth in claim 1, wherein the filtering
material includes nanoparticles, and at least some of the
nanoparticles are a filler used in the web and/or at least some of
the nanoparticles are disposed on a surface of the web.
9. The cigarette as set forth in claim 8, wherein the nanoparticles
are capable of acting as at least one of an oxidant for converting
carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide and a catalyst for converting
carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide.
10. The cigarette as set forth in claim 8, wherein the
nanoparticles are selected from the group consisting of metals,
metal compounds, metal oxides, doped metal oxides, and mixtures
thereof.
11. The cigarette as set forth in claim 8, wherein the
nanoparticles are selected from the group consisting of
Fe.sub.2O.sub.3, CuO, TiO.sub.2, CeO.sub.2, Ce.sub.2O.sub.3,
Al.sub.2O.sub.3, Y.sub.2O.sub.3 doped with zirconium,
Mn.sub.2O.sub.3 doped with palladium, and mixtures thereof.
12. The cigarette as set forth in claim 8, wherein the
nanoparticles have an average particle size of less than about 500
nm or the nanoparticles have an average particle size of less than
about 50 nm.
13. The cigarette as set forth in claim 8, wherein the
nanoparticles have an average particle size of less than about 5 nm
or the nanoparticles have a surface area of at least about 20
m.sup.2/g.
14. The cigarette as set forth in claim 8, wherein the
nanoparticles have a surface area of at least about 200
m.sup.2/g.
15. The cigarette as set forth in claim 1, wherein the filtering
material is reactive with at least one component of cigarette
smoke.
16. The cigarette as set forth in claim 1, wherein the filter
tipping includes a filter plug disposed at an end of the filter
tipping opposite the tobacco rod portion.
17. The cigarette as set forth in claim 1, wherein the filter
tipping includes a tubular free-flow filter having an internal
opening in which the web is disposed.
18. The cigarette as set forth in claim 1, wherein the web contacts
an interior surface of the wrapper.
19. The cigarette as set forth in claim 1, wherein the tobacco rod
portion includes at least one of a plug portion, a free-flow
filter, a void portion and a tobacco web.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] In cigarettes of the type used in electrical smoking systems
such as are disclosed in commonly owned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,388,594;
5,692,525; 6,209,547; 6,289,898; 6,615,840 and 6,888,313, and in
U.S. Application Publication No. 20030131859, which patents and
application publications are incorporated by reference in their
entirety, it is generally desirable to duplicate aspects of the
experience of smoking a regular cigarette, such as resistance to
draw. However, the manner in which smoke is generated and air is
drawn through the cigarette for the electrical smoking system is
quite different from the way smoke is generated and air is drawn
through a regular cigarette because of the vastly different
physical structure of the smoking system versus the regular
cigarette. It is desirable to provide cigarettes for use in
electrical smoking systems having features that facilitate
simulating the experience of smoking a regular cigarette.
SUMMARY
[0002] According to one embodiment, a cigarette for an electrical
smoking system includes a filter tipping including a web including
added filtering material and a tubular wrapper around the web, and
a tobacco rod portion adapted to generate a puff of smoke upon
being heated by at least one heating element during smoking, the
tobacco rod portion being attached to the filter tipping.
[0003] According to another embodiment, a method for making a
cigarette for an electrical smoking system includes making a filter
tipping by surrounding a web including added filtering material
with a tubular wrapper, and attaching a tobacco rod portion adapted
to generate a puff of smoke upon being heated by at least one
heating element during smoking to the filter tipping.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0004] FIGS. 1A-1C are cross-sectional side views of cigarettes
according to various embodiments.
[0005] FIGS. 2A-2C show end views of a cigarette filter according
to various embodiments.
[0006] FIG. 3 shows a web having a three-dimensional shape being
compressed and surrounded by a wrapper according to an
embodiment.
[0007] FIG. 4 shows a cigarette filter that uses multiple webs
according to an embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0008] Cigarettes 21a-21c according to embodiments are shown in
FIGS. 1A-1C. The cigarettes all include a cigarette filter 23
including a web 25 including filtering material and a tubular
wrapper 27 around the web. The cigarette 21 includes a cylindrical
member, e.g., a tobacco containing rod portion 37a-37c, for
generating smoke attached to the cigarette filter. The cigarette 21
is of the type usable in an electrical smoking system such as is
disclosed in commonly owned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,388,594; 5,692,525;
6,209,547; 6,289,898; 6,615,840 and 6,888,313, and in U.S.
Application Publication No. 20030131859, which patents and
application publications are incorporated by reference in their
entirety.
[0009] The cigarette filter 23 can replace or be used together with
a free flow filter. Several possible, non-limiting arrangements of
components are shown in FIGS. 1A-1C. FIG. 1A shows a cigarette 21a
wherein a filter 23 is disposed in a filter tipping 33a including
the filter 23 positioned adjacent a filter plug 35, which can be,
for example, a conventional cellulose acetate tow filter. A tobacco
rod portion 37a is attached to the tipping 33a and includes a free
flow filter 39, a void 41 or open space, and a tobacco plug 43
wrapped in a wrapper 45 that may include a tobacco web, although
other arrangements can also be used. In the electrical smoking
system, heat is applied to the wrapper 45 to heat tobacco (e.g.,
the tobacco web and the tobacco plug 43) during puffing of the
cigarette to thereby generate smoke. In addition to removing
targeted constituents from smoke, using the filter 23 instead of or
in addition to conventional tubular free-flow filters can
facilitate adjustment of features of the cigarette such as
resistance to draw (RTD) which can be useful in simulating the
experience of smoking a traditional, lit-end cigarette.
[0010] FIG. 1B shows a cigarette 21b with a tipping 33b and tobacco
rod portion 37b wherein the free flow filter 39 from the cigarette
21a is eliminated. FIG. 1C shows a cigarette 21c with a tobacco rod
portion 37c wherein the filter 23 is used together with a free flow
filter 47 in the tipping 33c between the filter 23 and the filter
plug 35. The foregoing are only several illustrative ones of
numerous possible variations. There may be voids, free flow
filters, filter plugs, tobacco plugs, and any other desired
structures in the cigarette.
[0011] In the cigarette filter 23, the web 25 may include paper.
The web 25 may include a coated paper, an impregnated paper, carbon
paper, a laminate, or a laminate including paper. The web 25 may be
formed into a non-planar shape, such as by folding or rolling or
bending the web. As seen in FIG. 2A, the web 25 may be formed into
an accordian shape. As seen in FIG. 2B, an accordian-shaped web 25
may be formed into a circular shape. As seen in FIG. 2C, the web 25
may be crimped and formed into any one of numerous possible shapes.
As seen in FIG. 3, the web 25 may be formed into any desired
three-dimensional shape by a suitable forming apparatus 101 and
then swaged or otherwise processed by a suitable compressing
apparatus 103 to compress the shape. The web 25 may exert a force
on the wrapper 27 to assist in maintaining a three-dimensional
shape for the filter 23. The wrapper 27 may be made from a web but
may be formed from any structure suited for providing an outer
covering for the web 25, such as a pre-formed tube.
[0012] The filtering material is any suitable material, such as a
material that reacts with at least one constituent of cigarette
smoke. The filtering material can include an aminopropylsilyl group
covalently bonded to a non-volatile inorganic substrate. See, for
example, commonly-owned U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,209,547, 6,584,979, and
6,595,218, which are hereby incorporated by reference. The
aminopropylsilyl group is preferably a 3-aminopropylsilyl group.
The substrate is preferably silica gel or molecular sieve material.
The material may be provided on a web 25 of paper or other suitable
material.
[0013] In accordance with an embodiment, the physical and chemical
properties of the filler material used to produce webs 25 of paper
for making filters 23 are chosen and utilized to reduce the
aldehyde content of the smoke produced during combustion/pyrolysis
of the smoking article. The paper filler includes an
ammonium-containing compound, which when heated evolves ammonia,
which may chemically react with aldehydes in tobacco smoke and/or
modify the combustion/pyrolysis reactions thereby reducing the
initial formation of aldehydes, thereby decreasing the delivery of
such aldehydes to a smoker. The filtering material can be an
ammonium containing compound filler used in the web. See, for
example, commonly-owned U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,289,898 and 6,615,840,
which are incorporated by reference.
[0014] A suitable ammonium-containing compound is an inorganic
ammonium metal salt, such as an ammonium-alkaline earth metal salt,
such as MgNH.sub.4 PO.sub.4.xH.sub.2O, wherein x ranges from 1 to 6
(AMP). It is preferred that the ammonium-containing compound have a
low solubility in water so as to be compatible with conventional
papermaking processes, e.g., the filler is substantially insoluble
in an aqueous dispersion containing ingredients of the paper, such
as flax, etc. That is, the ammonium-containing compound should be
stable enough in a papermaking process to survive intact as filler
in the final paper product. This includes sufficient thermal
stability to survive the drying steps in the papermaking process.
Magnesium ammonium phosphate and its hydrates are well-suited to
conventional papermaking processes, and evolve ammonia during the
smoking process in a manner that greatly decreases the content of
certain low molecular weight aldehydes in smoke. Magnesium
potassium phosphate is isostructural with magnesium ammonium
phosphate and can form solid solutions therewith effective for
reducing the aldehyde content in smoke. An ammonium magnesium
phosphate filler that consists essentially of the monohydrate form
of magnesium ammonium phosphate is especially preferred.
[0015] The ammonium-containing compound filler can also comprise
one or more of the following mineral phases: dittmarite, struvite,
hannayite, schertelite, mundrabillaite and swaknoite.
[0016] Ammonium-containing compounds considered useful as filler
materials have a range of surface areas, a range of particle sizes
(mostly in the micron range), possess appropriate opacity, have low
solubility in water (required for papermaking), and possess other
properties that are considered desirable in fillers for papers used
in cigarettes. In similar papers used for cigarette papers, the
filler preferably has a particle size below 25 .mu.m, more
preferably below 10 .mu.m.
[0017] The filtering material can include nanoparticles. Some or
all of the nanoparticles can be a filler used in the web and some
or all of the nanoparticles can be disposed on a surface of the
web. The nanoparticles can be capable of acting as at least one of
an oxidant for converting carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide and a
catalyst for converting carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide, or both.
The nanoparticles can be selected from the group consisting of
metals, metal compounds, metal oxides, doped metal oxides, and
mixtures thereof. Suitable nanoparticles are preferably selected
from the group consisting of Fe.sub.2O.sub.3, CuO, TiO.sub.2,
CeO.sub.2, Ce.sub.2O.sub.3, Al.sub.2O.sub.3, Y.sub.2O.sub.3 doped
with zirconium, Mn.sub.2O.sub.3 doped with palladium, and mixtures
thereof. See, for example, commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,769,437
and U.S. Published Patent Application Nos. 20030075193 and
20030131859.
[0018] The nanoparticles preferably have an average particle size
less than about 500 nm, preferably an average particle size less
than about 100 nm, more preferably an average particle size less
than about 50 nm, and still more preferably an average particle
size less than about 5 nm. The nanoparticles preferably have a
surface area of at least about 20 m.sup.2/g, and more preferably a
surface area of at least about 200 m.sup.2/g.
[0019] Though embodiments have been described in conjunction with a
single web 25, it will be appreciated that multiple webs 25 may be
used, as seen in FIG. 4. Also, more than one type of filtering
material may be used on a single web or on different webs. In other
embodiments (not shown) the filter may be disposed in the tobacco
rod portion or in the tobacco rod portion and the tipping. Where
multiple webs are used, they may occupy substantially the same
volume, such as where they are layered next to one another, or may
be arranged at different axial locations along the length of the
cigarette that may be next to one another or not, as desired or
necessary.
[0020] While this invention has been illustrated and described in
accordance with a preferred embodiment, it is recognized that
variations and changes may be made therein without departing from
the invention as set forth in the claims.
* * * * *