HK1175374B - Method for producing a mouthpiece of a cigarette and mouthpiece of a cigarette - Google Patents

Description

Method for producing a cigarette holder and cigarette holder

Technical Field

The invention relates to a method for producing a cigarette holder.

In addition, the invention also relates to cigarette holders.

Background

The concepts of "mouthpiece cover" and "filter wrapper" are referred to in this document as "mouthpiece cover paper" or "filter wrapper paper", but should be expressed by using the concepts of "mouthpiece cover" and "filter wrapper", the material used is not always paper, and therefore "mouthpiece cover paper" or "filter wrapper paper" may also be made of, for example, plastic film, cellophane, etc.

From US40943424A, a method for producing a mouthpiece cover for cigarettes is known, in which method a mouthpiece cover paper is provided with randomly distributed pores in order to ensure the ventilation of the mouthpiece and thus to reduce harmful substances.

In the manufacture of cigarettes, particularly when a Logo (Logo) is provided on the mouthpiece cover paper, it is necessary to cut the mouthpiece cover paper accurately.

Document EP1252832a2 relates to a method for producing cigarette holders, in which a transparent filter wrapper material is used. The filter wrapper material is surrounded by a coated paper having a window through which the filter wrapper located therebelow can be seen. The paper wrap formed from the coated paper may be provided with an added or applied transparent film as a window.

Document CH394912A relates to a cigarette holder with a coating material with a window that allows access to a layer disposed thereunder.

Document US2006/150991 is based on a cigarette holder in which a partially transparent coating material is used in order to be able to see through the filter located thereunder. The disadvantage of the solutions known from the prior art is primarily that they involve the risk of increasing the rejection rate.

Disclosure of Invention

It is therefore an object of the present invention to overcome those disadvantages of the prior art.

This object is achieved according to the invention by a method of the type mentioned at the outset for producing a cigarette holder, in which method a holder coating and/or a filter wrap is used, wherein the holder coating material and/or the filter wrap material is provided with at least one viewing hole of a predefinable shape, wherein a holder coating material or a filter wrap material is used which is provided with a laminated plastic layer covering the at least one viewing hole, characterized in that a glue application is carried out on the plastic layer, and the holder coating material or the filter wrap material is then separated and applied to a filter rod bundle.

A viewing aperture is here understood to be an aperture of a size such that the layer behind the aperture is visible to the naked eye.

By means of the corresponding size of the holes, on the one hand very good filter ventilation is achieved and on the other hand the possibility of being able to detect the holes very well is created. In this way, the window can be registered precisely in relation to the Logo (Logo) printed on the mouthpiece, and it is thereby possible to achieve that the Logo remains identically positioned on all the mouthpieces. Furthermore, the solution according to the invention also makes it possible to implement different design options for the mouthpiece. Thus, for example, a portion of the logo may be printed on a layer arranged below the mouthpiece cover and identifiable by the sight hole, while another portion of the logo may be printed on the mouthpiece cover. The visibility of the holes also simplifies the checking of whether the position of the sight holes is ideal and identical on all the produced mouthpieces, thus ensuring the same quality even for very mass-produced mouthpieces, compared to those produced by conventional perforation processes. The mouthpiece cover according to the invention for a cigarette mouthpiece thus has at least one sight opening.

An advantageous variant of the invention, which is also characterized by low material costs, provides that the mouthpiece cover material and/or the filter wrapper material is paper or cellophane (cellophane).

The particularly good detectability of the inspection openings and the adjustment of the ventilation of the mouthpiece can be achieved in that the mouthpiece cover material and/or the filter wrap material is/are provided in a predetermined pattern of a plurality of inspection openings.

In addition to production-related advantages, a variant of the invention, which provides that a plurality of viewing apertures are provided, arranged in at least one row, also achieves good detectability of the viewing apertures and also precise arrangement of other surface features, such as markings.

In particular when using mechanical punching or cutting tools, it is advantageous from a production-technical point of view if at least one row is a straight row. Thereby, the movement of the punching tool with respect to the paper surface is minimized, enabling a relatively simple tool structure. The ventilation of the filter can be further improved by providing the mouthpiece cover material and/or the filter wrapper material with at least two rows of mutually parallel viewing apertures. It has proved to be particularly advantageous here if at least one window is formed by a plurality of spatially adjacent viewing apertures. It is also advantageous to form at least two viewing apertures of different sizes.

Advantageously, the viewing aperture is produced by partially punching and/or cutting the mouthpiece cover material and/or the filter wrapper material. These methods have proven to be particularly advantageous in terms of material loading and target quality of the viewing aperture.

Particular advantages of one embodiment of the invention are: a very large degree of freedom in the positioning of the viewing aperture is obtained in a very simple manner. This embodiment uses a laser to create the viewing aperture.

The production of very high quality viewing apertures can be achieved by using a mechanical punching device to produce the viewing apertures. By using mechanical punching means, for example, very sharp edges and accurate hole dimensions can be achieved.

An advantageous variant of the invention, which prevents the penetration of glue during the application of the mouthpiece cover material or filter wrapper material to the filter rod bundle, provides that a continuous layer of transparent or translucent material, for example plastic, paper or cellophane, is placed under the mouthpiece cover material and/or filter wrapper material provided with at least one viewing opening, which layer covers the viewing opening. The term "transparent" is understood here to mean that the material used is a material which is transparent in the visible electromagnetic spectral range. In this document, a layer arranged behind the material can be clearly identified from the direction of the viewer and is then understood to be transparent. The concept of translucency describes the grading of transparency. In a translucent material, the visibility of the layers arranged behind the material is reduced relative to a transparent material. This can be obtained, for example, by dyeing the transparent material.

A particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention provides that the cellophane layer can be placed as a layer covering the eye. The cellophane layer may be implemented as transparent or opaque. In the case of a transparent cellophane layer, one or several layers arranged thereunder can be seen.

According to a preferred embodiment variant of the invention, the coating covering the viewing aperture can be glued, embossed, etc. onto the mouthpiece cover material and/or the filter wrapper material provided with at least one viewing aperture. This can also be achieved by means of hot or cold gluing, hot film punching, etc., as will be mentioned below.

According to a further variant of the invention, it can be provided that, for producing the viewing aperture in at least two strips of mouthpiece cover paper or filter plug cover paper, a layer of transparent or translucent material is applied, the edges of the two strips facing one another being spaced apart from one another. The mouthpiece cover material or filter wrap material according to the invention can in this case be formed from at least two paper strips and at least one plastic strip, in particular a cellophane strip. The plastic strip is here arranged between and connected to the two paper strips. In the above-mentioned manner, the viewing aperture is realized in a simple manner, without the viewing aperture having to be punched out or cut off for this purpose.

In order to improve the properties of the mouthpiece, in particular the ventilation, at least one intermediate layer may be arranged between the mouthpiece cover material and the filter wrapper material.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, which can further improve the advantages of the invention, the at least one intermediate layer can also have at least one viewing aperture, wherein the at least one viewing aperture of the at least one intermediate layer can be smaller than the at least one viewing aperture of the mouthpiece cover. A special form design of the filter can also be achieved thereby. An additional advantage of this variant of the invention is that the mouthpiece cover and the filter plug wrap can be accurately aligned and arranged with respect to one another, since the relative position of the two elements can be visually detected.

The object set forth by the invention is also achieved by a cigarette holder of the type mentioned at the outset by virtue of the fact that the cigarette holder is designed to be at least partially transparent and the layer below it is visible through the holder coating and/or the filter wrap.

The mouthpiece cover may be made of paper and have a pattern of a plurality of sight holes. The plurality of viewing apertures may also be arranged in at least one row, wherein the row may be substantially randomly shaped. The connecting line through a row may be, for example, a straight line, a sinusoidal pattern, or a curve of any pattern.

In the context of the application of glue during the manufacture of cigarettes, it is particularly advantageous when the mouthpiece cover is coated with a layer consisting of a transparent and/or translucent material covering at least one inspection opening, since in this way the penetration of glue through the inspection opening can be prevented.

Drawings

The invention will be explained in more detail hereinafter with the aid of some non-limiting examples, which are shown in the attached drawings, together with other advantages. Shown schematically in the drawings:

FIG. 1: detailed view of the device according to the invention, cross-section with mouthpiece cover paper to be manufactured;

FIG. 2: a top view of a first variant of the mouthpiece cover paper in figure 1;

FIG. 3: a top view of a second variant of the mouthpiece cover paper in figure 1;

FIG. 4: a top view of a third variant of the mouthpiece cover paper in figure 1;

FIG. 5: a top view of a fourth variant of the mouthpiece cover paper in figure 1;

FIG. 6: different variants of the viewing aperture of the mouthpiece cover paper in figure 1;

FIG. 7: other variations of the viewing aperture of the mouthpiece cover paper in figure 1;

FIG. 8: the mouthpiece cover paper of figure 1 with an optical sensor for detecting the eye;

FIG. 9: an exploded view of the structural details of a mouthpiece according to the invention;

FIG. 10: according to another variant of the mouthpiece cover paper according to the invention, there is a laminate film;

FIG. 11: the cross-section of the variant in fig. 10 along the line XI-XI;

FIG. 12: means for applying glue to the mouthpiece cover paper;

FIG. 13: the device of figure 12 with mouthpiece cover paper according to the invention of figure 2;

FIG. 14: the device of figure 12 with mouthpiece cover paper of the invention according to figures 11 and 12;

FIG. 15: cross-section of filter tow with mouthpiece cover to be glued;

FIG. 16: a perspective view of another variant of the mouthpiece cover paper according to the invention;

FIG. 17: figure 16 is a top plan view of the mouthpiece cover paper;

FIG. 18: perspective view of another variant of the mouthpiece cover paper according to the invention.

Detailed Description

As an introduction, it is first explained that: in the various embodiments described in the different figures, identical components/parts are assigned the same reference numerals or the same component names, wherein the disclosure contained throughout the description can be transferred in a meaningful manner to identical components/parts assigned the same reference numerals or the same component names. Furthermore, positional references selected in the description, such as upper, lower, lateral/side, etc., are made with respect to the figures as they are directly described and illustrated, and when the position changes, may be transferred to the new position in the sense. Furthermore, individual features or combinations of features in the different embodiments shown and described may also be independent, inventive or solutions according to the invention.

In fig. 1, a device 1 according to the invention for producing a mouthpiece cover 2 and/or a filter plug wrap for a cigarette has at least one tool 3 for cutting and/or punching a viewing hole 4 in a mouthpiece cover material and/or a filter plug wrap material.

The tool 3 for cutting and/or punching may be, for example, a laser system or a mechanical punch.

The mouthpiece cover material and the filter wrapper material are preferably paper. The mouthpiece cover 2 and the filter wrap can in principle also be made of various other suitable materials, for example plastic films or laminates, for example of aluminium-lined paper, cellophane, vapour-deposited material, knitwear or the like.

According to the method of the invention for producing a mouthpiece cover 2 and/or a filter wrapper for a cigarette, the mouthpiece cover material and/or the filter wrapper material is provided with at least one viewing hole 4 having a given shape. The viewing holes 4 are cut or punched in the mouthpiece cover material or filter wrap material by a cutting or punching tool 3.

By means of the tool 3, the mouthpiece cover material 2 and/or the filter wrapper material is provided with a predetermined pattern of a plurality of viewing holes 4. The mouthpiece cover material 2 according to the invention thus has one or more viewing apertures 4, the underlying or underlying layers being visible to the naked eye. For example, the viewing aperture 4 may be between 0.1mm and 25mm in diameter, preferably between 1mm and 10 mm. In addition to good detectability of the viewing opening 4, good ventilation of the cigarette holder is also produced when the cigarette holder is produced.

Different hole shapes and patterns of the viewing hole 4 are exemplarily shown in fig. 2 to 7. The mouthpiece cover 2 according to the invention therefore has a plurality of viewing apertures 4 arranged in at least one row according to fig. 2 to 4. The rows may in principle be of various shapes. The rows may be in the form of straight lines or sinusoidal lines (fig. 4), etc. Two or more rows may also be arranged on the mouthpiece cover 2 adjacent to one another or running parallel to one another (fig. 2).

As shown in fig. 2, a marking 5 can also be arranged on the mouthpiece cover 2 between two adjacent viewing apertures 4.

According to fig. 3, a perforated area 6 can also be arranged between two adjacent viewing apertures 4.

Fig. 5 shows the viewing aperture 4 and the perforated area 6 arranged in this way in an enlarged manner.

According to fig. 6, the viewing aperture 4 may have an arbitrary profile. The contour of the viewing opening 4 can thus be modeled, for example, as a basic geometric shape (circle, triangle, etc.), an arbitrary stylized shape (heart, flower, etc.) or a character.

As depicted in fig. 7 and 5, the arbitrarily shaped window 7 is formed by a plurality of spatially adjacent viewing apertures 4. It is also mentioned here that in all the embodiments mentioned, the same mouthpiece cover 2 and/or the same filter wrap window 4 can have different sizes.

According to fig. 8, the position of the viewing aperture 4 is accurately detected by means of an optical sensor 8, for example an infrared sensor. This is of great significance above all for the production of cigarette holders, since the holder cover can be cut and aligned precisely with respect to the other parts of the cigarette holder to be produced, for example the filter wrap.

As shown in fig. 9, at least one intermediate layer 11 is also arranged in the multi-component structure of the cigarette mouthpiece 9 between the mouthpiece cover 2 and the filter wrap 10.

The intermediate layer 11 can be provided with at least one material which has a predeterminable function, in particular releases a fragrance and/or influences the smoke value. The intermediate layer 11 can be made, for example, of a paper treated with an active substance, for example, a chemically reactive substance.

The intermediate layer 11 also has at least one viewing opening 12, through which the layer lying thereunder, for example the filter plug wrap 10, can be seen. The filter plug wrap 10 can likewise have a viewing opening 13 through which a filter, not shown here, is visible underneath. The viewing aperture 12 of the intermediate layer 11 may here be smaller than the viewing aperture 4 of the mouthpiece cover paper 2. If the filter wrap 10 has a viewing aperture 13, this may advantageously likewise be smaller than the viewing aperture 12 of the intermediate layer 11. Here, "small" means a relatively small diameter or a relatively small area.

Of course, a single-fold construction of the mouthpiece 9 is also possible, i.e. no intermediate layer 11 is provided between the mouthpiece cover 2 and the filter wrap 10.

Furthermore, multiple constructions of the cigarette mouthpiece 9 are also possible, with intermediate layers 11 being arranged between the mouthpiece cover 2 and the filter wrap 10. The different layers 2, 11, 10 may also be (differently) dyed in order to obtain a particular appearance effect. It is also conceivable in this position that it is not absolutely necessary in all embodiments of the invention for the filter wrapper 10 likewise to have a viewing opening 13, so that the filter wrapper 10 can also be embodied as a conventional filter wrapper.

According to fig. 10 and 11, a continuous layer 14 of a transparent or translucent material, for example plastic, paper, cellophane or the like, can be placed under the mouthpiece cover 2 and/or filter wrapper material provided with at least one viewing aperture 4 during the production process, which layer covers the viewing aperture 4. A layer of cellophane is preferably provided as layer 14. The layer 14 may be applied to the material of the mouthpiece cover 2, for example, mouthpiece cover paper and/or filter wrap. The application can be carried out by using hot melt glue or by means of cold melt glue or other suitable bonding or connecting methods, for example, embossing. The application can also be carried out, for example, by means of hot-film embossing ("Hotfoil Stamping").

As can be seen from fig. 12, the mouthpiece cover 2 can be glue-coated or adhesive-coated by means of a glue roller 15. The glue 16 can here be applied to the underside of the mouthpiece cover 2. The direction of movement of the mouthpiece cover 2 and the rubber roller 15 is indicated by arrows in fig. 12 to 14.

As can be seen in fig. 13, upon application of the glue 16, the glue may penetrate through the viewing aperture 4. The penetration of the glue 16 through the viewing aperture 4 can be avoided according to fig. 14 by placing a layer 14 on the material web of the mouthpiece cover 2. The glue 16 is applied according to the embodiment shown to the plastic layer 14, preferably a cellophane layer.

After the adhesive or glue 16 has been applied, the mouthpiece cover 2 or the material web of the filter plug wrap 10 is separated by means of a cutting device in a device for producing cigarettes, a so-called CigaretteMaker. In a further processing step, separate small sheets of mouthpiece cover 2 are applied to the filter rod bundle.

Figure 15 shows a cross-sectional view of a filter rod bundle 17 to which the detached flakes 18 of the mouthpiece cover 2 according to the invention are affixed.

As can be seen from fig. 16, the layer 14 can also be arranged only in the region below the viewing aperture 4, in order to be able to avoid glue penetration along the application path.

As shown in figure 17, the mouthpiece cover material according to the invention is adhered to the filter rod bundle after it has been separated into small pieces in a Cigarette Maker. The filter rod bundle is arranged here between the tobacco rod bundles of the double cigarette. To separate the cigarettes, the filter tow is cut apart and the double cigarette is separated into two separate cigarettes.

According to fig. 18, the application of glue 16 can take place in an area below and around the viewing aperture 4. However, it is also possible to apply the glue over the entire width of the column of mouthpiece cover material.

Finally, it should be noted that the exemplary embodiments merely show possible implementation variants of the solution according to the invention, and that the invention is not limited to the implementation variants specifically shown. In particular, it is also possible to combine the individual embodiment variants with one another, wherein these variant possibilities are within the capability of a person skilled in the art on the basis of the teaching of technical measures by means of a specific invention. All conceivable embodiment variants which enable the solution according to the invention and which are not described or illustrated in detail or by combining individual details of the described and illustrated embodiment variants are included within the scope of protection. Likewise, the protection extends to the individual components of the device of the invention, as long as they are important for the implementation of the invention.

Claims (18)

1. Method for producing a cigarette mouthpiece (9), wherein a mouthpiece cover and/or a filter wrap is used, wherein the mouthpiece cover material and/or the filter wrap material is provided with at least one viewing aperture (4, 13) of a predefinable shape, wherein a mouthpiece cover material or a filter wrap material is used which is provided with a laminated plastic layer (14) covering the at least one viewing aperture (4, 13), characterized in that a glue coating is applied to the plastic layer (14), and the mouthpiece cover material or the filter wrap material is then separated and applied to a filter rod bundle (22).

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that a layer (14) of transparent or translucent material covering the inspection holes (4, 13) is applied on the mouthpiece cover material and/or the filter wrapper material provided with at least one inspection hole (4, 13).

3. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that a cellophane layer is laid down as said layer (14).

4. A method according to claim 2 or 3, characterised in that the layer (14) is glued and/or embossed onto the mouthpiece cover material and/or filter wrap material provided with at least one sight hole (4, 13).

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the mouthpiece cover material and/or the filter wrapper material is paper and/or cellophane.

6. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the mouthpiece cover material and/or the filter wrapper material is provided with a predeterminable pattern of a plurality of sight holes (4, 13).

7. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that a plurality of viewing apertures (4, 13) arranged in at least one row is provided.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the at least one row is a linear row.

9. A method according to claim 7, wherein the mouthpiece cover material and/or the filter wrapper material is provided with at least two mutually parallel rows of sight holes (4, 13).

10. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one window (7) is formed by a plurality of spatially adjacent portholes (4, 13).

11. A method according to claim 1, characterized by forming at least two viewing apertures (4, 13) of different sizes.

12. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the sight hole (4, 13) is made by partial punching and/or cutting of the mouthpiece cover material and/or the filter wrapper material.

13. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that a laser is used for manufacturing the viewing aperture (4, 13).

14. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the viewing aperture (4, 13) is manufactured using a mechanical punching device.

15. A method according to claim 1, wherein at least one intermediate layer (11) is provided between the mouthpiece cover material and the filter plug wrap material.

16. Method according to claim 15, characterized in that the at least one intermediate layer (11) also has at least one viewing aperture (12).

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the at least one viewing aperture (12) of the at least one intermediate layer (11) is smaller than the viewing aperture (4) of the mouthpiece cover (2).

18. Cigarette holder with a holder coating and a filter wrap, characterized in that the cigarette holder (9) is designed to be at least partially transparent and the underlying layers can be seen through the holder coating (2) and/or the filter wrap (10), characterized in that it is produced according to the method of one of claims 1 to 17.