Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING SMOKING ROD WRAPPERS
S The invention relates to a machine for making
wrappers for cylindrical smoking rods, such as aigarettes
and cigarillos, comprising a combustib]e tubular wrapper,
usuaily made of paper or a tobacco based material,
surrounding a combustible filler of tobacco and/or
tobacco substitute.
It has previously been proposed to improve the
burning characteristics, or to improve the
satisfaction to the smoker, of such smoking rods by
applying to the wrapper an additive, e.g. a burn
control agen~, a smoke producing agent, a smoke
nucleation agent, a flavouring a~ent, and/or a
physiologically active agent, such agent affecting
the burn rate of the wrapper and/or affecting, or
being released into, the main stream smoke, upon
1 20 approach of the burning tip of the rod. We are
particularly interested in the release into the main
s~ream smoke of a nicotine component to enhance the
satisfaction of a low tar cigarette. However, little
practical coDsideration has been given to the manner
in which such agents can satisfactorily be applied to
the smoking rod wrapper.
For example, GB-A-1111077 discloses a smoking
rod wrapper which is uniformly impregnated with a
nicotine component. However this leads to a puff by
puff increase in the nicotine concentration in the
main stream smoke, owing to the continual condensing
of the volatile components in the main stream smoke
as it is cooled upon approaching the buccal end of
the smoking rod.
To overcome this problem, it has been
appreciated that it would be desirable to deposit the
additive on the wrapper in a predetermined pattern
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which results in unifor~, or a modified profile for
the, puf~ by puff smoking qualitie6. Thus in our
GB-B-2007078, we disclose screen printing on the
inner surface of a smoking rod wrapper of a series of
dots of an ink containing an additive such as a
nicotine component, the printing being in a
predetermined pattern such that the nicotine
component loading decreases along the wrapper from
the lit to the buccal end of the smoking rod. This
earlier specification did not address the problem of
how such wrapper could be used on a high speed
cigarette making machine from a preprinted web of
wrapper material, whilst ensuring that the printed
deposit would be in the correct position along each
cigarette. An advantage of dots or discontinuous
coating is that the flexibility of the wrapper is
maintained. An incidental advantage of profile
printing is that the wrapper porosity changes a
smaller amount as the product is smoked because the
printed dot areas are less pervious than unprinted
wxapper.
GB-A-1235692 discloses the printing of a smoking
~- rod wrapper with a burn accelerating agent in a
predetermined pattern and suggests that the printing
could be incorporated into the process of manufacture
of the smoking rod as an additional stage during the
feeding of the continuous wrapper web into the rod
forming section of a continuous rod making machine.
This would alleviate the problem of correct
positioning of the printed deposit along each smoking
rod length into which the continuous rod is
subsequently to be cut, provided that the printing
station and rod cutting knife were synchronized and
by means of a conventional advance and retard
mechanism and adequate compensation were made for
stretch of the wrapper between the printing and
cutting stations. However this is not a practical
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~olution ar w0 are concerned not wlth the printing of
the minimu~ quantity of an ink necessary for visible
legend, ~ut the deposit of a much highex loading of
an additive~ Such quantitie~ of additive require a
significant volume of carrier liquid, which is
preferably evaporated prior to the wrapper being
curled to encircle the filler in the rod-making
machine. At the speed at which a modern rod-making
machine operates, the printing and evaporation of the
solvent on line with the rod making, would req~ire an
unacceptably long machine. A further disadvantage o~
printing on the rod forming machine is that liquid
toxic material has to be used on the rod making
machine or in the making area, there~y introducing
health and safety problems and requiring special
precautions.
In a metho~ here described of
processing a web of smoking rod wrapper,
the web is passed through initial and final printing
stations in series, and then reeled up for ~ubsequent
use on a continuous tobacco rod-making machine; the
web being printed at the initial printing station on
one surface with a regularly longitudinally spaced
registration marking, and being printed at the final
printing station and on i~s other surface with a
repetitive regularly spaced pattern of a deposit
containing an additive which is arranged to improve
the smoking qualities of the resulting smoking rod.
The width of the printed deposit will usually be
less than the width of the wrapper used on the
tobacco rod-making machine so as to allow a normal
adhesive lap seam to be formed on the rod-making
machineO
A wrapper web produced in this way is then
substantially ready for unreeling and use on a
continuous rod-making machine, in which case the
surface of the wrapper on which the registration
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~arking i~ printed will be used on the out~ide, where
the regi~tration ~arking i8 clearly visible, and the
printed deposit will be on the inside of the wrapper,
where it i~ hidden from touch and view. The
rod-making machine will then incorporate a sensor
which recognises the paSSing of the registration
marking to control the phase and frequency of the
knife which cuts the smoking rod into sections or by
similarly controlling the paper drive. This will
ensure that the printed deposit incorporating the
additive will be positioned correctly in the
subsequent individual smoXing rods.
The registration marking may consist of the
conventional printed legend or so called 'monogram'
on the outer surface of a smoking rod, representing
the malce or brand, and which is normally printed on
line by the rod-making machine. In this case of
course it will be preprinted. However it is unusual
for such legend to be sufficiently bold or to have a
sufficiently well defined leading edge for reliable
recognition by an optical sensor and the registration
marking is preferably bold printing in the form for
example of a dot or transverse bar. Also the pitch
of the legend on a filter tip cigarette alternates
short and long, adding up to two tobacco rod lengths,
so as to suit the tipping machine used after the
tobacco rod-making machine. Since the registration
marking will be on the external surface of the
wrapper, and may well be unsightly, in the case of a
smoking rod with a filter tip connected to the
tobacco rod by a conventional simulated cork wrapper,
the registration marking is preferably arranged to be
positioned immediately adjacent to the filter tip,
and hence covered by the overlap of the simulated
cork wrapper. This hides the marking from view in
the finished smoking rod product but if, by chance,
the marking becomes visible on the outer surface of
the product, i~ i8 immediately apparent to the
operator of the rod-making machine that registration
has failed, and hence that the hidden printed deposit
on the inner surface of the wrapper i5 wrongly
positioned along the individual smoking rods. The
machine must then be ~ stopped and the fault
corrected. Normally this correction would be part of
the paper speed control and rejection of faulty
cigarettes would be automatic using an extra reject
input to the normal nucleonic cigarette weight
control reject system.
Conventional legend may be printed on the one
surface of the wrapper web simultaneously wit~ the
registration marking. However if different colours
are required, there may be two of the initial
printing stations~ one for printing the registration
marking and the other for printing the conventional
legend. This is a convenient place to print the
legend since at this stage the wrapper web is still
essentially flat and accurate fine printing can be
carried out. Also it is preferable to do all
printing before the coating of additive deposit is
applied to avoid, after coating and in line with the
coating, a printing roller nip on the incompletely
2S dry and discontinuous coating. By contrast, if the
legend were printed in the conventional manner on
line by the rod-making machine, the non-uniform
projection of the heavy additive-containing deposit
on the other surface of the wrapper web would make
adequate support of the web for fine printing
difficult. Also the monogram printer on the
rod-makiny machine would have to be synchronised with
the pre-printed registration marks.
The initial printing station or stations and the
final printing station must be sufficiently spaced
for the printed registration marking and printed
legend on the one surface of the wrapper web to dry,
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either naturally or assinted by a drier, before the
additive-containing deposit is printed on the other
6ur~ace o~ the wrapper web. Thi8 spacing may
typically amount to 5m. and, if the wrapper web is
pulled through the printing stations, the web may
stretch to an indeterminate extent before it reaches
the final printing station, resulting in slight
inaccuracies in the positioning of the
additive-containing deposit relatively to the
registration marking. This is particularly serious
if the wrapper web is for use in maXing back to back
filter tip cigarette or other smoking rods, in which
case if the pattern of printed deposit applied in the
final printing station extends across two smoking rod
lengths, any inaccuracy in position will lead to
significant differences between the effects of the
additive in adjacent smoking rods cut from the same
double rod length~ In order to overcome this
~#~ problem, the registration marking may be used for
registration of the wrapper web with the final
printing station. This would be achieved by
providing a sensor~ particularly an optical sensor,
adjacent to the final printing station and responsive
to the registration marking printed in the initial
printing station, and controlling an advance and
retard mechanism for the final printing station
accordingly. The registration marking then has the
synergistic function both of controlling the accurate
printing of the additive-containing deposit
relatively to the registration marking, and
subsequently in the rod-making machine of controlling
the position of the additive-containing deposit
relatively to tne individual cut rod lengths.
The additive-containing deposit may be applied
in the final printing station by a screen or grav-]re
printing process and the amount of wet deposit may be
sensed by for example an infrared monitor past which
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the web is drawn. The liquid carrier for the
additive will need to be evaporated be~ore the web i8
handled further and the web i6 preerably passed
through a drier. The dry additive-containing deposit
may then be checked by for example a ~apacitance
monitor which senses changes in capacitance between
electrodes due to the deposit on a strip of the
moving web and senses variation~ in the deposit
according to the desired pattern of deposit. A novel
feature is that the repetitive patterns of deposit
may be measured relatively to the unprinted web
between patterns and hence the pattern profile sensed.
The printed wrapper web may be reeled up `on a
driven reel posi~ioned downstream of final nip
rollers which are at least part of the means by which
the web is dr~wn through the printing drying and
inspection stations. As previously mentioned, the
heavy additive-containing deposit projects
nonuniformly ~rom the surface of the wrapper web and
this can cause problems when the web is reeled up.
Normally a flat web would be reeled up under constant
tension. However as the radius of the reel grows
upon reeling up, the radially inward layers of reeled
web become more highly compressed radially and the
circumferential tension decreases. In the case of
the present web, with its heavy discontinuous deposit
on one surface, this can cause loss of tension and
crumpling of the inner layers, making it difficu1t to
use the web in these layers subsequently in slitting
and in a continuous rod-making machine. According to
an independent aspect of the invention therefore a
wrapper web, having on at least one surface a heavy
discontinuous deposit is reeled up on a reel which is
rotated under substantially constant torque.
The substantially constant torque may be
provided by a constant torque electric ~otor. The
substantially constant torque ensures that the
tension, as the outer layer ia wound on, actually
decreases as the radius of the reel increases as a
result of the laid layers of web, and this helps to
compensate for the co~pression problem.
For convenience, when the wrapper web is being
printed, it will hav~ a width corresponding to a
multiple, for example between twelve and twenty-five,
individual smoking rod wra~per widths. In such case,
the final nip pull-through roller on the coated
surface of the web is then pre~erably relieved in
line with the longitudinal lines of deposit. The
reeled web will then be processed on a conventional
slitter to divide the reel into narrower reels of web
of individual smoking rod wrapper widths, for use on
a continuous rod-making machine.
More particularly, in accordance with the invention, there
is provided, a printing machine for processing a web of smoking
rod wrapper, said web having opposed first and second surfaces,
said machine comprising an unwind wheel adjacent to a first end
of said machine; initial and final printing stations in series;
means for passing said web through said initial and final printing
stations said initial printing station being adapted to print on
said first surface of said web a regularly longitudinally spaced
registration marking, and said second printing station being
adapted to print on said second surface of said web a repetitive
regularly spaced pattern of a deposit containing at least one
additive selected from the group comprising a burn control agent,
a smoke producing agent, a smoke nucleation agent, a flavoring
agent and a physiologically active agent; a rewind wheel adjacent
3~ to a second end of said machine for reeling up said web for
subsequent use on a continuous smoking rod-making machine; and a
drier station extending substantially along the full length of
said machine; said initial printing station being located to the
side of said final printing station nearer to said second end of
said machine.
This particular layout has the benefit that,
i~mediately after passinq through the final ~rinting
station, at which the heavy wet additive containing
deposit is printed on the web, the web can be guided
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by appropriate rollers engaging only the one face of
its sheet on which the now dry registration marking
has been printed, through the drier station which
extends for the ~aximum distance along the length of
the machine wi~h ~inimum changes of direction during
which the still wet deposit might be disturbed.
The drier station preferably incorporates a
housing through which the web is drawn, the housing
containing nozzles which direct hot air against th~
wet deposit on the web. This provides a rapid but
low temperature drying effect, which is particularly
important if the deposit contains an additive which
: is susceptible to high temperature.
If the substantially dry deposit is to be
monitored using a capacitance monitor as previously
mentioned, it is important that the capacitance
monitor sensor is situated extremely closely to the
adjacent moving web and it is important that at this
point the web is extremely flat without any creases
or flapping, which could bring the sensor into
1 damaging contact with the web, or affect the response
of the sensor.
This difficulty is overcome by a further
independent feature according to
which a discontinuous deposit on a web of material is
monitored by moving the web past a stationary
capacitance monitor having a sensor located
immediately adjacent but spaced from one surface of
the web; the other surface of the web being supported
opposite to the sensor by a primary support and being
supported upstream and downstream of the primary
support by secondary supports, the arrangement being
such that the plane of the web is deflected through a
small angle in the same sense as it passes over each
of the three supports.
This arrangement ensures only ligh~ contact or
flotation between the web and the supports and serves
to smooth out any wrinkles in, or flapping of, the
web. The small angle may be less than 5 at the
primary support. The primary support may be a smooth
plate, preferably with air flotation to reduce and
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provide cooling, and the ~econdary .~upports ~ay be
rollers to and from which the web i~ led over further
rollers .
ln a convenient arrangement in which the web has
been printed w;th multiple parallel tracks of the
deposit, it may be desirab~e to provide more than one
of the sensors. In practice we find it is
appropriate to provide one sensor on a track adjacent
to each edge of the web and one or two sensors on
tracks adjacent to the centre of the web. In order
to provide accurate alignment transversely of the web
between each sensor and the track to be sensed, the
sensors are preferably mounted on a bar which has a
fixed yap relative to the pri~ary support and
overlies the web, the se~sors being arranged to be
moved to and fro with the bar and to be fixed in a
selected positio~ on the bar.
It is also advantageous continuously to monitor
the pitch of the regifitration marks for cyclical or
long term variations. Preferably this can be done
using ~wo optical sensors on one or ~ore tracks
spaced at the nominal pitch together with appropriate
timing electronics. ~These sensors can conveniently
be mounted adjacent to or on the capacitance
monitor. Variations in pitch can be very troublesome
at the subsequent rod making stage.
Visual inspection of the surface of the moving
web on which the additive~containing deposit has been
printed, is desirable prior to reeling up. In a
normal printing or other web handling machine, the
web is normally passed up and down and to and fro
over rollers or other guides which extend
transversely to the length of the machine. However
this is inconvenient for visual inspection of the web
since the operator has to be in line with the machine
to inspect the web and then it is only convenient to
do so at one or other end of the machine, where the
unwind and rewind reels are situated.
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In accordance with a further Eeature, web guide
surfaces extend transversely to a nominal length
of the machine, intercepting the web and
deflecting the web onto at least two guide surfaces
extending parallel to the nominal length of the
machine, and between which the web passes with its
plane facing laterally of the machine for visual
inspection.
After visual inspection the web may be wound
onto a rewind reel the axis of which extends parallel
to the nominal length of the machine, but preferably
a second air turner bar is used to bring the web back
onto support surfaces ~tending transverseLy of the
nominal length of the machine.
In a convenient configuration, two air turner
bars are provided, one above the other, with their
axes inclined at 45 to the nominal length o~ the
machine. A horizontal run of the web is intercepted
by one bar and turns the web so that it moves
laterally to a side of the machine from whence it
passes over a roller having its axis extending
parallel to the length of the machine. From thence
the web passes in a substantially vertical plane
along the visual inspection path before passing
around a second roller having its axis parallel to
the length of the machine and hence into the machine
and around the second air turner bar back onto a
; further horizontal path along the web contreline of
the machine. This arrangement enables visual
inspection of the web by an operator standing at the
; side of the machine and is particularly useful for
inspecting the heavy deposit of an
additive-containing printed pattern. The air turner
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bars have the advantage that they provide ~inimum
re~istance to the web, which ;8 being drawn over
them, and there is no direct contact between the web
and bar.
Conveniently, when a capacitance monitor for
deposit level is used as described, the monitor may
be provided overlying the web at the lateral visual
inspection point.
Specific embodiments of the invention and a machine
for producing a wrapper web here described, and the
resulting product and its use are illustrated diagram-
matically in the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a side elevation showing schematically
the path of the web through the machine;
Fig. 2 is an isometric view showing an
inspection point on the machine;
Fig. 3 is a vertical cross section through part
of the inspection point.
Fig. 4 is a plan of part of a wrapper web
produced on the machine; and,
Fig. 5 is a partially exploded view of a filter
tip cigarette incorporating part of the wrapper web
of Fig. 4.
As shown in Fig. 1, a paper web 6 is drawn
through the machine from an unwind reel 7, which is
provided with an automatic brake to provide constant
tension in the web, around a dancing roller 8, a web
length coding disc 44 and through an infeed tracking
9 which centralizes the web transversely and infeed
10. Throughout its passage through the machine, the
web is entrained around a number of transversely
extending rollers 11, only one of which is
specifically indicated in Fig. 1, but the purpose of
all of which is clearly apparent from the drawing.
From the infeed unit 10, the web 6 passes through
first and second initial printing stations 12 and 13
at which one (the top) face of the web is printed
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with brand legend or monogra~, and with transv~rse
bar regiatration markings, respectively. The
printing i~ carried out in multiple parallel track~,
as will subsequently be explained with respect to
S Fig. 4. The web then passes through a final printing
or ~oating station 14 where the other (lower) face of
the web is printed with a repetitive pattern of dots
containing an additive, such as a nicotine
componentO The printing in the station 14 is brought
into register with the printing carried o~t in the
stations 12 and 13 by optical recognition of the
registration marking by means of a sensor 15. The
sensor controls a conventional advance and retard
mechanism at the station 14.
The loading of the wet deposit printed on the
web in the station 14 ;s monitored by means of an
infrared monitor 16~ Thereafter the web passes with
the web coating ~ppermost through a hot air drier
having two sections 17 in the form of an inverted
shallow V, between which the web passes over guide
rollers 18. This arrangement reduces flutter of the
web within the drier.
After leaving the drier, and as shown in Fig. 2,
the web is turned by means of an inclined air turner
bar 19 and brought to one side of the machine where
it passes downwards through an inspection point. As
shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the web passes over a first
roller 20, a second roller 21, a smooth primary
support 22, a third roller 23, and a fourth roller
24. The rollers 21 and 23 form secondary supports
and as the web passes over the rollers 21 and 23, and
over the primary support 22, it is turned through a
small angle of say up to 5. Opposite to the primary
support 22 is a support bar 25, which has been
omitted from Fig. 2 for reasons of clarity, and which
supports a number of transversely spaced capacitance
monitors 26. As the web passes between
the support 22 and the monitors 26, the corre~ponding
tracXs o~ the deposited additive are 6ensed and the
output from the monitor6 26 i~ presented visually so
that the loading of the deposit, as compared to the
unprinted web, between the longitudinally ~paced
additive deposits, is readily available.
Furthermore, the exposed outer face of the web, for
example where it passes between the rollers 20 and
21, that is to say the face of the web bearing the
additive deposit, is exposed for visual inspection by
an operator standing to the side of the machine.
After passing through the inspection point, the
web passes around a further stationary air turner bar
27 which brings the direction of movement of the web
lS back into the longitudinal direction of the machine.
Thereafter the web passes over rollers 28 of a
further tracking guide for transverse
centralisation. The web is essentially drawn through
the machine by a pair of nip rollers 29, the lower
one of which engages the surface of the web on which
the additive deposit has been printed, and is
relieved annularly so as only to engage the web
between the printed tracks. The web is then wound up
on a rewind roll 30 which is driven at constant
torque by a constant torque electric motor.
As shown in Fig.4, the web has, in this case,
twelve parallel printed tracks 31A, 31B....31L. One
surface of the web is printed with the transverse bar
registration markings 32, and with the brand legend
or monogram 33. The other surface of the web is
printed with the dots of additive coating in the
areas 34. If the additive comprises, e.g. a nicotine
component, the concentration of the dots decreases
longitudinally of the web in both directions away
from a transverse centre line 35. After reeling on
the reel 30, the web is subsequently unwound, slit
along lines 36, and re-reeled into twelve individual
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wrapper reel~. Each narrow reel i8 then used on a
modlfied continuous tobacco rod-making machine, in
which the exposed bars 32 are 3ensed and u6ed to
control the synchroni~ation of the ~achine. The rod
will be cut at the tran~verse line~ 35 and at the
transverse lines 38 for the subsequent insertion of
double length filter tips, which are united to the
intervening tobacco rods by a conventional tipping
wrapper which should cover the half width bars 32.
The resulting assemblies are subsequently cut through
the centres of the filter tips into individual
cigarettes.
A typical cigarette is shown in Fig. 5.` The
tobacco rod 39 consists of a conventional filler 40
wrapped in the printed wrapper 41 which bears on its
outer surface the half width regis~ration marking 32
and the brand legend 33, and on its inner surface
with the concentration of printed dots 34. The
concentration profile of which decreases from the lit
end of the cigarette towards the buccal end. A
filter element 42 abuts the end of the tobacco rod 39
and is united to it by a conventional t;pping wrapper
43 which overlaps the tobacco rod 39 and conceals the
half width registration marking 32.
