Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
z133~0~3
SMOKING TOBACCO FOR USER-PREPARED CIGARETTES, AND
A METHOD OF PRODUCTION AND PACKAGING FOR SAME
The present invention relates to smoking tobacco for
user-prepared cigarettes, in particular for those employing
prefabricated cigarette-paper tubes, to packaging for such
tobacco and to a method for its manufacture.
In DE-C-32 44 906 a smoking tobacco is disclosed that
comprises a quantity of tobacco forming a sale unit
subdivided into about equally sized subportions, in which
the tobacco is fully or at least partly held together by a
covering of completely smokable material. So that the user
can construct a roll-your-own cigarette each subportion has
approximately the shape of a round rod. Each subportion
also corresponds approximately to the amount of tobacco
needed for one cigarette. The covering of this tobacco
comprises a perforated or reticulate material which is air-
pervious so that it is impossible to draw a directed
airstream. The subportions are formed from the unit by
pressing, grooving, stamping, perforating, cutting,
insertion of threads or the like. In a preferred embodiment
the subportions are arranged in a row like a cartridge
belt, such that they can easily be detached from one
another without destruction of the individual subportions
or loss of their internal cohesion. This tobacco can also
contain, at least in predetermined locations, a fixative to
increase the internal cohesion of each subportion.
This known tobacco is intended to allow a cigarette to
be assembled by the user from the tobacco, which is non-
smokable as formed material, and a carrying device with no
special aids, such as packaging that assists assembly. In
many countries the problem then arises that tobacco of this
kind, in which rodlike subportions remain intact after
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detachment so that the user can construct cigarettes by
enclosing them in cigarette paper, are taxed at just the
same rate as cigarettes. The same applies to tobacco
portions as described in DE-C-34 07 461 and EP-B-155 514.
Alternatives to this known means of preparing
cigarettes include the traditional process of rolling
cigarettes, in which sheets of cigarette paper provided
with an adhesive edge are used, and the user-production of
cigarettes by packing, in which prefabricated cigarette-
paper tubes are packed with tobacco by a user-operated
machine. Both these conventional methods present the
disadvantage that it is impossible to produce cigarettes
that are uniform with respect to the amount of tobacco
contained, taste, behavior during smoking (smoking
duration, drawing characteristics) and/or content of
noxious substances. Accordingly, cigarettes produced by
these conventional methods are far inferior to factory-made
cigarettes.
An intermediate solution, between these alternative
conventional methods described above and the system
described in DE-C-34 07 461 and EP-B-155 514, is the
system described in DE-U 8 326 92I and 8 309 186. This
system is characterized by the provision of a prefabricated
tobacco element that is not smokable as such, in the form
of a factory-made tobacco cartridge having a diameter
matched to a cigarette-paper tube of the finished cigarette
and a strand casing which is open at one end. The tobacco
filling corresponding to a cigarette portion can be
transferred from the strand casing into an empty cigarette-
paper tube by means of an associated piston, the size of
which is matched to the inside diameter of the strand
casing. This tobacco product is suitable for use both in
combination with conventional user-packed cigarette-paper
tubes and with paper tubes made of conventional user-rolled
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sheets of cigarette paper. According to the basic concept
of this proposal, the user is provided with a precisely
measured amount of tobacco, namely an amount corresponding
to the filling of a conventional factory-made cigarette, in
the form of a cigarette-tobacco cartridge, the tobacco
filling of which can be transferred in a relatively simple
manner into a prefabricated cigarette-paper tube of the
commercially available kind or into a cigarette-paper tube
made by rolling and gluing together a sheet of cigarette
paper. It is, therefore, disadvantageous that the tobacco
cartridge is enclosed in a cover, namely the strand casing,
comprising a non-smokable material. With respect to the end
product "cigarette" this strand casing amounts to a
superfluous accessory, usable only once.
Starting from the above state of the art, the object
of the present invention is to provide tobacco for smoking
and a method for its manufacture that presents all the
advantages of pre-measured tobacco subportions for user-
prepared cigarettes plus the advantage of tax privilege
even in the countries in which rodlike tobacco portions
that are not in themselves smokable, but become smokable
after enclosure in cigarette paper, are taxed like
cigarettes. In addition, with respect to the end product
"cigarette" it is an object to reduce the waste material,
i.e, accessories not suitable for smoking, to a minimum.
It is further object of the present invention to
create packaging suitable for use with the tobacco in
accordance with the invention.
According to a first aspect of the present invention
there is provided smoking tobacco for user-prepared
cigarettes comprising at least one tobacco portion in the
form of a slab which comprises at least two subportions
each held together by a fixative; the outer surface of at
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least one of the tobacco portion and the subportions being
substantially air-pervious whereby the respective tobacco
portion and subportions are non-smokable as formed; and
each subportion comprising a stick of tobacco with a
substantially polygonal cross section, with a length
corresponding to a length of a tobacco-receiving space of
the cigarette to be produced, and containing a sufficient
quantity of tobacco for one cigarette.
According to a second aspect of the present invention
there is provided packaging for smoking tobacco in the form
of a slab according to the first aspect of the invention,
comprising a panel of packaging material which is wrapped
around the tobacco slab like a tube, overlapping long sides
of the panel being glued together.
According to a third aspect of the present invention
there is provided a method of producing smoking tobacco in
the form of a slab according to the first aspect of the
invention, wherein a tobacco ribbon of substantially
rectangular cross section is conveyed past a tobacco
separating means which comprises a plurality of cutting or
stamping elements that are spaced apart side by side; the
tobacco ribbon is subdivided by the tobacco separating
means into individual ribbon subsections, which remain
connected to one another on the side of the ribbon opposite
to the cutting or stamping elements; and thereafter the
ribbon subsections are cut to subportion length by a
cutting means which operates perpendicular to the direction
in which the tobacco ribbon is conveyed.
According to a fourth aspect of the invention there is y
provided a method for the user-preparation of cigarettes
using smoking tobacco according to the first aspect of the
invention wherein a subportion of the tobacco slab is
detached, and either placed into a pressing chamber of a
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cigarette-packing device and pushed into a pre-prepared
cigarette-paper tube, or positioned in a loosened state on
a sheet of cigarette paper, which is then rolled around the
subportion in a conventional manner.
5
Preferably, the tobacco slab is packaged by means of a
panel of packaging material which is wrapped around both
broad surfaces as well as both narrow end surfaces of the
tobacco slab like a tube, overlapping long sides of the
panel being glued together, the packaged tobacco slab being
placed on an upper feed opening of a pressing chamber of a
cigarette-packing device by way of the open end of the
packaging, so that the packaging serves as a magazine or
feeder shaft to introduce tobacco subportions into the
pressing chamber after each use successively until all the
subportions in a package have been used.
In the smoking tobacco in accordance with the first
aspect of the present invention, the configuration of the
subportions is such that because of their polygonal cross-
sectional shape they cannot be transferred without
modification into a conventional cigarette-paper tube to
produce a smokable, i.e, air-drawing cigarette. Instead,
each subportion must be shaped, at least with respect to
its cross section, before insertion into a prefabricated
cigarette-paper tube. This shaping is preferabllr carried
out within the pressing chamber of a conventional
cigarette-packing device by means of which the subportion
can also be inserted into a prefabricated cigarette-paper
tube.
If a cigarette is to be made with a conventional sheet
of cigarette paper, the subportion must also be changed
from its predetermined form, in particular loosened. For
this purpose the subportion is preferably first positioned
on a sheet of cigarette paper and then, before the paper is
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rolled around it, loosened or crumbled with the fingers.
Alternatively, each subportion can be kneaded with the
fingers into the shape of a rod with approximately circular
cross section, before a sheet of cigarette paper is rolled
around it. In any case, the subportion must be shaped
before enclosure in cigarette paper. This necessity ensures
that in a plurality of countries it qualifies for the
privileged tax status of fine-cut pipe tobacco. The smoking
tobacco in accordance with the invention and/or the
subportions separated from it amount to a special kind of
pre-portioned quantity of fine-cut tobacco.
Preferably, the subportions of the tobacco slab are
held together by either narrow tobacco bridges or an
external wrapper. Hence, when a tobacco slab is separated
into subportions, the subportions are necessarily destroyed
or broken up in the region where they were joined to an
adjacent subportion, so that the internal cohesion is
disrupted in this region. Hence when a subportion is
detached, neither this nor the immediately adjacent
subportion can be transferred to a prefabricated cigarette-
paper tube without taking special measures, regardless of
the cross-sectional shape of each subportion. During
detachment of a subportion its internal cohesion is largely
destroyed, in some cases so thoroughly destroyed that it
actually falls apart at a touch. The same applies to the
subportion immediately adjacent to the detached subportion.
,Accordingly, when a subportion is detached nothing remains
of it but an amount of tobacco pre-portioned to match the
length of the tobacco-receiving space of a cigarette-paper
tube. The described loss of internal cohesion is
unproblematic when a conventional packing machine is used
to produce a cigarette, because one must merely take care
to transfer the individual subportions into the pressing
chamber of the packing machine. This can be done, for
example, by means of packaging according to the second
7
aspect of the present invention wherein the panel of
packaging material is wrapped around both broad surfaces as
well as bath narrow end surfaces of the tobacco slab using
the method according to the fourth aspect of the invention.
An advantage of the tobacco in accordance with the
invention as compared with the state of the art according
to DE-C 34 07 461 ar E1'-B-155 514 is that na "paper",
namely no covering material for each subportion of tobacco,
needs to be smoked. This feature considerably increases the
acceptance of the tobacco according to the present
invention by the consumer.
Sa that it is possible to dispense with external and,
in some cases, internal fixatives, the tobacco is
preferably compressed in such a way that it resists being
pulled apart by about the same degree as the tobacco
filling of a conventional cigarette. This simultaneously
ensures adequate stability of the shape of the tobacco, in
particular of each subportion even after detachment from
the tobacco slab. It is also possible to compress the
tobacco and where appropriate to treat it with internal
fixatives such as plum juice or the like, in such a way
that after separation the subportions just barely hold
together and retain their predetermined form. This measure
is intended to ensure that each subportion can be held
between two fingers without immediately falling apart.
Hence such a subportion, having been detached from the
tobacco slab, can be transferred into the pressing chamber
of a conventional packing device or onto a prepared sheet
of cigarette paper, i.e. one that has been spread out flat.
The subdivision of the tobacco slab into subportions
can be achieved by mechanical cuts, stamping, fluting,
imprinting or the like. In this respect conventional
methods are employed.
2133~~j
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Preferably, partitions strips made of tinfoil,
cardboard or similar relatively stiff material that is not
consumable by smoking extend into the plane separating two
adjacent subportions of the tobacco slab. In this way a
clean separation of the individual subportions is
maintained. The partition strips also assist detachment.
They are preferably part of an external covering, in
particular part of a covering that extends over only one
broad surface of the tobacco slab and, where appropriate,
also over the two opposite longitudinal narrow sides and/or
narrow end surfaces. The partition strips can be made
integral with the said covering. It is also possible for
the partition strips to be glued to the said covering. A
loose connection between the partition strips and the said
covering or partial covering is also possible. The said
partial covering is preferably constructed as a shallow
shell, in particular a partial shell.
To achieve sufficient transport stability, the tobacco
slab can be enclosed in a tubelike covering, in which case
the overlapping sides of the covering are laid loosely one
over the other. This arrangement facilitates opening of the
covering. The tubel3ke covering preferably comprises
material not consumable by smoking, in particular aluminum
backed paper.
The cohesion of the tobacco slab can also be assisted
by positioning over its narrow longitudinal and/or end
surfaces a strip of material not consumable by smoking,
such as cardboard, plastic or the like. This wrapping
around the narrow surfaces of the tobacco slab holds the
latter together well without requiring much packaging
material.
The sticklike subportions can in addition each be held
together by a strand casing made either of material
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consumable by smoking or of material not consumable by
smoking such as aluminum-backed paper or the like, the
overlapping long edges of the strand casing or wrapper in
the latter case being laid loosely over one another, so
that the strand casing can be removed from the subportion
with no difficulty before use. These measures are intended
to ensure the internal cohesion of each individual
subportion. Within the external strand casing the tobacco
can be relatively loosely bound, i.e. so loosely that when
the strand casing is removed the subportion falls apart.
As a sale unit several tobacco slabs of the kind
described can be stacked above one another to form a larger
unit or block.
Preferably also, a panel of relatively stiff packaging
material, such as cardboard or the like, is wrapped around
the tobacco slab to form a tube-like structure, the
overlapping long edges of the panel being glued together.
Thus, this is a kind of wrapper that extends across the two
broad surfaces as well as the two longitudinal narrow sides
or, alternatively, the two narrow end surfaces of the
tobacco slab. In the latter case the packaging serves as a
kind of magazine or feeder shaft, out of which the tobacco
slab can be pushed by pressing on the one open side, so
that one subportion emerges at a time. In particular, the
package can be set onto the upper feed opening of the
pressing chamber of a conventional packing machine, so that
tobacco is pushed into the pressing chamber portionwise.
through the package. The packing machine itself can be
provided for this purpose with a suitable holder, into
which the package containing the tobacco slab can be placed
so that it is positioned precisely and securely over the
feed opening of the pressing chamber. The package thus
amounts to a disposable tobacco magazine. The individual
subportions are detached from the tobacco slab by the
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pressing bar. Thus the package has a multiple function, on
the one hand acting to hold together the tobacco in
accordance with the invention and on the other hand serving
as a magazine or tobacco feeder shaft.
5
Preferably also, the above-mentioned slab with panel
wrapper is enclosed in an additional layer of packaging
that serves to retain aroma and moisture. This envelope
preferably consists of an air- and water-tight film, in
10 particular cellulose film or the like. This film can bear a
printed design as in the case of the packaging of factory-
made cigarettes.
The tobacco slabs in accordance with the invention can
be manufactured by passing a tobacco ribbon with
approximately rectangular cross section either continuously
or intermittently past a tobacco-separating device
comprising an array of several spaced-apart cutting or
stamping elements that subdivide the tobacco ribbon into
individual ribbon subsections, which preferably remain
connected to one another on the side away from the cutting
elements, and subsequently removing sets of ribbon
subsections from the tobacco ribbon by a knife or similar
cutting device that acts transversely to the direction in
which the ribbon is conveyed.
The cutting or stamping elements can act alternatively
on the upper or lower or both broad surfaces of the tobacco
ribbon. In the last case a tobacco-connecting bridge can be
formed between adjacent ribbon subsections halfway through
the thickness of the tobacco ribbon.
Partition strips of cardboard or the like can be
inserted into the cut-outs separating the adjacent ribbon
subsections, these partitions being either pre-cut to the
length of the portions or cut together with the ribbon
~133r~3
11
subsections to the length of the portions.
The various aspects of the present invention will now
be described by way of example with reference to the
accompanying drawings, wherein
Figs. ~., 2 and 3 are perspective views of various
embodiments of smoking tobacco prepared in accordance with
the invention;
Figs. 4.1 to 4.6 are front elevations showing the
cross sectional shape of subportions of tobacco slabs in
accordance with the invention;
Figs. 5 to 8 are perspective views of further
embodiments of smoking tobacco prepared in accordance with
the invention; and
Figs. 9 and 10 are schematic views of means for the
manufacture of tobacco prepared in accordance with the
invention.
As shown in Figs. 1 to 3 and 5 to 8, smoking tobacco
is prepared as a tobacco portion in the form of a tobacco
slab 10, each tobacco slab being subdivided into at least
two and preferably six to eight subportions 11, such that
each of the subportions 11 is stick-shaped with triangular
(Figs. 4.1, 4.2), trapezoidal (Fig. 4.5) or in particular
rectangular, preferably square (Fig. 4.3, 4.4) cross
section. The length of each subportion 11 corresponds to
the length of the tobacco-receiving space in the cigarette
to be produced. Furthermore, each subportion 11 contains a
sufficient amount of tobacco needed for one cigarette. In
the illustrated embodiments the subportions 11 each have an
outer surface that is air-pervious so that a directed
airstream cannot be drawn through them and hence they are
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12
not smokable in this form. That is, in none of the
illustrated embodiments are the individual subportions
enclosed in a cover.
Subdivision of the tobacco slab 10 into separate
subportions can be done either manually by the consumer or
in the factory. In either case individual subportions are
detached from the tobacco slab by way of separation cuts 12
oriented in the long direction of the tobacco slab. These
separation cuts 12 can extend either through the entire
thickness of the tobacco slab Z0, as shown in Fig. 1, Fig.
4.4, in the left halves of Figs. 4.1, 4.2, in the right
halves of Figs. 4.5, 4.6, and in the left halves of Figs. 7
and 8, or through only part of its thickness, as in Figs.
2, 3, 4.3, in the right halves of Figs. 4.1, 4.2, in the
left halves of Figs. 4.5, 4.6, in Fig. 5, Fig. 6 and the
right half of Fig. 7. In the last case the individual
subportions are joined to one another by tobacco bridges
that must be broken when the tobacco slab is separated into
subportions, in which process the internal cohesion in
these regions is destroyed.
In the embodiment shown in Fig. 3, on the one hand the
length of the tobacco slab is twice the length of the
tobacco--receiving space of the cigarette to be produced. On
the other hand, as shown in Fig. 3 the length of the
tobacco slab can correspond to the length of the tobacco-
receiving space of a cigarette in that the slab and hence
the individual subportions are divided into at least two
parts of shorter length, which makes the tobacco simpler to
handle while filling a packing machine or simpler to cover
with cigarette paper (by rolling). Accordingly, halfway
along the length of the slab a crosswise separating cut 13
is provided, so that the subportions can also be broken to
a shorter length.
...
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13
In Figs. 4.1 and 4.2 the separating cuts 12 are
arranged so as to produce subportions with triangular cross
section. Approximately trapezoidal subportion cross
sections are obtained with separating cuts as shown in Fig.
4.5. In the embodiment according to Fig. 4.6 each of the
longitudinal narrow sides of the tobacco slab is convex
outward, and on one of the broad surfaces of the slab, in
Fig. 4.6 the lower surface, there are groove-like
depressions associated with the separating cuts 12, to
facilitate detachment of the individual subportions 11 from
the tobacco slab. The longitudinal groove-like depressions
are identified in Fig. 4.6 by the reference numeral 14.
The embodiment shown in Fig. 5 is characterized by a
wrapper 15 folded around the tobacco slab 10 to form a
tube, the overlapping sides of the wrapper 15 being
designed to lie loosely one over the other. This feature
ensures a higher security for the tobacco slab during
transport. The wrapper 15 consists of a material not
consumable during smoking, e.g. aluminum-backed paper.
In the embodiment shown in Fig. 6 three tobacco slabs
10 are stacked above one another to form a larger sale unit
16. In this way, a sale unit comprising a block can be
created that fits into a conventional hinge-lid package.
The embodiment shown in Fig. 7 is characterized by the
presence of longitudinal strips that project into the
separation cuts between adjacent subportions and can be
made of cardboard or similar material. In any case, the
longitudinal strips comprise material not consumable by
smoking. Corresponding to the separation cuts 12, the
longitudinal strips can extend through the entire thickness
of the tobacco slab (left half of Fig. 7) or through only a
part thereof (right half of Fig. 7), In the illustrated
embodiment the partition strips 17 or 18 are in each case
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21~3~Oa
14
an integral part of a cover 19 or 20, respectively, that
extends over the lower broad surface and the two
longitudinal narrow sides. However, it is equally
conceivable for the partition strips 17, 18 to be formed
independently of the bottom cover 19 or 20.
In the embodiment shown in Fig. 8 the tobacco slab 10
is enclosed in a packaging shell 21, which covers the lower
broad surface and all the narrow sides of the tobacco slab
10. Furthermore, projecting into the separation cuts
between the individual subportions are partition strips 17
or 18 as shown in Fig. 7.
Fig. 9 shows a first method of manufacturing tobacco
slabs of the kind in question here. For this purpose a
tobacco ribbon 22 approximately rectangular in cross
section is conveyed continuously or intermittently (in the
direction shown by arrow 25) past a tobacco separating
device 24 comprising several cutting or stamping elements
(circular blade 23) spaced apart side by side. In this
embodiment the cutting elements are rotationally driven
circular blades 23 with a cutting depth T that can be
adjusted with respect to the tobacco ribbon 22 by
appropriately displacing the axis of rotation 25 (see
double arrow 26). During operation each circular blade 23
is continually sharpened by grinding wheels 28 that act on
both sides of the cutting edge 27. Opposite the circular
blades 23 is a pressing device 29 that acts against the cut
.;
made by the circular blade 23. In addition, positioned
behind each of the circular blades 23 is a separating
device in the form of a splitting wedge or splitting vane
30 that projects into the cut, so that the tobacco remains
separated in the region of the separation cuts.
By means of the circular blades 23 the tobacco ribbon
is subdivided into ribbon subsections. Subseque~atly sets of
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ribbon subsections are severed from the tobacco ribbon 22
by a knife not shown in Fig. 9, which makes a cut
perpendicular to the conveying direction 25. Then the
tobacco slabs so obtained are separated from one another
5 and gackaged.
In the method shown in Fig. 9 the rotationally driven
circular knives 23 act on the tobacco ribbon from its lower
surface. In a second method shown in Fig. 10 this action is
ZO exerted from above. In other respects the method of
producing the ribbon subsections corresponds to that
according to Fig. 9. In addition, however, after the
tobacco ribbon has passed the separating vanes 30 the
above-mentioned partition strips 17 or 18 are inserted into
15 the individual separation cuts, the partition strips 17 or
18 already having been cut to the length of the
subportions.
It should also be mentioned here that each tobacco
slab comprises at least two, preferably six to ten
subportions.
The tobacco mixture itself is prepared in such a way
that the individual subportions when smoked yield a taste
corresponding to that of a conventional factory-made
cigarette. Above all, the fact that the tobacco is pre-
portioned ensures that every cigarette tastes the same. The
same applies with respect to the rate at which the
cigarette is consumed, its drawing behavior and to the
components contained in the smoke. The tobacco within the
slab or the subportions can be more or less firmly
compressed and/or have a greater or lesser content of
internal fixatives or binders.
Each subportion preferably contains 0.6 to 1.2 g of
tobacco.
16
It is also possible to produce the described tobacco
slab from individual ribbon subsections of tobacco, which
are assembled to form a tobacco ribbon corresponding to the
tobacco ribbon 22 in Figs. 9 and 10 and then cut to
subportion length. Tobacco slabs produced in this way can
be held together, for example, by a frame enclosing the
narrow sides.
