Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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KIT FOR THE ASSEMBLY OF SMOKING ARTICLES
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to the field of smoking
articles, including but not limited to cigarettes. More particularly, the
invention relates to a kit for the assembly of smoking articles.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Many people are cost-conscious when it comes to selecting their
smoking articles, such as cigarettes or cigarillos, for example. While some
choose a less expensive product, other users decide to only partly smoke their
cigarette and retain the remaining for a later time. Not withstanding
economical reasons, some users would also like to briefly enjoy a cigarette,
but not a complete one and feel bad about wasting a part of their cigarette.
To
a certain extent, cigarette manufacturers have listened to their customers'
needs
and provided them with products that are cheaper to manufacture. However,
none have still suggested a convenient method for users to tailor the size of
their cigarettes or other smoking articles, to their immediate needs.
Cigarettes sold in kits for assembly by the end user provide a
solution to the economical problem. However, some of these cigarettes kits,
known as "roll-your-own" are basic and require much preparation and
dexterity from the end user. Such is the case with cigarette kits where the
cigarettes are made from scratch from loose tobacco and cigarette wrappers
without any mechanical aids. Another problem of these cigarette kits lies in
obtaining a consistency in the quantity of the tobacco charge employed, and
hence obtaining a consistency in smoking quality.
Several suggestions have been made in the prior art to mechanize
the operation of cigarette assembly and thereby address the problem of
consistency of cigarette kits. One such prior art suggestion appears in U.S.
Pat.
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No. 5,105,830 to Brackmann et al. This patent describes a kit to assemble
cigarettes using cut tobacco provided in charges in non-smokable cartridges.
During assembly, the charges are inserted, with the help of a special tool,
into
a cigarette tube and a sheath surrounding the cartridge is removed. However,
even though the special tool used in this kit is somewhat portable, a solution
requiring even less manipulation would prove to be more convenient for the
user to prepare his cigarettes. Other problems with this solution reside in
the
fact that the length of the cigarettes cannot be adjusted to the instant needs
of
the user, and that the tobacco charge is provided in a non-smokable format,
which requires the sheath material to be present and then to be discarded,
thereby increasing product costs and waste.
There is therefore a need for a solution that provides cigarettes or
other smoking articles to a user at reduced costs, that requires low
manipulation, that provides a good consistency of the tobacco charge and that
also provides the user with the flexibility of adjusting the length of his
smoking article to his needs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In the following description of the invention, the terms "smoking
article" should be understood to be a readily smokable article such as a
cigarette or a cigarillo or other similar articles for which the invention may
work.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a kit for the
assembly of smoking articles that overcomes or mitigates one or more
disadvantages of known smoking article kits, or at least provides a useful
alternative.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a kit for
the assembly of smoking articles that are lower in cost.
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It is another object of the present invention to provide a kit for
the assembly of smoking articles that allows a user to assemble his smoking
articles with very few steps.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a kit for
the assembly of smoking articles that have a consistent tobacco charge for a
given length.
It is another object of an aspect of the present invention to
provide a kit for the assembly of smoking articles that allows the user to
tailor
the length of the smoking article to his needs.
According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a kit
for the assembly of smoking articles comprising a plurality of tobacco rods, a
plurality of filter assemblies and a package. Each one of the filter
assemblies
has an interface for connecting with one of the tobacco rods. The plurality of
tobacco rods and the plurality of filters are packed in the package.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a
filter assembly for a smoking article having an exterior diameter. The filter
assembly comprises a filter tip and an outer shell. The outer shell extends
longitudinally outwardly from the filter tip. The outer shell has a
cylindrical
interior surface defining an interface coated with an adhesive for adhering to
the smoking article. The cylindrical interior surface is dimensioned to fit
the
exterior diameter of the smoking article.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is
provided a kit for the assembly of smoking articles comprising a plurality of
smoking articles, a plurality of filter assemblies and a package. Each one of
the smoking articles is fitted with one filter tip. Each one of the smoking
articles is adapted to be severed into a first part and a second part, the
first part
comprising the filter tip. Each one of the filter assemblies has an interface
for
connecting with the second part of one of the severed smoking articles. The
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plurality of smoking articles and the plurality of filter assemblies are
packaged
in the package. The smoking articles are provided in a readily smokable
format.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other features of the invention will become more
readily apparent from the following description in which reference is made to
the appended drawings wherein:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a kit for the assembly of smoking
articles in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a filter assembly in accordance
with an embodiment of the invention.
Fig. 3 is an exploded view of an assembled smoking article built
with the filter assembly of Figure 2.
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a filter assembly in accordance
with another embodiment of the invention.
Fig. 5 is a perspective view of an assembled smoking article built
with the filter assembly of Figure 4.
Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a cutter in action in accordance
with another embodiment of the invention.
Fig. 7 is a partially sectioned perspective view of the kit of
Figure 1.
Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a kit for the assembly of smoking
articles in accordance with another embodiment of the invention.
Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a severed assembled smoking
article contained in the kit of Figure 8.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The present invention discloses a kit for assembling smoking
articles. The smoking articles, such as cigarettes or cigarillos or other
similar
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articles, are produced in a smokable format. The kit includes tobacco rods,
filter assemblies and optionally, a cutter. The cutter allows the user to cut
his
smoking articles to a desired length. The user fits a filter assembly to the
smoking article before or after cutting it to the desired length, and is ready
to
consume it. Conveniently, a new filter assembly allows the user to easily fix
it
to the smoking article.
In the present description, an example of the invention will be
described by making reference to a cigarette. However, the person skilled in
the art will readily understand that the same principles may be applied to
other
types of smoking articles such as cigarillos for example. Specific reference
to
a cigarette in the description should therefore not be considered limiting.
Figure 1 depicts a kit 10 for the assembly of smoking articles,
such as cigarettes. The kit 10 comprises a plurality of smokable tobacco rods
12, a plurality of filter assemblies 14 and a package 16. Optionally, the kit
may
also include a cutter 18 adapted to sever the smokable tobacco rods 12.
The smokable tobacco rods 12 may be supplied in different
lengths. For example, the smokable tobacco rod 12 could be provided in a
length of 140 mm and then cut in equal parts of 70 mm. Alternatively, the
length of the parts could be unequal.
In smokable format, the smokable tobacco rod 12 must be made
with a cigarette paper 19, best shown in Figure 3 such that the cigarette
remains smokable. By contrast, tobacco rods provided in non-smokable format
need to use a porous wrapper made of a material that lets sufficient air flow
through, thereby rendering the tobacco rod non-smokable.
Figure 2 is now referred to. Each filter assembly 14 comprises a
filter tip 20 and an outer shell 22. In order to fit properly with the
smokable
tobacco rods 12, shown in Figure 3, the filter assemblies 14 are provided with
an interface 24 for connecting with the smokable tobacco rod 12 so that the
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filter assembly 14 may easily be assembled with the smokable tobacco rod 12.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the filter assembly 14 has its
outer
shell 22 extending longitudinally from the filter tip 20, thereby defining the
interface 24. The interface 24 is provided with sufficient length to ensure
anchorage to the smokable tobacco rod 12. Normally, the interface 24 extends
from the filter tip 20 by 10 mm or less, typically by approximately 5 mm. The
outer shell 22 is cylindrical in shape, to match the shape of the smokable
tobacco rod 12. An interior surface 26 of the outer shell 22, defining the
interface 24, has its interior diameter dimensioned to fit an exterior
diameter of
the smokable tobacco rod 12. In an example of the present invention, the
interface 24 is coated with an adhesive for adhering to the smokable tobacco
rod 12. Conveniently, the adhesive is of the type that is activated by
moisture.
Figure 3 depicts an exploded view of the filter assembly 14 and the smokable
tobacco rod 12. The outer shell 22 of the filter assembly 14 may be made of
different materials such as paper or plastic. When the outer shel122 is made
of
paper, the filter assembly 14 is normally discarded once a cigarette has been
completely consumed. On the other hand, if the outer shell 22 is made of
plastic, it may be reusable. Then, only the filter tip 20 may need to be
replaced
inside the outer shell 22. Optionally, the filter tip 20 may also be
flavoured.
Turning now to Figure 4, there is depicted another embodiment
of the filter assembly 14. The filter assembly 14 still comprises the outer
shell
22. However, this latter does not necessarily extend from the filter tip 20.
The
interface 24 in this case is an extremity of the filter tip 20 so that when
the
filter assembly 14 is fitted to the smokable tobacco rod 12, it abuts on an
extremity of the smokable tobacco rod 12, as shown in Figure 5, which is now
concurrently referred to. A sticker 28 is provided to bond the filter assembly
14 to the smokable tobacco rod 12 by being placed around a joint 29 between
the filter assembly 14 and the smokable tobacco rod 12. The sticker 28 may
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use a moisture activated adhesive on its sticking surface 30. Alternatively,
the
sticker 28 may be of the peel-off type. In this case, the user simply has to
peel-
off a protective layer from the sticking surface 30 of the sticker 28 and
apply
the sticker 28 over the joint between the filter assembly 14 and the smokable
tobacco rod 12, as shown in Figure 5.
Reference is now made to Figure 6, which depicts a smokable
tobacco rod 12 being severed by the cutter 18. The cutter 18 is equipped with
an aperture 32, through which the smokable tobacco rod 12 is inserted for
severing. The aperture 32 is dimensioned to conform to the exterior diameter
of the smokable tobacco rod 12. Once inserted in the aperture 32, the
smokable tobacco rod 12 is severed in two parts 33, not necessarily of the
same length, according to the needs of the user. Although conventional
scissors or a knife may be used to sever the smokable tobacco rod 12, the
cutter 18 allows a clean cut of the smokable tobacco rod 12 during the
severing operation. A conical shaped depression 31 is provided on the cutter
18 to round and taper an end of the smokable tobacco rod 12 to facilitate the
assembly of the smokable tobacco rod 12 with the filter assembly 14.
Conveniently, the user may sever the smokable tobacco rod 12 in two or more
pieces, allowing tailoring the length to his needs. The cutter 18 may be
packaged with the filter assemblies 14, as shown in Figure 1.
Now turning to Figure 7, there is depicted the kit 10 comprising
the package 16 for packaging the smokable tobacco rods 12, the filter
assemblies 14 and, optionally, the cutter 18 (not shown in Figure 7, best
shown
in Figure 1). Although the smokable tobacco rods 12, the filter assemblies 14
and the cutter 18 may be packaged in the same package, it may be preferable
to package them separately. For example, the smokable tobacco rods 12 may
be packaged in cigarette containers 34 and the filter assemblies 14 may be
packaged in a filter container 36. Conveniently, the cutter 18, if provided
with
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the kit 10, may also be provided inside either the filter container 36 or one
of
the rod containers 34. Since most users will sever the smokable tobacco rods
12 in two, twice as many filter assemblies 14 as smokable tobacco rods 12 are
provided. However, since some users may sever their smokable tobacco rods
12 in more than two parts, the number of filter assemblies 14 provided in the
kit 10 may even be more than twice the number of smokable tobacco rods 12.
When required, a sufficient quantity of stickers 28 (not shown) may also be
included in the kit 10. The smokable tobacco rods 12 may be provided in one
or many separate rod containers 34. However, for convenience, smaller rod
containers 34 are used and the smokable tobacco rods 12 are packaged in an
wrapper 38, better shown in Figure 1 and concurrently referred to, such as to
preserve tobacco freshness. To further protect product freshness and to
provide
a convenient and attractive package 16, the package 16 may further include a
wrapper 40. The wrapper 40 may either be made of a plastic film or an
aluminized material, or any other equivalent material.
In an example of the product, the kit 10 may comprise four rod
containers 34, each comprising 25 smokable tobacco rods 12, for a total of 100
smokable tobacco rods 12. The filter container 36 comprises at least 200
filter
assemblies 14, or at least twice the quantity of smokable tobacco rods 12. If
more rod containers 34 are provided, each containing 25 smokable tobacco
rods, a minimum matching quantity of filter assemblies 14 must be provided in
multiples of 50.
Figure 8 represents another embodiment of the present invention.
The kit 10 comprises a plurality of smokable cigarettes 42, a plurality of
filter
assemblies 14 and the package 16. In the present embodiment, each smokable
cigarette 42 is fitted with one filter tip 20, as best shown in Figure 9, now
concurrently referred to. The smokable cigarettes 42 are provided in a readily
smokable format. Optionally, the kit 10 may comprise the cutter 18. The cutter
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18 is used to sever the smokable cigarette 42 into a first part 44 and a
second
part 46. The first part 44 retains the filter tip 20 and may readily be smoked
like a regular filter cigarette. The second part 46 is not readily equipped
with a
filter tip 20 and may need to be equipped with one prior to use by a user.
Hence, in order to prepare a cigarette for smoking, a similar approach as
described before is used and one filter assembly 14 is fitted to one end of
the
second part 46. Since the first part 44 is already equipped with a filter tip
20,
only at least one filter assembly 14 needs to be provided for each smokable
cigarette 42. In the present case, the user could either decide to smoke
directly
the smokable cigarette 42, or cut it in two or more smaller parts and fit each
additional part with one filter assembly 14.
The present invention has been described with regard to preferred
embodiments. The description as much as the drawings were intended to help
the understanding of the invention, rather than to limit its scope. It will be
apparent to one skilled in the art that various modifications may be made to
the
invention without departing from the scope of the invention as described
herein, and such modifications are intended to be covered by the present
description.
