(19)
(11) EP 3 011 846 A1

(12) EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION
published in accordance with Art. 153(4) EPC

(43) Date of publication:
27.04.2016 Bulletin 2016/17

(21) Application number: 13887115.7

(22) Date of filing: 28.08.2013
(51) International Patent Classification (IPC): 
A24D 1/04(2006.01)
B65D 85/10(2006.01)
A24C 5/52(2006.01)
(86) International application number:
PCT/CN2013/082417
(87) International publication number:
WO 2014/201769 (24.12.2014 Gazette 2014/52)
(84) Designated Contracting States:
AL AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HR HU IE IS IT LI LT LU LV MC MK MT NL NO PL PT RO RS SE SI SK SM TR
Designated Extension States:
BA ME

(30) Priority: 20.06.2013 CN 201310247721

(71) Applicant: Liu, Jianghong
Guiyang, Guizhou 550018 (CN)

(72) Inventors:
  • LIU, Jianghong
    Guiyang Guizhou 550018 (CN)
  • YANG, Yidong
    Guiyang Guizhou 550018 (CN)

(74) Representative: Hryszkiewicz, Danuta 
Kancelaria Patentowa Matthias Scholl, Inc. Skrytka Pocztowa 13
75-454 Koszalin
75-454 Koszalin (PL)

   


(54) CIGARETTE WITH HYGIENE SLEEVE, AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREFOR


(57) A cigarette with a hygiene sleeve (3) which easy to manufacture and produce on an existing cigarette apparatus comprises a cigarette body (1), a filter tip (2) connected to the cigarette body in an abutting manner, and the hygiene sleeve (3) disposed on the filter tip (2). Tipping paper (4) winds and wraps along the periphery of the abutting-connection position of the filter tip (2) and the cigarette body (1) to implement fixed connection the cigarette body (1), and an adhesive (5) is disposed on the inner surface of the tipping paper (4). A packaging paper material (31) in a rectangular flat shape winds around the circumference of a cylindrical infill (32) to form the hygiene sleeve (3), and the hygiene sleeve (3) is a in cylindrical structure with one end closed. A contact portion of the packaging paper material (31) and the infill (32) are adhered by using the adhesive (5). The hygiene sleeve (3) is sleeved at the end, not wrapped by the tipping paper, of the filter tip (2) and can be taken down from the filter tip (2) in the axial direction. Also provided is a method for manufacturing the cigarette. The cigarette with the hygiene sleeve (3) can be manufactured on the existing apparatus in a traditional cigarette producing enterprise without adding any new apparatus, and the processes are simple.




Description


[0001] The invention relates to the field of the cigarette, and more particularly to a cigarette comprising a sanitary cap and a method for manufacturing the same.

[0002] At present, the commercially available cigarettes are mostly packed in cartons, and one end of the filter tip of the cigarette faces towards the opening of the carton. To smoke the cigarette, people need to hold the filter tip and take the cigarette out of the carton for smoking by themselves or handing to others. Because the hands often carry with multiple bacteria, the bacteria are easily adhered to the filter tip of the cigarette when being taken out, and then introduced into the human body via smoking. Thus, the China Consumer Association released the sixth consumer warning on May 30, 2001, that smoking is an important way illnesses be introduced in from the mouth.

[0003] To solve the above problem, a sanitary cap is designed on the part of the filter tip contacting the human mouth. For example, a cigarette comprising the sanitary cap has been disclosed by the Chinese patent application numbers CN101588732 and CN102048239, the sanitary cap is able to completely enclose the whole filter tip, and the sanitary cap is processed into an upper part and a lower part that are detachable from each other. Before smoking, the upper part of the sanitary cap is taken out by dragging a pull head. This kind of cigarette comprising the sanitary cap is capable of effectively solving the pollution problem of the filter tip of the cigarette, but the manufacture process of the cigarette is complicate, highly required, and time-consuming. In addition, since the conventional cigarette manufacturers are generally configured with the wrapping device, the cutting device, the adhesive coating device, and the packaging device that are indispensable in the cigarette manufacture, the current devices in the conventional cigarette manufactures cannot meet the requirements for producing the specially designed sanitary cap. If the new adaptive devices are introduced, a large amount of investment on the fixed assets is required, thus increasing the production cost.

[0004] In view of the above-described problems, it is one objective of the invention to provide a cigarette comprising a sanitary cap and a method for manufacturing the same. The cigarette of the invention can be manufactured on the existing cigarette manufacturing devices.

[0005] To achieve the above objective, there is provided a cigarette comprising a sanitary cap. The cigarette comprises: a cigarette body, a filter tip in butt connection with the cigarette body, and a sanitary cap disposed on the filter tip. A tipping paper having an inner surface coated with an adhesive is wrapped around a periphery of an end-to-end contacted portion of the filter tip and the cigarette body to realize fixed connection between the filter tip and the cigarette body. The sanitary cap is a cylindrical structure having one end closed and is formed by wrapping a packaging material having a rectangular plane shape around a circumference of a column-shaped filler. Contact surfaces of the packaging material and the filler are adhered by the adhesive. The sanitary cap is sleeved on one end of the filter tip free from being wrapped by the tipping paper and is removable from the filter tip along an axial direction thereof.

[0006] As an improvement of the invention, an interval is configured between the sanitary cap and the tipping paper.

[0007] As an improvement of the invention, a diameter of the filler is the same as a diameter of the filter tip.

[0008] As an improvement of the invention, a lap edge of the packaging material after wrapping is adhered by the adhesive.

[0009] There is also provided a method for manufacturing the cigarette comprising the sanitary cap. The method comprises preparing the cigarette body and a finished-filter tip, and the method further comprises:
  1. 1) preparing the column-shaped filler having the same diameter as the finished-filter tip;
  2. 2) cutting the packaging material into the rectangular plane shape for preparing the sanitary cap, and coating the adhesive on positions of the packaging material that are to be a middle part and a lap edge of the subsequently wrapped packaging material, in which a width of the middle part coated with the adhesive is smaller than or equal to a height of the column-shaped filler;
  3. 3) placing the filler prepared in 1) between two finished-filter tips to allow the filler and the two finished-filter tips to form end-to-end contact in an axial direction on a same horizontal line, wrapping the packaging material prepared in 2) around the end-to-end contacted finished-filter tips and filler to connect the finished-filter tips and the filler together, and ensuring that the filler is disposed on the middle part of the packaging material during wrapping so as to yield a finished-filter rod;
  4. 4) cutting the tipping paper and coating the adhesive on one side of the tipping paper;
  5. 5) placing the finished-filter rod prepared in 3) between two cigarette bodies to allow the finished-filter rod and the two cigarette bodies to form end-to-end contact in the axial direction on the same horizontal line; wrapping two tipping papers around peripheries of end-to-end contact portions between the cigarette bodies and the finished-filter rod respectively to allow the cigarette bodies and the finished-filter rod to be in fixed butt connection, while avoiding each tipping paper from contacting with the packaging material wrapped on the finished-filter rod during wrapping, whereby yielding a semi-finished cigarette; and
  6. 6) radially cutting the semi-finished cigarette at a middle part of the finished-filter rod to yield two finished-cigarettes comprising the sanitary cap.


[0010] Compared with the prior art, advantages of the invention are summarized as follows:
  1. 1. Compared with the prior art, the sanitary cap sleeved on the filter tip of the cigarette can be manufactured by the common production materials in cigarette producing enterprises by coating the adhesive and wrapping the packaging material. The structure of the cigarette of the invention has simple structure, simple manufacture process, low production cost, and convenient use, and is able to prevent the filter tip of the cigarette from pollution before smoking. The most obvious advantage is that the cigarette of the invention can be manufactured on the existing devices in the conventional cigarette producing enterprises. No additional devices are required and the working process is simple.
  2. 2. As the filter tip contacts with the mouth during smoking, the periphery of the filter tip of the cigarette in the absence of the sanitary cap is required to wrap a tipping paper for sanitation. However, the tipping paper can only be used when it reached more than thirty national quality inspection standards, thus the tipping paper has relatively high price. Because the cigarette of the invention is protected by the sanitary cap, it is not necessary to wrap the tipping paper around the filter tip, thereby reducing the production cost of the cigarette.
  3. 3. In the conventional method for preparing the cigarette, the two cigarette bodies and the filter tip therebetween are placed in end-to-end contact in the axial direction at the same horizontal line, wrapped, and cut by a cutting device at the middle of the filter tip so as to form to cigarette products. Because the cutter generates heat in condition of long term of fast working, it requires cooling oil to cool the cutter in the manufacturing process of the cigarette. However, the cooling oil remained on the cutter is inevitably adhered to the cross section of the filter tip during cutting, thus, a special oil that is harmless to the human body and therefore has a relatively high price must be employed as the cooling oil. In the cigarette and the manufacture method thereof provided in the invention, the cigarettes are cut by the cutter from the middle part of the filler, which does not result in any pollution and enables the method of the invention to use the common cooling oil to cool the cutter, therefore reducing the production cost as well as improving the safeness of the cigarette during smoking.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a cigarette comprising a sanitary cap; and

FIG. 2 illustrates a process for manufacturing a cigarette of FIG. 1.



[0011] In the drawings, the following reference numbers are used: 1. Cigarette body; 2. Filter tip; 3. Sanitary cap; 31. Packaging material; 32.Filler; 4. Tipping paper; and 5. Adhesive.

[0012] For further illustrating the invention, experiments detailing a cigarette comprising a sanitary cap and a method for manufacturing the same are described hereinbelow combined with the drawings.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 1, a cigarette comprising a sanitary cap is provided. The cigarette comprises: a cigarette body 1, a filter tip 2, and a sanitary cap 3. The filter tip 2 and the cigarette body 1 are placed in end-to-end contact, and a tipping paper 4 having an inner surface coated with an adhesive 5 is wrapped around a periphery of an end-to-end contacted portion of the filter tip and the cigarette body so as to wrap the filter tip 2 and the cigarette body 1 together. The sanitary cap 3 is a cylindrical structure having one end closed and is formed by wrapping a packaging material 31 having a rectangular plane shape around a circumference of a column-shaped filler 32 having the same diameter with the filter tip 2. A lap edge of the packaging material 31 after wrapping is adhered by an adhesive, and contact surfaces of the packing material 31 and the filler 32 are adhered by the adhesive 5. The sanitary cap 3 is sleeved on one end of the filter tip 2 free from being wrapped by the tipping paper 4 and is removable from the filter tip 2 along an axial direction thereof. As indicated in FIG. 1, the sanitary cap 3 is not fixed on the filter tip 2, that is, the sanitary cap 3 is not in fixed connection with the filter tip 2 either by the adhesive or by connecting members. Besides, the packaging material 31 is not connected to the tipping paper 4 and an interval is configured between the packaging material 31 and the tipping paper 4.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 2, a method for manufacturing the cigarette is as follows:
  1. 1) preparing the cigarette body 1, a finished-filter tip 2, and a column-shaped filler 32 having the same diameter as the finished-filter tip 2;
  2. 2) cutting the packaging material 31 into the rectangular plane shape for preparing the sanitary cap 3, and coating the adhesive 5 on positions of the packaging material that are to be a middle part and a lap edge of the subsequently wrapped packaging material, in which a width of the middle part coated with the adhesive 5 is smaller than or equal to a height of the column-shaped filler 32;
  3. 3) placing the filler 32 prepared in 1) between two finished-filter tips 2 to allow the filler 32 and the two finished-filter tips 2 to form end-to-end contact in an axial direction on a same horizontal line, wrapping the packaging material 31 prepared in 2) around the end-to-end contacted finished-filter tips 2 and the filler 32 to connect the finished-filter tips 2 and the filler 32 together, and ensuring that the filler 32 is disposed on the middle part of the packaging material 31 during wrapping, i. e., the adhesive coated on the middle part of the packaging material will not adhere the finished-filter tip 2 so as to yield a finished-filter rod;
  4. 4) cutting the tipping paper 4 and coating the adhesive 5 on one side of the tipping paper 4;
  5. 5) placing the finished-filter rod prepared in 3) between two cigarette bodies 1 to allow the finished-filter rod and the two cigarette bodies to form end-to-end contact in the axial direction on the same horizontal line; wrapping two tipping papers 4 around peripheries of end-to-end contact portions between the cigarette bodies and the finished-filter rod respectively to allow the cigarette bodies and the finished-filter rod to be in fixed butt connection, while avoiding each tipping paper 4 from contacting with the packaging material 31 wrapped on the finished-filter rod during wrapping, whereby yielding a semi-finished cigarette; and
  6. 6) radially cutting a middle part of the finished-filter rod of the semi-finished cigarette, i. e., radially cutting the middle part of the filler 32, so as to yield two finished-cigarettes comprising the sanitary cap.



Claims

1. A cigarette comprising a sanitary cap, comprising: a cigarette body, a filter tip in butt connection with the cigarette body, and a sanitary cap disposed on the filter tip; characterized in that
a tipping paper having an inner surface coated with an adhesive is wrapped around a periphery of an end-to-end contacted portion of the filter tip and the cigarette body to realize fixed connection between the filter tip and the cigarette body;
the sanitary cap is a cylindrical structure having one end closed and is formed by wrapping a packaging material having a rectangular plane shape around a circumference of a column-shaped filler;
contact surfaces of the packaging material and the filler are adhered by the adhesive;
the sanitary cap is sleeved on one end of the filter tip free from being wrapped by the tipping paper and is removable from the filter tip along an axial direction thereof.
 
2. The cigarette of claim 1, characterized in that an interval is configured between the sanitary cap and the tipping paper.
 
3. The cigarette of claim 1, characterized in that a diameter of the filler is the same as a diameter of the filter tip.
 
4. The cigarette of claim 1, characterized in that a lap edge of the packaging material after wrapping is adhered by the adhesive.
 
5. A method for manufacturing the cigarette of any of claims 1-4, comprising preparing the cigarette body and a finished-filter tip; characterized in that the method further comprises:

1) preparing the column-shaped filler having the same diameter as the finished-filter tip;

2) cutting the packaging material into the rectangular plane shape for preparing the sanitary cap, and coating the adhesive on positions of the packaging material that are to be a middle part and a lap edge of the subsequently wrapped packaging material, in which a width of the middle part coated with the adhesive is smaller than or equal to a height of the column-shaped filler;

3) placing the filler prepared in 1) between two finished-filter tips to allow the filler and the two finished-filter tips to form end-to-end contact in an axial direction on a same horizontal line, wrapping the packaging material prepared in 2) around the end-to-end contacted finished-filter tips and filler to connect the finished-filter tips and the filler together, and ensuring that the filler is disposed on the middle part of the packaging material during wrapping so as to yield a finished-filter rod;

4) cutting the tipping paper and coating the adhesive on one side of the tipping paper;

5) placing the finished-filter rod prepared in 3) between two cigarette bodies to allow the finished-filter rod and the two cigarette bodies to form end-to-end contact in the axial direction on the same horizontal line; wrapping two tipping papers around peripheries of end-to-end contact portions between the cigarette bodies and the finished-filter rod respectively to allow the cigarette bodies and the finished-filter rod to be in fixed butt connection, while avoiding each tipping paper from contacting with the packaging material wrapped on the finished-filter rod during wrapping, whereby yielding a semi-finished cigarette; and

6) radially cutting the semi-finished cigarette at a middle part of the finished-filter rod to yield two finished-cigarettes comprising the sanitary cap.


 




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Cited references

REFERENCES CITED IN THE DESCRIPTION



This list of references cited by the applicant is for the reader's convenience only. It does not form part of the European patent document. Even though great care has been taken in compiling the references, errors or omissions cannot be excluded and the EPO disclaims all liability in this regard.

Patent documents cited in the description