CA2173575C - Device for producing consumer assembled cigarettes - Google Patents
Device for producing consumer assembled cigarettesInfo
- Publication number
- CA2173575C CA2173575C CA 2173575 CA2173575A CA2173575C CA 2173575 C CA2173575 C CA 2173575C CA 2173575 CA2173575 CA 2173575 CA 2173575 A CA2173575 A CA 2173575A CA 2173575 C CA2173575 C CA 2173575C
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- wrapper
- tobacco
- cigarette
- slider member
- tobacco product
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Lifetime
Links
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
- A24C—MACHINES FOR MAKING CIGARS OR CIGARETTES
- A24C5/00—Making cigarettes; Making tipping materials for, or attaching filters or mouthpieces to, cigars or cigarettes
- A24C5/40—Hand-driven apparatus for making cigarettes
Landscapes
- Manufacturing Of Cigar And Cigarette Tobacco (AREA)
- Packaging Of Annular Or Rod-Shaped Articles, Wearing Apparel, Cassettes, Or The Like (AREA)
Abstract
A system to enable assembly of components to create a smokable cigarette at home by a consumer includes an empty cigarette tube, usually with an attached filter, tobacco product in rod-like form in a generally rod-shaped combiner device. The tobacco product is a supply of tobacco corresponding to the empty space in the cigarette tube with the tobacco wrapped in a disposable wrapper. Only the tobacco and not the wrapper is smoked. The rod-shaped combiner device is self-supporting on a surface such as a kitchen table in a position with its general axis extending upwardly from the table. A slider mechanism on the combiner device grasps the wrapper. In order to assemble the cigarette the smoker inserts the wrapped tobacco supply into the cigarette tube and positions the assembly over the combiner device. The slider mechanism then withdraws the wrapper while holding the tobacco in place to leave a finished cigarette. The finished cigarette is substantially the same as a factory made cigarette in appearance.
Description
Title: DEVICE FOR PRODUCING CONSUMER
ASSEMBLED CIGAREl-rES
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an apparatus for producing home-5 made cigarettes.
Cigarettes have been manufactured for consumption in two fundamental ways. Cigarettes may be manufactured in a cigarette manufacturing plant. Cigarettes so manufactured are individually manufactured at high speed, packed in packs, wrapped for freshness and 10 distributed for sale to the consumer. When the consumer desires to smoke a cigarette the consumer simply removes the freshness wrapping from the package of cigarettes, takes out a cigarette, lights it and then smokes it. Prior to the time that it became common to manufacture cigarettes in factories and continuing to today, there remains a market for 15 cigarettes which are manufactured at home by the consumer. The traditional method of manufacturing cigarettes at home involves packing tobacco in a container which may be sealed for freshness. The consumer purchases tobacco packed in bulk in such a container and also has traditionally purchased cigarette papers. When a cigarette is desired, the 20 consumer opens the tobacco and commences to hand roll cigarettes. Hand rolling of cigarettes involves selecting a quantity of tobacco from the pouch or can in which it has been sold, placing the tobacco on a cigarette paper and then rolling the cigarette paper around the supply of tobacco. A
certain manual dexterity is required to carry out that operation and in 25 many respects smokers take some pride in their ability to manufacture such cigarettes. The pride involved in being able to manufacture such cigarettes is one reason why despite all other more modern advances that have been made, some smokers still prefer to roll their own cigarettes.
However, because of the manual dexterity required there have been many 30 developments to assist in the rolling operation.
More recently there has also been a demand for the ability to assemble a filter cigarette while still having a home made cigarette. In ~73~1~
_ -- 2 -order to answer this need, product known in the industry as a cigarette tube has been developed. The cigarette tube involves what appears to be a factory made cigarette except that it contains no tobacco. There is a factory made cigarette filter attached to a tube. The tube is empty and is intended to be filled with tobacco by the consumer in a home making operation.
For several years machines have existed to assist the consumer in loading tobacco into empty cigarette tubes.
One of the problems that has long been recognized in respect of hand made or roll your own cigarettes is the precision with which the consumer must select tobacco. It takes some time and continued judgment and skill on the part of the consumer to select the amount of tobacco which can be conveniently wrapped in a cigarette paper or the amount of tobacco that can be stuffed into an empty cigarette tube while maintaining the desired density of pack for the finished cigarette. This problem has been addressed in a number of different ways in which the amount of tobacco to be used by the consumer in the cigarette is selected by the tobacco seller and premeasured charges of tobacco have been prepared.
One such example is identified in Canadian Patent 1,271,389 which issued July 10, 1990. That patent is a reissue of Canadian Patent 1,235,039 dated April 12, 1988. The patent was granted to Efka-Werke Fritz Kiehn GmbH of the Federal Republic of Germany. In accordance with that patent, the smoker is intended to fill an empty cigarette tube typically having a filter at one end with a element made of smokable material. The element comprises a supply of tobacco wrapped in an air permeable outer surface so that the product is unsmokable in that state. In order to produce a smokable cigarette the smoker inserts the wrapped tobacco product into a cigarette tube with the wrapped tobacco product and the cigarette tube being dimensionally correlated so that the combined product may then be smoked by the consumer. One of the advantages of the product taught by that patent is that once the tobacco product has been inserted into the empty cigarette tube the completed product has the appearance of a factory made cigarette. Thus once the assembly operation has been completed it is not normally possible for others to determine whether the smoker has manufactured the product at home from the materials supplied or bought a finished, factory-made cigarette.
One of the problems with the product of the aforementioned 5 system is that the smoker is required to smoke a second level of cigarette paper. Typically, the cigarette tube is defined by a wrapper of cigarette paper and that cannot be eliminated. On the other hand the factory made preportioned tobacco supply is also wrapped in some type of wrapper, typically a highly porous cigarette paper. This second wrapping of the 10 tobacco is thus also to be smoked by the smoker. This effects the taste of the cigarette and is considered undesirable by at least some smokers.
An alternate system to provide a factory determined pre-measured charge of tobacco is illustrated in U.S. patent 3,822,710 issued February 23, 1973 to Bramhill. In the Bramhill patent, a supply of tobacco 15 is presented in the form of a tobacco cartridge consisting of compressed tobacco contained in a thin sheet of cellulose film or other non-consumable material. The cartridge is inserted into a cigarette tube and then the wrapper of material is stripped from the tobacco while the tobacco is held in place in the tube. This has the advantage of providing a cigarette 20 upon completion which is essentially similar to a factory made cigarette.
In accordance with the Bramhill patent, a machine is disclosed to assist the smoker in carrying out the assembly and stripping operation to create the completed cigarette. The device taught by Bramhill to accomplish the assembly operation is a relatively large and complicated device. The 25 device comprises a housing having a U-shaped trough in which the cigarette tube is placed after the tobacco cartridge has been inserted in the cigarette tube. The device includes a slider which moves horizontally along a guide bar aligned with the trough to extract the wrapper from the assembled cigarette tube and cartridge. The device proposed by Bramhill is 30 relatively large having at least twice the length of the finished cigarette and includes the housing and means to support the cigarette tube. By reason of the size of such a device, the device could not be conveniently ~113~
packed in a package containing cigarette tubes and cartridges without having the package enlarged considerably beyond what would be required to package the tobacco products. Certainly the device taught by Bramhill was not convenient for the smoker to place in a pocket or carry around 5 with the smoker and thus assembly using the Bramhill device would be confined to occur at the location where the device would be kept. In many instances this would restrict the smoker to assembling the products at home on a convenient surface such as a table, counter or the like. The smoker is therefore restricted to smoking only cigarettes which have been 10 preassembled with little practical opportunity to assemble cigarettes on an as needed basis.
One of the major advantages attributing to self-made or homemade cigarettes as opposed to factory made cigarettes is the issue of taxation. In many countries there is a different taxation scheme 15 depending upon the steps that are required by the smoker prior to consuming the cigarette. In these countries factory made cigarettes are taxed at the highest rate while cigarettes that can be formed or smoked only after manipulation by the smoker are often taxed at lesser rates.
Occasionally different taxation categories are created for different types of 20 cigarettes depending upon the manipulation steps involved. Usually the lowest rate of tax is applied to tobacco sold in bulk form, that is, by the can or pouch, while in some countries an intermediate level of taxation is applied to products which are packaged in individual amounts at the factory but still require assembly by the consumer. In view of the tax 25 treatment of such products there remains a desire for a product which can be conveniently assembled by the smoker and in particular, a product that is as close as possible to a factory assembled cigarette.
Accordingly, it is desirable that there be a simple device which would permit assembly of tobacco cartridges and cigarette tubes of 30 the type discussed in Bramhill but which may be portable and carried by the smoker. It is desirable that the device be simple and relatively inexpensive to make and which can be used anywhere and carried about ~5~ 2 ~3~75 by the smoker as conveniently as possible.
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a system to enable assembly of components to create a smokable cigarette by the consumer. The system comprises at least one cigarette tube, at least one tobacco product and a generally rod-shaped combiner device. Usually the system will comprise a plurality of cigarette tubes and a plurality of tobacco products which are to be used with the combiner device. The cigarette tube comprises an empty, substantially cylindrical chamber for receiving tobacco with the chamber having a selected volume and a selected diameter. The tobacco product comprises a supply of smokable tobacco selected to be received in the selected volume of the cigarette tube.
The tobacco product is wrapped in a wrapper having first and second ends and the wrapper is of a material which is not intended to be smoked. The wrapped tobacco product has a selected diameter slightly smaller than the selected diameter of the chamber of the tobacco tube so that the tobacco product, including its wrapper, may be inserted into the chamber of the cigarette tube.
The generally rod-shaped combiner device of the system has first and second free ends and a slider member. One free end comprises a head portion with the device including a shank portion extending from the head portion to the other free end. The head portion defines a planar support surface so that the device is self-supporting on a horizontal surface in a position with the shank portion extending away from the horizontal surface. The slider member is mounted on the shank portion for sliding along the shank. The slider member has a surface of selected size which is smaller than the inner diameter of the wrapper so that the surface of the slider member may be received within the wrapper. The second free end of the device has structure to limit movement of the supply of tobacco when the wrapper is moved along the shank portion.
A more complete understanding of the invention will appear from the following description of a preferred embodiment taken together with the accompanying drawings in which:
7 ~
Figure 1 is a view of a preferred embodiment of the device in place on a support surface with an assembled cigarette tube and tobacco product aligned ready for the wrapper removal process, all parts are shown in section;
5Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the combiner device of Figure 1; and Figure 3 is an end view of one of the components of the slider device of Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a side view of the component of Figure 3;
10Figure 5 is a top view of the combiner device of Figure 1 without the slider component, and Figure 6 is a side view of the combiner device of Figure 5.
Figure 1 illustrates the system 10. The system 10 comprises the cigarette tube 12, tobacco product 14 and a generally rod-shaped 15combiner device 16.
The cigarette tube 12 comprises a filter 18 attached to an empty tube 20. The tube 20 constitutes an empty substantially cylindrical chamber for receiving tobacco. The cigarette tube chamber has a volume which may be selected by the maker of the system and a selected diameter.
20Once the volume and diameter are selected the length of the empty tube will then be fixed.
The tobacco product 14 comprises a supply of smokable tobacco 26 which is wrapped in a wrapper 22. The wrapper 22 may be conveniently made from cellophane or other material which is not 25intended to be smoked. If desired, the wrapper may be perforated to ensure that the tobacco product 14 is not smokable alone. Plastic materials, such as "cellophane", with relatively low frictional coefficient on both internal and external surfaces are to be preferred. The supply of tobacco contained within the wrapper 22 must move relative to the wrapper as the 30wrapper is withdrawn from the cigarette tube. Accordingly, steps which may be taken to minimize the frictional restraint between the wrapper and the tobacco are desirable. The surface of cellophane provides a relatively ~ ~73~7~
slippery surface so that it is not difficult to remove the wrapper from the tobacco. Similarly, to achieve the configuration illustrated in Figure 1 the tobacco product 14 must be inserted into the cigarette tube 12. In order to facilitate insertion of the tobacco product into the empty chamber of the 5 cigarette tube 12, again, a low friction outer surface for the wrapper is desirable. The amount of the tobacco contained within the wrapper 22 is substantially equal to the volume of the chamber of the cigarette tube 20.
Because the wrapper 22 is smaller than the inner diameter of the tube 20 so as to facilitate insertion, the wrapper 22 will be slightly longer than the 10 length of the tube 20. As shown in Figure 1, when the wrapper is seated against the face of the filter 18, a portion of the wrapper will extend beyond the length of the tube 20. The portion of the tobacco extending beyond the length of the tube 20 will be packed into the tube during the wrapper extraction process.
The combiner device is shown in Figures 1 - 6. The combiner device 16 comprises a shank portion 30 having a first free end 32 and a second free end 34. The first free end 32 is fitted with a stop 36. The stop 36 in the preferred embodiment is a substantially disk-shaped member having a diameter just slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the 20 wrapper 22. The disk-shaped stop 36 constitutes an apparatus to limit movement of the supply of tobacco when the wrapper is moved along the shank portion 30.
The second free end 34 of the combiner device 16 comprises a head portion 38. Advantageously, the head portion 38 is generally 25 rectangular shaped at the base edge 40 and with a three sided pyramidal shape. With a conical shape the head portion comprises an edge 40. The edge 40 defines a planar support surface that is arranged to be substantially perpendicular to the general axis 42 of the shank portion 30. The edge 40 thus defines a support surface so that the combiner device 16 may be 30 placed upon a horizontal surface with the shank portion 30 extending away from the second end 34. The edge 40 is sufficiently large to provide self support for the combiner device 16. By having a self supporting ~ ~ ~ 3 ~ ~ ~
device, the hands of the smoker are free to carry out the manipulation steps explained below.
Advantageously, the head portion 38 comprises an external conical surface 44. The conical surface 44 is sized to be slightly larger in 5 diameter than the diameter of the wrapper 22 so as to provide easy insertion of the wrapper 22 into the surface 44. The small diameter of the conical surface 44 is smaller than the diameter of the wrapper 22.
Accordingly, upon insertion of the wrapper 22, into the cone defined by surface 44, the end of the wrapper 22 will be subjected to radial 10 compression. This radial compression will develop a chamfer-like narrowing of the one end of the wrapper 22. Assembly of the wrapper 22 into the tube 20 of the cigarette tube 12 is facilitated by insertion of the slightly narrowed end.
The combiner device 16 also includes a slider member shown 15 generally as 50. The slider member 50 comprises a base portion 56 and a pair of gripping fingers 58. The gripping fingers 58 extend away from the base 56 toward the first free end 32 of the shank portion 30. The gripping fingers 58 include a gripping edge 60. Each edge 60 is defined at the edge of a rib 62 which is wedge shaped in cross-section. The upper surfaces of the 20 ribs 62 as shown in Figure 4 extend downwardly and inwardly toward the axis of the shank portion 30 in a direction away from the first end 32. The upper surfaces of the ribs 62 act as a guide or funnel means to assist ensuring that the wrapper 22 passes inside the gripping edges 60.
The slider member 50 further comprises an internal portion 25 54. The internal portion 54 is an elongate U shape with an external surface 70 and an internal surface 72. The external surface 70 advantageously, is generally cylindrical and has a diameter just slightly less than the diameter of the wrapper 22. The configuration of the surface 70 may be chosen as desired. That is, it may be other than cylindrical as long as the surface 70 is 30 sized to just fit within the wrapper 22. The surface 70 further comprises a groove 74 which is aligned substantially adjacent to the gripping edges 60.
The internal surface 72 of the portion 54 closely fits on the shank portion 30 so that the slider member 50 may slide smoothly along the shank portion 30. Advantageously, the shank portion 30 is a D shape. See Figure 5 and Figure 3. The D shape comprises a generally curved surface 76 and a pair of longitudinally extending grooves 78 on each side of the shank 5 portion 30. In addition, the inner surface 72 of the slider member has a complimentary configured and sized shape including tabs 80 which ride in grooves 78. However, various other configurations such as slots and grooves or cylinders and tubes may be provided to establish guided sliding action between the slider member 50 and the shank portion 30.
The gripping fingers 58 are generally flat in configuration.
There is a space 82 between the edges 60 of the respective fingers 58. The fingers are joined to the base 56 and extend from the base. Each of the fingers 58 may thus be deflected inwardly by squeezing the fingers at any location remote from the base 56. When the fingers are squeezed together 15 each edge 60 is received within the groove 74.
The slider member 50 may be manufactured from a plastic material such as nylatron. This material is both rugged, relatively inexpensive and flexible. The flexible material thus provides resilience to the fingers 58 so that the fingers in their relaxed position are apart and 20 may be squeezed inwardly to bring the gripping edges 60 into the groove 74. The slider member 50 may be manufactured in one piece in a plastic moulding operation. The open D shape of the internal surface 72 provides a means to remove the moulded part from the mould. There is sufficient flexibility to nylatron that a part shaped as shown may be removed from 25 the mould without breaking the tabs 80 nor changing the shape of the groove 74. Alternatively, the slider member 50 may be moulded in two or more pieces and the pieces glued together after removal from the mould.
Advantageously, the shank portion 30 may also be manufactured from plastic such as nylatron. A D shaped rod is the 30 preferred configuration to permit one step manufacture of the slider member. The tobacco movement limiting means comprising the stop 36 may be attached to the shank portion 30 by means of an interference fit ~ - 10 -between an annular part or by being glued on using adhesive or the like.
Preferably, the tobacco retaining stop 36 is manufactured as a washer-like annulus with a centre opening having a shape just matching that of the shank portion 30. The washer-like product can then be attached to the shank portion 30 with the surface of the washer and the end of the shank portion 30 together comprising the stop 36.
The head portion 38 may similarly be manufactured in a plastic moulding operation. Advantageously the head portion 38 includes a collar 46 having an internal aperture with a shape and size to substantially match the surface of the shank portion 30. The head portion 38 may be joined to the shank 30 using an interference fit or with adhesives or the like.
A particular advantage of the configuration illustrated in this preferred embodiment is the moulding convenience. The open D shape of the shank permits one shot moulding of the complete shank portion.
With this configuration the shank portion 30 including the stop 36 and the head portion 38 can be moulded as a single piece. This eliminates the need for a second step of assembling those portions and the need for adhesives. With a single piece shank portion 36, the slider member 50 may be attached to the shank portion 36 by forcing the open D shape of the slider member 50 over the accommodating open D shape of shank portion 36. As the slider member is forced over the rod it will spread open and then snap into place with the tabs 80 riding in grooves 78. Nylation is sufficiently flexible to accommodate this spreading to permit assembly.
The method of using the device will now be explained with reference to Figure 1. In order to assemble a cigarette using the system, the smoker first selects one of the tobacco products wrapped in its cellophane wrapper from a package. The smoker then takes a cigarette tube. The tobacco product and its wrapper is then inserted into the cigarette tube. The wrapper is pushed into the tube until the wrapper contacts the filter. If the consumer has any difficulty in inserting the wrapper into the cigarette tube then the consumer may chamfer the end of the wrapper by pushing one end of the wrapper against the conical surface 44 visible in Figure 2. Once the wrapper is inserted into the tube the smoker places the combiner device on a support surface. Any convenient support surface may be used such as a kitchen table, counter or the like.
The combiner device is arranged so that it is self supporting on the surface by edge 40. The assembled cigarette tube and tobacco product are then aligned directly over the combiner device a shown in Figure 1.
The first step in the wrapper removal process is to push the assembled cigarette tube and wrapper over the stop 36. This compresses the tobacco toward the filter slightly and leaves a small portion of the wrapper extending over and beyond the stop 36. While holding the assembly in that position with one hand, the smoker then slides the slider member 50 vertically upwardly while grasping the slider member between a thumb and forefinger. The slider will move upward until it contacts the stop 36 as shown in Figure 1. At that point the edge of the empty portion of the wrapper 22 will pass between the gripping edges 60 and the groove 74. To assist in ensuring the wrapper is properly received between the edges and the groove the upper surfaces of ribs 62 help to deflect the circumference of the wrapper into the right location. The thumb and forefinger are then squeezed together so that the wrapper is grasped between the edges 60 and the groove 74. While maintaining the location of the assembly of the cigarette tube and tobacco the slider member 50 is moved downwardly along the shank portion 30 withdrawing the wrapper 22 from the tobacco. The stop 36 prevents any movement of the tobacco and thus the wrapper is withdrawn completely from the tobacco. In order to ensure complete withdrawal of the wrapper, the shank portion 30 must be slightly longer than the length of the wrapper. The shank portion must accommodate both the length of the slider member and the length of the wrapper.
The combiner device is essentially a rod-like device with a slider thereon. The head portion which supports the shank in an upright position for use in assembly need not be substantially larger than the slider A
~1 ~ 7 ~
member 50. Thus, the overall mechanism is relatively small and will fit in a pocket and may be carried conveniently by a smoker for use anywhere at any time. The device being manufactured from plastic is both relatively durable and inexpensive with the result that if desired, an individual 5 combiner device could be supplied together with the tobacco product and empty cigarette tubes or in fact given away as needed to meet the requirements of the consumer.
The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof.
10 The presently disclosed embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.
A
ASSEMBLED CIGAREl-rES
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an apparatus for producing home-5 made cigarettes.
Cigarettes have been manufactured for consumption in two fundamental ways. Cigarettes may be manufactured in a cigarette manufacturing plant. Cigarettes so manufactured are individually manufactured at high speed, packed in packs, wrapped for freshness and 10 distributed for sale to the consumer. When the consumer desires to smoke a cigarette the consumer simply removes the freshness wrapping from the package of cigarettes, takes out a cigarette, lights it and then smokes it. Prior to the time that it became common to manufacture cigarettes in factories and continuing to today, there remains a market for 15 cigarettes which are manufactured at home by the consumer. The traditional method of manufacturing cigarettes at home involves packing tobacco in a container which may be sealed for freshness. The consumer purchases tobacco packed in bulk in such a container and also has traditionally purchased cigarette papers. When a cigarette is desired, the 20 consumer opens the tobacco and commences to hand roll cigarettes. Hand rolling of cigarettes involves selecting a quantity of tobacco from the pouch or can in which it has been sold, placing the tobacco on a cigarette paper and then rolling the cigarette paper around the supply of tobacco. A
certain manual dexterity is required to carry out that operation and in 25 many respects smokers take some pride in their ability to manufacture such cigarettes. The pride involved in being able to manufacture such cigarettes is one reason why despite all other more modern advances that have been made, some smokers still prefer to roll their own cigarettes.
However, because of the manual dexterity required there have been many 30 developments to assist in the rolling operation.
More recently there has also been a demand for the ability to assemble a filter cigarette while still having a home made cigarette. In ~73~1~
_ -- 2 -order to answer this need, product known in the industry as a cigarette tube has been developed. The cigarette tube involves what appears to be a factory made cigarette except that it contains no tobacco. There is a factory made cigarette filter attached to a tube. The tube is empty and is intended to be filled with tobacco by the consumer in a home making operation.
For several years machines have existed to assist the consumer in loading tobacco into empty cigarette tubes.
One of the problems that has long been recognized in respect of hand made or roll your own cigarettes is the precision with which the consumer must select tobacco. It takes some time and continued judgment and skill on the part of the consumer to select the amount of tobacco which can be conveniently wrapped in a cigarette paper or the amount of tobacco that can be stuffed into an empty cigarette tube while maintaining the desired density of pack for the finished cigarette. This problem has been addressed in a number of different ways in which the amount of tobacco to be used by the consumer in the cigarette is selected by the tobacco seller and premeasured charges of tobacco have been prepared.
One such example is identified in Canadian Patent 1,271,389 which issued July 10, 1990. That patent is a reissue of Canadian Patent 1,235,039 dated April 12, 1988. The patent was granted to Efka-Werke Fritz Kiehn GmbH of the Federal Republic of Germany. In accordance with that patent, the smoker is intended to fill an empty cigarette tube typically having a filter at one end with a element made of smokable material. The element comprises a supply of tobacco wrapped in an air permeable outer surface so that the product is unsmokable in that state. In order to produce a smokable cigarette the smoker inserts the wrapped tobacco product into a cigarette tube with the wrapped tobacco product and the cigarette tube being dimensionally correlated so that the combined product may then be smoked by the consumer. One of the advantages of the product taught by that patent is that once the tobacco product has been inserted into the empty cigarette tube the completed product has the appearance of a factory made cigarette. Thus once the assembly operation has been completed it is not normally possible for others to determine whether the smoker has manufactured the product at home from the materials supplied or bought a finished, factory-made cigarette.
One of the problems with the product of the aforementioned 5 system is that the smoker is required to smoke a second level of cigarette paper. Typically, the cigarette tube is defined by a wrapper of cigarette paper and that cannot be eliminated. On the other hand the factory made preportioned tobacco supply is also wrapped in some type of wrapper, typically a highly porous cigarette paper. This second wrapping of the 10 tobacco is thus also to be smoked by the smoker. This effects the taste of the cigarette and is considered undesirable by at least some smokers.
An alternate system to provide a factory determined pre-measured charge of tobacco is illustrated in U.S. patent 3,822,710 issued February 23, 1973 to Bramhill. In the Bramhill patent, a supply of tobacco 15 is presented in the form of a tobacco cartridge consisting of compressed tobacco contained in a thin sheet of cellulose film or other non-consumable material. The cartridge is inserted into a cigarette tube and then the wrapper of material is stripped from the tobacco while the tobacco is held in place in the tube. This has the advantage of providing a cigarette 20 upon completion which is essentially similar to a factory made cigarette.
In accordance with the Bramhill patent, a machine is disclosed to assist the smoker in carrying out the assembly and stripping operation to create the completed cigarette. The device taught by Bramhill to accomplish the assembly operation is a relatively large and complicated device. The 25 device comprises a housing having a U-shaped trough in which the cigarette tube is placed after the tobacco cartridge has been inserted in the cigarette tube. The device includes a slider which moves horizontally along a guide bar aligned with the trough to extract the wrapper from the assembled cigarette tube and cartridge. The device proposed by Bramhill is 30 relatively large having at least twice the length of the finished cigarette and includes the housing and means to support the cigarette tube. By reason of the size of such a device, the device could not be conveniently ~113~
packed in a package containing cigarette tubes and cartridges without having the package enlarged considerably beyond what would be required to package the tobacco products. Certainly the device taught by Bramhill was not convenient for the smoker to place in a pocket or carry around 5 with the smoker and thus assembly using the Bramhill device would be confined to occur at the location where the device would be kept. In many instances this would restrict the smoker to assembling the products at home on a convenient surface such as a table, counter or the like. The smoker is therefore restricted to smoking only cigarettes which have been 10 preassembled with little practical opportunity to assemble cigarettes on an as needed basis.
One of the major advantages attributing to self-made or homemade cigarettes as opposed to factory made cigarettes is the issue of taxation. In many countries there is a different taxation scheme 15 depending upon the steps that are required by the smoker prior to consuming the cigarette. In these countries factory made cigarettes are taxed at the highest rate while cigarettes that can be formed or smoked only after manipulation by the smoker are often taxed at lesser rates.
Occasionally different taxation categories are created for different types of 20 cigarettes depending upon the manipulation steps involved. Usually the lowest rate of tax is applied to tobacco sold in bulk form, that is, by the can or pouch, while in some countries an intermediate level of taxation is applied to products which are packaged in individual amounts at the factory but still require assembly by the consumer. In view of the tax 25 treatment of such products there remains a desire for a product which can be conveniently assembled by the smoker and in particular, a product that is as close as possible to a factory assembled cigarette.
Accordingly, it is desirable that there be a simple device which would permit assembly of tobacco cartridges and cigarette tubes of 30 the type discussed in Bramhill but which may be portable and carried by the smoker. It is desirable that the device be simple and relatively inexpensive to make and which can be used anywhere and carried about ~5~ 2 ~3~75 by the smoker as conveniently as possible.
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a system to enable assembly of components to create a smokable cigarette by the consumer. The system comprises at least one cigarette tube, at least one tobacco product and a generally rod-shaped combiner device. Usually the system will comprise a plurality of cigarette tubes and a plurality of tobacco products which are to be used with the combiner device. The cigarette tube comprises an empty, substantially cylindrical chamber for receiving tobacco with the chamber having a selected volume and a selected diameter. The tobacco product comprises a supply of smokable tobacco selected to be received in the selected volume of the cigarette tube.
The tobacco product is wrapped in a wrapper having first and second ends and the wrapper is of a material which is not intended to be smoked. The wrapped tobacco product has a selected diameter slightly smaller than the selected diameter of the chamber of the tobacco tube so that the tobacco product, including its wrapper, may be inserted into the chamber of the cigarette tube.
The generally rod-shaped combiner device of the system has first and second free ends and a slider member. One free end comprises a head portion with the device including a shank portion extending from the head portion to the other free end. The head portion defines a planar support surface so that the device is self-supporting on a horizontal surface in a position with the shank portion extending away from the horizontal surface. The slider member is mounted on the shank portion for sliding along the shank. The slider member has a surface of selected size which is smaller than the inner diameter of the wrapper so that the surface of the slider member may be received within the wrapper. The second free end of the device has structure to limit movement of the supply of tobacco when the wrapper is moved along the shank portion.
A more complete understanding of the invention will appear from the following description of a preferred embodiment taken together with the accompanying drawings in which:
7 ~
Figure 1 is a view of a preferred embodiment of the device in place on a support surface with an assembled cigarette tube and tobacco product aligned ready for the wrapper removal process, all parts are shown in section;
5Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the combiner device of Figure 1; and Figure 3 is an end view of one of the components of the slider device of Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a side view of the component of Figure 3;
10Figure 5 is a top view of the combiner device of Figure 1 without the slider component, and Figure 6 is a side view of the combiner device of Figure 5.
Figure 1 illustrates the system 10. The system 10 comprises the cigarette tube 12, tobacco product 14 and a generally rod-shaped 15combiner device 16.
The cigarette tube 12 comprises a filter 18 attached to an empty tube 20. The tube 20 constitutes an empty substantially cylindrical chamber for receiving tobacco. The cigarette tube chamber has a volume which may be selected by the maker of the system and a selected diameter.
20Once the volume and diameter are selected the length of the empty tube will then be fixed.
The tobacco product 14 comprises a supply of smokable tobacco 26 which is wrapped in a wrapper 22. The wrapper 22 may be conveniently made from cellophane or other material which is not 25intended to be smoked. If desired, the wrapper may be perforated to ensure that the tobacco product 14 is not smokable alone. Plastic materials, such as "cellophane", with relatively low frictional coefficient on both internal and external surfaces are to be preferred. The supply of tobacco contained within the wrapper 22 must move relative to the wrapper as the 30wrapper is withdrawn from the cigarette tube. Accordingly, steps which may be taken to minimize the frictional restraint between the wrapper and the tobacco are desirable. The surface of cellophane provides a relatively ~ ~73~7~
slippery surface so that it is not difficult to remove the wrapper from the tobacco. Similarly, to achieve the configuration illustrated in Figure 1 the tobacco product 14 must be inserted into the cigarette tube 12. In order to facilitate insertion of the tobacco product into the empty chamber of the 5 cigarette tube 12, again, a low friction outer surface for the wrapper is desirable. The amount of the tobacco contained within the wrapper 22 is substantially equal to the volume of the chamber of the cigarette tube 20.
Because the wrapper 22 is smaller than the inner diameter of the tube 20 so as to facilitate insertion, the wrapper 22 will be slightly longer than the 10 length of the tube 20. As shown in Figure 1, when the wrapper is seated against the face of the filter 18, a portion of the wrapper will extend beyond the length of the tube 20. The portion of the tobacco extending beyond the length of the tube 20 will be packed into the tube during the wrapper extraction process.
The combiner device is shown in Figures 1 - 6. The combiner device 16 comprises a shank portion 30 having a first free end 32 and a second free end 34. The first free end 32 is fitted with a stop 36. The stop 36 in the preferred embodiment is a substantially disk-shaped member having a diameter just slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the 20 wrapper 22. The disk-shaped stop 36 constitutes an apparatus to limit movement of the supply of tobacco when the wrapper is moved along the shank portion 30.
The second free end 34 of the combiner device 16 comprises a head portion 38. Advantageously, the head portion 38 is generally 25 rectangular shaped at the base edge 40 and with a three sided pyramidal shape. With a conical shape the head portion comprises an edge 40. The edge 40 defines a planar support surface that is arranged to be substantially perpendicular to the general axis 42 of the shank portion 30. The edge 40 thus defines a support surface so that the combiner device 16 may be 30 placed upon a horizontal surface with the shank portion 30 extending away from the second end 34. The edge 40 is sufficiently large to provide self support for the combiner device 16. By having a self supporting ~ ~ ~ 3 ~ ~ ~
device, the hands of the smoker are free to carry out the manipulation steps explained below.
Advantageously, the head portion 38 comprises an external conical surface 44. The conical surface 44 is sized to be slightly larger in 5 diameter than the diameter of the wrapper 22 so as to provide easy insertion of the wrapper 22 into the surface 44. The small diameter of the conical surface 44 is smaller than the diameter of the wrapper 22.
Accordingly, upon insertion of the wrapper 22, into the cone defined by surface 44, the end of the wrapper 22 will be subjected to radial 10 compression. This radial compression will develop a chamfer-like narrowing of the one end of the wrapper 22. Assembly of the wrapper 22 into the tube 20 of the cigarette tube 12 is facilitated by insertion of the slightly narrowed end.
The combiner device 16 also includes a slider member shown 15 generally as 50. The slider member 50 comprises a base portion 56 and a pair of gripping fingers 58. The gripping fingers 58 extend away from the base 56 toward the first free end 32 of the shank portion 30. The gripping fingers 58 include a gripping edge 60. Each edge 60 is defined at the edge of a rib 62 which is wedge shaped in cross-section. The upper surfaces of the 20 ribs 62 as shown in Figure 4 extend downwardly and inwardly toward the axis of the shank portion 30 in a direction away from the first end 32. The upper surfaces of the ribs 62 act as a guide or funnel means to assist ensuring that the wrapper 22 passes inside the gripping edges 60.
The slider member 50 further comprises an internal portion 25 54. The internal portion 54 is an elongate U shape with an external surface 70 and an internal surface 72. The external surface 70 advantageously, is generally cylindrical and has a diameter just slightly less than the diameter of the wrapper 22. The configuration of the surface 70 may be chosen as desired. That is, it may be other than cylindrical as long as the surface 70 is 30 sized to just fit within the wrapper 22. The surface 70 further comprises a groove 74 which is aligned substantially adjacent to the gripping edges 60.
The internal surface 72 of the portion 54 closely fits on the shank portion 30 so that the slider member 50 may slide smoothly along the shank portion 30. Advantageously, the shank portion 30 is a D shape. See Figure 5 and Figure 3. The D shape comprises a generally curved surface 76 and a pair of longitudinally extending grooves 78 on each side of the shank 5 portion 30. In addition, the inner surface 72 of the slider member has a complimentary configured and sized shape including tabs 80 which ride in grooves 78. However, various other configurations such as slots and grooves or cylinders and tubes may be provided to establish guided sliding action between the slider member 50 and the shank portion 30.
The gripping fingers 58 are generally flat in configuration.
There is a space 82 between the edges 60 of the respective fingers 58. The fingers are joined to the base 56 and extend from the base. Each of the fingers 58 may thus be deflected inwardly by squeezing the fingers at any location remote from the base 56. When the fingers are squeezed together 15 each edge 60 is received within the groove 74.
The slider member 50 may be manufactured from a plastic material such as nylatron. This material is both rugged, relatively inexpensive and flexible. The flexible material thus provides resilience to the fingers 58 so that the fingers in their relaxed position are apart and 20 may be squeezed inwardly to bring the gripping edges 60 into the groove 74. The slider member 50 may be manufactured in one piece in a plastic moulding operation. The open D shape of the internal surface 72 provides a means to remove the moulded part from the mould. There is sufficient flexibility to nylatron that a part shaped as shown may be removed from 25 the mould without breaking the tabs 80 nor changing the shape of the groove 74. Alternatively, the slider member 50 may be moulded in two or more pieces and the pieces glued together after removal from the mould.
Advantageously, the shank portion 30 may also be manufactured from plastic such as nylatron. A D shaped rod is the 30 preferred configuration to permit one step manufacture of the slider member. The tobacco movement limiting means comprising the stop 36 may be attached to the shank portion 30 by means of an interference fit ~ - 10 -between an annular part or by being glued on using adhesive or the like.
Preferably, the tobacco retaining stop 36 is manufactured as a washer-like annulus with a centre opening having a shape just matching that of the shank portion 30. The washer-like product can then be attached to the shank portion 30 with the surface of the washer and the end of the shank portion 30 together comprising the stop 36.
The head portion 38 may similarly be manufactured in a plastic moulding operation. Advantageously the head portion 38 includes a collar 46 having an internal aperture with a shape and size to substantially match the surface of the shank portion 30. The head portion 38 may be joined to the shank 30 using an interference fit or with adhesives or the like.
A particular advantage of the configuration illustrated in this preferred embodiment is the moulding convenience. The open D shape of the shank permits one shot moulding of the complete shank portion.
With this configuration the shank portion 30 including the stop 36 and the head portion 38 can be moulded as a single piece. This eliminates the need for a second step of assembling those portions and the need for adhesives. With a single piece shank portion 36, the slider member 50 may be attached to the shank portion 36 by forcing the open D shape of the slider member 50 over the accommodating open D shape of shank portion 36. As the slider member is forced over the rod it will spread open and then snap into place with the tabs 80 riding in grooves 78. Nylation is sufficiently flexible to accommodate this spreading to permit assembly.
The method of using the device will now be explained with reference to Figure 1. In order to assemble a cigarette using the system, the smoker first selects one of the tobacco products wrapped in its cellophane wrapper from a package. The smoker then takes a cigarette tube. The tobacco product and its wrapper is then inserted into the cigarette tube. The wrapper is pushed into the tube until the wrapper contacts the filter. If the consumer has any difficulty in inserting the wrapper into the cigarette tube then the consumer may chamfer the end of the wrapper by pushing one end of the wrapper against the conical surface 44 visible in Figure 2. Once the wrapper is inserted into the tube the smoker places the combiner device on a support surface. Any convenient support surface may be used such as a kitchen table, counter or the like.
The combiner device is arranged so that it is self supporting on the surface by edge 40. The assembled cigarette tube and tobacco product are then aligned directly over the combiner device a shown in Figure 1.
The first step in the wrapper removal process is to push the assembled cigarette tube and wrapper over the stop 36. This compresses the tobacco toward the filter slightly and leaves a small portion of the wrapper extending over and beyond the stop 36. While holding the assembly in that position with one hand, the smoker then slides the slider member 50 vertically upwardly while grasping the slider member between a thumb and forefinger. The slider will move upward until it contacts the stop 36 as shown in Figure 1. At that point the edge of the empty portion of the wrapper 22 will pass between the gripping edges 60 and the groove 74. To assist in ensuring the wrapper is properly received between the edges and the groove the upper surfaces of ribs 62 help to deflect the circumference of the wrapper into the right location. The thumb and forefinger are then squeezed together so that the wrapper is grasped between the edges 60 and the groove 74. While maintaining the location of the assembly of the cigarette tube and tobacco the slider member 50 is moved downwardly along the shank portion 30 withdrawing the wrapper 22 from the tobacco. The stop 36 prevents any movement of the tobacco and thus the wrapper is withdrawn completely from the tobacco. In order to ensure complete withdrawal of the wrapper, the shank portion 30 must be slightly longer than the length of the wrapper. The shank portion must accommodate both the length of the slider member and the length of the wrapper.
The combiner device is essentially a rod-like device with a slider thereon. The head portion which supports the shank in an upright position for use in assembly need not be substantially larger than the slider A
~1 ~ 7 ~
member 50. Thus, the overall mechanism is relatively small and will fit in a pocket and may be carried conveniently by a smoker for use anywhere at any time. The device being manufactured from plastic is both relatively durable and inexpensive with the result that if desired, an individual 5 combiner device could be supplied together with the tobacco product and empty cigarette tubes or in fact given away as needed to meet the requirements of the consumer.
The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof.
10 The presently disclosed embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.
A
Claims (10)
1. A system to enable assembly of components to create a smokable cigarette by the consumer, said system comprising at least one cigarette tube, at least one tobacco product and a generally rod-shaped combiner device;
said cigarette tube comprising an empty substantially cylindrical chamber for receiving tobacco, said chamber having a selected volume and a selected diameter, said tobacco product comprising a supply of smokable tobacco selected to be received in said selected volume of said cigarette tube, said tobacco product being of substantially cylindrical shape with said tobacco supply wrapped in a wrapper, said wrapper being of a material which is not intended to be smoked, said wrapped tobacco product having a selected diameter slightly smaller than said selected diameter of said chamber of said cigarette tube so that said tobacco product including said wrapper may be inserted into said chamber of said cigarette tube, said generally rod-shaped combiner device comprising first and second free ends, a shank portion and a slider member, a first free end of said device having stop means to limit movement of said supply of tobacco when said wrapper is moved along said shank portion, the second free end of said device comprising a head portion, said shank portion extending from said head portion to said first free end, said head portion defining a planer support surface so that said device is self supporting on a horizontal surface in a position with said shank portion extending away from said horizontal surface, said slider member slidably mounted on said shank portion for sliding along said shank, said slider member having a surface of selected size, said selected size of said surface of said slider member being smaller than the inner diameter of said wrapper so that said surface of said slider member may be received within said wrapper.
said cigarette tube comprising an empty substantially cylindrical chamber for receiving tobacco, said chamber having a selected volume and a selected diameter, said tobacco product comprising a supply of smokable tobacco selected to be received in said selected volume of said cigarette tube, said tobacco product being of substantially cylindrical shape with said tobacco supply wrapped in a wrapper, said wrapper being of a material which is not intended to be smoked, said wrapped tobacco product having a selected diameter slightly smaller than said selected diameter of said chamber of said cigarette tube so that said tobacco product including said wrapper may be inserted into said chamber of said cigarette tube, said generally rod-shaped combiner device comprising first and second free ends, a shank portion and a slider member, a first free end of said device having stop means to limit movement of said supply of tobacco when said wrapper is moved along said shank portion, the second free end of said device comprising a head portion, said shank portion extending from said head portion to said first free end, said head portion defining a planer support surface so that said device is self supporting on a horizontal surface in a position with said shank portion extending away from said horizontal surface, said slider member slidably mounted on said shank portion for sliding along said shank, said slider member having a surface of selected size, said selected size of said surface of said slider member being smaller than the inner diameter of said wrapper so that said surface of said slider member may be received within said wrapper.
2. The system of claim 1 in which said combiner device further comprises said slider member including gripping means for gripping said wrapper and holding said wrapper on said slider member.
3. The system of claim 2 wherein said stop means to limit movement of said tobacco of said combiner device is adapted to be received within said wrapper of said tobacco product so that said wrapper may pass over said means to limit movement of tobacco.
4. The system of claim 3 wherein said head portion comprises a generally conical surface.
5. The system of claim 3 wherein said combiner device is manufactured from plastic.
6. The system of claim 5 wherein said slider member is manufactured from plastic and includes a portion having an internal surface to closely receive said shank and an outer surface of said portion comprises said surface of selected size, said slider member further including a pair of fingers with inwardly directed gripping ribs for gripping said wrapper between said outer surface and said ribs.
7. The system of claim 6 wherein said gripping ribs of said fingers extend from said fingers and include a surface extending away from said first free end to assist in locating said wrapper between said surface of selected size and said ribs.
8. The system of claim 4 wherein said head portion comprises a conical surface sized to receive an end of said tobacco product and to apply slight radial compression thereto upon insertion of said tobacco product into said conical surface.
9. The system of claim 5 wherein said shank portion of said rod shaped combiner device is substantially D shaped in cross-section and comprises at least one longitudinally extending groove extending along said shank portion for guiding said slider member.
10. The system of claim 9 wherein said slider member is manufactured from plastic and is a single piece and said slider member includes at least one tab adapted to fit within said longitudinally extending groove.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2173575 CA2173575C (en) | 1996-04-04 | 1996-04-04 | Device for producing consumer assembled cigarettes |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2173575 CA2173575C (en) | 1996-04-04 | 1996-04-04 | Device for producing consumer assembled cigarettes |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2173575A1 CA2173575A1 (en) | 1997-10-05 |
| CA2173575C true CA2173575C (en) | 1999-01-26 |
Family
ID=4157916
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2173575 Expired - Lifetime CA2173575C (en) | 1996-04-04 | 1996-04-04 | Device for producing consumer assembled cigarettes |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2173575C (en) |
Families Citing this family (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AT520527B1 (en) * | 2017-11-23 | 2019-05-15 | Bernhard Roth | Device for introducing tobacco into a paper tube |
-
1996
- 1996-04-04 CA CA 2173575 patent/CA2173575C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| CA2173575A1 (en) | 1997-10-05 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| EEER | Examination request | ||
| MKEX | Expiry |
Effective date: 20160404 |