JP2011509682A - Cigarette smoke filter - Google Patents

Abstract

A cigarette smoke filter or filter element having a circumference of 14.0 to 23.2 mm having a cylindrical plug made of a substantially homogeneous filter material. The substantially homogeneous filter material has a plurality of randomly oriented staple fibers.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to filters and filter elements for smoking devices such as cigarettes, especially slim cigarettes.

  The circumference of a conventional cigarette is about 24.5 mm, but 'slim' cigarette (circumference about 21 to 23.2 mm) and 'super slim' cigarette (circumference about 16 to 18 mm) are also known. Moreover, although not generally marketed, it is also possible to manufacture a cigarette having a thinner circumference, for example, 14 to 16 mm. In this specification, the term 'slim' should be interpreted as including all cigarettes and / or cigarette filters having a circumference of about 14.0 to 23.2 mm.

  Selective filtration occurs when the amount of selected chemicals in cigarette smoke is reduced proportionally much more than most compounds in smoke (eg, tar). For example, phenolic compounds such as phenol, cresols, catechol and resorcinol are known components of cigarette smoke. These are toxic compounds, and in particular phenol and catechol are included in the so-called “Hoffman” list, which lists the most harmful compounds contained in cigarette smoke. It would be desirable to potentially selectively reduce the amount of these compounds provided to smokers.

British Patent 2,261,152 U.S. Pat. No. 3,552,400

  The usual filter material used for cigarette filters is a continuous tow of filamentous cellulose acetate, which is plasticized with triacetin and rolled up into a rod shape to form a filter or filter element. In such continuous tows (and filters and filter elements formed from the continuous tows), the majority of the filaments of cellulose acetate tow are aligned longitudinally. It is well known that cellulose acetate exhibits a selective filtration action on phenolic compounds. As a matter of course, the filter for “slim” cigarettes contains less cellulose acetate filter material than the standard filter. That is, there are fewer materials that effectively act on the same amount of smoke and the selective filtration effect is reduced. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a slim filter that potentially reduces the amount of phenolic compounds provided to slim cigarette smokers.

  Filter tow specifications are described in terms of fineness per filament (dpf), total fineness, and fiber cross-sectional shape. Filament fineness is defined as the weight in grams per 9000 meters of single filament, and the total fineness is simply dpf multiplied by the number of filaments in the tow. Thus, for example, a 5Y30,000 tow represents a material consisting of 6000 Y-shaped filaments with a dpf of 5 grams per 9000 meters and a total fineness of 30,000 grams per 9000 meters in length. In order to produce a general cellulose acetate (“monoacetate”) cigarette filter (for example, a slim monoacetate filter) having a small circumference, it is necessary to use a cellulose acetate tow having a small total fineness. This is because the amount of material that can be filled into a slim product is limited. In addition to the higher cost (per unit weight) of tows with lower total fineness, the limited availability of tows with lower total fineness in the industry Widely known in Therefore, it is desirable to provide a slim filter that can be manufactured from cellulose acetate tow having a wider range of total fineness than conventional slim or super slim monoacetate filters.

  According to the present invention, there is provided a cigarette smoke filter or filter element having a cylindrical plug made of a substantially homogeneous filter material having a circumference of 14.0 to 23.2 mm (eg, 16 to 23.2 mm), The substantially homogeneous filter material has a plurality of randomly oriented staple fibers.

  As used herein, the term “substantially homogeneous filter material” means a filter material having substantially uniform physical properties across its entire area in any cross section.

  As used herein, the term “staple fiber” refers to discrete discrete fibers having a specific length. The staple fibers may be randomly oriented with respect to each other. The substantially homogeneous filter material may have a plurality of randomly oriented staple fibers, a portion of the randomly oriented staple fibers being generally transverse to the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical plug. Extend in the direction. A substantially homogeneous filter material has at least 10% of its weight (eg 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80% or 90%) in the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical plug. It may have a plurality of randomly oriented staple fibers extending substantially transversely to it.

  The term irregularly oriented staple fibers means (in a filter or filter element) three-dimensional irregularly oriented staple fibers. The term irregularly oriented staple fiber is not intended herein to mean (and does not mean) a continuous cellulose acetate tow in which the majority of the individual fibers are longitudinally aligned. . (However, as will be described below, it will be understood that staple fibers can be formed from such tows.) The term irregularly oriented staple fibers is referred to herein as ( It is not intended to mean (and does not mean) a web or sheet filter material that is formed (eg, from pulp and / or fiber) and then (eg, by winding) the entire web or sheet or substantially the whole. If not) The term irregularly oriented staple fibers does not mean a two-dimensional paper-like workpiece that is wound up in a roll. The term irregularly oriented staple fiber as used herein refers to a web or sheet filter material that is formed (eg, from pulp and / or fiber) and then chopped and then shaped into a rod. Not intended (or meaningless). The sheet or web can have a two-dimensionally irregular orientation, but it can be embossed in several steps (even when shredded) to retain its properties when pulled in the filter production equipment. Etc.) Thus, since the fibers in a filter or filter element made from a sheet or web (even a shredded sheet or web) are mostly aligned along the longitudinal axis of the filter or filter element, they are It is not a staple fiber that is randomly oriented (in three dimensions).

  A plurality of randomly oriented staple fibers may form a porous matrix that provides complex and intricate passages that serve as smoke passages when utilized as a cigarette filter. The performance of the filter or filter element of the present invention is the result of existing products (for example, “monoacetate” products formed by plasticizing continuous tow consisting of longitudinally oriented cellulose acetate filaments with triacetin and winding them into rod shapes. The applicant has found that it is equivalent to However, the present applicant has found that the amount of filter material (such as cellulose acetate) required is 20-30% less if used in the form of irregularly oriented staple fibers. In addition to reducing the amount of filter material required per filter, this has the additional advantage of using cellulose acetate tow with a higher total fineness than that used in conventional Super Slim products. is there. Therefore, in addition to the cost savings of being able to reduce weight (because the amount of filter material required) is reduced by the Applicant's invention, it uses tows with low total fineness (expensive and difficult to obtain) Since there is no longer a need to do so, the unit price of the tow used can be lowered.

  The tobacco smoke filter or filter element of the present invention is, for example, a phenol contained in tobacco smoke (in slim cigarettes) compared to a standard monoacetate filter or filter element (which does not have randomly oriented staple fibers). The present applicant has unexpectedly discovered that the removability of the kind is improved. This unexpectedly discovered reduction in phenolic compounds by the filter and filter element of the present invention is even more pronounced considering the low weight of the filter material (cellulose acetate). Applicants have also unexpectedly discovered that the tobacco smoke filter or filter element of the present invention can be more easily and quickly degraded, for example, under natural environmental conditions than a standard monoacetate filter or filter element or the like. .

  The staple fiber may be made from a filament material. As is well known in the art, staple fibers may be crimped. The staple fiber may be, for example, cellulose acetate fiber or polypropylene fiber. The staple fibers may be manufactured (formed) from fiber tows such as cellulose acetate tow and polypropylene tow. The staple fibers may be, for example, natural fibers and / or synthetic fibers, fibers formed from natural plant materials, and the like. The staple fibers may be cellulose pulp fibers (eg, fiberized with a hammer mill). Staple fibers may be cut herbs (eg, chopped tobacco leaves) or obtained from recycled tobacco sheets. Staple fibers may impart perfume and / or filtration properties to the final product. The staple fibers may be substantially the same length (substantially uniform length). The staple fibers may be of various different lengths. The length of the staple fiber can be, for example, 4 mm to 20 mm, for example, 5 mm to 19 mm, for example, 6 mm to 18 mm, for example, 7 mm to 16 mm. Staple fibers can be made or formed from fiber tows, such as cellulose acetate tow, having a total fineness of 14,000 g to 55,000 g per 9000 m length, for example, a total fineness of 20,000 g per 9000 m length. It may be ˜50,000 g, for example 23,000 g to 45,000 g per 9000 m length, for example 25,000 g to 40,000 g per 9000 m length.

  The substantially homogeneous filter material may optionally include other materials such as, for example, liquid additives (such as flavourants such as menthol solutions). A substantially homogeneous filter material having a plurality of randomly oriented staple fibers may be formed from a plurality of staple fibers, and may include other materials such as plasticizers, binder materials, and other additives. It may optionally be included. The staple fibers may be bonded together at a very large number of contact points (for example by the action of a plasticizer).

  The substantially homogeneous filter material may optionally include a binder material. The substantially homogeneous filter material may optionally include a water soluble binder material. Examples of water soluble materials include: water soluble polymer materials such as polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, polyvinyl ether, starch, polyethylene glycol and polypropylene glycol; mixtures of water soluble binders and plasticizers such as triacetin; and hot melt and water soluble The granular binder is mentioned. By containing a water-soluble binder material, the property of the filter or filter element, which can be easily and quickly decomposed under natural environmental conditions, for example, may be further improved.

  The filter or filter element may include one or more particulate additives, for example, within the body of the filter or filter element. The (or each) particulate additive may be a powder (eg, particles having a diameter of 50 to 150 μm) or a granule (eg, particles having a diameter of 0.15 to 1.0 mm). Examples of suitable particulate additives include flavourants or adsorbents such as activated carbon, zeolites, ion exchange resins (weakly basic anion exchange resins, etc.), leptite, silica gel, alumina, molecular sieves, carbon Quality polymer resin and diatomaceous earth.

  The filter or filter element may include two or more staple fibers. For example, staple fibers that are fibers (such as cellulose pulp) fiberized by a hammer mill may be added to staple fibers formed from filamentous tows (mixed) and included in the filter.

  Staple fibers (for example, fiber tows such as cellulose acetate tow) may be plasticized. In other words, the substantially homogeneous filter material may optionally include a plasticizer. The formation of plasticized tows is widely known in the art. The plasticizer (which plasticizes the staple fibers) may be, for example, triacetin, triethylene glycol diacetate (TEGDA) or polyethylene glycol (PEG). The staple fibers may be plasticized cellulose acetate tow fibers. The staple fiber may be cellulose acetate tow plasticized with triacetin or the like.

  The circumference of the cylindrical plug may be, for example, 14.0 mm to 23.2 mm, such as 16 mm to 23.2 mm, such as 16.0 mm to 20 mm, such as 16.2 mm to 20 mm, such as 16.2 mm to 17 mm.

  A plurality of randomly oriented staple fibers can form a porous matrix, providing a complex and intricate path within the filter material. This intricate passageway can function as a smoke passage when used as a cigarette filter.

  Tobacco smoke filters or filter elements can have substantially uniform physical properties across their entire area in any cross-section, rather than the more non-uniform structure produced by forming from a sheet-like filter material.

  In the filter and filter element according to the embodiment of the present invention, the tobacco smoke filter material may be wound up by a wrapper or a plug wrap such as a paper wrapper or an air permeable paper wrapper. The granular additive as described above may be added to a wrapper or a plug wrap surrounding the filter material as described in Patent Document 1, for example.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a multiple rod having a plurality of filters or filter elements as described above and / or end-to-end joined together so that they are mirror images.

  The filter element according to the invention may be used as one segment of a multi-segment slim filter, such as a dual, triple or other multiple filter. Such filters are widely known in the art. When a filter element is used as one segment within or within a multi-segment filter, the same element can be used as (or within) the inlet or mouth end segment of the filter, but other parts of the filter It may be used as a segment (or within the same segment). The filter element according to the invention may be used alone, for example as a single segment slim filter (in the same way as a monoacetate filter). Such filters are widely known in the art.

  In the filter cigarette according to the present invention, the filter of the present invention (or the filter comprising the filter element of the present invention) is connected at one end of the filter on the tobacco side to a wrapped tobacco rod. The filter can be produced, for example, by ring-shaped chipping (which only wraps around the adjacent end of the rod (wrapped) to leave more exposed part of the filter wrap) or by the entire length of the filter and the tobacco rod May be connected to the wrapped cigarette by a whole chipping overlap. Any filter or filter cigarette according to the present invention can be non-breathable or use methods known in the art, such as using pre-perforated or air permeable plug wraps and / or plugs Air permeation can also be achieved by laser drilling the wrap and chipping overlap.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, a tobacco smoke filter or filter element having a cylindrical plug of substantially homogeneous filter material comprising a plurality of randomly oriented staple fibers is included in tobacco smoke. Used to selectively reduce one or more phenolic compounds. In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a cylindrical plug of substantially homogeneous filter material comprising a plurality of randomly oriented staple fibers selectively selects one or more phenolic compounds contained in tobacco smoke. Used as a filter or filter element to be reduced or in the manufacture of the filter or filter element.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, a cylindrical plug of substantially homogeneous filter material comprising a plurality of randomly oriented staple fibers is used as a highly degradable filter or filter element or as a filter or filter element. Used in the manufacture of the filter element.

  The present invention will be described below with reference to the following examples and the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 3 is a plan view, not to scale, of individual filters in an embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing of the filter of FIG.

  The filter 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes an elongated cylindrical porous plug 2 having a circumference of 16.9 mm and a length of 27 mm, and the plug is formed from 5Y30,000 cellulose acetate tow plasticized with triacetin. , Having a plurality of randomly oriented individual staple fibers 3. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the staple fiber 3 generally extends transversely with respect to the longitudinal axis of the element and is tied slightly to create a number of contact points at which the staple fiber 3 Connect to each other. The bonded fibers provide a substantially homogeneous filter material forming the plug 2. The substantially homogeneous filter material formed in this way is called a porous matrix, and when used as a cigarette filter, it becomes a complicated and complicated smoke path. The filter element 1 has substantially uniform physical properties throughout the cross section.

  The filter is manufactured by a known method such as the method disclosed in Patent Document 2, for example. According to this, untreated cellulose acetate tow is passed through a conventional banding device and separated into individual filaments, and in another conventional banding device, the tow is spread into a relatively thin layer of filaments. This filament layer is then passed through a conventional plasticizing device where a suitable plasticizer (in this example, triacetin) is sprayed onto one or both sides of the filament layer by suitable spraying to form a plasticized tow. To do. The plasticized tow is transported to a processing device for producing staple fibers and forming them into a continuous rod shape by conventional supply means such as a pair of rollers. A suitable device is described in detail in US Pat. The plasticized tow is fed through a funnel to a chopper that cuts the continuous tow into a number of separate staple fibers. The length of the staple fiber is determined by the relationship between the chopper speed and the continuous tow supply speed to the chopper. Staple fibers produced by the chopper are sucked out of the chopper by turbulence. The turbulence disperses the staple fibers (orients them irregularly or enhances these irregular orientations), sends them into a porous frustoconical screen, and the smaller of the screens That is, it is supplied from the end on the outlet side onto the porous movable belt. Granules and other additives (not shown) may be supplied into the turbulence as needed, and may be dispersed throughout the filter material at this stage. The porous surrounding means reduces the speed of the staple fiber passing therethrough by tapering, and the partial length of the staple fiber is substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis of the product filter rod. Has a tendency to place staple fibers. Staple fibers are fed onto the porous belt and carried longitudinally into the vapor processing chamber. The longitudinal end of the porous belt is shaped so as to surround the staple fiber by a hole at the entrance to the vapor processing chamber, so that the belt and the fiber thereon are drawn longitudinally into the hole. By pulling the belt around the fiber, the staple fiber is formed into a rod surrounded by the porous belt. Steam supplied to the porous surface of the belt treats staple fibers that are continuously and directly passed through the surface and held on the inside. While the staple fiber is conveyed in the form of a cylindrical rod surrounded by a belt, the binding component (eg triacetin) of the staple fiber is thus activated by steam. This processing is widely known in the technical field, and is also described in Patent Document 2 above. The belt and staple fibers that are carried together are then drawn into a cooling station, also widely known in the art, where the elements are dried and cooled (and the bonded components cured). The cylindrical rod thus formed may be wound with a plug web (not shown) and sealed with wrap adhesive by means well known in the prior art. A continuous cylindrical rod formed from randomly oriented staple fibers dried and cooled in this way is stripped from the belt upon exiting the cooling station. Return to the screen area arrangement and collect additional staple fibers from the screen and draw them into the vapor chamber. The first cylindrical continuous rod formed from randomly oriented staple fibers is cut to a limited length for subsequent use as it is continuously ejected from the outlet of the device. The rod may be cut by cutting means to form a single filter (such as filter 1 in FIG. 1), which is then attached to each individually wound tobacco rod. Filter cigarettes or individual filter elements. More generally, however, the continuously ejected rod is first cut to a length of more than twice (usually 4 or 6 times) the length of filter 1 (or filter element) for subsequent use. The Forming filters with multiple lengths (and then incorporating into filter cigarettes) is widely known in the art.

Example 2 Phenol removability In Table 1 below, a filter produced according to the method of Patent Document 2 and formed from a plurality of irregularly oriented staple fibers of plasticized cellulose acetate Sample A containing is compared to a prior art monoacetate filter having the same dimensions. Hardness value (defined as the compressed diameter of the filter rod expressed as a percentage of the initial rod diameter. Rod compression is done by applying a known weight through the circular leg for a period of time) and pressure. Loss (PD) (expressed in mmWG) was measured for these samples. The amount of phenolic compound was measured for all samples smoked under ISO conditions. Here, cresol is a combined amount of o-, m- and p-cresol, and dihydroxyphenol is a combined amount of hydroquinone, resorcinol and catechol. The amount of tar from cigarette was also measured for the purpose of evaluating the change in the ratio of phenols to tar. The numerical value for sample A is expressed as a percentage of the numerical value for the prior art monoacetate filter (eg, the numerical value for the monoacetate filter is 100, and the numerical value for sample A is expressed as a percentage thereto).

^*“絶対”値として表される結果に基づく（例えばシガレット当たりの質量）
^**タール１ｍｇ当たりのμｍとして表される結果に基づく

^* Based on results expressed as “absolute” values (eg mass per cigarette)
^** Based on results expressed as μm per mg of tar

  As mentioned above, it is desirable to reduce the level of phenolic compounds in cigarette smoke. It is known that cellulose acetate exhibits a selective filtration effect on phenols. Therefore, the filter according to the present invention including irregularly oriented cellulose acetate staple fibers has a cellulose acetate content of 20 to 30% less, and therefore, a monoacetate having an equivalent pressure loss and hardness to be compared. The effect of removing phenols was expected to be lower than that of the filter. In fact, however, surprisingly, Sample A shows a reduced amount of phenolic compound, both on an absolute basis and per mg of tar, than the equivalent monoacetate product. The decrease in phenolic compound in sample A is due to the weight of cellulose acetate in sample A (including filter material formed from a plurality of randomly oriented staple fibers of plasticized cellulose acetate) compared to the monoacetate product. This is even more pronounced, considering the less (Sample A contains a 77.5% weight tow amount of a monoacetate filter).

  This result shows that the filters and filter elements of the present invention have a surprising and selective removal of phenolic compounds.

Example 3 Degradability Various types of cigarette filters were placed in a roof wire mesh cage and their weights were measured periodically over a 12 month period. After 12 months, the weight of a typical monoacetate filter was reduced by 23-30%, whereas the filter material formed from a plurality of randomly oriented staple fibers composed of plasticized cellulose acetate The weight of equally sized filters containing was reduced by 46%. This is surprising because it was expected that an equivalent weight loss would occur.

Example 3 Tow Type Two Super Slim Multiple Filter Rods A and B (each rod has four 27 mm long filters of the present invention having a structure similar to the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2), and The characteristics of a general monoacetate super slim product “Control” to be compared are shown below.

A B 'Control'
Tow Item 5Y30,000 4.2Y33,000 6Y17,000
Rod length (mm) 108 108 108
Circumference (mm) 16.9 16.9 16.8
Rod weight (g) 0.291 0.281 0.416
Rod hardness (%) 88 89 91
27 mm Tip pressure loss (mm) 102 100 115
27 mm chip tar residual rate (%) 29.4 30.5 33.6
27 mm chip nicotine residual rate (%) 27.1 29.7 29.3

  The tows used for samples A and B are the same as those used for standard (circumference 24.5 mm) circumferential products, whereas the monoacetate control super slim sample is more expensive. A tow with a small total fineness is required. This example shows that the filter of the present invention provides acceptable properties using a cellulose tow that has a much higher total fineness than a tow for a conventional super slim product.

Claims (20)

  A cigarette smoke filter or filter element having a cylindrical plug made of a substantially homogeneous filter material having a circumference of 14.0 to 23.2 mm, wherein the substantially homogeneous filter material comprises a plurality of irregularly Tobacco smoke filter or filter element having oriented staple fibers.   The tobacco smoke filter or filter element of claim 1, wherein the substantially homogeneous filter material plug has a circumference of 16.0 to 23.2 mm.   The tobacco smoke filter or filter element according to claim 1, wherein the staple fiber is crimped.   The tobacco smoke filter or filter element according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the staple fibers are fibers formed from natural and / or synthetic fibers and / or natural plant materials.   The tobacco smoke filter or filter element according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the staple fiber is a cellulose acetate fiber or a polypropylene fiber.   6. A tobacco smoke filter or filter element according to any one of the preceding claims comprising two or more types of staple fibers.   The tobacco smoke filter or filter element according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a liquid additive or a particulate additive.   The tobacco smoke filter or filter element according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the staple fiber has a length of 4 mm to 20 mm.   9. The tobacco smoke filter or filter element according to claim 1, wherein the staple fiber is formed from tow having a total fineness of 14,000 g to 55,000 g per 9,000 m length.   10. A tobacco smoke filter or filter element according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising plasticized staple fibers.   11. A tobacco smoke filter or filter element according to any one of the preceding claims comprising cellulose acetate staple fibers plasticized with triacetin, triethylene glycol diacetate (TEGDA) or polyethylene glycol (PEG).   The cigarette smoke filter or filter element according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the circumference of the cylindrical plug is 16.2 mm to 23.2 mm.   The tobacco smoke filter or filter element according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a wrapper or a plug wrap.   14. A tobacco smoke filter or filter element according to any one of the preceding claims comprising a particulate additive on the wrapper or plug wrap.   15. A tobacco smoke filter or filter element according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a water soluble binder material.   Tobacco smoke filter or filter element substantially as described with respect to one or more of the specification and / or examples and / or accompanying drawings.   17. A filter cigarette comprising a filter according to any one of claims 1 to 16, or a filter comprising a filter element according to any one of claims 1 to 16 connected to a wrapped tobacco rod.   A multi-rod having a plurality of filters or filter elements according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the ends are joined together.   Tobacco smoke filter having a cylindrical plug made of a substantially homogeneous filter material comprising a plurality of irregularly arranged staple fibers for the purpose of selectively reducing one or more phenolic compounds in tobacco smoke or Use filter elements.   Use of a cylindrical plug consisting of a substantially homogeneous filter material comprising a plurality of randomly oriented staple fibers as a filter or filter element with high degradability or in the manufacture of the filter or filter element.

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