Make your own cigarettes

• US 6,206,008 B1
• Filed: 03/19/1999
• Issued: 03/27/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd. (British American Tobacco PLC)
• Original Assignee: Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd. (British American Tobacco PLC)
• Inventors: Matteau, Robert, Champagne, Marcel, Duplessis, Luc Gaetan, Cardone, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Derrington, James
• Assistant Examiner(s): Walls, Dionne A.
• Application Number:
  US09/269,120
• Time in Patent Office: 739 Days
• Field of Search: 131/361, 131/365, 131/360, 131/331, 131/335, 131/336, 131/358
• US Class Current: 131/361
• CPC Class Codes: A24C 5/40 Hand-driven apparatus for making cigarettes
• CPC Class Codes: A24D 1/008 dividable

Abstract

A non-smokable tobacco product comprises a rod-shaped element of cigarette tobacco with a filter element at one end and both enclosed by a tubular wrapper. The product is rendered unsmokable by a perforation extending through the wrapper of the tobacco or the filter element so that when air is drawn through the filter substantially all of the air enters through those perforations, there being insufficient air flow through the tip end to propagate normal cigarette combustion of the tobacco at that location or to permit any appreciable amount of smoke reaching the smoker'"'"'s mouth. The product is rendered smokable by the user covering the perforated region of the wrapper by means of a strip, a sliding band, or a ring which blocks air flow through the perforations and thus converts the product into a self-made cigarette that can be smoked in the manner of a regular cigarette.

Claims

1. A tobacco product comprising:

a rod-shaped element of cigarette tobacco coaxially interconnected to a rod-shaped filter element, with respective first ends of said elements adjoining;

a tubular wrapper enclosing said tobacco element, said wrapper being of smokable material;

the first end of said filter element being wrapped by and adhered to a substantially impervious circumferential strip of material that is carried by said tobacco element;

said filter element having a peripheral surface that is highly porous thus rendering said product unsmokable in that when air is drawn from said product through the second free end of said filter element, the major portion of such air is drawn through said highly porous peripheral surface and any air flow drawn longitudinally through said tobacco element is insufficient to propagate combustion at the tip end thereof or to cause any appreciable amount of smoke to flow through said filter element to the second end thereof;

in combination with a preformed tubular band of flexible substantially impervious material having a width corresponding to that of the highly porous surface of said filter element, and a circumference corresponding to that of said product, said band being slidable on said product to a position overlying said highly porous peripheral surface to render said product smokable.

2. A tobacco product as claimed in claim 1 wherein the porosity of said peripheral surface of said filter element is such as to ensure that at least 90 percent of air flow drawn from said filter second end will enter said product through said highly porous peripheral surface.

3. A tobacco product as claimed in claim 2 wherein less than 9 percent of air drawn through said filter enters said product through the tip end of said tobacco element.

4. A tobacco product as claimed in claim 1 wherein said circumferential strip of material constitutes a discrete attachment strip that is also wrapped around and adhered to said tubular wrapper at the first end of said tobacco element.

5. A tobacco product as claimed in claim 1 wherein the tobacco in said rod-shaped tobacco element is more densely packed at the tip end thereof than elsewhere in the length of said tobacco element.

6. A tobacco product as claimed in claim 1 wherein said highly porous peripheral surface of said filter has a permeability to air of at least 1500 coresta units (cc/min/c²).

7. A tobacco product as claimed in claim 1 wherein said preformed tubular band is provided in the form of a flattened paper cylinder which after expanding to cylindrical form can be slid over the tobacco product from one end or the other.

8. A tobacco product comprising two products as claimed in claim 1 arranged end-to-end with integrally connected rod-shaped filter elements, said product being severable between said filter elements to produce two tobacco products.