Flavor monitoring system and method

• US 6,903,555 B2
• Filed: 11/13/2002
• Issued: 06/07/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Philip Morris USA Incorporated (Altria Group, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Philip Morris USA Incorporated (Altria Group, Inc.)
• Inventors: Gill, Tejinder K., Lanier, Robert C. Jr., Dawson, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Deb, Anjan
• Assistant Examiner(s): NATALINI, JEFF WILLIAM
• Application Number:
  US10/293,155
• Publication Number:
  US 20040090235A1
• Time in Patent Office: 937 Days
• Field of Search: 324/464, 324465-470, 250/335, 73/232, 131/280, 131900-910, 131/94, 131335-336, 493 39- 50
• US Class Current: 324/464
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/62 by investigating the ionisation of gases, e.g. aerosols; by investigating electric discharges, e.g. emission of cathode

Abstract

A flavor monitoring system comprises a photo-ionization detector based sensor for measuring the amount of flavor in flavored cigarette filters The sensor has an intake port and an exit port open to the atmosphere. An enclosure with a removable cover is connected to the intake port of the sensor, and the enclosure is constructed and arranged to receive a flavored cigarette filter to be analyzed. The photo-ionization detector based sensor draws a gaseous sample from the flavored filter within the enclosure, ionizes the flavor sample and displays a reading representative of the amount of flavor in the filter. Subsequently the reading may be converted to a flavor amount in milligrams by multiplying the reading by a correlation factor.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring and adjusting flavor amounts in a flavored filter comprising the steps of:

placing a flavored filter within an enclosure;

connecting the enclosure to an intake port of a photo-ionization sensor to provide fluid communication between the enclosure and the sensor;

venting the photo-ionization sensor to the atmosphere through an exit port on the sensor;

drawing a gaseous sample from a flavored filter within the enclosure and delivering the sample to the photo-ionization sensor;

ionizing the sample in the sensor;

displaying a reading representative of the flavor amount in the filter; and

adjusting responsive to the representative reading the degree of flavor incorporated in the filter in order to maintain the amount of flavor within prescribed units.

2. A method as in claim 1, including the further steps of multiplying the reading representation of the flavor amount by a correlation factor to produce a flavor amount reading in milligrams.