Smoking article assembly machine and method of making a smoking article

Abstract

The present application relates to a smoking article assembly machine. The smoking article assembly machine has a web of tipping paper conveying path. The smoking article assembly machine also has a mechanical cutter ( 70 ) configured to perform a cutting action to form a pattern ( 5 ) including a line ( 6 ) having a dimension of at least 5 mm on a web ( 11 ) of tipping paper ( 4 ) passing along the web of tipping paper conveying path, and a web severing device ( 60 ) configured to sever the web ( 11 ) of tipping paper ( 4 ) into segments for wrapping smoking articles. The present application also relates to a method of making a smoking article.

1 . A smoking article assembly machine having a web of tipping paper conveying path, the smoking article assembly machine comprising
 a mechanical cutter configured to perform a cutting action to form a pattern including a line having a dimension of at least 5 mm on a web of tipping paper passing along the web of tipping paper conveying path, and   a web severing device configured to sever the web of tipping paper into segments for wrapping smoking articles.   
     
     
         2 . The smoking article assembly machine according to  claim 1 , wherein the line is a line of separation. 
     
     
         3 . The smoking article assembly machine according to  claim 1  or  claim 2 , wherein the cutting action of the mechanical cutter is configured to define at least two sections of the web of tipping paper. 
     
     
         4 . The smoking article assembly machine according to any of  claims 1  to  3 , wherein the mechanical cutter is configured to perform a cutting action to form the pattern including a line in a direction along the direction of the web of tipping paper conveying path. 
     
     
         5 . The smoking article assembly machine according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a curling station configured to act on the web of tipping paper, and
 wherein the mechanical cutter is configured to perform the cutting action downstream of the curling station along the web of tipping paper conveying path.   
     
     
         6 . The smoking article assembly machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the mechanical cutter is configured to perform the cutting action upstream of the web severing device along the web of tipping paper conveying path. 
     
     
         7 . The smoking article assembly machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the mechanical cutter is a crush cutting device. 
     
     
         8 . The smoking article assembly machine according to  claim 7 , wherein the crush cutting device comprises a profiled roller and an anvil roller between which the web of tipping paper conveying path is defined. 
     
     
         9 . The smoking article assembly machine according to  claim 7 , wherein the spacing between the profile roller and anvil roller is in the range of 3 to 5 μm. 
     
     
         10 . The smoking article assembly machine according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a pre-cutter, wherein the pre-cutter is configured to perform a first cutting action on said web of tipping paper and the cutting action performed by the mechanical cutter is a second cutting action on said web of tipping paper. 
     
     
         11 . The smoking article assembly machine according to  claim 9 , wherein the pre-cutter performs a mechanical cutting action. 
     
     
         12 . The smoking article assembly machine according to  claim 10  or  claim 11 , wherein the pre-cutter is disposed upstream of the curling station along the web of tipping paper conveying path. 
     
     
         13 . The smoking article assembly machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the line has a minimum length to width ration of 60:1. 
     
     
         14 . A method of making a smoking article, comprising
 conveying a web of tipping paper along a conveying path,   mechanically cutting the web of tipping paper to form a pattern including a line having a dimension of at least 5 mm on the web of tipping paper,   severing the web of tipping paper into segments, and   assembling smoking article with the segments of tipping paper.   
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 14 , further comprising
 curling the web of tipping paper using a curling station,   wherein the web of tipping paper is mechanically cut to form a pattern including a line having a dimension of at least 5 mm after the web of cutting paper is curled by the curling station.