Cigarettes and their construction

Abstract

A cigarette is provided with the tobacco column portion adjacent the filter assembly encased by a heat shrink material whereby as the burn approaches the butt the heat shrink material begins to contract radially and compress the encased tobacco column restricting the air flow therethrough. This reduces the diameter of burning column adjacent the filter assembly and thus extinguishes or at least confines the remaining tobacco in the cigarette.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A tipping paper wrap which may be fed from a roll and wound onto a column assembly including a tobacco column and a co-axially juxtaposed filter, the tobacco column having a butt portion extending axially from the filter, the wrap comprising:
 a band of tipping paper formed to wrap about the filter, and   a band of heat shrink material protruding from one edge of the tipping paper and which on application to said respective column assembly extends beyond the junction between the filter and the juxtaposed tobacco column to form an encasing heat shrink layer about the butt portion of the tobacco column.   
     
     
         2 . The tipping paper wrap as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the band of heat shrink material is formed to extend along a minor portion of the length of the tobacco column. 
     
     
         3 . The tipping paper wrap as claimed in  claim 2 , wherein the band of heat shrink material overlaps the adjacent edge portion of the filter paper and extends therefrom for a distance of between 5 mm and 10 mm. 
     
     
         4 . The tipping paper wrap for simultaneous application to a pair of oppositely arranged respective column assemblies each including a tobacco column and a filter arranged with their respective filters in substantially co-axial abutting relationship, said wrap having one side portion forming a tipping paper wrap as claimed in  claim 1  for application to one said column assembly and an opposite side portion forming a tipping paper wrap for application to the other said column assembly. 
     
     
         5 . A method of joining a tobacco column to a co-axially juxtaposed filter including providing a tipping paper wrap as claimed in  claim 1  and winding the tipping paper wrap onto the juxtaposed tobacco column and filter to form an encasing layer of heat shrink material which spans the joint between the tobacco column and the filter to join them together. 
     
     
         6 . The method as claimed in  claim 5 , wherein the coaxially juxtaposed tobacco column and filter are rotated about their common longitudinal axes to wind the tipping paper wrap thereabout. 
     
     
         7 . The method as claimed in  claim 5 , wherein the tipping paper wrap is simultaneously wound onto a pair of tobacco columns and their respective filers arranged in a coaxial array with their filters adjoining one another. 
     
     
         8 . The method of joining a tobacco column to a co-axially juxtaposed filter comprising providing a tipping paper wrap as claimed in  claim 1  and winding the tipping paper wrap onto the juxtaposed tobacco column and filter to join them together and to form an encasing layer of heat shrink material about the butt of the tobacco column. 
     
     
         9 . A cigarette made in accordance with the method of  claim 5 . 
     
     
         10 . A tipping wrap for use in the manufacture of cigarettes, comprising:
 central band of tipping paper having a width which can span a pair of abutting coaxially aligned filter assemblies; and   a pair of opposed side bands of heat shrinkable wrapping material affixed to opposite sides of the central band of tipping paper;   wherein on application to the coaxially aligned filter assemblies the side bands of heat shrinkable wrapping material extend beyond the junction between the filter and a juxtaposed tobacco column to form an encasing heat shrink layer about the butt portion of the tobacco column.   
     
     
         11 . The tipping wrap of  claim 10 , wherein pair of opposed side bands overlap and are glued to the central band of tipping paper. 
     
     
         12 . The tipping wrap of  claim 11 , wherein pair of opposed side bands extends a distance of between 5 mm and 10 mm beyond the sides of the central band of tipping paper.