Rectangular Loose-leaf System and Method of Use

Abstract

A rectangular loose-leaf system is described, including extracting the best parts of a leaf such as tobacco and storing them to be rolled at a later time. Sheets are cut from the larger leaf so that large stems are not in the sheets. The sheets are selected so that no tears, damage, rot, or other defects are present. The sheets could be stacked and protected before storage. A rectangular loose-leaf wrapper includes a tobacco loose-leaf sheet that is rectangular in shape and substantially flat, where the tobacco loose-leaf sheet is removed from a portion of a tobacco leaf that does not have a central stem and the loose-leaf sheet has at least one primary vein running parallel to a length of the sheet. The sheets has been flattened by a process that removes predisposition to curl.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A rectangular loose-leaf wrapper comprising:
 a tobacco loose-leaf sheet that is substantially rectangular in shape and substantially flat; and   wherein the tobacco loose-leaf sheet is removed from a portion of a tobacco leaf that does not have a central stem.   
     
     
         2 . The rectangular loose-leaf wrapper of  claim 1 , the tobacco loose-leaf sheet is removed from a portion of a tobacco leaf that does not have a primary vein. 
     
     
         3 . The rectangular loose-leaf wrapper of  claim 1 , the tobacco loose-leaf sheet is removed from a portion of a tobacco leaf that has a primary vein that extends longitudinally along a length of the sheet. 
     
     
         4 . The rectangular loose-leaf wrapper of  claim 1 , wherein the loose-leaf sheet is removed from a portion of a tobacco leaf that does not have a defect. 
     
     
         5 . The rectangular loose-leaf wrapper of  claim 4 , wherein the defect is a hole, a tear, a blotch, a discoloration, a mark, a disease, or a mold. 
     
     
         6 . The rectangular loose-leaf wrapper of  claim 1 , wherein the loose-leaf sheet has at least one secondary vein. 
     
     
         7 . The rectangular loose-leaf wrapper of  claim 1 , wherein the tobacco loose-leaf sheet is stored in an air-sealed container that has substantially no oxygen. 
     
     
         8 . The rectangular loose-leaf wrapper of  claim 7 , wherein the air-sealed container contains nitrogen. 
     
     
         9 . The rectangular loose-leaf wrapper of  claim 7 , wherein the air-sealed container contains a plurality of substantially flat tobacco loose-leaf sheets. 
     
     
         10 . The rectangular loose-leaf wrapper of  claim 9 , wherein the plurality of substantially flat tobacco loose-leaf sheets are stacked. 
     
     
         11 . A method of making a loose-leaf wrapper that is substantially flat comprising:
 moistening and stretching a tobacco leaf,   selecting an area of the tobacco leaf that does not include a central stem;   placing the area onto a first vacuum surface of a work table;   cutting the area with a cutter to form a tobacco loose-leaf sheet;   grabbing and removing the sheet from the tobacco leaf using a repositioning tool having a second vacuum surface;   placing the sheet onto a web coupled with a first roller and a second roller using the repositioning tool; and   rolling the sheet onto the second roller.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the web is disposed on a conveyor belt that has a third vacuum surface between the first roller and the second roller. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the conveyor belt is configured to assist in advancing the web from the first roller to the second roller. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the third vacuum surface holds the sheet against the web. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the repositioning tool comprises a robotic arm coupled with the second vacuum surface. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the second vacuum surface of the repositioning tool provides greater suction than the first vacuum surface of the work table. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the step of placing the sheet onto the web using the grabbing tool comprises turning off the second vacuum. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the web is moist, breathable, and elastic. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the step of rolling the sheet onto the second roller comprises tightly winding the sheet and the web onto the second roller. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the elasticity of the web provides tension against the sheet when the sheet and the web are tightly wound onto the second roller. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , further comprising the step of storing the sheet and the web on the second roller for a period of time. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , further comprising the step of unwinding the sheet and the web from second roller. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising the step of placing the sheet in a container. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23 , further comprising the steps of (i) removing oxygen from the container and (ii) air-sealing the sheet inside the container. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 23 , further comprising the steps of (i) replacing air in the container with nitrogen and (ii) air-sealing the sheet inside the nitrogen-filled container. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the step of cutting the area with a cutter to form a tobacco loose-leaf sheet comprising tracing, lasing, or stamping a peripheral boundary of the area. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the step of selecting an area of the tobacco leaf that does not include a central stem comprises imaging the tobacco leaf with an imaging device. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the imaging device is an optical camera, a scanner, or an x-ray machine. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 28 , further comprising the step of analyzing an image from the imaging device. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the step of analyzing the image comprises using an image recognition algorithm to identify the central stem of the tobacco leaf and one or more defects. 
     
     
         31 . A method of making a loose-leaf wrapper that is substantially flat comprising:
 moistening and stretching a tobacco leaf,   selecting an area of the tobacco leaf that does not include a central stem;   cutting the area with a cutter to form a tobacco loose-leaf sheet; and   pressing the sheet between a first flat surface and a second flat surface.