US 7,448,390 B2
Equipment and methods for manufacturing cigarettes
Vernon Brent Barnes, Advance, N.C. (US); Lloyd Harmon Hancock, Walnut Cove, N.C. (US); Carl Carlton Greene, Jr., Winston-Salem, N.C. (US); Sydney Keith Seymour, Clemmons, N.C. (US); Balager Ademe, Winston-Salem, N.C. (US); and John Larkin Nelson, Lewisville, N.C. (US)
Assigned to R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Winston-Salem, N.C. (US)
Filed on May 16, 2003, as Appl. No. 10/439,935.
Prior Publication US 2004/0237978 A1, Dec. 02, 2004
Int. Cl. A24C 1/42 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 131—35  [131/37; 131/67] 12 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An apparatus for applying an additive material to a continuous advancing strip of a paper web for use for manufacture of smokable rods usable in a cigarette making machine, comprising:
a first roller having a roll face, the first roller adapted to receive the additive material on its roll face;
an additive reservoir adjacent to the first roller for containing the additive material and supplying the additive material to the roll face of the first roller;
a second roller
(a) having dies protruding from the second roller, each die having a roll face,
(b) adapted to receive the additive material from the roll face of the first roller on the roll faces of the dies,
(c) being in roll contact with the first roller,
(d) having the roll faces of the dies in contact with the strip of a paper web, and
(e) adapted to transfer the additive material from the roll faces of the dies to the paper web;
a means for contacting the roll faces of the dies of the second roller with the roll face of the first roller;
a means for routing the continuous strip of a paper web away from the second roller so as to contact the second roller only when the roll faces of the dies of the second roller are in contact with the paper web;
a means for transferring the continuous strip of a paper web having the additive material applied thereto to a garniture in the cigarette making machine; and
a means for drying the additive material on the continuous strip of a paper web before the paper web is transferred to the garniture,
wherein the additive material is adapted to alter performance characteristics of the smokable rods.