R.j. Reynolds Tobacco Company

Richard L Sizemore

Andries Don Sebastian

Balager Ademe

Huamin Gan

Kenneth C Deloach

Dean M Vick

An apparatus arranged to form a continuous tobacco rod of a smoking article, comprises a conveyor conveying a tobacco material stream in a conveyance direction, and a wrapping material supply arrangement advancing a web of wrapping material in the conveyance direction adjacent to the tobacco material stream. A constriction member receives the tobacco material stream at an inlet end and reduces a cross-sectional area of the tobacco material stream. The reduced-area tobacco material stream exits the constriction member at an exit end, and the wrapping material web wraps about the reduced-area tobacco material stream exiting the exit end. An additive source supplies an additive material to the reduced-area tobacco material stream through a dispensing port disposed about the exit end of the constriction member, prior to the reduced-area tobacco material stream being wrapped by the wrapping material web to form the continuous tobacco rod.

Apparatus and method for applying an additive to a tobacco rod of a smoking article

A system configured to produce smokable products including filter elements formed from multiple fibers is provided. The system includes a texturing apparatus configured to combine the fibers such that the fibers are at least partially entangled with each other and form a mixed fiber product. The entangled fibers may be sufficiently separated from one another such that plasticizer may be applied to the mixed fiber product without necessarily performing tow opening, crimp removal, or blooming operations. The fibers combined to form the mixed fiber product may define characteristics that differ or which are the same. Accordingly, filter elements may be produced that include different fibers that have respective desirable properties associated therewith. Related methods, apparatuses and mixed fiber products are also provided by the disclosure.

Growing community of inventors

Clemmons, NC, United States of America

Richard L Sizemore