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Cigarette filter incorporating nanofibers

a technology of nanofibers and filters, applied in the field of filters, can solve the problems of reducing the range of substances absorbed by filters, forming toxic compounds, and reducing the efficiency of filters

Inactive Publication Date: 2005-06-30
U S GLOBAL NANOSPACE
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008] It is an object of the present invention to provide a cigarette filter that removes contaminants or hazardous byproducts of cigarette smoke, such as tar and carbon monoxide, from cigarette smoke.

Problems solved by technology

A drawback of these filters is that the range of substances absorbed by them is restricted.
The filters themselves can degrade on heating, which is accompanied by the formation of toxic compounds.
But these are chemical based and require extensive testing to prove efficacy.
In fact, there continues to be debate about the efficacy of LHCs and RRCs.

Method used

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  • Cigarette filter incorporating nanofibers
  • Cigarette filter incorporating nanofibers

Examples

Experimental program
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Embodiment Construction

[0021] The present invention provides a filter so as to make a filtered cigarette 11. The cigarette 11, shown in FIG. 1, has smoking material 13 and a filter 15 located at one end. The filter 15 utilizes nanofibers 17 to remove harmful components of the smoke produced when the smoking material is burned. The filter does not adversely affect the taste of the smoke and produces less drag, or resistance, to the flow of smoke. The nanofiber filter can be substituted for any type of filter that uses fibrous filter elements, such as cellulose acetate filament filters (known as “tow”).

[0022] The smoking material 13 is typically tobacco or a blend of tobaccos. The smoking material is in the form of a charge or roll and is contained in single or multiple layers to form a so-called “tobacco rod”. The tobacco rod is encompassed by a wrapping material 21 that is generally a paper-based product. The wrapping material can be one or more layers.

[0023] The filter 15 contains fiber material 17 tha...

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PUM

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Abstract

A cigarette is equipped with a filter incorporating nanofibers. The nanofibers can be used either alone or in conjunction with other filtering media such as larger fibers, paper, activated charcoal, etc. With a nanofiber filter, the filter need not be as dense as the molecules of the smoke become attracted to the nanofiber due to quantum mechanics instead of being sieved out. The efficacy of the filter is better than filters with larger diameter fibers.

Description

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60 / 481,111, filed Jul. 21, 2003.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to filters, and in particular to cigarette filters. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Cigarettes are frequently provided with filters to remove some of the contaminants, or hazardous components, of cigarette smoke before the smoke is inhaled. Such hazardous components include tar, carbon monoxide and various carcinogens. Various cigarette filters are known in the prior art which decrease the toxic effect of tobacco smoke. These consist of a base made of acetate, cellulose or acetate-cellulose fibers with substances applied to the base which have adsorption properties or are impregnated with these substances. Activated charcoal, inorganic and organic slats of various acids are used as the adsorbing agents. [0004] In one known form of construction, the filter body consists of a tow of continuous filament...

Claims

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Application Information

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IPC IPC(8): A24DA24D3/04A24D3/06A24F1/20
CPCA24B15/286A24D3/163A24D3/10A24D3/04
Inventor SQUIRES, STEPHEN B.GARDINER, MICHAEL J.
Owner U S GLOBAL NANOSPACE