Claims:1. A system for accelerated measurement of at least one combustion characteristics of an article, preferably a smoking article, the system comprising:
at least one article holder adapted to hold the article, and coupled to a suction port of at least one suction unit;
the suction unit adapted to smoke the article, and coupled to at least one tapping force unit adapted to tap the article with a suitable force and at a suitable frequency;
at least one exhaust mechanism adapted to exhaust the smoke;
at least one measurement configured to measure the combustion characteristics of the article based on the force and frequency of tapping the article.
2. The system as claimed in claimed 1, further comprises at least one display configured to provide an interface to set at least one value associated with the frequency or force or any combination thereof.
3. The system as claimed in claimed 1, wherein the article holder is, preferably a holding cup preferably, made of a silicon material.
4. The system as claimed in claimed 1, wherein suction unit further comprises:
a pressure regulator to creates a suction pressure at the suction port of the suction unit, wherein an initial pressure applied on the article is preferably as per the pressure drop open (PDO) measured under standard conditions for the cigarette.
5. The system as claimed in claimed 1, wherein tapping force unit is adapted to provides an accelerated tap force by mean of a flow control governor, comprises:
at least one pneumatic double acting cylinder working on a compressed air to apply the accelerated tap force, the tapping pressure is preferably selected between 1.2 to 3 bar pressure.
6. A method for accelerated measurement of at least one combustion characteristics of an article, preferably a smoking article, the system comprising:
a holding port to house said article during testing;
a force generation mechanism to create said accelerated conditions for testing, and adapted to apply a physical force on the article;
a measurement system and a timing device for changing the magnitude and frequency of force of the force generation mechanism, the measurement system is used to measure the pressure used to operate the force generation mechanism;
a pressure generation device to simulate usage of said article, the pressure generation device adapted to generate a suction pressure preferably in range of 0 to 200 mm H2O;
a display device configured to provide an interface to set at least one value associated with the frequency or force or any combination thereof; and
an exhaust mechanism to allow passage of combustion products.
7. The system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the measurement system is adapted readings in the range of 0 to 10 bar.
8. The system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the holding port is made of one or more suitable materials preferably at least of silicon.
9. The system as claimed in claim 1 and claim 6, wherein the exhaust mechanism is a pipe with a diameter of 0 to 20 mm, preferably of 6 to 10 mm, and a length of 0 to 10 inches, preferably of 4 to 8 inches.
10. The system as claimed in claim 1 and claim 6, wherein the combustion characteristics of the article includes zero or reduced hot / smoldering coal fallout from the said articles.
11. The system as claimed in claim 1 and claim 6, wherein the article is the smoking article, preferably selected from a cigarette, cigar, filter rod, or any combination thereof.
12. A method for accelerated measurement of at least one combustion characteristics of an article, preferably a smoking article, the method comprising
pre-setting at least one parameter by means of at least one control device, wherein the pre-setting comprises setting at least pressure or force parameters and frequency parameters;
placing, onto an article holder, the article, and thereby lighting the article;
smoking, by actuating the suctioning mechanism, the article by applying the pressure / force set at a particular frequency pre-set, and thereby exhausting the smoke generated by the article using an exhaust mechanism;
tapping, by using an accelerated tap force by mean of a flow control governor, the article at a particular frequency pre-set;
repeating, the smoking and the tapping steps till the article is burnt completely or hot/smoldering coal drops out from the cigarette while tapping;
repeat the pre-setting, the placing, the smoking, and the tapping for a particular sample size; and
measuring at least one combustion characteristics of the article based on the force and frequency of tapping the article.
13. The method as claimed in claim 12 comprises a sample size of 1 to 100 the articles, preferably 20 to 25 such articles.
14. The method as claimed in claim 12 comprises validating the density-filling profile, moisture level and the blend firmness of the articles.
15. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the combustion characteristics of the article includes zero or reduced hot / smoldering coal fallout from the said articles.
16. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the article is the smoking article, preferably selected from a cigarette, cigar, filter rod, or any combination thereof.
, Description:TECHNICAL FIELD

[001] The present subject matter described herein, in general, relates to the field of testing or detect defect in a smoking article preferably cigarettes, cigars, filter rods and the like, and more particularly a system and method for accelerated measuring of burn characteristics of an article.

BACKGROUND

[002] One problem with smoking articles such as cigarettes is delivering consistency in burn characteristics during burning. One such burn characteristic is referred to as “hot coal fall off” (HCFO) and it is termed as a “defect” from the consumer perspective. There could be many factors affecting the same such as density-filling profile, moisture level and the blend firmness and so forth. As mentioned, HCFO is a quality defect which is defined by burning coal falling off the cigarette while tapping to dispose the ash during smoking of the cigarette. It is a major consumer irritant as it leads to extinguishing of the cigarette with tobacco falling. Also the burning coal has high temperatures in the range of 600 to 900 C and thus can also have disastrous consequences. Since the defect is rare with possibility of 1 in 100 cigarettes, it is quite difficult to measure the tendency of the defect while doing consuming cigarettes normally. Apart from this, when the consumer taps the cigarette, it may tend to drop the hot coal / smoldering coal from the cigarette which might be a risky situation. The user may need to light up the cigarette once again which is also tiring.

[003] There are several attempts that have been made to address the said issue. For example, the US patent 4,227,400 (‘400) relates to the automatic measurement of cigarette rod firmness and length, and more particularly to the measurement of rod firmness behind the coal of a burning cigarette. Also the European patent no. 21083 (‘083) relates to the automatic measurement of cigarette rod firmness and length, and more particularly to the measurement of rod firmness behind the coal of a burning cigarette. Yet another US patent 3,572,101 (‘101) relates to a testing apparatus provided for use in testing the firmness of a tobacco rod or the like. The apparatus includes a frame for accommodating a rod to be tested, and a pair of sensing elements adjustably mounted on a carrier, the latter being movable relative to the frame so as to traverse the length of the accommodated rod.

[004] However, the above cited prior-art literature is aimed at measuring the firmness of the tobacco through either innovative methods (‘101 patent) or after the rod is burnt as with the case with other prior arts (‘400 and ‘083). The above cited prior-art literature do not measure the burning characteristics of the cigarette by simulating the normal smoking behavior. An average smoker is prone to tapping the cigarette after few puffs to dispose the ash that is deposited over the lighting butt of the cigarette. The firmness of the remaining rod is an indirect parameter to measure the strength of the coal retention which is measured in these prior art.

[005] Hence, there is a need in the industry to address the said problem(s) to reduce or to achieve zero defects and meet quality standards through a simple, yet cost effective solution. The solution is to test the burn characteristics such as HCFO, of a smoking article, before it reaches out to the consumer, so that the said defects are eliminated or reduced to a greater level.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[006] The following presents a simplified summary of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the present invention. It is not intended to identify the key/critical elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concept of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to a more detailed description of the invention presented later.

[007] An object of the present invention is to provide specifically measurement of any direct fall off by the burning coal after smoking and tapping the cigarette rod. It may be understood by the person skilled in the art that the simulation of tapping at an increased force provides an accelerated condition which can result in falling of the burnt coal. Number of coals falling in a fixed sample size of cigarettes when all of them are subjected under the same accelerated conditions gives a measure of the burning characteristics of the cigarette.

[008] Another object of the present invention is to provide a system and a method for accelerated measuring of the burn characteristics of a smoking article, preferably a cigarette to reduce or to achieve zero defects such as hot coal fall off.

[009] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a system and a method to validate the density-filling profile, moisture level and the blend firmness and so forth through the measuring the burn characteristics of a smoking article, preferably cigarettes.

[0010] Accordingly, in one implementation, a system for accelerated measurement of at least one combustion characteristics of an article, preferably a smoking article is disclosed. The system comprises at least one article holder adapted to hold the article, and coupled to a suction port of at least one suction unit; the suction unit adapted to smoke the article, and coupled to at least one tapping force unit adapted to tap the article with a suitable force and at a suitable frequency; at least one exhaust mechanism adapted to exhaust the smoke; and at least one measurement configured to measure the combustion characteristics of the article based on the force and frequency of tapping the article.

[0011] In one implementation, a system for accelerated measurement of at least one combustion characteristics of an article, preferably a smoking article is disclosed. The system comprises a holding port to house said article during testing; a force generation mechanism to create said accelerated conditions for testing, and adapted to apply a physical force on the article; a measurement system and a timing device for changing the magnitude and frequency of force of the force generation mechanism, the measurement system is used to measure the pressure used to operate the force generation mechanism; a pressure generation device to simulate usage of said article, the pressure generation device adapted to generate a suction pressure preferably in range of 0 to 200 mm H2O; a display device; and an exhaust mechanism to allow passage of combustion products.

[0012] In one implementation, a method for accelerated measurement of at least one combustion characteristics of an article, preferably a smoking article is disclosed. The method comprises:
• pre-setting at least one parameter by means of at least one control device, wherein the pre-setting comprises setting at least pressure or force parameters and frequency parameters;
• placing, onto an article holder, the article, and thereby lighting the article;
• smoking, by actuating the suctioning mechanism, the article by applying the pressure / force set at a particular frequency pre-set, and thereby exhausting the smoke generated by the article using an exhaust mechanism;
• tapping, by using an accelerated tap force by mean of a flow control governor, the article at a particular frequency pre-set;
• repeating, the smoking and the tapping steps till the article is burnt completely or hot/ smouldering coal drops out from the cigarette while tapping;
• repeat the pre-setting, the placing, the smoking, and the tapping for a particular sample size; and
• measuring at least one combustion characteristics of the article based on the force and frequency of tapping the article.

[0013] Unlike the prior art related detecting or testing of the burn characteristics of the smoking article, the present invention specifically looks to measure any direct fall off by the burning coal after smoking and tapping the cigarette rod. The simulation of tapping at an increased force provides an accelerated condition which can result in falling of the burnt coal. Number of coals falling in a fixed sample size of cigarettes when all of them are subjected under the same accelerated conditions gives a measure of the burning characteristics of the cigarette. The present invention provides a system and a method for accelerated measuring of the burn characteristics of a smoking article, preferably a cigarette to reduce or to achieve zero defects such as hot coal fall off.

[0014] Apart from the above, the present invention provides an accelerated measurement device for a defect which cannot be directly measured in the existing quality checks of any tobacco industry. All physical quality parameters which are normally measured in a tobacco plant can only contribute to the possibility of an HCFO defect but will not be able to measure tendency of this defect or complaint coming from the market. The present invention builds an accelerated testing model which simulates the normal smoking and tapping behaviour but with increased force.

[0015] Further, the prior art that are aimed at measuring the firmness of the tobacco through various methods, do not measure the burning characteristics of the cigarette by simulating the normal smoking behavior. It is well known that a smoker is prone to tap the cigarette after few puffs to dispose the ash that is deposited over the lighting butt of the cigarette. Simulating the same and measuring the burn characteristics of cigarettes is challenging. The firmness of the remaining rod is an indirect parameter to measure the strength of the coal retention which is measured in these prior art. The present invention relates to measure any direct fall off by the burning coal after smoking and tapping the cigarette rod. The simulation of tapping at an increased force provides an accelerated condition which can result in falling of the burnt coal is not known in the prior arts. Number of coals falling in a fixed sample size of cigarettes when all of them are subjected under the same accelerated conditions gives a measure of the burning characteristics of the cigarette.

[0016] Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses exemplary embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

[0017] The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

[0018] Figure 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of the hot coal fall off measuring system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 2 illustrates a pneumatic circuit of the hot coal fall off measuring device, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 3 illustrates a flowchart of accelerated measurement of burn characteristics of smoking article, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and may have not been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figure may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that like reference numbers are used to depict the same or similar elements, features, and structures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

[0022] The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of exemplary embodiments of the invention. It includes various specific details to assist in that understanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary.

[0023] Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions are omitted for clarity and conciseness.

[0024] The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the invention. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of exemplary embodiments of the present invention are provided for illustration purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
[0025] It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0026] By the term “substantially” it is meant that the recited characteristic, parameter, or value need not be achieved exactly, but that deviations or variations, including for example, tolerances, measurement error, measurement accuracy limitations and other factors known to those of skill in the art, may occur in amounts that do not preclude the effect the characteristic was intended to provide.

[0027] Features that are described and/or illustrated with respect to one embodiment may be used in the same way or in a similar way in one or more other embodiments and/or in combination with or instead of the features of the other embodiments.

[0028] It should be emphasized that the term “comprises/comprising” when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof.

[0029] The present invention is addresses the drawbacks mentioned above and available in the prior-art through a system and method for accelerated measuring of the burn characteristics of a smoking article, preferably a cigarette, to reduce or to achieve zero defect such as hot coal fall off.

[0030] In one implementation, the present invention simulates the usage of a cigarette during smoking, both during and between the puffs. This is achieved by tapping the cigarette between puffs to simulate the “ashing” of a cigarette done by the user. This simulated usage makes it possible to study features such as coal/fire fallout and is absent in the prior art.

[0031] In one implementation, the present invention relates to measure any direct fall off by the burning coal after smoking and tapping the cigarette rod. The simulation of tapping at an increased force provides an accelerated condition which can result in falling of the burnt coal is not known in the prior arts. Number of coals falling in a fixed sample size of cigarettes when all of them are subjected under the same accelerated conditions gives a measure of the burning characteristics of the cigarette.

[0032] In one implementation, the present invention provides an accelerated measurement device for detecting defects of a smoking article, preferably a cigarette which cannot be directly measured in the existing quality checks of any tobacco industry. All physical quality parameters which are normally measured in a tobacco plant can only contribute to the possibility of an HCFO defect but will not be able to measure tendency of this defect or complaint coming from the market. The present invention builds an accelerated testing model which simulates the normal smoking and tapping behavior but with increased force.

[0033] In one implementation, the present invention relates to a system and method for measuring the burn characteristics of a smoking article, preferably a cigarette to reduce or to achieve zero consumer defects such as hot coal fall off. It may be understood by the person skilled in that art that, since the present invention is a measurement system/device, the working example of the same is based on how the tester was validated for accelerated testing of HCFO. This further depends upon two critical factors, inter alia, suction (smoking) mechanism and tapping force mechanism.

[0034] Referring now to figure 1, the figure 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of the hot coal fall off measuring system. As shown in figure 1, the system / apparatus relies on the following critical features:
1. Smoking article/ cigarette holding issue: Cigarette was either getting dropped or getting broken due to tapping. In order to solve this issue, the present invention provides an article holder 202. The holding apparatus may be a holding cup replaced by a silicon cup against rubber cup used earlier.
2. Suction (Smoking) mechanism: In order to achieve the suction mechanism, the present invention provides a suction mechanism 206 that consists of a pressure regulator that creates a suction pressure at the suction port of the unit. The cigarette may be held near to the suction port with the help of a suction cup. The initial pressure applied is kept as per the PDO (Pressure Drop Open) measured under standard conditions for the cigarette.
3. Tapping Force Mechanism: In order to achieve the taping form mechanism, the present invention provides a pneumatic double acting cylinder (where force is alternately applied on both sides of the piston) working on compressed air is used to apply the accelerated tap force. There was a big challenge in adjustment of the tapping force. In order to solve this issue, the present invention instead of direct tapping by cylinder, provides a pressure regulator 204 in the form of a flow control governor was used to get precise control over tapping pressure. The tapping pressure used herein was between 1.2 to 3 bar pressures.
4. Tar deposition: on initially it was seen that after testing few cigarettes, the tar deposited on the walls of smoke exhaust outlet pipe. This created jamming of the pipe and development of a back pressure which disabled the right suction pressure maintenance for further tests. In order to solve this issue, the present invention provides the diameter of the smoke exhaust port 208 was increased from 6 mm to 8 mm and the length was reduced from around 2 feet to 6 inches to limit the deposition.

[0035] The explanation of known or well-known components / elements is not provided so as to avoid the complexity in understanding the essential feature of the present invention. The working of these knows or well-known features will be easily captured and understood by the person skilled in the art.

[0036] Referring now to figure 2, the figure 2 illustrates Pneumatic circuit of the hot coal fall off measuring device. As shown in figure 2, the smoking article is held in the article holder 202 and is placed near the suction port of the suction mechanism 206. The pressure and frequency for the suction mechanism may be preset manually or automatically by the system. The process is initiated and a tapping mechanism 204 is actuated. The frequency of the tapping and force for the same may be preset manually or automatically. During the process, the smoke generated by the article is exhausted by means of the exhaust mechanism 208. The pneumatic circuit is as shown in the figure 2.

[0037] Referring now to figure 3, the figure 3 of accelerated measurement of burn characteristics of smoking article. As shown in figure 3, the process for accelerated measuring of burn characteristics of a cigarette article is a follows:

[0038] At step 302, the pressure / force and frequency parameters through appropriate valves are set. In one implementation, the force for suction mechanism and force for tapping may be set by means of the valves provided for performing respective functions. The frequency of suction and the frequency of the tapping may be provided by means of the display provided on the system.

[0039] At step 304, after the initial parameters for force and frequency are set, the cigarette is placed onto a cigarette holder which is made up of silicon material. The cigarette may be then light up manually or by means of any existing automated mechanism.

[0040] At step 306, the suction mechanism is actuated. The suctioning mechanism is adapted to actually mimic the user who would smoke a cigarette in a real time by applying suitable pressure / force which is generally 105-115 mm H20. Further the smoke is exhausted through the suitable exhaust pipe which has a diameter of 8mm and length of about 6 inches.

[0041] At step 308, the cigarette is tapped by actuating the electro pneumatic vale by promptly regulating the pressure so that the cigarette would actually tapped up and down

[0042] At step 310, the step 306 and 308 are repeated till at least one of the of the below set condition met:
a: cigarette burnt completely or
b: hot/smoldering coal drops out from the cigarette while tapping.

[0043] At step 312, once the cigarette is burnt completely, stop the process by removing the burnt/ extinguished cigarette from the port and the procedure is repeated for the sample size of about 20 cigarettes.

[0044] It may be understood by the person skilled in the art that, in normal and routine smoking of the cigarettes, the defect rate or drop-off of the burning coal will be sporadic and is difficult to be measured through a practical sample size. This is validated by the fact that only certain number of consumer complaints is logged in the entire volume of product manufactured. In such a case, understanding the defect becomes difficult as a considerably large number of cigarettes would have to be smoked to record the instances of burn rate failure.

[0045] However, another approach to developing a measurement system can be by increasing the number of taps and force exerted in each tap to go into an accelerated space of testing. This will increase the defect rate with coal breaking being observed in a limited number of samples (e.g. 20). All testing can be done in this accelerated (or exaggerated) space of force and frequency and any intervention done to influence the defect rate can be proved as a simple ratio of number of defects observed in a fixed sample size.

[0046] However, for this model to be validated, the condition to be tested is that even in an exaggerated space, the defect ratio in the same sample should increase with increasing force and frequency.

[0047] In a simple mathematical relation, this can be expressed as: HCFO Ratio (No. of defects observed in a given sample size) = function (Tapping Force, Frequency of tapping) If Higher Force and Frequency imply Higher HCFO Ratio, then this model can be assumed to be valid for real life scenario on backward extrapolation.

[0048] Validation of Accelerated Model: Sample size for calibration tests: 10 cigarettes. This was arrived after monitoring S. D of HCFO ratios for different sample sizes. The variables for accelerated testing were Tapping Force Pressure and Tapping frequency (taps/puff).

[0049] The measurement of the “defect” involves 2 stages:
Stage 1: Actual observation of the defect while doing the tests for a fixed sample size of say, 10 cigarettes.
It can be manually done by observing the burning of each cigarette and recording a “defect”, i.e. when the burning coal falls out while tapping.
According to the present invention, the term “defect” shall be construed as, when the burning cigarette is subjected to tapping mechanism and during the process, only if the burning coal falls off, it is considered as defect. If such defective cigarettes are found, the testing of that cigarette will be stopped and it will be recorded.
Normally tapping force will dispose off only ash, which is a normal burning characteristic and will not be counted as a defect. If the entire cigarette burns with only ash being disposed, it will be counted as a good or non-defective cigarette. This process will be repeated for number of cigarettes with the fixed sample size of 10 cigarettes.
Stage 2: Once the sample size is exhausted, the following calculation is applied to find HCFO Ratio which is given below:
HCFO Ratio of the sample = No. of Defective Cigarettes/ Total No. of Cigarettes in the sample size
For example, in a fixed sample size of 10 cigarettes, if 3 cigarettes were observed to have a burning coal falling out while tapping (implying 3 defective cigarettes), the HCFO ratio will be calculated as follows :
HCFO Ratio = 3/10 = 0.3

[0050] An experiment was conducted using the system and method as disclosed in the present invention and following were the values of HCFO ratios at different set conditions:
Pressure /Frequency ½ Puffs 1/ Puff 2 / Puff
1.2 bar 0.1 0.6 0.9
2 bar 0.3 0.7 1
2.6 bar 0.5 0.9 1

[0051] From the above table it is understood by the person skilled that, as expected in theory, the HCFO ratios increased on increasing Force Pressure as well as frequency. Hence the tester was validated and accelerated conditions were proved to be a measure of tendency of defect occurrence.

[0052] Further, the tapping force is governed by a pressure valve and is set at a value of 1.3 bar. Higher the pressure more will be the force of tapping that the cigarette will experience. Also the frequency of tapping force refers to number of times the cigarette is tapped after every puff is taken. This was set as one tap per every puff taken. These values of force and frequency were set after a Design of Experiment with these input variables and measuring the defect propensity or impedance in the burning characteristics manifested by a coal break off.

[0053] The significance of defined pressure / frequency range for the above experiment is that the test values of pressure were chosen depending upon the range of operation as well as physical limitations of tapping. The range of pressure of tapping was till 6 bar. It was observed that for pressures below 1 bar, the tapping head was not displacing enough to apply a force on the cigarette. Post pressures of 3 bar, the force were extreme enough to damage the shape of the cigarette filter completely on impact. Hence values in this range were chosen. For frequency of taping, a general progression of values from once in 2 puffs to 2 times per puff was chosen.

[0054] In one implementation, a system for accelerated measurement of at least one combustion characteristics of an article, preferably a smoking article is disclosed. The system comprises at least one article holder 202 adapted to hold the article, and coupled to a suction port of at least one suction unit 206; the suction unit 206 adapted to smoke the article, and coupled to at least one tapping force unit 204 adapted to tap the article with a suitable force and at a suitable frequency; at least one exhaust mechanism 208 adapted to exhaust the smoke; and at least one measurement configured to measure the combustion characteristics of the article based on the force and frequency of tapping the article.

[0055] In one implementation, a system for accelerated measurement of combustion characteristics of a rod shaped article is disclosed. The system comprises a holding port to house said article during testing; a force generation mechanism to create said accelerated conditions for testing; a measurement system and timing device for changing the magnitude and frequency of force; a pressure generation device to simulate usage of said article; a display device; and an exhaust system to allow passage of combustion products.

[0056] In one implementation, a system for accelerated measurement of at least one combustion characteristics of an article, preferably a smoking article is disclosed. The system comprises a holding port to house said article during testing; a force generation mechanism to create said accelerated conditions for testing, and adapted to apply a physical force on the article; a measurement system and a timing device for changing the magnitude and frequency of force of the force generation mechanism, the measurement system is used to measure the pressure used to operate the force generation mechanism; a pressure generation device to simulate usage of said article, the pressure generation device adapted to generate a suction pressure preferably in range of 0 to 200 mm H2O; a display device; and an exhaust mechanism to allow passage of combustion products.

[0057] In one implementation, a method for accelerated measurement of combustion characteristics of a rod shaped article is disclosed. The method comprises:
• placing said rod shaped article in said holding port;
• initiating combustion of said article using an external heat source;
• using said pressure generation device to simulate usage conditions of said article in said operating range;
• using said force generation mechanism to apply a predetermined force, measured by said measurement system, at a predetermined frequency, initiated by said timing device on said rod shaped article for the entire period of combustion.

[0058] In one implementation, the pressure generation device creates a suction pressure in the range of 0 to 200 mm H2O.

[0059] In one implementation, the force generation mechanism applies a physical force on the rod shaped article.

[0060] In one implementation, a method for accelerated measurement of at least one combustion characteristics of an article, preferably a smoking article is disclosed. The method comprises:
• pre-setting 302 at least one parameter by means of at least one control device, wherein the pre-setting comprises setting at least pressure or force parameters and frequency parameters;
• placing 304, onto an article holder, the article, and thereby lighting the article;
• smoking 306, by actuating the suctioning mechanism, the article by applying the pressure / force set at a particular frequency pre-set, and thereby exhausting the smoke generated by the article using an exhaust mechanism;
• tapping 308, by using an accelerated tap force by mean of a flow control governor, the article at a particular frequency pre-set;
• repeating 310, the smoking and the tapping steps till the article is burnt completely or hot/s smoldering coal drops out from the cigarette while tapping;
• repeat 312 the pre-setting, the placing, the smoking, and the tapping for a particular sample size; and
• measuring at least one combustion characteristics of the article based on the force and frequency of tapping the article.

[0061] In one implementation, the measurement system is used to measure the pressure used to operate said force generation mechanism.

[0062] In one implementation, the measurement system shows readings in the range of 0 to 10 bar.

[0063] In one implementation, the exhaust system has a diameter of 0 to 20 mm, preferably of 6 to 10 mm and a length of 0 to 10 inches, preferably of 4 to 8 inches.

[0064] In one implementation, the initiation of combustion is done manually or in an automatic fashion.

[0065] In one implementation, the pressure and force parameters are regulated through pressure control devices such as valves.

[0066] In one implementation, a sample size of 1 to 100 said articles for testing, preferably 20 to 25 such articles.

[0067] In one implementation, the system and method respectively, include but not limited to validating the density-filling profile, moisture level and the blend firmness of said articles.

[0068] In one implementation, the burn characteristics of the cigarette article include zero or reduced hot / smoldering coal fallout from the said articles.

[0069] In one implementation, article refers to rolled smoking articles, preferably cigarettes, cigars, filter rods and the like.
[0070] In one implementation, the article holder is, preferably a holding cup preferably, made of a silicon material.

[0071] In one implementation, the suction unit further comprises a pressure regulator to create a suction pressure at the suction port of the suction unit, wherein an initial pressure applied on the article is preferably as per the pressure drop open (PDO) measured under standard conditions for the cigarette.

[0072] In one implementation, the tapping force unit is adapted to provides an accelerated tap force by mean of a flow control governor, comprises:
at least one pneumatic double acting cylinder working on a compressed air to apply the accelerated tap force, the tapping pressure is preferably selected between 1.2 to 3 bar pressure.

[0073] It may be understood by the person skilled in the art that, the display device or display is used to provide an input / output (I/O) interface to the system. The I/O interface may include a variety of software and hardware interfaces, for example, a web interface, a graphical user interface, and the like. The I/O interface may allow system to interact with a user directly or through the client devices (not shown). Further, the I/O interface may enable the system to communicate with other computing devices, such as web servers and external data servers (not shown). The I/O interface can facilitate multiple communications within a wide variety of networks and protocol types, including wired networks, for example, LAN, cable, etc., and wireless networks, such as WLAN, cellular, or satellite. The I/O interface may include one or more ports for connecting a number of devices to one another or to another server.

[0074] It may be clearly understood by a person skilled in the art that for the purpose of convenient and brief description, for a detailed working process of the foregoing system, devices, and unit, reference may be made to a corresponding process in the foregoing device/apparatus embodiments, and details are not described herein again.

[0075] In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus, and device may be implemented in other manners. For example, a plurality of units or components or mechanisms may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not performed. In addition, the displayed or discussed mutual couplings or direct couplings or communication connections may be implemented through some interfaces. The indirect couplings or communication connections between the apparatuses or units may be implemented in electronic, mechanical, or other forms.

[0076] The various mechanisms described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and the parts displayed as mechanisms may or may not be physical units, may be located in one position, or may be distributed at various location of the device. Some or all of the units may be selected to achieve the objective of the solution of the embodiment according to actual needs.

[0077] In addition, the mechanisms in the embodiments of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each of the mechanisms may exist alone physically, or two or more mechanisms may be integrated into one mechanism.

[0078] Although a system and method for accelerated measuring of burn characteristics of an article is disclosed, it is to be understood that the embodiments disclosed in the above section are not necessarily limited to the specific features or methods or devices described. Rather, the specific features are disclosed as examples of implementations of the system and method for accelerated measuring of burn characteristics of an article.