Description:FILTER TIP FOR REDUCTION OF TOTAL PARTICULATE MATTER AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to filter tip at the end of a hand rolled cigarette. The filter tips of the present invention are advantageously formed to provide better filtration and reduction of total particulate matter over the conventionally used filter tips.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A roll-your-own (RYO) cigarette, also called a hand-rolled cigarette, is a cigarette hand-rolled using loose tobacco (or any other smoking material), rolling/cigarette paper and a Filter Tip. Filter Tip is made from a sheet of paper by rolling it with a zig-zig, concentric or other patterns inside to trap large particles from being sucked-in during smoking.
Conventional methods of forming filter tips involve, applying the principle of paper folding, similar to origami, folding a single sheet of paper or similar material into the desired shape and construction to act as a filter for smoking. A sheet of paper - usually with marks, cuts and/or perforations (as guides) is used to make the Filter Tips. The material is rolled into tubular form with folds or bends of paper inside the tubular form which acts as a filter for particulate matter in cigarette smoke.
In a first conventional form, the end-consumer has to apply skills to hand-roll the Filter Tip out of a sheet of paper. In a second conventional form, the manufacturer provides pre-rolled Filter Tips which are ready to use for the end-consumer.
The drawbacks of the first conventional method of making filter tips include the consumers needing paper folding skills and having to learn the technique of rolling the flat paper to form filter tips, which requires time. This method also results in varied and inconsistent output due to untrained human involvement to make the final product for end use. This method results in unfurling of the filter tip due to expansive or recoil force of the material folded in tubular shape.
The drawbacks of the second conventional method of making the pre-rolled filter tips include an additional process step of using adhesive after rolling the flat paper into tubular shape. Further, this method also requires additional material (adhesive), thereby increasing costs.
Further, conventional methods cannot use papers of different specifications, for example, of different thickness in the construction. Conventional filter tips have uneven outer circumference.
Therefore, there is a need for a simplified and improved form of filter tips to reduce the total particulate matter entering a user’s mouth. The use of a separate hollow tube as in the present invention, negates the problem of concentric overlap that causes uneven outer circumference. This gives a smoother finish to the cigarette and a smoother experience to the consumer using the new Filter Tips for rolling a cigarette. This present invention resides in the method for preparing the filter tips to save consumer’s time along with solving the problem of involuntary unfurling.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide a filter tip for reduction of total particulate matter entering a cigarette user’s mouth.
It is another object of the invention to provide a filter tip that does not require learning of skills to fold and roll the paper to form the filter.
It is yet another object of the invention to solve the problem of involuntary unfurling of the paper.
It is another object of the invention to have a consistent output and an even outer circumference throughout the filter tip.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a filter tip having constituent parts made of different material or material of different specifications for providing sturdy construction and improved filtration.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a filter tip for reduction of total particulate matter entering a cigarette user’s mouth while smoking. It includes a hollow cylindrical tube into which is inserted a pre folded paper in zig-zag form forming an inner filter. The folds in the paper inserted inside the tube help in the filtration process. The parts of the filter tip can be made of separate materials and/or of different specifications, for example, of different thickness in accordance with the function of the part. The present invention demonstrates higher filtration rate of hazardous total particulate matter without compromising on quality, durability or aesthetics.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The preferred embodiment of the invention is described in detail below, with reference to the attached figures:
FIG. 1 illustrates the conventional method of hand-rolling filter tip.
Fig. 2 depicts conventional pre-rolled filter tips.
Fig. 3 illustrates the filter tip of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Filter Tip is made from a sheet of paper by rolling it with a zig-zig, concentric or other patterns inside to trap large particles from being sucked-in during smoking. The filter tips are conventionally, made by the consumer by using paper folding skills.
In a conventional method for hand-rolling a filter tip as illustrated in Fig. 1, the principle of paper folding, similar to origami, is used. A single, undivided sheet (1) of paper or similar material is folded and rolled into the desired shape and construction to act as a filter for smoking.
A flat sheet of paper, usually but not necessarily rectangular in shape, is available for the consumer to purchase. The sheet may have marks, cuts and/or perforations (as guides). As seen in Fig. 1, part of the paper is folded and the remaining is rolled by the consumer into tubular form to form the filter tip from a single piece of paper.
The disadvantages of this method are paper-folding and rolling skills required, time consumed in rolling the filter tip, varied and inconsistent output and involuntary unfurling caused by expansive or recoil force, due to which the Filter Tip does not stay in constant tubular shape or form, and consequently unfurls.
Yet another disadvantage of the conventional hand-rolling method and filter tips is that it results in uneven outer circumference. The folding and rolling of a single undivided material into a tubular Filter Tip, results in uneven circumference of the Filter Tip as shown in Figure 1. The inevitable end (2) of the sheet’s concentric overlap rolling for forming the outer Tubular Shape causing the uneven circumference is self-evident as seen in the said figure.
Another major drawback is that since the filter tip is made from a single sheet of paper which is folded and rolled, there is no scope for different materials being used to optimize functions/features of the two constituents, the rolled part (3) and the folded part (4). This method does not provide for different material specifications (thickness, stiffness, surface abrasiveness etc.) for rolled part and the folded part.
For instance, if sturdier sheet of material is used, the rolled part (3) becomes sturdier, which is desirable since it provides better user experience in terms of hold & grip. However, the sturdy material offers diminished flexibility to create folds, where sturdiness is counter-productive to paper-folding which is required for the folded part (4). Whereas the nimbler & more flexible the material is, the better or optimal the folded part is which provides filtration. Such inverse relation of desired virtues between the rolled part and the folded part, makes usage of single undivided material, a serious problem point for better and more customized benefits for the end-consumer.
Fig. 2 illustrates a second conventional filter tip in which flat paper is folded and rolled either by hand or by machine to turn it into the tubular form (5) as seen in Fig. 2. Additionally, an adhesive is used by the manufacturer to secure the end (6) of the paper in place to avoid the Filter Tip involuntarily unfurling due to expansive or recoil force of the material folded in tubular shape.
Though the second conventional filter tip solves some of the problems associated with the first conventional filter tip, the problem of lack of use of differential material and uneven outer circumference, persists. Additional drawbacks are that the second conventional method includes an additional process step of using adhesive after rolling the flat paper into tubular shape at the place where the edge (6) of the paper is joined on to the tubular part (5). Further, this method also requires additional material (adhesive), thereby increasing costs.
A major drawback of the conventional filter tips is that they provide extremely poor quality of filtration due to use of single undivided material.
The present invention turns origami style of paper folding operation to assembly operation for production with fastening by virtue of friction instead of artistic skill used in the first conventional method and additional adhesive used in the second conventional method.
The present invention relates to a filter tip for reduction of total particulate matter entering the consumer’s mouth. The present invention’s use of separate hollow tube negates the problem of concentric overlap that causes uneven circumference which gives a smoother finish to the cigarette and smoother experience to the consumer using the new filter tips for rolling a cigarette.
The filter tip (7) of the present invention as seen in Fig. 3, consists of two parts/constituents, an inner filter (8) and an outer tube (9). The inner filter, a pre- folded paper in zig-zag or other pattern is inserted into the outer tube which is cylindrical and hollow.

The functions of the two parts are as follows:
Inner filter:
The purpose of this constituent is to act as a filter for smoke that is passing through it and trap large particles, even if partially so, that are dispensed into the user’s mouth while smoking.

Outer tube provides:
i. tubular shape to the cigarette; and
ii. support to the cigarette paper & smoking material; and
iii. support for hand rolling the cigarette which is also desired to be tubular in shape; and
iv. support to hold the cigarette while smoking it.

A hollow paper/fibre tube of desired size is made or procured for use as the outer tube. The outer tube has an even outer circumference. Further, the outer tube is a unitary piece with no joints.
For construction of the inner filter, a separate paper, fibre, or similar material with bends/folds of patterns (manifold) of the following specification and tolerance range is made either manually or by machine:
i. The material selected for the inner filter and the outer tube is such that the tensile strength of outer tube is greater than the recoil force exerted by the inner filter on the inner walls of the outer tube.
ii. The recoil force of the inner filter extends sufficient pressure on the inner walls of the outer tube, thus providing necessary friction to keep the inner filter in its place inside the outer tube during normal course of usage.
iii. The length of inner filter is similar or shorter than the outer tube.

The process of assembling the filter tip (7) involves manifold embedding, wherein the inner filter (8) is inserted into the outer tube (9) to arrive at a complete filter tip as shown in Fig.3. Not only does manifold embedding provide the basic filtration required and expected by the consumer, but it also provides higher customization due to the liberty of using separate material for the outer tube and inner filter. Even though the inserted inner filter material with manifold is separate and unglued, its frictional force caused by the contact of the embedded material after its placement, fixes it in its relative position to the outer tube, thereby locking it and preventing it from falling off from the tube on its own or during the course of the product’s use.
Since separate materials are used for the outer tube and the inner material in the present invention, the inner filter can be customized to increase/optimize filtration by effecting a denser pattern by choosing nimbler material for the inner filter construction. Whereas, the invention offers the option for use of a sturdier material to be used for the outer tube, which provides for better grip and durability during use. Such inverse relation of benefits vis-à-vis material used is not available in conventional filter tips since a single undivided material is used to form the tubular part as well as the folds.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the inner filter has up to 20 folds for better filtration of the total particulate matter.
Conventional filter tips have about 1 to 5 folds. The material is folded in a circular manner similar to that of a mainspring in a watch, which is wound like a coil and has a higher tendency to unfurl as more folds are compressed into the same tubular shape. Increasing the number of folds in a conventional filter tip is akin to increasing the number of turns/windings in a mainspring, which implies that the recoil (or force exerted by the spring), in this case, the force exerted by the filter tips’ internal folds on the exterior boundary from within will increase. Therefore, more folds made inside conventional filter tips will plastically deform the material and either increase filtration to the point that the user’s experience is unsatisfactory or sacrifice overall stiffness for airflow resulting in a badly made product.
If conventional filter tips comprising of a single sheet of paper are made with greater number of folds, for example even 5 folds, there will be less paper available for shaping it into the outer tubular shape seen in Fig.1 and 2. Having higher number of folds will necessitate increasing the length of the sheet of paper which would increase cost, labour and interfere with the internal material stresses that contribute to the unfurling problem. A longer sheet of paper would also need to be stiffer, even thicker, in order to sustain the shaping work (outer tubular shape) that is worked upon it, else it would result in higher unevenness in the shape rendering the filter tip barely usable.
The present invented product does not face such difficulties as the present filter tips can have the inner filter and the outer tube made of material of different thickness, thereby allowing optimal stiffness, cross sectional filtration of smoke through patterns of varying density and paper thickness/density, therefore, resulting in a better structural design as well as allowance for optimized/customized airflow without sacrificing structural integrity of finished rolled product while enhancing the product further.
In addition to the many functional benefits of the present invention, the drastic savings in production time and requirement of “low to no” Capital Expenditure, makes its deployment and manufacturing markedly easier to adopt by a manufacturer – bringing down the costs in the following manner and pro-ration:
a) Burden of cost recovery of large Capital Expense on machines is entirely averted since the low production assembly time is achieved even with manual process of assembly in case of the invented filter tip.
b) Drastically lowering production time to up to one-tenth and hence the pro-rated cost component in relation to time required for production of one unit is reduced by 80 to 90% in comparison with manually folded conventional filter tips.
c) Further, the invention product will be available to the consumers at a price of at least 80% less than the second conventional filter tip.

COMPARATIVE EXPERIMENT TO DETERMINE TOTAL PARTICULATE MATTER FILTERED
Experiments were carried out to determine the effectiveness of the present invention to with regard to the percentage of total particulate matter filtered as compared to the conventional forms of filter tips. It is known that the particulate matter in cigarette smoke is hazardous to health. The improved and advantageous properties of the filter tips of the present invention are effectively demonstrated by the experiments reported in the following examples:

Test performed by: SOS LABS AND RESEARCH CENTRE, Approved Research Testing Laboratory, Location: Gurugram
Test parameters:
1. Total Particulate matter (TPM): Particle size 0.2 to 10 micron
2. Same tobacco/smoke material used for all Filter Tip samples.
3. Cigarette used: Classic regular

Example 1: First Conventional Filter Tip (Fig.1) with 5 fold for inner filter construction
Filtration of Total Particulate matter by first conventional filter tip having five folds for inner filter construction was measured.
The results of filtration were as follows:
Sr. No. Sample details Total particulate matter Conclusion
1. Without using first conventional filter tip 100% (8.71mg) Blank
2. After using first conventional filter tip 93% (8.10mg) 7% reduction

Observation: It was observed that using manually folded and rolled conventional filter tips as seen in Fig.1 with five folds for inner filter construction provided 7% reduction in the total particulate matter.

Example 2: Second conventional filter tip (Fig, 2) with 1 fold for inner filter
Filtration of Total Particulate matter by second conventional filter tip having 1 fold (as shown in Fig. 2) was measured.
The results of filtration were as follows:
Sr. No. Sample details Total particulate matter Conclusion
1. Without using second conventional filter tip 100% (8.70mg) Blank
2. After using second conventional filter tip 96% (8.35mg) 4% reduction

Observation: It was observed that using second conventional filter tip with single fold inner filter as seen in Fig. 2 provided 4% reduction in the total particulate matter.

Example 3: Present invention with 9 folds for inner filter
Filtration of Total Particulate matter by present novel and inventive filter tip with nine folds for inner filter (as shown in Fig. 3) was measured.
The results of filtration were as follows:
Sr. No. Sample details Total particulate matter Conclusion
1. Without using filter tip of present invention 100% (8.71mg) Blank
2. After using filter tip of present invention 79% (6.88mg) 21% reduction

Observation: It was observed that using the filter tip of the present invention (as seen in Fig. 3) having 9 folds in the inner filter provided 21% reduction in the total particulate matter.

Summary of Comparative Test results:
Example Total Particulate Matter filtered
Example 1 (first conventional filter tip) 7% reduction
Example 2 (second conventional filter tip) 4% reduction
Example 3 (filter tip of present invention) 21% reduction

Conclusion: It is observed that the invented product provides 3 times better filtration than the first conventional filter tip (Example 1) and 5 times better filtration than the second conventional filter tip (Example 2).
The invented product can be further customized to provide higher filtration by increasing the number of folds without compromising on quality, durability or aesthetics as a whole.
, Claims:WE CLAIM:
1. A filter tip (7) for reduction of total particulate matter, comprising of an inner filter (8) inserted into an outer tube (9).

2. The filter tip as claimed in claim 1, wherein the material forming the inner filter (8) comprises of paper or fibre.

3. The filter tip as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inner filter (8) is provided with up to 20 folds.

4. The filter tip as claimed in claim 1, wherein the length of inner filter (8) is equal to or shorter than the length of the outer tube (9).

5. The filter tip as claimed in claim 1, wherein the material forming the outer tube (9) comprises of paper or fibre.

6. The filter tip as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inner filter (8) and the outer tube (9) are formed from different materials or from materials of different specifications.

7. The filter tip as claimed in claim 1, wherein the material selected for the inner filter (8) and the outer tube (9) is such that the tensile strength of outer tube is greater than the recoil force exerted by the inner filter on the inner walls of the outer tube.

8. The filter tip as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer tube has an even circumference.

9. The filter tip as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer tube is a unitary piece with no joints.

10. A method of manufacture of the filter tip (7) of claims 1 to 9 comprising,
folding material into folds to form the inner filter (8); and
inserting the inner filter (8) into the outer tube (9) to form the filter tip (7).

11. The method of manufacture as claimed in claim 10, wherein the folding is carried out manually or by machine.

12. The method of manufacture as claimed in claim 10, wherein the inner filter (8) when inserted into the outer tube (9), does not extend beyond the outer tube (9).

13. The method of manufacture as claimed in claim 10, wherein the inner filter (8) is embedded into the outer tube (9) by friction.

14. The method of manufacture as claimed in claim 13, wherein the frictional force caused by the contact of the embedded inner filter (8) is such that the inner filter (8) is locked in its relative position inside the outer tube (9).

15. The method of manufacture as claimed in claim 10, wherein for increased filtration of Total Particulate Matter, the inner filter (8) is formed from a material providing increased number of folds.

16. The method of manufacture as claimed in claim 10, wherein for increase in grip and durability, the outer tube (9) is formed from material of increased sturdiness.

17. The method of manufacture as claimed in claim 10, wherein the filter tip (7) provides reduction of Total Particulate Matter of more than 7%.

Dated this 7th day of March 2024
DIGITALLY SIGNED
________________________
Annu Alexander (IN/PA -1382)
Constituted Patent Agent of the Applicant