Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to smoking devices and in
particular to holders or supports for paper enclosed
smoking mediums such as tobacco, nicotine-free lettuces
and other herbs.
Smoking containers for tobaccos have been used
long before the discovery of the New World of Europeans.
Hollow reeds and corn husks were used by the
natives of Central ~merica as containers for crushed to-
bacco leaves. The tobacco-leaf wrapped cigar was, however,
the smoking mode introduced among the upper classes of
Europe by the Spaniards. The beggars of Seville are cre-
dited with devising the paper wrapped cigarette from dis-
carded cigar butts, which were shredded and wrapped in
scraps of paper.
Cigarette smoking was not widely popularized un-
til the middle of the nineteenth century. Initially all
cigarettes were hand rolled whether factory packed or rolled
by the user. Because of their fine linen-composition paper,
the French became dominant in the supply of paper for the
cigarette market, a dominance that has persisted to this day.
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As accessories to cigarettes and the like became popular, a wide
variety of holders and supports have been devised.
The majority of holders are not discardable and hence must be
carried on the person, a practice that may be a nuisance and an inconvenience.
The principal advantage of the present holder is that it is incorporated
directly into the paper and hence is not carried separately. Further,
because of the very minor additional cost, the holder is discardable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided
a cigarette paper with an integral cigarette holder comprising a thin paper
material having a substantially noncombustible, thin, elongated support
element integrally secured to said paper, which is so oriented with respect
to such paper and of such length that a cigarette may be rolled from such
paper with the support element extending longitudinally along the length
of the cigarette substantially co-extensive therewith, said element being
exposed in part on partial comsumption of the cigarette by smoking, wherein
said exposed part of said support element comprises a holder portion of the
support element for support of the cigarette.
Preferably, the element is deformable such that the exposed por-
tion of the element may be bent at a right angle to the length of the cigar-
ette for a more convenient support of the cigarette.
The support element may be positioned along the length of the
paper at any position across the width of the paper. For papers which are
marketed for users who roll their own, it is preferred that the element
be located along the edge of the paper which aids in the hand rolling of
the cigarette. Where cigarettes are commercially rolled by machine, it is
preferred that the element be located away from the edge, since machine rolled
cigarettes use a minimal overlap of opposite edges in forming the cigarette
tube.
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A preferred embodiment of the support element comprises a thin
stainless steel wire. The material is noncontaminating and dissipates heat
within a short length, thereby allowing for comforable finger support of the
exposed end of the wire.
According to another aspe~t of the present invention there is pro-
vided a method of making cigarette paper leaves having a holder element for
finger support of a partially consumed cigarette rolled from said paper
leaves comprising the steps of: positioning a length of cigarette paper
sheet and semirigid, noncombustible linear material with respect to each
other; integrally securing said length of cigarette paper sheet and linear
material together as positioned; and cutting the length of cigarette paper
sheet and secured linear material into individual cigarette paper leaves
having a desired length dimension and a desired width dimension wherein
the linear material forms a singular linear holder element substantially
co-extensive with the length dimension of each paper leaf.
The linear material may be fastened to the paper by an adhesive
preferably in a tuck and roll of the edge of the paper around the wire or
an overlap of the paper over the wire This can be accomplished in a
continuous process for a large roll of cigarette paper before the paper is
cut into separate leaves.
In other embodiments, the support element may be deposited on the
paper in a liquid or semiliquid state to form a bead of material that either
hardens immediately or hardens by exposure to the ember during smoking to a
rigid or semi-rigid element. Because of the contamination problem, this
embodiment is secondary to the preferred use of a stainless steel wire
element.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the accompanying drawings which illustrate exemplary embodiments
of the present invention:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cigarette paper including a
wire support element along one longi-
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tudinal edge.
Fig. 2a is an enlarged front elevational view,
partially fragmented, of a first arrangement of the wire
element and cigarette paper.
Fig. 2b is an enlarged front elevational view,
partially fragmented, of a second arrangement of the wire
element and cigarette paper.
Fig. 2c is an enlarged front elevational view,
partially fragmented, of a third arrangement of the wire
element and cigarette paper.
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a partially
consumed rolled cigarette with the wire element arranged
longitudinally along the length of the cigarette.
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a partially
consumed cigarette with the wire element exposed and de-
formed to provide a holder.
Fig. 5 is an enlarged, fragmented perspective
view of a cigarette paper with an alternate support element.
Fig. 6 is a schematic view of a means of contin-
uous fabrication of a roll of cigarette paper with a wire
element.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to the drawings, the cigarette paper
with incorporated wire for support comprising this inven-
tion, designated generally by the reference numeral 10 is
shown in the perspective view of Figure 1. The paper 10
is shown cut into a conventional size paper leaf 12 having
a gummed edge 14 along one edge of the leaf 12 and a thin
deformable wire element 16 along the opposite edge of the
leaf. The wire element or wire 16 is encased along the
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edge of the paper leaf and secured thereto by an adhesive.
Preferably, the wire is comprised of a stainless steel
material. Other noncombustible semirigid materials may
be used provided they do not expose the smoker to harmful
or disagreeable contaminants. The diameter of the wire
may be varied within natural limits. A diameter of ten
thousandths of an inch has been found to be most satis-
factory for a stainless steel wire for its properties in
dissipating heat and providing a stable holder or support
element when exposed, without adding substantially to
the bulk of the paper.
Referring to Figures 2a, 2b, and 2c, three
alternate arrangements of the wire element 16 and paper
leaf 12 are shown. While not intended to be inclusive,
the arrangements illustrate three preferred methods of
attaching the wire element to the paper leaf. In Figure
2a, the edge 12a of the paper leaf 12 is shown rolled and
tucked around the wire element 16. While this arrangement
provides the best finished leaf, it is somewhat more diffi-
cult to fabricate than the arrangement of Figure 2b.
In Figure 2b, the edge 12a of the cigarette leaf
12 is simply folded over the wire element 16 in an overlay.
This is easily accomplished on the simplest of machinery.
The arrangement of both Figures 2a and 2b are preferred
for cigarette papers which are hand rolled, since the wire
at the lead edge will actually aid in rolling the cigarette.
In Figure 2c a central portion 12b of the ciga-
rette leaf 12 is wrapped substantially around the wire
element 16 in an omega configuration. This arrangement is
preferred for cigatettes which are mass produced by machine.
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In all three arrangements either the paper
may first receive the adhesive or the wire first receives
the adhesive before coupling the wire to the paper.
Referring now to Figure 3, a rolled and filled
cigarette 18 is shown with the wire element 16 running
under the paper along the length of the cigarette 18.
The wire element 16 initially equals the length of the
cigarette for convenience of fabrication and packing.
As the cigarette is consumed by smoking, the noncombusti-
ble wire element 16 now becomes exposed. In Figure 3,
a short portion 16a of the wire 16 is shown exposed as
a natural result of the reduction in length of the ciga-
rette when smoked~ When the exposed wire element 16 is
of a substantial length, it may be grasped or preferably
deformed by bending to a position substantially at right
angles to the remaining cigarette as shown in Figure 4.
If desired, the end 16a of the wire can be further de-
formed to provide a planar configuration such as coil
shown in Figure 4 for added stability when holding the
remainder of the cigarette.
Referring to Figure 5, a conventional cigarette
leaf 24 is shown with a customary gummed edge 26 along
one longitudinal edge and a bead 28 of deposited material
having the characteristic that a rigid or semirigid strip
is created on initial deposit or after a pyric reaction to
the burning ember of the cigarette. The terms rigid or
semirigid are used to denote a characteristic that is evi-
dent more in utility than empirically. Essentially, the
deposit must form an element, either alone or by its effect
on the paper in creating an unburned strip of paper, that
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will function as a holder and support a partially con-
sumed cigarette.
For example, a heat resistant polysulphide-
containing plastic will function to create a supportive
strip.
The schematic illustration of Figure 5 provides
a conceptual demonstration of one method of continuously
integrating the wire 16 into a continuous sheet of
cigarette paper 30. The cigarette paper is supplied from
a supply roll 32 and transported across a bed 34. wire
16 from a supply source (not shown) is delivered through
a guide tube 36 to the bed 34 such that the wire is
aligned over the cigarette paper proximate to the edge
30a of the paper, allowing approximately one eighth of an
inch of paper for an overlay. A liquid adhesive from an
adhesive supply 38 is supplied to the end 36a of the guide
tube 36 to provide an adhesive coating to the wire as it
is delivered to the cigarette paper 30. A wave form
guide 40 mounted to the bed folds the edge 30a of the
paper over the wire 16. A rubber idler roller 42 provides
a compression force to insure a proper adhesion of the
paper around the wire such that the paper is secured to
the wire in the arrangement previously described with
relation to Figure 2b. The cigarette paper with integral
wire leaves the bed 34 under the guide plate 44 to a con-
ventional cutting machine (not shown).
