US2996067A - Tobacco smoke filter and/or absorbent - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 15, 1961 H. w. HEINE TOBACCO SMOKE FILTER AND/OR ABSORBENT Filed Nov. 26, 1958 INVENTOR //E/V/?Y m mwv',

BY MZJZZM WQM ATTORNEY United States atet 2,996,067 TOBACCO SMOKE FILTER AND/R ABSORBENT Henry William Heine, 9th St. and Brentwood Road NE, Washington 18, D.C. Filed Nov. 26, 1958, Ser. No. 776,638 2 Claims. (Cl. 131-207) This invention relates to a tobacco smoke filter.

As is well known, unfiltered tobacco smoke carries with it nicotine and various tar-like pyrogenic substances. In smoking tobacco, whether as a cigarette, cigar or pipe, if not removed these tar-like substances are absorbed by the mucosa of the smoker, and when inhaled, they travel further into the lungs where they exert a highly irritating action.

Cigarette manufacturers are ever endeavoring to find a means which Will remove as much as possible from tobacco smoke these irritating substances. Filtering and/ or absorbent means built into the cigarette, cigaretteholder or pipe have been extensively manufactured and sold with claims that a high percentage of the tar-like and other pyrogenic substances harmful to the human being are removed from the smoke before entering the mouth of the smoker.

The filters and/or absorbents are usually in the form of a case-capsule, shell, or the like, which has in it the filter and/or absorbent materials. They are sometimes called cartridges which are used in pipes and cigarette holders until renewal is necessary when the old cartridge is replaced by a new one. With cigarettes, the cartridge or container is built in the mouth end of the cigarette, and is thrown away when the cigarette has been smoked. Thus, those used as a part of a cigarette are sometimes called throw away filters.

Many substances have been, and continue to be employed, or are known, which serve'as filters and/ or absorbents in cigarettes, pipes or cigarette holders. Raw cotton, ground cork, carbonized tobacco, wool, asbestos and charcoal are examples. Other known filters and/or absorbents for the tar-likeand otherimpurities carried by tobacco smoke, are small pellets of silica gel, and clays. Also, cigarettes per se are used in pipes as the filtering and/ or absorbent material for the tobacco smoke.

I have invented a ceramic tile with a soft-like and highly porous crumbly core which has astounding sound absorbing capacity. The core has a thin but tough glaze protector which is filled with fine pores in register with the pores of the core. Thus when the tile is in use all of the sound absorption materials constituting the core thereof are subjected to the sound Waves and in this way provide an acoustic tile with such outstanding soundabsorbing capacity. My invention in acoustical tile is described and claimed in my Patent No. 2,877,532 issued March 17, 1959 on the Manufacture of Acoustic Fireproof Tile (original application filed December 8, 1959.).

I have found that cartridges for cigarettes, cigaretteholders or pipes when constructed like my ceramic tile above have the capacity or ability for filtering out and/ or absorbing from tobacco smoke impurities equal to, if not greater than, that of the tile for the absorption of sound waves.

For the manufacture of the acoustic tile I employ as a plastic mix diatomaceous earth with some clay if needed, a highly water absoring burn out material, a glaze material in small amount if not sufiicient in the clay which usually is present in diatomaceous earth, and sufiicient water to fully soak the carbonaceous material and make a plastic mix with as much water as it will take but still hold its shape for making tile forms. By subjecting tile forms to a making heat of 1700" to 2200 F. over a period of time, I produce a tile with a porous soft-like crumbly core, and a thin tough glaze covering with pores ice in register with pores in the sound absorbing core materials, and thus subject all the sound absorbing core materials to sound waves when the tile is in use, and thereby obtain the high sound absorbing capacity or ability of the tile heretofore noted.

In the manufacture of filter cartridges for cigarettes, pipes and cigarette holders, the same process or method is used as set forth and claimed in my above application for the manufacture of acoustic tile. This includes the materials for the plastic mix, the high water content and the heat for baking the forms made from the plastic mix. Likewise, the cartridge has the same constructive characteristics as the tile i.e., a soft-like porous core which is crumbly and has a thin glaze with pores registering with the pores of the core, and is claimed as a prodnet in my pending application.

in making the cartridge forms suitable molds must be provided. I find that stick-like products for the cartridges are suitable. The sticks can be cut or broken after they are made to suit the use thereof whether for cigarettes, pipes, cigarette holders or for a like purpose. Any changes necessary for the manufacture of cartridges in materials or heat treatment in order to assure a soft-like, highly porous and crumbly core with glaze covering having pores registering with the core pores, are fully Within the ranges or allowances set forth in my pending application for the manufacture of tile.

The prime purpose of this invention is the adaptation of the product resulting from the process or method described and claimed in my Patent No. 2,877,532 for use as a tobacco smoke filter and/ or absorbent. The manner in which the tile product can be converted into filtering and/ or absorbent cartridges for cigarettes, etc., has heretofore been stated. Different uses of such cartridges are shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of a cigarette having a cartridge filter and/ or absorbent in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the smoke filter and/or absorbent cartridge shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-section or end view of the cartridge shown in FIGURE 2; g

FIGURE 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the cartridge shown in FIGURE 2; i f i i FIGURE 5 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of a cigarette holder including a cartridge filter and/or absorbent in accordance with the present invention; and,

FIGURE 6 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of a pipe including a cartridge filter and/ or absorbent according to this invention.

Referring to FIGURE 1, the tobacco for the cigarette indicated by the reference numeral 3, the wrapper by 1 and the cartridge filter and/or absorbent according to this invention is indicated by 2.

FIGURE 2 shows the outer porous surface 4 of the cartridge 2 in FIGURE 1; the thin glaze having pores in register With the pores in the material constituting the core of the cartridge is indicated by 5 in FIGURES l, 3 and 4. In the same figures the letter M indicated the soft-like porous and crumbly materials which constitute the core of the cartridge.

In FIGURE 5 of the drawings the cigarette holder comprises two sections, 6 and 7, the former being the part in which a cigarette may be inserted and the part 7 being the mouth piece. Section 6 is provided with an extended lip or flange 8 which is adapted for tightly receiving the associated end of the mouth piece section. The cartridge filter and/ or absorbent 9 may be placed in the section 7 as shown and then inserted tightly into the associated end of section 6. The cartridge receiving end of section 6 has a bore slightly larger than the cartridge and thus tobacco smoke can enter the filter and/ or absorbent materials not only directly through the outer end of said filter but also over at least one-half of its porous glaze or skin. Therefore, the full capacity of the cartridge as a filter and/or absorbent is utilized, and its draw for smoking is unlimited without danger of my injurious pyrogenic substances passing into the mouth of the smoker. More specifically, irrespective of how hard the draw the smoker may take, all the injurious substances will be removed because of the high filter and/ or absorbent capacity of the cartridge.

At this point it should be stressed that to a great extent the high capacity of the cartridge for filtering and/ or absorbent action as to tobacco smoke, resides in the use of diatomaceous earth for its core. As is well known, diatomaceous earth, other than impurities such as clay, is made up of silicious skeletons or frames of certain minute plants belonging to the confervoid algae. These skeleton frames occur in large geologic depositis. The material is extremely light and porous as it consists of innumerable tubes having thin partitions and extremely thin walls, flat wheels filled with microscopic pores and other specific forms all of which are filled with a multiplicity of minute pores or cells.

The next factor for making or giving the cartridge such high filtering and/or absorbent action resides in my method of manufacture for keeping the core of the cartridge highly porous by i.e., pores made in the process of manufacture of the cantridge, and also in keeping the core materials soft-like and crumbly. Next the fact that the glaze covering of the cartridge has a multiplicity of pores which communicate with the pores in the core, contributes greatly to he capacity of the cartridge for filter and/or absorbent action because substantially all of the core materials can be brought into action at one time.

With the cigarette filter cartridge shown in FIGURE 1, some smoke may pass through the outer surface pores of the cartridge if the wrapper 1 is not too tight. However, experience has shown that usually the one end of the cartridge is sufiicient for giving a good draw to the smoker. It should be noted that after the paper covering the mouth piece of the cigarette becomes moist all danger of any smoke getting to the smokers mouth without receiving filter and/ or absorbent action is eliminated.

In FIGURE 6 the pipe bowl stem section 12 like with the cigarette receiving end of the holder in FIGURE 5 has an extension or flange 13 into which the mouth piece section can be tightly fitted. The cartridge is inserted in the outer end of the mouth piece section 14. In this case the cartridge may be one with a tapered end, and thus like with the construction of cigarette holder in FIGURE 5, substantially all of the core material is brought instantly into action for removing substances from the tobacco smoke which are injurious to the smoker.

As is clearly apparent, the cartridges may be easily renewed in the case of the cigarette holder or the pipe as shown by FIGURES 5 and 6 respectively. The cartridges are quite inexpensive to manufacture and with a cigarette they may be built in with the manufacture of the cigarette, and thrown away when the cigarette is smoked.

I claim:

1. In combination, a filter and/ or absorbent plug for a gaseous fluid such as tobacco smoke, a mouth-piece for receiving the plug at its forward end, and supporting means for the mouth-piece and plug adapted to provide a clearance about a forward end portion of the plug to allow tobacco smoke to pass thereabout when the smoker draws on the mouth-piece, and said plug being made from ceramic materials and comprising, a soft-like crumbly core with an outer surface glaze covering impervious to the passage of gaseous fluid therethrough except for prepared continuous pore-like holes which begin in all parts and/or areas of the core and open into all parts and/or areas of the plug having a glaze covering, and thereby operate to permit gaseous fluid in variable amounts, dependent upon the draw of the smoker, to be drawn through the ends and side surfaces of the plug for filter and/ or absorbent action of the highly porous and softlike crumbly core.

2. A combination as defined in claim 1 in which the forward end of the plug is tapered.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,108,860 Kaufirnan Feb. 22, 1938 2,707,960 Janecke May 10, 1955 2,770,241 Winkler Nov. 13, 1956 2,839,065 Milton June 17, 1958 2,877,532 Heine Mar. 17, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 215,058 Great Britain Apr. 28, 1924 644,747 Great Britain Oct. 18, 1950

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