Tobacco – Tobacco treatment – With fluid or fluent material
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-23
2001-05-08
Derrington, James (Department: 1731)
Tobacco
Tobacco treatment
With fluid or fluent material
C131S290000, C131S311000, C131S291000, C131S306000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06227205
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method of treating tobacco fine cut. Tobacco fine cut is a grade or blend of tobacco sold in pouches or cans for individual production of cigarettes by rolling or plugging. For this final application the final cut is usually treated substantially in the following steps:
moistening and casing (saucing) the tobacco to obtain a moisture content of approximately 18%,
cutting the tobacco at a moisture content of approximately 18%,
conditioning the tobacco to obtain a moisture content of approximately 24%,
drying the tobacco in a separate dryer to obtain a moisture content of approximately 17.5%,
screening and cooling the tobacco to obtain a moisture content of approximately 16.5%,
flavoring the tobacco.
2. Description of the Related Art
In prior art the tobacco is rendered very moist (24% moisture content) in the conditioning step. In the final product the moisture content of the fine cut must not exceed a maximum of 17.5 since any higher moisture content may lead to problems, especially where lengthy shipping and storage are involved.
For the above reasons known fine cut treatment methods make use of a dryer with the aid of which the tobacco moisture content is reduced to a value of around 17%.
Employing a dryer, however, has unfavorable effects on the tobacco. Due to the tobacco fibers of the fine cut being longer as a rule than in cut tobacco for machine-produced cigarettes it has a greater tendency to tangle which in part cannot be untangled in the dryer.
Those tobacco tangles fail to be adequately dried out in their interior sections which may result in a non-homogeneous moisture content throughout the final product.
In addition to this, the tobacco, when excessively dried loses desired aroma substances which may need to be refurbished later on.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide a method of treating tobacco fine cut which obviates the aforementioned problems, it more particularly being the intention to provide an uncomplicated method for producing a smooth, loose tobacco having a consistent moisture content without lumping.
This object is achieved in accordance with the invention by a method of treating tobacco fine cut involving the following steps:
a) moistening and casing (saucing) the tobacco;
b) cutting the tobacco:
c) preheating and moistening the tobacco;
d) screening and cooling the tobacco;
e) flavoring the tobacco,
wherein the cut tobacco is moistened in step c) to a moisture content of a maximum of 18 to 18.5% before being supplied without any further drying to the screening and cooling (step d), after which it has a moisture content of a maximum of 17-17.5%.
Due to the slight increase in moisture content (from approximately 17.5% to 18 to 18.5%) during preheating no major drying is needed in the further steps of the method to attain a desired low final moisture content, i.e. there now being no need to use a dryer involving the aforementioned negative effects and which in addition has a highly energy consumption. After preheating and moistening, the fine cut may be forwarded directly to the screening and cooling step which then furnishes the desired final moisture content.
The resulting fine cut comprises as the final product no lumping or hardening, i.e. nests of tobacco, it instead being smooth and loose. Desired aroma substances which are otherwise lost in drying are still present in the tobacco after treatment in accordance with the invention.
A further method in accordance with the invention for treating tobacco fine cut comprises the following steps:
a) moistening and casing (saucing) the tobacco with the addition of the flavoring;
b) cutting the tobacco;
c) preheating and moistening the tobacco;
d) screening and cooling the tobacco;
wherein the cut tobacco is moistened in step c) to a moisture content of a maximum of 18 to 19% before then being supplied without any further drying to the screening and cooling (step d), after which it has a moisture content of a maximum of 17-17.5%.
This method eliminates a separate drying step as opposed to the prior art with the advantages achievable as listed above. A further advantageous aspect of the configuration is evident from the fact that flavoring can now be done in an early stage in the method, as is done in this case by casing (saucing), which was impossible in conventional methods involving heavy drying since the flavorants would have escaped from the fine cut in drying.
Accordingly, by the variant of the method in accordance with the invention as cited above, the flavoring step may be combined early in the process, this combination making it possible to save a separate step in the method, thus enhancing the freedom in configuring the product within the treating method.
In a method in accordance with the invention tobacco of a single grade or blended may be processed.
In accordance with one embodiment of the method of the invention the tobacco is cut to a cutting width of approximately 0.4 mm to approximately 0.5 mm, preferably 0.45 mm.
The screening and cooling step is implemented in a cooling and screening drum. Should a separate drum be employed having few obliquely inclined and short tumbling plates for a gentle treatment of the tobacco, i.e. the cooling performance of which is somewhat less, the tobacco may be deposited on a cooling belt after having passed through the screening drum.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will now be discussed in more detail on the basis of the accompanying illustration. This illustration shows flow diagrams of the salient steps of a fine cut treating method in accordance with prior art and in accordance with two variants in accordance with the invention, depicted side by side.
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patent: 5722431 (1998-03-01), Metzner et al.
patent: 5799665 (1998-09-01), Cho et al.
patent: 5813413 (1998-09-01), Metzner et al.
patent: 5826590 (1998-10-01), Metzner et al.
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Voges, Ernst, Tobacco Encyclopedia, Mainz, Mainzer Verlagsanstalt and Druckerei, 1984, p. 432.
Korner Uwe-Peter
Metzner Wolfgang
Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation
Derrington James
Middleton & Reutlinger
Salazar John F.
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