# US 11,304,439 B2 · Method and apparatus to fold a sheet of material into a rod for an aerosol generating article

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- Number: US 11,304,439 B2
- Document ID: US11304439B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/613,154
- Filed: 2018-05-18
- Published: 2020-05-07
- Granted: 2022-04-19
- Earliest claimed: 2017-05-18
- Assignees: Philip Morris Products S.A.
- Applicants: Philip Morris Products S.A.
- Inventors: Jonas Conrady; Rainer Dangers; Peter Reuschel; Frank Syrzisko
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11304439B2

## CPC

- A24C 5/18: Forming the rod
- A24D 3/0204: {Preliminary operations before the filter rod forming process, e.g. crimping, blooming (A24D3/0275 takes precedence)}
- A24B 3/14: Forming reconstituted tobacco products, e.g. wrapper materials, sheets, imitation leaves, rods, cakes; Forms of such products (delustering A24C1/40)
- A24B 15/16: of tobacco substitutes
- A24D 3/0229: {Filter rod forming processes (A24D3/0275 takes precedence)}
- A24D 3/0279: {with tubes}
- A24C: MACHINES FOR MAKING CIGARS OR CIGARETTES
- A24D: CIGARS; CIGARETTES; TOBACCO SMOKE FILTERS; MOUTHPIECES OF CIGARS OR CIGARETTES; MANUFACTURE OF TOBACCO SMOKE FILTERS OR MOUTHPIECES
- A24B: MANUFACTURE OR PREPARATION OF TOBACCO FOR SMOKING OR CHEWING; TOBACCO; SNUFF

## Abstract

The present invention relates to a method to fold a sheet (11) of material into a rod for an aerosol generating article, the method comprising: providing a central element and plurality of spaced apart walls (14), the spaced apart walls radially extending outwardly from the central element (12) following one another in a circumferential direction, each spaced apart wall defining an end surface (15) separated from the end surfaces of the adjacent walls; transporting the sheet of material and putting it in contact with the end surfaces of the plurality of spaced apart walls so that the sheet of material can partly fold within spaces defined between the spaced apart walls; and inserting the sheet of material into a funnel (16) to form a rod. The present invention also relates to an apparatus (10) to fold a sheet of material into a rod for an aerosol generating article.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method to fold a sheet of material into a rod for an aerosol generating article, the method comprising:
providing a central element and plurality of spaced apart walls, the spaced apart walls radially extending outwardly from the central element and following one another in a circumferential direction, each spaced apart wall defining an end surface separated from the end surfaces of the adjacent walls;
transporting the sheet of material and putting it in contact with the top surfaces of the plurality of spaced apart walls so that the sheet of material partly folds within spaces defined between the spaced apart walls; and
inserting the sheet of material into a funnel to form a rod.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein providing a plurality of spaced apart walls includes providing spaced apart walls having a dimension which decreases moving towards the funnel.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein providing a plurality of spaced apart walls includes providing spaced apart walls having a size of the end surface in a direction perpendicular to a direction of transport of the sheet which is increasing moving towards the funnel.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, including the step of crimping the sheet of material before transporting the sheet of material and putting it in contact with the end surfaces of the plurality of walls.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, including the step of folding the sheet of material into a tubular shape.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

Method according to claim 1, wherein the sheet of material is a polymeric sheet or a sheet of a material containing alkaloids.