Apparatus and methods for making components of a smoking article

Apparatus for continuously forming an elongate jacket member for use in making smoking articles, the jacket member comprising a removable support member, a layer of fibrous material circumferentially disposed about the support member and a wrapper circumferentially disposed about the layer of material, the apparatus comprising:

• means for guiding a support member into the apparatus;
• means for guiding a layer of material into the apparatus;
• forming means for receiving the support member and the layer of material and forming the layer of material around the support member;
• compressing means for compressing the layer of fibrous material around the support member to a predetermined dimension;
• and
• wrapping means for disposing a wrapper around the material to maintain the predetermined dimension.

Apparatus for forming components for smoking articles, the components comprising a predetermined length of an inner elongate support member having a layer of fibrous material at least 0.5 mm thick circumferentially disposed therearound and having an outer wrapper circumferentially disposed around the fibrous layer, the apparatus comprising:

• forming means;
• support guide means for guiding the elongate length of support member into the forming means;
• web guide means for guiding a web of fibrous material having a predetermined width into the forming means;
• the forming means comprising a curved inner surface defining a passage for receiving the support member and web and for folding the web of material around the support member so that one longitudinal edge of the web is contiguous to the other longitudinal edge;
• compressing means for compressing the fibrous material around the support member to a predetermined dimension;
• wrapping means for holding the fibrous material around the support member at the predetermined dimension and wrapping the fibrous material with an outer wrapper to maintain the predetermined dimension to form a wrapped composite member;
• and
• cutting means for cutting the wrapped composite member into predetermined lengths.

A device for forming an elongate composite member comprising an inner support member circumferentially surrounded by a layer of fibrous material, the device comprising:

• a series of sections of curved surfaces that define a passageway that tapers from a larger entrance end to a smaller exit end;
• wherein a first section beginning near the entrance end comprises a first curved surface tapering inwardly toward the exit end that causes the longitudinal edges of the fibrous layer to bend around the support member as the fibrous layer and support member pass through the first section;
• wherein the second section follows the fist section and comprises a second curved surface that continues to taper inwardly toward the exit end;
• the second section further having a curved forming surface that extends from the second surface into the passageway to cause a first longitudinal edge of the fibrous layer to fold over the support member while permitting the second longitudinal edge to pass by the forming surface;
• and
• wherein a third section follows the second section and comprises a third curved surface that continues to taper inwardly toward the exit end, causing the second longitudinal edge of the fibrous layer to fold over the support member contiguous to the first edge.

A method for making jacket components for use in making smoking articles, the jacket component comprising a removable support member circumscribed by a layer of compressible and resilient material and having a wrapper circumferentially disposed about the layer of material, the method comprising:

• providing a substantially continuous length of support member;
• providing a substantially continuous length of fibrous material having a predetermined width and thickness suitable for covering the circumference of the support member;
• folding the material longitudinally around the support member so that one longitudinal edge of the material is contiguous to the other longitudinal edge to provide a layer of material around the support member;
• and
• wrapping the layer of material to form an elongate wrapped composite member.