Method for characterizing fibers with shape and size used for coding

A method of characterizing a fiber sample, wherein the fiber sample comprises a portion of an acetate tow band or a portion of an article comprising the acetate tow band, wherein the acetate tow band comprises fibers,

• wherein the fibers comprise standard fibers and identification fibers,
• wherein the standard fibers comprise cellulose acetate,
• wherein each of the identification fibers exhibits at least one distinct feature,
• wherein the identification fibers consist of one or more groups of distinguishable identification fibers, each group of the distinguishable identification fibers being formed by identification fibers having the same distinct feature or the same combination of distinct features,
• the method comprising,
• (1) receiving the fiber sample, cutting a portion of the fiber sample, incorporating the fibers into a matrix, and polishing at least one surface of the matrix to produce a polished fiber sample,
• (2) applying imaging technology to the polished fiber sample to generate stitched image data of the fiber sample,
• (3) detecting the groups of the distinguishable identification fibers based on the stitched image data,
• (4) determining a number of each of the distinguishable identification fibers for each detected group,
• wherein the number of identification fibers in each detected group of the distinguishable identification fibers is defined as a fiber count,
• wherein at least one of the fiber counts corresponds to a taggant fiber count,
• and wherein (i) the distinct features in each group of the distinguishable identification fibers and (ii) the one or more taggant fiber counts are representative of at least one supply chain component of the acetate tow band, and
• (5) generating, based on the detection and determination, supply chain information correlating at least one group of the distinguishable fibers and at least one of the taggant fiber counts to the at least one supply chain component of the fiber sample.

A method of characterizing a fiber sample, wherein the fiber sample comprises a portion of a cigarette filter, wherein the cigarette filter comprises an acetate tow band,

• wherein the acetate tow band comprises standard fibers and identification fibers,
• wherein the standard fibers comprise cellulose acetate,
• wherein each of the identification fibers exhibits at least one distinct feature,
• wherein the distinct features comprise 1 to 10 taggant cross-section shapes and 1 to 4 taggant cross-section sizes, wherein the identification fibers consist of one or more groups of distinguishable identification fibers, each group of the distinguishable identification fibers being formed by identification fibers having the same taggant cross-section shape, the same taggant cross-section size, or a same combination of the taggant cross-section shape and the taggant cross-section size,
• the method comprising,
• (1) applying imaging technology to the fiber sample to generate stitched image data of the fiber sample,
• (2) detecting the groups of the distinguishable identification fibers, based on the stitched image data,
• (3) determining a number of the distinguishable identification fibers in each of the groups for each detected group,
• wherein the number of the distinguishable identification fibers in each of the distinct groups is defined as a fiber count,
• wherein each of the fiber counts corresponds to a taggant fiber count, and
• wherein a number of taggant fiber counts for each group of the distinguishable identification fibers ranges from 1 to 4, and
• (4) correlating (i) the distinct features in each group of the distinguishable identification fibers and (ii) the taggant fiber counts to a database comprising manufacture specific taggants and determining a manufacturer of the acetate tow band and a customer of the acetate tow band and/or the manufacturer of the acetate tow band and a ship-to location of the acetate tow band.

A method of characterizing a fiber sample, wherein the fiber sample comprises a portion of a cigarette filter, wherein the cigarette filter comprises an acetate tow band,

• wherein the acetate tow band comprises identification fibers and standard fibers,
• wherein each of the identification fibers exhibits at least one distinct feature,
• wherein the identification fibers consist of one or more groups of distinguishable identification fibers, each group of the distinguishable identification fibers being formed by the identification fibers having the same distinct feature or the same combination of distinct features,
• the method comprising
• (1) applying imaging technology to the fiber sample to generate stitched image data of the fiber sample,
• (2) detecting the groups of the distinguishable identification fibers based on the stitched image data,
• (3) determining a number of each of the distinguishable identification fibers,
• wherein the number of the identification fibers in each group of the distinguishable identification fibers is defined as a fiber count,
• wherein at least one of the fiber counts corresponds to a taggant fiber count,
• and wherein (i) the distinct features in each group of the distinguishable identification fibers and (ii) the one or more taggant fiber counts are representative of at least one supply chain component of the fiber sample
• (4) correlating the (i) the distinct features in each group of the distinguishable identification fibers and (ii) the one or more taggant fiber counts to a database, wherein the database comprises manufacturer specific taggants, and determining the at least one supply chain component.