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United States Patent Burner et al. [~13 Patent Number:. 4,632,131 [45] Date of Patent: Dee. 30, 1986 MULTISrRAND SMOKING ARTICLES [75] Inventors: Geer~ H. Barnett; GI D. Kerltlis, both of Richmond; Richard A. ~ Glen Allen; Al]iae R. Wayte; Jme G. Nelmmncene, both of Powhatan, all of Va. [73] Assignee: Pidlip Morris Incerporated, New Yodg N.Y. [21] Appl. No.: 740,37£ [22] Filed: Jaa. 3, 19aS [63] Coatiauafion-iswpart of Set. No, 6~7,407. Jul. 3. 1984, [51] Iat. Cl.4 ................................................ A24B 3/14 [52] U,S. Cl. ......................................131/3SS; 131/'77; 131/78; 131/79; 131/8~. 131/369; 131/375 [55] lrmlcl of Senreh ...................... 131/'77, 78, 79, 131/375, 369, 370, 364, 365 u.s. PATENT DOCUMENTS 235,885 12/15~0 Liadtley , 235,886 12/1880 Liacisley , T91ZOII 7/1973 ila~ham. 2,349,551 5/1944 Helm. Z433.877 1/1948 Wells et al, . 2,445,331 7/1948 2,485,670 10/1949 Sowa et al.. 2.$9~$$3 4/19~2 Fmakenburg et aL . Z59B,6~O 6/1952 Frmkeabu~g . 2,708,173 $/1955 Samfield et al.. 2.~45,933 8/1955 Samfield ct aJ.. 3.012.562 12/1961 Merritt. 3,085,$~0 4/1963 Math. 3,09~t.492 7/1963 Wnrzbm~ et 3.141.462 7/1964 Biacketal.. 3,166,ff78 1/1965 PL, meJe e~ al.. 3.203,432 8/1965 Cneea et al.. 3,209,763 10/1965 Panaele et aL . 3,223,090 12/1965 Sm~bel et al.. 3~9S,06~ !/1967 l~lcboU. 3.313,003 4/1967 3,353.541 il/1967 Hiad et aL . 3.364.93S 1/196~ Mmhy et al.. 3,373,751 3/196~ 3.404.6c~ 10/1968 Mc~hy et aL . 3,404,691 10/1968 Moshy et al.. 3,410279 1111968 Mothy et al.. 3,411.$15 11/1968 Hindered.. 3.424.170 1/1969 Gnmwaki 3.467,109 9/1969 I~locketal.. 3,528.434 9/1970 Halter et al.. 3,529.602 9/1970 Iliad et aL . 3,613.693 10/1971 Moat¢. 3.760.815 9/1973 Dek,3~k. 3.820.54~ 6/19";~t BuclmIm et al.. 3,86~.120 2/1975 Detefletal.. 3,894,Y44 7/1975 3,931,g~4 1/1976 Mitno et al.. 3,93~,0~1 1/1976 i~ucJnamm et al.. 3,96&80~ 7/1976 Kelly et sl.. 3,983,884 10/1976 Deten et aL . 4,0~3,371 4/1~7| Bc~ia~r et al.. 4,233,993 11/1980 Miaao et al ....................... 131/3~4 4~333.4~4 6/19~2 Ke~i~is ........................... 131/359 4.M0,072 7/1982 ~ et aL . 4.347,855 9/1982 I, aJzzillo~ e¢ aL . 4,391,2J5 7/1913 Bumetg et al.. 4,506,684 3/1985 ~ ¢t aL .................... 131/369 4,513,756 411985 Pitmma et aL. FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS 951209 7/19~4 0563~ 7/1982 Emopean Pro. Off.. 1167717 4/19~ Fcd, Relx of Oemmay. 15321~ 7/!~ F~. ~y. 235~7 7/1~4 F~.~. of~y. 17~1~ 8/!~4 F~.of~y. 24101~ 9/1~ F~ ~. of~y. 1437~ 11/1~9 N~ . ~38 ~1~ ~. ~ 11/1~ U~~. I~ 1/1~7 U~ ~ . 2064296 6/1951 Uaited~. At;arney, Afea~ or Firm--I(obext M. ~ for ~g it m ~. ~e ~ ~ ~ ~ m pi~ ~~t ~ ~ ~ ~ ~. f~ ~ ~or ~ ~c f~ ~ mo~ ~ by "-. .Z-_--

U.S. Patent Dec. 30,1986 Sheet 1 of 2 4,632,131

U.S. Patent Dee. 30, 1986 Sheet2 of 2 4,632,131

1 FOAMED, EXTRUDED, COHI~.ENT MULTISI"RAND SMOEI~G ARTICLI~ CROSS REFERE~C~ TO RELATE~ APPLICATIONS ~ application is a con~nuafion-in-ps~ -pplicafion o/" appl/cadon Se~. No. 627,4~/ filed July 3, 1994 by George Henry Burnctt, Ous D. Kcritsit Alline R. Way~ and Jose G. Nepomuceno, cnt/tled FOAMED, SMOKING AI~.T~CLF..S ~ow abandoned. BACKGROUND known. Se~, ~g., U.$. Pat. No~ 235,$g5; 235,886; 2,43~,$77; 2,445,33S; 2,485,67~, 2,592,5~3; 3,0~5,$~0;, 3,098,492; 3,203,432; 3,209,763; 3,223,090;, 3,295,0~2; 3,313,003; 3,333,~41; 3.364,933; 3,404,6~0; 3,404,69]; 3,4}0.279; 3,~2B,434; 3,~29,602; 20 3,894,544; 3,931,824; 3,932,081; 4,053,37]; 4,233,993; 4,333,4~4; 4,~40,072; 4,347,835; 4,391,285; U.S. De.fen. ~ve Publ/c~on No. T9~2,0]~; ~ P~bfication Nm. 1,167,717; I,~32,104; 1,7~2,854; 2.4~0,~68; and 2,633,627; ~ ~ No. 93L209; U.K. P~bl/c~t~m Nos. 2S2,369 ~md Z064.2%; Swiss Pat. No. 2?5,420, Belg~m Publication No. ~2~503; South Afdca~ Publlca6on No. 69/$$8; Nethedmds Publ/ca- fi~ No. ~43,799; ~md commonly ~g~d U.S. P~ 4.~|0,9~0, ~ued A~. |6, 195~, each of which is hereby /ncorporated by re/'erm~ce in iu e~irety. Some of those documents re~e~ to exm~o,, of strands or filaments of tobacco or to extrusion of tobacco rods containing azi. One s~ to m~king • fomned, ~ed smoking m'dck is disclosed in commos~y sssigned U.S. Pa~. 4,~10,9~0 and co-pending and commonly m~gned U.S. patent application Ses'. No. 723,$g3 filed April 16, 198~. The smok/ng ~rticle is typically subsmnti~y cylinck/cM and ~s extruded under cond/dons such thst the wate~ the wet blend fed to the cxtrader die is converted to steam, thereby foaming th~ article. The m~cle is mono- I/t.h~, t/mr k,, it is extruded ~ • single sn-and w~h • diamem of t~1~:~y about $ m~ if the ~e retd. 45 sufYtcicnOy during smoking to cause the m/cle to col- draw (RTD) o~ the ,m~cle has bee~ too high d~cuh to conu~l. Accordingly, the~e ~s - coat,nudE need }'or gmok/ng a~d othe~ pbysk:al proge~'tie~ ~ be easy controlled the m~rk~tp]a~. SUMMARY OF THE The presto invention solves those a~d other prob- letup, as will be explsined below. Brmdly, th~ prc~nt invention ~ an e~ruded, ~obe~m, multim.q~l, cle ~omI~s~ng a plurality of ~ su~._ds that e.x~d general]y a]oug the lon~mde of the a~icle and are adhered to ~ne another so as ~c leave flow p~sa~eways between ~e strands, which ~ way~ ex~d generally a]on~ the longitude of the smo~- i~ micle, the ,~u6on of the str~ds a~d I~sase- 4,632,131 2 ways provid/ng sufficient heat tnu~e~ area ~ ~t • e pro~ ~ of ~ ~ ~e by a mo~ m p~g(a)~tSm~t98~ %of~ of up m a~ut 3~ (a)f~ 0w ~ut t.0~ % of ~. % ~s ~ ~ ~ ~e ~u~ of(l) ~u- l~c b~m ~S of hy~x~yi ~ ~d ia ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ h~. ~yl ~ ~yl hy~yl ~ h~x- ~ ~ a ~t of ~~ ~ ~ or (3) a ~ of ~ ~ ~ ~ of f~m ~ut 0.0~ w ~ut I,~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ m ~e ~ ~ ~d ~ ~ ~ ~ m~ ~ ~ f~ ~t ~ ~ ~ of~e~ ~~ ~~t ~t ~~~t ~~ for ~ ~ at a ~ ~ f~ ~ ~o~, ~ m~ ~S ~ ~ of: ~ m~ ~

4,632,131 3 lmrti~le size of up to about 5 mesh and an OV va]ue of from about 3 to aleut 21~, from 0 to about 60 wt. ~of a fitler having a l~'licle s/ze of up. to about 3~0 from 0 to about ~0 ~ % of • foaming agent in~l~ling any solvent or vehi~e other tha~ water, from about 2 to 5 about 40 wt. % of a binder selected from the ~roup consisting of ~.Jlulosic binde~ natm-ai binder, modi- fied natm-al binder, and mixtures thereof, and wate~ to form • wet blend ~ontainin8 from about 15 t~ abcmt 50 w~. % of wamn and exmadin~ the wet blead through die having a plurality of holes und~ extrusion c~li- lions of temperature and premure such that as the wet blend is exu~led, thereby forming a plurality of slrandsb (i) the moisture or other foaming a~ut i~ said blend is conve~ed to s~m or othe~ gaseous product m as m from each strand tnd ('u') the sl~mds adhere ran- domly u3 one a~ot~cr ..loag the~- ot~¢ I~ -,,oth~ ~ of tb= iav~do¢ tb= w=t bkmd m~y be ~ through a die havin8 a plural~ of holes thexeby forming a phh-efity of stras~s which are then ~ause the moisture or other framing agent in the strands thereby framing the article, and ~ame the sarfac~ of the adhe~ l~re~e~ably randomly, to ew.h othex along their may adhere togethe~ independent of the extrusion ~- ditiom and temperature and po~t-extrmion drying by 30 the application of an ~lhe~v© or other mmufactu.,~ process that will produce a tacky surface on the individ- ual strands w that the strands wi~ adhere to each other (~) dry bl,~ding (0 from abou~ 5 to ~bout 95 w~ ~ of tobacco panicles havin~ a perticle aize of up to about 5 mesh and an OV value ¢n nmn abom 3 te about 20% with ('d) from 0 ta about ~0 wt. % of a fdler having a 40 l~rficle size of up to about 3~0 ~ ('rio from 0 to about ~0 w~ % of • foamin~ agent, inr, ludiag any solvent or vehic.le other than water, and Or) from aboat 2 to about 40 wt. % of a biade~ ~lec~ed from the ~roup masimiag ~ ¢eJl~o~c biaden, nttnrti binders, modified natmal 45 (b) admixia~ ~e dry blend f~m step (a) with watex to form a wet blend ~taining from about I$ m aboat w~. % of water, (¢) ~ the wet b|eud from step (b) through a die having • plurality of holes, trader oae of the foltow- meh tha~ (I) as the wet blind is extruded, the~by formiag • plurality of strtMs, (i) the mois~re or" othe~ feamia~ a~eat m ~ blead is converted to steam or smffaces; or (2) the we~ blead is ~ thm'eby form- ing a plm'ality of ~rands whic.h are pin.rased in a dry- ia$ chamber uMer comiitiom that O) ~me the moimare or other fmmm$ agent ia the m to be converted to steam or other gmeous produ~ the~by f~mnia8 the will adhere to each other aloas their least~ or (3) the wet b}e~d a ezu~ded, tlm~y forming a pluraliW of .m-a~dt that ~re framed in accordance with ttep (1Xi) or mp (2)(i) whereta the mand~ are ~o proceed by the 4 app]ica~ou of an adhedve, aim/far material, or other manufactm'i~ pmce~ under mad/tiom that will pro- duce a ta~:ky mrface on the individutl strands so that B') mmpmm the stel~ of: (1) d~ blending from about $ to about 95 wt. % of totmcco particles havi~ • particle aize of up to about mesh msd aa OV value of from about 3 to about 20% with from 0 to about 60 wt. cJ~ of a filler having a partl- tie size of up to a~'-ut 3~0 ~n aad from 0 to about wL % of a foaming ageat iacludin8 any so]veto or velxi- de other th~ water;, (2) prehydmiag fmmabeut 2 to a~out 4e wC % of a biade~ sele~d f~ the ~mup mmisting of thefi~ bindet~ and mixtm~s Ibereof by lai~ng the binder with wa~r ~ similar solveat to a~tivate the adhedve ~ of ~e l~den (3) admis~ tSe dr~ bread from step U) and the prehydrated binder from step f2) ta form • wet btend ~aining f~n about D to a~m ~Ow~. % of water, (4) extntd/~ the wet blend from stop 0) m set forth in Method A stop (c). In exma/m ~ep (2) of either Method A step (c) or Method B ste~ (4), the nsu]ti~g ind/vidua] strands may drying chamber, prefen~y • microwave cavity, whe~ strands aad l~efefably to become hot and sticky mul on a conveyor belt made of • material aot affe~d by, be~. lu aecordaaee wRh extrus~ou step (3) of e~the~ Method A step (©) o~ o~ Method B step (4), whea an adhedve or the like is ~lm-ately applied to the eatraded la anoth~ aspe~ the premmt invemioa relates to a die meal to fc~m the cuhereut, multistraud smokiag resistan~ to mllapee are ai~niftmady bem~ flma a ~ suand'* but the RTD, derek, taste, aad other properties are still within c~nmereially favorable ity of maaufa~ured snt~n~ m~icle8 it such that c~.. t~fftum of the tiagle ttrmd mmkiag arfick aould be ~ the ~omp~fion but ~e fo~m~ change would quire excessive mounts of tobacco per arti~e and raise

4,632,131 its RTD and the latter cbenge would probebly change the taste of tbe arti~ Other advantages of the present invention will be BRIE~ DESCIUPT/ON OF THE DP-~AWINGS To facilitate fut'tber ditc-a~ion of the invention, the foliowin~ drawin~ a~e provided in which: FIG. I is • peftpective view of the end of the barrel of an extrudor showing the pre~en'ed die of this invert- 10 FIG. 2 is a ~ide rectorial view taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a perq~c~ve view of the die;, FIG. 4isa f~ont view of the die; 15 FIG. 5 is a side sectional view taken alon8 line ~--5 or" FIG. 4: FIG. 6 shows the layou~ of the holes of the d/e;, under barrel of FIG. l~ FIG. $ is a penl~ive view showins • smokin~ a~- FIG. 9 is an end view of the distal end of the smokins FIG. 10 is a s~de sectional view takm alon~ line 10--I0 of FIG. 9. DETAILED D~ON OF THE INVENTION 3O d~M smoking amcle of tiffs invention comprises • anoth~ as a resuh of the ~0~'m~on p~s used to s~ands su~ciently .~ined to one anotl~r rather than berg • more am~mblage of separate o~ insul~ciemly joined rounds. The strands are "co-ermuied" in the sense that they exit different holes of the same die, desir- ably at substantially the same linea~ v~ty as one ~ysyadhe~d m one another leavi~ random/zeal ~k~ the knSth of the m~k. 4~ F. H the s~,aads are ~1~rate or if they are imufficienfly joined, strands may move Icas~udinally and fall out of form the randcna~xl pamseways betweea the preve~m any exte~/ve cbenneli~ of the gas/aerosol /or from having smT~em n~knce time in the smoking that it has the look and feel of a smoking articJe (e-g., ~iSm"et'te) made by a conventional proee~ Howeve~ the smoking ar~cle is formed, twima8 of the coheir strands or rope reduces the channeling of the smoke through the passageways. This fmms a more tortuous rive R'rD. Adheria8 strips or re'ands of mbac~ materi~l to one another after the strips or straad~ have been formed singly and are relatively dry does not result in a producx of th~ invention. Except as provided for by the addi- tional upplk~ou of ,n adhesive, special proceming conditions, or twisting, such a smoking a~cle will gee- ex'ally not have the required balance of propert~ e4., the intenml tortumity to ~ool the ~at/ae~esol su~ ~ieafly, acceptable RTD, denny, taste, feel, and *o forth. Furthermore, as will be explained below, many fac- ton will aHect whether a smoking ar~J© exuuded from a compositio~ withie the present iave~fio~ forum • coherent smok~g article with the required pmmage. ways. Some of the fa~on are type of eamMer, die c,o~guration, amount and type of binder and otbe~ additives (e..g., miffening agents), amount of wate~ in the composition, operating tmnperamres in ~e ~ or The tobacco used herein my be any type of tobac, co and will generally be vomminuted tcbecco w.lected bac~o, comminuted memo, tobacco dum or rmet, and mixtures thereof. The mbac=o my have bee~ previ. omJy subjec~d to a stiffening or expamion precess to particles e~uployed in the present inve~tioa will have • porficle ~ of up to about $ ~ ,~r~efshly, substm~ tially all the particles will be less th~ 35 mesh, ud more preferably w~l be less than 50 mesh. When par~- ¢le t/zet greater than 35 mesh are e~ployed, it my be necessary to add a polyfunclinad acid, such as citric or tasshtm sahs, dm'ing fmmafion of the wet blend i~ order m achieve the desired appeara~e and foami~ of the tams from about 0.! m abont 15wt. % thereof, prefera. bly from about 2 to about I0 wL %. The ~ is prderably ~ from the 8mup ing of hydmxypmpyl cellulme, carboxymethyl cenu- po~ms/mn, a~d ammamum aalts, hydroxyethyl cellu. line, ethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose, hydroxypmpyl methy~ ee~uk=e, methyl cellulme, ethyl orlinlme, and mixtures the~of. methyl celhmse and ~ ammoninm and ~ metal aalls, hydroxyethyl ce]hdme, and mixtures thereof. A mixture of carboxymethyl cell~me and hydroxypropyl ia present in the amoking artir~ in a~ amount of frc~ 0

: 7 4,632,131 to about 40 wt. % and preferably from about ! to about Y) wt. %. The natural binder, modified natural binders, and synthetic binders are selected from the g~oup consisting of pectin and it~ .sodium, potassium, and ammonium =-tits, starch, guar, chitin, chitosan, xanthan, and deriva- lives thereof (e.g., hydroxypropyl gnat), hemicelluluse, curdlan, a salt of ~aathamonus gum, carageenan, oxy- cellulose, po|yviny] alcohol, vinyl maleic anhydride polymer, vinyl msieic acid polymer and its sodium, 10 potassium, and ammonium •nits, nficrocrystalline cellu- lose, dextran, dextrin, fibrous cellulose, and m/xtures thereof. The natural, modified natural, and synthetic binders are present in the smoking article in an amount from 0 to about 40 vrt. %. The total amotmt of binder present in the smoking article is in the rsage from about 2 to abou! 40 wt. %. A typical binder combination is 5 wt. % hydroxypropyl cellulose, 2.5 wt. % carboxymethyl cellulose, and 2.5 w~. % starch. A~other typical combination is I w~. % 20 hydroxypropyl cellulo~ 4 wt. % hydroxypropyl guar and 5 w~. % starch. The article may also include as a fdler any paniculate material having a particle size of up to about 350 pm that is compatible with the other components of the 25 blend. The idler is preferably selected from the group consisting of calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, calcium oxide, magnesium o~de, calcium hydro~,ide, magnesium hydroxide, metallic aluminum, alumina, 30 hydrated alumina, clay, silica, and mixtures thereof and preferably is calcium carbonate. When the filler is added, it is added in an amount so that it is from about 5 to about 60 wt. % of the smoking article. The dried or equilibrated smokm8 article contains 35 from about 5 to about 20 wt. % water, which is cal|y measured as oven volatile• (OV). Preferably, the smoking article contain~ from about 8 to about 17 wt. % water. The smoking article has a deusiW of from about 0.05 to about 1.5 g/co, preferably from about 0.10 to about 1.0 g/co. The articles comprise a porous t~a'ucture that permits static burning and the passage of smoke erosol) through the article to the smoker. The de~ity of the article is related to the porous structure and the 45 voids created between the strand~ and an article having a density within the •pacified nmge and having the randomized passaSeways of this invention provides good burn rate and ~on of smoke to the ;moker. 50 The smoking article~ may also include from about 0.001 to about I wt. % of an a/cobol c~npstible with the ccl]ulosic binder, that is, an alcohol in which the cellulosic binder is soluble. That alcohol is selected from the group consirdn8 of ethanol, methanol, isopro- panol, n-propanol, ami mixtur~ thereof. The alcohol present in the smoking article may result from adding alcohol during the formstion of the article to lower the moisture contem of the extrudutc at the die or may be rcnidual alcohol as a result of adding flavor casings. The smoking article may also contain from about 0. to about 40 w~. %, preferably from about 0.5 to about 20 wt. %, of• crms-li-~-g or stiffening agent. The stiffen- ing agent which is added prior to extrusion and then eroas-linked during extrusion is w.lected from the ~roup consisting of alginic acid, carboxymcthy] chitin, pec. tinic acid, chiton•, carboxymethyl chiton•n, water soluble udts thereof, and mixtures therenf. From about 0.1 to about 10.0 w~. % of• water soluble salt of c.a]- cium, magnc~um, and/or aluminum may also be used. The ~noking article~ are preferably formed us •crier. ally cylindrical, coherent, mul~trand articles having a diameter of from about 2 to about 35 ram, preferably from about 4 to about 25 ram. Alternate cross-sectional configurations may be made with an appropriate dic, for example, oval, star-shaped, cylmdricul, and the like, or shaped appropriately in a post-extrusion process. These rods are typically made in conventional cigarette or cigar lengths and may be wrapped with cigarette paper, a cigar wrapper, or a co-extruded shell of combustible muterial or the like. The articlcs may be thus marketed as non-filtered "'cigarettes" or us "cigars." A conven- tionul filter may be joined to the "cigarette" by tipping paper to form a filtered smoking article. Various flavorants and/or humectunts that are com- mouly employed in the manufacture of smoking articles may be added prior to extru~on or may be subsequently added to the extruded at~Ae. The method of the presant invention comphses mix- in• or blending together tohacco particles with binder, f'filer, foaming agent, crms-li~klng or stiffening agent, and any other desired ingredient with water or similar solvent to form • wet blend, and ex',ruding the wet blend through • die having a plurafity of holes in ant, or- dance with one of the following extrusion conditions such that (1) as the wet blend is extnsded, thereby form- ins a plorality of strnads, (i) the moisture or other fomn- in• agent in the blend is convened to steam or other gaseous product so as to foam each strand as it ex/ts the die of the extruder and (ii) the strands adhere to one another;, or (2) the wet blend is extruded to form • plu- rarity of strands which tre processed in a drying chiun- bet under conditions that (i) cause the moisture or other foaming agent in the strands to be converted to swam or other gaseous product, thereby foaming the strands, and (ii) thereby cause the outer surfaces of the individual strands to become tac,~y so that the strands wdl adhere to each other along their" length; or (3) thereby forming a plurality of strands that are foamed in accordance with step (IXi) or step (2Xi) wherein the strands are also processed by the appfication of an adhesive, s/mi/ar matertti, or other man~g process under condi- tions that will produce • tacky surface on the individual strands so that the strands w//! adhere to each other along the/r outer surfaces. Mixing of the tobacco, cellulosic binder, filler, water, and other desired ingredients may be carried out in any conventional mixing device. The resulting mixture is to be a wet blend containing from •bout 15 to about 50 % of water. One embodiment of the pr~ent invention, Method A, comprises the steps: (a) dry blending tobacco particles with binder, fi/ler, foaming agent, cross-linking or stiff- ening agent, and nay other de~ed ingredient; Co) ad- mixing this dry blend with water to form • wet blend; and (c) exlruding the wet blend through a die having • plurality of holes in accordance with one of the extru- sion conditions sot forth above so us to foam each strand and adherc the strands to one another. An alternate and preferred embodiment, Method B, comprise• the steps (1) dry blending tobacco particles with fd]er, foaming ageat, ermslinking or stiffening • gent, and any other desired ingredient, (2) prchydrat- in• the binder material with water or similar solvent to activate the adhesive character of the binder, (3) admix. in• the dry blend and the prehydrated binder to form a

9 4,632,131 10 % must be removed, typ~ally by dryiaS, fo~ e~ample, us/~g microwave eae~Sy. Furth~, the lowe~ the moit- tere cmteat of the remlting exmula~ the emier the In Method A, wate~ o~ a similar mlv,,~t ia added to a dry blead of biader and tobacco and oth~ materials. In Meth~ B, wate~ or a ~nilar tolvem is added to the dry 1O added. Retmively lem water- o~ mivem my be requ/red in Method B tima in Meth~ A to activate the adhmive charact~ of the blnde~ matet~t~ became in Method B, the biader mamriah may not have to compete with any 1~ or mlve~t. Thin, Melhod B is prefen~d became by prehydratm8 the biader, the water or ~ solveat is deliv~'ed to the biade~ where it is mmt.aeed~ redtw.- ~ng the m,m~ smount of wa~c~ required ~o hsvc the same s~'m~h prmiuct ss obl~ned by Meted A. ~0 A further ~mqueace of prehydralion ia that be- ~ solvem withoet siseif~aat mmpetiti~ i~ be- comee mo~e fi~y s~ivated in both quantity sad qualiW 2~ fore the smmmt of binder ~lUired m hold the emnuiate toge~ my be s/gnif~s~ly reduced m schieve the color, and qatliw of smoke. The le~ b/ad~. ~ed, the Memod B prebyd~i~ produce, • cles, preferably sn amount ires th~ G wt. % of ~he tobacco, a small mnount of filler, or oth~ added w/U bsve a low~ v~cm/t~ t]~n/f no tol~co or otb~ componmt w~e presmt and may be mo~ oa']y pro- tern of ".he rams. meat, it is advantaseom to dry blend with the biad~ a both. The mount of tobacco added i~ pt~erably less ~5 tima abom 5 wt. % of tim tobacco. The d~ biead is the~ prehydrated, remai~ ia • wet blind that reduced tmdency to stick to the pmce~aS equipmem aad is relatively emie~ to pmoem uniforady, -~ the am- ~0 Al'.e~a~y, • po~ioa of the binder my be bieaded with the tebacco aad the ~-,,,~ of the binder simi~ mlveat Oate~ t~e= ep by the d~ bleaded to- bacco a~l biader m steps (1) aad (2), the m~e e/fi~at ac~vati~ of the b~ade~ resela ia a d~3~ a~l stmaSer

4,632,131 11 extrud~te than that made by the application of Method A. The wet blend, Method A step (c) or Method B step (4), is fed into an extruder and proces~d as set forth in greater det~l below. The extruder n~ay be a single screw cooking extruder, which is a high temperature/- short residence time extruder that is essentially an Ar. chimedean pump. That type of extruder has been era- p}oyed in the food industry. Other suitable extruders are hydraulic piston extruders, ram extruders, extruders employing an exU'USion chamber consisting of a mole auSer and a ~leeve which incorporates a female auger, spacer ring, and a face pinte (or d/e) and extruders urn- ploying twin screws having a positive mass displace- merit extrusion action. It i~ important that the tobacco particles, the binder, and any additional ingredients be m/~ed to form a homogeneous m/xture prior to extru. sion. It n~sy be desired to add water at one or more points along the extruder barrel to control the moisture content of the m~as, for example, above I~% OV. Optionally a foaming agent may be added to the blend in any of Method A steps (a-c) or Method B step~ (I-~,). The foaming agent is preferably selected from the group cousistin$ of air, n/trogen, carbon d/or/de. trous oxide, ammonium carbonate, mnmonium carha- mate. an aride, a hydrazide, pentane, hexan¢, heptane, halogen~ted fluorocarbon, pyrrole, acetone, ethanol, a perox/de, and azodicarbonamide. Some of these fo~m- ing agents may require the add/don of an acid or a b~e for decompos/tion. The feeding bin is a common starting point for ex- truder systems. It is usually located near the exu'uder and its p~ is to provide a continuous scurco of raw ingredien~ for the rest of the extruder sy,,tem. The fending bin receives material from a convention~l er/surg¢ system and it usually feeds s variable speed metering/feeding device. A simple gravity bin with bottom discharge may be used as the feeding bin for the ingredients ump]oye~ m a dry blending step. Referring to Method A, a va,-iable speed metering- /feeding device is usually employod to transport the dry blend from the feeding bin to the extruder. Water may then be edded either at the point of antry to the extruder or at one or more locations along the extruder barrel. Vibratory feoders and variable speed screw feeders are two commonly used metering/feeduig devices. An intermediary processing device such as a horizon. tel m/xing cyfinder with either a single sl~ or twin counter-rotating shafts, may be utilized to adm/x the water with the dry blend in step (b). Continuoas mixing of the dry blend with the wste~ is accomplished in the cyEnder, and from this cylinder the wet blend is fnd directly into the extruder barrel. Alternately, hydr~tioo of ~he dry blend from step (b) could occur within the extruder barrel by the addition of su/~c~ent wa~-r at controlled rate of feed, correlating with the rate o.~ feed of the dry blend from step (b), either" at the point of entry, or downstream of the dry binder fee~ Referring to Method B, when a multiple feed port extruder is selec~ad, each of the mL~ng steps can be carned out in a separate conventional mixer/surge sys- tom having variable speed metering/fending devices to provide the desired blend to the extruder, For example, in Method B, the binder mater~l$ could be m~xed at one station and fed to a first port under a controlled rate of feed. At a second station~ the tobacco, f~ler, sud other material could be n~.ed and sim/inrly fed to a second port downstream of the f'w~t port, also at a control|ad rate of feed. Water could be added in controlled •mounts to prehydrate the binder at a location before the tobacco blend mate~tl is introduced into the ex- u'uder barrel, and added eisewhere ffnecessary, to con- tro| the moisture content. When a single feed port extruder is avn/lable, the binder could be first preliydrated in an intermed/ary processing device. Then the tobacco, t'fller, and other materia~ having fi~t been dry blended in a separate device are introduced to the intermediary proce~or for admixture, and the resulting wet blend then fed directly to the extruder barrel. The extruder ban'ei may be built in segments or sec- tions, with the individual screws being separated by steam locks. That gives each sect/no its own discrete processing capability. Within the feed zone of the ex- truder barrel, the raw mater/al exists as discrete patti. cles. As these panicles are tra.usponed forward in the feed zone, there is a positive pumping action with some compression of the m~teri~. This compr,~on pushes the panicles together into a more sol/d homogeneous m~.~. As the material advances toward the die and into an add/fiona] ~one or zon~ ~ compression is continued and the mate~al is subjected to m~,ing and mild shear, re~ulting in heating of the m~xture on~ the particles are transformed ~to a dough-like mass. There is still a posi. five pumping effect in these zones that is ustally some- what less positive than i~ the feeding zone. As the m/xture edvan~es toward the finnl zone before the die, the extruder barrel becomer completely filled with product. Leakage flow and pressure flow ate greatest within this fang] zone. resulting in l~gher v~- cous shearing. That yields maximum heat generation. Heat is generated by the pa~cles rubbing against one another and by the relative motio~ of the mixture against screw and wall am'faces. The fi~ die has two n~jor functions. The first is to offer resistance to the forward flow of the mixture, thereby creating • cond~co where leakage flow and pressure flow may occur. The second is to shal~e the final product. Flow resistance of the die is the grent~t factor in the hen~g of the mixture became the flow resistance has the greatest conu~>! over the pressure (and, ther-~ore, the shear) within the ban~.l. Preferably, the pressure at the inlet of the die is from about ~0 to about 2.S00 psig, more preferably from about 1~0 to about 1~0 ps/g. In the process of the l~esent invention, it is pre~errod to employ a die having a pluratit~ of holes, typically from about 10 to abom 30 hol~, each ranging in siae from about 0.010 inches (0.2~4 ram) to about 0.0~0 inches (1.2"/ram) in dinme~r. The combination of the number of holes and s~ze of ench hole is chosen to give the desired diameter and shape of the smoking ar~cle. The holes need not be of the same xize or shape. A typicnl hole pattern wi~ be d~c~bed below. A die having centrally loca~l holes and an outer annular opening may be used. The ~ extruded through the aunnlus will form what may be comidered a wrap- per for the co-extruded sU'ends. Typically, foaming of the product ocon~s in~med/- atety after extrusion. Foaming is a renu/t of the mois- ture, other foaming agent, or gas within the extrudate changing from a snper-heated liquid or compressed gas to a gas at essenti~y atmospheric pressure as the trudate leaves the high-pressure environment behind the die ui~de the extruder and enters the atmospheric

13 4,632,131 ~vironment ju~ downstream of the die opening. tefnm~vely, fomaing of the product may occur after the extrudate ires been extruded i~to the plurality of strm~ by passing the co-extruded strands through a ~ such a~ • microwave cavity or other device for heating the strands so that they foam. The drying pro- ~exs tTpinally heats the strand mad'aces so that they become tacky and adi~re to each other along their length, forming • rope. In other sinmtiom, the urands also may adhere to one another by the •ppfication ofa~ to the preferred e.xtrud~ aahongh other typ~ of truder~ may be effec~veiy employed. Owe preferred ~rew/ben~ unit, cemmerc~lly available from for each zone are set forth in the following table. nected to either t~nper~n~re indicators or to automati~ Each of the six runes of the Wenger X20 unit c~n be ben~ed or cooled. The gempm'atorm of Zones 1-$ are not critical, and should be high eno~tgh for the ~xture to flow through the ex~rader bet leu than about 230" F. (110" C.). The temperature of zone 6 shoeld be between about 160" F. (71" C.) and 2~0" F. (127" C.). With the preferred extrusion mixture described below and when making • cigarette-type ~moking article of this invev. tion, /he following cooling wate~ exit te~pe~amres have been measured: 2S Zones 1, 2. and 3 lmend the extrusion mixture to develop elutinity and hydrate the gum (hi.leO. Z~nes 4, 5, an~ 6 work the mixture by shear. If the Zone 6 sorew is not tapered, the mLuure wiU be ovenvorked. The mu]tistrand die is 8tlached to the end of Zo~ 6. A i-J:~h (3.175 ram) ~hick spac~ havi~ an in~e~ diameu~ equal to that 0f the Zone 6 barral is used be- zweon the exit of Zone 6 and the die inlet. !¢ • (6.35 ram) thick spacer is ~ some of the mixture ~y exit the die in the form of lumps. Further- more. with the ~l-tach spacer tad for the preferred mix- is possible the e*,~d~e will be overwc~.ed -ud claA- raage for working of any p~ extrusion mixture, outsid© of which lea* ds~-abi¢ azl~¢~ are produced. vel by ti~ extrud~ ~ c~mplemeuted by the m~d the jac~-t is designed for either ele~.-tri~al heating or the cin:uintion of watt, steam, or other liquid thex~nofl- 55 uid. That pem~ sdjwtmeut of the temper•tory profile of the e.unuter ~ by, for examp~ controlling the flow of cooling wst~ in the jacket. Most of the thormo- enezgy within the ex'-ued~r is ~=eated by the convenion of the mech~ical energy into best. and maimin • tempe~me gradimt that increases ,dons the leith of the extrudor barrel. The maximum peran~ u=dient will be w/thin the mage of f~n about 10" to about 300" ~. and preferably horn ahou~ ~0" ~bout 250" C. U~ally, t~les are imenc~ Turaing to the drawing& FIG. 1 tbow~ the end of typic~ extnmon banel ~0 with preferred die ~ hole~ 24. (For clarity the barrel is repre~nu~l scbemati- c~ly aud without the ja=ke~ cooling wate~ tubing, thennoonuple ~ or the meant for ~emoving the head to change the die.) FIG. 2 shows s~rew ~ se..hemadcally in barrel Sho,,~d©r 26 on die 22 fhaving iutemal comca] surface ~)) mau= with a onrresponding )~p on hea,~ S2 and pre- vents die 22 from being forced out of the head. Space~ $4 lies bet'ween bead 52 mui b~rrel ~0. FIGS. 3, 4, and 5 are pmpective, end, and side sec- tion~ views of die 7.2, respectively. FIG. 6 shows the layout of holes 24 of preferred die 22 for making cigaretas from the preferred blend. There are twenty-two holes, ~ 0.033-0.035 iachex in of ~ holes, az~ an outer ~ag of fourteen hele~ Aagle A is 12"-S1'. angJe B is 25"-4Y, and angle $1"-26'. As WIU be appareal, these values have beeu from (mimed with respect to) the onter riag to thor no outer ring holes and ~ of the two m:arest inner :ing holes faUs on • line with the (:eater hole. That is to prevem -,,y excessive chanaeling in the final produc~ The ccaten of the holes in the inaer aad omer rings faU o~ the c~rc~mxfe~=zes ofimagi~ry c~les 0.12~ inches 0.25 ram) and 0.256 inches (6.5 ram) in diameter, re- of holes thro, gh the die face) of i i~h 0.175 ram). In FIG. 7, mantis 32 of emraded mateml are s]~,wn leaving die 22 through holes ~4. Uixm iawing the die, mother. The mo~ rope of the adhered re'ands to furthe~ inore~e the tortuo~y of the l~mgeways in Drying may be accomplished in any mitable manaer. reduces the water ¢outent of the rope merle by 0 0