Smoking articles and wrapping materials therefor

Abstract

A smoking article possesses a smokable rod manufactured using a paper wrapping material having an additive material applied thereto as a pattern. The additive material is applied as aqueous coating formulation incorporating pullulan as a film-forming component.

1 . A wrapping material for a smokable rod of a cigarette, the wrapping material comprising a base sheet and an additive material disposed on at least one major surface thereof, the additive material comprising  pullulan.    
     
     
         2 . The wrapping material of  claim 1  wherein the additive material further comprises alginate.  
     
     
         3 . The wrapping material of  claim 1  wherein the  pullulan  within the additive material makes up at least about 20 percent of the weight of the additive material.  
     
     
         4 . The wrapping material of  claim 1  wherein the  pullulan  exhibits a viscosity of about 6000 centipoise to about 10,000 centipoise, when present in a 23 percent by weight solution in water at 25° C.  
     
     
         5 . The wrapping material of  claim 1 , wherein the additive material further comprises a film-forming agent selected from alginate, starch, ethylcellulose, carrageenans, polyvinylacetate, polyvinylalcohol, chitosan, and a combination thereof.  
     
     
         6 . The wrapping material of  claim 1  wherein the additive material applied to the wrapping material is such that the additive material on the wrapping material possesses a dry weight application of least about 1 g/m 2 .  
     
     
         7 . The wrapping material of  claim 1  wherein the additive material applied to the wrapping material is such that the additive material on the wrapping material possesses a dry weight application of least about 2 g/m 2 .  
     
     
         8 . The wrapping material of  claim 1  wherein the additive material applied to the wrapping material is such that the additive material on the wrapping material possesses a dry weight application of less than about 7 g/m 2 .  
     
     
         9 . The wrapping material of  claim 1  wherein the additive material applied to the wrapping material is such that the additive material on the wrapping material possesses a dry weight application of less than about 4 g/m 2 .  
     
     
         10 . The wrapping material of  claim 1  wherein wrapping material where additive material is applied thereto exhibits a porosity from about 3 CORESTA units to about 6 CORESTA units.  
     
     
         11 . The wrapping material of  claim 1  having a longitudinal axis, wherein the additive material is applied to the wrapping material as a series of spaced bands that extend across the wrapping material generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the wrapping material.  
     
     
         12 . The wrapping material of  claim 1 , comprising a longitudinal axis, wherein the additive material is applied to the wrapping material as a series of spaced bands that extend across the wrapping material generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the wrapping material, and wherein each band has a width of about 2 mm to about 8 mm, and wherein the bands are spaced about 10 mm to about 50 mm from one another.  
     
     
         13 . The wrapping material of  claim 1 , wherein the additive material is  pullulan , the  pullulan  being comprised by a non-woven web including a plurality of fibers.  
     
     
         14 . The wrapping material of  claim 13 , wherein the additive material is coated at a coating weight of at least about 2 g/m 2 , based on the dry weight of the additive material.  
     
     
         15 . The wrapping material of  claim 1 , wherein the additive material further comprises a component selected from the group consisting of flavoring agent, humectant, sugar, wetting agent, preservative, colorant, and a combination thereof.  
     
     
         16 . A smoking article comprising a rod of smokable material wrapped by an outer wrapping material, the wrapping material comprising a base sheet and an additive material on at least one major surface of the base sheet, the additive material comprising  pullulan.    
     
     
         17 . The smoking article of  claim 16  wherein the additive material further comprises a second film-forming agent.  
     
     
         18 . The smoking article of  claim 16 , wherein the additive material further comprises a second film-forming agent selected from alginate, starch, ethylcellulose, carrageenans, polyvinylacetate, polyvinylalcohol, chitosan, and a combination thereof.  
     
     
         19 . The smoking article of  claim 16  wherein the  pullulan  within the additive material makes at least 50 percent of the combined dry weight of the additive material.  
     
     
         20 . The smoking article of  claim 16  wherein the  pullulan  exhibits a viscosity of about 6,000 centipoise to about 10,000 centipoise, when present in a 23 percent by weight solution in water at 25° C.  
     
     
         21 . The smoking article of  claim 16  wherein the additive material applied to the wrapping material is such that the additive material on the wrapping material possesses a dry weight application of least about 1 g/m 2 .  
     
     
         22 . The smoking article of  claim 16  wherein the additive material applied to the wrapping material is such that the additive material on the wrapping material possesses a dry weight application of least about 2 g/m 2 .  
     
     
         23 . The smoking article of  claim 16  wherein the additive material applied to the wrapping material such that the additive material on the wrapping material possesses a dry weight application of less than about 7 g/m 2 .  
     
     
         24 . The smoking article of  claim 16  wherein the additive material applied to the wrapping material such that the additive material on the wrapping material possesses a dry weight application of less than about 4 g/m 2 .  
     
     
         25 . The smoking article of  claim 16  wherein wrapping material where additive material is applied thereto exhibits a porosity from about 3 CORESTA units to about 6 CORESTA units.  
     
     
         26 . The smoking article of  claim 16  having a longitudinal axis, wherein the additive material is applied to the wrapping material as a series of spaced bands that extend across the wrapping material generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the smoking article.  
     
     
         27 . The smoking article of  claim 16  having a longitudinal axis, wherein the additive material is applied to the wrapping material as a series of spaced bands that extend across the wrapping material generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the wrapping smoking article, and wherein each band has a width of about 4 mm to about 7 mm, and wherein the bands are spaced about 15 mm to about 25 mm from one another.  
     
     
         28 . A for a smokable rod of a cigarette, the wrapping material comprising a base sheet and a film-forming material disposed on at least one major surface thereof, the film-forming material incorporating  pullulan.    
     
     
         29 . The wrapping material of  claim 28 , further comprising a second film-forming agent selected from alginate, starch, ethylcellulose, carrageenans, polyvinylacetate, polyvinylalcohol, chitosan, and a combination thereof.  
     
     
         30 . A method of making a coated wrapping material, the method comprising the steps of: 
 providing a wrapping paper;    providing a coating formulation that comprises  pullulan  and a liquid carrier;    applying the coating formulation to at least a portion of the wrapping material.    
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the portion of the wrapping material with the coating formulation applied comprises at least one band.  
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the coating formulation is maintained at a temperature between about 25° C. and 60° C. during application.  
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the coating formulation provided comprises about 10 to about 50 percent by combined weight of  pullulan  and another film forming-agent in a liquid carrier.  
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 30 , further comprising a step of heating the wrapping material substantially above ambient temperature after the applying step.  
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein the step of heating the wrapping material substantially above ambient temperature comprises heating the wrapping material at about 230° C. for about 15 minutes.