US 11,944,119 B2
Apparatus for inserting objects into a filter component of a smoking article and associated method
Cynthia Stewart Stokes, Lexington, NC (US); John Larkin Nelson, Lewisville, NC (US); Vernon Brent Barnes, Advance, NC (US); and Michael Francis Dube, Winston-Salem, NC (US)
Assigned to R.J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO COMPANY, Winston-Salem, NC (US)
Filed by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Winston-Salem, NC (US)
Filed on Jul. 8, 2019, as Appl. No. 16/505,337.
Application 16/505,337 is a division of application No. 14/843,405, filed on Sep. 2, 2015, granted, now 10,383,359.
Application 13/149,233 is a division of application No. 11/760,983, filed on Jun. 11, 2007, granted, now 7,972,254, issued on Jul. 5, 2011.
Application 14/843,405 is a continuation of application No. 13/149,233, filed on May 31, 2011, granted, now 9,210,952, issued on Dec. 15, 2015.
Prior Publication US 2019/0335804 A1, Nov. 7, 2019
Int. Cl. A24D 3/02 (2006.01); A24D 3/06 (2006.01)
CPC A24D 3/0216 (2013.01) [A24D 3/0229 (2013.01); A24D 3/025 (2013.01); A24D 3/061 (2013.01)] 15 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for manufacturing a rod member for a cigarette filter element, each rod member defining a longitudinal axis and including a generally longitudinally-extending filter material and a plurality of objects disposed therein along the longitudinal axis, the method comprising:
forming a continuous supply of a filter material into a continuous cylindrical rod member using a rod-forming unit;
inserting a continuous chain of objects into the filter material of the rod member using an, the continuous chain of objects being disposed at predetermined positions within and along the filter rod; and
dividing the rod member into a plurality of rod portions, and severing the continuous chain of objects, using a rod-dividing unit, such that each rod portion includes a plurality of the objects.