A ventilated smoker's mouthpiece, e.g. for a cigarette, in which the degree of ventilation is readily adjustable. The mouthpiece includes a ventilating outer sleeve around a buccal end core member and an adjacent upstream core member longitudinally aligned therewith. The buccal end core member bus, extending upstream from its exposed end, a portion which is movable longitudinally relative to the remainder thereof to move the adjacent upstream core member longitudinally relative to the sleeve to vary the extent of ventilation permitted through the outer sleeve. Thus, the outer sleeve may have one or more ventilating orifices, with longitudinal movement of the adjacent upstream core member under the action of the movable portion of the buccal end core member, bringing the upstream core member at least partially into or out of blocking registration with the ventilation orifice or orifices, or altering the extent of such blocking registration, with the amount of ventilation permitted varying accordingly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a ventilated smoker's mouthpiece, e.g. for 
a cigarette, in which the degree of ventilation is readily adjustable. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The invention provides such a mouthpiece comprising a ventilating outer 
sleeve around a buccal end core member and an adjacent upstream core 
member longitudinally aligned therewith, the buccal end core member having 
extending upstream from its exposed end a portion which is movable 
longitudinally relative to the remainder thereof to move the adjacent 
upstream core member longitudinally relative to the sleeve to vary the 
extent of ventilation permitted through the outer sleeve. Thus, the outer 
sleeve may have one or more ventilating orifices, with longitudinal 
movement of the adjacent upstream core member under the action of the 
moveable portion of the buccal end core member bringing the upstream core 
member at least partially into or out of blocking registration with the 
ventilation orifice or orifices, or altering the extent of such blocking 
registration, with the amount of ventilation permitted varying 
accordingly. In the mouthpiece as produced and supplied, prior to any 
adjustment, the buccal end and adjacent upstream core members will usually 
abut, although they could be spaced. 
When the mouthpiece is for a cigarette, the ventilating outer sleeve is 
conveniently a ventilating tipping overwrap by which the mouthpiece is 
attached to the tobacco rod of the cigarette. 
The buccal end core member may be a filtering or non-filtering member; thus 
it might have a body (e.g. a annular section) of conventional smoke 
filtering material with the moveable portion being of any suitable 
material and slidable relative thereto. Alternatively, the buccal end core 
member could have peripheral or internal passages extending from end to 
end thereof to allow the substantially free unfiltered passage of smoke or 
smoke and ventilating air. The moveable portion will usually be an inner 
(e.g. coaxial) core portion, but this is not essential. It should be a 
snug fit with the rest of the buccal end core member to avoid inadvertent 
dislodgement, but may have a smooth surface (e.g. a plastics wrap) to 
facilitate sliding. 
The adjacent upstream core member could likewise be a filtering or 
non-filtering body, e.g. a conventional filtering plug or a body having 
passages from end to end thereof to provide for the substantially free 
unfiltered passage of smoke or smoke and ventilating air. To avoid 
unintended movement, it should be a snug fit in the ventilating outer 
sleeve or other immediately surrounding wrap or sleeve relative to which 
it slides, but it preferably has a smooth surface to facilitate controlled 
such sliding when operated on by the movable portion of the buccal end 
core member. 
Suitably, the buccal end and adjacent upstream core members (each of which 
may itself include one or more wrappers) are provided with a common 
air-permeable wrap which is in turn, surrounded by the ventilating outer 
sleeve, the upstream core member being movable longitudinally relative to 
said common wrap and said outer ventilating sleeve. For ease of 
construction and retention of registration during construction, it is 
currently preferred in practice for the common wrap (or, in the absence of 
the latter, the outer ventilating sleeve) to be secured (e.g. adhered) to 
the buccal end core member and to an air-permeable wrap around the 
adjacent upstream core member and relative to which the latter core member 
within can slide. The adjacent upstream core member should be a snug fit 
within this permeable wrap to prevent inadvertent dislodgement (the wrap, 
for example, being applied to the member as a step in a conventional 
process for producing wrapped filter plugs). Sliding relative to the 
permeable wrap can be facilitated by making the member with a smooth (e.g. 
plastics) sleeve immediately within the wrap. Adhering the common wrap (or 
outer ventilating sleeve) as indicated above helps ensure that the 
remainder of the buccal end core member does not move when its movable 
portion is slid to shift the adjacent upstream core member. 
In practice it is most convenient for the mouthpiece to include a third 
core member, longitudinally spaced upstream from the adjacent upstream 
core member and preferably combined with the buccal end and adjacent 
upstream core members by means permitting ventilation into the 
combination, this means may be provided by a highly ventilating plugwrap 
(which might be of highly air-permeable material, or have extensive 
vents--as in UK-A-2105171, to which attention is directed for further 
detail) or by one or more strips each extending only partially 
circumferentially around the core members and leaving a longitudinally 
extending ventilation gap or gaps between longitudinal strip edges. The 
outer ventilating sleeve of the mouthpiece would extend around this 
combination of core members. The third upstream core member, which would 
normally abut the tobacco rod when the mouthpiece is incorporated in a 
cigarette, could, like the buccal end and adjacent upstream core members, 
be a filtering or non-filtering body. 
The ventilating outer sleeve, which (at least in the initially produced 
mouthpiece, prior to adjustment) can extend upstream beyond the buccal end 
and adjacent upstream core members, may be a tipping overwrap which also 
incorporates the mouthpiece in a cigarette. Instead, the mouthpiece could 
be an independent structure, attachable to a cigarette by ring tipping. 
The ventilating outer sleeve preferably has ventilating holes or gaps, 
which can be in any of a variety of arrangements and extents according to 
the degree of ventilation and ventilation adjustment to be permitted. 
When the mouthpiece is a preformed coherent article for subsequent 
attachment to a smoking article (e.g. by ring tipping to a cigarette), it 
will preferably be produced as a continuous rod of the required and 
appropriately arranged core members, within a continuous ventilating outer 
sleeve, this rod being cut into finite lengths as it is continuously 
produced. This cutting may be into individual mouthpieces for supply to 
the cigarette manufacturer, but is usually into lengths which are 
multiples of individual mouthpieces, these multiple lengths being supplied 
to the cigarette manufacturer which cuts them into individual mouthpieces. 
The invention includes not only the individual mouthpieces, but also such 
continuous and multiple length rods--in which adjacent eventual individual 
mouthpieces are integrated in mirror image relationship within the common 
ventilating outer sleeve. 
Particularly when the ventilating outer sleeve is a tipping overwrap 
incorporating the mouthpiece in a cigarette, but also in the above 
circumstances when the ventilating outer sleeve is part of the preformed 
mouthpiece, all or a part of the remainder of the mouthpiece may be a 
preformed sub-assembly. For example, the buccal end core member and 
adjacent movable upstream core member may be a preformed sub-assembly, 
united by common ventilating means--e.g. by a common porous wrap as in 
FIG. 2 below. Likewise, the buccal end core member, movable adjacent 
upstream core member (or a preformed sub-assembly thereof) and a third 
upstream core member can be a preformed sub-assembly united by common 
ventilating means--e.g. by a common highly ventilating plugwrap or partial 
plugwrap as in the sub-assembly of FIG. 3, described hereinbelow. Any such 
sub-assembly of core members and common ventilating means is preferably 
produced continuously, and continuously cut to finite lengths in a manner 
similar to that described above for continuous production of the 
mouthpiece. The invention also includes these sub-assemblies, and 
continuous and multiple length rods from which the sub-assemblies can be 
cut and in which adjacent individual sub-assemblies are integrally united 
in mirror image relationship within continuous ventilation means. 
Each individual core can be produced in conventional manner, by continuous 
production of the corresponding rod which is cut into appropriate lengths 
for the above described continuous production of the mouthpiece and/or its 
sub-assemblies. 
It is to be noted that, at least when unqualified, the terms "sleeve", 
"wrapper", "wrap", "plugwrap" etc. herein are interchangeable; the 
different terms are used merely to help avoid confusion between two or 
more separate items of the same nature without implying that they cannot 
be similar or identical; unless the text concerned does not permit it, any 
"sleeve" or "plugwrap" etc. referred to could, for example, be a seamless 
extruded tube or a wrap secured by a lapped and stuck seam, etc.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
In the drawings, the buccal end core member 2 has an outer body 4 of 
annular section made of filtering material (e.g. cellulose acetate tow) 
usually but not necessarily in a plugwrap 6, the outer filtering body 4 
snugly surrounding a complementary inner core portion 8 which is movable 
longitudinally relative to filter body 4. The inner core 8 could, for 
example be a rod of cellulose acetate tow, preferably wrapped in an 
acetate or like film 9 to facilitate sliding relative to outer body 
4--though being a snug fit in body 4 to reduce the risk of accidental 
dislodgement. 
Adjacent upstream core member 10 suitably has a conventional filter plug 12 
and is shown in FIG. 2 combined with buccal end core member 2 by means of 
a common air-permeable plugwrap 14. Plug 12 is preferably formed with an 
air-permeable wrap or sleeve 16, common plugwrap 14 being adhered to 
buccal end core member 2 and to wrap or sleeve 16 and plug 12 fitting 
snugly in but being slidable relative to wrap or sleeve 16; to facilitate 
such sliding, plug 12 preferably has a smooth plastics wrap 18, plug 12 
and plastics wrap 18 thus constituting the adjacent upstream core member 
10. 
The third core member 20 may be a conventional filter plug 21, usually, but 
not necessarily provided with a plugwrap 23, and is shown in FIG. 3 
longitudinally spaced from the FIG. 2 combination of buccal end and 
adjacent upstream core members and united therewith by a 
highly-ventilating common wrap 22. This common wrap 22 might, for example 
be a plugwrap of highly porous material, a plugwrap having numerous and/or 
large ventilating vents, or one or more partial plugwraps or strips. This 
highly ventilating wrap or partial wrap 22 is preferably secured (e.g. 
adhered) to the core member 20 and to the common wrap 14 so that these are 
fixed relative to one another. 
FIGS. 4 and 5 show the FIG. 3 assembly attached to a tobacco rod 24 by 
means of the outer ventilating sleeve 26 which completes this embodiment 
of the mouthpiece according to the invention. In the embodiment 
illustrated, the sleeve 26 has vents 28 in register with the air-permeable 
wrap or sleeve 16 and upstream core member 10, the vents thus being 
blocked to substantially prevent air dilution of smoke passing through the 
mouthpiece in use. As shown in FIG. 5, however, the inner core portion 8 
of buccal end core member 2 can be moved longitudinally upstream to move 
upstream core member 10 out of blocking registration with the vents 28, 
allowing ventilation into the resulting cavity 30. In another embodiment, 
the vents 28 are initially in register with the cavity 32 between core 
members 10 and 20, the movement of the core member 10 under the action of 
the inner core portion 8 then bringing the core portion 10 into blocking 
registration with the vents to prevent or reduce ventilation. Numerous 
variations are possible to provide for different amounts of change in 
degree of ventilation. 
The inner core portion 8 of buccal end core member 2 is readily operated by 
conveniently available means such as a pencil or pen tip, but adjusting 
means could also be provided on the carton in which the cigarettes are 
packed. This is illustrated in FIG. 6, where the frame board 33 of a flip 
top pack 34 is stamped to provide one or more projections 36 of suitable 
dimensions; the buccal end of the mouthpiece is simply pushed down over 
the appropriate projection for the amount of ventilation adjustment 
required. 
The following is a specific example of a variable ventilation filter and 
filter cigarette according to the invention of the type illustrated in 
FIGS. 1 to 5. 
The pressure drops (PD) quoted herein are measured by the accepted 
procedure recommended by CORESTA (Centre de Cooperation pour les 
Recherehes Scientifiques Relatives au Tabac). Permeabilities herein are 
quoted in Filtrona units; an air-permeability of nK Filtrona units (where 
n is a number) means herein an air-permeability of n.times.1000 
mls/minute/10 square cms./100 mm.Wg. pressure--as determined by measuring 
the pressure "p" in mm.Wg. (water gauge) generated by flow of 1050 mls. of 
air per minute through 10 square cms. of the wrap material under test and 
calculating from the edquation: 
##EQU1## 
The tows referred to in the Example are continuous filamentary tows of 
cellulose acetate; a reference to a B/C tow means one having a filament 
denier of B and a total denier of 1000 C--i.e. a 15/45 tow has a filament 
denier of 15 and a tow denier of 45.times.10.sup.3. 
______________________________________ 
EXAMPLE 
______________________________________ 
FIG. 1 Members 
Buccal end core member 2 
length 9 mm 
PD 23 mm 
Inner core portion 8 - 15/45 tow 
wrap 9 - acetate film 
Body portion 4 - 8/30 tow 
Plugwrap 6 - permeability 300 K 
Adjacent Upstream core 
length 6 mm 
member 10 PD 59 mm 
Plug 12 - "Myria" (creped paper) 
Wrap 18 - polypropylene film 
Wrap 16 - permeability 650 K 
Third Core member 20 
length 5 mm 
PD 90 mm 
Plug 21 - 15/45 tow 
Plugwrap 23 - standard 
FIG. 2 Assembly length 15 mm 
PD 90 mm 
Plugwrap 14 - permeabilty 650 K 
FIG. 3 Assembly length 25 mm (cavity 5 mm) 
PD 99 mm 
Wrap 22 - heat sealed part wrap 
FIGS. 4 and 5 Performance of filter cigarette 
(summarized in Table 1 below): 
______________________________________ 
TABLE 1 
______________________________________ 
Before After 
Adjustment 
Adjustment 
FIG. 4 FIG. 5 
______________________________________ 
Cigarette Pressure Drop 
139 72 
(vents open) mm 
Cigarette Pressure Drop 
150 130 
(vents closed) mm 
Tip Ventilation % 13.1 50 
Cigarette Wrapper/envelope 
10.8 5.3 
ventilation % 
TPM(WNF) Yield mg/cig 
11.2 6.3 
Nicotine Yield mg/cig 
0.96 0.63 
CO Yield mg/cig 13.2 6.4 
______________________________________ 
All of the PD's quoted herein are the "enclosed" or "non-ventilated" values 
(i.e. measured with ventilation prevented by an impermeable sleeve around 
the test item), except for the "vents open" values in Table 1. 
While the illustrated embodiment shows the outer ventilating sleeve having 
a single row of ventilating perforations, other vent arrangements are, of 
course possible. There could, for example, be two or more longitudinally 
spaced rings of ventilating perforations, and the sleeve could 
additionally or instead have larger vents--e.g. ventilating slots. 
As previously indicated, the illustrated core members of FIG. 1 (and core 
member 10 plus air permeable wrap 16), and the sub-assemblies of FIGS. 2 
and 3, may be made from continuously produced rods, and the invention 
includes the sub-assemblies per se as well as any initial continuous and 
intermediate multiple length rods from which they are cut. 
The invention also includes a cigarette packet having a frame board with at 
least one projection on its free edge for operatively engaging the movable 
portion of the buccal end core member of a mouthpiece according to the 
invention.