Abstract:
A method of manufacturing packaged curved edge cigarette rolling papers including stacking a cigarette rolling paper blanks to form a leaf stack. The leaf stack is enclosed within a folded cover to form a covered leaf stack. A band is wrapped around the covered leaf stack to hold the leaf stack in alignment with the cover while the cover and leaf stack is die cut to form packaged curved edge cigarette rolling papers. The curved edge is continuous arc, for example an elliptical arc which eliminates the corners that can interfere with cigarette hand rolling.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/278,030 entitled EASY TO ROLL CURVED EDGE CIGARETTE ROLLING PAPER filed May 15, 2014, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/976,036 entitled EASY TO ROLL CURVED EDGE CIGARETTE ROLLING PAPER filed Apr. 7, 2014. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates generally to a method for manufacturing cigarette rolling papers and, more particularly, to a packaged cigarette rolling paper which has a curved edge which serves to facilitate rolling a cigarette with the paper, as it eliminates the corners of the traditional rectangular rolling paper, which become an obstacle if the top and bottom edges of the paper are not kept parallel to each other as the cigarette is rolled, a common problem. 
         [0004]    2. The Prior Art 
         [0005]    Conventionally cigarette rolling papers are rectangular thin tissue-like paper. The standard diameter of a cigarette is generally around 8 mm and the length also varies, but is on the order of 65 mm. Hand-rolling cigarettes is an ancient art, hundreds of years old, and requires some skill. There have been gadgets developed to make it easier. In both the cases of hand-rolling without any equipment, and with the common hand-rolling machines, which are built to feed common rectangular papers, there is a problem that the top and bottom edges of the paper have to be kept parallel, or the leading corner will bind up as you start to roll. Rectangular papers are easily created from a web by slitting to the appropriate width and then straight cutting the slit web to the appropriate length. The rectangular papers can then be stacked in standard rectangular packaging. 
         [0006]    While certain non-rectangular rolling papers in individual form have been proposed, there has not been a disclosure of industrial scale methods to manufacture them. In addition, there is no teaching of customized non-rectangular packaging. Individual non-rectangular rolling papers are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,363,989 and GB 18,827 and FR 620,791 and DE 819,219 and FR 1,109,547. The references do not address how such papers may be produced on a commercial scale. 
         [0007]    Another rolling paper design is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,289,975 entitled Cigarette Wrapper. The main rectangular rolling paper has a closure tongue  12  and a holding strip  14  extending off a lower corner thereof. The holding strip helps keep the tobacco in place while the paper is rolled. The closure tongue then prevents tobacco from coming out into the mouth of the user. A further rolling paper design is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,629 entitled Cigarette Rolling Paper with Integral Pouch. A pouch is formed at the lower edge of the rolling paper to hold the tobacco during rolling. Tear strips at either end allow the edges of the pouch to be removed after rolling to expose the tobacco. Both of these patents utilize extra material which can increase costs and detract from the cigarette enjoyment. 
         [0008]    When rolling a cigarette, the user takes the flat paper and folds it to form a pouch in a u- or v-shape to hold the smoking material. The near and far edges are referred to hear as the bottom and top edges, respectively. The near edge is kept short, and has the edge that is tucked in to start the roll. The far edge, top, has the edge which seals the cigarette at the end when it is rolled up. The user rolls the near edge up into the far edge to form the final cylindrical cigarette shape. The top edge is often treated with glue to seal the cylinder, but that is sometimes omitted, on glueless papers, which self-seal when activated by moistening, typically with saliva. 
         [0009]    Years ago, Zig-Zag, one of the venerable established cigarette rolling paper companies, came out with an innovation to address this problem, they produced papers with the corners cut off. People had done that for years, and it helped with this problem. It works well. The Zig-Zag KutKorners papers are still available. There have been no other successful designs to address this problem, nor many other innovations at all in this stable mature market since the Zig-Zag KutKorner papers came out. 
         [0010]    There are EZ-wider papers, which are just larger and heavier rectangular papers, which allow you to get out of parallel and catch a corner and still just keep rolling up because there is so much paper. But smoking more paper is not desirable. 
         [0011]    The Zig-Zag KutKorners are good, but the total elimination of the problem catching the corner of the rolling paper is desirable, and dramatically extends the primitive advantage of the Zig-Zag KutKorners, and individual discoverers of coin coupe as a folkway, cut corners, as regards rolling papers. 
         [0012]    Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an economical method for manufacturing large quantities of curved edge rolling papers. 
         [0013]    In addition, it would be desirable to provide a custom sized package to allow consumers to readily identify the enclosed product. 
         [0014]    Furthermore, it would be desirable to provide a manufacturing process to produce commercial quantities of pre-packaged curved edge rolling papers that facilitates the rolling of cigarettes. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0015]    These and other related objects are achieved according to an embodiment of the invention involving a method of manufacturing packaged curved edge cigarette rolling papers. Initially a multiplicity of cigarette rolling paper blanks are stacked to form a leaf stack. The leaf stack is then enclosed within a folded cover to form a covered leaf stack having two opposed ends. A portion of said covered leaf stack is banded within a sleeve. One end of the covered leaf stack is cut to an while said sleeve retains the opposite end of said leaf stack in alignment with said folded cover to form packaged curved edge cigarette rolling papers. 
         [0000]    The leaf stack includes a top face, a bottom face, a spine side and a trim side opposite said spine side. The cover is folded into three parts including a top flap, a spine flap and a bottom flap which completely overlie the top face, the spine side and the bottom face, respectively. The method further includes the step of creasing one of the top or bottom flaps to form a hinged access door. The access door hinges at one edge of the sleeve while the other end of the sleeve is aligned with the spine flap so that one leaf can be removed from the stack. 
         [0016]    The sleeve retains the spine side of said leaf stack in alignment with the side flap of the cover during the cutting step. The enclosing step forms a rectangular covered leaf stack. The covered leaf stack includes a top panel, a bottom panel, a front edge and a back edge. The sleeve includes a top strip, a bottom strip, a front strip and a back strip that overlie the top panel, bottom panel, front edge and back edge, respectively, to form a banded covered leaf stack. 
         [0017]    Prior to the cutting step the method further includes holding the banded covered leaf stack stationary by aligning the side flap against a fence while die cutting the top panel, the leaf stack and the bottom panel in one continuous pass against a support plate. Alternatively, prior to the cutting step the method further includes holding the banded covered leaf stack stationary by aligning the sleeve and the side flap against a fence while die cutting the top panel, the leaf stack and the bottom panel in one continuous pass against a support plate. 
         [0018]    The method results in a packaged curved edge cigarette rolling paper. The curved edge is opposite the glued edge or unglued straight sealing edge in the case of glueless papers. The start and end points of the curve are on opposite sides of the paper, at a dimension approximately one-quarter (¼) of the target circumference of the cigarette being rolled from the cut edge. Constraining the region of the cut to the first quarter of the circumference minimizes waste paper while still the smoking material is well-supported by the full width of the paper as the curved edge is tucked into the far side of the pouch of smoking material. The curved edge  22  is then tucked into the bottom of the paper surface  20  on the opposite side of the packed cigarette and the roll-up is begun. 
         [0019]    In a first embodiment of the invention, there is provided a cigarette rolling paper having one edge shaped as a convex curve and three straight edges. The curve is a generally smooth continuous arc with no significant corners or inflection points. The curve may be of various shapes for example a regular arc, an irregular arc, a circular arc, an oval arc and a complex arc. 
         [0020]    The cigarette rolling paper is adapted to roll into a cigarette having a circumference, wherein said curve includes a deflection having a length approximately ¼ of the circumference. The curve deflection is proportional to the size of the rolling paper. The curve includes a midpoint that is located in the middle of the cigarette rolling paper. The curve includes one deflection at each end of the cigarette rolling paper. 
         [0021]    The paper further includes glue at one end of the cigarette rolling paper opposite the curve. The cigarette rolling paper is adapted to roll into a cigarette beginning at the curve and ending at the glue end. The cigarette rolling paper comprises cigarette papers of any size or material. 
         [0022]    According to a second embodiment, there is provided an apparatus for hand rolling a cigarette including a cigarette rolling paper having a generally rectangular shape with three rectilinear sides and a one curved side. The three rectilinear sides form three sides of a regular rectangle including (i) a first rectilinear side oriented perpendicular to a second rectilinear side, (ii) a third rectilinear side oriented perpendicular to the second rectilinear side, and (iii) the first rectilinear side being parallel to the third rectilinear side. The curved side is an elliptical arc having an arch height and an arch width that contacts the end points of the first and third rectilinear sides to form a closed figure. The cigarette rolling paper has reflective symmetry about a central axis that is collinear with the arc height. 
         [0023]    The curved side is devoid of angular edges or sharp corners. The second rectilinear side has a width W, and the arc is part of an ellipse having a major axis, wherein the length of the major axis is between 1 and 10 times the width W. The first and third rectilinear sides have a length L minus deflection, and the arc is part of an ellipse having an arch height, wherein the length of the arch height is between ⅕ and ⅛ times the length L. The cigarette rolling paper is made from a material suitable for burning and human inhalation. Length L may also be considered the overall length of the paper from end-to-end. 
         [0024]    The cigarette rolling paper has a thickness between about 0.25 mm and about 2.00 mm, a length L between about 60 mm and about 100 mm, and a width W between about 35 mm and about 45 mm. The elliptical arc is a geometric segment from an ellipse having a major axis that is between about 2 times and about 10 times the length of the minor axis. The region between the elliptical arc and the first and third rectilinear sides comprises a slope matched transition and includes a curvature different from the central portion of the elliptical arc. The cigarette rolling paper is made from a material selected from cellulose, plant fibers, rice, flax, hemp and tobacco. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0025]    The advantages, nature, and various additional features of the invention will appear more fully upon consideration of the illustrative embodiments now to be described in detail in connection with accompanying drawings. In the drawings wherein like reference numerals denote similar components throughout the views: 
           [0026]      FIG. 1  is a flowchart showing the steps in the manufacturing process according to the invention. 
           [0027]      FIG. 2A  is a perspective view showing the leaf stack, cover and sleeve. 
           [0028]      FIG. 2B  is a schematic diagram showing the aligning and cutting steps. 
           [0029]      FIG. 3A  is a perspective view of the cut covered leaf stack. 
           [0030]      FIG. 3B  is a front side elevational view of the cut covered leaf stack with the access door hinged open. 
           [0031]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of rolling a cigarette with a prior art rectangular rolling paper. 
           [0032]      FIG. 5  is a top plan view of a prior art rolling paper having a rectangular shape. 
           [0033]      FIG. 6  is a top plan view of a prior art rolling paper have cut corners. 
           [0034]      FIG. 7  is a top plan view of an embodiment of a rolling paper with a curved edge according to the invention. 
           [0035]      FIG. 8  is an isometric view of the rolling paper according to the invention with an adhesive strip opposite the curved edge. 
           [0036]      FIG. 9  a top plan view of the rolling paper according to the invention with an adhesive strip opposite the curved edge. 
           [0037]      FIG. 10  is a side elevational view of the rolling paper according to the invention with the first roll formed. 
           [0038]      FIG. 11  is a front side elevational view of the rolling paper according to the invention with the first roll formed. 
           [0039]      FIG. 12  is a diagram showing the geometry of the elliptical arc. 
           [0040]      FIG. 13  is a schematic drawing showing the relationships between the elliptical arc and the paper. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0041]    Referring now in detail to the drawings, and in particular  FIG. 1 , there is shown a flowchart detailing the steps according an embodiment of a method according to the invention for manufacturing packaged curved edge cigarette rolling papers. A spool of paper, also known as a web, is converted to blanks. Typically the web is unspooled and cut into rectangular blanks. A narrow strip of adhesive may be applied to one edge of the blank. The method can produce rolling papers with or without adhesive. The process of transforming the web into blanks is referred to as step  100  converting web to blanks. 
         [0042]    The blanks are stacked in step  102  to form a leaf stack. The leaf stack may contain between several dozen to 100+ blanks. In practical applications of the method, the leaf stack contained 50 blanks. The method can be employed with a greater or lesser number of blanks. A cover of pre-printed lightweight cardboard is provided. The cover is folded twice in step  104  to form three sides. A separate folding step is employed to symmetrically fold the rectangular cover with a narrow spine flap and two equally sized top and bottom panels. A further fold or crease may be formed across one of the panels. The leaf stack is enclosed within the folded cover in step  106 . A band is formed from a pre-printed lightweight cardboard material that is folded into a loop or sleeve. A portion of the leaf stack is banded within the sleeve in step  108 . The banded covered leaf stack is held against a fence in step  110 . The covered leaf stack is cut to form packaged curved edge cigarette rolling papers  112 . 
         [0043]    The leaf stack, cover and sleeve that are processed according the method are shown in  FIG. 2A . Leaf stack  10  is composed of several dozen blanks, for example, 50 blanks. The leaf stack includes a top face  10   a,  a bottom face  10   b,  a spine side  10   c,  a trim side  10   d,  a back side  10   e  and a front side  10   f.  Cover  20  is formed from pre-printed rectangular cardboard that has a first fold  20   a  and a second fold  20   b  resulting in a top flap  20   c,  a spine flap  20   d  and a bottom flap  20   e.  One of the flaps  20   c  or  20   e  may include a fold to form a hinged access door. Cover  20  is sized and configured to cover three sides of leaf stack  10 . More particularly, top flap, spine flap and bottom flap will completely overlay the top face, spine side and bottom face of the leaf stack. Sleeve  30  is formed from pre-printed cardboard folded at four corners with the ends glued together. Sleeve  30  includes a top strip  30   a,  a bottom strip  30   b,  a front strip  30   c  and back strip  30   d.    
         [0044]    Leaf stack  10  is tucked into cover  20  and then banded with sleeve  30 . The resulting banded, covered leaf stack  40  is shown in  FIG. 2B . The sleeve holds the cover closed to retain the leaf stack in alignment during the cutting operation. The four parts of the sleeve contact four sides of the covered leaf stack  40 , as follows; the sleeve top strip, bottom strip, front strip and back strip overlie the covered leaf stack&#39;s top panel  40   a,  bottom panel  40   b,  front edge  40   c  and back edge  40   d,  respectively. 
         [0045]    The banded covered leaf stack is fixture within a jig comprised of a support plate  50  and a fence  52 . Fence  52  may be a single backstop, or more ideally a three-sided wall that surrounds the spine flap  20   d  and holds the banded covered leaf stack in a place. A curved cutting die  60  slices through the entire covered leaf stack  40  along the cutting line  40   e.  The cutting element may comprise a steel rule die and a clicker press. Other paper cutting tools may be used with a pneumatic or hydraulic press. 
         [0046]    The resulting manufactured product is packaged curved edge cigarette rolling papers as shown in  FIGS. 3A and 3B . After the cutting step, the covered leaf stack has a cut curved composite edge  40   f  comprised of top panel, bottom panel and the leaf stack all trimmed along a common edge. One or more covered leaf stacks may be cut in one pass. The covered leaf stacks may be conveyed to the cutting station, and conveyed from the cutting station to be master boxed. 
         [0047]    Cover  20  may be provided with a further fold or crease  40   g.  Crease  40   g  is formed parallel to folds  20   b  and  20   c.  As can be seen in  FIGS. 3A and 3B , the left edge of sleeve  30  is aligned with spine flap  20   d.  Crease  40   g  is positioned at the right edge of sleeve  30  to form a hinged access door  40   h.    FIG. 3B  illustrates how hinged access door  40   h  is pivoted upward. The access door extends from the right edge of sleeve  30  to include the entire cut curved composite edge  40   f.  Hinged access door  40   h  could be provided on the top flap, bottom flap, or both. The combination of sleeve  30  and hinged access panel  40   h  allows a single rolling paper leaf  42  to be removed while the sleeve holds the remainder of the leaf stack. This configuration allows the covered leaf stack to be formed without the use of adhesive at the spine. 
         [0048]    The invention produces packaged cigarette papers having a curved edge which makes that edge very easy to tuck in and roll up. In a rolling process using a prior art rectangular paper  202  as shown in  FIG. 4 , the leading corner  201  of the bottom edge of rectangular paper  202 , has caught and is not tucking in.  FIG. 5  shows this paper laid out flat with the conventional corner  201  having a right angle.  FIG. 6  shows an improved paper design where a section has been cut from corner  205  thereby eliminating the corner at the tucking edge  203 . However, corner  205  still has two angular edges or sharp corners on each side that can bind if the rolling paper is not perfectly aligned at the outset of the rolling process. 
         [0049]      FIG. 7  shows a rolling paper or paper  210 , having a curved edge  212  according to an embodiment of the invention. Note that in the corner region  214  there are no longer angular edges or sharp corners. Curved edge  212  is the starting edge or tucking edge, used to begin the rolling process. The curved tucking edge  212  is the most elegant solution to provide the optimal tolerance for the normal not quite straight hand rollup. 
         [0050]      FIGS. 8 and 9  show a further embodiment of the curved edge  222  of the invention formed on paper  220  having a strip of glue  226  at the sealing edge. The presence of glue is an optional feature. The curved edge works equally well on both plain and glued papers. The curved edge is designed to facilitate the beginning of the rolling process. The glue is used at the end of the rolling process. 
         [0051]      FIG. 10  shows a side view of the initial roll, without tobacco for the sake of clarity. The roll forms a cylinder having a circumference. The curved edge  222  is shown as extending from the 9:00 position to the 12:00 position. Thus the curved edge  222  extends ¼ of the circumference of the cigarette. Any smooth curve in this region will assist to make rolling easier, but the ¼ dimension is optimal. The specific character and dimensions of the curve are determined by the overall dimensions of the paper, and this invention works for any size paper or material.  FIG. 11  shows the middle point of the arc  222  has been tucked into the far edge of the paper  220  as the rolling begins. Since the paper curves away from the middle point toward the edge of the paper, there is less material present at the troublesome corners, and the likelihood of binding is greatly reduced or eliminated. The adhesive  226  will be contacted when the cylindrical roll has reached the top of paper  220 . 
         [0052]    The paper according to the invention includes a smooth curved edge on one side of an otherwise rectangular shape. The curved edge may have a variety of geometries contemplated by the invention, for example, circular, oval or arc shaped. 
         [0053]    In one embodiment the curved edge has an elliptical shape.  FIG. 12  shows an ellipse  240  having a major axis  242  across the widest section of the ellipse and a minor axis  250  across the narrowest section of the ellipse. The major axis  242  corresponds to a first arch height of  252  measured orthogonal from the major axis  242  to the top  240   a  of the ellipse. The arch width  244  corresponds to a second arch height  254  measured orthogonal from the arch width  244  to the top  240   a  of the ellipse. The curved edge of the invention may include any shape from the major axis  242  up to the top  240   a  of the ellipse. 
         [0054]      FIG. 13  illustrates the section above arch width  244  to top  240   a  as comprising the curved edge  222  of paper  220 . Curved edge  222  represents the bottom of the paper where the tobacco is placed and the rolling process begins. The left side of paper  220  optionally includes adhesive  226  to seal the cigarette once the rolling process is complete. A minor axis segment  250   a,  which represents the largest dimension of the curve is located in the center of paper  220 . More particularly, minor axis segment  250   a  extends collinear to line  260  which represents an axis of symmetry for paper  220 . In other words, if paper  220  is folded along line  260 , the two halves will have an identical shape. It is axiomatic that the central angle  244   a  of the arch width  244  is 180 degrees. The first arch width segment  244   c  extending orthogonal from line  260  to the right edge of paper is equal in length to the second arch width segment  244   d  extending orthogonal from line  260  to the opposite left edge of paper  220 . 
         [0055]    Paper  220  includes a width W. The curved edge is a section from an ellipse. The ellipse includes a major axis. The major axis  242  has a length that is between 1 and 10 times longer than width W. Note the relationship of width W is in comparison to the major axis, even when a narrower arch width is used on the actual paper. Ellipses may be selected from the group having a major axis that is between 2 and 10 time the length of the minor axis. The region between the elliptical arc  222  and the first and third rectilinear sides may have a smooth rounded transition which may be slope shaped or filleted. This rounded transition or fillet may have a curvature different than the central portion of the elliptical arc. 
         [0056]    Paper  220  includes a length L. In general, the length L will be greater than the width W. At the shortest, assume W is five units in width, and the paper will be rolled one and one-quarter revolutions, with one revolution taking up four units. The resulting cigarette will have a circumference of 4 units, with a one unit overlap. Arch height  254 , following the formula of ¼ the circumference, would be 1 unit long, or ⅕ of width W. At the longest, assume W is eight units in width, and the paper will be rolled two complete revolutions, with each revolution taking up four units. The resulting cigarette will have a double wall and a circumference of 4 units. Arch height  254 , following the formula of ¼ the circumference, would be 1 unit long. Accordingly, arch height  254  will be between ⅕ and ⅛ of width W. The arch height  254  is also referred to as the curve deflection. 
         [0057]    This invention relates to the configuration of a rolling paper, and can be applied to rolling papers of any type. By way of example only, rolling papers are made from cellulose, plant fibers, rice, flax, hemp and tobacco. When made from cellulose, a synthetic or natural polymer may be selected. Several patents disclose the composition of rolling papers as follows: U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,675 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,450,862 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,754 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,684 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,701,681 the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference thereto. Rolling papers have a thickness on the order of several millimeters, or less than one millimeter, for example between 0.025 and 0.0025 mm. The rolling papers may be manufactured in a sheet or web of indefinite length. The rolling papers may be cut from the web by die-cutting, stamping or any other suitable means. The length L can range between about 60 mm and about 100 mm, and the width W can range between about 35 mm and about 45 mm. The curved edge can be formed by trimming a rectangular paper. 
         [0058]    Having described preferred embodiments for (which are intended to be illustrative and not limiting), it is noted that modifications and variations can be made by persons skilled in the art in light of the above teachings. The covered leaf stack may be of various rectangular configurations. The cutting step may be selected from cutting or trimming operations known within the paper industry. In the resulting product, the curved edge can be of various geometries as long as the central portion is longer than the end portions. Oval or elliptical shapes are ideally suited, but other regular, irregular or compound curves may be employed as long as the transition between the curved edge and the rectilinear side edges is smooth without sharp corners. The use of any rolling paper material, composition and manufacturing methods are intended to be included within the scope of the invention. It is therefore to be understood that changes may be made in the particular embodiments of the invention disclosed which are within the scope and spirit of the invention as outlined by the appended claims. Having thus described the invention with the details and particularity required by the patent laws, what is claimed and desired protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims