Erik I Naslund DeceasedDurango, CO

4533427, Aug 6, 1985

Jul 18, 1984

6/631961

Steven P. Reed - Felton CA
Erik I. Naslund - Los Gatos CA

Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation - Louisville KY

A24D 304

156500

An apparatus for forming grooves in the peripheral surface of a filter rod includes an endless conveyor device having a generally horizontal top conveyor flight which intermittently moves the filter rods through the apparatus. The endless conveyor device has a plurality of filter rod receiving pockets at spaced apart intervals along its length. The pockets in the horizontal top conveyor flight hold cigarette filters to be grooved at predetermined spaced apart intervals as the endless conveyor device moves the filter rods through the apparatus. A plurality of pairs of articulated grooving fingers are located generally below the horizontal top conveyor flight at predetermined spaced intervals along the top flight, and a plurality of pairs of articulated grooving fingers are located generally above the horizontal top flight at predetermined spaced intervals along the top flight. A groove forming blade is attached to the tip of each finger of each pair of fingers. As the fingers of each pair of articulated fingers move toward each other the groove forming blades embed in the filter rods carried on the horizontal top conveyor flight of the conveyor device thereby forming the grooves in the filter rods.

4133339, Jan 9, 1979

Aug 11, 1977

5/823594

Erik I. Naslund - Los Gatos CA

Floss Aid Corporation - Santa Clara CA

A61C 1500

132 89

A needle for leading dental floss or other fibrous material through narrow apertures. A curved substantially rigid needle is provided with an eye having resilient, deformable sides for temporary expansion of the eye for ease of threading and for temporary compression in passing through narrow apertures.

4883449, Nov 28, 1989

Jul 18, 1984

6/632081

Richard Heaney - Campbell CA
Erik I. Naslund - Los Gatos CA

Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation - Louisville KY

B29C 4308
A24C 302
A24C 304

493 43

An apparatus for sequentially forming a plurality of generally longitudinally extending grooves in the peripheral surface of a filter rod includes a hollow rotatable drum having a plurality of filter rod receiving channels formed in its outer peripheral surface for receiving filter rods to be grooved. The device includes filter rod indexing devices which engage the filter rods in the receiving channels. As the drum rotates about its central axis, the filter rod indexing devices are individually and selectively activated to incrementally rotate selected filter rods about their longitudinal axes through an angle corresponding to the angular spacing between adjacent grooves to be formed in the peripheral surface of the filter rod. Cam operated grooving fingers located around the circumference of the drum are selectively actuated to sequentially form grooves in the filter rods after the filter rods have been rotated about their longitudinal axes from the position of the previously formed groove by the filter rod indexing device.

4536149, Aug 20, 1985

Jul 18, 1984

6/632166

Erik I. Naslund - Los Gatos CA
Steven P. Reed - Felton CA

Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation - Louisville KY

B29D 1700

425394

An apparatus for, in one advantageous embodiment, concurrently forming a plurality of generally longitudinally extending grooves in a filter rod, and in another advantageous embodiment, for making small apertures in the grooves as the grooves are being formed in the filter rod. The apparatus includes a reciprocating die having an upper and lower die block. Each die block includes protruding, elongated projections which are adapted to be embedded into the filter rod upon closing of the die to impress grooves in the filter rod located in the die. In the embodiment wherein apertures are to be formed in the grooves, aperture forming punches are associated with each of the groove forming projections for punching apertures in the grooves as they are being formed. The apparatus further includes a filter rod conveying device located between the upper and lower die blocks for guiding the filter rods through the die and for positioning the filter rods to be grooved in the reciprocating die.

4517046, May 14, 1985

Jul 18, 1984

6/631963

Richard Heaney - Campbell CA
Erik I. Naslund - Los Gatos CA

Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation - Louisville KY

B29C 1700
A24C 550

156500

An apparatus for sequentially forming a plurality of generally longitudinally extending grooves in the peripheral surface of a filter rod includes a rotatable drum having a plurality of filter rod receiving channels formed in its outer peripheral surface for receiving filter rods to be grooved. The device includes filter rod indexing devices which engage the filter rods in the receiving channels. As the drum rotates about its central axis, the filter rod indexing devices are individually and selectively activated to incrementally rotate selected filter rods about their longitudinal axes through an angle corresponding to the angular spacing between adjacent grooves to be formed in the peripheral surface of the filter rod. A plurality of groove forming rollers are located at selected positions at the periphery of the drum. The rollers each have a plurality of groove forming blades projecting radially outwardly therefrom.