CN115697096A

CN115697096A - Aerosol-generating article with improved cooling performance and fragrance longevity and method of making same

Info

Publication number: CN115697096A
Application number: CN202180037547.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 黄珉姬; 安基真; 金翼中; 李建畅; 郑敬彬; 郑恩米
Original assignee: KT&G Corp
Current assignee: KT&G Corp
Priority date: 2021-03-25
Filing date: 2021-11-12
Publication date: 2023-02-03
Also published as: EP4140329A1; JP2023523930A; WO2022203148A1; KR20220134696A; US20230210163A1; KR102605499B1; EP4140329A4; JP7491640B2

Abstract

An aerosol-generating article having improved cooling properties and fragrance longevity and a method of making the same are provided. Aerosol-generating articles according to some embodiments of the present disclosure may include: an aerosol-forming substrate portion, and a cooling portion downstream of the aerosol-forming substrate portion to cool an aerosol formed in the aerosol-forming substrate portion; the inner wall of the cooling part is provided with a sheet material. Wherein the sheet material is a material comprising a perfume, acting as a perfuming material and as a cooling material, to enable an improved cooling performance and fragrance longevity of the aerosol-generating article.

Description

Aerosol-generating article with improved cooling performance and fragrance longevity and method of making same

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to an aerosol-generating article having improved cooling performance and fragrance longevity and a method of making the same. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to an aerosol-generating article and a method of manufacturing the article, as an aerosol-generating article having a cooling portion, by improving the aerosol cooling performance of the cooling portion while improving the flavor duration of the article, thereby ensuring high smoking satisfaction.

Background

In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for alternative products that overcome the disadvantages of existing cigarettes. For example, there is an increasing demand for heated cigarettes that are electrically heated by specialized equipment to generate aerosols.

Two factors that significantly affect the smoking satisfaction of a heated cigarette are aerosol cooling performance and flavor longevity.

In general, a heating type cigarette includes a cooling unit for allowing a user to inhale aerosol at an appropriate temperature, and if the performance of the cooling unit is poor, the aerosol at a high temperature is directly discharged, so that the smoking satisfaction of the user may be lowered.

In addition, in general, the flavoring treatment of a cigarette of the heating type is carried out by directly adding (for example, spraying) a flavor liquid to a tobacco material or a filter plug. However, this perfuming method has a problem in that since most of the flavor is expressed in the initial stage of smoking, the flavor expression is drastically reduced in the latter half of smoking, and thus the smoking satisfaction of the user is lowered. Furthermore, when an excess of flavourant is added, there may be problems of contamination by wetting of the wrapper (wrapper) which wraps the tobacco material or filter plug.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical problem

The technical problem to be solved by some embodiments of the present disclosure is to provide an aerosol-generating article with improved cooling performance and fragrance longevity and a method of making the article.

The technical problems of the present disclosure are not limited to the above-described technical problems, and other technical problems not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following descriptions.

Means for solving the problems

To address the above technical problem, aerosol-generating articles according to some embodiments of the present disclosure may comprise: an aerosol-forming substrate portion and a cooling portion located downstream of the aerosol-forming substrate portion to cool an aerosol formed in the aerosol-forming substrate portion; the inner wall of the cooling part is provided with a sheet material, and the sheet material can contain a polysaccharide material and a perfume.

In some embodiments, the sheet of material may be pleated or folded along its long axis.

In some embodiments, the suction resistance of the cooling portion may be 0.1mmH ₂ 0/mm to 1.5mmH ₂ 0/mm。

In some embodiments, the polysaccharide material may be a cellulose-based material.

In some embodiments, the sheet material may comprise 20 to 60 parts by weight of the polysaccharide material and 10 to 50 parts by weight of the perfume material, based on 100 parts by weight of the total weight.

In some embodiments, the sheet material may have a thickness of 0.1mm to 1.5mm.

In some embodiments, the above-described perfume may have a melting point of 80 ℃ or less.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure described above, a sheet-like material comprising a polysaccharide material and a fragrance may be provided (applied) to a cooling portion of an aerosol-generating article. When the sheet material is contacted with high-temperature air flow, the phase change of the polysaccharide material can absorb a large amount of heat, and the fragrance of the perfume coated by the polysaccharide material can be slowly discharged. Thus, the cooling performance and flavour durability of the aerosol-generating article may be improved, and the smoking satisfaction of the user may be greatly improved.

Further, the sheet material may be disposed (e.g., adhered) to an inner wall of the cooling portion. In this case, the sheet-like material does not become an obstacle to the airflow through the cooling portion, and therefore, a smooth airflow and an appropriate suction resistance can be ensured.

The sheet-like material may contain a perfume having a melting point of 80 ℃ or lower. In this case, when the sheet material is contacted with an air flow of 80 ℃ or more, the fragrance may undergo a phase change and absorb more heat, so that the performance of the cooling part may be further improved. The aerosol cooling performance of most aerosol generating articles can be effectively increased by the use of the above flavourants, taking into account that the aerosol heating temperature of typical heated cigarette products is above 80 ℃. Furthermore, phase-change fragrances are readily volatile and can therefore increase the flavour performance of aerosol-generating articles.

Furthermore, as the performance of the cooling portion improves, the cooling portion can be designed to have a shorter length than ever before, and thus the degree of freedom in designing the aerosol-generating article can be improved.

The effects of the technical idea according to the present disclosure are not limited to the above-described effects, and other effects not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

Drawings

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram schematically illustrating an aerosol-generating article according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram for illustrating the manner of application of a sheet material according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a processing form of a sheet material according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an aerosol-generating article according to a first variant of the present disclosure.

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an aerosol-generating article according to a second variant of the present disclosure.

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an aerosol-generating article according to a third variant of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating other applications of sheet material according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating other forms of processing of sheet material according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 9-11 illustrate various types of aerosol-generating devices to which aerosol-generating articles according to some embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The advantages and features of the present disclosure and methods of accomplishing the same may be understood by reference to the drawings and the detailed description that follows. However, the technical idea of the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described below, and may be implemented in various forms different from each other, and the embodiments are only for enabling the present disclosure to be fully disclosed so that a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present disclosure belongs can fully understand the scope of the present disclosure, and the technical idea of the present disclosure is determined by the scope of the claims of the present disclosure.

In adding reference numerals to components of all the drawings, it should be noted that the same reference numerals refer to the same components even if the components are shown in different drawings. In the description of the present disclosure, detailed descriptions of related known art configurations and functions may be omitted when it is considered that the gist of the present disclosure is obscured.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in the present specification may be used with the meaning commonly understood by one having ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. Furthermore, terms commonly used in dictionaries are defined so as not to be interpreted abnormally or excessively without explicit special definition. The terminology used in the following embodiments is for the purpose of describing the embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. In the following embodiments, singular nouns also include plural nouns unless otherwise specified.

Further, in describing the components of the present disclosure, terms such as first, second, a, B, (a), (B), etc. may be used. These terms are only used to distinguish one component from another component, and the nature, order, sequence, or the like of the related components are not limited by the terms. It should be appreciated that if a component is described as being "connected," "coupled," or "linked" to another component, it can mean that the component is not only directly "connected," "coupled," or "linked" to the other component, but also indirectly "connected," "coupled," or "linked" via a third component.

The terms "comprises" and/or "comprising," when used in this disclosure, specify the presence of stated components, steps, operations, and/or elements, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other components, steps, operations, and/or elements.

Before describing various embodiments of the present disclosure, some terms used in the following embodiments will be clarified.

In the following examples, "aerosol-forming substrate" may refer to a material capable of forming an aerosol (aerosol). The aerosol may comprise a volatile compound. The aerosol-forming substrate may be a solid or a liquid.

For example, the solid aerosol-forming substrate may comprise a solid material based on tobacco raw material, e.g. reconstituted tobacco, cut filler, reconstituted tobacco, etc. The liquid aerosol-forming substrate may comprise a liquid composition based on nicotine, tobacco extract and/or various flavourings. However, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the examples listed above.

In the following embodiments, an "aerosol-generating device" may refer to a device that generates an aerosol from an aerosol-forming substrate in order to generate an aerosol that may be inhaled directly into the lungs of a user through the mouth of the user. As for some examples of aerosol-generating devices, reference may be made to fig. 9 to 11.

In the following embodiments, an "aerosol-generating article" may refer to an article capable of generating an aerosol. An aerosol-generating article may comprise an aerosol-forming substrate. As a representative example of an aerosol-generating article, a cigarette may be exemplified, although the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

In the following embodiments, "suction (puff)" refers to inhalation (inhalation) by a user, and inhalation refers to a condition of being inhaled into an oral cavity, a nasal cavity, or a lung of a user through a mouth or a nose of the user.

In the following embodiments, "longitudinal direction" may refer to a direction corresponding to the longitudinal axis of an aerosol-generating article.

In the following examples, "sheet" may refer to a laminar element having a width and length substantially greater than its thickness. In the art, the term "sheet" may be used interchangeably with terms such as web and film.

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present disclosure will be explained.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram schematically illustrating an aerosol-generating article 100, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in fig. 1, the aerosol-generating article 100 may comprise: an aerosol-forming substrate portion 110, a cooling portion 120, a filter mouthpiece 130 and a wrapper 140. However, fig. 1 only shows components related to the embodiment of the present disclosure. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains may appreciate that other general components may be included in addition to those shown in FIG. 1. Furthermore, fig. 1 only schematically illustrates some examples of aerosol-generating articles according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, while the detailed structure of the aerosol-generating article may differ from that shown in fig. 1. As to examples of aerosol-generating articles having different structures, reference may be made to fig. 4 to 6, etc. In the following, the components of the aerosol-generating article 100 will be described.

The aerosol-forming substrate portion 110 may perform the function of forming an aerosol. In particular, the aerosol-forming substrate portion 110 may comprise an aerosol-forming substrate and an aerosol may be formed by the aerosol-forming substrate. For example, the aerosol-forming substrate portion 110 may be heated by an aerosol-generating device (e.g. 1000 of fig. 9) to form an aerosol. The formed aerosol can be delivered to the mouth of the user by suction through the cooling portion 120 and the filter mouthpiece 130.

As shown, the aerosol-forming substrate portion 110 may be located upstream of the cooling portion 120 and may meet the upstream end of the cooling portion 120. The aerosol-forming substrate portion 110 may further comprise a wrapper 140 which surrounds the aerosol-forming substrate.

The aerosol-forming substrate portion 110 is formed in a rod (rod) shape and may be referred to as an "aerosol-forming rod 110" or a "cigarette rod 110" depending on the circumstances. Alternatively, the medium section 110 may be referred to as "medium section" as appropriate.

In addition, the cooling portion 120 may perform a cooling function on the aerosol formed in the aerosol-forming substrate portion 110. The cooling part 120 may improve the user's smoking satisfaction by delivering the aerosol of an appropriate temperature to the user. The cooling section 120 may further include a wrapper 140 wrapping the cooling structure.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown, the sheet material 10 may be disposed (applied) to the cooling portion 120. The sheet-like member 10 is a sheet-like member containing a polysaccharide material and a perfume, and the performance of the cooling unit 120 can be improved by utilizing the property of the polysaccharide material that changes its phase and absorbs a large amount of heat. In addition, as the polysaccharide material undergoes a phase change, the fragrance of the coated fragrance slowly develops, and the fragrance longevity of the aerosol-generating article 100 is also improved. That is, the sheet material 10 can function as the fragrant material and the cooling material in the cooling portion 120. The constituent materials, the production method, and the like of the sheet material 10 will be described in detail below, and hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the sheet material 10 will be referred to as "fragrance sheet 10". However, the sheet material 10 may also be referred to as "cooling fins 10" according to circumstances.

In some embodiments, the scented sheet 10 may be disposed on (e.g., adhered to) an inner wall of the cooling portion 120. For example, as shown in fig. 2, when the cooling section 120 is constituted by a tubular structure having a hollow or cavity (cavity), the fragrance sheet 10 may be provided on an inner wall (i.e., hollow inner wall) of the structure. In this case, since the fragrance sheet 10 does not act as a factor of blocking the airflow passing through the cooling portion 120, a smooth airflow and an appropriate suction resistance can be ensured. In some other embodiments, the fragrance sheet 10 may be provided in a different form, as will be described below with reference to fig. 6-8.

On the other hand, the specific processing form of the fragrance sheet 10 may vary according to the embodiment.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 3, the fragrance sheet 10 may be fabricated to be creased or folded along the long axis direction (i.e., MD direction) of the aerosol-generating article 100. For example, the fragrance sheet 10 may be wrinkled or folded by at least one of a crimping (pleating) process, a folding (folding) process, and a gathering (crimping) process. Specifically, the curling process is a process of imparting a wrinkle (crepep) to a surface of a sheet by a pressure difference and a speed difference of rollers of a curling machine, and is classified into a wet process and a dry process. The wet process is a process of soaking, softening and curling the base paper by water and then drying the base paper. The dry process refers to a drying process performed by two dryers having different temperatures from each other. Those skilled in the art are already familiar with the pleating process, the folding process, and the gathering process, and thus further description thereof will be omitted. According to the present embodiment, a plurality of flow paths can be formed in the longitudinal direction of the fragrance sheet 10 by at least one of the exemplified processes, and a smooth flow of air and an appropriate inhalation resistance can be ensured by the formed flow paths. In addition, the contact area of the fragrance sheet 10 with the high-temperature airflow is increased, and thus the cooling performance can also be improved.

Further, in some embodiments, a plurality of holes (holes) may be formed in the fragrance sheet 10 (see fig. 8). For example, the plurality of holes 101 may be formed in the fragrance sheet 10 by a stamping (punching) process. In this case, the contact area of the fragrance sheet 10 with the airflow is maximized, so that the cooling performance can be further improved.

Also, in some embodiments, the fragrance sheet 10 may be processed based on a combination of the foregoing embodiments.

Hereinafter, description will be made with reference again to fig. 1.

The suction resistance of the cooling part 120 may be designed in various ways. In some embodiments, the suction resistance of the cooling portion 120 may be about 0.05mmH ₂ 0/mm to 3.0mmH ₂ 0/mm, preferably, may be about 0.1mmH ₂ 0/mm to 2.5mmH ₂ 0/mm, about 0.1mmH ₂ 0/mm to 2.0mmH ₂ 0/mm, or about 0.5mmH ₂ 0/mm to 2.0mmH ₂ 0/mm, or about 1.0mmH ₂ 0/mm to 1.5mmH ₂ 0/mm. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

The length, thickness, and/or circumference, etc. of the cooling part 120 may be designed in various ways. For example, the cooling portion 120 may have a length of about 5mm or more and a circumference of about 14mm to 25 mm. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

In addition, the filter mouthpiece 130 may perform a filtering function for the aerosol. To this end, the filter mouth portion 130 may include a filtering (straining) material. Examples of the filter material may include cellulose acetate fibers, paper, and the like, although the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

The filter portion 130 may be located downstream of the cooling portion 120 and may meet a downstream end of the cooling portion 120. Further, the filter mouth 130 may be located at a downstream end portion of the aerosol-generating article 100 to serve as a mouthpiece for contact with the mouth of a user. The filter mouth portion 130 may further include a wrapper 140 that surrounds the filter material (filter plug).

Since the filter portion 130 is also formed in a rod shape, it may be referred to as a "filter rod 130" according to circumstances, and may be formed in various shapes including a cylindrical shape, a tubular shape including a hollow inside (for example, a tubular cellulose acetate filter), a concave shape, and the like. Alternatively, since the filter portion 130 functions as a mouthpiece, it may be referred to as "the mouthpiece portion 130".

In addition, the wrapper 140 may refer to a member that wraps around at least a portion of the aerosol-forming substrate portion 110, the cooling portion 120 and/or the filter mouth portion 130. The wrapper 140 may refer to a separate wrapper for the aerosol-forming substrate portion 110, the cooler portion 120 or the filter mouth 130, or may refer to a wrapper, such as a tipping wrapper (tipping wrapper), which surrounds at least a portion of both the aerosol-forming substrate portion 110 and the filter mouth 130, or may refer to the collective name of all wrappers used for the aerosol-generating article 100. The above-described packing paper 140 may be made of porous or non-porous paper, but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the wrapping paper 140 may be formed of a metal foil (foil) or a combined paper of paper and metal foil.

On the other hand, although not shown in fig. 1, the aerosol-generating article 100 may further comprise a stopper (not shown in the figures) disposed at the end. For example, a plug may be provided at the upstream end of the aerosol-generating article 100 to perform the function of appropriately adjusting the overall length of the aerosol-generating article 100. Furthermore, the plug may also perform the function of adjusting when the aerosol-generating article 100 is inserted into an aerosol-generating device (e.g. 1000 in fig. 9) such that the aerosol-forming substrate portion 110 is disposed in position inside the aerosol-generating device (e.g. 1000 in fig. 9).

So far, an aerosol-generating article 100 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure has been generally illustrated with reference to fig. 1 to 3. As described above, the perfume sheet 10 including the polysaccharide material and the perfume may be provided (applied) to the cooling portion 120 of the aerosol-generating article 100. When the fragrance sheet 10 is brought into contact with a high-temperature airflow, a large amount of heat is absorbed by the phase transition of the polysaccharide material, and the fragrance of the fragrance coated with the polysaccharide material is slowly emitted. Thus, the cooling performance and flavour durability of the aerosol-generating article 100 may be improved and the smoking satisfaction of the user may be greatly improved.

Hereinafter, various modifications of the aerosol-generating article 100 described above will be described with reference to the drawings of fig. 4. However, for the sake of clarity of the present disclosure, the description of the contents overlapping with the foregoing embodiments will be omitted.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an aerosol-generating article 200 according to a first variation of the present disclosure. In particular, fig. 4 to 5 show a case where the fragrance sheet 10 is provided on the inner wall of the cooling portion (e.g., the cooling portion 230). In addition, in the drawings such as fig. 4, a wrapping paper (for example, the wrapping paper 140) is omitted from illustration for the sake of convenience.

As shown in fig. 4, the aerosol-generating article 200 may comprise an aerosol-forming substrate portion 210, a cooling portion 230, a first filter portion 220 and a second filter portion 240.

Since the aerosol-forming substrate portion 210 and the cooling portion 230 may correspond to the aerosol-forming substrate portion 110 and the cooling portion 120 of fig. 1, respectively, a description thereof will be omitted.

The first filter portion 220 may be located upstream of the cooling portion 230 and may be located between the aerosol-forming substrate portion 210 and the cooling portion 230. As shown, the first filter portion 220 may be a section formed with a hollow. For example, the first filter mouth portion 220 may be a tubular cellulose acetate filter or a paper tube. However, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The first filter portion 220 may perform a filtering function on the aerosol and may perform a cooling function on the aerosol passing through the hollow.

When the cooling portion 230 is located downstream of the first filter portion 220 in which the hollow is formed, the hot aerosol formed in the aerosol-forming substrate portion 210 may be cooled once in the process of passing through the hollow of the first filter portion 220. Further, the primary-cooled aerosol can flow into the cooling section 230, so that the performance of the cooling section 230 by the fragrance sheet 10 can be maintained well up to the latter stage of smoking, and the fragrance expression can be maintained well. For example, when the high-temperature aerosol flows directly into the cooling portion 230, the phase of the forming agent (e.g., polysaccharide material) of the flavor sheet 10 is rapidly changed, and thus the cooling performance may be gradually lowered, and thus a relatively large amount of flavor may be transferred at the initial stage of smoking. However, in the structure illustrated in fig. 4, these problems can be greatly alleviated.

On the other hand, in some embodiments, the aerosol-generating article 200 may be designed such that the first filter portion 220 is located downstream of the cooling portion 230, the cooling portion 230 being located between the aerosol-forming substrate portion 210 and the first filter portion 220.

Also, in some embodiments, the fragranced sheet 10 may also be applied to the first filter portion 220. In this case, the cooling performance, fragrance durability, and fragrance expression of the aerosol-generating article 200 can be further improved.

Also, in some embodiments, the average cross-sectional area of the hollow of the cooling part 230 is greater than the average cross-sectional area of the hollow of the first filter mouth part 220, and may be about 1.5 times or more, preferably, may be about 2 times or 3 times or more, and more preferably, may be about 4 times, 5 times, 6 times or more. In this case, the air flow (e.g., the mainstream smoke) moving from the hollow of the first filter portion 220 to the hollow of the cooling portion 230 is rapidly diffused, so that the contact area with the external air (e.g., the air entering through the perforations formed in the cooling portion 230) and the time are increased, and thus the aerosol cooling performance can be further improved.

Further, in some embodiments, the inner diameter ratio of the first filter portion 220 and the cooling portion 230 may be about 1:1 to 1:3.5, preferably, may be about 1:1.5 to 1:3.5, or may be 1:1.5 to 1:3. as a specific example, when the inner diameter of the first filter portion 220 is 2.5mm, the inner diameter of the cooling portion 230 may be 3.75mm to 7.5mm, preferably, may be about 5mm to 7.5mm, and more preferably, may be about 6mm to 7mm. Within the above numerical range, the aerosol cooling performance can be greatly improved.

In addition, a second filter portion 240 may be located downstream of the cooling portion 230 to perform a filtering function on the cooled aerosol. As shown, the second filter portion 240 may be a section without hollows. The second filter house 240 may correspond to the filter house 130 of fig. 1, and thus further description thereof will be omitted.

Hereinafter, for convenience of understanding, regardless of the arrangement order of the filter portions, the filter portions formed with hollows (e.g., the first filter portions 220) are continuously referred to as "first filter portions", and the filter portions not formed with hollows (e.g., the second filter portions 240) are referred to as "second filter portions".

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an aerosol-generating article 300 according to a second variation of the present disclosure.

As shown in fig. 5, similar to the first variation described above, the aerosol-generating article 300 may comprise an aerosol-forming substrate portion 310, a cooling portion 320, a first filter portion 340 and a second filter portion 330. However, the difference from the first modification described above is that the second filter unit 330 is located between the cooling unit 320 and the first filter unit 340, and the first filter unit 340 is located downstream of the second filter unit 330 to serve as a mouthpiece.

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an aerosol-generating article 400 according to a third variant of the present disclosure.

As shown in fig. 6, similar to the structure illustrated in fig. 1, the aerosol-generating article 400 may comprise an aerosol-forming substrate portion 410, a cooling portion 420 and a filter portion 430.

The aerosol-forming substrate portion 410 and the filter plug 430 may correspond to the aerosol-forming substrate portion 110 and the filter plug 130 of figure 1, respectively, and so a description thereof will be omitted.

In the present modification, as shown in the drawing, the fragrance sheet 10 may be provided (applied) in a rolled form inside the cooling portion 420 instead of being provided on the inner wall of the cooling portion 420. Alternatively, the fragrance sheet 10 may be provided in a folded form inside the cooling part 420. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the fragrance sheet 10 may be arranged by being curled or folded in an irregular pattern (see FIG. 10-1), may be arranged by being rolled in a swirl shape (see FIG. 10-2) or a concentric circle shape (see FIG. 10-3), and may be arranged in a shape folded several times (for example, a shape folded in such a manner as to ensure an air flow path in the long axis direction; see FIG. 10-4). When the fragrance sheet 10 is provided in the illustrated form, an air flow path can be ensured in the long axis direction, so that smooth air flow and appropriate inhalation resistance can be ensured. In addition, the contact area of the fragrance sheet 10 with the high temperature air flow is increased, so that the aerosol cooling performance can also be improved.

In some embodiments, the fragrance sheet 10 illustrated in fig. 7 (i.e., a sheet that is rolled or folded prior) can be a corrugated or folded sheet as illustrated in fig. 3. In this case, the curling or folding process can be easily performed, and thus workability can be improved.

Further, in some embodiments, the fragrance sheet 10 illustrated in fig. 7 may be processed to form a plurality of apertures 101 as illustrated in fig. 8. For example, the plurality of holes 101 may be formed in the fragrance sheet 10 by a stamping process. In this case, the contact area of the fragrance sheet 10 with the airflow is maximized, so that the cooling performance can be further improved.

In the above embodiments, the diameter of the holes 101 may be about 0.05mm to 5mm, preferably, may be about 0.1mm to 3mm, or about 0.2mm to 2.5mm, about 0.3mm to 2.1mm, or about 0.4mm to 1.8mm. Within the above numerical range, smooth airflow and appropriate suction resistance can be ensured. In addition, the contact area of the fragrance sheet 10 with the high-temperature airflow is greatly increased, so that the cooling performance can be further improved.

So far, aerosol-generating articles 200 to 400 according to some variants of the present disclosure have been illustrated with reference to fig. 4 to 8. Hereinafter, the incense tablet 10 and the method of manufacturing the same according to some embodiments of the present disclosure will be explained.

The steps of preparing the fragrance sheet 10 may include: a step of preparing a liquid (e.g., slurry) sheet composition; a step of drying the prepared sheet composition. The liquid may include a liquid state and a state in which the liquid and the solid are mixed (for example, a slurry state), among others. For example, the fragrance sheet 10 may be prepared by stretching (casting) the sheet composition on a prescribed substrate and drying the sheet composition. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and specific preparation methods may vary.

The thickness of the fragrance sheet 10 can be designed in various ways.

In the above embodiments, the thickness of the fragrance sheet 10 may be about 2.0mm or less, preferably, may be about 0.05mm to 1.8mm, about 0.1mm to 1.5mm, or about 0.1mm to 1.0mm. It is confirmed that within the above numerical range, the fragrance sheet 10 has appropriate durability and flexibility, and also ensures workability. For example, if the thickness of the fragrance sheet 10 is too thin, the durability is weak, and thus the fragrance sheet 10 may be easily damaged during processing (e.g., crimping, curling, folding, etc.) or setting. Conversely, if the thickness of the fragrance sheet 10 is too thick, the flexibility is reduced, and thus the fragrance sheet 10 may be broken during the process of curling, folding, or the like. Alternatively, the fragrance sheet 10 may be difficult to adhere to the inner wall of the cooling portion (e.g., the cooling portion 120).

On the other hand, the detailed composition of the sheet composition may be designed in various ways.

In some embodiments, the sheet composition may include a solvent such as distilled water (water), ethanol, and the like, a polysaccharide material, and a perfume. The fragrance sheet 10 prepared from the sheet composition described above has excellent fragrance retention and fragrance retention, and thus can greatly increase the fragrance longevity of aerosol-generating articles (e.g., aerosol-generating article 100). Hereinafter, each constituent material constituting the sheet composition will be explained.

Solvents such as distilled water, ethanol, etc. may be factors for adjusting the viscosity of the slurry sheet composition.

The polysaccharide material may be a material for covering and fixing the perfume, and may be a sheet forming agent for forming a sheet. Examples of the polysaccharide material may include cellulose materials such as Hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC), methylcellulose (MC), carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), agar, and the like. These cellulose-based materials have the property of absorbing heat well by phase change when in contact with a high temperature aerosol, and therefore the fragrance sheet 10 can be used not only as a fragrance-emitting material but also as a cooling material.

In some embodiments, the sheet composition may include modified cellulose in various polysaccharide materials. Herein, "modified cellulose" refers to cellulose in which a specific functional group in a molecular structure is substituted. Examples of modified cellulose may include HPMC, MC, CMC, and EC, but are not limited thereto. For example, HPMC may have a grade (grade) in the range of about 4 to 40000, depending on the ratio of hydroxypropyl and methyl (or methoxy) groups substituted and the molecular weight. Depending on the grade, the viscosity of the modified cellulose can be determined. More specifically, the physical and chemical properties of HPMC are related to the ratio of methoxy groups, the ratio of hydroxypropyl groups and molecular weight, and the types of HPMC are classified into HPMC1828, HPMC2208, HPMC2906 and HPMC2910 according to the ratio of methoxy groups to hydroxypropyl groups in the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP). Wherein the first two numbers may represent the ratio of methoxy groups and the last two numbers may represent the ratio of hydroxypropyl groups. The present inventors continuously performed experiments, and as a result, confirmed that the sheet physical properties and fragrance retention of the fragrance sheet 10 prepared from the sheet composition containing modified cellulose are excellent.

In addition, examples of the flavors may include menthol, nicotine salt, tobacco extract containing nicotine, natural plant flavors (e.g., cinnamomum zeylanicum, sage, vanilla, chamomile, pueraria lobata, hydrangea, lavender, cardamom, clove, nutmeg, bergamot, geranium, honey essence, rose oil, lemon, orange, cinnamon, caraway, jasmine, ginger, coriander, vanilla extract, spearmint, mint, cinnamon, coffee, celery, acerola, sandalwood, cocoa, ylang, cumin, anise, licorice, carob bean, plum extract, peach extract, etc.), saccharides (e.g., glucose, fructose, isomerous sugar, caramel, etc.), cacao (powder, extract, etc.), esters (e.g., isoamyl acetate, linalyl acetate, isoamyl propionate, linalyl butyrate, etc.), ketones (e.g., menthone, ionone, damascone, ethyl maltol, etc.), alcohols (e.g., geraniol, linalool, anethole, eugenol, etc.), aldehydes (e.g., vanillin, benzaldehyde, anisaldehyde, etc.), lactones (e.g., γ -undecalactone, γ -nonalactone, etc.), animal flavors (e.g., musk, ambergris, masked palm beaver, castor bean, etc.), hydrocarbons (e.g., limonene, pinene, etc.). The perfume may be used in solid form or may be used by dissolving or dispersing in a suitable solvent such as propylene glycol, ethanol, benzyl alcohol or triethyl citrate. Further, a perfume which is easily dispersed in a solvent by adding an emulsifier, for example, a hydrophobic perfume, an oil-soluble perfume, or the like can be used. These perfumes may be used alone or in combination. However, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the foregoing examples.

In some embodiments, fragrances having melting points below about 80 ℃ may be used. In this case, when the sheet-like material is brought into contact with the air flow of 80 ℃ or higher, the fragrance absorbs more heat while changing phase, and thus the performance of the cooling part (e.g., the cooling part 120) can be further improved. Given that the temperature of the heated aerosol is typically above 80 ℃, the cooling performance of most aerosol-generating articles (e.g., aerosol-generating article 100) can be effectively enhanced by the use of the above-described perfume. Furthermore, phase-changed fragrances are readily volatile and thus may increase the fragrance performance of an aerosol-generating article (e.g., aerosol-generating article 100). Examples of the perfume having a melting point of about 80 ℃ or less may include menthol, but are not limited thereto.

On the other hand, in some embodiments, the sheet composition may further comprise LM-pectin (low methoxyl pectin). LM-pectin is a low ester pectin or a low methoxyl pectin with a low degree of esterification, and in particular may refer to a pectin having a carboxyl group content of less than about 50% in the molecular structure. Unlike carrageenan, LM-pectin has the property of not gelling when left to cool, and therefore can reduce the viscosity of a pulp sheet composition (e.g., to the extent of about 600 to 800 cp). Further, the slurry sheet composition can be prepared without using an emulsifier, so that there can be no safety problem caused by the emulsifier.

The LM-pectin may contain less than about 50%, less than about 40%, less than about 30%, less than about 20%, or less than about 10% carboxyl groups in the molecular structure. The lower the carboxyl content in the molecular structure of the LM-pectin, the lower the viscosity of the pulp containing the LM-pectin will be.

Further, in some embodiments, the sheet composition may further comprise a bulking agent. The bulking agent can be a material that increases the total mass (i.e., dry mass) of the ingredients other than distilled water to increase the volume of the fragrance sheet 10 that is prepared without affecting the original functionality of the fragrance sheet 10. Specifically, the bulking agent can have the property of increasing the volume of the fragrance sheet 10 without substantially increasing the viscosity of the slurry, while not adversely affecting the fragrance retention function of the fragrance sheet 10. Preferably, the swelling agent may be a starch, a modified starch or a starch hydrolysate. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

The modified starch is selected from acetic acid starch, oxidized starch, hydroxypropyl phosphate di-starch, hydroxypropyl starch, phosphoric acid di-starch, phosphoric acid mono-starch, and phosphoric acid di-starch.

Starch hydrolysate refers to a material obtained by a process comprising the step of hydrolyzing starch. For example, the starch hydrolysate may include a material obtained by directly hydrolyzing starch (i.e., dextrin), or a material obtained by hydrolyzing starch after heat treatment (i.e., indigestible dextrin). For example, the bulking agent may be dextrin (dextrin), more specifically, cyclodextrin (cyclodextrin).

Generally, the starch hydrolysate may be a starch hydrolysate having a DE value in the range of about 2 to about 40, preferably, a starch hydrolysate having a DE value in the range of about 2 to about 20. As the starch hydrolysate having a DE value in the range of about 2 to about 20, for example, pinedex #100 (japanese pine grain chemical industry co., ltd.), pinefiber (japanese pine grain chemical industry co., ltd.) and TK-16 (japanese pine grain chemical industry co., ltd.) can be used.

Where "DE" is an abbreviation for dextrose equivalent (dextrose equivalent), and the DE value indicates the degree of hydrolysis of starch, i.e., the saccharification rate of starch. In the present disclosure, the DE value may be a value determined by the Willstatter-Schudel method. With respect to the properties of the hydrolyzed starch (starch hydrolysate), for example, with respect to the molecular weight of the starch hydrolysate or the arrangement of the sugar molecules constituting the starch hydrolysate, each molecule of the starch hydrolysate may be different, existing in a form having a certain distribution or variation (variation). Each molecule of the starch hydrolysate may exhibit different physical properties (e.g., DE value) according to the distribution or change of the characteristics of the starch hydrolysate or the difference of the intervals of cleavage, etc. As described above, the starch hydrolysate is a collection of molecules exhibiting different physical properties, but the measurement result (i.e., DE value) of the willstat-Schudel method is regarded as a representative value representing the degree of hydrolysis of starch.

Preferably, the starch hydrolysate may be selected from the group consisting of dextrins having a DE value of about 2 to about 5, indigestible dextrins having a DE value of about 10 to about 15 and mixtures thereof. As dextrin having a DE value of about 2 to about 5, for example, pinedex #100 (japan pine valley chemical industries co., ltd.) can be used. As the indigestible dextrin having a DE value of about 10 to about 15, for example, pinefiber (japanese pine grain chemical industry co., ltd.) can be used.

Further, in some embodiments, the sheet composition may further comprise a plasticizer. The plasticizer can improve the physical properties of the sheet by adding appropriate flexibility to the fragrance sheet 10. For example, the plasticizer may include at least one of glycerin and propylene glycol, but is not limited thereto.

Further, in some embodiments, the sheet composition may further comprise an emulsifier. The emulsifier can increase the fragrance retaining amount of the fragrance sheet 10 by sufficiently mixing a fragrance having high fat-solubility and a water-soluble polysaccharide material. Examples of the emulsifier may include lecithin, but are not limited thereto.

On the other hand, the fragrance sheet 10 prepared from the above sheet composition may have various content ratios (composition ratios).

In some embodiments, the perfume sheet may comprise about 20 to 60 parts by weight of the polysaccharide material and about 10 to 50 parts by weight of the perfume, based on 100 parts by weight of the total weight. Of course, the fragrance sheet 10 may further comprise an appropriate amount of moisture. It was confirmed that a fragrance sheet 10 of the above composition can greatly increase the fragrance longevity and cooling performance of an aerosol-generating article (e.g., aerosol-generating article 100).

In some embodiments, the fragrance sheet 10 may comprise from about 2 to about 15 parts by weight moisture, from about 25 to about 90 parts by weight modified cellulose, and from about 0.1 to about 60 parts by weight fragrance, based on 100 parts by weight total.

Further, in some embodiments, the fragrance sheet 10 may comprise from about 2 to about 15 parts by weight moisture, from about 1 to about 60 parts by weight polysaccharide material, from about 1 to about 60 parts by weight LM-pectin, and from about 0.1 to about 60 parts by weight fragrance, based on 100 parts by weight total weight.

In some embodiments, the plasticizer may be present in an amount of about 0.1 to about 15 parts by weight, preferably about 1 to 10 parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of the total weight of the fragrance sheet 10. For example, the fragrance sheet 10 may include about 20 to 60 parts by weight of a polysaccharide material, about 10 to 50 parts by weight of a fragrance, and about 1 to 10 parts by weight of a plasticizer, based on 100 parts by weight of the total weight. Within the above numerical range, a sheet having appropriate flexibility (physical properties) can be formed, processing (e.g., curling, folding, etc.) of the fragrance sheet 10 becomes easy, and thus workability can be improved. For example, if a small amount of plasticizer is added, the sheet is not flexible enough to be easily broken in the process, and if a large amount of plasticizer is added, the sheet may not be formed smoothly.

So far, the perfume material 10 and the method of preparing the same according to some embodiments of the present disclosure have been explained. Hereinafter, various types of aerosol-generating devices 1000 to which the above-described aerosol-generating article (e.g., aerosol-generating article 100) may be applied will be described with reference to fig. 9 to 11.

Fig. 9 to 11 are schematic block diagrams illustrating an aerosol-generating device 1000. Specifically, fig. 9 illustrates a cigarette-type aerosol-generating device 1000, and fig. 10 and 11 illustrate a hybrid-type aerosol-generating device 1000 using both liquid and cigarette. Next, the aerosol-generating device 1000 will be explained.

As shown in fig. 9, the aerosol-generating device 1000 may include a heater 1300, a battery 1100, and a control portion 1200. However, this is only a preferred embodiment for achieving the object of the present disclosure, and some components may of course be added or deleted as needed. Furthermore, each component of the aerosol-generating device 1000 as shown in fig. 9 represents a functional element that is functionally divided, and is implemented in a form in which a plurality of components are integrated with each other in an actual physical environment, or may be implemented in a form in which a single component is divided into a plurality of detailed functional elements. Next, each component of the aerosol-generating device 1000 will be explained.

The heater 1300 may be configured to heat a cigarette 2000 inserted therein. The cigarette 2000 comprises a solid aerosol-forming substrate and the aerosol may be generated by heating. The generated aerosol can be inhaled through the mouth of the user. The operation of the heater 1300, the heating temperature, and the like can be controlled by the control unit 1200.

In addition, the battery 1100 may supply power for operating the aerosol-generating device 1000. For example, the battery 1100 may supply power to enable the heater 1300 to heat the aerosol-forming substrate contained in the cigarette 2000, or may supply power necessary for the operation of the controller 1200.

Furthermore, the battery 1100 may supply power necessary for the operation of electrical components provided in the aerosol-generating device 1000, such as a display (not shown), a sensor (not shown), and a motor (not shown).

The control unit 1200 may control the operation of the aerosol-generating device 1000 as a whole. For example, the control unit 1200 may control the operations of the heater 1300 and the battery 1100, or may control the operations of other components included in the aerosol-generating device 1000. The control section 1200 may control the power supplied from the battery 1100, the heating temperature of the heater 1300, and the like. Further, the control section 1200 may determine whether the aerosol-generating device 1000 is in an operable state by checking the state of each component of the aerosol-generating device 1000.

The control section 1200 may be implemented by at least one processor (processor). The processor may be implemented by a plurality of logic gate arrays, or may be implemented by a combination of a general-purpose microprocessor and a memory in which a program executable by the microprocessor is stored. It is to be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains that the control unit 1200 may be implemented by other types of hardware.

Hereinafter, the hybrid aerosol-generating device 1000 will be briefly described with reference to fig. 10 and 11.

Figure 10 shows an aerosol-generating device 1000 with a vaporizer 1400 and a cigarette 2000 arranged side by side, and figure 11 shows an aerosol-generating device 1000 with a vaporizer 1400 and a cigarette 2000 arranged in a row. However, the internal structure of the aerosol-generating device 1000 is not limited to the structure illustrated in fig. 10 and 11, and the arrangement of the components may be changed according to the design method.

In fig. 10 and 11, a vaporizer 1400 may include: a reservoir chamber for storing a liquid aerosol-forming substrate; a wick (wick) for absorbing an aerosol-forming substrate; and a vaporisation element for vaporising the absorbed aerosol-forming substrate to generate an aerosol. The vaporization element may be implemented in various forms, for example, a heating element, a vibration element, and the like. Further, in some embodiments, the vaporizer 1400 may be designed as a structure that does not include a wick.

The aerosol generated by the vaporizer 1400 can be inhaled via the cigarette 2000 and through the mouth of the user. The vaporization elements of the vaporizer 1400 may also be controlled by the control portion 1200.

To this end, an exemplary aerosol-generating device 1000 to which aerosol-generating articles (e.g., aerosol-generating article 100) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied has been illustrated with reference to fig. 9-11.

Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described with reference to the drawings, it will be understood by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains that the embodiments may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of the present disclosure. It should therefore be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative and non-restrictive in all respects. The scope of the present disclosure should be determined by the appended claims, and all explanations of the technical spirit within the equivalent scope should fall within the scope of the technical idea defined by the present disclosure.

Claims

1. An aerosol-generating article characterized in that,

the method comprises the following steps:

an aerosol-forming substrate portion, and

a cooling portion located downstream of the aerosol-forming substrate portion to cool an aerosol formed in the aerosol-forming substrate portion;

the inner wall of the cooling part is provided with a sheet material,

the sheet material contains a polysaccharide material and a perfume.

2. An aerosol-generating article according to claim 1,

the sheet material is pleated or folded along its longitudinal axis.

3. An aerosol-generating article according to claim 1,

the suction resistance of the cooling part is 0.1mmH ₂ 0/mm to 1.5mmH ₂ 0/mm。

4. An aerosol-generating article according to claim 1,

further comprising:

a first filter unit located upstream of the cooling unit and having a hollow space; and

and a second filter unit located downstream of the cooling unit and having no hollow portion.

5. An aerosol-generating article according to claim 1,

further comprising:

a first filter unit located downstream of the cooling unit and having a hollow space; and

and a second filter portion located downstream of the first filter portion and having no hollow.

6. An aerosol-generating article according to claim 1,

further comprising:

and a second filter unit located between the cooling unit and the first filter unit and having no hollow space.

7. An aerosol-generating article according to claim 1,

the polysaccharide material is a cellulose material.

8. An aerosol-generating article according to claim 1,

the sheet material further contains 20 to 60 parts by weight of the polysaccharide material and 10 to 50 parts by weight of the perfume.

9. An aerosol-generating article according to claim 8,

the sheet material further comprises 1 to 10 parts by weight of a plasticizer.

10. An aerosol-generating article according to claim 1,

the thickness of the sheet material is 0.1mm to 1.5mm.

11. An aerosol-generating article according to claim 1,

the perfume has a melting point of 80 deg.C or lower.

12. An aerosol-generating article according to claim 1,

a plurality of holes are formed in the sheet material.