CN117136016A

CN117136016A - Smoking article with improved flavor persistence and method of making same

Info

Publication number: CN117136016A
Application number: CN202280028509.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 金翼中; 李建畅; 郑敬彬; 郑恩米; 黄珉姬
Original assignee: KT&G Corp
Current assignee: KT&G Corp
Priority date: 2021-04-14
Filing date: 2022-04-12
Publication date: 2023-11-28
Also published as: KR102639269B1; JP2024514603A; CA3212602A1; WO2022220529A1; KR20220142108A; EP4291048A1

Abstract

A smoking article having improved flavor persistence and a method of making the same are provided. The smoking article comprises: a smoking material portion; a filter section; and a wrapper that wraps at least a portion of the smoking material portion, wherein the flavor persistence of the smoking article is improved by applying a flavor sheet comprising a hydrocolloid material and a flavor to the wrapper.

Description

Smoking article with improved flavor persistence and method of making same

Technical Field

One or more embodiments relate to a smoking article having improved flavor persistence and a method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to a smoking article having improved flavor persistence by applying a flavor sheet or a composition of flavor sheets to a wrapper portion, and a method of manufacturing the same.

Background

In order to meet the preferences of smokers, various methods have been employed to flavor smoking articles (e.g., cigarettes). An example of a representative flavoring process may include adding (e.g., injecting) a flavoring liquid directly to a smoking material, such as tobacco shreds or filter plugs. However, the exemplary method has various drawbacks such as a limitation on the amount of flavoring liquid added, the lack of emission of the intended flavor, and a dramatic decrease in flavor emission during smoking.

In detail, in the method of adding the flavor liquid to the smoking material, the flavor liquid may be coagulated with the smoking material, and thus it is difficult to add a large amount of the flavor liquid. In addition, during smoking, the flavoring liquid may deteriorate due to high heating temperatures (or combustion temperatures) and thus may emit undesirable flavors. The method of adding a fragrance liquid to a filter plug may allow for a greater amount of fragrance liquid than the methods described above, but there is still a limit to the amount of fragrance liquid added.

Also, in any method, the added flavour liquid may be rapidly emitted in the early stages of smoking, and thus flavour emission may be reduced in the later stages of smoking. In addition, when an excessive amount of flavour liquid is added, the package in which the filter plug or smoking material is packaged may become wet, resulting in contamination.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical problem

One or more embodiments include a smoking article with improved flavor persistence.

One or more embodiments include a method of manufacturing a smoking article with improved flavor persistence.

The technical problems of one or more embodiments are not limited to the above technical problems, and other technical problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art from the following description.

Technical proposal for solving the technical problems

According to one or more embodiments, a smoking article comprises: a smoking material portion; a filter section; and a wrapper that wraps at least a portion of the smoking material portion. A scent (or flavor) sheet comprising a hydrocolloid material and a scent may be applied to the package.

According to one or more embodiments, a method of manufacturing a smoking article comprises: manufacturing a packaging material by using a scent composition including a hydrocolloid material and a scent, or using a scent sheet manufactured from the scent composition; and manufacturing a smoking article comprising the smoking material portion by wrapping at least a portion of the smoking material portion through the manufactured wrapping material.

The beneficial effects of the invention are that

According to one or more embodiments described above, a flavour (or fragrance) sheet or a combination of flavour (or fragrance) sheets may be applied to the wrapper portion of a smoking article. Here, the flavour sheet may be a material manufactured to be in a solid phase and, unlike the flavour liquid, the flavour sheet may slow down the evaporation of the flavour to effectively prevent a substantial proportion of the flavour from being emitted during the early stages of smoking, thereby significantly improving the flavour durability of the smoking article. Thus, the amount of the flavoring agent added, the addition position, etc. can also be precisely adjusted. For example, the method of applying the flavour sheet to the wrapper may more easily adjust the amount of flavour added and also more easily adjust the flavour emission location than the method of applying a cut sheet of flavour to a portion of smoking material (e.g. combining a cut sheet of flavour with cut tobacco).

In addition, the wrapper for a smoking article can be readily manufactured by laminating the wrapper for the smoking article and the flavour sheet or by applying a composition of the flavour sheet to the wrapper. In addition, when using the manufactured packaging material, the smoking article may be manufactured by entirely using existing manufacturing equipment (i.e., equipment for performing packaging of the smoking article).

Further, by including a hydrocolloid material in the scent sheet, the scent sheet can be easily attached to the package portion without the need for an adhesive. For example, the scent sheet and wrapper can be easily laminated without an adhesive. Thus, the manufacturing process of the packaging material can be simplified, and safety problems due to the adhesive can be avoided.

Effects according to one or more embodiments are not limited to the above-described effects, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art from the following description.

Drawings

Figure 1 is an example diagram schematically illustrating a smoking article with improved flavor persistence in accordance with one or more embodiments.

Fig. 2-4 are exemplary diagrams illustrating various methods of applying a scent (perfume) sheet according to one or more embodiments.

Figure 5 is an example diagram schematically illustrating a smoking article with improved flavor persistence in accordance with one or more embodiments.

Figure 6 is an example diagram schematically illustrating a smoking article with improved flavor persistence in accordance with one or more embodiments.

Fig. 7 is an example diagram illustrating a method of manufacturing a packaging material in accordance with one or more embodiments.

Fig. 8 is an example diagram illustrating a method of manufacturing a packaging material in accordance with one or more embodiments.

Detailed Description

Best mode for carrying out the invention

Smoking articles according to one or more embodiments may comprise: a smoking material portion; a filter section; and a wrapper that wraps at least a portion of the smoking material portion. Here, a scent (or perfume) sheet comprising a hydrocolloid material and a scent may be applied to the package.

In one or more embodiments, the scent sheet may be used as a package.

In one or more embodiments, the scent sheet can have a thickness of about 40 μm to about 150 μm.

In one or more embodiments, the scent sheet may be attached to the inside of the package.

In one or more embodiments, at least a portion of the package may be made of a metal foil, and the scent sheet may be disposed on an inner side of the metal foil.

In one or more embodiments, the interior side of the package may be coated with a composition of the scent sheet.

Methods of manufacturing smoking articles according to one or more embodiments may include: manufacturing a packaging material by using a scent composition including a hydrocolloid material and a scent, or by using a scent sheet manufactured from the scent composition; and manufacturing a smoking article comprising the smoking material portion by wrapping at least a portion of the smoking material portion using the manufactured wrapping material.

In one or more embodiments, the manufacturing may include: the sheet of fragrance and the wrapper are laminated by injection of a liquid that is not tacky or adhesive.

In one or more embodiments, the manufacturing may include: applying the fragrance composition to the wrapper; and drying the flavor composition.

Scheme for the invention

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The advantages and features of the present disclosure and the method of achieving the same will become apparent by the embodiments described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. This disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. The spirit of the disclosure is limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

It should be noted that when reference numerals are added to elements of each drawing, the same elements are given the same reference numerals as much as possible even if the same elements are indicated on different drawings. In addition, when describing the present disclosure, if it is determined that detailed descriptions of related known elements or functions may obscure the subject matter of the present disclosure, the detailed descriptions of the related known elements or functions will be omitted.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which example embodiments belong. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular is also intended to include the plural unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

In addition, the terms "first," second, "" A, B, (a), (b), etc. may be used herein to describe elements of the present disclosure. These terms are only used to distinguish one element or component from another element or component, and the nature, order, etc. of the elements or components is not limited by these terms. It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected to," "coupled to," or "touching" another element, it can be directly connected, coupled, or touching the other element or intervening elements may be present.

It will be further understood that the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising," when used herein, specify the presence of stated elements, steps, operations, and/or means, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other elements, steps, operations, and/or means.

Some terms used in one or more embodiments will first be clearly described.

In the following embodiments, "smoking article" may refer to: any product capable of smoking, whether or not the product is based on tobacco, tobacco derivatives, expanded tobacco, reconstituted tobacco or tobacco substitutes; or any product capable of providing a smoking experience. For example, smoking articles may include smokable products such as cigarettes, cigars, and cigarillos. As another example, smoking articles may include combustion type smoking articles and heating type smoking articles.

In the following embodiments, "smoking material" may refer to a material that generates smoke and/or aerosol, or a material used for smoking. For example, the smoking material may comprise tobacco material. The tobacco material may include, for example, lamina, stem, materials processed from lamina, stem, and the like. As more detailed examples, the tobacco material may include crushed tobacco leaves, crushed reconstituted tobacco, expanded cut filler, expanded tobacco stems, reconstituted tobacco sheets, and the like. However, the tobacco material is not limited thereto.

In the following embodiments, "upstream" or "upstream direction" may refer to a direction away from the mouth of the smoker, and "downstream" or "downstream direction" may refer to a direction closer to the mouth of the smoker. The terms "upstream" and "downstream" may be used to describe the relative positions of the elements making up the smoking article. For example, in the smoking article 100 shown in fig. 1, the filter portion 120 is located downstream of the smoking material portion 110 or in a downstream direction of the smoking material portion 110, and the smoking material portion 110 is located upstream of the filter portion 120 or in an upstream direction of the filter portion 120.

In the following embodiments, the "longitudinal direction" may refer to a direction corresponding to a longitudinal axis of the smoking article.

In the following embodiments, the term "puff" may refer to inhalation by a user (smoker), and inhalation may refer to the situation where smoke is inhaled through the user's mouth or nose into the user's mouth, nasal cavity or lungs.

In the following embodiments, "sheet" may refer to such a lamellar element: the lamellar element has a width and a length which are substantially larger than the thickness of the lamellar element. In the art, the term "sheet" may be used interchangeably with terms such as mesh and film.

In the following embodiments, a "scent (or fragrance) sheet" may refer to a scent-containing material that is manufactured in the form of a sheet.

Hereinafter, one or more embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is an exemplary diagram schematically illustrating a smoking article 100 having improved flavor persistence in accordance with one or more embodiments.

As shown in fig. 1, the smoking article 100 may include a filter portion 120, a smoking material portion 110, and a wrapper 130. However, fig. 1 only shows elements related to the embodiment. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains will appreciate that other general-purpose elements may be included in addition to those shown in FIG. 1. In addition, fig. 1 shows only an example of the smoking article 100 according to an embodiment, and the detailed structure of the smoking article 100 may be different from the structure of the smoking article 100 shown in fig. 1. Other examples of detailed structures of the smoking article 100 will be described in more detail later with reference to fig. 5 and 6. Hereinafter, the respective elements of the smoking article 100 will be described.

The filter portion 120 may perform a filtering function on smoke and/or aerosol generated from the smoking material portion 110. Thus, the filter portion 120 may include a filter (i.e., filtration) material. Examples of filter materials may include cellulose acetate fibers, paper, and the like, although the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect. The filter portion 120 may also include a wrapper 130 that wraps the filter material (e.g., plug).

The filter portion 120 may be located downstream of the smoking material portion 110 to be connected to a downstream end of the smoking material portion 110. For example, the filter portion 120 and the smoking material portion 110 may have a cylindrical (i.e., rod-like) shape, may be arranged in the longitudinal axis direction, and may be connected to each other by a tipping wrapper (tipping wrapper). The tipping wrapper may pack together at least a portion of the filter portion 120 and at least a portion of the smoking material portion 110 to connect the filter portion 120 and the smoking material portion 110 to one another. When the filter portion 120 forms the downstream end of the smoking article 100, the filter portion 120 may serve as a mouthpiece that contacts the mouth of the smoker during smoking.

The filter portion 120 may be manufactured in the form of a rod, and thus may be referred to as a filter rod 120 in some cases. However, the filter portion 120 may be manufactured in various forms, such as a cartridge type, a tube type including a hollow portion, and a concave type.

The smoking material portion 110 may comprise a smoking material capable of generating smoke and/or aerosol when combusted or heated. The smoking material portion 110 may further comprise a wrapper 130 that encapsulates the smoking material.

The smoking material portion 110 may be located upstream of the filter portion 120 to be connected to an upstream end of the filter portion 120. The smoke and/or aerosol generated in the smoking material portion 110 may be delivered to the mouth of the smoker by suction through the filter portion 120.

The smoking material portion 110 may also be manufactured in the form of a rod, and thus may be referred to as a smoking material rod 110 in some cases.

The smoking material may comprise, for example, tobacco material. The tobacco material may include, for example, lamina, stem, material processed from lamina, stem, and the like. As more detailed examples, the tobacco material may include crushed tobacco leaves, crushed reconstituted tobacco, expanded cut filler, expanded tobacco stems, reconstituted tobacco sheets, and the like. However, the tobacco material is not limited thereto. Further, the tobacco material may have the form of tobacco cut filler, tobacco particles, tobacco sheet, tobacco beads, tobacco particles, or tobacco extract, but is not limited thereto.

In one or more embodiments, the smoking material may further comprise additives such as humectants (humectants), flavourings and/or organic acids. For example, the wetting agent may include at least one of glycerin, propylene glycol, ethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, and oleyl alcohol. The humectant may maintain moisture in the tobacco material at a suitable level to soften the unique taste and enrich the smoke. In addition, the flavoring may include licorice, sucrose, fructose syrup, isosaccharide, cocoa, lavender, cinnamon, cardamom, celery, fenugreek, cascarilla, sandalwood, bergamot, geranium, honey essence, rose oil, vanilla, lemon oil, orange oil, peppermint oil, cinnamon, caraway, brandy, jasmine, chamomile, menthol, cinnamon, ylang, sage, spearmint, ginger, coriander, clove extract (or clove substance), coffee, and the like.

The wrapper 130 may refer to an element that wraps at least a portion of the smoking material portion 110 and/or the filter portion 120. The package 30 may refer to a separate package of the smoking material portion 110 or the filter portion 120, the package 130 may refer to an tipping package that packages together at least a portion of the smoking material portion 110 and at least a portion of the filter portion 120, or the package 130 may be used as a generic term for all packages of the smoking article 100. The package 130 may be made of porous or non-porous wrapper paper, but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect. For example, the package 130 may be formed of a metal foil, or formed of a laminate of a wrapper and a metal foil.

According to one or more embodiments, as shown, the flavour material 10 (hereinafter referred to as a flavour sheet) manufactured in sheet form may be applied to the wrapper 130 of the smoking material portion 110 or the filter portion 120. The scent sheet 10 applied as described above can increase the scent emission and the scent durability by continuously emitting the scent during smoking. In other words, the scent sheet 10 may be a material that is manufactured to be in a solid phase, and unlike the scent liquid, the scent sheet 10 may slow the volatilization of the scents, effectively preventing a substantial portion of the scents from being emitted during the early stages of smoking. However, the particular method of application may vary.

In one or more embodiments, as shown in fig. 2, the scent sheet 10 can be disposed (e.g., attached by lamination or coating) on an interior side of the package 130. Fig. 2 shows an example in which the flavourant sheet 10 fully encapsulates the smoking material portion 110, but this example is provided for ease of understanding only. The flavourant sheet 10 may be arranged to package only a portion of the smoking material portion 110. Further, when at least a portion of the package 130 is made of a metal foil, the scent sheet 10 may be disposed on an inner side portion of the metal foil. In this case, the fragrance emission of the fragrance sheet 10 can be further enhanced by the heat transferred through the metal foil. A process of disposing the scent sheet 10 on the package 130 will be described later with reference to fig. 7 and 8.

In one or more embodiments, as shown in fig. 3, the scent sheet 10 may constitute at least a portion of a package 130. In other words, the flavour sheet 10 may be used as a wrapper 130 for a smoking article 100. Here, at least a portion of the package 130 may be made of only the scent sheet 10, or the scent sheet 10 and the wrapper may be manufactured in a unitary form. In this case, there is no need to perform a process of arranging (e.g., attaching by lamination or coating) the flavour sheet 10 on the wrapper 130, and therefore the manufacturing process of the smoking article 100 can be further simplified.

Meanwhile, according to one or more embodiments, the scent sheet 10 may also be applied to portions other than the package 130. For example, as shown in fig. 4, the sheet of flavoring 10 may be applied to the interior of the smoking material segment 110. In more detail, the flavoring sheet 10 may be inserted into the smoking material portion 110 along with a tobacco sheet 20 (e.g., a sheet tobacco material such as a reconstituted tobacco sheet). For example, the flavoring sheet 10 may be attached to the tobacco sheet 20 to be inserted into the smoking material portion 110.

The composition material, composition ratio, thickness, manufacturing method, and the like of the scent sheet 10 may be designed to take various forms, and some examples of the composition material, composition ratio, thickness, manufacturing method, and the like of the scent sheet 10 will be described later.

Smoking articles 100 according to one or more embodiments have been described with reference to figures 1 to 4. The flavour sheet 10 may be applied to the wrapper 130 of the smoking article 100 according to the above description. The flavour sheet 10 may be a material manufactured to be in a solid phase and thus, unlike the flavour liquid, the flavour sheet 10 may slow down the evaporation of the flavour, effectively preventing a substantial portion of the flavour from being emitted during the early stages of smoking. As a result, the flavor persistence of the smoking article 100 can be significantly improved. In addition, the method of applying the flavour sheet 10 to the package 130 may more easily adjust the amount of flavour added and more easily adjust the location of flavour emission than the method of applying a cut sheet of flavour sheet 10 to the smoking material portion 110 (e.g. combining a cut sheet of flavour sheet 10 with cut filler).

Hereinafter, smoking articles 200 and 300 having improved flavor persistence according to one or more embodiments will be described with reference to fig. 5 and 6. However, for the sake of clarity of one or more embodiments, the same descriptions of smoking articles 200 and 300 as those of smoking article 100 above will be omitted herein.

Figure 5 is an example view illustrating a smoking article 200 with improved flavor persistence in accordance with one or more embodiments.

As shown in fig. 5, the smoking article 200 may include a smoking material portion 210 and a filter portion 220, and the filter portion 220 may include a plurality of segments (e.g., a first segment 221 and a second segment 222).

The smoking material portion 210 may correspond to the smoking material portion 110 described above. Therefore, a description of the smoking material portion 210 will be omitted herein.

The filter portion 220 may include a first section 221 and a second section 222. The filter portion 220 may also include a third section (not shown).

The first segment 221 may perform a cooling function on smoke and/or aerosol generated from the smoking material portion 210. Thus, in some cases, the first section 221 may be referred to as a cooling section 221.

The first segment 221 can be manufactured in various forms. As an example, the first section 221 may be a cylindrical paper tube formed of paper material and including a hollow portion. As another example, the first segment 221 may be made of a polymeric material or a biodegradable polymeric material. For example, the first section 221 may be made of polylactic acid (PLA) fibers, but is not limited thereto. As another example, the first segment 221 may be manufactured as a cellulose acetate filter having a plurality of perforations. As another example, the first section 221 may be a tubular filter including a hollow portion. For example, the first section 221 may be a cellulose acetate filter including a hollow portion. However, the first section 221 is not limited thereto, and may be manufactured in any other form capable of performing a cooling function.

In one or more embodiments, the scent sheet 10 can be applied to the first section 221. For example, the scent sheet 10 may be arranged in a coiled shape in the hollow of the first section 221, or the scent sheet 10 may be attached to the inner wall of the hollow. As another example, the scent sheet 10 that is processed (e.g., punched) to form a plurality of holes therein may be arranged in a wound shape in the hollow. In this case, the air flow path can be easily ensured by the plurality of holes, and the cooling effect can also be improved due to the increase in the contact area between the scent sheet 10 and the air flow.

The second section 222 may perform a filtering function on the smoke and/or aerosol passing through the first section 221. Thus, in some cases, the second section 222 may be referred to as a filter section 222. Alternatively, the second segment 222 may be located at the mouth of the cigarette and thus may be referred to as the mouth segment 222.

In one or more embodiments, the second section 222 can include at least one bladder 240. Here, the capsule 240 may generate a fragrance or aerosol. For example, the capsule 240 may have a structure in which a liquid containing a fragrance material is packaged with a film. In addition, the bladder 240 may have a spherical or cylindrical shape, but is not limited thereto.

Package 230 may correspond to package 130 described above. Therefore, a description of the package 230 will be omitted herein. As described above, the scent sheet 10 may be applied to the package 230. Thus, the flavor duration of the smoking article 200 can be significantly improved.

Although not shown in fig. 5, the smoking article 200 may also include a plug (not shown) disposed at an end of the smoking article. For example, the plug may be arranged at the upstream end of the smoking article 200, and thus the plug may be used to make appropriate adjustments to the overall length of the smoking article 200. Furthermore, when the smoking article 200 is inserted into an aerosol-generating device (not shown), the plug may be used to adjust the smoking material portion 210 such that the smoking material portion 210 is disposed at a suitable location inside the aerosol-generating device.

Fig. 6 is an example diagram schematically illustrating a smoking article 300 in accordance with one or more embodiments.

As shown in fig. 6, the smoking article 300 may include a smoking material portion 310 and a filter portion 320. The smoking material portion 310 may include a plurality of segments 311 and 312 (e.g., a first segment 311 and a second segment 312), and the filter portion 320 may include a plurality of segments 321 and 322 (e.g., a third segment 321 and a fourth segment 322).

As shown in fig. 6, the smoking material portion 310 may include a first segment 311 and a second segment 312. The smoking material portion 310 may also include a third segment (not shown).

The first section 311 may include a humectant. For example, the first section 311 may include crimped paper impregnated with a humectant. The humectant may include, for example, at least one of glycerin, propylene glycol, ethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, and oleyl alcohol.

The second section 312 may include a nicotine-generating substrate, such as a tobacco material. The nicotine-generating matrix may include, for example, tobacco cut filler, tobacco particles, tobacco sheets, tobacco beads, and tobacco particles. As another example, the nicotine generating substrate may comprise crimped paper impregnated with tobacco extract. When the nicotine generating substrate is heated, nicotine may be generated from the nicotine generating substrate and the generated nicotine may be transferred to the filter portion 320.

The filter portion 320 may also include a plurality of segments 321 and 322. For example, the filter portion 320 may include a third section 321 for performing a cooling function and a fourth section 322 for performing a filtering function. The above description of the filter part 220 of fig. 5 may be equally applied to the filter part 320, and thus, the description of the filter part 320 will be omitted herein.

Package 330 may correspond to package 130 described above. Therefore, a description of the package 330 will be omitted herein. As described above, the scent sheet 10 may be applied to the package 330. Thus, the flavor persistence of the smoking article 300 can be significantly improved.

Smoking articles 200 and 300 according to one or more embodiments have been described with reference to figures 5 and 6. Hereinafter, the scent sheet 10 and the manufacturing method of the scent sheet 10 according to one or more embodiments will be briefly described.

The scent sheet 10 may be manufactured by: manufacturing a flavor composition in a liquid phase (e.g., slurry state); shaping the manufactured flavour composition into the form of a sheet; and drying the flavor composition. Here, the liquid phase may include: a state in which the liquid and the solid are mixed (e.g., a slurry state); and a liquid state. For example, the scent sheet 10 can be manufactured by stretching (i.e., casting) the scent composition on a particular substrate and drying the scent composition. However, the manufacturing method of the scent sheet 10 is not limited thereto, and the detailed manufacturing method of the scent sheet 10 may vary.

The detailed composition of the fragrance composition can be designed by various methods.

In one or more embodiments, the scent composition can include distilled water, a hydrocolloid material, and a scent. The flavour sheet 10 manufactured from such a flavour composition may have outstanding flavour retention and may therefore significantly improve flavour emission and flavour duration of a smoking article (e.g. smoking article 100). In addition, due to the hydrocolloid material, the scent sheet 10 can be attached to a package (e.g., package 130) without a separate adhesive, and thus, the arrangement process of the scent sheet 10 can be simplified, and the scent sheet 10 can avoid safety problems due to the adhesive.

Distilled water may be a factor for adjusting the viscosity of the slurry-type flavor composition.

The hydrocolloid material may be a material for covering and immobilizing the fragrance, and the hydrocolloid material may be a sheet forming substance for forming a sheet. Examples of the hydrocolloid material may include gelatin, agar, gellan gum, pectin, guar gum, xanthan gum, glucomannan, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), methylcellulose (MC), ethylcellulose (EC), carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), starch, and the like, but are not limited thereto.

Examples of the flavoring materials may include menthol, nicotine salts, tobacco leaf extracts containing nicotine, natural plant flavoring (e.g., cinnamon, sage, herb, chamomile, reed, sweet tea, clove, lavender, cardamom, clove, nutmeg, bergamot, geranium, honey essence, rose oil, lemon, orange, cinnamon, caraway, jasmine, ginger, caraway, vanilla, spearmint, peppermint, cinnamon, coffee, celery, bitter skin, sandalwood, cocoa, ylang, fennel, licorice, san john's bread, plum extracts, peach extracts, etc.), saccharides (e.g., glucose, fructose, isomerized glucose syrup, prune extracts, etc.), cocoa (e.g., powder, extracts, etc.), esters (e.g., isopentyl acetate, linalyl acetate, isopentyl propionate, caramel, etc.), ketones (e.g., menthone, ionone, dalton, dal Ma Xitong, ethyl maltol, etc.), alcohols (e.g., geraniol, linalool, gamma, etc.), linalool, etc.), musk, linalool, gamma, etc., such as examples, and the like. The flavoring agent may be used in solid form or may be used after being dissolved or dispersed in a suitable solvent such as propylene glycol, ethanol, benzyl alcohol, or triethyl citrate. In addition, a flavor which is easily dispersed in a solvent by adding an emulsifier such as a hydrophobic flavor, an oil-soluble flavor, or the like can be used. These flavoring agents may be used alone or in combination. However, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the above examples.

In one or more embodiments, the flavor composition can include modified cellulose from various types of hydrocolloid materials. Here, modified cellulose may refer to cellulose in which a specific functional group in a molecular structure is substituted. Examples of modified celluloses may include, but are not limited to HPMC, MC, CMC and EC. For example, HPMC may have a grade (grade) in the range of about 4 to about 40000, depending on the ratio and molecular weight of the hydroxypropyl and methyl (or methoxy) groups being substituted. From the grade, the viscosity of the modified cellulose can be determined. More specifically, the physicochemical properties of HPMC are related to the proportion of methoxy groups, the proportion of hydroxypropyl groups, and the molecular weight. According to the United States Pharmacopeia (USP), the types of HPMC can be classified into HPMC1828, HPMC2208, HPMC2906, HPMC2910, and the like according to the ratio of methoxy and hydroxypropyl. Here, the first two numbers may refer to the ratio of methoxy groups, and the second two numbers may refer to the ratio of hydroxypropyl groups. From the results of the continuous experiments by the present inventors, it was confirmed that: the flavor sheet 10 made from the flavor composition comprising the modified cellulose has excellent sheet physical properties and flavor retention.

Additionally, in one or more embodiments, the flavor composition may further include a low methoxy pectin (LM-pectin). Alternatively, the flavour composition may comprise LM-pectin as the sheet forming substance in the hydrocolloid material. LM-pectin may refer to low ester pectin or low methoxy pectin, which have a relatively low degree of esterification. In particular, LM-pectin may refer to pectin that contains less than about 50% carboxyl groups in the molecular structure. Unlike carrageenan, LM-pectin has the property of not gelling when cooled, and thus can reduce the viscosity of a slurry-type flavor composition (e.g., about 600cp to about 800 cp). In addition, the slurry-type fragrance composition can be manufactured without using an emulsifier, and thus safety problems due to the emulsifier can be avoided.

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 within the molecular structure. As the carboxyl content in the molecular structure of LM-pectin decreases, the viscosity of the slurry containing LM-pectin decreases.

Further, in one or more embodiments, the scent composition can also include a filler (bulking agent). The filler may increase the volume of the scent sheet 10 to be manufactured by increasing the total mass of components other than distilled water (i.e., dry matter mass), and the filler may be a material that does not affect the unique function of the scent sheet 10. In detail, the filler may have such characteristics that: i.e., to increase the volume of the scent sheet 10, without adversely affecting the scent-retaining function of the scent sheet 10 or significantly increasing the viscosity of the slurry. The filler may be starch, modified starch or starch hydrolysate. However, the filler is not limited thereto.

The modified starch refers to starch acetate, oxidized starch, hydroxypropyl distarch phosphate, hydroxypropyl starch, distarch phosphate, monosstarch phosphate, phosphorylated distarch phosphate, etc.

Starch hydrolysate refers to a material obtained by a process comprising the hydrolysis of starch. The starch hydrolysate may comprise: for example, a material obtained by directly hydrolyzing starch (i.e., dextrin), or a material obtained by heat-treating and then hydrolyzing starch (i.e., indigestible dextrin). The filler may be, for example, dextrin, and in more detail, cyclodextrin.

The starch hydrolysate may be a starch hydrolysate having a DE value in the range of about 2 to about 40, for example, a starch hydrolysate having a DE value in the range of about 2 to about 20. As the starch hydrolysate having a DE value included in the range of about 2 to about 20, for example, FINE DEX #100 (Matsutani Chemical Industry co., ltd.), FINE FIBER (Matsutani Chemical Industry co., ltd.), or TK-16 (Matsutani Chemical Industry co., ltd.) may be used.

Herein, DE is an abbreviation for dextrose equivalent, and DE value indicates the degree of hydrolysis of starch, i.e., the saccharification rate of starch. Here, the DE value may be a value measured by the Willstat-Schudel method. The characteristics of the hydrolyzed starch (starch hydrolysate), such as, for example, the molecular weight of the starch hydrolysate or the arrangement of the sugar molecules constituting the starch hydrolysate, are not constant for each molecule of the starch hydrolysate, but there is a certain distribution or variation. Starch hydrolysates may exhibit different physical properties (e.g., DE values) for each molecule of the starch hydrolysate due to distribution or variation of the properties of the starch hydrolysate, differences between cut sections, etc. As described above, starch hydrolysates are a collection of molecules exhibiting different physical properties, but the measurement result (i.e., DE value) by the willstatus-Schudel method is treated as a representative value indicating the degree of starch hydrolysis.

The starch hydrolysate may be selected from dextrins having a DE value of about 2 to about 5, indigestible dextrins having a DE value of about 10 to about 15, and combinations thereof. As dextrins having a DE value of about 2 to about 5, for example, PINE DEX #100 (Matsutani Chemical Industry co., ltd.) can be used. As indigestible dextrins having a DE value of about 10 to about 15, for example, FINE FIBER (Matsutani Chemical Industry co., ltd.) can be used.

In addition, in one or more embodiments, the scent composition can further include a plasticizer. The plasticizer may improve the physical properties of the scent sheet 10 by adding suitable flexibility to the scent sheet 10. The plasticizer may include, for example, at least one of glycerin and propylene glycol, but is not limited thereto.

In addition, in one or more embodiments, the scent composition can further include an emulsifier. The emulsifier can increase the flavor retention capability of the flavor sheet 10 by allowing the fat-soluble flavor and the water-soluble hydrocolloid material to be thoroughly mixed. Examples of the emulsifier may include lecithin, but are not limited thereto.

Meanwhile, the scent sheet 10 manufactured from the above-described scent composition may have various content ratios (component ratios).

In one or more embodiments, the scent sheet 10 can include, for a total of 100 parts by weight: about 2 to about 15 parts by weight of moisture, about 25 to about 90 parts by weight of modified cellulose, and about 0.1 to about 60 parts by weight of flavoring agent.

In addition, in one or more embodiments, the scent sheet 10 may include, for a total of 100 parts by weight: about 2 to about 15 parts by weight of moisture, about 25 to about 90 parts by weight of LM-pectin, and about 0.1 to about 60 parts by weight of a flavoring agent.

Further, in one or more embodiments, the scent sheet 100 may include, for a total of 100 parts by weight: about 2 to about 15 parts by weight of moisture, about 1 to about 60 parts by weight of a hydrocolloid material, about 1 to about 60 parts by weight of LM-pectin, and about 0.1 to about 60 parts by weight of a flavoring agent.

In one or more embodiments, the plasticizer may be included in the scent sheet 10 in an amount of about 0.1 parts by weight to about 15 parts by weight for a total of 100 parts by weight. A sheet having appropriate flexibility within the above numerical range can be formed. For example, when too little plasticizer is added, the scent sheet may be easily damaged during processing due to reduced flexibility of the scent sheet. When too much plasticizer is added, the scent sheet may not form well.

A scent sheet 10 and a method of manufacturing a scent sheet 10 according to one or more embodiments have been described. Hereinafter, a method of manufacturing a smoking article (e.g., smoking article 100, 200 or 300) according to one or more embodiments will be described with reference to fig. 7 and 8. Hereinafter, for ease of description, reference numerals for smoking articles (e.g., smoking articles 100, 200, or 300) and elements of the smoking articles will be omitted herein.

A method of manufacturing a smoking article according to an embodiment may comprise: manufacturing a packaging material; and manufacturing the smoking article by wrapping at least a portion of the smoking article with the manufactured wrapping material. For example, a smoking article may be manufactured by wrapping at least a portion of a smoking material portion with a wrapping material.

Manufacturing the packaging material may include: the packaging material is produced by using the above-described flavor sheet 10, or using a flavor composition as a raw material of the flavor sheet 10. However, the detailed manufacturing method may vary depending on the embodiment.

In one or more embodiments, the wrapper may be manufactured by a process of laminating the scent sheet 10 and wrapper. An embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to fig. 7 to facilitate further understanding.

As shown in fig. 7, the wrapper may be supplied via a first reel 410, the wrapper being wound around the first reel 410, and at the same time, the scent sheet 10 may be supplied via a second reel 420, the scent sheet 10 being wound around the second reel 420. In addition, the supplied wrapper and the scent sheet 10 may be laminated by a press roll 440. Here, when the scent sheet 10 is made of a hydrocolloid material, a specific liquid may be injected by the syringe 430. The scent sheet 10 may have adhesiveness due to the injected liquid, and thus the scent sheet 10 may be firmly laminated with the wrapper without a separate adhesive. Thus, the wrapper 450 for the smoking article can be easily manufactured. The manufactured wrapper 450 may be cut to size and used as a wrapper for a smoking article.

The specific liquid may be, for example, water (distilled water), ethanol, or the like, but is not limited thereto.

In addition, the scent sheet 10 supplied via the second roll 420 may have a thickness of about 10 μm to about 150 μm, for example, the scent sheet 10 supplied via the second roll 420 may have a thickness of about 30 μm to about 150 μm, about 40 μm to about 150 μm, about 60 μm to about 150 μm, or about 60 μm to about 120 μm. The scent sheet 10 within the above numerical range can be easily laminated to the wrapping paper, and the wrapping material 450 can be prevented from being excessively thick, thereby ensuring proper flexibility. In addition, the flavor retention of the flavor sheet 10 can also be improved.

In one or more embodiments, the packaging material may be manufactured by a coating process that applies a liquid fragrance composition to a packaging paper and dries the liquid composition. An embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to fig. 8 to facilitate further understanding.

As shown in fig. 8, the wrapper may be supplied via a roll 510, with the wrapper being wound around the roll 510. Further, the scent composition 530 in a liquid phase (e.g., slurry state) can be applied to the supplied wrapper via an applicator 520 (e.g., a nozzle). The scent composition 530 can be naturally dried during the transfer process 540 of the wrapper or can be dried in a separate drying device. As a result, the wrapper may be coated with the scent composition 530 and the wrapper 550 may be manufactured. The manufactured wrapper 550 may be cut to size and used as a wrapper for a smoking article.

Here, the coated scent composition 530 can occupy a thickness of less than or equal to about 100 μm, for example, the coated scent composition 530 can occupy a thickness of less than or equal to about 90 μm, 80 μm, 70 μm, 60 μm, or 50 μm. Within the numerical range described above, the packaging material 550 can be prevented from being excessively thick, and appropriate flexibility can be ensured.

Methods of manufacturing the wrapper 450, 550 and the smoking article according to one or more embodiments have been described with reference to figures 7 and 8. According to the methods described above, the wrapper of a smoking article (e.g., smoking article 100) and the flavor sheet 10 may be laminated, or a combination of the flavor sheet 10 may be applied to the wrapper. Thus, the wrapper for a smoking article (e.g., smoking article 100) can be readily manufactured. In addition, when using the manufactured packaging material, a smoking article (e.g., smoking article 100) may be manufactured by entirely using existing manufacturing equipment (i.e., equipment for performing packaging of the smoking article).

Hereinafter, the structure and effects of the above-described scent sheet 10 will be further clearly described by various embodiments and experimental examples. However, the following embodiments are only some examples of the scent sheet 10, and thus the scope of the present disclosure is not limited by the following embodiments.

Embodiments 1 to 7

The wrapper of the smoking material portion may be manufactured by manufacturing a flavour sheet having the content ratios described in table 1 below and laminating the manufactured flavour sheet and wrapper (or coating the flavour composition on the wrapper). Further, cigarettes are manufactured by using the manufactured packages.

[ Table 1]

Experimental example 1: ease of manufacture and evaluation of characteristics

Experiments were conducted to comprehensively evaluate each of the following with respect to the flavor sheets, packages, and cigarettes of embodiments 1 to 7: ease of manufacture of the composition liquid (i.e., the fragrance composition); ease of manufacture; quality characteristics such as appearance; fragrance retention characteristics; as well as organoleptic properties during smoking. The evaluation of the sensory characteristics was performed for a panel having smoking experience of five years or more, the evaluation results were performed according to the following three grades, and the evaluation results are shown in table 2 below.

O: excellent in

Delta: good quality

X: poor quality

TABLE 2

Referring to table 2 above, all of the scent sheets according to the embodiment were evaluated as excellent in terms of ease of manufacture of the composition liquid, the sheet, and the package. Further, the flavor sheets according to embodiments 6 and 7 were evaluated as having slightly inferior quality characteristics compared to the other embodiments. In other words, flavor sheets made based on gellan gum and gelatin were evaluated as having slightly inferior quality characteristics compared to flavor sheets based on other sheet forming materials (e.g., HPMC, MC, LM-pectin, etc.). In addition, the flavor sheets according to embodiments 4, 6, and 7 were evaluated as having inferior sensory properties during smoking compared to other embodiments. In more detail, the flavor sheet including HPMC, gellan gum, and gelatin was evaluated as generating an off-flavor during smoking, and the generated off-flavor was confirmed to have a negative effect on the tobacco taste (see experimental example 2).

Experimental example 2: sensory evaluation

For a panel having a smoking experience of five years or more, experiments were conducted to evaluate the detailed sensory characteristics of cigarettes according to embodiments 1 to 7. Specifically, the unique taste of tobacco, the refreshing feeling of menthol, off-flavor, and cleanliness of tobacco taste were set as evaluation items, and sensory evaluation was performed on a scale of 1 to 7 points. The evaluation results are shown in table 3 below. For reference, a higher off-flavor score indicates a negative rating, and a higher score for other items indicates a positive rating.

TABLE 3

Referring to table 3 above, cigarettes according to embodiments 4, 6 and 7 were evaluated as producing relatively more off-flavors due to HPMC, gellan gum and gelatin. Further, cigarettes according to embodiments 2, 3 and 5 were evaluated as having a relatively excellent refreshing feel of menthol. The relatively excellent refreshing feel of menthol in cigarettes may indicate: the fragrance emission is substantially improved, even when the fragrance sheet is applied to the package; and the flavor sheet manufactured based on MC and LM-pectin has excellent properties in flavor retention and flavor emission.

Experimental example 3: ease of manufacture and evaluation of properties based on thickness of sheet

Experiments were conducted to evaluate the ease of manufacture of the sheet and package according to embodiment 3, flavor retention characteristics, and ease of manufacture of cigarettes by varying the thickness of the flavor sheet. The evaluation was performed according to three grades using the same method as the above experimental example 1, and the evaluation results are shown in table 4 below. For reference, the thickness of the sheet may refer to the thickness of the scent sheet or the thickness of the coating after the scent composition is dried.

TABLE 4

Referring to table 4 above, when the flavoring sheet had a thickness of about 150 μm or more, the ease of manufacture of the sheet and the package, as well as the ease of manufacture of the cigarette, were evaluated as slightly inferior. This is because the flexibility of the sheet decreases with increasing thickness of the sheet. When the scent sheet has a thickness of less than or equal to about 40 μm, the scent retention characteristics are evaluated as slightly worse. Accordingly, the scent sheet may be manufactured to have a thickness of about 40 μm to about 150 μm to simultaneously ensure scent-retaining characteristics and manufacturing easiness. The structure and effects of the above-described scent sheet 10 are described in more detail by embodiments and experimental examples.

Although embodiments of the present disclosure have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains that the present disclosure may be embodied in other specific forms without changing the technical idea or essential features of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present disclosure should be construed by the appended claims, and all technical ideas within the equivalent scope thereof should be construed to be included in the scope of the technical ideas defined in the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A smoking article, the smoking article comprising:

a smoking material portion;

a filter section; and

a wrapper, the wrapper wrapping at least a portion of the smoking material portion,

wherein a scent sheet comprising a hydrocolloid material and a scent is applied to the package.

2. A smoking article according to claim 1, wherein the flavourant sheet is used as the wrapper.

3. The smoking article as claimed in claim 1 wherein the flavour sheet has a thickness of about 40 μm to about 150 μm.

4. The smoking article as claimed in claim 1 wherein the flavourant sheet is attached to an inner side of the wrapper.

5. The smoking article as claimed in claim 4 wherein the flavourant sheet is attached to the inner side of the wrapper without the use of an adhesive.

6. A smoking article according to claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the wrapper is made of a metal foil and the flavourant sheet is arranged on an inner side of the metal foil.

7. A smoking article according to claim 1, wherein the inner side of the wrapper is coated with the composition of the flavour sheet.

8. A smoking article according to claim 7, wherein the composition has a coating thickness of less than or equal to 70 μm.

9. A smoking article according to claim 1, wherein the hydrocolloid material comprises methylcellulose.

10. The smoking article as claimed in claim 1 wherein the hydrocolloid material comprises low methoxy pectin (LM-pectin), wherein the LM-pectin is a material containing less than 50% carboxyl groups and having the property of not gelling when cooled.

11. A method of manufacturing a smoking article, the method comprising:

manufacturing a packaging material by using a scent composition including a hydrocolloid material and a scent, or by using a scent sheet manufactured from the scent composition; and

a smoking article comprising a smoking material portion is manufactured by wrapping at least a portion of the smoking material portion using the manufactured wrapping material.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein manufacturing the packaging material comprises: the sheet of fragrance and the wrapper are laminated by injection of a liquid that is not tacky or adhesive.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein manufacturing the packaging material comprises: applying the flavour composition to a wrapper; and drying the flavor composition.