CN117813018A

CN117813018A - Smoking article and aerosol-generating system

Info

Publication number: CN117813018A
Application number: CN202280054465.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 金炫兑; 郑淳焕; 黄珉姬
Original assignee: KT&G Corp
Current assignee: KT&G Corp
Priority date: 2021-09-17
Filing date: 2022-09-16
Publication date: 2024-04-02
Also published as: WO2023043243A1; KR20230041389A; CA3204911A1

Abstract

A smoking article according to an example embodiment comprises: a medium accommodating part filled with a plurality of medium particles; a humectant accommodating portion located at one side of the medium accommodating portion and configured to generate aerosol; and a filtering part positioned at the other side of the medium accommodating part. The plurality of media particles have an irregular shape.

Description

Smoking article and aerosol-generating system

Technical Field

The following embodiments relate to smoking articles and aerosol-generating systems.

Background

In recent years, it has been desired to find alternatives to overcome the shortcomings of conventional cigarettes. For example, it is increasingly desirable to produce aerosols by heating aerosol-generating substances in cigarettes, rather than using combustion cigarettes. For example, korean patent publication No. 10-2004-0077111 discloses a smoking article having tobacco beads.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical problem to be solved

One or more embodiments provide smoking articles and aerosol-generating systems with improved immobilization and dispersion of media particles.

One or more embodiments provide smoking articles and aerosol-generating systems that provide a uniform tobacco taste to a consumer.

Technical proposal for solving the problems

According to one aspect there is provided a smoking article comprising a media receptacle filled with a plurality of media particles. The plurality of media particles may have an irregular shape.

The smoking article may further comprise: a humectant accommodating part located at one side of the medium accommodating part and configured to generate aerosol; and a filter part located at the other side of the medium accommodating part.

The medium accommodating part may be configured to be formed by folding a flat sheet member to which the plurality of medium particles are applied a plurality of times.

One side of the planar sheet may be coated with a humectant.

The plurality of media particles may have a roundness of above 30% and below 90%.

The roundness may be 60% or more and 90% or less.

The plurality of media particles may be prepared by a fluid bed granulation process.

The fluidized bed granulation process may be a process in which the spraying direction of the liquid binder is opposite to the flowing direction of the fluidizing gas.

The medium accommodating part may be formed by a method comprising the steps of: applying a humectant to one side of the planar sheet; disposing the plurality of media particles on a side of the planar sheet on which the humectant is disposed; folding one side of the flat sheet member in half; additionally folding the flat sheet multiple times; and wrapping the flat sheet folded multiple times with a package.

The plurality of media particles not applied to the face of the planar sheet may be reused in preparing the smoking article.

The filter portion includes a first filter portion having a cavity therein; and a second filter part completely filled with a filter material.

According to a further aspect there is provided an aerosol-generating system, which may comprise a smoking article, an aerosol-generating device, wherein the smoking article may comprise: a medium accommodating part filled with a plurality of medium particles; a humectant accommodating part located at one side of the medium accommodating part and configured to generate aerosol; and a filter portion located at the other side of the medium accommodating portion, and the aerosol-generating device may include: an elongate cavity configured to receive the smoking article; a heater that heats at least a portion of the medium accommodating portion and the humectant accommodating portion of the smoking article; and a controller electrically connected to the heater, wherein the plurality of media particles may have a roundness of 90% or less.

The plurality of media particles may have a roundness of 60% or greater.

The plurality of medium particles are prepared by a process in which a spray direction of the liquid binder is opposite to a flow direction of the fluidizing gas.

Advantageous effects of the invention

Smoking articles and aerosol-generating systems according to an example embodiment may improve the dispersion and immobilization of media particles.

Smoking articles and aerosol-generating systems according to an example embodiment may provide a consumer with a uniform tobacco taste.

The effects of the smoking article and the aerosol-generating system according to an example embodiment are not limited to the above-described effects, and other effects that are not mentioned may be clearly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art from the following description.

Drawings

Figure 1 shows a schematic view of a smoking article.

Fig. 2a and 2b are schematic views schematically showing a state in which a plurality of media particles are laid on a flat sheet according to an example embodiment.

Fig. 3a and 3b are schematic views schematically showing dispersibility of a plurality of medium particles in a state in which a flat sheet member provided with the plurality of medium particles is folded.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating roundness of media granules according to an example embodiment.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram schematically illustrating an aerosol-generating device according to an example embodiment.

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram schematically illustrating an aerosol-generating system according to an example embodiment in a state in which a smoking article is combined with an aerosol-generating device.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram schematically illustrating a fluidized bed granulation process in a top spray mode in the fluidized bed granulation process.

Fig. 8 schematically shows a schematic of granules produced by different fluid bed granulation processes.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, example embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, various modifications may be made to the example embodiments. In this context, the disclosure is not limited to the example embodiments. The exemplary embodiments should be construed to include all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives thereof that are within the spirit and technical scope of the present disclosure.

The terminology used in the embodiments is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. Where not specifically stated in the context, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well. In this specification, the terms "comprises/comprising" and/or "includes/comprising" and/or the like are used to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

All terms, including technical or scientific terms used herein, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the examples pertain without other definitions. Terms commonly used as dictionary defined should be understood as meaning in the related art, and should not be interpreted as idealized or excessively formalized meaning without being explicitly defined in the specification.

In the description of the examples with reference to the drawings, the same reference numerals are given to the same components, and duplicate descriptions are omitted. In describing example embodiments, when it is judged that a specific description of related well-known structures or functions may be unnecessarily obscured to the present disclosure, the specific description thereof is omitted.

Also, in describing the components of the example embodiments, terms of first, second, A, B, (a), (b), and the like may be used. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element and do not limit the nature, order, or sequence of the corresponding elements, etc. When it is stated that one element is "connected," "coupled," or "attached" to another element, it is understood that the one element may be directly connected or attached to the other element, and that intermediate elements may also be "connected," "coupled," or "attached" to the other element.

When a component has a common function with a component of an example embodiment, the same names are used for description in other embodiments as well. Without saying that the configuration disclosed in a certain example embodiment can be applied to other embodiments, and a specific explanation of the repeated configuration may be omitted.

The term "particle dispersibility" as used herein refers to the degree to which the media particles or tobacco particles are uniformly dispersed in a flat sheet.

During the preparation of the media receptacle, the fine powder produced by the broken up portions of the media particles contaminates the appearance of the particle-containing filter element. The term "workability of the particulate filter section" as used herein refers to the degree of cleanliness to which the filter can be made without being contaminated.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a smoking article according to an example embodiment.

Referring to fig. 1, a smoking article 100 according to an example embodiment may include a media receptacle 110, a humectant receptacle 120 located on one side of the media receptacle 110 to generate an aerosol, and a filter 130 located on the other side of the media receptacle 110. The segments of the smoking article 100, i.e., the media receiving portion 110, the humectant receiving portion 120, and the filter unit 130, may be individually wrapped by segment wrappers 140, and the segments wrapped by segment wrappers 140 may in turn be wrapped by integral wrappers 150 to form one smoking article.

The medium accommodating part 110 may be filled with a plurality of medium particles 114, and the plurality of medium particles 114 may have an irregular shape. When the plurality of media particles 114 are substantially sphere (sphere) shaped, generation of fine particles can be reduced during the preparation of the media accommodating part 110, and thus, there is excellent workability of the particle filtering part. However, when the plurality of medium particles 114 are completely spherical, particle dispersibility may be reduced during the preparation of the medium accommodating part 110, thereby deteriorating the taste of the smoking article. Thus, the media particles 114 are preferably generally spherical and have an irregular shape sufficient to maintain particle dispersibility.

The filter part 130 may include a first filter part 132 having a cavity therein, and a second filter part 134 filled with a filter material therein. The filter material may include a cellulosic material (e.g., acetate, paper, etc.).

As described above, when preparing a filter portion comprising particulate media, the processability of the media receiving portion of the smoking article may be affected by the shape of the particles. Thus, when preparing smoking articles or aerosol-generating systems, it is desirable to define the appropriate shape of the media particles.

Fig. 2a and 2b are schematic views schematically showing a state in which media particles are laid on a flat sheet according to an exemplary embodiment. Fig. 2a is a view showing a state in which the particle dispersion is poor when the flat sheet 112 on which the spherical particles 114' are laid is folded, and fig. 2b is a view showing a state in which the particle dispersion is good when the flat sheet 112 on which the irregular particles 114 are laid is folded.

Referring to fig. 2a, the spherical particles 114 'are poorly fixed on the flat sheet 112, so that the spherical particles 114' may flow in a scattered manner even when they are subjected to a small impact. Therefore, not only in the case where the flat sheet member provided with the spherical particles 114 'is in the unfolded state, but also in the process of folding the flat sheet member 112 to make the medium accommodating part 110 including the spherical particles 114', the dispersibility of the particles may be further deteriorated. On the other hand, referring to fig. 2b, particles 114 having an irregular shape are not flowable due to the relatively high fixability that remains on the flat sheet 112. Therefore, when the flat sheet 112 on which the irregular particles 114 are placed is folded to make the medium accommodating part 110 including the irregular particles 114, good particle dispersibility can be maintained. The immobility of the plurality of media particles 114 on the planar sheet 112 may be enhanced by applying adhesive material having tackiness to the planar sheet 112, but these adhesive materials may be inhaled with the heated aerosol during smoking, ultimately affecting the taste of the smoking article. The humectant, rather than the adhesive material, may be applied to the surface of the planar sheet 112 prior to placement of the plurality of media particles 114 on the planar sheet 112, such that the adhesive force between the planar sheet 112 and the plurality of media particles 114 may be temporarily enhanced by the humectant. Humectants are materials for generating aerosols in smoking articles and therefore do not negatively impact the taste of the smoking article. That is, the medium accommodating portion 110 of the smoking article 100 is made by: the folded flat sheet 112 is wrapped multiple times with the wrapper 140 by applying the humectant to one side of the flat sheet 112 and disposing a plurality of media particles 114 on the humectant-applied side of the flat sheet 112, and then folding the folded flat sheet 112 side in half multiple times.

Fig. 3a and 3b are schematic views schematically showing dispersibility of a plurality of medium particles in a state in which a flat sheet provided with the plurality of medium particles is folded, according to an example embodiment.

Referring to fig. 3a and 3b, when the spherical media particles 114' are disposed on the flat sheet 112 and then the flat sheet is folded a plurality of times, the particle dispersibility of the media accommodating part 110 may remain in a poor state (refer to fig. 3 a); when the irregularly shaped media particles 114 are placed on the flat sheet 112 and then the flat sheet is folded a plurality of times, the particle dispersibility of the media accommodating portion 110 remains good (refer to fig. 3 b).

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of roundness of media grains according to an example embodiment.

Roundness may be a numerical value representing roundness of a spherical material such as particles, microbeads, granules, etc. In the present application, the roundness may be calculated based on a maximum inscribed circle (Maximum Inscribed Circle, MIC) algorithm. Referring to FIG. 4, R is expressed in percent in the maximum inscribed circle algorithm _{Maximum value} And R is R _{Minimum of} Is defined as the ratio of roundness, where R _{Maximum value} Refers to the radius of the maximum circumscribed circle Cc, R _{Minimum of} Refers to the radius of the largest inscribed circle Ci. The ratio may be calculated as follows: radius in inscribed circle to be drawn in measurement contour of particle or the likeThe center of the largest circle, i.e., the maximum inscribed circle Ci, is taken as the center of the measurement profile, and the circle with the largest radius, i.e., the maximum circumscribed circle Cc, of the circumscribed circles of the measurement profile having the center of the largest inscribed circle Ci as the center is drawn.

The higher the roundness of the plurality of media particles 114, the better the workability of the particle filter section, but the dispersibility of the particles may be reduced. Conversely, the lower the roundness of the particles 114, the better the particle dispersibility, but the poorer the workability of the particle filtering section. Therefore, when the medium particles 114 of the medium accommodating portion 110 have roundness in an appropriate range, it is possible to improve the dispersibility of the particles and the workability of the particle filtering portion, and thereby improve the taste of the smoking article.

The results of the experimental results are shown in Table 1 below.

TABLE 1

Referring to table 1, when the roundness of the particles exceeds 90%, the dispersibility of the particles is generally poor; when the roundness of the particles is 90% or less, it can be seen that when the particles are placed on a flat sheet and the flat sheet is folded a plurality of times to make the medium accommodating portion, the plurality of medium particles are dispersed relatively uniformly.

In addition, when the roundness of the particles is less than 30%, the shape of the particles is excessively irregular, so that fine powder may be generated due to breakage of a part of the particles when preparing the particles or the medium accommodating portion, and such fine powder may contaminate the filtering portion or the like. And when the roundness of the particles is 30% or more, the ratio of fine powder generated by crushing the particles is significantly reduced as compared with particles having lower roundness. When the roundness of the particles is 60% or more, since the particles have sufficient hardness, contamination of the filter portion of the smoking article due to breakage of the particles can be significantly reduced. That is, when the roundness of the medium particles contained in the smoking article is 60% or more and 90% or less, both the dispersibility of the particles and the filter processability can be very excellent.

The tobacco taste, i.e., the smoking taste, may be affected by the particle dispersibility, which means the degree to which particles are uniformly dispersed, and the workability of the particle filter section, which means whether the particle filter section is prepared without being affected by contamination by fine powder of medium particles. As can be seen from table 1, the smoke-absorbing taste is very excellent in the case where the roundness of the particles is 30% or more and 90% or less, more preferably 60% or more and 90% or less.

Fig. 5 and 6 relate to examples of use of smoking articles comprising a plurality of media particles having the preferred roundness ranges described above.

Referring to fig. 5, the aerosol-generating device 200 comprises a heater 220, a controller 230 and an elongate cavity 210 housing the smoking article 100. The controller 230 may be electrically connected to the heater 220 to control the temperature at which the smoking article 100 is heated. The aerosol-generating device 200 may further comprise a battery 240, the battery 240 being configured to provide electrical power during the generation of the aerosol.

Referring to fig. 6, the aerosol-generating system 10 may comprise a smoking article 100 and an aerosol-generating device 200. The smoking article 100 may be tightly incorporated within the elongate cavity 210 of the aerosol-generating device 200. The heater 220 may at least partially heat the media and humectant receptacles 110, 120 of the smoking article 100 when the smoking article 100 is coupled to the aerosol-generating device 200. Preferably, the roundness of the plurality of media particles 114 included in the media receptacle 110 in the smoking article 100 of the aerosol-generating system 10 is 90% or less. This is because, when the roundness of the plurality of media particles 114 exceeds 90%, the fixability of the media particles 114 to the flat sheet 112 is lowered, resulting in poor dispersion of the particles.

Further, it is preferable that the roundness of the plurality of medium particles 114 included in the medium accommodating portion 110 in the smoking article 100 of the aerosol-generating system 10 is 60% or more. When the roundness of the plurality of media particles 114 is less than 60%, the hardness of the media particles 114 may be reduced, thereby being broken and generating fine powder even when being lightly impacted, so that the generated fine powder may contaminate the media accommodating part 110 and the filtering part 130. In addition, in the process of folding the flat sheet 112 to form the medium accommodating part 110 after applying the plurality of medium particles 114 to one side of the flat sheet 112, the plurality of medium particles 114 that are not attached to the flat sheet 112 but are detached from the flat sheet 112 may be continuously repeated for subsequent processes. Therefore, in order to reuse the plurality of media particles 114 that are detached, it is necessary to secure the minimum hardness of the particles 114, and therefore the roundness of the plurality of media particles 114 is preferably 60% or more.

Fig. 7 and 8 show a process for manufacturing a plurality of media particles having the aforementioned desired roundness range and the shape of the particles produced by the process.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram schematically illustrating the fluid bed granulation process of the top spray method in the fluid bed granulation process.

When the powder is mixed with heated hot air in the closed vessel 500, the powder flows inside the vessel and goes through the processes of mixing, granulating and drying to form granules. The fluid bed granulation process (Fluidized Bed Granulation) refers to the process of forming such granules. The fluid bed granulation process may include top-spraying, bottom-spraying, powder feeding, and rotor-spraying. Among these processes, the top spraying process is a fluidized bed granulation process in which the spray direction of the liquid binder 510, which is a binder that functions to bind the powders 530 to each other, and the flow direction of the fluidizing gas 520 are opposite to each other. The roundness of the particles formed by the top spray method is relatively low compared to the bottom spray method in which the spray direction of the liquid binder 510 is the same as the flow direction of the fluidizing gas 520 and the rotor spray method in which the spray direction of the liquid binder 510 is perpendicular to the flow direction of the fluidizing gas 520. In this regard, the details will be described in fig. 8.

Fig. 8 is a schematic view showing the actual shape of granules produced by different fluid bed granulation processes.

Fig. 8 shows the particle shape obtained by the fluidized bed granulation process of the rotor spray mode, the powder supply mode, and the top spray mode in this order.

Referring to fig. 8, the top spray mode produces particles having a more irregular and unshaped shape than particles produced by the fluid bed granulation process of the rotor spray mode and the powder supply mode. That is, in the case of the fluidized bed granulation process using the top spray method, it is easier to produce particles having relatively low roundness. This is because the spraying direction of the liquid binder 510 and the flowing direction of the fluidizing gas 520 are set to face each other so that the reverse flow is performed, thereby allowing the particles to grow in an irregular shape.

While this disclosure includes particular examples, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims and their equivalents. The illustrated examples should be understood as being merely illustrative and not limiting. The descriptions of features or aspects in the various examples should be understood to be applicable to similar features or aspects in other examples. Suitable results may also be obtained if the described techniques are performed in a different order, and/or if components in the illustrated systems, architectures, devices or circuits are combined in a different manner, and/or are replaced or substituted by other components or equivalents thereof.

Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A smoking article comprising:

a plurality of media particles; and

a medium accommodating portion filled with the plurality of medium particles,

wherein the plurality of media particles have an irregular shape.

2. The smoking article as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:

a humectant accommodating portion located at one side of the medium accommodating portion, and configured to generate aerosol; and

and the filtering part is positioned at the other side of the medium accommodating part.

3. A smoking article according to claim 1, wherein the media receptacle is constructed by folding a planar sheet-like member on which the plurality of media particles are applied a plurality of times.

4. A smoking article according to claim 3, wherein one face of the planar sheet is coated with a humectant.

5. The smoking article as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the plurality of media particles have a roundness of above 30% and below 90%.

6. The smoking article as claimed in claim 5 wherein the roundness is above 60% and below 90%.

7. A smoking article according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the plurality of media particles are prepared by a fluid bed granulation process.

8. The smoking article as claimed in claim 7 wherein the fluid bed granulation process is a process in which the direction of the jet of liquid binder and the direction of flow of the fluidizing gas are opposite each other.

9. A smoking article according to claim 1, wherein the medium receptacle is formed by means comprising the steps of: applying a humectant to one side of the planar sheet; disposing the plurality of media particles on the humectant-applied side of the planar sheet; folding said one side of said planar sheet member in half; additionally folding the flat sheet multiple times; and packaging the flat sheet-like member folded a plurality of times with a packaging member.

10. A smoking article according to claim 9, wherein a plurality of media particles not applied to the face of the planar sheet element are reused in the manufacture of the smoking article.

11. A smoking article according to claim 2, wherein the filter portion comprises:

a first filter portion having a cavity therein; and

and a second filter part completely filled with a filter material.

12. An aerosol-generating system comprising:

a smoking article; and

an aerosol-generating device comprising a first container,

wherein the smoking article comprises:

a medium accommodating portion filled with a plurality of medium particles;

a filter part positioned at the other side of the medium accommodating part,

wherein the aerosol-generating device comprises:

an elongate cavity configured to house the smoking article;

a heater configured to heat at least a portion of the humectant and media receptacles in the smoking article; and

a controller electrically connected with the heater, an

Wherein the plurality of media particles have a roundness of 90% or less.

13. An aerosol-generating system according to claim 12, wherein the plurality of media particles have a roundness of 60% or greater.

14. An aerosol-generating system according to claim 12, wherein the plurality of media particles are prepared by the process of: in this process, the spray direction of the liquid binder and the flow direction of the fluidizing gas are opposite to each other.