CN117881304A

CN117881304A - Smoking article and aerosol-generating system

Info

Publication number: CN117881304A
Application number: CN202280056594.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 金炫兑; 郑淳焕; 黄珉姬; 安基真
Original assignee: KT&G Corp
Current assignee: KT&G Corp
Priority date: 2021-09-08
Filing date: 2022-09-07
Publication date: 2024-04-12
Also published as: US20240099360A1; JP2024522714A; KR20230037097A; WO2023038412A1; CA3206786A1

Abstract

A smoking article according to an embodiment comprises: 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 filtering part positioned at the other side of the medium accommodating part. The plurality of media particles have a diameter of 0.25mm or greater.

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. 10-2019-0094176 discloses a smoking article filter with amorphous magnesium carbonate.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical problem

One or more embodiments provide smoking articles and aerosol-generating systems having optimally sized media particles.

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

One or more embodiments provide smoking articles and aerosol-generating systems with increased nicotine transfer.

One or more embodiments provide smoking articles and aerosol-generating systems that may provide improved processability of paper filter portions containing media particles.

Technical proposal for solving the problems

According to an aspect there is provided a smoking article comprising: 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 filter part located at the other side of the medium accommodating part. The plurality of media particles may have a diameter of 0.25mm or greater.

The plurality of media particles may include tobacco particles.

The diameter of the media particles may be 0.60mm or less.

The diameter of the media particles may be 0.425mm or greater.

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 applied with a humectant.

The medium accommodating portion may be formed by a method including the steps of: applying a humectant to one side of the planar sheet; disposing the plurality of media particles on a face of the planar sheet to which a humectant is applied; folding one side of the flat sheet-like member in half; additionally folding the flat sheet multiple times; and packaging the flat sheet folded a plurality of times with a packaging.

The filter part may include a first filter part having a cavity therein and a second filter part completely filled with a filter material.

The plurality of medium particles may be produced by a fluidized bed granulation process in which a spray direction of the liquid binder and a flow direction of the fluidizing air face each other.

According to another embodiment there is provided an aerosol-generating system comprising: a smoking article; an aerosol-generating device. The smoking article may comprise: a particle containing section filled with a plurality of tobacco particles; a humectant accommodating part located at one side of the particle accommodating part and configured to generate aerosol; and a filtering part located at the other side of the particle containing part, and the aerosol-generating device may include: an elongate cavity for receiving a smoking article; a heater that heats at least a portion of the humectant and particle receiving portions of the smoking article; and a controller electrically connected to the heater. The plurality of tobacco particles have a diameter of 0.25mm or greater.

The tobacco particles may have a diameter of greater than 0.425mm and less than 0.60 mm.

The plurality of tobacco particles may be prepared by a process in which a spraying direction of the liquid binder and a flowing direction of the fluidizing air face each other.

Advantageous effects of the invention

Smoking articles and aerosol-generating systems according to an embodiment may have optimally sized media particles.

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

Smoking articles and aerosol-generating systems according to an embodiment may increase nicotine transfer.

A smoking article and aerosol-generating system according to an embodiment may improve the processability of a paper filter comprising media particles.

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

Drawings

Figure 1 shows a smoking article according to an embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a schematic view showing particle dispersibility according to the size dimension of particles.

Fig. 3 is a schematic view showing a state in which media particles are applied to a flat sheet according to an embodiment.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an aerosol-generating device according to an embodiment.

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an aerosol-generating system in which a smoking article is in a state of engagement with an aerosol-generating device according to an embodiment.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a fluid bed granulation process with top spray mode in the fluid bed granulation process according to an embodiment.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, many changes and modifications may be made to the embodiments. Here, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments. The embodiments should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and technical scope of the present disclosure.

The terminology used in the embodiments is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the embodiments. Where not specifically stated in the context, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising," when used in this specification, 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, or groups thereof.

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 the embodiments belong without other definitions. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in dictionaries, that are commonly used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning that is not necessarily intended to be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

In the description of the embodiments with reference to the drawings, the same reference numerals are given to the same components, and duplicate descriptions are omitted. In describing the embodiments, when it is judged that a detailed description of known technologies for related structures or functions would cause an understanding of the present disclosure, the detailed description will be omitted.

Also, in describing the components of the embodiments, terms such as 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 the nature, sequence or order of the element is not limited by these terms. When an element is referred to as being "connected," "coupled," or "attached" to another element, it is understood that the element can be directly connected or attached to the other element and intervening elements may also be "connected," "coupled," or "attached" to the element.

When a component has a common function with a component of an embodiment, the same designation is used in other embodiments as well. Without saying that the configuration disclosed in one embodiment can be applied to other embodiments, and a specific explanation for 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 fines produced by the crushing of a portion of the media particles can contaminate the appearance of the particle-containing filter element. As used herein, the term "processability of the particulate filter section" refers to the extent to which a clean filter section can be made that is uncontaminated.

Figure 1 shows a diagram of a smoking article.

Referring to fig. 1, a smoking article 100 according to an embodiment may include a media receptacle 110, a humectant receptacle 120 positioned on one side of the media receptacle 110 and configured to generate an aerosol, and a filter 130 positioned 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 portion 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 a smoking article.

The medium accommodating part 110 may be filled with a plurality of medium particles 114, and the diameter of the plurality of medium particles 114 may be 0.25mm or more. When the size of the plurality of medium particles 114 is excessively small, irregularities of the particles may increase as compared to when the particle size is large, and fine powder generated during the preparation of the medium accommodating part 110 may deteriorate workability of the particle filtering part. Accordingly, the diameter of the plurality of media particles 114 is preferably 0.25mm or more. Conversely, the smaller the diameter of the particles 114, i.e., the smaller the size of the particles 114, the more excellent the dispersibility of the particles when the media particles 114 are applied to a flat sheet. The plurality of media particles 114 may preferably be tobacco particles. The smaller the size of the plurality of tobacco particles, the greater the total surface area of the tobacco particles contained in the media receptacle 110, thereby increasing the amount of nicotine at a puff of the smoking article 100. In one aspect, the larger the diameter of the plurality of media particles 114 or the plurality of tobacco particles, the greater the workability of the particle filter section. Thus, the media particles 114 or tobacco particles have a smaller diameter, but preferably have a diameter sufficient to maintain good workability of the particulate filter.

That is, when preparing the smoking article 100 including the particulate medium, the dispersibility of the particles included in the medium accommodating portion 110 of the smoking article 100, the nicotine transfer amount of the smoking article 100, and the workability of the medium accommodating portion 110 are affected by the particle size. Thus, when preparing a smoking article 100 and an aerosol-generating system comprising particulate media, it is desirable to define the appropriate size of the media particles 114.

In an embodiment, the plurality of media particles 114 may be sized based on a standard sieve specification (Standard Sieve Comparison). The Standard Sieve specification refers to the size of particles or granules screened using a Standard Sieve (Standard Sieve), and the specification types include Korean Standard (KS), japanese Industrial Standard (JIS), american Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), german society for standardization (DIN), tyler, etc. The specifications used in this experiment are based on the American ASTM standard sieve specifications. The US-ASTM standard sieve specifications are shown in Table 1 below.

TABLE 1

Mesh number (Sieve No.)	Screen hole (mm)	Mesh number (Sieve No.)	Screen hole (mm)
				10	2.00	35	0.500
12	1.70	40	0.425
				14	1.40	50	0.355
16	1.18	60	0.250
				18	1.00	70	0.212
20	0.850	80	0.180
				25	0.710	100	0.150
30	0.600	120	0.125

Referring to table 1, test results according to ASTM standard sieve specifications are shown in table 2 below.

TABLE 2

Referring to table 2, when the diameter of the particles exceeds 0.60mm, the dispersibility of the particles is generally poor, and when the diameter of the particles is 0.60mm or less, the particles are placed on a flat sheet and then the flat sheet is folded a plurality of times to form the medium accommodating part 110, the plurality of medium particles 114 are dispersed more uniformly. In addition, when the diameter of the particles is too small as 0.60mm, the particles are small enough so that the nicotine contained in the tobacco particles has a sufficient transfer amount.

In contrast, when the diameter of the particles is less than 0.425mm, fine powder generated by crushing a part of the particles may contaminate the filtering part or the like at the time of preparing the particles or the medium accommodating part 110 because the particles are too small. When the diameter of the particles is 0.425mm or more, the ratio of fine powder generated by crushing the particles is significantly reduced as compared with when the diameter is smaller. That is, when the diameter of the medium particles 114 contained in the smoking article 100 is 0.425mm or more and 0.6mm or less, both the particle dispersibility and the workability of the particle filter section are good.

The perceived taste of a cigarette by a consumer, i.e., the taste of a cigarette, may be affected by both: particle dispersibility, i.e., whether particles are uniformly dispersed; and the workability of the particle filtration section, i.e., whether the particle filtration section is prepared without contamination by the fine powder of the medium particles. As can be seen from Table 1, the particle diameter is preferably 0.25mm or more and 0.6mm or less, more preferably 0.425mm or more and 0.6mm or less, and the cigarette taste is the best.

Fig. 2 is a schematic view showing particle dispersibility according to particle size.

Referring to fig. 2, based on the results of the above-described embodiments, it can be confirmed whether the medium particles are uniformly dispersed in the medium accommodating part 110 according to the size range of the plurality of medium particles 114. When the diameter of the plurality of media particles 114 ranges from 0.425mm or more to 0.60mm or less, which is a relatively small particle size, it can be confirmed that the plurality of media particles 114 are uniformly distributed between the flat sheet 112 folded a plurality of times. In contrast, when the diameter of the medium particles 114 is in the range of 0.60mm or more and 0.85mm or less, which is a relatively large particle size, it is confirmed that the medium particles 114 are not uniformly distributed between the flat sheet members 112 folded a plurality of times, but are mostly biased to one side.

Fig. 3 is a schematic view showing a state in which media particles are applied on a flat sheet according to an embodiment.

Referring to fig. 3, the media receptacle 110 of the smoking article 100 may be formed by folding a planar sheet 112 applied with media particles 114 multiple times. The plurality of media particles 114 may be fixed in the media accommodating portion 110 in a state of being sandwiched between the flat sheet members 112 folded a plurality of times. The immobility of the plurality of media particles 114 on the planar sheet 112 may be improved by applying adhesive materials having tackiness to the planar sheet 112, but these adhesive materials may be inhaled with the heated aerosol during smoking, degrading the taste of the smoking article. A humectant, rather than an adhesive material, may be applied to one side of the planar sheet 112 prior to placement of the plurality of media particles 114 on the planar sheet 112, thereby temporarily enhancing adhesion between the planar sheet 112 and the plurality of media particles 114 by the humectant. Humectants are materials for generating aerosols in the smoking article 100 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 manufactured by: that is, by applying the moisturizing agent to one side of the flat sheet 112 and disposing the plurality of media particles 114 on the side of the flat sheet 112 to which the moisturizing agent is applied, then folding one side of the flat sheet 112 in half and then additionally folding it a plurality of times, the folded flat sheet 112 is wrapped a plurality of times with the package 140.

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

Figures 4 and 5 relate to use examples of smoking articles comprising a plurality of media particles having the preferred diameter ranges described above.

Referring to fig. 4, the aerosol-generating device 200 comprises an elongate cavity 210 housing the smoking article 100, a heater 220, and a controller 230. 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 configured to provide the electrical power required to generate the aerosol.

Referring to fig. 5, 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 into the elongate cavity 210 of the aerosol-generating device 200. The heater 220 may heat at least a portion of the humectant and media receptacles 120, 110 in the smoking article 100 when the smoking article 100 is coupled to the aerosol generating device 200. The media receptacle 110 of the smoking article 100 may be filled with a plurality of media particles 114, and the diameter of the plurality of media particles 114 may be 0.25mm or greater. When the size of the plurality of media particles 114 is too small, the irregularities of the particles may increase, and thus the fine powder generated during the preparation of the media accommodating portion 110 may reduce the workability of the particle filter portion, and thus the diameter of the media particles 114 is preferably 0.25mm or more.

Preferably, the plurality of media particles 114, preferably tobacco particles, included in the media receptacle 110 in the smoking article 100 of the aerosol-generating system 10 have a diameter of 0.60mm or less. This is because when the diameter of the tobacco particles exceeds 0.60mm, the fixing property of the tobacco particles on the flat sheet 112 is reduced, resulting in poor particle dispersion.

Further, preferably, the plurality of media particles 114, preferably tobacco particles, included in the media receptacle 110 of the smoking article 100 of the aerosol-generating system 10 have a diameter of 0.25mm or greater, most preferably 0.425mm or greater. When the diameter of the medium particles 114 is too small, since the hardness of the medium particles 114 may be reduced, the medium particles 114 may be broken and fine powder may be generated even when a slight impact is applied, so that the generated fine powder may contaminate the medium housing 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 medium particles 114 that are not attached to the flat sheet 112 but are detached from the flat sheet 112 may continue to be 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 thus the diameter of the media particles 114 is preferably 0.25mm or more, and most preferably 0.425mm or more.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a fluid bed granulation process in a top-spray mode in the fluid bed granulation process according to an embodiment, and relates to a process for preparing a plurality of media particles having a preferred size range and a particle size prepared by the corresponding process described herein.

When the powder is mixed with heated hot air in the closed vessel 500, the powder circulates inside the vessel 500 and undergoes the processes of mixing, granulating, and drying to form granules. The fluid bed granulation process (Fluidized Bed Granulation) refers to the process of forming granules. The fluid bed granulation process may include top-spraying, bottom-spraying, powder feed feeding, rotor-spraying, and the like. Wherein 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 air 520 are opposite to each other. The top spray method can easily and rapidly bond fine particles or granules, 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 air 520, or the rotor spray method in which the spray direction of the liquid binder 510 is perpendicular to the flow direction of the fluidizing air 520, so that it is easy to produce granules having a desired size.

Although the present disclosure includes specific examples, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims and their equivalents. The examples described herein should be construed as illustrative only 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 illustrated 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.

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

Claims

1. A smoking article comprising:

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

wherein the plurality of media particles have a diameter of 0.25mm or greater.

2. The smoking article as claimed in claim 1 wherein the plurality of media particles comprises tobacco particles.

3. A smoking article according to claim 1, wherein the media particles are 0.60mm or less in diameter.

4. A smoking article according to claim 3, wherein the media particles are 0.425mm or greater in diameter.

5. The smoking article as claimed in claim 1 wherein the media receptacle is configured to be formed by folding a planar sheet multiple times, the plurality of media particles being applied to the planar sheet.

6. A smoking article according to claim 5, wherein one face of the planar sheet is applied with a humectant.

7. 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 face of the planar sheet to which the moisturizer is applied; 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.

8. A smoking article according to any one of claims 1 to 7, 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.

9. A smoking article according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of media particles are prepared by a fluid bed granulation process in which the direction of injection of the liquid binder and the direction of flow of the fluidising air are opposite each other.

10. An aerosol-generating system comprising:

a smoking article; and

an aerosol-generating device comprising a first container,

wherein the smoking article comprises:

a particle containing portion filled with a plurality of tobacco particles;

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

a filtering part positioned at the other side of the particle containing 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 particulate receptacles in the smoking article; and

a controller electrically connected with the heater, an

Wherein the plurality of tobacco particles have a diameter of 0.25mm or greater.

11. An aerosol-generating system according to claim 10, wherein the tobacco particles have a diameter of 0.425mm or more and 0.60mm or less.

12. An aerosol-generating system according to claim 10, wherein the plurality of tobacco particles are prepared by the process of: in this process, the spray direction of the liquid binder and the flow direction of the fluidizing air are opposite to each other.