EP4355122A1

EP4355122A1 - Method for manufacturing tobacco granules, and aerosol generating article including tobacco granules manufactured thereby

Info

Publication number: EP4355122A1
Application number: EP23832942.9A
Authority: EP
Inventors: designation of the inventor has not yet been filed The
Original assignee: KT&G Corp
Current assignee: KT&G Corp
Priority date: 2022-08-23
Filing date: 2023-08-04
Publication date: 2024-04-24
Also published as: WO2024043571A1; KR20240027484A; CN118541040A; JP2024533013A; JP7704955B2; US20250127204A1; EP4355122A4

Abstract

A method of manufacturing tobacco granules includes manufacturing ground tobacco by grinding raw tobacco, manufacturing a mixture including the ground tobacco and a solvent, manufacturing tobacco granules by using the mixture, and freeze-drying the tobacco granules.

Description

METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING TOBACCO GRANULES, AND AEROSOL GENERATING ARTICLE INCLUDING TOBACCO GRANULES MANUFACTURED THEREBY

The disclosure relates to a method of manufacturing tobacco granules, and an aerosol generating article including tobacco granules manufactured thereby, and more particularly, to a method of manufacturing tobacco granules, capable of preventing loss of a flavoring material including nicotine.

Recently, the demand for alternative methods to overcome the disadvantages of traditional cigarettes has increased. For example, there is growing demand for an aerosol generating device which generates aerosol by heating an aerosol generating material, rather than by combusting cigarettes. Accordingly, research on a heating-type aerosol generating device has been actively conducted.

Tobacco materials used in heating-type aerosol generating devices are generally manufactured by drying mixtures of raw tobaccos, aerosol generating materials (e.g., glycerin, propylene glycol, or the like), water, and the like.

In methods of manufacturing tobacco materials used in existing heating-type aerosol generating devices, nicotine and flavoring materials may be unintentionally lost during drying processes. Accordingly, embodiments provide a manufacturing method capable of preventing loss of nicotine and a flavoring material occurring during a drying process of manufacturing a tobacco material.

The problems to be solved through the embodiments are not limited to the problems described above, and problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the embodiments belong from the description and the accompanying drawings.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, a method of manufacturing tobacco granules includes manufacturing ground tobacco by grinding raw tobacco, manufacturing a mixture including the ground tobacco and a solvent, manufacturing tobacco granules by using the mixture, and freeze-drying the tobacco granules.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, an aerosol generating article includes tobacco granules manufactured by a manufacturing method according to an embodiment.

The solution to the problems is not limited to the above description, and may include all matters that may be inferred by one of ordinary skill in the art throughout the description.

A method of manufacturing tobacco granules according to an embodiment may selectively remove only moisture without loss of nicotine and a flavoring material of tobacco granules, and thus, tobacco granules manufactured by the method may smoothly release nicotine and flavoring components.

In addition, an aerosol generating article including tobacco granules, according to an embodiment, may have improved a smoking taste intensity, smoking taste uniformity, tobacco taste, and the like, and may have reduced throat irritation, off-flavor, and the like.

The effects of the embodiments are not limited to the effects described above, and may include all effects that may be inferred from components described below.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method of manufacturing tobacco granules, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating an example of an aerosol generating article according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating another example of an aerosol generating article according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an aerosol generating device according to an embodiment.

The ground tobacco may have a diameter of about 10 μm to about 100 μm.

The manufacturing the ground tobacco may be performed at a temperature of about -15 °C to about -120 °C.

The solvent may include at least one selected from water and alcohols having 1 to 4 carbon atoms.

The solvent may include water and alcohols having 1 to 4 carbon atoms in a volume ratio of about 10:0 to about 5:5.

The manufacturing the tobacco granules may include wet-extruding the mixture.

The manufacturing the tobacco granules may include spraying the mixture inside a fluidized-bed reactor.

The tobacco granules may have a diameter of about 0.5 mm to about 1.5 mm.

The freeze-drying may be performed at a temperature of about -15 °C to about -120 °C.

The freeze-drying may be performed in vacuum.

A moisture content of the tobacco granules after the freeze-drying may be about 3 wt% to 10 wt% of the tobacco granules.

A porosity of the tobacco granules after the freeze-drying may be about 10 % to about 70 %.

With respect to the terms used to describe in the various embodiments, the general terms which are currently and widely used are selected in consideration of functions of structural elements in the various embodiments of the present disclosure. However, meanings of the terms can be changed according to intention, a judicial precedence, the appearance of a new technology, and the like. In addition, in certain cases, a term which is not commonly used can be selected. In such a case, the meaning of the term will be described in detail at the corresponding portion in the description of the present disclosure. Therefore, the terms used in the various embodiments of the present disclosure should be defined based on the meanings of the terms and the descriptions provided herein.

In addition, unless explicitly described to the contrary, the word "comprise" and variations such as "comprises" or "comprising" will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion of any other elements. In addition, the terms "-er", "-or", and "module" described in the specification mean units for processing at least one function and operation and can be implemented by hardware components or software components and combinations thereof.

As used herein, expressions such as "at least one of," when preceding a list of elements, modify the entire list of elements and do not modify the individual elements of the list. For example, the expression, "at least one of a, b, and c," should be understood as including only a, only b, only c, both a and b, both a and c, both b and c, or all of a, b, and c.

In addition, although the terms, "first", "second", etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another.

As used herein, an "aerosol generating device" may refer to a device that generates aerosol by using an aerosol generating material to generate aerosol that may be inhaled directly into the lungs of a user through the mouth of the user.

An "aerosol generating article" refers to an article used for smoking throughout the description. For example, the aerosol generating article may include a combustive cigarette used in a manner that is ignited and burned, or a heating-type cigarette used in a manner that is heated by an aerosol generating device. As another example, the aerosol generating article may include an article used in a manner in which a liquid included in a cartridge is heated.

Throughout the description, a "tobacco material" refers to any form of material including ingredients derived from tobacco leaves.

Hereinafter, the present disclosure will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are shown such that one of ordinary skill in the art may easily work the present disclosure. The disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, a method of manufacturing tobacco granules according to an embodiment includes: operation S110 of manufacturing ground tobacco; operation S120 of manufacturing a mixture; operation S130 of manufacturing tobacco granules; and operation S140 of freeze-drying the tobacco granules.

In operation S110 of manufacturing the ground tobacco, the ground tobacco may be manufactured by grinding raw tobacco. The raw tobacco may include a tobacco material and may refer to any form of material including components derived from tobacco leaves. For example, operation S110 of manufacturing the ground tobacco may include grinding tobacco leaves.

The raw tobacco may include at least one selected from fire-cured tobacco, sun-cured tobacco, flue-cured tobacco, burley tobacco, and oriental tobacco, but tobacco varieties included in the raw tobacco are not limited thereto. The raw tobacco may include a plurality of varieties of tobacco, or may include a single variety of tobacco. For example, the raw tobacco may include flue-cured tobacco and burley tobacco.

The ground tobacco may be manufactured by using a grinder, and a diameter of the ground tobacco may be adjusted by controlling a rotational speed of the grinder. For example, the grinder may have a structure that includes high-speed rotating body of a hammer grinding method and a sawtooth-shaped ring surrounding the high-speed rotating body, and small particles having a diameter less than or equal to 100 μm from among the ground tobacco are discharged to a blower discharger by a centrifugal force, and larger particles may be ground into smaller particle sizes while circulated inside the grinder. For example, the ground tobacco may be manufactured to have a diameter of about 35 μm by putting the raw tobacco into the grinder at a rotational speed of about 8000 rpm.

The ground tobacco may have a diameter of about 10 μm to about 100 μm. When the ground tobacco has a diameter less than about 10 μm, a viscosity of a mixture including the ground tobacco and a solvent may be too high. When the ground tobacco has a diameter exceeding about 100 μm, the mixture may not be uniformly formed, and thus, the size of tobacco granules manufactured subsequently may be non-uniform. In addition, the ground tobacco may have a diameter of about 10 μm to about 70 μm or a diameter of about 10 μm to about 50 μm.

Operation S110 of manufacturing the ground tobacco may be performed at a temperature of about -15 °C to about -120 °C. When operation S110 of manufacturing the ground tobacco is performed at the temperature of about -15 °C to about -120 °C, the raw tobacco may be prevented from agglomerating together during a grinding process. For example, in operation S110 of manufacturing the ground tobacco, a cryogenic grinder may be used. The raw tobacco may be ground while the raw tobacco is frozen at the temperature of about -15 °C to about -120 °C by putting the raw tobacco and liquefied nitrogen into the cryogenic grinder. When operation S110 of manufacturing the ground tobacco is performed at the temperature of about -15 °C to about -120 °C, the ground tobacco may be easily adjusted to have a desired size and may be prevented from being rancidified by contact with relatively high-temperature external air.

In operation S120 of manufacturing the mixture, the mixture including a tobacco mixture and a solvent may be manufactured. In operation S120 of manufacturing the mixture, the ground tobacco and the solvent may be mixed in a mass ratio of about 8:2 to about 2:8. For example, in operation S120 of manufacturing the mixture, the ground tobacco and the solvent may be mixed in a mass ratio of about 6:4 to about 4:6.

The solvent may include at least one selected from water and alcohols having 1 to 4 carbon atoms. The solvent may include water and alcohols having 1 to 4 carbon atoms in a volume ratio of about 9:1 to about 5:5. When the solvent includes water and alcohols having 1 to 4 carbon atoms in a volume ratio less than 9:1, pores formed in tobacco granules during a subsequent drying process may be insufficient. In addition, when the solvent includes water and alcohols having 1 to 4 carbon atoms in a volume ratio greater than about 5:5, hardness of tobacco granules manufactured may decrease, and a shape of the mixture may collapse. For example, the solvent may include water and alcohols having 1 to 4 carbon atoms in a volume ratio of about 8:2 to about 6:4. For example, the solvent may include water and ethanol in a volume ratio of about 6:4, but is not limited thereto.

The solvent may include a flavoring material. The flavoring material may refer to a material that produces a particular flavor. For example, the flavoring material may include vegetable spices, such as cinnamon, sage, herbs, chamomile, winter hay, licorice, lavender, bergamot, lemon, orange, jasmine, ginger, vanilla, spearmint, peppermint, acacia, coffee, celery, sandalwood, and cocoa. As another example, the flavoring material may include animal spices, such as musk, ambergris, sherbet, and castoreum.

As another example, the flavoring material may also be an alcoholic compound, such as menthol, geraniol, linalool, anethol, or eugenol. Also, the flavoring material may be an aldehyde compound, such as vanillin, benzaldehyde, or anisaldehyde. In addition, the flavoring material may be an ester compound, such as isoamyl acetate, linalyl acetate, isoamyl propionate, or butyric acid linalyl.

In operation S130 of manufacturing the tobacco granules, the tobacco granules may be manufactured by using the mixture. Operation S130 of manufacturing the tobacco granules may include an operation of forming spherical tobacco granules by wet-extruding the mixture. For example, in operation S130 of manufacturing the tobacco granules, the mixture may be put into a wet extruder and extruded. During extrusion, the mixture may be extruded at pressure greater than or equal to about 2 kN.

The tobacco granules may be manufactured by installing a net having a mesh size of about 0.5 mm to about 1.5 mm in a discharge port of the extruder. For example, a net having a mesh size of about 0.5 mm to about 0.8 mm may be installed in the discharge port.

In addition, in operation S130 of manufacturing the tobacco granules, a fluidized-bed reactor may be used. In detail, in operation S130 of manufacturing the tobacco granules, the mixture may be sprayed into the fluidized-bed reactor. Particles of the mixture sprayed inside the fluidized-bed reactor may agglomerated together and grow into the tobacco granules. For example, in operation S130 of manufacturing the tobacco granules, the tobacco granules may be manufactured by spraying the mixture into the fluidized-bed reactor that provides the conditions of a temperature of about 10 °C to about 100 °C and wind pressure less than or equal to 1.5 bar.

As another example, operation S130 of manufacturing the tobacco granules may include a first operation of manufacturing a core by using the mixture and a second operation of manufacturing the tobacco granules by forming a shell on at least a portion of the core. The manufactured tobacco granules may include a core and a shell surrounding at least a portion of the core.

In detail, the first operation may refer to an operation of growing the core by spraying a first mixture into the fluidized-bed reactor providing the conditions of a temperature of about 10 °C to about 100 °C and wind pressure less than or equal to about 1.5 bar. The core may have a size of about 30 to about 50 mesh. In other words, the core may have a diameter of about 0.297 mm to about 0.595 mm.

Here, the first mixture may refer to the same mixture as the above-described mixture including the ground tobacco and the solvent. For example, the solvent of the first mixture may include water, alcohol, and a flavoring material.

The second operation may refer to an operation of coating a surface of the core with a second mixture by locating the core in the fluidized-bed reactor providing the conditions of a temperature of about 50 °C to about 90 °C and wind pressure less than or equal to about 1.5 bar and spraying the second mixture.

Here, the second mixture may be the same as or different from the first mixture. For example, a solvent of the second mixture may include a flavoring material and may include a flavoring material that is different from a flavoring material of the first mixture. In other words, the core and shell of the tobacco granules may include different flavoring materials.

As another example, the core of the tobacco granules may include a flavoring material and the shell may not include a flavoring material. In this case, since the shell does not include a relatively highly volatile flavoring material and the core including a flavoring material is blocked from the outside, an amount of flavoring material lost during a storage of the tobacco granules may be reduced.

The tobacco granules may have a diameter of about 0.5 mm to about 1.5 mm. When the diameter of the tobacco granules is less than about 0.5 mm, the tobacco granules may leak from an aerosol generating article. When the diameter of the tobacco granules exceeds about 1.5 mm, a release of nicotine and flavor of the tobacco granules may not be smooth, and the tobacco granules may not be easily arranged inside the aerosol generating article. In addition, the diameter of the tobacco granules may be about 0.5 mm to about 0.8 mm.

The tobacco granules may have a hardness greater than or equal to about 90 %. In detail, the tobacco granules may have a hardness of about 95 % to about 99.9 %. The hardness of the tobacco granules refers to a physical property related to elasticity and resilience and refers to the degree of resistance to pressure applied to the tobacco granules in a vertical direction. The hardness of the tobacco granules is measured by using a hardness measurer and is calculated as in the equation below.

Hardness (%) = [(D-a) / D]*100

Here, "D" refers to the diameter of the tobacco granules, and "a" refers to a distance by which the tobacco granules are pressed under a 300 g weight.

When the tobacco granules have a hardness less than about 90 %, the tobacco granules may not maintain the shape thereof and may crumble during a process of manufacturing the aerosol generating article including the tobacco granules.

In operation S140 of freeze-drying the tobacco granules, moisture present in the tobacco granules may be removed by exposing the tobacco granules to a cryogenic temperature. In the case of a method of manufacturing tobacco granules, including a high-temperature drying process, according to a comparative example, nicotine and a flavoring material may be lost because they are easily discharged at a high temperature. In contrast, a method of manufacturing tobacco granules according to an embodiment does not include a high-temperature drying process. Thus, a solvent may be selectively removed, and loss of nicotine and a flavoring material may be prevented. For example, in operation S140 of freeze-drying the tobacco granules, the tobacco granules may be dried by putting the tobacco granules and liquefied nitrogen together into a chamber of a dryer.

The freeze-drying may be performed at a temperature of about -15 °C to about -120 °C. By controlling the temperature of the freeze-drying, a rate of the freeze-drying may be controlled, and the rate of the freeze-drying may affect a microstructure formed inside the tobacco granules. For example, the tobacco granules may be controlled to have a porosity within a desired range by controlling the temperature of the freeze-drying. In addition, the freeze-drying may be performed at a temperature of about -30 °C to about -70 °C.

The freeze-dried tobacco granules may have a porosity of about 10 % to about 70 %. Here, the porosity may refer to a ratio of an empty portion to a total volume of the tobacco granules. In the case of the method of manufacturing the tobacco granules, including the high-temperature drying process, according to the comparative example, hot air is generally sprayed onto the tobacco granules, and thus, pores may not be easily formed inside and on the surface of the tobacco granules. In contrast, in the case of the method of manufacturing the tobacco granules, including the freeze-drying process, according to the embodiment, a plurality of pores may be formed inside and on the surface of the tobacco granules as the solvent evaporates. Accordingly, the tobacco granules may smoothly release the nicotine and flavoring material through the plurality of pores. When the porosity of the tobacco granules is less than about 10 %, the release of the nicotine and flavoring material through the pores may not be smooth. When the porosity of the tobacco granules exceeds 70 %, the hardness of the tobacco granules may be insufficient. For example, the porosity of the freeze-dried tobacco granules may be about 30 % to about 50 %.

The freeze-drying may be performed in vacuum. Since freeze-drying is performed at a very low temperature, the solvent may be frozen inside the tobacco granules and thus may not dried or may be dried very slowly. When the freeze-drying is performed in vacuum, the solvent may not be frozen due to low pressure, and the drying rate of the solvent may be improved.

A moisture content of the freeze-dried tobacco granules may be about 3 wt% to about 10 wt% on the basis of a weight of the tobacco granules. The moisture included in the tobacco granules contributes to formation of fine pores on the surface of the tobacco granules by absorbing heat applied when the tobacco granules are heated (e.g., during smoking). When the moisture content of the tobacco granules is less than about 3 wt%, an amount of the flavoring material released from the tobacco granules may be insufficient. When the moisture content exceeds about 10 wt%, contamination may occur on a surface of the aerosol generating article when the tobacco granules are arranged in the aerosol generating article. For example, the moisture content may be about 3 wt% to about 7 wt% on the basis of the weight of the tobacco granules.

The tobacco granules may have a surface roughness Ra of about 5.0 to about 10.0. Here, the surface roughness refers to the degree of roughness of a surface of an object. For example, the surface roughness may be expressed as a center line average roughness Ra according to the KS B 0161 standard.

The tobacco granules may have an irregular shape and may have a relatively high surface roughness. As described below, the tobacco granules according to an embodiment may be arranged in a form of being buried between cellulose acetate fibers in a filter of the aerosol generating article. Here, the surface roughness of the tobacco granules may be related to a total amount of tobacco granules that may be buried between the cellulose acetate fibers.

When the surface roughness of the tobacco granules is less than about 5.0, the position of the tobacco granules may not be easily fixed between the cellulose acetate fibers due to low surface friction, and the amount of tobacco granules contained in the aerosol generating article may be limited. When the surface roughness of the tobacco granules exceeds about 10.0, the cellulose acetate fibers may be damaged due to excessively high surface friction. However, the shape and surface roughness of the tobacco granules may vary according to embodiments, and are not limited to the above description.

As another example, the method of manufacturing the tobacco granules, according to an embodiment, may further include an operation of spheroidizing the tobacco granules. The tobacco granules having a uniform shape may be manufactured through the operation of spheroidizing the tobacco granules. The operation of spheroidizing the tobacco granules may be performed after operation S130 of manufacturing the tobacco granules and before operation S140 of freeze-drying the tobacco granules. In the operation of spheroidizing the tobacco granules, spheroidizing equipment using a centrifugal force may be used.

An aerosol generating article according to an embodiment includes tobacco granules manufactured according to an embodiment. The aerosol generating article may be heated without being burned to generate aerosol. For example, the aerosol generating article may be inserted into an aerosol generating device including a heater to generate aerosol.

Hereinafter, examples of an aerosol generating article according to an embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating an example of an aerosol generating article 200 according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 2, the aerosol generating article 200 may include an aerosol generating rod 210, a tobacco rod 220, a cooling rod 230, and a filter rod 240. In detail, the aerosol generating rod 210, the tobacco rod 220, the cooling rod 230, and the filter rod 240 may include an aerosol generating material, tobacco granules, a cooling material, and a filter material, respectively.

Referring to FIG. 2, the aerosol generating rod 210, the tobacco rod 220, the cooling rod 230, and the filter rod 240 may be sequentially arranged in a longitudinal direction of the aerosol generating article 200. Here, the longitudinal direction of the aerosol generating article 200 may be a direction in which the aerosol generating article 200 extends. For example, the longitudinal direction of the aerosol generating article 200 may be a direction from the aerosol generating rod 210 toward the filter rod 240. Accordingly, aerosol generated from at least one of the aerosol generating rod 210 and the tobacco rod 220 may form an airflow by sequentially passing through the aerosol generating rod 210, the tobacco rod 220, the cooling rod 230, and the filter rod 240, and thus, a smoker may inhale the aerosol from the filter rod 240.

The aerosol generating rod 210 may include an aerosol generating material. In addition, the aerosol generating rod 210 may include other additives, such as flavors, a wetting agent, and/or organic acid, and may include a flavoring liquid, such as menthol or a moisturizer. Here, the aerosol generating material may include at least one of glycerin, propylene glycol, ethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, and oleyl alcohol.

The aerosol generating rod 210 may include an aerosol generating substrate impregnated with an aerosol generating material. An example of the aerosol generating substrate may include a crimped sheet, and the aerosol generating material may be included in the aerosol generating rod 210 while being impregnated into the crimped sheet. In addition, the other additives, such as flavors, a wetting agent, and/or organic acid, and the flavoring liquid may be included in the aerosol generating rod 210 while being absorbed into the crimped sheet.

The crimped sheet may refer to a sheet including a polymer material. For example, the polymer material may include at least one of paper, cellulose acetate, lyocell, and polylactic acid. For example, the crimped sheet may be a paper sheet that does not generate an off-flavor due to heat even when heated to a high temperature, but is not limited thereto.

The aerosol generating rod 210 may extend about 7 mm to about 20 mm from an end of the aerosol generating article 200, and the tobacco rod 220 may extend about 7 mm to about 20 mm from an end of the aerosol generating rod 210. However, the extension lengths of the aerosol generating rod 210 and the tobacco rod 220 are not limited to the numerical ranges and may be appropriately adjusted within a range that may be easily changed by one of ordinary skill in the art.

The tobacco rod 220 may include a plurality of tobacco granules and a filter material. The plurality of tobacco granules may be buried in a filter material. The filter material may include, for example, a bundle of fibers in which cellulose acetate fiber strands are agglomerated. The plurality of tobacco granules may be arranged in a uniformly dispersed form between a plurality of cellulose fibers.

As another example, the filter material may include a paper sheet. The paper sheet may be rolled and arranged inside the tobacco rod 220. A central axis of the rolled paper sheet may be parallel to the longitudinal direction of the aerosol generating article 200. The plurality of tobacco granules may be uniformly dispersed inside the rolled paper sheet.

The cooling rod 230 may cool an airflow that is passed through the aerosol generating rod 210 and the tobacco rod 220. The cooling rod 230 may include a polymer material or a biodegradable polymer material, and may have a cooling function. For example, the cooling rod 230 may include a polylactic acid (PLA) fiber, but is not limited thereto. Alternatively, the cooling rod 230 may include a cellulose acetate filter in which a plurality of pores are perforated. However, the cooling rod 230 is not limited to the above example, and may include any material that performs a function of cooling without limitation. For example, the cooling rod 230 may be a tube filter or a paper tube including a hollow.

The filter rod 240 may include a filter material. For example, the filter rod 240 may be a cellulose acetate filter. A shape of the filter rod 240 is not limited. For example, the filter rod 240 may include a cylinder-type rod or a tube-type rod having a hollow inside. In addition, the filter rod 240 may include a recess-type rod. When the filter rod 240 includes a plurality of segments, at least one of the plurality of segments may be manufactured to have a different shape.

The filter rod 240 may be manufactured to generate flavors. For example, a flavoring liquid may be injected onto the filter rod 240, or an additional fiber coated with a flavoring liquid may be inserted into the filter rod 240.

Also, the filter rod 240 may include at least one capsule. Here, the capsule may generate a flavor or aerosol. For example, the capsule may have a structure in which a liquid including a flavoring material is wrapped with a film. The capsule may have a spherical or cylindrical shape, but is not limited thereto.

The aerosol generating article 200 may include a wrapper 250 surrounding at least some of the aerosol generating rod 210 to the filter rod 240. In addition, the aerosol generating article 200 may include the wrapper 250 surrounding all of the aerosol generating rod 210 to the filter rod 240. The wrapper 250 may be located on an outermost portion of the aerosol article 200, and the wrapper 250 may include a single wrapper, but may include a combination of a plurality of wrappers.

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating another example of an aerosol generating article 200 according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 3, the aerosol generating article 200 according to an embodiment may include a front-end plug 260, a tobacco rod 220, and a filter rod 240. Here, the above description of FIG. 2 may be equally applied to the tobacco rod 220 and the filter rod 240.

The front-end plug 260 may be located on one side of the tobacco rod 220 opposite to the filter rod 240. The front-end plug 260 may prevent the tobacco rod 220 from being detached and prevent liquefied aerosol from flowing into an aerosol generating device from the tobacco rod 220, during smoking.

In an embodiment, the aerosol generating device may refer to a device that generates aerosol by electrically heating the aerosol generating article 200 accommodated in an inner space.

The aerosol generating device may include a heater. In an embodiment, the heater may include an electro-resistive heater. For example, the heater may include an electrically conductive track, and the heater may be heated when currents flow through the electrically conductive track.

The heater may include a tube-type heating element, a plate-type heating element, a needle-type heating element, or a rod-type heating element, and may heat the inside or the outside of the aerosol generating article 200, according to the shape of the heating element.

In an embodiment, the aerosol generating device may refer to a device for generating aerosol by using a cartridge including an aerosol generating material.

The aerosol generating device may include a cartridge including an aerosol generating material and a main body supporting the cartridge. The cartridge may be detachably coupled to the main body, but is not limited thereto. The cartridge may be integrally formed or assembled with the main body, or may be fixed not to be detached by a user. The cartridge may be mounted on the main body while accommodating the aerosol generating material therein. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and the aerosol generating material may be injected into the cartridge while the cartridge is coupled to the main body.

The cartridge may include the aerosol generating material having any one state from among various states such as a liquid state, a solid state, a gas state, and a gel state. The aerosol generating material may include a liquid composition. For example, the liquid composition may be a liquid including a tobacco-containing material having a volatile tobacco flavor component, or a liquid including a non-tobacco material.

The cartridge may be operated by an electrical signal or a wireless signal transmitted from the main body to perform a function of generating aerosol by converting a phase of the aerosol generating material inside the cartridge to a gaseous phase. The aerosol may refer to a gas in which vaporized particles generated from the aerosol generating material are mixed with air.

In an embodiment, the aerosol generating device may generate aerosol by heating a liquid composition and the generated aerosol may pass through the aerosol generating article 200 to be delivered to the user. In other words, the aerosol generated from the liquid composition may move along an air flow passage of the aerosol generating device and the air flow passage may be configured such that the aerosol passes through the aerosol generating article 200 to be delivered to the user. In addition, the aerosol generating device may not include a heater for heating the aerosol generating article 200. In this case, high-temperature aerosol generated by heating the liquid composition may heat the aerosol generating article 200 while passing through the aerosol generating article 200. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and the aerosol generating device may include a heater for heating the liquid composition and a heater for heating the aerosol generating article 200, respectively.

In an embodiment, the aerosol generating device may refer to a device that generates aerosol by heating the aerosol generating article 200 accommodated in the aerosol generating device in an induction heating method.

The aerosol generating device may include a susceptor and a coil. In an embodiment, the coil may apply a magnetic field to the susceptor. When power is supplied to the coil from the aerosol generating device, the magnetic field may be formed inside the coil. In an embodiment, the susceptor may include a magnetic body that generates heat by an external magnetic field. When the susceptor is located inside the coil and the magnetic field is applied thereto, the susceptor may generate heat such that the aerosol generating article 200 may be heated. Additionally or alternatively, the susceptor may be located within the aerosol generating article 200.

In an embodiment, the aerosol generating device may further include a cradle.

The aerosol generating device and an additional cradle may form together a system. For example, the cradle may charge a battery of the aerosol generating device. Alternatively, the heater may be heated when the cradle and the aerosol generating device are coupled to each other.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an aerosol generating device 400 according to an embodiment.

The aerosol generation device 400 may include a controller 410, a sensing unit 420, an output unit 430, a battery 440, a heater 450, a user input unit 460, a memory 470, and a communicator 480. However, an internal structure of the aerosol generating device 400 is not limited to that illustrated in FIG. 4. In other words, according to the design of the aerosol generating device 400, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that some of components shown in FIG. 4 may be omitted or new components may be further added.

The sensing unit 420 may detect a state of the aerosol generating device 400 or a state around the aerosol generating device 400, and transmit detected information to the controller 410. On the basis of the detected information, the controller 410 may control the aerosol generating device 400 to perform various functions such as controlling an operation of the heater 450, limiting smoking, determining whether or not the aerosol generating article 200 of FIG. 2 and 3 (e.g., a cigarette, a cartridge, or the like) is inserted, and displaying a notification.

The sensing unit 420 may include at least one of a temperature sensor 422, an insertion detection sensor 424, and a puff sensor 426, but is not limited thereto.

The temperature sensor 422 may detect a temperature at which the heater 450 (or an aerosol generating material) is heated. The aerosol generating device 400 may include a separate temperature sensor that senses a temperature of the heater 450, or the heater 450 may autonomously operate as a temperature sensor. Alternatively, the temperature sensor 422 may be arranged around the battery 440 to monitor a temperature of the battery 440.

The insertion detection sensor 424 may detect insertion and/or removal of the aerosol generating article 200. For example, the insertion detection sensor 424 may include at least one of a film sensor, a pressure sensor, an optical sensor, a resistive sensor, a capacitive sensor, an inductive sensor, and an infrared sensor, and may detect a signal change due to the insertion and/or remove of the aerosol generating article.

The puff sensor 426 may detect a puff by a user on the basis of various physical changes in an airflow passage or airflow channel. For example, the puff sensor 426 may detect the puff by the user on the basis of any one of a temperature change, a flow change, a voltage change, and a pressure change.

The sensing unit 420 may further include at least one of a temperature/humidity sensor, a pressure sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor, a gyroscope sensor, a position sensor (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS)), a proximity sensor, and an RGB sensor (e.g., an illuminance sensor), in addition to the temperature sensor 422, the insertion detection sensor 424, and the puff sensor 426. Functions of the respective sensors may be intuitively inferred from names thereof by one of ordinary skill in the art, and thus, a detailed description thereof may be omitted.

The output unit 430 may output information regarding the state of the aerosol generating device 400 and provide the information to the user. The output unit 430 may include at least one of a display unit 432, a haptic unit 434, and a sound output unit 436, but is not limited thereto. When the display unit 432 and a touch pad form a layer structure to form a touch screen, the display unit 432 may be used as an input device in addition to an output device.

The display unit 432 may visually provide the user with the information regarding the aerosol generating apparatus 400. For example, the information regarding the aerosol generating device 400 may refer to various types of information such as a charging/discharging state of the battery 440 of the aerosol generating device 400, a preheating state of the heater 450, an insertion/removal state of the aerosol generating article 200, and a state in which use of the aerosol generating device 400 is limited (e.g., a detection of an abnormal article), and the display 432 may output the information to the outside. The display unit 432 may refer to, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel, an organic light emitting display (OLED) panel, or the like. In addition, the display unit 432 may be in the form of an LED light emitting device.

The haptic unit 434 may convert an electrical signal into mechanical stimulation or electrical stimulation to tactilely provide the user with the information regarding the aerosol generating device 400. For example, the haptic unit 434 may include a motor, a piezoelectric element, or an electric stimulation device.

The sound output unit 436 may audibly provide the user with the information regarding the aerosol generating device 400. For example, the sound output unit 436 may convert an electrical signal into a sound signal and output the sound signal to the outside.

The battery 440 may supply power to be used for the aerosol generating device 400 to operate. The battery 440 may supply power such that the heater 450 may be heated. In addition, the battery 440 may supply power needed for operations of other components (e.g., the sensing unit 420, the output unit 430, the user input unit 460, the memory 470, and the communicator 480) included in the aerosol generating device 400. The battery 440 may be a rechargeable battery or a disposable battery. For example, the battery 440 may be a lithium polymer (LiPoly) battery, but is not limited thereto.

The heater 450 may be supplied with power from the battery 440 and heat the aerosol generating material. Although not illustrated in FIG. 4, the aerosol generating device 400 may further include a power conversion circuit (e.g., a direct current (DC)/DC converter) that converts power of the battery 440 and supplies the converted power to the heater 450. In addition, when the aerosol generating device 400 generates aerosol in an induction heating method, the aerosol generating device 400 may further include a DC/AC converter that converts DC power of the battery 440 into AC power.

The controller 410, the sensing unit 420, the output unit 430, the user input unit 460, the memory 470, and the communicator 480 may be supplied with power from the battery 440 and perform functions. Although not shown in FIG. 4, the aerosol generating device 400 may further include a power conversion circuit for converting power and supplying the converted power to the respective components, e.g., a low dropout (LDO) circuit or a voltage regulator circuit.

In an embodiment, the heater 450 may be formed of any appropriate electrically resistive material. For example, the appropriate electrically resistive material may be metal or a metal alloy including titanium, zirconium, tantalum, platinum, nickel, cobalt, chromium, hafnium, niobium, molybdenum, tungsten, tin, gallium, manganese, iron, copper, stainless steel, nichrome, or the like, but is not limited thereto. In addition, the heater 130 may be implemented by a metal wire, a metal plate on which an electrically conductive track is arranged, a ceramic heating element, or the like, but is not limited thereto.

In an embodiment, the heater 450 may include an induction heater. For example, the heater 450 may include a susceptor that heats the aerosol generating material by generating heat through a magnetic field applied by a coil.

The user input unit 460 may receive information input from the user or output information to the user. For example, the user input unit 460 may include a keypad, a dome switch, a touch pad (a contact capacitance method, a pressure resistor film method, an infrared detection method, a surface ultrasonic conduction method, an integrated tension measurement method, a piezo effect method, or the like), a jog wheel, a jog switch, or the like, but is not limited thereto. In addition, although not illustrated in FIG. 4, the aerosol generating device 400 may further include a connection interface such as a universal serial bus (USB) interface, and may be connected to an external device via the connection interface, such as a USB interface, to transmit and receive information to and from the external device or charge the battery 440.

The memory 470 may be hardware that stores various types of data processed within the aerosol generating device 400, and may store pieces of data processed by the controller 410 and pieces of data to be processed by the controller 410. The memory 470 may include at least one type of storage medium such as a flash memory type, a hard disk type, a multimedia card micro type, card type of memory (e.g., SD, XD memory, or the like), random access memory (RAM), static random access memory (SRAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), magnetic memory, a magnetic disk, and an optical disk. The memory 470 may store data regarding an operation time of the aerosol generating device 400, the maximum number of puffs, the current number of puffs, at least one temperature profile, and a smoking pattern of the user, and the like.

The communicator 480 may include at least one component for communication with another electronic device. For example, the communicator 480 may include a short-range wireless communication unit 482 and a wireless communication unit 484.

The short-range wireless communication unit 482 may include a Bluetooth communication unit, Bluetooth low energy (BLE) communication unit, a near field communication (NFC) unit, a wireless local area network (WLAN) (Wi-Fi) communication unit, a Zigbee communication unit, an infrared data association (IrDA) communication unit, a Wi-Fi Direct (WFD) communication unit, an ultra wideband (UWB) communication unit, an Ant+ communication unit, or the like, but is not limited thereto.

The wireless communication unit 484 may include a cellular network communication unit, an Internet communication unit, a computer network (e.g., LAN or WAN) communication unit, or the like, but is not limited thereto. The wireless communication unit 484 may identify and authenticate the aerosol generating device 400 within a communication network by using subscriber information (e.g., International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI)).

The controller 410 may control the overall operation of the aerosol generating device 400. In an embodiment, the controller 410 may include at least one processor. The processor may be implemented as an array of a plurality of logical gates, or a combination of a general-purpose microprocessor and a memory that stores a program that may be executed by the microprocessor. In addition, it may be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present embodiment belongs that the processor may be implemented as other types of hardware.

The controller 410 may control a temperature of the heater 450 by controlling supply of power from the battery 440 to the heater 450. For example, the controller 410 may control power supply by controlling switching of a switching element between the battery 440 and the heater 450. In another example, a heating direct circuit may control power supply to the heater 450 according to a control command of the controller 410.

The controller 410 may analyze a result detected by the sensing unit 420, and control processes to be subsequently performed. For example, the controller 410 may control, on the basis of the result detected by the sensing unit 420, power supplied to the heater 450 so that an operation of the heater 450 starts or ends. As another example, the controller 410 may control, on the basis of the result detected by the sensing unit 420, an amount of power supplied to the heater 450 and a time for which power is supplied to the heater 450 so that the heater 450 may be heated to a certain temperature or maintained at an appropriate temperature.

The controller 410 may control the output unit 430 on the basis of the result detected by the sensing unit 420. For example, when the number of puffs counted via the puff sensor 426 reaches a preset number, the controller 410 may notify the user that the aerosol generating device 400 will soon end, via at least one of the display unit 432, the haptic unit 434, and the sound output unit 436.

An embodiment may also be implemented in the form of a recording medium including computer-executable instructions, such as a program module executed by a computer. Computer-readable media may be any available media that may be accessed by a computer, and include both volatile and nonvolatile media, detachable and non-detachable media. Also, the computer-readable media may include all computer storage media and communication media. The computer storage media include both volatile and nonvolatile, detachable and non-detachable media implemented by any method or technology for storing information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. The communication media typically include computer-readable instructions, data structures, other data of modulated data signals such as program modules, or other transmission mechanisms, and include any information transmission medium.

Example 1: Manufacture of Tobacco Granules Using Freeze-drying

Flue-cured tobacco leaves (Brazilian nicotine content of 4 %) and burley tobacco leaves (American nicotine content of 4 %) are put into liquefied nitrogen and flash-frozen. The flash-frozen flue-cured and burley tobacco leaves are respectively put into a cryogenic grinder and ground. The liquefied nitrogen is put together into the cryogenic grinder. Ground tobacco is manufactured by setting a rotational speed of the cryogenic grinder to 8000 rpm. A particle size of powder of the ground tobacco is less than or equal to 35 μm.

A mixture is manufactured by mixing a flue-cured ground tobacco and a burley ground tobacco in a weight ratio of 5:5 and mixing a solvent with the ground tobacco in the same weight ratio. The solvent includes water and ethanol in a volume ratio of 6:4.

Tobacco granules are manufactured via a net having a mesh size of 0.5 mm by putting the mixture into a wet extruder. The manufactured tobacco granules are put into a freeze dryer and dried. A temperature of a chamber of the freeze dryer is about -40 °C to about -60 °C, and drying is performed in a vacuum condition. The tobacco granules, which are completely dried, have a diameter of about 0.8 mm to about 1.0 mm.

Comparative Example 1: Manufacture of Tobacco Granules Using High-temperature Drying

Flue-cured tobacco leaves (Brazilian nicotine content of 4 %) and burley tobacco leaves (American nicotine content of 4 %) are put into a grinder and ground. Ground tobacco is manufactured by setting a rotational speed of the grinder to 8000 rpm. A particle size of powder of the ground tobacco is less than or equal to 35 μm.

Tobacco granules are manufactured via a net having a mesh size of 0.5 mm by putting the mixture into a wet extruder. The manufactured tobacco granules are put into a high-temperature dryer and dried. A temperature of a chamber of the high-temperature dryer is about 80 °C. The tobacco granules, which are completely dried, have a diameter of about 0.8 mm to about 1.0 mm.

Experimental Example: Evaluation of Sensory Characteristics of Aerosol Generating Article

An aerosol generating article including the tobacco granules of Embodiment 1 above and an aerosol generating article including the tobacco granules of Comparative Example 1 are manufactured, respectively, and the aerosol generating articles are evaluated for sensory characteristics a regarding smoking taste intensity, a smoking taste uniformity, throat irritation, an off-flavor, and tobacco flavor.

The aerosol generating articles are manufactured to have the same structures as an aerosol generating article as illustrated in FIG. 2. Each of tobacco rods of the aerosol generating articles is adjusted to include tobacco granules of about 5 mg to about 6 mg per 1 mm of a length of the tobacco rod.

The evaluation of the sensory characteristics is performed by heating, under the same conditions (a heating temperature, a heating time, and the like), the aerosol generating articles 4 weeks after being manufactured, by using the same aerosol generating device. The evaluation of the sensory characteristics is performed by a total of 20 evaluators on the basis of a total score of 7 points.

	Intensity of Smoking Taste	Uniformity of Smoking Taste	Throat Irritation	Off-flavor	Flavor of Tobacco
Comparative Example 1	4.2	4.5	4.0	3.5	3.0
Embodiment 1	6.0	5.2	2.5	2.2	6.3

* Intensity of smoking taste: the higher the stronger, uniformity of smoking taste: the higher the more uniform, throat irritation: the higher the stronger, off-flavor: the higher the stronger, tobacco flavor: the higher the strongerTable 1 shows an average score of the sensory characteristics evaluated by a total of 20 evaluators. Referring to Table 1, with respect to characteristics that provide a positive smoking experience to a user, such as a smoking taste intensity, a smoking taste uniformity, and a tobacco flavor, an aerosol generating article including the tobacco granules of Example 1 scores higher than an aerosol generating article including the tobacco granules of Comparative Example 1.In contrast, with respect to throat irritation and off-flavor that provide a negative smoking experience to the user, the aerosol generating article including the tobacco granules of Example 1 scores lower than the aerosol generating article including the tobacco granules of Comparative Example 1.

According to the results of the evaluation of the sensory characteristics, when tobacco granules according to an embodiment are applied to an aerosol generating article, a smoking taste intensity a smoking taste uniformity, and a tobacco flavor may be improved, and throat irritation and off-flavor may be reduced.

The description of the embodiments described above is merely illustrative, and one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments may be made therefrom. Therefore, the scope of the disclosure should be defined by the attached claims, and all differences within the scope equivalent to the description of claims should be interpreted as being included in the scope defined by claims.

Claims

A method of manufacturing tobacco granules, the method comprising:

manufacturing ground tobacco by grinding raw tobacco;

manufacturing a mixture including the ground tobacco and a solvent;

manufacturing tobacco granules by using the mixture; and

freeze-drying the tobacco granules.
The method of claim 1, wherein the ground tobacco has a diameter of 10 μm to 100 μm.
The method of claim 1, wherein the manufacturing of the ground tobacco is performed at a temperature of -15 °C to -120 °C.
The method of claim 1, wherein the solvent includes at least one selected from water and alcohols having 1 to 4 carbon atoms.
The method of claim 1, wherein the solvent includes water and an alcohol having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, in a volume ratio of about 10:0 to about 5:5.
The method of claim 1, wherein the manufacturing of the tobacco granules includes wet-extruding the mixture.
The method of claim 1, wherein the manufacturing of the tobacco granules includes spraying the mixture in a fluidized-bed reactor.
The method of claim 1, wherein the tobacco granules have a diameter of 0.5 mm to 1.5 mm.
The method of claim 1, wherein the freeze-drying is performed at a temperature of -15 °C to -120 °C.
The method of claim 1, wherein the freeze-drying is performed in a vacuum.
The method of claim 1, wherein a moisture content of the tobacco granules after the freeze-drying is 3 wt% to 10 wt% of the tobacco granules.
The method of claim 1, wherein a porosity of the tobacco granules after the freeze-drying is 10 % to 70 %.
An aerosol generating article comprising tobacco granules manufactured according to the method of claim 1.