JP2024517040A - Smoking article and aerosol-generating system including the same {SMOKING ARTICLE AND AEROSOL-GENERATING SYSTEMS COMPRESSING THEREOF} - Google Patents

Abstract

A smoking article according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a medium accommodating section including a shredded tobacco section filled with shredded tobacco and a paper tube section, a moisturizer accommodating section located on one side of the medium accommodating section and containing an aerosol-generating substance, and a filter section located on the other side of the medium accommodating section, wherein the length of the shredded tobacco section is usually half the length of the medium accommodating section, and the entire shredded tobacco section is heated by a heater.

Description

The present invention relates to smoking articles and aerosol generating systems that include the same.

In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for alternative methods that overcome the shortcomings of conventional cigarettes. For example, rather than generating aerosols by burning a cigarette, there is an increasing demand for methods in which an aerosol is generated by heating an aerosol-generating material within the cigarette.

As a result, the inventors developed a smoking article that has a shorter medium containing section than existing smoking articles and further includes a paper tube section, thereby completing the present invention.

The technical problem that the present invention aims to achieve is to provide a smoking article that includes a medium-containing portion that includes a shredded grass portion and a paper tube portion.

The present invention also provides an aerosol generating device that heats the aerosol generating material stored in the smoking article to provide an aerosol that can be inhaled by a user.

The present invention further provides an aerosol generating system comprising the smoking article and the aerosol generating device.

However, the technical problems that the present invention aims to achieve are not limited to those mentioned above, and other problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art from the following description.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a smoking article that includes a medium-containing section that includes a shredded grass section and a paper tube section.

As one embodiment of the present invention, the smoking article may include a shredded tobacco section filled with shredded tobacco, a medium containing section including a paper tube section, a moisturizing agent containing an aerosol-generating substance located on one side of the medium containing section, and a filter section located on the other side of the medium containing section.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the entire shredded grass portion may be heated by a heater.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the length of the shredded grass section is half the length of a conventional medium storage section consisting only of shredded grass, preferably 4 to 8 mm, more preferably 6 mm, and the length of the paper tube section may be the same as the length of the shredded grass section, preferably 4 to 8 mm, more preferably 6 mm. The length of the shredded grass section may be shorter than the length of the moisturizing agent storage section.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the tobacco shreds may be produced by shredding a slurry sheet of leaves.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the shredded tobacco section may be arranged in the same direction as each other.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the aerosol generating material may include glycerin (Gly) and propylene glycol (PG), and may optionally include nicotine.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the length of the moisturizer storage section may be 8 to 12 mm, preferably 10 mm.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the filter section may include a first filter section having an internal cavity and a second filter section filled with a filtering material.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the length of the first filter portion may be 10 to 14 mm, preferably 12 mm, and the length of the second filter portion may be 12 to 16 mm, preferably 14 mm.

In another embodiment of the present invention, one or more segments selected from the group consisting of the medium storage section, the moisturizer storage section, and the filter section may be wrapped by a segment wrapper.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the segments wrapped by the segment wrappers may be wrapped by a total wrapper.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the suction resistance of the medium containing portion may be 50-70 _mmH2O , preferably 60 _mmH2O .

The present invention further provides an aerosol generating device that heats an aerosol generating substance stored in the smoking article to provide the user with an aerosol that can be inhaled by the user.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the smoking article may be installed in a detachable manner.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the aerosol generating device may include an elongated cavity that accommodates the smoking article, a heater that heats at least all or a part of the medium accommodation portion and the moisturizing agent accommodation portion of the smoking article, and a control portion electrically connected to the heater.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the heater may heat the entire shredded grass section and a portion of the paper tube section in the medium storage section.

The present invention further provides an aerosol generating system comprising the smoking article and the aerosol generating device.

The smoking article, aerosol generating device, and aerosol generating system according to one embodiment have a shorter medium containing section than existing smoking articles and further include a paper tube section, thereby reducing the resistance to inhalation and increasing the amount of atomization.

Smoking articles, aerosol generating devices, and aerosol generating systems according to one embodiment can increase the transfer of total particulate matter (TPM), tar, nicotine, propylene glycol, glycerin, and water.

In one embodiment, the smoking article, aerosol generating device, and aerosol generating system can improve the amount of atomization by arranging finely cut slurry plate-like leaf sheets in a row to form the shredded grass section, thereby ensuring an airflow channel.

The smoking article, aerosol generating device, and aerosol generating system according to one embodiment can be easily inhaled by consumers and have an excellent smoking taste.

The effects of the smoking article, aerosol generating device, and aerosol generating system according to one embodiment are not limited to those mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art from the description below.

(a) and (b) are diagrams for explaining the segments that make up a smoking article, where Fig. 1(a) shows an existing smoking article including a medium containing section that includes only a shredded grass section, without a paper tube section, and Fig. 1(b) shows a smoking article according to one embodiment of the present invention including a medium containing section that includes a shredded grass section and a paper tube section. FIG. 1 shows an existing smoking article. FIG. 1 illustrates a smoking article according to one embodiment. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an aerosol generating device according to one embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an aerosol generating system in which a smoking article and an aerosol generating device are combined according to one embodiment.

The following describes the embodiments in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, since various modifications may be made to the embodiments, the scope of the patent application is not limited or restricted by these embodiments. It should be understood that all modifications, equivalents, or alternatives to the embodiments are included in the scope of the patent.

The terms used in the examples are merely for explanatory purposes and should not be construed as limiting. The singular term includes the plural term unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this specification, the terms "include" or "have" are intended to specify the presence of features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in this specification, and should be understood not to preclude the presence or additional possibility of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art to which the embodiments pertain. Terms defined in commonly used dictionaries, etc., should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the contextual meaning of the relevant art, and should not be interpreted as idealized or overly formal unless expressly defined in this application.

In addition, when describing the accompanying drawings, the same components are given the same reference symbols regardless of the drawing numbers, and duplicate descriptions thereof will be omitted. When describing the embodiments, if it is determined that a detailed description of related publicly known technology may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the embodiments, the detailed description will be omitted.

Furthermore, in describing components of the embodiments, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), (b), etc. may be used. These terms are used to distinguish the components from other components, and do not limit the nature, order, or sequence of the components. When a component is described as being "coupled," "bonded," or "connected" to another component, it should be understood that the component is directly coupled or connected to the other component, but that other components are also "coupled," "bonded," or "connected" between each component.

Components included in any of the embodiments and components having common functions will be described using the same names in the other embodiments. Unless otherwise stated, the description of any of the embodiments may also be applied to the other embodiments, and detailed descriptions will be omitted to the extent that they overlap.

In the present invention, the terms "upstream" and "downstream" are used to indicate the relative positions of the segments that make up a smoking article with respect to the direction in which a user draws air using the smoking article. A smoking article includes a downstream end (i.e., the portion where air enters) and an opposing upstream end (i.e., the portion where air exits). When using a smoking article, a user can bite the downstream end of the smoking article. The downstream end is also called the mouth end (ME) and the upstream end is also called the distal end (TE), and the term "end" can also be described as "terminal".

Figure 3 shows a smoking article according to one embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 3, a smoking article 100 according to one embodiment may include a medium storage section 110, a moisturizer storage section 120 located on one side of the medium storage section to generate an aerosol, and a filter section 130 located on the other side of the medium storage section. The segments of the smoking article 100, i.e., the medium storage section 110, the moisturizer storage section 120, and the filter section 130, may or may not be wrapped in a segment wrapper 140, and the segments wrapped in the segment wrapper 140 may be wrapped in an overall wrapper 150 to form one smoking article.

In the present invention, the "medium" may include, but is not necessarily limited to, solid substances based on tobacco raw materials such as tabular tobacco, shredded tobacco, reconstituted tobacco, etc., and/or liquid compositions based on glycerin, propylene glycol, nicotine, menthol, caffeine, GABA, taurine, vitamins, or various flavoring agents.

In the present invention, the "medium storage section 110" can include a shredded grass section 112 and a paper tube section 114, and unlike existing smoking articles (Figure 2), it includes a paper tube section, and by shortening the length of the shredded grass section, the inhalation resistance of the medium storage section can be reduced (Figures 1(a) and (b)).

In the present invention, the "shredded tobacco section 112" refers to a segment filled with shredded tobacco, where the shredded tobacco is composed of a solid material based on tobacco raw material. The shredded tobacco section 112 can be produced by finely cutting ordinary shredded tobacco or a slurry leaf sheet, and is formed by combining multiple shredded tobacco pieces in the same direction or randomly.

Preferably, the shredded tobacco part 112 is manufactured by cutting a 130 mg slurry plate sheet into small pieces, and arranged in the same direction to ensure an airflow channel and increase the amount of atomization. When the shredded tobacco part is manufactured using general shredded tobacco, it can be manufactured with a minimum suction resistance level of 90 _mmH2O , and if it is less than that, there is a lot of shredded tobacco loosening, and the quality may be poor due to contamination and insufficient hardness. On the other hand, when it is manufactured using a slurry plate sheet, the manufacturing quality is good with a suction resistance of ₁₂₀ mmH2O based on a shredded tobacco part of 12 mm, and when the shredded tobacco part is reduced to 6 mm, the medium receiving part can be manufactured with a suction resistance level of ₆₀ mmH2O.

In the present invention, the "paper tube part 114" means a segment made of thermally stable hard paper in a tube shape. The present invention reduces the length of the shredded grass part 112 to half that of the existing smoking article, and adds a paper tube part 114 of the same length as the shredded grass part 112, thereby reducing the suction resistance of the medium containing part 110 from ₁₀₀ mmH2O to ₆₀ mmH2O, and also reducing the suction resistance of the smoking article 100 including the medium containing part, thereby increasing the amount of atomization. That is, the smoking article 100 of the present invention improves the reduction in atomization caused by the blocking phenomenon of the shredded grass part.

The medium container 110 may further contain other additives such as a moisturizer, a flavoring agent, and/or an organic acid. The moisturizer may be glycerin, propylene glycol, ethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, or oleyl alcohol, and the flavoring agent may be, but is not limited to, licorice, sucrose, fructose syrup, isosweetener, cocoa, lavender, cinnamon, cardamom, celery, fenugreek, cascarilla, sandalwood, bergamot, geranium, honey essence, rose oil, vanilla, lemon oil, orange oil, mint oil, cinnamon, caraway, cognac, jasmine, chamomile, menthol, cinnamon, ylang-ylang, salvia, spearmint, ginger, coriander, or coffee.

In the present invention, the "humectant storage unit 120" may contain a humectant. The humectant may include glycerin and propylene glycol, and may further include at least one of ethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, oleyl alcohol, and water. Furthermore, the humectant storage unit may further include nicotine. However, the substances contained in the humectant storage unit 120 are not limited to these. The humectant can maintain the moisture in the aerosol generated when the smoking article is heated at an appropriate level, soften the unique taste of tobacco, and increase the amount of atomization.

In the present invention, the "filter section 130" is composed of at least one or more segments and may include at least one of a tube filter, a cooling structure, and a recess filter, and may preferably include a first filter section 132 having an internal cavity and a second filter section 134 filled with a filtering material. The filtering material may include a cellulose-based material (e.g., acetate, paper, etc.).

To measure the draw resistance, analyze the aerosol components, and perform a sensory evaluation of a smoking article according to one embodiment of the present invention, a smoking article was manufactured as shown in Table 1 below.

The control group was a conventional smoking article with an unheated portion of the shredded grass measuring 5 mm, while the experimental group had the length of the shredded grass reduced and a paper tube added, so that the entire shredded grass portion was heated.

Experimental Example 1. Measurement of resistance to inhalation When the resistance to inhalation of the medium-containing portion was measured using a resistance to inhalation measuring device (KADIEN), the resistance to inhalation of the medium-containing portion of the control group was 100 _mmH2O , whereas the resistance to inhalation of the medium-containing portion of the experimental group was 60 _mmH2O , which was a decrease of about 40%. In addition, the smoking article including the medium-containing portion also showed a much lower resistance to inhalation in the experimental group than in the control group. In other words, the present invention can provide a smoking article with reduced resistance to inhalation, easy for consumers to inhale, and abundant atomization.

Experimental Example 2. Aerosol Component Analysis The components of aerosol were analyzed under pack-harmonized conditions for 9 puffs using the HC (Health Canada) method, which is an internationally recognized analytical method for regular cigarettes. The results are shown in Table 2 below.

By reducing the length of the chopped grass section of the medium storage unit and adding a paper tube section, it was found that the aerosol in the experimental group contained significantly more total particulate matter (TPM), total aerosol residue (TAR), propylene glycol, glycerin, and water than the control group. In particular, the transfer amount of glycerin, which is an indicator of the amount of atomization, increased by more than two-fold.

Furthermore, to investigate the amount of transfer during initial inhalation, the components of the aerosol were analyzed under pack-harmonized conditions for 4 puffs using the above-mentioned HC (Health Canada) method, and the results are shown in Table 3 below.

Even during initial inhalation, the transfer rates of total particulate matter (TPM), tar (TAR), propylene glycol (PG), glycerin (Gly), and water (water) were all high.

Experimental Example 3. Sensory Evaluation The smoking articles were evaluated for initial atomization amount, smoking taste strength, overall atomization amount, irritation, unpleasant odor, smoking taste persistence, and overall satisfaction. The sensory evaluation was performed by a specialist with experience in sensory evaluation in the smoking article field, who measured the smoking articles using a 7-point scale after about 10-14 puffs. Specifically, the smoking articles were divided into (i) a control group, which was a smoking article made of a slurry plate sheet and contained 12 mm of shredded grass, and (ii) an experimental group, which was a smoking article made of a slurry plate sheet and contained 6 mm of shredded grass, and the results are shown in Table 4 below.

※Ｐ－ｖａｌｕｅ比較試料：刻草＋板１２ｍｍ ｖｓ 板状葉６ｍｍ ２種（有意水準^＊＊＊１％、^＊＊５％）

※P-value comparison sample: chopped grass + 12mm board vs. 6mm board leaves (2 types) (significance level ^*** 1%, ^** 5%)

As a result, it was confirmed that a smoking article manufactured by reducing the length of the shredded grass portion 112, adding a paper tube portion 114, and cutting the shredded grass portion into small pieces from a slurry plate leaf sheet had a statistically significant difference in terms of initial aerosol amount, overall aerosol amount, and overall satisfaction level, compared to a smoking article containing a 12 mm shredded grass portion manufactured by mixing ordinary shredded grass and a slurry plate leaf sheet.

In other words, the smoking article according to one embodiment of the present invention has an excellent amount of atomization during the first one or two puffs and an excellent overall amount of atomization, and the tobacco taste felt by consumers, i.e., the excellent smoking taste, lasts for a long time, resulting in the highest overall satisfaction.

Figures 4 and 5 show how the smoking article 100 including the medium containing section 110 described above can be used.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an aerosol generating device 200 according to one embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 4, the aerosol generating device 200 includes an elongated cavity 210 that accommodates the smoking article 100, a heater 220, and a control unit 230. The control unit 230 is electrically connected to the heater 220 and can control the temperature for heating the smoking article 100. The aerosol generating device 200 can further include a battery 240 that supplies power in the process of generating the aerosol.

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of an aerosol generating system 10 in which a smoking article 100 and an aerosol generating device 200 are combined according to one embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 5, the aerosol generating system 10 can include a smoking article 100 and an aerosol generating device 200. The smoking article 100 can be fitted snugly into the elongated cavity 210 of the aerosol generating device 200, and when the smoking article 100 is fitted to the aerosol generating device 200, the heater 220 can heat at least the medium containing section 110 and the moisturizing agent containing section 120 of the smoking article 100 in whole or in part, and preferably heats a part of the moisturizing agent containing section 120, the whole of the cut grass section 112, and a part of the paper tube section 114.

Specifically, in a conventional smoking article (control group), the length of the moisturizing agent storage section is 10 mm, the length of the shredded grass section is 12 mm, the length of the first filter section is 12 mm, and the length of the second filter section is 14 mm, and the heater 220 may heat 7 mm downstream of the moisturizing agent storage section and 7 mm upstream of the shredded grass section. Meanwhile, in a smoking article according to one embodiment of the present invention, the length of the moisturizing agent storage section is 10 mm, the length of the shredded grass section is 6 mm, the length of the paper tube section is 6 mm, the length of the first filter section is 12 mm, and the length of the second filter section is 14 mm, and the heater 220 may heat 7 mm downstream of the moisturizing agent storage section, the entire 6 mm of the shredded grass section, and 1 mm upstream of the paper tube section (FIGS. 1(a) and (b)). Therefore, the smoking article according to one embodiment of the present invention has the advantage of being able to optimize heat transfer by heating the entire shredded grass section.

As described above, although the embodiments have been described with limited drawings, a person having ordinary skill in the art may apply various technical modifications and variations based on the above. For example, the described techniques may be performed in an order different from that described, and/or the components of the described systems, structures, devices, circuits, etc. may be combined or combined in a manner different from that described, or may be replaced or substituted by other components or equivalents, and still achieve suitable results.

Therefore, other embodiments, other examples, and equivalents to the claims also fall within the scope of the claims described below.

Claims (14)

a medium storage section including a shredded tobacco section filled with shredded tobacco and a paper tube section;
a moisturizing agent storage unit located on one side of the medium storage unit and containing an aerosol-forming material;
a filter section located on the other side of the medium containing section;
A smoking article comprising:
The smoking article, wherein the entire shredded grass portion is heated by a heater. The smoking article according to claim 1, wherein the length of the shredded grass portion is half the length of a conventional medium-containing portion. The length of the shredded grass is 4 to 8 mm.
The smoking article according to claim 1, wherein the length of the paper tube portion is 4 to 8 mm. The smoking article of claim 1, wherein the tobacco shreds are produced by finely cutting a slurry sheet of tobacco. The smoking article according to claim 1, wherein the shredded tobacco portion is arranged in the same direction as each other. The smoking article of claim 1, wherein the aerosol generating material includes glycerin and propylene glycol, and optionally includes nicotine. The smoking article of claim 1 , wherein the filter portion includes a first filter portion having a cavity therein, and a second filter portion filled with a filtering material. The smoking article according to claim 1, wherein one or more segments selected from the group consisting of the medium storage section, the moisturizing agent storage section, and the filter section are wrapped in a segment wrapper. The smoking article of claim 8, wherein the segments wrapped by the segment wrappers are wrapped by a total wrapper. The smoking article according to claim 1, wherein the medium containing portion has a resistance to draw of 50 to 70 mmH ₂ O. An aerosol generating device to which the smoking article according to claim 1 is removably attached, which heats an aerosol generating substance stored in the smoking article to provide an aerosol that can be inhaled by a user. The aerosol generating device comprises:
an elongated cavity for housing the smoking article;
The aerosol generating device according to claim 11, comprising: a heater for heating at least the whole or a part of the moisturizing agent containing portion and the medium containing portion of the smoking article; and a control portion electrically connected to the heater. The aerosol generating device according to claim 12, wherein the heater heats the entire shredded grass portion and a part of the paper tube portion in the medium storage portion. An aerosol generating system including a smoking article and an aerosol generating device,
The smoking article has a medium housing portion including a shredded tobacco portion filled with shredded tobacco and a paper tube portion;
a moisturizing agent storage unit located on one side of the medium storage unit and containing an aerosol-forming material;
a filter section located on the other side of the medium containing section;
In a smoking article comprising:
The whole of the shredded grass part is heated by a heater,
The aerosol generating device is an aerosol generating system in which a smoking article is detachably mounted and which heats an aerosol generating material stored in the smoking article to provide an aerosol that can be inhaled by a user.

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