JP7315766B2 - Non-combustion heating smoking device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to non-combustion heating smoking devices.

A type of non-combustion heating smoking device that delivers an aerosol generated by heating a tobacco rod containing tobacco shreds and an aerosol-generating base material (glycerin, propylene glycol, etc.) with a heater such as an electric heater to a smoker is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1, etc.).

In the non-combustion heating type smoking device, it has been conventionally desired to increase the amount of aerosol generated (delivery amount) to enhance the sense of volume of smoke. Therefore, it is important to deliver the aerosol generated by heating the aerosol-generating substrate to the mouthpiece without waste.

Japanese Patent No. 6026556 Japanese Patent Publication No. 2014-525251 Japanese Patent Publication No. 2013-511962

However, in the conventional non-combustion heating type smoking device, when the tobacco rod is heated, there are likely to be portions where the product temperature is low, and the once volatilized aerosol-generating base material may be cooled by the low product temperature portion and condense. As a result, a sufficient amount of aerosol cannot be delivered to the smoker, and there is a concern that the amount of smoke may be reduced. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its object is to provide a non-combustion heating smoking device capable of suppressing condensation of aerosol generated by heating and delivering a sufficient amount of aerosol to a smoker.

A non-combustion heating smoking device according to the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems includes: a housing cavity for housing a tobacco rod including chopped tobacco and an aerosol-generating base material; an internal heater disposed in the housing cavity and inserted into a tobacco rod inserted into the housing cavity or inserted into a recess formed in an end face of the tobacco rod for heating the tobacco rod from the inside to volatilize the aerosol-generating base material; an external heater for preheating the outer periphery of the tobacco rod during a heating period to inhibit condensation of aerosols generated when the internal heater is activated.

Further, a control unit for controlling the internal heater and the external heater may be provided, and the control unit may control the temperature of the external heater to be higher than the temperature of the internal heater during a simultaneous heating period in which both the internal heater and the external heater operate.

Further, when the time elapsed from the start of preheating of the tobacco rod by the external heater reaches a predetermined set time, or when the temperature of the external heater reaches a predetermined set temperature, the control unit stops the operation of the external heater, but may continue the operation of the internal heater.

The controller may increase the temperature of the internal heater after stopping the operation of the external heater compared to before stopping the operation of the external heater.

The control unit may start preheating the tobacco rod by activating only the external heater, and may actuate the internal heater after activating the external heater.

The housing cavity has an insertion port, which is an open end that is positioned on the distal end side of the side peripheral portion and is open to allow insertion of the tobacco rod, and a cavity bottom positioned on the base end side of the side peripheral portion, the side peripheral portion having a first region including the base end where the cavity bottom is provided, and a second region adjacent to the first region and positioned on the insertion port side, and the external heater is not disposed in the first region but is disposed in the second region. may

The external heater may be arranged over the entire circumference along the circumferential direction of the side circumferential portion in a part or the entire section of the second region.

Further, the internal heater may have n-fold symmetry with respect to the center axis of the accommodation cavity, where n is an integer of 3 or more.

Further, the internal heater may have a columnar shape, and a conical portion may be formed on the tip side.

Further, the internal heater may have a cone shape or a truncated cone shape, and may be tapered from the cavity bottom side toward the insertion port side.

The internal heater may have a conical shape or a truncated conical shape.

The side peripheral portion may further include a third region adjacent to the second region and including the insertion opening, and the external heater may not be arranged in the third region.

A tip position of the internal heater may correspond to the second region or the third region in the side circumferential portion.

It should be noted that the means for solving the problems in the present invention can be employed in combination as much as possible.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a non-combustion heating smoking device capable of suppressing condensation of aerosol generated by heating and delivering a sufficient amount of aerosol to a smoker.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the internal structure of a non-combustion heating smoking device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a non-combustion heating smoking article used in a non-combustion heating smoking device. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a longitudinal section of the heater. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a schematic structure of the heater. FIG. 5 is a view showing a state in which the tobacco rod of the non-combustion heating smoking article is inserted into the housing cavity through the insertion port of the heater. FIG. 6 is a view showing a state in which the tobacco rod of the non-combustion heating smoking article is inserted into the accommodation cavity through the insertion port of the heater. FIG. 7 is a time chart showing operating states of the external heater and the internal heater during heating control. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining changes in the surface temperatures of the external heater and the internal heater during heating control. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the results of the temperature measurement test. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the results of the temperature measurement test. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the results of the temperature measurement test. FIG. 12 shows the results of the temperature measurement test. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the temperature measurement positions of the tobacco rod. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a modification of the internal heater in the heater. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a modification of the internal heater in the heater. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a modification of the internal heater in the heater.

Here, an embodiment of a non-combustion heating smoking device according to the present invention will be described based on the drawings. The dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, etc. of the constituent elements described in this embodiment are not intended to limit the technical scope of the invention unless otherwise specified.

<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the internal structure of a non-combustion heating smoking device 1 according to Embodiment 1. As shown in FIG. The non-combustion heating smoking device 1 has a housing 2 which is a casing for housing various components. A heater 3 , a controller (control section) 4 , a power source 5 and the like are housed in the housing 2 .

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a non-combustion heating smoking article 10 used in the non-combustion heating smoking device 1. As shown in FIG. A non-combustion heating smoking article 10 has a tobacco rod 11 and a mouthpiece portion 12 . Hereinafter, the end portion of the non-combustion heating smoking article 10 on the tobacco rod 11 side will be referred to as the tip, and the mouthpiece portion 12 side will be referred to as the base end. The tobacco rod 11 is composed of a filler 111 containing tobacco shreds and an aerosol-generating base material and wrapping paper 112 around which the filler 111 is wrapped. Materials for shredded tobacco are not particularly limited, but known materials such as lamina and backbone can be used. Filler 111 includes an aerosol-generating substrate that generates an aerosol. The type of aerosol-generating substrate is not particularly limited, and substances extracted from various natural products can be appropriately selected depending on the application. Examples of aerosol-forming substrates include glycerin, propylene glycol, triacetin, 1,3-butanediol, mixtures thereof, and the like. The filler 111 containing cut tobacco and an aerosol-generating base material may include a tobacco raw material such as fine tobacco powder and a binder, a gelling agent, a cross-linking agent, a flavoring agent, a hydrophilic flavoring agent, a lipophilic flavoring agent, a viscosity modifier, a moisturizing agent, or a reinforcing material as an additive. The filling 111 may also contain perfume. The type of perfume is not particularly limited.

The mouthpiece portion 12 includes a filter segment or the like, which is formed by wrapping cellulose acetate in a cylindrical shape with a roll paper, and filters part of the aerosol generated by the tobacco rod 11 during smoking. Of course, the mouthpiece portion 12 may include segments other than the filter segment. The tobacco rod 11 and the mouthpiece portion 12 are connected to each other by being integrally wound with the tipping paper 13 .

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a longitudinal section of the heater 3. FIG. Specifically, FIG. 3 shows the cross-sectional structure of the heater 3 taken along the line AA in FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a schematic structure of the heater 3. As shown in FIG.

The heater 3 has a heater housing 31 having a bottomed cylindrical shape. The heater housing 31 has a disk-shaped bottom portion 311 and a cylindrical outer cylinder wall 312 rising from the bottom portion 311 . The open end of the outer cylinder wall 312 of the heater housing 31 is opened toward the outside of the housing 2 through an opening provided in the housing 2, and forms a cylindrical storage cavity 34 into which the tobacco rod 11 of the non-combustion heating smoking article 10 can be inserted.

Here, a thick portion 313 having an inner diameter one step smaller than that of other portions is formed on the tip side of the outer cylinder wall 312 in the heater housing 31 . The tip of the outer cylinder wall 312 here means the end of the outer cylinder wall 312 opposite to the base end connected to the bottom 311 . A cavity-side peripheral wall 32 having a cylindrical shape is provided inside the outer cylindrical wall 312 of the heater housing 31 . The outer diameter of the cavity-side peripheral wall 32 is equal to the inner diameter of the thick portion 313 of the outer cylindrical wall 312 . As shown in FIG. 3, an annular hollow air heat insulating portion 37 is formed between the inner surface of the outer cylindrical wall 312 of the heater housing 31 and the outer peripheral surface 32b of the cavity-side peripheral wall 32. As shown in FIG. An insertion opening 38 is formed at the tip of the cavity-side peripheral wall 32 so that the tobacco rod 11 can be inserted thereinto. The end of the cavity-side peripheral wall 32 opposite to the distal end where the insertion port 38 is formed is referred to as a proximal end 32c.

A heat-resistant cup 33 having a cylindrical shape with a bottom is provided on the bottom portion 311 side of the heater housing 31 . The heat-resistant cup 33 is made of a heat-resistant material such as aluminum, and has a disk-shaped cavity bottom 331 and a cavity-side peripheral wall 332 rising from the cavity bottom 331 . The cavity bottom 331 of the heat-resistant cup 33 is arranged in an overlapping state inside the bottom 311 of the heater housing 31 to form the cavity bottom of the receiving cavity 34 . Also, the cavity-side peripheral wall 32 and the cavity-side peripheral wall 332 form the side peripheral portion of the accommodation cavity 34 .

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , the heat-resistant cup 33 and the cavity-side peripheral wall 32 of the heater 3 form an accommodation cavity 34 that is a hollow portion for accommodating the tobacco rod 11 . Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, an annular external heater 35 is provided on the cavity-side peripheral wall 32 so as to face the accommodation cavity 34 . The external heater 35 is accommodated in the recess of the cavity-side peripheral wall 32 so as to be flush with the inner peripheral surface 32 a of the cavity-side peripheral wall 32 . Here, reference numeral 35a denotes a heating surface facing the accommodation cavity 34. As shown in FIG. The annular external heater 35 is arranged along the inner peripheral surface 32a of the cavity-side peripheral wall 32 along the entire circumference. In other words, the external heater 35 is arranged along the circumferential direction of the housing cavity 34 along the entire circumference of the side circumference. 3 is the central axis of the heater housing 31. As shown in FIG. The central axis CL1 is also the central axis of the accommodation cavity 34 and the cavity-side peripheral wall 32 at the same time.

Also, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, an internal heater 36 is provided within the accommodation cavity 34 . The internal heater 36 has a truncated cone shape and protrudes vertically from the central portion of the bottom portion 311 of the heater housing 31 toward the accommodating cavity 34 side. A through-hole is formed in the central portion of the cavity bottom portion 331 of the heat-resistant cup 33 , and the internal heater 36 is inserted through the through-hole to protrude from the cavity bottom portion 331 toward the housing cavity 34 . The central axis of the internal heater 36 is coaxial with the central axis CL of the heater housing 31 (accommodating cavity 34). Reference numeral 36a denotes the base end portion of the internal heater 36, and reference numeral 36b denotes the distal end portion of the internal heater 36. As shown in FIG. The internal heater 36 extends from the cavity bottom 331 toward the insertion port 38 and tapers gradually from the proximal end 36a to the distal end 36b. Although the types of the internal heater 36 and the external heater 35 are not particularly limited, for example, a heating wire (for example, nichrome, iron chromium, iron nickel, etc.) is arranged in a steel material, or a ceramic heater, a sheathed heater, etc. can be used. A sheathed heater is a heater in which a heating wire and a filler are covered with a metal pipe.

Further, in this embodiment, the cavity-side peripheral wall 32 is made of a known heat-insulating and heat-resistant material so as to withstand the heat of the external heater 35 and prevent the heat of the external heater 35 from diffusing. Examples of the material used for the cavity-side peripheral wall 32 having such heat insulation performance and heat resistance performance include alumina/silica ceramics, highly heat-resistant PEEK (polyetheretherketone), PPS (polyphenylene sulfide), PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), and other resins.

In the present embodiment, the inner peripheral surface 32a of the cavity-side peripheral wall 32, the inner peripheral surface 332a of the cavity-side peripheral wall 332 of the heat-resistant cup 33, and the heating surface 35a of the external heater 35 are flush with each other without a step. In this embodiment, the inner diameter of the accommodation cavity 34 may be equal to the outer diameter of the tobacco rod 11 or slightly larger than the outer diameter of the tobacco rod 11 .

Here, R1 to R3 shown in FIG. 3 are the first to third regions of the cavity-side peripheral wall 32 (side peripheral portion). The first region R1 in the cavity-side peripheral wall 32 is a region including the base end 32c where the cavity bottom 331 is provided. The second region R2 of the cavity-side peripheral wall 32 is a region adjacent to the first region R1 and located on the side of the insertion opening 38, and is a region in which the external heater 35 is arranged in part or all of the section. In other words, the second region R2 has significance as a region that defines the maximum range in which the external heater 35 is formed, and the external heater 35 is arranged in the entire region or a part of the second region R2. A third region R3 in the cavity-side peripheral wall 32 is a region adjacent to the second region and including the insertion opening 38 . Here, the first region R1 to the third region R3 are regions formed along the central axis CL1 of the housing cavity 34, and are formed in the order of the first region R1, the second region R2, and the third region R3 from the cavity bottom 331 toward the insertion port 38. Note that the length in the direction of the central axis CL1 in each region of the first region R1 to the third region R3 can be changed as appropriate. As shown in FIG. 3, on the cavity-side peripheral wall 32, the external heater 35 is arranged only in the second region R2, and the external heater 35 is not arranged in the first region R1 and the third region R3. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the external heater 35 is arranged in the entire section of the second region R2 in the cavity-side peripheral wall 32, but the external heater 35 may be provided only in a partial section of the second region R2.

5 and 6 are views showing a state in which the tobacco rod 11 of the non-combustion heating smoking article 10 is inserted into the housing cavity 34 through the insertion port 38 of the heater 3. FIG. The internal heater 36 of the heater 3 in the present embodiment has a truncated cone shape and is tapered toward the tip portion 36b, so that the internal heater 36 can be easily inserted into the tobacco rod 11 (filling 111) when inserting the tobacco rod 11 (filling 111) into the accommodation cavity 34. In this embodiment, the insertion of the tobacco rod 11 into the accommodation cavity 34 is completed when the distal end surface 11a (see FIG. 2) of the tobacco rod 11 comes into contact with the bottom of the accommodation cavity 34, that is, the cavity bottom 331 of the heat-resistant cup 33. As shown in FIG.
In a state where the insertion of the tobacco rod 11 into the accommodation cavity 34 is completed, the rear end portion 11b of the tobacco rod 11 is positioned corresponding to the third region R3 of the cavity-side peripheral wall 32 described above. 3 indicates a position corresponding to the rear end portion 11b of the tobacco rod 11 when the insertion of the tobacco rod 11 into the housing cavity 34 is completed (hereinafter referred to as "rod rear end position during housing"). In this embodiment, the distance between the rear end position P1 of the housed rod and the external heater 35 is set to a relatively small dimension of about 1 mm.

The heater 3 having the above structure includes an external heater 35 arranged on the side periphery of the accommodation cavity 34 and an internal heater 36 arranged along the center axis CL1 on the central side of the cross section of the accommodation cavity 34 . The external heater 35 and the internal heater 36 in the heater 3 generate heat when power is supplied from the power source 5 . The power source 5 is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. Although the connection between the external heater 35 and internal heater 36 in the heater 3 and the power source 5 is not shown in FIG. 1, the external heater 35 and internal heater 36 are each connected to the power source. The controller 4 is also electrically connected to the power source 5 and controls power supply from the power source 5 to the external heater 35 and the internal heater 36 . The non-combustion heating smoking device 1 is provided with a user interface (eg, operation buttons, etc.) (not shown) operated by a user (smoker), and the controller 4 is electrically connected to the user interface. The controller 4 controls the operation of the heater 3 (the external heater 35 and the internal heater 36) by detecting the operation of the user interface by the user. Control of the external heater 35 and the internal heater 36 by the controller 4 in the non-combustion heating smoking device 1 will be described below.

For example, when the power supply of the non-combustion heating smoking device 1 is turned off, when the user performs a predetermined ON operation on the operation button of the non-combustion heating smoking device 1, the controller 4 starts power supply from the power source 5 to the heater 3, and performs heating control to heat the tobacco rod 11 housed in the housing cavity 34 of the heater 3 as shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a time chart showing operating states of the external heater 35 and the internal heater 36 during heating control of the heater 3 executed by the controller 4 . FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining changes in the surface temperatures of the external heater 35 and the internal heater 36 during heating control.

In FIG. 7, time T0 represents the timing (hereinafter referred to as "heating start timing") at which the controller 4 detects that the operation button of the non-combustion heating smoking device 1 has been turned on. As shown in FIG. 7 , at the heating start timing, the controller 4 causes the power supply 5 to start supplying power only to the external heater 35 . Then, at time T1, the controller 4 causes the power supply 5 to start supplying power to the internal heater 36 while continuing to supply power from the power supply 5 to the external heater 35 . Hereinafter, the time T1 will be referred to as "internal heating start timing". Then, at time T<b>2 , the controller 4 stops power supply from the power supply 5 to the external heater 35 while continuing power supply from the power supply 5 to the internal heater 36 . Hereinafter, the time T2 is referred to as "external heating stop timing". Then, at time T3 when a predetermined smoking time has elapsed from time T0 (heating start timing), power supply from power supply 5 to internal heater 36 is stopped. Hereinafter, the time T3 is referred to as "heating stop timing".

As described above, the non-combustion heating smoking device 1 of the present embodiment operates only the external heater 35 at the heating start timing to start heating the tobacco rod 11 to preheat (initial heating) the tobacco rod 11 . Here, since the external heater 35 is provided along the cavity-side peripheral wall 32 positioned on the outer peripheral portion (side surface) of the accommodation cavity 34, the outer peripheral portion of the tobacco rod 11 accommodated in the accommodation cavity 34 can be efficiently heated. That is, the tobacco rod 11, particularly the outer peripheral portion, can be efficiently preheated before the heating of the tobacco rod 11 by the internal heater 36 is started at time T1 (internal heating start timing). Here, the period from time T0 (heating start timing) to time T1 (internal heating start timing) is called a "preheating period". The preheating period can be set as the time when the elapsed time from the heating start timing (that is, the start of preheating) reaches a predetermined set time, or when the temperature of the external heater 35 reaches a predetermined set temperature. For example, during the preheating period, the controller 4 may set the set temperature to 300° C. when controlling the external heater 35 .

Then, when the elapsed time from the heating start timing reaches a predetermined set time, or when the temperature of the external heater 35 reaches a predetermined set temperature, that is, the period from time T1 (internal heating start timing) to time T2 (external heating stop timing) (hereinafter referred to as "simultaneous heating period"), both the external heater 35 and the internal heater 36 heat the tobacco rod 11. The internal heater 36 is arranged coaxially with the center axis CL1 of the housing cavity 34 as described above. Therefore, the heat of the internal heater 36 penetrated into the tobacco rod 11 (filler 111) is radially transferred from the center side of the tobacco rod 11 toward the outer peripheral side. As a result, the tobacco rod 11 can be efficiently heated, and the aerosol-generating base material (for example, glycerin, etc.) contained in the filler 111 of the tobacco rod 11 and the flavor component contained in the cut tobacco can be volatilized in a short period of time to generate an aerosol containing the flavor component.

In the filling 111 of the tobacco rod 11 containing the aerosol-generating base material (eg, glycerin), water (moisture) in the filling 111 first evaporates as the product temperature rises. This evaporation occurs near the boiling point of water (100°C). Then, when the product temperature of the filler 111 in the tobacco rod 11 further rises, nicotine, which has an atmospheric pressure boiling point of about 250°C, begins to volatilize, and when the product temperature further rises, glycerin, which has an atmospheric pressure boiling point of 290°C, evaporates and is smoked as an aerosol. As is clear to those skilled in the art, tobacco raw materials contain a wide variety of components, and these components exist as compounds. Therefore, a simple evaporation phenomenon does not occur only near the boiling points of pure substances such as water, nicotine, and glycerin, but it is scientifically believed that the main components evaporate (volatilize) in the order of their boiling points.

Here, as shown in FIG. 8, the controller 4 controls the temperature of the external heater 35 to be higher than the temperature of the internal heater 36 during the simultaneous heating period (time T1 to T2). For example, during the simultaneous heating period, the controller 4 controls the external heater 35 and the internal heater 36 with the set temperature of the external heater 35 set at 300° C. and the set temperature of the internal heater 36 set at 250° C. FIG. In this embodiment, during the preheating period of the tobacco rod 11, the temperature of the outer peripheral portion of the tobacco rod 11 is rapidly and efficiently raised by the external heater 35, which is in contact with or in close proximity to the outer peripheral portion. This makes it possible to positively raise the temperature of the outer peripheral portion of the tobacco rod 11 to which the heat of the internal heater 36 is difficult to reach due to the distance from the internal heater 36 and to which the influence of outside air (radiation loss) is likely to occur. That is, the center side of the cross section of the tobacco rod 11 can be efficiently heated by the internal heater 36, and the outer peripheral portion of the tobacco rod 11, to which the heat of the internal heater 36 is difficult to transmit and the influence of outside air (heat loss) is likely to occur, can be efficiently heated by the external heater 35. As a result, the entire tobacco rod 11 can be uniformly heated to a temperature at which the aerosol-generating base material is sufficiently volatilized.

Also, in the preheating period, the tobacco rod 11 is heated only by the external heater 35, and the internal heater 36 is operated after the preheating period has elapsed after the operation of the external heater 35, so that the total power consumption can be reduced compared to the case where both the external heater 35 and the internal heater 36 are operated during the preheating period.

In addition, by actively heating the outer peripheral portion of the tobacco rod 11 with the external heater 35 during the preheating period and the simultaneous heating period as described above, condensation (condensation/liquefaction) of the once volatilized aerosol-generating base material on the outer peripheral portion of the tobacco rod 11 can be suppressed. Therefore, it is possible to ensure a sufficient amount of aerosol to be delivered particularly at the time of initial smoking, and to improve the sense of volume of smoke.

In particular, according to the non-combustion heating smoking device 1 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the external heater 35 is positioned on the base end side (the mouthpiece portion 12 side) of the tobacco rod 11 housed in the housing cavity 34. Therefore, of the outer peripheral portion of the tobacco rod 11 , particularly the region on the proximal end side can be intensively heated by the external heater 35 . According to this, there is an advantage that the aerosol generated on the tip end side (upstream side) of the tobacco rod 11 can be effectively suppressed from condensing on the base end side (downstream side) of the tobacco rod 11 .

Here, it is preferable that the width of the external heater 35, which is the length of the extension of the external heater 35 along the direction of the center axis CL1 of the housing cavity 34, is at least one third of the tobacco rod 11 or more. According to this, the outer peripheral portion of the tobacco rod 11 can be sufficiently preheated during the preheating period of the tobacco rod 11 prior to the start of heating by the internal heater 36 .

After the temperature of the entire tobacco rod 11 is sufficiently raised during the simultaneous heating period as described above, the temperature of the tobacco rod 11 can be maintained at a temperature at which the aerosol does not condense only by heating by the internal heater 36. Therefore, the controller 4 stops the operation of the external heater 35 at the external heating stop timing (time T2). At that time, the controller 4 stops the operation of the external heater 35 before the temperature of the internal heater 36 exceeds the temperature of the external heater 35 . The external heating stop timing (time T2) for stopping the operation of the external heater 35 can be set at the time when the elapsed time from the heating start timing (that is, the start of preheating) reaches a predetermined set time, or when the temperature of the external heater 35 reaches a predetermined set temperature. Alternatively, the operation of the external heater 35 may be stopped when a certain period of time elapses after the temperature of the external heater 35 reaches a predetermined set temperature, and various modes can be adopted.

After the external heating stop timing (time T2) has passed, the internal heater 36 alone heats the tobacco rod 11, so the temperature of the external heater 35 naturally drops. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, the temperature of the internal heater 36 exceeds the temperature of the external heater 35 during the period from the external heating stop timing (time T2) to the heating stop timing (time T3) (hereinafter referred to as "internal heating period").

Here, the internal heater 36 arranged in the central part of the accommodation cavity 34 has a higher heating efficiency when heating the tobacco rod 11 than the external heater 35 arranged on the outer peripheral side of the accommodation cavity 34 . Therefore, during the simultaneous heating period, the temperature of the entire tobacco rod 11 is sufficiently raised, and in the remaining smoking period in which the conditions for the condensation of the aerosol are less likely to occur, the tobacco rod 11 is heated only by the internal heater 36, which has excellent heating efficiency, so that the aerosol can be generated stably and continuously.

Further, the controller 4 may control the power supply from the power source 5 to the internal heater 36 so that the temperature of the internal heater 36 is increased after the operation of the external heater 35 is stopped compared to before the operation of the external heater 35 is stopped. For example, the controller 4 may change the set temperature of the internal heater 36 from 250°C to 350°C. The set temperature of the internal heater 36 during the internal heating period is preferably set to an appropriate temperature that can stably and continuously volatilize the aerosol-generating base material contained in the tobacco rod 11 by heating only the internal heater 36. As described above, when the set temperature of the internal heater 36 is increased after the operation of the external heater 35 is stopped, the power consumption of the internal heater 36 increases. However, since the operation of the external heater 35 is stopped, the total power consumption can be reduced.

Then, at time T3 (heating stop timing) when a predetermined smoking time elapses from the heating start timing (time T0), the controller 4 stops power supply from the power source 5 to the internal heater 36 .

9 to 12 show the results of a temperature measurement test in which changes in the surface temperature of the external heater 35, the surface temperature of the internal heater 36, and the product temperature of the tobacco rod 11 were measured when the heating control of the heater 3 by the controller 4 was performed. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the temperature measurement positions of the tobacco rod 11. As shown in FIG.

In the temperature measurement test, the temperature of the tobacco rod 11 was measured at the first measurement position MP1 to the third measurement position MP3 shown in FIG. The distance from each measurement position MP1 to MP3 in the radial direction of the accommodation cavity 34 to the side peripheral surface of the accommodation cavity 34 (the inner peripheral surface 32a of the cavity-side peripheral wall 32) was set to 1.5 mm. The distance between the measurement positions MP1 to MP3 and the base end portion 36a of the internal heater 36 in the radial direction of the housing cavity 34 was 1.5 mm.

Also, as shown in FIG. 13, the first measurement position MP1 to the third measurement position MP3 are arranged in the order of the first measurement position MP1, the second measurement position MP2, and the third measurement position MP3 from the cavity bottom 331 side. The distance between the cavity bottom 331 and the first measurement position MP1 in the central axis CL1 direction of the accommodation cavity 34 was set to 2 mm. Also, the distance between the first measurement position MP1 and the second measurement position MP2 was set to 5 mm. Also, the distance between the second measurement position MP2 and the third measurement position MP3 was set to 6 mm. Also, the distance between the third measurement position MP3 and the retracted rod rear end position P1 was set to 2 mm. In the heating control, the elapsed time from the heating start timing to the internal heating start timing was set to 6 seconds, the elapsed time from the heating start timing to the external heating stop timing was set to 20 seconds, and the elapsed time from the heating start timing to the heating stop timing was set to 420 seconds.

Further, in FIGS. 10 to 12, temperature transitions indicated by solid lines show temperature transitions at the respective measurement positions MP1 to MP3 when the heating control according to the present embodiment described in FIGS. 7 and 8 is performed (hereinafter referred to as "example"). Also, the temperature transition indicated by the dashed line indicates the temperature transition at each of the measurement positions MP1 to MP3 when heating control is performed using only the internal heater 36 without using the external heater (hereinafter referred to as "comparative example"). 10 to 12 are target product temperatures when the tobacco rod 11 is heated. The target product temperature is, for example, 150°C. As shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, at the first measurement position MP1 and the second measurement position MP2 corresponding to the first region R1 on the cavity-side peripheral wall 32, no significant difference was observed between the example and the comparative example during heating control. Since both the first measurement position MP1 and the second measurement position MP2 are distant from the external heater 35 and relatively close to the internal heater 36, the effect of the external heater 35 is thought to be small. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 12, at the third measurement position MP3, there is a significant difference between the example and the comparative example, and the example can raise the temperature to the target product temperature in a shorter time than the comparative example, confirming the superiority of the example over the comparative example.

As described above, according to the non-combustion heating smoking device 1 of the present embodiment, the internal heater 36 is arranged in the housing cavity 34 to heat the tobacco rod 11 from the inside to volatilize the aerosol-generating base material, and the external heater 35 is arranged at the side periphery of the housing cavity 34 and preheats the outer peripheral portion of the tobacco rod 11 at least during the preheating period of the tobacco rod 11, thereby suppressing the condensation of the aerosol generated when the internal heater 36 operates. As a result, the temperature of the outer peripheral portion of the tobacco rod 11, which is difficult to reach from the internal heater and is likely to be affected by outside air (radiation loss), can be sufficiently raised by the external heater in advance during the preheating period. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the condensation of the aerosol generated when the internal heater 36 is operated. Therefore, a sufficient amount of aerosol can be delivered during smoking, and the sense of volume of smoke can be improved.

In the above-described embodiment, the external heater 35 is not arranged in the first region R1 including the base end 32c where the cavity bottom portion 331 is provided and the third region R3 including the insertion port 38 in the cavity-side peripheral wall 32 (side peripheral portion), and the external heater 35 is disposed in the second region R2 located closer to the insertion port 38 than the first region R1. As a result, it is possible to effectively prevent the aerosol generated on the distal end side (upstream side) of the tobacco rod 11 from condensing on the proximal end side (downstream side) of the tobacco rod 11 .

In particular, since the internal heater 36 in the present embodiment has a tapered shape in which the diameter is reduced from the base end portion 36a side toward the tip portion 36b side, the tip portion 36b of the internal heater 36 tends to release less heat to the tobacco rod 11 than the proximal end portion. can be preferably compensated for. In addition, by not arranging the external heater 35 in the first region R1 where a sufficient amount of heat radiation from the internal heater 36 can be secured, the power consumption of the power source 5 can be suppressed while the external heater 35 can efficiently heat the base end region of the outer peripheral portion of the tobacco rod 11.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, since the external heater 35 is not arranged in the third region R3 of the cavity-side peripheral wall 32 (side peripheral portion), when the external heater 35 is operated, it is possible to suppress scorching or melting of, for example, the filter segment located at the front end portion of the mouthpiece portion 12 due to the heat of the external heater 35.

In the present embodiment, an example in which the shape of the internal heater 36 is a truncated cone has been described, but by adopting the internal heater 36 having a tapered shape from the cavity bottom 331 side toward the insertion port 38 side, the internal heater 36 can easily penetrate into the filling 111 of the tobacco rod 11 inserted into the housing cavity 34. Further, in a state in which the internal heater 36 is inserted into the filling 111, a good contact state between the internal heater 36 and the filling 111 can be maintained. As a result, the heat generated by the internal heater 36 can be easily transferred to the filling 111, and the heating efficiency of the filling 111 can be improved. In the present embodiment, the internal heater 36 is inserted into the filler 111 of the tobacco rod 11 inserted into the accommodation cavity 34, but the internal heater 36 may be inserted into a recess formed in the end face of the filler 111 on the tip side (upstream side) of the tobacco rod 11.

Also, the internal heater 36 can adopt various shapes. For example, the internal heater 36 may have a cone shape or a truncated cone shape, and may taper from the cavity bottom 331 side toward the insertion port 38 side. For example, instead of a truncated cone shape, a conical shape may be used. Also, the internal heater 36 may have a cylindrical shape. In this case, a conical portion may be formed on the tip side of the cylindrical portion of the internal heater 36 . Further, the internal heater 36 has n-fold symmetry with respect to the center axis CL1 of the accommodation cavity 34, and n may be an integer of 3 or more.

In the example shown in FIG. 5, the tip 36b of the internal heater 36 in the heater 3 is arranged at a position corresponding to the tip of the second region R2 (the end on the insertion port 38 side) of the cavity-side peripheral wall 32 (side peripheral portion), but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as in the modification shown in FIG. 14, the tip portion 36b of the internal heater 36 may be arranged at a position corresponding to the intermediate portion of the second region R2. Further, as in the modification shown in FIG. 15, the tip portion 36b of the internal heater 36 may be arranged at a position corresponding to the third region R3. Further, as in the modification shown in FIG. 16, the tip portion 36b of the internal heater 36 may be arranged at a position corresponding to the first region R1.

Although the embodiments and modifications according to the present invention have been described above, the non-combustion heating smoking device according to the present invention is not limited to these, and they can be combined as much as possible.

Reference Signs List 1 Non-combustion heating smoking device 2 Housing 3 Heater 4 Controller 5 Power source 10 Non-combustion heating smoking article 11 Tobacco rod 12 Mouthpiece 34 Housing cavity 35 External heater 36 Internal heater

Claims (12)

a containment cavity for containing a smoking article comprising an aerosol-generating substrate;
an internal heater disposed within the containment cavity for penetrating a smoking article inserted into the containment cavity or for inserting into a recess formed in an end face of the smoking article for heating the smoking article from the inside to volatilize the aerosol-generating substrate;
an external heater positioned on the side of the receiving cavity for heating the perimeter of the smoking article;
a control unit that controls the internal heater and the external heater;
with
The control unit operates only the external heater before performing simultaneous heating in which both the internal heater and the external heater operate, or operates only the internal heater after performing the simultaneous heating.
A non-combustion heating smoking device. In the simultaneous heating, the control unit stops the operation of the external heater when the elapsed time from the start of heating the smoking article by the external heater reaches a predetermined set time, or when the temperature of the external heater reaches a predetermined set temperature, but continues the operation of the internal heater.
A non-combustion heating smoking device according to claim 1. After stopping operation of the external heater, the control unit increases the temperature of the internal heater compared to before stopping operation of the external heater.
The non-combustion heating smoking device according to claim 1 or 2. The control unit initiates preheating of the smoking article by activating only the external heater, and actuates the internal heater after activating the external heater.
A non-combustion heating smoking device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The accommodation cavity has an insertion opening, which is an open end that is positioned on the distal end side of the side surface and is open so that the smoking article can be inserted, and a cavity bottom positioned on the base end side of the side surface,
The side surface has a first region including a base end where the cavity bottom is provided, and a second region adjacent to the first region and located on the insertion port side,
The external heater is not arranged in the first region and is arranged in the second region,
A non-combustion heating smoking device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The external heater is arranged along the entire circumference along the circumferential direction of the side surface in a part or all of the section in the second region.
The non-combustion heating smoking device according to claim 5. The internal heater has n-fold symmetry with respect to the center axis of the housing cavity, where n is an integer of 3 or more.
The non-combustion heating smoking device according to claim 5 or 6. The non-combustion heating smoking device according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the internal heater has a cylindrical shape and a conical portion formed on the tip side. The non-combustion heating smoking device according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the internal heater has a cone shape or a truncated cone shape, and is tapered from the cavity bottom side toward the insertion port side. 8. A non-combustion heating smoking device according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the internal heater has a conical shape or a frusto-conical shape. The non-combustion heating smoking device according to any one of claims 5 to 10, wherein the side surface further has a third region adjacent to the second region and including the insertion opening, and the external heater is not arranged in the third region. 12. The non-combustion heating smoking device according to claim 11, wherein the tip position of said internal heater is associated with said second area or said third area on said side surface.

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