WO2014196369A1

WO2014196369A1 - Capsule for smoking article, filter installed with said capsule for smoking article, and smoking article provided with said filter

Info

Publication number: WO2014196369A1
Application number: PCT/JP2014/063601
Authority: WO
Inventors: 亮治藤田; 弘樹中合
Original assignee: 日本たばこ産業株式会社
Priority date: 2013-06-07
Filing date: 2014-05-22
Publication date: 2014-12-11
Also published as: TW201501656A; JP6075808B2; JPWO2014196369A1; EP2982254A1; EP2982254B1; EP2982254A4

Abstract

A substantially cylindrical capsule for a smoking article installed in a filter of the smoking article, the capsule having a cylindrical peripheral wall and a pair of end walls closing each end of the peripheral wall. A liquid is sealed in the interior of the capsule. At least one of the end walls is capable of elastically deforming. Linear or curved groove-shaped thin-wall regions are provided to the other end wall so as to merge at two or more merge points.

Description

Capsule for smoking article, filter equipped with the capsule for smoking article, and smoking article provided with the filter

The present invention relates to a capsule for a smoking article in which a liquid suitable for use in a smoking article such as a cigarette with a filter, a filter equipped with the capsule for a smoking article, and a smoking article provided with the filter.

When smoking, the filter of cigarettes such as a cigarette with a filter is infused with a liquid such as an aqueous solution in which water and additives related to flavor are dissolved. Addition of savory taste becomes possible. In this case, the liquid is mounted in the filter body in a form enclosed in the capsule, and the user destroys the capsule prior to smoking, thereby ejecting the liquid from the capsule and allowing the filter to soak. Specifically, the user applies external force to the capsule by sandwiching the capsule between fingers from the outside of the filter, and destroys the capsule.

However, since capsules formed from polysaccharides such as gelatin are water-soluble, they are not suitable for enclosing hydrophilic liquids, and such water-soluble capsules are generally used for encapsulating hydrophobic fragrances and the like. Limited to. In contrast, capsules made of synthetic resin are water-insoluble, suitable for enclosing hydrophilic liquids and excellent in shape stability, but are harder than water-soluble capsules, Various ideas have been made to facilitate destruction as described below.

For example, when the capsule has a cylindrical shape, a plurality of long grooves extending radially are formed on one end wall of the capsule, and these grooves break when the capsule is subjected to an external force that is crushed. The content liquid can be ejected (Patent Document 1).
In addition, there is a capsule that includes a sealed capsule, and when the external force is applied, the seal is broken and the content liquid is ejected (Patent Document 2).

Furthermore, a capsule in which two capsule halves are fitted via an annular seal is also known, and when this capsule is crushed, the seal is broken and a liquid is ejected (Patent Document 3).

Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-2164 Japanese Patent No. 2515794 Special table 2008-528053 gazette

However, in reality, it is still difficult to destroy a capsule formed of the above-mentioned synthetic resin, and it still requires a large force (external force), and it was not easy to pick and crush it with a finger. That is, although the prior art described above facilitates the destruction to some extent, it still requires a considerable force to break the groove and the seal, and further fragility of the capsule is required.

An object of the present invention is to provide a capsule for a smoking article with improved crushability (easy to break), a filter using such a capsule for a smoking article, and a smoking article such as a cigarette with a filter.

The above-mentioned object is a capsule for a smoking article having a substantially cylindrical shape mounted on a filter of a smoking article,
A cylindrical peripheral wall and a pair of end walls that respectively close both ends of the peripheral wall are filled with liquid, and at least one of the end walls is elastically deformable, and the one end This is achieved by a capsule for a smoking article in which a wall-like thin-walled area consisting of a straight line or a curve is provided on the wall so as to meet at two or more meeting points.

In the capsule for smoking articles according to the present invention, the user can easily break the capsule, whereby the liquid ejected from the capsule can be efficiently infiltrated into the filter and the tobacco.
Therefore, a filter equipped with such a capsule for a smoking article and a smoking article such as a cigarette with a filter that employs the filter can be enjoyed by the user by simply crushing the capsule and improving the taste.

It is the figure shown about the case where the filter carrying the capsule for smoking articles used as 1st Embodiment which concerns on this invention is employ | adopted as the cigarette as a smoking article. It is a perspective view of the capsule for smoking articles used as a 1st embodiment. FIG. 2B is an enlarged front view of the center portion of the tip wall of FIG. 2A. It is a perspective view of the capsule for smoking articles used as 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 3B is an enlarged front view of the center portion of the tip wall of FIG. 3A. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating a mode which manufactured and evaluated the filter carrying the capsule for smoking articles shown by 1st Embodiment, 2nd Embodiment, and patent document 1. FIG. It is the enlarged front view which showed the 1st modification of the front-end | tip wall. It is the enlarged front view which showed the 2nd modification of the front end wall.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, the first embodiment will be described.
FIG. 1 shows a case where a filter equipped with a capsule for smoking articles according to the first embodiment of the present invention is employed in a cigarette CG as a smoking article. FIG. 2A shows a filter FL provided in the cigarette CG. FIG. 2B shows an enlarged front view of the central portion of the tip wall of the capsule CA-1.

1, a cigarette CG with a filter is configured by arranging a filter FL at one end of a cigarette body 100 that is a rod-like shape in which cigarettes are wound with thin paper. The filter FL includes a filter main body portion constituted by two cylindrical (bar-shaped)

filter elements

202 and 203 inside a flexible casing 201. The casing 201 is formed by, for example, rounding a sheet material. The parts are bonded to form a cylinder. Then, the cigarette body 100 and the filter FL are connected via a chip paper 101 disposed so as to hang over both, thereby forming a single cigarette CG with a filter.

In the casing 201, a first filter portion 202 serving as a first filter element and a second filter portion 203 serving as a second filter element are disposed so as to be positioned at both ends. The material of these

filter parts

202 and 203 can be the same material as the filter material used for a cigarette with a normal filter, that is, an acetate fiber, and may further contain charcoal. A paper filter or the like can also be used. The material of the

filter parts

202 and 203 may be the same or different.

The 1st filter part 202 located in the one end of the casing 201 becomes a cigarette side, and the 2nd filter part 203 located in the other end comprises the suction mouth. The first filter unit 202 and the second filter unit 203 are arranged apart from each other as described above, and the space between them is a storage space 204. Strictly speaking, the first filter unit 202, the second filter unit 203, and the space therebetween. The filter main body is configured to include the storage space 204. Inside the storage space 204, a capsule CA-1 is stored.

Here, referring also to FIG. 2A showing the capsule CA-1, the capsule CA-1 is roughly a hexagonal column shape (substantially cylindrical shape), and a liquid is sealed in the inside by a lid member. In the state where the filter FL for mounting the capsule CA-1 is provided in the cigarette CG, the major axis direction of the cigarette CG and the filter main body is hereinafter referred to as the axial direction, and the cigarette main body 100 side in the axial direction is the front end side. In the following description, the filter FL side in the axial direction is referred to as the rear end side.

The capsule CA-1 includes a capsule body 10 including a cylindrical peripheral wall 11 and a front end wall 12 (end wall) that closes a front end opening of the peripheral wall 11, and a lid member 13 (end wall) that closes a rear end opening of the peripheral wall 11. ).
In the storage space 204, the capsule CA-1 having the configuration has an axis A1 of the filter main body indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIG. 1, and an axis A2 of the capsule CA-1 indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIGS. Are accommodated so as to be located on the same axis. Note that the capsule CA-1 does not necessarily have the axis A2 positioned coaxially with the axis A1 of the filter body, and is stored so that the axis A1 of the filter body and the axis A2 of the capsule CA-1 are parallel to each other. That's fine.

The peripheral wall 11 of the capsule body 10 has a substantially regular hexagonal cross section perpendicular to the axial direction, and has six peripheral wall surfaces 11a and connecting portions 11b formed between the peripheral wall surfaces 11a. Although not shown, a groove along the axial direction is formed on the inner surface of the coupling portion 11b, and the capsule body 10 is easily deformed by an external force in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction.
The distal end wall 12 of the capsule body 10 extends in an axially inclined manner from the central portion 20 to the distal end of the peripheral wall 11 from the central portion 20 that forms a plane perpendicular to the axial direction in the axial center portion. It is comprised from the peripheral part 21 which has.

The central portion 20 is a regular hexagonal plane similar to the cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the axial direction of the peripheral wall 11 of the capsule body 10. The peripheral edge portion 21 is composed of six surfaces extending from each side of the central portion 20 to a tip side of each peripheral wall surface 11a.
A plurality of linear grooves 22 are formed on the outer surface of the central portion 20. The groove portion 22 is a thin-walled region formed thinner than other regions in the central portion 20, and is, for example, a groove having a V-shaped cross section or a U-shaped cross section.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, the groove portion 22 is a hexagonal star in which two regular triangles that are vertically inverted are overlapped by six straight lines connecting the vertices of the center portion 20 of a regular hexagon. Is drawn. Therefore, six intersections 23 (merging points) are formed in the central portion 20 so that the linear groove portions 22 intersect with each other, as indicated by an asterisk in FIG. 2B.

The capsule body 10 of the capsule CA-1 configured as described above is formed of an elastically deformable material, and is configured to be broken from the distal end wall 12 when the external force is applied and the content WA flows out. As a suitable synthetic material for the capsule body 10, for example, a plastic material for food that is any one selected from the group consisting of polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinyl alcohol, and polyamide is used. desirable.

The lid member 13 is securely fixed to the capsule body 10 by using an adhesive or a heat-sealing process so that the contents of the capsule CA-1 do not leak. The same material as the capsule body 10 may be used, but the opening may be closed by heat sealing as a film material such as a laminate film. When such a seal film is employed, it may be adhered to the opening edge of the capsule body 10 with a thermoplastic adhesive. As this adhesive, for example, a hot melt adhesive mainly composed of adhesive polyolefin resin, low molecular weight polyethylene and EVA (ethylene vinyl alcohol) can be used. On the other hand, when the capsule body 10 is crushed and flattened, the lid member 13 may have a flattened shape including a convex cone shape in the inner packet so as not to obstruct the capsule body 10.

The liquid encapsulated in the capsule CA-1 may be appropriately selected and used as long as it can improve the taste of cigarette, and is not particularly limited. For example, water, a hydrophilic flavor in water, hydrophobic Any sex flavor can be used. In the case of a hydrophobic flavor, it may be incorporated in an emulsified state, or a solvent such as propylene glycol or ethanol may be used. More specifically, for example, a solution obtained by dissolving sugar, a tobacco extract, a fragrance, or the like in water, or a solution based on water such as brandy can be used as the liquid. If necessary, a chemical solution for preventing alteration may be mixed. Furthermore, as the liquid, a fine solid such as a microcapsule containing a fragrance (fragrance capsule) or the like may be adopted, and the fragrance capsule may be suspended in a liquid as a liquid.

In addition, it is preferable that at least one of the casing 201 and the chip paper 101 is provided with a structure that employs a sheet material having a water resistance function to prevent the liquid from leaking to the outer peripheral portion.
Capsule CA-1 configured in this manner has a distal end wall when cigarette CG filter FL receives an external force F (a force that grips the filter portion with a finger) as indicated by a white arrow in FIG. 12, the liquid inside is ejected to one of the first filter parts 202 as indicated by the thick black arrow in FIG. 1.

Specifically, since the capsule CA-1 is formed with the groove portion 22 so as to have a plurality of intersections 23 in the central portion 20 of the tip wall 12, each intersection 23 becomes a particularly fragile portion and receives an external force F. At each intersection 23, the groove portion 22 is greatly deformed, and the groove 22 is broken by the tensile force there. Since two or more intersections 23 are formed in the central portion 20, deformation occurs in each portion, and the central portion 20 can be broken even with a weak force.

For these reasons, the capsule CA-1 in the first embodiment can be easily broken by the user, so that the liquid ejected from the capsule CA-1 can be efficiently applied to the filter and tobacco. Can be soaked.
Therefore, a smoking article such as a cigarette CG with a filter that employs the filter FL equipped with such a capsule CA-1 can be enjoyed by the user by simply crushing the capsule CA-1 and improving the taste.

Next, a second embodiment will be described.
FIG. 3A is a perspective view of a capsule for smoking articles according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3B is an enlarged front view of the center portion of the tip wall. Note that the capsule in the second embodiment is employed in a cigarette having the same configuration as that in the first embodiment, and the configuration of the capsule is the same except for the tip wall. explain.

As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the capsule CA-2 in the second embodiment includes a capsule body 14 including a cylindrical peripheral wall 15 and a distal end wall 16 (end wall) that closes a front end opening of the peripheral wall 15. The lid member 17 (end wall) closes the rear end opening of the peripheral wall 15.
The distal end wall 16 is composed of a central portion 30 and a peripheral portion 31, but the arrangement of the groove portions 32 formed on the outer surface of the central portion 30 is different from that in the first embodiment.

As shown in detail in FIG. 3B, the groove portion 32 of the second embodiment includes a single linear first groove portion 32 a that connects two vertices so as to pass through the axis at the hexagonal central portion 30, and It consists of a total of three linear thin areas of two linear second groove parts 32b connecting two apexes so as to be orthogonal to the first groove parts 32a. Accordingly, as shown by an asterisk in FIG. 3B, two intersections 33 are formed in the central portion 30 where the two straight grooves of the first groove portion 32a and the second groove portions 32b meet in the thin area. The first and

second groove portions

32a and 32b are provided at right angles to each other at the two junctions.

That is, also in the capsule CA-2 in the second embodiment, the

grooves

32a and 32b are formed so as to have a plurality of intersections 33 in the central portion 30 of the tip wall 16, so that each of the intersections 33 is particularly fragile. When an external force is applied, it is greatly deformed at each intersection 33, and the

grooves

32a and 32b are broken by the tensile force there. Since the intersection 33 is formed at two locations in the central portion 30, deformation occurs at each location, and the central portion 30 can be broken even with a weak force. Thus, also in the second embodiment, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

(Manufacturing, evaluation)
Here, since the capsules CA-1 and CA-2 described as the first embodiment and the second embodiment were manufactured and evaluated, the results will be described below.
In this evaluation, capsules CA-1 and CA-2 were produced using distilled water as the liquid sealed in the capsule, and the breaking strength was measured. The capsule body was produced by injection molding using low-density polystyrene, which is an edible plastic material. 90% (v / v) distilled water was injected into the capsule body, and the opening end was heat sealed with a polyamide / low density polyethylene laminate film (KIMURA-TEC, NY / LDPE, 60 μm) to completely seal the distilled water. Capsules CA-1 and CA-2 containing

Furthermore, as a comparative example, a capsule CA-0 having the configuration described in Patent Document 1 cited as the above prior art document was used. The capsule CA-0 has a substantially cylindrical shape, and a plurality of grooves extending radially from the axial center portion are formed on the inner surface of the one end wall. The rest of the capsule CA-0 was manufactured using the same material and manufacturing method as the capsules CA-1 and CA-2 in the first and second embodiments, and the same distilled water was enclosed.

The breaking strength of each capsule was measured with a creep meter (RHEOMETER II, manufactured by Yamaden Co., Ltd.). The state and the measurement results are shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, in the case of the comparative example, the breaking load of the capsule CA-0 was 95.6N, whereas in the case of the capsule CA-1 of the first embodiment, it was 36.5N. In the case of the capsule CA-2 of the second embodiment, it was 24.8N. From these results, it was confirmed that the capsules CA-1 and CA-2 according to the present invention had a greatly reduced force required for destruction. In particular, the capsule CA-2 of the second embodiment has only two intersections 33, but the intersection angle is orthogonal (90 °), so that the capsule CA-2 of the first embodiment is similar to the capsule CA-1 of the first embodiment. It is thought that it was able to be destroyed with a weaker force than the one where the crossing angle was not orthogonal.

Although the description of the first embodiment and the second embodiment is finished as above, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above configuration.
In each of the above embodiments, the capsules CA-1 and CA-2 have a substantially hexagonal cylindrical shape, but the shape of the capsule is not limited to this as long as the peripheral wall is cylindrical and the entire capsule is generally cylindrical. For example, the substantially cylindrical capsule includes a polygonal column shape, preferably a pentagonal column or more. In addition, the shape of the capsule may be a cylindrical shape according to the cross-sectional shape of the filter. The cylindrical shape of the peripheral wall is a polygonal column shape or a cylindrical shape in accordance with the capsule shape.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, the

tip walls

12 and 16 are composed of the

central portions

20 and 30 and the

peripheral portions

21 and 31, but the tip wall may be formed of only one plane, or the tip wall is a spherical surface. Or a curved surface such as Thus, when the tip wall is composed of only one flat surface or a curved surface such as a spherical surface, there is no

central portion

20 or 30 as in the above embodiment, and a groove is formed in the tip wall.

Moreover, in each said embodiment, although the

groove parts

22 and 32 are formed in the outer surface in the

center parts

20 and 30 of the

front end walls

12 and 16, for example, it does not have the inner surface of the center part of a front end wall, or a center part. In the case of the tip wall, it may be formed on the inner surface of the tip wall.

Further, the arrangement of the groove portions and the number of intersections are not limited to the above embodiments.
For example, referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B, an enlarged front view showing a first modification of the tip wall in FIG. 5A is shown, and an enlarged front view showing a second modification of the tip wall in FIG. 5B. Each is shown. In the capsules of the first and second modified examples, the peripheral wall has a cylindrical shape, and the distal end wall and the lid member have a disk shape.

In the first modification shown in FIG. 5A, five vertical grooves 42a and five horizontal grooves 42b are arranged in a lattice pattern on the tip wall 40. Therefore, in the first modified example, 25 intersections 43 at which two types of

linear grooves

42a and 42b are orthogonal to each other are formed.
In the second modification shown in FIG. 5B, six straight first groove portions 52a that draw a hexagonal star on the tip wall 50 as in the first embodiment, and the hexagonal portion in the hexagonal star pass through the axis. A linear second groove 52b connecting the vertices is arranged. Therefore, in the second modified example, seven intersections 53 of the first groove portion 52a and the second groove portion 52b are formed.

Even in the capsule in which the groove portions and the intersections of the first and second modified examples are formed, the same effects as those of the above-described embodiments can be obtained.
Moreover, the capsule can be destroyed with a weaker force by making the intersection of the groove portions orthogonal as in the second embodiment and the first modification, but it is not necessary to make all of the intersections orthogonal, and the intersection You may form so that only one part may orthogonally cross. Moreover, when three or more grooves merge, at least two of the grooves may be orthogonal to each other. Furthermore, one groove does not necessarily cross so as to exceed the other groove, and may have a shape such as a T-shape or a Y-shape.

In each of the above embodiments, the

groove portions

22 and 32 are formed only on one of the

end walls

12 and 16 of the both end walls of the capsules CA-1 and CA-2. When the liquid is ejected, grooves that intersect at two or more locations may be formed in the

lid members

13 and 17 corresponding to the other end wall. Or you may form the groove | channel part which cross | intersects at both ends in each end wall.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the

groove parts

22 and 32 are all formed in linear form, the groove part should just be formed in linear form, for example, it is good also as a curved groove part. In the case of a curved shape, two or more places can be crossed with one curve, and the degree of freedom of arrangement of the grooves can be increased.
In each of the above embodiments, the case where a capsule-mounted filter is applied to the cigarette CG with a filter has been described. However, the capsule for smoking articles according to the present invention is not limited to the case where the capsule is attached to a cigarette attached filter. That is, you may comprise as what is mounted in a single filter product.

Furthermore, in order to more reliably stabilize the position of each capsule CA (CA-1, CA-2), the gap in the storage space 204 is filled by diverting the fiber used for the filter element as necessary. You may make it prevent position shift. Further, a structure in which a positioning protrusion is added to the inner surface of the casing 201 and the capsule CA is pressed and positioned from the periphery by this protrusion may be employed. Thus, when the position of the capsule CA is stabilized, one or both of the first filter unit and the second filter unit are not necessarily required. In the embodiment described above in this regard, the case where the space formed between the first filter portion and the second filter portion is used as a storage space in the filter main body portion has been described. However, this is a preferred example and the form of the storage space is not limited to this.

FL filter CA (CA-1, CA-2)

Capsule CG Cigarette

10, 14

Capsule body

11, 15

Peripheral wall

12, 16, 40, 50

Tip wall

13, 17

Lid member

20, 30

Central part

21, 31

Peripheral part

22, 32

Groove

23, 33, 43, 53 Intersection (confluence)
32a, 52a

First groove part

32b, 52b Second groove part 42a Vertical groove 42b Horizontal groove 100 Cigarette 101 Chip paper 201 Casing 202 First filter part 203 Second filter part 204 Storage space

Claims

A capsule for a smoking article having a substantially cylindrical shape mounted on a filter of a smoking article,
A cylindrical peripheral wall and a pair of end walls that respectively close both ends of the peripheral wall are filled with liquid, and at least one of the end walls is elastically deformable, and the one end A capsule for a smoking article in which a wall-like thin-walled area consisting of a straight line or a curve is joined to the wall at two or more junctions.
The groove-shaped thin region includes at least two straight line portions or curved portions that form the confluence, and at least one of the two or more confluence points, these straight portions or curved portions are orthogonal to each other. The capsule for smoking articles according to claim 1, wherein the capsule is for smoking articles.
A capsule for smoking articles according to claim 1 or 2,
A substantially cylindrical filter body including a storage space for storing the capsule,
The substantially cylindrical capsular for smoking articles is mounted with the smoking article capsule, wherein the axis of the filter main body and the axis of the capsule are parallel and stored in the storage space. filter.
A smoking article comprising a filter on which the capsule for smoking article according to claim 3 is mounted.