WO2023188079A1

WO2023188079A1 - Manufacturing method for flavoured sheet used in non-combustion heating-type flavour inhaler

Info

Publication number: WO2023188079A1
Application number: PCT/JP2022/015866
Authority: WO
Inventors: 勝男加藤; 和正荒栄; 弘四分一
Original assignee: 日本たばこ産業株式会社
Priority date: 2022-03-30
Filing date: 2022-03-30
Publication date: 2023-10-05

Abstract

Provided is a manufacturing method for a flavoured sheet (1) used in a non-combustion heating-type flavour inhaler (200), the manufacturing method comprising: a sheet formation step (S1) for forming a sheet (2) by supplying fibres (6) to a mesh (8); an adhesive addition step (S2) for adding an adhesive to one side (A) of the sheet (2); an inversion step (S4) for inverting the sheet (2) obtained in the adhesive addition step (S2); and a particle supply step (S5) for supplying particles (4) to the other side (B) of the inverted sheet (2) to form the flavoured sheet (1).

Description

Method for manufacturing flavor sheet used for non-combustion heating type flavor suction article

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a flavor sheet used in a non-combustion heating type flavor suction article.

US Pat. No. 5,090,502 discloses a sheet of homogeneous tobacco material made by forming a slurry containing a mixture of blended tobacco powders and casting the slurry onto a support surface. US Pat. No. 5,001,001 describes extracting the water-soluble products of tobacco, then separating the water-soluble products from the tobacco fibers, then refining the tobacco fibers, passing them through a paper machine to form a base sheet, and then Reconstituted tobacco sheets are disclosed that are manufactured by incorporating water-soluble products of concentrated tobacco into the base sheet. Patent Document 3 discloses a reconstituted tobacco sheet produced by rolling a mixture containing shredded tobacco.

Patent Document 4 discloses a tobacco rod in which a tobacco sheet containing homogenized tobacco particles and susceptor particles is pressed, folded, and filled. Patent Document 5 discloses that a slurry is formed by mixing pulverized tobacco raw materials with an aerosol-generating substance, water, etc., a plate-like tobacco sheet is formed from this slurry, and a plurality of tobacco strands are obtained by cutting the tobacco sheet into pieces. A tobacco rod is disclosed in which tobacco rods are filled in the same direction or randomly.

Patent No. 6929300 Patent No. 6946306 International Publication No. 2021/181327 International Publication No. 2015/177252 Special Publication No. 2021-519604

The tobacco sheets described in Patent Documents 1 to 5 are formed through steps such as slurry casting, fiber paper making, or rolling and crimping of materials, so the sheet density is high, the sheet thickness is thin, and the sheet is thin. air permeability is low. Flavor rods manufactured by filling such tobacco sheets, in other words, flavor sheets containing flavors other than tobacco, require an increase in the amount of flavor sheets filled, and as a result, the flavor rod The flavor segment obtained by cutting the flavor segment, and the flavor suction article (hereinafter also simply referred to as article) containing this flavor segment, have increased ventilation resistance.

As a result of the increase in the ventilation resistance of the article, the amount of ventilation in the flavor segment when the article is inhaled, and ultimately the amount of suction inhaled by the user, tends to decrease. For this reason, the flavor components contained in the flavor sheet cannot be efficiently volatilized, and an aerosol of flavor components cannot be efficiently generated. Furthermore, if the ventilation resistance of the flavor rod is large, the amount of ventilation in the flavor segment will be reduced, and the flavor components that have been heated and volatilized will be adsorbed to the flavor rod itself and filtered.

As a result, the amount of flavor components delivered to the downstream portion of the flavor rod in the flow direction of the airflow is reduced, and the number of flavor components that can ultimately be inhaled by the user is reduced. In particular, non-combustion heating type flavor suction articles are generally heated at a lower temperature than combustion heating type flavor suction articles, so the amount of flavor components that volatilize is small, and there are also fewer flavor components that can be inhaled by the user. Therefore, it becomes difficult to supply a flavor that satisfies the user.

On the other hand, when a flavor rod is formed by folding thin flavor sheets or stacking them and filling them, as in the tobacco rods described in Patent Documents 4 and 5, voids are likely to be formed between the flavor sheets. When suctioning the article, the amount of ventilation in this gap inevitably increases. Volatilization and aerosolization of the flavor components contained in the flavor sheet are mainly performed in voids with a large amount of ventilation, so that efficient volatilization of the flavor components and efficient aerosolization of the flavor components are inhibited.

Furthermore, when flavor rods are formed by folding or overlapping thin flavor sheets and filling them, variations occur in the degree of filling of the flavor sheets, and the size and shape of the voids also tend to vary. The flavor components volatilized from the flavor sheet and the amount of aerosol produced vary depending on the size and shape of the voids. Therefore, due to the formation of voids and variations in the degree of filling of the flavor sheet, it becomes difficult to supply a constant flavor to the user.

In particular, in the case of the tobacco rod described in Patent Document 4, as a result of variations in the degree of filling of the flavor sheet, variations may also occur in the manner of contact between tobacco particles and susceptor particles. As a result, variations occur in the heating distribution of tobacco particles, resulting in significant fluctuations in the amount of flavor component volatilization and, by extension, the amount of aerosol produced, making it difficult to supply a constant flavor to the user.

The present invention was made in view of these problems, and provides a method for manufacturing a flavor sheet used in a non-combustion heating type flavor suction article that can efficiently and quantitatively supply flavor components to users. The purpose is to provide.

A method for manufacturing a flavor sheet used in a non-combustion heating type flavor suction article, which includes a sheet forming step of supplying fibers to a mesh to form a sheet, and adding an adhesive to one side of the sheet. a sheet inversion step of inverting the sheet obtained in the adhesive addition step; and a particle supply step of supplying particles to the other side of the inverted sheet to form a flavor sheet.

A flavor suction article using the flavor sheet produced by the above production method can efficiently and quantitatively supply flavor components to the user.

It is a sectional view of a flavor sheet. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a flavor sheet manufacturing apparatus. It is a flowchart explaining the manufacturing method of a flavor sheet. It is a conceptual diagram which becomes one aspect of a flavor rod. It is a conceptual diagram which becomes another aspect of a flavor rod. It is a conceptual diagram for explaining the volumetric filling rate of a filling rod. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of a flavor suction article.

1. Flavor Sheet The flavor sheet includes a sheet formed from fibers, an adhesive added to one side of the sheet, and particles applied to the other side of the sheet. The flavor sheet is formed from a nonwoven fabric in which sheet formation, adhesive addition, and particle delivery are performed by an air-laid process described below. Flavor sheets are used in non-combustion heating type flavor suction articles, and there are various ways of shaping the flavor sheet and arranging the flavor sheet on the article.

For example, a flavor sheet is folded or randomly gathered and wrapped with a wrapper to form a flavor rod, the flavor rod is cut to form a flavor segment, and the flavor segment is combined with other segments. They can be combined to form rod-shaped articles.

(1) Particles The particles contained in the sheet are formed into a size that allows them to be easily buried inside the sheet. Specifically, the particle size of the particles is preferably in the range of 14 Mesh to 500 Mesh on a standard sieve (ASTM E11). More preferably, the particle size is 14 Mesh to 70 Mesh, and in this case, the particles are dispersed and embedded in the gaps between the fibers constituting the sheet. Furthermore, by setting the particle size to 70Mesh to 500Mesh, the particles adhere to the surface of the fibers constituting the sheet, and as a result are embedded in the sheet. When supplying particles with a particle size of 70Mesh to 500Mesh to a sheet, they may be dispersed in a liquid to form a paste or suspension and be applied to the sheet surface.

The particles are component release agents for flavor components, and the component release agent is a material that includes a substance and a carrier that supports the substance in a releasable manner, or a material that itself releases a substance. In the former, the substances include flavoring agents such as menthol and tobacco extracts as flavor components, and the carriers include inclusion compounds such as cyclodextrin and porous materials such as calcium carbonate and alumina.

Examples of the latter include crushed mint leaves obtained by crushing mint leaves, and crushed tobacco obtained by crushing tobacco plants. Mint leaf particles release menthol etc., and tobacco particles release flavor. The entire particle may be composed of the ingredient-releasing agent, or a part of the entire particle may be composed of the ingredient-releasing agent. In the latter, the lower limit of the total amount of component releasing agent in all particles is preferably 80% by weight or more, more preferably 90% by weight or more, and even more preferably 95% by weight or more. Further, the upper limit thereof is preferably 99% by weight or less, more preferably 98% by weight or less.

More specifically, the amount of flavor components contained in the sheet is adjusted in accordance with the quality target of the product. When a predetermined amount of particles are included on a sheet of a predetermined area, it may be difficult to adjust the conditions in an article manufacturing apparatus simply by increasing or decreasing the amount of particles. Therefore, from the viewpoint of stably manufacturing products, it is important to mix particles that do not release components (bulking particles) and particles that release components, adjust their ratio, and prepare so that the total amount of supplied particles does not change. preferred.

(2) Fibers The fibers are not particularly limited as long as they can form the matrix of the sheet. For example, synthetic fibers or semi-synthetic fibers made from cellulose acetate, PP, PE, PET, polylactic acid, etc. can be mentioned. Further, natural fibers such as plant fibers made from cellulose or the like can be mentioned, but natural fibers derived from plants are preferable from the viewpoint of reducing environmental load.

Although the length of the fibers is not particularly limited, relatively short fibers are preferred in order to form the matrix of the sheet, and the fiber length is preferably 5 mm or less. The fineness of the fiber is not particularly limited, but in the case of synthetic fibers or semi-synthetic fibers, the single fineness is preferably 1 to 30 (denier/filament), more preferably 1 to 10 (denier/filament).

In the case of natural fibers, roughness can be used as an indicator of thickness and length. From the viewpoint of easily achieving ventilation resistance suitable for suction, the roughness is preferably 0.15 to 0.25 mg/m, more preferably 0.16 to 0.24 mg/m. , more preferably 0.18 to 0.22 mg/m. The roughness is measured in accordance with JISP8120:1998.

The cross-sectional shape of the fiber when using synthetic fibers or semi-synthetic fibers is not limited, but R-shape or Y-shape is preferable, and Y-shape is more preferable from the viewpoint of cost. Furthermore, a plasticizer or a binder can be used to bond the contact points between fibers and improve the sheet strength during sheet molding. When using natural fibers such as cellulose, water-soluble binders such as starch, modified starch, modified cellulose, PVA, or PVAc can be used alone or in combination, or latex or the like can also be used.

When using acetate fibers as the fibers, the binder for natural fibers can be used, and a plasticizer (triacetin) that has the ability to dissolve cellulose acetate can also be used. Among these, natural fibers derived from plants are preferred because they have a smaller environmental impact than synthetic fibers or semi-synthetic fibers, and wood pulp fibers are particularly preferred from the viewpoint of excellent heat resistance. In this case, the weight of wood pulp fibers contained per unit area of the sheet should be 25 to 50 g/m2 from the viewpoint of manufacturing suitability when processing the sheet into a flavor sheet and hardness after processing into a flavor sheet. is preferred.

(3) Adhesive Adhesives include starch glue, modified starch glue, modified cellulose glue such as CMC, HPC, and PPMC, polysaccharide glue such as alginate, carrageenan, and guar gum, and polymer glue such as polyvinyl alcohol. etc., well-known ones can be used. Among them, the adhesive is preferably selected from polyvinyl alcohol, vinyl acetate acrylic copolymer, or a mixture thereof from the viewpoint of having relatively little influence on the flavor of the article, having relatively excellent water resistance, and excellent heat resistance. . The adhesive weight (solid weight) is preferably 4 to 40 g/m 2 per unit area of the sheet. If the amount of adhesive is excessively large, it will be economically disadvantageous, and there is also concern that it will affect flavor. Furthermore, if the amount is too small, there will be fewer adhesion points between fibers, which may cause problems such as fibers coming apart and sheet tensile strength not being maintained.

(4) Particle distribution ratio FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a flavor sheet. In the figure, 1 is the flavor sheet, 2 is the base sheet, 4 is the particle, 6 is the fiber, A is one surface of the flavor sheet 1, and a is the distance from the center of the sheet 2 in the thickness direction Z to one surface A. Region B indicates the other surface B of the flavor sheet 1, and b indicates the region from the center of the sheet 2 in the thickness direction Z to the other surface B. The particles 4 are distributed in the flavor sheet 1 with a predetermined distribution ratio. The distribution ratio CA of the particles 4 in the region a of the flavor sheet 1 and the distribution ratio CB of the particles 4 in the region b of the flavor sheet 1 are defined as follows.
CA=weight of particles present in region a/total particle weight CB=weight of particles present in region b/total particle weight

The particles 4 in the sheet 2 are distributed so that CA>CB is satisfied. That is, the particles 4 are mostly distributed on the side of the region a including one surface A of the sheet 2. CA:CB is preferably 60-100:0-40, more preferably 70-90:10-30. The total weight of the particles 4 is preferably 7 to 80 g/m2, more preferably 10 to 40 g/m2 per unit area of the flavor sheet 1. If the weight of the particles 4 is less than the lower limit, the function of the particles 4 cannot be fully expressed, and if it exceeds the upper limit, it will be economically disadvantageous.

It is preferable that the distribution ratio of the particles 4 near the surface layer of the flavor sheet 1 is low. This is because if a large number of particles 4 exist near the surface layer of the flavor sheet 1, there is a risk of damaging the manufacturing equipment described below during manufacturing. From this viewpoint, the distribution ratios CAs and CBs in the vicinity of the surface layer of the particles 4 are defined as follows.
CAs = Weight of particles existing in an area of 5% in the thickness direction from one surface (surface A) / Total particle weight CBs = Weight of particles existing in an area of 5% in the thickness direction from the other surface (surface B) / Total particle weight

The distribution ratio CAs is preferably 0 to 10, more preferably 0 to 5, even more preferably 0 to 3. The distribution ratio CBs is preferably 0-5, more preferably 0-3, even more preferably 0-1. From the viewpoint of protecting the manufacturing equipment, it is more preferable that both CAs and CBs be 0, and when both CAs and CBs are not 0, it is preferable that the particles 4 are buried in the flavor sheet 1.

These distribution ratios can be determined by image analysis of the cross section of the flavor sheet 1, or by dividing the flavor sheet 1 in a plane parallel to the main surface at the center or 5% from the surface in the thickness direction Z. It can also be determined by measuring the weight of the particles 4 and the sheet 2. The former method is preferred from the viewpoint of simplicity. Since the distribution rate of the particles 4 in the flavor sheet 1 is uniform in the plane direction, in this method, by image analysis of one cross section of the flavor sheet 1, it may be treated as the distribution rate of the particles 4 in the entire sheet.

(5) Shape of flavor sheet, etc. The shape of flavor sheet 1 is appropriately adjusted depending on the application. For example, in the case of a flavor rod for a cylindrical article with a diameter of 24 mm and a height of 27 mm, the shape of the flavor sheet 1 is 27 mm in length, 50 to 150 mm in width, and 0.5 to 3.0 mm in thickness. . The flavor sheet 1 is manufactured by the air-laid process described below, so that it is thicker and has greater air permeability than conventional sheets. The thickness of the flavor sheet 1 can be measured by performing optical measurements such as image analysis on the cross section of the sheet. It can also be measured using the paper and paperboard thickness measurement method specified in JISP8118:2014.

The apparent density of the flavor sheet 1 is not limited, but in one embodiment is 30 to 200 g/m3. The apparent density referred to here can be calculated by dividing the basis weight of the sheet including all of the sheet constituent elements, fibers 6, adhesive, and particles 4, by the volume of the sheet. Further, the air permeability of the flavor sheet 1 is in the range of 1000 l/m ² /s to 50000 l/m ² /s, which is higher than conventional sheets. The air permeability of the flavor sheet 1 is measured using a measurement method based on ISO9073-15.

2. Method for Manufacturing Flavor Sheet FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of an apparatus for manufacturing flavor sheet 1, and FIG. 3 shows a flowchart illustrating the method for manufacturing flavor sheet 1. In FIG. 2, 8 is a mesh, 10 and 12 are sheet conveyors, 2 is a particle-free sheet, 1 is a flavoring sheet, 14 is a fiber feeder, 16 is an adhesive feeder, 18 is a suction device, and 20 is a dryer. 22 is a particle feeder, 24 is an adhesive feeder, and 26 is a dryer. Although a plurality of sheets 2 are illustrated in FIG. 2, the sheets 2 on the mesh 8 to the flavor sheet 1 may be continuous. The flavor sheet 1 is manufactured using this manufacturing apparatus by an air-laid process including the following steps.

(1) Sheet forming process S1
When manufacturing of the flavor sheet 1 is started, in this step, the fiber 6 is supplied from the fiber feeder 14 to the mesh 8 to form the sheet 2. The fibers 6 are preferably natural fibers derived from plants, and the fibers 6 are preferably supplied to the mesh 8 by falling from the fiber feeder 14. The mesh 8 is not limited as long as it is used in the production of dry nonwoven fabrics, and examples include wire mesh. Specifically, this step includes a fiber supply process P1 that supplies fibers 6 from the fiber supply machine 14 to one surface (specifically, the upper surface) of the mesh 8 using gas as a medium, and a fiber supply process P1 that supplies the fibers 6 to one surface (specifically, the upper surface) of the mesh 8 using gas as a medium; This includes a fiber holding process P2 in which the mesh 8 holds the fibers by suctioning the lower surface) with the suction device 18. Air can be used as the gas medium.

(2) Adhesive addition step S2
In this step, adhesive is added to one surface A (specifically, the upper surface) of the sheet 2 from the adhesive supply device 16. The adhesive may also be added to the other surface B (specifically, the lower surface) of the sheet 2 in the particle supply step S5, which will be described later, by the air-laid process of this manufacturing process. The specific adhesive is as described above, and the amount thereof is adjusted as appropriate. The amount of adhesive added in this step is determined by considering the amount of adhesive supplied to surface B in particle supply step S5, and the amount finally contained per unit area of sheet 2 is determined by the solid content of adhesive. The weight is adjusted to about 4 to 40 g/m2.

For example, about 2 to 20 g/m2 of adhesive can be added to surface A, and about 2 to 20 g/m2 can be added to surface B in the particle supply step S5. Preferably, the adhesive supply device 16 is a sprayer, and the adhesive is atomized. The sheet 2 to which the adhesive has been added is delivered to a sheet conveyor 10 and preferably dried. Drying may be performed using the dryer 20 or may be performed by air drying. As the sheet conveying machine 12, for example, a belt conveyor can be used. In this step, adhesive is applied to the surface A, and the fibers 6 are fixed to each other.

(3) Drying process S3
In this manufacturing method, the drying step S3 can be provided at any position. FIG. 2 shows cases in which this step is performed in the dryer 20 between the adhesive addition step S2 and the sheet reversing step S4 described later, and in a case in which it is performed in the dryer 26 after the particle supply step S5 described later. It shows. In this manufacturing method, at least the latter drying step S3 is performed. This step is preferably performed when a water-soluble adhesive is used in the adhesive addition step S2. Drying may be performed by air drying. Further, when latex is used as the adhesive in the adhesive addition step S2, air drying may be performed without using the

dryers

20 and 26, or the drying step S3 may not be provided.

(4) Sheet reversal step S4
In this step, the sheet 2 obtained in the adhesive addition step S2 is reversed. Specifically, when the sheet 2 is transferred from the sheet conveying machine 10 to the sheet conveying machine 12, it is reversed so that the other surface B faces upward.

(5) Particle supply step S5
In this step, particles 4 are supplied to the surface B of the inverted sheet 2 to form the flavor sheet 1. Specifically, this step includes an adhesive simultaneous addition process P3 in which the adhesive is added from the adhesive supply machine 24 at the same time as the particles 4, or an adhesive simultaneous addition process P3 in which the adhesive is added from the adhesive supply machine 24 after the particles 4 are supplied. It includes a post-addition process P4. As a result, the adhesive is also added to the surface B of the sheet, the particles 4 are fixedly held on the sheet 2, and the production of the flavor sheet 1 is completed.

FIG. 2 shows a mode when performing the adhesive simultaneous addition process P3. It is preferable that the adhesive supply device 24 is a sprayer similar to the adhesive supply device 16. The amount of adhesive added in this step is adjusted so that the final solid weight of the adhesive is approximately 4 to 40 g/m2, as described above. The amount of particles is adjusted appropriately to achieve the desired amount. In the flavor sheet 1 manufactured in this way, many particles 4 are present on the surface A side of the sheet 2.

3. Flavor Rod FIG. 4 shows a conceptual diagram of one embodiment of the flavor rod 100. A flavor rod 100 for use in articles is prepared from the flavor sheet 1. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the cut flavor sheet 1 is converged in the width direction X that intersects the longitudinal direction Y (in other words, the conveyance direction of the flavor sheet 1 in FIG. The filling rod 28 is formed by reducing the diameter. Flavor rod 100 may be formed by wrapping filler rod 28 with wrapping paper 30 .

(1) S-shaped sheet cross section As shown in FIG. 4, the filling rod 28 is formed by stacking a plurality of flavor sheets 1 and folding them in the width direction X to reduce the diameter. The folded shape of each flavor sheet 1 in the filling rod 28 has an S-shaped sheet cross section. The filling rod 28 includes a susceptor 32 that inductively heats each flavor sheet 1 . The susceptor 32 is a heating material that converts electrical energy into heat, and generates an induced current when an article is attached to a device and placed in an electromagnetic field.

The susceptor 32 generates heat due to electrical resistance generated by the flow of an induced current, heats each flavor sheet 1 forming the flavor rod 100, and volatilizes flavor components together with the aerosol. The susceptor 32 has a sheet shape, for example, and is overlapped with each flavor sheet 1 and folded together with each flavor sheet 1 into an S-shape.

(2) ω-shaped sheet cross section FIG. 5 shows a conceptual diagram of another embodiment of the flavor rod 100. As shown in FIG. 5, the folding shape of each flavor sheet 1 in the filling rod 28 may be such that the sheet cross section has an ω-shape. In this case, the susceptor 32 is overlapped with each flavor sheet 1 and folded together with each flavor sheet 1 into an ω-shape.

In both cases of FIGS. 4 and 5, the susceptor 32 is preferably arranged between each flavor sheet 1, and more preferably centrally located in the filling rod 28. This increases the contact area between the susceptor 32 and each flavor sheet 1, heats each flavor sheet 1 evenly, and promotes volatilization of flavor components. Note that the susceptor 32 may be plate-shaped, and in this case, the susceptor 32 is disposed at least inside the filling rod 28. Further, in the case of heating the article by a heating method other than induction heating, the susceptor 32 is not arranged on the filling rod 28.

(3) Volume filling rate of filling rod FIG. 6 shows a conceptual diagram for explaining the volume filling rate of the filling rod 28. Note that FIG. 6 shows an embodiment in which the filling rod 28 does not include the susceptor 32. t is the thickness of each flavor sheet 1 stacked in the thickness direction Z before being formed into the filling rod 28, w is the sheet width in the width direction X of the flavor sheet 1 before being formed into the filling rod 28, and r is the filling is the radius of rod 28. The total sheet cross-sectional area Ss, which is the sum of the sheet cross-sectional areas in the width direction The volume filling rate R of the filling rod 28, which is calculated as a percentage when divided by , is defined as follows.
Ss=t×w
Sr=r×r×π
R=(Ss/Sr)×100

By adjusting the total sheet cross-sectional area Ss and the rod cross-sectional area Sr, the volumetric filling rate R of the filling rod 28 is set to 100% or more. That is, in order to make the volumetric filling rate R 100% or more, in other words, to make the filling rod 28 have a porosity of 0%, the thickness t1 of one flavor sheet 1 is appropriately set in the range of 0.5 to 3.0 mm as described above. The number of flavor sheets 1 to be filled into the filling rod 28 is adjusted, and the degree of diameter reduction of each flavor sheet 1 is also adjusted.

As a result, the filling rod 28 with no voids is formed, and variations in the amount of ventilation of the filling rod 28 due to the voids are suppressed during suction. Therefore, fluctuations in the flavor components volatilized from the flavor sheet 1 and the amount of aerosol produced can be suppressed. Note that when the filling rod 28 includes a susceptor 32, the cross-sectional area of the susceptor 32 is taken into consideration when calculating the volumetric filling rate R.

(4) Ventilation resistance of filling rod The ventilation resistance per 10 mm length in the axial direction of the filling rod 28 is set to 5 mmH ₂ O to 50 mm H ₂ O. The airflow resistance of the filling rod 28 is measured in accordance with the ISO standard method (ISO 6565) that specifies the method for measuring filter airflow resistance, and is measured using, for example, an "airflow resistance meter A11 (manufactured by Burghart)." As a result, a filling rod 28 is formed that has no voids and has a higher air permeability than conventional rods. The flavor rod 100 formed from such a filled rod 28 is cut into flavor segments that are combined with other segments, such as filter segments, to form a non-combustion heated flavor suction article.

4. Flavor suction article (1) Non-combustion heating type flavor suction article FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the flavor suction article. In the figure, 200 is a non-combustion heating type flavor suction article, and the article 200 includes a flavor segment 34 and a mouthpiece segment 36. Mouthpiece segment 36 includes a cooling segment 38, a center hole segment 40, a first filter segment F1, and a second filter segment F2. The first filter segment F1 and the second filter segment F2 are also collectively referred to as a "filter section." When suctioning the article 200, the flavor segment 34 is heated and suction is performed from the end of the first filter segment F1. Although the susceptor 32 is not shown in FIG. 7, when the susceptor 32 is arranged, the flavor segment 34 is heated by induction by the susceptor 32.

The flavor segment 34 is formed by cutting the flavor rod 100 and has a sheet filling portion 42 formed by the filling rod 28 and the aforementioned cylindrical wrapping paper 30 that covers the sheet filling portion 42. The sheet filling section 42 includes an aerosol-generating base material and may further include a volatile fragrance component and water. There are various types of tobacco used to obtain the tobacco extract or crushed tobacco contained in the particles of the sheet filling part 42, including yellow variety, burley variety, orient variety, native variety, and other Nicotiana tabacum types. Various varieties and Nicotiana rustica varieties can be blended as appropriate to obtain the desired flavor.

The aerosol-generating base material is a material that can generate an aerosol by heating, and examples thereof include, but are not limited to, glycerin, propylene glycol (PG), triethyl citrate (TEC), triacetin, 1,3-butanediol, etc. . These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

The types of volatile flavor components are not particularly limited, and from the viewpoint of imparting good flavor, acetanisole, acetophenone, acetylpyrazine, 2-acetylthiazole, alfalfa extract, amyl alcohol, amyl butyrate, trans-anethole, star Anise oil, apple juice, Peruvian balsam oil, beeswax absolute, benzaldehyde, benzoin resinoid, benzyl alcohol, benzyl benzoate, benzyl phenylacetate, benzyl propionate, 2,3-butanedione, 2-butanol, butyl butyrate, butyric acid, caramel, Cardamom oil, carob absolute, β-carotene, carrot juice, L-carvone, β-caryophyllene, cassia bark oil, cedarwood oil, celery seed oil, chamomile oil, cinnamaldehyde, cinnamic acid, cinnamyl alcohol, cinnamyl cinnamate. , citronella oil, DL-citronellol, clary sage extract, cocoa, coffee, cognac oil, coriander oil, cumin aldehyde, davana oil, δ-decalactone, γ-decalactone, decanoic acid, dill herb oil, 3,4-dimethyl-1 , 2-cyclopentanedione, 4,5-dimethyl-3-hydroxy-2,5-dihydrofuran-2-one, 3,7-dimethyl-6-octenoic acid, 2,3-dimethylpyrazine, 2,5- Dimethylpyrazine, 2,6-dimethylpyrazine, ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, ethyl acetate, ethyl butyrate, ethyl hexanoate, ethyl isovalerate, ethyl lactate, ethyl laurate, ethyl levulinate, ethyl maltol, ethyl octoate, olein Ethyl acid, ethyl palmitate, ethyl phenylacetate, ethyl propionate, ethyl stearate, ethyl valerate, ethyl vanillin, ethyl vanillin glucoside, 2-ethyl-3, (5 or 6)-dimethylpyrazine, 5-ethyl-3 -Hydroxy-4-methyl-2(5H)-furanone, 2-ethyl-3-methylpyrazine, eucalyptol, fenugreek absolute, gene absolute, gentian root infusion, geraniol, geranyl acetate, grape juice, guaiacol, guava extract ct, γ-heptalactone, γ-hexalactone, hexanoic acid, cis-3-hexen-1-ol, hexyl acetate, hexyl alcohol, hexyl phenylacetate, honey, 4-hydroxy-3-pentenoic acid lactone, 4-hydroxy -4-(3-hydroxy-1-butenyl)-3,5,5-trimethyl-2-cyclohexen-1-one, 4-(para-hydroxyphenyl)-2-butanone, sodium 4-hydroxyundecanoate, in Mortel absolute, β-ionone, isoamyl acetate, isoamyl butyrate, isoamyl phenylacetate, isobutyl acetate, isobutyl phenylacetate, jasmine absolute, kola nut tincture, labdanum oil, lemon terpeneless oil, licorice extract, linalool, linalyl acetate, Robage root oil, maltol, maple syrup, menthol, menthone, L-menthyl acetate, paramethoxybenzaldehyde, methyl-2-pyrrolyl ketone, methyl anthranilate, methyl phenylacetate, methyl salicylate, 4'-methylacetophenone, methylcyclopentenolone, 3-Methylvaleric acid, mimosa absolute, honey, myristic acid, nerol, nerolidol, γ-nonalactone, nutmeg oil, δ-octalactone, octanal, octanoic acid, orange flower oil, orange oil, orris root oil, palmitic acid, omega-pentadecalactone, peppermint oil, petitgrain paraguayan oil, phenethyl alcohol, phenethyl phenylacetate, phenylacetic acid, piperonal, plum extract, propenylguaetol, propyl acetate, 3-propylidenephthalide, prune juice, pyruvic acid , raisin extract, rose oil, rum, sage oil, sandalwood oil, spearmint oil, styrax absolute, marigold oil, tea distillate, alpha-terpineol, terpinyl acetate, 5,6,7,8-tetrahydroquinoxaline. , 1,5,5,9-tetramethyl-13-oxacyclo(8.3.0.0(4.9))tridecane, 2,3,5,6-tetramethylpyrazine, thyme oil, tomato extract, 2-tridecanone, triethyl citrate, 4-(2,6,6-trimethyl-1-cyclohexenyl)2-buten-4-one, 2,6,6-trimethyl-2-cyclohexene-1,4-dione, 4-(2,6,6-trimethyl-1,3-cyclohexadienyl)2-buten-4-one, 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine, γ-undecalactone, γ-valerolactone, vanilla extract , vanillin, veratraldehyde, violet leaf absolute, extracts of tobacco plants (tobacco leaves, tobacco stems, tobacco flowers, tobacco roots, and tobacco seeds), with menthol being particularly preferred. Further, these volatile fragrance components may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

The content of the aerosol-generating base material in the sheet filling part 42 is not particularly limited, and is usually 5 to 50% by weight, preferably 10 to 50% by weight, from the viewpoint of sufficiently generating aerosol and imparting good flavor. It is 20% by weight. When the sheet filling part 42 contains a volatile fragrance component, the content is not particularly limited, and from the viewpoint of imparting good flavor, it is usually 100 ppm or more, preferably 10,000 ppm or more based on the weight of the sheet filling part 42. It is more preferably 25,000 ppm or more, and usually 100,000 ppm or less, preferably 50,000 ppm or less, and more preferably 33,000 ppm or less.

By heating the sheet filling part 42, the flavor components, aerosol generating base material, and water contained in the sheet filling part 42 are vaporized, and by suction, these are transferred to the mouthpiece segment 36. Cooling segment 38 is comprised of a cylindrical member 44 . The cylindrical member 44 is, for example, a paper tube made of cardboard processed into a cylindrical shape. The cylindrical member 44 and the mouthpiece lining paper 54 described below are provided with perforations 46 passing through them.

The presence of the perforations 46 allows outside air to be introduced into the cooling segment 38 during suction. As a result, the vaporized aerosol component generated by heating the flavor segment 34 comes into contact with the outside air, and its temperature decreases, causing it to liquefy and generate an aerosol. The diameter (length across) of the perforation 46 is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, 0.5 to 1.5 mm. The number of perforations 46 is not particularly limited, and may be one or two or more. Further, a plurality of perforations 46 may be provided around the circumference of the cooling segment 38.

The center hole segment 40 is composed of a filling layer 48 having a hollow portion and an inner plug wrapper 50 covering the filling layer 48. Center hole segment 40 has the function of increasing the strength of mouthpiece segment 36. The filling layer 48 is, for example, a rod having an inner diameter of 5.0 to 1.0 mm, filled with cellulose acetate fibers at a high density, and hardened by adding a plasticizer containing triacetin in an amount of 6 to 20% by weight based on the weight of cellulose acetate. It is.

Since the packed bed 48 has a high packing density of fibers, during suction, air and aerosol only flow through the hollow part and hardly flow into the packed bed 48. When it is desired to reduce the reduction of aerosol components due to filtration in the filter section, shortening the length of the filter section and replacing it with the center hole segment 40 is effective in increasing the amount of aerosol components delivered. Since the filling layer 48 inside the center hole segment 40 is a fiber filling layer, it feels good to the touch from the outside during use.

The center hole segment 40 and the filter section are connected by an outer plug wrapper 52. The outer plug wrapper 52 is, for example, cylindrical paper. Further, the sheet filling section 42, the cooling segment 38, the connected center hole segment 40, and the filter section are connected by a mouthpiece lining paper 54. These connections can be made, for example, by applying glue such as vinyl acetate glue to the inner surface of the mouthpiece lining paper 54, inserting the three segments, and winding the paper.

The length of the article 200 in the axial direction, that is, the horizontal direction in FIG. 7 is not particularly limited, but is preferably 40 to 90 mm, more preferably 50 to 75 mm, and even more preferably 50 to 60 mm. Further, the circumferential length of the article 200 is preferably 16 to 25 mm, more preferably 20 to 24 mm, and even more preferably 21 to 23 mm.

For example, the length of the flavor segment 34 is 20 mm, the length of the cooling segment 38 is 20 mm, the length of the center hole segment 40 is 6 mm, and the length of each of the first filter segment F1 and the second filter segment F2 is 7 mm. An embodiment in which the diameter is .0 mm can be mentioned. These individual segment lengths can be changed as appropriate depending on manufacturing suitability, required quality, etc. Furthermore, only the filter section may be arranged downstream of the cooling segment 38 without using the center hole segment 40.

(2) Flavor Suction System The non-combustion heating type article 200 is preferably used in combination with a device that heats the article 200. This combination is also called a non-combustion heated flavor suction system. As the device, a known device can be used, and for example, it is preferable to include an electric resistance heater. Further, when the flavor segment 34 includes a susceptor 32, an induced current flows through the susceptor 32 by attaching the article 200 to the device, and the article 200 is heated due to the electrical resistance generated by the induced current flowing.

As described above, the method for manufacturing the flavor sheet 1 of the present embodiment includes the sheet forming step S1 of supplying fibers 6 to the mesh 8 to form the sheet 2, and adding an adhesive to one surface A of the sheet 2. Adhesive addition step S2, sheet reversal step S4 of reversing the sheet 2 obtained in adhesive addition step S2, and particle supply of supplying particles 4 to the other side B of the inverted sheet 2 to form flavor sheet 1 and step S5. The flavor suction article 200 formed from this flavor sheet 1 can efficiently and quantitatively supply flavor components to the user.

Specifically, since the flavor sheet 1 is formed from a dry nonwoven fabric by an air-laid process including the steps described above, the density of the sheet 2 is lower and the thickness of the sheet 2 is thicker than that of the conventional method. Great ventilation. The ventilation resistance of the article 200 using such a flavor sheet 1 is significantly reduced. Therefore, when the article 200 is sucked, the flavor components contained in the flavor sheet 1 can be efficiently volatilized, and an aerosol of the flavor components can be efficiently generated.

Furthermore, by reducing the ventilation resistance of the article 200, it is possible to reduce the amount of flavor components that are adsorbed to and filtered by the flavor rod 100 itself. Therefore, even in the non-combustion heating type article 200 that can contain a small amount of flavor components, it is possible to supply a flavor that satisfies the user.

In addition, by forming the flavor sheet 1 from a nonwoven fabric in which the sheet 2 is formed, the adhesive is added, and the particles 4 are supplied by an air-laid process, voids in the filling rod 28 formed by filling the flavor sheet 1 are eliminated. can do. This promotes efficient volatilization of flavor components and efficient aerosolization of flavor components, thereby making it possible to efficiently supply flavor to users.

Further, since there are no voids in the filling rod 28, and because the density of the sheet 2 is low and the thickness of the sheet 2 is thick, variations in the degree of filling of the flavor sheet 1 in the filling rod 28 and eventually the flavor rod 100 are reduced. Ru. Thereby, it is possible to suppress fluctuations in the flavor components volatilized from the flavor sheet 1 in the flavor rod 100 and the amount of aerosol produced, and it is possible to supply a constant flavor to the user.

Moreover, by reducing the variation in the filling condition of the flavor sheet 1, when the susceptor 32 is arranged on the flavor rod 100, the variation in the contact mode between the flavor sheet 1 and the susceptor 32 is also reduced. Thereby, it is possible to suppress fluctuations in the amount of flavor component volatilization and, by extension, the amount of aerosol produced due to fluctuations in the heating distribution of the susceptor 32. Therefore, the flavor provided to the user can be further stabilized.

Furthermore, the particle supply step S5 includes an adhesive simultaneous addition process P3 in which an adhesive is added at the same time as the particles 4, or an adhesive post-addition process P4 in which an adhesive is added after the particles 4 are supplied. Thereby, since the adhesive is added to the other side B of the sheet 2, the tensile strength of the sheet 2 can be increased, and the particles 4 can be held on the sheet 2 more reliably.

The sheet forming process S1 includes a fiber supply process P1 in which the fibers 6 are supplied to one side of the mesh 8 using gas as a medium, and a fiber retention process in which the other side of the mesh 8 is sucked to hold the fibers 6 in the mesh 8. process P2. Thereby, the flavor sheet 1 formed from a nonwoven fabric having a low density, a large thickness, and a high air permeability of the sheet 2 can be manufactured.

Furthermore, a drying step S3 of drying one side A of the sheet 2 is included between the adhesive addition step S2 and the sheet reversing step S4. Thereby, the adhesive added in the adhesive addition step S2 can be dried and the fibers 6 can be reliably fixed to each other, so that the flavor sheet 1 formed from the dry nonwoven fabric can be reliably manufactured. .

Further, in the sheet forming step S1, the fiber supply process P1 and the fiber retention process P2 are adjusted and performed to form the sheet 2 that will become the flavor sheet 1 to a thickness of 0.5 mm to 3.0 mm. In this way, by using the sheet 2 which is thicker than the conventional one, it is possible to reliably form the flavor sheet 1 in which the density of the sheet 2 is low and the air permeability of the sheet 2 is high. Specifically, by adjusting and performing the fiber supply process P1 and the fiber retention process P2, the sheet 2 that becomes the flavor sheet 1 is formed to have an air permeability of 1000 l/m ² /s to 50000 l/m ² /s. Ru. Thereby, the flavor components contained in the flavor sheet 1 can be efficiently volatilized, and an aerosol of the flavor components can be efficiently generated.

Moreover, it is preferable that the particles 4 supplied to the sheet 2 in the particle supply step S5 have a particle size of 14 Mesh to 70 Mesh. Moreover, when the particles 4 supplied to the sheet 2 in the particle supply step S5 are supplied to the fibers 6 in the form of a paste, they may be powder having a particle size of 70 Mesh to 500 Mesh. Thereby, the particles 4 can be embedded and held in the sheet 2 even more reliably.

Furthermore, it is preferable that the particles 4 supplied to the sheet 2 in the particle supply step S5 contain crushed tobacco or a tobacco extract. As a result, even in the non-combustion heating type flavor suction article 200 that can contain a small amount of flavor components and aerosol, it is possible to supply a flavor that is even more satisfying to the user. Further, in the sheet forming step S1, it is preferable to use plant-derived natural fibers as the fibers 6. Thereby, the environmental load of the flavor sheet 1 can be reduced.

Furthermore, the adhesive added to the sheet 2 in the adhesive addition step S2 is preferably a mixture of polyvinyl alcohol and vinyl acetate acrylic copolymer suspended in water. Thereby, the tensile strength of the sheet 2 can be increased more effectively, and the particles 4 can be held in the sheet 2 more reliably.

This concludes the description of the embodiment, but the embodiment described above is not limited and can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit. For example, the apparatus for manufacturing the flavor sheet 1 described above shows one embodiment, and as long as the flavor sheet 1 can be manufactured by the air-laid process described above, the apparatus configuration is not limited to the content described above. do not have. Moreover, the flavor sheet 1 of the embodiment can be used not only in the above-described flavor rod 100 and the above-described flavor suction article 200 using the same, but also in various ways.

For example, the flavor sheet 1 may be laid flat to form a sheet-like flavor segment 34, and this flavor segment 34 may be laminated with other segments or the sheet-like susceptor 32 to produce the layered flavor suction article 200. can. Further, the flavor rod 100 of the embodiment can be used not only for the flavor suction article 200 having the above-described configuration but also for flavor suction articles 200 of various types.

1 Flavor sheet 2 Sheet 4 Particles 6 Fibers 8 Mesh 200 Flavor suction article A One side of the sheet B Other side of the sheet S1 Sheet forming process S2 Adhesive addition process S3 Drying process S4 Sheet reversing process S5 Particle supply process P1 Fiber supply Process P2 Fiber retention process P3 Adhesive simultaneous addition process P4 Adhesive post addition process

Claims

A method for producing a flavor sheet for use in a non-combustion heating type flavor suction article, comprising:
a sheet forming step of supplying fibers to the mesh to form a sheet;
an adhesive addition step of adding an adhesive to one side of the sheet;
a sheet reversing step of reversing the sheet obtained in the adhesive addition step;
A method for producing a flavor sheet, comprising a particle supply step of supplying particles to the other side of the inverted sheet to form the flavor sheet.
The method for producing a flavor sheet according to claim 1, wherein the particle supply step includes an adhesive simultaneous addition process of adding an adhesive at the same time as the particles.
The method for producing a flavor sheet according to claim 1, wherein the particle supply step includes an adhesive post-addition process of adding an adhesive after supplying the particles.
The sheet forming step includes:
a fiber supply process that supplies the fibers to one side of the mesh using gas as a medium;
The method for producing a flavor sheet according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising a fiber holding process of sucking the other side of the mesh to make the mesh hold the fibers.
The method for producing a flavor sheet according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising a drying step of drying the one side of the sheet between the adhesive addition step and the sheet reversing step.
The method for manufacturing a flavor sheet according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the sheet forming step uses plant-derived natural fibers as the fibers.