WO2023188375A1

WO2023188375A1 - Atomizing unit and method for manufacturing same, and inhaler

Info

Publication number: WO2023188375A1
Application number: PCT/JP2022/016816
Authority: WO
Inventors: 光史松本; 貴久工藤; 友一渡辺
Original assignee: 日本たばこ産業株式会社
Priority date: 2022-03-31
Filing date: 2022-03-31
Publication date: 2023-10-05

Abstract

The present invention provides a technology for removing excess droplets included in aerosol produced by an atomizing unit in an inhaler. The atomizing unit in the inhaler is provided with a liquid container unit which contains an aerosol production liquid including nicotine; an electric load which is disposed in an air passage through which air passes, receives the aerosol production liquid of the liquid container unit, and generates an aerosol by atomizing the aerosol production liquid; and a droplet trapping material which traps droplets included in the aerosol and is disposed in a downstream passage section located downstream of the load in a flow direction of the air in the air passage.

Description

Atomization unit and its manufacturing method, and suction tool

The present invention relates to an atomization unit of a suction tool, a method for manufacturing the same, and a suction tool.

Conventionally, as an atomization unit used in a non-combustion heating type suction device, a liquid storage part for storing an aerosol generation liquid, the aerosol generation liquid in the liquid storage part is introduced, and the introduced aerosol generation liquid is atomized. An atomization unit is known that includes an electrical load that generates an aerosol and a flavor source that imparts a flavor component to the aerosol (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Note that Patent Document 2 can be cited as another prior art document. Patent Document 2 discloses information regarding tobacco leaf extract.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-141705 International Publication No. 2015/129679

In the conventional atomization unit as described above, if the aerosol generated in the atomization unit is cooled while flowing through the flow path, the aerosol may contain excessive droplets. The aerosol containing excessive droplets may give the user an undesirable taste such as a rough taste. In this respect, there is room for improvement in conventional atomization units.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and one of its objects is to provide a technique for removing excessive droplets contained in the aerosol generated by the atomization unit in the suction tool.

(Aspect 1)
In order to achieve the above object, an atomization unit of a suction tool according to one aspect of the present invention is arranged in a liquid storage part that stores an aerosol generating liquid containing nicotine and an air passage through which air passes, The aerosol-generating liquid of the part is introduced, and an electrical load that atomizes the introduced aerosol-generating liquid to generate an aerosol, and a droplet trapping material that traps droplets contained in the aerosol, A droplet trapping material is provided in a downstream passage portion of the air passage located downstream of the load in the air flow direction.

(Aspect 2)
In the above aspect 1, the droplet trapping material may be formed as a molded body having a droplet trapping surface that is exposed to the downstream passage and traps droplets contained in the aerosol.

(Aspect 3)
In the above aspect 2, the droplet trapping material is a flavor molded body containing a non-tobacco base material and a flavor material, and the flavor material includes a tobacco material and the content of the tobacco material in the flavor molded body is It may be 10% by weight or less.

(Aspect 4)
In the above aspect 2 or 3, the droplet trapping material has a rod shape that extends along the downstream passage section, and extends inside the droplet trapping material in the axial direction of the droplet trapping material. It may also have a hollow aerosol flow path through which the aerosol flows, and the inner surface of the aerosol flow path may be formed as the droplet trapping surface.

(Aspect 5)
In any of the above aspects 2 to 4, the droplet trapping material has a rod shape that extends along the downstream passage, and has a side surface thereof that extends in the axial direction of the droplet trapping material. It may also have an aerosol distribution groove for distributing the aerosol, and a surface of the aerosol distribution groove may be formed as the droplet trapping surface.

(Aspect 6)
In any of the above aspects 2 to 5, the droplet trapping material has a rod shape extending along the downstream passage, and a cross section perpendicular to the flow direction of the aerosol in the downstream passage. A plurality of the droplet trapping materials are arranged in parallel along the direction, and an aerosol flow path is formed between the outer surfaces of the droplet trapping materials arranged in parallel, and an aerosol flow path is formed to allow the aerosol to flow. The droplet trapping surface may be formed by an outer surface of the droplet trapping material facing the road.

(Aspect 7)
In the above aspect 2 or 3, the droplet trapping material has a bellows sheet shape as a whole, and includes a plurality of sheet portions extending along the flow direction of air in the downstream passage portion, and each An aerosol configured to include a ridgeline section that connects the sheet sections in a bellows-like manner and extends along the air flow direction, and that distributes the aerosol between the sheet sections that are connected via the ridgeline section. A flow path may be formed, and the droplet trapping surface may be formed by an outer surface of the sheet portion facing the aerosol flow path.

(Aspect 8)
In the above aspect 2 or 3, the droplet trapping material has a plate shape extending along the flow direction of air in the downstream passage, and is orthogonal to the flow direction of air in the downstream passage. an aerosol flow path in which a plurality of the droplet trapping materials are arranged side by side so as to face each other at intervals along a cross section, and the aerosol flows between the droplet trapping materials arranged to face each other; may be formed, and the droplet trapping surface may be formed by an outer surface of the droplet trapping material facing the aerosol flow path.

(Aspect 9)
Further, a suction tool according to one aspect of the present invention includes the atomizing unit according to any one of aspects 1 to 8 above, and a power source that supplies power to the load, and a power source unit to which the atomizing unit is detachably attached. and.

(Aspect 10)
Further, a method for manufacturing an atomization unit of a suction tool according to one aspect of the present invention includes:
An atomization unit housing having a liquid storage portion and an air passage formed therein, an aerosol-generating liquid containing nicotine, an electrical load for atomizing the aerosol-generating liquid to generate an aerosol, and droplets contained in the aerosol. a droplet trapping material for trapping; a preparation step for preparing;
an assembling step of accommodating the aerosol generating liquid in the liquid accommodating section and arranging the load and the droplet trapping material in the air passage;
has
In the assembly process,
The load is arranged in such a manner that the aerosol generating liquid is introduced from the liquid storage part, and the droplet trapping material is arranged in a downstream passage part located downstream of the load in the air flow direction. do.

According to an aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a technique for removing excessive droplets contained in an aerosol generated by an atomization unit in a suction tool.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the appearance of a suction tool according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the main parts of the atomization unit of the suction tool according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section taken along the line A1-A1 in FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of the droplet trapping material according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flow diagram for explaining the method for manufacturing the atomization unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the results of measuring the TPM reduction rate with respect to the amount of carbonized components contained in 1 g of aerosol generating liquid containing nicotine. FIG. 7 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the atomization unit according to the second embodiment. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the atomization unit according to the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the atomization unit according to the third embodiment. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the atomization unit according to the third embodiment. FIG. 11 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the atomization unit according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the atomization unit according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the atomization unit according to the fifth embodiment. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the atomization unit according to the fifth embodiment. FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the atomization unit according to the sixth embodiment. FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of the atomization unit according to Embodiment 7. FIG. 17 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the atomization unit according to Embodiment 8. FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of the atomization unit according to Embodiment 8.

Hereinafter, embodiments of an atomization unit and a suction tool equipped with the same according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, but these descriptions are merely examples of the embodiments of the present invention, and the gist of the present invention is not limited to the following. It is not limited to these contents as long as they do not exceed. Furthermore, although a plurality of embodiments will be described in this specification, various conditions in each embodiment may be applied to each other within an applicable range. Furthermore, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, etc. of the constituent elements described in the embodiments are merely examples. In addition, in this specification, each embodiment will be described with reference to drawings as necessary, but these drawings are schematically illustrated to facilitate understanding of the features of the embodiments, and each configuration is The dimensional ratios of elements etc. are not necessarily the same as the actual ones. Further, in the drawings of the present application, XYZ orthogonal coordinates are illustrated as necessary.

Here, the atomization unit according to the embodiment is
a liquid storage section that accommodates an aerosol generation liquid containing tobacco extract components;
an electrical load disposed in an air passage through which air passes, into which the aerosol-generating liquid in the liquid storage section is introduced, and which atomizes the introduced aerosol-generating liquid to generate an aerosol;
A droplet trapping material that traps droplets contained in an aerosol, the droplet trapping material being disposed in a downstream passage portion of the air passageway that is located downstream of the load in the air flow direction. ,
Equipped with

Here, the droplet trapping material may be formed as a molded body having a droplet trapping surface that is exposed to the downstream passage and traps droplets contained in the aerosol. In this case, the droplet trapping material may be a flavor molded body containing a non-tobacco base material and a flavor material. Further, the flavor material may include a tobacco material, and the content of the tobacco material in the flavor molded body may be 10% by weight or less.

Further, the method for manufacturing the atomization unit according to the embodiment includes:
An atomization unit housing having a liquid storage portion and an air passage formed therein, an aerosol generation liquid containing tobacco extract components, an electrical load for atomizing the aerosol generation liquid to generate an aerosol, and a liquid contained in the aerosol. a droplet trapping material for trapping the droplets, and a preparation step for preparing the droplet trapping material;
an assembling step of accommodating the aerosol generating liquid in the liquid accommodating section and arranging the load and the droplet trapping material in the air passage;
has
In the assembly process,
The load is arranged in such a manner that the aerosol generating liquid is introduced from the liquid storage part, and the droplet trapping material is arranged in a downstream passage part located downstream of the load in the air flow direction. You may.

<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the appearance of a suction tool 10 according to the first embodiment. The suction device 10 according to the present embodiment is a non-combustion heating type suction device, and specifically, a non-combustion heating type flavor suction device.

As an example, the suction tool 10 according to the present embodiment extends in the direction of the central axis CL of the suction tool 10. Specifically, the suction tool 10 has, for example, a "long axis direction (direction of the central axis CL)", a "width direction" perpendicular to the long axis direction, and a "thickness" perpendicular to the long axis direction and the width direction. It has an external shape having a direction. The dimensions of the suction tool 10 in the long axis direction, width direction, and thickness direction decrease in this order. In this embodiment, among the orthogonal coordinates of X-Y-Z, the Z-axis direction (Z direction or -Z direction) corresponds to the major axis direction, and the X-axis direction (X direction or -X direction) corresponds to the width direction, and the Y-axis direction (Y direction or -Y direction) corresponds to the thickness direction.

The suction tool 10 has a power supply unit 11 and an atomization unit 12. The power supply unit 11 is detachably connected to the atomization unit 12. Inside the power supply unit 11, a battery as a power source, a control device, etc. are arranged. When the atomization unit 12 is connected to the power supply unit 11, the power supply of the power supply unit 11 and the load 40 of the atomization unit 12, which will be described later, are electrically connected.

Here, the reference numeral 120 in FIG. 1 is an atomization unit housing that houses various elements constituting the atomization unit 12, and a part of the housing also serves as a mouthpiece that the user holds in his or her mouth for suction. The atomization unit housing 120 of the atomization unit 12 has

inflow ports

72a and 72b, which are holes for introducing air into the atomization unit housing 120 from the outside, and

inlets

72a and 72b for introducing aerosol from the inside of the atomization unit housing 120 to the outside. A discharge port 13 is provided for discharging the air contained therein. When using the suction tool 10, the user of the suction tool 10 can inhale air containing aerosol discharged from the outlet 13. That is, the discharge port 13 formed in the atomization unit housing 120 of the atomization unit 12 functions as a suction port through which the user sucks the aerosol.

A sensor is arranged in the power supply unit 11 to output the value of the pressure change inside the suction tool 10 caused by the user's suction through the discharge port 13. When the user starts suctioning air, a sensor detects the start of suctioning air, transmits this to the control device, and the control device starts energizing the load 40 of the atomization unit 12, which will be described later. Further, when the user finishes suctioning the air, the sensor detects the end of the suction of air, and notifies the control device of this, and the control device ends the energization of the load 40.

Note that the power supply unit 11 may be provided with an operation switch for transmitting a request to start air suction and a request to end air suction to the control device by a user's operation. In this case, the user can transmit a request to start air suction or a request to end suction to the control device by operating the operation switch. The control device that receives this suction start request or suction end request starts or ends energization to the load 40.

Note that the configuration of the power supply unit 11 as described above is similar to the power supply unit of a known suction tool as exemplified in Patent Document 1, so a more detailed explanation will be omitted.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the main parts of the atomization unit 12 of the suction tool 10 according to the first embodiment. Specifically, FIG. 2 schematically shows a cross section (hereinafter also referred to as a "longitudinal cross section") of the main part of the atomization unit 12 taken along a plane including the central axis CL. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section taken along the line A1-A1 in FIG. 2 (that is, a cross section taken along a cross section normal to the central axis CL, also referred to as a "cross section"). The atomization unit 12 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

The atomization unit 12 (atomization unit housing 120) according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of walls (walls 70a to 70g) extending in the longitudinal direction (direction of the central axis CL), and has a width It includes a plurality of wall portions (wall portions 71a to 71c) extending in the direction. Further, the atomization unit 12 includes an air passage 20 , a wick 30 , an electrical load 40 , a liquid storage section 50 , and a droplet trapping material 60 disposed in the air passage 20 .

The air passage 20 is a passage through which air passes when the user suctions air (that is, when suctioning an aerosol). The air passage 20 according to this embodiment includes an upstream passage section, a load passage section 22, and a downstream passage section 23. The upstream passage section according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of upstream passage sections, specifically, an upstream passage section 21a (i.e., "first upstream passage section") and an upstream passage section 21b ( In other words, it includes a "second upstream passage section"). However, the air passage may have a single upstream passage, or may have three or more upstream passages.

The

upstream passage portions

21a and 21b are arranged upstream of the load passage portion 22 (upstream in the air flow direction). The downstream ends of the

upstream passage sections

21a and 21b communicate with the load passage section 22. The load passage section 22 is a passage section in which a load 40 is disposed. The downstream passage section 23 is a passage section disposed downstream of the load passage section 22 (downstream side in the air flow direction). An upstream end of the downstream passage section 23 communicates with the load passage section 22 . Further, the downstream end of the downstream passage section 23 communicates with the discharge port 13 described above. The air that has passed through the downstream passage section 23 is discharged from the discharge port 13.

Specifically, the upstream passage section 21a according to the present embodiment is provided in an area surrounded by a wall 70a, a wall 70b, a wall 70e, a wall 70f, a wall 71a, and a wall 71b. There is. Further, the upstream passage portion 21b is provided in an area surrounded by the wall portion 70c, the wall portion 70d, the wall portion 70e, the wall portion 70f, the wall portion 71a, and the wall portion 71b. The load passage section 22 is provided in an area surrounded by a wall 70a, a wall 70d, a wall 70e, a wall 70f, a wall 71b, and a wall 71c. The downstream passage section 23 is provided in an area surrounded by the cylindrical wall section 70g.

The wall portion 71a of the atomization unit housing 120 is provided with

inflow ports

72a and 72b. Air outside the housing flows into the upstream passage section 21a through the inlet 72a, and flows into the upstream passage section 21b through the inlet 72b. Further, the wall portion 71b is provided with a communication hole 72c and a communication hole 72d. Air that has passed through the upstream passage section 21a flows into the load passage section 22 through the communication hole 72c, and air that has passed through the upstream passage section 21b flows into the load passage section 22 through the communication hole 72d.

In the present embodiment, the direction of flow of air (flow direction) in the

upstream passages

21a and 21b is opposite to the direction of flow of air in the downstream passage 23. Specifically, in this embodiment, the direction of air flow in the

upstream passage sections

21a and 21b is the -Z direction, and the direction of air flow in the downstream passage section 23 is the Z direction.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the upstream passage section 21a and the upstream passage section 21b according to the present embodiment sandwich the liquid storage section 50 between the upstream passage section 21a and the upstream passage section 21b. As such, it is arranged adjacent to the liquid storage section 50.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the upstream passage section 21a according to the present embodiment is configured to accommodate liquid in a cross-sectional view (i.e., a cross-sectional view) taken along a cut plane normal to the central axis CL. It is arranged on one side (the side in the -X direction) with the section 50 interposed therebetween. On the other hand, the upstream passage section 21b is arranged on the other side (the side in the X direction) with the liquid storage section 50 in between in this cross-sectional view. In other words, the upstream passage section 21a is arranged on one side of the liquid storage section 50 in the width direction of the atomization unit 12, and the upstream passage section 21b is arranged on one side of the liquid storage section 50 in the width direction of the atomization unit 12. 50.

Note that the cross-sectional shapes of the upstream passage portion 21a and the upstream passage portion 21b are not limited to the polygonal shape illustrated in FIG. (For example, it may be circular.)

The liquid storage section 50 is a part for storing the aerosol generation liquid Le. The liquid storage section 50 according to the present embodiment is provided in an area surrounded by a wall 70b, a wall 70c, a wall 70e, a wall 70f, a wall 71a, and a wall 71b. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the aforementioned downstream passage section 23 is provided, as an example, so as to penetrate the liquid storage section 50 in the direction of the central axis CL. However, the configuration is not limited to this, and, for example, the downstream passage section 23 may be provided adjacent to the liquid storage section 50 in the thickness direction (Y-axis direction) of the suction tool 10.

The wick 30 is a member for introducing an aerosol generating liquid Le, which will be described later, stored in the liquid storage section 50 into the load 40 of the load passage section 22. Although the specific configuration of the wick 30 is not particularly limited as long as it has such a function, the wick 30 according to the present embodiment utilizes capillary phenomenon to connect the liquid storage part. While absorbing and holding the aerosol generating liquid Le of 50, the aerosol generating liquid Le is introduced into the load 40. The wick 30 can be made of, for example, glass fiber or porous ceramic, but is not limited thereto.

The load 40 is an electrical load for introducing the aerosol generation liquid Le from the liquid storage section 50 and for atomizing the introduced aerosol generation liquid Le to generate an aerosol. In addition, in this specification, "introducing" the aerosol generation liquid Le has substantially the same meaning as "supplying". The specific configuration of the load 40 is not particularly limited, and for example, a heating element such as a heater or an element such as an ultrasonic generator may be used. In this embodiment, a heater is used as an example of the load 40. As this heater, a heating resistor (that is, a heating wire), a ceramic heater, a dielectric heater, or the like can be used. In this embodiment, a heating resistor is used as an example of this heater, and a heating resistor having a coil shape is used as an example of this heating resistor. That is, the load 40 according to this embodiment is a so-called coil heater. This coil heater is wound around the wick 30.

Further, the load 40 according to the present embodiment is arranged in the wick 30 inside the load passage section 22, for example. The load 40 is electrically connected to the power source and control device of the power supply unit 11 described above, and generates heat when electricity from the power source is supplied to the load 40 (that is, generates heat when energized). Further, the operation of the load 40 is controlled by a control device. The load 40 heats and atomizes the aerosol-generating liquid Le in the liquid storage section 50 introduced into the load 40 via the wick 30 to generate an aerosol.

Note that the configurations of the wick 30 and the load 40 are similar to those used in known suction tools such as those exemplified in Patent Document 1, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Suction of aerosol using the suction tool 10 is performed as follows. First, when a user starts a suction operation while holding the discharge port 13 of the suction tool 10 in his or her mouth, external air flows from each

inlet port

72a, 72b in the atomization unit 12 to the air passage 20 (

upstream passage portion

21a, 21b). Further, when the control device provided in the power supply unit 11 detects the user's suction operation, it issues a command to the battery and starts energizing the load 40 in the atomization unit 12 . The air flowing into the air passage 20 from each

inlet

72a, 72b passes through the

upstream passage parts

21a, 21b, and then passes through each

communication hole

72c, 72d to the load passage part where the wick 30 and the load 40 are arranged. 22.

Here, the wick 30 disposed in the load passage section 22 absorbs and holds the aerosol generation liquid Le supplied from the liquid storage section 50. Therefore, when electricity starts to be applied from the battery to the load 40, the aerosol generation liquid Le held in the wick 30 evaporates. Then, the vapor of the aerosol generating liquid Le generated in the load passage section 22 is mixed with the air that has flowed into the load passage section 22 around the wick 30 (also referred to as the "atomization section"), and as a result, aerosol is generated. be done. In this way, the air containing the aerosol generated in the load passage section 22 (atomization section) flows into the downstream passage section 23 and is then discharged through the discharge port 13 located at the downstream end of the downstream passage section 23. It is eventually sucked into the user's oral cavity.

[Aerosol generation liquid]
In this embodiment, as the aerosol generation liquid Le, a liquid containing nicotine in a predetermined solvent is used. The aerosol generation liquid Le is not particularly limited as long as it contains nicotine. The form of nicotine contained in the aerosol generation liquid Le is not particularly limited, and examples include one or more types of nicotine selected from synthetic nicotine and natural nicotine. Note that these synthetic nicotine and natural nicotine may exist as nicotine or as nicotine-containing compounds such as nicotine salts.

The form of the aerosol generation liquid Le is not particularly limited, and for example, one in which a predetermined solvent contains one or more types of nicotine selected from synthetic nicotine and natural nicotine can be used. The specific type of the predetermined solvent is not particularly limited, but for example, one or more types selected from the group consisting of glycerin, propylene glycol, triacetin, 1,3-butanediol, and water. A liquid containing a substance can be used. In this embodiment, glycerin and/or propylene glycol is used as an example of the predetermined solvent.

When using natural nicotine as the nicotine contained in the aerosol generation liquid Le, specifically, natural nicotine extracted and purified from tobacco leaves can be used. For such a method for producing natural nicotine, a known technique such as that exemplified in Non-Patent Document 1 can be applied, so a detailed explanation will be omitted.

In addition, when using natural nicotine as the nicotine contained in the aerosol generation liquid Le, by purifying the extract of tobacco materials such as tobacco leaves and removing as much as possible components other than natural nicotine from the extract of tobacco materials, The purity of natural nicotine may be increased, and natural nicotine with increased purity may be used. To give a specific numerical example, the purity of the natural nicotine contained in the predetermined solvent of the aerosol generation liquid Le may be 99.9% by weight or more (that is, in this case, the purity of the natural nicotine contained in the natural nicotine ( (components other than natural nicotine) are less than 0.1% by weight). Furthermore, in this specification, components obtained by extracting tobacco materials are referred to as tobacco extract components (containing at least nicotine).

On the other hand, when synthetic nicotine is used as the nicotine contained in the aerosol generation liquid Le, nicotine produced by chemical synthesis using a chemical substance can be used as the synthetic nicotine. The purity of this synthetic nicotine may also be 99.9% by weight or more, similar to natural nicotine.

The method for producing synthetic nicotine is not particularly limited, and any known production method can be used.

The type of nicotine-containing compound is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include nicotine salts such as nicotine pyruvate, nicotine citrate, nicotine lactate, nicotine salicylate, nicotine fumarate, nicotine levulinic acid salt, nicotine benzoic acid salt, or nicotine tartrate. Can be mentioned. When a nicotine-containing compound such as a nicotine salt is synthesized, the production method is not particularly limited, and any known production method can be used.

Tobacco extract components are generally substances contained in tobacco plants, and examples of substances other than nicotine include neophytadiene, solanone, or solanesol, and these components other than nicotine are not included even if they are contained. It does not have to be a fragrance, but if it is contained, it can function as a fragrance. Note that there are two types of nicotine: (S)-nicotine and (R)-nicotine, and most naturally occurring nicotine is usually in the S-form, with the R-form accounting for less than 1 mol%. On the other hand, in synthetic nicotine, the ratio of S-form and R-form is usually close to 1:1, although it depends on the synthesis method and purification method. Therefore, the amount of R-isomer relative to the total amount of nicotine in the oral composition is 5 mol% or more (may be 1 mol% or more, 10 mol% or more, or 40 to 60 mol%). For example, it can be assumed that the nicotine in the oral composition is synthetic nicotine. The target to be extracted may be, for example, tissues of tobacco plants themselves such as leaves, stems, flowers, roots, reproductive organs, or embryos, or processed products using these tobacco plant tissues (for example, known Tobacco powder, shredded tobacco, tobacco sheets, tobacco granules, etc. used in tobacco products) may be used, but from the viewpoint of ensuring a sufficient amount of use and avoiding the inclusion of unnecessary ingredients, tobacco leaves may be used. It is preferable. The embodiment using tobacco extract components obtained by extraction of tobacco materials can lower the raw material cost and manufacturing cost of the aerosol generation liquid Le compared to the embodiment using nicotine obtained by synthesis or the like.

The method of incorporating nicotine into the aerosol generation liquid Le is not particularly limited, and examples include methods of dissolving nicotine-containing compounds such as nicotine or nicotine salts obtained by synthesis or extraction of tobacco materials in the aerosol generation liquid Le; Examples include a method in which nicotine or a nicotine-containing compound is dissolved in a solvent and then mixed with the aerosol generation liquid Le.

The content of nicotine in the aerosol generation liquid Le is not particularly limited, but from the viewpoint of enabling a sufficient supply of nicotine, it may be, for example, 0.1% by weight or more and 10% by weight or less, and 0.5% by weight. % or more and 7.5% by weight or less, and 1% or more and 5% by weight or less.
In the embodiment using the aerosol generation liquid Le containing tobacco extract components, the tobacco extract can be used as the nicotine supply source. In this case, the content of the tobacco extract in the aerosol-generating liquid Le is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, 0.1% by weight or more and 10% by weight or less, from the viewpoint of enabling a sufficient supply of nicotine. , may be 0.5% by weight or more and 7% by weight or less, and may be 1% by weight or more and 5% by weight or less.

The type of predetermined solvent contained in the aerosol generation liquid Le, such as the type of aerosol base material (base material for generating aerosol), is not particularly limited, and examples include glycerin, propylene glycol, triacetin, 1,3-butanediol, and one or more substances selected from the group consisting of water.

The content of the aerosol base material in the aerosol generation liquid Le is not particularly limited, but from the viewpoint of achieving desired aerosol generation, it may be, for example, 40% by weight or more and 95% by weight or less, 50% by weight or more, It may be 90% by weight or less, and may be 60% by weight or more and 80% by weight or less.

The type of solvent used in the extraction to obtain the above tobacco extract component is not particularly limited as long as it can dissolve nicotine, and examples include glycerin, propylene glycol, triacetin, 1,3-butanediol, and water. One or more substances selected from the group or a liquid containing this substance can be used. In this embodiment, glycerin and/or propylene glycol is used as an example of the predetermined solvent. In addition, if the solvent also acts as an aerosol base material, tobacco extract can be used as is as an aerosol generation liquid, but tobacco extract does not contain components that can cause charring when heated (for example, lipids, metal ions, sugars, proteins, etc.), it is preferable to remove substances that cause scorching using means such as vacuum distillation. Note that the tobacco extract can contain flavor components in the tobacco material other than nicotine, and specific examples thereof include neophytadiene and the like.

The aerosol generation liquid Le may contain components other than nicotine and the aerosol base material (other components), for example, it may contain flavor components other than nicotine (including the above-mentioned tobacco extract components other than nicotine). Good too.

Flavor components other than nicotine and flavor components derived from tobacco materials include, for example, menthol, natural vegetable flavorings (for example, cognac oil, orange oil, jasmine oil, spearmint oil, peppermint oil, anise oil, coriander oil, lemon oil) , chamomile oil, labdanum, vetiver oil, rose oil, lovage oil), esters (e.g. menthyl acetate, isoamyl acetate, linalyl acetate, isoamyl propionate, butyl butyrate, methyl salicylate, etc.), ketones (e.g. menthone, ionone) , ethyl maltol, etc.), alcohols (e.g., phenylethyl alcohol, anethole, cis-6-nonen-1-ol, eucalyptol, etc.), aldehydes (e.g., benzaldehyde, etc.), lactones (e.g., ω-penta decalactone, etc.), neophytadiene, solanone, or solanesol.

[Droplet capture material]
Next, the droplet trapping material 60 of the atomization unit 12 will be explained. In this embodiment, the droplet trapping material 60 is a member for trapping droplets contained in the aerosol generated by the load 40, and is disposed in the downstream passage section 23. Here, an example will be described in which the droplet trapping material 60 is formed as a molded body having a droplet trapping surface that traps droplets contained in an aerosol. More specifically, in this embodiment, an embodiment in which the droplet trapping material 60 is formed as a flavor molded body containing a non-tobacco base material and a flavor material will be exemplified.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of the droplet trapping material 60 according to the first embodiment. The droplet trapping material 60 shown in FIG. 4 has a rod shape along the extending direction of the downstream passage section 23 (the air flow direction, that is, the Z direction). More specifically, the droplet trapping material 60 has a cylindrical shape and has a central axis X1 extending along the extending direction of the downstream passage section 23 (air flow direction, ie, Z direction). Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a hollow aerosol flow path (hollow path) 61 is formed in the droplet trapping material 60 along the central axis X1, passing through the droplet trapping material 60. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the aerosol flow path 61 is arranged coaxially with the central axis X1 of the droplet trapping material 60, but the invention is not limited thereto. Further, the number of aerosol flow passages 61 formed in the droplet trapping material 60 is not particularly limited, and for example, a plurality of aerosol flow passages 61 may be arranged side by side along the central axis X1 of the droplet trapping material 60. Good too. Further, in the example shown in FIG. 4, the cross-sectional shape of the aerosol flow path 61 is circular, but the cross-sectional shape of the aerosol flow path 61 is not particularly limited. Note that reference numeral 65 is the inner surface of the aerosol flow path 61, and in this embodiment, it is formed as a droplet trapping surface for trapping droplets contained in the aerosol. The droplet trapping material 60 is provided in the downstream passage section 23 such that the droplet trapping surface 65 of the aerosol flow path 61 is exposed to the downstream passage section 23 . For example, when a plurality of aerosol flow passages 61 passing through the droplet trapping material 60 along the axis X1 direction are formed, the inner surface of each aerosol flow passage 61 forms the droplet trapping surface 65. Further, the droplet trapping material 60 may have a honeycomb structure in which a plurality of aerosol flow passages 61 are partitioned from each other by partition walls.

Note that in the example shown in FIG. 4, the central axis X1 is an axis extending along the longitudinal direction of the droplet trapping material 60, but the present invention is not limited to this. The shape of the droplet trapping material 60 is not particularly limited. For example, the length dimension (dimension in the central axis X1 direction) of the droplet trapping material 60 and the diameter dimension perpendicular to this may be equal, or the diameter dimension may be larger than the length dimension. Of course, in the droplet trapping material 60, the shape of the cross section perpendicular to the central axis X1 is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, an ellipse or a polygon, or may have a shape other than these. Good too.

The droplet trapping material 60 also has an aerosol distribution groove along the side surface of the droplet trapping material 60, instead of or in addition to the aerosol flow path 61 passing through the inside thereof in the central axis X1 direction. may be extended. The aerosol flow groove can function as a concave aerosol flow path for circulating aerosol.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, a plurality of rod-shaped droplet trapping materials 60 may be arranged in a bundle in the downstream passage section 23. In this case, the individual droplet trapping materials 60 may or may not be integrated with each other.

In addition, when using the droplet trapping material 60 having a sheet shape, a sheet made of a mixture of a non-tobacco base material and a flavoring material, a cast sheet of a mixture of a non-tobacco base material and a flavoring material, or a cast sheet of a mixture of a non-tobacco base material and a flavoring material is used. The droplet trapping material 60 can be formed of a rolled sheet of a mixture with a non-tobacco base material, or a sheet of a non-tobacco base material to which a flavoring material is applied by coating or spraying on the surface of the sheet. Further, the droplet trapping material 60 may be arranged in the downstream passage section 23 in a state in which a single sheet is folded into an arbitrary shape such as a bellows shape or a spiral shape. Further, the downstream passage portion 23 may be filled with a plurality of strip sheet pieces obtained by cutting the sheet into strips as the droplet trapping material 60. In this case, the strip sheet pieces serving as the droplet trapping material 60 may be arranged in alignment along the downstream passage section 23, or may be arranged randomly without being aligned in a specific direction.

Furthermore, the droplet trapping material 60 may have a plate shape. Further, the droplet trapping material 60 may have a shape other than a rod shape, a plate shape, or a sheet shape. For example, the droplet trapping material 60 may be in the form of granules, and the downstream passage portion 23 may be filled with a plurality of granules forming the droplet trapping material 60. Of course, the shape of the granules forming the droplet trapping material 60 is not particularly limited.

The droplet trapping material 60 configured as described above is arranged in the downstream passage in such a manner that the ventilation resistance of the air containing aerosol flowing through the downstream passage section 23 does not become excessively large, that is, in a manner that the smooth circulation of the air is not inhibited. It is arranged in section 23. In the example shown in FIG. 4, since the aerosol flow path 61 passes through the droplet trapping material 60 along the axis X1 direction, air containing aerosol can be smoothly circulated through the aerosol flow path 61.

Furthermore, the droplet trapping material 60 in this embodiment is formed as a flavor molded body. For example, the droplet trapping material 60 (flavor molded body) includes a non-tobacco base material, a flavor material, etc., which are hardened and molded into a predetermined shape. The flavor material contained in the flavor molded article may include tobacco material. In this case, the amount of tobacco material in the flavor molded article may be 10% by weight or less. Of course, the flavor material may contain, in addition to the tobacco material, various flavor components not derived from the tobacco material.

The type of material for the non-tobacco base material is not particularly limited as long as it is derived from tobacco materials (specifically, tobacco plants), such as ceramics, synthetic polymers, or pulp derived from plants other than tobacco plants. It may be. Examples of the ceramic include alumina, zirconia, aluminum nitride, and silicon carbide. Examples of the synthetic polymer include polyolefin resin, polyester, polycarbonate, PAN, and EVOH. Examples of plants other than tobacco plants include softwood pulp, hardwood pulp, cotton, fruit pulp, and tea leaves. Further, the non-tobacco base material may be the main material of the flavor molded product, particularly the main material that ensures the molding of the flavor molded product.

The content of the non-tobacco base material in the flavor molded product is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, 10% by weight or more and 100% by weight or less, 30% by weight or more and 90% by weight or less, and 50% by weight. % or more and 80% by weight or less.

The form of the flavor material contained in the flavor molded body is not particularly limited, and for example, it may be the flavor component itself, or it may be a material that imparts a flavor component ("flavor component imparting material"), and the flavor component may be a flavor component itself. Examples of the imparting material include tobacco materials that impart nicotine. In addition, in this specification, when a flavor component imparting material is contained in a flavor molded object, the flavor component imparting material is treated as a flavor material, not the flavor component contained in the flavor component imparting material. For example, when the flavor molded article contains a tobacco material, the flavor material is not the nicotine contained in the tobacco material, but the tobacco material.

The form of the tobacco material is not particularly limited; for example, it may contain tissues such as leaves, stems, flowers, roots, reproductive organs, or embryos of tobacco plants, and tobacco materials using these tobacco plant tissues may also be used. Processed products (for example, tobacco powder, shredded tobacco, tobacco sheets, tobacco granules, etc. used in known tobacco products) may be included, but from the viewpoint of ensuring a sufficient amount of use and ease of processing, Tobacco leaves or processed products using tobacco leaves are preferred. Further, the tobacco material may be tobacco residue obtained after extracting these materials, or may be a combination of unextracted tobacco material and tobacco residue, or may be used as a mixed mixture.

As used herein, "the flavoring material contains tobacco material" does not mean that the flavoring material contains tobacco material, but rather that it contains tobacco material as one of the types of flavoring material. , the expression "the flavoring material contains a tobacco material and the content of the tobacco material in the flavor molded body is 10% by weight or less" means "the flavor material contains at least a tobacco material and the content of the tobacco material in the flavor molded body is 10% by weight or less". The content of the material is 10% by weight or less."

Flavor ingredients that serve as flavor materials are not particularly limited, and include, for example, nicotine, menthol, natural vegetable flavorings (e.g., cognac oil, orange oil, jasmine oil, spearmint oil, peppermint oil, anise oil, coriander oil, lemon oil, chamomile). oil, labdanum, vetiver oil, rose oil, lovage oil), esters (e.g. menthyl acetate, isoamyl acetate, linalyl acetate, isoamyl propionate, butyl butyrate, methyl salicylate, etc.), ketones (e.g. menthone, ionone, ethyl maltol, etc.), alcohols (e.g., phenylethyl alcohol, anethole, cis-6-nonen-1-ol, eucalyptol, etc.), aldehydes (e.g., benzaldehyde, etc.), or lactones (e.g., ω-pentadeca), lactone, etc.).

The method of applying the flavoring material to the non-tobacco base material is not particularly limited; for example, the flavoring material may be added by mixing it into the raw material of the non-tobacco base material during the production of the non-tobacco base material; The flavor material may be applied to the surface of the non-tobacco substrate by coating, spraying, etc., or a combination of these may be used.

The content of the flavor material in the flavor molded body is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, 0.1% by weight or more and 70% by weight or less, 1% by weight or more and 60% by weight or less, and 3% by weight or more. % or more and 50% by weight or less. In addition, when the flavor molded body contains a tobacco material, the content of the tobacco material in the flavor molded body is not particularly limited, but from the viewpoint of imparting flavor to the air (aerosol) flowing through the downstream passage section 23 as a flavor spice. It is preferably 1% by weight or more, more preferably 3% by weight or more, and even more preferably 7% by weight or more. On the other hand, if the amount of tobacco material contained in the flavor molded body is too large, the tobacco material may easily separate from the non-tobacco base material. Therefore, from the viewpoint of suppressing the separation of the tobacco material from the non-tobacco base material, the content of the tobacco material in the droplet trapping material 60 is preferably 10% by weight or less, and preferably 7% by weight or less. The content is more preferably 3% by weight or less, and even more preferably 3% by weight or less.

The flavor molded product may contain a binder for adhering materials included in the flavor molded product, such as a non-tobacco base material. The type of binder is not particularly limited, and for example, starch, hydroxyalkylcellulose, polyvinyl acetate, or alkylhydroxyalkylcellulose can be used. In addition, the content of the binder in the flavor molded product may be 1% by weight or more and 20% by weight or less, and may be 3% by weight or more and 15% by weight or less, from the viewpoint of ensuring sufficient adhesiveness. , 5% by weight or more and 10% by weight or less.

The flavor molded body may contain components other than the above-mentioned various components, for example, potassium carbonate, potassium hydrogen carbonate (for pH adjustment), etc.

Additionally, the surface of the flavor molded object may be coated with a coating material such as resin. Of course, the surface of the flavor molded object does not need to be coated with the coating material. However, since the surface of the flavor molded product is coated with a coating material, it becomes easier to maintain the shape of the molded product. Examples of the coating material include polyethylene, polyethylene wax, microcrystalline wax, beeswax, and zein.

Further, in the present embodiment, the density (mass per unit volume) of the flavor molded object may be, for example, 1000 mg/cm ³ or more and 1450 mg/cm ³ or less, or 1100 mg/cm ³ or more and 1450 mg/cm 3 or more. cm ³ or less. However, the density of the flavor molded body is not limited to this, and may be less than 1000 mg/cm ³ , or greater than 1450 mg/cm ³ , or less than 1100 mg/cm ³ . Alternatively, it may be greater than 1450 mg/cm ³ . When a plurality of flavor molded bodies are present, the density can be determined as the total mass relative to the total volume of the flavor molded bodies.

According to the atomization unit 12 configured as described above, the aerosol generating liquid Le containing nicotine is stored in the liquid storage section 50. Therefore, when an aerosol is generated by the operation of the load 40 disposed in the load passage section 22, a flavor component derived from nicotine contained in the aerosol generation liquid Le can be imparted to the aerosol. Furthermore, in the atomization unit 12 in this embodiment, the droplet trapping material 60 is arranged in the downstream passage section 23. A hollow aerosol flow passage 61 extending along the extending direction of the downstream passage portion 23 (air flow direction) is formed through the droplet trapping material 60 . Therefore, the air containing the aerosol that has flowed into the downstream passage section 23 from the load passage section 22 of the atomization unit 12 flows through the aerosol flow passage 61 of the droplet trapping material 60 . Here, since the droplet trapping material 60 is formed as a flavor molded object, when the air containing the aerosol flows through the aerosol flow path 61, the flavor material contained in the droplet trapping material 60 (flavor molded object) is absorbed. Flavor is imparted by (for example, flavor components of tobacco materials, etc.). In this way, the atomization unit 12 in this embodiment combines the flavor components derived from nicotine contained in the aerosol generation liquid Le and the flavor components contained in the droplet trapping material 60 (flavor molded body) into the generated aerosol. components can be applied in two stages. Thereby, the aerosol can be sufficiently flavored. In other words, according to the present embodiment, the aerosol is given a deep flavor that cannot be expressed only by the flavor components contained in the aerosol generation liquid Le or the flavor components contained in the droplet trapping material 60 (flavor molded body). can do.

In addition, in this embodiment, the droplet trapping material 60 (flavor molded object) is configured to include a non-tobacco base material, so that the amount of liquid absorbed by the droplet trapping material 60 (flavor molded object) can be controlled. This has the advantage that it is easy to do. Further, when the flavor molded body forming the droplet trapping material 60 contains tobacco material as one type of flavor material, the content of the tobacco material in the flavor molded body may be 10% by weight or less. In this way, by including a small amount of tobacco material in the flavor molded body, it is possible to impart a spice-like flavor to the aerosol generated in the atomization unit 12. Furthermore, since the amount of tobacco material contained in the flavor molded body does not increase excessively, there is an advantage that the tobacco material is difficult to separate from the non-tobacco base material. In addition, in this embodiment, since the flavor source that adds flavor to the air containing the aerosol passing through the downstream passage section 23 is arranged in the form of a molded body, the droplet trapping material 60 when assembling the atomization unit 12 (flavor molded product) is easy to handle.

Further, in the droplet trapping material 60, the inner surface of the aerosol flow path 61 is formed as a droplet trapping surface 65 for trapping droplets contained in the aerosol flowing through the droplet trapping surface 65, and The capture surface 65 is arranged to be exposed to the downstream passage section 23. According to this, the droplet trapping surface 65 is exposed to the aerosol passing through the aerosol flow path 61 of the droplet trapping material 60, so that droplets contained in the aerosol are efficiently captured by the droplet trapping surface 65. can do. Here, the aerosol containing excess droplets may be a factor that imparts an undesirable taste, such as a rough taste, to the user in some cases. According to the atomization unit 12 in this embodiment, the aerosol is cooled during the process in which the aerosol flows through the downstream passage section 23 (aerosol flow path) of the atomization unit 12, and thus the aerosol contains excessive droplets. Even in the case where the droplet is removed, the droplet can be efficiently removed by the droplet trapping surface 65 of the droplet trapping material 60. As described above, according to the atomization unit 12 in this embodiment, the user can inhale the aerosol after the excess droplets have been suitably removed. Therefore, it is possible to provide the atomization unit 12 and the suction tool 10 including the atomization unit 12 that can suppress deterioration of the flavor of the aerosol.

Note that the droplet trapping material 60 may have a density of 1 g/cm ³ or less. According to this, droplets contained in the aerosol can be captured more efficiently by the droplet capturing material 60. The arithmetic surface roughness Sa of the droplet trapping surface 65 in the droplet trapping material 60 may be 30 μm or more and 1000 μm or less. Further, the arithmetic surface roughness Sa of the droplet trapping surface 65 is preferably 30 μm or more and 500 μm or less, and more preferably 30 μm or more and 100 μm or less. By adjusting the arithmetic surface roughness Sa of the droplet trapping surface 65 within this range, droplets can be easily held on the droplet trapping surface 65, and droplets contained in aerosol can be collected more efficiently by the droplet trapping surface 65. Can be captured well.

Next, a method for manufacturing the atomization unit 12 will be explained. FIG. 5 is a flow diagram for explaining a method for manufacturing the atomization unit 12 according to the first embodiment.

[Preparation process]
In the preparation process related to step S10, an atomization unit housing in which a liquid storage section 50 and an air passage 20 are formed, an aerosol generation liquid Le containing nicotine, and an electric power source that atomizes the aerosol generation liquid Le to generate an aerosol are provided. A load 40, a wick 30, and a droplet trapping material 60 (flavor molded body) for trapping droplets contained in the aerosol are prepared. The atomization unit housing referred to here is the atomization unit housing 120 described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, in which the load 40, wick 30, droplet trapping material 60, etc. are not yet arranged in the air passage 20, and Moreover, it refers to the housing in a state before the liquid storage section 50 is filled with the aerosol generation liquid Le.

The specific method for preparing the aerosol generating liquid Le containing nicotine in the preparation step is not particularly limited, and any known method can be adopted. Examples include a method in which a nicotine-containing compound such as nicotine or a nicotine salt obtained by synthesis or the like is dissolved in the aerosol generation liquid, or a method in which a component obtained by extraction of tobacco material is dissolved in the aerosol generation liquid Le. Here, the method for obtaining nicotine-containing compounds such as nicotine or nicotine salts obtained by synthesis etc. is not particularly limited, and can be produced by known methods, but commercially available products may also be used. Moreover, the above-mentioned aerosol generating liquid Le may be a liquid containing an aerosol base material, or may be the aerosol base material itself.

Hereinafter, as an example of the method for producing the aerosol-generating liquid Le, a method in which an extract obtained by dissolving tobacco leaves in a solvent is mixed with an aerosol base material will be specifically described.

In the above manufacturing method, first, an alkaline substance is applied to tobacco leaves (referred to as alkali treatment). As the alkaline substance used here, for example, a basic substance such as an aqueous potassium carbonate solution can be used.

Next, the alkali-treated tobacco leaves are heated at a predetermined temperature (for example, a temperature of 80° C. or higher and lower than 150° C.) (referred to as heat treatment). During this heat treatment, for example, one substance selected from the group consisting of glycerin, propylene glycol, triacetin, 1,3-butanediol, and water, or a substance selected from this group. Two or more kinds of substances are brought into contact with tobacco leaves.

By this heat treatment, released components (which include flavor components such as nicotine) released from the tobacco leaves into the gas phase are collected in a predetermined collection solvent. As the collection solvent, for example, one or more substances selected from the group consisting of glycerin, propylene glycol, triacetin, 1,3-butanediol, and water can be used. As a result, a collection solvent containing flavor components such as nicotine (hereinafter also simply referred to as "flavor components") can be obtained (that is, flavor components can be extracted from tobacco leaves).

Note that the aerosol generation liquid Le may be produced without using the above-mentioned collection solvent. In this case, for example, after applying the above heat treatment to tobacco leaves that have been treated with alkali, the components released from the tobacco leaves into the gas phase can be condensed by cooling them using a condenser or the like. The flavor components may be extracted.

Additionally, the aerosol generation liquid Le may be produced without performing the alkali treatment described above. In this case, for example, one or more types selected from the group consisting of glycerin, propylene glycol, triacetin, 1,3-butanediol, and water are added to tobacco leaves (tobacco leaves that have not been subjected to alkali treatment). Add substance. Next, the tobacco leaf to which the above substance has been added is heated, and the components released during heating are collected in a collection solvent or condensed using a condenser or the like. Flavor components can also be extracted by such a process.

Further, when producing the aerosol generation liquid Le, an aerosol in which one or more substances selected from the group consisting of glycerin, propylene glycol, triacetin, 1,3-butanediol, and water is aerosolized, or The aerosol formed by two or more substances selected from this group is passed through tobacco leaves (tobacco leaves that have not been treated with alkali), and the aerosol that has passed through the tobacco leaves is captured in a collection solvent. You may collect them. Flavor components can also be extracted by such a process.

In addition, when producing the aerosol generation liquid Le, a process (hereinafter simply referred to as "amount of carbonized components that become carbonized when heated to 250 ° C.") that may be included in the flavor components extracted by the method described above is reduced. (also referred to as "reduction processing") may be performed. By reducing "the amount of carbonized components that become carbide when heated to 250° C.", adhesion of carbonized components to the load 40 can be effectively suppressed. As a result, occurrence of burnt on the load 40 can be effectively suppressed. Furthermore, since the carbonized components that become carbonized when heated to 250°C are mainly derived from tobacco materials such as tobacco leaves, the effects of the reduction treatment are particularly low in methods that use tobacco extract as a source of nicotine. is large.

The specific method for reducing the amount of carbonized components contained in the extracted flavor components is not particularly limited, but for example, by cooling the extracted flavor components, the precipitated components can be reduced. The amount of carbonized components contained in the extracted flavor components may be reduced by filtering with filter paper or the like. Alternatively, the amount of carbonized components contained in the extracted flavor components may be reduced by centrifuging the extracted flavor components with a centrifuge. Alternatively, the amount of carbonized components contained in the extracted flavor components may be reduced by using a reverse osmosis membrane (RO filter).

Here, since tobacco extract contains components that can cause charring when heated (e.g., lipids, metal ions, sugars, or proteins), tobacco extract components are subjected to distillation treatment or vacuum distillation treatment to eliminate charring. It is preferable to remove the causative substance. Note that even when tobacco extract is not used, it is preferable to subject the tobacco extract to distillation treatment or vacuum distillation treatment if it contains a substance that causes charring.

Next, a method for manufacturing the flavor molded body constituting the droplet trapping material 60 will be described. The method for producing the flavored molded body is not particularly limited, but for example, a non-tobacco base material such as a ceramic, a synthetic polymer, or a pulp derived from a plant other than tobacco plants (it may be a melt of a non-tobacco base material) is used. , a flavor material and a binder such as a binder are mixed to obtain a mixture, and then the mixture is molded into a predetermined shape by a method such as press molding, extrusion molding, injection molding, transfer molding, compression molding, or casting molding. It may be molded into the shape of Here, when the non-tobacco base material is a polymer, flavor molding into a predetermined shape is performed by dissolving the polymer in a solvent and evaporating the solvent by heating, etc., or by polymerizing a monomer, etc. It is also possible to adopt a method of obtaining a body. Furthermore, after obtaining a composite material in any solid shape containing a non-tobacco base material, the composite material may be processed into a predetermined shape by cutting, grinding, or the like. Alternatively, after forming the above-mentioned non-tobacco base material (which may be a melt of the non-tobacco base material) into a predetermined shape, flavor molding is performed by applying or spraying a flavor material onto the surface of the non-tobacco base material. You can also manufacture bodies.

Note that when manufacturing the flavor molded object, the surface of the flavor molded object may be coated with a coating material. Thereby, it is possible to produce a flavor molded object in which the surface of a non-tobacco base material hardened into a predetermined shape is covered with a coating material.

For example, wax can be used as this coating material. Examples of this wax include Microcrystan WAX (model number: Hi-Mic-1080 or Hi-Mic-1090) manufactured by Nippon Seiro Co., Ltd., and water-dispersed ionomer (model number: Chemipearl S120) manufactured by Mitsui Chemicals. ), Hiwax (model number: 110P) manufactured by Mitsui Chemicals, etc. can be used.

Alternatively, corn protein can also be used as a coating material. A specific example of this is Zein (model number: Kobayashi Zein DP-N) manufactured by Kobayashi Perfume Co., Ltd. Alternatively, polyvinyl acetate can also be used as a coating material.

Furthermore, when producing a flavor molded article, tobacco residue may be included in the non-tobacco base material. Furthermore, when obtaining a tobacco extract in the production of an aerosol generating liquid containing nicotine, it is preferable to use tobacco residue obtained in the extraction when obtaining the tobacco extract.

[Assembly process]
After the above preparation process is completed, in the assembly process related to step S20, the aerosol generation liquid Le is accommodated in the liquid storage part 50 of the atomization unit housing 120, and the droplet trapping material 60, the wick 30, and the load 40 are placed in the air passage 20. Place each. Here, the wick 30 and the load 40 are arranged in the load passage section 22 of the atomization unit housing 120, and the droplet trapping material 60 is arranged in the downstream passage section 23. At this time, the load 40 is arranged in such a manner that the aerosol generating liquid Le is introduced from the liquid storage section 50. For example, the wick 30 may be installed in the load passage section 22 so as to communicate with the inside of the liquid storage section 50, and the load 40 may be installed in the load passage section 22 in a state in which it is in contact with the wick 30. In this embodiment, in the assembly process, the droplet trapping material 60 is disposed at a location downstream of the load 40 in the air passage 20 in the air flow direction, that is, at the downstream passage section 23 .

According to the manufacturing method as described above, the atomization unit 12 of the suction tool 10 can be suitably manufactured.

In addition, in this embodiment, the amount (mg) of carbonized components contained in 1 g of the aerosol generation liquid Le stored in the liquid storage part 50 is preferably 6 mg or less, and preferably 3 mg or less. It is more preferable.

According to this configuration, the amount of carbonized components adhering to the electrical load 40 can be suppressed as much as possible while enjoying the flavor of nicotine and the like. Thereby, it is possible to enjoy the flavor of nicotine and the like while suppressing the occurrence of burnt on the load 40 as much as possible.

Note that the "carbonized component" contained in 1 g of aerosol-generating liquid specifically refers to "component that becomes carbide when heated to 250°C." Specifically, the "carbonized component" refers to a component that does not become a carbide at a temperature below 250°C, but becomes a carbide when maintained at a temperature of 250°C for a predetermined period of time.

This "amount (mg) of carbonized components contained in 1 g of aerosol generating liquid" can be measured, for example, by the following method. First, a predetermined amount (g) of aerosol generation liquid Le is prepared. Next, this aerosol generation liquid Le is heated to 180° C. to volatilize the solvent (liquid component) contained in the aerosol generation liquid Le, thereby obtaining a “residue consisting of non-volatile components”. Next, the residue is carbonized by heating it to 250° C. to obtain a carbide. Next, the amount (mg) of this carbide is measured. By the above method, it is possible to measure the amount (mg) of carbide contained in a predetermined amount (g) of aerosol generation liquid Le, and based on this measurement value, the amount (mg) of carbide contained in 1 g of aerosol generation liquid ( That is, the amount (mg) of carbonized components can be calculated.

Next, the relationship between the amount of carbonized components contained in 1 g of aerosol generating liquid containing nicotine and the TPM reduction rate will be explained. Figure 6 shows the TPM reduction rate measured with respect to the amount of carbonized components contained in 1 g of extract when tobacco extract (hereinafter also simply referred to as "extract") was used as an aerosol generating liquid containing nicotine. It is a figure showing a result. The horizontal axis of FIG. 6 indicates the amount of carbonized components contained in 1 g of the extract, and the vertical axis indicates the TPM reduction rate ( _RTPM ) (%).

The TPM reduction rate (R _TPM :%) in FIG. 6 was measured by the following method. First, samples of a plurality of atomization units having different amounts of carbonized components contained in 1 g of extract liquid were prepared. Specifically, five samples (sample SA1 to sample SA5) were prepared as samples for the plurality of atomization units. These five samples were prepared by the following steps.

(Step 1)
To a tobacco material made of tobacco leaves, 20 (wt%) of potassium carbonate was added in terms of dry weight, and then heated and distilled. The distillation residue after this heating distillation treatment is immersed for 10 minutes in water that is 15 times the weight of the tobacco raw material before the heating distillation treatment, dehydrated in a dehydrator, and then dried in a drier to produce tobacco. A residue was obtained.

(Step 2)
Next, a portion of the tobacco residue obtained in Step 1 was washed with water to prepare tobacco residue containing a small amount of char.

(Step 3)
Next, 25 g of dipping liquid (propylene glycol 47.5 wt%, glycerin 47.5 wt%, water 5 wt%) as an extraction liquid was added to 5 g of the tobacco residue obtained in step 2, and the temperature of the dipping liquid was raised to 60%. It was left to stand at ℃. By varying the standing time (that is, the immersion time in the immersion liquid), the amount of carbonized components eluted into the immersion liquid (extract liquid) was varied.

Through the above steps, a plurality of samples with different amounts of carbonized components contained in 1 g of immersion liquid (extract liquid) were prepared.

Next, the multiple samples prepared in the above steps were subjected to automatic smoking using an automatic smoking machine (“Analytical Vaping Machine” manufactured by Borgwaldt) under “CRM (Coresta Recommended Method) 81 smoking conditions”. Ta. Incidentally, the smoking condition of CRM81 is that 55 cc of aerosol is inhaled over 3 seconds multiple times every 30 seconds.

The amount of total particulate matter captured by the Cambridge filter of the automatic smoking machine was then measured. Based on the measured amount of total particulate matter, the TPM reduction rate ( _RTPM ) was calculated using the following formula (1). The TPM reduction rate (R _TPM ) shown in FIG. 6 was measured by the above method.

R _TPM (%) = (1-TPM (201puff ~ 250puff) / TPM (1puff ~ 50puff)) x 100... (1)

Here, TPM (Total Particle Molecule) indicates the total particulate matter collected by the Cambridge filter of the automatic smoking machine. "TPM (1puff to 50puff)" in equation (1) indicates the amount of total particulate matter collected by the Cambridge filter from the 1st puff to the 50th puff of the automatic smoking machine. "TPM (201puff to 250puff)" in equation (1) indicates the amount of total particulate matter collected by the Cambridge filter from the 201st puff to the 250th puff of the automatic smoking machine.

In other words, the TPM reduction rate ( _RTPM ) in equation (1) is calculated as follows: "The amount of total particulate matter collected by the Cambridge filter from the 201st puff to the 250th puff of the automatic smoking machine It is calculated by subtracting the value divided by the total amount of particulate matter collected by the Cambridge filter from the 1st puff to the 50th puff from 1 and multiplying it by 100.

As can be seen from FIG. 6, there is a proportional relationship between the amount of carbonized components contained in 1 g of extract and the TPM reduction rate. As can be seen from samples SA1 to SA4 in FIG. 6, when the amount of carbonized components contained in 1 g of extract is 6 mg or less, the TPM reduction rate can be suppressed to 20% or less.

Next, other embodiments of the atomization unit 12 will be described. In the following embodiments, the same or corresponding configurations as those in the first embodiment described above may be given the same reference numerals and the description thereof may be omitted as appropriate.

<Embodiment 2>
FIG. 7 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the atomization unit 12 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the atomization unit 12 according to the second embodiment, and shows a cross section taken along the line A2-A2 in FIG. 7.

In the atomization unit 12 according to the second embodiment, the air passage 20 does not include an upstream passage section. Further, in the atomization unit 12 according to the second embodiment, the wall portion 71c of the load passage portion 22 is provided with an inlet 72e, which is a hole for introducing air into the atomization unit housing 120 from the outside. . In this embodiment, for example, the housing of the power supply unit 11 in the suction tool 10 (power supply unit housing) may also have an inflow port formed therein for taking in air from the outside. Then, an internal passage is formed inside the power supply unit housing to communicate the inflow port on the power supply unit housing side and the inflow port 72e on the atomization unit housing 120 side, and the air supplied through the internal passage is transferred to the inflow port 72e. It may also be incorporated into the atomization unit housing 120 from within the atomization unit housing 120. Air taken into the atomization unit housing 120 from the inflow port 72e flows into the load passage section 22, passes through the load passage section 22, passes through the downstream passage section 23, and is discharged from the discharge port 13.

The downstream passage section 23 according to the second embodiment has an enlarged diameter section 24a. The enlarged diameter portion 24a is provided in a part of the downstream passage portion 23, and is a portion whose diameter is enlarged more than “the other portion 24b (that is, the non-expanded diameter portion)” of the downstream passage portion 23. Specifically, the downstream passage section 23 according to the second embodiment is entirely disposed inside the liquid storage section 50. The enlarged diameter portion 24a is disposed in the middle of the downstream passage portion 23. Specifically, another part 24b is arranged upstream of the enlarged diameter part 24a, and another part 24b is arranged downstream of the enlarged diameter part 24a (that is, the enlarged diameter part 24a is ).

The droplet trapping material 60 in the second embodiment is arranged in the enlarged diameter portion 24a of the downstream passage portion 23. In the example shown in FIG. 8, the enlarged diameter portion 24a has a rectangular cross section perpendicular to the air flow direction. The droplet trapping material 60 in this embodiment has a cross section that is substantially congruent with the enlarged diameter portion 24a, and has a rectangular parallelepiped bar shape extending along the extending direction (Z direction) of the enlarged diameter portion 24a. . Further, like the first embodiment, the droplet trapping material 60 in this embodiment is also formed of, for example, a flavor molded body.

As shown in FIG. 7, the droplet trapping material 60 has a plurality of hollow aerosol flow passages 61 extending therethrough along the axial direction of the droplet trapping material 60. Each aerosol flow passage 61 extends along the extending direction (Z direction) of the enlarged diameter portion 24a, and the air containing the aerosol that has flowed from the load passage portion 22 to the downstream passage portion 23 passes through the droplet trapping material. 60 aerosol flow passages 61 each. According to this, when the aerosol passes through each aerosol flow path 61 of the droplet trapping material 60, flavor can be imparted to the aerosol by the flavor material contained in the droplet trapping material 60. In addition, since the droplet trapping surface 65 is formed by the inner surface of each aerosol flow path 61 in the droplet trapping material 60, excess droplets contained in the aerosol flowing through each aerosol flow path 61 are removed from the droplet trapping surface 65. can be captured and removed by That is, in this embodiment as well, the same effects as in the first embodiment described above can be achieved. Note that in this embodiment, the number of aerosol flow passages 61 formed in the droplet trapping material 60 is not particularly limited.

Further, according to the present embodiment, since the droplet trapping material 60 is disposed in the downstream passage section 23, the droplet trapping material 60 is arranged in the downstream passage section 23, so the droplet trapping material 60 is arranged in the downstream passage section 23. The ventilation resistance value of air containing aerosol passing through the capture material 60 (an index indicating the difficulty of air passage) can be kept low.

Further, according to the present embodiment, since the air whose temperature has increased by passing through the load 40 passes through the droplet trapping material 60, the flavor components of the flavor material contained in the droplet trapping material 60 are more effectively absorbed. , it is possible to add a flavor component to the air flowing through the downstream passage section 23 (that is, it is possible to effectively impart a flavor component to the air containing the aerosol).

Note that in the example shown in FIG. 7, the downstream passage section 23 is entirely disposed inside the liquid storage section 50, but the embodiment is not limited to this embodiment. For example, the downstream passage section 23 may be arranged adjacent to the liquid storage section 50 in the thickness direction of the atomization unit 12.

<Embodiment 3>
Next, the atomization unit 12 according to the third embodiment will be explained. FIG. 9 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the atomization unit 12 according to the third embodiment. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the atomization unit 12 according to the third embodiment, and shows a cross section taken along line A3-A3 in FIG. The atomization unit 12 according to the third embodiment differs from the second embodiment only in the aspect of the droplet trapping material 60 disposed in the enlarged diameter section 24a of the downstream passage section 23. Also in this embodiment, the droplet trapping material 60 is formed of a flavor molded body.

In the third embodiment, a plurality of rod-shaped droplet trapping materials 60 are arranged in parallel along the cross-sectional direction (X direction, Y direction) of the enlarged diameter portion 24a of the downstream passage portion 23. In the example shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, each droplet trapping material 60 has a solid cylindrical shape extending along the extending direction (Z direction) of the enlarged diameter portion 24a. In the example shown in FIG. 9, 20 droplet trapping materials 60 are arranged in a pattern of 4 rows and 5 columns with respect to the enlarged diameter portion 24a. The number and arrangement pattern thereof are not particularly limited.

As shown in FIG. 10, an aerosol flow passage 61 for circulating aerosol is formed between each of the droplet trapping materials 60 arranged in parallel in the enlarged diameter part 24a of the downstream passage part 23. A droplet trapping surface 65 is formed by the outer surface of the droplet trapping material 60 facing the flow path 61 . Further, reference numeral 25A shown in FIG. 9 is an air-permeable support material that supports the upstream end 601 of each droplet trapping material 60. Reference numeral 25B is an air-permeable support material that supports the downstream end 602 of each droplet trapping material 60. The upstream end and downstream end herein mean an upstream end and a downstream end with respect to the flow direction of air. The supporting

members

25A and 25B cooperate to support the upstream end 601 and downstream end 602 of each droplet trapping material 60 while sandwiching them in the axial direction. Thereby, even when a plurality of droplet trapping materials 60 are arranged in the enlarged diameter portion 24a of the downstream passage section 23, the plurality of droplet trapping materials 60 can be maintained in an aligned state and at a regular position. Further, since the supporting

materials

25A and 25B have air permeability, it is possible to suppress the flow of air (aerosol) along the enlarged diameter portion 24a of the downstream passage portion 23 from being obstructed.

As described above, also in this embodiment, the aerosol flow path 61 is formed between each of the droplet trapping materials 60 arranged in parallel in the enlarged diameter portion 24a of the downstream passage portion 23, and the aerosol flow path 61 is Since the droplet trapping surface 65 is formed by the facing outer surface of the droplet trapping material 60, the aerosol passing through the aerosol flow path 61 can be flavored by the flavor material of the droplet trapping material 60, and the flavor material contained in the aerosol can be flavored. Excess droplets can be removed.

Note that the droplet trapping material 60 in this embodiment may also have a hollow aerosol flow path extending in the axial direction formed therein, as in the first embodiment.

<Embodiment 4>
Next, the atomization unit 12 according to the fourth embodiment will be explained. FIG. 11 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the atomization unit 12 according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the atomization unit 12 according to the fourth embodiment, and shows a cross section taken along the line A4-A4 in FIG. 11. The atomization unit 12 according to the fourth embodiment differs from the third embodiment only in the aspect of the droplet trapping material 60 disposed in the enlarged diameter section 24a of the downstream passage section 23. Also in this embodiment, the droplet trapping material 60 is formed of a flavor molded body.

A plurality of droplet trapping materials 60 having a plate shape are arranged in the enlarged diameter portion 24a of the downstream passage portion 23. Each droplet trapping material 60 extends along the extending direction of the enlarged diameter portion 24a (the air flow direction, that is, the Z direction). In the example shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, each droplet trapping material 60 has an elongated flat plate shape along the enlarged diameter portion 24a, and extends in the cross-sectional direction of the enlarged diameter portion 24a (orthogonal to the air flow direction). (that is, the XY plane direction). More specifically, the upstream end 601 and downstream end 602 of each droplet trapping material 60 are positioned and fixed in a state where they are sandwiched in the axial direction by the above-mentioned air-

permeable supporting materials

25A and 25B. As a result, each of the plurality of droplet trapping materials 60 is arranged side by side so as to face each other at intervals. An aerosol flow path 61 for distributing the aerosol is formed by a gap formed between the droplet trapping materials 60 that are arranged to face each other. Furthermore, a droplet trapping surface 65 is formed by the outer surface of the droplet trapping material 60 facing the aerosol flow path 61 .

Also in the atomization unit 12 according to the present embodiment configured as described above, the flavor of the droplet trapping material 60 is applied to the aerosol passing through the aerosol flow path 61 formed between the droplet trapping materials 60. Flavor can be imparted depending on the material, and excess droplets contained in the aerosol can be removed by the droplet trapping surface 65.

<Embodiment 5>
Next, the atomization unit 12 according to the fifth embodiment will be explained. FIG. 13 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the atomization unit 12 according to the fifth embodiment. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the atomization unit 12 according to the fifth embodiment, and shows a cross section taken along the line A5-A5 in FIG. 13. The atomization unit 12 according to the fifth embodiment differs from the third and fourth embodiments only in the aspect of the droplet trapping material 60 disposed in the enlarged diameter section 24a of the downstream passage section 23. Also in this embodiment, the droplet trapping material 60 is formed of a flavor molded body.

In this embodiment, a droplet trapping material 60 having an overall bellows sheet shape is disposed in the enlarged diameter portion 24a of the downstream passage portion 23. The droplet trapping material 60 having a bellows sheet shape includes a plurality of sheet portions (panel portions) 62 extending along the extending direction of the enlarged diameter portion 24a (air flow direction, that is, Z direction), and each sheet portion. 62 in a bellows-like manner, and a ridgeline portion 63 extending along the air flow direction. In the droplet trapping material 60 in the form of a bellows sheet as described above, an aerosol flow path 61 for circulating aerosol is formed between the sheet portions 62 connected via the ridgeline portions 63. This aerosol flow passage 61 extends along the downstream passage portion 23 (that is, along the air flow direction). Therefore, when the air (aerosol) that has flowed into the downstream passage section 23 passes through the aerosol flow passage 61, the flavor components of the flavor material contained in the flavor molded body constituting the droplet trapping material 60 are suitably transferred to the air. can be granted. Further, in the droplet trapping material 60 in this embodiment, a droplet trapping surface 65 is formed by the outer surface of the sheet portion 62 facing the aerosol flow path 61. Thereby, excess droplets contained in the aerosol flowing through the aerosol flow path 61 can be efficiently removed by the droplet trapping surface 65.

Note that, as shown in FIG. 13, also in this embodiment, the upstream end 601 and downstream end 602 of the droplet trapping material 60 having the bellows sheet form are positioned and fixed by the

breathable support materials

25A and 25B. . Thereby, the droplet trapping material 60 can be fixed at a regular position without obstructing the flow of air containing aerosol along the enlarged diameter portion 24a of the downstream passage portion 23.

<Embodiment 6>
FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the atomization unit 12 according to the sixth embodiment. In the sixth embodiment, the downstream passage portion 23 is filled with a large number of droplet trapping materials 60 in the form of strip-shaped sheet pieces. For example, the droplet trapping materials 60 (rectangular sheet pieces) are arranged so that their longitudinal directions extend along the downstream passage section 23 (that is, along the flow direction of air (aerosol)). , the upstream and downstream ends thereof may be positioned by supporting

members

25A and 25B as described in FIG. 11. In this embodiment, an aerosol flow path 61 is formed by a gap between each droplet trapping material 60 (rectangular sheet piece), and each droplet trapping material 60 (rectangular sheet piece) defining the aerosol flow path 61 Therefore, when the air (aerosol) flowing into the downstream passage section 23 passes through the aerosol flow passage 61, the flavor components of the flavor material contained in the droplet trapping material 60 are transferred to the air (aerosol) by the side surface (outer surface) of the sheet piece). ) can be suitably applied. Furthermore, excess droplets contained in the aerosol flowing through the aerosol flow path 61 can be efficiently removed by the droplet trapping surface 65. Note that the strip sheet pieces serving as the droplet trapping material 60 may be arranged randomly and filled without being aligned along the downstream passage section 23.

<Embodiment 7>
FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of the atomization unit 12 according to the seventh embodiment. The droplet trapping material 60 of the atomization unit 12 according to the seventh embodiment has, in addition to an aerosol flow passage 61 as a through hole penetrating in the axial direction, an aerosol flow groove 610 as an aerosol flow passage on the side surface (outer surface). It is different from the droplet trapping material 60 described in FIGS. 2 to 4 in that it is formed. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 16, the aerosol distribution groove 610 in the droplet trapping material 60 is a groove provided on the side surface (outer surface) of the droplet trapping material 60 along the axial direction. The aerosol distribution groove 610 is formed from the upstream end (front end) 601 to the downstream end (rear end) 602 of the droplet trapping material 60, and the surface of the aerosol distribution groove 610 forms a droplet trapping surface 65. In this modification, air can be smoothly circulated through the aerosol flow path 61 and the aerosol flow groove 610, and the flavor components of the flavor material contained in the droplet trapping material 60 can be suitably imparted to the air. I can do it. In addition, in this modification, the number of aerosol distribution grooves 610 provided on the side surface (outer surface) of the droplet trapping material 60 is not particularly limited. However, as shown in FIG. 16, by forming a plurality of aerosol distribution grooves 610 on the side surface (outer surface) of the droplet trapping material 60, the distribution of the aerosol and the imparting of flavor to the aerosol can be made more efficient. It can be carried out. Furthermore, in the droplet trapping material 60 according to the present embodiment, the aerosol flow path 61 passing through the inside thereof in the axial direction may be omitted, and only the aerosol flow groove 610 may be formed.

<Embodiment 8>
Next, the atomization unit 12 according to the eighth embodiment will be explained. FIG. 17 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the atomization unit 12 according to the eighth embodiment. FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of the atomization unit 12 according to the eighth embodiment, and shows a cross section taken along the line A6-A6 in FIG. 15. The atomization unit 12 in this embodiment is different from the first embodiment in an atomization unit housing 120. Below, differences from Embodiment 1 will be mainly explained.

In the atomization unit housing 120 according to the present embodiment, a cylindrical wall portion 70g defining the downstream passage portion 23 has a small diameter wall portion 710 located on the upstream side in the flow direction of air, and a small diameter wall portion 710 located on the downstream side of the small diameter wall portion 710. It is configured to include a large diameter wall section 720 located therein, and a boundary wall section 730 located between the small diameter wall section 710 and the large diameter wall section 720. The small diameter wall 710 and the large diameter wall 720 are walls having a cylindrical shape, and the large diameter wall 720 has a relatively larger diameter than the small diameter wall 710. Further, the boundary wall 730 is a circular wall that connects the small diameter wall 710 and the large diameter wall 720, and extends along the XY plane direction perpendicular to the Z direction.

The downstream passage section 23 formed inside the wall section 70g configured as described above has a cross-sectional area enlarged at an intermediate position in the air flow direction (position of the boundary wall section 730), so that the air flow can be improved. An expanded diameter portion 24a is formed on the downstream side in the direction.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 17, a droplet trapping material 60 is arranged in the enlarged diameter portion 24a of the downstream passage portion 23. The droplet trapping material 60 in this embodiment has a cylindrical shape, similar to the droplet trapping material 60 described in FIG. 4, and has a hollow aerosol flow path that penetrates the droplet trapping material 60 along the central axis A (hollow passage) 61 is formed inside, and the inner surface of the aerosol flow passage 61 forms a droplet trapping surface 65.

In this embodiment, for example, the outer diameter of the droplet trapping material 60 is equal to or slightly larger than the inner diameter of the enlarged diameter portion 24a (that is, the inner diameter of the large diameter wall portion 720), and the outer diameter of the droplet trapping material 60 is The droplet trapping material 60 is fixed to the enlarged diameter portion 24 a with its surface in contact with the inner circumferential surface of the large diameter wall portion 720 . Further, the inner diameter of the droplet trapping material 60 (the diameter of the aerosol flow path 61) is set to be approximately equal to the inner diameter of the small diameter wall portion 710. As described above, by arranging the droplet trapping material 60 in the enlarged diameter portion 24a where the air flow path area is expanded, the ventilation resistance of air containing aerosol flowing through the downstream passage portion 23 can be reduced. . Note that the atomization unit 12 in this embodiment also provides the same effects as in each of the embodiments described above. That is, it is possible to impart flavor to the air containing the aerosol passing through the downstream passage section 23, and to remove excess droplets contained in the aerosol. Note that the aspect of the droplet trapping material 60 in this embodiment is not particularly limited, and for example, the aspects described in Embodiments 2 to 7 may be applied.

Although the embodiments and modified examples of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to such specific embodiments and modified examples, and within the scope of the gist of the present invention as described in the claims. , various modifications and changes are possible.

For example, in each of the embodiments described above, a flavor molded body containing a non-tobacco base material and a flavor material was described as one form of the droplet trapping material 60 disposed in the downstream passage section 23 of the atomization unit 12. , but not limited to this. That is, the droplet trapping material 60 can adopt various forms as long as it can remove excess droplets from the aerosol flowing through the downstream passage section 23. For example, the droplet trapping material 60 may be configured as a molded body that does not contain flavoring material. In this case, for example, the droplet trapping material 60 may be formed of a non-tobacco base material such as ceramic, synthetic polymer, pulp, or the like.

Furthermore, each aspect disclosed in this embodiment can be freely combined with other aspects disclosed in this embodiment.

10... Suction tool 11... Power supply unit 12... Atomization unit 20...

Air passages

21a, 21b... Upstream passage section 22... Load passage section 23... Downstream passage section 30 ...Wick 40...Load 50...Liquid storage section 60...Droplet capture material 61...Aerosol flow path 65...Droplet capture surface Le...Aerosol generation liquid

Claims

a liquid storage section that stores an aerosol-generating liquid containing nicotine;
an electrical load disposed in an air passage through which air passes, into which the aerosol-generating liquid in the liquid storage section is introduced, and which atomizes the introduced aerosol-generating liquid to generate an aerosol;
A droplet trapping material that traps droplets contained in an aerosol, the droplet trapping material being disposed in a downstream passage portion of the air passageway that is located downstream of the load in the air flow direction. ,
Equipped with
Atomization unit of suction tool.
The droplet trapping material is formed as a molded body having a droplet trapping surface that is exposed to the downstream passage and traps droplets contained in the aerosol.
The atomization unit of the suction tool according to claim 1.
The droplet trapping material is a flavor molded body containing a non-tobacco base material and a flavor material,
The flavor material contains a tobacco material, and the content of the tobacco material in the flavor molded body is 10% by weight or less,
The atomization unit of the suction tool according to claim 2.
The droplet trapping material has a rod shape extending along the downstream passage section, and has a hollow hole therein that extends through the droplet trapping material in the axial direction and allows the aerosol to flow therethrough. having an aerosol flow path;
an inner surface of the aerosol flow path is formed as the droplet trapping surface;
The atomization unit of the suction tool according to claim 2 or 3.
The droplet trapping material has a rod shape extending along the downstream passage, and has an aerosol distribution groove on a side surface thereof extending in the axial direction of the droplet trapping material and allowing the aerosol to flow. ,
the surface of the aerosol distribution groove is formed as the droplet trapping surface;
The atomization unit of the suction tool according to any one of claims 2 to 4.
The droplet trapping material has a rod shape extending along the downstream passage,
A plurality of the droplet trapping materials are arranged in parallel along a cross-sectional direction perpendicular to the flow direction of the aerosol in the downstream passage section,
An aerosol flow path is formed between the outer surfaces of the droplet trapping materials arranged in parallel to allow the aerosol to flow,
the droplet trapping surface is formed by an outer surface of the droplet trapping material facing the aerosol flow path;
The atomization unit of the suction tool according to any one of claims 2 to 5.
The droplet trapping material has a bellows sheet shape as a whole, and has a plurality of sheet portions extending along the flow direction of air in the downstream passage portion, and each sheet portion is connected to each other in a bellows shape. and a ridgeline extending along the flow direction of the air,
An aerosol flow path for circulating aerosol is formed between the sheet parts connected via the ridgeline, and the droplet trapping surface is formed by an outer surface of the sheet part facing the aerosol flow path. ,
The atomization unit of the suction tool according to claim 2 or 3.
The droplet trapping material has a plate shape extending along the flow direction of air in the downstream passage section,
A plurality of the droplet trapping materials are arranged side by side so as to face each other at intervals along a cross section perpendicular to the flow direction of the air in the downstream passage section,
An aerosol flow path is formed between the droplet trapping materials arranged to face each other, and the aerosol flow path allows the aerosol to flow.
the droplet trapping surface is formed by an outer surface of the droplet trapping material facing the aerosol flow path;
The atomization unit of the suction tool according to claim 2 or 3.
The atomization unit according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
a power supply unit having a power supply that supplies power to the load, and to which the atomization unit is detachable;
A suction device equipped with.
A method for manufacturing an atomization unit of a suction tool, the method comprising:
An atomization unit housing having a liquid storage portion and an air passage formed therein, an aerosol-generating liquid containing nicotine, an electrical load for atomizing the aerosol-generating liquid to generate an aerosol, and droplets contained in the aerosol. a droplet trapping material for trapping; a preparation step for preparing;
an assembling step of accommodating the aerosol generating liquid in the liquid accommodating section and arranging the load and the droplet trapping material in the air passage;
has
In the assembly process,
The load is arranged in such a manner that the aerosol generating liquid is introduced from the liquid storage part, and
disposing the droplet trapping material in a downstream passage located downstream of the load in the air flow direction;
A method for manufacturing an atomizing unit of a suction tool.