KR102330297B1 - An aerosol forming rod and a method of making the same - Google Patents

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method comprising: preparing a sheet comprising an aerosol generating material; continuously moving the sheet; supplying a flavoring agent to the sheet through a nozzle disposed in the movement path of the sheet; and packaging the sheet with a wrapper to form an aerosol-generating rod.

Description

AN AEROSOL FORMING ROD AND A METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME

The present invention relates to aerosol-generating rods and methods of making, and more particularly to aerosol-generating rods comprising a flavoring agent and methods of making them.

In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for an alternative method that overcomes the disadvantages of conventional cigarettes. For example, there is an increasing demand for a method of generating an aerosol as the aerosol-generating material in a cigarette is heated rather than a method of burning a cigarette to produce an aerosol. Accordingly, research into a heated cigarette or a heated aerosol generating device is being actively conducted.

On the other hand, when the flavoring agent is included in the aerosol generating rod to give satisfaction to the user, various problems may occur when the flavoring agent is added in the conventional manufacturing process. As an example of the problem, contamination of the process may occur when a flavoring agent is added in the slurry manufacturing process, and physical properties may be changed when a flavoring agent is added in the sheet manufacturing process. Therefore, there is a need for an aerosol generating rod and a manufacturing method to solve this problem.

Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-2017-0063554

Various embodiments are directed to providing an aerosol generating rod comprising a flavoring agent and a method of making the same. Through this, the technical problems to be achieved by the present disclosure are not limited to the technical problems as described above, and other technical problems may be inferred from the following embodiments.

As a means for solving the above technical problem, a method of manufacturing an aerosol generating rod comprises the steps of: preparing a sheet comprising an aerosol generating material; continuously moving the sheet over a manufacturing apparatus; supplying a flavoring agent to the sheet through a nozzle disposed in the movement path of the sheet; and wrapping the sheet with a wrapper to form an aerosol generating rod.

According to one embodiment, cutting the sheet in the movement path of the sheet to form cut filler; And it may further include the step of supplying a flavoring agent to the cut filler through the nozzle.

According to an embodiment, the cut filler may be formed to have an angular width of 0.5 mm to 1.3 mm.

According to an embodiment, the flavoring agent may include at least one of water and different types of flavoring substances.

According to one embodiment, the pressure of the nozzle may be 5bar to 20bar, and the diameter of the flavoring agent particles may be 5um to 20um.

As a means for solving the above-described technical problem, an aerosol generating rod produced by any one of the above methods may be provided.

The present disclosure may provide an aerosol generating rod comprising a flavoring agent and a method of making it. Specifically, there is provided a method of adding a flavoring agent by a nozzle in the process of forming an aerosol generating rod, not in the process of preparing a slurry or sheet. Accordingly, it is possible to minimize the problem of process contamination during the flavoring process and prevent the change in the physical properties of the plate leaf.

In addition, it is possible to minimize the loss of flavoring agent included in the aerosol generating rod.

1 is a view illustrating an example in which a cigarette is inserted into a holder.
2 is a configuration diagram illustrating an example of a cigarette.
3 is a diagram illustrating a method of manufacturing an aerosol generating rod according to an embodiment.

Terms used in the embodiments are selected as currently widely used general terms as possible while considering functions in the present invention, but may vary according to intentions or precedents of those of ordinary skill in the art, emergence of new technologies, and the like. In addition, in a specific case, there is a term arbitrarily selected by the applicant, and in this case, the meaning will be described in detail in the description of the corresponding invention. Therefore, the term used in the present invention should be defined based on the meaning of the term and the overall content of the present invention, rather than the name of a simple term.

In the entire specification, when a part “includes” a certain component, it means that other components may be further included, rather than excluding other components, unless otherwise stated.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail so that those of ordinary skill in the art can easily implement them. However, the present invention may be embodied in various different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 is a view illustrating an example in which a cigarette is inserted into a holder.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a cigarette 2 may be inserted into a holder 1 . When the cigarette 2 is inserted, the heater 130 is positioned inside the cigarette 2 . Accordingly, the aerosol-generating material of the cigarette 2 is heated by the heated heater 130 , thereby generating an aerosol.

The cigarette 2 may have a shape similar to that of a general combustion type cigarette. For example, the cigarette 2 may be divided into a first part 201 comprising an aerosol generating material and a second part 202 comprising a filter or the like.

The entire first part 201 may be inserted into the holder 1 , and the second part 202 may be exposed to the outside. Alternatively, only a portion of the first portion 201 may be inserted into the holder 1 , or portions of the first portion 201 and the second portion 202 may be inserted.

The user may inhale the aerosol while holding the second part 202 with the mouth. At this time, the aerosol is generated by passing the outside air through the first part 201 , and the generated aerosol passes through the second part 202 and is delivered to the user's mouth.

External air may be introduced through at least one air passage formed in the holder 1 . Alternatively, external air may be introduced through at least one hole formed in the surface of the cigarette 2 .

2 is a configuration diagram illustrating an example of a cigarette.

Referring to FIG. 2 , the cigarette 2 includes a tobacco rod 210 , a first filter segment 221 , a cooling structure 222 and a second filter segment 223 . The first part described above with reference to FIG. 1 includes a tobacco rod 210 , and the second part includes a first filter segment 221 , a cooling structure 222 and a second filter segment 223 .

Referring to FIG. 2 , the cigarette 2 may be wrapped by wrappers 231 , 232 , 233 , 234 , 235 and 236 . For example, the tobacco rod 210 is wrapped by a first wrapper 231 , and the first filter segment 221 is wrapped by a second wrapper 232 . Further, the cooling structure 222 is wrapped by a third wrapper 233 , and the second filter segment 223 is wrapped by a fourth wrapper 234 .

The fifth wrapper 235 may be surrounded by the first wrapper 231 , the second wrapper 232 , and the third wrapper 233 . In other words, the tobacco rod 210 , the first filter segment 221 and the cooling structure 222 of the cigarette 2 may be further wrapped by the fifth wrapper 235 . In addition, the sixth wrapper 236 may be surrounded by at least a portion of the fifth wrapper 235 and the outside of the fourth wrapper 234 . In other words, at least a portion of the cooling structure 222 of the cigarette 2 and the second filter segment 223 may be further wrapped by the sixth wrapper 236 .

The first wrapper 231 , the second wrapper 232 , the fifth wrapper 235 , and the sixth wrapper 236 may be made of general wrapping paper. For example, the first wrapper 231 , the second wrapper 232 , the fifth wrapper 235 , and the sixth wrapper 236 may be a porous wrapper or a non-porous wrapper. For example, the thickness of the first wrapper 231 may be about 61 μm and the porosity may be about 15 CU, and the thickness of the second wrapper 232 may be about 63 μm and the porosity may be about 15 CU, but is not limited thereto. . In addition, the thickness of the fifth wrapper 235 may be about 66 μm and the porosity may be about 10 CU, and the thickness of the sixth wrapper 236 may be 66 μm and the porosity may be about 17 CU, but is not limited thereto.

In addition, an aluminum foil may be further included on the inner surface of the first wrapper 231 and/or the second wrapper 232 .

The third wrapper 233 and the fourth wrapper 234 may be made of hard wrapping paper. For example, the thickness of the third wrapper 233 may be about 158 μm and the porosity may be about 33 CU, and the thickness of the fourth wrapper 234 may be about 155 μm and the porosity may be about 46 CU, but is not limited thereto. .

A predetermined material may be internally added to the fifth wrapper 235 and the sixth wrapper 236 . Here, an example of the predetermined material may be silicon, but is not limited thereto. For example, silicon has characteristics such as heat resistance with little change with temperature, oxidation resistance without oxidation, resistance to various chemicals, water repellency against water, or electrical insulation. However, even if it is not silicon, any material having the above-described characteristics may be applied (or coated) to the fifth wrapper 235 and the sixth wrapper 236 without limitation.

The fifth wrapper 235 and the sixth wrapper 236 may prevent the cigarette 2 from burning. For example, when the tobacco rod 210 is heated by the heater 130, there is a possibility that the cigarette 2 is burned. Specifically, when the temperature rises above the ignition point of any one of the materials included in the tobacco rod 210, the cigarette 2 may be burned. Even in this case, since the fifth wrapper 235 and the sixth wrapper 236 include a non-combustible material, the burning phenomenon of the cigarette 2 can be prevented.

In addition, the fifth wrapper 235 may prevent the holder 1 from being contaminated by substances produced in the cigarette 2 . By the user's puff, liquid substances may be created in the cigarette 2 . For example, liquid substances (eg, moisture, etc.) may be generated by cooling the aerosol generated in the cigarette 2 by the outside air. As the fifth wrapper 235 wraps the tobacco rod 210 and/or the first filter segment 221 , the liquid substances produced in the cigarette 2 will be prevented from leaking out of the cigarette 2 . can Accordingly, the phenomenon that the inside of the holder 1 is contaminated by the liquid substances produced in the cigarette 2 can be prevented.

The diameter of the cigarette 2 is within the range of 5 mm to 9 mm, and the length may be about 45 mm, but is not limited thereto. For example, the length of the tobacco rod 210 is about 11.5 mm, the length of the first filter segment 221 is about 8 mm, the length of the cooling structure 222 is about 18.5 mm, and the length of the second filter segment 223 is about 18.5 mm. may be about 7 mm, but is not limited thereto.

The structure of the cigarette 2 shown in FIG. 2 is only an example, and some components may be omitted. For example, the cigarette 2 may not include one or more of the first filter segment 221 , the cooling structure 222 , and the second filter segment 223 .

Tobacco rod 210 contains an aerosol generating material. For example, the aerosol generating material may comprise at least one of glycerin, propylene glycol, ethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol and oleyl alcohol.

In addition, the tobacco rod 210 may contain other additives such as flavoring agents, wetting agents and/or organic acids. For example, flavoring agents include licorice, sucrose, fructose syrup, isosweet, cocoa, lavender, cinnamon, cardamom, celery, fenugreek, cascarilla, sandalwood, bergamot, geranium, honey essence, rose oil, vanilla, lemon oil, orange oil, mint oil, cinnamon, caraway, cognac, jasmine, chamomile, menthol, cinnamon, ylang-ylang, sage, spearmint, ginger, coriander or coffee and the like. In addition, the wetting agent may include glycerin or propylene glycol, and the like.

As an example, the tobacco rod 210 may be filled with a reconstituent 　tobacco sheet.

As another example, the tobacco rod 210 may be filled with cut filler. Here, tobacco cut fillers can be produced by chopping leaflet sheets.

As another example, the tobacco rod 210 may be filled with a plurality of tobacco strands in which the leaflet sheet is chopped. For example, the tobacco rod 210 may be formed by combining a plurality of tobacco strands in the same direction (parallel) or randomly.

For example, the plate-like sheet may be manufactured by the following process. First, the tobacco raw material is pulverized to form an aerosol-generating material (eg, glycerin, propylene glycol, etc.), a flavoring solution, a binder (eg, guar gum, xanthan gum, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), etc.), water After making a slurry in which the etc. are mixed, a plate-like sheet is formed using the slurry. When making the slurry, natural pulp or cellulose may be added, and one or more binders may be mixed and used. On the other hand, tobacco strands may be produced by cutting or shredding the dried leaflet sheet.

The tobacco raw material may be tobacco leaf flakes, tobacco stems and/or tobacco fines generated during tobacco processing. In addition, the lamellar sheet may contain other additives such as wood cellulose fibers.

5% to 40% of the aerosol generating material may be added to the slurry, and 2% to 35% of the aerosol generating material may remain in the plate-like sheet. Preferably, 5% to 30% of the aerosol generating material may remain in the leaflet sheet.

In addition, before the process in which the tobacco rod 210 is packaged by the first wrapper 231 , a flavoring liquid such as menthol or a moisturizer may be sprayed and added to the center of the tobacco rod 210 .

The first filter segment 221 may be a cellulose acetate filter. For example, the first filter segment 221 may be a tube-shaped structure including a hollow therein. The length of the first filter segment 221 may be an appropriate length within the range of 4 mm to 30 mm, but is not limited thereto. Preferably, the length of the first filter segment 221 may be 8 mm, but is not limited thereto.

The diameter of the hollow included in the first filter segment 221 may be an appropriate diameter within the range of 2 mm to 4.5 mm, but is not limited thereto.

When the first filter segment 221 is manufactured, the hardness of the first filter segment 221 may be adjusted by adjusting the content of the plasticizer.

In addition, the first filter segment 221 may be manufactured by inserting a structure such as a film or a tube made of the same or different material inside (eg, hollow).

The first filter segment 221 may be manufactured using cellulose acetate. Accordingly, when the heater 130 is inserted, the inner material of the tobacco rod 210 may be prevented from being pushed back, and a cooling effect of the aerosol may be generated.

The cooling structure 222 cools the aerosol generated by the heater 130 heating the tobacco rod 210 . Thus, the user can inhale the aerosol cooled to a suitable temperature.

The length or diameter of the cooling structure 222 may be variously determined according to the shape of the cigarette 2 . For example, the length of the cooling structure 222 may be appropriately employed within the range of 7 mm to 20 mm. Preferably, the length of the cooling structure 222 may be about 18.5 mm, but is not limited thereto.

The cooling structure 222 may be formed by a crimped polymer sheet. Here, the polymer sheet is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polylactic acid (PLA), cellulose acetate (CA) and aluminum foil. It can be made of material. As the cooling structure 222 is formed by the crimped polymer sheet, the cooling structure 222 may include a plurality of channels extending in the longitudinal direction. Here, a channel means a passage through which a gas (eg, air or aerosol) passes.

For example, the cooling structure 222 may be formed from a material having a thickness of between about 5 μm and about 500 μm, such as between about 10 μm and about 250 μm. Also, the total surface area of the cooling structure 222 may be between ^{about 300 mm 2} /mm and about 1000 mm ^{2 /mm.} Further, the aerosol cooling element may be formed from a material having a specific surface area of between about 10 mm ² /mg and about 100 mm ^{2 /mg.}

Meanwhile, the cooling structure 222 may include a thread containing a volatile flavor component. Here, the volatile flavor component may be menthol, but is not limited thereto. For example, the thread may be filled with a sufficient amount of menthol to provide at least 1.5 mg of menthol to the cooling structure 222 .

The second filter segment 223 may be a cellulose acetate filter. The length of the second filter segment 223 may be appropriately employed within the range of 4 mm to 20 mm. For example, the length of the second filter segment 223 may be about 7 mm, but is not limited thereto.

In the process of manufacturing the second filter segment 223 , the flavor may be generated by spraying a flavoring liquid on the second filter segment 223 . Alternatively, a separate fiber coated with a flavoring liquid may be inserted into the second filter segment 223 . The aerosol generated by the tobacco rod 210 is cooled as it passes through the cooling structure 222 , and the cooled aerosol is delivered to the user through the second filter segment 223 . Accordingly, when the flavoring element is added to the second filter segment 223 , the effect of enhancing the durability of the flavor delivered to the user may occur.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

3 is a diagram illustrating a method of manufacturing an aerosol generating rod according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 3 , the method of manufacturing the aerosol-generating rod 210 includes the steps of supplying a flavoring agent to the sheet through the nozzle 310 and packaging the sheet with a wrapper 320 to form the aerosol-generating rod 210 . may include steps. The aerosol generating rod 210 may correspond to the tobacco rod 210 described above. On the other hand, the aerosol generating rod manufacturing method shown in FIG. 3 shows only the configurations related to the present embodiment. Accordingly, it can be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art related to the present embodiment that other general-purpose components or steps other than those shown in FIG. 3 may be further included in the method for manufacturing an aerosol generating rod.

Specifically, the aerosol generating rod manufacturing method may further include a component such as a roller capable of adjusting the thickness of the sheet, and the step of cutting the continuous rod into a plurality of rods.

On the other hand, it is possible to add a flavoring agent in a step other than the step of manufacturing the aerosol generating rod (210). For example, it is possible to add a flavoring agent during the slurry manufacturing process or the sheet manufacturing process. However, when a flavoring agent is added in the slurry manufacturing process, contamination may occur in the process, and when a flavoring agent is added in the sheet manufacturing process, there may be a problem in that the physical properties of the plate leaf are changed.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, it is appropriate to add a flavoring agent in the step of manufacturing the aerosol generating rod 210 . As an example, referring to FIG. 3 , the nozzle 310 is shown positioned just before the aerosol generating rod 210 is wrapped by the wrapper 320 . However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the nozzle 310 may be disposed at any position capable of spraying the flavoring agent to the sheet or cut filler.

If a flavoring agent is added immediately before the aerosol generating rod 210 is wrapped by the wrapper 320, contamination of the process can be minimized first. In addition, the loss of the added flavoring agent can also be minimized. Specifically, since the sheet is packaged by the wrapper 320 immediately after adding the flavoring agent to the sheet, the effect on the process is small and the loss of the flavoring agent can be minimized. In addition, it is also possible to prevent the change in the physical properties of the plate leaf.

According to FIG. 3 , a method of manufacturing an aerosol generating rod comprising a flavoring agent is shown. To this end, preparing a sheet comprising an aerosol generating material, continuously moving the sheet, supplying a flavoring agent to the sheet through a nozzle 310 disposed in a movement path of the sheet, and the sheet packaging with a wrapper 320 to form an aerosol generating rod 210 .

Specifically, the aerosol generating rod 210 means a cylindrical member of circular, ellipsoidal or elliptical cross-section. In addition, the aerosol generating rod 210 may include a form using cut filler as well as a sheet.

More specifically, the aerosol generating rod 210 may be made of a sheet of homogeneous tobacco material or cut filler. A homogeneous sheet of tobacco material or cut filler may be formed by agglomerating particulate tobacco obtained by grinding or grinding one or both of tobacco leaf lamina and tobacco leaf stems. Optionally, a sheet or cut filler of homogeneous tobacco material tobacco may consist of one or more tobacco dusts, tobacco fines and other particulate tobacco by-products formed, for example, during the processing, handling and shipping of tobacco. When the aerosol-generating rod 210 according to the present invention is intended for use as an aerosol-forming substrate in a heated aerosol-generating article, the homogeneous tobacco material used to form the aerosol-generating rod 210 is preferably ground tobacco leaf lamina. or, on the other hand, of particulate tobacco obtained by subdividing.

In addition, the homogeneous tobacco material may consist of one or more endogenous binders that are tobacco endogenous binders, one or more exogenous binders that are tobacco endogenous binders, or combinations thereof, to aid in agglomeration of the particulate tobacco. Additionally or alternatively, the homogeneous tobacco material may consist of other additives, namely tobacco and non-tobacco fibers, aerosol formers, wetting agents, plasticizers, flavoring agents, fillers, aqueous and non-aqueous solvents and combinations thereof. However, the present invention is not limited thereto.

By the above process, a sheet including the aerosol-forming substrate may be formed, and the method may further include cutting the sheet to form cut filler while the sheet is continuously moved on the manufacturing apparatus. At this time, the cut filler may be formed to have an angular width of 0.5 mm to 1.3 mm.

The flavoring agent may be supplied through the nozzle 310 disposed in the moving path of the sheet or cut filler configured as described above. In this case, the flavoring agent may include not only pure water capable of controlling moisture, but also alcohol-based flavoring substances that do not affect moisture. Alternatively, it may include at least one of different types of flavor substances.

The above-described flavoring agent is supplied to the sheet or cut filler through the nozzle 310, the pressure used for the nozzle 310 is 5 to 20 bar, and the particle size of the sprayed liquid particles has a diameter between 5 and 20 μm and is at least 3 kg A working pressure of /cm ³ and a spraying amount may be a nozzle having a spraying amount of about 6 to 150cc/min. Also, referring to FIG. 3 , although one nozzle 310 is illustrated, a plurality of nozzles 310 may be disposed on the movement path of the sheet.

According to this aerosol generating rod manufacturing method, by uniformly spraying the fine particles, it is possible to prevent a change in the properties of the plate leaf and to uniformly distribute the flavoring agent so that the user can feel satisfaction while smoking. In addition, according to this aerosol generating rod manufacturing method, various products can be produced by changing the flavoring agent sprayed through the nozzle 310 .

Those of ordinary skill in the art related to the present embodiment will understand that it can be implemented in a modified form within a range that does not deviate from the essential characteristics of the above description. Therefore, the disclosed methods are to be considered in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. The scope of the present invention is indicated in the claims rather than the foregoing description, and all differences within the scope equivalent thereto should be construed as being included in the present invention.

Claims (6)

preparing a sheet comprising an aerosol generating material;
continuously moving the sheet;
forming cut fillers by cutting the sheet in the movement path of the sheet;
supplying a flavoring agent to the cut filler through a nozzle disposed during the movement path of the cut filler; and
Packaging the cut filler with a wrapper to form an aerosol-generating rod; Containing, a method of manufacturing an aerosol-generating rod. delete The method of claim 1,
The cut filler is formed to have an angular width of 0.5mm to 1.3mm, a method of manufacturing an aerosol generating rod. The method of claim 1,
Wherein the supplied flavoring agent comprises at least one of water and different types of flavoring substances. The method of claim 1,
The pressure of the nozzle is 5bar to 20bar, and the diameter of the flavoring agent particles is 5um to 20um, the method of manufacturing an aerosol generating rod. An aerosol generating rod produced by the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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