A solid gel smoke stick, a preparation method thereof, and a cigarette containing the same

Abstract

The present invention belongs to the technical field of heat-not-burn cigarettes, and particularly relates to a solid gel smoke stick, a preparation method of the solid gel smoke stick, and a cigarette containing the same. The smoke stick has a rod-shaped structure with an outer wall and a core. The outer wall of the smoke stick is beeswax, and the core of the smoke stick is a gel containing a smoking agent. For the first time, the smoke stick formed by surrounding the gel with such an outer wall is filled into the smoke generating section of a heat-not-burn cigarette. The solid gel smoke stick is not a reconstituted tobacco sheet, so the addition amounts of the smoking agent and flavoring substances in the smoke generating section are not restricted. The total amount of the smoking agent and flavoring substances added in the smoke generating section of the present invention under the same weight is 5 to 7 times that in the reconstituted tobacco sheet, which can perfectly solve the problem of insufficient addition amounts of the smoking agent and flavoring substances caused by the limitation of the processing intensity in the reconstituted tobacco sheet.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of heat-not-burn cigarettes, and particularly relates to a solid gel smoking rod, a preparation method thereof, and a cigarette containing the same. Background Art

[0002] With the improvement of living standards, people pay more and more attention to their own health problems, and in recent years, the attention to smoking health problems has been very high. In order to meet the changing consumer demands, major domestic and foreign enterprises have developed various completely hollow tobacco products to replace traditional cigarettes. Among these growing completely hollow tobacco products, e-cigarettes and heat-not-burn cigarettes are the leaders.

[0003] As an extended application of electronic products in the tobacco industry, the advantage of e-cigarettes is that the taste variability is strong, and the taste of the smoke can be arbitrarily adjusted by adjusting the components of the e-liquid. However, since the smoke of e-cigarettes is mainly generated by an electronic atomizer, there is still a certain difference in its taste, especially the heat sensation, from that of traditional cigarettes that generate smoke by heating, and the acceptance of old smokers is poor.

[0004] Heat-not-burn cigarettes generate smoke by heating the smoking section of the cigarette stick, and the acceptance of the taste of the generated smoke is relatively good. At present, the smoking section of the commercially available heat-not-burn cigarette stick is a reconstituted tobacco sheet filled in an unordered manner, and there is a certain problem of insufficient smoke volume during the smoking process of the cigarette stick. The insufficient smoke volume is mainly due to: (1) The reconstituted tobacco sheet used as the smoking section requires a certain processing strength during the filling process, which also results in a small amount of added flavor and smoking agent; (2) The reconstituted tobacco sheet after adding flavor and smoking agent also needs to go through multiple high-temperature treatment processes, resulting in serious volatilization of the added flavor and smoking agent; (3) Since the reconstituted tobacco sheets are closely arranged in the smoking section, a large amount of the smoke generated at the front end of the smoking section far from the filter tip section will be intercepted at the back end.

[0005] In addition, due to the need to meet the insertion of the central heating rod for the central heating type heat-not-burn cigarette, it is necessary to adopt an orderly arrangement of tobacco shreds, and normal circumferential heating cigarettes cannot be used on central heating smoking devices; for circumferential heating heat-not-burn cigarettes, since they are directly heated on the cigarette paper, the paper paste smell in the smoke is prominent.

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is proposed. Summary of the Invention

[0007] In order to solve at least one of the above problems, the present invention is proposed.

[0008] In the first aspect of the present invention, a solid gel smoke stick is provided. The smoke stick has a rod-shaped structure with an outer wall and a core. The outer wall of the smoke stick is beeswax, and the core of the smoke stick is a gel containing a smoke agent.

[0009] Preferably, the gel further contains a fragrance substance, and the thickness of the beeswax wall is 1 - 2 mm.

[0010] Preferably, the smoke stick is a cylinder.

[0011] The smoke agent can be selected from propylene glycol, glycerol, etc.

[0012] In the second aspect of the present invention, a cigarette containing the solid gel smoke stick according to any one of the first aspect is provided.

[0013] Preferably, the cigarette includes a smoking section, and the smoke stick is arranged in the smoking section.

[0014] The smoking section has a hollow cylinder structure, the inner diameter of which is equal to or slightly larger than the outer diameter of the smoke stick, and the length of which is equal to or slightly larger than the length of the smoke stick, so that the smoke stick can be loaded and fixed therein.

[0015] Preferably, the smoking section is a hollow paper tube section, and the side wall thereof includes an outer layer and an inner layer. The outer layer is a paper layer, and the inner layer is a metal foil layer.

[0016] The metal foil layer can be selected from an aluminum foil layer or a tin foil layer.

[0017] Preferably, the upstream end of the paper tube section is sealed or open, and the downstream end is open.

[0018] The outer layer of the sealing layer at the upstream end of the paper tube section is a paper layer, and the inner layer is a metal foil layer. Sealing method: The material of the paper tube section can be directly used as the sealing layer.

[0019] When the upstream end of the paper tube section is sealed, it can prevent the solid gel smoke stick inside from flowing out of the cigarette after being heated and melted, and polluting the smoking device. When using the central heating method, the heating sheet pierces through the sealing layer at the upstream end of the paper tube section and the outer wall of the smoke stick, and then inserts into the smoke stick.

[0020] Preferably, a hollow support section abuts against the downstream of the paper tube section. The inner diameter of the hollow support section is smaller than the outer diameter of the smoke stick, and the hollow support section limits the position of the smoke stick to prevent it from moving downstream.

[0021] Preferably, ventilation holes are provided on the side wall of the cigarette. The ventilation holes are located downstream of the smoke stick. When sucking, air enters the cigarette through the ventilation holes and mixes with the smoke generated by the heated smoke stick upstream in the hollow support section.

[0022] Preferably, the ventilation holes are provided on the side wall of the hollow support section.

[0023] Preferably, the length of the hollow support section is 5 - 10 mm, and ventilation holes are provided 3 - 5 mm away from the downstream end of the paper tube section. The inner diameter of the hollow support section is 2 mm smaller than the inner diameter of the paper tube section.

[0024] Preferably, the downstream of the hollow support section abuts against the filter section. The filter section can be a filter used in conventional heat - not - burn cigarettes, which can be a PLA tow or a cellulose acetate tow with a relatively low draw resistance.

[0025] The third aspect of the present invention provides a preparation method of a solid - state gel smoking rod including any one of the solid - state gel smoking rods described in the first aspect, which comprises the following steps:

[0026] (1) Make a barrel - shaped container with one end open from beeswax;

[0027] (2) Inject the gel into the barrel - shaped container obtained in step (1);

[0028] (3) Seal the barrel - shaped container filled with the gel obtained in step (2) with beeswax, and after cooling, obtain the solid - state gel smoking rod.

[0029] In the present invention, the flow direction of the smoke in the cigarette is defined as from upstream to downstream.

[0030] The above - mentioned technical solutions can be freely combined on the premise of no contradiction.

[0031] The present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0032] 1. In existing heat - not - burn cigarettes, the smoking section is generally filled with reconstituted tobacco sheets. The present invention first fills the smoking rod formed by surrounding the gel with an outer wall into the smoking section of a heat - not - burn cigarette. The solid - state gel smoking rod is not a reconstituted tobacco sheet, so the addition amounts of the smoking agent and flavoring agents in the smoking section are not limited. The total amount of the smoking agent and flavoring agents added in the smoking section of the present invention is 5 - 7 times that in the reconstituted tobacco sheet under the same weight, which can perfectly solve the problem of insufficient addition amounts of the smoking agent and flavoring agents caused by the limitation of processing intensity in the reconstituted tobacco sheet. At the same time, the solid - state gel smoking rod prepared by the present invention can be directly used for the manufacture of cigarette sticks without going through multiple high - temperature treatment processes, avoiding serious volatilization of the added spices and smoking agent and less loss of volatile components.

[0033] 2. The preparation method of the solid gel smoke stick described in the present invention adopts the melting and solidifying method or the die pressing method, with low loss during the manufacturing process and a simple preparation method. After heating, the gel core and at least part of the beeswax outer wall melt and vaporize to generate smoke. The central air flow channel is smooth, and there is no obvious substance that intercepts the smoke in the smoke-generating section. Therefore, compared with the smoke-generating section of the reconstituted tobacco sheet, the amount of smoke is larger. The beeswax outer wall also provides a certain fragrance atmosphere at the same time.

[0034] 3. When the cigarette containing the solid gel smoke stick described in the present invention is smoked, the air serving as the carrier gas enters from the rear end of the atomization, that is, the rear end of the smoke stick, without going through the heating process of the front section. Therefore, the cooling effect of the outside air on the smoke is better.

[0035] 4. The smoke agent and the essence and flavor in the solid gel smoke stick described in the present invention exist in a gel state, rather than adding the smoke agent and the essence and flavor externally on the prepared reconstituted tobacco sheet in the prior art. The flavoring process is simpler and more uniform, which can greatly reduce the difficulty and reduce the design cost. And it maximally avoids the volatilization waste during the process of adding the smoke agent and the essence and flavor externally on the reconstituted tobacco sheet.

[0036] 5. The cigarette containing the solid gel smoke stick described in the present invention can be smoked by two heating methods: central and circumferential, without being restricted by the smoking device.

[0037] 6. The smoke stick and the cigarette containing the smoke stick of the present invention, compared with the heat-not-burn cigarette stick of the prior art, whether it is used for a central heating or a circumferential heating smoking device, the amount of smoke is significantly increased, the satisfaction is improved, the burning sensation of the smoke is significantly reduced, the amount of aroma is significantly increased, and no miscellaneous odor is generated. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of the cigarette containing the solid gel smoke stick in Embodiment 1.

[0039] Figure 2 It is a schematic structural diagram of the solid gel smoke stick in Embodiment 1.

[0040] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the smoke air flow when the cigarette in Embodiment 1 is heated.

[0041] Reference Signs:

[0042] 1 - smoke-generating section, 11 - smoke stick, 2 - hollow support section, 21 - ventilation hole, 3 - filter section, 4 - outer wall, 5 - core, 6 - air flow, 7 - gel atomization air flow, 67 - mixed air flow, 8 - final smoke air flow. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0043] The content of the present invention will be further described below through specific embodiments.

[0044] Example 1

[0045] The solid gel smoke stick 11 of this example has a cylindrical structure. The outer wall 4 is beeswax, and the core part 5 in the middle is a gel mixed with a smoke agent and a fragrance mixture. The thickness of the beeswax wall is 1 mm.

[0046] The preparation method of the solid gel smoke stick 11 of this example includes the following steps:

[0047] (1) Use the melting and solidifying method to make a barrel-shaped container with one end open from beeswax;

[0048] (2) Inject the prepared smoke agent and fragrance gel mixture into the barrel-shaped beeswax container obtained in step (1);

[0049] (3) Seal the barrel-shaped container filled with the gel mixture obtained in step (2) with beeswax. After cooling, a single solid gel smoke stick 11 is obtained.

[0050] A cigarette containing the above solid gel smoke stick 11: The cigarette is composed of a smoke section 1, a hollow support section 2, and a filter section 3 that are abutted in sequence from upstream to downstream. The smoke stick 11 is arranged in the smoke section 1.

[0051] The smoke section 1 has a hollow cylindrical structure. Its inner diameter is equal to the outer diameter of the smoke stick 11, and its length is equal to the length of the smoke stick 11, which can hold and fix the smoke stick 11 therein. The smoke section 1 is a hollow paper tube section. Its side wall includes an outer layer and an inner layer. The outer layer is a paper layer, and the inner layer is an aluminum foil layer. The upstream end of the paper tube section is sealed, and the downstream end is open.

[0052] The inner diameter of the hollow support section 2 is smaller than the outer diameter of the smoke stick 11. The hollow support section 2 restricts the position of the smoke stick 11 to prevent it from moving downstream.

[0053] Two symmetrical ventilation holes 21 are provided on the side wall of the hollow support section 2. When sucking, air enters the cigarette from the ventilation holes 21 and mixes with the smoke generated by the upstream smoke stick 11 being heated in the hollow support section 2. The length of the hollow support section 2 is 5 mm, and ventilation holes 21 are provided 3 mm away from the downstream end of the paper tube section. The inner diameter of the hollow support section 2 is 2 mm smaller than the inner diameter of the paper tube section.

[0054] The filter section 3 uses cellulose acetate tow.

[0055] The preparation method of the cigarette containing the solid gel smoke stick 11 is as follows:

[0056] Insert the solid gel smoking stick 11 of this embodiment into the paper tube section from the downstream end of the paper tube section, and then abut and combine the paper tube section, the hollow support section 2, and the filter section 3 in sequence from upstream to downstream and roll and connect them into a heat-not-burn cigarette stick, which is called cigarette stick sample 1.

[0057] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the cigarette stick structure of Example 1 including the solid gel smoking stick 11 described above. Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the solid gel smoking stick 11 of Example 1. Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the smoke airflow when the cigarette stick of Example 1 is heated. When the cigarette stick is heated, the outer wall 4 and the core 5 of the solid gel smoking stick 11 melt and vaporize to generate a gel atomization airflow 7. When the user smokes the cigarette stick, the external air flow 6 enters the cigarette stick from the ventilation holes 2121. Inside the hollow support section 22, the external air flow 6 and the gel atomization airflow 7 are mixed to form a mixed airflow 67, and then the airflow enters the filter section 33 to be further cooled and filtered, and finally the smoke airflow 8 is sucked by the user.

[0058] Example 2

[0059] The solid gel smoking stick 11 of this Example 2 is in a cylindrical structure, its outer wall 4 is beeswax, and the gel mixed with a smoke agent and a flavor mixture is stored in the middle as the core 5, and the thickness of the beeswax wall is 2 mm.

[0060] The preparation method of the solid gel smoking stick 11 of this embodiment includes the following steps:

[0061] (1) Use the die pressing method to make the beeswax into a barrel-shaped container with one end open;

[0062] (2) Inject the prepared smoke agent and flavor gel mixture into the barrel-shaped beeswax container obtained in step (1);

[0063] (3) Seal the barrel-shaped container filled with the gel mixture obtained in step (2) with beeswax, and after cooling, obtain a single solid gel smoking stick 11.

[0064] According to the cigarette stick preparation method of Example 1, combine the solid gel smoking stick 11 of this Example 2 with the paper tube section, the hollow support section 2, and the filter section 3 to manufacture a heat-not-burn cigarette stick, which is called cigarette stick sample 2.

[0065] Among them, the inner layer of the paper tube section of cigarette stick sample 2 is an aluminum foil layer, the length of the hollow support section 2 is 10 mm, and 2 symmetrical ventilation holes 21 are provided at a distance of 5 mm from the paper tube section, and their inner diameter is 2 mm smaller than the inner diameter of the paper tube section.

[0066] Example 3

[0067] The solid gel smoke stick 11 of this Embodiment 3 has a cylindrical structure. Its outer wall 4 is made of beeswax, and a gel mixed with a smoke agent and a fragrance mixture is stored in the middle as the core 5. The thickness of the beeswax wall is 1.5 mm.

[0068] The preparation method of the solid gel smoke stick 11 of this embodiment includes the following steps:

[0069] (1) Use the melting and solidifying method to make a barrel-shaped container with one end open from beeswax;

[0070] (2) Inject the prepared smoke agent and fragrance gel mixture into the barrel-shaped beeswax container obtained in step (1);

[0071] (3) Seal the barrel-shaped container filled with the gel mixture obtained in step (2) with beeswax. After cooling, a single solid gel smoke stick 11 is obtained.

[0072] The solid gel smoke stick 11 of this embodiment is combined with a paper tube section, a hollow support section 2, and a filter section 3 to manufacture a heat-not-burn cigarette rod, which is called cigarette rod sample 3.

[0073] Among them, the inner layer of the paper tube section is a tin foil layer; the length of the hollow support section 2 is 7 mm, and 2 symmetrical ventilation holes 21 are provided 4 mm away from the paper tube section. The inner diameter of the hollow support section 2 is 2 mm smaller than the inner diameter of the paper tube section.

[0074] Embodiment 4

[0075] The solid gel smoke stick 11 of this Embodiment 4 has a cylindrical structure. Its outer wall 4 is made of beeswax, and a gel mixed with a smoke agent and a fragrance mixture is stored in the middle as the core 5. The thickness of the beeswax wall is 1.7 mm.

[0076] The preparation method of the solid gel smoke stick 11 of this embodiment includes the following steps:

[0077] (1) Use the die pressing method to make a barrel-shaped container with one end open from beeswax;

[0078] (2) Inject the prepared smoke agent and fragrance gel mixture into the barrel-shaped beeswax container obtained in step (1);

[0079] (3) Seal the barrel-shaped container filled with the gel mixture obtained in step (2) with beeswax. After cooling, a single solid gel smoke stick 11 is obtained.

[0080] The solid gel smoke stick 11 of this Embodiment 4 is combined with a paper tube section, a hollow support section 2, and a filter section 3 to manufacture a heat-not-burn cigarette rod, which is called cigarette rod sample 4.

[0081] The inner layer of the paper tube section is a tin foil layer; the hollow support section 2 is 8 mm long, and two symmetrical ventilation holes 21 are provided at a distance of 3.5 mm from the paper tube section. The inner diameter of the hollow support section 2 is 2 mm smaller than that of the paper tube section.

[0082] Except for the differences clearly stated, the other conditions and parameters of the above cigarette sample 1, cigarette sample 2, cigarette sample 3 and cigarette sample 4 are the same.

[0083] Conventional heat-not-burn cigarettes of the same size as cigarette sample 1, cigarette sample 2, cigarette sample 3, and cigarette sample 4 are selected as cigarette comparison samples, and the smoking segment 1 of the cigarette comparison samples is filled with reconstituted tobacco leaf slices.

[0084] Table 1 Sensory evaluation results of different cigarette samples in center-heated smoking devices

[0085]

[0086] Table 2 Sensory evaluation results of different cigarette samples in circumferentially heated smoking utensils

[0087]

[0088] The control cigarette, sample 1, sample 2, sample 3, and sample 4 were inserted into the heat-not-burn cigarette smoking utensils with matching sizes and central and circumferential heating methods, and smoked. According to the national standard "Technical Requirements for Sensory Function" (GB5606.4-2005), multiple sensory evaluation personnel conducted sensory evaluation on the cigarettes, mainly examining the four indicators of cigarette smoke volume, smoke burning sensation, miscellaneous odor and aroma volume. Among them, the smoke volume, smoke burning sensation and aroma volume were scored, respectively: smoke volume 0-10 points, smoke burning sensation 0-10 points, aroma volume 0-10 points, where the higher the score, the stronger the feeling of the evaluation indicator during the smoking process; miscellaneous odor was evaluated in a descriptive way. The sensory evaluation of five different cigarette samples is shown in Tables 1 and 2.

[0089] It can be seen from Table 1 and Table 2 that the smoke rod 11 of the present invention and the cigarette containing the smoke rod 11 have significantly increased smoke volume, increased satisfaction, significantly reduced burning sensation of smoke, significantly increased aroma volume, and no impurities are generated, whether used for central heating or circumferential heating smoking devices, compared with the heat-not-burn cigarettes of the prior art.

[0090] The above is only a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention, which should be included in the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A cigarette containing a solid gel smoke stick, characterized in that, the cigarette includes a smoking section, and the solid gel smoke stick is arranged in the smoking section; the smoke stick is a rod-shaped structure with an outer wall and a core, the outer wall of the smoke stick is beeswax, and the core of the solid gel smoke stick is a gel containing a smoke agent; the gel also contains a flavoring substance, and the thickness of the beeswax wall is 1-2 mm; the smoking section is a hollow paper tube section, and its side wall includes an outer layer and an inner layer, the outer layer is a paper layer, and the inner layer is a metal foil layer; the upstream end of the paper tube section is sealed or open, and the downstream end is open.

2. The cigarette according to claim 1, characterized in that, a hollow support section is abutted against the downstream of the paper tube section, and the inner diameter of the hollow support section is smaller than the outer diameter of the smoke stick.

3. The cigarette according to claim 2, characterized in that, ventilation holes are provided on the side wall of the cigarette, and the ventilation holes are located downstream of the smoke stick.

4. The cigarette according to claim 3, characterized in that, the ventilation holes are provided on the side wall of the hollow support section.

5. The preparation method of the solid gel smoke stick in the cigarette containing the solid gel smoke stick according to claim 1, characterized in that, comprises the following steps: (1) Make a barrel-shaped container with one end open from beeswax; (2) Inject the gel into the barrel-shaped container obtained in step (1); (3) Seal the barrel-shaped container filled with the gel obtained in step (2) with beeswax, and after cooling, obtain the solid gel smoke stick.

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