Smoking section, cigarette, use and method of using for increasing the inhalation resistance and smoke volume of cigarette

Abstract

The present invention belongs to the technical field of heat-not-burn cigarettes, and particularly relates to a smoking segment that increases the draw resistance and smoke volume of cigarettes, a cigarette containing the same, and its preparation. The outer surface of the smoking segment has a threaded groove extending along its axial direction. In order to reduce the empty feeling and insufficient smoke volume of existing cigarettes, the present invention designs a smoking segment with a threaded groove on the outer surface, and the smoking segment has two structures, hollow and solid, which are respectively suitable for central heating and circumferential heating. Under the two heating methods, the channels for smoke and external air flow are the threaded grooves on the outer surface of the smoking segment. This threaded air path can effectively increase the draw resistance and reduce the empty feeling during inhalation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of heat-not-burn cigarettes, and particularly relates to a smoking segment for increasing the inhalation resistance and smoke volume of a cigarette, a cigarette containing the smoking segment, the use of the cigarette, and a method for using the smoking segment. Background Art

[0002] With the improvement of living standards, people pay more and more attention to their own health problems. In recent years, the health issues of smoking have attracted much attention. In order to meet the changing consumer demand, major domestic and foreign companies have developed various completely hollow tobacco products to replace traditional cigarettes. Among these growing completely hollow tobacco products, electronic cigarettes and heat-not-burn cigarettes are the best.

[0003] As an expanded application of electronic products in the tobacco industry, the advantage of e-cigarettes is that the taste of the smoke is highly variable and can be arbitrarily controlled by adjusting the composition of the smoke oil. However, since the smoke is mainly produced by electronic atomizers, its taste, especially the heat sensation, is still different from that of traditional cigarettes that produce smoke by heating, and old smokers have poor acceptance.

[0004] Heat-not-burn cigarettes are cigarettes that produce smoke from the smoking section of heated cigarettes. The smoke produced by them has a good taste acceptance. Currently, the heat-not-burn cigarettes on the market mainly include a smoking core material section, a hollow support section, a cooling section and a filter section. The smoking core material section is a reconstituted tobacco leaf sheet filled in an orderly or disorderly manner. When the reconstituted tobacco leaf sheet is heated, the flavors and smoke-generating agents loaded thereon are evaporated to produce smoke. However, there are some problems with existing heat-not-burn cigarettes, such as the cooling section is prone to deformation and the smoke temperature is overheated. In response to this, we designed "a rod-shaped smoking section, a preparation method thereof, and a cigarette containing it" (patent application number: 201920751936.6). However, in subsequent experiments, we found that this design also has some defects: (1) The air path is too short, resulting in too little inhalation resistance of the cigarette, especially in the case of circumferential heating, which can easily make consumers feel that the cigarette is empty, affecting the smoking experience of the product; (2) The length of the axially extended cavity and groove is too short, which is not conducive to the atomization release of the smoke-generating agent, resulting in a small amount of smoke.

[0005] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is proposed. Summary of the invention

[0006] A first aspect of the present invention provides a smoking segment for increasing the draw resistance and smoke volume of a heat-not-burn cigarette, wherein the outer surface of the smoking segment has a thread groove extending along the axial direction thereof.

[0007] Preferably, the axial extension length of the thread groove is the entire length of the smoking section.

[0008] Preferably, the number of the thread grooves is N, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0009] Preferably, the cross-section of the thread groove is selected from a "U" shape, a "V" shape, or an arc shape.

[0010] Preferably, more than one of the thread grooves are staggered on the outer surface of the smoking section.

[0011] During suction, the thread grooves act as air flow channels.

[0012] Preferably, the depth of the thread groove is 0.5-2 mm.

[0013] Preferably, the smoking section is a solid or hollow cylinder. More preferably, when the smoking section is a hollow cylinder, the side wall of the cylinder has at least one radial airflow channel that penetrates radially, and the radial airflow channel is in airflow communication with the threaded groove. For example, the outer port of the radial airflow channel is located inside the groove of the threaded groove.

[0014] Preferably, the smoking segment comprises: a smoking substrate, a filler, a smoking agent, and a flavoring.

[0015] A second aspect of the present invention provides a cigarette comprising the smoking segment according to the first aspect.

[0016] The third aspect of the present invention provides use of the cigarette according to the second aspect for increasing the draw resistance and smoke volume of the cigarette.

[0017] The fourth aspect of the present invention provides a method for preparing the smoking segment described in the first aspect, the preparation method comprising the following steps: passing the formed smoking segment through a rotating grooved ring to form spiral grooves on its surface, thereby obtaining the smoking segment described in claim 1.

[0018] Preferably, if staggered grooves need to be formed, one or more groove rings need to be added after the above groove ring.

[0019] The above-mentioned formed smoking segment can be selected from conventional smoking segments of heat-not-burn cigarettes. Herein, a method for preparing the above-mentioned smoking segment from the source is provided as follows:

[0020] (1) crushing the smoke-generating base material into powder to obtain a powdered smoke-generating base material;

[0021] (2) mixing the powdered smoke-generating base material obtained in step (1) with a filler, adding a smoke-generating agent and flavors and fragrances, and stirring and mixing to obtain a smoke-generating segment mixture;

[0022] (3) The smoke-generating segment mixture obtained in step (2) is formed into a cylindrical rod shape by injection molding or compression molding, including solid and hollow shapes.

[0023] (4) passing the bar formed in step (3) directly through a rotating grooved ring to form spiral grooves on its surface;

[0024] (5) If staggered grooves are required, one or more groove rings need to be added after step (5).

[0025] (6) Cutting the rods with grooves engraved in step (4) or (5) into segments, drying, and obtaining smoking segments.

[0026] Preferably, the smoking substrate in step (1) is tobacco leaves, tobacco stems or plant materials that can produce smoking flavor; the filler in step (2) is cellulose or calcium carbonate, and the smoking agent is a single component or a mixture of glycerol or propylene glycol and other smoking agents; the drying time in step (3) is 2-4 hours; and the rotating groove ring in step (4) is a metal rotatable cutter.

[0027] Preferably, based on mass percentage, the smoking substrate accounts for 20%-40% of the smoking segment, the filler accounts for 30%-50% of the smoking segment, the smoking agent accounts for 10%-30% of the smoking segment, and the flavors and fragrances account for 5%-20% of the smoking segment.

[0028] Preferably, the cutting into segments in step (5) can be carried out according to actual needs, and the drying method can be selected by air drying or oven drying, and the drying time can be adjusted according to the actual environment; the smoking segments obtained in step (5) can be selected as qualified products or cut again according to the actual drying shrinkage.

[0029] The fifth aspect of the present invention provides a method for using the smoking segment of the first aspect, when the smoking segment is a hollow cylinder, it is used in a central heating mode, a heating element is inserted into the hollow cavity of the smoking segment, and the threaded groove serves as an airflow channel for smoke and external air flow;

[0030] When the smoke-generating segment is a solid cylinder, it is used in a circumferential heating mode, the heating element wraps the smoke-generating segment from the periphery, and the threaded groove serves as an airflow channel for smoke and external air flow.

[0031] Preferably, when the smoking section is a hollow cylinder, the gap between the inner wall of the smoking section and the heating element is less than 0.5 mm.

[0032] When the central heating method is adopted, the heating element, such as a heating rod / plate, is arranged in the central cavity, and the gap between the inner wall of the cavity and the heating rod / plate is less than 0.5mm. The appropriate gap between the inner wall of the cavity and the heating element can avoid the generation of a large amount of smoke in the central cavity of the smoking section when the gap is too large, and avoid the excessive heating and carbonization of the smoking section when the gap is too small.

[0033] At this time, the thread groove is a common air flow channel for smoke and external air flow.

[0034] This ensures that, regardless of whether the cigarette is used for central heating or circumferential heating, the threaded groove serves as a common airflow channel for smoke and external air flow, effectively increasing the suction resistance and reducing the feeling of emptiness during suction.

[0035] Because, when the smoking section is a hollow cylinder, the side wall of the cylinder has at least one radial airflow channel that runs radially through, and the radial airflow channel is connected to the airflow of the threaded groove. Therefore, even if the smoking section is heated and some smoke is generated in the gap between the inner wall of the smoking section and the heating element, due to the high-speed airflow generated by the user's inhalation at the threaded groove outside the smoking section, the threaded groove is a low-pressure area relative to the air pressure in the gap between the inner wall of the smoking section and the heating element. The smoke in the gap between the inner wall of the smoking section and the heating element will flow radially into the threaded groove along the radial airflow channel under the action of the user's suction force or the pressure difference, and enter the user's oral cavity after mixing with the original airflow at the threaded groove. Therefore, the existence of the radial airflow channel avoids the random diffusion of some smoke generated in the gap between the inner wall of the smoking section and the heating element.

[0036] The above technical solutions can be freely combined under the premise of no contradiction.

[0037] The present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0038] 1. In order to reduce the empty feeling and insufficient smoke volume of existing cigarettes, the present invention designs a smoking segment with a threaded groove on the outer surface, and the smoking segment has two structures, hollow and solid, which are respectively suitable for circumferential heating and central heating. Under the two heating methods, the channels for smoke and external air flow are the threaded grooves on the outer surface of the smoking segment, which is conducive to the full mixing of smoke and external air flow in terms of temperature and pressure. This threaded air path can effectively increase the suction resistance and reduce the empty feeling during suction.

[0039] 2. Compared with existing cigarettes, the present invention uses the threaded groove on the outer surface of the smoking section as a common airflow channel for smoke and external air flow. The air path is increased, the smoking area is effectively increased, the smoking efficiency is improved, and the amount of smoke during inhalation is increased.

[0040] 3. The present invention adopts the method of injection molding or compression molding to prepare the cylindrical smoking section, and then adopts a rotating groove ring to groove the surface, so the loss in the manufacturing process is low and the preparation method is simple. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the smoking section of Example 1.

[0042] Figure 2It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the smoking section of Example 2.

[0043] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the end face structure of the grooved ring of Example 2.

[0044] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the smoking section with radial airflow channel 3 in Example 6.

[0045] Reference numerals:

[0046] 1-smoke generating section, 2-thread groove, 3-radial air flow channel, 4-connecting hole. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] The content of the present invention is further explained below through specific implementation examples.

[0048] Example 1

[0049] A smoking segment for increasing the draw resistance and smoke volume of a heat-not-burn cigarette, wherein the outer surface of the smoking segment 1 has a thread groove 2 with a "U"-shaped cross section extending along its axial direction, the thread groove 2 axially extending to the entire length of the smoking segment 1, and a depth of 0.5 mm.

[0050] The preparation method of the smoking segment 1 described in this embodiment comprises the following steps:

[0051] (1) crushing the smoke-generating base material into powder to obtain a powdered smoke-generating base material;

[0052] (2) mixing the powdered smoke-generating base material obtained in step (1) with a filler, adding a smoke-generating agent and flavors and fragrances, and stirring and mixing to obtain a smoke-generating segment mixture;

[0053] (3) forming the smoke-generating segment mixture obtained in step (2) into a cylindrical rod shape by injection molding or compression molding, including solid and hollow shapes;

[0054] (4) passing the bar formed in step (3) directly through a rotating grooved ring to form a spiral groove on its surface;

[0055] (5) Cut the rod with the grooves carved in step (4) into segments and dry them to obtain a smoking segment 1. The structure of the smoking segment 1 is as follows: Figure 1 shown.

[0056] The smoking substrate in step (1) is tobacco leaves; the filler in step (2) is cellulose, and the smoking agent is glycerol; the drying is performed by air drying for 2 hours; the depth of the groove ring carving knife in step (4) is 0.5 mm.

[0057] Based on mass percentage, the smoking substrate accounts for 20% of the smoking segment, the filler accounts for 50% of the smoking segment, the smoking agent accounts for 10% of the smoking segment, and the flavors and fragrances account for 20% of the smoking segment.

[0058] The solid smoking segment and the hollow smoking segment of this embodiment are respectively combined with a filter segment in the form of a paper tube to manufacture heat-not-burn cigarettes, which are referred to as solid cigarette sample 1 and hollow cigarette sample 1.

[0059] Example 2

[0060] A smoking segment for increasing the draw resistance and smoke volume of a heat-not-burn cigarette, wherein the outer surface of the smoking segment 1 has two thread grooves 2 with a "V"-shaped cross section extending along its axial direction, the thread grooves 2 extending axially for the entire length of the smoking segment 1 and having a depth of 2 mm.

[0061] The preparation method of the smoking segment 1 described in this embodiment comprises the following steps:

[0062] (1) crushing the smoke-generating base material into powder to obtain a powdered smoke-generating base material;

[0063] (2) mixing the powdered smoke-generating base material obtained in step (1) with a filler, adding a smoke-generating agent and flavors and fragrances, and stirring and mixing to obtain a smoke-generating segment mixture;

[0064] (3) forming the smoke-generating segment mixture obtained in step (2) into a cylindrical rod shape by injection molding or compression molding, including solid and hollow shapes;

[0065] (4) passing the bar formed in step (3) directly through a rotating grooved ring to form a spiral groove on its surface;

[0066] (5) The bar formed in step (4) is then passed through a rotating grooved ring to form staggered spiral grooves on its surface;

[0067] (6) Cut the rod with the grooves engraved in step (5) into segments, dry them, and obtain smoking segments 1.

[0068] The structure of the smoke section 1 is as follows Figure 2 As shown, the grooved ring used in this embodiment 2 is as follows Figure 3 shown.

[0069] The smoking substrate in step (1) is tobacco stems; the filler in step (2) is calcium carbonate, and the smoking agent is propylene glycol; the drying is carried out by air drying, and the drying time is 4 hours; the groove ring in step (4) has a carving knife depth of 2 mm.

[0070] Based on mass percentage, the smoking substrate accounts for 40% of the smoking segment, the filler accounts for 30% of the smoking segment, the smoking agent accounts for 25% of the smoking segment, and the flavors and fragrances account for 5% of the smoking segment.

[0071] The solid smoking segment and the hollow smoking segment of this embodiment are respectively combined with a filter segment in the form of a paper tube to manufacture heat-not-burn cigarettes, which are called solid cigarette sample 2 and hollow cigarette sample 2.

[0072] Example 3

[0073] A smoking segment for increasing the draw resistance and smoke volume of a heat-not-burn cigarette, wherein the outer surface of the smoking segment 1 has three arc-shaped thread grooves 2 extending along its axial direction, wherein the axial extension length of the thread grooves 2 is the entire length of the smoking segment 1 and the depth is 1 mm.

[0074] The preparation method of the smoking segment 1 described in this embodiment comprises the following steps:

[0075] (1) crushing the smoke-generating base material into powder to obtain a powdered smoke-generating base material;

[0076] (2) mixing the powdered smoke-generating base material obtained in step (1) with a filler, adding a smoke-generating agent and flavors and fragrances, and stirring and mixing to obtain a smoke-generating segment mixture;

[0077] (3) forming the smoke-generating segment mixture obtained in step (2) into a cylindrical rod shape by injection molding or compression molding, including solid and hollow shapes;

[0078] (4) passing the bar formed in step (3) directly through a rotating grooved ring to form a spiral groove on its surface;

[0079] (5) The bar formed in step (4) is passed through two identical rotating grooved rings to form staggered spiral grooves on its surface;

[0080] (6) Cut the rod with the grooves engraved in step (5) into segments, dry them, and obtain smoking segments 1.

[0081] In step (1), the smoking substrate is a mixture of tobacco leaves and tobacco stems; in step (2), the filler is a mixture of cellulose and calcium carbonate, and the smoking agent is a mixture of glycerol and xylitol; in step (3), the drying is carried out by air drying, and the drying time is 3 hours; in step (4), the groove ring has a carving knife depth of 1 mm.

[0082] Based on mass percentage, the smoking substrate accounts for 20% of the smoking segment, the filler accounts for 40% of the smoking segment, the smoking agent accounts for 30% of the smoking segment, and the flavors and fragrances account for 10% of the smoking segment.

[0083] The solid smoking segment and the hollow smoking segment of this embodiment are respectively combined with a filter segment in the form of a paper tube to manufacture heat-not-burn cigarettes, which are called solid cigarette sample 3 and hollow cigarette sample 3.

[0084] Example 4

[0085] A smoking segment that increases the draw resistance and smoke volume of a heat-not-burn cigarette. The outer surface of the smoking segment 1 has four U-shaped thread grooves 2 extending along its axial direction. The axial extension length of the thread grooves 2 is the entire length of the smoking segment 1 and the depth is 1.5 mm.

[0086] The preparation method of the smoking segment 1 described in this embodiment comprises the following steps:

[0087] (1) crushing the smoke-generating base material into powder to obtain a powdered smoke-generating base material;

[0088] (2) mixing the powdered smoke-generating base material obtained in step (1) with a filler, adding a smoke-generating agent and flavors and fragrances, and stirring and mixing to obtain a smoke-generating segment mixture;

[0089] (3) forming the smoke-generating segment mixture obtained in step (2) into a cylindrical rod shape by injection molding or compression molding, including solid and hollow shapes;

[0090] (4) passing the bar formed in step (3) directly through a rotating grooved ring to form a spiral groove on its surface;

[0091] (5) The bar formed in step (4) is passed through three identical rotating grooved rings to form staggered spiral grooves on its surface;

[0092] (6) Cut the rod with the grooves engraved in step (5) into segments, dry them, and obtain smoking segments 1.

[0093] In step (1), the smoking substrate is a mixture of tobacco leaves and mint leaves; in step (2), the filler is a mixture of cellulose and calcium carbonate, and the smoking agent is glycerol; in step (3), the drying is carried out by air drying, and the drying time is 2 hours; in step (4), the groove ring has a carving depth of 1.5 mm.

[0094] Based on mass percentage, the smoking substrate accounts for 30% of the smoking segment, the filler accounts for 50% of the smoking segment, the smoking agent accounts for 15% of the smoking segment, and the flavors and fragrances account for 5% of the smoking segment.

[0095] The solid smoking segment and the hollow smoking segment of this embodiment are respectively combined with a filter segment in the form of a paper tube to manufacture heat-not-burn cigarettes, which are referred to as solid cigarette sample 4 and hollow cigarette sample 4.

[0096] Example 5

[0097] The thread groove 2 of hollow cigarette sample 1, hollow cigarette sample 2, hollow cigarette sample 3, and hollow cigarette sample 4 were replaced with axially extending straight grooves of equal depth and width, and the obtained smoking segments were combined with filter segments in the form of paper tubes in the manner of Examples 1-4 to manufacture heat-not-burn cigarettes, referred to as cigarette comparison samples 1-4, that is, except for the shape of the smoking segment groove, other factors were the same. (The same as the cigarette described in "A rod-shaped smoking segment and its preparation method and cigarette containing the same" (patent application number: 201920751936.6))

[0098] The cigarette comparison samples 1-4, hollow cigarette sample 1, hollow cigarette sample 2, hollow cigarette sample 3, and hollow cigarette sample 4 are inserted into the heat-not-burn cigarette smoking device of the central heating method with matching size for smoking. Then, the cigarette comparison samples 1-4, solid cigarette sample 1, solid cigarette sample 2, solid cigarette sample 3, and solid cigarette sample 4 are inserted into the heat-not-burn cigarette smoking device of the circumferential heating method with matching size for smoking. When the circumferential and central heating methods are adopted, the smoking methods of the cigarette comparison samples respectively adopt the method described in paragraph 0023 of the specification of patent application number: 201920751936.6.

[0099] According to the national standard "Technical Requirements for Sensory Quality" (GB5606.4-2005), multiple sensory evaluation personnel conducted sensory evaluation on cigarettes, mainly examining the three indicators of smoke volume, smoking experience and aroma volume. The scoring values ​​of the three quality inspection indicators are: 0-10 points for smoke volume, 0-10 points for smoking experience, and 0-10 points for aroma volume. The higher the score, the stronger the feeling of the evaluation indicator during the smoking process. The sensory evaluation scores of 8 different cigarette samples are shown in Tables 1 and 2.

[0100] It can be seen from Tables 1 and 2 that the two types of cigarettes designed for the circumferential heating method and the central heating method of the present invention have significantly improved smoke volume, aroma volume and smoking experience compared with the cigarette control sample.

[0101] When the cigarette comparison samples 1-4 are smoked, there is an obvious sense of emptying, and the inhalation resistance is not enough. The hollow cigarette sample of the present invention has no sense of emptying, and the inhalation resistance is comfortable.

[0102] In addition, in Example 4 of the present invention, adding mint leaves during the preparation of the smoking section can also make the smoke have a minty cooling feeling, and the burning sensation of the smoke is also significantly reduced.

[0103] Table 1 Sensory evaluation results of cigarette samples with different circumferential heating methods

[0104]

[0105]

[0106] Table 2 Sensory evaluation results of cigarette samples with different central heating methods

[0107]

[0108] Example 6

[0109] See Figure 4 A smoking segment for increasing the draw resistance and smoke volume of a heat-not-burn cigarette, which is different from the smoking segment 1 of Example 1 in that: the smoking segment 1 is a hollow cylinder, and the side wall of the cylinder has three radial airflow channels 3 that penetrate radially, and the radial airflow channels 3 are in airflow communication with the thread groove 2 at the connecting hole 4. The connecting hole 4 is located inside the groove of the thread groove 2.

[0110] 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 smoking section for increasing the draw resistance and smoke volume of a heat-not-burn cigarette, It is characterized in that The outer surface of the smoking section has a thread groove extending along the axial direction thereof; The axial extension length of the thread groove is the entire length of the smoking section; The smoke-generating section is a solid or hollow cylinder; When the smoking section is a hollow cylinder, the side wall of the cylinder has at least one radial airflow channel that penetrates radially, and the radial airflow channel is in airflow communication with the thread groove.

2. The smoking segment according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The number of the thread grooves is N, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1, and more than one of the thread grooves are interlaced with each other on the outer surface of the smoking section.

3. The smoking segment according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The cross-section of the thread groove is selected from a "U" shape, a "V" shape, or an arc shape.

4. A cigarette comprising the smoking segment of claim 1.

5. Use of the cigarette according to claim 4 for increasing the draw resistance and smoke volume of the cigarette.

6. A method for using the smoking segment according to claim 1, It is characterized in that When the smoking section is a hollow cylinder, it is used in a central heating mode, the heating element is inserted into the hollow cavity of the smoking section, and the threaded groove serves as an airflow channel for smoke and external air flow; When the smoke-generating segment is a solid cylinder, it is used in a circumferential heating mode, the heating element wraps the smoke-generating segment from the periphery, and the threaded groove serves as an airflow channel for smoke and external air flow.

7. The method for using the smoking segment according to claim 6, It is characterized in that When the smoking section is a hollow cylinder, the gap between the inner wall of the smoking section and the heating element is less than 0.5 mm.

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