Rod for flavor producing article, flavor producing article, and method of producing rod for flavor producing article

Abstract

A rod for a flavor producing article according to the present invention comprises: a sheet material that has been subjected to a folding process from a direction intersecting the axial direction of the rod and formed into a rod shape; and a large number of tongue pieces that are provided in the sheet material and are respectively formed by penetrating slits that do not have a circular shape.

Description

Rod for flavored product, flavored product, and method for manufacturing rod for flavored product

[0001] The present invention relates to a rod for a flavored product, a flavored product, and a method for manufacturing a rod for a flavored product.

[0002] For example, a rod such as a filter segment for a flavor product is formed to adjust the performance, such as the filtration rate, of a fluid flowing from the flavor generating segment through the filter segment to a user. In this case, the rod such as the filter segment is arranged by connecting a plurality of filter materials with different performance in the direction of fluid flow, thereby adjusting the filtration rate, etc. of the fluid.

[0003] International Publication No. 2019 / 106625 International Publication No. 2021 / 246310

[0004] An object of the present invention is to provide a rod for a flavored product, a flavored product, and a method for manufacturing a rod for a flavored product, which are capable of adjusting the amount of fluid filtration, etc.

[0005] A rod for flavored product according to one aspect of the present invention comprises a sheet material formed into a rod shape by folding it in a direction intersecting the axial direction of the rod, and a number of tongues each formed by a non-circular through-slit portion provided in the sheet material.

[0006] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a flavor product according to a first embodiment;

[0023] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a portion of a sheet material for forming a filter assembly (rod assembly) that is the basis for the filter segment (rod segment) of the flavor product shown in FIG. 1;

[0024] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a through-slit portion (tongue) formed in a portion of the sheet material shown in FIG. 2;

[0025] FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which the sheet material shown in FIG. 2 has been subjected to a folding process, with a portion of the tongue deviating and rising from the surface of the holeless region of the sheet material;

[0026] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a filter segment as seen from the direction indicated by arrow IVB in FIG. 1;

[0027] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a filter assembly that is the basis for the filter segment of the flavor product according to the first embodiment;

[0028] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a sheet material is arranged between crepe rollers in the creping section (crimping section) of the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 6A;

[0029] FIG. 7B is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the distance between the rotation axes of the crepe rollers in the creping section is narrowed compared to the state shown in FIG. 6A;

[0029] FIG. 7C is a schematic perspective view showing upper and lower rollers of the slit portion of the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 7A;

[0029] FIG. 7D is a schematic view showing a flexible sheet magnetically attached to the upper roller of the slit portion shown in FIG. 10A and 10B are schematic cross-sectional views taken along line 7C-7C of FIG. 7B. A schematic perspective view showing an example of rollers above and below the slit of the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 5, different from that shown in FIG. 7A. A schematic view showing an example of a cut end made by a cut portion for a through-slit of the sheet material shown in FIG. 2 when a rod is unfolded as a sheet material. A schematic view showing an example of a cut end made by a cut portion for a through-slit arranged in an orientation rotated 90° with respect to the sheet material from that shown in FIGS. 2 and 9A. A schematic block diagram of an optical inspection device of the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 5. A schematic view showing the state of a filter assembly when optical transparency is inspected with the optical inspection device shown in FIG. 10. A schematic view showing a state in which a sheet material formed as a rod is folded into an Archimedes' spiral. A schematic view showing a state in which a sheet material formed as a rod is folded into a Fermat's spiral. A schematic view showing an example in which through-slits of a unicursal through-slit intersect. A schematic view showing another example of the through-slit shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. A schematic view showing another example of the through-slit shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram showing another example of the through cut portion shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram showing another example of the through cut portion shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram showing another example of the through cut portion shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3.28A is a schematic diagram showing another example of the through-slit shown in Figures 2 and 3. 28B is a schematic diagram showing another example of the through-slit shown in Figures 2 and 3. 28C is a schematic diagram showing another example of the through-slit shown in Figures 2 and 3. 28D is a schematic diagram showing another example of the through-slit shown in Figures 2 and 3. 28E is a schematic diagram showing another example of the through-slit shown in Figures 2 and 3. 28F is a schematic diagram showing another example of the sheet material having the through-slit shown in Figure 2. 28G is a schematic diagram showing a sheet material having the through-slit according to a first modified example of the first embodiment. 28H is a schematic diagram showing a flavored product according to a second modified example of the first embodiment. 28I is a schematic diagram showing a flavored product according to a third modified example of the first embodiment. 28I is a schematic diagram showing another example of the flavored product according to the third modified example of the first embodiment. 28I is a schematic diagram showing a flavored product according to the second embodiment. 28I is a schematic diagram showing a part of a sheet material for forming a filter assembly (rod assembly) from which the filter segment (rod segment) of the flavored product shown in Figure 27 is formed. 28I is a schematic diagram showing a through-slit (tongue) formed in the part of the sheet material shown in Figure 28A. Fig. 28 is a schematic diagram of a filter segment as viewed from the direction indicated by arrow XXIX in Fig. 27. Fig. 29 is a schematic diagram showing a flavored product according to a third embodiment.

[0007] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0008] First Embodiment A first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 24. FIG.

[0009] As shown in FIG. 1, the flavor product 10 includes a flavor generating segment (rod segment) 12, a mouthpiece segment (rod segment) 14 provided downstream of the flavor generating segment 12, and a tipping paper 16 connecting the flavor generating segment 12 and the mouthpiece segment 14.

[0010] The flavor generating segment 12 and the mouthpiece segment 14 are preferably formed as rods having a substantially cylindrical shape (a substantially circular cross section). That is, the flavor generating segment 12 and the mouthpiece segment 14 are each a rod or a rod segment. The filter segment 20, the tip plug 42, the flavor generating section 44, and the like, which will be described later, are also rods or rod segments.

[0011] The flavor product article 10 may be a non-combustion heating type product in which the flavor generating segment 12 is heated without being burned, or a combustion type product in which the flavor generating segment 12 is burned. The flavor product article 10 may also be a non-combustion heating type product.

[0012] The flavor generating segment 12 is formed into a cylindrical rod by wrapping a suitable filling material in wrapping paper. Various filling materials can be used.

[0013] Examples of materials that can be used as fillers for the non-combustion heating flavor generation segment 12 include tobacco shreds and tobacco sheet material. Specifically, tobacco shreds obtained by cutting dried tobacco leaves to widths of 0.8 mm to 1.2 mm may be filled into cigarette paper. Alternatively, dried tobacco leaves may be pulverized and homogenized to an average particle size of approximately 20 μm to 200 μm, processed into a sheet material, and then cut into widths of 0.8 mm to 1.2 mm and filled into cigarette paper. The sheet material may be gathered, folded, or spirally folded without being cut, and then filled into cigarette paper as a rod (a rod for a flavor product product). Examples of spirally folded spirals include Archimedes' spiral (see FIG. 12A) and Fermat's spiral (see FIG. 12B). The sheet material may be cut into strips and filled into cigarette paper concentrically or with the longitudinal direction of the strips parallel to the longitudinal direction of the rods of the flavor generation segment 12. The flavor generating segment 12 may be configured to generate an aerosol upon heating. To promote the generation of the aerosol, it is preferable to add an aerosol source, such as glycerin, propylene glycol, or a polyol such as 1,3-butanediol, as part of the filling. The amount of the aerosol source added is preferably 5% to 50% by weight, more preferably 10% to 30% by weight, based on the dry weight of the filling. In addition, the flavor generating segment 12 may contain a flavoring such as menthol.

[0014] Similar to the filler of the non-combustion heating flavor generation segment 12, the filler of the combustion flavor generation segment 12 can be, for example, tobacco shreds, tobacco sheet material, etc. Specifically, tobacco shreds obtained by cutting dried tobacco leaves to a width of 0.8 mm to 1.2 mm may be filled into the cigarette paper. Alternatively, dried tobacco leaves may be pulverized and homogenized to an average particle size of approximately 20 μm to 200 μm, processed into a sheet material, and then cut into a width of 0.8 mm to 1.2 mm and filled into the cigarette paper. The sheet material may be gathered, folded, or spirally folded without being cut, and then filled into the cigarette paper as a rod (rod for flavor product). The spiral shape of the spiral folding process may be, for example, an Archimedes' spiral (see FIG. 12A) or a Fermat's spiral (see FIG. 12B). The sheet material may be cut into strips and packed into the cigarette paper concentrically or with the longitudinal direction of the strips parallel to the longitudinal direction of the tobacco rod.

[0015] The length of the rod of the flavor generation segment 12 can be set as appropriate. The length of the rod of the flavor generation segment 12 is preferably, for example, 15 mm to 70 mm. The diameter of the rod of the flavor generation segment 12 is approximately constant from the tip end surface 12a (the end surface of the flavor generation segment 12 opposite the mouthpiece end 14b) to the rear end surface 12b, and can be set as appropriate. The diameter of the rod of the flavor generation segment 12 is preferably, for example, 4 mm to 10 mm, and more preferably 6 mm to 8 mm.

[0016] In this embodiment, the mouthpiece segment 14 has a filter segment (rod segment) 20. In this embodiment, the sheet material 30 of the filter segment 20 can be, for example, a cylindrically shaped material such as paper, nonwoven fabric, or resin. The filter segment 20 performs functions such as adjusting the amount of air mixed in when the user inhales aerosols, reducing the smoking taste, and reducing nicotine and tar. The filter segment 20 does not need to have all of these functions. Furthermore, in a non-combustion heating type flavor product 10, which tends to produce fewer flavor components and have a lower tobacco filler filling rate compared to a combustion type flavor product 10, the filter segment 20 can suppress the filtering function while preventing the tobacco filler from falling.

[0017] When the mouthpiece segment 14 is formed as a part of the non-combustion heating type flavor product 10, it may have a cooling segment 46. This will be described later in the third embodiment (see FIG. 30). That is, in this embodiment, the mouthpiece segment 14 and the filter segment 20 are described as being the same.

[0018] The rod length of the mouthpiece segment 14 is preferably, for example, 10 mm to 50 mm, and more preferably 25 mm to 30 mm. The rod diameter of the mouthpiece segment 14 is substantially constant from the front end surface 14a to the rear end surface (suction end) 14b, and is preferably, for example, 4 mm to 10 mm, and more preferably 6 mm to 8 mm.

[0019] The diameter of the flavor generating segment 12 and the diameter of the mouthpiece segment 14 are the same or approximately the same, and the tipping paper 16 is wound around the outer periphery including the rear end surface 12b of the flavor generating segment 12 and the front end surface 14a of the mouthpiece segment 14, with the rear end surface 12b of the flavor generating segment 12 and the front end surface 14a of the mouthpiece segment 14 butted against each other. As a result, a flavor product 10 is formed in which the rods of the flavor generating segment 12 and the rods of the mouthpiece segment 14 are aligned in the axial direction.

[0020] The filter segment 20 includes a filter material 22 and a wrapper 24 that wraps around the outside of the filter material 22 and forms the filter segment 20 into a rod.

[0021] 2, the filter material 22 of the filter segment 20 is formed by processing a sheet material 30 so as to have a large number of non-annular through-slits 32. In this embodiment, for simplicity of explanation, the large number of through-slits 32 are assumed to be of the same size and shape and are arranged at equal intervals.

[0022] 2 defines an XYZ Cartesian coordinate system. The direction along the X axis is the axial direction of the sheet material 30 (the longitudinal direction before cutting) and the conveying direction. The direction along the Y axis is the width direction of the sheet material 30. The direction along the Z axis is the thickness direction of the sheet material 30.

[0023] Furthermore, the number and size of the through cuts 32 along the X-axis direction and the number and size of the through cuts 32 along the Y-axis direction of the sheet material 30 in Figure 2 are shown schematically and can be changed in various ways.

[0024] The non-annular through-slits 32 are formed so that portions thereof remain integral with the sheet material 30, and do not form a closed shape. These through-slits 32 each form a tongue (flap) 33 integral with the sheet material 30. The through-slits 32 are integrally connected to the sheet material 30, but are formed so as to protrude from the surface of the sheet material 30 (holeless region 34) when the sheet material 30 is folded from a flat surface. Therefore, when the sheet material 30 is folded and formed into a rod (a rod for a flavored product), at least a portion of the tongue 33 does not follow the surface of the sheet material 30, and may deviate and protrude from the surface of the sheet material 30 due to the rigidity of the sheet material 30 (the tongue 33) itself.

[0025] 3 shows a state in which the through cut 32 is surrounded by a rectangular or square imaginary frame F. The imaginary frame F is defined so as to circumscribe the through cut 32.

[0026] The through-slit 32 of the sheet material 30 defines an imaginary frame F so as to circumscribe the through-slit 32. In this case, the frame F is an imaginary rectangle of the smallest area circumscribing the tongue piece 33. A pair of sides S1 of the rectangular frame F is preferably defined parallel to the axial direction (longitudinal direction, X-axis direction) of the sheet material 30. The remaining pair of sides S2 of the rectangular frame F is preferably defined parallel to the width direction (Y-axis direction) perpendicular to the axial direction of the sheet material 30. Therefore, it is preferable that one pair of opposing sides S1 of the frame F be arranged along the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction), which is the conveyance direction of the sheet material 30, and the remaining pair of opposing sides S2 be arranged along the width direction (Y-axis direction) perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the sheet material 30. A portion of the through cut 32 is formed along one of a pair of opposing sides S1 of the imaginary frame F, but not along the other of the pair of opposing sides S1. The through cut 32 is formed along both of the other pair of opposing sides S2 of the imaginary frame F. Therefore, the through cut 32 of the sheet material 30 according to this embodiment has a connecting portion (non-cut portion) 33a formed so that the through cut 32 does not extend along the sheet material 30, which connects the sheet material 30 along the longitudinal direction (conveyance direction) of the sheet material 30. That is, the through cut 32 is formed such that the connecting portion 33a with the sheet material 30 remains as a non-cut portion, for example, along the axial direction of the rod. Of the through-slit 32, the connecting portion 33a with the sheet material 30 is formed integrally with the sheet material 30 between both ends 32a, 32b along the other pair of sides S2 of the through-slit 32. In other words, the connecting portion 33a corresponds to a portion where a part of the through-slit 32 is connected to the sheet material 30 in the longitudinal direction. The connecting portion 33a is formed as a base when the tongue piece 33 deviates from the sheet material 30.

[0027] In this embodiment, each of the through-slits 32 of the sheet material 30 is formed as a single-stroke portion, for example, in a substantially U-shape. The longest portion of each of the through-slits 32 is formed to be longer than the length of one diagonal line of the imaginary frame F.

[0028] 2, these through-slits 32 are arranged adjacent to each other or spaced apart at an appropriate distance in the longitudinal direction (axial direction) of the sheet material 30. Furthermore, these through-slits 32 are arranged adjacent to each other or spaced apart at an appropriate distance in the width direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the sheet material 30. These through-slits 32 may be arranged in a zigzag pattern, for example, or may be arranged randomly.

[0029] In this embodiment, the tongue 33 formed by the through-slit 32 is formed in a shape that deviates from the surface of the sheet material 30 and rises up when the sheet material 30 is folded. As shown in FIG. 4A , when the tongue 33 deviates from the surface of the holeless region 34 of the folded sheet material 30 and rises up, an opening of the same shape as the tongue 33 is formed in the deviated and raised portion of the sheet material 30. That is, an opening is formed in the sheet material 30 in a shape formed by the through-slit 32 and the connecting portion 33 a. Then, as shown in FIG. 4B , the folded sheet material 30 is wound by the wrapper 24 and held in a cylindrical rod shape. At this time, the tongue 33 is maintained in a deviated and raised state in all or part of the bent portion of the sheet material 30.

[0030] The filter segments 20 are formed from filter assemblies (rod assemblies) 18, each having a length, for example, four or six times the length of the filter segments 20 to be actually used, by a rod manufacturing apparatus 50 (described later). The filter segments 20 are then formed by cutting the filter assemblies 18 to predetermined lengths at predetermined positions. That is, the filter segments 20 are formed, for example, by cutting in two stages. In the first stage, the filter assemblies 18, which are formed by crimping a continuous sheet material 30 and wrapping it with a wrapper 24, are cut to lengths, for example, four or six times the length of the filter segments 20 to be actually used as part of the flavor product 10. In the second stage, the filter segments 20, each four or six times the desired length, are cut to the length of the filter segments 20 to be actually used as part of the flavor product 10. Thus, by cutting the filter assemblies 18 in the second stage, four or six filter segments 20 are formed from the filter assemblies 18. The cutting of the filter assemblies 18 in the second stage may be performed multiple times.

[0031] As described above, the filter material 22 according to this embodiment is formed by processing the sheet material 30 shown in FIG. 2 . The filter material 22 is formed, for example, by processing a sheet material 30 made of paper, a sheet material made of nonwoven fabric, or a sheet material 30 made of resin. In this embodiment, an example in which the filter material 22 is formed from a sheet material 30 made of paper, i.e., an example in which the filter material 22 is a paper filter, will be described. The paper sheet material 30 is, for example, paper obtained by papermaking from wood pulp. The paper filter is a rod-shaped biodegradable filter in which the paper sheet material 30 is used as the filter material 22 and the outside of the filter material 22 is wrapped with wrapping paper 24, and the paper filter is a highly biodegradable filter.

[0032] The width of the sheet material 30 in the width direction is formed to an appropriate size, for example, between 150 mm and 250 mm. This is adjusted depending on the thickness of the sheet material 30, the diameter of the filter segments 20 to be manufactured, the required density (filling level) of the filter segments 20, and the like. Furthermore, when a tobacco sheet material or a cooling sheet material is used as the sheet material 30, as will be described later, the material, width in the width direction, and thickness of the sheet material 30 are adjusted according to the function.

[0033] 2, in the sheet material 30, through cut portions 32 in which tongue pieces 33 are formed and holeless regions 34 are alternately, i.e., repeatedly, formed along the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction) of the sheet material 30. Segments S, each of which is a pair of one through cut portion 32 and a holeless region 34 adjacent to that through cut portion 32, are repeatedly formed along the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction) of the sheet material 30. The longitudinal direction of the sheet material 30 is the direction along which the through cut portions 32 and the holeless regions 34 are arranged adjacent to each other.

[0034] The width direction (Y-axis direction) of the sheet material 30 is a direction intersecting, and preferably perpendicular to, the direction in which the through-slit portions 32 and the holeless regions 34 are adjacently arranged. In the example shown in Fig. 2, approximately rectangular segments S are arranged along the width direction of the sheet material 30. It is also preferable that the segments S are arranged with a staggered arrangement in the longitudinal direction of the sheet material 30.

[0035] In this embodiment, the length of the rod of the filter segment 20 is defined as the length of one segment S of the sheet material 30, which is, for example, the sum of the length of at least one through-slit portion 32 and the length of at least one holeless region 34. The size of the tongue piece 33 along the longitudinal direction and the size of the tongue piece 33 along the width direction are adjusted based on the diameter and length of the rod of the desired filter segment 20.

[0036] The holeless region 34 of the sheet material 30 is formed as a closed region (section) that has no holes penetrating in the Z-axis direction at any position in the region defined by the longitudinal direction and width direction of the sheet material 30.

[0037] The through cuts 32 form cuts that penetrate the sheet material 30 in the Z-axis direction. Each through cut 32 is formed, for example, with the same shape and size and spaced apart in the width direction. In this embodiment, the multiple through cuts 32 are each formed in a substantially U-shape with the same shape and size and spaced apart in the width direction. The shape of the through cut 32 is, as will be described later, not only a substantially U-shape but also a substantially V-shape, a substantially C-shape, a substantially L-shape, a substantially T-shape, a substantially X-shape, or any other suitable shape (see FIGS. 13 to 23 ).

[0038] Although portions of the through slits 32 may be formed at both widthwise ends of the sheet material 30, it is preferable that no through slits 32 be formed at both widthwise ends of the sheet material 30 to prevent the sheet material 30 from getting caught on, for example, a focusing guide 74 (see FIG. 5 ) of the rod manufacturing apparatus 50 when forming the sheet material 30 into a rod. Furthermore, portions of the through slits 32 may be formed at both longitudinal ends of the sheet material 30, but when the sheet material 30 is used as a filter segment 20, random depressions may occur on the end surface that becomes the mouthpiece of the flavor product 10. For this reason, it is preferable that even if through slits 32 are formed at both longitudinal ends of the sheet material 30, they are cut off and not used, or that no through slits 32 are formed at all.

[0039] The range of the through-slits 32 in the sheet material 30 (the area defined by the through-slits 32 and the connecting portions 33 a) is arbitrary. However, if the size of the through-slits 32 is too large or if there are too many through-slits 32, the strength of the sheet material 30 may be reduced, which may reduce the manufacturability of the sheet material 30 when it is made into rods for the filter segments 20.

[0040] The area inside the cutouts 32 of the sheet material 30 is, for example, about 5% to 70%, and preferably about 10% to 50%, of the area of ​​the region defined by the longitudinal and width directions of the sheet material 30 when the sheet material 30 is unfolded. The lower limit of the area inside the cutouts 32 (whether the cutouts 32 leave a large area of ​​the solid portion of the sheet material 30) can vary depending on the level of low filtration desired by the manufacturer of the filter segment 20. The upper limit of the cutout area of ​​the cutouts 32 (whether the cutouts 32 reduce the area of ​​the solid portion of the sheet material 30) can vary depending on the level of filtration desired by the manufacturer of the filter segment 20 and on manufacturing suitability.

[0041] In the longitudinal direction of the rod of the filter segment 20, the length ratio between the holeless region 34 and the through slits 32 is adjusted as appropriate, for example, in the range of 1:5 to 5:1, or in the range of 2:3 to 3:2. The length ratio between the holeless region 34 and the through slits 32 may be 1:1, i.e., the same length. The length ratio between the holeless region 34 and the through slits 32 can be set as appropriate by the manufacturer of the flavored product 10.

[0042] An example of a manufacturing apparatus 50 for the filter segment 20 and a manufacturing method using the manufacturing apparatus 50 will be described later.

[0043] The segments S of the sheet material 30 form the filter material 22 of the filter segment 20. One segment S of the sheet material 30 is subjected to creping (crimping) such as gathering and folding in the width direction (Y-axis direction) of the sheet material 30 so that the longitudinal direction of the rod of the filter segment 20 is aligned with the direction in which the through-slits 32 and the holeless regions 34 are adjacently arranged. In other words, a cylindrical rod is formed from the filter material 22 by the folding process. At this time, a number of ridges 31 (valley folds (fold lines) 31a and mountain folds (fold lines) 31b) are formed along the X-axis direction and in the Y-axis direction, for example, at appropriate intervals. By performing the folding process in which these ridges 31 are actually mountain folds and valley folds, the width of one segment S of the sheet material 30 is reduced, and a cylindrical rod is formed from the filter material 22 while maintaining the longitudinal length of one segment S. The filter segment 20 is formed as a cylindrical rod or rod segment by wrapping the outer periphery of the cylindrical filter material 22 with a wrapper 24. The spacing between the numerous creases 31 (valley folds 31a and mountain folds 31b) may be regular or random.

[0044] The through cut 32 has a portion that intersects at least two points with an imaginary line segment that runs along the axial direction (X-axis direction) of the rod.

[0045] Of the many tongue pieces 33, those tongue pieces 33 that are provided so as to protrude from the sheet material 30 in a direction intersecting the axial direction (X-axis direction) of the rod define a closed figure by imaginary fold lines (mountain fold lines 31b in FIG. 3) and through-slits 32. When an imaginary rectangle (frame F) circumscribing the tongue pieces 33 including the closed figure is defined, one side S1 of the rectangle (frame F) is parallel to the fold lines and is parallel or approximately parallel to the axial direction of the rod.

[0046] The filter segment 20 rod is formed as a region of low airflow resistance along the axial direction at the through-slits 32 compared to the holeless regions 34 because the flow paths in the rod are increased along the axial direction. In other words, the filter segment 20 rod is formed as a region of high airflow resistance along the axial direction at the holeless regions 34 because the flow paths in the rod are restricted along the axial direction compared to the through-slits 32. Therefore, by arranging the through-slits 32 and the holeless regions 34 adjacent to each other along the axial direction of the filter segment 20 rod, a region of relatively low airflow resistance and a region of relatively high airflow resistance are formed in the filter material 22 of one segment S of one sheet material 30. Therefore, a single filter material 22 can be used to form a plurality of regions, such as two, having different filtering performances along the axial direction of the filter segment 20 rod, while the outer periphery of the sheet material 30 can be wrapped with one wrapper 24 to maintain the rod shape of the filter segment 20. Therefore, when forming the rod of filter segment 20, it is possible to omit connecting multiple filter segments, each wrapped in wrapping paper, to form areas with different filtration performance, and it is also possible to omit manufacturing work such as wrapping the outer periphery of multiple filter segments in a wrapper (wrapping paper).

[0047] The filter segment 20 adjusts the airflow resistance at a position along the longitudinal direction using a single member (the filter material 22 of one segment S of the sheet material 30), and can form a region of low airflow resistance due to the presence of the through-slits 32. According to this embodiment, a flavored product 10 incorporating such a filter segment 20 can be provided.

[0048] The airflow resistance of the filter material 22 of the filter segment 20 depends not only on the selection of the sheet material 30 but also on the setting of the crepe depth (see FIGS. 6 and 6B ) by a pair of crepe rollers 64 a, 64 b in the crepe section (crimping section) 64 of the manufacturing apparatus 50 (see FIG. 5 ), which will be described later.

[0049] The difference in airflow resistance per 1 mm of the rod of the filter segment 20 between the first segment (through-cut portion) 32 and the second segment (holeless region) 34 is 0.5 mmH２ O / mm~10mmH ２ O / mm, preferably 1 mmH ２ O / mm to 5mmH ２ It is preferable that the thickness is 0 / mm.

[0050] Any wrapping paper can be used for the wrapper 24. Wrapping paper with a larger basis weight (thicker paper) may be used to maintain appropriate stiffness of the filter segment 20. The basis weight of the wrapper 24 is preferably 30 gsm or more, more preferably 50 gsm, and even more preferably 100 gsm or less. To maintain the stiffness of the filter segment 20 of the flavored product 10, the tipping paper 16 may be thicker.

[0051] Hereinafter, a manufacturing apparatus 50 for such a filter segment 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 8. FIG.

[0052] 5, an XYZ Cartesian coordinate system is defined, similar to the sheet material 30 shown in FIG. 2. The X-axis direction is the direction in which the sheet material 30 is transported from a feed section 62 to a cutting section 58, which will be described later.

[0053] 5, the manufacturing apparatus 50 for rods for the flavor product 10 includes a sheet material 30 supply section 52, a sheet material 30 processing section 54, a rod forming section (rod winding section) 56, a rod cutting section 58, and a rod optical inspection device (inspection unit) 60. The supply section 52, processing section 54, rod forming section 56, rod cutting section 58, and optical inspection device 60 are controlled by a control device (not shown). Note that the control device of the manufacturing apparatus 50 preferably controls the supply section 52, processing section 54, rod forming section 56, and rod cutting section 58 appropriately, for example by feedback control, based on information from a control section 60c (described later) of the optical inspection device 60. In addition, it is also preferable that the control device of the manufacturing device 50 controls at least one of the following, based on information from a control unit 60c of the optical inspection device 60, which will be described later: the supply of the sheet material 30 by the supply unit 52; the crimping of the sheet material 30 by a creping unit (crimping unit) 64 of the processing unit 54, which will be described later; the cutting of the sheet material 30 by a cutting unit (slit forming unit) 66, which will be described later; the formation of the rod by the rod forming unit 56; and the cutting of the rod by the rod cutting unit 58.

[0054] The supply unit 52 supplies and conveys the holeless sheet material 30 or the sheet material 30 on which a large number of through-slits 32 and holeless regions 34 have been formed in advance in a predetermined direction. The supply unit 52 has a bobbin 52 a, a dancer unit 52 b, and an auxiliary roller 52 c.

[0055] In this embodiment, the bobbin 52a is wound with a holeless sheet material 30, which does not have a through-slit 32, around the axis of a shaft 52a1 parallel to the Y-axis direction. The original length of the sheet material 30 (the length of the sheet material 30 wound on the bobbin 52a) is formed to an appropriate length, such as 50 m to 100 m or more. The sheet material 30 is unwound in a predetermined direction (by the dancer unit 52b) from the bobbin (raw paper roll) 52a, which rotates with the rotation of the shaft 52a1. The sheet material 30 is unwound in the longitudinal direction while its movement in the longitudinal direction is controlled, for example, at a constant speed or with a constant tension.

[0056] The dancer unit 52b is provided downstream of the bobbin 52a of the supply section 52 and upstream of a feed section 62 (described later) of the processing section 54. The dancer unit 52b adjusts the sheet material 30 to reduce changes in tension of the sheet material 30 due to changes in the diameter of the bobbin 52a, changes in the feed speed of the sheet material 30, etc. The dancer unit 52b has a plurality of upper rollers 52b1 and a plurality of lower rollers 52b2. The sheet material 30 is passed in a zigzag pattern between the upper and lower rollers 52b1, 52b2 of the dancer unit 52b.

[0057] An auxiliary roller 52c is provided downstream of the dancer unit 52b. The auxiliary roller 52c changes the direction of the sheet material 30 that has passed through the dancer unit 52b toward a feed section 62, which will be described later.

[0058] The processing section 54 performs preliminary work to form the sheet material 30 into a rod, and also forms a region for changing the airflow resistance in one segment S. The processing section 54 has a feed section 62, a creping section 64, a cutting section 66, an auxiliary roller 54a, and an adding section 68 along the flow of the sheet material 30, which is made of, for example, paper.

[0059] The feed unit 62 moves the sheet material 30 downstream while maintaining an appropriate tension in the X-axis direction. The feed unit 62 includes, for example, a pair of feed rollers 62a and 62b. The upper roller 62a of the feed unit 62 is formed, for example, by two rubber rollers aligned side by side, i.e., in the depth direction of the paper in FIG. 5 . The lower roller 62b is formed, for example, by a metal roller with a flat surface. The two rubber rollers of the upper roller 62a have spirals formed on their surfaces. When the feed rollers 62a and 62b rotate, the sheet material 30 is spread in the lateral direction (Y-axis direction) so that both ends in the width direction are separated, preventing the occurrence of unintended wrinkles at this point.

[0060] A creping section (crimping section) 64 is provided downstream of the feed section 62 to crepe the sheet material 30. The creping section 64 crimps the sheet material 30 conveyed from the supply section 52. The creping section 64 has a pair of creping rollers 64a, 64b. The creping rollers 64a, 64b are used to form vertical wrinkles in the sheet material 30 along the X-axis direction, which makes it easier to form the filter segments 20 into rods. In other words, the creping section 64 creates streaks along the longitudinal direction of the sheet material 30 to make it easier to fold the sheet material 30 when forming it into a rod.

[0061] As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B , the pair of crepe rollers 64a, 64b includes rotation shafts 6411, 6421 parallel to each other in the Y-axis direction and multiple convex portions (disk-shaped members) 6412, 6422. The upper rotation shaft 6411 is the first rotation shaft, and the lower rotation shaft 6421 is the second rotation shaft. The first rotation shaft 6411 is provided with multiple first convex portions 6412, and the second rotation shaft 6421 is provided with multiple second convex portions 6422. The multiple convex portions 6412, 6422 are preferably formed as disk-shaped members of the same diameter. Adjacent convex portions 6412, 6422 are spaced apart, for example, by a predetermined distance in the width direction (Y-axis direction) of the sheet material 30.

[0062] The first rotation shaft 6411 and the second rotation shaft 6421 can move relatively close to or farther away from each other while maintaining a parallel state in the width direction (Y-axis direction) of the sheet material 30. The multiple first protrusions 6412 protrude from the first rotation shaft 6411 by approximately the same amount. The multiple first protrusions 6412 are spaced apart at predetermined intervals in the width direction. The multiple second protrusions 6422 protrude from the second rotation shaft 6421 by approximately the same amount. The multiple second protrusions 6422 are spaced apart at predetermined intervals in the width direction. When the first rotation shaft 6411 and the second rotation shaft 6421 are brought close to each other, the first protrusions 6412 and the second protrusions 6422 are spaced apart from each other. The distance between the apex 6412a of the first convex portion 6412 and the apex 6422a of the second convex portion 6422 along the approaching and separating direction of the first rotation shaft 6411 and the second rotation shaft 6421 (reference symbol D1 in FIG. 6A and reference symbol D2 in FIG. 6B ) is defined as the meshing amount. Distances D1 and D2 are preferably set to, for example, approximately 1 mm or less. Adjusting the meshing amount (distances D1 and D2) of the creping section 64 allows adjustment of the crepe depth of the paper sheet material 30 when forming the rod of the filter segment 20 in the rod forming section 56, which will be described later. The crepe depth can be expressed as the distance in the Z-axis direction between the apexes 6412a and 6422a of the convex portions 6412 and 6422 of the pair of crepe rollers 64a and 64b. Comparing distance D1 in FIG. 6A with distance D2 in FIG. 6B , distance D2 is greater. At this time, the crepe depth of the sheet material 30 is greater in the example shown in Fig. 6B than in the example shown in Fig. 6A. During the creping process of the sheet material 30, the positional relationship between the first rotating shaft 6411 and the second rotating shaft 6421 of the creping unit 64 is fixed.

[0063] 6A and 6B , adjusting the positional relationship between the rotation axes 6411 and 6421 adjusts the meshing depth (distances D1 and D2) between the protrusions 6412 and 6422, changing the depth of the vertical wrinkles along the X-axis direction formed in the sheet material 30 or the degree of stretching of the sheet material 30. Adjusting the meshing depth between the protrusions 6412 and 6422 also adjusts the airflow resistance of one segment S of the filter material 22.

[0064] Note that the pair of crepe rollers 64a, 64b do not need to rotate around the rotation shafts 6411, 6421 as long as the sheet material 30 slides between the apex 6412a of the first convex portion 6412 and the apex 6422a of the second convex portion 6422 and moves downstream. Therefore, it is sufficient that the pair of crepe rollers 64a, 64b of the creping unit 64 are each formed as a creping tool.

[0065] As shown in FIG. 5 , a cut section (slit forming section) 66 is disposed downstream of the creping section 64. The cut section 66 cuts through portions of the sheet material 30 being conveyed (supplied) from the supply section 52, i.e., forms through slits. The cut section 66 cuts through portions of the sheet material 30, forming a plurality of through cut sections 32, thereby forming a connecting section 33a integral with the sheet material 30 and a tongue piece 33 protruding from the sheet material 30. In this embodiment, the cut section 66 is described as being disposed downstream of the creping section 64 along the conveyance direction of the sheet material 30. It is also preferable that the cut section 66 be disposed upstream of the creping section 64. The positional relationship between the cut section 66 and the creping section 64 may be either upstream or downstream, but it is preferable that the creping section 64 be upstream and the cut section 66 be downstream. When the sheet material 30 passes through the creping section 64, the sheet material 30 stretches. Therefore, by making a cut in the sheet material 30 with the cut section 66 after the sheet material 30 has stretched, it is easy to control the position of the through cut. On the other hand, when the cut section 66 is located upstream of the creping section 64, sufficient tension is applied to the sheet material 30 during transport, making it easy to form the through cut section 32 by the through cut.

[0066] 5 and 7A, the cutout 66 has, for example, an upper roller (first roller) 66a and a lower roller (second roller) 66b. The cutout 66 forms a plurality of through cutouts 32 of a predetermined size and shape in the sheet material 30 when the sheet material 30 passes between the upper and lower rollers 66a, 66b. That is, by forming a plurality of through cutouts 32 of a predetermined size and shape in the holeless sheet material 30, the sheet material 30 (see FIG. 2) having the connecting portion 33a and the tongue piece 33 is formed.

[0067] The upper roller 66a has a blade (see FIG. 7C ) that appropriately cuts the sheet material 30. The lower roller 66b is formed, for example, as a metal roll with no irregularities. For example, while the conveying speed of the sheet material 30 is controlled by the feed unit 62, the sheet material 30 is conveyed between the upper roller 66a and the lower roller 66b, and as it is sandwiched, the blade cuts through the sheet material 30, sequentially forming predetermined through cut portions 32. In other words, a plurality of through cut portions 32 are repeatedly formed in the sheet material 30.

[0068] The blade is formed so as to cut the through-slit portion 32 into the sheet material 30 without any corners. That is, the blade is formed in a shape that forms the through-slit portion 32 by cutting the through-slit into a ring-shaped shape without any corners. Therefore, the blade of the cutting portion 66 prevents the portion of the through-slit portion 32 other than the connecting portion 33a from remaining connected to the sheet material 30.

[0069] Here, two examples of the notch 66 will be described. Fig. 7A shows a first example (a method using a flexible die 66c), and Fig. 8 shows a second example (a method using a rotary die).

[0070] The notching section 66 shown in FIG. 7A has an upper roller (notching roller) 66a made of, for example, a metal material to which a flexible die 66c (see FIG. 7B) is magnetically attached, and a lower roller (anvil roller) 66b.

[0071] As shown in FIG. 7C , the flexible die 66c is formed by etching or machining a thin metal sheet, e.g., approximately 0.45 mm thick, and has a cutting blade (slit-forming blade) 66d formed in the shape of the through-slit portion 32 on the surface of the metal sheet. To form the through-slit portion 32 in the sheet material 30, the flexible die 66c is magnetically attached to a magnetic upper roller 66a. Typically, two flexible dies 66c are attached to the upper roller 66a. For example, two flexible dies 66c are used adjacent to each other in the circumferential or axial direction of the upper roller 66a. The entire upper roller 66a is then covered with the flexible die 66c. Here, the flexible die 66c is set relative to the upper roller 66a so that the through-slit portion 32 and the holeless region 34 are repeatedly formed in the same shape along the longitudinal direction of the sheet material 30.

[0072] The use of the upper roller 66a and flexible die 66c shown in Fig. 7A can be fabricated more cheaply than the use of the upper roller 66a as a rotary die shown in Fig. 8. When using the flexible die 66c shown in Fig. 7A, it is said to be difficult to make a through cut in a relatively thick material. Although it depends on the material, it may be difficult to make a through cut in a sheet material 30 that is 0.5 mm or thicker, for example, and there is a possibility that the through-cut piece of paper will not be released from the cutting blade of the flexible die 66c.

[0073] In the example shown in Fig. 8, the upper roller 66a is formed as a rotary die. The upper roller (rotary die) 66a is formed with a predetermined cutting blade (slit forming blade) 66f for forming the through-slit portion 32 in the sheet material 30, for example, by cutting out a metal roll. In general, the upper roller 66a is considered to be usable for relatively thick sheet material 30. When the cutting blade 66f becomes dull, the upper roller (rotary die) 66a can be reused by regrinding the cutting blade 66f.

[0074] 4A and 4B, the sheet material 30 has a number of creases 31, i.e., valley folds 31a and mountain folds 31b, extending in the axial direction of the rods of the sheet material 30 and arranged side by side in a direction intersecting the axial direction of the rods, extending along the axial direction of the rods. That is, the sheet material 30 has the valley folds 31a and mountain folds 31b spaced apart in the width direction and arranged parallel to the axial direction of the rods.

[0075] It is preferable that the distance between the valley fold portion 31a and the mountain fold portion 31b that are closest to each other in the width direction is shorter than the distance between the penetrating slits 32 that are closest to each other in the width direction. In this case, the penetrating slits 32 that are closest to each other in the width direction tend to intersect with the creases 31 (valley fold portion 31a, mountain fold portion 31b).

[0076] Furthermore, the distance between adjacent valley folds 31a and mountain folds 31b in the width direction is preferably shorter than the length of the other pair of opposing sides S2 of the imaginary frame F (see FIG. 3). In this case, one through-slit 32 is present between the valley folds 31a and mountain folds 31b. Therefore, at least some of the numerous tongue pieces 33 are arranged adjacent to or spaced apart along the axial direction of the rod and are formed to straddle the creases (fold lines) 31. Note that the distances between the valley folds 31a and mountain folds 31b (the distances between adjacent creases 31 in the Y-axis direction) may all be the same, some may be the same, or all may be different. Therefore, at least some of the numerous tongue pieces 33 rise up out of the plane of the sheet material 30, opening the sheet material 30.

[0077] Therefore, the sheet material 30 is bent so as to rotate around the folding lines 31 a and 31 b as pivots, but the tongue piece 33 where the folding lines 31 a and 31 b are located is not bent as much as the sheet material 30 due to the stiffness of the tongue piece 33, and a portion of the tongue piece 33 does not bend as much as the sheet material 30. Therefore, an opening having the shape of part or all of the tongue piece 33 is formed in the sheet material 30.

[0078] As shown in FIG. 5 , in this embodiment, an addition section 68 is disposed downstream of the cut section 66. In this embodiment, the addition section 68 includes a liquid addition section 68a and a granule addition section 68b. The addition section 68 may add an additive to the filter material 22 when the filter material 22 of the sheet material 30 is creped, for example, to form it into a cylindrical rod. The additive may be a liquid, granules (solid), or both. Note that this embodiment does not use the addition section 68. Therefore, the sheet material 30 passes directly through the liquid addition section 68a and the granule addition section 68b of the addition section 68.

[0079] The rod forming unit 56 is disposed downstream of the adding unit 68. That is, the rod forming unit 56 is provided downstream of the cutting unit 66 and the creping unit 64. The rod forming unit 56 forms the sheet material 30 into a rod having a generally circular cross section, i.e., a generally cylindrical appearance, in which the through-cut portions 32 and the holeless regions 34 are alternately arranged along the axial direction. The rod forming unit 56 has a paper web supply mechanism 72, a focusing guide 74, a lap glue gun 76, and tongs 78.

[0080] The paper roll supply mechanism 72 supplies the sheet-like material 24a, which is supplied from a bobbin 72a around which the sheet-like material 24a is wound, to the focusing guide 74 together with the sheet material 30. The sheet-like material 24a becomes the wrapper 24 around which the filter material 22 is wound when the filter segment 20 is formed.

[0081] The focusing guide 74 is formed so that the diameter of the passage narrows from upstream to downstream. As the sheet material 30 passes through the focusing guide 74, the focusing guide 74 moves it closer to the cylindrical rod. The focusing guide 74 narrows the width through which the sheet material 30 passes from upstream to downstream, and deforms the flat sheet material 30 into, for example, a roughly bellows shape according to the vertical wrinkles (creases due to the creases 31 (valley folds 31a and mountain folds 31b)) formed in the crepe section 64. As a result, due to the stiffness of the sheet material 30 itself, as shown in FIG. 4A , some of the inner tongue pieces 33 of the numerous through-slits 32 rise up and deviate from the surface of the holeless region 34 of the sheet material 30. When some of the inner tongue pieces 33 of the numerous through-slits 32 rise up and deviate from the surface of the holeless region 34 of the sheet material 30, the deviated portions become openings. The shape of this opening may be the same as the shape of the tongue piece 33 itself, or may be a part of the shape of the tongue piece 33. In either case, the sheet material 30 is in a state that is substantially the same as a state in which a part of the tongue piece 33 is deflected to form an opening that is the same size as or smaller than the tongue piece 33. With the tongue piece 33 in this state, the sheet material 30 is deformed into a substantially bellows shape.

[0082] Then, the sheet material 30 is squeezed in a regular or random manner, and the shape of the sheet material 30 approaches that of a cylindrical rod. Even when the sheet material 30 is squeezed into a cylindrical shape as it moves from the upstream side to the downstream side by the focusing guide 74, the stiffness of the sheet material 30 itself causes some of the inner tongue pieces 33 of the many through-slits 32 to rise up and deviate from the surface of the holeless region 34 of the sheet material 30, as shown in FIG.

[0083] As the focusing guide 74 moves from upstream to downstream, the sheet-like member 24a is wrapped around the outer periphery of the sheet material 30 that has been brought closer to the rod. That is, the focusing guide 74 brings the squeezed sheet material 30 (filter material 22) closer to a cylindrical rod shape while surrounding the outer periphery of the squeezed sheet material 30 (filter material 22) with the sheet-like member 24a that becomes the wrapper 24.

[0084] Then, glue is applied from a lap glue gun 76 to the end faces in the width direction of the sheet-like material 24 a that has passed through the focusing guide 74 .

[0085] Tongs 78 are provided downstream of the wrap glue gun 76. The tongs 78 bond the end faces of the sheet-like member 24a that will become the wrapper 24 together with glue. Therefore, the tongs 78 maintain the shape of the filter assembly 18 that can be formed into the filter segment 20. That is, as shown in FIG. 4B , the rod forming unit 56 of the manufacturing apparatus 50 can wind up the sheet material 30 around the sheet-like member 24a that will become the wrapper 24 as a filter assembly (rod assembly).

[0086] The cutting unit 58 then sequentially cuts the continuous rod wound up by the tongs 78 to a predetermined length. At this time, the cutting unit 58 cuts the rod so that the rod has at least one through-slit portion 32 and at least one holeless region 34. The manufacturing apparatus 50 can manufacture filter assemblies 18 of a predetermined length. Note that in this embodiment, an example will be described in which the cutting unit 58 manufactures filter assemblies 18 of a predetermined length, for example, four or six times the length of the filter segment 20. However, the filter segment 20 may also be manufactured directly from the continuous rod-shaped member wound up by the tongs 78 without manufacturing the filter assembly 18.

[0087] The cutting portion 58 cuts the rod perpendicular to the axial direction of the rod. FIG. 9A is a schematic diagram showing an example of a cut end (virtual line) CE when the rod is unfolded as a sheet material 30. As shown in FIG. 9A , the rod may be cut at a cut end CE that intersects with the through-slit 32. Even if the rod is cut at a cut end CE that intersects with the through-slit 32, the tongue 33 does not form a closed ring-shaped figure. That is, when a virtual line (cut end CE) is drawn that is perpendicular to the axial direction of the rod at the through-slit 32, the virtual line and the through-slit 32 do not form a closed figure. In other words, when the tongue 33 is cut perpendicular to the axial direction of the rod, the connection between the sheet material 30 and the connecting portion 33a is maintained. Therefore, one or both of the tongue pieces 33 cut at the cut end CE, i.e., at least one of the sheet materials 30, remains connected and is prevented from falling off. Therefore, when the sheet material 30 according to this embodiment is used, when it is cut at the cutting portion 58 to form a rod of a predetermined length, some of the cutting chips are prevented from falling off from the sheet material 30 and becoming garbage or the like.

[0088] 9B, the connecting portion 33a of the through-slit 32, which is formed in a direction rotated 90° relative to the direction shown in FIG. 9A relative to the sheet material 30, is parallel to the Y-axis. In this case, if the rod is cut at the cut end CE that intersects with the through-slit 32 drawn in one stroke, the portion of the tongue 33 shown by the diagonal lines will form a closed ring shape. As a result, the portion shown by the diagonal lines will fall off the sheet material 30. For this reason, it is more preferable that the through-slit 32 be formed in the direction shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 9A relative to the sheet material 30.

[0089] On the other hand, when a through-slit portion 32 formed in the direction shown in Figure 9B is used in the sheet material 30, for example, when cutting the rod at the cut end CE, more openings can be reliably formed on the end surface of the rod.

[0090] As shown in FIG. 5, downstream of the cutting section 58 is an optical inspection device 60 for the rods of the filter assembly 18 .

[0091] As shown in Figures 5 and 10, the optical inspection device 60 has a light-emitting unit 60a, a light-receiving unit 60b that receives light irradiated from the light-emitting unit 60a and passing through the filter assembly (rod) 18, and a control unit 60c that controls the light-emitting unit 60a and the light-receiving unit 60b.

[0092] The light-emitting unit 60a is a light source such as an LED light source, etc. The light-receiving unit 60b is a detector that detects light such as an imaging element of a camera or a photodiode.

[0093] The control unit 60c is a computer that physically includes memories such as RAM and ROM, a processor (arithmetic circuit) such as a CPU, a communication interface, and an information storage unit such as a hard disk. Examples of the control unit 60c include a personal computer, a cloud server, and a tablet terminal. The control unit 60c functions by executing a program stored in the memory with the processor.

[0094] When a camera is used as the light receiving unit 60b, the control unit 60c outputs, for example, a pixel value (light intensity) for each pixel based on the light information (light reception information) received by the light receiving unit 60b. As shown in FIG. 11 , the filter assembly 18 has a sheet material 30 with a through-cut portion 32 cut into it and a holeless region 34 without a through-cut portion 32 cut into it along the longitudinal direction. This difference in the state of the sheet material 30, due to factors such as bending of the through-cut portion 32, results in a difference in the transmitted light intensity or scattered light intensity. That is, each filter assembly 18 alternates between a first light-transmitting portion 18a and a second light-transmitting portion 18b with lower light transmittance than the first light-transmitting portion 18a. The first light-transmitting portion 18a corresponds to the through-cut portion 32, and the second light-transmitting portion 18b corresponds to the holeless region 34. Therefore, the control unit 60c can recognize the boundaries between the through-slits 32 and the holeless regions 34 of the filter material 22 in the filter assembly 18 based on the intensity of light (light reception information) received by the light-receiving unit 60b through the filter assembly 18 from the light-emitting unit 60a. The filter assembly 18 can be inspected using the optical inspection device 60 that inspects the transmitted light intensity. Therefore, the control unit 60c can output the position and length of the first light-transmitting portion 18a (through-slits 32) and the position and length of the second light-transmitting portion 18b (holeless regions 34) between one end and the other end of the filter assembly 18. The control unit 60c outputs whether the plurality of through-slits 32 and the plurality of holeless regions 34 are set to their respective predetermined desired lengths. If the control unit 60c detects that the multiple through cuts 32 and the multiple holeless regions 34 are each the desired length that has been set in advance, for example, the control device of the manufacturing apparatus 50 controls (feedback control) each device of the manufacturing apparatus 50 (supply unit 52, processing unit 54, rod forming unit 56, rod cutting unit 58, etc.) to maintain the control state.On the other hand, if the control unit 60c detects that the plurality of through-slits 32 and the plurality of holeless regions 34 deviate from the predetermined desired lengths, the control device of the manufacturing apparatus 50 controls (feedback control) the control state of each device of the manufacturing apparatus 50 so that the plurality of through-slits 32 and the plurality of holeless regions 34 each have the predetermined desired lengths. Therefore, the control unit 60c controls the supply of the sheet material 30 by the sheet material 30 supply unit 52 and the through-slits of the sheet material 30 by the incision unit 66 based on a signal sent from the light receiving unit 60b to the control unit 60c.

[0095] With regard to the light emitted from the light-emitting unit 60a and received by the light-receiving unit 60b through the sheet-like member 24a, the rod-shaped filter material 22, and the sheet-like member 24a of the through-slits 32 wound in a rod shape by the sheet-like member 24a that forms the wrapper 24, the light transmittance of the first light-transmitting portion 18a (through-slits 32) is higher than the light transmittance of the second light-transmitting portion 18b (holeless regions 34). By comparing the light transmittance of the first light-transmitting portion 18a and the second light-transmitting portion 18b at multiple locations, the control unit 60c can control the quality of the cylindrically formed filter material 22 (sheet material 30) as well as the positions and lengths of the multiple through-slits 32 and multiple holeless regions 34 of the filter assembly 18. If the variation in light transmittance among the first light-transmitting portions 18a (through-cut portions 32) is kept within a predetermined threshold range, the control unit 60c outputs that the substantially cylindrical filter material 22 of the filter assembly 18 is held with substantially uniform quality within the sheet-like member 24a that will become the wrapper 24. Similarly, if the variation in light transmittance among the second light-transmitting portions 18b (holeless regions 34) is kept within a predetermined threshold range, the control unit 60c outputs that the filter material 22 of the filter assembly 18 is held with substantially uniform quality within the sheet-like member 24a that will become the wrapper 24. Conversely, if the variation in light transmittance among the first light-transmitting portions 18a and / or the second light-transmitting portions 18b exceeds the predetermined threshold range, the filtering performance of the resulting filter segment 20 may vary. Therefore, the control unit 60c outputs that the quality of the filter material 22 of the filter assembly 18 is poor and that it is held within the sheet-like member 24a that will become the wrapper 24.

[0096] Furthermore, based on information (light transmittance of the first light transmitting portion 18a and / or the second light transmitting portion 18b) received by the light receiving portion 60b from the light emitting portion 60a, the control portion 60c may compare changes in light intensity among the plurality of filter assemblies 18. In this case, the control portion 60c can compare the quality of the plurality of filter assemblies 18.

[0097] The measurement by light emission from the light-emitting unit 60a and light reception by the light-receiving unit 60b may be performed by periodically capturing images at appropriate time intervals using, for example, a camera's image sensor and processing the images, or by continuously measuring changes in light intensity.

[0098] In this way, the control unit 60c can output whether or not the filter assembly 18 is formed in the desired state based on the signal sent from the light receiving unit 60b. That is, the optical inspection device 60 can output whether or not the filter assembly 18 is formed in the desired state.

[0099] Based on such output from control unit 60c, feedback control of each device (supply unit 52, processing unit 54, rod forming unit 56, rod cutting unit 58, etc.) of manufacturing apparatus 50 can stabilize quality. Therefore, manufacturing apparatus 50 according to this embodiment can manufacture filter assemblies 18 of stable quality.

[0100] In the present embodiment, the optical inspection device 60 is disposed downstream of the rod cutting section 58, and an example is described in which the filter assemblies 18 cut to a predetermined length, such as four or six times the length of the filter segments 20, are inspected. The optical inspection device 60 may also be disposed upstream of the rod cutting section 58. In this case, the above-described optical inspection may be performed in a state in which the filter material 22 formed by the tongs 78 is wrapped in the sheet-like member 24a that will become the wrapper 24.

[0101] Each filter assembly 18 is further cut when it is formed into a filter segment 20 for the flavor product 10. Therefore, the filter assemblies 18 are cut to form the filter segments 20 before being connected to the flavor generating segment 12 via the tipping paper 16. Based on the inspection results performed by the optical inspection device 60, for example, the optical inspection device 60 may mark the boundary between the through-slit portion 32 and the holeless region 34 on the outer peripheral surface of the sheet-like member 24a of the filter assembly 18 as a cutting position. In this case, the device that cuts the filter assembly 18 can easily determine the cutting position of the filter assembly 18, i.e., the position at which the filter assembly 18 should be cut to obtain multiple filter segments 20. Therefore, using the inspection results from the optical inspection device 60 can reduce the work required of the device that cuts the filter assembly 18 to detect the cutting position of the filter assembly 18.

[0102] In this manner, filter segments 20 each having at least one through-slit portion 32 and a holeless region 34 can be obtained by appropriately cutting the filter assembly 18. In this manner, a plurality of regions having different performance characteristics can be formed in a single member (sheet material 30), and filter segments 20 for a flavored product 10 that can adjust, for example, the amount of fluid filtration are formed.

[0103] One end of the filter segment 20 is formed in a holeless region 34 as the mouth end 14b of the flavor product product 10. The front end surface 14a of the filter segment 20 is abutted against the rear end surface 12b of the flavor generation segment 12 of the flavor product product 10, and the region including the front end surface 14a of the filter segment 20 and the rear end surface 12b of the flavor generation segment 12 is wrapped with tipping paper 16, thereby producing the flavor product product 10.

[0104] Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a flavor product 10 and a filter segment 20 for the flavor product 10 that can adjust the amount of fluid filtration, etc., by forming areas with different performance (the through-slit portion 32 and the holeless area 34) in a single member (the filter material 22).

[0105] In the present embodiment, an example has been described in which the holeless sheet material 30 is wound to form the bobbin 52a, and the through cuts 32 are formed by the manufacturing apparatus 50. The bobbin 52a may also be formed by winding the sheet material 30 on which the through cuts 32 and the holeless region 34 have been formed in advance. The filter segment 20 can also be formed using such a sheet material 30 on which the through cuts 32 and the holeless region 34 have been formed in advance. In this case, the cuts 66 in the manufacturing apparatus 50 may not be necessary, or the upper and lower rollers 66a, 66b may be removed.

[0106] In the present embodiment, an example has been described in which a filter assembly 18 including a filter segment 20 is manufactured using the manufacturing apparatus 50. The manufacturing apparatus 50 can also manufacture rod assemblies or rod segments for flavor product products 10 other than the filter segment 20. For example, when a tobacco sheet material is used as the sheet material 30, a tobacco rod having a through-slit portion 32 and a holeless region 34 is manufactured. In this case, a tobacco rod having a plurality of segments S of the sheet material 30 can be manufactured. The tobacco sheet material is creped and folded in the same manner as the sheet material 30 described above, and wrapped in cigarette paper instead of the wrapper 24 to form a rod of the flavor generation segment 12. When a tobacco sheet material creped and folded in the same manner as the sheet material 30 described above is used as the filling material for the rod of the flavor generation segment 12, an acetate tow filter, for example, may be used as the filter material 22 of the filter segment 20 instead of the processed sheet material 30.

[0107] Furthermore, the tobacco sheet material serving as the sheet material 30 may be added with appropriate additives, similar to the additives added to the filter material 22 by the adding section 68 (see FIG. 5).

[0108] As will be described later in the third embodiment (see FIG. 30), it is also possible to manufacture the cooling segment 46 by using a cooling sheet material 30.

[0109] According to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a manufacturing device 50 capable of manufacturing rods (rod assemblies 18 and rod segments 20 cut from the rod assemblies 18) for a flavor product 10 that can form regions with different performance in a single member (sheet material 30) and adjust the state of a fluid flowing from upstream to downstream, as well as a manufacturing method for rods (rod assemblies 18 and rod segments 20 cut from the rod assemblies 18) for a flavor product 10. In this case, the manufacturing device 50 can prevent chips from being generated from the sheet material 30 by appropriately setting the shape of the tongues 33.

[0110] In the above description, the through cuts 32 are formed at equal intervals in the width direction. The through cuts 32 may be formed randomly in the width direction. The arrangement of the through cuts 32 is sufficient if, when the filter segment 20 is formed as a cylindrical rod segment, the openings formed by the tongue pieces 33 are appropriately and uniformly arranged and are not excessively biased.

[0111] In this embodiment, the sheet material 30 is creped to form numerous ridges 31 as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B , and then folded along the numerous ridges 31 by a folding process (see FIGS. 4A and 4B ). The sheet material 30 may be folded to form a spiral shape, for example, as shown in FIGS. 12A or 12B , without being creped. That is, the sheet material 30 may also be preferably folded to form a spiral shape around an axis along the axial direction (X-axis direction) of the rod by a folding process. In this case, too, the tongue 33 formed by the through-slit 32 protrudes from the surface of the holeless region 34 of the sheet material 30, forming an opening. When the sheet material 30 is formed into a spiral shape, it may be formed into, for example, an Archimedes' spiral shape as shown in FIG. 12A , or a Fermat's spiral shape consisting of two spirals smoothly connected at the origin as shown in FIG. 12B . The spirally folded sheet material 30 (filter material 22 ) is then wrapped with a wrapper 24 to form a rod of filter segment 20 .

[0112] As will be described later in the third embodiment (see FIG. 30), it is also possible to manufacture the cooling segment 46 by folding the cooling sheet material 30 into a spiral shape.

[0113] Various shapes are permitted for the through cut portion 32 shown in Figures 2 and 3. Although not shown, the through cut portion 32 may be formed so that the side S2 is longer than the side S1 in the imaginary frame F shown in Figure 3, or the through cut portion 32 may be formed so that the side S2 is shorter than the side S1. Furthermore, the through cut portion 32 may be formed so that the sides S1 and S2 are the same length.

[0114] 13 to 23 show examples of other shapes of the through-slit 32. The shape of the through-slit 32 can also be other shapes (not shown) as long as the tongue 33 protrudes from the sheet material 30 and forms an opening in the sheet material 30 by folding the sheet material 30 (see FIGS. 4A, 4B, 12A, and 12B).

[0115] FIG. 13 shows an example in which the through cuts of the uni-stroke through cut portion 32 intersect. In this case, the through cut portion 32 is formed in the sheet material 30 using, for example, the cut portion 66 shown in FIGS. 7A to 8 . At this time, the portion indicated by the diagonal lines in FIG. 13 falls off as chips. For this reason, it is preferable that the through cuts of the uni-stroke through cut portion 32 do not intersect. On the other hand, by having the through cuts of the uni-stroke through cut portion 32 intersect, the amount of chips can be more reliably reduced than when a ring-shaped cut is formed in the sheet material 30 in the shape of the tongue piece 33, and an opening can be more reliably formed in the sheet material 30.

[0116] As shown in FIG. 14 , the through cut 32 may be substantially V-shaped in addition to the substantially U-shape shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 . In this case, it is preferable that the vertex (corner) is not sharp but is formed as a part of an arc, for example. Here, the rectangular frame F has a length S1 along the rod axial direction (X-axis direction) that is longer than a length S2 in a direction (Y-axis direction) perpendicular to the rod axial direction (X-axis direction). The rectangular frame F may have a length S1 along the rod axial direction (X-axis direction) that is shorter than a length S2 in a direction (Y-axis direction) perpendicular to the rod axial direction (X-axis direction). Furthermore, the length S1 of the rectangular frame F along the rod axial direction (X-axis direction) and the length S2 in the direction (Y-axis direction) perpendicular to the rod axial direction (X-axis direction) may be approximately the same.

[0117] 15, the through-slit 32 may be substantially C-shaped. In this case, a connecting portion 33a is formed along the X-axis direction to connect the pair of end portions 32a, 32b. The length (width) of the connecting portion 33a along the X-axis direction is relatively small compared to the maximum width of the tongue 33 along the X-axis direction. Therefore, the tongue 33 is likely to deviate from the surface of the sheet material 30 during the folding process, making it easy to form an opening.

[0118] Here, the end points 32a, 32b each have an appropriate length that slopes obliquely from side S1 to side S2 of the imaginary frame F. For example, when the rod is cut by the cut portion 58 within the through cut 32 along the X axis, if the region including the connecting portion 33a between the pair of end points 32a, 32b is cut, chips are prevented from being generated from the sheet material 30. For example, when the rod is cut by the cut portion 58 within the through cut 32 along the X axis, if the end points 32a of the pair of end points 32a, 32b are cut at the cut edge CE, a closed figure may be formed between the cuts along the X axis, the cuts along the Y axis, and the cut portion 58. In this case, chips are generated, but the area of ​​the chips (amount of chips) can be significantly reduced compared to when the entire tongue 33 is made open.

[0119] As shown in FIG. 16 , the through-slit 32 may be arc-shaped. In this case, it is preferable that the pair of end points 32a, 32b of the arc are aligned in the width direction (Y-axis coordinates), but they do not have to be aligned. That is, the through-slit 32 does not have to be symmetrical with respect to the Y-axis, which intersects with an appropriate coordinate on the X-axis. Furthermore, the through-slit 32 forms a connecting portion 33a inclined with respect to the X-axis and Y-axis in the sheet material 30, connecting the pair of end points 32a, 32b. The tongue 33 of the sheet material 30 having such through-slit 32 can rise up and deviate from the surface of the sheet material 30 when the sheet material 30 is folded.

[0120] 17 , the through-slit 32 is formed in a generally L-shape by, for example, a through-slit 321 along the X-axis and a through-slit 322 along the Y-axis. The connecting portion 33a is formed to connect the distal ends 32a, 32b with respect to an intersection 32c between the through-slit 321 along the X-axis and the through-slit 322 along the Y-axis. The through-slit 32 may be formed in this manner. The tongue 33 of the sheet material 30 having such a through-slit 32 can rise up and deviate from the surface of the sheet material 30 when the sheet material 30 is folded.

[0121] When the rod is cut by the cutting portion 58, a closed shape is not formed, which prevents chips from being generated.

[0122] 17 , there is an intersection 32c where the notch 321 including the end point 32a intersects with the notch 322 including the end point 32b. If the intersection 32c is formed as a corner, it may be difficult to cut the intersection 32c from the sheet material 30 when the notch 66 forms the through-slit 32. For this reason, it is preferable that the intersection 32c is not formed as a corner, but is formed as a smoothly curved notch connecting the notch 321 including the end point 32a and the notch 322 including the end point 32b.

[0123] In the example shown in FIG. 18 , the through-slit 32 is formed in a generally T-shape by a through-slit 321 along the X-axis and a through-slit 322 along the Y-axis. That is, the through-slit 32 intersects with the through-slit 321 along the X-axis near the center of the through-slit 322 along the Y-axis. Therefore, the through-slit 32 here is not formed in a single stroke. The connecting portion 33a is formed to connect the distal ends 32a, 32b1 and 32a, 32b2 of the through-slit 321 along the X-axis and the through-slit 322 along the Y-axis, respectively, at the intersection 32c. The through-slit 32 may be formed in this manner. The tongue 33 of the sheet material 30 having such through-slit 32 can rise up and deviate from the surface of the sheet material 30 when the sheet material 30 is folded.

[0124] When the rod is cut by the cutting portion 58, a closed shape is not formed, which prevents chips from being generated.

[0125] The rectangular frame F has a length S1 along the rod axial direction (X-axis direction) that is shorter than a length S2 in the direction (Y-axis direction) perpendicular to the rod axial direction (X-axis direction). The rectangular frame F may have a length S1 along the rod axial direction (X-axis direction) that is longer than a length S2 in the direction (Y-axis direction) perpendicular to the rod axial direction (X-axis direction). Furthermore, the length S1 of the rectangular frame F along the rod axial direction (X-axis direction) and the length S2 in the direction (Y-axis direction) perpendicular to the rod axial direction (X-axis direction) may be approximately the same.

[0126] In the example shown in FIG. 19 , the through-slit 32 includes the through-slit 32 shown in FIG. 18 and an additional through-slit 323 along the X-axis. Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 19 , the through-slit 32 is formed in a generally F-shape. The through-slit 32 may be formed in this manner. The tongue 33 of the sheet material 30 having such a through-slit 32 may rise up and deviate from the surface of the sheet material 30 when the sheet material 30 is folded. When the rod is cut by the cutting portion 58, a closed shape may be formed. In this case, chips are generated from the sheet material 30, but the area of ​​the chips (amount of chips) can be significantly reduced compared to when the entire tongue 33 is made open.

[0127] As shown in Figures 20, 21 and 22, a further through-slit 36 ​​may be formed inside the outer edge of the tongue piece 33 formed by the unicursal through-slit 32.

[0128] In the example shown in FIG. 20 , another through-slit 36 ​​is formed in the approximately U-shaped tongue 33 of the through-slit 32 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 . Here, the another through-slit 36 ​​includes a through-slit 361, for example, linear along the Y-axis, and multiple (e.g., a pair) through-slits 362, for example, linear along the Y-axis and spaced apart from the through-slit 361 in the X-axis direction. The through-slit 361 is provided between the pair of through-slits 362. The through-slit 361 is also formed so as to intersect with the connecting portion 33 a. Therefore, a portion of the another through-slit 36 ​​may be located outside the tongue 33 of the through-slit 32. In this way, another through-slit 36 ​​may be formed in the through-slit 32. The tongue 33 of the sheet material 30 having such a through-slit 32 may deviate from the surface of the sheet material 30 and rise up when the sheet material 30 is folded.

[0129] For example, the lengths of the connecting portion 33a along the X-axis direction formed by the through cut portion 32 and the through cut 362, and the connecting portion 33a inclined in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction formed by the through cut portion 32 and the through cuts 361, 362 are each shorter than the connecting portion 33a of the through cut portion 32 shown in Figures 2 and 3. Therefore, when the sheet material 30 is folded, part of the tongue piece 33 can be easily deflected from the surface of the sheet material 30, making it easy to form an opening.

[0130] Even when the rod is cut by the cutting portion 58 within the through-slit portion 32, the cut piece of the tongue piece 33 remains connected to one of the rods by the connecting portion 33a. Therefore, even if the tongue piece 33 has through-slits 361, 362 of another through-slit portion 36, the cut piece of the tongue piece 33 remains connected to one of the rods. This prevents some of the cutting chips from falling off from the sheet material 30 and becoming waste when the sheet material 30 is cut by the cutting portion 58.

[0131] For example, when forming the through cuts 32 and 36 shown in Fig. 20, they are simultaneously formed using a cutting blade 66d parallel to a part of the cutting blade 66d shown in Fig. 7C. This also applies to the formation of the through cuts 32 and 36 shown in Figs. 21 and 22, which will be described later.

[0132] In the example shown in FIG. 21 , another through-slit 36 ​​is formed in a substantially U-shaped tongue 33. Here, the another through-slit 36 ​​is formed by arranging through-slits 363 that are smaller in scale than the through-slit 32. Here, the through-slits 363 of the another through-slit 36 ​​are formed in a 4x4 arrangement, totaling 16. Note that each through-slit 363 of the another through-slit 36 ​​is formed, for example, parallel to the through-slits of the through-slit 32. In this manner, another through-slit 36 ​​may be formed in the through-slit 32. The tongue 33 of the sheet material 30 having such a through-slit 32 may rise up and deviate from the surface of the sheet material 30 when the sheet material 30 is folded. Furthermore, the tongue 37 of the another through-slit 36 ​​may rise up and deviate from the surface of the sheet material 30 when the sheet material 30 is folded.

[0133] Even when the rod is cut by the cutting portion 58 within the through-cut portion 32, the cut pieces formed by the connecting portion 33a of the through-cut portion 32 and the connecting portion of each through-cut 363 of another through-cut portion 36 remain connected to one of the rods.

[0134] In the example shown in Figure 22, another through-slit 36 ​​is formed in a substantially U-shaped tongue 33. Here, the another through-slit 36 ​​is formed by intersecting multiple parallel lines along the X-axis and one parallel line along the Y-axis. In this way, another through-slit 36 ​​may be formed in the through-slit 32. The tongue 33 of the sheet material 30 having such a through-slit 32 can rise up and deviate from the surface of the sheet material 30 when the sheet material 30 is folded.

[0135] For example, when a rod is cut by the cutting portion 58 within the through-slit 32 along the X-axis, the cut piece remains connected to one of the rods by the connecting portion 33a of the through-slit 32. Meanwhile, in another through-slit 32, a closed shape may be formed between the cut portion and the cut portion along the X-axis and the cut portion along the Y-axis. In this case, chips are generated, but the area of ​​the chips (amount of chips) can be significantly reduced compared to when the entire tongue 33 is made open.

[0136] 23 , the sheet material 30 is formed with a through-slit portion 32 having a pair of through-slits that are inclined with respect to the X-axis and Y-axis and cross each other. Therefore, for example, the through-slit portion 32 may be substantially U-shaped, substantially V-shaped, or even substantially X-shaped. The longest portion of the one-stroke portion of the through-slit portion 32 of the sheet material 30 is formed to have the same length as the length of one diagonal line of the imaginary frame F. Therefore, the length of the one-stroke portion of the various through-slit portions 32 is formed to be the same as or longer than the length of one diagonal line of the imaginary frame F.

[0137] The through-slit 32 has a pair of connecting portions 33a along the X-axis and a pair of connecting portions 33b along the Y-axis. When the sheet material 30 is folded along the creases 31 (see FIG. 4A ), a portion of the tongue 33 opens relative to the sheet material 30, with the pair of connecting portions 33a along the X-axis as a pivot axis. In this manner, the through-slit 32 may be formed in a substantially "X" shape. The tongue 33 of the sheet material 30 having such a through-slit 32 can deviate from the surface of the sheet material 30 and rise up when the sheet material 30 is folded.

[0138] For example, when the through cut 32 is substantially "X" shaped, when defining an imaginary cut end CE parallel to the Y axis of the through cut 32, if the cut end CE is defined between the intersection with the connecting portion 33a, a closed figure is formed between the cut end CE and the through cut 32. In this case, chips are generated, but the area of ​​the chips (amount of chips) can be greatly reduced compared to when the entire tongue piece 33 is made into an opening.

[0139] 23 is substantially "X" shaped, it can be regarded as one substantially V-shaped through-slit and another substantially V-shaped through-slit being formed integrally with each other symmetrically about the X-axis or the Y-axis. Therefore, a plurality of through-slits 32 may be formed in a linked manner.

[0140] Furthermore, the sheet material 30 may have through-slits 32 of the same shape and size formed therein, as shown in Fig. 2, or may have through-slits 32 of different shapes formed therein, as shown in Fig. 24. In the example shown in Fig. 24, the size of the imaginary frame F circumscribing the through-slits 32 may be the same or different.

[0141] The direction in which the tongue 33 formed by the numerous through-slits 32 formed in the sheet material 30 can rotate by the connecting portion 33a may be the +Y-axis direction with respect to the position of the connecting portion 33a, and aligned with the ±Z-axis direction, as in the example shown in Fig. 2. Alternatively, the direction in which the tongue 33 formed by the numerous through-slits 32 formed in the sheet material 30 can rotate by the connecting portion 33a may be the +Y-axis direction or the -Y-axis direction with respect to the position of the connecting portion 33a, as in the example shown in Fig. 24. In both the example shown in Fig. 2 and the example shown in Fig. 24, the direction in which the tongue 33 can rotate by the connecting portion 33a is the ±Z-axis direction with the connecting portion 33a as a support axis.

[0142] According to the present embodiment described above, the following can be said.

[0143] Therefore, in this embodiment, the rod for the flavored product 10 has a sheet material 30 formed into a rod shape by folding it from a direction (Y-axis direction) intersecting the axial direction (X-axis direction) of the rod, and a number of tongue pieces (flaps) 33 formed by non-annular through-slit portions 32 provided on the sheet material 30.

[0144] In other words, the rod for the flavored product 10 in this embodiment has a sheet material 30 that has been folded in a direction (Y-axis direction) intersecting the axial direction (X-axis direction) of the rod to form a rod shape, and a number of tongue pieces (flaps) 33, at least a portion of which deviates from the surface of the sheet material 30 due to through-cut portions 32 that leave portions integral with the sheet material 30 when the sheet material 30 has been folded.

[0145] As a result, at least a portion of the flaps 33 deviates from the surface of the sheet material 30, forming openings in those portions. This provides a rod for flavored products that can adjust the amount of fluid filtered, etc.

[0146] When the sheet material 30 has been folded, it is preferable that at least a portion of each of the tongue pieces 33 protrude from the sheet material 30 in a direction intersecting the axial direction of the rod (X-axis direction).

[0147] Of the many tongue pieces 33, those tongue pieces 33 that are provided so as to protrude from the sheet material 30 in a direction intersecting the axial direction (X-axis direction) of the rod preferably have a closed figure defined by imaginary fold lines 31 a, 31 b. Therefore, the sheet material 30 is bent so as to rotate around the fold lines 31 a, 31 b as pivots, but the tongue pieces 33, due to their stiffness, are not bent as much as the sheet material 30, and a portion thereof does not follow the sheet material 30. Therefore, an opening having the shape of part or all of the tongue pieces 33 is formed in the sheet material 30.

[0148] When defining a virtual rectangle F circumscribing the through cut portion 32 including a closed figure, it is preferable that one side S1 of the rectangle F be parallel to the fold lines 31a, 31b and parallel or approximately parallel to the axial direction (X-axis direction) of the rod.

[0149] It is preferable that the length S1 of the rectangle F along the axial direction of the rod (X-axis direction) is longer than the length S2 in the direction (Y-axis direction) perpendicular to the axial direction of the rod (X-axis direction).

[0150] It is preferable that the length of the rectangle F along the axial direction of the rod (X-axis direction) is shorter than the length in the direction (Y-axis direction) perpendicular to the axial direction of the rod (X-axis direction).

[0151] When defining a rectangle F of a virtual minimum area circumscribing the tongue piece 33, it is preferable that a pair of sides S1 of the rectangle F be defined parallel to the axial direction (X-axis direction), and that the connecting portion 33a of the tongue piece 33 to the sheet material 30 be formed along one of the pair of sides S1 of the rectangle F.

[0152] It is preferable that the through cut portion 32 has a portion that intersects an imaginary line segment along the axial direction (X-axis direction) of the rod at at least two points.

[0153] It is preferable that when a virtual line CE perpendicular to the axial direction (X-axis direction) of the rod of the through cut portion 32 is drawn, the virtual line CE and the through cut portion 32 do not form a closed figure.

[0154] It is preferable that at least a portion of the through cut portion 32 is formed in a single stroke.

[0155] At least one of the tongues 33 is preferably provided with a second through-slit 36 ​​that does not form a closed figure between itself and the through-slit 32 .

[0156] The sheet material 30 extends in the axial direction of the rod (X-axis direction), and the numerous ribs 31 arranged in a direction intersecting the axial direction of the rod (Y-axis direction) are bent by a folding process from a direction intersecting the axial direction of the rod (X-axis direction), and it is preferable that at least some of the numerous tongue pieces 33 are arranged adjacent to or spaced apart in the direction along the axial direction of the rod (X-axis direction) and are formed so as to straddle the ribs 31.

[0157] The sheet material 30 is preferably formed into a spiral shape around an axis along the axial direction (X-axis direction) of the rod by a folding process.

[0158] The flavor product 10 preferably includes the rod described above. The rod may be used not only as the filter material 22 of the mouthpiece segment 14 but also as the rod of the flavor generating segment 12. The rod may also be used as the tip plug 42 or the cooling segment 46 described in a third embodiment below.

[0159] In addition, the method for manufacturing a rod for the flavored product 10 includes forming a number of non-circular through-slit portions 32 in a sheet material 30 that forms the rod, folding the sheet material 30 in a direction (Y-axis direction) that intersects the axial direction of the rod (X-axis direction) to form the sheet material 30 into a rod shape, and when the folding process is performed, causing at least some of the number of through-slit portions 32 to rise from the surface of the sheet material 32 so as to deviate from the surface of the sheet material 30.

[0160] As a result, at least some of the flaps 33 are deflected from the surface of the sheet material 30 that has been folded and formed into a rod shape, forming openings in those portions. This provides a method for manufacturing a rod for a flavored product that can adjust the amount of fluid filtered by the openings.

[0161] Forming the multiple non-annular through cuts 32 preferably includes forming the cuts so that the connecting portions 33a with the sheet material 30 remain as non-cut portions along the axial direction of the rod.

[0162] Forming the through cut 32 preferably includes forming the through cut 32 so that when an imaginary line CE perpendicular to the axial direction (X-axis direction) of the rod is drawn, the imaginary line CE and the through cut 32 do not form a closed figure. This makes it less likely that chips will be generated when forming the through cut 32.

[0163] Forming the multiple through cuts 32 preferably includes forming the multiple through cuts 32 in a single stroke that do not intersect with each other.

[0164] Preferably, forming the multiple through cuts 32 includes forming a single stroke portion and another through cut 36 in an area inside the single stroke portion.

[0165] Preferably, forming the other through cut portion 36 includes forming the other through cut portion 36 so that when a virtual line CE perpendicular to the axial direction (X-axis direction) of the rod is drawn, the virtual line CE and the other through cut portion 36 do not form a closed figure.

[0166] The rod manufacturing method preferably includes forming a number of streaks 31a, 31b on the sheet material 30, extending in the axial direction of the rod (X-axis direction) and arranged side by side in a direction (Y-axis direction) intersecting the axial direction of the rod (X-axis direction), and the folding process of the sheet material 30 preferably includes folding the sheet material 30 at the number of streaks 31a, 31b.

[0167] In the method for manufacturing the rod, it is preferable that the order of forming the numerous non-annular through-slits 32 in the sheet material 30 and the order of forming the numerous streaks 31a, 31b in the sheet material 30 are random.

[0168] Preferably, forming the multiple through cuts 32 includes intersecting the multiple through cuts 32 with multiple streaks 31 a and 31 b.

[0169] The folding process preferably includes forming the sheet material 30 into a spiral shape around an axis along the axial direction of the rod (X-axis direction).

[0170] (First Modified Example) Next, using Figure 25, an example in which one segment S of the sheet material 30 of the filter segment 20 has two different through-slit portions 32, 38 and a holeless region 34 will be described as a first modified example.

[0171] As shown in FIG. 2, in the first embodiment described above, an example has been described in which the holeless regions 34 are formed adjacent to the through-slits 32 on both the upstream and downstream sides in the longitudinal direction of the sheet material 30.

[0172] 25 , a second through-slit 38 having a tongue 39 different in shape or size from the first through-slit 32 may be formed along the longitudinal direction of the sheet material 30, for example, upstream of the first through-slit 32. That is, it is also preferable that one segment S of the sheet material 30 has the first through-slit 32, one holeless region 34, and the second through-slit 38.

[0173] Therefore, according to this modification, it is possible to provide a flavor product 10 and a filter segment 20 for the flavor product 10, in which regions with different performance (the through-slit portions 32, 38 and the holeless region 34) are formed in a single member (sheet material 30) and the amount of fluid filtration, etc. can be adjusted. Furthermore, according to this modification, it is possible to provide a manufacturing device 50 capable of manufacturing the rod segment (rod) 20 for such a flavor product 10, and a manufacturing method for the rod segment (rod) 20 for the flavor product 10.

[0174] (Second Modification) Next, a second modification of the configuration of the filter segment 20 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0175] As described in the first modified example above, the filter material 22 of the filter segment 20 shown in Figure 26 has the second through cuts 38, the first through cuts 32, and the holeless region 34 arranged in this order from the upstream side to the downstream side (towards the suction end 14b) of the filter segment 20 (see Figure 26). Along the axial direction of the filter segment 20, the second through cuts 38 and the first through cuts 32 are adjacent to each other, and the first through cuts 32 and the holeless region 34 are adjacent to each other.

[0176] In this modification, a capsule (seamless capsule) 40 that can be broken with the user's fingers or teeth at a desired timing is embedded in the first through-slit 32. For example, the area ratio when the tongue 39 of the second through-slit 38 is an opening is set to 30%, and the area ratio when the tongue 33 of the first through-slit 32 is an opening is set to 70%, and these regions 38, 32 are continuous along the longitudinal direction of the rod of the filter segment 20. Here, for example, when the tongue 33 of the first through-slit 32 is the largest opening among the three regions 38, 32, 34, it is preferable to dispose one capsule 40 in the first through-slit 32.

[0177] The capsules 40 are formed, for example, by a dropping method. The diameter of the capsules 40 is preferably, for example, 3 mm to 6 mm. The capsules 40 can be embedded in the filter segments 20 during their production.

[0178] The capsule 40 has a structure in which a content liquid containing a flavoring, which is an example of a content, is enclosed in a membrane. The capsule 40 is formed, for example, as a roughly spherical shape. The film-forming material includes, for example, starch and a gelling agent. Examples of gelling agents that can be used include gellan gum and gelatin. The film-forming material may further include a gelling aid. Examples of gelling aids that can be used include calcium chloride. The film-forming material may further include a plasticizer. Examples of plasticizers that can be used include glycerin and / or sorbitol. The film-forming material may further include a colorant. Furthermore, the capsule 40 may contain a solid content such as granules together with or instead of the liquid.

[0179] The flavoring agent contained in the liquid content of the capsule 40 may be, for example, menthol or plant essential oil. The solvent for the flavoring agent contained in the liquid content may be, for example, medium-chain triglyceride (MCT). The liquid content may further contain other additives such as coloring agents, emulsifiers, and thickeners.

[0180] When embedding the capsules 40 in the filter material 22 using the manufacturing apparatus 50, the capsules 40 are inserted into the through-slits 32 of the filter material 22 at a timing that is, for example, between the end of the focusing guide 74 shown in FIG. 5 and the position where the glue from the wrap glue gun 76 is applied to the sheet-like member 24a that will become the wrapper 24. For example, an optical inspection device 60 may be used to confirm whether the capsules 40 are inserted in the desired position, i.e., the through-slits 32 of the filter material 22. If the capsules 40 are not inserted in the through-slits 32 of the filter material 22, the timing of inserting the capsules 40 into the through-slits 32 of the filter material 22 may be adjusted. Alternatively, the optical inspection device 60 may be used to adjust the timing of inserting the capsules 40 into the through-slits 32 of the filter material 22 through feedback control each time the filter assembly 18 is inspected.

[0181] As such, the filter segment 20 of the flavored product item 10 may include a capsule 40 .

[0182] Therefore, according to this modification, it is possible to provide a flavor product 10 and a rod segment (filter segment) 20 for the flavor product 10, in which regions with different performance (the through-slit portions 32, 38 and the holeless region 34) are formed in a single member (sheet material 30) and the amount of fluid filtration, etc. can be adjusted. Furthermore, according to this modification, it is possible to provide a manufacturing device 50 capable of manufacturing the rod segment (rod) 20 for the flavor product 10, and a manufacturing method for the rod segment (rod) 20 for the flavor product 10.

[0183] In this modified example, the filter material 22 has the through-slits 38 , but in a structure in which the capsules 40 are embedded in the filter material 22 , the through-slits 38 are not necessarily required.

[0184] 26A and 26B, a third modification regarding the configuration of the filter segment 20 will be described. This modification is a further modification of the second modification.

[0185] As shown in FIG. 26A , it is also preferable that the capsule 40 is not embedded in the filter material 22 of the filter segment 20, but is instead disposed within a segment 26, separate from the filter segment 20 formed of the filter material 22, which is made of a paper tube or acetate tow wrapped with a wrapper 28. That is, the segment 26 includes, from the inside to the outside, the capsule 40, an intermediate member 26a such as a paper tube or acetate tow, and a wrapper 26b. In this case, it is preferable that the segment 26 be disposed on the flavor generation segment 12 side opposite the mouthpiece end 14b. Therefore, for example, the leading end surface of the segment 26 becomes the leading end surface 14a of the mouthpiece segment 14, which abuts against the rear end surface 12b of the flavor generation segment 12. The rear end surface of the segment 26 abuts against the leading end surface of the filter segment 20. The rear end surface of the filter segment 20 becomes the mouthpiece end 14b of the mouthpiece segment 14.

[0186] Segment 26 and filter segment 20 are further wrapped with a wrapper 28 to form mouthpiece segment 14 .

[0187] Then, with the rear end surface 12b of the flavor generating segment 12 and the front end surface 14a of the mouthpiece segment 14 abutting against each other, the outer peripheries of the rear end surface 12b of the flavor generating segment 12 and the front end surface 14a of the mouthpiece segment 14 are wrapped with tipping paper 16. Thus, the flavor product 10 is formed.

[0188] Therefore, according to this modification, it is possible to provide a flavor product 10 and a rod segment (filter segment) 20 for the flavor product 10, in which regions with different performance (the through-slit portion 32 and the holeless region 34) are formed in a single member (sheet material 30) and the amount of fluid filtration, etc. can be adjusted. Furthermore, according to this modification, it is possible to provide a manufacturing device 50 capable of manufacturing the rod segment (rod) 20 for such a flavor product 10, and a manufacturing method for the rod segment (rod) 20 for the flavor product 10.

[0189] 26B , it is also preferable that the segment 26 including the capsule 40 is provided closer to the mouthpiece end 14b than the filter segment 20. In this case, the filter material 22 of the filter segment 20 is not visible to the user. Therefore, the positional relationship between the through-slit portion 32 and the holeless region 34 of the filter segment 20 may be such that either is closer to the flavor generating segment 12.

[0190] 26B can be used to prevent the placement of voids on the mouthpiece end 14b side. In this way, another segment 26 can be placed on the rear end side (mouthpiece end 14b side) of the filter segment 20, and each segment 20, 26 can be wrapped in a wrapper (molded paper) 28 to form the mouthpiece segment 14 as a multi-segment filter.

[0191] Even in the example shown in Figure 26B, the segments 20 typically have regions with different properties along their longitudinal direction, so each segment with a specific property is wrapped in a wrapper. In contrast, the segments 20 of this modification can have regions with different properties along their longitudinal direction using only a single wrapper 24. This allows for fewer wrapper turns than usual. Therefore, even when connecting another segment 26 to the filter segment 20, the wrapper 28 can prevent the outer periphery of the mouthpiece segment 14 from becoming thicker.

[0192] Therefore, according to this modification, another segment 26 can be placed upstream or downstream of a filter segment 20 manufactured using a sheet material 30 having a through-slit portion 32, thereby forming the mouthpiece segment 14 as a multi-segment filter.

[0193] 27 to 29, the sheet material 30 of the filter segment 20 will be described. This embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment including various modifications, and the same components as those described in the first embodiment or components having the same functions as those described in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as much as possible, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0194] Fig. 27 shows the flavor product 10 according to this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 28A and Fig. 28B , the sheet material 30 of the filter segment 20 of the flavor product 10 according to this embodiment is formed of parts indicated by the symbol P. That is, the sheet material 30 includes part P. As shown in Fig. 28A , part P of the sheet material 30 shown in Fig. 28B is repeatedly formed along the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, respectively.

[0195] It is preferable that the number of through-slit portions 32 per unit area of ​​the sheet material 30 shown in Figure 28A be set appropriately, for example, to be approximately the same as, several times as, or a fraction of, the number described in the first embodiment.

[0196] One filter segment 20 includes one or more parts P along the X-axis direction. Therefore, although the filter segment 20 has the through-slit portion 32, unlike the flavored product 10 described in the first embodiment, it is difficult to separate the region having the through-slit portion 32 along the X-axis direction from the holeless region 34.

[0197] Figure 29 is a schematic diagram of the filter segment 20 as viewed from the direction indicated by arrow XXIX in Figure 27. The numerous through-slits 32 cause some of the numerous tongue pieces 33 to be deviated from the surface of the sheet material 30 and maintained in an upright position. Therefore, the tongue pieces 33 that have been deviated from the surface of the sheet material 30 and raised by the through-slits 32 become openings in the sheet material 30. Therefore, by using the sheet material 30 according to this embodiment in the filter segment 20, the amount of filtration of the fluid, etc., can be adjusted.

[0198] The sheet material 30 may be formed in the cutout portion 66 (see FIG. 5) of the manufacturing apparatus 50 described above so as to form a plurality of tongue pieces 33 as shown in FIG. 28A. Alternatively, the sheet material 30 having the through cutout portion 32 shown in FIG. 28A formed therein in advance may be wound around a bobbin 52a.

[0199] In this way, the position, size, shape, etc. of the through-slit portion 32 in the sheet material 30 are appropriately set depending on the filter segment 20 for the flavored product 10 to be manufactured.

[0200] Therefore, according to this embodiment, by performing a folding process, some of the tongue pieces 33 of the numerous through-slits 32 are deflected from the surface of the sheet material 30 to form openings, thereby making it possible to provide a flavor product 10 and a rod segment (filter segment) 20 for the flavor product 10 that can adjust the amount of fluid filtration, etc. Furthermore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a manufacturing device 50 that can manufacture such a rod segment (rod) 20 for the flavor product 10, and a manufacturing method for the rod segment (rod) 20 for the flavor product 10.

[0201] The shape of the through cut portion 32, that is, the shape of the tongue piece 33, is allowed to be any appropriate shape as described in the first embodiment.

[0202] 29 shows an example in which there is one sheet of sheet material 30. For example, a plurality of sheet materials 30 may be folded and then formed into one rod.

[0203] In this embodiment, an example has been described in which the manufacturing apparatus 50 is used to manufacture a filter assembly 18 including a filter segment 20. The manufacturing apparatus 50 can also manufacture rod assemblies or rod segments for flavor product products 10 other than the filter segment 20. For example, when a tobacco sheet material is used as the sheet material 30, part P, i.e., a tobacco rod having a through-slit 32, is manufactured. The tobacco sheet material is subjected to an appropriate folding process, similar to the sheet material 30 described above, and wrapped in cigarette paper instead of the wrapper 24 to form a rod of the flavor generation segment 12. When a tobacco sheet material folded similar to the sheet material 30 described above is used as the filling material for the rod of the flavor generation segment 12, an acetate tow filter, for example, may be used as the filter material 22 of the filter segment 20 instead of the sheet material 30 after processing. In particular, using a tobacco rod having a through-slit 32 as the rod of the flavor generation segment 12 for a non-combustion heat-and-burn product promotes aerosol generation.

[0204] Third Embodiment A third embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 30. In this embodiment, an example of a non-combustion heating type flavor product 10 will be mainly described. Here, an example in which the sheet material 30 described in the first embodiment including the various modifications is used to form the tip plug 42 as a rod segment will be described, but the sheet material 30 described in the second embodiment may also be used.

[0205] As shown in FIG. 30 , the flavor generating segment 12 according to this embodiment has a tip plug 42 and a flavor generating portion 44 .

[0206] The flavor generating section 44 of this embodiment is formed in the same manner as the flavor generating segment 12 described in the first and second embodiments, for example.

[0207] The tip plug 42 is provided upstream of the flavor generating section 44. The tip plug 42 is used, for example, to prevent the tobacco material from falling off.

[0208] The tip plug 42 of this embodiment is formed in the same manner as the filter segment 20 described in the first and second embodiments. That is, the tip plug 42 has a cylindrical filter material 22 and a wrapper 24 that covers the outer periphery of the filter material 22. Furthermore, in the tip plug 42, the through-slit portion 32 and the holeless region 34 are arranged adjacent to each other. The region including the tip surface 12a is formed by the through-slit portion 32. In this embodiment, the through-slit range of the sheet material 30 that forms the filter material 22 may be larger or smaller than when used as the filter segment 20, in terms of the area of ​​the opening of the through-slit portion 32. Furthermore, for example, a liquid additive or a granular additive may or may not be present.

[0209] The region including the tip surface 12a of the tip plug 42 is used in the same orientation as the sheet material 30 described in the first embodiment, and is formed by the through-slit portion 32. In this embodiment, the holeless region 34 and the flavor generating portion 44 are connected. The tip plug 42 may be formed using the sheet material 30 described in the second embodiment.

[0210] The mouthpiece segment 14 is provided on the rear end side of the flavor generating section 44. In this embodiment, the mouthpiece segment 14 has a cooling segment 46 and a filter segment 48.

[0211] The filter segment 48 according to this embodiment may be the filter segment 20 described in the first and second embodiments, or may be a filter segment formed by wrapping a rod of acetate tow or the like around its outer periphery with a wrapper 24.

[0212] When the non-combustion-heating type flavor product 10 is used, the mouthpiece segment 14 preferably has a cooling segment 46 between the rear end surface 12b of the flavor generating segment 12 and the front end surface of the filter segment 20. In other words, the cooling segment 46 is preferably located downstream of the flavor generating segment 12.

[0213] The heated and vaporized aerosol base material and flavor source vapor are cooled and condensed (aerosolized) when introduced into the cooling segment 46. The cooling segment 46 preferably cools the temperature without significantly removing the aerosol base material and flavor source vapor generated in the flavor generation segment 12. For example, during inhalation, the difference between the internal temperature of the cooling segment 46 at its inlet (near the rear end surface 12b of the flavor generation segment 12) and the internal temperature of the cooling segment 46 at its outlet (near the front end surface of the filter segment 20) may be 20°C or more.

[0214] One aspect of the cooling segment 46 is a hollow member in which an outside air inlet hole is formed in a cardboard tube processed into a cylindrical shape. Another aspect is preferably filling the inside of a cardboard tube processed into a cylindrical shape with a cooling sheet material. The cooling sheet material used for the cooling segment 46 is preferably a sheet material that can be manufactured in substantially the same manner as manufacturing the filter segment 20 from the sheet material 30 described in the first or second embodiment. When the cooling segment 46 is manufactured using the manufacturing apparatus 50, the above-described addition section 68 may be unnecessary.

[0215] In this case, by providing one or more air flow channels in the flow direction of the cooling segment 46, a low level of component filtration can be achieved while cooling is performed by the cooling sheet material. When this cooling sheet material is filled, the airflow resistance of the cooling segment 46 is 0 mmH. ２ O / mm~30mmH ２ It is desirable that the thickness is 0 / mm.

[0216] The total surface area of ​​the cooling sheet material is 300 mm ２ / mm or more, 1000mm ２ This surface area is the surface area per length (mm) of the cooling sheet material in the air passage direction. The total surface area of ​​the cooling sheet material is 400 mm ２ / mm or more, and ２ / mm or more is more preferable, while 600 mm ２ / mm or less, and ２ / mm or less is more preferable.

[0217] It is desirable for the cooling segments 46 to have an adequate surface area for contacting the aerosol. Thus, in a preferred embodiment, the cooling sheet may be formed from a thin sheet of material that is wrinkled to form channels in the flow direction, and then pleated, gathered, and folded. The more folds or pleats within a given volume of the element, the greater the total surface area of ​​the cooling sheet.

[0218] In an embodiment, the thickness of the cooling sheet material is 5 μm or more and 500 μm or less, for example, 10 μm or more and 250 μm or less.

[0219] The cooling sheet material has a specific surface area of ​​10 mm ２ / mg or more, 100mm ２ In one embodiment, the specific surface area of ​​the constituent material is about 35 mm ２ / mg.

[0220] The specific surface area can be determined by considering the cooling sheet material having a known width and thickness. For example, the cooling sheet material can be polylactic acid with an average thickness of 50 μm and a variation of ±2 μm. If the cooling sheet material also has a known width, for example, between 200 mm and 250 mm, the specific surface area and density can be calculated.

[0221] It is also desirable to use paper as the cooling sheet material from the viewpoint of reducing the environmental load. For example, the paper as the cooling sheet material has a basis weight of 30 g / m ２ ~100g / m ２, and preferably has a thickness of 20 μm to 100 μm. From the viewpoint of minimizing the removal of flavor source components and aerosol base components in the cooling segment 46, it is desirable that the air permeability of the paper used as the cooling sheet material be low, and the air permeability is preferably 10 Coresta units or less. By applying a polymer porting such as polyvinyl alcohol or a coating of a polysaccharide such as pectin to the paper used as the cooling sheet material, the cooling effect can be increased by utilizing the heat of solution associated with the heat absorption and phase change of the coating.

[0222] Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a flavor product 10 and a filter segment 20 for the flavor product 10, in which regions with different performance (the through-slit portion 32 and the holeless region 34) are formed in a single member (sheet material 30) and the amount of fluid filtration, etc. can be adjusted. Furthermore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a manufacturing device 50 capable of manufacturing such a rod segment (rod) 20 for the flavor product 10, and a manufacturing method for the rod segment (rod) 20 for the flavor product 10.

[0223] Using the manufacturing apparatus 50 described in the first embodiment, the cooling sheet material can be folded (including creping and spiraling) to form a cylindrical rod, thereby forming the cooling segment (cooling rod segment) 46 of the mouthpiece segment 14.

[0224] Furthermore, the manufacturing apparatus 50 described in the first embodiment can roll up various sheet materials, not only for the filter segment 20 but also for the cooling segment 46 described in this embodiment and the flavor generating segment (tobacco sheet material) 12, together with the sheet-like member 24a that becomes the wrapper 24, to form a cylindrical rod segment.

[0225] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made in the implementation stage without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, the embodiments may be implemented in appropriate combinations, in which case the combined effects can be obtained. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments include various inventions, and various inventions can be extracted by combining selected elements from the disclosed elements. For example, if the problem can be solved and the desired effect can be obtained even if some elements are deleted from all elements shown in the embodiments, the configuration from which these elements are deleted can be extracted as an invention.

[0226] [Notes] [1] A rod for a flavor product, comprising: a sheet material formed into a rod shape by folding from a direction intersecting the axial direction of the rod; and a number of tongues formed by non-annular through-slits provided in the sheet material. [2] A rod for a flavor product, comprising: a sheet material formed into a rod shape by folding from a direction intersecting the axial direction of the rod; and a number of tongues at least partially deviating from the surface of the sheet material by the through-slits that leave portions integral with the sheet material when the sheet material is in the folded state. [3] The rod according to Note [1] or [2], wherein when the sheet material is in the folded state, at least a portion of the tongues are provided so as to protrude from the sheet material in a direction intersecting the axial direction of the rod. [4] The rod according to Supplementary Note [3], wherein a closed figure is defined by an imaginary fold line on a tongue piece among the many tongue pieces that is provided so as to protrude from the sheet material in a direction intersecting the axial direction of the rod. [5] The rod according to Supplementary Note [4], wherein when an imaginary rectangle circumscribing the through-slit portion including the closed figure is defined, one side of the rectangle is parallel to the fold line and parallel or approximately parallel to the axial direction of the rod. [6] The rod according to Supplementary Note [5], wherein the length of the rectangle along the axial direction of the rod is longer than the length of the rectangle in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the rod. [7] The rod according to Supplementary Note [5], wherein the length of the rectangle along the axial direction of the rod is shorter than the length of the rectangle in the direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the rod. [8] The rod according to any one of Supplementary Notes [1] to [7], wherein when a virtual rectangle circumscribing the tongue and having a minimum area is defined, a pair of sides of the rectangle are defined parallel to the axial direction, and a connecting portion of the tongue to the sheet material is formed along one of the pair of sides of the rectangle. [9] The rod according to any one of Supplementary Notes [1] to [8v], wherein the through-slit portion has a portion that intersects at least two points with a virtual line segment along the axial direction of the rod.

[10] The rod according to any one of Supplementary Notes [1] to [9], wherein when an imaginary line perpendicular to the axial direction of the rod is drawn at the through slit, the imaginary line and the through slit do not form a closed figure.

[11] The rod according to any one of Supplementary Notes [1] to

[10] , wherein at least a part of the through slit is formed in a single stroke.

[12] The rod according to any one of Supplementary Notes [1] to

[11] , wherein at least one of the multiple tongues is provided with a second through slit that does not form a closed figure between itself and the through slit.

[13] The rod according to any one of Supplementary Notes [1] to

[12] , wherein the sheet material extends in the axial direction of the rod, and a number of ridges arranged in a direction intersecting the axial direction of the rod are bent by the folding process from the direction intersecting the axial direction of the rod, and at least some of the many tongues are arranged adjacent to or spaced apart in a direction along the axial direction of the rod and are formed so as to straddle the ridges.

[14] The rod according to any one of Supplementary Notes [1] to

[12] , wherein the sheet material is formed in a spiral shape around an axis along the axial direction of the rod by the folding process.

[15] A flavored product product, including a rod for a flavored product according to any one of Supplementary Notes [1] to

[14] .

[16] A method for manufacturing a rod for a flavored product, comprising: forming a number of non-annular through-slits in a sheet material that forms the rod; folding the sheet material in a direction intersecting the axial direction of the rod to form the sheet material into a rod shape, and causing at least some of the number of through-slits to rise from the surface of the sheet material so as to deviate from the surface of the sheet material when the folding process is performed.

[17] The manufacturing method described in appendix

[16] , wherein forming the through-slits includes forming slits so as to leave connecting portions with the sheet material as non-slit portions along the axial direction of the rod.

[18] The manufacturing method according to Appendix

[16] or

[17] , wherein forming the through slits includes forming the through slits so that when an imaginary line perpendicular to the axial direction of the rod is drawn, the imaginary line and the through slits do not form a closed figure.

[19] The manufacturing method according to any one of Appendix

[16] to Appendix

[18] , wherein forming the multiple through slits includes forming a single-stroke portion in which the multiple through slits do not intersect with each other.

[20] The manufacturing method according to Appendix

[19] , wherein forming the multiple through slits includes forming the single-stroke portion and another through slit in an area inside the single-stroke portion.

[21] The manufacturing method according to Appendix

[20] , wherein forming the another through slit includes forming the single-stroke portion in which when an imaginary line perpendicular to the axial direction of the rod is drawn, the virtual line and the another through slit do not form a closed figure.

[22] The manufacturing method according to any one of Appendixes

[16] to

[21] , comprising forming a plurality of creases in the sheet material extending in the axial direction of the rod and arranged side by side in a direction intersecting the axial direction of the rod, and the folding process of the sheet material includes folding the sheet material at the plurality of creases.

[23] The manufacturing method according to Appendix

[22] , wherein the forming of the plurality of non-annular through-slits in the sheet material and the forming of the plurality of creases in the sheet material are performed in any order.

[24] The manufacturing method according to Appendix

[22] or Appendix

[23] , wherein the forming of the plurality of through-slits includes intersecting the plurality of creases with the plurality of through-slits.

[25] The manufacturing method according to any one of Appendixes

[16] to

[21] , wherein the folding process includes forming the sheet material into a spiral shape around an axis along the axial direction of the rod.

[0227] 10...flavor product, 12...flavor generating segment, 12a...front end surface, 12b...rear end surface, 14...mouthpiece segment, 14a...front end surface, 14b...mouthpiece end (rear end surface), 16...tipping paper, 18...filter assembly, 20...filter segment (rod segment), 22...filter material, 24...wrapper (wrap paper), 24a...sheet-like member, 30...sheet material, 31...streaks, 31a...valley fold portion, 31b...mountain fold portion, 32...through cut portion, 33... Tongue piece, 33a...connecting portion, 34...holeless region, 50...rod manufacturing device, 52...supply portion, 52a...bobbin, 52b...dancer unit, 54...processing portion, 56...rod forming portion, 58...rod cutting portion, 64...creping portion, 64a, 64b...creping roller, 66...notching portion, 66c...flexible die, 66d, 66f...cutting blade, 68b...granule adding portion, 72...paper roll supply mechanism, 72a...bobbin, 74...focusing guide, 76...wrap gun, 78...tongs.

Claims

1. A rod for a fragrance generating article, comprising: a sheet material formed in a rod shape by being folded from a direction intersecting the axial direction of the rod; and a plurality of tongue pieces each formed by a non-circular through cut portion provided in the sheet material.

2. A rod for a fragrance generating article, comprising: a sheet material formed in a rod shape by being folded from a direction intersecting the axial direction of the rod; and a plurality of tongue pieces at least part of which protrude from the surface of the sheet material by through cut portions leaving a portion integral with the sheet material in the state where the sheet material is folded.

3. The rod according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least part of the tongue pieces are each provided so as to protrude in a direction intersecting the axial direction of the rod with respect to the sheet material in the state where the sheet material is folded.

4. The rod according to claim 3, wherein a figure closed by a virtual broken line is defined for the tongue pieces provided so as to protrude in a direction intersecting the axial direction of the rod with respect to the sheet material.

5. The rod according to claim 4, when defining a virtual rectangle circumscribing the through cut portion including the closed figure, one side of the rectangle is parallel to the broken line and parallel or substantially parallel to the axial direction of the rod.

6. The rod according to claim 5, wherein the rectangle has a length along the axial direction of the rod longer than a length in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the rod.

7. The rod according to claim 5, wherein the rectangle has a length along the axial direction of the rod shorter than a length in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the rod.

8. The rod according to any one of claims 1 to 7, when defining a virtual rectangle having a minimum area circumscribing the tongue piece, a pair of sides of the rectangle are defined parallel to the axial direction, and a connecting portion of the tongue piece with respect to the sheet material is formed along one of the pair of sides of the rectangle.

9. The rod according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the through cut portion has a portion intersecting a virtual line segment along the axial direction of the rod at at least two points.

10. The rod according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein when a virtual line orthogonal to the axial direction of the rod of the through-cut portion is drawn, a closed figure is not formed by the virtual line and the through-cut portion.

11. The rod according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein at least a part of the through-cut portion is formed in one stroke.

12. The rod according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein at least one of the plurality of tongue pieces is provided with a second through-cut portion in which a closed figure is not formed between the second through-cut portion and the through-cut portion.

13. The sheet material extends in the axial direction of the rod, and a plurality of ribs arranged in a direction intersecting the axial direction of the rod are bent by the folding process from the direction intersecting the axial direction of the rod. At least a part of the plurality of tongue pieces are arranged adjacent to or spaced apart from each other in the direction along the axial direction of the rod, and are formed so as to straddle the ribs. The rod according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

14. A fragrance generating article comprising the rod for a fragrance generating article according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

15. A method for manufacturing a rod for a fragrance generating article, comprising: forming a plurality of non-circular through-cut portions in a sheet material forming the rod; folding the sheet material from a direction intersecting the axial direction of the rod to form the sheet material into a rod shape, and when the folding process is performed, causing at least a part of the plurality of through-cut portions to rise from the surface of the sheet material so as to deviate from the surface of the sheet material. A manufacturing method.

16. The manufacturing method according to claim 15, wherein forming the through-cut portion includes forming a cut so as to leave a connecting portion with the sheet material as an uncut portion along the axial direction of the rod.

17. The manufacturing method according to claim 15 or claim 16, wherein forming the through-cut portion includes forming the through-cut portion so that a closed figure is not formed by the virtual line and the through-cut portion when a virtual line orthogonal to the axial direction of the rod is drawn.

18. The manufacturing method according to any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein forming the plurality of through cuts includes forming a single stroke portion where each of the plurality of through cuts does not intersect with each other.

19. The manufacturing method according to claim 18, wherein forming the plurality of through cuts includes forming another through cut in the single stroke portion and in the inner region defined by the single stroke portion.

20. The manufacturing method according to claim 19, wherein forming the another through cut includes forming it such that a closed figure is not formed by the virtual line drawn perpendicular to the axial direction of the rod and the another through cut.

21. Having forming a plurality of ribs extending in the axial direction of the rod and arranged side by side in a direction intersecting the axial direction of the rod on the sheet material, wherein folding the sheet material includes bending the sheet material with the plurality of ribs. The manufacturing method according to any one of claims 15 to 20.

22. The manufacturing method according to claim 21, wherein forming the non-circular plurality of through cuts in the sheet material and forming the plurality of ribs in the sheet material are in any order.

23. The manufacturing method according to claim 21 or claim 22, wherein forming the plurality of through cuts includes intersecting the plurality of ribs with the plurality of through cuts.

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