Aerosol-generating article and method for producing same

Abstract

This aerosol-generating article (1) is formed by wrapping and connecting a plurality of segments (2, 4, 6, 8, or 86, 88) arranged in an axial direction (X) with outer plug wrappers (8, 84). The aerosol-generating article (1) includes: inner plug wrappers (12, 82) wrapped around a filling rod (10) constituting a segment (2) or a segment (86) on one side in the axial direction (X), and having an outer peripheral surface (12a, 82a) and an inner peripheral surface (12b, 82b) on a front and back respectively; and a first adhesion region (22) on the outer peripheral surface (12a, 82a) to which an adhesive (24) is applied for bonding the outer plug wrapper (8, 84). A contact angle (α) defining wettability with respect to a liquid differs between the first adhesion region (22) and the inner peripheral surfaces (12b, 82b), and the contact angle (α) of the first adhesion region (22) is 90° or less.

Description

Aerosol generating article and method for manufacturing the same

[0001] The present invention relates to an aerosol generating article and a method for manufacturing the same.

[0002] A non-combustion heating type or combustion heating type aerosol generating article (hereinafter, also simply referred to as an article) is formed by wrapping and connecting a plurality of segments arranged in the axial direction with an outer plug wrapper. On the filling rod constituting the segment, a segment wrapper having an outer peripheral surface and an inner peripheral surface on the front and back, in other words, an inner plug wrapper is wrapped. An adhesive region for adhering the outer plug wrapper is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the inner plug wrapper.

[0003] Here, a non-combustion heating type article contains a large amount of liquid such as a volatile fragrance in the filling rod of the segment as compared with a combustion heating type article. Patent Document 1 discloses an article in which a wrapper (inner plug wrapper) is wrapped around a tobacco filling rod in a tobacco part (aerosol generating segment). A coating layer is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the base material sheet of the wrapper, and the upper limit value of the moisture diffusion coefficient of the wrapper is set within a predetermined range. By forming a coating layer on the inner peripheral surface of the wrapper in this way, it is possible to reduce the bleeding of the wrapper caused by the liquid contained in the tobacco filling rod.

[0004] Further, the wrapper has one end and the other end in the circumferential direction of the tobacco filling rod, and an overlapping portion where the respective ends are overlapped with each other is formed. Each end is adhered with an adhesive at the overlapping portion. In Patent Document 1, a coating layer is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the other end of the overlapping portion of the wrapper. The coating layer is subjected to a surface treatment for improving the wettability (hydrophilicity) with respect to the liquid, in other words, for reducing the contact angle defining the wettability. By applying an adhesive to the surface subjected to such a surface treatment to form an adhesive region, it is said that the adhesive strength at the overlapping portion of the wrapper is increased.

[0005] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2023-113890

[0006] In recent years, the filling rods of segments, particularly those constituting non-combustion heating type articles, tend to contain significantly larger amounts of liquids such as volatile fragrances compared to before. Therefore, to reduce liquid staining on the inner plug wrapper of the segment, the composition of the inner plug wrapper is sometimes modified, such as by increasing the basis weight of the base sheet. In this case, the wettability of the outer surface of the inner plug wrapper, which is bonded to the outer plug wrapper, deteriorates; in other words, the contact angle that determines the wettability of the outer surface of the inner plug wrapper tends to increase.

[0007] An increase in the contact angle of the outer surface of the inner plug wrapper leads to a deterioration in the wettability of the adhesive area of ​​the inner plug wrapper to the outer plug wrapper, which in turn reduces the adhesive strength of the outer plug wrapper to the inner plug wrapper. This reduction in adhesive strength reduces the rigidity of the article and can cause it to bend in the middle. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the adhesive strength of the outer plug wrapper to the inner plug wrapper and, consequently, improve the quality of the article.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of these problems, and aims to provide an aerosol product and a method for producing the same, which can increase the adhesive strength of the outer plug wrapper to the inner plug wrapper and, consequently, improve the quality of the article, by improving the wettability of the adhesive region to which the outer plug wrapper is bonded in an inner plug wrapper that wraps a segment.

[0009] To achieve the above objective, an aerosol product according to one embodiment is formed by wrapping and connecting a plurality of segments arranged in the axial direction with an outer plug wrapper, and comprises a filling rod constituting the segment, or an inner plug wrapper wrapped around one of the segments in the axial direction, having an outer peripheral surface and an inner peripheral surface on the front and back sides, respectively, and a first adhesive region on the outer peripheral surface to which an adhesive for bonding the outer plug wrapper is applied, wherein the contact angle that defines the wettability to a liquid differs between the first adhesive region and the inner peripheral surface, and the contact angle of the first adhesive region is 90° or less.

[0010] Furthermore, a method for manufacturing an aerosol product according to one embodiment is a method for manufacturing an aerosol product by wrapping and connecting a plurality of segments arranged in the axial direction with an outer plug wrapper, and includes a surface treatment step of applying a surface treatment to the outer surface of an inner plug wrapper having an outer surface and an inner surface on its front and back sides, respectively; a wrapping step of wrapping the inner plug wrapper, whose outer surface has been surface treated, with a filling rod that is filled into a segment, or with a segment on one side in the axial direction; and an attachment step of applying an adhesive to a first bonding region on the outer surface of the inner plug wrapper and bonding the outer plug wrapper to connect a plurality of segments and form an aerosol product, wherein the surface treatment step is performed to make the contact angle that defines the wettability to a liquid different between the first bonding region and the inner surface, and to make the contact angle of the first bonding region 90° or less.

[0011] According to the above embodiment, the adhesive strength of the outer plug wrapper to the inner plug wrapper can be increased, and consequently, the quality of the article can be improved.

[0012] This is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of an aerosol product according to one embodiment. This is a transverse cross-sectional view of the aerosol product as seen from direction A-A in Figure 1. This is a plan view of a continuous roll of aerosol-generating segments as seen from its outer circumferential surface. This is a diagram showing the contact angle that defines the wettability of the outer circumferential surface of the roll. This is a flowchart illustrating a method for manufacturing an aerosol product according to one embodiment. This is a schematic diagram of a surface treatment apparatus that performs a surface treatment step. This is a schematic diagram of a surface treatment apparatus according to another embodiment. This is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of an aerosol product according to another embodiment. This is a plan view of the continuous first chip paper in Figure 8 as seen from its outer circumferential surface.

[0013] The aerosol product and its manufacturing method according to the embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. <Aerosol Product> Figure 1 shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view of an aerosol product 1 according to one embodiment. Article 1 is a non-combustion heating type stick, formed by arranging an aerosol generating segment 2, a cooling segment 4, and a mouthpiece segment 6 in this order in the axial direction X and connecting them with tip paper 8 (hereinafter also referred to as outer plug wrapper 8, meaning that it is positioned on the outside). The aerosol generating segment 2 is formed by wrapping a rod-shaped filling rod 10 with wrapping paper 12 (hereinafter also referred to as inner plug wrapper 12, meaning that it is positioned on the inside). The filling rod 10 can be formed from, for example, shredded tobacco, shredded tobacco sheets, or tobacco sheets folded in a gathered shape.

[0014] When the user uses item 1, the aerosol generation segment 2 is heated by a heater of an electronic device (aerosol generator) not shown. This causes the components of the filling rod 10 to volatilize, and when the user inhales item 1 through the mouthpiece segment 6, the components of the filling rod 10 are guided to the cooling segment 4. The filling rod 10 can also be formed from a sheet made from tobacco-free pulp with added flavoring, a sheet made from shredded non-tobacco plants, or these sheets folded into a gathered shape.

[0015] The inner plug wrapper 12 is, for example, 50 g / m ２ The inner plug wrapper is formed from paper having the above basis weight, and the thickness of the paper is 0.07 mm or more. More specifically, the inner plug wrapper 12 may be formed from a base sheet such as water-resistant paper, oil-resistant paper, non-permeable paper, or highly permeable paper. The inner plug wrapper 12 may also contain fillers such as calcium carbonate, and a non-metallic coating layer made of gum arabic or the like may be formed on the inner circumferential surface 12b of the inner plug wrapper 12.

[0016] The cooling segment 4 is, for example, a cylindrical paper tube formed from single or double layers of paper web, and has a hollow section 14 in which it serves as an airflow path in the article 1. Multiple ventilation holes 16 are perforated on the circumferential surface of the cooling segment 4 to introduce air into the hollow section 14 from the outside when the article 1 is sucked. The components volatilized from the filling rod 10 of the aerosol generation segment 2 are cooled by the air taken in through each ventilation hole 16 in the cooling segment 4 to become an aerosol, and the user inhales the aerosol that has passed through the mouthpiece segment 6.

[0017] The mouthpiece segment 6 is formed by filling it with filter material 18 and wrapping it with a filter wrapper 20. The filter material 18 is not particularly limited and may be any known material. For example, cellulose acetate tow processed into a cylindrical or cylindrical shape can be used, and instead of an acetate filter, a paper filter filled with sheet-like pulp paper or a nonwoven fabric may be used. The filter material 18 may also contain a plasticizer such as triacetin. The aerosol that passes through such a filter material 18 has impurities removed, thereby improving the taste of the article 1.

[0018] Furthermore, the material of the filter wrapper 20 is not particularly limited and any known material can be used, including paper, and may also contain fillers such as calcium carbonate. The filter wrapper 20 may or may not be coated, and may be made of water-resistant paper, oil-resistant paper, non-permeable paper, or highly permeable paper. Based on the direction of airflow within the article 1 when the user inhales the article 1 through the mouthpiece segment 6, the aerosol generation segment 2 side of the article 1 is defined as the upstream side of the article 1, and the mouthpiece segment 6 side of the article 1 is defined as the downstream side of the article 1.

[0019] Figure 2 shows a cross-sectional view of article 1 as seen from direction A-A in Figure 1. Figure 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the area where the outer plug wrapper 8 is wrapped around the inner plug wrapper 12 of the aerosol generation segment 2. The inner plug wrapper 12 has an outer circumferential surface 12a and an inner circumferential surface 12b, and a first adhesive region 22 is formed on the outer circumferential surface 12a. Adhesive 24 for bonding the outer plug wrapper 8 is applied to the first adhesive region 22. As a result, the upstream end of the outer plug wrapper 8 is bonded to the downstream end of the inner plug wrapper 12, thereby connecting the upstream aerosol generation segment 2 with the downstream cooling segment 4 and mouthpiece segment 6. In addition, a second adhesive region 26 is formed on the outer circumferential surface 12a of the inner plug wrapper 12. Adhesive 24 is also applied to the second adhesive region 26. As a result, the inner plug wrapper 12 is bonded to the filling rod 10 in the circumferential direction Y, and the filling rod 10 is wrapped by the inner plug wrapper 12.

[0020] Figure 3 shows a plan view of the continuous roll paper 12 of the aerosol generation segment 2, i.e., the inner plug wrapper 12, as seen from its outer circumferential surface 12a. In Figure 3, the continuous inner plug wrappers 12 before cutting are arranged adjacent to each other along the axial direction X. The first adhesive region 22 is formed with a predetermined area at the downstream end (right end in Figure 3) in the axial direction X of the region constituting each inner plug wrapper 12. The second adhesive region 26 is formed with a predetermined area at one end (lower end in Figure 3) in the circumferential direction Y of the inner plug wrapper 12.

[0021] Figure 4 shows a diagram illustrating the contact angle α that defines the wettability of the outer circumferential surface 12a of the wrapping paper 12, i.e., the inner plug wrapper 12. When liquid 28 is dropped onto the outer circumferential surface 12a, the angle α between the tangent 30 of the liquid 28 and the outer circumferential surface 12a is called the contact angle. This contact angle α is an indicator that defines the wettability (hydrophilicity) of the outer circumferential surface 12a to the liquid 28, and the smaller the value, the better the wettability and the better the adhesion by the adhesive 24. In this embodiment, the contact angle α of the first adhesive region 22 formed on the outer circumferential surface 12a of the inner plug wrapper 12 is made different from the contact angle α of the inner circumferential surface 12b of the inner plug wrapper 12, and the first adhesive region 22 is surface-treated so that the contact angle α of the first adhesive region 22 is 90° or less.

[0022] Furthermore, the contact angle α of the second adhesive region 26 formed on the outer peripheral surface 12a of the inner plug wrapper 12 is also treated so that it is 90° or less, similar to the first adhesive region 22. More preferably, in this embodiment, the contact angle α of the first adhesive region 22 and the second adhesive region 26 is 75° or less. Also, the areas to which the surface treatment is applied do not necessarily have to coincide with the first adhesive region 22 and the second adhesive region 26.

[0023] In other words, the area to be surface-treated may occupy a larger area on the outer circumferential surface 12a than the first and second adhesive areas 22 and 26, provided that it includes the first adhesive area 22 and the second adhesive area 26. For example, the area to be surface-treated may be the entire outer circumferential surface 12a, in which case the contact angle α over the entire outer circumferential surface 12a will be at least 90° or less, and more preferably 75° or less. The second adhesive area 26 may be formed on the inner circumferential surface 12b of the inner plug wrapper 12. In this case, surface treatment must be applied to both the outer circumferential surface 12a and the inner circumferential surface 12b.

[0024] <Method for Manufacturing Aerosol Products> Figure 5 shows a flowchart illustrating a method for manufacturing an aerosol product 1 according to one embodiment. In this manufacturing method, the aerosol generation segment 2, the cooling segment 4, and the mouthpiece segment 6 are arranged in this order along the axial direction X and connected by an outer plug wrapper 8 to produce the article 1. Specifically, first, a continuous body of filling rods 10 is formed from the filler material (S1: filling rod formation step), and then, an inner plug wrapper 12 is supplied toward the continuous body of filling rods 10 (S2: wrapper supply step).

[0025] Next, the outer surface 12a of the inner plug wrapper 12 is subjected to surface treatment (S3: surface treatment step). Next, the inner plug wrapper 12 is wrapped around the continuous body of the filling rod 10 (S4: wrapping step). This forms a continuous body of aerosol generating segment 2. Next, the continuous body of aerosol generating segment 2 is cut to form two aerosol generating segments 2 (S5: cutting step).

[0026] Next, a double-length segment, twice the length of the cooling segment 4 manufactured in a separate process, is coaxially arranged in the axial direction X between the two spaced-apart aerosol-generating segments 2. The resulting continuum is cut in the longitudinal center to form two divided parts. Next, a double-length segment, twice the length of the mouthpiece segment 6 manufactured in a separate process, is coaxially arranged in the axial direction X between the two spaced-apart divided parts. In the resulting continuum, adhesive 24 is applied to the first bonding region 22 on at least the outer peripheral surface 12a of the aerosol-generating segment 2 to bond the outer plug wrapper 8, and this continuum is cut in the longitudinal center. This forms an article 1 connecting the aerosol-generating segment 2, the cooling segment 4, and the mouthpiece segment 6 (S6: attachment step), and the manufacturing of article 1 is completed.

[0027] More specifically, in the wrapper supply step S2, as described above, 50 g / m of inner plug wrapper 12 is supplied to the filling rod 10. ２Paper having the above basis weight is supplied. Furthermore, the thickness of the paper supplied as the inner plug wrapper 12 is preferably 0.07 mm or more. In the surface treatment step S3, as described above, the contact angle α is made different between the first adhesive region 22 and the inner circumferential surface 12b, and the surface treatment is applied to make the contact angle α of the first adhesive region 22 90° or less. Furthermore, in the surface treatment step S3, the contact angle α of the second adhesive region 26 is also treated to be 90° or less, similar to the first adhesive region 22.

[0028] More preferably, in the surface treatment step S3, a surface treatment is performed so that the contact angle α of the first adhesive region 22 and the second adhesive region 26 is 75° or less. Also, in the surface treatment step S3, as described above, the area to be surface treated may be the entire outer surface 12a, in which case the contact angle α over the entire outer surface 12a is at least 90° or less, and more preferably 75° or less. Furthermore, the wrapping of the inner plug wrapper 12 onto the continuous filling rod 10 in the wrapping step S4 is performed by applying adhesive 24 to the second adhesive region 26 on the outer surface 12a of the inner plug wrapper 12 and bonding the inner plug wrapper 12 by overlapping it in the circumferential direction Y of the filling rod 10.

[0029] <Surface Treatment Apparatus> Figure 6 shows a schematic diagram of the surface treatment apparatus 40 that performs the surface treatment step S3. The surface treatment apparatus 40 includes a plasma generation unit 42, an ozone decomposition unit 44, a robot 46, a controller 48, a gas supply source 50, a mobile stage 52, etc. The plasma generation unit 42 converts the reaction gas (air, oxygen, nitrogen, etc.) supplied from the gas supply source 50 into plasma, generating plasma 60, which is called the fourth state of matter. The ozone decomposition unit 44 decomposes and recovers ozone from the gas during the generation of plasma 60.

[0030] Plasma 60 is irradiated from the injection nozzle 42a of the plasma generation unit 42 to the regions corresponding to the first adhesive region 22 and the second adhesive region 26 on the outer surface 12a of the inner plug wrapper 12. As a result, the surfaces of the first adhesive region 22 and the second adhesive region 26 are cleaned by the decomposition and removal of organic matter, and hydrophilic groups are added. Consequently, the wettability of the first adhesive region 22 and the second adhesive region 26 is improved, and the adhesive strength in the first adhesive region 22 and the second adhesive region 26 when the adhesive 24 is applied is increased.

[0031] The inner plug wrapper 12 is placed on a glass plate 54 positioned on a moving stage 52. The moving stage 52 and the robot 46 are electrically connected to a controller 48. The controller 48 moves the moving stage 52 to move the inner plug wrapper 12 and controls the robot 46 to move the injection nozzle 42a. As a result, plasma 60 is accurately injected into the region of the inner plug wrapper 12 including at least the first adhesive region 22 and the second adhesive region 26, and plasma treatment as a surface treatment is performed in the surface treatment step S3.

[0032] Figure 7 shows a schematic diagram of a surface treatment apparatus 70 according to another embodiment. The surface treatment apparatus 70 of this embodiment is equipped with a robot 46, a controller 48, and a gas supply source 50, similar to those shown in Figure 6, and further includes a high-frequency power supply unit 56 instead of a plasma generation unit 42 and a dielectric roll 58 instead of a moving stage 52. The inner plug wrapper 12 is conveyed while being fed out by the dielectric roll 58, and a corona discharge 80 is generated between the high-frequency power supply unit 56 and the dielectric roll 58.

[0033] Corona discharge 80 is irradiated from the injection nozzle 56a of the high-frequency power supply unit 56 to the areas corresponding to the first adhesive region 22 and the second adhesive region 26 on the outer peripheral surface 12a of the inner plug wrapper 12. As a result, as in the case shown in Figure 6, the surfaces of the first adhesive region 22 and the second adhesive region 26 are cleaned by the decomposition and removal of organic matter and hydrophilic groups are added. Consequently, the wettability of the first adhesive region 22 and the second adhesive region 26 is improved, and the adhesive strength in the first adhesive region 22 and the second adhesive region 26 when the adhesive 24 is applied is increased.

[0034] The rotating shaft 58a of the dielectric roll 58 and the robot 46 are electrically connected to the controller 48. The controller 48 rotates the rotating shaft 58a to move the inner plug wrapper 12 and controls the robot 46 to move the injection nozzle 56a. As a result, plasma 60 is accurately injected into the region of the inner plug wrapper 12 that includes at least the first adhesive region 22 and the second adhesive region 26, and corona treatment as a surface treatment is performed in the surface treatment step S3. Corona treatment allows for surface treatment of deeper concavities compared to the plasma treatment described above.

[0035] <Contact Angle Measurement Method> To measure the contact angle, an automatic contact angle meter is used, which automatically creates droplets and automatically applies them to sample paper equivalent to the inner plug wrapper 12. Specifically, the contact angle measurement in this embodiment is performed under the following conditions: - Paper that has been conditioned for one week at 23°C and 50% humidity is used. - An automatic contact angle meter (model: DMo-602) from Kyowa Interface Science Co., Ltd. is used.

[0036] In this automatic contact angle meter, a droplet of 1.0 μL to 1.5 μL is formed at the tip of the syringe. As the syringe moves, the tip approaches the fixed sample paper, the droplet adheres to the paper, and then the syringe moves away from the sample paper. The contact angle is measured 500 ms (milliseconds) after the droplet adheres to the sample paper.

[0037] As described above, in this embodiment, article 1 has a first bonding region 22 formed on the outer peripheral surface 12a of the inner plug wrapper 12, to which an adhesive 24 for bonding the outer plug wrapper 8 is applied. In the surface treatment step S3, the contact angle α, which defines the wettability to a liquid, is made different between the first bonding region 22 and the inner peripheral surface 12b of the inner plug wrapper 12, and further, the first bonding region 22 is surface-treated so that the contact angle α is 90° or less. As a result, even if the composition of the inner plug wrapper 12 is changed, the bonding strength of the outer plug wrapper 8 to the inner plug wrapper 12 can be increased by improving the wettability of the first bonding region 22. Therefore, bending in the middle of article 1 is prevented, the rigidity of article 1 is improved, and consequently the quality of article 1 can be improved.

[0038] Furthermore, a second bonding region 26 is formed on the outer circumferential surface 12a of the inner plug wrapper 12 for bonding the inner plug wrapper 12 to the filling rod 10 in the circumferential direction Y. In the surface treatment step S3, the contact angle α of the second bonding region 26 is also surface-treated to be 90° or less, similar to the first bonding region 22. This improves the wettability of the second bonding region 26, increasing the bonding strength of the overlapping region of the inner plug wrapper 12 in the circumferential direction Y when the filling rod 10 is wrapped. Consequently, the rigidity of the aerosol generating segment 2 itself is increased, and the quality of the article 1 can be further improved.

[0039] More preferably, in the surface treatment step S3, the surface treatment is performed so that the contact angle α of the first adhesive region 22 and the second adhesive region 26 becomes 75° or less. This further improves the adhesive strength in the first adhesive region 22 and the second adhesive region 26, thereby further improving the quality of article 1.

[0040] Furthermore, in the surface treatment step S3, the contact angle α over the entire outer surface 12a of the inner plug wrapper 12 may be treated to 75° or less. This eliminates the need to distinguish between the surface treatment area and other areas on the outer surface 12a when performing the surface treatment on the outer surface 12a. Therefore, the surface treatment step S3 is simplified, and the productivity of article 1 can be improved.

[0041] Also, in the wrapper supply step S2, as the inner plug wrapper 12, paper having a basis weight of 50 g / m ２ or more is supplied. Further, this paper supplied as the inner plug wrapper 12 has a thickness of 0.07 mm or more. As a result of a large amount of liquid such as a volatile fragrance being contained in the filling rod 10, even if such a composition change of the inner plug wrapper 12 is made, as described above, by improving the wettability of the first adhesion region 22 and the second adhesion region 26, the quality of the article 1 can be improved.

[0042] Further, the manufacturing method of the article 1 includes the above-described filling rod forming step S1, wrapper supply step S2, surface treatment step S3, lapping step S4, cutting step S5, and attachment step S6, and the surface treatment step S3 is performed online in the manufacturing process of the article 1. Thereby, the inner plug wrapper 12 can be efficiently surface-treated without stopping the production of the article 1, so that the productivity of the article 1 can be improved.

[0043] Further, in the surface treatment step S3, the inner plug wrapper 12 may be subjected to plasma treatment using the surface treatment device 40 shown in FIG. 6. Alternatively, in the surface treatment step S3, the inner plug wrapper 12 may be subjected to corona treatment using the surface treatment device 70 shown in FIG. 7. Whether to perform plasma treatment or corona treatment can be appropriately selected according to the required mode of surface treatment.

[0044] With the above, the description of the embodiment ends. However, the above embodiment is not restrictive, and various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the present invention is applicable to various articles 1 formed by lapping and connecting a plurality of segments arranged in the axial direction with the outer plug wrapper 8. For example, the present invention is applicable to an article 1 having a tip segment 72 at the tip on the upstream side of the aerosol generation segment 2 as shown in FIG. 8.

[0045] The tip segment 72 is formed by wrapping a filling rod 74 with a wrapper 76. The filling rod 74 can be formed from shredded tobacco sheet, or a tobacco sheet folded in a gathered shape, or a sheet formed from pulp without tobacco and added with flavor, shredded sheet formed from a non-tobacco plant, or a gathered sheet of these. Further, the filling rod 74 may be formed by filling a filter medium such as cellulose acetate.

[0046] The article 1 further includes a first tip paper 82 (hereinafter also referred to as an inner plug wrapper 82 in the sense of being disposed inside), and a second tip paper 84 (hereinafter also referred to as an outer plug wrapper 84 in the sense of being disposed outside). The inner plug wrapper 82 has an outer peripheral surface 82a and an inner peripheral surface 82b on the front and back, respectively, and wraps an upstream segment (one-side segment) 86 composed of the tip segment 72 and the aerosol generation segment 2 with an adhesive 24. The outer plug wrapper 84 wraps a downstream segment 88 composed of the cooling segment 4 and the mouthpiece segment 6 with an adhesive 24.

[0047] Figure 9 shows a plan view of the continuous first tip paper 82, i.e., the inner plug wrapper 82, of the upstream segment 86, as seen from its outer circumferential surface 82a. Similar to the case shown in Figure 3, a first adhesive region 22 is formed on the outer circumferential surface 82a of the inner plug wrapper 82, where adhesive 24 for bonding the outer plug wrapper 84 is applied. By applying adhesive to the first adhesive region 22 and bonding the outer plug wrapper 84, the article 1 is formed by connecting it to the downstream segment 88. In addition, a second adhesive region 26 is formed on the outer circumferential surface 82a of the inner plug wrapper 82 for bonding the inner plug wrapper 82 by overlapping it in the circumferential direction Y of the aerosol generating segment 2 and the tip segment 72, i.e., the upstream segment 86, which contain the filling rods 10 and 74, respectively. By applying adhesive 24 to the second adhesive region 26 and overlapping the inner plug wrapper 82 in the circumferential direction Y of the upstream segment 86, the upstream segment 86 is wrapped by the inner plug wrapper 82.

[0048] In this case as well, similar to the article shown in Figure 1, the contact angle α differs between the first bonding region 22 and the inner circumferential surface 12b of the inner plug wrapper 12. Furthermore, the contact angle α of the first bonding region 22 and the second bonding region 26 is at least 90° or less, more preferably 75° or less. Moreover, the region with such a contact angle α may encompass the entire outer circumferential surface 12a. This prevents the article 1 from bending in the middle, improves the rigidity of the article 1, and increases the rigidity of the upstream segment 86 itself, thereby improving the quality of the article 1.

[0049] In addition, in the article 1 shown in Figure 8, as in the case of article 1 shown in Figure 1, the wrapping paper 12 of the aerosol generating segment 2 may be treated as the inner plug wrapper 12, and the first tip paper 82 may be treated as the outer plug wrapper 82. In this case, as in the case shown in Figure 3, the same first adhesive region 22 and second adhesive region 26 as described above are formed on the outer peripheral surface 12a of the inner plug wrapper 12. In this case as well, the contact angle α of the first adhesive region 22 and the second adhesive region 26 is at least 90° or less, more preferably 75° or less, and furthermore, the region with such a contact angle α may be the entire outer peripheral surface 12a.

[0050] Furthermore, while the surface treatment step S3 is performed online during the manufacturing process of article 1, it is not limited to this, and the surface treatment step S3 may be performed separately from the manufacturing process of article 1. In this case, the inner plug wrapper 12, which has been surface treated elsewhere, is supplied to the manufacturing apparatus for article 1.

[0051] Furthermore, some or all of the above embodiments can be expressed by the descriptions of the following embodiments. (Embodiment 1) An aerosol product formed by wrapping and connecting a plurality of segments arranged in the axial direction with an outer plug wrapper, comprising: a filling rod constituting the segment, or an inner plug wrapper wrapped around one of the segments in the axial direction, having an outer peripheral surface and an inner peripheral surface on its front and back sides, respectively; and a first adhesive region on the outer peripheral surface to which an adhesive for bonding the outer plug wrapper is applied, wherein the contact angle defining wettability to a liquid differs between the first adhesive region and the inner peripheral surface, and the contact angle of the first adhesive region is 90° or less.

[0052] (Aspect 2) The aerosol product according to aspect 1, wherein the inner plug wrapper has a second bonding region to which an adhesive is applied in order to overlap and bond the inner plug wrapper to the filling rod or the segment on one side in the circumferential direction, and the contact angle of the second bonding region is 90° or less.

[0053] (Aspect 3) The aerosol product according to aspect 2, wherein the contact angle of the first adhesive region and the second adhesive region is 75° or less. (Aspect 4) The aerosol product according to aspect 3, wherein the contact angle over the entire outer surface is 75° or less.

[0054] (Aspect 5) The inner plug wrapper is 50 g / m ２ An aerosol product according to any one of embodiments 1 to 4, formed from paper having the above basis weight. (Embodiment 6) The aerosol product according to embodiment 5, wherein the inner plug wrapper is formed from paper having a thickness of 0.07 mm or more.

[0055] (Aspect 7) A method for producing an aerosol product by wrapping and connecting a plurality of segments arranged in the axial direction with an outer plug wrapper, comprising: a surface treatment step of applying a surface treatment to the outer surface of an inner plug wrapper having an outer surface and an inner surface on its front and back sides; a wrapping step of wrapping the inner plug wrapper, whose outer surface has been surface treated, with a filling rod that is filled into the segments, or with one of the segments in the axial direction; and an attachment step of applying an adhesive to a first bonding region on the outer surface of the inner plug wrapper and bonding the outer plug wrapper to connect the plurality of segments and form the aerosol product, wherein the surface treatment step is performed such that the contact angle that defines the wettability to a liquid is different between the first bonding region and the inner surface, and the contact angle of the first bonding region is 90° or less.

[0056] (Aspect 8) The method for producing an aerosol product according to aspect 7, wherein the inner plug wrapper has a second bonding region to which an adhesive is applied for overlapping and bonding the inner plug wrapper to the filling rod or the segment on one side in the circumferential direction, and the surface treatment step is to perform the surface treatment to make the contact angle of the second bonding region 90° or less.

[0057] (Aspect 9) The method for producing an aerosol product according to aspect 8, wherein the surface treatment step is to perform the surface treatment so that the contact angle of the first adhesive region and the second adhesive region is 75° or less. (Aspect 10) The method for producing an aerosol product according to aspect 9, wherein the surface treatment step is to perform the surface treatment so that the contact angle over the entire outer surface is 75° or less.

[0058] (Aspect 11) 50 g / m of inner plug wrapper ２ A method for producing an aerosol product according to Embodiment 7, further comprising a wrapper supply step of supplying paper having the above basis weight. (Embodiment 12) A method for producing an aerosol product according to Embodiment 11, wherein the wrapper supply step supplies paper having a thickness of 0.07 mm or more as the inner plug wrapper.

[0059] (Aspect 13) A method for producing an aerosol product according to any one of aspects 7 to 12, wherein the surface treatment step is plasma treatment as the surface treatment. (Aspect 14) A method for producing an aerosol product according to any one of aspects 7 to 12, wherein the surface treatment step is corona treatment as the surface treatment.

[0060] 1 Aerosol product 2 Aerosol generation segment (segment) 4 Cooling segment (segment) 6 Mouthpiece segment (segment) 8 Tip paper (outer plug wrapper) 10 Filling rod 12 Wrapping paper (inner plug wrapper) 12a Outer surface 12b Inner surface 22 First bonding area 24 Adhesive 26 Second bonding area 72 Tip segment (segment) 74 Filling rod 82 First tip paper (inner plug wrapper) 82a Outer surface 82b Inner surface 84 Second tip paper (outer plug wrapper) 86 Upstream segment (segment) 88 Downstream segment (segment) α Contact angle X Axial direction Y Circumferential direction S2 Wrapper supply step S3 Surface treatment step S4 Wrapping step S6 Attachment step

Claims

1. An aerosol product formed by wrapping and connecting a plurality of segments arranged in the axial direction with an outer plug wrapper, comprising: a filling rod constituting the segment, or an inner plug wrapper wrapped around one of the segments in the axial direction, having an outer peripheral surface and an inner peripheral surface on its front and back sides, respectively; and a first adhesive region on the outer peripheral surface to which an adhesive for bonding the outer plug wrapper is applied, wherein the contact angle defining wettability to a liquid differs between the first adhesive region and the inner peripheral surface, and the contact angle of the first adhesive region is 90° or less.

2. The aerosol product according to claim 1, wherein the inner plug wrapper has a second bonding region to which an adhesive is applied for overlapping and bonding the inner plug wrapper to the filling rod or the one-sided segment in the circumferential direction, and the contact angle of the second bonding region is 90° or less.

3. The aerosol product according to claim 2, wherein the contact angle between the first adhesive region and the second adhesive region is 75° or less.

4. The aerosol product according to claim 3, wherein the contact angle over the entire outer surface is 75° or less.

5. The inner plug wrapper has a density of 50 g / m ２ An aerosol product according to any one of claims 1 to 4, formed from paper having the above basis weight.

6. The aerosol product according to claim 5, wherein the inner plug wrapper is formed from the paper having a thickness of 0.07 mm or more.

7. A method for producing an aerosol product by wrapping and connecting a plurality of segments arranged in the axial direction with an outer plug wrapper, comprising: a surface treatment step of applying a surface treatment to the outer surface of an inner plug wrapper having an outer surface and an inner surface on its front and back sides; a wrapping step of wrapping the inner plug wrapper, whose outer surface has been surface treated, with a filling rod that is filled into the segments, or with one of the segments in the axial direction; and an attachment step of applying an adhesive to a first bonding region on the outer surface of the inner plug wrapper and bonding the outer plug wrapper to connect the plurality of segments and form the aerosol product, wherein the surface treatment step is performed such that the contact angle that defines the wettability to a liquid differs between the first bonding region and the inner surface, and the contact angle of the first bonding region is 90° or less.

8. The method for producing an aerosol product according to claim 7, wherein the inner plug wrapper has a second bonding region to which an adhesive is applied for overlapping and bonding the inner plug wrapper to the filling rod or the segment on one side in the circumferential direction, and the surface treatment step comprises performing the surface treatment to make the contact angle of the second bonding region 90° or less.

9. The method for producing an aerosol product according to claim 8, wherein the surface treatment step involves performing the surface treatment to make the contact angle between the first adhesive region and the second adhesive region 75° or less.

10. The method for producing an aerosol product according to claim 9, wherein the surface treatment step involves performing a surface treatment that reduces the contact angle over the entire outer surface to 75° or less.

11. 50 g / m of the inner plug wrapper. ２ A method for producing an aerosol product according to claim 7, further comprising a wrapper supply step of supplying paper having the above basis weight.

12. The method for producing an aerosol product according to claim 11, wherein the wrapper supply step is to supply the paper having a thickness of 0.07 mm or more as the inner plug wrapper.

13. The method for producing an aerosol product according to any one of claims 7 to 12, wherein the surface treatment step is to perform plasma treatment as the surface treatment.

14. The method for producing an aerosol product according to any one of claims 7 to 12, wherein the surface treatment step is to perform corona treatment as the surface treatment.

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