Cigarette Filter Capsule with Variable Flow Path for Powder Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional smoking articles face issues with powder spillage during production and shipment, as existing filter configurations fail to effectively block the passage of powder, leading to unintended release, which complicates the inhalation process and affects the timing of enjoying taste and aroma.
Innovation Solution
A smoking article design featuring a powder-containing substance that turns into powder upon external force application, with a flow path inner diameter smaller than the substance's outer diameter, preventing spillage and allowing controlled inhalation, comprising a tobacco rod, filter, and tipping paper with a cavity and flow path configuration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the flow path diameter is reduced to block powder passage, then powder spill is suppressed, but powder inhalation is hindered
Solution Approach 1:
The flow path diameter is made variable rather than fixed. During normal conditions (production, shipment), the flow path maintains a small effective diameter to block powder passage. During smoking, the flow path expands to allow powder inhalation. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction between blocking powder spill and enabling powder inhalation.
Solution Approach 2:
The physical parameter of the flow path (diameter) is changed based on operational conditions. The flow path transitions from a blocked state (small diameter) during storage and production to an open state (large diameter) during smoking, allowing the system to suppress powder spill while enabling powder inhalation when needed.
2Ease of operation
If multiple holes are provided in the capsule for powder passage, then powder inhalation is facilitated, but powder spill increases
Solution Approach 1:
The capsule structure transitions from having multiple open holes during smoking to having blocked holes during storage and production. The holes are covered by a cover member that prevents powder passage during normal handling, but can be removed or opened during smoking to facilitate powder inhalation, thus resolving the contradiction between preventing spill and enabling inhalation.
Solution Approach 2:
The capsule is divided into separate components: the capsule body containing powder and the cover member that seals the holes. This segmentation allows the cover to block powder passage during storage while enabling easy access during smoking by simply removing or opening the cover, resolving the contradiction between spill suppression and inhalation facilitation.
3Reliability
If the flow path configuration is made complex to control powder flow, then powder spill is suppressed, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The flow path control function is extracted from the filter structure itself and transferred to a separate powder-containing substance with its own cap structure. The cap member with selectively openable holes handles the powder release control, while the filter maintains its simple structure for smoke flow, thus resolving the contradiction between spill suppression and device simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
A cap member is introduced as an intermediary component between the powder and the external environment. This cap member controls powder release through its holes, providing spill suppression during storage while allowing controlled inhalation during smoking, without requiring complex modifications to the filter structure itself.
Data Source
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AI summary
Provided is a smoking article that allows easy inhaling of a powder at a smoker's own timing, and can suppress powder spill at an unintentional timing such as during production or shipment. The smoking article includes: a tobacco rod containing tobacco; and a filter connected to an end part of the tobacco rod through a tipping paper. The filter includes a powder-containing substance that is a lump of a crude powder containing at least one of a gustatory component and a flavor component, and turns into powder when external force is applied thereon, a cavity in which the powder-containing substance is placed, and a flow path that connects the cavity and a mouthpiece end, allows passage of the powder, and has a smaller inner diameter than an outer diameter of the powder-containing substance.