CN113365514A

CN113365514A - Cigarette cartridge and fragrance extractor

Info

Publication number: CN113365514A
Application number: CN201980090483.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 山田学; 藤田亮治; 大石圭
Original assignee: Japan Tobacco Inc
Current assignee: Japan Tobacco Inc
Priority date: 2019-01-29
Filing date: 2019-01-29
Publication date: 2021-09-07
Also published as: EP3918932A1; JP7291731B2; EP3918932A4; TW202027626A; JPWO2020157814A1; WO2020157814A1

Abstract

A cartridge and flavor extractor having a new configuration is provided. A cartridge for a flavor extractor is provided. The cartridge has a container that houses at least a flavor source therein. The container has: a cylindrical side wall; a bottom wall formed of a conductive body and provided at one end of the side wall; and a porous structure configured to close at least a part of the opening at the other end of the side wall.

Description

Cigarette cartridge and fragrance extractor

Technical Field

The invention relates to a cigarette cartridge and a flavor extractor.

Background

Conventionally, there has been known a flavor inhaler for absorbing flavor and the like without burning a material. As such a flavor inhaler, for example, a smoking material heating device is known which heats a smoking material made of tobacco containing volatile components to form an aerosol (see patent document 1). In the aerosol-generating system described in patent document 1, an aerosol-forming substrate and a susceptor are housed in a capsule, and the susceptor is inductively heated by an induction coil disposed around the side of the capsule.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: international publication No. 2017/068095

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

The invention aims to provide a cigarette cartridge and a fragrance extractor with new structures.

Means for solving the problems

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cartridge for a flavor extractor. The cartridge has a container that houses at least a flavor source therein. The container has: a cylindrical side wall; a bottom wall formed of a conductive body and provided at one end of the side wall; and a porous structure configured to close at least a part of the opening at the other end of the side wall.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic sectional view of the flavor absorber of the present embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a plan view showing an example of a can having a heat radiating member on a side wall.

Fig. 3 is a side view showing another example of the can having a heat radiating member on a side wall thereof.

Fig. 4 is a view showing a state in which the sealing member of the cartridge shown in fig. 2 is broken.

Fig. 5 is a plan view showing another example of the cartridge.

Fig. 6 is a plan view showing still another example of the cartridge.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings described below, the same or corresponding components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description thereof is omitted.

Fig. 1 is a schematic sectional view of the flavor absorber of the present embodiment. The flavor extractor 10 of the present embodiment is configured to generate an aerosol containing a flavor by heating an aerosol source and a flavor source contained in a cartridge (pod)20 (corresponding to an example of a container). Specifically, a liquid aerosol source and a solid flavor source are contained in the cartridge 20 at a predetermined weight ratio. The weight ratio of aerosol source to fragrance source is for example 3: 1-20: 1. in this embodiment, a fluid containing a liquid and a solid is referred to as a slurry. Preferably, the slurry comprises a liquid and a solid flavor source. As the liquid constituting the slurry, for example, water can be used. The liquid is preferably an aerosol source such as glycerol or propylene glycol. The weight ratio of the liquid to the solid constituting the slurry was 3: 1-20: 1, preferably 5: 1-15: 1. the weight of the slurry contained in the tank 20 is, for example, 0.05g to 0.5g, preferably 0.1g to 0.3 g.

The cartridge 20 can be removed from the scent extractor 10 and discarded after use. Also, a new cartridge 20 can be used in the scent extractor 10. That is, the cartridge 20 is a cartridge for use in the flavor extractor 10.

As shown in fig. 1, the flavor inhaler 10 of the present embodiment includes a housing 11, a battery 12, a control unit 13, an electromagnetic shield 14, an inductor 15, a mouthpiece 16, and a heat insulating material 30. The case 11 accommodates therein the battery 12, the control unit 13, the electromagnetic shield 14, the inductor 15, and the heat insulating material 30. As shown in the drawing, the mouthpiece 16, the cartridge 20, the induction coil 15, the electromagnetic shield 14, the control section 13, and the battery 12 are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the fragrance extractor 10. The housing 11 may be divided into two or more parts.

The battery 12 may be, for example, a rechargeable battery or a non-rechargeable battery. The battery 12 is electrically connected to the inductor 15 via the controller 13. Thereby, the battery 12 can supply electric power to the induction coil 15 so as to appropriately heat the slurry contained in the barrel 20.

The control unit 13 includes, for example, a microprocessor or the like, and can control the supply of electric power from the battery 12 to the inductor 15. Thereby, the controller 13 can control heating of the slurry by the inductor 15. In the present embodiment, the electromagnetic shield 14 is disposed between the inductor coil 15 and the control unit 13 in the longitudinal direction of the case 11. This allows the electromagnetic shield 14 to suppress the electromagnetic wave generated by the inductor 15 from reaching the controller 13. In the present embodiment, the electromagnetic shield 14 may be made of a ferrite metal material, for example. The shape of the electromagnetic shield 14 is not particularly limited, but is preferably a disk shape corresponding to the shape of the inductor 15. As shown in fig. 1, the width or diameter of the electromagnetic shield 14 is preferably larger than the maximum amplitude of the inductance coil 15 in the short side direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction. This can more reliably suppress the electromagnetic wave from the inductor 15 from reaching the control unit 13.

The housing 11 has a chamber 11a for accommodating the cartridge 20 at the mouthpiece-side end portion (mouthpiece 16 side). The cartridge 20 has a generally cylindrical side wall 22 and a bottom wall 24 closing the end of the side wall 22. The inductance coil 15 is disposed on the battery 12 side with respect to the bottom wall 24 of the tube 20 housed in the cavity 11a of the housing 11, and is opposed to the bottom wall 24 of the tube 20. In the present embodiment, at least the bottom wall 24 of the can 20 may be formed of an electrically conductive material. Specifically, the side wall 22 and the bottom wall 24 of the can 20 are preferably formed of SUS (stainless steel). Since SUS has lower thermal conductivity than aluminum, when the bottom wall 24 generates heat, the heat of the bottom wall 24 is less likely to be transferred to the side wall 22, and the heat can be efficiently transferred to the slurry in the cartridge 20. The bottom wall 24 can thereby function as a susceptor heated by the inductor coil 15. Therefore, the surface (outer surface) of the bottom wall 24 facing the inductor 15 is preferably flat.

The induction coil 15 is configured to inductively heat the bottom wall 24 of the can 20. As shown in the drawing, the inductor 15 is preferably formed in a substantially plate shape as a whole. In the present embodiment, the entire inductor 15 is disposed in a region narrower than the area of the bottom wall 24 of the can 20. That is, the inductor 15 is disposed at a position overlapping the bottom wall 24 and located inside an edge defining the bottom wall 24 when viewed in the longitudinal direction. The inductor 15 is disposed substantially parallel to the bottom wall 24.

As in the present embodiment, when the inductor 15 is disposed to face the bottom wall 24 of the cartridge 20, it is difficult to generate an induced current outside the flavor inhaler 10, as compared with the case where the inductor 15 is disposed around the side wall 22 of the cartridge 20. Therefore, even if other electronic devices are present around the fragrance extractor 10, the electronic devices are less likely to be affected by the induced current caused by the inductance coil 15. Further, according to the present embodiment, since the bottom wall 24 of the barrel 20 is heated, the temperature of the upper portion of the barrel 20 is less likely to rise. Therefore, when the sealing member 28 is provided in the opening of the tube 20 as described later, the adhesive for bonding the tube 20 and the sealing member 28 can be prevented from dissolving.

When the paste stored in the barrel 20 is heated by a planar heating element (thin film heater) using stainless steel as a heating resistor, heat generated by the planar heating element is conducted to the paste through the barrel 20 storing the paste. That is, since heat generated in the planar heat generating element is conducted to the barrel 20 and the slurry, a heat conduction loss is relatively large. In contrast, in the present embodiment, as described above, the IH (induction heating) system is adopted as a system for heating the slurry. According to the IH regime, the bottom wall 24 of the cartridge 20 heats itself and the heat of the bottom wall 24 is conducted to the slurry. Therefore, the heat generated in bottom wall 24 is directly transferred to the paste, and therefore, the loss in heat transfer can be reduced as compared with the case where the paste is heated by the planar heat generating element.

When the bottom wall 24 is inductively heated by the induction coil 15 to atomize the slurry in the cartridge 20, there is a risk that the solid (flavor source) contained in the slurry reaches the mouthpiece 16 from the cartridge 20. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the porous structure 26 is provided in the tube 20 so as to close at least a part of the opening of the side wall 22. The porous structure 26 is, for example, a filter or a metal mesh, and any porous structure that allows gas or aerosol to pass therethrough can be used. The porous structure 26 is preferably a filter. As the porous structure 26, for example, an acetate filter can be used. The filter is capable of passing gas and aerosol, and inhibiting liquid from passing through. Therefore, as will be described later, after the seal member 28 of the cartridge 20 is broken, the slurry can be prevented from leaking to the outside of the cartridge 20. That is, in the present embodiment, the porous structure 26 is configured to cause the aerosol generated inside the cartridge 20 to flow out of the cartridge 20 and to prevent the slurry inside the cartridge 20 from flowing out, when the slurry inside the cartridge 20 is atomized.

When the side wall 22 of the drum 20 is heated or when a planar heating element, a coil heater, or the like is used, the heat is easily diffused to the entire slurry. As a result, heat is transferred to the porous structure 26, which may cause a decrease in atomization efficiency or dissolution of the porous structure 26. In contrast, in the present embodiment, since the inductance coil 15 is disposed to face the bottom wall 24 and the bottom wall 24 is inductively heated, the heat of the bottom wall 24 is less likely to be transmitted to the porous structure 26, and the decrease in atomization efficiency and the occurrence of dissolution of the porous structure 26 can be suppressed.

As shown in the drawing, at least a part of the surface of the porous structure 26 facing the bottom wall of the tube 20 preferably has a convex surface 26a formed to be convex toward the bottom wall 24 of the tube 20. When the bottom wall 24 is inductively heated, a temperature difference occurs between the slurry in the vicinity of the bottom wall 24 in the cylinder 20 and the slurry in the vicinity of the porous structure 26 in the cylinder 20, and convection occurs in the slurry. Since the porous structure 26 has the convex surface 26a, the slurry convected upward from below the tube 20 is guided in the left-right direction by contacting the convex surface 26 a. As a result, convection of the slurry is promoted. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, even if the amount of the slurry decreases as the atomization of the slurry proceeds, the temperature of the entire slurry can be made uniform by the convection of the slurry. This makes it possible to maintain the ratio of the amount of aerosol generated from the aerosol source to the amount of aerosol generated from the fragrance source, and as a result, the odor absorption can be kept constant.

As shown, the mouthpiece 16 is connected to one end portion of the housing 11 so as to close the chamber 11a of the housing 11. The mouthpiece 16 has an air inlet flow path 16a that communicates the outside of the mouthpiece 16 with the chamber 11a of the housing 11, and an air outlet flow path 16b that communicates the chamber 11a with the mouth of the user. When the user sucks air from the air outlet channel 16b, the air entering the chamber 11a from the air inlet channel 16a reaches the inside of the user's mouth while passing through the porous structure 26 and taking in aerosol generated from the cartridge 20.

The mouthpiece 16 may include an air flow path 16c instead of the air inlet flow path 16a and the air outlet flow path 16 b. The air flow path 16c communicates with an unillustrated internal space of the mouthpiece 16. In this case, the aerosol generated from the cartridge 20 moves to the internal space of the mouthpiece 16, and the outside air can reach the mouth of the user while being taken in through the air flow path 16 c. The air flow path 16c may be a forked flow path extending from the suction port end of the mouthpiece 16 to the chamber 11a of the housing 11 and extending to the side of the mouthpiece 16. The air inlet of the air flow path 16c may be provided in a connecting region between the mouthpiece 16 and the housing 11. Specifically, for example, a groove may be provided in the mouthpiece 16, and the housing 11 and the mouthpiece 16 may be connected to form an air inlet portion of the air flow path 16 c. Thus, the air flowing in from the air inlet portion of the air flow path 16c can pass through the surface of the cartridge 20, capture the aerosol generated from the cartridge 20, and flow out from the mouthpiece 16.

The heat insulator 30 is disposed in the housing 11 so as to at least partially surround the side wall 22 of the tube 20 housed in the cavity 11a of the housing 11. The heat insulating material 30 of the present embodiment has a first pipe 30a, a second pipe 30b, an upper end 30c, and a lower end 30 d. The second pipe 30b is disposed on the outer peripheral side of the first pipe 30 a. The upper end portion 30c connects the upper end of the first pipe 30a and the upper end of the second pipe 30 b. The lower end portion 30d connects the lower end of the first pipe 30a and the lower end of the second pipe 30 b. The first pipe 30a, the second pipe 30b, the upper end 30c, and the lower end 30d define an internal space 31 sealed by the heat insulator 30. The internal space 31 can be in a vacuum state, for example, and thus the heat insulating material 30 functions as a vacuum heat insulating material. Further, for example, the internal space 31 may be filled with a heat insulating material such as aerogel.

At least the first pipe 30a and the second pipe 30b of the heat insulating material 30 are preferably formed of SUS. Thereby, the electromagnetic wave generated from the inductor 15 can be absorbed by the first tube 30a or the second tube 30 b. In the present embodiment, the entire heat insulating material 30 is made of SUS. The first pipe 30a and the second pipe 30b of the heat insulating material 30 are preferably arranged to at least partially surround the inductor coil 15. This allows the first tube 30a or the second tube 30b to further absorb electromagnetic waves directed from the inductor 15 to the outside of the case. Therefore, the heat insulator 30 preferably entirely surrounds the side of the drum 20 and the inductor 15, in other words, the length of the heat insulator 30 in the longitudinal direction of the apparatus is longer than the length of the area from the upper end to the lower end of the area where the drum 20 and the inductor 15 are arranged.

The flavor absorber 10 may have a heat radiating member 34 in contact with the side wall 22 of the cartridge 20 housed in the cavity 11a of the housing 11. In the example shown in fig. 1, the heat dissipation member 34 is a heat sink that is provided on the inner wall of the housing 11 that defines the chamber 11a and extends in the longitudinal direction. The heat dissipation member 34 is preferably in contact with the vicinity of the upper end of the side wall 22 of the cylinder 20 (the vicinity of the porous structure 26). This suppresses the temperature rise near the upper end of the tube 20, suppresses the occurrence of dissolution of the porous structure 26, and suppresses the dissolution of the adhesive that bonds the tube 20 and the sealing member 28 when the sealing member 28 is provided at the opening of the tube 20 as described later. The heat radiating member 34 may have any shape as long as it is in contact with the side wall 22 of the cylinder 20, and may be, for example, an annular heat radiating fin extending in the circumferential direction of the inner wall of the housing 11 defining the chamber 11 a. The heat dissipation member 34 is preferably made of metal.

In the present embodiment, the heat radiating member 34 is provided in the housing 11, but instead, a heat radiating member may be provided in the cylinder 20. Fig. 2 is a plan view showing an example of the can 20 having a heat radiating member on the side wall 22. Fig. 3 is a side view showing another example of the can 20 having a heat radiating member on the side wall 22. In the example shown in fig. 2, the can 20 has four heat dissipating members 27 in the form of heat dissipating fins extending in the axial direction (vertical direction in fig. 1) of the side wall 22. In the example shown in fig. 3, the can 20 has a ring-shaped heat radiating member 27 extending in the circumferential direction of the side wall 22. In the case where the heat dissipation member 27 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the side wall 22 as shown in fig. 2 and 3, the heat dissipation member 27 provided on the side wall 22 of the cylinder 20 is designed to be in contact with the inner wall of the housing 11 defining the chamber 11a when the cylinder 20 is accommodated in the chamber 11 a. In addition, as shown in fig. 2, when the tube 20 includes a heat dissipation member 27 in the form of a heat dissipation sheet extending in the axial direction of the side wall 22, the heat dissipation member 27 can be guided by providing a groove corresponding to the housing 11. As a result, the cartridge 20 and the housing 11 can be accurately positioned, and the stability of the atomizing operation can be improved. The heat dissipation member 27 shown in fig. 2 and 3 is preferably made of metal.

Since the cartridge 20 of the present embodiment contains the slurry having fluidity, it is preferable that the cartridge 20 has a sealing member 28 for sealing the opening of the side wall 22 as shown in fig. 2 in order to prevent the slurry from leaking out when the cartridge 20 is stored. Specifically, the sealing member 28 is bonded to an end of the side wall 22 provided with the porous structure 26 with, for example, a resin adhesive, thereby sealing the opening of the tube 20. In the example shown in fig. 2, the entire sealing member 28 is formed of a metal foil 28a such as an aluminum foil.

Fig. 4 is a view showing a state in which the sealing member 28 of the cartridge 20 shown in fig. 2 is broken. In the case where the sealing member 28 of the metal foil 28a is provided on the upper surface of the tube 20 as shown in fig. 2, the sealing member 28 needs to be broken when the tube 20 is used. Therefore, when the cartridge 20 shown in fig. 2 is used in the flavor inhaler 10 shown in fig. 1, a protrusion, not shown, is provided on the mouthpiece 16, and the mouthpiece 16 is engaged with the housing 11, so that a part of the sealing member 28 is broken by the protrusion.

Fig. 5 is a plan view showing another example of the cartridge 20. Fig. 6 is a plan view showing still another example of the cartridge 20. The sealing member 28 of the cartridge 20 shown in fig. 5 is formed of a film 28b at a substantially central portion thereof, and is formed of a metal foil 28a such as an aluminum foil at the other portion thereof. The sealing member 28 of the cartridge 20 shown in fig. 6 is entirely composed of a film 28 b. The film 28b shown in fig. 5 and 6 is heated by heat transferred to the side wall 22 through the bottom wall 24 of the can 20 inductively heated by the induction coil 15, and at least a part of the film 28b is broken. Here, when the film 28b shown in fig. 5 and 6 is a material that is melted by heating to form droplets, the dissolved film may fall down to the slurry to adversely affect the odor absorption, which is not preferable. Therefore, the film 28b shown in fig. 5 and 6 is a heat-shrinkable film and may be formed of a material such as PP (polypropylene), PET (polyethylene terephthalate), gelatin, or polysaccharides. In addition, the film 28b preferably shrinks from the center portion toward the outer peripheral portion of the sealing member 28. Therefore, for example, the film thickness of the thin film 28b is preferably thinner at the center than at the outer periphery. The tube 20 shown in fig. 1 may be provided with a seal member 28 shown in fig. 2, 4 to 6.

In the present embodiment, the case where the cartridge 20 and the mouthpiece 16 are different members is described. However, as described above, when the film 28b is used as the sealing member 28, the film 28b is broken by the heat of the cylinder 20. In this case, therefore, the sealing member 28 does not need to be broken by the mouthpiece 16, and therefore the cartridge 20 and the mouthpiece 16 may be an integral member. The sealing member 28 may extend to the side surface of the porous structure 26 and be bonded to the side surface of the porous structure 26. In this case, the adhesive portion is dissolved by the heat from the bottom wall 24 inductively heated by the induction coil 15, and the air from the outside of the flavor absorber 10 can be a flow path through the side surface of the porous structure 26.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the technical ideas described in the claims, the specification, and the drawings. Any shape or material that is not directly described in the specification and drawings is within the scope of the technical idea of the invention of the present application as long as the operation and effect of the invention of the present application are achieved.

Several embodiments disclosed in the present specification are described below.

According to a first aspect, a cartridge for a flavor extractor is provided. The cartridge has a container that houses at least a flavor source therein. The container has: a cylindrical side wall; a bottom wall formed of a conductive body and provided at one end of the side wall; and a porous structure configured to close at least a part of the opening at the other end of the side wall.

According to a second aspect, in the first aspect, the container contains a slurry containing the flavor source therein.

According to a third aspect, in the first or second aspect, at least a part of a surface of the porous structure facing the bottom wall of the container is formed in a convex shape toward the bottom wall of the container.

According to a fourth aspect, in any one of the first to third aspects, the porous structure is a filter.

According to a fifth aspect, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the cartridge has a sealing member that seals the opening at the other end of the side wall.

According to a sixth aspect, in the fifth aspect, at least a part of the sealing member is formed of a heat shrinkable film.

According to a seventh aspect, in the sixth aspect, the sealing member is formed of a metal foil and the heat shrinkable film.

According to an eighth aspect, in the sixth or seventh aspect, the thickness of the central portion of the heat shrinkable film is smaller than the thickness of the outer peripheral portion.

According to a ninth aspect, in any one of the first to eighth aspects, the container has a heat radiating member fixed to an outer peripheral surface thereof.

According to a tenth aspect, in the ninth aspect, the heat radiating member includes a heat radiating fin provided on an outer peripheral surface of the side wall of the container and extending in an axial direction of the cylindrical side wall.

According to an eleventh aspect, in any one of the first to tenth aspects, an outer side surface of the bottom wall is planar.

According to a twelfth aspect, in any one of the first to eleventh aspects, the container is formed of stainless steel.

According to a thirteenth aspect, in any one of the first to twelfth aspects, the bottom wall is a susceptor.

According to a fourteenth aspect, in any one of the first to thirteenth aspects, the side wall is formed of an electric conductor.

According to a fifteenth aspect, in any one of the first to fourteenth aspects, the porous structure is configured to pass an aerosol generated from the slurry.

According to a sixteenth aspect, there is provided a flavor absorber configured to heat the slurry of the cartridge according to any one of the first to fifteenth aspects. The flavor inhaler includes an induction coil disposed to face the bottom wall of the container housed in the housing, and configured to inductively heat the bottom wall of the container.

Description of the reference numerals

10 … fragrance extractor

11 … casing

11a … Chamber

13 … control part

14 … electromagnetic shield

15 … inductance coil

16 … mouthpiece

20 … Container

22 … side wall

24 … bottom wall

26 … porous structure

26a … convex surface

27 … Heat sink

28 … sealing member

28a … Metal foil

28b … film

30 … thermal insulation material

30a … first tube

30b … second tube

31 … inner space

34 … Heat sink Member

Claims

1. A cigarette bullet for a flavor absorber, which is characterized in that,

the cartridge has a container that houses at least a flavor source therein,

the container has:

a cylindrical side wall;

a bottom wall formed of an electric conductor and provided at one end of the side wall; and

and a porous structure configured to close at least a part of the opening at the other end of the side wall.

2. The cartridge of claim 1,

the container houses a slurry containing the fragrance source therein.

3. A cartridge according to claim 1 or 2,

at least a part of a surface of the porous structure facing the bottom wall of the container is formed in a convex shape toward the bottom wall of the container.

4. The cartridge of any one of claims 1 to 3,

the porous structure is a filter.

5. The cartridge of any one of claims 1 to 4,

the cartridge has a sealing member that seals the opening at the other end of the side wall.

6. The cartridge of claim 5,

at least a part of the sealing member is formed of a heat shrinkable film.

7. The cartridge of claim 6,

the sealing member is formed of a metal foil and the heat shrinkable film.

8. A cartridge according to claim 6 or 7,

the thickness of the central portion of the heat shrinkable film is smaller than the thickness of the outer peripheral portion.

9. The cartridge of any one of claims 1 to 8,

the container has a heat radiating member fixed to an outer peripheral surface thereof.

10. The cartridge of claim 9,

the heat radiating member includes a heat radiating fin provided on an outer peripheral surface of the side wall of the container and extending in an axial direction of the cylindrical side wall.

11. The cartridge of any one of claims 1 to 10,

the lateral surface of the bottom wall is planar.

12. The cartridge of any one of claims 1 to 11,

the container is formed of stainless steel.

13. The cartridge of any one of claims 1 to 12,

the bottom wall is a susceptor.

14. The cartridge of any one of claims 1 to 13,

the sidewalls are formed of an electrical conductor.

15. The cartridge of any one of claims 1 to 14,

the porous structure is configured to pass an aerosol generated from the slurry.

16. A flavor absorber configured to heat the slurry contained in the cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 15,

the fragrance extractor has:

a housing that houses the container; and

and an induction coil disposed to face the bottom wall of the container housed in the case, and configured to inductively heat the bottom wall of the container.