TOBACCO MATERIAL COMPRISING NATURAL FLAVOR MATERIAL AND METHOD OF PREPARING THE SAME

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a tobacco material including a natural flavor material and a method of preparing the tobacco material. The tobacco material may have a core-shell structure in which a core includes a natural flavor material and is surrounded by a shell including a tobacco mixture, such that the aerosol generating article including the tobacco material generates a characteristic flavor.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure relates to a tobacco material including a natural flavor material and a method of preparing the same.

BACKGROUND ART

Recently, the demand for alternatives to a traditional cigarette has increased. For example, there is growing demand for an aerosol generating device which generates an aerosol by heating an aerosol generating material (e.g., tobacco material) in the aerosol generating article (e.g., cigarette) without combustion.

DISCLOSURE

Technical Problem

There is a need for a tobacco material including a natural flavor material and a method of preparing the tobacco material.

The technical objectives to be achieved by the disclosure are not limited to the above-described objectives, and other technical objectives may be inferred from the following embodiments.

Technical Solution

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a tobacco material includes a core including a natural flavor material; and a shell formed around the core and including a tobacco mixture, wherein the tobacco mixture includes tobacco particles and moisture.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a smoking article includes a tobacco rod including a tobacco material described above; and a filter segment.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a method of preparing a tobacco material includes a first operation of forming a core including a natural flavor material; and a second operation of forming a shell surrounding the core.

Advantageous Effects

The tobacco material according to an embodiment includes the natural flavor material (i.e., nature-friendly material) inside the core, thereby providing a non-artificial natural flavor.

In addition, according to the preparing method according to an embodiment, the tobacco material including the natural flavor material may be prepared through a relatively simple process without a separate flavor extraction process, and a production yield may be improved.

The effects of the present disclosure are not limited to the above description, and may include all effects inferable from the configuration to be described below.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a tobacco material according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating a tobacco material according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating a tobacco material according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating a smoking article according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating a smoking article according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3C is a diagram illustrating a smoking article according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3D is a diagram illustrating a smoking article according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method of preparing a tobacco material according to an embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a second operation of a method of preparing a tobacco material according to an embodiment.

BEST MODE

According to one aspect of the disclosure, provided is a tobacco material including a core including a natural flavor material; and a shell formed around the core and including a tobacco mixture, wherein the tobacco mixture includes tobacco particles and moisture.

The natural flavor material may include an ingredient derived from a plant.

The natural flavor material may include a freeze-dried fruit peel or a natural oil.

The tobacco material may include 5.0 to 10.0 parts by weight of moisture with respect to 100 parts by weight of the total tobacco material.

The core may have a diameter of 0.01 mm to 0.3 mm, and the shell has a diameter of 0.4 mm to 1.2 mm.

The tobacco material may have a viscosity of 5 cps to 200 cps.

The tobacco material may have a surface roughness of 0.1 to 10.0.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, provided is a smoking article including a tobacco rod including a tobacco material described above; and a filter segment.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, provided is a method of preparing a tobacco material including a first operation of forming a core including a natural flavor material; and a second operation of forming a shell surrounding the core.

The second operation may include placing the core in a chamber; introducing a tobacco composition into the chamber; and growing the tobacco composition around the core in the chamber under conditions of a temperature in a range of about 50° C. to about 90° C., and an air pressure less than or equal to about 1.5 bar.

The tobacco composition may include tobacco powder in an amount of 40% to 70% by volume, and water in an amount of 30% to 60% by volume.

MODE FOR INVENTION

With respect to the terms used to describe in the various embodiments, the general terms which are currently and widely used are selected in consideration of functions of structural elements in the various embodiments of the present disclosure. However, meanings of the terms can be changed according to intention, a judicial precedence, the appearance of a new technology, and the like. In addition, in certain cases, a term which is not commonly used can be selected. In such a case, the meaning of the term will be described in detail at the corresponding portion in the description of the present disclosure. Therefore, the terms used in the various embodiments of the present disclosure should be defined based on the meanings of the terms and the descriptions provided herein.

In addition, unless explicitly described to the contrary, the word “comprise” and variations such as “comprises” or “comprising” will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion of any other elements. In addition, the terms “-er”, “-or”, and “module” described in the specification mean units for processing at least one function and operation and can be implemented by hardware components or software components and combinations thereof.

Throughout the specification, a “core-shell structure” means a structure in which a core is located inside and a shell is located outside of the core. For example, the core-shell structure may mean a capsule structure in which a core is surrounded by a film.

Throughout the specification, a “tobacco material” means all forms of a material including an ingredient derived from a tobacco plant.

Throughout the specification, “tobacco particles” means a particle form of an ingredient derived from a tobacco plant. For example, the tobacco particles may be tobacco grains or tobacco powder.

Throughout the specification, a “smoking article” means an article used by a user to smoke. The smoking article may be, for example, a combustible cigarette, or may be an aerosol generating article that is heated without being burned by an aerosol-generating device.

Throughout the specification, the term “surface roughness” means a degree of roughness of a surface of an object. For example, the surface roughness may be expressed as a centerline average roughness (Ra) according to the KS B 0161 standard.

Throughout the specification, the term “parts by weight” refers to a value calculated with respect to 100 parts by weight of the tobacco material, unless stated otherwise.

Throughout the specification, a “natural flavor material” means a material that generates a flavor obtained in nature. The natural flavor material may be derived from nature to generate a natural and non-artificial flavor.

Furthermore, in the following embodiments, while such terms as “first,” “second,” etc., may be used to describe various components, such components must not be limited to the above terms. The above terms are used only to distinguish one component from another.

Hereinafter, the present disclosure will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are shown such that one of ordinary skill in the art may easily work the present disclosure. The disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a tobacco material 100 according to an embodiment.

The tobacco material 100 may have a core-shell structure, and may include a core 110 including a natural flavor material, and a shell 120 including a tobacco mixture.

Specifically, the natural flavor material may be located in the center of the tobacco material 100, and the tobacco mixture may be located outside the tobacco material 100. The natural flavor material may be partially or completely surrounded by the tobacco mixture.

The core 110 may include the natural flavor material. The natural flavor material may be a flavor material derived from nature. The natural flavor material may include an ingredient derived from a plant.

For example, the natural flavor material may be a freeze-dried fruit peel. The peel of the fruit contains a natural oil, from which a natural flavor may be generated. When the peel of the fruit is dried and pulverized at a temperature equal to or less than −30° C. for about 5 hours, the freeze-dried fruit peel may be prepared in the form of a powder. The fruit may be, for example, citron, orange, tangerine, grape, pear, apple, quince, kiwi, persimmon, melon, etc., but is not necessarily limited thereto.

Also, the natural flavor material may be a material containing a natural oil. The material containing the natural oil may be, for example, coffee beans, nuts, leaves or flowers of plants, etc. The natural flavor material may generate a non-artificial flavor from the natural oil.

The shell 120 may include the tobacco mixture. The tobacco mixture may include tobacco particles and moisture. The tobacco particles may include various types of tobacco powder. The tobacco particles may include, for example, at least one of flue-cured tobacco powder, burley tobacco powder, fire-cured tobacco powder, sun-cured tobacco powder, and air-cured tobacco powder.

The core 110 may have a diameter d1. The d1 may be, for example, about 0.1 mm to about 0.5 mm, but is not necessarily limited thereto. The shell 120 may have a diameter d2. Also, d2 may be, for example, about 0.4 mm to about 1.2 mm, but is not necessarily limited thereto.

The tobacco material 100 may contain moisture of about 5.0 to about 8.0 parts by weight. In a case where the tobacco material 100 contains moisture of the above-described numerical range, at least one characteristic of hardness, flavor retention, and flavor expression of the tobacco material 100 may be improved. When the tobacco material 100 contains moisture less than about 5.0 parts by weight, the flavor expression of the tobacco material 100 may be reduced. When the tobacco material 100 contains moisture exceeding about 8.0 parts by weight, the tobacco material 100 may have a low hardness.

The tobacco material 100 may not include a binder. In general, in order to prepare the robust tobacco mixture, the tobacco material 100 may include a binder such as hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) or carboxymethylcellulose (CMC). However, according to the present disclosure, the tobacco material 100 may have excellent characteristics such as durability, hardness, viscosity, etc. without including the above-described binder.

The tobacco material 100 may have a viscosity of about 5 cps to about 200 cps. In a case where the tobacco material 100 has a viscosity of the above-described numerical range, at least one characteristic of hardness, flavor retention, and flavor expression of the tobacco material 100 may be improved. The viscosity of the tobacco material 100 may be adjusted according to an amount of moisture.

The tobacco material 100 may have a hardness equal to or greater than about 90%. Specifically, the tobacco material 100 may have a hardness of about 95% to about 99.9%. A “hardness of a tobacco material” is a physical property related to elasticity and recovery and means a degree of resistance to pressure applied in a direction perpendicular to the tobacco material 100. The “hardness of a tobacco material” is measured using a hardness meter, and is calculated through an equation below.

Hardness (%)=[D−a]*100/D

• • (D: diameter of the tobacco material, and a: distance (mm) that the tobacco material is pressed by a weight of 300 g)

The tobacco material 100 may have a density of about 0.60 to about 0.90 g/cc. Preferably, the tobacco material 100 may have a density of about 0.62 to about 0.75 g/cc.

Tobacco material 100 may have a surface roughness Ra of about 0.1 to about 10.0. The surface roughness of the tobacco material 100 will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B.

In an embodiment, the tobacco material 100 includes the natural flavor material in the core 110, thereby generating a non-artificial and natural flavor during combustion or heating. Specifically, a flavor by the natural flavor material may hardly be generated in the early stage of combustion of the tobacco material 100, but the flavor by the natural flavor material may be generated as smoking progresses.

FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating a tobacco material 200 according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 2A, the tobacco material 200 includes a core 210 and a shell 220. The core 210 may include a natural flavor material, and the shell 220 may include a tobacco mixture. The descriptions given above with reference to FIG. 1 may be applied to the core 210 and the shell 220 in the same or similar way.

The tobacco material 200 may have a shape of a sphere as a whole. The core 210 has the shape of the sphere, and thus the shell 220 formed around the core 210 may also have a shape of a sphere. A surface of the shell 220 may have, for example, the surface roughness Ra of about 0.1 to about 10.0. In a case where the surface of the shell 220 has the surface roughness Ra of the numerical range described above, a rather smooth surface may be formed. Accordingly, the number of the tobacco materials 200 filled in a smoking article (not shown) may be increased.

In addition, the flavor expression of the tobacco material 200 may be adjusted, by adjusting a porosity of the surface of the shell 220.

FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating a tobacco material 300 according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 2B, the tobacco material 300 includes a core 310 and a shell 320. The core 310 may include a natural flavor material, and the shell 320 may include a tobacco mixture. The descriptions given above with reference to FIG. 1 may be applied to the core 310 and the shell 320 in the same or similar way.

The tobacco material 300 may have an atypical shape as a whole. When a shape of the core 310 is not completely spherical, a shape of the shell 320 that grows around the core 310 during a process of preparing the tobacco material 300 may also not be completely spherical. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 2B, the tobacco material 300 may have an uneven shape. In this case, a surface of the shell 320 may have the surface roughness Ra of about 5.0 to about 10.0. As the surface roughness Ra of the surface of the shell 320 increases, a flavor expression may be improved. In addition, when a plurality of tobacco materials 300 are filled in a smoking article (not shown), the plurality of tobacco materials 300 may be stably retained in the smoking article by a frictional force. Also, a surface area of the tobacco material 300 is increased, and thus an amount of nicotine transferred during heating may be increased.

FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating a smoking article 400 according to an embodiment. The smoking article 400 may be, for example, a combustive cigarette.

Referring to FIG. 3A, the smoking article 400 may include a first portion 410 and a second portion 420. The first portion 410 may be a tobacco rod, and the second portion 420 may be a filter segment.

The first portion 410 may include a plurality of tobacco materials 411. The tobacco material 411 may have the core-shell structure described above. The first portion 410 may be ignited and combusted by a user.

The second portion 420 may be the filter segment. The second portion 420 may include a filter material. For example, the second portion 420 may be a cellulose acetate filter. The second portion 420 may be a cylindrical filter or a hollow filter, but a shape of the second portion 420 is not particularly limited. The user may smoke while holding the second portion 420 in his/her mouth.

When the first portion 410 is combusted, a flavor may be generated from the plurality of tobacco materials 411. For example, when the tobacco material 411 includes a natural flavor material in a core, a flavor by the natural flavor material may be hardly generated in the early stage of smoking, but the flavor by the natural flavor material may be generated as smoking progresses.

FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating a smoking article 500 according to an embodiment. The smoking article 500 may be, for example, an article that generates an aerosol without combustion when heated.

The smoking article 500 may include a first portion 510, a second portion 520, a third portion 530, and a fourth portion 540. The first portion 510, the second portion 520, the third portion 530, and the fourth portion 540 may be sequentially arranged in a longitudinal direction of the smoking article 500.

The first portion 510 may include a tobacco material 511. The tobacco material 511 may be a tobacco material having the core-shell structure described above. The first portion 510 may further include an aerosol generating material. The aerosol generating material may be applied, for example, to a surface of the tobacco material 511. The aerosol generating material may be, for example, at least one of glycerin, propylene glycol, ethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, and oleyl alcohol. The first portion 510 may be heated by an aerosol generating device (not shown).

The second portion 520 may serve as a support for supporting the smoking article 500. As a specific example, the second portion 520 may be a hollow filter. The second portion 520 may serve to connect and support the first portion 510 and the third portion 530.

The third portion 530 may be a cooling portion that cools an airflow (i.e., aerosol). As a specific example, the third portion 530 may be a hollow tube or a paper tube. The hollow tube or the paper tube may include a venting area (not shown) that introduces external air into the smoking article 500. The third portion 530 may serve to cool an aerosol generated from the first portion 510.

The fourth portion 540 may be a filter segment. The fourth portion 540 may include a filter material. For example, the fourth portion 540 may be a cellulose acetate filter. The fourth portion 540 may be a cylindrical filter or a hollow filter, but a shape of the fourth portion 540 is not particularly limited. A user may smoke while holding the fourth portion 540 in his/her mouth.

When the first portion 510 is heated, a flavor may be generated from a plurality of tobacco materials 511. In a case where the tobacco material 511 includes a natural flavor material only in a core, a flavor by the natural flavor material may be hardly generated in the early stage of smoking, but the flavor by the natural flavor material may be generated as smoking progresses.

FIG. 3C is a diagram illustrating a smoking article 600 according to an embodiment. The smoking article 600 may generate an aerosol without combustion when heated.

Referring to FIG. 3C, the smoking article 600 may include a first portion 610, a second portion 620, a third portion 630, and a fourth portion 640. The first portion 610, the second portion 620, the third portion 630, and the fourth portion 640 may be sequentially arranged in a longitudinal direction of the smoking article 600.

The first portion 610 may be a filter segment. For example, the first portion 610 may be a cellulose acetate filter including a hollow of a specific shape. As a specific example, the first portion 610 may be a cellulose acetate filter including a A-shaped hollow. However, the present disclosure is not necessarily limited thereto.

The second portion 620 may include a tobacco material 621. The tobacco material 621 may have the core-shell structure described above. The second portion 620 may further include an aerosol generating material. The aerosol-generating material may be applied, for example, to a surface of the tobacco material 621. The aerosol generating material may be, for example, at least one of glycerin, propylene glycol, ethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, and oleyl alcohol. The second portion 620 may be heated by an aerosol generating device (not shown).

The third portion 630 may be a cooling portion that cools an airflow. As a specific example, the third portion 630 may be a hollow tube or a paper tube. The hollow tube or the paper tube may include a venting area (not shown) that introduces external air into the smoking article 600. The third portion 630 may serve to cool an aerosol.

The fourth portion 640 may be a filter segment. The fourth portion 640 may include a filter material. For example, the fourth portion 640 may be a cellulose acetate filter. The fourth portion 640 may be a cylindrical filter or a hollow filter, but a shape of the fourth portion 640 is not particularly limited. A user may smoke while holding the fourth portion 640 in his/her mouth.

FIG. 3D is a diagram illustrating a smoking article 700 according to an embodiment. The smoking article 700 may generate an aerosol without combustion when heated.

Referring to FIG. 3D, the smoking article 700 may include a first portion 710, a second portion 720, a third portion 730, and a fourth portion 740. The first portion 710, the second portion 720, the third portion 730, and the fourth portion 740 may be sequentially arranged in a longitudinal direction of the smoking article 700.

The first portion 710 may be an aerosol generating portion. The aerosol generating portion may include, for example, a paper sheet in which an aerosol generating material is impregnated. The aerosol generating material may be, for example, at least one of glycerin, propylene glycol, ethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, and oleyl alcohol. The first portion 710 may be heated by an aerosol generating device (not shown).

The second portion 720 may be a nicotine generating portion. The second portion 720 may include a tobacco material 721. The tobacco material 721 may have the core-shell structure described above.

In addition, the second portion 720 may include, for example, a paper sheet in which the tobacco material 721 and the aerosol generating material are impregnated. The second portion 720 may be heated by an aerosol generating device (not shown).

The third portion 730 may be a cooling portion that cools an airflow. As a specific example, the third portion 730 may be a hollow tube or a paper tube. The hollow tube or a paper tube may include a venting area (not shown) that introduces external air into the smoking article 700. The third portion 730 may serve to cool an aerosol.

The fourth portion 740 may be a filter segment. The fourth portion 740 may include a filter material. For example, the fourth portion 740 may be a cellulose acetate filter. The fourth portion 740 may be a cylindrical filter or a hollow filter, but a shape of the fourth portion 740 is not particularly limited. A user may smoke while holding the fourth portion 740 in his/her mouth.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method S100 of preparing a tobacco material according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 4, the method S100 of preparing the tobacco material may include first operation S110 and second operation S120.

First operation S110 may be an operation of forming a core including a natural flavor material.

As a specific example, first operation S110 may include separating a peel from a fruit, freeze-drying the peel of the fruit at a temperature equal to or lower than −30° C. for about 5 hours, and pulverizing the freeze-dried peel of the fruit and forming powder having a diameter of about 0.01 to about 0.3 mm. The formed powder may serve as a core including the natural flavor material. According to a type and a purpose of the natural flavor material, conditions of freeze-drying described above may be changed.

As another example, first operation S110 may include pulverizing a material containing a natural oil and forming powder having a diameter of about 0.01 to about 0.3 mm. The formed powder may serve as a core containing the natural flavor material.

In an embodiment, the core containing the natural flavor material may have a moisture content of about 3.0 to about 8.0 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the core. The core is freeze-dried, and thus the core may have a relatively low moisture content compared to a shell.

Second operation S120 may be an operation of forming a shell around the core of the tobacco material. The shell may be formed using a tobacco composition. The tobacco composition may include tobacco powder and water. Specifically, the tobacco composition may include tobacco powder of about 40% to about 70% by volume, and water of about 30% to about 60% by volume. For example, the tobacco composition may be a tobacco paste.

Second operation S120 will be described in more detail below with reference to FIG. 5.

FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating second operation S120 of a method of preparing a tobacco material according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 5, a device for preparing the tobacco material may include a storage 1100, a supplier 1200, and a chamber 1300. The storage 1100 may store a tobacco composition A. The supplier 1200 may supply the tobacco composition A from the storage 1100 to the chamber 1300. The chamber 1300 may be a place where the tobacco composition A is formed into a shell of the tobacco material. The chamber 1300 may include an inlet 1310 into which air flows from the outside.

In second operation S120, a core S formed in first operation S110 may be located in the chamber 1300, and the tobacco composition A may be input into the chamber 1300 from the supply unit 1200.

In second operation S120, the core S may be located in the chamber 1300, and the tobacco composition A may be grown around the core S at a temperature in the range of about 50° C. to about 90° C., and under an air pressure equal to or lower than about 1.5 bar so that the shell may be formed. Specifically, external air may be introduced from outside of the chamber 1300 to inside through the inlet 1310, and the tobacco composition A may be agglomerated around the core S floating in the chamber 1300.

Accordingly, the tobacco composition A is agglomerated around the core S, and thus the tobacco material of the core-shell structure according to the present disclosure may be formed.

It will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art related to the present embodiment that the present embodiment may be implemented in a modified form within a range that does not depart from the essential characteristics of the above description. Therefore, the disclosed embodiments are to be considered to be illustrative but not restrictive. The scope of the present disclosure is presented in the claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all differences within the scope of equivalents thereto should be construed as being included in the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A tobacco material comprising:

a core comprising a natural flavor material; and

a shell formed around the core and comprising a tobacco mixture,

wherein the tobacco mixture comprises tobacco particles and moisture.

2. The tobacco material of claim 1, wherein the natural flavor material comprises an ingredient derived from a plant.

3. The tobacco material of claim 1, wherein the natural flavor material comprises a freeze-dried fruit peel or a natural oil.

4. The tobacco material of claim 1, wherein the tobacco material comprises 5.0 to 10.0 parts by weight of moisture with respect to 100 parts by weight of the total tobacco material.

5. The tobacco material of claim 1, wherein the core has a diameter of 0.01 mm to 0.3 mm, and the shell has a diameter of 0.4 mm to 1.2 mm.

6. The tobacco material of claim 1, wherein the tobacco material has a viscosity of 5 cps to 200 cps.

7. The tobacco material of claim 1, wherein the tobacco material has a surface roughness of 0.1 to 10.0.

8. A smoking article comprising:

a tobacco rod comprising the tobacco material according to claim 1; and

a filter segment.

9. A method of preparing a tobacco material, the method comprising:

a first operation of forming a core comprising a natural flavor material; and

a second operation of forming a shell surrounding the core.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the second operation comprises:

placing the core in a chamber;

introducing a tobacco composition into the chamber; and

growing the tobacco composition around the core in the chamber under conditions of a temperature in a range of about 50° C. to about 90° C., and an air pressure less than or equal to about 1.5 bar.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the tobacco composition comprises tobacco powder in an amount of 40% to 70% by volume, and water in an amount of 30% to 60% by volume.