WO2008150130A1

WO2008150130A1 - The cigarette filters comprising natural herb material and its cigarette

Info

Publication number: WO2008150130A1
Application number: PCT/KR2008/003181
Authority: WO
Inventors: Si Hyung Jo; Byeoung Ku Kim; In Hyeog Oh; Dae Keun Kwak; Shin Baek; Byong Kwon Jeh; Si Mong Kim; Moon Soo Rhee
Original assignee: Kt & G Corporation
Priority date: 2007-06-07
Filing date: 2008-06-05
Publication date: 2008-12-11
Also published as: CN101707899B; RU2436484C2; JP5323064B2; CN101707899A; RU2009147167A; JP2010528652A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a cigarette filter comprising natural herb plant material and a cigarette with it. According to the present invention, the filter is filled with the natural herb plant cut at a certain size. The herb plant is used as a form of a reconstituted tobacco sheet, a form of being cut after drying, and granule form. The cigarette filter according to the present invention can allow smokers to enjoy natural herb flavor, as well as an aromatherapy effect upon smoking and substantially reduce oral odor and cigarette odor emanated from a mouth of a smoker by neutralizing odor unique to the cigarette.

Description

[DESCRIPTION]

[invention Title]

THE CIGARETTE FILTERS COMPRISING NATURAL HERB MATERIAL AND ITS CIGARETTE ) [Technical Field]

The present invention relates to a cigarette filter comprising a natural herb material and a cigarette with it, and more particularly to a cigarette filter comprising the natural herb material of an environmental-friendly image which U) provides an aromatherapy effect upon smoking and reduces odor unique to the cigarette emanated from a mouth of a smoker [Background Art]

The cigarette is generally consisted of tobacco column and a filter. Conventionally, there were examples which a ' > flavor additive was emanated by preparing a flavor material xn a form of an extract and then distributing it into the filter or the tobacco column or absorbing it onto carbon or zeolite, but such examples have not widely been used since the flavor was slight. There was no example which techniques of cutting Λ) or crushing, or pelleting or granulating the herb material itself was applied to the cigarette filter [Disclosure] [Technical Problem]

An object of the present invention is to provide a cigarette filter which is capable of transferring an inherent natural flavor in the herb uniformly to a smoker from the first whiff to the last whiff upon smoking and a cigarette with it.

.) Further, the present invention has an object to provide a cigarette filter which provides an aromatherapy effect such as suppression, disenchantment, sleepiness prevention, anti- stress, concentration and reduces odor unique to the cigarette emanated from a mouth of the smoker while allowing the smoker H) to enjoy the herb flavor upon smoking.

Further, the present invention has an object to provide a cigarette filter which causes the herb flavor to be diffused and transferred by the means of the heat and vapor generated when the cigarette is combusted without a worry that the ]?) flavor is changed due to heat, by adding the herb granules into the filter unit of non-combustion portion, not the tobacco column.

Furthermore, the present invention has an object to provide a new cigarette filter and a cigarette with it which 0 are capable of achieving the aromatherapy effect, as well as a filtering effect due to the herb plant by using the herb plant, not the herb extract [Technical Solution]

The present invention relates to a cigarette filter using natural herb plant and a cigarette with it.

Specifically, the present invention relates to a cigarette filter having one or more filter units, wherein any one of the filter units is a herb flavor filter unit including > only natural herb material .

Preferably, the herb flavor filter unit is filled with the herb material made in a form of a reconstituted tobacco sheet, filled with the herb material dried and then cut, filled with herb granules using the herb material, or

H) distributed with the herb material or the herb granules dried and then cut onto the filter in a filament form or a fiber form. The cigarette filter is produced in a form of any one selected from a group consisting of a double filter, a triple filter and a multi filter. i In accordance with the present invention, it is possible to transfer fresh and pure flavor from the first whiff to the last whiff upon smoking and reduce bad taste occurred incidentally upon smoking by using the herb flavor filter unit having the herb material. In particular, since the herb ^y0 material is produced in a granular form, faint herb flavor comes out at the time of storage and strong herb flavor comes out by causing coating layers surrounding the granules to be melted or removed by means of heat and vapor medium delivered when the tobacco column is combusted and heat-degraded upon smoking .

Therefore, since the natural herb flavor and inherent taste in the cigarette are a good match, so that pure natural flavor is maintained and transferred according to the present ">^■ invention.

In a case that the cigarette filter is the double filter, the cigarette filter comprises a general filter unit in the filament form or the fiber form; and a herb flavor filter unit which is filled with the herb plant made in a form of the

¹O reconstituted tobacco sheet, filled with the herb plant dried and then cut, filled with herb granules using the herb material, or distributed with the herb material or the herb granules dried and then cut onto the filter in a filament form or a fiber form.

) In a case that the cigarette filter is the triple filter, the cigarette filter comprises a general filter unit in the filament form or the fiber form; a herb flavor filter unit which is filled with the herb plant made in a form of the reconstituted tobacco sheet, filled with the herb material ^jl) dried and then cut, filled with herb granules using the herb material, or distributed with the herb material or the herb granules dried and then cut onto the filter in a filament form or a fiber form; and a filter unit containing an absorbent or special filter unit. In the case that the cigarette filter is the triple filter, it is preferable that the filter is a solid triple filter consisted of the general filter unit in the filament form or the fiber form, the herb flavor filter unit, and a ) complex filter containing the absorbent or a special filter (paper, recess and the like) , since it is possible to smoke the cigarette at the state that the foreign substances are absorbed via the absorbent and removed.

At this time, the filter unit containing the absorbentO refers to a filter which is filled with the absorbent or evenly distributed with the absorbent onto the filter in the filament form or the fiber form. The absorbent can be used with, but not limited to, activate carbon and Zeolite. Since the smoke is sucked into the herb flavor filter after the > harmful material is primarily filtered by the absorbent, it is possible to purify a quality of the smoke transferred to the smoker .

The herb plant can be used without limitation, if it is good to eat. For example, it can be used with a mixture of one or at least two selected from a group consisting of Peppermint, Spearmint, Coffee, Pineapple, Chamomile, Orange, Eucalyptus, Thyme, Geranium, Jasmine, Rosemary, Lavender, Lemongrass, Pine needle, Clover, Sage, Taxol, Bergamot , Basil, Valerian, Hyssop, Tea tree, Myrrh and Juniper. The present invention does not use an extract or oil of the herb plant, but use the herb plant by treating leaf, stem, root or fruit of the plant itself .

The herb plant is dried at the shaded lot to cause moisture up to 10% and then cut at a certain size. The moisturizer is preferably added upon drying in order to allow softness when making a shape of the filter.

The reconstituted tobacco sheet can be produced by extracting, pulping, refining and paper-making which are U) general paper making processes. The processes are well-known and thus specific explanation of it will be omitted.

When cutting the herb material in order to produce the filter, it is preferably cut or crushed so that its suitable size is 0.1~10mm and more preferably 0.15~5mm, and 0. l~5mm and ι^~) more preferably includes size of at least 3mm 50~75weight%, a size of 1.5~3mm 15~32weight%, a size of 0.1-1.5mm 6~21weight% when filling the herb flavor filter with only cut herb plant.

Further, when producing the herb complex filter by distributing the cut herb plant onto cellulose acetate filter, i) it is preferably cut or crushed to make its size 0. l~lmm and include at least 80weight%.

The herb granules are produced as a granule by melting an organic binder of one kind selected from a group consisting of Hydrophilic polymer, Hydrophobic polymer, Monosaccharide, Disaccharide, Sugar alcohol, Molasses and Dextrin in water, and spreading and coating the melted organic binder onto the herb material powder which is dried and then crushed.

At this time, the herb granules have the herb material powder and the organic -based binder mixed at a weight ratio of 1-3:1, and the herb granules are further added with l~30weight% of an inorganic binder selected from a group consisting of Silica, Silicate, and Bentonite for the herb material powder in order to increase a moldability of the powder .

Preferably, the herb granules have a size of 5~80 mesh.

The hydrophilic polymer is selected from a group consisting of Polyethylene glycol, Polyethylene oxide, Gelatin, Starch, Dextran sulfate, Sugar, Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), Chitosan, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Hydroxymethylcellulose, Hydroxypropylcellulose, Methylcellulose, Arabinogalactan, Polyvmylalcohol, Polyacrylic acid, Polyvinylpyrrolidone, Arabic gum, and Sodium alginate, the hydrophobic polymer is selected from a group consisting of Ethylcellulose, high molecular and ester of Methacrylic acid, Polyethylene, Polyamide , Hydroxypropylmethylcellulosephthalate ,

Po] y (ethylenevinylacetate) , Cellulose nitrate, Silicone and poly (Lactide-co-Glycolide) , the monosaccharide is selected from one containing Glucose, Fructose, Trehalose, and Galactose, the disaccharide is selected from one containing Xylose, D-mannose, Solbose, Lactose and Maltose, the sugar alcohol is selected from one containing Mannitol, Sorbitol, Xylitol, Glycerol, Erythritol and Arabitol .

.) The herb material powder is produced by drying a mixture of one or at least two selected from a group consisting of Peppermint, Spearmint, Coffee, Pineapple, Chamomile, Orange, Eucalyptus, Thyme, Geranium, Jasmine, Rosemary, Lavender, Lemongrass, Pine needle, Clover, Sage, Taxol, Bergamot, Basil, 0 Valerian, Hyssop, Tea tree, Myrrh, and Juniper at a temperature of 30~50^°C for 10-20 hours and then crushing it to be 70-80 mesh.

The present invention may encompass a cigarette with the cigarette filter according to any one of claims 1 to 13. .) Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to accompanying drawings . It is apparent that the drawings shown in the present invention is exemplified, but not limited to it, and can be easily changed. Hereinafter, the general filter means :) an acetate tow filter as a filament filter or a fiber filter.

Hereinafter, various types of the cigarette filter according to the present invention will be described with reference to accompanying drawings.

As shown in Fig. 1, a typical filter-type cigarette is consisted of a cigarette unit 20 and a filter unit 10. The filter is classified into a mono filter, double filter, multi filter (triple filter, fourfold filter) based on the number of filter units.

.; Fig. 1 shows an example of the double filter according to the present invention. The general filter unit 11 is produced with filament or fiber and the herb-flavor filter unit 12 comprises herb materials of various types. That is, the herb- flavor filter unit 12 can be filled with only herb materials

10 made in a form of reconstituted tobacco sheet, filled with only herb materials which are dried and then cut, or filled with only herb granules 15. Otherwise, the herb materials can be evenly distributed into the filter of filament form or fiber form.

: .) Fig. 2 shows an example of the triple filter according to the present invention. As shown in Fig. 2, the general filter unit 11, the herb favor filter unit 12 and the general filter unit 11 are connected in this order.

Fig. 3 shows another example of the triple filter

<') according to the present invention. As shown in Fig. 3, the general filter unit 11, the herb flavor filter unit 12 and an absorbent -containing filter unit 13 are connected in this order. The absorbent-containing filter unit 13 is filled with only absorbent or absorbent which is equally distributed in the fiber material, where the absorbent is preferably used with, but limited to, one having an average particle size of

30-80 mesh and a specific surface area of 500-1500 m'/g, in terms of absorbing force and good taste. In this time, the absorbent-containing filter unit 13 is preferably arranged to be adjacent to the cigarette unit 20.

Fig. 4 shows still another example of the triple filter according to the present invention. As shown in Fig. 4, the general filter unit 11, the herb flavor filter unit 12 and a special filter unit 14 are connected in this order. In this time, the special filter unit 14 is configured in the special form, such as a paper filter made by rolling up the paper, a recess with the inside of the filter being empty and the like. Preferably, the special filter unit 14 is arranged to be adjacent to the cigarette unit 20.

Fig. 5 shows an example of the fourfold filter according to the present invention. As shown in Fig. 5, the general filter unit 11, the herb flavor filter unit 12, the absorbent- containing filter unit 13 and the general filter unit 11 are connected in this order.

Fig. 6 shows another example of the fourfold filter according to the present invention. As shown in Fig. 6, the general filter unit 11, the herb flavor filter unit 12, a special filter unit 14 and the general filter unit 11 are connected in this order.

Fig. 7 shows yet still another example of the triple filter according to the present invention. The triple filter is consisted of one general filter unit 11 and two herb flavor filter units 12. One of the herb flavor filters is consisted of a filter unit 12a filled with the herb granules 15, and the other is consisted of a filter unit 12b in which the herb granules 15 are distributed onto the fiber. At this time, the filter unit 12b with the herb granules 15 being distributed ) onto the fiber is preferably arranged to be adjacent to the cigarette unit 20.

However, it will be appreciated that the disclosed type may be changed without limitation if any one or more of the filter units are consisted of the herb flavor filter, i Hereinafter, it will be specifically described on a method of producing the herb granules used in the present invention. The method is performed as shown in Fig. 8.

First, one kind or two or more kinds of the herb which is to be a raw material of the herb granules are mixed and then -O dried Sl. At this time, the herb plant is dried at a temperature of 30~50^°C for 10-20 hours. The dried herb plant is crushed S2 and only herbs of 70-80 mesh are sorted S3. At this time, larger powders which are not sorted are again delivered to the crushing step. The herb plant powders sorted at 80 mesh are subject to injection-molding step while they are mixed with organic binder or organic binder and inorganic binder S4. At this time, a size of the herb granules is produced at a range of 5-80 mesh upon injection-molding. Thereafter, the herb granules produced are dried S5, preferably at 30~50°C for 50-70 hours. Such dried herb granules are classified based on a size S6. The herb granules are classified into two groups, one of 5-35 mesh and the other of 35-80 mesh. It is preferable that the one of 5-35 mesh is used for the triple filter and the other of 35-80 mesh is used the double filter, although not limited to them.

The natural herb plant materials processed according to the present invention are used after producing them as herb granules, so that the materials may be applied by using single or combining multiple if they are acceptable in view of Food Additive Law and one portion of containing most herb components and the other portion may be applied in a natural state to the cigarette product.

More specifically, it is possible to use a mixture of one or two and more selected from a group consisting of, but not limited to, Peppermint, Spearmint, Coffee, Pineapple, Chamomile, Orange, Eucalyptus, Thyme, Geranium, Jasmine, Rosemary, Lavender, Lemongrass, Pine needle, Clover, Sage, Taxol, Bergamot, Basil, Valerian, Hyssop, Tea tree, Myrrh and Juniper .

More specifically, after yielding various kinds of herb plants at the time that the flavor can be maintained at the best level, they are divided into leaf, stem, berry and root portion. It is possible to utilize the portion containing much herb flavor in accordance with kinds of herb. At this time, the yielded herb must be dried at the shaded lot allowing free passage of air or at the drying rack with sunshade to keep it out of the direct ray of the sun, whereby it is possible to prevent loss of the natural herb flavor.

After drying such materials until they have suitable moisture of 5-10%, the foreign substances are sorted from the materials and then the materials is roughly crushed by crusher up to 6 mesh. Thereafter, they are secondly crushed at a thin particle up to 80 mesh by a pin crusher. At this time, the crushing step must be intermittently performed not to cause an abrasion temperature within the crusher to be above 40^°C . It is possible to reduce the loss of natural flavor by repeating the crushing processes of 1 minute and stoppage of 3 minutes several times to suppress a temperature rise.

The present invention is characterized in the process of spherizmg the herb granules by suspending the above-mentioned natural herb powder particles in an aqueous solution and growing them as spherical particles. The herb powder must be produced as herb powders up to 80 mesh in accordance with conditions of growing velocity and temperature grade relating to the spherical bodies granulation when growing the herb granules, whereby it is easy to control size and distribution

) of the particle and it is possible to produce the spherical herb particles of 1-35 mesh which are suitable for producing the cigarette filter.

Although the present invention can use inorganic binder such as silica, silicate or bentonite, in order to increase

') formability of the natural herb powders, and more preferably the organic binder of one kind selected from a group consisting of hydrophilic polymer, hydrophobic polymer, monosaccharide, disaccharide, sugar alcohol, molasses and dextrin by melting it in the water. More preferably, it is

; possible to enhance formability of spherical particle by using molasses or cellulose-based Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) of 2% solution which is the organic binder.

More specifically, the Carboxymethyl cellulose solution of 0.5-2% and the crushed herb powder are injected through a

J) nozzle to mix them at equal weight ratio, whereby spherical herb granules of 16-35 mesh are glowed. Meanwhile, the herb granules can be produced by mixing the molasses of 1-5 weight% with the water, in a case of using the molasses. It is possible to use one selected from a group consisting of fluid bed granulator, injection molding granulator, disc granulator and compression granulator, besides the plowshare mixer used m the present invention.

[Advantageous Effects]

The cigarette with the cigarette filter according to the present invention can deliver to the smoker the inherent flavor in the natural herb which is not deformed by heat degradation or composition, quantitatively add the herb flavor to the filter by producing it as granules such as spherical i') bodies, and equally transfer the herb flavor from the initial time until the last time during smoking.

Further, the flavor component of the produced cigarette is not transferred to the next medium within it and is not volatilized even during the course of circulation and during ) the storage by inserting the herb granules into the internal space of the filter, so that the herb flavor is continuously remained .

[Description of Drawings]

The above and other objects, features and advantages of W) the present invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows an example of a double filter according to the present invention; Fig. 2 shows an example of a triple filter according to the present invention;

Fig. 3 shows another example of a triple filter according to the present invention;

Fig. 4 shows still another example of a triple filter according to the present invention;

Fig. 5 shows an example of a fourfold filter according to the present invention;

Fig. 6 shows still another example of a fourfold filter according to the present invention;

Fig. 7 shows still another example of a triple filter according to the present invention, which is consisted of one general filter unit 11 and two herb flavor filter units 12, wherein one of the two herb flavor filter units is consisted of a filter unit 12a filled with herb granules and the other is consisted of a filter unit 12b in which the herb granules are distributed on fiber;

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a process of producing the herb granules according to the present invention.

[Detailed Description of Main Elements]

10: filter unit 20: cigarette unit

11: general filter unit 12: herb flavor filter unit

12a: filter unit filled with herb granules 12b: filter unit in which herb granules are distributed on the fiber

13: filter unit containing absorbent 14: special filter unit

15 : herb granules

[Best Mode]

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described to explain the present invention.

[Embodiment 1]

After drying Spearmint under the shade to cause the moisture content to be up to 10% and spraying the dried spearmint of lOOOg with an aqueous solution of lOml/lOOg obtained by melting a glycerin of 3 weight% as moisturizer in distilled water, the sprayed Spearmint is cut to be 1 mm in an average size by a cutter. After then, the Spearmint is dried for 24 hours under the normal temperature to cause the resulting moisture of spearmint to be 13%, the cut Spearmint is filled within the filter paper so that the herb filter having circumference of 24mm, length of 96mm, and herb contents of lOmg/mm is produced. The produced filter has physical properties of weight lOOOmg (including the filter paper), hardness 80%, and suction resistance 120mmH₂O/96mm. Such herb filter is divided into 8 equal parts to produce the herb filter of 12mm, which is connected with the cellulose acetate filter of 15mm, thereby producing the double filter having total length of 27mm.

After producing the cigarettes connecting the prepared filter with the tobacco column, they are evaluated on a blind test, by 100 skilled panels. At the test, the panels are allowed to perform an evaluation based on 10 points dimensional scaling, and its average values are shown in tables 1-3 below.

At this time, using a combination of burley leaf, oriental leaf and flue-cured leaf tobacco mixed at a weight ratio of 3:2:5, the combination is sprayed with aqueous solution of 12ml/100g obtained by melting the moisturizer of 3 weight% in the distilled water and then cut to be 0.9 mm in an average size by a cutter. The cigarette unit is produced using the cigarette producer by drying the cut tobacco at a constant temperature to permit the resulting moisture of the cut tobacco to be 13%. The cigarette unit has a circumference of 24.4mm, a length of 57mm, a tobacco weight of 600mg, a suction resistance of 45mm H₂O/57mm, and a hardness of 75%. The test cigarette is finished by attaching the tobacco column unit to the filter unit using a tipping paper.

[Embodiment 2] A peppermint (using leaf and stem) as raw material is crushed by the pin crusher after drying at a temperature of 4θ^"C for 24 hours and then classified by an 80-mesh sieve, so that only those passing through the 80-mesh sieve may be used. The Carboxymethyl cellulose sodium salt of 2Og as the binder is injected in the distilled water of lOOOg and is allowed to be perfectly melted by stirring them for about 2 hours at 40^°C .

The crushed herb powders of 70Og are put in the plowshare mixer having a volume of 5L (Lodige, Germany) , molded for 30 minutes after injecting the produced binder solution of 50Og, dried at a temperature of 40^°C for 12 hours, and classified by the mesh, thereby producing the spherical herb granules for use in the triple filter (14-35 mesh) and the double filter (35-80 mesh) .

The spherical herb granules are filled in the filter internal space or distributed on the fiber so that the herb flavor filter having circumference of 24mm, length of 96mm and herb granule contents of lOmg/mm is produced. The produced filter has physical properties of weight lOOOmg (including the filter paper), hardness 80%, and suction resistance 120mmH^O/96mm. Such flavor filter is divided into 8 equal parts to produce the herb flavor filter unit of 12mm, which is connected to the cellulose acetate filter of 15mm, thereby producing the double complex filter of total length 27mm. After producing the cigarettes connecting the prepared filter with the tobacco in the same manner as the embodiment 1, they are evaluated on a blind test, by 100 skilled panels. At the test, the panels are allowed to perform an evaluation based on 10 points dimensional scaling, and its average values are shown in tables 1-3 below.

[Embodiment 3]

A Spearmint (using leaf and stem) as raw material is crushed by the pin crusher after drying at a temperature of 40 ^"C for 24 hours and then classified by an 80 -mesh sieve, so that only those passing through the 80 -mesh sieve may be used. The Carboxymethyl cellulose sodium salt of 2Og as the binder is injected in the distilled water of lOOOg and is allowed to be perfectly melted by stirring them for about 2 hours.

The crushed herb powders of 70Og are put in the plowshare mixer having a volume of 5L (Lodige, Germany) , and the herb powder of 15weight% (105g) are mixed with powder-type silica as molding assistant for 20 minutes, molded for 30 minutes after injecting the produced binder solution of 500g, dried at a temperature of 40^°C for 12 hours, and classified by the mesh, thereby producing the spherical herb granules for use in the triple filter (14-35 mesh) and the double filter (35-80 mesh) . The spherical herb granules are distributed in the filter space or on the fiber so that the herb flavor filter having circumference of 24mm, length of 96mm and the herb granule contents of lOmg/mm may be produced. The produced filter has physical properties of weight lOOOmg (including the filter paper), hardness 80%, and suction resistance 120mmH₂O/96mm. Such herb flavor filter is divided into 8 equal parts to produce the herb flavor filter unit of 12mm, which is connected to the cellulose acetate filter of 15mm, thereby producing the double complex filter of total length 27mm.

After producing the cigarettes connecting the prepared filter with the tobacco in the same manner as the embodiment 1, they are evaluated on a blind test, by 100 skilled panels. At the test, the panels are allowed to perform an evaluation based on 10 points dimensional scaling, and its average values are shown in tables 1-3 below.

[Embodiment 4]

A Thyme (using leaf and stem) as raw material is crushed by the pin crusher after drying at a temperature of 40^°C for 24 hours and then classified by an 80-mesh sieve, so that only those passing through the 80-mesh sieve may be used. The Carboxymethyl cellulose sodium salt of 2Og as the binder is injected in the distilled water of lOOOg and is allowed to be perfectly melted by stirring them for about 2 hours. The crushed herb powders of 70Og are put in the plowshare mixer having a volume of 5L (Lodige, Germany) , mixed with the binder solution of 50Og for 20 minutes, projected at a diameter of 3mm by a projector (ceramics, Korea), and dried at .) a temperature of 40^°C for 12 hours, thereby producing the pellet- type herb granules. The produced composition is crushed and classified by the sieve so that the herb granules for use in the triple filter (14-35 mesh) and the double filter (35-80 mesh) are produced.

!0 The spherical herb granules are distributed in the filter space or on the fiber so that the herb flavor filter having circumference of 24mm, length of 96mm and the herb granule contents of lOmg/mm may be produced. The produced filter has physical properties of weight lOOOmg (including the filter

!.) paper), hardness 80%, and suction resistance 120mmH₂O/96mm.

Such herb flavor filter is divided into 8 equal parts to produce the herb flavor filter unit of 12mm, which is connected to the cellulose acetate filter of 15mm, thereby producing the double complex filter of total length 27mm. ^) After producing the cigarettes connecting the prepared filter with the tobacco column in the same manner as the embodiment 1, they are evaluated on a blind test, by 100 skilled panels. At the test, the panels are allowed to perform an evaluation based on 10 points dimensional scaling, and its average values are shown in tables 1~3 below.

[Comparative Example 1]

A general cellulose acetate mono filter is produced, which has circumference of 24mm, length of 27mm, weight 780mg, hardness 80%, and suction resistance 380mm H₂O/108mm.

After producing the cigarettes connecting the prepared filter with the tobacco column in the same manner as the embodiment 1, they are evaluated on a blind test, by 100 skilled panels. At the test, the panels are allowed to perform an evaluation based on 10 points dimensional scaling, and its average values are shown in tables 1~3 below.

[Comparative Example 2-4]

Cases with using the herb powder for the tobacco

The general cellulose acetate mono filter is produced, which has circumference of 24mm, length of 27mm, weight of 780mg, hardness of 80%, and suction resistance of 380mrrιH;>O/108mm . The sample cigarette is finished by connecting the general cellulose acetate mono filter with the tobacco containing the herb powder of 120τng.

The comparative example 2 is used with Peppermint powder which is same as in the embodiment 2, the comparative example 3 is used with Spearmint powder which is same as in the embodiment 3, and the comparative example 4 is used with the Thyme powder which is same as in the embodiment 4. At this time, the tobacco was produced in the same manner as the embodiment except that the herb powder is further added. The cigarettes are evaluated on a blind test, by 100 skilled panels. At the test, the panels are allowed to perform an evaluation based on 10 points dimensional scaling, and its average values are shown in tables 1-3 below.

The test method is generally performed on a basis of symbols which basically influence a smoker's preference when choosing the cigarette, and the definition disclosed in tables below is as following:

Inherent flavor of cigarette: which refers to an inherent flavor of the tobacco leaf which the smoker can feel from flue-cured leaf, burley leaf and oriental leaf and means quantitative feeling, the more intense, the further towards 10 points.

Hay odor: which refers to an odor easily reminding flavor characteristic of the dried leaf (weed) , the more intense, the further towards 10 points. Acid odor: which means stimulation to stimulate nose and cause a pungent feel, such as odor emitted from an acetic acid, the more intense the intensity of it, the further towards 10 points. Abnormal taste and odor: which means odor giving unwelcome attention as a characteristic which must be eliminated from inherent taste and odor in the cigarette, it is an element reducing a value of the product, the more intense, the further towards 10 points .

Herb flavor: which refers to flavor of the natural herb component, the more smoker feels sweet- flavored, less rejection, more pure sense, and more refreshed in the mouth and the nose, the further towards 10 points. Feeling of refreshment: which refers to a degree of how the inside of mouth and nose is suitably stimulated upon smoking and the smoker is not suffered from aversion to taste and flavor of the cigarette, the greater the degree, the further towards 10 points. Intensity of flavor: which means total amounts of flavor present in the cigarette to indicate a degree of total recognition without relating to a type of the flavor, the better the smoker feels, the further towards 10 points.

Pureness: which means pure tastes and a concept opposite to dirty, mouth coating, the pure tastes generally means good tastes, the better the pure feelings, the further towards 10 points. Harmony: which refers to a degree of how the flavor is not separated, not too much or not too little, and flavor-additive and resulting smoke are a good match, the better it is balanced out, the further towards 10 points .

Maintenance of herb flavor: which refers to a degree of how the herb flavor is maintained from the first whiff to the last whiff upon smoking, the longer the maintenance period, the further towards 10 points. Smoking satisfaction: when determining overall feelings subjectively upon smoking or after smoking, the higher the degree of smoking satisfaction, the further towards 10 points.

Oral odor: which refers to odor emanated from the smoker after smoking, the more intense, the further towards 10 points.

Bitter taste : which refers to a typical bitter taste in the mouth felt from such as caffeine, it is generally felt from inner of a tongue and lasts for a long time, the more intense the feeling of it, the further towards 10 points.

Stimulation: which refers to a feeling of which bad tastes such as stink, pungent or smoky within mouth, neck and nose last for at least 1 second and slowly disappear after the smoker suddenly feels it, the more intense, the further towards 10 points.

Pureness of aftertaste : which means there is no feeling of being spread or stuck with dusts and stained with cream or oil within the mouth, the less intense the feeling of it, the further towards 10 points .

Overall satisfaction: when determining overall satisfaction subjectively upon smoking and after smoking, the higher a degree of smoking satisfaction, the further towards 10 points.

[Table 1] Sensory test before smoking

Item

Tobacco

Hay Acidity '

Body taste ( i

*The larger number in a direction of (-») indicates improvement and enhancement .

[Table 2] Sensory test during smoking

*The larger number in a direction of indicates improvement and enhancement .

[Table 3] Sensory test after smoking

Overall satisfac tion ( t )

*The larger number in a direction of (→) indicates improvement and enhancement .

In the overall evaluation of the cigarette tastes, using the cigarette according to the present invention is substantially excellent in a variety of evaluation items, as indicated in the table 1, table 2 and table 3. In particular, it is appreciated that the oral odor is low as compared with using the general filter.

Further, it is noted that the herb flavor, the feeling of refreshment and the intensity of flavor are higher and the herb flavor can be preserved from the first whiff to the last whiff, as compared with the case that the herb is added to the tobacco. Meanwhile, the comparative examples 1 to 4 shows that the abnormal taste and odor is higher, the aftertaste is not good and the overall satisfaction is low, as compared with the present invention.

Further, in order to confirm whether the herb component is transferred to mainstream smoke, we perform tests as following :

With respect to the cigarette with the filter of the embodiments 1 to 4 , its mainstream smoke is collected by the Cambridge filter (circumference 44mm) using an automatic smoking apparatus and extracted at a temperature of 30 "C for 30 minutes by a solid phase microextraction (SPME, Supelco, 57344 -U) method to make GC (gas chromatography) analysis. The analysis conditions are as following:

Carrier gas : nitrogen

Column: INNOWAX (length 60mm x inner diameter 0.25mm, film thickness 0.25um) J&W company

Detector . spark ionization detector (FID)

Inlet temperature : 250 ^°C

Detector temperature : 230^°C

Oven temperature : holding at an initial temperature of

50 C for 3 minutes ascending at 3 ^°C per a minute, and then holding at a temperature of 230^°C for 20 minutes.

As a result of the GC analysis, it may be known that a peak not shown m the general filter cigarette is shown m the herb filter cigarette at GC retention time of 56.787 minutes and a main component of the Spearmint, called f-carvone is transferred to mainstream smoke, m a case of Embodiment 1.

It may be known that the peak not shown m the general filter cigarette is shown m the herb filter cigarette at GC retention time of 52.511 minutes and a mam component of the Peppermint, called ( -menthol is transferred to mainstream smoke, m a case of Embodiment 2.

It may be known that the peak not shown in the general filter cigarette is shown in the herb filter cigarette at GC retention time of 56.787 minutes and a main component of the Spearmint, called ? -carvone is transferred to mainstream smoke, in a case of Embodiment 3.

It may be known that the peak not shown in the general filter cigarette is shown in the herb filter cigarette at GC retention time of 23.962 minutes and a main component of the Thyme, called Thymol is transferred to mainstream smoke from this, in a case of Embodiment 4.

Further, in order to measure a transference amount of mainstream smoke according to the number of smoking times, a result of transference amount according to the number of smoking times and the herb component content of the transference amount is measured and shown in Table 4 below.

[Table 4] A content of a main component transferred to smoke per the number of times

As shown in the table 4, it is appreciated that the main component of the herb is transferred at an equal amount irrespective of the number of smoking times, in the cigarette filter according to the present invention. Therefore, in a case of using the cigarette filter according to the present invention, it is possible to transfer the herb flavor equally from the first whiff to the last whiff.

[industrial Applicability]

As described above, it is possible to provide new flavor and taste by producing the filter with the natural herb plant and generating richer flavor upon smoking and substantially reduce the odor unique to the cigarette delivered to non- smokers and the oral odor of the smokers, thereby reducing repugnance caused by odor of sidestream smoke including oral odor of the smoker.

Further, the product having such flavor can meet sensitivity of a new generation which creates well-being trend and personality of consumers.

Further, since the material used for generating the flavor is applied for not tobacco, but filter, possible foreign materials which are combusted by the heat in direct- contact with the filter and generated by heat degradation or composition are not caused and thus the foreign taste is not caused at all, whereby it is possible to naturally feel stable and continuous flavor of the natural herb.

Further, it is possible to achieve practicability, since the raw material of such herb plant can be easily achieved and manufacturing process can be easily applied.

Claims

[CLAIMS]

[Claim l]

A cigarette filter having one or more filter units, wherein any one of the filter units is herb flavor filter unit including only natural herb material.

[Claim 2]

The cigarette filter according to claim 1, wherein the herb flavor filter unit is filled with the herb material made m a form of a reconstituted tobacco sheet, filled with the >) herb material dried and then cut, filled with herb granules using the herb material, or distributed with the herb material or the herb granules dried and then cut onto the filter in a filament form or a fiber form.

[Claim 3]

The cigarette filter according to claim 2, wherein the herb material is used by mixing one or at least two selected from group including Peppermint, Spearmint, Coffee, Pineapple, Chamomile, Orange, Eucalyptus, Thyme, Geranium, Jasmine, Rosemary, Lavender, Lemongrass, Pine needle, Clover, Sage, J Taxol, Bergamot, Basil, Valerian, Hyssop, Tea tree, Myrrh, and Juniper . [Claim 4]

The cigarette filter according to claim 3, wherein the cigarette filter is any one selected from a group consisting of a double filter, a triple filter, or fourfold filter

[Claim 5]

The cigarette filter according to claim 4, wherein the filter comprises a general filter unit in the filament form or the fiber form; and a herb flavor filter unit which is filled with the herb material made in a form of reconstituted tobacco sheet, filled with the herb material dried and then cut, filled with herb granules using the herb material, or distributed with the herb material or the herb granules dried and then cut onto the filter in a filament form or a fiber form, in a case that the cigarette filter is the double filter.

[Claim β]

The cigarette filter according to claim 4, wherein the cigarette filter comprises a general filter unit in the filament form or the fiber form; a herb flavor filter unit which is filled with the herb material made in a form of reconstituted tobacco sheet, filled with the herb material dried and then cut, filled with herb granules using the herb material, or distributed with the herb material or the herb granules dried and then cut onto the filter in the filament form or the fiber form; and a filter unit containing an absorbent or special filter unit, in a case that the cigarette filter is the triple filter.

[Claim 7] The cigarette filter according to claim 6, wherein the filter unit containing an absorbent is in the filament form or the fxber form and filled with the absorbent or evenly distributed with an absorbent, and the special filter unit is of paper or recess structure.

[Claim 8]

The cigarette filter according to claim 2, wherein the herb granules are produced as a granule by melting an organic binder of one kind selected from a group consisting of Hydrophilic polymer, Hydrophobic polymer, Monosaccharide, Disaccharide , Sugar alcohol, Molasses and Dextrin in water, and spreading and coating the melted organic binder onto the herb material powder which is dried and then crushed.

[Claim 9]

The cigarette filter according to claim 8, wherein the herb granules have the herb material powder and the organic - based binder mixed at a weight ratio of 1-3:1.

[Claim lθ]

The cigarette filter according to claim 8, wherein the herb granules is further added with l~30weight% of an anorganic binder selected from a group consisting of Silica, Silicate, and Bentonite for the herb material powder in order to increase a moldability of the powder.

[Claim ll] The cigarette filter according to claim 8, wherein the herb granules have a size of 5-80 mesh.

[Claim 12]

The cigarette filter according to claim 8, wherein the hydrophilic polymer is selected from a group consisting of Polyethylene glycol, Polyethylene oxide, Gelatin, Starch, Dextran sulfate, Sugar, Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), Chitosan, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Hydroxymethylcellulose,

Hydroxypropylcellulose , Methylcellulose, Arabinogalactan, Polyvinylalcohol , Polyacrylic acid, Polyvinylpyrrolidone, Arabic gum, and Sodium alginate, the hydrophobic polymer is selected from a group consisting of Ethylcellulose, high molecular and ester of Methacrylic acid, Polyethylene, Polyamide , Hydroxypropylmethylcellulosephthalate ,

Poly (ethylenevinylacetate) , Cellulose nitrate, Silicone and poly (Lactide-co-Glycolide) , the monosaccharide is selected from one containing Glucose, Fructose, Trehalose, and Galactose, the disaccharide is selected from one containing Xylose, D-mannose, Solbose, Lactose and Maltose, the sugar alcohol is selected from one containing Mannitol, Sorbitol, Xylitol, Glycerine, Glycerol, Erythritol and Arabitol .

[Claim 13]

The cigarette filter according to claim 8, wherein the herb material powder is produced by drying a mixture of one or at least two selected from a group consisting of Peppermint, Spearmint, Coffee, Pineapple, Chamomile, Orange, Eucalyptus, Thyme, Geranium, Jasmine, Rosemary, Lavender, Lemongrass, Pine needle, Clover, Sage, Taxol, Bergamot, Basil, Valerian, Hyssop, Tea tree, Myrrh, and Juniper at a temperature of 30~50^°Cfor 10-20 hours and then crushing it to be 70-80 mesh.

[Claim 14]

A cigarette with the cigarette filter according to any one of claims 1 to 13.