WO2023188436A1

WO2023188436A1 - Atomization unit, production method therefor, and inhalation device

Info

Publication number: WO2023188436A1
Application number: PCT/JP2022/017007
Authority: WO
Inventors: 光史松本; 貴久工藤; 友一渡辺
Original assignee: 日本たばこ産業株式会社
Priority date: 2022-04-01
Filing date: 2022-04-01
Publication date: 2023-10-05

Abstract

This atomization unit comprises: a liquid accommodation part which accommodates an aerosol generation liquid containing nicotine; an electrical load to which is supplied the aerosol generation liquid from the liquid accommodation part and which atomizes the supplied aerosol generation liquid to generate an aerosol; a flavor molded body which includes a non-tobacco base material and a flavor material; and a molded body accommodation part which is formed inside the liquid accommodation part and in which the flavor molded body is disposed and positioned. The flavor molded body is positioned and disposed in a state where part of the flavor molded body contacts a wall surface that forms the molded body accommodation part, and at least part of the remaining portion of the flavor molded body contacts the aerosol generation liquid accommodated in the liquid accommodation part.

Description

Atomization unit and its manufacturing method, and suction tool

The present invention relates to an atomization unit, a method for manufacturing the same, and a suction tool.

Conventionally, an atomizing unit used in a suction tool includes a liquid storage part that stores a predetermined liquid, and an electrical unit that atomizes the introduced liquid and generates an aerosol. An atomizing unit is known which is characterized in that it has a load, stores powder of tobacco material such as tobacco leaves in the liquid of this liquid storage part, and disperses the powder of tobacco material. (For example, see Patent Document 1).

Note that other prior art documents include Patent Document 2, Patent Document 3, Patent Document 4, and Non-Patent Document 1. Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3 disclose a configuration of an atomization unit included in a suction tool having a basic configuration. Patent Document 4 discloses information regarding tobacco leaf extract. Non-Patent Document 1 discloses a technology related to nicotine.

International Publication No. 2019/211332 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-141705 International Publication No. 2020/058468 International Publication No. 2015/129679

In the case of the atomization unit of the conventional suction device as exemplified in Patent Document 1 mentioned above, the powdered tobacco material dispersed inside the liquid in the liquid storage part is not affected by the electrical load of the atomization unit. There is a risk that the product may adhere to the product. In this case, the load on the atomization unit may deteriorate. In this respect, the conventional technology has room for improvement.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and one of its objects is to provide a technique that can suppress deterioration of the load on the atomization unit.

As a result of extensive studies, the present inventors have discovered that the above problem can be solved by using a liquid storage section in which a specific molded body is placed, and have arrived at the present invention.

(Aspect 1)
In order to achieve the above object, an atomization unit of a suction tool according to one aspect of the present invention includes a liquid storage section that stores an aerosol generation liquid containing a tobacco extract component, and a liquid storage section that is supplied with the aerosol generation liquid. and an electrical load that atomizes the supplied aerosol generating liquid to generate an aerosol; a flavor molded body containing a non-tobacco base material and a flavor material; a molded body accommodating part in which a molded body is positioned and arranged, a part of the flavor molded body being in contact with a wall surface forming the molded body accommodating part, and at least a part of the other part being in contact with the wall surface forming the molded body accommodating part; It is positioned and arranged in a state in which it is in contact with the aerosol generating liquid contained in the storage section.

According to this aspect, the flavor molded body molded into a predetermined shape is disposed inside the liquid storage section, and it is possible to physically separate the flavor molded body and the electrical load of the atomization unit. can. Furthermore, since a part of the flavor molded object comes into contact with the wall surface of the molded object storage section, swelling of the flavor molded object can be suppressed. Thereby, it is possible to suppress substances such as tobacco materials that may become deposits from adhering to the load of the atomization unit. As a result, it is possible to suppress deterioration of the load on the atomization unit.

(Aspect 2)
In the above aspect 1, the atomization unit includes a partition that partitions the liquid storage section into the molded object storage section and the molded object non-accommodation section so that the molded object storage section is formed in a part of the liquid storage section. It may further include a wall portion, and the flavor molded object may be positioned and arranged in contact with the partition wall portion.

(Aspect 3)
In the above aspect 2, the flavor molded body is formed into a rod shape, has a circumferential surface connecting both end surfaces in the axial direction, and is positioned and arranged with the circumferential surface in contact with the wall surface. It's okay.

(Aspect 4)
In the

above aspect

2 or 3, the partition wall portion is provided with an opening for allowing the flavor molded body to come into contact with the aerosol generating liquid stored in the molded body non-accommodating portion. It may be.

(Aspect 5)
In any one of the above aspects 1 to 4, the atomization unit includes a liquid holding member that holds the load and is supplied with the aerosol generating liquid in the liquid storage section, the flavor molded object, and the liquid holding member. It may further include a spacer member disposed between the liquid retaining member and physically separating the flavor molded body from the liquid retaining member.

(Aspect 6)
In the above aspect 5, the flavor molded body is formed into a rod shape, and the spacer member is interposed between the first end surface that is one end surface of the flavor molded body in the axial direction and the liquid retaining member. A portion of the first end surface may be in contact with the spacer member so that partial contact of the first end surface with the aerosol generating liquid is allowed.

(Aspect 7)
In any one of the above aspects 1 to 6, a filter member may be disposed in at least a part of the region of the flavor molded body that comes into contact with the aerosol generating liquid.

(Aspect 8)
A suction tool according to one aspect of the present invention includes the atomizing unit according to any one of aspects 1 to 7 above, and a power source unit that supplies power to the load and to which the atomizing unit is detachably attached. Equipped with

(Aspect 9)
In order to achieve the above object, a method for manufacturing an atomizing unit for a suction device according to one aspect of the present invention is a method for manufacturing an atomization unit for a suction device having a liquid storage portion, the method comprising: producing an aerosol containing tobacco extract components; a liquid preparation step of preparing a liquid; a molding step of molding a flavor molded body containing a non-tobacco base material and a flavor material; and, in the assembling step, the flavor molded body is placed in a molded body housing part formed inside the liquid housing part, and a wall surface, a part of which forms the molded body housing part, is placed in the molded body housing part formed inside the liquid housing part. and the other part is in contact with the aerosol generating liquid contained in the liquid storage part.

(Aspect 10)
In order to achieve the above object, a method for manufacturing an atomizing unit for a suction device according to one aspect of the present invention is a method for manufacturing an atomization unit for a suction device having a liquid storage portion, the method comprising: a step of preparing a liquid containing a tobacco extract component; a molding step of molding a flavor molded body containing a non-tobacco base material and a flavor material; an addition step of adding the liquid containing the tobacco extract component to the flavor molded body; an assembly step of accommodating the flavor molded body to which a liquid containing a tobacco extract component has been added and an aerosol base material in the liquid storage section, and in the assembly step, the aerosol base material is removed from the flavor molded body. As the tobacco extract component is eluted into the material, the aerosol generating liquid is stored in the liquid storage part, and in the assembly process, the aerosol generation liquid is stored in the molded body storage part formed inside the liquid storage part. Positioning and arranging the flavor molded object so that a portion thereof is in contact with a wall surface forming the molded object storage section, and another portion thereof is in contact with the aerosol generating liquid accommodated in the liquid storage section. do.

According to the aspect of the present invention, it is possible to suppress deterioration of the load on the atomization unit.

1 is a perspective view schematically showing the appearance of a suction tool 100 according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the main parts of the atomization unit according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section taken along the line A1-A1 in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section taken along the line A2-A2 in FIG. 2. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a flavor molded article according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a modification of the flavor molded body according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is a flow diagram for explaining a method for manufacturing an atomization unit according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the results of measuring the TPM reduction rate with respect to the amount of carbonized components contained in 1 g of aerosol generation liquid containing tobacco extract components. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the main parts of the atomization unit according to Modification 1 of Embodiment 1. 10 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section taken along the line A3-A3 in FIG. 9. FIG. FIG. 3 is a flow diagram for explaining a method for manufacturing an atomization unit according to Modification 2 of Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the main parts of the atomization unit according to Embodiment 2. 13 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section taken along the line A4-A4 in FIG. 12. FIG. FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing main parts of an atomization unit according to a modification of Embodiment 2. FIG. 15 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section taken along the line A5-A5 in FIG. 14. FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the main parts of an atomization unit according to Embodiment 3. 17 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section taken along the line A6-A6 in FIG. 16. FIG. 17 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section taken along the line A7-A7 in FIG. 16. FIG. FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing main parts of an atomization unit according to a modification of Embodiment 3.

Hereinafter, embodiments of an atomization unit and a suction tool equipped with the same according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, but these descriptions are merely examples of the embodiments of the present invention, and the gist of the present invention is not limited to the following. It is not limited to these contents as long as they do not exceed. Furthermore, although a plurality of embodiments will be described in this specification, various conditions in each embodiment may be applied to each other within an applicable range. Furthermore, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, etc. of the constituent elements described in the embodiments are merely examples. In addition, in this specification, each embodiment will be described with reference to drawings as necessary, but these drawings are schematically illustrated to facilitate understanding of the features of the embodiments, and each configuration is The dimensional ratios of elements etc. are not necessarily the same as the actual ones. Note that in the drawings of the present application, XYZ orthogonal coordinates are illustrated as necessary. In addition, in this specification, a numerical range expressed using "~" means a range that includes the numerical values written before and after "~" as lower and upper limits, and "A to B" is It means that it is more than or equal to A and less than or equal to B.

The atomization unit (hereinafter also simply referred to as "atomization unit") of the suction device according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a liquid storage section that stores an aerosol generation liquid containing tobacco extract components;
an electrical load that causes the aerosol generation liquid in the liquid storage section to be introduced and atomizes the introduced aerosol generation liquid to generate an aerosol;
A flavor molded article containing a non-tobacco base material and a flavor material;
a molded object accommodating section formed inside the liquid accommodating section and in which the flavor molded object is positioned and arranged;
Equipped with
The flavor molded body is positioned and arranged such that a part thereof is in contact with a wall surface forming the molded body storage part and another part is in contact with the aerosol generating liquid stored in the liquid storage part. There is.

Here, the above-mentioned "at least a part of the other part" refers to a part of the flavor molded object that is different from the part (the above-mentioned "part") that comes into contact with the wall surface forming the molded-obtaining part. . That is, the part of the surface of the flavor molded body that comes into contact with the aerosol-generating liquid contained in the liquid storage section is different from the part that contacts the wall surface forming the molded body storage part. At this time, the above-mentioned "at least a part of the other part" may be all the parts of the flavor molded article other than the above-mentioned "part" (i.e., the remainder), or even a part of the remaining part. There may be.

Hereinafter, specific aspects according to the embodiment will be described, but the present invention is not limited to the specific aspects described below. The effect of the present invention can be obtained as long as the solid substance is not a solid substance such as, and the various conditions can be arbitrarily combined within the range in which this effect can be obtained.

In addition, in the embodiment, an aerosol generating liquid containing tobacco extract components is used as a source of tobacco components such as nicotine instead of a powdered tobacco material that can become deposits as disclosed in Patent Document 1. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the supply source of tobacco components such as nicotine from adhering to the load of the atomization unit, thereby suppressing deterioration of the load.

<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the appearance of a suction tool 100 according to the first embodiment. The suction device 100 according to the first embodiment is a non-combustion heating type suction device, and specifically, a non-combustion heating type flavor suction device.

[Suction tool]
As an example, the suction tool 100 according to the first embodiment extends in the direction of the central axis CL of the suction tool 100. Specifically, the suction tool 100 has, for example, a "long axis direction (direction of the central axis CL)", a "width direction" perpendicular to the long axis direction, and a "thickness" perpendicular to the long axis direction and the width direction. It has an external shape having a direction. The dimensions of the suction tool 100 in the long axis direction, width direction, and thickness direction decrease in this order. Note that among the X-Y-Z orthogonal coordinates, the Z-axis direction (+Z direction or -Z direction) corresponds to the long axis direction of the suction tool 100, and the X-axis direction (+X direction or -X direction) This corresponds to the width direction of the suction tool 100, and the Y-axis direction (+Y direction or -Y direction) corresponds to the thickness direction of the suction tool 100. Hereinafter, when the +X direction and -X direction are explained without distinction, they will be simply referred to as "X direction", and when the +Y direction and -Y direction are explained without distinction, they will be simply referred to as "Y direction". When describing the +Z direction and the -Z direction without distinguishing them, they will simply be referred to as the "Z direction."

As shown in FIG. 1, the suction tool 100 includes an atomization unit 10 and a power supply unit 20. The atomization unit 10 generates aerosol that is inhaled by the user of the suction tool 100, and discharges air containing the aerosol from an outlet indicated by the reference numeral 102. Furthermore, the atomization unit 10 also serves as a mouthpiece that the user holds in his/her mouth for suction. When using the suction device 100, the user of the suction device 100 can inhale air containing aerosol discharged from the discharge port 102.

[Power supply unit]
The power supply unit 20 is detachably connected to the atomization unit 10 and supplies power to the atomization unit 10. Inside the power supply unit 20, a battery as a power source, a control device, etc. are arranged. When the atomization unit 10 is connected to the power supply unit 20, the power supply of the power supply unit 20 and the load 7 (described later) of the atomization unit 10 are electrically connected.

Furthermore, a sensor is arranged in the power supply unit 20 to output the value of the pressure change inside the suction tool 100 caused by the user's suction through the discharge port 102. When the user starts suctioning air, a sensor detects the start of suctioning air, transmits this to the control device, and the control device starts energizing the load 7 of the atomization unit 10, which will be described later. Further, when the air suction by the user ends, the sensor detects the end of the air suction, transmits this to the control device, and the control device ends the energization to the load 7.

Note that the power supply unit 20 may be provided with an operation switch for transmitting a request to start air suction and a request to end air suction to the control device by a user's operation. In this case, the user can transmit a request to start air suction or a request to end suction to the control device by operating the operation switch. The control device that receives this suction start request or suction end request starts or ends energization to the load 7.

It should be noted that the configuration of the power supply unit 20 as described above is similar to the power supply unit of a known suction tool as exemplified in Patent Document 1, so further detailed explanation will be omitted.

[Atomization unit]
Next, the atomization unit 10 will be explained. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the main parts of the atomization unit 10 according to the first embodiment. Specifically, FIG. 2 schematically shows a cross section (hereinafter also referred to as a "longitudinal cross section") of the main part of the atomization unit 10 taken along a plane that includes the central axis CL and is orthogonal to the thickness direction (Y direction). It is illustrated. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section taken along the line A1-A1 in FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section taken along line A2-A2 in FIG. 3 and 4 are cross sections of the main part of the atomization unit 10 taken along a plane perpendicular to the long axis direction (Z direction) (that is, cross sections taken along a cross section normal to the central axis CL). , also referred to as a "cross section").

As shown in FIG. 2, the atomization unit 10 includes an atomization unit housing (hereinafter also referred to as housing) 1, a gasket 2, an air passage 3, a liquid storage section 4, cotton 5, and a wick. 6, a load 7, and a flavor molded body 8. Each configuration of the atomization unit 10 will be described below.

[Atomization unit housing]
The housing 1 accommodates various elements that constitute the atomization unit 10. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the housing 1 includes a plurality of walls. Specifically, the housing 1 includes

end walls

11 and 12, side walls 13 to 16, a passage wall 17, and a partition wall 18.

The

end wall portions

11 and 12 are provided so as to be perpendicular to the long axis direction, extend in the width direction, and face each other. The end wall portion 11 forms an end portion of the housing 1 on the −Z direction side, and the end wall portion 12 forms an end portion of the housing 1 on the +Z direction side.

The side walls 13 to 16 extend in the longitudinal direction and connect the pair of

end walls

11 and 12. The

side wall portions

13 and 14 are provided so as to be perpendicular to the width direction and to face each other. The side wall portion 13 forms a side end portion of the housing 1 on the −X direction side, and the side wall portion 14 forms a side end portion of the housing 1 on the +X direction side. The

side wall portions

15 and 16 are provided so as to be perpendicular to the thickness direction and to face each other. The side wall portion 15 forms a side end portion of the housing 1 on the −Y direction side, and the side wall portion 16 forms a side end portion of the housing 1 on the +Y direction side.

An internal space of the housing 1 is defined by the

end walls

11 and 12 and the side walls 13 to 16. In other words, the interior space of the housing 1 is defined by the area surrounded by the

end walls

11 and 12 and the side walls 13 to 16. As shown in FIG. 2, the end wall 11 is provided with an inlet 101, which is a hole for introducing air into the housing 1 from the outside. A discharge port 102, which is a hole for discharging air containing aerosol, is provided. The inlet 101 and the outlet 102 according to this embodiment are arranged on the central axis CL, for example.

Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the internal space of the housing 1 according to the present embodiment is divided into two regions in the longitudinal direction by the gasket 2. A region of the internal space of the housing 1 on the −Z direction side relative to the gasket 2 forms a load passage portion 31 that is a part of the air passage 3. Here, in the internal space of the housing 1, a region on the +Z direction side relative to the gasket 2 is referred to as a first region R1. In other words, the first region R1 is formed by the region surrounded by the gasket 2, the end wall portion 12, and the side walls 13 to 16.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the passage wall portion 17 is formed into a cylindrical shape extending in the longitudinal direction (Z direction). In this embodiment, the passage wall portion 17 is provided so that its center axis coincides with the center axis CL. As shown in FIG. 2, the end of the passage wall 17 on the +Z direction side is connected to the end wall 12 so that the internal space of the passage wall 17 is connected to the inlet 101. Further, the end of the passage wall 17 on the −Z direction side extends through the gasket 2 to connect the load passage so that the internal space of the passage wall 17 is connected to the load passage 31 through the opening 17a at the end. It protrudes into the inside of the portion 31. As shown in FIG. 3, the first region R1, which is the region on the +Z direction side of the gasket 2 in the internal space of the housing 1, is separated by the passage wall 17 from the inner region of the passage wall 17 and the passage wall 17. It is divided into two areas: In the first region R1, a region inside the passage wall portion 17 forms a downstream passage portion 32 that is a part of the air passage 3. Further, in the first region R1, a region outside the passage wall portion 17 forms the liquid storage portion 4.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the partition wall portion 18 is provided at a position closer to the −X direction than the passage wall portion 17. The partition wall part 18 extends in the longitudinal direction (Z direction), and its +Z direction end is connected to the end wall part 12, and its -Z direction end is in contact with the gasket 2. There is. That is, the partition wall 18 extends from the end wall 12 to the gasket 2. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the partition wall portion 18 is connected to the

side walls

15 and 16 so as to divide the liquid storage portion 4 into two regions in the width direction (X direction).

A region of the liquid storage section 4 on the -X direction side with respect to the partition wall section 18 forms a molded object storage section 41 in which the flavor molded object 8 is stored. Further, a region of the liquid storage portion 4 on the +X direction side with respect to the partition wall portion 18 forms a molded object non-accommodation portion 42 . In this way, the partition wall 18 partitions the liquid storage section 4 into the molded object storage section 41 and the molded object non-accommodation section 42 so that the molded object storage section 41 is formed as a part of the liquid storage section 4. ing. Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a slit 181 is formed in the partition wall portion 18 to communicate the molded body accommodating portion 41 and the molded body non-accommodating portion 42. The shape and size (opening area) of the slit 181 are set so that the flavor molded object 8 placed in the molded object non-accommodating part 42 cannot pass through the slit 181. The slit 181 according to this embodiment has an elongated shape extending in the longitudinal direction. The slit 181 is an example of an "opening" according to the present invention.

[Air passage]
The air passage 3 is a passage through which air passes when the user suctions air (that is, when suctioning an aerosol). As shown in FIG. 2, the air passage 3 according to this embodiment includes the above-mentioned load passage section 31 and the above-mentioned downstream passage section 32. In the air flow direction, the load passage section 31 is arranged upstream of the downstream passage section 32. The load passage section 31 is formed by a region surrounded by the end wall section 11, the gasket 2, and the side wall sections 13 to 16. A liquid storage section 4, cotton 5, and a wick 6 are arranged in the load passage section 31. The downstream passage section 32 is formed by a region surrounded by the passage wall section 17. Further, the downstream passage section 32 penetrates the liquid storage section 4 in the longitudinal direction. As shown in FIG. 2, the load passage section 31 and the outside of the housing 1 communicate through the inlet 101, and the load passage section 31 and the downstream passage section 32 communicate with each other through the opening 17a of the passage wall section 17. The downstream passage section 32 and the outside of the housing 1 communicate with each other via the discharge port 102. Air flows into the load passage section 31 from the inlet 101. The air that has passed through the load passage section 31 flows into the downstream passage section 32 through the opening 17a. The air that has passed through the downstream passage section 32 is discharged from the discharge port 102. In this embodiment, the flow direction of air in the air passage 3 is the +Z direction.

[Liquid storage section]
The liquid storage section 4 is a space for storing an aerosol-generating liquid (hereinafter also simply referred to as "aerosol-generating liquid") containing tobacco extract components. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the liquid storage portion 4 is formed by a region surrounded by the gasket 2, the end wall portion 12, the side walls 13 to 16, and the passage wall portion 17.

Further, the liquid storage section 4 includes the above-mentioned molded object storage section 41 and the above-mentioned molded object non-storage section 42. The molded body housing portion 41 is formed by a region surrounded by the gasket 2, the end wall portion 12, the

side wall portions

13, 15, 16, and the partition wall portion 18. The shape of the molded object storage section 41 is based on the shape of the flavor molded object 8 (the shape corresponding to the shape of the flavor molded object 8), and in this embodiment, it is cylindrical. In addition, the code|symbol W1 in a figure shows the inner wall surface of the molded object accommodating part 41. The wall surface W1 is, in other words, a surface that forms (defines) the molded object accommodating portion 41. The wall surface W1 includes a wall surface W11, a wall surface W12, and a wall surface W13. The wall surface W11 is an end surface of the molded body accommodating portion 41 in the −Z direction, and is formed by a part of the gasket 2. The wall surface W12 is an end surface of the molded object storage section 41 in the +Z direction, and is formed by a part of the end wall section 12. The wall surface W13 is a side surface of the molded body accommodating portion 41, and is formed into a cylindrical shape by a portion of the

side wall portions

13, 15, 16 and a portion of the partition wall portion 18. Furthermore, the molded body non-accommodating portion 42 is formed by a region surrounded by the gasket 2, the end wall portion 12, the side walls 14 to 16, the passage wall portion 17, and the partition wall portion 18. The molded body accommodating portion 41 and the molded body non-accommodating portion 42 communicate with each other via the slit 181 described above.

The liquid storage section 4 (the molded object storage section 41 and the molded object non-storage section 42) stores the aerosol generation liquid Le. Moreover, the flavor molded object 8 is further arranged in the molded object storage section 41 in a positioned manner. Details of the positioning arrangement of the flavor molded object 8 in the molded object non-accommodating section 42 will be described later. Although FIG. 2 and the like illustrate a state where the aerosol generation liquid Le is stored in the liquid storage section 4, the atomization unit 10 is not provided to the user in a state where the liquid is stored in the liquid storage section 4. Alternatively, the liquid container 4 may be provided to the user in a state in which no liquid is contained therein, and the user may introduce the liquid and use the liquid.

[gasket]
As shown in FIG. 2, the gasket 2 is a plate-shaped member that partitions the liquid storage section 4 and the load passage section 31 by crossing the internal space of the housing 1. Further, as will be described later, the gasket 2 also serves as a spacer member for physically separating the flavor molded body 8 from the wick 6. In the first embodiment, the gasket 2 corresponds to an example of a "spacer member" according to the present invention. The gasket 2 is provided to extend in the width direction so as to be orthogonal to the long axis direction. As shown in FIG. 4, the peripheral edge of the gasket 2 is in contact with the side walls 13 to 16. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the gasket 2 includes a through hole 21 through which the passage wall 17 passes, a communication hole 22 that communicates between the load passage part 31 and the molded body accommodating part 41, and the load passage part 31. A communication hole 23 that communicates between the molded body non-accommodating portion 42 and the molded body non-accommodating portion 42 is formed.

[cotton]
The cotton 5 is a member that is supplied with the aerosol generation liquid Le from the liquid storage section 4 and supplies the supplied aerosol generation liquid Le to the wick 6 . As shown in FIG. 2, the cotton 5 is placed in the load passage portion 31 so as to cover the communication holes 22 and 23 of the gasket 2. As shown in FIG. The cotton 5 introduces the aerosol generation liquid Le from the molded body accommodating part 41 and the molded body non-accommodating part 42 through the communicating

holes

22 and 23 . Although the specific configuration of the cotton 5 is not particularly limited, the cotton 5 according to the present embodiment, for example, can absorb the aerosol generation liquid Le in the liquid storage section 4 by utilizing capillarity (capillary phenomenon). It is supplied to Wick 6. In the aspect according to this embodiment, the capillary force (capillary force) of the cotton 5 is preferably larger than the capillary force of the flavor molded body 8 from the viewpoint of being able to use the surrounding liquid without wasting it.

[Wick]
The wick 6 is a member that holds the load 7 and is supplied with the aerosol generating liquid Le from the liquid storage section 4 . As shown in FIG. 2, the wick 6 is arranged in the load passage section 31 so as to be in contact with the cotton 5. The wick 6 holds the aerosol generation liquid Le supplied from the cotton 5 and supplies the aerosol generation liquid Le to the load 7. The specific configuration of the wick 6 is not particularly limited as long as it has such a function, but the wick 6 according to the present embodiment uses capillarity (capillary phenomenon) as an example. , the aerosol generation liquid Le in the liquid storage section 4 is supplied to the load 7. In the aspect according to this embodiment, the capillary force (capillary force) of the wick 6 is preferably larger than the capillary force of the flavor molded body 8 and the cotton 5 from the viewpoint of being able to use the surrounding liquid without wasting it. In addition, in this embodiment, the aerosol generation liquid Le may be directly supplied to the wick 6 from the liquid storage part 4 without having the above-mentioned cotton 5. The wick 6 corresponds to an example of a "liquid holding member" according to the present invention.

[load]
The load 7 is an electrical load to which the aerosol generation liquid Le of the liquid storage section 4 is supplied and which atomizes the supplied aerosol generation liquid Le to generate an aerosol. As shown in FIG. 2, the load 7 is placed in the load passage section 31 while being held by the wick 6. Therefore, the load 7 is in contact with the wick 6, and the aerosol generation liquid Le is supplied from the wick 6 to the load 7. The specific configuration of the load 7 is not particularly limited, and for example, a heating element such as a heater or an element such as an ultrasonic generator may be used. In this embodiment, a heater is used as an example of the load 7. As this heater, a heating resistor (that is, a heating wire), a ceramic heater, a dielectric heater, or the like can be used. In this embodiment, a heating resistor is used as an example of this heater. Further, in this embodiment, the heater serving as the load 7 may have a coil shape. That is, the load 7 according to this embodiment may be a so-called coil heater. This coil heater may be wound around the wick 6.

Further, the load 7 according to the present embodiment is electrically connected to the power supply and control device of the power supply unit 20 described above, and generates heat when power from the power supply is supplied to the load 7 (that is, when energized fever). Further, the operation of the load 7 is controlled by a control device. The load 7 atomizes the aerosol-generating liquid Le supplied to the load 7 via the wick 6 from the liquid storage section 4 by heating it, thereby generating an aerosol.

Note that the configurations of the wick 6 and load 7 are similar to those used in known suction tools such as those exemplified in Patent Document 2, so further detailed explanation will be omitted. .

[Aerosol generation liquid]
The aerosol generation liquid Le stored in the liquid storage section 4 is not particularly limited as long as it contains tobacco extract components. The method for obtaining the tobacco extract component contained in the aerosol generation liquid Le is not particularly limited, and it can be obtained by dissolving tobacco materials such as tobacco leaves in a solvent and extracting it.

Tobacco extract components are substances such as nicotine contained in tobacco plants, and examples of substances other than nicotine include solanone or solanesol, and even if these components other than nicotine are included, they are not. It can also function as a fragrance if it is included. The aerosol generation liquid Le preferably contains at least nicotine as a tobacco extract, and in this embodiment, "contains a tobacco extract component" may also be referred to as "contains natural nicotine." There are two types of nicotine: (S)-nicotine and (R)-nicotine, and most naturally occurring nicotine is usually the S-form, with the R-form accounting for less than 1 mol%. On the other hand, in synthetic nicotine, the ratio of S-form and R-form is usually close to 1:1, although it depends on the synthesis method and purification method. Therefore, the amount of R-isomer relative to the total amount of nicotine in the oral composition is 5 mol% or more (may be 1 mol% or more, 10 mol% or more, or 40 to 60 mol%). For example, it can be assumed that the nicotine in the oral composition is synthetic nicotine.

The target to be extracted may be, for example, tissues of tobacco plants themselves such as leaves, stems, flowers, roots, reproductive organs, or embryos, or processed products using these tobacco plant tissues (for example, known Tobacco powder, shredded tobacco, tobacco sheets, tobacco granules, etc. used in tobacco products) may be used, but from the viewpoint of ensuring a sufficient amount of use and avoiding the inclusion of unnecessary ingredients, tobacco leaves may be used. It is preferable. The embodiment using tobacco extract components obtained by extraction of tobacco materials can lower the raw material cost and manufacturing cost of the aerosol generation liquid Le compared to the embodiment using nicotine obtained by synthesis or the like. Note that the nicotine contained in the aerosol generation liquid Le may exist as a nicotine compound such as a nicotine salt in both natural nicotine and synthetic nicotine described below.

The method of incorporating the tobacco extract component into the aerosol generation liquid Le is not particularly limited, and for example, a method of dissolving a tobacco extract component obtained by extraction of tobacco material in an aerosol base material, or a method of dissolving this tobacco extract component in a solvent. Examples include a method of later mixing with the aerosol generation liquid Le. In addition, when a substance that can also be used as an aerosol base material is used as a solvent for extracting tobacco materials, the tobacco extract can be used as it is as the aerosol generation liquid Le. Examples of such substances include, for example. , glycerin, propylene glycol, triacetin, 1,3-butanediol, and water.

In this embodiment, by using the liquid aerosol generation liquid Le containing the tobacco extract component as a supply source of the tobacco extract component, powdered tobacco material that can form deposits as disclosed in Patent Document 1 is removed. It is possible to suppress deterioration of the load 7 of the atomization unit 10 that occurs when using the nicotine supply source as a nicotine supply source.

When the tobacco extract component contains natural nicotine, specifically, natural nicotine extracted and purified from tobacco leaves can be used. For such a method for producing natural nicotine, a known technique such as that exemplified in Non-Patent Document 1 can be applied, so a detailed explanation will be omitted.

In addition, when tobacco extract components contain natural nicotine, the purity of natural nicotine can be increased by purifying the extract of tobacco materials such as tobacco leaves and removing as much as possible of components other than natural nicotine from the extract of tobacco materials. , natural nicotine with increased purity may be used. To give a specific numerical example, the purity of the natural nicotine contained in the predetermined solvent of the aerosol generation liquid Le may be 99.9% by weight or more (that is, in this case, the purity of the natural nicotine contained in the natural nicotine ( (components other than natural nicotine) are less than 0.1% by weight).

The content of nicotine (particularly natural nicotine) in the aerosol generation liquid Le is not particularly limited, but from the viewpoint of enabling a sufficient supply of nicotine, it is, for example, 0.1% by weight or more and 10% by weight or less. It may be 0.5% by weight or more and 7.5% by weight or less, and may be 1% by weight or more and 5% by weight or less.

The content of the tobacco extract component in the aerosol generation liquid Le is not particularly limited, but from the viewpoint of enabling a sufficient supply of nicotine, it may be, for example, 0.1% by weight or more and 10% by weight or less, and 0.1% by weight or more and 10% by weight or less. It may be 5% by weight or more and 7.5% by weight or less, and may be 1% by weight or more and 5% by weight or less.

Tobacco extract can be used as a nicotine supply source. In this case, the content of tobacco extract in the aerosol generation liquid Le is not particularly limited, but from the viewpoint of enabling a sufficient supply of nicotine, for example, It may be 0.1% by weight or more and 10% by weight or less, 0.5% by weight or more and 7.5% by weight or less, and 1% by weight or more and 5% by weight or less.

The predetermined solvent that can be included in the aerosol generation liquid Le is not particularly limited, and for example, an aerosol base material (a base material for generating an aerosol) can be used. The type of aerosol base material is not particularly limited, and for example, one or more substances selected from the group consisting of glycerin, propylene glycol, triacetin, 1,3-butanediol, and water can be used.

The content of the aerosol base material in the aerosol generation liquid Le is not particularly limited, but from the viewpoint of achieving desired aerosol generation, it may be, for example, 40% by weight or more and 95% by weight or less, 50% by weight or more, It may be 90% by weight or less, and may be 60% by weight or more and 80% by weight or less.

The type of solvent used in the extraction to obtain the above-mentioned tobacco extract component is not particularly limited, and is, for example, selected from the group consisting of glycerin, propylene glycol, triacetin, 1,3-butanediol, and water. One or more substances, or liquids containing the substances, can be used. In this embodiment, glycerin and/or propylene glycol is used as an example of the predetermined solvent. In addition, when the solvent also acts as an aerosol base material, the tobacco extract can be used as is as the aerosol generation liquid Le, but the tobacco extract does not contain components that can cause scorching by heating (for example, lipids, etc.). metal ions, sugars, proteins, etc.), it is preferable to remove substances that cause scorching by using means such as concentration.

Note that the tobacco extract may contain flavor components in the tobacco material other than nicotine, and specific examples thereof include, for example, neophytadiene.

The aerosol generation liquid Le contains a tobacco extract component as a component for imparting nicotine, but may further contain synthetic nicotine obtained by synthesis etc. in order to increase the nicotine content. Note that the synthetic nicotine may exist as nicotine or as a nicotine-containing compound such as a nicotine salt.

In this specification, nicotine obtained by synthesis is also referred to as "synthetic nicotine," which is nicotine produced by chemical synthesis. That is, synthetic nicotine is not nicotine obtained by extracting tobacco materials (natural nicotine), but nicotine obtained by chemical synthesis using chemical substances.

The method for producing synthetic nicotine is not particularly limited, and it can be carried out by chemical synthesis using chemical substances, and known production methods can be used. The purity of this synthetic nicotine may also be 99.9% by weight or more, similar to natural nicotine.

The type of nicotine-containing compound is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include nicotine salts such as nicotine pyruvate, nicotine citrate, nicotine lactate, nicotine salicylate, nicotine fumarate, nicotine levulinic acid salt, nicotine benzoic acid salt, or nicotine tartrate. Can be mentioned. When a nicotine-containing compound such as a nicotine salt is synthesized, the production method is not particularly limited, and any known production method can be used.

The aerosol generation liquid Le may contain components other than the tobacco extract component and the aerosol base material (other components), such as flavor components other than the tobacco extract component. Flavor components other than tobacco extract components include, for example, menthol, natural vegetable fragrances (e.g., cognac oil, orange oil, jasmine oil, spearmint oil, peppermint oil, anise oil, coriander oil, lemon oil, chamomile oil, labdanum, vetiver oil, rose oil, lovage oil), esters (e.g., menthyl acetate, isoamyl acetate, linalyl acetate, isoamyl propionate, butyl butyrate, methyl salicylate, etc.), ketones (e.g., menthone, ionone, ethyl maltol, etc.), Alcohols (for example, phenylethyl alcohol, anethole, cis-6-nonen-1-ol, eucalyptol, etc.), aldehydes (for example, benzaldehyde, etc.), or lactones (for example, ω-pentadecalactone, etc.), etc. can be mentioned. Note that neophytadiene, solanone, solanesol, or the like, which can be tobacco extract components, may be contained in the aerosol generation liquid Le as a synthetically obtained substance rather than as a tobacco extract component.

[Flavor molded body]
The flavor molded body 8 is formed by solidifying materials such as a non-tobacco base material and a flavor material into a predetermined shape. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the flavor molded body 8 is arranged in the molded body storage section 41 of the liquid storage section 4. As shown in FIGS. In the present embodiment, one flavor molded object 8 is arranged in one molded object storage section 41, but the quantity of flavor molded objects 8 and molded object storage section 41 is not limited to this, and the number of flavor formed objects 8 and molded object storage section 41 is not limited to this. There may be more than one. Further, a plurality of flavor molded bodies 8 may be arranged in one molded body storage section 41. In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the molded object accommodating portion 41 is formed on one side in the width direction (-X direction side) and the flavor molded object 8 is arranged, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the molded object accommodating sections 41 may be formed on both sides in the width direction with the downstream passage section 32 in between, and the flavor molded objects 8 may be arranged in each of the formed object accommodating sections 41 .

The flavor molded body 8 contains a flavor material. Therefore, as will be described later, by forming a state in which the flavor molded body 8 disposed in the molded body storage part 41 and the aerosol generation liquid Le in the liquid storage part 4 are in contact with each other, the flavor contained in the flavor molded body 8 is Flavor components are eluted from the material into the aerosol generation liquid Le.

The atomization unit 10 according to the present embodiment can further impart flavor by eluting flavor components from the flavor material of the flavor molded body 8 into the aerosol generation liquid Le. In addition, since the flavor material is contained in the flavor molded body, there is the problem of adhesion to the load of the atomization unit, which has arisen due to the use of powdery solids that can form deposits as disclosed in Patent Document 1. Since this does not occur, deterioration of the load can be suppressed. Moreover, when capillary action is generated by the flavor molded body 8 in the atomization unit 10, the aerosol-generating liquid Le is retained by this capillary action, so that the effect of preventing liquid leakage can be obtained.

1 is a schematic perspective view of a flavor molded body 8 according to Embodiment 1. FIG. The shape of the flavor molded body 8 according to this embodiment is not particularly limited, and is, for example, rod-shaped (columnar). Specifically, the rod-shaped flavor molded body 8 according to the present embodiment has a rod-shaped polyhedral shape, as an example, and has a cross-sectional shape (more specifically, a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the axial direction of the rod). It has a cylindrical shape with a circular cross-sectional shape. In addition, in this specification, a "rod shape (column shape)" extends in a predetermined direction, and the length in the extending direction (axial direction) is longer than the length in the width direction (direction orthogonal to the axial direction). Refers to a long shape. Hereinafter, the extending direction (axial direction) of the flavor molded body 8 may be referred to as the "longitudinal direction", and the width direction (radial direction in this example) of the flavor molded body 8 may be referred to as the "short direction". The flavor molded body 8 has both end surfaces in the longitudinal direction and a peripheral surface connecting the both end surfaces. Specifically, the flavor molded product 8 has a first end surface 81 that is one end surface in the longitudinal direction of the flavor molded product 8, a second end surface 82 that is the other end surface, and the first end surface 81 and the second end surface 82. It has a connecting cylindrical peripheral surface 83.

Here, the width (i.e. diameter) (W), which is the length in the short direction of the flavor molded body 8 shown in FIG. 5, and the total length (L), which is the length in the longitudinal direction of the flavor molded body 8, are specifically Although the value is not particularly limited, an example of the numerical value is as follows. That is, as the width (W) of the flavor molded body 8, a value selected from a range of, for example, 2 mm or more and 20 mm or less can be used. As the total length (L) of the flavor molded body 8, a value selected from a range of, for example, 5 mm or more and 50 mm or less can be used. However, these values are only examples of the width (W) and overall length (L) of the flavor molded body 8, and the width (W) and total length (L) of the flavor molded body 8 may vary depending on the size of the suction tool 100. Just set a suitable value. When a plurality of flavor molded bodies 8 are present, these parameters are the average value of the numerical values calculated for each flavor molded body 8.

In addition, the cross-sectional shape of the flavor molded body 8 is not limited to a circle, and other examples include polygons (triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, or polygons with six or more corners), etc. There may be. Moreover, the cross-sectional shape of the flavor molded body 8 may be any shape other than circular or polygonal. The cross-sectional shape may be any shape other than a circle or a polygon, and may be a complicated shape as shown in FIG. 6(c), which will be described later, or may be a concave shape. When the cross section is concave, the flavor molded body 60 has a rod shape with grooves formed on the side surface.

Further, the shape of the flavor molded body 8 may be a rod shape having a hollow portion, or a shape in which a plurality of rods are bundled (the plurality of rods may be assembled into a bundle, and mutually ) may or may not be integrated. Examples of the rod shape having a hollow portion include a cylindrical shape having a through hole extending in the longitudinal direction, a concave shape having a non-through hole extending in the longitudinal direction, and the like. By holding a liquid containing flavor components such as nicotine in these through holes and recesses before the flavor molded body 8 is placed in the liquid storage section 4, further flavor components can be added to the aerosol generation liquid Le. can be granted.

Moreover, the shape of the flavor molded body 8 does not have to be a rod shape (column shape). The shape of the flavor molded body 8 may be, for example, a sheet shape, or a shape in which a plurality of sheets are laminated (the plurality of sheets only need to be stacked together, or even if they are integrated with each other). ), the sheet may have a bellows shape with a repeated mountain-fold and valley-fold structure, or the sheet may have a spiral shape with a spiral structure. In addition, when using a sheet-shaped flavor molded product 8, specifically, the flavor molded product 8 is a sheet made of a mixture of a non-tobacco base material and a flavor material, or a sheet made of a mixture of a non-tobacco base material and a flavor material. A cast sheet of a mixture of non-tobacco base material and a flavoring material, a rolled sheet of a mixture of a non-tobacco base material and a flavoring material, or a sheet of a non-tobacco base material to which a flavoring material is applied by coating or spraying etc. can be used. .

The shape of the flavor molded body 8 may be a shape other than the above-mentioned rod shape or sheet shape, for example, it may be a cubic shape (a shape with sides of the same length), or it may be a porous shape. Alternatively, it may have other shapes.

FIGS. 6(a) to 6(e) are schematic cross-sectional views of modified examples of the flavor molded body 8 according to the first embodiment. In FIGS. 6(a) to 6(e), a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the flavor molded body 8 is illustrated. Specifically, FIG. 6(a) shows an example of a schematic cross-sectional shape when the flavor molded body 8 has a cylindrical shape, and FIG. 6(b) shows an example of a schematic cross-sectional shape when the flavor molded body 8 has a plurality of shapes. FIG. 6(c) shows an example of a schematic cross-sectional shape when the bars are in a bundle shape, and FIG. An example is shown, and FIG. 6(d) shows an example of a schematic cross-sectional shape when the flavor molded body 8 has a bellows shape, and FIG. 6(e) shows a case where the flavor molded body 8 has a spiral shape. An example of a schematic cross-sectional shape is shown below.

Here, the capillary force generated by the flavor molded body 8 itself (e.g., the capillary force generated by a rod-shaped hollow portion having a hollow portion, or the capillary force generated between sheets in a bellows-shaped sheet) absorbs the surrounding liquid. From the viewpoint of being able to be used without waste, it is preferable that the capillary force is smaller than the capillary force of the wick 6 while maintaining a capillary force of a desired magnitude or more. From the perspective of this capillary force relationship, the flavor molded body 8 has a space extending from the end region (including the end and end surface) on the side where the wick 6 exists to the side opposite to the side where the wick 6 exists. A shape having the following is preferable. In the case of this embodiment, it is preferable that a space extending from the first end surface 81 of the flavor molded body 8 in the +Z direction is formed. The shape of this space is not particularly limited, and preferred shapes of the flavor molded body 8 include, for example, a cylindrical shape, a concave shape, a shape in which a plurality of rods are bundled, a bellows shape, a spiral shape, a porous shape (especially It is preferable that the shape is selected from one or more types of porous bodies having continuous pores.

Furthermore, when the volume of each bubble such as air in the liquid storage section increases, as described above, the liquid tends to leak to the outside, resulting in decreased safety and waste of liquid. Therefore, from the viewpoint of suppressing this, it is preferable that the flavor molded body 8 has a shape that facilitates dispersion of gas such as air in the liquid storage part, and for example, it is preferable that it has a porous shape.

In addition, from the viewpoint of suppressing expansion due to liquid absorption (hereinafter also referred to as swelling), the flavor molded body 8 is preferably coated with a coating material. Specifically, the flavor molded body 8 is coated with a nonwoven fabric, resin It is preferable to be coated with a coating material such as or a nicotine-containing coating material.

Non-woven fabric refers to fibers that are processed into cloth without being woven. A nonwoven fabric is, for example, a fabric formed by adhering or intertwining fibers by thermal, mechanical, or chemical action. The fibers constituting the "nonwoven fabric" are not particularly limited, and may be plant fibers, animal fibers, synthetic fibers, or a mixture of two or more of these.In particular, it is preferable to contain plant fibers, and more preferably to contain paper. preferable. It is preferable for the nonwoven fabric to cover the entirety of the flavor molded body 8 in order to enhance the effect of preventing the flavor molded body 8 from swelling. It is preferable that the nonwoven fabric is paper that wraps the entire flavor molded body 8. However, the shape of the nonwoven fabric is not particularly limited as long as it can cover at least a portion of the flavor molded body 8. For example, the nonwoven fabric may have a cylindrical shape and be arranged to cover the center of the flavor molded body 8 and the like. Alternatively, the nonwoven fabric may have a cylindrical shape with one opening closed, and may be placed at the end of the flavor molded body 8.

In the case of using a nonwoven fabric, in the method for manufacturing the atomization unit 10 described below, a covering step of covering the flavor molded body 8 with the nonwoven fabric can be provided after the molding step of molding the flavor molded body 8. The method of covering the flavor molded body 8 with the nonwoven fabric is not particularly limited, and for example, the flavor molded body 8 can be wrapped with the nonwoven fabric by a machine or by a person, and the sides of the nonwoven fabric can be bonded as necessary.

Examples of the coating material (coating) when coating with resin include polyethylene, polyethylene wax, microcrystalline wax, beeswax, or zein.

The coating material such as resin suppresses the swelling of the flavor molded body 8. It is preferable that the coating covers 50% or more of the surface of the flavor molded body 8 in order to increase the effect of preventing swelling of materials such as non-tobacco base materials contained in the flavor molded body 8, and 90% or more is more preferable. preferable. However, the shape of the coating is not particularly limited as long as it can cover at least a portion of the flavor molded body 8.

The nicotine-containing coating material is not particularly limited as long as it contains nicotine, and may be, for example, the above-mentioned resin material containing nicotine.

When using a coating material, in the method for manufacturing the atomization unit 10 described below, a coating step of covering the flavor molded body 8 with the coating material can be provided after the molding step of molding the flavor molded body 8. In the coating step, the surface of the flavor molded body 8 is coated with a coating agent containing sodium silicate, such as water glass, or a resin, to form a coating. Thereby, it is possible to manufacture the flavor molded body 8 having a structure in which the surface of the tobacco residue solidified into a predetermined shape is covered with the covering material. The method of forming the coating material is not particularly limited, and for example, after forming a film of a liquid coating agent containing sodium silicate or a resin on the surface of the flavor molded body 8, it is solidified or gelated by heating or addition of acid or salt. processing can be performed. Note that the flavor molded body 8 may be coated without performing the coating step, and by hardening the material such as a non-tobacco base material to which a flavor component has been appropriately added using a solution containing sodium silicate or resin such as water glass in the molding step. You may.

Furthermore, it is preferable that the flavor molded body 8 be covered with a member that contracts into a pre-memorized shape from the viewpoint of efficiently storing the flavor molded body 8 in the molded body housing portion 41. When the flavor molded body 8 is rod-shaped as in this embodiment, it is preferable that the flavor molded body 8 is covered with, for example, a heat shrinkable tube.

The type of material of the non-tobacco base material used for the flavor molded body 8 is not particularly limited as long as it is derived from a tobacco material (specifically, a tobacco plant); for example, ceramic, synthetic polymer, or tobacco plant material. Pulp derived from other plants may be used. Examples of the ceramic include alumina, zirconia, aluminum nitride, and silicon carbide. Examples of the synthetic polymer include polyolefin resin, polyester, polycarbonate, PAN, and EVOH. Examples of plants other than tobacco plants include softwood pulp, hardwood pulp, cotton, fruit pulp, and tea leaves. Further, the non-tobacco base material may be the main material of the flavor molded product 8, particularly the main material that ensures the molding of the flavor molded product 8.

The content of the non-tobacco base material in the flavor molded body 8 is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, 10% by weight or more and 100% by weight or less, 30% by weight or more and 90% by weight or less, 50% by weight or more and 100% by weight or less, It may be more than 80% by weight and less than 80% by weight.

The form of the flavor material contained in the flavor molded body 8 is not particularly limited, and for example, it may be a flavor component itself, or it may be a material that imparts a flavor component ("flavor component imparting material"), and may be a flavor component. Examples of component-imparting materials include tobacco materials that provide nicotine. For example, when a tobacco material is used as a flavoring material, it is possible to impart flavor with tobacco components such as nicotine as a spice. In this specification, when the flavor molded body 8 contains a flavor component imparting material, the flavor component imparting material is treated as the flavor material, not the flavor component contained in the flavor component imparting material. For example, when the flavor molded body 8 contains a tobacco material, the flavor material is not nicotine contained in the tobacco material, but the tobacco material.

The flavoring material may include tobacco material, but the form of the tobacco material is not particularly limited, and may include, for example, tobacco plant leaves, stems, flowers, roots, reproductive organs, or tissues themselves such as embryos; , processed products using the tissues of these tobacco plants (for example, tobacco powder, shredded tobacco, or tobacco sheets used in known tobacco products) may be included, but it is necessary to ensure a sufficient amount of use and processing. From the viewpoint of ease of processing, tobacco leaves or processed products using tobacco leaves are preferred. Further, the tobacco material may be tobacco residue obtained after extracting these materials, or may be a combination of unextracted tobacco material and tobacco residue, or may be used as a mixed mixture. The tobacco material contained in the flavor molded body 8 plays the role of spice from the viewpoint of aroma and taste. As used herein, "the flavor material contains tobacco material" does not mean that the flavor material contains tobacco material, but rather that tobacco material is included as one of the types of flavor material. The expression "the flavoring material contains a tobacco material and the content of the tobacco material in the flavor molded body 8 is 10% by weight or less" means "the flavor material contains at least a tobacco material and the content of the tobacco material in the flavor molded body 8 is 10% by weight or less". The tobacco material is 10% by weight or less."

Flavor ingredients that serve as flavor materials are not particularly limited, and include, for example, nicotine, menthol, natural vegetable flavorings (e.g., cognac oil, orange oil, jasmine oil, spearmint oil, peppermint oil, anise oil, coriander oil, lemon oil, chamomile). oil, labdanum, vetiver oil, rose oil, lovage oil), esters (e.g. menthyl acetate, isoamyl acetate, linalyl acetate, isoamyl propionate, butyl butyrate, methyl salicylate, etc.), ketones (e.g. menthone, ionone, ethyl maltol, etc.), alcohols (e.g., phenylethyl alcohol, anethole, cis-6-nonen-1-ol, eucalyptol, etc.), aldehydes (e.g., benzaldehyde, etc.), or lactones (e.g., ω-pentadeca), lactone, etc.).

The flavor component in the flavor material (the flavor component itself may be a flavor material) is eluted into the aerosol generating liquid Le stored in the liquid storage section 4, and finally the aerosol generated by using the atomization unit 10. delivered to the user as

The method of applying the flavoring material to the non-tobacco base material is not particularly limited; for example, the flavoring material may be added by mixing it into the raw material of the non-tobacco base material during the production of the non-tobacco base material; The flavor material may be applied to the surface of the non-tobacco substrate by coating, spraying, etc., or a combination of these may be used.

In the embodiment in which the flavor molded body 8 has the flavor material on its surface, sufficient contact between the aerosol generation liquid Le in the liquid storage section 4 and the flavor material can be ensured, so that the flavor component is sufficiently eluted into the liquid. , can ensure excellent flavor.

The content of the flavor material in the flavor molded body is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, 0.1% by weight or more and 70% by weight or less, 1% by weight or more and 60% by weight or less, and 3% by weight or more. % or more and 50% by weight or less.

In particular, when the flavor molded body 8 contains tobacco material, the content of the tobacco material in the flavor molded body 8 is not particularly limited, but from the viewpoint of fulfilling its role as a flavor spice, it should be 1% by weight or more. is preferably 3% by weight or more, more preferably 7% by weight or more, and if the amount of tobacco material is too large, the tobacco material will separate from the flavor molded body 8 and form a deposit. From the viewpoint of reducing the amount of components contained in the tobacco material that may cause scorching of the load 7 due to heating, the amount is usually preferably 10% by weight or less, and preferably 7% by weight or less. The content is more preferably 3% by weight or less.

The flavor molded body 8 may contain a binder in order to bond materials included in the flavor molded body 8 such as non-tobacco base materials, especially when the flavor molded body 8 contains a substance that can be turned into powder. It is preferable that a binder be included in order to prevent the binder from becoming a deposit and promoting deterioration of the load 7. The type of binder is not particularly limited, and for example, starch, hydroxyalkyl cellulose, polyvinyl acetate resin, or alkyl hydroxyalkyl cellulose can be used. 1 selected from the group consisting of starch, hydroxyalkyl cellulose, and polyvinyl acetate, from the viewpoint that the binder component itself does not become a scorching factor and can maintain the shape of the molded product. It is preferable that the substance is more than one species. Examples of the vinyl acetate resin include polyvinyl acetate and vinyl acetate.

The content of the binder in the flavor molded body 8 may be 1% by weight or more and 20% by weight or less, and 3% by weight or more and 15% by weight or less, from the viewpoint of the balance between adhesiveness and suppression of burnt component elution. It may be 5% by weight or more and 10% by weight or less.

The flavor molded body 8 may contain components other than the above-mentioned various components, such as a gelling agent such as calcium lactate, or a humectant such as glycerin or propylene glycol. By using a gelling agent, binder strength can be improved.

In the present embodiment, the density (mass per unit volume) of the flavor molded body 8 may be, for example, 1000 mg/cm ³ or more and 1450 mg/cm ³ or less, or 1100 mg/cm ³ or more and 1450 mg /cm ³ or less. However, the density of the flavor molded body 8 is not limited to this, and may be less than 1000 mg/cm ³ or greater than 1450 mg/cm ³ , or less than 1100 mg/cm ³ Alternatively, it may be greater than 1450 mg/cm ³ . When a plurality of flavor molded bodies 8 are present, this density is determined as the total mass relative to the total volume of the flavor molded bodies 8.

Further, in this embodiment, the wet tensile strength of the flavor molded body 8 is not particularly limited, but in order to suppress collapse in a humid environment, it is preferably 5 N or more per 15 mm, and preferably 10 N or more per 15 mm. More preferred. This wet tensile strength can be measured according to the method described in JP-A-2019-187451. The specimen to be measured in this measurement is adjusted at 22 ± 2°C and relative humidity 60 ± 5% for at least 24 hours, and then the test sample is adjusted to a length of 250 ± 0.1 mm and a width of 15 ± 0.1 mm. Cut and prepare.

[Positioning arrangement of molded object]
Next, with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the positioning and arrangement of the flavor molded object 8 in the molded object storage section 41 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the flavor molded body 8 is molded so that its longitudinal direction coincides with the long axis direction (Z direction) of the atomization unit 10, and the first end surface 81 faces in the −Z direction. It is arranged in the body accommodating part 41. That is, the first end surface 81 of the flavor molded body 8 faces the wick 6 side of the load passage section 31.

Here, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a part of the surface of the flavor molded object 8 contacts the wall surface W1 forming the molded object storage part 41, and at least one other part of the surface (a part different from the above-mentioned part) is positioned and arranged in a state where it is in contact with the aerosol generating liquid Le stored in the liquid storage part 4. Specifically, a region of the first end surface 81 excluding the region exposed to the communication hole 22 of the gasket 2 is in contact with the wall surface W11 (gasket 2). Moreover, the area of the peripheral surface 83 excluding the area exposed to the slit 181 of the partition wall 18 is in contact with the wall surface W13 (the

side walls

13, 15, 16 and the partition wall 18). On the other hand, the entire second end surface 82 is in contact with the aerosol generation liquid Le in the molded object storage section 41 . In addition, the molded body accommodating portion 41 and the molded body non-accommodating portion 42 communicate with each other through the slit 181, thereby preventing the flavor molded body 8 from coming into contact with the aerosol generation liquid Le stored in the molded body non-accommodating portion 42. Since this is allowed, the area of the peripheral surface 83 exposed to the slit 181 is in contact with the aerosol generation liquid Le in the molded object non-accommodating part 42 via the slit 181. At this time, since the shape of the molded body accommodating part 41 is a columnar shape corresponding to the shape of the flavor molded body 8, as shown in FIG. The peripheral surface 83 and the wall surface W13 are in contact with each other so as to surround the wall surface W13. Therefore, the peripheral surface 83 is in a state of being fitted into the molded body housing portion 41. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the flavor molded body 8 is inserted into the molded body accommodating portion 41 in a compressed state in the longitudinal direction and the width direction. Therefore, the wall surface W13 of the molded object accommodating portion 41 is pressed by the restoring force from the compression of the flavor molded object 8. Due to the frictional force based on this restoring force, the circumferential surface 83 and the wall surface W13 are securely fitted, and the flavor molded body 8 is fixed to the wall surface W13. Thereby, the flavor molded object 8 is positioned in the molded object storage section 41, and movement of the flavor molded object 8 within the molded object storage section 41 is suppressed. Note that the flavor molded body 8 may be placed with the second end surface 82 in contact with the wall surface W12.

As described above, the flavor material contained in the flavor molded body 8 includes tobacco material, but if substances such as tobacco material that can become deposits adhere to the load 7, there is a risk that the load 7 will deteriorate. However, in the atomization unit 10 according to the first embodiment, the flavor molded body 8 and the electrical load 7 are physically separated, as shown in FIG. It can be suppressed. Thereby, according to the atomization unit 10 according to the present embodiment, deterioration of the load 7 can be suppressed.

Here, when the flavor molded body 8 is configured to absorb the aerosol generation liquid Le, the swelling of the flavor molded body 8 causes the aerosol generation to be reduced in the aerosol generation liquid Le in the liquid storage section 4. There is concern that the amount available for use will decrease. Moreover, if the flavor molded body 8 swells excessively and comes into contact with the load 7, there is a possibility that the tobacco material will adhere to the load 7 and the load 7 will deteriorate. In addition, the non-tobacco base material of the flavor molded body 8 may collapse due to absorption of the aerosol generation liquid Le, and in such a case, it is necessary to prevent the collapsed non-tobacco base material from dispersing into the aerosol generation liquid Le. It is necessary to prevent it.

On the other hand, in the atomization unit 10 according to Embodiment 1, by bringing a part of the flavor molded body 8 into contact with the wall surface W1, the contact area between the flavor molded body and the aerosol generation liquid Le is reduced. Thereby, swelling of the flavor molded body 8 can be suppressed. As a result, it is possible to suppress the decrease in the usable aerosol-generating liquid Le and the deterioration of the load 7 due to the swelling of the flavor molded body 8. Further, since a part of the flavor molded body 8 is in contact with the wall surface W, even if the flavor molded body 8 collapses, dispersion of the collapsed non-tobacco base material into the aerosol generation liquid Le can be suppressed. . On the other hand, in the atomization unit 10 according to Embodiment 1, at least a part of the other part of the flavor molded body 8 is brought into contact with the aerosol generation liquid Le stored in the liquid storage section 4, thereby forming a flavor molded body. A contact area with the aerosol generation liquid Le is ensured. Therefore, the flavor component can be eluted into the aerosol generation liquid Le.

In addition, in the atomization unit 10 according to the present embodiment, the flavor molded body 8 is positioned and arranged in the molded body accommodating portion 41 in a state where the flavor molded body 8 is in contact with the wall surface W13 of the molded body accommodating portion 41 at the peripheral surface 83. ing. By bringing the circumferential surface 83 of the flavor molded body 8 into contact with the wall surface W1, a large contact area between the flavor molded body 8 and the wall surface W1 is ensured, and swelling of the flavor molded body 8 can be suitably suppressed. Furthermore, in this embodiment, by fitting the circumferential surface 83 of the flavor molded object 8 and the wall surface W13 of the molded object storage section 41, flavor molding can be performed without separately arranging a positioning member in the molded object storage section 41. The body 8 can be positioned, and the flavor molded body 8 can be positioned and arranged efficiently. Furthermore, the fitting between the circumferential surface 83 of the flavor molded body 8 and the wall surface W13 of the molded body accommodating portion 41 prevents the aerosol-generating liquid Le from entering between the circumferential surface 83 and the wall surface W13. Swelling of the body 8 can be suppressed more suitably.

In addition, in the positioning arrangement of the flavor molded body 8, it is more preferable that 50% or more of the area of the peripheral surface 83 contacts the wall surface W1 of the molded body accommodating part 41, and it is even more preferable that 75% or more of the area contacts the wall surface W1. As the area in which the peripheral surface 83 contacts the wall surface W1 increases, the area in which the flavor molded body 8 contacts the aerosol generation liquid Le can be reduced, and the swelling of the flavor molded body 8 can be suppressed more suitably.

Note that the atomization unit 10 according to the present embodiment may allow the flavor molded object 8 placed in the molded object storage section 41 to swell to some extent. In that case, in order to prevent excessive swelling of the flavor molded body 8, the cross-sectional area of the molded body housing portion 41 is set to be 0.5 larger than the cross-sectional area of the flavor molded body 8 in a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the flavor molded body 8. % to 10%, more preferably 2% to 5%.

Furthermore, even when the shape of the flavor molded body 8 is made into a shape other than a cylindrical shape as shown in FIGS. The swelling of the flavor molded body 8 can be suppressed by forming a shape based on the flavor molded body 8 (a shape corresponding to the shape of the flavor molded body 8) and bringing a part of the flavor molded body 8 into contact with the wall surface W1.

Here, as shown in FIG. 2, in the atomization unit 10 according to the present embodiment, the gasket 2 is disposed between the flavor molded body 8 and the wick 6, so that the flavor molded body 8 are physically separated. Therefore, by ensuring a distance between the flavor molded body 8 and the wick 6, the flavor molded body 8 can be prevented from coming into contact with the wick 6. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the tobacco material contained in the flavor molded body 8 from adhering to the load 7 via the wick 6. As a result, deterioration of the load 7 can be suppressed. Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the gasket 2 is in contact with the first end surface 81 of the flavor molded body 8, movement of the flavor molded body 8 in the −Z direction is restricted. Note that the gasket 2 does not need to be in contact with the first end surface 81 of the flavor molded body 8.

[Suction operation]
Next, an aerosol suction operation using the suction tool 100 will be described. Here, in the suction tool 100 according to the present embodiment, the housing of the power supply unit 20 (power supply unit housing) is also formed with an inlet for taking air into the interior thereof from the outside. Further, inside the power supply unit housing, an internal passage is formed that communicates the inflow port on the power supply unit housing side and the inflow port 101 on the atomization unit housing 1 side. Air supplied through the internal passage flows into the air passage 3 from the inlet 101 of the atomization unit housing 1 .

Suction of aerosol using the suction tool 100 is performed as follows. First, when a user starts a suction operation while holding the discharge port 102 of the suction tool 100 in his or her mouth, external air is taken into the power supply unit 20 and flows into the load passage section 31 of the air passage 3 via the inflow port 101. Inflow. At this time, when the control device provided in the power supply unit 20 detects the user's suction operation, it issues a command to the battery and starts energizing the load 7 in the atomization unit 10 . The wick 6 disposed in the load passage section 31 absorbs and holds the aerosol generation liquid Le supplied from the liquid storage section 4 . Therefore, when the battery starts supplying electricity to the load 7 held in the wick 6, the aerosol generating liquid Le held in the wick 6 evaporates. This generates an aerosol. This aerosol contains tobacco extract components contained in the aerosol generation liquid Le in the liquid storage section 4 and flavor components that can be eluted from the flavor molded body 8. The aerosol generated in the load passage section 31 is mixed with the air that has flowed into the load passage section 31 around the wick 6 (also referred to as the "atomization section"). The air to which this aerosol has been added flows into the downstream passage section 32 and is discharged from the discharge port 102, thereby being finally inhaled by the user.

[Production method]
Next, a method for manufacturing the atomization unit 10 according to the first embodiment (hereinafter also simply referred to as a "method for manufacturing the atomization unit") will be described. FIG. 7 is a flow diagram for explaining a method for manufacturing the atomization unit 10 according to the first embodiment.

The manufacturing method according to the present embodiment is a manufacturing method of an atomization unit of a suction tool having a liquid storage section, comprising:
a liquid preparation step of preparing an aerosol generation liquid containing tobacco extract components;
a molding step of molding a flavor molded body containing a non-tobacco base material and a flavor material;
an assembly step of accommodating the aerosol generation liquid containing the tobacco extract component and the flavor molded body in the liquid storage section,
In the assembling process, the flavor molded body is placed in a molded body storage section formed inside the liquid storage section, with a part of the flavor molded body being in contact with a wall surface forming the molded body housing section, and at least the other part being in contact with a wall surface forming the molded body housing section. Positioning and arranging so that a portion thereof is in contact with the aerosol-generating liquid contained in the liquid storage part;
This is a method for manufacturing an atomization unit of a suction tool.

Note that the manufacturing method according to the present embodiment may include steps other than the liquid preparation step, molding step, and assembly step described above.

In the flavored molded product obtained by the manufacturing method according to the present embodiment, tobacco is used as a source of tobacco components such as nicotine instead of powdered tobacco material that can form deposits as disclosed in Patent Document 1. Since the aerosol generation liquid containing extracted components is used, it is possible to suppress the supply source of tobacco components from adhering to the load of the atomization unit, and thus to suppress the deterioration of the load.

[Liquid preparation process]
In the method for manufacturing the atomization unit 10, in the liquid preparation step of step S10, an aerosol generation liquid Le (hereinafter also simply referred to as "liquid") containing tobacco extract components is prepared. A specific method for preparing the aerosol generation liquid Le containing tobacco extract components is not particularly limited, and any known method can be employed. For example, a method may be mentioned in which a component (which may be only natural nicotine) obtained by extraction of tobacco material is dissolved in the aerosol generation liquid Le.

The aerosol-generating liquid Le for containing the tobacco extract component described above may be a liquid containing an aerosol base material, or may be the aerosol base material itself.

Among the methods for obtaining a liquid, as an example, a method for obtaining a liquid by mixing an extract obtained by dissolving tobacco leaves in a solvent with an aerosol base material will be specifically described.

First, an alkaline substance is applied to the tobacco leaves (referred to as alkali treatment). As the alkaline substance used here, for example, a basic substance such as an aqueous potassium carbonate solution can be used.

Next, the alkali-treated tobacco leaves are heated at a predetermined temperature (for example, a temperature of 80° C. or higher and lower than 150° C.) (referred to as heat treatment). During this heat treatment, the tobacco leaves are brought into contact with one or more substances selected from the group consisting of, for example, glycerin, propylene glycol, triacetin, 1,3-butanediol, and water.

By this heat treatment, released components (which include flavor components such as nicotine) released from the tobacco leaves into the gas phase are collected in a predetermined collection solvent. As the collection solvent, for example, one or more substances selected from the group consisting of glycerin, propylene glycol, triacetin, 1,3-butanediol, and water can be used. As a result, a collection solvent containing flavor components such as nicotine (hereinafter also simply referred to as "flavor components") can be obtained (that is, flavor components can be extracted from tobacco leaves).

Alternatively, step S10 may be configured without using the collection solvent as described above. Specifically, in this case, the alkali-treated tobacco leaves are subjected to the above heat treatment and then cooled using a condenser or the like, thereby reducing the released components released from the tobacco leaves into the gas phase. It is also possible to condense and extract flavor components.

Alternatively, step S10 may be configured without performing the alkali treatment as described above. Specifically, in this case, in step S10, tobacco leaves (tobacco leaves that have not been subjected to alkali treatment) are treated with a mixture of glycerin, propylene glycol, triacetin, 1,3-butanediol, and water. Add one or more selected substances. Next, the tobacco leaves to which this has been added are heated, and the components released during heating are collected in a collection solvent or condensed using a condenser or the like. Flavor components can also be extracted by such a process.

Alternatively, in step S10, one or more substances selected from the group consisting of glycerin, propylene glycol, triacetin, 1,3-butanediol, and water are aerosolized, or from this group. An aerosol obtained by aerosolizing two or more selected substances is passed through tobacco leaves (tobacco leaves that have not been subjected to alkali treatment), and the aerosol that has passed through the tobacco leaves is collected in a collection solvent. Flavor components can also be extracted by such a process.

Further, step S10 (liquid preparation step) according to the present embodiment calculates the amount of carbonized components that become carbonized when heated to 250° C., which may be contained in the flavor components extracted by the method described above. It may further include reducing processing (hereinafter also simply referred to as "reducing processing"). By reducing "the amount of carbonized components that become carbide when heated to 250° C.", adhesion of carbonized components to the load 7 can be effectively suppressed. As a result, it is possible to effectively prevent the load 7 from becoming scorched.

Note that the carbonized component that becomes carbonized when heated to 250° C. is mainly derived from tobacco materials such as tobacco leaves, so in the method using tobacco extract, it is particularly effective to provide a reduction treatment.

The specific method for reducing the amount of carbonized components contained in the extracted flavor components is not particularly limited, but for example, by cooling the extracted flavor components, the precipitated components can be reduced. The amount of carbonized components contained in the extracted flavor components may be reduced by filtering with filter paper or the like. Alternatively, the amount of carbonized components contained in the extracted flavor components may be reduced by centrifuging the extracted flavor components with a centrifuge. Alternatively, the amount of carbonized components contained in the extracted flavor components may be reduced by using a reverse osmosis membrane (RO filter).

Tobacco extract contains components that can cause charring when heated (e.g., lipids, metal ions, sugars, or proteins), so tobacco extract components are subjected to distillation treatment or vacuum distillation treatment, which can cause charring. Preferably, the substance is removed. Note that even when tobacco extract is not used, it is preferable to subject the tobacco extract to distillation treatment or vacuum distillation treatment if it contains a substance that causes charring.

[Molding process]
In the molding process of step S20, the flavor molded body 8 containing a material such as a non-tobacco base material is molded into a predetermined shape, specifically, it is solidified into a predetermined shape (in this embodiment, a bar shape as an example). The flavor molded body 8 is manufactured by molding into the flavor molded body 8. A specific example of this step S20 is as follows.

There are no particular restrictions on the method for molding materials such as non-tobacco base materials. Examples include a method of forming the mixture into a predetermined shape by a method such as press pressure molding, extrusion molding, injection molding, transfer molding, compression molding, or cast molding. It will be done. In addition, when the non-tobacco base material is a polymer, a flavor molded article of a predetermined shape can be obtained by dissolving the polymer in a solvent and evaporating the solvent by heating, etc., or by polymerizing a monomer, etc. It is also possible to adopt a method of obtaining 8. Another method is to obtain a composite material in any solid shape containing a non-tobacco base material and then process the composite material into a predetermined shape by cutting, grinding, or the like.

The method of imparting the flavor material to the non-tobacco base material is not particularly limited, and for example, ceramics, synthetic polymers, pulp derived from plants other than tobacco plants, etc. may be used as raw materials in the production of the flavor molded body of the non-tobacco base material. A method using a mixture of a non-tobacco base material (which may be a melt of the non-tobacco base material) and a flavoring material, or coating or spraying on the surface of a flavor molded product of a non-tobacco base material obtained by the above method. Examples include a method of imparting a flavoring material.

Furthermore, as described in the above description of the atomization unit 10, the surface of the flavor molded body 60 may be coated with a covering material (coating material). In this case, step S20 may include a process of coating the surface of the flavor molded body 8 with a coating material. Thereby, it is possible to manufacture the flavor molded body 8 having a structure in which the surface of the non-tobacco base material hardened into a predetermined shape is covered with the coating material.

For example, wax can be used as this coating material. Examples of this wax include Microcrystan WAX (model number: Hi-Mic-1080 or Hi-Mic-1090) manufactured by Nippon Seiro Co., Ltd., and water-dispersed ionomer (model number: Chemipearl S120) manufactured by Mitsui Chemicals. ), Hiwax (model number: 110P) manufactured by Mitsui Chemicals, etc. can be used.

Alternatively, corn protein can also be used as a coating material. A specific example of this is Zein (model number: Kobayashi Zein DP-N) manufactured by Kobayashi Perfume Co., Ltd.

Alternatively, polyvinyl acetate can also be used as a coating material.

The coating material covering the surface of the flavor molded body 8 has pores (fine pores) that allow the flavor components in the non-tobacco base material to pass through while suppressing the passage of the non-tobacco base material. It is preferable that a plurality of them be provided. That is, the pores of this coating material need only have a size larger than the size of the flavor component and smaller than the size of the non-tobacco base material. According to this configuration, the flavor components in the non-tobacco base material can be eluted into the aerosol generation liquid Le while suppressing the non-tobacco base material from eluting into the aerosol generation liquid Le.

The specific size (diameter) of the pores provided in this coating material is not particularly limited, but to give a specific example, a value selected from the range of 10 μm or more and 3 mm or less may be used. can.

Note that a net-like mesh member can also be used as the coating material. Also in this case, the flavor components in the non-tobacco base material can be eluted into the aerosol generation liquid Le while suppressing the non-tobacco base material from eluting into the aerosol generation liquid Le.

Furthermore, in the molding process related to step S20, tobacco residue may be included in the non-tobacco base material. In this case as well, the flavor components remaining in the tobacco residue can be eluted into the aerosol generation liquid Le while suppressing the tobacco residue from eluting into the extract liquid. Furthermore, when obtaining a tobacco extract in the production of the aerosol generating liquid Le containing tobacco extract components, it is preferable to use tobacco residue obtained in the extraction when obtaining the tobacco extract. This tobacco residue is treated as the tobacco material in the first embodiment described above.

Alternatively, the flavor molded body 8 can be manufactured by washing tobacco residue and the like with a cleaning liquid in the molding process related to step S20, and incorporating the washed tobacco residue and the like into the non-tobacco base material. According to this configuration, the amount of carbonized components contained in the tobacco residue etc. can be reduced as much as possible by washing, and the flavor molded body 8 can be manufactured using the tobacco residue etc. with the reduced amount of carbonized components. Thereby, adhesion of carbonized components to the load 7 can be effectively suppressed. As a result, it is possible to effectively prevent the load 7 from becoming scorched.

[Assembly process]
After step S20, an assembly process related to step S30 is executed. Specifically, in step S30, the atomization unit 10 in which the flavor molded object 8 is not accommodated is prepared, and the flavor molded object 8 after step S20 is placed in the liquid storage section 4 of this atomization unit 10. and the aerosol generation liquid Le containing the tobacco extract component obtained in step S10. At this time, the flavor molded object 8 is placed in the molded object storage section 41 formed inside the liquid storage section 4 . In addition, in step S30, apart from the flavor component added to the flavor molded body 8 in step S20 described above, a flavor component may be further added to the aerosol generation liquid Le stored in the liquid storage section 4. good.

Here, in the manufacturing method of the atomization unit 10 according to the present embodiment, in the assembly process of step S30, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a part of the flavor molded object 8 forms the molded object storage section 41. The flavor molded body 8 is in contact with the wall surface W and at least a part of the other part of the flavor molded body 8 is in contact with the aerosol generation liquid Le stored in the molded body non-accommodating part 42. Position and place. Through the above steps, the atomization unit 10 of the suction tool 100 according to the present embodiment is manufactured.

Note that the method for manufacturing the atomization unit 10 according to the present embodiment may not include the step of storing the aerosol generation liquid Le containing tobacco extract components in step S30. In this case, the user of the atomization unit 10 can replenish the liquid into the liquid storage section 4 by himself/herself.

[Action/Effect]
According to the atomization unit 10 according to the present embodiment as described above, the aerosol generated by the load 7 contains nicotine contained in the flavor molded body 8 in addition to the nicotine contained in the aerosol generation liquid Le in the liquid storage part 4. Flavor components derived from flavor materials that can be added can be added. This allows you to fully enjoy the flavor.

Further, according to the atomization unit 10 according to the present embodiment, the flavor molded body 8 is disposed inside the aerosol generation liquid Le in the liquid storage section 4, and the flavor molded body 8 and the electrical load 7 are connected to each other. Since they are physically separated, it is possible to prevent tobacco material from adhering to the load 7 of the atomization unit 10. Thereby, deterioration of the load 7 can be suppressed.

Furthermore, in the atomization unit 10 according to the present embodiment, a part of the flavor molded body 8 is in contact with the wall surface W, and at least a part of the other part of the flavor molded body 8 is accommodated in the liquid storage section 4. The flavor molded body 8 is positioned and arranged so as to be in contact with the aerosol generating liquid Le. Thereby, swelling of the flavor molded body 8 can be suppressed. As a result, deterioration of the load 7 can be suppressed more suitably.

In addition, the atomization unit 10 according to the present embodiment has the liquid storage section 4 separated between the molded object storage section 41 and the molded object non-storage section 4 such that the molded object storage section 41 is formed in a part of the liquid storage section 4. A partition wall 18 is provided, and the flavor molded body 8 is positioned and arranged in contact with the partition wall 18. According to this, by forming the molded object non-accommodating section 42 in which the flavor molded object 8 is not accommodated in the liquid storage section 4, the amount of the aerosol generation liquid Le that can be stored in the liquid storage section 4 can be increased.

In addition, the atomization unit 10 according to the present embodiment positions and arranges the flavor molded body 8 with the peripheral surface 83 of the flavor molded body 8 in contact with the partition wall 18, so that the flavor molded body 8 and the wall surface W1 are separated. A large contact area can be secured. As a result, swelling of the flavor molded body 8 can be suppressed more suitably.

Furthermore, the partition wall 18 according to the present embodiment is provided with a slit 181 for allowing the flavor molded body 8 to come into contact with the aerosol generation liquid Le accommodated in the molded body non-accommodating part 42. ing. Thereby, the flavor molded body 8 can come into contact with the aerosol generation liquid Le in the molded body non-accommodating part 42 via the slit 181. Thereby, while suppressing the swelling of the flavor molded body 8, the flavor component can be sufficiently eluted into the aerosol generation liquid Le accommodated in the molded body non-accommodating portion 42. Note that although the slit 181 is an example of an "opening" according to the present invention, the opening according to the present invention is not limited to a slit. The opening may be, for example, a hole that communicates the molded object accommodating part and the molded object non-accommodating part. Further, there may be a plurality of openings.

Note that in the present invention, the above-mentioned partition wall is not an essential configuration. That is, in the present invention, the entire liquid storage section may be used as the molded object storage section without dividing the liquid storage section into the molded object storage section and the molded object non-storage section.

Furthermore, the atomization unit 10 according to the present embodiment includes a gasket 2 that is disposed between the flavor molded body 8 and the wick 6 and physically separates the flavor molded body 8 from the wick 6. , the flavor molded body 8 can be prevented from coming into contact with the wick 6. As a result, deterioration of the load 7 can be suppressed more suitably.

Here, the amount (mg) of carbonized components contained in 1 g of the aerosol generation liquid Le with the flavor molded body 8 disposed inside the liquid storage section is preferably 6 mg or less, and 3 mg or less. It is more preferable that there be.

According to this configuration, it is possible to enjoy the flavor of flavor components such as nicotine while suppressing the amount of carbonized components adhering to the electrical load 7 as much as possible. Thereby, it is possible to enjoy the flavor of flavor components such as nicotine while suppressing the occurrence of burnt on the load 7 as much as possible.

In addition, "the carbonized component contained in the aerosol generation liquid Le in a state where the flavor molded body 8 is placed inside the liquid storage section" specifically refers to the carbonized component contained in the aerosol generation liquid Le in the state before the flavor molded body 8 is placed. This value corresponds to the sum of the amount of carbonized components contained in the aerosol generation liquid Le and the amount of carbonized components eluted from the flavor molded body 8 into the aerosol generation liquid Le.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the term "carbonized component" refers to a component that becomes carbide when heated to 250°C. Specifically, the "carbonized component" refers to a component that does not become a carbide at a temperature below 250°C, but becomes a carbide when maintained at a temperature of 250°C for a predetermined period of time.

Note that this "amount (mg) of carbonized components contained in 1 g of the aerosol generation liquid Le with the flavor molded body 8 disposed inside the liquid storage section" can be measured, for example, by the following method. I can do it. First, a predetermined amount (g) of the aerosol generation liquid Le with the flavor molded body 8 disposed inside the liquid storage section is prepared. Next, this aerosol generation liquid Le is heated to 180° C. to volatilize the solvent (liquid component) contained in the aerosol generation liquid Le, thereby obtaining a “residue consisting of non-volatile components”. Next, the residue is carbonized by heating it to 250° C. to obtain a carbide. Next, the amount (mg) of this carbide is measured. By the above method, it is possible to measure the amount (mg) of carbide contained in a predetermined amount (g) of aerosol generation liquid Le, and based on this measurement value, the amount of carbide contained in 1 g of aerosol generation liquid Le can be measured. (i.e., the amount (mg) of carbonized components).

Next, the relationship between the amount of carbonized components contained in 1 g of the aerosol generation liquid Le containing tobacco extract components and the TPM reduction rate will be explained. Figure 8 shows the results of measuring the TPM reduction rate with respect to the amount of carbonized components contained in 1 g of extract when tobacco extract (hereinafter also simply referred to as "extract") was used as the aerosol generation liquid Le. FIG. The horizontal axis of FIG. 8 shows the amount of carbonized components contained in 1 g of extract, and the vertical axis shows the TPM reduction rate ( _RTPM ) (%).

The TPM reduction rate (R _TPM :%) in FIG. 8 was measured by the following method. First, samples of a plurality of atomization units having different amounts of carbonized components contained in 1 g of extract liquid were prepared. Specifically, five samples (sample SA1 to sample SA5) were prepared as samples for the plurality of atomization units. These five samples were prepared by the following steps.

(Step 1)
To a tobacco material made of tobacco leaves, 20 (wt%) of potassium carbonate was added in terms of dry weight, and then heated and distilled. The distillation residue after this heating distillation treatment is immersed for 10 minutes in water that is 15 times the weight of the tobacco raw material before the heating distillation treatment, dehydrated in a dehydrator, and then dried in a drier to produce tobacco. A residue was obtained.

(Step 2)
Next, a portion of the tobacco residue obtained in Step 1 was washed with water to prepare tobacco residue containing a small amount of char.

(Step 3)
Next, 25 g of dipping liquid (propylene glycol 47.5 wt%, glycerin 47.5 wt%, water 5 wt%) as an extraction liquid was added to 5 g of the tobacco residue obtained in step 2, and the temperature of the dipping liquid was raised to 60%. It was left to stand at ℃. By varying the standing time (that is, the immersion time in the immersion liquid), the amount of carbonized components eluted into the immersion liquid (extract liquid) was varied.

Through the above steps, a plurality of samples with different amounts of carbonized components contained in 1 g of immersion liquid (extract liquid) were prepared.

Next, the multiple samples prepared in the above steps were subjected to automatic smoking using an automatic smoking machine (“Analytical Vaping Machine” manufactured by Borgwaldt) under “CRM (Coresta Recommended Method) 81 smoking conditions”. Ta. Incidentally, the smoking condition of CRM81 is that 55 cc of aerosol is inhaled over 3 seconds multiple times every 30 seconds.

The amount of total particulate matter captured by the Cambridge filter of the automatic smoking machine was then measured. Based on the measured amount of total particulate matter, the TPM reduction rate ( _RTPM ) was calculated using the following formula (1). The TPM reduction rate (R _TPM ) shown in FIG. 8 was measured by the above method.

R _TPM (%) = (1-TPM (201puff ~ 250puff) / TPM (1puff ~ 50puff)) x 100... (1)
Here, TPM (Total Particle Molecule) indicates the total particulate matter collected by the Cambridge filter of the automatic smoking machine. "TPM (1puff to 50puff)" in equation (1) indicates the amount of total particulate matter collected by the Cambridge filter from the 1st puff to the 50th puff of the automatic smoking machine. "TPM (201puff to 250puff)" in equation (1) indicates the amount of total particulate matter collected by the Cambridge filter from the 201st puff to the 250th puff of the automatic smoking machine.

In other words, the TPM reduction rate ( _RTPM ) in equation (1) is calculated as follows: "The amount of total particulate matter collected by the Cambridge filter from the 201st puff to the 250th puff of the automatic smoking machine It is calculated by subtracting the value divided by the total amount of particulate matter collected by the Cambridge filter from the 1st puff to the 50th puff from 1 and multiplying it by 100.

As can be seen from FIG. 8, there is a proportional relationship between the amount of carbonized components contained in 1 g of extract and the TPM reduction rate. As can be seen from samples SA1 to SA4 in FIG. 5, when the amount of carbonized components contained in 1 g of extract is 6 mg or less, the TPM reduction rate can be suppressed to 20% or less.

[Modification of Embodiment 1]
FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the main parts of the atomization unit 10 according to the first modification of the first embodiment. In FIG. 9, a longitudinal section of the atomization unit 10 is illustrated similarly to FIG. 2. FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section taken along line A3-A3 in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, in the atomization unit 10 according to the first modification of the first embodiment, a filter member F1 is disposed in a region of the surface of the flavor molded body 8 that contacts the aerosol-generating liquid Le. There is. Specifically, the filter member F1 covers the entire area of the second end surface 82 that contacts the aerosol generation liquid Le in the molded body storage part 41 and the area in the molded body non-storage part 42 through the slit 181 in the peripheral surface 83. and a region in contact with the aerosol generating liquid Le. The filter member F1 has a plurality of holes (fine holes) through which flavor components contained in the flavor molded body 8 can pass while suppressing the non-tobacco base material of the flavor molded body 8 from passing through F1. . That is, the pores of the filter member F1 may have a size larger than the size of the flavor component and smaller than the size of the non-tobacco base material. The specific size (diameter) of the holes provided in this filter member F1 is not particularly limited, but to give a specific example, a value selected from the range of 10 μm or more and 3 mm or less may be used. I can do it. Moreover, the filter member F1 allows the flavor molded body 8 and the aerosol generation liquid Le to come into contact. That is, the region of the flavor molded body 8 where the filter member F1 is arranged comes into contact with the aerosol generation liquid Le via the filter member F1. Examples of the material for the filter member F1 include nonwoven fabric, net-like metal mesh, cellulose acetate, and the like. However, the material of the filter member F1 is not limited to these. Moreover, the filter member F1 may be formed as a film that covers a part or the whole of the flavor molded body 8, or may not be in the form of a film. Moreover, the same structure as the coating material mentioned above can be employ|adopted for the filter member F1.

Note that the filter member F1 may be disposed in at least a portion of the region of the flavor molded body 8 that comes into contact with the aerosol-generating liquid Le. By arranging the filter member F1 having such a configuration in a region of the flavor molded body 8 that comes into contact with the aerosol generation liquid Le, flavor molding can be performed while suppressing elution of the non-tobacco base material into the aerosol generation liquid Le. The flavor components contained in the body 8 can be eluted into the aerosol generation liquid Le. In addition, the filter member F1 should just be arrange|positioned in at least a part of the area|region which contacts the aerosol generation liquid Le among the flavor molded objects 8. For example, the filter member F1 may be provided only in the region of the peripheral surface 83 that contacts the aerosol generation liquid Le, or may be provided so as to cover the entire flavor molded body 8. In addition, in the atomization unit 10 according to the present embodiment, since a part of the flavor molded object 8 is in contact with the wall surface W1 of the molded object storage section 41, the wall surface W1 of the molded object storage section 41 of the flavor molded object 8 is in contact with the wall surface W1 of the molded object storage section 41. It is not necessary to arrange the filter member F1 in the area where it comes into contact with.

[Modification 2 of Embodiment 1]
FIG. 11 is a flow diagram for explaining a method for manufacturing the atomization unit 10 according to the second modification of the first embodiment. The method of manufacturing the atomization unit 10 according to the second modification of the first embodiment is a method of manufacturing an atomization unit of a suction tool having a liquid storage section, comprising:
a tobacco extract component-containing liquid preparation step of preparing a liquid containing tobacco extract components;
a molding step of molding a flavor molded body containing a non-tobacco base material and a flavor material;
an addition step of adding a liquid containing the tobacco extract component to the flavor molded body;
an assembly step of accommodating the flavor molded body to which the liquid containing the tobacco extract component is added and the aerosol base material in the liquid storage section,
In the assembling step, the tobacco extract component is eluted from the flavor molded body to the aerosol base material, so that the aerosol generation liquid is stored in the liquid storage part,
In the assembling process, the flavor molded body is placed in a molded body storage section formed inside the liquid storage section, with a part of the flavor molded body being in contact with a wall surface forming the molded body housing section, and at least the other part being in contact with a wall surface forming the molded body housing section. Positioning and arranging so that a portion thereof is in contact with the aerosol-generating liquid contained in the liquid storage part;
This is a method for manufacturing an atomization unit of a suction tool.

The manufacturing method according to this modification may include steps other than the tobacco extract component-containing liquid preparation step, molding step, addition step, and assembly step described above.

[Tobacco extract ingredient-containing liquid preparation process]
In the method for manufacturing the atomization unit 10 according to the second modification, a liquid containing a tobacco extract component is prepared in the tobacco extract component-containing liquid preparation step of step S10A. Step S10A according to this modification is an embodiment in which an arbitrary liquid is used instead of the aerosol generation liquid Le in step S10 described with reference to FIG. Specifically, a method for obtaining a tobacco extract component-containing liquid includes, for example, a method in which a tobacco extract component obtained by extraction of tobacco material is dissolved in an arbitrary solvent.

Any solvent is not particularly limited as long as it can dissolve the substance to be dissolved, and may be an aerosol base material, such as glycerin, propylene glycol, triacetin, 1,3-butanediol, and water. One or more substances selected from the group consisting of:

[Molding process]
In the method for manufacturing the atomization unit 10 according to the second modification, the flavor molded body 8 is manufactured in the molding process according to step S20. Step S20 according to this modification is similar to step S20 described with reference to FIG. 7, so detailed explanation will be omitted.

[Addition process]
In the manufacturing method of the atomization unit 10 according to the second modification, in the addition step according to step S25, the tobacco obtained in the tobacco extract component-containing liquid preparation step is added to the flavor molded body 8 obtained in the above molding step. Add the extract component-containing liquid.

The method of addition is not particularly limited, and a desired amount of the tobacco extract component-containing liquid may be added to the flavor molded body 8 all at once, or the tobacco extract component-containing liquid may be applied or sprayed onto the surface of the flavor molded body 8. Alternatively, the flavor molded body 8 may be added by immersing it in a liquid containing tobacco extract components.

[Assembly process]
The manufacturing method of the atomization unit 10 according to the second modification includes, in the assembly process according to step S30A, the flavor molded body 8 to which the tobacco extract component-containing liquid obtained in the above-mentioned addition process is added, and the aerosol base material. , is stored in the liquid storage section 4. Step S30A according to this modification is an embodiment in which the aerosol generation liquid Le containing tobacco extract components in step S30 described in FIG. 7 is replaced with an aerosol base material.

The aerosol base material is not particularly limited, and examples include one or more substances selected from the group consisting of glycerin, propylene glycol, triacetin, 1,3-butanediol, and water.

During the assembly process, the tobacco extract component is eluted from the flavor molded object 8 housed in the liquid storage section 4 into the aerosol base material, so that the liquid storage section 4 finally contains the flavor molded object 8 and the tobacco extract component. The aerosol generation liquid Le will be accommodated.

A further modification 2A of the second modification of the first embodiment is that instead of the above-described addition step, the tobacco extract component-containing liquid obtained in the tobacco extract component-containing liquid preparation step is added to the wall defining the liquid storage section 4. This is an embodiment in which an adhesion step is provided for adhering the material to the inner surface of the material.

By adopting the aspect of this modification 2A, in the assembly process, the tobacco extract component is eluted from the tobacco extract component-containing liquid attached to the wall of the liquid storage section 4 to the aerosol base material, and the liquid storage section 4 is finally The portion 4 accommodates the flavor molded body 8 and the aerosol generation liquid Le containing the tobacco extract component.

<Embodiment 2>
Next, the atomization unit 10 according to the second embodiment will be explained. FIG. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the main parts of the atomization unit 10 according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 12, a longitudinal cross-section of the atomization unit 10 is illustrated similarly to FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section taken along line A4-A4 in FIG. 12.

As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, in the atomization unit 10 according to the second embodiment, a plurality of ribs 411 are formed on the wall surface W13 of the molded object storage section 41, and the first end surface 81 of the flavor molded object 8 is , is in contact with the rib 411 instead of the gasket 2. In the second embodiment, the rib 411 corresponds to an example of a "spacer member" according to the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the rib 411 is a protrusion formed on the wall surface W13 of the molded object storage section 41, and extends along the longitudinal direction of the atomization unit 10. In this embodiment, three ribs 411 are formed. However, the shape and number of ribs 411 are not limited to those shown in FIGS. 12 and 13.

Also in the second embodiment, the flavor molded body 8 has a part of its surface in contact with the wall surface W forming the molded body accommodating part 41, and at least a part of the other part of the surface (the said part is not Another part) is positioned and arranged in a state where it is in contact with the aerosol generating liquid Le stored in the liquid storage part 4. Specifically, a portion of the first end surface 81 is in contact with the rib 411. Moreover, the area of the peripheral surface 83 excluding the area exposed to the slit 181 of the partition wall 18 is in contact with the wall surface W13 (the

side walls

13, 15, 16 and the partition wall 18). On the other hand, the region of the first end surface 81 that is not in contact with the ribs 411 and the entire second end surface 82 are in contact with the aerosol generation liquid Le in the molded body storage section 41 . Further, a region of the peripheral surface 83 exposed to the slit 181 is in contact with the aerosol generation liquid Le in the molded object non-accommodating portion 42 via the slit 181. Furthermore, in the second embodiment, since the ribs 411 are in contact with the first end surface 81 of the flavor molded body 8, movement of the flavor molded body 8 in the −Z direction is restricted. Note that the ribs 411 do not need to be in contact with the first end surface 81 of the flavor molded body 8. Moreover, the flavor molded object 8 may be arranged with the second end surface 82 in contact with the wall surface W12.

Embodiment 2 can also provide the same effects as the atomization unit 10 according to Embodiment 1. Specifically, according to the atomization unit 10 according to the second embodiment, a flavor component derived from a flavor material can be added to the aerosol. This allows you to fully enjoy the flavor. Further, according to the atomization unit 10 according to the second embodiment, the flavor molded body 8 and the electrical load 7 are physically separated, so that the tobacco material does not adhere to the load 7 of the atomization unit 10. It is possible to suppress deterioration of the load 7 due to Further, a part of the flavor molded body 8 came into contact with the wall surface W of the molded body storage part 41, and at least a part of the other part of the flavor molded body 8 came into contact with the aerosol generation liquid Le in the liquid storage part 4. Since the flavor molded body 8 is positioned and arranged so that the flavor molded body 8 is in the state, swelling of the flavor molded body 8 can be suppressed. As a result, deterioration of the load 7 can be suppressed more suitably. Furthermore, the atomization unit 10 according to the present embodiment includes a rib 411 that is disposed between the flavor molded body 8 and the wick 6 and physically separates the flavor molded body 8 from the wick 6. , the flavor molded body 8 can be prevented from coming into contact with the wick 6. As a result, deterioration of the load 7 can be suppressed more suitably.

[Modification of Embodiment 2]
FIG. 14 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the main parts of the atomization unit 10 according to a modification of the second embodiment. In FIG. 14, a longitudinal cross-section of the atomization unit 10 is illustrated similarly to FIG. 2. FIG. 15 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section taken along the line A5-A5 in FIG. 14. As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, in the atomization unit 10 according to the modification of the second embodiment, the above-mentioned filter member F1 is arranged in the area of the surface of the flavor molded body 8 that comes into contact with the aerosol-generating liquid Le. ing. Specifically, the filter member F1 has a region of the first end surface 81 that comes into contact with the aerosol generation liquid Le in the molded object storage section 41 and a second end surface that contacts the aerosol generation liquid Le in the molded object storage section 41. 82 and in a region of the circumferential surface 83 that comes into contact with the aerosol generation liquid Le in the molded object non-accommodating part 42 via the slit 181.

According to the atomization unit 10 according to the modification of Embodiment 2, similarly to Modification 1 of Embodiment 1, the non-tobacco base material is suppressed from being eluted into the aerosol-generating liquid Le, and the non-tobacco base material is suppressed from being contained in the flavor molded body 8. The flavor components can be eluted into the aerosol generation liquid Le.

<Embodiment 3>
Next, the atomization unit 10 according to the third embodiment will be explained. FIG. 16 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the main parts of the atomization unit 10 according to the third embodiment. In FIG. 16, a longitudinal section of the atomization unit 10 is illustrated similarly to FIG. 2. FIG. 17 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section taken along line A6-A6 in FIG. 16. FIG. 18 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section taken along line A7-A7 in FIG. 16.

As shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the atomization unit 10 according to the third embodiment does not include the slit 181 like the first and second embodiments, but includes a cap 9 having a through hole 94. Further, in the atomization unit 10 according to the third embodiment, the end of the partition wall 18 on the -Z direction side does not contact the gasket 2. In other words, the partition wall portion 18 extends in the longitudinal direction from the end wall portion 12 to the middle of the liquid storage portion 4 . In the atomization unit 10 according to the third embodiment, the cap 9 is fitted into the area surrounded by the end wall 12, the

side walls

13, 15, 16, and the partition wall 18, and is fixed. A body accommodating portion 41 is formed. In other words, the molded body storage portion 41 according to the third embodiment is formed by a region surrounded by the cap 9, the end wall portion 12, the

side wall portions

13, 15, and 16, and the partition wall portion 18. In the third embodiment, a part of the molded object non-accommodating section 42 is arranged on the -Z direction side of the molded object accommodating section 41 with the cap 9 interposed therebetween.

The cap 9 is formed into a disk shape with an outer diameter equivalent to the inner diameter of the wall surface W13. More specifically, the cap 9 has a first end surface 91 that is one end surface in the axial direction, a second end surface 92 that is the other end surface, and a peripheral surface 93 that connects the first end surface 91 and the second end surface 92. and has. The cap 9 is arranged in the molded body storage section 41 so that its axial direction coincides with the long axis direction of the atomization unit 10 and the first end surface 91 faces in the -Z direction. In the third embodiment, the second end surface 92 of the cap 9 forms a wall surface W11, which is the end surface of the molded body accommodating portion 41 in the -Z direction. In addition, a through hole 94 is formed in the cap 9 and passes through the cap 9 in the axial direction from the first end surface 91 to the second end surface 92. In the third embodiment, the first end surface 81 of the flavor molded body 8 is in contact with the second end surface 92 of the cap 9 instead of the gasket 2. In the second embodiment, the cap 9 corresponds to an example of a "spacer member" according to the present invention.

Also in the third embodiment, the flavor molded body 8 has a part of its surface in contact with the wall surface W forming the molded body accommodating part 41, and at least a part of the other part of the surface (the said part is not Another part) is positioned and arranged in a state where it is in contact with the aerosol generating liquid Le stored in the liquid storage part 4. Specifically, a region of the first end surface 81 excluding the region exposed to the through hole 94 of the cap 9 is in contact with the wall surface W11 (the second end surface 92 of the cap 9). Further, the entire area of the circumferential surface 83 is in contact with the wall surface W13 (the

side walls

13, 15, 16 and the partition wall 18). On the other hand, a region of the first end surface 81 exposed to the through hole 94 of the cap 9 is in contact with the aerosol generation liquid Le in the molded object non-accommodating part 42 via the through hole 94. Further, the entire second end surface 82 is in contact with the aerosol generation liquid Le in the molded body storage section 41 . Further, in the third embodiment, since the second end surface 92 of the cap 9 is in contact with the first end surface 81 of the flavor molded object 8, movement of the flavor molded object 8 in the -Z direction is restricted. Note that the cap 9 does not need to be in contact with the first end surface 81 of the flavor molded body 8. Moreover, the flavor molded object 8 may be arranged with the second end surface 82 in contact with the wall surface W12. Further, in order to control the flow of the contents of the molded body storage section 41, a nonwoven fabric or the like may be placed on the end surface (at least one of the first end surface 91 and the second end surface 92) of the cap 9. For example, the above-described filter member F1 may be arranged on the second end surface 92 of the cap 9 in order to suppress the non-tobacco base material from being eluted into the aerosol generation liquid Le.

Embodiment 3 can also provide the same effects as the atomization unit 10 according to Embodiment 1 or Embodiment 2. Specifically, according to the atomization unit 10 according to the third embodiment, a flavor component derived from a flavor material can be added to the aerosol. This allows you to fully enjoy the flavor. Further, according to the atomization unit 10 according to the third embodiment, the flavor molded body 8 and the electrical load 7 are physically separated, so that the tobacco material does not adhere to the load 7 of the atomization unit 10. It is possible to suppress deterioration of the load 7 due to Further, a part of the flavor molded body 8 came into contact with the wall surface W of the molded body storage part 41, and at least a part of the other part of the flavor molded body 8 came into contact with the aerosol generation liquid Le in the liquid storage part 4. Since the flavor molded body 8 is positioned and arranged so that the flavor molded body 8 is in the state, swelling of the flavor molded body 8 can be suppressed. As a result, deterioration of the load 7 can be suppressed more suitably. Furthermore, the atomization unit 10 according to the present embodiment includes a cap 9 that is disposed between the flavor molded body 8 and the wick 6 and physically separates the flavor molded body 8 from the wick 6. , the flavor molded body 8 can be prevented from coming into contact with the wick 6. As a result, deterioration of the load 7 can be suppressed more suitably. In addition, in the atomization unit 10 according to the third embodiment, a cap 9 is interposed between the first end surface 81 of the flavor molded body 8 and the wick 6, and the first end surface 81 is provided with respect to the aerosol generation liquid Le. A portion of the first end surface 81 and the cap 9 are in contact so that partial contact is permitted. Thereby, while preventing contact between the flavor molded body 8 and the wick 6, the flavor component contained in the flavor molded body 8 can be eluted from the first end surface 81 into the aerosol generation liquid Le. Furthermore, in the third embodiment, since the entire circumferential surface 83 is in contact with the wall surface W13, swelling of the flavor molded body 8 can be suitably suppressed.

[Modification of Embodiment 3]
FIG. 19 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the main parts of the atomization unit 10 according to a modification of the third embodiment. In FIG. 19, a longitudinal section of the atomization unit 10 is illustrated, similar to FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 19, in the atomization unit 10 according to the modification of the third embodiment, the above-described filter member F1 is disposed on the surface of the flavor molded body 8 in a region that contacts the aerosol-generating liquid Le. Specifically, the filter member F1 has a region of the first end surface 81 that comes into contact with the aerosol generation liquid Le in the molded body storage section 41 through the through hole 94 of the cap 9, and a region of the first end surface 81 that contacts the aerosol generation liquid Le in the molded body storage section 41 The entire second end surface 82 is disposed in contact with the generated liquid Le.

According to the atomization unit 10 according to the modified example of Embodiment 3, as in the modified example 1 of Embodiment 1 and the modified example of Embodiment 2, the non-tobacco base material is suppressed from being eluted into the aerosol generation liquid Le. , the flavor component contained in the flavor molded body 8 can be eluted into the aerosol generation liquid Le.

<Others>
Although the embodiments and modified examples of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to such specific embodiments and modified examples, and within the scope of the gist of the present invention as described in the claims. , various modifications and changes are possible.

1 Atomization unit housing 18 Partition wall 181 Slit (an example of an opening)
2 Gasket (an example of a spacer member)
3 Air passage 4 Liquid storage section 41 Molded object storage section 411 Rib (an example of a spacer member)
42 Molded object non-accommodating part 5 Cotton 6 Wick (an example of liquid holding member)
7 Load 8 Flavor molded body 81 First end surface 82 Second end surface 83 Surrounding surface 9 Cap (an example of a spacer member)
10 Atomization unit 100 Suction tool

Claims

a liquid storage section that accommodates an aerosol generation liquid containing tobacco extract components;
an electrical load that is supplied with the aerosol-generating liquid in the liquid storage unit and that atomizes the supplied aerosol-generating liquid to generate an aerosol;
A flavor molded article containing a non-tobacco base material and a flavor material;
a molded object accommodating section formed inside the liquid accommodating section and in which the flavor molded object is positioned and arranged,
A part of the flavor molded body is in contact with a wall surface forming the molded body storage part, and at least a part of the other part is in contact with the aerosol generating liquid accommodated in the liquid storage part. , positioning is arranged,
Atomization unit of suction tool.
further comprising a partition wall portion that partitions the liquid storage portion into the molded object storage portion and a molded object non-accommodation portion such that the molded object storage portion is formed in a part of the liquid storage portion;
The flavor molded body is positioned and arranged in contact with the partition wall,
The atomization unit of the suction tool according to claim 1.
The flavor molded body is formed into a rod shape, has a circumferential surface connecting both end surfaces in the axial direction, and is positioned with the circumferential surface in contact with the wall surface.
The atomization unit of the suction tool according to claim 2.
The partition wall portion is provided with an opening for allowing the flavor molded object to come into contact with the aerosol generating liquid contained in the molded object non-accommodating section.
The atomization unit of the suction tool according to claim 2 or 3.
a liquid holding member that holds the load and is supplied with the aerosol generating liquid in the liquid storage section;
further comprising a spacer member disposed between the flavor molded body and the liquid retaining member for physically separating the flavor molded body from the liquid retaining member;
The atomization unit of the suction tool according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
The flavor molded body is formed into a rod shape,
The spacer member is provided to be interposed between a first end surface that is one end surface in the axial direction of the flavor molded object and the liquid retaining member,
A portion of the first end surface is in contact with the spacer member such that partial contact of the first end surface with the aerosol generating liquid is allowed;
The atomization unit of the suction tool according to claim 5.
A filter member is disposed in at least a part of the region of the flavor molded body that comes into contact with the aerosol-generating liquid.
The atomization unit of the suction tool according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
The atomization unit of the suction tool according to any one of claims 1 to 7;
a power supply unit that has a power supply that supplies power to the load, and the atomization unit is detachable;
Suction tool.
A method for manufacturing an atomization unit of a suction tool having a liquid storage section, the method comprising:
a liquid preparation step of preparing an aerosol generation liquid containing tobacco extract components;
a molding step of molding a flavor molded body containing a non-tobacco base material and a flavor material;
an assembly step of accommodating the aerosol generation liquid containing the tobacco extract component and the flavor molded body in the liquid storage section,
In the assembling process, the flavor molded body is placed in a molded body storage section formed inside the liquid storage section, with a part of the flavor molded body being in contact with a wall surface forming the molded body housing section, and at least the other part being in contact with a wall surface forming the molded body housing section. Positioning and arranging so that a portion thereof is in contact with the aerosol-generating liquid contained in the liquid storage part;
A method for manufacturing an atomizing unit of a suction tool.
A method for manufacturing an atomization unit of a suction tool having a liquid storage section, the method comprising:
a tobacco extract component-containing liquid preparation step of preparing a liquid containing tobacco extract components;
a molding step of molding a flavor molded body containing a non-tobacco base material and a flavor material;
an addition step of adding a liquid containing the tobacco extract component to the flavor molded body;
an assembly step of accommodating the flavor molded body to which the liquid containing the tobacco extract component is added and the aerosol base material in the liquid storage section,
In the assembling step, the tobacco extract component is eluted from the flavor molded body to the aerosol base material, so that the aerosol generation liquid is stored in the liquid storage part,
In the assembling process, the flavor molded body is placed in a molded body storage section formed inside the liquid storage section, with a part of the flavor molded body being in contact with a wall surface forming the molded body housing section, and at least the other part being in contact with a wall surface forming the molded body housing section. Positioning and arranging so that a portion thereof is in contact with the aerosol-generating liquid contained in the liquid storage part;
A method for manufacturing an atomizing unit of a suction tool.