WO2024127457A1 - Tobacco-containing segment, smoking article, heating device, and non-combustion heating-type smoking system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention addresses the problem of providing a novel tobacco-containing segment that does not use a conventional cylindrical tobacco rod.　The tobacco-containing segment is formed from one sheet and has a thickness greater than 70 µm but less than 1000 µm.

Description

Tobacco-containing segments, smoking articles, heating devices, and non-combustion heated smoking systems

The present invention relates to tobacco-containing segments, smoking articles, heating devices, and non-combustion heated smoking systems.

Imitation tobacco is a tobacco material made by artificially forming tobacco leaves into a paper-like form, and is also called tobacco sheet. Known methods for manufacturing such tobacco sheets include, for example, a papermaking process, a slurry (cast) process, a rolling process, and an extrusion molding process.

Heat, rather than burn, tobacco material is thought to result in smaller amounts of the more harmful compounds normally produced during smoking, and there is also a high demand for tobacco sheets for use in heated tobacco products. The tobacco sheets can be produced by combining tobacco raw materials with an aerosol former, binder, etc., and then using the process described above. The tobacco sheets produced in this manner can be shredded to a predetermined size and wrapped in cigarette paper with the resulting tobacco shreds on the inside to form a cylindrical tobacco rod (Patent Document 1). Alternatively, the tobacco sheet can be gathered and then formed into a cylindrical tobacco rod without being shredded (Patent Documents 2 to 4).

On the other hand, there are few examples of using anything other than cylindrical tobacco rods. For example, in Patent Document 5, tobacco shreds are molded into a rectangular shape, and the resulting molded product is inserted into a dedicated heated smoking device for use. In addition, as in Patent Document 6, multiple different tobacco sheets are laminated to form a laminated flavor-generating component, which is then inserted into a heated smoking device for use.

International Publication No. 2017/081144 Patent No. 6403666 Patent No. 6580485 Patent No. 6668318 International Publication No. 2019/162497 International Publication No. 2018/235959

However, in Patent Document 5, the ease of inserting the molded product into the insertion port is not examined, and the relationship between the size of the molded product and the size of the insertion port is not clear. In addition, when stacking multiple different tobacco sheets as in Patent Document 6, an additional stacking process is required, and if the thickness and amount of aerosol former vary among the tobacco sheets constituting each layer, the variation is reflected in the number of sheets stacked, and the product becomes heavy and bulky as the number of sheets stacked increases, which can be problematic.
In view of these circumstances, the inventors of the present application conducted intensive research and found that by forming a tobacco-containing segment from a single sheet and inserting it into a heating device, various advantages can be obtained, such as a significantly lighter amount of tobacco to be carried around as a heated smoking article, there is no need to worry about the rod bending as with cylindrical tobacco rods, and it is possible to make the packaging more compact. An object of the present invention is to provide a novel tobacco-containing segment that does not use a conventional cylindrical tobacco rod.

As a result of intensive research into solving the above problems, the inventors discovered that the above problems could be solved by forming a tobacco-containing segment from a single sheet having a specific thickness, and thus completed the present invention. Specific aspects of the present invention are as follows:

[1] A tobacco-containing segment consisting of a single sheet and having a thickness of more than 70 μm and less than 1,000 μm.
[2] The tobacco-containing segment according to [1], wherein the tobacco-containing segment has a rectangular cross-section.
[3] The tobacco-containing segment according to [1] or [2], wherein the sheet contains fibers derived from plant materials.
[4] The tobacco-containing segment according to [3], wherein the plant material comprises tobacco material.
[5] The tobacco-containing segment according to any one of [1] to [4], wherein the sheet is a cast sheet or a rolled sheet.
[6] The tobacco-containing segment according to any one of [1] to [5], wherein the sheet comprises an aerosol former.
[7] The tobacco-containing segment according to [6], wherein the aerosol former comprises a polyol.
[8] The tobacco-containing segment according to [6] or [7], wherein the content of the aerosol former in the sheet is 10 to 80% by weight.
[9] The tobacco-containing segment according to any one of [1] to [8], wherein the tobacco-containing segment does not include a wrapper.
[10] A smoking article comprising the tobacco-containing segment according to any one of [1] to [9].
[11] The smoking article according to [10], which is a non-combustion heating smoking article.
[12] A heating device comprising a body having a recess into which a tobacco-containing segment of a non-combustion heated smoking article is inserted, the size of the gap of the recess being 0.2 to 2.0 mm.
[13] The heating device according to [12], wherein the cross-sectional shape of the recess is rectangular.
[14] The heating device described in [12] or [13], wherein the non-combustion heat smoking article is the non-combustion heat smoking article described in [11].
[15] A non-combustion heat smoking system comprising the non-combustion heat smoking article according to [11] and the heating device according to any one of [12] to [14].
[16] A non-combustion heat smoking system as described in [15], wherein the ratio of the size of the gap of the recess of the heating device to the thickness of the tobacco-containing segment of the non-combustion heat smoking article is 1.35 or more.

The tobacco-containing segment of the present invention is a novel tobacco-containing segment that does not use the conventional cylindrical tobacco rod, and offers various advantages, such as significantly reducing the amount of tobacco carried as a heated smoking article, eliminating the risk of the rod bending as with cylindrical tobacco rods, and enabling compact packaging.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a smoking segment. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of a non-combustion heat smoking article. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of a non-combustion heating smoking system. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a heating device. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an apparatus for evaluating the insertability of a tobacco-containing segment into a heating device.

The tobacco-containing segment, non-combustion heat smoking article, heating device, and non-combustion heat smoking system of the present application are described below.

1. Tobacco-Containing Segment The tobacco-containing segment of the present invention consists of one sheet and has a thickness of more than 70 μm and less than 1000 μm.

The thickness of the tobacco-containing segment is more than 70 μm and less than 1000 μm, preferably 70 to 500 μm, more preferably 100 to 500 μm, and most preferably 120 to 200 μm. By having the thickness of the tobacco-containing segment within the above numerical range, the amount of tobacco-containing segment is excellent in thermal efficiency when heated and can ensure an appropriate number of smokes.

The width of the tobacco-containing segment is not particularly limited, but is preferably 5 to 20 mm, more preferably 7.5 to 17.5 mm, and most preferably 1 to 15 mm. By having the width of the tobacco-containing segment within the above numerical range, it becomes easier to pick up with just the fingertips, making it easier to insert into the device (heating device).

The length of the tobacco-containing segment is not particularly limited, but is preferably 40 to 90 mm, more preferably 50 to 75 mm, and most preferably 50 to 60 mm. By having the length of the tobacco-containing segment within the above numerical range, the tobacco-containing segment can be stably inserted into the device and the amount of tobacco-containing segment can ensure an appropriate number of smokes.

The cross-sectional shape of the tobacco-containing segment is not particularly limited, but can be a rectangle, a square such as a perfect square; a diamond; or an ellipse. Of these, a square is preferred. By using a square shape, the cut surface is stable and uniform quality can be ensured.

The tobacco-containing segment may be wrapper-free. The lack of a wrapper in the tobacco-containing segment allows for direct heat transfer to the tobacco-containing segment.

The tobacco-containing segment can be produced by directly using the sheet described below.

(Sheet)
The tobacco-containing segment of the present invention consists of one sheet.
The size (thickness, width, length), cross-sectional shape, and other configurations of the sheet may be similar to those of the tobacco-containing segment described above.
As used herein, the term "sheet" refers to a shape having a pair of generally parallel main surfaces and side surfaces. The tobacco-containing segment or sheet may have a length direction, a width direction, and a thickness direction, and the order of dimensions may be "thickness"<"width"<"length".
An example of a tobacco-containing segment (smoking segment) 20A (smoking composition sheet or material derived therefrom 21) is shown in Figure 1. In Figure 1, the dimensions T, W, and L correspond to thickness, width, and length, respectively.

The sheet may contain or consist of, but is not limited to, fibers derived from plant raw materials, binders, aerosol formers, or a combination of two or more of these. Of these, it is preferable to use fibers derived from plant raw materials. By using fibers derived from plant raw materials, the structural framework of the sheet can be formed.

The above-mentioned plant raw materials are not particularly limited, but can contain or consist of tobacco raw materials. By using tobacco raw materials, the structural framework of the sheet can be formed, and since the polysaccharides contained in the tobacco raw materials function as binders, the amount of binder added from the outside can be reduced.

The tobacco raw materials mentioned above are raw materials derived from Nicotiana plants, and include, for example, tobacco raw materials such as tobacco leaves, aged tobacco leaves, tobacco shreds, tobacco powder, parts other than leaves such as backbone and stem residues, and processed products or waste products obtained by subjecting tobacco raw materials to processing. Tobacco leaves are a general term for harvested tobacco leaves before they undergo aging. One form of aging includes curing. Tobacco shreds are aged tobacco leaves, etc. that have been chopped into a specified size. Tobacco powder is tobacco leaves, etc. that have been crushed.

Various tobacco varieties can be used as the tobacco raw material. For example, examples of tobacco varieties include flue-cured, burley, orient, native, other Nicotiana tabacum varieties, and Nicotiana rustica varieties. These varieties can be used alone, but in order to obtain the desired flavor, they can also be blended during the process from tobacco leaf harvest to the processing of aged tobacco leaves into various forms (i.e., processed tobacco leaves) used in non-combustion heated tobacco products. Details of the tobacco varieties are disclosed in "Encyclopedia of Tobacco, Tobacco Research Center, March 31, 2009."

In this specification, the term "tobacco leaves" refers to harvested tobacco leaves before they are aged. One form of aging includes curing.
In contrast, tobacco leaves that have been aged and have not yet been processed into various forms for use in tobacco products (such as tobacco shreds, tobacco sheets, tobacco granules, etc.) are referred to as "aged tobacco leaves." Furthermore, aged tobacco leaves that have been processed into various forms for use in tobacco products are referred to as "processed tobacco leaves."

The sheet may further include an aerosol former.
The aerosol former is not particularly limited, but may contain or consist of a polyol such as glycerin, 1,2-propanediol, or 1,3-propanediol; a fatty acid such as a medium chain fatty acid or palmitic acid; or a mixture of two or more of these. Among these, polyols are preferred. Use of polyols allows for stable generation of smoke.

The amount of aerosol former contained in the sheet based on the entire sheet is not particularly limited, but is preferably 10 to 80% by mass, more preferably 15 to 60% by mass, and most preferably 15 to 30% by mass. By having the amount of aerosol former within the above range, it is possible to smoke a sufficient number of times, about 10 to 20 times, from the start of smoking.

The sheet can be obtained as a tobacco sheet by forming a composition containing aged tobacco leaves, etc., into a sheet shape. The aged tobacco leaves used for the tobacco sheet are not particularly limited, but examples include those that have been deboned and separated into lamina and midrib.

The method for forming the sheet is not particularly limited, but for example, tobacco powder, nicotine, flavor development aid, binder, and optionally an aerosol former and flavoring can be mixed, water can be added to the mixture, kneaded, and the resulting kneaded material can be formed by known methods such as papermaking, casting, rolling, etc. Details of various sheets (tobacco sheets) formed by such methods are disclosed in "Encyclopedia of Tobacco, Tobacco Research Center, March 31, 2009."

In addition to the above-mentioned components, the sheet may further contain antioxidants, terpenes, menthol, or a combination of two or more of these. Of these, it is preferable to use menthol. By using menthol, you can enjoy a refreshing smoking experience.

2. Smoking Article The smoking article of the present invention comprises a tobacco-containing segment as described above in the section "1. Tobacco-containing segment."

Smoking articles (flavor inhalation articles) include smoking articles that allow the user to inhale and enjoy the flavor, and smokeless tobacco (smokeless smoking articles) that allow the user to enjoy the flavor by holding the product directly in the nasal or oral cavity. Smoking articles can be broadly divided into combustible smoking articles, typified by conventional cigarettes, and non-combustible smoking articles.

Examples of combustible smoking articles include cigarettes, pipes, pipes, cigars, and cigarillos.

A non-combustion heated smoking article (heated smoking article) may be heated by a heating device separate from the article, or by a heating device integrated into the article. In the former smoking article (separate type), the non-combustion heated smoking article and the heating device are collectively referred to as a "non-combustion heated smoking system." An example of a non-combustion heated smoking system is described below with reference to Figures 2 to 4.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the non-combustion heat smoking article 20. As shown in FIG. 2, the non-combustion heat smoking article 20 (hereinafter simply referred to as "smoking article 20") has a flat plate shape corresponding to the sheet shape of the tobacco-containing segment described in the above section "1. Tobacco-containing segment". The thickness of the smoking article 20 is not particularly limited, but is preferably 70 to 500 μm, more preferably 100 to 500 μm, and most preferably 120 to 200 μm. The width of the smoking article 20 is not particularly limited, but is preferably 0.5 to 20 mm, more preferably 0.75 to 20 mm, and most preferably 10 to 17.5 mm. The total length (horizontal length) of the smoking article 20 is not particularly limited, but is preferably 40 mm to 150 mm, more preferably 50 mm to 90 mm, and even more preferably 50 mm to 70 mm.

The smoking article 20 is composed of a smoking segment 20A, a filter portion 20C that forms the mouthpiece, and a connecting portion 20B that connects these.

The smoking segment 20A may be the tobacco-containing segment described above in section "1. Tobacco-containing segment." The size (thickness, width, length), cross-sectional shape, and other configurations of the smoking segment 20A may be similar to the configurations of the tobacco-containing segment described above in section "1. Tobacco-containing segment."

The cross-sectional shape of the filter portion 20C can be the same as that of the smoking segment 20A. The filter portion 20C has, for example, a rectangular prism shape. The filter portion 20C has a first segment 25 in the shape of a rectangular prism filled with cellulose acetate fiber, and a second segment 26 in the shape of a rectangular prism similarly filled with cellulose acetate fiber. The first segment 25 is located on the smoking segment 20A side. The first segment 25 may have a hollow portion. The second segment 26 is located on the mouthpiece side. The second segment 26 is solid. The first segment 25 is composed of a first filling layer (cellulose acetate acetate fiber) 25a and an inner plug wrapper 25b wound around the first filling layer 25a. The second segment 26 is composed of a second filling layer (cellulose acetate acetate fiber) 26a and an inner plug wrapper 26b wound around the second filling layer 26a. The first segment 25 and the second segment 26 are connected by an outer plug wrapper 27. The outer plug wrapper 27 is adhered to the first segment 25 and the second segment 26 by a vinyl acetate emulsion adhesive or the like.

The length of the filter portion 20C can be, for example, 10 to 30 mm, the length of the connecting portion 20B can be, for example, 10 to 30 mm, the length of the first segment 25 can be, for example, 5 to 15 mm, and the length of the second segment 26 can be, for example, 5 to 15 mm. These lengths of each segment are just examples and can be changed as appropriate depending on manufacturing suitability, required quality, the length of the smoking segment 20A, etc.

For example, the first segment 25 (center hole segment) is composed of a first filling layer 25a having one or more hollow portions, and an inner plug wrapper 25b that covers the first filling layer 25a. The first segment 25 has the function of increasing the strength of the second segment 26. The first filling layer 25a of the first segment 25 is densely packed with, for example, cellulose acetate fibers. A plasticizer containing triacetin is added to the cellulose acetate fibers in an amount of, for example, 6 to 20% by mass relative to the mass of the cellulose acetate, and the fibers are hardened. The hollow portion of the first segment 25 has a cylindrical shape with an inner diameter of, for example, φ1.0 to φ5.0 mm.

The first filling layer 25a of the first segment 25 may be constructed with, for example, a relatively high fiber packing density, or may be equivalent to the fiber packing density of the second filling layer 26a of the second segment 26 described below. Therefore, during inhalation, air and aerosol flow only through the hollow portion, and almost no air or aerosol flows through the first filling layer 25a. For example, if it is desired to reduce the loss of aerosol components due to filtration in the second segment 26, the length of the second segment 26 can be shortened and the first segment 25 can be lengthened accordingly.

Replacing the shortened second segment 26 with the first segment 25 is effective in increasing the amount of aerosol components delivered. Because the first filling layer 25a of the first segment 25 is a fiber-filled layer, the feel from the outside during use does not cause discomfort to the user.

The second segment 26 is composed of a second packed layer 26a and an inner plug wrapper 26b that covers the second packed layer 26a. The second segment 26 (filter segment) is packed with cellulose acetate fibers at a typical density and has typical filtering performance for filtering aerosol components.

The filtering performance for filtering the aerosol (mainstream smoke) emitted from the smoking segment 20A may be different between the first segment 25 and the second segment 26. At least one of the first segment 25 and the second segment 26 may contain a flavoring. The structure of the filter portion 20C is arbitrary, and may be a structure having multiple segments as described above, or may be composed of a single segment. The filter portion 20C may also be composed of one segment. In this case, the filter portion 20C may be composed of either the first segment or the second segment.

The cross-sectional shape of the connecting part 20B may be the same as that of the smoking segment 20A. The connecting part 20B may be, for example, a rectangular prism. The connecting part 20B has a cardboard tube 23 formed into a rectangular prism shape, for example, from cardboard or the like. The connecting part 20B may be filled with a cooling material for cooling the aerosol. An example of the cooling material is a sheet of a polymer such as polylactic acid, which may be folded and filled. Furthermore, a support part may be provided between the smoking segment 20A and the connecting part 20B to prevent the position of the smoking segment 20A from fluctuating. The support part may be made of a known material such as a center hole filter like the first segment 25.

The wrapper 28 is wrapped around the outside of the smoking segment 20A, the connecting portion 20B, and the filter portion 20C in a rectangular prism shape, connecting them together as a unit. One side (inner surface) of the wrapper 28 is coated entirely or almost entirely with a vinyl acetate emulsion adhesive, except for the area near the ventilation hole portion 24. The multiple ventilation hole portions 24 are formed by laser processing from the outside after the smoking segment 20A, the connecting portion 20B, and the filter portion 20C are integrated by the wrapper 28.

The ventilation hole section 24 has two or more through holes penetrating the connecting section 20B in the thickness direction. The two or more through holes are formed so as to be arranged radially when viewed from an extension of the central axis of the smoking article 20. In this embodiment, the ventilation hole section 24 is provided in the connecting section 20B, but may be provided in the filter section 20C. In this embodiment, the two or more through holes of the ventilation hole section 24 are arranged in one row at a fixed interval on the circumference of one rectangle, but may be arranged in two rows at a fixed interval on the circumference of two rectangles, or one or two rows of the ventilation hole section 24 may be arranged discontinuously or irregularly. When a user holds the mouthpiece in his/her mouth and inhales, outside air is taken into the mainstream smoke through the ventilation hole section 24. However, the ventilation hole section 24 does not have to be provided.

3. Heating device and non-combustion heat smoking system An example of a non-combustion heat smoking system is shown in Fig. 3. In the figure, the non-combustion heat smoking system includes a non-combustion heat smoking article 20 and a heating device (heating device) 10 that heats the smoking segment 20A from the outside. An enlarged view of the heating device is shown in Fig. 4.

The heating device 10 comprises a body 11, a heater 12, a metal tube 13, a battery unit 14, and a control unit 15. The body 11 has a recess 16, and the heater 12 and the metal tube 13 are arranged at a position corresponding to the smoking segment 20A to be inserted therein. The heater 13 can be a heater using electrical resistance, and the battery unit 14 supplies power to the heater 12 in response to an instruction from the control unit 15, which controls the temperature, to heat the heater 12. The heat generated by the heater 12 is transferred to the smoking segment 20A through the metal tube 13, which has high thermal conductivity. In the figure, the heating device 10 is shown as heating the smoking segment 20A from the outside, but it may also be heating from the inside. The heating temperature by the heating device 10 is not particularly limited, but is preferably 400°C or less, more preferably 150 to 400°C, and even more preferably 200 to 350°C. The heating temperature refers to the temperature of the heater of the heating device 10. The heating method used by the heating device is not particularly limited, and in addition to heating using the heater described above, induction heating, microwave heating, etc. can also be used.

The heating device of the present invention has a body having a recess into which a tobacco-containing segment of a non-combustion heated smoking article is inserted, and the size of the gap in the recess is 0.2 to 2.0 mm.

The size of the gap (thickness) of the recess in the heating device is 0.2 to 2.0 mm (200 to 2000 μm), preferably 0.25 to 2.0 mm (250 to 2000 μm), more preferably 0.3 to 1.8 mm (300 to 1800 μm), and most preferably 0.4 to 1.75 mm (400 to 1750 μm). By having the size of the gap of the recess in the heating device within the above numerical range, the tobacco sheet can be inserted smoothly and heat loss from the heating section can be minimized.

The width of the recess in the heating device is not particularly limited, but is preferably 6 to 25 mm, more preferably 7 to 22.5 mm, and most preferably 8 to 21 mm. By having the width of the recess in the heating device within the above numerical range, the sheet can be inserted smoothly without being bulky, and heat loss is also minimized.

The length of the recess in the heating device is not particularly limited, but is preferably 45 to 75 mm, more preferably 47 to 70 mm, and most preferably 50 to 60 mm. By having the length of the recess in the heating device within the above numerical range, the sheet does not become bulky when inserted, and can be heated evenly even after insertion.

The cross-sectional shape of the recess in the heating device is not particularly limited, but can be a rectangle, a square such as a perfect square, a diamond, or an ellipse. Of these, a square is preferable. By using a square, uniform heat transfer can be achieved and it is also easier to design.

The size (gap (thickness), width, length) and cross-sectional shape of the recess in the heating device can be adapted to the configuration of the tobacco-containing segment to be inserted. In Figure 4, the sizes of T', W', and L' correspond to the gap (thickness), width, and length of the recess, respectively.

The non-combustion heat smoking article to be inserted into the heating device may be the non-combustion heat smoking article described above in section "2. Smoking Articles."

The non-combustion heat smoking system of the present invention comprises the non-combustion heat smoking article described in the above section "2. Smoking Articles" and the heating device described above.

In a non-combustion heat smoking system, the ratio of the size of the gap in the recess of the heating device to the thickness of the tobacco-containing segment of the non-combustion heat smoking article (size of gap in recess/thickness of tobacco-containing segment) is not particularly limited, but is preferably 1.35 or more, more preferably 1.4 to 1.7, and most preferably 1.4 to 1.5. When calculating the above ratio, the unit of the size of the gap in the recess and the unit of the thickness of the tobacco-containing segment can be adjusted to the same unit (μm, mm, etc.). By having the above ratio within the above numerical range, the ease of inserting the tobacco-containing segment into the heating device can be improved.

The present invention will be described experimentally using the following examples, but the following description is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention to the following examples.

Example 1
(Preparation of tobacco sheet)
75 g of flue-cured tobacco leaves, 75 g of carboxymethylcellulose, and 60 g of glycerin were mixed to obtain a tobacco raw material of Sample 1. Using the obtained tobacco raw material of Sample 1, a tobacco sheet of Sample 1 was produced based on a known papermaking method. As shown in Table 1, the contents of each component in the obtained tobacco sheet can be calculated to be tobacco leaves: 35 mass%, carboxymethylcellulose: 35 mass%, and glycerin: 30 mass%. As shown in Table 1, the obtained tobacco sheet of Sample 1 had a width of 15 mm, a thickness of 149 μm, a length of 50 mm, and a cross-sectional shape of a rectangle.

The tobacco raw materials for Samples 2 to 4 were obtained in the same manner as Sample 1 above, except that the blending amounts of each component and the manufacturing conditions were changed so that the content of each component in the obtained tobacco sheet and the size (thickness, width, length) and cross-sectional shape of the tobacco sheet were as shown in Table 1 below, and then the tobacco sheets for Samples 2 to 4 were manufactured based on a known papermaking method. The thickness of each tobacco sheet shown in Table 1 was obtained by selecting four random locations on each tobacco sheet without bias, measuring the thickness of each location using a counting outside micrometer M810-25 (manufactured by Mitutoyo Corporation), and averaging the measurements of the four locations.

A single sheet of each of the tobacco sheets obtained as described above from samples 1 to 4 was used as a tobacco-containing segment (smoking segment) to prepare the non-combustion heat smoking article shown in Figure 2. Meanwhile, a heating device shown in Figure 4 (recess formed in body: width: 16 mm, gap (thickness): 1.5 mm, depth (length): 50 mm, cross-sectional shape: rectangular) was prepared. Each of the non-combustion heat smoking articles and heating devices related to samples 1 to 4 described above was used and installed in the non-combustion external heat smoking system shown in Figure 3.

Conventionally, as in the above-mentioned Patent Documents 1 to 4, a cylindrical tobacco rod is formed by wrapping a tobacco sheet with cigarette paper, and such a cylindrical tobacco rod is inserted into a heating device as a tobacco-containing segment. However, such a cylindrical tobacco rod tends to bend easily when an external force is applied, and there is a risk of it being bent when it is carried around as a heated smoking article.
On the other hand, it was found that by forming a tobacco-containing segment from only one tobacco sheet, as in Samples 1 to 4, the tobacco sheet is flexible and therefore less likely to bend when an external force is applied than a conventional cylindrical tobacco rod. In addition, it was found that each tobacco-containing segment of Samples 1 to 4 is formed from only one tobacco sheet and is therefore small in weight and volume, which provides the advantages of significantly reducing the amount of tobacco carried as a heated smoking article and enabling compact packaging.
In addition, it was found that the tobacco-containing segments of Samples 1 to 3 (Examples), which have a thickness of less than 1000 μm, are thinner and therefore have a smaller weight and volume than the tobacco-containing segment of Sample 4 (Comparative Example), which has a thickness of 1000 μm or more, thereby offering the advantages of allowing the amount of tobacco carried as a heated smoking article to be lighter and for the packaging to be more compact.

Example 2
(Evaluation of Insertability of Tobacco-Containing Segments into a Heating Device)
When a tobacco-containing segment is formed from only one tobacco sheet, the ease of inserting the tobacco-containing segment into the heating device can be improved by appropriately designing the size of the gap in the recess in the heating device to match the thickness of the tobacco-containing segment.
The insertability of the tobacco-containing segment into such a heating device was evaluated according to the following procedure.

(procedure)
The outline of the device used for evaluating the insertability is shown in Fig. 5. Each of the tobacco sheets 21 of Samples 1 to 4 described above was placed on a stainless steel flat plate 30 (thickness: 0.5 mm, width: 15 mm, length: 150 mm), and a standard/simplified height gauge (H4-20, manufactured by Mitutoyo Corporation) was further placed on top of the flat plate 30 as a jig 40. Here, based on the assumption that the recess of the heating device is generally made of metal, the above-mentioned metal flat plate 30 and jig 40 were used. Each tobacco sheet was placed between the flat plate 30 and the measurement surface (lower surface) of the scriber part 41 of the jig 40 thus installed, and the size of the gap (corresponding to the gap of the recess in the heating device) between the flat plate 30 and the measurement surface of the scriber part 41 of the jig 40 was set to each value shown in Table 2 below.
Then, each tobacco sheet 21 was moved widthwise (in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 5 ) relative to the flat plate 30 and the scriber portion 41 of the jig 40 to evaluate passability through the gap between the flat plate 30 and the measurement surface of the scriber portion 41 of the jig 40, which is an evaluation equivalent to the insertability into a heating device. The evaluation was performed according to the following criteria. The results are shown in Table 2 below. It can be said that the better the passability of each tobacco sheet 21 through the gap, the better the insertability into a heating device.

(Evaluation criteria)
A: Each tobacco sheet can move smoothly in the gap.
B: Each tobacco sheet can be moved through the gap, but not as smoothly as sheets rated A.
C: When attempting to move each tobacco sheet through the gap, it gets caught and wrinkles occur.

Then, for each tobacco sheet, the ratio ((2)/(1)) of (1) the thickness (μm) of the tobacco sheet to (2) the minimum gap size (μm) that results in an A rating was calculated. The results are shown in Table 2.

The results in Table 2 show that when each tobacco sheet can be moved smoothly through the gap and is evaluated as an A, the ratio of the minimum gap value to the thickness of the tobacco sheet is within a specific range. Specifically, as in samples 1 to 4, when the ratio of the minimum gap value to the thickness of the tobacco sheet is 1.35 or more, each tobacco sheet can be moved smoothly through the gap. These evaluation results show that the ease of inserting the tobacco sheet into the heating device can be improved by setting the size of the gap in the recess in the heating device to 1.35 or more times the thickness of the tobacco sheet.

Furthermore, the tobacco sheets of samples 1 to 3 in Table 2 have similar thicknesses, but the contents of the aerosol former glycerin are 30, 80, and 12% by weight, respectively, which are significantly different. However, the results in Table 2 above show that these different glycerin contents have almost no effect on the insertability of the tobacco sheet into the heating device, and that this is dependent only on the size of the gap. Therefore, it has been confirmed that the content of the aerosol former, such as glycerin, can be freely designed within the numerical range of, for example, 10 to 80% by mass without adversely affecting the insertability of the tobacco sheet into the heating device.

As described above, the tobacco-containing segment of the present invention is a novel tobacco-containing segment that does not use a conventional cylindrical tobacco rod, and is useful as a tobacco-containing segment.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 heating device 11 body 12 heater 13 metal tube 14 battery unit 15 control unit 16 recess 17 ventilation hole
20 Non-combustion heating smoking article 20A Smoking segment 20B Connecting part 20C Filter part
21 Smoking composition sheet or material derived therefrom 23 Paper tube 24 Ventilation hole portion 25 First segment 25a First filling layer 25b Inner plug wrapper 26 Second segment 26a Second filling layer 26b Inner plug wrapper 27 Outer plug wrapper 28 Wrapper
30 Flat plate 40 Jig 41 Scriber part

Claims (16)

A tobacco-containing segment consisting of a single sheet and having a thickness greater than 70 μm and less than 1000 μm. The tobacco-containing segment of claim 1, wherein the tobacco-containing segment has a rectangular cross-section. The tobacco-containing segment according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sheet contains fibers derived from plant material. The tobacco-containing segment of claim 3, wherein the plant material comprises tobacco material. The tobacco-containing segment according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the sheet is a cast sheet or a rolled sheet. The tobacco-containing segment according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the sheet comprises an aerosol former. The tobacco-containing segment of claim 6, wherein the aerosol former comprises a polyol. The tobacco-containing segment according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the content of the aerosol former in the sheet is 10 to 80% by weight. The tobacco-containing segment according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the tobacco-containing segment does not include a wrapper. A smoking article comprising a tobacco-containing segment according to any one of claims 1 to 9. The smoking article according to claim 10, which is a non-combustion heat smoking article. A heating device having a body with a recess into which a tobacco-containing segment of a non-combustion heated smoking article is inserted, the size of the gap in the recess being 0.2 to 2.0 mm. The heating device according to claim 12, wherein the cross-sectional shape of the recess is rectangular. The heating device according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the non-combustion heat smoking article is the non-combustion heat smoking article according to claim 11. A non-combustion heat smoking system comprising the non-combustion heat smoking article according to claim 11 and the heating device according to any one of claims 12 to 14. The non-combustion heated smoking system according to claim 15, wherein the ratio of the size of the gap of the recess of the heating device to the thickness of the tobacco-containing segment of the non-combustion heated smoking article is 1.35 or more.