WO2025150139A1 - Rod used in flavor-producing article, machine for manufacturing said rod, and method for manufacturing said rod - Google Patents

Abstract

A machine (2) for manufacturing a rod (1) used in a flavor-producing article (90) comprises a sheet-supplying section (10), a sheet-segmenting section (60), a sheet-processing section (20), a gathering section (30), a second sheet-supplying section (70), a wrapping section (40), and a cutting section (50). The sheet-segmenting section (60) cuts a sheet (4) transported on a first transport path (14) into two or more pieces in the width direction (Y) of the sheet (4) and segments the sheet (4) into a first sheet (4a) and a second sheet (4b). The wrapping section (40) forms a continuous rod (80) by wrapping a convergence rod (80) formed from the first sheet (4a) with the second sheet (4b), which is supplied from a second transport path (72) of the second sheet-supplying section (70), while reducing the diameter of the convergence rod (80). The continuous rod (80) is cut into rods (1) at the cutting section (50).

Description

Rods for flavored products, machine for manufacturing said rods, and method for manufacturing said rods

The present invention relates to rods for use in flavored products, a machine for manufacturing such rods, and a method for manufacturing such rods.

Patent document 1 discloses an apparatus for feeding a continuous web of crimped sheet material to a rod forming apparatus. The apparatus includes a winding unit for unwinding the sheet material from a support, such as a bobbin, on which the sheet material is provided, and a crimping unit for crimping the sheet material. The apparatus also includes a cutting unit for cutting the continuous web of sheet material to a predetermined width, and a control unit for controlling various units of the apparatus in response to sensor signals received from the respective units.

In Patent Document 1, the sheet material can be cut to different widths, making it easy to manufacture filters of various diameters, such as filters for regular-sized filter cigarettes and filters for slim cigarettes. In addition, by making the sheet material different widths, the density of the filter rod, and therefore the suction resistance (airflow resistance), can be controlled.

Patent No. 6401359

The sheet in Patent Document 1 is cut to a specified width by a cutting unit, and then subjected to a crimping process, in other words a shrinking process, after which it is wrapped in a separately supplied wrapping paper and further cut into filter rods. Here, when the sheet is cut to different widths and subjected to a shrinking process in order to adjust rod characteristics such as air resistance, the diameter of the rod is often changed at the same time. There may also be cases where the production of rods of different diameters is switched to.

In these cases, the width of the wrapping paper must be changed, and the wrapping paper supplied to the rod manufacturing machine must be replaced with a lot (roll) of a different width, which is time-consuming and reduces rod productivity. In addition, in preparation for changing the rod diameter, multiple lots of wrapping paper of different widths must be managed as inventory, which is uneconomical. In this way, in Patent Document 1, since the rod characteristics and rod diameter cannot be easily changed, there is a demand for improving rod productivity while making these specifications easily changeable.

The present invention was made in consideration of these problems, and aims to provide rods for use in flavored product products, a manufacturing machine for such rods, and a manufacturing method for such rods, which can improve rod productivity while allowing the properties and diameter of the rods to be easily changed.

In order to achieve the above object, one embodiment of a rod manufacturing machine for use in flavored products includes a sheet supply section that continuously pays out a sheet from a roll on which the sheet is wound and supplies it to a first conveying path, a sheet dividing section that cuts and divides the sheet conveyed to the first conveying path into two or more pieces in a width direction intersecting with the longitudinal direction, a sheet processing section that performs a crimping process on a first sheet of the sheets divided in the sheet dividing section, a gathering section that gathers the first sheet that has been crimped in the sheet processing section in the width direction to form a convergent rod, a second sheet supply section that supplies a second sheet of the sheets divided in the sheet dividing section to a second conveying path, a wrapping section that reduces the diameter of the convergent rod formed in the gathering section and wraps it with a second sheet supplied from the second conveying path to form a continuous rod, and a cutting section that cuts the continuous rod formed in the wrapping section into rods.

In one embodiment, the method for manufacturing rods used in flavored products includes a sheet supplying step of continuously unwinding a sheet from a roll on which the sheet is wound and supplying it to a first transport path, a sheet dividing step of cutting and dividing the sheet transported to the first transport path into two or more pieces in a width direction intersecting with the longitudinal direction of the sheet, a sheet processing step of performing a crimping process on a first sheet of the sheets divided in the sheet dividing section, a gathering step of gathering the first sheet crimped in the sheet processing step in the width direction to form a converging rod, a second sheet supplying step of supplying a second sheet of the sheets divided in the sheet dividing step to a second transport path, a wrapping step of reducing the diameter of the converging rod formed in the gathering step and wrapping it with a second sheet supplied from the second transport path to form a continuous rod, and a cutting step of cutting the continuous rod formed in the wrapping step into rods.

The rod used in one embodiment of the flavored product comprises a crimped sheet and a wrapping paper that wraps the sheet, the wrapping paper being made of the same material as the sheet.

The above embodiment makes it possible to easily change the properties and diameter of the rods used in flavored products while improving rod productivity.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a machine for making rods for use in flavored product applications. 1 is a flow chart illustrating a method for manufacturing rods for use in flavored product articles. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a seat dividing section. FIG. FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a flavored product. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an alternative flavored product.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a manufacturing machine 2 for rods 1 used in flavored products, and FIG. 2 shows a flow chart explaining a manufacturing method of the rods 1. The manufacturing machine 2 comprises, in order from the upstream side in the conveying direction of the sheet 4, a sheet supply section 10, a sheet processing section 20, a gathering section 30, a wrapping section 40, and a cutting section 50. Furthermore, the manufacturing machine 2 comprises a sheet dividing section 60 between the sheet supply section 10 and the sheet processing section 20, and a second sheet supply section 70 between the sheet dividing section 60 and the wrapping section 40.

The sheet supply section 10 comprises a roll 6, a number of guide rollers 8, and a feed roller 12. The roll 6 is formed by winding a sheet 4, such as a paper web. One of the guide rollers 8 is a dancing roller that is allowed to move up and down, and applies tension to the sheet 4 during transport. The feed roller 12 comprises a pair of rollers, at least one of which is a drive roller driven by a motor, which pulls and pays out the sheet 4.

When the production of the rod 1 begins, the sheet supply section 10 configured in this manner continuously pays out the sheet 4 from the roll 6 via the guide rollers 8 and feed rollers 12 and supplies it to the first transport path 14 (S1: sheet supply step). Next, the sheet dividing section 60 cuts and divides the sheet 4 being transported to the first transport path 14 into two pieces in the width direction Y (see FIG. 3) that intersects with the longitudinal direction X (S2: sheet dividing step).

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the sheet dividing section 60. The first conveying path 14 has a guide roller 62 immediately downstream of the roll 6. The sheet dividing section 60 has a cutter 64 that cuts and divides the sheet 4 into two pieces in its width direction Y. The cutter 64 is a roller cutter equipped with a disk-shaped knife, and is disposed between the roll 6 and the guide roller 62. The guide roller 62 is rotatably supported on a rotating shaft 66, and the cutter 64 is attached to the outer periphery of the rotating shaft 66.

The sheet dividing section 60 also has a cutter adjustment unit 68. The cutter adjustment unit 68 adjusts the position of the cutter 64 in the width direction Y. Specifically, the cutter adjustment unit 68 adjusts the position of the cutter 64 in the direction of the arrow by sliding the rotation shaft 66 along the width direction Y, thereby adjusting the cutting position of the sheet 4 in the width direction Y (P1: cutting position adjustment process).

The cutter 24 cuts the sheet 4 along the longitudinal direction X at the cutting position adjusted by the cutter adjustment unit 68. This divides the sheet 4 into a first sheet 4a with a width W1 and a second sheet 4b with a width W2. In this embodiment, the sheet 4 has a thickness t of at least 100 μm, and the width W1 (e.g., 5 mm) of the first sheet 4a is greater than the width W2 (e.g., 3 mm) of the second sheet 4b.

The first sheet 4a is transported along the first transport path 14 towards the sheet processing section 20. Meanwhile, the second sheet 4b is supplied to a second transport path 72 formed in the second sheet supply section 70. The cutter 64 is provided with a cover 69 to prevent dust such as paper powder generated when cutting the sheet 4 from scattering around. An aspirator (not shown) may also be installed inside the cover 69 to suck up and collect the generated dust.

Next, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the sheet processing section 20 performs a crimping process on the first sheet 4a of the sheets 4 divided in the sheet dividing section 60 (S3: sheet processing step). The sheet processing section 20 includes a roller set 22, which performs a crimping process on the first sheet 4a by sandwiching the first sheet 4a between a first roller 22A and a second roller 22B and transporting it in the transport path 14 in the sheet processing step S2 (P2: crimping process). At least one of the first and second rollers 22A, 22B is a drive roller driven by a motor, which pulls and pays out the sheet 4.

FIG. 4 shows an oblique view of the roller set 22. The first roller 22A has a protruding ridge 24a formed around the circumferential direction of its outer periphery. The second roller 22B has a recessed ridge 24b formed around the circumferential direction of its outer periphery that meshes with the protruding ridge 24a. When the roller set 22 conveys the sheet 4 by sandwiching it, the first and second rollers 22A and 22B rotate in the directions of the arrows shown in FIG. 4, causing the protruding ridge 24a and the recessed ridge 24b to mesh with each other via the sheet 4, forming multiple meshing portions 26 in the roller set 22.

By forming each interlocking portion 26, a number of crimped portions 4A corresponding to the number of interlocking portions 26 are formed side by side in the width direction Y of the first sheet 4a. The crimping process is a creping process that creates uneven patterns on the first sheet 4a with spaces between them. The crimped portions 4A are uneven wrinkles formed on the first sheet 4a, and are defined as recesses of various shapes that are recessed into the flat surface of the first sheet 4a, or protrusions of various shapes that protrude from the flat surface of the first sheet 4a.

The roller set 22 is also configured to be able to adjust the inter-axis distance L between the rotation shaft 28a of the first roller 22A and the rotation shaft 28b of the second roller 22B. This allows the meshing depth of the meshing portion 26 to be adjusted, and thus the crimping depth dc of the crimped portion 4A to be adjusted. By adjusting the crimping depth dc, the porosity in the rod 1 can be controlled, and thus the characteristics of the rod 1, such as the airflow resistance R, can be easily changed.

Next, the first sheet 4a that has passed through the sheet processing section 20 is transported to the gathering section 30. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the gathering section 30 gathers the first sheet 4a that has been subjected to the crimping process in the sheet processing section 20 in its width direction Y, in other words, gathers and bundles it to reduce its diameter, thereby forming a convergent rod 80 (S4: gathering step).

More specifically, the gathering section 30 includes, in order from the upstream side in the conveying direction of the first conveying path 14, a liquid addition booth 32, a granule addition unit 34, a trumpet guide 36, and tongs 38. The liquid addition booth 32 sprays a liquid additive onto the first sheet 4a before gathering (P3: liquid addition process). The additive is a liquid that contains, for example, a plasticizer or a fragrance.

The granule addition unit 34 includes a hopper 34a and a spreading roller 34b. The hopper 34a stores granules, and the spreading roller 34b spreads the granules supplied from the hopper 34a onto the first sheet 4a before gathering (P4: granule addition process). The granules are granular additives, and include, for example, particles of activated carbon or fragrance.

The trumpet guide 36 is cylindrical, and its inner circumferential surface is gradually tapered from the upstream side of the first transport path 14, randomly gathering the first sheet 4a transported along the first transport path 14 while tapering it into a rod-like shape, and then discharging it toward the cylindrical tongs 38. As the gathered rod-like first sheet 4a passes through the tongs 38, the rod-like first sheet 4a is further tapered and formed into a converging rod 80.

Meanwhile, the second sheet supply section 70 supplies the second sheet 4b of the sheets 4 separated by the sheet separation section 60 to the second transport path 72 (S5: second sheet supply step). In more detail, as shown in FIG. 1, the second transport path 72 includes two feed rollers 74, a guide roller 76, and a reservoir 78, and is formed with a shorter path length than the first transport path 14. The upstream feed roller 74 is disposed immediately downstream of the guide roller 62, and pulls and delivers the second sheet 4b.

The guide roller 76 redirects the second sheet 4b, which is fed downward from the feed roller 74, horizontally and guides it along the second transport path 72. The downstream feed roller 74 is disposed immediately upstream of the reservoir 78, and pulls the second sheet 4b into the reservoir 78. In the reservoir 78, the second sheet 4b temporarily resides before being transported to the wrapping section 40 (S6: sheet retention step).

The sheet retention step S6 is performed between the second sheet supply step S5 and the wrapping step S7 described below. As described above, the first sheet 4a in the first transport path 14 passes through each guide roller 8 in the sheet supply section 10, is crimped in the sheet processing section 20, and is added and gathered in the gathering section 30, before being transported to the wrapping section 40.

On the other hand, the second sheet 4b on the second transport path 72 is transported as is after being divided in the sheet dividing section 60, temporarily retained in the reservoir 78, and then transported to the wrapping section 40. Therefore, the second sheet 4b transported on the second transport path 72 reaches the wrapping section 40 faster than the first sheet 4a, which is formed at the same time and transported on the first transport path 14.

Therefore, the second sheet 4b, which has already reached the wrapping section 40 at the start of the manufacturing process of the rod 1, must be discarded before the first sheet 4a reaches the wrapping section 40. However, by providing the reservoir 78, it is not necessary to discard the second sheet 4b in this way, so the sheet 4 can be used without waste and the manufacturing cost of the rod 1 can be reduced.

Next, the wrapping section 40 reduces the diameter of the converging rod 80 formed in the gathering section 30, while wrapping the converging rod 80 with the second sheet 4b transported from the second transport path 72, to form a continuous rod 84 (S7: wrapping step). In more detail, the second sheet 4b transported from the second transport path 72 to the gathering section 30 travels together with the converging rod 80 on the first transport path 14.

At this time, the second sheet 4b is curved in the width direction Y to wrap and cover the converging rod 80, and the circumferential overlapping portions are glued together in the longitudinal direction X to function as the wrapping paper 82. For convenience, the wrapping paper 82 is referred to as wrapping paper 82 on the assumption that the sheet 4 is formed from, for example, a paper web, but if the sheet 4 is formed from a material other than a paper web, the wrapping paper 82 is not limited to being made of paper. Next, the cutting section 50 cuts the continuous rod 84 formed in the wrapping section 40 into individual rods 1 (S8: cutting step). The rods 1 manufactured in this manner are used as various filling elements that constitute the flavor product.

Figure 5 shows a longitudinal cross section of the rod 1. As described above, the rod 1 is formed from a wrapping paper 82 consisting of a crimped first sheet 4a and a second sheet 4b that wraps the convergent rod 80 formed by gathering the first sheet 4a to reduce its diameter. The first sheet 4a, which is the filling element that constitutes the rod 1, and the second sheet 4b, which is the wrapping paper 82, are formed from the same material as the sheet 4. This same material is also material that is unwound from the same roll 6. Furthermore, at least a portion of the inner peripheral surface 82a of the wrapping paper 82 is adhered to the first sheet 4a with glue 86.

FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of a flavor product item 90 equipped with a rod 1. The flavor product item 90 (hereinafter also simply referred to as item 90) is a non-combustion heating type, and is composed of a flavor element 92, a cooling element 94, and a filter element 96. Each element 92, 94, 96 is arranged in line in the axial direction and butted against each other, and the item 90 is formed by wrapping it with tipping paper 98.

The flavor element 92 is heated by a heater in a device (flavor generator) not shown, which causes the flavor components of the flavor raw material 92a to volatilize. The flavor raw material 92a is, for example, shredded tobacco, a tobacco sheet, or a tobacco sheet folded in a gathered shape. The flavor raw material 92a may also be a sheet formed from tobacco-free pulp to which flavoring has been added, a shredded sheet formed from a non-tobacco plant, or one of these sheets folded in a corrugated shape.

The cooling element 94 is, for example, a cylindrical paper tube formed from a single or double paper web, and forms an airflow path in the article 90. A plurality of air vents 94a are formed on the circumferential surface of the cooling element 94 for taking air into the article 90 when the article 90 is inhaled. The flavor components volatilized from the flavor element 92 are cooled by the air taken in from each air vent 94a in the cooling element 94 and become an aerosol, and the user inhales the aerosol that has passed through the filter element 96.

In the case shown in FIG. 6, the rod 1 is used as a filter element 96 having an optimal airflow resistance as a filter body. The rod 1 can also be used as a flavor element 92 or a cooling element 94 by selecting the material of the sheet 4. The sheet 4 can be made of various materials such as paper, nonwoven fabric, tobacco sheet, and film depending on the application of the rod 1. The sheet 4 can be selected from various thicknesses t such as 100 μm, 200 μm, and 500 μm. However, when controlling the crimp depth dc as a parameter related to the crimping process P2, it is preferable that the sheet 4 has a thickness t of at least 100 μm or more in order to favorably reflect the effect of the control on the rod characteristics such as the airflow resistance R.

FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of an alternative flavor product item 90 with a rod 1. In this article 90, the rod 1 is used as a plug element 100 located at the tip adjacent to the flavor element 92. In this case, the sheet 4 may be a paper web or a nonwoven fabric. When the sheet 4 is a nonwoven fabric, it is preferable to use a dry nonwoven fabric in which plant pulp is bonded together with a water-soluble binder. The plant pulp may be wood pulp from a non-tobacco plant.

It is also preferable to add a liquid additive to the first sheet 4a. The additive is heated together with the flavor element 92 by the heater of the device, and the additive components volatilize. The additive is, for example, a flavor liquid, which may contain tobacco extract. Since the plug element 100 is positioned at the tip of the article 90, it also functions as a support element, so to speak, to prevent the flavor raw material 92a from spilling out of the flavor element 92. Although not shown, the rod 1 can also be used as a filter element or cooling element for a combustion-heated flavor product.

As described above, the rod 1 manufacturing machine 2 of the embodiment includes a sheet supply section 10, a sheet processing section 20, a gathering section 30, a wrapping section 40, a cutting section 50, a sheet dividing section 60, and a second sheet supply section 70. In the sheet dividing step S2, the sheet dividing section 60 cuts the sheet 4 conveyed to the first conveying path 14 into two in the width direction Y, dividing the sheet 4 into a first sheet 4a and a second sheet 4b.

In addition, in the wrapping section 40, in the wrapping step S7, the converging rod 80 formed from the first sheet 4a is wrapped with the second sheet 4b while reducing the diameter, to form a continuous rod 80. The continuous rod 80 is formed into individual rods 1 through the cutting section 50 in the cutting step S8. This allows the first sheet 4a, which is the filling element of the rod 1, and the second sheet 4b, which is the wrapping paper 82, to be formed from the same material as the sheet 4.

The sheets 4 are also materials unwound from the same roll 6. Therefore, when changing the diameter of the rod 1, it is only necessary to adjust the width W1 of the first sheet 4a and the width W2 of the second sheet 4b in advance, and there is no need to change the lot of the wrapping paper 82. Furthermore, there is no need to manage lots of wrapping paper 82 with different widths W2 as inventory in preparation for changing the diameter of the rod 1. This makes it possible to improve the productivity of the rod 1 while making it easy to change the characteristics and diameter of the rod 1.

In addition, conventionally, when changing the diameter of the rod 1, the sheet 4 was cut to adjust the width W1 of the first sheet 4a, which is the filling element, and the remaining portion of the sheet 4 corresponding to the second sheet 4b was discarded. However, in the case of this embodiment, the portion of the second sheet 4b can be effectively used as the wrapping paper 82, so the sheet 4 can be used without waste and the manufacturing cost of the rod 1 can be reduced.

Furthermore, the first conveying path 14 has a guide roller 62 immediately downstream of the roll 6, and the sheet dividing section 60 is disposed between the roll 6 and the guide roller 62. In this way, by disposing the sheet dividing section 60 as far upstream as possible of the first conveying path 14, the risk of poor cutting of the sheet 4 due to the sheet 4 meandering on the first conveying path 14 can be reduced. Therefore, the productivity of the rod 1 can be further improved.

More specifically, the sheet dividing section 60 has a cutter 64 that cuts and divides the sheet 4 into two in the width direction Y, and a cutter adjustment unit 68 that adjusts the position of the cutter 64 in the width direction Y. The cutter adjustment unit 68 adjusts the cutting position of the sheet 4 in the width direction Y in the cutting position adjustment process P1, thereby easily dividing the sheet 4 into a first sheet 4a of the desired width W1 and a second sheet 4b of the desired width W2.

The second transport path 72 also has a reservoir 78 that temporarily stores the second sheet 4b before it is transported to the wrapping section 40. As a result, the sheet storage step S6 is performed between the second sheet supply step S5 and the wrapping step S7, and the second sheet 4b that has already reached the wrapping section 40 at the start of the production of the rod 1 is not discarded.

As a result, the sheet 4 can be used without waste, and the manufacturing costs of the rod 1 can be further reduced. Particularly in the case of this embodiment, the second conveying path 72 has a shorter path length than the first conveying path 14, so there is a tendency for a larger amount of the second sheet 4b to be discarded. However, even in such a case, the installation of the reservoir 78 makes it possible to effectively reduce the manufacturing costs of the rod 1.

In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for filter elements 96 with reduced airflow resistance. To meet this demand, the width W1 of the first sheet 4a before crimping is reduced, or the crimp depth dc of the crimped portion 4A formed in the first sheet 4a is reduced, thereby lowering the packing rate of the filter element 96, in other words, increasing the porosity of the rod 1. However, if the porosity of the rod 1 increases, there will be fewer contact points between the second sheet 4b, which is the wrapping paper 82, and the first sheet 4a, which is the packing element, and thus the contact area between them will also decrease.

Due to this reduction in the contact area between the wrapping paper 82 and the filling element, the adhesive strength between them decreases, and there is a risk that the quality of the rod 1 cannot be ensured. Therefore, it is possible to increase the adhesive strength between the wrapping paper 82 and the filling element by applying a large amount of glue 86 to the wrapping paper 82. However, if there is too much glue 86, excess glue 86 may cause glue scum to precipitate on the surface of the wrapping paper 82, which may impair the quality of the rod 1.

On the other hand, from the perspective of reducing the environmental impact, plant-derived biodegradable plastics such as PLA (polylactic acid) have been attracting attention in recent years as materials for the sheets 4 used in the filling elements. However, because the wrapping paper 82, which is a paper web, and the filling elements made of biodegradable plastics are different materials, the adhesive strength of the glue 86 is weaker than when the same or similar materials are bonded together. However, in the rod 1 of this embodiment, the filling elements made of the same sheet 4 and the wrapping paper 82 are bonded together.

Because the same material is used for bonding, the adhesive strength between the filling element and the wrapping paper 82 is strong even if the contact area between them is small. Furthermore, even if the sheet 4 is made of PLA, the wrapping paper 82 is also made of PLA, so the adhesive strength between them is strong. This means that it is only necessary to adhere at least a portion of the inner surface 82a of the wrapping paper 82 to the first sheet 4a with glue 86. Therefore, the wrapping paper 82 can be securely fixed to the filling element while suppressing the deposition of glue scum with a small amount of glue 86, thereby improving the quality of the rod 1.

In addition, the thickness t of the sheet 4 is 100 μm or more. This allows the effect of controlling the crimp depth dc as a parameter related to the crimping process P2 to be appropriately reflected in the rod characteristics such as the airflow resistance R. Therefore, by making the thickness t of the sheet 4 100 μm or more, the rod characteristics can be easily and effectively changed, which is preferable.

This concludes the description of the embodiment, but the above embodiment is not limiting and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the sheet dividing step S2, the sheet dividing section 60 may divide the sheet 4 into three or more pieces in the width direction Y, not limited to two pieces, i.e., three or four pieces. In this case, the third and fourth sheets (not shown) that are generated when the sheet 4 is cut can be stored in the reservoir 78 and used as wrapping paper 82 when manufacturing rods 1 with different specifications.

The sheet dividing section 60 is disposed between the roll 6 and a guide roller 62 located immediately downstream of the roll 6. However, this is not limiting, and the sheet dividing section 60 may be disposed at least upstream of the feed roller 12. This allows the sheet 4 to be reliably cut and divided just before the sheet processing section 20.

In addition, for the reasons mentioned above, the thickness t of the sheet 4 is preferably 100 μm or more, but is not limited to this. It is also possible to use a roll 6 wound with a sheet 4 having a thickness t of less than 100 μm, for example, 25 μm to 50 μm, and a basis weight of 25 gsm to 50 gsm.

Furthermore, some or all of the above embodiments can be expressed by the description of each aspect shown below.
(Aspect 1)
a sheet supply section that continuously pays out the sheet from a roll on which the sheet is wound and supplies the sheet to a first transport path;
a sheet dividing section that divides the sheet conveyed to the first conveying path into two or more pieces in a width direction intersecting with a longitudinal direction of the sheet;
a sheet processing section that performs a crimping treatment on a first sheet of the sheets divided by the sheet dividing section;
a gathering section for gathering the first sheet that has been subjected to the crimping treatment in the sheet processing section in the width direction to form a convergent rod;
a second sheet supply section that supplies a second sheet of the sheets divided by the sheet dividing section to a second transport path;
a wrapping section for wrapping the convergent rod formed in the gathering section with the second sheet supplied from the second conveying path while reducing the diameter of the convergent rod to form a continuous rod;
a cutting section for cutting the continuous rod formed in the wrapping section into rods.

(Aspect 2)
the first transport path has a guide roller immediately downstream of the roll,
2. The machine for making rods for use in a flavored product according to claim 1, wherein the sheet dividing section is disposed between the roll and the guide roller.
(Aspect 3)
The sheet dividing section includes:
a cutter that cuts the sheet into two or more pieces in the width direction and divides the sheet;
A cutter adjustment unit for adjusting the position of the cutter in the width direction.

(Aspect 4)
4. The machine for making rods for use in flavored product articles according to claim 3, wherein the second transport path has a reservoir for temporarily storing the second sheet before being transported to the wrapping section.
(Aspect 5)
The rod manufacturing machine for use in a flavored product according to claim 4, wherein the second conveying path has a path length shorter than that of the first conveying path.

(Aspect 6)
a sheet supplying step of continuously unwinding the sheet from a roll on which the sheet is wound and supplying the sheet to a first transport path;
a sheet dividing step of cutting and dividing the sheet conveyed to the first conveying path into two or more pieces in a width direction intersecting with a longitudinal direction of the sheet;
a sheet processing step of performing a crimping process on a first sheet of the sheets divided in the sheet dividing section;
a gathering step of gathering the first sheet that has been subjected to the crimping treatment in the sheet processing step in the width direction to form a convergent rod;
a second sheet supplying step of supplying a second sheet of the sheets divided in the sheet dividing step to a second transport path;
a wrapping step of wrapping the convergent rod formed in the gathering step with the second sheet supplied from the second transport path while reducing the diameter of the convergent rod to form a continuous rod;
and cutting said continuous rod formed in said wrapping step into rods.

(Aspect 7)
The method for producing rods for use in the flavored product of aspect 6, wherein the sheet dividing step includes a cutting position adjustment process for adjusting a cutting position in the width direction of the sheet.
(Aspect 8)
A method for producing a rod for use in a flavored product as described in aspect 7, comprising a sheet retention step of temporarily retaining the second sheet in the second transport path between the second sheet supply step and the wrapping step.

(Aspect 9)
A crimped sheet;
and a wrapping paper for wrapping the sheet,
The wrapping paper is made of the same material as the sheet, and the rod is used for a flavored product.
(Aspect 10)
A rod for use in a flavored product according to claim 9, wherein the same material is material unwound from the same roll.

(Aspect 11)
A rod for use in a flavored product according to claim 10, wherein at least a portion of an inner peripheral surface of the wrapping paper is glued to the sheet.
(Aspect 12)
A rod for use in a flavored product according to any one of aspects 9 to 11, wherein the sheet has a thickness of 100 μm or more.

LIST OF SYMBOLS 1 Rod 2 Manufacturing machine 4 Sheet 4a First sheet 4b Second sheet 6 Roll 10 Sheet supply section 14 First conveying path 20 Sheet processing section 30 Gathering section 40 Wrapping section 50 Cutting section 60 Sheet dividing section 62 Guide roller 64 Cutter 68 Cutter adjustment unit 70 Second sheet supply section 72 Second conveying path 78 Reservoir 80 Converging rod 82 Wrapping paper 82a Inner surface of wrapping paper 84 Continuous rod 86 Glue 90 Flavor product t Sheet thickness X Longitudinal direction Y Width direction S1 Sheet supply step S2 Sheet dividing step S3 Sheet processing step S4 Gathering step S5 Second sheet supply step S6 Sheet retention step S7 Wrapping step S8 Cutting step P1 Cutting position adjustment process P2 Crimping process

Claims (12)

a sheet supply section that continuously pays out the sheet from a roll on which the sheet is wound and supplies the sheet to a first transport path;
a sheet dividing section that divides the sheet conveyed to the first conveying path into two or more pieces in a width direction intersecting with a longitudinal direction of the sheet;
a sheet processing section that performs a crimping treatment on a first sheet of the sheets divided by the sheet dividing section;
a gathering section for gathering the first sheet that has been subjected to the crimping treatment in the sheet processing section in the width direction to form a convergent rod;
a second sheet supply section that supplies a second sheet of the sheets divided by the sheet dividing section to a second transport path;
a wrapping section for wrapping the convergent rod formed in the gathering section with the second sheet supplied from the second conveying path while reducing the diameter of the convergent rod to form a continuous rod;
a cutting section for cutting the continuous rod formed in the wrapping section into rods. the first transport path has a guide roller immediately downstream of the roll,
The machine for making rods for use in flavored product articles according to claim 1 , wherein the sheet dividing section is disposed between the roll and the guide roller. The sheet dividing section includes:
a cutter that cuts the sheet into two or more pieces in the width direction and divides the sheet;
3. The machine for producing rods for use in the flavored product according to claim 2, further comprising a cutter adjustment unit for adjusting the position of the cutter in the width direction. The rod manufacturing machine for use in flavored product products described in claim 3, wherein the second conveying path has a reservoir for temporarily storing the second sheet before being conveyed to the wrapping section. The rod manufacturing machine for use in flavored product described in claim 4, wherein the second conveying path has a path length shorter than that of the first conveying path. a sheet supplying step of continuously unwinding the sheet from a roll on which the sheet is wound and supplying the sheet to a first transport path;
a sheet dividing step of cutting and dividing the sheet conveyed to the first conveying path into two or more pieces in a width direction intersecting with a longitudinal direction of the sheet;
a sheet processing step of performing a crimping process on a first sheet of the sheets divided in the sheet dividing section;
a gathering step of gathering the first sheet that has been subjected to the crimping treatment in the sheet processing step in the width direction to form a convergent rod;
a second sheet supplying step of supplying a second sheet of the sheets divided in the sheet dividing step to a second transport path;
a wrapping step of wrapping the convergent rod formed in the gathering step with the second sheet supplied from the second transport path while reducing the diameter of the convergent rod to form a continuous rod;
and cutting said continuous rod formed in said wrapping step into rods. The method for manufacturing rods for use in flavored product products according to claim 6, wherein the sheet dividing step includes a cutting position adjustment process for adjusting the cutting position in the width direction of the sheet. The method for manufacturing rods for use in flavored product products according to claim 7, further comprising a sheet retention step for temporarily retaining the second sheet in the second conveying path between the second sheet supply step and the wrapping step. A crimped sheet;
and a wrapping paper for wrapping the sheet,
The wrapping paper is made of the same material as the sheet, and the rod is used for a flavored product. The rod for use in the flavored product described in claim 9, wherein the same material is material unwound from the same roll. The rod for use in the flavored product described in claim 10, wherein at least a portion of the inner surface of the wrapping paper is glued to the sheet. A rod for use in a flavoured product as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the sheet has a thickness of 100 μm or more.