Flavor stick, heat-not-burn-type flavor inhalation product, and method for producing flavor stick

Abstract

This flavor stick is provided with a flavor rod that is inserted into a heating chamber in a flavor inhalation device and is heated by an internal heater in the flavor inhalation device and a mouthpiece part that is connected to the rear end side of the flavor rod, in which the flavor rod is provided with a plurality of thin rods and a piece of outside wrapping paper that wounds the plurality of thin rods in a bundled state, each of the plurality of thin rods is provided with a piece of inside wrapping paper and a flavor source and an aerosol generation base material both arranged inside the piece of inside wrapping paper.

1 . A flavor stick comprising:
 a flavor rod configured to be inserted into a heating chamber of a flavor inhalation device and heated by an internal heater of the flavor inhalation device; and   a mouthpiece connected to a rear end of the flavor rod,   wherein the flavor rod includes a plurality of thin rods and outer wrapping paper with which the plurality of thin rods are bundled and wrapped,   wherein each of the plurality of thin rods includes inner wrapping paper and a flavor source, the flavor source being disposed inside the inner wrapping paper and containing an aerosol-source material,   wherein the flavor rod has a heater insertion hole in a central region of the flavor rod in cross-section, the heater insertion hole extending in an axial direction and allowing the internal heater to be inserted into the heater insertion hole from a front end of the flavor rod, and   wherein the heater insertion hole is defined by outer surfaces of the inner wrapping paper of the plurality of thin rods.   
     
     
         2 . The flavor stick according to  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of thin rods are arranged around the heater insertion hole in cross-section of the flavor rod. 
     
     
         3 . The flavor stick according to  claim 1 , wherein the inner wrapping paper of each of the plurality of thin rods is bonded to the outer wrapping paper. 
     
     
         4 . The flavor stick according to  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of thin rods has an elliptical cross-sectional shape with a minor axis extending in a radial direction of the flavor rod. 
     
     
         5 . The flavor stick according to  claim 1 , wherein the mouthpiece includes a leakage-suppressing portion in a front end section thereof, the leakage-suppressing portion being connected to a rear end of the flavor rod and including an aerosol flow path and a blocking portion, the aerosol flow path extending in the axial direction and allowing an aerosol generated in the plurality of thin rods to flow therethrough, the blocking portion blocking a rear end of a gap formed between adjacent ones of the thin rods. 
     
     
         6 . The flavor stick according to  claim 5 , wherein the blocking portion extends along the thin rods and the gap and serves as a stopper in regions in which the blocking portion faces the thin rods, the stopper restraining the thin rods from being displaced when the internal heater is inserted. 
     
     
         7 . A non-combustion-type flavor inhalation product comprising:
 the flavor stick according to  claim 1 ; and   a flavor inhalation device used for inhalation from the flavor stick, the flavor inhalation device including a heating chamber that allows insertion of the flavor rod of the flavor stick and an internal heater inserted into the heater insertion hole when the flavor rod is inserted into the heating chamber.   
     
     
         8 . A method for manufacturing a flavor stick including a flavor rod having a heater insertion hole in a central region of the flavor rod in cross-section and a mouthpiece connected to a rear end of the flavor rod, the heater insertion hole allowing an internal heater of a flavor inhalation device to be inserted into the heater insertion hole, the method comprising:
 a step of forming the flavor rod by bundling a plurality of thin rods, in each of which a flavor source containing an aerosol-source material is wrapped with inner wrapping paper, and wrapping the plurality of thin rods together with outer wrapping paper, the flavor rod having the heater insertion hole defined by outer surfaces of the inner wrapping paper of the thin rods, the heater insertion hole extending along an axial direction in the central region of the flavor rod in cross-section; and   a connecting step in which the flavor rod and the mouthpiece are arranged in series and wrapped together with tipping paper.   
     
     
         9 . The method for manufacturing the flavor stick according to  claim 8 ,
 wherein the step of forming the flavor rod includes
 a long-thin-rod forming step in which a plurality of long thin rods are formed in parallel with each other along a transport direction of a wrapping machine by wrapping the flavor source containing the aerosol-source material with long-sheet-shaped thin-rod wrapping paper continuously in a longitudinal direction, 
 a long-flavor-rod forming step in which the plurality of long thin rods are joined and wrapped together with long outer wrapping paper to form a long flavor rod, and 
 a cutting step in which the long flavor rod is cut to a predetermined length to form the flavor rod. 
   
     
     
         10 . The method for manufacturing the flavor stick according to  claim 8 ,
 wherein the step of forming the flavor rod includes
 a long-flavor-rod forming step in which a long flavor rod is formed by supplying double-length first components, each of which is twice as long as a first component that constitutes a portion of the mouthpiece, to long-sheet-shaped long outer wrapping paper at regular intervals while the long outer wrapping paper is transported along a transport path of a wrapping machine, supplying a plurality of double-length thin rods, which are twice as long as the thin rods, to rod-receiving spaces formed between the double-length first components to form bundles of the double-length thin rods, and then wrapping together the double-length first components and the bundles of the double-length thin rods arranged in series with the long outer wrapping paper, and 
 a cutting step in which the long flavor rod is cut at centers of the double-length first components in a length direction and centers of the double-length thin rods in the length direction to form intermediate assemblies in each of which the flavor rod is connected to the first component, and 
   wherein, in the connecting step, one of the intermediate assemblies and one or more second components that constitute another portion of the mouthpiece are wrapped together with the tipping paper while the one or more second components are arranged in series with the first component of the one of the intermediate assemblies.