Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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D E S C R I P T I O N
FLAVOR BEAD AND CIGARETTE FILTER
Technical Field
The present invention relates to a flavor bead and
a cigarette filter containing the same.
Background Art
Flavorants added to cut tobacco include a primary
flavorant as a casing sauce, and a secondary flavorant
as a top flavor. The components of the secondary
flavorant are relatively highly volatile, and are
susceptible to pyrolysis. Therefore, the secondary
flavorant contained in a cigarette evaporates during
storage, which results in a decrease of the flavor
during smoking. In addition, in a cigarette having a
charcoal filter, the secondary flavorant migrates to
and is adsorbed on the charcoal filter, which results
in a further decrease of the flavor. The charcoal
filter having the second flavorant adsorbed has
decreased capability to remove the components of
tobacco mainstream smoke.
Japanese Patent No. 2709077 discloses
microcapsulating a secondary flavorant with a natural
polysaccharide, and adding the microcapsules to a
tobacco filter by a so-called cavity filling process.
Since the flavorant is encapsulated in the
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microcapsules composed of the natural polysaccharide,
it will not cause the migration or evaporation of the
flavorant during storage, and thus will not deteriorate
the capability of the charcoal filter to remove the
components of tobacco mainstream smoke.
However, in the microcapsules, the flavor can be
tasted only by crushing or grating them by fingers
(application of external force) when smoking. The
application of external force is bothersome. In
addition, the flavor released by the application of
external force will not uniformly spread over the
filter, which results in erratic taste during smoking.
Disclosure of Invention
Accordingly, the present invention is intended to
provide a flavor bead and a cigarette filter which can
suppress the evaporation and migration of a flavorant
during non-smoking stages, and allow for stable tasting
of the flavor during smoking stages without requiring
the application of external force.
According to one aspect of the present invention,
there is provided a flavor bead comprising a
particulate carrier, a glucan film supported by the
particulate carrier, and a flavorant, wherein the
flavorant is supported by the flavor bead such that
release of flavor from the flavorant is suppressed by
the glucan film, but the flavor is released by the
glucan film being at least partially dissolved when the
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glucan film contacts with tobacco mainstream smoke.
In accordance with another aspect, the present invention concerns a
cigarette filter which contains a flavor bead, the flavor bead comprising a
particulate
carrier, a glucan film supported by the particulate carrier, and a flavorant,
wherein
the flavorant is supported by the flavor bead such that release of flavor from
the
flavorant is suppressed by the glucan film, but the flavor is released by the
glucan
film being at least partially dissolved when the glucan film contacts with
tobacco
mainstream smoke, and wherein the particulate carrier is selected from the
group
consisting of calcium carbonate particle and coffee bean particle.
According to another aspect of the present
invention, there is provided a cigarette filter
including the flavor beads of the present invention.
Brief Description of Drawings
FIG. 1 is an enlarged schematic cross sectional
view of a flavor bead according to one embodiment of
the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic cross sectional
view of a flavor bead according to another embodiment
of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of a
cigarette provided with a filter according to one
embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal schematic cross sectional
view of a cigarette provided with a filter according to
another embodiment of the present invention.
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Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention
Various embodiments of the present invention will
be described below with reference to the drawings.
Similar elements are designated by the same reference
numerals throughout the drawings.
flavor bead according to the present invention
includes a particulate carrier, a giucan i=ilm supported
by the particulate carrier, and a flavorant. The
flavorant is supported by the flavor bead such that
release of flavor from the flavorant is suppressed by
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the glucan film, but the flavor is released by the
glucan film being at least partially dissolved when the
glucan film contacts with tobacco mainstream smoke.
According to a first embodiment of the present
invention, the glucan film contains the flavorant, and
directly covers the surface of the particulate carrier.
The flavor bead according to the first embodiment
includes the particulate carrier, and the glucan film
covering the surface of the particulate carrier and
holding the flavorant.
According to a second embodiment of the present
invention, the flavorant is a solid flavorant which
directly covers the surface of the particulate carrier,
and the glucan film covers the solid flavorant film.
The flavor beads according to the second embodiment
each include the particulate carrier, the menthol film
covering the surface of the carrier, and the glucan
film covering the surface of the menthol film.
The particulate carrier used in the present
invention may be composed of particles of calcium
carbonate, activated carbon, sugar crystals (for
example, granulated sugar), or coffee beans. As the
particulate carrier, particles having an average
particle size of 75 m to 2000 m, e.g., 75 m to
350 m may be suitably used.
The glucan film is composed of, for example,
pullulan, maltodextrin or hydroxypropyl cellulose, and
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is water-soluble.
The flavorant may be one for food or tobacco use.
Examples of such flavorant include lavender, cinnamon,
cardamom, celery, clove, cascarilla, nutmeg,
5 sandalwood, bergamot, geranium, honey essence, rose
oil, vanilla, lemon, orange, mint, cinnamon, caraway,
cognac, jasmine, chamomile, menthol, cassia, ylang
ylang, sage, spearmint, fennel, pimento, ginger, anise,
coriander, and coffee essential oils.
FIG. 1 is an enlarged schematic cross sectional
view of a flavor bead 10 according to the first
embodiment of the present invention. The flavor bead
10 includes a particulate carrier (core) 12, whose
surface is covered by a glucan film 14. The glucan
film 14 contains the flavorant.
The glucan film 14 containing the flavorant may be
formed from an aqueous solution or dispersion of the
flavorant and glucan. In the aqueous solution or
dispersion, the flavorant is preferably used in an
amount corresponding to 20% or less (but more than 0o)
of the weight of the glucan. The glucan film 14 is not
particularly limited in its thickness. However, in
view of releaseability of the flavor during smoking,
the glucan film is preferably formed with glucan in an
amount corresponding to 0.250 to 5% of the weight of
the finished flavor bead.
The flavor bead according to the first embodiment
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may be produced, for example, by the following method.
Namely, the particulate carriers composed of calcium
carbonate or the like are charged into a fluidized-bed
granulation drier, and an aqueous glucan solution or
dispersion containing the flavorant is continuously or
intermittently sprayed onto the surface of the
particulate carriers while blowing, e.g., warm air at
80 C or lower into the granulation drier, followed by
drying. In this case, the carriers are immediately
cooled depending on the type of the flavorant or the
composition of the glucan solution. In this manner, a
glucan film holding the flavorant is formed on the
surface of the particulate carrier.
In the flavor bead according to the first
embodiment, since the flavorant is contained within the
glucan film, which has a low gas permeability, the
evaporation and degradation of the flavorant during
storage can be suppressed. Only after contact with
tobacco mainstream smoke during smoking, the glucan
film is partially dissolved mainly by highly polar
components (for example, water) in the tobacco
mainstream smoke, and releases the flavorant component
which disperses into the mainstream smoke, thus
allowing stable tasting of the flavor of the flavorant.
The flavor bead of the present invention does not
require the application of external force to taste the
flavor as done in the case of microcapsules.
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FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic cross sectional
view of a flavor bead 20 according to the second
embodiment of the present invention. In the flavor
bead 20, the entire surface of a particulate carrier
(core) 22 is covered by a film 24 of a solid flavorant
such as menthol, and the entire surface of the solid
flavorant film 24 is covered by a glucan film 26.
As described later, the solid flavorant film 24
may be formed by finely pulverizing crystals of the
solid flavorant such as menthol, mixing the resultant
solid flavorant fine particles with the particulate
carrier 12, thereby adhering the solid flavorant fine
particles to the particulate carrier 22, melting the
solid flavorant fine particles on the particulate
carrier 22 by heating, and then recrystallizing the
solid flavorant by cooling. In order to prevent the
solid flavorant such as menthol from growing into
columnar crystals during cooling, it is preferred that
a crystal growth inhibitor such as a fatty acid,
glycerol or propylene glycol be added to The solid
flavorant. The crystal growth inhibitor may be used in
an amount corresponding to 0.1 to 1.0% of the weight of
the solid flavorant such as menthol. The solid
flavorant film 14 may contain a flavorant other than
the solid flavorant.
The solid flavorant film 24 is not particularly
limited in its thickness. However, the solid flavorant
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film 24 is preferably formed with the solid flavorant
in an amount corresponding to 1 to 20% of the weight of
the finished flavor bead.
The glucan film 26 may be formed from an aqueous
solution or dispersion of glucan. The glucan film 26
is not particularly limited in its thickness. However,
in view of holdability of the flavor of the solid
flavorant at non-smoking stages and of releaseability
of menthol during smoking, the glucan film 26 is
preferably formed with glucan in an amount
corresponding to 0.25% to 5% of the weight of the
finished flavor bead.
The flavor bead according to the second embodiment
may be produced by, for example, the following method.
Namely, the particulate carriers and fine particles of
the solid flavorant crystals, and as necessary, the
crystal growth inhibitor and other flavorant are mixed
and heated in a ribbon mixer. During the early stages
of the mixing, the fine particles of the solid
flavorant crystals adhere to the surfaces of the
particulate carriers, and the fine particles of the
solid flavorant crystals begin melting when the heating
temperature reaches the melting point of the solid
flavorant (for example, about 42 C for menthol).
Stirring and mixing are further continued thereby
uniformly applying the molten solid flavorant to the
surfaces of the particulate carriers. After the mixing
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under heating, the particulate carriers are immediately
cooled by, for example, cooling the can body of the
ribbon mixer, or blowing cold air into the ribbon
mixer. The molten solid flavorant is recrystallized by
the cooling treatment to cover the surfaces of the
particulate carriers as a film. The particulate
carriers covered with the solid flavorant films are
charged into a fluidized-bed granulation drier, and an
aqueous solution or dispersion of glucan is
intermittently sprayed onto the particulate carriers
while blowing, for example, warm air at 40 C or lower
into the granulation drier, followed by cooling. In
this manner, a glucan film is formed on the surface of
the solid flavorant film formed on the surface of the
particulate carrier.
Alternatively, the flavor bead according to the
second embodiment may also be produced by forming a
solid flavorant film on the surfaces of the particulate
carriers as described above, and spraying an aqueous
solution or dispersion of glucan onto the particulate
carriers having the solid flavorant films in a ribbon
mixer or a rolling granulator, thereby covering the
solid flavorant film with the glucan film, followed by
cooling.
In the flavor bead according to the second
embodiment, since the solid flavorant film formed on
the surface of the particulate carrier is covered by
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the glucan film, which has a low gas permeability,
menthol is prevented from evaporating or adhering to
charcoal during storage under ordinary conditions.
When the glucan film contacts with the hydrophilic
5 components such as water contained in mainstream smoke
emitted during smoking of the cigarette, the glucan
film is partially deformed and dissolved, whereby the
flavor is released from the underlying solid flavorant
film and can be tasted. The flavor bead of the present
10 invention does not require the application of external
force to taste the flavor as done in the case of
microcapsules.
A cigarette filter according to the present
invention contains the flavor beads of the present
invention.
A cigarette provided the filter of the present
invention will be described below with reference to
FIGS. 3 and 4. In FIGS. 3 and 4, similar elements are
designated by the same reference numerals.
FIG. 3 is a schematic cross sectional view of a
cigarette (filter-tipped cigarette) 30 provided with a
cigarette filter according to one embodiment of the
present invention. The filter-tipped cigarette 30
includes a cigarette portion 32 composed of a tobacco
filler 321 such as cut tobacco wrapped with a cigarette
paper 322. The cigarette portion 32 is similar to that
included in an ordinary cigarette.
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A filter portion 34 is attached to one end of the
cigarette portion 32. The filter portion 34 is
composed of a charcoal filter section 34__ provided
directly adjacent to one end of the cigarette portion
32, and another filter section 342 containing the
flavor beads provided at the downstream end of the
charcoal filter section, viewed in the flow direction
of mainstream smoke.
The charcoal filter section 341 is formed by
wrapping, e.g., cellulose acetate fibers 341a, in which
charcoal particles 341b are dispersed, with a filter
wrapping paper 341c. The charcoal filter section 341
is similar to that included in an ordinary charcoal
filter.
The filter section 342 containing the flavor beads
is formed by wrapping, e.g., cellulose acetate fibers
342a, in which flavor beads FB of the present invention
are dispersed, with a filter wrapping paper 342b.
The filter portion 34 composed of the filter
sections 321 and 322 is attached to the cigarette
portion 32 with a tipping paper 36.
FIG. 4 is a schematic cross sectional view of a
cigarette (filter-tipped cigarette) 40 provided with a
cigarette filter according to another embodiment of the
present invention. In the filter-tipped cigarette 40,
a filter portion 42 attached to the cigarette portion
32 with the tipping paper 36 is composed of a charcoal
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filter section 341 which is directly attached to one
end of the cigarette portion 32, and a plain filter
section 422 which is provided spaced apart from the
charcoal filter section 341. The filter portion 42 is
entirely wrapped with a filter wrapping paper 46. The
plain filter section 422 is composed of, for example,
tow of cellulose acetate fibers 422a. The flavor beads
(FB) of the present invention are filled in a cavity 44
between the charcoal filter section 341 and the plain
filter section 422.
The present invention will be further described
below with reference to specific Examples, but the
present invention should not be limited to these
Examples.
Example 1
2% by weight of a coffee oil was added to a
previously prepared aqueous dispersion of pullulan
containing 100 by weight of pullulan. The mixture was
vigorously stirred in an emulsifier (emulsifier
rotation speed of 2500 rpm), thus preparing a flavorant
dispersion. On the other hand, 100 g of calcium
carbonate particles having an average particle size of
250 m were charged into a fluidized-bed granulation
drier, and immediately the flavorant dispersion was
intermittently sprayed onto the particles (repeated
cycles each consisting of spraying for 1 minute and
cessation for 30 minutes), while blowing warm air at
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75 C into the drier at a flow rate of 0.6 m/second,
thereby spraying 10 g in total of the flavorant
dispersion onto the surfaces of calcium carbonate
particles, followed by drying. Thereafter, the inside
of the fluidized bed was immediately cooled to room
temperature, thus obtaining desired flavor beads.
Example 2
100 g of calcium carbonate particles having an
average particle size of 250 m were charged into a
fluidized-bed granulation drier, and an aqueous
flavorant mixture solution containing 190- by weight of a
tobacco flavorant and 9% by weight of pullulan, added
with vanillin, was continually sprayed onto the
particles, while blowing warm air at 30 C into the
drier at a flow rate of 1.0 m/second, thereby spraying
5 g of the aqueous mixture solution onto the surfaces
of the calcium carbonate particles, followed by drying.
Thereafter, the temperature of the warm air was
immediately decreased to room temperature, and the
particles were cooled at a flow rate of 0.4 m/second,
thus obtaining desired flavor beads.
Example 3
1% by weight of coffee oil and 0.5% by weight of
lecithin were added to a previously prepared aqueous
dispersion of pullulan containing 10% by weight of
pullulan. The mixture was vigorously stirred in an
emulsifier (emulsifier rotation speed of 7500 rpm,
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15 minutes), thus preparing a flavorant dispersion. On
the other hand, 300 g of ground coffee bean particles
having a particle size of 250 yLm to 1.4 mm were charged
into a rotating fluidized-bed granulation drier (SFC-
MINI, manufactured by Freund Corporation), and the
perforated disc at the bottom and the mixer blades to
prevent lumping were rotated at about 500 rpm and about
400 rpm, respectively, while blowing warm air at 75 C
into the direr at a flow rate of 0.6 m/second, thereby
forming a fluidized bed of the ground coffee particles.
The flavorant dispersion kept at 40 C was continuously
sprayed onto the fluidized bed, thereby spraying 90 g
in total of the flavorant dispersion on the surface of
the ground coffee particles, followed by drying.
Thereafter, the temperature of the warm air was
immediately decreased to room temperature, and the
particles were cooled at a flow rate of 0.4 m/second,
thus obtaining desired flavor beads.
Example 4
Filter-tipped cigarettes as shown in FIG. 3 were
made using the flavor beads obtained in Examples 1 to
3, respectively. In each case, the amount of the
flavor beads added to the filter section 342 was 100 mg
at maximum for 10 mm of the filter length.. These
cigarettes did not emit the flavor of the flavorant
during storage. However, the flavor could be stably
tasted when these cigarettes were smoked.
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Example 5
90 g of calcium carbonate particles having an
average particle size of about 200 vim, 10 g of menthol
fine powder, which had been obtained by pulverizing
5 menthol crystals, and 0.5 g of glycerol were charged
into a ribbon mixer. The contents were heated to 40 C
while stirring, and further mixed for 5 minutes. The
menthol was completely molten, and allowed to adhere to
and coat the calcium carbonate particles.
10 Subsequently, cold air at 15 C was blown into the
ribbon mixer to cool the particles. Thus, the calcium
carbonate particles whose surfaces were each coated
with menthol crystal film were obtained. The calcium
carbonate particles having the menthol films were
15 charged into a fluidized-bed granulator, and
immediately a 5% by weight aqueous solution of pullulan
was intermittently sprayed on the particles while
blowing warm air at 40 C into the granulator at a flow
rate of 1.0 m/second, thereby spraying 15 g in total of
the pullulan aqueous solution onto the calcium
carbonate particles. Thereafter, the particles were
cooled to 25 C, thus obtaining desired menthol-flavor
beads.
Example 6
The filter-tipped cigarettes as shown in FIG. 3
were made using the menthol-flavor beads obtained in
Example 5. The amount of the menthol-flavor beads
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added to the filter section 342 was 3 mg in terms of
menthol per cigarette. The cigarettes did not emit the
flavor of menthol under ordinary storage conditions.
However, the menthol flavor could be stably tasted when
these cigarettes were smoked.
