Patent Publication Number: US-2020297029-A1

Title: Smoking jig

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to and the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-050700 filed in the Japanese Patent Office on Mar. 19, 2019, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a smoking jig which heats tobacco leaves with a heater to enable a smoker to inhale nicotine evaporated from the tobacco leaves, the smoking jig being mounted with an atomizer for an electronic cigarette, such that when the smoker inhales smoke from a filter of a filter-attached cigarette for a heated tobacco product inserted into the jig, or from a drop tip attached to a tobacco leaf insertion tube into which the tobacco leaves are inputted, the smoker may inhale nicotine and tobacco flavor generated by heating the tobacco leaves and inhale vapor (smoke) generated by the atomizer. In this case, the atomizer for an electronic cigarette uses a liquid containing glycerin, propylene glycol, or the like as main substances, and generates vapor (smoke) by heating the liquid with a heater disposed in the atomizer Hereinafter, in the present application, the vapor (smoke) is referred to as electronic cigarette smoke. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     A heated tobacco product is a product such as IQOS launched by Philip Morris in Japan in 2014, glo launched on trial by BAT in 2016 in Sendai, or Ploom S released by JT in 2019. Each of the heated tobacco products has an exclusive smoking jig into which an exclusive filter-attached cigarette is inserted, and nicotine, tobacco flavor, and smoke are generated by heating tobacco leaves with a heater disposed in the jig. When tobacco leaves of a normal filter-attached cigarette, which allows a user to smoke by burning the tobacco leaves, are heated by a heater, nicotine and tobacco flavor are somewhat released, but smoke is hardly generated. As the tobacco leaves of the exclusive filter-attached cigarette, tobacco leaves, which have been subjected to a special chemical treatment in order to generate smoke by being heated by the heater, are used. A filter-attached cigarette for IQOS is heated at about 300° C., is called a ‘Heat Stick’, and is about 7.2 φ in diameter and about 45 mm in length. A filter-attached cigarette for glo is heated at about 300° C., is called a ‘Neo-Stick’, and is about 5.2 φ in diameter and about 83 mm in length. A filter-attached cigarette for Ploom S is heated at about 200° C., is called a ‘Tobacco Stick’, and is about 7.0 φ in diameter and about 55 mm in length. As described above, the filter-attached cigarettes for heated tobacco products manufactured by respective companies cannot be used by a single heating jig because the filter-attached cigarettes are different from one another in terms of the heating temperature or the diameter and the length of the filter-attached cigarette. However, all the filter parts of the filter-attached cigarettes have many gaps in order to transfer nicotine, tobacco flavor, or smoke, which is generated by heating the tobacco leaves, to a smoker&#39;s mouth without absorbing the nicotine, the tobacco flavor, or the smoke. In addition, a typical filter-attached cigarette, which is about 8.0 φ diameter and used by burning, is widely used. 
     [Documents of Related Art] 
     PATENT DOCUMENTS 
     Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-246902 
     Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-171743 
     Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-079479 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to the further improvement of the smoking jig disclosed in Patent Document 1. The present inventor manufactured a smoking jig on trial, requested a smoker to use the smoking jig, and investigated a problem. As a result, it could be found that when using the smoking jig, a heating tube part is withdrawn when using tobacco leaves for a typical filter-attached cigarette or using the ‘Heat Stick’ and replacing a tobacco retaining part. It could be found that the smoking jig needs to be reassembled each time the cigarette to be used is changed. Further, it could be found that the smoking jig is very difficult to use. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an external view of a lower/outer tube used for a smoking jig according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is an axial cross-sectional view illustrating a heating tube part of the smoking jig according to the present invention in a state in which there is no tobacco retaining part (a power source unit and a control unit are omitted). 
         FIG. 3  is an axial cross-sectional view of the heating tube part of the smoking jig according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is an axial cross-sectional view of a tobacco retaining part of the smoking jig according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is an axial cross-sectional view of the smoking jig according to the present invention in a state in which there is no tobacco retaining part (the power source unit and the control unit are omitted). 
         FIG. 6  is an axial cross-sectional view of the smoking jig according to the present invention (the power source unit and the control unit are omitted). 
         FIG. 7  is an axial cross-sectional view of a smokeless smoking jig in which ‘Heat Stick’ disclosed in FIG. 3 of Patent Document 2 is inserted. 
         FIG. 8  is an axial cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which ‘Heat Stick’ is inserted into another type of heating tube part of the smoking jig according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  is an external appearance view of a bushing used for a tip portion of the tobacco insertion tube according to the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 7  is an axial cross-sectional view of a smokeless smoking jig  100  disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3. The smokeless smoking jig  100  includes: a heating tube part  91  including a base  33 , a P-plate B  11 , a P-plate C  12 , an inner tube  5 , a P-plate D  13 , and a heater part  92  (including a pin C  58 , a pin D  59 , a P-plate A  10 , and a heater  131 ); a tobacco retaining part  93  including a tip component A  109 , a P-plate F  17 , a spring  20 , a vis  74 , and a tip component B  110 ; a power source unit including a lithium ion rechargeable battery  7 , a rechargeable battery holder  9 , a P-plate D  16 , a power source SW  28 , a circuit configured to charge the rechargeable battery by being supplied with DC 5V from the outside, and a connector configured to supply power to a control unit; a control circuit part including a main P-plate  31 , a buzzer  201 , a slide SW  121 , a slide SW  222 , a button SW  6 , a pin A  18 , and a pin B  19 ; a terminal component  102  having a stopper  8 ; a lower/outer tube  105 ; and an upper/outer tube  107  having an air intake hole  1 . In addition, the P-plate C  12  and the P-plate B  11  may be attached or manufactured as a single P-plate. Further, between the P plate D  13  and the P plate B  11 , two to four pins may be used to prevent the positional relationship between the P plate D  13  and the P plate B  11  from being changed. 
       FIG. 3  is an axial cross-sectional view of the heating tube part  91  used in the present invention. The heating tube part  91  is almost the same as those disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3, but the heating tube part  91  used in the present invention will be described with reference to  FIG. 3 . The heater part  92 , which constitutes the heating tube part  91 , includes the heater  131 , the P-plate A  10 , the P-plate B  11 , the P-plate C  12 , the P-plate D  13 , the P-plate E  14 , the pin D  59 , and the pin C  58 . The P-plate A  10  includes a wire C  60 , a wire D  61 , and a hole  62 . Two legs of the heater  131  are soldered on the P-plate B  11 , wired to the P-plate A  10  by using the wire C  60  and the wire D  61 , and wired to the pin C  58  and the pin D  59 . It is apparent that by this wiring, the power supply to the heater  131  may be performed by connecting the heater  131  to the power source on the right side of the pin C  58  and the pin D  59 . However, the heater  131  used in the present invention is made by printing a resistance material on a surface of a ceramic rod, and thus the heater  131  has a different structure than those disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3 but has the same function as those disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3. However, in the present application, the diameters of the P-plate B  11 , the P-plate C  12 , and the P-plate D  13  are slightly smaller than an inner diameter of the inner tube  5 , such that the electronic cigarette smoke introduced from the hole  62  passes through a space formed by the P-plate A  10  and the P-plate B  11  and then passes through gaps between the inner diameter of the inner tube  5  and the outer diameters of the P-plate B  11 , the P-plate C  12 , and the P-plate D  13  or holes formed in the three P-plates. The heating tube part  91  is made by inserting a thin AL tube  5  into the heater part  92 , a circular groove is recessed in the P-plate A  10 , and the left of the AL tube  5  is fitted into the groove. Further, an O-ring may be inserted into the fitted portion or the fitted portion may be fixed by a heat-resistant bonding agent in order to prevent air from leaking from the fitted portion. 
     The smokeless smoking jig  100  disclosed in Patent Document 2 or 3 uses ‘Heat Stick’  68 , the filter-attached cigarette for IQOS, and uses a slide SW  121  and a slide SW  222  to set a heating temperature or time for heating inserted tobacco leaves to a temperature or time preferred by a smoker even though IQOS cannot implement this setting. 
     When using the smoking jig disclosed in Patent Document 1, the smoking jig cannot be used unless the tobacco retaining part and the heater part are mounted. However, even in a case in which the tobacco retaining parts are changed, the heater part is also withdrawn. In case of actual use, the withdrawal of the heater part causes inconvenience, and a monitor, who has actually used the smoking jig, has requested a structure capable of changing only the tobacco retaining parts. 
     Therefore, the present inventor installs a vertical part  611  on a right tip portion of the lower/outer tube  105 , as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , and attaches a P-plate  602  to the vertical part  611 , as illustrated in  FIG. 2 , in which the P-plate  602  has a button SW  6  and two connectors  202  and has a hole at a center thereof so that the inserted tobacco passes through the hole. The button SW  6  and the connector  202  are wired to the control circuit (not illustrated). Further, a portion, which is indicated as a bushing  230  in Patent Document 1, is changed to silicone  230  having a hole in the present application. The reason why the bushing  230  is changed to the silicone  230  is that it is slightly difficult to accurately insert a tip portion of the bushing  230  into the hole  62  of the P-plate A  10  when mounting a bushing-attached atomizer  94 . The P-plate A may be in contact with a flat surface and easily inserted regardless of the hole  62  as long as the silicone having the hole is used. 
       FIG. 4  is an axial cross-sectional view of the tobacco retaining part  93  according to the present invention. The tobacco retaining part  93  includes a smoke intake port  606 , a tobacco insertion tube  605  having a hole  607  through which the heater passes, a tip component A  109  having a tobacco insertion port  608 , a P-plate F  17 , a spring  20 , a vis hole  74 , and a tip component B  110 . Further, the tip component B  110  has a protrusion portion  610 . A silicone O-ring  400  is fitted with the protrusion portion  610  in order to improve sealability with the tobacco insertion tube  605  or the inner tube  5 . When inserting the filter-attached cigarette from the tobacco insertion port  608  into the inside while pressing the P-plate F  17  downward and then stopping the pressing of the P-plate F  17 , the P-plate F  17  is pushed upward by force of the spring  20 , and the inserted filter-attached cigarette is not withdrawn. In this case, an inner diameter of the protrusion portion  610  is almost the same as an outer diameter of the filter-attached cigarette to be almost inserted, such that there is almost no introduction of air from this portion. It is obvious that if the tobaccos to be inserted have different diameters or lengths, the inner diameter of the protrusion portion  610  and the length of the tobacco insertion tube  605  may be changed to cope with the different diameters or lengths. Further, the protrusion portion  610  may be configured as an AL tube. The reason is that a thickness of the protrusion portion  610  may be reduced, and parts other than the protrusion portion may be used as common components. That is, even though the filter-attached cigarette to be inserted have different diameters, it is possible to cope with the different diameters by configuring the protrusion portion as the AL tube and changing the thickness of the AL tube. The tobacco insertion tube  605  is formed by cutting or molding so that the tobacco insertion tube  605  has a shape illustrated in the cross-sectional view. AL or PTFE is used as a material of the tobacco insertion tube  605 . In addition, the smoke intake port  606 , which is also formed in the tobacco insertion tube  605 , is to efficiently transfer the smoke, generated by the atomizer  94 , to a smoker&#39;s mouth. It could be seen that the smoke is received in the tobacco insertion tube  605  from the hole  607  and transferred to a smoker&#39;s mouth even when there is no smoke intake port  606 , but the smoke passes through the inside of the tobacco leaves disposed in the tobacco insertion tube, such that a significantly large number of smoke particles are absorbed in the tobacco leaves, and about ⅓ of the consequently generated smoke does not reach a smoker&#39;s mouth. Therefore, it could be seen that most of the generated smoke is transferred to a smoker&#39;s mouth by installing the smoke intake port  606  as a bypass (the hole  606 →paper for surrounding a cigarette→the filter part→a smoker&#39;s mouth) through which the smoke passes. 
     In order to manufacture the tobacco insertion tube  605  at low costs, the present inventor made the tobacco insertion tube  605  by cutting the AL tube into a required dimension and fitting a bushing  710 , which is made of PTFE and illustrated in  FIG. 9 , into the tip portion. This method may eliminate a need for expensive forming molds and a need for the use of expensive cutting processing and made the highly low-priced tobacco insertion tube  605 . In addition, in order to cut the AL tube, the AL tube having a length, which is two times a required dimension, is manufactured first, and a center of the AL tube is cut by a tube cutter having a rotary blade. In this case, it could be seen that by slightly reducing cutting properties of the rotary blade, the cutting point is slightly deformed inward, and a cut surface having a tightened cross section is made after the cutting process, such that the inserted bushing is hardly withdrawn. In addition, a partial notch portion  711  of the bushing  710  performs the same function as the smoke intake port  606  illustrated in  FIG. 4 . A notch portion may also be provided in the protrusion portion  712  of the bushing  710 . This notch portion may serve to prevent the tip portion of the inserted tobacco from blocking the hole  607  and preventing the smoke from passing through the hole  607 . In addition, it is obvious that the bushing  710  may have the same function as that of a washer even though the bushing  710  is a washer having no protrusion portion. Further, in the case in which the bushing or washer made by cutting the AL tube into a required dimension is used, it is possible to cope with the filter-attached cigarettes having different lengths by maintaining a constant length of the AL tube and changing an insertion position of the bushing or washer. 
       FIG. 5  is an axial cross-sectional view of the smoking jig according to the present invention in a state in which there is no tobacco retaining part (the power source unit and the control unit are omitted). The heating tube part  91  illustrated in  FIG. 3  is mounted in the structure illustrated in  FIG. 2 . The smoking jig operates in this state. That is, the pin C  58  and the pin D  59  of the heating tube part  91  are inserted into the connector  202  on the P-plate  602  and connected to the control circuit part. 
       FIG. 6  is an axial cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the tobacco retaining part  93  illustrated in  FIG. 4  is inserted, from the right side, into the smoking jig illustrated in  FIG. 5 . The tobacco retaining part is fixed by inserting a vis (not illustrated) into the vis hole  74 . By making the three types of tobacco retaining parts  93  for the ‘Heat Stick’, ‘Tobacco Stick’, and tobacco leaves, the smoking jig may be used only by changing the tobacco retaining parts  93  in accordance with the type of tobacco to be used. 
       FIG. 8  illustrates another type of heating tube part  702  according to the present invention. The heater  131  is disposed outside the heating tube part  702  and heats the entire heating tube part  702 . An insertion portion  701 , a heating tube part  702 , an atomizer connecting part  703 , and a stopper  704  are made by cutting or molding heat-resistant resin such as PTFE. Alternatively, the atomizer may be provided on the atomizer connecting part. The feature of this shape is that the stopper  704  is provided. The stopper  704  serves to prevent the inserted ‘Heat Stick’  68  from being inserted any further, and to guide the smoke, which passes the atomizer connecting part  703 , to a side of the ‘Heat Stick’  68  via the space  705 . If there is no stopper  704 , a tip portion of the inserted ‘Heat Stick’  68  blocks a hole of the atomizer connecting part  703 , and the smoke from the atomizer is not sufficiently transferred to a smoker&#39;s mouth. 
     The smoking jig according to the present invention has built-in software made to perform customization in accordance with customers. First, the built-in software is made such that when a smoker turns on the power source by pushing the button SW, preset values of the slide SW 1  and the slide SW 2  are read. The slide SW has three contact points in one circuit, and as a result, when ‘slide SW 1 =1’ and ‘slide SW 2 =1, 2, 3’ are set, the smoke generation time of the atomizer may be customized as 3 seconds, 3.5 seconds, and 4 seconds. When ‘slide SW 1 =2’ and ‘slide SW 2 =1, 2, 3’ are set, this may be customized as ‘the built-in buzzer sounds’, ‘the buzzer does not sound’, and ‘used for only the electronic cigarette’. When ‘slide SW 1 =3’ and ‘slide SW 2 =1, 2, 3’ are set, the smoking time may be customized as 4.5 minutes, 5.5 minutes, and 6.5 minutes. 
     The heating temperature for heating tobacco leaves is adjusted by DC output voltage of the lithium ion rechargeable battery immediately after turning on the power source, such that the temperature of the heater is rapidly increased, thereby shortening the waiting time until a smoker begins to smoke. Furthermore, about 1 minute before the end of smoking, the voltage is applied so that the heating temperature for heating the heater is slightly increased, thereby releasing nicotine remaining in the tobacco leaves. 
     The resistance value of the heater of the atomizer and the resistance value of the heater  131  are very low values of about 1.0 to about 2.0Ω, and as a result, when the power is applied to the heater of the atomizer and the heater  131  at the same time, the output voltage greatly decreases due to the internal impedance of the lithium ion rechargeable battery. For this reason, the heater of the atomizer and the heater  131  cannot be turned on at the same time. Therefore, because the power cannot be supplied, for several seconds while the smoke is generated, to the heater for heating the tobacco leaves, there occurs a problem that the heating temperature for heating the tobacco leaves decreases while the smoke is generated. In order to solve this problem, the present inventor applies output voltage of the lithium ion rechargeable battery directly to the heater at a time proportional to the smoke generation time in order to rapidly restore the temperature of the heater, such that the heater temperature for heating the tobacco leaves may be constantly maintained even while the smoke is generated. In addition, the power supply to a typical heater is not performed by directly supplying the voltage of the lithium ion rechargeable battery, but the voltage of the lithium ion rechargeable battery is changed to a square wave output and then supplied. 
     INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY 
     There has been developed the smoking jig in which the atomizer for an electronic cigarette and the tube for heating the tobacco leaves are inserted into the smoking jig, both the atomizer and the tube are structured in an air-tight manner, and the time taken to apply power to the atomizer and the heater and the time taken to apply power to the heater for heating the tobacco leaves are individually controlled, such that it is possible to set a preferred amount of smoke and a preferred nicotine or tobacco flavor and to allow a user to enjoy various smoking methods. Furthermore, it is possible for a user to smoke by putting tobacco leaves into the tobacco leaf insertion tube, and it is possible to greatly reduce a smoking cost. Furthermore, even if types of filter-attached cigarettes to be inserted are different, it is possible for a user to smoke only by changing the tobacco retaining parts  93 .