(19)
`
`J
`
`
`
`(12)
`
`Europaisches Patentamt
`European Patent Office
`Office europeen des brevets
`
`(11)
`
`E P 0 8 4 5 2 2 0 A 1
`
`EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION
`published in accordance with Art. 158(3) EPC
`
`(43) Date of publication:
`03.06.1998 Bulletin 1998/23
`
`(21) Application number: 97925295.4
`' ^
`v
`(22) Date of filing: 09.06.1997
`
`(84) Designated Contracting States:
`DE FR GB
`
`(30) Priority: 17.06.1996 JP 155636/96
`
`(71) Applicant: Japan Tobacco Inc.
`Minato-Ku Tokyo 1 05 (JP)
`
`(72) Inventors:
`• SUSA, Masayuki-Japan Tobacco Inc.
`Tokyo 130 (JP)
`• TAKEUCHI, Manabu-Japan Tobacco Inc.
`Tokyo 1 30 (JP)
`
`(54)
`
`FLAVOR PRODUCING ARTICLE
`
`A flavor generation article (10) has a casing
`(57)
`(12) constituted by first and second portions (12a, 12b)
`that are detachably connected to each other. A gas flow
`path (26) is formed in the casing first portion (12a) to
`extend from an air intake port (24) to reach a suction
`port (22). The first portion (12a) incorporates a material
`container (32) of a liquid material (36) containing a fla-
`vor substance. A discharge port (35) of the material
`10
`
`(51) int. CI.6: A24F 47/00
`// A61 M15/06
`
`/0~x
`u
`(86) International application number:
`PCT/JP97/01953
`
`(87) International publication number:
`WO 97/48293 (24.12.1997 Gazette 1997/55)
`
`• KOBAYASHI, T.-Japan Tobacco Inc. Engin. R+D
`Center
`Kanagawa-ken 254 (JP)
`. SASAKI, Hiroshi-Japan Tobacco Inc. Eng.
`R+DCenterD
`Kanagawa-ken254 n (JP)
`. BANDAI, Takeshi- Japan Tobacco Inc. Eng.
`R+DCenterD
`Kanagawa-ken254 n (JP)
`
`(74) Representative:
`Ruffles, Graham Keith
`MARKS & CLERK,
`57-60 Lincoln's Inn Fields
`London WC2A 3LS (GB)
`
`container (32) is arranged in the gas flow path (26), and
`a ceramic heater (42) is disposed to oppose it. The liq-
`uid material (36) is supplied from the discharge port (35)
`onto the ceramic heater (42) and is heated, so that it is
`gasified in the gas flow path (26). The casing second
`portion (12b) incorporates a control circuit (72) and a
`power supply (62).
`
`62
`
`72 14
`
`13
`
`5.5
`74 14 20 24 2B 27 35/54 52
`
`58 73
`
`64-H
`
`3-22
`
`o
`CM
`CM
`LO
`CO
`o
`Q_
`LU
`
`15
`
`32 36 31 26 21 38 44 34 46 42
`12a
`
`12 b
`
`FIG.
`
`\
`
`Printed by Xerox (UK) Business Services
`2.16.3/3.4
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`VMR-Ex. 1010-001
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`EP 0 845 220 A1
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`Description
`
`Technical Field
`
`The present invention relates to a flavor generation
`article employed for enjoying inhalation of a flavor and
`simulated smoking and, more particularly, to a flavor
`generation article used for generating the flavor as an
`inhalation target by heating a liquid material with an
`electric heater.
`
`5
`
`10
`
`Since the pressurized aerosol is closed in the container
`with a valve which is opened/closed merely by the puff-
`ing operation of the user, once the valve is opened, a
`large amount of aerosol leaks undesirably. More specif-
`ically, in the article of this reference, a predetermined
`amount of aerosol appropriate for one puffing operation
`cannot be continuously emitted, and rather all of the
`pressurized flavor gas may undesirably be emitted until
`a puffing operation is complete twice or three times.
`
`Disclosure of Invention
`
`Background Art
`
`A simulated smoking article employed for enjoying
`the flavor and smoke of tobacco without burning
`tobacco is already known, and various types of simu-
`lated smoking articles have been proposed.
`Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 3-232481
`discloses a typical concept of a conventional simulated
`smoking article. The article of this reference uses, e.g.,
`a rod-like solid material. When the solid material is
`heated by a heating element, an inhalation target, e.g.,
`a flavor, is generated. The drawbacks of the article of
`this type are as follows. When the solid material is con-
`the material
`is
`largely wasted.
`tinuously heated,
`Inversely, when the solid material is heated in accord-
`ance with inhalation of the user, a large time lag occurs
`between the start of inhalation (one puffing operation) of
`the user and generation of the flavor.
`As an example of an article that copes with the
`above drawbacks, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication
`No. 3-277265 discloses a flavor emitting article having a
`solid material divided into a large number of portions. In
`the article of this reference, the respective portions of
`the solid material are sequentially heated in units of
`puffing operations of the user to generate an inhalation
`target, e.g., a flavor or the like. The drawback of this arti-
`cle is that the solid material and a heating element con-
`stitute an integral flavor generation medium. Therefore,
`when the material is consumed, the heating element
`must be exchanged or disposed of together with the
`material, which is not preferable both in terms of econ-
`omy and environment.
`Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 5-212100
`discloses an example of a mechanism that detects one
`puffing operation of the user. In the article of this refer-
`ence, the driving operation of a heating element for
`heating the flavor material is controlled by a signal
`obtained from the motion of the lips of the user.
`U.S.P. No. 4,945,931 discloses a simulated smok-
`ing article using a pressurized aerosol container. In the
`article of this reference, the puffing operation of the user
`swings the vanes to mechanically open the outlet port of
`the container, and the aerosol is emitted. As a modifica-
`tion, this reference also discloses an article in which a
`heating element for heating aerosol cooled by the heat
`of evaporation is disposed in the outlet port of the con-
`tainer. The drawback of this reference is as follows.
`
`The present invention has been made in view of the
`above problems, and has as its object to provide a flavor
`15 generation article in which waste of a flavor material
`does not occur easily and the timing of one puffing oper-
`ation of the user and that of generation of a flavor can be
`matched easily.
`According to the first aspect of the present inven-
`tion, there is provided a flavor generation article charac-
`terized by comprising:
`
`20
`
`a casing having an air intake port for taking in air
`therein and a suction port through which a user
`inhales a flavor, and forming a gas flow path
`between the intake port and the suction port;
`a material container for storing a liquid material
`which contains at least a flavor substance and hav-
`ing a discharge port for the material, the material
`container being mounted on the casing;
`discharge driving means for discharging the mate-
`rial from the container through the discharge port in
`the form of a liquid drop;
`gasifying means disposed in the gas flow path to
`receive the liquid drop of the material discharged
`from the container and gasify the material by elec-
`trically heating the liquid drop; and
`a power supply for supplying electric energy to the
`gasifying means.
`
`25
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`35
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`40
`
`According to the second aspect of the present
`invention, there is provided a flavor generation article in
`the first aspect, characterized by further comprising a
`sensor for detecting an inhaling operation of the user
`45 and control means for controlling, based on a signal
`from the sensor, the discharge driving means so as to
`discharge the material from the container.
`According to the third aspect of the present inven-
`tion, there is provided a flavor generation article in the
`second aspect, characterized in that the sensor com-
`prises a pressure-sensitive sensor mounted on the cas-
`ing around the suction port.
`According to the fourth aspect of the present inven-
`tion, there is provided a flavor generation article in the
`second or third aspect, characterized in that the control
`means controls the gasifying means based on the sig-
`nal from the sensor so that the gasifying means gener-
`ates heat.
`
`so
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`According to the fifth aspect of the present inven-
`tion, there is provided a flavor generation article in the
`fourth aspect, characterized in that the control means
`controls the gasifying means and the discharge driving
`means so as to preheat the gasifying means prior to dis-
`charge of the material.
`According to the sixth aspect of the present inven-
`tion, there is provided a flavor generation article in the
`first aspect, characterized in that the power supply is
`disposed in the casing.
`According to the seventh aspect of the present
`invention, there is provided a flavor generation article in
`the sixth aspect, characterized in that the casing is con-
`stituted by first and second portions that are electrically
`connected to each other through a cable, the gas flow
`path, the container, the discharge driving means, and
`the gasifying means being disposed in the first portion,
`and the power supply being disposed in the second por-
`tion.
`According to the eighth aspect of the present inven-
`tion, there is provided a flavor generation article in the
`seventh aspect, characterized in that the first and sec-
`ond portions of the casing are detachably connected to
`each other through a connecting portion.
`According to the ninth aspect of the present inven-
`tion, there is provided a flavor generation article in the
`first aspect, characterized by further comprising an
`operation lever for manually operating the discharge
`driving means.
`According to the 10th aspect of the present inven-
`tion, there is provided a flavor generation article in any
`one of first to ninth aspects, characterized in that the
`gasifying means comprises a porous layer, and the liq-
`uid drop of the material is supplied onto the porous
`layer.
`According to the 11th aspect of the present inven-
`tion, there is provided a flavor generation article in any
`one of the first to 10th aspects, characterized in that the
`gasifying means is arranged to oppose the discharge
`port, and a throttle hole for directing air flowing from the
`air intake port toward a gap between the discharge port
`and the gasifying means is disposed in the gas flow
`path.
`According to the 12th aspect of the present inven-
`tion, there is provided a flavor generation article in any
`one of first to 11th aspects, characterized in that the
`casing is formed with an outer air inlet hole to supply an
`outer air into the gas flow path between the gasifying
`means and the suction port.
`According to the 13th aspect of the present inven-
`tion, there is provided a flavor generation article in any
`one of first to 12th aspects, characterized by further
`comprising a formed body of a solid material containing
`at least a flavor substance and disposed in the gas flow
`path so as to be located between the gasifying means
`and the suction port.
`According to the 14th aspect of the present inven-
`tion, there is provided a flavor generation article in the
`
`1 3th aspect, characterized by further comprising heat-
`ing means for heating the formed body.
`According to the present invention, a flavor genera-
`tion article can be provided in which waste of a flavor
`5 material does not occur easily and the timing of one
`puffing operation of the user and that of generation of a
`flavor can be matched easily. In particular, when the dis-
`charge driving means is controlled based on a signal
`from a sensor that detects the inhaling operation of the
`10 user, not only waste of the material is eliminated, but
`also a stable flavor can constantly be provided. When
`the casing is divided into a portion incorporating a
`power supply and a portion to be held by the mouth
`such that the two portions are detachable from each
`15 other, the flavor generation article can be used more
`conveniently.
`
`Brief Description of Drawings
`
`FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a flavor gener-
`ation article according to an embodiment of the
`present invention;
`FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the discharge head of
`the flavor generation article shown in FIG. 1 ;
`FIG. 3 is an enlarged schematic view showing the
`discharge head and discharge drive portion taken
`along the line III - III of FIG. 2;
`FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the control system of
`the flavor generation article shown in FIG. 1 ;
`FIG. 5 is a view showing the state of use of the fla-
`vor generation article shown in FIG. 1 ;
`FIG. 6 is a graph showing an example of operation
`timing of energization of the ceramic heater and
`that of actuation of the discharge drive portion, of
`the flavor generation article shown in FIG. 1 ;
`FIG. 7 is a graph showing another example of oper-
`ation timing of energization of the ceramic heater
`and that of actuation of the discharge drive portion,
`of the flavor generation article shown in FIG. 1 ;
`FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing a flavor gener-
`ation article according to another embodiment of
`the present invention;
`FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing a flavor gener-
`ation article according to still another embodiment
`of the present invention,.
`FIG. 1 0 is a schematic view showing a flavor gener-
`ation article according to still another embodiment
`of the present invention;
`FIG. 1 1 is a schematic view showing a flavor gener-
`ation article according to still another embodiment
`of the present invention;
`FIG. 1 2 is a schematic view showing a flavor gener-
`ation article according to still another embodiment
`of the present invention;
`FIG. 1 3 is a schematic view showing a flavor gener-
`ation article according to still another embodiment
`of the present invention;
`FIG. 1 4 is a schematic view showing a flavor gener-
`
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`EP 0 845 220 A1
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`ation article according to still another embodiment
`of the present invention;
`FIG. 1 5 is a schematic view showing a flavor gener-
`ation article according to still another embodiment
`of the present invention; and
`FIG. 1 6 is a schematic view showing a flavor gener-
`ation article according to still another embodiment
`of the present invention.
`
`Best Mode of Carrying Out the Invention
`
`s
`
`10
`10
`
`The material container 32 can be mounted on the outer
`side of the casing main body 14. In this case, the head
`portion of the material container 32 may be inserted in
`the casing main body 14, or only discharge ports 35 (to
`be described later) may be inserted in the casing main
`body 14.
`The liquid material 36 contains at least a flavor sub-
`stance. For example, if the liquid material 36 is an article
`used for enjoying only the flavor, e.g., menthol or caf-
`feine, it can be a material that generates only the flavor.
`Also, in order to add smoke to the flavor, the liquid mate-
`rial 36 can contain a material which generates aerosol
`when heated. As the material that generates aerosol,
`alcohols, saccharide, or water, or a mixture of at least
`two of these components can be used. The alcohols
`used in this case are, e.g., glycerin or propylene glycol,
`or their mixture.
`More specifically, the liquid material 36 can contain
`an extracted material and/or the constituent compo-
`nents of various types of natural materials in accord-
`ance with the application purpose. For example, if this
`article is used as a simulated smoking article, a tobacco
`component, e.g., a tobacco extracted component or a
`tobacco smoke condensate component, may be con-
`tained in the liquid material 36.
`The material container 32 is formed with a dis-
`charge head 34 having the plurality of discharge ports
`35 for discharging the liquid material 36 in a transverse
`direction of the casing 12. The discharge head 34 is
`arranged to be located closer to the suction port 22 than
`the throttle hole 20. A discharge drive portion 38 is dis-
`posed adjacent to the discharge ports 35 to discharge
`the liquid material 36 from the material container 32
`through the discharge ports 35. The discharge head 34
`and the discharge drive portion 38 comprise a liquid dis-
`charge mechanism (having the same principle as that of
`the method shown in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKOKU Publica-
`tion No. 53-45698 and U.S.P. No. 3,596,275) utilizing a
`piezoelectric element.
`For example, as shown in FIG. 2, 10 discharge
`ports 35 are arranged for two rows, leading to a total of
`20 discharge ports 35 in a region with a width W of
`about 2 mm and a length L of about 5 mm of the upper
`surface of the discharge head 34. The center of
`arrangement of the discharge ports 35 almost coincides
`with the center of the ceramic heater 42 (to be
`described later).
`FIG. 3 is an enlarged schematic view showing the
`discharge head 34 and discharge drive portion 38 taken
`along the line III - III of FIG. 2. More specifically, FIG. 3
`shows a section corresponding to one row of the dis-
`charge ports 35. A section corresponding to the other
`row of the discharge ports 35 and the section shown in
`FIG. 3 are horizontally symmetrical.
`As shown in FIG. 3, a frame 134 constituted by a
`plurality of components is stacked on a wiring board 1 32
`to form recessed portions and holes to be filled with the
`liquid material 36. The recessed portions formed by the
`
`30
`
`FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a flavor gener-
`ation article according to an embodiment of the present
`invention.
`A flavor generation article 10 has a cylindrical cas- 15
`ing 12 having such an outer diameter that the user can
`hold the casing 12 in his mouth. The casing 12 com-
`prises a first portion 12a to be held by the user's mouth,
`and a second portion 1 2b for incorporating a power sup-
`ply and the like. The two portions 12a and 12b are 20
`detachably connected to each other through a connect-
`ing portion 13 formed on a casing main body 14. The
`two portions 12a and 12b are electrically connected to
`each other through a cable 15 stored in a space formed
`in the casing main body 14 to correspond to the con- 25
`necting portion 13. As the connecting portion 13, a
`known structure, e.g., a screw or a fitting pair, can be
`employed. The main body 14 of the casing 12 is made
`of a material, e.g., a plastic, metallic, ceramic, or
`wooden material.
`A suction port 22 through which the user inhales
`the flavor is formed in the end portion of the first portion
`12a of the casing 12. In contrast to this, a plurality of air
`intake ports 24 for taking in air into the casing 12 are
`formed in the intermediate portion of the first portion 35
`12a. A gas flow path 26 is defined in the casing 12
`between the air intake ports 24 and the suction port 22.
`The air intake ports 24 can be formed to have an open
`area corresponding to a predetermined air intake
`amount. As shown in FIG. 1 , an adjusting ring 28 having 40
`a plurality of openings can be disposed on the casing 1 2
`around the air intake ports 24. In this case, the amount
`of air flowing into the casing 12 can be adjusted by
`adjusting the position of the adjusting ring 28 with
`respect to the air intake ports 24.
`A throttle plate 21 having a throttle hole 20 at its
`center is disposed in the casing 12 to be located in the
`gas flow path 26. The throttle hole 20 serves to regulate
`air from the air intake ports 24 to flow along the surface
`of a ceramic heater 42 (to be described later).
`A material container 32 for storing a liquid material
`36 for generating a flavor or the like to be inhaled by the
`user is detachably fixed in a space which is deep in the
`first portion 1 2a of the case and partitioned from the gas
`flow path 26 by a wall 31. The material container 32 55
`stores the liquid material 36 in an amount correspond-
`ing to the discharge amount of a plurality of puffing
`operations of the user.
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`frame 134, excluding the plurality of discharge ports 35,
`are covered with a film 136. A liquid reservoir 146 is
`formed under the discharge ports 35 to temporarily
`store the liquid material 36. The bottom plate of the liq-
`uid reservoir 1 46 is constituted by an electrode 1 38 that 5
`serves as a vibration plate.
`The liquid material 36 from the material container
`32 is supplied first through a narrow flow path 142, and
`flows from a plurality of suction holes 144, having a
`smaller diameter than that of the discharge ports 35, to 10
`reach the liquid reservoir 146. Under the control of a
`control circuit 72, when the electrode 138 is operated to
`vibrate, the liquid material 36 is selectively discharged
`through the discharge ports 35 having a low resistance
`against the flow. The discharged liquid material 36 is 15
`supplied onto the ceramic heater 42 as a liquid drop LD.
`Other than this, as the discharge mechanism of the
`liquid material 36, a known printer ink discharge mech-
`anism can be modified and employed, e.g., a method
`disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKOKU Publication No. 20
`61-59911 and the like wherein the process liquid is
`injected by bubbles generated by heating it, or a method
`disclosed in U.S. P. No. 3,060,429 and the like wherein
`the particles of the process liquid are electrified to per-
`form electric field control. Alternatively, a discharge 25
`mechanism in which a liquid material 36 is a pressu-
`rized liquid and is controlled by opening/closing a valve
`disposed in a discharge ports 35 may be employed.
`The ceramic heater 42 is disposed in the gas flow
`path 26 to oppose the discharge ports 35. The ceramic 30
`heater 42 is fixed on the inner surface of the casing
`main body 14 through a support member 44. A gap 27
`between the discharge ports 35 of the discharge head
`34 and the ceramic heater 42 is set such that air from
`the throttle hole 20 can flow through it. Accordingly, air 35
`from the air intake ports 24 is directed by the throttle
`hole 20 to the gap 27 between the discharge ports 35
`and ceramic heater 42.
`A material corresponding to one puffing operation,
`which is driven by the discharge drive portion 38 and 40
`emitted from the discharge ports 35 is supplied onto the
`ceramic heater 42 in the form of a liquid splash or liquid
`drop. The ceramic heater 42 is constituted by a ceramic
`plate and a coated resistance heater on the ceramic
`plate, and is accordingly an integral member of a catch 45
`pan for receiving the splash of the material and a heat-
`ing means for heating the catch pan. However, the catch
`pan and the heating means can be disposed as sepa-
`rate components.
`A liquid-absorbing porous layer 46 having a thick-
`ness of 0.01 mm to 2.0 mm, e.g., an activated carbon
`layer having a thickness of about 0.5 mm, is formed on
`a surface of the ceramic heater 42 that receives the liq-
`uid splash of the material, i.e., a surface of the ceramic
`heater 42 that serves as the catch pan. The porous 55
`layer 46 not only protects the surface of the ceramic
`heater 42 but also relaxes heat conduction from the
`ceramic heater 42, thereby stabilizing gasification of the
`
`so
`
`splash of the material. The porous layer 46 can be
`formed of an organic compound, e.g., natural cellulose,
`a cellulose derivative, or an aramid resin, or an inor-
`ganic compound, e.g., carbon (including activated car-
`bon), alumina, or silicon carbide. The porous layer 46
`can have an arbitrary shape. For example, the com-
`pound mentioned above may be formed as a formed
`body in advance, e.g., a film, a sheet, a plate, fabric, or
`unwoven fabric, and be used as the porous layer 46.
`Alternatively, the porous layer 46 may be formed by
`directly applying the powder of the component men-
`tioned above on the ceramic heater 42.
`A cooling chamber 52 is formed between the
`ceramic heater 42 and the suction port 22 to constitute
`part of the gas flow path 26. Outer air inlet holes 54 are
`formed in the side wall of the casing main body 1 4 defin-
`ing the cooling chamber. The gas heated by the ceramic
`heater 42 and containing a flavor is mixed with the outer
`air and cooled in the cooling chamber 52, and reaches
`the suction port 22. The outer air inlet holes 54 can be
`formed to have an open area corresponding to a prede-
`termined air inlet amount. As shown in FIG. 1 , an adjust-
`ing ring 55 having a plurality of openings can be
`disposed on the casing 12 around the outer air inlet
`holes 54. In this case, the amount of outer air flowing
`into the cooling chamber 52 can be adjusted by adjust-
`ing the position of the adjusting ring 55 with respect to
`the outer air inlet holes 54.
`A filter 58 is disposed in the gas flow path 26
`between the cooling chamber 52 and suction port 22 to
`cover the suction port 22. When the filter 58 is disposed,
`the pressure loss can be adjusted so that the flavor
`component can be inhaled with an appropriate pres-
`sure. The filter 58 can be made of a normal tobacco fil-
`ter material made of cellulose acetate, pulp, or the like.
`A power supply 62 is detachably fixed in the second
`portion 12b of the casing 12. The power supply 62 is
`used to supply electric energy to the discharge drive
`portion 38, the ceramic heater 42, and the control circuit
`72 (to be described later). The power supply 62 can be
`mounted in and removed from the casing main body 1 4
`by opening/closing a cap 64 that closes the rear open-
`ing of the casing main body 1 4. The power supply 62 is
`preferably a DC power supply, e.g., a commercially
`available dry cell or rechargeable cell. However, the
`power supply 62 can be an AC power supply. The power
`supply 62 can be mounted on the outer side of the cas-
`ing main body 14, or can be provided separately and
`connected to the casing main body 14 with a wire.
`The control circuit 72 for controlling the driving
`operation of the discharge drive portion 38 and the
`ceramic heater 42 is arranged between the power sup-
`ply 62 and material container 32. As shown in FIG. 4,
`the control circuit 72 has a signal processing circuit 72a,
`a drive circuit 72b, and a power circuit 72c. The signal
`processing circuit 72a is connected to a sensor 73 for
`detecting the inhaling operation of the user and a man-
`ual ON/OFF switch 74. The drive circuit 72b is con-
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`nected to the discharge drive portion 38 and the
`ceramic heater 42. The power circuit 72c is connected
`to the power supply 62.
`The sensor 73 for detecting the inhaling operation
`of the user is disposed around the casing main body 1 4
`to be adjacent to the suction port 22. The sensor 73 has
`the same principle as that of a general strain type pres-
`sure-sensitive sensor for detecting a change in resist-
`ance or capacitance, a piezoelectric electromotive
`force, or the like, and generates an electrical signal 10
`upon detection of a pressure with which the user holds
`the casing 12 in his mouth. Alternatively, as the sensor
`73, a swing vane type sensor (to be described later), a
`contact type sensor, a lip sensor disclosed in Jpn. Pat.
`Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 5-212100, or the like can 15
`be used.
`Upon reception of a signal from the manual
`ON/OFF switch 74, or based on a signal from the sen-
`sor 73, the control circuit 72 starts the discharge drive
`portion 38 and the ceramic heater 42 at a timing to 20
`match the inhaling operation of the user, so that the liq-
`uid material is discharged and gasified. For example,
`signal processing of the control circuit 72 and the way of
`control of the control circuit 72 can be known as analog
`control or two-position control, or their combination.
`The manual ON/OFF switch 74 is disposed on the
`side surface of the first portion 12a of the casing 12.
`When this article is not in use, the switch 74 may be
`manually switched to the OFF state, thereby forcibly
`stopping the discharge drive portion 38 and the heater 30
`42. The manual switch 74 has the same mechanism as
`that of a general compact push switch, e.g., a micro limit
`switch having an electric contact.
`When this article is in use, i.e., while the switch 74
`is set in the ON state, the heater 42 may be kept heated. 35
`In this case, the control circuit 72 need only control the
`operation of the discharge drive portion 38 that controls
`discharge of the liquid material.
`How the flavor generation article 10 shown in FIG.
`1 is operated will be described.
`When the user performs simulated smoking or
`inhales the flavor by using the flavor generation article
`10 shown in FIG. 1, first, the user turns on the manual
`switch 74, holds the first portion 12a of the casing 12
`with his mouth, and performs an in