Patent Application
20220378099
The present invention relates to the field of tobacco, in particular to an adaptor or a holder for an aerosol-generating article for use in an electrically-heated aerosol-generating system. The present invention also relates to an aerosol-generating article having an adaptor or a holder incorporated therein.
Heat-not-burn aerosol-generating article has been introduced into market since the end of 20th century and has increasingly become popular as the result of the increased tobacco control measures and awareness.
Various proposals have been made to provide simulated smoking article which provides a tobacco taste without the combustion of tobacco. For example, patent document U.S. Pat. No. 6,532,965 B1 relates to a smoking article using steam as an aerosol-generating source. It discloses a non-burning cigarette device, comprising an upstream cylindrical section and a downstream cylindrical section for receiving a tobacco rod. The upstream cylindrical section has a first upstream chamber (fuel mixture chamber) followed by a flame holder. The first upstream chamber contains a porous medium which is soaked with an ethanol-water mixture. The flame chamber is provided in the downstream cylindrical section where a combustion of a mixture of ethanol vapour and air (steam) is produced therein. Steam subsequently condenses downstream of the flame holder, thereby produces an aerosol. A cigarette disposed within the downstream tubular section in the cigarette receiving chamber is heated by the hot gases and the steam/aerosol as well as by the heated metal downstream tubular section through which the combustion gases travel and in which the cigarette is disposed.
Patent document CN109123799 relates to an aerosol generation system for multi-stage heating of a non-combustible cigarette, comprising an electrical source, a controller and a cavity for receiving cigarette. The cigarette comprises a filter section, first hollow section, tobacco section and second hollow section, wherein the second hollow section is received by a heat-generating device.
The inventions disclosed in the above-mentioned patent documents have the drawback that smoking articles are inserted directly into the heat generated smoking device which may not be optimal for all types of non-combustible smoking articles in terms of size, shape, heating temperature and etc.
It is known from other documents to provide intermediary elements or holders to receive aerosol-generating articles of the heat-not-burn type in a corresponding electronic heating device having a projecting heating element such as a heating blade or needle. Examples of such holders are disclosed in WO 2019/064119 A1, WO 2019/021119 A1, US 2008/149118 A1 or CN 209 090 043 U, among others.
However, these solutions remain unsatisfactory for consumers as they promote a risk of damaging and/or breaking the heating element due to shocks and/or twisting of the heating element during insertion of the holder over it.
The inventors of the present invention have found novel solutions to the above-discussed problems through a new and inventive adaptor (holder) for aerosol-generating article for use in a heating device as defined in the claims.
A first aspect of the invention is accordingly to provide an aerosol-generating material holder, comprising a first portion made of heat conductive material and a second portion, preferably at least a section is made of heat conductive material, wherein the first portion is configured to be receivable by a heating element of a heating device and the second portion configured for receiving a charge of aerosol-generating material to be heated by the heating element to generate an aerosol. The first portion of the holder of the invention advantageously comprises at least one guiding member at a free end or on a free edge thereof to automatically guide the insertion of the heating element into the first portion without deformation of the heating element. Thereby, proper adjustment and alignment of the first portion and heating element are ensured, preventing unwanted shocks and twists of the heating element during insertion of the holder over it.
A second aspect of the invention relates to an aerosol-generating article, comprising a holder according to the present invention, and a charge of aerosol-generating material arranged in the second portion of the holder.
Thanks to the novel aerosol-generating material holder, the inventors have surprisingly found out that the holder efficiently reduces the temperature of the aerosol-generating material that is being heated by the heating element of the heating device, as certain types of aerosol-generating articles are preferably to be heated under lower temperature e.g. below 300° C. Such reduction of the temperature is especially advantageous when the aerosol-generating material to be heated is in form of a mousse or foam instead of the conventional form i.e. solid or liquid form. This is due to the fact that aerosol-generating material in form of foam-like provides a denser, tobacco-flavour rich, homogeneous aerosol when being heated for instance below 300° C. Moreover, such holder according to the present invention can be used to adapt and to hold aerosol-generating material (as well as aerosol-generating article) having different sizes or shapes.
In other words, the holder according to the present invention dampens the heating temperature from the heating element (or a heating element) which has a high heating temperature (reaching around 380° C.), thus the dampening of the temperature by the holder of the present invention is optimal to heat up certain types of aerosol-generating materials or aerosol-generating articles which require lower heating temperature.
To that aim, the constituting material of the holder will be chosen according to its thermal conductivity coefficient in consideration of a specific device for the inventive aerosol-generating article to be used with. The heat from the device's heater may then be efficiently transferred to the entire or part of the holder, for instance the entire cylindrical wall of the holder or to the near or far end portion of the holder (from the heating source) such that the aerosol-generating material can be optimally heated when in use.
In addition, the aerosol temperature (temperature needed to generate aerosol), and that of any mouthpiece through which a user inhales, such aerosol has a lower temperature than the aerosol from the existing heat-not-burn articles, hence the aerosol-generating material (such as foam-like) requires much less heating than existing products. As the matter of fact, users obtain better smoking experience when aerosol generation is achieved upon heating up the aerosol-generating material between about 200° C. and 280° C., and preferably about 250° C.
According to one embodiment, a sheathing component and/or a slit opening is further provided to the first portion of the holder for accepting the heating element of the heating device. The sheathing component serves to encapsulate or enclose the heating element of the heating device such that a direct contact between the heating element and the aerosol-generating material of the aerosol-generating article can be prevented. The slit opening provided to the longitudinal end of the first portion is designed in such a way that it receives the heating element of the heating device when the holder is being inserted into the heating device, such that a permanent contact is achieved between said heating element and the holder about the slit opening internal walls at least.
According to one embodiment, the first portion and the second portion are connected to each other about a common longitudinal axis. Such common longitudinal axis forms the boundary of the first and second portions, where similar or different materials can be used to constitute those portions.
According to another embodiment, the holder comprises a connecting component joining the first portion and the second portion, wherein the connecting component can be arranged such that the first portion is rotatable with respect to the second portion. This embodiment has the advantage that the mounting of the holder into the heating device can be made easier for users such that the holder can be inserted or removed easily and not destroying or deforming other fragile components such as the heating element. For instance, the connecting portion can be an elastic element such as a spring where the first portion will automatically be rotated based on the geometry of the heat-generating component/heating element of the heating device.
According to a further embodiment, the first portion comprises mating members configured such that the holder can be inserted into the heating device in a mating contact with the heating element without deformation thereof or the first portion. This embodiment has the advantage that the mounting of the holder into the heating device can be made easier for users such that the holder can be inserted or removed easily and not destroying or deforming other fragile components such as the heating element. As an example, the mating members serve to guide the insertion of the first portion of the holder such as to accept the heating element of the heating device.
According to one further embodiment, the at least one guiding member comprises an inclined surface arranged to guide the heating element into the first portion by sliding during insertion. Such guiding member can for instance exhibit a conical or frustoconical shape, the apex of which being located on a longitudinal axis of the first portion, that is conjoined with the axis of the heating element for proper insertion thereon. This configuration allows the holder to be inserted and easily accepted by the heating element.
According to one preferred embodiment, the second portion can be air permeable. For instance, the holder can be made with materials which are air-permeable over the entire surface due to its micro-porous structure. Detailed examples of such materials and their characteristics will be given below.
In one variant of the invention, the second portion comprises at least one perforation having a diameter of between 0.2 and 5 mm, preferably between 0.5 and 2 mm.
In another variant of the invention, the second portion comprises at least one perforation, having an opening area of at least 0.03 mm2, preferably between 0.125 mm2 and 10.00 mm2, more preferably between 0.196 mm2 and 5 mm2. It can be foreseen that a plurality of openings or perforations can be provided to the holder to increase air circulation such that air flows from the distal end to the mouth end when in use.
In a further variant of the invention, the first portion and at least part of the second portion contacting the first portion can be made of metal such as brass, copper, bronze, aluminium, zinc, titanium or a combination thereof, an alloy made of two or more metals, or a composite material comprising a metal material and a non-metal material. The choice of the materials to be selected are based on the criteria (e.g. the distribution of heat and temperature) and this can be achieved within common general knowledge of a skilled person.
In yet another variant of the invention, heat insulating material can be arranged to dampen heat conducted from the first portion to the second portion. This has the advantage of circumventing the heat to be transmitted to the wall of the heating device and the heat is restrained to the holder. In another example, heat insulating material can be arranged to a certain portion of the holder, for instance to the far end part of the second portion. This embodiment is especially advantageous to the type of holder where it extends beyond the heating device when the holder is being fully inserted into a heating device (for the purpose of easy mounting of the holder into the heating device). The exposed portion of the holder can be provided with the heat insulating material in order to prevent users from being burnt.
In another preferred embodiment, the heat insulating material can be arranged such that a maximum heating temperature of a charge of aerosol-generating material received in the second portion is about 250° C., preferably between about 230° C. and 250° C.
In one particularly preferred embodiment, the first portion of the holder can be provided in form of a tuning fork, configured to be receivable in mating engagement with a heating surface of a heating element of a heating device. This has the advantage that the holder of the present invention can be inserted into the heating device easily, and that the risk of deforming the heating element of the heating device is thereby reduced.
In a further variant of the invention, the tuning fork comprises a first and a second branches symmetrically arranged about a longitudinal plan of symmetry of the first portion. This has the advantage that the holder of this embodiment can be inserted into the heating device easily, and that the risk of deforming the heating element of the heating device is thereby reduced.
In another variant of the invention, said branches are flexible in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal plan of symmetry. This embodiment has the advantage that the first portion of the holder can be inserted and accepted by the heating element without risking breaking fragile components such as the heating element.
By “about” or “approximately” in relation to a given numerical value, it is meant to include numerical values within 10% of the specified value. All values given in the present disclosure are to be understood to be complemented by the word “about”, unless it is clear to the contrary from the context.
A tobacco ingredient containing agent can be any compound, mixture, particle matter, and/or solution that contains and/or carries a constituent of tobacco, either artificially included or naturally contained in tobacco, e.g. tobacco, tobacco particles, tobacco flavor and/or nicotine. In contrast, an example for an artificially added non-tobacco-specific flavor would be menthol.
As used herein, the term “holder” and the term “adaptor” are used interchangeably and is to be understood as a device for connecting pieces of elements that cannot be connected directly and/or said device is used with the intention to alter the characteristics (e.g. temperature) of the recipient. Said device does not itself come from the pieces of elements to be connected but together they form an integrated part.
As used herein, the term “heated aerosol-generating article” refers to an aerosol-generating article for producing an aerosol and comprising an aerosol-generating material that is intended to be heated rather than combusted in order to release volatile compounds that can form an aerosol.
As used herein, the term “aerosol-generating material” refers to a material capable of releasing volatile compounds upon heating, which can form an aerosol. The aerosol generated from the aerosol-generating material of the aerosol-generating article described herein may be visible or invisible and may include vapours (for example, fine particles of substances, which are in a gaseous state, that are ordinarily liquid or solid at room temperature) as well as gases and liquid droplets of condensed vapours.
An aerosol-forming agent can be any compound, mixture and/or solution that is capable of forming an aerosol, e.g. when heated and/or in mixture with a tobacco ingredient containing agent. Well known examples include humectants such as glycerin and propylene glycol, other alcohols, such as ethanol, etc.
As used herein, wt.-% is to be understood as weight percent, based on the total weight of the foam, unless explicitly otherwise specified. In the present disclosure, all amounts are given in wt.-%, unless clearly stated otherwise or obvious from context. In the present disclosure, furthermore all amounts given in wt.-% in a particular foam add up to 100 wt.-%. The weight percent are thereby calculated by dividing the mass of each component by the total mass of the foam, unless indicated otherwise or clear from context.
The first portion 10 may comprise of a sheathing component 10a connected to a guiding member 10b, wherein the guiding member 10b is capable of guiding the heating element of the heating device so that the holder 100 can be inserted therein. The guiding member 10b may appear as a funnel to accept the heating element 220 (not shown) of the heating device 500.
Preferably, a plurality of perforations 55, 65 may be provided into the side walls of the holder 100 to allow air circulation through the walls and into an aerosol-generating article 300 being inserted into the holder in use. The perforations 55, 65 may have an opening area of at least 0.03 mm2, preferably between 0.125 mm2 and 10 mm2, more preferably between 0.196 mm2 and 5 mm2.
The holder 100 according to the present invention has a diameter slightly smaller than the internal diameter of the heating device 500 such that the holder 100 can be inserted into the internal cavity of the heating device 500 and be locked in a ready-to-use position. A typical aerosol-generating article 300 comprises a portion containing aerosol-generating material 301 and a filter portion 302 (shown in
When in use, the holder 100 may firstly be inserted into the heating device 500, where the first portion 10 of the holder 100 is inserted through the opening end of the heating device 500. The first portion 10 may have a shape that is compatible (i.e. complementary) to the shape of the heating element 220 such that the holder 100 of the present invention can be inserted in a steady and fixed position about and in permanent contact with the heating element 220, within the heating device 500. To ease insertion of the holder in the heating device, in particular when the heating element 220 is a projecting element into the internal cavity of the heating device 500, the first 10 and second 20 portions of the holder 100 may be, according to a feature not shown in the drawings, connected through a connecting component arranged such that the first portion 10 is rotatable with respect to the position (or angle) of the heating element 220 when the second portion 20 of the holder 100 is being rotated by a user. Such rotatable arrangement saves for example shear forces application onto the heating element 220 upon insertion of the holder 100, which shear forces may damage said heating element 220.
In preferred embodiments of the invention, the holder 100 is configured such that it reduces or prevents adherence of debris, dirt or chunks of aerosol-generating material onto the heating element 220 during or after use, which reduces the efficiency of the heating and creates annoyance for users who need to clean their device regularly.
The sheathing component thus forms a sleeve for a heating element 220, which exhibits a front slit opening 10s (not shown as it is blocked by 10b; shown in
In other words, the sheathing component 10a acts like a “knife sheath”. As soon as the first portion 10 of the holder 100 encapsulates or encloses the heating element 220 and is in a lock position, the heat generated from the heating element 220 can then be transferred evenly to the first portion 10 and to the second portion 20 of the holder 100 for instance. The holder 100 of the present invention thus serves as an adaptor to connect between the heating element 220 of a heating device 500 and an aerosol-generating article 300 received in the second portion 20 of the holder 100 in order to heat aerosol-generating material contained in said aerosol generating article by material conduction of the first portion 10 to the second portion 20 only. This advantageously totally prevents generation of debris and dirt onto the heating element 220 of the heating device, thereby ensuring proper functioning of the heating device over time. It further allows for dampening of the heating temperature from the heating element 220 to the aerosol-generating material 301, which may be advantageous depending on the nature of said material and to ensure best release of aromatic components and vapour from said material upon heating. In this connection, it is further disclosed herein that the wall of the first portion 10 can be provided with minimal perforations 55, 65 or not a single perforation is provided to the wall of the first portion 10 of the holder 100 in order to avoid debris or dirt to be adhered to the surface of the heating element 220. In addition to the sheathing component 10a, the first portion 10 may additionally be provided with a cylindrical wall such that the holder 100 may appear to be a cylindrical shape component, as can be seen in the
To this end, it is reiterated that the first portion 10 of the holder 100 having a sheathing component 10a, guiding member 10b, a slit opening 10s and/or an additional cylindrical wall externally can be applied to all embodiments of the present invention.
Once the holder 100 is inserted in the correct position (i.e. when the first portion 10 encapsulates the heating element 220), aerosol-generating article 300 can subsequently be inserted into the holder 100 through the second portion 20 of the holder 100, as shown in the
The second portion 20 of the holder 100 typically has a substantially cylindrical shape for receiving the aerosol-generating article 300, and more specifically the aerosol-generating material portion 301 thereof. As can be seen in the
This offers the opportunity for an aerosol-generating articles manufacturer to design such aerosol-generating articles 300 with great freedom and to provide a bespoke holder 100, fitted for purpose to use in a determined heating device 500 and its corresponding heating element 220.
Furthermore, once the holder 100 is correctly positioned in the heating device 500, it can remain in place for an extended period of time, without needing to be removed in between uses. Any used aerosol-generating article 300 can simply be removed and be replaced with a new aerosol-generating article 300 for each further use. The holder 100 will only have to be taken out from the heating device 500, when needed, for cleaning purpose i.e. removing debris or chunks of aerosol-generating material that stuck to the surface of the holder 100.
The holder 100 may be provided with different lengths. For instance,
Alternatively, in another embodiment, it can be foreseeable that the holder 100 when being fully inserted into the heating device 500, a small portion (of the second portion 20) of the holder 100 extends beyond the heating device 500. This embodiment has the advantage that the user could mount more easily the holder 100 into the heating device 500 to push the holder into the heating device 500. It can be foreseeable in this embodiment that the portion of the holder 100 exposed beyond the heating device 500 is made of heat-insulation material such that the user will be protected from the heat conducted through the first two portions 10, 20 of the holder 100.
The holder 100 of the invention is advantageously designed to allow a tight arrangement between the holder 100 and the heating device 500, and more specifically with the heating element 220 thereof such that heat generated from the heating device 500 can be efficiently transferred or transmitted to the holder 100 to heat aerosol-generating material 301 of an aerosol generating article 300 inserted into the second portion 20 of the holder 100 when in use. The material of the first portion 10 of the holder 100 and preferably part of the second portion 20 thereof is therefore chosen to be heat-conductive. For example, the first portion 10 and at least part of the second portion 20 contacting the first portion 10 may be made of a metal such as brass, copper, bronze, aluminium, zinc, titanium or alloys made of two or more metals. Alternatively, it may be formed or comprised of a composite material comprising a metal material and a non-metal material.
In a preferred embodiment, the first portion 10 and second portion 20 of the holder 100 may be formed of different heat-conducting materials, such that a gradient of heating temperature is achieved through the holder 100 from the heating element 220 to the aerosol-generating material 301 accommodated in the second portion 20 of the holder in use.
Indeed, currently available battery-powered heating devices 500 typically generate by their heating element 220 a heating temperature of up to 380° C. However, such temperature may not be ideal for all types of aerosol-generating materials, as some types of aerosol-generating materials, such as disclosed in the applicant's patent application WO 2018122375 A1, require much lower heating temperature, for instance below 300° C., to generate a denser, tobacco-rich flavour, homogeneous aerosol.
Hence, the holder 100 of the present invention may advantageously be configured, through proper material construction of respective first and second portions 10, 20 respectively, as a tool to mediate and dampen the heating temperature and further distribute the heat of the heating element 220 of a heating device 500 to the surface of the holder 100, thereby effectively lowering the heating temperature to the optimal heating temperature for a determined aerosol-generating material 301.
As an example, it is foreseeable that the first portion 10 of the holder 100 can be made up with a first heat-conducting material having a first heat conductivity whereas the second portion 20 of the holder 100 can be made up with a second heat-conducting material having a second heat conductivity, wherein the second heat conductivity is lower than the first conductivity.
Alternatively, it may also be foreseen that heat insulating material is arranged to dampen heat conducted from the first portion 10 to the second portion 20 while the first and second portions are made of a same material and are connected together through a heat dampening connecting element for example. Such heat dampening material may be chosen such that a maximum heating temperature of a charge of aerosol-generating material 301 received in the second portion 20 is about 250° C., preferably between about 230° C. and 250° C.
The outer walls of the holder 100 may further comprise a plurality of perforations or holes 55, 65, which may for instance be circular 55 or rectangular 65. These perforations are advantageous for air circulation from the internal cavity of the heating device 500 through the holder 100 and an aerosol-generating article 300 inserted therein for generation of an inhalable aerosol at the filter 302 in use.
The holder 100 of
In a further alternative third embodiment represented in the
In this connection, the first portion 10 in form of a tuning fork may comprise a guiding member 10b″ and a sheathing component 10a″, wherein the guiding member 10b″ may have an inclined surface arranged to guide the heating element 220 into the first portion 10 by sliding during insertion, as shown in the
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19197007.8 | Sep 2019 | EP | regional |
The present application is a national phase entry under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No. PCT/EP2020/074643, filed Sep. 3, 2020, published in English, which claims priority to European Application No. 19197007.8 filed Sep. 12, 2019, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2020/074643 | 9/3/2020 | WO |
