The present disclosure relates to elements for an aerosol generating system and for producing an aerosol or vapor for inhalation by a user. The present disclosure relates more particularly to an aerosol generating system with a conically shaped heating element and a corresponding vaporizable material capsule cartridge for holding a vaporizable material substance for producing an aerosol or vapor.
The use of aerosol generating systems, also known as e-cigarettes, e-cigs (EC), electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), electronic non-nicotine delivery systems (ENNDS), electronic smoking devices (ESDs), personal vaporizers (PV), inhalation devices, vapes, which can be used as an alternative to conventional smoking articles such as lit-end cigarettes, cigars, and pipes, is becoming increasingly popular and widespread. The most commonly used e-cigarettes are usually battery powered and use a resistance heating element to heat and atomize a liquid containing nicotine and/or flavorants (also known as e-cigarette liquid, e-cig liquids, e-liquid, juice, vapor juice, smoke juice, e-juice, e-fluid, vape oil), to produce an aerosol (often called vapor) which can be inhaled by a user.
In the conventional e-cigarettes described above, the liquid is put into contact with a resistance heating element after flowing through small channels, where it is heated and vaporized. The flowing is realized for example via a wick, a mesh or another type of porous element, which has a plurality of small channels that transport the liquid from a reservoir to the heating element. This heating element together with the porous element, a reservoir that contains the vaporizable material, and a mouthpiece are usually arranged within a disposable capsule, cartridge or pod, that is discarded or refilled once the vaporizable material has been consumed by the user, and usually removably connects to a main body that includes a rechargeable battery.
A specific type of aerosol generating systems makes use of a conically shaped heating element, and a correspondingly designed capsule of smoking substance that fits on the conically shaped heating element.
The specific aerosol generating system also requires to have a well-designed airflow system configured to collect and receive vaporized vaporizable material, i.e., vaporizable material which is heated and hence aerosolized by the conically shaped heating elements, and directs the aerosolized vaporizable material toward the mouthpiece to be inhaled by an intended user.
U.S. Publication US2018/0332897A1 relates to aerosol delivery devices. The disclosed devices don’t have any interfacing layer comprising a porous material configured to wick the e-liquid from the slanted surface of the contacting element to the slanted surface of the heating element. The liquid is held in the “gap” (the porous element 836/811) already, meaning that it doesn’t need to be transported to that place anymore. As disclosed in this prior art document, the airflow path is central to the cone and “capsule”. Furthermore, it is not between the heater cone and the capsule cone. Paragraph 96 and
One aim of the invention is to address the issue of realizing an airflow system for the specific type of aerosol generating system that makes use of a conically shaped heating element.
Consequently, the background art presents a number of deficiencies and problems and the present disclosure seeks to address these difficulties.
The invention provides an aerosol generating system comprising a conically shaped heating element configured to generate an aerosol by evaporating a vaporizable material on a slanted surface, and a vaporizable material capsule configured to contain a vaporizable material, whereby the vaporizable material capsule comprises a conically shaped contacting element having a slanted surface configured to mate with the conically shaped heating element in use. An interfacing layer is arranged in a gap between the slanted surfaces of both the heating element and contacting element, and the interfacing layer contacts the slanted surfaces of both the heating element and contacting element, the interfacing layer comprising a porous material configured to wick vaporizable material from the slanted surface of the contacting element to the slanted surface of the heating element, and an airflow management system is arranged in the vicinity of the interfacing layer, including fresh air grooves and airflow channel grooves in the walls of the conically shaped contacting element and/or in the slanted surface of the conically shaped heating element, and configured respectively to conduct fresh air or the aerosol.
In a preferred embodiment, the conically shaped heating element comprises a cone basis and a cone top, and a plurality of distinct heating zones occupying a corresponding circumferential arc portion on the slanted surface, each extending between the cone basis and the cone top, and the conically shaped contacting element has an opening circumference delimiting the contacting element at the side configured to enter in mating arrangement with the conically shaped heating element, and a bottom at the opposite extremity of the opening circumference, and the conically shaped heating element is removably mated with the vaporizable material capsule.
In a further preferred embodiment, the fresh air grooves and the airflow channel grooves are in the slanted surface of the conically shaped heating element, the fresh air grooves and the airflow channel grooves having respectively a first determined width and a second determined width and extending between the cone basis and the cone top, and being arranged around the circumference of the conically shaped heating element in a plurality of groups comprising in this order: one fresh air groove, one heating zone, one airflow channel groove, one heating zone.
In a further preferred embodiment, the fresh air grooves and the airflow channel grooves are in the slanted surface of the conically shaped contacting element, the fresh air grooves and the airflow channel grooves having respectively a first determined width and a second determined width and extending between the opening circumference and the bottom, and being arranged around the circumference of the conically shaped heating element in a plurality of groups comprising in this order: one fresh air groove, one heating zone, one airflow channel, one heating zone.
In a further preferred embodiment, the fresh air grooves are in the slanted surface of the conically shaped heating element, and the airflow channel grooves are in the wall of the conically shaped contacting element, whereby the fresh air grooves extend each between the cone basis and the cone top, and the airflow channel grooves extend between the opening circumference and the bottom, further whereby the fresh air grooves are arranged around the circumference of the conically shaped heating element in a plurality of groups comprising in this order: one fresh air groove, one heating zone; and the airflow channel grooves are arranged opposite of every heating zone.
In a further preferred embodiment, the airflow channel grooves are in the slanted surface of the conically shaped heating element, and the fresh air grooves are in the wall of the conically shaped contacting element, whereby the airflow channel grooves extend each between the cone basis and the cone top, and the fresh air grooves extend between the opening circumference and the bottom, further whereby the airflow channel grooves are arranged around the circumference of the conically shaped heating element in a plurality of groups comprising in this order: one airflow channel groove, one heating zone; and the fresh air grooves are arranged opposite of every heating zone.
In a further preferred embodiment, the fresh air grooves are in the slanted surface of the conically shaped heating element, and the airflow channel grooves are in the wall of the conically shaped contacting element, whereby the fresh air grooves extend each between the cone basis and the cone top, and the airflow channel grooves extend between the opening circumference and the bottom, further whereby the fresh air grooves and the airflow channel grooves have respectively a first determined width and a second determined width, and are arranged around the circumference of the conically shaped heating element in a plurality of groups comprising in this order: one fresh air groove, one heating zone, one airflow channel, one heating zone.
In a further preferred embodiment, the airflow channel grooves are in the slanted surface of the conically shaped heating element, and the fresh grooves are in the wall of the conically shaped contacting element, whereby the airflow channel grooves extend each between the cone basis and the cone top, and the fresh air grooves extend between the opening circumference and the bottom, further whereby the airflow channel grooves and the fresh air grooves have respectively a first determined width and a second determined width, and are arranged around the circumference of the conically shaped heating element in a plurality of groups comprising in this order: one fresh air groove, one heating zone, one airflow channel, one heating zone.
In a further preferred embodiment, the conically shaped heating element is a male element and the conically shaped contacting element of the capsule is a female element.
In a further preferred embodiment, the conically shaped heating element is a female element and the conically shaped contacting element of the capsule is a male element.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention and the manner of realizing them will become more apparent, and the invention itself will best be understood from a study of the following description with reference to the attached drawings showing some preferred embodiments of the invention.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and constitute part of this specification, illustrate the presently preferred embodiments of the invention, and together with the general description given above and the detailed description given below, serve to explain features of the invention.
Herein, identical reference numerals are used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the Figures. Also, the images are simplified for illustration purposes and may not be depicted to scale.
In the present detailed description of preferred embodiments, the term vaporizable material capsule will be used to designate any one of a consumable, cartridge, capsule or article CR that includes a chamber or reservoir containing or holding at least one vaporizable material or at least one vapor or aerosol generating substance. The term vaporizable material is used to designate vapor or any material that is vaporizable at a temperature up to 400° C., preferably up to 350° C., for example aerosol generating liquid, gel, wax and the like.. The term wicking element will be used to also designate a wick or any other suitable porous material such as a porous ceramic, a mesh, a foam, a sponge-like material.
An exemplary embodiment of an aerosol generating system 100 according to the present disclosure is shown, in
The aerosol generating system 100 is, for example, to be used in or included in an aerosol generating device, an inhalation device or an electronic cigarette (not shown in
The conically shaped heating element 101 is configured in the represented example as a male component formed as a solid frustum to generate an aerosol (the aerosol is not represented in
The vaporizable material capsule 102 is configured to contain a vaporizable material 103, which in use may flow out towards the slanted surface 104. The vaporizable material capsule 102 comprises a conically shaped contacting element, in this example formed as a cavity delimited by a slanted surface 105 complementary in shape to that of the heating element and thus configured to mate with the conically shaped heating element 101 along its slanted surface 104. A fluidic passage (not represented in
A size and shape of the conically shaped cavity are configured such that they substantially match the conically shaped heating element 101 at a time of mating. A determined gap between the convex slanted surface 104 and the concave slanted surface 105 is configured to accommodate for example, an interfacing layer of a wicking element 106 such as a mesh or other porous material, covering at least a part of the respective slanted surfaces 104, 105. This is useful to receive the vaporizable material 103 inside the wicking element 106 and evaporate it in a known manner.
The vaporizable material capsule 102 and/or the conically shaped heating element 101 may comprise at least one airflow channel groove (not represented in
The vaporizable material capsule 102 and/or the conically shaped heating element may further comprise at least one fresh air groove (not represented in
As implied by the geometrical properties of a cone, the conically-shape heating element 101 comprises a cone basis, i.e., a first end of the cone that has the larger diameter, and a cone top, i.e., a second end of the cone opposite to the first end and being either of sharp of truncated constituency. In the example of
Further in the example illustrated in
The configuration of fresh air grooves 200, airflow channels 201 and heating zones 203 according to the invention enables an efficient airflow management in the aerosol generating system comprising a conically-shape heating element 101. Vaporizable material that has flown into the wicking element 106 is heated in the areas adjacent to the heating zone 203 and evaporated to aerosol which is evacuated in the airflow channel grooves 201 that face the wicking element 106 and guided towards the vapor conduit. The fresh air grooves 200 enable fresh air to be provided and hence the airflow process may be sustained. The configuration according to the invention enables an efficient airflow management by means of a configuration of grooves and heating zones that are distributed all around the circumference of the conically shaped heating element, whereby grooves are exclusively comprised in the conically shaped heating element in the specific example embodiment illustrated in
The example illustrated in
As implied by the geometrical properties of a cone, the conically shaped cavity of the vaporizable material capsule is delimited at its opening by an opening circumference that has the larger diameter, and at the other end of the cone by a bottom. The fresh air grooves 200 extend between the opening circumference and the bottom.
All grooves and heating zones together form a plurality of groups comprising in this order: one fresh air groove 200, one heating zone 203, one airflow channel groove 201, one heating zone 203. The illustration in
The example illustrated in
The example illustrated in
In
An advantage of the example embodiment illustrated in
A further advantage of the present invention is that holding the liquid in a separate portion than the gap has the advantage to not continuously heat up the whole reservoir that may not be good for the taste of the generated aerosol.
A further advantage of the present invention is that the porous layer is localized inside the cone, that is easier and more efficient as liquid will remain in the porous area.
A further advantage is that having grooves on the slanted surface of the conically shaped heating element allows to optimize the vapor/airflow path volume compare to prior art with limited airflow/vapor capability due to space restriction.
Implementations described herein are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure but are just provided to illustrate possible realizations.
While the invention has been disclosed with reference to certain preferred embodiments, numerous modifications, alterations, and changes to the described embodiments, and equivalents thereof, are possible without departing from the sphere and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the described embodiments and be given the broadest reasonable interpretation in accordance with the language of the appended claims. The features of any one of the above described embodiments may be included in any other embodiment described herein.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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20177098.9 | May 2020 | EP | regional |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/IB2021/054588 | 5/26/2021 | WO |