Patent Application
20240188627
The present disclosure relates generally to aerosol generating articles, and more particularly to an aerosol generating article for use with an aerosol generating device for heating the aerosol generating article to generate an aerosol for inhalation by a user. Embodiments of the present disclosure also relate to a method of manufacturing an aerosol generating article. The present disclosure is particularly applicable to aerosol generating articles for use with a portable (hand-held) aerosol generating device.
The popularity and use of reduced-risk or modified-risk devices (also known as aerosol generating devices or vapour generating devices) has grown rapidly in recent years as an alternative to the use of traditional tobacco products. Various devices and systems are available that heat or warm aerosol generating substances to generate an aerosol for inhalation by a user.
A commonly available reduced-risk or modified-risk device is the heated substrate aerosol generating device, or so-called heat-not-burn device. Devices of this type generate an aerosol or vapour by heating an aerosol generating substrate to a temperature typically in the range 150° C. to 300° C. Heating the aerosol generating substrate to a temperature within this range, without burning or combusting the aerosol generating substrate, generates a vapour which typically cools and condenses to form an aerosol for inhalation by a user of the device.
Currently available aerosol generating devices can use one of a number of different approaches to provide heat to the aerosol generating substrate, including resistive heating which makes use of a resistive heating element and induction heating which makes use of an induction coil and a heating element in the form of an inductively heatable susceptor.
Whichever approach is used to heat the aerosol generating substrate, the characteristics of the aerosol generated by the aerosol generating device are dependent upon a number of factors, including the construction of the aerosol generating article used with the aerosol generating device. There is, therefore, a desire to provide an aerosol generating article which enables the characteristics of the aerosol generated during use of the article to be optimised, and which at the same time is easy to use in combination with an aerosol generating device.
According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an aerosol generating article for use with an aerosol generating device, the aerosol generating article comprising:
According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method of manufacturing an aerosol generating article for use with an aerosol generating device, the method comprising:
The aerosol generating article is for use with an aerosol generating device for heating the aerosol generating substrate, without burning the aerosol generating substrate, to volatise at least one component of the aerosol generating substrate and thereby generate a heated vapour which cools and condenses to form an aerosol for inhalation by a user of the aerosol generating device. The aerosol generating device is a hand-held, portable, device.
In general terms, a vapour is a substance in the gas phase at a temperature lower than its critical temperature, which means that the vapour can be condensed to a liquid by increasing its pressure without reducing the temperature, whereas an aerosol is a suspension of fine solid particles or liquid droplets, in air or another gas. It should, however, be noted that the terms ‘aerosol’ and ‘vapour’ may be used interchangeably in this specification, particularly with regard to the form of the inhalable medium that is generated for inhalation by a user.
The elongate support elements help to maintain the structural rigidity and cross-sectional shape of the aerosol generating article, in particular by resisting or preventing deformation of the aerosol generating strips. By providing a plurality of elongate support elements extending in the first direction, the risk of deformation of the aerosol generating article during processing and/or storage and/or handling of the aerosol generating article, for example as a result of crushing or compression of the aerosol generating article, is minimised. Thus, the risk of an airflow route, for example provided by an airflow channel, becoming obstructed during processing and/or storage and/or handling of the aerosol generating article is also minimised. By providing a wrapping member surrounding the aerosol generating strips and the support elements, the vapour and/or aerosol generated during use of the aerosol generating article in an aerosol generating device flows internally within the article, along an airflow route such as an airflow channel, before it is inhaled by a user. This may help to ensure that the greatest possible quantity of vapour and/or aerosol is delivered to the user, and that the delivered vapour and/or aerosol has optimal characteristics.
The elongate support elements may comprise a material which has a greater strength or rigidity or stiffness than the aerosol generating strips. Deformation of the aerosol generating strips is thereby resisted or prevented by the elongate support elements. The elongate support elements may comprise any one of paper, moulded pulp, metal, a woven fabric (e.g., cloth), a non-woven fabric, or flame retardant wood. Each of these materials may provide a number of advantages. For example: paper provides advantages including light weight, low cost, processability, temperature resistance, and low risk of generating unwanted volatile components (i.e., controllable generation); moulded pulp provides advantages including light weight, processability, temperature resistance, and strength (compared to normal paper): metal provides advantages including temperature resistance, high thermal conductance, and low risk of generating unwanted volatile components (i.e., controllable generation): a woven fabric or a non-woven fabric provides advantages including low cost, temperature resistance, and low risk of generating unwanted volatile components (i.e., controllable generation); flame retardant wood provides advantages including processability, temperature resistance and strength (compared to normal paper).
The aerosol generating article may include a distal end, a mouth end (or mouth-end portion) and a longitudinal axis which may extend between the mouth end and the distal end. The mouth end (or mouth-end portion) is located at an opposite end of the aerosol generating article to the distal end. More particularly, the mouth end (or mouth end portion) is located downstream of the distal end with respect to an airflow direction through the aerosol generating article, e.g., during use of the aerosol generating article in an aerosol generating device, i.e., when, in use, a user inhales through the mouth end (or mouth-end portion). Thus, the mouth end (or mouth-end portion) constitutes a downstream portion of the aerosol generating article. The first direction may be substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis. Thus, the support members may extend in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis, between the distal end and the mouth end. Air flows through the aerosol generating article, from the distal end to the mouth end, during use of the aerosol generating article thereby ensuring that a maximum amount of volatile components are released into the air from the heated aerosol generating strips. This in turn ensures that the greatest possible quantity of vapour and/or aerosol is generated and delivered to the user during use of the aerosol generating article.
The elongate support elements may be longer than the aerosol generating strips in the first direction. The elongate support elements may extend beyond an end of the aerosol generating strips to form a mouth-end portion (or mouth end) of the aerosol generating article. This may help to improve the rigidity and structural integrity of the aerosol generating article at the mouth-end portion (or mouth end), where the aerosol generating article is engaged by a user's lips.
The wrapping member may form a pair of major surfaces which may have a substantially flat shape, at least one of the major surfaces may be spaced from the aerosol generating strips to form a gap between the major surface and the aerosol generating strips, and the gap may extend in the first direction along the aerosol generating strips to form an airflow channel. The airflow channel provides a route for aerosol and/or vapour to flow internally within the aerosol generating article. The formation of condensed matter on the internal surfaces of the aerosol generating device is thereby substantially eliminated, or at least minimised.
One of the major surfaces of the wrapping member may contact the plurality of elongate support elements to space it from the aerosol generating strips and thereby form said gap. The gap, and hence the airflow channel, is, thus, readily formed at the time of manufacture of the aerosol generating article due to the contact between the major surface of the wrapping member and the elongate support elements.
One of the major surfaces of the wrapping member may contact the plurality of aerosol generating strips and the plurality of elongate support elements. This may help to facilitate correct positioning of the wrapping member with respect to the aerosol generating strips and the support elements.
The plurality of aerosol generating strips and the plurality of elongate support elements may form a flat rectangular shape which may have a pair of main surfaces. The wrapping member may comprise a pair of rectangular sheets which may be attached, respectively, to the pair of main surfaces. The aerosol generating article may have a pleasing aesthetic appearance due to the flat rectangular shape of the aerosol generating substrate formed by the plurality of aerosol generating strips. The aerosol generating strips forming the aerosol generating substrate may be readily covered by the wrapping member, thereby ensuring that a user does not directly touch the aerosol generating strips during handling of the aerosol generating article. The flat rectangular shape may also facilitate packaging and storage of multiple aerosol generating articles.
The aerosol generating article may comprise a support member which may form a mouth-end portion of the article. The support member may have a tubular form, e.g., a rectangular tubular form, to receive a downstream end of the aerosol generating strips and the elongate support elements. The support member may be self-supporting and may, for example, comprise cardboard or a plastics material. The support member may advantageously deliver vapour and/or aerosol generated during use of the article directly to a user's mouth. The support member may allow heated vapour generated during use of the aerosol generating article to cool and condense to form an aerosol with optimal characteristics for inhalation by a user.
The wrapping member may comprise a material which is substantially non-electrically conductive and non-magnetically permeable and may, for example, comprise a paper wrapper. The use of a paper wrapper may facilitate manufacture and handing of the aerosol generating article and may enhance aerosol generation.
The wrapping member may have a porous inner surface which may face towards the aerosol generating substrate, and more particularly towards the aerosol generating strips, for absorbing condensation. The porous inner surface may help to ensure that the formation of condensed matter on the internal surfaces of the aerosol generating device is substantially eliminated, or at least minimised. The wrapping member may have an anti-stick outer surface which may face away from the aerosol generating substrate, and more particularly away from the aerosol generating strips. For example, the wrapping member may comprise an anti-stick coating on the outer surface. The anti-stick outer surface may help to ensure that the wrapping member does not stick to surfaces of the aerosol generating device when it has been heated. Together, the porous inner surface and the anti-stick outer surface may help to reduce residue build-up within the aerosol generating device, thus reducing the number of cleaning and maintenance operations that a user of the device may have to perform.
The aerosol generating substrate, and more particularly the aerosol generating strips, may comprise a non-liquid aerosol generating material, for example any type of solid or semi-solid material. Example types of aerosol generating solids include powder, granules, pellets, shreds, strands, particles, gel, loose leaves, cut leaves, cut filler, porous material, foam material or sheets. The aerosol generating strips may comprise plant derived material and in particular, may comprise a tobacco. They may advantageously comprise reconstituted tobacco, for example including tobacco and any one or more of cellulose fibres, tobacco stalk fibres and inorganic fillers such as CaCO3.
Consequently, the aerosol generating device with which the aerosol generating articles are intended for use may be referred to as a “heated tobacco device”, a “heat-not-burn tobacco device”, a “device for vaporising tobacco products”, and the like, with this being interpreted as a device suitable for achieving these effects. The features disclosed herein are equally applicable to devices which are designed to vaporise any aerosol generating substrate.
The aerosol generating substrate may comprise an aerosol-former. Examples of aerosol-formers include polyhydric alcohols and mixtures thereof such as glycerine or propylene glycol. Typically, the aerosol generating substrate may comprise an aerosol-former content of between approximately 5% and approximately 50% on a dry weight basis. In some embodiments, the aerosol generating substrate may comprise an aerosol-former content of between approximately 10% and approximately 20% on a dry weight basis, and possibly approximately 15% on a dry weight basis.
The aerosol generating article may be configured for use with an electrically-operated aerosol generating device including a heater. The heater may be a resistive heater or may be an inductive heater. Upon heating, the aerosol generating strips that form the aerosol generating substrate may release volatile compounds. The volatile compounds may include nicotine or flavour compounds such as tobacco flavouring.
Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring initially to
A longitudinal axis extends between the distal end 10 and the mouth end 12 to define a longitudinal direction of the aerosol generating article 1.
The aerosol generating article 1 comprises a substantially planar aerosol generating substrate 14. The aerosol generating substrate 14 comprises a plurality of aerosol generating strips 32 which extend in a first direction, substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the aerosol generating article 1, between the distal end 10 and the mouth end 12. The aerosol generating strips 32 are spaced apart laterally, in other words they are arranged intermittently and spaced apart in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The aerosol generating substrate 14 formed by the aerosol generating strips 32 has a flat rectangular shape with a pair of oppositely disposed main surfaces 14a, 14b. The aerosol generating article 1 is a consumable, or disposable, article in which the aerosol generating strips 32 may comprise tobacco or a tobacco material.
The aerosol generating article 1 comprises a plurality of airflow channels 16 which, in the illustrated example, comprise a plurality of grooves 18 formed in a main surface 14a of the aerosol generating substrate 14. The grooves 18 are arranged side-by-side and parallel to each other, and the grooves 18 extend in the longitudinal direction between the distal end 10 and the mouth end 12, substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis. The grooves 18 may be formed in any suitable manner, for example by providing a reduced quantity of aerosol generating strips 32 in the regions where the grooves 18 are formed. Three grooves 18 are shown in the example of
The aerosol generating article 1 comprises a plurality of elongate support elements 20 which also extend in the first direction, substantially parallel to the aerosol generating strips 32 and substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the aerosol generating article 1, between the distal end 10 and the mouth end 12. The support elements 20 are spaced apart laterally, and more particularly are arranged alternately in the second direction with the plurality of aerosol generating strips 32. In the first example of the aerosol generating article 1 illustrated in
As will be apparent from
The aerosol generating article 1 further comprises a wrapping member 22 which surrounds the aerosol generating strips 32 and the support elements 20. The aerosol generating strips 32 and the support elements 20 form a flat rectangular shape having a pair of main surfaces 44, 46 and are fully enclosed by the wrapping member 22 which may, for example, comprise cigarette paper or a similar material. The wrapping member 22 comprises a pair of rectangular sheets 24, 26 which are attached, respectively, to the main surfaces 44, 46. The wrapping member 22 is typically formed by a single sheet of material which is wrapped around the aerosol generating strips 32 and the support elements 20 and which may have overlapping edges that are adhered to each other to secure the wrapping member 22 in position.
The wrapping member 22 forms a pair of major surfaces 40, 42 having a substantially flat shape. The major surface 40 contacts the aerosol generating strips 32 and the support elements 20 at the main surface 44. The major surface 42 contacts the support elements 20 but is spaced from the aerosol generating strips 32 to form a series of gaps 36 between the major surface 42 and the aerosol generating strips 32. Each gap 36 extends in the first direction, substantially parallel to the aerosol generating strips 32 and substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the aerosol generating article 1, between the distal end 10 and the mouth end 12. Each gap 36 forms an airflow channel 16 (or groove 18) as described above.
In an exemplary and non-limiting example, the aerosol generating substrate 14 formed by the aerosol generating strips 32 may have a length (in the longitudinal direction of the aerosol generating article 1) of approximately 18.0 mm, may have a width of approximately 11.8 mm, and may have a thickness (or depth) of approximately 1.2 mm. The aerosol generating strips 32 may be spaced inwardly from the distal end 10 of the aerosol generating article 1 by a small distance, for example approximately 3.0 mm, as shown in
In some embodiments, the wrapping member 22 comprises a porous inner surface 22a which faces towards the aerosol generating substrate 14 and which is capable of absorbing condensation that may be formed during the heating process. Alternatively or in addition, the wrapping member 22 can comprise an anti-stick outer surface 22b facing away from the aerosol generating substrate 14 to reduce the risk of the wrapping member 22 sticking to surfaces of the aerosol generating device 102 when it has been heated. The anti-stick outer surface 22b may comprise an anti-stick coating on the outer surface 22b of the wrapping member 22.
The aerosol generating articles 1, 2 described above can be manufactured by (i) providing a plurality of aerosol generating strips 32 extending in the first direction and arranging the aerosol generating strips 32 intermittently in the second direction and (ii) providing a plurality of elongate support elements 20 extending in the first direction and arranging the elongate support elements 20 alternately in the second direction with the plurality of aerosol generating strips 32. It should be noted that steps (i) and (ii) may be performed in any order, or simultaneously. The final step in the manufacturing method comprises (iii) wrapping the aerosol generating strips 32 and the elongate support elements 20 with a wrapping member 22 to form a substantially planar aerosol generating article 1, 2.
Referring now to
The aerosol generating article 3 includes a support member 28 positioned at the mouth end 12 of the aerosol generating article 3 to further form the mouth-end portion 34 which can be engaged by a user's lips during use of the aerosol generating article 3 in an aerosol generating device 102. The support member 28 typically comprises a self-supporting material such as cardboard or a plastics material and has a rectangular tubular form when viewed in cross-section to receive a downstream end of the aerosol generating strips 32 and the support elements 20. The wrapping member 22 also surrounds the support member 28.
Referring now to
The aerosol generating device 102 comprises a receiving chamber 106 and a heater 104 positioned in the device body 108 to provide heat to the receiving chamber 106. The heater 104 may be a resistive heater or may alternatively be an induction heater comprising a susceptor and an electromagnetic field generator including an induction coil.
In use, a user inserts the aerosol generating article 1 into the receiving chamber 106. The aerosol generating device 102 may include a cover 110 and a pivotal mounting 112 that allows the cover 110 to be moved between a closed position shown in
The aerosol generating device 102 includes a power source 114, e.g., a rechargeable battery, and a controller 116, both of which are connected to the heater 104. The heater 104 may be actuated manually, e.g., via a user interface such as a button on the aerosol generating device 102, or may be actuated automatically in response to a user drawing on a mouthpiece 118 of the aerosol generating device 102. The aerosol generating device 102 includes one or more air inlets 120 to allow air to flow into the aerosol generating article 1 and through the airflow channels 16. The airflow direction is illustrated by the arrows in
With the aerosol generating article 1 positioned in the receiving chamber 106, power is supplied from the power source 114 to the heater 104 (either by a manual or automatic actuation of the heater 104 as described above), thereby heating the aerosol generating strips 32 without burning them to release one or more volatile components. The volatile components are entrained in the air flowing through the airflow channels 16 thereby forming a vapour. The vapour cools and condenses as it flows through the airflow channels 16 to form an aerosol which is inhaled by a user through the mouthpiece 118 of the aerosol generating device 102.
When the aerosol generating strips 32 become depleted and no longer release sufficient volatile components to generate an aerosol with acceptable qualities, the aerosol generating article 1 can be removed from the receiving chamber 106 after pivoting the cover 110 to the open position, and a replacement aerosol generating article 1 can be inserted in its place.
In the event that the aerosol generating device 102 is used in combination with an aerosol generating article having a support member 28, for example the third example of the aerosol generating article 3 described above with reference to
Although exemplary embodiments have been described in the preceding paragraphs, it should be understood that various modifications may be made to those embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. Thus, the breadth and scope of the claims should not be limited to the above-described exemplary embodiments.
Any combination of the above-described features in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the present disclosure unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words “comprise”, “comprising”, and the like, are to be construed in an inclusive as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of “including, but not limited to”.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21170088.5 | Apr 2021 | EP | regional |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2022/060589 | 4/21/2022 | WO |
