CN110891439A

CN110891439A - Heating unit for HNB-tobacco products and method for producing a heating unit

Info

Publication number: CN110891439A
Application number: CN201880051545.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: J.迪克; U.霍伊泽
Original assignee: Hauni Maschinenbau GmbH
Current assignee: Koerber Technologies GmbH
Priority date: 2017-08-08
Filing date: 2018-08-02
Publication date: 2020-03-17
Also published as: JP2020529859A; DE102017007457A1; WO2019030115A1; KR20200040265A; EP3664647A1; JP6975840B2

Abstract

A heating unit (13) for HNB-tobacco products (10) comprises a tobacco film (20) and an electrical resistance heating element (18) for heating the tobacco film without combustion. The electrical resistance heating element (18) is integrated into the tobacco film (20) and/or connected thereto and thereby forms at least one tobacco-heater-composite element (26).

Description

Heating unit for HNB-tobacco products and method for producing a heating unit

Technical Field

The invention relates to a heating unit for an HNB-tobacco product comprising a tobacco film and an electrical resistance heating element for heating the tobacco film without combustion. The electrical resistance heating element is integrated in the tobacco film in a planar manner and/or is connected thereto and thus forms at least one tobacco heater composite element. The invention also relates to a method for producing a heating unit for an HNB tobacco product.

Background

For HNB (heat not burn) -products, tobacco or tobacco-containing material is heated and therefore releases aromatic substances and therefore the generated smoke without burning. Such HNB-articles have been proposed for a long time, see for example EP 0430559B 1. In this case, a column of a flavoring-producing medium, for example comprising tobacco, is arranged cylindrically around the rod-shaped heating element. The heating element is a resistance wire coil disposed in an insulating tube.

An alternative construction of HNB tobacco products is disclosed in WO 2013/131764 a 1. In this case, a smokable material, for example a tobacco mixture, is arranged in the chamber. A heater, such as a ceramic heater, an infrared heater or a resistive heater, is arranged cylindrically around the cavity.

In both of the arrangements described above, the tobacco material in contact with the heater is heated directly, but the material remote from the heater is heated only indirectly and with a delay. The resulting inhomogeneous temperature distribution is disadvantageous in view of the optimal release of active substance and aromatic substance and the reduced release of harmful substances.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the present invention is to provide a heating unit which makes it possible to achieve a more uniform heating of a tobacco-containing material, and a method for producing said heating unit.

The invention solves this object with the features of the independent claims. The heating element is integrated into the tobacco film and/or connected to the tobacco film, whereby a compact composite structure is created between the heating element and the tobacco film. The resulting planar tobacco heater composite element, due to the direct, large-area contact between the heating element and the tobacco film, enables a direct, uniform and delay-free heat transfer from the heating element into the tobacco film, which in turn allows an optimal release of the active substance and the aromatic substance with a reduced release of harmful substances.

According to the invention, the heating unit does not need to be cleaned or replaced, thereby enabling improved hygiene and operability of the HNB-tobacco product.

By means of the advantageously provided resistance monitoring of the heating element, the maximum temperature of the product and thus its health aspects (avoidance of harmful substances due to overheating) can be better controlled and regulated.

Preferably the resistive heating element is an at least partially conductive fabric or network structure. The fabric composed of warp and weft yarns can be used as a carrier material in a tobacco heater composite element and impart mechanical stability and strength thereto. The textile is particularly advantageously used as a carrier material in the production of tobacco films. The production of the tobacco film can thereby be greatly simplified.

Alternatively, the heating element can be added as a layer to the tobacco film and connected thereto, such that the tobacco film and the heating element form a sandwich composite element. In one variant, the heating element can be applied to the tobacco film in the form of an equal or homogeneous coating, in particular by printing or spraying or as a conductive film. The conductive coating can then be brought to its final (heated) configuration in a second process step by an abrasion method. This can be achieved, for example, by means of laser engraving. Thus, a very fine and complex heating structure can be achieved while the heating element is very thin, which in turn achieves an optimal heat distribution.

In one embodiment, there can be direct contact between the tobacco film and the fabric.

Alternatively, the textile can be coated with an insulating material in an intermediate step, in order to achieve insulation between the tobacco film and the textile that is not chemically reactive. This is particularly relevant if the desired material for the heating element can react with the tobacco film in an undesired chemical manner. For the production, not only can the spraying process be used for applying the insulating material to the fabric, but also the network can be immersed in a bath of insulating material and subsequently dried. The tobacco-containing material can then be applied in a second process step in an impregnation or casting process with the network structure thus insulated, followed by a drying process. Impregnation is also advantageous if the net structure has been arranged in advance in a final shape, for example a cylindrical shape, and then stabilized by the impregnation method. The deformation before impregnation likewise has the following advantages: it is also possible to use an insulating material for the coating, which may become brittle after hardening.

The present invention is not limited to fabric-heating elements. For example, a plurality of resistance heating conductors can also be integrated into the tobacco film, in particular parallel to one another, or connected to it.

In one embodiment of the invention, the heating element has a conductive weft yarn as an electrical resistance heating conductor. This advantageously enables the heating element to be constructed as a textile fabric in a simple manner.

The heating conductor can generally be metallic, for example, designed as a heating wire, or be composed of another conductive material. The resistance heating conductor can also be formed in the form of a metallic coating or sheath of a textile or in the form of a yarn. Furthermore, carbon fiber based materials can be considered.

The heating element advantageously has conductive warp threads as supply conductors for supplying the resistance heating element, which makes it possible to supply the heating element with power in a simple manner. The supply conductors can preferably each be arranged along one edge of the fabric and preferably enclose this edge in a U-shape, whereby a reliable contact is produced between the supply conductors and the resistance heating conductors.

The heating element advantageously has non-conductive warp threads and/or non-conductive weft threads as supporting threads. The support yarns, which are made of a suitably strong material, give sufficient mechanical stability and strength to the heating element or the fabric.

It is possible within the scope of the invention for the fabric to be completely metallic and/or to be metal-coated. In this case it is a (fully) conductive fabric.

In an advantageous embodiment, at least one of the supply conductors is divided into two or more independently actuatable segments. In this way, for example, the respective segments of the tobacco film can be consumed sequentially. It is also possible in this way to provide a multi-cigarette product if a section of the tobacco film corresponds to the consumption of one cigarette.

The at least one tobacco-heater-composite element can advantageously be arranged in the heating unit in a rolled-up or crimped manner. In this way, an optimal utilization of the available installation space in the HNB tobacco product can be achieved. In one embodiment of the invention, a plurality of tobacco heater composite elements can be arranged in the heating unit with the same target setting, in particular concentrically. In this case, the electrical contacts of the composite element can advantageously be arranged at different, for example opposite, circumferential positions in the heating unit. This can help to homogenize the active substance component in the air flow.

Preferably, the at least one tobacco heater composite element is held in the heating unit by means of radial spacers, which represents a particularly simple design.

Drawings

The invention is explained below with reference to the drawings by means of preferred embodiments. Here:

figure 1 shows a schematic representation of a HNB-smoke product in longitudinal section;

figure 2 shows a perspective view of a heating unit for HNB-smoke products;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of a heating unit in cross-section;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic representation of a heating unit in longitudinal section or in side view;

figure 5 shows a schematic view of a HNB-smoke product in cross section in the region of a heating unit; and is

Fig. 6 shows a side view of a machine for embedding a tobacco heater composite element in at least one wrapping web.

Detailed Description

The HNB tobacco product 10 shown in fig. 1 comprises a housing 11, for example in the form of a rod, which is advantageously insulated, in which an electrical energy source 12, a heating unit 13 and an electronic control device 14 are arranged. The electrical energy or voltage source 12 can be, for example, a battery or a rechargeable accumulator. The housing 11 includes a mouthpiece 15 on which a consumer can draw for creating an air flow. In addition, the housing 11 has one or more air inlets 16 through which ambient air can flow to the interior of the housing 11 when a consumer creates a negative pressure within the housing 11 by way of suction on the mouthpiece 15. In this way, a controlled air flow 17 is generated in the housing 11.

The heating unit 13 is arranged in an axial heating section 19 in the housing 11. The heating unit 13 can be a replaceable disposable part or a part of such a disposable part. The matrix of the HNB-tobacco article 10 can be reused. The HNB tobacco product 10 can thus be composed of a reusable substrate and a disposable heating unit 13.

The air flow 17 flows through the heating section 19 and here through the heating unit 13 or directly along the heating unit 13 in order to absorb the active substance and/or aromatic substance released from the tobacco film 20 by means of the heating element 18.

Fig. 2 shows an advantageous embodiment of a heating unit 13 according to the invention. The heating unit comprises a tobacco film 20 and a heating element 18. The heating element 18 is a flat fabric made up of warp threads 21, which are oriented in the longitudinal direction and are preferably non-conductive, and weft threads 22 arranged transversely thereto. The weft yarn 22 comprises a conductive weft yarn that forms an electrical resistance heating conductor 24. Furthermore, the weft yarns 22 can have non-conductive support yarns 25. In the embodiment according to fig. 2 and 4, conductive weft threads 22 as resistance heating conductors 24 and non-conductive weft threads 22 as support threads are arranged alternately. Other arrangements of conductive and non-conductive weft yarns 22 are possible. It is also possible for all weft threads 22 to be designed as resistance heating conductors 24. It is also not excluded that some or all of the warp yarns 21 are metallic or have been metal coated.

The non-conductive warp threads 21 and the non-conductive weft threads 22 as well as the threads are made of a suitable strong and heat-resistant material, in particular plastic, in the case of a conductive coating. One suitable material is, for example, aramid having a heat resistance of up to about 370 ℃.

Along the two longitudinal edges of the heating element 18, supply conductors 23 are arranged for supplying the heating element 18, more precisely resistance heating conductors 24, which for this purpose are conductively connected to the supply conductors 23, for example soldered or welded together, but are nevertheless advantageously clamped or pressed together. The supply conductor 23 advantageously surrounds the ends of the resistance heating conductor 24 in a U-shape, as shown in fig. 3. Thereby, a particularly reliable contact is produced between the supply conductor 23 and the resistance heating conductor 24. The supply conductors 23 each have an electrical contact 30 for contacting the heating voltage or energy source 12. The contact of the heating conductor 24 or the fabric 31 can be established, for example, by clamping or pressing, preferably by means of a wire, a contact pin or a contact surface, which is then contacted when the heating unit 13, which is designed as a disposable part, is inserted into the HNB article 10.

The resistance of the heating conductor 24 and the resistance of the supply conductor 23 are advantageously selected such that the heating heat is generated in the heating conductor 24 as far as possible and the heat loss in the supply conductor 23 is as small as possible. The resistance of the heating conductor 24 is therefore at least twice as high as the resistance of the supply conductor 23, preferably at least five times as high, more preferably at least ten times as high.

At least one of the supply conductors 23 can be divided into two independently actuatable,

separate sections

27, 28. In this way, the respective sections (here two) of the tobacco film 20 can be consumed, for example, sequentially. It is also possible in this way to provide a multi-cigarette product if a section of the tobacco film 20 corresponds to the consumption of one cigarette.

As can best be seen in fig. 4, the warp and

weft yarns

21, 22 are preferably interwoven with one another. Other arrangements of the warp yarns 21 and the weft yarns 22 relative to each other are possible.

As can be seen in fig. 2 and 4, the tobacco film 20 preferably surrounds the heating element 18. The heating element 18 is integrated in the tobacco film 20 in a flat manner, so that a compact composite structure is produced between the heating element 18 and the tobacco film 20. The resulting planar composite element 26 is referred to herein as a tobacco heater composite element 26. Direct, uniform and delay-free heat transfer from the heating element 18 to the tobacco film 20 results from the planar composite structure 26 and the intimate contact between the heating element 18 and the tobacco film 20. The fabric formed by the warp yarns 21 and the weft yarns 22 serves as a carrier material in the composite element 26 and gives the composite element mechanical stability and strength.

The composite element 26 can be produced particularly easily with the desired properties if the woven fabric composed of warp threads 21 and weft threads 22 is already used as a carrier material in the production of the tobacco film 20. Alternatively, however, it is also possible to first produce the woven fabric from warp yarns 21 and weft yarns 22 and then to add the heating element 18 as a layer to the tobacco film 20, so that the tobacco film 20 and the heating element 18 form two layers of the sandwich composite element 26 lying one on top of the other.

An advantageous configuration of HNB-tobacco article 10 is shown in fig. 5. In this embodiment, two composite elements 26A, 26B rolled into a cylinder are used. The composite elements 26A, 26B are preferably held concentrically in a cylindrical insulating element 32 by means of, for example, four radial spacer washers 29. The number of spacer spacers 29 can be more or less than four. The spacers 29 are preferably arranged at the same angular distance, here for example 90 °, relative to one another. The insulating element 32 can be formed by the housing 11 of the HNB tobacco product 10. Alternatively, the insulating element 32 can be a separate component from the housing 11 of the HNB-tobacco product 10, in particular if the heating unit 13 is a replaceable disposable component.

The electrical contacts 30 of the composite elements 26A, 26B are advantageously arranged at different circumferential positions of the HNB-tobacco article 10, for example at radially opposite circumferential positions in fig. 5. This leads to homogenization of the active substance component in the gas flow 17. However, it is not excluded that the electrical contacts 30 of the composite elements 26A, 26B are arranged at the same circumferential position of the HNB-tobacco article 10, for example by the shortest possible connection line between the contacts 30 and the heating voltage source 12.

In other embodiments, only one composite element 26 or more than two composite elements 26 can be used. In one embodiment, for example, a tobacco-heater-composite element 26 spirally wound together can be used.

Fig. 6 shows a side view of a machine 40 of the tobacco processing industry for embedding the tobacco heater composite element 26 in a wrapping web, in particular a paper web. The composite element 26 with the tobacco film 20 and the integrated heating element 18 is present here in the form of a continuous web which is drawn off from a reel 43. A lower material conveyor belt (Stofflauf) 41 of said machine 40 applies a lower paper layer 42 onto the composite element 26. Here, the couch roll 44 presses the composite element 26 into the advantageously moistened paper 42. An upper material conveyor 45 of the machine 40 applies an upper paper layer 46 to the composite element 26. The couch roll 47 presses the moistened paper 46 onto the composite element 26. In addition, the composite web 48 formed from the composite element 26 and the

papers

42, 46 is brought to the usual drying composition and transferred to a press section.

Claims

1. Heating unit (13) for HNB-tobacco products (10), comprising

-a tobacco film (20), and

-an electrical resistance heating element (18) for heating the tobacco film without combustion,

characterized in that the electrical resistance heating element (18) is integrated into the tobacco film (20) and/or connected thereto and thereby forms at least one tobacco-heater-composite element (26).

2. The heating unit according to claim 1, characterized in that the resistive heating element (18) is an at least partially conductive fabric (31) or network structure.

3. The heating unit according to claim 2, wherein the textile (31) is used as a carrier material in the manufacture of the tobacco film (20).

4. The heating unit according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the heating element (18) has a conductive weft as an electrical resistance heating conductor (24).

5. The heating unit according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the heating element (18) has conductive warp yarns as supply conductors (23) for supplying the resistance heating element (18) with electricity.

6. The heating unit according to claims 3 and 5, characterized in that at least one supply conductor (23) is arranged along an edge of the fabric (31).

7. The heating unit according to claim 6, characterized in that the at least one supply conductor (23) surrounds the edge of the fabric (31) in a U-shape.

8. The heating unit according to any one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that at least one of the supply conductors (23) is divided into two or more independently manipulable segments (27, 28).

9. The heating unit according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the heating element (18) has non-conductive warp yarns (21) and/or non-conductive weft yarns (22) as support yarns.

10. The heating unit according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the heating element (18) is added as a layer onto the tobacco film (20) such that the tobacco film (20) and the heating element (18) form a sandwich composite element (26).

11. The heating unit according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one tobacco-heater-composite element (26) is arranged in the heating unit (13) in a rolled and/or crimped manner.

12. The heating unit according to claim 11, characterized in that a plurality of tobacco-heater-composite elements (26A, 26B) are arranged, in particular concentrically, in the heating unit (13).

13. The heating unit according to claim 12, wherein the electrical contacts (30) of the plurality of tobacco-heater-composite elements (26A, 26B) are arranged at different, e.g. opposite, circumferential positions in the heating unit (13).

14. The heating unit according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the tobacco-heater-composite element (26) or the tobacco-heater-composite element (26A, 26B) is held in the heating unit (13) by means of radial spacer shims (29).

15. HNB-tobacco article (10) having a housing (11) and a heating unit (13) according to any one of the preceding claims arranged in the housing (11).

16. Machine of the tobacco processing industry for embedding a tobacco-heater-composite element (26) into at least one wrapping web, characterized in that the tobacco-heater-composite element (26) is drawn off as a continuous web from a reel (43) and at least one wrapping web (42, 46) is pressed onto the continuous web (26) by means of at least one couch roll (44; 47).

17. Method for manufacturing a heating unit (13) for HNB-tobacco products, characterised in that the electrical resistance heating element (18) is used as a carrier material in the manufacture of the tobacco film (20) and/or is added as a layer onto the tobacco film (20).