CN117098465A

CN117098465A - Aerosol generating article and aerosol generating device comprising an aerosol generating article

Info

Publication number: CN117098465A
Application number: CN202280023865.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 金兑勋
Original assignee: KT&G Corp
Current assignee: KT&G Corp
Priority date: 2021-04-07
Filing date: 2022-04-07
Publication date: 2023-11-21
Also published as: WO2022216072A1; KR20220139055A; KR102682158B1; EP4319574A1; JP2024511812A; US20240298700A1

Abstract

An aerosol-generating article according to an aspect of the disclosure may include a tobacco rod, a front end plug disposed at a first side of the tobacco rod, a filter rod disposed at a second side of the tobacco rod, and an aerosol-delivery tube disposed within the tobacco rod and allowing aerosol to move therethrough.

Description

Aerosol generating article and aerosol generating device comprising an aerosol generating article

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to an aerosol-generating article and an aerosol-generating device comprising the aerosol-generating article.

Background

In recent years, there has been an increasing need for alternative methods of overcoming the shortcomings of conventional cigarettes. As an alternative to overcome the disadvantages of cigarettes, there is a hybrid aerosol-generating system using both cartridges and cigarettes.

A hybrid aerosol-generating system is a system that allows a user to inhale both aerosol generated by heating a cigarette and aerosol introduced into the cigarette from the outside.

In hybrid aerosol-generating systems, most aerosols inhaled by a user are mechanically generated directly from the cartridge. Hybrid aerosol-generating systems may be advantageous because they generate little or no characteristic odor when heating or steaming cigarettes, provide a high amount of atomization, and provide the same degree of smoking satisfaction as conventional cigarettes.

In hybrid aerosol-generating systems, since most aerosols inhaled by the user are mechanically generated directly from the cartridge, in order to increase the amount of atomization, it is important that the mechanically generated aerosols are filtered as little as possible as they pass inside the cigarette.

However, conventional hybrid aerosol-generating systems are problematic in that a large amount of mechanically generated aerosol is filtered by the tobacco leaves as it passes through the cigarette, resulting in a significant reduction in the amount of atomization actually generated.

Accordingly, the present disclosure has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the related art, and embodiments of the present disclosure provide an aerosol-generating article and an aerosol-generating device that can generate a rich amount of mist.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical proposal

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an aerosol-generating article is provided that includes a tobacco rod, a front end plug disposed on a first side of the tobacco rod, a filter rod disposed on a second side of the tobacco rod, and an aerosol-delivery tube disposed within the tobacco rod and allowing aerosol to move through the tobacco rod.

Advantageous effects

As described above, an aerosol-generating article and an aerosol-generating device according to an aspect of the present disclosure may prevent a significant reduction in the amount of atomization as the aerosol passes through the interior of the tobacco rod.

Thus, a user can be provided with a rich amount of atomization having the unique taste and flavor of a cigarette.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating an aerosol-generating article according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a modified example of the front end plug of the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an aerosol-generating article according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 is a view taken along line B-B of fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a plurality of aerosol delivery tubes disposed in a tobacco rod.

Fig. 6 to 8 are modified examples of the aerosol delivery tube of the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an aerosol-generating article according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 10 to 12 are modified examples of the aerosol delivery tube of the second embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 13 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an aerosol-generating article according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 14 to 16 are modified examples of an aerosol delivery tube of a third embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 17 is a cross-sectional view showing an aerosol-generating article in which a portion of the aerosol-delivery tube has a curved section.

Fig. 18 is a perspective view showing an aerosol-generating device into which an aerosol-generating article according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure is inserted.

Fig. 19 is a schematic view showing the configuration of the aerosol-generating device shown in fig. 18.

Detailed Description

An aerosol-generating article according to an aspect of the disclosure may include a tobacco rod, a front end plug disposed on a first side of the tobacco rod, a filter rod disposed on a second side of the tobacco rod, and an aerosol-delivery tube disposed within the tobacco rod and allowing aerosol to pass through.

The aerosol delivery tube may be disposed only within the tobacco rod.

The aerosol delivery tube may extend into the front end plug.

The aerosol delivery tube may extend into the filter rod.

The aerosol delivery tube may extend parallel to the longitudinal direction of the tobacco rod.

The aerosol delivery tube includes a curved section in at least a portion of the aerosol delivery tube.

The aerosol delivery tube may be disposed at a central portion of the tobacco rod.

The volume of the aerosol delivery tube may be in the range of 10% to 90% of the total volume of the tobacco rod.

The aerosol delivery tube may comprise a plurality of aerosol delivery tubes.

The aerosol delivery tube may have a circular cross-section.

An aerosol-generating device according to another aspect of the disclosure may comprise a heater for heating an aerosol-generating article, an electrical power supply, and a controller for controlling the power supplied to the heater by the electrical power supply.

The aerosol-generating device may further comprise an aerosol generator for generating an aerosol by heating the liquid composition. The aerosol generated by the aerosol generator may be introduced into the aerosol-generating article through the front end plug.

MODE OF THE INVENTION

As embodiments of the present disclosure may be variously modified in many different forms, reference will now be made in detail to the various embodiments of the present disclosure, specific examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described below. However, the disclosure should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein, but rather as covering modifications, equivalents, or alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular is also intended to include the plural unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises," "comprising," "includes," "including" and/or "having," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or combinations thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like elements or parts. Further, it should be noted that when functions of conventional elements and detailed descriptions of elements related to the present disclosure may obscure the gist of the present disclosure, detailed descriptions of the elements will be omitted. For the same reason, some components will be exaggerated, omitted, or schematically illustrated in the drawings.

Hereinafter, an aerosol-generating article according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described.

Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating an exposed aerosol-generating article 100 according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 2 is a modified example of front end plug 110 of the first embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an aerosol-generating article 100 according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 4 is a view taken along line B-B of fig. 3.

Referring to fig. 1-4, an aerosol-generating article 100 according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure may include a front end plug 110, a tobacco rod 130, a filter rod 150 and an aerosol-delivery tube 160, and a wrapper 170. Here, one of ordinary skill in the art related to the present embodiment will appreciate that other general components besides those shown in the figures may also be included in the aerosol-generating article 100.

The aerosol-generating article 100 according to the present embodiment may be heated by insertion into an aerosol-generating device 300 (see fig. 18 and 19), which will be described later. In this case, the mainstream smoke may be delivered to the user as the aerosol-generating article 100 is heated. The mainstream smoke can be a flow of air within the aerosol-generating article 100 from upstream to downstream. Here, the term "upstream" may mean toward the side where front end plug 110 is located, and the term "downstream" may mean toward the side where filter rod 150 is located. A user of the aerosol-generating article 100 may inhale the mainstream smoke through the downstream end of the aerosol-generating article 100.

The aerosol-generating article 100 may have a cylindrical shape. In this case, the diameter of the aerosol-generating article 100 may be in the range of 4.7mm to 9.9 mm. Each of front end plug 110, tobacco rod 130, and filter rod 150 may also have a cylindrical shape with a diameter of 4.7mm to 9.9 mm.

Furthermore, the length of the aerosol-generating article 100 may be in the range of 35mm to 60 mm. Front end plug 110 may have a length in the range of 4mm to 9 mm. The length of the tobacco rod 130 may be in the range of 12mm to 19mm and the length of the filter rod 150 may be in the range of 19mm to 32 mm.

The shape, diameter, and length of the aerosol-generating article 100 and its components are exemplary, and the present disclosure is not necessarily limited thereto. The shape and size of the aerosol-generating article 100 may be partially modified within the scope of what one skilled in the art can use.

The front end plug 110 may be located at the upstream end of the aerosol-generating article 100 and may prevent the tobacco rod 130 from separating from the aerosol-generating article 100. Front end plug 110 may be located at an upstream end of tobacco rod 130 relative to tobacco rod 130 opposite filter rod 150.

Front end plug 110 may prevent impurities from being introduced into tobacco rod 130 from the outside and may prevent liquefied aerosol from being introduced into aerosol-generating device 300 during smoking (see fig. 18 and 19).

In addition, front end plug 110 may support aerosol-generating article 100 when aerosol-generating article 100 is inserted into aerosol-generating device 300 such that aerosol-generating article 100 is secured to aerosol-generating device 300.

Front end plug 110 may include a crimped sheet (not depicted). In this case, the curled sheet may be a sheet made of a polymeric material. For example, the polymeric material may include at least one of paper, cellulose acetate, lyocell, and polylactic acid. However, the polymer material is not necessarily limited thereto, and the rolled sheet may not be included according to the structure of front end plug 110.

The curled sheet of front end plug 110 may be impregnated with an aerosol-generating substance, which will be described later. In addition, other additives, such as flavors, humectants, and/or organic acids and flavoring liquids, may be included in front end plug 110 in a state of being absorbed into the curled sheet.

Nicotine may be excluded from the aerosol-generating substance comprised in front end plug 110. For example, front end plug 110 may include at least one of glycerin, propylene glycol, ethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, and oleyl alcohol. However, the aerosol-generating substance included in front end plug 110 is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, front end plug 110 may include a base of about 8:2, glycerin and propylene glycol. However, the above mixing ratio is exemplary, and the present disclosure is not necessarily limited thereto.

Front end plug 110 may be a cellulose acetate filter. For example, front end plug 110 may be manufactured by adding a plasticizer such as triacetate to a cellulose acetate tow. Furthermore, the cellulose acetate tow may comprise the aerosol-generating substance described above. In addition, the cellulose acetate tow may include other additives such as flavoring agents, wetting agents, and/or organic acids. However, the material and type of front end plug 110 are not limited thereto, and may be modified within the scope that can be used by those skilled in the art.

In some embodiments, front end plug 110 may have a through hole 111 for allowing aerosol to be introduced into aerosol-generating article 100 from the outside, depending on the material of front end plug 110, to form mainstream smoke in aerosol-generating article 100. For example, when front end plug 110 includes cellulose acetate tow, as shown in fig. 2, through-hole 111 may be formed in front end plug 110. In this case, the through hole 111 may have a circular or Y-shaped cross section. However, the cross-sectional shape of the through hole 111 is not necessarily limited thereto, and may take various forms.

In some embodiments, when front end plug 110 includes a rolled sheet impregnated with an aerosol-generating substance, as shown in fig. 1, through-hole 111 may not be formed in front end plug 110.

In this case, when a portion of the aerosol-generating article 100 is inserted into the aerosol-generating device 300, the aerosol generated by the aerosol-generating device 300 may be introduced into the aerosol-generating article 100 through the front end plug 110. The aerosol thus introduced may form mainstream smoke within the aerosol-generating article 100 and be delivered to a user. In addition, aerosols generated within front end plug 110, including the aerosol-generating substance, may form mainstream smoke and be delivered to a user.

Further, a heater 370 (see fig. 19) for heating the aerosol-generating device 300 of the aerosol-generating article 100 may be inserted in the through hole 111 of the front end plug 110. In fig. 19, the heater 370 is shown as being disposed around the aerosol-generating article 100, but the disclosure is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, heater 370 may be shaped to conform to through-hole 111 of front end plug 110 and inserted into through-hole 111.

Front end plug 110 may also include provisions for identifying aerosol-generating article 100. The aerosol-generating article 100 may exhibit a variety of tastes and flavors, and may include provisions for identifying various types of aerosol-generating articles 100. For example, front end plug 110 may include a metal foil that alters the inductance of a coil included in aerosol-generating device 300 to allow identification of the type of aerosol-generating article. However, the present disclosure is not necessarily limited thereto, and a configuration for identifying the aerosol-generating article 100 may be included in the tobacco rod 130 in addition to the front end plug 110.

Tobacco rod 130 is disposed between front end plug 110 and filter rod 150 and may include tobacco media 131 for generating aerosols. As the aerosol introduced into the tobacco rod 130 passes through the tobacco rod 130, the unique taste and flavor of the cigarette may be brought into the aerosol. In more detail, the tobacco medium 131 of the tobacco rod 130 contains nicotine. As the aerosol passes through the tobacco rod 130, nicotine is introduced into the aerosol, providing the user inhaling the mainstream smoke with the unique taste and flavor of a cigarette.

For example, the nicotine may be at least one of free base nicotine or nicotine salt and the nicotine may be naturally occurring nicotine or synthetic nicotine.

The nicotine salt may be formed by adding a suitable acid to nicotine, including organic or inorganic acids. The acid forming the nicotine salt may be appropriately selected depending on factors such as absorption rate of nicotine in blood, heating temperature of the heater, flavor, solubility, etc. For example, the acid used to form the nicotine salt may be one or a mixture of at least two selected from the following: benzoic acid, lactic acid, salicylic acid, lauric acid, sorbic acid, levulinic acid, pyruvic acid, acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, valeric acid, caproic acid, caprylic acid, capric acid, citric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, phenylacetic acid, tartaric acid, succinic acid, fumaric acid, gluconic acid, sugar acid, malonic acid and malic acid, but are not necessarily limited thereto.

The tobacco media 131 of the tobacco rod 130 may be manufactured in various ways. For example, the tobacco media 131 may be formed into sheets or strands. Further, the tobacco media 131 may be made of tobacco shreds obtained by fine cutting tobacco sheets. In addition, the tobacco media 131 may be made of particles including tobacco.

The tobacco rod 130 may have a cylindrical shape. However, the shape of the tobacco rod 130 is not necessarily limited thereto, and rod shapes having various cross-sections may be employed.

In this case, the tobacco rod 130 may be manufactured by folding a tobacco sheet into a cylindrical shape or by injection molding a tobacco strand, tobacco flake, or tobacco particle into a cylindrical shape.

When the tobacco rod 130 is made of a plurality of tobacco strands obtained by fine cutting a tobacco sheet, the tobacco rod 130 may be formed by combining the plurality of tobacco strands in the same direction (parallel to each other) or randomly combining the plurality of tobacco strands. In particular, the tobacco rod 130 may be formed by combining a plurality of tobacco strands, and may create a plurality of longitudinal channels for allowing aerosols to pass through. In this case, the longitudinal channels may be uniform or non-uniform depending on the size and arrangement of the strands.

The tobacco rod 130 may also include aerosol-generating substances to increase the amount of atomization. For example, the aerosol-generating substance may include at least one of glycerin, propylene glycol, ethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, and oleyl alcohol, but is not necessarily limited thereto.

The tobacco rod 130 may also include a flavoring material to add flavor to the aerosol generated by the tobacco rod 130. For example, the tobacco rod 130 may include other additives, such as flavoring agents, humectants, and/or organic acids. In addition, a flavoring liquid such as menthol or a humectant may be added to the tobacco rod 130 by spraying the flavoring liquid onto the tobacco rod 130.

In this case, the flavoring agent may include licorice, sucrose, fructose syrup, isosweet, cocoa, lavender, cinnamon, cardamom, celery, fenugreek, cassiabar, sandalwood, bergamot, geranium, honey essence, rose essential oil, vanilla, lemon oil, orange oil, peppermint oil, cinnamon, coriander, brandy, jasmine, chamomile, menthol, cinnamon, ylang-ylang, sage, spearmint, ginger, coriander, or coffee. In addition, the wetting agent may include glycerin or propylene glycol.

The tobacco rod 130 may be surrounded by a thermally conductive material. The thermally conductive material may improve the thermal conductivity applied to the tobacco rod 130 by uniformly distributing heat transferred to the tobacco rod 130, thereby improving tobacco flavor. The thermally conductive material may be a metal foil, such as aluminum foil. However, the heat conductive material is not necessarily limited thereto, and various materials may be employed as the heat conductive material.

The filter rod 150 may be located at the downstream end of the aerosol-generating article 100 to cool the mainstream smoke including the aerosol or to filter out substances contained in the mainstream smoke. Filter rod 150 may be positioned at a downstream end of tobacco rod 130 opposite front end plug 110 relative to tobacco rod 130.

The filter rod 150 may be composed of a single segment or multiple segments. In fig. 1-4, filter rod 150 is shown as being composed of a single segment, but is not necessarily limited thereto, and may be composed of multiple segments. For example, when the filter rod 150 is comprised of a plurality of segments, the filter rod 150 may include segments for cooling the aerosol and segments for filtering the substances contained in the aerosol generated by the tobacco rod 130. In addition, the filter rod 150 may include segments to perform other functions, if desired.

When the filter rod 150 includes segments for cooling the aerosol, the segments may be made of a polymeric material or a biodegradable polymeric material. Here, the polymer material may include gelatin, polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyurethane (PU), fluorinated Ethylene Propylene (FEP), and combinations thereof, but is not necessarily limited thereto. In addition, the biodegradable polymer material may include polylactic acid (PLA), polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), cellulose acetate, polycaprolactone (PCL), polyglycolic acid (PGA), polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), and starch-based thermoplastic resin, but is not limited thereto.

In addition, when filter rod 150 includes a segment for filtering out substances contained in aerosol generated by tobacco rod 130, the segment may have the same configuration as front end plug 110 described above. For example, the filter rod 150 may be a cellulose acetate filter, and may be manufactured by adding a plasticizer such as triacetate to cellulose acetate tow. However, the materials and types of the respective segments are not limited thereto, and may be modified within the scope that can be used by those skilled in the art.

The filter rod 150 may have various shapes. For example, the filter rod 150 may be a cylindrical rod, and may be a tubular rod having a hollow portion therein. Additionally, the filter rod 150 may be a rod insert. In this case, when the filter rod 150 is composed of a plurality of segments, each of the plurality of segments may have a different shape.

The filter rod 150 may be manufactured to produce a flavor. For example, a flavored liquid may be sprayed onto the filter rod 150, or separate fibers coated with a flavored liquid may be included in the filter rod 150.

Alternatively, the filter rod 150 may include at least one capsule (not shown). The capsule may generate a fragrance or aerosol. For example, the capsule may have a structure in which a liquid film containing a fragrance or essence is encapsulated. In this case, the capsule may have a spherical or cylindrical shape, but the shape of the capsule is not necessarily limited thereto.

According to the present embodiment, the aerosol transfer tube 160 may be disposed within the tobacco rod 130, so that the aerosol introduced into the aerosol transfer tube 160 may be transferred directly from the front end plug 110 to the filter rod 150.

In particular, aerosol delivery tube 160 may transfer a portion of aerosol a introduced from the outside directly from front end plug 110 to filter rod 150 without transferring a portion of aerosol a between tobacco media 131 of tobacco rod 130. Herein, the term "externally introduced aerosol" may mean an aerosol generated by the aerosol-generating device 300 (see fig. 18 and 19), rather than an aerosol generated within the aerosol-generating article 100. In addition, aerosol transfer tube 160 may transfer a portion of the aerosol generated within front end plug 110 directly from front end plug 110 to filter rod 150 without transferring the portion of the aerosol between tobacco media 131 of tobacco rod 130. In other words, aerosol delivery tube 160 may deliver either aerosol generated inside front end plug 110 or aerosol a introduced from the outside.

An aerosol delivery tube 160 is located inside the tobacco rod 130. Inside tobacco rod 130, an inlet of aerosol delivery tube 160 may be disposed toward front end plug 110 and an outlet of aerosol delivery tube 160 may be disposed toward filter rod 150. Here, the inlet of the aerosol transfer tube 160 refers to a portion in which aerosol is introduced into the aerosol transfer tube, and the outlet of the aerosol transfer tube 160 refers to a portion in which aerosol is discharged from the aerosol transfer tube.

In the present embodiment, when the inlet and outlet of the aerosol transfer tube 160 are provided only in the above-described direction, the intermediate section of the aerosol transfer tube 160 may be provided in various forms. For example, the intermediate section of the aerosol delivery tube 160 may be provided in a linear shape (see fig. 3), or a curved shape (see fig. 17), or a serpentine shape, or an oblique shape. In other words, the middle section of aerosol delivery tube 160 may have any shape when the inlet and outlet of aerosol delivery tube 160 are oriented toward front end plug 110 and filter rod 150, respectively. However, preferably, as shown in fig. 3, the aerosol transfer tube 160 may be formed in a linear shape parallel to the extending direction of the tobacco rod 130.

In this case, the inlet of the aerosol delivery tube 160 may be located at the interface between the front end plug 110 and the tobacco rod 130, and the outlet of the aerosol delivery tube 160 may be located at the interface between the tobacco rod 130 and the filter rod 150. In more detail, the inlet and outlet of the aerosol delivery tube 160 may be located at opposite ends of the tobacco rod 130.

At least one aerosol delivery tube 160 may be disposed within the tobacco rod 130. As shown in fig. 4, an aerosol delivery tube 160 may be disposed within the tobacco rod 130. Fig. 5 also depicts an additional embodiment of a plurality of aerosol delivery tubes 160 disposed inside the tobacco rod 130. In this case, the diameters of the plurality of aerosol transfer tubes 160 may be the same or different from each other.

When one aerosol delivery tube 160 is provided within the tobacco rod 130, the aerosol delivery tube 160 may be provided at a central portion of the tobacco rod 130 to facilitate efficient delivery of aerosols.

The aerosol delivery tube 160 may have a cross-section of various shapes. For example, the aerosol delivery tube 160 may have a circular, polygonal, or Y-shaped cross-section.

The aerosol delivery tube 160 may be made of a variety of materials, such as paper, metal, fabric, plastic, and the like. For example, in the case of a metal material, aluminum may be used, while in the case of a plastic material, a thermosetting plastic may be used. However, the material of the aerosol delivery tube 160 is not necessarily limited thereto.

Regarding the size of the aerosol transfer tube 160, the volume of the aerosol transfer tube 160 may be set such that the percentage relative to the volume of the tobacco rod 130 is within a predetermined percentage range. Specifically, the volume of the aerosol delivery tube 160 relative to the total volume of the tobacco rod 130 may be in the range of 10 to 90 volume percent (%). When the volume of the aerosol transfer tube 160 is less than 10 volume percent (%), the amount of aerosol transferred directly through the aerosol transfer tube 160 may be insufficient, and it may be difficult to obtain a sufficient amount of atomization. On the other hand, when the volume of the aerosol transfer tube 160 exceeds 90 volume percent (%), the amount of atomization discharged to the outside may increase, but the aerosol passing through the tobacco rod 130 may not sufficiently carry the unique taste and flavor of the cigarette.

As the aerosol introduced into the tobacco rod 130 passes through the tobacco rod 130, a large amount of the aerosol may be filtered by the tobacco medium 131 inside the tobacco rod 130, and the amount of atomization discharged to the outside through the filter rod 150 may be significantly reduced. However, according to the present embodiment, at least a portion of the aerosol may be discharged to the outside directly through the filter rod via the aerosol transfer tube 160, not through the tobacco medium 131. Thus, when aerosol passes through the aerosol-generating article 100, a reduction in the amount of atomization may be mitigated. In addition, this provides a rich amount of atomization for users inhaling mainstream smoke with the unique taste and flavor of cigarettes.

Further, in the present embodiment, the inlet and outlet of the aerosol delivery tube 160 correspond to both ends of the tobacco rod 130. With this configuration, the aerosol can efficiently pass through the aerosol delivery tube 160 without passing through the tobacco media 131 of the tobacco rod 130, thereby generating a rich amount of atomization.

On the other hand, a modified example of the aerosol transfer tube 160 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to fig. 6 to 8. Referring to fig. 6-8, each aerosol transfer tube 160A, 160B, and 160C may be located inside the tobacco rod 130 such that at least one of the inlet or outlet of each aerosol transfer tube 160A, 160B, and 160C does not correspond to a respective end of the tobacco rod 130.

Referring to fig. 6, the inlet and outlet of the aerosol delivery tube 160A may be spaced from the end of the tobacco rod 130. Since the aerosol transfer tube 160A may be located inside the tobacco rod 130 and the inlet and outlet of the aerosol transfer tube 60A do not correspond to both ends of the tobacco rod 130, the aerosol transferred through the aerosol transfer tube 160A may pass through the tobacco medium 131 along a predetermined section.

Further, referring to fig. 7, the aerosol transfer tube 160B may have an outlet that is not stacked with the end of the tobacco rod 130, and referring to fig. 8, the aerosol transfer tube 160C may have an inlet that is not stacked with the end of the tobacco rod 130. With this configuration, the aerosol delivered through the aerosol delivery tubes 160B and 160C can pass through the tobacco media 131 on a predetermined cross section.

The aerosol-generating article 100 may be wrapped by a package 170. The package 170 may have at least one aperture (not shown) for allowing external air to be introduced into the aerosol-generating article 100 or internal air to be discharged from the aerosol-generating article 100. The aerosol-generating article 100 may be wrapped by a single package, or may be double wrapped or multiple wrapped by at least two packages.

Each of the tobacco rod 130 and filter rod 150 may be individually wrapped by individual packages. When the tobacco rod 130 and the filter rod 150 are individually wrapped, the wrapped tobacco rod 130 and the wrapped filter rod 150 may be collectively wrapped by another wrapper.

Hereinafter, examples of aerosol-generating articles and modifications thereof according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described.

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an aerosol-generating article according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 10 to 12 are modified examples of an aerosol transfer tube 161 of the second embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 9, the structure of the aerosol-generating article according to the second embodiment remains the same as that of the aerosol-generating article 100 according to the first embodiment except for the aerosol-transfer tube 161. Therefore, repetitive description of the same configuration will be omitted.

According to this embodiment, as shown in fig. 9, an aerosol delivery tube 161 may be disposed within tobacco rod 130 and may extend into front end plug 110. In this case, the inlet of the aerosol transfer tube 161 may correspond to the upstream end of the front end plug 110, and the outlet of the aerosol transfer tube 161 may correspond to the downstream end of the tobacco rod 130.

With this configuration, a part of the aerosol a introduced from the outside can be directly moved through the aerosol transfer tube 161 without passing through the inside of the front end plug 110. Thus, the reduction of aerosol a may be further mitigated as it passes through front end plug 110.

On the other hand, a modified example of the aerosol transfer tube 161 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to fig. 10 to 12. Referring to fig. 10-12, each of aerosol delivery tubes 161A, 161B, and 161C may extend to front end plug 110 such that at least one of the inlet or outlet of aerosol delivery tubes 161A, 161B, and 161C, respectively, does not correspond to the upstream end of front end plug 110 and the downstream end of tobacco rod 130.

As shown in fig. 10, the inlet of aerosol delivery tube 161A may be spaced from the upstream end of front end plug 110. As shown in fig. 11, the inlet and outlet of aerosol delivery tube 161B may not correspond to the upstream end of front end plug 110 and the downstream end of tobacco rod 130, respectively. Further, referring to fig. 12, the outlet of the aerosol delivery tube 161C may be spaced from the downstream end of the tobacco rod 130.

Hereinafter, examples of aerosol-generating articles and modifications thereof according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure will be described.

Fig. 13 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an aerosol-generating article according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 14 to 16 are modified examples of an aerosol delivery tube 166 of the third embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 13, the structure of the aerosol-generating article according to the third embodiment remains the same as the structure of the aerosol-generating article 100 according to the first embodiment except for the aerosol-delivery tube 166. Therefore, repetitive description of the same configuration will be omitted.

According to this embodiment, as shown in fig. 13, an aerosol delivery tube 161 may be disposed within the tobacco rod 130 and may extend into the filter rod 150. In this case, the inlet of the aerosol transfer tube 166 may correspond to the upstream end of the tobacco rod 130, and the outlet of the aerosol transfer tube 166 may be disposed inside the filter rod 150. Furthermore, the outlet of the aerosol delivery tube 166 does not correspond to the downstream end of the filter rod 150. This is to prevent the aerosol from directly reaching the user without being filtered by the filter rod 150.

With this configuration, the aerosol introduced into the aerosol delivery tube 166 may move without passing through the tobacco rod 130 and without passing through a portion of the filter rod 150. Thus, the reduction in aerosol may also be mitigated as it passes through a portion of the filter rod 150.

On the other hand, a modified example of the aerosol transfer tube 166 according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to fig. 14 to 16.

Referring to fig. 14, the inlet of the aerosol delivery tube 166A may be spaced from the upstream end of the tobacco rod 130. As shown in fig. 15, the inlet of aerosol delivery tube 166B may extend to front end plug 110 and correspond to the upstream end of front end plug 110. Referring to fig. 16, the inlet of aerosol delivery tube 166C may extend to a portion of the interior of front end plug 110.

Next, an aerosol-generating device 300 will be described, in which the aerosol-generating article 100 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure is inserted into the aerosol-generating device 300.

Fig. 18 is a perspective view illustrating an aerosol-generating device 300 in which an aerosol-generating article 100 according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure is inserted. Fig. 19 is a schematic view showing the configuration of the aerosol-generating device 300 shown in fig. 18.

Referring to fig. 18 and 19, the aerosol-generating device 300 according to the present embodiment may include a heater 370, a power supply 330, a controller 310, and an aerosol generator 350. Here, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art related to the present embodiment that other general-purpose components besides those shown in the drawings may also be included in the aerosol-generating device 300. Meanwhile, in fig. 19, the power supply 330, the controller 310, and the aerosol generator 350 are shown as being sequentially arranged. However, the arrangement of the power supply 330, the controller 310, and the aerosol generator 350 may be modified if desired.

The aerosol-generating article 100 may be inserted into an aerosol-generating device 300. The aerosol-generating article 100 may be fixed to the aerosol-generating device 300 by fixing means. In some embodiments, front end plug 110 of aerosol-generating article 100 may act as a securing device. However, other securing means may be included in addition to front end plug 110.

The heater 370 may heat the aerosol-generating article 100. When the heater 370 is heated by the power supplied by the power supply 330, the heater 370 may transfer heat to the aerosol-generating article 100.

Heater 370 may be a resistive heater. Heater 370 may include conductive tracks. The heater 370 may heat the aerosol-generating article 100 when an electric current flows through the conductive track by the electric power supplied by the electric power supply 330.

As another example, heater 370 may be an induction heater. The heater 370 may comprise an electrically conductive coil for heating the aerosol-generating article 100 by an induction heating method, and the aerosol-generating article 100 may comprise a susceptor heated by the induction heater.

In fig. 19, the heater 370 is shown as being disposed outside the aerosol-generating article 100, but is not necessarily limited thereto. Heater 370 may include at least one of a tubular heating element, a plate heating element, a needle heating element, and a rod heating element. Depending on the shape of the at least one heating element contained in the heater 370, the heater 370 may heat the interior or exterior of the aerosol-generating article 100, or may heat both the interior and exterior of the aerosol-generating article 100.

The power supply 330 may supply power for powering the aerosol-generating device 300. For example, the power supply 330 may supply power for heating the heater 370 and may supply power for operating the controller 310. Further, the power supply 330 may supply power for operating a display, a sensor, a motor, etc. of the aerosol-generating device 300.

The controller 310 may control the overall operation of the aerosol-generating device 300. Specifically, the controller 310 may control the operation of other components included in the power supply 330 and the aerosol generator 350. Further, the controller 310 may also determine whether the aerosol-generating device 300 is in an operational state by examining the status of each component in the aerosol-generating device 300.

The aerosol generator 350 may generate an aerosol by heating the liquid composition. The generated aerosol may pass through the aerosol-generating article 100 and be delivered to a user. In other words, the aerosol generated by the aerosol generator 350 may be introduced into the front end plug 110 of the aerosol-generating article 100.

The aerosol generator 350 may include a liquid reservoir, a liquid delivery device, and a heating element, but is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, the reservoir, the liquid delivery device and the heating element may be included as separate modules in the aerosol-generating device 300.

The reservoir may store a liquid composition. For example, the liquid composition may be a liquid comprising tobacco-containing material having volatile tobacco flavor components, or a liquid comprising non-tobacco material. The reservoir may be manufactured attached to the aerosol-generating device 300 or separate from the aerosol-generating device 300, or may be manufactured integrally with the aerosol-generating device 300.

When the aerosol generator 350 according to embodiments of the present disclosure comprises a liquid comprising a non-tobacco material, the liquid composition stored in the reservoir comprised by the aerosol generator 350 may be nicotine-free and the aerosol generated by the aerosol generator 350 may be introduced into the front end plug 110 without nicotine. In this case, the nicotine-free aerosol may pass through the tobacco rod 130 and adsorb nicotine, and the aerosol passing through the tobacco rod 130 may contain nicotine.

The liquid composition included in the aerosol generator 350 may include water, solvents, ethanol, plant extracts, flavors, or vitamin mixtures. The flavoring may include menthol, peppermint, spearmint oil, and various fruit or other flavoring ingredients, but is not necessarily limited thereto. Flavoring agents may include ingredients that may provide various flavors or tastes to a user. The vitamin mixture may be a mixture of at least one of vitamin a, vitamin B, vitamin C, and vitamin E, but is not limited thereto. In addition, the liquid composition may include an aerosol precursor product such as glycerin and propylene glycol.

Although the present disclosure has been shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the following claims. Accordingly, the scope of the present disclosure is defined not by the detailed description of the disclosure but by the appended claims, and all differences within the scope will be construed as being included in the present disclosure.

Claims

1. An aerosol-generating article comprising:

a tobacco rod;

a front end plug disposed at a first side of the tobacco rod;

a filter rod disposed at a second side of the tobacco rod; and

an aerosol delivery tube disposed within the tobacco rod and configured to allow aerosol to pass through.

2. An aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein the aerosol-delivery tube is disposed only within the tobacco rod.

3. An aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein the aerosol-delivery tube extends into the front end plug.

4. An aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein the aerosol-delivery tube extends into the filter rod.

5. An aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein the aerosol-delivery tube extends parallel to the longitudinal direction of the tobacco rod.

6. An aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein the aerosol-delivery tube comprises a curved section.

7. An aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein the aerosol-delivery tube is provided at a central portion of the tobacco rod.

8. An aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein the volume of the aerosol-delivery tube is in the range of 10% to 90% of the total volume of the tobacco rod.

9. An aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein the aerosol-delivery tube comprises a plurality of aerosol-delivery tubes.

10. An aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein the aerosol-delivery tube has a circular cross-section.

11. An aerosol-generating device comprising:

a heater configured to heat an aerosol-generating article according to claim 1;

a power supply; and

a controller configured to control electric power supplied to the heater by the electric power supply.

12. The aerosol-generating device of claim 11, further comprising an aerosol generator configured to generate an aerosol by heating the liquid composition,

wherein an aerosol generated by the aerosol generator is introduced into the aerosol-generating article through the front end plug.