EP3977877A1

EP3977877A1 - Manual cleaning tool for cleaning heating chamber

Info

Publication number: EP3977877A1
Application number: EP20199768.1A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Akira Yamaguchi
Original assignee: JT International SA
Current assignee: JT International SA
Priority date: 2020-10-02
Filing date: 2020-10-02
Publication date: 2022-04-06

Abstract

Present invention relates to a cleaning tool (100) for cleaning a heating chamber (250) of an aerosol generation device, wherein the cleaning tool (100) is substantially elongated having a longitudinal central axis, comprising a grip portion (10) provided in form of a housing (12), a rod element (20) and a cleaning body (30) which are axially aligned, wherein a rotating mechanism is provided to the cleaning tool (100), configured in such a manner that the rod element (20) is axially slidable in-and-out at least partially into the housing (12) through the actuations of the grip portion (10) such that a linear motion is translated into a rotational motion around the longitudinal central axis to rotate the rod element (20) and the cleaning body (30).

Description

Technical field of the invention

The present invention relates to a cleaning tool configured for cleaning a heating element of a tobacco device, in particular for an aerosol generating device. The cleaning tool of the present invention is manually operated and is portable.

Background of the invention

Aerosol-generating devices are used to heat but not burn an aerosol-generating substrate such as tobacco. These devices heat the aerosol-generating substrate to a sufficiently high temperature for creating an aerosol for inhalation by user.
These aerosol-generating devices comprises a heating chamber where a heating element may be provided within the heating chamber. An aerosol-generating article or substrate can be inserted into the heating chamber and be heated. The aerosol-generating substrate or article is heated to release aerosol until depleted. Subsequently the aerosol-generating article or substrate is removed from the heating chamber so that a new substrate or article can be inserted. During removal and insertion of the aerosol-generating substrate or article or during the heating of the consumables, some unwanted residues may remain within the heating chamber. Accumulation of the leftover or residues may reduce the performance of the aerosol-generating device.
A number of cleaning tools have been proposed to aid for the removal of the residues. For instance patent document US6418938 relates to a brush cleaning unit for a heater fixture of a smoking device includes a tube having a first end and a second end, the tube including a portion of a key for cooperating with a corresponding portion of the key on a heater fixture for attaching and orienting the heater fixture relative to the tube. The brush cleaning unit also includes a brush attached to the tube. The brush is axially movable relative to the tube and the heater fixture attached thereto.
JP2019208445 is another document which relates to a cumbersome cleaning tool for an electronic cigarette, comprising a large case body having an insertion opening into which a cylindrical portion on a distal end of the heating type cigarette smoking tool is inserted. The tip of the main body of the e-cigarette is inserted into a container-like cleaning tool, wherein inside the cleaning tool, rotation suppressing rubbers are provided to hold the cylindrical portion (heating element).
These cleaning tools often have several drawbacks. For cleaning tools which are manually operated, a proper cleaning of the surface of the heating chamber usually is hard to achieve as some users may not be experienced or paying enough attention to clean different locations of the heating chamber. Accumulation of the residues within some hard to reach area may cause default or reduce heating efficiency of the heating chamber. For cleaning tools which are electrically controlled, these tools are usually more sophisticated with higher cost. Moreover, some of these cleaning tools are not portable and need to provide a constant electric source, which reduces the usability of the cleaning tools.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved cleaning tool for the aerosol-generating device, particularly to the specific type of aerosol-generating device having a heating chamber preferably one with an external heater.

Summary of the invention

The present inventors have found solutions to the above-posed problems through the present invention as illustrated in the present specification.
In a first aspect, present invention relates to a cleaning tool for cleaning a heating chamber of an aerosol generation device, wherein the cleaning tool is substantially elongated having a longitudinal central axis, comprising a grip portion provided in form of a housing, a rod element and a cleaning body which are axially aligned, wherein a rotating mechanism is provided to the cleaning tool, configured in such a manner that the rod element is axially slidable in-and-out at least partially into the housing through the actuations of the grip portion in such a manner that a linear motion of the grip relative to the rod element induces a rotational motion of the rod element (20) around the longitudinal central axis to drive the cleaning body in rotation.
In a second aspect, present invention relates to a kit comprising an aerosol generation device and a cleaning tool according to the present invention.
In a third aspect, present invention relates to the use of a cleaning tool of the present invention for cleaning an aerosol-generating device.
The present invention resorts to a small and portable manual cleaning method to clean the heating chamber of the aerosol-generating device, wherein no electrical power is needed to operate the cleaning tool. Such cleaning tool has the advantages of a simple design and lower cost. Moreover, the cleaning tool espoused herein can be operated in a delicate manner e.g. the cleaning brushes are rotated in a controllable manner, having a slow and adjustable rotational speed. Such operation avoids damaging the heating chamber which may be delicate and required extra cares.
In some embodiments, the cleaning head is provided to a longitudinal end of the cleaning tool, preferably in contact with the end wall of heating chamber. The cleaning tool is specifically designed to be fitted in the heating chamber with external heater of an aerosol-generating device (without a heating blade element) and that the cleaning head is able to reach the far end of the heating chamber. This allows the end wall to be brushed and cleaned for the removal of the residues.
In some embodiments, the cleaning body and/or the cleaning head are provided with brushes, wipes and/or a cleaning substance. Such elements are suitable to scrap or brush away the tobacco residues from the surface of the heating chamber.
According to yet some embodiments, the rod element comprises a first section and a second section, wherein the first section comprises a male screw thread profile complimentary to the female screw thread profile on the interior of the grip portion whereas the second section comprises an end to accept the insertion of the cleaning body.
According to yet some embodiments, the first section of the rod element comprises a hollow interior for the insertion of one or more springs thereto.
In some preferred embodiments, the first section of the rod element is at least partially axially slidable in-and-out of the grip portion in form of a housing.
In other preferred embodiments, the grip portion in form of a housing comprises a female screw thread profile provided on the interior of the housing serving as a thread insert to accept complimentary male screw thread profile of the rod element.
In some preferred embodiments, the thread profiles create a helical line of contact between the crest and the ramp of the thread profiles.
According to some embodiments, the rotating mechanism is operated manually or semi-automatically. For manual operation, both the rotating directions (clockwise and counter clockwise) can be operated by user through the rotating mechanism whereas for semi-automatic operation, only one direction is operated by user while the counter direction is exerted through an element such as a spring.
In yet some embodiments, the cleaning body and/or the cleaning head are rotatable bi-directionally in a clockwise and an anti-clockwise direction.
In other preferred embodiments, the cleaning body and the cleaning head are detachable from the cleaning tool. This allows the cleaning body and the cleaning head to be cleaned or replaced when the cleaning element e.g. brush or wipes are not in good condition.
In some preferred embodiments, the cleaning head is connected to the cleaning body, wherein the cleaning head is movable forwardly to a projected position and is movable rearwardly to a retracted position. This allows the end wall of the heating chamber to be cleaned in a more effective manner.
In other preferred embodiments, one or more springs are provided to the cleaning tool such that the one or more springs urge the cleaning head and/or the grip portion rearwardly.
In other preferred embodiments, the cleaning body is provided with brushes, arranged spirally around the longitudinal central axis such that spiral grooves are formed in between the brushes.
In some preferred embodiments, the cleaning body and the cleaning head are made of a heat-resistant material such as polymer or fibre material. The cleaning body and/or the cleaning head may comprise of a soft material which itself can be used to clean the remnants or residues in the heating chamber. The cleaning body and/or the cleaning may additionally be provided with other elements such as brushes, wipes or substances to carry out the cleaning task.
By "about" or "approximately" in relation to a given numerical value, it is meant to include numerical values within 10% of the specified value. All values given in the present disclosure are to be understood to be complemented by the word "about", unless it is clear to the contrary from the context.
The indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality, thus should be treated broadly.
Unless defined otherwise, technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs.
A tobacco-containing substrate can be any compound, mixture, particle matter, material and/or solution that contains and/or carries a constituent of tobacco, either artificially included or naturally contained in tobacco, e.g. tobacco, tobacco particles, tobacco flavor and/or nicotine.
As used herein, the term "aerosol-generating article" refers to an aerosol-generating article for producing an aerosol comprising an aerosol-generating material that is intended to be heated rather than combusted in order to release volatile compounds that can form an aerosol.
As used herein, the term "aerosol-generating" refers to a material, upon heating, capable of releasing volatile compounds, which can form an aerosol. The aerosol generated from aerosol-generating material of aerosol-generating articles described herein may be visible or invisible and may include vapours (for example, fine particles of substances, which are in a gaseous state, that are ordinarily liquid or solid at room temperature) as well as gases and liquid droplets of condensed vapours.
An aerosol-forming agent can be any compound, mixture and/or solution that is capable of forming an aerosol, e.g. when heated and/or in mixture with a tobacco-containing agent. Well known examples include humectants such as glycerin and propylene glycol, other alcohols, such as ethanol, etc.
An electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) or similar devices like electronic pipes or heat-not-burn devices, as referred to in the present invention, are not particularly limited, and may be used to provide a user with an aerosol to inhale. It can, according to certain embodiments, comprise a mouthpiece, a heater, a receiving portion, e.g. a pod, stick, capsule and a casing.
As used herein, the term "cleaning tool" refers to an instrument for doing cleaning work that usually is operated by hand. The tool comprises elements for cleaning residues and unwanted leftover of tobacco.
As used herein, the term "spiral" is used interchangeably with the term "helix" which has a geometry that is coiled round like a spring, with each coil about the same size as the one below. For instance, the screw thread profiles may have one or multiple helical flutes (e.g. one, two or three flutes) and that the male screw thread profile is complimentary to the female screw thread profile so that they are axially moved and rotated relative to each other.

Brief description of the figures

Figure 1A shows a schematic perspective view of a first embodiment of the cleaning tool.
Figure 1B shows a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of the cleaning tool according to the Figure 1A.
Figures 2A and 2C show an example of the operation of the cleaning tool of an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 3A shows an expanded overview of a part of the key components of the cleaning tool according to the first embodiment.
Figure 3B shows a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of the cleaning tool according to the Figure 3A.
Figure 4 shows a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of the cleaning tool according to a second embodiment.
Figure 5 shows a schematic perspective view of the cleaning tool according to a third embodiment.

Detailed description of the invention

The following description of the preferred embodiments is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the scope of the invention, its application or uses.
Figure 1A shows an exemplary manual cleaning tool 100 in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention. The cleaning tool 100 is small, portable and is about the same size as the aerosol-generating device. The cleaning tool 100 comprises a grip portion 10, a rod element 20 and a cleaning body 30 which are axially arranged. The cleaning tool 100 appears like a round comb or a circular hairbrush.
Figure 1B shows a longitudinal section of the Figure 1A where the internal components of the cleaning tool 100 can be clearly seen. The grip portion 10 provided in form of a housing 12 comprises an exterior surface and an interior surface. The exterior surface may comprise lines, dimples or thread for easy and non-slip gripping of the grip portion 10. Within the housing 12, a substantially vertical longitudinal channel is provided where a male screw thread profile 14 is provided on the interior surface of the housing 12. The interior surface of the housing has a threaded insert which may serve like a threaded hole to form a mating internal thread for an external element e.g. a screw or stud or the rod element 20 of the present invention.
A rod element 20 comprises two extremities or two longitudinal ends. A longitudinal end of the rod element 20 may be structurally connected and insertable to the grip portion 10 while another longitudinal end of the rod element 20 may be mechanically connected to a cleaning body 30, wherein brushes 33 or cleaning element are provided to the cleaning body 30. The geometry of the cleaning body 30 may fit nicely into a heating chamber 250 of an aerosol-generating device so that the entire interior space of the heating chamber 250 can be cleaned by the cleaning body 30 of the cleaning tool 100. The cleaning body may be provided with an anchor-shape element 35 at the far end so that said anchor-shape element 35 can clean predominantly the end wall of the heating chamber 250 while the latitudinal position brushes 33 could clean the cylindrical side wall of the heating chamber 250 (see Figure 1 B). The brushes 33 may be elastic, soft and flexible so that the surface of the heating chamber 250 will not be scratched or dented.
Figures 2A and 2b show an exemplary mode of operation of the manual cleaning tool 100 of the invention. When the grip portion 10 is actuated and pushed down by a user (see the downwards arrowhead in Figure 2A), at least part of the rod element 20 is axially slidable into the grip portion 10 provided in form of a housing 12. The downward actuation of the grip portion 10 (linear motion) is translated into a rotational motion by the rotating mechanism provided to the cleaning tool 100, causing the rod element 20 and the cleaning body 30 to be rotated (see Figure 2B). The brushes 33 provided on the cleaning body 30 are capable of brushing, scraping and cleaning the surface of the heating chamber to remove residues that are remained therein. When the user releases the downwards pressure, due to the tension of the spring 18 that is provided within the housing 12, the grip portion 10 and the rod element 20 are pushed apart, thereby the rod element 20 is counter-rotated and back to the original position (see Figure 2C).
A closer inspection of the cleaning tool 100 according to the first embodiment demonstrates the key components of the cleaning tool 100 in an expanded view, as shown in the Figures 3A (perspective view) and in the Figure 3B (longitudinal section view). On top of the Figures 3A and 3B are the grip portion 10. The grip portion 10 comprises a housing 12, having a groove profile provided to the interior surface of the housing 12 which are formed from peaks and roots (or crests and ramps), wherein the groove profile on the interior surface of the housing is known as male screw thread profile 14 in the present specification. The grip portion 10 comprises a protrusion 15 extended internally from a longitudinal end wall where it serves as a holding means for the spring element 18.
A longitudinal end of the spring 18 is attached to the protrusion 15 while at least a portion of the spring can be found located within the first section 24 of the rod element 20. The rod element 20 comprises a first section 24 and a second section 26, as shown in the Figures 3A and 3B. A neck portion 25 having a stopping element 22 provided externally of the rod element 20 serves as a borderline where the first section 24 is inserted within the grip portion 10. The exterior surface of the first section 24 is provided with a spiral groove profile which may be provided with one, two or three helical flutes. Such spiral groove profile is known as female screw thread profile 24 where it compliments with the male screw thread profile 14 of the interior surface of the grip portion 10. The first section 24 comprises a hollow cavity where the spring 18 can be inserted therein. The bulge 23 serves as a holding means to hold the spring 18. The second section 26 of the rod element 20 may be provided with a smooth exterior surface, having a small cavity for accepting at least a part of the cleaning body 30.
In other words, when a user actuates and pushes down the grip portion 10, the downwards linear motion presses the spring 18 so that the spring 18 is tensioned while the rod element 20 is rotated due to the female screw thread profile 24 axially moves along relative to the male screw thread profile 14 (see Figure 2b where the surfaces of both of the screw thread profiles are engaged to each other). At this end, it is reiterated that the interior surface of the housing 12 has an internal thread while the first section 24 of the rod element 20 has an external thread which are complimentary to the internal thread. The downwards linear motion of the grip portion 10 may cause the rod element 20 (and the subsequently connected cleaning body 30) to rotate counter-clockwise and the release of the grip portion 10 will cause the upwards linear motion of the grip portion 10 due to the force of the spring 18 which subsequently resulted in a clockwise rotation of the rod element 20. In other words, each actuation of the grip portion 10 results to bi-directional rotation of the rod element 20 as well as the cleaning body 30 that is being mechanically attached thereto. The cleaning body 30 may be connected to the rod element 20 via a simple holding mechanism or any suitable means such that the cleaning body 30 can be easily taken off to be cleaned or replaced. It is foreseen that the downwards linear motion could also lead to a clockwise rotation if such a configuration is preferred.
To this end, it is disclosed that the first section 24 is attached to and rotates with groove profile of the interior surface of the housing 12 by any suitable means. In this connection, an additional component e.g. a bearing can be provided. The bearing can be a bearing of any suitable type, such as a ring bearing, that will permit the first section 24 and the housing 12 to be attached thereto to rotate relative to the female screw thread profile 24 and/or the male screw thread profile 14.
Figure 4 shows a second embodiment according to the cleaning tool 200. The cleaning tool 200 comprises a grip portion 210, a rod element 220, a cleaning body 230 and a cleaning head 240 that are axially arranged. This embodiment of the cleaning tool 200 is similar to the first embodiment of the cleaning tool 100 except that the cleaning head 240 is provided to the cleaning tool 200 which it serves to clean the end wall of the heating chamber 250. The cleaning head 240 can be rotated similarly as the cleaning body 230 and the rod element 220. The cleaning head 240 may be provided with wipes, brushes or sponge where it is made of an elastic, soft and/or flexible material.
Figure 5 shows a third embodiment of the cleaning tool 300 according to the present invention. Similar to the previous embodiment where the cleaning tool 300 comprises a grip portion 310, a rod element 320, a cleaning body 330 and a cleaning head 340, the brushes 333 are arranged spirally or helically around the longitudinal axis of the cleaning tool so that the residues can be brought out from the heating chamber 250 through the rotation of the cleaning tool 300. The rotating mechanism of the cleaning tool 300 can be designed in such a way that each downwards actuation of the grip portion will result in at least 10 rotations such that the residues at the bottommost location can be rotated and carried out of the heating chamber.
It is disclosed herein that the screw threads 14, 24 may be provided with different pitch size, thread angle, depth and diameter so that the number of rotating mechanism of the cleaning tool can be designed accordingly to achieve the desired number of rotations for instance while the force required to drive the rod in rotation remains acceptable.

Claims

A cleaning tool (100) for cleaning a heating chamber (250) of an aerosol generation device,
wherein the cleaning tool (100) is substantially elongated having a longitudinal central axis, comprising a grip portion (10) provided in form of a housing (12), a rod element (20) and a cleaning body (30) which are axially aligned,
wherein a rotating mechanism is provided to the cleaning tool (100), configured in such a manner that the rod element (20) is axially slidable in-and-out at least partially into the housing (12) through the actuations of the grip portion (10) in such a manner that a linear motion of the grip relative to the rod element induces a rotational motion of the rod element (20) around the longitudinal central axis to drive the cleaning body (30) in rotation.
The cleaning tool (100) according to claim 1, wherein a cleaning head (340) is provided to a longitudinal end of the cleaning tool (100), preferably in contact with the end wall of heating chamber.
The cleaning tool (100) according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the cleaning body (30) and/or the cleaning head are provided with brushes, wipes and/or a cleaning substance.
The cleaning tool (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the rod element (20) comprises a first section (24) and a second section (26), wherein the first section (24) comprises a male screw thread profile complimentary to the female screw thread profile on the interior of the grip portion (10) whereas the second section (26) comprises an end to accept the insertion of the cleaning body (30).
The cleaning tool (100) according to claim 4, wherein the first section (24) of the rod element (20) comprises a hollow interior for the insertion of one or more springs thereto.
The cleaning tool (100) according to claim 4 or claim 5, wherein the first section (24) of the rod element (20) is at least partially axially slidable in-and-out of the grip portion (10) in form of a housing (12).
The cleaning tool (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the grip portion (10) in form of a housing (12) comprises a female screw thread profile provided on the interior of the housing serving as a thread insert to accept complimentary male screw thread profile of the rod element (20).
The cleaning tool (100) according to any one of claim 4 to claim 7, wherein the thread profiles (14, 24) create a helical line of contact between the crest and the ramp of the thread profiles.
The cleaning tool (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the rotating mechanism is operated manually or semi-automatically.
The cleaning tool (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cleaning body (30) and/or the cleaning head are rotatable bi-directionally in a clockwise and an anti-clockwise direction.
The cleaning tool (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cleaning body (30) and the cleaning head are detachable from the cleaning tool (100).
The cleaning tool (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cleaning head is connected to the cleaning body (30), wherein the cleaning head is movable forwardly to a projected position and is movable rearwardly to a retracted position.
The cleaning tool (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein one or more springs are provided to the cleaning tool (100) such that the one or more springs urge the cleaning head and/or the grip portion rearwardly.
The cleaning tool (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cleaning body (30) is provided with brushes, arranged spirally around the longitudinal central axis such that spiral grooves are formed in between the brushes.
A kit comprising an aerosol generation device and a cleaning tool (100) according to any one of the preceding claims.