EP4646949A1

EP4646949A1 - Aerosol generating apparatus comprising a microwave heater and a faraday cage

Info

Publication number: EP4646949A1
Application number: EP24174887.0A
Authority: EP
Inventors: designation of the inventor has not yet been filed The
Original assignee: Imperial Tobacco Ltd United Kingdom
Current assignee: Imperial Tobacco Ltd United Kingdom
Priority date: 2024-05-08
Filing date: 2024-05-08
Publication date: 2025-11-12
Also published as: WO2025233080A1

Abstract

An aerosol-generating device (90) comprises a receptacle (94) configured to hold an aerosol-generating material. A microwave heater (96) is disposed within the receptacle (94) and configured to receive power supplied from a power source (92) to irradiate the receptacle with microwave radiation therewith to heat the aerosol-generating material to generate an aerosol for delivery to a user. A Faraday cage assembly (94, 100) prevents the transmission therethrough of microwave radiation emitted within the receptacle (94) by the microwave heater (96). The Faraday cage assembly comprises an array of through-openings (101) via which said aerosol is deliverable to a user from within the receptacle.

Description

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to an aerosol generating apparatus.

BACKGROUND

A typical aerosol generating apparatus may comprise a power supply, an aerosol generating unit that is driven by the power supply, an aerosol precursor, which in use is aerosolised by the aerosol generating unit to generate an aerosol, and a delivery system for delivery of the aerosol to a user.
A drawback with known aerosol generating apparatuses is that heaters used by such apparatuses are configured to heat an aerosol-producing consumable using either resistive heating or inductive heating.
These heating methods are often relatively slow in heating a consumable because they rely on contact-based heating methods, and/or because they suffer from relatively shallow energy penetration, potentially causing non-uniform heating of the consumable. Furthermore, a heating time-lag is often associated with resistive heaters given the thermal inertia of heating elements (i.e., the property of a material that expresses the degree of slowness with which its temperature can be made to change). Because heating elements forming parts of the device (e.g., a thermal heater pin or chamber) are required to be heated in such devices, this creates a thermal strain in parts of the device due to the repeated action of thermal expansion and contraction.
In spite of the effort already invested in the development of aerosol generating apparatuses/systems further improvements are desirable.

SUMMARY

In a first aspect the present disclosure provides an aerosol-generating apparatus comprising a receptacle configured to hold an aerosol-generating material, and a microwave heater configured to receive power supplied from a power source to irradiate the receptacle with microwave radiation therewith to heat an aerosol-generating material when held within the receptacle to generate an aerosol for delivery to a user. A Faraday cage assembly is provided for preventing the transmission therethrough of microwave radiation emitted within the receptacle by the microwave heater, the Faraday cage assembly comprising an array of through-openings via which said aerosol is deliverable to a user from within the receptacle. The microwave heater may be disposed within the receptacle. The receptacle may be configured for holding a consumable containing an aerosol-generating material thereby to hold the aerosol-generating material. The microwave heater may be configured to irradiate the consumable with microwave radiation when the consumable is held within the receptacle thereby to irradiate the aerosol-generating material. The consumable may comprise a unit that includes an aerosol-generating material (also referred to as a "precursor" herein). The consumable may comprise a storage portion for storing a fluid precursor, or the consumable may comprise a solid precursor.
Accordingly, at least a part of the Faraday cage may serve the dual function of preventing the release of microwaves from within the receptacle, while permitting the release (delivery) of aerosol from within the receptacle that have been generated by action of the microwaves heating the aerosol-generating material. The consumable may comprise a solid precursor, e.g. tobacco or reconstituted tobacco formulation. The consumable may comprise a "stick" or "package" or "heat-not-burn consumable". The aerosol-generating apparatus may, for example, be configured as a heat-not-burn device for receiving and heating a heat-not-burn consumable/precursor.
However, it is to be understood that the aerosol-generating apparatus is not intended to be limited to heat-not-burn aerosol-generating materials or consumables. For example, the consumable may comprise a storage portion that includes a fluid precursor (e.g., liquid or gel implementations of the precursor, e.g. an e-liquid). The consumable may comprise a capsule or a pod or an e-liquid consumable. The consumable (e.g., capsule/pod) may include a storage portion, e.g. a reservoir or tank, for storage of the precursor. The aerosol-generating apparatus may, for example, be configured for receiving and irradiating a capsule containing a fluid precursor. In some examples, the consumable may comprise a wick configured to draw liquid precursor from within the consumable (e.g., from a tank thereof), wherein the microwave heater irradiates the wick with microwaves. The microwave heater may thereby be configured to heat liquid precursor drawn from the consumable (e.g., drawn out of the tank) by the wick to produce the aerosol.
Non-contact heating provided by the apparatus may allow faster heating than contact-based methods, and/or deeper energy penetration (e.g., as compared to infrared heaters) potentially allowing more uniform controlled heating. Furthermore, substantially instantaneous heating power is possible, without the heating time-lag associated with resistive heaters. Because no parts of the apparatus (e.g., a thermal heater pin or chamber in prior art systems) is required to be heated, this reduces thermal strain (expansion/contraction) of apparatus parts.
A diameter of any of the through-openings of the array of through-openings, in some examples, does not exceeding about one fifth of a wavelength of the microwave radiation with which the microwave heater is configured to irradiate the consumable. This is found to be suitable for preventing transmission of microwaves generated by the microwave heater yet simultaneously being suitable to allow a through-flow of air entrained with aerosols for delivery to the user in response to a "puff' (or "inhale" or "draw") by the user upon the consumable, in use.
The Faraday cage assembly may comprise a mesh or grid comprising an array of through-openings. Each of the through-openings of the Faraday cage (e.g., not only those through which aerosols are delivered to the user) may comprise a diameter that does not exceed about one fifth of a wavelength of the microwave radiation with which the microwave heater is configured to irradiate the consumable.
The mesh or grid may comprise one or more of, or all of, the through-openings of the array of through-openings via which the aerosol is deliverable to a user from within the receptacle. Alternatively, through-openings of the mesh or grid may be separate from, and in addition to, the array of through-openings via which the aerosol is deliverable to a user from within the receptacle.
Through-openings amongst said array of through-openings may each comprise a so-called "waveguide below cutoff' comprising a diameter (i.e., a waveguide diameter) that does not exceed about one fifth of a wavelength of the microwave radiation with which the microwave heater is configured to irradiate the consumable. A "waveguide below cutoff' is such that, at microwave frequencies below the cutoff frequency, the waveguide attenuates a microwave signal within it as the signal is guided along the waveguide. Increasing the length of the waveguide will increase the degree of attenuation. In this way, microwave attenuation may be increased without having to decrease the diameter of the through-openings (i.e., the diameter of the waveguides) - instead. their length may be increased to achieve this result.
The Faraday cage assembly may comprise a thin metal sheet/plate material with a pattern of through-holes formed therein forming the through-openings of the Faraday cage assembly. The Faraday cage assembly may provide a microwave shielding in the form of a thin metal sheet arrayed with holes, or a mesh, grill or grid of wire, or a woven wire fabric. The interstices between wires of the mesh, grill, grid or fabric define through-openings found to be sufficient to achieve the required microwave shielding. The through-openings of the Faraday cage assembly may each comprises a diameter not exceeding about 2.0mm, or not exceeding about 1.5mm, or not exceeding about 1.0mm.
In general, it is found that blocking microwaves of wavelength λ may be achieved with a Faraday cage comprising through-openings having a diameter, D, not exceeding a value of λ/5 (i.e., D ≤ λ/5). For example, if the microwave wavelength is λ = 12.24cm, corresponding to a frequency of 2.45GHz, then λ/5 = 2.45cm then the diameter, D, of the through openings may chosen to not exceed 2.45cm. For example, the microwave heater may be configured to irradiate the consumable with microwave radiation having a frequency of about 2.45GHz. For example, the through-openings of the array of through-openings may each comprise a diameter of between about 2.0mm and about 0.5mm, such as about 1.0mm or about 1.5mm, any of which would be more than adequate to shield microwave radiation having a frequency of about 2.45GHz, and is found to be simultaneously suitable for enabling an array of through-openings able to allow a through-flow of air entrained with aerosols for delivery to the user in response to a "puff" (or "inhale" or "draw") by the user upon the consumable, in use. For example, the array of through-openings may be configured such that about 10 through-openings each of 1.5mm diameter are contained within any area of the Faraday cage having a diameter of 8mm. Where the consumable comprises a smoking "stick", the diameter of the "stick" may be approximately 5mm to 10mm, e.g., about 8mm. Thus, in this example, for a "stick" diameter of 8mm, an air inflow end and/or aerosol outflow end thereof may be served by at least 10 through-openings at any one part of the Faraday cage.
The Faraday cage assembly my comprise arrays of through-openings disposed (or positionable) at separate respective locations about the receptacle (e.g., at opposite respective ends of the receptacle) via one of which air is deliverable into the receptacle and via another of which the aerosol is deliverable to a user from within the receptacle. In this way, a "puff' (or "inhale" or "draw") by the user upon the consumable, in use, at one end of the receptacle may allow air to be drawn into the other end of the receptacle to increase a rate of through-flow of air and of aerosol delivery.
The microwave heater may comprise a microwave generator unit, e.g., such as solid-state microwave generator unit, for generating microwaves with which to irradiate the consumable. The microwave generator may comprise a solid-state microwave power amplifier unit configured to generate a microwave signal for use in irradiating the consumable. The solid-state microwave power amplifier unit may comprise an LDMOS (laterally-diffused metal-oxide semiconductor) transistor. Some examples of solid-state microwave power amplifier units include the MHT1004N microwave power amplifier unit, or similar unit, manufactured and sold by the "NXP Semiconductors" company, with an address at: High Tech Campus 60, 5656 AG Eindhoven, or the BLC2425M8LS300P microwave power amplifier unit, or the BLC2425M9LS250 microwave power amplifier unit, both of which are manufactured and sold by the "Ampleon" company, with an address at: Halfgeleiderweg 8, 6534 AV Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
The microwave heater may comprise a microwave radiating element, e.g., such as a microwave radiating antenna or a terminal output end (e.g., open end) of a microwave signal transmission line. The microwave radiating element may be a driven radiating element configured to emit microwave radiation in response to a microwave signal received thereby (e.g., driven by the microwave generator unit). The microwave radiating element may be coupled to the microwave generator to receive microwaves generated by the microwave generator, and to radiate the received microwaves so as to irradiate the consumable. The microwave radiating element may comprise a microwave resonator chamber (e.g., a microwave cavity). The microwave resonator chamber may be coupled to the microwave generator to receive microwaves generated by the microwave generator, and to radiate the received microwaves so as to irradiate the consumable.
When the microwave heater comprises a microwave antenna, the receptacle may comprise a holding region to hold the aerosol-generating material (or a consumable containing the aerosol-generating material) and a separate antenna region containing the microwave antenna such that microwave radiation is emitted from the microwave antenna so as to pass into the holding region from the antenna region thereby to externally irradiate a aerosol-generating material (or consumable) with the microwave radiation when held within the holding region. Accordingly, the microwave heater may be disposed within the microwave heating of the aerosol-generating material from the outside of the aerosol-generating material (or consumable), thereby avoiding the need to insert a heating element directly into the aerosol-generating material (or consumable) for conveying heat into it.
The microwave heater may comprise two antennae disposed at opposite sides of the holding region in opposing respective antenna regions thereof, thereby each to externally irradiate a aerosol-generating material (or consumable containing aerosol-generating material) with the microwave radiation when held within the holding region. In this way, irradiating the aerosol-generating material (e.g., directly or when in a consumable) with microwave radiation from substantially opposite sides (e.g., in substantially opposite directions) may improve the efficiency of heating and/or provide a more spatially even distribution of heat generated within the aerosol-generating material.
In some examples, as disclosed above, the microwave heater may comprise a microwave resonator chamber configured to surround at least a part of the holding region thereby to externally irradiate an aerosol-generating material (or a consumable containing aerosol-generating material) with the microwave radiation when held within the holding region. The resonator chamber may comprise a hollow metal structure configured to confine microwave electromagnetic fields such that, in use, microwaves reflect back and forth between walls of the resonator chamber whereby at a resonant frequency of the resonator chamber the microwaves reinforce to form standing waves in the resonator chamber. The resonator chamber may provide an opening to physically admit a consumable into the resonator chamber and/or to permit extraction of an aerosol-generating material (or a consumable containing aerosol-generating material) from the resonator chamber. The Faraday cage assembly may surround the resonator chamber. The microwave heater may comprise a microwave generator unit configured to inject generated electromagnetic microwave energy from a generator into the resonator chamber. A microwave generator unit such as would be readily available into the person of ordinary skill in the art may be used for this purpose. A coaxial microwave transmission cables or other suitable microwave transmission line configurations (e.g., planar transmission lines such as coplanar waveguides (CPW)) may be used for this injection.
The Faraday cage assembly may comprise a hollow part forming or containing the receptacle. The Faraday cage assembly may comprise, provide or define the receptacle within which the microwave heater is disposed. The Faraday cage assembly may comprise a closure part that is moveable relative to the receptacle between an open position in which the Faraday cage assembly is open for receiving an aerosol-generating material (or a consumable containing aerosol-generating material)therein, and, a closed position in which the Faraday cage assembly is closed for preventing the transmission therethrough of microwave radiation emitted within the receptacle by the microwave heater. In this way the Faraday cage may provide a hollow part forming or containing a receptacle comprising an opening that can be opened and closed as desired to physically admit an aerosol-generating material (or a consumable containing aerosol-generating material) into the receptacle and/or to permit extraction of an aerosol-generating material (or a consumable containing aerosol-generating material)from the receptacle. The closure part may be moveable relative to the receptacle in a sliding action of a pivoting action between the open and closed positions. The closure part may be pivotably connected, or slidingly connected, to a main body of the apparatus containing the receptacle (e.g., to the receptacle itself, or to a part of the main body adjacent thereto) so as to pivot between the open position and the closed position. By being part of the Faraday cage assembly, when in the closed position the closure part not only prevents extraction of an aerosol-generating material (or a consumable containing aerosol-generating material) received within the receptacle, but also prevents egress from within the receptacle of microwaves emitted within the receptacle for heating the an aerosol-generating material (directly or when in a consumable containing aerosol-generating material).
The closure part may comprise an array of through-openings, such as the array disclosed above, via which the aerosol is deliverable to a user from within the receptacle. In this way, the closure part is multi-purposed in providing a means to retain an aerosol-generating material (or a consumable containing aerosol-generating material)within the receptacle, in providing a means to prevent egress of microwaves from within the receptacle, yet simultaneously in providing a means for permitting a flow of aerosols from within the receptacle outbound to the user.
At least a part of the periphery of the closure part (or of the hollow part) may be configured to form an electrical contact with the hollow part (or with the closure part) when the closure part is in the closed position to permit a flow of electromagnetically-induced current between the closure part the hollow part in response to microwaves generated within the Faraday cage assembly. At least a part of the closure part may thereby form an electrical contact with the hollow part when in the closed position. The electrical contact may permit a flow of electromagnetically induced current between the closure part and the other parts of the Faraday cage in response to electromagnetic waves (i.e., microwaves) emitted from within the Faraday cage by the microwave heater and thereby cause the Faraday cage to become electromagnetically operational/shielding. This may be achieved by requiring that no more than a part of, but not necessarily all of, the closure part forms an electrical contact with the hollow part when closed. It is permissible that some gapping or spaces are present between parts of the closure part and the nearest parts of the hollow part provided that the gaps/spaces are sufficiently small to suppress egress through them of microwaves from within the receptacle. Such a gap or space may be of a size of no more than about one fifth of a wavelength of the microwave radiation emitted from the microwave heater. The inventors have found that this is effective in achieving the desired suppression.
For example, the closure part may be shaped to overlay the opening (e.g., overlay the opening of the hollow part) when in the closed position such that no part of the periphery of the opening is spaced from the closure part by a spacing exceeding about one fifth of a wavelength of the microwave radiation with which the microwave heater is configured to irradiate the aerosol-generating material (or a consumable containing aerosol-generating material). Alternatively, of in addition, a shape of a periphery of the closure part may closely match a reciprocal shape of the opening such that when in the closed position the closure part is held within the receptacle (e.g., held within the hollow part) such that no part of the periphery of the closure part is spaced from the hollow part by a spacing exceeding about one fifth of a wavelength of the microwave radiation with which the microwave heater is configured to irradiate the aerosol-generating material (or a consumable containing aerosol-generating material).
The hollow part/receptacle may comprise a resilient electrical contact member urged to be salient from a periphery of the opening to extend into the opening to urge against the periphery of the closure part when in the closed position thereby to form an electrical contact therewith. A metallic leaf spring, a pogo pin or other resilient electrical contact structure may be used to this end. The resilient electrical contact member may be configured for placing the hollow part in electrical contact with the closure part when in the closed position.
The receptacle may comprise a sensor unit configured to detect when the closure part is in the closed position, and to prevent operation of the microwave heater if no closure part is detected. This safety feature allows the system to protect the user from unwanted (e.g., dangerous or injurious) egress of microwaves from within the receptacle by the microwave heater in use, as may occur due to improper closure/positioning of the closure part. The resilient electrical contact member may be configured for placing the sensor unit in electrical contact with the closure part when in the closed position thereby to electrically detect when the closure part is in the closed position.
In a second aspect, the aerosol-generating apparatus disclosed herein, may further comprise the consumable, wherein the closure part of the Faraday cage forms a part of the consumable (i.e., the consumable comprises the closure part) and is positioned therein such that the closed position is achieved by insertion of the consumable into the receptacle via an opening of the hollow part (e.g., so as to insert the closure part into the receptacle). Thus, the consumable (e.g., a smoking "stick") and the aerosol-generating apparatus disclosed herein may provide a kit of parts collectively providing the aerosol-generating system. Insertion of the consumable into the receptacle of the aerosol-generating apparatus may thereby position the closure part within the receptacle such that the Faraday cage assembly is closed and will prevent the egress of microwaves generated within the receptacle by the microwave heater. Accordingly, in some examples, the consumable may be made and sold separately from the other parts of the apparatus, but configured with the intention of use as a part of the apparatus such that each time a consumable is used in the apparatus, the aforementioned Faraday cage is formed. Consumables according to this aspect of the apparatus may be made and sold separately from the other parts of the aerosol-generating apparatus.
In this way the Faraday cage, as collectively defined by the receptacle and the consumable when fully inserted into the receptacle via the opening of the receptacle, may provide a closed Faraday cage until extraction of the consumable from the receptacle. The closure part may be disposed within the consumable to span or fill the opening of the receptacle, or to span or fill the opening of the hollow part, (e.g., laterally span or fill a cross-sectional bore, aperture, area or shape of the opening) from within the receptacle/hollow part when the closure part is inserted therein and the consumable is held within the receptacle. Thus, for example, the closure part may closely 'fit' within the opening of the receptacle/hollow part (e.g., to `plug' the opening) so as to close the receptacle/hollow part (in the sense of preventing microwave egress) when inserted ('fitted') therein. The closure part may be enclosed by or positioned/embedded within a flow path, and/or may span across a flow path, via which an aerosol generated by the aerosol-generating material is deliverable to a user. The flow path may provide a path or enclosed passageway through the consumable for delivery of an aerosol to a user.
The closure part may be accessible at a surface of the consumable so as to present an electrical contact area configured to form an electrical contact with the hollow part when the closure part is in the closed position. A shape of a periphery of the closure part may be configured to closely match a reciprocal shape of the opening of the receptacle, or of the opening of the hollow part, such that at least a part of the periphery of the closure part forms an electrical contact with the receptacle/hollow part when the consumable is held within the receptacle. By forming this electrical contact, the Faraday cage becomes electromagnetically operational by permitting a flow of electromagnetically induced current between the closure part and the other parts of the Faraday cage in response to electromagnetic waves (i.e., microwaves) emitted from within the Faraday cage by the microwave heater. This may be achieved by requiring that no more than a part of, but not necessarily all of, the periphery of the closure part forms an electrical contact with the receptacle/hollow part when the consumable is held within the receptacle. The receptacle/hollow part may comprise a resilient electrical contact member urged to be salient from a periphery of the opening to extend into the opening to urge against the periphery of the closure part when in the closed position thereby to form an electrical contact therewith. The resilient electrical contact member may be configured for placing the hollow part in electrical contact with the closure part when in the closed position. A metallic leaf spring, a pogo pin or other resilient electrical contact structure may be used to this end.
It is permissible that some gapping or spaces are present between parts of the periphery of the closure part and the nearest parts of the receptacle/hollow part provided that the gaps/spaces are sufficiently small to suppress egress through them of microwaves from within the receptacle. For example, such a gap or space may be of a size of no more than about one fifth of a wavelength of the microwave radiation the egress of which is to be suppressed. The inventors have found that this is effective in achieving the desired suppression yet provides a spacing or gapping permitting manoeuvrability of the consumable into and out of the receptacle unhindered by an overly tight 'fit' between the two.
For example, a shape of a periphery of the closure part may closely match a reciprocal shape of the opening of the receptacle, or of the opening of the hollow part, such that, when the consumable is held within the receptacle/hollow part, no part of the periphery of the closure part is spaced from the receptacle/hollow part by a spacing exceeding about one fifth of a wavelength of the microwave radiation with which the microwave heater is configured to irradiate the consumable.
The receptacle may comprise a sensor unit configured to detect the presence of the closure part of an inserted consumable when in the closed position, and to prevent operation of the microwave heater if no closure part is detected. This safety feature allows the system to protect the user from use of consumables that do not have any closure part, or do not have the required closure part, and would otherwise result in unwanted (e.g., dangerous or injurious) egress of microwaves from within the receptacle by the microwave heater in use. The resilient electrical contact member may be configured for placing the sensor unit in electrical contact with the closure part when in the closed position thereby to electrically detect when the closure part is in the closed position.
For example, the closure part may comprise a metallic and/or conductive material, and the sensor unit may be configured to detect the presence of the closure part according to a detected inductance or according to a detected magnetic field (or change therein) thereby to detect the metallic and/or conductive material of the closure part. In this way, the sensor unit may detect the presence of the metallic/conductive closure part in the closed position in the manner, for example, of a metal detector. In addition, or alternatively, the consumable may comprise a surface marking upon a surface thereof and the sensor unit may be configured to detect the presence of the closure part according to an optical detection of the presence of the surface marking. For example, the surface marking may comprise a marking reflective (i.e., preferentially) to light of a pre-set colour or wavelength (or wavelength band) and the sensor unit may comprise a photodetector responsive to light of the pre-set colour or wavelength by generating an electrical detection signal to which the apparatus is responsive to permit operation of the microwave heater.
The aerosol-generating apparatus may comprise a mouthpiece part to an underside of which the closure part is attached. The mouthpiece part may be coupled to a main body of the aerosol-generating apparatus via a sliding or pivoting coupling to allow the user to manipulate the mouthpiece part to slide it or to pivot it so as to convey the closure part between its open position and its closed position. The mouthpiece part may be positioned to place the closure part in its open position. The opening of the receptacle may be fully exposed when the closure part in its open position to allow a consumable to be inserted and fully received within the receptacle. The mouthpiece part may be positionable to place the closure part in its closed position and to fully cover the opening of the receptacle. In this closed position, the mouthpiece part may permit allow aerosols to be delivered to the user from the microwave-heated consumable via an airflow within which the aerosols are entrained, and which may pass through the array of through-openings of the closure part and through the mouthpiece part to the user. The mouthpiece part may comprise an output airflow duct which is in airflow communication with the closure part and which extends through the mouthpiece part to the outer end thereof for airflow communication with a user's mouth, in use.
In a third aspect, the invention may provide a consumable for use in forming a part of the Faraday cage assembly of an aerosol-generating apparatus disclosed herein, the consumable comprising an aerosol-generating material and an electrically conductive material (e.g., an item formed from an electrically conductive material) comprising an array of through-openings via which an aerosol generated by the aerosol-generating material is deliverable to a user. The item formed from an electrically conductive material may provide the closure part of a Faraday cage assembly disclosed herein. The through-openings of the array of through-openings may be configured to shield microwave radiation having a frequency of about 2.45GHz and simultaneously allow a through-flow of air entrained with aerosols for delivery to the user in response to a "puff" (or "inhale" or "draw") by the user upon the consumable, in use. For example, the through-openings of the array of through-openings may each comprise a diameter of between about 2.0mm and about 0.5mm, such as about 1.0mm or about 1.5mm. For example, the array of through-openings may be configured in an item of electrically conductive material such that about 10 through-openings each of about 1.5mm diameter are contained within any area of the item of electrically conductive material having a lateral dimension (e.g., diameter) of between about 10mm and about 5mm, e.g., about 8mm. Where the consumable comprises a smoking "stick", the diameter of the "stick" may be about 5mm to 10mm, e.g., about 8mm. Thus, in this example, for a "stick" diameter of 8mm, an air inflow end and/or aerosol outflow end thereof may be served by at least 10 through-openings. The item of electrically conductive material may provide a microwave shielding in the form of a thin metal sheet arrayed with holes, or a mesh, grill or grid of wire, or a woven wire fabric. The interstices between wires of the mesh, grill, grid or fabric define through-openings found to be sufficient to achieve the required microwave shielding. The through-openings of the Faraday cage assembly may each comprises a diameter not exceeding about 2.0mm, or not exceeding about 1.5mm, or not exceeding about 1.0mm. The electrically conductive material may be enclosed or embedded within the consumable. It may be enclosed by or positioned/embedded within aerosol-generating material of the consumable. The electrically conductive material may be enclosed by or positioned/embedded within a flow path, and/or may span across a flow path, via which an aerosol generated by the aerosol-generating material is deliverable to a user. The flow path may provide a path or enclosed passageway through the consumable for delivery of an aerosol to a user.
For example, the consumable may comprise a solid precursor (e.g. tobacco or reconstituted tobacco formulation) wrapped by a wrapping material (e.g., paper, or the like) forming a wrapping structure (e.g., a tube) wherein the wrapping structure forms at least a part of a flow path or enclosed passageway in the consumable for delivery of an aerosol to a user. For example, the electrically conductive material may be enclosed by or positioned/embedded within such a flow path, and/or may span across such a flow path, via which an aerosol generated by the aerosol-generating material is deliverable to a user. For example, the wrapping structure may be elongated along a longitudinal axis (e.g., a wrapping of a smoking "stick"). For example, the consumable may comprise a filter part disposed within the flow path or enclosed passageway such that an aerosol is delivered to a user by first passing through the filter. The filter may be configured to extract at least some particulates and/or aerosols from amongst aerosols generated by the aerosol generating material when flowing through the filter part, such that aerosols are delivered to a user, via the filter part, in a filtered form. The electrically conductive material may be enclosed by or positioned/embedded within filter part of the consumable, or may be disposed between the aerosol-generating material of the consumable and the filter part of the consumable.
For example, the consumable may be arranged as a cartomizer or a capsule or a pod or an e-liquid consumable and may comprise a storage portion, e.g. a reservoir or tank, for storage of the precursor wherein the capsule or pod may form at least a part of a flow path or enclosed passageway in the consumable for delivery of an aerosol to a user. For example, the electrically conductive material may be enclosed by or positioned/embedded within such a flow path, and/or may span across such a flow path, via which an aerosol generated by the aerosol-generating material is deliverable to a user.
The consumable (e.g., a smoking "stick") may provide a component part of a kit of parts collectively providing the aerosol-generating apparatus. Insertion of the consumable into the receptacle of the aerosol-generating apparatus of the kit may thereby position the part of the Faraday cage assembly within the receptacle such that the Faraday cage assembly as a whole is closed and will prevent the egress of microwaves generated within the receptacle by the microwave heater. The consumable may be made and sold separately from the other parts of the apparatus, but configured with the intention of use as a part of the apparatus such that each time a consumable is used in the apparatus, the aforementioned Faraday cage is formed.
In a fourth aspect, the invention may provide a consumable comprising the aerosol-generating apparatus disclosed herein wherein the receptacle contains the aerosol-generating material. In this aspect, the receptacle is not configured for holding a consumable containing an aerosol-generating material but is itself a consumable. In other words, the apparatus according to this aspect may define a consumable defining a unit that includes a precursor (aerosol-generating material) and a microwave heater within a Faraday gage assembly. The consumable may be arranged as a cartomizer or a capsule or a pod or an e-liquid consumable. The capsule/pod may include a storage portion, e.g. a reservoir or tank, for storage of the precursor. With solid material implementations of the precursor, e.g. tobacco or reconstituted tobacco formulation, the consumable may be referred to as a stick or package or heat-not-burn consumable. In a heat-not-burn consumable, the mouthpiece may be implemented as a filter and the consumable may be arranged to carry the precursor. The consumable may be implemented as a dosage or pre-portioned amount of material, including a loose-leaf product. The consumable may be configured to connect to a separate and separable unit configured to deliver power to the consumable, such as to the microwave heater and any other components of the consumable requiring power.
In a fifth aspect, the invention may provide a system comprising: the consumable according to the fourth aspect of the invention; and, a power supply device which comprises the power source and which is configured for releasibly connecting to the consumable to supply power from the power source to the microwave heater. Thus, the power supply device may provide a separate and separable unit such as discussed above.
In a sixth aspect, the invention may provide a disposable device comprising the aerosol-generating apparatus disclosed herein, wherein the receptacle contains the aerosol-generating material, and wherein the disposable device comprises a power source for supplying power to the microwave heater. Thus, the disposable device may be "pre-filled" with aerosol-generating material as a unitary article in which the power source is not configured to be separable from the aerosol-generating apparatus. The power source of the disposable device may be pre-stored with power. The disposable device may be disposable in the sense of being a "single-use" device to be disposed of upon exhaustion of the pre-filled quantity of aerosol-generating material and/or upon exhaustion of the power pre-stored within the power source.
In a further aspect, the invention may provide an aerosol-generating method comprising: providing a receptacle configured to hold a consumable comprising aerosol-generating material; providing a microwave heater disposed within the receptacle and configured to receive power supplied from a power source to irradiate the consumable with microwave radiation; providing a Faraday cage assembly for preventing the transmission therethrough of microwave radiation emitted within the receptacle by the microwave heater, the Faraday cage assembly comprising an array of through-openings via which said aerosol is deliverable to a user from within the receptacle; and, by the microwave heater, heating the consumable to generate an aerosol for delivery to a user.
The preceding summary is provided for purposes of summarizing some examples to provide a basic understanding of aspects of the subject matter described herein. Accordingly, the above-described features should not be construed to narrow the scope or spirit of the subject matter described herein in any way. Moreover, the above and/or proceeding examples may be combined in any suitable combination to provide further examples, except where such a combination is clearly impermissible or expressly avoided. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the following text and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Aspects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of examples in reference to the appended drawings in which like numerals denote like elements.

Fig. 1 is a block system diagram showing an example aerosol generating apparatus.
Fig. 2 is a block system diagram showing an example implementation of the apparatus of Fig. 1, where the aerosol generating apparatus is configured to generate aerosol from a liquid precursor.
Figs. 3A and 3B are schematic diagrams showing an example implementation of the apparatus of Fig. 2.
Fig. 4 is a block system diagram showing an example implementation of the apparatus of Fig. 1, where the aerosol generating apparatus is configured to generate aerosol from a solid precursor.
Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example implementation of the apparatus of Fig. 4.
Fig. 6 is a block system diagram showing an example system for managing an aerosol generating apparatus.
Fig. 7A and Fig. 7B are each a schematic diagram (side view) showing an example implementation of an aerosol-generating system comprising an aerosol-generating apparatus and a consumable inserted therein ready for use.
Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram (top view) showing the example implementation of Fig.7A.
Fig. 9 is a diagram showing, as a magnified view, an example implementation of a part of a Faraday cage.
Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram (side view) showing an example implementation of an aerosol-generating system comprising an aerosol-generating apparatus and a consumable inserted therein ready for use.
Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram (side view) showing an example implementation of an aerosol-generating apparatus with a consumable inserted therein ready for use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Before describing several examples implementing the present disclosure, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is not limited by specific construction details or process steps set forth in the following description and accompanying drawings. Rather, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the present disclosure that the systems, apparatuses and/or methods described herein could be embodied differently and/or be practiced or carried out in various alternative ways.
Unless otherwise defined herein, scientific and technical terms used in connection with the presently disclosed inventive concept(s) shall have the meanings that are commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art, and known techniques and procedures may be performed according to conventional methods well known in the art and as described in various general and more specific references that may be cited and discussed in the present specification.
Any patents, published patent applications, and non-patent publications mentioned in the specification are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
All examples implementing the present disclosure can be made and executed without undue experimentation in light of the present disclosure. While particular examples have been described, it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that variations may be applied to the systems, apparatus, and/or methods and in the steps or in the sequence of steps of the methods described herein without departing from the concept, spirit, and scope of the inventive concept(s). All such similar substitutions and modifications apparent to those skilled in the art are deemed to be within the spirit, scope, and concept of the inventive concept(s) as defined by the appended claims.
The use of the term "a" or "an" in the claims and/or the specification may mean "one," as well as "one or more," "at least one," and "one or more than one." As such, the terms "a," "an," and "the," as well as all singular terms, include plural referents unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Likewise, plural terms shall include the singular unless otherwise required by context.
The use of the term "or" in the present disclosure (including the claims) is used to mean an inclusive "and/or" unless explicitly indicated to refer to alternatives only or unless the alternatives are mutually exclusive. For example, a condition "A or B" is satisfied by any of the following: A is true (or present) and B is false (or not present), A is false (or not present) and B is true (or present), and both A and B are true (or present).
As used in this specification and claim(s), the words "comprising, "having," "including," or "containing" (and any forms thereof, such as "comprise" and "comprises," "have" and "has," "includes" and "include," or "contains" and "contain," respectively) are inclusive or open-ended and do not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps.
Unless otherwise explicitly stated as incompatible, or the physics or otherwise of the embodiments, examples, or claims prevent such a combination, the features of examples disclosed herein, and of the claims, may be integrated together in any suitable arrangement, especially ones where there is a beneficial effect in doing so. This is not limited to only any specified benefit, and instead may arise from an "ex post facto" benefit. This is to say that the combination of features is not limited by the described forms, particularly the form (e.g. numbering) of example(s), embodiment(s), or dependency of claim(s). Moreover, this also applies to the phrase "in one embodiment," "according to an embodiment," and the like, which are merely a stylistic form of wording and are not to be construed as limiting the following features to a separate embodiment to all other instances of the same or similar wording. This is to say, a reference to 'an,' 'one,' or 'some' embodiment(s) may be a reference to any one or more, and/or all embodiments, or combination(s) thereof, disclosed. Also, similarly, the reference to "the" embodiment may not be limited to the immediately preceding embodiment. Further, all references to one or more embodiments or examples are to be construed as non-limiting to the claims.
The present disclosure may be better understood in view of the following explanations, wherein the terms used that are separated by "or" may be used interchangeably:
As used herein, an "aerosol generating apparatus" (or "electronic(e)-cigarette") may be an apparatus configured to deliver an aerosol to a user for inhalation by the user. The apparatus may additionally/alternatively be referred to as a "smoking substitute apparatus", if it is intended to be used instead of a conventional combustible smoking article. As used herein a combustible "smoking article" may refer to a cigarette, cigar, pipe or other article, that produces smoke (an aerosol comprising solid particulates and gas) via heating above the thermal decomposition temperature (typically by combustion and/or pyrolysis). An aerosol generated by the apparatus may comprise an aerosol with particle sizes of 0.2 - 7 microns, or less than 10 microns, or less than 7 microns. This particle size may be achieved by control of one or more of: heater temperature; cooling rate as the vapour condenses to an aerosol; flow properties including turbulence and velocity. The generation of aerosol by the aerosol generating apparatus may be controlled by an input device. The input device may be configured to be user-activated, and may for example include or take the form of an actuator (e.g. actuation button) and/or an airflow sensor.
Each occurrence of the aerosol generating apparatus being caused to generate aerosol for a period of time (which may be variable) may be referred to as an "activation" of the aerosol generating apparatus. The aerosol generating apparatus may be arranged to allow an amount of aerosol delivered to a user to be varied per activation (as opposed to delivering a fixed dose of aerosol), e.g. by activating an aerosol generating unit of the apparatus for a variable amount of time, e.g. based on the strength/duration of a draw of a user through a flow path of the apparatus (to replicate an effect of smoking a conventional combustible smoking article).
The aerosol generating apparatus may be portable. As used herein, the term "portable" may refer to the apparatus being for use when held by a user.
As used herein, an "aerosol generating system" may be a system that includes an aerosol generating apparatus and optionally other circuitry/components associated with the function of the apparatus, e.g. one or more external devices and/or one or more external components (here "external" is intended to mean external to the aerosol generating apparatus). As used herein, an "external device" and "external component" may include one or more of a: a charging device, a mobile device (which may be connected to the aerosol generating apparatus, e.g. via a wireless or wired connection); a networked-based computer (e.g. a remote server); a cloud-based computer; any other server system.
An example aerosol generating system may be a system for managing an aerosol generating apparatus. Such a system may include, for example, a mobile device, a network server, as well as the aerosol generating apparatus.
As used herein, an "aerosol" may include a suspension of precursor, including as one or more of: solid particles; liquid droplets; gas. Said suspension may be in a gas including air. An aerosol herein may generally refer to/include a vapour. An aerosol may include one or more components of the precursor.
As used herein, a "precursor" may include one or more of a: liquid; solid; gel; loose leaf material; other substance. The precursor may be processed by an aerosol generating unit of an aerosol generating apparatus to generate an aerosol. The precursor may include one or more of: an active component; a carrier; a flavouring. The active component may include one or more of nicotine; caffeine; a cannabidiol oil; a non-pharmaceutical formulation, e.g. a formulation which is not for treatment of a disease or physiological malfunction of the human body. The active component may be carried by the carrier, which may be a liquid, including propylene glycol and/or glycerine. The term "flavouring" may refer to a component that provides a taste and/or a smell to the user. The flavouring may include one or more of: Ethylvanillin (vanilla); menthol, Isoamyl acetate (banana oil); or other. The precursor may include a substrate, e.g. reconstituted tobacco to carry one or more of the active component; a carrier; a flavouring.
As used herein, a "storage portion" may be a portion of the apparatus adapted to store the precursor. It may be implemented as fluid-holding reservoir or carrier for solid material depending on the implementation of the precursor as defined above.
As used herein, a "flow path" may refer to a path or enclosed passageway through an aerosol generating apparatus, e.g. for delivery of an aerosol to a user. The flow path may be arranged to receive aerosol from an aerosol generating unit. When referring to the flow path, upstream and downstream may be defined in respect of a direction of flow in the flow path, e.g. with an outlet being downstream of an inlet.
As used herein, a "delivery system" may be a system operative to deliver an aerosol to a user. The delivery system may include a mouthpiece and a flow path.
As used herein, a "flow" may refer to a flow in a flow path. A flow may include aerosol generated from the precursor. The flow may include air, which may be induced into the flow path via a puff by a user.
As used herein, a "puff" (or "inhale" or "draw") by a user may refer to expansion of lungs and/or oral cavity of a user to create a pressure reduction that induces flow through the flow path.
As used herein, an "aerosol generating unit" may refer to a device configured to generate an aerosol from a precursor. The aerosol generating unit may include a unit to generate a vapour directly from the precursor (e.g. a heating system or other system) or an aerosol directly from the precursor (e.g. an atomiser including an ultrasonic system, a flow expansion system operative to carry droplets of the precursor in the flow without using electrical energy or other system). A plurality of aerosol generating units to generate a plurality of aerosols (for example, from a plurality of different aerosol precursors) may be present in an aerosol generating apparatus.
As used herein, a "heating system" may refer to an arrangement of at least one heating element, which is operable to aerosolise a precursor once heated. The at least one heating element may be configured to generate microwave radiation of a desired frequency or wavelength (or spectral range thereof) for heating the precursor. The heating system may be configured to heat a precursor to below 300 or 350 degrees C, including without combustion.
As used herein, a "consumable" may refer to a unit that includes a precursor. The consumable may include an aerosol generating unit, e.g. it may be arranged as a cartomizer. The consumable may include a mouthpiece. The consumable may include an information carrying medium. With liquid or gel implementations of the precursor, e.g. an e-liquid, the consumable may be referred to as a "capsule" or a "pod" or an "e-liquid consumable". The capsule/pod may include a storage portion, e.g. a reservoir or tank, for storage of the precursor. With solid material implementations of the precursor, e.g. tobacco or reconstituted tobacco formulation, the consumable may be referred to as a "stick" or "package" or "heat-not-burn consumable". In a heat-not-burn consumable, the mouthpiece may be implemented as a filter and the consumable may be arranged to carry the precursor. The consumable may be implemented as a dosage or pre-portioned amount of material, including a loose-leaf product.
As used herein, an "information carrying medium" may include one or more arrangements for storage of information on any suitable medium. Examples include: a computer readable medium; a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) transponder; codes encoding information, such as optical (e.g. a bar code or QR code) or mechanically read codes (e.g. a configuration of the absence or presents of cutouts to encode a bit, through which pins or a reader may be inserted).
As used herein "heat-not-burn" (or "HNB" or "heated precursor") may refer to the heating of a precursor, typically tobacco, without combustion, or without substantial combustion (i.e. localised combustion may be experienced of limited portions of the precursor, including of less than 5% of the total volume).
As used herein, "electrical circuitry" may refer to one or more electrical components, examples of which may include: an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC); electronic/electrical componentry (which may include combinations of transistors, resistors, capacitors, inductors etc); one or more processors; a non-transitory memory (e.g. implemented by one or more memory devices), that may store one or more software or firmware programs; a combinational logic circuit; interconnection of the aforesaid. The electrical circuitry may be located entirely at the apparatus, or distributed between the apparatus and/or on one or more external devices in communication with the apparatus, e.g. as part of a system.
As used herein, a "processing resource" (or "processor" or "controller") may refer to one or more units for processing data, examples of which may include an ASIC, microcontroller, FPGA, microprocessor, digital signal processor (DSP) capability, state machine or other suitable component. A processing resource may be configured to execute a computer program, e.g. which may take the form of machine readable instructions, which may be stored on a non-transitory memory and/or programmable logic. The processing resource may have various arrangements corresponding to those discussed for the circuitry, e.g. on-board and/or off board the apparatus as part of the system. As used herein, any machine executable instructions, or computer readable media, may be configured to cause a disclosed method to be carried out, e.g. by a aerosol generating apparatus or system as disclosed herein, and may therefore be used synonymously with the term method.
As used herein, an "external device" (or "peripheral device") may include one or more electronic components external to an aerosol generating apparatus. Those components may be arranged at the same location as the aerosol generating apparatus or remote from the apparatus. An external device may comprise electronic computer devices including: a smartphone; a PDA; a video game controller; a tablet; a laptop; or other like device.
As used herein, a "computer readable medium/media" (or "memory" or "data storage") may include any medium capable of storing a computer program, and may take the form of any conventional non-transitory memory, for example one or more of: random access memory (RAM); a CD; a hard drive; a solid state drive; a memory card; a DVD. The memory may have various arrangements corresponding to those discussed for the circuitry /processor. The present disclosure includes a computer readable medium configured to cause an apparatus or system disclosed herein to perform a method as disclosed herein.
As used herein, a "communication resource" (or "communication interface") may refer to hardware and/or firmware for electronic information/data transfer. The communication resource may be configured for wired communication ("wired communication resources") or wireless communication ("wireless communication resource"). Wireless communication resources may include hardware to transmit and receive signals by radio and may include various protocol implementations e.g. the 802.11 standard described in the Institute of Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and Bluetooth^™ from the Bluetooth Special Interest Group of Kirkland Wash. Wired communication resources may include; Universal Serial Bus (USB); High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) or other protocol implementations. The apparatus may include communication resources for wired or wireless communication with an external device.
As used herein, a "network" (or "computer network") may refer to a system for electronic information/data transfer between a plurality of apparatuses/devices. The network may, for example, include one or more networks of any type, which may include: a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN); a telephone network (e.g. a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and/or a wireless network); a local area network (LAN); a metropolitan area network (MAN); a wide area network (WAN); an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network; a private network; the Internet; an intranet.
It will be appreciated that any of the disclosed methods (or corresponding apparatuses, programs, data carriers, etc.) may be carried out by either a host or client, depending on the specific implementation (i.e. the disclosed methods/apparatuses are a form of communication(s), and as such, may be carried out from either 'point of view', i.e. in corresponding to each other fashion). Furthermore, it will be understood that the terms "receiving" and "transmitting" encompass "inputting" and "outputting" and are not limited to an RF context of transmitting and receiving electromagnetic (e.g. radio) waves. Therefore, for example, a chip or other device or component for realizing embodiments could generate data for output to another chip, device or component, or have as an input data from another chip, device, or component, and such an output or input could be referred to as "transmit" and "receive" including gerund forms, that is, "transmitting" and "receiving," as well as such "transmitting" and "receiving" within an RF context.
Referring to Fig. 1, an example aerosol generating apparatus 1 includes a power supply 2, for supply of electrical energy. The apparatus 1 includes an aerosol generating unit 4 that is driven by the power supply 2. The power supply 2 may include an electric power supply in the form of a battery and/or an electrical connection to an external power source. The apparatus 1 includes a precursor 6, which in use is aerosolised by the aerosol generating unit 4 to generate an aerosol. The apparatus 2 includes a delivery system 8 for delivery of the aerosol to a user. Electrical circuitry (not shown in figure 1) may be implemented to control the interoperability of the power supply 4 and aerosol generating unit 6. In variant examples, which are not illustrated, the power supply 2 may be omitted since, e.g. an aerosol generating unit implemented as an atomiser with flow expansion may not require a power supply.
Fig. 2 shows an implementation of the apparatus 1 of Fig. 1, where the aerosol generating apparatus 1 is configured to generate aerosol from a liquid precursor. In this example, the apparatus 1 includes a device body 10 and a consumable 30. In this example, the body 10 includes the power supply 4. The body may additionally include any one or more of electrical circuitry 12, a memory 14, a wireless interface 16, one or more other components 18. The electrical circuitry 12 may include a processing resource for controlling one or more operations of the body 10 and consumable 30, e.g. based on instructions stored in the memory 14. The wireless interface 16 may be configured to communicate wirelessly with an external (e.g. mobile) device, e.g. via Bluetooth.
The other component(s) 18 may include one or more user interface devices configured to convey information to a user and/or a charging port, for example (see e.g. Fig. 3). The consumable 30 includes a storage portion implemented here as a tank 32 which stores the liquid precursor 6 (e.g. e-liquid). The consumable 30 also includes a heating system 34, one or more air inlets 36, and a mouthpiece 38. The consumable 30 may include one or more other components 40.
The body 10 and consumable 30 may each include a respective electrical interface (not shown) to provide an electrical connection between one or more components of the body 10 with one or more components of the consumable 30. In this way, electrical power can be supplied to components (e.g. the heating system 34) of the consumable 30, without the consumable 30 needing to have its own power supply.
In use, a user may activate the aerosol generating apparatus 1 when inhaling through the mouthpiece 38, i.e. when performing a puff. The puff, performed by the user, may initiate a flow through a flow path in the consumable 30 which extends from the air inlet(s) 34 to the mouthpiece 38 via a region in proximity to the heating system 34. Activation of the aerosol generating apparatus 1 may be initiated, for example, by an airflow sensor in the body 10 which detects airflow in the aerosol generating apparatus 1 (e.g. caused by a user inhaling through the mouthpiece), or by actuation of an actuator included in the body 10. Upon activation, the electrical circuitry 12 (e.g. under control of the processing resource) may supply electrical energy from the power supply 2 to the heating system 34 which may cause the heating system 32 to heat liquid precursor 6 drawn from the tank to produce an aerosol which is carried by the flow out of the mouthpiece 38.
In some examples, the heating system 34 may include a heating microwave antenna and a wick, wherein a first portion of the wick extends into the tank 32 in order to draw liquid precursor 6 out from the tank 32, wherein the heating microwave antenna irradiates with microwaves a second portion of the wick located outside the tank 32. The heating antenna may be configured to heat up liquid precursor 6 drawn out of the tank 32 by the wick to produce the aerosol. In this example, the aerosol generating unit 4 is provided by the above-described heating system 34 and the delivery system 8 is provided by the above-described flow path and mouthpiece 38.
In variant embodiments (not shown), any one or more of the precursor 6, heating system 34, air inlet(s) 36 and mouthpiece 38, may be included in the body 10. For example, the mouthpiece 36 may be included in the body 10 with the precursor 6 and heating system 32 arranged as a separable cartomizer. Figs. 3A and 3B show an example implementation of the aerosol generating device 1 of Fig. 2. In this example, the consumable 30 is implemented as a capsule/pod, which is shown in Fig. 3A as being physically coupled to the body 10, and is shown in Fig. 3B as being decoupled from the body 10.
In this example, the body 10 and the consumable 30 are configured to be physically coupled together by pushing the consumable 30 into an aperture in a top end 11 the body 10, with the consumable 30 being retained in the aperture via an interference fit.
In other examples (not shown), the body 10 and the consumable 30 could be physically coupled together in other ways, e.g. by screwing one onto the other, through a bayonet fitting, or through a snap engagement mechanism, for example. The body 10 also includes a charging port (not shown) at a bottom end 13 of the body 10. The body 10 also includes a user interface device configured to convey information to a user. Here, the user interface device is implemented as a light 15, which may e.g. be configured to illuminate when the apparatus 1 is activated. Other user interface devices are possible, e.g. to convey information haptically or audibly to a user.
In this example, the consumable 30 has an opaque cap 31, a translucent tank 32 and a translucent window 33. When the consumable 30 is physically coupled to the body 10 as shown in Fig. 3A, only the cap 31 and window 33 can be seen, with the tank 32 being obscured from view by the body 10. The body 10 includes a slot 15 to accommodate the window 33. The window 33 is configured to allow the amount of liquid precursor 6 in the tank 32 to be visually assessed, even when the consumable 30 is physically coupled to the body 10.
Fig. 4 shows an implementation of the apparatus 1 of Fig. 1, where the aerosol generating apparatus 1 is configured to generate aerosol by a-heat not-burn process. In this example, the apparatus 1 includes a device body 50 and a consumable 70. In this example, the body 50 includes the power supply 4 and a heating system 52. The heating system 54 includes at least one heating microwave antenna element 54. The body may additionally include any one or more of electrical circuitry 56, a memory 58, a wireless interface 60, one or more other components 62. The electrical circuitry 56 may include a processing resource for controlling one or more operations of the body 50, e.g. based on instructions stored in the memory 58.
The wireless interface 60 may be configured to communicate wirelessly with an external (e.g. mobile) device, e.g. via Bluetooth. The other component(s) 62 may include an actuator, one or more user interface devices configured to convey information to a user and/or a charging port, for example (see e.g. Fig. 5).
The body 50 is configured to engage with the consumable 70 such that the at least one heating microwave antenna element 54 of the heating system 52 irradiates the solid precursor 6 of the consumable with microwave radiation. In use, a user may activate the aerosol generating apparatus 1 to cause the heating system 52 of the body 50 to cause the at least one heating element 54 to heat the solid precursor 6 of the consumable (without combusting it) by radiative heat transfer, to generate an aerosol which is inhaled by the user.
Fig. 5 shows an example implementation of the aerosol generating device 1 of Fig. 4. As depicted in Fig. 5, the consumable 70 is implemented as a stick, which is engaged with the body 50 by inserting the stick into an aperture at a top end 53 of the body 50, which causes the at least one heating element 54 of the heating system 52 to extend alongside the solid precursor 6. The consumable 70 includes the solid precursor 6 proximal to the body 50, and a filter distal to the body 50. The filter serves as the mouthpiece of the consumable 70 and thus the apparatus 1 as a whole. The solid precursor 6 may be a reconstituted tobacco formulation. In this example, the at least one heating element 54 is a linear or elongated microwave antenna structure. Other heating element shapes are possible, e.g. the at least one heating element may be a tube-shaped microwave resonator cavity (e.g. with a hollow transverse profile).
In this example, the body 50 includes a cap 51. In use the cap 51 is engaged at a top end 53 of the body 50. Although not apparent from Fig. 5, the cap 51 is moveable relative to the body 50. In particular, the cap 51 is slidable and can slide along a longitudinal axis of the body 50.
The body 50 also includes an actuator 55 on an outer surface of the body 50. In this example, the actuator 55 has the form of a button. The body 50 also includes a user interface device configured to convey information to a user. Here, the user interface device is implemented as a plurality of lights 57, which may e.g. be configured to illuminate when the apparatus 1 is activated and/or to indicate a charging state of the power supply 4. Other user interface devices are possible, e.g. to convey information haptically or audibly to a user. The body may also include an airflow sensor which detects airflow in the aerosol generating apparatus 1 (e.g. caused by a user inhaling through the consumable 70). This may be used to count puffs, for example.
In this example, the consumable 70 includes a flow path which transmits aerosol generated by the at least one heating element 54 to the mouthpiece of the consumable. In this example, the aerosol generating unit 4 is provided by the above-described heating system 52 and the delivery system 8 is provided by the above-described flow path and mouthpiece of the consumable 70.
Fig. 6 shows an example system 80 for managing an aerosol generating apparatus 1, such as those described above with reference to any of Figs. 1-5. The system 80 as shown in Fig. 1 includes a mobile device 82, an application server 84, an optional charging station 86, as well as the aerosol generating apparatus 1. In this example, aerosol generating apparatus 1 is configured to communicate wirelessly, e.g. via Bluetooth^™, with an application (or "app") installed on the mobile device 2, via a wireless interface included in the aerosol generating apparatus 1 and via a wireless interface included in the mobile device 82. The mobile device 82 may be a mobile phone, for example. The application on the mobile phone is configured to communicate with the application server 84, via a network 88. The application server 84 may utilise cloud storage, for example. The network 88 may include a cellular network and/or the internet.
In other examples, the aerosol generating apparatus 1 may be configured to communicate with the application server 84 via a connection that does not involve the mobile device 82, e.g. via a narrowband internet of things ("NB-loT") or satellite connection. In some examples, the mobile device 82 may be omitted from the system 80. A skilled person would readily appreciate that the mobile device 82 may be configured to communicate via the network 88 according to various communication channels, preferably a wireless communication channel such as via a cellular network (e.g. according to a standard protocol, such as 3G or 4G) or via a WiFi network. The app installed on the mobile device 82 and the application server 84 may be configured to assist a user with managing their aerosol generating apparatus 1, based on information communicated between the aerosol generating apparatus 1 and the app, information communicated directly between the aerosol generating apparatus 1 and the application server 84, and/or information communicated between the app and the application server 84.
The charging station 86 (if present) may be configured to charge (and optionally communicate with) the aerosol generating apparatus 1, via a charging port on the aerosol generating apparatus 1. The charging port on the smoking substitute device 10 may be a USB port, for example, which may allow the aerosol generating apparatus 1 to be charged by any USB-compatible device capable of delivering power to the aerosol generating apparatus 1 via a suitable USB cable (in this case the USB-compatible device would be acting as the charging station 86). Alternatively, the charging station could be a docking station specifically configured to dock with the aerosol generating apparatus 1 and charge the aerosol generating apparatus 1via the charging port on the aerosol generating apparatus 1.
Referring to Fig. 7A, Fig. 7B and Fig. 8, an aerosol generating apparatus 89, which may be implemented in any of the preceding examples, comprises an aerosol generating device 90 and a consumable 98 (e.g., a smoking stick, in this example, however in other examples the consumable may be a liquid precursor drawn from a tank to produce an aerosol which is carried by the flow out of a mouthpiece, as disclosed above) in which the consumable is inserted within the aerosol generating device 90 ready for consumption.
The aerosol generating device 90 comprises a receptacle 94 configured to hold a consumable 98 comprising aerosol-generating material. For example, the consumable may be a smoking stick, or other consumable. A microwave heater 96 is disposed within the receptacle and is configured to receive power supplied from a power source 92 to irradiate the consumable with microwave radiation. The wavelength of the microwave radiation is chosen to be about λ = 12.24cm, corresponding to a frequency of 2.45GHz. This wavelength is such that, in response to being irradiated by this microwave radiation within the receptacle, the aerosol-generating material of the consumable is heated to produce aerosols for delivery to the user. The receptacle forms a first part of a Faraday cage assembly configured to prevent the transmission therethrough of microwave radiation emitted within the receptacle by the microwave heater. A second part 100 of the Faraday cage assembly provides a closure part configured to be positionable to close the Faraday cage assembly. This second part of the Faraday cage assembly comprises an array of through-openings 101 via which the aerosols are deliverable to a user from within the receptacle. The closure part 100 is positioned within the consumable 98 such that closure of the Faraday cage assembly is achieved by insertion of the consumable into the receptacle via an opening 95 thereof so as to insert the closure part into the receptacle.
At least a portion of, or substantially all of, the first part 94 of the Faraday cage assembly (94, 100) also comprises an array of through-openings for allowing air to be drawn into the receptacle 94 from outside the receptacle in response to a user "puff" on the consumable 98 when in use to promote an outflowing of air entrained with aerosols for delivery to the user via the second part 100 of the Faraday cage assembly. In some examples, the first part of a Faraday cage assembly 94 comprises an airflow blocking part formed from un-perforated (e.g., sheet or casing) metal, metallic or conductive material and an airflow inlet part comprising an array of through-openings. Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram (side view) showing an example implementation of an aerosol-generating system 99 comprising an aerosol-generating device 90 and a consumable 98 inserted therein ready for use. In the example, the airflow inlet part 104 is positioned at a location opposing the opening 95 thereof across the inner space of the receptacle to promote the flow of air 106, 108 from the air inlet to the opening 95 of the receptacle 94 and through the second part 100 (closure part) of the Faraday cage assembly. The airflow blocking part 109 is comprises the remaining parts of the receptacle 94 positioned between the airflow inlet part 104 and the opening 95 of the receptacle 94 for directing airflow, in the manner of an air duct, from the airflow inlet part to the opening.
Accordingly, an aerosol-generating system is provided comprising the aerosol-generating device 90 and further comprising the consumable, in which the Faraday cage assembly comprises the receptacle 94 within which the microwave heater 96 is disposed, and the closure part 100 within the consumable. The closure part100 is moveable relative to the receptacle between a closed position as shown in Figure 7A in which the Faraday cage assembly is closed for preventing the transmission therethrough of microwave radiation emitted within the receptacle by the microwave heater 96, and an open position as shown in Figure 7B in which the Faraday cage assembly is open for receiving the consumable. The closed position is achieved by insertion of the consumable into the receptacle via an opening thereof so as to insert said closure part into the receptacle.
As shown in Fig. 8, the closure part 100 is disposed within the consumable to span the opening of the receptacle from within the receptacle when the closure part is inserted therein and the consumable is held within the receptacle. The circular shape of the periphery of the closure part 100 closely matches a reciprocal circular bore shape of the opening 95 such that, when the consumable 98 is held within the receptacle 94, no part of the periphery of the closure part is spaced from the receptacle by a spacing exceeding about one fifth of a wavelength of the microwave radiation with which the microwave heater 96. This condition is effective in preventing egress of microwaves from within the Faraday cage assembly while permitting a certain amount of `play' between the periphery of the opening 95 and the opposing periphery of the consumable 98 and the closure part 100 within it to enable ease of insertion/extraction of the consumable from the receptacle.
Figure 9 shows an example of a part of a uniform array of through-openings 101 of the Farraday cage assembly. Each through-opening of the array comprises a circular shape of diameter, D ≤ λ /5, where λ is the wavelength of microwave radiation generated by the microwave heater. The through-openings of the array are evenly spatially spaced and are of uniform/common diameter. Any part of the Farraday cage assembly (e.g., some of it or all of it) may be formed from such an array of through openings.
The closure part 100 is accessible at a surface of the consumable so as to present an electrically contact area configured to form an electrical contact with the receptacle 94 when the closure part is in the closed position. At least a part of the periphery of the closure part 100 forms an electrical contact with an electrical contact part 110 with the receptacle when the consumable is held within the receptacle, as shown in Fig. 10, to permit electromagnetically-induced current from between the receptacle and the closure part in response to microwaves generated within the Faraday cage assembly. The electrical contact part 110 comprises a resilient electrical contact member urged to be salient from a periphery of the opening to extend into the opening to urge against the periphery of the closure part when in the closed position thereby to form an electrical contact between the closure part and the receptacle. A metallic leaf spring, a pogo pin or other resilient electrical contact structure may be used to this end.
The receptacle comprises a sensor unit 93 configured to detect the presence of the closure part 100 of an inserted consumable when in the closed position, and to prevent operation of the microwave heater 96 if no closure part is detected. This safety feature allows the system to protect the user from use of consumables that do not have any closure part, or do not have the required closure part, and would otherwise result in unwanted (e.g., dangerous or injurious) egress of microwaves from within the receptacle by the microwave heater in use. The closure part comprises a metallic and/or conductive material and, in some examples, the sensor unit is configured to detect the presence of the closure part according to a detected inductance or according to a detected magnetic field generated (or changed) by the presence or absence of the closure part in the closed position, and to detect the metallic and/or conductive material of the closure part in the closed position accordingly. In some examples the consumable comprises a surface marking upon a surface thereof and the sensor unit is configured to detect the presence of the closure part according to an optical detection of the presence of the surface marking.
The receptacle comprises a holding region 97 configured to hold the consumable and a separate antenna region 95 containing a microwave antenna of the microwave heater such that microwave radiation is emitted from the microwave antenna to pass into the holding region from the antenna region thereby to externally irradiate a consumable with the microwave radiation when held within the holding region.
Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram (side view) showing an example implementation of an aerosol-generating apparatus 109 comprising an aerosol-generating device 90 containing a consumable 98 inserted therein ready for use. In this example of the aerosol-generating apparatus 109, the closure part 110 is a permanently attached component of the aerosol-generating device 90 and to does not form any part of the consumable 98. The closure part 110 is coupled to a main body of the aerosol-generating device containing the receptacle part 94, the microwave heater 96 and the power unit 92, and is pivotably moveable relative to the main body via a pivot coupling 114. The pivot coupling is configured to allow the closure part 110 to pivot between its open position and its closed position (both positions are shown in Figure 11). The aerosol-generating device comprises a mouthpiece part to an underside of which the closure part is attached, and which is coupled to a main body of the aerosol-generating device via the pivot coupling 114 to allow the user to manipulate the mouthpiece part 110 to pivot it so as to convey the closure part between its open position and its closed position. Both positions are shown in Figure 11: 112a in the closed position, 112b in the open position. When the mouthpiece part is positioned to place the closure part in its open position 112a, the opening 95 of the receptacle becomes fully exposed and able to allow a consumable 98 to be inserted and fully received within the receptacle, as shown in Fig. 11. When the mouthpiece part is positioned to place the closure part in its closed position 112b, it adopts a position in which it covers the receptacle part such that the opening 95 of the receptacle becomes fully covered by the mouthpiece part and the closure part attached to it. In this closed position, the mouthpiece part is able to allow aerosols to be delivered to the user from the microwave-heated consumable 98 via an output airflow 108 within which the aerosols are entrained, as shown in Fig. 11. The output airflow 108 passes through the array of through-openings 101 of the closure part and onwards through an output airflow duct 113 which is in airflow communication with the closure part 110 and extends through the mouthpiece part to the outer end of the mouthpiece part for airflow communication with the user's mouth, in use.
It is to be understood that the aerosol-generating apparatus is not intended to be limited to heat-not-burn consumables. For example, in other embodiments, the consumable 98 may comprise a capsule or a pod or an e-liquid consumable comprising a storage portion e.g. a reservoir or tank, that includes a fluid precursor. The aerosol-generating apparatus 109 may, for example, be configured for receiving and irradiating a capsule 98 containing a fluid precursor. The capsule 98 may comprise a wick (not shown) configured to draw liquid precursor from within the tank thereof, and the microwave antenna 96 may irradiate the wick with microwaves to heat liquid precursor drawn out of the tank by the wick, to produce the aerosol.

Claims

An aerosol-generating apparatus comprising: a receptacle configured for holding an aerosol-generating material; a microwave heater configured for receiving power supplied from a power source to irradiate the receptacle with microwave radiation therewith to heat an aerosol-generating material when held within the receptacle to generate an aerosol for delivery to a user; and, a Faraday cage assembly for preventing the transmission therethrough of microwave radiation emitted within the receptacle by the microwave heater, the Faraday cage assembly comprising an array of through-openings via which said aerosol is deliverable to a user from within the receptacle.
An aerosol-generating apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the receptacle is configured for holding a consumable containing an aerosol-generating material thereby to hold the aerosol-generating material, and the microwave heater is configured to irradiate the consumable with microwave radiation when the consumable is held within the receptacle thereby to irradiate the aerosol-generating material.
An aerosol-generating apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein the microwave heater is disposed within the receptacle.
An aerosol-generating apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the microwave heater comprises a microwave antenna, and the receptacle comprises a holding region for holding the aerosol-generating material and a separate antenna region containing the microwave antenna such that microwave radiation is emitted from the microwave antenna so as to pass into the holding region from the antenna region thereby to externally irradiate an aerosol-generating material with the microwave radiation when held within the holding region.
An aerosol-generating apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein the Faraday cage assembly comprises a hollow part forming or containing the receptacle, and further comprises a closure part that is moveable relative to the receptacle between: an open position in which the Faraday cage assembly is open for receiving an aerosol-generating material therein; and, a closed position in which the Faraday cage assembly is closed for preventing the transmission therethrough of microwave radiation emitted within the receptacle by the microwave heater.
An aerosol generating apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the closure part comprises said array of through-openings via which said aerosol is deliverable to a user from within the receptacle.
An aerosol-generating apparatus according to any of claims 5 to 6 wherein said closure part is pivotably or slidably moveable relative to the receptacle to pivot or slide between said open position and said closed position.
An aerosol-generating apparatus according to any of claims 5 to 7 wherein at least a part of the closure part forms an electrical contact with the hollow part when in the closed position.
An aerosol-generating apparatus according to any of claims 5 to 8 wherein the receptacle comprises a sensor unit configured to detect when the closure part is in said closed position, and to prevent operation of the microwave heater if no closure part is detected.
An aerosol-generating apparatusaccording to any of preceding claims 4 to 9 wherein the microwave heater comprises two said antennas disposed at opposite sides of the holding region in opposing respective antenna regions thereof, thereby each to externally irradiate an aerosol-generating materialwith the microwave radiation when held within the holding region.
An aerosol-generating apparatusaccording to any of preceding claims 4 to 9 wherein the microwave heater comprises a microwave resonator chamber configured to surround at least a part of the holding region thereby to externally irradiate an aerosol-generating materialwith the microwave radiation when held within the holding region.
An aerosol-generating apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein a diameter of any of the through-openings of said array of through-openings does not exceeding about one fifth of a wavelength of the microwave radiation with which the microwave heater is configured to irradiate the receptacle.
An aerosol-generating apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein through-openings amongst said array of through-openings each comprise a waveguide below cutoff comprising a diameter that does not exceed about one fifth of a wavelength of the microwave radiation with which the microwave heater is configured to irradiate the receptacle.
An aerosol-generating apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein the Faraday cage assembly comprises arrays of through-openings disposed at separate respective locations about the receptacle via one of which air is deliverable into the receptacle and via the other of which said aerosol is deliverable to a user from within the receptacle.
An aerosol-generating apparatus according to any preceding claim when dependent upon claim 2 and claim 5 and further comprising said consumable, wherein said closure part of the Faraday cage forms a part of the consumable and is positioned therein such that the closed position is achieved by insertion of the consumable into the receptacle via an opening of the hollow part.
An aerosol-generating apparatus according to claim 15 wherein the closure part of the Faraday cage is positioned within the consumable such that the closed position is achieved by insertion of the consumable into the receptacle via the opening of the hollow part so as to insert said closure part into the receptacle.
An aerosol-generating apparatus according to claim 5 or 16 wherein the closure part is disposed within the consumable to span the opening of the hollow part from within the hollow part when the closure part is inserted therein and the consumable is held within the receptacle.
An aerosol-generating apparatus according to any of claims 15 to 17 wherein at least a part of the periphery of the closure part forms an electrical contact with the hollow part when the consumable is held within the receptacle.
An aerosol-generating apparatus according to any of claims 15 to 18 wherein a shape of a periphery of the closure part closely matches a reciprocal shape of said opening such that, when the consumable is held within the receptacle, no part of the periphery of the closure part is spaced from the hollow part by a spacing exceeding about one fifth of a wavelength of the microwave radiation with which the microwave heater is configured to irradiate the consumable.
An aerosol-generating apparatus according to any of claims 15 to 19 wherein the receptacle comprises a sensor unit configured to detect the presence of the closure part of an inserted consumable when in said closed position, and to prevent operation of the microwave heater if no closure part is detected.
A consumable for use in forming a part of the Faraday cage assembly of an aerosol-generating apparatus according to any of preceding claims 1 to 20, the consumable comprising an aerosol-generating material and an electrically conductive material comprising said array of through-openings via which an aerosol generated by the aerosol-generating material is deliverable to a user.
A disposable device comprising the aerosol-generating apparatus according to any of preceding claims 1 to 21 when not dependent upon claim 2 wherein the receptacle contains the aerosol-generating material; and wherein the disposable device comprises said power source for supplying said power to the microwave heater.
An aerosol-generating method comprising: providing a receptacle configured to hold an aerosol-generating material; providing a microwave heater disposed within the receptacle and configured to receive power supplied from a power source to irradiate the receptacle with microwave radiation; providing a Faraday cage assembly for preventing the transmission therethrough of microwave radiation emitted within the receptacle by the microwave heater, the Faraday cage assembly comprising an array of through-openings via which said aerosol is deliverable to a user from within the receptacle; and, by the microwave heater, heating the aerosol-generating material to generate an aerosol for delivery to a user.