FIELD
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The present disclosure relates to a consumable and a set of a consumable and an aerosol generating system.
BACKGROUND
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A typical consumable for a heat-not-burn aerosol generating system is a consumable designed to provide the experience of smoking by heating an aerosol generating material, such as tobacco material, without burning it. Such a consumable is typically in the form of a small stick or cartridge that fits into a specially designed aerosol generating device.
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In a heat-not-burn consumable, the aerosol generating material may be heated uniformly to ensure consistent quality and user experience. If the aerosol generating material is heated non-uniformly, the result may be inconsistent aerosol delivery, uneven flavour and aroma, variable user experience or unnecessary waste of aerosol generating material due to incomplete consumption resulting from under- or over-heating. Some parts of the aerosol generating material may not reach the temperature necessary to release the aerosol effectively, resulting in inadequate aerosol delivery. Other parts may exceed the optimum temperature and release more aerosol than intended, which may affect the user's experience. Under-heated portions may not release the desired flavours and aromas, resulting in a bland or weak taste, while over-heated portions may produce a harsh taste that may be unpleasant and off-putting to users. Inconsistent heating can therefore lead to an unpredictable and unsatisfactory user experience.
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In addition, excessive temperatures can cause the formation of unintended or undesirable by-products, potentially negating the benefits of next generation aerosol generation systems. Uneven heating may lead to inefficient use of the aerosol generating material, with some parts not being fully utilised. This may increase the cost of use and result in more frequent replacements or refills.
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Also, from the perspective of aerosol generating systems, uneven heating may cause residue to build up in certain parts of the system, leading to more frequent maintenance and possible malfunction or reduced life of the system. Uneven heating may make it difficult to ensure consistent product quality, which may be essential to meet regulatory standards and maintain consumer trust.
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Despite the efforts already made in the development of consumables and aerosol generating devices/systems, further improvements are desirable.
SUMMARY
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In a first aspect, the present disclosure provides a consumable for an aerosol generating system, having a generally elongate shape, comprising an internal volume and an external surface surrounding the internal volume, wherein the internal volume contains an aerosol generating material arranged for generating aerosol, wherein the consumable comprises a heat conducting element, which, on a transverse cross-section through the consumable, extends between an outer portion arranged adjacent to or forming part of the external surface of the consumable and an inner portion arranged closer to the centre of the internal volume.
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Optionally, wherein, between the outer portion and the inner portion, the heat conducting element is in intimate contact with the aerosol generating material over substantially the entirety of the heat conducting elements surfaces, and wherein the heat conducting element is arranged to receive thermal energy at one of the outer portion and the inner portion, such that the received thermal energy, on being transported via the heat conducting element to the other of the outer portion and the inner portion, heats the aerosol generating material.
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In a second aspect, the present disclosure provides an aerosol generating system comprising a device body and a consumable according to any of the preceding claims, the device body optionally comprising a heating element arranged for heating the consumable at least in one of the outer portion and the inner portion.
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In a third aspect, the present disclosure provides a method of manufacture of a consumable according to the present disclosure, comprising providing a heat conducting element which is a sheet or foil, for example made out of metal, providing an aerosol generating material to at least one surface of the heat conducting element, and forming, for example by rolling, the heat conducting element together with the aerosol generating material to obtain the consumable part comprising the heat conducting element arranged within the aerosol generating material, the formed heat conducting element optionally having a substantially spiral shape.
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In a fourth aspect, the present invention provides a consumable, the consumable comprising an aerosol generating material and a heat conducting element, the consumable, in particular the heat conducting element, further comprises an additional cylindrical part at least partially circumscribing, or substantially entirely circumscribing, the aerosol generating material and the heat conducting element extending radially inwards from the additional cylindrical part. In other words, the additional cylindrical part may extend at least partially around the circumference of the consumable and the aerosol generating material, and the heat conducting element may be arranged more inwards therefrom. The additional cylindrical part may or may not be part of the heat conducting element, but in either case may be arranged outwardly from the heat conducting element, in particular its inner and outer portions or extending the heat conducting element beyond its outer portion. This, the additional cylindrical part may be a part different from the outer portion of the heat conducting element.
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The present disclosure provides a heated tobacco system with an improved heat transfer within the aerosol generating material to provide a more even heating of the aerosol generating material. In order to provide said improved heat transfer, a heat conducting element is arranged within the aerosol generating material. The heat conducting element has beneficial heat propagation properties, thereby providing a heat conducting path within the aerosol generating material. For example, heating the heat conducting element at one side or end allows the propagation of the thermal energy through the heat conducting element to the other side or end. The heat conducting element may in particular have better heat conducting properties than the aerosol generating material itself, so that by using a heat conducting element, thermal energy may be distributed more evenly throughout the aerosol generating material. The heat conducting element may thus be seen as an extension of a heating element used to locally heat the aerosol generating material. The heating element is thus heating aerosol generating material in the vicinity of the heating element and at the same time a portion of the heat conducting element also arranged in the vicinity of the heating element. Subsequently, the thermal energy received by the heat conducting element spreads throughout the heat conducting element, thereby heating the entire heat conducting element. The spreading of the thermal energy, or the heating of the entire heat conducting element is quicker than a spreading of the thermal energy through the aerosol generating material alone.
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The heat conducting element thereby essentially increases the surface of the heating element and thereby the surface contact between the heating element, including the heat conducting element, and the aerosol generating material.
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Conventionally, a consumable for use in a heat not burn aerosol generating system may comprise a metal layer, e.g., an aluminium layer or aluminium foil between an outer paper wrapping of the consumable and the aerosol generating material. The heat conducting element may be in contact with said layer, or may be integrally formed with said layer or be an extension therefrom, reaching further into the interior of the consumable and closer to the centre of the internal volume and thus increasing the contact area with the aerosol generating material. The heat conducting element may thus propagate the heat generated in the centre of the consumable, e.g., by a rod heater, to the outer peripheral areas of the consumable and the aerosol generating material there arranged. Alternatively, or additionally, the heat conducting element may propagate heat generated at the circumference of the consumable, e.g., by a tube heater at least partially surrounding the exterior surface of the consumable in the region of the aerosol generating material to the inner volume of the consumable and the aerosol generating material there arranged.
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A heat conducting element, provided within the aerosol generating material may heat the same more quickly and more uniformly than a single heating element arranged in the centre or surrounding the consumable alone.
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The heat conducting element may be implemented in different ways. For example, the heat conducting element may have a spiral shape. In other words, it may be a spiral or a wound metal layer with aerosol generating material arranged between individual layers of the heat conducting element. Alternatively, the heat conducting element may be embodied as a straight metal layer or a structure comprising a plurality of elements extending into the aerosol generating material, like e.g., a star shape, cross shape or Y-shape.
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A heat conducting element, provided within the aerosol generating material may heat the same more quickly and more uniformly than a single heating element arranged in the centre or surrounding the consumable alone. The heat conducting element may thus provide better heat conduction to the regions of the aerosol generating material, which are not directly exposed to the heater, or in its immediate vicinity.
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A heat conducting element receiving thermal energy in a region of one of the outer portion and the inner portion may be seen as receiving localized thermal energy, or establishing a localized receiving of thermal energy, which is subsequently transferred or conducted via the heat conducting element to a part of the aerosol generating material distant from the heating element, thereby improving the heating of said distant part of the aerosol generating material compared to a situation where the thermal energy transfer is provided by the aerosol generating material alone.
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A heat conducting element, exemplarily arranged as a sheet or foil, may comprise just two surfaces, for example the opposing front and back sides of a sheet or foil. Side edges of such a sheet or foil are not seen as further surfaces, as heat transfer from these edges as compared to the surface areas of the front and rear sides is negligible. The intimate contact of the aerosol generating material with the surfaces of the heat conducting element typically places the aerosol generating material and the heat conducting element in direct contact, e.g., without any substantial airgap between the aerosol generating material and the heat conducting element. Such an airgap between the aerosol generating material and the heat conducting element may in particular not be required to facilitate an airflow, as the aerosol generating material itself may allow an airflow therethrough. In the example that the aerosol generating material is a porous material, such as plant fibres, tobacco fibres (e.g., cut tobacco leaves) or reconstituted tobacco, the porosity in the aerosol generating material inevitably produce small scale, non-continuous contact between the aerosol generating material and the heat conducting element. However, this, non-continuous contact is not to be understood as an airgap in the present context. The consumable part may conveniently be obtained by forming, e.g. rolling, the heat conducting element together with the aerosol generating material.
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When the heat conducting element contains one or more fold or corner lines (e.g. in the case of a heat conducting element which has a cross shape or a star shape on the transverse cross-section), then such a line may be considered to form a boundary of a surface of the heat conducting element that extends up to the line. Accordingly, such a heat conducting element may have more than two surfaces. E.g., a heat conducting element having a cross shape on the transverse cross-section has eight surfaces, and a heat conducting element having a star shape on the transverse cross-section has a number of surfaces which is proportional to the number of points of the star.
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According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the thermal energy received via the outer surface of the consumable may be received in the region of the outer portion and may be transmitted to the inner portion, or thermal energy received via a heating element introduced into the internal volume of the consumable may be received in the region of the inner portion and may be transmitted to the outer portion.
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The heat conducting element thus allows to transport thermal energy received in one region of the consumable/the aerosol generating material to other regions of the consumable/the aerosol generating material. Said transport may in particular be more quickly than transporting the thermal energy through the aerosol generating material itself. The thermal conductivity of the heat conducting element may thus be considered to be higher than the thermal conductivity of the aerosol generating material.
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According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, the generally elongate shape may be a cylindrical shape, and/or the consumable may have a round or oval traverse cross-section.
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According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, the received thermal energy may be energy received for heating the aerosol generating material for generating aerosol.
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Providing thermal energy to the consumable and thus the aerosol generating material may increase the temperature of the aerosol generating material to a point where the aerosol generating material is starting to generate an aerosol. Preferably substantially the whole aerosol generating material reaches the point of the aerosol generation substantially at the same time, or at least in close temporal proximity.
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In order for at least the majority of the aerosol generating material starting to generate aerosol around the same time, good heat conduction properties through the aerosol generating material are required. By employing a heat conducting element, the heat conduction properties through the aerosol generating material may be improved compared to a consumable that, comprising a heat conducting element where only the aerosol generating material itself is propagating the thermal energy received from a heating element to parts of the aerosol generating material, which are a distance from the heating element.
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According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, the heat conducting element may be arranged to transport thermal energy received via the external surface into the internal volume of the consumable for heating the aerosol generating material.
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For example, thermal energy received from a heating element at least partially surrounding the outer surface of the consumable may be transported by the heat conducting element to the interior of the consumable more quickly than by aerosol generating material itself, thereby providing a quicker and more even heating of the aerosol generating material, resulting in an improved aerosol generation and thus improved user experience.
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According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, the heat conducting element may be arranged having a shape on the transverse cross-section out of the group consisting of a spiral shape, a curved shape, a straight shape, a U shape, a V shape, a Y shape, an L shape, a cross shape and a star shape. Providing the heat conducting element in one of said shapes allows an improved conduction of thermal energy throughout of the aerosol generating material. For example, the length of a path where the aerosol generating material is conducting the thermal energy may be reduced. Depending on a specific shape, every part of the aerosol generating material may be a defined maximum distance away from the heat conducting element, thereby reducing or even minimizing the distance thermal energy is required to travel through the aerosol generating material. Thereby, the majority of heat propagation may be provided by the conducting element.
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Providing said shapes may increase or maximize the surface contact between the heat conducting element and the aerosol generating material, thereby improving its transfer from the heat conducting element to the aerosol generating material, resulting in an improved and more even distribution of the thermal energy within the aerosol generating material. In particular cross shapes and star shapes may have more than two surfaces, so that the aerosol generating material may be in intimate contact with more than two surfaces.
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According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, the heat conducting element may be arranged as a foil or a metal foil.
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Providing the heat conducting element as a foil, may allow an improved or easier arrangement of the heat conducting element within the aerosol generating material. A foil may be more readily workable to assume a desired or intended shape than for example, a more substantial or rigid element. Also, a foil may be less prone to damages, as even a small tear or cut may not jeopardize the structural integrity of the element as a whole.
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According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, the heat conducting element may be made of a material out of the group consisting of metal, aluminium, copper, steel, or aluminium alloy.
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Metal, in particular aluminium, copper, steel or an aluminium alloy may provide significantly improved heat conduction compared to aerosol generating material in general, or tobacco material in particular. According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, the heat conducting element may be arranged as a continuous, one-piece element or the heat conducting element may be arranged as a plurality of individual elements in heat conducting contact with one another or may be arranged adjacent to one another.
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A continuous, one-piece element may comprise preferred heat conduction properties as a heat conductive path is not interrupted by material boundaries. However, also a heat conducting element comprising a plurality of individual elements may be arranged to provide beneficial heat conduction properties in case the individual elements are arranged so close to one another, that a heat transfer between individual elements is not substantially interrupted. E.g., in case the heat conducting element is a metal element, like a metal foil, the individual elements may be in direct contact with one another, so that thermal energy may be propagated from one element to another element via said direct contact. A plurality of individual elements may additionally provide a more flexible structure since the individual elements are not as rigidly bound to one another in the same way as an integral, continuous, one-piece element would be. In other words, it may be conceivable that a plurality of individual elements that are in surface contact to one another may be moved relative to one another to some extent while maintaining the surface contact, and thereby the overall heat conduction path. A continuous, one-piece element may in turn be damaged by such an attempted movement, e.g., a stretching, which may not be accommodated by a continuous element without, for example, rupturing at least part of the continuous element.
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According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, the heat conducting element and the aerosol generating material may be substantially in direct contact with one another.
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For example no adhesive or other material or layer of material may be provided between the heat conducting element and the aerosol generating material. A direct surface contact between the heat conducting element and the aerosol generating material may be preferred since no additional material transition is present that could negatively impact the heat transfer between the heat conducting element and the aerosol generating material. For example, an adhesive may comprise heat conduction properties that may be worse than the heat conduction properties of the aerosol generating material, thereby further reducing thermal energy propagation from the heat conducting element to the aerosol generating material.
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According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, the heat conducting element may comprise a plurality of sections that are arranged adjacent to and in direct contact with one another via the aerosol generating material. For example, no stabilising element or distancing element may be provided between sections of the heat conducting element for providing a defined distance between said sections of the heat conducting element as the individual sections are in direct contact with the aerosol generating material.
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For example, in case the heat conducting element has a spiral shape or the like, it may be conceivable that while manufacturing the consumable, aerosol generating material is provided on the heat conducting element, which is then formed, e.g., rolled, to obtain a generally cylindrical shape. Since any gap between different sections of the heat conducting element is filled with aerosol generating material, further distancing elements to maintain the distance of the individual sections of the heat conducting element, for example between adjacent layers or sections of the heat conducting element, may not be required. In other words, since the aerosol generating material already provides a defined distance between adjacent layers or sections of the heat conducting element, further stabilizing or distancing elements may be unnecessary.
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According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, at least part of the outer portion of the heat conducting element, for example an additional cylindrical part, is between an outer paper wrapping of the consumable and the aerosol generating material.
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According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, at least part of an additional cylindrical part is between an outer paper wrapping of the consumable and the aerosol generating material.
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According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, the aerosol generating system may comprise a heating element, for example a resistive heating element, arranged for heating the consumable at least in one of the outer portion and the inner portion.
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Such a heating element arranged for heating the consumable in the inner portion may be a rod heater or blade heater introduced into the interior, e.g., the centre of the internal volume, of the consumable when the consumable is inserted into the aerosol generating system in preparation of aerosol generation. Such a heating element may be generally arranged in a central region, when considering a circular or elliptical cross-section. In order to heat the aerosol generating material, the thermal energy of the heater is required to be transferred from the central region of the consumable to the periphery, in this example, the aerosol generating material adjacent to the outer surface of the consumable. Likewise, a heating element arranged for heating the consumable in the outer portion may be a heater arranged adjacent to the outer surface of the consumable when the consumable is inserted into the aerosol generating system in preparation of aerosol generation. Such a heating element may at least partially surround the consumable so that thermal energy generated by the heating element acts on the outer surface of the consumable. In order to heat the aerosol generating material, thermal energy of the heater is required to be transferred from the outer periphery of the consumable to its central region, in this example, the aerosol generating material arranged in the interior of the consumable.
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Providing a heat conducting element may facilitate the heat conduction from one of the outer portion and the inner portion to the respective other portion.
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According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, the aerosol generating system may be arranged for receiving the consumable in a consumable cavity, and, when the consumable is inserted in the consumable cavity, the heating element may be arranged adjacent to the external surface of the consumable such that the heating element is arranged to heat the consumable in the outer portion and thermal energy of the heating element may be transmitted via the heat conducting element to the inner portion for heating the aerosol generating material (6), or the heating element may be arranged in the internal volume of the consumable such that the heating element is arranged to heat the consumable in the inner portion and thermal energy of the heating element may be transmitted via the heat conducting element to the outer portion for heating the aerosol generating material (6).
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By providing a heat conducting element, an improved heating of the complete aerosol generating material may be provided by propagating thermal energy received at one of the outer and inner portions to the respective other portion. Thereby, heat propagation may not rely on thermal energy being transferred by the aerosol generating material and through the aerosol generating material, but thermal energy is transmitted throughout the aerosol generating material by the heat conducting element and only for a comparably small distance, the thermal energy will be required to be conducted through the aerosol generating material itself.
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According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, the consumable may be inserted in the consumable cavity, the external surface of the consumable may be arranged to be least partly in surface contact with the inner surface of the consumable cavity and/or the heating element may be arranged adjacent to or in contact with the surface of the consumable cavity.
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Thus, a heating element arranged surrounding the consumable cavity may be in surface contact with the consumable and potentially a heat conducting element arranged as likewise surrounding the consumable, which then extends into the interior of the consumable/the aerosol generating material, to facilitate thermal energy propagation into the consumable. The aerosol generating material may thus be heated outside-in.
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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
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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 system.
- Fig. 2 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a consumable according to the present disclosure.
- Fig. 3a ,b are cross-sectional views of exemplary embodiments of consumables according to the present disclosure.
- Fig. 4 is a block system diagram showing an example implementation of the system of Fig. 1, where the aerosol generating system is configured to generate aerosol from a solid precursor.
- Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example implementation of the system of Fig. 4.
- Fig. 6 is an exemplary embodiment of a method of manufacture of a consumable part according to the present disclosure.
- Fig. 7a to h are further cross-sectional views of exemplary embodiments of consumables according to the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
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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.
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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.
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Any patents, published patent applications, and non-patent publications mentioned in the specification are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
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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.
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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.
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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).
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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.
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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.
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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 system" (or "electronic(e)-cigarette") may be a system configured to deliver an aerosol to a user for inhalation by the user. The system may additionally/alternatively be referred to as a "smoking substitute system", 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 system 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 system 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.
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Each occurrence of the aerosol generating system 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 system. The aerosol generating system 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 system 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 system (to replicate an effect of smoking a conventional combustible smoking article).
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The aerosol generating system may be portable. As used herein, the term "portable" may refer to the system being for use when held by a user.
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As used herein, an "aerosol generating system" may be a system that includes an aerosol generating system and optionally other circuitry/components associated with the function of the system, 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 system).
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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 system, 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.
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An example aerosol generating system may be a system for managing an aerosol generating system. Such a system may include, for example, a mobile device, a network server, as well as the aerosol generating system.
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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 system 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.
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As used herein, a "storage portion" may be a portion of the system 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.
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As used herein, a "flow path" may refer to a path or enclosed passageway through an aerosol generating system, 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.
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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.
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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.
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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 system.
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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 electrically resistive to produce heat from the flow of electrical current therethrough. The at least one heating element may be arranged as a susceptor to produce heat when penetrated by an alternating magnetic field. The heating system may be configured to heat a precursor to below 300 or 350 degrees C, including without combustion.
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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.
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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).
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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).
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Referring to Fig. 1, an example aerosol generating system 1 includes a power supply 2, for supply of electrical energy. The system 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 system 1 includes a precursor 6, which in use is aerosolised by the aerosol generating unit 4 to generate an aerosol. The system 1 includes a delivery system 8 for delivery of the aerosol to a user.
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Electrical circuitry (not shown in figure 1) may be implemented to control the interoperability of the power supply 4 and aerosol generating unit 6.
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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.
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Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a consumable according to the present disclosure.
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Consumable 70 of Fig. 2 exemplarily comprises an elongated cylindrical shape and further comprises, at least in the part visible in Fig. 2, a portion comprising an aerosol generating material 6 or precursor 6. The aerosol-forming material may comprise plant material.
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The plant material may comprise or be formed of tobacco. The aerosol-forming material may be absent of tobacco and/or nicotine. The aerosol-forming material may comprise one or more additives selected from vapour generators, carrier agents, humectants, flavourants, fillers, aqueous/non-aqueous solvents and binders.
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The aerosol-forming material may comprise propylene glycol (PG) and/or vegetable glycerine (VG). Propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerine (VG) are typically used as base materials that act as aerosol generators (alternatively referred to as aerosol-formers), carrier agents, and/or humectants. The humectant content of the combustible material of the smoking body may have a lower limit of at least 5 wt%, such as at least 10 wt%. The humectant content of the combustible material of the smoking body may have an upper limit of at most 50 % by weight of the plant material, such as at most 40 wt%. Within the aerosol generating material 6, a heat conducting element 100 is provided, which, in the exemplary embodiment of Fig. 2, has a generally spiral shape. The heat conducting element 100 may thus be a sheet or foil, e.g. made of a metal, arranged to assume said spiral shape.
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Both surfaces of the sheet or foil forming the spiral are in intimate contact with the aerosol generating material. The heat conducting element 100 is thus arranged to transfer heat throughout the interior of the consumable 70 into the aerosol generating material 6. Thereby, locally introduced thermal energy, e.g., due to a localized heating, may be transmitted or spread throughout the aerosol generating material in an improved manner, e.g., quicker and more evenly, compared to the redistribution of locally introduced thermal energy that can be achieved in an aerosol generating material when that redistribution relies solely on conduction through the material. In other words, the heat conducting element 100 is able to spread thermal energy efficiently and uniformly from one section of aerosol generating material 6 to other sections.
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By using the depicted spiral shape, the heat conducting element 100 is equally capable to spread heat introduced centrally, e.g., by a rod heater, to the outer periphery of the aerosol generating material 6 as it is to spread heat introduced via the outer surface of the consumable 70, e.g., by a heater surrounding the consumable 70 or at least its aerosol generating material 6 portion, to the inside, e.g., the centre of the aerosol generating material 6, when considering a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal extension of the consumable 70.
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The heat conducting element 100 may terminate at the outer periphery of the consumable 70 in a cylindrical portion, substantially completely surrounding the aerosol generating material 6, for example with one or more revolutions of heat conducting element 100 material.
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Fig. 3a,b show cross-sectional views of exemplary embodiments of consumables according to the present disclosure.
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Fig. 3a shows the heat transfer behaviour within the interior of aerosol generating material 6 of a consumable 70 when heated by a centrally introduced heating element 54a, e.g., a rod heater penetrating the aerosol generating material 6 centrally.
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In the centre of the consumable 70, a heating element 54a may be introduced into the aerosol generating material 6 when the consumable 70 is inserted into an aerosol generating system 1 for consumable consumption. Such a heating element 54a may be embodied as a rod or blade heater, having e.g. a pointy tip, to facilitate insertion of the heating element 54a into the aerosol generating material 6.
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During use, the heating element 54a is heated to a manufacturer specified temperature in order to heat the aerosol generating material 6 to a temperature to enable aerosol generation. Thus, the heating element 54a locally introduces thermal energy into the aerosol generating material 6, as depicted by the thin black arrows 102 radiating outwardly from the circular surface of the heating element 54a. This thermal energy then arrives at the nearby heat conducting element 100. Since the heat conducting element 100 extends in a spiral shape that wraps closely around the central portion of the aerosol generating material 6, the thermal energy from the heating element 54a arrives at the heat conducting element 100 after traveling a comparably short distance through the local aerosol generating material 6, which thus does not form a significant barrier to heat transfer between the heating element 54a and the heat conducting element 100.
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The heat conducting element 100 of Fig. 3a extends in a spiral and has an outer portion 108a and an inner portion 108b. The outer portion 108a is exemplarily arranged adjacent to the outer surface of the consumable 70, while the inner portion 108b is arranged in the interior of the consumable 70, e.g., near the centre of the consumable 70, when considering its cross-section as depicted in Fig. 3a.
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The heat conducting element 100 of Fig. 3a is thus arranged to receive thermal energy at the inner portion 108b and is further arranged to transport at least part of the received thermal energy via its spiral towards the outer portion 108a.
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Since the thermal conductivity of the heat conducting element 100 is much superior to that of the aerosol generating material 6, the heat conducting element 100 quickly increases in temperature along the entire spiral from inner portion 108b to outer portion 108a. The rapid heat transfer within the heat conducting element 100 is depicted by thin white arrows 104.
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Subsequently, the heat conducting element 100 provides the received thermal energy to the adjacent aerosol generating material 6 within the volume of the consumable via both surfaces of the spiral between the inner 108b and outer 108a portions. As no part of the aerosol generating material 6 is very far from these surfaces, the material is heated quickly and evenly. Thermal energy provided from the heat conducting element 100 to the aerosol generating material 6 is depicted by the thick black arrows 106, which are essentially arranged perpendicular to local surfaces of the heat conducting element 100. In other words, thermal energy received by the heat conducting element 100 from the heating element 54a at the inner portion 108b is transported through the heat conducting element 100, rapidly raising its temperature while maintaining a low thermal gradient. The heat conducting element 100 in turn releases the received thermal energy via its surfaces in intimate contact with the aerosol generating material 6, to heat the aerosol generating material 6 quickly and evenly. The conducting element 100 may thus be seen as an extension of the heating element 54a or as increasing the surface contact between the heating element 54a and the aerosol generating material 6.
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The heat conducting element 100 may further comprise an additional cylindrical part 100a extending around the circumference of the consumable. The cylindrical part 100a further conducts heat received via the outer portion 108a of the spiral to the outside surface of the aerosol generating material 6. It is likewise conceivable that the heat conducting element 100 consists only of the spiral.
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Fig. 3b shows the heat transfer behaviour within the interior of aerosol generating material 6 of a consumable 70 when heated by a heating element 54b arranged close to or surrounding the outer surface of the consumable, or at least the portion of the consumable comprising the aerosol generating material 6, when the consumable 70 is inserted into a consumable cavity in preparation for consuming the consumable 70. Again, the heat conducting element 100 may extend in a spiral between an outer portion 108a and an inner portion 108b, and may have an additional cylindrical part 100a extending around the circumference of the consumable.
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Heating element 54b is depicted as surrounding the consumable 70 in the cross-sectional view of a consumable 70 in Fig. 3b.
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Heating element 54b may be a resistive heating element, generating heat by current flow through a resistor. Likewise, heating element 54b may be an induction heating element, for example, heating a suitable counterpart within the consumable, such as the cylindrical part 100a.
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Exemplarily, in Fig. 3b, heat generated by the heating element 54b is transmitted from the heating element 54b to cylindrical part 100a at the outer surface of the consumable 70, as depicted by the four thin black arrows 102 pointing inwards from the heating element 54b to the consumable 70. Alternatively, e.g. in the case where the cylindrical part 100a is not present, it is conceivable that the heating element 54b directly heats the outer parts of the aerosol generating material 6 and the heat is then conducted therethrough to arrive at the outer portion 108a of the heat conducting element 100. Either way, the received thermal energy is subsequently conducted inwards along the spiral of the heat conducting element 100 to the inner portion 108b, thereby raising the temperature of the entire spiral, as previously described.
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The rapid distribution of the received thermal energy within the heat conducting element is depicted by thin white arrows 104. Due to the superior heat conducting properties of the heat conducting element 100, the heat conducting element 100 increases its temperature quicker than the aerosol generating material 6.
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Subsequently, the spiral of the heat conducting element 100 provides the received thermal energy to the adjacent aerosol generating material 6 via both its surfaces within the volume of the consumable. As no part of the aerosol generating material 6 is very far from these surfaces, the material is heated quickly and evenly. Thermal energy provided from the heat conducting element 100 to the aerosol generating material 6 is depicted by the thick black arrows 106, which are essentially arranged perpendicular to local surfaces of the heat conducting element 100.
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Fig. 4 shows an implementation of the system 1 of Fig. 1, where the aerosol generating system 1 is configured to generate aerosol by a-heat not-burn process.
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In this example, the system 1 includes a device body 50 and a consumable 70.
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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 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.
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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.
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The wireless interface 60 may be configured to communicate wirelessly with an external (e.g. mobile) device, e.g. via Bluetooth.
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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).
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The body 50 is configured to engage with the consumable 70 such that the at least one heating element 54 of the heating system 52 penetrates into the solid precursor 6 of the consumable. In use, a user may activate the aerosol generating system 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 conductive heat transfer, to generate an aerosol which is inhaled by the user.
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Fig. 5 shows an example implementation of the aerosol generating system 1 of Fig. 4.
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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 penetrate into the solid precursor 6.
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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 system 1 as a whole. The solid precursor 6 may be a reconstituted tobacco formulation.
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In this example, the at least one heating element 54 is a rod-shaped element with a circular transverse profile. Other heating element shapes are possible, e.g. the at least one heating element may be blade-shaped (with a rectangular transverse profile) or tube-shaped (e.g. with a hollow transverse profile).
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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.
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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.
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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 system 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 system 1 (e.g. caused by a user inhaling through the consumable 70). This may be used to count puffs, for example.
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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.
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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.
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Fig. 6 is an exemplary embodiment of a method of manufacture of a consumable part, e.g. of the type described above having a spiral heat conducting element 100.
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The method 200 of manufacture of a consumable part comprises providing 202 a sheet or foil heat conducting element 100, for example made out of metal, providing 204 an aerosol generating material 6 to at least one surface of the heat conducting element 100, and forming 206, for example by rolling, the heat conducting element 100 together with the aerosol generating material 6 to obtain the consumable part comprising the heat conducting element 100 arranged within the aerosol generating material 6.
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In a consumable part obtained in this way, the resulting structure may be essentially without airgap, as shown in Figs. 2 to 3b, where substantially the entire volume between surfaces of the heat conducting element 100 is filled with aerosol generating material 6. In particular, during the forming step, the aerosol generating material arranged on one side of the sheet or foil is brought into intimate contact with the other side of the sheet or foil thereby eliminating airgaps over substantially the entirety of both surfaces of the sheet or foil.
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Fig. 7a to h are further cross-sectional views of exemplary embodiments of consumables according to the present disclosure.
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Fig. 7a shows a consumable 70 with a cross-shaped heat conducting element 100 arranged centrally within the inner volume of the consumable. With such a cross-shaped heat conducting element 100, a rod heater or blade heater introduced into the interior of the consumable needs to be appropriately arranged, to that the heater does not come into direct contact with the heat conducting element 100.
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Alternatively, for example in case the cross-shaped heat conducting element 100 is arranged as a foil and thus does not present a solid obstacle to a heater, it may be intentional that the heater enters the internal volume where the heat conducting element 100 is arranged, so to come into direct contact with the heat conducting element 100 to enable an improved, in particular direct, heat transfer from the heater to the heat conducting element 100.
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The inner portion 108b is arranged in the region of the centre of the cross-shaped heat conducting element 100, whereas a plurality of outer portions 108a is arranged in the region of the ends of the arms of the cross.
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Fig. 7b shows a consumable 70 with a single straight heat conducting element 100. The straight heat conducting element 100 is exemplarily offset to one side of the inner volume of the consumable 70, so to not interfere with a heating element intended to be inserted centrally into the internal volume. It is likewise conceivable that the consumable 70 comprises a plurality of straight heat conducting elements 100, for example arranged in a symmetrical pattern.
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The inner portion 108b is arranged in the region of the centre of the internal volume of the consumable 70, whereas the outer portion 108a is arranged in the region of the outer surface of the consumable 70.
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Fig. 7c shows a star-shaped heat conducting element 100. Exemplarily, the star-shaped heat conducting element 100 comprises a central opening 110, e.g. for receiving and accommodating a rod heater during aerosol generation. Alternatively, e.g., in case of an outside-in heating, the central opening may not be present.
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The inner portion 108b is arranged in the region of the centre of the star-shaped heat conducting element 100, whereas a plurality of outer portions 108a is arranged in the region of the ends of the arms of the star.
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Fig. 7d shows a consumable 70 with a single curved heat conducting element 100. The curved heat conducting element 100 is exemplarily offset to one side of the inner volume of the consumable 70, so to not interfere with a heating element intended to be inserted centrally into the internal volume. It is likewise conceivable that the consumable 70 comprises a plurality of straight heat conducting elements 100, for example arranged in a symmetrical pattern.
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The inner portion 108b is arranged closer to the centre of the internal volume of the consumable 70, whereas the outer portion 108a is arranged in the region of the outer surface of the consumable 70.
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Fig. 7e shows an L-shaped heat conducting element 100, Fig. 7f shows a U-shaped heat conducting element 100, Fig. 7g shows a V-shaped heat conducting element 100 and Fig. 7h shows a Y-shaped heat conducting element 100.
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These exemplary embodiments of letter-shaped heat conducting elements 100 are exemplarily offset to one side of the inner volume of the consumable 70, so to not interfere with a heating element intended to be inserted centrally into the internal volume. It is likewise conceivable that the consumable 70 comprises a plurality of such letter-shaped heat conducting elements 100, for example arranged in a symmetrical pattern. Although the letter-shaped heat conducting elements 100 are depicted as being directly adjacent to the outer surface of the consumable, it is also conceivable that the letter-shaped conducting elements 100 are arranged somewhat offset from the outer surface of the consumable, in the internal volume of the consumable and this completely surrounded by aerosol generating material The inner portions 108b are arranged closer to the centre of the internal volume of the consumable 70, whereas the outer portions 108a are arranged in the region of the outer surface of the consumable 70.