JP2023504482A - aerosol generator - Google Patents

Abstract

An aerosol generating device configured to heat a tobacco-containing consumable (1000), comprising a housing (10) and a housing (10) arranged to rotate within the housing about an axis of rotation to wind the consumable onto a reel. and a reel (20) having a winding dimension such that the consumable is wound on the reel, the reel winding the consumable before the consumable is wound on the reel. An aerosol generating device comprising positioning means (21) for positioning along the rotational dimension and engaging means (22) for engaging the consumable as the reel rotates. [Selection drawing] Fig. 2A

Description

The present disclosure relates to aerosol-generating devices configured to heat, rather than burn, consumables, including tobacco or other suitable aerosol-based materials, to generate an aerosol for inhalation.

The popularity and use of risk-reducing or risk-modifying devices (also known as vaporizers) assist habitual smokers who wish to quit smoking traditional tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos, and cigarettes. It has grown rapidly in the last few years as a way to help Various devices and systems are available for heating or warming an aerosolizable substance, as opposed to burning tobacco in conventional tobacco products.

Commonly available risk reduction or risk modification devices are substrate-heated aerosol generators or heated non-combustion devices. Devices of this type produce an aerosol or vapor by heating an aerosol substrate, typically comprising moist tobacco or other suitable aerosolizable material, to a temperature typically in the range of 150°C to 300°C. to generate By heating the aerosol substrate rather than burning or burning it, an aerosol is released that contains the components desired by the user but is free of the toxic and carcinogenic by-products of combustion and combustion. Furthermore, aerosols produced by heating tobacco or other aerosolizable materials typically do not contain a burnt or bitter taste resulting from combustion and burning, which can be unpleasant to the user. Thus, the substrate does not require sugars and other additives typically added to such materials to make smoke and/or vapors more palatable to the user.

To increase the amount of aerosol that can be generated from the consumable and to increase heating efficiency, it is desirable to reduce the ratio of consumable volume to surface area exposed to the heater. One way of achieving this is by providing a thin consumable, for example in the form of sheets or threads. However, such consumables can be inconvenient for users to handle, especially when inserting unused consumables into the aerosol generating device and removing used consumables from the aerosol generating device. There is

As a result, it would be desirable to provide an aerosol generating device with features that assist the user in adding and removing thin consumables.

According to a first aspect, the present disclosure is an aerosol generating device configured to heat a tobacco-containing consumable, comprising a housing and a reel of the consumable for rotation within the housing about an axis of rotation. and a reel arranged to wrap around the consumable, the consumable having a winding dimension around which the consumable is wound. The reel includes positioning means for positioning the consumable along the winding dimension before the consumable is wound onto the reel, and engaging means for engaging the consumable as the reel rotates.

Optionally, the reel includes a reel aperture configured to receive the end of the consumable along the winding dimension.

Optionally, the reel holes are slots and the consumable is a sheet.

Optionally, the reel hole has an end configured to position the end of the consumable.

Optionally, sides of the reel hole are configured to engage the consumable as the reel rotates.

Optionally, the aerosol-generating device includes a heating unit located on the inner surface of the housing or the outer surface of the reel.

Optionally, the heating unit includes one or more heating elements arranged to extend around the axis of rotation of the reel.

Optionally, the heating unit includes multiple heating elements spaced along the axis of rotation of the reel.

Optionally, the aerosol generating device includes a channel between the inner surface of the housing and the outer surface of the reel, the channel configured to allow flow of the aerosol generated from the consumable.

Optionally, the housing includes an insertion hole configured to allow a consumable to be inserted into the flow path.

Optionally, the aerosol generating device includes a protrusion and a guide groove configured to guide movement of the protrusion between the plurality of positions, one of the protrusion and the guide groove being formed on the housing. and the other of the protrusion and the guide groove is formed on the reel.

Optionally, the guide groove includes a first path extending about the axis of rotation of the reel, and the protrusion is adapted to travel along the first path between the starting and ending positions as the reel rotates. You will be guided

Optionally, the reel hole is aligned with the insertion hole when the protrusion is in the starting position.

Optionally, the guide groove includes a second path extending along the axis of rotation of the reel between the attached position and the removed position, and the housing and reel guide the protrusion along the second path. are configured to be detachable from each other.

Optionally, the attachment position of the second path is between the starting and ending positions of the first path.

Optionally, the attachment position is substantially close to the end position but not at the end position.

Optionally, the guide groove includes a third path extending along the axis of rotation of the reel and having an end at the starting position, and the housing and reel align the projections to the second path or the third path. configured to be attached and detached from each other by guiding along.

Optionally, for each of the multiple positions of the guide groove, the position is an end or corner of the guide groove, or the aerosol generating device is configured to indicate when the protrusion is at that position. position indicator for each.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the following drawings.

1 is a schematic diagram of a cross-section of an aerosol generating device; FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of loading consumables into an aerosol generating device; FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of loading consumables into an aerosol generating device; FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of loading consumables into an aerosol generating device; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of loading consumables into an alternative aerosol generating device; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of loading consumables into an alternative aerosol generating device; FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an alternative arrangement of a heating unit within an aerosol generator and alternative consumables for an aerosol generator; FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an alternative arrangement of a heating unit within an aerosol generator and alternative consumables for an aerosol generator; FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an alternative arrangement of a heating unit within an aerosol generator and alternative consumables for an aerosol generator; FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an alternative arrangement of a heating unit within an aerosol generator and alternative consumables for an aerosol generator; FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of guide grooves in the aerosol generator; FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of guide grooves in the aerosol generator; 1 is a schematic diagram of the appearance of an aerosol generator; FIG.

In each figure, the x-axis, y-axis or z-axis is labeled to illustrate the rotation between the different figures.

FIG. 1 schematically shows an aerosol generating device 1 comprising a housing 10 and a reel 20. As shown in FIG. Reel 20 is arranged to rotate within housing 10 to wind consumable 1000 (not shown) onto reel 20 . In this embodiment, the housing is an elongated housing with a cylindrical internal volume.

The consumable 1000 can be an aerosol-based sheet or thread. For example, the consumable can be a thin rectangular sheet. The aerosol substrate may comprise various forms of tobacco material such as, for example, cut tobacco and granulated tobacco, and/or the tobacco material may comprise tobacco leaf and/or reconstituted tobacco.

In this embodiment the aerosol generating device 1 further comprises a mouthpiece 30 through which the generated aerosol can be consumed by the user. More specifically, the consumable can be heated within the flow path 40 between the inner surface of the housing 10 and the outer surface of the reel 20 to generate an aerosol from the consumable. The aerosol may then flow through channel 40 and mouthpiece 30 to the mouth end of the aerosol generating device.

In this embodiment, the reel 20 is attached to the mouthpiece 30 so that the user can manually control the rotation of the reel within the housing by rotating the housing relative to the mouthpiece. In other embodiments, rotation of the reel may be driven by a motor and the housing and mouthpiece may be formed as a single unit. Additionally, the reel may have a portion extending beyond the mouthpiece to the opposite end of the device opposite the mouth end, so that, for example, the housing and mouthpiece are formed as a single unit. This opposite end can still be used to manually control the rotation of the reel within the housing.

Figures 2A-2C are schematic illustrations of the steps of loading consumables into an aerosol generating device. Figures 2A-2C show cross sections of the aerosol generating device perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the reels in the housing. The axis of rotation is parallel to the z-axis labeled in FIG. 1 and is not shown in FIGS. 2A-2C.

2A, housing 10 includes an insertion hole 11 configured to allow consumable 1000 to be inserted into flow path 40, reel 20 labeled "w" in FIG. 2A. and a reel hole configured to receive the end of the consumable 1000 along the winding dimension. The winding dimension is the dimension of consumable 1000 along which the consumable is wound onto reel 20 . The winding dimension is typically, but not necessarily, the longest dimension of the consumable sheet or thread.

More specifically, in this embodiment the reel holes have ends 21 and sides 22 . If the consumable 1000 is a sheet, the reel holes are slots. On the other hand, if the consumable 1000 is thread, the reel holes can correspondingly be shaped to receive the ends of the thread.

The reel hole end 21 serves as a positioning means for positioning the consumable ready to be wound on the reel. More specifically, the positioning means are used to position the consumable along the winding dimension before the consumable is wound onto the reel. In other words, the positioning means are used to ensure that the correct length of consumable is fed into the aerosol generating device before winding takes place. In the case of the end 21 of the reel hole, the consumable is fed until it reaches the end 21 and cannot go any further. At that point, the user of the aerosol generating device knows that the consumable is properly positioned to roll into the aerosol generating device.

The sides 22 of the reel bore are configured to serve as engagement means for engaging consumables as the reel 20 rotates. More specifically, as the reel 20 rotates, the end of the consumable is subjected to friction with the side surface 22 so that it engages and moves with the side surface 22 . As shown in Figures 2B and 2C, the engagement means engages a portion of the consumable already in the aerosol generating device so that as the reel rotates, more of the consumable is in the aerosol generating device. It is drawn in and the consumable is wound onto the reel.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 2A-2C, the reel hole is asymmetrical, one side is straight and the other side 22 is curved. The curved sides allow the consumable 1000 to conform to both sides 22 acting as engagement means and the outer surface of the reel 20 without forcing it to form corners or otherwise. For example, the formation of corners may increase the likelihood that the consumable will break while being wound on the reel 20 .

As shown in FIGS. 2A-2C, in this embodiment the consumable is fully wound onto the reel 20 by a complete rotation of the reel within the housing. However, in other embodiments, the reel may be configured to rotate multiple times within the housing to wind multiple layers of the consumable onto the reel.

Additionally, as shown in FIGS. 2A-2C, in this embodiment the reel 20 includes a closing element 26 arranged to close the insertion hole 11 when the consumable 1000 is fully inserted. . Closure of the insertion hole 11 has the advantage of increasing efficiency by eliminating points of heat leakage from the aerosol generating device. However, in other embodiments the closure element 26 may be omitted.

Figures 3A and 3B are schematic diagrams of loading consumables into an alternative aerosol generating device.

In FIG. 3A, instead of the reel holes as described above, the housing 10 and reel 20 are completely bisected over a portion of the length of the housing 10 and reel 20 in the z-axis to remove consumables. An embodiment is illustrated in which a gap is provided to allow passage of the aerosol generator. This arrangement provides a double winding effect in which the consumable is wound by both ends of the gap. That is, as the reel 20 is rotated, both ends of the consumables 1000 are simultaneously wound through the respective insertion holes 11 . Furthermore, this has the advantage that the end of the consumable can be inserted through either one of the insertion holes 11 . However, to prevent some of the consumable from being left outside the aerosol generating device when the reel is wound, the consumable must be fed to the middle of the gap before winding. In this embodiment the positioning means 21' are arranged to block the corresponding positioning means 201 on the consumable 1000 when the consumable 1000 is correctly positioned for winding.

FIG. 3B illustrates an embodiment in which the reel need not have holes or gaps as described above. Instead, reel 20 has elastic clips 21, 22 on its surface, which serve as both positioning means and engaging means. The user pushes the consumable through the insertion hole 11 until the ends of the consumable engage the elastic clips 21, 22, and then rotates the reel 20 within the housing 10 to wind the consumable on the reel.

The above are merely examples of alternative positioning means and engagement means, and many other examples are possible. For example, the reel 20 may optionally facilitate heating of the consumable to position and engage the consumable as described in European Patent Application Publication No. 19202286.1. It may have one or more piercing elements extending from the outer surface for piercing the consumable such as even.

4A-4D are schematic diagrams of alternative arrangements of heating units within a portion of an aerosol generating device and alternative consumables for an aerosol generating device. 4A to 4D are cross-sectional views from the perspective of the rotation axis (z-axis) of the reel 20. FIG.

4A-4D, reel 20 is shown between two opposing walls of housing 10. In FIGS. The opposing walls are connected to each other outside the plane shown in the figure.

Similarly, in FIGS. 4A-4C , two sections of sheet consumable 1000 are shown on opposite sides of the reel to illustrate consumable 1000 wound onto reel 20 .

As additionally illustrated in FIG. 4A, the reel 20 includes a heating unit 23 located on the outer surface of the reel. The heating element is connected to a power supply (not shown), which may include control circuitry for automatically controlling the heating element, and/or one or more user inputs (e.g., , buttons, sliders). User inputs may be located on the outer surface of the aerosol generating device (eg, the outer surface of housing 10 or mouthpiece 30).

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4A, the heating unit 23 includes a plurality of heating elements arranged to extend (extending out of the plane of the cross-section) about the axis of rotation of the reel. In other words, the heating element extends along the outer surface of the reel around the axis of rotation of the reel. In embodiments where the reel 20 has a reel hole, the heating element may not extend around the entire circumference of the reel, and "extend around" means that the heating element extends around most of the circumference. means. Further, individual heating elements may not be continuous, but may comprise a series of smaller sections along a direction extending around the axis of rotation.

More preferably, the heating elements may be spaced along the axis of rotation of the reel, as shown in FIG. 4A. By providing spaced apart heating elements, each heating element can be individually controlled, e.g., to heat different regions of the consumable at different times and/or at different rates, for the purpose of controlling the aerosol generation profile. becomes possible.

For example, it has been found that the velocity and composition of the aerosol produced changes in the course of heating the aerosol substrate, and the heating profile of the separate heating element can be controlled to improve the aerosol production profile.

More specifically, the separate heating elements begin heating different portions of the consumable at different times to achieve an effect similar to successively adding fresh aerosol substrate.

Additionally, different intensities of aerosol can be generated by activating different numbers of heating elements. By activating different numbers of heating elements, the total amount of aerosol that can be generated per consumable can be additionally controlled. Thus, the number or arrangement of activated heating elements can be controlled by the user, for example.

The aerosol generating device partially illustrated schematically in FIG. 4B is similar to that of FIG. 4A, except that the heating unit 23' is a single heating element arranged to extend around the axis of rotation of the reel. It is the same. More specifically, the heating unit 23' is a uniform sheet on the outer surface of the reel. This alternative embodiment may reduce the degree of detail with which the heating profile can be defined, but has the advantage of simplifying manufacturing of the aerosol generating device.

The aerosol generating device, partly illustrated schematically in FIG. 4C, is similar to FIG. 4A except that the heating unit 23 is arranged on the inner surface of the housing 10. This means that any control circuit for the heating unit can be provided in the housing. This may also make it easier to connect user inputs between the outer surface of the housing 10 and the heating unit 23 .

The aerosol-generating device, partly illustrated schematically in FIG. 4D, is similar to FIG. 4A, except that the reel holes have a shape adapted to receive the end of the thread-like consumable 1000'. . A section of thread-like consumable 1000 ′ is shown wound on reel 20 and originates at reel hole 22 .

Also, alternative features of FIGS. 4A-4D may be combined. For example, the heating unit 23 can be a uniform sheet on the inner surface of the housing. As another example, the aerosol generating device may include both a heating unit on the inner surface of the housing and a heating unit on the outer surface of the reel.

Furthermore, in other embodiments the heating unit may be omitted entirely. For example, the aerosol generating device may instead have an inductive or conductive drive element arranged to drive a heating unit incorporated in the consumable.

5A and 5B are schematic diagrams of guide grooves in an aerosol generator.

FIG. 5A schematically illustrates the principle of guide grooves. In one embodiment, reel 20 includes guide grooves 24 and housing 10 includes protrusions 13 . The guide groove is configured to guide movement of the protrusion. More specifically, the guide groove is deep enough to allow the protrusion to move along the groove and has walls that prevent the protrusion 13 from leaving the groove. Since the guide groove 24 and the protrusion 13 are formed in the facing parts of the housing and the reel, they guide relative movement between the housing 10 and the reel 20 . This is accomplished in another embodiment by forming guide grooves 24 on the housing 10 and protrusions 13 on the reel 20 .

FIG. 5B schematically illustrates a more detailed embodiment with guide grooves. In FIG. 5B, reel 20 is shown attached to mouthpiece 30 and housing 10 is omitted. The guide groove includes a first path 241 extending around the axis of rotation of the reel. A protrusion 13 formed on the housing 10 (not shown) is guided along a first path between a start position 242 and an end position 243 as the reel rotates. End position 243 may be the position at which closure element 26 (if present) closes insertion hole 11 .

To make it easier for the user to insert the end of the consumable 1000 into the reel hole, the starter hole is aligned with the insertion hole 11 of the housing 10 when the protrusion is in the start position. Position 242 and protrusion 13 are preferably located.

For example, it is desirable to be able to separate the reel 20 from the housing 10 so that the inner surface of the housing and/or the outer surface of the reel can be accessed for cleaning. Separation of reel 20 from housing 10 can also be used to retrieve consumable 1000 after use.

As a result, the guide groove in embodiments preferably includes a second path 244 extending along the axis of rotation of the reel. The second path may also extend around the axis of rotation, eg in a spiral fashion, or may be completely parallel to the axis of rotation, as shown in FIG. 5B. A second path extends between a removal position 245 and an attachment position 246 . The guide groove has an open end at the removal position 245 so that the housing 10 can be completely separated from the reel 20 . The second path, on the other hand, connects to the first path at mounting location 246 so that the protrusion can follow the first path while the reel 20 is attached to the housing 10 . Therefore, by guiding the projecting portion 13 along the second path 244, the housing and the reel can be attached and detached from each other.

Preferably, in embodiments in which the guide groove has a first path 241 and a second path 244, the mounting location 246 of the second path is between the start location 242 and the end location 243 of the first path. Located along the first path. This prevents accidental separation of housing 10 from reel 20 because protrusion 13 must first be aligned with mounting location 246 before protrusion 13 can move along second path 244 . It means that it cannot be done easily.

More preferably, attachment location 246 is substantially closer to end location 243 , ie closer to end location 243 than start location 242 , but not actually at end location 243 . This arrangement makes it relatively easy to remove the reel 20 from the housing 10 after the consumable has been used to generate an aerosol. This is particularly advantageous when aerosol generation also produces sticky or adhesive by-products that make it more difficult to rotate the reel 20 within the housing 10 until the device is cleaned.

As shown in FIG. 5B, the guide channel may further include a third passageway 247 that provides an alternative method of attaching and detaching the housing 10 and reel 20 . Similar to the second path, the third path extends along the axis of rotation of the reel, and the housing and reel are configured to be attached and detached from each other by guiding the protrusion along the second path. be done. However, in the case of the third path 247, the third path ends at the starting position 242, the aerosol generating device after cleaning in a position ready to wind unused consumables onto the reel 20. facilitates reassembly of the While this is useful, the third path 247 is not essential as the second path and the first path instead allow the aerosol generating device 20 to be reassembled in the same position.

In the embodiment of the third path shown in FIG. 5B, the third path 247 overlaps the reel holes 21, 22 so that the protrusion 13 is above the reel holes when the third path is used. to move. In an alternative embodiment, the second path 244 can instead be positioned to overlap the reel holes 21, 22, to maximize the space available for the heating unit 23 on the outer surface of the reel 20. Additionally, the third path 247 can be omitted.

In other embodiments, the protrusions and guide grooves may be omitted. For example, reel 20 may be permanently contained within housing 10 such that housing 10 itself may guide the rotation of reel 20 in some embodiments. In such embodiments, the used consumable can be removed by reversing the winding process shown in Figures 2A-2C.

As further shown in FIG. 5B, the reel 20 is designed to maintain a space between the outer surface of the reel 20 and the inner surface of the housing 10 in the area containing the heating unit 23 (and consumable 1000 if present). may additionally include one or more spacers 25 of .

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the exterior of an aerosol generator with guide grooves as described above.

In the arrangement shown in FIG. 5B, there are three functional positions for the user to consider when the reel 20 is attached to the housing 10: a starting position 242 where the end of the consumable can be inserted into the aerosol generating device, and a A locked position (end position 243), in which the device is completely engulfed and ready for aerosol generation, and an unlocked position (end position 243), in which the device can be disassembled to remove consumables and/or clean the device. There is a mounting position 246).

To assist the user in finding each of these functional positions, in this embodiment the aerosol generating device preferably coordinates the position of the protrusion 13 and one or more positions within the guide groove 24. Including position indicator for indication.

More specifically, in this embodiment the housing 10 has a first position indicator 12 arranged to indicate the position of the protrusion 13 and the mouthpiece 30 is positioned at a start position 242, an end position 243 and a It has a second position indicator 31, a third position indicator 32 and a fourth position indicator 33 arranged to indicate the mounting position 246 respectively. In embodiments in which the reel 20 is not attached to the mouthpiece 30, the second position indicator 31, the third position indicator 32 and the fourth position indicator 33 are rather located on the externally visible portion of the reel 20. obtain. Furthermore, in embodiments in which the reel 20 has projections 13 and the housing 10 has guide grooves 24, the positions of the position indicators are correspondingly reversed.

In this embodiment, protrusion 13 is formed on the inner surface of the housing between insertion hole 11 and mouthpiece 30 . As a result, the first position indicator 12 is omitted as long as the user understands that each of the second indicator 31, third indicator 32 and fourth indicator 33 needs to be aligned with the insertion hole 11. can be

Furthermore, since the starting position 242 and the ending position 243 of the first path 241 are at the ends or corners of the guide groove 24, the user can feel these positions when rotating the reel 20 within the housing 10. can find. Therefore, the associated second and third position indicators 31, 32 can be omitted.

More generally, for each of the plurality of positions defined within the guide groove 24, the position is either an end or a corner of the guide groove 24, or the aerosol generating device has a protrusion at that position. including respective position indicators configured to indicate when. For the attached position 246 and the removed position 245 , both positions are indicated by the fourth position indicator 33 .

Claims (15)

An aerosol generating device configured to heat a consumable comprising tobacco, comprising:
a housing;
a reel arranged to rotate about an axis of rotation within the housing to wind the consumable on the reel, the consumable having a winding dimension such that the consumable is wound on the reel; a reel and
The reel is
positioning means for positioning the consumable along the winding dimension before the consumable is wound onto the reel;
and engagement means for engaging the consumable as the reel rotates. 2. The aerosol generating device of Claim 1, wherein the reel includes a reel aperture configured to receive an end of the consumable along the winding dimension. 3. The aerosol generating device of claim 2, wherein said reel holes are slots and said consumables are sheets. 3. The aerosol generating device of Claim 2, wherein the reel aperture has an end configured to position the end of the consumable. 3. The aerosol generating device of claim 2, wherein sides of the reel aperture are configured to engage the consumable as the reel rotates. 2. The aerosol generating device of claim 1, comprising a heating unit located on the inner surface of the housing or the outer surface of the reel. 7. The aerosol generating device of claim 6, wherein the heating unit comprises one or more heating elements arranged to extend around the axis of rotation of the reel. 8. The aerosol generating device of claim 7, wherein the heating unit comprises a plurality of heating elements spaced along the axis of rotation of the reel. 2. The method of claim 1, comprising a channel between an inner surface of the housing and an outer surface of the reel, the channel configured to allow flow of an aerosol generated from the consumable. Aerosol generator. 10. The aerosol generating device of Claim 9, wherein the housing includes an insertion hole configured to allow the consumable to be inserted into the flow path. a protrusion and a guide groove configured to guide movement of the protrusion between a plurality of positions, one of the protrusion and the guide groove being formed on the housing; 2. The aerosol generator according to claim 1, wherein the other of the guide grooves is formed on the reel. The guide groove includes a first path extending around the axis of rotation of the reel, and the projection extends along the first path between a start position and an end position as the reel rotates. 12. The aerosol generating device of claim 11, guided along. The guide groove includes a second path extending along the axis of rotation of the reel between an attachment position and a removal position, and the housing and reel move the protrusion along the second path. 13. The aerosol-generating device of claim 12, configured to be attached and detached from each other by guiding. 14. The aerosol generating device of claim 13, wherein the mounting position of the second path is between the starting position and the ending position of the first path. for each of the plurality of positions,
12. The position is an end or corner of the guide channel, or the aerosol generating device comprises a respective position indicator configured to indicate when the projection is at the position. The aerosol generator according to .

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