JP2024514443A - Aerosol-generating articles and methods of manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The aerosol product article (1, 2, 3) for use with an aerosol generating device (102) includes a generally planar aerosol-generating substrate (14) and a packaging member (22) that surrounds the generally planar aerosol-generating substrate (14) to form the generally planar aerosol product article. The packaging member (22) includes a window (16) aligned with a portion of the aerosol-generating substrate (14) and optionally includes a removable portion (30) that covers the window (16).

Description

The present disclosure relates generally to aerosol-generating articles, and more particularly to aerosol-generating articles for use with an aerosol-generating device to heat the aerosol-generating article to produce an aerosol for inhalation by a user. Embodiments of the present disclosure also relate to methods of manufacturing aerosol-generating articles. The present disclosure is particularly applicable to aerosol-generating articles for use with portable (hand-held) aerosol-generating devices.

In recent years, the popularity and use of risk-reducing or risk-modifying devices (also known as aerosol-generating or vapour-generating devices) has grown rapidly as an alternative to the use of traditional tobacco products. A variety of devices and systems are available that heat or warm an aerosol-generating substrate to generate an aerosol for inhalation by the user.

A commonly available risk reduction or modification device is the substrate heated aerosol generating device, i.e. the so-called non-combustion heated device. This type of device generates an aerosol or vapor by heating an aerosol-generating substrate, typically to a temperature in the range of 150°C to 300°C. Heating the aerosol-generating substrate to a temperature in this range, with or without burning the aerosol-generating substrate, generates a vapor that typically cools and condenses to form an aerosol for inhalation by a user of the device.

Currently available aerosol generation devices use one of several different approaches, including resistive heating, which utilizes resistive heating elements, and induction heating, which utilizes heating elements in the form of induction coils and induction heating susceptors. heat can be applied to the aerosol-generating substrate.

Regardless of which technique is used to heat the aerosol generating substrate, the characteristics of the aerosol generated by the aerosol generating device will depend on several factors, including the structure of the aerosol product article used with the aerosol generating device. It is therefore desirable to provide an aerosol product article that allows for optimizing the characteristics of the aerosol generated during use of the article, while at the same time being easy to use in combination with the aerosol generating device.

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an aerosol product article for use with an aerosol generating device, the aerosol product article comprising:
A substantially planar aerosol-generating substrate;
a packaging member surrounding the generally planar aerosol-generating substrate to form a generally planar aerosol product article;
Including,
An aerosol product is provided in which the packaging member includes a window aligned with a portion of the aerosol-generating substrate.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method of producing an aerosol product for use with an aerosol generating device, the method comprising:
Providing a substantially planar aerosol-generating substrate;
Providing a packaging member including a window;
wrapping the generally planar aerosol-generating substrate in a packaging member to form a generally planar aerosol product article, and aligning a window in the packaging member with a portion of the aerosol-generating substrate;
A method is provided, comprising:

The wrapping and aligning steps may be performed in any order. For example, the method may include first aligning a window in the packaging member with a portion of the aerosol-generating substrate and then wrapping the generally planar aerosol-generating substrate with the packaging member to form a generally planar aerosol product article, or vice versa.

The aerosol product is for use with an aerosol generating device to heat an aerosol generating substrate without burning the aerosol generating substrate to volatilize at least one component of the aerosol generating substrate, thereby producing a heated vapor that cools and condenses to form an aerosol for inhalation by a user of the aerosol generating device. The aerosol generating device is a handheld, portable device.

In general terms, a vapor is a substance that is in the gas phase below its critical temperature, meaning that the vapor can be condensed into a liquid by increasing the pressure without decreasing the temperature. An aerosol, on the other hand, is fine solid particles or liquid droplets suspended in air or another gas. However, it should be noted that the terms "aerosol" and "vapor" may be used interchangeably herein, particularly with respect to the form of inhalable medium that is produced for a user to inhale.

Providing a window in the packaging member that is aligned with a portion of the aerosol-generating substrate may improve heat transfer from the heater of the aerosol-generating device to the aerosol-generating substrate, thereby allowing the aerosol-generating group to It becomes possible to heat materials more efficiently and more rapidly. For example, the window may allow the aerosol-generating substrate to directly contact the heater of the aerosol-generating device. This ensures that steam can be generated more easily and can help improve the energy efficiency of the aerosol generation device.

The packaging member may include a sheet material and the window may include a die cut portion formed in the sheet material. The window may be easily formed in the sheet material, for example by a die cutting operation, and may be easily aligned with a portion of the aerosol-generating substrate during manufacture of the aerosol product article.

The aerosol-generating substrate may include a major surface. The window may be disposed adjacent to the major surface so as to overlie (i.e. lie flat against) a portion of the major surface and may have an area smaller than the area of the major surface. This ensures that the aerosol-generating substrate cannot pass through the window and remains securely in place inside the packaging member.

The packaging member may extend beyond the end of the aerosol-generating substrate to form a mouth end of the article. The extended area of the packaging member may allow heated vapor generated during use of the aerosol product article to cool and condense to form an aerosol with optimal properties for inhalation by the user.

The packaging member may include a removable portion that may cover the window. The packaging member may include one or more lines of weakness that define an outer edge of the removable portion. The removable portion may be removable by a user prior to use of the aerosol product article in the aerosol generating device. The removable portion may help protect the aerosol generating substrate prior to use of the aerosol product article and may help ensure that the aerosol generating substrate is maintained in a fixed position inside the packaging member. The removable portion may be easily removed by a user prior to use of the aerosol product article, for example ensuring that direct contact between the aerosol generating substrate and a heater of the aerosol generating device can be achieved.

The one or more lines of weakness may include one or more perforations. The removable portion may therefore be easily removed, for example by peeling, and discarded.

The generally planar aerosol-generating substrate may have a flat rectangular shape that may have a pair of major surfaces. The packaging member may include a pair of rectangular sheets that may be attached to the pair of major surfaces, respectively. The aerosol product article may have a pleasing aesthetic appearance due to the flat rectangular shape of the aerosol-generating substrate. A major portion of the aerosol-generating substrate may be easily covered by the packaging member, thereby ensuring that a user does not directly touch the aerosol-generating substrate while handling the aerosol product article. The flat rectangular shape may also facilitate packaging and storage of multiple aerosol product articles.

The aerosol product article may include a support member that may form a mouth end of the article. The support member may have a tubular shape, for example a rectangular tubular shape, for receiving the downstream end of the aerosol generating substrate. The support member may be self-supporting and may, for example, comprise cardboard or plastic material. The support member may advantageously deliver vapour and/or aerosol generated during use of the article directly to the mouth of the user. The support member may allow heated vapour generated during use of the aerosol product article to cool and condense to form an aerosol with optimal properties for inhalation by the user.

The wrapping member may include a substantially electrically non-conductive and magnetically non-permeable material, such as wrapping paper. The use of wrapping paper may facilitate manufacturing and handling of aerosol-generating articles and may enhance aerosol production.

The packaging member may have a porous inner surface facing the aerosol generating substrate for absorbing condensation. The porous inner surface may help to ensure that the formation of condensation on the inner surface of the aerosol generating device is substantially eliminated or at least minimized. The packaging member may have an anti-stick outer surface that may face away from the aerosol generating substrate. For example, the packaging member may include an anti-stick coating on the outer surface. The anti-stick outer surface may help to ensure that the packaging member does not stick to a surface of the aerosol generating device when the aerosol generating device is heated. Together, the porous inner surface and the anti-stick outer surface may help to reduce residue build-up in the aerosol generating device and therefore reduce the number of cleaning and maintenance operations that a user of the device may have to perform.

The aerosol-generating substrate may include non-liquid aerosol-generating materials, such as any type of solid or semi-solid material. Exemplary types of aerosol-generating solids include powders, granules, pellets, shreds, strands, particles, gels, strips, loose leaves, cut leaves, cut fillers, porous materials, foam materials or sheets. The aerosol-generating substrate may include material of plant origin, particularly tobacco. It may advantageously include reconstituted tobacco, including, for example, tobacco and any one or more of cellulose fibers, tobacco stem fibers, and inorganic fillers such as CaCO3.

Thus, the aerosol-generating devices with which the aerosol-producing articles are intended to be used may be referred to as "heated tobacco devices," "heated non-combustion tobacco devices," "devices for vaporizing tobacco products," etc., and are to be construed as devices suitable for achieving these effects. The features disclosed herein are equally applicable to devices designed to vaporize any aerosol-generating substrate.

The aerosol-generating substrate can include an aerosol former. Examples of aerosol formers include polyhydric alcohols and mixtures thereof, such as glycerin or propylene glycol. Typically, the aerosol-generating substrate may contain an aerosol former content of about 5% to about 50% on a dry weight basis. In some embodiments, the aerosol-generating substrate can include an aerosol former content of about 10% to about 20% on a dry weight basis, optionally about 15% on a dry weight basis.

The aerosol product article may be configured for use with an electrically powered aerosol generating device that includes a heater. The heater may be a resistive heater or an inductive heater. The aerosol generating substrate may release volatile compounds when heated. The volatile compounds may include nicotine or flavor compounds such as tobacco flavorings.

1 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of a first example of an aerosol-generating article; FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of a second example of an aerosol product; FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a method for producing the first example aerosol product shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a method for producing a third example of an aerosol product. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an aerosol generation system including an aerosol generation device and an aerosol generation article according to the present disclosure. FIG.

Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

1 and 2, a first example of an aerosol product article 1 is shown for use with an electrically powered aerosol generating device 102, an example of which is described later in this specification with reference to FIG. 6. The aerosol product article 1 is generally planar and has a distal end 10 and an opposite mouth end 12 (or proximal end) of the aerosol product article 1. The mouth end 12 is downstream of the distal end 10 with respect to the direction of airflow through the aerosol product article 1, represented by the three arrows in FIG. 1. A longitudinal axis extends between the distal end 10 and the mouth end 12, defining a longitudinal direction of the aerosol product article 1.

Aerosol-generating article 1 includes a generally planar aerosol-generating substrate 14 . The aerosol-generating substrate 14 may include a quantity or number of aerosol-generating materials or a plurality of aerosol-generating strips, and has a flat rectangular shape with a pair of opposed major surfaces 14a, 14b. The aerosol-generating article 1 is a consumable or disposable item, and the aerosol-generating substrate 14 therein may include tobacco or tobacco material.

The aerosol product article 1 includes a packaging member 22 that surrounds the generally planar aerosol-generating substrate 14 to form the generally planar aerosol product article 1. The packaging member 22 may, for example, comprise tobacco paper or a similar material. The packaging member 22 includes a pair of rectangular sheets 24, 26 that are attached to the major surfaces 14a, 14b, respectively, of the aerosol-generating substrate 14. The rectangular sheets 24, 26 are typically formed from a single sheet of material that is wrapped around the aerosol-generating substrate 14 and may have overlapping edges that are bonded together at a sealing region 20 (see FIG. 4c) to secure the packaging member 22 in place around the aerosol-generating substrate 14.

In an illustrative and non-limiting example, the aerosol-generating substrate 14 may have a length (in the longitudinal direction of the aerosol product article 1) of about 18.0 mm, a width of about 11.8 mm, and a thickness (or depth) of about 1.2 mm. The aerosol-generating substrate 14 may be spaced inward from the distal end 10 of the aerosol product article 1 by a small distance, for example about 3.0 mm, as shown in FIG. 1. The aerosol product article 1 may have a width of about 12.0 mm and a thickness (or depth) of about 1.4 mm to accommodate the aerosol-generating substrate 14 inside the packaging member 22. The aerosol product article 1 may have any suitable length between the distal end 10 and the mouth end 12 by varying the length of the packaging member 22 in the portion extending between the downstream end of the aerosol-generating substrate 14 and the mouth end 12. The portion of the packaging member 22 extending beyond the downstream end of the aerosol-generating substrate 14 may form the mouth end 34 of the aerosol product article 1. During use of the aerosol product article 1 in the aerosol generating device 102, as the vapor flows through this extended portion of the packaging member 22, the vapor can cool and condense to form an aerosol for inhalation by the user. Thus, the length of the packaging member 22 that extends beyond the downstream end of the aerosol generating substrate 14 can be selected at the time of manufacture to provide an aerosol with desired characteristics.

In some embodiments, packaging member 22 includes a porous interior surface 22a that faces toward aerosol-generating substrate 14 and is capable of absorbing condensate that may form during the heating process. Alternatively, or in addition, the packaging member 22 may be removed from the aerosol-generating substrate 14 to reduce the risk that the packaging member 22 will stick to the surface of the aerosol-generating device 102 when the aerosol-generating device 102 is heated. It may include an outwardly facing anti-stick outer surface 22b. Anti-stick outer surface 22b may include a stick coating on outer surface 22b of packaging member 22.

Packaging member 22 includes a window 16 aligned with a portion of aerosol-generating substrate 14 . In the first example of the aerosol generating article 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the window 16 includes a die cut 18 formed in a packaging member 22, such as a rectangular sheet 24. In the first example of the aerosol generating article 1 shown in FIGS. The die-cut portion 18 provides a window 16 that is opened during manufacturing. The window 16 is disposed adjacent to the main surface 14a of the aerosol-generating substrate 14 (ie, covers the main surface 14a) and exposes the main surface 14a of the aerosol-generating substrate 14. The area of the window 16 is smaller than the area of the main surface 14a of the aerosol-generating substrate 14, and therefore covers a portion of the main surface 14a. The aerosol-generating substrate 14 is therefore unable to pass through the window 16 and is ensured in place by the wrapping member 22.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a second example of an aerosol product 2 is shown. Aerosol product 2 is similar to aerosol product 1 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, and corresponding features are identified using the same reference numbers.

The aerosol product article 2 includes a support member 28 located at the mouth end 12 of the aerosol product article 3 to form a mouth end 34 that can be engaged by a user's lips during use of the aerosol product article 2 in the aerosol generating device 102. The support member 28 typically comprises a self-supporting material, such as cardboard or a plastic material, and has a rectangular tubular shape in cross section to receive the downstream end of the aerosol generating substrate 14. The packaging member 22 also surrounds the support member 28.

Referring now to Figures 4a-4d, there is shown an example of a method for manufacturing the first example of the aerosol-generating article 1 described above with reference to Figures 1 and 2. In a first step, shown in FIG. 4a, the method includes providing a generally planar aerosol-generating substrate 14, and providing a packaging member 22 including a window 16 in the form of a die cut 18 as described above. including. Aerosol-generating substrate 14 and packaging member 22 are then positioned relative to each other such that window 16 is aligned with a portion of aerosol-generating substrate 14, as shown in Figure 4b. As mentioned above, the area of the window 16 is smaller than the area of the major surfaces 14a, 14b of the aerosol-generating substrate 14, thus preventing the aerosol-generating substrate 14 from passing through the window 16. The packaging member 22 is then wrapped around the aerosol-generating substrate 14 as shown in FIG. Guaranteed to form. Overlapping edges of the wrapping member 22 may be adhered to each other in the sealing region 20 as shown in FIG. 4c to ensure that the wrapping member 22 is fixed in place around the aerosol-generating substrate 14. Figure 4d is a schematic view (similar to Figure 1) of the final aerosol-generating article 1 from the opposite side to that shown in Figure 4c.

Referring now to Figures 5a-5d, there is shown an example of a method for manufacturing a third example of an aerosol-generating article 3, best seen in Figure 5d. In a first step, shown in FIG. 5 a, the method includes providing a generally planar aerosol-generating substrate 14 and providing a packaging member 22 that includes a window 16 . In this example, packaging member 22 includes a removable portion 30 that covers window 16. The outer edge of the removable portion 30 is defined by a line of weakness 32 in the form of a perforation 36 . The aerosol-generating substrate 14 and the packaging member 22 (with the removable portion 30) are then arranged so that the window 16 (more specifically the removable portion 30) is a part of the aerosol-generating substrate 14, as shown in FIG. 5b. are arranged relative to each other so as to be aligned with the parts. As mentioned above, the area of the window 16 (more specifically, the removable portion 30) is smaller than the area of the major surfaces 14a, 14b of the aerosol-generating substrate 14, such that the window 16 covers one of the major surfaces 14a, 14b. and thus prevent aerosol-generating substrate 14 from passing through window 16 after removing removable portion 30 . Wrapping member 22 is then wrapped around aerosol-generating substrate 14 as shown in FIG. 5c, with window 16 (more specifically, removable portion 30) aligned with aerosol-generating substrate 14. This ensures that a generally planar aerosol-generating article 3 is formed. The overlapping edges of the wrapping member 22 may be adhered to each other in the sealing region 20 as shown in FIG. 5c to ensure that the wrapping member 22 is fixed in place around the aerosol-generating substrate 14. Figure 5d shows the final aerosol-generating article 3 from the opposite side to that shown in Figure 5c, with the removable portion 30 not removed. Prior to use of the aerosol-generating article 3 within the aerosol-generating device 102, the removable portion 30 is removed by the user to form the window 16, thereby exposing the aerosol-generating substrate 14 in the lower portion of the window 16. Perforations 36 or similar lines of weakness 32 allow removable portion 30 to be easily peeled off while the remainder of packaging member 22 remains intact.

Referring now to FIG. 6, an aerosol generation system 100 is shown that includes an aerosol generation device 102 and a first example of an aerosol generation article 1 as described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The aerosol-generating device 102 is used in combination with alternative aerosol-generating articles according to the present disclosure, such as the second or third examples of aerosol-generating articles 2, 3 described above with reference to FIGS. 3 and 5a-5d. Please understand that this can happen.

Aerosol generation device 102 includes a receiving chamber 106 and a heater 104 located within device body 108 to provide heat to receiving chamber 106. Heater 104 may be a resistive heater, or alternatively may be an inductive heater, including an electromagnetic field generator including a susceptor and an induction coil.

In use, a user inserts the aerosol-generating article 1 into a receiving chamber 106 that has a window 16 facing towards the heater 104 . Aerosol generation device 102 may include a cover 110 and a pivot mounting 112 that allows cover 110 to move between a closed position shown in FIG. 6 and an open position (not shown). As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the user rotates the cover 110 to the open position to allow insertion of the aerosol-generating article 1 into the receiving chamber 106 and then inserts the aerosol-generating article 1 into the receiving chamber 106. The cover must be rotated back to the closed position shown in FIG. 6 to maintain it in position.

The aerosol generating device 102 includes a power source 114, e.g., a rechargeable battery, and a controller 116, both of which are connected to the heater 104. The heater 104 may be activated manually, e.g., via a user interface such as a button on the aerosol generating device 102, or automatically in response to a user drawing on a mouthpiece 118 of the aerosol generating device 102. The aerosol generating device 102 includes one or more air inlets 120 for allowing air to flow into the aerosol product article 1 and through the aerosol generating substrate 14. The airflow direction is indicated by the arrows in FIG. 6.

Once the aerosol-generating article 1 is placed within the receiving chamber 106, power is supplied to the heater 104 from the power source 114 (either by manual or automatic activation of the heater 104 as described above), thereby causing the aerosol-generating substrate 14 is heated without combustion to release one or more volatile components. The window 16 in the packaging member 22 allows heat to be transferred directly from the heater 104 to the aerosol-generating substrate 14, and although not apparent from FIG. May be in direct contact. Volatile components released by the heated aerosol-generating substrate 14 are entrained within the air flowing through the aerosol-generating substrate 14, thereby forming vapor. As the vapor flows through the aerosol-generating article 1 , it is cooled and condensed to form an aerosol, which is inhaled by the user through the mouthpiece 118 of the aerosol-generating device 102 .

When the aerosol generating substrate 14 is depleted and no longer emits sufficient volatile components to generate an aerosol of acceptable quality, the aerosol product item 1 can be removed from the receiving chamber 106 after the cover 110 is rotated to an open position, and a replacement aerosol product item 1 can be inserted in its place.

When the aerosol generating device 102 is used in combination with an aerosol product having a support member 28, such as the second example of aerosol product product 2 described above with reference to FIG. 3, the support member 28 may protrude from the open end 106a of the receiving chamber 106, thereby allowing the user's lips to engage the mouth end 34 of the aerosol product product 2 formed by the support member 28.

If the aerosol-generating device 102 is used in combination with an aerosol-generating article in which the packaging member 22 has a removable portion 30, such as the third example of the aerosol-generating article 3 described above with reference to FIGS. The enabling portion 30 must be removed, eg, torn off, by the user before placing the aerosol-generating article 3 into the receiving chamber 106.

Although the preceding paragraphs have described exemplary embodiments, it should be understood that various modifications may be made to these embodiments without departing from the scope of the following claims. Therefore, the breadth and scope of the claims should not be limited to the exemplary embodiments described above.

Unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context, any combination of the above-described features in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the present disclosure.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the words "comprise," "comprising," and the like throughout this specification and claims do not refer to exclusive or exhaustive terms. It should be construed in an inclusive sense, ie, "including, but not limited to," rather than in a literal sense.

Claims (11)

An aerosol product (1, 2, 3) for use with an aerosol generating device (102), comprising:
a substantially planar aerosol-generating substrate (14);
a packaging member (22) surrounding the generally planar aerosol-forming substrate (14) to form a generally planar aerosol product article;
the packaging member (22) includes a window (16) aligned with a portion of the aerosol-generating substrate (14);
Aerosol products. The packaging member (22) comprises a sheet material,
the window (16) includes a die cut portion (18) formed in the sheet material;
2. The aerosol product of claim 1. the aerosol-generating substrate (14) comprises a main surface (14a);
the window (16) is disposed adjacent the major surface (14a);
having an area smaller than the area of the main surface (14a);
3. An aerosol product according to claim 1 or 2. the wrapping member (22) extends beyond an end of the aerosol-generating substrate (14) to form a mouth end (34) of the article;
The aerosol-generating article according to any one of claims 1 to 3. the packaging member (22) includes a removable portion (30) covering the window (16) and one or more lines of weakness (32) defining an outer edge of the removable portion (16);
the removable portion (16) is removable by a user prior to use of the aerosol product in the aerosol generating device (102);
An aerosol product according to any one of claims 1 to 4. the one or more lines of weakness (32) include one or more perforations (36);
6. The aerosol product of claim 5. the substantially planar aerosol-generating substrate (14) has a flat rectangular shape with a pair of major surfaces (14a, 14b);
the packaging member (22) includes a pair of rectangular sheets (24, 26) attached to the pair of major surfaces (14a, 14b), respectively;
An aerosol product according to any one of claims 1 to 6. the aerosol product article includes a support member (28) forming a mouth end (34) of the article;
the support member (28) has a tubular shape for receiving the downstream end of the aerosol-generating substrate (14);
An aerosol product according to any one of claims 1 to 7. The packaging member (22) is
a porous inner surface (22a) facing towards said aerosol-generating substrate (14) for absorbing condensate;
an anti-sticking outer surface (22b) facing outward from the aerosol-generating substrate (14);
An aerosol-generating article according to any one of claims 1 to 8. the packaging member (22) includes an anti-stick coating on the outer surface (22b);
10. The aerosol product of claim 9. A method for producing an aerosol product (1, 2, 3) for use with an aerosol generating device (102), comprising the steps of:
Providing a substantially planar aerosol-generating substrate (14);
Providing a packaging member (22) including a window (16);
wrapping the generally planar aerosol-generating substrate (14) in the packaging member (22) to form a generally planar aerosol product article, and aligning the window (16) in the packaging member (22) with a portion of the aerosol-generating substrate (14).

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