A rod and a method of forming a rod are provided. The rod includes a gathered sheet of material circumscribed by a wrapper, in which the sheet of material is a co-laminated sheet comprising a layer of an aerosol-forming material and a layer of a thermally-conductive material and in which the wrapper is a metal foil. The method includes providing a continuous co-laminated sheet including an aerosol-forming material and a thermally-conductive material; gathering the co-laminated sheet transversely relative to its longitudinal axis; circumscribing the gathered co-laminated sheet with a metal foil wrapper to form a continuous rod; and severing the continuous rod into a plurality of discrete rods.

A smoking article is provided, including a heat source; an aerosol-forming substrate downstream of the heat source; a first heat-conducting element around and in contact with a rear portion of the heat source and an adjacent front portion of the aerosol-forming substrate; and a second heat-conducting element around at least a portion of the first heat-conducting element. The second heat-conducting element includes steel. At least part of the second heat-conducting element is radially separated from the first heat-conducting element.

A smoking article is provided, including a heat source; an aerosol-forming substrate downstream of the heat source; a first heat-conducting element around and in contact with a rear portion of the heat source and an adjacent front portion of the aerosol-forming substrate; and a second heat-conducting element around at least a portion of the first heat-conducting element. The second heat-conducting element includes steel. At least part of the second heat-conducting element is radially separated from the first heat-conducting element.

There is provided a method of making rods having predetermined values of cross-sectional porosity, and a cross-sectional porosity distribution value for use as an aerosol-forming substrate in a heated aerosol-generating article, including providing a continuous sheet of aerosol-forming material having a specified width and a specified thickness; gathering the sheet transversely relative to a longitudinal axis thereof; circumscribing the gathered sheet with a wrapper to form a continuous rod; severing the rod into a plurality of discrete rods; determining values of cross-sectional porosity and cross-sectional porosity distribution for at least one of the discrete rods; and controlling one or more manufacturing parameters to ensure that the cross-sectional porosity and cross-sectional porosity distribution values of subsequent rods are within the predetermined values.

Embodiments of the invention disclose a combined ultrasonic atomizer, an atomization method thereof and electronic cigarette. The combined ultrasonic atomizer comprises a tobacco tar bin, an air inlet passage, a tobacco tar smoke outlet passage and an atomization component; the atomization component comprises a micropore atomization piece used for performing first-stage oscillation atomization on tobacco tar and a high-frequency atomization piece used for performing second-stage oscillation atomization on the tobacco tar; the micropore atomization piece is communicated with a tobacco tar outlet of the tobacco tar bin by direct contact or through a tobacco tar guide structure, and an ejection end of the micropore atomization piece is aligned to an atomization surface of the high-frequency atomization piece; and the air inlet passage communicates with an atomization cavity located between the micropore atomization piece and the high-frequency atomization piece, and the atomization cavity communicates with the tobacco tar smoke outlet passage.

A technique which, while avoiding excessive conduction of heat to the flavor source, reduces variance of heat conduction, and which makes it possible to reduce the weight and the cost of the flavor inhaler is disclosed. A flavor inhaler which, provided with a cylindrical holding member extending along a prescribed direction from a lighting end to a non-lighting end, includes a combustion-type heat source disposed at the lighting end, a flavor source which, in the prescribed direction, is arranged towards the non-lighting end with respect to the combustion-type heat source, and a cup-shape cup member which holds the flavor source and has a side wall and a bottom plate. The cup member is arranged with the bottom plate thereof disposed towards the non-lighting end with respect to the combustion-type heat source, and is inserted into the holding member oriented so as to open towards the lighting end or oriented so as to open towards the non-lighting end, and at least the side wall and the bottom plate configuring the cup member are configured from a material containing pulp, a binder and a metal soap.

An aerosol provision device for generating an inhalable aerosol comprises a housing containing a first chamber for containing a hot liquid. The housing also contains a second chamber for containing a substance that is heatable to generate the aerosol. The housing also contains a thermal energy transfer component for contacting the hot liquid when the hot liquid is contained in the first chamber to transfer thermal energy from the hot liquid to the substance when the substance is contained in the second chamber in order to heat the substance to generate the aerosol. The device comprises a mouthpiece comprising an outlet through which the aerosol may flow.

A smoking article is provided, including a heat source; an aerosol-forming substrate downstream of the heat source; a first heat-conducting element around and in contact with a rear portion of the heat source and an adjacent front portion of the aerosol-forming substrate; and a second heat-conducting element around at least a portion of the first heat-conducting element. At least part of the second heat-conducting element is radially separated from the first heat-conducting element; and, preferably, the first and second heat-conducting elements are separated by an outer paper wrapper.

A diffuser assembly is disclosed. The assembly comprises a tubular chamber having a plurality of grooves spaced apart on an interior wall of the tubular chamber. A circumferential compression fit diffuser disc is retained in a groove from the plurality of grooves, wherein the circumferential compression fit diffuser disc is retained by a spring pressure resisting force of the circumferential compression fit diffuser disc. A diffuser and an adjustable vaporization chamber are also disclosed.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a technique which, while avoiding excessive conduction of heat to the flavor source, reduces variance of heat conduction, and which makes it possible to reduce the weight and the cost of the flavor inhaler. This purpose is met by a flavor inhaler which, provided with a cylindrical holding member which extends along a prescribed direction from a lighting end to a non-lighting end, comprises a combustion-type heat source which is disposed at the lighting end, a flavor source which, in the aforementioned prescribed direction, is arranged towards the non-lighting end with respect to the combustion-type heat source, and a cup-shape cup member which holds the flavor source and has a side wall and a bottom plate, wherein the cup member is arranged with the bottom plate thereof disposed towards the non-lighting end with respect to the combustion-type heat source, and is inserted into the holding member oriented so as to open towards the lighting end or oriented so as to open towards the non-lighting end, and at least the side wall and the bottom plate configuring the cup member are configured from a material containing pulp, a binder and a metal soap.