Smoke-free cigarette, cigar or pipe

Abstract

The invention relates to a smokeless cigarette, cigar, or pipe having at least one depot (10) for storing and for defined release due to external heat input of nicotine and/or compound comprising nicotine to an airflow to be guided through the depot (10). According to the invention the depot (10) comprises at least one heat transfer segment (16) for targeted heat input for defined release of the nicotine and/or nicotine compound to the airflow.

Claims

1. A smokeless cigarette, cigar, or pipe comprising: a depot for storage and defined release of at least one chosen from nicotine and a compound comprising nicotine into an airstream flowing through the depot, the defined release induced by application of heat external to the depot by a hand of a user, the depot comprising: a hybrid structure made of an open-pore macroporous support matrix through which the airstream flows, nanopores provided in the support matrix for storing and releasing the at least one chosen from nicotine and the compound comprising nicotine, a sleeve including: an interior in which the support matrix is positioned, and a heat transfer segment for transferring the application of the heat external to the depot by the hand of the user into the nanopores for the defined release of the at least one chosen from nicotine and the compound comprising nicotine from the nanopores into the airstream flowing through the depot.

2. The smokeless cigarette, cigar, or pipe according to claim 1, wherein a length of the heat transfer segment is dimensioned to provide sufficient heat transfer into the nanopores from two human fingers of one hand to release the at least one chosen from nicotine and the compound comprising nicotine from the nanopores.

3. The smokeless cigarette, cigar, or pipe according to claim 1, wherein a thermal conductivity of a material of the heat transfer segment is in a range from 30 to 450 W/(m.Math.K).

4. The smokeless cigarette, cigar, or pipe according to claim 1, wherein the support matrix is made of particles or fibers permanently bonded to each other and the nanopores are implemented in nanoporous particles held immobile in the support matrix.

5. The smokeless cigarette, cigar, or pipe according to claim 4, wherein the nanoporous particles are made of a different material than the support matrix.

6. The smokeless cigarette, cigar, or pipe according to claim 1, wherein the support matrix is substantially made of at least one inorganic material chosen from glass, silicates, and alumosilicates, and the nanopores are implemented in the material of the support matrix.

7. The smokeless cigarette, cigar, or pipe according to claim 1, wherein a flavoring agent is stored in the depot in addition to the at least one chosen from nicotine and the compound comprising nicotine and the flavoring agent is released when heat is input.

8. The smokeless cigarette, cigar, or pipe according to claim 1, and further comprising a base body in which the depot implemented as a disposable item is received.

9. The smokeless cigarette, cigar, or pipe according to claim 1, wherein a thermal conductivity of a material of the heat transfer segment is in a range from 85 to 300 W/(m.Math.K).

10. The smokeless cigarette, cigar, or pipe according to claim 1, wherein a thermal conductivity of a material of the heat transfer segment is in a range from 185 to 250 W/(m.Math.K).

11. The smokeless cigarette, cigar, or pipe according to claim 1, wherein the heat transfer segment includes an exposed external portion for direct contact with the hand of the user.

Description

(1) The invention is explained in more detail below using two embodiments and referencing the drawing. They show:

(2) FIG. 1A section view through a first embodiment example of a depot according to the invention, having a sleeve for a smokeless cigarette,

(3) FIG. 2 Schematic construction of the depot according to FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 A heating curve relative to time for a depot having a sleeve made of aluminum,

(5) FIG. 4 A temperature curve when “smoking” the depot for drawing behavior typical of a smoker and a sleeve having a high heat capacity;

(6) FIG. 5 Release of nicotine from the depot filter as a function of temperature;

(7) FIG. 6 Release of nicotine from a depot according to the invention according to FIG. 1 as a function of the number of draws (each 35 ml) at different temperatures of the filter, and

(8) FIG. 7 A section view through a second embodiment example of a depot according to the invention, having a sleeve and inserted in a smokeless cigarette,

(9) FIG. 1 shows a section view of a depot 10 for storing and releasing nicotine for a smokeless cigarette not shown in greater detail. The depot 10 has a sleeve 12 made of aluminum and having a constant internal diameter. The shell of the sleeve 12 is stepped in design and has a first segment 14 having a smaller external diameter, a second segment having a larger external diameter and serving as a heat transfer segment 16, and a third segment 18 adjacent thereto and having a smaller external diameter. The first and third segments 14 and 18 of the sleeve 12 are each enclosed by a thermally insulating paper wrapper 20 and 22 and have on one side a mouthpiece made of a suitable material and not shown in further detail. A macroporous support matrix 24 is received in the interior of the sleeve 12, in which a plurality of nanoporous particles 26 is embedded.

(10) The average draw volume of 35 ml and the draw time of an average smoker of 1 to 2 second result in a very brief contact period between the air permeating the depot 10 and the nicotine reservoir. The transition of nicotine into the gas phase correlates approximately with the contact area between the nicotine reservoir and the air.

(11) The depot 10 shown is received in a housing of the smokeless cigarette so that the heat transfer segment 16 is directly or indirectly in contact with the hand of the user when the cigarette is held. The heat of the hand is then transferred to the heat transfer segment 16, which in turn conducts the heat inward to the support matrix 24. By heating the support matrix 24 the release rate of the nicotine and the flavoring agents is increased, so that a sufficient quantity of nicotine and flavoring agents can be consumed by the user with every draw. The two paper wrappings 20 and 22 thereby prevent heat radiation to the outside, so that the support matrix 24 remains uniformly heated.

(12) The volume of the sleeve 12 according to FIG. 1 is adapted to the wall thickness thereof so that the heating time after positioning between the fingers runs as quickly as possible.

(13) FIG. 2 shows the schematic construction of the support matrix 24 of the depot 10 for storing nicotine and flavoring agents. The support matrix 24 is a macroporous support matrix 24 formed from sintered particles. Pores, caverns, and intermediate spaces 28 are implemented in the support matrix 24 and remain intact after sintering. The caverns and intermediate spaces 28 are thereby implemented so that the support matrix 24 comprises a defined draw resistance for an airflow to be drawn in by a user.

(14) The pores, caverns, and intermediate spaces 28 form a continuous network in which the nanoporous particles 26 are stably and permanently adhered or embedded. The nanoporous particles 26 comprise pores in the range of 1 nm to 900 nm. The nicotine and optionally compounds comprising nicotine and the flavoring agents are adsorbed on the surface of the nanoporous particles 26, particularly on the interior surfaces thereof formed by the pore walls, and are in continuous exchange with the air flowing through the support matrix when air is drawn in through the depot 10.

(15) The depot 10 described here can both ensure sufficient nicotine release to the breathing air and protect the nicotine against oxidation.

(16) The temperature curve of a depot 10 having a sleeve 12 made of aluminum having a wall thickness of 1 mm (top/bottom) or 1.5 mm at the finger contact surface, and of the depot after being picked up and enclosed in the fingers at 23° C. air temperature. The position of the sleeve 12 between the fingers is thereby preferably such that the contact surface when held between the second phalanges as viewed from the fingertip (front holding) between the index and middle fingers is less than between the third phalanges (rear holding). As the volume of the sleeve 12 decreases, the heat capacity is lower and the heating takes place more rapidly as well. The wall thickness of the sleeve 12 should thus advantageously be between 0.2 and 2.5 mm, very particularly preferably between 0.4 and 1.5 mm.

(17) FIG. 3 thereby shows heating curves for the sleeve 12 made of aluminum (wall thickness 1/1.5 mm) due to the finger when held between the index and middle fingers. In the diagram, the label “Front holding” means holding the sleeve 12 between the second phalanges as seen from the fingertip, “Rear holding” means holding the sleeve 12 between the third phalanges, “S1” means the ambient temperature, “S2” means the temperature of the sleeve 12, and “S3” means the temperature at the center of the depot.

(18) The heat capacity of the heated sleeve 12 must in turn be sufficient to compensate for the cooling of the filter by the permeating air volume of 35 to 50 ml when drawing heavily in cold air. Measurements of the sleeve and filter temperature at the outlet of the depot 10 were taken at various air temperatures.

(19) FIG. 4 shows the temperature curve of the depot 10 when “smoking” for a draw behavior typical of a smoker and a sleeve 12 having high heat capacity. It is clearly evident that the temperature drops off more severely at the filter depot than at the sleeve, but that it recovers quickly due to the supply of heat through the sleeve 12. Even at an air temperature of only 3° C. the temperature at the outlet of the depot 10 does not fall below 23° C. For sleeves 12 having lower heat capacity the temperature drops become more severe and the recovery times to reach the outlet temperature become longer, especially when the exterior air is cold.

(20) The temperature functions shown in FIG. 4 correspond to the ambient (air) temperature, the heat transfer sleeve 12 before the air inlet, and the depot 10 after the center at the air outlet for typical inhalation at different temperatures by a smoker.

(21) The measured values of the total nicotine release when smoking a cold cigarette and the finger cigarette (at 24° C. air temperature) and the factor of improvement due to the cigarette according to the invention are listed in the following table:

(22) TABLE-US-00001 Factor of increase Nicotine yield for of nicotine yield for Filter 15 draws of finger heating temperature 35 ml according relative to in ° C. to DIN . . . a cold cigarette 32 0.25 1 24 0.13 1.9 14 0.056 4.5 5 0.026 9.6

(23) The release of nicotine from the depot 10 is shown in FIG. 5 as a function of the temperature of the depot, while FIG. 6 shows the release of nicotine from the depot 10 as a function of the number of draws (of 35 ml each) at different temperatures of the depot 10 (left number on the curves) and the indrawn air (right number). As can be seen, the nicotine release for a finger cigarette is barely influenced by the ambient temperature, but for a cigarette without a heat transfer surface it falls off severely as the temperature drops.

(24) FIG. 7 shows a second embodiment example of a depot 30 having a heat source 32 comprising an external energy input.

(25) For said second embodiment example the heat source 32 is disposed so that it interacts with a heat transfer segment 34 in the interior of the depot 30 for transferring heat (comment: the arrow in the drawing is not aligned precisely with the depot.) The sleeve 36 is thereby made of a material having higher thermal insulation, while the depot 30 is constructed in the manner described above. The heat source 32 is introduced into a recess in the depot 30 with a precise fit, said heat source having the form of a bar having high thermal conductivity and transferring heat to the depot 30. The indrawn air 38 is already slightly preheated and passes through the heated depot 30 and is largely saturated with nicotine as it exits the depot toward the mouth.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

(26) 10 depot 12 sleeve having high thermal conductivity 14 first segment having smaller outer diameter 16 heat transfer segment 18 third segment having smaller outer diameter 20 paper wrapper 22 paper wrapper having a mouthpiece 24 macroporous support matrix 26 nanoporous particles 28 caverns and intermediate spaces 30 depot 32 heating source 34 heat transfer segment 36 insulating sleeve 38 preheated air