Abstract
An aerosol-generating device is provided, including an aerosolisation chamber configured to receive an aerosol-generating article including an aerosol-forming substrate; an air inlet configured such that ambient air may flow therethrough and into the aerosol-generating device; and an airflow path fluidly connecting the air inlet with the aerosolisation chamber, the air inlet being disposed in a recessed portion of an outer surface of the aerosol-generating device, and the recessed portion having a length of more than 10 mm and being configured to prevent blocking of the air inlet by a user. A system is also provided, including the aerosol-generating device and a mouthpiece element.
Claims
1.-15. (canceled)
16. An aerosol-generating device, comprising: an aerosolisation chamber configured to receive an aerosol-generating article comprising an aerosol-forming substrate; an air inlet configured such that ambient air may flow therethrough and into the aerosol-generating device; and an airflow path fluidly connecting the air inlet with the aerosolisation chamber, wherein the air inlet is disposed in a recessed portion of an outer surface of the aerosol-generating device, and wherein the recessed portion comprises a length of more than 10 mm and is configured to prevent blocking of the air inlet by a user.
17. The aerosol-generating device according to claim 16, wherein the recessed portion comprises a length of more than 15 mm.
18. The aerosol-generating device according to claim 16, wherein the recessed portion comprises a length of more than 25 mm.
19. The aerosol-generating device according to claim 16, wherein the outer surface is a curved outer surface and the recessed portion extends around at least a portion of the curved outer surface.
20. The aerosol-generating device according to claim 16, wherein the recessed portion further comprises a base and at least one sidewall, and wherein the air inlet is disposed in the base, in the sidewall, or in a transition between the base and the sidewall.
21. The aerosol-generating device according to claim 20, wherein an angle between the base and the sidewall is less than 90°.
22. The aerosol-generating device according to claim 20, wherein an angle between the base and the sidewall is less than 70°.
23. The aerosol-generating device according to claim 16, wherein the recessed portion has a height that is smaller than 20 mm.
24. The aerosol-generating device according to claim 16, wherein the recessed portion has a height that is smaller than 4 mm.
25. The aerosol-generating device according to claim 16, wherein the recessed portion has a depth of at least 0.5 mm.
26. The aerosol-generating device according to claim 16, wherein the recessed portion has a depth of at least 2 mm.
27. The aerosol-generating device according to claim 16, wherein the recessed portion has an elongate shape.
28. The aerosol-generating device according to claim 16, wherein the recessed portion extends perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the aerosol-generating device.
29. The aerosol-generating device according to claim 16, wherein the recessed portion is slit-shaped.
30. The aerosol-generating device according to claim 16, further comprising a heating element at least partly lining the aerosolisation chamber.
31. The aerosol-generating device according to claim 16, further comprising a connector element configured to releasably attach a mouthpiece to the aerosol-generating device.
32. A system, comprising: an aerosol-generating device according to claim 16; and a first mouthpiece element.
33. The system according to claim 32, further comprising an aerosol-generating article comprising an aerosol-forming substrate.
34. The system according to claim 32, further comprising at least a second mouthpiece element, wherein the first mouthpiece element and second mouthpiece element have one or more different characteristics.
Description
[0081] The invention will be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
[0082] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an aerosol-generating device;
[0083] FIG. 2 shows a side view of the aerosol-generating device of FIG. 1;
[0084] FIG. 3 shows an illustrative side view of a recessed portion comprising an air inlet;
[0085] FIG. 4 shows an illustrative side view of the recessed portion with the air inlet arranged in a side wall of the recessed portion;
[0086] FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the aerosol-generating device and an airflow channel through the aerosol-generating device;
[0087] FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of the recessed portion and the air inlet; and
[0088] FIG. 7 shows an exploded view of the aerosol-generating device of FIGS. 1 and 2.
[0089] FIG. 1 shows an aerosol-generating device with a housing 10. Within the aerosol-generating device, as depicted in FIGS. 5 and 7, an aerosolisation chamber 12 is provided. Within the aerosolisation chamber 12, an aerosol-generating article 14 comprising aerosol-forming substrate can be received for generating an inhalable aerosol.
[0090] For generating the aerosol, an external heating element is provided at least partly surrounding or lining the aerosolisation chamber 12. Ambient air can be drawn through an airflow channel 34 depicted in FIGS. 5 and 6 into the aerosolisation chamber 12 by means of an air inlet 16. The air inlet 16 is provided in a recessed portion 18. The recessed portion 18 is recessed with respect to the outer surface of the housing 10 of the aerosol-generating device.
[0091] As can be seen in FIG. 2, the recessed portion 18 has an elongate shape essentially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the aerosol-generating device. A step is formed between the outer surface of the housing 10 of the aerosol-generating device and the recessed portion 18 by means of a sidewall 22 of the recessed portion 18. The sidewall 22 and a base 20 of the recessed portion 18 are depicted in more detail in below described FIGS. 3 and 4. This step protects the air inlet 16 from an unwanted blocking of the air inlet 16 by the finger of the user, when the user holds the aerosol-generating device.
[0092] In FIGS. 1 and 2, in addition to the aerosol-generating device, a mouthpiece 24 is depicted. The mouthpiece 24 is provided as a separate element from the aerosol-generating device. The connection between the mouthpiece 24 and the aerosol-generating device is provided by means of a connector element 26 as depicted in FIG. 7. The connector element 26 may comprise one or more grooves 28, in which a sealing element such as an O-ring can be arranged. The connector element 26 may be provided proximal of the aerosolisation chamber 12. The connector element 26 may be removably detachable from the aerosol-generating device such that an aerosol-generating article 14 can be inserted into the aerosolisation chamber 12 of the aerosol-generating device and, subsequently, the connector element 26 can be connected with the proximal end of the aerosol-generating device so as to hold the aerosol-generating article 14 securely in the aerosolisation chamber 12 of the aerosol-generating device.
[0093] The separation of the mouthpiece 24 and the aerosol-generating device is optimized by providing the air inlet 16 in the aerosol-generating device and not in the mouthpiece 24. By this separation, no airflow path has to be provided between the mouthpiece 24 and the aerosolisation chamber 12 of the aerosol-generating device except for the airflow path through which the aerosol is drawn from the aerosolisation chamber 12 to the mouthpiece 24 and through the mouthpiece 24 into the mouth of the user. The construction of the mouthpiece 24 can therefore be simplified. At the same time, an unwanted blockage of the air inlet 16 is prevented by placing the air inlet 16 in the recessed portion 18. A further advantage of the separation between the mouthpiece 24 and the aerosol-generating device is that multiple different mouthpieces 24 can be attached to the aerosol-generating device by means of the connection element so that different usage experiences can be chosen by a user by an appropriate mouthpiece 24.
[0094] In FIG. 3, an illustrative side view of the recessed portion 18 and the air inlet 16 is depicted. The recessed portion 18 is recessed with respect to the outer surface of the housing 10 of the aerosol-generating device. The recessed portion 18 has an elongate shape with a length L. The recessed portion 18 comprises the base 20 and the sidewall 22. The sidewall 22 is preferably oriented in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the aerosol-generating device. The base 20 is preferably oriented in a plane parallel to the longitudinal axis of the aerosol-generating device. The base 20 is preferably recessed radially inwards in comparison to the outer surface of the housing 10 of the aerosol-generating device. The air inlet 16 may be arranged in the base 20 as depicted in FIG. 3. Alternatively, the air inlet 16 may be arranged in the sidewall 22 as depicted in FIG. 4 or in the transition between the base 20 and the sidewall 22. The recessed portion 18 is preferably curved. The curvature of the recessed portion 18 and the length L of the recessed portion 18 is configured such that air may flow into the recessed portion 18 and into the air inlet 16 even if a user has placed a finger over the recessed portion 18. In this case, due to the curvature and length L of the recessed portion 18, the air may flow into the recess either side of the finger of the user and under the finger of the user into the inlet 16. Preferably, the recess has a maximum height H, which is short enough that the finger acts to bridge, rather than fill, the gap in the outer housing created by the recess.
[0095] FIG. 4 shows an alternative arrangement of the air inlet 16 in the sidewall 22 instead of the base 20 as shown in FIG. 3. Generally, more than one air inlet 16 may be provided. One or more air inlets 16 may be provided in the sidewall 22. One or more air inlets 16 may be provided in the base 20. One or more air inlets 16 may be provided in the transition between the base 20 and the sidewall 22.
[0096] FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the aerosol-generating device with respect to the airflow channel 34 through the aerosol-generating device. In FIG. 5, the recessed portion 18 comprising the air inlet 16 is depicted adjacent to the aerosolisation chamber 12. However, the recessed portion 18 and the air inlet 16 may also be arranged upstream of the aerosolisation chamber 12. The air inlet 16 is fluidly connected with the aerosolisation chamber 12 by means of the airflow channel 34. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 5, the airflow channel 34 fluidly connects the air inlet 16 to a base 36 of the aerosolisation chamber 12. At the base 36 of the aerosolisation chamber 12, ambient air may thus enter into the aerosolisation chamber 12. Within the aerosolisation chamber 12, an aerosol-generating article 14 may be placed, which is not depicted in FIG. 5. After becoming entrained with vaporized aerosol-forming substrate to form an aerosol, the aerosol may flow out of the aerosolisation chamber 12 through outlet 38. Through the outlet 38, air comprising vaporized aerosol-forming substrate may flow towards the mouthpiece 24 (not shown in FIG. 5).
[0097] FIG. 6 shows a more detailed cross-sectional view of the recessed portion 18 comprising the air inlet 16. Particularly, the dimensions of the recessed portion 18 are indicated. This regard, the recessed portion 18 comprises the height H and a depth D. The height H and the depth D are both measured perpendicular to the length L of the recessed portion 18 as indicated in FIG. 3. The height H is configured smaller than a width of a finger of the user such that a user will not block the air inlet 16 when placing a finger over the recessed portion 18. Depth D may be selected so that, in view of height H, the finger may not deform and fill the recess to block the air inlet 16. Instead, the finger will function to bridge the gap H.
[0098] In the right part of FIG. 6, a main body of the aerosol-generating device is depicted which may comprise further components of the aerosol-generating device such as a battery 30 and electric circuitry 32. Additionally, FIG. 7 shows the mouthpiece 24 having a connection portion 26 comprising a groove 28 in which a sealing element in the form of an O-ring is received. The O-ring is arranged to seal about the external portion of the mouthpiece 24, relative to the aerosol-generating device. The mouthpiece 24, in some embodiments, comprises a venturi element. Therefore sealing of the mouthpiece relative to the device is of paramount importance.
