Aerosol-generating article having a liquid indicator

Abstract

An aerosol-generating article may comprise a liquid storage portion containing a liquid aerosol-forming substrate, and a hydrochromic material provided on the liquid storage portion. The hydrochromic material has a first colour when in the presence of or when in contact with the liquid aerosol-forming substrate and a second colour when in the absence of or when not in contact with the liquid aerosol-forming substrate. An aerosol-generating system may comprise the aerosol-generating article, an aerosol-generating element, and an aerosol-generating device. An aerosol-generating device may comprise an electrical power supply, an electronic photosensor, and a controller configured to control a supply of electrical power from the electrical power supply based on a value of an optical property sensed with the electronic photosensor.

Claims

1. An aerosol-generating article comprising: a storage portion containing an aerosol-forming substrate; and a hydrochromic material within the storage portion, the hydrochromic material configured to be transparent or translucent when in contact with the aerosol-forming substrate and to be opaque in an absence of the aerosol-forming substrate.

2. The aerosol-generating article of claim 1, wherein the aerosol-forming substrate is a liquid.

3. The aerosol-generating article of claim 1, wherein the aerosol-forming substrate includes nicotine.

4. The aerosol-generating article of claim 1, wherein at least a part of the storage portion is transparent or translucent to permit a viewing of the hydrochromic material within.

5. The aerosol-generating article of claim 1, wherein the hydrochromic material is on an internal surface of the storage portion.

6. The aerosol-generating article of claim 1, wherein the storage portion includes a porous material onto which the aerosol-forming substrate is absorbed.

7. The aerosol-generating article of claim 6, wherein the hydrochromic material is on an outer surface of the porous material.

8. The aerosol-generating article of claim 1, further comprising: a base layer on which the storage portion is disposed.

9. The aerosol-generating article of claim 8, wherein the storage portion is in a form of a plurality of discrete portions on the base layer.

10. The aerosol-generating article of claim 9, wherein the plurality of discrete portions are arranged in an array.

11. The aerosol-generating article of claim 9, wherein the plurality of discrete portions are arranged in groups configured for sequential heating.

12. The aerosol-generating article of claim 8, further comprising: a cover layer secured to the base layer so as to seal the storage portion in between, the cover layer configured for removal prior to an insertion of the aerosol-generating article into an aerosol-generating device.

13. The aerosol-generating article of claim 1, wherein the hydrochromic material is configured to change to a white color that is opaque in the absence of the aerosol-forming substrate.

14. The aerosol-generating article of claim 1, wherein the storage portion is in a form of a container defining an outlet configured for delivery of the aerosol-forming substrate therefrom.

15. The aerosol-generating article of claim 14, further comprising: a transport element extending through the outlet of the container, the transport element configured to draw the aerosol-forming substrate from the container via capillary action.

16. The aerosol-generating article of claim 15, further comprising: an aerosol-generating element configured to heat the aerosol-forming substrate in the transport element to generate an aerosol.

17. The aerosol-generating article of claim 16, wherein the aerosol-generating element includes an electric heater.

18. An aerosol-generating system comprising: an aerosol-generating article including an aerosol-forming substrate and a hydrochromic material, the hydrochromic material configured to be transparent or translucent when in contact with the aerosol-forming substrate and to be opaque in an absence of the aerosol-forming substrate; and an aerosol-generating device configured to receive the aerosol-generating article, the aerosol-generating device including a power supply, a photosensor, and a controller, the photosensor configured to sense an optical property of the hydrochromic material of the aerosol-generating article, the controller configured to permit a supply of electrical current from the power supply when the optical property indicates that the hydrochromic material is transparent or translucent and to halt the supply of the electrical current from the power supply when the optical property indicates that the hydrochromic material is opaque.

19. The aerosol-generating system of claim 18, wherein controller is further configured to estimate a level of the aerosol-forming substrate in the aerosol-generating article based on the optical property sensed by the photosensor.

20. The aerosol-generating system of claim 19, wherein the aerosol-generating device is further configured to display the level of the aerosol-forming substrate estimated by the controller.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The various features and advantages of the non-limiting embodiments herein may become more apparent upon review of the detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings are merely provided for illustrative purposes and should not be interpreted to limit the scope of the claims. The accompanying drawings are not to be considered as drawn to scale unless explicitly noted. For purposes of clarity, various dimensions of the drawings may have been exaggerated.

(2) FIG. 1 shows an aerosol-generating article according to an example embodiment.

(3) FIG. 2 shows an aerosol-generating device for use with the aerosol-generating article of FIG. 1.

(4) FIG. 3 shows the aerosol-generating article of FIG. 1 after partial use.

(5) FIG. 4 shows an aerosol-generating system according to an example embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(6) It should be understood that when an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “connected to,” “coupled to,” or “covering” another element or layer, it may be directly on, connected to, coupled to, or covering the other element or layer or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there are no intervening elements or layers present. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout the specification. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

(7) It should be understood that, although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers, and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer, or section from another region, layer, or section. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer, or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer, or section without departing from the teachings of example embodiments.

(8) Spatially relative terms (e.g., “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like) may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It should be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the term “below” may encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.

(9) The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing various embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “includes,” “including,” “comprises,” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

(10) Example embodiments are described herein with reference to cross-sectional illustrations that are schematic illustrations of idealized embodiments (and intermediate structures) of example embodiments. As such, variations from the shapes of the illustrations as a result, for example, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, are to be expected. Thus, example embodiments should not be construed as limited to the shapes of regions illustrated herein but are to include deviations in shapes that result, for example, from manufacturing.

(11) Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which example embodiments belong. It will be further understood that terms, including those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

(12) FIG. 1 shows an aerosol-generating article 10 according to an example embodiment. The aerosol-generating article 10 comprises a base layer 12 and a plurality of discrete liquid storage portions 14 positioned on the base layer 12. A removable cover layer 16 is secured to the base layer 12 so that the plurality of liquid storage portions 14 are sealed between the base layer 12 and the cover layer 16.

(13) Each of the liquid storage portions 14 comprises a porous substrate material and a liquid aerosol-forming substrate sorbed onto the porous substrate material. A hydrochromic material 18 is provided on a surface of each of the porous substrate materials. The hydrochromic material 18 is configured to be substantially transparent when in contact with the liquid aerosol-forming substrate so that the colour of the underlying porous substrate material is visible.

(14) FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of an aerosol-generating device 100 for use with the aerosol-generating article 10 of FIG. 1. The aerosol-generating device 100 comprises a housing 112 defining a cavity 114 for receiving the aerosol-generating article 10. An air inlet 116 is provided at an upstream end of the cavity 114 and a mouthpiece 118 is provided at a downstream end of the housing 112. An air outlet 120 is provided in the mouthpiece 118 in fluidic communication with the cavity 114 so that an airflow path is defined through the cavity 114 between the air inlet 116 and the air outlet 120. During use, a negative pressure is applied to the mouthpiece 118 to draw air into the cavity 114 through the air inlet 116 and out of the cavity 114 through the air outlet 120.

(15) A transparent window 121 provided in the housing 112 allows the observation of the aerosol-generating article 10 when the aerosol-generating article 10 is received within the cavity 114.

(16) The aerosol-generating device 100 further comprises a plurality of aerosol-generating elements 122 provided on a planar wall 124 of the cavity 114. Each of the aerosol-generating elements 122 comprises an electric heater element 126 provided on a common support layer 128.

(17) The aerosol-generating device 100 further comprises an electrical power supply 140 and a controller 142 positioned within the housing 112. During the operation of the aerosol-generating device 100, the controller 142 controls a supply of electrical current from the electrical power supply 140 to each aerosol-generating element 122 to activate the aerosol-generating element 122. The controller 142 may be configured to activate the plurality of aerosol-generating elements 122 in groups, with each group being activated and deactivated sequentially.

(18) During use, the aerosol-generating article 10 is inserted into the cavity 114 so that the aerosol-generating article 10 and the aerosol-generating device 100 form an aerosol-generating system. The controller 142 then sequentially activates and deactivates the aerosol-generating elements 122 to sequentially heat the discrete liquid storage portions 14. Each time a liquid storage portion 14 is heated the liquid aerosol-forming substrate is aerosolised until substantially no liquid aerosol-forming substrate remains in the porous substrate material. In the absence of the liquid aerosol-forming substrate, the hydrochromic material 18 on the porous substrate material changes from being substantially transparent to an opaque colour, such as white. FIG. 3 shows the aerosol-generating article 10 of FIG. 1 after some of the liquid storage portions 14 have been heated and the hydrochromic material 18 has been transformed from substantially transparent to white.

(19) During use, the aerosol-generating article 10 may be observed through the transparent window 121 of the aerosol-generating device 100 to inspect the colour of the hydrochromic material 18 on each liquid storage portion 14. In this way, it can be determined how many of the liquid storage portions 14 have been heated.

(20) FIG. 4 shows an aerosol-generating system 200 according to an example embodiment. The aerosol-generating system 200 comprises an aerosol-generating device 202 and an aerosol-generating article 204 removably attached to the aerosol-generating device 202. The aerosol-generating system 200 may be an electronic smoking system in which the aerosol-generating device 202 is a main body of the electronic smoking system, and the aerosol-generating article 204 is a replaceable cartridge, such as a cartomiser.

(21) The aerosol-generating device 202 comprises a housing 201, an electrical power supply 207, a feedback device 208, a controller 209, a puff detection system 211, and an electronic photosensor 212.

(22) The aerosol-generating article 204 comprises a liquid storage portion 213 comprising a transparent liquid storage container 214 containing a liquid aerosol-forming substrate 215. The aerosol-generating article 204 further comprises a liquid transport element in the form of a capillary wick 217, and an aerosol-generating element 219 comprising an electric heater. A first end of the capillary wick 217 extends into the liquid storage container 214, and a second end of the capillary wick 217 is surrounded by the electric heater. The electric heater is connected to the aerosol-generating device 202 via electrical connections 221.

(23) A hydrochromic material 218 is provided on an internal surface of the liquid storage container 214, in contact with the liquid aerosol-forming substrate 215. The hydrochromic material 218 is configured to exhibit a first colour when in contact with the liquid aerosol-forming substrate and a second colour when the liquid aerosol-forming substrate 215 has been exhausted from the liquid storage container 214. The first colour may be transparent and the second colour may be opaque.

(24) The aerosol-generating article 204 also includes an air inlet 223, an air outlet 225, and an aerosol-forming chamber 227.

(25) During use, liquid aerosol-forming substrate 215 is transferred or conveyed by capillary action from the liquid storage container 214 from the first end of the wick 217 to the second end of the wick 217, which is surrounded by the electric heater. When a negative pressure is applied at the air outlet 225, ambient air is drawn through air inlet 223. The puff detection system 211 senses the puff and activates the electric heater. The electrical power supply 207 supplies energy to the electric heater to heat the end of the wick 217 surrounded by the electric heater. The liquid aerosol-forming substrate 215 in the second end of the wick 217 is vaporised by the electric heater to create a supersaturated vapour. At the same time, the liquid aerosol-forming substrate 215 being vaporised is replaced by further liquid aerosol-forming substrate 215 moving along the wick 217 by capillary action. The supersaturated vapour created is mixed with and carried in the airflow from the air inlet 223. In the aerosol-forming chamber 227, the vapour condenses to form an aerosol, which is carried towards the air outlet 225.

(26) During the operation of the aerosol-generating system 200, the electronic photosensor 212 senses an optical property of the hydrochromic material 218 through the transparent liquid storage container 214. As the liquid aerosol-forming substrate 215 is depleted from the liquid storage container 214, the hydrochromic material 218 gradually changes from the first colour to the second colour. The controller 209 monitors the value of the sensed optical property and continuously estimates the amount of liquid aerosol-forming substrate 215 remaining in the liquid storage container 214. The estimated amount of liquid aerosol-forming substrate 215 remaining is displayed on the feedback device 208. When the value of the sensed optical property of the hydrochromic material 218 is indicative of the second colour, the controller 209 prevents further activation of the electric heater.

(27) While a number of example embodiments have been disclosed herein, it should be understood that other variations may be possible. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.