Smoking Substitute Consumable

Abstract

An aerosol-forming article (e.g. a heat-not-burn consumable) comprising an aerosol-forming substrate formed of a plurality of longitudinally-aligned, elongate shreds of plant material, wherein the plant material comprises at least one cannabinoid compound selected from cannabidiol (CBD) and its derivatives/homologues, cannabigerol (CBG) and its derivatives/homologues, cannabinol (CBN) and its derivatives/homologues, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and its derivatives/homologues, cannabicyclol (CBL) and its derivatives/homologues, cannabichromene (CBC) and its derivatives/homologues, cannabielsoin (CBE) and its derivatives/homologues, cannabicitran (CBT) and its derivatives/homologues.

Claims

1. An aerosol-forming article comprising an aerosol-forming substrate formed of a plurality of longitudinally-aligned, elongate shreds of plant material, wherein the plant material comprises at least one cannabinoid.

2. An aerosol-forming article according to claim 1 wherein the substrate comprises one or more cannabinoid compounds selected from cannabidiol (CBD) and its derivatives/homologues, cannabigerol (CBG) and its derivatives/homologues, cannabinol (CBN) and its derivatives/homologues, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and its derivatives/homologues, cannabicyclol (CBL) and its derivatives/homologues, cannabichromene (CBC) and its derivatives/homologues, cannabielsoin (CBE) and its derivatives/homologues, cannabicitran (CBT) and its derivatives/homologues.

3. An aerosol-forming article according to claim 1 wherein the cannabinoid-containing plant material comprises cannabis plant material.

4. An aerosol-forming article according to claim 3 wherein the plant material comprises slurry or paper reconstituted cannabis plant material.

5. An aerosol-forming article according to claim 1 wherein the article is a heat-not-burn (HNB) consumable.

6. An aerosol-forming article according to claim 1 wherein the substrate comprises a plurality of first elongate shreds and a plurality of second elongate shreds, each first shred having longitudinal edges spaced by a first transverse width and each second shred having longitudinal edges spaced by a second transverse width, wherein the first transverse width is different to the second transverse width and wherein at least one of the plurality first and second elongate shreds are formed of the plant material comprising at least one cannabinoid, optionally wherein a first region of the substrate comprises a greater proportion of first shreds than second shreds, a second region of the substrate comprises a greater proportion of second shreds than of the first shreds and wherein the first region is disposed at a periphery of the substrate and the second region is disposed at a central portion of the substrate, which is spaced from the periphery of the substrate.

7. An aerosol-forming article according to claim 1 wherein there is a plurality of transverse bridge portions each extending between and joining two or more of the shreds, optionally wherein each transverse bridge portion spans ten or fewer immediately adjacent shreds of cannabinoid-containing plant material.

8. A web of reconstituted cannabinoid-containing plant material, optionally wherein the cannabinoid-containing plant material comprises cannabis plant material.

9. A web according to claim 8 comprising a plurality of longitudinally-aligned, elongate shreds, optionally wherein the web comprises a plurality of first elongate shreds and a plurality of second elongate shreds, each first shred having longitudinal edges spaced by a first transverse width and each second shred having longitudinal edges spaced by a second transverse width, wherein the first transverse width is different to the second transverse width.

10. A web according to claim 8 wherein there is a plurality of transverse bridge portions each extending between and joining two or more of the shreds, wherein none of the bridge portions extend across the entire transverse width of the web.

11. A method for forming a web of cannabinoid-containing plant material, the method comprising: providing a sheet of cannabinoid-containing plant material; and dividing the sheet using a plurality of longitudinally-extending slits to form a plurality of first elongate shreds.

12. A method according to claim 11 comprising dividing the sheet using the plurality of longitudinally-extending slits to form the plurality of first elongate shreds and a plurality of second elongate shreds, each first shred having longitudinal edges spaced by a first transverse width and each second shred having longitudinal edges spaced by a second transverse width, wherein the first transverse width is different to the second transverse width.

13. A method according to claim 11 comprising dividing the sheet by forming a plurality of discontinuous longitudinally-extending slits, such that the method further comprises leaving a plurality of un-slit transverse bridge portions each joining at least two adjacent shreds, wherein none of the bridge portions extend across the entire transverse width of the web.

14. A method for forming an aerosol-forming article, the method comprising: forming a web of cannabinoid-containing plant material using the method according to claim 11; gathering the web to form a cylindrical rod; cutting the cylindrical rod to form a cylindrical aerosol-forming substrate; and circumscribing the aerosol-forming substrate using a wrapping layer.

15. A smoking substitute system comprising an aerosol-forming article according to claim 1 and a device comprising a heating element.

Description

SUMMARY OF THE FIGURES

[0178] So that the disclosure may be understood, and so that further aspects and features thereof may be appreciated, embodiments illustrating the principles of the disclosure will now be discussed in further detail with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:

[0179] FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of an HNB consumable;

[0180] FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of an HNB consumable;

[0181] FIG. 3 shows the first embodiment within a device forming an HNB system;

[0182] FIG. 4 shows a first embodiment of a substrate that may form part of a HNB consumable; FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of a substrate that may form part of a HNB consumable;

[0183] FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of a shred of cannabinoid-containing (e.g. cannabis) plant material;

[0184] FIGS. 7A and 7B show first and second embodiments of a web of cannabinoid-containing (e.g. cannabis) plant material that may be used together to form a substrate;

[0185] FIG. 8 shows a third embodiment of a web of cannabinoid-containing (e.g. cannabis) plant material that may be used to form a substrate;

[0186] FIG. 9 shows a fourth embodiment of a web of cannabinoid-containing (e.g. cannabis) plant material that may be used to form a substrate;

[0187] FIG. 10 shows a fifth embodiment of a web of cannabinoid-containing (e.g. cannabis) plant material that may be used to form a substrate;

[0188] FIG. 11 shows a sixth embodiment of a web of cannabinoid-containing (e.g. cannabis) plant material that may be used to form a substrate;

[0189] FIG. 12 shows a seventh embodiment of a web of cannabinoid-containing (e.g. cannabis) plant material that may be used to form a substrate; and

[0190] FIG. 13 shows an eighth embodiment of a web of cannabinoid-containing (e.g. cannabis) plant material that may be used to form a substrate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0191] As shown in FIG. 1, the HNB consumable 1 comprises an aerosol-forming substrate 2 at the upstream end of the consumable 1.

[0192] The aerosol-forming substrate comprises cannabis plant material which includes the cannabinoid CBD as a volatile compound.

[0193] The aerosol-forming substrate 2 comprises 65 wt % cannabis plant material which is provided in the form of gathered shreds produced from a sheet of slurry/paper recon cannabis.

[0194] Although not apparent from the figure, the substrate is formed of a plurality of longitudinally aligned elongate shreds of cannabis plant material. An exemplary portion of a shred of cannabis plant material 24 is shown (not to scale) in FIG. 6. The shred of cannabis plant material 24 comprises spaced longitudinal edges 25a, 25b and a transverse width W of the shred of cannabis plant material 24 is defined between the longitudinal edges 25a, 25b. The transverse width W of the shred of cannabis plant material 24 is generally consistent for the entire length of the shred 24.

[0195] The aerosol-forming substrate comprises a plurality of first shreds have a first transverse width W1 and a plurality of second shreds have a second transverse width W2 that is different from the first transverse width W1. The first and second shreds are distributed evenly throughout the substrate 2.

[0196] The aerosol-forming substrate 2 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape such that the consumable resembles a conventional cigarette. It has diameter of around 7 mm and an axial length of around 12 mm.

[0197] The aerosol-forming substrate 2 is circumscribed by a paper wrapping layer 3.

[0198] The consumable 1 comprises an upstream hollow bore element 4 and a downstream terminal hollow bore element 5. The two elements 4, 5 are spaced by a cardboard spacer tube 6. Both elements 4, 5 are formed of cellulose acetate tow and wrapped with a respective paper plug layer (not shown).

[0199] Both elements 4, 5 have a substantially cylindrical shape. The diameter of the upstream hollow bore element 4 matches the diameter of the aerosol-forming substrate 2. The diameter of the terminal hollow bore element 5 is slightly larger and matches the combined diameter of the aerosol-forming substrate 2 and the wrapping layer 3. The upstream hollow bore element 4 is slightly shorter in axial length than the terminal hollow bore element 5 at an axial length of 10 mm compared to 12 mm for the terminal hollow bore element 5. The cardboard tube spacer 6 is longer having an axial length of around 14 mm.

[0200] Each hollow bore element 4, 5 has a hollow, longitudinally extending bore. The diameter of the bore in the upstream hollow bore element 4 is slightly larger than the diameter of the bore in the terminal hollow bore element 5 having a diameter of 3 mm compared to 2 mm for the terminal hollow bore element 5.

[0201] The cardboard spacer tube 6 and the upstream hollow bore element 4 are circumscribed by the wrapping layer 3.

[0202] The terminal hollow bore element 5 is joined to the adjacent, upstream elements forming the consumable by a circumscribing paper tipping layer 7. The tipping layer 7 encircles the terminal hollow bore element 5 and has an axial length of around 20 mm such that it overlays a portion of the cardboard tube spacer 6.

[0203] FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of a consumable 1″ which is the same as the first embodiment except that the wrapping layer 3 does not completely circumscribe the cardboard spacer tube 6 such that there is an annular gap 9 between the tipping layer 7 and the cardboard spacer tube 6 downstream of the end of the wrapping layer 3.

[0204] FIG. 3 shows the first embodiment inserted into an HNB device 10 comprising a rod-shaped heating element 20 (shown in dashed lines). The heating element 20 projects into a cavity 11 within the main body 12 of the device.

[0205] The consumable 1 is inserted into the cavity 11 of the main body 12 of the device 10 such that the heating rod penetrates the aerosol-forming substrate 2. Heating of the reconstituted cannabinoid-containing (e.g. cannabis) plant material in the aerosol-forming substrate 2 is effected by powering the heating element 20 (e.g. with a rechargeable battery (not shown)). As the cannabis plant material is heated, moisture and volatile compound (e.g. CBD) within the cannabis plant material is released as a vapour and entrained within an airflow generated by inhalation by the user at the terminal hollow bore element 5.

[0206] As the vapour cools within the upstream hollow bore element 4 and the cardboard spacer tube 6, it condenses to form an aerosol containing the volatile compounds for inhalation by the user.

[0207] FIG. 4 depicts an embodiment of an aerosol-forming substrate 2′. As may be apparent, the substrate 2′ may form a part of any one of the articles/consumables described above and shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. The consumable 2′ comprises a generally cylindrical form having a circumferential surface 21 extending between first (upstream) 22 and second (downstream) 23 ends. Although not apparent from the figure, the substrate is formed of a plurality of shreds of cannabis plant material. An exemplary portion of a shred of cannabis plant material 24 is shown (not to scale) in FIG. 6. The shred of cannabis plant material 24 comprises spaced longitudinal edges 25a, 25b and a transverse width W of the shred of cannabis plant material 24 is defined between the longitudinal edges 25a, 25b. The transverse width W of the shred of cannabis plant material 24 is generally consistent for the entire length of the shred 24.

[0208] Returning to FIG. 4, the plurality of longitudinally aligned shreds of cannabis plant material (that form the substrate 2′) comprises first shreds and second shreds. The first shreds have a first transverse width W1 and the second shreds have a second transverse width W2 that is different from the first transverse width W1. In the presently illustrated embodiment, the first and second shreds are not distributed evenly throughout the substrate. Rather, the substrate comprises first region 26 and second region 27 that differ with respect to their distribution of first and second shreds.

[0209] The first region 26 extends circumferentially at a periphery of the substrate 2′ (i.e. at the circumferential surface 21), so as to have a donut shaped transverse cross-sectional profile. This first region 26 has a greater proportion (e.g. by volume, number, and/or weight) of first shreds than of the second shreds. The first region 26 may, for example, only include first shreds of the first shreds. Where the first transverse width W1 is larger than the second transverse width W2, the first region 26 is predominantly formed of larger-width shreds.

[0210] The second region 27 extends along a central longitudinal axis of the substrate 2′ so as to define a central core of the substrate 2′ (surrounded by the first region). In contrast to the first region, the second region comprises a greater proportion (e.g. by volume, number and/or weight) of second shreds than of the first shreds. The second region 27 may only include second shreds. Assuming again that first transverse width W1 is larger than the second transverse width W2, the second region 27 is predominantly made up of smaller-width shreds.

[0211] By having larger width shreds at its periphery, and smaller width shreds at its centre, the substrate 2′ may have different heat transfer characteristics than a substrate containing a single shred type. For example the second region may have a higher rate of heat transfer than the first region.

[0212] FIG. 5 depicts a further embodiment of a substrate 2″ that again comprises a first region 26 having a greater proportion of first shreds (comprising a first transverse width W1) and a second region 27 having a greater proportion of second shreds. However, in this case, the regions 26, 27 are arranged so as to be axially adjacent to one another. Thus, the proportion of first and second shreds varies axially rather than radially (as is the case with the embodiment shown in FIG. 4).

[0213] FIGS. 7A and 7B depict webs of cannabis plant material 28A, 28B for forming an aerosol forming substrate. Each of the webs 28A, 28B comprises a plurality of longitudinally extending shreds. Each web 28A, 28B is formed of a sheet of homogenized cannabis plant material e.g. a sheet of paper recon or slurry recon cannabis which is slit by passing it longitudinally between a pair of interdigitated transverse stacks of spaced apart rotary cutting blades. The blades cut a plurality of longitudinally-extending slits 29a, 29b, 29c, etc. in the sheet, thus forming the web 28A, 28B. As is indicated by the dashed lines, each web 28A, 28B may extend indefinitely in the longitudinal direction.

[0214] The web 28A shown FIG. 7A comprises first shreds 30a, 30b, 30c, etc. that each have a transverse width W1 of 1 mm. Such shreds 30a, 30b, 30c may be formed by interdigitated transverse stacks of rotary cutting blades (as discussed above) spaced apart by 1 mm. On the other hand, the web 28B shown in FIG. 7B comprises second shreds 31a, 31b, 31c, etc. that each have a transverse width W2 of 2 mm. Again, such shreds 31a, 31b, 31c may be formed by interdigitated transverse stacks of rotary cutting blades (as discussed above) spaced apart by 2 mm.

[0215] As will be discussed in more detail below, the shreds of the webs 28A, 28B may gathered to form an aerosol forming substrate. In this respect, the aerosol-forming substrate would comprise a plurality of first shreds of 1 mm transverse width W1 (from the web of FIG. 7A) and a plurality of second shreds of 2 mm transverse width W2 (from the web of FIG. 7B).

[0216] FIG. 8 shows a further embodiment of a web of cannabis plant material 28C comprising first and second shreds. The first shreds 30a, 30b, 30c, etc. have a transverse width W1 of 1 mm and the second shreds 31a, 31b, 31c, etc. have a transverse width W2 of 2 mm. As is apparent from the figure, the first shreds 30a, 30b, 30c are interspersed with the second shreds 30a, 30b, 30c. In particular, the pattern of shreds (progressing transversely across the web) alternates between a single second shred 31a and two first shreds 30a, 30b. This web 28C may also be formed by way of interdigitated transverse stacks of spaced apart rotary cutting blades (as discussed above), but in this case the cutting blades are not evenly spaced. Rather, the cutting blades are arranged in groups of three 1 mm spaced cutting blades, with the groups of cutting blades spaced from one another by 2 mm.

[0217] Like the previously described webs 28, 28B, this web 28C can be gathered to form an aerosol-forming substrate. However, rather than forming this substrate from two separate webs, only a single web 28C of the present embodiment is required to form the aerosol-forming substrate comprising first shreds 30a, 30b, 30c and second shreds 31a, 31b, 31c of two different transverse widths W1, W2. As may be apparent from the figure, an aerosol-forming substrate formed from the present web 28C would have (approximately) an even distribution (e.g. by weight or volume) of shreds 30a, 30b, 30c of 1 mm transverse width and shreds 31a, 31b, 31c of 2 mm transverse width.

[0218] FIG. 9 shows a further embodiment of a web 28D of cannabis plant material. Like the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, this embodiment comprises first and second shreds of 1 mm transverse width and 2 mm transverse width respectively. However, the distribution of the first and second shreds is different to that previously described. In the present embodiment the second shreds 31a, 31b, 31c are distributed at the longitudinal edges 32 of the web 28D and the first shreds 30a, 30b, 30c are sandwiches between the second shreds at a central region of the web 28D. Again, this web 28D may also be formed by way of interdigitated transverse stacks of spaced apart rotary cutting blades. In this case, there are two groups of two 2 mm spaced cutting blades (for forming the second shreds) and a single group of 1 mm spaced cutting blades (for forming the first shreds) disposed intermediate the two 2 mm groups and spaced from those groups by 2 mm. When this web 28D is gathered the first shreds will be bundled together in a core region at the axial centre of the substrate 2″.

[0219] FIG. 10 shows a further embodiment of a web 28E of cannabis plant material having a plurality of longitudinally-extending shreds 30a, 30b, 30c, 30d etc. Each shred has a transverse width of 1 mm.

[0220] The shreds 30a, 30b, 30c, 30d etc. are formed of a sheet of homogenized cannabis e.g. a sheet of paper recon or slurry recon cannabis which is slit by passing it longitudinally between a pair of interdigitated transverse stacks of rotary cutting blades with the blades equally spaced apart by 1 mm. The blades cut a plurality of longitudinally-extending discontinuous slits 35a, 35b, 35c, 35d etc. in the sheet thus forming the web 28E.

[0221] A plurality of blades within the interdigitated transverse stacks each comprise a respective notch having a circumferential extension of 4 mm and the notches are circumferentially staggered relative to one another i.e. angularly spaced in a circumferential direction relative to one another. The notches are completely unaligned in the circumferential direction meaning that there is no overlap of the notches in the circumferential direction.

[0222] As the sheet of reconstituted cannabis passes longitudinally through the interdigitated stacks of rotating blades, each notch will result in a longitudinal discontinuity 33a, 33b, 33c, 33d etc. of 4 mm in the slits 35a, 35b, 35c, 35d etc. These discontinuities in the slits 35a, 35b, 35c, 35d create transverse bridge portions 34a, 34b, 34c, 34d of un-slit cannabis sheet which span two adjacent shreds. Thus each bridge portion 34a, 34b, 34c, 34d has a transverse width of 2 mm and a longitudinal length of 4 mm.

[0223] The discontinuities 33a, 33b, 33c, 33d/transverse bridge portions 34a, 34b, 34c, 34d are off-set from one another by a longitudinal spacing which will equal the circumferential spacing of the adjacent notches on the adjacent rotary cutting blades. Thus it can be seen that there is no bridge portion extending across the entire transverse width of the web 28E. Each bridge portion 34a, 34b, 34c, 34d spans only two adjacent shreds and adjacent bridge portions are completely unaligned in the transverse direction.

[0224] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, the discontinuous slits 35a, 35b, 35c, 35d are immediately adjacent one another and form a first group A of discontinuous slits.

[0225] The web 28 further comprises a second group A′ of discontinuous slits 35a′, 35b′, 35c′, 35d′ etc. which are transversely spaced from the first group A of discontinuous slits 35a, 35b, 35c, 35d etc. by a group B of continuous slits 29a,29b, 29c, 29d, etc. (i.e. slit(s) without any discontinuities/transverse bridge portions). The continuous slits 29a, 29b, 29c, 29d are formed by including adjacent un-notched blades within the interdigitated transverse stack of blades.

[0226] As can be seen in FIG. 10, the longitudinal spacing between adjacent discontinuities 33a, 33b, 33c, 33d and bridge portions 34a, 34b, 34c, 34d, etc. is equal (arising from an equal angular spacing of the notches on the blades) such that the discontinuities 33a, 33b, 33c, 33d and bridge portions 34a, 34b, 34c, 34d, are diagonally off-set on the web.

[0227] The web 28F shown in FIG. 11 is substantially the same as that shown in FIG. 10 except that there are continuous slits 29a, 29b, 29c, 29d etc. interposed between adjacent discontinuous slits 35a, 35b, 35c, 35d in the first group A of discontinuous slits.

[0228] The group B of continuous slits 29a, 29b shown in FIG. 11 has a smaller transverse dimension (i.e. there are fewer continuous slits) but this group B of continuous slits may be increased in size (i.e. may contain a greater number of continuous slits).

[0229] FIG. 12 shows a seventh embodiment of a web 28G which is the same as the fifth embodiment in FIG. 10 except that the discontinuous slits 35a, 35b, 35c, 35d are formed by feeding the sheet longitudinally through a pair of interdigitated transverse stacks of notched blades which are arranged such that the angular spacing from a notch in a first blade within the interdigitated transverse stack alternately increases and decreases in a transverse direction along the stack (i.e. in the stacking direction of the blades). This results in a plurality of discontinuities 33a, 33b, 33c, 33d transverse bridge portions 34a, 34b, 34c, 34d arranged so as to form two longitudinally staggered diagonal arrangements within the group of group of discontinuous slits 35a, 35b, 35c, 35d.

[0230] FIG. 13 shows an eighth embodiment of a web 28H, which includes additional continuous slits 37a, 37b, 37c, 37d interposed between the discontinuous slits 35a, 35b, 35c, 35d. Like the embodiment shown in FIG. 12, the web 28H is formed by feeding the sheet longitudinally through a pair of interdigitated transverse stacks of notched blades which are arranged such that the angular spacing from a notch in a first blade within the interdigitated transverse stack alternately increases and decreases in a transverse direction along the stack (i.e. in the stacking direction of the blades). However, in this embodiment of the web 28H the resulting bridge portions are randomly arranged within the group of discontinuous slits 35a, 35b, 35c, 35d.

[0231] Any of the webs shown in the FIGS. 7A/B to 13 may be being gathered in a transverse direction to form a cylindrical rod of longitudinally-aligned, elongate shreds of cannabis plant material having a diameter of around 7 mm. The rod may be cut to the desired length (e.g. 12 mm) and at least partially circumscribed by a wrapping layer to form a heat-not-burn (HNB) consumable.

[0232] The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or in the following claims, or in the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for obtaining the disclosed results, as appropriate, may, separately, or in any combination of such features, be utilized for realizing the disclosure in diverse forms thereof.

[0233] While the disclosure has been described in conjunction with the exemplary embodiments described above, many equivalent modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art when given this disclosure. Accordingly, the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure set forth above are considered to be illustrative and not limiting. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

[0234] For the avoidance of any doubt, any theoretical explanations provided herein are provided for the purposes of improving the understanding of a reader. The inventors do not wish to be bound by any of these theoretical explanations.

[0235] Throughout this specification, including the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the words “have”, “comprise”, and “include”, and variations such as “having”, “comprises”, “comprising”, and “including” will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps.

[0236] It must be noted that, as used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Ranges may be expressed herein as from “about” one particular value, and/or to “about” another particular value. When such a range is expressed, another embodiment includes from the one particular value and/or to the other particular value. Similarly, when values are expressed as approximations, by the use of the antecedent “about,” it will be understood that the particular value forms another embodiment. The term “about” in relation to a numerical value is optional and means, for example, +/−10%.

[0237] The words “preferred” and “preferably” are used herein refer to embodiments of the disclosure that may provide certain benefits under some circumstances. It is to be appreciated, however, that other embodiments may also be preferred under the same or different circumstances. The recitation of one or more preferred embodiments therefore does not mean or imply that other embodiments are not useful, and is not intended to exclude other embodiments from the scope of the disclosure, or from the scope of the claims.