Non-tobacco nicotine containing article

Abstract

An aerosol-generating rod is provided, including a gathered sheet of non-tobacco material circumscribed by a wrapper. The sheet of non-tobacco material includes a sorbent substrate such as paper, a nicotine salt, and an aerosol-former. The sheet of non-tobacco material is textured or crimped. An aerosol-generating article is also provided, including the aerosol-generating rod as a component element.

Claims

1. An aerosol-generating rod, comprising: a sheet of non-tobacco cellulosic-based material gathered and circumscribed by a wrapper, such that the gathered sheet of non-tobacco material extends along substantially an entire length of the aerosol-generating rod and across substantially an entire transverse cross-sectional area of the aerosol-generating rod, wherein the sheet of non-tobacco cellulosic-based material has a width of at least 25 millimeters and a thickness of from 50 micrometers to 300 micrometers, wherein the gathered sheet of cellulosic-based non-tobacco material comprises a plurality of ridges or corrugations substantially parallel to a cylindrical axis of the aerosol-generating rod, a nicotine salt, and an aerosol-former, and wherein the nicotine salt and the aerosol-former are coated or absorbed onto the sheet of non-tobacco cellulosic-based material.

2. The aerosol-generating rod according to claim 1, wherein the gathered sheet of non-tobacco cellulosic-based material further comprises water.

3. The aerosol-generating rod according to claim 1, wherein the gathered sheet of non-tobacco cellulosic-based material further comprises a flavourant.

4. The aerosol-generating rod according to claim 1, wherein the nicotine salt is selected from the group consisting of nicotine citrate, nicotine pyruvate, nicotine bitartrate, and nicotine salicylate.

5. The aerosol-generating rod according to claim 1, wherein the aerosol-former is one or more aerosol-formers selected from the group consisting of propylene glycol, triethylene glycol, 1,3-butanediol, and glycerine.

6. The aerosol-generating rod according to claim 1, further comprising a menthol flavourant.

7. The aerosol-generating rod according to claim 1, further comprising a further sheet of material, gathered together with the gathered sheet of non-tobacco cellulosic-based material and circumscribed by the wrapper.

8. The aerosol-generating rod according to claim 1, further comprising an inductive susceptor gathered together with the gathered sheet of non-tobacco cellulosic-based material and circumscribed by the wrapper.

9. The aerosol-generating rod according to claim 1, wherein a ratio of aerosol-former to nicotine in the gathered sheet of non-tobacco cellulosic-based material is between 3:1 and 10:1.

10. An aerosol-generating article comprising an aerosol-forming substrate, wherein the aerosol-forming substrate is an aerosol-generating rod according to claim 1.

11. A system comprising an electrically-operated aerosol-generating apparatus and an aerosol-generating article for the apparatus, the aerosol-generating article comprising an aerosol-forming substrate in the form of an aerosol-generating rod according to claim 1.

12. A heated aerosol-generating article comprising a combustible heat source and an aerosol-forming substrate located downstream of the combustible heat source, wherein the aerosol-forming substrate is an aerosol-generating rod according to claim 1.

13. A heated aerosol-generating article for an electrically-operated aerosol-generating system comprising an aerosol-forming substrate, wherein the aerosol-forming substrate is an aerosol-generating rod according to claim 1.

14. A heated aerosol-generating article comprising an aerosol-forming substrate comprising an aerosol generating rod according to claim 1, a hollow cellulose acetate tube, a spacer element, and a mouthpiece filter, wherein the aerosol-forming substrate, the hollow cellulose acetate tube, the spacer element, and the mouthpiece filter are arranged sequentially and in coaxial alignment and are assembled by a cigarette paper to form the aerosol-generating article.

15. A heated aerosol-generating article comprising an aerosol-forming substrate comprising an aerosol generating rod according to claim 1, a support element, an aerosol-cooling element, and a mouthpiece filter, wherein the aerosol-forming substrate, the support element, the aerosol-cooling element, and the mouthpiece filter are arranged sequentially and in coaxial alignment and are assembled by a cigarette paper to form the aerosol-generating article.

Description

(1) Specific embodiments will be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a schematic cross-section of apparatus for forming an aerosol-generating rod according to a specific embodiment;

(3) FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 illustrate embodiments of aerosol-generating articles that incorporate aerosol-generating rods formed as described herein;

(4) FIG. 5 illustrates an aerosol-generating system comprising an electrically-operated aerosol-generating device and an aerosol-generating article as illustrated in FIG. 2; and

(5) FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional diagram of the electrically-operated aerosol-generating device illustrated in FIG. 5.

(6) The apparatus shown in FIG. 1 generally comprises: supply means for providing a continuous sheet of non-tobacco; crimping means for crimping the continuous sheet; rod forming means for gathering the continuous crimped sheet and circumscribing the gathered material with a wrapper to form a continuous rod; and cutting means for severing the continuous rod into a plurality of discrete aerosol-generating rods. The apparatus also comprises transport means for transporting the continuous sheet of material downstream through the apparatus from the supply means to the rod forming means via the crimping means.

(7) As shown in FIG. 1, the supply means for providing a continuous sheet comprises a continuous sheet of non-tobacco 2 mounted on a bobbin 4. The non-tobacco material is a cigarette paper that has been soaked in a liquid formulation comprising nicotine pyruvate, glycerine, and water. The cigarette paper absorbs the liquid formulation and the non-tobacco sheet thus comprises nicotine pyruvate, glycerine and water. The ratio of glycerine to nicotine is 5:1.

(8) The crimping means comprises a pair of rotatable crimping rollers 6. In use, the continuous sheet of non-tobacco material 2 is drawn from the first bobbin 4 and transported downstream to the pair of crimping rollers 6 by the transport mechanism via a series of guide and tensioning rollers. As the continuous sheet of non-tobacco material 2 is fed between the pair of crimping rollers 6, the crimping rollers engage and crimp the sheet 2 to form a continuous crimped sheet 8 having a plurality of spaced-apart ridges or corrugations substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the sheet through the apparatus.

(9) The continuous crimped sheet 8 is transported downstream from the pair of crimping rollers 6 towards the rod forming means and fed through a converging funnel or horn 10. The converging funnel 10 gathers the continuous sheet 8 transversely relative to its longitudinal axes. The sheet of material 8 assumes a substantially cylindrical configuration as it passes through the converging funnel 10.

(10) Upon exiting the converging funnel 10, the gathered sheet of non-tobacco material is wrapped in a continuous sheet of wrapper material 12. The wrapper is a paper wrapper and is fed from a bobbin 14 and enveloped around the gathered continuous crimped sheet by an endless belt conveyor or garniture. As shown in FIG. 1, the rod forming means comprises an adhesive application means 16 that applies adhesive to one of the longitudinal edges of the wrapper, so that when the opposed longitudinal edges of the wrapper are brought into contact they adhere to one other to form a continuous rod.

(11) The rod forming means further comprises a drying means 18 downstream of the adhesive application means 16, which in use dries the adhesive applied to the seam of the continuous rod as the continuous rod is transported downstream from the rod forming means to the cutting means.

(12) The cutting means comprises a rotary cutter 20 that severs the continuous rod into a plurality of discrete aerosol-forming rods of unit rod length or multiple unit rod length.

(13) FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a heated aerosol-generating article 1000 comprising an aerosol-generating rod as described herein. The article 1000 comprises four elements; an aerosol-forming substrate 1020 comprising the aerosol-generating rod, a hollow cellulose acetate tube 1030, a spacer element 1040, and a mouthpiece filter 1050. These four elements are arranged sequentially and in coaxial alignment and are assembled by a cigarette paper 1060 to form the aerosol-generating article 1000. The article 1000 has a mouth-end 1012, which a user inserts into his or her mouth during use, and a distal end 1013 located at the opposite end of the article to the mouth end 1012. The embodiment of an aerosol-generating article illustrated in FIG. 2 is particularly suitable for use with an electrically-operated aerosol-generating device comprising a heater for heating the aerosol-forming substrate.

(14) When assembled, the article 1000 is about 45 millimetres in length and has an outer diameter of about 7.2 millimetres.

(15) The aerosol-forming substrate 1020 comprises an aerosol-generating rod formed from a crimped and gathered sheet of nicotine pyruvate and glycerin bearing paper.

(16) An aerosol-generating article 1000 as illustrated in FIG. 2 is designed to engage with an aerosol-generating device in order to be consumed. Such an aerosol-generating device includes means for heating the aerosol-forming substrate 1020 to a sufficient temperature to form an aerosol. Typically, the aerosol-generating device may comprise a heating element that surrounds the aerosol-generating article 1000 adjacent to the aerosol-forming substrate 1020, or a heating element that is inserted into the aerosol-forming substrate 1020.

(17) Once engaged with an aerosol-generating device, a user draws on the mouth-end 1012 of the smoking article 1000 and the aerosol-forming substrate 1020 is heated to a temperature of about 220 degrees Celsius. At this temperature an aerosol comprising nicotine pyruvate, glycerine, and water is evolved. The aerosol is drawn through the filter 1050 and into the user's mouth. It is noted that the temperature that the substrate is heated to is considerably lower than the temperature that would be required to evolve an aerosol from a tobacco substrate.

(18) FIG. 3 illustrates an alternative embodiment of an aerosol-generating article 5000. The aerosol-generating article 5000 comprises four elements arranged in coaxial alignment: an aerosol-forming substrate 5020, a support element 5030, an aerosol-cooling element 5040, and a mouthpiece 5050. These four elements are arranged sequentially and are circumscribed by an outer wrapper 5060 to form the aerosol-generating article 5000. The aerosol-cooling element 5040 acts as a spacer element as described in relation to FIG. 2 as well as an aerosol-cooling element. In use, volatile substances released from the aerosol-forming substrate 5020 pass along the aerosol-cooling element 5040 towards a mouth end 5070 of the aerosol-generating article 5000. The volatile substances may cool within the aerosol-cooling element 5040 to form an aerosol that is inhaled by the user. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, the aerosol-cooling element comprises a crimped and gathered sheet of polylactic acid circumscribed by a wrapper. The aerosol-forming substrate 5020 comprises an aerosol-generating rod formed from a crimped and gathered sheet of nicotine pyruvate and glycerin bearing paper. The aerosol-generating article 5000 has a proximal or mouth end 5070, which a user inserts into his or her mouth during use, and a distal end 5080 located at the opposite end of the aerosol-generating article 5000 to the mouth end 5070.

(19) FIG. 4 illustrates a second embodiment of an aerosol-generating article 1001. While the article of FIG. 2 or FIG. 3 is intended to be consumed in conjunction with an aerosol-generating device, the article of FIG. 4 comprises a combustible heat source 1080 that may be ignited and transfer heat to the aerosol-forming substrate 1020 to form an inhalable aerosol. The combustible heat source 1080 is a charcoal element that is assembled in proximity to the aerosol-forming substrate at a distal end 1013 of the article 1001. Elements that are essentially the same as elements in FIG. 2 have been given the same numbering as the article in FIG. 2.

(20) FIG. 5 illustrates a portion of an electrically-operated aerosol-generating system 2000 that utilises a heating blade 2100 to heat an aerosol-generating substrate 1020 of an aerosol-generating article 1000. The heating blade is mounted within an aerosol article receiving chamber of an electrically-operated aerosol-generating device 2010. The aerosol-generating device defines a plurality of air holes 2050 for allowing air to flow to the aerosol-generating article 1000. Air flow is indicated by arrows on FIG. 5. The aerosol-generating device comprises a power supply and electronics, which are not illustrated in FIG. 5. The aerosol-generating article 1000 of FIG. 5 is as described in relation to FIG. 2.

(21) In FIG. 6, the components of the aerosol-generating device 2010 are shown in a simplified manner. Particularly, the components of the aerosol-generating device 2010 are not drawn to scale in FIG. 6. Components that are not relevant for the understanding of the embodiment have been omitted to simplify FIG. 6.

(22) As shown in FIG. 6, the aerosol-generating device 2010 comprises a housing 6130. The heating element 6120 is mounted within an aerosol-generating article receiving chamber within the housing 6130. The aerosol-generating article 1000 (shown by dashed lines in FIG. 5) is inserted into the aerosol-generating article receiving chamber within the housing 6130 of the aerosol-generating device 2010 such that the heating element 6120 is directly inserted into the aerosol-forming substrate 1020 of the aerosol-generating article 1000.

(23) Within the housing 6130 there is an electrical energy supply 6140, for example a rechargeable lithium ion battery. A controller 6150 is connected to the heating element 6120, the electrical energy supply 6140, and a user interface 6160, for example a button or display. The controller 6150 controls the power supplied to the heating element 6120 in order to regulate its temperature.

(24) The exemplary embodiments described above are not limiting. In view of the above-discussed exemplary embodiments, other embodiments consistent with the above exemplary embodiment will now be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.