Aerosol-generating article having fibrous filter segment and hollow, tubular support element located immediately downstream the aerosol-forming substrate

Abstract

A aerosol-generating article is provided, including a plurality of components assembled within a wrapper to form a rod having a mouth end and a distal end upstream from the mouth end, the plurality of components including: an aerosol-forming substrate comprising plant material and an aerosol former, the aerosol-forming substrate having an aerosol former content of between 5% and 30% by weight on a dry weight basis; and a filter segment downstream of the aerosol-forming substrate, the filter segment including fibres of at least about 12 denier per filament.

Claims

1. An aerosol-generating article for generating an inhalable aerosol when heated, comprising: a plurality of components assembled within a wrapper to form a rod having a mouth end and a distal end upstream from the mouth end, the plurality of components comprising: an aerosol-forming substrate comprising plant material and an aerosol former, wherein the aerosol-forming substrate has an aerosol former content of between 5% and 30% by weight on a dry weight basis; a filter segment downstream of the aerosol-forming substrate, the filter segment comprising fibres of at least 12 denier per filament, and wherein the filter segment has a total denier of from about 24,000 to about 60,000; and a support element located immediately downstream of the aerosol-forming substrate, wherein the support element abuts the aerosol-forming substrate, and wherein the support element comprises a hollow tubular element.

2. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein a cavity is provided between the filter segment and the aerosol-forming substrate.

3. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 2, wherein a ratio of a length of the aerosol-generating article to a length of the cavity is at least 3 to 1.

4. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 2, wherein the cavity is defined by the wrapper.

5. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein the fibres of the filter segment have an elliptical or a circular cross section.

6. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein a length of the filter segment is at least about 10 percent of a length of the aerosol-generating article.

7. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein the filter segment comprises at least 50% by weight of fibres of at least 12 denier per filament.

8. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein the filter segment has a resistance to draw of from about 0.4 mm H.sub.2O to about 3 mm H.sub.2O per millimetre length.

9. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein the filter segment has a resistance to draw of from about 0.6 mm H.sub.2O to about 1.5 mm H.sub.2O per millimetre length.

10. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein the filter segment has a resistance to draw of from about 0.8 mm H.sub.2O to about 1.2 mm H.sub.2O per millimetre length.

Description

(1) Specific embodiments will now be described with reference to the figures, in which;

(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional diagram of a prior art aerosol-generating article;

(3) FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional diagram of an aerosol-generating article in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

(4) FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional diagram of an aerosol-generating article in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention; and

(5) FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional diagram of an aerosol-generating article in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention.

(6) FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art aerosol-generating article 100. The article 1 comprises four elements. The elements are: an aerosol generating substrate 2, a support element 3, an aerosol-cooling element 104 and a filter segment 105 comprising cellulose acetate fibres having a denier per filament of about 8.

(7) The four elements are arranged sequentially and in coaxial alignment and are assembled by a cigarette paper 6 to form a rod. The rod has a mouth-end 7, which a user inserts into his or her mouth during use, and a distal end 8 located at the opposite end of the rod to the mouth end 7. Elements located between the mouth-end 7 and the distal end 8 can be described as being upstream of the mouth-end 7 or, alternatively, downstream of the distal end 8. When assembled, the rod is 52 millimetres long and has a diameter of 7.2 millimetres. The filter segment 105 has a length of 8 millimetres and the aerosol-cooling element 104 has a length of 17 millimetres.

(8) FIG. 2 illustrates an aerosol-generating article 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The article differs from the prior art article 100 of FIG. 1, in that the filter segment 5 comprises cellulose acetate fibres having a denier per filament of 30. The filter segment 5 of FIG. 2 is also longer that segment 105 of FIG. 1, and has a length of 20 millimetres. Consequently, the aerosol-cooling element of FIG. 2 has a shorter length, of 5 millimetres.

(9) FIG. 3 illustrates an aerosol-generating article 1 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The article is substantially the same as the article of FIG. 2. However, the article of FIG. 3 does not comprise an aerosol-cooling element. Instead, a cavity 9 is provided between the filter segment 5 and the support element 3, and extends from the support element 3 to the filter segment 5.

(10) FIG. 4 illustrates an aerosol-generating article 1 according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The article is substantially the same as the article of FIGS. 2 and 3. However, the article of FIG. 4 does not have a cavity or an aerosol-cooling element between the support element 3 and the filter segment 5. Instead, the filter segment 5 has an increased length of 25 millimetres and extends all the way to the support element 3. That is, the filter segment 5 is located immediately downstream of the support element 3.

(11) Each of FIGS. 2 to 4 result in an aerosol-generating article 1 that may be able to provide the same filtration efficiency and resistance to draw as the article of FIG. 1, and have the same length as the article of FIG. 1, with a reduced or eliminated the need for an aerosol-cooling element.