Aerosol-generating article, device and system for use with a plurality of aerosol-forming substrates

Abstract

An aerosol-generating device includes a receiving sleeve which in turn includes an inner receiving zone for receiving a first aerosol-forming substrate, and an outer receiving zone extending across at least a portion of an outer circumferential periphery of the receiving sleeve for receiving a second aerosol-forming substrate. The device includes a heater for heating the first aerosol-forming substrate or the second aerosol-forming substrate.

Claims

1. Aerosol-generating device for use with a plurality of aerosol-forming substrates, the device comprising: a receiving sleeve comprising an inner receiving zone within the receiving sleeve for receiving at least a first aerosol-forming substrate, and an outer receiving zone extending across at least a portion of an outer circumferential periphery of the receiving sleeve for receiving at least a second aerosol-forming substrate; and an electrical heater for heating at least one of the first aerosol-forming substrate and the second aerosol-forming substrate when being received in the first and the second receiving zone, respectively, wherein the electrical heater is configured for heating each one of the first and the second aerosol-forming substrate individually.

2. The aerosol-generating device according to claim 1, wherein the inner receiving zone is rod-shaped and wherein the outer receiving zone is sleeve-shaped.

3. The aerosol-generating device according to claim 1, wherein the electrical heater is an inductive heater comprising at least one of a first inductor coil or a second inductor coil for heating the first or the second aerosol-forming substrate, respectively.

4. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 3, wherein the first inductor coil and the second inductor coil are arranged at different axial positions with regard to a longitudinal axis of the receiving sleeve.

5. The aerosol-generating device according to claim 3, wherein the inductive heater comprises at least one of a first susceptor or a second susceptor to interact with the first or second inductor coil, respectively.

6. The aerosol-generating device according to claim 1, wherein the electrical heater is a resistive heater comprising at least one of a first resistive heating element or a second resistive heating element for heating the first or the second aerosol-forming substrate, respectively.

7. The aerosol-generating device according to claim 1, wherein the electrical heater is a hybrid heater comprising a resistive heater for heating one of the first or the second aerosol-forming substrate and an inductive heater for heating the respective other one of the first or the second aerosol-forming substrate.

8. The aerosol-generating device according to claim 1, further comprising a first airflow passage passing through the inner receiving zone and a second airflow passage passing through the outer receiving zone.

9. Aerosol-generating article for use with an aerosol-generating device, the article comprising an inner substrate core and an outer substrate sleeve surrounding the inner substrate core at a distance such as to form a circumferential slot between the inner substrate core and the outer substrate sleeve, the circumferential slot being open at a distal end of the article, wherein the inner substrate core contains or is adapted for containing at least a first aerosol-forming substrate and the outer substrate sleeve contains or is adapted for containing at least a second aerosol-forming substrate.

10. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 9, wherein at least one of the substrate core or the substrate sleeve comprises a liquid retention material or a tank containing or being adapted for containing a liquid aerosol-forming substrate.

11. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 9, further comprising at least one of a first susceptor arranged on an outer circumferential surface of the substrate core or within the substrate core, or a second susceptor arranged on an inner surface of the substrate sleeve or within the substrate sleeve.

12. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 11, wherein the first susceptor and the second susceptor are arranged at different axial positions with regard to a longitudinal axis of the substrate sleeve.

13. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 9, further comprising a mouthpiece arranged at a proximal end of the article.

14. Aerosol-generating system comprising an aerosol-generating device accordingly to claim 1 and an aerosol-generating article for use with the aerosol-generating device, the article comprising an inner substrate core and an outer substrate sleeve surrounding the inner substrate core at a distance such as to form a circumferential slot between the inner core and the outer sleeve, the circumferential slot being open at a distal end of the article, wherein the substrate core contains or is adapted for containing at least a first aerosol-forming substrate and the substrate sleeve contains or is adapted for containing at least a second aerosol-forming substrate.

15. The aerosol-generating system according to claim 14, wherein an inner cross-sectional profile of the substrate sleeve of the article is larger than an outer cross-sectional profile of the receiving sleeve of the device.

Description

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

(2) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of an aerosol-generating system according to the invention, comprising an aerosol-generating device and an aerosol-generating article according to a first embodiment of the invention;

(3) FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of an aerosol-generating system according to the invention, comprising an aerosol-generating device and an aerosol-generating article according to a second embodiment of the invention;

(4) FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the aerosol-generating article according to FIG. 2; and

(5) FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the aerosol-generating device according to FIG. 2.

(6) FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 illustrate a first and a second exemplary embodiment of an aerosol-generating system 1 according to the invention. In principle, the first and the second embodiment are very similar to each other. Therefore, both embodiments are described below in parallel using identical reference numbers for identical or similar features. Differences between the first and the second embodiment are only mentioned where necessary. Furthermore, it is to be noted that FIG. 1 is intended to primarily provide an overview of the aerosol-generating system and its components in general by way of the first embodiment. In contrast, FIG. 2 and related FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 provide details of the aerosol-generating system and its components by way of the second embodiment.

(7) With reference to the first and the second embodiment as shown in FIG. 1 and FIGS. 2 to 4, respectively, the aerosol-generating system 1 according to the invention comprises two components: an aerosol-generating device 100 as well as an aerosol-generating article 200 for use with the device 100. According to the invention, the system 1 is a hybrid aerosol-generating system offering a user the experience of at least two aerosol-forming substrates. For this, the aerosol-generating article 200 according to both embodiments comprises a first and a second aerosol-forming substrate 211, 221. Likewise, the aerosol-generating device 100 comprises a corresponding first and second receiving zone 110, 120 for receiving the first and second aerosol-forming substrate 211, 221, respectively.

(8) The aerosol-generating device 100 according to both embodiments is an electrically driven aerosol-generating device 100 configured for thermally generating an aerosol by inductively heating at least one of the first or the second aerosol-forming substrates 211, 221. The device 100 comprises a rod-shaped device body 101. Within the device body 101, the device 100 comprises a power supply (not shown), for example a lithium ion battery, and an electric circuitry (not shown) for controlling the operation of the device 100, in particular for controlling the heating process.

(9) At a proximal end 103 of the rod-shaped device body 101, the device 100 comprises a protruding cylindrical receiving sleeve 102 extending coaxially to a longitudinal axis of the rod-shaped device body 101. The cylindrical receiving sleeve 102 is open-ended at the proximal end 103 of device 100, thus allowing the interior of the sleeve to be readily accessible.

(10) Within the receiving sleeve 102, that is, within its interior, the cylindrical receiving sleeve 102 comprises an inner receiving zone 110 for receiving a first aerosol-forming substrate 211. Likewise, the cylindrical receiving sleeve 102 comprises an outer receiving zone 120 extending across at least a portion of an outer circumferential periphery of the receiving sleeve 102 for receiving a second aerosol-forming substrate 221. The cylindrical inner receiving zone 110 extends across the entire interior volume of the receiving sleeve 102. Advantageously, this provides a maximum receiving capacity for the first aerosol-forming substrate 211. The outer receiving zone 120 axially extends along the entire axial length extension of the receiving sleeve 102. In the radial direction with regard to the longitudinal axis of the device 100, the outer receiving zone 120 extends between an outer cross-sectional profile of the receiving sleeve 102 and a maximum outer cross-sectional profile of the overall rod-shaped device body 101 (dashed-dotted line). Accordingly, the second receiving 120 is of a sleeve shape or a tubular shape. The inner receiving zone 110 and the outer receiving zone 120 substantially overlap along the length extension of the receiving sleeve 102. That is, the outer receiving zone 120 substantially surrounds the inner receiving zone 110 entirely. Advantageously, this nested arrangement of the inner receiving zone 110 and the outer receiving zone 120 provides a very compact design of the aerosol-generating device 100.

(11) To enable the aerosol-generating article 200 for use with aerosol-generating device 100, the configuration of the article 200 is complementary to the aerosol-generating device 100, in particular complementary to the receiving sleeve 102. Accordingly, the aerosol-generating article 200 according to both embodiments as shown in FIG. 1 and FIGS. 2 to 4 comprises an inner substrate core 210 and an outer substrate sleeve 220. The outer substrate core 220 surrounds the inner substrate core 210 at a distance such as to form a circumferential, in particular annular slot 202 between the inner core 210 and the outer sleeve 220. The circumferential slot 202 is open or accessible at a distal end 204 of the article 200 such as to allow the receiving sleeve 102 of the device 100 to readily engage into the circumferential slot 202 upon assembling the article 200 and the device 100.

(12) According to the invention, the substrate core 210 contains or is adapted for containing a first aerosol-forming substrate 211 whereas the substrate sleeve 220 contains or is adapted for containing a second aerosol-forming substrate 221. In the present embodiments as shown in FIG. 1 and FIGS. 2 to 4, the substrate core 210 includes a solid tobacco-containing aerosol-forming substrate 211. In particular, the substrate core 210 comprises a solid tobacco-containing aerosol-forming substrate 211. Furthermore, the substrate core 210 comprises a support element 212, an aerosol-cooling element 216 and a filter element 217 as described above which are arranged sequentially to the substrate 211 downstream towards a proximal end of the substrate core 210. The substrate 211, the support element 212, the aerosol-cooling element 216 and the filter element 217 are surrounded by a paper wrapper 213 which forms the outer circumferential surface 214 of the substrate core 210. The wrapper preferably is fluid permeable such as to allow vaporized aerosol-forming substrate to be readily released from the substrate core 210.

(13) In contrast to the first aerosol-forming substrate 211, the second aerosol-forming substrate 221 according to the present embodiments is a liquid aerosol-forming substrate 221. For this, the substrate sleeve 220 comprises a liquid retention material that is adapted for containing a liquid aerosol-forming substrate. For example, the liquid retention material may be an open-porous ceramic material capable of being soaked by a liquid aerosol-forming substrate. In the present embodiments, the substrate sleeve 120 comprises a liquid retention material that is soaked by aerosol-forming liquid comprising at least one liquid aerosol former, for example propylene glycol, and a liquid flavor substance, in particular a liquid tobacco flavor substance. The substrate sleeve may comprise a cover at least on an outer circumferential surface of the liquid retention material which advantageously forms a portion of an outer surface of the aerosol-generating article. In particular, the cover may at least partially encapsulate the liquid retention material.

(14) As can be particularly seen in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the substrate sleeve 220 and the substrate core are each attached to one side of a disc-shaped support element 206. At the proximal end 203 of the art, the article 200 comprises a mouthpiece 207 attached to the other side of the support element 206. The mouthpiece 207 is adapted to be placed into a user's mouth in order to directly inhale an aerosol generated from at least one of the first or the second aerosol-forming substrate 211, 221. For this, the mouthpiece 207 comprises a common air outlet 208. To allow aerosol generated from at least one of the first or the second aerosol-forming substrate 211, 221 towards the air outlet 208 in the mouthpiece 207, the support element 206 is fluid permeable. For example, the support element 206 may comprise at least one airflow aperture.

(15) In the present embodiments, the substrate core 210 is removably attached to the support element 206. Thus, upon consumption of the first aerosol-forming substrate 211, the rod-shaped substrate core 210 may be entirety removed and replaced by a new one, that is, by a new substrate core 210 containing fresh aerosol-forming substrate. Likewise, the substrate sleeve 220, in particular the liquid retention material, may be adapted to be refilled with liquid aerosol-forming substrate. Advantageously, this allows for a multiple use of the aerosol-generating article 200, in particular of the mouthpiece 207, the support element 206 and the substrate sleeve 210.

(16) The substrate sleeve 220 and the rod-shaped substrate core 210 are coaxially arranged with regard to a longitudinal axis of the article 200. The axial length extension of the substrate sleeve 220 substantially is equal to the axial length extension of the substrate core 210. That is, the outer substrate sleeve 220 substantially surrounds the substrate core 210 entirely, thus providing a nested arrangement corresponding to the nested arrangement of the inner receiving zone 110 and the outer receiving zone 120 of the device 100. However, at the distal end 206 of the article 200, substrate sleeve 220 is axially recessed as compared to the substrate core 210. Advantageously, this may provide at least a lateral (second) air inlet 129 in fluid communication with a second airflow passage 128 passing along the inner circumferential surface of the substrate sleeve 210.

(17) Upon assembling the article 200 and the device 100, that is, upon inserting the receiving sleeve 102 of the device 100 into the circumferential slot 202 of the article 100 as shown in FIG. 2, the inner substrate core 210 containing the solid first aerosol-forming substrate 211 is arranged with the inner receiving zone 110 of the receiving sleeve 102. Likewise, the substrate sleeve 220 containing the liquid second aerosol-forming substrate 221 is arranged within the outer receiving zone 120 of the receiving sleeve 102. As a result, the first and second aerosol-forming substrate 211, 221 are advantageously received within the aerosol-generating device 100 in a nested and thus very compact arrangement.

(18) The aerosol-generating systems 1 according to FIG. 1 and FIGS. 2 to 4, respectively, are inductively heated systems. That is, the aerosol-generating device 100 is configured for inductive heating of at least one of the first and the second aerosol-forming substrate 211, 221. In particular, the aerosol-generating device 100 is configured for selectively heating at least one of the two substrates 211, 221. That is, the device 100 is configured for heating only one of the first or the second aerosol-forming substrate 211, 221 at a time, or for simultaneously and preferably also individually heating both, the first and the second aerosol-forming substrate 211, 221, at the same time.

(19) Due to this selective heatability of the first and second aerosol-forming substrate 211, 221 the aerosol-generating device 100 advantageously enables a user to selectively consume either one of the first or the second substrate or a combination of both substrates at the same time which greatly enhances the user experience. Furthermore, allowing two aerosol-forming substrates 211, 221 to be consumed either simultaneously or successively or alternatingly enables a user to vary, in particular to significantly extend the duration of a user experience.

(20) For this, the aerosol-generating device 100 comprises an inductive heater including a first and second induction source for inductively heating a corresponding first and second susceptor 215, 225 within the article 200. Alternatively, at least one of the first or second susceptor 215, 225, preferably the first susceptor 215, may be integral part of the device 100.

(21) The first induction source comprises a first inductor coil 115 which is operatively connected to a first AC generator that is part of the electric circuitry of the device 100. Likewise, the second induction source comprises a second inductor coil 125 which is operatively connected to a second AC generator that is also part of the electric circuitry of the device 100. Having separate first and second induction sources proves particularly advantageous for heating the first and second aerosol-forming substrate 211, 221 individually. In particular, this allows the first and second aerosol-forming substrate 211, 221 to be heated differently, in particular with different heating powers, for different heating periods, and/or in different heating modes, such as in a pulsed or a continuous heating mode.

(22) In the embodiments, each one of the first and second inductor coil 115, 125 is a helical coil arranged between an inner and an outer circumferential surface of the receiving sleeve 102. An axial length of the first inductor coil 115 is larger than an axial length of the second inductor coil 115. Furthermore, the first and second inductor coils 115, 125 are arranged at different axial positions with regard to the longitudinal axis of the device body 101 in order to reduce interference effects between the inductive heating of the first and the second aerosol-forming substrate 211, 221.

(23) The first and the second susceptors 215, 225 are arranged at corresponding axial positions within the article 200 such that upon assembling the article 200 with the device 100, the first susceptor 215 is arranged at the same axial position next to the first inductor coil 115, and the second susceptor 225 is arranged at the same axial position next to the second inductor coil 125. Advantageously, this enhances the heating efficiency. Moreover, an axial length extension of the first susceptor 215 substantially corresponds to an axial length extension of the first inductor coil 115. Likewise, an axial length extension of the second susceptor 225 substantially corresponds to an axial length extension of the second inductor coil 125. This also proves advantageous with regard to the heating efficiency.

(24) In the present embodiments, the first susceptor 215 is a blade made of ferromagnetic stainless steel which is arranged at a distal end 204 of the article 200 with in the substrate core 210 in direct contact with the first aerosol-forming substrate 211. In particular, the first susceptor 215 is arranged coaxially to a longitudinal center axis of the substrate core 210 which proves advantageous with regard to a homogenous heating of the first aerosol-forming substrate 211. As mentioned above, the first susceptor 215 may be alternatively integral part of the device 100.

(25) The second susceptor 225 is a mesh sleeve also made of ferromagnetic stainless steel. The mesh sleeve is circumferentially arranged on or close to a proximal portion of the inner circumferential surface of the substrate sleeve 220. The second susceptor 225 is in contact with a portion of the liquid retention material which contains the liquid second aerosol-forming substrate 221. Thus, when heating the second susceptor 225, liquid aerosol-forming substrate 221 within the liquid retention material is evaporated in a certain heating zone in proximity of the second susceptor 225. Due to capillary effects in the liquid retention material, liquid aerosol-forming substrate 221 is continuously drawn into the heating zone.

(26) As can be seen particularly in FIG. 2, the aerosol-generating system 1 comprises two separate airflow passages 118, 128 for the first and second aerosol-forming substrate. A first airflow passage 118 extends from one or more first air inlets 119 in a distal portion of the device body 101 through the first receiving zone 110 towards the proximal end 103 of the device 100. Thus, upon assembling the device 100 with the article 200, the first airflow passage 118 passes through the substrate core 210, in particular through the first aerosol-forming substrate 211, further into the mouthpiece 207 towards the outlet 208 at the proximal end 203 of the article 200. A second airflow passage 128 extends from one or more lateral second air inlets 129 at the distal end of the receiving sleeve 102 through the second receiving zone 110 towards the proximal end 103 of the device 100. When the device 100 is assembled with the article 200, the second airflow passage 118 thus passes through a circumferential free space volume between the inner circumferential surface of the substrate sleeve 220 and the outer circumferential surface of the receiving sleeve 102, and further into the mouthpiece 207 towards the outlet 208 at the proximal end 203 of the article 200. The separation of the first and the second airflow passage 118, 128 is substantially due to the physical separation of the first and second receiving zones 110, 120 provided by the receiving sleeve 102. In use, the physical separation facilitates to selectively or solely consume only one of the two substrates 211, 221.

(27) Instead of an inductive heater, the aerosol-generating device 100 may alternatively comprise a resistive heater or a hybrid heater for heating the first and second aerosol-forming substrate 211, 221. With regard to the hybrid heater, the device may in particular comprise a resistive heater for heating the first aerosol-forming substrate within the inner receiving zone and an inductive heater for heating the second aerosol-forming substrate within the outer receiving zone. The resistive heater may comprise a resistive heating element, for example a resistive heating blade as described above, which preferably is integral part of the device. In contrast, the inductive heater may comprise an inductor coil for interaction with a susceptor that preferably is integral part of the article. Advantageously, the inductor coil is arranged on an outer circumferential surface of the receiving sleeve or between an inner and an outer circumferential surface of the receiving sleeve.

(28) In the following, the operation principle of the aerosol-generating system 1 according to the invention will be described by way of an example. Upon assembling an article 200 with the device 100, a user may select an operation mode of the device, that is, the user may select whether to consume either one of the first or the second substrate 211, 221 or a combination of both substrates at the same time. The specific operation mode may be selected for example by pressing an activation button 109 on the device body 101 as shown in FIG. 1. The heating process itself may be (de-)activated manually, for example also by way of the activation button 109. For the given example, it is assumed that both substrates 211, 221 are to be consumed simultaneously. Accordingly, upon activation of the heating process, both AC generators provide a high frequency oscillating current to the first and second inductor coil 115, 125, respectively. Consequently, each of the first and second inductor coil 115, 125 generates an alternating magnetic field which is sensed by the first and second susceptor 215, 225, respectively. As a result, each of the two susceptors 215, 225 heats up until it reaches an operation temperature sufficient to vaporize the respective aerosol-forming substrate 211, 221. After reaching the operation temperature—which may be indicated to the user, for example by way an indicator lamp, such as a LED (light emitting diode)—the user may puff on the mouthpiece 207 to draw air via the first and second air inlets 119, 129 into the first and second airflow passages 118, 128 and further through the outlet 208 of the mouthpiece 207 into the user's mouth. Thus, vaporized material generated within the substrate core 210 and the substrate sleeve 20 is entrained in the air flowing through the first and second airflow passage 118, 128. There, the respective vaporized material cools to form an aerosol along its way towards the mouthpiece 207 before escaping through the outlet 208. Accordingly, a user not only gets the tobacco experience of the heated solid first aerosol-forming substrate 211 or only the flavor experience of the heated aerosol-forming liquid 221, but the combination of the aerosol formed by heating the solid aerosol-forming substrate and the aerosol formed by evaporated aerosol-forming liquid.