AEROSOL-GENERATING ARTICLE HAVING A PLURALITY OF AIR INGRESS ZONES

Abstract

An aerosol-generating article for producing an aerosol upon heating is provided, the article including: a rod of aerosol-forming substrate; and a filter positioned downstream of the rod, in which the rod and the filter are assembled within a wrapper, the article further including first and second air ingress zones located on the wrapper, the first and the second air ingress zones each being configured to allow an ingress of air into an interior of the article, the first air ingress zone including a substantially porous portion of the wrapper, the substantially porous portion having a porosity of at least 3000 Coresta Units, and a level of air ingress into the interior of the article through the first zone is greater than a level of air ingress into the interior of article through the second zone. An aerosol-generating system including the aerosol-generating article and an aerosol-generating device is also provided.

Claims

1.-15. (canceled)

16. An aerosol-generating article for producing an aerosol upon heating, the aerosol-generating article comprising: a rod of aerosol-forming substrate; a filter positioned downstream of the rod of aerosol-forming substrate, wherein the rod of aerosol-forming substrate and the filter are assembled within a wrapper; and first and second air ingress zones located on the wrapper, the first and the second air ingress zones each being configured to allow an ingress of air into an interior of the aerosol-generating article, wherein the first air ingress zone comprises a substantially porous portion of the wrapper, the substantially porous portion having a porosity of at least 3000 Coresta Units, and wherein a level of air ingress into the interior of the aerosol-generating article through the first air ingress zone is configured to be greater than a level of air ingress into the interior of aerosol-generating article through the second air ingress zone.

17. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 16, wherein the second air ingress zone is located downstream of the first air ingress zone.

18. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 16, wherein the first air ingress zone is located along the rod of aerosol-forming substrate and the second air ingress zone is located downstream of the rod of aerosol-forming substrate.

19. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 16, wherein the filter of the aerosol-generating article comprises: a mouthpiece segment comprising a plug of filtration material arranged downstream of the rod of aerosol-forming substrate, and a hollow tubular segment located between the mouthpiece segment and the rod of aerosol-forming substrate.

20. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 19, wherein the filter of the aerosol-generating article further comprises an aerosol-cooling element located between the mouthpiece segment and the hollow tubular segment.

21. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 19, wherein the second air ingress zone is located along the hollow tubular element.

22. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 16, wherein the first air ingress zone is located at least 2 mm downstream of an upstream end of the rod of aerosol-forming substrate.

23. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 16, wherein the second air ingress zone is located at least 2 mm downstream of a downstream end of the rod of aerosol-forming substrate.

24. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 16, wherein the second air ingress zone is located at least 2 mm downstream of the first air ingress zone.

25. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 16, wherein a first volume of air configured to enter the interior of the aerosol-generating article through the first air ingress zone is at least 10 percent greater than a second volume of air configured to enter the interior of the aerosol-generating article through the second air ingress zone.

26. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 16, wherein the second air ingress zone comprises a substantially porous portion of the wrapper.

27. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 16, wherein the first air ingress zone or the second air ingress zone comprises a plurality of apertures extending through the wrapper.

28. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 16, wherein the first air ingress zone has a porosity of at least 5000 Coresta Units.

29. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 16, wherein the wrapper of the aerosol-generating article comprises an air-impermeable material.

30. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 16, wherein a width of the first air ingress zone is at least 3 mm.

31. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 16, wherein a width of the first air ingress zone is at least 5 mm.

32. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 16, wherein a width of the first air ingress zone is greater than a width of the second air ingress zone.

33. An aerosol-generating system comprising an aerosol-generating article according to claim 16 and an aerosol-generating device having a distal end and a mouth end, the aerosol-generating system further comprising: a housing defining a device cavity configured to removably receive the aerosol-generating article at the mouth end of the aerosol-generating device; a heater configured to heat the aerosol-forming substrate when the aerosol-generating article is received within the device cavity; and an air-flow channel extending between a channel inlet and a channel outlet, the air-flow channel being configured to establish a fluid communication between an interior of the device cavity and an exterior of the aerosol-generating device, wherein the aerosol-generating system is configured so that, when the aerosol-generating article is received within the device cavity, fluid communication between the interior of the aerosol-generating article and the exterior of the aerosol-generating device is established by a fluid communication being established between the first air ingress zone of the aerosol-generating article received within the device cavity and the air-flow channel of the aerosol-generating device.

Description

[0261] Specific embodiments will now be described with reference to the figures, in which:

[0262] FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional diagram of an embodiment of an aerosol-generating system in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0263] FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional diagram of an embodiment of an aerosol-generating article in accordance with the present invention;

[0264] FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional diagram of an embodiment of an aerosol-generating system in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0265] FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional diagram of an embodiment of an aerosol-generating article in accordance with the present invention;

[0266] FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional diagram of an embodiment of an aerosol-generating system in accordance with the present disclosure; and

[0267] FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional diagram of a comparative example of an aerosol-generating system.

[0268] FIG. 1 illustrates an aerosol-generating system 100 comprising an aerosol-generating device 10 and an aerosol-generating article 1. The aerosol-generating device 10 comprises a housing 4, extending between a mouth end 2 and a distal end (not shown). The housing 4 comprises a peripheral wall 6. The peripheral wall 6 defines a device cavity for receiving an aerosol-generating article 1. The device cavity is defined by a closed, distal end and an open, mouth end. The mouth end of the device cavity is located at the mouth end of the aerosol-generating device 10. The aerosol-generating article 1 is configured to be received through the mouth end of the device cavity and is configured to abut the closed end of the device cavity. The length of the device cavity is about 25 mm.

[0269] An air-flow channel 5 is defined within the peripheral wall 6. The air-flow channel 5 extends between an inlet 7 located at the mouth end of the aerosol-generating device 10 and outlet 9 located at a distal position along the peripheral wall 6.

[0270] The aerosol-generating device 10 further comprises a heater (not shown) and a power source (not shown) for supplying power to the heater. A controller (not shown) is also provided to control such supply of power to the heater. The heater is configured to heat the aerosol-generating article 1 during use, when the aerosol-generating article 1 is received within the device 10.

[0271] The aerosol-generating article 1 comprises a first air ingress zone 15 and a second air ingress zone 115 located along the wrapper 22. The first air ingress zone 15 comprises a porous portion of the wrapper 22. Such a porous portion forming the first air ingress zone 15 is about 3 mm wide. The first and second air ingress zones 15, 115 are separated by a distance of about 1.5 mm.

[0272] The second air ingress zone 115, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, comprises a line of perforations extending through the wrapper 22. The second air ingress zone 115 is located about 1.5 mm downstream of the first air ingress zone 15. Both the first and second air ingress zones 15, 115 are located along the rod of aerosol-forming substrate 12. The first air ingress zone 15 is located about 2 mm downstream of the upstream end of the rod of aerosol-forming substrate 12.

[0273] When the aerosol-generating article 1 is received within the device cavity, the outlet 9 is configured to align or overlie the first air ingress zone 15. Once received within the device cavity, the upstream end of the aerosol-generating article 1 is arranged to abut the closed end of the device cavity such that air being drawn through the aerosol-generating device 10 may not flow through the upstream end of the aerosol-generating article 1. Air being drawn through the aerosol-generating device 10 may only enter the aerosol-generating article 1 through the first and second air ingress zones 15, 115, as shown in FIG. 1.

[0274] The air-flow channel 5 is defined along the inner surface of the peripheral wall 6. In such embodiments, a portion of the air-flow channel 5 is configured to overlie the first and second air ingress zones 15, 115 of the aerosol-generating article 1. The air-flow channel 5 has a length of about 23 millimetres. In such an embodiment, shown in FIG. 1, the entire length of the air-flow channel 5 is configured to overlie the aerosol-generating article 1 when received within the device 10.

[0275] FIG. 2 displays the aerosol-generating article 1, which is configured to be used in the aerosol-generating system 100 shown in FIG. 1.

[0276] The aerosol-generating article 1 comprises a rod of aerosol-forming substrate 12, a hollow support segment 14, an aerosol-cooling element (or segment) 16 and a mouthpiece segment 18. The components (in this case, the hollow support segment 14, the aerosol-cooling element 16 and the mouthpiece segment 18) downstream of the rod of aerosol-forming substrate 12 form the downstream section of the aerosol-generating article 1. These four elements are arranged in an end-to-end, longitudinal alignment and are circumscribed by a wrapper 22 to form the aerosol-generating article 1. The aerosol-generating article 1 shown in FIG. 1 is particularly suitable for use with an electrically operated aerosol-generating device 1 comprising a heater for heating the rod of aerosol-forming substrate 12.

[0277] The rod of aerosol-forming substrate 12 has a length of about 12 millimetres and a diameter of about 7 millimetres. The rod 12 is cylindrical in shape and has a substantially circular cross-section. The rod 12 comprises a gathered sheet of homogenised tobacco material. The hollow cellulose acetate tube (hollow support segment) 14 has a length of about 8 millimetres and its peripheral wall has a thickness of 1 millimetre.

[0278] The mouthpiece segment 18 comprises a plug of cellulose acetate tow of 8 denier per filament and has a length of about 7 millimetres. The mouthpiece segment 18 has a diameter of about 7 millimetres. The aerosol-cooling element 16 has a length of about 18 millimetres and a diameter of about 7 millimetres.

[0279] The aerosol-generating article 1 comprises a first air ingress zone 15 provided along the rod of aerosol-forming substrate, at least about 2 millimetres from an upstream end of the rod of aerosol-forming substrate 12. The first air ingress zone 15 is located less than 10 millimetres from the downstream end of the rod of aerosol-forming substrate 12, or upstream end of the hollow support segment 14. The first and second air ingress zones 15, 115 circumscribe the aerosol-generating article 1. That is, the first and second air ingress zones 15, 115 surround the entire periphery of the aerosol-generating article 1.

[0280] FIG. 3 displays an aerosol-generating system 200 similar to the aerosol-generating system 100 shown in FIG. 1. The aerosol-generating system 200 comprises the aerosol-generating device 10 and an aerosol-generating article 102, shown in FIG. 4. The aerosol-generating system 200 differs from aerosol-generating system 100 in that the first air ingress zone 215 is located along the rod of aerosol-forming substrate 12 and the second air ingress zone 315 is located along the hollow support segment 14 of the aerosol-generating article 102, as shown in FIG. 4.

[0281] The aerosol-generating article 102, which is configured to be used with aerosol-generating system 200, is illustrated in FIG. 4.

[0282] The first air ingress zone 215 is located about 2 mm downstream of the upstream end of the rod of aerosol-forming substrate 12. The second air ingress zone 215 is located about 2 mm downstream of the upstream end of the hollow support segment 14 and about 2 mm downstream of the downstream end of the rod of aerosol-forming substrate 12, given that the rod of aerosol-forming substrate 12 and the hollow support segment 14 are in direct abutment. Thus, the two air ingress zones 215, 315 are located along and around two different components of the aerosol-generating article 102.

[0283] In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the first and second air ingress zones 215, 315 each comprise a line of perforations extending around the article 102 and through the wrapper 22. The second air ingress zone 315 extends through the peripheral wall of the hollow support segment 14.

[0284] FIG. 5 shows an aerosol-generating system 300 similar to aerosol-generating system 200. The aerosol-generating system 300 comprises an aerosol-generating device 20 and the aerosol-generating article 102, both configured to be used with each other. The aerosol-generating device 20 is similar to aerosol-generating device 10, but differs in that the device 20 comprises an air-flow channel 205 comprising one inlet 7 and two outlets 9, 19. A first outlet 9 of the air-flow channel 205 is configured to provide fluid communication between the exterior of the aerosol-generating device 20 and a first air ingress zone 215 of the aerosol-generating article 102. A second outlet 19 of the air-flow channel 205 is configured to provide fluid communication between the exterior of the aerosol-generating device 20 and a second air ingress zone 315 of the aerosol-generating article 102. The first outlet 9 is configured to overlie (or overlap) the first air ingress zone 215 when the article 102 is received within the device 20 and the second outlet 19 is configured to overlie (or overlap) the second air ingress zone 315 when the article 102 is received within the device 20. The spacing or distance between the first and second outlets 9,19 can be equivalent to the distance between the first and second air ingress zones 215, 315.

[0285] As shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 5, fluid communication between the exterior of the aerosol-generating devices 10, 20 and the interior of the aerosol-generating article 1, 102 is established via two different air ingress zones 15, 115 & 215, 315. However, the first air ingress zone 15, 215 is configured to be able to allow the passage of more air than the second air ingress zone 115, 315. In other words, the first air ingress zone 15, 215 is configured to provide a greater level of air ingress than the second air ingress zone 115, 315.

[0286] The first air ingress zone 15, 215 is configured to be the primary air intake zone of the aerosol-generating article 1, 102 when the article 1, 102 is received within the device 10, 20 when an abutment of the upstream end of the article 1, 102 with the distal end of the device cavity occurs. The second air ingress zone 115, 315 is configured to provide ventilation to the article 1, 102; that is, ventilating air to aerosol flowing from the rod of aerosol-forming substrate 12 through the hollow support segment 14 towards the mouth end of the article 1, 102.

[0287] When received within the aerosol-generating device 10, 20, the open, upstream end of the aerosol-generating article 1, 102 abuts the distal end of the device cavity in order to prevent air flowing through the upstream end of the aerosol-generating article 1, 102. Therefore, during use, most of the air flowing through the air-flow channel 5, 205 is configured to flow through the first air ingress zone 15, 215 due to the overlap between the air-flow channel outlet 9 and the first air ingress zone 15, 215.

[0288] FIG. 6 shows a comparative example of an incompatible aerosol-generating article 103, which does not have a first air ingress zone located around the rod of aerosol-forming substrate, being used with the aerosol-generating device 10. Owing to the fact that the article 103 does not have an air ingress zone and that the upstream end of the article 103 is in abutment with the distal end of the device cavity, air cannot be drawn through the article 103.

[0289] The aerosol-generating device 10 comprises an annular air-flow channel 5, as shown in FIGS. 1 & 3. The aerosol-generating device 20, as shown in FIG. 5, comprises at least two air-flow channels 205.

[0290] Unless otherwise specified, the described aerosol-generating articles 1, 102 comprise the same structural components—for example, a rod of aerosol-forming substrate 12, a hollow support segment 14, an aerosol-cooling element 16 and a mouthpiece segment 18 arranged within a wrapper 22—but mainly differ in the configuration of the air ingress zones provided on the article.