ELEMENT FOR AN AEROSOL GENERATING ARTICLE OR SMOKING ARTICLE

Abstract

An element for an aerosol generating article or a smoking article comprising a longitudinally extending hollow tube, a layer comprising filler material, wherein the layer is engaged around the hollow tube, and a wrapper engaged around the layer, wherein the hollow tube comprises a helically wound sheet of material and wherein the helically wound sheet of material has partially overlapping helical turns.

Claims

1-35. (canceled)

36. : An element for an aerosol generating article or a smoking article comprising a longitudinally extending hollow tube; a layer comprising filler material, wherein the layer is engaged around the hollow tube; and, a wrapper engaged around the layer; wherein the hollow tube comprises a helically wound sheet of material and wherein the helically wound sheet of material has partially overlapping helical turns.

37. The element for an aerosol generating article or the smoking article according to claim 36 wherein the layer comprises a sheet of filler material wrapped around the hollow tube; for example wherein the sheet of filler material is wrapped at a 90-degree angle to the longitudinal axis of the hollow tube; for example wherein the sheet of filler material is wrapped once around the hollow tube.

38. The element for an aerosol generating article or the smoking article according to claim 36 wherein the layer comprises a sheet of filler material helically wound around the hollow tube; and/or wherein the layer comprises from 1 to 10 sheets of filler material.

39. The element for an aerosol generating article or the smoking article according to claim 37 wherein the sheet of filler material is of basis weight from 16 to 200 grams per square meter (g/m.sup.2).

40. The element for an aerosol generating article or the smoking article according to claim 38 wherein the sheet of filler material is of basis weight from 16 to 200 grams per square meter (g/m.sup.2).

41. The element for an aerosol generating article or the smoking article according to claim 36 wherein the layer comprising filler material is of average thickness from 0.2 to 3.0 mm; and/or wherein the filler material is a filtering material; and/or wherein the filler material is a paper or a non-woven material.

42. The element for an aerosol generating article or the smoking article according to claim 41, wherein the paper or non-woven material comprises plant-based fibres; and/or wherein the paper or non-woven material is an airlaid material, a filter paper or a cellulose/lyocell/viscose based paper.

43. The element for an aerosol generating article or the smoking article according to claim 36, wherein the filler material is embossed; and/or wherein the average wall thickness of the hollow tube is from 0.2 to 3.0 mm; and/or wherein the internal diameter of the hollow tube is from 1.5 to 10 mm.

44. The element for an aerosol generating article or the smoking article according to claim 36 wherein the sheet of material of the hollow tube is paper; and/or wherein the sheet of material of the hollow tube has a thickness from 0.02 to 1.5 mm; and/or wherein the sheet of material of the hollow tube has a basis weight from 24 to 200 grams per square meter (g/m.sup.2); and/or wherein the sheet of material of the hollow tube is a plug wrap; and/or wherein the sheet of material of the hollow tube comprises a layer of adhesive disposed on a surface of the sheet of material.

45. The element for an aerosol generating article or the smoking article according to claim 36 wherein the wrapper is a plug wrap of basis weight from 24 to 200 grams per square meter (g/m.sup.2); and/or wherein the length of the element is from 5 to 150 mm; and/or wherein the circumference of the element is from 14 to 30 mm.

46. A multi-segment product for the aerosol generating article or the smoking article comprising an element according to claim 36 and one or more discrete further segments.

47. The aerosol generating article or the smoking article comprising an element according to claim 36, or comprising a multi-segment product for the aerosol generating article or the smoking article comprising the element and one or more discrete further segments.

48. A method of making an element for an aerosol generating article or a smoking article comprising the steps of: advancing a sheet of material in a longitudinal direction; helically winding the sheet of material around a shaping rod, such that the sheet of material partially overlaps with itself on successive helical turns, thereby forming a longitudinally extending hollow tube; advancing filler material in a longitudinal direction; gathering the filler material around the hollow tube to form a layer comprising filler material engaged around the hollow tube; gathering and securing a wrapper around the layer comprising filler material to form a continuous rod; and, cutting the continuously rod to form individual elements.

49. The method according to claim 48 comprising a step of applying adhesive to the advancing sheet of material; for example wherein the overlapping portions of the sheet of material are secured to each other by adhesive; and/or wherein the filler material is a sheet of filler material; for example, wherein the method comprises a step of cutting the sheet of filler material longitudinally to thereby form two or more sheets of longitudinally extending filler material.

51. The method according to claim 49 wherein the sheet of filler material is wrapped around the hollow tube; for example wherein the sheet of filler material is wrapped at a 90-degree angle to the longitudinal axis of the hollow tube.

52. The method according to claim 48 wherein the sheet of filler material is helically wound around the outer surface of the hollow tube; for example, wherein the helically wound sheet of filler material partially overlaps with itself on successive helical turns; for example, wherein the helically wound sheet of filler material has abutting non-overlapping helical turns.

Description

[0115] Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0116] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an element for an aerosol generating article or smoking article according to the invention.

[0117] FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the element shown in FIG. 1.

[0118] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an element for an aerosol generating article or smoking article according to the invention.

[0119] FIG. 4 is a schematic overview of a method of the present invention.

[0120] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an element for an aerosol generating article or smoking article according to the invention.

[0121] FIG. 6 is a schematic overview of a method of the present invention.

[0122] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an element 100 for an aerosol generating article, such as a heated tobacco product or an electronic cigarette or for a smoking article, such as a cigarette, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0123] The element 100 comprises a longitudinally extending hollow tube 101, a layer comprising filler material 102 engaged around the hollow tube 101 and a wrapper 103 engaged around the layer 102. The hollow tube 101 comprises a helically wound strip of sheet material which may be a strip of plug wrap of width 15 mm and basis weight 120 g/m.sup.2 , although it will be appreciated that other materials are also suitable. The helically wound sheet of material has partially overlapping helical turns (not shown) and forms the hollow tube 101. The helically wound sheet of material extends helically about the longitudinal axis of the element 100, such that the sheet of material partially overlaps with itself at successive points along the longitudinal length of the hollow tube 101. Successive turns of the helically wound sheet of material may be secured to each other by a layer of adhesive disposed on a surface of the helically wound sheet of material (not shown) thereby securing the hollow tube 101 together. The layer comprising filler material may comprise a sheet of airlaid non-woven material of width 15 mm, although it will be appreciated that other filler materials are also suitable. The sheet of filler material is wrapped once around the hollow tube 101 and secured to the hollow tube 101 and wrapper 103 by a line of adhesive (not shown) on the hollow tube 101 and on the wrapper 103. The filler material may be embossed. The wrapper 103 is a plug wrap of basis weight 100 g/m.sup.2 with air permeability from 20 to 6000 CORESTA. The element 100 is of length 108 mm and circumference 24.5 mm.

[0124] FIG. 2 shows a sectional view cross-sectional profile of the element 100 along line A-A, as shown in FIG. 1. The transverse cross-section of element 100 is annular. The internal diameter of the hollow tube 101 is shown by d and the average thickness of the layer comprising filler material 102 is shown by t. The layer of filler material 102 is of average thickness 1.3 mm. The internal diameter of hollow tube 101 is 6 mm and the average wall thickness of the hollow tube 101 is 0.6 mm.

[0125] FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a element 300 for an aerosol generating article or a smoking article according to an embodiment of the present invention. The element 300 comprises a longitudinally extending hollow tube 301, a layer 302 comprising filler material engaged around the hollow tube 301 and a wrapper 303 engaged around the layer 302. The hollow tube 301 comprises a helically wound sheet of material 304 which may be a strip of plug wrap of width 15 mm and basis weight 100 g/m.sup.2 although it will be appreciated that other materials are also suitable. A portion of the helically wound sheet of material 304 overlaps with itself on each successive turn, such that there are no gaps between the turns. The helically wound sheet of material 304 forms the hollow tube 301. Successive turns of the helically wound sheet of material 304 may be secured to each other using a layer of adhesive (not shown) disposed on a surface of the sheet of material 304. The adhesive is applied to portions of the sheet of material 304 that overlap with itself (e.g., at successive helical turns) thereby securing the hollow tube 301 together. The layer comprising filler material 302 may comprise a sheet of airlaid non-woven material 305 of width 15 mm, although it will be appreciated that other filler materials are also suitable. The sheet of filler material 305 is helically wound around the hollow tube 301 with abutting non-overlapping helical turns, whereby opposing edges of the helically wound sheet of filler material 305 are abutted along the length of successive turns, such that there are no gaps between the turns. Therefore, the helically wound sheet of filler material 305 forms a continuous layer of filler material 302 around the hollow tube 301. The helically wound sheet of filler material 305 is secured to the hollow tube 301 and wrapper 303 by a line of adhesive (not shown) on the hollow tube 301 and a line of adhesive (not shown) on the wrapper 303. The wrapper 303 is a plug wrap of basis weight 100 g/m.sup.2 , secured around the layer comprising filler material 302 with a line of adhesive (not shown).

[0126] FIG. 4 shows a schematic overview of the process of the present invention. The element 300 may be made by the process shown in FIG. 4.

[0127] A sheet of plug wrap 306 of width 15 mm and basis weight 100 g/m.sup.2 is drawn from a roll 307 and advanced continuously in longitudinal direction L. At a gluing station 308, adhesive is sprayed to a surface of the advancing plug wrap 306 along a longitudinal edge. The plug wrap 306 continues to advance towards shaping chamber 309 comprising a cylindrical shaping rod (mandrel) of diameter 5.0 mm (not shown). The sheet of plug wrap 306 is drawn into the shaping chamber 309 through an inlet and helically wound around the shaping rod, such that the sheet of plug wrap 306 partially overlaps with itself on successive helical turns and the overlapping portions of the sheet of plug wrap are secured to each other by the adhesive, thereby forming a longitudinally extending hollow tube with an internal diameter of about 5.0 mm. A sheet of airlaid non-woven filler material 310 of width 15 mm is drawn from a roll 311 and advanced continuously in longitudinal direction L. The sheet of filler material 310 is drawn into the shaping chamber 309 through an inlet and helically wound around the hollow tube with abutting non-overlapping helical turns, whereby opposing edges of the helically wound sheet of filler material are abutted along the length of successive turns to form a continuous layer around the hollow tube. The hollow tube (and the layer of filler material engaged around the hollow tube) 312 exit the shaping chamber 309 through an outlet. At a garniture unit 313, a plug wrap 315 of basis weight 100 g/m.sup.2 is drawn from a roll 311 and wrapped around the layer comprising filler material (and the hollow tube) 312 and secured using adhesive form a continuous rod 316. The continuous rod 316 is cut at a cutting station 317 to form the individual element 300.

[0128] FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of an element 400 for an aerosol generating article or for a smoking article according to an embodiment of the present invention. The element 400 comprises a longitudinally extending hollow tube 401, a layer 402 comprising filler material engaged around the hollow tube 401 and a wrapper 403 engaged around the layer 402. The hollow tube 401 comprises a helically wound sheet of material 404 which may be a strip of plug wrap of width 15 mm and basis weight 100 g/m.sup.2 although it will be appreciated that other materials are also suitable. A portion of the helically wound sheet of material 404 overlaps with itself on each successive turn, such that there are no gaps between the turns. The helically wound sheet of material 404 forms the hollow tube 401.

[0129] Successive turns of the helically wound sheet of material 404 may be secured to each other using a layer of adhesive (not shown) disposed on a surface of the sheet of material 404. The adhesive is applied to portions of the sheet of material 404 that overlap with itself (e.g., at successive helical turns) thereby securing the hollow tube 401 together. The layer comprising filler material 402 comprises four sheets of airlaid non-woven material, although it will be appreciated that other filler materials are also suitable. Each sheet of filler material is wrapped once around the hollow tube 401, at a 90-degree angle to the longitudinal axis of the hollow tube, thereby forming multiple layers of filler material engaged concentrically around the hollow tube 401. The layer comprising filler material 402 is secured to the hollow tube 401 and wrapper 403 by a line of adhesive (not shown) on the hollow tube 401 and on the wrapper 403. The wrapper 403 is a plug wrap of basis weight 100 g/m.sup.2 , secured around the layer comprising filler material 402 with a line of adhesive (not shown).

[0130] FIG. 6 shows a schematic overview of the process of the present invention. The element 400 according to FIG. 5 may be made by the process shown in FIG. 6.

[0131] A sheet of plug wrap 406 of width 15 mm and basis weight 100 g/m.sup.2 is drawn from a roll 405 and advanced in longitudinal direction L. At a gluing station 407, adhesive is sprayed onto a surface of the advancing plug wrap 406 along a longitudinal edge. The sheet of plug wrap 406 continues to advance towards a cylindrical shaping rod (mandrel) 408 of diameter 5.0 mm. The sheet of plug wrap 406 is helically wound around the shaping rod 408, such that the sheet of plug wrap 406 partially overlaps with itself on successive helical turns and the overlapping portions of the sheet of plug wrap 406 are secured to each other by the adhesive, thereby forming a longitudinally extending hollow tube 409 with an internal diameter of about 5.0 mm. The hollow tube 409 is advanced towards a gathering chamber 410 and drawn into the gathering chamber 410 through an inlet. A sheet of airlaid non-woven filler material 411 of width 60 mm is drawn from a roll 412. At a cutting station 413, the sheet of airlaid non-woven filler material 411 is cut longitudinally to form four sheets 415 of longitudinally extending filler material of width 15 mm. The four sheets of filler material 415 are stacked on top of each other and advanced in a longitudinal direction L towards the gathering chamber 410. The stack of four sheets of filler material 415 is drawn into the gathering chamber 410 through an inlet and wrapped once around the hollow tube 409, at a 90-degree angle to the longitudinal axis of the hollow tube, such that each sheet of filler material circumscribes the hollow tube 409 once and forms multiple layers of filler material engaged concentrically around the hollow tube 409. The hollow tube (and the layer of filler material engaged around the hollow tube) 416 exit the gathering chamber 410 through an outlet. The gathering chamber 410 is a tapered chamber wherein the diameter of the inlet is larger than the diameter of the outlet. The tapered chamber assists with condensing the filler material around the hollow tube. At a garniture unit 419, a plug wrap 418 of basis weight 100 g/m.sup.2 is drawn from a roll 417 and wrapped around the layer comprising filler material (and the hollow tube) 416 and secured using adhesive to form a continuous rod 420. The continuous rod 420 is cut at a cutting station 421 to form the individual element 400.

[0132] Any of the elements illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3 and 5 may form part of a multi-segment product which is included in an aerosol generating article such as a heated tobacco product or an electronic cigarette or in a smoking article such as a cigarette. The elements according to FIGS. 1 to 3 and 5 may be assembled into a multi-segment product, an aerosol generating article or a smoking article according to methods known in the art.

[0133] The aerosol generating article such as a heated tobacco product includes a rod of tobacco material, a heating element, a power source, one or more further filter segments and any element illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3 and 5 above. The element may be positioned at the mouth end of the aerosol generating article (i.e., functioning as a mouth piece) and the one or more further filter segments may be positioned downstream from the heating element and tobacco rod.

[0134] During use, the heating element of the heated tobacco product heats the rod of tobacco to form aerosol. The aerosol then passes through one or more elements, which may have the function of cooling the aerosol or filtering the aerosol, before it passes through any of the elements illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3 and 5 above and into the user's mouth. The aerosol may also be filtered by the element, so the levels of certain compounds in the aerosol are reduced. The aerosol may also be cooled by the element i.e., the temperature of the aerosol is reduced as it passes along the length of the element.