An Aerosol-Generating Article with Tobacco Fine Particles and a Cooling Element and a Method for Manufacturing an Aerosol-Generating Article

Abstract

The present invention relates to an aerosol-generating article (1) for a non-combustion heating aerosol-generating device. The aerosol-generating article (1) is extending in a longitudinal direction and comprises an aerosol-generating substrate (2), a mouthpiece end segment (4) downstream the aerosol-generating substrate (2) with respect to the flow path of the aerosol and a cooling element (3), arranged between the aerosol-generating substrate (2) and the mouth end segment (4). The aerosol-generating substrate (2) comprises tobacco fine particles. The cooling element (3) comprises a plurality of channels (5) extending at least in parts essentially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the aerosol-generating article (1).

Claims

1. An aerosol-generating article for a non-combustion heating aerosol-generating device, said aerosol-generating article extending along a longitudinal direction, the aerosol-generating article comprising: an aerosol-generating substrate said aerosol-generating substrate comprises tobacco fine particles and fine particles of a nicotine source, wherein a size of the fine particles of the nicotine source is in a range of 10-300 m and a mean size of the fine particles of the nicotine source exceeds a mean size of the tobacco fine particles by a factor in a range of 1.2-4; a mouth end segment arranged downstream the aerosol-generating substrate with respect to a flow path of the aerosol; and a cooling element arranged between the aerosol-generating substrate and the mouth end segment, wherein the cooling element comprises a plurality of channels extending at least in parts substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the aerosol-generating article.

2. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein a size of the tobacco fine particles is in a range of 10-200 m.

3. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein the fine particles of the nicotine source and the tobacco fine particles are mixed together and homogeneously distributed in the aerosol generating substrate.

4. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein a relation of a weight fraction of the tobacco fine particles to a weight fraction of the fine particles of the nicotine source in the aerosol-generating substrate is in a range of 95:5-40:60.

5. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 4, wherein the amount of the tobacco fine particles and/or the fine particles of the nicotine source in the aerosol-generating substrate is in a range of 0.50-30% by weight of the total weight of the aerosol-generating article.

6. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein a mean diameter of the plurality of channels is in a range of 50 m-1000 m.

7. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of channels is 50 channels.

8. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein the mouth end segment and/or the cooling element comprises a filter element, said filter element is selected from the group comprising a hollow filter, a cavity filter, or a filter plug, and combinations thereof.

9. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein the aerosol-generating substrate further comprises a sheet tobacco material and/or a binder, wherein the binder is selected from a group comprising alginates, pectins, saccharose, starches and derivatives, celluloses and derivatives, gums, silica or silicones compounds, clays, or polyvinyl alcohol, and combinations thereof.

10. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein the mouth end segment and/or cooling element further comprises an adsorbent, wherein the adsorbent is preferably selected from a group comprising activated carbon, charcoal, silica gel, or zeolith, and combinations thereof.

11. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein the mouth end segment and/or the cooling element is made from a material or a material composition comprising cellulose derivatives, and/or a polymer, wherein the polymer is preferably selected from a group comprising a polyester, preferably polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), more preferably polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), poly-4-hydroxybutyrate (P4HB), polyhydroxyvalerate (PHV), polyhydroxyhexanoate (PHH), polyhydroxyoctanoate (PHO) and their copolymers, a polysaccharide, preferably starch, more preferably thermoplastic starch (TPS), or a polylactide (PLA), and combinations thereof.

12. A method for manufacturing an aerosol-generating article, comprising the steps of: providing tobacco and grinding the tobacco to obtain tobacco fine particles and providing fine particles of nicotine source and then combining the tobacco fine particles and the fine particles of a nicotine source; forming an aerosol-generating substrate including the tobacco fine particles; providing a mouth end segment and a cooling element, said cooling element comprises a plurality of channels extending at least in parts essentially parallel with respect to each other;, and forming an aerosol-generating article by arranging the mouth end segment and/or cooling element downstream the aerosol-generating substrate with respect to a flow path of the aerosol, in such a way that the plurality of channels extend at least in parts essentially parallel to a longitudinal direction of the aerosol-generating article.

13. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein the size of the fine particles of the nicotine source is in a range of 20-200 m.

14. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein the size of the fine particles of the nicotine source is in a range of 30-100 m.

15. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein the size of the fine particles of the nicotine source is 50 m10 m

16. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein the mean size of the fine particles of the nicotine source exceeds the mean size of the tobacco fine particles by a factor in a range of 1.4-2.

17. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein the mean size of the fine particles of the nicotine source exceeds the mean size of the tobacco fine particles by a factor in a range of 1.6-1.8

18. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein a size of the tobacco fine particles is in a range of 15-100 m.

19. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein a size of the tobacco fine particles is in a range of 20-50 m.

20. The aerosol-generating article according to claim 1, wherein a size of the tobacco fine particles is 30 m5 m.

Description

[0050] Further advantages, objectives and features of the present invention will be described, by way of example only, in the following description with reference to the appended figures. In the figures, like components in different embodiments can exhibit the same reference symbol.

[0051] The Figures Show:

[0052] FIG. 1 Schematic side view of an embodiment of an aerosols-generating article.

[0053] FIG. 2 Schematic transversal intersection of an embodiment of an aerosol-generating article.

[0054] FIG. 3 Schematic transversal intersection of an embodiment of an aerosol-generating article.

[0055] FIG. 4 Schematic transversal intersection of an embodiment of an aerosol-generating article.

[0056] FIG. 5 Schematic transversal intersection of an embodiment of an aerosol-generating article.

[0057] FIG. 6 Schematic transversal intersection of an embodiment of an aerosol-generating article.

[0058] FIG. 7 Schematic longitudinal intersection of an embodiment of an aerosol-generating article.

[0059] FIG. 8 Schematic longitudinal intersection of an embodiment of an aerosol-generating article.

[0060] FIG. 9 Schematic longitudinal intersection of an embodiment of an aerosol-generating article.

[0061] FIG. 1 shows the side view of an embodiment of the aerosol-generating article 1. It comprises the aerosol-generating substrate 2, the cooling element 3 arranged downstream the aerosol-generating substrate 2 with respect to the flow path of the aerosol and further downstream the mouth end segment 4. As described before, the mouth end segment 4 can comprise a filter, to filter the aerosol before it is inhaled by the customer. Preferably the aerosol-generating article 1 has a cylindrical shape, extending in a longitudinal direction. The length of the mentioned components can vary depending on the design.

[0062] FIG. 2 shows an intersectional view in sectional level A-A of the cooling element 3 which is an element of the aerosol-generating article 1. This section shows the channels 5 for cooling the aerosol. When the customer inhales the aerosol, the aerosol flows through the channels 5 and transfers heat to the cooling element 3. Thus, the cooling element 3 functions as a heat sink. The cooling channels 5 can be arranged in different ways. The following illustrations show further preferred embodiments thereof. It is important that the channels 5 extend approximately along the length of the cooling element 3 and thus create a passageway between the aerosol-generating substrate 2 and the mouth end segment 4. The arrangement of the channels 5 in relation to each other can vary, also the number of channels can vary. In the shown embodiment of FIGS. 2, 14 channels 5 are arranged randomly in the cooling element 3.

[0063] FIG. 3 shows another intersectional view in sectional level A-A of the embodiment of the cooling element 3. Here the channels 5 are arranged symmetrically. Four channels 5 are located on a radius and one channel is in the centre of the cylindrical cooling element 3. The channels 5 can be of the same size, as shown in FIG. 3. However, it is also possible that the diameters of the channels vary, as can be seen in FIG. 4.

[0064] FIG. 4 shows another intersectional view in sectional level A-A of the embodiment of the cooling element 3. Also, here the channels 5 are arranged radially symmetrical. In this embodiment the diameter of the channels 5 varies. In this example, it is the channel located in the centre, which shows a larger diameter. However, it is also possible that other channels are different in size. This is a possible measure to optimize the cooling of the aerosol and the flow resistance.

[0065] FIG. 5 shows another intersectional view in sectional level A-A of the embodiment of the cooling element 3. Here the channels are arranged in horizontal levels. The size can also vary. This arrangement of the channels 5 can be favourable in production, as the needles to make the holes can be arranged in levels.

[0066] FIG. 6 shows another intersectional view in sectional level A-A of the embodiment of the cooling element 3. In this example, the channels for cooling the aerosol are oval. This may be an intended shape, but it may also be the result of production, as the material of the cooling element is compressed during machining. Other not ideally round shapes of the channels are also possible. These shapes do not cause noticeable disadvantages compared to an exactly round shape of the channels in terms of cooling effect or flow resistance.

[0067] FIG. 7 shows the schematic longitudinal view in sectional level B-B of an embodiment of an aerosol-generating article (intersection). It comprises the aerosol-generating substrate 2, the cooling element 3 arranged downstream the aerosol-generating substrate 2 with respect to the flow path of the aerosol and further downstream the mouth end segment 4. This intersectional view shows the channels 5 for cooling the aerosol. In this embodiment they are aligned along the longitudinal direction of the cooling element. The diameter D1 of all channels 5 is the same. There is neither a change over the length of the cooling channels 5 nor a change in the angle of the channels 5 to a centerline. All channels 5 preferably run straight.

[0068] FIG. 8 shows the schematic longitudinal view in sectional level B-B of another embodiment of an aerosol-generating article (intersection). It comprises the aerosol-generating substrate 2, the cooling element 3 arranged downstream the aerosol-generating substrate 2 with respect to the flow path of the aerosol and further downstream the mouth end segment 4. The aerosol-generating substrate 2 shows a recess for a heat plate 6. When the aerosol-generating article 1 is inserted in an aerosol-generating device, the heat plate is inserted into this recess 6. This recess 6 can be cylindrical, but can also have other shapes, such as a rectangular shape. In this embodiment, the channels 5 are largely straight to the centerline of the aerosol-generating article. However, they have different diameters D1 and D2, the diameter D1 is smaller than the diameter D2. As already described, the cooling channels 5 can have different diameters D1 and D2 in order to optimize flow resistance and cooling effect. The number of channels 5 and also the number of different diameters D can vary.

[0069] FIG. 9 shows the schematic longitudinal view in sectional level B-B of another embodiment of an aerosol-generating article (intersection). Like the embodiments in FIGS. 7 and 8 it comprises the aerosol-generating substrate 2, the cooling element 3 arranged downstream the aerosol-generating substrate 2 with respect to the flow path of the aerosol and further downstream the mouth end segment 4. In this embodiment, the channels (5) are not arranged exactly along the length of the cooling element. The shape of the channels is also irregular and frayed. The diameters of the channels 5 differ. In the direction of the flow path of the aerosol, there may first be a larger diameter D5 that narrows to a diameter D6. The reverse can also occur; the diameter D3 increases in the direction of flow of the aerosol to a diameter D 4 at the end of the channel 5. Each centerline Il of the channels 5 can have different angles to a centerline of the aerosol-generating-article I. This may be due to the material used and/or the production method. However, it is important that the flow resistance remains within the required range. As mentioned above, the mouth end segment 4 can contain a filter segment and its material can vary, too. The shape of the filter can be cylindrical and closed or it can have a recess. As shown in this figure, the cylindrical filter may have a cylindrical recess, which extends in the longitudinal direction.

LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS

[0070] 1. aerosol-generating article [0071] 2. aerosol-generating substrate [0072] 3. cooling element [0073] 4. mouth end segment [0074] 5. channel [0075] 6. recess for heat blade [0076] I. centerline aerosol-generating article [0077] II. centerline channel [0078] D1 Diameter 1 [0079] D2 Diameter 2 [0080] D3 Diameter 3 [0081] D4 Diameter 4 [0082] D5 Diameter 5 [0083] D6 Diameter 6