Insulation Sleeve for Aerosol Generation Device

Abstract

An insulation sleeve for an aerosol generation device, and used therein for a heating assembly therein, includes natural organic fibres. The natural material comprised in the insulation sleeve is easily available and eco-friendly; it also increases the sustainability of the component and devices including it. The cost of manufacturing the insulation sleeve with the natural material is very low.

Claims

1. An aerosol generating device comprising an insulation sleeve, wherein the insulation sleeve comprises natural organic fibres.

2. The aerosol generating device according to claim 1, wherein the aerosol generating device is configured to detachably contain and to heat an aerosol generation consumable.

3. The aerosol generating device according to claim 2, wherein the insulation sleeve is configured to insulate heat.

4. The aerosol generating device according to claim 1, wherein the natural organic fibres have a thermal conductivity of at most 0.10 W/m.K.

5. The aerosol generating device according to claim 1, wherein the natural organic fibres comprise at least one of: hemp fibres, banana fibres, sisal fibres, kenaf fibres, and jute fibres.

6. The aerosol generating device according to claim 1, wherein the natural organic fibres are banana peel or stalks fibres.

7. The aerosol generating device according to claim 1, wherein the natural organic fibres are microfibres having an average diameter of at most 1 mm.

8. (canceled)

9. The aerosol generating device according to claim 1, wherein the natural organic fibres are combined with a binder.

10. The aerosol generating device according to claim 9, wherein the binder is a dry fibrous binder, an aqueous organic binder, or an inorganic aqueous binder.

11. The aerosol generating device according to claim 9, wherein the insulation sleeve comprises at least 60% of the natural organic fibres, by weight.

12. The aerosol generating device according to claim 1, wherein the sleeve is comprised of a material having a thickness less than 20 mm.

13. The aerosol generating device according to claim 1, wherein the sleeve further comprises casing or packaging material.

14. The aerosol generating device according to claim 1, wherein the insulation sleeve is comprised of a sheet, pad or mat including the natural organic fibres.

15. The aerosol generating device according to claim 14, wherein the sheet, pad or mat has an average thickness of at most about 5 mm.

16. The aerosol generating device according to claim 1, wherein the insulation sleeve substantially has a shape of a cylinder.

17. The aerosol generating device according to claim 1, wherein the insulation sleeve is arranged between a heating assembly comprised in the aerosol generating device and a housing of the aerosol generating device.

18. The aerosol generating device according to claim 13, wherein the casing or packaging material is Phenol formaldehyde or Urea-formaldehyde.

19. The aerosol generating device according to claim 1, wherein the natural organic fibres are combined in a woven manner.

20. The aerosol generating device according to claim 1, wherein the natural organic fibres are combined in a non-woven manner.

21. The aerosol generating device according to claim 1, wherein the natural organic fibres have a thermal conductivity of at most 0.035 W/m.K.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] FIG. 1: shows a schematic drawing of an embodiment of an aerosol generation device, and a partially enlarged view of a thermal insulation sleeve according to the invention on a heating chamber;

[0027] FIG. 2: shows a teardown diagram of the heating chamber and the insulation sleeve of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described hereinafter and in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0029] Referring to FIG. 1, one embodiment of an aerosol generation device 100 comprises a body 102 housing various components of the aerosol generation device 100. The body 102 can be of any shape so long as it is sized to fit the components described in the aerosol generation device 100. The body 102 can be formed of any suitable material, or indeed layers of material.

[0030] The end of the aerosol generation device 100 at which a closure arrangement 106 is located, shown towards the top of FIG. 1, is for convenience referred to as the top or upper end of the aerosol generation device 100. The end of the aerosol generation device 100 that is away from the closure arrangement 106, shown towards the bottom of FIG. 1, is for convenience referred to as a bottom, base or lower end of the aerosol generation device 100. During use, the user typically orients the aerosol generation device 100 with the top end in a proximate position with respect to the user's mouth and the bottom end in a distal position with respect to the user's mouth.

[0031] The aerosol generation device 100 comprises a heating assembly 108, more specifically a heating chamber, located towards the top end of the aerosol generation device 100. At one end of the heating chamber 108, an aperture 104 through the body 102 is provided. The aperture 104 allows access to the heating chamber 108 from outside the body 102, so that an aerosol-generating consumable (not shown), which may be in the form of a stick, comprising an aerosol-generating substrate (not shown) can be placed into the heating chamber 108 via the aperture 104. In other words, an aerosol generation consumable can be inserted into and then detachably contained in the aerosol generation device 100, more specifically, the heating chamber 108, so as to be heated by the aerosol generation device boo, more specifically, the heating chamber 108, when the user wants to consume the consumable.

[0032] The heating assembly 108 is powered by and electrically connected with an electric power supply unit, preferably a battery, such as Lithium battery (shown as a block with slashes in the aerosol generation device boo in FIG. 1), comprised by the aerosol generation device 100.

[0033] At the aperture 104, where the heating chamber 108 is proximate to the body 102, one or more spacing elements can be provided to hold the heating chamber 108 in position.

[0034] The spacing elements are arranged and configured to reduce the conduction of heat from the heating chamber 108 to the body. There is typically an air gap otherwise surrounding the heating chamber 108, so that transfer of heat from the heating chamber 108 to the body 102 other than via the spacing elements is reduced. However, the heat insulation made by air may not be sufficient.

[0035] In order to increase the thermal isolation, i.e. the thermal insulation performance, of the heating chamber 108, the heating chamber 108 is in addition surrounded by an insulation sleeve 200, shown in the partially enlarged part of FIG. 1.

[0036] FIG. 2 shows a teardown diagram of the heating chamber and the insulation sleeve 200 for thermal insulation, which is configured to insulate the heat from the heating assembly. As shown in the figure, the insulation sleeve is substantially of the same shape as the heating chamber 108. It will be appreciated that any shape of the heating chamber 108 may be used. In other embodiments, the insulation sleeve 200 may be used in a different shape from the heating chamber 108 or the aperture. The insulation sleeve 200 may be shaped, along with the other units of the aerosol generation device 100, so that there is more space and air between the insulation sleeve 200 and the heating chamber 108, in order to improve the thermal insulation performance. Preferably, as shown in FIG. 2, the heating chamber is cylindrical, and the thermal insulation 200 is also cylindrical so that the heat from the heating chamber 108 can be evenly insulated by the insulation sleeve 200 and the cylindrical shape of the insulation sleeve 200 ensures that the insulation sleeve and the heating chamber 108 require minimal space in the aerosol generation device. In this embodiment, as shown in the figure, a flange 1081 can be formed at the end of the of the heating chamber 108 to provide a mounting hold for the chamber in the housing 102. The flange 1081 further serves as a stopper for abutting the insulation sleeve 200 that is fit is over the tube part 1082 of the heating chamber 108. A washer or ring (not shown) may be provided at the opposite end of the tube 108 to maintain the insulation sleeve in place against the tube.

[0037] A fibrous material is used for insulation sleeve 200; specifically, the insulation sleeve 200 comprises natural organic fibres, more specifically, at least one type of jute fibres, kenaf fibres, hemp fibres, sisal fibres and banana fibres, preferably, banana peel and/or stalks fibres. Other natural organic fibres with high thermal insulation performance are also appreciated to be used. The thermal insulation performance of the natural organic fibres should have a thermal conductivity lower than 0.10 W/m.K, preferably lower than 0.05 W/m.K, more preferably lower than 0.035 W/m.K, even more preferably lower than 0.030 W/m.K. In some embodiments, the insulation sleeve comprises a pair of nested tubes or cups enclosing a cavity therebetween. The cavity can be filled with natural organic fibres with high thermally insulating performance, and may also comprise other thermally insulating material, for example, foams, gels or gases (e.g. at low pressure). Alternatively, or in addition, the cavity may comprise a vacuum, which advantageously requires very little thickness to achieve a high thermal insulation.

[0038] Banana peel or stalks fibres, as well as hemp fibres for example, can be used in the insulation sleeve 200 as raw materials in their natural states.

[0039] The natural fibres used may preferably be microfibres from stalks or stems of banana trees. Preferably, the fibres have an average diameter of at most 1 mm, more preferably at most 0.5 mm, even more preferably at most 0.3 mm, and most preferably at most about 0.1 mm; and of at least 0.01 mm, more preferably at least 0.03 mm, even more preferably at least 0.05 mm, and most preferably at least about 0.1 mm. In order to produce the microfibres, the banana peel or stalks are unraveled after being obtained directly from the raw materials so that the fibers are separated into microfibres. In some embodiments, the microfibres need to be further processed, such as by hydraulic pressing, pre-drying, and further unraveling. The process of processing the microfibres can be any well-known microfibres production method.

[0040] Microfibres derived from trunks and stalks of banana trees have a surprising capacity of storing a large volume of air microbubbles, to some extent similar to what crimped cellulose acetate fibres achieve in a standard cigarette filter. This is mainly the reason why materials from such microfibres exhibit high thermal insulation compared with other natural fibres.

[0041] Preferably, the insulation sleeve comprises a sheet, pad or mat comprising or formed by the natural organic fibres. The natural organic fibre material forming the mat, sheet, or pad may also be combined with other casing or packaging materials, such as Phenol formaldehyde or Urea-formaldehyde, in particular for the safety and integrity upon integration in the device so as to avoid crumbs of fibres.

[0042] In some embodiments, the material used in manufacturing the sheet, pad or mat is used in its native state. In other embodiments, the material is compressed and thereby compacted. While natural fibres usually tend to require higher thickness than synthetic insulants, banana peel or stalks fibres like hemp fibres do exhibit their insulation power even in a compressed state; for example, the compressed material can have a thermal conductivity of around 0.05 W/m.K, with a thickness less than 20 mm. In a preferred embodiment, the sheet, pad or mat has an average thickness of at least 1 mm, preferably at least 1.5 mm, more preferably at least about 3 mm, and at most 10 mm, preferably at most 7 mm, more preferably at most about to 5 mm.

[0043] The material, in particular the compacted material, may be combined by using a binder. The binder may be a dry fibrous binder, an aqueous organic binder, or an inorganic aqueous binder, etc. With the mixture of the binder, the insulation sleeve can contain even more air microbubbles, which can improve the thermal insulation performance of the microfibres of the banana peel or stalks. In particular, the material like microfibres of banana peel or stalks are combined with a small amount of binder in a liquid state, and hence the insulation sleeve comprises at least 60%, preferably at least 70%, more preferably at least 80%, and most preferably at least 90% of the microfibres of banana peel or stalks, by dry weight. A low percentage of the binder is less toxic, lower cost and eco-friendlier. In another preferred embodiment, the banana peel or stalks fibres are combined in a woven manner, preferably formed by weaving the microfibres.

[0044] Finally, the sheet, pad or mat can be rolled up into a sleeve shape and arranged about the heating chamber of the aerosol generation device. Generally, the insulation sleeve can be made of various forms of boards or rolls of varying dimensions, thicknesses and density. With the use of microfibres of banana peel or stalks, the material made of the insulation sleeve can be rigid, semi-rigid or flexible.