Heat-not-burn article and aerosol-generating substrate therefor

Abstract

Provided are a heat-not-burn article and an aerosol-generating substrate. The substrate includes a columnar aerosol-generating segment body, which has a lip-proximal end and a lip-distal end at two axial ends thereof and includes an air channel hole and multiple microholes. The air channel hole penetrates the lip-proximal end along the axial direction of the segment body. The microholes are evenly distributed inside the segment body, communicate with each other and the air channel hole, and collect aerosol into the air channel hole. When heated, the microholes uniformize the aerosol's particle size. Heated aerosol enters the air channel hole (and adjacent ones) via the microholes for collection and has substantially the same particle size after passing through the microholes. Aerosol from different positions flows into a cooling segment, mix to improve uniformity, buffer, and fully accumulate aerosol, and ensure consistent aerosol concentration and taste across different heat-not-burn articles.

Description

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Application No. 202322767540.X, filed on October 16, 2023 and entitled "HEAT-NOT-BURN ARTICLE AND AEROSOL-GENERATING SUBSTRATE THEREOF", and Chinese Application No. 202322771800.0, filed on October 16, 2023, and entitled "HEAT-NOT-BURN CIGARETTE AND SOLID AEROSOL-GENERATING CARTRIDGE". The content of these applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

[0002] This application relates to the field of heat-not-burn electronic cigarette technology, and more specifically to a heat-not-burn article and an aerosol-generating substrate thereof.BACKGROUND

[0003] In the related art, tobacco shreds of an electronic cigarette rod are typically filled in cigarette paper, forming a columnar aerosol-generating section that is loose inside. As gaps between the tobacco shreds are relatively large, when the cigarette rod is heated and atomized, aerosol generated will generally flow through these gaps between the tobacco shreds inside the rod toward a user's mouth. During this flow process, the aerosol is filtered by particles or tobacco leaves, and this filtration causes changes in the taste and concentration of the aerosol when it reaches the user's mouth.

[0004] In addition, after different parts of the cigarette rod are heated, these parts have differences in heat absorption, and accordingly, the aerosol generated by the heating also varies. As such, the outflow paths of the aerosol differ significantly. These factors together result in poor taste consistency among different cigarette rods.SUMMARY

[0005] The purpose of this application is to address the above-mentioned defects in the related art and provide a heat-not-burn article and an aerosol-generating substrate thereof, which achieve better aerosol uniformity and taste consistency of the heat-not-burn article.

[0006] To solve the technical problem, the technical solution adopted in this application is: constructing an aerosol-generating substrate, including a columnar aerosol-generating segment body; the aerosol-generating segment body has a lip-proximal end and a lip-distal end at two axial ends thereof; where the aerosol-generating segment body includes: an air channel hole, the air channel hole penetrating the lip-proximal end along an axial direction of the aerosol-generating segment body; and a plurality of microholes, the microholes being uniformly distributed in the aerosol-generating segment body and communicating with one another; and the microholes being in communication with the air channel hole to collect aerosol into the air channel hole.

[0007] In some embodiments, the air channel hole is formed to have at least two different external dimensions along the axial direction of the aerosol-generating segment body.

[0008] In some embodiments, at least one air channel hole is a through hole, and / or at least one air channel hole is a blind hole.

[0009] In some embodiments, a cross-sectional size of the air channel hole gradually decreases from the lip-proximal end to the lip-distal end; or a cross-sectional size of the air channel hole gradually increases from the lip-proximal end to the lip-distal end.

[0010] In some embodiments, the air channel hole includes at least two air channel segments distributed axially, where at least two of the air channel segments have different external dimensions.

[0011] In some embodiments, at least one of the air channel segments includes a large-hole end and a small-hole end, and the cross-sectional size gradually decreases from the large-hole end to the small-hole end.

[0012] In some embodiments, at least two adjacent air channel segments each include a large-hole end and a small-hole end; and an external dimension of the small-hole end of the air channel segment close to the lip-proximal end is not smaller than that of the large-hole end of the air channel segment close to the lip-distal end.

[0013] In some embodiments, at least two air channel segments have different shapes, or at least two air channel segments have different diameters.

[0014] In some embodiments, the aerosol-generating segment body includes at least two aerosol-generating bodies; and the aerosol-generating bodies are assembled to form the aerosol-generating segment body.

[0015] In some embodiments, the aerosol-generating bodies are arc-shaped; and the aerosol-generating bodies are assembled and enclosed in a circumferential direction to form the air channel hole.

[0016] In some embodiments, each of the aerosol-generating bodies is columnar; at least part of the aerosol-generating bodies are provided with an axially penetrating air hole; and all of the aerosol-generating bodies are axially spliced, and the air holes are spliced and communicated to form the air channel hole.

[0017] In some embodiments, a cross-sectional shape of the air channel hole includes at least one of circular, elliptical, polygonal, and irregular shapes; and / or cross-sections of the air channel hole at different positions along its axial direction exhibit at least two sizes and / or shapes.

[0018] In some embodiments, the aerosol-generating segment body contains at least one of tobacco fibers and non-tobacco plant fibers; and a porosity of the microholes is 20% to 80%, and / or a pore diameter of the microholes is 50 nm to 20 µm.

[0019] In some embodiments, the aerosol-generating segment body is provided with at least two air channel holes.

[0020] In some embodiments, cross-sectional sizes and shapes of the air channel holes are the same; or the air channel holes include at least two types, and cross-sectional sizes and / or shapes of the air channel holes of different types are different.

[0021] In some embodiments, the air channel holes divide the aerosol-generating segment body into a honeycomb shape.

[0022] In some embodiments, at each end of the aerosol-generating segment body, a ratio of a total end area of the air channel holes to a surface area of the end where the air channel holes are located is 1:12 to 1:8.

[0023] In some embodiments, the aerosol-generating segment body includes at least two aerosol-generating bodies, gas grooves are provided on side surfaces of at least some of the aerosol-generating bodies, and after the aerosol-generating bodies are assembled, the gas grooves of adjacent aerosol-generating bodies are spliced to form the air channel hole.

[0024] Another objective of this application is to provide an aerosol-generating substrate including a columnar aerosol-generating segment body; and the aerosol-generating segment body has a lip-proximal end and a lip-distal end at two axial ends thereof; wherein the aerosol-generating segment body includes: an air channel hole, the air channel hole penetrating the lip-proximal end along an axial direction of the aerosol-generating segment body; and a plurality of microholes, the microholes being uniformly distributed in the aerosol-generating segment body and communicating with one another; and the microholes being in communication with the air channel hole to collect aerosol into the air channel hole; where a pore diameter of the microholes is 50 nm to 20 µm; and at each end of the aerosol-generating segment body, a ratio of a total end area of air channel holes to a surface area of the end where the air channel holes are located is 1:12 to 1:8.

[0025] Yet another objective of this application is to provide an aerosol-generating substrate including a columnar aerosol-generating segment body; the aerosol-generating segment body has a lip-proximal end and a lip-distal end at two axial ends thereof; and the aerosol-generating segment body includes: at least two air channel holes; the air channel holes penetrating the lip-proximal end along an axial direction of the aerosol-generating segment body; and a plurality of microholes; the microholes being uniformly distributed in the aerosol-generating segment body and communicating with one another; and the microholes being in communication with the air channel holes to collect aerosol into the air channel holes; where at each end of the aerosol-generating segment body, a ratio of a total end area of air channel holes to a surface area of the end where the air channel holes are located is 1:12 to 1:8.

[0026] A further objective of this application is to provide a heat-not-burn article including a cooling segment, a filter tip, and the aerosol-generating substrate; the cooling segment is located between the aerosol-generating substrate and the filter tip, and the lip-proximal end is close to the cooling segment.

[0027] By implementing the heat-not-burn article and the aerosol-generating substrate thereof in this application, the following beneficial effects are achieved: After the aerosol-generating substrate is heated, the microholes function to uniformize the particle size of the aerosol. The aerosol generated by heating can enter the air channel hole through the microholes for collection, and the aerosol has substantially the same particle size after passing through the microholes. Additionally, the aerosol generated by heating can enter adjacent air channel holes through the microholes for collection. The aerosol generated at different positions flows into the cooling segment and mixes, which improves the uniformity of the aerosol, enables buffering and full accumulation of aerosol, and ensures the consistency of aerosol concentration and taste among different heat-not-burn articles.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] This application will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. In the accompanying drawings: FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a structure of a heat-not-burn article according to an embodiment of this application; FIG. 2 is a schematic three-dimensional view showing the structure of the heat-not-burn article in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an aerosol-generating substrate in FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the aerosol-generating substrate in FIG. 2 when air channel holes thereof are blind holes; FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the air channel holes of the aerosol-generating substrate in a star shape; FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a structure of a heat-not-burn article according to a first solution of an embodiment of this application; FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a structure of a heat-not-burn article according to a second solution of an embodiment of this application; FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing air channel holes in a stepped hole shape according to a third solution of an embodiment of this application; FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing air channel holes according to a fourth solution of an embodiment of this application; FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing air channel holes according to a fifth solution of an embodiment of this application; FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing air channel holes according to a sixth solution of an embodiment of this application; FIG. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing air channel holes according to a seventh solution of an embodiment of this application; FIG. 13 is a schematic structural view showing the aerosol-generating substrate when the air channel holes are formed by splicing aerosol-generating bodies according to an embodiment of this application; FIG. 14 is a schematic structural view showing the aerosol-generating substrate when the air channel holes are formed by splicing aerosol-generating segments according to an embodiment of this application; FIG. 15 is an electron micrograph showing the aerosol-generating substrate according to a first embodiment of this application; FIG. 16 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a structure of a heat-not-burn article according to a second embodiment of this application; FIG. 17 is a schematic three-dimensional view showing a structure of an aerosol-generating substrate of the heat-not-burn article in FIG. 16; FIG. 18 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the aerosol-generating substrate in FIG. 17; FIG. 19 is a schematic view showing the changed shape of the air channel holes according to the second embodiment; FIG. 20 is a schematic view showing the changed shapes of the upper and lower ends of the air channel holes according to the second embodiment; FIG. 21 is a schematic structural view showing a heat-not-burn article when the air channel holes of the aerosol-generating substrate are blind holes according to the second embodiment; FIG. 22 is a schematic structural view showing the aerosol-generating substrate when the lip-proximal end of the air channel holes is larger than the lip-distal end according to a second solution of the second embodiment; FIG. 23 is a schematic structural view showing the aerosol-generating substrate when the lip-proximal end of the air channel holes is smaller than the lip-distal end according to a third solution of the second embodiment; FIG. 24 is a schematic structural view showing the air channel holes of the aerosol-generating substrate according to a fourth solution of the second embodiment in combination with the second solution and the third solution; FIG. 25 is a schematic structural view showing the aerosol-generating substrate when the air channel holes are formed by splicing aerosol-generating bodies; and FIG. 26 is a schematic structural view showing the aerosol-generating substrate when the air channel holes are formed by splicing aerosol-generating segments. DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0029] For a clearer understanding of the technical features, objectives and effects of this application, the specific implementations thereof are now described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.First embodiment

[0030] As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, a heat-not-burn article in an embodiment of this application includes an aerosol-generating substrate 10, a cooling segment 20, and a filter tip 30 arranged sequentially in an axial direction. The aerosol-generating substrate 10, the cooling segment 20, and the filter tip 30 are connected and fixed to form the heat-not-burn article.

[0031] The aerosol-generating substrate 10 includes a columnar aerosol-generating segment body 11. The aerosol-generating segment body 11 has a lip-proximal end A and a lip-distal end B at two axial ends thereof. The cooling segment 20 is located between the aerosol-generating substrate 10 and the filter tip 30, and the lip-proximal end A is close to the cooling segment 20. The aerosol-generating segment body 11 is provided with an air channel hole 12 extending from the lip-proximal end A to the lip-distal end B and a plurality of microholes (as shown in FIG. 15). The air channel hole 12 penetrates the lip-proximal end A along an axial direction of the aerosol-generating segment body 11. The microholes are uniformly distributed in the aerosol-generating segment body 11 and communicate with one another, and the microholes are in communication with the air channel hole 12 to collect aerosol into the air channel hole 12.

[0032] In some embodiments, the air channel hole 12 may be a through hole. As shown in FIG. 4, the air channel hole 12 may alternatively be a blind hole. In the heat-not-burn article of the embodiment of this application, an opening of the lip-proximal end A of the air channel hole 12 faces the filter tip 30, allowing aerosol to flow from the air channel hole 12 to the cooling segment 20 and the filter tip 30.

[0033] The aerosol-generating segment body 11 contains plant fibers. After the raw materials are puffed and dried to remove moisture, microholes are left. The porosity of the microholes is 20% to 80%, and the pore diameter is 50 nm to 20 µm. After the aerosol-generating substrate 10 is heated, the aerosol generated by heating can enter the air channel hole 12 through the microholes for collection, allowing aerosol generated at different positions to mix, thereby improving the uniformity of the aerosol. Then, the aerosol flows from the air channel hole 12 to the cooling segment 20. The cooling segment 20 can play a role in centrally storing and cooling the aerosol. When a user inhales, the user first inhales the aerosol in the cooling segment 20. After the aerosol in the cooling segment 20 is inhaled, newly generated aerosol will flow into the cooling segment 20 again, which can effectively prevent the aerosol from directly flowing into the user's mouth, avoid burning the mouth, and improve the taste of the aerosol.

[0034] In some embodiments, the aerosol-generating segment body 11 is formed by mixing tobacco fibers or other non-tobacco plant fibers, compressing and demolding to form a solid aerosol-generating substrate 10.

[0035] The number of air channel holes 12 on the aerosol-generating substrate 10 may be one or more than one. Multiple air channel holes 12 allow aerosol to flow out toward the filter tip 30, which can improve an air outlet position and change heating degrees at different positions, thereby changing the taste.

[0036] Further, a cross-sectional shape of the air channel hole 12 is circular. In other embodiments, as shown in FIG. 5, the cross-sectional shape of the air channel hole 12 may alternatively be elliptical, polygonal, or other irregular shapes. Further, the shapes of the air channel hole 12 at different positions along its axial direction may be different.

[0037] Optionally, in some embodiments, cross-sections of the air channel hole 12 at different axial positions include two or more external dimensions, where at least two air channel segments 121 have different external dimensions. The "external dimensions" herein may refer to differences in specific shapes, or differences in dimensions under the same shape. This allows the air channel hole 12 to have different cross-sectional dimensions along the axial direction. When the aerosol flows into the air channel hole 12, the aerosol is affected by the changes in the hole size, and the flow velocity of the aerosol can also change. Thus, the purpose of adjusting the flow velocity of the aerosol in the air channel hole 12 is achieved, which promotes the mixing of the aerosol and improves the uniformity of the aerosol. After passing through the microholes, the aerosol has substantially the same particle size. Therefore, the particle size of the aerosol is more uniform and finer. The aerosol collected into the air channel hole from the microholes has different flow velocities when passing through different sections of the air channel hole, thereby providing different inhalation experiences.

[0038] For example, as shown in FIG. 6, in the first solution of this embodiment, a cross-sectional external dimension of the air channel hole 12 (gradually) decreases from the lip-proximal end A to the lip-distal end B, for example, forming a conical channel with a larger size at the lip-proximal end and a smaller size at the lip-distal end. After the aerosol-generating segment body 11 is heated, when the user inhales, the gas in the cooling segment 20 is first sucked out. In addition, since the size of the air channel hole 12 is larger than that of the microholes, the air flow velocity is relatively high. The aerosol generated in the aerosol-generating segment body 11 enters the air channel hole 12 through the microholes, and then enters the cooling segment 20 for cooling under the action of the air flow, ready for the user's next inhalation.

[0039] Since the air channel hole 12 is larger at the lip-proximal end and smaller at the lip-distal end, the aerosol is transmitted from a small aperture to a large aperture within the aerosol-generating segment body 11, slowing down the flow rate and achieving better aerosol uniformity.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 7, in the second solution of this embodiment, the cross-sectional external dimension of the air channel hole 12 gradually increases from the lip-proximal end A to the lip-distal end B, forming a conical channel with a smaller size at the lip-proximal end and a larger size at the lip-distal end. After the aerosol-generating segment body 11 is heated, when the user inhales, the gas in the cooling segment 20 is first sucked out. In addition, since the size of the air channel hole 12 is larger than that of the microholes, the air flow velocity is relatively high. The aerosol generated in the aerosol-generating segment body 11 enters the air channel hole 12 through the microholes, and then enters the cooling segment 20 for cooling under the action of the air flow, ready for the user's next inhalation.

[0041] Since the air channel hole 12 is smaller at the lip-proximal end and larger at the lip-distal end, the aerosol is transmitted from a large aperture to a small aperture within the aerosol-generating segment body 11. During transmission, the pressure gradually increases, and the flow rate accelerates, which helps cool the aerosol and creates a Venturi effect, facilitating the flow of the aerosol into the cooling segment 20.

[0042] As shown in FIG. 8, in the third solution of this embodiment, the air channel hole 12 includes two or more air channel segments 121 distributed along the axial direction, where at least two air channel segments 121 have different shapes or at least two air channel segments 121 have different diameters. Each air channel segment 121 is a hole with a uniform diameter, and adjacent air channel segments 121 have different external dimensions. For example, in this solution, the air channel hole 12 is a stepped hole, with a step formed between adjacent air channel segments 121. During specific use, the orientation of the air channel hole 12 may be adjusted as needed, so that the large-hole end can face the filter tip 30 or the small-hole end can face the filter tip 30.

[0043] As shown in FIG. 9, in the fourth solution of this embodiment, the air channel hole 12 includes two or more air channel segments 121 distributed along the axial direction, where at least two air channel segments 121 have different shapes or at least two air channel segments 121 have different diameters. For example, at least one of the air channel segments 121 includes a large-hole end and a small-hole end, with its cross-sectional external dimension gradually decreasing from the large-hole end to the small-hole end, while the cross-sectional external dimensions of other air channel segments 121 may be set according to requirements.

[0044] Illustratively, in this solution, the air channel hole 12 includes two air channel segments 121 distributed along the axial direction. The cross-sectional external dimension of the air channel segment 121 at the lip-proximal end A gradually decreases from the lip-proximal end A to the lip-distal end B, while the air channel segment 121 at the lip-distal end B is a hole with a uniform diameter. This enables gas to transmit from a small aperture to a large aperture within the air channel segment 121 at the lip-proximal end A, slowing down the flow rate before the air flows out of the lip-proximal end A, thereby achieving better aerosol uniformity.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 10, in the fifth solution of this embodiment, the air channel hole 12 includes two or more air channel segments 121 distributed along the axial direction, where at least two air channel segments 121 have different shapes or at least two air channel segments 121 have different diameters. Illustratively, at least one of the air channel segments 121 includes a large-hole end and a small-hole end, with its cross-sectional external dimension gradually decreasing from the large-hole end to the small-hole end, and the cross-sectional external dimensions of other air channel segments 121 may be set according to requirements.

[0046] Illustratively, the air channel hole 12 includes two air channel segments 121 distributed along the axial direction. What distinguishes this solution from the fourth solution is that the cross-sectional external dimension of the air channel segment 121 located at the lip-distal end B gradually increases from the lip-distal end B to the lip-proximal end A, while the air channel segment 121 located at the lip-proximal end A is a hole with a uniform diameter. This allows gas to transmit from a small aperture to a large aperture within the air channel segment 121 at the lip-distal end B, slowing down the flow rate before flowing into the air channel segment 121 near the lip-proximal end A and then exiting the lip-proximal end A.

[0047] As shown in FIG. 11, in the sixth solution of this embodiment, the air channel hole 12 includes two or more air channel segments 121 distributed along the axial direction. Based on the fourth and fifth solutions, two adjacent air channel segments 121 each include a large-hole end and a small-hole end, where the external dimension of the small-hole end of the air channel segment 121 close to the lip-proximal end A is not smaller than that of the large-hole end of the air channel segment 121 close to the lip-distal end B. For example, a step difference may be formed between the two air channel segments 121, creating a step, or the adjacent air channel segments 121 may have different slopes.

[0048] In the above first, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth solutions, the lip-distal end B may alternatively be closed, making the air channel hole 12 a blind hole. This allows the aerosol generated by heating to flow into the air channel hole 12 driven by air flow and then flow out of the lip-proximal end A. In some solutions, when the air channel hole 12 is a blind hole, holes can be made in the side wall of the cooling segment 20 to allow air flow to enter the filter tip 30 from the cooling segment 20 of the heat-not-burn article; otherwise, inhalation resistance will be too large, making it impossible to draw out the aerosol.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 12, in the seventh solution of this embodiment, the air channel hole 12 is a through hole. The external dimensions of the air channel hole 12 at the lip-proximal end A and lip-distal end B are larger than those of the hole located inside the aerosol-generating segment body 11, meaning the middle part of the air channel hole 12 is constricted, with the small-hole ends located in the middle. When the aerosol generated near the lip-distal end B flows toward the lip-proximal end A, the pressure gradually increases, and the flow rate accelerates before the aerosol enters the air channel segment 121 near the lip-proximal end A. Then, the aerosol is transmitted from a small aperture to a large aperture, slowing down the flow rate. The entire transmission process, with alternating high and low speeds, can achieve the effect of aerosol mixing.

[0050] As shown in FIG. 13, further, in each of the above solutions, the aerosol-generating segment body 11 includes two or more aerosol-generating bodies 111, and the aerosol-generating bodies 111 are assembled to form the aerosol-generating segment body 11.

[0051] In some embodiments, the aerosol-generating segment body 11 includes two or more aerosol-generating bodies 111 arranged side by side. The aerosol-generating bodies 111 are arc-shaped, and the aerosol-generating bodies 111 are assembled and enclosed along a circumferential direction to form an air channel hole 12 in the middle. Optionally, each aerosol-generating body 111 has the same external shape, obtained by equally dividing an aerosol-generating body base in a specific number, which enables faster assembly.

[0052] As shown in FIG. 14, in other embodiments, the aerosol-generating bodies 111 are columnar, and some or all of the aerosol-generating bodies 111 are provided with through air holes. The aerosol-generating bodies 111 are spliced along the axial direction, and the air holes are spliced and communicated to form the air channel hole 12.

[0053] The outer surface of the aerosol-generating segment body 11 may be a cylinder or a flat-mouth shape (such as an ellipsoid or a square), which facilitates the production of heat-not-burn articles of corresponding shapes for users to hold in their mouths for inhalation. During the use of the heat-not-burn article, the temperature of the aerosol after mixing and cooling is appropriate, the taste is more uniform, and interference during the flow process of the generated aerosol is reduced.Second embodiment

[0054] As shown in FIG. 16, a heat-not-burn article in an embodiment of this application includes an aerosol-generating substrate 10, a cooling segment 20, and a filter tip 30. The aerosol-generating substrate 10, the cooling segment 20, and the filter tip 30 are sequentially arranged in an axial direction and connected and fixed to form the heat-not-burn article. The cooling segment 20 may serve as both a cooling channel and a connecting part.

[0055] As shown in FIG. 16, FIG. 17, and FIG. 18, the aerosol-generating substrate 10 includes a columnar aerosol-generating segment body 11. The aerosol-generating segment body 11 has a lip-proximal end A and a lip-distal end B at two ends thereof. The filter tip 30 and the aerosol-generating substrate 10 are connected to the lip-proximal end A and the lip-distal end B of the cooling segment 20, respectively. Here, the lip-proximal end A and the lip-distal end B are named with reference to the flow direction of the aerosol. During the inhalation process, the aerosol generated by the aerosol-generating substrate 10 is transported from the upstream lip-distal end B to the downstream lip-proximal end A. The aerosol-generating segment body 11 is provided with a plurality of air channel holes 12 extending along its axial direction, and the air channel holes 12 penetrate at least the lip-proximal end A. Generally, the number of air channel holes 12 may be two or more. At least one of the air channel holes 12 may be a through hole, or at least one air channel hole 12 may be a blind hole; alternatively, the aerosol-generating segment body 11 may be provided with both an air channel hole which is a through hole and an air channel hole which is a blind hole. In the heat-not-burn article of this embodiment, the opening of the lip-proximal end A of the air channel hole 12 is opposite to the filter tip 30, allowing the aerosol to flow from the air channel hole 12 to the cooling segment 20 and the filter tip 30.

[0056] Illustratively, the aerosol-generating substrate 10 is provided with micropores distributed thereon (as shown in FIG. 15), where the porosity of the microholes ranges from 20% to 80% and the pore diameter ranges from 50 nm to 20 µm. The microholes are in communication with each other and also in communication with the air channel holes 12, so as to collect the aerosol in the microholes into the air channel holes 12. After the aerosol-generating substrate 10 is heated, the aerosol produced by heating can enter the adjacent air channel holes 12 through the microholes for collection. Aerosol generated at different positions flows into the cooling segment 20 and mixes, resulting in better aerosol uniformity. Then, the aerosol flows from the air channel holes 12 to the cooling segment 20, which can play a role in centrally storing and cooling the aerosol. When the user inhales, the user first inhales the aerosol in the cooling segment 20; and after the aerosol in the cooling segment 20 is inhaled, newly generated aerosol flows into the cooling segment 20 again. This can effectively prevent the aerosol from directly flowing into the user's mouth to avoid burning the mouth, and at the same time, improve the taste of the aerosol.

[0057] For example, the aerosol-generating substrate 10 is formed by mixing tobacco fibers or other plant fibers, followed by compression and demolding to create an integrally formed aerosol-generating substrate 10.

[0058] When the number of air channel holes 12 is large, the air channel holes 12 may be arranged in an array. There are various array methods: The air channel holes 12 may be arranged in a rectangular array, a circular array, or a radial array spreading outward from the center, or in an irregular distribution. The end face of the aerosol-generating segment body 11 may be divided into a honeycomb shape, so that the aerosol outflow positions are distributed across the end face. Optionally, the air channel holes 12 may be evenly distributed in a grid pattern, which ensures more balanced heating in all areas, makes the distribution of aerosol outflow positions more uniform, and ensures more consistent taste of the aerosol formed after heating in different positions. In other embodiments, the number of air channel holes 12 may alternatively gradually increase from the center of the end face outward, forming multiple circles of air channel holes 12 arranged from the inside to the outside. This makes the arrangement of the air channel holes 12 more uniform, achieves more balanced heating in all areas, and ensures more consistent taste of the aerosol.

[0059] In some embodiments, the air channel holes 12 may alternatively be arranged in a manner that their number increases multiplicatively from the center outward, or the air channel holes 12 may divide the end face into equal parts. A ratio of a total cross-sectional area of all air channel holes 12 at each end of the aerosol-generating segment body 11 to an area of the end face where they are located ranges from 1:12 to 1:8, and this ratio may be adjusted according to the aerosol generation amount and air output of the aerosol-generating segment body 11. For example, the ratio may be 1:12, 1:11, 1:10, 1:9, or 1:8.

[0060] As shown in FIG. 18, FIG. 19, and FIG. 20, in the first solution of the second embodiment, the air channel holes 12 penetrate from the lip-proximal end A to the lip-distal end B, and cross-sections of the air channel holes 12 at different positions along the axial direction include two or more external dimensions. As shown in FIG. 20, the "external dimensions" herein may refer to differences in specific shapes-for instance, one end is circular while the other is square. In other embodiments, the cross-sectional shapes of the air channel hole 12 at different axial positions may be a combination of one or more of circular, polygonal, elliptical, multi-pointed star-shaped, irregular shapes, etc. For example, one end may be square and the other elliptical, or one end may be polygonal and the other multi-pointed star-shaped. As shown in FIG. 19, "external dimensions" may alternatively refer to different sizes under the same shape, allowing the air channel hole 12 to have different cross-sectional sizes along the axial direction (e.g., a stepped air channel hole 12). When the aerosol flows into the air channel hole 12, the aerosol is affected by the changes in the size of the air channel hole 12, and the flow velocity of the aerosol may also change. This achieves the purpose of adjusting the flow velocity of the aerosol in the air channel hole 12, promotes the mixing of the aerosol, and improves the uniformity of the aerosol.

[0061] It can be understood that, as shown in FIG. 21, in this solution, the air channel hole 12 may alternatively be a blind hole that does not penetrate to the lip-distal end B. This allows the gas to drive the generated aerosol through the microholes into the air channel hole 12 after passing through the microholes, and then flow to the cooling segment 20.

[0062] In the second solution of the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 22, some of the air channel holes 12 may penetrate from the lip-proximal end A to the lip-distal end B, and the cross-sectional external dimension of the air channel holes 12 gradually decreases from the lip-proximal end A to the lip-distal end B, forming a conical channel with a larger size at the lip-proximal end and a smaller size at the lip-distal end. After the aerosol-generating segment body 11 is heated, when the user inhales, the gas in the cooling segment 20 is first sucked out. In addition, since the size of the air channel holes 12 is larger than that of the microholes, the air flow velocity is relatively high. The aerosol generated in the aerosol-generating segment body 11 enters the air channel holes 12 through the microholes, and then enters the cooling segment 20 for cooling under the action of the air flow, ready for the user's next inhalation.

[0063] Since the air channel holes 12 are larger at the lip-proximal end and smaller at the lip-distal end, the aerosol is transmitted from a small aperture to a large aperture within the aerosol-generating segment body 11, slowing down the flow rate and achieving better aerosol uniformity. It can be understood that, in this solution, the air channel holes 12 may alternatively be blind holes that do not penetrate to the lip-distal end B, allowing the gas to drive the generated aerosol through the microholes into the air channel holes 12 after passing through the microholes, and then flow to the cooling segment 20. When the air channel holes 12 are blind holes, holes can be made in the side wall of the cooling segment 20 to allow air flow to enter the filter tip 30 from the cooling segment 20 of the heat-not-burn article; otherwise, inhalation resistance will be too large, making it impossible to draw out the aerosol.

[0064] In the third solution of the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 23, some of the air channel holes 12 may alternatively penetrate from the lip-proximal end A to the lip-distal end B, and the cross-sectional external dimension of the air channel holes 12 gradually increases from the lip-proximal end A to the lip-distal end B, forming a conical channel with a smaller size at the lip-proximal end and a larger size at the lip-distal end. After the aerosol-generating segment body 11 is heated, when the user inhales, the gas in the cooling segment 20 is first sucked out. In addition, since the size of the air channel holes 12 is larger than that of the microholes, the air flow velocity is relatively high. The aerosol generated in the aerosol-generating segment body 11 enters the air channel holes 12 through the microholes, and then enters the cooling segment 20 for cooling under the action of the air flow, ready for the user's next inhalation.

[0065] Since the air channel holes 12 are smaller at the lip-proximal end and larger at the lip-distal end, the aerosol is transmitted from a large aperture to a small aperture within the aerosol-generating segment body 11. During the transmission process, the pressure gradually increases, and the flow rate accelerates, which is conducive to cooling the aerosol and generating a Venturi effect, allowing the aerosol to flow into the cooling segment 20. It can be understood that, in this solution, the air channel holes 12 may alternatively be blind holes that do not penetrate to the lip-distal end B, enabling the gas to drive the generated aerosol through the microholes into the air channel holes 12 after passing through the microholes, and then flow to the cooling segment 20.

[0066] In the fourth solution of the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 24, some of the air channel holes 12 penetrate from the lip-proximal end A to the lip-distal end B. The cross-sectional external dimension of some air channel holes 12 gradually decreases from the lip-proximal end A to the lip-distal end B, while the cross-sectional external dimension of other air channel holes 12 gradually increases from the lip-proximal end A to the lip-distal end B. This design can combine the functions of the two types of air channel holes 12 mentioned in the second and third solutions, allowing the aerosol to cool and mix after entering the cooling segment 20, thereby achieving a more appropriate aerosol taste.

[0067] Further, in the above solutions, as shown in FIG. 25, all air channel holes 12 are identical, including having the same cross-sectional shape and size. In other solutions, the air channel holes 12 include two or more types, and different types of air channel holes 12 have different cross-sectional external dimensions. It can be understood that different types of air channel holes 12 may also have different cross-sectional shapes, or they may differ in both cross-sectional external size and shape, thus forming a variety of air channel holes 12.

[0068] In the above solutions of the second embodiment, the aerosol-generating segment body 11 may include two or more aerosol-generating lobes 111 arranged side by side. Gas grooves 112 are provided on side surfaces of some or all of the aerosol-generating lobes 111. When the aerosol-generating lobes 111 are joined together, the gas grooves 112 on adjacent aerosol-generating lobes 111 are spliced to form part or all of the air channel holes 12. Optionally, each aerosol-generating lobe 111 has the same external shape, obtained by equally dividing the aerosol-generating segment body 11 into a specific number of parts, which facilitates quicker assembly during joining.

[0069] As shown in FIG. 26, in other solutions, the aerosol-generating segment body 11 is divided into sections along its length to form aerosol-generating segments 113. Some or all of the aerosol-generating segments 113 are provided with through air channel segments 114. Each aerosol-generating segment 113 is spliced along the axial direction, and the air channel segments 114 are spliced and communicated to allow aerosol to flow out from the lip-proximal end A to the cooling segment 20.

[0070] The outer surface of the aerosol-generating segment body 11 may be cylindrical or flat-mouthed, such as ellipsoidal or square, which facilitates the production of cigarette rods of corresponding shapes for users to hold in their mouths for inhalation. During the use of the cigarette rod, the temperature of the aerosol after mixing and cooling is appropriate, the taste is more uniform, and interference during the flow process of the generated aerosol is reduced.

[0071] It can be understood that the above technical features can be combined in any way without limitation.

[0072] The above descriptions are merely embodiments of this application and do not thereby limit the patent scope of this application. Any equivalent structural or equivalent process transformations made by using the contents of the description and drawings of this application, or direct or indirect applications in other related technical fields, are similarly included in the patent protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. An aerosol-generating substrate, comprising a columnar aerosol-generating segment body (11), wherein the aerosol-generating segment body (11) has a lip-proximal end (A) and a lip-distal end (B) at two axial ends thereof; and the aerosol-generating segment body (11) comprises: an air channel hole (12), the air channel hole (12) penetrating the lip-proximal end (A) along an axial direction of the aerosol-generating segment body (11); and a plurality of microholes, the microholes being uniformly distributed in the aerosol-generating segment body (11) and communicating with one another; and the microholes being in communication with the air channel hole (12) to collect aerosol into the air channel hole (12).

2. The aerosol-generating substrate according to claim 1, wherein the air channel hole (12) is formed to have at least two different external dimensions along the axial direction of the aerosol-generating segment body (11).

3. The aerosol-generating substrate according to claim 1, wherein at least one air channel hole (12) is a through hole, and / or at least one air channel hole (12) is a blind hole.

4. The aerosol-generating substrate according to claim 1, wherein a cross-sectional size of the air channel hole (12) gradually decreases from the lip-proximal end (A) to the lip-distal end (B); or a cross-sectional size of the air channel hole (12) gradually increases from the lip-proximal end (A) to the lip-distal end (B).

5. The aerosol-generating substrate according to claim 1, wherein the air channel hole (12) comprises at least two air channel segments (121) distributed axially, wherein at least two of the air channel segments (121) have different external dimensions.

6. The aerosol-generating substrate according to claim 5, wherein at least one of the air channel segments (121) comprises a large-hole end and a small-hole end, and the cross-sectional size gradually decreases from the large-hole end to the small-hole end.

7. The aerosol-generating substrate according to claim 5, wherein at least two adjacent air channel segments (121) each comprise a large-hole end and a small-hole end; and an external dimension of the small-hole end of the air channel segment (121) close to the lip-proximal end (A) is not smaller than that of the large-hole end of the air channel segment (121) close to the lip-distal end (B).

8. The aerosol-generating substrate according to claim 5, wherein at least two air channel segments (121) have different shapes, or at least two air channel segments (121) have different diameters.

9. The aerosol-generating substrate according to claim 1, wherein the aerosol-generating segment body (11) comprises at least two aerosol-generating bodies (111); and the aerosol-generating bodies (111) are assembled to form the aerosol-generating segment body (11).

10. The aerosol-generating substrate according to claim 9, wherein the aerosol-generating bodies (111) are arc-shaped; and the aerosol-generating bodies (111) are assembled and enclosed in a circumferential direction to form the air channel hole (12).

11. The aerosol-generating substrate according to claim 9, wherein each of the aerosol-generating bodies (111) is columnar; at least part of the aerosol-generating bodies (111) are provided with an axially penetrating air hole; and all of the aerosol-generating bodies (111) are axially spliced, and the air holes are spliced and communicated to form the air channel hole (12).

12. The aerosol-generating substrate according to claim 1, wherein a cross-sectional shape of the air channel hole (12) comprises at least one of circular, elliptical, polygonal, and irregular shapes; and / or cross-sections of the air channel hole (12) at different positions along its axial direction exhibit at least two sizes and / or shapes.

13. The aerosol-generating substrate according to claim 1, wherein the aerosol-generating segment body (11) contains at least one of tobacco fibers and non-tobacco plant fibers; and a porosity of the microholes is 20% to 80%, and / or a pore diameter of the microholes is 50 nm to 20 µm.

14. The aerosol-generating substrate according to any one of claim 1 to 13, wherein the aerosol-generating segment body (11) is provided with at least two air channel holes (12).

15. The aerosol-generating substrate according to claim 14, wherein cross-sectional sizes and shapes of the air channel holes (12) are the same; or the air channel holes (12) comprise at least two types, and cross-sectional sizes and / or shapes of the air channel holes (12) of different types are different.

16. The aerosol-generating substrate according to claim 14, wherein the air channel holes (12) divide the aerosol-generating segment body (11) into a honeycomb shape.

17. The aerosol-generating substrate according to claim 14, wherein at each end of the aerosol-generating segment body (11), a ratio of a total end area of the air channel holes (12) to a surface area of the end where the air channel holes (12) are located is 1:12 to 1:8.

18. An aerosol-generating substrate, comprising a columnar aerosol-generating segment body (11), wherein the aerosol-generating segment body (11) has a lip-proximal end (A) and a lip-distal end (B) at two axial ends thereof; and the aerosol-generating segment body (11) comprises: an air channel hole (12), the air channel hole (12) penetrating the lip-proximal end (A) along an axial direction of the aerosol-generating segment body (11); and a plurality of microholes, the microholes being uniformly distributed in the aerosol-generating segment body (11) and communicating with one another; and the microholes being in communication with the air channel hole (12) to collect aerosol into the air channel hole (12); wherein a pore diameter of the microholes is 50 nm to 20 µm; and at each end of the aerosol-generating segment body (11), a ratio of a total end area of air channel holes (12) to a surface area of the end where the air channel holes (12) are located is 1:12 to 1:8.

19. An aerosol-generating substrate, comprising a columnar aerosol-generating segment body (11), wherein the aerosol-generating segment body (11) has a lip-proximal end (A) and a lip-distal end (B) at two axial ends thereof; and the aerosol-generating segment body (11) comprises: at least two air channel holes (12), the air channel holes (12) penetrating the lip-proximal end (A) along an axial direction of the aerosol-generating segment body (11); and a plurality of microholes, the microholes being uniformly distributed in the aerosol-generating segment body (11) and communicating with one another; and the microholes being in communication with the air channel holes (12) to collect aerosol into the air channel holes (12); wherein at each end of the aerosol-generating segment body (11), a ratio of a total end area of air channel holes (12) to a surface area of the end where the air channel holes (12) are located is 1:12 to 1:8.

20. A heat-not-burn article, comprising a cooling segment (20), a filter tip (30), and the aerosol-generating substrate (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein the cooling segment (20) is located between the aerosol-generating substrate (10) and the filter tip (30), and the lip-proximal end (A) is close to the cooling segment (20).

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