Heat-not-burn stick comprising foam-like aerosol-generating material arranged in container

Abstract

To provide consumers with aerosol-generating articles and materials providing a more pleasant taste experience, closer to real tobacco, to consumers, and further requiring less heating for aerosol generation and thus less cooling thereof for consumption.SOLUTION: An aerosol-generating article includes a charge of aerosol-generating material 65 arranged in a container 22, where the aerosol-generating material 65 includes shaped individual elements including a foam-like material.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to tobacco for use in heat-not-burn articles, particularly in the field of tobacco-containing foamed or mousse-like aerosol-generating materials. The aerosol-generating material is provided in a container that is housed within a portion of an aerosol-generating article that is heated for smoking.

Background Art

[0002] Aerosol-generating articles containing an aerosol-generating material for use in heat-not-burn (HnB) smoking devices have been known since 1980. Nevertheless, it has become more common only since the 21st century because studies have revealed that HnB vapor hardly releases most of the chemicals present in tobacco smoke. Further, when an HnB smoking article is used within an HnB holder, no combustion emission process occurs. Therefore, the aerosol generated is generally recognized not to be smoke, and thus such smoking articles are better known as aerosol-generating articles.

[0003] Commercially available HnB systems such as Glo (manufactured by British American Tobacco (BAT)) or IQOS (Philip Morris International (PMI)) include a charger, a holder, and a tobacco stick, plug, or capsule. The tobacco stick inserted into the holder is heated by an electronically controlled heating element.

[0004] U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20150150302 relates to a rod for use as an aerosol-generating article comprising at least two sheets of tobacco material gathered together and surrounded by a wrapper, the sheets of tobacco material being physically or chemically different from each other. The sheets of tobacco material may have the same thickness or different thicknesses or may be wrinkled. The aerosol-generating substrate is provided in a portion that is in direct contact with the heat source.

[0005] International Publication No. WO 2017 / 202965 pamphlet relates to a method for providing an aerosol generating device for use with articles such as a deformable aerosol forming substrate. The article has a layer of aerosol forming substrate and a second layer which is an open layer, for example a mesh arrangement. The open layer allows air and aerosol or evaporating substances from the substrate to enter the interior of the aerosol article as well as the open layer. The article may further be provided with an outer paper layer, for example cigarette paper, above the open layer and below the aerosol forming substrate layer.

[0006] U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011 / 088708A1 describes a smokable filling material and a method for manufacturing the same, where the smokable filling material includes a foaming agent, a substance capable of forming chemical crosslinks, and a crosslinking agent. The smokable filling material is disclosed to be a foam that stands on its own when dried. Advantageously, drying of the stabilized foam material further stabilizes the foam structure and enables further processing thereof. Further, it is disclosed therein that the foam material is dried to maintain stabilization.

[0007] Existing HnB aerosol generating materials and articles are becoming increasingly popular, but consumers also recognize that they do not provide a taste and sensory experience comparable to conventional smoking articles such as cigarettes or cigars. In particular, consumers feel that currently available products do not taste like real tobacco.

[0008] In addition, existing heat-not-burn products and devices require heating the reconstituted tobacco material to extremely high temperatures above 300°C up to 350°C, which first requires insulating the heating device to avoid harming the consumer, but also requires cooling the aerosol generated before inhalation by the consumer, which is usually achieved by a polylactic acid (PLA) pleated film introduced into the filter of the heated aerosol article. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION

[0009] Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide consumers with aerosol-generating articles and materials that provide a more preferred taste experience closer to that of real tobacco, require less heating for aerosol generation, and thus less cooling for consumption.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0010] The inventors of the present invention have found a solution to the problems discussed above with a novel and progressive aerosol-generating article as defined in the claims.

[0011] A first aspect of the present invention is thus an aerosol-generating article comprising a charge of aerosol-generating material disposed within a container, the aerosol-generating material being provided in the form of shaped individual elements comprising a foamed material, the aerosol-generating article further comprising a seal provided at one longitudinal end of the container, the seal being made of an air-permeable material and / or having an air-permeable structure, whereby air can flow therethrough.

[0012] With the novel aerosol-generating article, the inventors have surprisingly found that the aerosol-generating article of the present invention has several advantages. The first advantage is that the foam-like material contained within the container is subjected to less direct heating, and thus a lower and more appropriate temperature (e.g., less than 300 °C) for heating the foam-like aerosol-generating material is provided due to the voids disposed between the formed individual elements. Further, lumps or fragments generated from the aerosol-generating material heated by the heating element are mainly contained within the container. This has the advantage of significantly reducing the number of times required to clean the heating element of the HnB heating device or holder after use. Further, the seal that only allows air to flow through it functions as a good barrier to prevent any lumps of aerosol-generating material provided to the aerosol-generating article, particularly from the aerosol-generating material in contact with the heating element of the heating device, from falling from the article of the invention onto the user's clothing or the heating device used thereon, especially when removed (or pulled out) from the heating element (blade). After consumption, the consumed article is removed from the heating device, and the seal then functions as a wiping member along the heater member to remove any adhering aerosol-generating material so that no fragments of the aerosol-generating material remain (or only minimal traces remain) on the surface of the heating element. This has the advantage of significantly reducing the number of times the heating element of the heating device needs to be cleaned after use.

[0013] According to a preferred embodiment, the container is air-permeable. This has the advantage that heated air can pass through the container, thereby allowing the aerosol of the filling amount to be discharged from the container to the mouthpiece end during use.

[0014] According to another preferred embodiment, the container comprises an air-permeable material and / or an air-permeable structure such as micropores or a mesh. Such a material or feature allows heated air to pass through the container, thereby allowing the aerosol of the filling amount to be discharged from the container to the mouthpiece end during use.

[0015] In another embodiment, the air-permeable material is selected from the group consisting of cellulose acetate, paper, metal, heat-resistant plastic, activated carbon, or combinations thereof.

[0016] In another preferred embodiment, the aerosol-generating material comprises a tobacco-derived substance having a weight of 0.1 to 66% by weight, preferably 0.1 to 33% by weight of the weight of the foam.

[0017] According to another embodiment, the tobacco-derived substance is selected from the group consisting of tobacco, tobacco flavor, nicotine, and derivatives of nicotine.

[0018] In yet another embodiment, the aerosol-generating material further comprises an aerosol-forming agent, a foam stabilizer, and a foam-forming agent, and the aerosol-forming agent preferably has a weight of 10 to 80% by weight, preferably 30 to 70% by weight of the weight of the foam.

[0019] In another preferred embodiment, the container comprises a tubular wall portion made of a material selected from the group consisting of paper, metal, plastic, silica, or combinations thereof.

[0020] In another embodiment, the container is filled up to a maximum of 95%, preferably 90%, 80%, 70%, 60%, or 50% of the space. For example, the inventor has found that an optimal air flow can be achieved when approximately 70% of the space of the portion containing the container has the aerosol-generating material. Users of aerosol-generating articles generally experience a smooth and tobacco-rich taste experience. When approximately 90% of the space of the portion is filled with a container having the aerosol-generating material, generally most users can experience a strong taste experience similar to that of real tobacco.

[0021] According to yet another embodiment, the aerosol generating material comprises a plurality of individual elements shaped in the form of pods, granules, elongated fibers, elongated spirals or combinations thereof. The inventors have found that individual elements having different shapes generally do not have a large difference in the sensory taste experience, but individual elements having an elongated shape may be preferred because they are easier to manufacture (e.g., by extrusion). In contrast, individual elements having a granular shape allow sufficient gaps for the air flow, and thus, the user generally has a better inhalation experience.

[0022] In another particularly preferred embodiment, the aerosol generating material comprises a bundle of elongated fibers, each elongated fiber having an average diameter of 0.3 to 5 mm, preferably 0.5 to 1 mm.

[0023] In one particularly preferred embodiment, the aerosol generating article further comprises a filter attached to the longitudinal end of the container.

[0024] According to yet another preferred embodiment, the filter comprises cellulose acetate, paper, heat-resistant plastic or polymer, activated carbon, flavoring agent or a combination thereof.

[0025] According to a preferred embodiment, the sealing portion is configured such that air can flow from the first longitudinal end to the second longitudinal end of the elongated portion. The sealing portion can be made of gel, silica, rubber, slurry, matrix, etc.

[0026] According to some preferred embodiments, the container is arranged such that the longitudinal ends of the container are substantially parallel to the longitudinal ends of the aerosol generating article. In this way, the sealing portion is thereby provided at one longitudinal end.

[0027] In a further variant of the present invention, the mouthpiece part is attached to the second longitudinal end of the elongated part on the side opposite to the sealing part. In other words, the mouthpiece part is preferably provided on one longitudinal end of the aerosol-generating article, while the sealing part is provided on the other longitudinal end of the aerosol-generating article.

[0028] In one embodiment, a portion is provided in the aerosol-generating article, preferably between the mouthpiece part and the sealing part, and the container for containing the aerosol-generating material is included within said portion of the aerosol-generating article.

[0029] To achieve this purpose, throughout the present application, it is repeatedly stated that the expression "longitudinal end of the container" does not strictly literally refer only to the container itself, but, when not specified, refers to the end on the side opposite to the filter part. In other words, the longitudinal end refers to being parallel to the longitudinal end of the aerosol-generating article, and as a result, the sealing part is provided at one longitudinal end (of the aerosol-generating article as shown in the figure), and the mouthpiece section is provided at the other longitudinal end. The aerosol-generating material part is provided therebetween.

[0030] "About" or "approximately" with respect to a given numerical value means including numerical values within 10% of the specified value. All values given in the present disclosure should be understood to be supplemented by the term "about" unless it is clear from the context otherwise.

[0031] The indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude the plural and should thus be treated in a broad sense.

[0032] Unless otherwise specifically defined, technical terms and scientific terms used in this specification have the same meaning as those generally understood by those skilled in the technical field to which the present invention pertains.

[0033] As used herein, the term "longitudinal direction" refers to the direction corresponding to the main longitudinal axis of the aerosol-generating article extending between the upstream end and the downstream end of the aerosol-generating article. During use, air is drawn longitudinally through the aerosol-generating article. The term "lateral direction" refers to a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis.

[0034] As used herein, the term "container" refers to a hollow object in the form of a box or housing or the like that can be used to hold one or more elements therein, particularly for carrying or storing. The material forming the container is different from the material of the elements contained within the container.

[0035] As used herein, the term "foam" is used interchangeably with the term "mousse". The foam of the present invention is an open-cell foam according to certain embodiments. An open-cell foam, as used herein, is a foam that can contain a plurality of interconnected pores (formed from a structural material derived from a foam-forming agent that cooperates with solid components such as a foam stabilizer, tobacco particles, and some interacting components such as some solvents, etc.) and can contain a fluid, particularly a mixture of a humectant / liquid aerosol-forming substrate and air. Here, at least a substantial portion (e.g., more than 50% by volume) of the pores in the foam are fluidly connected to each other, contrary to a closed-cell foam, where most of the pores form separate pockets that are each completely surrounded by a pore-forming material so as to substantially prevent the fluid from freely passing between the pores. The foam, particularly the mousse, formed as described herein, after heating the foam, particularly the mousse, to release steam, it was not possible to easily explain whether the humectant could move through adjacent pores and reach the surface of the foam, particularly the mousse portion. Therefore, based on measuring the weight of the foam, particularly the mousse portion, before and after heating, it appears that substantially all of the humectant has been released, and thus it is currently considered that most of them are open-cell foams, particularly mousses. However, alternative explanations cannot be completely excluded. For example, closed cells could perhaps be opened by rupturing the closed-cell walls as a result of, for example, the pressure of the vaporized gas. For example, according to the definition of the present invention, the term "foam" cannot be equated with terms such as gel, cream, or slurry.

[0036] A tobacco component-containing agent can be any compound, mixture, particulate matter, and / or solution that contains and / or carries tobacco constituents, such as tobacco, tobacco particles, tobacco flavor, and / or nicotine, whether artificially included or naturally contained in tobacco. In contrast, an example of a non-tobacco-specific flavor added artificially would be menthol.

[0037] As used herein, the term "heated aerosol generating article" refers to an aerosol generating article for generating an aerosol that contains an aerosol generating material that is intended to be heated, rather than combusted, to release a volatile compound that can form an aerosol.

[0038] As used herein, the term "aerosol generating material" refers to a material that can release a volatile compound that can form an aerosol when heated. The aerosol generated from the aerosol generating material of the aerosol generating article described herein can be visible or invisible and can include vapors (e.g., fine particles of a substance in a gaseous state that is normally liquid or solid at room temperature) as well as droplets of gas and condensed vapor.

[0039] The aerosol former can be, for example, any compound, mixture and / or solution that can form an aerosol when heated and / or in a mixture with a tobacco component-containing agent. Well-known examples include humectants such as glycerin and propylene glycol, and other alcohols such as ethanol.

[0040] As used herein, weight % should be understood as weight percent based on the total weight of the foam, unless otherwise specified. In the present disclosure, unless specifically stated or apparent from the context, all amounts are expressed in weight %. In the present disclosure, further, all amounts expressed in weight % in a particular foam add up to 100 weight %. Accordingly, weight percent is calculated by dividing the mass of each component by the total mass of the foam, unless otherwise indicated or not apparent from the context.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0041]

Figure 1

Figure 2

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0042] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of an aerosol generating article 100 according to the present invention. The aerosol generating article 100 has a cylindrical shape similar to currently commercially available heated non-combustion articles.

[0043] The aerosol generating article 100 includes a plurality of portions 10, 20, 30 arranged longitudinally from end to end. One longitudinal end of the aerosol generating article 100 represents the distal end 15, while the other longitudinal end of the aerosol generating article 100 represents the proximal mouth-side end 25. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the aerosol generating article 100 includes a sealing portion 10, an aerosol generating material portion 20, and a mouthpiece portion 30. These portions 10, 20, 30 can be attached in contact with each other by one or several wrappers to form an elongated substantially cylindrical aerosol generating article.

[0044] It should also be noted that the mouthpiece section 30 itself can be formed from any one of a plurality of segments that are conventionally joined together by a filter material, such as a single segment of cellulose acetate or one or several plug wraps known from conventional cigarettes, to form a multi-segment mouthpiece. Such a multi-segment mouthpiece may particularly include a central hole acetate segment 301 in contact with the aerosol generating material portion 20, then an aerosol cooling portion 302 formed, for example, from a pleated polylactic acid (PLA) film, and a monoacetate filter portion 303 at the mouthpiece end 25, and this mouth-side end filter segment 303 may include one or more flavor release elements such as capsules or threads (see FIG. 1).

[0045] In use, the aerosol generating article 100 is inserted into a vaporizer or heating device including a heater such that at least the aerosol generating material part 20 cooperates with the heating element 200. When the heating element 200 is a heating blade or rod element, it penetrates, for example, from the distal end 15 of the aerosol generating article 100, and the aerosol generating article 100 slides over the heating element until the heating element extends into the part 20 and heats the tobacco-containing aerosol generating material contained therein. The aerosol generating article 100 is designed such that when the user inhales or sucks through the mouthpiece from the mouth-side end 25 during use, the aerosol generated during heating of the aerosol generating material in the part 20 can flow longitudinally from the distal end 15 to the mouth-side end 25.

[0046] The sealing part 10 functions as an additional shield in addition to the container 22 so that when the aerosol generating article 100 is pulled out of the holder of the smoking device, lumps or fragments from the aerosol generating material 65 are not pulled out together with the heating element 200.

[0047] Figure 2 shows a cross-sectional view (dotted line A-A) of the aerosol generating material part 20 of Figure 1. The aerosol generating material part 20 includes a plurality of containers 22 that contain a filling amount of aerosol generating material 65 within a foam-like structure. The containers 22 can be provided with a breathable structure such as a mesh or can be composed of a breathable material such as paper. It can also be predicted that the containers 22 can be made of a heat-conductive material, particularly a metal such as aluminum, zinc, copper, brass, or chrome steel, so as to enable heat transfer from the heating element of the heating device to the foam-like aerosol generating material 65 essentially by conduction to generate an aerosol.

[0048] The foam-like material 65 may contain a tobacco-containing material and is preferably a foam-like aerosol-generating material 65 as described in WO 2018 / 122375 A1, and is contained in the container 22 in an average amount of approximately 100 to 1000 mg, preferably approximately 250 to 400 mg, of the aerosol-generating material per use. For example, when one use of a smoking article has a weight between 300 mg, only approximately 50 mg to 60 mg thereof is the tobacco-containing material.

[0049] In this particular embodiment, the cross-section of the portion 20 (dotted line A-A) shows that the container 22 is substantially circular. In other words, the container 22 can be provided as granules, pods, disks, elongated fibers, elongated spirals, etc. For example, a container 22 in the form of an elongated fiber or an elongated spiral has the advantages of high processability, simplicity (manufactured by extrusion), density, and easier control of the air flow.

[0050] Advantageously, one or more air flow channels 75 are arranged longitudinally in the longitudinal direction of the aerosol-generating article 100. Thereby, when used with the article 100 of the invention to heat the heating device, aerosol circulation and insertion of the article onto the blade or rod-shaped heating element 200 of the heating device are possible.

[0051] To achieve this purpose, it is disclosed that the aerosol-generating material 65, which is a foam-like or mousse-like material, preferably contains a tobacco-containing or derived material, i.e., a material derived from a genuine tobacco plant or seed. The aerosol-generating material 65 can be provided in the container 22 via different methods well-known to those skilled in the art.

[0052] With the novel aerosol-generating article, the inventors have surprisingly found that an aerosol-generating material in the form of a foam or a mousse, wherein the foam-like material is contained within the container 22, can achieve and provide a more homogenized form of the tobacco-containing material. Such aerosol-generating articles advantageously provide a more dense and tobacco-flavored homogeneous aerosol, providing a better user experience to the consumer as compared to reconstituted tobacco. For example, the aerosol-generating articles of the present invention enable an aerosol delivery of up to 15 to 20 puffs with prominent tobacco characteristics, but require only a very small amount of tobacco material (e.g., only 60 mg of a 250 to 400 mg tobacco-containing material per use).

[0053] In a preferred embodiment of FIG. 1, the seal 10 is provided at a portion of the aerosol-generating article 100 of the present invention that is farthest from the mouth-side end 25. The seal 10 may include a solid material such as a gel, rubber, matrix, or slurry.

[0054] As described above, the heating blade 200 or the rod element 200 of the vaporizer or the heating device may penetrate the seal 10 and reach the portion 20, including a plurality of containers 22, where the heating element 200 contacts the foam-like material 65 provided inside the container 22, whereby an aerosol of the filling amount is generated when the foam-like material 65 is heated by the heating element 200. Although not intended, trace amounts of debris are usually formed from the heated foam-like aerosol-generating article 100, and these trace amounts of debris or chunks often adhere to the surface of the heating element 200 of the smoking device. For this reason, the user needs to frequently clean the smoking device.

[0055] The sealing part 10 is provided in the aerosol generating article 100 of the present invention, and when pulling out the article 100 from the heating blade or rod element, the heating blade or rod element is cleaned (for example, discarded), thereby preventing the aerosol generating material 65 or fragments thereof from leaving the portion 20 containing the container 22 having the aerosol generating material 65. For this reason, when the heating element 200 is taken out from the aerosol generating article 100, it is automatically cleaned by the sealing part 10, and thus the frequency of cleaning the surface of the heating blade element of the smoking device can be reduced. To achieve this purpose, it is disclosed that the material selected to form the sealing part 10 should be able to withstand the heat of the heating element 200, for example, at least 500 °C to a maximum of 1000 °C.

[0056] Due to the container 22 in which the aerosol generating material 65 in the form of a foam or mousse is accommodated, the heat of the heating device is not directly transmitted to the aerosol generating material 65. The inventor of the present invention has found that the foam-like aerosol generating material 65 contained in the container 22 is indirectly heated by the heating element 200 and has a temperature of approximately 230 °C during use. This temperature is ideal for the foam-like material to release a filling amount of aerosol.

[0057] One or more air channels 75 provided through the container 22 are preferably parallel to the longitudinal direction of the aerosol generating article 100 so that air can flow from the distal end 15 of the aerosol generating article 100 to the mouth-side end 25 of the mouthpiece 30 for the user to inhale the aerosol through the mouthpiece during use, as repeatedly stated in this specification.

[0058] It will be correctly recognized that the aerosol generating article 100 shown in FIG. 1 is suitable for use with any type of existing heated non-combustible aerosol generating device, particularly a device including, but not limited to, a blade or rod heating element or a peripheral portion wound in a rod shape together with a mouthpiece inserted into a filling amount of aerosol generating material.

Claims

1. 1. An aerosol-generating article (100) comprising a charge of aerosol-generating material (65) disposed within a container (22), the aerosol-generating material (65) being provided in the form of molded individual elements comprising a foam-like material; The aerosol-generating article (100) further comprises a seal (10) provided at one longitudinal end of the container (22), the seal (10) being made of an air-permeable material and / or having an air-permeable structure, thereby allowing air to flow therethrough.

2. The aerosol-generating article (100) of claim 1, wherein the container (22) is air permeable.

3. 3. The aerosol-generating article (100) of claim 1 or 2, wherein the container (22) comprises an air permeable material and / or an air permeable structure, such as micropores or a mesh.

4. The aerosol-generating article (100) of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the air permeable material is selected from the group consisting of cellulose acetate, paper, metal, heat resistant plastic, activated carbon, or combinations thereof.

5. 5. The aerosol-generating article (100) of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the aerosol-generating material (65) comprises tobacco-derived substance having a weight of 0.1 to 66% by weight of the foam, preferably 0.1 to 33% by weight of the foam.

6. 6. The aerosol-generating article (100) of claim 5, wherein the tobacco-derived material is selected from the group consisting of tobacco, tobacco flavors, nicotine, and derivatives of nicotine.

7. 7. The aerosol-generating article (100) of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the aerosol-generating material (65) further comprises an aerosol-forming agent, a foam stabilizer and a foam-forming agent, the aerosol-forming agent preferably having a weight of 10 to 80% by weight, preferably 30 to 70% by weight of the weight of the foam.

8. The aerosol-generating article (100) of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the container (22) comprises a tubular wall made of a material selected from the group consisting of paper, metal, plastic, silica, or combinations thereof.

9. 9. An aerosol-generating article (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the container is filled to a maximum of 95%, preferably 90%, 80%, 70%, 60% or 50% of its space.

10. 10. The aerosol-generating article (100) of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the aerosol-generating material (65) comprises a plurality of individual elements shaped in the form of pods, granules, elongated fibers, elongated spirals, or combinations thereof.

11. 11. The aerosol-generating article (100) of claim 10, wherein the aerosol-generating material comprises a bundle of elongated fibres, each elongated fibre having an average diameter of 0.3 to 5 mm, preferably 0.5 to 1 mm.

12. The aerosol-generating article (100) of any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a filter attached to a longitudinal end of the container (22).

13. 13. The aerosol-generating article (100) of claim 12, wherein the filter comprises cellulose acetate, paper, a heat resistant plastic or polymer, activated carbon, a flavoring agent, or a combination thereof.

14. The aerosol-generating article (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sealing portion (10) is provided with a gel, silica, rubber, a slurry, a matrix or the like.

Images