Electronic smoking article including a heating device implementing a solid aerosol-generating source, and associated apparatus and method

Abstract

Aerosol delivery devices and systems for the generation of aerosols are provided.SOLUTION: A smoking article 5 is provided having a component housing 50 containing an electrical power source and a tubular housing 30 having a first end 31 and a longitudinally opposed second end 32, the first or second end being configured to receive the component housing. The tubular housing includes an exterior wall defining a cylindrical cavity. An aerosol generating element is configured to be received within the cylindrical cavity, and the aerosol generating element is configured to produce an aerosol in response to the heat. Associated aerosol-generating elements and related production methods are also provided.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] background The present disclosure relates to aerosol delivery devices and systems, such as smoking articles, and more particularly to aerosol delivery devices and systems that utilize electrically generated heat to generate an aerosol (e.g., smoking articles for producing tobacco components and other materials in an inhalable form, commonly referred to as e-cigarettes). Highly preferred components of such articles are made from or derived from tobacco, or the articles can be characterized as incorporating tobacco for human consumption, which can vaporize tobacco components and / or other tobacco-related materials to form an inhalable aerosol for human consumption.

[0002] Description of the Prior Art Many smoking devices have been proposed as improvements or replacements for smoking products that require burning tobacco for use. Many of these devices have been intentionally designed to provide the sensations associated with cigarette, cigar, or pipe smoking without delivering significant amounts of incomplete combustion and pyrolysis products resulting from tobacco combustion. To this end, numerous smoking products, flavor generators, and medicinal inhalers have been proposed that utilize electrical energy to vaporize or heat volatile materials or attempt to provide the sensations of cigarette, cigar, or pipe smoking without significantly burning tobacco. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,726,320 to Robinson et al., and U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2013 / 0255702 to Griffith, Jr. et al. and 2014 / 0096781 to Sears et al., which are incorporated herein by reference, for various alternative smoking articles, aerosol delivery devices, and heat sources described in the background art. See also, for example, the various types of smoking articles, aerosol delivery devices, and electrically-powered heating sources referenced by brand name and commercial source in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14 / 170,838 to Bless et al., filed Feb. 3, 2014, which is incorporated herein by reference. Additional types of smoking articles, aerosol delivery devices, and electrically-powered heating sources referenced by brand name and commercial source are listed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14 / 194,233 to DePiano et al., filed Feb. 28, 2014, which is also incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0003] Certain tobacco products that use electrical energy to generate heat for aerosol formation, specifically those referred to as e-cigarette products, are commercially available worldwide. Representative products that resemble many of the attributes of a traditional cigarette, cigar, or pipe include ACCORD® by Philip Morris Incorporated, ALPHA™, JOYE 510™, and M4™ by InnoVapor LLC, CIRRUS™ and FLING™ by White Cloud Cigarettes, BLU™ by Lorillard Technologies, Inc., COHITA™, COLIBRI™, ELITE CLASSIC™, MAGNUM™, PHANTOM™, and SENSE™ by Eupuffer® International Inc., DUOPRO™, STORM™, and VAPORKING™ by Electronic Cigarettes, Inc., EGAR™ by Egar Australia, eGo-C™ and eGo-T™ by Joyetech, ELUSION™ by Elusion UK Ltd, Eonsmoke EONSMOKE® by FIN Branding Group, LLC, FIN® by FIN Branding Group, LLC, SMOKE® by Green Smoke Inc.USA, GREENARETTE® by Greenarette LLC, HALLIGAN®, HENDU®, JET®, MAXXQ®, PINK®, and PITBULL® by Smoke Stik®, HEATBAR® by Philip Morris International, Inc., HYDRO IMPERIAL® and LXE® from Crown7, LOGIC® and THE CUBAN® by LOGIC Technology, LUCI® by Luciano Smokes Inc., METRO® by Nicotek, LLC, Sottera, Inc.NJOY (registered trademark) and ONEJOY (trademark) by SS Choice LLC, NO.7 (trademark) by SS Choice LLC, PREMIUM ELECTRONIC CIGARETTE (trademark) by PremiumEstore LLC, RAPP E-MYSTICK (trademark) by Ruyan America, Inc., RED DRAGON (trademark) by Red Dragon Products, LLC, RUYAN (trademark) by Ruyan Group (Holdings) Ltd., SF (trademark) by Smoker Friendly International, LLC, GREEN SMART SMOKER (trademark) by The Smart Smoking Electronic Cigarette Company Ltd., SMOKE ASSIST (trademark) by Coastline Products LLC, SMOKING EVERYWHERE (trademark) by Smoking Everywhere, Inc., V2CIGS (trademark) by VMR Products LLC, VAPOR NINE (trademark) by VaporNine LLC, Vapor 4 These devices are commercially available under the trade names VAPOR4LIFE® by Life, Inc., VEPPO™ by E-CigaretteDirect, LLC, VUSE® by RJ Reynolds Vapor Company, Mistic Menthol products by Mistic Ecigs, and Vype products by CN Creative Ltd. Other electrically powered aerosol delivery devices, and specifically devices characterized as so-called e-cigarettes, are also commercially available under the trade names COOLER VISIONS™, DIRECT E-CIG™, DRAGONFLY™, EMIST™, EVERSMOKE™, GAMUCCI™, HYBRID FLAME™, KNIGHT STICKS™, ROYAL BLUES™, SMOKETIP™, and SOUTH BEACH SMOKE™.

[0004] It would be desirable to provide a smoking article that uses heat generated by electrical energy to provide the sensation of smoking a cigarette, cigar, or pipe, and does so without burning the tobacco to a significant extent, without requiring a combustion heat source, and without necessarily delivering significant amounts of products of incomplete combustion and pyrolysis. It would also be desirable to provide a smoking article that provides a substantially uniform distribution of heat to a solid aerosol-generating source without burning the solid aerosol-generating material to a significant extent. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] U.S. Patent No. 7,726,320 [Patent Document 2] US Patent Application Publication No. 2013 / 0255702 [Patent Document 3] US Patent Application Publication No. 2014 / 0096781 Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present disclosure relates to aerosol delivery systems. Such systems are capable of generating aerosols as a result of heat generated by a power source and delivering the aerosols intended to be inhaled into the user's mouth. Of particular interest are aerosol delivery systems that provide tobacco components in aerosol form, such as those provided to smokers by devices commonly known or characterized as e-cigarettes. As used herein, the term "aerosol" is meant to include vapors, gases, aerosols, and / or specific substances in a form or type suitable for human inhalation, whether or not visible and whether or not in a form that can be considered "smoke-like."

[0007] These and other needs are met by embodiments of the present disclosure, which in one aspect provide an electronic smoking article and / or aerosol delivery system. Such smoking articles may include a component housing containing a power source and a tubular housing having a mouth-engagement end, or first end, and a longitudinally opposed component engagement end, or second end. The first or second end may be configured to receive the component housing. According to some embodiments, the tubular housing may have an exterior wall defining a cylindrical cavity. An aerosol generation element may be configured to be received within the cylindrical cavity and to generate an aerosol in response to heat.

[0008] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method for producing a smoking article is provided. The method may include engaging a component housing including a power source with a first or second end of a tubular housing. The tubular housing may have a mouthpiece engagement end or a first end longitudinally opposite the component engagement end or the second end. In some aspects, the tubular housing may have an exterior wall defining a transversely extending cylindrical cavity. In some aspects, the method may include inserting an aerosol generation element into the cylindrical cavity, the aerosol generation element being configured to generate aerosol in response to heat.

[0009] In another aspect, there is provided an aerosol-generating element for a smoking article comprising a hollow cylindrical extrudate of tobacco-related material adapted to be received by a heating element extending around an outer surface and within an inner surface of the hollow cylindrical extrudate, the heating element generally defining a hollow cylindrical cavity for receiving the hollow cylindrical extrudate, and the hollow cylindrical extrudate generating an aerosol in response to heat provided by the heating element.

[0010] Yet another aspect provides a method of producing an aerosol-generating element for a smoking article, the method may include extruding a tobacco-related material as a hollow cylinder adapted to be received by a heating element extending around an outer surface and within an inner surface of the hollow cylindrical extrudate, the heating element generally defining a hollow cylindrical cavity for receiving the hollow cylindrical extrudate, and the hollow cylinder generating an aerosol in response to heat provided by the heating element.

[0011] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are briefly described below.

[0012] Having thus described the present disclosure in general terms above, reference is now made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 illustrates an example embodiment of an electronic smoking article in an assembled configuration, the electronic smoking article having the general configuration of an electronic cigarette including at least a mouthpiece, a component housing containing a power source, and a tubular housing positioned therebetween, according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of the electronic smoking article of FIG. 1 in an assembled configuration, with a portion of the article's mouthpiece, component housing, and tubular housing removed to provide detail of the internal components. [Figure 3A] 1 illustrates an exemplary heating element according to one aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 3B] 1 illustrates an exemplary heating element according to another aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 4A] 1 illustrates an exemplary aerosol-generating element according to one aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 4B] 1 illustrates an exemplary aerosol-generating element according to another aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 4C] 1 illustrates an exemplary aerosol-generating element according to another aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 4D] 1 illustrates an exemplary aerosol-generating element according to another aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 4E] 1 illustrates an exemplary aerosol-generating element according to another aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 4F] 1 illustrates an exemplary aerosol-generating element according to another aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 4G] 1 illustrates an exemplary aerosol-generating element according to another aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] 1 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a method for producing an electronic smoking article, according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] 1 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a method for generating an aerosol-generating element according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] 1 illustrates an example embodiment of an electronic smoking article in an assembled configuration according to one aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 8A] 1 illustrates an exploded view of an example embodiment of an electronic smoking article in an unassembled configuration according to one aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 8B] 1 illustrates an exploded view of an example embodiment of an electronic smoking article in an unassembled configuration according to one aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 8C] 1 illustrates an exploded view of an example embodiment of an electronic smoking article in an unassembled configuration according to one aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 9A] FIG. 8B illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of the electronic smoking article in an unassembled configuration of FIG. 8A, with various portions of the article removed to provide details of the interior components, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 9B] FIG. 8C illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of the electronic smoking article in an unassembled configuration of FIG. 8B, with various portions of the article removed to provide details of the interior components, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 9C] FIG. 8C illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of the electronic smoking article in an unassembled configuration of FIG. 8C, with various portions of the article removed to provide details of the interior components, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 10A]1 illustrates an exemplary aerosol-generating element according to another aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 10B] 1 illustrates an exemplary aerosol-generating element according to another aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 10C] 1 illustrates an exemplary aerosol-generating element according to another aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 10D] 1 illustrates an exemplary aerosol-generating element according to another aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 10E] 1 illustrates an exemplary aerosol-generating element according to another aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] 1 illustrates an exemplary aerosol-generating element disposed within a tubular housing of an electronic smoking article according to one aspect of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The present disclosure will now be described more fully with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof. These exemplary embodiments are described so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Indeed, this disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0015] The present disclosure provides a description of articles (and their manufacture) that use electrical energy to heat materials (preferably without burning the materials to a significant degree) to form aerosols and / or inhalable substances, and such articles are most preferably small enough to be considered "handheld" devices. In certain highly preferred aspects, the articles may be characterized as smoking articles. As used herein, the term "smoking article" is intended to mean an article and / or device that provides many of the perceptions of smoking a cigarette, cigar, or pipe (e.g., inhalation and exhalation, type of taste or flavor, organoleptic effects, physical sensations, manner of use, visual cues such as those provided by a visible aerosol, etc.) without burning any part of the article and / or device to a substantial degree. As used herein, the term "smoking article" does not necessarily mean that, during operation, the article or device produces smoke in the sense of an aerosol resulting from the by-products of tobacco combustion or pyrolysis, but rather means that the article or device produces vapor resulting from the volatilization or vaporization of certain components, elements, and / or the like of the article and / or device (including vapor within an aerosol that may be considered to be a visible aerosol that may be considered to be described as smoke-like). In highly preferred aspects, articles or devices characterized as smoking articles incorporate tobacco and / or tobacco-derived components.

[0016] The articles or devices of the present disclosure may also be characterized as vapor-producing articles, aerosol delivery articles, or drug delivery articles. Accordingly, such articles or devices may be adapted to provide one or more substances in an inhalable form or state. For example, the inhalable substance may be substantially in vapor form (i.e., a substance that is in the gas phase at a temperature below its critical point). Alternatively, the inhalable substance may be in aerosol form (i.e., a suspension of solid particles or liquid droplets in a gas). For simplicity, as used herein, the term "aerosol" is meant to include vapors, gases, and aerosols in any form or type suitable for human inhalation, whether or not visible, and whether or not in a form that can be considered smoke-like.

[0017] During use, a smoking article of the present disclosure is subjected to many of the physical actions of an individual in using a conventional smoking article (e.g., a cigarette, cigar, or pipe that is engaged by lighting and then burning and / or inhaling the burned tobacco). For example, a user of a smoking article of the present disclosure can hold the article similar to a conventional smoking article, draw on one end of the article to inhale the aerosol produced by the article, and inhale for a selected time interval.

[0018] Smoking articles of the present disclosure generally include multiple components provided within an outer shell or body. The overall design of the outer shell or body can vary, and the format or configuration of the outer body can vary, which can define the overall size and shape of the smoking article. Typically, an elongated body resembling the shape of a cigarette or cigar can be formed from one single shell, or the elongated body can be formed from two or more separable components. For example, a smoking article can include an elongated shell or body that can be substantially tubular in shape and thus resemble the shape of a traditional cigarette or cigar. In one embodiment, a smoking article can include three joined and separable outer shell components, bodies, or portions. For example, a smoking article may include a power source portion at one end comprising a component housing or shell containing one or more components (e.g., a rechargeable battery and / or various electronic devices, such as a controller for controlling the operation of the smoking article), a mouthpiece portion comprising the shell containing one or more components (e.g., a control component for controlling the operation of the smoking article and / or various electronic devices), and a heat / aerosol-generation portion therebetween comprising the shell containing one or more components (e.g., solid tobacco and / or tobacco-related materials for generating an aerosol). In another embodiment, the smoking article may include three outer shell components, bodies, or portions that are joined and separable. Additionally or alternatively, the smoking article may include an additional component configured to be received within one or more of the three outer shell components. For example, the smoking article may include at one end an end cap portion, a mouthpiece portion comprising an outer shell containing one or more components (e.g., a control component and / or various electronics for controlling the operation of the smoking article), and a power source portion therebetween comprising a component housing or outer shell containing one or more components (e.g., a rechargeable battery and / or other power source and / or various electronics, such as a control device for controlling the operation of the smoking article). Additionally or alternatively, the end cap portion and / or the power source portion may be configured to receive therein a heat / aerosol-generation portion comprising a body containing one or more components (e.g., solid tobacco and / or tobacco-related materials for generating an aerosol).Additionally, the design and component arrangement of various smoking articles can be understood in light of commercially available electronic smoking articles, such as the representative products listed in the background section of this disclosure.

[0019] Smoking articles of the present disclosure most preferably include some combination of a power source (e.g., an electrical power source), at least one control component (e.g., a means for activating, controlling, regulating, and terminating electrical power for heat generation, such as by controlling the passage of current from the power source to other components of the article), a heater or heat-generating component (e.g., an electrical resistance heating element or component commonly referred to as an "atomizer"), an aerosol-generating element (e.g., solid tobacco and / or tobacco-related materials), and a mouthpiece region, portion, or tip (e.g., a defined airflow path through the article through which generated aerosol can be drawn by drawing) to enable the smoking article to be drawn on for aerosol inhalation. The arrangement of components within the article can vary. In certain embodiments, the aerosol-generating element can be disposed between the mouthpiece region and the electrical power source. However, other configurations are not excluded. For example, in some embodiments, the electrical power source can be disposed between the mouthpiece region and the aerosol-generating element. Generally, the heater component may be positioned sufficiently close to the aerosol-generating element such that heat from the heater component may volatilize the aerosol-generating element (as well as one or more flavoring agents, medications, etc. that may also be provided for delivery to the user) to form an aerosol for delivery to the user. When the heating element heats the aerosol-generating element, an aerosol is formed, released, or generated in a physical form suitable for inhalation by the consumer. It should be noted that the foregoing terms are meant to be interchangeable, such that references to release, releasing, releases, or released include form or generate, forming or generating, forms or generates, and formed or generated. Specifically, the inhalable substance is released in the form of a vapor or an aerosol, or a mixture thereof. Additionally, the selection of various smoking article components can be understood in light of commercially available electronic smoking articles, such as the representative products listed in the Background of the Invention section of this disclosure.

[0020] According to aspects of the present disclosure, a smoking article incorporates a battery or other power source to provide sufficient electrical current to provide various functionality for the article, such as resistive heating, powering a control system, and powering an indicator. The power source can take on a variety of forms. Preferably, the power source can deliver sufficient power to rapidly heat the heating element to provide aerosol formation and power the article throughout a desired period of use. The power source is preferably sized to fit conveniently within the article so that the article can be easily handled; in addition, preferred power sources are sufficiently lightweight so as not to detract from the desired smoking experience.

[0021] Examples of useful power sources include lithium-ion batteries (e.g., rechargeable lithium manganese dioxide batteries), which are preferably rechargeable. Specifically, lithium polymer batteries may be used because they offer increased safety. Other types of batteries, such as N50-AAA CADNICA nickel-cadmium batteries, may also be used. Still further examples of batteries that may be used in accordance with the present disclosure are described in U.S. Published Application No. 2010 / 0028766 to Peckerar et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Thin-film batteries may also be used in certain embodiments of the present disclosure. While any of these batteries or combinations thereof may be used for the power source, rechargeable batteries are preferred due to cost and disposal considerations associated with disposable batteries. In embodiments in which a disposable battery is provided, the smoking article may include access for battery removal and replacement. Alternatively, in embodiments in which a rechargeable battery is used, the smoking article may include charging contacts for interaction with corresponding contacts in a conventional recharging unit that delivers power from a standard 120-volt AC wall outlet or other power source, such as an automobile electrical system, or a separate portable power source, including a USB connection. Means for recharging the battery may be provided in a portable charging case, which may include, for example, a relatively large battery unit that can provide multiple charges for the relatively small battery present in the smoking article. The article may further include components for providing a contactless inductive recharging system so that the article can be charged without being physically connected to an external power source. Accordingly, the article may include components for facilitating the transfer of energy from an electromagnetic field to a rechargeable battery within the article.

[0022] In some embodiments, the power source may also include one or more capacitors. For example, the power source may include any number and combination of batteries and / or capacitors. In some embodiments, the power source may include at least one battery and at least one capacitor. The capacitor may be capable of discharging more quickly than a battery and may be charged between inhalations, allowing the battery to discharge into the capacitor at a lower rate than if it were used to directly power the heating element. For example, a supercapacitor, i.e., an electric double-layer capacitor (EDLC), may be used separately from or in combination with the battery. When used alone, the supercapacitor may be recharged before each use of the article. Accordingly, the present disclosure may also include a charger component that may be attached to the smoking article between uses to replenish the supercapacitor.

[0023] The smoking article may further include various power management software, hardware, and / or other electronic control components. For example, such software, hardware, and / or electronic control components may include functionality such as performing battery charging, detecting battery charge and discharge status, implementing power saving operations, and preventing unintended or excessive battery discharge.

[0024] The terms "controller," "control component," and / or "control unit" according to the present disclosure may encompass various elements useful in the smoking article. Furthermore, a smoking article according to the present disclosure may include one, two, or more control units, which may be combined into a single element or may reside in separate locations within the smoking article, with each control unit being utilized to perform a different control aspect. For example, a smoking article may include a control unit integral with or associated with a battery to control power discharge from the battery. The smoking article may include a separate control unit for controlling other functions of the article, such as adjusting a heating element to provide a specific heating temperature for an aerosol-generating element. Alternatively, a single controller may be provided to perform multiple or all of the article's control functions. Similarly, a sensor (e.g., an inhalation and / or puff sensor) used within the article may include a control unit that controls activation of power discharge from a power source in response to a stimulus. The smoking article may include a separate control unit for controlling other functions of the article. Alternatively, a single controller may be provided within or associated with the sensor to perform multiple or all of the control functions of the article, and it will be appreciated that various combinations of controllers may be combined within the smoking article to provide a desired level of control of all functionality of the article.

[0025] The smoking article may also include one or more control devices useful for controlling the flow of electrical energy from a power source to additional components of the article, such as a heating element. Specifically, the article may include a control device that activates the passage of electricity from the power source to the heating element. According to some aspects of the present disclosure, the smoking article may include a push button that may be linked to a control circuit for manually controlling the passage of electricity, and the consumer may use the push button to activate the article and / or activate the passage of electricity to the heating element. Multiple buttons may be provided for manually powering the article on and off and for activating the heating element, such as a resistive heating element, for aerosol generation. The one or more push buttons present may be substantially flush with the outer surface of the smoking article.

[0026] Instead of (or in addition to) a push button, the smoking article may include one or more control units that respond to a consumer's inhalation on the article (i.e., inhalation-activated heating). For example, the article may include a switch (i.e., an inhalation-activated switch) that is sensitive to changes in pressure or airflow when a consumer inhales on the article. Other suitable current activation / deactivation mechanisms may include a temperature-activated on / off switch or a lip-pressure-activated switch. An exemplary mechanism that may provide such inhalation activation capability is the Model 163PC01D36 silicon sensor manufactured by the MicroSwitch division of Honeywell Inc. of Freeport, Illinois. With such a sensor, the heating element may be rapidly activated by changes in pressure when a consumer inhales on the article. Additionally, a flow-sensing device, such as one using hot-wire anemometry principles, may be used to trigger activation of the heating element sufficiently quickly after sensing a change in airflow. Another inhalation-activated switch that may be used is a pressure differential switch, such as Model No. MPL-502-V, Range A, from Micro Pneumatic Logic, Inc., Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Another suitable inhalation-activated mechanism is a pressure-sensitive transducer (e.g., with an amplifier or gain stage), which is then coupled to a comparator to detect a predetermined threshold pressure. Another suitable inhalation-activated mechanism is an airflow-directed vane, whose movement is detected by a movement-sensing means. Another suitable actuation mechanism is a piezoelectric switch. A suitably connected Honeywell MicroSwitch Microbridge Airflow Sensor, Part No. AWM 2100V, from MicroSwitch Division of Honeywell, Inc., Freeport, Illinois, is also useful. A further example of a demand-activated electrical switch that may be used in a heating circuit according to the present disclosure is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,735,217 to Gerth et al., the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.Other suitable differential switches, analog pressure sensors, flow sensors, etc. will be apparent to those skilled in the art with knowledge of this disclosure. A pressure-sensitive tube or other flow path may be included to provide a fluid connection between the inhalation-activated switch and an air flow path within the smoking article so that changes in pressure during inhalation are easily identified by the switch. Further descriptions of current regulation circuits and other control units, including microcontrollers, that may be useful in the present smoking articles are provided in U.S. Patent Nos. 4,922,901, 4,947,874, and 4,947,875 to Brooks et al., U.S. Patent No. 5,372,148 to McCafferty et al., U.S. Patent No. 6,040,560 to Fleischhauer et al., and U.S. Patent No. 7,040,314 to Nguyen et al., all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

[0027] Capacitive sensing components, in particular, can be incorporated into devices in various ways to enable various types of "power-up" and / or "power-down" of one or more components of the device. Capacitive sensing can include the use of any sensor integration technology based on capacitive coupling, including, but not limited to, sensors that detect and / or measure proximity, position or displacement, humidity, fluid level, pressure, or acceleration. Capacitive sensing can result from electronic components to provide surface capacitance, projected capacitance, mutual capacitance, or self-capacitance. Capacitive sensors can generally detect anything that is conductive or has a dielectric property different from that of air. Capacitive sensors can, for example, replace mechanical buttons (i.e., the pushbuttons mentioned above) with capacitive alternatives. Thus, one particular application of capacitive sensing according to the present disclosure is a touch-sensitive capacitive sensor. For example, a smoking article may have a tactile portion (i.e., a touchpad) that allows a user to input various commands. At its most basic, the touchpad can provide power to a heating element in much the same manner as a pushbutton, as already described above. In other aspects, capacitive sensing may be applied near the mouthpiece of a smoking article, such that the presence and / or pressure of lips on the smoking article or drawing on the article may signal the device to provide power to the heating element. In addition to touch-sensitive capacitance sensors, motion capacitance sensors, liquid capacitance sensors, and accelerometers may be utilized in accordance with the present disclosure to elicit various responses from the smoking article. Furthermore, photoelectric sensors may also be incorporated into the smoking articles of the present invention.

[0028] The sensors utilized within the present smoking articles may provide a clear signal for the flow of electrical power to the heating element to heat the aerosol-generating element and form an aerosol for inhalation by the user. The sensors may also provide additional functionality. For example, a "wake-up" sensor may be included. Other sensing methods providing similar functionality may also be utilized in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0029] When a consumer draws on the mouthpiece of the smoking article, the actuation means may allow unlimited or continuous current flow through the heating element to rapidly generate heat. For rapid heating, it may be useful to include a current regulation component to (i) regulate current flow through the heating element to control heating of the resistive element and the temperature experienced thereby, and (ii) prevent excessive heating and degradation of the aerosol-generating element.

[0030] The current regulation circuitry may be time-based, among other things. Specifically, such circuitry includes means for allowing continuous current flow through the heating element for an initial period during inhalation, and timer means for subsequently regulating current flow until inhalation is complete. For example, subsequent regulation may include rapid on-off switching of current (e.g., on the order of about every 1-50 milliseconds) to maintain the heating element within a desired temperature range. Furthermore, regulation may simply involve allowing continuous current flow until the desired temperature is achieved, and then completely turning off current. The heating element may be restarted by the consumer initiating another inhalation of an article (or manually activating a push button, depending on the particular switch embodiment used to activate the heater). Alternatively, subsequent regulation may involve modulating current flow through the heating element to maintain the heating element within a desired temperature range. In some embodiments, to emit a desired amount of inhalable substance, the heating element may be energized for a duration of about 0.2 seconds to about 5.0 seconds, about 0.3 seconds to about 4.5 seconds, about 0.5 seconds to about 4.0 seconds, about 0.5 seconds to about 3.5 seconds, or about 0.6 seconds to about 3.0 seconds. One exemplary time-based current regulation circuit includes a transistor, a timer, a comparator, and a capacitor. Suitable transistors, timers, comparators, and capacitors are commercially available and will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Exemplary timers are those available from NEC Electronics as C-1555C and from General Electric Intersil, Inc. as ICM7555, as well as so-called "555 Timers" in various other sizes and configurations. An exemplary comparator is available from National Semiconductor as LM311. Further description of such time-based current adjustment circuits and other control units that may be useful in the present smoking articles is provided in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,922,901, 4,947,874, and 4,947,875 to Brooks et al., all of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety herein.

[0031] The control unit may be specifically configured to precisely control the amount of heat provided to the heating element. In some embodiments, the current regulation component may function to de-energize the heating element once a predetermined temperature is reached. Such a predetermined temperature may be in a range substantially high enough to volatilize the aerosol-generating element and any additional inhalable substance and provide an aerosol volume equivalent to or described herein as a typical inhalation of a conventional cigarette. While the heat required to volatilize the aerosol-generating element in a volume sufficient to provide the desired volume for a single inhalation may vary, heating to a temperature of about 120°C or higher, about 130°C or higher, about 140°C or higher, or about 160°C may be particularly useful for the heating element. In some embodiments, the heating temperature may be about 180°C or higher, about 200°C or higher, about 300°C or higher, or about 350°C or higher to volatilize an adequate amount of the aerosol-generating element. In additional embodiments, the predetermined temperature for aerosol formation can be about 120°C to about 350°C, about 140°C to about 300°C, or about 150°C to about 250°C. The temperature and duration of heating can be controlled by one or more components contained within the smoking article. For example, the temperature can be controlled by one or more components responsive to user input to provide a particular desired temperature, such as an aerosol-generating element heating temperature, a standby temperature, etc. In some embodiments, the temperature can be controlled by one or more components responsive to user input, such that a user can select a desired aerosol-generating heating temperature based at least on the composition of the aerosol-generating element. Similarly, a current regulating component can cycle current to the resistive heating element off and on to maintain the predetermined temperature for a predetermined period of time once the predetermined temperature is reached.

[0032] Furthermore, the current regulating component may cycle current to the heating element off and on to maintain a first temperature that is below the aerosol-forming temperature, and then, in response to the current-activated control component, allow increased energization to achieve a second temperature that is higher than the first temperature and is the aerosol-forming temperature. Such control may improve the article's response time to aerosol formation, such that aerosol formation begins almost immediately upon inhalation by the consumer. According to some embodiments, the first temperature (which may be characterized as a standby temperature) may be slightly lower than the aerosol-forming temperature defined above. Specifically, the standby temperature may be about 50°C to about 150°C, about 70°C to about 140°C, about 80°C to about 120°C, or about 90°C to about 110°C.

[0033] In addition to the control elements described above, the smoking article may also include one or more indicators or indicia. Such indicators or indicia may be lights (e.g., light-emitting diodes) that can provide indications of multiple aspects of the use of the article of the present invention. Furthermore, an LED indicator may be positioned at the distal end of the smoking article to simulate the color changes seen when a conventional cigarette is lit and smoked by a user. Other indicators of operation are also encompassed by the present disclosure. For example, visual indicators of operation may also include changes in light color or intensity to indicate the progression of the smoking experience. Tactile indicators of operation and audible indicators of operation are also encompassed by the present disclosure. Furthermore, combinations of such indicators of operation may also be used within a single smoking article. According to another embodiment, the smoking article may include one or more indicators or indicia, such as, for example, a display configured to provide information corresponding to the operation of the smoking article, such as, for example, the amount of power remaining in the power source, the progression of the smoking experience, an indication corresponding to the activation of a heating element, etc.

[0034] Smoking articles according to the present disclosure may further comprise a heating element that heats the aerosol-generating element to produce an aerosol for inhalation by a user. In various aspects, the heating element may be formed of a material that provides resistive heating when an electric current is applied thereto. Preferably, the heating element exhibits electrical resistance, making the resistive heating element useful for providing a sufficient amount of heat when an electric current flows therethrough. The interaction between the heating element and the aerosol-generating element may be, for example, through thermal conduction, thermal radiation, and / or thermal convection.

[0035] Conductive materials useful as resistive heating elements can have low mass, low density, and moderate resistivity, and can be thermally stable at temperatures experienced during use. Useful heating elements heat and cool quickly, thus providing efficient energy use. Rapid heating of the element can be beneficial in providing near-instant volatilization of the aerosol-generating element in its vicinity. Rapid cooling (i.e., to a temperature below the volatilization temperature of the aerosol-generating element / component / composition / material) prevents substantial volatilization (and thus waste) of the aerosol-generating element when aerosol formation is undesirable. Such heating elements also allow for relatively tight control of the temperature range experienced by the aerosol-generating element, particularly when time-based current control is used. Useful conductive materials preferably do not chemically react with the material being heated (e.g., the aerosol-generating element and / or other inhalable substance material) so as not to adversely affect the flavor or content of the aerosol or vapor generated. Non-limiting exemplary materials that can be used as conductive materials include carbon, graphite, carbon / graphite composites, metals, metallic and non-metallic carbides, nitrides, silicides, intermetallic compounds, cermets, alloys, and metal foils. Refractory materials can be particularly useful. Various different materials can be blended to achieve desired resistivity, mass, and thermal conductivity characteristics. In certain embodiments, metals that can be utilized include, for example, nickel, chromium, alloys of nickel and chromium (e.g., nichrome), and steel.Materials that may be useful for providing resistive heating are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,671 to Counts et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,093,894 to Deevi et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,498 to Deevi et al., Sprinkel No. 5,228,460 to Jr. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,075 to Deevi et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,813 to Deevi et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,468,936 to Deevi et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,850 to Das, U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,656 to Das, U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,855 to Deevi et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,225 to Hajaligol, U.S. Pat. No. 5,665,262 to Hajaligol, U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,692 to Das et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,368 to Fleischhauer et al., the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

[0036] Heating elements may be provided in a variety of forms, such as, for example, in the form of foils, foams, discs, spirals, fibers, wires, films, threads, strips, ribbons, or cylinders. In some aspects, resistive heating elements according to the present disclosure may be conductive substrates, such as those described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013 / 0255702 to Griffith et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0037] Beneficially, the resistive heating element may be provided in a configuration that allows the heating element to be positioned in close contact with or in close proximity to the aerosol-generation element (i.e., to provide heat to the aerosol-generation element through, for example, conduction, radiation, or convection). In other aspects, the resistive heating element may be provided in a configuration that allows the aerosol-generation element to be positioned proximal to the resistive heating element for substantially uniform heat distribution for aerosolization of the aerosol-generation element.

[0038] In certain embodiments, smoking articles according to the present disclosure may include an aerosol-generating element that may contain tobacco, tobacco components, or tobacco-derived materials (i.e., materials naturally found in tobacco or synthetically prepared materials that can be isolated directly from tobacco). In some embodiments, the aerosol-generating element may include a flavorful, fragrant tobacco blend in the form of cut filler. In other embodiments, the aerosol-generating element may include reconstituted tobacco material, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,809 to Pryor et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,143 to Pryor et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,025,814 to Raker, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Additionally, the reconstituted tobacco material may include reconstituted tobacco paper, as described with respect to the types of cigarettes described in *Chemical and Biological Studies on New Cigarette Prototypes that Heat Instead of Burn Tobacco*, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company Monograph (1988), the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. For example, the reconstituted tobacco material may comprise a sheet-like material containing tobacco and / or tobacco-related materials. In some embodiments, the aerosol-generating element may be formed from a wound roll of reconstituted tobacco material. In other embodiments, the aerosol-generating element may be formed from pieces, strips, etc. of reconstituted tobacco material.

[0039] According to another aspect, a smoking article according to the present disclosure may include an aerosol-generating element, which may include a porous, inert material, such as, for example, a ceramic material. In another aspect, the aerosol-generating element may include a porous, inert material that is substantially chemically and / or physically unreactive with tobacco-related materials, such as, for example, tobacco-derived extracts.

[0040] Tobacco that may be used may include or be derived from tobaccos such as pipe-cured tobacco, burley tobacco, oriental tobacco, Maryland tobacco, dark tobacco, dark fire-cured tobacco, and rustica tobacco, as well as other rare or specialty tobaccos, or blends thereof. Various representative tobacco types, tobacco processing types, and tobacco blend types are described in U.S. Patent No. 4,836,224 to Lawson et al., U.S. Patent No. 4,924,888 to Perfetti et al., U.S. Patent No. 5,056,537 to Brown et al., U.S. Patent No. 5,159,942 to Brinkley et al., U.S. Patent No. 5,220,930 to Gentry, U.S. Patent No. 5,360,023 to Blakley et al., U.S. Patent No. 6,701,936 to Shafer et al., U.S. Patent No. 6,701,936 to Dominguez et al., U.S. Patent No. 6,701,936 to Dominguez et al., U.S. Patent No. 6,701,936 to Dominguez et al., U.S. Patent No. 6,701,936 to Shafer ... Shafer et al., U.S. Patent No. 6,701,936 to Dominguez et al., U.S. Patent No. 6,701, No. 6,730,832 to Li et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,011,096 to Li et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,017,585 to Li et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,025,066 to Lawson et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004 / 0255965 to Perfetti et al., PCT Publication No. WO 02 / 37990 to Bereman, and Bombick et al., Fund. Appl. Toxicol., 39, pp. 11-17 (1997), the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

[0041] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the aerosol-generating element may include tobacco, tobacco components, and / or tobacco-derived materials that may be processed, manufactured, produced, and / or processed to incorporate an aerosol-forming material (e.g., a humectant, e.g., propylene glycol, glycerin, etc.) and / or at least one flavoring agent, as well as a burn retardant (e.g., diammonium phosphate and / or another salt) configured to help prevent ignition, thermal decomposition, combustion, and / or charring of the aerosol-generating element by the heating element. Various modes and methods for incorporating tobacco into smoking articles, and in particular smoking articles that are designed to intentionally not actually burn all of the tobacco within those smoking articles, are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,947,874 to Brooks et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,647,932 to Cantrell et al., U.S. Pat. No. 8,079,371 to Robinson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,290,549 to Banerjee et al., and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007 / 0215167 to Crooks et al., the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

[0042] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, flame-retardant / flame-retardant materials and additives that may be included in the aerosol-generating element may include organo-phosophorus compounds, borax, alumina hydrate, graphite, potassium tripolyphosphate, dipentaerythritol, pentaerythritol, and polyols. Others, such as nitrogen phosphonates, monoammonium phosphate, ammonium polyphosphate, ammonium bromide, ammonium borate, ethanolammonium borate, ammonium sulfamate, halogenated organic compounds, thiourea, and antimony oxide, may also be used but are not preferred agents. In each embodiment of the flame-retardant, flame-retardant, and / or char-retardant materials used in the aerosol-generating element and / or other components (whether alone or in combination with each other and / or other materials), the desired attributes are most preferably provided without undesirable off-gassing or melt-type behavior.

[0043] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the aerosol-generating element may also incorporate tobacco additives of the type conventionally used in the manufacture of tobacco products. These additives may include materials of the type used to enhance the flavor and aroma of tobacco used in the production of cigars, cigarettes, pipes, and the like. For example, these additives may include various tobacco flavoring and / or top layer components. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 3,419,015 to Wochnowski, U.S. Pat. No. 4,054,145 to Berndt et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,619 to Burcham, Jr. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,022,416 to Watson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,842 to Strang et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,320 to Martin, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Preferred flavoring materials include water, sugars and syrups (e.g., sucrose, glucose, and high fructose corn syrup), humectants (e.g., glycerin or propylene glycol), and flavoring agents (e.g., cocoa and licorice). These additional ingredients include top layer materials (e.g., flavoring materials such as menthol). See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,449,541 to Mays et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Additional materials that may be added include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,028 to Lawson et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 8,186,360 to Marshall et al., the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

[0044] For example, in some embodiments, the aerosol-generating element may include one or more different components, such as, for example, an aerosol-forming material, such as a polyhydric alcohol (e.g., glycerin, propylene glycol, or mixtures thereof). Representative types of additional aerosol-forming materials are set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,365 to Sensabaugh, Jr. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,839 to Jacob et al., PCT International Publication No. 98 / 57556 to Biggs et al., and Chemical and Biological Studies on New Cigarette Prototypes that Heat Instead of Burn Tobacco, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company Monograph (1988), the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. In some embodiments, the aerosol-generating element may produce a visible aerosol upon application of heat thereto (and, if necessary, cooling with air), and the aerosol-generating element may produce an aerosol that can be considered "smoke-like." In other aspects, the aerosol-generating element may produce an aerosol that is substantially invisible but is discernible due to the presence of other characteristics, such as flavor or taste. Thus, the nature of the aerosol generated may vary depending on the particular components of the aerosol-generating element. The aerosol-generating element may be chemically simple relative to the chemistry of smoke produced by burning tobacco.

[0045] A wide variety of flavoring agents or materials can be used to modify the sensory or sensory-irritating characteristics or properties of the mainstream aerosol of a smoking article. Such flavoring agents can be provided from sources other than tobacco and can be natural or artificial in nature. Of particular interest are flavoring agents applied to or incorporated into the aerosol-generating element and / or those areas of the smoking article where the aerosol is generated. Again, such agents can be provided directly in the heated cavity proximate the resistive heating element or on a substrate. Exemplary flavoring agents include vanillin, ethyl vanillin, cream, tea, coffee, fruit (e.g., apple, cherry, strawberry, peach, and citrus flavors including lime and lemon), maple, menthol, mint, peppermint, spearmint, wintergreen, nutmeg, clove, lavender, cardamom, ginger, honey, anise, sage, cinnamon, sandalwood, jasmine, cascarilla, cocoa, licorice, and flavoring agents and flavor packages of types and characteristics traditionally used for flavoring cigarettes, cigars, and pipe tobacco. Syrups, such as high fructose corn syrup, can also be used. Flavoring agents can also have acidic or basic properties (e.g., organic acids such as levulinic acid, succinic acid, and pyruvic acid). Flavoring agents can be combined with the aerosol-generating material, if desired. Exemplary plant-derived compositions that may be used are disclosed in U.S. Application Nos. 12 / 971,746 to Dube et al. and 13 / 015,744 to Dube et al., the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. The selection of such additional ingredients may vary depending on factors such as the sensory characteristics desired in the article, and the present disclosure is intended to encompass any such additional ingredients that would be readily apparent to one skilled in the art of tobacco and tobacco-related or tobacco-derived products. See Gutcho, *Tobacco Flavoring Substances and Methods*, Noyes Data Corp. (1972), and Leffingwell et al., *Tobacco Flavoring for Smoking Products* (1972), the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

[0046] Any of the flavorings, flavoring agents, and other materials that may be useful in combination with tobacco materials to affect their sensory attributes, including sensory attributes such as those already described herein, may be combined with the aerosol-generating element. Organic acids, in particular, may be incorporated into the aerosol-generating element to affect the flavor, sensory, or sensory attributes of agents that may be combined with the aerosol-generating element, such as nicotine. For example, organic acids such as levulinic acid, lactic acid, and pyruvic acid may be included with nicotine in equimolar amounts (based on the total organic acid content) with the nicotine within the aerosol-generating element. Any combination of organic acids may be used. For example, the aerosol-generating element may contain about 0.1 to about 0.5 moles of levulinic acid per mole of nicotine, about 0.1 to about 0.5 moles of pyruvic acid per mole of nicotine, about 0.1 to about 0.5 moles of lactic acid per mole of nicotine, or combinations thereof, up to a concentration such that the total amount of organic acids present is equimolar to the total amount of nicotine present in the aerosol-generating element. Various additional examples of organic acids that can be used to generate the aerosol-generating element are described in U.S. Patent Application No. 14 / 721,283, filed May 26, 2015, to Dull et al., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0047] In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, the aerosol-generating element may be configured as an extruded structure and / or substrate that may include or consist essentially of tobacco, tobacco-related materials, glycerin, water, and / or binder materials, although certain formulations may exclude binder materials. The binder material may be any binder material commonly used in tobacco formulations, including, for example, carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), gums (e.g., guar gum), xanthan, pullulan, and / or alginic acid. According to some embodiments, the binder material contained within the aerosol-generating element may be configured to substantially maintain the structural shape and / or integrity of the aerosol-generating element. Various exemplary imaging agents, binder properties, binder uses, and binder amounts are set forth in U.S. Patent No. 4,924,887 to Raker et al., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0048] In another embodiment, the aerosol-generating element may include a plurality of microcapsules, beads, granules, etc., comprising tobacco-related material. For example, a representative microcapsule may be generally spherical in shape and may have an outer covering or shell containing, for example, a liquid center region of tobacco-derived extract. In some embodiments, the aerosol-generating element may include a plurality of microcapsules formed in a substantially hollow cylindrical shape. In one embodiment, the aerosol-generating element may include a binder material configured to substantially maintain the structural shape and / or integrity of the plurality of microcapsules formed in a substantially hollow cylindrical shape.

[0049] In some embodiments, the aerosol-generating element may be configured as an extruded material, as described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2012 / 0042885 to Stone et al., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In yet another embodiment, the aerosol-generating element may include an extruded structure and / or substrate formed from marumerized and / or non-marumerized tobacco. Marumerized tobacco is known, for example, from U.S. Patent No. 5,105,831 to Banerjee et al., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Marumerized tobacco may include about 20 to about 50 percent (by weight) of a tobacco blend in powder form with glycerol (about 20 to about 30 percent by weight), calcium carbonate (generally about 10 to about 60 percent by weight, often about 40 to about 60 percent by weight), and a binder and / or flavoring agent as described herein.

[0050] Aerosol-generating elements can assume various conformations based on the varying amounts of materials utilized therein. For example, useful aerosol-generating elements can contain up to about 98% to about 95% by weight, or up to about 90% by weight, of tobacco and / or tobacco materials. Useful aerosol-generating elements can also contain up to about 25%, about 20%, or about 15% by weight of water, particularly about 2% to about 25%, about 5% to about 20%, or about 7% to about 15% by weight of water. Flavors and the like (including pharmaceuticals such as nicotine) can comprise up to about 10%, up to about 8%, or up to about 5% by weight of the aerosol-generating element.

[0051] Additionally or alternatively, the aerosol-generating element may be configured as an extruded structure and / or substrate that may include or consist essentially of tobacco, glycerin, water, and / or binder material, and may be further configured to substantially maintain its structure throughout the aerosol-generation process. That is, the aerosol-generating element may be configured to substantially maintain its shape throughout the aerosol-generation process (i.e., the aerosol-generating element does not continuously deform under applied shear stress). Although the aerosol-generating element may include a liquid and / or have some water content, the aerosol-generating element remains substantially solid throughout the aerosol-generation process and substantially maintains its structural integrity throughout the aerosol-generation process. Exemplary tobacco and / or tobacco-related materials suitable for substantially solid aerosol-generating elements are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14 / 098,137 to Ademe et al., filed December 5, 2013, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14 / 282,768 to Sears et al., filed May 20, 2014, U.S. Patent No. 6,164,287 to White, and U.S. Patent No. 5,060,676 to Hearn et al., all of which are each incorporated by reference in their entirety.

[0052] The amount of aerosol-generating element used in a smoking article is such that the article exhibits acceptable sensory and sensory irritation characteristics and desired performance characteristics. For example, it is highly preferred to use sufficient aerosol-forming material, such as glycerin and / or propylene glycol, in the aerosol-generating element to provide visible mainstream aerosol generation that resembles in many respects the appearance of tobacco smoke. Typically, the amount of aerosol-forming material incorporated into the aerosol-generating element of a smoking article is in the range of about 1.5 g or less, about 1 g or less, or about 0.5 g or less.

[0053] The amount of aerosol-generating element can depend on factors such as the desired number of puffs per cartridge used with the smoking article. It is desirable that the aerosol-generating element not introduce a significant degree of unacceptable off-taste, filmy mouthfeel, or overall sensory experience that is significantly different from that of a conventional cigarette that produces mainstream smoke by burning tobacco cut filler. The selection of particular aerosol-forming materials, the amounts of these components used, and the type of tobacco material used can be modified to control the overall chemical composition of the aerosol produced by the aerosol-generating element of a smoking article.

[0054] In further embodiments, heating can be characterized in terms of the amount of aerosol to be generated. Specifically, the article is configured to provide the amount of heat necessary to generate a specified amount of aerosol (e.g., about 0.5 ml to about 100 ml, or any other amount deemed useful in a smoking article, as described elsewhere herein). In particular, the amount of heat generated can be measured in relation to a 2-second inhalation, providing about 35 ml of aerosol at a heater temperature of about 290°C. In some embodiments, the article can preferably provide about 1 to about 50 joules per second (J / s), about 2 J / s to about 40 J / s, about 3 J / s to about 35 J / s, or about 5 J / s to about 30 J / s.

[0055] The heating element is preferably in electrical communication with the power source of the smoking article such that electrical energy is provided to the heating element to generate heat and subsequently aerosolize the aerosol-generating element and any other inhalable substance provided by the smoking article. Such electrical communication may be permanent (e.g., hard wire) or removable (e.g., the resistive heating element is provided within a cartridge that can be attached to and detached from a control body that includes the power source).

[0056] Although various materials for use in smoking articles according to the present disclosure have been described above for heaters, batteries, capacitors, switch components, aerosol-generating elements, aerosol-forming materials, etc., the present disclosure should not be construed as being limited to only the illustrative embodiments. Rather, one of ordinary skill in the art will be able to recognize, based on the present disclosure, similar components in the art that may be interchangeable with any particular component of the present invention. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,424 to Sprinkel, Jr. discloses a piezoelectric sensor associated with the mouthpiece of the device that can detect the user's lip action associated with taking a puff and then trigger heating; U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,148 to McCafferty et al. discloses an inhalation sensor for controlling energy flow to a heat load array in response to a pressure drop through the mouthpiece; U.S. Pat. No. 5,967,148 to Harris et al. discloses a receptacle in a smoking device that includes an identification device that detects non-uniformity in the infrared transmittance of an inserted component and a control device that executes a detection routine when a component is inserted into the receptacle; U.S. Pat. No. 6,040,560 to Fleischhauer et al. describes a defined executable power cycle with multiple differential phase shifts; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,040,560 to Watkins et al. No. 5,934,289 discloses photonic-optronic components; U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,979 to Counts et al. discloses means for modifying the resistance of draw through a smoking device; U.S. Pat. No. 6,803,545 to Blake et al. discloses certain battery configurations for use within smoking devices; U.S. Pat. No. 7,293,565 to Griffen et al. discloses various charging systems for use with smoking devices; U.S. Pat. No. 2009 / 0320863 to Fernando et al. discloses computer interfacing means for smoking devices that facilitate charging and allow computer control of the device; and U.S. Pat. No. 2010 / 0163063 to Fernando et al. discloses an identification system for smoking devices, all of the foregoing disclosures are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.Further examples of components relating to electronic aerosol delivery articles and disclosing materials or components that may be used in the articles include U.S. Pat. No. 4,735,217 to Gerth et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,586 to Morgan et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,666,977 to Higgins et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,053,176 to Adams et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,287 to White, U.S. Pat. No. 6,196,218 to Voges, U.S. Pat. No. 6,810,883 to Felter et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,854,461 to Nichols, U.S. Pat. No. 7,832,410 to Hon, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,513,253 to Kobayashi. No. 7,896,006 to Hamano, U.S. Patent No. 6,772,756 to Shayan, U.S. Patent Nos. 8,156,944 and 8,375,957 to Hon, U.S. Patent Publication Nos. 2006 / 0196518 and 2009 / 0188490 to Hon, U.S. Patent No. 8,794,231 to Thorens et al., U.S. Patent Nos. 8,915,254 and 8,925,555 to Monsees et al., U.S. Patent No. 8,851,083 and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2010 / 0024834 to Oglesby et al., U.S. Patent Publication No. 2010 / 0307518 to Wang, and WO 2010 / 091593 to Hon. The various materials disclosed by the above documents may be incorporated into the present device in various embodiments, and all of the above disclosures are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0057] While articles according to the present disclosure may take on various forms, their scope of application is similar, as discussed in detail below, depending on the consumer's use of the smoking article. In particular, the smoking article may be provided as a single unit or as a multi-unit housing containing various components that are assembled for use by the consumer and then disassembled by the consumer. In one embodiment, a smoking article according to the present disclosure includes a first unit engageable and disengageable with a second unit, and a third unit engageable and disengageable with the second unit, the second unit comprising a resistive heating element, and the third unit comprising a power source. In another embodiment, a smoking article includes a first unit engageable and disengageable with the third unit, and a second unit engageable and disengageable with the third unit, the second unit comprising a resistive heating element, and the third unit comprising a power source. In some embodiments, the third unit may further include one or more control components for activating or regulating the flow of current from the power source. According to another aspect, the second unit may compromise one or more control components that activate or regulate the flow of current from the power source of the third unit. In yet another aspect, the second and third units may include one or more control components that activate or regulate the flow of current from the power source of the third unit to the resistive heating element of the second unit.

[0058] According to another aspect, any of the first, second, and / or third units may include one or more control components for actuating and regulating the flow of electricity from the power source to the resistive heating unit. The first unit may include a distal end that engages the second unit and an opposing proximal end that defines a mouthpiece (or simply a mouthpiece) with an opening at its proximal end. In another aspect, the first unit may include a distal end that engages the third unit and an opposing proximal end that defines a mouthpiece (or simply a mouthpiece) with an opening at its proximal end. The first unit, second unit, and / or third unit may include an air flow passage or passageway that opens into the mouthpiece of the first unit, and the air flow passage may provide a path for the heat-generated aerosol from the resistive heating element to the mouthpiece. In one aspect, the first unit may be disposable, while the second and third units may be reusable. According to another aspect, the first, second, and third units may be reusable.

[0059] More specifically, a smoking article according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may have a substantially cylindrically shaped reusable tubular housing, the reusable tubular housing having a first end and an opposing second end. In some embodiments, the first end may be a mouthpiece-engagement end, and the opposing second end may be a component-engagement end. The smoking article may further include a substantially cylindrically shaped reusable component housing or power source portion having a first end and an opposing second end. In some embodiments, the first end may be the tubular housing-engagement end, and the second end of the reusable component housing or power source portion may be an opposing second end that may include one or more indicators of active use of the smoking article. The tubular housing-engagement end of the component housing may be configured to operably connect a power source within the component housing to the tubular housing containing a heating element (i.e., a resistive heating element). The smoking article may further include a substantially cylindrically shaped reusable component housing or power source portion having a first end and an opposing second end. According to some embodiments, the first end can be a mouth-engagement end for drawing on the article, and the opposing second end can be an opposing tubular housing engagement end configured to connect the mouthpiece portion to the tubular housing. To use the smoking article, a consumer can connect a power source within the component housing to the tubular housing containing the heating element, place the aerosol-generation element within the tubular housing in operable engagement with the heating element, and connect the mouthpiece portion to the tubular housing to enclose the heating element and aerosol-generation element. In some embodiments, the respective engagement ends of the mouthpiece portion, tubular housing, and component housing can include complementary threaded surfaces for threaded engagement. In other embodiments, the engagement ends of the various housings and / or mouthpiece portions can have a press-fit engagement, a magnetic engagement, or any other suitable type of engagement that allows the various portions and / or housings to engage and maintain one another.

[0060] A smoking article according to another aspect of the present disclosure may have a substantially cylindrically shaped reusable tubular housing, the reusable tubular housing having a first end and an opposing second end. In some aspects, the first end may be a mouth-portion engagement end, and the opposing second end may be configured to receive an aerosol-generating element therethrough. In some aspects, the opposing second end of the reusable tubular housing may be configured to operably engage an end cap housing. The smoking article may further include a substantially cylindrically shaped reusable component housing or power source portion having a first end and an opposing second end. In some aspects, the first end may be a mouth-portion engagement end, and the opposing second end of the reusable component housing or power source portion may be configured to operably engage the component housing engagement end of the tubular housing and / or to operably engage the end cap housing. In some aspects, the end cap housing and the component housing or power source portion may be at least partially configured to completely and / or partially enclose the tubular housing therebetween and / or therein. The tubular housing mating end of the component housing can be configured to operably connect a power source within the component housing to the tubular housing, which in some embodiments may include a heating element (i.e., a resistive heating element). In other embodiments, the component housing can be configured to receive a portion of the tubular housing and can be further configured to operably connect a power source within the component housing to a portion of the heating element (i.e., a resistive heating element) configured to operably engage with the tubular housing. The article can further include a substantially cylindrical, reusable or disposable mouthpiece portion having a first end and an opposing second end. According to some embodiments, the first end can be a mouth-engaging end for drawing on the article, and the opposing second end can be an opposing component housing-engaging end configured to connect the mouthpiece portion to the component housing. To use the smoking article, a consumer can connect a power source within the component housing to at least a portion of a heating element configured to be received within the tubular housing. In some embodiments, the tubular housing can include the second portion of the heating element. In yet another aspect, a consumer may connect a power source within the component housing to a tubular housing that contains at least a portion of the heating element.The consumer can then place the aerosol generation element within the tubular housing in operable engagement with the heating element and enclose the tubular housing within the component housing and / or end cap housing to enclose the heating element and aerosol generation element. The consumer can then operably connect the mouthpiece portion to the component housing. In some embodiments, the respective mating ends of the mouthpiece portion, tubular housing, and component housing can include complementary threaded surfaces for threaded engagement. In other embodiments, the mating ends of the various housings and / or mouthpiece portion can have a press-fit engagement, a magnetic engagement, or any other suitable type of engagement that allows the various portions and / or housings to be engaged and maintained together.

[0061] In use, a consumer initiates heating of a heating element, such as a resistive heating element, and heat generated by the resistive heating element generates an aerosol, and optionally, an inhalable substance, from the aerosol-generating element. Such heating releases at least a portion of the aerosol-generating element in the form of an aerosol (which may include any additional inhalable substance therewith), and such aerosol is provided within a space associated with the heating element (e.g., a heated cavity) within the tubular housing, which is in fluid communication with the mouth-engaging end of the mouthpiece portion. When a consumer inhales on the mouth-engaging end of the mouthpiece portion, air is drawn through at least one or all of the component housing, the tubular housing, and the mouthpiece portion, and a combination of the inhaled air and the aerosol is received by the consumer as the inhaled material exits the mouth-engaging end of the mouthpiece portion into the consumer's mouth.

[0062] To initiate heating, the consumer may activate a push button, capacitive sensor, or similar component that causes the heating element to receive electrical energy from a power source (e.g., a battery or other energy source, such as a capacitor). In another aspect, the consumer may initiate heating by drawing on the mouth-engaging end of the nozzle, thereby activating a drawing sensor configured to cause the heating element to receive electrical energy from the power source. The electrical energy may be provided for a predetermined length of time or may be manually controlled. Preferably, the flow of electrical energy does not substantially progress on the article between inhalations (although the energy flow may progress to maintain a baseline temperature above ambient temperature, e.g., a temperature that facilitates rapid heating to an active heating temperature). In additional aspects, heating may be initiated by the consumer's inhalation through the use of various sensors, as described elsewhere herein. Once inhalation ceases, heating will be stopped or reduced. When the consumer has taken a sufficient number of inhalations to release a sufficient amount of aerosol and / or inhalable substance (e.g., an amount sufficient to equate to a typical smoking experience), the aerosol-generating element can be removed from the heated cavity and discarded. An indicator or other suitable indicia can provide an indication that the aerosol-generating element has been exhausted (i.e., the aerosol-generating element has substantially provided the known amount of aerosol that it is capable of providing to the consumer). In some embodiments, a single aerosol-generating element can provide more than a single smoking experience, and thus can provide a sufficient amount of aerosol-generating element to simulate the equivalent of multiple conventional cigarettes.

[0063] The above description of the use of the present article may be applied to the various embodiments described with minor modifications, which may become apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the further disclosure provided herein. However, the above description is not intended to limit the use of the article of the present disclosure, but is provided to comply with all necessary requirements of the disclosure of the present disclosure.

[0064] 1 and 2 , a smoking article 5 according to the present disclosure may generally comprise a mouth-end portion 10, a tubular housing 30 defining a space associated with a heating element 37 (i.e., a heated cavity 40), and a component housing 50 including a power source. In some embodiments, the mouth-end portion 10, the tubular housing 30, and the component housing 50 may each further include additional components therein. The mouth-end portion 10 may further define a mouth-engaging end 11 (i.e., an end at which a consumer may draw to inhale aerosol from the article) and a tubular-housing-engaging end 12 longitudinally opposed to the mouth-engaging end. The tubular housing 30 may define a first mouth-coupling end 31 and a second longitudinally opposed component-engaging end 32, which may be configured to operably engage the tubular-housing-engaging end 51 of the component housing 50. As shown in FIG. 1 , the component-engaging end 32 of the tubular housing 30 may longitudinally oppose the mouth-engaging end 31 of the tubular housing. Although the illustrated article is provided as a smoking article device having multiple parts, any of the mouthpiece portion, tubular housing, and / or part housing may be integrally formed with any of the other parts. As will become apparent from further disclosure herein, it may be preferable to form embodiments of the smoking article from three or more separate parts joined together, each containing a separate part of the smoking article therein.

[0065] A smoking article 5 according to the present disclosure may have an overall shape that may be defined as substantially rod-shaped, substantially tubular-shaped, or substantially cylindrical-shaped. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the mouthpiece portion 10, the tubular housing 30, and / or the component housing 50 may have a substantially round cross-section, although other cross-sectional shapes (e.g., oval, square, triangular, etc.) are also encompassed by the present disclosure. Additionally, the tubular housing 30 may have a substantially round cross-section with a diameter greater than the diameter of the substantially round cross-section of the mouthpiece portion 10 and / or the component housing 50. Such terms describing the physical shape of a smoking article may also apply to articles in which portions are integrated as a single piece and / or as fewer than three distinct, separable parts.

[0066] The outer shell 13 of the mouthpiece portion 10 may be formed of any material suitable for forming and maintaining a suitable conformation, such as a tubular shape, and for retaining the appropriate components of the mouthpiece portion therein. The outer shell 33 of the tubular housing 30 may be formed of any material suitable for forming and maintaining a suitable conformation, such as a tubular shape, and for retaining the appropriate components of the tubular housing therein. Furthermore, the outer shell 53 of the component housing 50 may also be formed of any material suitable for forming and maintaining a suitable conformation, such as a tubular shape, and for retaining the appropriate components of the component housing therein. In some embodiments, the outer shells 13, 33, 53 may be formed of substantially the same material. In some embodiments, the outer shells 13, 33, 53 may be formed of a heat-resistant material (natural or synthetic) so as to retain their structural integrity (e.g., not degrade in response to heating) at least at temperatures that are the heating temperatures provided by the resistive heating elements, as further described herein. In some embodiments, a heat-resistant polymer may be used. In other embodiments, ceramic materials may be used. In certain embodiments, the outer shells 13, 33, 53 may be constructed of stainless steel and / or other metallic materials. According to some embodiments, the outer shell 33 of the tubular housing 30, when formed in a single layer, may have a thickness of about 0.2 mm to about 5.0 mm, about 0.5 mm to about 4.0 mm, about 0.5 mm to about 3.0 mm, or about 1.0 mm to about 3.0 mm. Further exemplary types of components and materials that may be used to provide the above-described functions or that may be used as substitutes for the above-described materials and components may be of the type specified in U.S. Pat. No. 8,464,726, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0067] 1 and 2, the smoking article 5 may include a component housing 50 including a tubular housing engagement end 51 and a distal end 52 longitudinally opposed to one another. As shown in FIG. 2, the tubular housing engagement end 51 of the component housing 50 defines an engagement feature 54 on an outer surface of the component housing configured to engage and / or operably connect the component housing 50 to the tubular housing 30 for use. In some embodiments, the engagement feature 54 may include a threaded surface configured for threaded engagement with a complementary engagement feature 36 of the tubular housing 30 (e.g., a complementary threaded surface configured to engage the threaded surface of the engagement feature 54). In other embodiments, the engagement feature 54 and the complementary engagement feature 36 may define a press-fit engagement, although other types of engagement features (e.g., magnets, snap-fits, etc.) are also encompassed by the present disclosure.

[0068] In some embodiments, the component housing 50 may define at least one passageway 56 to provide air drawn into the tubular housing 30 therethrough. Notably, the component housing 50 may, in some cases, further define at least one passageway 56 configured to be in fluid communication with the tubular housing 30. Additionally or alternatively, the tubular housing 30 may include a wall member 41 extending laterally between the outer wall 34 and the inner wall 35 of the tubular housing, as described in more detail herein. The wall member 41 may define at least one orifice therethrough configured to provide an air flow path to the heated cavity 40, as also described in more detail herein. In some cases, the at least one orifice may be disposed and configured to be in fluid connection and communication with the at least one passageway 56 defined by the component housing 50 to provide air drawn into the heated cavity 40 therethrough via the at least one orifice. Additionally, the one or more passageways 56 may also be in fluid communication with the outlet channel 14 via the heated cavity 40. Thus, in response to suction at the mouth-engaging end 11 of the mouthpiece portion 10, air may then be drawn through at least one fluid passage 56 in the component housing 50, through at least one orifice defined by the wall member 41, into the heated cavity 40 in the tubular housing 30, and through the mouthpiece channel 14 to the mouth-engaging end of the mouthpiece portion. Thus, according to some embodiments, the heated cavity 40 may be configured to, in response to suction, emit an aerosol (which may include any additional inhalable substance therewith) from the aerosol-generating element 70 through the mouthpiece channel 14 to the mouth-engaging end of the mouthpiece portion.

[0069] Additionally, article 5 may include one or more status indicators or other indicia positioned on any one or combination of shells 13, 33, 53. Such indicators may indicate the number of inhalations taken or remaining from the article, may indicate an active or inactive status, may illuminate in response to an inhalation, etc., as discussed above. According to one embodiment, the indicator may be disposed in association with component housing 50 and configured to provide an indication of the amount of energy remaining in battery 55. The use of any number of status indicators or other indicia is encompassed by the present disclosure, and may be associated with an opening in the shell through which an audible alarm may be emitted, when appropriate.

[0070] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the components housing 50 may further include a power source, such as a battery 55, and at least one electronic control unit (not shown), and these components may be arranged in various orders within the components housing 50. Although not explicitly shown, the smoking article 5, and particularly the components housing 50, may include wiring, as needed, to provide electrical current from the battery 55 to additional components and to interconnect the components for proper operation of the necessary functions provided by the smoking article 5. For example, the smoking article 5 may include wiring (not shown) within the components housing 50 and / or tubular housing 30, as needed, to provide electrical current from the battery 55 of the components housing 50 to the heating element 37 disposed within the tubular housing 30. According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the smoking article may optionally include wiring or other conductor arrangements (not shown) within the component housing 50 and / or the tubular housing 30 to provide electrical current from the battery 55 in the component housing 50 to one or more status indicators and / or other indicia positioned on any one or combination of the outer shells 13, 33, 53 and / or disposed within any of the mouthpiece portion 10, the tubular housing 30, and / or the component housing 50.

[0071] 2 , the smoking article 5 may include a mouthpiece portion 10 including a tubular housing engagement end configured to engage and / or operably connect the mouthpiece portion to a mouthpiece engagement end 31 of a tubular housing 30. According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the mouthpiece engagement end 31 of the tubular housing 30 may include an engagement feature 17 configured to engage and / or operably connect the tubular housing to the mouthpiece portion 10.

[0072] In some embodiments, the engagement features configured to engage and / or operably connect the tubular housing 30 to the mouthpiece portion 10 may include a snap-fit ​​and / or press-fit engagement. In other cases, a threaded engagement may be implemented. According to some embodiments, the tubular housing 30 may include a mouthpiece engagement end 31 configured to receive the mouthpiece portion 10 such that the mouthpiece portion engages an aerosol generation element 70 that may be disposed within the tubular housing 30. As such, the mouthpiece engagement end 31 may be configured such that, upon engagement between the mouthpiece portion 10 and the tubular housing 30, the mouthpiece portion 10 biases the aerosol generation element 70 into the heated cavity 40 (i.e., against a biasing element, as discussed in more detail herein).

[0073] According to some embodiments, the mouthpiece portion 10 can be substantially cylindrical in shape. As shown in FIG. 2 , the mouthpiece portion 10 can include a first portion 15 proximal to the mouth-engaging end 11 and a second portion 16 proximal to the tubular housing-engaging end. The airflow channel 14 can extend longitudinally through both the first portion 15 and the second portion 16 of the mouthpiece portion 10. As shown in FIG. 2 , both the first portion 15 and the second portion 16 can be substantially cylindrical in shape. While both the first portion 15 and the second portion 16 are shown as having a substantially circular cross-section, other cross-sectional shapes (e.g., square, oval, etc.) are encompassed by the present disclosure. FIG. 2 also shows the first portion 15 of the mouthpiece portion 10 having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the second portion 16. In some embodiments, the first portion 15 can have a larger diameter than the second portion 16 of the mouthpiece portion. In yet other embodiments, the first portion 15 can have a diameter substantially similar to the diameter of the second portion 16. However, FIG. 2 shows that the second portion 16 of the mouthpiece has an outermost diameter substantially similar to the outermost diameter of the outer shell of the tubular housing 30. As such, when the mouthpiece 10 operably engages with the tubular housing 30, the engagement provides a uniform transition between the mouthpiece and the tubular housing. Additionally, in some embodiments, the mouthpiece 10 may comprise a substantially heat-resistant material. In some embodiments, the mouthpiece 10 may comprise a stainless steel material. According to some embodiments, the heat generated by the heating element 37 within the heating cavity 40 may be sufficient to generate an aerosol from the aerosol-generating element, while the mouthpiece 10 remains relatively cool.

[0074] 2, the smoking article 5 may include a tubular housing 30 including a mouth-engagement end 31 and a longitudinally opposed component-engagement end 32. The component-engagement end 32, according to one exemplary embodiment, defines a complementary engagement feature 36 configured to engage and / or operably connect the tubular housing 30 to the tubular-housing-engagement end of the component housing 50, as already discussed above.

[0075] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the tubular housing 30 may include electrical conductors as needed to complete an electrical circuit with the battery 55 and the heating element 37. Additionally, the tubular housing 30 may include suitable electrical conductors such that the electrical circuit is operable when the tubular housing 30 is operably connected to both the mouthpiece portion 10 and the component housing 50. In some cases, the electrical circuit may be operable only when the aerosol-generating element 70 is present within the heating cavity 40 of the assembled article. In some embodiments, the heating element 37 may be electrically connected to the battery 55 through suitable wiring or suitable electrical conductors extending between terminals of the battery and the heating element 37 to facilitate the formation of an electrical circuit configured to selectively direct the flow of electrical current to the heating element, e.g., a resistive heating element. In certain embodiments, the article 5 may include an electrical circuit in which at least one control component associated with the electrical circuit delivers, controls, or modulates electrical power from the battery 55 to energize the heating element 37 according to one or more predetermined algorithms. Such electrical circuitry may specifically incorporate a flow sensor (not shown) such that it operates only upon application of suction by the article 5 (i.e., during use by a consumer, exerting suction on the mouthpiece 10). For example, the flow sensor may be configured to detect inhalation by the consumer or inhalation of the article, and then send a signal to activate the control component to direct power from the battery 55 to the heating element 37, causing the heating element to generate and provide heat to the aerosol heating element 70 within the heating cavity 40, which in turn generates and provides an aerosol in response to the heat, the aerosol being suitable for inhalation by the consumer. The control algorithm may, for example, request power to the heating element 37 according to a predetermined cycle to maintain the heating element at a predetermined temperature. The control algorithm may also be programmed to automatically deactivate or interrupt power to the heating element 37 after a predetermined period of time has elapsed during which inhalation or inhalation of the article is not detected.

[0076] According to some embodiments, the article may include a temperature sensor constructed and arranged to provide feedback to the control component. Such a temperature sensor may, for example, be in direct contact with the heating element 37 or may be positioned in association with the heated cavity 40 proximal to the aerosol-generating element 70 (i.e., so that the heating element can be controlled by the controller to maintain heating proximal to the aerosol-generating element at a desired temperature for forming an aerosol). Alternative temperature sensing means may also be used, such as, for example, implementing logic control components to evaluate resistance through the heating element and correlate such resistance with the temperature of the heating element 37. In other embodiments, the flow sensor may be replaced with an alternative sensing means, such as capacitive sensing, as described elsewhere herein. As previously described herein, any of a variety of sensors and combinations thereof may be incorporated. Still further, one or more control buttons may be included to allow a consumer to manually activate various functions, such as turning power to the article 5 on and off or turning on the resistive heating element 37 to generate an aerosol for inhalation.

[0077] As discussed herein, the smoking article 5 may include a heating element 37 configured to provide heat to the tubular housing 30 and to the heated cavity 40 defined therein. For example, the smoking article may include wiring (not shown) within the component housing 50 and / or the tubular housing 30 to provide electrical current to the heating element 37, such as a resistive heating element positioned within the tubular housing 30, configured to provide heat to the heated cavity 40 defined by the outer wall 34 and the inner wall 35. In some embodiments, the tubular housing 30 includes a first or outer wall 34 that is substantially cylindrical in shape. Further, the tubular housing 30 includes a second or inner wall 35 that is also substantially cylindrical in shape. As shown in FIG. 2 , the outer wall 34 and the inner wall 35 may be concentrically aligned about a longitudinal axis A. According to one embodiment, the inner wall 35 may be substantially cylindrical and have a radius smaller than the radius defined by the substantially cylindrical outer wall 34, such that the laterally extending space between the outer wall 34 and the inner wall 35 defines the heating cavity 40. In some embodiments, the tubular housing 30 may include outer and inner walls 34, 35 that may be tapered such that the distance between the outer and inner walls 34, 35, when measured closer to the component engagement end 32, is smaller compared to the distance between the outer and inner walls when measured closer to the nozzle engagement end 31. While FIG. 2 illustrates the heating cavity 40 having a substantially hollow cylindrical shape defined between the outer and inner walls 34, 35, other suitable shapes (e.g., hollow, square, tapered, etc.) are also encompassed by the present disclosure. According to some embodiments, the outer and inner walls 34, 35 may comprise a thermally conductive material suitable for providing heat within the heating cavity 40. For example, the outer wall 34 and the inner wall 35 may comprise a stainless steel material and / or other metallic material suitable for providing heat within the heating cavity.

[0078] As previously mentioned, the outer wall 34 and the inner wall 35 can define a substantially hollow cylindrical shape defined therebetween. Additionally, according to some embodiments, the outer wall 34 and the inner wall 35 can additionally or alternatively define longitudinally opposed ends, one of the longitudinally opposed ends including a wall member 41 extending laterally between the outer wall 34 and the inner wall 35, as shown in FIG. 2 and previously discussed herein. According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the wall member 41 can be disposed proximally toward the component-engaging end 32 of the tubular housing 30.

[0079] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the tubular housing 30 may further include a biasing element operably engaged with one of the outer wall 34, the inner wall 35, and / or the wall member 41 of the heated cavity 40. The biasing element may be configured to provide a biasing force to urge the aerosol generation element 70 outward from the heated cavity 40 when the mouthpiece portion 10 is disengaged from the tubular housing 30. For example, the biasing element may be operably engaged with the wall member 41 and configured to exert a biasing force on the aerosol generation element 70 longitudinally outward of the heated cavity 40. The biasing element may include a spring element and / or any suitable means for exerting a biasing force on the aerosol generation element toward the mouthpiece engagement end 31 of the tubular housing 30 and longitudinally outward of the heated cavity 40 when the mouthpiece portion 10 is disengaged from the tubular housing.

[0080] As mentioned above, the tubular housing 30 may include a heating element 37 configured to provide heat to the heating cavity 40. In some embodiments, the heating element 37 may be configured to provide heat to the heating cavity 40 when powered by a power source, such as a battery 55. In some examples, the heating element 37 may comprise a resistive heating element, although other types of heating elements (i.e., induction, microwave, radiant, etc.) may also be implemented as needed or desired. According to some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B , the heating element 37 may include a helical component portion 38 and an elongated member portion 39.

[0081] In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 3A , the heating element 37 can be configured to be operably received by an arrangement of walls defining the heating cavity 40. For example, the heating element 37 can include a helix or spiral portion 38 with an additional elongated member portion 39 continuous from the helical portion 38 and extending longitudinally along a central axis through the helical portion. In this manner, the helical portion 38 can be configured to extend longitudinally around the exterior wall 34 defining the heating cavity 40, and the elongated member portion 39 can be configured to extend longitudinally within and along the interior wall 35 of the heating cavity. In some embodiments, the elongated member portion 39 can also extend longitudinally along the central axis about which the helical portion 38 rotates. In this manner, the heating element 37 can be configured to provide heat to the heating cavity 40 laterally through the exterior wall 34 and laterally through the interior wall 35. According to some embodiments, rather than being provided as a rod-shaped member, the elongated member portion 39 may be configured differently as needed or desired. For example, the elongated member portion 39 may, in some instances, be provided as a helical wound or spiral portion, as shown in FIG. 3B. Thus, one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a heating element 37 having a helical component 38 that rotates about an axis, and an elongated member portion 39 that is also provided as a helical wound or spiral portion that rotates about the same axis.

[0082] According to some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B , the helical component 38 can be integrally formed with the elongated member portion 39 to form a single heating element 37. In one embodiment, a first portion of the heating element (e.g., the helical component) can be disposed in series with a second portion of the heating element (e.g., the elongated member portion). According to another embodiment, the first portion of the heating element can be disposed in parallel with the second portion of the heating element. In yet another embodiment, the helical component 38 and the elongated member portion 39 can be separate heating element portions that can be configured to be separately controlled to provide heat to the heating cavity 40. In this manner, the helical component 38 can be engaged to provide heat to the heating cavity 40, and the elongated member portion 39 can remain disengaged. Alternatively, the elongated member portion 39 can be engaged to provide heat to the heating cavity 40, and the helical component 38 can remain disengaged. Furthermore, the helical component portion 38 may be controlled by a control unit to provide heat to the heating cavity 40 at a particular temperature, and the elongated member portion 39 may be controlled by the same or a different control unit to provide heat to the heating cavity at the same or a different temperature.

[0083] Embodiments of the present disclosure advantageously provide substantially complete and even heating of the aerosol-generation element by providing multiple heating elements, or heating elements with multiple portions, positioned within the tubular housing 30. Specifically, a smoking article according to one embodiment includes a heating element 37 including a helical component 38 disposed proximate the outer wall 34 that provides heat to the outermost radial portion of the aerosol-generation element 70, and an elongated member portion 39 that provides heat to the innermost radial portion of the aerosol-generation element. Thus, the heating element 37 can advantageously provide heating of the aerosol-generation element 70 radially inward from the outer wall 34 and simultaneously heating of the aerosol-generation element radially outward from the inner wall 35.

[0084] According to some embodiments, at least a portion of the heating element 37 may be disposed proximate to the wall member 41. In some embodiments, the heating element 37 may include a heating element portion disposed proximate to the wall member 41 that operably connects the helical component 38 to the elongated member portion 39. Thus, the heating element 37 may beneficially provide heating of the aerosol generation element 70 longitudinally inward from the wall member 41, simultaneously with heating of the aerosol generation element radially inward from the outer wall 34 and heating of the aerosol generation element radially outward from the inner wall 35.

[0085] During production of a smoking article, an aerosol-generating element 70 is inserted into the heating cavity 40 for final heating by the heating element 37. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the aerosol-generating element 70 can be solid tobacco and / or tobacco-related material shaped and configured to be received within the heating cavity 40 (i.e., a uniform hollow cylindrical shape, as shown in FIG. 4A). As shown in FIGS. 4A-4G, the aerosol-generating element 70 can be shaped and configured in a variety of shapes that are configured to engage with and be received within the heating cavity 40. In the example of a uniform hollow cylindrical configuration of the aerosol-generating element 70, the aerosol-generating element can be produced by a continuous process, such as, for example, an extrusion process. Furthermore, in the example of a uniform hollow shape configuration, as shown in FIGS. 4E-4G, the aerosol-generating element can be produced by a continuous process, such as, for example, an extrusion process.

[0086] In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4B , the heated cavity 40 may be defined by a substantially cylindrical inner wall 35 and a tapered, cylindrical outer wall 34, such that the corresponding aerosol generating element 70 is formed as a tapered hollow cylinder. Thus, the surface 72 of the aerosol generating element 70 that engages the wall member 41 defined by the heated cavity 40 when the aerosol generating element is inserted into the heated cavity 40 may have a smaller diameter than the opposing surface 71 of the aerosol generating element. Furthermore, the inner surface 75 of the aerosol generating element 70 may be substantially cylindrical, and the outer surface 74 of the aerosol generating element may be tapered in one longitudinal direction. Such a tapered configuration may facilitate removal of the aerosol generating element from the heated cavity, or the tapered configuration may preclude the aerosol generating element from being formed in a continuous process (i.e., extrusion); the aerosol generating element may then be produced as an individual unit in a separate process, such as molding or casting.

[0087] According to one embodiment, as shown in Figure 4C, the inner wall 35 of the tubular housing may be tapered, with the outer wall 34 maintaining a substantially cylindrical shape, such that the surface 72 of the aerosol generating element 70 that engages the wall member 41 has a smaller cross-sectional area than the cross-sectional area of ​​the opposing surface 71 of the aerosol generating element 70. Thus, the inner surface 75 of the aerosol generating element 70 may be tapered in one longitudinal direction, while the outer surface 74 maintains a substantially cylindrical shape. According to another embodiment, as shown in Figures 4F and 4G, the inner surface 75 of the aerosol generating element 70 may be shaped substantially as a seven-pointed star.

[0088] In yet another embodiment, both the exterior wall 34 and the interior wall 35 of the heated cavity may be tapered in opposite longitudinal directions such that a corresponding aerosol-generating element 70 includes a surface 72 having a cross-sectional area smaller than the cross-sectional area of ​​the opposing surface 71 of the aerosol-generating element 70, as shown in FIG. 4D . Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4D , the surface 72 may have a diameter smaller than the diameter of the opposing surface 71. Thus, when an appropriately shaped aerosol-generating element 70 is inserted into a heated cavity defined by the tapered configurations of the exterior and interior walls 34, 35 in opposite longitudinal directions, the tapered configurations of the exterior and interior walls facilitate removal of the aerosol-generating element 70 from the heated cavity because the opposing tapered interior and exterior walls provide minimal resistance and / or contact with the aerosol-generating element when removing the aerosol-generating element from the heated cavity. The aerosol-generating elements shown in Figures 4A-4G illustrate various shapes of a general hollow cylinder, however, other shapes such as, for example, a hollow rectangular prism, a hollow parallelepiped, and / or the like are also contemplated by the present disclosure.

[0089] As shown in Figures 4E and 4G, the aerosol generating element 70 may be formed as a substantially hollow seven-pointed star-shaped prism. In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 11, when the seven-pointed star-shaped prism aerosol generating element 70 is inserted into the heated cavity 40, the exterior surface 74 of the aerosol generating element may engage the exterior wall 34 of the heated cavity to provide an interior space or chamber for the formation of aerosol and / or a passageway 42 for the formed aerosol to travel from the heated cavity 40 to the outlet path 14. According to some embodiments, the seven-pointed star-shaped prism aerosol generating element 70 may further provide an increased exterior surface 74 of the aerosol generating element exposed to the heating element to produce aerosol for consumption. As noted above, the aerosol-generating material 70 may include solid tobacco and / or tobacco-related materials and may be configured and / or formed as a hollow cylindrical extrudate containing solid materials such as tobacco, tobacco parts, or tobacco-derived materials (i.e., materials naturally found in tobacco or synthetically prepared that can be isolated directly from tobacco), as shown in FIG. 4A. The tobacco used may include or be extracted from tobacco, such as iron-cured, burley, oriental, Maryland, dark, dark-flavored, and rustica tobacco, as well as other rare or specialty tobaccos, or blends thereof. In another embodiment, the aerosol-generating material 70 may include solid tobacco and / or tobacco-related materials and additional flavoring agents and / or other materials that modify the sensory or sensory-stimulating characteristics or properties of the mainstream aerosol of the smoking article. Such flavoring agents may be provided from sources other than tobacco and may be natural or artificial in nature. In some embodiments, the flavoring agent may be applied to or incorporated into the aerosol-generating element 70 and / or those areas of the smoking article where aerosol is generated (i.e., the heated cavity 40). While the flavoring agent may be applied directly to the aerosol-generating material 70 and / or the heated cavity 40, in some embodiments, the flavoring agent may be provided by an isolating substrate disposed in proximity to the aerosol-generating material 70 and / or in proximity to the heated cavity 40.Exemplary flavoring agents include vanillin, ethyl vanillin, cream, tea, coffee, fruit (e.g., apple, cherry, strawberry, peach, and citrus flavors including lime and lemon), maple, menthol, mint, peppermint, spearmint, wintergreen, nutmeg, clove, lavender, cardamom, ginger, honey, anise, sage, cinnamon, sandalwood, jasmine, cascarilla, cocoa, licorice, and flavoring agents and flavor packages of types and characteristics traditionally used for flavoring cigarettes, cigars, and pipe tobacco. Syrups, such as high fructose corn syrup, can also be used. Flavoring agents can also include acidic or basic properties (e.g., organic acids such as levulinic acid, succinic acid, and pyruvic acid).

[0090] 4A-4G, the aerosol generating element 70 may define a longitudinal channel 73 extending from a first surface 71 to an opposing second surface 72. In some embodiments, the second surface 72 may be disposed proximal to the wall member 41 when the aerosol generating element 70 is inserted into the heating cavity 40. The longitudinal channel 73 may be configured to receive at least a portion of the elongated member portion 39 of the internal heating element 37 therein. According to some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 4A, the longitudinal channel 73 may be formed as a cylindrical channel. With reference to FIGS. 4F and 4G, the longitudinal channel 73 may be formed as a seven-pointed star-shaped channel that may be configured to receive at least a portion of the elongated member portion 39 of the internal heating element 37. As shown in FIG. 11, the seven-pointed star-shaped longitudinal channel 73 may provide an increased area of ​​the internal surface 75 of the aerosol generating element 70 exposed to the heating element to produce aerosol for consumption. Additionally, the seven-pointed star-shaped longitudinal passage 73 may further provide an interior space or chamber for the formation of aerosol and / or a passageway 43 for the formed aerosol to travel from the heating cavity 40 to the nozzle passage 14. According to some embodiments, the seven-pointed star-shaped longitudinal passage 73 may further provide an increased area of ​​the interior surface 75 of the aerosol generation element exposed to the heating element to produce aerosol for consumption.

[0091] 10A-10C illustrate exemplary aerosol-generating elements according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In particular, as shown in FIGS. 10A-10C, the aerosol-generating element 70 may define a longitudinal passage 73 extending from a proximally disposed surface of the wall member when the aerosol-generating element is inserted into the heating cavity of the tubular housing toward the opposing surface 71. The longitudinal passage 73 may be configured to receive at least a portion of the second portion (e.g., elongated member portion) 39 of the internal heating element 37 therein. As shown in FIGS. 10A and 10C, the aerosol-generating element 70 may be configured as a hollow cylindrical extrudate. FIG. 10A illustrates an aerosol-generating element 70 configured as a hollow cylindrical extrudate of tobacco and / or tobacco-related material that corresponds to and is receptive to a hollow cylindrical cavity. Figure 10C illustrates an aerosol-generating element 70 configured as a hollow cylindrical extrudate of a plurality of microcapsules, each containing a tobacco-related material and a binder to form the plurality of microcapsules into a structure that substantially corresponds to and can be received by the hollow cylindrical cavity. Figure 10B illustrates another aerosol-generating element 70 according to one embodiment, in which the aerosol-generating element comprises reconstituted tobacco material formed into a sheet-like material that is then wrapped around a longitudinal channel 73 so that the aerosol-generating element defines a substantially hollow cylindrical shape that corresponds to and can be received by the hollow cylindrical cavity.

[0092] In other embodiments, as shown in Figures 10D and 10E, the aerosol-generating element may include at least one first portion 1071 containing tobacco and / or tobacco-related materials (e.g., a flavorful, aromatic tobacco blend in the form of cut filler), and at least one second portion 1072, each containing a plurality of microcapsules containing tobacco-related materials (e.g., a tobacco-derived extract) dispersed in a binder, the microcapsules configured to correspond to a hollow cylindrical cavity and thereby substantially maintain an acceptable hollow cylindrical structure. In one embodiment, as shown in Figure 10D, the aerosol-generating element 70 may include a plurality of first portions 1071 and a plurality of second portions 1072 substantially arranged as respective wedge portions of the substantially hollow cylindrical-shaped aerosol-generating element 70. Figure 10E illustrates another exemplary embodiment of an aerosol-generating element 70 including at least one first portion 1071 and at least one second portion 1072. In some embodiments, at least the first portion 1071 may include tobacco and / or tobacco-related materials (e.g., a flavorful, aromatic tobacco blend in the form of cut filler), and the at least one second portion 1072 may include a plurality of microcapsules, each containing tobacco-related materials (e.g., a tobacco-derived extract) dispersed in a binder configured to correspond to a hollow cylindrical cavity and thereby substantially maintain an acceptable hollow cylindrical structure. Further, in some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 10E , the aerosol-generating element 70 may be configured as a multi-segmented aerosol-generating element, in which a first surface of at least one first portion 1071 is disposed proximate to an opposing surface of at least one second portion 1072. That is, the first portion 1071 and the second portion 1072 of the aerosol-generating element 70 may be arranged such that a first surface of the first portion substantially abuts a second surface of the second portion to form a “two-up” aerosol-generating element. According to some embodiments, an authentic aerosol-generating element 70 may include an identification component configured to identify the aerosol-generating element as being an authentic and genuine aerosol-generating element.For example, in one embodiment, the identification component may include a specific shape defined by the aerosol generating element such that insertion of the aerosol generating element into the heated cavity 40 is accomplished and confirmed only when an aerosol generating element having the specific shape is inserted into the heated cavity 40. For example, the surface 72 of the aerosol generating element 70 may define a recess disposed in a specific location. The wall member 41 defining the heated cavity 40 may also include a corresponding protrusion configured to engage, mate, and / or operably connect with the recess defined by the surface 72 of the aerosol generating element. In this manner, only authentic aerosol generating elements including the authenticating shape can be fully inserted into the heated cavity. According to another embodiment, the exterior wall 34 and / or the interior wall 35 may define a protrusion extending longitudinally from the wall member 41 to opposite ends of the hollow cavity. In this manner, an authentic aerosol-generating element 70 may include corresponding channels defined by the exterior surface 74 and / or interior surface 75 that are configured to engage, mate, and / or operably connect the authentic aerosol-generating element with longitudinal protrusions defined by the exterior wall 34 and / or interior wall 35 that define the heated cavity. In this manner, any shape features, members, protrusions, channels, and / or the like of the aerosol-generating element may function as an authentication means for the smoking article, in that only authentic and appropriately shaped aerosol-generating elements may be used with the smoking articles of the present disclosure. For example, longitudinally extending protrusions defined by the outer and / or inner walls, protrusions extending from wall member 41, and / or any other suitably shaped physical member may be configured to communicate with a control unit configured to be operable in response to operative engagement between the suitably shaped physical member and a correspondingly shaped member and / or portion of the aerosol generation element, such that the control unit can engage the power source with the heating element only when the suitably shaped physical member is operably engaged with the correspondingly shaped member and / or portion of the aerosol generation element.

[0093] In some embodiments, the aerosol-generating element 70 may further include an identification component configured to electronically communicate with one of the smoking article's control units to authenticate the aerosol-generating element as an authentic aerosol-generating element. For example, the identification component may include a conductive element configured to operably engage with circuitry associated with one of the smoking article's control units. Thus, when an aerosol-generating element 70 including such a conductive identification component is inserted into a heated cavity, the smoking article's control unit may be configured to be actuable in response to operably engaging the conductive element of the identification component with circuitry associated with the control unit. In some embodiments, the control unit configured to operably engage a power source with the heating element 37 may further be configured to provide current flow to the heating element 37 only when an aerosol-generating element including such a conductive identification component is inserted into a heated cavity and operably engaged with circuitry associated with the control unit. According to one embodiment, the identification component may include a radio frequency identification element configured to electronically communicate with one of the smoking article's control units. In this manner, the control unit may be configured to operatively engage the power source with the heating element 37 to provide current flow to the heating element only after the control unit has communicated, verified, and / or authenticated the aerosol generating element inserted into the heating cavity 40 by way of the radio frequency identification element associated therewith.

[0094] Of course, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the disclosure herein may also be related to corresponding methods. In one aspect, such methods may include methods for producing electronic smoking articles, as shown in Figures 5 and 6. Such methods may include engaging a component housing including a power source with a first end or a longitudinally opposed second end of a tubular housing including an exterior wall defining a cylindrical cavity (block 501).

[0095] The method may also include inserting an aerosol generation element into the cylindrical cavity (block 502). The aerosol generation element may be configured to produce an aerosol in response to heat. In some embodiments, the method may further include engaging a heating element with the tubular housing such that a first portion of the heating element extends around the exterior wall and a second portion extends into the cylindrical cavity. According to some embodiments, as described herein above, the heating element may be configured to provide heat to the aerosol generation element when the heating element is operably engaged with the power source.

[0096] According to some embodiments, first and second ends of the tubular housing opposite the first and second ends configured to engage the component housing can be configured to engage the nozzle. In some embodiments, the tubular housing can further include a wall member extending laterally and radially inward from the outer wall. The wall member can be disposed proximate the first and second ends of the tubular housing configured to receive and / or operably engage the component housing. In one embodiment, the method can include engaging a heating element with the tubular housing such that a second portion of the heating element extends through the wall member into the cylindrical cavity.

[0097] Additionally, in some aspects, the tubular housing can include coaxially aligned inner and outer walls. The coaxially aligned inner wall can be disposed within a cylindrical cavity defined by the outer wall, and the inner and outer walls can define a hollow cylindrical cavity therebetween having longitudinally opposed ends. Additionally or alternatively, the method can include inserting an aerosol generation element into the hollow cylindrical cavity of the tubular housing.

[0098] According to another aspect, the wall member can define a central passageway coaxially aligned with the cylindrical cavity. In one aspect, the method can include inserting a second portion of the heating element through the central passageway and into the cylindrical cavity. In this manner, the exterior wall of the tubular housing and the second portion of the heating element can define a hollow cylindrical cavity therebetween configured to receive the aerosol-generating element therein. Additionally or alternatively, the method can include inserting the aerosol-generating element into the hollow cylindrical cavity of the tubular housing defined by the exterior wall and the second portion of the heating element.

[0099] Additionally, the wall member may define at least one hole configured to receive air therethrough. In one aspect, the method may include engaging a component housing including a power source with a first end or a longitudinally opposed second end of the tubular housing to fluidly connect at least one hole defined by the wall member and at least one passageway defined by the component housing. In some aspects, the method may include engaging a biasing element with the exterior wall or wall member such that the biasing element is positioned to bias the aerosol generation element outwardly from the cylindrical cavity. In another aspect, the method may include engaging a biasing element with the interior wall, exterior wall, or wall member such that the biasing element is positioned to bias the aerosol generation element outwardly from the hollow cylindrical cavity.

[0100] According to another aspect, the aerosol-generating element may be configured as a hollow cylinder configured to be inserted into a hollow cylindrical cavity. Additionally or alternatively, the aerosol-generating element may be configured as a hollow cylindrical extrudate of tobacco and / or tobacco-related material that corresponds to and is receivable by the hollow cylindrical cavity. In some aspects, the method may comprise inserting an aerosol-generating element configured as a hollow cylindrical extrudate of tobacco and / or tobacco-related material that corresponds to and is receivable by the hollow cylindrical cavity into the hollow cylindrical cavity.

[0101] According to some aspects, the method may further include identifying the aerosol-generating element as being an authentic aerosol-generating element. In one aspect, the smoking article may include a control unit, and the method may further include identifying the aerosol-generating element as being an authentic aerosol-generating element by engaging an identification component of the authentic aerosol-generating element with the control unit of the smoking article. According to another aspect, the identification component may include a conductive element, and the method may include, upon receipt of the authentic aerosol-generating element within the cylindrical cavity, engaging the conductive element of the identification component of the authentic aerosol-generating element with circuitry associated with the control unit. The control unit may be configured to be operable in response to operative engagement between the conductive element of the authentic aerosol-generating element and such circuitry to operatively engage a power source of a heating element arranged to provide heat to the authentic aerosol-generating element.

[0102] In another embodiment, the identification component of the authentic aerosol-generating element may include a first physical member configured to operably engage with a complementary second physical member of the smoking component. In one embodiment, the method may include engaging the first physical member of the identification component with a complementary second physical member that communicates with the control unit upon insertion of the authentic aerosol-generating element into the cylindrical cavity. The control unit may be configured to be actuable in response to operably engaging the first physical member of the genital aerosol-generating element with the complementary second physical member.

[0103] According to some embodiments, the method may further include engaging a first end of the mouthpiece with the component housing or tubular housing. In some embodiments, the mouthpiece may define a passageway extending longitudinally from the first end to the opposing second end. According to another embodiment, operative engagement of the first end of the mouthpiece with the component housing or tubular housing may provide fluid communication between the passageway and cylindrical cavity of the tubular housing and at least one hole defined by the wall member. Additionally or alternatively, the method may include engaging a conductive element of the mouthpiece with the component housing or tubular housing. The conductive element may be configured to cooperate with the heating element to complete a heating element circuit. In some embodiments, the method may further include engaging an actuation element with the smoking article. The actuation element may be arranged such that a power source is responsive to actuation of the actuation element to directly power a heating element arranged to provide heat to the aerosol generation element.

[0104] According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a method may be provided, as shown in Figure 6. A method is provided for producing an aerosol-generating element for a smoking article, comprising extruding tobacco and / or tobacco-related material as a hollow cylinder adapted to be received by a heating element extending around the exterior surface of the hollow cylinder and into the interior surface, the hollow cylinder responsive to heat provided to its interior and exterior surfaces by the heating element to thereby produce an aerosol and / or any other inhalable substance (Block 601).

[0105] In another aspect, there is provided an aerosol-generating element for a smoking article. The aerosol-generating element may comprise a hollow cylindrical extrudate of tobacco and / or tobacco-related material adapted to be received by a heating element extending around the exterior surface and into the interior surface of the hollow cylinder, wherein the hollow cylindrical extrudate is responsive to heat provided by the heating element to produce an aerosol.

[0106] 7-9C, a smoking article 5 according to the present disclosure may generally include a mouth-end portion 710, a component housing 750 configured to receive a power source 755 therein (e.g., within a power-source cavity 759), a tubular housing 730 defining a space (i.e., a heating cavity 740 or a cylindrical cavity), and an end cap 780. According to some embodiments, each of the mouth-end portion 710, component housing 750, tubular housing 730, and end cap 780 may further include additional components. The mouth-end portion 710 may further define a mouth-engaging end 711 (i.e., the end at which a consumer may draw and inhale aerosol from the article) and a component-housing-engaging end 712 longitudinally opposite the mouth-engaging end. The component housing 750 may define a mouth-portion-engaging or first end 751 and a tubular housing-engaging or second end 752 configured to operably engage the component-engaging end 731 of the tubular housing 730. Further, the mouth-portion-engaging end 751 of the component housing 750 may be longitudinally opposed to the tubular housing-engaging end 752 of the component housing. As shown in FIGS. 7-9C , the component-engaging end 731 of the tubular housing may be longitudinally opposed to the distal end 732 of the tubular housing. According to some embodiments, the distal end 732 of the tubular housing may be configured to operably engage the first tubular housing-engaging end 781 of the end cap. While the illustrated article is provided as a smoking article device having multiple parts, any of the mouth-portion, tubular housing, component housing, and / or end cap may be integrally formed with any of the other parts. As will become apparent from further disclosure herein, it may be preferable to form embodiments of the smoking article from three or more separate sections, and in some embodiments, four or more separate sections joined together, each containing a separate component of the smoking article therein.

[0107] A smoking article 5 according to the present invention may have an overall shape that may be defined as substantially rod-shaped, substantially tubular, or substantially cylindrical. As shown in FIGS. 7-9C , the component housing 750, the tubular housing 730, and / or the end cap 780 may each have a substantially round cross-section, although other cross-sectional shapes (e.g., oval, square, triangular, etc.) are also encompassed by the present disclosure. As shown in FIGS. 7-9C , the mouthpiece portion 710 may include a first portion 715 adjacent the mouth-engaging end 711 and a second portion 716 proximal to the component housing-engaging end 712. The second portion 716 of the mouthpiece portion 710 may be substantially tubular or cylindrical, but the mouthpiece portion may be tapered such that the substantially cylindrical second portion 716 tapers relative to the first portion 715 having a substantially oval cross-sectional shape.

[0108] As with previous embodiments of the present disclosure discussed herein, the outer shells of the mouthpiece portion 710, component housing 750, tubular housing 730, and / or end cap 780 may all be formed of any material suitable for forming and maintaining a suitable conformation, such as a substantially tubular shape, and for retaining the appropriate components of each of the mouthpiece portion, component housing, tubular housing, and / or end cap therein. The outer shells may be formed of substantially the same material. In some embodiments, the outer shell may be formed of a heat-resistant material (natural or synthetic) so as to retain its structural integrity (e.g., the material does not degrade in response to heat) at least at temperatures that are the heating temperatures provided by the heating element, as described herein. In some embodiments, a heat-resistant polymer may be used. In other embodiments, a ceramic material may be used. In certain embodiments, the outer shell may be constructed of stainless steel and / or other metallic materials.

[0109] As shown in FIGS. 7-9C , smoking article 5 may include a component housing 750 including a mouthpiece engagement end 751 and a longitudinally opposed tubular housing engagement end 752. In some embodiments, longitudinally opposed tubular housing engagement ends 752 may be further configured to operably engage with at least one of component housing engagement end 731 of tubular housing 730 and / or component housing engagement end 781 of end cap 780. As shown in FIGS. 8A-8C and 9A-9C , mouthpiece engagement end 751 of component housing 750 defines a first engagement feature 754 on an interior surface of the component housing configured to engage and / or operably connect component housing 750 to mouthpiece 710 for use. In some embodiments, first engagement feature 754 may include a threaded surface for threaded engagement configured to threadedly engage with a complementary engagement feature 717 of component housing 750 (e.g., a complementary threaded surface configured to engage with a threaded surface of engagement feature 754).

[0110] In some embodiments, the tubular housing engagement end 752 of the component housing 750 may define a second engagement feature 757 on an interior surface of the component housing configured to engage and / or operably engage the component housing 750 with the tubular housing 730 for use. In some embodiments, the second engagement feature 757 may include a threaded surface configured to threadably engage with a complementary engagement feature 736 of the tubular housing 730 (e.g., a complementary threaded surface configured to engage with the threaded surface of the second engagement feature 757). In other embodiments, the tubular housing engagement end 752 of the component housing may define a third engagement feature 758 on an interior surface of the component housing configured to engage and / or operably connect the component housing 750 to the end cap 780 for use. In some embodiments, the third engagement feature 758 may include a threaded surface configured to threadably engage a complementary engagement feature 782 of the end cap 780 (e.g., a complementary threaded surface configured to engage the threaded surface of the third engagement feature 758). According to some embodiments, the second engagement feature 757 may define a circumferential circumference that is smaller than the circumferential circumference of the third engagement feature 758. Thus, the complementary engagement feature 736 of the tubular housing 730 is configured to operably engage the threaded surface of the second engagement feature 757 of the component housing 750, but is unable to operably engage the threaded surface of the component housing's third engagement feature 758 due to the difference in the outer circumferences of the respective second and third engagement features. Additionally, the complementary engagement feature 782 of the end cap 780 is formed with a larger circumferential outer circumference than the complementary engagement feature 736 of the tubular housing such that the complementary engagement feature 782 of the end cap is configured to operably engage the threaded surface of the third engagement feature 758, but would not be able to operably engage the smaller outer circumference threaded surface of the second engagement feature 757 of the component housing 750. In another aspect, the first, second, and third engagement features 754, 757, 758 of the component housing 750, as well as the complementary engagement feature 717 of the mouthpiece portion 710, the complementary engagement feature 736 of the tubular housing 730, and the complementary engagement feature 782 of the end cap 780 may each define a press-fit engagement, although other types of engagement features (e.g., magnets, snap fits, etc.) are also encompassed by the present disclosure.

[0111] 9A , the component housing 750 may define at least one passageway 756 configured to fluidly connect and provide fluid communication between the tubular housing 730 and the nozzle portion 710. Additionally or alternatively, the tubular housing 730 may include a wall member 741 extending laterally and radially inward from the outer wall 734. The wall member 741 may be disposed proximate a first or a longitudinally opposed second end of the tubular housing 730. In some embodiments, the wall member 741 may be disposed proximate a component housing engagement end 731 of the tubular housing. The wall member 741 may define at least one passageway 742 therethrough configured to fluidly connect and provide fluid communication between the heated cavity 740 of the component housing 750 and the at least one passageway 756. Additionally, the wall member 741 may define a heating element passage 743 extending from the component housing engagement end 731 of the tubular housing 730 to the heating cavity 740. As described in more detail herein, the heating element passage 743 may be configured to receive a second portion 745 of the heating element 737 therethrough. The at least one passage 742 may further be configured to provide fluid communication between at least one hole 783 defined by the end cap 780, which may be configured to be in fluid connection and communication with the heating cavity 740, and at least one passage 756 in the component housing 750. Further or alternatively, the outlet portion 710 may define at least one outlet passage 714 configured to be in fluid connection and communication with the at least one passage 756 defined by the component housing 750. In this manner, in response to suction on the mouth-engaging end 711 of the mouthpiece portion 710, air may then be drawn through the hole 783, through the heated cavity 740, through at least one passage 742 defined by the wall member 741, through at least one passage 756 defined by the component housing 750, and through the mouthpiece passage 714 to the mouth-engaging end of the mouthpiece portion.Thus, according to some embodiments, the heated cavity 740 may be configured to emit an aerosol (which may include any further inhalable substance contained therein) from the aerosol generating element 70 in response to inhalation, through at least one passage 742 defined by the wall member 741, through at least one passage 756 defined by the component housing, through the mouthpiece path 714, and to the mouth-engaging end of the mouthpiece portion.

[0112] According to some embodiments, component housing 750 may further define a power source cavity 759 configured to receive a power source such as, for example, an internal battery 755. Additionally, component housing 750 may define a biasing element cavity 761, as shown in FIGS. 9B and 9C , configured to receive heating element second portion 745 and / or an associated biasing element 760. Thus, in one embodiment, second portion 745 of heating element 737 may be configured to contact and / or communicate with battery 755 disposed within power source cavity 759 when heating element second portion 745 is disposed within biasing element cavity 761.

[0113] 9B and 9C , component housing 750 can further define biasing element bore 753 extending from the outer surface of the component housing into biasing element cavity 761. Biasing element bore 753 is further configured to receive engagement portion 762 of biasing element 760 therethrough. In particular, engagement portion 762 is configured to extend radially from biasing element 760 and through biasing element bore 753 defined by component housing 750. In some embodiments, engagement portion 762 is further configured to extend radially through biasing element bore 753 beyond the outer surface of component housing 750.

[0114] Additionally, the smoking article 5 may include one or more status indicators or other indicia positioned on any one or combination of the mouthpiece, component housing, and / or end cap shell. As shown in FIGS. 8A-8C and 9B-9C , for example, a status indicator 790 may be positioned on the component housing 750 shell and configured to provide an indicator, as discussed above, corresponding to the number of puffs taken from or maintained within the article. Additionally or alternatively, the indicator 790 may provide additional indicators, such as an indication of an active or inactive status. In another embodiment, the indicator 790 may be configured to illuminate in response to a puff, a puff, and / or the like. According to one embodiment, the indicator 790 may be disposed in association with the component housing 750 and configured to provide an indication of the amount of energy maintained within the battery 755 or other power source. The indicator 790 may include, for example, a liquid crystal display or an LED display. The use of any number of indicators or other indicia is also encompassed by the present disclosure, and the indicators or other indicia may be associated with openings in the shell through which an audio alert may be emitted when appropriate.

[0115] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the component housing 750 may be further configured to receive a power source, such as a battery 755, and may further include at least one electronic control unit (not shown), and these components may be arranged in various orders within the component housing 750. Although not explicitly shown, the smoking article 5 and the component housing 750 may, among other things, include wiring or other conductor arrangements as needed to provide electrical current from the battery 755 to additional components and to interconnect the components for proper operation of the necessary functions provided by the smoking article 5. For example, the smoking article 5 may include wiring (not shown) within the component housing 50 and / or the tubular housing 730 as needed to provide electrical current from the battery 755 of the component housing 750 to the heating element 737 positioned within the tubular housing 730. In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, the smoking article may optionally include wiring or other conductor arrangements (not shown) within the component housing 750 and / or tubular housing 730 to provide electrical current from the battery 755 in the component housing 750 to one or more status indicators and / or other indicators positioned on any one or combination of the outer shells of the mouthpiece portion 710, the component housing 750, and / or the end cap 780, and / or disposed within any of the mouthpiece portion, the component housing, and / or the end cap.

[0116] 7-9C , the smoking article may include a mouthpiece portion 710 including a component housing engagement end 712 configured to engage and / or operably connect the mouthpiece portion to a mouthpiece engagement end 751 of a component housing 750. In accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure, the mouthpiece engagement end 751 of the component housing 750 may include an engagement feature configured to engage and / or operably connect the component housing to the mouthpiece portion 710. In some embodiments, the engagement feature configured to engage and / or operably connect the component housing 750 to the mouthpiece portion 710 may include a snap-fit ​​and / or press-fit engagement. In other embodiments, the engagement feature 754 may implement a threaded engagement configured to engage and / or operably engage the component housing with a complementary engagement feature 717 of the mouthpiece portion 710.

[0117] In some embodiments, the mouthpiece portion 710 can include a first portion 715 and a second portion 716. As shown in FIGS. 8A-9C , the mouthpiece portion 710 can have a first portion 715 proximal to the mouth-engagement end 711 having a substantially oval cross-sectional shape, and a second portion 716 proximal to the component housing engagement end 712 having a substantially circular cross-sectional shape. Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 8A-9C , the second portion 716 can taper toward the first portion 715, such that the substantially circular cross-sectional shape of the second portion can taper toward the substantially oval cross-sectional shape of the first portion. While the first portion 715 is illustrated as having a substantially oval cross-section and the second portion is illustrated as having a substantially circular cross-section, other cross-sectional shapes (e.g., square, rectangular, etc.) are also encompassed by the present disclosure. Additionally, FIGS. 8A-9C illustrate that the second portion 716 of the mouthpiece portion 710 has an outermost diameter substantially similar to the outermost diameter of the component housing 750. In this manner, when the mouthpiece portion 710 is operably engaged with the component housing 750, the engagement provides a uniform transition between the mouthpiece portion and the component housing. Further, in some embodiments, the mouthpiece portion 710 may comprise a substantially heat-resistant material. In some embodiments, the mouthpiece portion 710 may comprise a stainless steel material. According to some embodiments, the heat generated by the heating element 737 within the heated cavity 740 may be sufficient to provide an aerosol from the aerosol generation element 70 while the mouthpiece portion 710 remains relatively cool.

[0118] 7-9C , smoking article 5 may include a tubular housing 730 including a component housing engagement end 731 and a longitudinally opposed distal end 732. According to one exemplary embodiment, component housing engagement end 731 defines a complementary engagement feature 736 configured to engage and / or operably connect tubular housing 730 to a tubular housing engagement end 752 of component housing 750, as previously discussed herein.

[0119] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the tubular housing 730 may include electrical conductors as needed to complete an electrical circuit with the battery 755 and the heating element 737. Additionally, the tubular housing 730 may include suitable electrical conductors such that the electrical circuit is operable when the tubular housing 730 is operably connected to both the component housing 750 and the mouthpiece portion 710 (e.g., via an operable connection between the component housing 750 and the mouthpiece portion 710). In some examples, the electrical circuit may only be operable when the aerosol generation element 70 is present within the heated cavity 740 of the assembled article. In some embodiments, the heating element 737 may be electrically connected to the battery 755 through suitable wiring or suitable electrical conductors extending between the battery terminals and the heating element, facilitating the formation of an electrical circuit configured to selectively direct current to a heating element, such as, for example, a resistive heating element. In one embodiment, the second portion 745 of the heating element 737 may be electrically connected to the battery 755 through direct contact and / or suitable wiring or suitable electrical conductors extending between the battery terminals and the heating element. Additionally or alternatively, the second portion 745 of the heating element 737 may be configured to electrically connect the battery 755 to the first portion 738 of the heating element through suitable wiring and / or suitable electrical conductors extending between the battery terminals and the second portion of the heating element when the second portion 745 of the heating element 737 is inserted through the heating element passage 743 and extends into the heated cavity 740 of the tubular housing 730. In some embodiments, the smoking article 5 may include electrical circuitry that delivers, controls, or otherwise modulates power from the battery 755 to energize the heating element 737 according to one or more predetermined algorithms. Such electrical circuitry may specifically incorporate a flow sensor (not shown) such that the article 5 is activated only upon the application of a draw (i.e., during use by a consumer drawing on the mouthpiece portion 710). For example, the flow sensor may be configured to detect inhalation or suction by a consumer on the item, and then send a signal to activate a control component that provides power directly from the battery 755 to the heating element 737 so that the heating element produces heat in the aerosol generating element 70 within the heating cavity 740.The aerosol-generating element then produces and provides a thermally responsive aerosol, where the aerosol is suitable for inhalation by a consumer. The control algorithm may, for example, call for power to the heating element 737 through a predetermined cycle to maintain the heating element at a predetermined temperature. The control algorithm may also be programmed to automatically deactivate or remove power to the heating element 737 after a predetermined period of time has passed without any detected inhalation or sucking on the item.

[0120] As previously discussed herein, article 5 may include a temperature sensor for providing feedback to the control component. Such a temperature sensor may, for example, be in direct contact with the first or second portion of heating element 737, or may be disposed in association with heated cavity 740 proximate aerosol-generating element 70 (i.e., such that the heating element may be controlled by a controller to maintain heat proximate the aerosol-generating element at a desired temperature to form an aerosol). Additionally or alternatively, other temperature sensing means may be used, such as, for example, implementing a logic control component to evaluate the resistance through a resistive heating element and relate such resistance to the temperature of the heating element 737.

[0121] As discussed herein, the smoking article 5 may include a heating element 737 configured to provide heat to a heated cavity 740 defined by and within the tubular housing 730. For example, the smoking article may include wiring (not shown) within the component housing 750, the tubular housing 730, and / or the end cap 780 to provide electrical current to the heating element 737, e.g., a first portion of a resistive heating element positioned within the tubular housing and a second portion of a resistive heating element configured to be received within the tubular housing and configured to provide heat to the heated cavity 740 defined at least in part by the wall member 741 and the outer wall 734. In some embodiments, the tubular housing 730 includes a first or outer wall 734 that is substantially cylindrical in shape. As shown in FIGS. 9A-9C , the outer wall 734 and the heating element passage 743 may be concentrically aligned about a longitudinal axis. 9A-9C illustrate the heating cavity 740 having a substantially cylindrical shape defined by the exterior wall 734, although other suitable shapes (e.g., a right-angled parallelepiped, etc.) may also be encompassed by the present disclosure. According to some embodiments, the exterior wall 734 may include a thermally conductive material suitable for providing heat within the heating cavity 740. For example, the exterior wall 734 may include a stainless steel material and / or other metallic material for providing heat within the heating cavity.

[0122] As described above, the exterior wall 734 and the wall member 741 can at least partially define a substantially cylindrical cavity. The wall member 741 can be disposed proximate the component housing engagement end 731 of the tubular housing 730. Additionally, the wall member 741 can define a heating element passage 743 extending therethrough. According to some embodiments, the heating element passage 743 can be configured to receive the second portion 745 of the heating element 737 therethrough.

[0123] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the tubular housing 730 may further include a biasing element operably engaged with one of the outer wall 734 and / or wall members 741 of the heating cavity 740. According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIGS. 8B, 8C, 9B, and 9C , the smoking article 5 may include a biasing element 760 configured to extend through the heating element passage 743 and / or operably engage the aerosol generation element 70. Further, the biasing element 760 includes an engagement portion 762 configured to extend through the biasing element bore 753 when the biasing element is disposed within the biasing element cavity 761 defined by the component housing 750. In some embodiments, the biasing element 760 may further define a biasing element heating passage 763 configured to receive the second portion 745 of the heating element 737 therethrough. According to one embodiment, as shown in Figures 8B and 9B, biasing element 760 can include a substantially cylindrical or tubular-shaped biasing portion 764. In another embodiment, as shown in Figures 8C and 9C, biasing element 760 can include biasing portion 764 that includes a plurality of protrusions, extensions, and / or the like extending longitudinally from a first end of biasing element 760 to a second end of the biasing element.

[0124] In some embodiments, the biasing element 760 can be configured to provide a biasing force to bias the aerosol generating element 70 outward from the heated cavity 740 when the end cap 780 is disengaged from the component housing 750. In one embodiment, a consumer can urge the biasing element 760 against the aerosol generating element by engaging the engagement portion 762 and sliding the engagement portion 762 from a first end of the biasing element bore 753 to a longitudinally opposite second end of the biasing element bore, thereby causing the biasing portion 764 to operatively engage and / or urge the aerosol generating element 70 out of the heated cavity 740.

[0125] According to another embodiment, a biasing element may be operably engaged with the wall member 741 and configured to exert a biasing force on the aerosol generation element 70 outward in the longitudinal direction of the heated cavity 740. For example, the biasing element may include a spring element and / or any suitable means for exerting a biasing force on the aerosol generation element outward in the longitudinal direction of the heated cavity 740, toward the distal end 732 of the tubular housing 730 when the end cap 780 is disengaged from the component housing 750.

[0126] As described above, tubular housing 730 may include a heating element 737 configured to provide heat to heating cavity 740. In some embodiments, heating element 737 may be configured to provide heat to heating cavity 740 when powered by a power source such as, for example, battery 755. In some embodiments, heating element 737 may include a resistive heating element, although other types of heating elements (i.e., induction, microwave, etc.) may also be implemented as needed or desired. According to some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B , the heating element may include a helical component 38 and an elongated member portion 39. In some embodiments, helical component 38 may be operably connected to elongated member portion 39.

[0127] 9A-9C , the first or helical component portion 738 can be configured to extend longitudinally around the exterior wall 734 that defines the heating cavity 740. The second or elongated member portion 745 can be configured to be received by the heating element passageway 743, for example, with a friction fit. More specifically, the outer diameter of the second portion 745 can be smaller than the inner diameter of the heating element passageway 743. In this manner, as described above, the heating element passageway 743 can be configured to receive the second portion 745 of the heating element 737 therethrough. In some embodiments, the second portion 745 can include electrical wiring (not shown) and / or suitable electrical conductors, as needed, to provide electrical current from a battery 755 in the component housing 50 to the second portion 745 of the heating element 737. Additionally or alternatively, second portion 745 may be configured to be electrically connected to and / or in communication with first portion 738 of heating element 737 to provide an electrical connection and / or electrical current between battery 755 of component housing 750 and the first portion of the heating element. In some embodiments, second portion 745 may include electrical wiring (not shown) and / or suitable electrical conductors to provide electrical current from second portion 745 of heating element 737 to first portion 738 of the heating element positioned within tubular housing 730.

[0128] According to some embodiments, the first portion 738 of the heating element 737 may include a helix or helical component configured to extend longitudinally around the exterior wall 734 that defines the heating cavity 740. Additionally or alternatively, the second portion 745 of the heating element 737 may include an elongated member portion configured to extend longitudinally, which may be configured to be received within the heating element passage 743 defined by the wall member 741 of the tubular housing 730. Thus, the second portion 745 of the heating element 737 may be configured to extend longitudinally along a central axis about which the helically configured first portion 738 of the heating element 737 rotates. In this manner, the heating element 737 may be configured to provide heat to the heating cavity 740 laterally through the exterior wall 734 and laterally via the second portion 745 when operably engaged with and received by the heating element passage 743. According to some embodiments, the elongated member second portion 745 of the heating element 737 is not provided as a rod-shaped member, but may be configured differently as needed or desired. For example, as shown in FIG. 3B, the elongated member second portion 745 may, in some instances, be provided as a helically wound or spiral portion. Thus, one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a heating element 737 having a helically configured first portion 738 that rotates about an axis, and the elongated member second portion 745 that is provided as a helically wound or spiral portion that also rotates about the same axis.

[0129] According to some embodiments, the elongated member second portion 745 may be disposed within a housing that may be integrally formed with the tubular housing 730. In this manner, the helically configured first portion 738 of the heating element 737 may be integrally formed with the elongated member second portion 745 to form a single heating element 737. In another embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 9A-9C , the helically configured first portion 738 of the heating element 737 and the elongated member second portion 745, which may be configured to be separately controlled to provide heat to the heating cavity 740, may be separate heating element portions. In this manner, the helically configured first portion 738 may be engaged to provide heat to the heating cavity 740, while the elongated member second portion 745 may remain disengaged. Alternatively, the elongated member second portion 745 may be engaged to provide heat to the heating cavity 740, while the helically configured first portion 738 may remain disengaged. Furthermore, the spirally configured first portion 738 may be controlled by a control unit to provide heat to the heating cavity 740 at a particular temperature, and the second portion 745 of the elongated member may be controlled by the same or a different control unit to provide heat to the heating cavity at the same or a different temperature.

[0130] Thus, embodiments of the present disclosure advantageously provide substantially complete and uniform heating of the aerosol-generation element by providing a heating element having multiple heating elements or portions positioned within the tubular housing 730. Specifically, a smoking article according to one embodiment includes a heating element 737 including a spirally configured first portion 738 disposed proximate the outer wall 734 that provides heat to the outermost radial portion of the aerosol-generation element 70, and a second portion 745 of the elongate member that provides heat to the innermost radial portion of the aerosol-generation element. Thus, the heating element 737 can advantageously provide heating of the aerosol-generation element 70 radially inward from the outer wall 734 and simultaneously provide heating of the aerosol-generation element radially outward from the second portion 745, even when the second portion 745 is disposed within its own housing.

[0131] As previously discussed herein, during production of a smoking article, the aerosol-generating element 70 is inserted into the heating cavity 740 for eventual heating by the heating element 737. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG. 4A , the aerosol-generating element 70 can be solid tobacco and / or tobacco-related material in a shape and configuration (i.e., a uniform hollow cylindrical shape) that is received within the heating cavity 740. In the example of a uniform hollow cylindrical configuration of the aerosol-generating element 70, the aerosol-generating element can be produced by a continuous process, such as, for example, an extrusion process. In another embodiment, the heating cavity 40 can be defined by a substantially cylindrical second partial housing 745 and a tapered cylindrical outer wall 734, such that the corresponding aerosol-generating element 70 can be formed as a tapered hollow cylinder. Thus, as shown in FIG. 4B , the surface 72 of the aerosol-generating element 70 that engages the wall member 741 defined by the heated cavity 740 on an aerosol-generating element inserted therein may have a smaller diameter than the opposing surface 71 of the aerosol-generating element. While such a tapered configuration may facilitate removal of the aerosol-generating element from the heated cavity, the tapered configuration may preclude forming the aerosol-generating element in a continuous process (i.e., extrusion); the aerosol-generating element may then be produced as an individual unit in a separate process, such as by molding or casting. In another embodiment, at least a portion of the second partial housing 745 may be formed as a tapered cylinder, while the outer wall 734 may be substantially cylindrical. Thus, as shown in FIG. 4C , the corresponding aerosol-generating element 70 may be formed such that the surface 72 of the aerosol-generating element that engages the wall member has a smaller cross-sectional area than the opposing surface 71 of the aerosol-generating element. In another embodiment, both the exterior wall 734 and at least a portion of the second partial housing 745 may taper in opposing longitudinal directions such that the corresponding aerosol-generating element, as shown in Figure 4D, includes a surface 72 having a cross-sectional area smaller than the cross-sectional area of ​​the opposing surface 71 of the aerosol-generating element 70. Furthermore, the surface 72 may have a diameter smaller than the diameter of the opposing surface 71.Thus, when an appropriately shaped aerosol generating element 70 is inserted into the heated cavity defined by the tapered configuration of the exterior wall 734 and second housing portion 745 in opposing longitudinal directions, the tapered configuration of the exterior wall and second housing portion facilitates removal of the aerosol generating element 70 from the heated cavity 740 because the opposing tapered interior walls and housing portions provide minimal exposure to and / or contact with the aerosol generating element when removing it from the heating element. The aerosol generating elements shown in Figures 4A-4D depict general hollow cylinders of various shapes, although other shapes, such as hollow rectangular prisms, hollow parallelepipeds, and / or the like, are also contemplated by the present disclosure. Additionally, as previously discussed herein, the aerosol-generating material 70 may include solid tobacco and / or tobacco-related materials, and may be configured as a hollow cylindrical extrudate, as shown in FIG. 4A, containing solid materials such as tobacco, tobacco parts, or tobacco-derived materials (i.e., materials found naturally in tobacco or synthetically prepared that may be isolated directly from tobacco).

[0132] According to some embodiments, an authentic aerosol generating element 70 may include an identification feature configured to identify the aerosol generating element as an authentic and genuine aerosol generating element. For example, in one embodiment, the identification feature may include a specific shape feature defined as an aerosol generating element such that insertion of the aerosol generating element into the heated cavity 740 is achieved and completed only when an aerosol generating element having the specific shape feature is inserted into the heated cavity 740. For example, the surface 72 of the aerosol generating element 70 may define a recess disposed in a specific location. The wall member 741 defining the heated cavity 740 may also include a corresponding protrusion configured to engage, mate, and / or operably connect with the recess defined by the surface 72 of the aerosol generating element. In this manner, only authentic aerosol generating elements including the authentic shape feature may be fully inserted into the heated cavity. According to another embodiment, the exterior wall 734 and / or the second housing portion 745 may define a protrusion extending longitudinally from the wall member 741 to the opposite end of the hollow cylinder. In this manner, a genuine aerosol-generating element 70 may include corresponding channels defined by the exterior surface 74 and / or interior surface 75 configured to engage, mate with, and / or operably connect with longitudinal protrusions defined by the exterior wall 734 and / or second housing portion 745 that define the heated cavity. In this manner, any shape features, members, protrusions, channels, and / or the like of the aerosol-generating element may function as an authentication means for the smoking article, in that only genuine and appropriately shaped aerosol-generating elements may be used with the smoking articles of the present disclosure. For example, the longitudinally extending protrusion defined by the outer wall 734 and / or second housing portion 745, the protrusion extending from the wall member 741, and / or any other suitably shaped physical member may be configured to communicate with a control unit configured to be operable in response to operable engagement between the suitably shaped physical member and the correspondingly shaped member and / or portion of the aerosol generation element, in some embodiments, such that the control unit may engage the power source to the heating element only when the suitably shaped physical member is in operable engagement with the correspondingly shaped member and / or portion of the aerosol generation element.As previously discussed herein, the aerosol generating element 70 may further include an identification component configured to electronically communicate with any one of the smoking article's control units to authenticate the aerosol generating element as an authentic and genuine aerosol generating element.

[0133] According to one embodiment, the present disclosure may also be related to a corresponding method, such as, for example, a method for producing an electronic smoking article. Such a method may include inserting a power source, such as, for example, a battery 755, into a component housing 750 defining a power source cavity 759, the component housing defining a first end and a longitudinally opposed second end, as shown in FIGS. 9A-9C . The component housing may include a mouth-attachment end or first end and a longitudinally opposed tubular housing-attachment end or second end. In some embodiments, the first and second ends may be mouth-attachment ends. In other embodiments, the first and second ends may be tubular housing-attachment ends. Furthermore, the tubular housing-attachment end of the component housing may be further configured to operably engage an end cap. The component housing may further include at least one passage configured to fluidly connect and / or communicate with at least one of the mouth passage, the passage defined by the wall member of the tubular housing, the heating cavity, and / or the at least one hole defined by the end cap.

[0134] The method may include engaging a heating element with the tubular housing. For example, the method may include engaging a second portion of the heating element with the tubular housing such that a first portion of the heating element extends around an exterior wall (e.g., exterior wall 734) and a second portion (e.g., second portion 745) extends through a central passage (e.g., heating element passage 743) into a cylindrical cavity (e.g., heating cavity 740) of the tubular housing. The central passage may be disposed proximate a first end of the tubular housing. In some aspects, the tubular housing may have a first end and a longitudinally opposed second end. Additionally or alternatively, the tubular housing may include an exterior wall extending longitudinally therebetween. According to some aspects, the first end of the tubular housing may be configured to operably engage the first and second ends of the component housing. In some aspects, the exterior wall of the tubular housing and the second component housing including the second portion of the heating element may define a hollow cylindrical cavity extending longitudinally therebetween.

[0135] According to some aspects, the method further includes engaging the first end of the tubular housing with the first and second ends of the tubular housing. In some aspects, the tubular housing may include a component housing engagement end and a longitudinally opposed distal end. According to one aspect, the component housing engagement end of the tubular housing may be the first end of the tubular housing, and the longitudinally opposed distal end of the tubular housing may be the second end of the tubular housing. According to some aspects, the component housing engagement end of the tubular housing may be configured to operably engage with the tubular housing engagement end of the component housing. In some aspects, the component housing may include first, second, and third engagement features disposed on an interior surface of the component housing. The second engagement feature of the component housing disposed proximate the tubular housing engagement end may be configured to engage and / or operably connect the component housing to the tubular housing via a complementary engagement feature disposed proximate the component housing engagement end of the tubular housing. According to some embodiments, the second engagement feature of the component housing may include a threaded surface configured to engage a complementary engagement feature of the tubular housing, which may also include a threaded surface.

[0136] Further, the method may include inserting an aerosol-generating element into the hollow cylindrical cavity. The aerosol-generating element may be configured to produce an aerosol in response to heat provided thereto by a heating element. According to some embodiments, a heating element having first and second portions may be configured to provide heat to the heating cavity, thereby causing production of an aerosol by the aerosol-generating element. More specifically, as described herein above, a first portion of the heating element and a second portion of the heating element within the tubular housing, which may be configured to be inserted into a heating element passage defined by the tubular housing, may be configured to provide heat to the hollow cylindrical cavity.

[0137] In some embodiments, the aerosol generating element may be configured as a hollow cylinder adapted to be inserted into a hollow cylindrical cavity. Additionally or alternatively, the aerosol generating element may be configured as a hollow cylindrical extrusion of tobacco and / or tobacco-related material. In some embodiments, the aerosol generating element may include an identification component configured to identify the aerosol generating element as authentic. Thus, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the method may further include operably engaging a conductive element associated with the identification component with a circuit associated with the control unit. Thus, insertion of the aerosol generating element into the hollow cylindrical cavity (i.e., the heating cavity 740) may cause the control unit, which may be configured to be operable in response to operable engagement between the conductive element of the identification component and the circuit, to activate if the aerosol generating element is authentic. In some embodiments, the control unit may be configured to operably engage a power source to the heating element, and the heating element may be configured to provide heat to the aerosol generating element when the conductive element is operably engaged with the circuit. According to another aspect, the method may further include operably engaging the actuation element with a power source, which may be configured to respond to actuation of the actuation element to directly power a heating element, which may be positioned to provide heat to the aerosol generation element.

[0138] According to some embodiments, the aerosol generating element may include an identification component configured to identify the aerosol generating element as authentic. For example, the aerosol generating element may further include a first physical member associated with the identification component. A second, complementary physical member may be in communication with the control unit. Thus, the method may include a control unit that operates upon insertion into the hollow cylindrical cavity of the aerosol generating element, more specifically, on the first physical member operably engaging with the second, complementary physical member. According to some embodiments, the control unit may be configured to operably engage a power source with a heating element, the heating element being arranged to provide heat to the aerosol generating element when the first physical member operably engages with the second, complementary physical member.

[0139] In some embodiments, the method may further include engaging a heating element with the tubular housing. A first portion of the heating element may be configured to extend around an exterior wall of the tubular housing. In some embodiments, a second portion of the heating element may be configured to extend within a second housing portion that may be received by the tubular housing and configured to operably engage the annular housing. Furthermore, the first and second portions of the heating element may be configured to cooperate with, communicate with, and / or engage with a power source to provide heat to the aerosol generation element.

[0140] According to another aspect, the method may further include engaging the heating element with the tubular housing such that a helical portion of the heating element extends longitudinally along the exterior wall. For example, the first portion of the heating element may be a helical portion extending longitudinally along the exterior wall of the tubular housing. In some aspects, the method may include engaging the heating element with the tubular housing such that an elongated member portion of the heating element (e.g., a second portion of the heating element) extends longitudinally coaxially through a central passage, such as a heating element passage defined by a wall member. The heating element passage may be concentrically disposed with respect to the exterior wall of the tubular housing. In this manner, the second portion of the elongated member heating element may be configured to extend longitudinally coaxially through the central passage and into a cylindrical cavity defined by the tubular housing. In yet another aspect, the second portion of the heating element may include a helical portion extending longitudinally coaxially through the central passage and into a cylindrical cavity defined by the tubular housing.

[0141] As described above, the component housing may include at least one passageway extending longitudinally from the first end to the second end of the component housing. The passageway defined by the component housing may be configured to fluidly connect and / or communicate between at least one hole and / or passageway defined by the tubular housing and the outlet path defined by the outlet portion. The outlet path may extend longitudinally from one end of the outlet portion to a longitudinally opposite second end. Additionally or alternatively, the method may further include operably engaging one longitudinal end of the outlet portion with first and second ends of the component housing opposite the other of the first and second ends of the component housing engaged with the tubular housing. For example, the component housing engagement end of the outlet portion may be configured to operably engage with the outlet engagement end of the component housing, the outlet engagement end of the component housing being longitudinally opposite the tubular housing engagement end of the component housing. In some aspects, the method can include operably engaging a component housing engagement end of the nozzle portion with a component housing engagement end of the nozzle portion such that a conductive element associated with the nozzle portion cooperates with a first portion of the heating element associated with the tubular housing and / or a second portion of the heating element extending within the cylindrical cavity to complete a heating element circuit when the nozzle portion and the component housing are in operable engagement. In other aspects, the conductive element associated with the nozzle portion can be configured to cooperate with a first portion of the heating element associated with the tubular housing and / or a second portion of the heating element configured to extend within the cylindrical cavity to complete a heating element circuit when the nozzle portion is in operable engagement with the component housing and the tubular housing is in operable engagement with the component housing.

[0142] Numerous variations and other embodiments of the present disclosure may occur to those skilled in the art to which this disclosure pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing description and the associated drawings. It is therefore to be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed herein, and that variations and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

Claims

1. A smoking article comprising: a component housing containing a power source; a tubular housing having a first end and a longitudinally opposed second end, the first or second end configured to receive the component housing, the tubular housing including an exterior wall defining a cylindrical cavity; an aerosol-generating element configured to be received within the cylindrical cavity, the aerosol-generating element configured to generate an aerosol in response to heat.

2. 2. The smoking article of claim 1, further comprising a heating element, the heating element including a first portion configured to extend around the exterior wall and a second portion configured to extend within the cylindrical cavity, the heating element configured to cooperate with the power source to provide heat to the aerosol generation element.

3. 3. The smoking article of claim 2, wherein the tubular housing further includes a wall member extending laterally and radially inward from the outer wall, the wall member being disposed proximal to the first or second end of the tubular housing configured to receive the component housing.

4. 4. The smoking article of claim 3, wherein the tubular housing further includes an inner wall concentrically aligned with the outer wall and disposed within the cylindrical cavity, the inner wall and outer wall defining a hollow cylindrical cavity therebetween, and the aerosol generating element is further configured to be received within the hollow cylindrical cavity of the tubular housing.

5. 4. The smoking article of claim 3, wherein the wall member defines a central channel coaxially aligned with the cylindrical cavity, the central channel is configured to operably engage with the second portion of the heating element and receive the second portion of the heating element therethrough, and when the second portion of the heating element is operably engaged with the central channel, the outer wall of the tubular housing and the second portion of the heating element define a hollow cylindrical cavity therebetween, and the aerosol generation element is further configured to be received within the hollow cylindrical cavity.

6. The smoking article of claim 2 , wherein the first portion of the heating element includes a spirally configured portion extending longitudinally along the exterior wall.

7. The smoking article of claim 4 , wherein the second portion of the heating element comprises an elongated member configured to extend within the interior wall.

8. 5. The smoking article of claim 4, wherein the heating element includes a spirally configured portion extending longitudinally along the outer wall and an elongated member adjacent to the spirally configured portion and extending longitudinally along the inner wall.

9. 6. The smoking article of claim 5, wherein the second portion of the heating element includes an elongated member configured to operably engage and extend longitudinally through the central channel and into the cylindrical cavity, and a laterally extending base member configured to operably engage the tubular housing, the laterally extending base member defining at least one opening configured to be in fluid connection and communication with the hollow cylindrical cavity.

10. The smoking article of claim 2 , wherein the second portion of the heating element includes a spirally configured portion extending longitudinally within the cylindrical cavity.

11. The smoking article of claim 1 , wherein the exterior wall defining the cylindrical cavity comprises a thermally conductive material.

12. 5. The smoking article of claim 4, wherein the inner and outer walls defining the hollow cylindrical cavity therebetween are each made of a thermally conductive material.

13. The smoking article of claim 3 , wherein the wall member defines at least one opening configured to receive air therethrough.

14. The smoking article of claim 13 , wherein the component housing defines at least one passageway configured to be in fluid connection and communication with the at least one opening defined by the wall member.

15. 4. The smoking article of claim 3, further comprising a deflection element operably engaged with the outer wall or wall member, the deflection element being positioned to deflect the aerosol-generating element outside the cylindrical cavity.

16. 5. The smoking article of claim 4, further comprising a deflection element operably engaged with the inner wall, the outer wall, or the wall member, the deflection element being positioned to deflect the aerosol generation element outside the hollow cylindrical cavity.

17. The smoking article of claim 1 , wherein the aerosol-generating element is configured as a hollow cylinder receivable by the cylindrical cavity.

18. 5. The smoking article of claim 4, wherein the aerosol-generating element is configured as a hollow cylindrical extrusion of tobacco-related material corresponding to and receivable by the hollow cylindrical cavity.

19. 6. The smoking article of claim 5, wherein the aerosol-generating element is configured as a hollow cylindrical extrusion of tobacco-related material corresponding to and receivable by the hollow cylindrical cavity.

20. 18. The smoking article of claim 17, wherein the aerosol-generating element includes an identification component configured to identify the aerosol-generating element as authenticated.

21. 21. The smoking article of claim 20, wherein the identification component includes a conductive element configured to operably engage with a circuit associated with a control unit when the aerosol generating element is received within the cylindrical cavity, and the control unit is configured to be operable in response to operable engagement between the conductive element and the circuit.

22. 22. The smoking article of claim 21, wherein the control unit is configured to operably engage the power source with a heating element, and the heating element is arranged to provide heat to the aerosol generation element in response to operable engagement between the conductive element and the control unit.

23. 21. The smoking article of claim 20, wherein the identification component includes a first physical member configured to operably engage with a complementarily configured second physical member that communicates with the control unit when the aerosol generating element is received within the cylindrical cavity, and the control unit is configured to be operable in response to the operable engagement between the complementarily configured first and second physical members.

24. 14. The smoking article of claim 13, further comprising a mouthpiece having longitudinally opposed ends, the mouthpiece defining a longitudinally extending passage therethrough, the passage configured to be in fluid communication with the cylindrical cavity of the tubular housing and the at least one opening defined by the wall member of the tubular housing.

25. 25. The smoking article of claim 24, wherein the mouthpiece includes a conductive element operably engaged between the mouthpiece and the tubular housing or the component housing and cooperating with the heating element to complete a heating element circuit.

26. 10. The smoking article of claim 1, further comprising an actuation element, wherein the power source, in response to actuation of the actuation element, directs electrical power to a heating element positioned to provide heat to the aerosol-generation element.

27. 1. A method of producing a smoking article, comprising: engaging a component housing containing a power source with a first end or a longitudinally opposed second end of a tubular housing, the tubular housing including an exterior wall defining a cylindrical cavity; and inserting an aerosol-generating element into the cylindrical cavity, the aerosol-generating element configured to generate an aerosol in response to heat.

28. 28. The method of claim 27, further comprising engaging a heating element with the tubular housing such that a first portion of the heating element extends around the exterior wall and a second portion extends within the cylindrical cavity, the heating element being configured to provide heat to the aerosol generation element when engaged with the power source.

29. 29. The method of claim 28, wherein the tubular housing further includes a wall member extending laterally and radially inward from the outer wall, the wall member disposed proximate the first or second end of the tubular housing configured to receive the component housing, and wherein engaging the heating element to the tubular housing includes engaging the heating element to the tubular housing such that the second portion extends through the wall member and into the cylindrical cavity.

30. 30. The method of claim 29, wherein the tubular housing further includes an inner wall disposed within the cylindrical cavity and concentrically aligned with the outer wall, the inner wall and the outer wall defining a hollow cylindrical cavity therebetween, and inserting the aerosol generating element into the cylindrical cavity includes inserting the aerosol generating element into the hollow cylindrical cavity of the tubular housing.

31. 30. The method of claim 29, wherein the wall member defines a central channel coaxially aligned with the cylindrical cavity, engaging the heating element with the tubular housing so that the second portion extends from the wall member into the cylindrical cavity comprises inserting the second portion of the heating element through the central channel into the cylindrical cavity so that the outer wall of the tubular housing and the second portion of the heating element define a hollow cylindrical cavity therebetween, and inserting the aerosol generating element into the cylindrical cavity comprises inserting the aerosol generating element into the hollow cylindrical cavity of the tubular housing.

32. 30. The method of claim 29, wherein the wall member defines at least one opening configured to receive air therethrough, and wherein engaging a component housing including a power source to the first end or the longitudinally opposed second end of the tubular housing further comprises fluidly connecting at least one passage defined by the component housing with the at least one opening defined by the wall member.

33. 30. The method of claim 29, further comprising engaging a deflecting element with the exterior wall or wall member such that the deflecting element is positioned to deflect the aerosol generation element outside the cylindrical cavity.

34. 31. The method of claim 30, further comprising engaging a deflecting element with the interior wall, the exterior wall, or the wall member such that the deflecting element is positioned to deflect the aerosol generation element outside the hollow cylindrical cavity.

35. 31. The method of claim 30, wherein inserting the aerosol-generating element into the hollow cylindrical cavity comprises inserting the aerosol-generating element into the hollow cylindrical cavity, the aerosol-generating element being configured as a hollow cylindrical extrusion of tobacco-related material that corresponds to and is receivable by the hollow cylindrical cavity.

36. 32. The method of claim 31 , wherein inserting the aerosol-generating element into the hollow cylindrical cavity comprises inserting the aerosol-generating element into the hollow cylindrical cavity, the aerosol-generating element being configured as a hollow cylindrical extrusion of tobacco-related material that corresponds to and is receivable by the hollow cylindrical cavity.

37. 28. The method of claim 27, wherein the smoking article includes a control unit, and the method further includes identifying the aerosol generating element as an authenticated aerosol generating element by engaging an identification part of the aerosol generating element with the control unit of the smoking article.

38. 38. The method of claim 37, wherein identifying the aerosol generating element as an authenticated aerosol generating element includes engaging a conductive element of the identification part with a circuit associated with a control unit when the aerosol generating element is received within the cylindrical cavity, and the control unit is configured to be operable in response to operative engagement between the conductive element of the authenticated aerosol generating element and the circuit to operatively engage the power source with a heating element arranged to provide heat to the authenticated aerosol generating element.

39. 38. The method of claim 37, wherein identifying the aerosol generating element as an authenticated aerosol generating element includes engaging a first physical member of the identification part with a complementarily configured second physical member in communication with the control unit when the aerosol generating element is inserted into the cylindrical cavity, the control unit being configured to be operable in response to operable engagement between the first physical member of the authenticated aerosol generating element and the complementarily configured second physical member.

40. 33. The method of claim 32, further comprising engaging a first end of a mouthpiece with the component housing or tubular housing, the mouthpiece defining a passageway extending longitudinally from the first end to an opposing second end, such that the passageway is in fluid communication with the cylindrical cavity of the tubular housing and at least one opening defined by the wall member.

41. 41. The method of claim 40, wherein engaging a first end of a mouthpiece with the component housing or tubular housing further comprises engaging a conductive element of the mouthpiece with the component housing or tubular housing, the conductive element configured to cooperate with the heating element to complete a heating element circuit.

42. 28. The method of claim 27, further comprising engaging an actuation element with the smoking article, the actuation element being configured such that the power source directs electrical power to a heating element configured to provide heat to the aerosol generation element in response to actuation of the actuation element.

43. 1. An aerosol-generating element for a smoking article, comprising: An aerosol generating element comprising a hollow cylindrical extrusion of tobacco-related material adapted to be received by a heating element extending around the outer surface and into the inner surface of the hollow cylinder, the hollow cylinder generating an aerosol in response to heat provided by the heating element to the inner and outer surfaces of the hollow cylinder.

44. 1. A method for producing an aerosol-generating element for a smoking article, comprising:

1. A method comprising extruding a tobacco-related material into a hollow cylinder adapted to be received by a heating element extending around an outer surface and within an inner surface of the hollow cylinder, the hollow cylinder generating an aerosol in response to heat provided by the heating element to the inner and outer surfaces of the hollow cylinder.

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