Molds for manufacturing aerosol-generating products

Abstract

An embodiment of the present application provides a mold for producing an aerosol-generating product, the mold comprising a first body and a second body, the first body having a plurality of material feed passages therein, the cross-sectional area of ​​the material feed passages located upstream in the material feed direction in a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the first body being equal to or greater than the cross-sectional area of ​​the material feed passages located downstream in the material feed direction, the second body being disposed at one end along the axial direction of the first body, the second body having a plurality of extrusion passages therein communicating with the material feed passages, the cross-sectional area of ​​the extrusion passages located upstream in the extrusion direction in a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the second body being equal to or greater than the cross-sectional area of ​​the extrusion passages located downstream in the extrusion direction, the maximum cross-sectional area of ​​the extrusion passages being less than or equal to the minimum cross-sectional area of ​​the material feed passages. The aerosol-generating product produced using the mold provided by the present application can ensure high heat conduction efficiency and aerosol transmission efficiency.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] (CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS) This application is based on and claims priority from a Chinese patent application having application number 202320262671.X and filing date February 20, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] This application relates to the technical field of molds, and in particular to molds for producing aerosol-generating products. [Background technology]

[0003] Smoke-producing products include those that form aerosols by combustion and those that form aerosols by heating without combustion. Under the same volume and mass (equal density) conditions, improving the heat conduction efficiency and improving the aerosol transmission efficiency can improve the atomization efficiency of the smoke-producing product, i.e., increase the amount of smoke produced by the smoke-producing product.

[0004] In the prior art, there are no molds for producing smoke-generating products with a fully integrated mesh structure, and smoke-generating products produced using molds in the prior art have problems such as uneven porosity in the material and a large specific surface area, etc. The smoke-generating products also have problems such as low heat conduction efficiency and poor aerosol transmission efficiency. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In view of this, the embodiments of the present application are expected to provide a mold for producing an aerosol-generating product, which can ensure that the aerosol-generating product has high heat transfer efficiency and aerosol transmission efficiency.

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, an embodiment of the present application provides a mold for producing an aerosol-generating product, the mold comprising a first body and a second body provided at one end along an axial direction of the first body, the first body has a plurality of material supply passages inside, each of which penetrates through opposite ends of the first body along the axial direction, and in a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the first body, the cross-sectional area of ​​the material supply passage located upstream in the material supply direction is equal to or greater than the cross-sectional area of ​​the material supply passage located downstream in the material supply direction; The second body has a plurality of extrusion passages inside, each of which penetrates opposite ends of the second body along the axial direction and communicates with the material supply passage, and in a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the second body, the cross-sectional area of ​​the extrusion passage located upstream in the extrusion direction is equal to or greater than the cross-sectional area of ​​the extrusion passage located downstream in the extrusion direction, and the maximum value of the cross-sectional area of ​​the extrusion passage is smaller than or equal to the minimum value of the cross-sectional area of ​​the material supply passage.

[0007] In some embodiments, in a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the first body, the cross-sectional area of ​​each of the material supply passages is the same or gradually decreases along the material supply direction.

[0008] In some embodiments, in a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the second body, the size of the cross-sectional area of ​​each of the extrusion passages is the same or gradually decreases along the extrusion direction.

[0009] In some embodiments, each of the material supply passages is formed in the first body in a uniformly distributed manner, and in a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the first body, the cross-sectional shape of the material supply passage is circular.

[0010] In some embodiments, each of the material supply passages is parallel to the central axis of the mold, and the distance between the centers of two adjacent material supply passages is 0.500 mm to 2.54 mm.

[0011] In some embodiments, the second body includes a housing and a plurality of support posts disposed within the housing, the support posts being spaced apart to define the extrusion passage.

[0012] In some embodiments, the mold includes multiple overlapping units, each including one support pillar and multiple material supply passages corresponding to the support pillar, and the multiple material supply passages in each overlapping unit are arranged circumferentially around the center of the support pillar.

[0013] In some embodiments, each of the overlapping units includes one support pillar and four material supply passages corresponding to the support pillar, the central connecting lines of the four material supply passages form a square, and the center line of the square overlaps with the central axis of the support pillar.

[0014] In some embodiments, the cross-sectional shape of the strut in a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the second body is circular, polygonal, elliptical, track-shaped or sector-shaped.

[0015] In some embodiments, the number of the material supply passages is between 100 and 2580, and / or the cross-sectional shape of the material supply passages in a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the first body is circular, polygonal, elliptical, track-shaped, or sector-shaped.

[0016] In some embodiments, the porosity of the second body is between 15.1% and 72.5% and / or the porosity of the first body is between 19.6% and 72.5%.

[0017] In some embodiments, the ratio of the porosity of the first body to the porosity of the second body is n, where 1≦n≦3.

[0018] In some embodiments, all of the material supply passages are distributed on multiple trajectory lines, where each of the material supply passages on a single trajectory line is linearly arranged along a first direction, and multiple trajectory lines are arranged along a second direction, and the first direction and the second direction are not parallel.

[0019] In some embodiments, each of the material supply passages on a single locus line is arranged along a circumferential direction surrounding the center of the first body, and multiple locus lines are arranged in concentric circles along a radial direction.

[0020] In some embodiments, each of the material supply passages on a single trajectory line is arranged linearly along a first direction, and multiple trajectory lines are arranged parallel to each other along a second direction, wherein the first direction and the second direction are perpendicular.

[0021] In some embodiments, the distance between two adjacent material supply passages on a single locus line is equal to the distance between two adjacent locus lines.

[0022] The mold for producing an aerosol-generating product provided by the embodiments of the present application comprises a first body and a second body, the first body having a plurality of material supply passages therein, each material supply passage penetrating opposite axial ends of the first body, i.e., the raw material mixture can be guided from one end of the first body to the other through the material supply passage; the second body is provided at one axial end of the first body and has a plurality of extrusion passages therein, each extrusion passage penetrating opposite axial ends of the second body and communicating with the material supply passage; i.e., the raw material mixture can enter the extrusion passages through the material supply passages and be extruded through the extrusion passages to form products or semi-finished products of various cross sections. The thermal conductivity and aerosol transmission efficiency of an aerosol-generating product are related to the porosity of the aerosol-generating product (the higher the porosity of the aerosol-generating product, the lower the thermal conductivity and the higher the aerosol transmission efficiency; the lower the porosity of the aerosol-generating product, the higher the thermal conductivity and the lower the aerosol transmission efficiency). Therefore, by controlling the porosity of the second body (by controlling the number of extrusion passages and the cross-sectional area of ​​the extrusion passages), the porosity of the aerosol-generating product manufactured using the mold can be controlled, thereby ensuring that the aerosol-generating product has high thermal conductivity and aerosol transmission efficiency, i.e., the aerosol-generating product has high thermal conductivity and high aerosol transmission efficiency, and further improving the atomization efficiency of the aerosol-generating product.

[0023] Furthermore, in a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the first body, the cross-sectional area of ​​the material supply passage located upstream in the material supply direction is equal to or greater than the cross-sectional area of ​​the material supply passage located downstream in the material supply direction, which is advantageous for the supply of the raw material mixture.In a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the second body, the cross-sectional area of ​​the extrusion passage located upstream in the extrusion direction is equal to or greater than the cross-sectional area of ​​the extrusion passage located downstream in the extrusion direction, so the raw material mixture can maintain a constant extrusion pressure in the extrusion passage or the extrusion pressure that it receives can gradually increase. If the maximum value of the cross-sectional area of ​​the extrusion passage is smaller than the minimum value of the cross-sectional area of ​​the material feed passage, the raw material mixture will be further pressed in the extrusion passage after passing through the material feed passage and entering the extrusion passage, which is beneficial to promoting complete kneading of the mesh structure. Furthermore, if the porosity of the aerosol-generating product is constant, the density of the aerosol-generating product can be controlled. The heat conduction efficiency and aerosol transmission efficiency of the aerosol-generating product are related to the density of the aerosol-generating product (the higher the density of the aerosol-generating product, the higher the heat conduction efficiency and the lower the aerosol transmission efficiency; and the lower the density of the aerosol-generating product, the lower the heat conduction efficiency and the higher the aerosol transmission efficiency). Therefore, by controlling the extrusion pressure that the raw material mixture receives in the extrusion passage, the density of the aerosol-generating product can be controlled, thereby ensuring that the aerosol-generating product has high heat conduction efficiency and aerosol transmission efficiency, i.e., the aerosol-generating product has high heat conduction efficiency and high aerosol transmission efficiency, and further improving the atomization efficiency of the aerosol-generating product. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0024] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a structural schematic diagram of a mold according to a first embodiment of the present application. [Figure 2] FIG. 4 is a structural schematic diagram of a mold according to a second embodiment of the present application. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a structural schematic diagram of a mold according to a third embodiment of the present application. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a structural schematic diagram of a mold according to a fourth embodiment of the present application. [Figure 5]FIG. 10 is a structural schematic diagram of a mold according to a fifth embodiment of the present application. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a structural schematic diagram of a mold according to a sixth embodiment of the present application. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 5. [Figure 9] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 4 is a partial schematic view of FIG. 3. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0025] It should be noted that the technical features in the examples and examples of the present application may be arbitrarily combined if they do not conflict. The detailed description of the specific embodiments should be understood as an explanation and explanation of the purpose of the present application, and should not be considered as an unreasonable limitation on the present application.

[0026] An embodiment of the present application provides a mold for manufacturing an aerosol-generating product, and with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10, a mold 100 comprises a first body 10 and a second body 20.

[0027] The molds provided in the examples of the present application can be used to produce aerosol-generating products by a continuous extrusion process, in which the molds provided in the examples of the present application can be used in combination with any suitable extruder, such as a hydraulic plunger extruder, a twin-screw extruder, a single-screw extruder, etc.

[0028] Here, the mixture is extruded through an extrusion die 100 apparatus into a honeycomb, which is then dried and fired to form all or part of the final honeycomb aerosol-generating product.

[0029] 1, 2, and 7 to 10, there are a plurality of material supply passages 10a inside the first body 10, and each material supply passage 10a penetrates opposite ends of the first body 10 along the axial direction, i.e., the raw material mixture may be led from one end to the other end of the first body 10 through the material supply passages 10a.

[0030] In a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the first body 10, the cross-sectional area of ​​the material supply passage 10a located upstream in the material supply direction is equal to or greater than the cross-sectional area of ​​the material supply passage 10a located downstream in the material supply direction. In this way, the raw material mixture can be maintained at a constant extrusion pressure in the material supply passage 10a, or the extrusion pressure that it receives can be gradually increased.

[0031] By providing a plurality of material supply passages 10a, it is possible to ensure uniformity of material supply and also to ensure that the raw material mixture is subjected to a constant extrusion pressure in the extrusion passage 20a.

[0032] 7 to 10, the second body 20 is provided at one end along the axial direction of the first body 10, and the second body 20 has a plurality of extrusion passages 20a inside, and each extrusion passage 20a penetrates opposite ends along the axial direction of the second body 20 and communicates with a material supply passage 10a. That is, the raw material mixture enters the extrusion passage 20a through the material supply passage 10a and is extruded through the extrusion passage 20a to form various cross-sectional products or semi-finished products.

[0033] In a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the second body 20, the cross-sectional area of ​​the extrusion passage 20a located upstream in the extrusion direction is equal to or greater than the cross-sectional area of ​​the extrusion passage 20a located downstream in the extrusion direction. In this way, the raw material mixture can be maintained under a constant extrusion pressure in the extrusion passage 20a, or the extrusion pressure it receives can be gradually increased, allowing the raw materials to be gradually kneaded and molded.

[0034] The material supply passage 10a extends toward the extrusion passage 20a formed in the second body 20 and intersects with the extrusion passage 20a, the raw material mixture is extruded through the extrusion passage 20a, the extrusion passages 20a are interconnected, and the extruded material forms a honeycomb-shaped product or semi-finished product.

[0035] It should be noted that in the examples of this application, "plurality" refers to two and more than two.

[0036] For example, the aerosol-generating product is a particle conjugate such as a reconstituted tobacco medium containing ingredients such as a smoke-generating agent and tobacco, and is a unitary structure formed by a continuous extrusion process. Here, extrusion refers to a processing method in which a raw material mixture is fed into an extruder, and the material is forced forward by the screw through the action of the extruder barrel and the screw, and then passes continuously through a die 100, including the embodiments of the present application, to form various cross-sectional products or semi-finished products. Furthermore, the products or semi-finished products extruded by the die 100 may be used to manufacture different components of the aerosol-generating product, such as a plug segment, a smoke-generating segment, a support segment, or a filtration segment, or may be used directly to manufacture the entire aerosol-generating product, but this is not limited thereto.

[0037] For example, referring to Figures 7 to 10, the first body 10 and the second body 20 have an integrated structure, and the integrated first body 10 and second body 20 can reduce the number of parts, shorten the assembly time, and improve assembly efficiency.

[0038] Of course, the first body 10 and the second body 20 may be separated.

[0039] It should be noted that the materials of the first body 10 and the second body 20 may or may not be the same. Because the mold 100 is used to produce an aerosol-generating product, the extrusion pressure is high during the extrusion process, so the mold 100 needs to have high strength. In addition, because the raw material mixture of the aerosol-generating product contains moisture, the mold 100 needs to have certain anti-rust properties, so the materials of both the first body 10 and the second body 20 may be high-strength stainless steel, such as austenitic stainless steel or martensitic stainless steel.

[0040] For solid aerosol-generating products, under conditions of equivalent volume and mass (equal density), improving the heat conduction efficiency and improving the aerosol transmission efficiency can improve the atomization efficiency of the smoke-generating product, i.e., improve the amount of aerosol produced by the aerosol-generating product. It can be understood that improving the density of the aerosol-generating product and reducing its porosity can improve the heat conduction efficiency of the aerosol-generating product, and reducing the density of the aerosol-generating product and improving its porosity can improve the aerosol transmission efficiency. In the related art, due to the influence of the material structure of the aerosol-generating product, the disordered and non-fixed structure has long caused a series of problems in the atomization of conventional solid aerosol-generating products. For example, due to the uneven porosity of the material and the high specific surface area, the aerosol-generating product exhibits problems such as poor temperature uniformity, poor taste consistency, low heat conduction efficiency, low aerosol transmission efficiency, and low atomization efficiency.

[0041] An embodiment of the present application provides a mold for producing an aerosol-generating product, wherein the mold 100 includes a first body 10 and a second body 20. The first body 10 has a plurality of material supply passages 10a therein, each of which passes through opposite axial ends of the first body 10. That is, the raw material mixture may be introduced from one end of the first body 10 to the other through the material supply passages 10a. The second body 20 is provided at one axial end of the first body 10. The second body 20 has a plurality of extrusion passages 20a therein which communicate with each other, each of which passes through opposite axial ends of the second body 20 and communicates with the material supply passages 10a. That is, the raw material mixture may enter the extrusion passages 20a through the material supply passages 10a and be extruded through the extrusion passages 20a to form various cross-sectional products or semi-finished products. The heat conduction efficiency and aerosol transmission efficiency of an aerosol-generating product are related to the porosity of the aerosol-generating product (the higher the porosity of the aerosol-generating product, the lower the heat conduction efficiency and the higher the aerosol transmission efficiency; the lower the porosity of the aerosol-generating product, the higher the heat conduction efficiency and the lower the aerosol transmission efficiency). Therefore, by controlling the porosity of the second body 20 (by controlling the number of extrusion passages 20a and the cross-sectional area of ​​the extrusion passages 20a), the porosity of the aerosol-generating product manufactured by the mold 100 can be controlled, thereby ensuring that the aerosol-generating product has high heat conduction efficiency and aerosol transmission efficiency. That is, the aerosol-generating product can have high heat conduction efficiency and high aerosol transmission efficiency, and further improve the atomization efficiency of the aerosol-generating product.

[0042] Furthermore, in a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the first body 10, the cross-sectional area of ​​the material supply passage 10a located upstream in the material supply direction is equal to or greater than the cross-sectional area of ​​the material supply passage 10a located downstream in the material supply direction, which is advantageous for supplying the raw material mixture.In a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the second body 20, the cross-sectional area of ​​the extrusion passage 20a located upstream in the extrusion direction is equal to or greater than the cross-sectional area of ​​the extrusion passage 20a located downstream in the extrusion direction, so the raw material mixture can maintain a constant extrusion pressure in the extrusion passage 20a, or the extrusion pressure it receives can gradually increase. If the maximum cross-sectional area of ​​the extrusion passage 20a is smaller than the minimum cross-sectional area of ​​the material supply passage 10a, the raw material mixture will be further pressed in the extrusion passage 20a after passing through the material supply passage 10a and entering the extrusion passage 20a, which is advantageous for promoting complete kneading of the mesh structure. Furthermore, if the porosity of the aerosol generating product is constant, the density of the aerosol generating product can be controlled. The heat conduction efficiency and aerosol transmission efficiency of the aerosol generating product are related to the density of the aerosol generating product (the higher the density of the aerosol generating product, the higher the heat conduction efficiency and the lower the aerosol transmission efficiency; and the lower the density of the aerosol generating product, the lower the heat conduction efficiency and the higher the aerosol transmission efficiency). Therefore, by controlling the extrusion pressure that the raw material mixture receives in the extrusion passage 20a, the density of the aerosol generating product can be controlled, thereby ensuring that the aerosol generating product has high heat conduction efficiency and aerosol transmission efficiency. That is, the aerosol generating product can have high heat conduction efficiency and high aerosol transmission efficiency, and further improve the atomization efficiency of the aerosol generating product.

[0043] In a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the first body 10, there are several situations in which the cross-sectional area of ​​the material supply passage 10a located upstream in the material supply direction is equal to or greater than the cross-sectional area of ​​the material supply passage 10a located downstream in the material supply direction. For example, in one embodiment, the cross-sectional area of ​​each material supply passage 10a is the same along the material supply direction, i.e., each material supply passage 10a has the same diameter. In this way, the raw material mixture can be maintained at a constant extrusion pressure in the material supply passage 10a, which is advantageous for the supply of the raw material mixture.

[0044] In other embodiments, the cross-sectional area of ​​each material supply passage 10a gradually decreases along the material supply direction, i.e., each material supply passage 10a has a variable diameter, and the cross-sectional area of ​​the material supply passage 10a located upstream in the material supply direction is larger than the cross-sectional area of ​​the material supply passage 10a located downstream in the material supply direction. In this way, the extrusion pressure that the raw material mixture receives in the material supply passage 10a can be gradually increased, which is advantageous for preliminary kneading of the raw material mixture.

[0045] In some embodiments, the cross-sectional area of ​​some of the material supply passages 10a may be the same, but the cross-sectional area of ​​some of the material supply passages 10a may gradually decrease along the material supply direction.

[0046] In a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the second body 20, there are several situations in which the cross-sectional area of ​​the extrusion passage 20a located upstream in the extrusion direction is equal to or greater than the cross-sectional area of ​​the extrusion passage 20a located downstream in the extrusion direction. For example, in one embodiment, the cross-sectional area of ​​each extrusion passage 20a is the same along the extrusion direction, i.e., each extrusion passage 20a has the same diameter. In this way, the raw material mixture can be maintained at a constant extrusion pressure in the extrusion passage 20a, which is advantageous for promoting complete kneading of the mesh structure.

[0047] In some other embodiments, the cross-sectional area of ​​each extrusion passage 20a gradually decreases along the extrusion direction, i.e., each extrusion passage 20a has a variable diameter, and the cross-sectional area of ​​the extrusion passage 20a located upstream in the extrusion direction is larger than the cross-sectional area of ​​the extrusion passage 20a located downstream in the extrusion direction. In this way, the raw material mixture can be further pressed in the extrusion passage 20a, which is advantageous for promoting complete kneading of the mesh structure.

[0048] In some embodiments, the cross-sectional area of ​​some of the extrusion passages 20a may be the same, or the cross-sectional area of ​​some of the extrusion passages 20a may be gradually reduced along the extrusion direction.

[0049] It should be noted that all material supply passages 10a may be formed in the first body 10 in a uniformly distributed manner (see Figures 1 and 2), or may be formed in the first body 10 in a non-uniformly distributed manner.

[0050] It should be noted that the "uniform distribution" of the material supply passages 10a includes the distribution of the material supply passages 10a in a matrix or concentric circles, i.e., the arrangement of the material supply passages 10a itself is uniform. It should be understood that the material supply passages 10a may be non-uniform within the cross-section of the first body 10, i.e., the material supply passages 10a are uniformly distributed, but the material supply passages 10a do not divide the entire first body 10 uniformly. For example, if the cross-section of the first body 10 is circular, the material supply passages 10a distributed in a matrix are not uniformly distributed within the circular cross-section.

[0051] It should be noted that the shape of the first body 10 is not limited herein, and by way of example, in a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the first body 10, the cross-sectional shape of the first body 10 includes, but is not limited to, a circle, an ellipse, a track, or a polygon.

[0052] In the embodiment of the present application, the axial direction of the first body 10 refers to the material supply direction. For example, if the outer contour of the first body 10 is cylindrical, the axial direction is the height direction perpendicular to the bottom surface of the first body 10. As another example, if the outer contour of the first body 10 is rectangular, the axial direction is still the direction defined above, i.e., refers to the material supply direction, and the axial direction of the first body 10 may be any of the length, width, or height directions of the rectangular parallelepiped.

[0053] Here, the cross-sectional shape of the first body 10 refers to the cross-sectional shape of the first body 10 cut along a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the first body 10.

[0054] It should be noted that the shape of the material supply passage 10a is not limited here, and by way of example, in a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the first body 10, the cross-sectional shape of the material supply passage 10a includes, but is not limited to, a circle, an ellipse, a track, a sector or a polygon.

[0055] Here, the cross-sectional shape of the material supply passage 10a refers to the cross-sectional shape of the material supply passage 10a cut along a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the first body 10.

[0056] Here, the track shape refers to a shape similar to a running track, and is formed by two semicircles and two parallel straight lines connected alternately.

[0057] Below, we will use an example where the cross-sectional area of ​​each material supply passage 10a is the same along the material supply direction, and the cross-sectional area of ​​each extrusion passage 20a is the same along the extrusion direction.In this case, it can be understood that the porosity of the first body 10 is equal to the ratio of the area of ​​the material supply passage 10a in the cross section of the first body 10 to the area of ​​the first body 10, and similarly, the porosity of the second body 20 is equal to the ratio of the area of ​​the extrusion passage 20a in the cross section of the second body 20 to the area of ​​the second body 20.

[0058] In one embodiment, the porosity of the first body 10 is 19.6% to 72.5%, for example, 19.6%, 20%, 23%, 25%, 30%, 32%, 35%, 38%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 52.5%, 55%, 57%, 60%, 65%, 68.5%, 70%, 72.5%, etc.

[0059] If the porosity of the first body 10 exceeds 72.5%, the strength of the first body 10 will decrease, which will further affect the strength of the mold 100, and since the extrusion pressure is large during the extrusion process, this may affect the service life of the mold 100.

[0060] If the porosity of the first body 10 is less than 19.6%, the raw material mixture for producing the aerosol-generating product will have difficulty passing through the first body 10, thereby reducing the production efficiency of the aerosol-generating product, and the porosity of the first body 10 will be too small, which will be disadvantageous for processing and manufacturing the first body 10.

[0061] When the porosity of the first body 10 is within the range of 19.6% to 72.5%, the flow resistance of the raw material mixture is relatively small, that is, the raw material mixture passes through the first body 10 relatively easily, and at the same time, processing and manufacturing are easy.

[0062] In one embodiment, each material supply passage 10a is parallel to the central axis of the mold 100, which is advantageous for supplying the raw material mixture.

[0063] In one embodiment, the distance between the centers of two adjacent material supply passages 10a is 0.500 mm to 2.54 mm, for example, 0.500 mm, 0.600 mm, 0.700 mm, 0.800 mm, 0.900 mm, 1.00 mm, 1.20 mm, 1.30 mm, 1.40 mm, 1.50 mm, 1.60 mm, 1.70 mm, 2.00 mm, 2.10 mm, 2.20 mm, 2.40 mm, 2.50 mm, 2.54 mm, etc.

[0064] In one embodiment, the number of material supply passages 10a is 100 to 2580, for example, 100, 150, 200, 500, 1000, 1500, 1600, 1800, 2000, 2100, 2300, 2500, 2580, etc.

[0065] When the outer dimensions of the first body 10 and the material supply passages 10a are constant, there is a negative correlation between the number of material supply passages 10a and the distance between the centers of adjacent material supply passages 10a, and the greater the number of material supply passages 10a, the smaller the distance between the centers of adjacent material supply passages 10a, reducing the structural strength of the entire mold 100. Furthermore, the greater the number of material supply passages 10a, the more complex the process and structure become, making manufacturing more difficult. Therefore, it is not preferable for the number of material supply passages 10a to exceed 2,580.

[0066] For example, when the number of material supply passages 10a is 100 to 2580, the process and structure are simple, the manufacturing is easy, and the structural strength of the entire mold 100 is relatively high.

[0067] In one embodiment, the porosity of the second body 20 is 15.1% to 72.5%, for example, 15.1%, 16%, 17%, 18%, 19%, 19.6%, 20%, 23%, 25%, 30%, 32%, 35%, 38%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 52.5%, 55%, 57%, 60%, 65%, 68.5%, 70%, 72.5%, etc.

[0068] If the porosity of the second body 20 exceeds 72.5%, the strength of the second body 20 will be reduced, which will affect the strength of the mold 100 and, due to the high extrusion pressure during the extrusion process, may affect the service life of the mold 100. Also, if the porosity of the second body 20 is greater than 72.5%, this means that the porosity of the aerosol-generating product produced using the mold 100 will be low, which will reduce the aerosol transmission efficiency and further reduce the atomization efficiency and amount of mist of the aerosol-generating product.

[0069] If the porosity of the second body 20 is less than 15.1%, the raw material mixture for producing the aerosol-generating product will have difficulty passing through the second body 20, thereby reducing the production efficiency of the aerosol-generating product, and the porosity of the second body 20 will be too low, which will be disadvantageous for the processing and production of the second body 20. If the porosity of the second body 20 is less than 15.1%, this will mean that the porosity of the aerosol-generating product produced using the mold 100 will be too high, which will reduce the structural strength, heat conduction efficiency and mass of the aerosol-generating product, as well as the atomization efficiency and amount of smoke of the aerosol-generating product.

[0070] When the porosity of the second body 20 is within the range of 15.1% to 72.5%, the thermal conductivity efficiency and aerosol transmission efficiency of the aerosol generating product can be ensured, that is, the aerosol generating product can have high thermal conductivity efficiency and high aerosol transmission efficiency, and the atomization efficiency and amount of mist of the aerosol generating product can be improved, and the aerosol generating product can also have high structural strength.

[0071] In one embodiment, the ratio of the porosity of the first body 10 to the porosity of the second body 20 is n, where 1≦n≦3, such as 1, 1.05, 1.1, 1.2, 1.25, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 2, 2.05, 2.1, 2.2, 2.25, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8, 2.9, 3, etc.

[0072] By controlling the ratio of the porosity of the first body 10 to the porosity of the second body 20 to be 1 to 3, the raw material mixture can be further compressed in the extrusion passage 20a after passing through the material supply passage 10a and entering the extrusion passage 20a, which is advantageous for promoting complete kneading of the mesh structure. Furthermore, when the porosity of the aerosol-generating product is constant, the density of the aerosol-generating product can be controlled by controlling the extrusion pressure that the raw material mixture receives in the extrusion passage 20a, thereby controlling the density of the aerosol-generating product, and thereby ensuring the heat conduction efficiency and aerosol transmission efficiency of the aerosol-generating product. That is, the aerosol-generating product can have high heat conduction efficiency and high aerosol transmission efficiency, and further improve the atomization efficiency of the aerosol-generating product.

[0073] 3 to 10, the second body 20 includes a housing 21 and a plurality of pillars 22 provided within the housing 21, and each pillar 22 is spaced apart to form an extrusion passage 20a, i.e., an extrusion passage 20a is formed between the surfaces of each pillar 22.

[0074] The pillars 22 are arranged in parallel, and one end of each pillar 22 is fixed, for example, to the end face of the first body 10. The raw material mixture enters the extrusion passages 20a spaced apart between the pillars 22 via the material supply passages 10a, and is extruded from the end face of the pillars 22 at the end away from the first body 10.

[0075] It should be noted that the shape of the support 22 is not limited here, and for example, in a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the second body 20, the cross-sectional shape of the support 22 is a circle, a polygon, an ellipse, a track or a fan shape as shown in FIG. 4, and the polygon may be a regular polygon, such as a square as shown in FIG. 3, an equilateral triangle as shown in FIG. 6, or a regular hexagon as shown in FIG. 5.

[0076] In the embodiments of the present application, the axial direction of the second body 20 refers to the extrusion direction. For example, if the outer contour of the second body 20 is cylindrical, the axial direction is the height direction perpendicular to the bottom surface of the second body 20. As another example, if the outer contour of the second body 20 is rectangular, the axial direction is still the direction defined above, i.e., refers to the extrusion direction, and the axial direction of the second body 20 may be any one of the length, width, and height directions of the rectangular parallelepiped.

[0077] Here, the cross-sectional shape of the support 22 refers to the cross-sectional shape of the support 22 cut along a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the second main body 20.

[0078] 11, in one embodiment, a mold 100 includes a plurality of overlapping units, each including one support 22 and a plurality of material supply passages 10a corresponding to the support 22, and the plurality of material supply passages 10a in each overlapping unit are arranged in a circumferential direction surrounding the center of the support 22. That is, each overlapping unit includes one support 22, and the support 22 in the overlapping unit corresponds to the plurality of material supply passages 10a, that is, one overlapping unit includes a plurality of material supply passages 10a surrounding the periphery of the support 22, and the plurality of material supply passages 10a are arranged in a circumferential direction surrounding the center of the support 22, that is, the centers of the plurality of material supply passages 10a are located on the same circle with the center of the support 22 as the center. In this way, it is advantageous for the raw material mixture extruded from the material supply passage 10a to be filled around the periphery of the support 22, and the multiple material supply passages 10a are arranged in a circumferential direction surrounding the center of the support 22, which can to some extent prevent incomplete filling.

[0079] Here, the number of material supply passages 10a in each overlapping unit is not limited here and may be, for example, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 20, 30, etc.

[0080] As can be understood, the plurality of material supply passages 10a are arranged along a circumferential direction surrounding the center of the support 22, that is, the connecting line of the centers of the plurality of material supply passages 10a may be circular or rectangular.

[0081] It should be noted that the material supply passage 10a in one overlapping unit may constitute the material supply passage 10a in another overlapping unit, i.e., the same material supply passage 10a may surround the periphery of multiple support columns 22.

[0082] Specifically, referring to FIG. 11, each overlapping unit includes one support 22 and four material supply passages 10a corresponding to the support 22, and the connecting lines at the centers of the four material supply passages 10a form a square, and the center line of the square overlaps with the central axis of the support 22.

[0083] Here, the center line of the square and the central axis of the support 22 are reference lines that serve as imaginary references.

[0084] The term "overlapping" refers to the fact that the center line of the square and the central axis of the support 22 may completely overlap or may almost overlap, i.e., there may be a certain deviation between the center line of the square and the central axis of the support 22.

[0085] 11, in one specific embodiment, each overlapping unit includes one support column 22 and four material supply passages 10a corresponding to the support column 22. The connecting lines (i.e., the lines connecting the centers) of the four material supply passages 10a form a square, and the center line of the square overlaps with the central axis of the support column 22. The square is considered to be one calculation unit A, and the mold 100 of this embodiment can be considered to be formed by arranging several such calculation units A. Here, the cross-sectional shape of the material supply passage 10a is circular, and the cross-sectional shape of the support column 22 is square. When designing the mold 100, the center distance between two adjacent material supply passages 10a is determined, and the porosity of the first body 10 is then determined based on the dimensions of the material supply passages 10a. Taking the above one calculation unit A as an example, the porosity of the first body 10 is calculated as follows. If the center distance between two adjacent material supply passages 10a is 1.8 mm and the diameter of the material supply passage 10a is 1.5 mm, the porosity of one calculation unit A is as follows:

number

[0086] As a result, when the center distance between two adjacent material supply passages 10a is constant, different porosities of the first body 10 can be obtained by designing different diameters of the material supply passages 10a.

[0087] In another specific embodiment, referring to FIG. 11 , each overlapping unit includes one support 22 and four material supply passages 10a corresponding to the support 22. The connecting lines at the centers of the four material supply passages 10a form a square, the center line of the square overlaps with the central axis of the support 22, and the square is considered to be one calculation unit A. The mold 100 of this embodiment can be considered to be formed by arranging several such calculation units A. Here, the cross-sectional shape of the material supply passage 10a is circular, and the cross-sectional shape of the support 22 is square. When designing the mold 100, the center distance between two adjacent material supply passages 10a is determined, and the porosity of the second body 20 is determined based on the dimensions of the support 22. Taking the above-mentioned one calculation unit A as an example, the porosity of the second body 20 can be calculated as follows. If the center distance between two adjacent material supply passages 10a is 1.8 mm and the side length of the support 22 is 1.3 mm, the porosity of one calculation unit A is as follows:

number

[0088] As a result, when the center distance between two adjacent material supply passages 10a is constant, different porosities of the second body 20 can be obtained by designing the side lengths of the support columns 22 to different sizes.

[0089] As can be understood, the basic design parameters of the mold 100 can be determined by determining the center distance between two adjacent material supply passages 10a, the porosity of the first body 10, and the porosity of the second body 20.

[0090] The aerosol-generating product produced by the continuous extrusion process using the mold 100 of the present application has a three-dimensionally ordered honeycomb consumable structure with an organic solid powder as the framework material, which is advantageous for achieving high thermal conductivity and aerosol transmission efficiency, and further improving the atomization efficiency of the aerosol-generating product. The specific mold 100 used in the present application's examples is designed to achieve a honeycomb structure with a small porosity (less than 75%) to ensure the weight and active ingredient release rate of the aerosol-generating product. Because the aerosol-generating product has a moderate porosity (30%-60%), it must be extruded using a mold 100 with large open porosity, which places high demands on the material strength and processing precision of the mold 100.

[0091] The material supply passages 10a may be arranged in a square array, a hexagonal array, or an asymmetrical array.

[0092] 1 and 2, all of the material supply passages 10a are distributed on multiple trajectories, where each material supply passage 10a on a single trajectory is linearly arranged along a first direction, and multiple trajectories are arranged along a second direction, where the first and second directions are not parallel. The first and second directions form a planar two-dimensional coordinate system, and the first and second directions define the planar arrangement of the material supply passages 10a. That is, the material supply passages 10a are regularly arranged, which makes it easy to process each material supply passage 10a according to a predetermined arrangement rule during the molding process.

[0093] For example, each material supply passage 10a on a single trajectory line is provided at equal intervals. Here, "equally spaced" refers to the distance between the hole centers of two adjacent material supply passages 10a being equal. In this way, the shape and dimensions of the hole walls between two adjacent material supply passages 10a are approximately the same, which can improve the uniformity of material supply during the extrusion molding process.

[0094] It should be noted that the first direction may be a straight line or a curved line, and the second direction may be a straight line or a curved line.

[0095] For example, in some embodiments, the material supply passage 10a on a single trajectory line is arranged along a circumferential direction surrounding the center of the first body 10, and multiple trajectory lines are arranged concentrically along a radial direction, i.e., the first direction is the circumferential direction surrounding the center of the first body 10, and the second direction is the radial direction.

[0096] In some other embodiments, referring to Figures 1 and 2, each material supply passage 10a on a single trajectory line is arranged linearly along a first direction, and multiple trajectory lines are arranged parallel to each other along a second direction, and the first and second directions are perpendicular to each other.

[0097] The distance between two adjacent material supply passages 10a on a single locus line is equal to the distance between two adjacent locus lines.

[0098] It should be noted that all the struts 22 may be disposed on the second body 20 in a uniformly distributed manner, or may be disposed on the second body 20 in a non-uniformly distributed manner.

[0099] The arrangement of the support columns 22 may be the same as or different from the arrangement of the material supply passage 10a. Here, the arrangement of the support columns 22 is, for example, the arrangement of the material supply passage 10a described above.

[0100] In the description of the present application, references such as "in one embodiment," "in some embodiments," "in other embodiments," "in yet another embodiment," or "exemplary" mean that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present application. In the present application, exemplary references to the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the described specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples. Furthermore, if not mutually inconsistent, those skilled in the art may combine different embodiments or examples and features of different embodiments or examples described in the present application.

[0101] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present application, and is not intended to limit the present application, and those skilled in the art may have various modifications and variations to the present application. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present application are all included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A mold for producing an aerosol-generating product, comprising: a first body; and a second body provided at one axial end of the first body; the first body has a plurality of material supply passages inside, each of which penetrates through opposite ends of the first body along the axial direction, and in a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the first body, the cross-sectional area of ​​the material supply passage located upstream in the material supply direction is equal to or greater than the cross-sectional area of ​​the material supply passage located downstream in the material supply direction; a die having a plurality of extrusion passages inside the second body, each of the extrusion passages penetrating opposite ends along the axial direction of the second body and communicating with the material supply passage, wherein in a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the second body, the cross-sectional area of ​​the extrusion passage located upstream in the extrusion direction is equal to or greater than the cross-sectional area of ​​the extrusion passage located downstream in the extrusion direction, and the maximum value of the cross-sectional areas of the extrusion passages is smaller than or equal to the minimum value of the cross-sectional area of ​​the material supply passage.

2. In a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the first body, the size of the cross-sectional area of ​​each of the material supply passages is the same or gradually decreases along the material supply direction. The mold according to claim 1 .

3. In a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the second body, the size of the cross-sectional area of ​​each of the extrusion passages is the same or gradually decreases along the extrusion direction. The mold according to claim 1 .

4. Each of the material supply passages is formed in the first body in a uniformly distributed manner, and in a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the first body, the cross-sectional shape of each of the material supply passages is circular. The mold according to claim 1 .

5. Each of the material supply passages is parallel to the central axis of the mold, and the distance between the centers of two adjacent material supply passages is 0.500 mm to 2.54 mm. The mold according to claim 1 .

6. The second body includes a housing and a plurality of support posts provided within the housing, the support posts being spaced apart to form the extrusion passage. The mold according to claim 1 .

7. The mold includes a plurality of overlapping units, each of which includes one support pillar and a plurality of material supply passages corresponding to the support pillar, and the plurality of material supply passages in each of the overlapping units are arranged along a circumferential direction surrounding the center of the support pillar. The mold according to claim 6.

8. Each overlapping unit includes one support and four material supply passages corresponding to the support, the connecting lines of the centers of the four material supply passages form a square, and the center line of the square overlaps with the central axis of the support. The mold according to claim 7.

9. In a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the second body, the cross-sectional shape of the strut is circular, polygonal, elliptical, track-shaped, or sector-shaped. The mold according to claim 6.

10. The number of the material supply passages is 100 to 2580, and / or the cross-sectional shape of the material supply passages in a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the first body is circular, polygonal, elliptical, track-shaped, or sector-shaped. The mold according to claim 1 .

11. The porosity of the second body is 15.1% to 72.5% and / or the porosity of the first body is 19.6% to 72.5%. The mold according to claim 1 .

12. the ratio of the porosity of the first body to the porosity of the second body is n, where 1≦n≦3; The mold according to claim 1 .

13. All of the material supply passages are distributed on a plurality of locus lines, wherein each of the material supply passages on a single locus line is linearly arranged along a first direction, and a plurality of locus lines are arranged along a second direction, and the first direction and the second direction are not parallel to each other. The mold according to claim 1 .

14. Each of the material supply passages on a single locus line is arranged along a circumferential direction surrounding the center of the first body, and a plurality of locus lines are arranged concentrically along a radial direction. The mold according to claim 13.

15. Each of the material supply passages on a single locus line is linearly arranged along a first direction, and a plurality of locus lines are arranged in parallel along a second direction, wherein the first direction and the second direction are perpendicular to each other. The mold according to claim 13.

16. The distance between two adjacent material supply passages on a single locus line is equal to the distance between two adjacent locus lines; The mold of claim 15.

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