Article for use with an apparatus for heating an aerosol-forming agent

Abstract

To provide an article to be used with a device for heating an aerosol generation agent and vaporizing at least one component of the aerosol generation agent.SOLUTION: An article of the present invention includes a support layer having a first surface, at least a part of the first surface being rough, and an aerosol generation agent provided on the rough part of the first surface. The rough part of the first surface includes a plurality of convex parts, for instance. The present invention is also related to a method for manufacturing such article. The method includes a step for preparing the support layer having the first surface, at least part of which is rough, and a step for providing the aerosol generation agent on the rough part of the first surface.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7B

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an article for use with an apparatus for heating an aerosol-forming substrate.

Background Art

[0002] Smoking articles such as cigarettes and cigars generate tobacco smoke by burning the tobacco during use. Attempts have been made to provide alternatives to these smoking articles by creating products that release compounds without actually burning, and thus without generating smoke or aerosol as a result of combustion or a combustion process, for example as a result of the alteration of the tobacco. Examples of such products are so-called heat-not-burn products, tobacco heating products, or tobacco heating devices. These can release compounds that can form an aerosol by heating rather than burning the aerosol-forming substrate. The aerosol-forming substrate may be, for example, tobacco or other non-tobacco products. Non-tobacco products may or may not contain nicotine.

Summary of the Invention

[0003] According to some embodiments described herein, there is provided an article for use with an apparatus for heating an aerosol-forming substrate to volatilize at least one component of the aerosol-forming substrate, the article comprising a support layer having a first surface, at least a portion of the first surface being a rough support layer, and an aerosol-forming substrate provided on the rough portion of the first surface. Providing the aerosol-forming substrate on the rough portion of the first surface improves heat transfer from the heater to the article.

[0004] In an exemplary embodiment, the rough portion of the first surface comprises a plurality of protrusions.

[0005] In an exemplary embodiment, that portion of the first surface is embossed. Embossing the first surface is an efficient and easily repeatable way to obtain a rough surface.

[0006] According to some embodiments described in this document, an article for use with an apparatus for heating an aerosol-forming substrate to volatilize at least one component of the aerosol-forming substrate is provided, the article comprising a first substrate of paper having a first inner surface and an aerosol-forming substrate on at least a portion of the first inner surface of the first sheet.

[0007] According to some embodiments described in this document, a system is provided that comprises an apparatus for heating an aerosol-forming substrate to volatilize at least one component of the aerosol-forming substrate and an article for use with the apparatus for heating an aerosol-forming substrate to volatilize at least one component of the aerosol-forming substrate, the article comprising a support layer having a first surface, at least a portion of the first surface being rough, and an aerosol-forming substrate on the rough portion of the first surface.

[0008] According to some embodiments described in this document, a kit is provided that comprises an apparatus for heating an aerosol-forming substrate to volatilize at least one component of the aerosol-forming substrate and an article for use with the apparatus for heating an aerosol-forming substrate to volatilize at least one component of the aerosol-forming substrate, the article comprising a support layer having a first surface, at least a portion of the first surface being rough, and an aerosol-forming substrate on the rough portion of the first surface.

[0009] According to some embodiments described in this document, a method of manufacturing a smoking article for use with an apparatus for heating an aerosol-forming substrate to volatilize at least one component of the aerosol-forming substrate is provided, the method comprising providing a support layer having a first surface, at least a portion of which is rough, and providing an aerosol-forming substrate on the rough portion of the first surface.

[0010] Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

Figure 1

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Figure 7A

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] In this book, the term "aerosol-forming agent" includes chemicals that provide volatile components when heated. The "aerosol-forming agent" includes any tobacco-containing material and may include, for example, one or more of tobacco, tobacco derivatives containing tobacco extracts, expanded tobacco, reconstituted tobacco, or tobacco substitutes. The "aerosol-forming agent" may, for example, contain nicotine depending on the product, or may not contain it, and may include filling materials such as flavorants, chalk and / or adsorbent materials, and other non-tobacco products containing glycerol, propylene glycol, or triacetin. The aerosol-forming agent may contain a binding material, such as sodium alginate. The aerosol-forming agent may contain tobacco particles or leaves in solid form therein. In one example, the aerosol-forming agent is an aerosol-forming gel. The aerosol-forming gel may be a solid jelly-like material. The aerosol-forming gel may be a Newtonian gel or a non-Newtonian gel. In one example, the gel is a thermoplastic gel. In one example, the aerosol-forming gel has a viscosity of 0.1 to 100 Ns / m 2 .

[0013] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, an article 100 for use with an apparatus for heating an aerosol-forming agent to volatilize at least one component of the aerosol-forming agent is shown. The article 100 includes a support layer 102 and a layer of aerosol-forming agent 104. The aerosol-forming agent 104 is disposed on a first surface 106 of the support layer 102. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the aerosol-forming agent 104 preferably forms a layer of material on the support layer 102, and the layer of aerosol-forming agent 104 is joined to the support layer 102.

[0014] In the example of the article 100 shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, the support layer 102 has a substantially smooth first surface 106 on which the aerosol-forming agent 104 is disposed. An example of the support layer 102 having a smooth surface is aluminum foil.

[0015] Article 100 is designed to be used with a device such as a so-called tobacco heating product that includes a heater for heating an aerosol-generating agent to volatilize at least one component of the aerosol-generating agent. An example of a heating device is shown in FIG. 3. In one example, device 50 includes a substantially flat heating surface 52, and in use, article 100 is placed thereon such that support layer 102 is placed on the heating surface. In other examples, the heater may take the form of a cylindrical heater or a blade heater. In other examples, the device may include a heater that heats air and then the air passes over the surface of the aerosol-generating agent to heat it. The heater may include a resistance heater, and in another example, the heater may be an induction heater, and the article may be placed on a susceptor within the device. In an example of induction heating, support layer 102 may be formed of a magnetic material and may act as an additional susceptor such that eddy currents are generated when support layer 102 is subjected to a varying magnetic field. Device 50 is configured to heat article 100 to volatilize at least one component of the aerosol-generating agent. In the example of FIG. 3, device 50 includes an inlet 54 through which the volatilized components can flow. However, in other examples, the device does not include inlet 54.

[0016] In an example of an aerosol-generating agent 104 that includes an aerosol-generating gel, the aerosol-generating gel 104 can be formed into a paste or slurry by mixing a concentrated tobacco extract in a high-shear mixer with water together with a binder such as sodium alginate. An aerosol-generating agent such as glycerol is added and the paste is wet cast as a thin film onto a support layer 102 such as aluminum or paper. The thin film is then dried by applying heat to remove excess moisture from the film. During the drying stage, article 100 may be subjected to a temperature of approximately 60 - 100 °C for approximately 20 minutes to 5 hours. Depending on the chemicals used in the formulation of the thin film, the thin film may exhibit a sticky surface that is problematic to handle in a commercial environment. The thin film may also exhibit weak adhesion to the support layer 102 on which it is cast, which can also cause problems during the drying stage and when article 100 is heated during use in an aerosol-generating device. This will be explained in more detail below.

[0017] In one example, the aerosol forming agent 104 has a thickness of 100 μm to 350 μm.

[0018] During heating of the article, it has been observed that the aerosol forming agent 104 tends to delaminate from the support layer 102. Further, when the article 100 is placed on the heating surface 52 of the device, the support layer 102 tends to curve, thereby causing delamination between the support layer 102 and the heating surface 52. As a result of both of these examples, heat transfer from the heating surface 52 to the aerosol forming agent 104 is impaired, thereby impairing aerosol delivery.

[0019] A first mechanism of delamination between the aerosol forming agent 104 and the support layer 102 is shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. FIG. 4A shows an example of the article 100 during heating. During the heating process, water and / or other components within the aerosol forming agent 104 evaporate, thereby causing the aerosol forming agent to contract as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 4A. The support layer 102 can be formed from a solid material such as aluminum or paper and thus does not contract during heating. Since there is some adhesive force between the aerosol forming agent 104 and the support layer 102, the article 100 curves as shown in FIG. 4A due to the difference in contraction between the aerosol forming agent layer 104 and the support layer 102. Due to the self-weight of the support layer 102, the support layer 102 resists the contraction of the aerosol forming agent 104. As the aerosol forming agent 104 continues to contract, the central portion of the aerosol forming agent 104 can peel away from the support layer 102, resulting in delamination between the aerosol forming agent 104 and the support layer 102. The degree of curvature with respect to delamination depends on the strength of the adhesive force between the aerosol forming agent 104 and the support layer 102, the rigidity of the support layer 102, and the rigidity of the aerosol forming agent 104.

[0020] A second mechanism of delamination between the aerosol-forming agent 104 and the support layer 102 is shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 5 shows an example of an article 100 during heating. During the heating process, water and / or other components within the aerosol-forming agent 104 evaporate. When the support layer 102 is disposed on the heating surface 52 of the device, the surface of the aerosol-forming agent 104 closest to the first surface 106 of the support layer 102 (and thus the heating surface) is heated more rapidly compared to the surface of the aerosol-forming agent 104 remote from the heating surface 52. As a result, the surface of the aerosol-forming agent 104 closest to the first surface 106 of the support layer 102 loses more moisture compared to the surface of the aerosol-forming agent remote from the heating surface, and thus shrinks more, as shown in FIG. 5.

[0021] A third mechanism of delamination between the aerosol-forming agent 104 and the support layer 102 is shown in FIG. 6. When the aerosol-forming agent 104 is heated, at least one component of the aerosol-forming agent 104 is volatilized. In the absence of a flow path between the volatilized component and the outer surface of the aerosol-forming agent 104, the accumulation of the volatilized component acts to delaminate the aerosol-forming agent 104 from the support layer 102. There are also air bubbles incorporated into the aerosol-forming agent 104 during the drying process, and they expand upon heating and act to cause delamination between the aerosol-forming agent 104 and the support layer 102.

[0022] There is a need to improve the heat transfer between the heater of device 50 and article 100 to improve the generation of volatile components. Surprisingly, it has been found that sufficiently improving the adhesion improves the heat transfer to the aerosol-forming agent, and as a result, aerosols are generated more efficiently. One way to improve heat transfer is to improve the adhesion between the aerosol-forming agent 104 and the support layer 102 to reduce delamination therebetween. One option for improving the adhesion between the aerosol-forming agent 104 and the support layer 102 is by using chemical additives to the aerosol-forming agent 104 and the support layer 102. A powder additive may be used to reduce the tackiness of the aerosol-forming agent 104 and improve the handling of the aerosol-forming agent. However, the use of additives has several drawbacks. The reason is that the components of the additive may be volatilized during heating and inhaled by the user, which may not be desirable. Further, the use of additives increases the cost of manufacturing article 100.

[0023] Figures 7A and 7B show an example of a support layer 202 in the form of a substrate having a first surface 206, where at least a portion of the first surface 206 is roughened to provide a non-flat or irregular surface. The first surface 206 is rough enough to prevent or suppress delamination of the aerosol-forming agent 204 from the first surface 206 of the support layer 202.

[0024] In one example, the first surface 206 is roughened by creating a number of holes in the support layer 202. The holes can be created by passing a single pin or a series of pins through the first surface 206.

[0025] The support layer 202 can be formed from any material suitable for receiving and holding the aerosol-forming agent 204. In one example, the support layer 202 is formed from a heat-conductive material, such as a metal like aluminum. The support layer 202 may be a metal foil, such as aluminum foil, for example.

[0026] In an example of the support layer 202 formed from aluminum, the aluminum preferably has a thickness of 5 μm to 25 μm. The thickness of the aluminum may be 7 μm, 10 μm, or 20 μm, and more preferably 6 μm to 8 μm.

[0027] In other examples, the support layer 202 is formed from a paper material such as chip paper, porous plug wrap paper, cigarette paper, or tea bag paper. The paper may be porous paper. When the aerosol generating gel is used as the aerosol generating agent, the gel can flow into the pores of the porous paper to improve adhesion. In an example of the support layer formed from a paper material, the paper preferably has a weight of 20 gsm to 100 gsm.

[0028] The aerosol generating agent 204 (not shown) is disposed on the first surface 206 of the support layer 202. In the examples shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the first surface 206 is rough as a result of the presence of a plurality of protrusions 208. The protrusions 208 are elements that protrude from the first surface 206 of the support layer 202. In the examples shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the protrusions are in the form of cylinders, but any shape that protrudes from the first surface 206 of the support layer 202, such as cubes, pyramids, and irregular shapes, may be used. The protrusions 208 do not necessarily have to be formed from the same shape. The protrusions 208 in FIGS. 7A and 7B are shown as covering most of the first surface 206 of the support layer 202, but in other examples, the protrusions 208 cover only a portion of the first surface 206 of the support layer 202. In one example, the protrusions 208 may be formed by adding additional material to the first surface 206 of the support layer or removing some material from the first surface.

[0029] In one example, the protrusions have a height of 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm and a width of 0.2 mm to 0.4 mm, and more preferably have a height of 0.15 mm and a width of 0.3 mm.

[0030] In one example, the first surface 206 of the support layer 202 is embossed to create a certain surface roughness. The support layer 202 is embossed by pressing the support layer 202 using a mold, whereby the first surface 206 of the support layer 202 can have a three-dimensional or raised effect in the selected area. In some examples, the embossing technique requires the use of two molds, one raised and one recessed. When the support layer 202 is pressed between the molds, the raised side mold presses the support layer 202 into the recessed side mold, and the two molds fit together to create an embossed surface.

[0031] The convex portion 208 may be formed by embossing. Embossing the first surface 206 of the support layer 202 is an easy and repeatable way to create a rough surface. The first surface 206 can be roughened by including one or more ridges, depressions, recesses, risers, holes.

[0032] The first surface 206 can be embossed using various patterns such as one or more of a spiral, a line, a square, a circle, and / or a rectangle.

[0033] The rough first surface 206 of the support layer 202 is effective in increasing the contact surface area between the aerosol-forming substrate 204 and the support layer 202, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B. An example of an article 200 formed from a support layer 202 having a rough first surface 206 and an aerosol-forming substrate 204 is shown in FIG. 7C. Increasing the surface area increases the adhesion between the aerosol-forming substrate 204 and the support layer 202, and thus reduces the effect of the first two delamination mechanisms described above. With respect to the first mechanism, the strong adhesion means that when the aerosol-forming substrate 204 shrinks, it is less likely to delaminate from the support layer 202. With respect to the second mechanism, the aerosol-forming substrate 204 has a stronger adhesion to the inner surface of the heat-conducting layer, so the aerosol-forming substrate is less likely to delaminate from the inner surface of the heat-conducting layer. As the adhesion increases, the aerosol-forming substrate 204 is less likely to delaminate from the support layer 202, and thus when the article 200 is heated by a heating device, more of the aerosol-forming substrate 204 is heated.

[0034] An article 200 can be manufactured by providing a support layer 202 having a first surface 206, at least a portion of the first surface 206 being rough, and disposing an aerosol-forming substrate 204 on the rough portion of the first surface 206. As described above, the first surface 206 can be roughened by one or more of embossing the first surface 206, providing protrusions 208, or other means of roughening the surface.

[0035] In a further example shown in FIG. 8, the first surface 306 of the support layer 302 is roughened by having one or more score lines 310 formed in the first surface 306. The score lines can be formed by known processes such as running a cutting element across the entire first surface 306 of the support layer 302 to provide one or more incisions or indentations in the first surface 306 of the support layer 302.

[0036] FIG. 8 shows a support layer 302 having six score lines 310 applied to a first surface 306. In some examples, fewer score lines than this are applied, and in other examples, more than six score lines 310 are applied to the first surface 306. Similar to the protrusions 208 shown in FIG. 7B, the score lines 310 serve to add surface roughness to the first surface of the support layer 310, which increases the adhesive force between the aerosol-forming substrate 304 and the support layer 302. In one example, the surface roughness of the first surface 306 of the support layer 302 is provided by the score lines 310. In other examples, the surface roughness of the first surface 306 of the support layer is provided by one or more combinations of the protrusions 208, embossing, and score lines 310.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 9, the score lines 310 may be applied to the aerosol-forming substrate 304. Applying the score lines 310 to the aerosol-forming substrate 304 will cause the aerosol-forming substrate 304 to be divided into one or more separate zones bounded by the score lines 310. Dividing the aerosol-forming substrate 304 into separate zones provides more flow paths for any volatile components and to the outer surface of the aerosol-forming substrate 304. Thus, the above-described third mechanism of delamination between the aerosol-forming substrate 304 and the support layer 302 is less likely to occur. Further, dividing the aerosol-forming substrate 304 into one or more separate zones helps to reduce the above-described curving effect.

[0038] The aerosol-forming substrates 104, 204, 304 may be formed from different tobacco extracts such as Burley, Virginia, and Orient. Aerosol-forming substrates 204, 304 formed from different tobacco extracts may have different properties. For example, an aerosol-forming substrate formed from Burley tobacco is more brittle, while aerosol-forming substrates formed from Virginia and Orient are more flexible. When using an aerosol-forming substrate 304 formed from Orient tobacco, the best results are obtained when at least a portion of the first surface 306 of the support layer 302 is rough.

[0039] The selected test article was subjected to a T-peel test. The T-peel test means a test of the peel strength between the aerosol-forming agent 304 and the support layer 302. The results of the T-peel test are shown below.

Table 1

[0040] In another example, the support layer may be formed from paper such as chip paper, porous plug wrap paper, cigarette paper, or tea bag paper. Since paper is a fibrous substrate, the surface of the paper is irregular. When the aerosol-forming agent is attached to the surface of the paper, the aerosol-forming agent contacts the irregular surface and adheres to the first surface of the paper substrate. The inventor has surprisingly found that the aerosol-forming agent does not weaken the thin paper support, the paper maintains its integrity during casting, and after drying, the thin film adheres strongly to the paper substrate. As a result, an article using a paper substrate as a support layer is an ideal system for use in a heating device because the paper is thin enough not to act as a significant "thermal insulation layer" and heat transfer is acceptable.

[0041] In one example, an apparatus for heating an aerosol-forming agent to volatilize at least one component of the aerosol-forming agent may be sold in a kit with an article according to any of the above examples.

[0042] The above examples show the aerosol-forming agent on the first surface of the support layer, but in other examples, the support layer can include a first surface and a second surface, in which case at least a portion of the first surface is rough and at least a portion of the second surface is rough. The second surface can be disposed on the opposite side of the support layer from the first surface. The aerosol-forming agent is attached to the rough portions of the first surface and the second surface. This configuration allows more aerosol-forming agent to be retained by the support layer. Alternatively, the article can comprise a second support layer, such that the aerosol-forming agent is disposed between the first support layer and the second support layer. Similar to the first support layer, the second support layer can comprise a first and / or a second rough surface.

[0043] Figure 10 shows an example of an article according to any of the above examples, and the article 500 is in the form of a cartridge that can be inserted into an apparatus 50 for heating an aerosol-forming agent to volatilize at least one component of the aerosol-forming agent. The article 500 includes a support layer having a first surface (not shown), and at least a portion of the first surface is rough. The aerosol-forming agent is attached to the rough portion of the first surface.

[0044] The various embodiments described in this document are presented only to assist in the understanding and teaching of the claimed features. These embodiments are provided only as representative examples of embodiments and neither cover all embodiments nor exclude other embodiments. The advantages, embodiments, examples, functions, features, structures, and / or other aspects described in this document should not be considered as limiting the scope of the invention as defined by the claims, or as limiting equivalents to the claims. It should be understood that other embodiments can be utilized and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the claimed invention. The various embodiments of the invention may appropriately include, consist of, or consist essentially of, suitable combinations of the disclosed elements, configurations, features, components, steps, means, etc., other than those detailed in this document. Further, this disclosure can include other inventions that are not currently claimed but may be claimed in the future.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0045] 50... apparatus, 100... article, 102... support layer, 104... aerosol-forming agent.

Claims

1. An article for use with an apparatus for heating an aerosol-generating agent to volatilize at least one component of the aerosol-generating agent, comprising: a support layer having a first surface; a layer of aerosol-generating agent provided on the first surface; wherein the aerosol-generating agent comprises a tobacco extract derived from Virginia tobacco. An article, wherein the aerosol-generating agent comprises a tobacco extract, and the tobacco extract is derived from Virginia tobacco.

2. The article according to claim 1, wherein the aerosol-generating agent comprises tobacco particles or leaves in solid form in the aerosol-generating agent.

3. The article according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the aerosol-generating agent comprises a flavorant.

4. The article according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the aerosol-generating agent comprises one or more non-tobacco products including nicotine, a filler, glycerol, propylene glycol, or triacetin, and / or the aerosol-generating agent comprises a binder.

5. The article according to claim 4, wherein the aerosol-generating agent comprises one or more non-tobacco products including a filler, the filler is selected from chalk and / or an adsorbent material, and / or the aerosol-generating agent comprises a binder, and the binder is sodium alginate.

6. The article according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the aerosol-generating agent is an aerosol-generating gel.

7. The article according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the support layer is formed of aluminum or an aluminum foil.

8. The article according to claim 7, wherein the support layer is formed of aluminum and has a thickness of 5 μm to 25 μm.

9. The article according to claim 8, wherein the support layer is formed of aluminum and has a thickness of 6 μm to 8 μm.

10. The article according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the layer of aerosol-generating agent is joined to the support layer.

11. The article according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the aerosol-generating agent has a thickness of 100 μm to 350 μm.

12. An article according to any one of claims 1 to 11, and a device including a heater for heating the aerosol-generating agent to volatilize at least one component of the aerosol-generating agent. A system comprising the above.

13. The system according to claim 12, wherein the device comprises a substantially flat heating surface, and the article is disposed on the heating surface such that the support layer lies on the heating surface during use.

14. The system according to claim 12, wherein the heater is in the form of a cylindrical heater or a blade heater.

15. The system according to claim 12, wherein the heater is configured to heat air, and then the air passes over the surface of the aerosol-forming substrate to heat it.

16. The system according to any one of claims 12 to 15, wherein the heater comprises a resistive heater.

17. The system according to claim 12, wherein the heater is an induction heater and the article is on a susceptor within the device.

18. The system according to claim 17, which is not dependent on claim 7, wherein the support layer is formed from a magnetic material and acts as an additional susceptor to generate eddy currents when the support layer is subjected to a varying magnetic field.

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