Search

EP-4672989-B1 - AEROSOL-GENERATING ARTICLE WITH AN OBSTRUCTION ELEMENT

EP4672989B1EP 4672989 B1EP4672989 B1EP 4672989B1EP-4672989-B1

Inventors

  • BOLOGNA, MATTEO

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240328

Claims (15)

  1. An aerosol-generating article (100) comprising: an aerosol-generating substrate (10) ; an upstream element (20) located upstream of the aerosol-generating substrate (10), the upstream element (20) comprising a longitudinal airflow channel (24) and an obstruction element (26) for obstructing the longitudinal airflow channel (24), wherein the upstream element (20) is configured to change state upon heating during use of the aerosol-generating article (100) from: an initial state, in which the longitudinal airflow channel (24) is obstructed by the obstruction element (26) to substantially prevent airflow through the longitudinal airflow channel (24), to a final state, in which the longitudinal airflow channel (24) is at least partially open to allow airflow through the longitudinal airflow channel (24), wherein the upstream element (20) has a lower resistance to draw in the final state than in the initial state.
  2. An aerosol-generating article (100) according to claim 1, wherein during the change of state of the upstream element (20) from the initial state to the final state, the viscosity of the obstruction element (26) decreases.
  3. An aerosol-generating article (100) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the obstruction element (26) has a melting point between about 40 degrees Celsius and about 220 degrees Celsius.
  4. An aerosol-generating article (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the resistance to draw of the upstream element (20) in the final state is less than the resistance to draw of the upstream element (20) in the initial state by at least about 20 percent.
  5. An aerosol-generating article (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the resistance to draw of the upstream element (20) in the final state is less than the resistance to draw of the upstream element (20) in the final state by at least about 90 millimetres H 2 O.
  6. An aerosol-generating article (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 5 further comprising a ventilation zone, wherein a ventilation level of the aerosol-generating article (100) when the upstream element (20) is in the final state is less than a ventilation level of the aerosol-generating article (100) when the upstream element (20) is in the initial state.
  7. An aerosol-generating article (100) according to claim 6, wherein a ventilation level of the aerosol-generating article (100) when the upstream element (20) is in the final state is less than a ventilation level of the aerosol-generating article (100) when the upstream element (20) is in the initial state by at least about 5 percentage points.
  8. An aerosol-generating article (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the overall resistance to draw of the aerosol-generating article (100) when the upstream element (20) is in the final state is less than the overall resistance to draw of the aerosol-generating article (100) when the upstream element is in the initial state by at least about 5 percent.
  9. An aerosol-generating article (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the obstruction element (26) comprises a wax.
  10. An aerosol-generating article (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the obstruction element (26) comprises one or more of: stearin, paraffin, glycerine, Arabic gum, and a sugar.
  11. An aerosol-generating article (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the obstruction element (26) is located at the upstream end of the upstream element (20) when the upstream element is in the initial state.
  12. An aerosol-generating article (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the obstruction element (26) is at least partially located in the longitudinal airflow channel (24) when the upstream element is in the initial state.
  13. An aerosol-generating article (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the longitudinal airflow channel (24) has a width of at least about 0.5 millimetres.
  14. An aerosol-generating article (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the upstream element (20) comprises a plug of cellulose acetate tow (22), and wherein the longitudinal airflow channel (24) of the upstream element (20) extends through the plug of cellulose acetate tow (22).
  15. An aerosol-generating system comprising: an aerosol-generating article (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 14; and an aerosol-generating device (250) configured to heat the aerosol-generating substrate (10) of the aerosol-generating article (100), wherein the aerosol-generating device (250) comprises a housing defining a cavity configured to receive the aerosol-generating article (100).

Description

The present disclosure relates to an aerosol-generating article comprising an aerosol-generating substrate for generating an inhalable aerosol upon heating. The present disclosure also relates to an aerosol-generating system comprising the aerosol-generating article and an aerosol-generating device configured to heat the aerosol-generating substrate of the aerosol-generating article. Aerosol-generating articles in which an aerosol-generating substrate comprising aerosol-generating material, such as a tobacco-containing material, is heated rather than combusted are known in the art. An aim of such 'heated' aerosol-generating articles is to reduce known harmful smoke constituents of the type produced by the combustion and pyrolytic degradation of tobacco in conventional cigarettes. Typically, in heated aerosol-generating articles an aerosol is generated by the transfer of heat from a heat source to a physically separate aerosol-generating substrate. In use, volatile compounds are released from the aerosol-generating substrate by heat transfer from the heat source to the aerosol-generating substrate and are entrained in air drawn through the aerosol-generating article. As the released compounds cool, they condense to form an aerosol that is inhaled by the user. One known type of heated aerosol-generating article, commonly referred to as a heat-not-burn tobacco product or heated tobacco product, comprises a solid aerosol-generating substrate comprising tobacco material, which is heated to produce an inhalable aerosol. US 2016/295917 A1 describes a heated aerosol-generating article for use with an aerosol-generating device having a heating element, the heated aerosol-generating article comprising: an aerosol-forming substrate and a breachable air-flow barrier assembled within a wrapper to form a rod having a mouth end and a distal end upstream from the mouth end, wherein the breachable air-flow barrier is positioned to substantially prevent air being drawn through the aerosol-forming substrate when a user draws on the mouth end of the rod, and wherein the aerosol-forming substrate comprises a gathered sheet of aerosol-following material. A number of handheld aerosol-generating devices configured to heat aerosol-generating substrates of heated aerosol-generating articles are known in the art. These include electrically-operated aerosol-generating devices in which an aerosol is generated by the transfer of heat from one or more electrical heating elements of the aerosol-generating device to the aerosol-generating substrate of the heated aerosol-generating article. Known handheld electrically operated aerosol-generating devices typically comprise a battery, control electronics and one or more electrical heating elements for heating the aerosol-generating substrate of a heated aerosol-generating article designed specifically for use with the aerosol-generating device. Some known electrically heated aerosol-generating devices comprise an internal heating element that is configured to be inserted into the aerosol-generating substrate of a heated aerosol-generating article. For example, WO 2013/098410 A2 discloses an aerosol-generating system comprising an aerosol-generating article and an electrically-operated aerosol-generating device comprising a heating element in the form of a blade that is inserted into the aerosol-generating substrate of the aerosol-generating article. Other known electrically-operated aerosol-generating devices comprise one or more external heating elements. For example, WO 2020/115151 A1 discloses an aerosol-generating system comprising an aerosol-generating article and an electrically-operated aerosol-generating device comprising an external heating element that circumscribes the periphery of the aerosol-generating article. Electrically-operated aerosol-generating devices comprising an inductor configured to inductively heat aerosol-generating substrates of heated aerosol-generating articles are also known. For example, WO 2015/176898 A1 discloses an aerosol-generating system comprising an aerosol-generating article comprising an elongate susceptor in thermal contact with the aerosol-generating substrate and an electrically-operated aerosol-generating device having an inductor for heating the aerosol-generating substrate. In use, the fluctuating or alternating electromagnetic field produced by the inductor induces eddy currents in the susceptor, causing the susceptor to heat up as a result of one or both of resistive losses (Joule heating) and, where the susceptor is magnetic, hysteresis loses. Heat generated in the susceptor is transferred to the aerosol-generating substrate by conduction. It is known that the aerosol-generating substrate of an aerosol-generating article may absorb water from the air, for example, during storage of the aerosol-generating article . The aerosol-generating substrate may absorb water from the air until an equilibrium point is reached, at which point the water co