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EP-4739152-A1 - AEROSOL-GENERATING ARTICLE AND PACKAGE

EP4739152A1EP 4739152 A1EP4739152 A1EP 4739152A1EP-4739152-A1

Abstract

There is provided an aerosol-generating article 100 extending longitudinally between opposed first and second ends 101, 102. The aerosol-generating article 100 comprises a perimeter wall 110. The perimeter wall 110 is lenticular in axial cross-section. Also provided is a package 5000, in which the package comprises a plurality of aerosol-generating articles 400 and a container 5100 in which the plurality of aerosol-generating articles are received. Each one of the aerosol-generating articles 400 of the package extends longitudinally between opposed first and second ends of the respective aerosol-generating article, a perimeter wall 410 of the aerosol-generating article 400 configured to define a constricted flattened shape in axial cross-section.

Inventors

  • BOLOGNA, MATTEO

Assignees

  • Philip Morris Products S.A.

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240625

Claims (15)

  1. 1 . An aerosol-generating article extending longitudinally between opposed first and second ends, the aerosol-generating article comprising a perimeter wall, the perimeter wall being lenticular in axial cross-section, wherein the perimeter wall comprises opposed first and second convex portions, wherein opposed ends of the first convex portion meet corresponding opposed ends of the second convex portion to define a pair of laterally opposed edges of the perimeter wall, an acute angle being defined between an outer surface of the first convex portion and an outer surface of the second convex portion where the opposed ends of the first and second convex portions meet.
  2. 2. An aerosol-generating article according to claim 1 , wherein the perimeter wall is configured to be deformable in axial cross section to expand between a constricted first state to a dilated second state, wherein in the dilated second state the perimeter wall encloses a hollow tubular cavity.
  3. 3. An aerosol-generating article according to either one of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the perimeter wall comprises a pair of fold lines, the pair of fold lines defining the pair of laterally opposed edges of the perimeter wall.
  4. 4. An aerosol-generating article according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein at the location of each of the pair of laterally opposed edges of the perimeter wall, an acute angle between a first tangent to an outer surface of the first convex portion and a second tangent to an outer surface of the second convex portion where the opposed ends of the first and second convex portions meet lies within a range of between 15 degrees and 110 degrees, or between 15 degrees and 90 degrees, or between 15 degrees and 75 degrees, or between 15 degrees and 65 degrees, or between 15 degrees and 55 degrees, or between 15 degrees and 45 degrees, or between 15 degrees and 35 degrees, or between 15 degrees and 25 degrees.
  5. 5. An aerosol-generating article according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein at a location midway between the pair of laterally opposed edges of the perimeter wall, a radius of curvature of an inward surface of each of the first and second convex portions has a radius of curvature of between 100 millimetres and 500 millimetres.
  6. 6. An aerosol-generating article according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the aerosolgenerating article has a width of no greater than 20 millimetres, preferably wherein the width of the aerosol-generating article is in a range of between 14 millimetres and 20 millimetres.
  7. 7. An aerosol-generating article according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the aerosolgenerating article has a thickness of no greater than 8 millimetres, preferably wherein the thickness of the aerosol-generating article is in a range of between 3 millimetres and 8 millimetres, or between 3 millimetres and 6 millimetres, or between 3 millimetres and 5 millimetres.
  8. 8. An aerosol-generating article according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising at least one flap located at one of the first end and the second end, the at least one flap configured to be folded to overlap at least a portion of the end at which the flap is located.
  9. 9. An aerosol-generating article according to any one of claims 1 to 8, the perimeter wall comprising at least one sheet of supporting substrate, wherein a fold line is defined in the at least one sheet of the supporting substrate to define a folded sheet of the supporting substrate, a first portion of the folded sheet of the supporting substrate folded about the fold line to overlie a second portion of the folded sheet of the supporting substrate to define a closed path corresponding to the perimeter wall; preferably wherein the first portion of the folded sheet of supporting substrate extends over a first half of a circumferential length of the perimeter wall and the second portion of the folded sheet of supporting substrate extends over a second half of the circumferential length of the perimeter wall..
  10. 10. An aerosol-generating article according to any one of claims 1 to 9, the perimeter wall comprising at least one sheet of supporting substrate, wherein the at least one sheet of supporting substrate comprises a first sheet of supporting substrate and a second sheet of supporting substrate arranged in opposition to each other, wherein laterally opposed edges of the first and second sheets of supporting substrate are aligned with each other to define laterally opposed edges of the perimeter wall, wherein the first and second sheets of supporting substrate thereby define a closed path corresponding to the perimeter wall; preferably wherein the first sheet of supporting substrate extends over a first half of a circumferential length of the perimeter wall and the second sheet of supporting substrate extends over a second half of the circumferential length of the perimeter wall.
  11. 11. An aerosol-generating article according to any one of claims 1 to 10, the perimeter wall comprising at least one sheet of aerosol-forming substrate, wherein a fold line is defined in the at least one sheet of the aerosol-forming substrate to define a folded sheet of the aerosolforming substrate, a first portion of the folded sheet of the aerosol-forming substrate folded about the fold line to overlie a second portion of the folded sheet of the aerosol-forming substrate to define a closed path corresponding to the perimeter wall; preferably wherein the first portion of the folded sheet of aerosol-forming substrate extends over a first half of a circumferential length of the perimeter wall and the second portion of the folded sheet of aerosol-forming substrate extends over a second half of the circumferential length of the perimeter wall.
  12. 12. An aerosol-generating article according to any one of claims 1 to 11 , the perimeter wall comprising at least one sheet of aerosol-forming substrate, wherein the at least one sheet of aerosol-forming substrate comprises a first sheet of aerosol-forming substrate and a second sheet of aerosol-forming substrate arranged in opposition to each other, wherein laterally opposed edges of the first and second sheets of aerosol-forming substrate are aligned with each other to define laterally opposed edges of the perimeter wall, wherein the first and second sheets of aerosol-forming substrate thereby define a closed path corresponding to the perimeter wall; preferably wherein the first sheet of aerosol-forming substrate extends over a first half of a circumferential length of the perimeter wall and the second sheet of aerosol-forming substrate extends over a second half of the circumferential length of the perimeter wall.
  13. 13. An aerosol-generating article according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the perimeter wall comprises a supporting substrate, at least part of an axial length of the perimeter wall configured to be permeable to air, wherein an arrangement of one or more sheets of aerosol-forming substrate are disposed to radially surround the air-permeable part of the axial length of the perimeter wall.
  14. 14. An aerosol-generating article, for example an aerosol-generating article according to any one of claims 1 to 13, the aerosol-generating article comprising: an upper layer; a lower layer; a frame disposed between the upper layer and the lower layer, the frame at least partially defining and enclosing a cavity; an aerosol-forming substrate; wherein the upper layer is coupled to an upper surface of the frame and the lower layer is coupled to a lower surface of the frame, the upper and lower surfaces of the frame each being outwardly convex
  15. 15. A package comprising: a plurality of aerosol-generating articles, for example an aerosol-generating article according to any one of the preceding claims; and a container in which the plurality of aerosol-generating articles are received; wherein each one of the aerosol-generating articles extends longitudinally between opposed first and second ends of the respective aerosol-generating article, a perimeter wall of the aerosol-generating article configured to define a constricted flattened shape in axial crosssection.

Description

AEROSOL-GENERATING ARTICLE AND PACKAGE The present disclosure relates to an aerosol-generating article. The present disclosure also relates to a package having a plurality of aerosol-generating articles and a container for receiving the plurality of aerosol-generating articles. In the field of aerosol-generating articles for delivering an aerosol to a user, it is known for such aerosol-generating articles to be circular in cross-section and/or to extend between opposed first and second open ends. In a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an aerosol-generating article extending longitudinally between opposed first and second ends. The aerosol-generating article may comprise a perimeter wall. The perimeter wall may be lenticular in axial cross-section. A lenticular cross-section is associated with a shape having a thickness dimension that is lower than a width dimension. So, in contrast to an aerosol-generating article having a cylindrical cross-section, the aerosol-generating article of the present disclosure has a flatter cross-sectional profile, i.e., the ratio of the thickness of the aerosol-generating article to the width of the aerosol-generating article is less than one. The use of a lenticular cross-section reduces the likelihood of the article rolling along its outer surface when placed down on a flat surface. The reduced thickness associated with the use of a lenticular cross-section may also facilitate uniformly heating the aerosol-generating article across the thickness of the article compared to an aerosol-generating article having a perimeter wall of the same circumferential length but being circular in axial cross-section. It will be understood that the “thickness” of the aerosol-generating article may also be referred to as the “height” of the aerosol-generating article. The first end may form a distal end of the aerosol-generating article. The second end may form a proximal or mouth end of the aerosol-generating article, through which aerosol may exit the article in use to be inhaled by a user. When a user draws on the second end (the proximal or mouth end), air flow may be drawn in through the first end (the distal end) and flow downstream towards the second end; in this context, the first end may form an upstream end of the aerosol-generating article and the second end may form a downstream end of the aerosolgenerating article. The first and second ends may also be referred to as forward and rear ends respectively of the aerosol-generating article. The perimeter wall may comprise opposed first and second convex portions. Opposed ends of the first convex portion may meet corresponding opposed ends of the second convex portion to define a pair of laterally opposed edges of the perimeter wall. The opposed first and second convex portions facilitate providing the perimeter wall with a profile resembling that of a double-convex lens. Preferably, at the location of each of the pair of laterally opposed edges of the perimeter wall, an outer surface of the perimeter wall has a radius of curvature of less than 2 millimetres, or less than 1 millimetre, or less than 0.5 millimetres, or less than 0.25 millimetres. The use of such a small value for the radius of curvature at the laterally opposed edges of the perimeter wall may ensure that the sides of the aerosol-generating article are well defined. Advantageously, the perimeter wall may comprise a pair of fold lines, the pair of fold lines defining the pair of laterally opposed edges of the perimeter wall. At the location of each of the pair of laterally opposed edges of the perimeter wall, an acute angle between a first tangent to an outer surface of the first convex portion and a second tangent to an outer surface of the second convex portion preferably lies within a range of between 15 degrees and 110 degrees, or between 15 degrees and 90 degrees, or between 15 degrees and 75 degrees, or between 15 degrees and 65 degrees, or between 15 degrees and 55 degrees, or between 15 degrees and 45 degrees, or between 15 degrees and 35 degrees, or between 15 degrees and 25 degrees. The use of a smaller value of the acute angle provides a “sharper” and more well defined geometric profile to the outer surface of the perimeter wall at the location of the pair of laterally opposed edges of the perimeter wall. At a location midway between the pair of laterally opposed edges of the perimeter wall, a radius of curvature of an inward surface of each of the first and second convex portions may have a radius of curvature of between 100 millimetres and 500 millimetres. The aerosol-generating article may have a width of no greater than 20 millimetres. The width of the aerosol-generating article preferably lies in a range of between 14 millimetres and 20 millimetres. The aerosol-generating article may have a thickness of no greater than 8 millimetres. The thickness of the aerosol-generating article preferably lies in a range of between 3 millimetres