EP-4739158-A1 - AEROSOL GENERATING DEVICE

EP4739158A1EP 4739158 A1EP4739158 A1EP 4739158A1EP-4739158-A1

Abstract

An aerosol generating device comprising a main body, an elongate susceptor extending from the main body, a carriage comprising an inner wall defining a receiving cavity, the receiving cavity configured to receive an aerosol precursor and the elongate susceptor, wherein the elongate susceptor is configured to heat the aerosol precursor received in the receiving cavity, and an induction coil extending around the inner wall and fixedly coupled to the carriage, the induction coil configured to generate an alternating electromagnetic field within the receiving cavity, wherein the carriage is moveably coupled to the main body such that the carriage is moveable between a closed position in which the elongate susceptor is surrounded circumferentially along its length by the carriage, and an open position in which a portion of the elongate susceptor is exposed for user access via an access window located between the carriage and the main body.

Inventors

WALLACE, Andrew Robert
DRYDEN, Joshua John Arthur

Assignees

Imperial Tobacco Limited

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20240705

Claims (15)

1. An aerosol generating device comprising: a main body; an elongate susceptor extending from the main body; a carriage comprising: an inner wall defining a receiving cavity, the receiving cavity configured to receive an aerosol precursor and the elongate susceptor, wherein the elongate susceptor is configured to heat the aerosol precursor received in the receiving cavity; and, an induction coil extending around the inner wall and fixedly coupled to the carriage, the induction coil configured to generate an alternating electromagnetic field within the receiving cavity, wherein the carriage is moveably coupled to the main body such that the carriage is moveable between a closed position in which the elongate susceptor is surrounded circumferentially along its length by the carriage, and an open position in which a portion of the elongate susceptor is exposed for user access via an access window located between the carriage and the main body.
2. The aerosol generating device of claim 1 wherein the carriage is moveable between the closed position and the open position along a longitudinal axis of the receiving cavity.
3. The aerosol generating device of either of claims 1 or 2, wherein the carriage is slidable between the closed position and the open position.
4. The aerosol generating device of any of the preceding claims, wherein the main body comprises a power source, and wherein the induction coil is electrically connected to a first coil contact and a second coil contact, the first coil contact and the second coil contact configured to electrically connect the induction coil to the power source.
5. The aerosol generating device of claim 4, wherein when the carriage is in the closed position the coil contacts are electrically connected to the power source and wherein when the carriage is in the open position the coil contacts are electrically disconnected from the power source.
6. The aerosol generating device of any of the preceding claims wherein the carriage further comprises an outer wall extending circumferentially around the inner wall and defining a coil cavity between the inner wall and the outer wall.
7. The aerosol generating device of claim 6 wherein the induction coil is housed within the coil cavity.
8. The aerosol generating device of claim 7, when dependent upon either claim 4 or claim 5, wherein the outer wall includes coil contact-receiving apertures and wherein the coil contacts each extend through a respective coil contact receiving aperture.
9. The aerosol generating device of any of claims 6 to 8 wherein a depth of the coil cavity along a longitudinal direction of the receiving cavity is approximately equal to the length of the susceptor.
10. The aerosol generating device of any of claims 6 to 9 wherein a length of the outer wall along a longitudinal direction of the receiving cavity is less than a length of the inner wall along the longitudinal direction of the receiving cavity.
11 . The aerosol generating device of any of the preceding claims wherein the carriage further comprises a base wall configured to abut the main body when the carriage is in the closed position and configured to be spaced apart from the main body when the carriage is in the open position.
12. The aerosol generating device of claim 11 , wherein the base wall comprises a susceptor-receiving aperture configured to receive the susceptor therethrough.
13. The aerosol generating device of any of the preceding claims further comprising a stop configured to substantially prevent the carriage fully decoupling from the main body.
14. The aerosol generating device of claim 13 wherein the stop includes a main body protrusion on the main body and a carriage protrusion on the carriage, wherein the main body protrusion and the carriage protrusion are configured to engage one another when the carriage is in the open position.
15. The aerosol generating device of any of the preceding claims wherein the coil cavity and the coilreceiving cavity are open towards the same direction.

Description

AEROSOL GENERATING DEVICE This application claims priority from EP23183817.8 filed 06 July 2023 and from EP23183826.9 filed 06 July 2023, the contents and elements of which are herein incorporated by reference for all purposes. FIELD The present disclosure relates to an aerosol generating device. BACKGROUND A typical aerosol generating device may comprise a power source, an aerosol generating unit that is driven by the power source, and a delivery system for delivery of aerosol to a user. In use an aerosol precursor is aerosolised by the aerosol generating unit to generate an aerosol for delivery to the user. A drawback with known aerosol generating devices is that they may be difficult to clean, and it may be difficult to insert aerosol precursor into and remove aerosol precursor from the aerosol generating device. Further, it may be difficult to safely clean the aerosol generating device and/or safely insert aerosol precursor into and remove aerosol precursor from the aerosol generating device. In spite of the effort already invested in the development of aerosol generating apparatuses/systems further improvements are desirable. SUMMARY According to a first aspect, there is provided an aerosol generating device comprising a main body, an elongate susceptor extending from the main body, a carriage comprising an inner wall defining a receiving cavity, the receiving cavity configured to receive an aerosol precursor and the elongate susceptor, wherein the elongate susceptor is configured to heat the aerosol precursor received in the receiving cavity, and an induction coil extending around the inner wall and fixedly coupled to the carriage, the induction coil configured to generate an alternating electromagnetic field within the receiving cavity, wherein the carriage is moveably coupled to the main body such that the carriage is moveable between a closed position in which the elongate susceptor is surrounded circumferentially along its length by the carriage, and an open position in which a portion of the elongate susceptor is exposed for user access via an access window located between the carriage and the main body. Advantageously then, a user may be able to clean the exposed portion of the elongate susceptor via the access window. Because the induction coil is fixedly coupled to the carriage, when the carriage is moved into the open position, the induction coil may move with the carriage such that the induction coil is not a barrier to cleaning. In this way, the aerosol generating device may be easier to clean. The closed position and the open position may be positions of the carriage. The carriage being moveable may mean the carriage being reversibly moveable, such that the carriage is moveable between the closed position and the open position, and between the open position and the closed position. The elongate susceptor being surrounded circumferentially along its length may mean the elongate susceptor being surrounded circumferentially along its entire length. The receiving cavity may be configured to receive a consumable that includes an aerosol precursor. The aerosol precursor may be a solid aerosol precursor, which may include tobacco. Alternatively, the solid aerosol precursor may include no tobacco. The aerosol generating device may be a heat-not-burn aerosol generating device, for example a heated tobacco (HT) device. The induction coil may be a copper coil. The susceptor may be made of stainless steel. The susceptor may be referred to as a heating element. The susceptor may be a rod-shaped susceptor. A fixing base, integrally formed with the susceptor, may fix the susceptor to the main body. The main body may comprise a channel within which the carriage is moveable. The main body may comprise a chassis, the chassis defining the channel. The chassis may extend circumferentially around the susceptor. There may be an opening in a circumferential side wall of the chassis such that when the carriage is in the upper position the portion of the elongate susceptor is exposed via the access window. The access window between the carriage and the main body may be at least 1 mm in length measured along a longitudinal axis of the receiving cavity, measured along a longitudinal axis of the main body, measured along a longitudinal axis of the inner wall, or measured along a longitudinal axis of the elongate susceptor. The access window between the carriage and the main body may be at least 5 mm in length measured along a longitudinal axis of the receiving cavity, measured along a longitudinal axis of the main body, measured along a longitudinal axis of the inner wall, or measured along a longitudinal axis of the elongate susceptor. The access window between the carriage and the main body may be at least 1 cm in length measured along a longitudinal axis of the receiving cavity, measured along a longitudinal axis of the inner wall, measured along a longitudinal axis of the main body, or measured along a longitud