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US-12616239-B2 - Aerosol-generating article with hollow tubular element

US12616239B2US 12616239 B2US12616239 B2US 12616239B2US-12616239-B2

Abstract

An aerosol-generating article ( 1 ) comprising: a first element ( 10 ) comprising an aerosol-forming substrate ( 12 ); and a hollow tubular element ( 100 ) disposed downstream of the first element ( 10 ). The hollow tubular element ( 100 ) comprises: a peripheral portion ( 110 ) defining a hollow inner region ( 120 ) of the hollow tubular element ( 100 ); and a support element ( 130 ) formed from a sheet and extending from a first point ( 131 ) at the peripheral portion ( 110 ) across the hollow inner region ( 120 ) to a second point ( 132 ) at the peripheral portion ( 110 ). The hollow tubular element ( 100 ) has an average weight of about 10 milligrams per millimetre length or less.

Inventors

  • CHRYSTOPHE SCHALLER
  • Jerome Uthurry

Assignees

  • PHILIP MORRIS PRODUCTS S.A.

Dates

Publication Date
20260505
Application Date
20211217
Priority Date
20201218

Claims (15)

  1. 1 . An aerosol-generating article comprising: a first element comprising an aerosol-forming substrate, wherein the aerosol-forming substrate comprises one or more aerosol formers, and wherein the aerosol-forming substrate has an aerosol former content of between about 5 percent and about 30 percent on a dry weight basis; and a hollow tubular element disposed downstream of the first element, wherein the hollow tubular element comprises: a peripheral portion defining a hollow inner region of the hollow tubular element; and a support element formed from a paper sheet and extending from a first point at the peripheral portion across the hollow inner region to a second point at the peripheral portion, wherein the hollow tubular element has an average weight of about 10 milligrams per millimetre length or less.
  2. 2 . An aerosol-generating article according to claim 1 , wherein the peripheral portion is formed from a sheet.
  3. 3 . An aerosol-generating article according to claim 2 , wherein the peripheral portion and the support element are integrally formed from a sheet.
  4. 4 . An aerosol-generating article according to claim 1 , wherein the sheet forming one or both of the peripheral portion and the support element has a basis weight of between about 35 grams per square metre and about 80 grams per square metre.
  5. 5 . An aerosol-generating article according to claim 1 , wherein the hollow tubular element has an overall weight of about 150 milligrams or less.
  6. 6 . An aerosol-generating article according to claim 1 , wherein the first point at the peripheral portion and the second point at the peripheral portion are adjacent to each other.
  7. 7 . An aerosol-generating article according to claim 1 , wherein the support element comprises a tip, the tip being positioned within the hollow inner region.
  8. 8 . An aerosol-generating article according to claim 1 , wherein the support element depends from the peripheral portion along a first fold line of the sheet, wherein the first fold line resides at the first point at the peripheral portion.
  9. 9 . An aerosol-generating article according to claim 8 , wherein the support element depends from the peripheral portion along a second fold line of the sheet, wherein the second fold line resides at the second point at the peripheral portion.
  10. 10 . An aerosol-generating article according to claim 9 , wherein the support element comprises a third fold line of the sheet.
  11. 11 . An aerosol-generating article according to claim 1 , wherein a cross section of the support element comprises a curved portion.
  12. 12 . An aerosol-generating article according to claim 1 , wherein the support element comprises a plurality of peaks and troughs, when viewed from an upstream end of the hollow tubular element.
  13. 13 . An aerosol-generating article according to claim 1 , wherein the support element is configured so that the hollow inner region consists of a single channel.
  14. 14 . An aerosol-generating article according to claim 1 , wherein the support element extends through a radial centre of the hollow tubular element.
  15. 15 . An aerosol-generating article according to claim 1 , further comprising a ventilation zone at a location along the hollow tubular element.

Description

This application is a U.S. National Stage Application of International Application No. PCT/EP2021/086643 filed Dec. 17, 2021, which was published in English on Jun. 23, 2022, as International Publication No. WO 2022/129607 A1. International Application No. PCT/EP2021/086643 claims priority to European Application No. 20215841.6 dated Dec. 18, 2020. The present invention relates to an aerosol-generating article comprising an aerosol-forming substrate and adapted to produce an inhalable aerosol upon heating. Aerosol-generating articles in which an aerosol-forming substrate, such as a tobacco-containing substrate, is heated rather than combusted are known in the art. A conventional cigarette is lit when a user applies a flame to one end of the cigarette and draws air through the other end. The localised heat provided by the flame and the oxygen in the air drawn through the cigarette causes the end of the cigarette to ignite, and the resulting combustion generates an inhalable smoke. By contrast, in heated aerosol-generating articles, an aerosol is typically generated by the transfer of heat from a heat source to a physically separate aerosol-forming substrate or material, which may be located in contact with, within, around, or downstream of the heat source. During use of the aerosol-generating article, volatile compounds are released from the aerosol-forming substrate by heat transfer from the heat source and are entrained in air drawn through the aerosol-generating article. As the released compounds cool, they condense to form an aerosol. A number of prior art documents disclose aerosol-generating devices for consuming aerosol-generating articles. Such devices include, for example, electrically heated aerosol-generating devices in which an aerosol is generated by the transfer of heat from one or more electrical heater elements of the aerosol-generating device to the aerosol-generating substrate of a heated aerosol-generating article. For example, electrically heated aerosol-generating devices have been proposed that comprise an internal heater blade which is adapted to be inserted into the aerosol-forming substrate. As an alternative, inductively heatable aerosol-generating articles comprising an aerosol-generating substrate and a susceptor element arranged within the aerosol-generating substrate have been proposed by WO 2015/176898. Aerosol-generating articles in which a tobacco-containing substrate is heated rather than combusted present a number of challenges that were not encountered with conventional smoking articles. For example, it may be desirable to restrict movement of the aerosol-generating substrate within the aerosol-generating article, whilst still ensuring a sufficient level of air flow may pass through the aerosol-generating substrate and the aerosol-generating article. Restricting potential movement of the aerosol-generating substrate is particularly desirable since it may help to improve consistency of performance from one aerosol-generating article to another, for example by helping to increase the consistency of interaction between the aerosol-generating substrate and the heater element. This may be particularly relevant for aerosol-generating articles adapted to receive a heater blade, since the act of inserting of the heater blade may otherwise increase the likelihood of displacement of the aerosol-generating substrate. WO 2013/098405 proposes to include a hollow tubular element immediately downstream of an aerosol-forming substrate. The hollow tubular element is provided in the form of an annular shaped hollow cellulose acetate tube. The hollow cellulose acetate tube is configured to resist downstream movement of the aerosol-forming substrate during insertion of a heating element of an aerosol-generating device into the aerosol-forming substrate. The empty space within the hollow cellulose acetate tube provides an opening for aerosol to flow from the aerosol-forming substrate towards the mouth end of the aerosol-generating article. However, such hollow tubular elements may suffer from one or more of the drawbacks, such as one or more of inconsistencies of performance, restriction on one or both of material and design, manufacturing challenges, and undesirable RTD properties. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a new and improved aerosol-generating article, which is less likely to suffer from one or more of such drawbacks. The present disclosure relates to an aerosol-generating article. The aerosol-generating article may comprise a first element. The first element may comprise an aerosol-forming substrate. The aerosol-generating article may comprise a hollow tubular element. The hollow tubular element may be disposed downstream of the first element. The hollow tubular element may comprise a peripheral portion. The peripheral portion may define a hollow inner region of the hollow tubular element. The hollow tubular element may comprise a support element. The support element may b