US-12616245-B2 - Heating element having heat conductive and wicking filaments

US12616245B2US 12616245 B2US12616245 B2US 12616245B2US-12616245-B2

Abstract

A heating element for an aerosol-generating system is provided, the heating element including: a plurality of first filaments; and a plurality of second filaments, in which the plurality of first filaments are configured to heat a liquid aerosol-forming substrate, the plurality of second filaments are configured to convey the liquid aerosol-forming substrate to wet at least a portion of the heating element with the liquid aerosol-forming substrate, and the heating element is arranged to form a mesh, the plurality of first filaments being arranged in a first direction and the plurality of second filaments being arranged in a second direction, and the second direction being transverse to the first direction. A heater assembly, a cartridge, and a method of manufacturing a heating element, are also provided.

Inventors

Stefan Butenkemper
Detlef John
Ihar Nikolaevich ZINOVIK

Assignees

PHILIP MORRIS PRODUCTS S.A.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20210127
Priority Date: 20200128

Claims (10)

1 . A heating element for an aerosol-generating system, the heating element comprising: a plurality of first filaments; a plurality of second filaments, wherein the plurality of first filaments are configured to heat a liquid aerosol-forming substrate, wherein the plurality of second filaments are configured to convey the liquid aerosol-forming substrate to wet at least a portion of the heating element with the liquid aerosol-forming substrate, wherein the heating element is arranged to form a mesh, wherein the plurality of first filaments are arranged in a first direction and the plurality of second filaments are arranged in a second direction, and wherein the second direction is transverse to the first direction, and wherein the heating element is configured to be inductively heated, the plurality of first filaments being formed from a magnetic metallic material and the plurality of second filaments being formed from a non-metallic hydrophilic material; and a plurality of third filaments, which are formed from a non-magnetic metallic material such that the plurality of third filaments are not inductively heated to a significant degree when placed in a varying magnetic field, the plurality of third filaments being arranged in regions on either side of a region containing the plurality of first filaments.
2 . The heating element according to claim 1 , wherein the heating element further comprises an interwoven mesh.
3 . A heater assembly for an aerosol-generating system, the heater assembly comprising a heating element according to claim 1 and a transport material configured to convey a liquid aerosol-forming substrate to the heating element.
4 . The heater assembly according to claim 3 , wherein portions of some of the plurality of second filaments are integrated into the transport material.
5 . The heater assembly according to claim 3 , further comprising at least two electrical contacts configured to supply electrical power to the heating element, wherein each of the electrical contacts is connected to at least one of the plurality of first filaments.
6 . A cartridge for an aerosol-generating system, the cartridge comprising a heater assembly according to claim 3 and a liquid storage portion configured to hold a liquid aerosol-forming substrate.
7 . An aerosol-generating system, comprising: a cartridge according to claim 6 ; and an aerosol-generating device comprising a power supply configured to supply electrical power to the heating element, wherein the cartridge is configured to be removably coupled to the aerosol-generating device.
8 . The heating element according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of third filaments form part of the heating element that is arranged to be connected to a heater mount.
9 . The heating element according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of third filaments are formed from non-magnetic stainless steel.
10 . A method of manufacturing a heating element for an aerosol-generating system, the heating element being configured to be inductively heated, the method comprising: providing a plurality of first filaments configured to heat a liquid aerosol-forming substrate; providing a plurality of second filaments configured to convey the liquid aerosol-forming substrate along at least a portion of their length to distribute the liquid aerosol-forming substrate across at least a portion of the heating element; arranging the heating element to form a mesh, wherein the plurality of first filaments are arranged in a first direction and the plurality of second filaments are arranged in a second direction, the second direction being transverse to the first direction, wherein the plurality of first filaments are formed from a magnetic metallic material and the plurality of second filaments are formed from a non-metallic hydrophilic material; and arranging a plurality of third filaments in regions on either side of a region containing the plurality of first filaments, the plurality of third filaments being formed from a non-magnetic metallic material such that the plurality of third filaments are not inductively heated to a significant degree when placed in a varying magnetic field.

Description

The present disclosure relates to a heating element for an aerosol-generating system. In particular, but not exclusively, the present invention relates to a heating element for a handheld electrically operated aerosol-generating system which is configured to heat a liquid aerosol-forming substrate to generate an aerosol and to deliver the aerosol into the mouth of a user. The present invention also relates to a heater assembly for an aerosol-generating system comprising the heating element, a cartridge for an aerosol-generating system, an aerosol-generating system and a method of manufacturing the heating element. Handheld electrically operated aerosol-generating devices and systems are known that consist of a device portion comprising a battery and control electronics, a portion for containing or receiving a liquid aerosol-forming substrate and an electrically operated heater assembly for heating the aerosol-forming substrate to generate an aerosol. The heater assembly typically comprises a heating element in the form of a coil of wire which is wound around an elongate wick which transfers liquid aerosol-forming substrate from the liquid storage portion to the heater. In use, an electric current can be passed through the coil of wire to heat the heater assembly and thereby generate an aerosol from the liquid aerosol-forming substrate. A mouthpiece portion is also included on which a user may puff to draw aerosol into their mouth. It is generally desirable for aerosol-generating systems to be able to produce aerosol which is consistent over successive uses of the system and is consistent between different aerosol generating systems of the same type. Variations in the quality and amount of aerosol generated can detract from the user's experience. It is particularly desirable to reduce the likelihood of a “dry heating” situation arising, i.e. a situation in which the heating element is heated with insufficient liquid aerosol-forming substrate being present. This situation is also known as a “dry puff” and can result in overheating and, potentially, thermal decomposition of the liquid aerosol-forming substrate, which can produce unwanted by-products. To produce a consistent aerosol, the heating element needs to be consistently wetted with liquid aerosol-forming substrate for each puff on the aerosol-generating system by a user. However, with conventional wick and coil heater assemblies it can be difficult to achieve consistent wetting due to variations between different wicks. Wetting of the heating element also depends on the orientation of the aerosol-generating system and the amount of aerosol-forming substrate remaining in the liquid storage portion. Furthermore, the ability to accurately and consistently manufacture heater assemblies is important in maintaining consistent performance between different aerosol generating systems of the same type. For example, in heater assemblies having a heating coil, the heating coils need to be produced with the same dimensions in order to reduce product-to-product variability. In known systems, the manufacture of the heater assembly may require a high number of manufacturing steps some of which may need to be carried out manually by an operator. Manual assembly increases the likelihood of variation between different heater assemblies and also increases the cost and complexity of the manufacturing process. It would be desirable to provide a heating element for an aerosol-generating system which allows for more consistent wetting of the heating element. It would also be desirable to provide a heating element which can be more easily and consistently manufactured. According to an example of the present disclosure, there is provided a heating element for an aerosol-generating system. The heating element may comprise a first filament. The first filament may be configured to heat a liquid aerosol-forming substrate. The heating element may comprise a second filament. The second filament may be configured to convey a liquid aerosol-forming substrate to wet at least a portion of the heating element with liquid aerosol-forming substrate According to an example of the present disclosure, there is provided a heating element for an aerosol-generating system. The heating element may comprise a plurality of first filaments. The plurality of first filaments may be configured to heat a liquid aerosol-forming substrate. The heating element may comprise a plurality of second filaments. The plurality of second filaments may be configured to convey a liquid aerosol-forming substrate to wet at least a portion of the heating element with liquid aerosol-forming substrate. According to an example of the present disclosure, there is provided a heating element for an aerosol-generating system, the heating element comprising a plurality of first filaments and a plurality of second filaments, wherein the plurality of first filaments are configured to heat a liquid aerosol-forming substrate; and wh