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US-20260123661-A1 - A SHEET OF AEROSOL GENERATING MATERIAL FOR A COMPONENT OF AN ARTICLE AND APPRATUS AND METHOD FOR FORMING THE SHEET

US20260123661A1US 20260123661 A1US20260123661 A1US 20260123661A1US-20260123661-A1

Abstract

A sheet of aerosol generating material includes a plurality of elongate partial cuts extending through at least 55% of a thickness of the sheet. At least some of the elongate partial cuts are configured to rupture to form a plurality of elongate strips of aerosol generating material having at least one burred edge. The invention also relates to a component of an article formed from a sheet of aerosol generating material, and an article including the component. The invention further relates to an apparatus for and a method of manufacturing a sheet of aerosol generating material and rods of aerosol generating material.

Inventors

  • Daniel Bray
  • Jeong Hwan Park
  • Richard LEBBON

Assignees

  • Nicoventures Trading Limited

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20231020
Priority Date
20221021

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A sheet of aerosol generating material comprising: a plurality of elongate partial cuts extending through at least 55% of a thickness of the sheet, wherein at least some of the elongate partial cuts are configured to rupture to form a plurality of elongate strips of aerosol generating material comprising at least one burred edge.
  2. 2 . The sheet of aerosol generating material according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of elongate partial cuts extend in the longitudinal direction of the sheet of aerosol generating material.
  3. 3 . The sheet of aerosol generating material according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of elongate cuts extend through at least 80% of the thickness of the sheet.
  4. 4 . The sheet of aerosol generating material according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of elongate partial cuts extend through the thickness of the sheet to define a plurality of partially separated elongate strips and wherein adjacent partially separated strips are connected by a first connecting portion.
  5. 5 . The sheet of aerosol generating material according to claim 4 , wherein each of the first connecting portions have a thickness in the range of 5 um and 140 um.
  6. 6 . The sheet of aerosol generating material according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of elongate partial cuts are spaced apart in the width direction of the sheet by a distance in the range of 0.8 mm to 1.2 mm.
  7. 7 . The sheet of aerosol generating material according to claim 1 , wherein, when one of the elongate partial cuts is ruptured, side surfaces of two adjacent elongate strips comprise a first section and a second section, wherein the second section forms the burred edge and has a rougher surface than the first section.
  8. 8 . The sheet of aerosol generating material according to claim 7 , wherein the second surface is created when adjacent partially separated elongate strips are torn apart and the partial cut propagates through the first connecting portion.
  9. 9 . The sheet of aerosol generating material according to claim 7 , wherein the sheet of aerosol generating material comprises in the range of 10 to 30 elongate partial cuts that, when all ruptured, form in the range of 12 to 32 separated elongate strips.
  10. 10 . The sheet of aerosol generating material according to claim 2 , wherein each of the plurality of elongate partial cuts through the thickness of the sheet extend partially along the longitudinal length of the sheet of aerosol generating material.
  11. 11 . The sheet of aerosol generating material according to claim 10 , wherein the plurality of elongate partial cuts have a length in the longitudinal direction of the sheet in the range of 2 mm to 15 mm.
  12. 12 . The sheet of aerosol generating material according to claim 10 , of wherein the plurality of elongate partial cuts are defined by second connecting portions.
  13. 13 . The sheet of aerosol generating material according to claim 12 , wherein the second connecting portions have a length in the longitudinal direction of the sheet in the range of 0.1 to 0.4 times the length of one of the plurality of elongate partial cuts.
  14. 14 . A component for an aerosol generating device comprising: a rod of aerosol generating material comprising a plurality of elongate strips of aerosol generating material extending longitudinally through said rod; wherein the plurality of elongate strips of aerosol generating material are formed by partially cutting a sheet of aerosol generating material through at least 55% of a thickness of the sheet; and wherein at least one of the elongate partial cuts is configured to rupture to form a plurality of elongate strips of aerosol generating material comprising at least one burred edge.
  15. 15 . An article comprising the component for an aerosol generating device according to claim 14 .
  16. 16 . An apparatus for manufacturing a sheet of aerosol generating material, the apparatus comprising: a first cutter configured to partially cut a sheet of aerosol generating material longitudinally to produce a plurality of elongate partial cuts; wherein the first cutter is configured to partially cut through at least 55% of a thickness of the sheet of aerosol generating material.
  17. 17 . The apparatus according to claim 16 , wherein the first cutter is configured to partially cut through at least 80% of a thickness of the sheet of aerosol generating material.
  18. 18 . The apparatus according to claim 16 , wherein the first cutter comprises a first portion and a second portion, wherein the first portion and the second portion are arranged such that there is a gap between their outermost surfaces of between the range of 5 um and 140 um.
  19. 19 . The apparatus according to claim 18 , wherein the first portion is a cutting drum comprising a first drum and a plurality of cutting elements, each cutting element having a cutting edge at its radial extremity that extends circumferentially around the first drum.
  20. 20 . The apparatus according to claim 19 , wherein one of the plurality of cutting elements is separated from an adjacent cutting element by a distance in the range of between 0.5 mm and 2 mm.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a National Phase entry of PCT Application No. PCT/GB2023/052739 filed Oct. 20, 2023, which claims priority to GB Application No. 2215639.2 filed Oct. 21, 2022, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a sheet of aerosol generating material. The present invention also relates to an apparatus for manufacturing the sheet of aerosol generating material and a method of manufacturing the sheet of aerosol generating material. The present invention further relates to a component comprising a rod formed from the sheet of aerosol generating material and an article comprising the component, as well as an apparatus for manufacturing the rod and a method of manufacturing the rod. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is known to provide articles for use in an aerosol generating device which can be heated to generate and aerosol. The aerosol is drawn downstream by a user to be inhaled and usually passes through a mouthpiece. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a sheet of aerosol generating material comprising: a plurality of elongate partial cuts extending through at least 55% of a thickness of the sheet, wherein at least some of the elongate partial cuts are configured to rupture to form a plurality of elongate strips of aerosol generating material comprising at least one burred edge. In some embodiments, the plurality of elongate partial cuts may extend in the longitudinal direction of the sheet of aerosol generating material. In some embodiments, the plurality of elongate cuts may extend through at least 80% of the thickness of the sheet. In some embodiments, the plurality of elongate partial cuts may extend through the thickness of the sheet to define a plurality of partially separated elongate strips and wherein adjacent partially separated strips are connected by a first connecting portion. In some embodiments, each of the first connecting portions may have a thickness in the range of 5 um and 140 um. In some embodiments, the plurality of elongate partial cuts may be spaced apart in the width direction of the sheet by a distance in the range of 0.8 mm to 1.2 mm. In some embodiments, when one of the elongate partial cuts is ruptured, side surfaces of two adjacent elongate strips may comprise a first section and a second section, wherein the second section may form the burred edge and may have a rougher surface than the first section. In some embodiments, the second surface may be created when adjacent partially separated elongate strips are torn apart and the partial cut propagates through the first connecting portion. In some embodiments, the sheet of aerosol generating material may comprise in the range of 10 to 30 elongate partial cuts that, when all ruptured, form in the range of 12 to 32 separated elongate strips. In some embodiments, each of the plurality of elongate partial cuts through the thickness of the sheet may extend partially along the longitudinal length of the sheet of aerosol generating material. In some embodiments, the plurality of elongate partial cuts may have a length in the longitudinal direction of the sheet in the range of 2 mm to 15 mm. In some embodiments, the plurality of elongate partial cuts may have a length in the longitudinal direction of the sheet in the range of 5 mm to 12 mm. In some embodiments, the plurality of elongate partial cuts may be defined by second connecting portions. In some embodiments, the second connecting portions may have a thickness equal to the thickness of the sheet of aerosol generating material. In some embodiments, the second connecting portions may have a length in the longitudinal direction of the sheet in the range of 0.1 to 0.4 times the length of one of the plurality of elongate partial cuts. In some embodiments, the second connecting portions may have a length in the longitudinal direction of the sheet in the range of 0.2 to 0.3 times the length of one of the plurality of elongate partial cuts. In some embodiments, the second connecting portions may be aligned adjacent to each other across the width of the sheet material such that a band of aerosol generating material extends transversely across the sheet of aerosol generating material. In some embodiments, at least one of the second connecting portions may be offset in the longitudinal direction of the sheet relative to at least one other of the second connecting portions. In some embodiments, the component may comprise a plurality of second connecting portions in a longitudinal plane that extends orthogonally to a major surface of the sheet. In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a component for an aerosol generating device comprising: a rod of aerosol generating material comprising a plurality of elongate strips of aerosol generating material extending longitudinally through said rod; wherein the plu