US-20260123682-A1 - Heat-not-Burn Device and Method

US20260123682A1US 20260123682 A1US20260123682 A1US 20260123682A1US-20260123682-A1

Abstract

A device for converting a consumable into an aerosol with high heat without burning the consumable by packaging the consumable containing an internal susceptor inside an encasement with an induction heating element wrapped around the consumable-containing package to heat the susceptor using the induction heating element. Combustion of the consumable-containing package can be minimized by limiting air inside the consumable-containing package by compressing the consumable.

Inventors

Alexander ChinHak Chong
William Bartkowski
David Crosby
David Wayne

Assignees

CQENS TECHNOLOGIES INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251229

Claims (20)

1 . A device for generating aerosol, comprising: a) a consumable-containing unit, wherein the consumable-containing unit comprises a compressed powder; b) a susceptor embedded within the consumable-containing unit; c) an encasement encasing the consumable-containing unit and the susceptor; and d) a heating element, wherein the heating element is configured to cause the susceptor to be heated, wherein the heated susceptor is configured to create a consumable aerosol from the compressed powder, and wherein the encasement is configured to allow the consumable aerosol to pass through.
2 . The device of claim 1 , further comprising a filter configured to surround the encasement.
3 . The device of claim 2 , further comprising a housing to contain the filter and encasement, wherein the filter is configured to allow the consumable aerosol to pass in between the encasement and the housing.
4 . The device of claim 3 , further comprising a plurality of encasements, wherein the inductive heating element is configured and programmed to selectively heat each encasement a predetermined number of times at a predetermined temperature selected by a user, the predetermined temperature being sufficient to release aerosol from the consumable-containing unit of the respective encasement being heated.
5 . The device of claim 3 , further comprising a mouthpiece projecting out from the housing, the housing comprising: a) a switch operatively connected to the heating element to activate the heating element, b) a user interface operatively coupled with the switch and the heating element to provide status information; and c) a controller to control the heating element.
6 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the susceptor is a metal plate.
7 . The device of claim 6 , wherein the metal plate comprises a plurality of openings.
8 . The device of claim 7 , wherein the susceptor is an elongated metal plate having a longitudinal direction, the elongated metal plate comprising sets of openings, and sets of gaps, wherein the sets of openings alternate in series with the sets of gaps along the longitudinal direction of the elongated metal plate such that each set of openings is adjacent to one of the gaps.
9 . The device of claim 8 , wherein the susceptor comprises steel wool.
10 . The device of claim 1 , further comprising a self-resonant oscillator for controlling the heating element wherein the self-resonant oscillator comprises a capacitor operatively connected to the heating element, wherein the heating element comprises a plurality of coiled wires each coiled wire operatively connected to the controller for activation independent of the other coiled wires.
11 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the heating element is configured to move relative to the consumable-containing unit.
12 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the heating element is configured to rotate about the consumable-containing unit.
13 . A method of manufacturing a device for generating aerosol, comprising a) compressing a consumable around a susceptor to form a consumable-containing unit; b) placing the consumable-containing unit into an encasement; and c) placing the encasement into a housing.
14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the consumable-containing unit further comprises an additive to minimize oxygen within the consumable-containing unit.
15 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising placing a plurality of encasements stacked inside the filter.
16 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising providing a heating element to heat the susceptor, and providing a self-resonant oscillator for controlling the heating element.
17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the heating element is configured to heat the susceptor to a temperature of 400 degrees C. or higher.
18 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the heating element is configured to move relative to the consumable-containing unit.
19 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the heating element is configured to rotate about the consumable-containing unit.
20 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising placing the encasement into a filter and placing the filter containing the encasement into the housing.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This patent application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 19/030,214, filed Jan. 17, 2025, which is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/694,518, filed Mar. 14, 2022 (now U.S. Pat. No. 12,201,154), which is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/958,655, filed Jun. 26, 2020 (now U.S. Pat. No. 11,272,741), which is a national phase entry of PCT Application No. PCT/US2019/012204, filed Jan. 3, 2019, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/022,482, filed Jun. 28, 2018 (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,750,787), which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/613,355, filed Jan. 3, 2018, which applications/patents are incorporated in their entirety here by this reference. TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to devices used as alternatives to conventional smoking products, such as electronic cigarettes, vaping systems, and in particular, heat-not-burn devices. BACKGROUND Heat-not-burn (HNB) devices heat tobacco at temperatures lower than those that cause combustion to create an inhalable aerosol containing nicotine and other tobacco constituents, which is then made available to the device's user. Unlike traditional cigarettes, the goal is not to burn the tobacco, but rather to heat the tobacco sufficiently to release the nicotine and other constituents through the production of aerosol. Igniting and burning the cigarette creates unwanted toxins that can be avoided using the HNB device. However, there is a fine balance between providing sufficient heat to effectively release the tobacco constituents in aerosol form and not burn or ignite the tobacco. Current HNB devices have not found that balance, either heating the tobacco at temperatures that produce an inadequate amount of aerosol or over heating the tobacco and producing an unpleasant or “burnt” flavor profile. Additionally, the current methodology leaves traditional HNB device internal components dirtied with burning tobacco byproducts and the byproducts of accidental combustion. For the foregoing reasons there is a need for an aerosol producing device that provides its user the ability to control the power of the device, which will affect the temperature at which the tobacco will be heated via the inductive method to reduce the risk of combustion—even at what would otherwise be sufficient temperatures to ignite—while increasing the efficiency and flavor profile of the aerosol produced. SUMMARY The present invention is directed to a system and method by which a consumable tobacco component is quickly and incrementally heated by induction, so that it produces an aerosol that contains certain of its constituents but, not with the byproducts most often associated with combustion, for example, smoke, ash, tar and certain other potentially harmful chemicals. This invention involves positioning and incrementally advancing heat along a consumable tobacco component with the use of an induction heating element that provides an alternating electro-magnetic field around the component. An object of the present invention is a device wherein an induction heating source is provided for use to heat a consumable tobacco component. Another object of the present invention is a consumable tobacco component comprised of several, sealed, individual, airtight, coated encasements containing a consumable tobacco preparation—and an induction heating source. The encasement may be an aluminum shell with pre-set openings. The encasements may be coated with a gel that seals the openings until an inductive heating process melts the gel, clearing the openings. In some embodiments, the gel can include a flavoring agent that can add flavor to or enhance the flavor of the tobacco aerosol. In some embodiments, multiple encasements are stacked inside a paper tube with spaces between them, formed by excess aluminum wrapping at the bottom end of each encasement and channels on either side to allow for the aerosol produced. When the inductive heating source is activated, the pre-set openings are cleared, and flavor is combined with the aerosol to travel through the tube and be made available to the user of the device. Using these methods and apparatus, the device is required to heat less mass, can heat-up immediately, cool down quickly and conserve power, allowing for greater use between re-charging sessions. This contrasts with the well-known, current, commercially available heat-not-burn devices. Another object of the present invention is a tobacco-containing consumable component comprised of several, sealed, individual, airtight, coated encasements and an induction heating source. The encasements are then coated with a gel that seals them until an inductive heating process can melt the gel, clearing the openings. In some embodiments, the gel can include a flavoring agent that can add flavor to or enhance the flavor of the consum