JP2020529216A - HNB Tobacco article heating unit and manufacturing method of heating unit - Google Patents

Abstract

The heating unit 13 for the HNB tobacco article 10 includes a tobacco component material 26 and an electrical resistance type heating component 18 for heating the tobacco component material 26 in a non-combustion form. The resistance heating component 18 is made of a conductive suspension.

Description

The present invention relates to a heating unit for a non-combustion heating type (HNB) tobacco article, comprising a tobacco-containing material and an electrically resistant heating component for heating the tobacco-containing material in a non-combustion form. The present invention also relates to a method of manufacturing a heating unit for HNB tobacco articles.

HNB (non-combustion heating) articles that heat tobacco or tobacco-containing materials, thereby releasing aromatics and the resulting smoke in a non-combustible form, have already been proposed for some time (eg, for example). See Patent Document 1). There, for example, a medium containing tobacco, which generates an aromatic substance, is arranged in a cylindrical shape around a rod-shaped heating component. The heating component is a resistance wire coil arranged in an insulating pipe.

An alternative structural shape of the HNB tobacco article is disclosed in Patent Document 2. There, smokeable materials, such as tobacco mixtures, are placed in one room. A heating element, such as a ceramic heating element, an infrared heating element or a resistance heating element, is arranged in a cylindrical shape around the chamber.

In the two arrangements described above, the tobacco material in contact with the heating element is heated directly, while the material further away from the heating element is heated only indirectly with a delay. The resulting non-uniform temperature distribution is disadvantageous in terms of optimal release of agents and aromatics and reduction of release of harmful substances.

European Patent No. 0430559 International Patent Publication No. 2013/131674

An object of the present invention is to provide a heating unit that enables uniform heating of a tobacco-containing material, and a method for manufacturing the heating unit.

The present invention solves this problem by the characteristics of the independent claims. Making a resistant heating part from a conductive suspension allows the suspension to be still mobile or fluid and to be in direct contact with the tobacco-containing material at the time of manufacture, any desired arrangement of the heating part. Allows morphology. The wide surface direct contact between the heating component and the tobacco-containing material allows uniform, direct, delay-free heating of the tobacco-containing material, which further reduces the release of harmful substances. Achieve optimal release of active and aromatic substances.

Advantageously, the resistance heating component is made from a conductive paste. In this stationary and non-fluid embodiment, suspensions can be processed more easily. However, the present invention also includes liquid or fluid suspensions for making heated parts.

In an advantageous embodiment, this conductive suspension contains graphite. Instead of graphite, another conductive material based on metal or other material can also be used.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, this conductive suspension is applied over the supporting material. The supporting material can advantageously be partially ceramic or have a ceramic layer. Other suitable supporting materials are also possible. When graphite and ceramic as a supporting material are combined, the fabrication techniques used to produce carbon layer resistors can be advantageously used.

In an advantageous variation of the invention, the conductive layer forming the heating component is incorporated within the support material consisting of the plurality of layers, for example, between ceramic laminates. In one embodiment, a layer system consisting of a layer sequence of ceramic, conductive layer, ceramic, tobacco material can be obtained. As such, complex geometric structures are conceivable, depending on the manufacturing process. For example, the support material can form a three-dimensional support structure, eg, a pipe structure, which is at least partially filled with a conductive material. Such geometry allows heating with significantly larger surfaces than conventional heating elements.

In another advantageous embodiment of the invention, a conductive suspension is applied over the supporting material.

Applying a conductive suspension onto or directly on the support material can be carried out particularly advantageously by printing methods, especially by silk screen printing. In this case, there are two possible variations. In one technique, the resistance heating component can be printed as a (heating) pattern on the supporting material (pattern printing). An alternative approach is to apply a uniform or homogeneous layer over the supporting material, in particular by printing or spraying, and then move to its final (heated) structure by a removal method in a second treatment step. it can. This can be done, for example, using laser engraving. Thereby, the heating component can be made very thin and at the same time a very fine and complex heating structure can be realized, which further optimizes the heat distribution.

The heating component advantageously has a plurality of compartments that can be electrically driven individually, for example, to generate different temperatures. Alternatively, these compartments can also be heated, for example, in sequence, for example, to ensure consistency during consumption. If one compartment corresponds to, for example, the consumption experience of one cigarette, then a double cigarette product can be realized.

The tobacco-containing material can be, for example, a tobacco mixture, but can also contain, for example, other components based on cellulose. Flaky tobacco and / or reconstituted tobacco material (so-called reconstituted material) is also included.

The present invention also provides a method of making an HNB tobacco article, characterized in that the resistant heating component is made from a conductive suspension.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on advantageous embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Schematic cross-sectional view of HNB smoking products Implementation configuration diagram of the heating unit for HNB smoking products according to the present invention Another Embodiment of the heating unit for HNB smoking products according to the present invention Layer system diagram of the heating unit according to the present invention Pipe type layer structure diagram of the heating unit according to the present invention Another layer system diagram of the heating unit according to the present invention Alternative layer system diagram of the heating unit according to the present invention Another pipe type layer structure diagram of the heating unit according to the present invention

The suction device 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 has, for example, a rod-shaped housing 11, in which an electric energy source 12, a heating unit 13, and an electronic control unit 14 are arranged. The electrical energy source 12 can be, for example, a battery or a rechargeable battery. The housing 11 has a mouthpiece 15, and the consumer can suck the mouthpiece to generate an air flow. The housing 11 further has one or more intake openings 16, and when a consumer generates a negative pressure in the housing 11 by suction of the suction port 15, the housing 11 is surrounded through the openings. Air can flow into the inside of the housing 11. In this way, the air flow 17 according to the control mode is generated in the housing 11.

The heating unit 13 is arranged in the axial heating section 19 in the housing 11. The heating unit 13 can be a replaceable cartridge or part of such a cartridge. The main body of the aspirator 10 can be reusable. In this embodiment, the aspirator 10 is composed of a reusable body and a disposable cartridge.

The air flow 17 flows through the heating compartment 19 to take in the agents and / or aromatics released from the tobacco-containing material 26 using the heating component 18, and thus through the heating unit 13 or It flows along the vicinity of the heating unit 13. This will be described in detail below.

An advantageous embodiment of the heating unit 13 according to the present invention is illustrated in FIG. The heating unit 13 has a heating component 18, and in this embodiment, the heating component is coated on a suitable non-conductive support material 20. The support material 20 may be, for example, ceramic or may include a ceramic layer or a ceramic coating. A number of other suitable materials, such as plastic thin films such as polyimide, are of concern with respect to the supporting material 20. The support material 20 supports the heating component 18 and may be elastic or non-elastic. The support material 20 must not react thermally within the operating range of the aspirator, i.e., within the heating control mode.

At the time of manufacturing the heating unit 13, the heating component 18 exists as a suspension in which conductive particles are present in the liquid, that is, as a mixture of a solid and a liquid. Advantageously, the suspension is a paste, i.e., the proportion of conductive particles in the suspension is so high that the suspension is no longer fluid and does not move. The conductive particles can advantageously be graphite. Metal particles and a number of other suitable conductive particles are also considered for suspensions. Therefore, in the case of graphite, the heating component 18 exists as a graphite paste from the beginning.

The suspension or paste is applied onto the support material 20 in the subsequent manufacturing of the heating unit 13 in a shape corresponding to the subsequent heating component 18. The application of the suspension or paste onto the support material 20 can advantageously be carried out by printing, in particular screen printing, or by any other suitable method. The heated component 18 is then obtained by drying the suspension or paste in the air or in a dryer.

Subsequently, the tobacco-containing material 26 is placed on the support material 20 with the heating component 18. The tobacco-containing material 26 can be, in particular, a tobacco mixture. The tobacco-containing material 26 exists in direct contact with the heating component 18, and can be uniformly heated by the heating component.

When the electronic control unit 14 detects suction by the consumer by a suitable method, the electronic control unit drives the heating component 18 in the heating unit 13 to heat the tobacco-containing material 26 to a suitable temperature. In this way, the tobacco fragrance is released non-combustible and without harmful smoke and added to the airflow 17. In this embodiment, it is the so-called HNB (non-combustion heated) cigarette product 10.

The arrangement of the conductive layer on the support material 20 forming the heating component 18 can be geometrically variably realized. Advantageously, the heating component 18 is composed of a plurality of, here six heating conductors 22 arranged parallel to each other. An electric terminal 24 is provided at the lead end 23 of the heating conductor structure 18. At the end of the heating conductor structure 18 on the opposite side, the heating conductors 22 are connected to each other in a conductive manner, for example, so that one heating conductor loop 21 is formed from each of the two heating conductors 22. There is. By applying a heating voltage to each of the two terminals 24, the heating loop 21 extending between the terminals 24 can be individually heated.

Thus, the heating conductor loop 21 forms a plurality of compartments 21 of the heating component 18, which can advantageously be electrically driven individually, for example, to generate different temperatures. Alternatively, these compartments 21 can also be heated in sequence, for example, to ensure consistency during smoking, for example. For example, if one compartment 21 corresponds to one cigarette smoking experience, then a double cigarette product can be realized.

Heating is obtained so that the maximum overlap between the tobacco-containing material 26 and the flat heating component 18 is obtained so that the thermal energy of the heating component can act directly and uniformly on the entire tobacco-containing material 26. The arrangement of the tobacco-containing material 26 on the component 18 is performed so as to be as flat and evenly distributed as possible. When the tobacco-containing material 26 is a fiber, it is arranged so as to intersect the extension of the heating conductor 22 as illustrated in FIG.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 3, the tobacco-containing material 26 simultaneously forms the support material 20. This is advantageous when the tobacco-containing material 26 has sufficient strength to perform a supporting function within the heating unit 13. The tobacco-containing material 26 may include, for example, a cellulose-containing substrate, such as paper, in which, for example, crushed, finely crushed, or ground and crushed tobacco is incorporated. ing.

Even in this case, the heating component 18 still exists as a conductive suspension or paste and is applied directly onto the tobacco-containing material 26, for example by silk screen printing. In this embodiment, the work step of applying the tobacco-containing material 26 on the support material 20 provided with the heating component 18 can be omitted. The maximum overlap between the tobacco-containing material 26 and the heating component 18 also ensures that the tobacco material cannot be detached from the support material 20.

A variation of the implementation configuration according to FIG. 2 is illustrated in FIG. In this case, the heating unit 13 is a layer system in which, for example, two support layers 20A and 20B made of ceramic are provided, and a conductive layer 18, for example, graphite is incorporated between these layers. The tobacco-containing material 26 is coated on the ceramic layer 20A.

An alternative layer system for the heating unit 13 is illustrated in FIG. In this case, a two-laminated layer system is illustrated in which each laminate consists of a supporting material 20, a heating component 18 and a tobacco-containing material 26, with the tobacco-containing material 26 either inside or instead as shown. , Can be arranged on the outside with respect to the heating component 18.

Another multi-layer system for the heating unit 13 is illustrated in FIG. First, for example, an outer insulating layer 27 that can be part of the housing 11 or cartridge housing is deployed. Between these insulating layers 27, for example, two layer systems consisting of a layer sequence of a tobacco-containing material 26, a support material 20, a heating component 18, a support material 20, and a tobacco-containing material 26 are arranged. An air passage 28 for the air flow 17 is provided between these layer systems and between each layer system and the insulating layer 27.

The layered structure as illustrated in FIGS. 4, 6 or 7 can be used to achieve a more complex geometric vaporizer structure.

For example, FIG. 5 illustrates a pipe structure with a tobacco-containing material 26 as a coating on a pipe-shaped support 20 partially or completely filled with a conductive material 18.

An alternative pipe having a cylindrical layer structure consisting of an insulating layer 27, an air passage 28, a tobacco-containing material 26, a support material 20, a heating component 18, a support material 20, a tobacco-containing material 26, and an air passage 28 from the outside to the inside. The structure is illustrated in FIG. An insulating core portion 29 can be provided inside the heating component 18.

Claims (14)

Tobacco-containing material (26) and
An electric resistance type heating component (18) for heating the tobacco-containing material (26) in a non-combustion form,
In the heating unit (13) for the HNB tobacco article (10),
A heating unit characterized in that the resistance type heating component (18) is made of a conductive suspension. The heating unit according to claim 1, wherein the resistance type heating (18) is made of a conductive paste. The heating unit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the conductive suspension contains graphite. The heating unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the conductive suspension is applied onto the support material (20). The heating unit according to claim 4, wherein the supporting material (20) is at least partially ceramic or has a ceramic layer. The heating unit according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the conductive layer forming the heating component is incorporated in the multi-layer support material (20). Any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the tobacco article (10) has a layer system consisting of a layer sequence of ceramic, conductive layer (18), ceramic, tobacco-containing material (26). The heating unit described in. Any of claims 4 to 7, wherein the support material (20) forms a three-dimensional support structure, for example, a pipe structure, which is at least partially filled with the conductive material (18). The heating unit described in one. The heating unit according to any one of claims 4 to 8, wherein the heating unit (13) has a pipe shape and is at least partially filled with a conductive substance. The heating unit according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the conductive suspension is applied onto the tobacco-containing material (26). Any of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the conductive suspension is printed on a support material (20) or a tobacco-containing material (26), in particular by silk screen printing. The heating unit described in one. The heating unit according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the heating component (18) has a plurality of compartments (21) that can be individually electrically driven. In the HNB tobacco article (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 12,
The HNB tobacco article, characterized in that the HNB tobacco article has the heating unit (13) according to any one of claims 1 to 12. A heating unit (13) for an HNB tobacco article (10), comprising a tobacco-containing material (26) and an electrically resistant heating component (18) for heating the tobacco-containing material (26) in a non-combustible form. ) In the method of manufacturing
A method characterized in that the resistance heating component (18) is applied onto a support material (20) or a tobacco-containing material (26) in the form of a conductive suspension.

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