KR20230048172A - Smoking article - Google Patents

Abstract

Described herein is a wrapper (102) for wrapping an aerosolizable material (103), the wrapper comprising at least three layers, the peripheral layers (501, 503) comprising paper, and an intermediate layer (502) comprises an incombustible material, and at least the middle layer and one of the peripheral layers is provided as a laminate structure.

Description

Smoking articles {SMOKING ARTICLE}

The present invention relates to smoking articles, and specifically, but not exclusively, to a wrapper for an aerosolisable material, an aerosol-generating article comprising a wrapped aerosolizable material ( aerosol generating article, and an aerosol generating assembly having an aerosol generating article comprising a wrapped aerosolizable material.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Smoking articles such as cigarettes, cigars, and the like burn tobacco during use to produce tobacco smoke. Alternatives to these types of articles release the compounds by heating the aerosolizable material without burning it.

Devices are known which heat an aerosolizable material to volatilize at least one component of the aerosolizable material to form an aerosol that can be inhaled, typically with or without burning the aerosolizable material. Such devices are sometimes described as "heat-not-burn" devices or "tobacco heating products" (THP) or "tobacco heating devices" or the like. A variety of different arrangements for volatilizing at least one component of the aerosolizable material are known.

This material may be, for example, tobacco, other non-tobacco products, or a combination such as a blended mix, which may or may not contain nicotine. .

A first aspect of the present invention provides a wrapper for wrapping an aerosolizable material, the wrapper comprising at least three layers, the peripheral layers comprising paper and the intermediate layer comprising a non-combustible material wherein at least the intermediate layer and one of the peripheral layers are provided as a laminate structure.

Peripheral layers may be referred to herein as "innermost" and "outermost" layers. This refers to their location when the material is wrapped around the aerosolizable material.

In one example, the laminate structure may include a peripheral layer (ie, an innermost layer) and an intermediate layer disposed adjacent to the aerosolizable material in use. Next, it may be surrounded or wrapped by one or more additional layers, the peripheral layer of the composite structure (ie the outermost layer) comprising paper.

In another example, the laminate structure includes an intermediate layer and each of the peripheral layers.

In some cases, the non-combustible material includes metal foil. In some cases, the metal foil includes aluminum.

In some examples, the wrapper includes more than three layers. In some cases, the wrapper consists of three layers. In some cases, the wrapper may be composed of a three layer laminate structure including peripheral layers and an intermediate layer.

A second aspect of the present invention provides an aerosol-generating article comprising an aerosolizable material and a wrapper according to the first aspect of the present invention wrapped around the aerosolizable material.

In some examples, the aerosolizable material includes tobacco.

In some examples, the aerosolizable material is a rod of aerosolizable material, and the wrapper, in use, surrounds at least an end of the rod distal to the user's mouth. In some cases, the wrapper surrounds the rod for at least 25% or more of the rod length.

In some examples, the aerosol-generating article may additionally be a filter and/or cooling element. In some cases, a cooling element may be arranged between the aerosolizable material and the filter. In some cases, a filter may be arranged between the aerosolizable material and the cooling element.

A further aspect of the present invention provides an aerosol-generating assembly comprising a heater and an aerosol-generating article according to the second aspect. In some cases, the aerosol-generating assembly may be a tobacco heating product (also known as a non-combustion heating device).

A further aspect of the invention provides a system comprising an aerosol-generating device and an aerosol-generating article according to the second aspect.

A further aspect of the present invention provides a process for making an aerosol-generating article comprising the step of wrapping an aerosolizable material with a wrapper according to the first aspect.

A further aspect of the present invention provides a method for preventing a user from igniting or burning an aerosolizable material in an aerosol-generating article, the method comprising wrapping the aerosolizable material with a wrapper according to the first aspect. include

Features of the invention described in the context of one aspect are, to the extent compatible, explicitly disclosed in combination with each other aspect.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the drawings of examples of the present invention given by way of example only and do not place any limitation on the scope of the claims.
1 is a schematic diagram of a side view of an aerosol-generating article according to one embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a schematic diagram of a first end view of an aerosol-generating article according to an example of the present invention.
3 is a schematic diagram of a first end view of a different aerosol-generating article according to an example of the present invention.
4 is a schematic diagram of a side view of an aerosol-generating article according to one embodiment of the present invention.
5 is an exploded schematic diagram of a wrapper according to an example of the present invention.
6 is an exploded schematic view of a wrapper according to another example of the present invention.

As used herein, the term "laminate structure" refers to a multilayer structure in which the layers are fastened together to form a single body. The layers can be fastened together with adhesive, for example. In other examples, the layers may be engaged by static interaction. In other examples, the laminate structure may be formed by (partially) melting a first layer, contacting the first layer with a second layer and allowing the first layer to solidify. Fastening the layers together, including but not limited to examples of the above, tying, sewing, screwing, nailing, bolting, hooking, etc. Any suitable mechanism for doing so may be used to form the laminate structure.

In some cases, an adhesive may coat the surface of each layer. In other cases, adhesive may be applied only to the periphery of the layers. In some cases, each layer of the laminate structure may be fastened to adjacent layer(s). In some exemplary laminate structures, the periphery of the two layers may be fastened together with the intermediate layers caught in the middle.

In one example of a wrapper, the laminate structure may include a peripheral layer (ie, an innermost layer) and an intermediate layer disposed adjacent to the aerosolizable material in use. Next, it may be surrounded or wrapped by one or more additional layers, the peripheral layer of the composite structure (ie the outermost layer) comprising paper. 6 is a schematic diagram of such an example. The laminate structure (represented by dotted lines) includes a peripheral layer 501 and an intermediate layer 502 . The wrapper further includes a perimeter layer 503, but it is not part of the laminate structure.

In another example, the laminate structure includes an intermediate layer and each of the peripheral layers. That is, in one example, a laminate wrapper for wrapping an aerosolizable material includes at least three layers, the peripheral layers (ie, the innermost and outermost layers) comprising paper, and the middle layer comprising a non-combustible material. include 5 is a schematic diagram of such an example. The laminate structure (represented by dotted lines) includes peripheral layers 501 and 503 and an intermediate layer 502 .

In some cases, the non-combustible material includes a metal foil. In some cases, the non-combustible material consists essentially of or can consist of a metal foil. Suitably, the metal foil may comprise, consist essentially of, or consist of aluminum foil. Metal foils are non-combustible materials, which in use may nonetheless act to conduct heat to aerosolizable materials.

In some cases, the metal foil may be less than about 100 μm, 50 μm, 20 μm, 10 μm or 8 μm thick. In some cases, the metal foil may be greater than about 1 μm, 3 μm or 5 μm thick.

In some cases, the wrapper may be a laminate wrapping material composed of three layers (ie, the innermost and outermost layers comprising paper and only the middle non-combustible layer). In some cases, the wrapper may be composed of a three layer laminate structure including peripheral layers and an intermediate layer.

In some cases, the innermost and outermost layers of the wrapper are tobacco wrapping paper.

A consideration in preparing aerosol-generating articles, such as tobacco heating products, is that burning should not create an acceptable smoking experience so that the user does not have to worry about burning the aerosol-generating article. This is because the formulation of aerosolizable material is not configured to be combusted (and the aerosol resulting from burning may result from heating the aerosolizable material without burning it, or from burning traditional cigarettes). may be less suitable for inhalation than an aerosol).

The use of an incombustible layer in the wrapper prevents the aerosol-generating article from being burned and smoked as a conventional combustible cigarette.

*As used herein, the phrase "non-combustible" refers to a material that does not ignite or burn at temperatures normally associated with ignition (ignition) or combustion of tobacco.

Additionally, the use of a metal foil layer results in a wrapper that has a low porosity to reduce side stream air flow into the aerosolizable material. This further reduces the burning tendency by limiting the oxygen levels of the aerosolizable material.

Furthermore, the inventors have established that having paper on the innermost and outermost layers of the laminate wrapper can be beneficial since the laminate surfaces then have the coefficient of friction of that paper. This means that the laminate wrapper can more easily be used in known cigarette manufacturing processes and machines. Laminate surfaces having a coefficient of friction equivalent to that of cigarette paper allow a garniture belt of an aerosol-generating article manufacturing machine to drive the laminate wrapper through the garniture during the aerosol-generating article manufacturing process.

In some cases, the innermost layer may also include a flavorant that is wrapped around the aerosolizable material and transferred to the aerosolizable material when heated. In some cases, the flavoring agent is impregnated into the paper of the innermost layer. In some cases, the flavoring agent may include menthol.

The inventors have established that having paper in the innermost layer of the laminate material can be beneficial as it can act as a flavor carrier.

In some cases, each paper or any one of the innermost and outermost layers of the laminate has at least about 10 g m ² , 15 g m ² , 20 g m ² , or 25 g m ^{−2 2} to about 50 g·m ² , 45 g·m ² , 40 g·m ² , or 35 g·m ² . Paper with densities in this range has a low porosity, which further reduces the burning tendency by limiting the oxygen levels of the aerosolizable material.

In some cases, either or each paper of the innermost and outermost layers of the wrapper may be treated with one or more burn-retardant substances.

In one example, the wrapper is a laminate structure consisting of:

(a) an intermediate layer of aluminum foil having a thickness of 1.0 to 7 μm, suitably 6.0 to 6.3 μm; and

(b) two paper layers on either side of the foil. Each of the paper layers has a basis weight of 25 to 35 g·m ⁻² .

In one example, the wrapper includes a laminate structure consisting of:

(a) a paper layer having a basis weight of 25 to 35 g·m ⁻² and arranged adjacent to the aerosolizable material when wrapped; and

(b) an aluminum foil layer having a thickness of 1.0 to 7 μm, suitably 6.0 to 6.3 μm.

In this example, the wrapper further includes a second paper layer wrapped over the laminate in use, the second paper layer having a basis weight of 25 to 35 g·m ⁻² .

In some cases, the laminate material may be wound onto a bobbin core for use with standard cigarette makers, supplied from a single paper bobbin.

In some cases, one or more ventilation apertures may be formed in the wrapper. The ventilation openings can provide air flow into the aerosol-generating article during use, with the air forming part of the inhaled aerosol.

The laminate structure may be formed using any suitable lamination technique. In one example, the layers may be adhered to each other.

In some examples of the aerosol-generating articles described herein, at least a portion of the innermost layer is disposed in contact with the aerosolizable material.

*In some cases, the aerosolizable material includes tobacco. Tobacco includes single grades or blends, cut rag or whole leaf, ground tobacco, tobacco fiber, cut tobacco, extruded tobacco, tobacco It may be any suitable solid tobacco, such as stem and/or reconstituted tobacco. The tobacco may be of any type, including but not limited to Virginia and/or Burley and/or Oriental tobacco.

In some examples, the aerosolizable material may be a rod of aerosolizable material. As used herein, the term "rod" generally refers to an elongated body that may be of any shape suitable for use in an aerosol-generating assembly. In some cases, the rod is substantially cylindrical.

In some cases where the aerosolizable material is a rod of aerosolizable material, the wrapper may, in use, end at the end of the rod that is away from the user's mouth (ie, the distal-end rather than the mouth-end). end)) at least. This ensures that an incombustible wrapper is placed around the end of the rod that a user may attempt to ignite. In some cases, the laminate wrapper surrounds the rod for at least 25% of the rod length. In some cases, the wrapper extends over at least 35%, 40%, 45% or 50% of the rod length. The more the rod is enclosed, the more difficult it is to burn the rod.

In some cases, the wrapper does not extend over the entire length of the rod of aerosolizable material, resulting in cost savings. In some cases, the laminate wrapper extends over less than about 85%, 80%, 75%, 70%, 65% or 60% of the rod length.

1 illustrates an exemplary aerosol-generating article. The aerosol-generating article 101 includes an aerosolizable material 103 wrapped by a wrapper 102 . In this example, this wrapper extends over a distance of approximately 50% from the distal-end of the aerosolizable material to the mouth-end of the aerosolizable material. In some examples, wrapper 102 includes three layers, the peripheral layers including paper, and the middle layer including a non-combustible material. In some examples, one peripheral layer and one intermediate layer are provided as a laminate structure (see FIG. 6). In other examples, both the peripheral layers and the intermediate layer are provided as a laminate structure (see FIG. 5).

Optionally, a wrapper may also be arranged over the distal-end of the aerosolizable material such that the distal end of the aerosolizable material is completely closed with the wrapper. 2 illustrates an example in which wrapper 102 is wrapped around the perimeter of aerosolizable material 103 . The distal-end of the aerosol-generating article 101 is not covered with a wrapper. 3 illustrates an alternative example of an aerosol-generating article 101 in which wrapper 102 completely encloses the distal end of the aerosol-generating article.

Examples of aerosol-generating articles may further include filters and/or cooling elements. In some cases, these additional components may not be surrounded by all layers of the wrapper; Alternatively, they may be surrounded by a single layer of wrapper that extends over a greater proportion of the aerosolizable material than the other layers. Suitably, the additional components may be surrounded only by the outermost peripheral layer of the wrapper (which also encloses the aerosolizable material), or alternatively only by the innermost peripheral layer of the wrapper.

For example, the mouth-end of the aerosolizable material may be provided adjacent to one or more of the cooling element and filter. The cooling element (if present) allows vapor components to condense to form an aerosol and/or keeps very hot parts of the device away from the user. Filters, if present, can remove components from the fluid flow, which can affect the chemical composition of the inhaled aerosol.

4 illustrates an example of an aerosol-generating article 101 comprising a cooling element 104, a filter 105 and a mouth-end tube 106, in addition to the features of FIG. are doing The cooling element 104 and filter 105 can be arranged between the mouth-end of the aerosolizable material 103 and the mouth-end tube 106, as illustrated, so that the aerosolizable material ( The flow from 103 passes through cooling element 104 and filter 105 before reaching the user (or vice versa, if the filter is arranged before the cooling element in the flow) passed). 4 illustrates cooling element 104, filter 105 and mouth-end tube 106, in other examples one or more of these elements may be omitted.

In some examples, the mouth-end tube 106 (if present) is made of, for example, paper in the form of a spirally wound paper tube, cellulose acetate, cardboard, crimped paper, such as It may be formed from crimped heat resistant paper or crimped parchment paper, and/or polymeric materials such as low density polyethylene (LDPE), or some other suitable material. Mouth-end tube 106 may be a hollow tube. Such a hollow tube may provide a filtering function to filter out volatilized aerosolizable material. Mouth-end tube 106 may be elongated, spaced from the very hot portion(s) of a main apparatus (not shown) that heats the aerosolizable material.

In some examples, filter 105 (if present) may be a filter plug and may be made of cellulose acetate, for example.

In some cases, the cooling element 104 (if present) is a monolithic rod having first and second ends and including a plurality of through holes extending between the first and second ends. can include The through holes may extend substantially parallel to the central longitudinal axis of the rod. The through holes of the cooling element 104 may be arranged generally radially of the element when viewed in cross section. That is, in one example, the element defines through holes and has inner walls with two main components: radial walls and central walls. The radial walls extend along the radii of the cross section of the element, and the central walls are centered at the center of the cross section of the element. In one example, the central walls are circular, but other regular or irregular cross-sectional shapes may be used. Likewise, in one example, the cross-section of the element is circular, but other regular or irregular cross-sectional shapes may be used.

In one example, most of the through holes have a hexagonal or generally hexagonal cross-sectional shape. In this example, the element may be referred to as a "honeycomb" structure when viewed from one end.

In some cases, the cooling element 104 may include a hollow tube that separates the filter 105 (if present) from the very hot portion(s) of the main apparatus that heats the aerosolizable material. The cooling element 104 may be, for example, paper in the form of a spirally wound paper tube, cellulose acetate, cardboard, crimped paper, such as crimped heat-resistant paper or crimped parchment, and/or polymeric materials, It may be formed, for example, of low density polyethylene (LDPE), or some other suitable material.

Cooling element 104 (if present) may be substantially incompressible. Cooling element 104 may be formed of a polymer, such as a thermoplastic polymer, which may be a ceramic material or an extrudable plastic material. In one example, the porosity of the element is in the range of 60% to 75%. Porosity in this respect can be a measure of the percentage of the cross-sectional area of an element occupied by through-holes. In one example, the porosity of the element is between about 69% and 70%.

Other examples of aerosol cooling elements are disclosed in PCT/GB2015/051253, the entire contents of which, particularly the description of FIGS. 1 to 8 and page 8, line 11 to page 18, line 16, are expressly incorporated herein by reference. included

In further examples, the cooling element 104 may be formed from a sheet material that is folded, crimped or corrugated to form through holes. The sheet material may be, for example, a metal such as aluminum; polymeric plastic materials such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate or polyvinyl chloride; or made of paper.

In some examples, cooling element 104 and filter 105 may be held together by a wrapper paper to form an assembly. The assembly may then be joined to the aerosolizable material by a further wrapper surrounding the mouth-end of the assembly and at least the aerosolizable material to form the aerosol-generating article 101 . In other examples, the aerosol-generating article 101 is formed by effectively wrapping the cooling element 104, the filter 105 and the aerosolizable material 103 in one operation, the cooling element and/or filter components ( If present), no separate tipping paper is provided.

In some cases, an aerosol-generating article may be formed with one or more ventilation openings. The ventilation openings can provide a flow of air into the article during use, the air flow forming part of the inhaled aerosol. It may be desirable to reduce the air flow through the distal end of the article to reduce the tendency to burn, so the openings may be formed closer to the mouth-end of the article than to the distal-end of the article. For example, vent openings may be formed in the cooling element and/or filter (if present). Furthermore, vent holes may be formed in a portion of the article that is not wrapped with an incombustible material. The inventors have established that cutting non-combustible material to form vent openings may not be straightforward.

In use, in some cases, an aerosol-generating article may be arranged at least partially within a heating device to form an aerosol-generating assembly that generates an aerosol by heating the article without burning it. In some other cases, an article may be provided in an assembly having a fuel source, such as a combustible fuel source or chemical heat source, that heats the aerosolizable material without burning it.

The above examples should be understood as illustrative examples of the present invention. Any feature described in connection with any one example can be used alone or in combination with other features described, as well as in combination with one or more features of any other example or any combination of any other examples. It should be understood that it can be used Equivalents and variations not described above may also be used without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims (18)

As a wrapper for wrapping an aerosolizable material,
The wrapper includes at least three layers, the peripheral layers comprising paper, the intermediate layer comprising a non-combustible material, and at least the intermediate layer and one of the peripheral layers having a laminate structure. ), provided as
A wrapper for wrapping an aerosolizable material. According to claim 1,
wherein the laminate structure includes each of the intermediate layer and the peripheral layers;
A wrapper for wrapping an aerosolizable material. According to claim 1,
wherein the laminate structure comprises, in use, the peripheral layer and the intermediate layer disposed adjacent to the aerosolizable material.
A wrapper for wrapping an aerosolizable material. According to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The incombustible material includes a metal foil,
A wrapper for wrapping an aerosolizable material. According to claim 4,
The metal foil includes aluminum,
A wrapper for wrapping an aerosolizable material. According to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The wrapper consists of three layers,
A wrapper for wrapping an aerosolizable material. As an aerosol generating article,
Comprising an aerosolizable material and a wrapper according to any one of claims 1 to 6 wrapped around the aerosolizable material.
Aerosol-generating articles. According to claim 7,
wherein the aerosolizable material comprises tobacco;
Aerosol-generating articles. According to claim 7 or 8,
wherein the aerosolizable material is a rod of aerosolizable material, the wrapper enclosing at least an end of the rod distal from the mouth of a user when in use;
Aerosol-generating articles. According to claim 9,
the wrapper at least surrounds the rod over at least 25% of the rod length;
Aerosol-generating articles. According to any one of claims 7 to 10,
further comprising a filter and/or cooling element;
Aerosol-generating articles. According to claim 11,
wherein the aerosol-generating article comprises a filter and a cooling element, the cooling element being arranged between the aerosolizable material and the filter;
Aerosol-generating articles. An aerosol-generating assembly comprising an aerosol-generating article according to any one of claims 7 to 12 and a heater. According to claim 13,
The assembly is a tobacco heating product,
Aerosol-generating assembly. According to claim 13 or 14,
wherein the heater is a device into which the aerosol-generating article is at least partially inserted when in use;
Aerosol-generating assembly. A system comprising an aerosol-generating device and an aerosol-generating article according to any one of claims 7 to 12. A process for making an aerosol-generating article comprising:
Wrapping the aerosolizable material with a wrapper according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
A process for manufacturing an aerosol-generating article. A method of preventing a user from igniting or igniting an aerosolizable material in an aerosol-generating article comprising:
Wrapping the aerosolizable material with a wrapper according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
A method for preventing a user from igniting or igniting an aerosolizable material within an aerosol-generating article.

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