RU2797377C2 - Device for heating smoking material - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: smoking devices.

SUBSTANCE: inventions group relates to a product for use with a device for heating a smoking material, a device for heating a smoking material, a system for heating a smoking material, and a method for heating a smoking material. A product for use with a device for heating a smokable material to vaporize at least one component of said smokable material comprises an object of heating material that can be heated due to the penetration of a changing magnetic field. The product additionally contains a heat-conducting element, which is not intended for smoking and which is in thermal contact with the heating material object and is located relative to the heating material object so that the heating of the heating material causes the element to gradually heat up. The heat-conducting element, which is not intended for smoking, extends at least along most of the length of the smokable material. The product also includes a smokable material that is in thermal contact with the element and is positioned relative to the element such that said gradual heating causes gradual heating of the smokable material.

EFFECT: increasing the efficiency of using the product by providing gradual heating of the smoking material.

92 cl, 9 dwg

Description

The technical field to which the invention belongs

The invention relates to a device for heating a smokable material to vaporize at least one component of the smokable material, articles for use with such a device, systems comprising such a device and such articles, and methods for heating the smokable material to vaporize at least one component of the smokable material .

State of the art

In smoking articles such as cigarettes, cigars and the like, tobacco is burned during use to create tobacco smoke. Attempts have been made to offer alternatives to these products by creating products in which the substances are released without burning. Examples of such products are so-called "heat but not burn" products or tobacco heating devices or products in which substances are released by heating the material rather than burning it. This material may be, for example, tobacco or other non-tobacco product, which may or may not contain nicotine.

US 2015/0245669 A1 discloses an electronic smoking device comprising a liquid storage component and a power supply component capable of being connected to it, including an external housing having an elongated shape, an electrical power source located therein, electrically connected to an inductor, which is positioned so that when the electrical supply component is attached to the liquid storage component, it is at such a distance from the sensing element that when it is supplied with electricity from its source, it generates a field that provides heating of the sensing element sufficient to vaporize the liquid substance from the wick liquid reservoir.

US 2016/0120221 relates to an aerosol generating system comprising an aerosol generating device and a cartridge that is configured for use with the device, the device comprising a device housing, an induction coil located on or within the housing, and a power supply, connected to the induction coil and configured to supply high frequency oscillatory current to the induction coil.

Disclosure of invention

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an article for use with a device for heating smoking material to vaporize at least one component of said smoking material, said article comprising: an object of heating material that can be heated by the penetration of a changing magnetic field; a non-smoking heat transfer element that is in thermal contact with the heating material object and is positioned relative to the heating material object such that heating the heating material causes the element to gradually heat up; and a smokable material that is in thermal contact with the element and positioned relative to the element such that gradual heating causes gradual heating of the smokable material.

In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the element is in surface contact with an object of heating material.

In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the smokable material is in surface contact with the element.

In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the heating material object is at least partially embedded in the element.

In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the heating material object is completely embedded in the element.

In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the element extends at least along most of the length of the smokable material.

In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the heating material object is located only at the first end portion of the element; and the opposite second end portion of the element does not contain a heating material that can be heated due to the penetration of a changing magnetic field.

In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the heating material comprises one or more materials selected from the group consisting of the following: electrically conductive material, magnetic material, and magnetic electrically conductive material.

In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the heating material comprises a metal or metal alloy.

In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the heating material comprises one or more materials selected from the group consisting of the following: aluminum, gold, iron, nickel, cobalt, electrically conductive carbon, graphite, plain carbon steel, stainless steel, ferritic stainless steel, copper, and bronze.

In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the smokable material comprises tobacco and/or one or more humectants.

In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the smokable material is not a liquid.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device for heating a smokable material to vaporize at least one component of the smokable material, said device comprising: a magnetic field generator configured to generate a varying magnetic field; an object of heating material that can be heated due to the penetration of a changing magnetic field; a non-smoking heat-conducting element that is in thermal contact with the heating material object and is so positioned relative to the heating material object that heating of the heating material due to the penetration of the changing magnetic field causes the element to gradually heat up; and a heating zone, which is configured to locate at least a portion of the product containing smoking material, while the heating zone is in thermal contact with the element and is so located relative to the element that its gradual heating causes gradual heating of the heating zone.

In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the heating material object is at least partially embedded in the element.

In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the heating material object is completely embedded in the element.

In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the heating material object is located only at the first end portion of the element; and the opposite second end portion of the element does not contain a heating material that can be heated due to the penetration of a changing magnetic field.

In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the element protrudes into the heating zone.

In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the element extends at least partially around the heating zone.

In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the element extends at least along most of the length of the heating zone.

In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the first and second portions of the element have different respective heat capacities.

In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the second section of the element is thicker than the first section of the element; the object of the heating material is in surface contact only with the first section of the element; and the second end portion of the element does not contain a heating material that can be heated due to the penetration of a changing magnetic field.

In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the heat capacity varies with distance along the element.

In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the heat capacity varies at least along most of the length of the heating zone.

In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the first and second sections of the element have different respective heat capacities as a result of the thickness of the first section of the heating material being different from the thickness of the second section of the heating material.

In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the composition of the material of the first section of the element is the same as the composition of the material of the second section of the element.

In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the material composition of the element is homogeneous within the element.

In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the density of the first section of the element is the same as the density of the second section of the element.

In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the density of the element is uniform within the element.

In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the device is configured to heat the smokable material to vaporize at least one component of the smokable material without burning the smokable material.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for heating a smokable material to vaporize at least one component of the smokable material, said system comprising: an article containing the smokable material; and a device comprising: a magnetic field generator configured to generate a varying magnetic field, an object of heating material that is configured to be heated due to the penetration of a varying magnetic field, a heat-conducting element that is not intended for smoking and that is in thermal and surface contact with object of heating material and so positioned relative to the object of heating material that the heating of the heating material due to the penetration of the changing magnetic field causes gradual heating of the element, and the heating zone, made with the possibility of locating at least a portion of the product, while the heating zone is in thermal contact with element and so located relative to the element that the specified gradual heating causes a gradual heating of the heating zone.

In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the device of the system that corresponds to the third aspect is the device that corresponds to the second aspect. The device of the system according to the third aspect may have any one or more of the features described above, as features that are present in the respective exemplary embodiments of the device that corresponds to the second aspect.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for heating a smokable material to vaporize at least one component of the smokable material, the method comprising: providing a heating material object that can be heated by the penetration of a changing magnetic field; provide a heat-conducting element that is not intended for smoking and which is in thermal contact with the heating material object and is so located relative to the heating material object that the heating of the heating material due to the penetration of the changing magnetic field causes the element to gradually heat up; provide smoking material, which is in thermal contact with the element; and penetrate into the heating material with the changing magnetic field to cause the element to gradually heat up, thereby causing the smoking material to gradually heat up.

Brief description of the drawings

Next, by way of example only, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

in fig. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of an article for use with a device for heating a smokable material to vaporize at least one component of the smokable material;

in fig. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing the article of FIG. 1;

in fig. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an example of a device for heating a smokable material to vaporize at least one component of the smokable material;

in fig. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an example of another apparatus for heating smoking material to vaporize at least one component of the smoking material;

in fig. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an example of another apparatus for heating smoking material to vaporize at least one component of the smoking material;

in fig. 6 is a view schematically showing a cross section of an example of a system comprising an article that contains a smokable material and the device of FIG. 3 for heating the smokable material to vaporize at least one component of the smokable material;

in fig. 7 is a view schematically showing a cross section of an example of another system comprising an article that contains a smokable material and the device of FIG. 4 for heating the smokable material to vaporize at least one component of the smokable material;

in fig. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an example of another system comprising an article that contains a smokable material and the device of FIG. 5 for heating the smokable material to vaporize at least one component of the smokable material; And

in fig. 9 is a flowchart view illustrating an example of a method for heating a smokable material to vaporize at least one component of the smokable material.

Implementation of the invention

As used herein, the term "smoking material" includes materials that, when heated, provide vaporized components, typically in the form of a vapor or aerosol. The "smoking material" may be a non-tobacco material or a tobacco-containing material. "Smoking material" may, for example, contain one or more of the following: tobacco itself, tobacco derivatives, exploded tobacco, reconstituted tobacco, tobacco extract, homogenized tobacco, or tobacco substitutes. The smoking material may be in the form of ground tobacco, cut tobacco, pressed tobacco, reconstituted tobacco, reconstituted smoking material, liquid, gel, thickened sheet, powder or agglomerated material, or the like. "Smoking Material" may also contain other non-tobacco products, which may or may not contain nicotine, depending on the product. The "smoking material" may contain one or more humectants such as glycerin or propylene glycol.

As used herein, the term "heating material" or "heater material" refers to a material that can be heated by the penetration of a changing magnetic field.

Induction heating is a process in which an electrically conductive object is heated by the penetration of a changing magnetic field into the object. This process is described by Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction and Ohm's law. The induction heater may include an electromagnet and a device for passing a varying electrical current, such as alternating current, through the electromagnet. When the electromagnet and the object to be heated are suitably positioned relative to each other such that the resulting changing magnetic field generated by the electromagnet penetrates the object, one or more eddy currents are generated within the object. The specified object has resistance to the flow of electric currents. Therefore, when such eddy currents are generated in an object, their flow, taking into account the electrical resistance of the object, generates heating of the object. This process is called joule, ohmic or resistive heating. An object that can be heated inductively is called a sensing element.

It has been found that when the sensing element has a closed loop shape, the magnetic interaction between the sensing element and the electromagnet used is improved, resulting in more or improved Joule heating.

Heating due to magnetic hysteresis is a process in which an object made of a magnetic material is heated due to the penetration of a changing magnetic field into the object. A magnetic material can be thought of as containing many atomic scale magnets or magnetic dipoles. When a magnetic field penetrates such a material, the magnetic dipoles orient themselves in accordance with the magnetic field. Therefore, when a changing magnetic field, such as a changing magnetic field such as that generated by an electromagnet, penetrates the magnetic material, the orientation of the magnetic dipoles changes in accordance with the applied changing magnetic field. This reorientation of the magnetic dipoles generates heat generation in the magnetic material.

When an object is both electrically conductive and magnetic, the penetration of a changing magnetic field into the object can generate both Joule heating and magnetic hysteresis heating in the object. Moreover, the use of a magnetic material can increase the magnetic field, which can increase the Joule heating.

In each of the processes mentioned above, since heat is generated within the object itself rather than by an external heat source through heat transfer, a rapid increase in temperature in the object and a more uniform distribution of heat can be obtained, especially through the selection of suitable object material and geometry, and of suitable size and orientation relative to the object of the changing magnetic field. Moreover, since induction heating and magnetic hysteresis heating do not require a physical connection between the source of the changing magnetic field and the object, the freedom to design and control the heating profile can be greater and costs can be reduced.

In FIG. 1 and 2 show a schematic cross section and a schematic perspective view of an example of an article according to one embodiment of the invention. The article 1 is configured to be used with a device for heating a smokable material in order to vaporize at least one component of the smokable material.

The article 1 comprises an object 10 of a heating material that can be heated by the penetration of a changing magnetic field, a thermally conductive element 20 that is not intended for smoking, a smokable material 30, and a sheath 40 around the smokable material 30. Examples of each of these materials will be discussed below.

The shell 40 defines the outer surface of the article 1 and may contact the device in use. In this embodiment, the article 1 is elongated and cylindrical, having a substantially circular cross section. However, in other embodiments of the invention, the product 1 may have a cross-section other than round and/or the product 1 may not be elongated and/or cylindrical. In this embodiment, the article 1 has proportions close to those of a cigarette.

In this embodiment, the sheath 40 includes a wrapper 42 that is wrapped around the smokable material 30 such that the free ends of the wrapper 42 overlap. Thus, wrapper 42 forms all or most of the peripheral outer surface of article 1. Wrapper 42 may be made of paper, reconstituted smoking material such as reconstituted tobacco, or the like. The wrapper 40 according to this embodiment also contains an adhesive (not shown) which adheres the superimposed loose ends of the wrapper 42 together. The adhesive may comprise one or more of, for example, gum arabic, natural or synthetic resins. , starches and varnish. The adhesive helps prevent detachment of the superimposed loose ends of the wrapper 42. In other embodiments, the adhesive may be omitted.

Sheath 40 surrounds smokable material 30. Sheath 40 helps protect smokable material 30 from damage during shipping and use of article 1. In use, sheath 40 can also help direct air flow into and through smoking material 30 and can help direct vapor flow or aerosol through the smokable material 30 and from the smokable material 30.

In this embodiment, smoking material 30 may be in the form of a tube. The tube has a substantially circular cross section. The smoking material 30 extends from one end of the article 1 to the opposite end of the article 1. Thus, in use, air can be drawn into the smoking material 30 at one end of the article 1, the air can pass through the smoking material 30 and pick up vaporized components released from the smoking material 30, and further vaporized components, usually in the form of a vapor or aerosol, may exit the smoking material 30 at the opposite end of the article 1. In this embodiment, in which the article 1 is elongated, said ends of the article 1 between which the smoking material continues 30 are opposite ends of the product 1 in the longitudinal direction. However, in other embodiments of the invention, these ends may be any two ends or sides of the article, such as any two opposite ends or sides of the article.

The element 20 is elongated and extends from one end of the smokable material 30 to the opposite end of the smokable material 30. This may help provide more complete heating of the smokable material 30 during use. However, in other embodiments of the invention, the element 20 may not extend to either of the opposite ends of the smokable material 30, or may only extend to one of the ends of the smokable material 30, and may be located at a distance from the other end of the smokable material 30. 20 may extend along most of the length of smoking material 30.

Element 20 extends from one end of article 1 to the opposite end of article 1. This may assist in the manufacture of article 1. However, in other embodiments of the invention, element 20 may not extend to any of the opposite ends of article 1, or may only continue to one of the ends of the product 1 and can be located at a distance from the other end of the product 1.

In this embodiment, element 20 extends along an axis that is substantially aligned with the axis of article 1. This may aid in the manufacture of article 1. In this embodiment, the aligned axes coincide. In one variation of this embodiment, the aligned axes may be parallel to each other. However, in other embodiments of the invention, the axes may be tilted relative to each other.

In this embodiment, element 20 is surrounded by smoking material 30. That is, smoking material 30 continues around element 20. In embodiments where element 20 does not extend to either of the opposite ends of smoking material 30, smoking material 30 may continue around the element. 20 and also close the ends of element 20 so that element 20 is surrounded by smokable material 30.

The element 20 has a rectangular or substantially rectangular cross section in a direction that is perpendicular to its length. Element 20 contains two opposite main surfaces connected by two secondary surfaces. Therefore, the depth or thickness of element 20 is relatively small compared to other dimensions of element 20. However, in other embodiments of the invention, element 20 may have a cross section that is not rectangular, for example, may be round, elliptical, annular, polygonal , square, triangular, star-shaped, have the shape of plates extending in the radial direction, X-shaped, T-shaped, hollow or contain holes.

In this embodiment, the cross section of element 20 is constant along the length of element 20. Moreover, in this embodiment, element 20 is flat or substantially flat. The element 20 according to this embodiment of the invention can be considered as a flat strip or ribbon. However, in other embodiments of the invention, this may not be true.

In some embodiments of the invention, the element 20 may not be flat. For example, element 20 may follow an undulating path, may be twisted, corrugated, helical, may have a spiral shape, may contain a plate or strip or tape on which protrusions and/or indentations are made, may contain a grid, or have an uneven, non-planar shape. Such non-planar shapes, in use, can help air passing through article 1 to pick up vaporized material created by heating smoking material 30. Non-planar shapes can provide a tortuous path for air to follow, which creates turbulence in the air and facilitates better heat transfer from element 20 to smoking material. 30. Non-planar shapes can also increase the surface area of element 20 per unit length of element 20. This may result in more or better heating of smoking material 30 by element 20.

The element 20 is in thermal contact with the heating material object 10 and is in surface contact with the heating material object 10. In this embodiment, the heating material object 10 is embedded in the element 20. More specifically, the heating material object 10 is surrounded by the element 20 such that the heating material object 10 is fully embedded in the element 20. In other embodiments, the heating material object 10 may be only partially embedded in element 20, or object 10 of heating material may be located on the surface of element 20 and may not be embedded in element 20. In some other embodiments of the invention, element 20 may be in thermal contact with object 10 of heating material but not in surface contact with the object 10 of the heating material.

In this embodiment, the object 10 of heating material is located only at the first end section of the element 20. The opposite second end section of the element 20 does not contain heating material. Therefore, the heating material object 10 and the element 20 are positioned relative to each other such that, in use, the heating of the heating material causes the element 20 to gradually heat up. , and further, in turn, the areas of the element 20 located further from the first end section of the element 20 are heated. however, allows heating of heating material 10 to cause gradual heating of element 20. For example, an object 10 of heating material may be located in the middle of element 20 and at a distance from both the first end portion of element 20 and the second end portion of element 20.

The heating material object 10 has a rectangular or substantially rectangular cross section in a direction perpendicular to its length. The object 10 of the heating material contains two opposite main surfaces connected by two secondary surfaces. Therefore, the depth or thickness of the heating material object 10 is relatively small compared to other dimensions of the heating material object 10. However, in other embodiments, the heating material object 10 may have a cross-sectional shape other than rectangular, such as circular, elliptical, annular, star-shaped, polygonal, square, triangular, X-shaped, T-shaped. .

Smoking material 30 is in thermal contact with element 20. Therefore, element 20 can be heated in use to heat smoking material 30. In this embodiment, smoking material 30 is in surface contact with element 20. This is achieved by gluing smoking material 30 to the element 20. However, in other embodiments of the invention, attachment may be different from gluing. In some embodiments, smoking material 30 may not be attached to member 20 at all.

In this embodiment, smokable material 30 surrounds element 20 along the entire length of element 20. Therefore, smokable material 30 is positioned relative to element 20 such that the gradual heating of element 20 described above causes gradual heating of smokable material 30. More specifically, in use, heat, emanating from the first section of the element 20 at a location that is relatively close to the object 10 of heating material, first heats the adjacent first area of the smoking material 30. This causes at least one component of the smoking material to evaporate from the first area of the smoking material and form an aerosol therein. Over time, the temperature of the second section of the element 20, which is located relatively far from the object 10 of heating material, increases due to the transfer of heat from the first section of the element 20. This generates heating of the second section of the smoking material 30, which is adjacent to the second section of the element 20, due to heat, emanating from the second section of the element 20. Said triggers the evaporation of at least one component of the smokable material from the second section of the smokable material and the formation of an aerosol therein. Accordingly, the smokable material 30 of the article 1 is gradually heated over time. This facilitates the formation of an aerosol and its relatively rapid release from the end of the article 1 for inhalation by the user, and at the same time provides a time-dependent release of the aerosol from the smokable material 30 so that the aerosol continues to be formed. and be released even after the aerosol production of the first smoking material site 30 ceases.

In other embodiments, smokable material 30 and element 20 may be positioned differently relative to each other, which, however, allows gradual heating of element 20 to cause gradual heating of smokable material 30. For example, smokable material 30 may be located on only one side of element 20 and/or may not extend along the entire length of element 20 and, nevertheless, gradual heating of element 20 in use causes gradual heating of smokable material 30. In some embodiments of the invention, smokable material 30 may be separated from element 20 by a gap and, nevertheless be in thermal contact with the element 20 and so positioned relative to the element 20 that the gradual heating of the element 20 causes the smoking material 30 to gradually heat up.

In FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of an example device according to one embodiment of the invention. The device 100 is configured to heat the smokable material to vaporize at least one component of the smokable material.

The device 100 comprises a magnetic field generator 112 configured to generate a varying magnetic field, an object 130 of a heating material that is configured to heat up due to the penetration of the varying magnetic field, a heat-conducting element 140 that is non-smoking and that is in thermal and surface contact. with the object 130 of heating material and so positioned relative to the object 130 of heating material that heating of the heating material due to the penetration of the changing magnetic field causes the element 140 to gradually heat up, and the heating zone 111, configured to locate at least a portion of the product containing smoking material, wherein the heating zone 111 is in thermal contact with the element 140 and is so positioned relative to the element 140 that said gradual heating causes the heating zone 111 to gradually heat up.

More specifically, the device 100 of this embodiment includes a body 110 and a mouthpiece 120. The mouthpiece 120 may be made from any suitable material such as plastic material, cardboard, cellulose acetate, paper, metal, glass, ceramic, or rubber. The mouthpiece 120 defines the channel 122 located therein. The mouthpiece 120 is positioned relative to the main element 110 to cover the opening leading to the heating zone 111. When the mouthpiece 120 is so located relative to the main element 110, the channel 122 of the mouthpiece 120 communicates with the zone 111 of heating. In use, conduit 122 acts as a passage for vaporized material from an article inserted into heating zone 111 to the outside of device 100. base member 110. In other embodiments, mouthpiece 120 and base member 110 may be permanently connected, such as by a hinge or flexible member. In some embodiments of the invention, such as embodiments of the invention in which the product itself contains a mouthpiece, the mouthpiece 120 of the device 100 may be omitted.

The device 100 may define an air inlet through which the heating zone 111 communicates with the space outside the device 100. Such an air inlet may be defined by the body 110 of the device 100 and/or the mouthpiece 120 of the device 100. The user may be able to inhale vaporized the component(s) of the smoking material by drawing the vaporized component(s) through the channel 122 of the mouthpiece 120. When the vaporized component(s) are removed from the article, air can be drawn into the heating zone 111 through the air inlet of the device 100.

In this embodiment, the main element 110 contains a heating zone 111. The heating zone 111 includes a recess 111 for accommodating at least a portion of the article. In other embodiments of the invention, the heating zone 111 may be different from a recess, for example, be a shelf, surface or ledge, and may require mechanical interfacing with the product to interact with the product or position the product. In this embodiment, the heating zone 111 is elongated and is sized and shaped to accommodate the entire article. In other embodiments of the invention, the dimensions of the heating zone 111 are such that it is possible to position only a portion of the article.

In this embodiment, the magnetic field generator 112 includes a power source 113, a coil 114, a device 116 for passing a varying electrical current, such as alternating current, through the coil 114, a controller 117, and a user interface 118 for the user to control the controller 117.

The power source 113 according to this embodiment is a battery. In other embodiments, the electrical power source 113 may not be a battery, but may be, for example, a non-rechargeable battery, a capacitor, a battery/capacitor hybrid device, or a connection to a mains electricity source.

Coil 114 may be of any suitable shape. In this embodiment, the coil 114 is a helical coil of an electrically conductive material such as copper. In some embodiments, the magnetic field generator 112 may include a permeable core around which coil 114 is wound. Such a permeable core concentrates the magnetic flux generated by coil 114 in use and makes the magnetic field more powerful. The magnetically permeable core can be made, for example, of iron. In some embodiments of the invention, the permeable core may only partially extend along the length of the coil 11 in order to concentrate the magnetic flux only in certain areas. In some embodiments, the coil may be a flat coil. That is, the coil can be a two-dimensional helix.

From a consideration of FIG. 3 it is clear that in this embodiment of the invention the element 140 protrudes into the heating zone 111. The length of the element 140 measures from the first free end to the second end, at which the element 140 is attached to the remainder of the main element 110. The free end is so located relative to the heating zone 111 to enter the product when the product is inserted into the heating zone 111. Element 140 continues along most of the length of the zone 111 heating. In some embodiments of the invention, the element 140 continues along the entire length of the heating zone 111.

Element 140 has a rectangular cross section in a direction perpendicular to its length. The depth or thickness of element 140 is relatively small compared to other dimensions of element 140. However, in other embodiments of the invention, element 140 may have a cross-section that is not rectangular, for example, may be round, elliptical, annular, star-shaped, polygonal , square, triangular, X-shaped, T-shaped. In this embodiment, the cross section of element 140 is constant along the length of element 140. Moreover, in this embodiment, element 140 is flat or substantially flat. The element 140 corresponding to this embodiment of the invention can be considered as a flat strip. However, in other embodiments of the invention, this may not be true. For example, in some embodiments of the invention, the element 140 may be hollow or contain holes.

In this embodiment, the heating material object 130 is embedded in the element 140. More specifically, the heating material object 130 is surrounded by the element 140 such that the heating material object 130 is fully embedded in the element 140. In other embodiments, the heating material object 130 may be only partially embedded in element 140, or object 130 of heating material may be located on the surface of element 140, and it may not be embedded in element 140. In some other embodiments of the invention, element 140 may be in thermal contact with object 130 of heating material. material, but not in surface contact with the object 130 of the heating material.

The heating material object 130 has a rectangular or substantially rectangular cross section in a direction perpendicular to its length. The heating material object 130 comprises two opposing primary surfaces connected by two secondary surfaces. Therefore, the depth or thickness of the heating material object 130 is relatively small compared to other dimensions of the heating material object 130. However, in other embodiments, the heating material object 130 may have a cross-sectional shape other than rectangular, such as circular, elliptical, annular, star-shaped, polygonal, square, or triangular.

In this embodiment, the heating material object 130 is located only at the first end portion of the element 140, which in this case is the free end of the element 140. The opposite second end portion of the element 140 contains no heating material. Therefore, heating material object 130 and element 140 are positioned relative to each other such that, in use, heating the heating material causes element 140 to gradually heat up. More specifically, in use, heat radiating from heating material object 130 first heats the first end portion of element 140. The portions of element 140 that are further away from the first end portion of element 140 are further heated by heat transfer from the first end portion of element 140. In other embodiments of the invention, heating material object 130 and element 140 may be positioned differently relative to each other. which, however, allows heating of heating material 130 to cause gradual heating of element 140. For example, heating material object 130 may be located only at the second end portion of element 140, and first end portion of element 140 may contain no heating material.

It should be understood that since the element 140 protrudes into the heating zone 111, the gradual heating of the element 140 causes the heating zone 111 to gradually heat up and thus everything in the heating zone 111 to heat up. Accordingly, when an article containing smokable material is located in the heating zone 111 in use (as shown in FIG. material, heats the smokable material in the first section of the product, which is located relatively close to the object 130 of the heating material. This triggers the evaporation of at least one component of the smokable material from the first section of the article and the formation of an aerosol therein. Over time, the temperature of the second portion of the element 140, which is located relatively far from the heating material object 130, increases due to the transfer of heat from the first portion of the element 140. This generates heating of the smoking material in the second portion of the product, which is adjacent to the second portion of the element 140, due to heat emanating from the second section of the element 140. This triggers the evaporation of at least one component of the smoking material from the second section of the product and the formation of an aerosol therein. Accordingly, over time, gradual heating of the smoking material of the article is ensured. As discussed above, this aids in the formation of the aerosol and its relatively rapid release from the end of the article for inhalation by the user, and at the same time provides a time-dependent release of the aerosol from the smokable material so that the aerosol continues to form and be released even after the smokable material in the first region product stops producing aerosol.

When the article is located in the heating zone 111, the element 140 is in thermal contact with the smokable material. Preferably, when the article is located in the heating zone 111, the element 140 is in surface contact with the smokable material of the article. Thus, heat can be transferred directly from the element 140 to the smokable material. In other embodiments of the invention, the element may not be in surface contact with the smokable material. For example, in some embodiments, the smokable material may be separated from element 140 by a space or article wrap and still be in thermal contact with element 140.

In this embodiment, the coil 114 extends along a longitudinal axis that is substantially aligned with the longitudinal axis of the heating zone 111. The aligned axes match. In one variation of this embodiment of the invention, the aligned axes may be parallel to each other. However, in other embodiments of the invention, the axes may be tilted relative to each other. Moreover, the coil 114 extends along a longitudinal axis that substantially coincides with the longitudinal axis of the element 140. In other embodiments of the invention, the longitudinal axes of the coil 114 and the element 140 may be aligned with each other, being parallel to each other, or may be inclined relative to each other. In this embodiment, the coil 114 and the rest of the magnetic field generator 112 are in a fixed position relative to the element 140 and the heating zone 111.

In this embodiment, a device 116 for passing a varying current through the coil 114 is electrically connected between the power source 113 and the coil 114. In this embodiment, the controller 117 is also electrically connected to the power source 113 and is connected to the device 116 with the ability to communicate to control device 116. More specifically, in this embodiment, the controller 117 is configured to control the device 116 to control the supply of electrical power from the power source 113 to the coil 114. In this embodiment, the controller 117 includes an integrated circuit (IC), such as IC on a printed circuit board (PCB). In other embodiments of the invention, the controller 117 may take a different form. In some embodiments of the invention, the device may be a single electrical or electronic component containing the device 116 and the controller 117. In this embodiment, the user controls the controller 117 using the user interface 118. In this embodiment, the user interface 118 is located outside the main element 110. The user interface 118 may include a push button, switch, touch screen, or the like. In other embodiments of the invention, the user interface 118 may be remote, and it may be wirelessly, such as via Bluetooth, connected to the remainder of the device.

In this embodiment, the user's operation of the user interface 118 causes the controller 117 to operate so that the device 116 passes an alternating electrical current through the coil 114 to cause the coil 114 to generate an alternating magnetic field. The coil 114 and the heating material object 130 of the device 100 are suitably positioned relative to each other so that the changing magnetic field generated by the coil 114 penetrates the heating material object 130. In this embodiment, the heating material is an electrically conductive material and thus said penetration causes one or more eddy currents to be generated in the heating material. The flow of eddy currents in the heating material at the electrical resistance of the heating material causes Joule heating of the heating material. When the heating material is made of a magnetic material, the orientation of the magnetic dipoles in the heating material changes according to the change in the applied magnetic field, which generates heat generation in the heating material.

In this embodiment, the impedance of the coil 114 of the magnetic field generator 112 is equal to or substantially equal to the impedance of the heating material object 130. If the impedance of the heating material object 130 is, by contrast, less than the impedance of the coil 114, then the voltage generated in the heating material object 130 in use may be less than the voltage that can be generated in the heating material object 130 when the impedances match up. Alternatively, if the impedance of the heating material object 130 is, as opposed to said, greater than the coil 114 impedance, then the electric current generated in the heating material object 130 in use may be less than the current that can be generated in the heating material object 130 heating material when the impedances match. Impedance matching can help balance voltage and current to maximize the thermal energy generated in heating material object 130 during use. In some embodiments, the impedance of device 116 may be equal to, or substantially equal to, the combined impedance of coil 114 and heating material 130.

The device 100 corresponding to this embodiment of the invention includes a temperature sensor 119 configured to measure the temperature of the heating zone 111. The temperature sensor 119 is communicatively coupled to the controller 117 so that the controller 117 is able to monitor the temperature of the heating zone 111. Based on one or more signals received from the temperature sensor 119, the controller 117 may cause the device 116, if necessary, to adjust the characteristic of the changing or alternating electric current passing through the coil 114 to ensure that the temperature of the heating zone 111 remains in a predetermined range. temperatures. Said characteristic, for example, may be amplitude or frequency or duty cycle. Within said predetermined temperature range, in use, the smokable material in the article which is located in the heating zone 111 heats up enough to vaporize at least one component of the smokable material without burning the smokable material. Accordingly, the controller 117 and the device 100 as a whole are configured to heat the smokable material to vaporize at least one component of the smokable material without burning the smokable material. In some embodiments of the invention, said temperature range is from about 50°C to about 300°C, for example, from about 50°C to about 250°C, from about 50°C to about 150°C, from about 50°C to about 120°C, from about 50°C to about 100°C, from about 50°C to about 80°C, or from about 60°C to about 70°C. In some embodiments of the invention, the mentioned temperature range is from about 170°C to about 220°C. In other embodiments of the invention, the temperature range may differ from the specified range. In some embodiments of the invention, the upper limit of the temperature range may exceed 300°C. In some embodiments of the invention, the temperature sensor 119 may be absent. In some embodiments, the heating material may have a Curie temperature selected based on the maximum temperature to which it is desirable to heat the heating material such that the heating material is more difficult or prevented from being heated above that temperature by induction heating.

In FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an example of another device according to one embodiment of the invention. The device 200 of FIG. 4 is identical to the device 100 of FIG. 3 except for the shape of the device element 140. Therefore, for the sake of brevity, features common to these two embodiments of the invention will not be described in detail again. Any of the possible variations of the apparatus 100 of FIG. 3 can be used in the device 200 of FIG. 4 to form respective separate embodiments of the invention.

The heat capacity of an object is proportional to the mass (weight) of the object multiplied by its specific heat capacity (the ability of the object to store thermal energy). Different parts of the object can have different heat capacities only in the case of different weights or densities and/or if their specific heat capacities differ.

In this embodiment, the first and second portions 140a, 140b of element 140 have different respective heat capacities. The material composition and density of the first portion 140a of element 140 is the same as the material composition and density of the second portion 140b of element 140. In fact, the material composition and density of element 140 may be uniform in element 140. However, the first and second portions 140a, 140b of element 140 have different corresponding heat capacities due to the fact that the thickness of the first section 140a of the element 140 differs from the thickness of the second section 140b of the element 140. More specifically, the second section 140b of the element 140 has a greater heat capacity compared to the first section 140a of the element 140 due to the fact that the second section 140b of the element 140 is thicker first section 140a of element 140.

In this embodiment, the heat capacity increases continuously as the distance along the length of the element 140 increases from the free first end of the element 140 to the second end of the element 140. More specifically, in this embodiment, the heat capacity increases linearly or substantially linearly as the distance along the length increases. This is due to a linear or substantially linear increase in the thickness of element 140 as the distance from the free end increases along the length of element 140. In other words, element 140 expands linearly. However, in other embodiments, the heat capacity may not vary continuously with distance along the length of element 140. For example, the change may be stepped or continuous in at least one section of element 140 and stepped in at least one other section of element 140. Those skilled in the art will easily determine the desired variation in heat capacity to provide the desired gradual heating profile in use. They are also able to select an appropriate thickness profile of element 140 along its length to provide the desired gradual heating profile.

In other embodiments of the invention, the first and second sections 140a, 140b of the element 140 may have different respective heat capacities, which is a consequence of alternative characteristics that are different for the first and second sections 140a, 140b. For example, the first and second sections 140a, 140b of element 140 may have different respective heat capacities as a result of the fact that the density or material composition of the first section 140a of element 140 differs from the density or material composition of the second section 140b of element 140.

The object 130 of the heating material is embedded only in the first section 140a of the element 140. The second section 140b of the element 140 does not contain a heating material. The penetration of the changing magnetic field into the heating material object 130 causes the first portion 140a of the element 140 to heat up at a relatively high rate. Over time, the temperature of the second portion 140b of the element 140 increases due to heat transfer from the first portion 140a of the element 140. However, the rate of heating of the element 140 decreases with increasing distance from the object 130 of the heating material due to the increase in heat capacity with increasing distance from the object 130 from heating material.

Accordingly, by penetrating the changing magnetic field generated by the generator 112 into the heating material object 130, a gradual heating effect similar to that described above can be obtained. That is, in use, when the product is located in the heating zone 111 (as shown in Fig. 7, which will be discussed below), the heat emanating from the first section 140a of the element 140 heats the smokable material in the first section of the product, which is located relatively close to the object. 130 of heating material. This triggers the evaporation of at least one component of the smokable material from the first section of the article and the formation of an aerosol therein. Over time, the temperature of the second section 140b of the element 140, which is located relatively far from the heating material object 130, increases due to the transfer of heat from the first section 140a of the element 140. This generates heating of the smoking material in the second section of the product, which is adjacent to the second section 140b of the element 140 , due to the heat emanating from the second section 140b of the element 140. This triggers the evaporation of at least one material component from the second section of the product and the formation of an aerosol therein.

It should be understood that in this embodiment, the object 130 of the heating material is located in the first section 140a of the element 140, which is closer to the channel 122 of the mouthpiece 120 compared to the second section 140b of the element 140. Therefore, in use, the first section of the product to be heating to vaporize the smoking material component(s) is also closer to the channel 122 of the mouthpiece 120 than the second portion of the product. However, in other embodiments of the invention, in contrast to the above, the object 130 of the heating material may be located in the second section 140b of the element 140.

In FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an example of another device according to one embodiment of the invention. The device 300 of FIG. 5 is identical to the device 100 of FIG. 3 except for the shape of the heating element, the non-smoking heat-conducting element, the heating zone and the coil of the device. Therefore, for the sake of brevity, features common to these two embodiments of the invention will not be described in detail again. Any of the possible variations of the apparatus 100 of FIG. 3 may be used in the device 300 of FIG. 5 to form respective separate device embodiments.

As noted above, in the device 100 of FIG. 3, element 140 protrudes into heating zone 111. Contrary to what has been said, the device 300 of FIG. 5 includes a heat transfer element 140 which is non-smoking and which extends around the heating zone 111. Therefore, due to the fact that in the embodiment of the invention of FIG. 3, the heating zone 111 and any article placed therein in use is heated from the outside to the inside, in the embodiment of the invention of FIG. 5, the heating zone 111, and any article placed therein in use, is heated from the inside out.

Element 140 is a tubular heat-conducting element 140, which is not intended for smoking and which surrounds the heating zone 111. However, in other embodiments of the invention, the element 140 may not be completely tubular. For example, in some embodiments of the invention, the element 140 may be tubular except for an axially continuing gap or slot formed in the element 140. The element 140 has a substantially circular cross section. However, in other embodiments of the invention, the element 140 may have a cross section other than round, for example, may have a square, rectangular, polygonal or elliptical cross section. The element 140 extends along a longitudinal axis that is substantially aligned with the longitudinal axis of the heating zone 111. In this embodiment, the aligned axes are the same. In one variation of this embodiment, the aligned axes may be parallel to each other. However, in other embodiments of the invention, the axes may be tilted relative to each other.

In this embodiment, the heating zone 111 is defined at least in part by the element 140. That is, the element 140 at least partially defines or defines the heating zone 111. In this embodiment, the cross section of the heating zone 111 in a direction that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the heating zone 111 is constant along the length of the heating zone 111. However, in other embodiments of the invention, the cross section may vary depending on the distance along the length of the zone 111 heating. In this embodiment, the cross section of the heating zone 111 is circular, but in other embodiments, the cross section of the heating zone 111 may be other than circular, such as square, rectangular, polygonal, or elliptical.

When the article containing the smokable material is located in the heating zone 111, the element 140 is in thermal contact with the smokable material. Preferably, when the article containing the smokable material is located in the heating zone 111, the element 140 is in surface contact with the smokable material. Thus, heat can be transferred directly from the element 140 to the smokable material. In other embodiments of the invention, the element may not be in direct surface contact with the smokable material. Examples of how this can be achieved are discussed above.

Similar to element 140 of the embodiment of the invention of FIG. 4, element 140 of the embodiment of FIG. 5 includes a first section 140a and a second section 140b, wherein the first and second sections 140a, 140b of element 140 have different respective heat capacities. In this embodiment, the material composition and density of the first portion 140a of element 140 is the same as the material composition and density of the second portion 140b of element 140. Moreover, in this embodiment, the material composition and density of element 140 may be uniform in element 140. First and second the sections 140a, 140b of the element 140 have different respective heat capacities due to the fact that the thickness of the first section 140a of the element 140 differs from the thickness of the second section 140b of the element 140. More specifically, the second section 140b of the element 140 has a greater heat capacity than the first section 140a of the element 140 that the second section 140b of the element 140 is thicker than the first section 140a of the element 140.

Similar to the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 4, the heat capacity increases continuously as the distance along the length of the element 140 increases from the free first end of the element 140 to the second end of the element 140. More specifically, in this embodiment, the heat capacity increases linearly or substantially linearly as the distance along the length increases. However, in other embodiments, the heat capacity may not vary continuously with distance along the length of element 140, in a manner similar to that described above.

As described above, in other embodiments of the invention, the first and second sections 140a, 140b of the element 140 may have different respective heat capacities, which is a consequence of alternative characteristics, such as density or material composition, which are different for the first and second sections 140a, 140b.

The object 130 of the heating material is embedded only in the first section 140a of the element 140. The second section 140b of the element 140 does not contain a heating material. The penetration of the changing magnetic field into the heating material object 130 causes the first portion 140a of the element 140 to heat up at a relatively high rate. Over time, the temperature of the second portion 140b of the element 140 increases due to heat transfer from the first portion 140a of the element 140. However, the heating rate of the element 140 decreases with increasing distance from the object 130 of heating material due to the increase in heat capacity with increasing distance from the object 130 from heating material.

Accordingly, by penetrating the changing magnetic field generated by the generator 112 into the heating material object 130, a gradual heating effect similar to that described above can be obtained. That is, in use, when the product is located in the heating zone 111 (as shown in Fig. 8, which will be discussed below), the heat emanating from the first section 140a of the element 140 heats the smokable material in the first section of the product, which is located relatively close to the object. 130 of heating material. Over time, the temperature of the second section 140b of the element 140, which is located relatively far from the heating material object 130, increases due to the transfer of heat from the first section 140a of the element 140. This generates heating of the smoking material in the second section of the article, which is adjacent to the second section 140b of the element 140 , due to the heat emanating from the second section 140b of the element 140.

With respect to the embodiment of the invention of FIG. 4, in this embodiment, the object 130 of the heating material is located in the first section 140a of the element 140, which is closer to the channel 122 of the mouthpiece 120 compared to the second section 140b of the element 140. Therefore, in use, the first section of the product that is to be heated for The evaporation of the smoking material component(s) is also closer to the channel 122 of the mouthpiece 120 compared to the second portion of the product. However, in other embodiments of the invention, in contrast to the above, the object 130 of the heating material may be located in the second section 140b of the element 140.

In this embodiment, as noted above, the cross section of the heating zone 111 in a direction that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the heating zone 111 is constant along the length of the heating zone 111. Furthermore, as noted above, the thickness or diameter of element 140 varies linearly with distance along the length of element 140. Therefore, element 140 is conical or frustoconical in shape. It should be noted that the coil 114 according to this embodiment of the invention extends along an axis that substantially coincides with the longitudinal axis of the heating zone 111. The coil 114 has a diameter that varies depending on the distance along the longitudinal axis of the heating zone 111, so that the coil is a conical helix. However, in other embodiments of the invention, the coil 114 may have a substantially constant diameter along its entire length, so that the coil 114 is a circular helix.

In FIG. 6, 7 and 8 are schematic cross-sectional views of exemplary systems that correspond to respective embodiments of the invention. System 1000 of FIG. 6 includes the device 100 of FIG. 3 and article 2 containing smokable material. System 2000 of FIG. 7 includes the device 200 of FIG. 4 and article 3 containing smokable material. System 3000 of FIG. 8 includes the device 300 of FIG. 5 and article 4 containing smokable material.

The heating zone 111 of each of the devices 100, 200, 300 is configured to position the product 2, 3, 4 of the corresponding system 1000, 2000, 3000. In each of these embodiments of the invention, the product 2, 3, 4 can be inserted into the heating zone 111 of the corresponding devices 100, 200, 300, when the mouthpiece 120 is disconnected from the main element 110 of the device 100, 200, 300. In each system 1000, 2000, 3000, due to the operation of the magnetic field generator 112, a changing magnetic field is generated that penetrates into the object 130 from the heating material, as described above to cause the element 140 to gradually heat up. In turn, the gradual heating of the element 140 causes the heating zone 111 and hence the smokable material of the respective article 2, 3, 4 to be gradually heated, preferably for the purpose of vaporizing at least one component of the smokable material without burning smoking material, as also described above.

For the sake of brevity, the device 100, 200, 300 will again not be described in detail. Any of the above described possible variations of the devices 100, 200, 300 of FIG. 3, 4 and 5 can be performed for the devices 100, 200, 300 of the system 1000, 2000, 3000 of FIG. 6, 7, and 8 to form respective separate system embodiments.

In FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of an example of a method for heating a smokable material to vaporize at least one component of said smokable material, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

The method 900 includes providing 901 objects of heating material that can be heated due to the penetration of a changing magnetic field. The heating material object may, for example, be the object of a device for heating smoking material to vaporize at least one component of the smoking material, ie heating material objects 130 as described above with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, and 5. Alternatively, the heating material object may be, for example, a heating material object of an article that contains smoking material, ie, a heating material object 10 as described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

The method also includes the following: providing 902 a non-smoking heat-conducting element that is in thermal contact with the heating material object and is so positioned relative to the heating material object that heating of the heating material due to the penetration of a changing magnetic field causes gradual heating of the element . The heating material object may be in surface contact with the non-smoking heat transfer element, such as attached to the element or embedded in the element.

The method further includes providing 903 a smokable material that is in surface contact with the element. The smokable material may be contained in an article, such as the article shown in FIG. 1 and 2. The smokable material may be in thermal contact with the element as a result of the element being also part of the article, as in the case of FIGS. 1. Alternatively, the smokable material may be positioned to be in thermal contact with the element by inserting the smokable material into the heating zone of the device that contains the element, as in the case of FIG. 3, 4 and 5.

The method further includes penetrating 904 into the heating material with the changing magnetic field to cause the element to gradually heat up, thereby causing the smokable material to gradually heat up. Examples of how this can be achieved are discussed above. The heating of the smokable material may be such as to vaporize at least one component of the smokable material without burning the smokable material.

In each of the embodiments of the invention described above, the heating material is steel. However, in other embodiments of the invention, the heating material may comprise one or more materials selected from the group consisting of the following: electrically conductive material, magnetic material, and magnetic electrically conductive material. In some embodiments, the heating material may comprise a metal or metal alloy. In some embodiments, the heating material may comprise one or more materials selected from the group consisting of the following: aluminum, gold, iron, nickel, cobalt, electrically conductive carbon, graphite, plain carbon steel, stainless steel, ferritic stainless steel, copper, and bronze. In other embodiments of the invention, other heating material(s) may be used. It has been found that when a magnetic electrically conductive material is used as a heating material, the magnetic interaction of the magnetic electrically conductive material and the electromagnet of the device can be improved when used. In addition to possible heating due to magnetic hysteresis, this can lead to more or better Joule heating of the heating material and thus more or better heating of the smokable material.

The heating material may have a thickness of the surface layer, which is the outer zone and in which most of the induced electric current and/or the induced reorientation of the magnetic dipoles takes place. By ensuring that the heating material has a relatively thin thickness, a greater proportion of the heating material can be heated under a given varying magnetic field compared to a heating material with a relatively large depth or thickness compared to other heating material sizes. Thus, a more efficient use of material is achieved and, in turn, costs are reduced.

In each of the above-described embodiments of the invention, the non-smoking heat-conducting element is made of a non-magnetic electrical insulator with high thermal conductivity. Examples of such materials are diamond and pyrolytic graphite sheet (when properly oriented). However, in appropriate variations of each of these embodiments of the invention, the element may contain one or more other materials. In some embodiments of the invention, the element may be made of an electrically conductive material such as copper, carbon or aluminum.

In each of the embodiments of the invention described above, the smokable material contains tobacco. However, in appropriate modifications of each of these embodiments, the smokable material may consist of tobacco, may consist essentially of tobacco only, may contain tobacco and a smokable material that is different from tobacco, may contain a smokable material that is different from tobacco. from tobacco, or may not contain tobacco. In some embodiments, the smokable material may contain vapor or an aerosol-forming agent or humectant such as glycerin, propylene glycol, triacetin, or diethylene glycol.

In each of the embodiments described above, the smokable material is a non-liquid smokable material, and the device is configured to heat the non-liquid smokable material to vaporize at least one component of the smokable material. In other embodiments of the invention, the opposite may be true.

In each of the above described embodiments of the invention, the product 1, 2, 3,4 is a disposable product. When all or substantially all of the vaporizable component(s) of smokable material 30 in article 1, 2, 3, 4 has been exhausted, the user may remove article 1, 2, 3, 4 from device 100, 200, 300 and dispose of article 1. , 2, 3, 4. In the future, the user can reuse the device 100, 200, 300 with other products 1, 2, 3, 4. However, in other appropriate embodiments of the invention, the product may not be disposable and from the device and product can be disposed of together upon exhaustion of the volatilized component(s) of the smoking material.

In some embodiments, device 100, 200, 300 is sold, served, or otherwise provided separately from article 1, 2, 3, 4 with which device 100, 200, 300 may be used. However, in some embodiments of the invention the device 100, 200, 300 and one or more articles 1, 2, 3, 4 may be provided together as a system, for example as a kit or a complete device, possibly with additional components such as cleaning accessories.

In order to reflect various questions and advance the state of the art, this invention is shown by way of illustration and examples of various embodiments of the invention in which the claimed invention can be implemented and in which an excellent device for heating a smokable material to vaporize at least one component of the smokable material, excellent articles for use with such a device, excellent systems comprising such a device and such articles, and excellent methods for heating the smokable material to vaporize at least one component of the smokable material. The advantages and features of the present invention are contained only in the presented embodiments of the invention, but their list is not exhaustive and/or the only possible one. They are shown only to aid in the understanding and study of the claimed and otherwise described features. It is clear that the advantages, embodiments of the invention, examples, functions, features, structures and/or other aspects of the invention are not limitations of the invention as defined by the claims, or limitations of the equivalents of the claims, and that other embodiments of the invention may be used without going out. Various modifications may be made outside the scope and/or inventive spirit of the present invention. Various embodiments of the invention may contain, consist of, or essentially consist of various combinations of the described elements, components, features, parts, steps, methods, and so on. This invention may include other inventions not currently claimed but which may be claimed in the future.

Claims (113)

1. An article for use with a device for heating smoking material to vaporize at least one component of said smoking material, comprising: an object of heating material that can be heated due to the penetration of a changing magnetic field; a non-smoking heat transfer element that is in thermal contact with the heating material object and is positioned relative to the heating material object such that heating of the heating material causes the element to gradually heat up, while the non-smoking heat transfer element continues along at least along most of the length of the smoking material; And a smokable material that is in thermal contact with the element and is positioned relative to the element such that said gradual heating causes gradual heating of the smokable material. 2. The product according to claim 1, in which the element is in surface contact with the object of the heating material. 3. The article of claim. 1, in which the smokable material is in surface contact with the element. 4. The article of claim. 1, in which the object of heating material is at least partially embedded in the element. 5. An article according to claim 1 wherein the heating material object is completely embedded in the element. 6. The article of claim. 1, in which the element continues along the entire length of the smokable material. 7. The product according to claim. 1, in which the object of the heating material is located only at the first end section of the element; And in which the opposite second end section of the element does not contain a heating material that can be heated due to the penetration of a changing magnetic field. 8. The article of claim. 1, in which the heating material contains one or more materials selected from the group consisting of the following: electrically conductive material, magnetic material and magnetic electrically conductive material. 9. The product according to claim. 1, in which the heating material contains a metal or metal alloy. 10. The product of claim. 1, in which the heating material contains one or more materials selected from the group consisting of the following: aluminum, gold, iron, nickel, cobalt, electrically conductive carbon, graphite, plain carbon steel, stainless steel, ferritic stainless steel, copper and bronze. 11. An article according to claim 1, wherein the smokable material contains tobacco and/or one or more humectants. 12. The article of claim 1, wherein the first and second portions of the element have different respective heat capacities. 13. The product according to claim 12, in which the first and second sections of the element have different respective heat capacities as a result of the fact that the first and second sections have a different parameter, while the parameter is variable depending on the distance along the length of the element. 14. The article of claim. 12, in which the first and second sections of the element have different respective heat capacities as a result of the fact that the thickness of the first section of the heating material is different from the thickness of the second section of the heating material. 15. The product according to claim 1, in which the heat capacity of the element varies at least along most of the length of the heating zone. 16. The product according to claim. 1, in which the heat capacity of the element continuously increases with increasing distance along the length of the element from the free first end of the element to the second end of the element. 17. The product according to claim 1, in which the heat capacity of the element increases linearly with increasing distance along the length of the element from the free first end of the element to the second end of the element. 18. The product according to claim 1, in which the heat capacity of the element changes in steps with increasing distance along the length of the element. 19. The article of claim 1 wherein the smoking material is a non-liquid smoking material. 20. The article of claim 1 wherein the smokable material comprises tobacco and preferably further comprises a smokable material other than tobacco. 21. The article of claim. 1, in which the smoking material contains ground tobacco, cut tobacco, compressed tobacco, reconstituted tobacco, reconstituted smoking material, liquid, gel, thickened sheet, powder or granulated material. 22. The product according to claim 1, in which the heating material is in the form of a closed loop. 23. The product according to claim. 1, in which the element contains a grid. 24. The article of claim. 1, in which the smokable material is attached to the element by an attachment other than gluing. 25. The article of claim. 1, in which the smokable material is not attached to the element. 26. The article of claim. 1, in which the element is surrounded by smoking material. 27. The product according to claim 1, in which the element has a rectangular cross section. 28. The product according to claim. 1, which has opposite ends, while the heat-conducting element does not continue to any of the opposite ends of the product. 29. The article of claim. 1, in which the object of the heating material contains two opposite main surfaces connected by two secondary surfaces. 30. The product according to claim 1, in which the heat-conducting element is made of an electrically conductive material. 31. The article of claim. 1, containing a shell that contains a wrapper that is wrapped around the smokable material. 32. The article of claim 31, wherein the wrapper has free ends that are superimposed and glued to each other. 33. A device for heating a smoking material in order to vaporize at least one component of a smoking material, comprising: a magnetic field generator configured to generate a changing magnetic field; an object of heating material that can be heated due to the penetration of a changing magnetic field; a non-smoking heat-conducting element that is in thermal contact with the heating material object and is positioned relative to the heating material object such that heating of the heating material due to the penetration of the changing magnetic field causes the element to gradually heat up; And a heating zone, which is configured to locate at least a portion of the product containing smoking material, while the heating zone is in thermal contact with the element and is located relative to the element so that its gradual heating causes gradual heating of the heating zone. 34. The apparatus of claim 33 wherein the heating material object is at least partially embedded in the element. 35. The apparatus of claim 33 wherein the heating material object is completely embedded in the element. 36. The device according to p. 33, in which the object of the heating material is located only at the first end section of the element; And in which the opposite second end section of the element does not contain a heating material that can be heated due to the penetration of a changing magnetic field. 37. The device according to claim 33, in which the element protrudes into the heating zone. 38. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the element extends at least partially around the heating zone. 39. The device according to claim 33, wherein the element extends at least along the greater part of the length of the heating zone. 40. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the first and second portions of the element have different respective heat capacities. 41. The device according to claim 40, wherein the first and second sections of the element have different respective heat capacities as a result of the first and second sections having a different parameter, the parameter being variable depending on the distance along the length of the element. 42. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the first and second portions of the element have different respective heat capacities as a result of the thickness of the first portion of the heating material being different from the thickness of the second portion of the heating material. 43. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the heat capacity of the element varies at least along a major portion of the length of the heating zone. 44. The apparatus of claim 33 wherein the heat capacity of the element increases continuously as the distance along the length of the element increases from the free first end of the element to the second end of the element. 45. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the heat capacity of the element increases linearly with increasing distance along the length of the element from the free first end of the element to the second end of the element. 46. The device according to claim 33, wherein the heat capacity of the element changes in steps with increasing distance along the length of the element. 47. The device of claim 33 wherein the smokable material is a non-liquid smokable material. 48. The device of claim 33 wherein the smokable material comprises tobacco and preferably further comprises a smokable material other than tobacco. 49. The device of claim 33 wherein the smokable material comprises ground tobacco, shredded tobacco, compressed tobacco, reconstituted tobacco, reconstituted smokable material, liquid, gel, thickened sheet, powder, or granulated material. 50. The apparatus of claim 33 wherein the heating material is in the form of a closed circuit. 51. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the element comprises a mesh. 52. The device of claim 33 wherein the smokable material is attached to the element by an attachment other than adhesive. 53. The device of claim 33 wherein the smokable material is not attached to the element. 54. The device according to claim 33, in which the element is surrounded by smoking material. 55. The device according to claim 33, in which the element has a rectangular cross section. 56. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the magnetic field generator for generating an alternating magnetic field comprises a helical coil. 57. The device according to p. 40, in which the second section of the element is thicker than the first section of the element; wherein the heating material object is in surface contact with only the first portion of the element; And in which the second end section of the element does not contain a heating material that can be heated due to the penetration of a changing magnetic field. 58. A system for heating a smoking material in order to vaporize at least one component of a smoking material, comprising: a product that contains smoking material; And device containing: a magnetic field generator configured to generate a changing magnetic field, an object of heating material that can be heated by the penetration of a changing magnetic field, a heat-conducting element that is not intended for smoking and that is in thermal contact with the object of heating material and is located relative to the object of heating material so that heating of the heating material due to the penetration of a changing magnetic field causes gradual heating of the element, and a heating zone, which is configured to locate at least a portion of the product, while the heating zone is in thermal contact with the element and is located relative to the element so that its gradual heating causes gradual heating of the heating zone. 59. The system of claim 58, wherein the first and second portions of the element have different respective heat capacities. 60. The system of claim 59, wherein the first and second portions of the element have different respective heat capacities as a result of the first and second portions having a different parameter, the parameter being variable with distance along the length of the element. 61. The system of claim 59, wherein the first and second portions of the element have different respective heat capacities as a result of the thickness of the first portion of the heating material being different from the thickness of the second portion of the heating material. 62. The system of claim. 58, wherein the heat capacity of the element varies at least along most of the length of the heating zone. 63. The system of claim 58, wherein the heat capacity of the element increases continuously as the distance along the length of the element increases from the free first end of the element to the second end of the element. 64. The system of claim 58, wherein the heat capacity of the element increases linearly with increasing distance along the length of the element from the free first end of the element to the second end of the element. 65. The system of claim 58, wherein the heat capacity of the element changes in steps as the distance along the length of the element increases. 66. The system of claim 58 wherein the smokable material is a non-liquid smokable material. 67. The system of claim 58 wherein the smokable material comprises tobacco and preferably further comprises a smokable material other than tobacco. 68. The system of claim 58 wherein the smokable material comprises ground tobacco, shredded tobacco, compressed tobacco, reconstituted tobacco, reconstituted smokable material, liquid, gel, thickened sheet, powder, or granulated material. 69. The system of claim 58 wherein the heating material is in the form of a closed loop. 70. The system of claim 58, wherein the element comprises a grid. 71. The system of claim 58 wherein the smokable material is attached to the element by an attachment other than adhesive. 72. The system of claim 58 wherein the smokable material is not attached to the element. 73. The system of claim 58 wherein the element is surrounded by smoking material. 74. The system of claim 58, wherein the element has a rectangular cross section. 75. The system of claim 58, wherein the magnetic field generator for generating an alternating magnetic field comprises a helical coil. 76. A method for heating a smoking material to vaporize at least one component of the smoking material, which includes the following steps: providing an object of heating material that can be heated due to the penetration of the changing magnetic field; providing a heat-conducting element that is not intended for smoking and that is in thermal contact with the object of heating material and is located relative to the object of heating material so that heating of the heating material due to the penetration of a changing magnetic field causes gradual heating of the element, while the heat-conducting element, which not intended for smoking, extends at least along most of the length of the smokable material; providing a smokable material that is in thermal contact with the element; And penetrating the heating material of the changing magnetic field to cause the element to gradually heat up, thereby causing the smoking material to gradually heat up. 77. The method of claim 76 wherein the first and second portions of the element have different respective heat capacities. 78. The method of claim 77 wherein the first and second portions of the element have different respective heat capacities as a result of the first and second portions having a different parameter, the parameter being variable with distance along the length of the element. 79. The method of claim 77, wherein the first and second portions of the element have different respective heat capacities as a result of the thickness of the first portion of the heating material being different from the thickness of the second portion of the heating material. 80. The method of claim 76, wherein the heat capacity of the element varies at least along a major portion of the length of the heating zone. 81. The method of claim 76, wherein the heat capacity of the element increases continuously as the distance along the length of the element increases from the free first end of the element to the second end of the element. 82. The method of claim 76, wherein the heat capacity of the element increases linearly with increasing distance along the length of the element from the free first end of the element to the second end of the element. 83. The method of claim 76 wherein the heat capacity of the element changes in steps as the distance along the length of the element increases. 84. The method of claim 76 wherein the smokable material is a non-liquid smokable material. 85. The method of claim 76 wherein the smokable material comprises tobacco and preferably further comprises a smokable material other than tobacco. 86. The method of claim 76, wherein the smokable material comprises ground tobacco, shredded tobacco, pressed tobacco, reconstituted tobacco, reconstituted smokable material, liquid, gel, thickened sheet, powder, or granulated material. 87. The method of claim 76 wherein the heating material is in the form of a closed loop. 88. The method of claim 76, wherein the element comprises a grid. 89. The method of claim 76, wherein the smokable material is attached to the element by attachment other than adhesive. 90. The method of claim 76 wherein the smokable material is not attached to the element. 91. The method of claim 76 wherein the element is surrounded by smokable material. 92. The method of claim 76 wherein the element has a rectangular cross section.

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