JP2023516038A - Aerosol-generating consumable article comprising tobacco-containing strands - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is an aerosol-generating consumable article (100) comprising at least tobacco-containing strands (10), wherein the strands (10) are formed from a foamed tobacco-containing material such as tobacco mousse. Regarding. The present invention is a method of making an aerosol-generating consumable (100) comprising the steps of (a) forming at least one continuous strand (10) from an expanded tobacco-containing material, such as tobacco mousse; 10), preferably on one or more spools. [Selection drawing] Fig. 1

Description

The present invention relates to the field of tobacco, in particular tobacco-containing foamy or mousse-like aerosol-generating materials. Aerosol-generating consumables are particularly provided for oven-type or heated vaping devices.

Aerosol-generating consumables or articles in which the aerosol-forming material is heated rather than combusted, typically comprising tobacco-containing material generally formed from laminated sheets of reconstituted tobacco that are rolled together in a stick shape or gathered in loose alignment. , are already known in the art. These aerosol-generating articles, such as systems sold under the tradenames Glo or IQOS, use heaters to heat the aerosol-generating material above 300 degrees Celsius to produce a nicotine-containing aerosol.

US Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0273620 relates to methods and apparatus for preparing rods for use in making smoking articles. A smoking article may include a rod having a first end, a second end and a solid support. Examples of solid supports include threads, tapes, etc., which may be coated or impregnated with flavoring agents, particularly menthol, when the smoking article is a cigarette. Solid supports can be coated with additives.

While existing aerosol-generating consumable articles are becoming more popular, consumers also recognize that they do not provide a taste and sensory experience comparable to traditional smoking articles such as cigarettes or cigars. there is In particular, consumers feel that currently available products do not taste like real tobacco.

Additionally, these existing aerosol-generating consumable articles have been found to be inferior in terms of their vaporization performance due to their current texture, morphology and/or shape. For these reasons, most of the aerosol-generating material was not properly heated and vaporized.

Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide consumers with aerosol-generating consumables and materials that have a more pleasant taste experience, heat more efficiently, thereby leaving less waste, and have better vaporization performance. .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The inventors of the present invention have found a solution to the problems discussed above with a novel and inventive aerosol-generating consumable article as defined in the claims.

A first aspect of the present invention is therefore to provide an aerosol-generating consumable article comprising at least tobacco-containing strands, wherein the strands are formed from a foamed tobacco-containing material, such as tobacco mousse. be.

A second aspect of the present invention is a method of making an aerosol-generating consumable article comprising:
- forming at least one continuous strand from an expanded tobacco-containing material, such as tobacco mousse;
- To provide a method comprising the step of conditioning the foam strands into preferably one or more spools.

The present invention allows for more uniform and easier heating of the strands of foam tobacco-containing material because more surface area of the article is in direct contact with air due to the foam tobacco-containing material in the form of strands, thereby Aerosol-generating consumable articles have been found to be superior in their vaporization performance due to the fact that the article can be heated more efficiently for vapor/aerosol release. Furthermore, the foam-tobacco-containing material in the form of strands is also particularly suitable to be provided in secondary structures such as three-dimensional objects (eg, mats, cubes, rolled sheets, etc.).

In one embodiment, at least one strand has an inner core carrier element coated with a foam containing tobacco material. This embodiment allows the foam tobacco-containing material to be provided in a continuous thread, eg, it can be wound as a spool for easy storage and further handling. The foam-tobacco-containing material may completely or partially coat the inner core carrier.

In another embodiment, the inner core carrier element is made from materials that are inert, heat resistant, flexible and/or elastic. This is important to avoid burning or overheating the foam containing material. Materials that are inert or heat resistant are important in controlling foam tobacco-containing materials that are heated under the desired temperature range.

To this end, it is disclosed that the carrier element can be solid, hollow, or made from a fiber-based material such as a rope structure. A carrier element such as a rope-like structure has the advantage that the foamed tobacco-containing material can adhere more easily to the carrier element.

According to a further embodiment, at least one strand has an average diameter of less than 2 mm, preferably less than 1 mm. An average strand diameter of less than 2 mm allows the foamed aerosol-generating substrate to heat at an ideal pace under normal vaping speeds, thereby maximizing its vaporization performance.

In a further embodiment, the tobacco material within the strand has a thickness of foamed tobacco-containing material of 0.05 mm to 1.5 mm, preferably 0.08 mm to 1 mm or 0.5 mm to 0.8 mm. This thickness is sufficient to give practical tobacco vaporization performance, thereby avoiding wastage of foam tobacco-containing material.

According to one preferred embodiment, at least one strand has a cross-sectional profile that is circular, square, polygonal, oval or irregular. Circular cross-sectional profiles are easier to manufacture, whereas non-circular (square, polygonal) may be more advantageous as the larger surface area facilitates evaporation of the foam containing material upon heating.

In yet another embodiment, an aerosol-generating consumable article according to the present invention comprises a plurality of tobacco-containing strands arranged in the form of a sheet or mat. These three-dimensional structures of articles are particularly suitable to be made from the present invention starting from a single strand or multiple strands.

In one embodiment, the sheet or mat is formed from a woven or non-woven arrangement of strands.

In another embodiment, the aerosol-generating consumable comprises a portion of said sheet or mat cut or cut therefrom.

In one embodiment, the method comprises:
- providing a carrier element before or during the foaming step;
- foaming the at least one strand by at least partially or completely coating the carrier element with a foamed tobacco-containing material;

In a further embodiment, the method comprises:
• further comprising drying the foamed tobacco-containing material of the strands;

In particularly preferred embodiments, the foam tobacco-containing material is applied to the inner core carrier element by bathing, spraying, coating, painting, dipping, extrusion.

According to yet another embodiment, the invention includes forming a sheet or mat from the conditioned strands, the sheet or mat preferably being a woven or non-woven fabric of a plurality of strand segments cut from a continuous strand. Formed from a woven arrangement.

In one preferred embodiment, it includes dividing the sheet or mat to form individual aerosol-generating consumable article portions.

"About" or "approximately" with respect to a given numerical value is meant to include numerical values within 10% of the specified value. All values given in this disclosure should be understood to be supplemented by the term "about" unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

The indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality and should therefore be treated broadly.

Unless defined otherwise, technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs.

Any reference to a "cross-sectional profile" of a component of an aerosol-generating consumable article or aerosol-generating article, unless otherwise specified, refers to a transverse cross-section.

A "tobacco-containing material" is any compound that contains and/or carries tobacco constituents, such as tobacco, tobacco particles, tobacco flavor and/or nicotine, either artificially contained or contained naturally in tobacco. , mixtures, particulate matter and/or solutions. In contrast, an example for an artificially added non-tobacco specific flavor would be menthol.

As used herein, the term "heated aerosol-generating article" refers to an aerosol-generating material that is intended to be heated, rather than combusted, to release volatile compounds capable of forming an aerosol. Refers to an aerosol-generating article for generating an aerosol containing. The consumable item can be heated in an oven-type or internally-heated vaping device.

As used herein, the term "aerosol-generating material" refers to materials that can release volatile compounds that can form an aerosol when heated. Aerosols generated from the aerosol-generating materials of the aerosol-generating articles described herein can be visible or invisible and include vapors (e.g., fine particles of substances in a gaseous state that are normally liquids or solids at room temperature) as well as gases and condensed particles. It may contain vapor droplets.

The aerosol-forming agent can be any compound, mixture and/or solution capable of forming an aerosol, eg, when heated, mixed, aerated and/or in admixture with the tobacco component-containing agent. Well-known examples include humectants such as glycerin and propylene glycol, other alcohols such as ethanol, and the like.

As used herein, weight percents should be understood to be weight percents based on, for example, the total weight of the foam or material, unless otherwise specified. In this disclosure, all amounts are given in weight percent unless otherwise explicitly stated or clear from context. Further in this disclosure, all amounts given in weight percent in a particular foam add up to 100 weight percent. Thus, weight percents are calculated by dividing the weight of each component by the total weight of the foam, unless otherwise indicated or clear from context.

As used herein, the term "foam" is used interchangeably with the term "mousse." The foams of the present invention are open cell foams according to certain embodiments. Open-pore foam, as used herein, is a plurality of interconnected pores (such as foam stabilizers, tobacco particles, etc.) that can contain a mixture of fluids, particularly humectants/liquid aerosol-forming substrates, and air. formed from a solid component and a structural material derived from a foam-forming agent associated with interacting components such as some solvents, etc.) Here, at least a significant portion (e.g., greater than 50% by volume) of the pores in the foam are fluidly connected to each other, in contrast to closed-cell foams, and the majority of the pores are fluid-permeable. Separate pockets are formed, each completely surrounded by pore-forming material so as to substantially prevent free passage between the pores. The foams, particularly mousses, formed as described herein, after heating the foams, particularly mousses to release steam, migrate through adjacent pores to allow the humectant to migrate through adjacent pores to It appears that substantially all of the humectant has been released based on weighing the foam, especially the mousse portion, before and after heating, which cannot be readily explained as to whether it failed to reach the surface of the portion. It is currently believed to be mostly open pore foams, especially mousses, because they appear to be However, alternative explanations cannot be completely ruled out - for example, the closed cell could possibly be opened by rupturing the closed cell wall as a result of vaporized gas pressure or the like. For example, according to the definition of the present invention, the term "foam" cannot be equated with terms such as gel, cream or slurry.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a method of making an aerosol-generating consumable in a three-dimensional object according to one embodiment of the invention; 1 shows a schematic diagram of an example of an aerosol-generating consumable in the form of a rolled mat. FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an example of an aerosol-generating consumable in the form of a cube; FIG.

The aerosol-generating consumables of the present invention comprise at least one or more tobacco-containing strands, where the strands are formed from foamed tobacco-containing material, such as tobacco mousse. Traditional aerosol-generating non-combustible heated consumables (e.g., aerosol-generating reconstituted tobacco materials) have limited vaporization performance because most consumable products are not properly heated to release vapor and/or aerosols. It has been found to be low, thereby resulting in waste of consumables.

At least one strand consumable article according to the present invention comprises foamed tobacco-containing material, such as tobacco mousse. Aerosol-generating consumables can be made by extruding tobacco mousse through an extruder such that a strand (or thread) is created. The strands can be, for example, thin single strands having an average diameter of 0.1 mm to 1.0 mm. It is also envisioned that the foam-tobacco-containing material may be provided in a mud-like form (although foamy nonetheless) that can be shaped accordingly. The foamed tobacco (or tobacco mousse) of the present invention may contain, for example, propylene glycol, glycerin, tobacco and optionally water, flavoring agents, binders, additives, synergists and humectants. It may further include, for example, aerosol-generating agents, foam blowing agents and foam stabilizers.

According to a preferred embodiment, the inner core element (e.g. in the form of strands) can be first provided and subsequently dip coated with a layer of tobacco mousse at least completely or partially on the surface of the inner core element. . In this regard, the tobacco mousse material may be provided in fluid form. For example, the carrier element (or inner core element) is passed through a pool of tobacco mousse such that the inner core element is completely or at least partially coated with tobacco mousse. The layer of tobacco mousse can then be air dried or dried in an oven, thus forming the aerosol-generating consumable article of the present invention in the form of longitudinal strands.

Apart from dipping (or dip coating) the carrier element into a pool of tobacco mousse, the tobacco mousse can be sprayed or painted such that a coating of tobacco mousse is applied to the carrier element. This method has the advantage of creating a partially coated strand of foam tobacco-containing material, thereby further reducing the amount of foam tobacco-containing material required. The strand can then be wound as a spool for further use. As such, consumable articles comprised of at least one continuous strand (or multiple strands) comprising foamed tobacco-containing material, such as tobacco mousse, are thereby manufactured.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a manufacturing process for an aerosol-generating consumable article 100 according to the present invention. A strand of foam tobacco-containing material can first be passed through a device having a feed nozzle, such as a 3D printer. Many applications can thereby be made with a 3D printer. Shown in FIG. 1 is a mat (or sheet) made from strands according to the invention. The aerosol-generating consumable article 100 can be made with one continuous strand or multiple strands.

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the consumable article 100 of the present invention, wherein strands of foamed tobacco-containing material according to the present invention are first deformed into a mat and the mat is then rolled into a cylindrical structure of the consumable article. be killed. In a further embodiment, the aerosol-generating consumable article 100 of the present invention can be transformed into a cubic configuration, as shown in FIG.

To this end, it is disclosed that the continuous strands of foamed tobacco-containing material according to the invention can have a range of cross-sectional profiles. A circular cross-sectional profile is chosen because it can be easily manufactured. Nevertheless, other shaped cross-sections may be more advantageous. In particular, more complex (more protruding) strand cross-sectional shapes provide more surface area (relative to volume). This has the advantage that more surface area of the tobacco mousse is in contact with the heat so that evaporation for the release of the aerosol is more efficient. In other words, the cross-sectional profile of the strands can be square, polygonal, oval, rectangular or irregular.

In this regard, it is disclosed herein that, depending on the particular type of mousse/foam, strands that may be made by extrusion are flexible to be wound as spools for further processing. be. Of course, other stranding methods can also be used.

FIG. 4 shows a consumable article in the form of a mat made with at least one strand coated with foam tobacco-containing material. Due to the flexibility of the strands according to the invention, the mat can be rolled into a cylinder as shown in FIG. The rolled sheet or mat can be cut into pieces (perpendicular to the longitudinal axis) and then packaged before being used as consumables. Other forms of articles, such as rectangular parallelepipeds or articles of arbitrary shape, are of course within the scope of the present invention.

In this connection, it is disclosed that the thickness of the strands is preferably in the range of about 0.08mm to 2.0mm, preferably about 0.1mm to 1.0mm. If an inner core element is used, the thickness of the foam containing material applied to the surface of the inner core element is preferably less than about 0.2 mm or within the range of about 0.01 mm to 0.2 mm or preferably about Less than 0.1 mm or within the range of about 0.03 mm to 0.1 mm. The thickness of the coating (foamed tobacco mousse) can be adjusted according to a normal vaping session, thereby not wasting any expensive tobacco material.

To this end, the present invention is a foamed tobacco-containing material, such as tobacco mousse, provided in the form of strands, the strands being particularly suitable for being wound as spools for easy handling or storage. repeat. In other words, the foam tobacco-containing material according to the present invention comprises a specific consistency and texture such that the foam tobacco-containing material provided in a filamentous structure is not easily broken. In some embodiments, the strands of foamed tobacco-containing material of the present invention are configured to be elastomeric so that the strands can be wound into spools. In these examples, for example, 20% by weight of the total dry weight of the aerosol-generating consumable article may be composed of tobacco material, such as reconstituted tobacco. Alternatively, heating the strands before and/or during formation of the consumable may make the strands more flexible and/or elastic, thereby improving handling of fine strands.

As disclosed above, consumables according to the present invention can be made by an apparatus having a 2D or 3D movable feed nozzle (or miniature extruder) that is moved by a program-assisted computer. In other words, the consumable article can consist of a single layer or multiple layers. Additionally, the feed nozzle can be heated to soften the mousse material to allow better flow and bending of the strands.

A consumable article made from at least one or more strands of tobacco mousse facilitates evaporation of the foam or mousse material because this construction of the consumable allows for good airflow through the consumable. It is reiterated herein that it allows for a good vaping experience while reducing tobacco mousse virgin residue.

Consumable articles according to the present invention are suitable for use not only in heated non-combustion vaping devices, but also in oven-style vaping devices (eg, similar to shisha devices). Generally, the consumable is used in any type of suitable vaping device comprising means for heating the consumable and providing an airflow around the consumable so that the resulting vapor can be provided to the user. be able to. Heating can be provided by a stream of heated air or liquid.

Claims (15)

An aerosol-generating consumable article (100) comprising at least tobacco-containing strands (10), wherein said strands (10) are formed from a foamed tobacco-containing material such as tobacco mousse. 2. The aerosol-generating consumable article (100) of claim 1, wherein said at least one strand (10) has an inner core carrier element coated with said tobacco-containing material. 3. An aerosol-generating consumable article (100) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the inner core carrier element is made from a material that is inert, heat resistant, flexible and/or elastic. The aerosol-generating consumable article (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said at least one strand (10) has an average diameter of less than 2 mm, preferably less than 1 mm. 1-, wherein the tobacco material in said strands (10) has a thickness of said foam tobacco-containing material of 0.05mm to 1.5mm, preferably 0.08mm to 1mm or 0.5mm to 0.8mm 5. The aerosol-generating consumable article (100) according to any one of clauses 4-4. The aerosol-generating consumable article (100) of any preceding claim, wherein said at least one strand (10) has a cross-sectional profile that is circular, square, polygonal, oval or irregular. The aerosol-generating consumable article (100) of any one of claims 1-6, comprising a plurality of tobacco-containing strands (10) arranged in the form of a sheet or mat. 8. The aerosol-generating consumable article (100) of claim 7, wherein said sheet or mat is formed from a woven or non-woven arrangement of strands (10). 9. The aerosol-generating consumable article (100) of claim 7 or 8, comprising a portion of said sheet or mat cut or excised therefrom. A method of manufacturing an aerosol-generating consumable (100) comprising:
- forming at least one continuous strand (10) from an expanded tobacco-containing material such as tobacco mousse;
- A method comprising the step of conditioning said foam strand (10) preferably into one or more spools. - providing a carrier element before or during the foaming step;
- foaming said at least one strand (10) by at least partially or completely coating said carrier element with said foamed tobacco-containing material. the method of. - A method according to claim 10 or 11, further comprising the step of drying said foam tobacco-containing material of said strand (10). A method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein the foam containing material is applied to the inner core carrier element by bathing, spraying, coating, painting, dipping, extrusion. forming a sheet or mat from said conditioned strands (10), said sheet or mat preferably from a woven or non-woven arrangement of a plurality of strand segments cut from said continuous strands (10). A method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, formed. 15. The method of claim 14, further comprising dividing the sheet or mat to form individual aerosol-generating consumable article portions.

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