Aerosol Generating Article and Aerosol Generating System Including the Same

This application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0046265, filed on Apr. 4, 2024, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Embodiments relate to an aerosol generating article capable of increasing the amount of volatile flavorings delivered to a user and an aerosol generating system including the same.

Recently, there has been an increasing demand for an alternative method of overcoming disadvantages of general cigarettes. For example, there has been an increasing demand for a system that generates an aerosol by heating a cigarette (or “an aerosol-generating article”) by using an aerosol-generating device, other than a method of generating an aerosol by burning the cigarette.

Aerosol generating articles may include flavorings that provide a taste of a flavor to users. Such flavorings may be included in aerosols that pass through aerosol generating articles and are delivered to the users.

Embodiments of the disclosure provide an aerosol generating article capable of increasing the amount of volatile flavorings delivered to a user and an aerosol generating system including the same.

In addition, embodiments of the disclosure provide an aerosol generating article capable of reducing the possibility of leakage of volatile flavorings and an aerosol generating system including the same.

The technical problems of the present disclosure are not limited to the aforementioned description, and other technical problems may be clearly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art from the present specification and the attached drawings.

Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the presented embodiments of the disclosure.

According to an embodiment, an aerosol generating article includes a tobacco rod including an aerosol generating material, a cooling rod located downstream of the tobacco rod and including a hollow, and a filter rod including a volatile flavoring. The filter rod includes a first filter portion connected upstream of the tobacco rod and a second filter portion disposed between the tobacco rod and the cooling rod. A first content of the volatile flavoring included in the first filter portion is greater than a second content of the volatile flavoring included in the second filter portion.

According to an embodiment, an aerosol generating system includes an aerosol generating article according to an embodiment, a cartridge including an accommodation portion configured to accommodate the aerosol generating article, a chamber configured to communicate with the accommodation portion, a storage storing an aerosol generating material and connected to the chamber, and a heating portion disposed in the chamber and configured to receive and heat the aerosol generating material, and an aerosol generating device main body including a battery configured to supply power to the heating portion of the cartridge, and a control unit configured to control the power supplied from the battery to the heating portion, and to which the cartridge is separably coupled.

Regarding the terms in the various embodiments, the general terms which are currently and widely used are selected in consideration of functions of structural elements in the various embodiments of the present disclosure. However, meanings of the terms can be changed according to intention, a judicial precedence, the appearance of a new technology, and the like. In addition, in certain cases, terms which can be arbitrarily selected by the applicant in particular cases. In such a case, the meaning of the terms will be described in detail at the corresponding portion in the description of the present disclosure. Therefore, the terms used in the various embodiments of the present disclosure should be defined based on the meanings of the terms and the descriptions provided herein.

In addition, unless explicitly described to the contrary, the word “comprise” and variations such as “comprises” or “comprising” will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion of any other elements. In addition, the terms “-er”, “-or”, and “module” described in the specification mean units for processing at least one function and operation and can be implemented by hardware components or software components and combinations thereof.

As used herein, when an expression such as “at least any one” precedes arranged elements, it modifies all elements rather than each arranged element. For example, the expression “at least any one of a, b, and c” should be construed to include a, b, c, or a and b, a and c, b and c, or a, b, and c.

In an embodiment, an aerosol generating device may be a device that generates aerosols by electrically heating a cigarette accommodated in an interior space thereof.

The aerosol generating device may include a heater. In an embodiment, the heater may be an electro-resistive heater. For example, the heater may include an electrically conductive track, and the heater may be heated when currents flow through the electrically conductive track.

The heater may include a tube-shaped heating element, a plate-shaped heating element, a needle-shaped heating element, or a rod-shaped heating element, and may heat the inside or outside of a cigarette according to the shape of a heating element.

A cigarette may include a tobacco rod and a filter rod. The tobacco rod may be formed of sheets, strands, and tiny bits cut from a tobacco sheet. Also, the tobacco rod may be surrounded by a heat conductive material. For example, the heat conductive material may be, but is not limited to, a metal foil such as aluminum foil.

The filter rod may include a cellulose acetate filter. The filter rod may include at least one segment. For example, the filter rod may include a first segment configured to cool aerosols, and a second segment configured to filter a certain component in aerosols.

In another embodiment, the aerosol generating device may be a device that generates aerosols by using a cartridge containing an aerosol generating material.

The aerosol generating device may include a cartridge that contains an aerosol generating material, and a main body that supports the cartridge. The cartridge may be detachably coupled to the main body, but is not limited thereto. The cartridge may be integrally formed or assembled with the main body, and may also be fixed to the main body so as not to be detached from the main body by a user. The cartridge may be mounted on the main body while accommodating an aerosol generating material therein. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. An aerosol generating material may also be injected into the cartridge while the cartridge is coupled to the main body.

The cartridge may contain an aerosol generating material in any one of various states, such as a liquid state, a solid state, a gaseous state, a gel state, or the like. The aerosol generating material may include a liquid composition. For example, the liquid composition may be a liquid including a tobacco-containing material having a volatile tobacco flavor component, or a liquid including a non-tobacco material.

The cartridge may be operated by an electrical signal or a wireless signal transmitted from the main body to perform a function of generating aerosols by converting the phase of an aerosol generating material inside the cartridge into a gaseous phase. The aerosols may refer to a gas in which vaporized particles generated from an aerosol generating material are mixed with air.

In another embodiment, the aerosol generating device may generate aerosols by heating a liquid composition, and generated aerosols may be delivered to a user through a cigarette. That is, the aerosols generated from the liquid composition may move along an airflow passage of the aerosol generating device, and the airflow passage may be configured to allow aerosols to be delivered to a user by passing through a cigarette.

In another embodiment, the aerosol generating device may be a device that generates aerosols from an aerosol generating material by using an ultrasonic vibration method. At this time, the ultrasonic vibration method may mean a method of generating aerosols by converting an aerosol generating material into aerosols with ultrasonic vibration generated by a vibrator.

The aerosol generating device may include a vibrator, and generate a short-period vibration through the vibrator to convert an aerosol generating material into aerosols. The vibration generated by the vibrator may be ultrasonic vibration, and the frequency band of the ultrasonic vibration may be in a frequency band of about 100 kHz to about 3.5 MHZ, but is not limited thereto.

The aerosol generating device may further include a wick that absorbs an aerosol generating material. For example, the wick may be arranged to surround at least one area of the vibrator, or may be arranged to contact at least one area of the vibrator.

As a voltage (for example, an alternating voltage) is applied to the vibrator, heat and/or ultrasonic vibrations may be generated from the vibrator, and the heat and/or ultrasonic vibrations generated from the vibrator may be transmitted to the aerosol generating material absorbed in the wick. The aerosol generating material absorbed in the wick may be converted into a gaseous phase by heat and/or ultrasonic vibrations transmitted from the vibrator, and as a result, aerosols may be generated.

For example, the viscosity of the aerosol generating material absorbed in the wick may be lowered by the heat generated by the vibrator, and as the aerosol generating material having a lowered viscosity is granulated by the ultrasonic vibrations generated from the vibrator, aerosols may be generated, but is not limited thereto.

In another embodiment, the aerosol generating device is a device that generates aerosols by heating an aerosol generating article accommodated in the aerosol generating device in an induction heating method.

The aerosol generating device may include a susceptor and a coil. In an embodiment, the coil may apply a magnetic field to the susceptor. As power is supplied to the coil from the aerosol generating device, a magnetic field may be formed inside the coil. In an embodiment, the suspector may be a magnetic body that generates heat by an external magnetic field. As the suspector is positioned inside the coil and a magnetic field is applied to the suspector, the suspector generates heat to heat an aerosol generating article. In addition, optionally, the suspector may be positioned within the aerosol generating article.

In another embodiment, the aerosol generating device may further include a cradle.

The aerosol generating device may configure a system together with a separate cradle. For example, the cradle may charge a battery of the aerosol generating device. Alternatively, the heater may be heated when the cradle and the aerosol generating device are coupled to each other.

Hereinafter, the present disclosure will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are shown such that one of ordinary skill in the art may easily work the present disclosure. The present disclosure may be implemented in a form that can be implemented in the aerosol generating devices of the various embodiments described above or may be implemented in various different forms, and is not limited to the embodiments described herein.

is a perspective view of an aerosol generating article according to an embodiment.

Referring to, an aerosol generating articlemay include a tobacco rod, a filter rod, and a cooling rod. The filter rodmay include a first filter portion, a second filter portion, and a third filter portion.

The tobacco rod, the filter rod, and the cooling rodmay be disposed in a longitudinal direction of the aerosol generating article. Specifically, the first filter portion, the tobacco rod, the second filter portion, the cooling rod, and the third filter portionmay be sequentially disposed in the longitudinal direction of the aerosol generating article.

The tobacco rodmay include an aerosol generating material. The tobacco rodmay include an aerosol generating material including nicotine. In addition, the tobacco rodmay include a tobacco material. The tobacco material may be in the form of a tobacco strand, a tobacco particle, a tobacco sheet, a tobacco bead, a tobacco granule, tobacco powder, or tobacco extract, but is not limited thereto.

In an embodiment, the tobacco rodmay include a plurality of tobacco granules. The tobacco granule may be a particle having a diameter of about 100 μm to about 2,000 μm. The tobacco granule may be prepared by extruding a mixture of tobacco leaf powder, a pH adjuster, and a solvent.

The pH adjuster may convert nicotine salt present in the tobacco rodin a salt state into freebase nicotine by alkalizing the tobacco rod.

The freebase nicotine may mean neutral nicotine that has not been protonated. For example, when a strong base, such as ammonia, is added to positively charged nicotine salt, the strong base is converted into a cation, and the nicotine salt may become freebase nicotine, which is in a neutral state.

In nature, nicotine exists as nicotine salt such as nicotine malate and nicotine citrate, and because the nicotine salt has a relatively high boiling point, the nicotine salt needs to be heated to a temperature of at least 120° C. or higher to generate nicotine vapor.

On the other hand, the freebase nicotine has a relatively low boiling point and high volatility compared to the nicotine salt. Therefore, when the content of freebase nicotine in a tobacco medium is high, the freebase nicotine may generate nicotine vapor under heating conditions at a relatively low temperature.

Therefore, as hot aerosol vapor generated in an aerosol generating device described below passes through the tobacco rod, nicotine vapor may be generated in the tobacco rodincluding the freebase nicotine converted from nicotine.

According to an embodiment, the tobacco rodmay include an empty space(hollow) to include a plurality of tobacco granules. Accordingly, because the volatile flavoring included in the first filter portionmay easily pass through the tobacco rodincluding the empty space, a large amount of flavorings may be delivered to the user. In the disclosure, the empty spaceis a space formed inside the tobacco rodand may be referred to as a granular cavity.

The tobacco rodmay be manufactured in various ways. As an embodiment, the tobacco rodmay be manufactured in a form including a tubular structure such as a paper tube. However, the scope of the disclosure is not limited thereto, and the tobacco rodmay be manufactured in any way as long as the tobacco rodmay be filled with tobacco granules.

The tobacco rodmay be extended to have a length of 12 mm or more and 16 mm or less in a longitudinal direction. However, the length of the tobacco rodis not limited thereto, and the length of the tobacco rodmay be appropriately adjusted within a range that may be easily changed by one of ordinary skill in the art.

The first filter portionis a filter segment connected to the tobacco rodand may be located upstream of the tobacco rod. The first filter portionmay perform a function of preventing the tobacco granules from being separated from the tobacco rod. In addition, when the aerosol generating articleis inserted into the aerosol generating device, the first filter portionmay allow the tobacco rodto be disposed in an appropriate position in the aerosol generating device. In addition, the first filter portionmay prevent the tobacco rodfrom escaping to the outside, and may prevent a liquefied aerosol from the tobacco rodfrom flowing into the aerosol generating device during smoking.

In the disclosure, “upstream” may be a direction from the cooling rodtoward the tobacco rod, and “downstream” may be a direction from the tobacco rodtoward the cooling rod.

The first filter portionmay be manufactured to generate flavor. In an embodiment, a volatile flavoring may be included in the first filter portion, and a separate fiber including the volatile flavoring may be inserted into the first filter portion. Accordingly, when the user inhales an aerosol, the volatile flavoring included in the first filter portionmay pass through the tobacco rod, the second filter portion, the cooling rod, and the third filter portionto be delivered to the user.

In an embodiment, the volatile flavoring may include at least one of menthol, peppermint, spearmint oil, or a moisturizer, but is not limited thereto.