Aerosol Generating Articles and Aerosol Generating Systems

This application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0047466, filed on Apr. 8, 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 and an aerosol generating system configured to prevent reuse of the aerosol generating article.

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

Research and development on methods of generating aerosols by heating aerosol generating materials in various phases have been actively conducted, and more particularly, methods of generating aerosols by only directly heating an aerosol generating material in a liquid phase and then using the generated aerosol for low-temperature heating or non-heating aerosol generation.

Sometimes, when a user does not experience a sufficient sense of smoking even after smoking an aerosol generating article through a heating method, the user attempts to reheat and reuse the aerosol generating article that has been already used, but the user may be not provided with high-quality aerosol.

The embodiments provide an aerosol generating article and an aerosol generating system, in which a wrapper may discolor when the use of the aerosol generating article is finished, to thereby provide the user with a sufficient sense of smoking and high-quality aerosol.

The problems to be solved through the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the problems described above, and problems not mentioned can be clearly understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the embodiments belong from this 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 may include a front-end portion, through which aerosol generated from a cartridge flows into the aerosol generating article, a medium portion positioned downstream of the front-end portion and including the aerosol generating material, a filter positioned downstream of the medium portion, a first wrapper surrounding the front-end portion, the medium portion, and the filter, a second wrapper surrounding the first wrapper, and a reactive material positioned between the first wrapper and the second wrapper, wherein, in a process in which the aerosol is liquefied as the aerosol passes through the aerosol generating article, the reactive material chemically reacts with liquefied aerosol and ignites.

According to another embodiment, an aerosol generating system may include an aerosol generating device including an aerosol generating article and an article accommodation portion for accommodating the aerosol generating article, wherein the aerosol generating article includes a front-end portion, a medium portion positioned downstream of the front-end portion and including a first aerosol generating material, a filter positioned downstream of the medium portion, a first wrapper surrounding the front-end portion, the medium portion, and the filter, and a reactive material positioned between the first wrapper and the second wrapper, wherein, in a process in which the aerosol is liquefied as the aerosol passes through the aerosol generating article, the reactive material chemically reacts with the liquefied aerosol and ignites, wherein the aerosol generating device includes a main body including a cartridge accommodation portion and a cartridge accommodated in the cartridge accommodation portion, wherein the cartridge includes a storage tank configured to store a second aerosol generating material in a liquid state and an atomizer configured to generate aerosol by heating the second aerosol generating material, and the aerosol generated from the second aerosol generating material may pass through the aerosol generating article and then be discharged to outside of the aerosol generating device.

The terms used in the examples are selected from commonly used terms as much as possible while considering the functions in the present examples, but these may vary depending on the intention of engineers working in the field, precedents, the emergence of new technologies, etc. Additionally, in certain cases, there are terms arbitrarily selected by the applicant, and in such cases, their meanings will be described in detail in the description of the relevant invention. Therefore, the terms used in this disclosure should be defined based on the meaning of the terms and the overall content of the present invention, rather than simply the names of the terms.

When a part of the specification is said to “include” a component, this does not mean that it excludes other components, but rather that it may include other components, unless otherwise specifically stated. In addition, terms such as “-part” and “-module” described in the specification mean a unit that processes at least one function or operation, which may be implemented as hardware or software, or as a combination of hardware and software.

As used herein, when an expression such as “at least one” is preceded by an array of elements, it modifies the entire array of elements, not just each element individually. For example, the expression “at least one of a, b, and c” should be interpreted to include a, b, c, or a and b, a and c, b and c, or a and b and c.

Terms including ordinal numbers, such as first, second, etc., may be used to describe various components, but the components are not limited by the terms. The above terms are used solely to distinguish one component from another.

Throughout the specification, “tobacco materials” may indicate any type of materials containing ingredients derived from tobacco plants. For example, the tobacco materials may include tobacco granules or tobacco powder.

In addition, throughout the specification, “a longitudinal direction” of an element may indicate a direction in which the element extends along an axis in a direction of the element, and the axis in the direction of the element may indicate a direction in which the element extends to a greater length than a length of an axis in another direction crossing the axis in the direction. “A longitudinal direction of the aerosol generating article” indicates a direction in which a length of the aerosol generating article extends or a direction in which combustion progresses when the aerosol generating article is combusted.

For example, in, the longitudinal direction of the aerosol generating articlemay indicate a direction in which a front-end portion, a medium portion, and a filterextend. That is, the longitudinal direction of the aerosol generating articlemay indicate a height direction of the aerosol generating articlehaving a cylindrical shape.

In addition, when a user inhales air using the aerosol generating article, a portion of the aerosol generating article, where the air enters from the outside to the inside, may indicate “upstream”, and another portion of the aerosol generating article, where the air moves from the inside to the outside, may indicate “downstream”. Terms “upstream” and “downstream” may be used to indicate relative positions or directions of parts or segments included in the aerosol generating article.

In the descriptions of the embodiments disclosed herein, when it is determined that detailed descriptions with respect to related public technologies may make unclear of the main idea of the embodiments disclosed herein, detailed descriptions of the embodiments will be omitted. In addition, it will be understood that the accompanying drawings are only used for the ease of understanding about the embodiments disclosed herein and are not to limit the technical idea disclosed herein, and the accompanying drawings enclose all modifications, equivalents, and substitutions included in the technical spirit and the scope of the disclosure.

Terms including ordinal numbers, such as first, second, etc., may be used to describe various components, but the components are not limited by the terms. The above terms are used solely to distinguish one component from another.

When a component is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another component, it should be understood that the component may be directly connected or coupled to the other component, or there may be intervening components in between. On the other hand, when a component is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another component, it should be understood that there are no intervening components in between.

Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

Below, with reference to the attached drawings, an embodiment of the present disclosure is described in detail so that a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present disclosure belongs can easily implement the present disclosure. However, the present disclosure can be implemented in various different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein.

Hereinafter, embodiments disclosed in this specification will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and identical or similar components will be assigned the same reference numbers, regardless of the drawing symbols, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

illustrates an aerosol generating systemaccording to an embodiment. Referring to, the aerosol generating systemaccording to an embodiment may include an aerosol generating articleand an aerosol generating device. In the disclosure, the aerosol generating article may indicate an article used for smoking by the user. For example, the aerosol generating article may include a cigarette directly combusted by the aerosol generating device and/or a non-heated cigarette that is not heated and/or a cigarette that may be heated at a low temperature.

The aerosol generating devicemay include a main bodyand a cartridge. The aerosol generating devicemay form the entire appearance of the aerosol generating device, and elements of the aerosol generating devicemay be arranged in the main body. For example, a battery and/or a processor may be arranged in the main body, but the elements arranged in the main bodyare not limited thereto.

The main bodymay include a cartridge accommodation portion, and the cartridgemay be accommodated in the cartridge accommodation portion. The cartridgemay be removably coupled to the main body, but is not limited thereto. The cartridgemay be integrally formed with the main bodyor assembled to the main body, or may be fixed so as not to be detached by the user.

The cartridgemay include a storage tankconfigured to store an aerosol generating material and an atomizerconfigured to heat the aerosol generating material. The cartridgemay be attached to the main bodyin a state where the aerosol generating material is stored in the storage tank. However, the embodiment is not limited thereto, and the aerosol generating material may also be injected into the storage tankin a state where the cartridgeis combined to the main body.

The storage tankmay contain the aerosol generating material having any one of a liquid state, a solid state, a gas state, and a gel state. The aerosol generating material may include a liquid composition. For example, the liquid composition may include liquid including a tobacco-containing material including a volatile tobacco-flavored ingredients, and may also include liquid containing non-tobacco materials.

The aerosol generating material may include water, solvents, ethanol, plant extracts, spices, flavorings, or vitamin mixtures. The spices may include menthol, peppermint, spearmint oil, various types of fruit-flavor ingredients, but are not limited thereto. The flavorings may contain ingredients for providing various flavors or aromas to the user. The vitamin mixtures may include a mixture of at least one of vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin C, and vitamin E, but are not limited thereto. In addition, the aerosol generating material may include an aerosol forming substance, such as glycerin and propylene glycol.

The atomizermay be configured to generate aerosol by heating the aerosol generating material. The atomizermay include a heater and a wick. The aerosol may be generated as the heater heats the aerosol generating material that has been released from the storage tankand absorbed into the wick. In the disclosure, “aerosol” may refer to a gas in a state in which vaporized particles generated from the aerosol generating material are mixed with air.

The cartridgemay further include an article accommodation portionfor accommodating the aerosol generating article. The aerosol generated from the cartridgemay be delivered to the aerosol generating articleaccommodated in the article accommodation portion.

The cartridgemay be initiated by an electrical signal or a wireless signal transmitted from the main bodyto perform a function of generating aerosol by converting a phase of the aerosol generating material stored in the cartridgeto a gas phase. The aerosol generating articlegenerated from the cartridgemay be introduced into the article accommodation portionand then delivered to the aerosol generating article.

The aerosol generating articlemay include the front-end portion, the medium portion, and the filter. For example, the front-end portion, the medium portion, and the filterof the aerosol generating articlemay be sequentially arranged in a longitudinal direction of the aerosol generating article. However, the elements of the aerosol generating articleare not limited to the elements illustrated in, and other general-purpose elements may be further included in the aerosol generating article.

As the cartridgeis heated, aerosol may be generated from the aerosol generating material stored in the storage tank. Aerosol generated from the cartridgemay sequentially pass through the front-end portion, the medium portion, and the filterof the aerosol generating article, and then may be discharged to the outside of the aerosol generating device. The user may contact an end portion (e.g., the filter) of the aerosol generating articleby the mouth and inhale aerosol discharged through the aerosol generating article.

The aerosol generating articlemay further include a reactive material that chemically reacts with aerosol and ignites. In a process where the aerosol generated from the cartridgeis introduced into the aerosol generating articleand discharged to the outside of the aerosol generating device, the aerosol and the reactive material may encounter and cause an ignition reaction. Due to the ignition reaction of the aerosol and the reactive material, an area of a surface of the aerosol generating articlemay be combusted and burnt black.

From a soot stain formed on the surface of the aerosol generating article, the user may determine that the aerosol generating articlehas been already used. Alternatively, the aerosol generating devicemay further include a color sensorconfigured to detect whether the surface of the aerosol generating articlediscolored, and upon determination by the color sensorthat the surface of the aerosol generating articleinserted into the aerosol generating devicehas been discolored, the aerosol generating devicemay prevent the aerosol generating articlefrom being heated. Details thereof will be described below with reference to.

The aerosol generating articlemay be manufactured in a cylindrical shape. In an embodiment, when the aerosol generating articleis manufactured in the cylindrical shape, a diameter of the aerosol generating articlemay be about 5 mm to about 9 mm.

A length of the aerosol generating articlemay be about 20 mm to about 60 mm. For example, a length of the front-end portionmay be about 5 mm to about 15 mm, a length of the medium portionmay be about 10 mm to about 30 mm, and a length of the filtermay be about 5 mm to about 15 mm.

However, lengths or diameters of the aerosol generating articleand the elements included therein are not limited thereto, and may be variously modified according to designs. For example,only illustrates an image in which an area of each of the front-end portion, the medium portion, and the filteris introduced into the aerosol generating devicewhen the aerosol generating articleis inserted into the aerosol generating device, but the embodiment is not limited thereto. When the aerosol generating articleis inserted into the aerosol generating device, the front-end portionand the medium portionmay be introduced into the aerosol generating device, and the entire portion of the filtermay be exposed to the outside of the aerosol generating device.

The front-end portionmay prevent materials to be contained in the medium portionfrom being detached outwards and prevent the aerosol generated from the medium portionfrom flowing into the aerosol generating device, during smoking.

In addition, the front-end portionmay introduce an external airflow into the aerosol generating article. The front-end portionmay introduce the aerosol, which is generated as the cartridgeis heated, into the aerosol generating article, as the external airflow.

The front-end portionmay include any one of an acetate filter including a cellulose acetate tows and a paper filter including paper. The front-end portionmay be manufactured by adding a plasticizer (e.g., triacetin) to a cellulose acetate tow. The hardness of the front-end portionmay be adjusted by adjusting a content of the plasticizer.

In this case, when the front-end portionincludes the acetate filter including the cellulose acetate tow, the front-end portionmay be manufactured to release favors. For example, when the front-end portionincludes the acetate filter, flavoring liquid containing flavoring materials may be sprayed onto the acetate filter, and an additional fiber, onto which flavoring liquid has been applied, may be included in the acetate filter. As another example, when the front-end portionincludes the acetate filter, the acetate filter may also include a capsule including the flavoring materials.

The flavoring materials may include menthol, but are not limited thereto. In addition, the flavoring materials may also include plant-based flavorings such as Ceylon cinnamon, sage, herb, chamomile,var.thunbergii, lavender, bergamot, lemon, orange, Cassia cinnamon, jasmine, ginger, vanilla, spearmint, peppermint, acacia, coffee, celery, sandalwood, and cocoa. Alternatively, the flavoring materials may include animal-derived flavorings such as musk, ambergris, civet, and castoreum.

The flavoring materials may include alcohol compounds, e.g., geraniol, linalool, anethole, and eugenol, or may include aldehyde compounds, e.g., vanilline, benzaldehyde, and anisaldehyde. Alternatively, the flavoring materials may also include ester compounds, e.g., isoamyl acetate, linalyl acetate, isoamyl propionate, and linalyl butyrate.

The front-end portionmay include at least one channel as needed, and a cross-section of the channel may be manufactured in various shapes. For example, the front-end portionmay have the form of a tube.

The medium portionmay be located downstream of the front-end portionand include the aerosol generating material. The medium portionmay further include a tobacco medium containing a tobacco material having the form of granules. The tobacco material may include various types of tobacco powder.

The tobacco powder may include tobacco leaf strips, tobacco stems, and/or tobacco fine powder produced during tobacco-manufacturing processes. The tobacco powder may include crushed tobacco leaves, crushed reconstituted tobacco, and the like. The tobacco powder may include powder of at least one of flue-cured tobacco, burley tobacco, fire-cured tobacco, air-cured tobacco, and sun-cured tobacco.

By applying pH-adjusting solution to the granules, pH of the tobacco material included in the granules may be adjusted towards the alkaline range. As the pH of the tobacco material is adjusted towards the alkaline range, even when the aerosol generating articleis not directly heated by an additional heating element, a sufficient amount of nicotine may be transferred at a low temperature. A pH-adjusting agent may include at least one of potassium carbonate (KCO), sodium hydrogen carbonate (NaHCO), and a mixture thereof, but is not limited thereto.