Filter, Aerosol Generating Article, and Aerosol Generating Device

The present application is a continuation of International Patent Application No. PCT/CN2023/135614, filed on Nov. 30, 2023, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202310141142.9 filed on Feb. 20, 2023. The entire disclosure of the prior applications are hereby incorporated by reference.

This application relates to the technical field of inhalation articles, including to a filter, an aerosol generating article, and an aerosol generating device.

In the related art, for one type of an aerosol generating device, an aerosol generating article is heated by baking the aerosol generating article, but the aerosol generating article is not caused to combust, so that the aerosol generating article releases an aerosol for a user to inhale.

Generally, the aerosol generating article has a substrate section for smoke formation and a filter section for getting in contact with a mouth of a user. When the aerosol generating device is used, the substrate section of the aerosol generating article is loaded into the aerosol generating device, and the filter section is exposed from the aerosol generating device. After the inhalation, the entire aerosol generating article is removed from the aerosol generating device for discarding. For a next inhalation, a new aerosol generating article is placed.

However, the filter section that is discarded together with the aerosol generating article easily causes material waste and environmental pollution.

In view of the above, examples of this disclosure are intended to provide a filter, an aerosol generating article, and an aerosol generating device that can reduce material waste.

To achieve the foregoing objective, an aspect of this disclosure provides a filter, which is configured to cooperate with an atomizer unit and an aerosol generating article. The filter has an inhalation channel, a main unit connection portion, and an article connection portion, the filter is detachably connected to the atomizer unit through the main unit connection portion, and the aerosol generating article is detachably connected to an air inlet of the inhalation channel through the article connection portion.

In an example, the article connection portion is an insertion slot in communication with the inhalation channel.

In an example, the filter has a separator, and the separator is located between the inhalation channel and the insertion slot.

In an example, a side of the separator close to the insertion slot is provided with a first positioning portion that cooperates with a second positioning portion of the aerosol generating article.

In an example, the first positioning portion is a positioning post cooperating with a positioning hole on the aerosol generating article.

In an example, the filter has a first air inlet channel for guiding external air toward the aerosol generating article.

In an example, a side wall of the inhalation channel is provided with a second air inlet channel in communication with an outside environment.

In an example, the filter includes a main body section and a connection section located at an end of the main body section, where the connection section is configured to be inserted into a housing of the atomizer unit, the connection section has the insertion slot, and the main unit connection portion is arranged on an outer side wall of the connection section.

In an example, the filter has a first air inlet channel guiding external air toward the aerosol generating article, where the first air inlet channel includes a first sub-channel and a second sub-channel, the first sub-channel is arranged on a side wall of the main body section, to guide the external air toward an outer surface of a side wall of the connection section, and the second sub-channel extends through the side wall of the connection section and is in communication with the insertion slot.

In an example, the filter is snap-fitted to or threadedly connected to a housing of the atomizer unit through the main unit connection portion.

An aspect of this disclosure provides an aerosol generating article. The aerosol generating article is configured for use in cooperation with the foregoing filter, and the aerosol generating article includes at least an aerosol generating substrate.

In an example, an end of the aerosol generating substrate is inserted into an insertion slot on the filter.

In an example, the aerosol generating substrate has a second positioning portion cooperating with a first positioning portion on the filter.

In an example, the second positioning portion is a positioning hole cooperating with a positioning post on the filter.

In an example, the aerosol generating substrate is an integrated structure.

In an example, the aerosol generating substrate has an airway.

In an example, the airway extends through at least an end of the aerosol generating substrate along a length direction.

In an example, at least one of an interior of the aerosol generating substrate and an outer side wall of the aerosol generating substrate is provided with the airway.

In an example, the airway is a pass-through airway.

In an example, the airway is a spiral airway, and at least part of a region of the spiral airway along an extension direction is in a curved shape with a curvature that is not 0.

An aspect of this disclosure provides an aerosol generating device, including:

In an example, the filter includes a main body section and a connection section located at an end of the main body section. The filter has a first air inlet channel, the first air inlet channel includes a first sub-channel and a second sub-channel, the first sub-channel is arranged on a side wall of the main body section, the second sub-channel extends through a side wall of the connection section, and the article connection portion is arranged on the connection section.

An end of the housing is provided with a heating cavity, the connection section extends into an end of the housing provided with the heating cavity, the first sub-channel is in communication with an outside environment, a gap that brings the first sub-channel into communication with the second sub-channel is formed between the connection section and an inner side wall of the housing, and the second sub-channel and the inhalation channel are respectively in communication with the heating cavity.

In an example, the filter further has a second air inlet channel, and the second air inlet channel extends through the side wall of the main body section and is in communication with the inhalation channel.

In an example, the filter is hermetically connected to the housing through the main unit connection portion, and a side wall of the inhalation channel is provided with a second air inlet channel in communication with an outside environment.

Examples of this disclosure provide a filter, an aerosol generating article, and an aerosol generating device. The filter is provided with a main unit connection portion and an article connection portion, and may be separately detachably connected to the atomizer unit and the aerosol generating article. Therefore, the tip can be repeatedly used, and a filter structure such as a filter section on the aerosol generating article may be further eliminated, which not only reduce material waste of the aerosol generating article, but also reduce pollution to an environment.

In the examples of this disclosure, it should be noted that orientation or position relationships indicated by the terms such as “length direction” are based on orientation or position relationships shown in, and these orientation terms are merely used for facilitating description of the examples of this disclosure and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the mentioned apparatuses or elements need to have a particular orientation or need to be constructed and operated in a particular orientation. Therefore, the terms should not be understood as a limitation of this disclosure.

An aspect of this disclosure provides a filter, which is configured to cooperate with an atomizer unitand an aerosol generating article. Referring toto,to,, and, the filterhas an inhalation channela main unit connection portionand an article connection portionThe filteris detachably connected to the atomizer unitthrough the main unit connection portionThe aerosol generating articleis detachably connected to an air inlet of the inhalation channelthrough the article connection portionIn other words, the filteris an independent component. The filtermay be connected to and separated from the atomizer unit, and may also be connected to and separated from the aerosol generating article.

Another aspect of this disclosure provides an aerosol generating article. Referring toto, the aerosol generating articleis configured to cooperate with the filteraccording to other examples of this disclosure. The aerosol generating articleincludes at least an aerosol generating substrate.

Still another aspect of this disclosure provides an aerosol generating device. Referring toto, the aerosol generating device includes an atomizer unitand the filterin other examples of this disclosure. The atomizer unitincludes a housingand a heating component (not shown in the figures) arranged in the housing. The filteris detachably connected to the housingthrough the main unit connection portion

A manner in which the filteris detachably connected to the housingof the atomizer unitthrough the main unit connection portionis not limited. For example, the filtermay be snap-fitted to or threadedly connected to the housingof the atomizer unitthrough the main unit connection portion

A manner in which the filterdetachably connects, through the article connection portionthe aerosol generating articleto the air inlet of the inhalation channelis not limited. For example, the filtermay be plugged in, snap-fitted to, or threadedly connected to the aerosol generating articlethrough the article connection portion

Referring to, an end of the housingis provided with a heating cavityfor accommodating the aerosol generating article. After the filteris respectively detachably connected to the housingof the atomizer unitand the aerosol generating article, at least part of a structure of an aerosol generating substrateextends into the heating cavity

The heating component is configured to heat and atomize the aerosol generating substratelocated in the heating cavityso as to generate an aerosol for a user to inhale or use in medicines, cosmetics, or the like.

A plurality of manners for applying heat to the heating component exist. For example, the heating manner includes central heating and circumferential heating. The central heating manner means that the heating component is inserted inside the aerosol generating articleto perform baking and heat on the aerosol generating articlefrom inside to outside. The circumferential heating manner means that the heating component is arranged at a periphery of the aerosol generating articleto perform baking and heat on the aerosol generating articlefrom inside to outside. Specifically, these heating manners may be resistance heating, electromagnetic heating, infrared heating, microwave heating, laser heating, and the like, which are not specifically limited herein.

The inhalation channelis a channel through which an aerosol passes. An air inlet of the inhalation channelis a side through which an aerosol flows into the inhalation channelThe inhalation channelfurther has an air outlet side opposite to the air inlet. The air outlet side is a side through which an aerosol flows out of the inhalation channelDuring the inhalation by the user, an aerosol generated by the aerosol generating substrateflows from the air inlet of the inhalation channelinto the inhalation channeland then flows into a mouth of the user from the air outlet side of the inhalation channel

The aerosol generating articleshown inmerely has the aerosol generating substrateand does not have another structure. The aerosol generating substrateis a structural body having specific strength and a specific shape, rather than being in an easily loose form such as a filament-like form, a powder-like form, a granular-like form, or a liquid-like form. In other words, the filtermay be directly detachably connected to the aerosol generating substratethrough the article connection portionIn an example, the aerosol generating articlemay also be separately provided with a connection structure connected to the aerosol generating substrate. The filteris detachably connected to the connecting structure through the article connection portion

A specific structure of the aerosol generating substrateis not limited herein. For example, in an aspect, the aerosol generating substratemay be made of an atomization substrate, for example, made of a cigarette-flavored spice substrate. In an example, the aerosol generating substratemay further include a base and an atomization substrate arranged on the base. The base may be, for example, a carbon fiber that is resistant to a high temperature. In this way, by arranging the base, not only the strength of the aerosol generating substratecan be improved, but also a certain degree of high temperature can be withstood without generating odors.

A specific composition of the aerosol generating substrateis not limited herein. For example, in an aspect, the aerosol generating substratemay include a botanical composition, an auxiliary composition, a smoking agent composition, an adhesive composition, and the like.

In an aspect, the botanical composition is a combination of one or more of powders that is formed after crushing treatment is performed on a tobacco leaf raw material, a tobacco leaf fragment, a tobacco stem, a tobacco waster, an aromatic plant, or the like. The botanical composition is a core source of the aroma of the article. An endogenous substance in the botanical composition, such as nicotine, enters human blood through atomization, to promote the pituitary to generate dopamine, thereby achieving physiological satisfaction.

In an aspect, the auxiliary composition may be a combination of one or more of an inorganic filler, a lubricant, and an emulsifier. The inorganic filler includes a combination of one or more of heavy calcium carbonate, light calcium carbonate, zeolite, attapulgite, talc, and diatomaceous earth. The inorganic filler may provide a skeleton support for the botanical composition. In addition, the inorganic filler further has micropores, which can increase porosity of a wall material after the botanical composition is formed, thereby increasing a release rate of the aerosol.

The lubricant includes a combination of one or more of candelilla wax, carnauba wax, shellac, sunflower wax, rice bran, beeswax, stearic acid, and palmitic acid. The lubricant may increase fluidity of particles, reduce friction between particles, cause an overall density of particle distribution which to be relatively uniform, reduce a pressure required for forming a die, and reduce wear of a die.

The emulsifier includes a combination of one or more of polyglycerol fatty acid ester, Polysorbate 80, and polyvinyl alcohol. To a certain extent, the emulsifier can relieve loss of a fragrance substance during storage to some extent, increase stability of the fragrance substance, and improve a sensory quality of a product. The emulsifier (which may also be referred to as a surfactant) may reduce an interfacial tension for water-soluble and water-insoluble components in a mixed system, and form a stronger film on the surface of droplets or a double electric layer on the surface of the droplets due to the charge given by the emulsifier, preventing the droplets from gathering with each other, while maintaining a uniform emulsion. Emulsification and homogenization of two immiscible components may increase consistency of article quality.

The function of the smoking agent composition is to generate a plurality of vapors during heat, thereby increasing a quantity of a smoke formation article. In an aspect, for example, the smoking agent may include a combination of one or more of monohydric alcohol (such as menthol), polyol (such as Propylene glycol, Triethylene glycol, 1,3-Butanediol, and glycerol), a polyol ester (such as glycerol monoacetate, glycerol diacetate, or glycerol triacetate), a monocarboxylic acid, and a Polycarboxylic acid (such as lauric acid, and myristic acid) or an aliphatic ester of a Polycarboxylic acid (such as dimethyl dodecanedioate, dimethyl Tetradecanedioate, erythritol, 1,3-Butanediol, Tetraethylene glycol, Triethyl citrate, propylidene carbonate, ethyl laurate, Triactin, Meso erythritol, a glycerol diacetate mixture, diethyl suberate, triethyl citrate, benzyl benzoate, methyl phenylacetate, ethyl vanillate, glycerol tributyrate, and lauryl acetate).