Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
  • A24F—SMOKERS' REQUISITES; MATCH BOXES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES
  • A24F40/00—Electrically operated smoking devices; Component parts thereof; Manufacture thereof; Maintenance or testing thereof; Charging means specially adapted therefor
  • A24F40/40—Constructional details, e.g. connection of cartridges and battery parts
  • A24F40/48—Fluid transfer means, e.g. pumps
  • A24F40/485—Valves; Apertures
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
  • A24F—SMOKERS' REQUISITES; MATCH BOXES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES
  • A24F40/00—Electrically operated smoking devices; Component parts thereof; Manufacture thereof; Maintenance or testing thereof; Charging means specially adapted therefor
  • A24F40/10—Devices using liquid inhalable precursors
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
  • A24F—SMOKERS' REQUISITES; MATCH BOXES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES
  • A24F40/00—Electrically operated smoking devices; Component parts thereof; Manufacture thereof; Maintenance or testing thereof; Charging means specially adapted therefor
  • A24F40/40—Constructional details, e.g. connection of cartridges and battery parts
  • A24F40/42—Cartridges or containers for inhalable precursors

Definitions

• the invention relates to aerosol generating devices.
• the invention relates to an improved airflow channel for aerosol generating devices.
• Some aerosol generating devices can experience a so-called “spitting effect", wherein large droplets form in the generated aerosol that are unpleasant for the user when inhaled and can also be a waste of aerosol generating fluid.
• Another issue that can occur relates to the heating element of such devices becoming flooded with excess aerosol generating fluid. This can cause less vapour to be generated, or the heater to consume more energy to generate the same amount of vapour.
• an aerosol generating device comprising: a heater configured to heat an aerosol generating substance to generate an aerosol; an air inlet and an air outlet connected by an air channel, wherein the heater is positioned in the air channel and the air outlet is arranged to enable a user to draw air through the air outlet to carry generated aerosol towards the user for inhalation; one or more baffles arranged in the air channel, configured to inhibit the flow of droplets in the aerosol through the air channel while enabling the flow of air through the air channel; and one or more exits in the air channel arranged to receive droplets obstructed by the one or more baffles to couple the obstructed droplets out of the air channel.
• the baffles can prevent large droplets from being inhaled by the user, thereby providing a higher quality aerosol that is more enjoyable for the user.
• the exits provided at the baffles capture the droplets, coupling them out of the airflow.
• the exits are configured to prevent the droplets from travelling back towards the heater along the airflow path (e.g., after cessation of airflow) and flooding the heater. Reducing flooding of the heater improves both the efficiency of the heater and the amount of aerosol generated.
• the one or more exits can lead to a cavity, which can act as a droplet reservoir for storing captured droplets, a droplet channel for recycling the captured droplets, or a main storage portion (such as a main reservoir) for storing an aerosol generating substance.
• the one or more exits may be provided as one or more openings in a surface defining the air channel, wherein the openings are optionally filled with a porous material.
• the exits can be any suitable means for capturing the droplets to prevent them from travelling back along the airflow path towards the heater.
• the one or more baffles and the one or more exits are provided on an air channel tube.
• the air channel tube may comprise a heat resistant material, such as glass fibre.
• the air channel tube can be an inner wall of the droplet reservoir or a main reservoir.
• the one or more baffles can be provided on any suitable structure or structures that delimit or contain the air channel.
• the aerosol generating device comprises a droplet reservoir fluidically connected to the one or more exits to receive droplets obstructed by the one or more baffles.
• the droplets captured by the exits can be stored to prevent the droplets from leaking into other internal parts of the aerosol generating device.
• the droplet reservoir can be filled with a porous material. This can inhibit airflow from drawing stored droplets back out of the exits into the airflow path.
• fluidically connected means that a path is provided by any suitable means that enables fluid to flow between the connected parts.
• the one or more exits can open directly to the droplet reservoir.
• the one or more exits can open to a channel that connects the exits to the droplet reservoir.
• the aerosol generating device comprises a main reservoir configured to supply the heater with an aerosol generating fluid and the one or more exits are fluidically connected to the main reservoir.
• the captured droplets can be recycled to avoid wasting the aerosol generating fluid without flooding the heater, because a travel path to the heater is provided that is different from the path of the air channel.
• the aerosol generating device can comprise both a main reservoir and a droplet reservoir.
• both the main reservoir and the droplet reservoir may be fluidically connected to a wick of the aerosol generating device.
• the droplet reservoir may be fluidically connected to the main reservoir by an opening or valve so that the droplet reservoir can re-supply the main reservoir.
• the "droplets" that are obstructed by the one or more baffles refers to user-perceptible liquid droplets that can be undesirably present in an aerosol from an aerosol generating device.
• the obstructed droplets may have a minimum size of 0.1 mm, 0.2 mm, 0.3 mm, 0.4 mm, 0.5 mm, 0.75 mm, or 1 mm, in some examples.
• the aerosol generating device comprises a porous material positioned at the one or more exits, configured to absorb and draw droplets through the one or more exits.
• the droplets can be captured more effectively, and the porous material can resist captured droplets being drawn back through the exits due to a drop in pressure in the air channel generated by user inhalation.
• the one or more exits can be provided as openings in a surface defining the air channel and the porous material can be positioned outward of the openings (i.e., on the side of the openings away from the air channel) to avoid unduly restricting the air channel.
• the porous material can fill the one or more exits to minimise escape of captured droplets back into the air channel.
• the porous material may fill the droplet reservoir, the main reservoir, or a droplet channel connected to the one or more exits.
• the one or more exits may be fluidically connected (e.g., may open directly to) the main reservoir.
• the porous material may substantially fill the main reservoir.
• the porous material protrudes from the one or more exits into the air channel.
• the porous material can capture droplets more effectively.
• some droplets may slide along a surface defining the air channel along a path that tangentially intercepts one of the exits.
• the porous material is absorptive and can therefore draw the complete droplet through the exit when coming into contact with the droplet.
• the porous material may project into the air channel by at least 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm, 4 mm, or 5 mm, relative to a surface on which the one or more exits are provided.
• the porous material is compressed at the one or more exits, causing the porous material to protrude into the air channel.
• the porous material can be made to protrude from the exits conveniently.
• the porous material can be sized to fit within a cavity (such as the main reservoir or droplet reservoir) adjacent the one or more exits so that it has to be at least slightly compressed by walls defining the cavity to fit in the cavity. This pressure can then cause the porous material to expand through the exits. This avoids cutting, moulding or otherwise shaping the porous material precisely so that it fits within the cavity and through the one or more exits.
• the aerosol generating device comprises an air channel tube, wherein the one or more baffles are positioned on an inner surface of the air channel tube and the porous material is wrapped around an outer surface of the air channel tube.
• the air channel tube and the porous material have a convenient construction that is straightforward to manufacture and fit within a typical aerosol generating device.
• the porous material comprises solid foam, such as polystyrene, which may be particularly cheap and lightweight. In other embodiments, any other suitable material may be used.
• the aerosol generating device comprises a wick configured to supply the heater with aerosol generating fluid by capillary action.
• the porous material is preferably in contact with the wick. In this way, the porous material can resupply the wick and the obstructed droplets can be recycled in a convenient manner.
• the one or more baffles are angled in a downstream direction towards the air outlet, relative to a surface on which the baffles are provided, to enable obstructed droplets to slide towards the one or more exits.
• the baffles can guide the droplets towards the exits after the cessation of airflow.
• the baffles may be oriented in the air channel to be generally pointing upwards (i.e., opposite to the direction of action of gravity) during use of the aerosol generating device, to ensure the droplets slide towards the exits after cessation of airflow.
• the one or more baffles are angled at about 100 degrees or more relative to a surface on which the baffles are provided, which may be an air channel tube. This has been found to be an effective angle for minimising the inhibition of airflow through the air channel while still effectively obstructing droplets from travelling through the airflow.
• the baffles may be arranged at 100 degrees relative to a longitudinal axis of the air channel tube.
• the one or more baffles can be arranged at greater or lesser angles in other embodiments.
• one or more baffles comprise at least two baffles that overlap each other in the air channel. In this way, the baffles can more effectively prevent droplets from reaching the air outlet.
• the one or more baffles are provided in an air channel tube and the one or more baffles extend to or beyond a central longitudinal axis of the air channel tube. In this way, the baffles can more effectively prevent droplets from reaching the air outlet.
• the one or more baffles comprises at least two baffles and the one or more exits comprise at least two exits.
• the at least two baffles are preferably provided on opposite sides of the air channel.
• the one or more exits are arranged adjacent the one or more baffles, upstream of the one or more baffles.
• the aerosol generating substance is a fluid.
• a cartridge configured to be removably attached to an aerosol generating device, comprising: an air inlet and an air outlet connected by an air channel, the air inlet configured to receive an aerosol and the air outlet arranged to enable a user to draw air through the air outlet to carry the aerosol towards the user for inhalation; one or more baffles arranged in the air channel, configured to inhibit the flow of droplets in the aerosol through the air channel while enabling the flow of air through the air channel; and one or more exits in the air channel arranged to receive droplets obstructed by the one or more baffles to couple the obstructed droplets out of the air channel.
• the aerosol generating device comprises a main reservoir configured to supply the heater with an aerosol generating fluid and the one or more exits are fluidically connected to the main reservoir.
• the one or more exits can open directly to the one or more exits.
• the cartridge comprises a droplet reservoir fluidically connected to the one or more exits and configured to receive droplets obstructed by the one or more baffles.
• the cartridge comprises porous material positioned at the one or more exits, configured to absorb and draw droplets through the one or more exits.
• the porous material may fill the main reservoir or the droplet reservoir.
• the cartridge can comprise a heater and a wick, where the porous material is preferably in contact with the wick.
• the cartridge may be configured to attach to a control unit of an aerosol generating device.
• the cartridge can comprise a main reservoir or any other suitable storage portion for storing an aerosol generating substance, such as an aerosol generating fluid.
• the cartridge may comprise a heater configured to heat an aerosol generating substance to generate an aerosol. Alternatively, the heater may be provided on the control unit or on a main body portion of a corresponding aerosol generating device.
• the cartridge according to the second aspect of the invention can include any of the features described with respect to the first aspect of the invention.
• Figure 1 shows a cross-sectional schematic diagram of an aerosol generating device 100 according to an embodiment of the invention.
• the aerosol generating device 100 comprises an outer housing 102 for containing various components of the aerosol generating device 100.
• An aerosol generation system 104 is provided within the housing 102 together with a controller 106 and a battery 108.
• the aerosol generation system 104 can be operated to generate an aerosol for inhalation by a user and is described in more detail below with reference to Figure 3 .
• the controller 106 and battery 108 are configured to control and provide electrical power, respectively, to the electronic components of the aerosol generating device 100.
• a button 110 is provided on an outer surface of the housing 102 for activating the aerosol generation system 104. In other embodiments, the device may be puff activated via an (e.g.) airflow sensor.
• An air inlet 112 is also provided on the housing 102 for supplying air to the aerosol generation system 104.
• An air outlet 114 fluidically connected to the air inlet 112 by an air channel (A) is provided on a mouthpiece 116 for enabling the user to draw air through the air inlet 112 to carry generated aerosol to the user for inhalation.
• the housing 102 and mouthpiece 116 may be of any suitable material and structure known in the art.
• the housing 102 is tubular in shape and is elongate along a longitudinal axis.
• the air inlet 112 can be positioned in any suitable location on the housing 102.
• the battery 108 is a rechargeable battery permanently located within the housing 102.
• the battery 106 may be of any other suitable kind, such as a replaceable battery.
• the button 110 can be replaced with any other suitable input mechanism, such as an airflow sensor or a fingerprint sensor.
• Figure 2 shows a schematic control diagram for the aerosol generating device 100.
• the controller 106 comprises one or more processors 106a and a memory 106b for storing instructions 106c for operating the aerosol generating device 100 to be executed by the one or more processors 106a.
• the one or more processors 106a and the memory 106b can be of any suitable kind known in the art.
• the controller 106 is connected to the battery 108 for receiving power and the button 110 (or any other suitable input mechanism such as an airflow sensor) for receiving an input signal.
• the controller 106 is also connected to a heater 118 of the aerosol generation system 104 to enable the battery 108 to provide power to the heater 118 via the controller 106 in response to an actuation of the button 110 by the user.
• Figure 3 shows a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the aerosol generation system 104 of the aerosol generation device 100.
• Figure 4 shows a cross sectional schematic diagram of the aerosol generation system 104 for a different cross-section taken perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the aerosol generating device 100.
• the aerosol generation system 104 comprises a heater 118, which in this example is in the form of a coil configured to generate heat due to its electrical resistance when an electric current is applied through the coil, wrapped around a wick 120.
• the wick 120 is positioned adjacent to an annular main reservoir 122 and fluidically connected to the main reservoir 122 by an opening (not shown) in the main reservoir 122 or by any other suitable means.
• the wick 120 absorbs fluid 124 stored in the main reservoir 122 by capillary action so that the fluid 124 can be heated by the heater 118 to generate an aerosol.
• An annular droplet reservoir 126 surrounds the air channel (A), comprising an inner wall that forms an air channel tube 128 and an outer wall 130, between which a solid, absorptive foam 132 is enclosed.
• the wick 120 is positioned next to the droplet reservoir 126.
• the droplet reservoir 126 comprises an opening (not shown), in this case in the air channel tube 126, where the wick and the foam 132 are in contact so that the foam 132 can act as a secondary fluid supply to the wick 120.
• the air channel (A) provides a path that air (and generated aerosol) can take from the air inlet 112 (or the wick 120) to the air outlet 114.
• Baffles 134 are located on an inner surface of the air channel tube 128, angled in a downstream direction towards the air outlet 114.
• the baffles 134 obstruct and catch liquid droplets (D) in the aerosol to prevent the user from inhaling the droplets (D) while still providing a path for air to flow through the air channel tube 126.
• the foam 132 is sized relative to the droplet reservoir 126 so that the air channel tube 128 and the outer wall 130 compress the foam 132, causing the foam 132 to project from the exits 136 into the air channel (A).
• the foam is shown in Figure 3 as spaced from the air channel tube 128 and the outer wall 130 for the purposes of illustration, however, in practice the foam 132 can be tightly fitted in the droplet reservoir 126, as shown in Figure 4 .
• the droplet reservoir 126 comprises an opening (not shown) adjacent the wick 120 that enables droplets (D) received from the exits 136 to be provided to the wick 120 without flooding the heater 118. In this sense, the foam 132 can itself act as a secondary wick to the wick 120.
• At least one of the wick 120 and the foam 132 can extend through the opening so that the foam 132 can come into contact with the wick 120.
• the foam 132 may begin to supply the wick 120 once the amount of fluid in the droplet reservoir 126 surpasses the retention capabilities of the foam 132.
• the heater 118 is a coil in this example but can be any other kind of heater known in the art in other example embodiments, such as an induction heater or thin film heater.
• the wick 120 can be of any suitable material, such as ceramic or cotton, and construction known in the art.
• the heater 118, wick 120, and main reservoir 122 form one exemplary aerosol generation mechanism, however the invention could be applied to any other aerosol generating mechanisms where large liquid droplets can form undesirably in the generated aerosol.
• the main reservoir 122 is refillable by any suitable refilling mechanism (not shown) and permanently located in the aerosol generating device 100.
• the main reservoir 122 may be provided on a removable cartridge, as known in the art.
• the removable cartridge can comprise the whole aerosol generation system 104, as described below with respect to Figure 5 .
• the droplet reservoir 126 is provided to receive and store droplets (D) that slide along the upstream faces of the baffles 134 so that they are coupled out of the airflow channel (A) and hence prevented from sliding back towards the heater 118.
• the opening (not shown) of the droplet reservoir 126 to the wick 120 allows the captured droplets (D) to be provided to the wick 120 without flooding the heater 118 and hence become recycled.
• a droplet channel may be provided at the exits 136 that enables droplets (D) to flow from the exits 136 to the main reservoir 122 or the wick 120 without storing a substantial volume of droplets (D).
• any component that enables droplets to be captured or otherwise prevented from returning to the heater 118 along the airflow path (A) can be provided in place of or in addition to the droplet reservoir 126.
• the exits 136 can also open directly to the main reservoir instead of a specific reservoir for catching and storing droplets (D).
• the droplet reservoir 126 is provided as an annular structure that fits within a recessed portion of the main reservoir 122, both of which surround the air channel (A).
• the droplet reservoir 126 and the main reservoir 122 need not be provided adjacently or annularly in this way and can have any other suitable shape and arrangement.
• the air channel (A) passes through the air channel tube 128, in which the baffles 134 and exits 136 are positioned.
• the baffles 134 and the exits 136 can be provided in or on any other suitable structure or structures containing the air channel (A), to accommodate aerosol generating devices having different shapes or arrangements.
• the baffles 134 and exits 136 can be provided in a passage comprising curves or bends.
• the exits 136 can be fluidically connected to the wick 120 (by a recycling path different from the path of the air channel) through a droplet channel provided in place of the droplet reservoir 126 that does not store a substantial volume of droplets (D).
• baffles 134 are provided and are oriented at about 100° to the longitudinal axis of the air channel tube 128, as measured from the tip to the base of each baffle 134.
• the baffles 134 are panels with a curved shape oriented to present a concave face towards the upstream direction to facilitate catching or obstructing of the droplets (D).
• Two baffles are provided on the air channel tube 128 at longitudinally offset positions on opposite sides of the air channel tube 128. As shown more clearly in Figure 4 , the baffles 134 overlap in the air channel (A) and extend past a central longitudinal axis (x) of the air channel tube 128 at the geometrical centre of the air channel tube 128.
• Each baffle 134 extends from the air channel tube 128 by about 75% of the width of the air channel (A), which in this embodiment is defined by the diameter of the air channel tube 128, leaving an open segment for air and vapour to flow uninhibited.
• the baffles 134 can have any other suitable construction and arrangement.
• the baffles 134 can be substantially flat, could each extend by about 50%, 60%, 80%, or more of the width of the air channel (A), could be porous or comprise a mesh to improve airflow through the air channel (A), or could be oriented at more or less than 100° to the longitudinal axis of the air channel tube 128.
• the foam 132 comprises polystyrene, in this example.
• the foam can comprise or be replaced with any other suitable porous material that can absorb and draw droplets (D) through the exits 136.
• the foam 132 can be provided as a layer wrapped around the outer surface of the air channel tube 128.
• the foam 132 can have a thickness (or size) that, when allowed to expand freely, is larger than a separation distance between the outer wall 130 and the air channel tube 128.
• the foam 132 can be compressed before being placed between the outer wall 130 and the air channel tube 128, so that it partially expands and remains compressed while present in the droplet reservoir 126.
• the exits 136 are provided as approximately circular openings or slots positioned at the base of each baffle 134 and upstream of each baffle 134. As the aerosol generating device 100 is generally held upwards in use, after cessation of user-generated airflow, any droplets (D) generally fall downwards due to gravity. This positioning of the exits 136, together with the angle of the baffles 134, allows the droplets (D) to be captured. In other embodiments, the exits 136 can be of any other shape.
• a user can activate the heater 118 by pressing the button 110.
• the controller 106 detects the actuation of the button 110 by the user and enables the battery 108 to provide electrical current to the heater 118, whereafter the electrical resistance of the heater 118 generates heat.
• the wick 120 continuously draws aerosol generating fluid 124 from the main reservoir 122, which becomes heated by the heater 118 to generate the aerosol.
• the user inhales through the mouthpiece 116, generating airflow from the air inlet 112 to the air outlet 114 along the air channel path (A) shown in Figures 1 and 3 .
• the airflow follows a circuitous path around the baffles 134 and can reach the air outlet 114 relatively uninhibited.
• Un-vapourised droplets (D) in the aerosol encounter the upstream faces of the baffles 134, as shown in Figure 3 , becoming obstructed and prevented from reaching the air outlet 114. This provides a higher quality vapour to the user that is free of large droplets.
• the obstructed droplets (D) slide back down the baffles 134 towards the exits 136.
• the foam 132 protrudes from the exits 136 and any droplets (D) sliding along the baffles 134 or the inner wall of the air channel tube 128 become absorbed by the foam 132 and drawn through the exits 136. This captures the droplets (D) so that they are de-coupled from the airflow path and prevented from flooding the heater 118.
• the foam 132 is provided mainly outside of the air channel (A) to avoid unduly restricting the airflow.
• the foam 132 also prevents the absorbed droplets (D) from being sucked back through the exits 136 in subsequent puffs.
• the droplet reservoir 126 is fluidically connected to the wick 120 to recycle the absorbed droplets (D) so that the fluid is not wasted.
• Figure 5 shows a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the aerosol generating device 100 in an alternative arrangement comprising a control unit 10 and a cartridge 20.
• the aerosol generation system 104 is provided on a cartridge 20 that can be removably attached to a control unit 10 comprising the controller 106 and the battery 108.
• the cartridge 20 can be disposable, or alternatively refillable through any suitable refilling mechanism.
• the cartridge 20 can be attached and detached from the control unit 10 by any suitable attachment mechanism known in the art.
• the heater 118 is provided on the cartridge 20, however in other arrangements the heater 118 and wick 120 (or any alternatively provided aerosol generation mechanism) could be provided on the control unit 10. In this case, a suitable fluid channel for providing aerosol generating fluid to the wick 120 can be provided.
• Figure 6 shows a cross-sectional schematic diagram of an aerosol generation system 204 that can be used in the aerosol generation device 100 or the cartridge 20 in place of the aerosol generation system 104.
• Figure 7 shows a cross sectional schematic diagram of the aerosol generation system 204 for a different cross-section taken perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the aerosol generating device 100.
• the aerosol generation system 204 is identical to the aerosol generation system 104 and comprises the same components as described previously, except that no droplet reservoir is provided.
• the exits 136 open directly to a main reservoir 222, which may be the only reservoir in this arrangement.
• the main reservoir 222 is annular with a circular cross section in this example but can have any other suitable construction as discussed above with respect to the main reservoir 122.
• the foam 132 fills the main reservoir 222 and is sized to be compressed in the main reservoir 222 so that it protrudes from the exits 136.
• the foam 132 is soaked with the aerosol generating fluid 124.
• the air channel tube 128 in this embodiment is an inner wall of the main reservoir 222.
• the foam 132 is in contact with the wick 120 by an opening (not shown) in the air channel tube 128 so that the absorbed droplets (D) can be drawn from the foam 132 to the wick 120 by capillary action to recycle the droplets (D) without flooding the heater 118.
• the arrangement of the aerosol generating system 204 can provide a mechanism for capturing and recycling droplets that is simpler to manufacture and retrofit to existing designs.

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Citations (4)

• 2024
  • 2024-03-05 EP EP24161605.1A patent/EP4613118A1/fr active Pending
• 2025
  • 2025-02-26 WO PCT/EP2025/055242 patent/WO2025186082A1/fr active Pending

Patent Citations (4)

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