Imperial Tobacco Patente

Provided is a smokeless article for oral delivery, comprising a pouch enclosing a content. The content comprises a nicotinic compound; at least one fibrous material; a first flavourant comprising aloe vera; and a second flavourant that is aloe vera extract, menthol, or a flavour component providing a flavour selected from: rosemary, chamomile, citrus, coconut, peppermint, frankincense, spearmint, wintergreen, tea tree oil, oregano, lavender, liquorice, cocoa, cherry, vanilla, spice, apricot, banana, guava, melon, peach, pear, peas, honey, soybean, olive, avocado, plum, rose apple, starfruit, sesame seed, fig, coriander, quince, lychee, dill, lovage, kiwi, loquat, sage, Chinese quince, star anise, fennel, and tobacco. The first flavourant is present in an amount of between 0.1 wt% and 20 wt% based on a total weight of the content, and the second flavourant is present in an amount of between 0.1 wt% and 20 wt% based on the total weight of the content. Also provided is a manufacturing method for making smokeless articles, and a kit comprising a plurality of smokeless articles.

The present invention relates to a smokeless article for oral consumption comprising a pouch enclosing a content, the content comprising a nicotinic compound, at least one fibrous material, a first flavourant comprising eucalyptus flavourant, a second flavourant comprising a non-eucalyptus flavour component, and a cooling agent distinct from menthol and eucalyptol. A method of manufacturing the articles, and kits comprising the articles, are also described.

An aerosol generating system (1) is described. The aerosol generating system includes: a device housing (50), wherein the device housing (50) is elongate along a housing longitudinal axis; an airflow path between an airflow inlet (6) and an airflow outlet; and an airflow lock (60) located along the airflow path. The airflow lock includes a lock chassis (65) through which an airflow lock aperture (66) is formed. The airflow lock aperture (66) has an upstream opening (66a) and a downstream opening (66b). The airflow lock includes a button (70) movably connected to the chassis (65). The button (70) is movable to selectively open the airflow path in an unlocked configuration by uncovering the upstream airflow opening (66a) and to close the airflow path in a locked configuration by sealing the upstream opening (66b). A secure method of locking and unlocking the system is thereby provided.

An aerosol generation apparatus comprising a controller 50 configured to instruct aerosol generating unit circuitry 60 and monitor the status of the aerosol generating unit circuitry. The controller compares the aerosol generating unit instructed status and aerosol generating unit actual status to identify the presence of faults within the aerosol generation apparatus. The present disclosure includes a method of detecting faults, a computer readable medium storing instructions to perform the method, and a system including the aerosol generating unit and an article configured to hold aerosol-forming material.

A method of monitoring user puff activity of an aerosol-generating system (1, 100) comprising a heating element (2a, 102a) for generating an aerosol from an aerosol-forming material is described. The method includes controlling a power operation of the heating element at regular time intervals for maintaining a target temperature by switching a power supply from the power source (4, 104) to the heating element (2a, 102a) between a high power and a low power, calculating a first value indicative of the power operation over a first consecutive set of the time intervals, and a second value indicative of the power operation over a second consecutive set of the time intervals starting after the first consecutive set, and determining that a puff has either started or ended if an absolute difference between the first value and the second value is greater than a predetermined threshold.

The invention refers to an aerosol-generating device (1) for generating an aerosol from an article (30), comprising a device body (20) including an article chamber (26) for receiving and heating the article (30) to generate the aerosol, a mouth end portion (22) moveable relative to the device body (20) between a first position and a second position, and an air passageway for supplying the aerosol from the article chamber (26) towards a mouth of a user, wherein the air passageway extends through the mouth end portion (22), wherein, in the first position, the article chamber (26) is closed by the mouth end portion (22), and wherein, in the second position, the article chamber (26) is exposed for inserting the article (30) into the article chamber (26) and/or for removing the article (30) from the article chamber (26).

A printed circuit board (PCB) for an aerosol generating device is provided. The printed circuit board comprises: one or more power input terminals for receiving power from a power source, and one or more heater terminals for providing the power from the power input terminals to a heating system of the aerosol generating apparatus. A first outer layer of the printed circuit board comprises a plurality of signal traces and one or more copper pours. The first outer layer comprises: a first main zone comprising each of the one or more copper pours, and a first keep-out zone surrounding the one or more heater terminals, wherein the one of more copper pours are delineated by a perimeter between the first main zone and the first keep-out zone, and a shortest distance between the one or more heater terminals and the first main zone is at least 2mm.

An aerosol-generating device for use in an aerosol-generating system is provided. The aerosol-generating system comprising an aerosol-forming material and an aerosol-generating unit configured to generate an aerosol from the aerosol-forming material. The aerosol-generating device comprising: a puff sensor configured to detect a user puff; a power source configured to supply electrical energy to the aerosol-generating unit; and a controller communicatively coupled to the puff sensor to receive a signal indicative of the user puff from the puff sensor. The controller is configured to: determine a duration of the detected user puff based on the received signal; and increase an amount of electrical energy supplied to the aerosol-generating unit from the power source when the duration of the puff exceeds a predetermined threshold. There is also provided an aerosol-generating system, and a method of controlling operation of an aerosol-generating system

An aerosol-generating system is disclosed, the aerosol-generating system, comprising: a device body comprising: an internal chamber for receiving an article via an opening, the internal chamber being arranged within the device body; an aerosol-generating unit, the aerosol generating unit being configured to generate an aerosol from the article when the article is received in the internal chamber; a closure member arranged at the opening to control access to the internal chamber, wherein the closure member is moveable by a user between a closed position in which the closure member fully obstructs the opening of the internal chamber and prevents insertion of an article into the internal chamber, and an open position in which the closure member does not obstruct the opening of the internal chamber and an article may be inserted into the internal chamber; and a processing resource, wherein the processing resource is configured to detect a user input by means of user operation of the closure member and control a control function of the device body in response to the user input.

An aerosol-generating system, comprising: a device body comprising: an internal chamber arranged within the device body for receiving an article; an aerosol-generating unit within the internal chamber configured to generate an aerosol from the article when the article is received in the internal chamber; a closure member arranged at an opening of the internal chamber to control access of the article to the internal chamber; and a processing resource, wherein the closure member is moveable between a closed position, in which the closure member fully obstructs the opening of the internal chamber and prevents insertion of an article into the internal chamber, and an open position, in which the closure member does not obstruct the opening of the internal chamber and an article may be inserted into the internal chamber, through an intermediate position, and wherein the processing resource is configured to detect a position of the closure member and determine, based on the processing resource detecting that the closure member is located at the intermediate position, that an article is located within the internal chamber.

Provided is an aerosol-generating article for use in an aerosol-generating system, the aerosol-generating article comprising: an aerosol-generating segment comprising aerosol former, the aerosol-generating segment having a longitudinal direction aligned with a flowpath of the article; and an aerosol former buffer region abutting the aerosol-generating segment at a first end of the aerosol-generating segment in the longitudinal direction. The aerosol former buffer region has a length aligned with the flowpath of the article of between 0.5 and 20 mm, and the aerosol-generating segment and the aerosol former buffer region are bounded by a connecting wrapper. Either (i) the aerosol former buffer region comprises a solid substrate comprising an anti-humectant material, or (ii) the aerosol former buffer region is a void bounded by the connecting wrapper. A system comprising the aerosol-generating article and an aerosol-generating unit is also described. A use of the article and of the system is also described, as are methods of manufacture.

An extrudable composition is described comprising: a particulate filler material; a liquid carrier; and a polyacrylic acid binder. Extruded aerosol-forming rods are also described, along with aerosol-forming articles, for example heated tobacco products, containing such rods.

Disclosed is an aerosol-generating segment for a heat-not-burn consumable, the aerosol-generating segment being wrapped by a layered wrapper comprising a paper layer and a foil layer, wherein the paper layer has a basis weight of 70 gsm or more and the foil layer has a basis weight of about 10 to about 20 gsm; an aerosol-generating system comprising the aerosol-generating segment or the heat-not-burn consumable and an aerosol-generating unit; and use of the layered wrapper.

Disclosed herein is an aerosol-generating segment for use in an aerosol-generating apparatus, the aerosol-generating segment having an axial direction aligned with a flowpath of the aerosol-generating segment, and wherein the aerosol-generating segment comprises an aerosol-forming material extending in the axial direction, the aerosol-forming material comprising a fibrous filler having a density of 0.03 - 0.16 mg/mm³. Also disclosed are methods, uses, consumables and kits.

There is provided a method for determining whether insufficient aerosol precursor is present at an aerosol-generating unit of an aerosol-generating system, the method comprising: determining that an aerosol generation session has started at a first point in time (120); generating a driving signal to cause the aerosol-generating unit to generate an aerosol from the aerosol precursor, the driving signal having a duty cycle (130); monitoring the duty cycle of the driving signal during the aerosol generation session (160); determining that the duty cycle of the driving signal has fallen below a predetermined duty cycle threshold at a second point in time (170); comparing a time period between the first point in time and the second point in time to a reference time period (180); and if the time period is less than the reference time period, determining that insufficient aerosol precursor is present at the aerosol-generating unit (190).

The disclosure relates to an aerosol generating segment (40) for a heat-not-burn consumable, the aerosol generating segment comprising one or more first sheets of a first aerosol forming material (43), wherein the first aerosol forming material comprises a first aerosol forming liquid absorbed into a first carrier material, and one or more second sheets of a second aerosol forming material (44) wherein the second aerosol forming material comprises a second aerosol forming liquid absorbed into a second carrier material, wherein the second sheets are dispersed amongst the one or more first sheets in the aerosol generating segment, and the second carrier material has an absorbency for the second aerosol forming liquid which is greater than an absorbency of the first carrier material for the first aerosol forming liquid. Also disclosed is a heat-not-burn consumable (70) comprising the aerosol generating segment; an aerosol generating system comprising the heat-not-burn consumable and an aerosol generating unit; a method of manufacturing the aerosol generating segment and a use of the aerosol generating segment.

The disclosure relates to an aerosol generating segment (40) for a heat-not-burn consumable, the aerosol generating segment comprising one or more sheets of a first aerosol-forming material (43) comprising a first aerosol forming liquid absorbed into a first carrier material, and a plurality of particles of a second aerosol-forming material (44) comprising a second aerosol forming liquid absorbed into a second carrier material, wherein the second carrier material has an absorbency for the second aerosol forming liquid which is greater than an absorbency of the first carrier material for the first aerosol forming liquid. Also disclosed is a heat-not-burn consumable (70) comprising the aerosol generating segment; an aerosol generating system comprising the heat-not-burn consumable and an aerosol generating unit; a method of manufacturing the aerosol generating segment and a use of the aerosol generating segment.

A heat-not-burn consumable (70) for use with an aerosol generating unit comprising a heating element, the consumable comprising a rod-shaped aerosol generating segment (6) and a mouthpiece, wherein the aerosol generating segment (6) comprises a first part comprising a first aerosol forming material and a second part comprising a second aerosol forming material, where the first aerosol forming material and the second aerosol forming material have a different composition, and wherein each of the first part of the aerosol generating segment and the second part of the aerosol generating segment extend from an upstream end of the consumable to a downstream end of the aerosol generating segment.

The disclosure relates to an aerosol generating segment for a heat-not-burn consumable, a heat-not-burn consumable comprising the aerosol generating segment, a method of preparing an aerosol generating segment and use of the aerosol generating segment or heat-not-burn consumable. The aerosol generating segment comprises one or more sheets of an aerosol forming material, wherein the aerosol forming material comprises a carrier material and an aerosol forming liquid; wherein a first portion of the aerosol forming material has a first concentration of the aerosol forming liquidand a second portion of the aerosol forming material has a second concentration of the aerosol forming liquid, wherein the first concentration is greater than the second concentration.

An aerosol-generating segment 100 for a heat-not-burn consumable 70, an aerosol forming material 6, comprising a substrate and an aerosol former; and a wrapper 140 circumscribing the aerosol forming material 6; wherein the aerosol forming material 6 comprises a high concentration region of liquid aerosol former 150 and a low concentration region of liquid aerosol former, wherein the high concentration region 150 is located adjacent to a portion of the interface between the aerosol forming material 6 and wrapper 140; a heat-not-burn consumable 70 comprising such an aerosol-generating segment 100; an aerosol-generating system comprising a heat-not-burn consumable 70 and an aerosol-generating apparatus 1, the aerosol-generating apparatus 1 comprising an aerosol generating unit 4; and a method of manufacturing such an aerosol-generating segment 100.

A co-extruded aerosol-forming rod is described comprising a sheath comprising aerosol-forming material; and an axially extending core region circumscribed by and contained within the sheath. The aerosol-forming rod finds use within an aerosol-forming article, for example a heated tobacco (HT) product.

An aerosol-generating segment 100 for a heat-not-burn consumable, the aerosol-generating segment 100 comprising an aerosol forming material 6 which comprises a substrate 120 and aerosol former, where the aerosol former is non-uniformly distributed in the substrate 120 and is at a higher average concentration in a central region 122 than a peripheral region 124; a heat-not-burn consumable 70 comprising such an aerosol-generating segment 100; an aerosol-generating system comprising such an aerosol-generating segment 100, or such a heat-not-burn consumable 70 and an aerosol-generating unit 1; a method of manufacturing such an aerosol-generating segment 100; and use of the same.

A consumable (100, 200, 300) for an aerosol generating apparatus (202), the consumable (100, 200, 300) comprising an aerosol precursor comprising a substrate (104, 204), an outer conductive element (106, 206) extending around a consumable axis and encasing the substrate (104, 204), and an inner conductive element (108, 208) located within the substrate (104, 204), wherein the outer conductive element (106, 206) and the inner conductive element (108, 208) are each configured to heat the substrate (104, 204).

A consumable (100, 200) for an aerosol generating apparatus (202), the consumable (100, 200) comprising: an aerosol precursor comprising a substrate (104, 204), the substrate (104, 204) having an upstream end face (104a, 204a) and a downstream end face (104b, 204b); a conductive membrane (106, 206), the conductive membrane (106, 206) covering at least a portion of the upstream end face (104a, 204a) of the substrate (104, 204); and, an elongate conductive element (108, 208) in thermal contact with the substrate (104, 204) and the conductive membrane (106, 206), the elongate conductive element (108, 208) extending from the conductive membrane (106, 206) towards the downstream end face (104b, 204b) of the substrate (104, 204).

There is provided an aerosol-generating system, including: an aerosol-generating unit operable to generate aerosol from an aerosol-forming material in a storage portion; an air inlet, a mouth end, and an air passageway extending therebetween via a region in proximity to the aerosol-generating unit; wherein the mouth end includes a filter receptacle and a filter received into the filter receptacle; wherein the filter has a first portion defining a first end of the filter and a second portion defining a second end of the filter; wherein either portion of the filter is receivable into the filter receptacle so that the other portion is exposed from the filter receptacle for delivery of generated aerosol to a user via the exposed end.

An aerosol-generating device for use with aerosol-generating articles of first and second types (30a,b). The device comprises an engagement portion (11) configured to engage an aerosol-generating article having an airflow inlet (16), an airflow sensor (22) arranged to sense a characteristic of an airflow upstream of the airflow inlet of an article when engaged with the device, and a controller (33) operatively connected to the airflow sensor. The controller is configured to identify whether the article engaged with the engagement portion is an article of the first type or an article of the second type based on the sensed characteristic of the airflow.

The present disclosure relates to an aerosol-generating device having a main body and a mouthpiece body, the mouthpiece body comprising a lip-engaging portion and an article-receiving portion, the article-receiving portion having a cavity configured to receive an article comprising aerosol-forming material, wherein the mouthpiece body is moveable with respect to the main body so as to provide a first retracted position wherein the article-receiving portion is located within the main body and the lip-engaging portion extend from the main body, and an extended position wherein the cavity is exposed, such that an article may be inserted or removed.

The present disclosure relates to an aerosol-generating system comprising a device body, an article comprising aerosol-forming material, and a mouthpiece, the mouthpiece having a lip-engaging portion formed of fibrous material, wherein the mouthpiece is moveable relative to an outer housing of the body so as to provide an active position wherein the lip-engaging portion extends from the body and a retracted position wherein the lip-engaging portion is housed within the body.

This disclosure refers to an electrical circuitry (25) which is configured to implement pulse-width-modulation by switching the voltage supplied to the aerosol-generating unit (2) between a lower AGU voltage level and a higher AGU voltage level, wherein the electrical circuitry (25) includes a first switching element (50) configured to switch the voltage supplied to the aerosol-generating unit (2) between the lower AGU voltage level and the higher AGU voltage level depending on a control voltage, and a control circuit (25a) for generating the control voltage to be supplied to the first switching element (50), wherein the control circuit (25a) is configured, based on a switching signal of the pulse-width-modulation and/or frequency modulation, to switch between generating: a first control voltage and a second control voltage, and wherein the control circuit (25a) is further configured to change the first control voltage so as to modify the lower AGU voltage level.

The present invention relates to a smokeless article for oral delivery comprising a pouch enclosing a content, comprising a filler, a nicotinic compound, and a plant material, wherein the plant material comprises a hydrophobic coating. Also described are a method of manufacturing the article and a kit comprising the article.

The present invention relates to a smokeless article for oral delivery (10) comprising a pouch (12) enclosing a content (14), wherein the content contains a component which renders the content hydrophobic, and the pouch comprises a nicotinic compound. A method for manufacturing smokeless articles (10) and a kit comprising smokeless articles (10) is also described. Use of a hydrophobic content to restrict transfer of a nicotinic compound from a pouch (12) of a pouched smokeless article for oral delivery (10) to a content (14) enclosed by the pouch.

An aerosol generating system (1) is described. The system includes a device housing (50), wherein the device housing (50) is elongate along a housing longitudinal axis. An airflow path is located between an airflow inlet (6) and an airflow outlet. An airflow lock (60) is located along the airflow path. The airflow lock (60) includes a button (70) to selectively open the airflow path in a unlocked configuration and close the airflow path in a locked configuration. The button (70) is rotationally connected to the housing (50) to be rotatable about the housing longitudinal axis. The button (70) is rotationally biased about the housing longitudinal axis. A secure method of locking and unlocking the system is thereby provided.

A smokeless article (10) for oral delivery, the article comprising a pouch (12), wherein the pouch encloses a pouch content (14). A method of preparation of a smokeless article (10) and a kit comprising smokeless articles (10) is also described.

A smokeless article (10) for oral delivery, the article comprising a pouch (12), wherein the pouch encloses a pouch content (14). A method of preparation of a smokeless article (10) and a kit comprising smokeless articles (10) is also described.

There is provided an aerosol generating apparatus, including: a precursor chamber for receiving an aerosol precursor; an IR heating system configured to emit IR radiation across a total range of wavenumbers; wherein the aerosol generating apparatus is operable by a user to initiate an aerosol session over which to generate aerosol from the aerosol precursor using the IR heating system; and wherein during the aerosol session, the IR heating system is configured to increase, relative to the total radiant power output by the IR heating system, radiant power of IR radiation emitted across a target range of wavenumbers contained in the total range of wavenumbers to increase consistency of the aerosol generated over the aerosol session.

The present disclosure relates to an aerosol-forming article (e.g. a heat-not-burn (HNB) consumable) comprising an aerosol-forming substrate and a plurality of filter elements. At least two of the filter elements have different hardness from one another.

A smokeless article for oral delivery of a nicotinic component. The smokeless article comprises a water-permeable pouch having two or more compartments including a first compartment and a second compartment each containing a content, each compartment, or each content, comprising at least one of a nicotinic component and a flavouring. The format of the content contained in the first compartment is different to the format contained in the second component. Also disclosed is a method of manufacturing a smokeless article, a kit comprising a plurality of smokeless articles, and a use of a smokeless article.

A smokeless article for oral delivery of a nicotinic component. The smokeless article comprises a first compartment and a second compartment, which enclose a first content and second content, respectively. The first and second content are prevented from passing between compartments by a barrier. The pH of the first content is different to the pH of the second content, and one of the contents comprise a nicotinic component. A method of manufacturing a smokeless article

There is provided an aerosol-generating system, the aerosol-generating system having an aerosol locked mode and an aerosol unlocked mode, the aerosol-generating system further having a comms enabled state and a comms disabled state, wherein the aerosol-generating system includes: an aerosol-generating unit for generating aerosol from an aerosol precursor when the aerosol-generating system is in said aerosol unlocked mode, and configured to not generate aerosol when the aerosol-generating system is in said aerosol locked mode; a communication interface configured to be enabled to establish a wireless connection with an external device when the aerosol-generating system is in said comms enabled state, and configured to be disabled when the aerosol-generating system is in said comms disabled state; a controller configured to: cause the aerosol-generating system to transition from the comms disabled state to the comms enabled state in response to detection of a user action involving the aerosol generating device; if the communication interface establishes a wireless connection with the external device, cause the aerosol-generating system to switch from the locked mode to the unlocked mode based on the wireless connection, and cause the aerosol-generating system to transition from the comms enabled state to the comms disabled state.

An aerosol delivery system has a fluid transfer article with a first region for holding an aerosol precursor, and a wick which extends from the reservoir and makes abutting unbonded contact with a heating region of a heater of the aerosol-delivery system. There may be a seal closing the reservoir, with the wick extending through the seal so that aerosol precursor may pass from the reservoir through the wick to the heating surface. When the heater is active, that aerosol precursor will be heated to form an aerosol or vapour. When the user sucks or inhales through the aerosol delivery system, air flows through the air-flow pathway across the heating surface of the heater, so that aerosol passes from the heater and/or wick to the user in the air-flow. The heating region of the heater is flexible and therefore deforms due to the contact between itself and the wick ensuring good contact therebetween. The fluid-transfer article and the heater are separable, to allow the fluid-transfer article to be replaced.