Abstract: An aerosol-generating system is provided, including: a liquid storage portion including a container to hold a liquid aerosol-forming substrate and defining an opening at an end thereof; a heater assembly extending across the opening along a plane transverse to a longitudinal axis of the storage portion and including electrically conductive filaments having a substantially flat orientation; a capillary material between the storage portion and the assembly; and conductive contacts in electrical contact with contacts of the assembly, the storage portion being at a first side of the assembly, and first and second portions of a first airflow channel at a second side of the assembly, the first portion to direct air from outside the system in a direction towards a surface of the capillary material, and the second portion to direct air from the outside in a direction away from the surface before such air enters the first portion.

Abstract: An aerosol-generating system including a cartridge is provided, the cartridge including a liquid storage portion including a housing configured to hold a liquid aerosol-forming substrate, the housing having an opening; and a heater assembly including at least one heater element fixed to the housing and extending across an opening of the housing, wherein a width of the at least one heater element of the heater assembly is smaller than a width of the opening of the housing. The heater element may be spaced from a periphery of the opening, leading to more efficient heating and aerosol production.

Abstract: An aerosol-generating device is provided, including: an induction heater configured to heat an aerosol-forming substrate, the induction heater including an induction coil and a heating element, the heating element being arrangeable within the induction coil, and the induction coil having a varying pitch. An aerosol generating system is also provided, including the aerosol generating device and an aerosol generating article including an aerosol-forming substrate.

Abstract: An aerosol-generating device is provided, including: a housing having a chamber configured to receive at least a portion of an aerosol-generating article; an inductor coil disposed around at least a portion of the chamber; a plurality of elongate susceptor elements projecting into the chamber and spaced apart from each other, the susceptor elements each extending substantially parallel to a magnetic axis of the inductor coil; and a power supply and a controller connected to the inductor coil and configured to provide an alternating electric current to the inductor coil such that the inductor coil generates an alternating magnetic field to heat the susceptor elements and thereby heat at least a portion of the article received in the chamber, the inductor coil being helical and having a non-circular cross-sectional shape. An aerosol-generating system including the device, the article, and the susceptor elements, is also provided.

Abstract: There is described an aerosol-forming substrate for use in combination with an inductive heating device. The aerosol-forming substrate comprises a solid material which is capable of releasing volatile compounds that can form an aerosol upon heating of the aerosol-forming substrate and at least a first susceptor material for heating the aerosol-forming substrate. The at least first susceptor material is arranged in thermal proximity of the solid material. The aerosol-forming substrate further comprises at least a second susceptor material which has a second Curie-temperature which is lower than a first Curie-temperature of the first susceptor material. The second Curie-temperature of the second susceptor material corresponds to a predefined maximum heating temperature of the first susceptor material. There is also described an aerosol-delivery system.

Abstract: A smoking article is provided, including: a combustible heat source having front and rear ends; an aerosol-forming substrate downstream of the rear end; an outer wrapper circumscribing the substrate and at least a rear portion of the heat source; one or more airflow pathways along which air may be drawn through the article for inhalation; one or more third air inlets downstream of the substrate for drawing air into the airflow pathways; and an airflow directing element downstream of the substrate, the third air inlets being provided between a downstream end of the substrate and a downstream end of the airflow directing element, the airflow pathways include an airflow pathway extending between the third air inlets and a mouth end of the article, and the heat source being isolated from the pathways such that air drawn through the article along the pathways does not directly contact the heat source.

Abstract: An electrically heated aerosol-generating system is provided, including an aerosol-generating device and a cartridge configured to be removably coupled with the device, the device including a device housing comprising a cavity configured to receive at least a portion of the cartridge when the device housing is engaged with the device housing, an inductor coil disposed around or adjacent to the cavity, and a power supply connected to the inductor coil and configured to provide a high frequency oscillating current to the inductor coil; and the cartridge including a cartridge housing configured to engage the device housing and containing an aerosol-forming substrate, the cartridge housing having an external surface surrounding the aerosol-forming substrate, at least a portion of the external surface being formed by a fluid permeable susceptor element configured to allow the aerosol-forming substrate, in liquid phase, to permeate therethrough.

Abstract: A cartridge for use in an aerosol-generating system is provided, including a liquid storage portion including a housing configured to hold a liquid aerosol-forming substrate, the liquid storage portion including at least two parts in fluid communication with each other; a first part of the liquid storage portion including a heater assembly, a first capillary material, provided in contact with the heater assembly, and a second capillary material in contact with the first capillary material and spaced apart from the heater assembly by the first capillary material; and a second part of the liquid storage portion including a container configured to hold the liquid aerosol-forming substrate in liquid form to supply the liquid to the second capillary material.

Abstract: An aerosol-generating system includes a storage portion configured to hold an aerosol-forming substrate, a first electrode, a second electrode spaced from the first electrode, and a control system. At least a portion of the storage portion is between the first electrode and the second electrode. The portion of the storage portion between the first electrode and the second electrode holds the aerosol-forming substrate when the aerosol-forming substrate is held in the storage portion. The control system is configured to measure an electrical quantity between the first electrode and the second electrode, and identify the liquid aerosol-forming substrate held in the storage portion based on the measured electrical quantity information.

Abstract: An aerosol-generating device is provided, including one or more DC power sources; a load network including an inductor and a capacitor connected in series; first drive circuitry connected to the DC power source(s) and across the network and being configured to provide a first voltage drop across the network; second drive circuitry connected to the DC power source(s) and across the network and being configured to provide a second voltage drop across the network, the second voltage drop being in an opposite direction to the first voltage drop; and a controller connected to the first and the second drive circuitry and being configured to control the first and the second drive circuitry so that both the first and the second voltage drops are provided across the network periodically and so that the second voltage drop is not provided across the network simultaneously with the first voltage drop.

Abstract: An aerosol-generating device is provided, including an induction heater configured to heat an aerosol-forming substrate, the heater including an induction coil and a heating element, the heating element being arrangeable within the induction coil; and a housing including first and second housing portions, the first housing portion including a power supply configured to supply power to the induction coil and a controller configured to control the supply of power to the induction coil, and the second housing portion includes the induction coil, and is configured to receive a consumable containing the aerosol-forming substrate, the first and the second housing portions are movable between a first operable position and a second position in which the first and the second housing portions are displaced and the heating element is accessible, and the heating element is configured to be replaced when the first and the second housing portions are in the second position.

Abstract: An aerosol-generating system is provided, including: an aerosol-generating device including a power source; and a cartridge removably coupled to the device, the cartridge including a liquid storage portion including a housing having an open end and containing a liquid aerosol-forming substrate, a substantially flat heater assembly fixed to the open end of the housing and including an electrical heating element arranged in a curved manner and configured to heat the substrate to form an aerosol, and a capillary material disposed in contact with the heating element and being configured to convey the substrate to the heating element, the liquid storage portion being disposed at a first side of the assembly and an airflow channel at a second side of the assembly, the airflow channel defining an airflow path over the assembly and configured to convey the aerosol, and the power source being configured to supply power to the assembly.

Abstract: An aerosol-generating device is provided, including a housing having a chamber sized to receive at least a portion of an aerosol-forming substrate, the chamber defining a heating zone; a first coil disposed at least partially around, or adjacent to, the heating zone; and a second coil disposed at least partially around, or adjacent to, the heating zone, the first coil being a drive coil couplable to a source of alternating current, and the second coil being a resonant coil of a resonant circuit, the second coil being inductively couplable to the first coil.

Abstract: The invention relates to an aerosol-generating device (10) for receiving a mouthpiece (12). The aerosol-generating device comprises a detection element (20) for detecting a type of mouthpiece received by the aerosol-generating device, a controller (24) for controlling an operation parameter of the aerosol-generating device and a heating element configured to heat an aerosol-forming substrate of an aerosol-generating article (28) when the aerosol-generating article is received by the aerosol-generating device. The controller is configured to receive an input indicative of the type of mouthpiece detected by the detection element and configured to control the operation parameter of the aerosol-generating device on basis of the detected type of mouthpiece received by the aerosol-generating device. The operation parameter of the aerosol-generating device comprises a temperature profile of the heating element during heating.

Abstract: The split airflow system for an electrically heated smoking system for generating aerosol, the split airflow system having a downstream end comprises a first channel defining a first flow route and a second channel defining a second flow route. The first flow route directs ambient air from outside the system to the downstream end of the system. The second flow route directs ambient air from outside the system towards a preferably substantially flat, fluid permeable, heating element before conveying the ambient air to the downstream end. The first channel and the second channel define a total volume of ambient air passing through the system and the first channel provides at least 50 percent of the total volume of ambient air passing through the system. The invention also refers to a method for guiding an airflow in an electrically heated smoking system for generating aerosol and an electrically heated smoking system comprising the split airflow system.

Abstract: An inductive heating device, an aerosol-generating system, and a method of operating the device are provided. The device is configured to receive an aerosol-generating article including an aerosol-forming substrate and a susceptor, and to heat the susceptor when the article is received by the device, the device including a DC power supply; and power supply electronics configured to supply power to the inductor in a plurality of pulses separated by time intervals, for heating the susceptor when the article is received by the device, the pulses including two or more heating pulses and one or more probing pulses between successive heating pulses, and to control a duration of a time interval between the successive heating pulses based on one or more measurements of the current supplied from the DC power supply in one or more of the one or more probing pulses.

Abstract: There is provided an electrically operated aerosol-generating device for heating an aerosol-generating article including an aerosol-forming substrate by heating a susceptor element positioned to heat the substrate. The device includes a housing defining a chamber configured to receive at least a portion of the article, an inductor including an inductor coil disposed around at least a portion of the chamber, and a power source connected to the inductor coil and configured to provide a high frequency electric current to the inductor coil to generate a fluctuating electromagnetic field to heat the susceptor element and thereby heat the substrate. The inductor further includes a flux concentrator disposed around the inductor coil and configured to distort the fluctuating electromagnetic field towards the chamber. The flux concentrator includes a plurality of discrete flux concentrator segments positioned adjacent to one another. An aerosol-generating system and an inductor assembly are also provided.

Abstract: An aerosol delivery system includes an inductive heating device and an aerosol-forming article. The aerosol-forming article includes a plurality of aerosol-forming segments and at least two different susceptors. The inductive heating device includes a device housing including a cavity to accommodate at least a portion of the aerosol-forming article including the plurality of aerosol-forming segments, a coil arranged to surround the cavity, an electrical power source, and a power supply electronics connected to the electrical power source and to the coil. The power supply electronics supplies an alternating current to the coil to generate an alternating magnetic field having magnetic field strength and a frequency to, in at least one aerosol-forming segment, generate a thermal power which is greater than the rate of heat loss of this aerosol-forming segment.

Abstract: An electrically heatable aerosol-generating system is provided, including an aerosol-generating device and a cartridge, the cartridge including: a cartridge housing including an inner wall and an outer wall, the inner wall being disposed within the outer wall and defining an internal passage through which air can flow, the inner and outer walls defining a hollow space therebetween, an aerosol-forming substrate contained within the space, and a susceptor element; and the device including: a device housing defining a cavity to receive at least a portion of the cartridge, an inductor coil positioned in the device housing around or adjacent to the cavity and positioned outside of the cartridge when the cartridge is received in the cavity, and a power supply connected to the coil and to provide a high-frequency oscillating current to the coil, such that a magnetic field generated by the coil causes generation of heat in the susceptor element.

Abstract: A cartridge for an aerosol-generating system is provided, the cartridge including: a liquid storage portion including a housing with a first opening, to contain a liquid aerosol-forming substrate; and a heater assembly including an electrically insulating support having a second opening, an electrical heating element supported by the insulating support and to heat the substrate to form an aerosol, and first and second electrically conductive contact portions disposed at opposite sides of the second opening and to connect to electrical connectors of a battery to supply power to the heater assembly, and a capillary material having first and second faces, the first face being in physical contact with the heating element and the second face being opposite the first face, the capillary material to convey the substrate to the heating element by capillary action, the heater assembly being connected to the housing of the liquid storage portion.