Smoking Article for Aerosol Generation Device Comprising Information Code

Abstract

The present invention relates to a smoking article (1) comprising an information code (101). More specifically, a smoking article for use in an aerosol generation device (2), comprises a machine-readable pattern (101) representing coded data on a surface area (102) of a layer comprised by the smoking article, wherein the pattern is formed by a plurality of recesses in and/or protrusions from the surface area, or perforations of the layer in the surface area.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention is directed to a smoking article for an aerosol generation device comprising a tobacco material configured to generate an aerosol; more specifically, the present invention is directed to a smoking article comprising an information code.

BACKGROUND

An aerosol generation device, or E-cigarette, is now a mainstream product to simulate a traditional tobacco cigarette. There are many types of aerosol generation devices, and the one which still has tobacco or substrate inside is one of the most popular types. The advantage of this type of aerosol generation device is that the user is still smoking tobacco, which means the smoking perception resembles the traditional cigarette. Besides, by heating but not burning the smoking article, the aerosol generation device does not release the by-products of combustion such as tar and carbon monoxide. The operation method of the aerosol generation device is to contain an aerosol generation carrier inside and to heat it, but not to its burning point. There is also another type of E-cigarette, the operation method of which is to evaporate liquid to form smoke. For both types of aerosol generation devices, especially the one with substrate inside, a high-quality carrier is important. Hence, the authentication of the aerosol generation carrier (also referred to as consumable or smoking article, such as a “stick”) is important to guarantee the origin of the products for safety and health reasons. Furthermore, a proper control of the operation parameters such as heating the carrier at a matching temperature, is also important for delivering a pleasing aerosol taste.

Authentication can be achieved by including identification information encoded on the smoking article. For example, WO2010073122A1 relates to an electrically heated smoking system comprising: a smoking article including identification information printed thereon, a cavity for at least partially receiving the smoking article and a detector capable of detecting the presence of the smoking article in the cavity and distinguishing the smoking article from other articles configured for use with the smoking system, based on the identification information printed on the smoking article.

However, the proposed patterns and optical sensing techniques have the disadvantage that they are easy to copy and not reliable, as printed patterns are easy to counterfeit. Another disadvantage is that printed pattern on the article can be easily damaged or altered during handling thereby making the article impossible to identify.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a smoking article for an aerosol generation device, which solve some of or all of the above problems.

A 1st embodiment of the invention is directed to a smoking article for use in an aerosol generation device, comprising a machine-readable pattern representing coded data on a surface area of a layer comprised by the smoking article, wherein the pattern is formed by a plurality of recesses in and/or protrusions from the surface area, or perforations of the layer in the surface area.

With this arrangement of the pattern on the smoking article, the pattern of the smoking article is hard for counterfeiters to copy, since the device to make the pattern is complex, for example a laser ablation device. The pattern may also be more resistant to damage.

According to a 2nd embodiment, in the 1st embodiment, the smoking article has a substantially cylindrical shape.

According to a 3rd embodiment, in the any one of the preceding embodiments, the surface area is curved.

According to an 4th embodiment, in the any one of the preceding embodiments, the pattern represents binary-coded data.

According to a 5th embodiment, in the any one of the preceding embodiments, the pattern represents Quaternary code or Ternary code.

According to a 6th embodiment, in the any one of the preceding embodiments, the recesses and/or the protrusions are recessed in and/or protruding from the surface in multiple levels of depths and/or heights.

According to a 7th embodiment, in the any one of the preceding embodiments, the recesses and/or protrusions or the perforations are provided with different distances between each other.

According to an 8th embodiment, in the any one of the preceding embodiments, the light reflection and/or absorption properties of the pattern are different from that of the surface of the smoking article.

According to a 9th embodiment, in the any one of the preceding embodiments, different recesses and/or protrusions of the pattern have different light reflection and/or absorbing properties.

According to a 10th embodiment, in the any one of the preceding embodiments, colors of recessed and/or protruded surfaces or recesses and/or protrusions, respectively, are different from each other and/or from that of the surface of the smoking article.

According to an 11th embodiment, in the any one of the preceding embodiments, the perforations have a diameter between 1 and 0.072 mm, more preferably between 0.5 and 0.1 mm.

With this arrangement of the perforations, the light can be more accurately captured by the sensor in the aerosol generation device.

According to a 12th embodiment, in the any one of the preceding embodiments, the article comprises a wrapper and the machine-readable pattern is formed by perforations in the wrapper.

According to a 13th embodiment, in the preceding embodiment, the article is configured in a way that light can be transmitted through a cross section of the article and then through the perforations.

According to a 14th embodiment, in any one of the 13th or 14th embodiments, the article further comprises an aerosol generating substrate, a filter and a hollow tubular element positioned between the aerosol generating substrate and the filter.

According to a 15th embodiment, in the preceding embodiment, the wrapper comprises a tipping paper for holding the aerosol-generating substrate, the hollow tubular element and the filter, and the machine-readable pattern is formed by perforations in the tipping paper.

According to a 16th embodiment, in any one of the 13th or 14th embodiments, the perforations are preferably positioned in the area of a hollow tubular element and the hollow tubular element is non-perforated at the location of the perforations.

An 17th embodiment of the invention is directed to a method of using a smoking article in any one of the preceding embodiments, comprising reading the machine-readable pattern on the surface area of the layer comprised by the smoking article.

According to a 18th embodiment, in the 17th embodiment, the method comprises using the surface area of the smoking article as a reference surface, and determining information about the depth of a recess and/or the height of a protrusion of the pattern from the surface area with respect to the reference surface.

According to a 19th embodiment, in the 17th embodiment, the method comprises steps of:

• • using a predetermined recess or protrusion of the pattern as a reference depth or protrusion, and
  • determining information of the depth of other recesses and/or the height of other protrusions of the pattern with respect to the reference depth or protrusion.

According to a 20th embodiment, in any one of the 17th to 19th embodiments, the method comprises detecting light reflected and/or refracted by or transmitted through the pattern.

An 21st embodiment of the invention is directed to an aerosol device using a smoking article according to any one of the 1st to 16th embodiments, comprising a sensor configured to perform the method according to any one of the 17th to 20th embodiments.

According to a 22nd embodiment, in the 21st embodiment, the device further comprises a light source, wherein the light source is arranged at the same and/or a different side of the smoking article as the sensor when the smoking article is inserted into the device.

With this arrangement of the light source and sensor, the sensor can detect light reflected and/or refracted from the light source.

According to a 23rd embodiment, in the preceeding embodiment, the light source is arranged at a side opposite to the sensor, with regard to the smoking article when the smoking article is inserted into the device.

With this arrangement of the light source and sensor, the sensor can detect light transmitted through and/or scattered by the smoking article.

According to a 24th embodiment, in any one of the 21st to 23rd embodiments, the aerosol device comprises multiple sensors and/or multiple light sources.

A 25th embodiment of the invention is directed to a method of producing a smoking article according to any one of the 1st to 16th embodiments, comprising using an engraving device to produce a machine-readable pattern on a surface of a layer comprised by the smoking article.

According to a 26th embodiment, in the 25th embodiment, the engraving device is a laser, a roller having different embossing patterns or a material depositing device such as 3D-printing.

Preferred embodiments are now described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1: shows an exploded schematic drawing of one embodiment of a smoking article for aerosol generation according to the invention;

FIG. 2A: shows a schematic drawing of one embodiment of a smoking article for aerosol generation according to the invention;

FIG. 2B: shows a schematic drawing of another embodiment of a part of a smoking article for aerosol generation according to the invention;

FIG. 3: shows a cross-section of a part of a smoking article for the aerosol generation according to one embodiment according to the invention;

FIG. 4: shows a cross-section of a part of the smoking article for the aerosol generation of another embodiment according to the invention;

FIG. 5: shows a cross-section of a part of the smoking article for the aerosol generation of yet another embodiment according to the invention;

FIGS. 6A and 6B: shows schematic drawings of the pattern of the smoking article according to different embodiments of the smoking article for the aerosol generation according to the invention;

FIGS. 7A to 7C: shows schematic drawings of the pattern of the smoking article according to different embodiments of the smoking article for the aerosol generation according to the invention;

FIG. 8: shows a cross-section of the aerosol generation device and the smoking article in use according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9: shows a cross-section of the aerosol generation device and the smoking article in use according to another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10A: shows a cross-sectional view showing a cross-section of a part of the device and the article taken along an A-A line in FIG. 9;

FIG. 10B: shows a captured image of a perforated area adjacent to the image sensor in FIG. 10A and the signal graph according to the captured image.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described hereinafter and in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic exploded diagram of one embodiment of a smoking article 1 for an aerosol generation device. The smoking article 1 has a substantially cylindrical shape and comprises a tobacco substrate 11, a tobacco wrapper 12, a tipping paper 13, in this embodiment the outermost wrapper of the consumable 1, filtering elements, plug wraps 18, and combining wrapper 19. The tobacco substrate 11 may include a tobacco material in various forms such as shredded tobacco and granulated tobacco, and/or the tobacco material may include tobacco leaf and/or reconstituted tobacco, such as in the form of sheets, strips or foam.

The filtering elements typically include conventional filters such as (from left to right in FIG. 1) a hollow tubular member, preferably a paper tube 16, and a filter 17. The filter may be formed of a center hole filter segment and plain acetate filter. The filter segments are, similarly to the reconstituted tobacco, held together by the combining wrapper 19. However, the filter 17 may be formed of a single segment or more than 2 segments. The filter 17 is rigidified and enhances an airflow from the tobacco to a mouthpiece. As illustrated, filter 17 may comprise a mouthpiece made of a plain acetate filter such as is known for conventional cigarettes. Alternatively, the segments of the filter 17 are inverted so that the center hole segment is at the mouthend. Also, the center hole segment may be replaced by a cavity segment formed with a thick paper wrapper having no filtering function. The cellulose acetate material may be replaced by paper or a mixture of paper and additive such as triacetine and acetate. All wrappers are preferably made from a paper material. Wrappers may further comprise aluminium foil or metalised paper. The filter may contain flavorant as additives and/or as a breakable flavor capsule.

During use, the substrate 11 is heated. The substrate may be heated by a heater in the aerosol generating device such as a heating blade or pin inserted in the substrate 11 or a heating chamber. A user draws from the mouth end and his lips are in contact with the tipping paper, which may be perforated and colored. The user drawing on the end of the acetate filter causes an airflow F through the article along its axial direction. Typically, the tobacco substrate 11 is heated, which volatizes components of the tobacco substrate. The volatized components become entrained in the airflow F and an aerosol is formed. The aerosol is then transported through the article 1 to the user drawing on the filters 17. Ventilation holes (not illustrated) may be provided through the thickness of the filter or the combination of paper tube and tipping paper. The ventilation holes enable to reduce the resistance to draw, cool the aerosol and increase air volume drawn by the user.

A machine-readable pattern 101 representing coded authentication information formed by a plurality of recesses in and/or protrusions on a surface area 102 is provided on the tipping paper 13. In some embodiments, discussed below, the pattern represents coded data on a surface area 102 (shown in broken lines) of a layer comprised by the smoking article, wherein the pattern is formed by a plurality of recesses in and/or protrusions from the surface area. The pattern may be formed of perforations of the layer in the surface area. The machine-readable pattern 101 may also contain information about the smoking article, such as the types thereof, relative setting data of the aerosol generation device for the smoking article 1 and so on. A schematic partial cross section view of the machine-readable pattern 101 is also shown in FIG. 1. In other embodiments, the machine-readable pattern 101 is formed on any other wrap that forms part of the outmost surface of the smoking article 1.

FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of a smoking article 1. The machine-readable pattern 101 is formed by tiny perforations and/or cavities penetrating through the tipping paper 13 or other layers of the smoking article. The machine-readable pattern 101 is indicia realized as a barcode 101, and the perforations represent the bars in the barcode 101. The perforations are provided with different distances between each other, to represent the barcode. In other words, the embossing units or the debossing units (i.e. pattern units) of the pattern are configured with different widths to represent the lines in the barcodes or the individual elements of other pattern types. The barcode 101 is arranged in the circumferential direction (C) of the smoking article. In other embodiments, there may be codes partially arranged along the axial direction (A). The code may be other barcodes, 2-D or QR codes, or dot matrix code (e.g., Dotcode). As for 2-D or QR codes, or dot matrix codes, the orientation thereof can be either in the circumferential direction C or axial direction A. FIG. 2B shows a part of the article of another embodiment with the machine-readable pattern 101 in the form of a perforated dot code, preferably along the entire circumferential direction and perforated by a micro laser. The size of the perforations are preferably of diameter of at least 0.072 mm, more preferably at least 0.08 mm, even more preferably at least 0.085 mm, even more preferably at least 0.09 mm and most preferably at least 0.095 mm, and at most 1 mm, more preferably at most 0.9 mm, even more preferably at most 0.8 mm, even more preferably at most 0.7 mm, and most preferably at most 0.6 mm.

In preferred embodiments, the size of the perforations are of a diameter of at least 0.1 mm, preferably at least 0.15 mm, more preferably at least 0.2 mm, even more preferably at least 0.25 mm and most preferably at least 0.3 mm, and at most 0.5 mm, preferably at most 0.45 mm, more preferably at most 0.4 mm, and most preferably at most 0.3 mm. The corresponding porosity thereof is preferably at least 300 cm3/cm2/min, more preferably at least 800 cm3/cm2/min, even more preferably at least 1300 cm3/cm2/min, even more preferably at least 1800 cm3/cm2/min and most preferably at least 2300 cm3/cm2/min, and at most 4000 cm3/cm2/min, more preferably at most 3500 cm3/cm2/min, even more preferably at most 3000 cm3/cm2/min, and most preferably at most 2500 cm3/cm2/min. FIG. 3 shows a cross-section of a part of the article 1 shown in FIG. 1 with the tipping paper 13, the combining wrappers 19, the tobacco wrapper 12, the paper tube 16, the plug wraps 18, the filter 17 and the substrate 11. The paper tube 16 is a filtering element which is hollow. The perforations or cavities (dotted lines) of the machine-readable pattern 101 may have a size such that they do not substantially communicate with the vapor flow path. If the perforations and/or cavities communicate with the vapor flow path, they should be small enough to not change the ventilation profile of the smoking article (as shown in FIG. 4). For instance, the size of the coding perforations or cavities is much smaller than the ventilation holes 161 (i.e. at most half their size or less). The perforations may have a diameter as low as 0.072 mm corresponding to a porosity of approximately 6 CU. Preferably, the diameter of the perforations is between 1 and 0.072 mm, more preferably between 0.5 and 0.1 mm. For some types of smoking articles, the ventilation profile is related to the resistance to draw (RTD) or pressure difference of the filter. Its value should not significantly vary depending on the code pattern being present or not. Preferably, the readable pattern (i.e. perforations or cavities) does not create deviation of the pressure drop of more than +/−10 mmWC, more preferably deviation of not more than +/−8 mmWC, compared to a smoking article without the readable pattern.

FIG. 5 shows yet another embodiment of the smoking article 1. The tipping paper 13 with both the pattern 101 and ventilation holes 161 wraps up the tobacco substrate 11, the paper tube 16 and the filter 17. The tobacco substrate 11 may stick out from the tipping paper 13 as shown in the FIG. 5, or may be completely contained within the tipping paper 13. The pattern 101 may be perforated through the tipping paper 13 for detection purposes. The pattern 101 may be in the form of a series of perforations, preferably dot perforations as shown in FIG. 2B. The article 1 is configured in a way that light can be transmitted through a cross section of the article and then through the perforations so as to be detected by the sensor of the device 2. The cross section is the transverse section(s) of the article 1 which comprises the perforations. The perforations are preferably positioned in the area of a hollow tubular element, herein the paper tube between the aerosol generating substrate 11, herein the tobacco rod, and the filter, herein the monoaccetate filter.

In this embodiment, the article 1 has a length of 60 mm. The tipping paper 13 has a length of 45 mm. The length TL of the tobacco substrate 11, the length PL of the paper tube 16 and the length FL of the filter 17 are configured to be each substantially of about 20 mm. The ventilation holes 161 are positioned correspondingly above the paper tube 16, and 25.5 mm away from the filter end of the article 1. The tobacco substrate 11 is projected from the tipping paper 13 by 15 mm. In order to be positioned in the area of the paper tube 16, the perforations 101 are positioned at least 5 mm, preferably at least 7 mm, and more preferably 10 mm away from the tobacco end of the tipping paper 13. The hollow tubular member 16 is preferably not perforated so that the ventilation is not influenced by the detection perforations 101, namely, the hollow tubular element 16 is non-perforated at the location of the perforations 101. The benefit of the configuration of having the perforation in this area is that the light from a light source can be transmitted through the hollow tubular element and easily be detected by the detectors, e.g. photodiodes.

Hereinafter, the forms of the patterns are discussed. Although barcodes are used as examples for the machine-readable pattern in the following embodiments, it should be acknowledged that other types of machine-readable patterns are not excluded, such as QR codes or dot matrix codes (e.g. Dotcode and the like) such as the pattern shown in FIG. 2B.

FIGS. 6A and 6B show two types of patterns. In light of the fact that the wrapping papers are usually very thin, the patterns are embossed or debossed along the curvatures of the surface area 102 of the smoking article 1. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the patterns, i.e. the surface area 102, is curved and in general has a curvature which is identical to the curvature of the outmost surface of the smoking article 1. The curvature of the surface area 102 substantially corresponds to the curvature of the circumference of the substantially cylindrical shape.

In FIG. 6A, the recesses of the pattern representing a barcode are configured with different widths from each other. The recesses may also be distributed at different distances from one another. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 6B, the surface area with different depths in addition to different widths codes different data. In some embodiments, the cross section of the pattern units can be configured with different shapes, for example squares, triangles, or semicircles, depending on the technology of producing the pattern. To represent barcodes, if the pattern units are triangle cross sectional shapes as shown in FIG. 6A, the pattern units are configured with different widths (and therefore also different angles of the side walls). If the pattern units are of semicircle in cross sectional shapes, the pattern units would be configured with different curvatures, depths and/or diameters, so that the widths of the openings of these pattern units are different with each other. In surface view, the pattern units may have rectangular, square, other polygonal, or circular line forms.

FIGS. 7A and 7B show different types of embossing and/or debossing patterns. In FIG. 7A, the embossing pattern represents binary-coded data. Any known binary coded formats can be used, such as ASCII, Unicode, GBK, GBK2312, UTF-8, etc. For example, a wider embossing unit represents “1”, and a narrow embossing unit represents “0”. Therefore, the pattern in FIG. 7A may represent the digits “10010001”. Preferably, to make the pattern units better detectable, the pattern is configured with different light reflective and/or absorbing properties. More specifically, the protrusions are printed or coated with a more light-absorbing material than the original surface, which is the non-recessed in or non-protruding surface of the smoking article. More preferably, the surface of the wider embossing unit is configured with inclined light reflection and/or absorbing properties and the surface of the narrow embossing unit is configured with flatter light reflection and/or absorbing properties.

Also the height or the depth of the pattern units can represent different data. In other words, the recesses and/or the protrusions are recessed in and/or protruding from the surface area 102 in multiple levels of depths and/or heights. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 7B, the smoking article surface represents a reference surface, a pattern unit recessed in from the reference surface represents “0”, and a pattern unit protruding from the reference surface represents “1”. By comparing the level of the original surface and the level of the elements of the pattern, the information code can be read. In other embodiments, the pattern can represent a Quaternary code or Ternary code. For example, in one embodiment, there are 11 depth levels. The first depth level may function as the reference depth, the second depth level represents “1” and so on. Hence, the information of other depth levels is determined based on the predetermined depth of the pattern which acts as the reference depth.

In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7C representing a Quaternary code, height level da represents “A”, the level of the original surface of the smoking article represents “B” (which is taken as a reference level here), depth level dc represents “C” and depth level dd represents “D”. Hence, the pattern may represent “CABADAC”. Herein, a specific height or depth level, in other embodiments a specific width etc., may function as a reference pattern unit so that the pattern can be detected properly.

Preferably, there is a specific pattern unit which indicates the location of the pattern. In FIG. 7B, depth dc indicates the start and the end of the pattern from left to right. In another embodiment, the reference pattern unit is an individual unit printed with a different color. For example, the depth dc may be printed in black, while the other surface of the pattern and the surface of the smoking article are printed in white. When using the smoking article, the optical sensor of the aerosol generation device detects the unit in black and takes it as the reference unit for the pattern.

In other examples, a surface area with a different depth or height can be printed with a different color, or have different light reflective and/or absorbing properties, to enhance the reliability of the pattern. In other words, the recesses in and/or protrusions from the pattern represent information identical to the information represented by different colors or reflective and/or absorbing properties. For example, the protrusions (or respectively recesses) may be coated with metal to reflect light and the recesses (or respectively protrusions) be simply paper or coloured. The aerosol generation device may detect both properties and check whether the information that they represent are identical. The comparison may be carried out by the control unit of the device in correspondence with stored data or a lookup table. If the information matches with a reference, the aerosol generation device starts to heat the smoking article; if not, it stops functioning or run according to a default mode.

It should be acknowledged that the above pattern types can be combined on the smoking article.

The smoking article with the recesses and/or the protrusions can be manufactured by means of a roller having different embossing patterns. The surface area of the recesses and/or the protrusions is preferably made by paper or a polymer layer. The pattern can also be etched by a laser beam so as to provide, holes, cavities or grooves in the surface. With the help of laser technology, depth modulation can be obtained very precisely and without significantly modifying the paper porosity. Preferably, the porosity deviation is lower than 4 to 6 Coresta Unit compared to non-lasered paper. The pattern may also be produced by depositing material onto the surface of the paper or polymer layer. For example, the material may be varnish and the like. The depositing may be a 3D printer. Different depths in the pattern may be achieved by successive layer deposition.

FIG. 8 shows an aerosol generation device 2 containing a smoking article 1 having one or more patterns 101 in use. The patterns 101 can be a combination of printing patterns and the above discussed engraving patterns. The aerosol generation device 2 comprises a heating chamber 21, where a light source 22, preferably a broadband LED, is configured in a predetermined angle so that all the patterns 101 can be detected by the detectors 23, such as optical sensors, preferably photodetectors. Multiple detectors can be configured along the circumferential direction of the smoking article, so that the pattern can be detected entirely.

The light source 22 may be separated from the detector 23. The light source 22 can be a very simple light source whose light reflects off of the edges or bottoms of the engraved surfaces of the code. The light source 22 may emit visible light, UV, or infrared light. For example, the light source 22 can be a light-emitting diode or light unit emitting infrared light and more particularly a light with a wavelength of e.g. 350-850 nm.

The detector 23 can perform image recognition using a camera or image scanner, e.g. a barcode scanner. Typically, the detector 23 is a photodiode adapted to convert a received light beam into a current or voltage signal. The reading arrangement also comprises processing means which may include a printed circuit board embedding a processor, sensor signal amplifier, signal filters and circuitry for coupling the processing means to the light source 22, the detector 23 and to the control unit of the aerosol generating device.

To consume the smoking article, the user inserts the smoking article 1 into the aerosol generation device 2 along the insertion direction 31. Once the smoking article 1 is inserted until the bottom of the heating chamber 21, or once a detector 23 detects the presence of one of the patterns 101, the detector 23 starts to authenticate the smoking article 1.

In some embodiments, the detector starts its operation of reading the pattern by taking the outmost surface or the surface area of the smoking article as a reference surface, and determining information about the depth of a recess and/or the height of a protrusion of the pattern from the surface area with respect to the reference surface. In other embodiments, the aerosol generation device starts to read the pattern by taking a predetermined recess or protrusion of the pattern as a reference depth or protrusion, and determining information of the depth of other recesses and/or the height of other protrusions of the pattern with respect to the reference depth or protrusion.

Thereafter, the detector continues by detecting the light reflected by the engraved code. A variation of the light intensity can be detected by the detector 23. The emitted light by light source 22 is reflected off of the surface area and returned to the detector 23. The reflected light from the exposed surface area shows a different intensity (less scattering and therefore higher intensity) from the light reflecting off of the recessed surfaces, which may be rough, textured, non-parallel, and/or a controlled angle of reflection.

The output signals may be computed or generated by measuring over time the intensity of the reflected light beam. Once the authentication is confirmed, another detector 23 may start detecting setting information from another pattern.

Instead of a reflection, the detected light can be light transmitted through and/or refracted by the pattern, especially through or by the recesses or perforations. FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the aerosol generation device 2 according to the invention with the aerosol generation article 1 inserted completely therein. The light source 23, preferably an LED light, and the detector 22, preferably a photodiode or CMOS sensor, are positioned at a tubular part, namely a receiving chamber, between the insertion opening and the tubular heating chamber 21. Specifically, unlike the configuration of the above embodiment, the light source 23 is positioned not at the same side as, but, preferably, at an opposite side of the receiving chamber towards the detector 22. In other words, the light source 23 is arranged at a different side, specifically the opposite side, of the smoking article as the sensor 23 when the smoking article is inserted into the device. Correspondingly, the pattern 101 on the article 1 are perforations, preferably, the perforations shown in FIG. 2B and/or FIG. 5. The detector 22 is configured to receive light emitted through the article 1, more specifically, the perforations 101. Hence, the detector 22 can detect the light clearly and easily. Since the hollow paper tube 16 and the perforations 101 in the tipping paper 13 are outside of the heating chamber 21 and, preferably, still within the device 2, the pattern 101 is not impacted by the heat from the heating chamber 21 during use. The life of the detector 22 and the light source 23 are prolonged. The image quality of the pattern 101 captured by the detector 22 is also improved.

FIG. 10 shows yet another embodiment of a configuration of the light source 22 and the detector 23. The cross-section view shows a cross-section of a part of the device 1 and the article 2 taken along the A-A line in FIG. 9. However, unlike the embodiment of FIG. 9, the device 1 comprises at least 2 detectors, which are arranged at a different side of the smoking article as the sensor 23 when the smoking article is inserted into the device. In the embodiment, the two detectors 23 are positioned at the adjacent right and left sides to the light source 22 in the square-shaped receiving chamber. Correspondingly, the perforations are preferably arranged along a circumferential line, more preferably, multiple circumferential lines. In other embodiments, the detectors 23 may be arranged on both the adjacent sides and the opposite side, and preferably also on the same side of the smoking article as the light source 22 when the smoking article is inserted into the device. The detectors 23 may be placed at any position around the circumference of the receiving chamber, as long as the light can be transmitted through the perforations or recesses from the light source (LED) to the detectors 23 (photodiodes). In modified embodiments, multiple light sources may be configured in the device 1.

FIG. 10B shows the image captured by the image sensor 23 of FIG. 10A. With the configurations, the perforations 101 can be detected more easily: the above image shows the contrast enhancement of the image, and the below curve represents the brightness measured above the median horizontal line in the image. The image sensor 23 may be a simple linear sensor. An example is a linear sensor with 512×4 pixels. A linear sensor, preferably a CMOS sensor, facilitates the integration in the device in small area.

Claims

1. A smoking article for use in an aerosol generation device, comprising a machine-readable pattern representing coded data on a surface area of a layer comprised by the smoking article, wherein the pattern is formed by a plurality of recesses in and/or protrusions from the surface area, or perforations of the layer in the surface area.

2. The smoking article according to claim 1, wherein the smoking article has a substantially cylindrical shape.

3. The smoking article according to claim 1, wherein the surface area is curved.

4. (canceled)

5. The smoking article according to claim 1, wherein the recesses and/or the protrusions are recessed in and/or protruding from the surface area in multiple levels of depths and/or heights.

6. The smoking article according to claim 1, wherein the recesses and/or the protrusions or the perforations are provided with different distances between each other.

7. The smoking article according to claim 1, wherein light reflection and/or absorption properties of the pattern are different from that of a surface of the smoking article.

8. The smoking article according to claim 1, wherein different recesses and/or protrusions of the pattern have different light reflection and/or absorbing properties.

9. The smoking article according to claim 1, wherein colors of recessed and/or protruded surfaces or recesses and/or protrusions, respectively, are different from each other and/or from the that of the surface of the smoking article.

10. The smoking article according to claim 1, wherein the perforations have a diameter between 1 and 0.072 mm.

11. The smoking article according to any claim 1, further comprising a wrapper, and the machine-readable pattern is formed by perforations in the wrapper.

12. The smoking article according to claim 11, wherein the article is configured in a way that light can be transmitted through a cross section of the article and then through the perforations.

13. The smoking article according to claim 11, further comprising an aerosol generating substrate, a filter and a hollow tubular element positioned between the aerosol generating substrate and the filter.

14. The smoking article according to claim 13, wherein the wrapper comprises a tipping paper for holding the aerosol-generating substrate, the hollow tubular element and the filter, and the machine-readable pattern is formed by perforations in the tipping paper.

15. The smoking article according to claim 13, wherein the perforations are positioned in an area of a hollow tubular element and the hollow tubular element is non-perforated at the location of the perforations.

16. A method of using a smoking article according to claim 1, comprising a step of:

reading the machine-readable pattern on the surface area of the layer comprised by the smoking article using as detection unit in the aerosol generating device.

17. The method according to the claim 16, comprising a step of:

using the surface area of the smoking article as a reference surface and determining information about a depth of a recess and/or a height of a protrusion of the pattern from the surface area with respect to the reference surface.

18. The method according to claim 16, comprising steps of:

using a predetermined recess or protrusion of the pattern as a reference depth or protrusion, and

determining depth and/or height information of other protrusions of the pattern with respect to the reference depth or protrusion.

19. (canceled)

20. An aerosol device for use of a smoking article according to claim 1, comprising a detection unit including a sensor, wherein the detection unit is configured to read the machine-readable pattern on the surface area of the layer comprised by the smoking article.

21. The aerosol device according to claim 20, further comprising a light source arranged at a same and/or a different side of the smoking article as the sensor when the smoking article is inserted into the device.

22. (canceled)

23. (canceled)

24. A method of producing a smoking article according to claim 1, comprising using an engraving device to produce the machine-readable pattern on the surface of the layer comprised by the smoking article, wherein the engraving device is a laser, a roller having different embossing patterns or a material depositing device such as 3D-printing.

25. (canceled)