CONSUMABLE FOR A NON-COMBUSTIBLE AEROSOL PROVISION SYSTEM

Abstract

A consumable for a non-combustible aerosol provision system extends along an axis and comprises a mouthpiece at a first end of the consumable, a first plug adjacent to the mouthpiece along the axis, a second plug at a second end of the consumable, the second end opposite the first end along the axis, a rod of braided absorbent material between the first plug and the second plug along the axis, and a wrapper wrapped around the braided absorbent material, the first plug, the second plug and the mouthpiece.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This present application is a National Phase entry of PCT Application No. PCT/GB2024/050017, filed Jan. 5, 2024, which claims priority from Great Britain Application No. 2301123.2, filed Jan. 26, 2023, each of which are fully incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a consumable for a non-combustible aerosol provision system and a method of manufacturing the same.

BACKGROUND

Electronic aerosol provision systems such as heating products are configured to release one or more compounds by heating, but not burning, a substrate material to generate an aerosol for user inhalation. Generally, the heating products are configured to heat a portion of tobacco or a tobacco derived product (e.g., reconstituted tobacco) to generate the aerosol. The substrate material is usually formed into a rod which is typically surrounded by a paper layer and includes a mouthpiece end, which is an end that the user inhales on (i.e., puts in their mouth) during use. These rods are broadly similar in appearance to combustible cigarettes. The rods are inserted into the aerosol provision device and electrical power is subsequently supplied to the heating element, from a power source such as a battery, to aerosolise portions of the solid substrate in the vicinity of the heating element. Such devices are usually provided with one or more air inlet holes located away from where the user inhales on the system. When a user inhales/sucks on the mouthpiece end of the rods, air is drawn in through the inlet holes, through the rod and past the substrate source. There is a flow path connecting between the aerosol source and an opening in the mouthpiece so that air drawn past the aerosol source continues along the flow path to the mouthpiece opening, carrying some of the aerosol from the aerosol source with it. The aerosol-carrying air exits the aerosol provision system through the mouthpiece for inhalation by the user.

Such rods are formed of low-cost components and are generally designed to be thrown away after use (i.e., after the aerosolisable material has been aerosolised). Traditionally, the rods comprise a plastic tube with a metallic part, such as a wire coil, used as a susceptor to heat the substrate material, which typically comprises cotton fibres. Recent approaches have sought to design away from using plastics in the rods and to provide more structure around the substrate material in order to better control the uniformity of the substrate material, such as the cotton fibres, during the manufacturing process as cotton fibre has a tendency to expand in size or splay out when it is not held in place.

Various approaches are described herein which seek to help address or mitigate some of the issues discussed above.

SUMMARY

The disclosure is defined in the appended claims.

In accordance with some embodiments described herein, there is provided a consumable for a non-combustible aerosol provision system. The consumable extends along an axis and comprises a mouthpiece at a first end of the consumable, a first plug adjacent to the mouthpiece along the axis, a second plug at a second end of the consumable. The second end is opposite the first end along the axis. The consumable also comprises a rod of braided absorbent material between the first plug and the second plug along the axis, and a wrapper wrapped around the braided absorbent material, the first plug, the second plug and the mouthpiece.

The rod of braided absorbent material may comprise strands of material braided around the outside of a rod of absorbent material.

The absorbent material may be doused with an aerosol-generating material. The absorbent material may be cotton.

At least one of the strands of material may be a susceptor, for example metal wire.

A susceptor may be wrapped around the rod of braided absorbent material between the rod of braided absorbent material and the wrapper. The susceptor may be an aluminium coated material.

One or more additional absorbent materials may be located between the first plug and the second plug. At least one of the additional absorbent materials may be a rod of braided absorbent material.

The first plug and the second plug may be a low porosity material, such as cellulose acetate. The first plug and the second plug may be circular disks.

The wrapper may be made of tipping paper. The wrapper may comprise one or more ventilation holes around the circumference of the tipping paper at a point along the axis.

In accordance with some embodiments described herein, there is provided a method of manufacturing a consumable of a non-combustible aerosol provision system. The method comprises butting a first plug to a mouthpiece, wherein the consumable extends along an axis and the first plug is adjacent to the mouthpiece along the axis, inserting a rod of braided absorbent material between the first plug and a second plug such that the first plug and the rod of braided absorbent material are located between the second plug and the mouthpiece along the axis, and wrapping a wrapper around the braided absorbent material, the first plug, the second plug and the mouthpiece.

In accordance with some embodiments described herein, there is provided a non-combustible aerosol provision system comprising the comprising the consumable as described herein.

These aspects and other aspects will be apparent from the following detailed description. In this regard, particular sections of the description are not to be read in isolation from other sections.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a consumable for a non-combustible aerosol provision system according to principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a non-combustible aerosol provision system comprising the consumable of FIG. 1 inserted into the non-combustible aerosol provision system according to principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a braided absorbent material for a consumable of a non-combustible aerosol provision system according to principles of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 4a-d schematically illustrate alternative braided absorbent materials for a consumable of a non-combustible aerosol provision system according to principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a rod of absorbent material according to principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 schematically illustrates a braided absorbent material including the rod of absorbent material illustrated in FIG. 5 according to principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 schematically illustrates a rod of braided absorbent material according to principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 schematically illustrates a rod of braided absorbent material according to principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 schematically illustrates a consumable for a non-combustible aerosol provision system according to principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 schematically illustrates a method of manufacturing the consumable illustrated in FIG. 9 according to principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a flow chart of a method of manufacturing a consumable for a non-combustible aerosol provision system according to principles of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects and features of certain examples and embodiments are discussed/described herein. Some aspects and features of certain examples and embodiments may be implemented conventionally and these are not discussed/described in detail in the interests of brevity. It will thus be appreciated that aspects and features of articles and systems discussed herein which are not described in detail may be implemented in accordance with any conventional techniques for implementing such aspects and features.

According to the present disclosure, a “non-combustible” aerosol provision system is one where a constituent aerosol-generating material of the aerosol provision system (or component thereof) is not combusted or burned in order to facilitate delivery of at least one substance to a user. One such example is a powered non-combustible aerosol provision system.

In some embodiments, the non-combustible aerosol provision system is an aerosol-generating material heating system, also known as a heat-not-burn system. An example of such a system is a tobacco heating system.

In some embodiments, the non-combustible aerosol provision system is a hybrid system to generate aerosol using a combination of aerosol-generating materials, one or a plurality of which may be heated. Each of the aerosol-generating materials may be, for example, in the form of a solid, liquid or gel and may or may not contain nicotine. In some embodiments, the hybrid system comprises a liquid or gel aerosol-generating material and a solid aerosol-generating material. The solid aerosol-generating material may comprise, for example, tobacco or a non-tobacco product.

Typically, the non-combustible aerosol provision system may comprise a non-combustible aerosol provision device and a consumable for use with the non-combustible aerosol provision device. In some embodiments, the disclosure relates to consumables comprising aerosol-generating material and configured to be used with non-combustible aerosol provision devices. These consumables are sometimes referred to as articles throughout the disclosure.

In some embodiments, the non-combustible aerosol provision system may comprise a power source and a controller. The power source may, for example, be an electric power source or an exothermic power source. In some embodiments, the exothermic power source comprises a carbon substrate which may be energised so as to distribute power in the form of heat to an aerosol-generating material or to a heat transfer material in proximity to the exothermic power source.

In some embodiments, the non-combustible aerosol provision system may comprise an area for receiving the consumable, an aerosol generator, an aerosol generation area, a housing, a mouthpiece, a filter and/or an aerosol-modifying agent.

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates, in perspective view, an example of a consumable 10 for a non-combustible aerosol provision system. A consumable is an article comprising or consisting of a substance to be delivered to a user during use of a non-combustible aerosol provision system. In the present example, the substance to be delivered is an aerosol-generating material 12, part or all of which is intended to be consumed during use by a user. The aerosol-generating material may also be referred herein to as an aerosolisable material. In some embodiments, the substance to be delivered may be a material that is not intended to be aerosolised. As appropriate, either the aerosolisable material or the material that is not intended to be aerosolised may comprise one or more active constituents, one or more flavours, one or more aerosol-former materials, and/or one or more other functional materials. The aerosolisable material 12 may comprise any suitable solid or gel aerosolisable materials.

As shown in FIG. 1, the consumable 10 has a generally cylindrical shape. The size of the consumable 10 is approximately 7 cm in length (along an x-direction) and approximately 0.8 cm in diameter (along a y-/ z-direction), although the consumable 10 may have different dimensions and shapes in different implementations.

The consumable 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 also comprises a wrapper 14 and a mouthpiece 16. In the present example, the aerosol-generating material 12 is formed into a generally rod-shaped/cylindrical element, and the wrapper 14 is wrapped around the outer surface of the aerosol-generating material 12. The wrapper 14 in this example is made of paper, but other materials such as card or metal foil (e.g., aluminium foil) may also be used in other implementations. In this example, the wrapper 14 acts as a physical barrier between the aerosol-generating material 12 and the external environment, thereby improving the handling of the consumable 10 by a user. Additionally, the wrapper 14 may act as an outer wrap to retain the cylindrical rod shape of the aerosol-generating material 12.

The cylindrical rod has a proximal end 10a and a distal end 10b. In the present example, the mouthpiece 16 is located at the proximal end 10a. The mouthpiece 16 is the part of the consumable 10 that engages with the lips of a user. In other words, the user places their lips around the mouthpiece 16 during use of the consumable 10, as explained further below. In some implementations, the wrapper 14 may be formed of multiple sub-layers stacked one on top of the other (i.e., in the radial direction of article 10), where at least one of the sub-layers 14c extends the entire length of the consumable 10 and is wrapped around both the aerosol-generating material 12 and the mouthpiece 16 to retain the mouthpiece 16 at the proximal end 10a of the consumable 10. The mouthpiece 16 may be formed of any suitable porous material that is air permeable, e.g., a filter material such as cellulose acetate, a sponge, etc. It should be appreciated however that the mouthpiece 16 is optional and in some implementations the mouthpiece 16 is omitted.

The consumable 10 may comprise one or more other components, such as an aerosol-generating material storage area, an aerosol-generating material transfer component, an aerosol generation area, a housing, a filter and/or an aerosol-modifying agent. The consumable may also comprise an aerosol generator, such as a heater, that emits heat to cause the aerosol-generating material to generate aerosol in use. The heater may, for example, comprise combustible material, a material heatable by electrical conduction, or a susceptor.

A susceptor is a material that is heatable by penetration with a varying magnetic field, such as an alternating magnetic field. The susceptor may be an electrically-conductive material, so that penetration thereof with a varying magnetic field causes induction heating of the heating material. The heating material may be magnetic material, so that penetration thereof with a varying magnetic field causes magnetic hysteresis heating of the heating material. The susceptor may be both electrically-conductive and magnetic, so that the susceptor is heatable by both heating mechanisms. The device that is configured to generate the varying magnetic field is referred to as a magnetic field generator, herein.

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates, in cross section, a non-combustible aerosol provision system 20 in accordance with principles of the present disclosure. The non-combustible aerosol provision system 20 includes the consumable 10 of FIG. 1 in addition to an aerosol provision device 30 (sometimes referred to herein as device part 30). The aerosol provision device 30 includes a housing 32, a power cell 34, a control circuitry 36, a receptacle 38 sized to receive the consumable 10 of FIG. 1, and a vaporiser which in this example takes the form of a heater 40 positioned adjacent the receptacle 38 and forming at least a part of the inner surface of the receptacle 38.

FIG. 2 is described with respect to the reference frame as indicated on the right-hand side of the figure; however, it should be appreciated that this reference frame is arbitrary and any other reference frame may be used to describe the various orientations and positions of the components of the aerosol provision device 30.

The aerosol provision device 30 includes a housing 32 which defines the outer surface of the device 30. The housing 32 in this example is approximately cuboidal and may have a height in the x-direction of approximately 10 cm, a width in the y-direction of approximately 5 cm, and a thickness in the z-direction of approximately 2 to 3 cm. The corners of the housing are slightly rounded in this example to provide a sleeker appearance and a more ergonomic design. However, it should be appreciated that in other implementations the housing 32 may take a different shape/size.

Inside the housing 32 is provided a power cell 34. The power cell 34 in this example is a rechargeable battery, such as a Lithium lon battery, which can be recharged when the device 30 is appropriately coupled to an external power source. The power cell 34 is configured to supply electrical power to the control circuitry 36, and ultimately the heater 40, during use of the device 30. The control circuitry 36 is coupled to the power cell 34 via any suitable form of electrical coupling, such as via wires 34a as shown in FIG. 2.

The control circuitry 36 is responsible for controlling a number of functions of the device 30. For example, the control circuitry 36 may control the power supply to the heater 40, the charging of the power cell 34 from an external source (e.g., via connection of an external power supply with a USB/microUSB port located in the housing 32, or via an induction based charging mechanism), or any other functionality such as data communication to a host computer (e.g., a personal PC, smartphone, etc.). The control circuitry 36 may include a (micro) controller, processor, ASIC or similar form of control chip in order to realise this control functionality. Moreover, the control circuitry may be formed on or mounted to a printed circuit board (PCB). Note also that the functionality provided by the control circuitry 36 may be split across multiple circuit boards and/or across components which are not mounted to a PCB, and these additional components and/or PCBs can be located as appropriate within the housing. For example, the functionality of the control circuitry for controlling the (re)charging functionality of the battery 32 may be provided separately (e.g. on a different PCB) from the functionality for controlling the discharge (i.e., for providing power to the heater).

The device 30 further includes a receptacle 38 sized to receive at least a part of the consumable 10. The receptacle in this example is formed as a cylindrical recess extending in the x-direction by a distance approximately two-thirds the length of the consumable 10, e.g., 5 cm. The consumable 10 is inserted into the receptacle 38 distal end 10b first. When fully inserted, the distal end of the consumable 10 rests at the bottom of the receptacle 38 and the proximal end 10a (including the optional mouthpiece 16) protrudes a distance from the surface of the housing 32, e.g., approximately 2 cm of the consumable 10 is exposed/protrudes from the surface of the housing 32 in this example. In this way, the mouthpiece 16 is presented to the user when the consumable 10 is inserted into the receptacle 38.

Surrounding the receptacle 38 is provided a heater 40. In this example, the heater 40 is an annular heater 40 (i.e., a hollow cylindrical element) through which the receptacle 38 passes. More specifically, in this example, the inner surface of the annular heater forms a part of the inner surface of the receptacle 38. This arrangement means that the heater can be provided in close proximity to the surface of the consumable 10, meaning that the heat transfer efficiency from the heater 40 to the consumable 10 can be improved. The heater 40 in this example is formed from, or at least comprises, an electrically resistive material, e.g., nichrome (NiCr), which generates heat when a current is passed through the resistive material. The supply of power from the power cell 34 to the heater 40 is controlled via the control circuitry 36, as mentioned above. The heater 40 is coupled to the control circuitry 36 via any suitable form of electrical coupling, such as via electrically conductive wires 40a as shown in FIG. 2.

In order to generate aerosol for user inhalation, the user must first place the consumable 10 in the receptacle 38. Thereafter, the aerosol provision system 20 begins supplying power from the power cell 34 to the heater 40 upon activation of the device 30. In the example shown, this is achieved through use of a user actuated button (not shown) provided on the surface of the housing 32. For example, when the button is pressed once, the control circuitry 36 supplies power to the heater 40 for a predetermined time (e.g., the length of a session, such as 2 to 3 minutes). Accordingly, as power is supplied to the heater 40, the temperature of the heater 40 rises. This subsequently heats the consumable 10 in the receptacle 38 and, more importantly, the aerosol-generating material 12 therein to generate a vapour or aerosol. It is important to note that the aerosol-generating material 12 is heated and not combusted/burnt, hence the aerosol provision system 20 is referred to herein as a non-combustible aerosol provision system. In some implementations, the temperature of the aerosol-generating material 12 during heating is between 150 to 300° C., although it should be appreciated that the precise temperature will depend on the type of aerosol-generating material being heated and the construction of the consumable 10. A user places their lips around the mouthpiece 16 and inhales to draw air from outside the device 30 via an air inlet (not shown) through an opening in the receptacle 38 and through the consumable 10 (e.g., through the aerosol-generating material 12 and generally along a longitudinal axis of the consumable 10). Air drawn in and along the consumable 10 collects vaporised particles released from the aerosol-generating material 12 as the material 12 is heated to form an aerosol which is then passed along the consumable 10, through the mouthpiece 16, before entering the user's mouth/lungs.

Generally, the consumable 10 comprises enough aerosol-generating material to last a session, which equates to approximately 8 to 12 user inhalations. The precise quantity of aerosol-generating material 12 will be dependent on the type of aerosol-generating material 12 in addition to the way in which the device 30 is configured to heat the aerosol-generating material 12. Once the user has finished the session (i.e., the aerosol-generating material is spent), the user will remove and dispose of the consumable 10. To begin a new session, the user inserts a fresh consumable 10.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a braided absorbent material 50 comprising strands of material 52 braided around the outside of a rod of absorbent material 54 in accordance with principles of the present disclosure.

The braided absorbent material 50 illustrated in FIG. 3 may form part of the consumable 10 as described above, wherein the elongate or x-axis indicated in FIG. 3 corresponds to the x-axis indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2. For example, where the aerosol-generating material 12 is a liquid or gel, the absorbent material 54 is doused with the aerosol-generating liquid and/or gel 12 such that the aerosol-generating liquid and/or gel 12 is contained within the absorbent material 54 when the braided absorbent material 50 forms a part of the consumable 10. Accordingly, the absorbent material 54 is made from a material which is capable of wicking the aerosol-generating material 12. In other words, the absorbent material 54 uses capillary action to draw the aerosol-generating material 12 along the length of the absorbent material 54 so that all of the absorbent material 54 is doused with aerosol-generating material 12. This also allows the aerosol-generating material 12 to be applied one end 50a of the absorbent material 54 and the aerosol-generating material 12 to be drawn through the absorbent material 54 such that there is an even distribution of aerosol-generating material 12 within the absorbent material 54. The absorbent material 54 may therefore be made of any material with such wicking properties, for example a fibrous material such as cotton fibres, woollen fibres, silk fibres or other natural fibres, or synthetic fibres such as nylon, polypropylene or polyester fibres.

Although the braided absorbent material 50 illustrated in FIG. 3 has a cylindrical cross-section, it will be appreciated that rods of other cross-sections, such as square, hexagonal or octagonal are also possible. The outer diameter and shape of the braided absorbent material 50 may correspond to that of the consumable 10 such that the braided absorbent material 50 conforms to the outer shape of the consumable 10. Equally, the braided absorbent material 50 may have a different external geometry to the consumable 10, but be sized to fit within the general external shape of consumable 10.

Braided around the outside of the rod of absorbent material 54 are strands of material 52. In other words, strands of material 52 are interweaved around the circumference or perimeter of the rod of absorbent material 54 and along the length of the rod of absorbent material 54 (the x-direction as illustrated in FIG. 3).

The strands of material 52 act to strengthen the absorbent material 54 and ensure that the rod of braided absorbent material 50 maintains a rod shape. In other words, the braided strands of material 52 hold the absorbent material 54 in place and prevent the ends of the absorbent material 54 from splaying outwards and loosing shape. The strands of material 52 may be a metal wire, such aluminium or a steel wire, such as stainless steel, or may be a similar material to the absorbent material 54, such as cotton thread, woollen thread, thread from a natural fibre or a synthetic thread such as nylon. The thread may have a flavour impregnated into such that the strands of material 52 act as a flavour carrier.

Although the braided strands of material 52 are shown in FIG. 3 as having a uniform or symmetric pattern around the outside of the absorbent material 54, this is not essential, and FIGS. 4a-d schematically illustrates alternative braided absorbent materials for a consumable of a non-combustible aerosol provision system in accordance with principles of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4a illustrates a braided absorbent material 50 where the pattern of the braided strands of material 52 is different in the centre 50c of the rod compared to the ends 50a, 50b of the rod in the elongate or x-axis direction. In other words, the separation between the strands of material 52 changes from the ends 50a, 50b of the rod to the middle 50c of the rod such that the density of the strands of material 52 covering the absorbent material 54 is different between the ends 50a, 50b of the rod and the middle 50c of the rod of braided absorbent material 50. In the example illustrated in FIG. 4a, the separation between the strands of material 52 is greater in the middle 50c of the rod compared to the ends 50a, 50b of the rod, and therefore the density of the strands of material 52 covering the absorbent material 54 is lower in the middle 50c of the rod compared to the ends 50a, 50b of the rod. As the absorbent material 54 has a tendency to separate and splay out at the ends of the rod, having a lower separation between the strands of material 52 (and therefore increasing the density of strands of material 52) at the ends 50a, 50b of the rod reduces the amount of splaying of the absorbent material 54 that occurs since the absorbent material 54 is held together more tightly by the braided strands of material 52. Alternatively, the separation between the strands of material 52 may be less in the middle 50c of the rod compared to the ends 50a, 50b of the rod.

FIG. 4d illustrates an alternative example of a braided absorbent material 50 where the pattern of the braided strands of material 52 is different in the centre 50c of the rod compared to the ends 50a, 50b of the rod. In this example, the braided strands of material 52 at the centre 50c of the rod form a chequered or criss cross pattern, whilst the braided strands of material 52 at the ends 50a, 50b of the rod are wrapped around the circumference or outside of the absorbent material 54 with little or no interweaving of the strands. As described above, this also provides a tighter wrapping of the strands of material 52 around the absorbent material 54 at the ends 50a, 50b of the rod to prevent splaying or separation of the absorbent material 54.

In some examples, strands of material 52 are be knotted together at locations around the outside of the absorbent material 54 in order to fixed the strands of material 52 in place and provide more support to the absorbent material 54. For example, the strands of material 52 can be knotted at the ends of the rod of braided absorbent material 50 in order to prevent the absorbent material 54 from splaying outwards and to prevent the strands of material 52 from unravelling or otherwise moving away from their desired location.

Alternatively or in addition, the strands of material 52 can be fixed into position by heating the rod of braided absorbent material 50 so that the strands of material 52 melt and fuse or otherwise bond together. For example, one or more of the strands of material 52 can be a material with a sufficiently low melting point that heat can be applied to the rod of braided absorbent material 50 in order to melt the material without melting or otherwise damaging any of the other components of the rod of braided absorbent material 50.

FIGS. 4b and 4c illustrate a braided absorbent material 50 where the strands of material comprise a first material and a second material, and the first material is different from the second material. The first material 52a is illustrated in FIGS. 4b and 4c by the thick lines around the outside of the absorbent material 54, and the second material 52b is illustrated in FIGS. 4b and 4c by the thin lines around the outside of the absorbent material 54. It will be appreciated that this is simply for ease of illustration, and the respective diameters or widths of the first material and the second material may be substantially the same, or the diameters or width of the second material may be greater than the diameters or width of the first material. The first material 52a may be a metal wire, such aluminium or a steel wire, such as stainless steel. When the braided absorbent material 50 forms a part of a consumable for a non-combustible aerosol provision system, the conductive properties of the metal wire can be used as a susceptor material as described above.

The second material 52b may also be a metal wire, but a different type of metal wire compared to the first material 52a. For example, the second material 52b may be a magnetic metal wire whilst the first material is stainless steel wire. Alternatively, the second material 52b may be a similar material to the absorbent material 54, such as cotton thread, nylon thread or woollen thread. As described above, the thread may have a flavour impregnated into it such that the second material acts as a flavour carrier whilst the first material acts as a susceptor.

As illustrated in FIGS. 4b and 4c, the first material 52a is be braided around the outside of the rod of absorbent material 54 in a first pattern, and the second material 52b is be braided around the rod of absorbent material 54 in a second pattern.

In FIG. 4b the first pattern and the second pattern are different. The first pattern is a helical or coil shape whilst the second pattern is forms a chequered or criss cross pattern. Having the first pattern different to the second pattern allows the distribution of the first material 52a and second material 52b around the outside of the rod of absorbent material 54 to be optimised based on the respective functions of the first material and the second material. For example, where the first material 52a is a stainless steel wire and the second material 52b is cotton thread, the first material 52a may act as a susceptor material, and the pattern of the first material 52a can be chosen to provide a consistent distribution of heating along the rod of absorbent material 54. The second material 52b (cotton thread) may act as structural enforcement for the rod of absorbent material 54, and therefore the pattern of the second material 52b may be chosen to provide additional support at the ends of the rod compared to the centre of the rod in order to prevent the absorbent material 54 from splaying out at the ends of the rod, as described above with reference to FIGS. 4a and 4b.

FIG. 4c illustrates an alternative example of patterns of the first material 52a and the second material 52b. In this example, the first pattern and the second pattern both result in a chequered or criss cross pattern of the first material 52a and the second material 52b, but the spacing between the strands of the first material 52a and the second material 52b are different. In other words, both the first pattern and the second pattern result in a braid of the first material 52a and the second material 52b, respectively, but the overall density and spacing between the strands of the first material 52a and the strands of the second material 52b is different. As illustrated in FIG. 4c, there are three strands of the second material 52b between each strand of the first material 52a, such that the density of the second material 52b around the outside of the absorbent material 54 is greater than the density of the first material 52a around the outside of the absorbent material 54. In other words, the spacing between each strand of the first material is greater than the spacing between each strand of second material 52b around the outside of the absorbent material. Alternatively, the first pattern and the second pattern may be different such that the density of the second material 52b around the outside of the absorbent material 54 is less than the density of the first material 52a around the outside of the absorbent material 54, and therefore the spacing between each strands of the second material 52b is greater than the spacing between each strands of the first material 52a around the outside of the absorbent material 54.

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a rod of absorbent material 54 formed by wrapping the absorbent material 54 around a continuous core of material 56 in accordance with principles of the present disclosure. The continuous core of material 56 could be formed of a metallic wire in order to act as a susceptor material as described above. This may be in addition to or in the place of a susceptor in the strands of material 52 braided around the outside of the rod of absorbent material 54. The continuous core of material 56 may be formed of a metallic wire or plastics material to act as a structural support for the absorbent material 54 such that the rod of absorbent material 54 maintains its shape. In some applications, the continuous core of material 56 may be a hollow tube, for example made of a plastics or metallic material, thereby providing an additional air path through the rod of absorbent material 54 when the rod of braided absorbent material 50 forms part of a consumable 10 for a non-combustible aerosol provision system 20. It will be appreciated that the continuous core of material 56 may provide multiple functions, for example a hollow metallic tube to act as a susceptor material and provide an additional air path.

FIG. 6 schematically illustrates a rod of braided absorbent material 50 including the rod of absorbent material 54 illustrated in FIG. 5 in accordance with principles of the present disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the strands of material 52 are braided around the outside of the rod of absorbent material 54, which includes the continuous core of material 56, as described above with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

FIG. 7 schematically illustrates a rod of braided absorbent material 50 in accordance with principles of the present disclosure, where one or more additional materials 58a, 58b are laid on the outside of the rod of absorbent material 54 before the strands of material 52 are braided around the outside of the rod of absorbent material 54. In other words, the additional material 58 lies between the rod of absorbent material 54 and the branded strands of material 52. The additional materials 58 may include a metallic wire, for example to act as a susceptor, and/or a metallic or plastics material to provide structural reinforcement to the rod of absorbent material 54. The additional materials 58 may include one or more threads, such as cotton or wool, which are impregnated with flavouring such that the additional material 58 acts as a flavour carrier. The additional materials 58 may include a hollow plastics or metallic tube, where the hollow portion of the tube provides an air path through the rod of braided absorbent material 50 when the rod of braided absorbent material 50 forms part of a consumable 10 for a non-combustible aerosol provision system 20. When there are two or more additional materials 58a, 58b, each material may be the same or it may be different. For example, the first additional material 58a may be a metal wire whilst the second additional material 58b may be a thread impregnated with a flavourant.

Although the additional materials 58a, 58b are illustrated in FIG. 7 as extending along the entire length of the rod of braided absorbent material 50 in the x-direction, this is not essential. In other examples the additional material 58 may be located in the middle 50c of the rod of braided absorbent material 50 in the elongate or x-direction such that the additional material does not extend fully to the ends 50a, 50b of the rod. Alternatively, the additional material 58 may be located at one or more ends 50a, 50b of the rod and not present in the middle 50c of the rod. Equally the additional material 58 may not be axially aligned with the rod of braided absorbent material 50. In other words, the additional material 58 may not extend straight along the elongate or x-axis of the rod of braided absorbent material 50. For example, the additional material 58 may be helically wound around the rod of absorbent material 54 or wrapped partially or fully around the circumference or perimeter of the rod of absorbent material 54 perpendicular to the elongate or x-axis of the rod. In the case where the additional material 58 is helically wound around the rod of absorbent material 54, the helix or coil of additional material 58 may follow a similar path around the outside of the rod of absorbent material 54 as one or more of the strands of material 52 that are braided around the outside of the rod of absorbent material 54.

FIG. 8 schematically illustrates a rod of braided absorbent material 50 which includes both a continuous core of material 56 as described above in relation to FIG. 6 and one or more additional materials 58a, 58b laid on the outside of the rod of absorbent material 54 as described above in relation to FIG. 7. Accordingly, the features described above in relation to these figures may be used in combination. It will also be appreciated that any of the features of the braided strands of material 52 and the absorbent material 54, in particular those described above with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, may also be used in combination with the examples illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 8.

Although two additional materials 58a, 58b are shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, it will be appreciated that any number of additional materials, such as one, five or 10, may be laid around the outside of the rod of absorbent material 54. Further, although the additional materials 58a, 58b are shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 to be evenly distributed around the circumference or perimeter of the rod of absorbent material 54, this is not essential. For example, where there are two additional materials 58a, 58b, these may be located proximate to each other around the circumference or perimeter of the rod of absorbent material 54 rather than diametrically opposite each other.

Any of the rods of braided absorbent material 50 described above with reference to FIGS. 3 to 9 may form part of the consumable 10 as described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, where the reference frames in each figure are the same. An example of this is illustrated in FIG. 9, which schematically illustrates, in cross-section, a consumable 10 for a non-combustible aerosol provision system 20 including a rod of braided absorbent material 50 according to principles of the present disclosure. As described above with reference to FIG. 1, the consumable 10 extends along an axis, corresponding to the elongate or x-axis in FIG. 9. A mouthpiece 16 is located at the first end 10a of the consumable 10. The mouthpiece 16 is the part of the consumable 10 that engages with the lips of a user. In other words, the user places their lips around the mouthpiece 16 during use of the consumable 10. A first plug 18a is adjacent to the mouthpiece 16 along the axis, and a second plug 18b is located at the second end 10b of the consumable 10. As illustrated in FIG. 9, the second end 10b of the consumable 10 is opposite the first end 10a of the consumable 10 along the axis, the x-axis in FIG. 9.

The plugs 18a, 18b and the mouthpiece 16 are illustrated in FIG. 9 as being circular disks, where the diameter of the plugs 18a, 18b and the mouthpiece 16 matches the diameter of the rod of braided absorbent material 50. In other words, the size and shape of the plugs 18a, 18b and the mouthpiece is matched to that of the rod of braided absorbent material 50 such that each of the plugs 18a, 18b, the mouthpiece 16 and the absorbent material 50 has the same cross-sectional area and shape about the axis. This ensures that the consumable 10 has a consistent cross-section along the axis. It will be appreciated, however, that this is not essential, and that each of the plugs 18a, 18b, the mouthpiece 16 and the rod of braided absorbent material 50 may have different sizes and shapes depending on the particular design and overall shape that is desired.

The plugs 18a, 18b are made of a low porosity material, such as cellulose acetate or a sponge material, in order to act as a physical barrier between the braided absorbent material 50 and the external environment. In other words, the plugs 18a, 18b are formed of any suitable porous material that is air and vapour permeable but impermeable to liquids, gels or solids. This prevents any aerosol-generating material 12 located between first plug 18a and the second plug 18b from passing through the first plug 18a into the mouthpiece, or passing through the second plug 18b and out of the end 10b of the consumable 10, thereby improving the handling and use of the consumable 10 by a user as the aerosol-generating material 12 is prevented from leaking out of the consumable 10.

A rod of braided absorbent material 50 is located between the first plug 18a and the second plug 18b along the axis. The rod of braided absorbent material 50 comprises strands of material 52 braided around the outside of a rod of absorbent material 54 as described above with reference to FIGS. 3 to 8. The absorbent material 54 is doused with an aerosol-generating material 12, such as a liquid or gel aerosol-generating material.

Although not illustrated in FIG. 9, in some embodiments one or more additional materials are located between the first plug and the second plug, such as one or more additional absorbent materials or any solid, liquid or gel material, such as tobacco. At least one of the additional absorbent materials may be another rod of braided absorbent material. For example, an additional absorbent material may be located between the rod of braided absorbent material 50 and the first plug 18a along the axis, and/or an additional material, such as tobacco may be located between the rod of braided absorbent material 50 and the second plug 18b along the axis. In some examples, one or more additional absorbent materials are located radially outwards of the rod of braided absorbent material 50. The rod of braided absorbent material 50 and the one or more additional materials can be arranged around the axis such that none of them are co-axially aligned with either the first plug 18a or the second plug 18b. For example, four rods of braided absorbent material could be circumferentially arranged around the axis such that the overall diameter or width of the arrangement matched the diameter of width of the first plug 18a and/or the second plug 18b perpendicular to the axis.

The additional materials can be heated to provide a different vapour chemistry to the consumable 10. For example, the rod of braided absorbent material 50 may be doused with aerosol-generating liquid or gel 12 that contains a flavourant whilst a further absorbent material is doused with an aerosol-generating liquid 12 containing nicotine. In an example of a hybrid system, the rod of braided absorbent material 50 is doused in a liquid or gel aerosol-generating material 12 and an additional solid aerosol-generating material is also located between the first plug 18a and the second plug 18b. The solid aerosol-generating material is a tobacco or a non-tobacco product.

A wrapper 14 is wrapped around each of the braided absorbent material 50, the first plug 18a, the second plug 18b and the mouthpiece 16. In other words, the wrapper 14 is wrapped around the outer surface of the braided absorbent material 50, the first plug 18a, the second plug 18b and the mouthpiece 16 such that the wrapper forms an outer surface of the consumable 10 circumferentially around the x-axis. As described above with reference to FIG. 1, the wrapper 14 in this example is made of paper such as tipping paper, but other materials such as card or metal foil (e.g., aluminium foil) may also be used in other implementations. The wrapper 14 acts as a physical barrier between the braided absorbent material 50 and the external environment, thereby improving the handling of the consumable 10 by a user. Additionally, the wrapper 14 may act as an outer wrap to retain the cylindrical rod shape of the braided absorbent material 50 and the overall consumable 10.

In some implementations, the wrapper 14 may be formed of multiple sub-layers stacked one on top of the other (i.e., in the radial direction of article 10), where at least one of the sub-layers 14c extends the entire length of the consumable 10 and is wrapped around each of the braided absorbent material 50, the first plug 18a, the second plug 18b and the mouthpiece 16. In the example illustrated in FIG. 9, a sub-layer 14a is wrapped around only the mouth piece 16 and a sub-layer 14b is wrapped around only the braided absorbent material 50, whilst at least one sub-layer 14c extends the entire length of the consumable 10. The sub-layer 14a wrapped around only the mouth piece 16 is the outermost layer and made of tipping paper. This gives the consumable 10 an appearance similar to a conventional cigarette, and makes it easier for the user to the determine the correct orientation of the consumable 10 and which end 10a of the consumable 10 the user is to insert into their mouth. In this case, the sub-layer 14c which extends the entire length of the consumable 10 can be made from a different type of paper to tipping paper.

The sub-layer 14b wrapped around only the braided absorbent material 50 is located between the rod of braided absorbent material 50 and the wrapper 14. In other words, the sub-layer 14b is located radially between the braided absorbent material 50 and the layer of the wrapper 14c which extends the entire length of the consumable 10, which may also correspond to the innermost layer. In some examples, this sub-layer 14b acts as a hydroscopic barrier to prevent the braided absorbent material 50 and any other absorbent materials located between the plugs 18a, 18b from drying out or any liquids, gels or other materials impregnated or doused into the absorbent materials from leaking out of the absorbent materials and through the wrapper 14. For example, the sub-layer 14b can be made of a metal foil, such as aluminium foil, or another material which is coated or laminated with a metal, such as aluminium or steel. This allows the sub-layer 14b to act as a susceptor as described above. This may be in addition to any susceptor material within the rod of braided absorbent material 50, or may be in place of any susceptor material within the rod of braided absorbent material 50. For example, the strands of material 52 in the rod of braided absorbent material 50 may be made from natural fibres, and therefore the metallic sub-layer 14b is the only susceptor material within the consumable 10. Alternatively, one or more of the strands of material 52 in the rod of braided absorbent material 50 may be made from a metal such as stainless steel whilst the sub-layer 14b is made from or coated with a metal such as aluminium, thereby providing multiple susceptor materials within the consumable. The sub-layer 14b may be wrapped around the entire length of the rod of braided absorbent material 50, the entire length of the consumable 10 between the first plug 18a and the second plug 18b, or may only be wrapped around some of the absorbent materials between the first plug 18a and the second plug 18b. This allows the shape and layout of the susceptors within the consumable 10 to be selected based on the desired heating profile for the aerosol-generating material 12 within the braided absorbent material 50 and any other absorbent materials and aerosol-generating materials between the two plugs 18a, 18b.

The wrapper 14 in FIG. 9 comprises one or more ventilation holes 15 around the circumference of the wrapper at a point along the axis. In the example illustrated in FIG. 9, the point along the axis corresponds to the mouthpiece 16 such that, in use, air is able to enter the mouthpiece through each of the ventilation holes 15. Where the wrapper 14 is formed of multiple sub-layers 14a, 14b, the ventilation holes 15 pass through each sub-layer that wraps around the point along the axis where the ventilation holes 15 are located, such that each ventilation hole passes entirely through the wrapper 14. Additional ventilation holes may also be located at other points along the axis. Although the ventilation holes 15 in FIG. 9 are shown to be evenly distributed around the wrapper at a point corresponding to the mouthpiece 16, this is not essential. The ventilation holes 15 may be located at a different point along the axis, for example corresponding to the first plug 18a or the second plug 18b. Equally, the ventilation holes 15 may not be evenly distributed around the circumference or perimeter of the wrapper 14 and may be grouped at one location around the circumference or perimeter of the wrapper 14. The ventilation holes 15 may be of different sizes, for example different diameters. In general, the size, number and distribution of the ventilation holes 15 on the wrapper 14 is chosen in order to achieve the desired draw resistance and air flow characteristics through the consumable 10. For example, the size and number of ventilation holes 15 may be chosen so that the perceived draw resistance of the consumable 10 by a user closely matches that of a conventional cigarette.

FIG. 10 schematically illustrates a method of manufacturing the consumable 10 illustrated in FIG. 9 according to principles of the present disclosure. The first plug 18a is butted to the mouthpiece 16. The first plug 18a is adjacent to the mouthpiece 16 along the axis, corresponding to the x-axis in FIG. 10. The rod braided absorbent material 50 is inserted between the first plug 18a and the second plug 18b along the axis such that the first plug 18a and the rod of braided absorbent material 50 are located between the second plug 18b and the mouthpiece 16 along the axis. The wrapper 14 is then wrapped around the braided absorbent material 50, the first plug 18a, the second plug 18b and the mouthpiece 16 to form the consumable 10 illustrated in FIG. 9. As illustrated in FIG. 10, multiple consumables can be made simultaneously using the above method but as a mirror image along the axis such that the second plugs 18b of adjacent consumables 10 are located proximate to each other along the axis and the mouthpieces 16 of adjacent consumables 10 are located proximate to each other along the axis. In other words, the first end of a first consumable is located proximate to the first end of a second consumable (location A in FIG. 10), and the second end of the first consumable is located proximate to the second end of a third consumable (location B in FIG. 10). The wrapper 14 can then be wrapped around the braided absorbent material 50, the first plug 18a, the second plug 18b and the mouthpiece 16 of each of the adjacent components. The wrapper 14 is then cut at the locations A, B and C to separate each of the consumables. This method allows a standard width of wrapper 14 to be used to manufacture the consumables, reducing the total number of operations required to manufacture the consumables and allowing a production line to be used to manufacture the consumables.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart of a method 1100 of manufacturing a consumable 10 for a non-combustible aerosol provision system 20 according to principles of the present disclosure. The method 1100 begins at step 1110, where a first plug 18a is butted to the mouthpiece 16, the consumable extending along an axis and the first plug 18a being adjacent to the mouthpiece 16 along the axis. At step 1120, a rod of braided absorbent material 50 is inserted between the first plug 18a and a second plug 18b such that the first plug 18a and the rod of braided absorbent material 50 are located between the second plug 18b and the mouthpiece 16 along the axis. At step 1130, a wrapper 14 is wrapped around the braided absorbent material 50, the first plug 18a, the second plug 18b and the mouthpiece 16 to form the consumable illustrated in FIG. 9.

Accordingly, any of the consumables 10 described above with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11 may form part of and be used with the non-combustible aerosol provision system 20 described above with reference to FIG. 2.

As described above, the present disclosure relates to (but it not limited to) a consumable for a non-combustible aerosol provision system. Thus, there has been described a consumable for a non-combustible aerosol provision system that extends along an axis and comprises a mouthpiece at a first end of the consumable, a first plug adjacent to the mouthpiece along the axis, a second plug at a second end of the consumable, the second end opposite the first end along the axis, a rod of braided absorbent material between the first plug and the second plug along the axis, and a wrapper wrapped around the braided absorbent material, the first plug, the second plug and the mouthpiece.

The various embodiments described herein are presented only to assist in understanding and teaching the claimed features. These embodiments are provided as a representative sample of embodiments only, and are not exhaustive and/or exclusive. It is to be understood that advantages, embodiments, examples, functions, features, structures, and/or other aspects described herein are not to be considered limitations on the scope of the invention as defined by the claims or limitations on equivalents to the claims, and that other embodiments may be utilised and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the claimed invention. Various embodiments of the invention may suitably comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of, appropriate combinations of the disclosed elements, components, features, parts, steps, means, etc., other than those specifically described herein. In addition, this disclosure may include other inventions not presently claimed, but which may be claimed in future.

Claims

1. A consumable for a non-combustible aerosol provision system, wherein the consumable extends along an axis and comprises:

a mouthpiece at a first end of the consumable;

a first plug adjacent to the mouthpiece along the axis;

a second plug at a second end of the consumable, the second end opposite the first end along the axis;

a rod of braided absorbent material between the first plug and the second plug along the axis; and

a wrapper wrapped around the braided absorbent material, the first plug, the second plug and the mouthpiece.

2. The consumable of claim 1, wherein the rod of braided absorbent material comprises strands of material braided around the outside of a rod of absorbent material.

3. The consumable of claim 2, wherein the absorbent material is doused with an aerosol-generating material.

4. The consumable of claim 2, wherein the absorbent material is cotton.

5. The consumable of claim 2, wherein at least one of the strands of material is a susceptor.

6. The consumable of claim 5, wherein the susceptor is metal wire.

7. The consumable of claim 1, further comprising a susceptor wrapped around the rod of braided absorbent material between the rod of braided absorbent material and the wrapper.

8. The consumable of claim 7, wherein the susceptor is an aluminium coated material.

9. The consumable of claim 1, further comprising one or more additional absorbent materials between the first plug and the second plug.

10. The consumable of claim 9, wherein at least one of the additional absorbent materials is a rod of braided absorbent material.

11. The consumable of claim 1, wherein the first plug and the second plug are a low porosity material.

12. The consumable of claim 11, wherein the low porosity material is cellulose acetate.

13. The consumable of claim 1, wherein the first plug and the second plug are circular disks.

14. The consumable of claim 1, wherein the wrapper is made of tipping paper.

15. The consumable of claim 14, wherein the wrapper comprises one or more ventilation holes around the circumference of the tipping paper at a point along the axis.

16. A method of manufacturing a consumable for a non-combustible aerosol provision system, the method comprising:

butting a first plug to a mouthpiece, wherein the consumable extends along an axis and the first plug is adjacent to the mouthpiece along the axis;

inserting a rod of braided absorbent material between the first plug and a second plug such that the first plug and the rod of braided absorbent material are located between the second plug and the mouthpiece along the axis; and

wrapping a wrapper around the braided absorbent material, the first plug, the second plug and the mouthpiece.

17. A non-combustible aerosol provision system comprising the consumable of claim 1.