EP0430566A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Flavor delivering article
Assignee: Philip Morris Products Inc
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Filing: 1990-11-20
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2010-11-20
Abstract
Abstract An article (10) is provided in which a flavor generating medium (111) is electrically heated by heaters (110) to evolve inhalable flavors such as tobacco or other components in vapor or aerosol form. The article has a plurality of charges (111) of the flavor generating medium which are heated sequentially to provide individual puffs. The charges are located in a portion (11) of the article detachable from a second second (12) in which is located a power source (121). The heaters are connected to the power source by fingers (114) on the first section which are received in recesses (120) on the second second. A mouthpiece may be provided on the first section through which vapor may be inhaled.
Inventors
- 👤 Mary E. Counts
- 👤 Bernard C. Laroy
- 👤 Bruce D. Losee, Jr.
- 👤 Constance H. Morgan
- 👤 Ulysses Smith
- 👤 Murphy F. Sprinkel, Jr.
- 👤 Francis V. Utsch
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-27 08:34
CPC Classifications
A; A24; A24F; A24F40/00; A24F40/40; A24F40/46; A24F40/10; A24B; A24B15/00; A24B15/18; A24B15/28; A24B15/42; A24F40/30; A24F40/50; A24F40/20; A24F40/60
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 54
Claim 1
Independent Claim
111 words
An article (10) for delivering to a consumer an inhalable flavor-containing substance, said article comprising a plurality of predetermined charges of flavor generating medium (111, 732, 750, 746, 784); electrical heating means (110, 70 - 77; 80, 760, 771; 785; 792) for individually heating each of said plurality of charges; a source of electrical energy (121) for powering said electrical heating means; and control means (122, 32) for applying said electrical energy to said electrical heating means to heat, at any one time, at least one but less than all of said plurality of charges, each of said charges, when heated, delivering a predetermined quantity of flavor-containing substance to said consumer.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
27 words
The article of Claim 1, wherein said flavor generating medium comprises tobacco, and a flavor-containing substance comprising tobacco components is formed on heating the flavor generating medium.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
22 words
The article of Claim 1 or 2, wherein the flavor generating medium comprises an aerosol-forming material which forms an aerosol on heating.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
11 words
The article of Claim 3 wherein said aerosol-forming material comprises glycerine.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
13 words
The article of Claim 3 or 4 wherein said aerosol-forming material comprises water.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
30 words
The article of any of Claims 3 to 5 dependent upon Claim 2, wherein said flavor generating medium (111) is a dried slurry comprising ground tobacco and said aerosol-forming material.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
14 words
The article of any preceding claim, wherein the flavor generating medium comprises tobacco extracts.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
21 words
The article of any preceding claim, wherein the flavor generating medium comprises condensed components of smoke produced by combustion of tobacco.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
23 words
The article of any preceding claim, wherein the electrical heating means comprises resistance heating means (110) in contact with said flavor generating medium.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
28 words
The article of Claim 9, wherein the resistance heating means (110) is a mesh of resistive wire, and the flavor generating medium is deposited on the wire mesh.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
33 words
The article of any preceding claim, wherein the plurality of charges of flavor generating medium are deposited on a substrate (78, 79), and the electrical heating means is in contact with the substrate.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
23 words
The article of Claim 10 or 11 comprising an adhesion agent for adhering the flavor-generating medium to the mesh, or substrate (78, 79).
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
12 words
The article of Claim 12 wherein the adhesion agent is a pectin.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
12 words
The article of Claim 13 wherein the pectin is a citrus pectin.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
25 words
The article of any preceding claim, wherein the flavor-generating medium is concentrated, thereby reducing the amount of electrical energy necessary to form said flavor-containing substance.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
27 words
The article of Claim 11, wherein said electrical heating means comprises a plurality of heating elements (701, 711, 782, 783, 792) corresponding to said plurality of charges.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
26 words
The article of Claim 11 wherein the electrical heating means comprises a heating element (40), and means (122) for indexing said substrate past said heating element.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
31 words
The article of Claim 1, wherein the flavor generating medium comprises an electrically conductive material having a selected resistance, whereby the electrical heating means is integral with the flavor generating medium.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
29 words
The article of Claim 18, wherein the electrical heating means comprises means for conducting electrical energy from the source of electrical energy to the electrically conductive flavor generating medium.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
33 words
The article of Claim 19 wherein said electrical heating means comprises a plurality of said conducting means corresponding to said plurality of charges, each of said conducting means contacting one of said charges.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
48 words
The article of Claim 20, wherein the plurality of charges of flavor generating medium are deposited on a substrate (78, 79); and said electrical heating means comprises a plurality of conducting means corresponding to said plurality of charges, each of said conducting means contracting one of said charges.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
54 words
The article of Claim 18 wherein, the plurality of charges of flavor-generating medium are deposited on a substrate (78, 79), and the electrical heating means comprises a conducting means for contacting said charges, and means for indexing (122) the substrate past the conducting means, whereby the conducting means sequentially contacts each of said charges.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
12 words
The article of Claim 1 wherein said electrical heating means comprises graphite.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
15 words
The article of Claim 23, wherein said graphite is compounded with other forms of carbon.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
32 words
The article of Claim 23 or 24, wherein the electrical heating means further comprises electrical contact means for contacting the graphite and the graphite is coated with a contact resistance reducting substance.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
12 words
The article of Claim 25, wherein the contact-resistance reducing substance comprises tantalum.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
94 words
The article of any of Claims 23 to 26, wherein the heating means comprises a cylindrical structure comprising graphite and having a plurality of radially extending vanes (701, 711), at least one surface of each vane being coated with the flavor generating medium such that each vane has one of the plurality of charges thereon, one of the axial and radial edges of each vane all being connected in common to the electrical energy source (121) and the other of the axial and radial edges being connected individually to the electrical energy source (121).
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
73 words
The article of Claim 27, wherein the heating means comprises a cylinder (70) comprising graphite and having a continuous cylindrical outer surface (703), wherein the vanes (701) extend inwardly therefrom to a respective inner edge (704) to a point short of the axis of the cylinder, the outer surface comprising the common connection to the electrical energy source, and the inner edges (702) comprising the individual connections to the electrical energy source (121).
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
63 words
The article of Claim 27, wherein the heating means comprises a cylinder (71) comprising graphite and having a cylindrical inner core (713), wherein the vanes extend outwardly therefrom to a respective outer edge (714) to a point remote from the cylinder axis, the inner core comprising the common connection and the outer edges comprising the individual connections to the electrical energy source (121).
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
94 words
The article of Claim 23, wherein the heating means comprises a hollow cylinder (72) comprising graphite and having the flavor generating medium coated thereon, the cylinder being divided by at least one pair of opposed partially circumferential slits (720, 721) into a plurality of opposed pair of strips, (722, 723) each strip of an opposed pair being connected to a pole of said source of electrical energy to form a ring-like heater segment, the flavor generating medium on said inner side of each of said ring-like segments forming one of said plurality of charges.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
73 words
The article of Claim 23, wherein said heating means comprises a cylinder comprising graphite, and having an outer surface having a plurality of grooves (730) therein separated by lands (731) thereon, each groove being coated with the flavor generating medium (732) and forming one of said individual charges thereof, each groove being heated by applying power from said source of electrical energy to a land (731) on either side of said groove (730).
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
97 words
The article of Claim 23, wherein the heating means comprises a ring comprising graphite and being divided by first and second interleaved sets of slits (740, 742) extending from a respective end more than halfway to the opposite end and into a plurality of bases (745) adjacent a first end and into fingers (744) adjacent a second end, the fingers being coated with the flavor generating medium (746), wherein individual charges of flavor generating medium are heated by applying power from the energy source to one base and one finger or to adjacent ones of the bases.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
54 words
The article of Claim 32, wherein the flavor generating medium is coated onto the ring in a circumferential band in an area overlapped by both sets of slits (740, 742), individual charges of said flavor generating medium being heated by applying power from said source of electrical energy to adjacent ones of the bases.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
78 words
The article of Claim 32, wherein the flavor generating medium is coated onto the ring in a circumferential band in an area beginning at the second and extending towards the first end for a distance shorter than that over which the set of slits extending from the second end extends, individual charges of said flavor generating medium being heated by applying power from said source of electrical energy to one of the bases and one of the fingers.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
82 words
The article of Claim 23, wherein said heating means comprises an elongated sheet comprising graphite, and divided laterally by opposed pairs of slits (780, 781) into opposed pairs of strips (782, 783), the slits extending inwardly from longitudinal edges of the sheet, the flavor generating medium (784) being coated onto the sheet in a longitudinal band spaced from the longitudinal edges, and individual charges of said flavor generating medium being heated by applying power from the electrical energy source to opposed strips.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
118 words
The article of Claim 23, wherein the heating means comprises a plurality of U-shaped vanes (81), each vane having two legs of inequal length interconnected at their proximate ends by a base, each vane being joined to an electrically conductive hub (82) at the distal end of the longer leg to orientate the vanes radially with their longer legs adjacent one another, wherein the bases extend radially outward, and the shorter legs extend parallel to the longer legs but spaced radially outwardly therefrom, and wherein the vanes are coated with the flavor generating medium and individual charges of flavor generating medium are heated by applying power from the electrical energy source to the hub and to respective legs.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
22 words
The article of any preceding Claim wherein the source of electrical energy comprises a capacitor (90) and a capacitor charging means (93).
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
28 words
The article of Claim 37, wherein the capacitor (90) has a capacitance sufficient to store energy for heating at least one of said charges of flavor generating medium.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
25 words
The article of Claim 38, wherein the capacitance is sufficient to store energy for heating all of said plurality of charges of flavor generating medium.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
45 words
The article of any preceding claim, wherein the control means comprises means for selecting one of said pre-measured charges of and means for applying a pulse of electrical energy to the heating means to heat the selected charge when the consumer puffs at the article.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
16 words
The articles of Claim 40, wherein the selecting means is automaltic and selects each charge sequentially.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
22 words
The article of Claim 40 or 41, wherein the control means further comprises sequential indication means for indicating which charge is selected.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
20 words
The article of any of Claims 40 or 42, wherein the pulse applying means applies a pulse of predetermined duration.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
21 words
The article of Claim 43 or 44, wherein the control means further means for indicating when the pulse is being applied.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
29 words
The article of Claim 43 or 44, wherein the pulse applying means includes actuation means whereby actuation of said actuation means by a consumer causes application of the pulse.
Claim 46
Dependent Claim
27 words
The article of Claim 45, wherein the control means further comprises lockout means for disabling the actuation means for a predetermined lockout period after an actuation thereof.
Claim 47
Dependent Claim
15 words
The article of Claim 45 or 46, wherein the actuation means comprises a pushbutton (127).
Claim 48
Dependent Claim
23 words
The article of Claim 45 or 46, wherein said actuation means comprises a switch (52) actuated when a consumer draws on the article.
Claim 49
Dependent Claim
14 words
The article of Claim 48, wherein the switch is actuated by a pressure-sensitive sensor.
Claim 50
Dependent Claim
14 words
The article of Claim 48, wherein the switch is actuated by a flow-sensitive sensor.
Claim 51
Dependent Claim
32 words
The article of any preceding claim, wherein the control means causes the heating means to heat each charge of flavor generating medium to a temperature of from about 100°C to about 600°C.
Claim 52
Dependent Claim
31 words
The article of Claim 51, wherein the control means causes the heating means to heat each charge of flavor generating medium to a temperature of from about 300°C to about 400°C.
Claim 53
Dependent Claim
34 words
The article of any preceding claim, wherein the control causes means the heating means to heat each charge of flavor generating medium for a duration of from about 0.1 second to about 4 seconds.
Claim 54
Dependent Claim
33 words
The article of claim 53, wherein the control means causes said heating means to heat each charge of flavor generating medium for a duration of from about 0.8 second to about 1.2 seconds.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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