TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a casing for securing an aerosol generating article, and a system comprising the casing and the article, wherein the aerosol generating article comprises at least one ferromagnetic element.

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 volatile substrate inside is one of the most popular types. By heating but not burning the consumable, this one type of the aerosol generation device does not release the by-products of combustion such as tar and carbon monoxide. There is also another type of E-cigarette, the operation method of which is to evaporate liquid to form smoke. Especially the E-cigarette operating with liquid is continuously growing in popularity.

One benefit of the E-cigarettes operating with liquid is that one cartridge containing the liquid can be used for multiple uses, while a conventional cigarette can only be used once. However, at times is can be difficult to determine how much liquid remains inside the cartridge so that carrying a reserve cartridge is beneficial. To conveniently carry the aerosol generating device and/or the cartridge (or alternative consumables) and prevent damage and/or contamination of the device and/or the cartridge, casings for the aerosol generation device and/or cartridges are developed. The main requirements for these casings are that they securely store the aerosol generating article (device and/or consumable) to prevent damage and contamination of the articles whilst inserting and removing the articles from the casings is convenient.

For example, WO 2022/148783 Al describes an aerosol generation set, comprising an aerosol generation device comprising a device magnetic element; a case defining a cavity able to receive the aerosol generation device and a movable part movable from a closed position to an opened position further to a trigger event. The case comprises a case magnetic element arranged facing the device magnetic element when the aerosol generation device is received in the cavity; an electric circuitry configured to detect the trigger event and upon its detection, activate magnetic interaction between said magnetic elements to push at least one body end from the cavity, when the aerosol generation device is received in the cavity.

While the above describes casings that can release the article automatically upon opening, a solely electrically triggered release is susceptible to depletion of the battery, such that if the battery is depleted it can be difficult to obtain the article from the casing.

It is thus desired to provide a robust casing that can securely store the aerosol generating article while storing and obtaining the article is easy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a casing for securing an aerosol generating article which comprises at least one ferromagnetic element that solves some or all of the above problems.

A first embodiment of the invention is directed to a casing for securing an aerosol generating article which comprises at least one ferromagnetic element, the casing comprising a cavity comprising: a base portion; a first side portion comprising at least one counterpart ferromagnetic element which attracts the ferromagnetic element of the article; and one or more further side portions, wherein the cavity is configured to secure the aerosol generating article in a first position and in a second position, wherein in the first position, the aerosol generating article is secured by means of the base portion and/or one or more further side portions, and in the second position, the aerosol generating article is secured by means of the first side portion, wherein the at least one counterpart ferromagnetic element engages with the ferromagnetic element of the article such that the aerosol generating article is held against the first side portion, wherein the aerosol generating article in the second position is rotated by io° to 70°, preferably 15 ⁰ to 6o° more preferably 20° to 50° compared to the aerosol generating article in the first position.

With the above, in the first position, it is possible to securely store the article in the casing. If the user desires to remove the article from the casing, the user has to merely bring the aerosol generating article into engagement with the first side portion such that the aerosol generating article is brought from the first psotion into the second position. Since in the second position, the article is rotated by by io° to 70°, preferably 15 ⁰ to 6o° more preferably 20° to 50° compared to the aerosol generating article in the first position, the article extends from the cavity with the respective angle and can be removed from the casing with ease.

According to a 2nd embodiment, in the preceding embodiment, the counterpart ferromagnetic element engages with the ferromagnetic element of the aerosol generating article by means of a magnetic attractive force.

Using magnets for storing and releasing the article improves the accessibility and robustness of the article.

According to a 3rd embodiment, in any one of the preceding embodiments, the one or more further side portions are substantially perpendicular to the base side portion.

Having side walls being substantially perpendicular to the base side portion allows the side walls to engage with outside surfaces of the article and to secure the article inside the cavity.

According to a 4th embodiment, in any one of the preceding embodiments, the first side portion forms an angle between io° and 70°, preferably between 15 ⁰ and 6o° more preferably between 20° and 50° relative to the base portion of the cavity.

With the above configuration, it is possible to bring the article from the first position to the second position by merely moving the article onto the first side portion. Since the first side portion comprises the counterpart ferromagnetic element, it may be sufficient to move the article only slightly towards the first side portion such that the magnetic attraction of the ferromagnetic and the counterpart ferromagnetic element cause the movement of the article from the first position to the second position.

According to a 5th embodiment, in any one of the preceding embodiments, a portion of the aerosol generating article in the first position engages with one or more further side portions and/ or the aerosol generating article does not engage with the first side portion.

With the above, the one or more further side portions securely store the article in the first position, while the article is at distance to the first side portion. Only by moving the article towards the first side portion, the article starts to engage with the first side portion and move from the first position to the second position.

According to a 6th embodiment, in any one of the preceding embodiments, the one or more further side portions consist of a second side portion, a third side portion and a fourth side portion, wherein the first side portion is substantially opposite to the second side portion, and the third side portion is substantially opposite to the fourth side portion.

According to a 7th embodiment, in the preceding embodiment, the first side portion and the second side portion substantially extend in a lateral direction of the cavity, and the third side portion and the fourth side portion substantially extend in a longitudinal direction of the cavity.

According to an 8th embodiment, in any one of the preceding embodiments, the cavity is further configured such that the aerosol generating device moves from the first position to the second position by means of a rotation movement around a rotational axis extending in lateral direction of the cavity and positioned at the side of the first side portion.

According to a 9th embodiment, in any one of the preceding embodiments, the magnetic force between the ferromagnetic element of the article and the least one counterpart ferromagnetic element has a magnitude such that the aerosol generating article moves from the first position to the second position only if it is translated and/or rotated towards the first side portion, e.g. by the finger of a user.

By dimensioning the cavity and the magnetic force as described above, the article stays in the first position (the secure position) until the user moves the article towards the first side portion. Consequently, the article is securely stored until the user wants to use the article and moves it towards the first side portion.

According to a 10th embodiment, in any one of the 1st to 8th embodiments, the casing comprising a retracting member different from the base portion and the side portions, wherein the retracting member can be brought into a configuration in which it holds the article in the first position.

According to an 11th embodiment, in the preceding embodiment, the retracting member is a cover which can be positioned over an opening of the cavity to cover the opening of the cavity. According to a 12th embodiment, in the 10th or nth embodiment, the magnetic force between the ferromagnetic element of the article and the least one counterpart ferromagnetic element has a magnitude such that the aerosol generating article moves from the first position to the second position when the retracting member is not configured to hold the article in the first position.

With a retracting member, such as the cover, configurations are possible where the user can control the transition from the first position to the second position by means of the retracting member. For example, by pressing a button or removing the cover. This can improve the accessibility of the article without impeding the security/ robustness aspect.

According to a 13th embodiment, in any one of the preceding embodiments, the casing is configured to electrically charge the aerosol generating article when the aerosol generating article is in the first position.

By charging the article during storage it can be ensured that the article is always fully charged, if required.

A 14th embodiment is directed to a system comprising: a casing according to any one of the preceding claims; and the aerosol generating article to be secured by the casing.

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

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

Figure la: shows a casing according to an exemplary embodiment;

Figure lb: is a cross-sectional view of a CAD drawing of the casing according to the exemplaiy embodiment;

Figure 2: is a top-view of the casing, according to the exemplary embodiment, with the article in the first position;

Figure 3a: shows the casing, according to the exemplary embodiment, with the article being in the first position;

Figure 3b: shows the casing, according to the exemplary embodiment, with the article being in the second position; Figure 4: shows an implementation of the casing in another exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described hereinafter with reference to the drawing.

In the following, a casing for securing an aerosol generating article is described in more detail.

In Figs, la and lb, a casing 100 according to an exemplary embodiment is shown. While Fig. la shows the casing in a top view, Fig. lb shows the CAD drawing of the casing 100 in a cross-sectional view from a slightly different perspective. The casing comprises a cavity 110 configured to receive and secure an aerosol generating article comprising at least one ferromagnetic element 220.

The aerosol generating article 200 may be any article configured to generate and provide an inhalable aerosol to a user. For example, the aerosol generating article 200 may be an aerosol generating device, such as a heat-not-burn (HNB) device that heats a substantially solid tobacco product, or an aerosol generating liquid. The aerosol generating article may also be an article for insertion into an aerosol generating device that provides the substantially solid tobacco product or the aerosol generating liquid. The casing may also be configured to receive and secure a plurality of aerosol generating articles, such as the aerosol generating device and a corresponding aerosol generating article for inserting into the aerosol generating device.

The cavity 110 comprises a base portion 111, a first side portion 112 and one or more further side portions 113, 114, 115. Preferably, the first side portion 112 and the one or more further side portions 113, 114 and 115 extend from the base portion 111, wherein the one or more further side portions 113, 114, 115 are substantially perpendicular to the base side portion. In this embodiment, the cavity comprises a second side portion 113 opposite to the first side portion 112, a third side portion 114 and a fourth side portion 115. The third side portion 114 and the fourth side portion 114 are connected to the first side portion 112 and the second side portion 113. In the embodiment shown in Fig. la, the cavity 110 has a substantially elongated rectangular shape, wherein the first side portion 112 and the second side portion 113 extend in the lateral direction of the cavity no, and the third side portion 114 and the fourth side portion 115 extend in the longitudinal direction of the cavity 110.

In this embodiment, the first side portion 112 forms an angle between io° and 70°, preferably between 15 ⁰ and 6o° more preferably between 20° and 50° relative to the base portion 111 of the cavity 110. The first side portion 112 comprises at least one counterpart ferromagnetic element 120 which attracts the ferromagnetic element 220 of the aerosol generating article 200. The ferromagnetic element 220 and the counterpart ferromagnetic element 120 may be a permanent magnet, an electromagnet or any other magnetic pair whose elements are configured to attract each other by means of magnetic attraction. While the counterpart ferromagnetic element 120 is not shown in Fig. la, it is shown in Fig. lb.

The cavity 110 is configured to receive and secure the aerosol generating article 200 in a first position and in a second position.

In Fig. 2, the aerosol generating article 200 is inserted into the casing 100, wherein the aerosol generating article 200 is in the first position. In the first position, the aerosol generating article 200 is secured by means of the base portion 111 and/ or one or more further side portions 113, 114, 115. That is, the base portion 111 and/or the one or more further side portions 113, 114, 115 are formed to engage with side portions of the aerosol generating article 200, such that the article is held in the cavity when inserted. Preferably, in the first position, a portion of the aerosol generating article engages with the one or more further side portions 113, 114, 115 such that the article is secured in the cavity, while the aerosol generating article does not engage with the first side portion 112.

Preferably, the third side portion 114 and the fourth side portion 115 are formed such that the aerosol generating article 200 can be moved in the longitudinal direction D of the cavity 110. For example, the third side portion 114 and the fourth side portion 115 may have substantially curved shaped portions 116, 117 that allow the movement of the aerosol generating article 200 in the direction D. Preferably, the cavity 110 is configured such that the aerosol generating article 200 engages with at least two side portions of the one or more further side portions 113, 114, 115 during movement in the direction D.

In Figs. 3a and 3b the transition of the aerosol generating article 200 from the first position to the second position is shown. In the second position, as shown in Fig. 3b, the aerosol generating article 200 is secured by means of the first side wall portion 112. That is, in the second position, the at least one counterpart ferromagnetic element 120 engages with the ferromagnetic element 220 of the aerosol generating article, such that the aerosol generating article 200 is held against the first side portion 112. Preferably, it is held by means of a magnetic attractive force (between the ferromagnetic element 220 and the counterpart ferromagnetic element 120). During transition from the first position to the second position, the aerosol generating article 200 is rotated by io° to 70°, preferably 15 ⁰ to 6o° more preferably 20° to 50° compared to the aerosol generating article in the first position. The rotation angle is a consequence of the aerosol generating article 200 being parallel to the base portion 110 in the first position, and perpendicular to the first side portion 112 (which forms an angle between io° and 70°, preferably between 15 ⁰ and 6o° more preferably between 20° and 50° relative to the base portion) in the second position. Moreover, due to this configuration of the cavity 110 (and the first side wall portion 112), the aerosol generating device 200 moves from the first position to the second position by means of a rotation movement around a rotational axis extending in the lateral direction of the cavity 110 and positioned at the side of the first side portion 112 facing the cavity 110.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 3a and 3b, the aerosol generating article 200 is moved from the first position to the second position by pushing the aerosol generating article 200 in the longitudinal direction D (arrow in Fig. 3a) towards the first side portion 112 of the cavity 110. By moving the aerosol generating article 200 towards the first side wall portion 112, the magnetic attraction between the ferromagnetic element 220 and the counterpart ferromagnetic element 112 increases gradually until the attraction is sufficient to rotate the aerosol generating article 200 from the first position to the second position.

Preferably, the cavity 110 is configured such that an upper side portion of the aerosol generating article 200 forms a substantially flush continuation of the casing when the aerosol generating article 200 is inserted into the cavity. While this makes it difficult to remove the aerosol generating article 200 from the cavity 110 in the first position, in the second position the aerosol generating article 200 can easily be removed from the cavity 110. This is shown in Fig. 3b, where the aerosol generating article 200 extends from the cavity 110.

In the above embodiment, in the longitudinal direction D, the cavity 110 is larger than the aerosol generating article 200. This allows to secure the article 200 in the first position, wherein the distance between the ferromagnetic element 220 in the article 200 is sufficiently spaced relative to the counterpart ferromagnetic element 120 in the first side portion, such that the article 200 stays in the first position. In particular, this avoids that the article 200 is drawn towards the first side portion 112 and moves from the first position to the second position.

In another embodiment, in the longitudinal direction D, the cavity 110 has a similar size as the aerosol generating article 200. As described above, this typically leads to the magnetic attraction being sufficient to move the aerosol generating article 200 from the first position to the second position. With a similar size and a set of ferromagnetic and counterpart ferromagnetic elements, the distance the aerosol generating article 200 has to be moved in the longitudinal direction D until the article 200 automatically moves from the first position to the second position can be reduced. While the automatic transition from the first position to the second position can be avoided by changing the strength of the ferromagnetic and counterpart ferromagnetic element, in some embodiments the automatic change from the first position to the second position may be desired.

For example, in Fig. 4, an embodiment is shown where the size in the longitudinal direction D of the cavity 110 and the aerosol generating article 220 are similar. In this embodiment, the strength of the ferromagnetic and counterpart ferromagnetic element are dimensioned such that the aerosol generating article 200, upon insertion, transitions from the first position to the second position. In this embodiment, the casing comprises a further retracting member 510. The retracting member 510 is configured to the brought into a configuration in which it holds the article 200 in the first position. For example, the retracting member may extend from the cover such that it engages with the article 200 with a force stronger than the magnetic attraction between the ferromagnetic and the counterpart ferromagnetic element, such that transition of the article 200 from the first position to the second position is suppressed.

The retracting member 510 engaging with the article 200 may be controlled by the user. For example, the user may trigger an electrical actuator that forces the retracting member 510 to engage with the article 200. In other examples, the user may move the retracting member 510 into a position in which it engages with the article 200. In further examples, a sensor may detect that the article 200 is positioned inside the cavity 110 and trigger a signal that forces the retracting member 510 to engage with the article 200. In some examples, the retracting member 510 maybe brought into a position above the article 200, preferably such that the article 200 is forced towards the base portion 111 of the cavity 110, and thus from the second position to the first position. In this example, the term “above” relates to a side of the cavity 110 opposite the base portion 111. This way the base portion 110 engages with a first side surface of the article 200, and the retracting element 510 above the article 200 engages with a second side surface of the article 200, opposite the first side surface of the article. In this manner, the cavity 110 and the retracting member 510 substantially enclose the article 200.

An exemplary embodiment of a casing with a retracting member 510 is shown in Fig. 4. In this example, the retracting member 510 is a cover 511 configured to be brought in an open position (shown in Fig. 4) and a closed position. In the closed position, the cover 511 is positioned above the article 200, such that the cover 511 forces the article 200, which in the second position extends from the cavity 110, from the second position to the first position. Since the article 200 is substantially enclosed by the cover 511 and the cavity too, it is prevented that dirt contaminates the article 200 and that the article 200 is damaged. To receive the article 200 from the casing too, the user brings the cover 511 from the closed position into the open position, and the article 200 moves from the first position to the second position, where the article extends from the cavity 110 and can be received by the user.

In the embodiment shown in Fig 4, to insert the article 200 into the cavity 110, the user positions the article 200 in the cavity 110 such that the ferromagnetic and the counterpart ferromagnetic element engage with each other in the second position. By bringing the retracting member 510 into the position above the article 200, the article is forced from the second position to the first position and secured in the cavity 110. For example, the cover 511 shown in Fig. 4 maybe closed (brought in a position above the article 200), which forces the article 200 from the second position into the first position. This way, inserting the article 200 into the cavity 110 is facilitated.

Nevertheless, the retracting member 510, and in particular the cover 511 may also be implemented in embodiments where the article 200 is not automatically brought into the second position. For example, this may be the case in embodiments where the cavity 110 extends further in the longitudinal direction D than the article 200, or where the ferromagnetic and counterpart ferromagnetic elements are dimensioned such that the engaging force between the article 200 and the cavity 110 is stronger than the magnetic attraction between the elements. As shown in Fig. 4, the cavity 110 may also comprise a recessed portion 512 arranged on at least one of the one or more further side portions 113, 114, 115, configured to provide access the article 200 when the article 200 is the first position. This maybe used as further means for the user to remove the article 200 from the cavity 110.

In some embodiments, in addition to the first side portion 112, one or more of the one or more side portions 113, 114, 115 form(s) an angle between io° and 70°, preferably between 15 ⁰ and 6o° more preferably between 20° and 50° relative to the base portion 111 of the cavity 110. In such embodiments, the respective one or more of the one or more side portions 113, 114, 115 may also comprise a counterpart ferromagnetic element 120.

Furthermore, while the embodiments shown in Figs. 1 to 4 indicate that the cavity 110 comprises of the base portion 111 and four side portions 112, 113, 114, 115, the cavity 110 is not limited to having the four side portions 112, 113, 114, 115. That is, the cavity 110 may comprise any number of side portions. Preferably, the cavity 110 is formed such that its shape is substantially similar to the aerosol generating article 200 it is configured to receive. This ensures that the aerosol generating device 200 engages sufficiently with the one or more side portions 112, 113, 114, 115 such that the aerosol generating article 200 is securely held in the casing. This includes cavities 110 having a similar size or which are larger in the longitudinal direction D.

In any of the above embodiments, the casing 100 may comprise a battery and a charging assembly configured to charge the aerosol generating article 200. The charging assembly comprises a charging terminal connected to the battery and configured to be connected with a charging terminal on the aerosol generating article 200 to charge the aerosol generating article 200. For example, the charging terminal of the casing too may be an electrical pin arranged in the cavity 110, configured to be connected to the terminal of the article 200 to provide electrical power to the article. In another example, the charging terminal of the casing too comprises a primary coil, and the terminal of the article 200 comprises a secondary coil, wherein the charging assembly is configured to charge the article 200 using electromagnetic induction by means of the primary coil and the secondary coil. Reference Sign List too casing

110 cavity

111 base portion 112 first side portion

113 second side portion

114 third side portion

115 fourth side portion

116 substantially curved side portion 117 substantially curved side portion

120 counterpart ferromagnetic element

200 aerosol generating article

220 ferromagnetic element

510 retracting member 511 cover

512 recessed portion