US 2020/0068944 A1Published application

Systems and methods for testing heat-not-burn tobacco products

AssigneeR.J. Reynolds Tobacco Products

InventorBalager ADEME

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Abstract

Provided herein are systems and methods for testing a heat-not-burn tobacco product. A heater carrier may be movable with respect to a tobacco product placement region and configured to heat a first end of a tobacco product located in the tobacco product placement region. A puffing simulator is configured to fluidically couple to a second end of the tobacco product. The puffing simulator is configured to draw air through the tobacco product thereby simulating a puff of the tobacco product. A thermocouple placement right is configured to selectively position one or more thermocouples in or along the tobacco product. A drill is configured to selectively drill one or more holes at positions within the tobacco product. The thermocouple(s) are positioned on or within the tobacco product and generate data corresponding to detected temperatures of the tobacco product as the puffing simulator simulates one or more puffs.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A lightability and temperature profile testing system, comprising:

a system body defining a tobacco product placement region for testing a tobacco product;
a heater carrier movable with respect to the tobacco placement region and configured to heat a first end of a tobacco product;
a puffing simulator configured to fluidically couple to a second end of the tobacco product within the tobacco product placement region, the puffing simulator configured to draw air through the tobacco product thereby simulating a puff of the tobacco product;
a thermocouple placement rig configured to selectively position one or more thermocouples in or along the tobacco product located within the tobacco product placement region;
a drill configured extend into the system body and selectively drill one or more holes at positions within the tobacco product located within the tobacco product placement region;
and
a controller communicably coupled to the heater carrier, the puffing simulator, the thermocouple placement rig and the drill, the controller executing instructions to:
identify, based on a configuration of the thermocouple placement rig, at least one position for drilling a hole in the tobacco product;
control the drill to drill the hole at the at least one position in the tobacco product;
position, via the thermocouple placement rig, the one or more thermocouples in or along the tobacco product;
control the puffing simulator to draw air through the tobacco product;
and
while the puffing simulator draws air through the tobacco product, generate, based on temperature data from the thermocouples, a temperature profile for the tobacco product.

10 more elements

A method of testing lightability for a heat-not-burn (HNB) tobacco product, the method comprising:

transporting a tobacco product from a hopper to a tobacco product placement region adjacent to a thermocouple placement rig for testing;
positioning one or more thermocouples in or along an outer surface of the tobacco product in accordance with a configuration of the thermocouple placement rig;
positioning a heater carrier at a distance from a first end of the tobacco product;
controlling a puffer simulator to simulate, by drawing air through a second end of the tobacco product, a series of puffs separated by an interval while the heater carrier heats the first end of the tobacco product;
generating, based on data from the one or more thermocouples, a temperature profile for the tobacco product;
and
determining, based on the temperature profile, whether the distance between the heater carrier and the first end of the tobacco product sufficiently heats the tobacco product to produce vapors.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/115,387Filed 28 Aug 2018
Published: 5 Mar 2020
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification7 codes

A24B 3/187
Puffing: by electrical treatment
A24C 5/3406
Examining cigarettes or the rod, e.g. for regulating the feeding of tobacco; Removing defective cigarettes: controlling cigarette combustion
A24C 5/34
Separating, ordering, counting or examining cigarettes ; Regulating the feeding of tobacco according to rod or cigarette condition: examining…
A24F 40/80
Electrically operated smoking devices; Component parts thereof; Manufacture thereof; Maintenance or testing thereof; Charging means specially…:…