CA2169765A1

CA2169765A1 - Smoking or inhalation device

Info

Publication number: CA2169765A1
Application number: CA002169765A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Sven Mielordt
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1993-08-19
Filing date: 1994-08-17
Publication date: 1995-02-23
Also published as: ATE172605T1; EP0714243A1; DE59407186D1; EP0714243B1; AU687434B2; ES2123814T3; WO1995005094A1; US5819756A; AU7490094A; DE4328243C1

Abstract

A device is disclosed for smoking to-bacco or another smoking product (13) or for inhaling aerosols released by corresponding substances when they are heated. The sub-stance that constitutes the smoking product is shredded, granulated or otherwise crushed.
The smoking product contained in a reser-voir (12) that forms a substantially closed chamber (16) is heated by convection by pre-viously heated air up to a temperature below its glow temperature. An electric heating device (8) that forms a heating air gener-ator (7) arranged in a channel is provided with an outlet nozzle (9) for introducing the heated air into the chamber after the air runs through the heating device and absorbs heat energy. The smoking product (13) is spread in a substantially even manner on a saucer-like surface (12) in the chamber (16). The outlet nozzle is arranged in such a way that the heated air that flows out of the nozzle flows directly on to the smoking product and heats it through up to a temperature close to but lower than its glow temperature.

Description

2~ 69765 N~l~lS~J~
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DE 4328243 patent>PCT/DE 94/OO991>W0 95/05094 page 1 of 16 Sven Mielordt GroRbe~Arenstr 81 D 10963 Berlln {-Kreuzberg} {1-61}
Tel 030 2512111 Fax 030 2511999 English/ ~mer1cA~ trAn~lat1on of international PCT
apFl~cAt1~n # WO 95J05094 dated Feb 23l 1995 -.~m~k1ng Or Inhalation Device DESCRIPTION
The invention ~31srlsse~ a devlce of the kind glven ln the generic term of patent claim NO. 1.
The consumption of tobacco products by cholce 18 a CG~ O~
form of recreat1snAl/soclal drug use. The smoking of toh~cco does, however, entail the lngestlon (through the resplratory 8y8Lel") of typlcal toxic by-products. Smokeable products develop these by-products at combustion temperatures of 800-1000 degrees centigrade; they consist of tar, cor~encate or heavily volatile carclnogenes as well as carbon mo~oYiAe and other toxlc lnorganic substances- heavy metals, for eYAmrle;
all ln constrast to the usually mostly m1n1mAl toxlc content of the drug ltself. E~.l.e~ f ts have shown that the release of alkaloi~ and active products (for PYAmrle nicotine) which contrlbute to the el-~Gy~llent of smoking occur at te".~er~t~res as low as 100 degrees centigrade.
Such devices can also be ~sed in the lntece:s~s of health (the treA~mPnt of addlction to ciyaL~lles, for eYAmple) by introducing pharmaceutlcally efrecUve aerosols (released 2~ from substances reArhe~ by the air stream) to the air flow during the heating process.

2 1 ~9765 .

DE 4328243 patent>PCT/DE 94/OO991>W0 95/05094 page 2 of 16 A devlce already exlsts, namely the appllrat~on number EP-A2 358002 or the DE-U-92 18 005.1, whlch heats the smoWng product by means of a gas flow, plefe,ably alr, whlch has been electrlcally prPheate~. A hatter1e lowe-ed reslstance heater has been provlded for thls purpose. The smoklng product 18 cGn-,e~;~lon heated to a te.-,~eLat~lre lower than that at whlch combustlon occurs and harmful sub~Pncee are able to form, or to a Lc...~e~aL~re at whlch the format~n of these substances 18 re~ ce~l, thus facilitating smoking e~Joyll-c~-t by /~7 releaQ1~g the relevant st1ml~latlng aerosols.
In the afoLI~e~tloned devlce the Rmoking product 18 compressed to a cyllndrlcal mass and heated alr flows lenghtwise through the mas8, always ln the same dlrectlon. It should also be noted that lt 18 not posQ1h~ to move thls /1~ mass -whlch varies from ligh~y to heavlly co...p,~assed- in rtlat1or~ to the heated gas/fluld or the electrical heating source.
i The disadvantage 18 that the heate~l alr arrceLs only the dlrectly ~osed surface areas of the smoWng product and 18 thus able to heat only thls surface area to the desired ter..~c~al.lre, l.e. that at which aerosols are releaRetl which contribute to the en~oy--~ent of smoWng. After longer periods of ex~o~u~c to the heate~ air, the smoking product can become ub~ect to loc~llRe~3 overheating. Thls overheating can in turn lead to ca~bot~Rat~on and combustion and the attendant pos~1hlllty of the formation of toxlc substances.
Furthe.,..ote, the product will remain only partially consumed, slnce the greater part of lt wlll not have been heated to a s~ffl~1ent te...~eLal-lre. Thls not only lead8 to hlgher energy con~mrtion (slnce the periods during which the product 18 heat~l are ~n~epcndant from the smoke's flow rate~ but also to an ln~ff1r1~nt and 1ncomrlete con~-~mption of the product ltself. Glven the drawbacks of the c.l--ent terhrlology lt is 3S- now the task to create a device of the afG~e---entioned kind whlch enAhle~, qulte simply, a more or the most efficlant consumption of a glven smoking product and, more partlcularly, the creatlon of a de81red 8moklng proflle.

fo Thls task wlll be managed by describlng the decislve cha a.;le.lstlcs of claim no. 1.

The lnventlon is contingent upon the recog~.iUon that the efreoU~,a and thorough exploltation of the substance from 4~ which aerosols are to be extracted 18 posslble wheh the smoking product is evenly and, particularly, sequentially 2 ! 6~765 DE 4328243 patent>PCT/DE 94/00991>W0 95/05094 page 3 of 16 heated to a temperature below that at which it will combust and thus release harmful by-products. This condition in particular can be achieved if a relatively finely-distributed guantity of the smoking product -possibly in ~mAller dlscrete S quantities- 18 convection heated by carrier gas flow, particularly air, directly onto the product in such a way as to ensure that the volume bodies of smoking product particles can be heated near the surface by the introduced carrier gasr directly affecLed, and warmed through as most as po~Rlhle.
/1~? This prevents what occurs in cartridge-like ~Qsemhl1e4 -carrier gas, which has already cooled down, rearhes the interior parts of the compressed smoking product and is incapable of heating it at these points to the desired temperature. This is quite clearly i~effic;ent and rules out the use of such devices as a basis for further design.
In the afoLel,lentioned cartrige-like assemblies, it would also be possible to heat the air to such a temperature that the inner areas of the smoking product would be sllffi~lently ~? heated. This would, however, as mentioned previously, result in overheating and combustion of the surfaces first reached by the heated air. The resulting by-products are, as we have established, harmful and thus undesirable.
25 The desired temperatures can be achieved if the heat affecled surface of a smoking product which has been choosen is large in ratio to the volume of the smoking product sùrrounded by this surface. A desired smoking profile may be software-determined by means, for example, of user-defined ~2~ smoking product temperatures, corresponding feed rate of the smoking product as well as an oscillation of the relative positlon between product and hot air jet.
By means of the above mentioned temperature regulation, the 35~ formation of organic carcinogenes and the release of inorganic toxins (heavy metals and carbon mono~ide) can be stopped or at the very least considerably reduced.
An advantegeous further development of this invention would ~C~ be to "pulse" heating; in this way the temperature of the product itself does not rise to that of combustion, when it is taken care of the thermal time constants acting in combination, even if the air is shortly super-heated. In this way it is possible at any time to rapidly reach the temperature at which the most eff;rlent exploitation of the smoking product occurs, thus minimi7ing the amount of air at the initial phase of the heating process (enriched with only DE 4328243 patent>PCT/DE 94/OO991>W0 95/05094 page 4 of 16 low concentration of aerosol) and corresponding 1088 of en~oyment for the consumer.
The temperature at whlch the smoking product "glows"
~5 provldes a good criterion by whlch we can recognize the process, slnce the rapldly lncreaslng red and lnfra-red radlation suggests the regulation or excluslon of hot air flow. Thls "glow" appears also with the use of lnert gas as a heat carrier. By keeplng track of the glow, one is able to control the process, even when uslng air as a carrier gas, slnce the alr flow can be regulated before combustion occurs.
In a preferred embodiment of the lnvention, the entire quantity of the smoWng product is distributed ln a reservolr wlth several chambers of roughly equal slze. Each chamber is convection heated by means of a ~et of air whlch has been pre-heated to the regulred temperature ln a hot air generator. The hot air generator is, ln turn, powered by a (pLafe~dbly) electrical heating appliance. The air to be Z~ wa.",ed 18 sucked or lnhaled by the smoker from the air surroundlng the device lnto the hot air generator. In order to heat up the entire quantity of smoking product sequentially and evenly and to be able to extract the maximum quantlty of aerosol, discrete quantities are partially heated 2~ ln lots. For thls purpose lt ls posslble to move the hot alr ~et or stream ln relation to the smoking product. The reservolrs contalnlng the smoking product are able to be moved while the hot air stream is flxed; this facilitates slmpler operation. A shallow, cylindrical reservoir ls slowly ~7-r, revolved by the lnbuilt drlve unlt and thereby exposed in circular sections to the hot alr stream. The clrcular leselvolr 18 divided correspondingly lnto chambers of equal size, each containing an equal quantity of smoking product.
For the generation of indlvidual smoking profiles it ls advantageous to be able to control the mo-ve~"ellt of the smoking product in relation to the quantity and temperature of the supplled alr.
In order to stabilise the relative position of each discrete ~i quantity of smoking product, it is advisable to use a restralnt grille.
It is also po~;hle to use pre-fabricated or pre-formed tablets or other flat-shaped bodies whlch can then be L1LS inserted lnto the device; they hold quantities of smoking product and can be directly affected by gas flow.

21 6q765 DE 4328243 patent>PCT/DE 94/OO991>W0 95/05094 page 5 of 16 According to an advantegeous further development of the lnvention, the reservolr forms a shallow cuboid and ls provlded with cubloc compa,ll-,ents. A drive unit would be glven to move the leselvol~ translatorily, thus warming the smoking product equally ln each of the chambers. The movement under the hot air ~et occurs steadily or gradually (stepped), controlled by a predetel,.llned program.
The invention displays - at least in some respects - further advantages and possible dlrections for subsequent development:
In order to achieve constant heating independant of strength or quantity of inhalation of the smoker, flow-rate dependant ,jt~ regulatlon of electrical energy fed lnto the hot air generator would be employed. Making use of the physlcal correlatlon between flow velocity, guantity of fluid flow and flow pressure, the quantity of air transported from the air surroundlng the mach~ne lnto the hot air generator by the ~? sucking or lnhalation of the smoker would be measured by a dlfferentlal pressure sensor and the value fed into a controller which would, ln turn, supply the appropriate amount of heating power. In the case of low heat capacity of the heating appliance elempnt~ the desired temperature profile can be delivered within short periods of time.
The hot air generator allows the air to be heated in an electrlcal heating appl~nce, whereby air sucked from the envlronment will be raised to a temperature above that at which the pyrolytic formation of aerosol occurs in the smoking product. This super-heating is necess~ry in order to compensate for the inevitable heat 1088 /time constant between the heating inside the hot air generator and heating of the smoking product. A further po~slble development ~5 impLovell,ent: the heating appliance could be manufactured as a strip-shaped foil element. To lower flow resistance and increase surface contact of the foil PlemPnt with the fluid flow to be heated, the foll would be bent into a U-shape and provided with several circular and/or slot-shaped openlngs on 4,i its surface. The U-shape ls parallel to the flow direction of the air to be heated which flows into the U-shaped inlet. An addltlonal improvement could be that the heating appliance be shaped tape-llke, lightly bulbous, with side walls on whose surface would be Pnh~n-~~ng protuberances such as circular nipples or conlc~l fingers.

DE 4328243 patent>PCT/DE 94/OO991>W0 95/05094 page 6 of 16 Another advantegeous subsequent development of the invention is the employment of an inert gas in the convection heating of the smoking product; that would further reduce the development of harmful substances.
op~iml7et3 exploitation of the smoking product requires an almost isothermal heating of the discrete product quantities.
Up to a polnt, physlcal laws will always result in the areas near the surface of the smoking product being primarily ~0 arfecled when coming into contact with the carrier gas flow.
Compared to the current technology, this invention displays very even heating of sequentially activated particles with a high degree of penetration relative to particle size, simply by dlrecting the hot alr flow onto the smoking p~oduct`s relative thln~ess and large surface area. In this text, this fact will also be rlArified by the terms "sequentially homogeneous", "equal" or "uniform".
When focussing radiation energy onto the volume area of the affected smoking product`s zone, the release of aerosols can also be induced. The use of UV/visible light or short-wavelength infra-red radiation heats particles` surfaces to a temperature slightly higher than their interiors (as is the 2~ case with the use of hot air flow) since radiation is absorbed at the surface.
However, the use of longer wavelength radiation (microwave or radio freqoP~ Ps, for example) will result in the absorption of radiation energy by the entire volume of the affected smoking product by virtue of (amongst other things) dielectrical losses in the high frequency field. In this way, particle cores become hotter than their surfaces, since the flow of carrier gas still needed for transportation of the ~35 smoking products` aerosol tends to cool the surfaces by convection.
An almost gradient-free heating of the particles at a given finite depth of penetration can thus be achieved: heated S~t) carrier gas is directed onto the particles which are simultaneously exposed to penetrating absorbable radiation energy. This would create such a temperature as to heat the particle cores to an even higher temperature than that of the hot-air affected particle surfaces, causing an increase of ~the aerosols` vapour pressure inside the particle cores and thus facilitating an increase in aerosol diffusion to the DE 4328243 patent>PCT/DE 94/OO991~W0 95/05094 page 7 of 16 surface and an i~ Lovel.,ent of efflriency relative to toxlcity.
Shock-pulse super-heating of particle cores by radlation can also be effective: the particle`s structure becorre~ loosened, with the attendant lncrease of arrecled surface area.
Focusslng of radlation 18 usually annular or from at least two canted surfaces. The saucer for the smoking product can be made reflective.
.~
It 18 advlsable, when uslng sGrl~a,e-controlled smoking profiles, to explolt the smoking product ln several sl~ccess~ve "recycling" phases. A feed rate can be est~hliqhed by moving the heat-afrecled zones of the smoking product in relation to suckçd carrier gas volume and ~om1rlal temperature whereby the inltial "draw" (the smoker`s lnhalation) requlres little or no feed rate, since the smoking product needs to be heated up. When the entire surface area of the smoking product has been affected, the second phase begins - the temperature is increased and a higher feed rate lntroduced, the latter due to the approaching exhaustion of product. A
third and final phase, where all parameters are progressively increased, will find the smoking product fully consumed and no longer smokeable. Particularly at high temperatures, lt is favourable to have an overlapping oscillation of the relative position between hot carrier gas jet and the affected zone.
Subsequent advantegeous developments and improvements of the invention will be ennumerated in the sub-claims or will be further detailed in the following text and in the diagrams of the pLefeLLed embodiments of the invention.
Diagrams:
FIG. 1 is a ~ hem~tic representation of a longitudinal cross-section through a preferred embodiment of the invention (across the A-A line in FIG. 2);
FIG. 2 shows another cross-section of this realisation;
FIG. 3 to 3f ~lemon~trate further advantegeous developments of the invention shown in FIGs. 1-2;
FIG. 4 shows another favourable embodiment of the invention in simplified depiction;

2 i ~9765 DE 4328243 patent>PCT/DE 94/OO991>WO 95/05094 page 8 of 16 FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of a variation of the version in FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a further advantageous realisation of the invention S in cross-section;
FIG. 7 is another advantegeous embodiment of the invention in cross-section.
~0 The appliance 1 deplcted in FIG. 1 as a longltudinal cross-section across the line A...A of FIG. 2 for the smoking of tobacco or other smoking products is essentially equipped with a hot air generator 7. Heated air leavlng the hot air generator 7 is used to convection heat the smoking product 13. The smoker ~nhAl~s from a standplpe 15 the required quantity of air through an inlet 11 provided in the wall of the housing. In this flow path, the hot air generator 7 is lntegrated in such a way that ambient air sucked through the inlet 11 will reach the hot air generator 7 directly, to then flow along a heating appl1~nce 8. This results in heating of the smoking product in areas near the surface.
The air outlet nozzle 9 of the hot air generator 7 is directed into the smoking chamber 16 of the smoking device 1, 2S the outlet being positioned closely to the smoking product 13 in the reservolr 12. At this point, the heated air re~Ache~ a te".~e dt~lre at which the smoking product 13 becomes pyrolytically converted to release aerosols. Due to the convection heating of the smoking product 13, combustion

3~j which usually occurs at a minimum temperature of 800 degrees Centigrade (and the attendant formation of harmful products) can be prevented. It i8 advisable, for the formation of aerosols which contribute to the enjoyment of smoking, to heat the affected particle volumes sequentially, in an ~,f~ essentially even and uniform mAnner~ to their respective pyrolysis temperatures. Because of this, the quantity of smoking product 13 in the reservoir 12 of the smoking chamber 16 is divided into several discrete quantities and distributed amongst the individual chambers 14 of the yf~ reservoir 12.
The drive unit 3 rotates the reservoir 12 80 that the discrete quantities of smoking product are sequentially exposed to the hot air jet emerging from the outlet nozzle 9.
Regardless of whether rotation of the reservoir (pre-programmed by a user-adjustable control unit) occurs steadily 2 ~ 6~755 DE 4328243 patent>PCT/DE 94/OO991>W0 95/05094 page 9 of 16 or in gradual steps, the quantities of smoking product will be uniformly heated and aerosols extracted with a high degree of effirlency. This prov$des a uniformly hlgh degree of smoking en~oyment coupled with a hlghly eff;c;ent exploltation of the smoking product and, conversely, negliglble losses. In order to fully exploit the smoking product, a unlform temperature of the hot air stream lndepedant of inhalation ~trength 18 essential. A regulator is provlded for this purpose; the pressure sensor 6 measures ~0 the flow velocity withln the hot air generator 7 for the regulation of the (preferably electrically powered) heating appliance 8. The pressure ~ensor 6 18 connected to the flow path by means of a tube 5.
''~ To operate the smoking devlce 1, a battery 2 ls provlded for the drive unit 3 and the electronlc module 4. The control panel 17, equlpped with buttons, e~lAhles easy on/off switchlng of the device 1 and the ad~ustment of the required hot air`s temperature range or of the drive unlt 3's speed.
,~ In this mAnn~r it is po~ le, e.g. via software, to very slmply choo~e a particular smoklng profile. The envlsaged filter 10 lnside the standplpe 15 restrains undeslred particles circulating within the smoking chamber 16.
7~ FIG. ~ lS a cross-section along the line A...A of FIG. 1.
The ~aucer-like, ~hallow cylindrlcal reservoir 12 13 divided into several equal segments 14, each being filled with roughly equal quantities of the qmoking product 13.
3~ FIG. 3, 3a-f depict further favourable developments of the inventioh, showing optimi~ed realisation~ oi the heating appliance 8 from FIG~ 2 in ~h~m~tic form. The heating appliance 8 i8 a foil element (FIG 3); the foil 24 i~ U-shaped and air flows between the inner sides of the U. Air flow 23 i~ admltted through the apertures 25a-d, an implementation or a combination of circular and/or geometrical slot~. The heating foil 24 18 capable of an advantageoulsy low heat capacity, thus optimising the conditions required for the generation of particular 3moking

4~ profile~, for the maxlmum possible consumptlon of the smoking product, and to facilltate the extraction of the rem~n~ng aerosol from chamber 16 without rele~ng new aerosol from the smol~ing product 13.
~5 In the event that the electrical heating appliance 8 were to be designed as a compact cuboic heating e~ement or, more DE 4328243 patent>PCT/DE 94/00991>W0 95/05094 page 10 of 16 particularly, as a thin-walled hollow body 18, ZO with linear or bulbous walls, the surface-area increasing nipples 19 or fingers 21 would facilitate increased heat transfer to the through-flowing air. At the same time a mechAn~ ly advantageous stAbil~tion of the heating Plempnt within the flow rhannPl would be accomplished (FIGs. 3e and 3f).
Contacts 22 are provided for the connection of the heating appliance 8 to the control unit of the smoking devlce.

When the smoking product`s position remain8 static, the relative ll,ovement beL~een the hot air stream and the smoking product ~necessAry for the opt1m~7e~ exploitation of the latter) is effected by mG~,~."ent of the hot air stream. This is depicted, in cross-section, in FIGs. 4 and 5. The smoking product 13 is placed on a saucer-like, porous and permeAhle surface 26.1 or on a fine-meshed sieve 26.2. The hot air generator 7 is swivel-mounted in such a way that its air outlet nozzle is able to be directed roughly onto the entire perme~le surface 26.1 beneath the smoking product (FIG. 4) or directly onto the smoking product`s entire surface as in FIG. 5.
FIG. 6 depicts a further subsequent conception of the invention in cross-section, whereby a quantity of smoking product 13 descends gravitationally (and becomes distributed into small amounts 13.1) via a pre-heatable reservoir 30 into a sieve-like storage compartment 27. Hot air from the hot air generator 7 is directed into the sieve-like storage compartment 27 substantially at right angles to the direction of the descending quantities of smoking product; in thi~ way the relative l"o-,e."e.lt between smoking product and hot air jet can be simply achieved and the smoking product thus optimally activated for the release of aerosols. An anchor-like swizzlestick 31 for stirring and kneading in the storage compartment 27 helps to rearrange the smoking product`s particles and exposes them once again to the hot alr stream before they at last leave the storage compartment 27 as consumed smoking product 28. Subsequently required smoking product is supplied; by means of a plunger 29.
FIG 7 depicts a variation of the smoking device fitted with radiation heating 32. The radiation transversely affects the smoking product 13 which ~escends into the smoking chamber 16 in ~mAllPr lots. The stick of smoking product "burns off" in a downward direction, starting from the top, to release the DE 4328243 patent>PCT/DE 94/OO991>W0 95/05094 page 11 of 16 desired quantities of aerosols. Inhaled ~mhie~t air passing through the standpipe 11 flows in a direction opposite to the ~3escent of the smoking product's subsequently consumed quantities 28, and reaches the smoker via the standpipe 15 enriched with aerosols. Regulation of radlation lntensity 18 achieved ln the same way as that of the heating current (as prevlously ~3Pscrlhed), by measuring the quantity of consumed Amblent air required for smoking. To reduce radlation power, it 18 advlsable to preheat the air inhaled lnto the smoking ~0 chAmher 16 by means of a previouly described hot air generator (not depicted); consumed quantities 28 of the smoking product fall through a grille 34 into a reservoir 33 and are removed as ash-like waste 35.
,~'~ In another variation of the device (not shown), the housing ad~acent to the heating appliance would be transparent 80 that its glow would be visible when the heating i8 aCU~dted.
The heating would, at best, be flxed to the end of the device farthest from the user in order to create the psychological ~9 lmpression of conventional smoking. This effect could also be obtained or enh~rlced by the appropriate use of a light-emitting dlode (LED), most sultably red or orange, which would be acUvated with the heating appliance.
2~ An addltional advantageous subsequent development of the invention would enable the user to choose or shlft the individual smoking profile to that of a ciya-etle or water pipe / hookah.
?,o The principal subjective difference ~etween these traditional smoking methods is that ciga1elle smokers inhale relatively small quantities of highly concentrated smoke through a mouthpiece or filter into the mouth and pharyngeal cavity. Further inhalation of fresh air then forces the smoke ~, deeper into the lungs and bronchiol~c.
The water pipe or hookah, on the other hand, allows the user to inhale larger quantities of aerosols with conversely .sm~ller quantities of fresh air thereafter.
Compared to a water pipe, ciya~etles have a relatively high flow resistance. This causes the drawn-in cheeks and puckered lips typical to inhalation of ciga~elle smoke due to the (even at low flow rates) relatively high underpressure.

2 1 6~765 DE 4328243 patent>PCT/DE 94/00991>W0 95/05094 page 12 of 16 The invention 8 advantage is that it provides very low flow resistance. The experience of smoking i8 thus not unllke that of a large water pipe.
S In order to achieve a more cigaLeLLe-like smoking profile, especially a soft silicon tube could be connected to the suction standpipe. This would allow the user, while smoking, to pinch the tube with the fingers and thus vary the amount and underpressure of smoke to be inhAlel3. In this way the ~0 decisive sub~ective-psychologlcal advantages of traditional smoking methods would be simply and variably comhined.
The invention`s pos~1h111ties are, of course, not limited to the examples given here. A multitude of variatlons making use ~'5 of and being within the scope of the invention could be imag1ne~hle, even those with fl~n~amentally different construction methods.

Claims

1. A device for the smoking of tobacco or other smoking product or for the inhalation of aerosols released by the heating of respective substances whereby the substance which constitutes the smoking product is shredded, granulated or otherwise crushed or finely-distributed, the smoking product contained in a reservoir which forms a substantially enclosed chamber is heated by convection by previously heated carrier gas, preferably air, up to a temperature below that of the product's glow temperature and a heating appliance powered by auxiliary, preferably electrical, energy which forms a hot carrier gas generator arranged in a channel is provided with an outlet or outlet nozzle for introducing the heated carrier gas into the chamber after this gas has flowed through the heating appliance and absorbed heat energy W H E R E I N
the smoking product in the chamber is arranged and/or will be moved in such a way that the surfaces of the particles that form the smoking product will be directly affected by the heated carrier gas stream flowing from the outlet, so that the volumes of the particles will be warmed through at most up to a temperature close to but lower than its glow temperature.

2. A device according to claim 1 wherein the smoking product (13) is distributed on a saucer-like surface (12) in the chamber (16) in a substantially even and flat manner.

3. A device according to one of the previous claims wherein a programmable control, particularly with regard to the initial or cumulative quantity of introduced carrier gas, the carrier gas temperature or the temperature difference to that of the exterior, the relative movement, the feed rate of the smoking product's supply, and/or the carrier gas flow rate, is possible.

4. A device according to one of the previous claims, wherein the reservoir (12) in which the smoking product (13) is contained is, through rotation and/or translation, moveable or can be swivelled in relation to the carrier gas flow (23) or that both the reservoir (12) and the smoking product (13) are movable or can be swivelled in relation to each other.

5. A device according to claim 4 in which the reservoir (12) is a shallow, one-sided open cylinder or a flat cuboid with optional compartments (14), the latter in particular being of roughly equal volume.

6. A device according to claim 1 wherein the hot carrier gas generator (7) is swivel-mounted so that the heated carrier gas leaving the outlet (9) is roughly able to cover the entire surface area of the smoking product (13) in the reservoir, particularly in which the heating appliance (8) of the hot air generator (7) is a foil heating element.

7. A device according to claim 6 in which the heating foil (24) displays a low heat capacity.

8. A device according to claims 5 and/or 6 in which the heating appliance (8) is aligned with the flow direction of the smoking product (13)'s heating medium and is arranged on both sides of the carrier gas (23), and has at least one aperture (25a-d) for the carrier gas (23).

9. A device according to claim 8 in which the aperture (25a, 25d) is roughly circular.

10. A device according to claim 9 in which the circular aperture (25a, 25d) is located near at least one slot-like or triangular aperture (25a-c).

11. A device according to one of the previous claims wherein the carrier gas at the outlet (9) at the most for a short time achieves a temperature above that of the smoking product's glow temperature, wherby the period of time is measured in such a way that the glow temperature of the smoking product to be heated is not overstepped with regard to the thermal time constants.

12. A device according to one of the previous claims in which the reservoir is a flat and has a, for the carrier gas, permeable supporting surface (26.1, 26.2) whereby the smoking product is held in position by a mesh, sieve or grille (26.2).

13. A device according to claim 12 in which the supporting surface (26.1) consists of a porously sintered material with the ability to act as a filter.

14. A device according to claim 12 or 13 , in which the hot air generator (7) is mounted in such a way that the carrier gas flowing from the outlet (9) strikes the smoking product (13) subsequent to having passed through the supporting surface (26.1, 26.2).

15. A device according to one of the previous claims which provides a control unit for the maintenance of a carrier gas (23)'s pre-programmed outflow temperature.

16. A device according to claim 15 in which the supply of auxiliary energy is adjustable dependent upon the quantity of gas flow through the heating appliance.

17. A device according to claim 16 in which a pressure sensor (6) is provided to measure the gas flow rate, in particular as a sensor for the measurement of differential pressure.

18. A device according to claim 6 in which the foil heating element (24) takes the form of a turned out and/or twisted foil helix, spiral or coil line.

19. A device according to claim 6 wherein at least one heating appliance (3), preferably a microwave generator or thermal radiator, is provided as a radiation source.

20. A device according to claim 1 in which a passage for the sub-quantities (13.1) of the smoking product (13) is provided through which the gravitationally descending sub-quantities pass and cross the hot air stream roughly perpendicular to its flow direction.

21. A device according to one of the previous claims in which the given carrier gas is inert.

22. A device according to one of the previous claims in which the housing adjacent to the heating appliance is transparent so that the heat glow is visible through the housing, and/or that at least one electrical light, preferably red or orange, is provided and activated with the heating device.

23. A device according to at least one previous claims wherein the standpipe from which the aerosol is inhaled is provided with at least one point at which the cross-sectional area is variable, particularly as an elastomer or soft silicon tube whose cross-sectional area can be manually varied at at least one point along its length.