US 11,925,751 B2
Inhaler with aperatured porous support element
Daniele Sanna, Marin-Epagnier (CH); Gianpaolo D'Ambra, Castel Maggiore (IT); Gennaro Campitelli, Neuchâtel (CH); Silvia Capo, Capaccio-Paestum (IT); and Fabiana Spadaro, Lausanne (CH)
Assigned to Philip Morris Products S.A., Neuchâtel (CH)
Appl. No. 17/040,216
Filed by PHILIP MORRIS PRODUCTS S.A., Neuchâtel (CH)
PCT Filed Mar. 21, 2019, PCT No. PCT/IB2019/052319
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Sep. 22, 2020,
PCT Pub. No. WO2019/186337, PCT Pub. Date Oct. 3, 2019.
Claims priority of application No. 18164070 (EP), filed on Mar. 26, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2021/0008306 A1, Jan. 14, 2021
Int. Cl. A24F 42/20 (2020.01); A24F 42/60 (2020.01); A61M 15/00 (2006.01); A61M 15/06 (2006.01)
CPC A61M 15/06 (2013.01) [A24F 42/20 (2020.01); A24F 42/60 (2020.01); A61M 15/0021 (2014.02); A61M 15/0035 (2014.02); A61M 2202/064 (2013.01); A61M 2206/16 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An inhaler article comprising:
a body extending along a longitudinal axis from a mouthpiece end to a distal end;
an endpiece element at the distal end;
a capsule cavity defined within the body and extending along the longitudinal axis a cavity length;
an air inlet region between the endpiece element and the capsule cavity, the air inlet region having an air inlet and an air passageway defining a vortex tunnel extending from the air inlet to the capsule cavity, the air passageway comprising an inner diameter less than an inner diameter of the capsule cavity, the vortex tunnel extending longitudinally along the longitudinal axis of the inhaler article body;
a porous support element defining a downstream end of the capsule cavity, the porous support element formed of a porous material, the porous support element extending along a longitudinal axis a length, the porous support element comprises one or more apertures extending the length of the porous support element;
a mouthpiece air channel extending from the capsule cavity, through the porous support element to the mouthpiece end,
wherein the one or more apertures of the porous support element form helical features along the length of the porous support element.