US 11,744,962 B2
Inhaler with composite porous support element
Fabiana Spadaro, Lausanne (CH); Gianpaolo D'Ambra, Castel Maggiore (IT); and Silvia Capo, Capaccio-Paestum (IT)
Assigned to Philip Morris Products S.A., Neuchâtel (CH)
Appl. No. 17/40,793
Filed by PHILIP MORRIS PRODUCTS S.A., Neuchâtel (CH)
PCT Filed Mar. 26, 2019, PCT No. PCT/IB2019/052446
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Sep. 23, 2020,
PCT Pub. No. WO2019/186395, PCT Pub. Date Oct. 3, 2019.
Claims priority of application No. 18164078 (EP), filed on Mar. 26, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2021/0052832 A1, Feb. 25, 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 15/003 (2014.02) [A24F 42/20 (2020.01); A24F 42/60 (2020.01); A61M 15/0021 (2014.02); A61M 15/06 (2013.01); A61M 2202/064 (2013.01); A61M 2206/16 (2013.01)] 20 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 extending from the air inlet to the capsule cavity;
a composite porous support element defining a downstream end of the capsule cavity, the composite porous support element formed of a first porous material concentrically disposed about a second porous material, the composite porous support element extending along a longitudinal axis a length, the first porous material having a first resistance to draw and the second porous material having a second resistance to draw, the first resistance to draw being different than the second resistance to draw, the second porous material forms a central core portion and the first porous material forms an outer periphery layer circumscribed about the central core portion, the central core portion forms a cylinder, and the outer periphery layer may extend the length of the central core portion; and
a mouthpiece air channel extending from the capsule cavity, through the composite porous element to the mouthpiece end.