An aerosol-generating device for use with a consumable having a plurality of cartridges

Abstract

An aerosol-generating device is provided for a consumable including a plurality of cartridges arranged consecutively to form an elongate strip of cartridges, each cartridge including an aerosol-forming substrate, the device including: an air inlet and an aerosol outlet, the inlet being in fluid communication with the outlet to define an airflow pathway through the device; an aerosolisation zone to aerosolise the substrate in each cartridge, at least a portion of the zone being arranged within the airflow pathway; a holder to receive and to hold the elongate strip; and an indexing device to advance the elongate strip a predetermined distance towards the zone in a direction parallel to a longitudinal axis of the device so each cartridge of the elongate strip successively enters the zone, the device being configured to arrange a cartridge transversely across the airflow pathway when a cartridge is located in the zone.

1 .- 22 . (canceled) 
     
     
         23 . An aerosol-generating device for a consumable comprising a plurality of cartridges arranged consecutively to form an elongate strip of cartridges, each cartridge in the elongate strip of cartridges comprising an aerosol-forming substrate, the aerosol-generating device comprising:
 an air inlet and an aerosol outlet, the air inlet being in fluid communication with the aerosol outlet to define an airflow pathway through the aerosol-generating device;   an aerosolisation zone configured to aerosolise the aerosol-forming substrate comprised in each cartridge, wherein at least a portion of the aerosolisation zone is arranged within the airflow pathway;   a holder configured to receive and to hold the elongate strip of cartridges; and   an indexing mechanism configured to advance the elongate strip of cartridges a predetermined distance towards the aerosolisation zone in a direction parallel to a longitudinal axis of the aerosol-generating device such that each cartridge of the elongate strip of cartridges successively enters the aerosolisation zone,   wherein the aerosol-generating device is configured to arrange a cartridge transversely across the airflow pathway when a cartridge is located in the aerosolisation zone.   
     
     
         24 . The aerosol-generating device according to  claim 23 , wherein the holder comprises a first elongate guide configured to hold a first portion of the elongate strip of cartridges, the first portion comprising unused cartridges. 
     
     
         25 . The aerosol-generating device according to  claim 24 , wherein the first elongate guide is arranged to direct unused cartridges towards the aerosolisation zone. 
     
     
         26 . The aerosol-generating device according to  claim 24 , wherein the holder comprises a second elongate guide configured to hold a second portion of the elongate strip of cartridges, the second portion comprising used cartridges. 
     
     
         27 . The aerosol-generating device according to  claim 26 , wherein the second elongate guide is arranged to direct used cartridges away from the aerosolisation zone. 
     
     
         28 . The aerosol-generating device according to  claim 26 , wherein the aerosolisation zone is disposed between the first and the second elongate guides. 
     
     
         29 . The aerosol-generating device according to  claim 26 , wherein the first and the second elongate guides are arranged parallel to the longitudinal axis of the aerosol-generating device. 
     
     
         30 . The aerosol-generating device according to  claim 23 ,
 wherein the indexing mechanism comprises a slider configured to engage an indexing component on the consumable, and   wherein the slider is configured to be actuated by a user to advance a cartridge into the aerosolisation zone.   
     
     
         31 . The aerosol-generating device according to  claim 30 , wherein the slider comprises an electrical connector configured to make electrical contact with a heating element. 
     
     
         32 . The aerosol-generating device according to  claim 30 , wherein the airflow pathway between the aerosol outlet and the aerosolisation zone is flexible. 
     
     
         33 . The aerosol-generating device according to  claim 32 , wherein the airflow pathway between the aerosol outlet and the aerosolisation zone comprises a corrugated tube. 
     
     
         34 . The aerosol-generating device according to  claim 32 , wherein a first end of the airflow pathway between the aerosol outlet and the aerosolisation zone is connected to the aerosol outlet and a second end of the airflow pathway between the aerosol outlet and the aerosolisation zone is connected to the slider. 
     
     
         35 . The aerosol-generating device according to  claim 23 , wherein the holder comprises a spool configured to hold the elongate strip of cartridges. 
     
     
         36 . The aerosol-generating device according to  claim 23 , wherein the airflow pathway passes through the holder. 
     
     
         37 . A consumable for an aerosol-generating device, the consumable comprising:
 a plurality of cartridges, each cartridge of the plurality of cartridges comprising an aerosol-forming substrate,   wherein the plurality of cartridges are interconnected consecutively to form an elongate strip of cartridges,   wherein said each cartridge comprises a frame having an aperture that passes through a thickness of the frame, and   wherein the aerosol-forming substrate is arranged within the aperture.   
     
     
         38 . The consumable according to  claim 37 , wherein adjacent cartridges of the plurality of cartridges are pivotally connected to one another. 
     
     
         39 . A consumable for an aerosol-generating device, the consumable comprising:
 a continuous elongate flexible strip, which is divided along a length thereof into a plurality of sections,   wherein each section of the elongate flexible strip defines a cartridge comprising an aerosol-forming substrate,   wherein the elongate flexible strip comprises a film and each section of the film defines a cartridge comprising an aperture, and   wherein the aerosol-forming substrate is arranged within the aperture.   
     
     
         40 . The consumable according to  claim 37 , wherein said each cartridge further comprises at least one heating element configured to heat the aerosol-forming substrate. 
     
     
         41 . The consumable according to  claim 40 , wherein the at least one heating element comprises a resistive heating wire or a mesh. 
     
     
         42 . The consumable according to  claim 37 , further comprising an indexing component configured to be engaged to advance the elongate strip of cartridges in a longitudinal direction of the elongate strip of cartridges. 
     
     
         43 . The consumable according to  claim 37 , wherein said each cartridge further comprises a single metered dose of the aerosol-forming substrate. 
     
     
         44 . An aerosol-generating system, comprising:
 an aerosol-generating device according to  claim 23 ; and   a consumable for the aerosol-generating device, the consumable comprising:
 a plurality of cartridges, each cartridge of the plurality of cartridges comprising an aerosol-forming substrate, 
 wherein the plurality of cartridges are interconnected consecutively to form an elongate strip of cartridges, 
 wherein said each cartridge comprises a frame having an aperture that passes through a thickness of the frame, and 
 wherein the aerosol-forming substrate is arranged within the aperture.