Patent Application
20240041117
The present invention relates to an aerosol generation system.
Inhaler devices, such as electronic cigarettes and nebulizers, that generate material to be inhaled by users are widespread. For example, an inhaler device generates an aerosol having a flavor component imparted thereto by using a substrate that includes an aerosol source for generating an aerosol, a flavor source for imparting a flavor component to the generated aerosol, and the like. A user can enjoy a flavor by inhaling the aerosol generated by the inhaler device and having the flavor component imparted thereto. An action of a user inhaling an aerosol will hereinafter be also referred to as a puff or a puff action.
An aerosol is typically generated by heating a substrate. For example, Patent Literature 1 below discloses a technology for heating a substrate by using a single film heater that is wound in a tubular shape so as to surround the substrate.
Citation List
In the technology disclosed in Patent Literature 1 mentioned above, the film heater is wound around the outer side of a tubular body in which the substrate is accommodated. In the case where a gap is formed between the film heater and the tubular body, it may be difficult to appropriately heat the substrate.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problem, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a mechanism capable of more appropriately heating a substrate.
In order to solve the above problem, an aspect of the present invention provides an aerosol generation system including a container into which an aerosol generation article is inserted, a heater that heats the aerosol generation article inserted into the container, and a power supply unit that supplies electric power to the heater. The heater includes at least one electrically insulative portion that has a film-like shape and one or more cutouts and an electrically resistive portion that is disposed on the electrically insulative portion and that produces heat by using electric power supplied by the power supply unit. The heater is disposed around the container.
The one or more cutouts of the electrically insulative portion may be two or more cutouts that are formed in a staggered manner.
The two or more cutouts may be formed in a staggered manner in a direction perpendicular to directions in which the aerosol generation article is inserted and extracted.
The electrically insulative portion may include two or more first portions extending in directions in which the aerosol generation article is inserted and extracted and one or more second portions connecting ends of two of the first portions to each other, the two first portions being adjacent to each other in a direction perpendicular to the directions in which the aerosol generation article is inserted and extracted. The two first portions connected to each other by the one or more second portions may be isolated from each other with the one or more cutouts interposed between the two first portions in the direction perpendicular to the directions in which the aerosol generation article is inserted and extracted.
The two or more first portions of the electrically insulative portion may be three or more first portions, and the one or more second portions of the electrically insulative portion may be two or more second portions. Two of the second portions that are connected to the same one of the first portions may be isolated from each other in the directions in which the aerosol generation article is inserted and extracted.
The electrically insulative portion may be formed in an M-shape.
The electrically insulative portion may be formed in a zigzag shape.
The electrically insulative portion may cover less than 50% of a side surface of the container in all cross sections perpendicular to directions in which the aerosol generation article is inserted and extracted.
The at least one electrically insulative portion of the heater may include two electrically insulative portions. The electrically resistive portion may be sandwiched between the two electrically insulative portions.
The aerosol generation system may further include a thermal diffusion layer that diffuses heat. The thermal diffusion layer may be disposed in such a manner as to cover an outer side of the heater.
The thermal diffusion layer may be made of copper, graphite, or aluminum.
The heater may be disposed around the container and fixed to the container by a heat-shrinkable tube while being covered with the thermal diffusion layer and a heat insulating layer.
The heater may have a plurality of areas that produce heat at different temperatures in directions in which the aerosol generation article is inserted and extracted.
The electrically resistive portion may be unevenly distributed in directions in which the aerosol generation article is inserted and extracted.
The electrically insulative portion may be made of a polyimide.
The electrically insulative portion may be a film.
The electrically insulative portion may be a varnish.
The electrically resistive portion may be made of a SUS.
The electrically resistive portion may be a conductive track.
The aerosol generation system may further include the aerosol generation article.
According to the present invention, as described above, the mechanism capable of more appropriately heating a substrate is provided.
A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that, in the present specification and the drawings, structural elements that have substantially the same functional configuration are denoted by the same reference signs, and repeated descriptions thereof will be omitted.
<1. Configuration Example of Inhaler Device>
An inhaler device generates material to be inhaled by a user. In the example described below, the material generated by the inhaler device is an aerosol. Alternatively, the material generated by the inhaler device may be gas.
The power supply 111 stores electric power. The power supply 111 supplies electric power to the structural elements of the inhaler device 100 under the control of the controller 116. The power supply 111 may be a rechargeable battery such as a lithium ion secondary battery.
The sensor 112 acquires various items of information regarding the inhaler device 100. In an example, the sensor 112 may be a pressure sensor such as a condenser microphone, a flow sensor, or a temperature sensor, and acquire a value generated in accordance with the user's inhalation. In another example, the sensor 112 may be an input device that receives information input by the user, such as a button or a switch.
The notifier 113 provides information to the user. The notifier 113 may be a light-emitting device that emits light, a display device that displays an image, a sound output device that outputs sound, or a vibration device that vibrates.
The memory 114 stores various items of information for operation of the inhaler device 100. The memory 114 may be a non-volatile storage medium such as flash memory.
The communicator 115 is a communication interface capable of communication in conformity with any wired or wireless communication standard. Such a communication standard may be, for example, Wi-Fi (Registered Trademark), Bluetooth (Registered Trademark), or the like.
The controller 116 functions as an arithmetic processing unit and a control circuit, and controls the overall operations of the inhaler device 100 in accordance with various programs. The controller 116 includes electronic circuits such as a central processing unit (CPU) and a microprocessor, for example.
The container 140 has an internal space 141, and holds a stick substrate 150 in a manner partially accommodated in the internal space 141. The container 140 has an opening 142 that allows the internal space 141 to communicate with outside. The container 140 holds the stick substrate 150 that is inserted into the internal space 141 through the opening 142. For example, the container 140 may be a tubular body having the opening 142 and a bottom 143 on its ends, and may define the pillar-shaped internal space 141. The container 140 also has a function of defining a flow path of air to be supplied to the stick substrate 150. An air inlet hole that is an inlet of air into the flow path is formed in the bottom 143. An air outlet hole that is an outlet of the air from the flow path is the opening 142.
The stick substrate 150 includes a substrate 151 and an inhalation port 152. The substrate 151 includes an aerosol source. Note that, in the present configuration example, the aerosol source is not limited to being a liquid and may be a solid. The stick substrate 150 held by the container 140 includes the substrate 151 at least partially accommodated in the internal space 141 and the inhalation port 152 at least partially protruding from the opening 142. When the user inhales with the inhalation port 152 protruding from the opening 142 in his/her mouth, air flows into the internal space 141 through the air inlet hole (not illustrated), and the air and an aerosol generated from the substrate 151 reach inside the mouth of the user.
The heater 121 heats the aerosol source to atomize the aerosol source and generate the aerosol. In the example illustrated in
The heat insulator 144 prevents heat from transferring from the heater 121 to the other structural elements. For example, the heat insulator 144 may be a vacuum heat insulator or an aerogel heat insulator.
The configuration example of the inhaler device 100 has been described above. The inhaler device 100 is not limited to the above configuration, and may be configured in various ways as exemplified below.
As an example, the container 140 may include an opening/closing mechanism, such as a hinge, that partially opens and closes an outer shell defining the internal space 141. The container 140 may sandwich, by opening and closing the outer shell, the stick substrate 150 inserted in the internal space 141. In this case, the heater 121 may be provided at a position where the container 140 sandwiches the stick substrate 150 and may heat the stick substrate 150 while pressing the stick substrate 150.
Here, the power supply 111 is an example of a power supply unit that supplies electric power to the heater 121. The stick substrate 150 is an example of an aerosol generation article including an aerosol source.
The inhaler device 100 and the stick substrate 150 cooperate with each other in generating an aerosol to be inhaled by a user. Thus, the combination of the inhaler device 100 and the stick substrate 150 may be regarded as an aerosol generation system.
<2. Detailed Configuration of Heater>
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
Note that, in the present specification and the drawings, structural elements that have substantially the same functional configuration may sometimes be distinguished from each other by adding different letters to the same reference sign. For example, a plurality of structural elements that have substantially the same functional configuration are distinguished from each other as the electrically insulative portions 20A and 20B as necessary. However, when it is not particularly necessary to distinguish a plurality of structural elements that have substantially the same functional configuration, only the same reference sign is given to them. For example, when it is not particularly necessary to distinguish the electrically insulative portions 20A and 20B from each other, they will be simply referred to as the electrically insulative portion 20.
The direction in which the stick substrate 150 is inserted with respect to the heater 121 in the above-mentioned drawings is also referred to as a downward direction. The direction in which the stick substrate 150 is extracted from the heater 121 is also referred to as an upward direction. In other words, the vertical direction corresponds to the directions in which the stick substrate 150 is inserted and extracted. The vertical direction corresponds to the longitudinal direction of the container 140.
In addition, a direction that is perpendicular to the vertical direction and that is a direction along the outer periphery of the container 140 in a cross-section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the container 140 will be also referred to as a transverse direction. As illustrated in
The structural elements relating to the heater 121 will each be described in detail below.
The electrically resistive portion 10 produces heat by using the electric power supplied by the power supply 111. More specifically, the electrically resistive portion 10 produces Joule heat when a current flows therethrough. The electrically resistive portion 10 is made of, for example, a steel use stainless (SUS). In this case, the electrically resistive portion 10 can exhibit high heat resistance.
As an example, the electrically resistive portion 10 may be a conductive track. The conductive track is extended around the container 140 while being bent. The side surface of the container 140 can be heated with any heat distribution in accordance with the distribution of the conductive track around the container 140.
The electrically insulative portion 20 is a film-shaped member having an electrical insulating property. The electrically insulative portion 20 may be a film. Alternatively, the film that serves as the electrically insulative portion 20 may be formed by applying a varnish to container 140. The electrically insulative portion 20 is made of any material having an electrical insulating property. For example, the electrically insulative portion 20 is made of a polyimide. According to the above-described configuration, the electrically insulative portion 20 can exhibit high heat resistance.
The electrically resistive portion 10 is disposed on the electrically insulative portion 20. In particular, the heater 121 may include the two electrically insulative portions 20 (20A and 20B), and the electrically resistive portion 10 may be sandwiched between these two electrically insulative portions 20. According to such a configuration, the electrically resistive portion 10 is prevented from being short-circuited due to contact with another electric conductor.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
In other words, the electrically insulative portion 20 includes four first portions 21 (21A to 21D) each extending in the vertical direction and the three second portions 22 (22A to 22C) each of which connects ends of two of the first portions 21 to each other, the two first portions 21 being adjacent to each other in the transverse direction. The two first portions 21 connected to each other by one of the second portions 22 are isolated from each other with one of the cutouts 90 interposed therebetween in the transverse direction. More specifically, the second portion 22A connects the upper end of the first portion 21A and the upper end of the first portion 21B to each other. The first portion 21A and the first portion 21B are isolated from each other with the cutout 90A interposed therebetween. The second portion 22B connects the lower end of the first portion 21B and the lower end of the first portion 21C to each other. The first portion 21B and the first portion 21C are isolated from each other with the cutout 90B interposed therebetween. The second portion 22C connects the upper end of the first portion 21C and the upper end of the first portion 21D to each other. The first portion 21C and the first portion 21D are isolated from each other with the cutout 90C interposed therebetween.
Two of the second portions 22 that are connected to the same first portion 21 are isolated from each other in the vertical direction. More specifically, the second portion 22A and the second portion 22B that are connected to the first portion 21B are isolated from each other in the vertical direction. The second portion 22B and the second portion 22C that are connected to the first portion 21C are isolated from each other in the vertical direction.
The electrically insulative portion 20 covers less than 50% of the side surface of the container 140 in all cross sections perpendicular to the vertical direction. In a cross-section taken along line A-A of
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The heater 121 is disposed around the container 140 and fixed to the container 140 by the heat-shrinkable tube 50 while being covered with the thermal diffusion layer 30 and the heat insulating layer 40. The heat insulating layer 40 is a film-shaped member having a predetermined heat insulation property. For example, the heat insulating layer 40 is made of a vacuum heat insulator, an aerogel heat insulator, or the like. Since the thermal diffusion layer 30 is covered with the heat insulating layer 40, the heat produced by the heater 121 and diffused by the thermal diffusion layer 30 can be prevented from being diffused to the outside of the heat insulating layer 40. The heat-shrinkable tube 50 is a tubular member that shrinks when heat is applied thereto. For example, the heat-shrinkable tube 50 is made of a resin material. In a state where the heater 121, the thermal diffusion layer 30, the heat insulating layer 40, and the heat-shrinkable tube 50 are sequentially wound around the container 140, the heat-shrinkable tube 50 is heated, so that these structural elements can be easily fixed in place.
Note that the heat insulating layer 40 corresponds to the heat insulator 144 illustrated in
In the vertical direction, the heater 121 may have a plurality of areas that produce heat at different temperatures. As an example, the heater 121 may have a high heating area that produces heat at a high temperature and a low heating area that produces heat at a low temperature.
According to such a configuration, the stick substrate 150 can be heated with an optimum temperature distribution.
The electrically resistive portion 10 may be unevenly distributed in the vertical direction. As an example, the electrically resistive portion 10 may be distributed at different densities in the high heating area and the low heating area. According to such a configuration, the heater 121 can be caused to produce heat at different temperatures in the vertical direction.
Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is obvious that those who have ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains can conceive various modifications and corrections within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims, and it should be understood that such modifications and corrections naturally pertain to the technical scope of the present invention.
For example, although the case where the two or more cutouts 90 are formed in a staggered manner in the transverse direction has been described in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to such a case. The two or more cutouts 90 may be formed in a staggered manner in another direction such as the vertical direction. Even in this case, the heater 121 can uniformly cover the side surface of the container 140 and uniformly heat the stick substrate 150.
For example, although the case where the electrically insulative portion 20 has the three cutouts 90 has been described in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to such a case. The electrically insulative portion 20 may at least have one or more cutouts 90. In other words, the electrically insulative portion 20 may at least include two or more first portions 21 and one or more second portions 22. The number of the cutouts 90 may be freely set in accordance with, for example, the shape of the container 140.
More specifically, although the case where the electrically insulative portion 20 is formed in an M-shape having the three cutouts 90 and the three folds has been described in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to such a case. For example, the electrically insulative portion 20 may be formed in a zigzag shape. Here, the term “zigzag shape” refers to a shape having four or more cutouts 90 and four or more folds.
For example, although the case where the electrically resistive portion 10 is provided so as to follow the shape of the electrically insulative portion 20 by being folded together with the folds of the electrically insulative portion 20 has been described in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to such a case. In other words, the number of the folds of the electrically resistive portion 10 may be different from the number of the folds of the electrically insulative portion 20. Such a case will now be described with reference with
For example, although the case where the thermal diffusion layer 30 is disposed so as to cover the outer side of the heater 121 has been described in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to such a case. For example, the thermal diffusion layer 30 may be disposed between the heater 121 and the container 140. In this case, the heat insulating layer 40 is disposed so as to cover the outer side of the heater 121. Also with such a configuration, the heat produced by the heater 121 can be diffused to the entire side surface of the container 140, and the stick substrate 150 can be uniformly heated.
For example, although the case where the heater 121, the thermal diffusion layer 30, and the heat insulating layer 40 are fixed to the container 140 by the heat-shrinkable tube 50 has been described in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to such a case. For example, the heater 121, the thermal diffusion layer 30, and the heat insulating layer 40 may be fixed in place by a clip. Here, the clip is a member that clamps an object, and for example, the clip clamps the container 140 from the front and rear. Alternatively, at least one of the thermal diffusion layer 30 and the heat insulating layer 40 may be configured as a clip and may clamp the container 140.
For example, although the case where the container 140 is formed in a cylindrical shape has been described in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to such a case. The cross-sectional shape of the container 140 may be an oval shape or may be a polygonal shape.
Note that configurations such as those described below also pertain to the technical scope of the present invention.
(1)
An aerosol generation system comprising:
The aerosol generation system according to (1),
The aerosol generation system according to (2),
The aerosol generation system according to any one of (1) to (3),
The aerosol generation system according to (4),
The aerosol generation system according to any one of (1) to (5),
The aerosol generation system according to any one of (1) to (5),
The aerosol generation system according to any one of (1) to (7),
The aerosol generation system according to any one of (1) to (8),
The aerosol generation system according to any one of (1) to (9), further comprising:
The aerosol generation system according to (10),
The aerosol generation system according to (10) or (11),
The aerosol generation system according to any one of (1) to (12),
The aerosol generation system according to any one of (1) to (13),
The aerosol generation system according to any one of (1) to (14),
The aerosol generation system according to (15),
The aerosol generation system according to any one of (1) to (17),
The aerosol generation system according to any one of (1) to (18),
The aerosol generation system according to any one of (1) to (19), further comprising: the aerosol generation article.
This application is a continuation application based on International Patent Application No. PCT/JP2021/022864 filed on Jun. 16, 2021, and the content of the PCT international application is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/JP2021/022864 | Jun 2021 | US |
| Child | 18490384 | US |
