Patent Application
20220240582
The present disclosure relates to the technical field of electronic cigarettes, in particular to an atomizing element and an electronic cigarette.
At present, electronic cigarettes usually use an atomizing element to heat and atomize cigarette liquid, traditional atomizing elements include a liquid absorbing core made of glass fiber or liquid absorbing cotton for absorbing a cigarette liquid, and a resistance wire wound outside of the liquid absorbing core for heating and atomizing the cigarette liquid in the core. However, the traditional atomization element has a defect of a small contact area of the resistance wire with the cigarette liquid, so that the atomization speed is low, the atomization amount is small, and there is a risk of dry burning and therefore overheating when a local area contacts no cigarette liquid, causing a miscellaneous smell.
According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided an atomizing element including:
a porous ceramic portion; and
a porous metal portion in contact with the porous ceramic portion, at least a part of pores of the porous ceramic portion communicating with pores of the porous metal portion, and the porous metal portion having a thickness of not less than 30 μm.
In one of the embodiments, the porous metal portion has an average pore diameter in a range of 5 μm to 60 μm, a porosity in a range of 10% to 50%, and a thickness in a range of 30 μm to 200 μm.
In one of the embodiments, the porous metal portion has an average pore diameter in a range of 0.1 mm to 5 mm, a porosity in a range of 60% to 95%, and a thickness in a range of 50 μm to 1000 μm.
In one of the embodiments, the porous ceramic portion has an atomizing surface on which the porous metal portion is disposed.
In one of the embodiments, the porous metal portion is formed on the atomizing surface in a linear, curved, zigzag, rectangle, grid, or annular shape.
In one of the embodiments, the porous metal portion is provided inside the porous ceramic portion.
In one of the embodiments, the porous ceramic portion is formed with a groove in which the porous metal portion is filled.
In one of the embodiments, a longitudinal section of the groove is in a shape of square, semicircular, V or trapezoidal.
In one of the embodiments, the porous ceramic portion includes a body having a plurality of protrusions arranged in parallel, and the porous metal portion is filled between adjacent protrusions.
In one of the embodiments, the porous ceramic portion has an average pore diameter in a range of 10 μm to 50 μm, and a porosity in a range of 30% to 70%.
In one of the embodiments, the porous metal portion is selected from at least one of the group consisting of porous nickel product, porous titanium product, porous nickel-iron alloy product, porous nickel-copper alloy product, porous nickel-chromium alloy product and porous iron-chromium-aluminum alloy portion product.
In one of the embodiments, the porous ceramic portion is made of at least one of porous alumina ceramics, porous silica ceramics, porous silicon carbide ceramics, porous cordierite ceramics, porous mullite ceramics, porous sepiolite ceramics and porous diatomite ceramics.
In one of the embodiments, the porous ceramic portion and the porous metal portion are fixedly connected.
In one of the embodiments, the atomizing element further includes an electrode in contact with the porous metal portion.
In one of the embodiments, the electrode is a silver paste electrode.
An electronic cigarette includes the atomizing element described as above.
The details of one or more embodiments of the present application are set forth in the following description and accompanying drawings. Other features, objects and advantages of the present application will become apparent from the specification, drawings and claims.
In order to better describe and explain those invented embodiments and/or examples disclosed herein, one or more drawings may be referred to. The additional details or examples used for describing the drawings should not be considered as limiting the scope of any one of the disclosures, the currently described embodiments and/or examples, as well as the best modes of those present applications currently understood.
In order to facilitate the understanding of the application, the present application will be described in a more comprehensive manner with reference to the relevant drawings. Preferred embodiments of the present application are shown in the accompanying drawings. However, the present application can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. On the contrary, the purpose of providing these embodiments is to make the understanding of the disclosure of the present application more thorough and comprehensive.
It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being “fixed” to another element, it can be directly on the element or an intermediate element may also be present. When an element is considered to be “connected” to another element, it can be directly connected to the element or an intermediate element may be present at the same time. The terms “vertical”, “horizontal”, “left”, “right” and similar expressions used herein are for illustrative purposes only.
Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as those commonly understood by those skilled in the technical field of the present application. The terms used in the specification of the present application herein is only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments, and is not intended to limit the present application.
Referring to
In an idle state, the liquid can be stored in the pores of the porous ceramic portion 101 and the porous metal portion 102. During atomization operation, the porous metal portion 102 is powered by the electrode 103 to generate heat, and the liquid may be atomized inside the porous metal portion 102, which overcomes the defect of the small contact area of the resistance wire with the liquid of the conventional atomization element, thus greatly increasing an effective atomization specific area, and increasing the atomization speed, such that the atomization is more sufficient, and the scorch smell is prevented.
Specifically, a thickness of the porous metal portion 102 is no less than 30 μm. Due to the presence of a porous structure, the heat inside the porous metal portion 102 can be timely and sufficiently conducted to the liquid, and even though the thickness of the porous metal portion 102 is large, a uniform and consistent heating effect can still be achieved, the phenomenon of dry burning caused by local overheating will not occur, consistency of the smoke is better, and the taste is purer, which may effectively prevent the generation of miscellaneous smell.
In one of the embodiments, the porous metal portion 102 has an average pore diameter in a range of 5 μm to 60 μm, a porosity in a range of 10% to 50%, and a thickness in a range of 30 μm to 200 μm. As such, the porous metal portion 102 has a microporous structure with an average pore diameter close to that of the porous ceramic portion 101, such that more pores in the porous metal portion 102 can be communicated with the pores of the porous ceramic portion 101, which is beneficial to a full atomization of the liquid, and thus increasing the smoke amount, and the consistency and the taste of the atomized smoke are better. In addition, when the porous metal portion 102 has the above structure, even for some liquid with high viscosity, a rapid atomization may be realized, and the shortcoming of small amount of first-mouth smoke and the like are prevented, thus causing a satisfactory use experience. Furthermore, the porous metal portion 102 may be a porous metal film obtained by printing.
In another embodiment, the porous metal portion 102 has an average pore diameter in a range of 0.1 mm to 5 mm, and a porosity in a range of 60% to 95%. Then, the porous metal portion 102 has a strong liquid storing and absorbing ability, while having a homogeneous microporous structure, which is beneficial for uniformly and stably conveying the energy required by atomization. Due to a large specific surface area, the liquid stored in the micropores of the porous metal portion 102 can be quickly and effectively atomized, which effectively improves satisfaction feeling for smoke and reducibility of fragrance. The porous metal portion 102 having the above structure can have a thickness in a range of 50 μm to 1000 μm, and still may achieve a relatively even heat generating effect even with a greater thickness, which effectively avoids producing poisonous matter. Optionally, the porous metal portion 102 may be a foamed metal. The foamed metal may be combined with the porous ceramic portion 101 through co-sintering, such that the bonding ability becomes stronger and the risk of falling off can be avoided. Meanwhile, the resistance of the foam metal is relatively stable, such that the atomization of high-power smoking equipment and high-viscosity herbal liquid can be achieved.
Specifically, the porous ceramic portion 101 has surfaces that includes an atomizing surface and a liquid absorbing surface. The number of atomization surface and liquid absorption surface is not fixed, and can be designed as desired. For example, when the atomizing surface is one surface, such as an upper surface, of the porous ceramic portion 101, the liquid absorption surface may be another surface other than the atomizing surface, such as a lower surface and/or a side surface. Alternatively, the atomizing surface is multiple surfaces of the porous ceramic portion 101, such as the upper surface and the side surface, and the liquid absorbing surface may be the lower surface of the porous ceramic portion 101. In some embodiments, the porous metal portion 102 is disposed on the atomizing surface of the porous ceramic portion 101, referring to
Specifically, the shape of the porous metal portion 102 is not particularly limited, and can be designed according to needs. In one embodiment, the shape of the porous metal portion 102 is linear (as shown in ’ shape, “
” shape, annular or “
” shape. The curved line may include any common curves, such as sine curve, spiral line, folium, curve shaped of “8”, etc. The zigzag line type means that the porous metal portion 102 has multiple linear segments connected end to end and two adjacent linear segments intersects at an angle greater than 0 and less than 180 degrees. For example, in the atomizing element 100 of the another embodiment shown in
”; and in the atomizing element 100 of the another embodiment shown in
In some embodiments, the porous metal portion 102 may be disposed inside the porous ceramic portion 101. Compared with the case where the porous metal portion 102 is disposed on the surface of the porous ceramic portion 101, the porous metal portion 102 provided inside the porous ceramic portion 101 facilitates further increasing the contact area between the porous metal portion 102 and the porous ceramic portion 101, thus increasing the speed of guiding the liquid and optimizing the effect of atomization.
In one of the embodiments, the porous ceramic portion 101 is formed with a groove.
In some embodiments, the porous ceramic portion 101 can be formed to have protrusions, and the porous metal portion 102 is brought to be in contact with the protrusions, so as to increase the contact area between the porous metal portion 102 and the porous ceramic portion 101. In one embodiment, referring to
In one embodiment, the material porous metal portion 102 is made of at least one of a porous nickel product, a porous titanium product, a porous ferronickel alloy product, a porous nickel-copper alloy product, a porous nickel-chromium alloy product, and a porous iron-chromium-aluminum alloy product. The above listed products have a better thermal conductivity, which is beneficial for atomization.
The porous ceramic portion 101 has an average pore diameter in a range of 10 μm to 50 μm, a porosity in a range of 30% to 70%. In one embodiment, the porous ceramic portion 101 is made of at least one of porous alumina ceramic, porous silica ceramic, porous silicon carbide ceramic, porous cordierite ceramic, porous mullite ceramic, porous sepiolite ceramic, and porous diatomite ceramic. The above listed porous ceramics have a stable chemical property, a high temperature resistance and a better liquid storage capacity.
In one embodiment, the electrode 103 is a silver paste electrode, which is formed by covering the porous metal portion 102 through printing or painting, and then integrally sintered to be in contact with the porous metal portion 102.
The present disclosure is further illustrated by way of examples and is not intended to limit the present disclosure.
In the following examples, the pore diameters of the pores in the porous metal portion 102 and the porous ceramic portion 101 are determined using a mercury pressing method (referring to the Chinese national standard “GBT 21650.1-2008 Mercury Pressing Method and Gas Adsorption Method to Determine the Pore Diameter Distribution and Porosity of the Solid Material”); the porosity is measured by a boiling method or a vacuum method (referring to Chinese national standard GB/T 3810.3-2006 Section 3 of Ceramic Tile Testing Method: Determination of Water Absorption, Apparent Porosity, Apparent Relative Density and Bulk Density; and the thickness is measured by a film thickness gauge.
The structure of the atomizing element 100 of this embodiment is shown in
A linear porous metal film is formed on the upper surface of the porous ceramic portion 101 by screen printing with a nickel-based alloy, then silver paste is screen printed on both ends of the porous metal film to form a silver electrode covering the porous metal film, so as to obtain the atomizing element 100 by sintering, wherein the porous metal film has an average pore diameter of 15 μm, a porosity of 30% and a thickness of 100 μm, and at least part of the pores of the porous metal film are communicated with the pores of the porous ceramic portion 101.
The structure of the atomizing element 100 of this embodiment is shown in
The atomizing element 100 of this embodiment is structured as shown in
First, grooves with a depth of 100 μm and a square longitudinal section are formed on the upper surface of the porous ceramic portion 101, then a porous metal film is form in said grooves with nickel-base alloy by means of screen printing, and then silver paste is screen printed on both ends of the porous metal film to form a silver electrode covering the porous metal film, so as to obtain the atomizing element 100 by sintering. The porous metal film has an average pore diameter of 43 μm, a porosity of 20% and a thickness of 98 μm, and at least part of the pores of the porous metal film are communicated with the pores of the porous ceramic portion 101.
The atomizing element 100 of this embodiment is structured as shown in
A pair of columnar protrusions having a height of 85 μm are formed on the upper surface of the porous ceramic portion 101 by screen printing, a porous metal film is forming between the pair of columnar protrusions with a nickel-based alloy by printing, then silver paste is screen printed on both ends of the porous metal film to form a silver electrode covering the porous metal film, so as to obtain the atomizing element 100 by sintering. The porous metal film has an average pore diameter of 50 μm, a porosity of 18%, and a thickness of 80 μm, and at least part of the pores of the porous metal film are communicated with the pores of the porous ceramic portion 101.
The atomizing element 100 of this example was prepared approximately the same as in example 1 except that the foam metal of a nickel-based alloy is screen printed on the upper surface of the porous ceramic portion 101. The foam metal has an average pore diameter of 2 mm, a porosity of 80%, and a thickness of 270 μm, with at least a part of the pores of the foam metal communicating with the pores of the porous ceramic portion 101.
The preparation process of the atomizing element 100 in this example is roughly the same as that of embodiment 1 except that a porous metal film is formed on the upper surface of the porous ceramic portion 101 by screen printing and has an average pore diameter of 10 μm and a porosity of 8%.
Each of the atomizing elements 100 of Examples 1-5 and the Comparative Example 1 were assembled into electronic cigarettes and the atomization tests were performed by weighing with results shown in table 1.
As seen from Table 1, the atomizing elements 100 of Examples 1-5 may sufficiently atomize the liquid, effectively improve the mouthfeel of the smoke, and avoid generation of miscellaneous smell.
In the atomizing element 100, the porous ceramic portion 101 is used for guiding and storing liquid, and the porous metal portion 102 may not only be used for conveying atomization energy, but also have the functions of guiding and storing liquid. The atomizing element 100 at least has the following advantages:
(1) with the porous structure of the porous metal portion 102, the liquid can be fully atomized, the effective atomization specific area is greatly increased, and the atomization is more sufficient;
(2) the consistency of the smoke is better, the taste is purer, and the miscellaneous smell can be effectively avoided; and
(3) the heat can be timely and fully conducted to the liquid, effectively avoiding local overheating and dry burning phenomenon.
Although the respective embodiments have been described one by one, it shall be appreciated that the respective embodiments will not be isolated. Those skilled in the art can apparently appreciate upon reading the disclosure of this application that the respective technical features involved in the respective embodiments can be combined arbitrarily between the respective embodiments as long as they have no collision with each other. Of course, the respective technical features mentioned in the same embodiment can also be combined arbitrarily as long as they have no collision with each other.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein with reference to specific embodiments, the invention is not intended to be limited to the details shown. Rather, various modifications may be made in the details within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims and without departing from the invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201910675904.7 | Jul 2019 | CN | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CN2020/103711 | 7/23/2020 | WO | 00 |
