Patent Application
20240049798
The subject matter herein generally relates to the field of introducing an atomized base material by inhalation into a human body, and more particularly, to an atomizer assembly, an atomizer having the atomizer assembly, and an inhaler having the atomizer.
Inhalers usually include atomizers and power supply devices. The atomizer heats an atomizable liquid base material by atomization, thus providing smoke/gas for a user. The power supply device can supply power to the atomizer. An atomization core of the existing atomizer usually includes a heating wire and a liquid absorbing element outside the heating wire. When a liquid reservoir supplies a liquid to the liquid absorbing element, the heating wire heats the liquid in the liquid absorbing element.
However, the rate of utilization of the liquid in the liquid absorbing element is low after the liquid reservoir supplies the liquid to the liquid absorbing element. Furthermore, the liquid may leak from the liquid reservoir, damaging a circuit board, a battery, and other electronic elements inside the atomizer. The leakage also reduces a storage volume of the liquid reservoir, thus affecting a maximum number of puffs (maximum puff number) that can be used. Moreover, when the liquid supply volume and the liquid supply rate of the liquid reservoir are less than a match for the heating efficiency, the heating wire will directly heat the dry liquid absorbing element. Thus, the liquid absorbing element may suffer from dry-burning, and the flavor and taste of the smoke are then affected.
To overcome the above shortcomings, an atomizer assembly, an atomizer, and an inhaler are needed.
The present disclosure provides an atomizer assembly, including a core shell and a liquid guiding member. The core shell defines a receiving cavity and a first groove communicating with the receiving cavity. The liquid guiding member includes a first liquid guiding portion and at least one second liquid guiding portion. The first liquid guiding portion is disposed in the receiving cavity. The at least one second liquid guiding portion is integrally connected to the first liquid guiding portion. The at least one second liquid guiding portion extends out of the receiving cavity through the first groove, and is configured to connect to a liquid storage member.
In one possible implementation, the first liquid guiding portion defines a first channel. The liquid guiding member is a multi-layer structure, and includes one or more first layers and one or more second layers stacked together. A quantity of the one or more first layers is one or two, a grain direction of each of the one or more first layers is parallel to a central axis of the first channel. A quantity of the one or more second layers is one to three, a grain direction of each of the one or more second layers is perpendicular to the grain direction of the first layer. One of the one or more first layers is an innermost layer of the liquid guiding member close to the central axis of the first channel.
In one possible implementation, one of the one or more second layers is an outermost layer of the liquid guiding member away from the central axis of the first channel.
In one possible implementation, the liquid guiding member includes two second liquid guiding portions. The first liquid guiding portion is arc-shaped, and includes a first side and a second side opposite to each other. The two second liquid guiding portions are integrally connected to the first side and the second side, and the two second liquid guiding portions are stacked with each other. A surface of one of the two second liquid guiding portions away from the other one of the two second liquid guiding portions serves as a contact surface between the one of the two second liquid guiding portions and the liquid storage member.
In one possible implementation, the core shell further defines a second groove communicating with the receiving cavity. The first liquid guiding portion is configured to communicate with the liquid storage member through the second groove.
In one possible implementation, the atomizer assembly further includes a heating member. The heating member includes the core shell, the liquid guiding member, and a heater. The heater is disposed in the receiving cavity, and in contact with the one of the one or more first layers of the liquid guiding member close to the central axis of the first channel.
In one possible implementation, the heater includes one or more heating nets.
In one possible implementation, the heater includes two heating nets, and the two heating nets are stacked along a direction perpendicular to the central axis of the first channel.
In one possible implementation, the atomizer assembly further includes a base member and a smoke guiding member. The heating member is fixed between the base member and the smoke guiding member.
In one possible implementation, the smoke guiding member includes a smoke guiding tube and a first sealing element. The smoke guiding tube defines a second channel. The smoke guiding tube is hermetically connected to an upper end of the core shell away from the base member through the first sealing element. The first sealing element is configured to seal a gap between the upper end of the core shell and the smoke guiding member.
In one possible implementation, the base member includes a base and a second sealing element. A lower end of the core shell close to the base member is hermetically connected to the base through the second sealing element.
The present disclosure further provides an atomizer, including a liquid storage member and the above atomizer assembly. The liquid storage member surrounds the core shell of the atomizer assembly.
In one possible implementation, the liquid storage member is a liquid storage cotton.
In one possible implementation, an outer diameter of the liquid storage member is 17 mm to 25 mm; an inner diameter of the liquid storage member is 4 mm to 5 mm; a height of the liquid storage member is 20 mm to 40 mm; a porosity of the liquid storage member is 3.5% to 8%; a density of the liquid guiding member is 60 g/cm3 to 85 g/cm3.
The present disclosure further provides an inhaler, including a housing and the above atomizer disposed in the housing.
The present disclosure removes an existing circle of oil guiding cotton arranged outside the core shell. Thus, the liquid guiding path is shortened, which increases a utilization rate of the atomizable base material in the liquid guiding member and a maximum number of puffs that can be used. The liquid storage member is cotton as a liquid storage medium with an integrated structure. The liquid storage cotton can store a large amount of the atomizable base material, so that the liquid storage member can meet the user's demand for a large dose of the target active ingredient. Also, the atomizable base material can be stably adsorbed and stored in the liquid storage cotton to reduce fluidity of the atomizable base material. Thus, a risk of leakage is reduced, so as to meet the need to carry the product around and improve a service life of the atomizer assembly. Moreover, the design of the device in terms of the size and porosity of the liquid storage member is such as to match the density and structural composition of the matched liquid guiding member to achieve a balance between the liquid locking function and the liquid transporting function, which avoids dry-burning of the atomizer assembly due to an insufficient liquid supply. Atomization by overheating or even dry-burning or generating burnt flavor is also avoided. Thus, a high maximum number of puffs can be obtained.
Symbol description for main components:
Implementations of the present technology will now be described, by way of embodiment, with reference to the attached figures.
The present technology in the application will now be described by way of embodiments as follows. Obviously, the described embodiments are a portion of the embodiments of the application, not all of them. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms herein have the same meanings as those commonly understood by those skilled in the art. The terms used in the detail description are only for describing specific embodiments, but not intended to limit the present application.
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present application will be described in detail. However, the present application may be embodied in many different forms, and should not be construed as limited to the exemplary embodiments explained herein. Rather, these exemplary embodiments are provided so that the present application can be clearly and specifically conveyed to those skilled in the art.
In addition, for simplicity and clarity, the size or thickness of various components and layers as shown in the drawings can be enlarged in practice. Throughout the whole application, the same symbols refer to the same elements. As used herein, the terms “and/or” include any combination of one or more related items. In addition, it should be understood that when an element A is referred to as “being connected” to an element B, the element A may be directly connected to the element B, or there may be an intermediate element C, so that the element A and the element B may be indirectly connected to each other by the element C.
Furthermore, when describing the embodiments of the present application, “may” signifies the same or similar concepts used in one or more embodiments of the present application.
The technical terms used herein are for describing specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present application. As used herein, the singular form is intended to include the plural form, unless the context expressly indicates otherwise. It should be further understood that the term “including”, when used in this specification, refers to the existence of the features, values, steps, operations, elements and/or components, but does not exclude the existence or addition of one or more other features, values, steps, operations, elements, components and/or combinations thereof.
Terms related to space, such as “on”, can be used in this application for convenient description to describe the relationship between one element or feature and another element (multiple elements) or feature (multiple features) shown in the drawings. It should be understood that in addition to the directions shown in the drawings, the terms related to space are also intended to include different directions of the equipment or devices in use or in operation. For example, if the equipment in the drawings is flipped over, the features described as “above” or “on” other elements or features will be then “below” or “under” other elements or features. Therefore, the terms “on” may include upper and lower directions. It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. can be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or parts, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or parts should not be limited. These terms are used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer, or part from another element, component, region, layer, or part. Therefore, a first element, component, region, layer, or part discussed below may also be referred to as a second element, component, region, layer, or part within the principles of the present embodiments.
Referring to
In some embodiments, the liquid storage member 40 is cotton as a liquid storage medium with an integrated structure. The liquid storage cotton can store a large amount of the atomizable base material (more than 10 ml), so that the liquid storage member 40 can meet the user's demand for a large dose of the target active ingredient. Also, the atomizable base material can be stably adsorbed and stored in the liquid storage cotton to reduce fluidity of the atomizable base material. Thus, a risk of leakage is reduced, so as to meet the need to carry the product around and improve a service life of the atomizer assembly 100.
A cross section of the core shell 21 can be substantially circular and define a receiving cavity S. The core shell 21 also defines a first groove 211 communicating with the receiving cavity S. The liquid guiding member 22 has an integrated structure, which includes a first liquid guiding portion 221 and two second liquid guiding portions 222. The first liquid guiding portion 221 is disposed in the receiving cavity S. The cross section of the first liquid guiding portion 221 is substantially arc-shaped and defines a first channel 2210. The first liquid guiding portion 221 includes a first side 2211 and a second side 2212 opposite to each other. The two second liquid guiding portions 222 are connected to the first side 2211 and the second side 2212 of the first liquid guiding portion 221. The two second liquid guiding portions 222 further protrude out of the receiving cavity S through the first groove 211, and then connect to the liquid storage member 40. The two second liquid guiding portions 222 are stacked with each other, and a surface of one of the two second liquid guiding portions 222 away from the other one of the two second liquid guiding portions 222 is a contact surface 2220 between the second liquid guiding portion 222 and the liquid storage member 40. As such, the atomizable base material stored in the liquid storage member 40 can be guided or transported to the first liquid guiding portion 221 in the core shell 21 through the contact surface 2220. The heater 23 is disposed in the receiving cavity S, and is in contact with an inner surface of the first liquid guiding portion 221. In some embodiments, the core shell 21 may be made of polycarbonate (PC) that has good impact resistance.
Thus, when the atomizable base material stored in the liquid storage member 40 is guided or transported to the first liquid guiding portion 221 inside the core shell 21 through the second liquid guiding portion 222 of the liquid guiding member 22, the heater 23 on the inner surface of the first liquid guiding portion 221 can start heating the atomizable base material in the first liquid guiding portion 221 to obtain the aerosol. The aerosol then can be inhaled by the user. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, a flat liquid guiding member 22 can first be bent at the middle position to obtain the first liquid guiding portion 221, and two end portions form the two second liquid guiding portions 222. In some embodiments, the first groove 211 may be defined from an upper end of the core shell 21 away from the base member 10 towards a lower end of the core shell 21. The first groove 211 does not penetrate the lower end of the core shell 21.
As shown in
A conventional liquid guiding member comprises a first circle of liquid guiding cotton disposed in a core shell and a second circle of liquid guiding cotton wrapped outside the core shell. The second circle of liquid guiding cotton is connected to a liquid storage member, so the liquid in the liquid storage member is transported successively along the second circle of oil guiding cotton, a liquid inlet groove defined on the core shell, and into the first circle of oil guiding cotton. The present disclosure removes the second circle of oil guiding cotton arranged outside the core shell. Furthermore, in the present disclosure, the liquid guiding member 22 is designed to include the first liquid guiding portion 221 and the second liquid guiding portions 222, and the second liquid guiding portion 222 extends out of the core shell 21 through the first groove 211 and connects to the liquid storage member 40. As such, the atomizable base material stored in the liquid storage member 40 can be transported to the first liquid guiding portion 221 in the core shell 21 through the second liquid guiding portion 222. Moreover, since the second circle of liquid guiding cotton outside the core shell is removed, the liquid guiding path is shortened, which increases a utilization rate of the atomizable base material in the liquid guiding member 22 and a maximum number of puffs that can be used. It can be understood that, since the liquid storage member 40 can store a large amount of the atomizable base material, even if the liquid storage member 40 adopts a single liquid transporting mode (which transports the liquid to the first liquid guiding portion 221 through the second liquid guiding portion 222 only), the liquid guiding member 22 will always have a continuous and sufficient amount of liquid.
Moreover, when the core shell 21 also defines the second groove 212, the atomizable base material stored in the liquid storage member 40 can also be transported to the first liquid guiding portion 221 through the second groove 212, which further ensures a full amount of guided liquid from the liquid storage member 40 to the first liquid guiding portion 221. Thus, the liquid guiding member 22 can continuously have a sufficient amount of liquid, which allows the liquid guiding member 22 to withstand a high temperature from the heater 23 during atomization (usually more than 300 degrees Celsius).
The liquid storage member 40 is a hollow structure, and is sleeved on the outer wall of the heating member 20. In some embodiments, the liquid storage member 40 has an outer diameter of 17 mm to 25 mm, an inner diameter of 4 mm to 5 mm, and a height of 20 mm to 40 mm. A porosity of the liquid storage member 40 is 3.5% to 8%. A density of the liquid guiding member 22 is 60 g/cm3 to 85 g/cm3. Referring to
In the liquid guiding member 22, except for the first layer 2201 which is closest to the heater 23, other layers in the liquid guiding member 22 can be stacked in any order. In some embodiments, the second layer 2202 is an outermost layer of the liquid guiding member 22 away from the heater 23, which has the grain direction perpendicular to the central axis O of the first channel 2210, so that the portion of the liquid guiding member 22 away from the heater 23 acts to gather and lock the liquid along the longitudinal direction. Thus, the risk of leakage due to the downward flow of the atomizable base material is avoided.
In some embodiments, the liquid guiding member 22 may be a liquid guiding cotton. The first layer 2201 of the liquid guiding member 22 is made of a flax cotton, and the second layer 2202 is made of a wood pulp cotton.
During atomization, the liquid storage member 40 mainly stores the atomizable base material (i.e., “liquid locking function”), and the liquid guiding member 22 mainly transports the atomizable base material (i.e., “liquid transporting function”). The design of the device herein disclosed in terms of the size and porosity of the liquid storage member 40 is such as to match the density and structural composition of the matched liquid guiding member 22 to achieve a balance between the liquid locking function and the liquid transporting function, which avoids dry-burning of the atomizer assembly 100 due to an insufficient liquid supply. Atomization by overheating or even dry-burning or generating burnt flavor is also avoided. Thus, a high maximum number of puffs can be obtained. Moreover, the innermost layer of the liquid guiding member 22 close to the heater 23 is designed to be the first layer 2201, with the grain direction parallel to the central axis O of the first channel 2210. Thus, the portion of the liquid guiding member 22 close to the heater 23 can withstand the high temperature from the heater 23 during atomization, which can further avoid dry-burning.
In some embodiments, the heater 23 may be a heating device resembling a net. Compared with a heating wire, a larger contact area can be formed between the heating net and the atomizable base material, which makes the heating more uniform. Moreover, compared with the heating wire, the heating net has a smaller change of resistance. In some specific embodiments, the heating net may be made of stainless steel.
In other embodiments, the heater 23 may also include two heating nets, which are stacked in a direction perpendicular to the central axis O of the first channel 2210. The two heating nets further make the heating even more uniform.
As shown in
As shown in
Referring to
The liquid storage member 40 and the atomizer assembly 100 are disposed in the liquid storage pipe 60, that is, the liquid storage pipe 60 can play the role of packing and fixing the whole structure. The liquid storage member 40 is sleeved on an outer wall of the heating member 20 of the atomizer assembly 100, and abuts against an upper surface of the base member 10. The liquid storage member 40 defines a notch 41 (shown in
As shown in
Furthermore, a third sealing element 54 may also be received in the mouth piece 50. The third sealing element 54 is disposed between the first liquid absorbing cotton 53 and the liquid storage member 40. The third sealing element 54 is used to seal a gap between the liquid storage pipe 60 and the mouth piece 50, to prevent any atomizable base material overflowing from the liquid storage member 40 from leaking through the gap between the liquid storage pipe 60 and the mouth piece 50.
As shown in
As shown in
Referring to
Both the atomizer 200 and the power supply member 80 are disposed in the housing 70. The mouth piece 50 of the atomizer 200 protrudes from the housing 70. The housing 70 is fixed to the mouth piece 50 of the atomizer 200. Specifically, the housing 70 is fixed to the mounting portion 51 of the mouth piece 50. The power supply member 80 is disposed on a side of the atomizer 200 which has the control board 14, and is electrically connected to the control board 14. Therefore, the control board 14 can control the power supply member 80 to supply electric power to the heater 23, so that the heater 23 can heat the atomizable base material. In some embodiments, the lower end of the mounting portion 51 of the mouth piece 50 away from the suction portion 52 defines a ring-shaped clamping groove 510. The upper end of the housing 70 can be fixed in the clamping groove 510 by an adhesive (not shown). In other embodiments, the housing 70 and the mouth piece 50 can also be fixed to each other by magnetic adsorption or interference fit. In some specific embodiments, each of the housing 70 and the mounting portion 51 of the mouth piece 50 is octagonal in cross section. It can be understood that in other embodiments, the specific shapes of the housing 70 and the mounting portion 51 of the mouth piece 50 can also be set according to actual needs. In some embodiments, the power supply member 80 may be a cylindrical battery.
As shown in
In some embodiments, a surface of the control board 14 facing the power supply member 80 is provided with an illuminator (such as an LED, etc.). When the airflow sensor 81 senses the user inhaling through the mouth piece 50, the illuminator emits light. As shown in
In some embodiments, the inhaler 300 may also include a hanging ring 72 sleeved on the outer wall of the housing 70. The hanging ring 72 includes an ear 721. A lanyard (not shown) can pass through a through hole 7210 of the ear 721, so that the user can wear the inhaler 300 at a specific position through the lanyard (such as hanging it on the neck, making the inhaler 300 easy to carry around).
The present disclosure is described in detail below through specific examples and comparative examples. The inhaler can be an electronic cigarette, and the liquid storage member and liquid guiding member are made of oil storage cotton and oil guiding cotton respectively. Those skilled in the art should understand that the specific type of inhaler and the specific material of liquid storage member and liquid guiding member described below are only examples, and any other suitable type and material are within the scope of this application. For example, the inhaler can also be a device that enables human ingestion of the liquid after atomization, such as a medical inhaler for treating upper respiratory tract diseases.
The outer diameter of the liquid storage cotton is 17 mm, the inner diameter is 5 mm, and the height is 36.5 mm. The porosity of the liquid storage member is 4.5%. The density of the liquid guiding cotton is 70 g/cm3. The liquid guiding cotton includes a flax cotton layer with vertical grain-structure and a density of 70 g/cm3 and a wood pulp cotton layer with transverse grain-structure and a density of 70 g/cm3 (the structure of such liquid guiding cotton is called 1+1 for simplicity). The flax cotton is close to the heater.
The differences from example 1 are in the quantities of wood pulp cotton layers with transverse grain-structure, referring to Table 1.
The atomizers of examples 1-3 and comparative examples 1-2 are assembled into electronic cigarette samples. The target puff number and the maximum puff number are tested for each sample, using a test instrument of zz-dz11 electronic cigarette smoking machine (in accordance with Standard UL8139, manufactured by Zhongzhou measurement and control (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.). The standard to-be-tested is the puff number, and the test standard is that the instrument sucks for 2 seconds and stops for 20 seconds, which can then be recorded as one inhalation (one puff). The test results are recorded in Table 1. In detail, the testing procedure of the target puff number is carried out by assuming that the preset puff number (i.e., the service life) of the electronic cigarette is 500, that is, the user can smoke the electronic cigarette 500 times without dry-burning; setting the target puff number to be 500, and then using the above instrument to test the sample. When the instrument completes 500 puffs, the sample is removed from the instrument, the appearance of the sample is checked, and whether the interior of the sample suffers from dry-burning is determined. When the sample does not suffer from dry-burning, the sample is determined to be qualified, otherwise, the sample is determined to be unqualified. The testing procedure of the maximum puff number is basically the same as that of the target puff number. The difference is that the testing procedure of the maximum puff number does not need to set the target puff number, but the test does not stop until the sample has suffered from dry-burning or other faults, which makes the sample unable to continue to complete the suction operation. At this time, the recorded puff number is the maximum puff number of the sample.
From Table 1, when the size and porosity of the oil storage cotton and the density of the oil guiding cotton meet specific conditions, dry-burning of the sample can be avoided when the oil guiding cotton has an appropriate quantity of wood pulp cotton layer(s) with transverse grains. Compared with examples 1-3, since the comparative examples 1-2 have an excess number of layers of wood pulp cotton with transverse grains, dry-burning is easy to occur when the sample completes 500 puffs. Example 3 has three wood pulp cotton layers with transverse grains, so the sample has the maximum puff number.
The differences from example 1 are in the porosity of the oil storage cotton, referring to Table 2.
From Table 2, when the size of the oil storage cotton and the density and structure of the oil guiding cotton meet specific conditions, the sample does not suffer from dry-burning and also has a largest maximum puff number when the oil storage cotton has an appropriate porosity. Compared with examples 1 and 4-16, the oil storage cotton of the comparative example 3 has a low porosity, so the oil locking happens faster than the oil is transported. Thus, the sample suffers from dry-burning when 500 puffs is completed. The draw resistance (resistance against inhalations) of the sample of comparative example 3 is too large, resulting in a decrease of the maximum puff number. The porosity of the oil storage cotton of comparative example 4 is too large, so that the oil locking speed is slower than the oil mobility (oil transporting speed). Thus, the oil is rendered into smoke before effective atomization, and the maximum puff number is small. The porosity of oil storage cotton of examples 1 and 5-10 is 4% to 5%, so the maximum puff number of the sample is high.
The differences from example 1 are in the density of the oil guiding cotton, referring to Table 3.
From Table 3, when the size and porosity of the oil storage cotton and the structure of the oil guiding cotton meet specific conditions, the sample does not suffer from dry-burning and also has a largest maximum puff number when the oil guiding cotton has an appropriate density. Compared with examples 1 and 4-16, the density of the oil guiding cotton of comparative examples 5-6 is too low, so that the oil locking speed is less than the oil transporting speed. Thus, the sound of gurgling will be heard during suction, and the maximum puff number is small. The density of the oil storage cotton of comparative examples 7 and 8 is low, so the oil locking speed is greater than the oil transporting speed. Thus, the draw resistance of the sample is too high, and the maximum puff number is smaller.
Even though information and advantages of the present embodiments have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structures and functions of the present embodiments, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the present embodiments to the full extent indicated by the plain meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CN2021/125062 | 10/20/2021 | WO |
