Automatic sensing device for aerosol generating matrix content and electronic atomization device

Abstract

The present application provides an automatic sensing device for the content of an aerosol-forming substrate and an electronic atomization device, including a capacitance measurement circuit and a controller. Among them, the first electrode of the capacitance measurement circuit is a heating component, and the second electrode of the capacitance measurement circuit is the aerosol-forming substrate; the controller disconnects the heating circuit of the electronic atomization device and connects the first electrode and the second electrode to obtain the content of the aerosol-forming substrate of the electronic atomization device according to the measured capacitance value of the equivalent capacitance formed by the heating component and the aerosol-forming substrate. Thus, the purpose of measuring the content of the aerosol-forming substrate of the electronic atomization device is achieved without adding additional electronic components, with low cost and easy implementation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the technical field of electronic atomization, and particularly to an automatic sensor device for the content of an aerosol-forming substrate and an electronic atomization device. Background Art

[0002] An electronic atomization device is used to atomize an aerosol-forming substrate. For example, a combined liquid substrate containing flavoring agents is heated and atomized by an electric heating method to form an aerosol, which can be used in different fields.

[0003] Currently, the detection method for preventing dry burning of an electronic atomization device generally judges by the temperature of the heating element. For example, when the temperature of the heating element rises sharply within a short time and exceeds a preset threshold, it is judged that the aerosol-forming substrate has been consumed.

[0004] However, the effect of this detection method is not ideal, and harmful substances will be generated during the stage of sharp temperature rise of the heating element, affecting the user experience. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides an automatic sensor device for the content of an aerosol-forming substrate and an electronic atomization device, which can achieve the purpose of measuring the content of the aerosol-forming substrate of the electronic atomization device without adding additional electronic components, with low cost and easy to implement.

[0006] To solve the above technical problems, the first technical solution provided by this application is: to provide an automatic sensor device for the content of an aerosol-forming substrate of an electronic atomization device, including: a capacitance measurement circuit, the first electrode of the capacitance measurement circuit is a heating component, and the second electrode of the capacitance measurement circuit is the aerosol-forming substrate; a controller, disconnect the heating circuit of the electronic atomization device, connect the first electrode and the second electrode, so as to obtain the content of the aerosol-forming substrate of the electronic atomization device according to the measured capacitance value.

[0007] In one embodiment, one end of the heating element is connected to the capacitance measurement circuit, the other end of the heating element is grounded through a switching element, and the controller is connected to the control end of the switching element, so as to control the switching element to conduct when performing a heating operation, so that the heating element is grounded through the conducting switching element.

[0008] In one embodiment, when the controller performs a capacitance detection operation, it controls the switching element to disconnect so that the capacitance measurement circuit detects the capacitance value of the equivalent capacitance.

[0009] In one embodiment, the electronic atomization device includes a liquid storage chamber and the heating assembly. The liquid storage chamber is used to store the aerosol generating matrix, and the heating assembly is disposed at the bottom of the liquid storage chamber. The heating assembly is used to heat the aerosol generating matrix, and the heating assembly and the aerosol generating matrix form the capacitor.

[0010] In one embodiment, the heating assembly includes a heating element and a substrate. The heating element is disposed on the surface of the substrate close to the bottom of the liquid storage chamber, and the heating element is used to heat the aerosol generating matrix.

[0011] In one embodiment, the capacitance value measuring circuit performs the capacitance value detecting operation in a non-heating stage, and the non-heating stage includes: the period before the suction action, the period after the suction action, and the period corresponding to non-heating during suction.

[0012] In one embodiment, the switching element includes a triode switch or a field effect transistor switch.

[0013] In one embodiment, in response to the detected change amount of the capacitance value being greater than a preset value, the controller determines that the amount of the aerosol generating matrix in the electronic atomization device is exhausted, and controls the electronic atomization device to cut off the power output; in response to the detected capacitance value being within a preset range, the controller determines that the content of the aerosol generating matrix in the electronic atomization device is insufficient, and controls the electronic atomization device to send a reminder message or turn off the suction function.

[0014] In one embodiment, the capacitance value measuring circuit includes a capacitor-resistor (RC) charging circuit, a capacitor-inductor (LC) oscillation circuit, or a touch IC.

[0015] To solve the above technical problems, the second technical solution provided by the present application is: to provide an electronic atomization device including the aerosol generating matrix content automatic sensing device described in any one of the above.

[0016] The beneficial effects of the present application, different from the prior art, the present application provides an aerosol generating matrix content automatic sensing device and an electronic atomization device, including a capacitance value measuring circuit and a controller. Among them, the first electrode of the capacitance value measuring circuit is the heating assembly, and the second electrode of the capacitance value measuring circuit is the aerosol generating matrix; the controller disconnects the heating circuit of the electronic atomization device and connects the first electrode and the second electrode to obtain the content of the aerosol generating matrix in the electronic atomization device according to the capacitance value of the equivalent capacitor formed by the measured heating assembly and the aerosol generating matrix. Thus, the purpose of measuring the content of the aerosol generating matrix in the electronic atomization device is achieved without adding additional electronic components, with low cost and easy implementation. Description of the Drawings

[0017] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the following will briefly introduce the accompanying drawings required for the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the accompanying drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other accompanying drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings, where:

[0018] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic atomization device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0019] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the functional modules of an electronic atomization device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0020] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of an equivalent capacitance model provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0021] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the functional modules of an electronic atomization device provided by another embodiment of the present application. Detailed implementation manners

[0022] The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. It can be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present application, rather than limiting the present application. Additionally, it should be noted that for the convenience of description, only the parts related to the present application rather than all the structures are shown in the accompanying drawings. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0023] In the above description of this specification, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, terms such as "fixed", "installed", "connected" or "coupled" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, for the term "connected", it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or integrated; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. Therefore, unless clearly limited in this specification, those skilled in the art can understand the specific meanings of the above terms in the present application according to specific circumstances.

[0024] The terms "first" and "second" in this application are only for descriptive purposes and cannot be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the quantity of the indicated technical features. Thus, features defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one such feature. In addition, the terms "comprising" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, or device that comprises a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but optionally further includes steps or units not listed, or optionally further includes other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products, or devices.

[0025] Reference to "embodiment" herein means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of this application. The phrase may occur in various places in the specification and does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it an independent or alternative embodiment mutually exclusive with other embodiments. Those skilled in the art will explicitly and implicitly understand that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments.

[0026] See Figures 1-4 , Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic atomization device provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 2 is a schematic functional module diagram of an electronic atomization device provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 3 is a schematic equivalent capacitance model diagram provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 4 is a schematic functional module diagram of an electronic atomization device provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0027] See Figure 1 , the electronic atomization device 100 includes an atomizer 10 and a battery rod 20. Among them, an aerosol generating matrix is stored in the atomizer 10; the battery rod 20 is electrically connected to the atomizer 10 to supply power to the atomizer 10 and control the atomizer 10 to heat and atomize the aerosol generating matrix therein. Among them, the atomizer 10 and the battery rod 20 can be integrally formed or can be detachably arranged.

[0028] See Figure 2 , the atomizer 10 may include an atomization tube (not shown in the figure), a heating component 11, a liquid storage chamber 12, and a base (not shown in the figure). The atomization tube has an installation cavity and a mouthpiece end and an open end provided at opposite ends. The base covers the open end of the atomization tube and cooperates with the atomization tube to form the liquid storage chamber 12. The heating component 11 is embedded in the liquid storage chamber 12. Specifically, the liquid storage chamber 12 is used to store the aerosol generating matrix, the base is used to electrically connect the battery rod 20 and the heating component 11, and the heating component 11 can obtain the aerosol generating matrix in the liquid storage chamber 12 and heat and atomize the aerosol generating matrix under the condition of being powered on to generate an aerosol for the user to use.

[0029] However, when the aerosol-forming substrate in the liquid storage chamber 12 is exhausted or insufficient, the high temperature continuously generated by the heating component 11 will cause damage to the atomizer 10 and generate harmful gases. An existing method for detecting the content of the aerosol-forming substrate is to detect whether the aerosol-forming substrate is exhausted or insufficient according to the temperature of the heating component 11. Specifically, when the heating component 11 rapidly heats up within a short period of time and the temperature exceeds a preset threshold, it is determined that the aerosol-forming substrate is exhausted or insufficient. However, the effect of this detection method is not ideal. Harmful substances will be generated during the stage when the heating component 11 rapidly heats up within a short period of time, affecting the user experience. Moreover, this method needs to exhaust the aerosol-forming substrate in the liquid storage chamber 12 to complete the detection. The heating component 11 is easily damaged at high temperatures, thereby reducing the service life of the product and increasing the user's usage cost. Moreover, when the aerosol-forming substrate is almost exhausted, the taste of the generated aerosol will significantly decline, affecting the user experience.

[0030] Therefore, the present application provides an automatic sensing device 30 for the content of the aerosol-forming substrate. Refer to Figure 2 , the automatic sensing device 30 for the content of the aerosol-forming substrate includes a capacitance measurement circuit 31 and a controller 32. The capacitance measurement circuit 31 is connected to the heating component 11 to detect the capacitance value of the equivalent capacitance C formed by the heating component 11 and the aerosol-forming substrate thereon; the controller 32 is connected to the capacitance measurement circuit 31 to obtain the content of the aerosol-forming substrate of the electronic atomization device 100 according to the measured capacitance value. Among them, the automatic sensing device 30 for the content of the aerosol-forming substrate can be arranged on the atomizer 10 or on the battery rod 20. The capacitance measurement circuit 31 and the controller 32 in the automatic sensing device 30 for the content of the aerosol-forming substrate can be respectively arranged on the atomizer 10 and the battery rod 20, which is not limited herein. Among them, the controller 32 can be shared with the controller in the existing electronic atomization device 100, so as to achieve the purpose of measuring the content of the aerosol-forming substrate in the electronic atomization device 100 without adding additional electronic components, and the capacitance measurement circuit 31 can adopt an existing circuit, with low cost and easy implementation.

[0031] Specifically, refer to Figure 3, the aerosol - generating matrix has weak conductivity. When the battery rod 20 powers the atomizer 10, the heating component 11 and the aerosol - generating matrix cooperate to form an equivalent capacitor C. The heating component 11 constitutes the first electrode of the equivalent capacitor C, and the aerosol - generating matrix constitutes the second electrode of the equivalent capacitor C. Through a large number of experiments, a correspondence table between the capacitance value of the equivalent capacitor C formed by the heating component 11 and the aerosol - generating matrix and the content of the aerosol matrix can be measured, so as to achieve the purpose of measuring the content of the aerosol - generating matrix in the electronic atomization device 100 by measuring the capacitance value of the equivalent capacitor C formed by the heating component 11 and the aerosol - generating matrix. Among them, the heating component 11 constitutes the first electrode of the equivalent capacitor C, and the aerosol - generating matrix constitutes the second electrode of the equivalent capacitor C, which basically does not change the existing structure of the atomizer 10 and does not add additional structures, further reducing costs and installation difficulties.

[0032] In some embodiments, the heating component 11 can be disposed at a position below the middle of the liquid storage chamber 12, with a certain interval from the bottom of the liquid storage chamber 12. The heating component 11 can also be disposed at the bottom of the liquid storage chamber 12. As long as the heating component 11 is in contact with the aerosol - generating matrix.

[0033] Among them, when the heating component 11 is disposed at the bottom of the liquid storage chamber 12, the aerosol - generating matrix in the liquid storage chamber 12 basically exists above the heating component 11. The second substrate formed by the aerosol - generating matrix basically includes all the aerosol - generating matrix, and the capacitance - value measuring circuit 31 can measure the liquid content of the liquid storage chamber 12 to the greatest extent.

[0034] In one embodiment, the heating component 11 includes a heating element 111 and a matrix 112. The heating element 111 is disposed on the surface of the matrix 112 close to the bottom of the liquid storage chamber 12. Among them, the matrix 112 has a liquid - guiding channel for guiding the aerosol - generating matrix in the liquid storage chamber 12 to the heating element 111. That is, the heating element 111 constitutes the first electrode, and the second electrode includes the aerosol - generating matrix in the matrix 112 and the aerosol - generating matrix on the matrix 112. Further improving the accuracy of the capacitance - value measuring circuit 31 in measuring the aerosol - generating matrix.

[0035] In one embodiment, the material of the substrate 112 may be porous ceramic or a glass dense substrate 112, etc. The material of the heating element 111 may be a metal or its metal alloy. For example, the material of the heating element 111 may be one or more of aluminum or its alloy, copper or its alloy, silver or its alloy, gold or its alloy, platinum or its alloy, iron or its alloy, nickel or its alloy, titanium or its alloy. The heating element 111 may form a heating circuit on the surface of the substrate 112 by physical vapor deposition (such as magnetron sputtering, vacuum evaporation, ion plating) or chemical vapor deposition (plasma-assisted chemical deposition, laser-assisted chemical deposition, metal organic compound deposition). The heating element 111 may also be formed on the surface of the substrate 112 by printing and sintering a conductive paste.

[0036] In another embodiment, the material of the substrate 112 may be liquid-conducting cotton, and the material of the heating element 111 may be a metal or its metal alloy.

[0037] In one embodiment, referring to Figure 4 , the aerosol generation matrix content automatic sensing device 30 further includes a switching element 33. Specifically, one end of the heating element 111 is connected to the capacitance value measurement circuit 31, the other end of the heating element 111 is grounded through the switching element 33, and the controller 32 is connected to the control end of the switching element 33 to control the switching element 33 to conduct when the heating element 111 performs a heating operation, so that the heating element 111 is grounded through the conducting switching element 33, and to control the switching element 33 to disconnect when performing a capacitance value detection operation, so that the capacitance value measurement circuit 31 detects the capacitance value of the equivalent capacitance C.

[0038] In one embodiment, the switching element 33 is a field effect transistor switch. Specifically, the field effect transistor switch is less affected by temperature and radiation and has low power consumption, and is particularly suitable for high-sensitivity and low-noise circuits.

[0039] In another embodiment, the switching element 33 is a triode switch. Specifically, the triode switch has a current amplification effect.

[0040] Specifically, when measuring the capacitance value, the capacitance value measurement circuit 31 provided in this application shares the heating circuit (not shown in the figure) in the electronic atomization device 100. When the capacitance value measurement circuit 31 needs to measure the capacitance value, the controller 32 controls the switching element 33 to disconnect, thereby disconnecting the heating circuit of the electronic atomization device 100, connecting the heating element 111 and the aerosol generating matrix, so that the equivalent capacitance C formed by the heating element 111 and the aerosol generating matrix is disconnected from the ground. The capacitance value measurement circuit 31 detects the capacitance value of the equivalent capacitance C formed by the heating element 111 and the aerosol generating matrix. The controller 32 obtains the aerosol generating matrix content of the electronic atomization device 100 according to the capacitance value detected by the capacitance value measurement circuit 31. When the heating circuit needs to heat and atomize the aerosol generating matrix, the controller 32 controls the switching element 33 to conduct, so that the heating element 111 is conducted to the ground, and the heating element 111 works to heat and atomize the aerosol generating matrix in the liquid storage chamber 12 to generate aerosol. By adopting the design of multiplexing the capacitance value measurement circuit 31 and the heating circuit, the two circuits are switched by the switching element 33, with a simple structure and easy implementation.

[0041] To avoid affecting the normal operation of the electronic atomization device 100, the capacitance value measurement circuit 31 measures the capacitance value during the non-heating stage of the electronic atomization device 100. Among them, the non-heating stage includes: the period before the suction action, the period after the suction action, and the period corresponding to non-heating during suction. Specifically, before the user suctions the electronic atomization device 100, the heating element 111 does not need to heat and atomize the aerosol-forming substrate, the switching element 33 is in the off state, and the capacitance value measurement circuit 31 detects the capacitance value of the equivalent capacitance C formed by the heating element 111 and the aerosol-forming substrate in real time. After the user suctions the electronic atomization device 100, there is a certain interval of time until the next suction action. The heating element 111 does not need to heat and atomize the aerosol-forming substrate, the switching element 33 is in the off state, and the capacitance value measurement circuit 31 detects the capacitance value of the equivalent capacitance C formed by the heating element 111 and the aerosol-forming substrate in real time. During the process of the user suctioning the electronic atomization device 100, to avoid the heating element 111 being too high and generating toxic and harmful gases, the controller 32 usually outputs a pulse signal to the heating element 111. The pulse signal is usually alternately output as a low level and a high level. When the low level is output, the heating element 111 is in the non-heating period. When the high level is output, the heating element 111 is in the heating period, so as to maintain the temperature of the heating element 111 within a preset range. Among them, when the heating element 111 is in the non-heating period, the switching element 33 is in the off state, and the capacitance value measurement circuit 31 detects the capacitance value of the equivalent capacitance C formed by the heating element 111 and the aerosol-forming substrate in real time. The capacitance value measurement circuit 31 of the present application realizes the purpose of real-time measuring the content of the aerosol-forming substrate in the electronic atomization device 100 by performing the capacitance value detection operation during the non-heating stage, avoiding the depletion or insufficiency of the aerosol-forming substrate, preventing the heating element 111 from dry burning, avoiding the generation of harmful gases, and not affecting the normal heating of the aerosol-forming substrate by the electronic atomization device 100.

[0042] Among them, the capacitance value measurement circuit 31 of the present application not only needs to have the ability to measure the presence or absence of the equivalent capacitance C, but also has the ability to measure different capacitance values, so that the controller 32 can obtain the content of the aerosol-forming substrate according to the capacitance value detected by the capacitance value measurement circuit 31.

[0043] Specifically, when the controller 32 responds to the change amount of the detected capacitance value being greater than the preset value, the controller 32 determines that the aerosol-forming substrate amount in the electronic atomization device 100 is exhausted, and controls the electronic atomization device 100 to cut off the power output. Specifically, when the aerosol-forming substrate in the electronic atomization device 100 is exhausted, the second electrode formed by the aerosol-forming substrate disappears. At this time, the change in the capacitance value detected by the capacitance value measurement circuit 31 is greater than the preset value. The controller 32 determines that the aerosol-forming substrate in the electronic atomization device 100 is exhausted according to the change in the capacitance value, and controls the electronic atomization device 100 to cut off the power output.

[0044] In response to the detected capacitance value being within the preset range, the controller 32 determines that the aerosol generating substrate of the electronic atomization device 100 is insufficient, and controls the electronic atomization device 100 to issue a reminder message or shut down the suction function. Specifically, when the aerosol generating substrate in the electronic atomization device 100 is insufficient, according to the corresponding relationship table between the capacitance value of the equivalent capacitance C formed by the heating component 11 and the aerosol generating substrate and the content of the aerosol substrate, the controller 32 determines that the aerosol generating substrate is about to be exhausted when the capacitance value of the equivalent capacitance C formed by the heating component 111 and the aerosol generating substrate is within the preset range, and controls the electronic atomization device 100 to issue a reminder message or shut down the suction function.

[0045] The reminder information sent by the electronic atomization device 100 may be in the form of sound and light alarm or vibration.

[0046] In some embodiments, the capacitance value measurement circuit 31 in the present application adopts a relatively mature capacitor-resistor (RC) charging circuit, a capacitor-inductor (LC) oscillation circuit or a touch IC in the prior art, which has accurate measurement data and low cost and can be suitable for large-scale commercial applications.

[0047] The present application provides an automatic sensing device for the content of an aerosol-generating substrate and an electronic atomization device 100. The first electrode of the capacitance value measurement circuit 31 is the heating component 11, and the second electrode of the capacitance value measurement circuit 31 is the aerosol-generating substrate. In the non-heating stage, the capacitance value measurement circuit 31 is used to detect the capacitance value of the equivalent capacitance C formed by the heating component 11 and the aerosol-generating substrate thereon, so as to achieve the purpose of measuring the content of the aerosol-generating substrate of the electronic atomization device 100, without basically changing the structure of the existing atomizer 10 and without adding additional structure, thereby reducing cost and installation difficulty. By adopting a multiplexing design of the capacitance value measurement circuit 31 and the heating circuit, the two circuits are switched by the switch element 33, and the structure is simple and easy to implement.

[0048] The above are only implementation methods of the present application, and are not intended to limit the patent scope of the present application. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation made using the contents of the present application specification and drawings, or directly or indirectly applied in other related technical fields, are also included in the patent protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. An automatic sensing device for the content of an aerosol - generating substrate, which is used for an electronic atomization device, Characterized in that, Comprising: A capacitance - value measuring circuit, where the first electrode of the capacitance - value measuring circuit is a heating component, and the second electrode of the capacitance - value measuring circuit is the aerosol - generating substrate; A controller, which disconnects the heating circuit of the electronic atomization device and connects the first electrode and the second electrode to obtain the content of the aerosol - generating substrate of the electronic atomization device according to the capacitance value of the equivalent capacitance formed by the measured heating component and the aerosol - generating substrate; Wherein, one end of the heating component is connected to the capacitance - value measuring circuit, the other end of the heating component is grounded through a switching element, and the controller is connected to the control end of the switching element; when the heating component is in the non - heating stage, the switching element is in the off state, and the capacitance - value measuring circuit continuously detects the capacitance value of the equivalent capacitance formed by the heating component and the aerosol - generating substrate.

2. The device according to claim 1, Characterized in that, When the controller performs a heating operation, it controls the switching element to conduct so that the heating component is grounded through the conducting switching element.

3. The device according to claim 1, Characterized in that, The electronic atomization device includes a liquid storage chamber and the heating component. The liquid storage chamber is used to store the aerosol - generating substrate, the heating component is arranged at the bottom of the liquid storage chamber, and the heating component is used to heat the aerosol - generating substrate.

4. The device according to claim 3, Characterized in that, The heating component includes a heating element and a substrate. The heating element is arranged on the surface of the substrate close to the bottom of the liquid storage chamber, and the heating element is used to heat the aerosol - generating substrate.

5. The device according to claim 1, Characterized in that, The capacitance - value measuring circuit performs a capacitance - value detection operation in the non - heating stage. The non - heating stage includes: the time period before a suction action, after a suction action, and corresponding to non - heating during suction.

6. The device according to claim 2, Characterized in that, The switching element includes a triode switch or a field - effect transistor switch.

7. The device according to claim 1, Characterized in that, In response to the detected change amount of the capacitance value being greater than a preset value, the controller determines that the amount of the aerosol - generating substrate of the electronic atomization device is exhausted and controls the electronic atomization device to cut off the power output; In response to the detected capacitance value being within a preset range, the controller determines that the content of the aerosol - generating substrate of the electronic atomization device is insufficient and controls the electronic atomization device to send a reminder message or turn off the suction function.

8. The device according to claim 1, Characterized in that, The capacitance - value measuring circuit includes a capacitance - resistance (RC) charging circuit, a capacitance - inductance (LC) oscillation circuit, or a touch IC.

9. An electronic atomization device, Characterized in that, It includes the automatic sensing device for the content of the aerosol - generating substrate according to any one of claims 1 - 8.

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