Inhalation device and method of operating inhalation device

Abstract

An inhalation device (10) has a heater (14) adapted to receive consumables and having an opening (16), and an electrical port (18), in which a cover (20) is provided that is adapted to engage the port and cover (20) the opening (16). In a method of operating an inhalation device (10) having a heater (14) adapted to receive consumables and having an opening (16), and an electrical port (18), a cover (20) covering the opening (16) and engaging the port.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an inhalation device, such as a device for heating a consumable such as a tobacco stick. Background Art

[0002] Many types of inhalation devices or aerosol-generating devices are known and are continuously replacing traditional cigarettes. Such devices typically have a body with a recess for receiving a consumable, such as a stick with an aerosol-generating substance, which may include tobacco. It is generally desirable to cover the recess before and after use. Further, it is often necessary to clean the recess frequently, as the recess forms or is surrounded by a heater adapted to heat the consumable. If such frequent cleaning is not done, the amount and / or taste of the aerosol produced may be of an unexpected type. In addition, heating is typically powered by a battery provided in the device, which needs to be charged. Thus, such a device also has an electrical port.

[0003] In this context, CN 217446675 U relates to an aerosol-generating device having a substantially U-shaped cover member adapted to cover both an opening at the top surface of the aerosol-generating device and an electrical port provided on the side. Similar devices are known from CN 212488461 U and WO 2022128585 A1. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the above, there is still a need for an inhalation device provided with a minimum size and efficient operation for covering the opening, recharging, and possible cleaning.

[0005] This object is solved by the inhalation device according to claim 1.

[0006] Thus, the inhalation device described herein has a heater adapted to receive a consumable and having an opening. The device further has an electrical port and is provided with a cover member to engage the port and cover the opening. In other words, the electrical port is substantially used to engage and thus hold the cover member, which is further adapted to cover the opening. In other words, in addition to receiving the plug of a charging device, the port will also have the additional function of holding the cover member when charging is not required and the device is not in use, such that covering the opening is desired. This will mean that the opening and the electrical port are in close proximity and preferably provided on the same side of the inhalation device, which can generally be described as a cuboid with rounded edges. In particular, the device may be elongated, and the surface having the opening and the electrical port may be perpendicular to its longitudinal axis, as described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0007] The design implicit in the above arrangement will essentially allow the entire device to be designed around the battery, which is the largest single component of the device and thus has a significant impact on the design of the device. Therefore, designing the device around the battery allows the overall size of the device to be minimized. In addition, when the existing electrical port is additionally used to engage the cover, this improves the efficiency during manufacturing and helps to reduce the size. The electrical port can be a USB port. Further, in particular, the heater (which can also be referred to as an oven) is protected from dirt, dust, water, and damage. Finally, using the same covering for both the opening and the electrical port creates a pleasant appearance, as this can be more seamless. In particular, the cover can advantageously have a slidable or pivotable part for covering and exposing the opening while still keeping the cover engaged in the electrical port and preferably covering the electrical port. Thus, when the electrical port is not in use, the appearance of the device is improved by "hiding" the electrical port. This can help prevent static electricity from entering the electrical port.

[0008] Preferred embodiments are described in the additional claims.

[0009] It is expected to provide a well-functioning cover suitable for holding in the closed and / or open position, which can be achieved, for example, by magnets. As described above, the cover can also include a slidable and / or pivotable part. In this case, advantages will be provided if the slidable and / or pivotable part is adapted to hold in the closed and / or open state as described above.

[0010] If the cover has a UV light source adapted to emit light to at least a part of the opening, the cleaning of the device can be facilitated. The UV light will thus be emitted onto at least a part of the substantially cylindrical inner surface of the heater, and photocatalysis will be achieved there. In this case, the inner surface of the heater will advantageously be coated with a photocatalytic material, so that photocatalysis occurs in the material and efficient cleaning of the inner surface of the heater is achieved. Such UV light can reduce the need or opportunity for the user to manually clean the device.

[0011] To facilitate the use of the device, when it is desired to expose the opening, the cover, in particular its slidable and / or pivotable part, can be arranged to be driven by a motor (such as a linear or rotary motor).

[0012] In this context, the operation of the motor can be adapted to perform the desired movement of the slidable and / or pivotable part by means of at least one gear provided between the motor and the mentioned part.

[0013] If the mentioned motor and / or controller are integrated in the cover, this further helps to achieve a relatively small and efficient device.

[0014] The cover member may further include a cleaning device adapted to clean the hollow portion, in particular the inner surface of the heater. Such a cleaning device may be, for example, an elongated brush, and the above-mentioned controller may be adapted to control the above-mentioned motor and / or the cleaning device.

[0015] However, the device itself may also have a controller configured to control its heater. Such a controller may further be configured to control the UV light source and / or the motor and / or the cleaning device. Thus, a dedicated controller for the UV light source is no longer required. Further, any controller provided in the device or the cover member can be used to exchange data between the device and the cover member.

[0016] In addition, the device may further have a power supply, to which the UV light source and / or the motor and / or the cleaning device are electrically connected via an electrical port, such that the mentioned components can be powered by the power supplied from the power supply via the electrical port. If the heater is powered by the power supplied from the power supply, a dedicated power supply for the UV light source and / or the motor and / or the cleaning device is no longer required.

[0017] As already indicated above, with respect to the overall architecture of the device, it is preferred that the opening of the heater and the electrical port are located on the same side of the suction device.

[0018] The complete inhalation system as described herein includes a suction device and at least one cover member. Preferably, more than one cover member is provided, where one cover member may only engage the electrical port and cover the opening, and another cover member may engage the electrical port with a plug adapted to charge the device, and / or may additionally cover the opening in a state where the cleaning device is inserted into the heater, such that charging and cleaning can be carried out in parallel. In particular, although the opening of the heater may be located at the top of the device immediately before use, when the device is charged and / or cleaned as described above, the opening may be located at the bottom. In this case, the cover member may additionally perform the function of a support member, which may be, for example, based on the surface of a table, and the device may be placed on the support member with the opening located on the lower side as described above. Further, with respect to providing more than one cover member, this allows the user to customize or personalize the overall device by providing one or more cover members with different colors, designs, and / or similar characteristics. In any case, there is at least one single cover member that both engages the port and covers the opening.

[0019] The method of operating the suction device and its preferred embodiments essentially correspond to the preferred embodiments of the device detailed above. In particular, any feature mentioned above or below only with respect to the device or the system equally applies to the method, and vice versa.

[0020] In this context, it can be advantageous to control the cleaning device so that it operates only when the battery of the device is charged above a predetermined value. This avoids a low battery due to cleaning, but soon it may be desired to use the device for suction.

[0021] When the lid engages the port and covers the opening, the number of heating cycles of the heating consumable since the last cleaning can be less than a predetermined number. In other words, cleaning may not yet be required. Thus, the operation of the cleaning device can be prohibited to save the battery. This prohibition can be carried out by the controller. For example, the predetermined number can be one. In other words, cleaning will be permitted only when at least one heating cycle (or a different, appropriate and predetermined amount of heating cycles) has been carried out. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the drawings, in which:

[0023] Figure 1 A side view and a top view of the inhalation device are shown,

[0024] Figure 2 showing Figure 1 a cross-sectional view of the part shown,

[0025] Figures 3 to 10 showing a further embodiment of the device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] As Figure 1 shown, the device 10 is substantially elongated and has a battery 12 in its lower part in the orientation according to Figure 1 , which corresponds to approximately half of the overall dimensions of the device 10. As an alternative and / or complement to the battery 12, another power source (e.g., a capacitor or a fuel cell) can be employed. An oven or heater 14 is provided in the upper part of the device, which has an opening 16 into which a consumable (not shown) can be inserted. The heater 14 can include a resistive heater and / or an inductive heater. The heater 14 occupies approximately half of the overall device 10 in the Figure 1 direction from left to right, and the remaining half accommodates, for example, a printed circuit board and any necessary connections and control components between the battery 12 and the heater 14. As can be seen in Figure 1 , the opening 16 of the oven 14 is provided at the upper surface of the device 10 in the orientation according to Figure 1 , and this also applies in a novel way to an electrical port 18, such as a USB port, which is connected to and preferably mounted on the aforementioned printed circuit board. The USB port can include a USB Type-C socket. The mentioned upper surface is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the elongated device 10 and is significantly smaller than its other sides that are substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis.

[0027] As can be seen in Figure 2 , the cover member 20 according to the present invention engages the electrical port 18 and preferably thus covers the electrical port, and further covers the opening 16. In the illustrated embodiment, the cover member 20 is substantially formed as a plate or disk having a suitable extension 22 that engages the port by being inserted into the port 18. Thus, the length of the extension 22 is sufficient to provide engagement with the port 18 to hold the cover member 20, and at the same time is short enough to allow the cover member 22 to closely cover the opening 16 such that, for example, dirt, dust or water cannot enter the opening. As can be seen in Figure 2 , the heater 14 and the electrical port 18 extend substantially parallel to each other and substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis.

[0028] As Figure 3 shown, the cover member 20 may have a slidable portion 24 that can be held in the Figure 3 shown closed position by means of a magnet 26. To indicate a further possible modification, Figure 3 the arrow B in Figure 3 indicates the pivotal movement of the portion 24 that forms the pivotable portion in this case. In this case, the pivot will be about a hinge provided between the right portion of the cover member 20 and the portion 24 (substantially on the left side of the cover member in Figure 3 ). Also in this case, a magnet 26 can be provided to hold the portion 24 in the closed position, and an additional magnet can be provided on the Figure 3 right side of Figure 4 to hold the portion 24 in the open position. This second magnet is also applicable in the case where the portion 24 is slidable as shown in

[0029] As can be seen in Figure 4 , when the slidable portion 24 is in the open position, the cover member remains engaged in the electrical port 18 to cover the electrical port and only expose the opening 16 of the heater 14. In Figure 4 , the sliding movement of the slider portion 24 for exposing the opening 16 is indicated by the arrow A.

[0030] Figure 5 Shows a Figure 3 and Figure 4 modification of the embodiment in which the cover member 20, in particular its slidable portion 24, is additionally provided with a UV light source 28 for emitting light into the heater 14 and in particular onto at least a part of its inner surface. This will advantageously cooperate with the inner surface of the heater coated with a photocatalytic material to achieve photocatalysis, which will help to clean the inner surface of the heater 14.

[0031] Figure 6Another modification is shown, in which the cover 20 further includes a controller 30 and a motor 32 for moving the slidable part 24. To transmit the motor movement to the slidable part 24, one or more gears as indicated at 34 may be provided. Further, the motor 32 may be a linear motor or a rotary motor and may be powered by electrical energy received from the battery 12 of the device via the electrical port 18. In other words, in this case, the electrical port 18 is not only used to charge the battery 12, but the energy stored in the battery 12 can be used to power the motor 32 and, as should be additionally mentioned, can also be used to power Figure 5 the UV light source 28 in the embodiment of

[0032] As Figure 7 indicated by the embodiment shown, the controller 28 does not necessarily have to be provided in the cover 20, but a controller provided in the device itself can be used to control the motor 32 and / or the UV light source 28 and / or Figure 8 the cleaning device 36 shown.

[0033] Figure 8 A controller 30 provided in the cover 20 is shown, but is similar to Figure 6 compared with Figure 7 ; the controller can also be provided in the device 10 itself, which advantageously makes the cover 20 smaller. However, Figure 8 the embodiment of

[0034] As finally Figure 9 shown, the cover can also be formed as a support that can be placed on a flat surface, thereby allowing the device 10 to be placed on the cover 20 (as Figure 10 shown), and the cover acts as a support that is substantially inverted compared to the orientation Figures 1 to 8 shown. In this way, the brush 36 can be inserted into the heater, and a plug 14 of a charging device provided in the cover 20 can be inserted into the electrical port 18 (as additionally indicated in Figure 10 ) to clean the device 10 and charge it simultaneously.

Claims

1. An inhalation device (10) having a heater (14) and an electrical port (18), the heater being adapted to receive a consumable and having an opening (16), wherein, A cover member (20) is provided, which is adapted to engage the port and cover the opening (16).

2. The inhalation device (10) according to claim 1, wherein, The cover member (20) and / or the slidable and / or pivotable part (24) of the cover member is adapted to be held in a closed and / or open position, for example, by a magnet (26).

3. The inhalation device (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein, The cover member (20) has a UV light source (28), which is adapted to emit light to at least a part of the opening (16).

4. The inhalation device (10) according to one of claims 2 or 3, wherein, The slidable and / or pivotable part (24) is driven by a motor (32), such as a linear or rotary motor (32).

5. The inhalation device (10) according to claim 4, wherein, At least one gear (34) is provided between the motor (32) and the slidable and / or pivotable part (24).

6. The inhalation device (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein, The motor (32) and / or the controller (30) is integrated in the cover member (20).

7. The inhalation device (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein, The cover member (20) has a cleaning device (36), which is adapted to clean the hollow part of the heater (14).

8. The inhalation device (10) according to any one of claims 3 to 7, further comprising a controller (30) configured to control the heater (14), Among them, The controller (30) is further configured to control the UV light source (28) and / or the motor (32) and / or the cleaning device (36).

9. The inhalation device (10) according to any one of claims 3 to 8, further comprising a power source (12), Among them, The UV light source (28) and / or the motor (32) and / or the cleaning device (36) is electrically connected to the electrical port (18); and The UV light source (28) and / or the motor (32) and / or the cleaning device (36) is powered by electric power supplied from the power source (12) via the electrical port (18).

10. The inhalation device (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein, The opening (16) and the port are located at the same side of the inhalation device (10).

11. An inhalation system, which comprises an inhalation device (10) according to any one of the foregoing claims and more than one cover member (20).

12. A method of operating an inhalation device (10), which has a heater (14) and an electrical port (18), the heater being adapted to receive a consumable and having an opening (16), in which method, a cover member (20) covers the opening (16) and engages the port.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein, At least a part of the cover member (20) is slid and / or pivoted, and preferably driven by a motor (32), such as a linear or rotary motor (32).

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, wherein The device (10) further comprises a cleaning device (36) and / or a UV light source (28), the cleaning device being adapted to clean the hollow part of the heater (14), and the cleaning device (36) and / or the UV light source (28) and / or the motor (32) is controlled by a controller (30) integrated in the device (10) or the cover member (20).

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein, The cleaning device (36) is controlled to operate only when the battery of the device (10) is charged beyond a predetermined value.

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