Heating element, preparation method thereof and aerosol generating device

Abstract

The invention belongs to the technical field of aerosol generating devices, and provides a heating body, a preparation method thereof and an aerosol generating device.The preparation method of the heating body comprises the steps that a heating base body is obtained, and the heating base body comprises a heating part and an insulating part which are arranged in a stacked mode, the heating part is annular and comprises at least two heating sections which are arranged at intervals and conductive connecting sections which are connected with the adjacent heating sections, the number of the conductive connecting sections is not less than two, and the insulating part wraps at least one side surface of the heating part so as to support the heating part; and cutting the heating base body to enable one conductive connection section to be disconnected, thereby obtaining the heating body. The heating body preparation method provided by the invention can improve the heating effect of the heating body and the user experience.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application belongs to the technical field of aerosol generating devices, and more specifically, relates to a heating element and a preparation method thereof, and an aerosol generating device. Background Art

[0002] The aerosol generating device is capable of heating the aerosol generating matrix and generating an aerosol. The heating element is a key component of the aerosol generating device. The heat generated by the heating element can act on the aerosol generating matrix, so that the aerosol generating matrix generates an aerosol that can be inhaled by the user in a heated state. In the related art, the heating element is a mesh structure, and the aerosol generating matrix can be heated by circumferential heating. However, the overall strength of the mesh heating element is relatively poor, resulting in a single heating effect of the heating element, making it difficult to achieve zoned heating, which affects the heating effect of the heating element to a certain extent, and thus affects the user experience. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The embodiments of the present application provide a heating element and a preparation method thereof, and an aerosol generating device, aiming to improve the problem in the related art that the heating effect of the heating element is single and affects the user experience.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, in a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for preparing a heating element, comprising: Obtain a heating substrate, the heating substrate comprising a stacked heating portion and an insulating portion, the heating portion being annular and comprising at least two spaced heating segments and a conductive connecting segment connecting adjacent heating segments, the number of the conductive connecting segments being no less than two, the insulating portion covering at least one side surface of the heating portion to support the heating portion; The heating base is cut to disconnect one of the conductive connection segments, thereby obtaining the heating element.

[0005] In the method for preparing a heating element provided in an embodiment of the present application, a heating substrate can be first prepared, and then the heating substrate can be cut at a position corresponding to a certain conductive connection segment, so that the heating portion forms a heating circuit that can generate heat when power is applied. The heating element prepared by this preparation method has high strength, and the heating segment actually connected to the circuit can be adjusted to achieve a zoned heating function, thereby enabling the heating element to have a variety of different heating effects and helping to reduce the difficulty of processing the zoned heating element.

[0006] Optionally, the step of obtaining a heat-generating substrate, wherein the heat-generating substrate includes a heat-generating portion and an insulating portion stacked together, comprises: Obtaining a heating portion, wherein the heating portion is annular and includes the heating segments and the conductive connecting segments, wherein the heating segments and the conductive connecting segments are alternately arranged in sequence; The insulating material is overmolded on the outside of the heat generating portion to obtain the insulating portion connected to the heat generating portion.

[0007] Optionally, the overmolding comprises an injection molding process.

[0008] Optionally, the heating section of the heating portion is made of a material having a resistance temperature coefficient greater than or equal to a preset resistance temperature coefficient.

[0009] Optionally, the preset resistance temperature coefficient is 600 PPM / °C.

[0010] Optionally, the material of the heating part includes at least one of a nickel-based alloy and titanium metal, and the nickel content in the nickel-based alloy is greater than 50%.

[0011] Optionally, the cutting process includes at least one of a physical cutting process and a laser ablation process.

[0012] Optionally, the insulating part is made of an insulating material, and the insulating material includes a ceramic material.

[0013] Optionally, the preparation method further comprises: A repair process is performed on a damaged area of ​​the insulating portion opposite to the disconnected conductive connection section to fill the damaged area.

[0014] Optionally, the repair process includes: spraying the insulating material on the surface of the damaged area, and / or applying the insulating material to perform injection molding on the insulating part.

[0015] Optionally, the preparation method further comprises: applying an insulating protective coating to the surface of the heating portion exposed relative to the insulating tube.

[0016] Optionally, the insulating protective coating comprises glass glaze.

[0017] Optionally, the heating part and the insulating part are both tubular structures, and the insulating part at least wraps around one side of the heating part in the radial direction to be integrally formed with the heating part; or, the heating part and the insulating part are both sheet structures, and the insulating part at least wraps around one side of the heating part in the thickness direction to be integrally formed with the heating part.

[0018] In a second aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a heating element, which is prepared by any of the preparation methods described above. The heating element includes a stacked heating portion and an insulating portion, wherein the insulating portion is fixedly disposed on at least one side of the heating portion, and the heating portion is configured to generate heat when powered; Wherein, the heating portion includes at least two heating segments and a conductive connecting segment connecting two adjacent heating segments, and at least one of the conductive connecting segments is provided with a notch.

[0019] In the heating element provided in the embodiment of the present application, the heating part is used to generate heat when power is supplied, and the insulating part is used to be connected to the heating part and support the heating part to improve the overall strength of the heating part, so that different heating segments fixed on the insulating part can realize the zoned heating function.

[0020] Optionally, the heating element is a tubular structure, and the insulating portion covers at least one side surface of the heating element in the radial direction; Wherein, at least part of the heating segments are arranged at intervals along the circumference of the heating body, or at least part of the heating segments are arranged at intervals along the axial direction of the heating body.

[0021] Optionally, the thickness of the insulating portion in the radial direction is greater than or equal to 0.2 mm.

[0022] Optionally, the heating element further includes an insulating protective coating, which is provided on at least a portion of the surface of the heating portion exposed relative to the insulating portion, so as to protect the heating portion.

[0023] Optionally, the heating section includes a mesh structure.

[0024] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an aerosol generating device, comprising a heating element prepared by the method for preparing a heating element described in any one of the above items, or comprising a heating element described in any one of the above items.

[0025] Compared with the prior art, this application has at least the following beneficial effects: The heating element preparation method provided in the embodiment of the present application can prepare a heating element with a zoned heating function through an improved preparation method, wherein the preparation method can effectively reduce the possibility of deformation of the heating part during the processing by first preparing a heating substrate with higher strength and then cutting the heating substrate, and effectively improve the overall strength of the heating part through the insulating part, thereby effectively improving the processing accuracy and reliability of the heating element with a zoned heating function and reducing its preparation difficulty.

[0026] The aerosol generating device provided in the embodiment of the present application includes the beneficial effects of any one or more of the above-mentioned heating elements and their preparation methods, which will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or descriptions of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative work.

[0028] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the use of the aerosol generating device provided in an embodiment of the present application; Figure 2 for Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the cross-section structure; Figure 3 A flow chart of a method for preparing a heating element provided in an embodiment of the present application; Figure 4 A schematic structural diagram of a heating substrate in a method for preparing a heating element provided in an embodiment of the present application; Figure 5 for Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the structure of the heating part; Figure 6 for Figure 4 Another structural diagram of the middle heating part; Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the overall structure of a heating element prepared by the method for preparing a heating element provided in an embodiment of the present application; Figure 8 for Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the structure of the heating part; Figure 9 A schematic diagram of the overall structure of a heating element prepared by a method for preparing a heating element according to another embodiment of the present application; Figure 10 for Figure 9 Schematic diagram of the partial structure of the heating element.

[0029] Among them, the reference numerals in the figures are: 100. Aerosol generating device; 10. Heating element; 20. Aerosol generating substrate; 1. Heating part; 11. Heating section; 12. Conductive connection section; 121. Notch; 2. Insulating part; 3. Insulating protective coating; 4. Lead. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] In order to make the technical problems, technical solutions and beneficial effects to be solved by this application more clearly understood, this application is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain this application and are not intended to limit this application.

[0031] It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being “fixed on” or “disposed on” another element, it may be directly on the other element or indirectly on the other element. When an element is referred to as being “connected to” another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or indirectly connected to the other element.

[0032] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential" and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present application.

[0033] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of the technical features being referred to. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. Throughout the description of this application, "plurality" means two or more, unless otherwise specifically defined.

[0034] In this application, unless otherwise specified or limited, the terms "installed," "connected," "connect," "fixed," etc. should be understood in a broad sense. For example, they can refer to fixed connection, detachable connection, or integration; mechanical connection, electrical connection, or communication; direct connection or indirect connection through an intermediate medium; internal communication between two elements or interaction between two elements, unless otherwise specified. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meanings of the above terms in this application based on specific circumstances.

[0035] In this application, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, when a first feature is "above" or "below" a second feature, it may mean that the first and second features are in direct contact, or the first and second features are in indirect contact through an intermediate medium. Furthermore, when a first feature is "above," "above," or "above" a second feature, it may mean that the first feature is directly above or diagonally above the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is at a higher level than the second feature. When a first feature is "below," "below," or "below" a second feature, it may mean that the first feature is directly below or diagonally below the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is at a lower level than the second feature.

[0036] In this application, the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "examples", "specific examples", or "some examples" mean that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present application. In this specification, the schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described can be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner. In addition, those skilled in the art can combine and combine different embodiments or examples described in this specification and the features of different embodiments or examples without contradiction.

[0037] In an embodiment of the present application, a heating element 10 and a method for preparing the same, as well as an aerosol generating device 100 are provided. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the heating element 10 is a key component of the aerosol generating device 100 and is used to provide heat to the aerosol generating substrate 20 to be heated, thereby enabling the aerosol generating substrate 20 to be heated and form an aerosol.

[0038] See also Figure 1 The present invention provides an aerosol generating device 100 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The aerosol generating device 100 includes a heating element 10 as described below. The aerosol generating device 100 can heat an aerosol generating substrate 20 via the heating element 10. The following embodiments primarily illustrate the aerosol generating device 100 heating the aerosol generating substrate 20. Other embodiments requiring the aerosol generating device 100 can be implemented with reference thereto.

[0039] It should be noted that the aerosol generating device 100 can heat the aerosol generating substrate 20 by heating without burning.

[0040] In some embodiments, the aerosol generating device 100 can be used to heat the aerosol generating substrate 20. The aerosol generating substrate 20 can be in the form of a solid. Figure 1 , the aerosol generating matrix 20 is a columnar structure.

[0041] The aerosol-generating substrate 20 can generate an aerosol when heated. The aerosol can contain volatile compounds. The aerosol-generating substrate 20 can include, but is not limited to, materials used for medical, health, wellness, and cosmetic purposes. For example, the aerosol-generating substrate 20 can be made of plant materials, such as plant roots, stems, leaves, flowers, buds, and seeds.

[0042] See also Figure 2 When the aerosol generating device 100 is in use, the heating element 10 can contact the aerosol generating substrate 20 and heat it to generate aerosol.

[0043] In some embodiments, a battery assembly is further provided in the aerosol generating device 100 , and the battery assembly is electrically connected to the heating element 10 to provide the heating element 10 with the electrical energy required for operation.

[0044] Of course, the aerosol generating device 100 may also include a shell, and the heating element 10 and the battery assembly are both located inside the shell, and may be arranged at intervals along the width direction or length direction of the shell, so that the heating element 10 and the battery assembly can be arranged neatly and orderly inside the shell, making the internal structure of the aerosol generating device 100 more compact, thereby helping to reduce the volume of the aerosol generating device 100, so as to improve the user's grip feel to a certain extent, thereby helping to improve the user's usage experience.

[0045] Those skilled in the art should know that the structure of the aerosol generating matrix 20 can refer to the existing structure in the relevant technology, and the assembly structure and appearance of each component in the aerosol generating device 100 can refer to the existing structure in the relevant technology, and will not be described in detail in this application.

[0046] In some embodiments, the aerosol-generating substrate 20 may comprise a connected heating segment and a filter segment. Figure 1 and Figure 2 When the user uses the aerosol generating device 100, the heating section can be inserted into the aerosol generating device 100 so that the heating element 10 located inside the aerosol generating device 100 contacts and heats the heating section. The filter section is located outside the aerosol generating device 100, and the user can inhale the aerosol through the filter section when the heating section generates aerosol.

[0047] The specific structure of the heating element 10 can be found in the following description. Since the aerosol generating device 100 adopts all the technical solutions of all the following embodiments, it has at least all the beneficial effects brought by the technical solutions of the following embodiments, which will not be described in detail here.

[0048] In the related art, the heating element 10 used to heat the aerosol generating matrix 20 and generate aerosol can be a tubular structure, a columnar structure, a sheet structure, etc., wherein the tubular structure heating element 10 can be mounted on the outside of the aerosol generating matrix 20 and heat the aerosol generating matrix 20 located therein by generating heat through electric heating, so that the aerosol generating matrix 20 generates aerosol under the action of high temperature; the columnar structure heating element 10 can be inserted into the aerosol generating matrix 20 and heat it from the center of the aerosol generating matrix 20 by generating heat through electric heating to generate aerosol; the sheet structure heating element 10 can be attached to the bottom of the aerosol generating matrix 20 or part of the circumferential side wall, and heat the aerosol generating matrix 20 by generating heat through electric heating to generate aerosol.

[0049] In order to make the heating element 10 have more diverse heating effects, the heating element 10 can be provided with a plurality of heating segments 11 arranged at intervals, so as to perform heating treatment on different areas of the aerosol generating matrix 20 respectively. Taking the tubular heating element 10 as an example, it generally includes a metal part that can be used to realize the heating function, and an insulating layer attached to the metal surface. When preparing a heating element 10 with a zoned heating function, since the strength of the metal part itself is relatively poor, when it is processed into a structure with a zoned heating function, it needs to be cut, thereby further reducing its overall structural strength, causing the metal part to be more easily deformed during the attachment of the insulating layer and the preparation process, and resulting in a low yield of the final heating element 10.

[0050] To solve the above problems, enable the heating element 10 to achieve a variety of different heating effects through zoned heating, and further improve the user experience, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for preparing the heating element 10. The method for preparing the heating element 10 has the advantages of simple processing, low deformation rate of the heating element 10, and high production yield.

[0051] See also Figure 3 , the preparation method provided in the embodiment of the present application includes: Step S1: Obtain a heating substrate.

[0052] The heating base includes a heating part 1 and an insulating part 2 arranged in a stacked manner. The heating part 1 is annular and includes at least two heating segments 11 arranged at intervals and a conductive connecting segment 12 connecting adjacent heating segments 11. The number of conductive connecting segments 12 is not less than two. The insulating part 2 covers at least one side surface of the heating part 1 to support the heating part 1.

[0053] Step S2 : cutting the heating substrate to disconnect one conductive connection section 12 to obtain a heating element 10 .

[0054] In the method for preparing the heating element 10 provided in the embodiment of the present application, a heating substrate can be first prepared, and then the heating substrate can be cut at a position corresponding to a certain conductive connecting segment 12, so that the heating portion 1 forms a heating circuit that can generate heat when power is applied. The heating element 10 prepared by this preparation method has high strength, and the heating segment 11 actually connected to the circuit can be adjusted to achieve a zoned heating function, thereby enabling the heating element 10 to have a variety of different heating effects, and helping to reduce the difficulty of processing the heating element 10 with zoned heating.

[0055] After the heating element 10 prepared in step S2 is connected to the circuit, the heating section 11 in the heating element 10 can generate heat after being energized, and the heat can act on the aerosol generating matrix 20 matched therewith.

[0056] Of course, the heating element 10 can be connected to the external circuit through the lead 4 electrically connected to the heating part 1. The number of the lead 4 is at least three. Figure 4 By controlling the leads 4 connected to the external circuit, different heating sections 11 on the heating element 10 can be controlled to connect to the circuit respectively, so as to achieve the effect of zoned heating.

[0057] The preparation steps of step S1 are as follows: Step S11 , obtaining a heating portion 1 , wherein the heating portion 1 is annular and includes a heating section 11 and a conductive connecting section 12 .

[0058] Step S12: overmolding the insulating material onto the outside of the heating part 1 to obtain the insulating part 2 connected to the heating part 1.

[0059] In step S11, the annular heating element 1 includes multiple spaced heating segments 11. Any two adjacent heating segments 11 are connected by a conductive connecting segment 12. The multiple heating segments 11 and the multiple conductive connecting segments 12 are alternately arranged and connected end to end to form an annular structure. One of the conductive connecting segments 12 can be disconnected in step S2 to ensure that the heating element 1 forms a heating circuit that meets the design requirements.

[0060] In step S12, the heat generating part 1 may be coated with an insulating material to enhance the overall strength of the heat generating part 1. The insulating part 2 prepared at this time is not only stacked with the heat generating part 1, but also can be integrally formed with the heat generating part 1.

[0061] After the insulating part 2 and the heating part 1 are integrally formed to prepare the heating matrix, the overall strength of the heating matrix is ​​significantly greater than the strength of the heating part 1, thereby ensuring that the heating part 1 can maintain its overall shape unchanged after being disconnected, so as to better cooperate with the aerosol generating matrix 20.

[0062] In step S1, the overall shape of the obtained heating substrate can be adjusted according to the design shape of the heating element 10. For example, when the heating element 10 is a sheet structure (including a flat sheet structure, or a sheet structure with a certain curvature), the heating substrate used to prepare the heating element 10 is also a sheet structure that matches its shape. The heating portion 1 and the insulating portion 2 are stacked along their thickness direction. At this time, the insulating portion 2 at least covers and wraps one side of the heating portion 1 in its thickness direction to be integrally formed with the heating portion 1, and the thickness of the heating substrate at each position is consistent or substantially consistent, so as to ensure that the heating element 10 finally prepared can meet the design requirements. When the heating element 10 is a tubular structure, the heating substrate used to prepare the heating element 10 is also a tubular structure that matches its shape. The heating portion 1 and the insulating portion 2 are fixedly connected along their radial direction. At this time, the insulating portion 2 at least covers and wraps one side of the heating portion 1 in its radial direction to be integrally formed with the heating portion 1, and the thickness of the heating substrate at each position in its circumferential direction is consistent or substantially consistent, so as to ensure that the heating element 10 finally prepared can meet the design requirements.

[0063] In some embodiments, the overmolding in step S12 includes an injection molding process.

[0064] Specifically, the specific processing steps of the injection molding process are as follows: first, the prepared heating element 10 is placed in a mold, and then, insulating material is injected into the mold, and the mold is used to wrap and cover at least part of the surface of the heating element 10 with the insulating material to form an insulating part 2.

[0065] In some embodiments, the insulating material may be a ceramic material. In this case, the insulating portion 2 needs to be sintered and solidified after the ceramic slurry is formed, so that the insulating portion 2 can be formed integrally with the heating portion 1.

[0066] For example, when the heating element 10 is a tubular structure, the insulating material can cover at least part of the surface of the inner wall and / or outer wall of the heating element 10 to form a continuous tubular structure, and then the tubular structure is sintered and solidified to obtain the above-mentioned tubular insulating part 2.

[0067] The thickness of the insulating portion 2 prepared by injection molding is greater than or equal to 0.2 mm. For example, the thickness of the insulating portion 2 can be set to any value among 0.2 mm, 0.25 mm, 0.3 mm, 0.35 mm, 0.4 mm, etc.

[0068] It should be noted that at this time, in addition to covering and wrapping one side of the heating part 1, the insulating part 2 can also cover and wrap one side end face of the heating part 1, so that at least part of the heating part 1 can be embedded in the insulating part 2. At this time, only one side surface of the heating part 1 is exposed relative to the insulating part 2.

[0069] In some embodiments, the injection molding process may be an insert molding process.

[0070] Taking ceramic slurry as an example of insulating material, when the insert injection molding process is used to prepare the heating base, it is necessary to first obtain a mold cavity for processing, as well as the corresponding heating part 1 and insert; then, the heating part 1 is placed in the mold cavity, and a removable insert is placed at an appropriate position (for example, inside and / or outside) of the mold cavity, so as to form a space that meets the design requirements in the mold cavity for accommodating the insulating material; then, the ceramic slurry is injected into the mold cavity, and the above-mentioned insert is removed after the ceramic slurry is formed; finally, the ceramic slurry and the heating part 1 fixedly connected to the ceramic slurry are fired, and after the formed ceramic slurry is sintered and solidified, the insulating part 2 integrally formed with the heating part 1 can be obtained.

[0071] In this embodiment, the insulating material used to form the insulating portion 2 includes a ceramic material, such as zirconium oxide, silicon dioxide, etc. Such ceramic materials can be used to produce ceramic structures with relatively low thermal conductivity, for example, porous ceramics. Using porous ceramics as an example, the insulating portion 2 has excellent thermal insulation properties, ensuring that the heat generated by the heating portion 1 is dissipated toward the side facing away from the insulating portion 2.

[0072] In some embodiments, the heating segment 11 of the heating portion 1 obtained in step S11 is made of a material having a resistance temperature coefficient greater than or equal to a preset resistance temperature coefficient.

[0073] Temperature Coefficient of Resistance (TCR) materials are materials whose resistance changes regularly with temperature. These materials exhibit self-regulating temperature characteristics. They can measure the temperature of the heating element 11 by reading its resistance without a temperature sensor, facilitating precise temperature control of the heating element 10.

[0074] When the heating element 10 is powered, the resistance of the heating element 10 changes with the temperature. When the temperature is low, the resistance of the heating element 10 is small and the current is large. As the temperature rises, the resistance increases and limits the power output, thereby achieving self-limiting temperature control. In addition, the relevant control module can obtain the actual temperature of the heating element 10 by reading the resistance value of the heating element 10, thereby achieving control over the working state of the heating element 10. The above-mentioned control module can be a structure such as a circuit board disclosed in the relevant technology. Its working principle and connection method with the heating element 10 have been disclosed in the relevant technology and will not be repeated here.

[0075] In some embodiments, the heating section 11 and the conductive connecting section 12 in the heating part 1 can be integrally formed, and in this case, the conductive connecting section 12 can also be made of the above-mentioned materials; alternatively, the heating section 11 and the conductive connecting section 12 in the heating part 1 can be separately processed and fixedly connected by welding or the like, and in this case, the conductive connecting section 12 can be made of other conductive materials.

[0076] It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the preset temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) is 600 PPM / °C, that is, the temperature coefficient of resistance of the material used to prepare the heating section 11 needs to be greater than or equal to 600 PPM / °C.

[0077] Specifically, in this embodiment, the temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) of the heating section 11 can be set to a range of 600 PPM / °C to 800 PPM / °C. For example, the temperature coefficient of resistance of the heating section 11 can be set to any value among 600 PPM / °C, 650 PPM / °C, 700 PPM / °C, 750 PPM / °C and 800 PPM / °C.

[0078] Specifically, the material meeting the TCR requirement may include at least one of a nickel-based alloy and titanium, with the nickel content in the nickel-based alloy being greater than 50%. In other similar embodiments, the TCR material may also include at least one of corrosion-resistant stainless steel (e.g., SUS316 stainless steel, SUS904 stainless steel, etc.), silver-palladium alloy, nickel-chromium alloy, constantan alloy, manganese-copper alloy, germanium-manganese-copper alloy, iron-chromium-aluminum alloy, etc.

[0079] When the heating part 1 is made of metal material, the heating part 1 can be set as a metal part with a certain shape. For example, when the heating element 10 is a sheet structure, the heating part 1 is a sheet structure; when the heating element 10 is a tubular structure, the heating part 1 is a tubular structure, that is, a metal tube structure.

[0080] For example, the heating part 1 is a stainless steel tube, which can be a seamless tube prepared by processes such as hot extrusion and cold rolling. In this case, the heating section 11 formed on the heating part 1 is a sheet-like heating structure with a certain curvature.

[0081] Of course, the heating section 11 formed on the heating part 1 can also be made into a mesh structure by further processing the seamless tube. Figure 5 This embodiment does not limit the shape of the mesh heating section 11. The mesh of the heating section 11 can be a rectangle, a regular quadrilateral, a regular hexagon and other different structures, which will not be described here.

[0082] Of course, the heating section 11 may also be in a serpentine, zigzag, or S-shaped structure.

[0083] See also Figure 5 and Figure 6 Taking the heating part 1 as an example, the heating segments 11 on the heating part 1 can be arranged at intervals along the circumference of the heating part 1 or along the axial direction of the heating part 1. The dotted line position in the figure is the position where the conductive connection part is to be disconnected.

[0084] In step S2, when the conductive connecting segment 12 of the heating part 1 is cut, only one conductive connecting segment 12 of the heating part 1 may be cut. Figure 5 and Figure 6 , cut the dotted line position in the figure to achieve the disconnection processing of the corresponding conductive connection segment 12.

[0085] When the conductive connection section 12 is cut and disconnected, the conductive path at the disconnected conductive connection section 12 is interrupted, forming two independent electrical connection ends, which can cooperate with the undisconnected conductive connection part to achieve partition control of the heating part 1.

[0086] After the leads 4 are connected, the two leads 4 on the conductive connecting segment 12 can cooperate with the leads 4 connected to another complete conductive connecting segment 12. Different heating segments 11 are different heating areas that can be heated independently, which is used to realize time-sharing power supply or power differentiation control of different heating segments 11, so that the prepared heating part 1 has at least three different heating states, namely: two relatively arranged heating segments 11 are heated separately, and two relatively arranged heating segments 11 are heated simultaneously, and the two heating segments 11 are connected in series. At this time, the heating element 10 has the function of zoned heating and temperature control.

[0087] In other similar embodiments, step S2 may also disconnect the two conductive connecting segments 12 at the same time, and at this time, both heating segments 11 in the heating part 1 are in a disconnected state. Each of the two heating segments 11 on the prepared heating element 10 needs to be connected to the external circuit via two leads 4. Thus, by controlling whether the leads 4 are connected to the external circuit, the heating part 1 has three different heating states: the two oppositely arranged heating segments 11 are heated separately, and the two oppositely arranged heating segments 11 are heated simultaneously.

[0088] In step S2, the cutting processing method adopted includes at least one of physical cutting processing and laser ablation processing.

[0089] Among them, the physical cutting method can be achieved by a high-speed rotating blade, etc., and the laser ablation can use a high-energy density laser beam (such as fiber laser, ultraviolet laser) for non-contact processing to directly cut and disconnect the heating part 1.

[0090] In this embodiment, both laser ablation and physical cutting can achieve the disconnection of the set conductive connection segment 12 and prepare the heating element 10 that meets the design requirements.

[0091] Specifically, only laser ablation processing can be applied to disconnect the conductive connection segment 12 according to the preset position to obtain the heating element 10; or, physical cutting processing can be applied to disconnect the conductive connection segment 12 according to the preset position to obtain the heating element 10; or, after applying laser ablation processing to perform preliminary disconnection processing on the conductive connection segment 12 according to the preset position, physical cutting processing can be applied to perform secondary disconnection processing on the conductive connection segment 12 according to the preset position to obtain the heating element 10; or, after applying physical cutting processing to perform preliminary disconnection processing on the conductive connection segment 12 according to the preset position, laser ablation processing can be applied to perform secondary disconnection processing on the conductive connection segment 12 according to the preset position to obtain the heating element 10.

[0092] It should be noted that the conductive connection segment 12 needs to be disconnected at least twice only when the overall thickness of the conductive connection segment 12 is relatively thick, the insulating part 2 covers the area to be cut of the conductive connection segment 12, or a single disconnection process cannot completely disconnect the conductive connection segment 12.

[0093] Taking the heating element 10 as a tubular structure as an example, the insulating portion 2 is provided to at least cover the radial outer side wall of the heating portion 1. In this case, the conductive connection segment 12 can be disconnected from the radial inner side of the heating portion 1 to the outside. Alternatively, the insulating portion 2 is provided to at least cover the radial inner side wall of the heating portion 1. In this case, the insulating portion 2 and the heating portion 1 can be cut in sequence from the radial inner side of the heating portion 1 to the outside to disconnect the conductive connection segment 12. Alternatively, the insulating portion 2 is provided to at least cover the radial inner side wall of the heating portion 1. In this case, the insulating portion 2 and the heating portion 1 can be cut in sequence from the radial inner side of the heating portion 1 to the outside to disconnect the conductive connection segment 12. Alternatively, the conductive connection segment 12 can be disconnected from the radial outer side of the heating portion 1 to the inside to disconnect the conductive connection segment 12. Alternatively, the conductive connection segment 12 can be disconnected from the radial outer side of the heating portion 1 to the inside to disconnect the conductive connection segment 12.

[0094] This embodiment does not limit the actual cutting direction of the disconnection process.

[0095] The structure of the heating element 10 prepared in step S2 can be found in Figure 7 At this time, a notch 121 is formed by cutting the middle of a conductive connection portion of the heating element 10 .

[0096] The structure of the heating element 10 with the notch 121 can be seen in FIG. Figure 8 The heating element 10 can realize the zone heating function through three leads 4.

[0097] It should be noted that the heating element 10 prepared above further includes at least three leads 4 , and the heating element 10 can be connected to an external circuit through the leads 4 .

[0098] Specifically, one lead wire 4 is provided at the conductive connection segment 12 that remains connected, and two lead wires 4 are provided at the disconnected conductive connection segment 12 , and the two lead wires 4 are respectively connected to one side of the disconnected conductive connection segment 12 .

[0099] When the number of leads 4 is three, the heating element 10 can adjust the heating power and / or heating area of ​​the heating element 10 through the three leads 4, or the heating element 10 can be grounded by using one of the leads 4. The structure thereof has been disclosed in the relevant technology and will not be repeated here.

[0100] The connection structure between the three leads 4 and the heating part 1 can be found in Figure 8 , where L1, L2 and L3 correspond to Figure 8 There are three different leads 4 in the circuit, wherein L1 and L2 are respectively connected to the two ends of the disconnected conductive connection segment 12, and L3 is connected to the undisconnected conductive connection segment 12.

[0101] When L1 and L2 are connected to the power supply to form a circuit loop, all the heating segments 11 on the heating part 1 are in a series state and can be connected to the circuit and generate heat under the control of the input voltage. L3 can be used to realize the grounding function; when L1 and L3 are connected to the power supply to form a circuit loop, the heating segment 11 located between L1 and L3 can generate heat under the control of the input voltage, and the heating segment 11 located between L2 and L3 is in an unpowered state and does not generate heat; when L2 and L3 are connected to the power supply to form a circuit loop, the heating segment 11 located between L2 and L3 can generate heat under the control of the input voltage, and the heating segment 11 located between L1 and L3 is in an unpowered state and does not generate heat.

[0102] In the embodiment of the present application, the heating power of the heating element 10 can be controlled by controlling the way the three leads 4 are connected to the circuit and the magnitude of the input voltage. In addition, it is also conceivable that the above method can also achieve independent heating of different heating segments 11. In this case, the arrangement of the heating segments 11 on the heating part 1 (for example, along the radial and / or circumferential arrangement of the heating part 1) can be used to give the heating part 1 a richer and more diverse zoned heating function, which helps to further increase the diversity and flexibility of the heating mode of the heating element 10, thereby helping to improve the user experience.

[0103] Of course, it should be noted that in the embodiment of the present application, the lead 4 can be first fixedly connected to one side of the heating part 1, and then the heating part 1 with the lead 4 can be processed to obtain the insulating part 2 integrally formed with the heating part 1. Figure 7 , in this case, the lead 4 is integrally formed with the insulating portion 2 and extends outward through the insulating portion 2. Alternatively, after the heating portion 1 and the insulating portion 2 are integrally formed, the corresponding positions of the insulating portion 2 are polished, drilled, or otherwise processed so that at least a portion of the surface of the conductive connection segment 12 in the heating portion 1 is exposed relative to the insulating portion 2, thereby facilitating electrical connection between the lead 4 and the heating portion 1. This embodiment does not limit the order in which the lead 4 is prepared.

[0104] In the preparation of Figure 7 After the heating element 10 is shown, in order to further protect the heating portion 1 to prevent the heating portion 1 from being damaged during use and to extend the service life of the heating portion 1, the preparation method further includes: Step S3: Repairing the damaged area of ​​the insulating portion 2 opposite to the disconnected conductive connecting section 12 to fill the damaged area.

[0105] When the conductive connecting segment 12 is disconnected, the adjacent insulating portion 2 may be damaged due to machining errors. This damage can cause surface damage to the insulating portion 2. This damage manifests as unbroken grooves or holes formed after cutting. The area where this damage occurs is referred to as the damaged area. The damaged area corresponds to the notch 121 of the conductive connecting segment 12.

[0106] In order to prevent the damaged area from affecting the overall strength and aesthetics of the heating element 10 , the area needs to be repaired to fill the damaged area.

[0107] Specifically, the repair process includes: spraying insulating material on the surface of the damaged area, and / or performing injection molding on the insulating part 2 using the insulating material.

[0108] Depending on the severity of the damage to the area being repaired, one or both of the above repair methods can be used. For minor damage (shallow grooves), spraying the damaged area with insulating material alone can be used. For more severe damage (deep grooves or through-holes), injection molding or a combination of injection molding and spraying can be used.

[0109] It should be noted that the insulating material used above can be the ceramic material mentioned above. In this case, it is necessary to perform a sintering process after spraying to ensure that the sprayed injection molding material can be firmly bonded to the insulator to cover the end of the notch 121 where the conductive connection portion is exposed relative to the insulating portion 2. Of course, the insulating material used above can also be other insulating materials, such as polyimide.

[0110] In some embodiments, in order to further protect the heating portion 1, the preparation method further includes: Step S4: applying an insulating protective coating 3 to the surface of the heating portion 1 exposed relative to the insulating tube.

[0111] The insulating protective coating 3 is used to provide certain protection to the surface of the heating part 1 through physical isolation or chemical protection, so as to help extend the durability and service life of the heating part 1.

[0112] See also Figure 9 and Figure 10 ,by Figure 9 and Figure 10 Taking the tubular heating element 10 shown in the figure as an example, the insulating protective coating 3 is used not only to cover the inner wall of the heating part 1 (i.e., the surface on the side facing away from the insulating part 2), but also to make the inner wall surface of the heating element 10 smooth so as to better accommodate the aerosol generating matrix 20.

[0113] Specifically, the insulating protective coating 3 includes glass glaze.

[0114] Taking the insulating protective coating 3 applied to the inner wall of the heating element 10 as an example, the glass glaze coating can be wrapped and arranged on the inner wall of the heating element 10 by spraying, rolling or dipping, so as to achieve full circumferential insulation coverage of the inner wall and form a continuous insulating protective coating 3. Subsequently, the continuous insulating protective coating 3 can be cured and sintered to obtain a Figure 9 The heating element 10 is shown.

[0115] Glass glaze mainly includes silicon dioxide ( ), Borax ( )、alumina( ) and other glass formers, as well as metal oxides (such as copper oxide, iron oxide, and cobalt oxide, used to adjust color or properties) and flux (to reduce sintering temperature). After sintering, the glass glaze forms a glass glaze, which has good light transmittance and is resistant to high temperatures and corrosion. The insulating protective coating 3 made from the glass glaze has good corrosion resistance and can effectively block gas and liquid penetration.

[0116] Specifically, the glass glaze can be attached to the heating element 10 by a glass glaze coating technique, and after solidification (drying) and sintering, the glass glaze is formed. The glass glaze can be firmly bonded to the heating element 10 after melting.

[0117] Of course, in other similar embodiments, the insulating protective coating 3 may also include any one or more materials such as epoxy resin, polyurethane, and parylene.

[0118] It can be understood that the preparation method of the heating element 10 provided in the embodiment of the present application can be used to prepare a heating element 10 with higher strength and zoned heating function through an improved preparation method, wherein the preparation method can effectively reduce the possibility of deformation of the heating part 1 during the processing by first preparing a heating substrate with higher strength and then cutting the heating substrate, thereby effectively improving the processing accuracy and reliability of the heating element 10 with zoned heating function, and reducing its preparation difficulty.

[0119] Based on the same inventive concept, an embodiment of the present application further provides a heating element 10, which is prepared by any one of the above-mentioned preparation methods.

[0120] The heating element 10 includes a heating portion 1 and an insulating portion 2 arranged in a stacked manner, wherein the insulating portion 2 is fixedly arranged on at least one side of the heating portion 1, and the heating portion 1 is used to generate heat when powered. The heating portion 1 includes at least two heating segments 11 and a conductive connecting segment 12 connecting two adjacent heating segments 11, wherein at least one conductive connecting segment 12 has a notch 121.

[0121] In the heating element 10 provided in the embodiment of the present application, the heating segment 11 in the heating part 1 is used to generate heat when power is supplied, and the insulating part 2 is used to be connected to the heating part 1 and support the heating part 1 to improve the overall strength of the heating part 1, so that the different heating segments 11 fixed on the insulating part 2 can realize the zoned heating function.

[0122] Specifically, the heating element 10 can be a tubular structure or a sheet structure, wherein the structures of the heating section 11 and the conductive connecting section 12 constituting the heating element 10 can be referred to above and will not be described in detail here. For example, the heating section 11 can be a mesh structure.

[0123] Taking the heating element 10 as a tubular structure as an example, the insulating part 2 covers at least one side surface of the heating element 1 in the radial direction; wherein, at least part of the heating segments 11 are arranged at intervals along the circumference of the heating element 10, or, at least part of the heating segments 11 are arranged at intervals along the axial direction of the heating element 10.

[0124] Specifically, the thickness of the insulating portion 2 in the radial direction is greater than or equal to 0.2 mm.

[0125] See also Figure 7 At this time, the insulating part 2 at least covers the radial outer surface of the heating part 1, and the conductive connecting section 12 with a notch 121 in the heating part 1 is provided with two leads 4 arranged at intervals and separated by the notch 121, and the complete conductive connecting section 12 is provided with one lead 4.

[0126] The connection structure between the three leads 4 and the heating part 1 can be found in Figure 8, where L1, L2 and L3 correspond to Figure 8 There are three different leads 4 in the embodiment, wherein L1 and L2 are respectively located on both sides of the notch 121 of the conductive connecting segment 12 , and L3 is connected to the conductive connecting segment 12 that is not disconnected.

[0127] When L1 and L2 are connected to the power supply to form a circuit loop, all the heating segments 11 on the heating part 1 are in a series state and can be connected to the circuit and generate heat under the control of the input voltage. L3 can be used to realize the grounding function; when L1 and L3 are connected to the power supply to form a circuit loop, the heating segment 11 located between L1 and L3 can generate heat under the control of the input voltage, and the heating segment 11 located between L2 and L3 is in an unpowered state and does not generate heat; when L2 and L3 are connected to the power supply to form a circuit loop, the heating segment 11 located between L2 and L3 can generate heat under the control of the input voltage, and the heating segment 11 located between L1 and L3 is in an unpowered state and does not generate heat.

[0128] See also Figure 9 and Figure 10 The heating element 10 also includes an insulating protective coating 3 located at least on the side of the heating part 1 facing away from the insulating part 2. The insulating protective coating 3 is used to cover at least a portion of the surface of the heating part 1 exposed relative to the insulating part 2 to better protect the heating part 1.

[0129] It can be understood that the heating element 10 provided in the embodiment of the present application can realize the zoned heating function, and has the advantages of simple structure, high reliability and low processing difficulty.

[0130] The above description of the various embodiments tends to emphasize the differences between the various embodiments. The same or similar aspects can be referenced with each other and will not be repeated herein for the sake of brevity.

[0131] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the present application. Any modifications, equivalent replacements and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present application should be included in the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for preparing a heating element, characterized in that: include: Obtain a heating substrate, the heating substrate comprising a stacked heating portion and an insulating portion, the heating portion being annular and comprising at least two spaced heating segments and a conductive connecting segment connecting adjacent heating segments, the number of the conductive connecting segments being no less than two, the insulating portion covering at least one side surface of the heating portion to support the heating portion; The heating base is cut to disconnect one of the conductive connection segments, thereby obtaining the heating element.

2. The method for preparing a heating element according to claim 1, wherein: The step of obtaining a heat-generating substrate, wherein the heat-generating substrate includes a heat-generating portion and an insulating portion stacked in layers, comprises: Obtaining a heating portion, wherein the heating portion is annular and includes the heating segments and the conductive connecting segments, wherein the heating segments and the conductive connecting segments are alternately arranged in sequence; The insulating material is overmolded on the outside of the heat generating portion to obtain the insulating portion connected to the heat generating portion.

3. The method for preparing a heating element according to claim 2, wherein: The overmolding includes an injection molding process.

4. The method for preparing a heating element according to claim 1, wherein: The heating section of the heating portion is made of a material having a resistance temperature coefficient greater than or equal to a preset resistance temperature coefficient.

5. The method for preparing a heating element according to claim 4, wherein: The material of the heating portion includes at least one of a nickel-based alloy and titanium metal, and the nickel content in the nickel-based alloy is greater than 50%.

6. The method for preparing a heating element according to claim 1, wherein: The cutting process includes at least one of a physical cutting process and a laser ablation process.

7. The method for preparing a heating element according to claim 1, wherein: The insulating portion is made of an insulating material, and the insulating material includes a ceramic material.

8. The method for preparing a heating element according to claim 7, wherein: The preparation method further comprises: A repair process is performed on a damaged area of ​​the insulating portion opposite to the disconnected conductive connection section to fill the damaged area.

9. The method for preparing a heating element according to claim 8, wherein: The repair process includes: spraying the insulating material on the surface of the damaged area, and / or applying the insulating material to perform injection molding on the insulating part.

10. The method for preparing a heating element according to claim 1, wherein: The preparation method further includes applying an insulating protective coating to the surface of the heating portion exposed relative to the insulating tube.

11. The method for preparing a heating element according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that: The heating part and the insulating part are both tubular structures, and the insulating part at least wraps around one side of the heating part in the radial direction to be formed integrally with the heating part; or, the heating part and the insulating part are both sheet structures, and the insulating part at least wraps around one side of the heating part in the thickness direction to be formed integrally with the heating part.

12. A heating element prepared by the method for preparing a heating element according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that: The heat generating portion comprises a stacked heat generating portion and an insulating portion, wherein the insulating portion is fixedly provided on at least one side of the heat generating portion, and the heat generating portion is used to generate heat when powered; Wherein, the heating portion includes at least two heating segments and a conductive connecting segment connecting two adjacent heating segments, and at least one of the conductive connecting segments is provided with a notch.

13. The heating element according to claim 12, characterized in that The heating element is a tubular structure, and the insulating portion covers at least one side surface of the heating element in the radial direction; Wherein, at least part of the heating segments are arranged at intervals along the circumference of the heating body, or at least part of the heating segments are arranged at intervals along the axial direction of the heating body.

14. The heating element according to claim 12, characterized in that The thickness of the insulating portion in the radial direction is greater than or equal to 0.2 mm.

15. The heating element according to claim 12, characterized in that The heating element further includes an insulating protective coating, which is disposed on at least a portion of the surface of the heating portion exposed relative to the insulating portion, so as to protect the heating portion.

16. The heating element according to any one of claims 12 to 15, characterized in that: The heating section includes a mesh structure.

17. An aerosol generating device, characterized in that: The invention comprises a heating element prepared by the heating element preparation method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, or a heating element according to any one of claims 12 to 16.

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