Cigarette heating appliance for detecting moisture of tobacco shreds through microwaves and control method

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of cigarette appliances, and provides a cigarette heating appliance for microwave detection of tobacco shred moisture and a control method.The cigarette heating appliance comprises a shell, a switch device arranged on the shell, a heating body arranged in the shell and allowing a cigarette to be inserted therein, a PCB control circuit board arranged in the shell and a probe support arranged in the shell; a system controller, a microwave oscillator and a microwave receiver are arranged on the PCB control circuit board, a microwave emitter and a microwave receiving probe are arranged on the probe support and symmetrically arranged on the two sides of the heating body, the microwave oscillator is connected with the microwave emitter through a microwave conduction wire, and the microwave receiver is connected with the microwave emitter through a microwave conduction wire. And the microwave receiver is connected with the microwave receiving probe through a microwave conducting wire. The moisture content of the tobacco shreds is detected in a non-contact mode through microwaves, the power of the heating body is controlled according to the moisture content of the tobacco shreds, and the fragrance of smoke is better; meanwhile, when the change of the moisture content of the cigarette is large and the cigarette is not suitable for smoking, the smoking set cannot be heated and prompts the user, and the influence on the customer experience is avoided.

Description

A microwave heating device and control method for detecting moisture content in tobacco leaves Technical Field

[0001] This application belongs to the field of cigarette appliance technology, and more specifically, it relates to a heated cigarette appliance and control method for detecting the moisture content of tobacco using microwave. Background Technology

[0002] To increase the amount of smoke produced during the heating process of heated cigarettes, a certain proportion of glycerin is added to the tobacco during production. Glycerin has excellent water absorption properties; it can absorb moisture from the air and retain it within its molecules. Pure glycerin can absorb up to 40% of the water. Water has a high specific heat capacity, significantly affecting temperature changes. Heated cigarette devices typically operate at temperatures above 200°C. Water absorbs heat and evaporates at 100°C. Therefore, heated cigarettes need to evaporate the water first to raise the temperature above 100°C. However, water at 1 atmosphere (0.1 MPa) has a latent heat of vaporization of 2257.2 kJ / kg at 100°C. Therefore, heated cigarettes, after absorbing moisture from the air, usually cannot be heated to the preset temperature, resulting in low smoke volume and poor aroma.

[0003] To prevent the smoke from heated cigarettes from being affected by the moisture content of the tobacco, a simple and feasible method is to appropriately increase the heating temperature of the heating device. However, the relative moisture content of the air varies in different regions and seasons, and the sealing of cigarette boxes differs, causing the moisture absorbed by the cigarettes to change differently over time, making it difficult to determine the appropriate heating temperature. But if the moisture content of the cigarette to be heated can be measured, and the heating temperature can be precisely set based on the moisture content, the desired aroma and flavor of the smoke can be achieved. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this application is to provide a heated cigarette device for detecting the moisture content of tobacco using microwaves, which solves the problem of how to quickly detect the moisture content of heated cigarettes before smoking, and then accurately control the heating temperature of the device according to the moisture content of the cigarettes, thereby improving the consistency of smoking performance of cigarettes with different moisture contents.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution adopted in this application is as follows: A heated cigarette device for detecting the moisture content of tobacco using microwaves is provided, comprising: a housing, a switching device on the housing, a heating element for inserting a cigarette stick inside the housing, a PCB control circuit board and a probe bracket inside the housing, a system controller, a microwave oscillator and a microwave receiver on the PCB control circuit board, a microwave transmitter and a microwave receiving probe on the probe bracket, the microwave transmitter and the microwave receiving probe being symmetrically arranged on both sides of the heating element, the microwave oscillator being connected to the microwave transmitter via a microwave transmission line, and the microwave receiver being connected to the microwave receiving probe via a microwave transmission line.

[0006] In one embodiment, a battery is also provided inside the housing.

[0007] In one embodiment, the PCB control circuit board is also electrically connected to an indicator light.

[0008] In one embodiment, the heating element is a ceramic heating element.

[0009] In one embodiment, the housing is a plastic housing.

[0010] In one embodiment, the probe holder is made of PEEK material.

[0011] Another objective of this application is to provide a control method for a heated cigarette appliance that uses microwaves to detect the moisture content of tobacco, comprising the following steps:

[0012] S10: Obtain power-on command and start control program;

[0013] S20: Generate microwave transmission command, microwave oscillator transmits microwave signal, and microwave receiver receives microwave signal at the same time;

[0014] S30. Set the heating temperature of the heating element according to the received microwave signal;

[0015] S40: Controls the heating element to start heating at the set temperature;

[0016] S50: When the heating cycle ends, control the heating element to stop working;

[0017] S60: Terminate control program and disconnect power.

[0018] In one implementation, step 30 includes the following steps:

[0019] S31. Based on the received microwave signal and the preset formula, first calculate the moisture content W of the cigarette.

[0020] S32. Set the heating temperature of the heating element according to the moisture content W of the cigarette and the preset program.

[0021] In one implementation, in step S31, step 311 is executed first: it is determined whether the moisture content W of the cigarette satisfies W1≤W≤W2. If it satisfies, step S32 is executed; if it does not satisfy, step S312 is executed: the indicator light displays the setting signal to remind the user to pay attention; then step S60 is executed.

[0022] Among them, the value of W1 ranges from 0.05 to 0.15, and the value of W2 ranges from 0.2 to 0.45.

[0023] In one implementation, W1 is 0.1 and W2 is 0.3.

[0024] The beneficial effects of the microwave heating cigarette appliance and control method for detecting moisture in tobacco provided in this application are as follows:

[0025] This heated cigarette device uses microwave non-contact detection of tobacco moisture content and controls the power of the heating element based on the moisture content of the tobacco to improve the aroma of the smoke. At the same time, when the moisture content of the cigarette changes significantly and is not suitable for smoking, the device will not heat the cigarette and will notify the user to avoid affecting the customer experience. Attached Figure Description

[0026] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0027] Figure 1 is a simplified cross-sectional view of the heating cigarette device for detecting the moisture content of tobacco provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0028] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship of the heating element, probe bracket, microwave transmitter and microwave receiving probe in the microwave-based cigarette heating device for detecting moisture in tobacco provided in the embodiment of this application.

[0029] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating the control method for a microwave-controlled tobacco moisture detection heating cigarette appliance provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0030] Figure 4 is a schematic flowchart of the control method for a microwave-controlled heating cigarette appliance for detecting moisture in tobacco provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0031] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the control system controller in the microwave-controlled tobacco moisture detection heating cigarette appliance provided in the embodiment of this application.

[0032] The following are the labeling elements in the figure:

[0033] 1. Cigarette stick; 101. Filter tip; 102. Tobacco; 2. Heating element; 3. Microwave transmitter; 4. Microwave receiver probe; 5. Probe bracket; 6. Microwave signal; 7. Housing; 8. PCB control circuit board; 9. Microwave oscillator; 10. System controller; 11. Microwave receiver; 12. Microwave conduction line; 13. Battery. Detailed Implementation

[0034] To make the technical problems, technical solutions, and beneficial effects to be solved by this application clearer, the following detailed description is provided in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of this application.

[0035] It should be noted that when a component is referred to as being "fixed to" or "set on" another component, it can be directly on or indirectly on that other component. When a component is referred to as being "connected to" another component, it can be directly connected to or indirectly connected to that other component.

[0036] It should be understood that the terms "length", "width", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this application.

[0037] 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 technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this application, "multiple" means two or more, unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0038] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, a microwave-controlled tobacco moisture detector for heating cigarettes according to an embodiment of this application will now be described. This microwave-controlled tobacco moisture detector for heating cigarettes includes: a housing 7, on which a switch is provided for controlling the opening and closing of the heated cigarette device; a heating element 2 for inserting a cigarette 1 is provided inside the housing 7; the heating element 2 is a tubular heating element; the cigarette 1 includes a filter 101 and tobacco 102; the tobacco 102 is inserted into the heating element 2; and the heating element 2 is used to heat the tobacco 102. The housing 7 contains a PCB control circuit board 8 and a probe bracket 5. The PCB control circuit board 8 houses a system controller 10, a microwave oscillator 9, and a microwave receiver 11. The probe bracket 5 houses a microwave transmitter 3 and a microwave receiving probe 4, symmetrically positioned on either side of the heating element 2. The microwaves emitted by the microwave transmitter 3 pass through the heating element 2, the tobacco shreds 102, and are then received by the microwave receiving probe 4. The microwave oscillator 9 is connected to the microwave transmitter 3 via a microwave transmission line 12, and the microwave receiver 11 is connected to the microwave receiving probe 4 via the same line. The housing 7 also contains a battery 13, which is connected to the PCB control circuit board 8 to provide power. The PCB control circuit board 8 is also electrically connected to an indicator light, and the housing 7 has holes for the indicator light to pass through.

[0039] During operation, the user inserts the tobacco shreds 102 of cigarette stick 1 into the heating element 2 and activates the heated cigarette device via a switching device. The microwave oscillator 9 on the PCB control circuit board 8 generates microwaves, which are transmitted to the microwave transmitter 3 via the microwave conduction line 12, emitting a microwave signal 6. The microwave signal 6 penetrates the heating element 2 and the tobacco shreds 102. When the microwave signal 6 passes through the tobacco shreds 102, because the tobacco shreds 102 contain glycerol, which has good water absorption properties, it can absorb moisture from the air and retain it in its own molecules. Therefore, the electromagnetic field will resonate. During this process, the microwave signal 6 will lose some energy. The energy loss increases with the increase of the moisture content of the tobacco shreds 102. The lost energy reaches the other side of the tobacco shreds 102 and is received by the microwave receiving probe 4. The lost microwave signal 6 is transmitted to the microwave receiver 11 via the microwave conduction line 12 and fed back to the system controller 10. The system controller 10 calculates the moisture content of the tobacco shreds 102 by calculating the amount of dry matter absorbed and some geometric parameters. The system controller 10 controls the heating element 2 to generate corresponding power to heat the tobacco 102 based on the current moisture content of the measured tobacco 102, thereby improving the heating effect of the tobacco 102.

[0040] In this embodiment, the heating element 2 is a ceramic heating element, so that the microwave signal 6 is almost unaffected when it penetrates the heating element 2, ensuring the accuracy of the moisture content measurement of the tobacco shreds 102.

[0041] In this embodiment, the housing 7 is a plastic housing used to protect the internal components. The probe bracket is made of PEEK material, which has the advantages of high temperature resistance, corrosion resistance, and high mechanical strength. The important function of the microwave transmission line 12 is its low loss and high Q value. These characteristics enable the microwave transmission line 12 to maintain signal quality and stability and reduce signal loss when transmitting microwave signal 6.

[0042] As shown in Figures 1-5, in this embodiment, the switching device is used to send a power-on command or a power-off command to the system controller 10 to control the power-on and power-off of the heated cigarette device. The system controller 10 has the following functions: receiving the power-on command or power-off command from the switching device and executing the corresponding power-on and power-off procedures; generating and sending a heating command to the heating element 2 to control the operation of the heating element 2; generating and sending a microwave transmission command to the microwave vibrator to generate a microwave signal 6; receiving the microwave intensity signal sent by the microwave receiver 11 and calculating the moisture content W of the cigarette 1 based on the microwave intensity signal; matching the heating temperature of the heating element 2 according to the moisture content of the cigarette 1; determining whether the moisture content W of the cigarette 1 satisfies W1≤W≤W2 and executing different commands according to the determination result; and generating and sending a display command to the indicator light to control the indicator light to operate. The microwave oscillator 9 is used to receive microwave transmission commands and generate microwave signals 6 according to the commands; the microwave receiver 11 is used to receive microwave reception commands, receive microwave signals 6 according to the commands, and feed back the intensity of microwave signals 6 to the system controller 10; the heating element 2 is used to receive heating commands and heat up and keep warm according to the heating commands to heat the cigarette stick 1; the indicator light is used to receive display commands and light up according to the display commands.

[0043] As shown in Figures 3-5, this embodiment also provides a control method for a microwave-controlled tobacco heating device for detecting the moisture content of tobacco, comprising the following steps:

[0044] S10: Obtain power-on command and start control program;

[0045] S20: Generate microwave transmission command, microwave oscillator 9 transmits microwave signal 6, and microwave receiver 11 receives microwave signal 6 at the same time;

[0046] S30. Set the heating temperature corresponding to the heating element 2 according to the received microwave signal;

[0047] S40: Control the heating element 2 to start heating at the set temperature;

[0048] S50: When the heating cycle ends, control the heating element 2 to stop working;

[0049] S60: Terminate control program and disconnect power.

[0050] Specifically, step 30 includes the following steps:

[0051] S31: Calculate the moisture content W of cigarette 1 based on the received microwave signal 6 and the preset formula;

[0052] S32: Set the heating temperature of the heating element 2 according to the moisture content W of the cigarette and the preset program.

[0053] The above control method can solve the problem of poor smoke performance caused by different moisture content of cigarettes under normal circumstances. However, under some extreme conditions, the moisture content of the cigarette may be too high (such as cigarette 1 being exposed to a humid environment for too long or being soaked in water), which may exceed the range that the heated smoking device can control. To ensure a consistent user experience, the following steps are added to the control method: In step S31, first execute step 311: determine whether the moisture content W of the cigarette satisfies W1≤W≤W2. If it does, execute step S32; if it does not, execute step S312: the indicator light displays the setting signal to remind the user that cigarette 1 cannot be smoked normally; then execute step S60, and the user replaces the cigarette 1 with a new one; wherein, the value range of W1 is 0.05-0.15, and the value range of W2 is 0.2-0.45. Preferably, W1 is 0.1 and W2 is 0.3.

[0054] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of this application and is not intended to limit this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, and improvements made within the spirit and principles of this application should be included within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A microwave-controlled device for detecting the moisture content of tobacco shreds in heated cigarettes, characterized in that, include: The housing (7) is equipped with a switching device. The housing (7) contains a heating element (2) for inserting a cigarette holder (1). The housing (7) contains a PCB control circuit board (8) and a probe bracket (5). The PCB control circuit board (8) contains a system controller (10), a microwave oscillator (9), and a microwave receiver (11). The probe bracket (5) contains a microwave transmitter (3) and a microwave receiving probe (4). The microwave transmitter (3) and the microwave receiving probe (4) are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the heating element (2). The microwave oscillator (9) is connected to the microwave transmitter (3) through a microwave transmission line (12). The microwave receiver (11) is connected to the microwave receiving probe (4) through a microwave transmission line (12).

2. The microwave-assisted cigarette heating device for detecting the moisture content of tobacco as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The housing (7) also contains a battery (13).

3. The microwave-assisted cigarette heating device for detecting the moisture content of tobacco as described in claim 2, characterized in that: The PCB control circuit board (8) is also electrically connected to an indicator light.

4. The microwave-assisted cigarette heating device for detecting the moisture content of tobacco as described in claim 3, characterized in that: The heating element (2) is a ceramic heating element.

5. The microwave-assisted cigarette heating device for detecting the moisture content of tobacco as described in claim 4, characterized in that: The housing (7) is a plastic housing.

6. The microwave-assisted cigarette heating device for detecting the moisture content of tobacco as described in claim 5, characterized in that: The probe bracket (5) is made of PEEK material.

7. A control method for a microwave-controlled heating cigarette appliance for detecting the moisture content of tobacco, characterized in that, The process includes the following steps: S10: Obtain the power-on command and start the control program; S20: Generate a microwave transmission command, the microwave oscillator (9) transmits a microwave signal (6), and the microwave receiver (11) receives the microwave signal (6); S30: Set the heating temperature of the heating element (2) according to the received microwave signal (6); S40: Control the heating element (2) to start heating at the set temperature; S50: When the heating cycle ends, control the heating element (2) to stop working; S60: Terminate the control program and cut off the power.

8. The control method as described in claim 7, characterized in that: In step 30 The process includes the following steps: S31, calculate the moisture content W of the cigarette according to the received microwave signal and the preset formula; S32, set the heating temperature of the heating element (2) according to the moisture content W of the cigarette and the preset program.

9. The control method as described in claim 8, characterized in that: In step S31, first execute step 311: determine whether the moisture content W of the cigarette satisfies W1≤W≤W2. If it satisfies, execute step S32; if it does not satisfy, execute step S312: the indicator light displays the setting signal to remind the user. Then execute step S60. Wherein, the value range of W1 is 0.05-0.15, and the value range of W2 is 0.2-0.

45.

10. The control method as described in claim 9, characterized in that: W1 is 0.1, and W2 is 0.3.

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