Aerosol-generating device

Abstract

The utility model discloses an aerosol generating device which comprises a cavity used for containing an aerosol generating product, the cavity is provided with a first end and a second end which are oppositely arranged, and the first end is provided with an opening so as to provide an inlet for the aerosol generating product to enter the cavity; the laser heating assembly comprises a laser emitter, and the laser emitter is used for emitting laser to the cavity so as to radiate energy to the aerosol generating product, so that the aerosol generating product is heated to generate aerosol; and the laser heating assembly is arranged opposite to the second end of the cavity, so that the laser emitted by the laser emitter is emitted into the cavity from the second end. In this way, the structural space occupied by the laser heating assembly can be effectively reduced when the aerosol generating device is heated through laser.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of aerosol generating technology, and in particular to an aerosol generating device. BACKGROUND

[0002] Traditional tobacco products (e.g., cigarettes, cigars, etc.) burn tobacco during use to produce tobacco smoke. The prior art has developed products that release compounds by heating, but not burning, to replace these traditional tobacco products. An example of such products is an aerosol generating device, which generally comprises a heating element and a receiving chamber for receiving an aerosol generating article used in conjunction with the aerosol generating device, and the heating element is used to heat the aerosol generating article in the receiving chamber, and at least part of the active substances of the aerosol generating article are evaporated or volatilized to produce an aerosol for smoking.

[0003] The existing heating element includes a laser heating module, which in turn heats the aerosol generating article by laser heating. Since the laser has high brightness, high energy density per unit area, and fast heating rate for the medium, it can quickly heat the aerosol generating article to the target temperature in a very short time, thereby improving the heating efficiency of the aerosol generating device.

[0004] When the prior art uses laser heating, it is common to use multiple laser heating modules to irradiate different parts of the side of the aerosol generating article, and then heat from the side of the aerosol generating device. This method can result in the laser heating module occupying a large amount of structural space, thereby resulting in a large product volume of the aerosol generating device. SUMMARY

[0005] The present application provides an aerosol generating device to solve the technical problem that the laser heating module occupies a large amount of space when heating the aerosol generating article using the laser heating module, resulting in a large volume of the aerosol generating device.

[0006] At least one embodiment of the present application provides an aerosol generating device, comprising: a chamber for receiving an aerosol generating article, the chamber having a first end and a second end arranged opposite to each other, the first end being open to provide an entrance for the aerosol generating article to enter the chamber;

[0007] a laser heating assembly comprising a laser emitter, the laser emitter being configured to emit laser light to the chamber to radiate energy to the aerosol generating article, thereby causing the aerosol generating article to generate aerosol by heating;

[0008] The laser heating assembly is arranged opposite to the second end of the chamber, so that the laser light emitted by the laser emitter is emitted into the chamber from the second end.

[0009] In one of the embodiments, a gap is maintained between the chamber and the laser heating assembly, and a temperature sensing element is arranged in the gap.

[0010] In one of the embodiments, the aerosol generating device further comprises a support member for providing support to the aerosol generating article, thereby maintaining the gap between the aerosol generating article and the laser heating assembly.

[0011] In one of the embodiments, the gap has an extension length of 8mm to 12mm along the extension direction of the chamber.

[0012] In one of the embodiments, the heating assembly further comprises a cover for covering the laser emitter.

[0013] In one of the embodiments, the laser heating assembly comprises an optical path shaping mechanism for adjusting the spot shape of the laser output to the aerosol generating article.

[0014] In one of the embodiments, the aerosol generating device further comprises a heat dissipation module for dissipating heat from the laser emitter, and the heat dissipation module comprises a first heat dissipation member electrically connected to the laser emitter.

[0015] In one of the embodiments, when the aerosol generating article is accommodated in the chamber, an airflow passage for external air to flow through is defined between the inner wall of the chamber and the outer surface of the aerosol generating article.

[0016] In one of the embodiments, the inner wall of the chamber is formed with a plurality of longitudinal and circumferentially arranged protrusions for clamping the aerosol generating article.

[0017] In one of the embodiments, the laser emitter comprises a pulsed laser having a frequency of 5Hz to 100Hz and a duty cycle of 3% to 80%; or,

[0018] the pulsed laser has a frequency greater than 10kHz and a duty cycle less than 1%.

[0019] In one of the embodiments, the number of the laser heating modules is one and only one.

[0020] The aerosol generating device provided by the above embodiments can improve the heating efficiency by arranging the laser heating assembly opposite the second end of the chamber, so that the laser heating assembly is located below the chamber. The laser heating assembly can heat from the bottom of the aerosol generating article, thereby improving the heating efficiency. This way can make the structure more compact, and can reduce the number of laser heating assemblies used, thereby reducing the structure space occupied by the laser heating assembly, and effectively avoiding the aerosol generating device from being too large due to the use of the laser heating method. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0021] One or more embodiments are illustrated by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are schematic and not intended to be limiting of the embodiments, and in which like reference numerals designate similar items in the figures. The drawings are not to scale. The figures in the drawings are not necessarily to scale.

[0022] Figure 1 A structure schematic diagram of the aerosol generating device provided by an embodiment of the present application when separated from the aerosol generating article;

[0023] Figure 2 A structure schematic diagram of the aerosol generating device provided by an embodiment of the present application when separated from the aerosol generating article; Figure 1 A structure schematic diagram of the aerosol generating device provided by an embodiment of the present application when separated from the aerosol generating article;

[0024] Figure 3 A structure schematic diagram of the aerosol generating device provided by an embodiment of the present application when separated from the aerosol generating article; Figure 1 A transverse cross-sectional schematic diagram of the aerosol generating device provided by an embodiment of the present application when the aerosol generating article is accommodated in the chamber of the aerosol generating device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] In order to facilitate the understanding of the present application, the present application will be described in more detail below in conjunction with the drawings and specific embodiments. It should be noted that when an element is described as being "fixed to" / "connected to" another element, it can be directly on the other element or one or more intervening elements can be present therebetween. When an element is described as being "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or one or more intervening elements can be present therebetween. The terms "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "inner", "outer" and similar expressions used in the specification are for illustrative purposes only.

[0026] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used in the present specification are the same as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present application belongs. The terms used in the specification of the present application are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present application. The term "and / or" used in the present specification includes any and all combinations of one or more of the related listed items.

[0027] In addition, the technical features involved in the different embodiments of the present application described below can be combined with each other as long as there is no conflict.

[0028] In the embodiments of the present application, the "installation" includes welding, screwing, clamping, bonding and the like to fix or limit a certain element or device to a specific position or place, and the element or device can be stationary or movable within a limited range at the specific position or place. The element or device can be disassembled or cannot be disassembled after being fixed or limited to the specific position or place, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0029] In addition, the terms "first", "second" are only for descriptive purposes, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined as "first", "second" can explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present application, the meaning of "a plurality of" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise explicitly and specifically limited.

[0030] An embodiment of the present application provides an aerosol generating device 100, as shown in the drawings, which comprises an electric core 10, a main board 20 and a laser heating assembly 30. The main board 20 is provided with a controller of the aerosol generating device 100, and the electric core 10 and the laser heating assembly 30 are electrically connected to the controller, so that the controller can control the electric core 10 to provide electric energy to the laser heating assembly 30. The aerosol generating device 100 is also provided with a longitudinally extending chamber 40, which is used to accommodate an aerosol generating article 200. When the aerosol generating article 200 is accommodated in the chamber 40, the laser heating assembly 30 heats the aerosol generating article 200 in the chamber 40, and at least part of the aerosol generating substrate filled in the aerosol generating article 200 is volatilized to generate aerosol. Figure 1

[0031] The aerosol generating substrate preferably uses a tobacco-containing material that releases volatile compounds from the article when heated; or can also be a non-tobacco material suitable for electrically heated smoking after heating. The aerosol generating article substrate preferably uses a solid substrate, which can include one or more of powders, granules, fragments, fine strips, strips or sheets of one or more of the following: vanilla leaves, tobacco leaves, homogenized tobacco; or the solid substrate can contain additional volatile flavor compounds of tobacco or non-tobacco to be released when the substrate is heated.

[0032] ​The laser heating assembly 30 is used to emit laser into the chamber 40, and then radiate energy to the aerosol generating article 200 under the action of the laser to heat the aerosol generating article 200 to generate aerosol. Since the laser has high brightness, high energy density per unit area, and fast medium heating rate, the aerosol generating article 200 can be heated to the target temperature in a very short time, and a large amount of aerosol can be generated quickly. Therefore, the heating efficiency is high, the taste consistency is good, the product utilization rate is high, the smoking taste is good, and the smoking experience of stopping and starting immediately can be realized.

[0033] As shown in Figure 1 , the aerosol generating article 200 is generally in a long strip shape, and includes a tobacco section 211, a cooling section 212 and a filter section 213 in the longitudinal length direction. The aerosol generating substrate 300 is filled in the tobacco section 211, the cooling section 212 is hollow, and the outer surface of the cooling section 212 is provided with a plurality of air holes (not shown) for external air to enter. The filter section 213 is filled with filter material and is used for user to smoke. When the user smokes in the filter section 213, the aerosol generated in the tobacco section 211 flows into the cooling section 212, at which time the high-temperature aerosol and the external cold air are mixed in the cooling section 212 to reduce the temperature of the aerosol. The cooled aerosol further flows into the filter section 213, and the filter material filled in the filter section 213 filters the aerosol to remove some unnecessary particulate matter in the aerosol. Finally, the filtered aerosol escapes from the filter section 213 for the user to smoke.

[0034] Please continue to refer to Figure 1 , the laser heating assembly 30 includes a laser emitter 31 for emitting laser towards the aerosol generating article 200. The laser emitter 31 preferably adopts a semiconductor laser chip. In some embodiments, the semiconductor laser chip can adopt an edge emitting chip (EEL) or a surface emitting chip (VCSEL), preferably a surface emitting chip (VCSEL). The semiconductor laser chip includes, but is not limited to, gallium arsenide (GaAs), cadmium sulfide (CdS), indium phosphide (InP), zinc sulfide (ZnS), gallium nitride (GaN), etc.

[0035] The laser emitter 31 can include one or more semiconductor laser chips. When multiple semiconductor laser chips are included, the multiple semiconductor laser chips can be arranged in a 2x2, 2x3, 2x4 or 3x3 manner. The multiple semiconductor laser chips can be arranged in a series, parallel or series-parallel combination manner.

[0036] In some embodiments, the laser emitter 31 emits infrared light, and to improve the absorption efficiency of the aerosol generating substrate and thus improve the heating efficiency, the wavelength of the infrared light is 800nm-1000nm, and more preferably 808nm-980nm.

[0037] Please continue to refer to Figure 1 , and refer to Figure 2 , the chamber 40 has a first end 41 and a second end 42 arranged opposite to each other, the first end 41 is open to provide an entrance for the aerosol generating article 200 to enter the chamber 40, and the second end 42 of the chamber 40 is arranged opposite to the laser heating assembly 30, so that the laser emitted by the laser heating assembly 30 can be emitted into the chamber 40 through the second end 42, and then when the aerosol generating article 200 is accommodated in the chamber 40, the laser emitted by the laser heating assembly 30 irradiates the bottom of the aerosol generating article 200, thereby heating the bottom of the aerosol generating article 200.

[0038] In this embodiment, the laser heating assembly 30 is arranged below the chamber 40 to heat the bottom of the aerosol generating article 200, which can make the structure more compact, and on the other hand, when heating the aerosol generating article 200 from the bottom, the heating efficiency is higher, and the number of laser heating assemblies 30 used can be reduced, thereby further reducing the structural space occupied by the laser heating assembly 30, and effectively maintaining the small size requirement of the aerosol generating device 100.

[0039] In some embodiments, the laser heating assembly 30 has only one laser heating assembly 30 to maximize the reduction of the structural space occupied by the laser heating assembly 30.

[0040] In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 2 , the laser heating assembly 30 further comprises a cover 32, and the cover 32 is used to cover the laser emitter 31, and the laser emitter 31 is arranged in the cover 32, so as to avoid that the condensed liquid formed by mixing the high-temperature aerosol generated by the aerosol generating article 200 and the external cold air during the heating process of the aerosol generating article 200 falls on the laser emitter 31, and to avoid that the dust in the air falls on the laser emitter 31 through the chamber 40 when the aerosol generating device 100 is in an idle state, that is, when the chamber 40 does not accommodate the aerosol generating article 200, thereby affecting the propagation efficiency of the laser and thus affecting the heating efficiency of the laser heating assembly 30. It is easy to understand that the cover 32 is made of a material that can transmit light, such as quartz glass.

[0041] In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 2As shown, the laser heating assembly 30 further comprises a light path shaping mechanism 33 located in the outgoing path of the laser for collimating and / or homogenizing the laser emitted by the laser emitter 31, so as to adjust the spot shape of the laser output to the aerosol generating article 200, and finally make the spot shape consistent with the cross-sectional shape of the aerosol generating article 200, so as to make the bottom of the aerosol generating article 200 sufficiently heated.

[0042] In one embodiment, the light path shaping mechanism 33 comprises at least one collimating member (not shown in the figure) and at least one homogenizing member (not shown in the figure). The collimating member is used for collimating the emitted laser. In some embodiments, the collimating member can be one or more spherical mirrors, aspherical mirrors or conical lenses; the aspherical mirror is preferred in the present embodiment. The homogenizing member is used for homogenizing the collimated laser. In some embodiments, the homogenizing member can be a diffractive optical lens or a refractive optical lens to homogenize the light beam by diffractive optics or refractive optics. The present embodiment preferably uses a diffractive optical lens.

[0043] The light path shaping mechanism 33 can also include spherical lens such as plano-convex lens, double convex lens, etc., or aspherical lens such as fold mirror, conical lens, etc. to change the shape, energy distribution and transmission direction of the light beam. The materials of the collimating member and the homogenizing member include but are not limited to optical lens materials such as PC lens, glass lens, resin lens, etc. In the present embodiment, the materials of the collimating member and the homogenizing member are preferably PC plastic and resin plastic.

[0044] In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 2 As shown, a gap 43 is maintained between the chamber 40 and the laser heating assembly 30, and the laser emitted by the laser emitter 31 passes through the gap 43 into the chamber 40. A temperature sensing element (not shown in the figure) is arranged in the gap 43, which can be any one of thermocouple, thermistor or semiconductor-based temperature sensor, etc. The temperature sensing element 431 is electrically connected to the controller of the aerosol generating device 100. When the aerosol generating article 200 is received in the chamber 40, the temperature sensing element is in contact with the bottom of the aerosol generating article 200, so that the temperature sensing element can obtain the temperature of the bottom of the aerosol generating article 200 in real time and feed back to the controller. The controller can then adjust the output power of the laser emitter 31 in real time according to the temperature fed back by the temperature sensing element, so as to realize temperature control during heating of the aerosol generating article 200 and avoid excessive heating of the aerosol generating article 200 due to excessively high heating temperature, which may result in burnt taste.

[0045] Further in some embodiments, as shown in Figure 2As shown, the aerosol generating device 100 is further provided with a support 50 for providing support to the aerosol generating article 200 when the aerosol generating article 200 is received in the chamber 40, thereby defining the insertion depth of the aerosol generating article 200 on one hand, and keeping the gap 43 between the aerosol generating article 200 and the laser heating module 30 on the other hand.

[0046] In some embodiments, the gap 43 has an extension length of 8-12 mm along the extension direction of the chamber 40. If the length of the gap 43 is too long, the propagation efficiency of the laser emitter 31 will be affected, and the heating efficiency of the laser emitter 31 will be reduced. If the length of the gap 43 is too short, the distance between the laser emitter 31 and the aerosol generating article 200 will be too close, which will easily cause the aerosol generating article 200 to be over-baked and produce a burnt taste.

[0047] In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 2 When the aerosol generating article 200 is received in the chamber 40, a gap 44 is kept between the outer surface of the aerosol generating article 200 and the inner wall of the chamber 40, which serves as an airflow passage for guiding external air from the first end 41 to the second end 42 of the chamber 40 when being smoked, thereby facilitating the external air to enter the aerosol generating article 200 from the bottom of the aerosol generating article 200, so as to carry the aerosol generated in the aerosol generating article 200 and transmit the filter segment 213 for the user to smoke, as shown by the arrow route R in Figure 2 .

[0048] Further in some embodiments, as shown in Figure 3 The inner wall of the chamber 40 is formed with a plurality of longitudinally extending and circumferentially arranged ribs 45, which enclose a clamping space to clamp the aerosol generating article 200 when the aerosol generating article 200 is received in the chamber 40, thereby stably holding the aerosol generating article 200 in the chamber 40. Since the ribs 45 clamp the aerosol generating article 200, the gap 44 between the outer surface of the aerosol generating article 200 and the inner wall of the chamber 40 can be ensured, which is beneficial for the external air to flow smoothly from the first end 41 to the second end 42 of the chamber 40.

[0049] The laser emitter 31 usually has a high temperature in operation, and the high temperature will affect the emission efficiency of the laser emitter 31. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain the laser emitter 31 within a suitable temperature range, so as to make the laser emitter 31 work in an optimal state. Therefore, in some embodiments, as shown in Figure 2As shown, the aerosol-generating device 100 further comprises a heat dissipation module 60 for dissipating heat from the laser emitter 31, the heat dissipation module 60 comprising a first heat dissipation member 61, the first heat dissipation member 61 being in contact with the laser emitter 31, the first heat dissipation member 61 being made of a material with good electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity, preferably made of copper, so that the first heat dissipation member 61 can conduct electrical energy to the laser emitter 31 efficiently, and the heat generated by the laser emitter 31 can be dissipated effectively through the first heat dissipation member 61.

[0050] Further in some embodiments, the heat dissipation module 60 further comprises a second heat dissipation member 62, the second heat dissipation member 62 being in contact with the first heat dissipation member 61, the second heat dissipation member 62 also being made of a material with high thermal conductivity, so as to conduct the heat on the first heat dissipation member 61 away in time. In some embodiments, in order to improve the heat dissipation effect of the second heat dissipation member 62, the second heat dissipation member 62 can be Figure 2 as shown in FIG. 6B, the second heat dissipation member 62 has a heat dissipation seat with legs 621, or the second heat dissipation member 62 has heat dissipation fins in contact with the first heat dissipation member 61. Alternatively, in some embodiments, in order to improve the heat dissipation effect of the second heat dissipation member 62, the second heat dissipation member 62 can also be in contact with a liquid with large specific heat capacity (such as water or mineral oil, fluorinated liquid, etc. insulated low-boiling cooling liquid), TEC thermoelectric refrigeration semiconductor device, etc.

[0051] Further in some embodiments, the heat dissipation module 60 can further comprise a heat dissipation fan 63, so as to provide air cooling for the first heat dissipation member 61 and the second heat dissipation member 62.

[0052] In some embodiments, the laser emitter 31 is a pulse laser, and the output power of the laser emitter 31 can be adjusted by adjusting the pulse frequency and duty cycle of the laser emitter 31, so as to control the temperature of the aerosol-generating article 200 during heating. In order to enable the aerosol-generating article 200 to generate sufficient aerosol immediately upon being smoked, the laser emitter 31 can be controlled to work under the condition of low frequency and high duty cycle, preferably controlled to work under the condition of a frequency of 5 Hz to 100 Hz and a duty cycle of 3% to 80%. Alternatively, in some embodiments, if the laser emitter 31 can reach a high frequency, for example, above 10 kHz, the duty cycle of the laser emitter 31 can be reduced to below 1%, that is, the laser emitter 31 is controlled to work under the condition of high frequency and low duty cycle, which can also enable the aerosol-generating article 200 to generate sufficient aerosol immediately upon being smoked.

[0053] Finally, it should be noted that: the above examples are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, but not to limit them; under the idea of the present application, the technical features in the above examples or different embodiments can also be combined, the steps can be implemented in any order, and there are many other changes of different aspects of the present application as described above, which are not provided in details for simplicity; although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing examples, those skilled in the art should understand that: it can still modify the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing examples, or make equivalent replacement for part of the technical features; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. An aerosol-generating device, characterized by, The aerosol-generating device comprises: a chamber for accommodating an aerosol-generating article, the chamber having a first end and a second end arranged oppositely, the first end being open to provide an entrance for the aerosol-generating article into the chamber; a laser heating assembly comprising a laser emitter for emitting laser to the chamber to radiate energy to the aerosol-generating article to heat the aerosol-generating article to generate aerosol; wherein the laser heating assembly is arranged opposite to the second end of the chamber so that the laser emitted by the laser emitter is emitted into the chamber from the second end.

2. The aerosol-generating device of claim 1, wherein, A gap is maintained between the chamber and the laser heating assembly, and a temperature sensing element is arranged in the gap.

3. The aerosol-generating device of claim 2, wherein, The aerosol-generating device further comprises a support for providing support to the aerosol-generating article, so that the gap is maintained between the aerosol-generating article and the laser heating assembly.

4. The aerosol-generating device of claim 2, wherein, The gap has an extension length of 8mm-12mm along the extension direction of the chamber.

5. The aerosol-generating device of claim 1, wherein, The heating assembly further comprises a cover for covering the laser emitter.

6. The aerosol-generating device of claim 1, wherein, The laser heating assembly comprises an optical path shaping mechanism for adjusting the spot shape of the laser output to the aerosol-generating article.

7. The aerosol-generating device of claim 1, wherein, The aerosol-generating device further comprises a heat dissipation module for dissipating heat from the laser emitter, the heat dissipation module comprising a first heat dissipation member electrically connected to the laser emitter.

8. The aerosol-generating device of claim 1, wherein, When the aerosol-generating article is accommodated in the chamber, an airflow passage for external air to flow through is defined between the inner wall of the chamber and the outer surface of the aerosol-generating article.

9. The aerosol-generating device of claim 8, wherein, The inner wall of the chamber is formed with a plurality of longitudinal and circumferentially arranged ribs for clamping the aerosol-generating article. 10.The aerosol-generating device of claim 1, wherein, The laser emitter comprises a pulsed laser having a frequency of 5Hz-100Hz and a duty cycle of 3%-80%; or The pulsed laser has a frequency greater than 10kHz and a duty cycle less than 1%. 11.The aerosol-generating device of claim 1, wherein, The number of the laser heating assemblies is one and only one.

Images