Aerosol-generating device

Abstract

The application discloses an aerosol generating device, comprising: a chamber for accommodating an aerosol generating article; a light heating assembly comprising a light source arranged outside the chamber, the light source being configured to emit light to the chamber to transfer heat radiation to the chamber, thereby heating the aerosol generating article accommodated in the chamber to generate aerosol; and a light-transmitting member configured to allow at least part of the light of the light heating assembly to pass through, the light-transmitting member comprising an insertion portion extending in the chamber along an accommodation direction, the insertion portion being configured to be inserted into the aerosol generating article. In this way, the heating depth can be improved, and the problem of excessive heating of the surface of the aerosol generating article and insufficient heating of the inside of the aerosol generating article can be avoided.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This application relates to the field of aerosol generation technology, and more particularly to an aerosol generation apparatus. [Background Technology]

[0002] Traditional tobacco products (e.g., cigarettes, cigars, etc.) produce tobacco smoke by burning tobacco during use. Existing technologies offer alternatives to these traditional tobacco products by releasing compounds through heating without combustion. Examples of such products include aerosol generating devices, which typically include a heating element and a housing chamber. The housing chamber contains an aerosol-generating product for use with the aerosol generating device, and the heating element heats the aerosol-generating product within the housing chamber, causing at least a portion of its active material to evaporate or volatilize, producing an inhalable aerosol.

[0003] Existing heating elements include a light heating module, which is located below the containment chamber. The light-emitting element in the light heating module generates light, which enters the containment chamber and then transmits heat radiation to the containment chamber. When the aerosol generating product is contained in the containment chamber, the light heating module can transmit heat radiation to the aerosol generating product, thereby heating the aerosol generating product to generate aerosol.

[0004] However, the light generated by the existing photothermal module only shines on the bottom of the aerosol-generated product, thus heating starts from the bottom of the aerosol-generated product. This method has limited heating depth and is prone to problems such as overheating of the surface of the aerosol-generated product while insufficient heating of the interior. [Utility Model Content]

[0005] This application provides an aerosol generating apparatus to solve the technical problem that existing photothermal methods have limited heating depth, which easily leads to overheating of the surface of aerosol-generated products while insufficient heating of the interior.

[0006] At least one embodiment of this application provides an aerosol generating apparatus, comprising:

[0007] A chamber used to contain products generated from aerosols;

[0008] A photoheating assembly includes a light source disposed outside the chamber, the light source being used to emit light into the chamber to transfer heat radiation into the chamber, thereby heating the aerosol generating article contained in the chamber to generate aerosol;

[0009] A light-transmitting element is configured to allow at least a portion of the light from the photoheating assembly to pass through, the light-transmitting element including an insertion portion extending in the chamber along a receiving direction for insertion into the aerosol-generating article.

[0010] In one embodiment, the material of the light-transmitting element includes any one or more of quartz glass, borosilicate glass, soda-lime glass, or polyimide.

[0011] In one embodiment, the outer surface of the light-transmitting element is coated with a transparent oleophobic coating.

[0012] In one embodiment, the antifouling coating has a light transmittance of not less than 85%.

[0013] In one embodiment, the aerosol generating apparatus further includes a tubular body for defining at least a portion of the chamber, the light-transmitting element being fixed within the tubular body.

[0014] In one embodiment, the light-transmitting element includes a base connected to the insertion portion, the base extending radially along the tubular body, the base dividing the tubular body into a first segment and a second segment sequentially distributed along the axial direction, at least a portion of the chamber being defined by the first segment, and the photoheating assembly being disposed in the second segment.

[0015] In one embodiment, the inner wall of the tubular body is provided with an abutment boss for abutting the aerosol-generating article, and the base is clamped between the abutment boss and the photoheating component.

[0016] In one embodiment, the tubular body is threadedly connected to the photoheating assembly.

[0017] In one embodiment, the insertion portion is configured as a sheet, a cone, or a pin.

[0018] In one embodiment, the insertion part is a hollow body.

[0019] In one embodiment, the insertion portion includes multiple parts.

[0020] In one embodiment, a plurality of the insertion portions are arranged uniformly along the circumference of the chamber.

[0021] In one embodiment, the insertion portion has an extension length of 2 mm to 15 mm.

[0022] In one embodiment, the insertion portion has an equivalent diameter of 1 mm to 3.5 mm.

[0023] In one embodiment, the light heating assembly further includes a light-concentrating element disposed between the light source and the light-transmitting element.

[0024] In one embodiment, the light heating assembly includes a xenon lamp.

[0025] In the aerosol generating apparatus provided in the above embodiments, the insertion part of the light-transmitting element extends into the chamber. When the aerosol generating product is housed in the chamber, the insertion part can be inserted into the aerosol generating product, thereby guiding part of the light generated by the light source into the interior of the aerosol generating product. This allows the photoheating component to heat both the aerosol generating matrix at the bottom of the aerosol generating product and the aerosol generating matrix inside the aerosol generating product, thereby increasing the heating depth and effectively alleviating the problems of limited heating depth and excessive heating of the surface and insufficient heating of the interior of the aerosol generating product in existing photoheating methods. [Attached Image Description]

[0026] One or more embodiments are illustrated by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings. These illustrations do not constitute a limitation on the embodiments. Elements having the same reference numerals in the drawings are denoted as similar elements. Unless otherwise stated, the figures in the drawings are not to be limited by scale.

[0027] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an aerosol generating apparatus provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0028] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a medium-sized aerosol generation device containing aerosol-generated products;

[0029] Figure 3 for Figure 2 A cross-sectional schematic diagram of the chamber of the aerosol generation device and the aerosol-generated product.

[0030] Figure 4 A perspective view of a light-transmitting element provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0031] Figure 5 A perspective view of a light-transmitting element provided in another embodiment of this application;

[0032] Figure 6 A perspective view of a light-transmitting element provided in yet another embodiment of this application;

[0033] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an aerosol generating device provided in another embodiment of this application.

Detailed Implementation Methods

[0034] To facilitate understanding of this application, a more detailed description is provided below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be noted that when an element is described as being "fixed to" or "attached to" another element, it can be directly on the other element, or one or more intermediate elements may exist between them. When an element is described as being "connected to" another element, it can be directly connected to the other element, or one or more intermediate elements may exist between them. The terms "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "inner," "outer," and similar expressions used in this specification are for illustrative purposes only.

[0035] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used in this specification have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs. The terminology used in this specification is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope of the application. The term "and / or" as used in this specification includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0036] Furthermore, the technical features involved in the different embodiments of this application described below can be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

[0037] In the embodiments of this application, "installation" includes fixing or restricting a component or device to a specific position or place by means of welding, screwing, snapping, bonding, etc. The component or device may remain stationary in the specific position or place or may move within a limited range. After the component or device is fixed or restricted to the specific position or place, it may or may not be disassembled. This application does not impose any restrictions.

[0038] 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 at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0039] One embodiment of this application provides an aerosol generating device 100, such as... Figure 1As shown, the aerosol generating device 100 includes a battery cell 10, a main board 20, and a photoheating component 30. The main board 20 is equipped with a controller for the aerosol generating device 100. The battery cell 10 and the photoheating component 30 are electrically connected to the controller, allowing the controller to control the battery cell 10 to supply electrical energy to the photoheating component 30, enabling the photoheating component 30 to generate light. The aerosol generating device 100 also includes a longitudinally extending chamber 40, which is used to house at least a portion of the aerosol generating product 200. The photoheating component 30 is positioned below the chamber 40, allowing the light generated by the photoheating component 30 to enter the chamber 40 and transmit heat radiation to it. When the aerosol generating product 200 is housed in the chamber 40, the photoheating component 30 transmits heat radiation to the aerosol generating product 200. Under the action of the heat radiation, the aerosol generating product 200 is heated, causing at least a portion of the aerosol generating matrix filling it to evaporate and generate aerosol.

[0040] The aerosol-generating matrix is ​​preferably a tobacco-containing material that releases volatile compounds from the article upon heating; alternatively, it may be a non-tobacco material suitable for electric heating and smoke generation after heating. The aerosol-generating article matrix is ​​preferably a solid matrix, which may include one or more of the following: vanilla leaves, tobacco leaves, homogenized tobacco, expanded tobacco, in powder, granules, fragments, strips, or sheets; or, the solid matrix may contain additional tobacco or non-tobacco volatile aroma compounds to be released when the matrix is ​​heated.

[0041] like Figure 1 As shown, the aerosol generating product 200 is generally elongated in shape and includes a tobacco section 211, a cooling section 212, and a filter section 213 along its longitudinal length. The aerosol generating matrix 300 is filled in the tobacco section 211. The cooling section 212 is hollow and has multiple vents (not shown) on its outer surface for external air to enter. The filter section 213 is filled with filter material and is inhaled by the user. When the user inhales in the filter section 213, the aerosol generated in the tobacco section 211 flows into the cooling section 212. At this time, the high-temperature aerosol and the external cold air mix in the cooling section 212, thereby reducing the temperature of the aerosol. The cooled aerosol then flows into the filter section 213, where the filter material filters the aerosol, removing some unwanted particulate matter. Finally, the filtered aerosol escapes from the filter section 213 for the user to inhale.

[0042] In some embodiments, such as Figure 2 As shown, when the aerosol generating article 200 is housed in the chamber 40, a gap 41 is maintained between the outer surface of the aerosol generating article 200 and the inner wall of the chamber 40. This gap 41 serves as an airflow channel (see...). Figure 2The route indicated by the middle arrow (R) is used to guide external air into the chamber 40 during suction, thereby facilitating the entry of external air from the bottom of the aerosol generating article 200 into the aerosol generating article 200, and thus carrying the aerosol generated in the aerosol generating article 200 to the filter section 213 for the user to inhale.

[0043] In some embodiments, such as Figure 3 As shown, the inner wall of the chamber 40 has a plurality of longitudinally extending and circumferentially arranged protrusions 42. The plurality of protrusions 42 enclose a clamping space to clamp the aerosol generating article 200 when it is housed in the chamber 40, thereby ensuring that the aerosol generating article 200 is stably held in the chamber 40. Furthermore, since the protrusions 42 clamp the aerosol generating article 200, the aforementioned gap 41 can be maintained between the outer surface of the aerosol generating article 200 and the inner wall of the chamber 40.

[0044] In some embodiments, such as Figure 1 As shown, the light heating assembly 30 includes a light source 31 for generating light. A heating wire 311 is provided in the light source 31. The controller controls the battery cell 10 to provide electrical energy to the heating wire 311. After the heating wire 311 is energized, it can generate heat. When the temperature of the heating wire 311 reaches a certain level, it will emit light. The generated light is further injected into the chamber 40, and then heat radiation is transferred into the chamber 40.

[0045] In some embodiments, the light source 31 may be an incandescent lamp or a halogen lamp.

[0046] In some embodiments, to improve luminous efficiency, the light source 31 can also be a xenon lamp. A xenon lamp is one in which the inert gas inside is xenon. The xenon lamp still contains a heating wire 311, and the light is still generated by the heating wire 311.

[0047] In some embodiments, such as Figure 2 As shown, the aerosol generating device 100 also includes a focusing cup 50, which has a focusing groove 51. The opening of the focusing groove 51 faces the chamber 40. The light heating component 30 is disposed inside the focusing groove 51. The side wall of the focusing groove 51 is provided with a reflective surface, which is used to change the direction of the light emitted by the light heating component 30 towards the chamber 40 through reflection. The reflective surface changes the direction of the light path through curved surface geometry design, forming a secondary optical system, which converts the divergent light after reflection, thereby realizing the directional control of the light path. This allows the scattered light to be precisely focused on the heating area, thereby realizing centralized control of the heat source, improving heating efficiency, significantly improving the light utilization rate of the light heating component 30, and helping to reduce energy loss.

[0048] In some embodiments, such as Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown, the aerosol generating apparatus 100 also includes a light-transmitting element 60, which allows at least a portion of the light from the light source 31 to pass through. The light-transmitting element 60 includes an insertion portion 61 extending in the chamber 40 along the receiving direction. When the aerosol generating article 200 is received in the chamber 40, the insertion portion 61 can be inserted into the aerosol generating article 200. The light generated by the light source 31 can enter the aerosol generating article 200 along the insertion portion 61 and pass through the insertion portion 61 to irradiate the aerosol generating matrix inside the aerosol generating article 200, thereby enabling the photoheating assembly 30 to transfer heat radiation to the aerosol generating matrix at a certain depth, thereby heating this part of the aerosol generating matrix.

[0049] The material of the light-transmitting element 60 needs to ensure a certain light transmittance and a certain temperature resistance to avoid deformation due to prolonged operation at high temperatures. In addition, since the light-transmitting element 60 is in direct contact with the aerosol generation product 200, the material of the light-transmitting element 60 must not release harmful substances at high temperatures. Based on the above considerations, a suitable material for the light-transmitting element 60 can be one or more of quartz glass, borosilicate glass, soda-lime glass, and polyimide.

[0050] In some embodiments, the outer surface of the light-transmitting element 60 is coated with a transparent oleophobic coating (not shown). E-liquid and condensate tend to adhere to the surface of the light-transmitting element 60 after heating, and long-term accumulation can lead to carbonization, severely affecting the light transmittance of the light-transmitting element 60. By providing this oleophobic coating, the surface energy of the coating surface is greatly reduced, making it difficult for e-liquid and condensate to spread on its surface. Therefore, during the insertion and removal of the aerosol-generating article 200, a large portion of the e-liquid and condensate is directly scraped away. Even if a small amount remains, subsequent cleaning (with cotton swabs or paper towels) becomes extremely easy, wiping it clean with a single wipe, greatly reducing the maintenance burden.

[0051] It is easy to understand that oleophobic coatings need to have certain light transmittance and high temperature resistance. Suitable materials for oleophobic coatings can be fluoropolymer coatings, such as polytetrafluoroethylene, perfluoroalkoxyalkanes, or soluble polytetrafluoroethylene; or they can be silicone resin coatings, organic-inorganic hybrid coatings prepared by the sol-gel method, etc.

[0052] In some embodiments, the oleophobic coating has a light transmittance of not less than 85% to avoid the oleophobic coating from blocking too much light passing through the light-transmitting element 60, thereby reducing the heating efficiency of the aerosol generating device 100.

[0053] In some embodiments, such as Figure 1As shown, the aerosol generating apparatus 100 also includes a tubular body 70, which is hollow, so that the hollow area of ​​the tubular body 70 can serve as at least part of the chamber 40 to accommodate the aerosol generating article 200, and the light-transmitting element 60 is fixed in the tubular body 70.

[0054] In some embodiments, such as Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the light-transmitting element 60 includes an insertion portion 61 and a base portion 62 connected to the insertion portion 61. The base portion 62 extends radially within the tubular body 70, thereby dividing the tubular body 70 into a first section 71 and a second section 72 sequentially distributed along its axial direction. At least a portion of the chamber 40 is defined by the first section 71, while the light-heating component 30 is disposed in the second section 72. This avoids the outward scattering of light generated by the light-heating component 30, which would cause heat loss and reduce the heating efficiency of the light-heating component 30 on the aerosol-generating article 200.

[0055] In some embodiments, such as Figure 2 As shown, the inner wall of the tubular body 70 is provided with an abutment boss 73, which is used to abut against the aerosol generating article 200, thereby limiting the insertion depth of the aerosol generating article 200. The base 62 is located between the abutment boss 73 and the photoheating component 30, so that the abutment boss 73 and the photoheating component 30 can jointly clamp and fix the base 62, thereby fixing the light-transmitting element 60 in the tubular body 70 and preventing the light-transmitting element 60 from loosening or shifting in the tubular body 70.

[0056] In some embodiments, such as Figure 1 As shown, the light heating assembly 30 also includes a housing 32, in which the light source 31 is disposed. The inner wall of the tubular body 70 is provided with an internal thread (not shown), while the housing 32 of the light heating assembly 30 is provided with an external thread. Thus, the tubular body 70 and the light heating assembly 30 can be connected to each other by a threaded connection. When assembling the light heating assembly 30, the light heating assembly 30 is first inserted into the tubular body 70, and then the light heating assembly 30 is rotated so that it rotates along the threaded trajectory. At the same time, the light heating assembly 30 will move in a straight line along the tubular body 70 during the rotation. When it moves to contact the base 62 of the light-transmitting element 60, the base 62 can be clamped between the light heating assembly 20 and the abutment boss 73, thereby fixing the light-transmitting element 60 in the tubular body 70.

[0057] It is easy to understand that the connection between the tubular body 70 and the light heating component 30 is not limited to a threaded connection. Other methods known to those skilled in the art can also be used for connection. It is only necessary to clamp and fix the light-transmitting component 60 after the light heating component 30 and the tubular body 70 are connected.

[0058] In some embodiments, such as Figure 7As shown, the light heating assembly 30 also includes a light focusing element 33 disposed between the light source 31 and the light-transmitting element 60. The light focusing element 33 is used to concentrate the light emitted by the light source 31 so that the light is concentrated to irradiate the light-transmitting element 60. Since the light needs to continue to be transmitted inside the aerosol generating matrix along the insertion part 61 of the light-transmitting element 60, the transmission path of the light is longer than that of the prior art which only irradiates the bottom of the aerosol generating product 200. Therefore, a light focusing element 33 is disposed between the light source 31 and the light-transmitting element 60 to concentrate the light so that enough light can be transmitted along the insertion part 61, which is beneficial to improving the heating efficiency of the light heating assembly 30.

[0059] The focusing element 33 may include lenses, such as plano-convex mirrors, biconvex mirrors, or aspherical mirrors such as reflective mirrors or conical lenses, which can change the shape, energy distribution, and transmission direction of the light beam.

[0060] In some embodiments, such as Figure 4 As shown, the insertion part 61 is configured as a sheet to facilitate smooth insertion of the insertion part 61 into the aerosol generating article 200.

[0061] Alternatively, in some embodiments, to facilitate smooth insertion of the insertion portion 61 into the aerosol generating article 200, the insertion portion 61 is configured as a cone, for example, the insertion portion 61 can be a cone or a pyramid.

[0062] Alternatively, in some embodiments, such as Figure 5 As shown, the insertion part 61 is configured as a pin to facilitate smooth insertion into the aerosol generating article 200.

[0063] In some embodiments, such as Figure 4 Diagram and Figure 6 As shown, the insertion part 61 includes multiple parts. When the aerosol generating article 200 is housed in the chamber 40, multiple insertion parts 61 can be inserted into the aerosol generating article 200 so that more light can enter the aerosol generating matrix of the aerosol generating article 200, which is beneficial to improving the heating efficiency of the photoheating component 30.

[0064] And, in some embodiments, such as Figure 6 As shown, when there are multiple insertion parts 61, the multiple insertion parts 61 are evenly arranged along the circumference of the chamber 40 to reduce the arrangement space of the multiple insertion parts 61, so that the multiple insertion parts 61 can be inserted into the aerosol generating article 200.

[0065] In some embodiments, the insertion part 61 is configured as a hollow body, that is, the interior of the insertion part 61 is hollow, in order to reduce the obstruction of light and to maintain sufficient light intensity after the light passes through the insertion part 61, which is also beneficial to improving the heating efficiency of the light heating component 30.

[0066] In some embodiments, the insertion part 61 has an extension length of 2 mm to 15 mm, or an equivalent diameter of 1 mm to 3.5 mm. If the length of the insertion part 61 is too long, or the equivalent diameter of the insertion part 61 is too small, the strength of the insertion part 61 will be insufficient, which will easily lead to the breakage of the insertion part 61 during the insertion and removal of the aerosol generating article 200, especially during the cleaning process of the insertion part 61. If the extension length of the insertion part 61 is too short, the heating depth will be limited. Alternatively, if the equivalent diameter of the insertion part 61 is too large, the insertion part 61 will not be able to be smoothly inserted into the aerosol generating article 200. Therefore, the insertion part 61 needs a suitable extension length or equivalent diameter.

[0067] It should be noted that the equivalent diameter is used to transform a non-circular cross-section (such as a rectangle, triangle, ring, ellipse, etc.) or an irregular cross-section into an "equivalent circular cross-section," thereby utilizing established formulas for calculating circular pipes / channels (such as formulas for resistance loss, flow rate, heat transfer coefficient, etc.) for analysis and calculation. When the cross-section of the insertion part 61 is circular, the equivalent diameter is simply the diameter of the insertion part 61.

[0068] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this application, and not to limit them; under the concept of this application, the technical features of the above embodiments or different embodiments can also be combined, the steps can be implemented in any order, and there are many other variations of different aspects of this application as described above, which are not provided in detail for the sake of brevity; although this application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or make equivalent substitutions for some of the technical features; and these modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application.

Claims

1. An aerosol generating device, characterized in that, include: A chamber for containing aerosol-generated products; A photoheating assembly includes a light source disposed outside the chamber, the light source being used to emit light into the chamber to transfer heat radiation into the chamber, thereby heating the aerosol generating article contained in the chamber to generate aerosol; A light-transmitting element is configured to allow at least a portion of the light from the photoheating assembly to pass through, the light-transmitting element including an insertion portion extending in the chamber along a receiving direction for insertion into the aerosol-generating article.

2. The aerosol generating apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The material of the light-transmitting element includes any one or more of quartz glass, borosilicate glass, soda-lime glass, or polyimide.

3. The aerosol generating apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The outer surface of the light-transmitting component is coated with a transparent oleophobic coating.

4. The aerosol generating apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that, The oleophobic coating has a light transmittance of not less than 85%.

5. The aerosol generating apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The aerosol generating apparatus further includes a tubular body for defining at least a portion of the chamber, and the light-transmitting element is fixed within the tubular body.

6. The aerosol generating apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that, The light-transmitting element includes a base connected to the insertion portion, the base extending radially along the tubular body, the base dividing the tubular body into a first segment and a second segment sequentially distributed along the axial direction, at least a portion of the chamber being defined by the first segment, and the photothermal assembly being disposed in the second segment.

7. The aerosol generating apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that, The inner wall of the tubular body is provided with an abutment protrusion for abutting the aerosol-generating product, and the base is clamped between the abutment protrusion and the photoheating component.

8. The aerosol generating apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that, The tubular body is threadedly connected to the photoheating component.

9. The aerosol generating apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The insertion portion is configured as a plate, a cone, or a pin.

10. The aerosol generating apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The insertion part is a hollow body.

11. The aerosol generating apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The insertion part includes multiple parts.

12. The aerosol generating apparatus according to claim 11, characterized in that, The plurality of said insertion parts are evenly arranged along the circumference of the chamber.

13. The aerosol generating apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The insertion part has an extension length of 2mm to 15mm.

14. The aerosol generating apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The insertion part has an equivalent diameter of 1 mm to 3.5 mm.

15. The aerosol generating apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The photothermal assembly also includes a light-concentrating element disposed between the light source and the light-transmitting element.

16. The aerosol generating apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The light heating component includes a xenon lamp.

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