Heater and heating atomizer

Abstract

The heater (10) includes a first electrode (100) and a second electrode (200) configured to generate a plasma arc, the first electrode (100) and the second electrode (200) are spaced apart from each other and configured to be in direct contact with the atomization medium, the plasma arc is located between the first electrode (100) and the second electrode (200), and heat generated by the plasma arc is transferred to the atomization medium by the first electrode (100).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the technical field of heating atomization, and particularly to a heater and a heating atomization device including the heater.

Background Art

[0002] A heating atomization device is usually used to heat a solid atomization medium, atomize the atomization medium in a heating and non-combustion manner, and generate an aerosol for inhalation by a user. The heater of a conventional heating atomization device usually heats and atomizes the atomization medium in a resistance heating or electromagnetic induction heating mode. However, the above heating mode usually has the drawback of a long preheating waiting time, which affects the heating rate of the atomization medium.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0003] The technical problem to be solved by this application is how to improve the heating rate of the heater.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0004] The heater includes a first electrode and a second electrode configured to generate a plasma arc. The first electrode and the second electrode are provided at an interval from each other and are configured to directly contact the atomization medium. The plasma arc is located between the first electrode and the second electrode, and the heat generated by the plasma arc is transmitted to the atomization medium by the first electrode.

[0005] The heating atomization device includes the heater described in any of the above.

[0006] Details of one or more embodiments of the present invention are described in the following drawings and description. Other features, objects, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the specification, drawings, and claims.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0007] One or more drawings can be referenced to better depict and illustrate embodiments and / or examples of the inventions disclosed herein. Any additional details or examples used to illustrate the drawings should not be construed as limiting the scope of any of the disclosed inventions, the embodiments and / or examples currently depicted, or the best mode of these inventions as currently understood.

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a perspective view of the heater according to the first embodiment 1. [Figure 2] Figure 1 is a perspective view of the heater from a different angle. [Figure 3] Figure 1 is a perspective cross-sectional view of the heater. [Figure 4] This is a perspective view of a heater according to the second embodiment. [Figure 5] Figure 4 is a plan cross-sectional view of the heater shown. [Figure 6] Figure 4 is a perspective cross-sectional view of the heater. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] To facilitate understanding of the present application, the present application will be described more comprehensively below with reference to the relevant drawings. The drawings show preferred embodiments of the present application. However, the present application can be realized in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. On the contrary, the purpose of providing these embodiments is to provide a more complete and comprehensive understanding of the disclosure of the present application.

[0010] When an element is said to be "fixed" to another element, that element may be directly on the other element, or an intervening element may exist between them. When an element is considered to be "connected" to another element, that element may be directly connected to the other element, or an intervening element may exist simultaneously between them. The terms "inside," "outside," "left," "right," and similar expressions used herein are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent only one embodiment.

[0011] As shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3, a heating atomizer according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a heater 10 and a power supply. The heater 10 includes a first electrode 100 and a second electrode 200. The first electrode 100 is connected to the negative terminal of the power supply and is therefore the cathode, while the second electrode 200 is connected to the positive terminal of the power supply and is therefore the anode. Of course, the first electrode 100 may be the anode and the second electrode 200 may be the cathode. In the case of DC, the cathode temperature is higher, which is advantageous for atomization. The first electrode 100 and the second electrode 200 are provided spaced apart without contact with each other. Both the first electrode 100 and the second electrode 200 are for generating a plasma arc, and when the power supply provides power to the first electrode 100 and the second electrode 200, the plasma arc is located between the first electrode 100 and the second electrode 200. The voltage applied to the first electrode 100 and the second electrode 200 may be 10KV to 20KV. The first electrode 100 is in direct contact with the atomizing medium, which may be a solid in the form of powder or paste, or a liquid. The heat of the plasma arc is transferred to the atomizing medium by the first electrode 100, thereby heating and atomizing the atomizing medium to generate an aerosol for inhalation by the user.

[0012] As shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3, in some embodiments, the first electrode 100 is a pot-shaped structure provided with a housing cavity 110, the housing cavity 110 houses the atomizing medium, and the plasma arc is located outside the housing cavity 110.

[0013] The first electrode 100 of the pot-shaped structure includes a bottom plate 120 and a side cylinder 130, the bottom plate 120 may be disc-shaped and extend horizontally, and the side cylinder 130 may be annular and extend vertically, the bottom plate 120 is located at the end of the side cylinder 130 and the side cylinder 130 is connected to the edge of the bottom plate 120, so that the side cylinder 130 surrounds the bottom plate 120, and both the side cylinder 130 and the bottom plate 120 form a housing cavity 110, which is an open cavity with one end closed and the other end open. The second electrode 200 has a columnar structure, and the second electrode 200 is located outside the housing cavity 110 and directly below the bottom plate 120, so that the second electrode 200 and the bottom plate 120 are spaced apart along the axial direction of the entire heater 10. The second electrode 200 may have a sheet-like structure. When power is supplied to the first electrode 100 and the second electrode 200, the second electrode 200 and the bottom plate 120 generate a plasma arc, and the bottom plate 120 and the side cylinder 130 absorb the heat of the plasma arc and transfer it to the atomizing medium located in the containment cavity 110, thereby atomizing the atomizing medium by absorbing the heat of the bottom plate 120. The first electrode 100 may be made of a metal or ceramic conductive material, for example, stainless steel. The first electrode 100 further has high thermal conductivity and low heat capacity, so that it heats up rapidly after absorbing heat, ensuring that the atomizing medium reaches the atomization temperature in a short time, and improving the atomization rate of the atomizing medium and the heating rate of the heater 10.

[0014] When the temperature of the plasma arc is high and the first electrode 100 absorbs the heat of the plasma arc, the temperature of the first electrode 100 can reach 200°C to 450°C. In this way, the preheating time of the atomizing medium can be significantly reduced to within 20 seconds, for example, to within 10 seconds, ensuring that the atomizing medium is atomized and an aerosol is generated within a short time of inhalation by the user, and ultimately improving the overall heating rate of the heater 10.

[0015] In reality, the heat of the first electrode 100 in the pot-shaped structure comes from three sources: firstly, heat from the plasma arc; secondly, heat from the resistance of the first electrode 100 itself; and thirdly, heat excited by the impact between the plasma arc and the bottom plate 120. Because the first electrode 100 has three heat sources, it can rise to the atomization temperature of the atomizing medium in a short time, ensuring rapid atomization of the atomizing medium and improving the heating rate of the heater 10.

[0016] The heater 10 may further include an insulating member 310, and the bottom plate 120 has a bottom surface 121, which is located outside the housing cavity 110 and is spaced apart from the second electrode 200. The insulating member 310 is attached to the bottom surface 121 and has a certain thickness, the thickness of which may be in the range of 0.3 mm to 1 mm, for example, the thickness of the insulating member 310 may be 0.3 mm, 0.8 mm or 1 mm, and because the insulating member 310 has a thickness, it is provided protruding from the bottom surface 121. By positioning the insulating member 310 within the covering range of the bottom surface 121, a certain distance is maintained between the edge of the insulating member 310 and the edge of the bottom surface 121. When both the base plate 120 and the insulating member 310 are disc-shaped, in order to ensure that the insulating member 310 is located within the coverage area of ​​the bottom surface 121, both the base plate 120 and the insulating member 310 are provided coaxially, and the diameter of the base plate 120 is made larger than the diameter of the insulating member 310, for example, the diameter of the base plate 120 is 6 mm to 12 mm and the diameter of the insulating member 310 is 4 mm to 10 mm. The second electrode 200 may be directly fixed and attached to the surface of the insulating member 310 on the side opposite to the base plate 120, and the insulating member 310 can effectively prevent the first electrode 100 and the second electrode 200 from being electrically connected to each other. Alternatively, by positioning the second electrode 200 directly below the insulating member 310, the second electrode 200 and the insulating member 310 are spaced apart along the axial direction of the heater 10.

[0017] By providing the insulating member 310, the plasma arc is a substantially annular planar arc, and this annular planar arc surrounds the insulating member 310. This allows for a rational increase in the covering area of ​​the plasma arc, thereby increasing the heating area of ​​the bottom plate 120 by the plasma arc, making the heating of the bottom plate 120 more uniform, reducing or eliminating the temperature gradient of the bottom plate 120 as much as possible, and achieving uniform heating of the atomizing medium by the first electrode 100.

[0018] The heater 10 may further include an annular magnetic member 320, which may be a permanent magnet. The annular magnetic member 320 is a closed annular shape and is provided surrounding the central axis of the side cylinder 130, and the annular magnetic member 320 and the bottom surface 121 of the bottom plate 120 are spaced apart along the axial direction of the heater 10, and this axial spacing may be 0 mm to 4 mm, and the specific value may be 0 mm, 1 mm or 4 mm, etc. The annular magnetic member 320 may be located above the bottom surface 121 or below the bottom surface 121, and the annular magnetic member 320 may be a samarium-cobalt magnet. By providing the annular magnetic member 320, the annular magnetic member 320 generates an annular magnetic field in the vertical direction, making the plasma arc more planar, ensuring that the plasma arc surrounds the insulating member 310 and is distributed more uniformly around the insulating member 310, further improving the uniformity of heat reception of the bottom plate 120, thereby allowing the first electrode 100 to heat the atomizing medium uniformly.

[0019] The bottom plate 120 includes a flat portion 122 and an annular projection 123. The flat portion 122 is directly connected to the end of the side cylinder 130, the bottom surface 121 is located on the flat portion 122, and the annular projection 123 is connected to the bottom surface 121, that is, the annular projection 123 protrudes from the bottom surface 121 at a certain height. At the same time, the annular projection 123 may be provided surrounding the insulating member 310, and by providing the annular projection 123, the uniformity of heat reception of the bottom plate 120 is improved, further ensuring that the first electrode 100 heats the atomizing medium uniformly. In other embodiments, a silver layer or graphite layer with high thermal conductivity may be used instead of the annular projection 123, and the uniformity of heat reception of the bottom plate 120 can be similarly improved. In other embodiments, the bottom plate 120 may include only the flat portion 122 and may not include the annular projection 123, and the bottom surface 121 of the flat portion 122 is flat.

[0020] The first electrode 100 has an inner surface 152 which defines the boundary of the housing cavity 110. An infrared film layer may be attached to the inner surface 152 so that some of the heat from the first electrode 100 is radiated to the atomizing medium by infrared radiation. Because infrared radiation has strong permeability to the atomizing medium, the inner and outer layers of the atomizing medium are heated simultaneously, thus further shortening the time it takes for the atomizing medium to rise to the atomization temperature and improving the heating rate of the heater 10. A smooth glass layer or glaze layer may be attached to the infrared film layer. The glass layer or glaze layer comes into direct contact with the atomizing medium, which is advantageous in that it quickly removes deposits on the glass layer or glaze layer and improves the cleaning effect of the first electrode 100. The glass layer or glaze layer can also serve a protective function to prevent rust from forming on the first electrode 100. A glass layer or glaze layer may be provided on the outer surface 151 of the first electrode 100, and obviously, the outer surface 151 is located outside the housing cavity 110. The side cylinder 130 of the first electrode 100 may be electrically connected to a power supply by a movable pogo pin or movable leaf spring, which facilitates the removal of the first electrode 100.

[0021] As shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6, in some embodiments, the first electrode 100 has a tubular structure provided with an accommodation cavity 110. The accommodation cavity 110 is not for accommodating the atomization medium, but the atomization medium is located outside the accommodation cavity 110 to cover the first electrode 100. It may be understood that the first electrode 100 is inserted into the atomization medium and the plasma arc is located within the accommodation cavity 110.

[0022] For example, the heater 10 further includes a central tube 330. The central tube 330 is made of an insulating material, and the insulating material may be a dense ceramic with high strength and high insulation performance including materials such as sodium oxide or zirconium oxide. A cavity 331 is formed in the central tube 330. The diameter of the cavity 331 may be 0.3 mm to 0.6 mm, and the wall thickness of the central tube 330 may be 0.4 mm to 0.6 mm. Since the central tube 330 has a sufficiently large wall thickness, it can effectively prevent the plasma arc in the central tube 330 from destroying the entire central tube 330.

[0023] The first electrode 100 of the tubular structure includes a side cylinder 130 and a top plate 140. The top plate 140 may be conical, and the side cylinder 130 may be annular. The bottom plate 120 is connected to one end of the side cylinder 130. Thus, the side cylinder 130 is provided to surround the top plate 140. Both the side cylinder 130 and the top plate 140 form a receiving cavity 110, and the receiving cavity 110 is an open cavity with one end closed and the other end open. When the central tube 330 is inserted into the receiving cavity 110, the side cylinder 130 is externally fitted onto the central tube 330, and the side cylinder 130 and the central tube 330 form a tight fitting relationship, eliminating the gap along the radial direction of the heater 10 between the side cylinder 130 and the central tube 330, ensuring that heat is directly radiated from the central tube 330 to the first electrode 100. A certain distance is provided along the axial direction of the heater 10 between one end of the central tube 330 located within the receiving cavity 110 and the top plate 140. The second electrode 200 is inserted into the cavity 331 of the central tube 330, and the end portion located within the cavity 331 of the second electrode 200 is provided at an interval from the end portion located within the receiving cavity 110 of the central tube 330. When a plasma arc is generated, the plasma arc is located between the second electrode 200 and the top plate 140, whereby at least a part of the plasma arc is located within the cavity 331 of the central tube 330. For example, a part of the plasma arc is located within the cavity 331, and the other part is located within the receiving cavity 110 between the central tube 330 and the top plate 140. In order to prevent the plasma arc from damaging the first electrode 100, the portions of the top plate 140 and the side cylinder 130 corresponding to the plasma arc may be thickened. The heat generated by the plasma is similarly transmitted to the atomizing medium by the first electrode 100, which is also advantageous for improving the atomizing speed of the heater 10.

[0024] The first electrode 100 further includes a conductive member 340, which is located within the housing cavity 110 and can contact the side cylinder 130 and / or top plate 140 so as to be electrically connected to the side cylinder 130 and / or top plate 140. The conductive member 340 covers the end opening of the cavity 331 so that the plasma arc is located between the conductive member 340 and the second electrode 200, i.e., so that the entire plasma arc is located within the cavity 331 of the central tube 330. Since the conductive member 340 does not occupy any mounting space other than the housing cavity 110, a compact and miniaturized design of the heater 10 can be realized.

[0025] The first electrode 100 of the tubular structure has an outer surface 151 located outside the housing cavity 110, and the outer surface 151 may be covered with an infrared film layer, thereby allowing some of the heat from the first electrode 100 to be radiated to the atomizing medium by infrared radiation, thereby improving the heating rate of the heater 10.

[0026] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined in any way. For the sake of brevity, not all possible combinations of the technical features of the above embodiments have been described, but all of these combinations should be considered to fall within the scope described herein.

[0027] The above embodiments describe only a few embodiments of the present application, and while these descriptions are specific and detailed, they should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the patent of this application. Furthermore, a person skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements as long as they do not deviate from the spirit of this application, and these modifications and improvements fall within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the patent of this application should be based on the attached claims.

Claims

1. A heater comprising a first electrode and a second electrode configured to generate a plasma arc, wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are spaced apart from each other, the first electrode is configured to be in direct contact with an atomizing medium, the plasma arc is located between the first electrode and the second electrode, the heat generated by the plasma arc is transferred to the atomizing medium by the first electrode, a containment cavity for containing the atomizing medium is surrounded by the first electrode, and the plasma arc is located outside the containment cavity.

2. The heater according to claim 1, wherein the first electrode includes a bottom plate and a side cylinder, the side cylinder is annular in shape and surrounds the bottom plate and is connected thereto, the bottom plate and the side cylinder surround the housing cavity for housing the atomizing medium, the second electrode is located outside the housing cavity and is provided at a distance from the bottom plate along the axial direction of the heater, and the plasma arc is located between the second electrode and the bottom plate.

3. The heater according to claim 2, further comprising an insulating member, wherein the bottom plate has a bottom surface located outside the housing cavity and spaced apart from the second electrode, the insulating member is attached to the bottom surface and located within the covering area of ​​the bottom surface, a predetermined distance is maintained between the edge of the insulating member and the edge of the bottom surface, the thickness of the insulating member is 0.3 mm to 1 mm, and the second electrode is fixed to the insulating member or the second electrode is spaced apart from the insulating member.

4. The heater according to claim 3, further comprising an annular magnetic member, wherein the annular magnetic member is provided surrounding the central axis of the side cylinder, and the axial distance between the annular magnetic member and the bottom surface is 0 mm to 4 mm.

5. The heater according to claim 4, characterized in that the annular magnetic member is a permanent magnet.

6. The heater according to claim 3, wherein the bottom plate includes a flat portion and an annular projection, the flat portion is connected to the side cylinder and has a bottom surface, and the annular projection is connected to the bottom surface and is provided surrounding the central axis of the heater.

7. The heater according to claim 6, characterized in that the annular projection is provided surrounding the insulating member.

8. The heater according to claim 3, characterized in that the bottom plate is provided coaxially with the insulating member.

9. The heater according to claim 1, further comprising an infrared film layer, wherein the infrared film layer is attached to an inner surface that defines the boundary of the housing cavity.

10. The heater according to claim 9, further comprising a glass layer or a glaze layer, wherein the glass layer or the glaze layer is attached to the infrared film layer.

11. The heater according to claim 1, characterized in that the voltage applied to the first electrode and the second electrode is 10 kV to 20 kV.

12. The heater according to claim 1, characterized in that the second electrode is columnar or sheet-shaped.

13. The heater according to claim 1, characterized in that the first electrode is a cathode and is made of a metal or ceramic conductive material, and the second electrode is an anode.

14. A heating atomizing apparatus characterized by including a heater according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

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