Electronic Cigarette Atomizer Child-Resistant Sealing Cover

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Solution Overview

Problem

Refillable atomizers for electronic cigarettes pose a risk to children as they can easily remove the sealing cover, leading to potential ingestion of tobacco liquid, and existing designs fail to effectively prevent this and leakage.

Innovation Solution

An atomizer design featuring a sealing cover with a spring-loaded mechanism and protrusions/grooves that requires an external force to detach, preventing accidental removal by children and ensuring the cover only comes off when intentionally unscrewed, thus preventing liquid leakage.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a sealing cover is used to seal the liquid injecting opening, then liquid leakage is prevented, but children can easily screw off the sealing cover and drink the tobacco liquid

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesealing effectivenessVSAvoidchild safety
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The sealing cover is divided into two separate parts: a main body and a protective cover. The protective cover contains protrusions that engage with grooves on the main body, creating a child-resistant mechanism. This segmentation allows the seal to remain effective while preventing easy removal by children.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The protective cover is designed to fit over the main body of the sealing cover, with protrusions on the protective cover nesting into corresponding grooves on the main body. This nested structure creates a mechanical interlock that requires significant force to disengage, preventing children from easily removing the seal.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #7Nested doll (Nesting)

2Object-affected harmful factors

If a child-resistant mechanism is added to the sealing cover, then child safety is improved, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvechild safetyVSAvoidsealing cover structure
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-affected harmful factorsVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

By dividing the sealing cover into two simple components (main body and protective cover) with basic geometric features (protrusions and grooves), the child-resistant mechanism is achieved without requiring complex internal structures or multiple moving parts.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of making the main body complex and adding simple protective features, the design inverts the approach by keeping both components relatively simple and achieving the child-resistant function through the interaction of basic protrusion-groove geometry. This simplifies manufacturing and assembly.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

The solution effectively prevents children from accessing the tobacco liquid and reduces the risk of leakage, ensuring the atomizer is safe and functional.

Implementation Method 1

The sealing cover includes a spring-loaded mechanism and protrusions/grooves that requires an external force to detach

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectSpring mechanism: Spring

Data Source

PatentEP3187058B2Atomizer and electronic cigarette having same
Publication Date: 2022.02.23 SHENZHEN FIRST UNION TECH CO LTD
  • EP3187058B2 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3187058B2 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3187058B2 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

An exemplary atomizer includes a housing, a sealing cover, an atomizing element, an air passage, and an liquid injecting opening. The housing has a first end and an opposite second end. The second end is configured for connecting with a power supply. The housing defines a liquid chamber configured for containing tobacco liquid. The sealing cover is threadedly coupled with the first end. The atomizing element is configured for atomizing the tobacco liquid to form aerosol. The liquid injecting opening is defined in the first end. The sealing cover is configured for sealing the liquid injecting opening. The sealing cover includes a device configured for preventing children from screwing off the sealing cover. The sealing cover can be screwed off via an outer surface thereof only when an external force is exerted on the device to change an internal structural relationship of the device.