Expandable Aerosol Holder Mechanism for Compact Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current aerosol provision devices, such as heat-not-burn products, face challenges in compact design and user interaction, particularly in storage and handling, as they often require complex mechanisms and large form factors to accommodate aerosol-generating materials effectively.
Innovation Solution
The aerosol provision device features a modular design with moveable parts and a coupling mechanism that allows for a compact unaccommodated state and an expanded accommodated state, accommodating aerosol-generating materials efficiently, and includes an aerosol generator for generating inhalable aerosols from these materials.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the aerosol provision device is designed to accommodate aerosol-generating materials, then the device can effectively hold and process the material, but the device occupies a larger volume and requires more storage space
Solution Approach 1:
The aerosol provision device employs moveable parts that allow the device to transition between different configurations. The first part and second part can move relative to each other, enabling the device to expand when accommodating material and contract when not in use, thus resolving the contradiction between accommodation capability and compact storage volume
Solution Approach 2:
The device is divided into separate first part and second part that can move independently. This segmentation allows the accommodation zone to be created only when needed, with the parts moving to form the zone for holding aerosol-generating material, and then moving back to a compact configuration for storage
2Adaptability or versatility
If the aerosol provision device includes moveable parts and coupling mechanisms, then the device can transform between states, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The device uses moveable parts connected by coupling mechanisms that enable transformation between accommodated and unaccommodated states. The coupling mechanism allows controlled movement between the first part and second part, providing the necessary state changes while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling mechanism is integrated within the structure of the moveable parts, with components nested within each other. This nesting approach reduces the overall complexity by combining multiple functions into integrated components rather than separate external mechanisms
3Volume of moving object
If the device is designed for compact storage, then storage space requirements are reduced, but the device may not effectively accommodate aerosol-generating materials
Solution Approach 1:
The device maintains a compact form factor in its default state for easy storage, but includes moveable parts that can be actuated to create an accommodation zone. When material needs to be held or processed, the first part and second part move to form the necessary space, ensuring effective accommodation despite the compact overall design
Solution Approach 2:
The device utilizes spatial reconfiguration through movement of parts in three-dimensional space. The accommodation zone is created by changing the relative positions of the first part and second part, effectively generating storage capacity on demand without permanently occupying additional volume
Data Source
AI summary
An aerosol provision device has an aerosol generator for generating aerosol from aerosol-generating material, a first coupling mechanism, a first part and a second part moveably restrained with respect to each other by the first coupling mechanism, and an accommodation zone, formed by the first part and the second part, for accommodating an article including, or for holding, the aerosol-generating material. The first part and the second part occupy a first volume when the device is in an unaccommodated state, and when the accommodation zone accommodates the article in an accommodated state of the aerosol provision device, the first part and the second part of the aerosol provision device together with the article occupy a second volume that is greater than the first volume.