Reversible Heater-Release Medium Contact for Aerosol Dosing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing aerosol-generating systems face challenges in accurately controlling the dose of liquid vaporized during each puff, as the amount of liquid vaporized is difficult to define due to vaporization of both liquid on the heater and in the capillary wick, leading to inconsistent dosing.
Innovation Solution
An aerosol-generating device with a reservoir, release medium, and heater, where the release medium and heater are in contact to transport liquid, and a mechanism to reversibly interrupt this contact, allowing only the liquid on the heater to vaporize by forming a gap between them, thereby controlling the amount of liquid vaporized.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the heater and release medium are in continuous contact to ensure liquid supply, then the liquid transport is reliable, but the dose control of vaporized liquid becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the contact state between the heater and release medium changeable rather than fixed. The device transitions between a first state where the heater contacts the release medium for liquid transport and a second state where the heater is separated from the release medium for controlled vaporization. This dynamic state change allows the system to achieve both reliable liquid supply and precise dose control by appropriately timing the contact and separation phases.
2Duration of action of moving object
If the heater contacts the release medium during heating, then liquid is continuously replenished, but the vaporized liquid amount cannot be precisely defined
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the preliminary action principle by separating the liquid replenishment phase from the vaporization phase. Liquid is transported to the heater surface during the first state when the heater contacts the release medium, preparing a defined amount of liquid for vaporization. Then, during the second state, the heater is separated from the release medium before heating begins, ensuring that only the pre-positioned liquid amount is vaporized without continuous replenishment, thus achieving precise dose control.
3Measurement precision
If the heater is separated from the release medium during heating, then the vaporized liquid amount is precisely controlled, but the liquid transport reliability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction by performing liquid transport in advance during the first state before the heater is separated. The release medium delivers the required liquid amount to the heater surface while contact is maintained, and then the heater is separated for the heating phase. This preliminary liquid delivery ensures that the subsequent vaporization process uses only the pre-positioned liquid, achieving both precise dose control and reliable liquid transport.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses dynamic state transition to resolve the contradiction between separation for precision and contact for reliability. The system dynamically switches between a contact state (for reliable liquid transport) and a separation state (for precise vaporization control), with the transition timing carefully controlled to ensure that liquid transport is completed before separation occurs, thus maintaining reliability while achieving precision during the critical vaporization phase.
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
This solution enables precise control of the liquid dose per puff by limiting vaporization to only the liquid on the heater, preventing vaporization of liquid in the release medium, thus ensuring a consistent and defined amount of vaporized liquid.
Implementation Method 1
the heater and the release medium are in contact with each other such that during use of the aerosol-generating device liquid on the heater is heated. As a consequence of the heating the liquid on the heater is vaporized
Implementation Method 2
the liquid on the heater is heated. As a consequence of the heating the liquid on the heater is vaporized and then forms an aerosol
Implementation Method 3
a capillary wick which is at least partially surrounded by a coil of wire where the coil of wire is in physical contact with the capillary wick
Data Source
AI summary
An aerosol-generating device is provided, including a reservoir configured to hold a liquid; a release medium; and a heater, wherein the reservoir and the release medium are configured to transport liquid from the reservoir to the release medium, wherein the release medium and the heater are disposed in physical contact with each other, wherein the aerosol-generating device further includes a means for reversibly releasing the physical contact between the release medium and the heater to form a gap between the heater and the release medium, and wherein the aerosol-generating device is configured to activate the heater when the gap is formed between the heater and the release medium. A method for forming an aerosol by the aerosol-generating device is also provided.