Twisted Wick Rope for Electronic Cigarette Vaporization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic cigarette wicks are difficult to produce efficiently, particularly when requiring precise heating patterns, as they often necessitate manual construction and lack consistent heating due to irregular wire placement.
Innovation Solution
A wick constructed by intertwining a string of wick material with electrically conductive wire into a rope form, either twisted, braided, or knitted, allowing for machine-based production and ensuring consistent wire spacing to prevent hotspots, using materials like copper, stainless steel, and ceramic filaments for efficient vaporization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If the wick is constructed with an electronic coil around the wick, then heating capability is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases and requires precise manual production
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the heating wire and wick material into a single integrated rope structure through twisting or braiding. This combination eliminates the need for separate coil assembly around the wick, reducing manufacturing steps while maintaining heating functionality. The wire and wick become one unified component that can be produced continuously by machine.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated rope structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: the wire provides heating capability while the wick material provides liquid absorption and transport. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for separate components and assembly operations, resolving the contradiction between heating performance and manufacturing complexity.
2Power
If the wick is constructed with an electronic coil around the wick, then heating capability is improved, but production efficiency decreases due to manual production requirements
Solution Approach 1:
By combining the wire and wick into a single integrated rope that can be produced continuously by machine, the patent eliminates manual assembly operations. The twisting or braiding process creates a unified structure that maintains heating capability while enabling automated, high-speed production.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical assembly of coils around wicks with an automated mechanical process of twisting or braiding wire and wick material together. This substitution of manual operations with automated machinery dramatically increases production efficiency while preserving the heating function.
3Ease of manufacture
If the wire spacing is irregular in the wick, then manufacturing is simpler, but heating uniformity deteriorates causing hotspots
Solution Approach 1:
The integrated rope structure ensures that the wire is distributed at regular intervals along the wick length through the twisting or braiding process. This creates local uniformity in wire spacing, preventing hotspots while maintaining manufacturing simplicity. Each section of the wick has consistent heating characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The twisting or braiding of the wire and wick material creates a helical or spiral pattern that naturally distributes the wire at regular intervals along the length of the wick. This curved, repeating pattern ensures uniform spacing without requiring complex positioning mechanisms, resolving the contradiction between manufacturing simplicity and heating uniformity.
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 construction enables easier, more precise production of electronic cigarette wicks, ensuring consistent heating and preventing hotspots, while maintaining strength and temperature resistance, allowing for efficient vaporization of liquids over long lengths.
Implementation Method 1
at least one string of wick material adopted to absorb and transport the liquid
Implementation Method 2
at least one wire comprising electrically conductive material adopted to heat the liquid and to turn it into a vapour
Implementation Method 3
the first and second helical form are fitting complementary into each other by being constructed by the string of wick material and the wire at least partially being twisted around each other into the rope
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
The invention relates to a wick constructed to absorb and transport a liquid and to turn it into a vapour in an electronic cigarette. The wick (1) having at least one string of wick material (3) adopted to absorb and transport the liquid, and at least one wire (5) comprising electrically conductive material adopted to heat the liquid and to turn it into a vapour. The wick is constructed by the string of wick material and the wire being twisted, weaved, knitted and/or braided to form a rope.