Two-Configuration Heater Assembly to Limit Wick Degradation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aerosol-generating systems with heater elements in direct contact with porous materials, such as coil and wick arrangements, suffer from degradation due to heating, chemical interactions, and mechanical stress, leading to reduced efficiency and a shorter useful lifetime of the porous material, which is not easily replaceable and increases manufacturing complexity and cost.
Innovation Solution
A heater assembly with a receiving chamber that can transition between two configurations, allowing the heating element to be coupled and decoupled from a wicking element, enabling efficient heating during use while reducing contact time and degradation, and allowing separate manufacturing of the heating element and wicking element.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If the heater element is in direct contact with the porous material (coil and wick arrangement), then efficient heating of the aerosol-forming substrate is achieved, but the porous material degrades rapidly due to heating, chemical interactions, and mechanical stress
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the heater assembly into separate functional components: a heater element housing containing the heating element, and a separate porous material component. This segmentation allows the porous material to be replaced independently when degraded, while the heater element can be reused, resolving the contradiction between maintaining heating efficiency and extending porous material lifetime.
Solution Approach 2:
The heater element is designed with movable or deformable characteristics, allowing it to transition between configurations that enable contact with the porous material during heating operations and configurations that reduce contact for replacement or maintenance. This dynamic capability allows the system to switch between efficient heating mode and maintenance mode.
2Reliability
If the porous material is included in a disposable cartridge with the heater element, then the porous material can be replaced before significant degradation occurs, but the material cost and complexity of the cartridge increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cartridge is segmented into essential components (aerosol-forming substrate and wicking element) and non-essential components (heater element and housing). This allows the cartridge to be simplified to contain only the consumable porous material components, reducing material cost and structural complexity while still enabling replacement before degradation.
Solution Approach 2:
The heater element and its housing are extracted from the disposable cartridge, leaving only the essential consumable components (aerosol-forming substrate and wicking element) in the simplified cartridge. This extraction reduces cartridge complexity and material cost while maintaining the ability to replace porous material before degradation.
3Ease of manufacture
If the heater element and porous material are manufactured together as an integrated assembly, then assembly is simplified, but high-speed manufacturing becomes difficult and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The heater assembly is segmented into separately manufacturable components: the heater element can be manufactured using high-speed processes independent of the porous material assembly. This segmentation enables parallel high-speed manufacturing of components without requiring complex integrated assembly processes.
Solution Approach 2:
While the components are manufactured separately, they are designed to combine through simple mechanical interfaces or attachment mechanisms that enable rapid assembly. This merging approach maintains ease of assembly while preserving the manufacturing speed benefits of separate production.
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 design extends the lifetime of the wicking element, reduces material costs, and simplifies manufacturing by enabling separate production of the heater assembly and wicking element, while maintaining efficient heating and aerosol generation.
Implementation Method 1
heat is applied to the substrate when the heater assembly is supplied with power from a power supply
Implementation Method 2
Heating of the aerosol-forming substrate contained in the porous material may be efficient when there is direct contact between the porous material and the heater element
Implementation Method 3
The porous material can transport aerosol-forming substrate in liquid form from a reservoir provided in the aerosol-generating system
Data Source
AI summary
An aerosol-generating system including an aerosol-generating device and a cartridge is provided, the aerosol-generating device including a heater assembly, the heater assembly including: a heating element; and a receiving chamber at least partially defined by the heating element, the receiving chamber including an opening to receive a wicking element of the aerosol-generating system, the receiving chamber having first and second configurations, an internal volume of the receiving chamber being larger when the chamber is in the first configuration than when the chamber is in the second configuration, in the second configuration, the heating element being in contact with the wicking element when the wicking element is received in the receiving chamber, the aerosol-generating device further including a power supply electrically connectable to the at least one heating element, and the cartridge including the wicking element configured to be received or receivable in the receiving chamber of the heater assembly.