Vaporizing Heater Assembly With Porous Wick For Back Pressure Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vaporizing devices face challenges in achieving 100% fluid vaporization due to inefficient heating and lack of control over fluid vaporization, leading to energy wastage and potential wick degradation, as well as issues with maintaining back pressure to prevent drooling from the ejection head.
Innovation Solution
A vaporizing device with a heater assembly featuring a porous wick positioned between the heater and the ejection head, along with air intake ports to manage back pressure and ensure all fluid is vaporized, utilizing a foraminous vaporizing heater and a support housing for controlled fluid metering and vaporization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If a conventional heater configuration is used to heat the entire wick, then the wick can vaporize fluid, but a large amount of energy is required and the wick degrades over time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by positioning the heater to contact only a localized region of the wick rather than heating the entire wick. The heater is configured to heat only the portion of the wick needed for vaporization, creating a localized heating zone that reduces overall energy consumption and prevents thermal degradation of the entire wick structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The wick is functionally segmented into a heated vaporization zone and a non-heated fluid transport zone. This segmentation allows the heater to act only on the necessary portion of the wick, reducing energy waste while maintaining the wick's overall structural integrity and extending its service life.
2Speed
If the vaporizing heater is made small to heat up quickly, then heating speed improves, but the surface area is insufficient to vaporize all ejected fluid
Solution Approach 1:
The wick serves as an intermediary between the small, fast-heating element and the larger volume of fluid to be vaporized. The heater rapidly heats the wick material, which then distributes the thermal energy across its larger surface area through capillary action and thermal conduction, enabling complete vaporization of the fluid without requiring the heater itself to have large surface area.
Solution Approach 2:
The wick is made of porous material that provides large internal surface area for heat transfer. The porous structure allows the wick to absorb and distribute heat from the small heater element across its extensive internal network, effectively multiplying the heating surface area while maintaining fast response time.
3Productivity
If negative pressure is applied to the vaporizing device to draw vapor, then vapor delivery is achieved, but the ejection head drools liquid and cannot accurately jet fluid
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the backpressure generation function from the ejection head by introducing a separate backpressure regulation mechanism. This allows the ejection head to maintain its precision fluid jetting capability while the backpressure mechanism independently manages the negative pressure to prevent drooling, separating the two conflicting functions.
Solution Approach 2:
A backpressure regulation mechanism provides feedback control to maintain optimal pressure conditions. The system monitors and adjusts the backpressure to prevent liquid drooling from the ejection head while still enabling sufficient vapor flow, creating a self-regulating system that maintains both precision and productivity.
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 ensures nearly complete fluid vaporization with controlled back pressure, reducing energy consumption and preventing drooling, thereby enhancing operational efficiency and precision in vapor delivery.
Implementation Method 1
a porous wick adjacent the second side of the heater element
Implementation Method 2
vaporizing heater and a support housing for controlled fluid metering and vaporization
Implementation Method 3
positive and negative electrodes for contact with positive and negative heater terminals on a vaporizing heater
Implementation Method 4
for back pressure control of the vaporizing device
Data Source
AI summary
A heater assembly for a vaporizing device, a vaporizing device containing the heater assembly, and a method for vaporizing fluid ejected by an ejection head. The heater assembly for the vaporizing device includes a vapor inlet end and a vapor outlet end, positive and negative electrodes for contact with positive and negative heater terminals on a vaporizing heater, an insulator disposed between the positive and negative electrodes, and a wick disposed between the insulator and the vaporizing heater for dispersion of liquid to be vaporized by the vaporizing heater and for back pressure control of the vaporizing device.