Wick Support Element Capillary Bore Aerosol Flow Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aerosol delivery devices face issues with large liquid droplets reaching the user's mouth and the degradation of heating elements due to long-term exposure, leading to undesirable toxicants and uneven heating, which affects the quality and safety of nicotine and flavor delivery.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of a wick support element with capillary bores that precisely positions the wick relative to the heater, allowing controlled aerosol precursor flow and preventing excessive liquid from reaching the heating element, along with a mesh or multiplicity of plates/fibers for atomization and vaporization, ensuring efficient aerosol generation and delivery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a wick is used to deliver aerosol precursor to the heater, then the heater can be protected from direct contact with large liquid droplets, but the wick may still allow excessive liquid to reach the heating element causing degradation
Solution Approach 1:
A mesh screen is introduced as an intermediary component between the wick and the heater. The mesh acts as a filter that intercepts large liquid droplets from the wick while allowing vapor and small aerosol particles to pass through to the heater. This mediator protects the heater from direct contact with excessive liquid that would cause degradation and toxicant formation.
Solution Approach 2:
The mesh screen utilizes porous material structure with specific pore sizes that allow selective passage of fluids and vapors. The porous structure permits vapor transmission while blocking larger liquid droplets, solving the contradiction between allowing adequate aerosol precursor delivery and preventing excessive liquid exposure to the heater.
2Productivity
If the wick is positioned close to the heater for efficient heating, then vaporization efficiency improves, but large liquid droplets can directly contact the heater causing uneven heating and degradation
Solution Approach 1:
The mesh screen serves as a mediator positioned between the wick and heater, enabling close positioning for efficient heating while blocking harmful direct liquid contact. The mesh allows vapor to pass through efficiently to the heater surface while intercepting large liquid droplets, thus maintaining productivity without the harmful effects of direct liquid exposure.
3Device complexity
If the wick delivers aerosol precursor directly to the heater, then the structure is simple, but large liquid droplets reach the user's mouth and the heater degrades rapidly
Solution Approach 1:
The mesh screen is introduced as a relatively simple intermediary component that filters large liquid droplets before they can reach the user's mouth or degrade the heater. While it adds a component, the mesh structure is straightforward and maintains overall device simplicity while dramatically improving aerosol delivery quality and heater reliability.
4Quantity of substance
If the heater is exposed to excessive aerosol precursor liquid, then adequate material is available for vaporization, but the heater degrades and produces toxicants
Solution Approach 1:
The mesh screen acts as a selective intermediary that allows adequate aerosol precursor in vapor form to reach the heater for vaporization while blocking excessive liquid that would cause degradation and toxicant production. This maintains sufficient material availability for effective nicotine and flavor delivery without the harmful effects of liquid exposure.
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 prevents large liquid droplets from reaching the user, reduces toxicant inhalation, and maintains consistent heating, enhancing the safety and efficacy of nicotine and flavor delivery while prolonging the device's lifespan.
Implementation Method 1
a wick support element between the reservoir and the wick, the wick support element having at least one capillary bore therethrough for passage of the aerosol precursor from the reservoir to the wick
Implementation Method 2
a heater arranged to heat an aerosol precursor to generate an aerosolised composition for inhalation by a user
Implementation Method 3
along with a mesh or multiplicity of plates/fibers for atomization and vaporization
Data Source
AI summary
An aerosol delivery device comprises an aerosol-generation apparatus, including a heater and a fluid-transfer article. The fluid-transfer article has a reservoir for the holding an aerosol precursor, a wick arrangement to receive aerosol precursor from the reservoir, and a wick support element. The wick support element has at least one capillary bore therethrough. Hence, it allows aerosol precursor to pass from the reservoir to the wick in a capillary manner through the or each bore. Preferably, the heater makes abutting, unbonded contact with an activation surface of the wick soas to interact thermally therewith. This allows the heater to separable from the wick, for example, when the fluid-transfer article is separated from the rest of the device. This may be necessary when the aerosol precursor in the reservoir of the fluid transfer article has been consumed.