CN107205476B

CN107205476B - Electronic cigarette design for automated manufacturing

Info

Publication number: CN107205476B
Application number: CN201480084522.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 何家驹
Original assignee: Futham Holdings First Co ltd
Current assignee: Futum Investment Co ltd
Priority date: 2014-12-08
Filing date: 2014-12-08
Publication date: 2020-11-10
Anticipated expiration: 2034-12-08
Also published as: EP3229619A1; TW201626908A; PL3229619T3; WO2016090533A1; EP3229619B1; CN107205476A; EP3229619A4

Abstract

The electronic cigarette (20) includes a control module (24), a battery (28), a heater module (50), and a liquid supply (72) within a tube (22). The control module (24) and the heater module (50) are positioned on opposite sides of the battery (28) and are electrically connected to each other via the connector strip (30). The connector bar (30) may have tabs (32) extending into the control module (24) and the heater module (50) for making electrical connections. The electronic cigarette (20) may be unthreaded on any of the components and free of solder connections to improve reliability and allow for automated manufacturing.

Description

Electronic cigarette design for automated manufacturing

Technical Field

The field of the invention is the design and manufacture of electronic cigarettes.

Background

The use of electronic cigarettes, or so-called electronic cigarettes, is rapidly expanding as a substitute for smoking conventional real tobacco cigarettes. An electronic cigarette typically has a battery, an atomizer with a heating element, a reservoir of liquid, and an electronic control circuit, heating element, and inhalation sensor connected to the battery. When the user inhales, the inhalation sensor detects inhalation and the control circuit provides current from the battery to the heating element. The heating element heats the liquid to produce vapor for inhalation by the user.

Even with the rapid development of electronic cigarettes, they are still mainly manufactured by hand, usually including electrical connections made by manual soldering. Manual assembly of electronic cigarettes limits throughput and stability. It can also affect quality control, resulting in inefficient use of materials and greatly hindering the cost savings associated with automated manufacturing.

Many e-cigarettes are sold as single-use or disposable products. In these e-cigarettes, the battery must be discarded along with the e-cigarette when the liquid supply is exhausted. This may limit the types of batteries that may be used in the e-cigarette and/or create environmental battery handling confusion. Despite the motivation to overcome these shortcomings, various engineering challenges remain in providing improved electronic cigarette designs and improved electronic cigarette manufacturing methods.

Drawings

In the drawings, like numerals refer to like elements throughout the various views.

Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of an electronic cigarette component.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of an electronic cigarette tube.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the components of fig. 1 installed in the tube shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a rear perspective view of the heater module shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a side perspective view of the heater module shown in fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a rear perspective view of the electronic control module shown in fig. 1.

FIG. 7 is a front and side perspective view of the control module shown in FIG. 6.

Fig. 8 is a side perspective view of a heater and control module electrically connected by a connector strip as shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 9A-9D illustrate an example of an assembly method.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged side view of the battery, heater module and liquid supply installed in the tube.

Figure 11 is an enlarged side view of the front end of the e-cigarette shown in figure 3 with the front cover installed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT (S) OF INVENTION

A novel electronic cigarette design is provided. Novel methods for manufacturing an electronic cigarette are also disclosed. Turning now to the details of the drawings, as shown in figures 1 and 2, an e-cigarette 20 includes components that can be assembled together and then installed into a tube 22. The tube 22 may be a thin-walled metal tube, such as stainless steel, of similar length and diameter to a conventional tobacco cigarette, typically 80-120 mm in length and 8-12 mm in diameter. In the example shown, the components of the e-cigarette 20 may include the control module 24 and a heater module 50 located on opposite sides of the battery 28. Connector strip 30 may be used to provide an electrical connection between control module 24 and heater module 50, rather than using conventional wiring. Still referring to figure 1, in the example shown, the e-cigarette 20 may also include a PCB or heater plate 64 located between the heater module 50 and the liquid supply 72.

As shown in fig. 1 and 3, the

members

24, 28, 50 and 72 are generally cylindrical or disc-shaped and have an outer diameter nominally sized smaller than the inner diameter of the tube 22. This allows for the installation of the components by sliding the components into the tube 22 from either open end of the tube. An O-ring 36 on the control module 24 holds the control module 24 in place near the forward end of the tube 22 as shown in fig. 3 and 11. A front cover 26 snaps over the tube 22 to close the open front end of the tube. Similarly, the mouthpiece cover 80 snaps over the rear end of the tube 22.

Referring now to fig. 4 and 5, the heater module 50 may be provided with an O-ring 54 around the cylindrical housing 52. The heater module 50 may have a coil of wire 60 or other similar heating element on or at the rear end of the heater module housing 52, the coil being used to vaporize the liquid. In the example of fig. 4 and 5, the wire coil 60 has a central axis AA that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis LL of the tube 22. The leads 62 of the wire coil 60 may pass through openings in the heater plate 64 and extend into the heater module housing 52. A first electrical contact 66, optionally in the form of a spring, on or at the front end of the heater module housing 52 is connected to one of the wire leads 62. A second electrical contact 68, which may be in an opening in the side of the heater module housing 52, is electrically connected to another wire lead 62 and to the rear end of the connector bar 30, as shown in fig. 10. Clips 56 may optionally be provided on the sides of the heater module housing 52 to make electrical contact between the tube 22 and the heater module 50 and/or to help hold the heater module 50 in place within the tube 22. The heater module 50 may also have a switch 58 operable to prevent current flow to the wire coil 60 regardless of the control operation provided by the control module 24.

As shown in fig. 6 and 7, the control module 24 may also have a cylindrical housing 46, an O-ring 36, and a clip 38 similar to the heater module 50. An axial air bore 44 may extend through the housing 46 to vent gases in a battery chamber 48 formed in the tube 22 between the control module 24 and the heater module 50. The LED 42 may be disposed on the front end of the control module housing 48. The end contacts 40 on the rear end of the control module housing 46 are electrically connected to the front end of the connector bar 30 via inner conductors 45, as shown in fig. 11.

As shown in fig. 8, the connector strip 30 electrically connects the control module 24 to the heater module 50. The connector strip may be made of a plastic material, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) with a conductive coating. The connector strip may be thin (e.g. 0.5 to 1.5mm) and bent to fit and lie against the inside diameter of the tube. As shown in fig. 2, 10 and 11, the ends of the connector strip 30 may be formed or bent into tabs 32 that are inserted into side openings in the control module housing 46 and the heater module housing 52 for electrical connection. When the components are assembled into the tube 22, the tabs 32 cannot be pulled out of the

modules

24 and 50, thereby making a reliable electrical connection. Referring again to figures 1 and 8, as the e-cigarette 20 is assembled, the control module 24 is connected directly to the anode of the battery through the terminal contacts 40 and to the cathode of the battery through the spring 66 and the contact bar 30.

The connector bar 30 may have a plurality of individual electrically conductive wires to provide power and signals between the control module 24 and the heater module 50. The use of the connector strip 30 allows the electronic cigarette to be manufactured without the need for wiring or welding. It also allows the batteries to be easily removed from the tube 22 for recycling or separate disposal. The tube 22 itself or the conductive plating on the inside of the tube 22 may optionally also serve as additional electrical conductors between them.

As shown in fig. 9A, in an initial assembly step, a gasket 70, such as a wood fiber gasket, may be attached to a liquid supply 72. The liquid supply 72 may be a PET filter material in a plastic or metal tube 74 with a central passage 76 extending from a mouthpiece cover 80 through the liquid supply 72 to the heater module 50. In a second assembly step, as shown in fig. 9B, the control module 24, the battery 28, the heater module 50, and the liquid supply 72 may be aligned and assembled together on or in a fixture and form a set of components. Referring to fig. 9C, in a third assembly step, the connector strip 30 is mounted with tabs 32 that are inserted into contact openings in the control module housing 46 and contact openings in the heater module housing 52. In a fourth assembly step, shown in fig. 9D, the set of components, now comprising the conductor bars, is moved, for example pushed, into the tube 22. As shown in the final assembly step of fig. 3, the flap 80 and front cover 26 are pressed or snapped onto the end of the tube 22.

The outer diameter of O-

rings

36 and 54 may be nominally larger than the inner diameter of tube 22. In this case, the O-ring is slightly compressed when installed into the tube 22, creating enough friction to securely hold the component in place within the tube 22. The O-ring may also help prevent leakage of any stray liquid within tube 22.

Referring to figures 1-3, the e-cigarette 20 has fewer discrete components than prior art e-cigarettes. Each member is substantially cylindrical or disc-shaped. Thus, the components may be queued and processed by automation or robotics. For example, the component may be positioned via a robot in a holder or fixture that is axially aligned with the tube 22 and then pushed into the tube 22. In this case, the only remaining assembly step is to install the front cover 26 and the spout cover 80, which can also be done by automation. Unlike many existing electronic cigarettes, no threads, welds, wire positioning, heat shrink tubing, etc. are used or required.

Thus, a novel electronic cigarette and method of manufacture have been shown and described. Various changes and substitutions may of course be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents. Reference herein to an electronic cigarette without soldered connections and wires refers to the components shown in the drawings, and not to any connections, wires or components inside the control or heating module, such as microelectronic components with soldered connections or wires.

Claims

1. An electronic cigarette, comprising:

a tube;

a control module, a battery, a heater module, and a liquid supply, the control module, battery, heater module, and liquid supply being axially arranged in sequence and forming a set of components entirely within a tube, the control module and heater module being on opposite sides of the battery, and the control module and heater module each having a cylindrical housing; and

a connector bar included in the set of components, the connector bar electrically connecting the heater module to the control module without wiring.

2. The electronic cigarette of claim 1, wherein the control module, heater module, and battery each have a diameter nominally smaller than an inner diameter of the tube to allow the set of components to slide axially into the tube.

3. The electronic cigarette of claim 2, further comprising an o-ring around the control module for retaining the control module in a tube.

4. The electronic cigarette of claim 1, having no threads on any element.

5. The electronic cigarette of claim 1, being free of a welded connection.

6. The electronic cigarette of claim 1, further comprising a first electrical contact on the heater module, the first electrical contact contacting a first end of the battery; and terminal contacts on the control module that contact a second terminal of the battery.

7. The electronic cigarette of claim 2, further comprising a liquid supply in the tube.

8. The electronic cigarette of claim 3, comprising a single connector bar having a central region with a curvature that substantially matches an inner diameter of the tube, the electronic cigarette further comprising an end tab that is perpendicular to the central region.

9. A method of manufacturing an electronic cigarette, comprising the steps of:

sequentially positioning and axially aligning the control module, the battery, the heater module and the liquid supply to one another to form a component assembly;

mounting a connector bar to electrically connect the control module and the heater module to incorporate the connector bar into the set of components;

aligning a tube with the set of components;

moving the tube and/or the set of components to place the set of components completely within the tube; and

an end cap is placed over one end of the tube.

10. The method of claim 9, the electronic cigarette being free of a welded connection.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the electronic cigarette is free of threaded components.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the steps are performed by automation or robotics.