CN117597037A - Aerosol generating device comprising a vaporizer - Google Patents

Abstract

An aerosol-generating device comprising: a vaporizer configured to generate an aerosol from an aerosol-generating substance; a medium accommodating portion in which a medium through which the aerosol generated by the vaporizer passes is accommodated; a path through which aerosol generated by the vaporizer flows; and a chamber located between the path and the medium accommodating portion, the chamber having an inner diameter greater than an inner diameter of the path and configured to transfer aerosol supplied from the path to the medium accommodating portion.

Description

Aerosol generating device comprising a vaporizer

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to aerosol-generating devices including a vaporizer, and more particularly to aerosol-generating devices including a vaporizer that increases the amount of aerosol delivered to a user.

Background

In recent years, the need for alternative methods to overcome the disadvantages of conventional cigarettes has increased.

For example, there is an increasing need for systems for generating aerosols by heating cigarettes or aerosol-generating substances using aerosol-generating devices, rather than by burning cigarettes. Accordingly, research into a heating type aerosol-generating device has been actively conducted.

The aerosol-generating device may comprise a vaporiser capable of generating an aerosol and the vaporiser may comprise a reservoir to store the aerosol-generating substance and an aerosol generator for aerosolizing the aerosol-generating substance.

The aerosol-generating device should adequately deliver the aerosol generated by the vaporizer to the user. However, the conventional aerosol generating device has the following problems: the aerosol generated by the aerosol generator may not be adequately delivered to the user.

In detail, depending on the shape, size and arrangement of the space in which the generated aerosol is delivered to the user, the aerosol may not be sufficiently delivered to the user.

Accordingly, in order to solve this problem, there is a need for a technique for improving an aerosol-delivery structure of an aerosol-generating device comprising a vaporizer.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical problem

Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide an aerosol-generating device comprising a vaporizer in which the amount of aerosol delivered to a user may be increased.

Furthermore, various embodiments of the present disclosure provide an aerosol-generating device comprising a vaporizer, wherein the aerosol liquefaction and leakage or contamination of the element may be prevented.

Further, various embodiments of the present disclosure also provide an aerosol-generating device including a vaporizer, in which an aerosol can be smoothly delivered to a user by preventing formation of a vortex in an aerosol airflow.

Technical aspects, features and advantages to be achieved by the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the above-described problems, and embodiments not mentioned in the present disclosure will be clearly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art from the present disclosure and the accompanying drawings.

Solution to the problem

An aerosol-generating device according to an embodiment comprises: a vaporizer configured to generate an aerosol from an aerosol-generating substance; a medium accommodating portion in which a medium through which the aerosol generated by the vaporizer passes is accommodated; a path through which aerosol generated by the vaporizer flows; and a chamber located between the path and the medium accommodating portion, the chamber having an inner diameter larger than an inner diameter of the path and configured to transfer aerosol supplied from the path to the medium accommodating portion, wherein a direction in which the path extends intersects a direction in which the medium accommodating portion extends.

The beneficial effects of the invention are that

An aerosol-generating device comprising a vaporizer according to various embodiments of the present disclosure may increase the amount of aerosol delivered to a user.

Furthermore, aerosol-generating devices including a vaporizer according to various embodiments of the present disclosure may prevent aerosol liquefaction and leakage or contamination of elements.

Furthermore, an aerosol-generating device including a vaporizer according to various embodiments of the present disclosure may efficiently deliver aerosol to a user by preventing the formation of a vortex in an aerosol airflow.

Effects according to one or more embodiments are not limited to the above-described effects, and effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art from the present specification and drawings.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an aerosol-generating device comprising a vaporizer according to an embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating an aerosol-generating device comprising a vaporizer according to another embodiment.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating an aerosol-generating device comprising a vaporizer according to another embodiment.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating an aerosol-generating device including a vaporizer according to another embodiment.

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating an aerosol-generating device including a vaporizer according to another embodiment.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating an aerosol-generating device including a vaporizer according to another embodiment.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an aerosol-generating device including a vaporizer according to an embodiment.

Detailed Description

Regarding terms in various embodiments, general terms currently widely used are selected in consideration of functions of structural elements in various embodiments of the present disclosure. However, the meaning of these terms may vary depending on the intent, judicial cases, the advent of new technology, and the like.

In addition, in certain instances, terms may be arbitrarily selected by the applicant under certain circumstances. In this case, meanings of these terms will be described in detail at corresponding parts in the description of the present disclosure.

Thus, terms used in various embodiments of the present disclosure should be defined based on meanings of the terms and descriptions provided herein.

In addition, unless explicitly described to the contrary, the word "comprise" and variations such as "comprises" or "comprising" will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion of any other elements.

Furthermore, the terms "-means", "-means" and "module" described in the application document refer to units for processing at least one function and operation, and may be implemented by hardware components or software components, and combinations thereof.

As used herein, when a expression such as "at least any one of" is followed by an element being arranged, all the elements are modified instead of every element being arranged.

For example, the expression "at least any one of a, b and c" should be understood to include a, b, c, or a and b, a and c, b and c, or a, b and c.

In an embodiment, the aerosol-generating device comprising the vaporiser may be a device for generating an aerosol by electrically heating a cigarette housed in an interior space of the aerosol-generating device.

The aerosol-generating device comprising the vaporiser may comprise a heater.

For example, the heater may include a conductive trace, and the heater may be heated when current flows through the conductive trace.

The heater may include a tubular heating element, a plate-like heating element, a needle-like heating element, or a rod-like heating element, and may heat the inside or outside of the cigarette according to the shape of the heating element.

The media may include tobacco rods and filter rods.

The tobacco rod may be formed from sheets, tows, and micro-chips cut from tobacco sheets. Furthermore, the tobacco rod may be surrounded by a heat conducting material.

For example, the thermally conductive material may be, but is not limited to, a metal foil, such as aluminum foil.

The mouth stick may comprise a cellulose acetate filter. The filter rod may comprise at least one section. For example, the filter rod may include a first section configured to cool the aerosol and a second section configured to filter specific components in the aerosol.

In another embodiment, the aerosol-generating device comprising the vaporiser may be a device for generating an aerosol by using a cartridge containing an aerosol-generating substance.

An aerosol-generating device comprising a vaporiser may comprise a cartridge containing an aerosol-generating substance and a body supporting the cartridge.

The cartridge may be detachably coupled to the body, but is not limited thereto.

The cartridge may be integrally formed or assembled with the body and the cartridge may also be secured to the body so as not to be separated from the body by a user.

The cartridge may be mounted on the body while the aerosol-generating substance is contained in the cartridge.

However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The aerosol-generating substance may also be injected into the cartridge when the cartridge is coupled to the body.

The cartridge may contain the aerosol-generating substance in various states, such as liquid, solid, gaseous or gel states, etc.

The aerosol-generating substance may comprise a liquid composition.

For example, the liquid composition may be a liquid comprising tobacco-containing material having volatile tobacco flavor components, or may be a liquid comprising non-tobacco material.

The cartridge may be operated by an electrical or wireless signal transmitted from the body to perform the function of generating an aerosol by converting the phase of the aerosol-generating substance within the cartridge into the gas phase.

An aerosol may refer to a gas in which vaporized particles generated from an aerosol-generating substance are mixed with air.

In another embodiment, the aerosol-generating device may generate an aerosol by heating the liquid composition, and the generated aerosol may be delivered to a user by a cigarette.

That is, the aerosol generated from the liquid composition may move along the airflow channel of the aerosol-generating device, and the airflow channel may be configured to allow the aerosol to be delivered to the user by passing through the cigarette.

In another embodiment, the aerosol-generating device may be a device that generates an aerosol from an aerosol-generating substance by using an ultrasonic vibration method.

At this time, the ultrasonic vibration method may refer to a method of generating an aerosol by converting an aerosol-generating substance into an aerosol using ultrasonic vibration generated by a vibrator.

The aerosol-generating device may comprise a vibrator and the short period of vibration is generated by the vibrator to convert the aerosol-generating substance into an aerosol.

The vibration generated by the vibrator may be ultrasonic vibration, and the frequency band of the ultrasonic vibration may be within a frequency band of about 100kHz to about 3.5MHz, but is not limited thereto.

The aerosol-generating device may further comprise a core for absorbing the aerosol-generating substance.

For example, the core may be arranged to surround at least one region of the vibrator, or may be arranged to be in contact with at least one region of the vibrator.

When a voltage (e.g., an alternating voltage) is applied to the vibrator, heat and/or ultrasonic vibrations may be generated from the vibrator, and the heat and/or ultrasonic vibrations generated from the vibrator may be transmitted to the aerosol-generating substance absorbed in the core.

The aerosol-generating substance absorbed in the core may be converted to a gaseous state by heat and/or ultrasonic vibrations transmitted from the vibrator, and thus an aerosol may be generated.

For example, the viscosity of the aerosol-generating substance absorbed in the core may be reduced by heat generated by the vibrator, and when the aerosol-generating substance having a lower viscosity is granulated by ultrasonic vibration generated by the vibrator, an aerosol may be generated, but is not limited thereto.

In another embodiment, the aerosol-generating device is a device for generating an aerosol by heating an aerosol-generating article housed in the aerosol-generating device by means of induction heating.

The aerosol-generating device may comprise a base and a coil.

In an embodiment, the coil may apply a magnetic field to the base.

When power is supplied from the aerosol-generating device to the coil, a magnetic field may be formed inside the coil.

In an embodiment, the base may be a magnet that generates heat by an external magnetic field.

When the base is positioned inside the coil and a magnetic field is applied to the base, the base generates heat to heat the aerosol-generating article.

Additionally, optionally, the base may be positioned within the aerosol-generating article.

In another embodiment, the aerosol-generating device may further comprise a carrier. The aerosol-generating device may form a system with a separate carrier. For example, the cradle may charge a battery of the aerosol-generating device. Alternatively, the heater may be heated when the carrier and the aerosol-generating device are coupled to each other.

Hereinafter, the present disclosure will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the disclosure are shown so that those having ordinary skill in the art may readily implement the disclosure.

The present invention may be embodied in a form capable of being embodied in the aerosol-generating device of the various embodiments described above, or may be embodied in a variety of different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 to 7 are views for describing an aerosol-generating device including a vaporizer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The elements related to the present embodiment are included in the aerosol-generating device 10 shown in fig. 1 to 7 including a vaporizer. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other elements besides those shown in fig. 1-7 may be included in the aerosol-generating device 10 that includes a vaporizer.

Before the description with reference to fig. 1 to 6, the directions are defined as follows to facilitate understanding.

Referring to fig. 1-6, with respect to the media receiving portion 12 of the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer, the direction toward the chamber 14 may be referred to as a downward direction and the opposite direction may be referred to as an upward direction.

From another perspective, the direction of movement of the medium 20 may be referred to as a downward direction when the medium 20 is inserted into the aerosol-generating device 10 comprising a vaporizer, and the direction of movement of the medium 20 may be referred to as an upward direction when the medium 20 is separated from the aerosol-generating device 10 comprising a vaporizer.

From another perspective, when using an aerosol-generating device 10 comprising a vaporizer, the direction of airflow through the medium 20 may be referred to as an upward direction, while the opposite direction may be referred to as a downward direction.

An aerosol-generating device 10 comprising a vaporiser according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to fig. 1. The aerosol-generating device 10 comprising a vaporiser comprises a vaporiser 11, a medium housing portion 12, a path 13 and a chamber 14. The medium 20 may be inserted into the medium accommodating portion 12, which medium accommodating portion 12 is located in the inner space of the aerosol-generating device 10 comprising the vaporizer.

The vaporizer 11 is an element for generating an aerosol from an aerosol-generating substance.

The medium accommodating portion 12 is an element accommodating the medium 20, through which the aerosol generated by the vaporizer 11 can pass through the medium 20.

Path 13 is the element through which the aerosol generated by vaporizer 11 flows.

The chamber 14 is located between the path and the media receiving portion 12. The chamber 14 is an element for delivering the aerosol supplied from the path 13 to the medium accommodating portion 12. The inner diameter of the chamber 14 may be greater than the inner diameter of the path 13.

In fig. 1, the vaporizer 11 and the medium accommodating portion 12 are arranged in parallel in a direction along which the medium accommodating portion 12 extends, and the path 13 and the chamber 14 are located between the vaporizer 11 and the medium accommodating portion 12.

However, the internal structure of the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer is not limited to the structure shown in fig. 1. In another example, the vaporizer 11 and the medium containing portion 12 may be aligned with each other in a direction along which the medium containing portion 12 extends, and the path 13 and the chamber 14 may be located between the vaporizer 11 and the medium containing portion 12.

The internal structure of the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer is not limited to the structure described in the present disclosure, and the arrangement of the vaporizer 11, the medium accommodating portion 12, the path 13, and the chamber 14 may be modified according to designs.

Vaporizer 11 may be in fluid communication with path 13, path 13 may be in fluid communication with chamber 14, and chamber 14 may be in fluid communication with media-receiving portion 12.

Referring to fig. 1, air may be introduced from the outside into an aerosol-generating device 10 comprising a vaporiser (as indicated by the arrow). Air introduced into the aerosol-generating device 10 comprising a vaporizer may pass through the vaporizer 11, may pass through the aerosol-generator 112 and the path 13 to the chamber 14, and may be transferred to the medium 20 housed in the medium housing portion 12.

Thus, an air flow may be formed from the air inlet through which air is introduced from outside the aerosol-generating device 10 comprising the vaporizer, to the medium 20 through the vaporizer 11, the path 13 and the chamber 14. When the media 20 is inserted into the media receiving portion 12, a user may hold a portion of the media 20 with the mouth and inhale to generate an air flow as described above.

The aerosol-generating device 10 comprising a vaporiser may generate an aerosol by operating the vaporiser 11. The aerosol generated by the vaporizer 11 may pass through the path 13, the chamber 14, and the medium 20 accommodated in the medium accommodating portion 12 together with air introduced from the outside of the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer and flowing through the medium accommodating portion 12, and may be delivered to a user.

The vaporizer 11 may include, but is not limited to, a reservoir 111 that stores an aerosol-generating substance and an aerosol generator 112 for aerosolizing the aerosol-generating substance. For example, the reservoir 111 and the aerosol-generator 112 may be included as separate modules in the aerosol-generating device 10 comprising a vaporizer.

Vaporizer 11 may be referred to as, but is not limited to, a nebulizer (cartomizer) or an atomizer.

The reservoir 111 may store an aerosol-generating substance. The aerosol-generating substance may have any of a variety of states such as liquid, solid, gaseous or gel state.

The aerosol-generating substance may be a liquid comprising a tobacco-containing substance having volatile tobacco flavour components, or may be a liquid comprising a non-tobacco substance.

For example, the aerosol-generating substance may be a liquid comprising a tobacco-containing substance having a volatile tobacco flavour ingredient, or may be a liquid comprising a non-tobacco substance. The reservoir 111 may be formed to be attachable/detachable to/from the carburetor 11, or may be integrally formed with the carburetor 11.

For example, the aerosol-generating substance may comprise water, solvents, ethanol, plant extracts, flavours, fragrances or vitamin mixtures. The flavor may include menthol, peppermint, spearmint oil, and various fruit ingredients, but is not limited thereto. The flavoring agent may include ingredients capable of providing various flavors or tastes to the user. The vitamin mixture may be a mixture of at least one of vitamin a, vitamin B, vitamin C, and vitamin E, but is not limited thereto. Furthermore, the aerosol-generating substance may comprise an aerosol-forming substance, such as glycerol and propylene glycol.

The aerosol generator 112 may include a substance delivery element (not shown) and a vaporization element (not shown). The substance delivery element is an element for absorbing the aerosol-generating substance stored in the reservoir 111, and the vaporising element is an element for aerosolizing the aerosol-generating substance absorbed by the substance delivery element.

The substance delivery element may absorb the aerosol-generating substance stored in the reservoir 111 and may deliver the aerosol-generating substance to the vaporising element. For example, the substance delivery component may be a core such as cotton fiber, ceramic fiber, glass fiber, or porous ceramic, but is not limited thereto.

The vaporization element is an element for heating the aerosol generator 112 delivered by the substance delivery element. For example, the vaporization element may be a metal heating wire, a metal hot plate, a ceramic heater, or the like, but is not limited thereto. Additionally, the vaporization element may include a conductive wire, such as a nickel-chromium wire, and may be positioned to extend around the substance delivery element. The vaporizing element may be heated by the supply of electric current and may transfer heat to the liquid composition in contact with the vaporizing element, thereby heating the liquid composition. Thus, an aerosol can be generated.

For example, the vaporizing element may be a heater (not shown) for heating the substance delivery element. The heater may heat the substance delivery element to aerosolize the aerosol-generating substance and generate an aerosol.

The heater may be heated by electric power supplied from the battery. Thus, the heated heater may heat the substance delivery element to increase the temperature of the aerosol-generating substance.

The heater may be a resistive heater. For example, the heater may include a conductive trace, and the core may be heated when current flows through the conductive trace.

However, the heater is not limited to the above example, and may include any other heater that can be heated to a desired temperature. Here, the desired temperature may be preset in the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer, or may be set by the user.

For example, the aerosol generator 112 may include a tube-type vaporization element, a plate-type vaporization element, a needle-type vaporization element, or a rod-type vaporization element, and may heat the inside or outside of the reservoir 111 according to the shape of the vaporization element.

In another example, the vaporizing element may include a vibrator (not shown). The vibrator may generate vibrations having a short period to atomize the aerosol-generating substance. The vibration generated by the vibrator may be ultrasonic vibration and the frequency band of the ultrasonic vibration may be in the range of about 100kHz to about 3.5MHz, but is not limited thereto.

When a voltage (e.g., an Alternating Current (AC) voltage) is applied to the vibrator, heat and/or ultrasonic vibrations may be generated from the vibrator and transferred to the aerosol-generating substance absorbed by the substance delivery element. The phase of the aerosol-generating substance absorbed by the substance delivery element may be converted to a gas phase by heat and/or ultrasonic vibrations transmitted from the vibrator, and thus an aerosol may be generated.

For example, the viscosity of the aerosol-generating substance absorbed by the substance delivery element may be reduced due to heat generated from the vibrator, and the aerosol-generating substance whose viscosity is reduced may be converted into fine particles due to ultrasonic vibration generated from the vibrator to generate an aerosol, but is not limited thereto.

Further, a plurality of aerosol-generators 112 may be located in the aerosol-generating device 10 comprising a vaporiser. In this case, the plurality of aerosol generators 112 may be inserted into the reservoir 111, or may be located outside the reservoir 111. Further, some of the plurality of aerosol generators 112 may be inserted into the reservoir 111, and other of the plurality of aerosol generators 112 may be located outside of the reservoir 111.

The shape of the carburetor 11 is not limited to the shape shown in fig. 1, and may include various shapes.

The vaporizer 11 can generate an aerosol by heating the aerosol-generating substance stored in the storage portion 111 by the aerosol generator 112.

The aerosol generated by the vaporizer 11 may pass through the path 13, the chamber 14, and the medium 20 inserted into the medium accommodating portion 12, and may be delivered to a user. In other words, the aerosol generated by the vaporizer 11 may move through the path 13 of the aerosol-generating device 10 comprising the vaporizer. Path 13 is used to deliver aerosol generated by vaporizer 11 to chamber 14 such that aerosol generated by vaporizer 11 passes through chamber 14, medium receiving portion 12, and medium 20 to the user.

In the conventional aerosol-generating device, when the inner diameter of the flow path connected with the medium accommodating portion 12 and configured to directly supply the aerosol to the medium 20 is too small compared to the inner diameter of the medium accommodating portion 12, the aerosol may not smoothly enter the end of the medium 20. In this case, the flow rate of the aerosol delivered to the medium 20 may be insufficient, and the amount of aerosol delivered to the user through the medium 20 per unit time may be insufficient when the user inhales the aerosol.

In detail, as the inner diameter of the flow path (particularly the inner diameter of the flow path adjacent to the medium accommodating portion 12) decreases, the pressure of the aerosol flowing through the flow path increases. Therefore, when the aerosol enters the end portion of the medium 20, the aerosol may not be uniformly supplied to the entire area of the end portion of the medium 20, and may be concentrated only on a certain portion corresponding to the center portion of the medium 20.

Referring to fig. 1, the chamber 14 may be located between the path 13 and the medium accommodating portion 12. Since the inner diameter D2 of the chamber 14 is larger than the inner diameter D1 of the path 13, the inner diameter of the chamber 14 is larger than the inner diameter of the path 13.

In the aerosol-generating device according to the embodiment comprising the vaporizer, the size of the chamber 14 for supplying the aerosol to the medium 20 is increased to have a sufficiently large inner diameter corresponding to the size of the end portion of the medium 20. Therefore, the aerosol can be smoothly and sufficiently supplied to the entire area of the end portion of the medium 20.

Since the inner diameter of the chamber 14 is larger than the inner diameter of the path 13, the pressure and flow rate of the aerosol can be reduced in the chamber 14 with an increased inner diameter when the aerosol with a higher pressure and flow rate in the path 13 passes through the path 13 to the chamber 14. Thus, as the chamber 14 reduces the pressure and flow rate of the aerosol received from the path 13, the chamber 14 may buffer the aerosol at the upstream side of the end of the medium 20.

Referring to fig. 1, a portion of the chamber 14 that communicates with the passage 13 and is open to receive the aerosol may be referred to as a chamber inlet 141, and a portion of the chamber 14 that communicates with the medium accommodating portion 12 and is open to transmit the aerosol may be referred to as a chamber outlet 142.

Since the chamber 14 is an element for directly delivering the aerosol to the medium 20 in the medium accommodating portion 12, the amount of aerosol supplied to the user per unit time can be increased when the inner diameter D2 of the chamber 14 is increased.

Since the inner diameter D2 of the chamber 14 is closer to the inner diameter D3 of the medium accommodating portion 12, a larger amount of aerosol can be delivered to the medium 20.

As aerosol flows from the path 13 to the chamber 14, the pressure of the aerosol may be regulated in the chamber 14 and then supplied to the medium 20.

The aerosol reaching the chamber 14 may enter the medium 20 while being compressed within the chamber 14. That is, when the aerosol reaches the chamber 14, as the pressure of the aerosol decreases in the chamber 14 having an inner diameter larger than that of the path 13, the aerosol may accumulate in the chamber 14. The aerosol contained in the chamber 14 may spread over the entire area in the chamber 14 to create a uniform pressure corresponding to the entire area of the end of the medium 20. Thus, the aerosol can be uniformly supplied to the entire area of the end of the medium 20.

The inner diameter of the chamber 14 may be equal to or greater than 70% of the inner diameter of the medium accommodating portion 12, and in this case, the cross-sectional area of the flow path of the chamber 14 may be equal to or greater than 49% of the cross-sectional area of the flow path of the medium accommodating portion 12. Preferably, the inner diameter of the chamber 14 may be equal to or greater than 90% of the inner diameter of the medium accommodating portion 12, and in this case, the cross-sectional area of the flow path of the chamber 14 may be equal to or greater than 81% of the cross-sectional area of the flow path of the medium accommodating portion 12.

Since the medium 20 should be located in the medium accommodating portion 12, the chamber 14 needs to be formed so that the medium 20 does not fall into the chamber 14. In detail, when the diameter of the chamber 14 is constant regardless of any portion and the inner diameter of the chamber 14 is smaller than the inner diameter of the medium 20, the top surface of the chamber 14 may support the medium 20 so that the medium 20 accommodated in the medium accommodating portion 12 does not fall into the chamber 14. When the diameter of the chamber 14 varies according to a portion and the inner diameter of the chamber outlet 142 formed on the upper portion of the chamber 14 is smaller than the inner diameter of the medium 20, the top surface of the chamber 14 may support the medium 20 so that the medium 20 accommodated in the medium accommodating portion 12 does not fall into the chamber 14 even in a case where the inner diameter of a portion of the chamber 14 other than the chamber outlet 142 is larger than the inner diameter of the medium 20.

Referring to fig. 1, a direction in which the path 13 extends may intersect with a direction in which the medium accommodating portion 12 extends. An angle α may be formed between the direction in which the path 13 extends and the direction in which the medium accommodating portion 12 extends. For example, the certain angle α may be in the range from 70 ° to 120 °, and may preferably be about 90 °.

When a certain angle α is formed between the direction in which the path 13 extends and the direction in which the medium accommodating portion 12 extends, the traveling direction of the aerosol air flow along the path 13 may be changed by an angle close to the certain angle α.

The lower end of the medium accommodating portion 12 may communicate with the chamber 14, and the upper end of the medium accommodating portion 12 may communicate with the outside of the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer. The aerosol-generating device 10 comprising a vaporiser may comprise a media insertion port which is open at a location adjacent the upper end of the media receiving portion 12.

The medium 20 may pass through the medium insertion port and may be inserted into and accommodated in the medium accommodating portion 12.

When the medium 20 is inserted into the medium accommodating portion 12 in the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer and accommodated in the medium accommodating portion 12, at least a portion of the medium 20 may protrude outward from the medium insertion port and may be exposed to the outside of the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer. The user may inhale the aerosol through a medium 20 exposed to the exterior of the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer.

The aerosol-generating device 10 comprising a vaporiser may comprise other elements in addition to the vaporiser 11, the medium accommodating portion 12, the path 13 and the chamber 14. For example, the aerosol-generating device 10 comprising a vaporizer may comprise a display capable of outputting visual information and/or a motor for outputting tactile information. In addition, the aerosol-generating device 10 comprising a vaporiser may comprise at least one sensor (suction detection sensor, temperature detection sensor, or medium insertion detection sensor).

Furthermore, the aerosol-generating device 10 comprising a vaporiser may be formed in the following structure: in this structure, external air may be introduced or internal air may be discharged even in the case of inserting the medium 20.

An example of the medium 20 of fig. 1 will be described below.

The medium 20 is an element allowing the aerosol to pass through, the medium 20 is located in the medium housing portion 12, and the medium 20 is provided separately from the aerosol-generating device 10 comprising a vaporiser.

The diameter of the medium 20 may be in the range of 5mm to 9mm, and the length of the medium 20 may be about 48mm, but is not limited thereto.

The medium 20 may be packaged by at least one package. At least one hole through which external air can be introduced or internal air can be discharged can be formed in the package. For example, the medium 20 may be packaged by one package. In another example, the media 20 may be double wrapped with two or more wrappers.

The medium 20 may comprise an aerosol-generating substance. For example, the aerosol-generating substance may comprise at least one of: glycerol, propylene glycol, ethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, and oleyl alcohol, but are not limited thereto. In addition, the media 20 may also include other additives such as fragrances, humectants, and/or organic acids. In addition, a flavored liquid, such as menthol or a humectant, may be added to the medium 20.

The medium 20 may be similar to a typical combustion medium. For example, the medium 20 may be divided into a first portion comprising the aerosol-generating substance and a second portion comprising the filter, etc. Alternatively, the aerosol-generating substance may also be included in the second portion of the medium 20. For example, an aerosol-generating substance in the form of particles or capsules may be inserted into the second portion.

A first portion of the medium 20 may be fully inserted into the aerosol-generating device 10 comprising the vaporizer and a second portion of the medium 20 may be exposed to the outside. Alternatively, only a part of the first portion of the medium 20 may be inserted into the aerosol-generating device 10 comprising a vaporiser, or a part of the first portion and a part of the second portion may be inserted into the aerosol-generating device 10 comprising a vaporiser. The user may inhale the aerosol while holding the second portion through the user's mouth. In this case, an aerosol is generated as the external air passes through the first portion, and the generated aerosol passes through the second portion and is delivered to the mouth of the user.

For example, the external air may be introduced through at least one air inlet formed in the aerosol-generating device 10 comprising a vaporizer. For example, the opening and closing of the air inlet and/or the size of the air inlet formed in the aerosol-generating device 10 comprising the vaporizer may be adjusted by the user. Thus, the user can adjust the amount and quality of smoking. In another example, external air may be introduced into the medium 20 through at least one hole formed on a surface of the medium 20.

An aerosol-generating device comprising a vaporiser according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to fig. 2 to 6. In order to avoid repetition of the description, in fig. 2 to 6, the same description as that of the aerosol-generating device including the vaporizer with reference to fig. 1 will be omitted.

Fig. 2 is a view for describing an aerosol-generating device including a vaporizer according to another embodiment.

In an aerosol-generating device comprising a vaporiser according to the embodiment of fig. 1, the path 13 may form an angle α between the direction in which it extends and the direction in which the medium accommodating portion 12 extends. The certain angle alpha may be close to a right angle.

The external air introduced into the aerosol-generating device 10 comprising the vaporiser may pass through the vaporiser 11, may pass through the path 13 together with the aerosol, and may be introduced into the chamber 14. In this case, as shown in fig. 1, when the angle α formed between the direction in which the path 13 extends and the direction in which the medium accommodating portion 12 extends is close to a right angle, the cross section of the inner side portion opposite to the air flow introduced into the chamber inlet 141 may also be close to a right angle, and the flow direction of a portion of the air flow may be rapidly changed on the inner side portion opposite to the chamber inlet 141, thereby forming a vortex.

When a vortex of air flow is generated on the inner side opposite to the chamber inlet 141, the entire air flow in the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer may be disturbed, the process of inhaling the aerosol by the user may be disturbed, the amount of aerosol directed to the medium housing portion 12 may be reduced, and the suction pressure of the user required to operate the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer may be increased.

In order to prevent deterioration of the function of the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer due to the formation of a vortex of the aerosol-containing gas flow in the chamber 14, in the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer according to the embodiment of fig. 2, a chamber inclined surface 143 inclined at an angle may be formed on an inner side portion of the chamber 14 opposite to the chamber inlet 141.

The chamber inclined surface 143 may enable the flow direction of the air flow passing through the inside of the chamber 14 to be gradually changed without being suddenly changed on the inner side opposite to the chamber inlet 141. According to this structure, since the airflow is prevented from forming a vortex in the chamber 14, the airflow in the chamber 14 can be guided to the medium accommodating portion 12 through the chamber outlet 142 without stagnation.

Accordingly, by the structure in which the chamber 14 includes the chamber inclined surface 143 formed in the chamber 14, it is possible to minimize the phenomenon in which the aerosol remains in the chamber without being inhaled and interfering with the inhalation of the aerosol by the user.

Fig. 3 is a view for describing an aerosol-generating device including a vaporizer according to another embodiment. To avoid repetition of the description, the same description as that of the aerosol-generating device including the vaporizer with reference to fig. 2 will be omitted.

As described with reference to fig. 1, a certain angle α may be formed between the direction in which the path 13 extends and the direction in which the medium accommodating portion 12 extends, and the certain angle α may be close to a right angle.

As shown in fig. 1, when the cross section of the side opposite to the air flow introduced into the chamber inlet 141 is close to a right angle, the flow direction of a portion of the air flow may be rapidly changed on the inner side opposite to the chamber inlet 141, thereby forming a vortex.

In order to prevent deterioration of the function of the aerosol-generating device 10 comprising the vaporizer due to the formation of a vortex in the chamber 14 by a portion of the airflow in the airflow containing the aerosol, the chamber 14 of the aerosol-generating device 10 comprising the vaporizer according to the embodiment of fig. 3 may comprise a chamber curved surface 144 formed on an inner side opposite to the chamber inlet 141.

The chamber curved surface 144 may enable the flow direction of the air flow through the interior of the chamber 14 to be gradually changed without being abruptly changed on the inner side opposite the chamber inlet 141. According to this structure, since the airflow is prevented from forming a vortex in the chamber 14, the airflow in the chamber 14 can be guided to the medium accommodating portion 12 through the chamber outlet 142 without stagnation.

Accordingly, by the structure in which the chamber 14 includes the chamber curved surface 144 formed in the chamber 14, the phenomenon in which the aerosol remains in the chamber without being inhaled and the user is disturbed to inhale the aerosol can be minimized.

Fig. 4 is a view for describing an aerosol-generating device including a vaporizer according to another embodiment.

In the aerosol-generating device comprising a vaporizer according to the embodiment of fig. 1, a certain angle α may be formed between the direction in which the path 13 extends and the direction in which the medium accommodating portion 12 extends, and may be close to a right angle.

The external air introduced into the aerosol-generating device 10 comprising the vaporiser may pass through the vaporiser 11, may pass through the path 13 together with the aerosol, and may be introduced into the chamber 14. In this case, the aerosol in the air passing through the chamber 14 may be partially liquefied in the chamber 14.

The liquefied aerosol may remain in the path 13 and/or the chamber 14, thereby interfering with the air flow in the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer and interfering with the inhalation of the aerosol by the user.

In order to prevent deterioration of the function of the aerosol-generating device 10 comprising the vaporizer due to the aerosol liquefying and remaining in the aerosol-generating device 10 comprising the vaporizer, the aerosol-generating device 10 comprising the vaporizer according to the embodiment of fig. 4 may comprise a chamber lower space 145 formed opposite to the chamber outlet 142 in the chamber 14.

When the angle α formed between the direction in which the path 13 extends and the direction in which the medium accommodating portion 12 extends is close to a right angle, the chamber inlet 141 may be located between the chamber outlet 142 and the chamber lower space 145 in the direction in which the medium accommodating portion extends.

From another point of view, the chamber lower space 145 may be located below the chamber outlet 142 in a direction along which the medium accommodating portion extends, and may be located at a lower position than the chamber inlet 141.

In general, since a user using the aerosol-generating device 10 comprising a vaporizer is using the aerosol-generating device 10 comprising a vaporizer in a state in which the medium 20 and the medium accommodating portion 12 are located above the chamber 14, liquefied aerosol in the chamber 14 may flow down into the chamber lower space 145 by gravity when the user uses the aerosol-generating device 10 comprising a vaporizer.

With this structure, when a user uses the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer, liquefied aerosol can remain and accumulate in the chamber lower space 145.

When the medium 20 is separated from the medium accommodating portion 12, the outside of the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer and the inside of the chamber 14 may communicate with each other. Thus, after the user has used the aerosol-generating device 10 comprising the vaporiser, the user may flip the aerosol-generating device 10 comprising the vaporiser to expel the liquefied aerosol accumulated in the lower chamber space 145 to the outside of the aerosol-generating device 10 comprising the vaporiser.

In another example, a user may disassemble a portion of the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer to expel liquefied aerosol accumulated in the chamber lower space 145 to the outside of the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer.

Fig. 5 is a view for describing an aerosol-generating device including a vaporizer according to another embodiment.

Referring to fig. 5, the inner diameter D2 of the chamber 14 may be similar or equal to the inner diameter D3 of the medium accommodating portion 12.

As the inner diameter of the chamber 14 increases, the amount of aerosol delivered to the user through the medium 20 per unit time increases as the user inhales the aerosol. Thus, with this structure, the amount of aerosol delivered to the user can be maximized.

As described with reference to fig. 1, when the inner diameter of the chamber 14 and/or the chamber outlet 142 is smaller than the inner diameter of the medium 20, the top surface of the chamber 14 may support the medium 20 such that the medium 20 does not fall into the chamber 14.

However, when the inner diameter D2 of the chamber 14 is equal to the inner diameter D3 of the medium accommodating portion 12, the top surface of the chamber 14 may not support the medium 20, and thus, the medium 20 may fall into the chamber 14.

To solve this problem, according to the present embodiment, the medium accommodating part 12 may include a protrusion 121 protruding from an inner surface of the medium accommodating part 12 for supporting the medium 20.

In detail, the protrusion 121 may protrude from the lowermost end of the inner surface of the medium accommodating part 12 toward the center of the medium accommodating part 12. One or more protrusions 121 may be formed.

Since the protrusions 121 may block the air flow in the chamber 14 towards the medium 20 and may interfere with the transfer of aerosol, the number of protrusions 121 may be minimized to the extent that the medium 20 may be supported.

The cross-sectional shape of the protrusion 121 may be changed into various shapes, such as a quadrangular shape or a triangular shape, to support the medium 20.

According to the aerosol-generating device including the vaporizer according to the embodiment, the amount of aerosol supplied by the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer can be maximized, and the medium 20 can be stably supported in the medium accommodating portion 12.

Fig. 6 is a view for describing an aerosol-generating device including a vaporizer according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

The aerosol-generating device 10 comprising a vaporiser according to the embodiment of fig. 6 may further comprise an expansion chamber 15 between the chamber 14 and the medium accommodating portion 12.

In detail, a lower portion of the expansion chamber 15 may communicate with the chamber outlet 142, and an upper portion of the expansion chamber 15 may communicate with a lower end portion of the medium accommodating portion 12.

In this case, the inner diameter D4 of the expansion chamber 15 may be larger than the inner diameter D2 of the chamber 14.

The inner diameter D4 of the expansion chamber 15 may be similar or equal to the inner diameter D3 of the medium accommodating portion 12. The inner diameter of the expansion chamber 15 may be similar or equal to the inner diameter of the medium accommodating portion 12.

The expansion chamber 15 may allow the inner diameter of the space through which the gas flow including the aerosol passes to be expanded again and be larger than the inner diameter of the chamber 14 at the lower end portion of the medium accommodating portion 12.

As the inner diameter of the space through which the air flow delivered to the medium accommodating part 12 passes increases, the amount of aerosol delivered to the user through the medium 20 per unit time increases when the user inhales the aerosol. Thus, with this structure, the amount of aerosol delivered to the user can be maximized.

According to the aerosol-generating device 10 according to the present embodiment of fig. 6, which includes the vaporizer, since the inner diameter D2 of the chamber 14 is smaller than the inner diameter D3 of the medium accommodating portion 12, the space in the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer can be used more effectively.

Since the inner diameter D4 of the expansion chamber 15, which is a space through which the air flow transmitted to the medium accommodating portion 12 passes, is similar to or equal to the inner diameter D3 of the medium accommodating portion 12, the amount of aerosol introduced into the medium accommodating portion 12 can be maximized, and the amount of aerosol supplied to the user per unit time can be increased.

Thus, with this structure, the internal space of the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer can be effectively used, and the amount of aerosol supplied to the user per unit time can be increased.

However, when the inner diameter D4 of the expansion chamber 15 is equal to the inner diameter D3 of the medium accommodating portion 12, the medium 20 may fall into the expansion chamber 15.

To solve this problem, as in the embodiment of fig. 5, the medium accommodating portion 12 may include a protrusion 121, the protrusion 121 protruding from an inner surface of the medium accommodating portion 12 toward the center to support the medium 20. To avoid repetition of the description, the same description as that of the protrusion 121 with reference to fig. 5 will be omitted.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an aerosol-generating device 10 including a vaporizer according to another embodiment. An aerosol-generating device 10 comprising a vaporiser according to another embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to fig. 7.

The aerosol-generating device 10 comprising a vaporizer may comprise a vaporizer 11, a controller 30, a battery 40, a sensing unit 50, an output unit 60, a communication unit 70, a memory 80, and a user input unit 90.

However, the internal structure of the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer is not limited to the structure shown in fig. 7.

That is, depending on the design of the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that some of the components shown in fig. 7 may be omitted or new components may be added.

The sensing unit 50 may sense a state of the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer and a state around the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer, and transmit the sensed information to the controller 30.

Based on the sensed information, the controller 30 may control the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer to perform various functions, such as controlling operation of the vaporizer 11, restricting smoking, determining whether an aerosol-generating article (e.g., cigarette, cartridge, etc.) is inserted, displaying a notification, etc.

The sensing unit 50 may include at least one of a temperature sensor 51, an insertion detection sensor 52, and a suction sensor 53, but is not limited thereto.

The temperature sensor 51 may sense the temperature at which the vaporizer 11 (or aerosol-generating substance) is heated.

The aerosol-generating device 10 comprising a vaporiser may comprise a separate temperature sensor for sensing the temperature of the vaporiser 11 or the vaporiser 11 may act as a temperature sensor.

Alternatively, the temperature sensor 51 may also be arranged around the battery 40 to monitor the temperature of the battery 40.

The insertion detection sensor 52 may sense insertion and/or removal of the aerosol-generating article.

For example, the insertion detection sensor 52 may include at least one of a membrane sensor, a pressure sensor, an optical sensor, a resistive sensor, a capacitive sensor, an inductive sensor, and an infrared sensor, and may sense a signal change according to insertion and/or removal of the aerosol-generating article.

The suction sensor 53 may sense the suction of the user based on various physical changes in the airflow path or airflow channel.

For example, the suction sensor 53 may sense suction of the user based on any one of a temperature change, a flow rate change, a voltage change, and a pressure change.

The sensing unit 50 may include at least one of a temperature/humidity sensor, an air pressure sensor, a magnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, a position sensor (e.g., a Global Positioning System (GPS)), a proximity sensor, and a red, green, blue (RGB) sensor (illuminance sensor) in addition to the above-described temperature sensor 51, insertion detection sensor 52, and suction sensor 53.

Since the function of each of the sensors can be intuitively inferred from the names of the sensors by those of ordinary skill in the art, a detailed description of these sensors can be omitted.

The output unit 60 may output information about the state of the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer and provide the information to a user.

The output unit 60 may include at least one of a display unit 61, a haptic unit 62, and a sound output unit 63, but is not limited thereto.

When the display unit 61 and the touch panel are layered to form a touch screen, the display unit 61 may be used as an input device in addition to an output device.

The display unit 61 may visually provide information to the user about the aerosol-generating device 10 comprising the vaporizer.

For example, the information about the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer may refer to various information such as a charge/discharge state of the battery 40 of the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer, a pre-heating state of the vaporizer 11, an insertion/removal state of the aerosol-generating article, or a state in which the use of the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer is limited (e.g., abnormal objects are sensed), and the display unit 61 may output the information to the outside.

The display unit 61 may be, for example, a liquid crystal display panel (LCD), an Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display panel, or the like.

In addition, the display unit 61 may be in the form of a Light Emitting Diode (LED) light emitting device.

The haptic unit 62 may provide information about the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer to a user in a haptic manner by converting an electrical signal into a mechanical or electrical stimulus.

For example, the haptic unit 62 may include a motor, a piezoelectric element, or an electro-stimulation device.

The sound output unit 63 may audibly provide information to the user regarding the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer.

For example, the sound output unit 63 may convert an electric signal into a sound signal and output the sound signal to the outside.

The battery 40 may supply power for operating the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer.

The battery 40 may supply power so that the carburetor 11 may be heated.

In addition, the battery 40 may supply power required to operate other components in the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer (e.g., the sensing unit 50, the output unit 60, the user input unit 90, the memory 80, and the communication unit 70).

The battery 40 may be a rechargeable battery or a disposable battery.

For example, the battery 40 may be a lithium polymer (LiPoly) battery, but is not limited thereto.

The vaporizer 11 may receive power from the battery 40 to heat the aerosol-generating substance.

Although not shown in fig. 7, the aerosol-generating device 10 including a vaporizer may further include a power conversion circuit (e.g., a Direct Current (DC)/DC converter) that converts the power of the battery 40 and supplies the converted power to the vaporizer 11.

In addition, when the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer generates an aerosol in an induction heating method, the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer may further include a DC/Alternating Current (AC) that converts DC power of the battery 40 into AC power.

The controller 30, the sensing unit 50, the output unit 60, the user input unit 90, the memory 80, and the communication unit 70 may each receive power from the battery 40 to perform functions.

Although not shown in fig. 7, the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer may further include a power conversion circuit that converts power of the battery 40 to supply power to the corresponding components, such as a Low Dropout (LDO) circuit or a voltage regulator circuit.

In embodiments, vaporizer 11 may be formed of any suitable resistive material.

For example, suitable resistive materials may be metals or metal alloys including: titanium, zirconium, tantalum, platinum, nickel, cobalt, chromium, hafnium, niobium, molybdenum, tungsten, tin, gallium, manganese, iron, copper, stainless steel, nickel chromium, etc., but are not limited thereto: .

In addition, the carburetor 11 may be implemented by a metal wire, a metal plate with conductive traces disposed thereon, a ceramic heating element, or the like, but is not limited thereto.

In another embodiment, the vaporizer 11 may be an induction heating type heater.

For example, the vaporizer 11 may comprise a base that heats the aerosol-generating substance by the heat generated by the magnetic field applied by the coil.

The user input unit 90 may receive information input from a user or may output information to a user.

For example, the user input unit 90 may include a keypad, a dome switch (dome switch), a touch pad (contact capacitance method, piezoresistive film method, infrared sensing method, surface ultrasonic conduction method, overall tension measuring method, piezoelectric effect method, etc.), a wheel switch, etc., but is not limited thereto.

In addition, although not shown in fig. 7, the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer may further include a connection interface, such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, and may be connected with other external devices through the connection interface, such as the USB interface, to transmit and receive information or charge the battery 40.

The memory 80 is a hardware component for storing various types of data processed in the aerosol-generating device 10 including a vaporizer, and may store data processed by the controller 30 and data to be processed.

The memory 80 may include at least one type of storage medium of: flash memory type, hard disk type, multimedia card micro type memory, card type memory (e.g., secure Digital (SD) or extreme digital (XD) memory, etc.), random Access Memory (RAM), static Random Access Memory (SRAM), read Only Memory (ROM), electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), programmable Read Only Memory (PROM), magnetic memory, magnetic disk, and optical disk.

The memory 80 may store the operating time of the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer, the maximum number of puffs, the current number of puffs, at least one temperature profile, data regarding the user's smoking pattern, etc.

The communication unit 70 may include at least one component for communicating with another electronic device.

For example, the communication unit 70 may include a short-range wireless communication unit 71 and a wireless communication unit 72.

The short-range wireless communication unit 71 may include, but is not limited to, a bluetooth communication unit, a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication unit, a near field communication unit, a Wireless LAN (WLAN) (Wi-Fi) communication unit, a Zigbee communication unit, an infrared data association (IrDA) communication unit, a Wi-Fi direct (WFD) communication unit, an Ultra Wideband (UWB) communication unit, an ant+ communication unit, and the like.

The wireless communication unit 72 may include, but is not limited to, a cellular network communication unit, an internet communication unit, a computer network (e.g., a Local Area Network (LAN) or a Wide Area Network (WAN)) communication unit, and the like.

The wireless communication unit 72 may also identify and authenticate the aerosol-generating device 10 comprising the vaporizer in the communication network by using subscriber information, such as an International Mobile Subscriber Identifier (IMSI).

The controller 30 may control the overall operation of the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer.

In an embodiment, the controller 30 may include at least one processor.

A processor may be implemented as an array of a plurality of logic gates, or as a combination of a general purpose microprocessor and a memory storing a program executable by the microprocessor.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that a processor may be implemented in other forms of hardware.

The controller 30 may control the temperature of the vaporizer 11 by controlling the supply of electric power from the battery 40 to the vaporizer 11.

For example, the controller 30 may control the supply of electric power by controlling the switching of the switching element between the battery 40 and the carburetor 11.

In another example, the direct heating circuit may also control the supply of electric power to the carburetor 11 according to a control command of the controller 30.

The controller 30 may analyze the result sensed by the sensing unit 50 and control the subsequent process to be performed.

For example, the controller 30 may control the power supplied to the carburetor 11 based on the result sensed by the sensing unit 50 to start or end the operation of the carburetor 11.

As another example, the controller 30 may control the amount of power supplied to the vaporizer 11 and the time of supplying the power based on the result sensed by the sensing unit 50 so that the vaporizer 11 may be heated to a specific temperature or maintained at an appropriate temperature.

The controller 30 may control the output unit 60 according to the result sensed by the sensing unit 50.

For example, when the number of times of suction counted by the suction sensor 53 reaches a preset number of times, the controller 30 may inform the user that the aerosol-generating device 10 including the vaporizer is about to be terminated through at least one of the display unit 61, the haptic unit 62, and the sound output unit 63.

An embodiment may also be implemented in the form of a computer-readable recording medium including instructions executable by a computer, such as program modules, being executable by the computer.

Computer readable recording media can be any available media that can be accessed by the computer and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media, and removable and non-removable media.

In addition, the computer-readable recording medium may include a computer storage medium and a communication medium.

Computer storage media includes all volatile and nonvolatile, and removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data.

Communication media typically embodies computer readable instructions, data structures, other data such as program modules or other transport mechanisms in a modulated data signal and includes any information delivery media.

The description of the above embodiments is merely an example, and it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes and equivalents may be made to the above embodiments. The scope of the disclosure should, therefore, be defined by the appended claims, and all differences within the scope equivalent to the scope described in the claims will be construed as being included in the protection scope defined by the claims.

Claims (10)

1. An aerosol-generating device comprising a vaporiser, the aerosol-generating device comprising:

a vaporizer configured to generate an aerosol from an aerosol-generating substance;

a medium accommodating portion in which a medium through which the aerosol generated by the vaporizer passes is accommodated;

a path through which aerosol generated by the vaporizer flows; and

a chamber located between the path and the medium accommodating portion, an inner diameter of the chamber being larger than an inner diameter of the path, and the chamber being configured to transfer aerosol supplied from the path to the medium accommodating portion,

wherein the direction along which the path extends intersects the direction along which the medium accommodating portion extends.

2. An aerosol-generating device comprising a vaporiser according to claim 1 in which the internal diameter of the chamber is equal to or greater than 70% of the internal diameter of the medium-receiving portion.

3. An aerosol-generating device comprising a vaporiser as claimed in claim 1 in which the chamber comprises:

a chamber inlet through which the aerosol is received from the path; and

a chamber inclined surface formed opposite to the chamber inlet.

4. An aerosol-generating device comprising a vaporiser as claimed in claim 1 in which the chamber comprises:

a chamber inlet through which the aerosol is received from the path; and

a chamber curved surface formed opposite the chamber inlet.

5. An aerosol-generating device comprising a vaporiser as claimed in claim 1 in which the chamber comprises:

a chamber inlet through which the aerosol is received from the path;

a chamber outlet through which the aerosol is delivered to the medium accommodating portion; and

a chamber lower space formed opposite to the chamber outlet, wherein the chamber inlet is located between the chamber outlet and the chamber lower space in a direction along which the medium accommodating portion extends.

6. An aerosol-generating device comprising a vaporiser according to claim 1 in which the chamber comprises a chamber inlet through which the aerosol is received from the path,

wherein at least a portion of the inner surface of the chamber inlet is connected to the inner surface of the path in the direction along which the path extends.

7. An aerosol-generating device comprising a vaporiser according to claim 1 in which the chamber comprises a chamber outlet through which the aerosol is delivered to the medium-receiving portion,

wherein the inner diameter of the chamber outlet is smaller than the inner diameter of the medium.

8. An aerosol-generating device comprising a vaporiser according to claim 1 in which the chamber comprises a chamber outlet through which aerosol is delivered to the medium-receiving portion,

wherein the medium accommodating portion includes a protrusion protruding from an inner surface of the medium accommodating portion to support the medium.

9. An aerosol-generating device comprising a vaporiser according to claim 1, further comprising an expansion chamber between the chamber and the medium accommodating portion,

Wherein the chamber comprises a chamber outlet through which the aerosol is delivered to the expansion chamber,

wherein the inner diameter of the expansion chamber is larger than the inner diameter of the chamber outlet.

10. An aerosol-generating device comprising a vaporizer according to claim 1, further comprising a medium insertion port through which the medium is inserted,

wherein at least a portion of the medium protrudes outward from the medium insertion port when the medium is accommodated in the medium accommodating portion.