EP4140332A1 - Aerosol generation device and control method therefor - Google Patents
Aerosol generation device and control method therefor Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP4140332A1 EP4140332A1 EP21935321.6A EP21935321A EP4140332A1 EP 4140332 A1 EP4140332 A1 EP 4140332A1 EP 21935321 A EP21935321 A EP 21935321A EP 4140332 A1 EP4140332 A1 EP 4140332A1
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- aerosol
- airflow path
- generation device
- liquid
- wick
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Pending
Links
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- 230000008016 vaporization Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 72
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- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 14
- 241000208125 Nicotiana Species 0.000 description 8
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- PXHVJJICTQNCMI-UHFFFAOYSA-N Nickel Chemical compound [Ni] PXHVJJICTQNCMI-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
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Images
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
- A24F—SMOKERS' REQUISITES; MATCH BOXES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES
- A24F40/00—Electrically operated smoking devices; Component parts thereof; Manufacture thereof; Maintenance or testing thereof; Charging means specially adapted therefor
- A24F40/40—Constructional details, e.g. connection of cartridges and battery parts
- A24F40/48—Fluid transfer means, e.g. pumps
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
- A24F—SMOKERS' REQUISITES; MATCH BOXES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES
- A24F40/00—Electrically operated smoking devices; Component parts thereof; Manufacture thereof; Maintenance or testing thereof; Charging means specially adapted therefor
- A24F40/40—Constructional details, e.g. connection of cartridges and battery parts
- A24F40/48—Fluid transfer means, e.g. pumps
- A24F40/485—Valves; Apertures
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
- A24F—SMOKERS' REQUISITES; MATCH BOXES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES
- A24F40/00—Electrically operated smoking devices; Component parts thereof; Manufacture thereof; Maintenance or testing thereof; Charging means specially adapted therefor
- A24F40/05—Devices without heating means
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
- A24F—SMOKERS' REQUISITES; MATCH BOXES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES
- A24F40/00—Electrically operated smoking devices; Component parts thereof; Manufacture thereof; Maintenance or testing thereof; Charging means specially adapted therefor
- A24F40/40—Constructional details, e.g. connection of cartridges and battery parts
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
- A24F—SMOKERS' REQUISITES; MATCH BOXES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES
- A24F40/00—Electrically operated smoking devices; Component parts thereof; Manufacture thereof; Maintenance or testing thereof; Charging means specially adapted therefor
- A24F40/50—Control or monitoring
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
- A24F—SMOKERS' REQUISITES; MATCH BOXES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES
- A24F7/00—Mouthpieces for pipes; Mouthpieces for cigar or cigarette holders
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
- A24F—SMOKERS' REQUISITES; MATCH BOXES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES
- A24F40/00—Electrically operated smoking devices; Component parts thereof; Manufacture thereof; Maintenance or testing thereof; Charging means specially adapted therefor
- A24F40/10—Devices using liquid inhalable precursors
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
- A24F—SMOKERS' REQUISITES; MATCH BOXES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES
- A24F40/00—Electrically operated smoking devices; Component parts thereof; Manufacture thereof; Maintenance or testing thereof; Charging means specially adapted therefor
- A24F40/40—Constructional details, e.g. connection of cartridges and battery parts
- A24F40/44—Wicks
Definitions
- the present disclosure relates to an aerosol generation device and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to an aerosol generation device to which structural design capable of preventing a droplet discharge phenomenon and an airflow path blockage phenomenon is applied and a control method performed in the device.
- FIG. 1 a device in which a liquid (L) stored in a liquid reservoir (2) is absorbed through a wick (3) and the absorbed liquid (L) is vaporized through a vibrator (4) to generate an aerosol has been proposed.
- a phenomenon in which droplets (6) formed during vaporization bounce out of a vaporization space (5) may frequently occur in the proposed device.
- the droplets (6) may bounce out of the vaporization space (5).
- the droplets (6) may be discharged to the outside of a mouthpiece (1) due to a negative pressure momentarily formed by a puff and cause considerable discomfort to a smoker or may form a liquid film on an inner wall of an airflow path (7) and block the airflow path (7).
- Some embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to providing an aerosol generation device to which structural design capable of preventing a droplet discharge phenomenon and an airflow path blockage phenomenon is applied and a control method performed in the device.
- Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide an aerosol generation device including a liquid supply part configured to supply a liquid aerosol-forming substrate, a vaporization element configured to vaporize the supplied liquid aerosol-forming substrate to generate an aerosol in a vaporization space, and an airflow path configured to allow the aerosol generated in the vaporization space to move toward a mouthpiece, wherein the vaporization element, an inlet of the airflow path, and an outlet of the airflow path may be formed of a nonlinear structure.
- the liquid supply part may include a wick configured to absorb the liquid aerosol-forming substrate and supply the absorbed liquid aerosol-forming substrate into the vaporization space, and the vaporization element, the wick, and the inlet of the airflow path may be formed of a nonlinear structure.
- the liquid supply part may include a wick configured to absorb the liquid aerosol-forming substrate and deliver the absorbed liquid aerosol-forming substrate into the vaporization space, the vaporization element may vaporize the supplied liquid aerosol-forming substrate through ultrasonic vibrations, and the vaporization element may be disposed in contact with the wick.
- the wick may be disposed at a central portion of the vaporization element, and a contact area of the wick and the vaporization element may be smaller than a cross-sectional area of the vaporization element.
- a liquid absorber may be disposed on an inner wall of the airflow path.
- a mesh element may be disposed inside the airflow path.
- an obstacle configured to impede movement of the generated aerosol may be disposed inside the airflow path.
- surface treatment for increasing wettability may be performed on at least a partial region of an inner wall of the airflow path.
- the aerosol generation device may further include a controller configured to control power supplied to the vaporization element, and the controller may estimate a degree to which droplets are formed in the vaporization space, and on the basis of a result of the estimation, control the power supplied to the vaporization element.
- a vaporization element and an inlet and outlet of an airflow path may be formed of a nonlinear structure.
- the vaporization element and the inlet of the airflow path may not be disposed on a vertical line, or the inlet and outlet of the airflow path may not be disposed on a vertical line.
- a droplet discharge phenomenon and an airflow path blockage phenomenon can be significantly mitigated.
- a wick having a size smaller than a vibration element may be disposed at a central portion of the vibration element.
- droplets may also be intensively formed only in the vicinity of the central portion of the vibration element. Accordingly, it is possible to effectively prevent the formed droplets from being introduced through the inlet of the airflow path.
- a liquid absorber may be disposed on an inner wall of the airflow path.
- the liquid absorber may serve as a drainage channel that absorbs a liquid adhered to the inner wall of the airflow path and discharges the absorbed liquid in the direction of gravity. In this way, the droplet discharge phenomenon and the airflow path blockage phenomenon can be effectively prevented.
- surface treatment for increasing wettability may be performed on the inner wall of the airflow path.
- the surface treatment may suppress adhesion of the liquid to the inner wall of the airflow path. In this way, the droplet discharge phenomenon and the airflow path blockage phenomenon can be effectively prevented.
- an obstacle or a mesh element may be disposed inside the airflow path.
- the obstacle or mesh element can effectively prevent discharge of droplets through the outlet of the airflow path.
- power supplied to the vaporization element may be dynamically controlled on the basis of a result of estimating a degree to which droplets are formed. Accordingly, the droplet discharge phenomenon and the airflow path blockage phenomenon can be more effectively prevented.
- first, second, A, B, (a), and (b) may be used. Such terms are only used for distinguishing one component from another component, and the essence, order, sequence, or the like of the corresponding component is not limited by the terms.
- a certain component is described as being “connected,” “coupled,” or “linked” to another component, it should be understood that, although the component may be directly connected or linked to the other component, still another component may also be “connected,” “coupled,” or “linked” between the two components.
- aerosol-forming substrate may refer to a material that is able to form an aerosol.
- the aerosol may include a volatile compound.
- the aerosol-forming substrate may be a solid or liquid.
- solid aerosol-forming substrates may include tobacco materials based on tobacco raw materials such as reconstituted tobacco leaves, shredded tobacco (e.g., shredded tobacco leaves, shredded reconstituted tobacco leaves, etc.), and reconstituted tobacco
- liquid aerosol-forming substrates may include liquid compositions based on various combinations of nicotine, tobacco extracts, propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, and/or various flavoring agents.
- liquid may refer to a liquid aerosol-forming substrate.
- aerosol generation device may refer to a device that generates an aerosol using an aerosol-forming substrate in order to generate an aerosol that can be inhaled directly into the user's lungs through the user's mouth.
- puff refers to inhalation by a user, and the inhalation may be a situation in which a user draws smoke into his or her oral cavity, nasal cavity, or lungs through the mouth or nose.
- the droplet discharge phenomenon may be a phenomenon in which droplets formed in a vaporization space (that is, a space around a vaporization element where vaporization is performed) are discharged to the outside of an aerosol generation device through a mouthpiece.
- the droplets may be formed due to rapid growth and explosion of bubbles formed in a liquid and may be discharged to the outside of the aerosol generation device due to a momentary negative pressure formed by a puff.
- the discharged droplets are inhaled by a user through the oral region of the user, the user may feel considerable discomfort.
- the airflow path blockage phenomenon may be a phenomenon in which droplets introduced into an airflow path are adhered to an inner wall of the airflow path and form a liquid film and the formed liquid film blocks at least a portion of the airflow path.
- a condensate formed due to condensation of an aerosol inside the airflow path may also accelerate the formation and growth of the liquid film.
- the airflow path blockage phenomenon may significantly decrease an inhaling sensation and vapor production. Thus, it may be preferable to apply design for preventing the airflow path blockage phenomenon to an aerosol generation device.
- FIGS. 2 and 3 are exemplary configuration diagrams schematically illustrating an aerosol generation device 10 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 2 mainly illustrates internal components of the aerosol generation device 10, and FIG. 3 mainly illustrates the exterior of the aerosol generation device 10.
- the aerosol generation device 10 may be a device that generates an aerosol through ultrasonic vibrations. That is, a vaporization element 17 of the aerosol generation device 10 may be a vibration element that vaporizes a liquid through ultrasonic vibrations.
- the aerosol generation device 10 may include a mouthpiece 11, an upper case 12, a liquid reservoir 13, a wick holder 14, a wick 15, a control main body case 16, the vibration element 17, a battery 19, and a controller 18.
- a mouthpiece 11 an upper case 12, a liquid reservoir 13, a wick holder 14, a wick 15, a control main body case 16, the vibration element 17, a battery 19, and a controller 18.
- this is only a preferred embodiment for achieving the objectives of the present disclosure, and, of course, some components may be added or omitted as necessary.
- each component of the aerosol generation device 10 will be described.
- the mouthpiece 11 may serve as a structure that is disposed at one end of the aerosol generation device 10 and comes into contact with the oral region of the user. The user may inhale an aerosol generated by the vibration element 17 through the mouthpiece 11.
- the mouthpiece 11 is illustrated as being configured as a separate structure in FIG. 2 , the mouthpiece 11 may be implemented as a portion of the upper case 12 or may be implemented in other ways.
- the upper case 12 may form an exterior of an upper portion of the aerosol generation device 12.
- the upper case 12 may be made of a material suitable for protecting the internal components.
- the upper case 12 may form an airflow path for allowing the aerosol generated by the vibration element 17 to move toward the mouthpiece 11.
- the airflow path may be formed using a separate tubular structure.
- airflow path is used with a meaning that encompasses a path space along which air flows and a structure forming the path space.
- the upper portion of the aerosol generation device 10 may be implemented in the form of a cartridge that is coupled to a control main body (that is, a lower portion).
- the upper case 12 may also be referred to as "cartridge case,” and the mouthpiece 11, the upper case 12, the liquid reservoir 13, the wick holder 14, and the wick 15 may also constitute the cartridge.
- the vibration element 17 may be disposed at the control main body side. This may be understood to serve to reduce a cartridge replacement cost by excluding the vibration element 17, which is a relatively expensive component, from the cartridge.
- the term “cartridge” may be interchangeably used with the term “cartomizer,” “atomizer,” or “vaporizer” in the art.
- the liquid reservoir 13 may have a predetermined space formed therein and may store a liquid aerosol-forming substrate in the corresponding space. Also, the liquid reservoir 13 may supply the stored liquid to the vibration element 17 through the wick 15.
- the wick holder 14 may be a structure that supports or surrounds the wick 15.
- the wick holder 14 may also serve to guide the liquid stored in the liquid reservoir 13 to move toward the wick 15.
- the wick holder 14 may be made of a material whose physical and chemical deformation due to liquid contact, vibration, heating, etc. is small.
- the wick holder 14 may be made of a silicone material, but the material of the wick holder 14 is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the wick holder 14 may be omitted.
- the wick 15 may absorb the liquid stored in the liquid reservoir 13 and supply the absorbed liquid to the vibration element 17 in the vaporization space.
- the wick 15 may be implemented using any material capable of absorbing the liquid of the liquid reservoir 13.
- the wick 15 may be made of cotton, silica, fibers, a porous structure (e.g., a bead assembly), etc., but the material of the wick 15 is not limited thereto.
- the wick 15 may be manufactured in a size smaller than the vibration element 17 and disposed in contact with the vibration element 17. The sizes and arrangement relationship will be described below with reference to FIG. 4 .
- liquid reservoir 13 The liquid reservoir 13, the wick holder 14, and the wick 15 all serve to supply the liquid to the vibration element 17 and thus may be collectively referred to as "liquid supply part.”
- FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate a case in which the liquid supply part includes the wick 15, the liquid supply part may be implemented in another form.
- the liquid supply part may be implemented to supply the liquid of the liquid reservoir 13 to the vibration element 17 through a liquid supply path without including the wick 15.
- the control main body case 16 may form the exterior of the control main body. In some cases, the control main body case 16 may form the entire exterior of the aerosol generation device 10.
- the control main body case 16 may be made of a material suitable for protecting the components inside the control main body.
- the vibration element 17 may generate vibrations (ultrasonic vibrations) to vaporize the liquid supplied into the vaporization space.
- the vibration element 17 may be implemented using a piezoelectric element capable of converting electrical energy into mechanical energy and may generate vibrations according to control of the controller 18. Since those of ordinary skill in the art should clearly understand the operational principle of the piezoelectric element, further description thereof will be omitted.
- the vibration element 17 may be electrically connected to the controller 18 and the battery 19.
- the vibration element 17 and the wick 15 may be disposed in contact with each other. In this way, vibrations generated in the vibration element 17 may be transmitted without loss to the wick 15, and vaporization may easily occur.
- the wick 15 may be disposed at a central portion of the vibration element 17, and a diameter of the wick 15 (e.g., a diameter of a contact surface) may be smaller than a diameter of the vibration element 17. That is, a contact area of the wick 15 and the vibration element 17 may be smaller than a cross-sectional area of the vibration element 17.
- diameter may refer to the shortest length, the longest length, or an average length of a straight line passing through the center.
- a diameter D 1 of the wick 15 or the diameter D 1 of the contact portion may be in a range of about 2.0 mm to 8.0 mm, preferably, about 2.5 mm to 7.0 mm, about 3.0 mm to 6.0 mm, or about 3.0 mm to 5.0 mm.
- sufficient vapor production may be guaranteed through a suitable vaporization area, and a margin of an outer periphery portion (that is, a non-contact portion) may be sufficiently secured in consideration of a typical size of the vibration element 17, and thus it is possible to effectively prevent the formed droplets from being introduced through the inlet of the airflow path.
- a distance D2 from the outer periphery of the wick 15 to the outer periphery of the vibration element 17 may be about 1 mm or more, preferably, about 1.2 mm or more, about 1.5 mm or more, about 1.7 mm or more, about 2.0 mm or more, or about 2.5 mm or more.
- the margin of the outer periphery portion (that is, the non-contact portion) may be sufficiently secured, and thus it is possible to effectively prevent the formed droplets from being introduced through the inlet of the airflow path.
- the vibration element 17 may be disposed at the upper portion of the aerosol generation device 10 instead of being disposed at the control main body side.
- a fixing member e.g., a damper disposed to fix the outer periphery of the vibration element 17 may be further included inside the control main body.
- the fixing member may serve to absorb vibrations while protecting the vibration element 17 so that vibrations generated by the vibration element 17 are not transmitted to the outside of the control main body case 16. Therefore, preferably, the fixing member may be made of a material that can absorb vibrations well such as silicone. Also, the fixing member may be made of a waterproof or moisture-proof material and serve to seal a gap between the vibration element 17 and the control main body case 16.
- a problem in which a failure occurs in the control main body due to leakage of a liquid (e.g., a liquid aerosol-forming substrate) or gas (e.g., aerosol) through the gap between the control main body case 16 and the vibration element 17 may be significantly alleviated.
- electric components such as the controller 18 may be prevented from being damaged or malfunctioning due to moisture.
- the battery 19 may supply power used to operate the aerosol generation device 10.
- the battery 19 may supply power to allow the vibration element 17 to generate ultrasonic vibrations and may also supply power necessary to operate the controller 18.
- the battery 19 may supply power necessary to operate electric components such as a display (not illustrated), a sensor (not illustrated), a motor (not illustrated), and an input device (not illustrated) that are installed in the aerosol generation device 10.
- electric components such as a display (not illustrated), a sensor (not illustrated), a motor (not illustrated), and an input device (not illustrated) that are installed in the aerosol generation device 10.
- the controller 18 may control the overall operation of the aerosol generation device 10.
- the controller may control the operation of the vibration element 17 and the battery 19 and may also control the operation of other components included in the aerosol generation device 10.
- the controller may control the power supplied by the battery 19, the operation of the vibration element 17, and the like.
- the controller may check a state of each of the components of the aerosol generation device 10 and determine whether the aerosol generation device 10 is in an operable state.
- the controller 18 may estimate a degree to which droplets are formed in the vaporization space, and on the basis of a result of the estimation, control the power supplied to the vibration element 17. In this way, the droplet discharge phenomenon and the airflow path blockage phenomenon may be further mitigated.
- the present embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 15 .
- the controller may be implemented with at least one processor.
- the processor may also be implemented with an array of a plurality of logic gates or implemented with a combination of a general-purpose microprocessor and a memory which stores a program that may be executed by the microprocessor.
- the controller may also be implemented with other forms of hardware.
- FIGS. 5 and 6 a vaporization structure of the aerosol generation device 10 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 .
- FIG. 5 illustrates an aerosol movement path through a cross-section of the aerosol generation device 10 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure
- FIG. 6 illustrates an outside air inflow path.
- FIG. 6 illustrates a cross-section in another direction of the aerosol generation device 10 (e.g., a cross-section viewed from a side). It may be understood that the movement of an aerosol A and an inflow of outside air occur through different airflow paths 121 and 123.
- the vibration element 17 and an inlet 121A and outlet 121B of the airflow path 121 may be formed of a nonlinear structure.
- the vibration element 17, the wick 15, and the inlet of the airflow path 121 may be formed of a nonlinear structure.
- the inlet 121A of the airflow path 121 may be disposed in a direction that is not perpendicular to the vibration element 17, or the outlet 121B of the airflow path 121 may be disposed in a direction that is not perpendicular to the inlet 121A. In this way, it is possible to effectively prevent droplets 122 formed in the vaporization space from being introduced through the inlet 121A of the airflow path 121 or being discharged through the outlet 121B of the airflow path 121.
- the wick 15 having a size smaller than the vibration element 17 may be disposed at the central portion of the vibration element 17, and thus the inflow of the droplets 122 through the inlet 121A of the airflow path 121 may be more effectively prevented.
- most of the formed droplets e.g., 122
- FIGS. 5 and 6 may be referenced for a supply path of a liquid L, a movement path of the aerosol A, and an inflow path of outside air.
- FIGS. 5 and 6 only illustrate some examples of the present disclosure, and thus the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.
- the aerosol generation device 10 has been described above with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6 .
- an aerosol generation device 20 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9 .
- FIG. 7 is an exemplary view for describing the aerosol generation device 20 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure.
- FIG. 7 illustrates only an upper portion of the aerosol generation device 20 as an example.
- description will be given with reference to FIG. 7 , and for clarity of the present disclosure, description of content overlapping with the previous embodiments will be omitted.
- the aerosol generation device 20 may be a device that generates an aerosol through heating. That is, a vaporization element 26 of the aerosol generation device 10 may be a heating element that vaporizes a liquid through heating.
- the aerosol generation device 20 may include a mouthpiece 21, an upper case 22, a liquid reservoir 23, a wick housing 24, a wick 25, and the heating element 26. Also, although not illustrated, the aerosol generation device 20 may further include a controller (not illustrated), a battery (not illustrated), and a control main body case (not illustrated). However, this is only a preferred embodiment for achieving the objectives of the present disclosure, and, of course, some components may be added or omitted as necessary. Hereinafter, each component of the aerosol generation device 20 will be described.
- the mouthpiece 21, the upper case 22, and the liquid reservoir 23 may respectively correspond to the mouthpiece 11, the upper case 12, and the liquid reservoir 13 illustrated in FIG. 2 , and thus descriptions thereof will be omitted.
- the wick housing 24 may be a housing that surrounds at least a portion of the wick 25. In some embodiments, the wick housing 24 may be omitted.
- the wick 25 may absorb a liquid L stored in the liquid reservoir 23 and supply the absorbed liquid L to the heating element 26.
- the wick 25 may be implemented using any material capable of absorbing the liquid L of the liquid reservoir 23.
- the wick 25 may be made of cotton, silica, fibers, a porous structure (e.g., a bead assembly), etc., but the material of the wick 25 is not limited thereto.
- the wick 25 may be formed of a multilayer structure.
- the wick 25 formed of a multilayer structure may effectively suppress droplet formation.
- a specific structure of the wick 25 and the principle of how the wick 25 suppresses droplet formation will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9 .
- liquid reservoir 23, the wick housing 24, and the wick 25 all serve to store and supply the liquid L and thus may be collectively referred to as "liquid supply part.”
- the heating element 26 may heat the liquid L supplied through the wick 25 to generate an aerosol.
- the heating element 26 may be implemented using a coil that surrounds at least a portion of the wick 25, but the method of implementing the heating element 26 is not limited thereto, and the heating element 26 may be implemented using any other method as long as the heating element 26 can vaporize the liquid L through heating.
- the wick 25 may be implemented to be integrated with the heating element 26.
- the wick 25 may be implemented as an element that can simultaneously absorb and heat the liquid L, like a porous assembly made of metal foam and metal beads.
- the heating element 26 (or the wick 25) and an inlet 221A and outlet 221B of an airflow path 221 may be formed of a nonlinear structure.
- the inlet 221A of the airflow path 221 may be disposed in a direction that is not perpendicular to the heating element 26, or the outlet 221B of the airflow path 221 may be disposed in a direction that is not perpendicular to the inlet 221A. In this way, it is possible to effectively prevent droplets formed in the vaporization space from being introduced through the inlet 221A of the airflow path 221 or being discharged through the outlet 221B of the airflow path 221.
- wick 25 having a multilayer structure will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9 .
- FIG. 8 is an exemplary view illustrating the wick 25 having a multilayer structure according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
- FIG. 8 illustrates an example in which the wick 25 is formed of a double-layer structure.
- the wick 25 may also be formed of a structure that consists of three or more layers.
- the wick 25 may be configured to include a core part 251 and an outer cover part 252.
- Each of the core part 251 and the outer cover part 252 may be formed of a single-layer structure or a multilayer structure.
- the core part 251 may mainly serve to absorb a liquid. In other words, the core part 251 may play a leading role in smoothly supplying the liquid to pores inside the wick 25.
- the core part 251 may be implemented to have a transfer ability superior to that of the outer cover part 252.
- the core part 251 may have a lower density or higher porosity than the outer cover part 252.
- the core part 251 may be made of a material with higher wettability than the outer cover part 252.
- the core part 251 may be made of materials such as cotton, silica, fibers, or a bead assembly.
- the material of the core part 251 is not limited thereto.
- the outer cover part 252 may serve to prevent droplet formation and transmit heat of the heating element 26 to the core part 251 to guarantee smooth vaporization.
- the outer cover part 252 may suppress droplet formation in the wick 25 by suppressing the absorbed liquid from being rapidly pushed toward the outside of the wick 25 due to rapid growth of bubbles inside the core part 251.
- the outer cover part 252 may protect the core part 251 from high temperatures of the heating element 26.
- the outer cover part 252 may be implemented to have a transfer ability inferior to that of the core part 251.
- the outer cover part 252 may have a higher density or lower porosity than the core part 251.
- heat of the heating element 26 may also be transferred to the core part 251 well.
- the outer cover part 252 may be made of a material with lower wettability than the core part 251. In this case, a problem in which vapor production is decreased due to the liquid vaporized in the core part 251 being condensed again in the outer cover part 252 may be mitigated. Further, a thin liquid film, which is a cause of bubble formation, is prevented from being formed on the outer cover part 252, and thus droplet formation during vaporization may also be significantly reduced.
- the outer cover part 252 may be made of materials such as cotton, silica, fibers, a bead assembly, a membrane, or a nonwoven fabric.
- the material of the outer cover part 252 is not limited thereto.
- physical dimensions (e.g., thickness) and/or materials of the core part 251 and the outer cover part 252 may vary and may be appropriately selected in comprehensive consideration of vapor production and droplet formation.
- a thickness of the outer cover part 252 may be less than or equal to about 5 mm, preferably, less than or equal to about 4 mm or 3 mm, and more preferably, less than or equal to about 2 mm or 1 mm. Within such numerical ranges, a problem in which vapor production is decreased due to the outer cover part 252 may be significantly mitigated.
- the core part 251 may be made of a different material from the outer cover part 252.
- the core part 251 may be made of a material with higher wettability than the outer cover part 252. In this case, a decrease in vapor production due to condensation of the vaporized liquid or formation of a thin liquid film, which is a cause of formation of bubbles (or droplets), on the outer cover part 252 may be suppressed.
- the core part 251 may be made of the same material as the outer cover part 252.
- the core part 251 may be made of the same fiber material as the outer cover part 252.
- the arrangement form of the core part 251 and the outer cover part 252 may also vary and may be appropriately selected in comprehensive consideration of vapor production and droplet formation.
- the outer cover part 252 may be arranged in a form that covers (e.g., surrounds) the entire core part 251. In this case, a phenomenon in which droplets bounce from the wick 25 may be significantly mitigated.
- the outer cover part 252 may be arranged in a form that covers a partial region of the core part 251.
- the outer cover part 252 may be disposed to cover only a region where the heating element 26 is disposed in the entire region of the core part 251. In this case, the problem in which vapor production is decreased may be somewhat mitigated, and an effect of saving material costs may be achieved.
- the outer cover part 252 may be disposed to cover only a region in contact with the heating element 26 in the entire region of the core part 251. In other words, the outer cover part 252 may be disposed to cover only a region where the wick 25 and the heating element 26 are in contact.
- vaporization may be promoted in a region not in contact with the heating element 26 (e.g., a gap of a wound coil), and the problem in which vapor production is decreased may be significantly mitigated. Further, since the contact region where vaporization and the droplet bouncing phenomenon intensively occur is covered by the outer cover part 252, droplet formation may also be effectively suppressed.
- the aerosol generation device 20 has been described above with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9 .
- various embodiments of airflow paths 30-1 to 30-4 to which structural design for preventing the droplet discharge phenomenon and/or the airflow path blockage phenomenon is applied will be described with reference to FIG. 10 and so on.
- the various embodiments described below may be applied, without limitations, to the above-described airflow paths 121 and 221 of the aerosol generation devices 10 and 20.
- FIG. 10 is an exemplary view illustrating an internal form of an airflow path 30-1 according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure.
- a liquid absorber 32 may be disposed on an inner wall 31 of the airflow path 30-1 according to the present embodiment.
- FIG. 10 illustrates an example in which a single liquid absorber 32 is disposed, but of course, the number of liquid absorbers 32 may also be two or more.
- the liquid absorber 32 may absorb a liquid 333 adhered to the inner wall 31 of the airflow path 30-1 and discharge the absorbed liquid 333 in the direction of gravity to prevent formation or growth of a liquid film on the inner wall 31 of the airflow path 30-1. More specifically, the liquid absorber 32 may serve as a kind of drainage channel in the airflow path 30-1 and may prevent a liquid film from growing toward the center of the airflow path 30-1 and allow droplets 331 flowing in and a condensate 332 of an aerosol A to be rapidly discharged in the direction of gravity without being adhered to the inner wall 31. As formation of a liquid film is suppressed due to the liquid absorber 32, the droplet discharge phenomenon and the airflow path blockage phenomenon may also be naturally mitigated.
- the liquid absorber 32 may be made of a material that facilitates liquid absorption.
- the liquid absorber 32 may be made of a hydrophilic material or a porous material. Examples of such materials may include filter paper, fibers, or the like, but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.
- the arrangement position, arrangement region, and/or arrangement form of the liquid absorber 32 may be designed to vary.
- the liquid absorber 32 may be disposed to extend in the direction of gravity from a specific position on the inner wall 31 of the airflow path 30-1. In this case, since the liquid 333 absorbed into the liquid absorber 32 is discharged along the liquid absorber 32 due to gravity, a drainage function may be further strengthened.
- FIG. 11 is a view illustrating the internal form of the airflow path 30-2 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure.
- surface treatment for increasing wettability may be performed on an inner wall 31 of the airflow path 30-2. This is because, when the wettability of the inner wall is increased, adhesion of droplets may be suppressed, and thus formation and growth of a liquid film may be prevented.
- surface treatment for increasing wettability may be performed on at least a partial region 312 of the inner wall 31 of the airflow path 30-2.
- the surface treatment may prevent a liquid film from growing toward the center of the airflow path 30-2 and allow droplets 334 flowing in and a condensate 335 of an aerosol A to be rapidly discharged in the direction of gravity without being adhered to the inner wall 31.
- Examples of the surface treatment may include plating (e.g., electroplating), hydrophilic coating, etc., but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Also, plating may be performed using a metal such as gold, silver, nickel, or copper, but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.
- the surface treatment may be performed so that an angle of contact is less than or equal to about 30°, preferably, less than or equal to about 20° or 10°, and more preferably, close to 0°. This is because the higher the wettability, the higher the extent to which the formation and growth of a liquid film on the inner wall 31 of the airflow path 30-2 is suppressed.
- the surface treatment may be performed on a portion of the inner wall 31 or the entire region thereof, and a region on which the surface treatment is performed may be designed and selected in various ways.
- a region on which the surface treatment is performed may include a part or all of a lower region of the inner wall 31 of the airflow path 30-2.
- the surface treatment may be performed only on the lower region of the inner wall 31 of the airflow path 30-2. This may be understood as reflecting the fact that a liquid film is mostly formed at a lower portion of the inner wall 31.
- the surface treatment may be performed on both the lower region and an upper region of the inner wall 31 of the airflow path 30-2, but the surface treatment may be performed so that wettability is higher in the lower region than in the upper region.
- the liquid absorber 32 may be disposed in a region on which the surface treatment is performed.
- a region on which the surface treatment is performed For example, as illustrated in FIG. 12 , in a case in which the surface treatment is performed on a plurality of first regions (e.g., 312-1 and 312-2) formed at predetermined intervals (or the surface treatment is performed so that wettability is higher in the first regions (e.g., 312-1 and 312-2) than in second regions (e.g., 313-1 and 313-2) that are alternately disposed with the first regions (e.g., 312-1 and 312-2)), liquid absorbers (e.g., 32-1 and 32-2) may be disposed in the plurality of first regions (e.g., 312-1 and 312-2).
- FIG. 13 is an exemplary view illustrating an internal form of the airflow path 30-3 according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure.
- an obstacle 34 that may impede movement of an aerosol A may be disposed inside the airflow path 30-3. That is, a specific structure 34 may be disposed in a form that may impede the movement of the aerosol A. As illustrated, one or more obstacles 34 may be disposed inside the airflow path 30-3, and the lengths, arrangement intervals, and the like of the obstacles 34 may be designed to vary.
- a condensate of the aerosol or droplets 336 may be formed downward (that is, in a direction opposite to the mouthpiece) on a lower portion of the obstacle 34. Since the formed condensate or droplets 336 may be naturally discharged in the direction of gravity, it is possible to effectively prevent discharge of the droplets 336 through an outlet of the airflow path 30-3 or formation of a liquid film inside the airflow path 30-3.
- the obstacle 34 may be made of various materials that can impede the movement of the aerosol A.
- the obstacle 34 may be made of a porous material, a mesh material, or a membrane material. In this case, impeding the movement of the aerosol A is minimized, and thus a problem in which vapor production is decreased or an inhaling sensation is degraded due to the obstacle 34 may be significantly alleviated.
- FIG. 14 is an exemplary view illustrating an internal form of the airflow path 30-4 according to the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.
- a mesh element 35 that can limit movement of droplets 337 may be disposed inside the airflow path 30-4 according to the present embodiment.
- the mesh element 35 may be a structure including a plurality of holes like a mesh plate (or a porous plate), and the plurality of holes may have a size that allows the holes to pass an aerosol A but limit the movement of the droplets 337.
- a membrane that selectively transmits only the aerosol A therethrough may be disposed in place of the mesh element 35.
- the mesh element 35 may be disposed at an inlet or an intermediate portion of the airflow path 30-4 or may be disposed at an outlet thereof. Also, as illustrated, the mesh element 35 may be designed to have a size that allows the mesh element 35 to block the entire airflow path 30-4 or may be designed to have a size that allows the mesh element 35 to block only a portion of the airflow path 30-4 (refer to the obstacle 34 in FIG. 13 ).
- the airflow paths 30-1 to 30-4 according to the first to fourth embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above with reference to FIGS. 10 to 14 .
- Each embodiment has been separately described, but this is only to provide convenience of understanding, and the above-described first to fourth embodiments may be combined in various forms.
- the surface treatment for increasing wettability may be performed on an inner wall of an airflow path, and the mesh element (e.g., 35) may be disposed at an inlet of the airflow path.
- each step of the control method which will be described below may be performed by a controller (e.g., 19) of an aerosol generation device (e.g., 10 or 20), and in a case in which the controller (e.g., 19) is implemented using a processor, each step of the control method may be implemented using one or more instructions that may be executed by the processor. Therefore, in the following description, when the subject of a specific step or operation is omitted, the specific step or operation may be understood as being performed by the controller (e.g., 19).
- FIG. 15 is an exemplary flowchart illustrating the control method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. However, this is only a preferred embodiment for achieving the objectives of the present disclosure, and, of course, some steps may be added or omitted as necessary.
- the control method may begin by estimating a degree to which droplets are formed (e.g., the number of droplets formed per puff, the number of droplets formed during a certain amount of time, etc.) (S10).
- the degree to which droplets are formed may be estimated using various specific methods, and the method may vary according to embodiments.
- the controller may estimate the degree to which droplets are formed on the basis of changes in a temperature, current, resistance, or a voltage of a vaporization element (e.g., a vibration element or a heating element). Specifically, when droplets bounce from a wick (e.g., when bubbles rapidly grow inside), the wick momentarily reaches an unsaturated state, and thus the temperature of the vaporization element around the wick may rapidly increase, or the current and resistance of the vaporization element or a voltage applied thereto may rapidly change. Therefore, the degree to which droplets are formed may be estimated on the basis of changes in the temperature, current, resistance, or a voltage. For example, in a case in which a change value or a slope of the temperature, current, resistance, or a voltage is a threshold value or more, the controller may determine that the number of formed droplets has increased.
- a vaporization element e.g., a vibration element or a heating element
- the controller may estimate the degree to which droplets are formed on the basis of a change in an airflow in an airflow path.
- the change in an airflow may be sensed by an airflow sensor, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Since the higher the vaporization speed, the higher the extent to which formation of droplets is accelerated, a rapid increase in an airflow may be an indicator that indicates an increase in droplets. Therefore, the controller may estimate the degree to which droplets are formed on the basis of a change in an airflow.
- the controller may, on the basis of a result of the estimation, control power supplied to the vaporization element. For example, in response to determining that the degree to which droplets are formed is a reference value or more (e.g., an estimated value of the number of formed droplets is a reference value or more or an estimated value of an increasing slope of the number of formed droplets is a reference value or more), the controller may decrease the power supplied to the vaporization element. As another example, in response to determining that the degree to which droplets are formed is less than the reference value, the controller may increase the power supplied to the vaporization element. In this case, vaporization may be accelerated, and vapor production may be increased.
- a reference value or more e.g., an estimated value of the number of formed droplets is a reference value or more or an estimated value of an increasing slope of the number of formed droplets is a reference value or more
- the controller may decrease the power supplied to the vaporization element.
- the controller may increase the power supplied to the vaporization element. In
- a range of control (that is, a range of increase and a range of decrease) of the supplied power may be a variable value that changes according to a preset fixed value or situation and may be set in various ways.
- the range of increase and the range of decrease of the supplied power may be set as the same value.
- power control may be performed with a balanced consideration of the degree to which droplets are formed and vapor production.
- the range of increase of the supplied power may be set as a larger value than the range of decrease. In this case, since power is controlled by significantly increasing and then gradually decreasing the supplied power, power control may be performed with more focus on vapor production.
- the range of decrease of the supplied power may be set as a larger value than the range of increase. In this case, since power is controlled by significantly decreasing and then gradually increasing the supplied power, power control may be performed with more focus on preventing formation of droplets.
- the range of control (the range of increase or range of decrease) of the supplied power may be changed on the basis of a result (that is, feedback) of power control. For example, when the degree to which droplets are formed does not decrease much despite decreasing the supplied power, the range of decrease may be set as a larger value. In the opposite case, the range of decrease may be set as a smaller value.
- steps S10 and S20 may be repeatedly performed in a feedback manner during operation of an aerosol generation device (e.g., during smoking).
- the control method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure has been described above with reference to FIG. 15 .
- the droplet discharge phenomenon and the airflow path blockage phenomenon may be significantly mitigated, and suitable vapor production may also be guaranteed. Accordingly, a user's satisfaction with the aerosol generation device may be significantly improved.
- the technical principle of the present disclosure or the content related to the operation of the controller described above with reference to FIG. 15 may be implemented with computer-readable code on computer-readable recording media.
- Examples of the computer-readable recording media may include removable recording media (a compact disc (CD), a digital versatile disc (DVD), a Blu-Ray disk, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) storage device, or a removable hard disk) or non-removable recording media (a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), or a built-in hard disk).
- Computer programs recorded in the computer-readable recording media may be sent to other computing devices through a network, such as the Internet, and installed on the other computing devices to be used in the other computing devices.
Landscapes
- Disinfection, Sterilisation Or Deodorisation Of Air (AREA)
Abstract
Description
- The present disclosure relates to an aerosol generation device and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to an aerosol generation device to which structural design capable of preventing a droplet discharge phenomenon and an airflow path blockage phenomenon is applied and a control method performed in the device.
- In recent years, demand for alternative methods that overcome the disadvantages of general cigarettes has increased. For example, demand for devices that heat a liquid aerosol-forming substrate to generate an aerosol (e.g., liquid-type electronic cigarettes) has increased. Accordingly, active research has been carried out on liquid-type aerosol generation devices.
- Recently, a device that vaporizes a liquid through ultrasonic vibrations to generate an aerosol has been proposed. For example, as illustrated in
FIG. 1 , a device in which a liquid (L) stored in a liquid reservoir (2) is absorbed through a wick (3) and the absorbed liquid (L) is vaporized through a vibrator (4) to generate an aerosol has been proposed. - However, as illustrated, a phenomenon in which droplets (6) formed during vaporization bounce out of a vaporization space (5) may frequently occur in the proposed device. For example, as bubbles formed inside the liquid (L) absorbed into the wick (3) rapidly grow and explode, the droplets (6) may bounce out of the vaporization space (5). The droplets (6) may be discharged to the outside of a mouthpiece (1) due to a negative pressure momentarily formed by a puff and cause considerable discomfort to a smoker or may form a liquid film on an inner wall of an airflow path (7) and block the airflow path (7).
- Some embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to providing an aerosol generation device to which structural design capable of preventing a droplet discharge phenomenon and an airflow path blockage phenomenon is applied and a control method performed in the device.
- Objectives of the present disclosure are not limited to the above-mentioned objective, and other unmentioned objectives should be clearly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains from the description below.
- Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide an aerosol generation device including a liquid supply part configured to supply a liquid aerosol-forming substrate, a vaporization element configured to vaporize the supplied liquid aerosol-forming substrate to generate an aerosol in a vaporization space, and an airflow path configured to allow the aerosol generated in the vaporization space to move toward a mouthpiece, wherein the vaporization element, an inlet of the airflow path, and an outlet of the airflow path may be formed of a nonlinear structure.
- In some embodiments, the liquid supply part may include a wick configured to absorb the liquid aerosol-forming substrate and supply the absorbed liquid aerosol-forming substrate into the vaporization space, and the vaporization element, the wick, and the inlet of the airflow path may be formed of a nonlinear structure.
- In some embodiments, the liquid supply part may include a wick configured to absorb the liquid aerosol-forming substrate and deliver the absorbed liquid aerosol-forming substrate into the vaporization space, the vaporization element may vaporize the supplied liquid aerosol-forming substrate through ultrasonic vibrations, and the vaporization element may be disposed in contact with the wick.
- In some embodiments, the wick may be disposed at a central portion of the vaporization element, and a contact area of the wick and the vaporization element may be smaller than a cross-sectional area of the vaporization element.
- In some embodiments, a liquid absorber may be disposed on an inner wall of the airflow path.
- In some embodiments, a mesh element may be disposed inside the airflow path.
- In some embodiments, an obstacle configured to impede movement of the generated aerosol may be disposed inside the airflow path.
- In some embodiments, surface treatment for increasing wettability may be performed on at least a partial region of an inner wall of the airflow path.
- In some embodiments, the aerosol generation device may further include a controller configured to control power supplied to the vaporization element, and the controller may estimate a degree to which droplets are formed in the vaporization space, and on the basis of a result of the estimation, control the power supplied to the vaporization element.
- According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a vaporization element and an inlet and outlet of an airflow path may be formed of a nonlinear structure. For example, the vaporization element and the inlet of the airflow path may not be disposed on a vertical line, or the inlet and outlet of the airflow path may not be disposed on a vertical line. In this case, since it is possible to effectively prevent droplets formed in the vaporization element from being introduced through the inlet of the airflow path or being discharged through the outlet of the airflow path, a droplet discharge phenomenon and an airflow path blockage phenomenon can be significantly mitigated.
- Also, a wick having a size smaller than a vibration element may be disposed at a central portion of the vibration element. In this case, since vaporization intensively occurs at the central portion of the vibration element, droplets may also be intensively formed only in the vicinity of the central portion of the vibration element. Accordingly, it is possible to effectively prevent the formed droplets from being introduced through the inlet of the airflow path.
- Also, a liquid absorber may be disposed on an inner wall of the airflow path. The liquid absorber may serve as a drainage channel that absorbs a liquid adhered to the inner wall of the airflow path and discharges the absorbed liquid in the direction of gravity. In this way, the droplet discharge phenomenon and the airflow path blockage phenomenon can be effectively prevented.
- Also, surface treatment for increasing wettability may be performed on the inner wall of the airflow path. The surface treatment may suppress adhesion of the liquid to the inner wall of the airflow path. In this way, the droplet discharge phenomenon and the airflow path blockage phenomenon can be effectively prevented.
- Also, an obstacle or a mesh element may be disposed inside the airflow path. The obstacle or mesh element can effectively prevent discharge of droplets through the outlet of the airflow path.
- In addition, power supplied to the vaporization element may be dynamically controlled on the basis of a result of estimating a degree to which droplets are formed. Accordingly, the droplet discharge phenomenon and the airflow path blockage phenomenon can be more effectively prevented.
- The advantageous effects according to the technical principle of the present disclosure are not limited to those mentioned above, and other unmentioned advantageous effects should be clearly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art from the description below.
-
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FIG. 1 is an exemplary view for describing a problem caused by a droplet bouncing phenomenon. -
FIGS. 2 and3 are exemplary configuration diagrams schematically illustrating an aerosol generation device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. -
FIG. 4 is an exemplary view for describing the arrangement relationship between a wick and a vibration element according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. -
FIGS. 5 and 6 are exemplary views for describing a vaporization structure of the aerosol generation device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. -
FIG. 7 is an exemplary view for describing an aerosol generation device according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. -
FIGS. 8 and 9 are exemplary views for describing a wick having a multilayer structure according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. -
FIG. 10 is an exemplary view illustrating an internal form of an airflow path according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. -
FIGS. 11 and12 are exemplary views illustrating an internal form of an airflow path according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. -
FIG. 13 is an exemplary view illustrating an internal form of an airflow path according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure. -
FIG. 14 is an exemplary view illustrating an internal form of an airflow path according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure. -
FIG. 15 is an exemplary flowchart illustrating a control method of some embodiments of the present disclosure. - Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Advantages and features of the present disclosure and methods of achieving the same should become clear from embodiments described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the technical principle of the present disclosure is not limited to the following embodiments and may be implemented in various different forms. The following embodiments only make the technical principle of the present disclosure complete and are provided to completely inform those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains of the scope of the disclosure. The technical principle of the present disclosure is defined only by the scope of the claims.
- In assigning reference numerals to components of each drawing, it should be noted that the same reference numerals are assigned to the same components where possible even when the components are illustrated in different drawings. Also, in describing the present disclosure, when detailed description of a known related configuration or function is deemed as having the possibility of obscuring the gist of the present disclosure, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.
- Unless otherwise defined, all terms including technical or scientific terms used in this specification have the same meaning as commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains. Terms defined in commonly used dictionaries should not be construed in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein. Terms used in this specification are for describing the embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. In this specification, a singular expression includes a plural expression unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
- Also, in describing components of the present disclosure, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), and (b) may be used. Such terms are only used for distinguishing one component from another component, and the essence, order, sequence, or the like of the corresponding component is not limited by the terms. In a case in which a certain component is described as being "connected," "coupled," or "linked" to another component, it should be understood that, although the component may be directly connected or linked to the other component, still another component may also be "connected," "coupled," or "linked" between the two components.
- The terms "comprises" and/or "comprising" used herein do not preclude the possibility of presence or addition of one or more components, steps, operations, and/or devices other than those mentioned.
- First, some terms used in various embodiments of the present disclosure will be clarified.
- In the following embodiments, "aerosol-forming substrate" may refer to a material that is able to form an aerosol. The aerosol may include a volatile compound. The aerosol-forming substrate may be a solid or liquid. For example, solid aerosol-forming substrates may include tobacco materials based on tobacco raw materials such as reconstituted tobacco leaves, shredded tobacco (e.g., shredded tobacco leaves, shredded reconstituted tobacco leaves, etc.), and reconstituted tobacco, and liquid aerosol-forming substrates may include liquid compositions based on various combinations of nicotine, tobacco extracts, propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, and/or various flavoring agents. However, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the above-listed examples. In the following embodiments, unless mentioned otherwise, "liquid" may refer to a liquid aerosol-forming substrate.
- In the following embodiments, "aerosol generation device" may refer to a device that generates an aerosol using an aerosol-forming substrate in order to generate an aerosol that can be inhaled directly into the user's lungs through the user's mouth.
- In the following embodiments, "puff" refers to inhalation by a user, and the inhalation may be a situation in which a user draws smoke into his or her oral cavity, nasal cavity, or lungs through the mouth or nose.
- Prior to the detailed description of embodiments of the present disclosure, in order to provide convenience of understanding, a droplet discharge phenomenon and an airflow path blockage phenomenon will be briefly described.
- The droplet discharge phenomenon may be a phenomenon in which droplets formed in a vaporization space (that is, a space around a vaporization element where vaporization is performed) are discharged to the outside of an aerosol generation device through a mouthpiece. For example, the droplets may be formed due to rapid growth and explosion of bubbles formed in a liquid and may be discharged to the outside of the aerosol generation device due to a momentary negative pressure formed by a puff. When the discharged droplets are inhaled by a user through the oral region of the user, the user may feel considerable discomfort. Thus, it may be preferable to apply design for preventing the droplet discharge phenomenon to the aerosol generation device.
- Also, the airflow path blockage phenomenon may be a phenomenon in which droplets introduced into an airflow path are adhered to an inner wall of the airflow path and form a liquid film and the formed liquid film blocks at least a portion of the airflow path. Here, a condensate formed due to condensation of an aerosol inside the airflow path may also accelerate the formation and growth of the liquid film. The airflow path blockage phenomenon may significantly decrease an inhaling sensation and vapor production. Thus, it may be preferable to apply design for preventing the airflow path blockage phenomenon to an aerosol generation device.
- Hereinafter, various embodiments of an aerosol generation device to which structural design capable of preventing the above-described droplet discharge phenomenon and airflow path blockage phenomenon is applied will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
-
FIGS. 2 and3 are exemplary configuration diagrams schematically illustrating anaerosol generation device 10 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically,FIG. 2 mainly illustrates internal components of theaerosol generation device 10, andFIG. 3 mainly illustrates the exterior of theaerosol generation device 10. - As illustrated in
FIGS. 2 and3 , theaerosol generation device 10 according to the present embodiment may be a device that generates an aerosol through ultrasonic vibrations. That is, avaporization element 17 of theaerosol generation device 10 may be a vibration element that vaporizes a liquid through ultrasonic vibrations. - As illustrated, the
aerosol generation device 10 may include amouthpiece 11, anupper case 12, aliquid reservoir 13, awick holder 14, awick 15, a controlmain body case 16, thevibration element 17, abattery 19, and acontroller 18. However, this is only a preferred embodiment for achieving the objectives of the present disclosure, and, of course, some components may be added or omitted as necessary. Hereinafter, each component of theaerosol generation device 10 will be described. - The
mouthpiece 11 may serve as a structure that is disposed at one end of theaerosol generation device 10 and comes into contact with the oral region of the user. The user may inhale an aerosol generated by thevibration element 17 through themouthpiece 11. Although themouthpiece 11 is illustrated as being configured as a separate structure inFIG. 2 , themouthpiece 11 may be implemented as a portion of theupper case 12 or may be implemented in other ways. - Next, the
upper case 12 may form an exterior of an upper portion of theaerosol generation device 12. Theupper case 12 may be made of a material suitable for protecting the internal components. Also, theupper case 12 may form an airflow path for allowing the aerosol generated by thevibration element 17 to move toward themouthpiece 11. However, in some cases, the airflow path may be formed using a separate tubular structure. In the following description, "airflow path" is used with a meaning that encompasses a path space along which air flows and a structure forming the path space. - In some embodiments, the upper portion of the
aerosol generation device 10 may be implemented in the form of a cartridge that is coupled to a control main body (that is, a lower portion). In this case, theupper case 12 may also be referred to as "cartridge case," and themouthpiece 11, theupper case 12, theliquid reservoir 13, thewick holder 14, and thewick 15 may also constitute the cartridge. Here, thevibration element 17 may be disposed at the control main body side. This may be understood to serve to reduce a cartridge replacement cost by excluding thevibration element 17, which is a relatively expensive component, from the cartridge. For reference, the term "cartridge" may be interchangeably used with the term "cartomizer," "atomizer," or "vaporizer" in the art. - Next, the
liquid reservoir 13 may have a predetermined space formed therein and may store a liquid aerosol-forming substrate in the corresponding space. Also, theliquid reservoir 13 may supply the stored liquid to thevibration element 17 through thewick 15. - The
wick holder 14 may be a structure that supports or surrounds thewick 15. Thewick holder 14 may also serve to guide the liquid stored in theliquid reservoir 13 to move toward thewick 15. Preferably, thewick holder 14 may be made of a material whose physical and chemical deformation due to liquid contact, vibration, heating, etc. is small. For example, thewick holder 14 may be made of a silicone material, but the material of thewick holder 14 is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, thewick holder 14 may be omitted. - Next, the
wick 15 may absorb the liquid stored in theliquid reservoir 13 and supply the absorbed liquid to thevibration element 17 in the vaporization space. Thewick 15 may be implemented using any material capable of absorbing the liquid of theliquid reservoir 13. For example, thewick 15 may be made of cotton, silica, fibers, a porous structure (e.g., a bead assembly), etc., but the material of thewick 15 is not limited thereto. - In some embodiments, the
wick 15 may be manufactured in a size smaller than thevibration element 17 and disposed in contact with thevibration element 17. The sizes and arrangement relationship will be described below with reference toFIG. 4 . - The
liquid reservoir 13, thewick holder 14, and thewick 15 all serve to supply the liquid to thevibration element 17 and thus may be collectively referred to as "liquid supply part." - Meanwhile, although
FIGS. 2 and3 illustrate a case in which the liquid supply part includes thewick 15, the liquid supply part may be implemented in another form. For example, the liquid supply part may be implemented to supply the liquid of theliquid reservoir 13 to thevibration element 17 through a liquid supply path without including thewick 15. - Hereinafter, components constituting the control main body of the
aerosol generation device 10 will be described. - The control
main body case 16 may form the exterior of the control main body. In some cases, the controlmain body case 16 may form the entire exterior of theaerosol generation device 10. The controlmain body case 16 may be made of a material suitable for protecting the components inside the control main body. - Next, the
vibration element 17 may generate vibrations (ultrasonic vibrations) to vaporize the liquid supplied into the vaporization space. For example, thevibration element 17 may be implemented using a piezoelectric element capable of converting electrical energy into mechanical energy and may generate vibrations according to control of thecontroller 18. Since those of ordinary skill in the art should clearly understand the operational principle of the piezoelectric element, further description thereof will be omitted. Thevibration element 17 may be electrically connected to thecontroller 18 and thebattery 19. - In some embodiments, as illustrated in
FIG. 4 and so on, thevibration element 17 and thewick 15 may be disposed in contact with each other. In this way, vibrations generated in thevibration element 17 may be transmitted without loss to thewick 15, and vaporization may easily occur. Also, thewick 15 may be disposed at a central portion of thevibration element 17, and a diameter of the wick 15 (e.g., a diameter of a contact surface) may be smaller than a diameter of thevibration element 17. That is, a contact area of thewick 15 and thevibration element 17 may be smaller than a cross-sectional area of thevibration element 17. In this way, since droplets are intensively formed only in the vicinity of the central portion of thevibration element 17, it is possible to effectively prevent the formed droplets from reaching an inlet of the airflow path. In the present embodiment, for example, "diameter" may refer to the shortest length, the longest length, or an average length of a straight line passing through the center. - In the previous embodiments, a
diameter D 1 of thewick 15 or thediameter D 1 of the contact portion may be in a range of about 2.0 mm to 8.0 mm, preferably, about 2.5 mm to 7.0 mm, about 3.0 mm to 6.0 mm, or about 3.0 mm to 5.0 mm. Within such numerical ranges, sufficient vapor production may be guaranteed through a suitable vaporization area, and a margin of an outer periphery portion (that is, a non-contact portion) may be sufficiently secured in consideration of a typical size of thevibration element 17, and thus it is possible to effectively prevent the formed droplets from being introduced through the inlet of the airflow path. - Also, in some embodiments, a distance D2 from the outer periphery of the
wick 15 to the outer periphery of thevibration element 17 may be about 1 mm or more, preferably, about 1.2 mm or more, about 1.5 mm or more, about 1.7 mm or more, about 2.0 mm or more, or about 2.5 mm or more. Within such numerical ranges, the margin of the outer periphery portion (that is, the non-contact portion) may be sufficiently secured, and thus it is possible to effectively prevent the formed droplets from being introduced through the inlet of the airflow path. - Meanwhile, in some embodiments, the
vibration element 17 may be disposed at the upper portion of theaerosol generation device 10 instead of being disposed at the control main body side. - Description will now continue with reference back to
FIGS. 2 and3 . - Although not clearly illustrated in
FIG. 2 , a fixing member (e.g., a damper) disposed to fix the outer periphery of thevibration element 17 may be further included inside the control main body. The fixing member may serve to absorb vibrations while protecting thevibration element 17 so that vibrations generated by thevibration element 17 are not transmitted to the outside of the controlmain body case 16. Therefore, preferably, the fixing member may be made of a material that can absorb vibrations well such as silicone. Also, the fixing member may be made of a waterproof or moisture-proof material and serve to seal a gap between thevibration element 17 and the controlmain body case 16. In this case, a problem in which a failure occurs in the control main body due to leakage of a liquid (e.g., a liquid aerosol-forming substrate) or gas (e.g., aerosol) through the gap between the controlmain body case 16 and thevibration element 17 may be significantly alleviated. For example, electric components such as thecontroller 18 may be prevented from being damaged or malfunctioning due to moisture. - Next, the
battery 19 may supply power used to operate theaerosol generation device 10. For example, thebattery 19 may supply power to allow thevibration element 17 to generate ultrasonic vibrations and may also supply power necessary to operate thecontroller 18. - Also, the
battery 19 may supply power necessary to operate electric components such as a display (not illustrated), a sensor (not illustrated), a motor (not illustrated), and an input device (not illustrated) that are installed in theaerosol generation device 10. - Next, the
controller 18 may control the overall operation of theaerosol generation device 10. For example, the controller may control the operation of thevibration element 17 and thebattery 19 and may also control the operation of other components included in theaerosol generation device 10. The controller may control the power supplied by thebattery 19, the operation of thevibration element 17, and the like. Also, the controller may check a state of each of the components of theaerosol generation device 10 and determine whether theaerosol generation device 10 is in an operable state. - In some embodiments, the
controller 18 may estimate a degree to which droplets are formed in the vaporization space, and on the basis of a result of the estimation, control the power supplied to thevibration element 17. In this way, the droplet discharge phenomenon and the airflow path blockage phenomenon may be further mitigated. The present embodiment will be described in detail below with reference toFIG. 15 . - The controller may be implemented with at least one processor. The processor may also be implemented with an array of a plurality of logic gates or implemented with a combination of a general-purpose microprocessor and a memory which stores a program that may be executed by the microprocessor. Also, those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains should understand that the controller may also be implemented with other forms of hardware.
- Hereinafter, in order to further provide convenience of understanding, a vaporization structure of the
aerosol generation device 10 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference toFIGS. 5 and 6 . -
FIG. 5 illustrates an aerosol movement path through a cross-section of theaerosol generation device 10 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, andFIG. 6 illustrates an outside air inflow path. For reference,FIG. 6 illustrates a cross-section in another direction of the aerosol generation device 10 (e.g., a cross-section viewed from a side). It may be understood that the movement of an aerosol A and an inflow of outside air occur throughdifferent airflow paths - As illustrated in
FIG. 5 , thevibration element 17 and aninlet 121A andoutlet 121B of theairflow path 121 may be formed of a nonlinear structure. Alternatively, thevibration element 17, thewick 15, and the inlet of theairflow path 121 may be formed of a nonlinear structure. For example, as illustrated, theinlet 121A of theairflow path 121 may be disposed in a direction that is not perpendicular to thevibration element 17, or theoutlet 121B of theairflow path 121 may be disposed in a direction that is not perpendicular to theinlet 121A. In this way, it is possible to effectively preventdroplets 122 formed in the vaporization space from being introduced through theinlet 121A of theairflow path 121 or being discharged through theoutlet 121B of theairflow path 121. - Also, as mentioned above, the
wick 15 having a size smaller than thevibration element 17 may be disposed at the central portion of thevibration element 17, and thus the inflow of thedroplets 122 through theinlet 121A of theairflow path 121 may be more effectively prevented. For example, as illustrated, even when the formeddroplets 122 bounce around thewick 15, most of the formed droplets (e.g., 122) may fail to reach theinlet 121A of theairflow path 121 due to a marginal space between thewick 15 and theairflow path 121. - Arrows in
FIGS. 5 and 6 may be referenced for a supply path of a liquid L, a movement path of the aerosol A, and an inflow path of outside air. However,FIGS. 5 and 6 only illustrate some examples of the present disclosure, and thus the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. - The
aerosol generation device 10 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure has been described above with reference toFIGS. 2 to 6 . Hereinafter, anaerosol generation device 20 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference toFIGS. 7 to 9 . -
FIG. 7 is an exemplary view for describing theaerosol generation device 20 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure.FIG. 7 illustrates only an upper portion of theaerosol generation device 20 as an example. Hereinafter, description will be given with reference toFIG. 7 , and for clarity of the present disclosure, description of content overlapping with the previous embodiments will be omitted. - As illustrated in
FIG. 7 , theaerosol generation device 20 according to the present embodiment may be a device that generates an aerosol through heating. That is, avaporization element 26 of theaerosol generation device 10 may be a heating element that vaporizes a liquid through heating. - As illustrated, the
aerosol generation device 20 may include amouthpiece 21, anupper case 22, aliquid reservoir 23, awick housing 24, awick 25, and theheating element 26. Also, although not illustrated, theaerosol generation device 20 may further include a controller (not illustrated), a battery (not illustrated), and a control main body case (not illustrated). However, this is only a preferred embodiment for achieving the objectives of the present disclosure, and, of course, some components may be added or omitted as necessary. Hereinafter, each component of theaerosol generation device 20 will be described. - The
mouthpiece 21, theupper case 22, and theliquid reservoir 23 may respectively correspond to themouthpiece 11, theupper case 12, and theliquid reservoir 13 illustrated inFIG. 2 , and thus descriptions thereof will be omitted. - Next, the
wick housing 24 may be a housing that surrounds at least a portion of thewick 25. In some embodiments, thewick housing 24 may be omitted. - Next, the
wick 25 may absorb a liquid L stored in theliquid reservoir 23 and supply the absorbed liquid L to theheating element 26. Thewick 25 may be implemented using any material capable of absorbing the liquid L of theliquid reservoir 23. For example, thewick 25 may be made of cotton, silica, fibers, a porous structure (e.g., a bead assembly), etc., but the material of thewick 25 is not limited thereto. - In some embodiments, the
wick 25 may be formed of a multilayer structure. Thewick 25 formed of a multilayer structure may effectively suppress droplet formation. A specific structure of thewick 25 and the principle of how thewick 25 suppresses droplet formation will be described in detail below with reference toFIGS. 8 and 9 . - The
liquid reservoir 23, thewick housing 24, and thewick 25 all serve to store and supply the liquid L and thus may be collectively referred to as "liquid supply part." - Next, the
heating element 26 may heat the liquid L supplied through thewick 25 to generate an aerosol. As illustrated, theheating element 26 may be implemented using a coil that surrounds at least a portion of thewick 25, but the method of implementing theheating element 26 is not limited thereto, and theheating element 26 may be implemented using any other method as long as theheating element 26 can vaporize the liquid L through heating. - In some embodiments, the
wick 25 may be implemented to be integrated with theheating element 26. For example, thewick 25 may be implemented as an element that can simultaneously absorb and heat the liquid L, like a porous assembly made of metal foam and metal beads. - Meanwhile, as illustrated, the heating element 26 (or the wick 25) and an
inlet 221A andoutlet 221B of anairflow path 221 may be formed of a nonlinear structure. For example, as illustrated, theinlet 221A of theairflow path 221 may be disposed in a direction that is not perpendicular to theheating element 26, or theoutlet 221B of theairflow path 221 may be disposed in a direction that is not perpendicular to theinlet 221A. In this way, it is possible to effectively prevent droplets formed in the vaporization space from being introduced through theinlet 221A of theairflow path 221 or being discharged through theoutlet 221B of theairflow path 221. - Hereinafter, the
wick 25 having a multilayer structure according to some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference toFIGS. 8 and 9 . -
FIG. 8 is an exemplary view illustrating thewick 25 having a multilayer structure according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For convenience of understanding,FIG. 8 illustrates an example in which thewick 25 is formed of a double-layer structure. However, thewick 25 may also be formed of a structure that consists of three or more layers. - As illustrated in
FIG. 8 , thewick 25 may be configured to include acore part 251 and anouter cover part 252. Each of thecore part 251 and theouter cover part 252 may be formed of a single-layer structure or a multilayer structure. - The
core part 251 may mainly serve to absorb a liquid. In other words, thecore part 251 may play a leading role in smoothly supplying the liquid to pores inside thewick 25. - For this role, the
core part 251 according to some embodiments may be implemented to have a transfer ability superior to that of theouter cover part 252. For example, thecore part 251 may have a lower density or higher porosity than theouter cover part 252. As another example, thecore part 251 may be made of a material with higher wettability than theouter cover part 252. - For example, the
core part 251 may be made of materials such as cotton, silica, fibers, or a bead assembly. However, the material of thecore part 251 is not limited thereto. - Next, the
outer cover part 252 may serve to prevent droplet formation and transmit heat of theheating element 26 to thecore part 251 to guarantee smooth vaporization. For example, theouter cover part 252 may suppress droplet formation in thewick 25 by suppressing the absorbed liquid from being rapidly pushed toward the outside of thewick 25 due to rapid growth of bubbles inside thecore part 251. Also, theouter cover part 252 may protect thecore part 251 from high temperatures of theheating element 26. - For this role, the
outer cover part 252 according to some embodiments may be implemented to have a transfer ability inferior to that of thecore part 251. For example, theouter cover part 252 may have a higher density or lower porosity than thecore part 251. In this case, it is possible to effectively suppress the absorbed liquid from being pushed toward the outside of thewick 25 due to rapid growth of bubbles, and heat of theheating element 26 may also be transferred to thecore part 251 well. As another example, theouter cover part 252 may be made of a material with lower wettability than thecore part 251. In this case, a problem in which vapor production is decreased due to the liquid vaporized in thecore part 251 being condensed again in theouter cover part 252 may be mitigated. Further, a thin liquid film, which is a cause of bubble formation, is prevented from being formed on theouter cover part 252, and thus droplet formation during vaporization may also be significantly reduced. - For example, the
outer cover part 252 may be made of materials such as cotton, silica, fibers, a bead assembly, a membrane, or a nonwoven fabric. However, the material of theouter cover part 252 is not limited thereto. - Meanwhile, physical dimensions (e.g., thickness) and/or materials of the
core part 251 and theouter cover part 252 may vary and may be appropriately selected in comprehensive consideration of vapor production and droplet formation. - In some embodiments, a thickness of the
outer cover part 252 may be less than or equal to about 5 mm, preferably, less than or equal to about 4 mm or 3 mm, and more preferably, less than or equal to about 2 mm or 1 mm. Within such numerical ranges, a problem in which vapor production is decreased due to theouter cover part 252 may be significantly mitigated. - Also, in some embodiments, the
core part 251 may be made of a different material from theouter cover part 252. For example, thecore part 251 may be made of a material with higher wettability than theouter cover part 252. In this case, a decrease in vapor production due to condensation of the vaporized liquid or formation of a thin liquid film, which is a cause of formation of bubbles (or droplets), on theouter cover part 252 may be suppressed. However, in some other embodiments, thecore part 251 may be made of the same material as theouter cover part 252. For example, thecore part 251 may be made of the same fiber material as theouter cover part 252. - The arrangement form of the
core part 251 and theouter cover part 252 may also vary and may be appropriately selected in comprehensive consideration of vapor production and droplet formation. - In some embodiments, the
outer cover part 252 may be arranged in a form that covers (e.g., surrounds) theentire core part 251. In this case, a phenomenon in which droplets bounce from thewick 25 may be significantly mitigated. - In some other embodiments, the
outer cover part 252 may be arranged in a form that covers a partial region of thecore part 251. For example, theouter cover part 252 may be disposed to cover only a region where theheating element 26 is disposed in the entire region of thecore part 251. In this case, the problem in which vapor production is decreased may be somewhat mitigated, and an effect of saving material costs may be achieved. As another example, as illustrated inFIG. 9 , theouter cover part 252 may be disposed to cover only a region in contact with theheating element 26 in the entire region of thecore part 251. In other words, theouter cover part 252 may be disposed to cover only a region where thewick 25 and theheating element 26 are in contact. In this case, vaporization may be promoted in a region not in contact with the heating element 26 (e.g., a gap of a wound coil), and the problem in which vapor production is decreased may be significantly mitigated. Further, since the contact region where vaporization and the droplet bouncing phenomenon intensively occur is covered by theouter cover part 252, droplet formation may also be effectively suppressed. - The
aerosol generation device 20 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure has been described above with reference toFIGS. 7 to 9 . Hereinafter, various embodiments of airflow paths 30-1 to 30-4 to which structural design for preventing the droplet discharge phenomenon and/or the airflow path blockage phenomenon is applied will be described with reference toFIG. 10 and so on. The various embodiments described below may be applied, without limitations, to the above-describedairflow paths aerosol generation devices - First,
FIG. 10 is an exemplary view illustrating an internal form of an airflow path 30-1 according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. - As illustrated in
FIG. 10 , aliquid absorber 32 may be disposed on aninner wall 31 of the airflow path 30-1 according to the present embodiment.FIG. 10 illustrates an example in which asingle liquid absorber 32 is disposed, but of course, the number ofliquid absorbers 32 may also be two or more. - The
liquid absorber 32 may absorb a liquid 333 adhered to theinner wall 31 of the airflow path 30-1 and discharge the absorbed liquid 333 in the direction of gravity to prevent formation or growth of a liquid film on theinner wall 31 of the airflow path 30-1. More specifically, theliquid absorber 32 may serve as a kind of drainage channel in the airflow path 30-1 and may prevent a liquid film from growing toward the center of the airflow path 30-1 and allowdroplets 331 flowing in and acondensate 332 of an aerosol A to be rapidly discharged in the direction of gravity without being adhered to theinner wall 31. As formation of a liquid film is suppressed due to theliquid absorber 32, the droplet discharge phenomenon and the airflow path blockage phenomenon may also be naturally mitigated. - Preferably, the
liquid absorber 32 may be made of a material that facilitates liquid absorption. For example, theliquid absorber 32 may be made of a hydrophilic material or a porous material. Examples of such materials may include filter paper, fibers, or the like, but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. - Meanwhile, the arrangement position, arrangement region, and/or arrangement form of the
liquid absorber 32 may be designed to vary. - In some embodiments, as illustrated in
FIG. 10 , theliquid absorber 32 may be disposed to extend in the direction of gravity from a specific position on theinner wall 31 of the airflow path 30-1. In this case, since the liquid 333 absorbed into theliquid absorber 32 is discharged along theliquid absorber 32 due to gravity, a drainage function may be further strengthened. - Hereinafter, an internal form of an airflow path 30-2 according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to
FIGS. 11 and12 . -
FIG. 11 is a view illustrating the internal form of the airflow path 30-2 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. - In the present embodiment, for a purpose similar to the purpose of the liquid absorber 32 (that is, prevention of the airflow path blockage phenomenon and the droplet discharge phenomenon), surface treatment for increasing wettability may be performed on an
inner wall 31 of the airflow path 30-2. This is because, when the wettability of the inner wall is increased, adhesion of droplets may be suppressed, and thus formation and growth of a liquid film may be prevented. - Specifically, as illustrated in
FIG. 11 , surface treatment for increasing wettability may be performed on at least apartial region 312 of theinner wall 31 of the airflow path 30-2. The surface treatment may prevent a liquid film from growing toward the center of the airflow path 30-2 and allowdroplets 334 flowing in and acondensate 335 of an aerosol A to be rapidly discharged in the direction of gravity without being adhered to theinner wall 31. - Examples of the surface treatment may include plating (e.g., electroplating), hydrophilic coating, etc., but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Also, plating may be performed using a metal such as gold, silver, nickel, or copper, but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.
- In some embodiments, the surface treatment may be performed so that an angle of contact is less than or equal to about 30°, preferably, less than or equal to about 20° or 10°, and more preferably, close to 0°. This is because the higher the wettability, the higher the extent to which the formation and growth of a liquid film on the
inner wall 31 of the airflow path 30-2 is suppressed. - Meanwhile, the surface treatment may be performed on a portion of the
inner wall 31 or the entire region thereof, and a region on which the surface treatment is performed may be designed and selected in various ways. - In some embodiments, a region on which the surface treatment is performed may include a part or all of a lower region of the
inner wall 31 of the airflow path 30-2. For example, the surface treatment may be performed only on the lower region of theinner wall 31 of the airflow path 30-2. This may be understood as reflecting the fact that a liquid film is mostly formed at a lower portion of theinner wall 31. As another example, the surface treatment may be performed on both the lower region and an upper region of theinner wall 31 of the airflow path 30-2, but the surface treatment may be performed so that wettability is higher in the lower region than in the upper region. - Also, in some embodiments, the
liquid absorber 32 may be disposed in a region on which the surface treatment is performed. For example, as illustrated inFIG. 12 , in a case in which the surface treatment is performed on a plurality of first regions (e.g., 312-1 and 312-2) formed at predetermined intervals (or the surface treatment is performed so that wettability is higher in the first regions (e.g., 312-1 and 312-2) than in second regions (e.g., 313-1 and 313-2) that are alternately disposed with the first regions (e.g., 312-1 and 312-2)), liquid absorbers (e.g., 32-1 and 32-2) may be disposed in the plurality of first regions (e.g., 312-1 and 312-2). In this case, since an effect of arranging the liquid absorbers (e.g., 32-1 and 32-2) on a drainage path is achieved, a drainage function of theinner wall 31 of the airflow path 30-2 may be further strengthened. Also, accordingly, the droplet discharge phenomenon and the airflow path blockage phenomenon may be further mitigated. - Hereinafter, an airflow path 30-3 according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to
FIG. 13 . -
FIG. 13 is an exemplary view illustrating an internal form of the airflow path 30-3 according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure. - As illustrated in
FIG. 13 , in the present embodiment, anobstacle 34 that may impede movement of an aerosol A may be disposed inside the airflow path 30-3. That is, aspecific structure 34 may be disposed in a form that may impede the movement of the aerosol A. As illustrated, one ormore obstacles 34 may be disposed inside the airflow path 30-3, and the lengths, arrangement intervals, and the like of theobstacles 34 may be designed to vary. - When the
obstacle 34 is disposed, during the movement of the aerosol A, a condensate of the aerosol ordroplets 336 may be formed downward (that is, in a direction opposite to the mouthpiece) on a lower portion of theobstacle 34. Since the formed condensate ordroplets 336 may be naturally discharged in the direction of gravity, it is possible to effectively prevent discharge of thedroplets 336 through an outlet of the airflow path 30-3 or formation of a liquid film inside the airflow path 30-3. - The
obstacle 34 may be made of various materials that can impede the movement of the aerosol A. In some embodiments, theobstacle 34 may be made of a porous material, a mesh material, or a membrane material. In this case, impeding the movement of the aerosol A is minimized, and thus a problem in which vapor production is decreased or an inhaling sensation is degraded due to theobstacle 34 may be significantly alleviated. - Hereinafter, an airflow path 30-4 according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to
FIG. 14 . -
FIG. 14 is an exemplary view illustrating an internal form of the airflow path 30-4 according to the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure. - As illustrated in
FIG. 14 , amesh element 35 that can limit movement ofdroplets 337 may be disposed inside the airflow path 30-4 according to the present embodiment. Themesh element 35 may be a structure including a plurality of holes like a mesh plate (or a porous plate), and the plurality of holes may have a size that allows the holes to pass an aerosol A but limit the movement of thedroplets 337. In some embodiments, a membrane that selectively transmits only the aerosol A therethrough may be disposed in place of themesh element 35. - The
mesh element 35 may be disposed at an inlet or an intermediate portion of the airflow path 30-4 or may be disposed at an outlet thereof. Also, as illustrated, themesh element 35 may be designed to have a size that allows themesh element 35 to block the entire airflow path 30-4 or may be designed to have a size that allows themesh element 35 to block only a portion of the airflow path 30-4 (refer to theobstacle 34 inFIG. 13 ). - The airflow paths 30-1 to 30-4 according to the first to fourth embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above with reference to
FIGS. 10 to 14 . Each embodiment has been separately described, but this is only to provide convenience of understanding, and the above-described first to fourth embodiments may be combined in various forms. For example, the surface treatment for increasing wettability may be performed on an inner wall of an airflow path, and the mesh element (e.g., 35) may be disposed at an inlet of the airflow path. - Hereinafter, a control method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to
FIG. 15 . - Each step of the control method which will be described below may be performed by a controller (e.g., 19) of an aerosol generation device (e.g., 10 or 20), and in a case in which the controller (e.g., 19) is implemented using a processor, each step of the control method may be implemented using one or more instructions that may be executed by the processor. Therefore, in the following description, when the subject of a specific step or operation is omitted, the specific step or operation may be understood as being performed by the controller (e.g., 19).
-
FIG. 15 is an exemplary flowchart illustrating the control method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. However, this is only a preferred embodiment for achieving the objectives of the present disclosure, and, of course, some steps may be added or omitted as necessary. - As illustrated in
FIG. 15 , the control method may begin by estimating a degree to which droplets are formed (e.g., the number of droplets formed per puff, the number of droplets formed during a certain amount of time, etc.) (S10). In this step, the degree to which droplets are formed may be estimated using various specific methods, and the method may vary according to embodiments. - In some embodiments, the controller may estimate the degree to which droplets are formed on the basis of changes in a temperature, current, resistance, or a voltage of a vaporization element (e.g., a vibration element or a heating element). Specifically, when droplets bounce from a wick (e.g., when bubbles rapidly grow inside), the wick momentarily reaches an unsaturated state, and thus the temperature of the vaporization element around the wick may rapidly increase, or the current and resistance of the vaporization element or a voltage applied thereto may rapidly change. Therefore, the degree to which droplets are formed may be estimated on the basis of changes in the temperature, current, resistance, or a voltage. For example, in a case in which a change value or a slope of the temperature, current, resistance, or a voltage is a threshold value or more, the controller may determine that the number of formed droplets has increased.
- In some other embodiments, the controller may estimate the degree to which droplets are formed on the basis of a change in an airflow in an airflow path. The change in an airflow may be sensed by an airflow sensor, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Since the higher the vaporization speed, the higher the extent to which formation of droplets is accelerated, a rapid increase in an airflow may be an indicator that indicates an increase in droplets. Therefore, the controller may estimate the degree to which droplets are formed on the basis of a change in an airflow.
- In step S20, the controller may, on the basis of a result of the estimation, control power supplied to the vaporization element. For example, in response to determining that the degree to which droplets are formed is a reference value or more (e.g., an estimated value of the number of formed droplets is a reference value or more or an estimated value of an increasing slope of the number of formed droplets is a reference value or more), the controller may decrease the power supplied to the vaporization element. As another example, in response to determining that the degree to which droplets are formed is less than the reference value, the controller may increase the power supplied to the vaporization element. In this case, vaporization may be accelerated, and vapor production may be increased.
- In step S20, a range of control (that is, a range of increase and a range of decrease) of the supplied power may be a variable value that changes according to a preset fixed value or situation and may be set in various ways.
- In some embodiments, the range of increase and the range of decrease of the supplied power may be set as the same value. In this case, power control may be performed with a balanced consideration of the degree to which droplets are formed and vapor production.
- In some other embodiments, the range of increase of the supplied power may be set as a larger value than the range of decrease. In this case, since power is controlled by significantly increasing and then gradually decreasing the supplied power, power control may be performed with more focus on vapor production.
- In still some other embodiments, the range of decrease of the supplied power may be set as a larger value than the range of increase. In this case, since power is controlled by significantly decreasing and then gradually increasing the supplied power, power control may be performed with more focus on preventing formation of droplets.
- Also, in some embodiments, the range of control (the range of increase or range of decrease) of the supplied power may be changed on the basis of a result (that is, feedback) of power control. For example, when the degree to which droplets are formed does not decrease much despite decreasing the supplied power, the range of decrease may be set as a larger value. In the opposite case, the range of decrease may be set as a smaller value.
- Meanwhile, steps S10 and S20 may be repeatedly performed in a feedback manner during operation of an aerosol generation device (e.g., during smoking).
- The control method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure has been described above with reference to
FIG. 15 . According to the above-described method, through dynamic power control according to the degree to which droplets are formed, the droplet discharge phenomenon and the airflow path blockage phenomenon may be significantly mitigated, and suitable vapor production may also be guaranteed. Accordingly, a user's satisfaction with the aerosol generation device may be significantly improved. - The technical principle of the present disclosure or the content related to the operation of the controller described above with reference to
FIG. 15 may be implemented with computer-readable code on computer-readable recording media. Examples of the computer-readable recording media may include removable recording media (a compact disc (CD), a digital versatile disc (DVD), a Blu-Ray disk, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) storage device, or a removable hard disk) or non-removable recording media (a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), or a built-in hard disk). Computer programs recorded in the computer-readable recording media may be sent to other computing devices through a network, such as the Internet, and installed on the other computing devices to be used in the other computing devices. - The embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains should understand that the present disclosure may be embodied in other specific forms without changing the technical principle or essential features thereof. Therefore, the embodiments described above should be understood as being illustrative, instead of limiting, in all aspects. The scope of the present disclosure should be interpreted according to the claims below, and any technical principle within the scope equivalent to the claims should be interpreted as falling within the scope of the technical principle defined by the present disclosure.
Claims (14)
- An aerosol generation device comprising:a liquid supply part configured to supply a liquid aerosol-forming substrate;a vaporization element configured to vaporize the supplied liquid aerosol-forming substrate to generate an aerosol in a vaporization space; andan airflow path configured to allow the aerosol generated in the vaporization space to move toward a mouthpiece,wherein the vaporization element, an inlet of the airflow path, and an outlet of the airflow path are formed of a nonlinear structure.
- The aerosol generation device of claim 1, wherein the inlet of the airflow path is disposed in a direction that is not perpendicular to the vaporization element.
- The aerosol generation device of claim 1, wherein:the liquid supply part includes a wick configured to absorb the liquid aerosol-forming substrate and supply the absorbed liquid aerosol-forming substrate into the vaporization space; andthe vaporization element, the wick, and the inlet of the airflow path are formed of a nonlinear structure.
- The aerosol generation device of claim 1, wherein:the liquid supply part includes a wick configured to absorb the liquid aerosol-forming substrate and deliver the absorbed liquid aerosol-forming substrate into the vaporization space;the vaporization element vaporizes the supplied liquid aerosol-forming substrate through ultrasonic vibrations; andthe vaporization element is disposed in contact with the wick.
- The aerosol generation device of claim 4, wherein:the wick is disposed at a central portion of the vaporization element; anda contact area of the wick and the vaporization element is smaller than a cross-sectional area of the vaporization element.
- The aerosol generation device of claim 4, wherein a diameter of the wick or a diameter of a portion where the wick and the vaporization element are in contact is in a range of 2.0 mm to 6.0 mm.
- The aerosol generation device of claim 4, wherein a distance from an outer periphery of the wick to an outer periphery of the vaporization element is 1.5 mm or more.
- The aerosol generation device of claim 1, wherein the vaporization element heats the supplied liquid aerosol-forming substrate to vaporize the aerosol.
- The aerosol generation device of claim 1, wherein a liquid absorber is disposed on an inner wall of the airflow path.
- The aerosol generation device of claim 9, wherein:surface treatment for increasing wettability is performed on a specific region of the inner wall of the airflow path; andthe liquid absorber is disposed in the specific region.
- The aerosol generation device of claim 1, wherein a mesh element is disposed inside the airflow path.
- The aerosol generation device of claim 1, wherein an obstacle configured to impede movement of the generated aerosol is disposed inside the airflow path.
- The aerosol generation device of claim 1, wherein surface treatment for increasing wettability is performed on at least a partial region of an inner wall of the airflow path.
- The aerosol generation device of claim 1, further comprising a controller configured to control power supplied to the vaporization element,
wherein the controller estimates a degree to which droplets are formed in the vaporization space, and on the basis of a result of the estimation, controls the power supplied to the vaporization element.
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KR1020210041624A KR102623331B1 (en) | 2021-03-31 | 2021-03-31 | Aerosol-generating apparatus and control method thereof |
PCT/KR2021/016505 WO2022211208A1 (en) | 2021-03-31 | 2021-11-12 | Aerosol generation device and control method therefor |
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EP4140332A4 EP4140332A4 (en) | 2024-01-03 |
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WO2024118648A1 (en) * | 2022-11-29 | 2024-06-06 | The Regents Of The University Of California | Fluid transport and atomization method |
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EP2319334A1 (en) * | 2009-10-27 | 2011-05-11 | Philip Morris Products S.A. | A smoking system having a liquid storage portion |
GB201413027D0 (en) * | 2014-02-28 | 2014-09-03 | Beyond Twenty Ltd | Beyond 4 |
TWI661782B (en) * | 2014-05-21 | 2019-06-11 | 瑞士商菲利浦莫里斯製品股份有限公司 | Electrically heated aerosol-generating system,electrically heated aerosol-generating deviceand method of generating an aerosol |
TWI660685B (en) * | 2014-05-21 | 2019-06-01 | 瑞士商菲利浦莫里斯製品股份有限公司 | Electrically heated aerosol-generating system and cartridge for use in such a system |
GB201410562D0 (en) * | 2014-06-13 | 2014-07-30 | Nicoventures Holdings Ltd | Aerosol provision system |
TWI674071B (en) * | 2014-12-15 | 2019-10-11 | 瑞士商菲利浦莫里斯製品股份有限公司 | Aerosol-generating systems and methods for guiding an airflow inside an electrically heated aerosol-generating system |
US20160213866A1 (en) | 2015-01-23 | 2016-07-28 | William Tan | Ultrasonic vaporizing element |
GB201503411D0 (en) * | 2015-02-27 | 2015-04-15 | British American Tobacco Co | Apparatus and method for generating an inhalable medium, and a cartridge for use therewith |
MA44627A (en) | 2016-04-04 | 2019-02-13 | Nexvap Sa | MOBILE INHALATOR AND CONTAINER USED AT THE SAME TIME |
CN111278312B (en) * | 2017-10-24 | 2023-08-15 | 日本烟草产业株式会社 | Aerosol generating device, method for operating same, and program |
GB201717498D0 (en) * | 2017-10-24 | 2017-12-06 | British American Tobacco Investments Ltd | Aerosol provision device |
KR102138246B1 (en) * | 2017-10-30 | 2020-07-28 | 주식회사 케이티앤지 | Vaporizer and aerosol generating apparatus comprising the same |
JP7241753B2 (en) * | 2017-12-13 | 2023-03-17 | フィリップ・モーリス・プロダクツ・ソシエテ・アノニム | Aerosol generator with feedback control |
GB201816831D0 (en) * | 2018-10-16 | 2018-11-28 | Nicoventures Trading Ltd | Aerosol provision device |
KR102420138B1 (en) * | 2019-07-31 | 2022-07-13 | 주식회사 케이티앤지 | Cartridge and aerosol generating device comprising the same |
CN212437276U (en) * | 2020-04-23 | 2021-02-02 | 湖南中烟工业有限责任公司 | Ultrasonic atomizer and electronic cigarette |
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WO2022211208A1 (en) | 2022-10-06 |
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KR20220135651A (en) | 2022-10-07 |
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