JP6409025B2 - Smokeless electronic cigarette - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a smokeless electronic cigarette, and in particular, the smoking material is heated at a temperature suitable for volatilizing the smoking material component (about 60 ° C. to 100 ° C.) without burning the tobacco, and the component (flavor component, compound) is heated. The present invention relates to a smokeless electronic cigarette that can relieve the dependence on cigarettes by releasing it a predetermined number of times of smoking (several to dozens of times), and a smokeless electronic cigarette unit device having a heating function for the smokeless electronic cigarette.

  Tobacco is a representative example of an addictive drug along with alcohol, and it is said that there are 13 million people in Japan who want to quit smoking. This is because of the dependence on nicotine contained in tobacco. As tobacco dependence progresses, the same stimulation does not provide the same pleasure, but a large amount of nicotine is demanded, and familiar drug dependence is formed.

  The harm caused by tobacco is not limited to addiction, but various health hazards including lung cancer have been reported, and tobacco commercials are regulated in some countries. Furthermore, tobacco contains more harmful substances in sidestream smoke than smoke smoked by smokers themselves. For this reason, the health damage caused by tobacco is a major issue for non-smokers. On the other hand, it is known that cigarettes have several effects, such as calming when smoked when irritated, or refreshing head by slowly smoking.

  In recent years, various types of electronic cigarettes have been proposed as a cigarette that reduces the harmful aspects of such cigarettes, in order to taste smoking components similar to tobacco without burning the tobacco. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique related to a rechargeable electronic cigarette that seems to smoke a real cigarette. An electronic cigarette described in Patent Document 1 includes a casing that includes an LED at the tip and encloses a power supply unit, a heater unit that is connected to the casing and has a chemical liquid mist, a chemical liquid container that is connected to the heater unit, a chemical liquid container, and the like. The inlet is connected to the end. By sucking the electronic cigarette mouth or stopping it, the LED turns red and the redness disappears like a cigarette fire. This makes it look like you are smoking real cigarettes. In addition, when you stop sucking and remove the frightened electronic cigarette from your mouth, the mist-like medicinal solution that has been sucked into the mouth is exhaled from the mouth, and it looks like real cigarette smoke .

  Patent Document 2 discloses a technique related to a smokeless flavor inhaler capable of sucking and tasting flavor without generating aerosol (smoke). In the technique described in Patent Literature 2, after a user ignites a carbon heat source provided at one end of a flavor suction tool, the user holds and sucks a mouthpiece provided at the other end. Thereby, the air heated by the carbon heat source is cooled to an appropriate temperature (50 ° C. to 200 ° C.) for heating the tobacco material by the cooling element provided in the middle, and the tobacco material is heated by the heat. By this, the tobacco raw material component which volatilizes is sucked.

  Patent Document 3 discloses a technology relating to a so-called exothermic but non-burning tobacco that releases a compound by heating without burning tobacco as a product that releases the compound without generating tobacco smoke. This technique heats the smoking material by heat transfer from the heating material located adjacent to the smoking material. The heating material is resistance-heated during the electromagnetic induction heating process. Thus, the components of the smoking material such as nicotine and aromatic compounds are volatilized and sucked in the heating chamber by the effect of electromagnetic induction without burning the smoking material.

  However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 cannot be said that smokelessness is completely achieved because the mist-like chemical liquid discharged from the oral cavity reminds non-smokers of sidestream smoke. In addition, since the technology described in Patent Document 2 ignites a carbon heat source in the same way as a real cigarette, the temperature of the heat source exceeds a few hundred degrees, causing a fire problem or low-temperature burns in the oral cavity due to the temperature of smoke to be sucked. There is a problem. In addition, there is a problem that a cooling unit for cooling high heat generated by the heat source is essential, and the structure is complicated.

On the other hand, the electronic cigarette described in Patent Document 3 is a cigarette that emits a compound by heating without burning the tobacco, that is, a so-called exothermic but non-burning cigarette. For this reason, there are few fears of a subsmoke flow and a fire outbreak like patent document 1 and patent document 2. However, in the technique described in Patent Document 3, a smoking material that generates a flavor component is provided in a heating chamber together with a heating material, and is heated and volatilized by a heating material that is heated by induction heating. For this reason, the component of a heating material may mix in the flavor component which volatilizes from a smoking material. Moreover, when all the flavor components of a smoking material volatilize, there exists a problem that the whole heating chamber must be replaced | exchanged. Furthermore, none of the electronic cigarettes described in Patent Document 1 to Patent Document 3 is provided with a means for avoiding tobacco dependence that a smoker easily falls into. For this reason, the problem of tobacco dependence that cannot be stopped even if it is desired to quit smoking has not been solved.

JP 2011-87569 A JP2013-532953A Special table 2015-531601

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is a smokeless electronic cigarette that does not cause non-smokers to worry about sidestream smoke, and that makes use of the effects of tobacco such as calming the mind or refreshing the head. An object of the present invention is to provide a smokeless electronic cigarette in which the dependence on cigarettes associated with smoking is alleviated, and a smokeless electronic cigarette unit device having a heating function for the smokeless electronic cigarette.

In order to solve the above-described problem, the invention according to claim 1 includes a suction part that includes a smoking material and includes a mouthpiece,
A heat storage body that communicates with the suction unit and heats air to a predetermined temperature, a heat insulating body that covers an outer periphery of the heat storage body, a casing that includes the heat storage body and the heat insulating body, and suction of the suction port A smokeless electronic cigarette comprising a heating unit including a flow path for guiding air flowing from the outside to the suction unit,
The flow path is a gap between the heat storage body and the heat insulator, and a flow path resistance that restricts the flow rate of the air so that the air has a desired temperature by the amount of heat of the heat storage body. A smokeless electronic cigarette, characterized in that is provided .

The invention according to claim 2 is the smokeless electronic cigarette according to claim 1, wherein the flow path is a plurality of protrusions provided on the outer surface of the heat storage body .

The invention described in claim 3 is characterized in that the smokeless electronic cigarette according to claim 1 is a plurality of rows of grooves carved on the outer surface of the heat storage body .

Invention of Claim 4 is a smokeless electronic cigarette in any one of Claim 1 to 3, Comprising: The said thermal storage body is a porous body, The pore of the said porous body is the said flow path. It also has a part .

Invention of Claim 5 is smokeless electronic cigarette of Claim 5 or 6, Comprising: The said thermal storage body is heated from 150 degreeC to 250 degreeC by the said heater or an induction heating body, and flows through the said flow path. The air is heated to 60 ° C. or more by the heat storage body.

Invention of Claim 6 is smokeless electronic cigarette of Claim 5 , Comprising: The said thermal storage body is heated from 150 degreeC to 250 degreeC with the said heater or induction heating body, and the air which flows through the said flow path is It is heated to 60 ° C. or more by the heat storage body.

  According to the present invention, it is a smokeless electronic cigarette that does not cause non-smokers to be afraid of sidestream smoke, and does not have a fear of fire, while making use of the effects of tobacco such as calming and refreshing the head. It is possible to provide a smokeless electronic cigarette in which the dependence on tobacco associated with smoking is alleviated, and a smokeless electronic cigarette unit device having a heating function for the smokeless electronic cigarette.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments and examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings of the examples. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a smokeless electronic cigarette 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown to Fig.1 (a), the smokeless electronic cigarette 1 is comprised from the heating part 10 and the suction part 11, and the heating part 10 and the suction part 11 are comprised so that attachment or detachment is possible. FIG. 1B is an exploded perspective view of the smokeless electronic cigarette 1 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1B, the heating unit 10 includes a cap 101 provided with pores for taking in air from the outside at the tip, a temperature sensor 102, a heat storage body 106 around which a heater 103 is wound, and a heat insulator 104. The heating unit casing 105 is configured. The suction part 11 includes a suction casing 112 and a cartridge 110 that stores smoking material.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the smokeless electronic cigarette 1. The outer periphery of the smokeless electronic cigarette 1 is covered with a heating unit casing 105 and a suction casing 112. Inside the heating part casing 105, there are a heat insulator 104 and a heat accumulator 106, and the heat accumulator 106 covers the entire circumference of the heat accumulator 106. Since the heat of the heat accumulator 106 is hardly transmitted to the outside by the heat insulator 104, the smoker can hold the heating unit casing 105. Moreover, the heat insulator 104 makes it difficult to transfer the heat energy of the heat storage body 106 to the outside. For this reason, the air flowing in or around the heat storage body 106 is efficiently heated to a desired temperature.

When the smoker sucks the suction port 111, air flows from the cap 101. The inflowing air is heated by the heat storage of the heat storage body 106, and the heated air volatilizes the smoking material components (flavor components, compounds such as nicotine) stored in the smoking material cartridge 110. The smoker sucks the volatilized smoking material component from the suction port 111. As described above, the smokeless electronic cigarette 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention volatilizes the smoking material component by heating without burning, so that no smoke is generated and there is no risk of fire.

  As shown in FIG. 2C, the cap 101 attached to the tip of the heating unit 10 is provided with a pore 1011 that is an inflow hole through which air flows into the cap 101 when sucked by the suction port 111. Yes. Further, a temperature sensor electrode 1021 that is a connection electrode to the outside of the temperature sensor and a heater electrode 1031 for connecting the heater 103 to an external power source are exposed.

  FIG. 3A is a view showing a state where the heater 103 is wound around the outer surface of the heat storage body 106. The heater electrodes 1031 at both ends of the heater 103 are exposed to the outside through the cap 101 as described above, and are inserted into the smokeless electronic cigarette insertion port 51 of the power supply unit shown in FIGS. Then, the power supply electrode 54 shown in FIG. 8 is connected, the heater 103 shown in FIG. 3 is energized, and the heat accumulator 106 is heated.

  FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the temperature sensor 102 inserted into the heat storage body 106. In the present embodiment, the heat storage body 106 is a porous body, for example, a ceramic material such as carbon or silicon dioxide, a resin material such as magnesium oxide, aluminum oxide, or bakelite, or a compression molded material such as a metal oxide. It is preferable that a temperature sensor is embedded in the pores of the porous body. The temperature sensor 102 measures the temperature of the heat storage body 106 being heated, and outputs an off signal to the heater power supply when the heat storage body 106 reaches a predetermined temperature of about 150 ° C. to 250 ° C.

  The heat storage body 106 is not necessarily a porous body such as a material having a large heat storage capacity, for example, a resin such as iron, copper, aluminum, stainless steel, an alloy, or bakelite. When a porous body is not used as the heat storage body 106, it is preferable to form a flow path through which air from the cap 101 flows in the heat storage body itself and / or its periphery.

  In FIG. 4, a gap between the heat storage body 306 that is not a porous body and the heat insulating body 304 formed on the outer periphery of the heat storage body 306 is a flow path, and a flow path resistance 310 that inhibits the flow of air is formed on the outer surface of the heat storage body 306. It is a structure perspective view of the provided flow path. By forming such a flow path 301, the flow velocity of the air 9 sucked from the suction port 111 is limited. Thereby, the air 9 flowing through the flow path 301 can receive a predetermined amount of heat by the heat storage body 106, and is heated to a desired temperature (60 ° C. or higher) and then introduced into the suction unit 11. The smoking material stored in the smoking material cartridge 110 is volatilized by the air heated to 60 ° C. or higher.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a case where the flow path 301-1 is formed on the outer surface of the heat storage body 306. In this embodiment, the flow path is formed in a V shape, but the shape is not limited to a V shape, and may be, for example, a snake shape or a spiral shape. Further, the flow path resistance can be controlled by appropriately changing the width of the flow path, whereby the flow rate of the air 9 can be set to a desired flow rate. Note that the flow path shape is preferably determined in consideration of the heat capacity and flow velocity of the heat storage body 306. Further, the pores inside the porous body may be used as the flow path, and the gap between the heat storage body and the heat insulating body may be used as the flow path.

  6, 7, and 8 are diagrams illustrating the configuration of the power supply unit 5 of the smokeless electronic cigarette 1. The power supply unit 5 is a power supply unit that supplies electricity to the heater 103 that heats the heat storage body 106 of the smokeless electronic cigarette 1. When the smokeless electronic cigarette 1 is inserted into the insertion hole 51, the heater electrode 1031 is connected to the electrode of the power supply unit and energized.

  An insertion port 53 for supplying power from the outside is provided on the lower side surface of the outer lid 52 of the power supply unit 5. By inserting the USB cable into the insertion port 53, the battery 55 connected via the circuit board 56 shown in FIG. 8 is charged, and the heater 103 is connected via the battery 55, the circuit board 56, and the power supply unit 54. Turn on electricity. The circuit board 56 controls whether or not the heater 103 is energized by a signal from the temperature sensor 102.

  The power supply unit 5 includes a battery 55 inside, and the convenience of carrying can be ensured by setting the shape of the battery unit to a normal cigarette size. Further, by specifying the capacity of the battery 55, it is possible to limit the number of times of heating (limit the number of smokers' suction), and to reduce the dependence on tobacco.

  FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the smokeless electronic cigarette 2 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The smokeless electronic cigarette 2 includes a heating unit 20 and a suction unit 21. The outer periphery of the heating unit 20 is covered with a heating unit casing 205, and an induction heating body 204 is formed inside the heating unit casing 205 so as to cover the entire circumference of the heat storage body 206. In order to allow the smoker to hold the heating unit casing 205, a heat insulator or an air layer is provided between the induction heating unit 204 and the heating unit casing 205, and the heat of the induction heating unit 204 and the heat of the heat storage unit 206 are provided. It is preferable that heat transfer is difficult. Further, by providing a heat insulator or an air layer, the heat energy of the heat storage body 206 is hardly released to the outside, and the air flowing through the flow path can be stably heated to a desired temperature.

  FIG. 10 is a view showing a cross section of the smokeless electronic cigarette 2. The outer periphery of the smokeless electronic cigarette 2 is covered with a heating unit casing 205 and a suction casing 212. An induction heating body 204 is arranged inside the heating unit casing 205 so as to cover the entire circumference of the heat storage body 206. It is preferable to provide a heat insulator 203 or an air layer as a heat insulator between the induction heater 204 and the heating unit casing 205.

  The cap 201 at the tip of the smokeless electronic cigarette 2 is provided with an inflow hole 2011 through which air flows, and the temperature sensor electrode 2021 is exposed. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a state in which the outer periphery of the heat storage body 206 is covered with the induction heating body 204 and the temperature sensor 302 is embedded in the heat storage body 206. In this embodiment, the temperature sensor 202 includes a thermocouple 2022, an external electrode 2021, and a connection line connecting them.

The difference between the smokeless electronic cigarette 2 shown in the second embodiment and the smokeless electronic cigarette 1 shown in the first embodiment is the difference in the heating method of the heat storage body. The smokeless electronic cigarette 1 is heated by the heater 103 wound around the outer surface of the heat storage body 106, while the smokeless electronic cigarette 2 heats the heat storage body 206 by the induction heating body 204.

  12 and 13 are diagrams showing the configuration of the power supply unit 6 of the smokeless electronic cigarette 2. The difference between the power supply unit 6 and the power supply unit 5 described above is that the power supply unit 5 heats the heat accumulator 106 of the smokeless electronic cigarette 1 and the power supply unit supplies electricity to the heater. On the other hand, the power supply unit 6 is in a position where the heat storage body is heated through the induction heating body 206 by induction heating.

  For this reason, as shown in FIG. 13, a dielectric circuit board 67 connected to the circuit board 66 is provided from the lower part of the insertion hole 61 of the power supply unit 6 with the length of the heating unit 20 of the smokeless electronic cigarette 2.

The circuit board 66 controls whether or not the dielectric circuit board 67 is energized by a signal from the temperature sensor 102, and heats the induction heating body 204 to a predetermined temperature by electromagnetic induction by energization. Except for heating of the heat accumulator by induction heating, it is the same as described in the first embodiment.

Using the sample simulating the configuration of the smokeless electronic cigarette shown in the first embodiment and the second embodiment of the present invention, a demonstration experiment was conducted on the relationship between the heating temperature of the heat storage body and the temperature of the air heated by suction of the suction port. It was. As a result, it was confirmed that when the heat storage body was heated to an ultimate temperature of 200 ° C., the temperature of the air flowing into the smoking material was within the range of 60 ° C. to 80 ° C. even if the suction was repeated up to 10 times. In addition, by varying the temperature at which the heat storage body reaches the heating temperature in the range of 150 ° C. to 250 ° C., the number of possible suctions (the number of suctions that can keep the temperature of the air flowing into the smoking material above 60 ° C.) can be increased or decreased by about 20% Was confirmed.

1 is an exploded perspective view of a smokeless electronic cigarette 1 that is a first embodiment of the present invention. It is the figure which showed the cross section of the smokeless electronic cigarette 1 which is a 1st Example of this invention. It is the figure etc. which showed the state which wound the heater 103 around the outer surface of the thermal storage body 106 in 1st Example of this invention. In the first embodiment of the present invention, the heat storage body 306 which is not a porous body and the heat insulating body 304 formed on the outer periphery thereof is defined as a flow path, and the flow resistance is formed on the outer surface of the heat storage body 306. 3 is a perspective view of a channel 301 provided with 310. FIG. It is a perspective view of the flow path 301-1 formed in the outer surface of the thermal storage body 306 in the 1st Example of this invention. It is the figure which showed the structure of the power supply unit 5 of the smokeless electronic cigarette 1 which is a 1st Example of this invention. It is the figure which showed the structure of the power supply unit 5 of the smokeless electronic cigarette 1 which is a 1st Example of this invention. It is the figure which showed the structure of the power supply unit 5 of the smokeless electronic cigarette 1 which is a 1st Example of this invention. It is the perspective view which showed the structure of the smokeless electronic cigarette 2 which is the 2nd Example of this invention. It is the figure which showed the cross section of the smokeless electronic cigarette 2. FIG. It is the perspective view which showed the structure of the induction heating body 204, the thermal storage body 206, and the temperature sensor 202 which comprise the smokeless electronic cigarette 2 which is a 2nd Example of this invention. It is the figure which showed the structure of the power supply unit 6 of the smokeless electronic cigarette 2 which is a 2nd Example of this invention. It is the figure which showed the structure of the power supply unit 6 of the smokeless electronic cigarette 2 which is a 2nd Example of this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Smokeless electronic cigarette 10 Heating part 11 Suction part 101 Cap 102 Temperature sensor 103 Heater 104 Heat insulator 105 Casing 1
106 Heat storage body 110 Cartridge (smoking material)
111 Suction port 112 Casing 2
2 Smokeless electronic cigarette 20 Heating unit 21 Suction unit 201 Cap 202 Temperature sensor 203 Heat insulator (air layer)
204 Induction heating body 205 Heating part casing 206 Heat storage body 210 Cartridge (smoking material)
211 Suction port 212 Suction casing

Claims (6)

A suction part containing a smoking material and equipped with a mouthpiece;
A heat storage body that communicates with the suction unit and heats air to a predetermined temperature, a heat insulating body that covers an outer periphery of the heat storage body, a casing that includes the heat storage body and the heat insulating body, and suction of the suction port A smokeless electronic cigarette comprising a heating unit including a flow path for guiding air flowing from the outside to the suction unit,
The flow path is a gap between the heat storage body and the heat insulator, and a flow path resistance that restricts the flow rate of the air so that the air has a desired temperature by the amount of heat of the heat storage body. A smokeless electronic cigarette characterized by that. The smokeless electronic cigarette according to claim 1, wherein the flow path is a plurality of protrusions provided on an outer surface of the heat storage body. The smokeless electronic cigarette according to claim 1, wherein the flow path is a plurality of rows of grooves carved on an outer surface of the heat storage body.   The smokeless electronic cigarette according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the heat storage body is a porous body, and pores of the porous body also serve as a part of the flow path. The smokeless electronic cigarette according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a heater or an induction heating body is provided on an outer periphery of the heat storage body. The heat storage body, said heated from 0.99 ° C. by a heater or induction heating body 250 ° C., the air flowing through the flow path according to claim 5, characterized in that it is heated to 60 ° C. or higher by the heat accumulator Smokeless electronic cigarette.