KR102551635B1 - Electronic cigarette device - Google Patents

Abstract

In an electronic cigarette terminal according to an aspect of the present invention, a body portion having an insertion area into which an electronic cigarette stick is pushed downward is provided on one area of the upper surface, and a battery unit disposed inside the body portion to supply power and disposed inside the insertion area. The battery unit is detachably coupled to the first heating unit for heating the e-cigarette stick pressed into the insertion area through power supplied from the battery unit and the body unit, and a liquid material that generates steam by heat is filled inside the battery unit. A second heating unit that heats the liquid material filled inside through the power supplied from the second heating unit and a sensing unit located on the lower surface of the insertion area to detect the press-in pressure of the electronic cigarette stick pressed into the insertion area, and the detection result of the detection unit. and a control unit that determines whether or not the electronic cigarette stick is already used and controls power supply to the first and second heating units through the battery unit according to the determination result.

Description

Electronic cigarette terminal {ELECTRONIC CIGARETTE DEVICE}

The present invention relates to an electronic cigarette terminal.

The electronic cigarette terminal is a product for improving odor and carcinogen generation problems that occur when smoking an existing cigarette.

In general, types of electronic cigarette terminals include a cigarette-type terminal in which a heating element is inserted into a stick-type electronic cigarette filled with a mixed material including tobacco leaves and steam is generated through heating, and a liquid-type nicotine mixture is heated to generate steam. It is divided into a liquid-type terminal and a hybrid-type (mixed-type) terminal in which technologies of both a cigarette-type terminal and a liquid-type terminal are simultaneously applied.

Among them, the hybrid type terminal uses a liquid cartridge filled with a nicotine mixture and an electronic cigarette stick at the same time to compensate for the small amount of vapor (amount of vapor), which is a drawback of cigarette type terminals, and the expression of cigarette taste, which is a weakness of liquid type terminals. It is an electronic cigarette terminal.

However, in the case of a hybrid type terminal, only the vapor generated through the nicotine mixture contained in the liquid cartridge can partially relieve the desire to smoke, so the e-cigarette stick is reused, and the reused e-cigarette stick has the intended value. Unsatisfactory flavor is delivered and the satisfaction with smoking is reduced.

The decrease in the user's satisfaction with smoking due to the reuse of the electronic cigarette stick may cause a return to smoking using the existing cigarette, so efforts to prevent the reuse of the electronic cigarette stick are being made from various angles.

As part of such a technology for preventing reuse of electronic cigarette sticks, in Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2020-0116737 (filing date: 2019.04.02, publication date: 2020.10.13., hereinafter referred to as 'prior art') A technique for determining whether the electronic cigarette stick is reused by detecting discoloration of the electronic cigarette stick through optical sensing inside the electronic cigarette terminal has been disclosed.

However, in the prior art, whether or not to reuse an electronic cigarette stick is determined through optical sensing, and when the sensing area is contaminated by soot generated through continuous smoking, accurate detection may be difficult.

In addition, in the prior art, even if the sensing area is not contaminated, there is a problem in that it is impossible to accurately determine reuse even in situations such as when a portion of the outer surface of an unused e-cigarette stick is distorted or wetted by moisture.

In order to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic cigarette terminal capable of accurately determining whether to reuse an electronic cigarette stick.

An electronic cigarette terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a body portion provided with an insertion area into which an electronic cigarette stick is pressed downward on one area of an upper surface; a battery unit disposed inside the body unit to supply power; a first heating unit disposed inside the insertion area to heat the electronic cigarette stick press-inserted into the insertion area with power supplied from the battery unit; a second heating unit detachably coupled to the body, filled with a liquid material that generates steam by heat, and heating the liquid material filled therein with power supplied from the battery unit; a sensing unit located on a lower surface of the insertion area and sensing press-in pressure of the electronic cigarette stick press-inserted into the insertion area; and a control unit that determines whether or not the corresponding electronic cigarette stick is used based on a detection result of the sensor unit and controls power supply to the first and second heating units through the battery unit according to the determination result. do.

Here, the sensing unit may include a protruding portion located on a lower surface of the insertion area and inserted into the lower surface of the electronic cigarette stick press-inserted into the insertion area; and a measuring part positioned below the protruding portion to measure the pressure applied to the protruding portion.

In addition, the control unit may check the pressure applied to the protruding portion by the lower surface of the electronic cigarette stick press-inserted into the insertion area through the measuring portion, and determine whether the corresponding electronic cigarette stick is already used.

At this time, the electronic cigarette stick for which the control unit determines whether or not to use is characterized in that the electronic cigarette stick having a filter member in the form of a thin film on the lower surface corresponding to the insertion direction.

Further, the protruding portion is characterized in that when the electronic cigarette stick is pressed into the insertion area, the filter member of the electronic cigarette stick is penetrated and damaged.

Subsequently, the control unit checks the pressure value applied to the protruding portion by the electronic cigarette stick press-inserted into the insertion area through the measuring portion, and when the maximum pressure value applied to the protruding portion exceeds a preset reference pressure value. , it is characterized in that the electronic cigarette is determined as an unused electronic cigarette.

On the other hand, the protruding portion is characterized in that it is disposed perpendicular to the lower surface at the center of the lower surface of the insertion area.

In addition, the protruding portion is characterized in that it transfers the pressing pressure to the measuring portion while retracting downward by the pressure applied from the electronic cigarette stick, and returns to the initial position by elasticity.

In the electronic cigarette terminal according to the present invention, the control unit determines whether or not the electronic cigarette stick is used based on whether or not the pressure applied to the protruding portion of the sensing unit exceeds a reference value, and controls the heating operation, thereby providing unintended flavor from the reused electronic cigarette stick. is transmitted and there is an effect of preventing the user's satisfaction from deteriorating.

In addition, the electronic cigarette terminal according to the present invention controls the heating operation by determining whether the control unit sequentially increases or decreases the pressure applied to the protruding portion, thereby preventing malfunction due to the use of an incompatible electronic cigarette stick and the occurrence of an abnormality in the sensing unit. There are possible effects.

1 schematically illustrates an electronic cigarette terminal according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
2 illustrates a sensing unit of an electronic cigarette terminal according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
3 to 5 are step-by-step examples of detecting and controlling reuse of an electronic cigarette stick in an electronic cigarette terminal according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the electronic cigarette terminal of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Like reference numerals in each figure indicate like members. In addition, specific structural or functional descriptions of the embodiments of the present invention are merely exemplified for the purpose of explaining the embodiments according to the present invention, and unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the related art, and unless explicitly defined in this specification, it should not be interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal meaning. It is preferable not to

1 schematically illustrates an electronic cigarette terminal according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Prior to the description of the configuration of the electronic cigarette terminal 100 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the electronic cigarette stick (S) to be detected by the electronic cigarette terminal 100 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is dried and pulverized tobacco leaves. A filler in the form of a mixture of tobacco leaf powder and additives that generate flavor and steam by heating is filled inside, and a sponge-type filtering member is coupled to the upper suction part that touches the user's leaf.

In addition, at the bottom, a filter (Sf) made of thin paper is provided in a combined form to prevent the filler filled inside from leaking out before use and to minimize the deformation due to moisture of the filler and the outflow of fragrance. It can be.

Referring to FIG. 1, the electronic cigarette terminal 100 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention detects damage and deformation of the filter Sf of the above-described electronic cigarette stick S, It determines whether the machine is used, and the body part 110, the battery part 120, the first heating part 130, the second heating part 140, the cover part 150, the sensing part 160, the switch part ( 170) and a controller 180.

The body portion 110 is provided in an elliptical column shape gripped by a user's hand, and an insertion area I into which the electronic cigarette stick S is pressed downward may be provided in one area of the upper surface.

The battery unit 120 may be disposed inside the body unit 110 to supply power. Here, the battery unit 120 may be provided in a form in which a rechargeable and reusable secondary battery and an input/output circuit are combined. A connection terminal (not shown) to which the charging means is connected may be provided.

The first heating unit 130 is disposed inside the body portion 110 adjacent to the insertion area (I), and press-fits the electronic cigarette stick (S) into the insertion area (I) through power supplied from the battery unit 120. ) can be heated by indirect heating method. The first heating unit 130 may be provided in the form of a coil wound in a spring shape, and is directly inserted into the electronic cigarette stick S to insert the electronic cigarette stick into the insertion area I without heating the filler. The outer circumference of (S) is heated. For this reason, the first heating unit 130 may be configured such that at least a portion of the first heating unit 130 is exposed to the inside of the insertion region I and contacts the outer circumferential surface of the electronic cigarette stick S so as to effectively transfer heat to the electronic cigarette stick S. there is.

The second heating unit 140 is detachably coupled to the body unit 110, and a liquid material (L) that generates steam by heat is filled therein through power supplied from the battery unit 120 to fill the inside. Steam may be generated by heating the liquid material (L). Here, the second heating unit 140 is filled with a liquid material (L) in which liquid nicotine, flavor enhancer (fragrance), vegetable glycerin (VG), and propylene glycol are mixed at a predetermined ratio. It may be provided as a cartridge type. In addition, an absorber (not shown) for absorbing the liquid material (L) and a consumable heating element (not shown) disposed adjacent to the absorber (not shown) to heat the consumable absorbent (not shown) are coupled to the inside, and the heating element A terminal (not shown) for transmitting an electrical signal and a discharge port (not shown) for discharging steam generated by heating may be provided. Here, the second heating unit 140 may be provided in the form of a single cartridge product so that the user can easily replace and use the second heating unit 140 when the liquid material L is exhausted. Here, the second heating unit 140 is caught by a separate hooking part (not shown) provided on the body part 110 and coupled to the body part 110, and the user manipulates the hooking part (not shown) to form the second heating unit 140. The heating part 140 can be easily separated from the body part 110 and can be detached from the upper surface area adjacent to the insertion area (I).

The cover part 150 may be combined while surrounding the insertion area I and the detachable area of the second heating unit 140 . The cover part 150 is configured to prevent the separation of the second heating part 140 due to external impact and the inflow of foreign substances into the insertion area (I), and may be provided with a hole connected to the insertion area (I), In some cases, an opening and closing portion (not shown) may be provided to open and close the corresponding hole through a slide operation.

2 illustrates the operation of the electronic cigarette terminal detection unit according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2 , the sensing unit 160 is located on the lower surface of the insertion area I and can detect the press-in pressure of the electronic cigarette stick S press-inserted into the insertion area I, and the protruding portion 162 ) and a measurement part 164.

The protruding portion 162 is located on the lower surface of the insertion area (I) and can be inserted into the lower surface of the electronic cigarette stick (S) press-inserted into the insertion area (I). Here, when the protruding portion 162 is inserted into the lower surface of the electronic cigarette stick S, it is provided in a rod shape having a smaller outer diameter than the insertion element 162-1 penetrating the lower surface while extending the insertion element. The insertion element 162-1 and the extension element 162-2 are obtained by using the elastic force of the extension element 162-2 and the elastic body E, which transmits the pressure applied to the 162-1 to the measurement part 164 to be described later. ) may be provided in a combined form with a return element 162-3 that returns the initial position. especially. As shown in (a) of FIG. 2, the insertion element 162-1 is provided in a conical shape and penetrates the lower surface of the electronic cigarette stick S press-fitted into the insertion area I, that is, through the filter Sf. It can be inserted, and when the user inserts the electronic cigarette stick (S) by exerting downward force while positioned at the top of the insertion region (I), the insertion element (162-1) penetrates and expands the filter (Sf). At the same time, downward pressure is applied. In other words, the pressure applied to the insertion element 162-1 is the pressure generated when the user presses the electronic cigarette stick S into the insertion region I, and the insertion element 162-1 is applied to the electronic cigarette stick ( S) penetrates the filter Sf through the force applied to the insertion region I. In addition, the extension element 162-2 vertically penetrates the center of the return element 162-3, and in one area located in the inner space of the return element 162-3, there is a disk-shaped locking structure in the horizontal direction. may be provided, so that the extension element 162-2 can move in the vertical direction only as much as the inner area of the return element 162-3. Furthermore, inside the return element 162-3, a spring-shaped elastic body E is formed, one end of which is in contact with the bottom surface of the inner space of the return element 162-3 and the other end in contact with the engaging structure of the extension element 162-2. is positioned, the insertion element 162-1 and the extension element 162-2 before the insertion element 162-1 penetrates the filter Sf of the electronic cigarette stick S press-fitted into the insertion region I. ) can be retracted downward by a predetermined distance, and after penetration of the filter Sf, the insertion element 162-1 and the extension element 162-2 can return to their original positions. The configuration of the protruding portion 162 is to improve measurement accuracy of the measurement portion 164 to be described later, and will be described in detail in the configuration description of the measurement portion 164.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 2, when the insertion element 162-1 and the extension element 162-2 return to their initial positions, the extension element 162-2 has a hooking structure of the extension element 162-2. By closing the area opened in the direction of the insertion area (I) for the vertical sliding of the extension element (162-2), steam is prevented from entering the return element (162-3) and the sensing unit 160 by steam failure can be prevented.

The measuring part 164 may be located below the protruding part 162 and measure the pressure applied to the protruding part 162 . At this time, when the insertion element 162-1 of the measuring part 164 receives pressure vertically downward due to the e-cigarette stick S press-inserted into the insertion area I, the lower part of the extension part 162-2 By pressing the measuring part 164, the measuring part 164 can measure the pressure applied to the insertion element 162-1. Here, since the insertion element 162-1 passes through the filter Sf and part of the pressure applied by the electronic cigarette stick S is released, the insertion element 162-1 of the measuring part 164 is inserted into the filter Sf. The pressure measured before penetrating the e-cigarette becomes the maximum pressure value, and the control unit 180, which will be described later, detects the reuse of the electronic cigarette stick S through the maximum pressure value measured through the measuring part 164.

In addition, the measurement portion 164 is preferably provided as a load cell for measuring the pressure transmitted from the end of the extension element 162-2 toward the measurement portion 164, but is not limited thereto, and the measurement portion It may be provided with a displacement detection sensor such as a Hall sensor that detects the displacement of the end of the extension element 162-2 toward 164.

The switch unit 170 is located inside the body part 110 and is disposed on a flow path for guiding the steam generated from the second heating unit 140 to the insertion area I, and turns ON/OFF according to the pressure change on the flow path. OFF signal can be output. Here, the switch unit 170 may output an ON signal when a negative pressure is generated in a passage connected to the insertion region I when the user sucks the electronic cigarette stick S press-inserted into the insertion region I. When the switch unit 170 outputs an ON signal, the control unit 180, which will be described later, controls the battery unit 120 to heat the first heating unit 130 and the second heating unit 140 to a set temperature to heat the electronic cigarette stick. (S) and the liquid material (L) are heated to generate steam.

The control unit 180 determines whether or not the electronic cigarette stick (S) pressed into the insertion area (I) is already used through the detection result of the detection unit 160, and according to the determination result, the first through the battery unit 120 And power supply to the second heating units 130 and 140 may be controlled.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, the controller 180 determines whether to reuse the electronic cigarette stick S and the control operation will be described in more detail.

3 to 5 are step-by-step examples of detecting and controlling reuse of an electronic cigarette stick in an electronic cigarette terminal according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates the operation of the control unit 180 when the user presses the filter Sf of the electronic cigarette stick downward into the insertion region I. Here, the control unit 180 receives a pressure value including the maximum pressure value (p _peak ) applied to the protruding portion 162 immediately before the protruding portion 162 penetrates the filter Sf from the measuring portion 164, and , it is checked whether the received pressure value exceeds the reference pressure value (P2). At this time, the control unit 180 confirms that the filter Sf of the electronic cigarette stick S is penetrated and damaged by the protruding portion 162 through receiving the maximum pressure value p _peak from the measuring portion 164. At the same time, it is determined that the corresponding electronic cigarette stick (S) is the first used electronic cigarette stick (S).

In addition, the control unit 180 controls the minimum pressure value p _I1 exceeding the minimum reference pressure value P1 and the reference pressure value before and after checking the maximum pressure value (p _peak ) through the measuring part 164, respectively. It is also possible to check whether a minimum pressure value (p _I2 ) less than (P1) has been measured. The minimum pressure value (p _I1 , p _I2 ) measurement confirmation by the control unit 180 is performed before and after the detection of the maximum pressure value (p _peak ) confirmed through the measurement unit 164 , and the minimum pressure value (p _I1 , p It is possible to determine whether the sensing unit 160 is abnormal by checking whether _I2 ) is measured. In other words, the control unit 180 determines whether or not the pressure change detection of the measuring unit 164 is abnormal in the process of checking whether the pressure change due to the press-fitting of the electronic cigarette stick S is made in a time-series manner, and thus the electronic cigarette terminal 100 ) to prevent malfunction. Through the above process, if it is determined that the used electronic cigarette stick (S) has been inserted from the control unit 180 or it is determined that the operation of the sensor 160 is abnormal, the first and second heating units 130 and 140 The battery unit 120 is controlled so that power to the furnace is not supplied.

If the controller 180 determines that the electronic cigarette stick S pressed into the insertion region I is the first used electronic cigarette stick S, as shown in FIG. 4, the controller 180 controls the battery unit ( 120) to supply power from the battery unit 120 to the first and second heating units 130 and 140. At this time, in the case of the first heating unit 130, the control unit 180 preheats to a certain level or higher through the supplied power, and then sets the temperature to an appropriate heating temperature when detecting the negative pressure on the flow path through the switch unit 170. The e-cigarette stick (S) inserted into the insertion area (I) can be heated by raising the first heating unit 130, and in the case of the second heating unit 140, the switch unit 170 is on the flow path. When the negative pressure is sensed, the liquid material (L) filled therein is immediately heated, so that the steam generated from the second heating unit 140 blows the inside of the electronic cigarette stick (S) pressurized into the insertion area (I) by the negative pressure. Afterwards, the vapor generated inside the electronic cigarette stick S by the first heating unit 130 is provided to the user. Here, the insertion element 162-1 of the protruding portion 162 expands and penetrates the filter Sf of the electronic cigarette stick S, and the extension element 162-2 is smaller than the insertion element 162-2. As it has an outer diameter, the vapor generated from the second heating unit 140 passes through the gap formed between the filter Sf, which has been damaged and expanded by the insertion element 162-1, and the extension area 162-2, so that the electronic cigarette stick (S) It becomes possible to flow into the interior.

At this time, the controller 180 may count the number of operations of the switch unit 170. It is possible for the user to check whether puffing has been performed more than a preset number of times, and after the corresponding number of puffing, power supply to the first and second heating units 130 and 140 may be cut off.

Thereafter, when the user who has completed inhalation for a preset number of times removes the electronic cigarette stick S from the insertion area I, as shown in FIG. 5, by the insertion element 162-1 of the protrusion 162. The lower surface including the filter Sf of the electronic cigarette stick S is damaged in a wedge shape. As such, the control unit 180 determines whether or not the electronic cigarette stick S is already used through the pressure applied to the protruding portion 162 of the sensing unit 160, and at the same time, the protruding portion 162 determines whether or not the electronic cigarette stick S ) is press-fitted and removed, the lower surface of the electronic cigarette stick (S) is damaged to reduce pressure generation through subsequent press-fitting, thereby preventing reuse of the electronic cigarette stick (S).

At this time, the protruding portion 162 may be disposed perpendicular to the lower surface at the center of the lower surface of the insertion area I so as to perform pressure sensing and breakage at the same point.

That is, in the electronic cigarette terminal according to the present invention, the controller controls the heating operation by determining whether or not the electronic cigarette stick is used based on whether the pressure applied to the protruding portion of the sensing unit exceeds the reference value, so that the reused electronic cigarette stick is not intended. There is an effect of preventing the user's satisfaction from deteriorating due to the delivery of undesirable flavor.

In addition, the electronic cigarette terminal according to the present invention controls the heating operation by determining whether the control unit sequentially increases or decreases the pressure applied to the protruding portion, thereby preventing malfunction due to the use of an incompatible electronic cigarette stick and the occurrence of an abnormality in the sensing unit. There are possible effects.

The above embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, and those skilled in the art with ordinary knowledge of the present invention will be able to make various modifications, changes, and additions within the spirit and scope of the present invention, and such modifications, changes, and additions will be considered to fall within the scope of the following patent claims.

100: electronic cigarette terminal
110: body part
120: battery unit
130: first heating unit
140: second heating unit
150: cover part
160: sensing unit
162: projection
162-1: insertion element
162-2: extension element
162-3: return factor
164: measurement part
170: switch unit
180: control unit
E: elastomer
I: insertion area
L: liquid substance
S: e-cigarette stick
Sf: filter

Claims (8)

a body portion having an insertion area into which an electronic cigarette stick is press-fitted downward on one area of its upper surface;
a battery unit disposed inside the body unit to supply power;
a first heating unit disposed inside the insertion area to heat the electronic cigarette stick press-inserted into the insertion area with power supplied from the battery unit;
a second heating unit detachably coupled to the body, filled with a liquid material that generates steam by heat, and heating the liquid material filled therein with power supplied from the battery unit;
a sensing unit located on a lower surface of the insertion area and sensing press-in pressure of the electronic cigarette stick press-inserted into the insertion area; and
A control unit for determining whether or not the corresponding electronic cigarette stick is used based on a detection result of the sensing unit, and controlling power supply to the first and second heating units through the battery unit according to the determination result;
the sensor,
a protruding portion located on a lower surface of the insertion area and inserted into the lower surface of the electronic cigarette stick press-inserted into the insertion area; and
A measuring part positioned below the protruding portion to measure the pressure applied to the protruding portion; including,
The electronic cigarette terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit determines whether the electronic cigarette stick is used or not by checking the pressure applied to the protruding portion by the lower surface of the electronic cigarette stick press-inserted into the insertion area through the measuring portion.
delete delete According to claim 1,
The electronic cigarette terminal, characterized in that the electronic cigarette stick for which the control unit determines whether or not to use is an electronic cigarette stick having a filter member in the form of a thin film on a lower surface corresponding to the insertion direction.
According to claim 4,
The electronic cigarette terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the protrusion penetrates and damages the filter member of the electronic cigarette stick when the electronic cigarette stick is pressed into the insertion area.
According to claim 5,
The control unit checks the pressure value applied to the protruding portion by the electronic cigarette stick press-inserted into the insertion area through the measuring portion, and only when the maximum pressure value applied to the protruding portion exceeds a preset reference pressure value. , The electronic cigarette terminal characterized in that for determining that the electronic cigarette is an unused electronic cigarette.
According to claim 1,
The electronic cigarette terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the protrusion is disposed perpendicular to the lower surface at a central position of the lower surface of the insertion area.
According to claim 7,
The electronic cigarette terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the protruding portion transfers the applied pressure to the measuring portion while retracting downward by the pressure applied from the electronic cigarette stick, and returns to the initial position by elasticity.

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