KR20150119788A - Electronic cigarette - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electronic cigarette comprising: a power supply unit; a gas generating unit for generating gasified gas to enable a user to breathe in, when electric power is supplied from the power supply unit; a time calculating unit for calculating cigarette usage time from time when gas is generated in the gas generating unit; and a display unit for displaying cigarette usage time calculated by the time calculating unit on a screen. According to the present invention, cigarette usage time is calculated from time when gas is generated, and the cigarette usage time is displayed on a screen, so time information which can be considered as an accurate index about how much an electronic cigarette is used is provided so as to motivate a user to try to reduce using an electronic cigarette.

Description

Electronic cigarette {ELECTRONIC CIGARETTE}

The present invention relates to an electronic cigarette, in which a tobacco use time is calculated from a time when a gas is generated, and the time of use of the cigarette is displayed on the screen, so as to induce the user to reduce the use of the electronic cigarette, The present invention relates to an electronic cigarette capable of providing time information that can be an accurate indicator of whether or not an electronic cigarette is used.

If you smoke with a cigarette made from tobacco leaves as the main material, more than 4000 harmful substances such as Tar and carbon monoxide will be generated. Since the harmful substances generated by smoking induce not only direct smokers but also second-hand smokers to suffer from lung cancer and the like, the need for smoking cessation has been emphasized.

In modern society, there is much interest and development in smoking cessation aids as a tool to reduce smoking cessation needs of smokers. E-cigarette, which is one of them, is a device capable of giving a smoking effect by using a real cigarette when a user sucks the gas while generating gas by vaporizing the liquid.

However, even when using the electronic cigarette, the user generally uses a liquid containing nicotine, which is attributed to the substance causing tobacco poisoning. Therefore, when the electronic cigarette is continuously used indiscriminately, it becomes difficult to escape from the poisoning of nicotine There is a problem.

Therefore, even when the user desires to use smoking cigarettes by using electronic cigarettes, there is a need to deliberately control the use of electronic cigarettes.

However, the electronic cigarette according to the related art does not provide information about how much the user has used the electronic cigarette, and even if the information is provided, simple information about the number of switches used when using the electronic cigarette .

In the electronic cigarette according to the related art, the time for sucking the smoke generated from the cigarette, which is generally made of the cigarette butts as the main material, may be different from user to user. Similarly, the time for holding the switch for generating the gas using the electronic cigarette There is a problem in that it is not possible to provide an accurate index of how much the actual cigarette is used by the user, such as providing only simple information on the number of switches, although it may vary from user to user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been conceived to solve the above problems. It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic cigarette using method of calculating electronic cigarette use time from a time when a gas is generated, The present invention provides an electronic cigarette which is capable of providing time information which is an accurate indicator of how much the cigarette is being used.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic cigarette comprising: a power supply; a gas generator for generating a gas that is supplied to the user from the power supply; And a display unit for displaying the cigarette use time calculated by the time calculation unit on the screen.

Here, it is preferable that the electronic cigarette is calculated from the power supply time at which the cigarette use time is supplied to the gas generating unit.

Preferably, the electronic cigarette includes a switch unit capable of switching between an ON state for supplying power to the gas generating unit and an OFF state for shutting off the power supplied to the gas generating unit.

Here, the electronic cigarette may indicate that the switch unit is in the ON state.

Here, the electronic cigarette may be a unit usage time in which the cigarette use time is maintained in the on state without interruption for a predetermined period of time.

Here, the electronic cigarette may be a cumulative use time in which the tobacco use time is a sum of a plurality of the unit usage times continuously measured.

Here, the electronic cigarette may include a plurality of units of the unit usage time that can be added up to the cumulative usage time, and may include only the unit usage time adjacent to each other with a pause period shorter than a predetermined time .

Here, it is preferable that the cumulative use time of the electronic cigarette can be initialized to zero.

Here, it is preferable that the electronic cigarette can be locked so that the switch unit is not in the ON state unlike the user's intention.

The electronic cigarette is characterized in that the gas generating unit includes a coil capable of generating thermal energy by flowing a current and a liquid capable of being vaporized by receiving thermal energy generated from the coil, And the display unit may display a coil abnormality signal when the value of the current measured from the current measuring unit deviates from a predetermined value range.

It is preferable that the electronic cigarette has a predetermined numerical range of 1.5 A to 2.5 A.

The electronic cigarette includes a battery capable of supplying power to the gas generating unit, and the battery calculating unit calculates a remaining amount of the battery. The display unit includes a battery operated by the battery operating unit, It is preferable to display the remaining amount of the ink.

Here, it is preferable that the electronic cigarette is capable of charging the battery, and the display unit displays the ratio of the remaining capacity of the battery to the buffer capacity when the battery is fully charged, as the remaining amount of the battery.

In the electronic cigarette, it is preferable that the display unit displays the remaining amount of the battery in percent (%) using Arabic numerals.

The electronic cigarette includes an internal space formed to be long along the first axis so that the gas generated in the gas generating unit can flow and a gas generated in the gas generating unit at one end of the internal space, And an outlet formed at the other end of the inner space to allow the gas introduced into the inner space to flow out into the user's mouth. And a suction determination unit for determining whether the user uses the straw to suck the gas generated in the gas generating unit, wherein the use time of the tobacco is determined by the user in the suction generating unit It may be calculated from the power supply time measured from the time when it is determined that the generated gas is sucked.

According to the electronic cigarette of the present invention, it is common for a user to use an electronic cigarette by sucking the gas during the generation of the gas, and the number of times the button is pressed Unlike the prior art in which tobacco use information is provided, the tobacco use time is calculated from the time when the gas is generated, and the tobacco use time is displayed on the screen. In order to induce the user to reduce the use of the electronic cigarette, It is possible to provide time information that can be an accurate indicator of how much information is being used.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electronic cigarette according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a perspective view of an electronic cigarette according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the straw shown in Fig. 2 separated from the electronic cigarette. Fig.
FIG. 4 is a view showing information that can be displayed on the first display device shown in FIG. 2. FIG.

The following merely illustrates the principles of the invention. Thus, those skilled in the art will be able to devise various apparatuses which, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the invention and are included in the concept and scope of the invention. Furthermore, all of the conditional terms and embodiments listed herein are, in principle, intended only for the purpose of enabling understanding of the concepts of the present invention, and are not intended to be limiting in any way to the specifically listed embodiments and conditions . It is also to be understood that the detailed description, as well as the principles, aspects and embodiments of the invention, as well as specific embodiments thereof, are intended to cover structural and functional equivalents thereof.

It is also to be understood that such equivalents include all elements contemplated to perform the same function irrespective of currently known equivalents as well as equivalents to be developed in the future.

Thus, the functions of the various elements shown in the drawings, including the functional blocks shown in the figures or similar concepts, may be provided by use of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executing software in connection with appropriate software. When provided by a processor, the functions may be provided by a single dedicated processor, a single shared processor, or a plurality of individual processors, some of which may be shared. Also, the use of terms, such as processor, control, or similar concepts, should not be interpreted exclusively as hardware capable of executing software, and may include, without limitation, digital signal processor (DSP) ROM, random access memory (RAM), and non-volatile memory. Other hardware may also be included.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an electronic cigarette according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an electronic cigarette according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 and 2, an electronic cigarette 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is an electronic cigarette capable of displaying cigarette use time information and battery information. The electronic cigarette includes a power supply unit 10, a gas generating unit 20, a switch unit 30, a time calculating unit 40, a period setting unit 50, a battery calculating unit 60, a display unit 70, and a current measuring unit 80.

The electronic cigarette 100 includes a cylindrical body 110 extending along a virtual first axis A1 and a gas generator 120 coupled to one end of the body 110, And a straw (130) coupled to one end of the gas generator (130).

The power supply unit 10 may supply power to an electronic circuit, an electronic part, and the like that require power supply for the operation of the electronic cigarette 100.

In more detail, the power supply unit 10 may include a battery (not shown) capable of supplying power to the gas generating unit 20 (described later).

In the present embodiment, the battery (not shown) is inserted into the body 111 and can be charged.

The gas generating unit 20 may generate a vaporized gas to be sucked by the user when the power is supplied from the power supply unit 10. [

More specifically, the gas generating portion 20 may include the gas generating device 10.

In the present embodiment, the gas generator 10 includes a cylindrical inner space formed to be long along the first axis A1 and a structure provided in the inner space, And a liquid (not shown) that can be vaporized by receiving thermal energy generated from the coil.

Wherein the liquid may contain a coloring matter or a flavoring agent so that the liquid can be visually confirmed by being vaporized or colored or odor-recognizable. The liquid may also contain nicotine.

The current measuring unit 80 measures a value of a current flowing through the coil to determine whether the coil is abnormal.

More specifically, the heat energy generated from the coil is supplied to vaporize the liquid. The state of the gas changes depending on the degree of thermal energy generated in the coil. Depending on the user's preference, You need to monitor it to occur. Here, the coil can be regarded as a resistor through which a current can flow, and the degree of thermal energy generated in the coil can be changed according to the value of the current flowing through the coil. It is therefore necessary to measure the value of the current flowing through the coil have.

When the liquid is continuously used to vaporize the liquid, the coil ages or the foreign matter inside the liquid surrounds the coil in the form of debris, thereby changing the resistance of the coil. Preferably, the value of the current flowing through the coil by the resistance of the coil forms 1.5A to 2.5A. If the value of the current flowing through the coil exceeds 2.5 A, the heat energy generated from the coil is excessively supplied to the liquid, so that the gas generated by vaporization of the liquid has a problem that the user can feel the taste of coal. If the value of the current flowing through the coil is less than 1.5A, there is a problem that the coil can not supply sufficient heat energy to the liquid so as to be vaporized to a degree suitable for the taste of the user.

The current measuring unit 80 outputs a coil abnormality signal to the display unit 70 when the value of the current flowing through the coil exceeds 1.5A to 2.5A.

The switch unit 30 is a control unit that can supply power to the gas generator 120

Or to shut off the power supplied to the gas generator 120.

More specifically, the switch unit 30 is connected between an ON state for supplying power to the gas generating apparatus 120 and an OFF state for shutting off the power supplied to the gas generating apparatus 120 It is possible to perform switching control.

In the present embodiment, the switch unit 30 controls the ON and / or OFF states by a user command inputted through the button 111 provided on the outer side of the body 110 It is possible.

For example, the switch unit 30 controls the button 111 to be kept ON while the button 111 is pressed toward the body 110 by an external force, It is possible to perform control to maintain the OFF state while there is no external force.

Here, the switch unit 30 starts the control of the ON state after the button 111 is pressed for a predetermined time. In the present embodiment, when the button 111 is pressed for less than 0.2 seconds, the switch unit 30 does not perform control to change from the OFF state to the ON state.

Here, the control of the ON and / or OFF state may be implemented by a generally known method capable of opening and / or shorting the electronic circuit connecting the battery and the gas generator 120 .

Also, the switch unit 30 can be locked so as not to be controlled to change to the ON state unlike the user's intention.

For example, in the case of a switch unit that generally maintains an on state while the button is being pressed by an external force, the button is pressed by an external force that is not intended by the user, Power consumption may be caused.

The switch unit 30 keeps the OFF state while the lock setting is performed and does not perform control to change to the ON state.

In this embodiment, when the user presses the button 111 five times consecutively in such a manner that an external force is applied and removed at intervals of less than 0.2 seconds, the switch unit 30 performs the lock setting, The switch unit 30 releases the lock setting by pressing the button 111 five times in succession.

The time calculating unit 40 is provided for calculating a cigarette use time using the electronic cigarette 100 of the present invention by sucking the gas generated by the gas generator 120 by the user.

Generally, a user uses electronic cigarettes in a manner that sucks gas while generating gas from the electronic cigarette.

The time calculation unit 40 calculates the cigarette use time based on the time when gas is generated in the gas generator 120.

More specifically, since the gas generator 120 generates gas while power is supplied from the battery of the power supply unit 10, the time calculator 40 calculates the time when the power is supplied to the gas generator 120 And the power supply time, which is the time during the supply, is calculated as the cigarette use time.

In this embodiment, since power is supplied from the battery to the gas generator 120 while the switch unit 30 is in the ON state, the time calculator 40 calculates the time (30) maintains the ON state, and calculates the tobacco use time from this time.

The time calculating unit 40 measures the time during which the switch unit 30 is maintained in the ON state continuously for a predetermined time, and stores the measured time as a unit usage time.

In addition, the time calculator 40 may accumulate a plurality of the unit usage times measured successively from a predetermined point in time and accumulate the cumulative usage time.

The cumulative use time may be initialized to zero.

The predetermined time may be a first time point at which the cumulative use time is initialized to zero, wherein the cumulative use time includes an initial cumulative time.

For example, assuming that the user uses the electronic cigarette 100 of the present invention by pressing the button 111 from the first point in time, the time calculator 40 calculates the unit The usage time is measured and sequentially measured unit usage times each time the button 111 is pressed and released can be summed and stored as an initialization cumulative time. In the present embodiment, the initialization cumulative time is initialized to 0 when the user presses the button 111 eight times consecutively at intervals of less than 0.2 seconds.

The predetermined time may be a usage start time that can be reset by a user, wherein the cumulative usage time includes a setting period usage time.

Here, the electronic cigarette 100 of the present invention may include a period setting unit 50 in which a usage start time input by the user can be stored. The usage termination time may be stored in the period setting unit 50. If the usage termination time is not input by the user, the usage termination time may be stored as the current time.

For example, if the usage start time is stored in the period setting unit 50 as January 1, 2014 and the usage end time is stored as December 12, 2014, the time calculating unit 40 calculates The unit usage time measured from 00:00:01 on January 1 to 12:00 on December 12, 2014 may be summed up and stored as the set period use time.

On the other hand, if the time at which the switch unit 30 maintains the control of the OFF state without interruption is defined as the idle period, the predetermined time may be an OFF state during the idle period exceeding a predetermined time The second time point may be a second time point for starting the control of changing from the OFF state to the ON state after the control is maintained, wherein the cumulative use time includes one use time. Here, the one-time use time may be set so that the group consisting of a plurality of unit usage hours that can be added to the one-time use time includes only the unit usage time between the idle periods shorter than the predetermined time, Sum.

For example, if it is assumed that the predetermined time of the idle time period, which is the unit use time condition that can be added to the one use time, is set to 2 minutes, the switch unit 30 performs the off () OFF state of the switch unit 30 is maintained and the user presses the button 111 to change the switch unit 30 to the ON state, The unit usage time measured from the second time point when the first unit time is changed to the ON state may be summed and stored as one usage time. At this time, if the switch unit 30 is in the OFF state for a time exceeding 2 minutes which is a predetermined time of the pause period, the time calculating unit 40 sets the one use time to 0 .

The battery arithmetic unit 60 calculates the remaining battery power of the power supply unit 10.

For example, the difference between the voltage when the battery is in a discharged state in which the gas generator 120 can not operate and the buffer voltage that the battery can output when the battery is fully charged is referred to as a buffer capacity, If the difference between the voltage at the time of the discharging state and the voltage at the time of calculating the battery remaining amount in the battery calculating section 60 is the remaining capacity, the remaining battery capacity can be calculated as the ratio of the remaining capacity to the buffering capacity have.

The display unit 70 is a device provided to display predetermined information on a screen and may include a first display device 112 and a second display device 112.

The first display device 112 is a screen provided on the outer surface of the body 110 and can display the cigarette use time calculated by the time calculation unit 40 using Arabic numerals and / . Here, the first display device 112 may be a screen composed of an LCD.

The cigarette use time may include at least one of a unit usage time and an accumulated usage time, and the cumulative usage time may include at least one of an initialization cumulative time, a setting period use time, and a use time As we have already seen.

Also, the first display device 112 can display the remaining amount of the battery calculated by the battery operation unit 60 using letters, Arabic numerals, and / or percentages (%).

In addition, the first display device 112 can display that the switch unit 30 is locked using characters.

Further, the first display device 112 can display a coil abnormality signal output from the power measuring unit 80 using a character.

4 is a view for explaining a form in which the cigarette use time, the remaining amount of the battery, the lock setting, and / or the coil abnormality signal can be displayed on the screen of the first display device 112. [

4A, the unit usage time may be displayed at the top of the first display device 112, and the one usage time may be displayed at the bottom of the first display device 112 .

Here, the unit usage time and / or the one-time use time may be displayed until 0.2 seconds have elapsed from 0.2 second after the button 111 has been pressed, until 2 seconds have elapsed from when the button 111 has been released .

4B, the usage start time and the usage end time stored in the time period setting unit 50 may be displayed at the top of the first display device 112, 1 display device 112. In the present embodiment, Here, the use start time, the use end time, and / or the set period use time may be displayed for two seconds when the user presses the button 111 three times in succession at intervals of less than 0.2 seconds.

As shown in (c) of FIG. 4, the initialization use time can be expressed by the first display device 112 with the hour unit of 'h', the minute unit of 'm', and the second unit of 's' have. The initialization cumulative time can be displayed for two seconds when the user presses the button 111 three times in a time interval of less than 0.2 seconds. If the user presses the button 111 eight times When pressed continuously, it can be initialized to 0 and displayed.

As shown in FIG. 4 (d), the display indicating that the switch unit 30 is being locked can be displayed on the first display unit 112 by using the alphabetical character 'HOLD'. Here, if the user presses the button 111 five times in a time interval of less than 0.2 seconds, the alphabetical character 'HOLD' may be displayed for two seconds.

As shown in FIGS. 4 (e) and 4 (f), the remaining amount of the battery calculated by the battery operation unit 60 is displayed on the first display device 112 by using the Arabic numeral and percent (%) . For example, when the battery is not being charged, as shown in (e) of FIG. 4, an alphabetical character 'BAT' indicating that the battery is not being charged is displayed together with an Arabic numeral and a percentage (%) If the battery is being charged,

As shown in (e) of FIG. 4, an alphabetical character 'CHG' indicating that the battery is being charged may be displayed together with an Arabic numeral and a & (&). Here, the remaining amount of the battery may be displayed for two seconds when the user presses the button 111 once for less than 0.2 seconds.

As shown in FIG. 4 (g), the coil abnormality signal output from the power measuring unit 80 may be displayed on the first display unit 112 as an alphabetic character 'COIL ERROR'. For example, when the user presses the button 111 for more than 0.2 seconds, when the value of the current flowing through the coil exceeds 1.5 A to 2.5 A, the power measuring unit 80 outputs a coil abnormality signal to the first display device And the first display device 112 can display an English alphabet 'COIL ERROR' on the screen.

The second display device 113 is a device capable of indicating that the gas generating part 20 is in operation when the switch part 30 is in an ON state.

In this embodiment, the second display device 113 is provided with two LED modules, which are provided on the right and left sides of the button 111, and generate light when the switch unit 30 is in the ON state.

Hereinafter, an example of a method of using the electronic cigarette 100 having the above-described structure will be described.

When the user presses the button 111 once for less than 0.2 seconds, the remaining amount of the battery calculated by the battery operation unit 60 is displayed in the form of a combination of Arabic numerals and percentages (% 112) for two seconds. Here, when the battery is not being charged, the alphabetical character 'BAT' is displayed along with the remaining amount of the battery, and when the battery is being charged, the alphabetical character 'CHG' is displayed along with the remaining amount of the battery.

When the user presses the button 111 for at least 0.2 second and then releases the button 111 from the time when the button 111 has been pressed to the time when the button 111 has elapsed, And the second display device generates light. In addition, the first display device 112 displays the unit usage time and the one-time use time from when the button 111 has elapsed to 0.2 seconds after the button 111 is released until the elapse of 2 seconds after the button 111 is released .

When the user depresses the button 111 twice in a time interval of less than 0.2 second, the first display device 112 displays the set period of use time, and when the user presses the button The first display device 112 displays the initialization cumulative time for two seconds when the first display device 111 is pressed three times consecutively.

When the user depresses the button 111 five times in a time interval of less than 0.2 second, the switch unit 30 sets a lock, and the first display unit 112 sets the alphabetical character 'HOLD' Lt; / RTI >

If the user presses the button 111 consecutively eight times at intervals of less than 0.2 seconds, the initialization cumulative time is initialized to zero.

The electronic cigarette 100 having the above-described configuration includes a power supply unit 10, a gas generating unit 20 that generates a vaporized gas to be sucked by a user when power is supplied from the power supply unit 10, A display unit (70) for displaying a cigarette use time calculated by the time calculation unit (40) on the screen, a time calculation unit (40) for calculating a cigarette use time from the time when gas is generated in the gas generating unit (20) , It is common for a user to use electronic cigarette by inhaling the gas during the generation of the gas, and the time to press the button once may be different for each user so that a gas is generated, Unlike the prior art in which usage information is provided, the tobacco use time is calculated from the time when the gas is generated, and the tobacco use time is displayed on the screen, thereby reducing the use of the electronic cigarette And to provide time information which is an accurate indicator of how much electronic cigarette is being used to induce motivation.

The cigarette use time of the electronic cigarette 100 is calculated from the power supply time when the power is supplied to the gas generating unit 20. The gas generating unit 20 supplies power and vaporizes the liquid, It is considered that the method of calculating the power supply time supplied with the power to the gas generator 20 as the cigarette use time is reasonable considering that the power supply is interrupted and the operation of vaporizing the liquid is stopped, The supply time can be easily measured by providing a relatively simple structure capable of sensing a signal for starting power supply to the gas generator 20 and a signal for starting power supply to the gas generator 20 .

The electronic cigarette 100 includes a switch capable of switching between an ON state for supplying power to the gas generating unit 20 and an OFF state for shutting off the power supplied to the gas generating unit 20, The user can intuitively control the operation of the gas generating unit 20 by allowing the user to change the switch unit 30 to the ON / OFF state. , The start time of the switch unit 30 is changed to the ON state and the end time of the switch unit 30 is changed to the OFF state, -Watch) method.

The electronic cigarette 100 displays that the switch unit 30 is in the ON state because the display unit 70 displays a gas that can be sucked by the gas generating unit 20 This is the advantage of being able to tell that you are doing.

The electronic cigarette 100 includes a unit usage time at which the cigarette use time is maintained in the ON state without interruption for a predetermined time period by the switch unit 30. In general, The switch unit 30 is turned on while the mouth of the straw is in the mouth to suck the gas generated in the unit 20 and while the switch unit 30 is maintained in the on state without interruption, So that the unit time information on how long the gas is sucked while being put on the straw can be provided to the user.

The electronic cigarette (100) is characterized in that the cigarette use time includes a cumulative use time obtained by adding a plurality of the unit usage times measured successively to the electronic cigarette (100) To provide time information on how long electronic cigarettes have been used since a predetermined point in time.

The electronic cigarette (100) includes only the unit use time adjacent to the electronic cigarette (100) with a pause period equal to or less than a predetermined time interval, The user can switch the switch unit 30 at a relatively short time interval after changing the switch unit 30 to the ON state after the switch unit 30 is kept in the OFF state for a long time Since the electronic cigarette is used in a switching manner between the ON state and the OFF state, the electronic cigarette is used by the user so that the switch unit 30 is kept in an OFF state continuously for a predetermined time Time information on how long the electronic cigarette has been used from the time point when the switch unit 30 is turned on, that is, the time during which the user normally uses the electronic cigarette once while smoking There is an advantage that information can be provided.

The electronic cigarette 100 is provided with a starting point of time when the electronic cigarette is used by the user so that the user can actively set up a plan of how much electronic cigarette to use as the preset time is reset by the user It is easy to set the starting point of the start point.

The electronic cigarette 100 can be initialized to zero, so that the user can accurately provide the time during which the electronic cigarette is actually used for a predetermined period of time.

Since the electronic cigarette 100 can be locked to prevent the switch unit 30 from being turned on unlike the user's intention, the electronic cigarette 100 can be locked by the switch unit 30 There is an advantage that unnecessary power consumption in the power supply unit 10 and unnecessary liquid waste in the gas generating unit 20 can be prevented by preventing the power supply unit 10 from being turned on even when there is an input.

The electronic cigarette 100 includes a coil capable of generating thermal energy by flowing current through the gas generating unit 20 and a liquid capable of being vaporized by receiving thermal energy generated from the coil, And a current measuring unit (80) capable of measuring a value of a flowing current, and the display unit (70) displays a coil abnormality signal when the value of the current measured from the current measuring unit is out of a predetermined range It is possible to monitor the coils so as to provide an appropriate gas to the user's preference and, in particular, to display the coil abnormality signal, thereby providing the user with information that the coil needs to be replaced.

The electronic cigarette 100 includes a battery capable of supplying power to the gas generating unit 20 by the power supply unit 10 and a battery calculating unit 60 for calculating the remaining amount of the battery, The display unit 70 can display the remaining amount of the battery calculated by the battery operation unit 60 and can provide information on how much electronic cigarettes the user can use in the future.

Since the electronic cigarette 100 can charge the battery and the display unit 70 displays the remaining capacity of the battery as the remaining capacity of the battery with respect to the buffer capacity when the battery is fully charged, The advantage of replacing the battery is that it can save money and provide an indicator that allows the user to determine how much electronic cigarettes will be available in the future and whether they should be recharged.

Unlike the conventional electronic cigarette 100, in which the display unit 70 displays the remaining amount of the battery in percent (%) using Arabic numerals, Can be provided in more detail.

Meanwhile, the electronic cigarette 100 includes a suction determination unit (not shown) for determining whether the user uses the straw 130 to suck the gas generated in the gas generator 120 Lt; / RTI >

The straw 130 includes an inner space formed along the first axis A1 so as to allow the gas generated from the gas generating device 120 to flow, and an inner space formed at one end of the inner space, An inlet 131 formed to allow the generated gas to flow into the internal space and an outlet 132 formed at the other end of the internal space so that the gas introduced into the internal space can flow out into the user's mouth Respectively.

The cigarette use time may be calculated from the power supply time measured from the time when the user determines that the gas generated in the gas generator 120 is to be sucked by the suction determination unit 90.

For example, the suction determination unit 90 may include a contact sensor (not shown) provided on the outer surface of the straw 130 to sense the user's lip contact, When the contact of the lips is detected, the user can determine that the gas generated in the gas generator 120 is sucked. At this time, the time calculating unit 40 may measure the time when the power is supplied to the gas generating unit 20 from the time when the suction determining unit 90 determines that the user has sucked the gas.

In addition, the suction determination unit 90 may include a pressure sensor (not shown) capable of measuring the pressure of the internal space, and the pressure sensor may measure a pressure change value measured by the pressure sensor for a predetermined period of time When it is more than the critical point, it can be determined that the user sucks the gas generated in the gas generator 120. At this time, the time calculating unit 40 may measure the time when the power is supplied to the gas generating unit 20 from the time when the suction determining unit 90 determines that the user has sucked the gas.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. The singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In the present application, the terms "comprises" or "having" and the like are used to specify that there is a feature, a number, a step, an operation, an element, a component or a combination thereof described in the specification, But do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof.

[Description of Reference Numerals]
100: electronic cigarette 10: switch part
20: power supply unit 30: gas generating unit
40: Period setting unit 60: Battery operation unit
70: Display unit 80: Current measuring unit
110: body 111: button
112: first display device 113: second display device
120: gas generator 130: straw
131: inlet 132: outlet

Claims (15)

Power supply;
A gas generator for generating a vaporized gas to be sucked by a user when power is supplied from the power supply unit;
A time calculating unit for calculating a cigarette use time from the time when gas is generated in the gas generating unit; And
A display unit for displaying the cigarette use time calculated by the time calculation unit on a screen;
And an electronic cigarette. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the cigarette use time is calculated from a power supply time when power is supplied to the gas generating unit. The method according to claim 1,
A switch unit capable of switching between an ON state for supplying power to the gas generating unit and an OFF state for shutting off the power supplied to the gas generating unit;
And an electronic cigarette. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the display unit indicates that the switch unit is in the ON state. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the cigarette use time is a unit usage time in which the switch unit maintains the ON state continuously for a predetermined time. 6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the tobacco use time is a cumulative use time obtained by adding a plurality of the unit usage times measured successively. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the group consisting of a plurality of the unit usage times that can be added to the cumulative use time includes only the unit use time adjacent to each other with a pause period equal to or less than a predetermined time interposed therebetween. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the cumulative use time can be initialized to zero. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the switch unit is capable of being locked so as not to be in the on state unlike a user's intention. The method according to claim 1,
The gas generating unit may include a coil capable of generating thermal energy by flowing a current and a liquid capable of being vaporized by receiving thermal energy generated from the coil,
And a current measuring unit capable of measuring a value of a current flowing through the coil,
Wherein the display unit displays a coil abnormality signal when the value of the current measured by the current measuring unit deviates from a predetermined value range. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the predetermined numerical value range is from 1.5 A to 2.5 A. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the power supply unit includes a battery capable of supplying power to the gas generating unit,
A battery operation unit for calculating a remaining amount of the battery;
/ RTI >
Wherein the display unit displays the remaining amount of the battery calculated by the battery operation unit. 13. The method of claim 12,
The battery is chargeable,
Wherein the display unit indicates a ratio of a remaining capacity of the battery to a buffer capacity when the battery is fully charged, as a remaining amount of the battery. 14. The method of claim 13,
Wherein the display unit displays the remaining amount of the battery in percent (%) using Arabic numerals. 3. The method of claim 2,
An inner space formed to be long along the first axis so that the gas generated in the gas generating unit flows and a gas generated in the gas generating unit at one end of the inner space to be introduced into the inner space A straw having an inlet and an outlet formed at the other end of the inner space so that gas introduced into the inner space can flow out into the user's mouth; And
A suction determination unit for determining whether the user uses the straw to suck the gas generated in the gas generating unit;
/ RTI >
Wherein the cigarette use time is calculated from the power supply time measured from the time when the user determines that the gas generated by the gas generating unit is to be sucked by the suction judging unit.

Images