KR20210149450A - Control circuit module package of Electronic cigarette - Google Patents

Abstract

According to an aspect of the present invention, a control circuit module package for an electronic cigarette includes: a package substrate; a plurality of control circuit elements which are mounted on the package substrate, and are configured to control the operation of an electronic cigarette and control of the charging of a battery inside the electronic cigarette; and a molding unit which integrally seals the plurality of control circuit elements.

Description

Control circuit module package of Electronic cigarette

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic cigarette, and more particularly, to a control circuit module package for an electronic cigarette.

The electronic cigarette may refer to an electronic device that generates fumes by electrically heating a solution or tobacco solids containing nicotine using a built-in battery. In such an electronic cigarette, various control circuits such as a circuit for charging a built-in battery, a circuit for controlling a heating device, and a main control circuit are individually mounted on a printed circuit board.

Recently, as the overall product volume is reduced due to the miniaturization and weight reduction of the electronic cigarette, the design space of each part is reduced. However, as the demand for multifunctional products is increasing, the control circuits are gradually increasing. In addition, although requests for an increase in the battery capacity of the electronic cigarette are increasing, there is a limitation in increasing the battery capacity due to the miniaturization of the product.

Furthermore, in the case of a liquid electronic cigarette, the leakage of liquid damages the control circuit and the occurrence of circuit defects is increasing, thereby increasing customer service costs and decreasing product reliability.

1. Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2013-0122713 (November 08, 2013)

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a control circuit module package for an electronic cigarette, which can be miniaturized, has a high margin for a design space, and has high reliability. However, these problems are exemplary, and the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto.

The electronic cigarette control circuit module package according to an aspect of the present invention includes a package substrate and a plurality of control circuit elements mounted on the package substrate, for controlling the operation of the electronic cigarette and controlling the charging of the battery inside the electronic cigarette; , and a molding unit for integrally sealing the plurality of control circuit elements.

According to the control circuit module package of the electronic cigarette, the plurality of control circuit elements may include a plurality of active elements, and the plurality of active elements may be integrally encapsulated by the molding unit on the package substrate.

According to the control circuit module package of the electronic cigarette, the plurality of control circuit elements further include a plurality of passive elements, and the plurality of active elements and the plurality of passive elements are formed on the package substrate by the molding unit. It can be encapsulated integrally.

According to the control circuit module package of the electronic cigarette, at least one of the plurality of control circuit elements may be mounted on the package substrate at a wafer die level and sealed by the molding unit.

According to the control circuit module package of the electronic cigarette, the plurality of active elements may be all mounted on the package substrate at a wafer die level and encapsulated by the molding unit.

According to the control circuit module package of the electronic cigarette, at least another one of the plurality of active elements may be mounted on the package substrate in a pre-molded state separately.

According to the control circuit module package of the electronic cigarette, the height of the molding part may vary according to the height of the plurality of control circuit elements.

According to the control circuit module package of the electronic cigarette, the plurality of active elements include a main control unit, at least one heat control circuit, at least one motor control circuit, at least one sensor control circuit, at least one switch control circuit, at least It may include at least two or more of one display device control circuit, at least one Bluetooth control circuit, at least one charge control circuit, and at least one battery protection circuit.

According to the control circuit module package of the electronic cigarette, the plurality of active elements include a main control unit, at least one heat control circuit, at least one motor control circuit, at least one sensor control circuit, at least one switch control circuit, at least It may include all of one display device control circuit, at least one Bluetooth control circuit, at least one charge control circuit, and at least one battery protection circuit.

According to the control circuit module package of the electronic cigarette, the plurality of control circuit elements may further include a plurality of passive elements, and the plurality of passive elements may be exposed from the molding unit.

According to the control circuit module package of the electronic cigarette, the package substrate may include any one of a printed circuit board and a lead frame or a stacked structure thereof.

According to the control circuit module package of the electronic cigarette, it may further include a heating device connected to one end of the package substrate.

According to some embodiments of the present invention made as described above, it is possible to miniaturize the design space of the electronic cigarette to increase the margin, and to provide a control circuit module package of the electronic cigarette with high protection against the external environment. can Of course, the scope of the present invention is not limited by these effects.

1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a control circuit module package of an electronic cigarette according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a control circuit module package of an electronic cigarette according to another embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a control circuit module package of an electronic cigarette according to another embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control circuit elements in the control circuit module package and the configuration of the electronic cigarette including the same according to embodiments of the present invention.
5 is a plan view schematically showing a control circuit module package of an electronic cigarette according to another embodiment of the present invention.

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

Examples of the present invention are provided to more completely explain the present invention to those of ordinary skill in the art, and the following examples may be modified in various other forms, and the scope of the present invention is as follows It is not limited to an Example. Rather, these embodiments are provided so as to more fully and complete the present disclosure, and to fully convey the spirit of the present invention to those skilled in the art. In addition, in the drawings, the thickness or size of each layer is exaggerated for convenience and clarity of description.

Throughout the specification, when referring to one component, such as a film, region, or substrate, being located "on", "connected to," "stacked" or "coupled to" another component, the one component It may be construed that an element may be directly “on”, “connected”, “stacked” or “coupled” to another component, or there may be other components interposed therebetween. On the other hand, when it is stated that one element is located "directly on," "directly connected to," or "directly coupled to" another element, it is interpreted that there are no other elements interposed therebetween. do. Like numbers refer to like elements. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any one and all combinations of one or more of those listed items.

Although the terms first, second, etc. are used herein to describe various members, parts, regions, layers, and/or parts, these members, parts, regions, layers and/or parts are limited by these terms so that they It is self-evident that These terms are used only to distinguish one member, component, region, layer or portion from another region, layer or portion. Accordingly, a first member, component, region, layer or portion discussed below may refer to a second member, component, region, layer or portion without departing from the teachings of the present invention.

Also, relative terms such as "above" or "above" and "below" or "below" may be used herein to describe the relationship of certain elements to other elements as illustrated in the drawings. It may be understood that relative terms are intended to include other orientations of the element in addition to the orientation depicted in the drawings. For example, if an element is turned over in the figures, elements depicted as being on the face above the other elements will have orientation on the face below the other elements. Thus, the term “top” by way of example may include both “bottom” and “top” directions depending on the particular orientation of the drawing. If the element is oriented in a different orientation (rotated 90 degrees relative to the other orientation), the relative descriptions used herein may be interpreted accordingly.

The terminology used herein is used to describe specific embodiments, not to limit the present invention. As used herein, the singular form may include the plural form unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used herein, “comprise” and/or “comprising” refers to specifying the presence of the recited shapes, numbers, steps, actions, members, elements, and/or groups thereof. and does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other shapes, numbers, movements, members, elements and/or groups.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings schematically illustrating ideal embodiments of the present invention. In the drawings, variations of the illustrated shape can be envisaged, for example depending on manufacturing technology and/or tolerances. Accordingly, embodiments of the spirit of the present invention should not be construed as limited to the specific shape of the region shown in the present specification, but should include, for example, changes in shape caused by manufacturing.

1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a control circuit module package 100 of an electronic cigarette according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the control circuit module package 100 of the electronic cigarette may include a package substrate 110 , a plurality of control circuit elements 115 , and a molding unit 140 .

The package substrate 110 may refer to a substrate for packaging and mounting components. For example, the package substrate 110 may include any one of a printed circuit board (PCB) and a lead frame or a stacked structure thereof. The lead frame may be patterned to form circuit wiring in consideration of electrical connection of mounted components.

For example, the package substrate 110 may use a lead frame or a printed circuit board alone, or a structure in which a printed circuit board is laminated on the lead frame may be used. When a lead frame made of metal is used as the package substrate 110, it may be advantageous in terms of heat dissipation. In this case, since the package substrate 110 can function as a heat dissipation pad, an improved heat dissipation effect can be obtained compared to the case of using a printed circuit board.

The control circuit elements 115 are mounted on the package substrate 110 and may be used for controlling the operation of the electronic cigarette and charging control of the battery inside the electronic cigarette. For example, the control circuit elements 115 may include a plurality of active elements 120 and a plurality of passive elements 130 .

For example, some or all of the control circuit elements 115 may be mounted on the package substrate 110 using a surface mounting technology (SMT). Surface mounting technology (SMT) may refer to a technology for attaching components to the surface of the package substrate 110 . For example, some or all of the control circuit elements 115 may be attached to the surface of the package substrate 110 using a soldering technique.

The molding unit 140 may integrally encapsulate the control circuit elements 115 . For example, the active elements 120 and the passive elements 130 constituting the control circuit elements 115 may be integrally encapsulated. For example, the molding unit 140 may include an epoxy molding compound (EMC).

In this way, by integrally sealing the control circuit elements 115 with the molding unit 140 , the volume of the control circuit module package 100 is greatly reduced compared to individually molding or packaging the control circuit elements 115 . can

Furthermore, since the control circuit elements 115 are sealed by the molding part 140 , it is possible to effectively protect the control circuit elements 115 from surrounding moisture. For example, in the case of a liquid electronic cigarette, liquid flows into the control circuit elements 115 and causes problems such as corrosion or disconnection in many cases, and the occurrence of these problems may be blocked by the molding unit 140 .

At least one of the control circuit elements 115 may be mounted on the package substrate 110 at a wafer die level, and may be encapsulated by the molding unit 140 . Mounting on the package substrate 110 at the wafer die level may mean that the device is mounted on the package substrate 110 in a wafer die state without going through a separate molding or packaging process at the wafer die level.

Therefore, since the device mounted at the wafer die level has a very thin thickness, the thickness of the molding unit 140 may be reduced, thereby contributing to reducing the overall volume of the control circuit module package 100 .

Furthermore, some of the control circuit elements 115 may be mounted on the package substrate 110 in a stacked structure stacked at the wafer die level.

For example, after at least one of the active elements 120 is mounted on the package substrate 110 at the wafer die level, the active element 120 may be encapsulated by the molding unit 140 . In some embodiments, by mounting all of the active elements 120 on the package substrate 110 at the wafer die level, the volume of the control circuit module package 100 may be reduced.

According to the above-described control circuit module package 100 , at least some or all of the control circuit elements 115 are integrally sealed by the molding unit 140 , thereby reducing the overall volume of the package. Furthermore, by mounting at least a portion of the control circuit elements 115 on the package substrate 110 at the wafer die level, the package volume may be further reduced.

In this way, when the volume of the control circuit module package 100 is reduced, the volume and weight of the electronic cigarette using the same can be reduced, so that the size and weight of the electronic cigarette can be reduced, and further, space utilization can be increased by securing a design margin. . For example, by reducing the volume of the control circuit module package 100, it is possible to increase the battery capacity of the electronic cigarette by using a portion of the space, and it is also possible to add more devices capable of implementing additional functions.

In addition, when the lead frame is used as the package substrate 110 , it functions as a heat dissipation pad, thereby increasing the heat dissipation effect and further improving the charging efficiency of the battery.

In addition, since the control circuit elements 115 are sealed by the molding unit 140 , it is possible to prevent problems caused by leakage, etc., so that the protection and reliability of the electronic cigarette for the surrounding environment can be improved.

2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the control circuit module package 100a of the electronic cigarette according to another embodiment of the present invention. The control circuit module package 100a according to this embodiment is a modified part of the configuration of the control circuit module package 100 of FIG. 1 , and thus a duplicate description is omitted.

Referring to FIG. 2 , at least some of the control circuit elements 115 may be separately molded in advance and mounted on the package substrate 110 .

For example, at least one active element 120a among the active elements 120 is mounted on the package substrate 110 in a previously separately molded state, and most of the other active elements 120b are formed on the package substrate ( 110) in an unpackaged state, for example, may be mounted at the wafer die level.

According to this structure, although the volume of the molding part 140 may be slightly increased due to the pre-molding volume of the active element 120a, most of the active elements 120b are still unmolded on the package substrate 110. Since it is mounted, the volume of the control circuit module package 100a can still be maintained smaller than that of the prior art.

The molding unit 140 may integrally encapsulate the control circuit elements 115 , for example, the active elements 120 and the passive elements 130 . Accordingly, both the pre-molded active element 120a and the active element 120b mounted at the wafer die level may be integrally sealed by the molding unit 140 .

Additionally, the height of the molding unit 140 may vary depending on the height of the control circuit elements 115 . In this case, by reducing the volume occupied by the molding unit 140 , the volume of the control circuit module package 100a may be further increased.

This structure can further increase the design margin of the electronic cigarette using the control circuit module package (100a). For example, in the electronic cigarette, other components may be further disposed in a portion having a low height of the molding unit 140 in the control circuit module package 100a, thereby increasing space utilization.

3 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a control circuit module package 100b of an electronic cigarette according to another embodiment of the present invention. The control circuit module package 100b according to this embodiment is a modification of some configurations from the control circuit module packages 100 and 100a of FIGS. 1 and 2 , and thus the duplicated description is omitted.

Referring to FIG. 3 , in the control circuit module package 100b , some or all of the passive elements 130 may be exposed from the molding unit 140 . In the case of the passive elements 130, since the structure is simple and the possibility of a problem even if there is ambient moisture such as leakage is low compared to the active elements 120, some or all of the passive elements 130 are molded ( 140) is also possible.

However, even in this case, the remaining control circuit elements 115 except for the exposed passive elements 130 may be integrally sealed by the molding unit 140 .

4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control circuit elements 115 in the control circuit module package according to embodiments of the present invention and the configuration of the electronic cigarette 50 including the same.

Referring to FIG. 4 , the electronic cigarette 50 includes control circuit elements 115 , at least one heating device 51 , at least one switch 52 , at least one display device 53 , and at least one motor. 54 , at least one sensor 55 , and at least one battery 56 .

The heating device 51 is a device for making a mist by heating a liquid or solid tobacco solid, and may include a heating wire or a heating coil. The battery 56 may serve to power the e-cigarette 50 in a wireless state.

4 shows the active elements 120 as main components of the control circuit elements 115, and the passive elements 130 are omitted.

The active elements 120 include a main control unit 121 (MCU), at least one heat control circuit 122, at least one motor control circuit 123, at least one sensor control circuit 124, and at least one switch. At least two or more of the control circuit 125 , at least one display device control circuit 126 , at least one Bluetooth control circuit 127 , at least one charge control circuit 128 , and at least one battery protection circuit 129 . or all of them.

The main control unit 121 may be a central processing unit that controls the main operation of the electronic cigarette 50 . For example, the main control unit 121 receives a signal from the switch 52 and the sensor 55, controls the operation of the heating device 51, controls the signal displayed on the display device 53, An operation of the motor 54 may be controlled, and an operation of the battery 56 may be controlled.

The heating control circuit 122 may be connected between the main control unit 121 and the heating device 51 to control the operation of the heating device 51 according to the control of the main control unit 121 . Heat control circuit 122 may be provided in one or a plurality, for example, may include a half-bridge circuit or a full-bridge circuit.

The motor control circuit 123 may be connected between the main control unit 121 and the motor 54 to control the operation of the motor 54 according to the control of the main control unit 121 . The sensor control circuit 124 is connected between the main control unit 121 and the sensor 55 , and the switch control circuit 125 is connected between the main control unit 121 and the switch 52 , and the display device control circuit 126 may be connected between the main control unit 121 and the display device 53 . The Bluetooth control circuit 127 may be connected to the main control unit 121 to control the Bluetooth signal.

The charge control circuit 128 and the battery protection circuit 129 are connected between the main control unit 121 and the battery 56 to control the charging of the battery 56, overcharge, overvoltage, The operation of the battery 56 may be controlled to protect the battery 56 in situations such as overcurrent. For example, the battery protection circuit 129 may include a protection integrated circuit and a field effect transistor.

In the aforementioned control circuit module packages 100 , 100a , and 100b , the active elements 120 may include a plurality of control circuits as described above, and these control circuits are disposed on a wafer on the package substrate 110 . It may be mounted at a die level, and may be integrally sealed with the molding unit 140 .

5 is a plan view schematically showing a control circuit module package 100c according to another embodiment of the present invention. The control circuit module package 100c according to this embodiment is a modification of some configurations from the control circuit module packages 100 and 100a of FIGS. 1 and 2 , and thus a duplicate description is omitted.

Referring to FIG. 5 , the control circuit module package 100c has a structure in which the control circuit elements 115 are integrally sealed with a molding part 140b on the package substrate 110a, and furthermore, the package substrate 110a. One end may further include a heating device 51 . In the control circuit module package 100c, the heating device 51 may be fixedly connected to one end of the package substrate 110a.

However, according to the structure of the electronic cigarette, as in the case of the control circuit module packages 100 , 100a and 100b , the heating device 51 and the package substrate 110 are not directly connected, and the package substrate 110a is the main body. It is disposed in the housing, and the heating device 51 is disposed in the atomizer, and may connect the main housing and the atomizer to electrically connect the control circuit module packages 100 , 100a , 100b and the heating device 51 .

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, which are merely exemplary, those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible therefrom. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.

50: electronic cigarette
110: package board
115: control circuit element
120: active element
130: passive element
140: molding unit

Claims (12)

Package board:
a plurality of control circuit elements mounted on the package substrate, for controlling the operation of the electronic cigarette and controlling the charging of the battery inside the electronic cigarette; and
Containing; a molding unit for integrally sealing at least some of the plurality of control circuit elements
Control circuit module package for electronic cigarette. The method of claim 1,
The plurality of control circuit elements includes a plurality of active elements,
The plurality of active elements are integrally sealed by the molding part on the package substrate,
Control circuit module package for electronic cigarette. 3. The method of claim 2,
The plurality of control circuit elements further include a plurality of passive elements,
The plurality of active elements and the plurality of passive elements are integrally encapsulated on the package substrate by the molding unit,
Control circuit module package for electronic cigarette. 3. The method of claim 2,
At least one element of the plurality of control circuit elements is mounted on the package substrate at a wafer die level and encapsulated by the molding unit,
Control circuit module package for electronic cigarette. 5. The method of claim 4,
All of the plurality of active devices are mounted on the package substrate at a wafer die level and encapsulated by the molding unit,
Control circuit module package for electronic cigarette. 5. The method of claim 4,
At least another one of the plurality of active elements is mounted on the package substrate in a pre-molded state separately,
Control circuit module package for electronic cigarette. 3. The method of claim 2,
The plurality of control circuit elements further include a plurality of passive elements,
The plurality of passive elements are exposed from the molding,
Control circuit module package for electronic cigarette. 3. The method of claim 2,
The plurality of active elements may include a main control unit, at least one heat control circuit, at least one motor control circuit, at least one sensor control circuit, at least one switch control circuit, at least one display device control circuit, and at least one Bluetooth device. comprising at least two or more of a control circuit, at least one charge control circuit, and at least one battery protection circuit,
Control circuit module package for electronic cigarette. 3. The method of claim 2,
The plurality of active elements may include a main control unit, at least one heat control circuit, at least one motor control circuit, at least one sensor control circuit, at least one switch control circuit, at least one display device control circuit, and at least one Bluetooth device. control circuitry, at least one charge control circuitry and at least one battery protection circuitry;
Control circuit module package for electronic cigarette. The method of claim 1,
The height of the molding part varies according to the height of the plurality of control circuit elements,
Control circuit module package for electronic cigarette. The method of claim 1,
The package substrate includes any one of a printed circuit board and a lead frame or a laminate structure thereof,
Control circuit module package for electronic cigarette. The method of claim 1,
Further comprising a heating device connected to one end of the package substrate,
Control circuit module package for electronic cigarette.

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