KR20210156639A - Heater with improved heating efficiency and aerosol-generating apparatus including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided are a heater with improved heating efficiency and an aerosol-generating device comprising the same. The aerosol-generating device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure can comprise: a housing forming an accommodating space in which an aerosol-generating article is accommodated; and a heater unit heating the accommodated aerosol-generating article to generate an aerosol. At least a portion of the heater unit can be configured to compress the aerosol-generating article accommodated through shape deformation during heating, which is made of a shape-transforming material whose shape is deformed by heat, and thus the heating efficiency of the heater unit can be improved.

Description

A heater with improved heating efficiency and an aerosol generating device comprising the same

The present disclosure relates to a heater having improved heating efficiency and an aerosol-generating device including the same. More particularly, it relates to a heater capable of enhancing the flavor of an aerosol-generating article by improving the heating efficiency of the article, and an aerosol-generating device comprising the same.

In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for alternative methods that overcome the disadvantages of conventional cigarettes. For example, there is an increasing demand for a heated aerosol-generating device that generates an aerosol by electrically heating a cigarette. Accordingly, research on a heating-type aerosol-generating device has been actively conducted.

Recently, a method of heating a cigarette using a plurality of heating elements to enhance the flavor of the cigarette has been proposed. For example, the proposed method uses both an internal heating element and an external heating element to heat a cigarette. However, the proposed method overlooks the problem of power consumption of the battery, and there is no significant improvement in terms of heating efficiency (ie, heating performance compared to power consumption) as only the number of heating elements is increased.

A technical problem to be solved through some embodiments of the present disclosure is to provide a heater with improved heating efficiency and an aerosol-generating device including the same.

The technical problems of the present disclosure are not limited to the above-mentioned technical problems, and other technical problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

For solving the above technical problem, an aerosol-generating device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure includes a housing that forms an accommodation space in which an aerosol-generating article is accommodated; and a heater configured to generate an aerosol by heating the accommodated aerosol-generating article, at least part of which is made of a shape-transforming material whose shape is deformed by heat, and is configured to compress the received aerosol-generating article through shape deformation during heating. .

In some embodiments, the shape-changing material may have a property of returning to an original shape as the heat disappears after the shape is deformed by heat.

In some embodiments, the shape-changing material may include a shape memory alloy.

In some embodiments, the cross-section of the medium of the aerosol-generating article may be deformed from a circular shape to an elliptical shape by the compression.

In some embodiments, the heater unit may include an external heating element, at least a portion of which is made of the shape-transforming material.

In some embodiments, the heater unit may include a first external heating element, a second external heating element, and a connecting member connecting the first external heating element and the second external heating element. At this time, at least a portion of the connection member is made of the shape-transforming material so that the accommodated aerosol-generating article is compressed by pulling at least one of the first external heating element and the second external heating element through shape deformation during heating. can be configured.

In some embodiments, a cooling element disposed around the heater unit and a control unit for controlling the cooling element may be further included. At this time, the shape-changing material has a property of returning to its original shape as the heat disappears after the shape is deformed by heat, and the control unit uses the cooling element through the cooling element as the use of the aerosol-generating device is terminated. can be cooled.

In some embodiments, further comprising a control unit for controlling the heating temperature of the heater unit, wherein the shape-deformable material has a property that the degree of shape deformation varies according to the amount of heat, and the control unit is the control unit based on the user's puff information It is possible to adjust the heating temperature of the heater unit.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure described above, at least a portion of the heater part is made of a shape-changing material, and the shape is deformed when heated, and thus the medium part of the aerosol-generating article may be compressed. Compression of the medium reduces the distance from the heater (heating element) to the center of the medium, thereby improving the heating efficiency of the heater.

In addition, a cooling element may be disposed around the heater unit. The cooling element rapidly cools the heater unit at the end of use of the aerosol-generating device (ie, at the end of smoking), so that the compression of the medium is rapidly released. Accordingly, after the end of use of the device, the contained aerosol-generating article can be easily removed.

Effects according to the technical spirit of the present disclosure are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

1 is an exemplary diagram schematically illustrating an aerosol-generating device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
2 and 3 are exemplary views for explaining a heater unit and a shape deformation process according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.
4 is an exemplary view for explaining a heater unit and a shape deformation process according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure.
5 is an exemplary view for explaining a heater unit and a shape deformation process according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure.
6 is an exemplary view for explaining a heater unit and a shape deformation process according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.
7 is an exemplary view for explaining a heater unit and a shape deformation process according to a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure.
8 and 9 are exemplary views schematically illustrating another type of aerosol-generating device to which a heater unit according to some embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Advantages and features of the present disclosure, and methods of achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the technical spirit of the present disclosure is not limited to the following embodiments, but may be implemented in various different forms, and only the following embodiments complete the technical spirit of the present disclosure, and in the technical field to which the present disclosure belongs It is provided to fully inform those of ordinary skill in the scope of the present disclosure, and the technical spirit of the present disclosure is only defined by the scope of the claims.

In adding reference numerals to the components of each drawing, it should be noted that the same components are given the same reference numerals as much as possible even though they are indicated on different drawings. In addition, in describing the present disclosure, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known configuration or function may obscure the gist of the present disclosure, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in the following examples may be used with meanings commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. In addition, terms defined in a commonly used dictionary are not to be interpreted ideally or excessively unless clearly defined in particular. The terminology used in the following embodiments is for describing the embodiments and is not intended to limit the present disclosure. In the following examples, the singular also includes the plural, unless the phrase specifically dictates otherwise.

In addition, in describing the components of the present disclosure, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), (b), etc. may be used. These terms are only for distinguishing the elements from other elements, and the essence, order, or order of the elements are not limited by the terms. When it is described that a component is “connected”, “coupled” or “connected” to another component, the component may be directly connected or connected to the other component, but another component is formed between each component. It should be understood that elements may also be “connected,” “coupled,” or “connected.”

As used herein, “comprises” and/or “comprising” refers to a referenced component, step, operation and/or element of one or more other components, steps, operations and/or elements. The presence or addition is not excluded.

Prior to a description of various embodiments of the present disclosure, some terms used in the embodiments will be clarified.

In the following examples, "aerosol-forming substrate" may mean a material capable of forming an aerosol. Aerosols may contain volatile compounds. The aerosol-forming substrate may be solid or liquid. For example, the solid aerosol-forming substrate may include a solid material based on tobacco raw materials such as leaf tobacco, cut filler, reconstituted tobacco, etc., and the liquid aerosol-forming substrate may contain nicotine, tobacco extract and/or various flavoring agents. liquid compositions based on it. However, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the examples listed above. In the following embodiments, the liquid phase may refer to a liquid aerosol-forming substrate.

In the following examples, "aerosol-generating article" may mean an article capable of generating an aerosol. The aerosol-generating article may comprise an aerosol-forming substrate. A representative example of an aerosol-generating article would be a cigarette, but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to these examples.

In the following embodiments, "aerosol-generating device" may refer to a device that generates an aerosol using an aerosol-forming substrate to generate an inhalable aerosol directly into the user's lungs through the user's mouth. Reference is made to FIGS. 1 , 8 and 9 for some examples of aerosol-generating devices. However, the types of the aerosol-generating device may vary, so the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to these examples.

In the following embodiments, "puff" refers to inhalation of the user, and inhalation may refer to a situation in which the user's mouth or nose is drawn into the user's mouth, nasal cavity, or lungs. .

In the following examples, "upstream" or "upstream direction" means a direction away from the smoker's bend, and "downstream" or "downstream direction" means a direction approaching from the smoker's bend. can do. The terms upstream and downstream may be used to describe the relative positions of elements that make up an aerosol-generating article. For example, in the aerosol-generating article 150 illustrated in FIG. 5 and the like, the filter part 151 is located downstream or downstream of the medium part 152 , and the medium part 152 is upstream or downstream of the filter part 151 . located in the upstream direction.

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is an exemplary configuration diagram schematically showing an aerosol-generating device 100-1 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. 1, 8 and 9, the dotted arrow indicates the movement path of the aerosol.

1 , the aerosol-generating device 100 - 1 may refer to a device capable of generating an aerosol using the aerosol-generating article 150 . More specifically, the aerosol-generating device 100-1 may generate an aerosol by heating the aerosol-generating article 150 accommodated in the accommodation space. However, since FIG. 1 is only some examples of various aerosol-generating devices belonging to the present disclosure, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the aerosol-generating device 100-1 illustrated in FIG. 1 . Another example of the aerosol generating device will be described later with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9 .

As shown, the aerosol generating device 100 - 1 may include a housing, a heater unit 140 , a battery 130 , and a control unit 120 . However, only the components related to the embodiment of the present disclosure are illustrated in FIG. 1 . Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains can know that other general-purpose components other than those shown in FIG. 1 may be further included. For example, the aerosol-generating device 100-1 may include an output device (eg motor, display, speaker) for outputting the state of the device and/or an input device for receiving a user input (eg device on/off, etc.) button) and the like. Hereinafter, each component of the aerosol generating device 100-1 will be described.

The housing may form the exterior of the aerosol-generating device 100 - 1 . Further, the housing may define a receiving space for receiving the aerosol-generating article 150 . The aerosol-generating article 150 accommodated in the accommodation space may generate an aerosol as it is heated by the heater unit 140, and the generated aerosol may be inhaled through the user's mouth.

Next, the heater unit 140 may be provided with one or more heating elements to heat the aerosol-generating article 150 accommodated in the accommodation space. The heating temperature of the heater unit 140 or the heating element may be controlled by the controller 120 .

The heating element may be made of, for example, an electrically resistive material, a material capable of induction heating, and the like, but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to these examples. When the heating element is made of a material capable of induction heating, the heater unit 140 may further include an inductor.

In some embodiments, the heater unit 140 is at least partially made of a shape-transforming material so as to compress the aerosol-generating article 150 (more precisely, the medium portion 152 of the aerosol-generating article 150 ) through a shape change upon heating. can be When the aerosol-generating article 150 is compressed, since the distance from the central portion of the aerosol-generating article 150 to the heating element is reduced, the heating efficiency of the heater unit 150 can be improved. For example, even if the aerosol-generating article 150 is heated from the outside, it can be heated quickly and evenly to the center, thereby reducing power consumption and shortening the preheating time. Additionally, the flavor of the aerosol-generating article 150 may be improved. Various examples of the heater unit 140 that can achieve this effect will be described in detail with reference to the drawings below in FIG. 2 .

The shape-changing material may mean a material whose shape is deformed by heat. An example of such a material may be a shape memory alloy, but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

In addition, the shape-changing material may have a property of returning to an original shape as the heat disappears after the shape is deformed by heat. By having this property, the aerosol-generating article 150 contained therein can be easily removed after the use of the aerosol-generating device 100 - 1 has ended (e.g. the end of smoking). That is, as the operation of the heater unit 140 is stopped, the shape-deformed portion that was compressed the aerosol-generating article 150 is restored to the shape before the compression again, so that the compression can be naturally released, and thereby the aerosol-generating article 150 is It can be easily removed without damage.

Next, the battery 130 may supply power used to operate the aerosol generating device 100 - 1 . For example, the battery 130 may supply power to the heater unit 140 , and may supply power required for the control unit 120 to operate.

In addition, the battery 130 may supply power required to operate electrical components such as a display (not shown), a sensor (not shown), and a motor (not shown) installed in the aerosol generating device 100-1.

Next, the controller 120 may control the overall operation of the aerosol generating device 100 - 1 . For example, the controller 120 may control the operations of the heater unit 140 and the battery 130 , and may also control the operations of other components included in the aerosol generating device 100 - 1 . The control unit 120 may control the power supplied by the battery 130 , the heating temperature of the heater unit 140 , and the like. In addition, the controller 120 may determine whether the aerosol-generating device 100-1 is in an operable state by checking the state of each of the components of the aerosol-generating device 100-1.

In some embodiments, the shape-changing material constituting the heater unit 140 may have a property that the degree of shape deformation varies according to the amount of heat. In addition, the controller 120 may adjust the heating temperature of the heater 140 or the heating element based on the user's puff information. Here, the puff information may include, for example, at least one of puff strength, puff length, and puff interval, but is not limited thereto. For example, in response to determining that the puff intensity is equal to or greater than the reference value (or the puff intensity is increasing), the controller 120 may increase the heating temperature of the heater unit 140 . This is because a strong puff strength is likely to mean a user's feedback that the taste is weak. In this case, the aerosol-generating article 150 may be compressed more strongly, and the heating efficiency for the aerosol-generating article 150 may be further increased, and thus the taste may be improved. In the opposite case, the control unit 120 may decrease the heating temperature of the heater unit 140 . As another example, in response to the determination that the puff interval is less than or equal to the reference value (or the puff interval tends to be shorter), the controller 120 may increase the heating temperature of the heater unit 140 . In the opposite case, the control unit 120 may decrease the heating temperature of the heater unit 140 . As another example, in response to determining that the puff length is equal to or greater than the reference value (or the puff length is increasing), the controller 120 may increase the heating temperature of the heater unit 140 . In the opposite case, the control unit 120 may decrease the heating temperature of the heater unit 140 .

The controller 120 may be implemented by at least one processor. The processor may be implemented as an array of a plurality of logic gates, or may be implemented as a combination of a general-purpose microprocessor and a memory in which a program executable in the microprocessor is stored. In addition, those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains can clearly understand that the controller 120 may be implemented with other types of hardware.

The aerosol-generating article 150 may be inserted into the aerosol-generating device 100 - 1 to generate an aerosol. The aerosol-generating article 150 may include a filter unit 151 and a medium unit 152 (see drawings such as FIG. 5 ), but the detailed structure thereof may be designed in various ways. As described above, a representative example of the aerosol-generating article 150 may be a cigarette, but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

The medium part 152 may include an aerosol-forming substrate, and the filter part 151 may include a filter material that performs a filtering function for the aerosol. In order not to obscure the subject matter of the present disclosure, further description of the aerosol-generating article 150 is omitted.

So far, the aerosol-generating device 100-1 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure has been schematically described with reference to FIG. 1 . Hereinafter, a detailed configuration of the heater unit 140, a shape deformation process, and a principle of improving heating efficiency will be described in detail with reference to the drawings below in FIG. 2 .

2 and 3 are views for explaining the heater unit 140 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 shows an example in which the shape of the heating element is deformed by heat, and FIG. 3 is FIG. A cross-section of an aerosol-generating article 150 compressed according to the shape deformation illustrated in Fig.

2 , in this embodiment, the heater unit 140 may include an external heating element 141 . 2 shows as an example that the external heating element 141 has a shape (eg cylindrical) that matches the aerosol-generating article 150 , but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the external heating element 141 is not limited thereto. The shape of may not match the aerosol-generating article 150 . The external heating element 141 may be designed in various shapes capable of externally heating at least a portion of the aerosol-generating article 150 .

In this embodiment, at least a portion of the heating element 141 is made of a shape-transforming material, so that the shape of the heating element 141 may be deformed when heat is generated. For example, as shown, the heating element 141 may be deformed from a cylindrical shape to an elliptical or elliptical-like shape. In this case, as shown in FIG. 3 , the cylindrical aerosol-generating article 150 , precisely the medium 152 of the aerosol-generating article 150 , is formed into an elliptical or elliptical-like shape by means of a heating element 141 . can be compressed. In addition, by increasing the heat transfer efficiency to the aerosol-generating article 150 by compression, the heating efficiency of the heater unit 140 may be improved.

Here, that at least a portion of the heating element 141 is made of a shape-transforming material means that a portion (eg, a portion corresponding to the medium portion 152) among the entire shape of the heating element 141 is made of a shape-deformable material as well as a heating element The inside of the 141 may be made of a shape-changing material, and the outside may include a case made of a heating material (eg, an electrical resistance material). For example, the heating element 141 may include an inner frame made of a shape-changing material and a heating layer that covers at least a portion of the inner frame and is made of a heating material. In this case, the shape of the inner frame is deformed by the heat of the heating layer, and the shape of the heating layer is also deformed by the inner frame. As such, since there may be various ways to implement the shape-deformable heating element 141 through the shape-transforming material, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited by the implementation method of the heating element 141 .

Meanwhile, as the operation of the heater unit 140 is stopped, the shape of the heating element 141 may be restored to its original shape. For example, as the shape of the heating element 141 is restored from an elliptical shape to a cylindrical shape again, compression against the aerosol-generating article 150 may be naturally released. Accordingly, the aerosol-generating article 150 can be easily removed after the operation of the aerosol-generating device 100 - 1 is finished.

So far, the heater unit 140 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure has been described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 . Hereinafter, the heater unit 140 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. 4 .

4 illustrates a configuration and shape deformation process of the heater unit 140 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. 4 and below, a solid arrow indicates the action of a force F, and a dotted arrow indicates heat transfer.

As shown in FIG. 4 , in this embodiment, the heater unit 140 includes a first external heating element 142-1, a second external heating element 142-2, and a first external heating element 142-1. ) and a connecting member 143 for connecting the second external heating element 142-2 may be included. Although FIG. 4 illustrates that the connecting member 143 has a spring-like shape as an example, the shape of the connecting member 143 may vary.

In the present embodiment, at least a portion of the connecting member 143 is made of a shape-transforming material, and as the heating elements 142-1 and 142-2 generate heat, the shape of the connecting member 143 may be deformed. For example, as shown, the shape of the connection member 143 may be deformed in a compressed (contracted) form. In addition, a force F pulling at least one of the first external heating element 142-1 and the second external heating element 142-2 may be generated by the shape deformation of the connecting member 143 . In addition, as the distance between the first external heating element 142-1 and the second external heating element 142-2 approaches by the force F, the aerosol-generating article 150 may be compressed.

4 shows as an example that both heating elements 142-1 and 142-2 are moved by the generated force F, but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to this example, and as described above Likewise, any one of the two heating elements 142-1 and 142-2 may be moved.

Meanwhile, as the operation of the heater unit 140 is stopped, the shape of the connecting member 143 may be restored to its original shape. For example, the connecting member 143 may be deformed from the compressed form to the elongated form, and accordingly, the compression to the aerosol-generating article 150 may be naturally released.

So far, the heater unit 140 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure has been described with reference to FIG. 4 . Hereinafter, the heater unit 140 according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. 5 .

5 exemplifies the configuration and shape deformation process of the heater unit 140 according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure.

5 , in this embodiment, the heater unit 140 may include a first external heating element 144 and a second external heating element 145 . Further, the first external heating element 144 is arranged to heat at least a portion of an upstream portion of the medium portion 152 of the aerosol-generating article 150 , and the second external heating element 145 is configured to heat the medium portion 152 of the aerosol-generating article 150 . and may be arranged to heat at least a portion of the downstream portion.

In the present embodiment, at least a portion of the second external heating element 145 is made of a shape-changing material, so that the shape can be deformed when heat is generated. And, as shown, as the shape is deformed, a force F pressing the downstream part 153 of the medium part 152 is generated, and the downstream part 153 can be compressed by the generated force F. have. For example, the downstream portion 153 of the medium portion 152 may be compressed from a cylindrical to an elliptical or oval-like shape.

As the downstream portion 153 of the medium portion 152 is compressed, the downstream portion 153 may be heated more strongly than the upstream portion. Accordingly, an aerosol is smoothly generated from the initial puff, and the taste at the beginning of smoking is greatly improved. can be improved In addition, the downstream portion 153 that influences the initial taste sensation is rapidly heated, so that the preheating time of the aerosol generating device 100 - 1 can be shortened.

Meanwhile, although FIG. 5 illustrates that the heater unit 140 includes two heating elements 144 and 145 as an example, the heater unit 140 may include three or more heating elements, and among the heating elements, the heater unit 140 may include three or more heating elements. A part may be configured to differentially heat each part of the medium part 152 made of a shape-changing material. In addition, the controller 120 may control the heating degree in various ways by independently controlling each heating element. In this case, each portion of the medium portion 152 is heated to various intensities, so that the flavor of the aerosol-generating article 150 may be diversified, and a different smoking experience may be provided to the user.

As the operation of the heater unit 140 is stopped, the shape of the second external heating element 145 may be restored to its original shape. Accordingly, the compression on the aerosol-generating article 150 may be naturally released.

So far, the heater unit 140 according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure has been described with reference to FIG. 5 . Hereinafter, the heater unit 140 according to the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. 6 .

6 illustrates a configuration and shape transformation process of the heater unit 140 according to the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.

6 , in this embodiment, the heater unit 140 may include an internal heating element 146 and a heat conductor 147 thermally connected to the internal heating element 146 . The internal heating element 146 may be disposed to penetrate the medium 152 when the aerosol-generating article 150 is received, thereby heating the medium 152 therein. In addition, the heat conductor 147 may be disposed to surround at least a portion of the medium portion 152 , and may heat the medium portion 152 from the outside. 6 illustrates that the internal heating element 146 is formed in a needle shape as an example, but the shape of the internal heating element 146 may be designed in other shapes such as blades and rods.

In the present embodiment, at least a portion of the heat conductor 147 is made of a shape-transforming material, so that the shape can be deformed by the conduction heat of the internal heating element 146 . And, as shown, as the shape is deformed, a force (F) pressing the medium portion 152 may be generated, and the medium portion 152 may be compressed by the generated force (F). For example, the medium portion 152 may be compressed from a cylindrical shape to an oval or oval-like shape. In this case, the medium portion 152 is heated at the same time from the inside and the outside, so that the medium portion 152 can be evenly heated as a whole, and the heating efficiency is increased by pressing the medium portion 152, so that the flavor of the aerosol-generating article 150 is greatly increased. can be promoted

Meanwhile, as the operation of the heater unit 140 is stopped, the shape of the heat conductor 147 may be restored to its original shape. Accordingly, the compression on the aerosol-generating article 150 may be naturally released.

So far, the heater unit 140 according to the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure has been described with reference to FIG. 6 . Hereinafter, the heater unit 140 according to the fifth embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. 7 .

7 exemplifies the configuration and shape deformation and restoration process of the heater unit 140 according to the fifth embodiment of the present disclosure.

7 , in this embodiment, the heater unit 140 may include an external heating element 148 at least partially made of a shape-transforming material, and a cooling element 149 around the heating element 148 . ) can be placed. 7 illustrates that the heater unit 140 includes one external heating element 148 as an example, this is only for convenience of understanding, and the configuration of the heater unit 140 may be different. For example, the configuration of the heater unit 140 may be modified based on a combination of various embodiments described above.

In this embodiment, the heating element 148 may be configured to compress at least a portion of the medium portion 152 through shape deformation. Further, the cooling element 149 is operable to cool the heating element 148 after the use of the aerosol-generating device 100-1 has ended (e.g. quitting smoking) (see the right side view of FIG. 7 ). This operation may be controlled by the controller 120 . In this case, since the heating element 148 quickly returns to its original shape, the compression against the medium portion 152 can be quickly released. Accordingly, after the use of the aerosol-generating device 100 - 1 ends, the aerosol-generating article 150 can be quickly removed without damage. For example, if the heating element 148 is not quickly restored to its original shape and the aerosol-generating article 150 is removed before the compression is released, the wrapper of the aerosol-generating article 150 or the remaining portion of the medium 152 is It can be damaged, and this can make the receiving space messy. However, if the cooling element 149 is applied, this problem can be greatly alleviated.

A method of implementing the cooling element 149 may be varied, which may vary depending on the embodiment.

In some embodiments, the cooling element 149 may be implemented based on a thermo-element. In this case, the thermoelectric element 149 may cool the heating element 148 by absorbing residual heat (or waste heat) around the heating element 148 under the control of the controller 120 (Peltier effect). Alternatively, the thermoelectric element 149 may harvest residual heat (or waste heat) around the heating element 148 to generate an electromotive force (seebeck effect) so that the heating element 148 is cooled. Those skilled in the art will be able to clearly understand the operating principle of the thermoelectric element, and further description thereof will be omitted. For reference, in the art, a thermoelectric element may be used interchangeably with terms such as a thermoelectric module and a Peltier element.

In some other embodiments, the cooling element 149 may be implemented as another element having a cooling function in addition to the thermoelectric element.

So far, the heater unit 140 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure has been described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 7 . Although each of the embodiments has been individually described, the above-described embodiments may be combined in various forms. For example, the heat conductor 147 shown in FIG. 6 may be arranged to compress and heat only the downstream portion of the medium portion 152 , and the heater unit 140 heats the upstream portion of the medium portion 152 . It may consist of an external heating element and a heat conductor that heats the downstream portion and is thermally connected to the external heating element.

Hereinafter, other types of aerosol generating devices 100 - 2 and 100 - 3 to which the above-described heater unit 140 can be applied will be briefly introduced. However, for clarity of the present disclosure, a description of the configuration overlapping with FIG. 1 will be omitted.

8 and 9 are exemplary diagrams schematically showing the aerosol-generating devices 100-2 and 100-3 of a hybrid type using the aerosol-generating article 150 and a liquid together. Specifically, FIG. 8 illustrates a device 100 - 2 in which a vaporizer 1 and an aerosol-generating article 150 are arranged in parallel, and FIG. 9 shows a vaporizer 1 and an aerosol-generating article 150 . Devices 100 - 3 arranged in series are illustrated.

8 and 9 , the aerosol generating devices 100 - 2 and 100 - 3 may further include a vaporizer 1 . The vaporizer 1 may generate an aerosol by heating a liquid aerosol-forming substrate. The aerosol generated by the vaporizer 1 may pass through the aerosol-generating article 150 and be inhaled through the mouth of a user.

The vaporizer 1 may be designed in various forms, and the detailed form may vary depending on the embodiment.

Vaporizer 1 according to some embodiments may include a liquid storage tank for storing a liquid aerosol-forming substrate, a wick for absorbing the stored liquid, and a liquid heating element for heating the absorbed liquid to aerosolize. . The liquid phase heating element of the vaporizer 1 may be controlled by the control unit 120 . For example, the control unit 120 may detect the user's puff, and operate the liquid heating element in response thereto.

However, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the above examples, and the vaporizer 1 may be designed in other forms. For example, the vaporizer 1 may be designed in such a way that the liquid phase is vaporized through ultrasonic waves.

For the description of the control unit 120 , the battery 130 , and the heater unit 140 , refer to the description of the previous embodiments.

Up to now, other types of aerosol generating devices 100 - 2 and 100 - 3 to which the above-described heater unit 140 can be applied with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9 have been briefly introduced.

Although embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains may practice the present disclosure in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features. can understand that there is Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The protection scope of the present disclosure should be interpreted by the following claims, and all technical ideas within the equivalent range should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the technical ideas defined by the present disclosure.

100-1, 100-2, 100-3: aerosol generating device
1: vaporizer 120: control unit
130: battery 140: heater unit
150: aerosol-generating article

Claims (10)

a housing defining a receiving space in which the aerosol-generating article is accommodated; and
Heating the accommodated aerosol-generating article to generate an aerosol, at least part of which is made of a shape-transforming material whose shape is deformed by heat, and comprises a heater configured to compress the accommodated aerosol-generating article through shape deformation during heating.
aerosol-generating device. According to claim 1,
The shape-changing material has a property of returning to its original shape as the heat disappears after the shape is deformed by heat,
aerosol-generating device. According to claim 1,
The shape-changing material includes a shape-memory alloy,
aerosol-generating device. According to claim 1,
The cross-section of the medium portion of the aerosol-generating article is deformed from a circular shape to an elliptical shape by the compression,
aerosol-generating device. According to claim 1,
At least a portion of the heater includes an external heating element made of the shape-changing material,
aerosol-generating device. According to claim 1,
The heater unit includes a first external heating element, a second external heating element, and a connecting member connecting the first external heating element and the second external heating element,
At least a portion of the connecting member is made of the shape-transforming material so that the accommodated aerosol-generating article is compressed by drawing at least one of the first external heating element and the second external heating element through shape deformation during heating. ,
aerosol-generating device. According to claim 1,
The heater unit includes a first external heating element and a second external heating element at least partially made of the shape-changing material,
the first external heating element is arranged to heat an upstream portion of the medium of the aerosol-generating article;
wherein the second external heating element is arranged to heat a downstream portion of the medium of the aerosol-generating article and configured to compress the downstream portion of the medium through shape deformation upon heating;
aerosol-generating device. According to claim 1,
The heater unit includes an internal heating element and a thermal conductor thermally connected to the internal heating element and at least partially made of the shape-transforming material,
wherein the heat conductor is disposed to wrap around at least a portion of the contained aerosol-generating article and configured to compress the contained aerosol-generating article as heat of the internal heating element is conducted;
aerosol-generating device. According to claim 1,
a cooling element disposed around the heater unit; and
Further comprising a control unit for controlling the cooling element,
The shape-changing material has a property of returning to its original shape as the heat disappears after the shape is deformed by heat,
The control unit cools the heater unit through the cooling element as the use of the aerosol generating device is terminated,
aerosol-generating device. According to claim 1,
Further comprising a control unit for controlling the heating temperature of the heater unit,
The shape-changing material has a property that the degree of shape deformation varies according to the amount of heat,
The control unit adjusts the heating temperature of the heater unit based on the user's puff information,
aerosol-generating device.

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