KR20220023450A - Covection heater and aerosol-generating apparatus including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a convection heater and an aerosol generator including the same. The aerosol generator includes a housing forming an accommodating space accommodating an aerosol-generating article and a heater unit configured to generate aerosol by a mesh element heating the aerosol-generating article in the accommodating space using airflow. The mesh element is three-dimensionally processed and capable of volume heating. As a result, the heating efficiency and heat transfer efficiency of the heater unit can be considerably improved. As a result of the improvement, a reduction in airflow heating length can be achieved and the manufactured aerosol generator can be compact.

Description

COVECTION HEATER AND AEROSOL-GENERATING APPARATUS INCLUDING THE SAME

The present disclosure relates to a convection heater and an aerosol-generating device comprising the same. More particularly, it relates to a convection heater capable of effectively reducing the length of an airflow path functioning as a heat transfer medium by improving heating efficiency and heat transfer efficiency, and an aerosol generating device including the same.

In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for alternative smoking articles that overcome the disadvantages of traditional cigarettes. For example, there is an increasing demand for an aerosol-generating device that generates an aerosol by electrically heating a cigarette (e.g. a cigarette-type electronic cigarette), and accordingly, research on an electrically heated aerosol-generating device is being actively conducted.

Recently, an electrically heated aerosol generating device has been proposed to have a convection heater structure that transfers heat to the cigarette through an airflow path rather than directly applying heat to the cigarette. However, in this heater structure, in order to make an appropriate temperature enough to heat the cigarette, the length of the airflow path functioning as the heating element and the heat transfer medium must be designed to be long enough, which makes it difficult to manufacture a compact aerosol-generating device. .

A technical problem to be solved through some embodiments of the present disclosure is to provide a convection heater capable of effectively reducing the length of an airflow path functioning as a heat transfer medium, 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 and a three-dimensionally processed mesh element that forms an accommodation space for accommodating an aerosol-generating article, The mesh element may comprise a heater portion configured to generate an aerosol by heating an aerosol-generating article received in the receiving space through an airflow.

In some embodiments, at least a portion of the mesh element may consist of a rolled mesh sheet.

In some embodiments, at least a portion of the mesh element may consist of a folded mesh sheet.

In some embodiments, at least a portion of the surface of the mesh element may be treated with insulation.

In some embodiments, the insulating treatment may be achieved through a ceramic coating.

In some embodiments, further comprising a battery for supplying electric power to the heater unit, the mesh element may be a resistive heating element that directly generates heat by the supplied electric power.

In some embodiments, the heater unit may further include an inductor, and the mesh element may generate heat by induction heating by the inductor.

In some embodiments, the heater unit may further include a conductive unit disposed to surround at least a portion of the receiving space and transferring heat generated in the mesh element to the received aerosol-generating article in a conductive manner.

In some embodiments, disposed around the heater unit, at least a portion may further include a heat insulator made of a porous aggregate of hollow beads.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure described above, a mesh element of the heater unit for performing convection heating may have a three-dimensionally processed body. For example, the mesh element may be manufactured by rolling or folding a mesh sheet. Since such a mesh element can form a complex airflow path in a small space and perform volume heating through a three-dimensional body, heating efficiency and heat transfer efficiency of the heater unit can be greatly improved.

In addition, as the heating efficiency and heat transfer efficiency of the heater part are improved, the length of the airflow path functioning as a heat transfer medium and the size of the heater part may be innovatively reduced, and accordingly, a compact ( A compact) aerosol-generating device can be easily designed and manufactured.

In addition, an insulating treatment may be applied to the surface of the mesh element. Insulation treatment can improve the safety of the mesh element by preventing short-circuit by contact and local overheating and ensure uniform heat generation as a whole.

In addition, by arranging the conductive portion that transfers heat to the aerosol-generating article in a conductive manner, the heating efficiency and heat transfer efficiency of the heater portion can be further improved.

In addition, by arranging the heat insulating portion implemented as an assembly of hollow beads inside the device, heat inside the aerosol-generating device can be prevented from being lost to the outside. Accordingly, the heating efficiency and heat transfer efficiency of the heater unit may be further improved.

In addition, by disposing a waterproofing membrane on the outer surface of the hollow bead assembly, the problem that the dropletized sidestream smoke is absorbed by the heat insulating material can be prevented in advance. Accordingly, the performance of the heat insulating unit may be continuously maintained.

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 configuration diagram schematically showing an aerosol-generating device according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure.
2 is a view for explaining a structure of a convection heater using a simple airflow path as a heat transfer medium.
3 to 5 are views for explaining a mesh element and a method of manufacturing the same according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
6 is an exemplary configuration diagram schematically showing an aerosol-generating device according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure.
7 is an exemplary configuration diagram schematically showing an aerosol-generating device according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure.
8 is an exemplary view for explaining a heat insulator according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
9 to 11 are exemplary block diagrams illustrating various types of aerosol-generating devices 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 art of 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 herein may be used with the meaning 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 herein is for the purpose of describing the embodiments and is not intended to limit the present disclosure. In this specification, the singular also includes the plural unless specifically stated otherwise in the phrase.

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 description 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.

As a more specific example, the liquid aerosol-forming substrate may include at least one of propylene glycol (PG) and glycerin (GLY), and ethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol and oleic acid. It may further include at least one of one alcohol. As another example, the aerosol-forming substrate may further include at least one of nicotine, moisture, and a flavoring material. As another example, the aerosol-forming substrate may further include various additives such as cinnamon and capsaicin. The aerosol-forming substrate may include a material in the form of a gel or solid as well as a liquid material having high flowability. As such, the composition of the aerosol-forming substrate may be variously selected according to the embodiment, and the composition ratio thereof may also vary depending on the embodiment. In the following description, 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. The aerosol-generating article could be, for example, a cigarette, although 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. Aerosol-generating devices may include, for example, liquid-type aerosol-generating devices using a liquid cartridge, and hybrid aerosol-generating devices using both a liquid cartridge and an aerosol-generating article (e.g. cigarettes). However, in addition, various types of aerosol-generating devices may be further included, so the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the examples listed above. Reference is made to FIGS. 1 and 9 to 11 for some examples of aerosol-generating devices.

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. .

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 10-1 according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the aerosol generating device 10 - 1 may include an outer housing 11 , an inner housing 12 , and a heater unit 13 . 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, although not shown, the aerosol-generating device 10-1 includes a battery (not shown) for supplying power to the heater unit 13, and a component (eg, the heater unit 13) of the aerosol-generating device 10-1. , a battery, etc.) may further include a control unit (not shown) for controlling the operation. Hereinafter, each component of the aerosol generating device 10-1 will be described.

The outer housing 11 may form the exterior of the aerosol-generating device 10 - 1 . In addition, the outer housing 11 may form a receiving space for receiving the aerosol-generating article 2 . The aerosol-generating article 2 may be heated while being accommodated in the receiving space to generate an aerosol, and the generated aerosol may be inhaled through the user's mouth. The aerosol-generating article 2 may be, for example, a cigarette, although the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

The portion 21 of the aerosol-generating article 2 may comprise a solid aerosol-forming substrate. The solid aerosol-forming substrate may be heated by the heater unit 13 to form an aerosol.

Next, the inner housing 12 may define a structure inside the aerosol-generating device 10 - 1 . The material, arrangement, etc. of the inner housing 12 may be variously modified according to the internal design of the aerosol generating device 100 .

Next, the heater unit 13 may generate an aerosol by heating the aerosol-generating article 2 accommodated in the accommodation space. More specifically, the heater unit 13 may be spaced apart from the receiving space to heat the aerosol-generating article 2 by transferring heat through an airflow (ie, in a convection manner). For example, the aerosol-generating article 2 may be heated by the ambient air heated by the heater unit 13 being delivered to the aerosol-generating article 2 along the airflow during puffing.

In order to smoothly perform the heating function as described above, the heater unit 13 may include a three-dimensionally processed mesh element 131 . Here, the mesh element 131 may function as a heating element and a heat transfer medium. The reason for three-dimensional processing of the mesh element 131 is that a complex airflow path is formed in a small space and volume heating is performed at the same time. This is because heating efficiency and heat transfer efficiency can be improved together.

Detailed components and heating methods of the heater unit 13 may vary, which may vary according to embodiments.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1 , the heater unit 13 may include a mesh element 13 and a terminal 132 electrically connected to a battery (not shown). In the present embodiment, the mesh element 131 may be implemented with a material having electrical resistance, such as metal, to generate heat as power is supplied through the terminal 132 . That is, the mesh element 131 according to the present embodiment may be an electrically resistive element.

In some other embodiments, the heater unit 13 may include a mesh element 13 and an inductor (not shown) for inductively heating the same. In this embodiment, the mesh element 13 is implemented with a material capable of induction heating, and may generate heat as it is induction heated by an inductor (not shown). Examples of such a material may include a metal material containing iron such as aluminum and stainless steel (e.g. SUS304, SUS430), a ferromagnetic material, a non-ferrous metal material capable of induction heating, etc., but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

As mentioned above, in the above-described embodiments, the mesh element 131 may function as a heating element performing volume heating and a heat transfer medium. Specifically, since the mesh element 131 generates heat through a three-dimensional structure (body) (ie, performs volume heating), heating performance may be superior to that of a planar heating element. In addition, the mesh element 131 can accumulate and transfer heat (function as a heat transfer medium) through a complex airflow path formed therein, so that it can have excellent heat transfer performance compared to the space it occupies. In addition, due to these characteristics, the length L of the airflow path and the size of the heater unit 13 may be innovatively reduced. In order to provide more convenience of understanding, it will be described in comparison with the convection heater structure illustrated in FIG. 2 .

2 illustrates a convection heater structure using a simple airflow path as a heat transfer medium.

The convection heater 3 illustrated in FIG. 2 has a shape in which a heating wire is wound around a ceramic rod, and the air around the heating wire is transmitted through a simple airflow path to heat the aerosol-generating article 2 It adopts a structure. . In this structure, since heated air is difficult to sufficiently accumulate, the heating area of the convection heater 3 must be significantly increased, and this causes the convection heater 3 and the length of the airflow path acting as a heat transfer medium (L) ) must also be designed to be long enough. That is, in the structure illustrated in FIG. 2 , the size of the convection heater 3 is inevitably large, and it is difficult to manufacture the aerosol-generating device compactly.

On the other hand, in the heater unit 13 illustrated in FIG. 1 , a complex airflow path is formed inside the mesh element 131 and volume heating is performed, and the heating area (ie, the contact area between the airflow and the mesh element) in relation to the space is reduced. can be significantly increased. Accordingly, the air can be sufficiently heated even in a small space, and as a result, the length L of the airflow path can be shortened innovatively, and the aerosol generating device 10-1 can also be manufactured in a compact form. . In addition, since the heating efficiency of the heater unit 13 is greatly improved, power consumption can also be greatly reduced.

Meanwhile, a method of three-dimensionally processing the mesh element 131 may be varied, and this may also vary according to embodiments.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3 , the mesh element 131-1 having a three-dimensional body may be formed by rolling the mesh sheet 133 . 3 illustrates that the mesh sheet 133 is rolled in a circular shape as an example, but this is only for convenience of understanding, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to such a rolling shape. For example, the shape of the rolling may be an ellipse, a triangle, a square, or the like. In addition, the number of rolling may also be varied.

In some other embodiments, as shown in FIG. 4 , the mesh element 131 - 2 having a three-dimensional body may be formed by folding the mesh sheet 133 . However, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the folding shape illustrated in FIG. 4 , and the folding shape may be different. In addition, the number of times of folding may also vary.

On the other hand, when rolling or folding the mesh sheet 133, a short occurs due to surface contact (eg, in the case of a mesh heater including a heating pattern), or local overheating may occur when rolling or folding is not uniformly performed. can In order to solve this problem, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, insulation treatment may be performed on the surface of the mesh element 131 . Hereinafter, this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 5 .

5 is an exemplary flowchart illustrating a method of manufacturing the mesh element 131 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 5 , a mesh element 131 may be manufactured by processing a mesh sheet to form a three-dimensional body, and performing insulation treatment on the body surface (S10, S20). The processing may be performed in a rolling or folding manner as described above. However, the present invention is not limited thereto.

The insulation treatment may be performed on at least a portion of the surface of the mesh element 131 , and the insulation treatment area may be set in various ways. For example, insulation treatment may be performed on the entire surface of the mesh element 131 except for the terminal 132 . As another example, insulation treatment may be performed only on the inter-sheet contact portion among the entire surface of the mesh element 131 .

The insulating treatment may be performed, for example, through a ceramic coating. However, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the insulation treatment may be performed in other ways. In addition, ceramic coating may be performed by various coating techniques such as enamel coating, thermal spraying, chemical vapor deposition, and the like. Accordingly, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited by any particular coating technique.

When ceramic coating is performed, as shown in FIG. 5 , it may be preferable to three-dimensionally process the mesh sheet 133 and then coat the ceramic. This is because, if the ceramic coating is first performed, the ceramic in a hardened state after coating may be damaged (eg, the ceramic may be broken at the folding site) as the mesh sheet 133 is processed. However, when the insulation treatment is performed in a different way, processing of the mesh sheet 133 may be performed after the insulation treatment, unlike that shown in FIG. 5 .

Meanwhile, although not shown, the aerosol generating device 10 - 1 may further include a battery (not shown) and a control unit (not shown).

A battery (not shown) may supply power to the electrical components of the aerosol-generating device 10 - 1 . For example, a battery (not shown) may supply power to the heater unit 13 or a control unit (not shown). Power supply of the battery (not shown) may be controlled by a controller (not shown).

Next, the controller (not shown) may control the overall operation of the aerosol generating device 10 - 1 . For example, the controller (not shown) may control the operation of the battery (not shown) and the heating temperature of the heater unit 13 .

A battery (not shown) and a control unit (not shown) will be described later with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11 in more detail.

So far, the aerosol-generating device 10-1 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure has been described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 . As described above, the mesh element 131 of the heater unit 13 for performing convection heating may have a three-dimensionally processed body. Since such a mesh element can form a complex airflow path in a small space and perform volume heating through a three-dimensional body, the heating efficiency and heat transfer efficiency of the heater unit 13 can be greatly improved. In addition, as the heating efficiency and heat transfer efficiency of the heater unit 13 are improved, the length of the airflow path functioning as a heat transfer medium and the size of the heater unit 13 may be innovatively reduced. A compact aerosol-generating device that meets the needs can be easily designed and manufactured.

Hereinafter, the aerosol generating device 10-2 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. In the following description, for the sake of clarity of the present disclosure, redundant descriptions are excluded and the description is continued focusing on differences from the previous embodiments.

6 is an exemplary configuration diagram schematically showing an aerosol-generating device 10-2 according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 6 , the heater part 13 may further comprise a conductive part 14 disposed thermally adjacent to the aerosol-generating article 2 received in the receiving space. For example, the conductive portion 14 may be disposed to wrap at least a portion of the contained aerosol-generating article 2 , and may be disposed to be in thermal proximity with the portion 21 including the aerosol-forming substrate.

As shown, the conductive portion 14 may be implemented with a thermally conductive material to transfer heat generated by the mesh element 131 to the aerosol-generating article 2 in a conductive manner. Accordingly, the heat transfer efficiency of the heater unit 13 may be further improved, and the heater unit 13 and the aerosol generating device 10 - 2 may be manufactured in a more compact form.

So far, the aerosol-generating device 10-2 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure has been described with reference to FIG. 6 . Hereinafter, the aerosol generating device 10-3 according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 .

7 is an exemplary configuration diagram illustrating an aerosol-generating device 10-3 according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 7 , the aerosol-generating device 10 - 3 may further include an insulating portion 15 disposed between the inner housing 12 and the conductive portion 14 . However, in some embodiments, the conductive part 14 may be omitted. In this case, the heat insulating part 15 may be disposed inside the inner housing 12 .

The heat insulating unit 15 blocks the heat inside the aerosol generating device 10 - 3 from being lost to the outside, thereby further improving the heating efficiency of the heater unit 13 . Furthermore, the heat insulating unit 15 allows the heat generated by the heater unit 13 to be concentrated on the aerosol-generating article 2, thereby shortening the preheating time of the aerosol-generating device 10-3 and reducing power consumption. there is. It is also possible to improve the initial taste sensation of the aerosol-generating article 2 through fast preheating.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 8 , the heat insulating part 15 may include an assembly of hollow beads 151 and a waterproofing film 152 formed on an outer surface of the assembly. The hollow bead may be, for example, a hollow bead made of a ceramic material, but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In addition, the waterproof film may include, for example, a glass film, a polyimide coating film, a water-repellent coating film, or a combination thereof, but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. According to this embodiment, the problem that the performance of the heat insulating unit 15 is reduced due to moisture absorption can be solved. For example, if sidestream smoke penetrates into the device and forms droplets, the insulation may become wet and the insulation ability may gradually deteriorate. However, according to the present embodiment, the above-mentioned problem can be solved by blocking the absorption of the sidestream smoke formed into droplets due to the waterproofing film in advance.

In the above-described embodiment, the diameter of the hollow bead 151 may be 75㎛ to 500㎛. Preferably, the diameter of the hollow beads may be 100 μm to 450 μm, 150 μm to 450 μm, or 150 μm to 400 μm. Within this numerical range, excellent thermal insulation performance and ease of manufacture may be secured. For example, it may be preferable that the diameter of the hollow bead 151 be 75 μm or more, because the larger the size of the hollow bead 151, the better the thermal insulation performance. In addition, it may be preferable that the diameter of the hollow bead 151 be 500 μm or less, which is the larger the size of the hollow bead 151, the greater the curvature of the surface, and the cost and difficulty required to form the waterproofing film increases. because it does

So far, the aerosol-generating device 10-3 according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure has been described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 . According to the above-mentioned, by disposing the heat insulating part 15 implemented as an assembly of the hollow beads 151 inside the aerosol device 10-3, the heat inside the aerosol generating device 10-3 is lost to the outside. can be prevented. Accordingly, the heating efficiency and heat transfer efficiency of the heater unit 13 may be further improved. In addition, by disposing the waterproofing membrane 152 on the outer surface of the hollow bead assembly, the problem that the dropletized sidestream smoke is absorbed can be prevented in advance. Accordingly, even if time elapses, the performance of the heat insulating unit 15 can be preserved.

Hereinafter, various types of aerosol-generating devices 100-1 to 100-3 to which the heater unit 13 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11 .

9 to 11 are exemplary block diagrams illustrating the aerosol-generating devices 100-1 to 100-3. Although not shown in detail in the drawings, the aforementioned heater unit 13 and a related technical configuration (e.g. the heat insulating unit 15) may be applied to implement the heater unit 140 .

9 illustrates a cigarette-type aerosol-generating device 100-1, and FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate hybrid-type aerosol-generating devices 100-2 and 100-3 using a liquid and a cigarette together. Hereinafter, each aerosol generating device 100-1 to 100-3 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 9 , the aerosol generating device 100 - 1 may include a heater unit 140 , a battery 130 , and a control unit 120 . However, this is only a preferred embodiment for achieving the purpose of the present disclosure, and it goes without saying that some components may be added or omitted as necessary. In addition, each component of the aerosol-generating device 100-1 shown in FIG. 9 represents functionally distinct functional elements, in which a plurality of components are implemented in a form that is integrated with each other in an actual physical environment, or a single component The element may be implemented in a form in which the element is divided into a plurality of detailed functional elements. Hereinafter, each component of the aerosol generating device 100-1 will be described.

The heater unit 140 may heat the cigarette 150 in a convection manner. The cigarette 150 includes a solid aerosol-forming substrate and is capable of generating an aerosol as it is heated. The generated aerosol can be inhaled through the mouth of the user. The operation and/or heating temperature of the heater unit 140 may be controlled by the control unit 120 . For the heater unit 140 , further reference will be made to the description of the heater unit 13 described above.

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 to heat the aerosol-forming substrate included in the cigarette 150 , 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 operation of the heater unit 140 and the battery 130 , and may also control the operation 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.

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.

Hereinafter, the hybrid aerosol generating apparatuses 100-2 and 100-3 will be briefly described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11 .

10 illustrates an aerosol-generating device 100-2 in which a vaporizer 1 and a cigarette 150 are arranged in parallel, and FIG. 11 is an aerosol in which the vaporizer 1 and the cigarette 150 are arranged in series. A generating device 100-3 is illustrated. However, the internal structure of the aerosol-generating device is not limited to those illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11 , and the arrangement of components may be changed according to a design method.

10 and 11 , the vaporizer 1 may vaporize a liquid aerosol-forming substrate to generate an aerosol. The aerosol generated by the vaporizer 1 may pass through the cigarette 150 and be inhaled through the user's mouth.

The detailed configuration and operation of the vaporizer 1 may be designed in various ways. For example, the vaporizer 1 may include a liquid reservoir for storing a liquid aerosol-forming substrate, a wick for absorbing the aerosol-forming substrate, and a heating element, the aerosol-forming substrate having the heating element absorbed in the wick An aerosol can be generated by heating it. In this case, the operation and/or heating temperature of the heating element may be controlled by the controller 120 . As another example, the vaporizer 1 may include a liquid storage tank and an ultrasonic generator, and may vaporize the liquid phase through ultrasonic vibration generated by the ultrasonic generator.

For reference, the term vaporizer may be used interchangeably with terms such as atomizer, atomizer, and cartomizer in the art, but may refer to the same object.

So far, various types of aerosol-generating devices 100-1 to 100-3 to which the heater unit 13 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied have been described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11 .

In the above, even though all components constituting the embodiment of the present disclosure are described as being combined or operated in combination, the technical spirit of the present disclosure is not necessarily limited to this embodiment. That is, within the scope of the present disclosure, all of the components may operate by selectively combining one or more.

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.

10-1, 10-2, 10-3: aerosol generating device
2: aerosol-generating article
11: Outer housing
12: inner housing
13: heater unit
131, 131-1, 131-2: mesh elements
132: terminal
14: conduction unit
15: insulation
100-1, 100-2, 100-3: aerosol generating device
1: Vaporizer
120: control unit
130: battery
140: heater unit
150: cigarette

Claims (10)

a housing defining a receiving space to receive the aerosol-generating article; and
A heater comprising a three-dimensionally machined mesh element, wherein the mesh element is configured to generate an aerosol by heating an aerosol-generating article received in the receiving space through an airflow;
aerosol-generating device. According to claim 1,
At least a portion of the mesh element consists of a rolled mesh sheet,
aerosol-generating device. According to claim 1,
At least a portion of the mesh element consists of a folded mesh sheet,
aerosol-generating device. According to claim 1,
At least a portion of the surface of the mesh element is made of an insulating treatment,
aerosol-generating device. 5. The method of claim 4,
The insulation treatment is made through a ceramic coating,
aerosol-generating device. According to claim 1,
Further comprising a battery for supplying power to the heater unit,
The mesh element is a resistive heating element that generates heat directly by the supplied electric power,
aerosol-generating device. According to claim 1,
The heater unit further includes an inductor,
The mesh element generates heat as it is inductively heated by the inductor,
aerosol-generating device. According to claim 1,
The heater unit is disposed to surround at least a portion of the receiving space and further comprising a conducting unit that transfers heat generated in the mesh element to the contained aerosol-generating article in a conducting manner,
aerosol-generating device. According to claim 1,
It is disposed around the heater part, at least a portion further comprising a heat insulating part made of a porous aggregate of hollow beads,
aerosol-generating device. 10. The method of claim 9,
The heat insulating portion further comprises a waterproof membrane formed on the outer surface of the porous assembly,
aerosol-generating device.

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