KR20230123537A - Aerosol generating system and aerosol generating device - Google Patents

Abstract

According to various embodiments of the present invention, an aerosol generating system comprises: an aerosol generating device including a housing, an elongated cavity disposed inside the housing and having one side of which communicates with the outside of the aerosol generating device, a cartridge disposed inside the housing and storing an aerosol forming substrate, and a vibration member disposed adjacent to the cartridge; and a medium containing article accommodated in the elongated cavity of the aerosol generating device, wherein the aerosol generated through the vibration of the vibration member may pass through the medium containing article and transfer the medium.

Description

Aerosol generating system and aerosol generating device {AEROSOL GENERATING SYSTEM AND AEROSOL GENERATING DEVICE}

The following embodiments relate to aerosol-generating systems and aerosol-generating devices.

In recent years there has been a growing demand for alternative articles and methods that overcome the disadvantages of common aerosol-generating articles. For example, there is an increasing demand for a method of generating an aerosol by heating an aerosol-generating material in an aerosol-generating article, rather than a method of generating an aerosol by burning the aerosol-generating article. Accordingly, research on heated aerosol-generating articles and heated aerosol-generating devices is being actively conducted. For example, Patent Publication No. 10-2019-0049396 discloses an aerosol generating device.

An object according to an embodiment is to provide an aerosol generating system capable of minimizing carbonization of a medium or liquid delivery means by heating by generating aerosol using a vibrating member.

An object according to an embodiment is to provide an aerosol generating device capable of selectively using any one type of a stick accommodation type and a liquid heating type by including one or more cartridges.

An aerosol generating system according to various embodiments includes a housing; an elongated cavity disposed inside the housing and communicating on one side with the outside of the aerosol-generating device; a cartridge disposed inside the housing and storing an aerosol-forming substrate; and an oscillating member disposed proximate the cartridge; and a medium accommodating article accommodated in the elongated cavity of the aerosol generating device, wherein the aerosol generated through the vibration of the vibrating member may pass through the medium accommodating article and transfer the medium.

In one embodiment, the housing may further include a mouthpiece disposed at a downstream end of the housing, and the cartridge may be disposed between the mouthpiece and the vibrating member.

In an embodiment, the cartridge comprises a first end face adjacent the elongate cavity and a second end face adjacent the cartridge, wherein the aerosol penetrates at least a portion of the first end face and the second end face. and a pass through which an aerosol generated by the vibrating member can travel into the elongate cavity.

In one embodiment, the aerosol pass may be formed to pass through the center of the first end face and the second end face of the cartridge.

In one embodiment, the vibrating member is disposed in contact with the second end face of the cartridge, and the aerosol-forming substrate discharged through the second end face of the cartridge is aerosolized by vibration of the vibrating member. It can be.

In one embodiment, the vibrating member includes a piezoelectric transducer and a mesh plate, and the aerosol-forming material stored in the cartridge is transmitted through each mesh of the mesh plate by vibration of the piezoelectric transducer, thereby forming an aerosol. .

In one embodiment, the piezoelectric transducer may have a frequency greater than or equal to 2 MHz and less than or equal to 3 MHz.

In one embodiment, the medium containing article may include a medium and an alkaline pH adjusting agent.

In one embodiment, a heater for heating the aerosol-forming substrate may be further included.

An aerosol generating device according to various embodiments includes a housing; an elongated cavity disposed at least partially inside the housing and communicating on one side with the outside of the aerosol-generating device; two or more cartridges disposed inside the housing and storing an aerosol-forming substrate; and a vibrating member disposed adjacent to the cartridges, wherein the cartridges include a first cartridge containing a first substance and a second cartridge containing a second substance, wherein upon operation of the aerosol-generating device, the An aerosol may be generated from at least one of the first cartridge and the second cartridge.

In one embodiment, the first material may include a moisturizing agent, and the second material may include a medium.

In one embodiment, the first cartridge includes a heater to heat the first material, the second cartridge includes a heater to heat the second material, and a medium containing article is received in the elongate cavity. A heater included in the first cartridge may heat, and a heater included in the second cartridge may heat when a media containing article is not accommodated in the elongate cavity.

In one embodiment, the controller further includes a controller configured to change a ratio of power delivered to the first cartridge and the second cartridge to transmit power from the first cartridge and the second cartridge to the elongated cavity. The rate of aerosol can be controlled.

In one embodiment, it further includes a user input unit, wherein the user input unit receives aerosol ratio information input from a user and transfers the aerosol ratio information input from the user to the control unit to determine the amount of aerosol delivered from the first cartridge and the second cartridge to the elongated cavity. You can adjust the ratio.

The aerosol generating system according to an embodiment may minimize carbonization of a medium or liquid delivery means due to heating by generating an aerosol using a vibrating member.

An aerosol generating device according to an embodiment may selectively use any one type of a stick accommodation type and a liquid phase heating type by including one or more cartridges.

Effects of the aerosol generating device and aerosol generating system according to an embodiment are not limited to those mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below.

1 is a block diagram of an aerosol generating device according to an embodiment.
2A is a schematic diagram of an aerosol-generating device according to an embodiment.
Figure 2b is a schematic diagram showing the operation of the aerosol generating system according to an embodiment.
2C is a schematic plan view of a vibrating member according to an exemplary embodiment.
2D is a schematic perspective view of a cartridge according to an embodiment.
3A is a schematic diagram of an aerosol-generating device according to another embodiment.
3B is a schematic diagram illustrating an operation state when a medium-containing article is accommodated in an aerosol generating device according to another embodiment.
3C is a cross-sectional view of a cartridge area of an aerosol generating device according to another embodiment.

The terms used in the embodiments have been selected from general terms that are currently widely used as much as possible while considering the functions in the present invention, but they may vary according to the intention of a person skilled in the art or precedent, the emergence of new technologies, and the like. In addition, in a specific case, there is also a term arbitrarily selected by the applicant, and in this case, the meaning will be described in detail in the description of the invention. Therefore, the term used in the present invention should be defined based on the meaning of the term and the overall content of the present invention, not simply the name of the term.

When it is said that a certain part "includes" a certain component throughout the specification, it means that it may further include other components without excluding other components unless otherwise stated. In addition, terms such as “~unit” and “~module” described in the specification mean a unit that processes at least one function or operation, which may be implemented as hardware or software, or a combination of hardware and software.

As used herein, when an expression such as "at least one of" precedes an array of components, it modifies the entire array rather than individual components. For example, the expression "at least one of a, b, and c" should be interpreted as including a, b, c, or a and b, a and c, b and c, or a and b and c. do.

In the following embodiments, “a medium-accommodating article” may refer to a medium-accommodating article, through which aerosol passes and the medium is transferred. A representative example of a media containing article would be a cigarette, but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

In the following embodiments, "upstream" or "upstream direction" means a direction away from the user's (smoker's) mouth, and "downstream" or "downstream" means a direction closer to the user's mouth can mean The terms upstream and downstream may be used to describe the relative positions of elements that make up an aerosol-generating device.

In the following embodiments, “puff” refers to a user's inhalation, and inhalation refers to a situation in which the user's mouth or nose is pulled into the user's oral cavity, nasal cavity, or lungs.

In one embodiment, the aerosol generating device may be a device that generates an aerosol by electrically heating a cigarette accommodated in an internal space.

The aerosol-generating device may include a heater. In one embodiment, the heater may be an electrical resistive heater. For example, the heater may include electrically conductive tracks, and when current flows through the electrically conductive tracks, the heater may be heated.

The heater may include a tubular heating element, a plate heating element, a needle heating element, or a rod-shaped heating element, and may heat the inside or outside of the cigarette depending on the shape of the heating element.

A cigarette may include a tobacco rod and a filter rod. Tobacco rods can be made into sheets, can be made into strands, and tobacco sheets can be made into chopped cut filler. Additionally, the tobacco rod may be surrounded by a heat conducting material. For example, the thermal conduction material may be a metal foil such as aluminum foil, but is not limited thereto.

The filter rod may be a cellulose acetate filter. A filter rod may be composed of at least one or more segments. For example, a filter rod may include a first segment that cools the aerosol and a second segment that filters certain components contained within the aerosol.

In another embodiment, the aerosol-generating device may be a device that generates an aerosol using a cartridge containing an aerosol-generating material.

An aerosol-generating device may include a cartridge containing an aerosol-generating material and a body supporting the cartridge. The cartridge may be detachably coupled to the main body, but is not limited thereto. The cartridge may be integrally formed or assembled with the main body, and may be fixed so as not to be detached by the user. The cartridge may be mounted on the main body while containing the aerosol generating material therein. However, it is not limited thereto, and an aerosol generating material may be injected into the cartridge while the cartridge is coupled to the main body.

The cartridge may hold the aerosol-generating material in any one of various states such as a liquid state, a solid state, a gaseous state, a gel state, and the like. Aerosol generating materials may include liquid compositions. For example, the liquid composition may be a liquid containing a tobacco-containing material including a volatile tobacco flavor component, or may be a liquid containing a non-tobacco material.

The cartridge may perform a function of generating an aerosol by converting a phase of an aerosol-generating material inside the cartridge into a gas phase by being operated by an electric signal or a radio signal transmitted from the main body. Aerosol may refer to a gas in a state in which vaporized particles and air generated from an aerosol-generating material are mixed.

In another embodiment, the aerosol-generating device may generate an aerosol by heating the liquid composition, and the aerosol may pass through the cigarette and be delivered to the user. That is, the aerosol generated from the liquid composition can move along the air flow passage of the aerosol generating device, and the air flow passage can be configured such that the aerosol can pass through the cigarette and be delivered to the user.

In another embodiment, the aerosol generating device may be a device that generates an aerosol from an aerosol generating material using an ultrasonic vibration method. In this case, the ultrasonic vibration method may refer to a method of generating an aerosol by atomizing an aerosol generating material with ultrasonic vibration generated by a vibrator.

The aerosol-generating device may include a vibrator, and may atomize the aerosol-generating material by generating vibration of a short period through the vibrator. The vibration generated by the vibrator may be ultrasonic vibration, and the frequency band of the ultrasonic vibration may be about 100 kHz to about 3.5 MHz frequency band, but is not limited thereto.

The aerosol-generating device may further include a wick that absorbs the aerosol-generating material. For example, the wick may be disposed to surround at least one region of the vibrator or to contact at least one region of the vibrator.

As a voltage (eg, AC voltage) is applied to the vibrator, heat and/or ultrasonic vibration may be generated from the vibrator, and the heat and/or ultrasonic vibration generated from the vibrator may be transmitted to the aerosol-generating material absorbed by the wick. . The aerosol-generating material absorbed by the wick may be converted into a gaseous phase by heat and/or ultrasonic vibration transmitted from the vibrator, and as a result, an aerosol may be generated.

For example, the viscosity of the aerosol-generating material absorbed in the wick may be lowered by heat generated from the vibrator, and the aerosol-generating material whose viscosity is lowered by the ultrasonic vibration generated from the vibrator may be finely divided, thereby generating an aerosol. , but is not limited thereto.

In another embodiment, the aerosol generating device may be a device that generates an aerosol by heating an aerosol generating article accommodated in the aerosol generating device using an induction heating method.

An aerosol-generating device may include a susceptor and a coil. In one embodiment, the coil may apply a magnetic field to the susceptor. As power is supplied to the coil from the aerosol-generating device, a magnetic field may be formed inside the coil. In one embodiment, the susceptor may be a magnetic material that generates heat by an external magnetic field. As the susceptor is positioned inside the coil and a magnetic field is applied, the aerosol-generating article may be heated by generating heat. Also, optionally, the susceptor may be located within the aerosol-generating article.

In another embodiment, the aerosol-generating device may further include a cradle.

The aerosol generating device may constitute a system with a separate cradle. For example, the cradle may charge the battery of the aerosol-generating device. Alternatively, the heater may be heated in a state in which the cradle and the aerosol generating device are coupled.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail so that those skilled in the art can easily carry it out. The present disclosure may be implemented in a form embodied in the aerosol generating devices of various embodiments described above or implemented in various different forms, and is not limited to the embodiments described herein.

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

1 is a block diagram of an aerosol generating device 100 according to an embodiment.

The aerosol generating device 100 includes a control unit 110, a sensing unit 120, an output unit 130, a battery 140, a heater 150, a user input unit 160, a memory 170, and a communication unit 180. can include However, the internal structure of the aerosol generating device 100 is not limited to that shown in FIG. 1 . That is, those skilled in the art can understand that some of the components shown in FIG. 1 may be omitted or new components may be further added depending on the design of the aerosol generating device 100. there is.

The sensing unit 120 may detect a state of the aerosol generating device 100 or a state around the aerosol generating device 100 and transmit the detected information to the controller 110 . Based on the detected information, the controller 110 performs various functions such as controlling the operation of the heater 150, restricting smoking, determining whether an aerosol-generating article (eg, an aerosol-generating article, cartridge, etc.) is inserted, displaying a notification, and the like, based on the detected information. It is possible to control the aerosol-generating device 100 to be performed.

The sensing unit 120 may include at least one of a temperature sensor 122, an insertion detection sensor 124, and a puff sensor 126, but is not limited thereto.

The temperature sensor 122 may detect the temperature at which the heater 150 (or aerosol generating material) is heated. The aerosol generating device 100 may include a separate temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the heater 150, or the heater 150 itself may serve as a temperature sensor. Alternatively, the temperature sensor 122 may be disposed around the battery 140 to monitor the temperature of the battery 140 .

Insertion detection sensor 124 may detect insertion and/or removal of an aerosol-generating article. For example, the insertion detection sensor 124 can include at least one of a film sensor, a pressure sensor, a light sensor, a resistive sensor, a capacitive sensor, an inductive sensor, and an infrared sensor, wherein the aerosol-generating article is inserted and/or The signal change as it is removed can be detected.

The puff sensor 126 may detect a user's puff based on various physical changes in the airflow path or airflow channel. For example, the puff sensor 126 may detect a user's puff based on any one of temperature change, flow change, voltage change, and pressure change.

In addition to the sensors 122 to 126 described above, the sensing unit 120 includes a temperature/humidity sensor, an air pressure sensor, a magnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor, a gyroscope sensor, a position sensor (eg, GPS), It may further include at least one of a proximity sensor and an RGB sensor (illuminance sensor). Since a person skilled in the art can intuitively infer the function of each sensor from its name, a detailed description thereof may be omitted.

The output unit 130 may output and provide information about the state of the aerosol generating device 100 to the user. The output unit 130 may include at least one of a display unit 132, a haptic unit 134, and a sound output unit 136, but is not limited thereto. When the display unit 132 and the touch pad form a layer structure to form a touch screen, the display unit 132 may be used as an input device as well as an output device.

The display unit 132 may visually provide information about the aerosol generating device 100 to the user. For example, the information on the aerosol generating device 100 may include a charging/discharging state of the battery 140 of the aerosol generating device 100, a preheating state of the heater 150, an insertion/removal state of an aerosol generating article, or an aerosol generating state. This may refer to various information such as a state in which use of the device 100 is restricted (eg, detection of an abnormal item), and the display unit 132 may output the information to the outside. The display unit 132 may be, for example, a liquid crystal display panel (LCD) or an organic light emitting display panel (OLED). Also, the display unit 132 may be in the form of an LED light emitting device.

The haptic unit 134 may convert an electrical signal into a mechanical stimulus or an electrical stimulus to tactilely provide information about the aerosol generating device 100 to the user. For example, the haptic unit 134 may include a motor, a piezoelectric element, or an electrical stimulation device.

The sound output unit 136 may provide information about the aerosol generating device 100 to the user audibly. For example, the sound output unit 136 may convert an electrical signal into a sound signal and output it to the outside.

The battery 140 may supply power used for the operation of the aerosol generating device 100. The battery 140 may supply power so that the heater 150 can be heated. In addition, the battery 140 includes other components provided in the aerosol generating device 100 (eg, the sensing unit 120, the output unit 130, the user input unit 160, the memory 170, and the communication unit 180) can supply the power required for operation. The battery 140 may be a rechargeable battery or a disposable battery. For example, the battery 140 may be a lithium polymer (LiPoly) battery, but is not limited thereto.

The heater 150 may receive power from the battery 140 to heat the aerosol generating material. Although not shown in FIG. 1 , the aerosol generating device 100 may further include a power conversion circuit (eg, a DC/DC converter) that converts power of the battery 140 and supplies it to the heater 150 . In addition, when the aerosol generating device 100 generates aerosol using an induction heating method, the aerosol generating device 100 may further include a DC/AC converter for converting DC power of the battery 140 into AC power.

The control unit 110, the sensing unit 120, the output unit 130, the user input unit 160, the memory 170, and the communication unit 180 may receive power from the battery 140 to perform functions. Although not shown in FIG. 1 , a power conversion circuit that converts power of the battery 140 and supplies it to respective components, for example, a low dropout (LDO) circuit or a voltage regulator circuit may be further included.

In one embodiment, heater 150 may be formed of any suitable electrically resistive material. For example, suitable electrically resistive materials are titanium, zirconium, tantalum, platinum, nickel, cobalt, chromium, hafnium, niobium, molybdenum, tungsten, tin, gallium, manganese, iron, copper, stainless steel, nichrome, etc. It may be a metal or metal alloy containing, but is not limited thereto. In addition, the heater 150 may be implemented as a metal hot wire, a metal hot plate on which an electrically conductive track is disposed, a ceramic heating element, etc., but is not limited thereto.

In another embodiment, the heater 150 may be an induction heating type heater. For example, the heater 150 may include a susceptor that heats an aerosol-generating material by generating heat through a magnetic field applied by a coil.

In one embodiment, the heater 150 may include a plurality of heaters. For example, heater 150 may include a first heater for heating the aerosol-generating article and a second heater for heating the liquid phase.

The user input unit 160 may receive information input from the user or output information to the user. For example, the user input unit 160 may include a key pad, a dome switch, a touch pad (contact capacitance method, pressure resistive film method, infrared sensing method, surface ultrasonic conduction method, integral type tension measurement method, piezo effect method, etc.), a jog wheel, a jog switch, and the like, but are not limited thereto. In addition, although not shown in FIG. 1, the aerosol generating device 100 further includes a connection interface such as a universal serial bus (USB) interface and is connected to other external devices through the connection interface such as a USB interface. Thus, information may be transmitted/received or the battery 140 may be charged.

The memory 170 is hardware that stores various data processed in the aerosol generating device 100, and may store data processed by the controller 110 and data to be processed. The memory 170 may be a flash memory type, a hard disk type, a multimedia card micro type, a card type memory (eg SD or XD memory, etc.), RAM (RAM, random access memory) SRAM (static random access memory), ROM (ROM, read-only memory), EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory), PROM (programmable read-only memory), magnetic memory, magnetic disk , an optical disk, and at least one type of storage medium. The memory 170 may store the operating time of the aerosol generating device 100, the maximum number of puffs, the current number of puffs, at least one temperature profile, and data on the user's smoking pattern.

The communication unit 180 may include at least one component for communication with other electronic devices. For example, the communication unit 180 may include a short range communication unit 182 and a wireless communication unit 184 .

The short-range wireless communication unit 182 includes a Bluetooth communication unit, a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication unit, a Near Field Communication unit, a WLAN (Wi-Fi) communication unit, a Zigbee communication unit, and an infrared (IrDA) communication unit. , Infrared Data Association (WFD) communication unit, WFD (Wi-Fi Direct) communication unit, UWB (ultra wideband) communication unit, Ant+ communication unit, etc. may be included, but is not limited thereto.

The wireless communication unit 184 may include, but is not limited to, a cellular network communication unit, an Internet communication unit, a computer network (eg, LAN or WAN) communication unit, and the like. The wireless communication unit 184 may identify and authenticate the aerosol generating device 100 within the communication network using subscriber information (eg, International Mobile Subscriber Identifier (IMSI)).

The controller 110 may control the overall operation of the aerosol generating device 100. In one embodiment, the controller 110 may include 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 programs executable by the microprocessor are stored. In addition, those having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which this embodiment belongs can understand that it may be implemented in other types of hardware.

The controller 110 may control the temperature of the heater 150 by controlling supply of power from the battery 140 to the heater 150 . For example, the controller 110 may control power supply by controlling switching of a switching element between the battery 140 and the heater 150 . In another example, the direct heating circuit may control power supply to the heater 150 according to a control command of the controller 110 .

The control unit 110 may analyze a result detected by the sensing unit 120 and control processes to be performed thereafter. For example, the controller 110 may control power supplied to the heater 150 to start or end the operation of the heater 150 based on a result detected by the sensing unit 120 . For another example, the control unit 110 controls the amount of power supplied to the heater 150 so that the heater 150 can be heated to a predetermined temperature or maintained at an appropriate temperature based on the result detected by the sensing unit 120 . You can control the amount and time the power is supplied.

The controller 110 may control the output unit 130 based on a result detected by the sensing unit 120 . For example, when the number of puffs counted through the puff sensor 126 reaches a preset number of times, the controller 110 activates at least one of the display unit 132, the haptic unit 134, and the sound output unit 136. Through this, it is possible to notify the user that the aerosol generating device 100 will soon end.

In one embodiment, the controller 110 may control power supply time and/or power supply amount to the heater 150 according to the state of the aerosol-generating article detected by the sensing unit 120 . For example, when the aerosol-generating article is in an excessively humid state, the controller 110 may increase the preheating time compared to the case where the aerosol-generating article is in a normal state by controlling the power supply time to the induction coil.

An embodiment may be implemented in the form of a recording medium including instructions executable by a computer, such as program modules executed by a computer. Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. Also, computer readable media may include both computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media includes both volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Communication media typically includes computer readable instructions, data structures, other data in a modulated data signal such as program modules, or other transport mechanism, and includes any information delivery media.

2A is a schematic diagram of an aerosol-generating device 2 according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 2A, the aerosol generating device 2 according to an embodiment includes a housing 21, an elongated cavity 22, a vibrating member 23, a cartridge 24, a mouthpiece 25, a control unit ( 26) and a power supply unit 27.

The housing 21 according to an embodiment may be configured to at least partially accommodate a media accommodating article (eg, the media accommodating article C in FIG. 2B ) and to accommodate various electronic/mechanical components.

The elongated cavity 22 according to one embodiment may be configured to receive a media containing article (eg, media containing article C in FIG. 2B ). In one embodiment, the elongate cavity 22 may be disposed inside the housing 21 .

The vibration member 23 according to an embodiment may generate an aerosol through vibration. In order for the vibrating member 23 to vibrate and generate an aerosol, since the aerosol-forming substrate must be continuously delivered to the vibrating member 23, the vibrating member 23 is disposed adjacent to the cartridge 24 containing the aerosol-forming substrate. It can be.

Cartridge 24 according to one embodiment may be configured to receive an aerosol-forming substrate that generates an aerosol. Aerosol-forming substrates according to an embodiment include, for example, glycerin, propylene glycol, ethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, and oleyl alcohol, but are not limited thereto. . In the art, aerosol-forming substrates may be used interchangeably with terms such as moisturizers and humectants. In one embodiment, the cartridge 24 may be disposed inside the housing 21, preferably between the mouthpiece 25 and the vibrating member 23. When the cartridge 24 is disposed between the mouthpiece 25 and the vibrating member 23, the aerosol-forming substrate accommodated in the cartridge 24 moves toward the vibrating member 23 under the influence of gravity, and the vibrating member ( 23) can aerosolize the aerosol-forming substrate.

The mouthpiece 25 according to one embodiment is a portion that comes into contact with the user's mouth, and aerosol can be transferred to the user through a fluid flow path included in the mouthpiece 25 . In one embodiment, mouthpiece 25 may be disposed at one end of elongated cavity 22 .

The controller 26 (eg, the controller 110 of FIG. 1 ) according to an embodiment may control the overall operation of the aerosol generating device 2 . For example, the control unit 26 may control power supplied from the power supply unit 27 to the vibrating member 23 . In addition, the control unit 26 may control the operation of the power supply unit 27 and the vibrating member 23 as well as other components included in the aerosol generating device 2 . The control unit 26 according to an embodiment includes 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 programs executable by the microprocessor are stored. Also, those having ordinary knowledge in the art to which this embodiment belongs can understand that it may be implemented in other types of hardware.

In one embodiment, the power supply unit 27 (eg, the battery 140 of FIG. 1 ) supplies power used to operate the aerosol generating device 2 . For example, the power supply unit 27 can supply power so that the vibrating member 23 of the aerosol generating device 2 can vibrate, and the control unit 26 (eg, the control unit 110 of FIG. 1) operates. It can supply the required power. In addition, the power supply unit 27 may supply power necessary for the display, sensor, motor, etc. installed in the aerosol generating device 2 to operate.

The aerosol generating device 2 according to an embodiment may further include a heater (eg, the heater 150 of FIG. 1 ). The aerosol-forming substrate stored in cartridge 24 may generally contain a highly viscous liquid. Compared to generating an aerosol using only the vibration of the vibrating member 23 according to an embodiment, generating an aerosol by vibrating the vibrating member 23 after heating the aerosol-forming substrate through the heater 150 produces abundant atomization. It may be advantageous to generate.

Figure 2b is a schematic diagram showing the operation of the aerosol generating system according to an embodiment.

An aerosol generating system according to an embodiment may include the aerosol generating device 2 described with reference to FIG. 2A and the medium accommodating article C.

The medium-containing article C according to an embodiment may be accommodated inside the elongated cavity 22 of the aerosol generating device 2 . In one embodiment, media containing article C may resemble a conventional combustible cigarette. For example, the medium-containing article C may be divided into a first part containing an aerosol generating material and a second part including a filter or the like. Alternatively, the aerosol-generating material may also be included in the second portion of the medium-containing article (C). An aerosol generating material, eg in the form of granules or capsules, may be inserted into the second part. The entirety of the first part of the medium-accommodating article C may be inserted into the aerosol generating device 2, and the second part may be exposed to the outside. Alternatively, only a part of the first part may be inserted into the aerosol-generating device 1, or the whole of the first part and a part of the second part may be inserted. The user may inhale the aerosol while opening the second part. At this time, the aerosol is generated by passing the external air through the first part, and the generated aerosol passes through the second part and is delivered to the user's mouth.

In one embodiment, when the medium-accommodating article C is accommodated in the aerosol generating device 2, the liquid composition contained in the cartridge 24 may be transferred to the vibrating member 23. In one embodiment, the liquid composition material accommodated in the cartridge 24 may be transferred in the direction in which the vibrating member 23 is disposed by gravity. In another embodiment, the liquid composition material accommodated in the cartridge 24 is vibrated by a capillary action along a liquid delivery means (eg, wick, cotton, etc.) included in the cartridge 24. (23) can be transmitted in the arranged direction.

In one embodiment, the medium accommodating article (C) may include a medium. For example, the medium may include, but is not necessarily limited to, a liquid composition based on nicotine, caffeine, GABA, taurine, vitamins, and/or various flavoring agents. In addition, the media containing article (C) may contain a pH adjusting agent. The pH adjusting agent according to an embodiment may preferably be an alkaline salt, and may be, for example, potassium carbonate, sodium hydrogen carbonate, calcium oxide, etc., but is not limited thereto. In addition, a pH adjusting agent that generates the least amount of negative odor during puffing may be selected and used. When the pH adjusting agent is mixed with the medium, the pH of the medium rises, so that even when the medium is heated to a relatively low temperature, transition substances such as nicotine can be sufficiently migrated from the medium. Therefore, even when the heat partially generated by the vibration of the vibrating member 23 is not sufficient to transfer the medium contained inside the medium containing article C, the medium containing article C contains the alkaline pH adjusting agent. In the case of doing so, the transition of the medium toward the user's bend may be facilitated.

The pH adjusting agent may be mixed together during preparation of the medium granules (P1) and included in the granules themselves, or may be separately disposed in a separate location from the medium granules (P1).

In one embodiment, when the liquid composition material contained in the cartridge 24 is transferred to the vibrating member 23, the vibrating member 23 may aerosolize the liquid composition material through vibration. The aerosol formed by the vibrating member 23 may move in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2B due to a pressure difference when the user inhales the medium-containing article C.

2C is a schematic plan view of the vibrating member 23 according to an exemplary embodiment.

In one embodiment, the vibrating member 23 may be of any suitable shape, and may be substantially circular or elliptical. The vibrating member 23 may be substantially triangular, square or any regular or irregular shape.

In one embodiment, the vibrating member 23 may include a piezoelectric transducer 232 and a mesh plate 234 . The piezoelectric transducer 232 according to an embodiment is a conversion element capable of converting electrical energy into mechanical energy, and may generate ultrasonic waves under the control of the control unit 26 . A person skilled in the art will be able to clearly understand the principle of the piezoelectric transducer 232, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted. The piezoelectric transducer 232 may be electrically connected to the control unit 26 and the power supply unit 27 . The mesh plate 234 according to an embodiment may atomize (aerosolize) the aerosol-forming substrate by coming into contact with the aerosol-forming substrate. Vibration generated by the piezoelectric transducer 232 according to an embodiment generates a pressure wave in the aerosol-forming substrate, and the pressure wave pushes the aerosol-forming substrate into a space between fine meshes of the mesh plate 234, a narrow area, or a hole. can be neutralized

In one embodiment, the vibration generated by the piezoelectric transducer 232 may be ultrasonic vibration, and the frequency band of the ultrasonic vibration may be about 100 kHz to about 3.5 MHz, preferably a frequency of 2 MHz or more and 3 MHz or less. It may be a band, but is not limited thereto. The above frequency band range corresponds to a frequency band considerably higher than the frequency/frequency band of an electronic device such as a general ultrasonic humidifier, and this is to sufficiently aerosolize a highly viscous aerosol-forming substrate. In the process of converting electrical energy provided from the power supply unit 27 into mechanical energy by the vibration of the piezoelectric transducer 232 having a high frequency band, some electrical energy is converted into thermal energy. The converted thermal energy can heat the aerosol-forming substrate.

2D is a schematic perspective view of a cartridge 24 according to one embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 2D , in one embodiment, the cartridge 24 has a first end face 24a, a second end face 24b, and at least one of the first end face 24a and the second end face 24b. It may include an aerosol pass (AP) penetrating a part. Referring back to FIG. 2B , the cartridge 24 may be disposed between the mouthpiece 25 and the vibrating member 23, in which case the aerosol-forming substrate accommodated in the cartridge 24 is affected by gravity to the vibrating member ( 23), and the vibrating member 23 can aerosolize the aerosol-forming substrate. However, the aerosol formed by the vibrating member 23 can be delivered to the user's mouth only when there is a path through which fluid can penetrate between the vibrating member 23 and the mouthpiece 25 . To this end, the cartridge 24 may include an aerosol pass AP passing through at least a portion of the first end face 24a and the second end face 24b of the cartridge 24 . The aerosol pass AP according to an embodiment may be one opening penetrating the center of the first end face 24a and the second end face 24b of the cartridge 24 . The aerosol pass AP according to another embodiment may be two or more openings penetrating the outer portions of the first end face 24a and the second end face 24b of the cartridge 24 . However, the above aerosol path AP is merely exemplary embodiments, and the aerosol formed in the vibrating member 23 can be delivered to the user's mouth along the elongated cavity 22 and/or the medium-containing article C. All routes can be included. That is, referring again to FIG. 2B , the vibrating member 23 may be disposed abutting the second end face 24b of the cartridge 24 and via the second end face 24b of the cartridge 24. The discharged aerosol-forming substrate may be aerosolized by vibration of the vibrating member 23 .

3A is a schematic diagram of an aerosol-generating device 3 according to another embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 3A, an aerosol generating device 3 according to another embodiment includes a housing 31, an elongated cavity 32, a vibrating member 33, a cartridge 34, a mouthpiece 35, a control unit ( 36) and a power supply unit 37.

The structures and roles of the components 31 to 36 included in the aerosol generating device 3 and the aerosol generating device 3 according to another embodiment are the aerosol generating device 2 and the aerosol generating device according to the above-described embodiment. The structures and roles of the components 21 to 26 included in the generating device 2 are the same and/or similar. Hereinafter, only differences between the aerosol generating device 3 according to another embodiment and the aerosol generating device 2 according to an embodiment will be described, and other details are the same as those of the aerosol generating device 2 according to an embodiment. and/or similar.

With continued reference to FIG. 3A , a cartridge 34 according to another embodiment may be configured to contain an aerosol-generating liquid composition. An aerosol generating device 3 according to another embodiment may include a plurality of cartridges 34 . In another embodiment, the cartridges 34 may include a first cartridge 341 containing a first substance and a second cartridge 342 containing a second substance. That is, the first cartridge 341 and the second cartridge 342 are independent cartridges 34 accommodating different substances, and the aerosol generating mechanism of the cartridges 341 and/or 342 may also be made independently, and the aerosol When the generator 3 operates, an aerosol may be generated from at least one of the first cartridge 341 and the second cartridge 342 . In another embodiment, the first cartridge 341 may include a heater 341H for heating the first material, and the second cartridge 342 may include a heater 342H for heating the second material. .

In another embodiment, the controller 36 (eg, the controller 110 of FIG. 1 ) may control the overall operation of the aerosol-generating device 3 . For example, the control unit 36 may control power supplied from the power supply unit 37 to the heaters 341H and/or 342H. In addition, the control unit 36 controls the operation of the vibration member 33 and the power supply unit 37 as well as other components included in the aerosol generating device 3. In addition, the controller 36 changes the ratio of electric power transmitted to the heater 341H of the first cartridge 341 and the heater 342H of the second cartridge 342 to set the heating temperature of the heaters 341H and/or 342H. By controlling the amount and rate of aerosol delivered from the first cartridge 341 and the second cartridge 342 to the elongate cavity 32 can be adjusted.

The controller 36 according to an embodiment includes 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 programs executable by the microprocessor are stored. Also, those having ordinary knowledge in the art to which this embodiment belongs can understand that it may be implemented in other types of hardware.

3B is a schematic diagram illustrating an operation state when a medium-containing article is accommodated in an aerosol generating device according to another embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 3B , the medium-containing article C may be accommodated in an elongated cavity of the aerosol-generating device 3 (eg, the elongated cavity 32 of FIG. 3A ). When the medium accommodating article C is accommodated in the elongated cavity 32, the controller 36 may cause the heater 341H included in the first cartridge 341 to be heated. The first material may include a moisturizing agent. For example, the moisturizer may include at least one of glycerin, propylene glycol, ethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, and oleyl alcohol, but is not necessarily limited thereto. In one embodiment, since the medium-containing article C contains a medium, a first cartridge 341 that generates an aerosol when the medium-containing article C is received in the elongate cavity 32 is received inside the first cartridge 341 . 1 A substance does not necessarily contain a medium. When the first material accommodated in the first cartridge 341 is heated by the heater 341H and aerosolized, the medium passes through the medium-containing article C through the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3B and transfers the medium to the user. It can be delivered to the bend.

The aerosol-generating device 3 according to another embodiment may be activated while the aerosol-generating article C is not accommodated. When the aerosol-generating article C is not accommodated in the elongated cavity 32, the controller 26 may use a heater included in the second cartridge 342 containing the second material (eg, heater 342H of FIG. 2B). ) can be heated. The second substance may include a humectant and a medium. For example, the moisturizer may include at least one of glycerin, propylene glycol, ethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, and oleyl alcohol, but is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, the medium may include, but is not necessarily limited to, liquid compositions based on nicotine, caffeine, GABA, taurine and vitamins and/or various flavoring agents. In one embodiment, when the operation of the aerosol generating device 2 is activated alone, the heater 342H of the second cartridge 342 accommodating the second material containing the medium according to one embodiment is heated to generate an aerosol. This generation allows the aerosol containing medium to be delivered along the elongated cavity 32 to the mouth of the user.

The first cartridge 341 and the second cartridge 342 can selectively generate an aerosol as described above, but the first cartridge 341 and the second cartridge 342 operate independently of each other, and the two cartridges ( 34) may generate an aerosol together at the same time.

For example, when the aerosol-generating article C is accommodated in the elongated cavity 32, the heater 341H of the first cartridge 341 as well as the heater 342H of the second cartridge 342 are heated to generate an aerosol. can cause Further, for example, when the aerosol-generating article C is not accommodated in the elongate cavity 32, the heater 341H of the first cartridge 341 as well as the heater 342H of the second cartridge 342 can be heated to generate an aerosol. At this time, the control unit 36 controls the ratio of the aerosol atomized from the two cartridges by adjusting the power transmitted to the heater 341H of the first cartridge 341 and the heater 342H of the second cartridge 342. can As the ratio of the aerosol atomized in the second cartridge 342 containing the medium increases, the density of the medium included in the total aerosol transferred to the user's mouth increases, making it easy to quickly inhale the medium, and the agent without the medium increases. As the ratio of aerosol atomized in one cartridge 341 increases, the density of the medium included in the total aerosol transferred to the user's mouth decreases. .

3C is a cross-sectional view of a cartridge area of an aerosol generating device according to another embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 3C , cartridges 34 according to another embodiment may be arranged to surround at least a portion of an elongated cavity (eg, the elongated cavity 32 of FIG. 3A ). In FIG. 3C , one embodiment Cartridges 34 according to may wrap all around the elongated cavity 32 .

Cartridges 34 according to other embodiments may form a ring surrounding the outside of the elongate cavity 32 . Also, each cartridge 34 may have a shape corresponding to a portion of a ring. For example, referring to Figure 3c, the cartridges 34 according to an embodiment include a first cartridge 341 and a second cartridge 342, the first cartridge 341 and the second cartridge 342 forms a ring surrounding the outside of the elongated cavity 32 . At this time, the first cartridge 341 constitutes one half of the ring according to an embodiment, and the second cartridge 342 constitutes the other half of the ring according to an embodiment. 3C is just one example, and the cartridges 34 may include three or more individual cartridges 34 .

Although not shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C , the aerosol generating device 3 according to another embodiment includes a user input unit (eg, the user input unit 160 of FIG. 1 ) and/or a display unit (eg, the display unit of FIG. 1 ). (132)) may further be included.

In one embodiment, the user input unit 160 may receive aerosol ratio information input from the user. The user input unit 160 transfers the received aerosol ratio information to the control unit 36 to determine the amount of aerosol transferred from the first cartridge 341 to the elongated cavity 32 and the second cartridge 342 to the elongated cavity 32. The rate can be controlled by adjusting the amount of aerosol delivered to (32).

In one embodiment, the display unit 132 may deliver information about the type of aerosol-generating cartridge among the first cartridge 341 and the second cartridge 342 to the user. In addition, when the first cartridge 341 and the second cartridge 342 generate aerosol together, information about the ratio of the aerosol atomized by the two cartridges 34 can be transmitted to the user.

As described above, although the embodiments have been described with limited drawings, those skilled in the art can apply various technical modifications and variations based on the above. For example, the described techniques may be performed in an order different from the method described, and/or components of the described system, structure, device, circuit, etc. may be combined or combined in a different form than the method described, or other components may be used. Or even if it is replaced or substituted by equivalents, appropriate results can be achieved.

Therefore, other implementations, other embodiments, and equivalents of the claims are within the scope of the following claims.

Claims (14)

In the aerosol generating system,
housing;
an elongated cavity disposed inside the housing and communicating on one side with the outside of the aerosol-generating device;
a cartridge disposed inside the housing and storing an aerosol-forming substrate; and
a vibrating member disposed adjacent to the cartridge;
including,
aerosol generating devices; and
a medium-containing article received in the elongated cavity of the aerosol-generating device;
The aerosol generated through the vibration of the vibrating member passes through the medium-containing article and transfers the medium.
Aerosol Generating System.
According to claim 1,
Further comprising a mouthpiece disposed at a downstream end of the housing,
The cartridge is disposed between the mouthpiece and the vibrating member,
Aerosol Generating System.
According to claim 2,
the cartridge,
an aerosol pass comprising a first end face adjacent the elongated cavity and a second end face adjacent the cartridge and passing through at least a portion of the first end face and the second end face;
an aerosol generated by the vibrating member travels through the aerosol path into the elongated cavity;
Aerosol Generating System.
According to claim 3,
The aerosol pass is formed to pass through the center of the first end face and the second end face of the cartridge,
Aerosol Generating System.
According to claim 3,
the vibrating member is disposed in contact with the second end surface of the cartridge;
The aerosol-forming substrate discharged through the second end face of the cartridge is aerosolized by vibration of the vibrating member,
Aerosol Generating System.
According to claim 1,
The vibrating member includes a piezoelectric transducer and a mesh plate,
Aerosol is formed as the aerosol-forming material stored in the cartridge is transmitted between each mesh of the mesh plate by the vibration of the piezoelectric transducer.
Aerosol Generating System.
According to claim 6,
The piezoelectric converter has a frequency of 2 MHz or more and 3 MHz or less,
Aerosol Generating System.
According to claim 1,
wherein the medium containing article comprises a medium and an alkaline pH adjusting agent;
Aerosol Generating System.
According to claim 1,
Further comprising a heater for heating the aerosol-forming substrate,
Aerosol Generating System.
housing;
an elongated cavity disposed at least partially inside the housing and communicating on one side with the outside of the aerosol-generating device;
two or more cartridges disposed inside the housing and storing an aerosol-forming substrate; and
a vibrating member disposed adjacent to the cartridges;
including,
The cartridges include a first cartridge containing a first substance and a second cartridge containing a second substance,
When the aerosol generating device operates, an aerosol is generated from at least one of the first cartridge and the second cartridge.
Aerosol generating device.
According to claim 10,
wherein the first material comprises a humectant and the second material comprises a medium;
Aerosol generating device.
According to claim 10,
The first cartridge includes a heater for heating the first material, and the second cartridge includes a heater for heating the second material,
a heater included in the first cartridge heats when a media containing article is accommodated in the elongate cavity and a heater included in the second cartridge heats when a medium containing article is not accommodated in the elongate cavity;
Aerosol generating device.
According to claim 10,
Further comprising a control unit,
wherein the controller controls a ratio of aerosol delivered from the first cartridge and the second cartridge to the elongated cavity by changing a ratio of power delivered to the first cartridge and the second cartridge;
Aerosol generating device.
According to claim 13,
Further comprising a user input unit,
The user input unit receives aerosol rate information input from a user and transfers it to the control unit to adjust the rate of aerosol delivered from the first cartridge and the second cartridge to the elongated cavity.
Aerosol generating device.