RU2788709C1 - Method for disassembly of an electronic cigarette for its disposal - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: smoking accessories.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to the field of smoking accessories, namely to electronic cigarettes, and can be used as a device for vaping and helping to combat nicotine addiction. The method for disassembling an electronic cigarette for its disposal is characterized by the fact that the user independently separates the bottom cover and ring from the body of the electronic cigarette, then separates the body of the electronic cigarette from the battery holder with a control microchip and connection contacts assembled with the battery and with the smoking storage system attached to them. mixture assembly with a heating system and a vapor chamber, then separates the battery holder with a control microchip and connection contacts, assembled with a battery from the smoking mixture storage system, complete with a heating system and a vapor chamber, then separates the battery from the battery holder with a control microchip and connection contacts for the subsequent disposal of these elements of an electronic cigarette.

EFFECT: invention ensures the environmental friendliness of the use of electronic cigarettes due to the fact that the design of the electronic cigarette allows the user, after using the electronic cigarette, to independently completely disassemble it into certain elements and dispose of each of them.

1 cl, 4 dwg

Description

The invention relates to the field of smoking accessories, namely to electronic cigarettes, and can be used as a device for vaping and helping to combat nicotine addiction.

From the public level of technology in the designated area, it is known that an electronic cigarette (English e-cigarette) is an electronic device that creates highly dispersed vapor (aerosol) intended for inhalation (inhalation). It can be used both as a nicotine delivery device (ENDS) and for inhaling flavored vapor (aerosol) without nicotine. Steam is created by evaporation of a specially prepared liquid from the surface of the heating element and looks like tobacco smoke. The main elements of which are a mouthpiece, a lithium battery and an atomizer that includes a heating element, a cartridge or a reservoir with a special liquid-filler ("Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia"//Electronic cigarette)//[electronic resource] URL: https://ru.wikipedia. org/wiki/Electronic_cigarette (accessed 04/28/2022).

One of the disadvantages of electronic cigarettes is the environmental pollution with electronic cigarette elements after their use: batteries, plastic parts (mouthpiece, cartridge, housing), electronics, etc. In this regard, at present, manufacturers of electronic cigarettes have begun to pay attention to safe, environmentally friendly disposal of electronic cigarettes after their use.

At the same time, a significant part of the information from open sources of the state of the art concerns the disposal, including with a preliminary analysis, of e-cigarette batteries, as they are especially harmful to the environment. The fact is that inside each disposable electronic cigarette there is a lithium-ion battery, the disposal of which takes a very long period. And if you just throw it in the trash, it will never be recycled and will pollute our planet very much, which will lead to even more global environmental problems. These batteries definitely need to be recycled, as ordinary trash cans are not designed for this. (Website:anix// How to throw away a disposable electronic cigarette (Vape)?// URL: https://anix.ua/kak-utilizirovat-odnorazovye-elektronnye-sigarety (accessed: 04/29/2022).

The procedure for recycling batteries, including those from electronic cigarettes, is carried out under special conditions.

After the used batteries are collected from the collection points, they are taken to the place of industrial processing, where they are hand-packed. Separate batches of batteries are loaded into a crushing plant, where they are partially crushed. After that, the division into elements is made, the body parts are separated from the internal content. The hull elements go through the second stage of crushing and excavation of metal parts. Non-ferrous metal salts are sorted. The internal content of the batteries enters the furnace, where bituminous insulators are gradually decomposed into carbohydrates, and the electrolytes are condensed. Cadmium and zinc evaporate and condense. Manganese oxide is processed into a concentrate. The rest is graphite.

The package of the electronic cigarette also includes a battery, which means that this already poses a danger to the environment if it is not disposed of correctly. In addition to the battery, the electronic cigarette contains plastic, electronic parts, metal alloys, which also harm the environment. Plastic and electronic parts are also subject to specialized recycling. They are crushed, divided into elements, sorted. Many components are further used as recyclable materials.

It is very difficult to safely and environmentally dispose of electronic cigarettes without specific knowledge, skills and equipment (website: yourchoice// How to safely throw away electronic cigarettes// URL: https://yourchoice.ru/obraz-zhizni/kak-bezopasno-vybrasyvat-elektronnye -sigarety.htm (accessed 04/29/2022).

Some patented technical solutions concern the disassembly and disposal of only individual, basic elements of an electronic cigarette, namely the power supply, cartridge, mouthpiece. For example, in the technical decision according to the Russian patent for invention No. 2687802 “Product used with a device for heating smoking material” (priority date 08/26/2016) it is indicated that the user can dispose of the mouthpiece assembly with the rest of the product after the complete use of all or almost all of the evaporated components of the smoking material.

The technical solution according to the Russian patent for invention No. 2751630 “Aerosol source for the steam supply system” (priority date 01/23/2019) suggests the possibility of disconnecting the power section and the cartridge, which are adapted for disposal and replacement when they are exhausted (for example, the tank is empty or the battery discharged), also in the technical solution according to the Russian patent for invention No. 2612567 "Inhaler component" (priority date 10/18/2012) the inhaler component is described, which is a replaceable disposable product and it is recommended to dispose of only the inhaler component, primarily in the case when the liquid material contains drugs or toxins such as nicotine. The technical solution according to the Russian patent for invention No. 2747956 “Aerosol generating system with an outer casing” (priority date 11/29/2017) proposes a mouthpiece in a cartridge that can be made separately, which makes it possible to dispose of the mouthpiece and replace it with a new mouthpiece. The technical decision on the international registration of the invention No. TW201336437A “Smoking article with a dual-use cap” (priority date 01/09/2012) refers to the possibility of disassembling an electronic cigarette into a rod containing an aerosol-forming substrate and a removable cap that can be disposed of.

The main disadvantages of the presented solutions are:

- parsing into all elements of the device is not described;

- recycling of all elements of the device is not provided.

Another part of the solutions from the prior art contains an indication of the possibility of completely disassembling an electronic cigarette into parts for their subsequent disposal, namely the battery pack, atomizer, plastic parts, electronics.

For example, during the recycling process, an electronic cigarette is first completely disassembled into parts, the battery pack, atomizer are separated, plastic parts are removed, and electronics are removed. Each of the parts is disposed of according to a separate technology. The battery, as well as other lithium-ion batteries, electronic microcircuits, is disassembled, separated into metals and alloys (website: Administration of the Chekhov City District// Rules for the disposal of disposable cigarettes and electronic vaporizers// URL: https://agoch.ru/ article/pravila-utilizatsii-odnorazovyh-sigaret-i-elektronnyh-isparitelej-308371, (Accessed 04/29/2022).

Also, manufacturers of electronic cigarettes are invited to hand over devices for parsing into plastic, electronic components and metal for further disposal for recycling in order to use them as raw materials for production (glo// YOU RENT, WE RECYCLE// URL: https://www.myglo. ru/sustainability, (accessed 04/25/2022).

The main disadvantage of these solutions is that they do not disclose that this parsing can be implemented by a simple consumer and due to what design features of an electronic cigarette this parsing can be carried out.

As the closest analogue (prototype) of the claimed invention, based on the totality of essential features, a technical decision was made on the Russian patent for invention No. 2716192 "A device for delivering an aerosol and methods for creating such a device" (priority date 05/05/2016, publication date 03/06/2020, Copyright holder RAI STRETEJIK HOLDINGS, INC.(US)). This solution describes an aerosol delivery device including a shell divided into a first half and a second half along its longitudinal axis. One or more batteries may be housed in a sheath with a battery terminal providing electrical connection to the battery terminals. A base unit may be included that may have electrical contacts for mating with battery terminals and a battery terminal. The base unit may include a printed circuit board and/or a pressure sensor. The shell may be attached to a cartridge containing a reservoir for the aerosol-forming composition, a heater, a liquid transfer member configured to transfer the aerosol-forming composition between the reservoir and the heater, and heater terminals. The aerosol delivery device can be configured such that disposal can be carried out by recycling its various elements. For example, the connection of the power supply to the cartridge can be made with the possibility of easy disassembly. The power supply shell can also be made with the possibility of easy disassembly to remove the elements that are in it.

As disadvantages of the prototype, it can be noted that the solution discloses only a method for separating the cartridge from the power supply and disassembling the shell of the power supply, but does not talk about the method for disassembling other elements of the device, and it also does not describe whether they can be disassembled and disposed of by the user on their own. .

The purpose of the present invention is to eliminate the above disadvantages of the prototype, namely, to enable the user to independently disassemble the electronic cigarette into all the elements and dispose of them after using the electronic cigarette.

This goal is achieved by the fact that the design of the proposed electronic cigarette consists of elements that can be separated from each other, which allows the user, after using the electronic cigarette, to independently separate it into these elements for their subsequent disposal.

Accordingly, the technical result of the proposed technical solution "METHOD FOR PARSING AN ELECTRONIC CIGARETTE FOR ITS DISPOSAL" is as follows.

The proposed invention ensures the environmental friendliness of the use of electronic cigarettes due to the fact that the design of the electronic cigarette allows the user, after using the electronic cigarette, to independently completely disassemble it into certain elements and dispose of each of them. Also, the claimed invention as a whole expands the arsenal of technical solutions for the disposal of electronic cigarettes.

The technical result is achieved by the fact that the method of disassembling an electronic cigarette for its disposal is characterized by the fact that the user independently separates the bottom cover and ring from the body of the electronic cigarette, then separates the body of the electronic cigarette from the battery holder with a control microchip and connection contacts assembled with the battery and with the smoking mixture storage system assembly with the heating system and evaporation chamber attached to them, then separates the battery holder with the control microchip and connection contacts, assembly with the battery from the smoking mixture storage system assembly with the heating system and the evaporation chamber, then separates the battery from the holder for a battery with a control microchip and connection contacts for the subsequent disposal of these elements of an electronic cigarette.

The claimed technical solution is illustrated by schematic images of a disposable electronic cigarette in assembled and partially disassembled (figures 1, 2, 3), as well as disassembled (figure 4) types, where 1 is the body of the electronic cigarette, 2 is the bottom cover, 3 is the ring, 4 is battery, 5 - battery holder with a control microchip and connection contacts, 6 - smoking mixture storage system complete with heating system and evaporation chamber.

As shown in figure 4, the electronic cigarette is finally disassembled into the following elements: 1 - body of the electronic cigarette, 2 - bottom cover, 3 - ring, 4 - battery, 5 - battery holder with a control microchip and connection contacts, 6 - storage system smoking mixture complete with heating system and evaporation chamber.

To obtain a technical result, the invention can be carried out in the following preferred manner, not excluding other methods of implementation within the framework of the claimed claims.

The disassembly of the electronic cigarette device is carried out independently by the user.

To implement the method of parsing an electronic cigarette, it is required to disconnect the bottom cover 2 and the ring 3 from the body 1 of the electronic cigarette. This action is reflected in Fig.1. The next step is to disconnect the battery holder 5 with a control microchip and connection contacts from the body 1 of the electronic cigarette, complete with the battery 4 and with the smoking mixture storage system attached to them, complete with the heating system and the evaporation chamber 6. This action is shown in Fig.2 . The next step is to separate the holder 5 for the battery with a control microchip and connection contacts, complete with the battery 4, from the smoking mixture storage system, complete with the heating system and the evaporation chamber 6. This action is shown in Fig.3. The last step is to separate the battery 4 from the battery holder 5 with a control microchip and connection contacts. This action is reflected in Fig.4. As a result, by the user's independent actions, a complete analysis of the electronic cigarette into the above elements is achieved.

Further, these elements are sent by the user for their subsequent disposal as follows: the body of the electronic cigarette 1 made of plastic, the bottom cover 2 are sent by the user to the appropriate container for separate collection of plastic for further processing; the ring 3, made of metal, is sent by the user to another appropriate container for further processing; battery 4 and battery holder 5 with a control microchip and connection contacts, which are electronic components, are sent by the user to a third appropriate container for further processing; the smoking mixture storage system assembled with the heating system and the evaporation chamber 6, which includes elements made of cotton, glass, etc., is sent by the user to the fourth appropriate container for separate waste collection. Thus, all elements of an electronic cigarette are utilized by separating them into plastic, electronic components, non-ferrous metals, etc.

Thus, the novelty and inventive step of the claimed invention lies in the fact that the design of an electronic cigarette allows the user to independently and consistently completely disassemble the electronic cigarette into its constituent elements for their subsequent disposal.

The Applicant is currently commercializing the proposed electronic cigarette.

Claims (1)

The method of disassembling an electronic cigarette for its disposal is characterized by the fact that the user independently separates the bottom cover and ring from the body of the electronic cigarette, then separates the body of the electronic cigarette from the battery holder with a control microchip and connection contacts assembled with the battery and with the smoking storage system attached to them. mixture assembly with a heating system and a vapor chamber, then separates the battery holder with a control microchip and connection contacts, assembled with a battery from the smoking mixture storage system, complete with a heating system and a vapor chamber, then separates the battery from the battery holder with a control microchip and connection contacts for the subsequent disposal of these elements of an electronic cigarette.

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