US20200323274A1

US20200323274A1 - Airflow heating device, heating control method, and electronic cigarette

Info

Publication number: US20200323274A1
Application number: US16/755,143
Authority: US
Inventors: Weihua Qiu; Neng HUA
Original assignee: Changzhou Paiteng Electronic Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Changzhou Paiteng Electronic Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2017-10-10
Filing date: 2018-09-12
Publication date: 2020-10-15
Also published as: EP3695737A4; EP3695737A1; WO2019072066A1; CN107713016A

Abstract

An airflow heating device includes an air channel for passage of an airflow, a heating member used to heat the airflow when passing through the air channel, a first temperature sensing element, a second temperature sensing element, and a control device. The first temperature sensing element is used to detect a temperature of the airflow at an air inlet of the air channel. The second temperature sensing element is located at an air outlet of the air channel, and is configured to detect a temperature of the airflow at the air outlet of the air channel. The control device is used to control the heating member according to temperature information of the heating member detected by the first temperature sensing element and temperature information of the airflow at the air outlet of the air channel detected by the second temperature sensing element.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to the technical field of electronic cigarettes, and in particular, to an airflow heating device, a heating control method and an electronic cigarette.

BACKGROUND

Electronic cigarettes are currently widely used in some developed countries in Europe and the United States, mainly to replace traditional cigarettes. With the continuous improvement of living standards in our country, people are continuously pursuing a higher quality of life, and they gradually realize the serious harm of smoking, and quitting smoking has gradually become a common understanding. Therefore, alternatives such as electronic cigarettes are gradually becoming popular.
An important part of the smoking process of the electronic cigarette is heating, which heats the tobacco in the electronic cigarette to generate smoke for users to suck. Therefore, heating control is a key factor affecting the taste of electronic cigarettes.
In the heating methods of electronic cigarettes, air heating has the best effect, but the airflow temperature control of the air heating is actually controlling the temperature at the air inlet of the air channel, which will make the air temperature unstable and often higher or lower than the temperature at which the tobacco reaches its best smoking effect, thereby affecting the taste of electronic cigarettes.

SUMMARY

In view of the shortcomings of the related art, an object of the present invention is to provide an airflow heating device, a heating control method and an electronic cigarette capable of detecting and controlling the temperature of the airflow after heating.
To achieve the above objective, the technical solution of the present invention is as follows:
An airflow heating device includes an air channel for passage of an airflow, a heating member used for heating the airflow when passing through the air channel, a first temperature sensing element, a second temperature sensing element, and a control device. The first temperature sensing element is used for detecting a temperature of the heating member. The second temperature sensing element is located at an air outlet of the air channel for detecting a temperature of the airflow at the air outlet of the air channel. The control device is separately connected to the first temperature sensing element, the second temperature sensing element and the heating member. The control device is used for controlling the heating member according to temperature information of the airflow detected by the first temperature sensing element and temperature information of the airflow detected by the second temperature sensing element.
In one embodiment, the airflow heating device includes an outer tube and an inner support disposed inside the outer tube, and the air channel is formed between the outer tube and the inner support.
In one embodiment, the air channel is spiral.
In one embodiment, the inner support includes a central post and a spiral guide vane arranged along the central post, and the spiral air channel is formed between the central post, the guide vane and the outer tube.
In one embodiment, an airflow sensing element is further provided at the air inlet of the air channel, and the airflow sensing element is used for detecting suction signal.
The present invention also provides an electronic cigarette, which includes the airflow heating device as described above.
The present invention also provides an airflow heating control method used for the airflow heating device as described above. The method includes the following steps:

- acquiring temperature information detected by the first temperature sensing element and the second temperature sensing element;
- controlling the heating member according to the temperature information;
- wherein the first temperature sensing element is used for detecting the temperature of the heating member, and the second temperature sensing element is located at the air outlet of the air channel for detecting the temperature of the airflow at the air outlet of the air channel.

In one embodiment, controlling the heating member according to the temperature information includes:

- controlling the heating member to enter a heating mode when a cigarette lighting signal is received;
- determining whether a first temperature detected by the first temperature sensing element reaches a first preset temperature;
- controlling the heating member to enter a heat preservation mode and issuing a prompt message when the first temperature detected by the first temperature sensing element reaches the first preset temperature;
- when a suction signal is detected, controlling the heating member to perform heating according to a second temperature detected by the second temperature sensing element.

In one embodiment, controlling the heating member to perform heating according to a second temperature detected by the second temperature sensing element includes:

- if the second temperature is lower than a second preset temperature, controlling the heating member to perform heating at a first power until the second temperature reaches the preset temperature;
- if the second temperature is equal to or greater than the second preset temperature, controlling the heating member to perform heating at a second power, wherein the first power is greater than the second power.

In one embodiment, controlling the heating member to enter a heating mode includes: controlling the heating member to perform heating at a third power;

- controlling the heating member to enter a heat preservation mode includes: controlling the heating member to perform heating at a fourth power, wherein the third power is greater than the fourth power.

In one embodiment, the airflow heating device includes at least one heating member, controlling the heating member to enter a heating mode includes: controlling all the heating members to perform heating;

- controlling the heating member to enter a heat preservation mode includes: controlling a portion of the heating members to perform heating.

The present invention also provides an electronic cigarette which includes a memory and a processor, wherein at least one program instruction is stored in the memory, and the processor implements the following method by loading and executing the at least one program instruction:

- acquiring temperature information detected by a first temperature sensing element and a second temperature sensing element;
- controlling a heating member according to the temperature information;
- wherein the heating member is used for heating an airflow when passing through an air channel, the first temperature sensing element is used for detecting a temperature of the heating member, the second temperature sensing element is located at an air outlet of the air channel for detecting a temperature of the airflow at the air outlet of the air channel.

The present invention has the following beneficial effects:
Compared with the related art, the airflow heating device, the heating control method and the electronic cigarette of the present invention are provided with a second temperature sensing element at the air outlet of the air channel. The control device is separately connected to the first temperature sensing element, the second temperature sensing element and the heating member. The control device is used for controlling the heating member according to temperature information of the heating member detected by the first temperature sensing element and temperature information of the airflow at the air outlet of the air channel detected by the second temperature sensing element. That is, the heating member is controlled to perform heating according to the temperature at the air inlet of the air channel and the temperature at the air outlet of the air channel simultaneously, such that an optimal heating temperature for the tobacco is provided, and an optimal smoking effect is achieved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an airflow heating device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a heating control method for the airflow heating device shown in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, the present invention is described in detail through specific but non-limiting embodiments, so that the advantages and the features of the present invention can be much easily understood by those skilled in the art.
As shown in FIG. 1, an airflow heating device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an outer tube 1 and an inner support 2 disposed inside the outer tube 1. The inner support 2 includes a central post 21 and a spiral guide vane 22 arranged along the central post 21. A spiral air channel is formed between the central post 21, the guide vane 22 and the outer tube 1 for the passage of an airflow 3 (shown by the dotted arrows in FIG. 1). The spiral guide vane 22 allows the airflow 3 to flow in a spiral manner when passing through, such that the heating is more sufficient and the heat exchange efficiency is high when compared with flowing in a straight-line manner. According to requirements, in other embodiments, the spiral guide vane 22 may not be arranged on the central post 21, but may be arranged on the inner side of the outer tube 1. It is also possible not to use a spiral air channel, but to use a straight-line air channel or other manners.
A first temperature sensing element 4 is provided on a peripheral side of the heating member, and an airflow sensing element 7 is provided at the air inlet of the air channel. The first temperature sensing element 4 is used for detecting a first temperature of the heating member. The airflow sensing element 7 is used for detecting a suction signal, that is, whether there is a flow of air, to determine whether the user starts to suck. In other embodiments, the airflow sensing element 7 may not be provided, and other methods such as the user turning on a switch, or detecting that the user's lips are in contact with a mouthpiece may be used to determine whether the user has started to suck. In FIG. 1, the first temperature sensing element 4 is provided at the air inlet of the air channel as an example. In actual implementation, the first temperature sensing element 4 only needs to be able to detect the temperature of the heating member, and it may be arranged at any position on the surface of the heating member, which is not limited herein. The first temperature sensing element 4 or the second temperature sensing element 5 in the embodiment may be a temperature sensor.
A second temperature sensing element 5 is provided at an air outlet of the air channel to detect a second temperature of the airflow at the air outlet. The second temperature is the temperature of the heated airflow, i.e., the heating temperature for the tobacco. If necessary, a third temperature sensing element 6 may be installed on the outer tube 1 to detect a temperature of the heating member. When the temperature of the heating member reaches a preset threshold, heating is stopped to avoid danger due to an excessive high temperature of the heating member. Optionally, the position of the air outlet in the embodiment refers to a position where the distance from the air outlet is smaller than a preset value.
An inner wall the outer tube 1 may be surrounded by a heating member (not shown), and the inner support 2 may also be surrounded by a heating member (not shown) along the guide vane 22. The two heating members may be heated together, or only one of them may be heated. By choosing two or one of the hearing members being heated in different situations, electricity can be saved. The heating member mentioned in the embodiment may be a heating resistance wire, which is not limited thereto.
In the embodiment of the present invention, the airflow heating device further includes a control device (not shown). The control device is connected to the first temperature sensing element 4, the second temperature sensing element 7 and the heating member, to receive the temperature information detected by the first temperature sensing element 4 and the second temperature sensing element 5 and control the heating member.
In other embodiments, an electronic cigarette is also provided, including the airflow heating device as described above.
As shown in FIG. 2, the airflow heating control method according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is used for the airflow heating device described above, includes the following steps S10 and S20.
S10: acquiring temperature information detected by the first temperature sensing element and the second temperature sensing element, wherein the first temperature sensing element is used for detecting the temperature of the heating member, and the second temperature sensing element is disposed at the air outlet of the air channel to detect the temperature of the airflow at the air outlet of the air channel.
S20: controlling the heating member according to the temperature information.
Specifically, in S20, controlling the heating member according to the temperature information may include the following steps S21-S24.
S21: controlling the heating member to enter a heating mode when a cigarette lighting signal is received.
Optionally, this step may include: controlling the heating member to perform heating at a relatively high third power. The third power may be a default power in the system of the electronic cigarette, or a power set by the user. In addition, when setting the power, the user can set it through the touch screen in the electronic cigarette or through a physical button in the electronic cigarette, which is not limited herein.
Optionally, when there are at least two heating members, this step may further include: controlling all the heating members to perform heating.
S22: determining whether the first temperature detected by the first temperature sensing element reaches a first preset temperature.
The first preset temperature may be a default temperature in the system of the electronic cigarette or a temperature set by the user.
S23: controlling the heating member to enter a heat preservation mode and issuing a prompt message when the first temperature detected by the first temperature sensing element reaches the first preset temperature.
When the detected first temperature reaches the first preset temperature, it means that the temperature at the air inlet of the air channel has risen to the required temperature. At this time, the electronic cigarette may control the heating member to enter the heat preservation mode, and issue a prompt message. Specifically, controlling the heating member to enter the heat preservation mode may include: controlling the heating member to perform heating at a relatively low fourth power, or/and controlling a portion of the heating members to perform heating, wherein the fourth power is less than the third power, which can reduce heating power and save electricity.
Similar to the above steps, the fourth power may also be a default power in the system of the electronic cigarette, or a power set by the user.
In addition, the above-mentioned prompt message is used to remind the user to start sucking. In actual implementation, the prompt message may be a sound, or may also be a vibration or a ring. Of course, it can also be realized by flashing a light.
In actual implementation, if the detected first temperature has not reached the first preset temperature, in order to cause the temperature at the air inlet to reach the required temperature, the electronic cigarette continues to control the heating member to be in the heating mode.
S24: when a suction signal is detected, controlling the heating member to perform heating according to the second temperature detected by the second temperature sensing element.
This step may include: if the second temperature is lower than a second preset temperature, it means that the temperature at the air outlet has not reached the required temperature. At this time, the heating member is controlled to perform heating at a first power until the detected second temperature reaches the second preset temperature; if the second temperature is equal to or greater than the second preset temperature, it means that the temperature at the air outlet has reached the required temperature, at this time, the heating member may be controlled to perform heating at a second power, wherein the first power is greater than the second power. Through the above-mentioned adjustment of the power, the heating member can be quickly heated to cause the second temperature to reach the preset temperature, and after the second temperature reaches the preset temperature, the second temperature is maintained at a relatively low power, which can save electric energy and reduce energy consumption.
In the above embodiments, after the user starts to suck, that is, after the atomizing device in the electronic cigarette starts to atomize, the electronic cigarette can record at least one of the temperatures detected by the first temperature sensing element and the second temperature sensing element, the power of the heating member, the voltage of the heating member, and the electric current of the heating member, and based on the above data obtained from historical statistics, a set of rules is trained, such that before the user sucks, the temperature is maintained at the first preset temperature, and after the user starts to suck, the temperature at the air outlet of the air channel is maintained at the second preset temperature.
In actual implementation, the heating control method may further include: detecting a third temperature of the heating member, determining whether the third temperature reaches a third preset temperature, and stopping the heating using the heating member when the third preset temperature is reached. By stopping the heating when the temperature of the heating member is high, a hidden safety hazard due to an excessive temperature is avoided. Of course, in the embodiment, when the third preset temperature is reached, controlling the heating member to stop heating is only taken as an example. In actual implementation, the heating member may also be controlled to perform heating at a fifth power, wherein the fifth power is less than the third power, or less than the first power, which is not limited herein.
In an embodiment of the present invention, an electronic cigarette is further provided. The electronic cigarette includes a memory and a processor;

- at least one program instruction is stored in the memory;
- the processor implements the following method by loading and executing the at least one program instruction:
- acquiring temperature information detected by the first temperature sensing element and the second temperature sensing element;
- controlling the heating member according to the temperature information;
- wherein the heating member is used for heating the airflow when passing through the air channel, the first temperature sensing element is used for detecting the temperature of the heating member, the second temperature sensing element is located at the air outlet of the air channel for detecting the temperature of the airflow at the air outlet of the air channel.

The above are only specific embodiments of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited to this. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or replacements from the technical solutions disclosed in the present invention, which shall also be covered in the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. An airflow heating device, comprising an air channel for passage of an airflow, a heating member used for heating the airflow when passing through the air channel, a first temperature sensing element, a second temperature sensing element, and a control device, wherein the first temperature sensing element is used for detecting a temperature of the airflow at an air inlet of the air channel, the second temperature sensing element is located at an air outlet of the air channel for detecting a temperature of the airflow at the air outlet of the air channel, the control device is separately connected to the first temperature sensing element, the second temperature sensing element and the heating member, the control device is used for controlling the heating member according to temperature information of the airflow detected by the first temperature sensing element and temperature information of the airflow detected by the second temperature sensing element.

2. The airflow heating device according to claim 1, wherein the airflow heating device comprises an outer tube and an inner support disposed inside the outer tube, and the air channel is formed between the outer tube and the inner support.

3. The airflow heating device according to claim 2, wherein the air channel is spiral.

4. The airflow heating device according to claim 3, wherein the inner support comprises a central post and a spiral guide vane arranged along the central post, and the spiral air channel is formed between the central post, the guide vane and the outer tube.

5. The airflow heating device according to claim 1, wherein an airflow sensing element is further provided at the air inlet of the air channel, and the airflow sensing element is used for detecting suction signal.

6. An electronic cigarette, comprising the airflow heating device according to claim 1.

7. An airflow heating control method used for the airflow heating device according to claim 1, comprising the following steps:

acquiring temperature information detected by the first temperature sensing element and the second temperature sensing element;

controlling the heating member according to the temperature information;

wherein the first temperature sensing element is used for detecting the temperature of the airflow at the air inlet of the air channel, and the second temperature sensing element is located at the air outlet of the air channel for detecting the temperature of the airflow at the air outlet of the air channel.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein said controlling the heating member according to the temperature information comprises:

controlling the heating member to enter a heating mode when a cigarette lighting signal is received;

determining whether a first temperature detected by the first temperature sensing element reaches a first preset temperature;

controlling the heating member to enter a heat preservation mode and issuing a prompt message when the first temperature detected by the first temperature sensing element reaches the first preset temperature;

when a suction signal is detected, controlling the heating member to perform heating according to a second temperature detected by the second temperature sensing element.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein said controlling the heating member to perform heating according to a second temperature detected by the second temperature sensing element comprises:

if the second temperature is lower than a second preset temperature, controlling the heating member to perform heating at a first power until the second temperature reaches the second preset temperature;

if the second temperature is equal to or greater than the second preset temperature, controlling the heating member to perform heating at a second power, wherein the first power is greater than the second power.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein said controlling the heating member to enter a heating mode comprises: controlling the heating member to perform heating at a third power;

said controlling the heating member to enter a heat preservation mode comprises: controlling the heating member to perform heating at a fourth power, wherein the third power is greater than the fourth power.

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein the airflow heating device comprises at least one heating member, said controlling the heating member to enter a heating mode comprises: controlling all the heating members to perform heating;

said controlling the heating member to enter a heat preservation mode comprises:

controlling a portion of the heating members to perform heating.

12. An electronic cigarette comprising a memory and a processor, wherein at least one program instruction is stored in the memory, and the processor implements the following method by loading and executing the at least one program instruction:

acquiring temperature information detected by a first temperature sensing element and a second temperature sensing element;

controlling a heating member according to the temperature information;

wherein the heating member is used for heating an airflow when passing through an air channel, the first temperature sensing element is used for detecting a temperature of the airflow at an air inlet of the air channel, the second temperature sensing element is located at an air outlet of the air channel for detecting a temperature of the airflow at the air outlet of the air channel.