WO2022211208A1

WO2022211208A1 - Aerosol generation device and control method therefor

Info

Publication number: WO2022211208A1
Application number: PCT/KR2021/016505
Authority: WO
Inventors: 장철호; 고경민; 배형진; 서장원; 정민석; 정종성; 정진철
Original assignee: 주식회사 케이티앤지
Priority date: 2021-03-31
Filing date: 2021-11-12
Publication date: 2022-10-06
Also published as: US20230225415A1; JP2023523897A; KR20220135651A; CN115515444A; KR102623331B1; EP4140332A1; EP4140332A4

Abstract

Provided are an aerosol generation device and a control method therefor. The aerosol generation device according to some embodiments of the present invention may include: a liquid supply unit for supplying a liquid aerosol-forming substrate; a vaporization element that vaporizes the supplied liquid aerosol-forming substrate in a vaporization space to generate an aerosol; and an airflow path for the aerosol generated in the vaporization space to be moved in the direction of a mouthpiece. Here, the vaporization element and the inlet and outlet of the airflow passage may have a structure that is not a straight line, and through this structure, droplet discharge and airflow passage clogging can be prevented.

Description

Aerosol-generating device and method for controlling the same

The present disclosure relates to an aerosol-generating device and a control method therefor, and more particularly, to an aerosol-generating device to which a structural design capable of preventing a droplet discharge phenomenon and an airflow passage clogging phenomenon is applied, and a control method performed in the aerosol-generating device .

In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for an alternative method that overcomes the disadvantages of conventional cigarettes. For example, there is an increasing demand for devices (e.g. liquid electronic cigarettes) that generate an aerosol by heating a liquid aerosol-forming substrate. Accordingly, research on a liquid aerosol generating device has been actively conducted.

Recently, a device for generating an aerosol by vaporizing a liquid phase through ultrasonic vibration has been proposed. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the liquid phase L stored in the liquid storage tank 2 is absorbed through the wick 3, and an aerosol is generated by vaporizing the liquid phase L absorbed through the vibrator 4 A device has been proposed.

However, as shown, in the proposed device, a phenomenon in which droplets 6 generated during vaporization jump out of the vaporization space 5 may occur frequently. For example, as the bubble formed inside the liquid L absorbed by the wick 3 rapidly grows and explodes, the droplet 6 may jump out of the vaporization space 5 . These droplets 6 are discharged to the outside of the mouthpiece 1 by the negative pressure instantaneously formed by the puff, which may give a smoker a considerable discomfort, and by forming a liquid film on the inner wall of the airflow passage 7 ) can also be prevented.

A technical problem to be solved through some embodiments of the present disclosure is to provide an aerosol-generating device to which a structural design capable of preventing a droplet discharge phenomenon and an airflow passage clogging phenomenon is applied, and a control method performed in the device.

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

In order to solve the technical problem, an aerosol generating device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure vaporizes the supplied liquid aerosol-forming substrate in a liquid supply unit for supplying a liquid aerosol-forming substrate, and a vaporization space to generate an aerosol An airflow passage for generating a vaporization element and the aerosol generated in the vaporization space to move in the direction of the mouthpiece, wherein the vaporization element, the inlet of the airflow passage, and the outlet of the airflow passage are not in a straight line. have.

In some embodiments, the liquid supply unit includes a wick that absorbs the liquid aerosol-forming substrate and supplies it into the vaporization space, and the vaporization element, the wick, and the inlet of the airflow passage are not in a straight line. can be made with

In some embodiments, the liquid supply unit includes a wick that absorbs the liquid aerosol-forming substrate and delivers it into the vaporization space, and the vaporization element absorbs the supplied liquid aerosol-forming substrate through ultrasonic vibration. and the vaporizing element may be disposed to be in contact with the wick.

In some embodiments, the wick may be disposed at a central portion of the vaporizing element, and a contact area between the wick and the vaporizing element may be smaller than a cross-sectional area of the vaporizing element.

In some embodiments, a liquid absorbent may be disposed on the inner wall of the airflow passage.

In some embodiments, a mesh element may be disposed within the airflow passage.

In some embodiments, an obstacle preventing movement of the generated aerosol may be disposed inside the airflow passage.

In some embodiments, at least a portion of the inner wall of the airflow passage may be subjected to a surface treatment to increase wettability.

In some embodiments, further comprising a controller for controlling the supply power of the vaporization element, wherein the controller estimates the degree of generation of droplets in the vaporization space, and based on the estimation result, the supply power of the vaporization element can be controlled.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure described above, the vaporization element, the inlet and the outlet of the airflow passage may be formed in a non-linear structure. For example, the vaporization element and the inlet of the airflow passage may not be arranged on a vertical line, or the inlet and the outlet of the airflow passage may not be arranged on a vertical line. In this case, it is possible to effectively prevent the droplets generated from the vaporization element from flowing into the inlet of the airflow passage or discharged to the outlet of the airflow passage, so that the droplet discharge phenomenon and blockage of the airflow passage can be greatly alleviated.

In addition, a wick having a size smaller than that of the vibrating element may be disposed at the center of the vibrating element. In this case, since vaporization occurs intensively at the center of the vibrating element, droplets may also be intensively generated near the center of the vibrating element. Accordingly, it is possible to effectively prevent the generated droplets from flowing into the inlet of the airflow passage.

In addition, the liquid absorbent may be disposed on the inner wall of the airflow passage. The liquid absorbent absorbs the liquid adhering to the inner wall of the airflow passage and functions as a drainage channel for discharging it in the gravity direction, thereby effectively preventing the droplet discharge phenomenon and clogging of the airflow passage.

In addition, a surface treatment for increasing wettability may be performed on the inner wall of the airflow passage. This surface treatment suppresses the adhesion of the liquid to the inner wall of the airflow passage, thereby effectively preventing the droplet discharge phenomenon and clogging of the airflow passage.

In addition, an obstacle or mesh element may be disposed inside the airflow passage, and such an obstacle or mesh element can effectively prevent droplets from being discharged to the outlet of the airflow passage.

In addition, the power supplied to the vaporization element may be dynamically adjusted based on the estimation result of the droplet generation level. Accordingly, the droplet discharge phenomenon and the airflow passage clogging phenomenon can be more effectively prevented.

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

1 is an exemplary view for explaining a problem caused by a droplet bouncing phenomenon.

2 and 3 are exemplary configuration diagrams schematically showing an aerosol-generating device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

4 is an exemplary view for explaining a disposition relationship between a wick and a vibrating element according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

5 and 6 are exemplary views for explaining the vaporization structure of the aerosol-generating device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

7 is an exemplary view for explaining an aerosol-generating device according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure.

8 and 9 are exemplary views for explaining a wick having a multi (layer) structure according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

10 is an exemplary view illustrating an internal form of an airflow passage according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

11 and 12 are exemplary views illustrating an internal form of an airflow passage according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure.

13 is an exemplary view illustrating an internal form of an airflow passage according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure.

14 is an exemplary view illustrating an internal form of an airflow passage according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.

15 is an exemplary flowchart illustrating a control method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

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

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

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

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

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

First, some terms used in various embodiments of the present disclosure will be clarified.

In the following examples, "aerosol-forming substrate" may mean a material capable of forming an aerosol. Aerosols may contain volatile compounds. The aerosol-forming substrate may be solid or liquid. For example, the solid aerosol-forming substrate may comprise tobacco material based on tobacco raw materials such as leaf tobacco, cut filler (e.g. leaf cut filler, leaf cut filler, etc.), reconstituted tobacco, etc., wherein the liquid aerosol-forming substrate is nicotine. , tobacco extract, propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, and/or various flavoring agents. However, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the examples listed above. In the following embodiments, unless otherwise stated, liquid may refer to a liquid aerosol-forming substrate.

In the following embodiments, "aerosol-generating device" may refer to a device that uses an aerosol-forming substrate to generate an aerosol to generate an inhalable aerosol directly into the user's lungs through the user's mouth.

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

Prior to a full-scale description of the embodiments of the present disclosure, in order to provide convenience of understanding, a droplet discharge phenomenon and an airflow passage clogging phenomenon will be briefly described.

The droplet discharge phenomenon may mean a phenomenon in which droplets generated in the vaporization space (ie, the space around the vaporization element made of the vaporizer) are discharged to the outside of the aerosol generating device through the mouthpiece. For example, the droplet may be generated according to the rapid growth and explosion of the bubble formed inside the liquid, and may be discharged to the outside of the aerosol generating device by the instantaneous negative pressure formed by the puff. If the ejected droplet is inhaled through the user's mouth, the user may feel considerable discomfort, so it may be desirable to apply a design preventing the droplet ejection phenomenon to the aerosol-generating device.

Also, the airflow passage clogging phenomenon may refer to a phenomenon in which droplets introduced into the airflow passage adhere to the inner wall of the airflow passage to form a liquid film, and the formed liquid film blocks at least a portion of the airflow passage. At this time, the condensate generated as the aerosol is condensed inside the airflow passage can also accelerate the formation and growth of the liquid film. Since this clogging of the air flow can greatly reduce sucking and atomization, it may be desirable to apply a design to prevent blockage of the air flow to the aerosol generating device.

Hereinafter, various embodiments of an aerosol generating device to which a structural design capable of preventing the aforementioned droplet discharge phenomenon and airflow passage clogging phenomenon is applied will be described in detail according to the accompanying drawings.

2 and 3 are exemplary configuration diagrams schematically showing the aerosol-generating device 10 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 2 mainly shows the internal components of the aerosol-generating device 10 , and FIG. 3 mainly shows the exterior of the aerosol-generating device 10 .

2 and 3 , the aerosol generating device 10 according to the present embodiment may be a device generating an aerosol through ultrasonic vibration. That is, the vaporization element 17 of the aerosol generating device 10 may be a vibration element that vaporizes the liquid phase through ultrasonic vibration.

As shown, the aerosol generating device 10 includes a mouthpiece 11, an upper case 12, a liquid storage tank 13, a wick holder 14, a wick 15; a wick 15, a control body case 16, It may include a vibration element 17 , a battery 19 and a control unit 18 . However, this is only a preferred embodiment for achieving the purpose of the present disclosure, and it goes without saying that some components may be added or omitted as necessary. Hereinafter, each component of the aerosol generating device 10 will be described.

The mouthpiece 11 is located at one end of the aerosol generating device 10 and may function as a structure in contact with the user's mouth. The user can inhale the aerosol generated by the vibrating element 17 through the mouthpiece 11 . Although FIG. 2 shows the mouthpiece 11 as a separate structure, the mouthpiece 11 may be implemented as a part of the upper case 12 or may be implemented in other ways.

Next, the upper case 12 may form the upper exterior of the aerosol-generating device 12 . The upper case 12 may be made of a suitable material that can protect the internal components. In addition, the upper case 12 may form an airflow path for the aerosol generated by the vibrating element 17 to move in the direction of the mouthpiece 11 . However, in some cases, the airflow passage may be formed through a separate tubular structure. In the following description, the term "airflow passage" is used to encompass a passage space through which an air flow moves or a structure forming the passage space.

In some embodiments, the upper portion of the aerosol-generating device 10 may be implemented in the form of a cartridge coupled to the control body (ie, the lower portion). In this case, the upper case 12 may be referred to as a "cartridge case", and the mouthpiece 11, the upper case 12, the liquid reservoir 13, the wick holder 14 and the wick 15 hold the cartridge. It can also be configured. At this time, the vibrating element 17 may be located on the side of the control body, which can be understood to reduce the cartridge replacement cost by excluding the vibrating element 17, which is a relatively expensive element, from the cartridge. For reference, in the art, the cartridge may be used interchangeably with terms such as a cartomizer, an atomizer, or a vaporizer.

Next, the liquid storage tank 13 may have a predetermined space therein, and store a liquid aerosol-forming substrate in the space. In addition, the liquid storage tank 13 may supply the stored liquid to the vibrating element 17 through the wick 15 .

Next, the wick holder 14 may refer to a structure supporting or surrounding the wick 15 . The wick holder 14 may serve to guide the liquid stored in the liquid storage tank 13 to move toward the wick 15 . It may be preferable that the wick holder 14 is made of a material having little physical and chemical deformation due to liquid contact, vibration, heating, or the like. For example, the wick holder 14 may be made of a silicon material, but is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the wickholder 14 may be omitted.

Next, the wick 15 may absorb the liquid stored in the liquid storage tank 13 and supply it to the vibrating element 17 in the vaporization space. The wick 15 may be implemented with any material capable of absorbing the liquid phase of the liquid storage tank 13 . For example, the wick 15 may be made of cotton, silica, fiber, a porous structure (e.g. a bead aggregate), and the like, but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the wick 15 may be manufactured to have a smaller size than the vibrating element 17 and placed in contact with the vibrating element 17 . Such a size and arrangement relationship will be described later with reference to FIG. 4 in a moment. let it do

Since the liquid storage tank 13 , the wick holder 14 and the wick 15 serve to supply the liquid to the vibrating element 17 , it may be referred to as a “liquid supply unit”.

Meanwhile, although FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate a case in which the liquid supply unit includes the wick 15 as an example, the liquid supply unit may be implemented in other forms. For example, the liquid supply unit does not include the wick 15 and may be implemented to supply the liquid phase of the liquid storage tank 13 to the vibrating element 17 through the liquid supply passage.

Hereinafter, the elements constituting the control body of the aerosol generating device 10 will be described.

The control body case 16 may form the exterior of the control body. In some cases, the control body case 16 may form the overall appearance of the aerosol-generating device 10 . The control body case 16 may be made of an appropriate material capable of protecting the components inside the control body.

Next, the vibration element 17 may generate vibration (ultrasonic vibration) to vaporize the liquid phase supplied into the vaporization space. For example, the vibration element 17 may be implemented as a piezoelectric element capable of converting electrical energy into mechanical energy, and may generate vibration under the control of the controller 18 . Those skilled in the art will be able to clearly understand the principle of operation of the piezoelectric element, and further description thereof will be omitted. The vibration element 17 may be electrically connected to the control unit 18 and the battery 19 .

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 4 and the like, the vibrating element 17 and the wick 15 may be placed in contact with each other. By doing so, the vibration generated in the vibrating element 17 is transmitted to the wick 15 without loss, so that vaporization can occur smoothly. Further, the wick 15 is disposed at the center of the vibrating element 17 , and the diameter of the wick 15 (eg, the diameter of the contact cross-section) may be smaller than that of the vibrating element 17 . That is, the contact area between the wick 15 and the vibrating element 17 may be smaller than the cross-sectional area of the vibrating element 17 . By doing so, droplets are generated intensively only in the vicinity of the central portion of the vibrating element 17, so that the generated droplets can be effectively prevented from reaching the inlet of the airflow passage. In this embodiment, the diameter may mean, for example, the shortest length, the longest length, or the average length of a straight line passing through the center.

In the above embodiments, the diameter D1 of the wick 15 or the diameter D1 of the contact portion may be about 2.0 mm to 8.0 mm, preferably about 2.5 mm to 7.0 mm, about 3.0 mm to 6.0 mm or about 3.0 mm to 5.0 mm. Within this numerical range, a sufficient amount of atomization can be ensured through an appropriate vaporization area, and when the general size of the vibrating element 17 is considered, the margin of the outer part (ie, the non-contact part) is sufficiently secured so that the generated droplets are Inflow into the inlet of the airflow passage can be effectively prevented.

Further, in some embodiments, the distance D2 from the periphery of the wick 15 to the periphery of the vibrating element 17 may be about 1 mm or more, preferably about 1.2 mm or more, 1.5 mm or more, 1.7 mm or more. , 2.0 mm or more, or 2.5 mm or more. Within this numerical range, the margin of the outer portion (that is, the non-contact portion) is sufficiently secured to effectively prevent the generated droplets from flowing into the inlet of the airflow passage.

Meanwhile, in some embodiments, the vibrating element 17 may be located on the aerosol-generating device 10 rather than on the side of the control body.

The description will be continued with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 again.

Although not clearly shown in FIG. 2 , a fixing member (e.g. damper) disposed to fix the periphery of the vibrating element 17 may be further included in the control body. The fixing member protects the vibration element 17 and at the same time absorbs the vibration so that the vibration generated by the vibration element 17 is not transmitted to the outside of the control body case 16 . Therefore, it may be preferable that the fixing member is made of a material capable of absorbing vibration well, such as silicon. In addition, the fixing member is made of a material capable of being waterproof or moisture-proof, and may also serve to seal the gap between the vibrating element 17 and the control body case 16 . In this case, the problem of malfunction of the control body due to leakage of liquid (e.g. liquid aerosol-forming substrate) or gas (e.g. aerosol) into the gap between the control body case 16 and the vibrating element 17 can be greatly reduced. have. For example, it is possible to prevent in advance that an electrical component such as the control unit 18 is damaged or malfunctions due to moisture.

Next, the battery 19 may supply the power used to operate the aerosol-generating device 10 . For example, the battery 19 may supply electric power so that the vibration element 17 generates ultrasonic vibration, and may also supply electric power required for the control unit 18 to operate.

In addition, the battery 19 is a display (not shown) installed in the aerosol generating device 10, a sensor (not shown), a motor (not shown), an input device (not shown), such as electrical components such as the power required to operate can supply

Next, the control unit 18 may control the overall operation of the aerosol-generating device 10 . For example, the controller may control the operation of the vibrating element 17 and the battery 19 , and may also control the operation of other components included in the aerosol-generating device 10 . The controller may control the power supplied by the battery 19 , the operation of the vibration element 17 , and the like. In addition, the controller may determine whether the aerosol-generating device 10 is in an operable state by checking the state of each of the components of the aerosol-generating device 10 .

In some embodiments, the control unit 18 may estimate the degree to which droplets are generated in the vaporization space, and adjust the power supplied to the vibration element 17 based on the estimation result. By doing so, it is possible to further alleviate the droplet discharge phenomenon and the airflow passage clogging phenomenon. This embodiment will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. 15 .

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

Hereinafter, in order to provide more convenience of understanding, the vaporization structure of the aerosol-generating device 10 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 .

5 illustrates an aerosol movement path through a cross-section of the aerosol-generating device 10 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, and FIG. 6 illustrates an outdoor air intake path. For reference, Figure 6 shows a cross-section (e.g., a cross-section viewed from the side) in another direction of the aerosol-generating device 10, wherein the movement of the aerosol (A) and the inflow of the outside air (Air) are different airflow passages (121, 123).

As shown in FIG. 5 , the vibrating element 17 , the inlet 121A and the outlet 121B of the airflow passage 121 may have a non-linear structure. Alternatively, the inlet of the vibrating element 17 , the wick 15 , and the airflow passage 121 may have a non-linear structure. For example, as shown, the inlet 121A of the airflow passage 121 is located in a direction not perpendicular to the vibrating element 17, or the outlet 121B of the airflow passage 121 is perpendicular to the inlet 121A. It may be located in a different direction. By doing so, the droplet 122 generated in the vaporization space can be effectively prevented from flowing into the inlet 121A of the airflow passage 121 or discharged through the outlet 121B of the airflow passage 121 .

In addition, as mentioned above, the wick 15 having a smaller size than the vibrating element 17 is disposed at the center of the vibrating element 17 , so that the droplet 122 flows into the inlet 121A of the airflow passage 121 . can be prevented more effectively. For example, as shown, even if the generated droplet 122 bounces around the wick 15, the majority of the generated droplet (e.g. 122) due to the margin space between the wick 15 and the airflow passage 121 The inlet 121A of the airflow passage 121 may not be reached.

For the supply path of the liquid phase (L), the movement path of the aerosol (A), and the inflow path of the outside air (Air), reference is made to the arrows of FIGS. 5 and 6 . However, since FIGS. 5 and 6 only show some examples of the present disclosure, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

So far, the aerosol-generating device 10 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure has been described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6 . Hereinafter, the aerosol generating device 20 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9 .

7 is an exemplary view for explaining the aerosol-generating device 20 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. 7 shows by way of example only the upper part of the aerosol-generating device 20 . Hereinafter, it will be described with reference to FIG. 7, but for clarity of the present disclosure, a description of the content overlapping with the previous embodiments will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 7 , the aerosol generating device 20 according to the present embodiment may be an aerosol generating device through heating. That is, the vaporization element 26 of the aerosol generating device 10 may be a heating element that vaporizes the liquid phase through heating.

As shown, the aerosol-generating device 20 may include a mouthpiece 21 , an upper case 22 , a liquid reservoir 23 , a wick housing 24 , a wick 25 , and a heating element 26 . have. In addition, although not shown, the aerosol generating device 20 may further include a control unit (not shown), a battery (not shown) and a control body case (not shown). However, this is only a preferred embodiment for achieving the purpose of the present disclosure, and it goes without saying that some components may be added or omitted as necessary. Hereinafter, each component of the aerosol generating device 20 will be described.

Since the mouthpiece 21, the upper case 22 and the liquid storage tank 23 may correspond to the mouthpiece 11, the upper case 12, and the liquid storage tank 13 illustrated in FIG. 2, respectively, for these The description will be omitted.

Next, the wick housing 24 may mean a housing surrounding at least a portion of the wick 25 . In some embodiments, the wick housing 24 may be omitted.

Next, the wick 25 may absorb the liquid L stored in the liquid storage tank 23 and supply it to the heating element 26 . The wick 25 may be implemented with any material capable of absorbing the liquid L of the liquid storage tank 23 . For example, the wick 25 may be made of cotton, silica, fiber, a porous structure (e.g. a bead aggregate), and the like, but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, wick 25 may be of a multiple (layer) structure. The wick 25 having a multiple (layer) structure can effectively suppress the generation of droplets. The detailed structure of the wick 25 and the principle of suppressing the generation of droplets will be described in detail later with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9 . .

Since the liquid storage tank 23 , the wick housing 24 and the wick 25 serve to store and supply the liquid phase L, it may be referred to as a “liquid phase supply unit”.

Next, the heating element 26 may generate an aerosol by heating the liquid phase L supplied through the wick 25 . As shown, the heating element 26 may be implemented as a coil surrounding at least a portion of the wick 25, but is not limited thereto, and if it is possible to vaporize the liquid phase L through heating The heating element 26 may be implemented in any way.

In some embodiments, the wick 25 may be implemented integrally with the heating element 26 . For example, the wick 25 may be implemented as an element having a liquid (L) absorption function and a heat generating function at the same time, such as a porous assembly made of metal foam or metal beads.

On the other hand, as shown, the heating element 26 (or the wick 25), the inlet 221A and the outlet 221B of the airflow passage 221 may be formed in a non-linear structure. For example, as shown, the inlet 221A of the airflow passage 221 is located in a direction not perpendicular to the heating element 26, or the outlet 221B of the airflow passage 221 is perpendicular to the inlet 221A. It may be located in a different direction. By doing so, droplets generated in the vaporization space can be effectively prevented from flowing into the inlet 221A of the airflow passage 221 or discharged through the outlet 221B of the airflow passage 221 .

Hereinafter, a wick 25 having a multi (layer) structure according to some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9 .

8 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a wick 25 of a multi (layer) structure according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. 8 shows as an example that the wick 25 has a double (layer) structure for convenience of understanding, but the wick 25 may have a triple (layer) structure or more.

As shown in FIG. 8 , the wick 25 may be configured to include a core portion 251 and an outer skin 252 . Each of the core part 251 and the outer skin 252 may have a single (layer) structure or a multi (layer) structure.

The core part 251 may mainly serve to absorb the liquid phase. In other words, the core part 251 may play a leading role in smoothly supplying the liquid to the pores inside the wick 25 .

For the above role, the core part 251 according to some embodiments may be implemented to have a higher transport capability than the outer skin 252 . For example, the core portion 251 may have a lower density or higher porosity than the outer skin 252 . As another example, the core part 251 may be made of a material having higher wettability than the outer skin 252 .

The core part 251 may be made of, for example, cotton, silica, fiber, a bead aggregate, or the like. However, the present invention is not limited thereto.

Next, the outer skin 252 may serve to prevent the generation of droplets and transfer the heat of the heating element 26 to the core part 251 to ensure smooth vaporization. For example, the outer skin 252 prevents the liquid absorbed from being rapidly pushed out of the wick 25 as the bubbles rapidly grow inside the core part 251 , thereby preventing the generation of droplets in the wick 25 . can do. In addition, the outer skin 252 may protect the core portion 251 from the high temperature of the heating element 26 .

For the above role, the outer skin 252 according to some embodiments may be implemented to have a lower transport capacity than the core part 251 . For example, the outer skin 252 may have a higher density or lower porosity than the core portion 251 . In this case, the liquid absorbed by the rapid growth of the bubble can be effectively suppressed from being pushed out of the wick 25 , and the heat of the heating element 26 can also be well transferred to the core part 251 . As another example, the outer skin 252 may be made of a material having lower wettability than the core part 251 . In this case, the problem that the liquid vaporized in the core part 251 is condensed again in the outer skin 252 and the amount of atomization is reduced can be alleviated. In addition, the formation of a thin liquid film, which is a cause of bubble generation, on the outer skin 252 is prevented, so that the generation of droplets during vaporization can be greatly alleviated.

The outer skin 252 may be made of, for example, cotton, silica, fiber, a bead aggregate, a membrane, a nonwoven fabric, or the like. However, the present invention is not limited thereto.

On the other hand, the physical specifications (e.g. thickness) and/or material of the core part 251 and the outer skin 252 may vary, which may be appropriately selected to comprehensively consider the atomization amount and the droplet generation.

In some embodiments, the thickness of the skin 252 may be about 5 mm or less, preferably about 4 mm or 3 mm or less, and more preferably about 2 mm or 1 mm or less. In this numerical range, the problem of reducing the amount of atomization due to the outer skin 252 can be greatly alleviated.

Also, in some embodiments, the core part 251 may be made of a material different from that of the outer skin 252 . For example, the core part 251 may be made of a material having higher wettability than the outer skin 252 . In this case, it can be suppressed from the formation of a thin liquid film on the outer skin 252 causing a reduction in the amount of atomization or generation of bubbles (or droplets) due to condensation of the vaporized liquid. However, in some other embodiments, the core part 251 may be made of the same material as the outer skin 252 . For example, the core part 251 may be made of the same fiber material as the outer skin 252 .

The arrangement form of the core part 251 and the outer skin 252 may also be varied, and this may also be appropriately selected in consideration of the atomization amount and the generation of droplets.

In some embodiments, the outer skin 252 may be disposed in a form (e.g., enveloping form) that completely covers the core portion 251 . In this case, the phenomenon that the droplet bounces off the wick 25 can be greatly alleviated.

In some other embodiments, the outer skin 252 may be disposed to cover a portion of the core portion 251 . For example, the outer skin 252 may be arranged to cover only the disposition area of the heating element 26 among the entire area of the core portion 251 . In this case, the problem of reducing the amount of atomization can be somewhat alleviated, and the effect of reducing material cost can also be achieved. As another example, as shown in FIG. 9 , the outer skin 252 may be arranged to cover only a contact area with the heating element 26 among the entire area of the core part 251 . In other words, the skin 252 may be arranged to cover only the area where the wick 25 and the heating element 26 contact. In this case, vaporization is promoted in the non-contact area with the heating element 26 (e.g., the gap between the wound coil), so that the problem of reducing the atomization amount can be greatly alleviated. In addition, since the contact area where vaporization and droplet splashing occurs intensively is covered by the outer skin 252, the droplet generation can also be effectively suppressed.

So far, the aerosol-generating device 20 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure has been described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9 . Hereinafter, various embodiments of the airflow passages 30-1 to 30-4 to which the structural design for preventing the droplet discharge phenomenon and/or the airflow passage clogging phenomenon are applied will be described with reference to the drawings below FIG. . Various embodiments described below may be applied without limitation to the

airflow passages

121 and 221 of the aerosol-generating

devices

10 and 20 described above.

First, FIG. 10 is an exemplary view showing the internal form of the airflow passage 30-1 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 10 , the liquid absorbent 32 may be disposed on the inner wall 31 of the airflow passage 30-1 according to the present embodiment. Although FIG. 10 shows as an example that one liquid absorbent body 32 is disposed, it goes without saying that the number of the liquid absorbent body 32 may be two or more.

The liquid absorbent 32 absorbs the liquid 333 adhered to the inner wall 31 of the airflow passage 30-1 and discharges it in the direction of gravity, thereby forming or growing a liquid film on the inner wall 31 of the airflow passage 30-1. can be prevented from doing More specifically, the liquid absorbent 32 functions as a kind of drainage in the airflow passage 30-1, thereby preventing the liquid film from growing toward the center of the airflow passage 30-1, and the introduced droplets 331 ) and the condensate 332 of the aerosol (A) can be rapidly discharged in the direction of gravity without being adhered to the inner wall 31 . As the formation of the liquid film is suppressed by the liquid absorbent 32 , the droplet discharge phenomenon and the airflow passage clogging phenomenon can be naturally alleviated.

The liquid absorbent 32 may preferably be made of a material that can easily absorb liquid. For example, the liquid absorbent body 32 may be made of a hydrophilic material or a porous material. Examples of such materials include filter paper and fibers, but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

On the other hand, the arrangement position, arrangement area and/or arrangement form of the liquid absorbent body 32 may be designed in various ways.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 10 , the liquid absorbent 32 may be arranged to extend in the direction of gravity at a specific position of the inner wall 31 of the airflow passage 30 - 1 . In this case, since the liquid 333 absorbed by the liquid absorbent 32 by gravity is discharged along the liquid absorbent 32, the drainage function can be further strengthened.

Hereinafter, an internal form of the airflow passage 30 - 2 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12 .

11 is a view showing an internal form of an airflow passage 30-2 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure.

In this embodiment, for the purpose similar to that of the liquid absorbent 32 (that is, to prevent clogging of the air flow and discharge of droplets), a surface treatment to increase wettability is performed on the inner wall 31 of the air flow passage 30-2. can be This is because, when the wettability of the inner wall is increased, the adhesion of droplets is suppressed, and consequently the formation and growth of a liquid film can be prevented.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 11 , a surface treatment for increasing wettability may be performed on at least a partial region 312 of the inner wall 31 of the airflow passage 30 - 2 . This surface treatment can prevent the liquid film from growing toward the center of the airflow passage 30-2, and the introduced droplets 334 and the condensate 335 of the aerosol A do not adhere to the inner wall 31. It can be rapidly discharged in the direction of gravity.

Examples of the surface treatment include plating treatment (e.g. electroplating), hydrophilic coating, and the like, but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In addition, the plating process may be performed with, for example, a metal such as gold, silver, nickel, copper, or the like, but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the surface treatment may be performed so that the contact angle is about 30° or less, preferably about 20° or 10° or less, and more preferably the contact angle is close to 0°. This is because, as the wettability increases, the formation and growth of a liquid film on the inner wall 31 of the airflow passage 30-2 can be further suppressed.

Meanwhile, the surface treatment may be performed on a part or the entire area of the inner wall 31 of the airflow passage 30-2, and the area may be variously designed and selected.

In some embodiments, the surface treatment region may include part or all of the lower region of the inner wall 31 of the airflow passage 30 - 2 . For example, the surface treatment may be performed only on the lower region of the inner wall 31 of the air flow passage 30 - 2 . This may be understood to reflect the fact that the liquid film is mainly formed at a lower position of the inner wall 31 . As another example, the surface treatment is performed on both the lower region and the upper region of the inner wall 31 of the airflow passage 30-2, and the surface treatment may be performed so that the wettability of the lower region is higher than that of the upper region.

In addition, in some embodiments, the liquid absorbent 32 may be disposed in the area on which the surface treatment is performed. For example, as shown in FIG. 12 , when the surface treatment is performed on a plurality of first areas (e.g. 312-1 and 312-2) formed at regular intervals (or first areas (e.g. 312-1, 312-2), a plurality of first regions (e.g. 312-1, 312-2) and a plurality of first regions (e.g. 312-1, 312-2) The liquid absorbent (e.g. 32-1, 32-2) may be disposed. In this case, since the effect of disposing the liquid absorbents (e.g. 32-1 and 32-2) on the drainage path is achieved, the drainage function of the inner wall 31 of the airflow path 30-2 can be further strengthened. In addition, according to this, the droplet discharge phenomenon and the airflow passage blockage phenomenon can be further alleviated.

Hereinafter, the airflow passage 30-3 according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. 13 .

13 is an exemplary view showing the internal form of the airflow passage 30-3 according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 13 , in this embodiment, an obstacle 34 that may prevent the movement of the aerosol A may be disposed inside the airflow passage 30 - 3 . That is, the specific structure 34 may be disposed in a form that can interfere with the movement of the aerosol (A). As shown, one or more obstacles 34 may be disposed inside the airflow passage 30-3, and the length and spacing of the obstacles 34 may be designed in various ways.

When the obstacle 34 is disposed, the condensate or droplets 336 of the aerosol may be formed in the downward direction of the obstacle 34 (ie, the opposite direction of the mouthpiece) during the movement of the aerosol A. Since the condensed condensate or droplet 336 can be discharged naturally in the direction of gravity, the droplet 336 is discharged through the outlet of the airflow passage 30-3 or a liquid film is formed inside the airflow passage 30-3. can be effectively prevented.

The obstacle 34 may be made of various materials that can prevent the movement of the aerosol (A). In some embodiments, the obstacle 34 may be made of a porous material, a mesh material, or a membrane material. In this case, the movement obstruction to the aerosol (A) is minimized, and the problem that the amount of atomization is reduced or the suckability is reduced due to the obstacle 34 can be greatly reduced.

Hereinafter, the airflow passage 30-4 according to the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. 14 .

14 is an exemplary view showing the internal form of the airflow passage 30-4 according to the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.

14, a mesh element 35 capable of restricting the movement of the droplet 337 may be disposed inside the airflow passage 30-4 according to the present embodiment. The mesh element 35 may be a structure including a plurality of holes, such as a mesh plate (or a perforated plate), and the plurality of holes pass the aerosol (A), but the size that can limit the movement of the droplet 337 can have In some embodiments, a membrane that selectively transmits only the aerosol A may be disposed instead of the mesh element 35 .

The mesh element 35 may be disposed at the inlet or in the middle of the airflow passage 30-4, or may be disposed at the outlet. In addition, as shown, the mesh element 35 may be designed to have a size that can block the entire airflow passage 30-4, or can be designed to have a size that can block only a part of the airflow passage 30-4. There is (see obstacle 34 in FIG. 13).

So far, the airflow passages 30-1 to 30-4 according to the first to fourth embodiments of the present disclosure have been described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 14 . Although each embodiment has been separately described, this is only for convenience of understanding, and the above-described first to fourth embodiments may be combined in various forms. For example, a surface treatment for increasing wettability is performed on the inner wall of the airflow passage, and a mesh element (e.g. 35) may be disposed at the inlet of the airflow passage.

Hereinafter, a control method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. 15 .

Each step of the control method to be described later may be performed by the controller (e.g. 19) of the aerosol generating device (e.g. 10, 20), and when the controller (e.g. 19) is implemented as a processor, each step of the control method is It may be implemented as one or more instructions executable by a processor. Therefore, in the following description, when a subject of a specific step or operation is omitted, it may be understood that the control unit (e.g. 19) is performed.

15 is an exemplary flowchart illustrating a control method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. However, this is only a preferred embodiment for achieving the purpose of the present disclosure, and it goes without saying that some steps may be added or deleted as needed.

As shown in FIG. 15 , the control method may be started in step S10 of estimating the degree of droplet generation (e.g. the number of drops per puff, the number of drops over a certain time, etc.). In this step, a specific method for estimating the degree of droplet generation may vary, which may vary according to embodiments.

In some embodiments, the controller may estimate the degree of generation of droplets based on changes in temperature, current, resistance or voltage of the vaporizing element (e.g. vibrating element, heating element). Specifically, when a droplet bounces off the wick (e.g., when a bubble rapidly grows inside), the wick instantaneously reaches a non-saturated state. An element's current, resistance, or voltage across it can fluctuate rapidly. Accordingly, the controller may estimate the degree of droplet generation based on changes in temperature, current, resistance, or voltage. For example, the controller may determine that the number of droplet generation has increased when a variation or slope of temperature, current, resistance, or voltage is greater than or equal to a threshold value.

In some other embodiments, the controller may estimate the degree of generation of the droplet based on a change in the airflow in the airflow passage. Airflow change may be detected by an airflow sensor, but is not limited thereto. Since the generation of droplets will also be accelerated as the vaporization rate increases, a sharp increase in airflow may be an indicator of the increase in droplets. Accordingly, the control unit may estimate the degree of generation of droplets based on the change in airflow.

In step S20, the control unit may adjust the power supplied to the vaporization element based on the estimation result. For example, in response to the determination that the degree of droplet generation is greater than or equal to the reference value (e.g., the estimated value of the number of drops is greater than or equal to the reference value, or the estimated value of the increase slope of the number of drops is greater than or equal to the reference value), the control unit reduces the power supplied to the vaporization element. can As another example, in response to determining that the droplet generation level is less than (or less than) the reference value, the controller may increase the power supplied to the vaporization element. In this case, the vaporization may be accelerated and the amount of atomization may be increased.

In this step S20, the control width (ie, increase and decrease width) of the supply power may be a preset fixed value or a variable value that varies according to circumstances, and may be set in various ways.

In some embodiments, the increase and decrease of the supply power may be set to the same value. In this case, power control in consideration of the droplet generation degree and the atomization amount in a balanced manner may be performed.

In some other embodiments, the increase amount of the supply power may be set to a value greater than the decrease amount. In this case, since the power is regulated in such a way that the supply power is greatly increased and then gradually decreased, power control with more emphasis on the atomization amount can be performed.

In some other embodiments, the decrease in the supply power may be set to a value greater than the increase. In this case, since the power is regulated in such a way that the supply power is greatly reduced and then gradually increased, power control with more emphasis on preventing droplet generation can be performed.

Further, in some embodiments, the adjustment width (increase or decrease) of the supply power may be changed based on the result of the power adjustment (ie, feedback). For example, when the droplet generation degree is not significantly reduced even though the supply power is reduced, the reduction width may be set to a larger value. In the opposite case, the reduction width may be set to a smaller value.

Meanwhile, steps S10 and S20 may be repeatedly performed during operation (e.g. smoking) of the aerosol-generating device in a feedback manner.

So far, a control method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure has been described with reference to FIG. 15 . According to the above-described method, the droplet discharge phenomenon and the airflow passage clogging phenomenon can be greatly alleviated through dynamic power control according to the droplet generation degree, and an appropriate atomization amount can be ensured. Accordingly, the user's satisfaction with the aerosol-generating device can be greatly improved.

The technical spirit of the present disclosure described with reference to FIG. 15 or contents related to the operation of the controller may be implemented as computer-readable codes on a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable recording medium may be, for example, a removable recording medium (CD, DVD, Blu-ray disk, USB storage device, removable hard disk) or a fixed recording medium (ROM, RAM, computer-equipped hard disk). can The computer program recorded in the computer-readable recording medium may be transmitted to another computing device through a network such as the Internet and installed in the other computing device, thereby being used in the other computing device.

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

Claims

a liquid supply unit for supplying a liquid aerosol-forming substrate;

a vaporization element that vaporizes the supplied liquid aerosol-forming substrate in the vaporization space to generate an aerosol; and

and an airflow passage for moving the aerosol generated in the vaporization space in the direction of the mouthpiece,

The vaporization element, the inlet of the airflow passage and the outlet of the airflow passageway are formed of a non-linear structure.
The method of claim 1,

the inlet of the airflow passage is located in a direction not perpendicular to the vaporizing element.
The method of claim 1,

The liquid supply unit includes a wick that absorbs the liquid aerosol-forming substrate and supplies it into the vaporization space,

The vaporizing element, the wick, and the inlet of the airflow passage is made of a structure that is not in a straight line, an aerosol-generating device.
The method of claim 1,

The liquid supply unit includes a wick that absorbs the liquid aerosol-forming substrate and delivers it into the vaporization space,

The vaporization element vaporizes the supplied liquid aerosol-forming substrate through ultrasonic vibration,

wherein the vaporizing element is arranged to be in contact with the wick.
5. The method of claim 4,

The wick is disposed at the center of the vaporizing element,

and a contact area between the wick and the vaporizing element is smaller than a cross-sectional area of the vaporizing element.
5. The method of claim 4,

The diameter of the wick or the diameter of the contacted portion is 2.0mm to 6.0mm, an aerosol-generating device.
5. The method of claim 4,

An aerosol-generating device, wherein the distance from the outer edge of the wick to the outer edge of the vaporizing element is 1.5 mm or more.
The method of claim 1,

The vaporizing element heats the supplied liquid aerosol-forming substrate to vaporize the aerosol.
The method of claim 1,

A liquid absorbent is disposed on the inner wall of the airflow passage, an aerosol generating device.
10. The method of claim 9,

A specific area of the inner wall of the airflow passage is subjected to surface treatment to increase wettability,

The liquid absorbent is disposed in the specific area, an aerosol generating device.
The method of claim 1,

An aerosol-generating device, wherein a mesh element is disposed inside the airflow passage.
The method of claim 1,

An obstacle that prevents movement of the generated aerosol is disposed inside the airflow passage, an aerosol generating device.
The method of claim 1,

An aerosol-generating device, wherein at least a portion of the inner wall of the airflow passage is subjected to a surface treatment to increase wettability.
The method of claim 1,

Further comprising a control unit for controlling the supply power of the vaporization element,

The control unit is

An aerosol generating device for estimating the degree to which droplets are generated in the vaporization space, and controlling the supply power of the vaporization element based on the estimation result.