WO2023204623A1

WO2023204623A1 - Electronic cigarette heater structure for minimizing contact resistance with electrode terminal

Info

Publication number: WO2023204623A1
Application number: PCT/KR2023/005371
Authority: WO
Inventors: 이승수; 홍경의
Original assignee: 주식회사 기공기술
Priority date: 2022-04-21
Filing date: 2023-04-20
Publication date: 2023-10-26

Abstract

An embodiment of the present invention provides an electronic cigarette heater structure for minimizing contact resistance with an electrode terminal, the heater structure including: a porous ceramic member formed to be porous to absorb a liquid aerosol generation material; and a heater member provided in a form attached to a surface of the porous ceramic member and atomizing the liquid aerosol generation material, wherein in order to improve contact strength with a far end of an external electrode terminal, the heater member includes a contact hole formed through at least a portion of a surface coming in contact with the external electrode terminal.

Description

Heater structure for electronic cigarettes that minimizes contact resistance with electrode terminals

The present invention relates to a heater structure for electronic cigarettes, and more specifically, to a heater structure for electronic cigarettes that minimizes contact resistance with electrode terminals and an aerosol generating device for electronic cigarettes including the same.

In general, cigarette-type tobacco was almost the only means of inhaling recreational substances, but recently, liquid electronic cigarettes have become one of the means.

These liquid electronic cigarettes generate fine particles by atomizing the inhaled material into vapor by applying heat or ultrasonic waves to a cartridge containing the inhaled material in liquid form. Accordingly, liquid electronic cigarettes are completely different from conventional cigarette-type cigarettes that generate smoke in terms of their method, and in particular, they can prevent the generation of various harmful substances that may be generated by combustion.

The liquid electronic cigarette often uses an assembly that combines a porous member that absorbs the liquid aerosol-generating base and a heater that heats the liquid. In order to manufacture an assembly combining a porous member and a heater as described above, an in-mold method is used to embed the heater inside the porous member, and a method is used to dent the heater inward on the surface of the porous member by only the thickness of the heater. This can be used.

As described above, when the heater is depressed on the porous member to the same thickness, there is an advantage that the production cost of the assembly combining the porous member and the heater is relatively reduced, and the amount of aerosol generation is increased compared to the in-mold method.

Meanwhile, the heater combined with the porous member receives current by contacting the pogo pin of the electrode terminal on the electronic cigarette body. In this case, if there is an oxide film or foreign matter on the terminal part of the heater in contact with the pogo pin, As contact resistance increases and a resistance value higher than the desired resistance value occurs, there may be a problem in which current is not supplied smoothly.

The technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is to provide a heater structure for electronic cigarettes that minimizes contact resistance with electrode terminals.

The technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is not limited to the technical problem mentioned above, and other technical problems not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below. There will be.

In order to achieve the above technical problem, an embodiment of the present invention provides a heater structure for an electronic cigarette that minimizes contact resistance with an electrode terminal, comprising: a porous ceramic member formed to be porous to absorb liquid aerosol-generating substances; It includes a heater member attached to one surface of the porous ceramic member to atomize the liquid aerosol-generating material, wherein the heater member is configured to improve the contact strength with the end of the external electrode terminal. Provided is a heater structure for an electronic cigarette that minimizes contact resistance with an electrode terminal, including a contact hole formed on at least a portion of one surface in contact with the electrode terminal.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the contact hole is formed as a first type of first contact hole through which a liquid aerosol generating material can penetrate toward the porous ceramic member located at the top, or is formed as a concave dimple rather than a penetrating structure. It may be formed as a second type of second contact hole having a (dimple) shape.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the contact hole is formed using at least one of a laser processing method, an etching method, and a press processing method, and the laser processing method and the etching method are used. ) Oxidation formed around the heater member while contacting the external electrode terminal and a contact hole formed through at least one of a processing method and a press processing method, and being exposed to external air after plastic processing. By separating the film, the external electrode terminal can be brought into contact with the heater member that is not exposed to the oxide film with minimal contact resistance.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the width of the contact hole may be narrower than the width of the end of the external electrode terminal.

In an embodiment of the present invention, a contact protrusion may be formed on a lower edge of the heater member that contacts the external electrode terminal and forms the contact hole.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the heater member is formed by being connected to the conductive pattern body and a conductive pattern body that supplies current to heat the heater member when it contacts the external electrode terminal, and the conductive pattern As it protrudes in a vertical direction with respect to the body, it may include an anchor that improves the bonding strength of the porous ceramic member and the heater member.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the conductive pattern body may be exposed on the surface of the porous ceramic member, and the anchor may be inserted into the porous ceramic member.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the anchor may have a penetrable coupling support hole formed in the central portion to increase the contact area with the bead of the porous ceramic member sintered surrounding the anchor.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, contact resistance with the electrode terminal can be minimized. Specifically, the present invention has the effect of minimizing contact resistance from the oxide film generated after firing.

The effects of the present invention are not limited to the effects described above, and should be understood to include all effects that can be inferred from the configuration of the invention described in the description or claims of the present invention.

Figure 1 is a diagram schematically showing an aerosol generating device for an electronic cigarette according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating a heater structure for an electronic cigarette according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a reference diagram illustrating the contact between a pogo pin and a heater member without a contact hole.

Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating a heater structure for an electronic cigarette according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating a heater structure for an electronic cigarette according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a diagram showing the specific shape of the lower edge of the contact hole according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 7 is a view showing the surface of a current applying portion where a contact hole is formed according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating the detailed structure of an anchor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings. However, the present invention may be implemented in various different forms and, therefore, is not limited to the embodiments described herein. In order to clearly explain the present invention in the drawings, parts that are not related to the description are omitted, and similar parts are given similar reference numerals throughout the specification.

Throughout the specification, when a part is said to be "connected (connected, contacted, combined)" with another part, this means not only "directly connected" but also "indirectly connected" with another member in between. "Includes cases where it is. Additionally, when a part is said to “include” a certain component, this does not mean that other components are excluded, but that other components can be added, unless specifically stated to the contrary.

The terms used herein are only used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this specification, terms such as “comprise” or “have” are intended to indicate the presence of features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification, but are not intended to indicate the presence of one or more other features. It should be understood that this does not exclude in advance the possibility of the existence or addition of elements, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Below, a heater structure for electronic cigarettes that minimizes contact resistance with electrode terminals and an aerosol generating device for electronic cigarettes including the same will be described.

Referring to Figure 1, an aerosol generating device for an electronic cigarette according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a porous ceramic member 100, a heater member 200, a cartridge 300, a drip tip 400, It may be configured to include an operation button 500 and a battery 600.

The porous ceramic member 100 and the heater member 200 will be described in detail later with reference to FIGS. 2 to 8 .

The cartridge 300 is located on the upper part of the ceramic member 100 and can store a liquid aerosol-generating material therein.

Here, the liquid aerosol-generating material may mean a liquid composition containing one or more aerosol-generating materials. For example, the liquid aerosol-generating material may include at least one of propylene glycol (PG) and glycerin (GLY), ethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, and oleyl. It may contain at least one alcohol. As another example, the aerosol-generating material may further include at least one of nicotine, moisture, and flavoring material. As another example, the aerosol-generating material may further include various additives such as cinnamon and capsaicin. The composition of the aerosol-generating material may be selected in various ways depending on the embodiment, and the mixing ratio may also vary depending on the embodiment.

The drip tip 400 is a place for inhalation through the user's mouth and is located at the top of the aerosol generating device.

The operation button 500 may be a button for generating a trigger signal so that the aerosol generating device can be operated when the user holds and uses the aerosol generating device by hand.

In the case of a typical electronic cigarette, when the heater member is exposed to external air after firing, it is oxidized and an oxide film is naturally formed. Due to the resulting oxide film, when the heater member contacts the external electrode terminal (pogo pin), resistance increases, making it difficult to smoothly supply current. The heater structure according to the present invention described below is as described above. Conventional problems such as can be solved.

Referring to Figure 2, the heater structure of the present invention may be composed of a porous member 100 and a heater member 200.

The heater structure of the present invention serves to atomize the liquid aerosol material by applying heat when it is absorbed and passes through the porous member 100.

The porous ceramic member 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be formed to be porous to absorb liquid aerosol-generating substances.

The porous ceramic member 100 is a structure including a plurality of beads 110, for example, a sphere packing (sphere) with a body-centered cubic (BCC) or face-centered cubic (FCC) structure. It may be a packed structure, but is not particularly limited thereto and may have various packing structures. The shape of the porous ceramic member 100 is not particularly limited as long as it is a shape that can easily absorb the liquid aerosol-generating material from the chamber storing the liquid aerosol-generating material, for example, H-like shape, ∩-like shape, U It can be designed and implemented in various shapes, such as similar shapes.

The porous ceramic member 100 includes a plurality of porous beads 110. The material of the porous bead 110 may vary and may include, for example, glass beads, ceramic beads, or alumina beads, but the porous material generates a liquid aerosol. There is no particular limitation as long as the bead is made of a material that can smoothly transport the material.

In this specification, “one side” of a porous ceramic member may be defined as an area formed by continuously connecting porous beads located on the outermost side and exposed to the outside of the porous ceramic member, and may include both a flat surface and a bent surface. there is.

Additionally, the heater member 200 is attached to one surface of the porous ceramic member 100 and can atomize the liquid aerosol-generating material.

Referring to (a) of Figure 2, the heater member 200 of the present invention may be configured to include a conductive pattern body 210 and an anchor 230.

As the conductive pattern body 210 contacts an external electrode terminal, current is supplied to heat the heater member 200.

As shown in (a) of FIG. 2, the conductive pattern body 210 according to the present embodiment is located at both ends and has a zigzag shape with a current applying portion 211 in contact with an external electrode terminal. It may include a connecting portion 213 that connects the current applying portions 211 located at both ends.

The connection portion 213 forms a flat heating pattern in which horizontal and vertical patterns are alternately repeated and connected.

Here, the “horizontal pattern” is defined as a pattern arranged in the direction of a long edge on one side of the porous ceramic member on which the heater member 200 is located or on one side of the porous ceramic member on which the heater member is installed, “ Conversely, “vertical pattern” can be defined as a pattern arranged in the direction of a short edge on one side of a porous ceramic member or on one side of a porous ceramic member where a heater member is installed.

The heating pattern may have a structure in which the horizontal patterns are connected while maintaining parallelism between the vertical patterns. Specifically, as shown in (a) of FIG. 2, current applicators 211 (terminals) are located at both ends of the heater member 200, and between the current applicators 211 at both ends there are a horizontal pattern and a vertical pattern. Heating patterns may be repeatedly connected in the order of pattern, horizontal pattern, and vertical pattern, and the horizontal pattern may be connected at the end of each vertical pattern, and the vertical pattern may be connected and repeated at the end of each horizontal pattern. . Through the structure of the heater member in which the horizontal and vertical patterns are repeated, a gap can be formed between the vertical patterns, and the liquid aerosol generating material absorbed through the porous ceramic member 100 contacts air through the gap. It can be transported to one side of the heater member that faces the outside or to one side of the heater member that faces the outside, generating an aerosol when heated.

The anchor 230 of the present invention is formed by being connected to the conductive pattern body 210, and is formed to protrude in a vertical direction with respect to the conductive pattern body 210, thereby forming a bond between the porous ceramic member 100 and the heater member 200. Strength can be improved.

The conductive pattern body 210 of the present invention may be exposed on the surface of the porous ceramic member 100, and the anchor 230 may be inserted into the porous ceramic member 100.

To be more specific, the conductive pattern body 210 is inserted into the porous ceramic member 100 only to the thickness (i.e., only the upper and side surfaces of the conductive pattern body 210 are recessed into the porous ceramic member), and only the lower surface is inserted into the porous ceramic member 100. It may be implemented in a state exposed to the outside.

Additionally, the anchor 230 is completely inserted into the porous ceramic member 100 in the vertical direction and serves to fix and support the heater member 200 on the porous ceramic member 100.

As shown in (a) of FIG. 2, the anchors 230 according to the present embodiment are formed in plural numbers on both sides of the current applying portion 211 and the connecting portion 213 and are arranged to be spaced apart at a predetermined distance. You can.

In addition, the current applicator 211 according to an embodiment of the present invention has one surface in contact with the pogo pin 30, in order to improve the contact strength with the pogo pin 30, which is the end of the external electrode terminal. It may include a contact hole 250 formed in at least a portion of.

The contact hole as shown in Figure 2 may be in the form of a first contact hole 251, and the first contact hole 251 is a hole through which the liquid aerosol generating material can penetrate toward the porous ceramic member 100 on the upper portion. It is a structure.

Figure 2(b) is a diagram showing the A-A cross section in Figure 2(a). Referring to Figure 2(b), the first contact hole 251 according to this embodiment is the pogo pin 30. It must be formed narrower than the width of .

The first contact hole 251 of the present invention according to (b) of FIG. 2 may be implemented by an etching method (eg, a chemical method).

As the width of the first contact hole 251 is narrower than the width of the pogo pin 30, the end of the pogo pin 30 comes into contact with the edge portion (highlight display) of the first contact hole 251, and the heater member Contact resistance caused by oxide films and foreign substances formed on (200) can be minimized.

Figure 3 is a reference diagram illustrating the contact between a pogo pin and a heater member without a contact hole. Referring to Figure 3, if the heater member receiving the current is contacted with the pogo pin without forming a contact hole as in the present invention, the contact may not be made well due to the oxide film and foreign substances attached to the heater member. There may be difficulties in applying current.

However, as shown in Figure 2, when the contact hole 251 is formed, the end of the pogo pin 30 is partially inserted between the contact holes 251, thereby causing contact between the heater member 200 and the pogo pin 30. This can be done more effectively, and in addition, the oxide film and foreign substances around the contact hole 251 may be removed.

Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating a heater structure for an electronic cigarette according to another embodiment of the present invention. The contact hole formed in the current application unit 211 according to the present embodiment is similar to FIG. 2, the first contact hole 251 has a structure that allows the liquid aerosol generating material to penetrate toward the porous ceramic member 100 located at the top. ) may be in the form.

However, according to this embodiment, the first contact holes 251 are not formed only in the area where the pogo pin 30 contacts, but may be formed in plural numbers over the entire area of the current applying unit 211.

In addition, the first contact hole 251 according to the present embodiment is formed narrower than the width of the end of the pogo pin 30, as shown in (b) of Figure 4, and as shown in Figure 2, which is an embodiment of the present invention. It may be formed to have a narrower width than the first contact hole 251 according to the present invention.

The contact hole formed in the current applicator 211 according to this embodiment may be in the form of a second contact hole 253, and the second contact hole 253 is not a penetrating structure like the first contact hole 251. , It is a structure with a concave dimple shape (see (b) in Figure 5).

Referring to Figure 6, the contact hole 250 formed on the current applying unit 211 and including the first contact hole 251 and the second contact hole 253 is in contact with the end of the pogo pin 30. It can be manufactured through a press method so that a contact protrusion 215 is formed at the bottom of the edge (marked in red).

As it is manufactured using the press method, if the contact protrusion 215 is formed at the bottom of the edge of the current applying part 211 forming the contact hole 251, it is more effective in contacting the end of the pogo pin 30. , As a result, the contact resistance is significantly reduced.

As described above, the contact hole formed through the press method and the edge portion of the contact hole formed through the etching method contact the pogo pin, which is an external electrode terminal, to break the oxide film, and the pogo pin is not exposed to the oxide film and receives current. Contact resistance can be reduced by coming into contact with the inner surface of the applicator.

Figure 7 is a view showing the surface of a current applying portion where a contact hole is formed according to an embodiment of the present invention. The present invention uses laser equipment to roughen the surface of the current applying portion 211 in contact with the pogo pin 30, as shown in FIG. 7, so that contact resistance can be minimized.

Referring to FIG. 7, the method of manufacturing the contact hole of the current applicator 211 will be described in more detail. When the current applicator 211 is irradiated using a laser, a contact hole is formed and a dummy pad is formed around the current applicator 211. As they pile up, contact holes are formed in a dimple shape.

This dimple shape causes the accumulated dummy pads to come into contact with the pogo pin, which is an external electrode terminal, and the pogo pin comes into contact with the inner surface of the current application part that is not exposed to the oxide film, thereby smoothly supplying current. At this time, the pogo pin is in contact with the crushed dummy pad along with the dimple-shaped contact hole.

The anchor 230 forms a penetrable coupling support hole 231 in the center to increase the contact area with the bead 110 of the porous ceramic member 100 that is sintered surrounding the anchor 230.

Figure 8 (a) shows the bead sintered around the anchor in the case where there is no coupling support hole 231, and Figure 8 (b) shows the coupling support hole 231 according to an embodiment of the present invention. ) shows the bead sintered around the anchor 230.

When the coupling support hole 231 is provided in the center as in the present invention, numerous beads 110 can be filled between the coupling support holes 231 and sintered together, thereby fixing the anchor 230. As the area increases, the bonding strength between the heater member 200 and the porous ceramic member 100 can be improved.

At this time, the size of the coupling support hole 231 according to this embodiment must be larger than the particle size of the raw material constituting the porous ceramic member 100.

When heat is applied to the anchor, force is applied due to thermal expansion, and at this time, the connection portion 213 of the heater member 200 must be fixed so as not to separate from the porous ceramic member 100.

Meanwhile, as described above, when the anchor 230 having the coupling support hole 231 of the present invention is used, it is accurately embedded in the porous ceramic member 100, and even if heat expands in a high temperature state due to heat generation, The connection portion 213 cannot be separated.

The outer frame of the anchor 230 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be formed in a polygonal shape such as a triangle, square, pentagon, or hexagon, or may be formed in a circular shape. Additionally, the shape of the coupling support hole 231 may be polygonal, such as a triangle, square, pentagon, or hexagon, or may be circular. The combination of the shape of the outer frame of the anchor 230 and the shape of the coupling support hole 231 can be implemented in various combinations.

The description of the present invention described above is for illustrative purposes, and those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention can be easily modified into other specific forms without changing the technical idea or essential features of the present invention. will be. Therefore, the embodiments described above should be understood in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. For example, each component described as unitary may be implemented in a distributed manner, and similarly, components described as distributed may also be implemented in a combined form.

The scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims described below, and all changes or modified forms derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalent concepts should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims

In the heater structure for electronic cigarettes that minimizes contact resistance with the electrode terminal,

A porous ceramic member formed to be porous to absorb liquid aerosol-generating substances,

It includes a heater member attached to one surface of the porous ceramic member to atomize the liquid aerosol-generating material,

The heater member is,

An electronic cigarette that minimizes contact resistance with the electrode terminal, including a contact hole formed on at least a portion of one surface in contact with the external electrode terminal in order to improve the contact strength with the end of the external electrode terminal. Heater structure.
According to paragraph 1,

The contact hole is,

A first contact hole of a first type is formed through which a liquid aerosol-generating material can penetrate toward the porous ceramic member at the top, or

A heater structure that minimizes contact resistance with an electrode terminal, characterized in that it is formed with a second type of second contact hole having a concave dimple shape rather than a penetrating structure.
According to paragraph 1,

The contact hole is,

It is formed using at least one of a laser processing method, an etching processing method, and a press processing method,

The contact hole formed through at least one of the laser processing method, the etching processing method, and the press processing method is in contact with the external electrode terminal, and is exposed to external air after plastic processing. A heater structure that minimizes contact resistance, characterized in that the external electrode terminal contacts the heater member that is not exposed to the oxide film with minimized contact resistance by separating the oxide film formed around the heater member. .
According to paragraph 1,

A heater structure that minimizes contact resistance with an electrode terminal, wherein the width of the contact hole is narrower than the width of the end of the external electrode terminal.
According to paragraph 1,

A heater structure that minimizes contact resistance with an electrode terminal, wherein a contact protrusion is formed on a lower edge of the heater member that contacts the external electrode terminal and forms the contact hole.
According to paragraph 1,

The heater member is,

A conductive pattern body that supplies current as it contacts the external electrode terminal to heat the heater member;

Contact with the electrode terminal, which is connected to the conductive pattern body and includes an anchor that protrudes in a vertical direction with respect to the conductive pattern body, thereby improving the bonding strength of the porous ceramic member and the heater member. Heater structure for electronic cigarettes that minimizes resistance.
According to clause 6,

The conductive pattern body is provided in an exposed form on the surface of the porous ceramic member,

The anchor is a heater structure for an electronic cigarette that minimizes contact resistance with an electrode terminal, wherein the anchor is inserted into the porous ceramic member.
In clause 7,

The anchor is,

A heater for electronic cigarettes that minimizes contact resistance with an electrode terminal, characterized in that a coupling support hole that can penetrate through the center is formed to increase the contact area with the bead of the porous ceramic member sintered surrounding the anchor. struct.