CN118436130A - Atomizer, electronic atomization device and atomization assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

The present application proposes an atomizer, an electronic atomization device and an atomization assembly; wherein the atomizer includes: a liquid storage chamber for storing a liquid matrix; a porous body, which is fluidically connected to the liquid storage chamber to receive or absorb the liquid matrix; the porous body defines a through hole that penetrates the porous body; a heating element, which is combined with the porous body and arranged adjacent to the inner surface of the through hole, for heating at least part of the liquid matrix in the porous body to generate an aerosol; and micropores in the porous body with a pore size between 1 μm and 25 μm, accounting for more than 90% of the micropores in the porous body. The above atomizer uses a porous body with a relatively small pore size, so that 90% of the micropores in the porous body have a pore size of 1 to 25 μm, which is beneficial for preventing or alleviating the liquid matrix from penetrating into the through hole to form airflow blockage.

Description

Atomizer, electronic atomization device and atomization assembly

Technical Field

The embodiment of the application relates to the technical field of electronic atomization, in particular to an atomizer, an electronic atomization device and an atomization assembly.

Background

Smoking articles (e.g., cigarettes, cigars, etc.) burn tobacco during use to produce tobacco smoke. Attempts have been made to replace these tobacco-burning products by making products that release the compounds without burning.

An example of such a product is a heating device that releases a compound by heating rather than burning a material. For example, the material may be tobacco or other non-tobacco products that may or may not contain nicotine. As another example, there are aerosol provision articles, for example, so-called electronic atomizing devices. These devices typically comprise a liquid matrix that is heated to vaporize it, producing an inhalable aerosol. The liquid matrix may comprise nicotine and/or a fragrance and/or an aerosol generating substance (e.g. glycerol). As a known electronic atomizing device, there are a tubular porous ceramic body for absorbing and storing a liquid substrate by capillary action and a spiral heating wire disposed on an inner surface of the tubular porous ceramic body for heating the liquid substrate in the porous ceramic body to generate aerosol.

Disclosure of Invention

One embodiment of the present application provides an atomizer, comprising:

a liquid storage chamber for storing a liquid matrix;

A porous body in fluid communication with the reservoir to receive or aspirate a liquid matrix; the porous body defines a through-hole therethrough;

a heating element coupled to the porous body and disposed adjacent the inner surface of the through-hole for heating at least a portion of the liquid matrix within the porous body to generate an aerosol;

The pore diameter in the porous body is 1-25 mu m, and the proportion of the pores in the porous body is more than 90%.

In some implementations, the viscosity of the liquid matrix is greater than 1000 mPa-s at 25 ℃.

In some implementations, the average pore size of all micropores within the porous body is less than 12 μm.

In some implementations, the average pore size of all micropores within the porous body is between 3 μm and 12 μm.

In some implementations, the micropores within the porous body range in pore size from 1 μm to 30 μm.

In some implementations, the pores with a pore size in the porous body ranging from 1 μm to 25 μm account for greater than 95% of all pores of the porous body.

In some implementations, the pores in the porous body having a pore size between 4 μm and 14 μm account for greater than 60% of all pores of the porous body.

In some implementations, the pores of the porous body having a pore size greater than 16.9 μm comprise less than 15% of all pores of the porous body.

In some implementations, the porous body has a porosity of less than 80%.

In some implementations, the porous body has a porosity of 50-60%.

In some implementations, the porous body includes a porous ceramic body.

In some implementations, the heating element includes a helical heating coil surrounding the through-hole.

In some implementations, the through holes have a diameter of 1mm to 4mm.

In some implementations, the porous body is configured in a longitudinally extending tubular shape; the porous body comprising radially facing away outer and inner surface faces, the inner surface defining the through bore;

at least a portion of the outer surface is wrapped with a layer of flexible fibrous material.

Still another embodiment of the present application provides an electronic atomization device, including the above-mentioned atomizer, and a power supply mechanism for supplying power to the atomizer.

Yet another embodiment of the present application is directed to an atomizing assembly for an atomizer; the atomizing assembly includes:

a porous body defining a through hole penetrating the porous body;

a heating element coupled to the porous body and disposed adjacent the inner surface of the through-hole for heating at least a portion of the liquid matrix within the porous body to generate an aerosol;

The pore diameter in the porous body is 1-25 mu m, and the proportion of the pores in the porous body is more than 90%.

The atomizer adopts a porous body with relatively smaller pore diameter, so that the pore diameter of 90% of micropores in the porous body is 1-25 mu m, and the atomizer is favorable for preventing or relieving the airflow blockage formed by the infiltration of a liquid matrix into the through holes.

Drawings

One or more embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like references indicate similar elements, and in which the figures of the drawings are not to be taken in a limiting sense, unless otherwise indicated.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an electronic atomizing device according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic view of one view of the atomizing assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the structure of an atomizing assembly according to yet another embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the atomizing assembly of FIG. 3 from one perspective;

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural view of yet another embodiment atomizing assembly;

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the atomizing assembly of FIG. 5 from one perspective;

FIG. 7 is a schematic structural view of yet another embodiment atomizing assembly;

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the atomizing assembly of FIG. 7 from one perspective;

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural view of yet another embodiment atomizing assembly;

FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the atomizing assembly of FIG. 9 from one perspective;

FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view of yet another embodiment of an atomizing assembly;

FIG. 12 is a graph of viscosity versus temperature for a liquid matrix of one embodiment.

Detailed Description

In order that the application may be readily understood, a more particular description thereof will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments that are illustrated in the appended drawings.

One embodiment of the present application proposes an electronic atomizing device, which may be seen in fig. 1, including an atomizer 100 storing a liquid matrix and heating and atomizing the liquid matrix to generate an aerosol, and a power supply mechanism 200 for supplying power to the atomizer 100.

In an alternative embodiment, such as shown in fig. 1, the power mechanism 200 includes a receiving cavity 270 disposed at one end in the length direction for receiving and accommodating at least a portion of the atomizer 100. The power mechanism 200 further includes a first electrical contact 230 at least partially exposed at a surface of the receiving cavity 270 for making electrical connection with the atomizer 100 when at least a portion of the atomizer 100 is received and housed within the power mechanism 200 to thereby power the atomizer 100.

According to the preferred embodiment shown in fig. 1, the nebulizer 100 is provided with a second electrical contact 21 on the end opposite the power supply mechanism 200 in the length direction, whereby the second electrical contact 21 is made electrically conductive by being in contact with the first electrical contact 230 when at least a portion of the nebulizer 100 is received in the receiving cavity 270.

A sealing member 260 is provided in the power supply mechanism 200, and at least a part of the internal space of the power supply mechanism 200 is partitioned by the sealing member 260 to form the above receiving chamber 270. In the preferred embodiment shown in fig. 1, the seal 260 is configured to extend along the cross-section of the power mechanism 200 and is preferably made of a flexible material such as silicone to inhibit the flow of liquid matrix from the atomizer 100 to the receiving chamber 270 to the circuitry 220, airflow sensor 250, etc. within the power mechanism 200.

In the preferred implementation shown in fig. 1, the power mechanism 200 also includes a battery cell 210 for supplying power that faces away from the receiving cavity 270 in the length direction. The power mechanism 200 also includes a circuit 220, the circuit 220 being operable to direct electrical current between the electrical core 210 and the first electrical contact 230.

The power supply mechanism 200 includes an airflow sensor 250 for sensing the suction airflow generated when the user sucks the nebulizer 100, and the circuit 220 controls the electric core 210 to output power to the nebulizer 100 according to the sensing signal of the airflow sensor 250.

Further in the preferred embodiment shown in fig. 1, the power supply mechanism 200 is provided with a charging interface 240 at the other end facing away from the receiving cavity 270 for charging the battery cells 210.

For example, in the embodiment shown in fig. 1, the atomizer 100 includes:

a reservoir 20 for storing a liquid matrix;

the atomizing assembly is used for atomizing the liquid matrix, absorbing the liquid matrix through capillary infiltration and heating and atomizing to generate aerosol; wherein, in the implementation shown in fig. 1, the atomizing assembly comprises:

A heating element 40, substantially a solenoid coil, for heating the liquid matrix to generate an aerosol;

A porous body 30 for transferring a liquid matrix between the reservoir 20 and the heating element 40.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 1, the porous body 30 is configured in a hollow cylindrical shape extending in the longitudinal direction of the atomizer 100, and the heating element 40 is formed in the cylindrical hollow of the porous body 30. In use, as indicated by arrow R1, the liquid matrix of the reservoir 20 is absorbed along the radially outer surface of the porous body 30 and then passed into the heating element 40 of the inner surface for heating vaporisation to produce an aerosol; the generated aerosol is outputted from the columnar hollow inner portion of the porous body 30 in the longitudinal direction of the atomizer 100 as indicated by an arrow R2 in fig. 1.

In other variations, the porous body 30 is rigid, for example, the porous body 30 may be a porous ceramic body having a microporous structure, a porous glass, a foam metal, or the like.

The material of the heating element 40 may be a metallic material, a metallic alloy, graphite, carbon, a conductive ceramic or other ceramic material and metallic material composite with suitable resistance. Suitable metals or alloy materials include at least one of nickel, cobalt, zirconium, titanium, nickel alloys, cobalt alloys, zirconium alloys, titanium alloys, nichrome, nickel-iron alloys, iron-chromium-aluminum alloys, titanium alloys, iron-manganese-aluminum alloys, or stainless steel, among others.

And further referring to fig. 1 and 2, the porous body 30 includes:

a first end 310 and a second end 320 opposite in the longitudinal direction;

A surface 31 and a surface 32 facing away from each other in the radial direction; wherein the surface 32 surrounds and defines a through bore 33 extending longitudinally from the first end 310 to the second end 320;

In practice, the surface 31 is a liquid-absorbing surface at least partially exposed to the reservoir 20 for absorbing the liquid matrix of the reservoir 20; the surface 32 is used as an atomizing surface for heating the liquid matrix and releasing the aerosol. In use, the liquid matrix of the reservoir 20 is absorbed by the porous body 30 from the surface 31 and transferred to the surface 32, for example as indicated by arrow R1 in fig. 1; the generated aerosol is released from the surface 32 into the through hole 33 and is output by the suction airflow passing through the through hole 33 as indicated by an arrow R2 in fig. 1.

And in implementation as shown in fig. 1, the atomizer 100 includes:

An air inlet 121 for air to enter the atomizer 100 during suction;

an air suction port 111 for suction by a user;

An airflow passage is defined between the air inlet 121 and the air inlet 111 to define a flow path for outputting aerosol to the air inlet 111. And, the porous body 30 and/or the through holes 33 at least partially surround or define the airflow channels.

And, the heating element 40 is configured in the form of a spiral heating coil; and a heating element 40 is bonded to the porous body 30 and disposed adjacent the surface 32.

And in some implementations, the porous body 30 has an extension in the longitudinal direction of about 5-10 mm; and, the outer diameter dimension of the porous body 30 is about 4 to 8mm; and the inner diameter of the through hole 33 of the porous body 30 is about 1 to 4mm.

Or fig. 3 and 4 show schematic views of an atomizing assembly of yet another alternative embodiment, in which the porous body 30a includes:

a first end 310a and a second end 320a opposite in the longitudinal direction;

A section 311a, a section 312a, and a section 313a arranged in this order from the first end 310a to the second end 320 a; wherein the outer diameter of section 312a is greater than the outer diameter of section 311a and/or section 313 a. And after assembly, sections 311a and 313a are wrapped with a flexible layer of fibrous material, e.g., sections 311a and 313a are wrapped with nonwoven fibers, cotton fibers, sponges. And, the section 312a is not wrapped with a layer of fibrous material; further, sections 311a and 313a are wrapped with a layer of fibrous material, and section 312a is bare.

And the area of the outer surface of the porous body 30a surrounded by the flexible fiber material layer is less than 35% of the outer surface area of the porous body 30 a.

And, the porous body 30a has a through hole 33a penetrating from the first end 310a to the second end 320a therein; in fig. 4, the through hole 33a includes a first portion proximate the first end 310a, and a second portion proximate the second end 320 a; wherein the diameter of the first portion is substantially constant and the diameter of the second portion increases in a direction toward the second end 320.

And, a heating element 40a is bonded to the porous body 30a and disposed around or adjacent to the first portion of the through-hole 33 a; and, the heating element 40a is disposed away from the second portion of the through hole 33 a. And, a lead 341a and a lead 342a are provided on the heating element 40a for supplying power to the heating element 40 a.

Or fig. 5 and 6 show schematic views of a further embodiment of an atomizing assembly in which the porous body 30b of the atomizing assembly includes:

A first side wall 31b and a second side wall 32b arranged at an interval opposite to each other in the width direction; the first side wall 31b and the second side wall 32b have a spaced distance therebetween; and, the first side wall 31b and the second side wall 32b are arranged to extend in the length direction;

and a bottom wall 35b located on the lower end side, located between the first side wall 31b and the second side wall 32b, and arranged substantially perpendicular to the height direction of the porous body 30 b;

The annular wall 34b is located at least partially between the first side wall 31b and the second side wall 32b, and surrounds and defines a through hole 33b penetrating the porous body 30b in the height direction. Of course, the through hole 33b is penetrating the bottom wall 35 b. And, the space between the first side wall 31b and the second side wall 32b defines a buffer space for buffering the liquid substrate.

A heating element 40b is coupled to the annular wall 34b and adjacent to the inner surface of the through hole 33b for heating the aerosol to be released into the through hole 33 b. And, a lead 341b and a lead 342b are provided on the heating element 40b for supplying power to the heating element 40 b.

Or fig. 7 and 8 show schematic views of a further embodiment of a atomizing assembly in which a porous body 30c of the atomizing assembly includes:

An annular wall 34c surrounding or defining a through hole 33c penetrating the porous body 30c in the longitudinal direction;

the annular wall 34c is provided with at least one or more projections such as the projections 31c and the projections 32c projecting radially outwardly; in some implementations, annular wall 34c includes a flexible layer of fibrous material outside and avoiding protrusions 31c and protrusions 32c.

A heating element 40c is coupled to the annular wall 34c and adjacent to the through hole 33c for heating the aerosol to be released into the through hole 33 c. And, a lead 341c and a lead 342c are provided on the heating element 40c for supplying power to the heating element 40 c.

Fig. 9 and 10 show schematic views of an atomizing assembly of yet another alternative embodiment, in which a porous body 30d of the atomizing assembly includes:

an annular wall 34d surrounding or defining a through hole 33d penetrating the porous body 30d in the longitudinal direction;

The annular wall 34d has a plurality of apertures 35d disposed therein extending from the first end 310d toward the second end 320 d; the aperture 35d defines a buffer space forming a buffer liquid matrix; is advantageous for buffering the liquid matrix within the porous body 30 d;

A heating element 40d is arranged adjacent to or around the through hole 33d for heating to generate aerosol and release to the through hole 33d.

And in this implementation, the aperture 35d does not extend to the second end 320d; or the aperture 35d is spaced from the second end 320 d.

In the modified embodiment shown in fig. 11, the porous body 30e includes:

an annular wall 34e surrounding or defining a through hole 33e penetrating the porous body 30e in the longitudinal direction;

The annular wall 34e has disposed thereon a plurality of holes 35e extending therethrough from the first end 310e to the second end 320 e; the holes 35e define a buffer space for forming a buffer liquid matrix.

And in some implementations, the above porous bodies 30/30a/30b/30c/30d/30e are formed by injection molding in a mold of a slurry of a ceramic raw material, a pore-forming agent, and an organic additive, followed by sintering. For example, in some implementations, the ceramic raw material used to prepare the porous body 30/30a/30b/30c/30d/30e includes at least one of alumina powder, silica powder, boron oxide powder, zirconia powder, calcium oxide powder, iron oxide powder, diatomaceous earth, silica micropowder, quartz sand, mullite, cordierite, kaolin, limestone, wollastonite, silica, nepheline, potash feldspar, albite, and the like; the pore-forming agent is at least one of polymethyl methacrylate, methyl methacrylate, starch, graphite powder, rice husk and the like; the organic aid comprises at least one of semi-refined paraffin, yellow beeswax, polyethylene, polypropylene and stearic acid.

In some typical implementations, the liquid matrix typically comprises PG (propylene glycol) and VG (glycerin) in a volume ratio of 1:1, with a viscosity of 100 to 200 mPas at room temperature of 20℃and a boiling point of about 240 ℃.

In some implementations, the liquid matrix within the reservoir 20 is a high viscosity liquid matrix of the medical drug class, unlike conventional glycerol or propylene glycol liquid matrices; liquid matrices such as medical drugs may include terpenoid (terpen) compounds and the like which in turn exhibit relatively high viscosities. For example, FIG. 12 shows a plot of viscosity versus temperature for a high viscosity liquid matrix of a therapeutic drug class in one embodiment; the viscosity of the liquid matrix of the medical drug is about 179000 mPas at 290K near room temperature and drops to 1070 mPas when heated to 320K.

For example, the following table provides a comparison of the viscosities of various commercially available electrosprayed liquid matrices in the art at various heating temperatures:

Typically the viscosity of the above medical-based liquid matrix at 25 ℃ (room temperature) is greater than or even much greater than the viscosity of the glycerol (VG) -based liquid matrix of 855 mPa-s. In further embodiments, the viscosity of the medical-based liquid matrix is greater than 1000 mPa-s at 25 ℃ (room temperature); even more than 1200 mPa-s.

When the heating element 40 heats and atomizes the high-viscosity liquid matrix in the porous body 30, a part of the liquid matrix in the porous body 30 is preheated to have reduced viscosity and improved fluidity, so that a large amount of seepage flows onto the inner surface of the through hole 33 through the micropores; on the one hand, the liquid matrix that permeated onto the inner surface of the through-hole 33 after the heating of the heating element 40 is stopped is re-cooled to form a viscous state of high viscosity; on the other hand, since the through-hole 33 is a part of the fluid passage in the atomizing device and has a small pore diameter, a viscous liquid matrix formed by condensation of the aerosol in the fluid passage is liable to accumulate on the inner surface of the through-hole 33. When the liquid matrix accumulated on the inner surface of the through hole 33 exceeds the allowable range, the through hole 33 is blocked to prevent the suction air flow from passing.

Further in practice, the porous body 30 employs smaller micropore size and/or porosity. For example, in some implementations, the porosity of the porous body 30 is less than 80%; or in some embodiments, the porous body 30 has a porosity of 50-60%; and thus is advantageous for reducing the seepage of the liquid matrix onto the inner surface of the through holes 33.

And in practice, the pore size of the micropores in the porous body 30 is 1 to 30 μm; and the average pore diameter (d ₅₀) of micropores in the porous body 30 is less than 12 μm; in some alternative implementations, the average pore size (d ₅₀) of the micropores within porous body 30 is between 3 and 12 μm. Or the proportion of the pore diameter of the micropores in the porous body 30 ranging from 1 to 25 μm to the total micropores is 90% or more, even more than 95%.

For example, in one specific implementation, pore size distribution data of a prepared porous body 30 having a relatively small pore size, as measured by the bubble method, are as follows:

According to the test results of the above bubble method, the pore diameter of the micropores in the porous body 30 in this specific example is substantially 1 to 21.42 μm; and the number of micropores with a pore size of less than 16.9 μm in porous body 30 is about 87% and greater than 80%; micropores with a diameter greater than 16.9 μm account for less than 15%. And about 85% of the micropores in the porous body 30 have a pore size of 2 to 16 μm. And, in this particular embodiment, the average pore size of the micropores in the porous body 30 is 10 to 12 μm. And 60% or more of the micropores in the porous body 30 have a pore diameter of 4 to 14. Mu.m.

For example, in still another specific implementation, pore size distribution data of the prepared porous body 30 having a relatively small pore size measured by the bubble method is as follows:

In the porous body 30 of this embodiment, the pore diameter of the micropores is substantially 1 to 10.6 μm; and more than 90% of the micropores in the porous body 30 have a pore size of 2 to 8 μm. And, in this particular embodiment, the average pore size of the micropores in the porous body 30 is 5 to 6 μm.

Further shown below are the results of the tests of the various examples and comparative examples for clogging of the porous body 30 with a high viscosity liquid matrix with pore sizes and porosities of different micropores; in the test, the nebulizer 100 was constructed as shown in fig. 2, and suction was started from the time when the reservoir 20 of the nebulizer 100 was filled with the liquid medium, and each suction was continued for 3s and stopped for 3min; when the suction resistance is higher than 1000Pa, the suction is not smoothly performed, that is, the through holes 33 of the porous body 30 are considered to be blocked by the infiltrated liquid matrix, and the continuous suction is stopped.

From the above test results, it was found that the porous body 30 having a pore size distribution of more than 1 to 25 μm and an average pore size of more than 12 μm shown in comparative examples 1 to 3 was unable to continue the suction due to the clogging of the through holes 33 when the suction was performed to about 40 to 50 ports, and a large amount of the liquid matrix remained in the liquid storage chamber 20. In examples 1 to 9, the porous body 30 having a pore size distribution of 1 to 25 μm and an average pore size of 12 μm or less was substantially free from the occurrence of residual liquid matrix due to the clogging of the through holes and the suction, and most of the liquid matrix was atomized. The porous body 30 having a pore size distribution of less than 10 μm is substantially impermeable to the liquid matrix to the through holes 33 to form plugs.

It should be noted that the description of the application and the accompanying drawings show preferred embodiments of the application, but are not limited to the embodiments described in the description, and further, that modifications or variations can be made by a person skilled in the art from the above description, and all such modifications and variations are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (15)

1. An atomizer, comprising: A liquid storage chamber, used for storing a liquid matrix; A porous body, in fluid communication with the liquid storage chamber to receive or absorb the liquid matrix; the porous body defines a through hole extending through the porous body; a heating element, coupled to the porous body and arranged adjacent to the inner surface of the through hole, for heating at least a portion of the liquid matrix in the porous body to generate an aerosol; The micropores in the porous body with a pore size between 1 μm and 25 μm account for more than 90% of all the micropores in the porous body. 2 . The atomizer according to claim 1 , wherein the average pore size of all micropores in the porous body is less than 12 μm. 3 . The atomizer according to claim 1 , wherein the average pore size of all micropores in the porous body is between 3 μm and 12 μm. 4 . The atomizer according to claim 1 , wherein the pore size of the micropores in the porous body ranges from 1 μm to 30 μm. 5 . The atomizer according to claim 1 , wherein the proportion of micropores with a pore size of 1 μm to 25 μm in the porous body to all micropores in the porous body is greater than 95%. 6 . The atomizer according to claim 1 , wherein the proportion of micropores with a pore size between 4 μm and 14 μm in the porous body to all micropores in the porous body is greater than 60%. 7. The atomizer according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the proportion of micropores with a pore size greater than 16.9 μm in the porous body to all micropores in the porous body is less than 15%. 8. The atomizer according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the porosity of the porous body is less than 80%. 9. The atomizer according to claim 8, wherein the porosity of the porous body is between 50% and 60%. 10. The atomizer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the porous body comprises a porous ceramic body. 11. An atomizer according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the heating element comprises a spiral heating coil surrounding the through hole. 12. The atomizer according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the diameter of the through hole is between 1 mm and 4 mm. 13. The atomizer according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the porous body is configured into a tubular shape extending in the longitudinal direction; the porous body comprises an outer surface and an inner surface which are radially opposed to each other, and the inner surface defines the through hole; At least a portion of the outer surface is wrapped with a layer of flexible fibrous material. 14. An electronic atomization device, characterized in that it comprises the atomizer according to any one of claims 1 to 13, and a power supply mechanism for supplying power to the atomizer. 15. An atomizing assembly for an atomizer; characterized in that the atomizing assembly comprises: A porous body defining through holes extending through the porous body; a heating element, coupled to the porous body and arranged adjacent to the inner surface of the through hole, for heating at least a portion of the liquid matrix in the porous body to generate an aerosol; The micropores in the porous body with a pore size between 1 μm and 25 μm account for more than 90% of all the micropores in the porous body.