KR20160044712A - Electronic cigarette - Google Patents

Abstract

An electronic cigarette of the present invention includes: a power supply unit; A cartridge for supplying current to the power supply unit and converting the stored liquid into gas; A suction unit coupled to an end of the cartridge; And a manual mode in which the vaporizing action of the cartridge is controlled to be turned on and off between the power supply unit and the cartridge from a pressing type pressing operation and an automatic mode in which the vaporizing action of the cartridge is controlled to be turned on and off from the suction force generated through the suction unit Wherein the selection switching means comprises a case, a pressing button exposed outwardly from a point in the circumferential direction of the case, a suction pressure sensor incorporated in the case, A control board which is tightly coupled to one surface of the pressure type button, and a fastener fastened to the cartridge and formed with a plurality of air holes communicating with the suction pressure detection sensor on an outer circumferential surface thereof.

Description

Electronic cigarette {ELECTRONIC CIGARETTE}

The present invention relates to an electronic cigarette, and more particularly, to an electronic cigarette which is manually operated by detecting a suction force by which a user takes in a vaporizing action for converting a liquid into a gas and automatically detecting a load current from the pressing force The present invention relates to an electronic cigarette capable of selectively or automatically switching the vaporization of liquid depending on the user's intention.

Cigarettes are a favorite used frequently by smokers.

However, toxic substances such as tar contained in tobacco are not generally recommended due to various diseases such as lung cancer and circulatory diseases (such as Burger's disease caused by laryngeal cancer and vasoconstriction).

In addition, the people around them are suffering from secondhand smoke, so the anti-smoking campaign is spreading widely and the number of smoking cessation areas is greatly increasing.

Nevertheless, it was very difficult to stop smoking because of the addictive nature of cigarettes.

In recent years, many assistive devices and aids such as smoking cigarettes, smoking cigarettes, and smoking pipes have been developed and commercialized to help quit smoking.

In particular, the smoking aid pipe has a mouthpiece containing various substances which react well with tobacco smoke, so that nicotine and tar are filtered when smoking, which is sufficient to filter some harmful components of the tobacco. Function, it is not sufficient to provide a smoking cessation effect by causing a rejection reaction to the taste of the cigarette.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, many researches and developments have been made, and recently electronic cigarettes (ELECTRONIC CIGARETTE) have come to the market.

FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a typical electronic cigarette according to the prior art.

As shown in the drawing, the electronic cigarette 10 according to the prior art includes a power supply unit 20 for supplying power, a cartridge 40 for supplying liquid, and a liquid supply unit 20 for vaporizing the liquid supplied from the cartridge 40 to the power supply unit 20 (30).

The cartridge 40 is coupled to a mouthpiece and the liquid absorbent material 45 in the cartridge 40 is made of a material that absorbs liquid such as cotton, sponge, The induction device 32 is brought into contact with the liquid absorbing member 45 to supply the liquid.

The liquid of the liquid absorbing member 45 supplied to the liquid guiding apparatus 32 is vaporized by the heater 114 connected to the power supply unit 20 and naturally sucked by the suction force of the smoker.

On the other hand, a switch (not shown) is provided at one side of the circumferential surface of the carburetor to energize the power source to operate the carburetor.

That is, if the switch is not pressed, the vaporizing action is not achieved.

According to the prior art of this configuration, in order to operate the vaporizer portion 30 for vaporizing the liquid stored in the cartridge 40, there is always inconvenience that the position of the switch must be visually checked and then pressed, There has been a problem in that the switch must be operated every time when the suction force is generated.

Also, regardless of the intention of the user, if the switch is kept depressed by an external factor, the vaporizer unit 30 performs a continuous vaporization operation.

Recently, an electronic cigarette has been developed in which a carburetor is automatically operated without sensing a suction pressure of a user and depressing a switch.

In such an automatic electronic cigarette, a suction pressure detecting sensor and an operation control unit including a circuit board are coupled to each other between the vaporizer and the power source unit.

In the operation control unit, a terminal connected to the lower power source unit is energized with the upper vaporizer unit, and an air hole communicating with the suction pressure sensor is formed at the center of the energizing terminal.

However, there has been a problem in that the water vapor remaining in the vaporization portion or the liquid leaked due to the failure of the vaporization portion flows into the power portion through the air hole due to gravity, causing a failure in the power portion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic control apparatus and a control method thereof, which can automatically detect a suction force for sucking a vaporizing action for converting a liquid into a gas, The present invention provides an electronic cigarette which can be selectively and automatically switched to the vaporization function of the liquid according to a user's intention.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an electronic cigarette which can prevent liquid from flowing through an air hole communicated with a suction pressure detecting sensor, thereby preventing malfunction of a power source unit or the like.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic cigarette comprising: a power supply; A cartridge for supplying current to the power supply unit and converting the stored liquid into gas; A suction unit coupled to an end of the cartridge; And a manual mode in which the vaporizing action of the cartridge is controlled to be turned on and off between the power supply unit and the cartridge from a pressing type pressing operation and an automatic mode in which the vaporizing action of the cartridge is controlled to be turned on and off from the suction force generated through the suction unit Wherein the selection switching means comprises a case, a pressing button exposed outwardly from a point in the circumferential direction of the case, a suction pressure sensor incorporated in the case, A control board which is tightly coupled to one surface of the pressure type button, and a fastener fastened to the cartridge and formed with a plurality of air holes communicating with the suction pressure detection sensor on an outer circumferential surface thereof.

The cartridge includes a vaporizer for converting a liquid into a gas using a current supplied from the power supply unit, a liquid storage space for supplying liquid to the vaporizer, and a gas generated in the vaporizer unit 210, The vaporizing unit 210 includes a vaporizing vessel having four coupling grooves formed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the upper end of the vaporizing vessel 210, A pair of absorbers which are inserted into the coupling grooves of the vaporization vessel and cross each other in a state of being in contact with the heating coil and whose opposite ends in the longitudinal direction are located in the liquid storage space, Member.

Preferably, the selection switching means further includes a coupling body inserted into the case and integrally coupling the pressing button and the control board.

And the coupling body is preferably composed of two casings which are coupled to each other at the front and rear sides with the pressing button and the control board interposed therebetween.

And the control board is electrically connected to the pressure-type button and the suction pressure-sensing sensor, respectively, so as to energize the current of the power supply unit to the cartridge corresponding to the input operation signal.

Preferably, the control board is switched to a manual mode or an automatic mode according to a specific pressing condition of the pressing button.

Preferably, the control board further includes a power-off mode for interrupting the current from the power supply to the cartridge regardless of the manual mode or the automatic mode depending on a specific pressing condition of the pressing button.

Preferably, the control board is provided with an LED that is turned on when the pressing button is pressed.

According to the electronic cigarette of the present invention described above, since the selection switching means for selecting either the manual mode or the automatic mode to perform the on / off control of the vaporization action of the cartridge is provided, It is effective.

In addition, by setting the power-off mode to the control board of the selection switching means, it is possible to prevent the power from being wasted due to the energization standby power which is always consumed.

In addition, it is possible to prevent the liquid from flowing through the air hole communicated with the suction pressure detecting sensor, thereby preventing a failure of the power source unit or the like.

1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an example of an electronic cigarette according to the prior art.
2 is a perspective view showing an electronic cigarette according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 2. FIG.
Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of Fig. 2; Fig.
Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of the selection switching means of Fig. 4. Fig.
Fig. 6 is a front view and a top view, respectively, of a case (a) formed at the center of the energizing terminal and a case (b) formed at the side wall of the fastening hole, the hole communicating with the suction pressure sensor of the selection switching means connected to the cartridge .

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6 attached hereto.

As shown, the electronic cigarette 1000 according to the present invention includes a power supply unit 100, a cartridge 200 that converts the stored liquid into electricity by energizing the power supply unit 100, And a switching unit 400 installed between the power supply unit 100 and the cartridge 200. The suction unit 300 is connected to the end of the cartridge 200,

First, the power supply unit 100 is equipped with a battery therein. The power supply unit 100 charges a current from an external power supply and supplies a charged current to the cartridge 200.

Here, the power supply unit 100 may be formed in a cylindrical structure having a predetermined length, and at one end, a screw coupling unit 110 may be formed to facilitate detachment and connection with the selection switching unit 400 to be described later.

A charging terminal 120 to which an external power terminal is connected may be additionally provided on a bottom surface or a peripheral surface of the power supply unit 100.

The cartridge 200 includes a vaporizer unit 210 for converting a liquid stored in the power supply unit 100 into a gas and converting the liquid into a gas using a current supplied from the power supply unit 100, A liquid storage space 220 for supplying the liquid to the vaporizer unit 210 and a discharge hole 230 communicating with the vapor generated by the vaporizer unit 210 to flow toward the suction unit 300, Respectively.

The lower end portion 240 of the liquid storage space 220 extends downward to be in contact with the upper end of the selection switching means 400 when the lower end portion 240 of the liquid storage space 220 is engaged with the selection switching means 400.

The lower end portion 240 of the liquid storage space 220 includes a fastening portion that is fastened to a fastener 450, which will be described later.

At least one air inflow hole 242 may be formed on an outer circumferential surface of the lower end portion 240 so that external air may be introduced into the cartridge 200 when the air is sucked through the suction portion 300.

3, the vaporizer unit 210 includes a vaporizing vessel 211 having four coupling grooves 211a formed at equal intervals in the upper circumferential direction thereof, A heating coil 212 which is electrically connected to the power supply unit 100 and a heating coil 212 which is inserted into the coupling groove 211a of the vaporizing vessel 211 and crosses in a state of being in contact with the heating coil 212, And a pair of absorbing members 213 having both ends located in the liquid storage space 220.

A hollow air pipe 214 is connected to the lower portion of the vaporization vessel 211 and extends to a predetermined length along the longitudinal direction of the cartridge 200 to guide external air.

Here, it is preferable that the vaporization vessel 211 is made of a ceramic material having excellent heat resistance and light weight compared to metal.

The heating coil 212 is accommodated in the vaporizing container 211 and performs a heating action to vaporize a liquid from a current supplied to the power supply unit 100. The heating coil 212 includes a heating part 212a wound in a circumferential direction, And a conductive line 212b connected to both ends of the heat generating portion 212a.

In other words, the heat generating coil 212 according to the present invention can vaporize the liquid as a simple constitution of the heat generating portion 212a and the conducting line 212b that conducts the current so that the heat generating portion 212a generates heat, thereby enabling downsizing And the manufacturing cost can be greatly reduced.

The absorptive member 213 sucks the liquid to be filled in the liquid storage space 220 of the cartridge 200 from the capillary action and supplies the liquid to the vaporization vessel 211. The absorptive member 213 uses a surface direct current But is not limited thereto, and various materials such as fiber, cotton or paper can be used.

That is, the absorptive member 213 serves as an intermediary for absorbing the liquid required for the exothermic action and transmitting it to the exothermic coil 212.

Here, the absorbent member 213 may be formed as a single strand having a predetermined diameter by weaving four or more fine strands of cotton fibers in a mutually twisted direction.

If there is a single strand formed by interweaving less than 4 strands of cotton fabric, there is a drawback that the absorbing force of pulling up the liquid is reduced.

The absorbing member 213 may extend in a direction intersecting the vicinity of the heat generating coil 212 and extend to the bottom of the liquid storage space 220 while being fitted in the coupling groove 211a. .

When the absorptive member 213 is composed of only one pair, that is, two absorbers 213, the heat generated by the capillary action is vaporized by the heat generating coil 212 rather than the speed at which the liquid is absorbed and supplied to the heat generating coil 212 A part of the absorbing member 213 adjacent to the heat generating coil 212 is burnt, soot and burning odor (noxious gas) are liable to be generated.

Accordingly, it is possible to stably supply the supply amount of the liquid necessary for the vaporization action by using the pair of the absorption members 213, and to prevent the absorption member 213 from being deformed or damaged.

One absorbing member of the pair of absorbing members 213 passes through the axial center of the heat generating coil 212 and the other absorbing member passes through the upper part of the heat generating coil 212 Direction.

Further, it is preferable that the vaporization vessel 211 further comprises a sealing cap 215 fitted to the upper end thereof.

This is because the liquid filled in the liquid storage space 220 is directly introduced into the vaporization container 211 when the cartridge 200 is laid down in the lateral direction or in the direction in which the suction unit 400 is positioned at the lower side .

The sealing cap 215 may be made of rubber or silicon having elasticity so that the sealing cap 215 can be closely attached to the outer circumference of the vaporization vessel 211.

An opening 250 communicating with the liquid storage space 220 is formed on an outer surface of the cartridge 200. A stopper 260 for opening and closing the opening 250 is also provided.

Accordingly, since the liquid can be injected after opening the opening 250 by separating the cap 260, the liquid can be easily injected without separating other components.

The liquid stored in the liquid storage space 220 may include various components such as nicotine, a smoking-aid solution, or a perfume.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the structure of the vaporizer part 210 of the cartridge 200 is described as vaporizing the liquid from the principle of the heating action using the heat generating coil 212, but the present invention is not limited thereto. ) May be applied by adopting various other configurations of known techniques such as an ultrasonic vibrator and the like.

The suction unit 300 is coupled to an end of the cartridge 200 and is configured to easily suck the gas generated from the action of the cartridge 200, so that a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The selection switching means 400 is provided between the power supply unit 100 and the cartridge 200 and senses a suction force by which a user sucks the action of the cartridge 200 that vaporizes the liquid into a gas, Or a manually operated operation for energizing a current from a pressing force of a pushing type using a separate switch, so as to enable automatic or manual selective switching use according to a user's intention.

That is, the selection switching means 400 switches between a manual mode for on / off control of the vaporization action of the cartridge 200 from a pressing operation and a manual mode for controlling the operation of the cartridge 200 from the suction force generated through the suction portion 300. [ And an automatic mode for controlling on / off of the vaporizing action.

The selection switching means 400 includes a case 410, a pressing button 420 exposed outwardly from one point in the circumferential direction of the case 410, a suction button 420 installed in the case 410, A sensor 430 and a control board 440 disposed in a state of being in contact with one surface of the pressing button 420.

In addition, a fastener 450 is provided on the upper portion of the case 410 so that the cartridge 200 can be coupled with the screw.

The fastener 450 has a lower end 452 having the largest diameter, a middle portion 454 having a thread on the outer circumferential surface, a threaded portion 457 on the inner circumferential surface, (Not shown).

By forming the threaded portions on the outer circumferential surface and the inner circumferential surface of the fastener 450 at the same time, component compatibility of the liquid storage space 220 coupled to the fastener 450 can be improved.

At least one air inflow hole 458 is formed around the upper end 456 of the fastener 450 and the air introduced through the air inflow hole 458 flows through the air pipe 214.

That is, when the user generates a suction pressure from the suction unit 300, the outside air introduced through the air inflow hole 458 moves to the suction unit 300 through the air pipe 214.

A plurality of air holes 455 communicating with the suction pressure detecting sensor 430 are formed under the intermediate portion 454 of the fastener 450.

The plurality of air holes 455 are formed in the air inlet holes 242 of the cartridge 200 and the air inlet holes 458 of the fastener 450 when the air is sucked, The suction pressure detection sensor 430 can detect the air pressure in the direction of flowing out from the suction pressure detection sensor 430 through the plurality of air holes 455.

The push button 420 is applied to the manual mode, and the suction pressure detection sensor 430 is applied to the automatic mode.

The case 410 further includes a coupling body 460 that integrally couples the push button 420 and the control board 440.

The coupling body 460 may be composed of two casings coupled to each other at the front and rear sides with the pressing button 420 and the control board 440 interposed therebetween.

The pressing button 420 and the control board 440 can be closely and firmly fixed to each other by the coupling body 460 and can be fixed so as not to move in the case 410, .

The control board 440 is electrically connected to the cartridge 200 in response to an input operation signal in a state where the pressurizing button 420 and the suction pressure detecting sensor 430 are electrically connected to each other Role.

The control board 440 is switched to the manual mode or the automatic mode according to the specific pressing condition of the pressing button 420. [

For example, in order to activate the operation of the cartridge 200 in the manual mode, the control board 440 is recognized as a manual mode by pressing the pressing button 420 at a predetermined speed five times, So that the cartridge 200 can be operated only when it is pressed.

In order to switch the operation of the cartridge 200 to the automatic mode, the control board 440 recognizes the control board 440 in the automatic mode by pressing the pressing button 420 five times at a constant speed once again, So that the cartridge 200 can be operated.

The operation of the suction pressure sensor 430 is such that when the suction force of the air introduced through the air inflow hole 458 is generated, the air staying in the stagnation state in the selection switching means 400 is taken up together, The pressure sensing sensor 430 senses this and transmits an operation signal to the control board 440 so that the cartridge 200 can operate.

5, when a user sucks air through the suction unit 300, external air is introduced through the air inlet hole 242 in the lower end portion 240 of the cartridge 200, and then, And then flows into the vaporization vessel 211 of the vaporizer portion 210 in the cartridge 200 through the air inflow hole 458 in the fastener 450.

The flow of the external air thus introduced is indicated by a solid arrow in Fig.

At this time, the suction pressure detecting sensor 430 detects the suction pressure of the outside air formed through the plurality of air holes 455 formed on the outer circumferential surface of the fastener 450.

The flow of air through the plurality of air holes 455 is indicated by a dotted arrow.

The suction pressure detecting sensor 430 protrudes upwardly from the cartridge 200 through a current-carrying terminal 431 for current supply.

The cartridge 200 is formed with a current terminal 201 which is in contact with the current supply terminal 431 and is supplied with a current which is electrically connected to the current supply terminal 431. The current supply terminal 431 is electrically connected to the control board 440, (440) is electrically connected to the power supply unit (100).

6 (a), when the air hole H is formed at the center of the upper end of the conventional electrification terminal, the sensitivity of the pressure sensing through the air hole is high. However, when the liquid flows into the air hole H, There is a problem in that most of the failures occur.

However, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 6B, the plurality of air holes 455 are formed laterally on the outer circumferential surface of the fastener 450, and the liquid can flow into the energizing terminal 431 There is no problem that the liquid flows into the plurality of air holes 455 and breakdown occurs because no holes are formed.

The plurality of air holes 455 may vary depending on the size and shape of the air holes 455. However, since the air holes 455 are formed in the side surface, it is preferable that the plurality of air holes 455 are formed in a plurality of air holes 455 from the viewpoint of sensitivity of pressure sensing.

The control board 440 is connected to the control board 440 through a power cutoff mode in which the current of the power supply unit 100 is blocked from being energized to the cartridge 200 regardless of the manual mode or the automatic mode, .

This is to prevent the power supply unit 100 from consuming power by essentially shutting off the generation of the constant energization standby current between the power supply unit 100 and the cartridge 200 when the user does not use the electronic cigarette for a long time, In order to improve the performance of the system.

The specific pressing condition of the pressing button 420 for applying the power-off mode can be obtained from an operation of pressing the pressing button 420 for 5 to 10 seconds.

When the push button 420 is pressed, the control board 440 is provided with an LED 441 to be turned on to visually indicate whether or not the button is pushed, so that the user can smoothly perform the operation according to the specific push condition .

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken by way of limitation, Changes will be possible.

100: Power supply
200: Cartridge
210:
212: heat generating coil
213: absorptive member
214: air pipe
220: liquid storage space
240: Lower end
242: Air inflow ball
300:
400: selection switching means
410: Case
420: Pressurized button
430: Suction pressure sensor
450: fastener
455: Air hole
460:

Claims (8)

Power supply;
A cartridge for supplying current to the power supply unit and converting the stored liquid into gas;
A suction unit coupled to an end of the cartridge; And
A manual mode in which the vaporizing action of the cartridge is controlled to be turned on and off from a pressing type pressing operation between the power supply unit and the cartridge and an automatic mode in which the vaporizing action of the cartridge is controlled to be turned on and off from the suction force generated through the suction unit And a selection switching means for selectively switching the switching means,
The selection switching means,
The case,
A pressing button which is exposed outward from a circumferential directional point of the case,
A suction pressure sensor incorporated in the case,
A control board which is tightly coupled to one surface of the push button,
And a fastener coupled to the cartridge and having a plurality of air holes formed on an outer circumferential surface thereof to communicate with the suction pressure detection sensor. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein,
A vaporizer for converting the liquid into a gas using a current supplied from the power supply;
A liquid storage space for supplying liquid to the vaporizer unit,
And a discharge hole (230) having a structure in which the gas generated in the vaporizer part (210) communicates with the suction part (300)
The vaporizer portion 210 is a vaporizer,
A vaporizing vessel having four coupling grooves formed at regular intervals in an upper circumferential direction,
A heating coil housed in the vaporization vessel and electrically connected to the power supply unit;
And a pair of absorbing members, each of which is inserted into the coupling groove of the vaporization container and crosses the heating coil in contact with the heating coil, and both end portions in the longitudinal direction are located in the liquid storage space. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the selection switching means further comprises a coupling body inserted into the case and integrally coupling the pressing button and the control board. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the coupling body comprises two casings which are coupled to each other at front and rear sides with the pressing button and the control board interposed therebetween. 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the control board electrically conducts the current of the power supply unit to the cartridge in response to an input operation signal while being electrically connected to the push button and the suction pressure sensor. 6. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 5,
Wherein the control board is switched to a manual mode or an automatic mode according to a specific pressing condition of the pressing button. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the control board further comprises a power-off mode in which the current of the power supply unit is prevented from being energized to the cartridge regardless of the manual mode or the automatic mode depending on a specific pressing condition of the pressing button. 6. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 5,
Wherein the control board is provided with an LED which is turned on when the pressing button is pressed.

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