WO2025161968A1 - Atomization core and atomizer - Google Patents

Abstract

The present application relates to an atomization core and an atomizer. The atomization core comprises: a housing, wherein the housing is provided with an inlet, an outlet and an accommodating space; a capillary bundle, comprising a plurality of hollow capillaries closely arranged, wherein the capillary bundle is arranged in the accommodating space, a first end of the capillary bundle is communicated with the inlet, and the second end of the capillary bundle is communicated with the outlet; and a heating member, arranged at the outlet and connected to the second end of the capillary bundle, wherein when powered on, a heating sheet is used for heating and atomizing an atomization liquid flowing out of the capillary bundle, a gap is formed between every two adjacent capillaries, and the gap is used for storing the atomization liquid and allowing for the atomization liquid to pass through. In this way, the atomization core in the present application can overcome the change of components of the atomization liquid caused by the filtration of the atomization liquid by conventional atomization cores of porous mediums such as cotton, fibers or ceramic, and can achieve stable atomization efficiency.

Description

Atomizing core and atomizing device Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of atomizers, and in particular to an atomizer core and an atomizer.

Background Art

Atomizers are already widely used in fields such as electronic cigarettes and medical treatments. For example, electronic cigarettes, as a tobacco alternative, are gradually gaining popularity among smokers. Typically, an electronic cigarette consists of a cartridge and an atomizer core. As the oil in the cartridge passes through the atomizer core, it is heated to form an aerosol, which is then inhaled by the user. Atomizer efficiency is a major factor influencing the user experience.

The atomization efficiency of atomizers is generally affected by the temperature distribution characteristics of the heated surface of the atomizer core. Whether using cotton, mesh, or ceramic cores, their porous, filamentous material can cause the atomized liquid to be filtered as it passes through, altering its composition. Furthermore, the uneven temperature distribution during heating can lead to uncontrolled aerosol particle size.

Furthermore, the atomization efficiency and effectiveness of atomizers are also affected by the flow rate of the atomizing liquid. If the atomizing liquid is supplied too quickly, it will boil over and cause oil to fly away, affecting the atomization effect. If the atomizing liquid is supplied too slowly, the atomizing core temperature will be too high, causing the atomizing core to dry out.

Technical Solutions

The purpose of this application is to provide an atomizer core and an atomizer device, which can control the supply speed of the atomized liquid by changing the structure of the atomizer core, thereby stabilizing the atomization efficiency and effect and improving the user experience.

To solve the above technical problems, this application proposes a solution:

An atomizer core comprises: a shell having an inlet, an outlet, and an accommodating space; a capillary tube bundle comprising a plurality of capillary tubes that are hollow inside and closely arranged with each other, the capillary tube bundle being arranged in the accommodating space, a first end of the capillary tube bundle being connected to the inlet, and a second end of the capillary tube bundle being connected to the outlet; and a heating element being arranged at the outlet and connected to the second end of the capillary tube bundle, the heating element being used to heat and atomize atomized liquid flowing out of the capillary tube bundle when energized; wherein a gap is provided between two adjacent capillary tubes, the gap being used to store the atomized liquid and allow the atomized liquid to pass through.

In one embodiment of the present application, the plurality of capillary tubes are arranged in a regular triangle array or a regular quadrilateral array.

In one embodiment of the present application, the cross section of the capillary tube is circular, and the cross section of the gap includes a plurality of circular arc segments.

In one embodiment of the present application, the cross section of the capillary tube is a regular polygon, and the cross section of the gap includes a plurality of straight line segments.

In one embodiment of the present application, the end surface of the second end of the capillary tube bundle is an inner concave surface, and the heating element is attached to the second end of the capillary tube bundle.

In one embodiment of the present application, the heating element is arranged in a porous shape, and the inner diameter of the holes of the heating foil is larger than the wall thickness of the capillary tube.

In one embodiment of the present application, the orifice of the heating element and the orifice of the capillary tube are at least partially staggered.

In one embodiment of the present application, the heating foil is arranged in a multi-groove shape, and the groove length of the heating foil is generally greater than the wall thickness of the capillary tube.

In one embodiment of the present application, the heating film is arranged in a porous shape, and the inner diameter of the pores of the heating film is larger than the wall thickness of the capillary tube.

In one embodiment of the present application, at least one heat pipe is further included. The heat pipe is arranged adjacent to the capillary tube and is used to heat the atomized liquid around it to increase the flow rate of the atomized liquid reaching the heating element.

In one embodiment of the present application, one end of the heat pipe is connected to the heating element to transfer heat to the liquid in the oil storage tank of the remaining portion of the heat pipe to accelerate the flow of the liquid.

To solve the above technical problems, another solution proposed in this application is:

An atomizer comprises: a shell, a nozzle, which is arranged at one end of the shell and is used for a user to inhale an aerosol fluid; an oil tank, which is arranged in the shell and is used to store atomized liquid; and an atomizer core, which is arranged in the shell and is located between the oil tank and the nozzle; the inlet of the atomizer core is connected to the oil tank through an oil transfer channel, and the outlet of the atomizer core is connected to the nozzle through an air outlet channel, and is used to heat the atomized liquid and atomize it to form the aerosol fluid; wherein the atomizer core is the atomizer core described above.

Beneficial effects

The beneficial effects of the present application are as follows: Different from the prior art, the atomizer core and atomizer device proposed in the present application transmit atomized liquid by adopting a capillary tube bundle array composed of multiple closely arranged capillary tubes. By controlling the length of the capillary tubes, cotton-free atomization can be achieved to eliminate the use of porous materials, thereby avoiding the filtering effect caused by cotton or porous materials. The temperature uniformity of the atomization surface is achieved by adopting a heating element, thereby producing a uniform aerosol fluid with uniform nucleation, overcoming the defect of uneven aerosol nucleation caused by uneven heating temperature in existing atomizer core products.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the atomizer core proposed in this application;

FIG2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the structure in FIG1 ;

FIG3 is a schematic diagram of another structure of the atomizer core proposed in this application;

FIG4 is a schematic diagram of the arrangement of the capillary bundle array in FIG1 ;

FIG5 is a schematic diagram of another structure of the atomizer core proposed in this application;

FIG6 is a schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure of the atomizer core in FIG5 ;

FIG7 is a schematic diagram of the arrangement of the capillary bundle array in FIG5 ;

FIG8 is a schematic diagram of another arrangement of the capillary tube bundle array of the atomizer core in FIG1 ;

FIG9 is a schematic diagram of another arrangement of the capillary tube bundle array of the atomizer core in FIG1 ;

FIG10 is a schematic structural diagram of the heating element in FIG1 ;

FIG11 is a schematic diagram of module connections of the electronic cigarette proposed in this application.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

The following is a clear and complete description of the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of this application, not all of them. Based on the embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of this application.

Please refer to Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the atomizer core 100 in this application, viewed in one direction, and Figure 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of Figure 1. In this application, the atomizer core 100 may include a housing 110, a capillary tube bundle 120, and a heating element 150. The housing 110 has an inlet 111 and an outlet 112. The inlet 111 is for admitting aerosolized liquid, and the outlet 112 is for discharging aerosolized fluid. The housing 110 has an internal storage space, and the capillary tube bundle 120 is disposed within the housing 110. The capillary tube bundle 120 includes a plurality of capillary tubes 124 arranged in a hollow interior. The first end of the capillary tube bundle 120 communicates with the inlet 111 of the housing 110, and the second end of the capillary tube bundle 120 communicates with the outlet 112. The capillary tubes 124 in the capillary tube bundle 120 transmit the aerosolized liquid via capillary action through their relatively small pore size (less than 150 μm). The heating element 150 is disposed near the outlet 112 and connected to the second end of the capillary bundle 120. The atomized liquid transmitted through the capillary bundle 120 will be heated and atomized when encountering the energized heating element 150, forming an aerosol fluid, and finally discharged from the outlet 112 (refer to the dotted arrow in Figure 2).

Specifically, each capillary tube 124 includes a tube wall 121 and a tube hole 122. The tube wall 121 can be made of glass materials such as quartz glass, borosilicate glass, or aluminosilicate glass, or heat-resistant polymer materials such as aromatic polymers, heterocyclic polymers, ladder polymers, elemental organic polymers, or inorganic compounds. It is understood that those skilled in the art can select appropriate materials to form the capillary tube bundle based on actual conditions, and detailed description is omitted here.

Adjacent capillary tubes 124 are fitted together by the tube walls 121 to form a closed gap 140, allowing atomized liquid to be stored in or pass through the gap 140, so that a certain amount of atomized liquid can pass through the atomizer core 100 during the atomization process. Moreover, the gap 140 can form a delivery channel similar to the control 122 in the capillary tube bundle 120, and can also serve to transport atomized liquid.

It is understood that to maintain a good capillary effect, the inner diameter of each capillary tube 122 should be less than 150 μm, and the maximum width of the cross-section of the gap 140 should be less than 100 μm. In one embodiment, the inner diameter of the capillary tube 122 is within a range of 5 μm to 100 μm, and the maximum width of the cross-section of the gap 140 is 80 μm. In another embodiment, the inner diameter of the capillary tube 122 is within a range of 10 μm to 40 μm, and the maximum width of the cross-section of the gap 140 is 50 μm. In addition, the wall 121 of the capillary tube 124 has a wall thickness within a range of 5 μm to 80 μm.

In the above embodiment, the atomizer core 100 uses a capillary tube bundle 120 formed by an array of capillary tubes 124 to transmit the atomized liquid by means of the hollow characteristics of the capillary tubes 124 themselves, so that the atomizer core can achieve cotton-free atomization, further avoiding the filtering effect caused by cotton or porous ceramics, and can achieve proportional atomization or ensure the consistency of the chemical composition of the aerosol and the composition of the atomized liquid.

Furthermore, the capillary bundle 120 can be arranged in a variety of ways. Referring to Figure 4 in conjunction with Figure 2 , a plurality of closely spaced capillary tubes 124 form a regular quadrilateral array. Since the capillary tubes 124 are circular, the cross-sectional shape of the gaps 140 comprises four joined quarter-circle segments. Referring to Figure 7 , in an array forming a regular triangle, since the capillary tubes 224 are circular, the cross-sectional shape of the gaps 240 comprises three joined third-circle segments.

In other embodiments, the cross-section of each capillary tube in the capillary tube bundle 420 can be a regular polygon. In conjunction with Figure 8, multiple closely arranged capillary tubes 420 form a regular triangle array. Since the capillary tube 430 is a regular hexagon, the cross-sectional shape of the gap 440 includes three spliced straight line segments. In conjunction with Figure 9, multiple closely arranged capillary tubes 420 form a regular quadrilateral array. Since the capillary tube 430 is a regular octagon, the cross-sectional shape of the gap 440 includes four spliced straight line segments. In addition, those skilled in the art can indirectly control the length of the gap 140/240 by controlling the length of the capillary tube bundle 120/240, so that the oil locking ability of the atomizer core 100 can be adjusted, and the atomization dose can also be adjusted at the same time.

For high-viscosity atomized liquids, such as THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) or CBD (cannabidiol) series, most of the power of traditional ceramic atomizer cores is used to heat the atomized liquid to ensure its flow. While other atomizer cores improve atomization efficiency, the flow of the atomized liquid becomes another shortcoming. Based on this, and continuing to refer to Figure 1, the atomizer core 100 can also include a heat pipe 130. The heat pipe 130 is arranged adjacent to the capillary tube bundle 120 and can heat the atomized liquid around it and the atomized liquid in the oil tank by self-heating or heat conduction. This can improve the fluidity of the atomized liquid with higher viscosity by increasing the temperature, reducing the impact of different types of atomized liquid on the atomization effect. Moreover, it has an improvement effect on the freezing and increased viscosity of the atomized liquid in low-temperature use environments.

Specifically, the heat pipe 130 can be disposed within a capillary tube bundle 120 formed by a plurality of capillary tubes 124, extending in the same direction as the capillary tubes 124. Thus, the heat pipe 130 is effectively surrounded by the capillary tubes 124. Capillary tube bundles 120 with different array patterns surround the heat pipe 130 in different ways.

4 shows an arrangement of capillary tube bundles 120 surrounding a heat pipe 130 . Multiple capillary tube bundles 120 are arranged in a regular quadrilateral array, forming a 3*3 square array. Eight capillary tube bundles 120 surround one heat pipe 130 .

In conjunction with Figures 5 and 7 , Figure 5 illustrates another arrangement of the capillary tube bundles 220 in the atomizer core 200 of the present application, while Figure 7 illustrates a partial schematic diagram of the array in Figure 5 . Multiple capillary tube bundles 220 are closely arranged in a regular hexagonal pattern within the housing 210, forming a 2*2*2 hexagonal array. Six capillary tube bundles 220 surround a single heat pipe 230.

When the heat pipe 130 generates heat or transfers heat, it preheats the surrounding capillary tube bundle 120, the atomized liquid within the capillary tube bundle 120, and the atomized liquid in the oil tank. This arrangement ensures that the heat pipe 130 is not located near the edge of the housing 110, avoiding heat waste and improving heating efficiency. It also prevents the presence of multiple heat pipes 130 in the same 3x3 array or a 2x2x2 array, which could cause the atomized liquid preheat temperature to be too high.

Of course, in other embodiments, those skilled in the art may also adjust the number of capillary tube bundles 120 surrounding the heat pipe 130 based on the array arrangement of the capillary tube bundles 120. For example, in one embodiment, referring to FIG8 , for a regular triangle array, one of the three is a heat pipe 330, and two of the three are capillary tubes 320; for example, in one embodiment, referring to FIG9 , for a regular quadrilateral array, one of the four is a heat pipe 330, and the remaining three are capillary tubes 320.

The above arrangement is merely an example. It is understandable that those skilled in the art can select the number and arrangement of the heat pipes 130 according to actual conditions, and details are not described here.

In conjunction with Figure 2 and referring to Figure 10, in the present application, the heating element 150 is in the shape of a metal foil, and the material can be a heat-conducting sheet such as a single substance such as gold, silver, or titanium, or any biocompatible metal or alloy or compound. When powered on, its own temperature will increase, so that the atomized liquid is heated and atomized. In order to improve the uniformity of atomization, a porous array 152 can be provided on the surface of the substrate 151 of the heating element 150. The porous array 152 can improve the diffusion distribution of the atomized liquid on the metal foil, thereby facilitating uniform atomization. In other embodiments, the porous array 152 with a circular cross-section on the surface of the heating element 150 can also be replaced with a slot array with a rectangular cross-section. Those skilled in the art can choose according to actual conditions, and will not be described in detail here.

Specifically, taking the porous array 152 having a circular cross-section as an example, the pore size of the porous array 152 can be smaller than the pore size of the capillary tube bundle 120, but generally not smaller than the capillary tube wall thickness. This allows the atomized liquid to quickly penetrate and diffuse through the porous array 152 upon reaching the surface of the heating element 150, thereby increasing the heated surface area of the atomized liquid and thereby increasing the atomization speed of the atomized liquid.

In addition, in conjunction with Figure 3, in some embodiments, the end surface where the capillary tube bundle 120 is connected to the heater 150 can be a concave surface, and the shape of the corresponding heater 150 is also set to a corresponding concave surface. Compared with a planar capillary tube bundle, this arrangement can make the temperature of the entire atomizing surface more uniform, thereby further controlling the aerosol nucleation process. Especially when the atomizing surface is facing atomization, the aerosol fluid re-liquefies after the atomizing core 100 stops working. The concave surface can well constrain the re-liquefied atomized liquid, causing it to flow back into the atomizing core to avoid spreading to other areas.

Furthermore, at least a portion of the openings in the porous array 152 are staggered with the openings of the capillary tube bundle 120. This allows the substrate to partially cover the openings of the capillary tube bundle 120, providing a buffer for the atomized liquid and preventing leakage due to excessive flow of the atomized liquid.

Continuing with FIG. 2 , in one embodiment of the present application, the first end of the array of capillary tube bundles 120 is housed within the inlet 111 of the housing 110 , thereby forming a liquid guide channel 113 at the inlet 111 of the housing 110 . The liquid guide channel 113 can also store a certain amount of atomized liquid to ensure that the array of capillary tube bundles 120 is adequately supplied with atomized liquid.

It is understood that, in order to preheat the atomized liquid, at least a portion of the heat pipe 130 can also be disposed in the liquid channel 113 and adjacent to the first end of the array of capillary tube bundles 120. Please refer to Figure 6, which is a schematic structural diagram of another embodiment of the atomizer core in this application. One end of the heat pipe 230 is connected to the heater 250, and the other end extends into the liquid channel 213.

In one embodiment, the heat pipe 230 has a heating resistor wire inside, or the heat pipe's own resistance can be used for heating, so that it can actively generate heat when powered on. The triggering time and working duration of active heating can be controlled by a program, so that heating can be instantly activated when needed (for example, when the user sucks).

In another embodiment, the heat pipe 230 has a heat conduction area made of a heat-conducting material inside. After the heating element 250 completes the atomization, the remaining heat on the atomizer core is quickly transferred from one end of the heat pipe 230 to the other end, thereby heating the atomized liquid in the oil tank. This can not only immediately transfer the heat from the heating element 250 to the oil tank, lowering the temperature of the atomizer core, thereby reducing the amount of aerosol generated by inertia after cessation of inhalation, thereby greatly reducing the generation of condensate, but also increase the flow rate of the atomizer liquid refill.

Furthermore, the heat conducting area of heat pipe 230 can be made of a material with good thermal conductivity, such as thermally conductive silicone, aluminum, titanium, silver, or stainless steel. Heat pipe 230 itself can also be hollow or porous to facilitate heat transfer with the atomized liquid. It is understood that those skilled in the art can adjust this according to actual circumstances, and detailed descriptions are omitted here.

Furthermore, in another embodiment, the heat pipe 130 can be completely located in the liquid conducting channel 213. Its length extension direction is perpendicular to the extension direction of the capillary tube bundle 220. This allows the heat pipe 130 to heat only the liquid conducting channel 113 with its own heating unit, without having to heat the side walls of the capillary tube bundle 120 through solid heat transfer, resulting in a better preheating effect.

The atomizer core 100 of this application can be used in all heated atomization applications, such as electronic cigarettes, CBD, THC, or Delta series atomization, medical atomization, and herbal atomization. Simply replace the atomizing liquid in the above embodiment. It should be understood that the atomizer core 100 of this application is not limited to different atomizing liquids.

The following example illustrates the application of the atomizer core 100 to an atomizer device such as an electronic cigarette. Referring to Figure 11 , the electronic cigarette 300 in this application may include a housing, an oil tank 310, an atomizer core 350, a mouthpiece 320, and other components. The housing serves as a protective casing for the electronic cigarette 300 and can be grasped by the user during use. The housing includes a storage space within which components such as the oil tank 310 and the atomizer core 350 can be located. The oil tank 310 communicates with the atomizer core inlet 111 via an oil delivery channel 330, and the mouthpiece 320 communicates with the atomizer core outlet 112 via an air outlet channel 360. The mouthpiece 320 is located at one end of the housing. When a user grips the housing and draws in, the atomized liquid in the oil tank 310 is transported to the atomizer core, where it is heated and atomized to form an aerosol fluid. This aerosol fluid is then delivered to the user's lungs through the mouthpiece 320 as the user inhales.

The specific structural features of the atomizer core in this embodiment can be referred to the above embodiments and will not be described in detail here. This embodiment only exemplifies the relevant module structural features that can solve the technical problems of this application. The remaining components of the electronic cigarette 300 are not shown, but this should not be understood as missing or absent.

In summary, the present application provides an atomizer core and an atomizer device, which stores and transmits the atomizer liquid through the capillary bundle and the gaps therein by changing the structure of the atomizer liquid, so that the atomizer core can achieve cotton-free atomization, further avoiding the filtering effect caused by cotton or porous ceramics, and can achieve proportional atomization or ensure the consistency of the chemical composition of the aerosol and the atomizer liquid. Furthermore, the atomizer core in the present application can preheat the atomizer liquid in advance or use the residual heat after the atomizer core stops sucking to improve the flow of the atomizer liquid in the oil tank, thereby improving the stability of the atomization efficiency of the atomizer liquid, avoiding the use of room temperature and the influence of different types of viscosity characteristics of the atomizer liquid on the atomization effect. Furthermore, the atomizer improves the flow of the atomizer liquid by responding to different operations of the user, and can match the atomization action of the atomizer core with the suction action of the user, thereby improving the user experience. In addition, the atomizer core in the present application can prevent the turbulence of liquid flow caused by the air pressure in the oil tank by setting the first valve, thereby ensuring the consistency of the dosage of each atomization, which is the so-called dosage-controlled atomization.

The above description is only an implementation method of the present application and does not limit the patent scope of the present application. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation made using the contents of the description and drawings of this application, or directly or indirectly applied in other related technical fields, are also included in the patent protection scope of the present application.

Claims (10)

An atomizer core, characterized by comprising: a housing having an inlet, an outlet, and an accommodating space; a capillary tube bundle comprising a plurality of capillary tubes which are hollow and closely arranged with each other, the capillary tube bundle being disposed in the accommodating space, the first end of the capillary tube bundle being in communication with the inlet, and the second end of the capillary tube bundle being in communication with the outlet; and a heating element, disposed at the outlet and connected to the second end of the capillary tube bundle, the heating element being used to heat and atomize the atomized liquid flowing out of the capillary tube bundle when powered on; There is a gap between two adjacent capillary tubes, and the gap is used to store the atomized liquid and allow the atomized liquid to pass through. The atomizer core according to claim 1 is characterized in that the multiple capillary tubes are arranged in a regular triangle array or a regular quadrilateral array. The atomizer core according to claim 2 is characterized in that the cross-section of the capillary tube is circular, and the cross-section of the gap includes multiple circular arc segments. The atomizer core according to claim 2 is characterized in that the cross-section of the capillary tube is a regular polygon, and the cross-section of the gap includes multiple straight line segments. The atomizer core according to claim 1 is characterized in that the end surface of the second end of the capillary tube bundle is an inner concave surface, and the heating element is attached to the second end of the capillary tube bundle. The atomizer core according to claim 5 is characterized in that the heating element is arranged in a porous or groove-shaped shape, and the inner diameter of the hole or the groove length of the heating element is greater than the wall thickness of the capillary tube. The atomizer core according to claim 6 is characterized in that the opening of the heating element and the orifice of the capillary tube are at least partially staggered. The atomizer core according to claim 1 is characterized in that it also includes at least one heat pipe, which is arranged adjacent to the capillary tube, and is used to heat the atomized liquid around it to increase the flow rate of the atomized liquid reaching the heating element. The atomizer core according to claim 8 is characterized in that one end of the heat pipe is connected to the heating element for conducting the heat of the heating element to the rest of the heat pipe to promote the flow of the atomized liquid. A nebulizer, characterized by comprising: shell, a mouthpiece, provided at one end of the housing, for allowing a user to inhale aerosol fluid; an oil tank, disposed in the housing, for storing atomized liquid; and an atomizing core, disposed in the housing and located between the oil tank and the nozzle; The inlet of the atomizer core is connected to the oil tank through an oil delivery channel, and the outlet of the atomizer core is connected to the nozzle through an air outlet channel, so as to heat and atomize the atomized liquid to form the aerosol fluid; Wherein, the atomizer core is the atomizer core described in any one of claims 1 to 9.