CN105962424A - MEMS atomization chip for electronic cigarette - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses an MEMS atomization chip (11) for an electronic cigarette. The MEMS atomization chip comprises a sealing micro-ring (19), a micro-orifice plate (17), a vibration film (21) and a liquid cavity (22) formed by vibration film (21). A driver (18) is arranged on the outer side of the vibration film (21). A micro-orifice array (13), a liquid inlet (15) and a micro-valve (20) are arranged on the micro-orifice plate (17). The inlet diameter of micro-orifices in the micro-orifice array (13) is larger than the outlet diameter. The outlet diameter is of a micrometer or nanometer scale.

Description

A MEMS atomization chip for electronic cigarette

technical field

The invention relates to the technical field of electronic cigarettes, in particular to a MEMS atomization chip for electronic cigarettes.

Background technique:

Electronic cigarettes are devices that turn liquid e-liquid into mist aerosols and are inhaled by smokers. The existing commercially available e-cigarettes mainly use electric heating and atomization to change liquid e-liquid into mist aerosol. Many ultrasonic e-cigarette patents (CN201410151376.2 "Electronic cigarettes and e-liquids with ultrasonic atomization function", CN201410522444. 1 "Ultrasonic Atomization Electronic Cigarette Suction Device", CN201520096477.4 "Ultrasonic Electronic Cigarette", CN201610007620.7 "Ultrasonic Vibration Electronic Cigarette Vacuumization Device and Electronic Cigarette") uses ultrasonic atomization to atomize smoke oil. Among them, the atomization of e-liquid occurs in the electronic cigarette atomizer.

At present, mainstream electronic cigarette atomizers mostly use electric heating to atomize e-liquid, which requires electric heating elements to convert electrical energy into heat energy and transfer the heat to the e-liquid to atomize it. Although the electric heating method can quickly heat the atomized e-liquid to form an aerosol, due to the structure and materials of the mainstream atomizer itself, it will bring the following defects: First, the structure of the commonly used heating wire itself and the position of the oil guide element The relationship may cause local overheating of the heating wire or even dry burning to produce odors and potentially harmful substances, resulting in a serious decline in sensory quality and bringing health risks; second, the long-term direct contact between the high-temperature heating wire and the e-liquid may cause the metal elements in the heating wire to be released with the smoke. The inhalation of oil atomized steam will also bring health hazards; the third is that the glass fiber or organic cotton that is in direct contact with the e-liquid not only has the risk of burning the core at high temperature, which will deteriorate the sensory perception, but also may cause it to be damaged due to the substances contained in it. The shedding, pyrolysis or carbonization of the vape oil can cause health problems; the fourth is that due to the passive oil guide, the direction and the amount of e-liquid transported from the oil-guiding element to the heating element are uncontrollable, and the atomization amount of the e-liquid is uncontrollable Fifth, the particle size of the aerosol generated by the atomization of e-liquid is uncontrollable. If the particle size is too large, it will adhere to the mouth, throat and lungs for a long time, resulting in greasy, dry or Other discomfort; if the particle size is too small, the residence time of e-cigarette smoke in the mouth and other parts will be too short, resulting in insufficient mouth fullness and physiological satisfaction.

Moreover, electric heating high-power electronic cigarettes (especially lung suction electronic cigarettes) generally require low resistance and high-power atomizers in order to ensure a large amount of smoke, which not only consumes a lot of power, but also has the disadvantage of burning the mouth of the smoke.

If the ultrasonic atomization electronic cigarette is to realize the atomization of e-liquid, it generally needs MHz-level high-frequency oscillation to break the e-liquid into fine mist particles. The structure is complex, the volume is large, and the power consumption is high. The aerosol particles The diameter is not easy to control, and the suction experience is poor.

Contents of the invention

The purpose of the present invention is to solve the problems existing in the prior art, and to invent an electronic cigarette based on the MEMS atomization chip by adopting advanced MEMS (micro-electromechanical system) technology. MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System) is the integration of micro-circuits and micro-machines on a chip according to functional requirements, and the size is usually on the millimeter or micron scale. It has the advantages of small size, light weight, low power consumption, good durability, low price, and stable performance. It is widely used in automotive, consumer electronics and medical fields.

The present invention provides a MEMS atomization chip 11 for electronic cigarettes, including:

Seal the microring 19, the micro-orifice plate 17, the vibrating membrane 21 and the liquid cavity 22 surrounded by it;

A driver 18 is arranged outside the vibrating membrane 21 , and the micro-orifice plate 17 has a micro-hole array 13 , a liquid inlet 15 and a micro-valve 20 .

Preferably, the inlet diameter of the microholes of the microwell array 13 is larger than the outlet diameter, and the outlet diameter is in the order of microns or nanometers.

Preferably, the liquid inlet 15 communicates with the liquid outlet of the oil storage bin 10 .

Preferably, the microhole array 13 communicates with the central channel 14 of the suction nozzle 3;

Preferably, the MEMS atomization chip 11 and the oil storage bin 10 are packaged integrally or installed in combination.

Beneficial results of the present invention:

The invention does not use electric heating elements to heat the smoke oil, and does not use traditional glass fiber or organic cotton and other oil-conducting materials to guide the oil, thereby avoiding problems such as dry burning and hidden health hazards; it adopts active pressure-driven oil-conducting methods and different aperture sizes The unique array micro-nozzle design realizes directional and quantitative oil conduction and atomization, and precisely controls the amount of atomization and aerosol particle size, thereby effectively improving the sensory quality; no high-temperature components are required, and the power consumption is low, which improves user experience; manufactured using MEMS technology The atomization chip can significantly reduce the weight and volume of the atomizer and improve the integration level; in addition, MEMS technology is conducive to the mass production and standardized production of the electronic atomizer, thereby reducing the existing electronic atomizer in the manufacturing process due to abnormal Defects in product quality differentiation caused by standardized manufacturing processes can greatly reduce production costs.

Compared with patent CN200410048792.6 (electronic cigarette), this patent has the following differences:

The electronic cigarette in the patent CN200410048792.6 is to spray large droplets through the nozzle under the action of the carrier gas, and then convert the large droplets into small droplets by heating atomization or ultrasonic atomization, and then mix with the carrier gas to form an aerosol Afterwards, it was inhaled. The actual test found that the diameter of the nozzle nozzle is millimeter.

In this patent, the micro-nozzle array of the MEMS atomization chip is used to replace the traditional nozzle. The diameter of the micro-nozzle is micron or nano-sized, and the aerosol particle size is adjusted by controlling the driving pressure and the size of the micro-nozzle array. Directly atomize the e-liquid in place to form small droplets with a size of micron or even nanometer, and form an aerosol after mixing with air, without additional heating, vibration, ultrasonic atomization devices, etc. The structure is simpler and saves space. Reduced power consumption.

Compared with the existing ultrasonic atomization e-cigarette patents, the structure of the MEMS jet atomization chip is simple, which greatly reduces the power consumption of atomization (from the MHz level required by ultrasonic waves to the KHz level), so that the atomizer can completely match the existing The lithium battery power supply also solves the problems of inconsistent aerosol particle size and large volume of the atomization device in ultrasonic atomization. Moreover, the atomization chip of the present invention is small in size, highly integrated, and easy to process in batches

Description of drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of the electronic cigarette based on the MEMS atomization chip of the present invention

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the MEMS atomization chip used for electronic cigarettes in the pumping out state according to the present invention

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of the MEMS atomization chip used for electronic cigarettes in the inhalation state of the present invention

Reference signs are: battery rod 1, atomizer 2, suction nozzle 3, battery 4, controller 5, power switch 6, atomization drive switch 7, battery charging port 8, housing 9, oil storage tank 10, MEMS Atomization chip 11, air inlet hole 12, microhole array 13, central channel 14, liquid inlet 15, smoke oil 16, micro-orifice plate 17, driver 18, sealing micro-ring 19, micro-valve 20, vibrating membrane 21 , liquid cavity 22;

detailed description

When smoking the electronic cigarette based on the MEMS atomization chip of the present invention, first connect the oil-filled atomizer 2, the battery rod 1 and the suction nozzle 3, and then press the power switch 6 arranged on the electronic cigarette case and drive the atomization Simultaneously pumping with the switch 7, the driver 18 in the MEMS atomization chip works immediately, the e-liquid 16 in the oil storage tank 10 is quickly sucked into the liquid chamber 22, and then immediately sprayed directly through the micro-hole array 13 on the micro-spray orifice plate 17 Atomization forms an aerosol, and at the same time, the air-loaded aerosol inhaled by the air intake hole 12 opened on the electronic cigarette housing 9 is inhaled into the mouth of the smoker together.

When the chip is in the pumping and atomizing state, the vibrating membrane 21 is deformed by the driving force of the driver 18, the volume of the liquid chamber 22 shrinks, the pressure increases, and the kinetic energy obtained by the e-liquid in the cavity is enough to overcome the surface tension of the e-liquid. The array of microholes 13 scatter to realize direct atomization. Since the microvalve 15 is limited by the structure, it will not open, and there is no supply of e-liquid when it is pumped out (Figure 2);

When the chip is in the state of inhaling e-liquid, the vibrating diaphragm returns to expand the volume of the liquid chamber 22, and the internal pressure drops. The external pressure of the liquid inlet 15 is greater than the internal pressure, the microvalve 15 is opened by the pressure, and the e-liquid enters the liquid chamber 22 , due to the restriction of the micro-orifice structure in the direction of pressure drop, the e-liquid will not be ejected when it is inhaled (Figure 3).

The driver 18 can adopt various methods, such as piezoelectric drive, peristaltic drive, hydraulic drive, electrothermal drive, pneumatic drive, electrostatic drive, electromagnetic drive, etc. The chip mainly relies on the displacement of the driver 18 to generate pressure, which has the advantage of less flexible deformation, Flow rates can be precisely controlled, and pressure-driven microfluidics is less affected by fluid and tubing properties. Quantitative and directional atomization of e-liquid is driven to achieve high-quality atomization effect of e-liquid.

The typical microhole array is processed on single crystal silicon and glass by MEMS technology, and each part of the chip is micro-assembled by bonding technology.

The inlet diameter of the micropore is larger than the outlet diameter, and the aerosol diameter is equal to the outlet diameter. This facilitates a quick and powerful ejection of the formed aerosol.

The tank of the atomizer can be replaced and cleaned and used for different e-liquids, and the tank and MEMS atomizing chip can also be integrated into a non-replaceable atomizer.

Claims (2)

1. A MEMS atomizing chip (11) for electronic cigarettes, characterized in that it comprises: sealing microring (19), micro-orifice plate (17), and vibrating membrane (21) and the liquid chamber (22) surrounded by it; A driver (18) is arranged outside the vibrating membrane (21), and a microhole array (13), a liquid inlet (15) and a microvalve (20) are arranged on the microjet orifice plate (17). 2. The MEMS atomizing chip (11) for electronic cigarette according to claim 1, characterized in that, the inlet diameter of the microholes of the microhole array (13) is larger than the outlet diameter, and the outlet diameter is micron or nanoscale.