CN219182802U

CN219182802U - Heater and aerosol generating device

Info

Publication number: CN219182802U
Application number: CN202222246985.9U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 罗家懋; 雷宝灵; 林福文; 李鑫磊; 陈桂敏; 戚祖强; 徐中立; 李永海
Original assignee: Shenzhen FirstUnion Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shenzhen FirstUnion Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-08-25
Filing date: 2022-08-25
Publication date: 2023-06-16
Anticipated expiration: 2032-08-25

Abstract

The present application relates to a heater and aerosol-generating device comprising: a chamber for receiving at least part of an aerosol-generating article; a holder configured in a ring shape; a tubular body defining the chamber, the tubular body comprising a flexible member and a heat generating member disposed on an inner or outer surface of the flexible member for heating the aerosol-generating article; wherein, the side wall of the tubular body is provided with a gap, the gap is formed by the flexible piece which is curled into a tubular shape from a sheet shape, and the retaining piece is sleeved on the periphery of the flexible piece so as to retain the shape or the size of the gap.

Description

Heater and aerosol generating device

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present application relate to the field of aerosol generation technology, and in particular, to a heater, an aerosol generating device, and a system.

Background

Existing aerosol-generating devices typically include a heater by which an aerosol-generating article is heated to generate an aerosol for use or inhalation by a user.

The heater in some aerosol-generating devices comprises a tubular body defining a cavity for containing an aerosol-generating article and a heating body, however existing heaters suffer from problems such as:

the insulating sheet with the heating body is required to be wound and fixed on the rigid substrate, and forms the tubular body with the heating body together with the rigid substrate, so that the wall of the tubular body is thicker, the energy consumption is large, and the heating body is difficult to arrange at the inner side of the tubular body due to the limitation of the product size and the processing technology, so that a larger distance is reserved between the heating body and the aerosol-generating product accommodated in the cavity, and the heating efficiency is low and the heat loss is large.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a heater and aerosol generating device, through cover establish the shape or the size of keeping the gap on the tubular body at tubular body periphery, make the flexible piece can keep the tubulose, need not to weld the gap, need not rigid substrate.

A heater provided in an embodiment of the present application for heating an aerosol-generating article to generate an aerosol, comprising:

a chamber for receiving at least part of an aerosol-generating article;

a holder configured in a ring shape;

a tubular body defining the chamber, the tubular body comprising a flexible member and a heat generating member disposed inside or outside the flexible member for heating the aerosol-generating article;

wherein, the side wall of the tubular body is provided with a gap, the gap is formed by the flexible piece which is curled into a tubular shape from a sheet shape, and the retaining piece is sleeved on the periphery of the flexible piece so as to retain the shape or the size of the gap.

An aerosol-generating device provided by an embodiment of the present application includes the heater.

The heater and the aerosol generating device have the advantages that the tubular body comprises the flexible piece, so that the flexible piece can be combined with the heating piece first, and then the flexible piece is curled into a tubular shape, thereby overcoming the limitation of the inner diameter and the outer diameter of the tubular body on the processing technology, and enabling the heating piece to form the outer side of the tubular body or the inner side of the tubular body according to the requirement. The shape or the size of the gap is fixed by connecting the flexible piece with the retaining piece, so that the flexible piece is kept in a tubular shape, the process is simple, the production efficiency is improved, and the production cost is reduced.

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 view of an aerosol-generating device according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a heater provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a heater provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a heater provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a heater provided in another embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is an expanded schematic view of a tubular body according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is an expanded schematic view of a tubular body provided in accordance with another embodiment of the present application;

in the figure:

1. an aerosol-generating article;

2. a heater; 21. a chamber; 22. a holder; 23. a tubular body; 231. a flexible member; 232. a heat generating member; 2321. a heating film or layer; 2322. an electrode; 24. a lead wire;

3. a power supply assembly; 31. a power supply; 32. a circuit;

Detailed Description

The following description of the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be made clearly and completely with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is apparent that the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present application, not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without undue burden from the present disclosure, are within the scope of the present disclosure.

The terms "first," "second," "third," and the like in this application are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number or order of technical features indicated. All directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, back … …) in the embodiments of the present application are merely used to explain the relative positional relationship or movement between the components under a certain specific posture (as shown in the drawings), and if the specific posture is changed, the directional indication is correspondingly changed. Furthermore, the terms "comprise" and "have," as well as any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of steps or elements is not limited to only those listed steps or elements but may include other steps or elements not listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.

Reference herein to "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearances of such phrases in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Those of skill in the art will explicitly and implicitly appreciate that the embodiments described herein may be combined with other embodiments.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present. When an element is referred to as being "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or one or more intervening elements may also be present therebetween. The terms "vertical," "horizontal," "left," "right," and the like are used herein for illustrative purposes only and are not meant to be the only embodiment.

Referring to fig. 1, an embodiment of the present application provides an aerosol-generating device that may be used to heat an aerosol-generating article 1 to volatilize aerosol from the aerosol-generating article 1 for inhalation.

As used herein, the term "aerosol-generating article" refers to an article comprising an aerosol-generating substrate that upon heating releases volatile compounds that can form an aerosol. By "aerosol-generating article" is meant an article comprising an aerosol-forming substrate intended to be heated rather than burned to release volatile compounds that can form an aerosol. An aerosol formed by heating an aerosol-forming substrate may contain fewer known hazardous components than an aerosol produced by combustion or pyrolysis degradation of the aerosol-forming substrate. In an embodiment, the aerosol-generating article is removably coupled to the aerosol-generating device. The article may be disposable or reusable.

The aerosol-forming substrate may be a solid aerosol-forming substrate. Alternatively, the aerosol-forming substrate may comprise solid and liquid components. The aerosol-forming substrate may comprise tobacco. The aerosol-forming substrate may comprise a tobacco-containing material containing volatile tobacco flavour compounds that are released from the substrate upon heating. The aerosol-forming substrate may comprise a non-tobacco material. The aerosol-forming substrate may comprise tobacco-containing material and no tobacco-containing material.

The outer diameter of the aerosol-generating article 1 may be between about 5mm and about 12 mm, for example between about 6 mm and about 8 mm. In one embodiment, the outer diameter of the aerosol-generating article 1 is 7.2 mm +/-10%.

The total length of the aerosol-generating article 1 may be between about 25mm and about 100 mm. The total length of the aerosol-generating article 1 may be between about 30mm and about 100 mm. In a particular embodiment, the total length of the aerosol-generating article 1 is about 45mm. In another particular embodiment, the total length of the aerosol-generating article 1 is about 33mm.

The aerosol-forming substrate may comprise a liquid aerosol-forming substrate. The liquid aerosol-forming substrate may comprise a nicotine solution. In one embodiment, the liquid aerosol-forming substrate comprises a tobacco-containing material comprising volatile tobacco flavor compounds that are released from the liquid upon heating. The liquid aerosol-forming substrate may comprise a non-tobacco material. The liquid aerosol-forming substrate may comprise water, solvents, ethanol, plant extracts and natural or artificial flavourings. In an embodiment, the liquid aerosol-forming substrate further comprises an aerosol-former.

In some embodiments, an aerosol-generating article comprises a liquid aerosol-forming substrate and a liquid retention medium for retaining the liquid aerosol-forming substrate.

The length of the liquid retention medium may be between about 7mm and about 20mm, for example between 8mm and 15 mm. In one embodiment, the length of the liquid retention medium may be about 10mm.

In one embodiment, the liquid retention medium comprises an absorbent material, such as an absorbent polymeric material. Examples of suitable liquid retaining materials include fibrous polymers and porous polymers, such as open cell foams. The liquid retention medium may comprise fibrous cellulose acetate or fibrous cellulose polymer. The liquid retention medium may comprise a porous polypropylene material. Suitable materials capable of retaining a liquid will be known to the skilled person.

The liquid retention medium is either located within the airflow path through the heated aerosol-generating article or defines at least a portion of the airflow path through the aerosol-generating article. In an embodiment, the one or more apertures defined by the liquid retaining medium define a portion of an airflow path through the aerosol-generating article between the distal end of the article and the mouth end of the article.

The liquid retention medium may be in the form of a tube having a central lumen. The tube wall will then be formed of or include a suitable liquid retaining material.

The liquid aerosol-forming substrate should be incorporated into the liquid holding medium immediately prior to use. For example, a dose of liquid aerosol-forming substrate may be injected into the liquid holding medium immediately prior to use.

The aerosol-forming substrate may further comprise an aerosol-former which aids in the formation of a dense and stable aerosol. Examples of suitable aerosol formers are glycerol and propylene glycol.

The aerosol-forming substrate may comprise at least one aerosol-former. As used herein, the term "aerosol former" is used to describe any suitable known compound or mixture of compounds that, in use, promote aerosol formation. Suitable aerosol-formers are substantially resistant to thermal degradation at the operating temperature of the aerosol-generating article. Examples of suitable aerosol formers are glycerol and propylene glycol. Suitable aerosol formers include, but are not limited to: polyols such as propylene glycol, triethylene glycol, 1, 3-butanediol, and glycerol; esters of polyols, such as glycerol mono-, di-or triacetate; and aliphatic esters of mono-, di-or polycarboxylic acids, such as dimethyl dodecanedioate and dimethyl tetradecanedioate. In one embodiment, the aerosol former is a polyol or mixture thereof, such as propylene glycol, triethylene glycol, 1, 3-butanediol, or glycerol. The aerosol-forming substrate may comprise a single aerosol-former. Alternatively, the aerosol-forming substrate may comprise a combination of two or more aerosol-formers. The aerosol-forming substrate may have an aerosol former content of greater than 5% by dry weight. The aerosol-forming substrate may have an aerosol former content of between about 5% and about 30% by dry weight. The aerosol-forming substrate may have an aerosol former content of about 20% by dry weight.

As used herein, the term "aerosol-generating device" is a device that interfaces or interacts with the aerosol-generating article 1 to form an inhalable aerosol. The device interacts with the aerosol-forming substrate to generate an aerosol. An electrically operated aerosol-generating device is a device comprising one or more components for supplying energy from, for example, a power supply assembly 3 to heat an aerosol-forming substrate to generate an aerosol.

The aerosol-generating device may be described as a heated aerosol-generating device, which is an aerosol-generating device comprising a heater 2. The heater 2 is used to heat an aerosol-forming substrate of the aerosol-generating article 1 to generate an aerosol, or to heat a solvent-free substrate of a cleaning consumable to form a cleaning solvent.

The aerosol-generating device may comprise a power supply assembly 3 for supplying power to the heater 2. The power supply assembly 3 may comprise any suitable power supply 31, for example a DC source, such as a battery. In one embodiment, the power source 31 is a lithium ion battery. Alternatively, the power source 31 may be a nickel metal hydride battery, a nickel cadmium battery, or a lithium-based battery, such as a lithium cobalt, lithium iron phosphate, lithium titanate, or lithium polymer battery.

The aerosol-generating device may comprise circuitry for controlling the supply of electrical power from the power source 31 to the heater 2. The circuit 32 may include one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers.

The heater 2 may form part of the aerosol-generating article 1, part of the aerosol-generating device or any combination thereof. In the embodiment shown in fig. 1, the heater 2 forms part of an aerosol-generating device.

The heater 2 may comprise one or more external heaters, one or more internal heaters, or one or more external and one or more internal heaters. As used herein, the term "external heater" refers to a heater that is positioned external to an aerosol-generating article when the aerosol-generating system comprising the aerosol-generating article is assembled. As used herein, the term "internal heater" refers to a heater that is positioned at least partially within an aerosol-generating article when the aerosol-generating system comprising the aerosol-generating article is assembled.

In some embodiments, the external heater extends along the length of the aerosol-generating article and is spaced apart in the circumferential direction of the aerosol-generating article. When the heater comprises one or more external heaters, the one or more external heaters may comprise any suitable number of heaters: for example, the heater may comprise a plurality of external heaters, the plurality of external heating elements being distributed along the axial direction of the aerosol-generating article; for example, referring to fig. 2-5, the heater 2 may comprise a single external heater extending in the axial direction of the aerosol-generating article 1. When the heater comprises one or more internal heaters, the one or more internal heaters may comprise any suitable number of heaters: for example, the heater may comprise a single internal heater, which may extend in the axial direction of the aerosol-generating article.

In one embodiment, referring to fig. 2-5, the heater 2 includes a chamber 21, a holder 22, and a tubular body 23.

The chamber 21 may receive at least part of the aerosol-generating article 1 and the chamber 21 is delimited by a tubular body 23, at least part of the tubular body 23 surrounding the aerosol-generating article 1 when the aerosol-generating article 1 is inserted into the chamber 21.

The tubular body 23 includes a flexible member 231 and a heat generating member 232. The heat generating member 232 is for generating heat or emitting energy to heat the aerosol-generating article 1 to generate an aerosol. The flexible member 231 is a carrier of the heating element 232 for supporting the heating element 232, and the heating element 232 may be disposed on an inner surface or an outer surface of the flexible member 231, including being partially buried in the flexible member 231, or including being in contact with the inner surface or the outer surface of the flexible member 231 without being embedded in the flexible member 231.

The flexible member 231 is made of a material capable of being curled or bent, having toughness, which may have an elastic tendency to rebound to a restored shape after being curled or bent, for example, at least one of polyimide, flexible glass, or ceramic paper may be included in the flexible member 231.

In one embodiment, the flexible member 231 is a single piece that is rolled from sheet form into a tube shape, and the side wall of the tube formed by the flexible member 231 has a slit that can be open when the retainer 22 is positioned around the flexible member 231, and can be closed when the retainer 22 is positioned around the flexible member 231. The retaining member 22 is sleeved on the periphery of the single flexible member 231 to ensure that the shape or size of the slit on the flexible member 231 remains unchanged, so as to ensure that the degree of surrounding of the aerosol-generating article 1 by the heating member 232 provided on the flexible member 231 remains unchanged.

In an embodiment, the flexible member 231 comprises a plurality of flexible members 231, each flexible member 231 being bendable through a certain arc, said plurality of flexible members 231 being arranged along the circumference of the aerosol-generating article 1, thereby together forming an annular shape. The retaining members 22 are sleeved on the peripheries of the plurality of flexible members 231, so that the side edges of two adjacent flexible members 231 are abutted.

In an embodiment, the retaining member 22 has a greater stiffness than the flexible member 231, so that when the retaining member 22 is positioned around the flexible member 231, the retaining member 22 may also shape one or more of the flexible members 231 to secure its structure within the retaining member 22 to ensure that the heating member 232 positioned on the flexible member 231 remains in a stable distance or substantially in contact with the aerosol-generating article 1 each time the aerosol-generating article 1 is inserted into the chamber 21. In one embodiment, the inner side of the holder 22 is closely attached to the outer side of the tubular body 23, and when the tubular body 23 is connected to the holder 22, since the hardness of the holder 22 is greater than that of the flexible member 231, the holder 22 can shape and fix the tubular body 23 so that the outer side of the tubular body 23 closely attached to each other conforms to the shape of the inner side of the holder 22.

In an embodiment, the tube of one or more flexible members 231 is shaped to conform to the outer contour of the aerosol-generating article 1, such as being circular, under the retention of the retaining member 22. In one embodiment, the tube of one or more flexible members 231 may have a shape other than circular, such as a polygon, etc.

Referring to fig. 4 and 5, the retainer 22 is annular (may be a slotted annular or a seamless annular), the retainer 22 is nested with the tubular body 23 and is located outside the tubular body 23, and the retainer 22 surrounds at least a part of the outside of the tubular body 23, so that the slit on the tube formed by the one or more flexible members 231 can be ensured not to deform, not to expand or not to shrink in a tightening manner. Compared with the prior art that the slits on the tubular body are connected by welding and the like, the retainer is sleeved on the periphery of the tubular body 23, so that the retainer 22 is tightly fastened on the tubular body, the process is simpler, the production efficiency is higher, and the rework rate is low. In an embodiment, at least part of the inner side of the holder 22 or at least part of the outer side of the tubular body 23 is coated with glue, when the holder 22 is nested with the tubular body 23, the holder 22 and the tubular body 23 can be fixed to each other by the glue, and under the action of the glue adhesion, the gap on the tubular body 23 can be kept from deforming, expanding or shrinking. In one embodiment, the retainer 22 is tightened against the tubular body 23 while further strengthening the connection between the retainer 22 and the tubular body 23 by glue to further ensure that the retainer 22 sets the tubular body 23.

In one embodiment, the retaining member 22 is a single member, the single retaining member 22 extends along the axial direction of the tubular body 23, the axial extension may be no less than 1/3 of the axial length of the tubular body 23, and a portion of the tubular body 23 is exposed outside the retaining member; alternatively, referring to fig. 4, the axial extension of the retainer 22 may be no less than the axial length of the tubular body 22, and the tubular body 23 may be entirely within the retainer 22.

In an embodiment, referring to fig. 5, a plurality of holders 22 may be included, the plurality of holders 22 being distributed along the axial direction of the tubular body 23 so as to be disposed up and down in the axial direction of the tubular body 23. The plurality of holders 22 may be uniformly distributed in the axial direction of the tubular body 23. As used herein, the term "uniform" refers to any two adjacent components (e.g., the retainer 22) having substantially the same or identical spacing therebetween and/or any two components (e.g., the retainer 22) having substantially the same or identical extension in the axial direction.

In an embodiment, the plurality of holders 22 may be unevenly distributed in the axial direction of the tubular body 23.

In one embodiment, the retainer 22 may include an insulating material to insulate and insulate the tubular body 23 when the heating element 232 on the tubular body 23 generates heat to reduce power consumption.

As used herein, the term "thermally insulating" means that the thermal conductivity of the material is less than 100W/m.k at 23 degrees celsius and 50% relative humidity, and in one embodiment the thermal conductivity of the holder is less than 10W/m.k, and in a further embodiment the thermal conductivity of the holder is about 0.2W/m.k.

In one embodiment, the retainer 22 may include a high temperature resistant material to avoid damage to the retainer 22 from high temperatures on the tubular body 23. In one embodiment, the retainer 22 may withstand temperatures above 200 ℃.

In one embodiment, the retainer 22 comprises a plastic material having a lower density and specific heat capacity than metals, ceramics, based on the temperature increase equation: q=cmΔt, Q is heat, C is specific heat capacity, M is mass, Δt is a varying temperature, so that the inclusion of plastic material in the holder 22 allows the temperature variation of the holder 22 to consume only a small amount of heat on the tubular body 23, so that the temperature variation of the holder 22 has less effect on the temperature of the tubular body 23 and helps to maintain the holder 22 at substantially the same temperature as the tubular body 23.

In one embodiment, the retainer 22 comprises a plastic material, such as PEEK, PI, PBI, which can withstand temperatures above 200 ℃.

In one embodiment, heating element 232 may comprise a resistive material, suitable resistive materials including, but not limited to: semiconductors such as doped ceramics, conductive ceramics (e.g., molybdenum disilicide), carbon, graphite, metals, metal alloys, and composites made of ceramic materials and metal materials. Such composite materials may include doped or undoped ceramics. Examples of suitable doped ceramics include doped silicon carbide. Examples of suitable metals include titanium, zirconium, tantalum, and platinum group metals. Examples of suitable metal alloys include stainless steel, constantan (Constantan), nickel-containing alloys, cobalt-containing alloys, chromium-containing alloys, aluminum-containing alloys, titanium-containing alloys, zirconium-containing alloys, hafnium-containing alloys, niobium-containing alloys, molybdenum-containing alloys, tantalum-containing alloys, tungsten-containing alloys, tin-containing alloys, gallium-containing alloys, manganese-containing alloys, and iron-containing alloys, as well as nickel-, iron-, cobalt-based superalloys, stainless steel, iron-aluminum-based alloys, and iron-manganese-aluminum-based alloys. In the composite material, the resistive material may be embedded in, encapsulated or coated by the insulating material, or vice versa, as desired, depending on the kinetics of energy transfer and the desired external physicochemical properties. The heater may comprise a metal etched foil that acts as a barrier between two layers of inert material. In that case, the inert material may comprise full polyimide or mica foil, or the like.

In an embodiment, heating element 232 may include a susceptor material, and as used herein, the term "susceptor material" refers to a material that can convert electromagnetic energy into heat. Eddy currents induced in the susceptor material when located within the fluctuating electromagnetic field cause heating of the susceptor.

In such embodiments, the aerosol-generating device further comprises an inductor. The inductor generates a fluctuating electromagnetic field to heat a susceptor located within the fluctuating electromagnetic field. In use, the susceptor material is located within the fluctuating electromagnetic field generated by the inductor. The inductor may include one or more coils that generate a fluctuating electromagnetic field. One or more coils may surround the susceptor material.

In an embodiment, the aerosol-generating device is capable of generating a fluctuating electromagnetic field between 1 and 30MHz, for example between 2 and 10MHz, for example between 5 and 7 MHz. In an embodiment, the aerosol-generating device is capable of generating a fluctuating electromagnetic field having a field strength (H-field) of between 1 and 5kA/m, for example between 2 and 3kA/m, for example about 2.5 kA/m.

In one embodiment, the susceptor material may comprise metal or carbon. In an embodiment, the susceptor material may comprise a ferromagnetic material, such as ferrite, ferromagnetic steel, or stainless steel. Suitable susceptor materials may be or include aluminum. In one embodiment, the susceptor material may be formed from 400 series stainless steel, such as grade 410 or grade 420 or grade 430 stainless steel. When positioned within an electromagnetic field having similar frequency and field strength values, different susceptible materials will dissipate different amounts of energy. Thus, parameters of the susceptor material, such as material type, length, width, and thickness, may all be varied to provide a desired power consumption within a known electromagnetic field.

In one embodiment, the heating element 232 may include an infrared emitting material capable of generating heat energy when energized, thereby generating infrared light of a certain wavelength, for example: far infrared rays of 8-15 μm. When the wavelength of the infrared light matches the absorption wavelength of the aerosol-forming substrate, the energy of the infrared light is readily absorbed by the aerosol-generating article. In the embodiment of the present application, the wavelength of the infrared ray is not limited, and may be an infrared ray of 0.75 μm to 1000 μm, and optionally a far infrared ray of 1.5 μm to 400 μm.

The infrared emission material can be fully and uniformly stirred by far infrared electrothermal ink, ceramic powder and inorganic adhesive and then is coated and printed on the surface of the flexible piece 231, and then is dried and cured for a certain time, and the thickness of the infrared emission material can be 1-4 mu m; of course, the infrared emission material can be formed by mixing and stirring tin tetrachloride, tin oxide, antimony trichloride, titanium tetrachloride and anhydrous copper sulfate according to a certain proportion and then coating the mixture on the outer surface or the inner surface of the flexible piece 231; or one of a silicon carbide ceramic layer, a carbon fiber composite layer, a zirconium titanium oxide ceramic layer, a zirconium titanium nitride ceramic layer, a zirconium titanium boride ceramic layer, a zirconium titanium carbide ceramic layer, an iron oxide ceramic layer, an iron nitride ceramic layer, an iron boride ceramic layer, an iron carbide ceramic layer, a rare earth oxide ceramic layer, a rare earth nitride ceramic layer, a rare earth boride ceramic layer, a rare earth carbide ceramic layer, a nickel cobalt oxide ceramic layer, a nickel cobalt nitride ceramic layer, a nickel cobalt boride ceramic layer, a nickel cobalt carbide ceramic layer, or a high silicon molecular sieve ceramic layer; the infrared emitting material may also be a coating of other materials available.

In one embodiment, the heating element 232 is a sheet-like or tubular or annular member that may be independent of the flexible element 231, such as a metal etched mesh, a metal etched tube, a metal ring, a conductive ceramic ring, or the like. The heating member 232 may be fitted in the flexible member 231, or fitted/adhered/sintered on or partially buried on the inner or outer surface of the flexible member 231.

In one embodiment, the heating element 232 is a film or layer formed on the flexible element 231, thereby forming a heating film or layer 2321, such as an infrared emitting layer, a resistive film, a sensing layer, etc., formed on the flexible element 231. The heating film or layer 2321 may be prepared on the inner or outer surface of the flexible member 231 by thick film printing, physical deposition, chemical deposition, ion implantation, ion sputtering, or the like.

Referring to fig. 6 and 7, the flexible member 231 has one or more heating films or layers 2321 on an outer or inner surface thereof.

In one embodiment, the flexible member 231 has only a plurality of heating films or layers 2321 on an outer or inner surface thereof, and the plurality of heating films or layers 2321 may be distributed along the axial direction of the tubular body 23 so as to be disposed up and down the axial direction of the tubular body 23 so as to surround at different heights of the aerosol-generating article 1 located in the chamber 21.

In such embodiments, the plurality of heating films or layers 2321 are electrically connected to a microprocessor or microcontroller on the circuit 32 in the aerosol-generating device through the lead 24, and the power supply 31 in the aerosol-generating device controls the heating power, heating energy, current or voltage of the plurality of heating films or layers 2321 through the microprocessor or microcontroller, thereby achieving control over the temperature and/or heating time of the plurality of heating films or layers 2321.

Under the control of a microprocessor or microcontroller, the plurality of heating films or layers 2321 may generate heat one by one in a preset sequence; alternatively, the plurality of heating films or heating layers 2321 may generate heat according to a preset power or energy, such that at least two heating films or heating layers 2321 have different heat generation temperatures when generating heat at the same time; alternatively, at least two of the plurality of heating films or heating layers 2321 may generate heat at the same time.

In one embodiment, referring to FIG. 6, heating film or layer 2321 is a surface heat generating element that is disposed on an outer or inner surface of flexible member 231. In one embodiment, referring to fig. 7, heating film or layer 2321 is a wire heat generating element.

In an embodiment, the inner diameter of the tube made of the flexible member 231 may be 5.9mm or may be 6.9mm, although the inner diameter of the tube made of the flexible member 231 may also be of other dimensions depending on the adapted thickness of the aerosol-generating article 1, in order to facilitate the accommodation of the aerosol-generating article 1 into the chamber 21 of the tubular body 23. After the heating film or layer 2321 is formed on the outer surface or the inner surface of the flexible member 231, the flexible member 231 is bent or curled by the jig, and the heating film or layer 2321 is bent or curled accordingly, and after one or more flexible members 231 are formed into a tubular shape, the heating film or layer 2321 is located on the outer surface or the inner surface of the tube.

In an embodiment, the heating film or layer 2321 is located on the inner surface of the tube, so that when the aerosol-generating article 1 is received in the cavity of the tubular body 23, the heating film or layer 2321 may be located closer to the aerosol-generating article 1, on the one hand reducing the distance of heat radiation or heat transfer to the aerosol-generating article 1, helping to increase the efficiency of heating the aerosol-generating article 1; on the other hand, the heat or energy generated by heating the film or layer 2321 does not need to pass through the flexible member 231 first and then heat the aerosol-generating article 1, which helps to increase the effective utilization of the heat or energy generated by heating the film or layer 2321.

The tubular body 23 has a smaller inner diameter, and in this application, since the heating film or layer 2321 is already combined with the flexible member 231 before the tube is formed, the difficulty in disposing the heating film or layer 2321 inside the tubular body 23 due to the smaller inner diameter of the tubular body 23 can be overcome.

In an embodiment, when the heating film or layer 2321 is located on the inner surface of the flexible member 231 so as to constitute at least part of the inner surface of the tubular body 23, a protective layer may be coated on the surface of the heating film or layer 2321 in order to protect the heating film or layer 2321. The protective layer can be one or a combination of more of organosilicon, polytetrafluoroethylene layer and glaze layer, or can be made of other high-temperature resistant materials, friction resistant materials or corrosion resistant materials.

In an embodiment, the flexible member 231 or the heating member 232 constitutes the innermost layer of the tubular body 23, i.e., the inner side of the flexible member 231 does not need to be supported by another rigid substrate, so that the wall thickness of the tubular body 23 can be effectively reduced. When the aerosol-generating article 1 enters the chamber 21 of the tubular body 23, the flexible member 231 and/or the heat generating member 232 is configured to at least partially contact the gas in the chamber 21 or contact the aerosol-generating article 1 in the chamber 21.

In one embodiment, the thickness of the flexible member 231 is 30-300 μm, for example, 100 μm.

In one embodiment, the thickness of the heat generating element 232 is 1-4 μm, for example, 2 μm.

In one embodiment, the thickness of the retainer 22 is between 50 and 300 μm, which may be 100 μm, for example.

Therefore, the heater 2 has the advantages of thin overall thickness, light weight, quick temperature rise, high energy utilization rate and high heating effect.

In an embodiment, the heating element 232 includes a heating film or layer 2321, where the heating film or layer 2321 includes a resistive material or an infrared emitting material, and the heating element 232 further includes an electrode 2322, where the electrode 2322 may be an electrode layer or electrode film formed on a surface of the heating film or layer 2321, and may be formed on the surface of the heating film or layer 2321 by thick film printing, physical deposition, chemical deposition, ion implantation, ion sputtering, or the like, for welding with the lead 24, so as to electrically connect the lead 24 with the heating film or layer 2321. The resistivity of the electrode 2322 is less than the resistivity of the heating film or layer 2321 to reduce power consumption of the electrode 2322.

In one embodiment, the holder 22 comprises flexible glass, the heat generating element 232 comprises an infrared emitting layer, and the infrared emitting layer is arranged on the inner surface of the flexible element 231, i.e. the infrared emitting layer becomes at least part of the inner surface of the tubular body 23. In order to enable more concentrated inward radiation of the infrared radiation emitted by the infrared emitting layer, an infrared reflecting coating may be coated on the outer surface of the flexible member 231, and the thickness of the infrared reflecting coating may be between 1 and 200 μm, and may be one or more of gold, silver, nickel, aluminum, gold alloy, silver alloy, nickel alloy, aluminum alloy, gold oxide, silver oxide, nickel oxide, and aluminum oxide. The infrared reflection coating is used for reflecting infrared rays, and the infrared reflection coating is arranged on the outer surface of the flexible piece 231, so that the flexible piece 231 can be insulated, and the power consumption of the heater 2 is reduced.

The heater and the aerosol generating device can ensure that the tubular body comprises the flexible piece, so that the flexible piece is combined with the heating piece first and then curled into a tubular shape, thereby overcoming the limitation of the inner diameter and the outer diameter of the tubular body on the processing technology, and ensuring that the heating piece can form the outer side of the tubular body or the inner side of the tubular body according to the requirement. The shape or the size of the gap is fixed by connecting the flexible piece with the retaining piece, so that the flexible piece is kept in a tubular shape, the process is simple, the production efficiency is improved, and the production cost is reduced.

It should be noted that the description and drawings of the present application show preferred embodiments of the present application, but are not limited to the embodiments described in the present application, and further, those skilled in the art can make modifications or changes according to the above description, and all such modifications and changes should fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A heater for heating an aerosol-generating article to generate an aerosol, comprising:

a chamber for receiving at least part of an aerosol-generating article;

a holder configured in a ring shape;

a tubular body defining the chamber, the tubular body comprising a flexible member and a heat generating member disposed on an inner or outer surface of the flexible member for heating the aerosol-generating article;

2. The heater of claim 1, wherein said flexible member has a thickness of 30 to 300 μm; and/or

The thickness of the heating element is 1-4 mu m; and/or

The thickness of the retainer is 50-300 mu m.

3. The heater of claim 1, wherein said flexible member comprises polyimide, flexible glass or ceramic paper.

4. The heater of claim 1, wherein said heat generating element comprises a face heat generating element formed on said flexible member or a line heat generating element formed on said flexible member.

5. The heater of claim 1, wherein said heat generating element comprises an infrared emitting layer.

6. The heater of claim 1, wherein said retainer comprises a thermally insulating material having a thermal conductivity of less than 10W/m.k; or alternatively

The retainer comprises a plastic material which can resist temperatures above 200 ℃.

7. The heater of claim 1, wherein said retainer has one or more, and at least a portion of the periphery of said tubular body is surrounded by said retainer.

8. The heater of claim 1, wherein said retainer has a plurality of axially distributed along said tubular body.

9. The heater of claim 1, wherein said retainer has a hardness greater than that of said flexible member, said retainer being positioned around said flexible member to shape said tube into which said flexible member is crimped into a predetermined shape.

10. A heater according to claim 1, wherein the flexible member and/or the heat generating member is configured to at least partially contact the gas in the chamber or the aerosol-generating article in the chamber.

11. An aerosol-generating device comprising a heater as claimed in any of claims 1 to 10.