KR101994554B1 - Apparatus for generating droplet and electronic cigarette having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for generating droplets, comprising: a droplet generator for generating a droplet from a solution; and spraying the droplet through a nozzle having a plurality of holes, The present invention provides a droplet generating apparatus capable of finely adjusting the size of the droplet by providing a droplet of a uniform size by colliding with a collision plate provided at a predetermined position, , It is possible to provide a droplet of a small size, and it is possible to provide a taste close to a real cigarette to a user.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a droplet generating device and an electronic cigarette including the same,

The present application relates to a droplet generating apparatus and an electronic cigarette including the same.

If you smoke with a cigarette made from tobacco leaves as the main material, more than 4000 harmful substances such as tar and carbon monoxide will be generated. The need for smoking cessation has been emphasized as harmful substances generated by smoking cause not only direct smokers but also second-hand smokers to suffer from lung cancer and the like.

In modern society, there is much interest and development in smoking cessation aids as a tool to reduce smoking cessation needs of smokers. E-cigarette, which is one of the electronic cigarette, is a device that can generate a gas by vaporizing a liquid and provide a smoking effect using a real cigarette when the user inhales the gas. The electronic cigarette has various flavors or nicotine Can be added.

Such electronic cigarette does not contain tar and harmful components harmful to the human body, thereby providing the user with satisfaction of smoking and minimizing the harm caused by smoking. The demand for such electronic cigarettes is continuously increasing, and product development is also being steadily carried out.

Currently, electronic cigarettes have many problems and disadvantages. For example, the spraying effect is poor, the final smoke droplet is too large, the large droplets of different sizes cause non-uniform smoke, the smoke is too moist, and the feeling in the mouth is bad. In some conditions, the smoke is not sufficiently cooled and the intake smoke temperature is high, thus smokers feel uncomfortable.

Because of these problems, smokers feel a significant difference from electronic cigarettes and real cigarettes, and smokers are reluctant to choose electronic cigarettes to replace real cigarettes.

The present application is to provide a droplet generating device capable of uniformly and finely controlling the size of a droplet, and an electronic cigarette including the droplet generating device.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a spraying apparatus including a spray section including a reservoir for storing a solution, a droplet generating section for generating droplets from the solution, and a nozzle having a plurality of holes for spraying the droplet, A droplet impingement portion including an impingement plate spaced apart from the nozzle by a predetermined distance to collide with the droplet sprayed through the nozzle, and a discharge portion for discharging the droplet refracted outside the impingement plate among the droplets impinging the impingement plate, And a droplet generating device for selectively adjusting the size of the droplet based on the distance between the droplet and the impingement plate.

The present application also discloses an apparatus comprising a housing having a tubular shape having an accommodating space formed therein and including a fluid-connected head and a body, a reservoir for storing and releasably coupling the solution to the head, A nozzle having a plurality of holes for spraying the droplet to the body side, the droplet being sprayed through the nozzle so that the sprayed droplet is collided with the nozzle; At least one discharge port provided on the outer side of the collision plate and fluidly connected to the body for discharging the collided droplet to the inside of the body, A heat source for vaporizing the droplets discharged into the body, and an inlet provided at one end of the body for delivering vaporized droplets to the user Here is a cigarette is provided.

A droplet generating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application generates a droplet from a solution, and the droplet is sprayed through a nozzle having a plurality of holes to collide with an impingement plate provided at a position spaced apart from the nozzle, And the size of the droplets can be finely adjusted. In particular, when the device is applied to an electronic cigarette, it is possible to provide a uniform, small-sized droplet, .

1 is a view showing a configuration diagram of an exemplary droplet generating apparatus according to the present application.
Figures 2-6 are diagrams illustrating an exemplary electronic cigarette according to the present application.

The present application relates to a droplet generating apparatus. For example, the device may be a droplet generating device applied to an electronic cigarette.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily carry out the present invention. However, the present application may be embodied in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. In order to clearly illustrate the present invention, parts not related to the description are omitted, and similar parts are denoted by like reference characters throughout the specification.

1 is a view showing a configuration diagram of an exemplary droplet generating apparatus according to the present application.

Referring to FIG. 1, the apparatus includes a reservoir 10, a droplet generating unit 20, a spray unit 30, a droplet impingement unit 40, and a discharge unit 50. The apparatus of the present application may be a fluidly connected apparatus with the above configuration.

The storage part 10 is a part for storing a solution, and the storage part is provided with a storage container for storing a solution. In the above, the term " solution " means a mixture in which two or more kinds of substances are evenly mixed. In the present application, the solution may mean a mixture in a liquid state. For example, when the device is applied to an electronic cigarette, the solution may be a nicotine solution.

The droplet generating unit 20 generates droplets from the solution. Specifically, the droplet generating unit 20 can generate droplets having a uniform size by applying vibration or heat to the solution.

The spraying portion 30 is a portion for spraying droplets, and may include a nozzle having a plurality of holes. The nozzle can primarily control the size of the droplet, and more specifically, the size of the droplet can be adjusted by the number and size of the holes of the nozzle. For example, the droplet generated in the droplet generating unit 20 may be firstly adjusted in size while passing through the holes of the nozzle, and may be finally adjusted in size while colliding with the collision plate described later. In one example, the size of the holes provided in the nozzle may be 0.1 mm to 10 mm, 0.1 mm to 5 mm, or 0.1 mm to 3 mm.

The droplet impingement portion 40 is a portion for colliding the sprayed droplet with the impingement plate. For example, the droplet impingement portion 40 is located at a distance from the nozzle to collide with the droplet sprayed through the nozzle And may include an impingement plate. The size of the droplet can be finally controlled depending on the distance between the impingement plate and the nozzle, for example the distance can be in the range of 0.01 mm to 30 mm, 0.1 mm to 20 mm or 0.1 mm to 10 mm. The material of the impingement plate is not particularly limited, and may be a solid such as metal, polymer, glass, or the like.

The discharge portion 50 is a portion for discharging droplets refracted out of the impingement plate among droplets colliding with the impingement plate. Specifically, the droplet sprayed through the nozzle may be reflected toward the nozzle side or may be refracted to the outside of the impingement plate after colliding with the impingement plate. The discharging portion 50 can discharge droplets refracted outward of the impingement plate.

In one example, the droplet generating apparatus of the present application may further include a collecting section for collecting droplets accumulated in the droplet generating apparatus. The accumulated droplet may mean droplets which have not been discharged to the discharge port colliding with the impingement plate, for example, a droplet reflected toward the nozzle side after colliding with the impingement plate.

In one embodiment, the apparatus of the present application may be arranged to selectively adjust the size of the droplet based on the distance between the nozzle and the impingement plate. For example, the closer the distance between the nozzle and the impingement plate is, the smaller the droplet size can be adjusted. Specifically, the amount of momentum held immediately after the spraying of the droplets jetted through the nozzle can be gradually reduced by friction as the distance increases. The momentum affects the amount of impingement of the droplet when it collides with the impingement plate, and the size of the droplet may be changed immediately after impact according to the amount of impulse. For example, the larger the impact that a droplet receives, the smaller the droplet size can become.

In one example, the size of the collided droplet can be adjusted to be smaller than the size of the sprayed droplet. As described above, when the droplet collides with the impingement plate, it receives an impulse from the impingement plate, and this force contributes to making the droplet small in size. Thus, the collided droplet can have a smaller size than the sprayed droplet.

The collided droplet may have a size of 10 mu m or less and may have a size of, for example, 9 mu m or less, 8 mu m or less, 7 mu m or less, 6 mu m or less or 5 mu m or less. The lower limit of the size may be 0.01 占 퐉 or more, 0.1 占 퐉 or more, or 1 占 퐉 or more. The size of the collided droplet can be adjusted by the distance between the nozzle and the impingement plate within the above range.

The size of the sprayed droplets may range from 1 占 퐉 to 20 占 퐉, 1 占 퐉 to 15 占 퐉, or 1 占 퐉 to 10 占 퐉. The size of the sprayed droplet can be adjusted within the range based on the number and the number of holes of the nozzle. The size of the droplet can be measured using an optical particle counter (OPC), but is not limited thereto.

As described above, in the apparatus of the present application, the size of the droplet is primarily controlled through the nozzle, and the size of the droplet is finally controlled through the impingement plate, so that the size of the droplet is more uniform, have.

In one example, the droplet generating unit 40 can generate droplets by applying vibration to the solution. The vibration may be simple vibration or ultrasonic vibration. In one example, the liquid dropping portion may include an oscillating member for applying vibration, and specifically, the oscillating member may be a vibrator. The droplet generating unit 40 can immerse the vibrating member in the solution, and then operate the vibrating member to apply vibration to the solution. Specifically, the oscillating member may apply a frequency (or oscillation intensity) in the range of 1 kHz to 500 kHz, 1 kHz to 300 kHz, or 1 kHz to 200 kHz to the solution. As the liquid is subjected to vibration, droplets having a uniform size can be generated. For example, the higher the frequency applied to the solution, the more uniformly small droplets can be generated, and the smaller the frequency, the more uniform droplets can be generated.

In another example, the droplet generating unit may generate droplets by applying heat to the solution in addition to vibration. The heat source may be an apparatus for applying heat to the solution at a temperature ranging from 10 ° C to 250 ° C, 10 ° C to 200 ° C, or 10 ° C to 200 ° C, and may be, for example, an electric heater, but is not limited thereto.

The present application relates to electronic cigarettes. Exemplary electronic cigarettes may include the aforementioned droplet generating device.

Figures 2 to 6 illustrate an exemplary electronic cigarette of the present application. 2 is a diagram showing a side view of the electronic cigarette of the present application. Fig. 3 is a side cross-sectional view of the electronic cigarette of the present application, Figs. 4 and 5 are views showing an attempt to observe the electronic cigarette of the present application, and Fig. 6 is a front sectional view of the electronic cigarette of the present application .

2 to 6, an exemplary electronic cigarette includes a housing 100, a storage container 200, an oscillating member 300, a nozzle 400, an impingement plate 500, an outlet 600, a heat source 700 ), And an inlet (800). The storage vessel 200, the vibration member 300, the nozzle 400, the impingement plate 500 and the discharge port 600 are connected to the storage unit 10, the droplet generating unit 20, the spray unit 30 ), The droplet impingement portion 40, and the discharge portion 50, the contents overlapping with the above-mentioned contents will be omitted.

Specifically, the electronic cigarette according to the present application has a housing 100 having a tubular shape having a receiving space formed therein and including a fluid-connected head 110 and a body 120, A vibrating member 300 protruding from the inside of the head 110 and protruding from the inside of the head 110 to be immersed in the solution, A nozzle 400 connected to the member 300 and having a plurality of holes for spraying the droplet toward the body 120 and a nozzle 400 positioned between the nozzle 400 and the body 120, And at least one discharge port 600 disposed at the outer side of the collision plate 500 and fluidly connected to the body 120 for discharging the collided droplet into the body 120, And the body 120. The liquid droplet discharged into the body 120 A heat source 700 for vaporizing and an inlet 800 provided at one end of the body 120 for delivering a vaporized droplet to a user.

According to the present invention, the electronic cigarette imparts uniform and small droplets to a user by applying vibration to the solution to generate uniform droplets, and then colliding the droplets with the impingement plate 500 through the nozzles 400 And the user can feel a taste similar to a real cigarette by inhaling droplets having a uniform and small size.

The solution stored in the storage container 200 may be a tobacco liquid, specifically, a nicotine solution. The storage container 200 may be threadably coupled to the head 110 so that the user may replace or charge the nicotine solution to the storage container 200 after detaching the storage container 200 from the head .

The vibrating member 300 can generate droplets by applying vibration to the solution while the projecting portion is immersed in the solution. The vibration member 300 is not particularly limited as long as it is a device capable of supplying ultrasonic vibration. The vibration member 300 may include a vibration source 300a and the vibration source 300a may be provided on the vibration member 300 formed inside the head 110. [ For example, the vibration source 300a may be a piezoelectric element, and an input electrode may be formed to apply a voltage to the piezoelectric element. When a voltage is applied to the input electrode, a piezoelectric element vibrates . When the generated vibration is applied to the solution, the solution is converted into a droplet form.

In one example, the protruding portion of the oscillating member 300 is provided with an inner space for receiving a droplet, and the nozzle 400 can be in fluid communication with the inner space. For example, the droplets generated from the solution can move from the storage container 200 to the nozzle 400 through the internal space.

The droplets discharged into the body 120 may have a size of 10 μm or less and have a size of, for example, 9 μm or less, 8 μm or less, 7 μm or less, 6 μm or 5 μm or less . Since the rate of reaching the lungs in the human body is high, the user can feel the taste of the actual cigarette more through the electronic cigarette.

In one embodiment, the electronic cigarette of the present application can be adjusted in size of the vaporized droplet based on the temperature of the heat source 700. Specifically, the heat source may be provided with a temperature controllable for heating the chamber within a predetermined temperature range. The predetermined temperature may be, for example, a temperature of 50 ° C to 300 ° C. The heat source 700 may also be provided such that, within the temperature range, at least one temperature number is set.

More specifically, the heat source 700 may set a temperature stage of one stage, two stages, three stages, or the like within the temperature range, and the heat source set to the one stage may be a heat source set in two stages or three stages The channel can be heated to a relatively low temperature. In addition, the size of the vaporized droplet can be reduced as the temperature of the heat source increases from a low temperature to a high temperature. The size of the droplets can affect the taste of the electronic cigarette, and the user can adjust the taste of the electronic cigarette so that it feels close to the actual cigarette by setting the temperature singularity.

In one embodiment, the electronic cigarette of the present application may include a ventilation hole 111 provided at the head side so that external air is introduced and joined to the droplet at the nozzle side. When the user sucks the liquid through the suction port 800, the suction force causes external air to flow into the head through the vent 111. The introduced external air joins the droplet sprayed from the nozzle 400 side, It is possible to contribute to smooth movement of the sprayed droplet to the discharge port after colliding with the collision plate 500.

In the electronic cigarette of the present application, the degree of opening and closing of the air vent 111 can be adjusted, and the amount of vaporized droplets sucked can be adjusted by the opening area of the air vent 111. For example, the larger the open area of the vent 111, the more the user can inhale more vaporized droplets through the inlet.

In one example, the electronic cigarette of the present application may be provided with a sensor for sensing the user's suction, and the sensor may be, for example, a flow sensor. Specifically, the electronic cigarette according to the present application can be operated with the vibration member 300 and the heat source 700 when the suction is sensed by the sensor. The electronic cigarette of the present application senses the suction of the user and operates the vibration member 300 and the heat source 700 so that the user can be continuously supplied with vaporized droplets.

In one example, the head 110 may be provided with a drain port 900 for discharging droplets accumulated inside the head to the outside. The liquid droplet accumulated in the above means the droplet left inside the head which can not be discharged to the discharge port after the droplet ejected from the nozzle collides with the impact plate. The apparatus of the present application is capable of eliminating factors that deteriorate the performance of the impingement plate due to the accumulated droplets by collecting the accumulated droplets through the drain port 900 and also by using the recovered droplets again in the solution reservoir Thus, an economic effect can be achieved.

In one embodiment, the inlet port 800 may be provided with an orientation layer. The directional layer can be a filter and the vaporized droplets can be sucked into the user through the filter. The directional layer may comprise a substance that produces a fragrance such as a fruit flavor, a tobacco flavor or a menthol flavor. In the electronic cigarette of the present application, since the direction layer is provided, a user can simultaneously feel a taste unique to a cigarette and various flavors suited to his / her own taste.

In one example, the solution may comprise nicotine and an organic acid. The organic acid may be selected from the group consisting of alpha-keto acid, beta-keto acid, gamma-keto acid, 2-oxo acid, 3-oxo acid, 4-oxo acid, oxaloacetic acid, acetoacetic acid, salicylic acid, , Lactic acid, oleic acid, polyethylene glycol propionic acid, butyric acid, valeric acid, caproic acid, caprylic acid, citric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, maleic acid, maleic acid, pyruvic acid, levulinic acid, propionic acid, It may be at least one selected from the group consisting of citric acid, tartaric acid, malic acid, stearic acid, linoleic acid, phenylacetic acid, tartaric acid, bistartaric acid, malonic acid, succinic acid, fumaric acid, cinnamic acid, gluconic acid, saccharic acid, malic acid and maleic acid.

In one embodiment, the solution may comprise a polymer to which at least one organic acid is bound to the nicotine, and specifically may range from 3 to 6 pka of the organic acid bound to the nicotine.

Examples of the polymer include nicotinic levulinic acid copolymer, nicotinic benzoic acid, nicotinic acid, nicotinic salicylic acid, nicotinic acid, nicotinic pyruvic acid and nicotinic citric acid.

As described above, although the present application has been described with reference to the limited embodiments and drawings, the present application is not limited thereto, and various modifications and variations may be possible.

10:
20:
30: Spray section
40: droplet impact portion
50:
100: Housing
110: head
111: Vents
120: Body
200: storage container
300:
300a: vibration source
400: nozzle
500: collision plate
600: outlet
700: heat source
800: inlet
900: drain port

Claims (19)

A storage part for storing the solution;
A droplet generating unit for generating droplets from the solution;
A spraying portion including a nozzle having a plurality of holes for spraying the droplet;
A droplet impingement portion including an impingement plate spaced apart from the nozzle by a predetermined distance to collide with droplets sprayed through the nozzle; And
And a discharge portion for discharging droplets refracted out of the impingement plate among droplets colliding with the impingement plate. The droplet generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the droplet size is selectively controlled based on a distance between the nozzle and the impingement plate. The droplet generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the droplet size is adjusted to be smaller as the distance between the nozzle and the impingement plate is closer. The droplet generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the size of the sprayed droplet is adjusted based on the number and size of the nozzles. The droplet generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the droplet generating unit generates droplets by applying vibration to the solution. The droplet generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the droplet generating unit generates droplets by applying heat to the solution. A housing having a tubular shape having a receiving space therein, the housing including a fluid-coupled head and a body;
A storage container in which the solution is stored and detachably coupled to the head;
An oscillating member formed so as to protrude outward from the inside of the head, the protruding portion being immersed in the solution;
A nozzle connected to the vibration member formed inside the head and having a plurality of holes for spraying the droplet toward the body side;
An impact plate provided between the nozzle and the body so that the sprayed droplets collide with each other through the nozzle;
At least one discharge port provided on the outer side of the collision plate and fluidly connected with the body for discharging the collided droplet into the body;
A heat source formed to surround the body and for vaporizing droplets discharged into the body; And
And a suction port provided at one end of the body for delivering vaporized droplets to a user. 8. The electronic cigarette according to claim 7, wherein the vibration member applies vibration to generate a droplet while the protruding portion is immersed in the solution. 8. The electronic cigarette according to claim 7, wherein the protruding portion of the vibration member is provided with an internal space for accommodating the droplet, and the nozzle is in fluid communication with the internal space. 8. The electronic cigarette according to claim 7, wherein the size of the vaporized droplets is adjusted based on the temperature of the heat source. 8. The electronic cigarette according to claim 7, wherein the heat source is adjustable within a predetermined temperature range so that the heating temperature for heating the chamber is adjustable. The electronic cigarette according to claim 7, further comprising: a vent hole provided on the head side so as to allow the outside air to flow into and join with the droplet on the nozzle side. 8. The electronic cigarette according to claim 7, wherein a sensor is provided for detecting the suction of the user. The electronic cigarette according to claim 13, wherein when the suction is sensed by the sensor, the vibration member and the heat source are operated. 8. The electronic cigarette according to claim 7, wherein the intake port is provided with a direction layer. The electronic cigarette according to claim 7, wherein the head is provided with a drain port for discharging droplets accumulated inside the head to the outside. 8. The electronic cigarette according to claim 7, wherein the solution comprises nicotine and an organic acid. 8. The electronic cigarette according to claim 7, wherein the solution comprises a polymer having at least one organic acid bonded to nicotine. 18. The electronic cigarette according to claim 17, wherein the organic acid bonded to the nicotine is pka 3-6.

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