KR102471107B1 - Porous wick and vaporizer including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A porous wick and a vaporizer including the same are provided. A vaporizer according to some embodiments of the present disclosure includes a liquid reservoir for storing a liquid aerosol-generating substrate, a porous wick for absorbing the stored aerosol-generating substrate through a porous body formed by a plurality of beads, and the porous and a heating element that heats the aerosol-generating substrate absorbed by the wick to generate an aerosol. Since the porous body formed by the plurality of beads can have a uniform pore size and distribution, the uniformity of the liquid phase transport rate and transport amount of the wick can be guaranteed.

Description

Porous wick and vaporizer including the same {POROUS WICK AND VAPORIZER INCLUDING THE SAME}

The present disclosure relates to a porous wick and a vaporizer including the same. More specifically, it relates to a porous wick capable of ensuring uniformity of liquid phase transport rate and transport amount, and a vaporizer including the same.

In recent years there has been a growing demand for alternative smoking articles that overcome the disadvantages of conventional cigarettes. For example, the demand for an aerosol generating device (e.g. liquid electronic cigarette) that generates an aerosol by vaporizing a liquid composition other than a cigarette is increasing, and accordingly, research on a liquid vaporizing aerosol generating device is being actively conducted. .

In the liquid vaporizing aerosol generating device, a wick is one of the key components of the device, and serves to absorb the liquid phase and transfer it to the heating element. The wick is generally made of a fiber bundle made of cotton or silica.

However, since the fiber bundle has a structure in which the pore distribution is uneven and the pore control is impossible, the wick implemented therefrom cannot guarantee the uniformity of the liquid phase transport speed and the transport amount. In addition, due to this, a large deviation in the amount of atomization occurs depending on the wick (device), and a phenomenon in which a burnt taste is expressed due to burning of the liquid may also frequently occur.

A technical problem to be solved through some embodiments of the present disclosure is to provide a porous wick capable of ensuring uniformity of liquid transport rate and transport amount.

Another technical problem to be solved through some embodiments of the present disclosure is to provide a vaporizer capable of ensuring uniformity of aerosol generation and an aerosol generating device including the vaporizer.

The technical problems of the present disclosure are not limited to the above-mentioned technical problems, and other technical problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below.

In order to solve the above technical problem, the porous wick according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is a liquid reservoir for storing a liquid aerosol generating substrate, the stored aerosol generating substrate through a porous body formed by a plurality of beads It may include a porous wick that absorbs the porous wick and a heating element that generates an aerosol by heating the aerosol-generating substrate absorbed by the porous wick.

In some embodiments, the porous body may be formed by sphere packing the plurality of beads.

In some embodiments, the bead may be a ceramic bead.

In some embodiments, the bead may have a diameter of 10 μm to 300 μm or 70 μm to 100 μm.

In some embodiments, the diameter distribution of the plurality of beads may have an error range within 20% of the average diameter.

In some embodiments, an air flow pipe disposed in an upper direction of the porous wick and delivering the generated aerosol may be further included, and the heating element may be disposed below the porous body.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure described above, a porous wick having a uniform size and distribution of pores can be manufactured by implementing the body of the porous wick with a bead assembly. Accordingly, the uniformity of the liquid phase transport rate and the transport amount of the wick can be guaranteed, and the quality deviation of the wick, vaporizer, and aerosol generating device can be minimized.

In addition, since the physical properties (e.g. pore size, distribution and porosity, strength, etc.) of the porous wick are determined based on controllable factors such as bead size and packing structure, the liquid phase transport ability of the porous wick can be easily controlled. have.

In addition, the diameter of the bead may be determined during manufacture based on various factors such as a target transport speed of the liquid phase and a target strength of the wick. For example, the diameter of the bead may be determined to be about 70 μm to 100 μm, and a porous wick made of beads having such a diameter may have a sufficient liquid phase transport rate and strength that can be used commercially.

Effects according to the technical spirit of the present disclosure are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below.

1 is an exemplary configuration diagram of a vaporizer according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
2 is an exemplary exploded view of a vaporizer according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
3 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a method of manufacturing a porous wick 15 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
4 and 5 illustrate a packing structure that may be applied to a porous wick according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
6 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between bead size and pore size.
Figure 7 shows the experimental results on the liquid transport rate of the bead size and the porous wick.
8 shows the experimental results regarding the bead size and the strength of the porous wick.
9 to 11 are exemplary block diagrams illustrating an aerosol generating device to which a vaporizer according to some embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Advantages and features of the present disclosure, and methods of achieving them, will become clear with reference to the embodiments described below in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the technical idea of the present disclosure is not limited to the following embodiments and can be implemented in various different forms, and only the following embodiments complete the technical idea of the present disclosure, and in the technical field to which the present disclosure belongs. It is provided to completely inform those skilled in the art of the scope of the present disclosure, and the technical spirit of the present disclosure is only defined by the scope of the claims.

In adding reference numerals to components of each drawing, it should be noted that the same components have the same numerals as much as possible even if they are displayed on different drawings. In addition, in describing the present disclosure, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known configuration or function may obscure the gist of the present disclosure, the detailed description will be omitted.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in this specification may be used with meanings commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. In addition, terms defined in commonly used dictionaries are not interpreted ideally or excessively unless explicitly specifically defined. Terminology used herein is for describing the embodiments and is not intended to limit the present disclosure. In this specification, singular forms also include plural forms unless specifically stated otherwise in a phrase.

Also, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), and (b) may be used in describing the components of the present disclosure. These terms are only used to distinguish the component from other components, and the nature, order, or order of the corresponding component is not limited by the term. When an element is described as being “connected,” “coupled to,” or “connected” to another element, that element is directly connected or connectable to the other element, but there is another element between the elements. It will be understood that elements may be “connected”, “coupled” or “connected”.

As used in this disclosure, "comprises" and/or "comprising" means that a stated component, step, operation, and/or element is one or more other components, steps, operations, and/or elements. Existence or additions are not excluded.

Prior to description of various embodiments of the present disclosure, some terms used in this specification will be clarified.

In the present specification, "aerosol-generating substrate" may mean a material capable of generating aerosol. Aerosols may contain volatile compounds. Aerosol-generating substrates may be solid or liquid.

For example, the solid aerosol-generating substrate may include solid materials based on tobacco raw materials such as leaf tobacco, cut filler, and reconstituted tobacco, and the liquid aerosol-generating substrate may contain nicotine, tobacco extracts, and/or various flavoring agents. It may contain a liquid composition based on it. However, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the examples listed above.

As a more specific example, the liquid aerosol-generating substrate may include at least one of propylene glycol (PG) and glycerin (GLY), and may include ethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol and oleic acid. It may further contain at least one of one alcohol. As another example, the aerosol-generating substrate may further include at least one of nicotine, moisture, and flavoring substances. As another example, the aerosol-generating substrate may further include various additives such as cinnamon and capsaicin. The aerosol-generating substrate may include a liquid material with high fluidity as well as a material in the form of a gel or solid. In this way, the composition of the aerosol-generating substrate may be variously selected according to the embodiment, and the composition ratio may also vary according to the embodiment. In the following specification, "liquid phase" can be understood to refer to a liquid aerosol-generating substrate.

In the present specification, an “aerosol generating device” may refer to an aerosol generating device using an aerosol generating substrate to generate an aerosol that can be directly inhaled into the user's lungs through the user's mouth. The aerosol generating device may include, for example, a cigarette-type aerosol generating device, a liquid-type aerosol generating device, and a hybrid-type aerosol generating device using both a cigarette and a liquid. However, since various types of aerosol generating devices may be further included, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the examples listed above. See FIGS. 9-11 for some examples of aerosol-generating devices.

In this specification, "puff" refers to a user's inhalation, and inhalation may refer to a situation in which the user's mouth or nose is pulled into the user's oral cavity, nasal cavity, or lungs.

Hereinafter, the technical idea of the present disclosure will be described in detail through various embodiments.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a wick having a porous body formed by a plurality of beads (so-called “porous wick”) may be provided. For example, a porous wick may be manufactured by sphere packing a plurality of beads. In this case, the porosity (porosity), pore size, and pore distribution of the porous wick can be easily controlled based on the bead size, packing method, and/or packing structure. For example, a porous wick having a porosity greater than a standard value and a uniform pore distribution can be easily manufactured, and the manufactured porous wick can ensure uniformity of liquid phase transport rate and transport amount.

The material of the bead, which is the basis of the porous wick, may vary. For example, the material of the beads may be ceramic, and the ceramic beads may include glass ceramic beads or alumina ceramic beads. However, in addition, beads of other materials may be utilized, so the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the examples listed above.

Bead size (e.g. diameter) and/or packing structure (e.g. body-centered cubic structure, face-centered cubic structure) are closely related to the pore size and porosity of the porous wick, and ultimately, the wick characteristics such as liquid phase transport rate and strength of the porous wick is a factor that determines For example, when the diameter of the bead increases, the size of the pores also increases, so that the liquid phase transport speed of the wick increases and the strength of the wick decreases. Therefore, the size (e.g. diameter) and/or packing structure of the bead may be determined based on target factors such as target strength and target transport speed of the porous wick, and specific values may vary depending on the embodiment.

In some embodiments, the diameter of a bead may be between 10 μm and 300 μm. Preferably, the diameter of the beads may be 30 μm to 270 μm, 50 μm to 250 μm. More preferably, the diameter of the beads is 60 μm to 100 μm, 65 μm to 90 μm, 70 μm to 95 μm, 75 μm to 90 μm, 80 μm to 95 μm, 75 μm to 85 μm, or 75 μm to 80 μm. can be Within this numerical range, a porous wick having appropriate strength can be manufactured, and the liquid transport rate can be improved. For the relationship between the diameter of the bead, the strength of the wick, and the liquid transport speed, further reference is made to the descriptions related to FIGS. 3 to 8 .

Also, in some embodiments, the diameter distribution of the plurality of beads forming the porous wick may have an error range of less than 30% compared to the average diameter. Preferably, the diameter distribution of the plurality of beads may have an error range within 25%, 23% or 21%. More preferably, the diameter distribution of the plurality of beads may have an error range within 20%, 18%, 16%, 14%, 12% or 10%. Even more preferably, the diameter distribution of the plurality of beads may have an error range within 8%, 6% or 5%. Since it is not easy to continuously manufacture beads having the same diameter, the cost and difficulty required for manufacturing a porous wick within this error range can be greatly reduced. In addition, when a porous wick is manufactured by packing a plurality of beads having such an error range, the contact area between the beads increases, thereby improving the strength of the wick.

Additionally, the size and/or packing structure of the beads may be determined further based on the viscosity of the target aerosol-generating substrate. This is because it is necessary to increase the porosity of the wick to ensure an appropriate liquid phase transport rate for the aerosol-generating substrate having a high viscosity. Here, the target aerosol generating substrate may mean a substrate to be stored in the liquid storage tank. In some embodiments, the error range of the bead size may be adjusted based on the viscosity of the target aerosol-generating substrate. For example, when the viscosity of the target aerosol generating substrate is greater than or equal to a reference value, the error range of the bead size may be reduced. This is because when the error range of the bead size is reduced, the size of the void increases and the liquid phase transport speed may increase. In the opposite case, the error range of the bead size may be increased.

In the case of implementing a porous wick with a bead aggregate, the following various advantages can be obtained.

A first advantage is that a porous wick having a uniform pore size and distribution can be easily manufactured and the quality variation of the wick can be minimized. In addition, the manufactured porous wick can ensure the uniformity of the liquid phase transport speed and the transport amount, thereby minimizing the occurrence of burnt taste or damage to the wick.

A second advantage is that the physical properties (e.g. porosity, pore size, pore distribution, strength) of the porous wick can be easily controlled. Since the physical properties of the porous wick are closely related to the liquid phase transport capability (e.g. transport speed, transport amount), this means that the liquid transport capability of the wick can be controlled. For example, the liquid phase transfer capability of the porous wick can be controlled by adjusting controllable factors such as bead size, packing method, and/or packing structure.

On the other hand, the amount of atomization (i.e., the amount of aerosol generation) of the aerosol generating device depends on the performance of the heating element (e.g. calorific value) and the liquid phase transfer capacity of the wick. Depletion of the liquid may cause the liquid to burn out. In addition, when the liquid phase transfer capability of the wick exceeds the performance of the heating element, the unvaporized liquid phase may remain on the surface of the wick and cause liquid leakage. Therefore, it is important to balance the liquid phase transfer rate of the wick and the performance of the heating element. Although the performance of the heating element can be easily controlled, controlling the liquid phase transfer capacity of the wick is not an easy problem. In this respect, the porous wick implemented as a bead assembly can easily control the liquid phase transport ability, and thus can increase the amount of atomization most effectively.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a vaporizer including the porous wick described above may be provided. The vaporizer includes a liquid storage tank for storing the liquid aerosol-generating substrate, a porous wick for absorbing the stored liquid-phase aerosol-generating substrate, a heating element for heating the aerosol-generating substrate absorbed by the porous wick to generate an aerosol, and the generated aerosol. It may include an air flow tube for delivery. In addition, other components may be further included, and some examples of the vaporizer will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. Since such a vaporizer generates aerosol by uniformly absorbing a liquid phase through a porous wick, uniformity of aerosol generation can be guaranteed.

The detailed structure of the vaporizer may be designed in various ways, which may vary depending on the embodiment. In some embodiments, the air flow tube and the liquid reservoir may be disposed in an upper direction (ie, a side of the mouth) of the porous wick and the heating element may be disposed in the lower portion of the porous wick. In this case, since the aerosol generating substrate absorbed by the porous wick is uniformly heated by the heating element disposed below, the amount of aerosol generation can be increased.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, an aerosol generating device (or system) including the vaporizer described above may be provided. The aerosol generating device may be a pure liquid type or a hybrid type, which will be described later with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11.

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is an exemplary configuration diagram illustrating a vaporizer 1 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, and FIG. 2 is an exemplary exploded view illustrating the vaporizer 1. In Fig. 1, the dotted line arrow indicates the delivery path of air or aerosol.

As shown in FIG. 1 or 2, the vaporizer 1 includes an upper case 11, an air flow pipe 12, a liquid reservoir 13, a wick housing 14, a porous wick 15, a heating element ( 16) and a lower case 17. However, only components related to the embodiment of the present disclosure are shown in FIG. 1 . Accordingly, those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure belongs may know that other general-purpose components may be further included in addition to the components shown in FIG. 1 .

Also, all of the components 11 to 17 shown in FIG. 1 may not be essential components of the vaporizer 1. That is, in some other embodiments of the present disclosure, at least some of the components shown in FIG. 1 may be omitted or replaced with other components. Hereinafter, each component of the vaporizer 1 will be described.

The upper case 11 may serve as a cover or housing covering the upper part of the vaporizer 1. In some embodiments, the upper case 11 may also serve as a mouthpiece.

The air flow tube 12 can then serve as an air flow path for air and/or aerosols. For example, the aerosol generated by the heating element 16 may be discharged through the air flow pipe 12 toward the upper case 11 and be inhaled by the user. However, FIG. 1 only assumes that the user's suction is made in the upper direction of the vaporizer 1, and the shape and delivery of the air flow pipe 12 depend on the design method of the aerosol generating device and/or the air flow pipe 12. Routes can be modified.

Next, the liquid storage tank 13 may have a predetermined space therein, and store the liquid aerosol-generating substrate in the space. In addition, the liquid reservoir 13 may supply the stored aerosol-generating substrate to the heating element 16 through the porous wick 15 .

Next, the wick housing 14 may refer to a housing disposed between the liquid storage tank 13 and the porous wick 15 and surrounding at least a portion of the porous wick 15 .

Next, the porous wick 15 may absorb the aerosol-generating substrate stored in the liquid reservoir 13 through the porous body and transfer the absorbed substrate to the heating element 16 .

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2 , the body of porous wick 15 may be formed by a plurality of beads. Since the porous body implemented as a bead aggregate can have a uniform pore size and distribution, uniformity of liquid phase transport rate and transport amount can be guaranteed. This embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 8 later.

Next, the heating element 16 may generate an aerosol by heating the liquid phase absorbed by the porous wick 15 .

In some embodiments, the heating element 16 may include a flat heating pattern and a terminal for receiving electricity from a battery (not shown) (see FIG. 2 ). The heating pattern may be attached to or built into the lower part of the body of the porous wick 15 to heat the absorbed liquid phase in a bottom heating method. In this case, since the heating element 16 can evenly heat the liquid phase absorbed by the porous wick 15, the amount of aerosol generation (ie, the amount of atomization) can be greatly increased. The aerosol generated by heating may be inhaled by the user through the airflow pipe 12 disposed in the upper direction.

Also, in some embodiments, the terminal may be disposed in a form in close contact with both side surfaces of the body of the porous wick 15 (see FIG. 2). In this case, the space occupied by the heating element 16 can be minimized, and the problem that the amount of aerosol generated due to the terminal obstructing the air flow can be alleviated.

Also, in some embodiments, the heating pattern may be embedded at a distance (depth) of 0 to 400 μm from the lower surface of the body of the porous wick 15 . Within this numerical range, the amount of aerosol generated can be maximized and the damage to the wick can be minimized.

Next, the lower case 17 is a housing located at the bottom and may serve to support the lower part of the vaporizer 1, the porous wick 15, the heating element 16, and the like.

In some embodiments, an air hole or airflow tube may be included in the lower case 17 to allow air to flow smoothly toward the heating element 16 (see FIG. 1).

Also, in some embodiments, the lower case 17 may include a connection terminal for electrically connecting a terminal of the heating element 16 and a battery (not shown) (see FIG. 1 ).

So far, the vaporizer 1 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure has been described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 . According to the foregoing, since the body of the porous wick 15 is implemented as a bead assembly, uniformity of liquid phase transport speed and transport amount can be guaranteed. Accordingly, the carbonization phenomenon of the wick can be solved, and the aerosol generation amount of the vaporizer 1 can be maintained uniformly.

Hereinafter, the porous wick 15 implemented as a bead aggregate will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 8 .

3 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a method of manufacturing a porous wick 15 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the body of the porous wick 15 may be formed by packing a plurality of beads 20 . For example, the body of the porous wick 15 may be formed by sphere packing and firing a plurality of beads 20 .

The packing structure of the beads may be, for example, a body-centered cubic structure (BCC), a face-centered cubic structure, or the like. However, since various other packing structures may be utilized, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For the face-centered cubic structure and the body-centered cubic structure, refer to the structures 21 and 23 illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, respectively, and since the structure is a sphere packing structure well known in the art, description thereof will be omitted. do.

The material of the beads may vary. In some embodiments, the beads forming the porous wick 15 may be ceramic beads. Ceramic beads may include, for example, glass ceramic beads or alumina ceramic beads. However, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the above examples.

On the other hand, since the size of the bead is closely related to the size of the pores of the porous wick 15, and the size of the pores is related to the transport speed of the liquid phase and the strength of the wick, it may be important to properly determine the size of the beads. have. Briefly amplifying the relationship between the size of a bead and the size of a pore, typically, the size of a pore may be proportional to the size of a bead. For example, in the octahedral pore (octahedral site; 27) illustrated in FIG. 6, the diameter (d ^* ) of the octahedral pore 27 is proportional (about 0.414 times) to the diameter (d) of the bead 25, and the tetrahedral pore 27 (tetrahedral site) is also proportional to the diameter of the bead 25. In addition, since there is an advantage in that the transfer speed of the liquid phase increases as the size of the pores increases, the strength of the wick decreases (see the experimental results of FIGS. 7 and 8), so it is preferable to manufacture the wick with beads of an appropriate size. can

In some embodiments, the diameter of a bead may be between 10 μm and 300 μm. Preferably, the diameter of the beads may be 30 μm to 270 μm, 50 μm to 250 μm. More preferably, the diameter of the beads is 60 μm to 100 μm, 65 μm to 90 μm, 70 μm to 95 μm, 75 μm to 90 μm, 80 μm to 95 μm, 75 μm to 85 μm, or 75 μm to 80 μm. can be Within this numerical range, the porous wick 15 can ensure proper strength and liquid transport speed.

Hereinafter, the relationship between the bead size, the liquid transport speed, and the wick strength will be more clearly explained through Examples and Comparative Examples. However, since the following embodiments are only some of various examples, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

First, the configuration of the examples of the porous wick 15 and the comparative examples compared thereto are shown in Table 1 below.

division Type (manufacture method) Bead Diameter (μm) Material Example 1 Bead-Based Porous Wick 75 to 90 ceramic glass Example 2 Bead-Based Porous Wick 90-105 ceramic glass Example 3 Bead-Based Porous Wick 105 to 150 ceramic glass Example 4 Bead-Based Porous Wick 150 to 180 ceramic glass Comparative Example 1 Fiber bundle based wick - cotton

Experimental Example 1 below is for clarifying the relationship between bead size and liquid transport speed, and Experimental Example 2 is for clarifying the relationship between bead size and wick strength. Finally, Experimental Example 3 is to demonstrate the liquid phase transport capability of the porous wick according to the embodiment. Hereinafter, each experimental example is described.

Experimental Example 1: Comparison of liquid phase transport rates of porous wicks according to Examples 1 to 4

In this experimental example, the liquid phase transport rate of the porous wick according to Examples 1 to 4 was measured, and the experimental results thereof are shown in FIG. 7 . As shown in FIG. 7 , it can be confirmed that as the diameter of the bead increases, the liquid phase transfer rate of the porous wick also increases. This is because the size (or porosity) of the pores increases as the diameter of the bead increases. According to this experimental example, it can be confirmed that the liquid phase conveying speed increases as the bead size increases, which means that the liquid phase conveying speed can be adjusted (controlled) by the bead size.

Experimental Example 2: Strength comparison of porous wicks according to Examples 1 to 4

In this experimental example, the yield load of the porous wick according to Examples 1 to 4 was measured, and the experimental results thereof are shown in FIG. 8 . As shown in FIG. 8, as the diameter of the beads increases, the mechanical strength of the porous wick greatly decreases. This is because the number of beads per unit volume decreases and the number of contact interfaces during sintering decreases as the size of the beads increases. .

Experimental Example 3: Comparison of liquid transport rates between Example 1 and Comparative Example 1

Experimental Example 3 is to compare the liquid phase transport capability of the fiber bundle-based wick (hereinafter referred to as "fiber wick") generally used in vaporizers and the porous wick according to the embodiment. In this experimental example, Example 1, which has the lowest liquid phase transport capability, was selected from among the above-described examples and compared with the fiber wick, and the time until the two wicks were completely wetted in the liquid phase was measured. For reference, the fiber wick was manufactured as a cylindrical rod having a diameter of 2.0 mm and a length of 11 mm, and the porous wick was manufactured as a rectangular parallelepiped having a width of 2.0 mm, a width of 2.0 mm, and a length of 11 mm. Experimental results according to this experimental example are shown in Table 2 below.

division Transfer time (sec) Example 1 2:23.49 Comparative Example 1 3:03.28

As shown in Table 2, the transfer completion time of the porous wick according to Example 1 was measured to be about 40 sec, which means that the porous wick according to Example greatly exceeds the liquid phase transfer capability of the fiber wick. Summarizing the experimental examples, it can be seen that since the bead size greatly affects the strength of the wick and the liquid transport speed, it is desirable to determine the bead size by comprehensively considering the target strength and the target transport speed of the wick. In addition, since the mechanical strength decreases relatively greatly as the bead size increases, it can be seen that it is preferable to set the bead size to a value as small as possible if the target feed speed is satisfied. For example, since the porous wick according to Example 1 has a higher strength than the other embodiments while the liquid phase transport rate greatly exceeds that of the fiber wick, it may be preferable to manufacture the porous wick according to Example 1.

Meanwhile, the size of the bead may be determined by considering factors such as the performance of the heating element, the viscosity of the target aerosol generating substrate, and the nicotine content of the target aerosol generating substrate, in addition to the target strength and target transport speed of the wick. In addition, the factors listed above may also be considered in determining the packing structure.

For example, a porous wick may be manufactured through a process of determining the diameter of a bead based on the viscosity of a target aerosol-generating substrate and a process of packing a plurality of beads having the determined diameter. In this case, the higher the viscosity of the target aerosol generating substrate, the larger the bead diameter may be determined. This is because the higher the viscosity, the higher the liquid transport rate. In the opposite case, the diameter of the bead can be determined to a smaller value.

In the above example, the viscosity of the target aerosol-generating substrate may be proportional to the glycerin content and inversely proportional to the propylene glycol content. Accordingly, the bead size may be determined based on the glycerin content and/or the propylene glycol content.

As another example, a porous wick may be manufactured through a process of determining the diameter of a bead based on the nicotine content of a target aerosol generating substrate and a process of packing a plurality of beads having the determined diameter. At this time, the larger the nicotine content, the smaller the bead diameter may be determined. This is because, by doing so, the amount of nicotine transfer per puff can be limited. However, in another example, the diameter of the bead may be determined to a larger value in order to increase the amount of nicotine delivery.

As another example, a porous wick can be manufactured by determining a bead size error range or packing structure based on the target strength of the wick and packing a plurality of beads having the determined error range according to the determined packing structure. have. In this case, the higher the target strength of the wick, the larger the error range of the bead size may be determined. This is because when beads of various sizes are packed, the strength of the wick can be increased by increasing the contact area. In addition, the higher the target strength of the wick, the denser the packing structure (e.g., the higher the packing factor) can be determined. This is because the strength of the wick can generally increase as the filling factor increases.

Meanwhile, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, in order to improve the strength of the porous wick 15, a process of reinforcing the strength of the outer edge portion of the porous body may be performed. This is because the outer edge portion plays an important role in maintaining the skeleton of the porous body without significantly affecting liquid phase absorption, and thus the overall strength of the porous wick 15 can be improved if the corresponding portion is reinforced. The strength strengthening process can be performed in a variety of ways. For example, the strength reinforcement process is by applying a denser bead to the reinforcement part, by applying a denser packing structure to the reinforcement part, by packing the reinforcement part with beads of various sizes, or by applying a denser packing structure to the reinforcement part. It can be done by applying a different material of higher quality or by packing the reinforced part into smaller sized beads. However, it is not limited thereto.

So far, the porous wick 15 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure has been described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 8 . Hereinafter, aerosol generating devices 100-1 to 100-3 to which the vaporizer 1 (or porous wick 15) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11 let it do

9 to 11 are exemplary block diagrams showing aerosol generating devices 100-1 to 100-3. Specifically, FIG. 9 illustrates a liquid-type aerosol generating device 100-1, and FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate hybrid-type aerosol generating devices 100-2 and 100-3 using both a liquid and a cigarette. .

As shown in FIG. 9 , the aerosol generating device 100-1 may include a mouthpiece 110, a vaporizer 1, a battery 130, and a controller 120. However, this is only a preferred embodiment for achieving the object of the present disclosure, and it goes without saying that some components may be added or omitted as needed. In addition, each component of the aerosol generating device 100-1 shown in FIG. 9 represents functionally differentiated functional elements, and a plurality of components are implemented in a form integrated with each other in an actual physical environment, or a single component An element may be implemented in a form in which a plurality of detailed functional elements are separated. Hereinafter, each component of the aerosol generating device 100-1 will be described.

The mouthpiece 110 is located at one end of the aerosol generating device 100-1 and may come into contact with the user's mouth to inhale the aerosol generated from the vaporizer 1. In some embodiments, mouthpiece 110 may be a component of vaporizer 1 .

Next, the vaporizer 1 may generate an aerosol by vaporizing the liquid aerosol-generating substrate. In order to exclude redundant descriptions, the description of the vaporizer 1 will be omitted.

Next, the battery 130 may supply power used for the operation of the aerosol generating device 100-1. For example, the battery 130 may supply power so that the heating element 16 of the vaporizer 1 can heat the aerosol-generating substrate, and may supply power necessary for the controller 120 to operate.

In addition, the battery 130 may supply power necessary for operating electrical components such as a display (not shown), a sensor (not shown), and a motor (not shown) installed in the aerosol generating device 100-1.

Next, the controller 120 may control the overall operation of the aerosol generating device 100-1. For example, the controller 120 may control the operation of the vaporizer 1 and the battery 130, and may also control the operation of other components included in the aerosol generating device 100-1. The controller 120 may control the power supplied by the battery 130 and the heating temperature of the heating element 16 included in the vaporizer 1 . In addition, the controller 120 may determine whether or not the aerosol generating device 100-1 is in an operable state by checking the state of each component of the aerosol generating device 100-1.

The controller 120 may be implemented by at least one processor. The processor may be implemented as an array of a plurality of logic gates, or may be implemented as a combination of a general-purpose microprocessor and a memory in which programs executable by the microprocessor are stored. In addition, those skilled in the art to which this disclosure pertains can clearly understand that the control unit 120 may be implemented with other types of hardware.

Meanwhile, in some embodiments, the aerosol generating device 100-1 may further include an input unit (not shown) for receiving a user input. The input unit may be implemented as a switch or button, but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In this embodiment, the controller 120 may control the aerosol generating device 100-1 in response to a user input received through the input unit. For example, the controller 120 may control the aerosol generating device 100 - 1 to generate aerosol as the user operates a switch or button.

Hereinafter, the hybrid aerosol generating devices 100-2 and 100-3 will be briefly described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11.

10 illustrates an aerosol generating device 100-2 in which a vaporizer 1 and a cigarette 150 are arranged in parallel, and FIG. 11 shows an aerosol in which a vaporizer 1 and a cigarette 150 are arranged in series. The generator 100-3 is exemplified. However, the internal structure of the aerosol generating device to which the vaporizer 1 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is applied is not limited to those illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11, and the arrangement of components may be changed according to the design method. have.

10 or 11 , the aerosol generating devices 100-2 and 100-3 may further include a heater 140 for heating the cigarette 150. The heater 140 may be disposed around the cigarette 150 to heat the cigarette 150 . The heater 140 may be, for example, an electrical resistance heater, but is not limited thereto. The heater 140 or the heating temperature of the heater 140 may be controlled by the controller 120 . The aerosol generated in the vaporizer 1 may pass through the cigarette 150 and be inhaled into the user's mouth.

So far, various types of aerosol generating devices 100-1 to 100-3 to which the vaporizer 1 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied have been described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11 .

In the above, even though all components constituting the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described as being combined or operated as one, the technical idea of the present disclosure is not necessarily limited to these embodiments. That is, within the scope of the purpose of the present disclosure, all of the components may be selectively combined with one or more to operate.

Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art may implement the present disclosure in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features. can understand that there is Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are illustrative in all respects and not limiting. The protection scope of the present disclosure should be interpreted by the following claims, and all technical ideas within the equivalent range should be construed as being included in the scope of rights of the technical ideas defined by the present disclosure.

1: vaporizer 11: upper case
12: air flow pipe 13: liquid reservoir
14: wick housing 15: porous wick
16 heating element 17 lower case
100-1, 100-2, 100-3: aerosol generating device
110: mouthpiece 120: control unit
130: battery 140: heater
150: cigarette

Claims (11)

a liquid storage tank for storing a liquid aerosol-generating substrate;
a porous wick absorbing the stored aerosol-generating substrate through a porous body formed by a plurality of beads; and
A heating element for generating an aerosol by heating the aerosol-generating substrate absorbed by the porous wick;
The heating element comprises a heating pattern in the form of a flat,
vaporizer. According to claim 1,
The porous body is formed by sphere packing the plurality of beads,
vaporizer. According to claim 1,
The beads are ceramic beads,
vaporizer. According to claim 3,
The beads are glass ceramic beads or alumina ceramic beads,
vaporizer. According to claim 1,
The diameter of the bead is 10 μm to 300 μm,
vaporizer. According to claim 5,
The diameter of the bead is 70㎛ to 100㎛,
vaporizer. According to claim 1,
The diameter distribution of the plurality of beads has an error range of less than 20% compared to the average diameter,
vaporizer. According to claim 1,
The porous body,
determining the diameter of a bead based on the viscosity of the aerosol-generating substrate; and
Formed through the process of packing the plurality of beads having the determined diameter,
vaporizer. According to claim 1,
The porous body,
Determining the diameter of beads based on the content of glycerin contained in the aerosol-generating substrate; and
Formed through the process of packing the plurality of beads having the determined diameter,
vaporizer. According to claim 1,
Further comprising an air flow pipe disposed in an upper direction of the porous wick and delivering the generated aerosol,
The heating element is disposed under the porous body,
vaporizer. According to claim 10,
The heating pattern is embedded at a distance of 0 to 400 μm from the lower surface of the porous body,
vaporizer.

Images