HEATING ELEMENT, AN ELECTRONIC CIGARETTE AND A METHOD FOR FORMING THE HEATING ELEMENT

A heating element, electronic cigarette and method for forming heating element. The heating element includes a heating part and a connection part extending along both ends of the heating part so as to form a first connection end and a second connection end, which are electrically connected to a drive circuit respectively. The first connection end, the second connection end and the heating part are integrative, and the first connection end and the second connection end both has a coating covered on outer surface of them respectively. The heating element is integrated designed without any complex technique of the welding or riveting, and via electroplating to form a coating on the heating element instead, the production efficiency of the heating element gets highly improved, costs reduced and a stable resistance value gets obtained in the mass-produced heating elements, involving a consistency in mass production.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring toFIG. 3, the present invention provides a heating element100including a heating part110and a connection part120extending along both ends of the heating part110so as to form a first connection end121and a second connection end122, wherein heating part110is electrically connected to drive circuit (not shown) for transmitting electrical energy to the heating part110, and the heating part110is for atomizing cigarette fluid after getting electrified. The first connection end121and the second connection end122respectively have a coating123covering around outer surfaces of the connection ends111-122, and the coating123is formed by electroplating pure metal or low resistivity alloy having low resistivity.

In the present invention, the heating part110, the first connection end121and the second connection end122are integrative and made of the same high resistivity alloy materials, for instance, nico chrome, economet, aludirome and constantan alloy, such as constantan alloy 6J40 and Cr20Ni80.

In the present embodiment, all of the heating part110, the first connection end121and the second connection end122are filamentous, and preferably, are made of wire stock of the same material. The heating part110is curled to be in spiral shape, and the first connection end121and the second connection122end are formed, extending at both ends of the heating part110.

Specifically, in the preferred embodiment of the heating element in the invention, the heating part110, first connection end121and second connection end122are made of alloy materials and having circular cross section, wherein the first connection end121and the second connection end122extend along each end of the heating part110respectively in axially direction with an equal extending distance or different extending distances (there are two instance for the aforementioned different distances: one is that the extending distance of first connection end121is larger than that of that of second connection end122; the other is that the extending distance of the second connection end122is larger than that of the first connection end121) and correspondingly are set on each end of the spiraled heating part110, the coating123extends outwardly in the radical direction of the first and second connection ends121-122so as to foming an evenly coverage of the coating123, and the dimension of the cross section between the heating part110and the first connection end121is equal to that of the cross section between the heating part110and the second connection end122.

The coating123is formed by electroplating materials with low resistivity, comprising low resistive metals such as gold, silver, copper and tin, or alloys such as colomony and lanthanum aluminium alloy, while in the present invention it is disclosed that the material shall has a resistivity less than 2.5×10-8 Ω. The resistance value of the connection part120is very low for the coating123with low resistivity plated on the connection part120. Referring toFIGS. 3-4, the coating123can be electroplated before the heating element100is curled. In the embodiment, the whole outer surface of the first connection ends121-122are covered by the coating123.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, outer surfaces of the first connection ends121-122are covered by the coating123evenly with the same thickness on both of the connection ends121-122. The welding position of the coating123and drive circuit (not shown) is not fixed, thus advantageously making contact resistance between the connection part120and drive circuit steady, and even when the coating is welded to the drive circuit at different positions, the contact resistance between the connection part120and the drive circuit is still maintained the same.

The shape of the heating element100is not limited in the invention that the heating element100may be in shape of filament, flake or strip, or having cross section of circle, ellipse, polygon(including triangle and rectangle) or any other geometry shapes, as is shown inFIG. 6that the heating element100comprises a heating part110, first connection end121and second connection end122, all of which are in flake structure, and the coating123is covered on the first and second connection ends121-122.

Further, in other embodiments of the heating element in the invention, the heating part110, the first connection end121and the second connection end122may be in shape of strip with a polygonal-shaped cross section (including rectangle, triangle and hexagon) and made of alloy material, wherein, the first connection end121and the second connection end122extend horizontally along the each end of the heating part110with the same extending distance or two different extending distances (there are two instance of the different extending distances: one is that the extending distance of the first connection end121is larger than that of the second connection end122, and the other is that the extending distance of the second connection end122is larger than that of the first connection end121) and get mounted on to the corresponding end of the spiraled heating part110, the coating123extends outwardly around the outer surfaces of the first and second connection ends121-122so as to to forming an even coverage of the coating123, and the dimension of the cross section between the heating part110and the first connection end121is equal to that of the cross section between the heating part110and the second connection end122.

The present invention also discloses an electronic cigarette using the heating element100in the above-mentioned embodiments. Specifically, the electronic cigarette comprises a cigarette holder200, cigarette pipe300and the lamp cap310mounted on one end of the cigarette pipe300. A battery320is mounted in the cigarette pipe300. Other structure features of the electronic cigarette will not be discussed in this instance.

An atomizer chamber210is mounted in the cigarette holder200having a cigarette holder cap220located on one end of it, and the heating element100is mounted in the atomizer chamber210, on the side facing toward cigarette holder cap220, while the connection part120is mounted in the atomizer chamber210on the side facing the battery310. Both ends of the connection part120is electrically and welded to get connected to the drive circuit respectively on both ends. Drive circuit and the battery310are electrically connected. It is comparatively easy to weld the connection part120to other parts of the electronic cigarette, for the coating123covered on the connection part120.

The invention also discloses a method for processing heating element in the electronic cigarette, wherein the method comprises procedures as follows:

Integrated forming the heating part110and the connection part120, wherein the connection part120comprises the first connection end121and the second connection end122, both of which extend along each end of the heating part110;

Plating a coating123with low resistivity respectively on outer surfaces of the first and second connection ends121-122;

Connecting the first and second connection ends121-122respectively to drive circuit of the electronic cigarette via welding, riveting or connection terminals or fasteners, wherein the specific connecting ways belong to customary means in the art and the specified description won't be given accordingly.

Specifically, the method for processing the heating element in the electronic cigarette shall be further explained in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, the processing method comprising procedures as follows:

S1, selecting alloy materials with high resistivity, including nicochrome, economet, aludirome and constantan alloy, most of which are standard wire stock in various shapes of filament or flake, for example, the alloy materials possibly being constantan alloy 6J40 or Cr20Ni80, etc ;

S2, cutting the selected alloy materials, making the cut alloy material pieces has the length equal to the length of the heating element100before curled, as shown inFIG. 5;

S3, dividing the cut alloy material pieces into the heating part110, the first connection end121and the second connection end122, electroplating a coating123on the outer surfaces of the first connection end121and the second connection end122.

S4, curling the electroplated alloy material, making the heating part110in spiral shape, and making the first connection end121and the second connection end122correspondingly set on each end of the spiral heating part respectively, with the distance between the first connection end121and the corresponding end of the spiral heating part110equal to the distance between the second connection end122and the corresponding end of the spiral heating part110.

S5, connecting the heating element100to drive circuit of electronic cigarette via welding or some other way.

When implementing the processing method of the heating element in the present invention, the followed advantages can be obtained: the heating element100comprises a stable resistance value and a consistency in mass production; the coating123, first connection end121and the second connection end122are integrated designed, without any complex technique of welding or riveting. The coating123is formed via electroplating of fine metal or metal alloy of low resistivity, thus connection part120having extremely low a resistance value. Thanks to the coating123on the connection part120, to weld the connection part120with other parts (such as the drive circuit) of the electronic cigarette gets comparatively easy. As electroplating belongs to mature proscesses, the processing of heating element in this invention may improve the production efficiency of the electronic cigarette beltline and save the productive cost of electronic cigarette.

It should be understood for one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications or alternation should made in accordance with aforementioned description and should fall into the scope of the appended claims in the present invention.