Patent Publication Number: US-9414628-B2

Title: Electronic cigarette

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This non-provisional application claims priorities under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) on Patent Application No. 201302526463.2 filed in P.R. China on Aug. 27, 2013, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     FIELD OF THE APPLICATION 
     The present application relates to the field of electrically heating technology, and more particularly, relates to an electronic cigarette. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE APPLICATION 
     The electronic cigarette has been used more and more widely as a replacement for the cigarette. The electronic cigarette mainly comprises an atomizer component and a battery component. The battery component comprises a case. A battery, a gas flow sensor and a control circuit, etc. are provided in the case. Although there are various kinds of electronic cigarettes in the market, for most of them, the inner structures are irrational and the assembly for them is inconvenient, because most of them only focus on the beautiful appearances. For example, in a traditional electronic cigarette, both ends of the battery are connected to and soldered with the control circuit via normal soft conductive wires, and the battery must be located in the battery sleeve before both ends of the battery is connected to and soldered with the control circuit. Thus, the assembling process for the electronic cigarette is complex, and the connection between the battery and the control circuit in the battery sleeve is not reliable, which will affect the performance of the electronic cigarette. 
     SUMMARY OF THE APPLICATION 
     The object of the present application is to provide an electronic cigarette with simple assembling process, aiming at the drawbacks that the assembling process for the traditional electronic cigarette is multifarious and complicated in the prior art. 
     The technical schemes to solve the above technical problems are as follows. 
     In one aspect, an electronic cigarette is provided, which comprises a battery component. A battery, a PCB board and a press-key switch are provided in the battery component, and the press-key switch is set on the PCB board. An end face of the battery is located opposite one end face of the PCB board. A first electrode pin and a second electrode pin are provided on one end face of the battery, wherein the end face of the battery is adjacent to the PCB board. A first socket and a second socket are provided at one side of the PCB board, wherein the side of the PCB board is adjacent to the battery. The first electrode pin is inserted and soldered in the first socket, and the second electrode pin is inserted and soldered in the second socket. 
     In one embodiment, the electronic cigarette further comprises a fix base for fixing the PCB board. A mount slot is provided on the fix base. The PCB board is fixed in the mount slot, and the end face of the battery is located opposite one end face of the fix base. 
     In this embodiment, the electronic cigarette further comprises an atomizer component. The PCB board is electrically connected to the atomizer component via the press-key switch. The press-key switch is configured to control the operation of the atomizer component. 
     In this embodiment, the battery component further comprises an outer sleeve and a first outer electrode. The outer sleeve sheaths around the first outer electrode. The first outer electrode is used to electrically connect the atomizer component. The PCB board is located between the first outer electrode and the battery. 
     In this embodiment, a buckling slot is provided at one side of the fix base and the side of the fix base is far away from the battery. One end of the first outer electrode is snapped into the buckling slot. 
     In this embodiment, the press-key switch comprises a switch base fixed on the PCB board and a button set on the switch base. A first through hole is defined on a side wall of the outer sleeve, wherein the side wall is corresponding to the press-key switch. The button is embedded in the first through hole and extends out from the outer sleeve. The press-key switch is installed on one end face of the battery component. 
     In another embodiment, the battery component further comprises an outer sleeve and an end cap that covers on one end face of the outer sleeve. The press-key switch is inserted in the end cap. The end cap comprises a body portion and a cap portion. The outer sleeve sheaths around the body portion, and the cap portion covers on the outer sleeve. The end face of the body portion, which is far away from the cap portion, extends axially to form two fix slices. The PCB board is fixed between the two fix slices. The press-key switch comprises a switch base fixed on the PCB board and a button set on the switch base. A second through hole is provided on the cap portion, and the button is embedded in the second through hole and extends out from the cap portion. 
     In this embodiment, the outer sleeve is made of metallic conductive material. An electrode piece is provided on the PCB board, and the electrode piece abuts the outer sleeve. The battery component further comprises a first outer electrode that is set on the end far away from the end cap. The first outer electrode is sheathed around by the outer sleeve and adapted to the outer sleeve. 
     The following beneficial effects will be achieved when implementing the electronic cigarette of the present application. In the electronic cigarette, a first electrode pin and a second electrode pin are provided on a same end face of the battery, and a corresponding first socket and a corresponding second socket are provided on the PCB board that is fixed with a press-key switch. Through inserting and soldering the first electrode pin in the first socket, and inserting and soldering the second electrode pin in the second socket, the battery can be fixed on the PCB board. Thus the battery and the press-key switch can be fixed on a same PCB board. In the assembling process, the PCB board, the first outer electrode and the battery are fixedly integrated first, and then the whole of them is inserted into the outer sleeve from one end of the outer sleeve. In this way, the assembling process is convenient, simple, and able to be modularized, which can increase the productive efficiency. Besides, the inner structure is rational and the electrical connections are reliable, which has effectively avoided the short circuits caused by the wires in a mess. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present application will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments in the following, in the accompanying drawings: 
         FIG. 1  is a structure diagram of a battery component in an electronic cigarette in a first embodiment of the present application. 
         FIG. 2  is a sectional view of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a partially explosive view of the battery component shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a sectional view of an electronic cigarette in a second embodiment of the present application. 
         FIG. 5  is an explosive view of the battery component shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     To make the objects, technical schemes and advantages more clearly, the present application may be further described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , in the first embodiment of the present application, an electronic cigarette comprises a battery component  10  and an atomizer component (not shown). The battery component  10  and the atomizer component are connected to each other in a detachable way. Namely, the battery component  10  and the atomizer component are connected to from a whole electronic cigarette. 
     The battery component  10  comprises a battery  110 , a PCB board  120 , a press-key switch  130 , an outer sleeve  140 , a fix base  160 , a first outer electrode  150  and an end cap  170 . The battery  110 , the PCB board  120 , the fix base  160  and the first outer electrode  150  are all sheathed around by the outer sleeve  140 . The end cap  170  covers on one end face of the outer sleeve  140 . The first outer electrode  150  is sheathed around by the outer sleeve  140  which is far away from the end cap  170 . The first outer electrode  150  is connected to an electrode in the atomizer component, in order to power a heating wire in the atomizer component to atomize the tobacco oil. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , the fix base  160  is substantially ship-shaped, which is mounted between the first outer electrode  150  and the battery  110 . An end face of the battery  110  is located opposite one end face of the fix base  160 . A mount slot (not labeled) is provided on the fix base  160 . The PCB board  120  is mounted in the mount slot, so that the PCB board  120  is fixed in the fix base  160 . A buckling slot  162  is provided at one side of the fix base  160  and the side of the fix base  160  is far away from the battery  110 . The shape and the size of the buckling slot  162  are matched with the end portion of the first outer electrode  150 , so one end of the first outer electrode  150  can be snapped into the buckling slot  162 , and in this way, the first outer electrode  150  can be fixedly connected to the fix base  160 . It should be understood that the fix base  160  is made of insulating material which does not have conductive ability. 
     In the embodiment, the PCB board  120  is mounted in the mount slot and located between the first outer electrode  150  and the battery  110 . The PCB board  120  is substantially a rectangular plate. One end face of the PCB board  120  is located corresponding to one end face of the battery  110 , wherein the end face of the battery  110  is adjacent to the PCB board  120 . A first socket  122  and a second socket  124  are provided at one side of the PCB board  120 , wherein the side of the PCB board  120  is adjacent to the battery  110 . The first socket  122  and the second socket  124  are configured to accept two electrodes of the battery  110 . An interval is defined between the first socket  122  the second socket  124 . The first socket  122  and the second socket  124  are both electrical sockets. 
     The press-key switch  130  is installed on the PCB board  120 . The PCB board  120  is electrically connected to the atomizer component via the press-key switch  130 . The press-key switch  130  is configured to control the operation of the atomizer component. Namely, the operation of the atomizer component can be controlled through the on and off of the press-key switch  130 . When the press-key switch  130  is closed, the atomizer component will operate and atomize the tobacco oil. When the press-key switch  130  is turned off, the atomizer component will stop working. The press-key switch  130  comprises a switch base  132  fixed on the middle of the PCB board and a button  134  set on the switch base  132 . A first through hole  142  is defined on a side wall of the outer sleeve  140 , wherein the side wall is corresponding to the press-key switch  130 . The size of the first through hole  142  is matched with the button  134 , so that the button  134  can be embedded in the first through hole  142  and extends out from the outer sleeve  140 , which may make it convenient for user to operate on the button  134 . A first electrode pin  112  and a second electrode pin  114  are provided on one end face of the battery  110 , wherein the end face of the battery  110  is adjacent to the PCB board  120 . Namely, the first electrode pin  112  and the second electrode pin  114  are set on a same end face of the battery  110 , and each of the first electrode pin  112  and the second electrode pin  114  is the positive pole or negative pole of the battery  110 . 
     In the embodiment, the battery  110  is a pin-typed battery which has two pins  112  and  114 , for example, a capacitive pin-typed battery. The first electrode pin  112  is corresponding to the first socket  122  on the PCB board  120 , and the second electrode pin  114  is corresponding to the second socket  124 . Thus, the first electrode pin  112  can be inserted in the first socket  122 , and the second electrode pin  114  can be inserted in the second socket  124 . Then, the first electrode pin  112  and the second electrode pin  114  are soldered respectively, in order to fix them solidly on the PCB board  120 . Therefore, a battery component  10 , in which the press-key button  130  and the battery  110  are soldered on a same PCB board  120 , can be made. The assembling process for the battery component  10  is convenient, simple and able to be modularized, so that the productive efficiency can be improved. Furthermore, in the embodiment, the PCB board  120 , the first outer electrode  150  and the battery  110  are fixedly integrated first, and then the whole of them is inserted into the outer sleeve  140  from one end of the outer sleeve  140 . In this way, the assembling process is convenient, the inner structure is rational and the electrical connections are reliable, which has effectively avoided the short circuits caused by the wires in a mess. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , a second embodiment of an electronic cigarette is provided. Compared with the first embodiment, in the second embodiment, the location of the PCB board  120  is different, and there is not a fix base  160  for fixing the PCB board  120 . 
     In the embodiment, the press-key switch  130  is installed on one end face of the battery component  10 . 
     The battery component  10  comprises an end cap  170  that covers on one end face of the outer sleeve  140 , wherein the end face of the outer sleeve  140  is far away from the first outer electrode  150 . The end cap  170  comprises a body portion  174  and a cap portion  176 . The outer sleeve  140  sheaths around the body portion  174 . The cap portion  176  covers on the end face of the outer sleeve  140 . The press-key switch  130  is inserted in the cap portion  176 . The end face of the body portion  174 , which is far away from the cap portion  176 , extends axially to form two fix slices  172 . The two fix slices  172  are located symmetrically with respect to the central axis of the body portion  174 . The PCB board  120  is buckled between the two fix slices  172 , in which way the PCB board  120  can be fixed in the outer sleeve  140 . A second through hole (not labeled) is provided on the cap portion  176 . In the embodiment, a switch base  132  of the press-key switch  130  is fixed on the PCB board  120 , and a button  134  is embedded in the second through hole and extends out from the cap portion  176 , in order to make the operation to the button  134  more convenient and meet different demands for the location of the switch. The end cap  170  may be a lamp crown component. When the atomizer component  20  is in a working state, the end cap  170  leads out the light to indicate that the atomizer component  20  stays in a working state. In other embodiments, the end cap  170  may be a sealing cap which can seal the battery component  10 . 
     In the embodiment, the outer sleeve  140  is made of metallic conductive material which has conductive ability. An electrode piece  126  is provided on the PCB board  120 , and the electrode piece  126  abuts the inner side wall of the outer sleeve  140 . A first outer electrode  150  is set on the end far away from the end cap  170 , and the first outer electrode  150  is sheathed around by the outer sleeve  140  and adapted to the outer sleeve  140 . Thus, electric charges can flow in the battery component  10 . When the press-key switch  130  is closed, namely the electronic cigarette is in a working state, the charge flow in the battery  10  can flow through the electrode slices  126 , the outer sleeve  140  and the first outer electrode  150  successively, and then flow into the atomizer component  20  to atomize the tobacco oil through heating wires. In this way, the electronic cigarette can operate normally. 
     In the electronic cigarette of the present application, a first electrode pin  112  and a second electrode pin  114  are provided on a same end face of the battery  110 , and a corresponding first socket  122  and a corresponding second socket  124  are provided on the PCB board  120  that is fixed with a press-key switch  130 . Through inserting and soldering the first electrode pin  112  in the first socket  122 , and inserting and soldering the second electrode pin  114  in the second socket  124 , and locating the end face of the battery  110  opposite one end face of the PCB board  120 , the battery  110  and the press-key switch  130  can be fixed on a same PCB board  120 . The assembling process is convenient, simple, and able to be modularized, which can increase the productive efficiency. Furthermore, the PCB board  120 , the first outer electrode  150  and the battery  110  are fixedly integrated first, and then the whole of them is inserted into the outer sleeve  140 . In this way, the assembling process is convenient, the inner structure is rational, and the electrical connections are reliable, which has effectively avoided the short circuits caused by the wires in a mess. 
     While the embodiments of the present application have been described with reference to the drawings, the present application will not be limited to above embodiments that are illustrative but not limitative. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and equivalents may be substituted in the light of the present application without departing from the scope of the present application, and those various changes and equivalents shall fall into the protection of the application.