Patent Publication Number: US-2021161207-A1

Title: Electronic cigarette, atomizing assembly, and atomizing component for same

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present disclosure is a continuation-application of International (PCT) Patent Application No. PCT/CN2018/104895 filed Sep. 10, 2018 in the China National Intellectual Property Administration, the contents of all of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to electronic cigarettes, and in particular to an electronic cigarette, an atomizing assembly and an atomizing component for same. 
     BACKGROUND 
     People care more and more about their health. Harm from traditional tobacco to the human body has been noticed. Thus, electronic cigarettes have been invented. An electronic cigarette has a similar appearance and smell as a traditional cigarette, but usually does not contain harmful ingredients such as tar, harmful aerosol, etc. Accordingly, harm from the electronic cigarette to the user is much less than that of the traditional cigarette. The electronic cigarette may be used to replace the traditional cigarette and help users quit smoking. 
     An electronic cigarette is usually composed of an atomizer and a battery assembly. In the related art, a heating body of the atomizer of the electronic cigarette is usually a spring-shaped heating wire. The heating body is made by winding a linear heating wire on a fixed shaft. When the heating wire is electrified, e-liquid stored in a storage medium is adsorbed on the fixed shaft, and the e-liquid is heated and then atomized by the heating wire. Because the heating wire is linear, only the e-liquid near the heating wire body can be heated to atomize. Although the e-liquid far away from the heating wire body can atomize, atomized particles will be larger due to the lower atomizing temperature, which will affect the taste of the electronic cigarette. 
     SUMMARY 
     The invention provides an electronic cigarette, an atomizing assembly and an atomizing component for same. 
     In order to solve the above technical problems, a technical solution adopted by the invention is to provide an atomizing component for an electronic cigarette. The atomizing component includes a porous base, a first film and a second film. The porous base has an atomization surface. The first film and the second film are sequentially formed on the atomization surface. At least one of the first film and the second film is configured to generate heat when being charged to heat and atomize an e-liquid on the atomization surface. 
     Alternatively, a coefficient of thermal expansion of the second film is greater than a coefficient of thermal expansion of the first film, and the coefficient of thermal expansion of the first film is greater than a coefficient of thermal expansion of the porous base. 
     Alternatively, an antioxidant capacity of the second film is stronger than an antioxidant capacity of the first film. 
     Alternatively, the atomizing component further includes a thermal isolation layer formed between the first film and the porous base. The thermal isolation layer is configured to protect the porous base. 
     Alternatively, the porous base is made of a conductive material, and the atomizing component further includes an insulating layer formed between the first film and the porous base. The insulating layer is configured to insulate the porous base from the first film. 
     Alternatively, a porosity of the porous base ranges from 30% to 70%. 
     Alternatively, pore diameters of micropores on the porous base range from 1 μm to 100 μm. 
     Alternatively, an average pore diameter of micropores on the porous base ranges from 10 μm to 35 μm. 
     Alternatively, a volume of micropores with pore diameters of 5-30 μm on the porous base accounts for more than 60% of a volume of all micropores on the porous base. 
     Alternatively, the first film and the second film are both porous films. 
     Alternatively, a material of the first film is selected from a group of titanium, zirconium, titanium aluminum alloy, titanium zirconium alloy, titanium molybdenum alloy, titanium niobium alloy, iron aluminum alloy and tantalum aluminum alloy. 
     Alternatively, the first film is made of titanium zirconium alloy, and a thickness of the first film ranges from 0.5 μm to 5 μm. 
     Alternatively, in the titanium zirconium alloy, a proportion of zirconium in the total mass ranges from 30% to 70%. 
     Alternatively, a material of the second film is selected from a group of platinum, palladium, palladium copper alloy, gold silver platinum alloy, gold silver alloy, palladium silver alloy and gold platinum alloy. 
     Alternatively, the second film is made of gold silver alloy, and a thickness of the second film ranges from 0.1 μm to 1 μm. 
     Alternatively, in the gold silver alloy, an atomic ratio of gold to silver ranges from 30% to 70%. 
     Alternatively, a thickness of the first film ranges from 1 μm to 2 μm, and a thickness of the second film ranges from 0.1 μm to 0.2 μm. 
     Alternatively, a thickness of the first film ranges from 0.5 μm to 1 μm, and a thickness of the second film ranges from 0.3 μm to 1 μm. 
     Alternatively, the atomizing component further includes an electrode formed on a side of the second film away from the first film. 
     To solve the above-mentioned problem, a technical scheme adopted by the present disclosure is to provide an atomizing component. The atomizing component includes a porous base having an atomization surface, a first film formed on the atomization surface and a second film formed on the first film. At least one of the first film and the second film is configured to generate heat when being charged. 
     To solve the above-mentioned problem, a technical scheme adopted by the present disclosure is to provide an atomizing assembly of an electronic cigarette. The atomizing assembly includes a liquid storage cavity for storing e-liquid and any atomizing component described above. The e-liquid in the liquid storage cavity is capable of being transported to the atomization surface. 
     In order to solve the above technical problem, another technical solution adopted by the invention is to provide an electronic cigarette. The electronic cigarette includes a battery assembly and any atomizing assembly described above. The battery assembly is electrically connected with the atomizing assembly to power the atomizing component of the atomizing assembly. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In order to make the technical solution described in the embodiments of the present disclosure more clear, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly described below. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are merely some embodiments of the present disclosure. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings may also be obtained based on these drawings without any creative work. 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an electronic cigarette according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded view of an atomizing assembly of the electronic cigarette shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view and a partial enlarged view of the atomizing assembly shown in  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  is a plane structural diagram of an atomizing component according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 5  is a plane structural diagram of an atomizing component according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 6  is a plane structural diagram of an atomizing component according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples. Apparently, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present disclosure without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , an electronic cigarette of the present disclosure includes an atomizing assembly  100  and a battery assembly  200 . The battery assembly  200  is electrically connected with the atomizing assembly  100  to power the atomizing assembly  100 . 
     In the embodiment, the battery assembly  200  may be detachably connected with the atomizing assembly  100 . Any of the components (the battery assembly  200  and the atomizing assembly  100 ) can be replaced when damaged. In other embodiments, the battery assembly  200  and the atomizing assembly  100  can also be accommodated in a same shell to make the electronic cigarette an integrated structure which is more convenient to be carried. Connection modes between the battery assembly  200  and the atomizing assembly  100  are not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , the atomizing assembly  100  includes a liquid storage cavity  10 , an upper cover  20 , a smoke tunnel  30 , and an atomizing component  40 . The atomizing component  40  is arranged in the upper cover  20 , the upper cover  20  may be configured to transport e-liquid from the liquid storage cavity  10  to the atomizing component  40 . The smoke tunnel  30  may be connected with an atomization surface of the atomizing component  40  to transmit atomized smoke. 
     Specifically, in the present embodiment, the upper cover  20  includes a guiding member  22 , a matching member  24  and an accommodating member  26 . The guiding member  22 , the matching member  24  and the accommodating member  26  are sequentially connected. The guiding member  22  may be provided with a liquid inlet hole  222  and a smoke outlet hole  224 . The liquid inlet hole  222  may be communicated with the liquid storage cavity  10 . The smoke outlet hole  224  may be communicated with the smoke tunnel  30 . The accommodating member  26  may define an accommodating cavity  262  for accommodating the atomizing component  40 . The matching member  24  may be configured to communicate the guiding member  22  with the accommodating member  26  to transport the e-liquid in the liquid inlet hole  222  to the atomizing component  40 . 
     The atomizing component  40  may be configured to convert transported e-liquid into smoke by heating. The smoke outlet  224  may be in fluid communication with the atomization surface of the atomizing component  40 , the e-liquid may be heated on the atomization surface and atomized into smoke, and the smoke may be transported from the smoke outlet  224  through the smoke tunnel  30 . 
     In the embodiment, referring to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , the upper cover  20  may be an integral structure. Specifically, the liquid inlet hole  222  and the smoke outlet hole  224  are respectively arranged on a surface of the upper cover  20  facing towards the liquid storage cavity  10 . An opening of the accommodating cavity  262  may formed on a surface of the accommodating member  26  away from the liquid storage cavity  10 . Finally, a through hole may be opened on the matching member  24  to communicate the liquid inlet hole  222  and the accommodating cavity  262 . In alternative embodiments, the guiding member  22 , the matching member  24  and the accommodating member  26  can also be machined on the upper cover  20  by other processing sequences or methods, and there is no specific limitation here. 
     By adopting an integral structure of the guiding member  22 , the matching member  24  and the accommodating member  26 , the number of components of the atomizing assembly  100  can be reduced. Thus, it is more convenient to install the components and related sealing performance may be better. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , the atomizing component  40  includes a porous base  42 , a first film  44  and a second film  46 . The porous base  42  includes an atomization surface  422 . The first film  44  and the second film  46  are sequentially formed on the atomization surface  422 . That is, the first film  44  is formed on the atomization surface  422  and the second film  46  is formed on the first film  44 . The e-liquid in the liquid storage cavity  10  is transported to the porous base  42  through the upper cover  20 , and the porous base  42  further transports the e-liquid to the atomization surface  422 . Therefore, when at least one of the first film  44  and the second film  46  is charged to generate heat, the e-liquid on the atomization surface  422  can be heated to atomize into smoke. 
     In some embodiments, the porous base  42  is made of porous structural materials. Specifically, the porous base  42  may be a porous ceramic, a porous glass, a porous plastic, a porous metal, and the like. Materials of the porous base  42  are not specifically defined in the present disclosure. 
     In one embodiment, the porous base  42  may be made of a material with lower temperature resistance, for example, a porous plastic. Under these circumstances, the atomizing component  40  can also include a thermal isolation layer  48 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . The thermal isolation layer  48  is formed between the first film  44  and the porous base  42 . That is, the thermal isolation layer  48  is sandwiched between the atomization surface  422  and the first film  44  to protect the porous base  42  and prevent the first film  44  from damaging the porous base  42  during heating. 
     In another embodiment, the porous base  42  may be made of a conductive material with a conductive function, such as a porous metal. Under these circumstances, the atomizing component  40  can also include an insulating layer  49 , as shown in  FIG. 6 . The insulating layer  49  is formed between the first film  44  and the porous base  42 . That is, the insulating layer  49  is sandwiched between the atomization surface  422  and the first film  44  to insulate the porous base  42  from the first film  44  and prevent a short circuit caused by the electrical connection between the porous base  42  and the first film  44 . 
     The insulating layer  49  may be formed by coating an insulating material on the atomization surface  422 , or by oxidizing the surface of the porous base  42  so that the insulating layer  49  is uniformly adhered on an outer surface of the porous base  42 . In alternative embodiments, other means can be used to form the insulating layer  49  on the atomization surface  422  of the porous base  42 , which are not specifically defined in the present disclosure. 
     Porous ceramics have stable chemical properties and will not react with the e-liquid. The porous ceramics can resist high temperature and will not deform due to too high heating temperature. The porous ceramics are an insulator and will not be electrically connected with the first film  44  formed thereon and will not cause a short circuit. The porous ceramics are easy to manufacture and the cost of the porous ceramics is low. Therefore, in the embodiment, the porous ceramics are selected to make porous base  42 . 
     A porosity of the porous ceramics ranges from 30% to 70%. The porosity refers to a ratio of a total volume of tiny voids in a porous medium to a total volume of the porous medium. A value of the porosity can be adjusted according to a composition of the e-liquid. For example, when a viscosity of the e-liquid is high, a greater porosity is selected to ensure a liquid guiding effect. 
     In the embodiment, the porosity of the porous ceramics may range from 50% to 60%. By controlling the porosity of the porous ceramics in the range of 50% to 60%, on the one hand, a better liquid guiding efficiency of the porous ceramics can be ensured, the phenomenon of dry burning due to poor flow of liquid can be prevented, and atomization effects can be improved. On the other hand, the porous ceramics guide the e-liquid too fast, which is difficult to lock the e-liquid, resulting in a great increase in e-liquid leakage probability can be avoided. 
     Further, in the embodiment, pore diameters of micropores on the porous ceramics range from 1 μm to 100 μm. 
     Alternatively, an average pore diameter of the micropores on the porous ceramics ranges from 10 μm to 35 μm. 
     In the embodiment, the average pore diameter of the micropores on the porous ceramics ranges from 20 μm to 25 μm. 
     Alternatively, the most probable pore diameters of the porous ceramics may range from 10 μm to 15 μm. The most probable pore diameters refer to the maximum probability of micropores in the porous ceramics with pore diameters in the range of 10 μm to 15 μm. 
     Alternatively, a volume of micropores with pore diameters in the range of 5 μm to 30 μm on the porous ceramics accounts for more than 60% of a volume of all micropores on the porous base  42 . 
     Alternatively, the volume of micropores with pore diameters in the range of 10 μm to 15 μm on porous ceramics accounts for more than 20% of the volume of all micropores on the porous ceramics. The volume of micropores with pore diameters in the range of 30 μm to 50 μm in porous ceramics accounts for about 30% of the volume of all micropores on the porous ceramics. 
     In the above alternative embodiments, by setting the pore diameters of micropores with appropriate sizes and uniform distribution, the liquid guiding performance of the porous ceramics can be uniform and the atomization effect is better. 
     In other embodiments, when the porous base  42  is made of other porous structural materials, a porosity ratio in the porous base  42  or the pore diameters of the micropores can be set with reference to setting form on the porous ceramics, which will not be repeated here. 
     Furthermore, in the embodiment, both the first film  44  and the second film  46  are porous films. The first film  44  and the second film  46  may be formed on the porous ceramics by physical vapor deposition or the like. For example, the first film  44  may be formed on the atomization surface  422  of the porous ceramics by evaporation or sputtering, and the second film  46  may be formed on the first film  44  by evaporation or sputtering. 
     In the embodiment, a coefficient of thermal expansion of the material used for making the second film  46  is greater than a coefficient of thermal expansion of the material used for making the first film  44 , and the coefficient of thermal expansion of the material used for making the first film  44  is greater than a coefficient of thermal expansion of the porous base  42  such as the porous ceramics. By setting a coefficient of thermal expansion of the first film  44  between a coefficient of thermal expansion of the porous ceramics and a coefficient of thermal expansion of the second film  46 , the second film  46  can match better with the porous ceramics, higher adhesion and stronger thermal shock resistance. 
     In the embodiment, an antioxidant capacity of the second film  46  is stronger than an antioxidant capacity of the first film  44 . Due to high-temperature sintering process (above 300° C.) in the process of preparing electrodes of the atomizing component, when the antioxidant capacity of the first film  44  is poor, the first film  44  will undergo violent oxidation reactions under the action of high temperature, resulting in resistance mutation of the first film  44 . By setting the second film  46  with stronger antioxidant capacity on a surface of the first film  44 , an oxidation reaction caused by contact of the first film  44  with air can be avoided. 
     The first film  44  may be metal or alloy. In order to improve the adhesion between the first film  44  and the porous base  42 , a material of the first film  44  can be selected as the material with stable adhesion with the porous base  42 . For example, when the porous base  42  is the porous ceramics, the first film  44  may be selected from the group of titanium, zirconium, titanium aluminum alloy, titanium zirconium alloy, titanium molybdenum alloy, titanium niobium alloy, iron aluminum alloy and tantalum aluminum alloy. 
     Titanium and zirconium have the following characteristics. 
     (1) Titanium and zirconium are biocompatible metals. In particular, titanium is a biophilic metal element with higher safety. 
     (2) Titanium and zirconium have higher resistivity in metal materials. At room temperature, titanium zirconium alloy prepared according to a certain proportion has three times of original resistivity and is more suitable for heating film materials. 
     (3) Titanium and zirconium have lower coefficient of thermal expansion and better thermal matching with porous ceramics. Melting point of the alloy prepared according to a certain proportion is lower. Film forming property of magnetron sputtering is better. 
     (4) After plating a metal film, a result of an electron microscope analysis shows that micro particles of the metal film are spherical, and particles form a micro morphology similar to cauliflower. A result of an electron microscope analysis shows that micro particles of the film formed by titanium zirconium alloy is flake, and some grain boundaries between particles disappear to make continuity better. 
     (5) Both Titanium and zirconium have good plasticity and elongation, and a titanium zirconium alloy film has better thermal cycling resistance and current impact resistance. 
     (6) Titanium is often used as a stress buffer layer between a metal and a ceramic and an active element of ceramic metallization. Titanium can react with the ceramic interface to form strong chemical bonds to improve adhesion of the membrane. 
     In the embodiment, because titanium and zirconium have the above characteristics, the first film  44  is made of titanium zirconium alloy. A thickness of the first film  44  can range from 0.5 μm to 5 μm. Proportion of zirconium in total mass can range from 30% to 70%. 
     Alternatively, the proportion of zirconium in the total mass can range from 40% to 60%. 
     In the embodiment, mass ratio of titanium to zirconium in the first film  44  may be 1:1. 
     The titanium zirconium alloy film made of titanium zirconium alloy itself is a local dense film. However, because the porous base  42  itself is an porous structure, the titanium zirconium alloy film formed on the surface of the porous base  42  also becomes a porous continuous structure, and the pore diameters of the titanium zirconium alloy film are slightly smaller than that of the porous base  42 . 
     Furthermore, due to poor stability of the titanium zirconium alloy film in the air at high temperature, zirconium is easy to absorb hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen, and the titanium zirconium alloy has a better air absorption. In the subsequent preparation of the electrodes of the atomizing component, because of the air absorption property of the titanium zirconium alloy, violent oxidation reactions will occur during high temperature sintering (above 300° C.), resulting in the resistance mutation of the first film  44 . In order to avoid the contact between the first film  44  and the air, it is necessary to make a protective layer on the surface of the first film  44 . The second film  46  can be used as the protective layer. 
     In other embodiments, when the porous base  42  is made of porous structural materials other than the porous ceramics, other porous structural materials can be used to make the first film  44 , which is not specifically defined herein. 
     The material of the second film  46  can also be metal or alloy. In order to prevent an oxidation reaction between the first film  44  and the air from causing the resistance mutation, the second film  46  should be made of a material with strong antioxidant capacity. For example, the second film  46  may be selected from the group of platinum, palladium, palladium copper alloy, gold silver platinum alloy, gold silver alloy, palladium silver alloy, gold platinum alloy, and the like. 
     Due to poor compactness of the protective layer formed by silver and platinum, it is difficult to completely isolate the air. Although gold can protect the titanium zirconium alloy film well, on the one hand, resistance of the whole heating component will be greatly reduced due to the need of forming a dense protective layer with a thickness of about 100 nm or more. On the other hand, the cost is very high. Therefore, by using gold silver alloy in the embodiment, compactness of the gold protective layer is retained, and the cost is also reduced. Moreover, the resistivity of the gold silver alloy formed according to a certain proportion is increased by ten times, which is more conducive to controlling a resistance value of the whole heating component. 
     In the embodiment, a thickness of the second film  46  may range from 0.1 μm to 1 μm. 
     Alternatively, an atomic ratio of gold to silver can range from 30% to 70%. 
     Alternatively, the atomic ratio of gold to silver can range from 40% to 60%. 
     In the embodiment, the atomic ratio of gold to silver in the second film  46  is 1:1. 
     In the above embodiments, both the first film  44  and the second film  46  can be configured to generate heat to heat the e-liquid on the atomization surface  422 . In other embodiments, only one covering film configured to generate heat or one main heating covering film can be provided. For example, only the first film  44  can be set to generate heat, and the second film  46  does not generate heat or generate significantly less heat than the first film  44 . Alternatively, only the second film  46  can be set to generate heat, and the first film  44  does not generate heat or generate significantly less heating than the second film  46 . 
     Specifically, in one embodiment, the first film  44  is provided for generating heat to heat and atomize the e-liquid on the atomization surface  422 . The first film  44  is connected in parallel with the second film  46 . Under these circumstances, a resistance value of the first film  44  is obviously smaller than that of the second film  46 . The second film  46  formed on the surface of the first film  44  is mainly used as a protective film to protect the first film  44  and isolate the first film  44  from oxygen. 
     In the embodiment, the second film  46  can be made of gold silver alloy and other materials with strong antioxidant capacity. The present disclosure does not make specific limitations. 
     The material of the second film  46  can be conductive or non-conductive. When the second film  46  is made of a non-conductive material, an avoidance hole is also arranged on the second film  46 . The electrode contacts the first film  44  through the avoidance hole and is electrically connected with the first film  44  to supply power for the first film  44  to generate heat. 
     Alternatively, the thickness of the first film  44  may range from 1 μm to 2 μm, and the thickness of the second film  46  may range from 0.1 μm to 0.2 μm. In the embodiment, the first film  44  can be the titanium zirconium alloy film, and the second film  46  can be the gold silver alloy film. For specific composition ratio of the titanium zirconium alloy film and the gold silver alloy film, the previous embodiments can be referred to. Alternatively, the resistance value of the first film  44  is less than 0.5 times that of the second film  46 . 
     In another embodiment, the second film  46  is provided to generate heat to heat and atomize the e-liquid on the atomization surface  422 . The first film  44  is connected in parallel with the second film  46 . Under these circumstances, the resistance value of the second film  46  is far less than that of the first film  44 . The first film  44  formed between the porous base  42  and the second film  46  is mainly used as a buffer film to enhance the adhesion between the second film  46  and the porous base  42  and prevent the second film  46  from falling off. 
     In the embodiment, the first film  44  can be made of titanium zirconium alloy and other materials with buffering capacity. The present disclosure does not make specific limitations. 
     The material of the first film  44  can be a conductive material or non-conductive material, and there is no specific limitation in the application. 
     Alternatively, the thickness of the first film  44  can range from 0.5 μm to 1 μm, and the thickness of the second film  46  can range from 0.3 μm to 1 μm. In the embodiment, the first film  44  can be the titanium zirconium alloy film, and the second film  46  can be the gold silver alloy film. For specific composition ratio of the titanium zirconium alloy film and the gold silver alloy film, the previous embodiments can be referred to. Alternatively, the resistance value of the second film  46  is less than 0.5 times that of the first film  44 . 
     Further, as shown in  FIG. 3 , the atomizing component  40  further includes an electrode  41  formed on a side of the second film  46  away from the first film  44  for electrically connecting the first film  44  and/or the second film  46  with the power supply. 
     Metal materials with low resistivity, such as gold and silver, are generally selected for forming the electrode  41 . There is no specific limitation in present disclosure. In the embodiment, silver is selected as the electrode  41 . Silver not only has good conductivity, but also has relatively low cost. 
     In conclusion, it is easy for those skilled in the art to understand that in the atomizing component  40  of the present disclosure, the first film  44  and/or the second film  46  sequentially formed on the atomization surface  422  is adopted to generate heat and atomize the e-liquid on the atomization surface  422 . Because the first film  44  and the second film  46  are evenly distributed on the atomization surface  422 , the atomizing temperature of the e-liquid can be unified, and the smoke with the same size of atomized particles can be generated to improve the user&#39;s use effect. 
     It is understood that the descriptions above are only embodiments of the present disclosure. It is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Any equivalent transformation in structure and/or in scheme referring to the instruction and the accompanying drawings of the present disclosure, and direct or indirect application in other related technical field, are included within the scope of the present disclosure.