Patent Description:
In recent years, demand for alternative smoking articles that overcome disadvantages of general cigarettes has increased. For example, instead of demand for cigarettes, demand for aerosol generation devices that vaporize liquid compositions to generate an aerosol has increased, and accordingly, active research has been carried out on liquid vaporization-type aerosol generation devices.

In the liquid vaporization-type aerosol generation device, a wick and a heating element are the key components of the device for vaporizing a liquid composition to generate an aerosol. Here, the amount of generated aerosol and the risk of damage to the wick may vary according to the combination structure of the wick and the heating element. Accordingly, finding the optimal combination structure of the wick and the heating element is one of the important research tasks in the art. <CIT> relates to an atomizer and an aerosol delivery device, where the atomizer has a fluid transport element formed from a rigid monolith having a first side and a second side opposite to the first side. The atomizer also has a heater. The heater provides a substantially planar heating surface. The heating surface is positioned to face the first side of the rigid monolith. <CIT> relates to an electronic cigarette and a heating assembly and a heating member thereof. The heating assembly comprises a porous member for absorbing an e-liquid and at least one heating member for heating and atomizing the e-liquid absorbed by the porous member. The at least one heating member comprises an elongated sheet-shaped heating portion. At least part of the sheet-shaped heating portion is partially embedded in the porous member. The porous member comprises an atomization surface corresponding to the at least part of the sheet-shaped heating portion. The at least part of the sheet-shaped heating portion has a through hole for adjusting resistance distribution. <CIT> relates to an aerosol-generating system comprising a liquid storage portion comprising a rigid housing holding a liquid aerosol-forming substrate, the housing having an opening and a fluid permeable heater assembly comprising a plurality of electrically conductive filaments, wherein the fluid permeable heater assembly is fixed to the housing and extends across the opening of the housing. <CIT> relates to an aerosol provision system for generating an aerosol from a source liquid, the aerosol provision system including: a reservoir of source liquid; a planar vaporizer comprising a planar heating element, wherein the vaporizer is configured to draw source liquid from the reservoir to the vicinity of a vaporizing surface of the vaporizer through capillary action; and an induction heater coil operable to induce current flow in the heating element to inductively heat the heating element and so vaporize a portion of the source liquid in the vicinity of the vaporizing surface of the vaporizer. <CIT> relates to an evaporator unit for an inhaler comprising an electrically operable heating body, which has an inlet side and an outlet side, and a plurality of microchannels, each of which extends from the inlet side to the outlet side through the heating body. The heating body is designed to evaporate liquid being transferred through the microchannels by applying a heating voltage. A porous and/or capillary wick structure is arranged on the inlet side of the heating body, said wick structure being fluidically connected or connectable to a liquid store. The wick structure has a shaft which extends through a through a passage opening of the support, and a collar, which is arranged between the support and the heating body, wherein the diameter of the collar is greater than the diameter of the passage opening of the support.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to providing an optimal combination structure of a wick and a heating element that is able to increase an amount of generated aerosol and reduce the risk of damage to the wick.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure are also directed to providing a vaporizer and aerosol generation device to which the optimal combination structure of the wick and the heating element is applied.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure are also directed to providing a vaporizer, which is capable of guaranteeing uniformity in liquid transport speed and amount of transported liquid, and an aerosol generation device including the same.

Objectives of the present disclosure are not limited to the above-mentioned objectives, and other unmentioned objectives should be clearly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains from the description below.

A vaporizer according to appended claim <NUM> is proposed.

In some embodiments, the heating pattern may be embedded at a position deviated in a specific direction from an intermediate point of the porous body.

In some embodiments, a depth at which the heating pattern is embedded may be in a range of <NUM> to <NUM> from a surface of the porous body.

According to the claimed invention, the heating element further includes one or more terminals electrically connected to the heating pattern and a battery, and the one or more terminals are disposed to come in close contact with one side surface of the porous body.

In some embodiments, the porous body may be formed by a plurality of beads. Here, the beads may be ceramic beads, and a diameter of the bead may be in a range of <NUM> to <NUM>.

In some embodiments, the vaporizer may further include an airflow tube disposed in a direction upward from the porous wick and configured to deliver the generated aerosol, and the heating pattern may be embedded in a lower portion of the porous body.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, a heating element can be embedded at a depth in a range of <NUM> to <NUM> from a surface of a body of a porous wick. In this way, an amount of generated aerosol can be increased and the risk of damage to the porous wick can be reduced.

Also, the body of the porous wick can be implemented with an assembly of a plurality of beads. Since the size and distribution of pores can be uniform in the porous body implemented with the bead assembly, the manufactured porous wick can guarantee uniformity in the liquid transport speed and the amount of transported liquid.

In addition, a terminal electrically connected to a heating pattern can be disposed to come in close contact with both side surfaces of the body of the porous wick. Accordingly, a space that the heating element occupies can be reduced, and thus a vaporizer or an aerosol generation device can be manufactured in a more compact form. Further, a problem in which the terminal interferes with an air flow and causes a decrease in the amount of generated aerosol can be addressed.

The advantageous effects according to the technical idea of the present disclosure are not limited to the above-mentioned advantageous effects, and other unmentioned advantageous effects should be clearly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art from the description below.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Advantages and features of the present disclosure and a method of achieving the same should become clear with embodiments described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the technical idea of the present disclosure is not limited to the following embodiments and may be implemented in various other forms. The embodiments make the technical idea of the present disclosure complete and are provided to completely inform those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains of the scope of the present disclosure. The technical idea of the present disclosure is defined only by the scope of the claims.

In assigning reference numerals to components of each drawing, it should be noted that the same reference numerals are assigned to the same components as much as possible even when the components are illustrated in different drawings. Also, in describing the present disclosure, when detailed description of a known related configuration or function is deemed as having the possibility of obscuring the gist of the present disclosure, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms including technical or scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains. Terms defined in commonly used dictionaries should not be construed in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein. Terms used herein are for describing the embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. In the specification, a singular expression includes a plural expression unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

Also, in describing components of the present disclosure, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), and (b) may be used. Such terms are only used for distinguishing one component from another component, and the essence, order, sequence, or the like of the corresponding component is not limited by the terms. In a case in which a certain component is described as being "connected," "coupled," or "linked" to another component, it should be understood that, although the component may be directly connected or linked to the other component, still another component may also be "connected," "coupled," or "linked" between the two components.

The terms "comprises" and/or "comprising" used herein do not preclude the presence of or the possibility of adding one or more components, steps, operations, and/or devices other than those mentioned.

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

In the present specification, "aerosol-generating substrate" may refer to a material that is able to generate an aerosol. The aerosol may include a volatile compound. The aerosol-generating substrate may be a solid or liquid.

For example, solid aerosol-generating substrates may include solid materials based on tobacco raw materials such as reconstituted tobacco leaves, shredded tobacco, and reconstituted tobacco, and aerosol-generating substrates in a liquid state may include liquid compositions based on nicotine, tobacco extracts, and/or various flavoring agents. However, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the above-listed examples.

As a more specific example, the aerosol-generating substrates in a liquid state may include at least one of propylene glycol (PG) and glycerin (GLY) and may further include at least one of ethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, and oleyl alcohol. As another example, the aerosol-generating substrate may further include at least one of nicotine, moisture, and a flavoring material. As still another example, the aerosol-generating substrate may further include various additives such as cinnamon and capsaicin. The aerosol-generating substrate may not only include a liquid material with high fluidity but also include a material in the form of gel or a solid. In this way, as the components constituting the aerosol-generating substrate, various materials may be selected according to embodiments, and composition ratios thereof may also vary according to embodiments. In the following description, "liquid" may be understood as referring to the aerosol-generating substrate in a liquid state.

In the specification, "aerosol generation device" may refer to a device that generates an aerosol using an aerosol-generating substrate in order to generate an aerosol that can be inhaled directly into the user's lungs through the user's mouth. Examples of the aerosol generation device may include a liquid-type aerosol generation device using a vaporizer and a hybrid-type aerosol generation device using a vaporizer and a cigarette together. However, the examples of the aerosol generation device may further include various other kinds of aerosol generation devices, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the above-listed examples. Some examples of the aerosol generation device will be described below with reference to <FIG>.

In the specification, "puff" refers to inhalation by a user, and the inhalation may refer to a situation in which a user draws in smoke into his or her oral cavity, nasal cavity, or lungs through the mouth or nose.

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

<FIG> is an exemplary configuration diagram of a vaporizer <NUM> according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, and <FIG> is an exemplary exploded view of the vaporizer <NUM>. In <FIG>, dotted arrows represent a delivery path of air or an aerosol.

As illustrated in <FIG> or <FIG>, the vaporizer <NUM> may include an upper case <NUM>, an airflow tube <NUM>, a liquid reservoir <NUM>, a wick housing <NUM>, a porous wick <NUM>, a heating element <NUM>, and a lower case <NUM>. However, only the components relating to the embodiment of the present disclosure are illustrated in <FIG>. Therefore, those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains should understand that the vaporizer <NUM> may further include general-purpose components other than the components illustrated in <FIG>.

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

The upper case <NUM> may serve as a cover or housing that covers an upper portion of the vaporizer <NUM>. In some embodiments, the upper case <NUM> may also serve as a mouthpiece.

Next, the airflow tube <NUM> may serve as an airflow path for air and/or an aerosol. For example, an aerosol generated by the heating element <NUM> may be discharged in a direction toward the upper case through the airflow tube <NUM> and inhaled by the user. However, <FIG> only assumes that inhalation by the user is performed in a direction toward an upper end of the vaporizer <NUM>, and the form of the airflow tube <NUM> and the delivery path may be changed according to ways of designing the aerosol generation device and/or the airflow tube <NUM>.

Next, the liquid reservoir <NUM> may have a predetermined space provided therein, and the aerosol-generating substrate in a liquid state may be stored in the corresponding space. Also, the liquid reservoir <NUM> may supply the stored aerosol-generating substrate to the heating element <NUM> through the porous wick <NUM>.

Next, the wick housing <NUM> may refer to a housing that is disposed between the liquid reservoir <NUM> and the porous wick <NUM> and surrounds at least a portion of the porous wick <NUM>.

Next, the porous wick <NUM> may absorb the aerosol-generating substrate stored in the liquid reservoir <NUM> through a porous body and deliver the aerosol-generating substrate to the heating element <NUM>. Although <FIG> and <FIG> illustrate an example in which the porous wick <NUM> has a porous body having an H-like shape, the porous wick <NUM> may be designed and implemented in various other shapes.

In some embodiments, as illustrated in <FIG>, a body of the porous wick <NUM> may be formed by a plurality of beads. Since the size and distribution of pores may be uniform in the porous body implemented with the bead assembly, the uniformity in the liquid transport speed and the amount of transported liquid may be guaranteed. The present embodiment will be described in more detail below with reference to <FIG>.

Next, the heating element <NUM> may heat the liquid absorbed into the porous wick <NUM> to generate an aerosol.

In some embodiments, the heating element <NUM> may include a heating pattern having a planar form and a terminal configured to receive electricity from a battery (not illustrated) (see <FIG> or <FIG>). The heating pattern may be attached to or embedded in a lower portion of the body of the porous wick <NUM> and heat the absorbed liquid using a bottom heating method. In such a case, since the heating element <NUM> may evenly heat the liquid absorbed into the porous wick <NUM>, the amount of generated aerosol (that is, vapor production) may be significantly increased. The aerosol generated by heating may be inhaled by the user through the airflow tube <NUM> disposed in the upward direction.

In some embodiments, as illustrated in <FIG>, the heating element <NUM> may include a heating pattern <NUM> having a planar form, a terminal <NUM> configured to receive electricity from a battery (not illustrated), and a connecting member <NUM> configured to connect the heating pattern <NUM> and the terminal <NUM> to each other. The connecting member <NUM> may also serve to fix the heating element <NUM> to the body of the porous wick <NUM>. In such a case, it is possible to address a problem in which the heating element <NUM> attached to (or embedded in) the porous wick <NUM> is detached due to reasons such as damage to the wick or weakening of adhesion.

According to the claimed invention, the terminal <NUM> is disposed to come in close contact with both side surfaces of the body of the porous wick <NUM>. As illustrated in <FIG>, the terminal <NUM> protruding from both side surfaces of the body of the porous wick <NUM> is folded to come in close contact with the side surfaces. In such a case, since the space that the heating element occupies is reduced, the vaporizer <NUM> may be manufactured in a more compact form. Further, a problem in which the terminal <NUM> interferes with an air flow and causes a decrease in the amount of generated aerosol may be alleviated. For example, in a case in which the terminal protrudes downward (that is, toward the lower case <NUM>), the protruding terminal may interfere with an inflow of air through an air hole of the lower case, but such a problem may be prevented.

Also, in some embodiments, the heating pattern <NUM> may be embedded in the body of the porous wick <NUM>. For example, the heating pattern <NUM> may be embedded at a point that corresponds to a predetermined distance or depth from a surface of the porous body. An in-mold forming technique may be utilized to embed the heating pattern <NUM>, but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The present embodiment will be described in more detail below with reference to <FIG>.

The description of the components of the vaporizer <NUM> will be continued by referring back to <FIG> and <FIG>.

The lower case <NUM> is a housing disposed at a lower portion of the vaporizer <NUM> and may serve to support the lower portion of the vaporizer <NUM>, the porous wick <NUM>, the heating element <NUM>, and the like.

In some embodiments, an air hole or an airflow tube may be included in the lower case <NUM> to allow air to smoothly enter the heating element <NUM> (see <FIG>).

Also, in some embodiments, a connection terminal configured to electrically connect the terminal of the heating element <NUM> to the battery (not illustrated) may be included in the lower case <NUM> (see <FIG>).

The vaporizer <NUM> according to some embodiments of the present disclosure has been described above with reference to <FIG>. Hereinafter, a porous wick <NUM> based on a bead assembly according to some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to <FIG>.

<FIG> illustrates a process of manufacturing the porous wick <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG>, a plurality of beads <NUM> may be packed to manufacture the porous wick <NUM>. For example, the plurality of beads <NUM> may be sphere-packed and fired to form a body of the porous wick <NUM>. Examples of a bead packing structure may include a body-centered cubic (BCC) structure, a face-centered cubic (FCC) structure, and the like. However, various other packing structures may be utilized, and thus the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Since the BCC and FCC structure are widely known sphere packing structures in the art, description thereof will be omitted.

In a case in which the porous wick <NUM> is manufactured using a bead assembly, the porosity, pore size, pore distribution, and the like may be easily controlled on the basis of the bead size, packing method, and/or packing structure. For example, the porous wick <NUM> in which the porosity is higher than or equal to a reference value and pore distribution is uniform may be easily manufactured, and the manufactured porous wick may guarantee uniformity in the liquid transport speed and the amount of transported liquid.

The beads on which the porous wick <NUM> is based may be made of various materials. For example, the beads may be made of a ceramic, and ceramic beads may include glass ceramic beads or alumina ceramic beads. However, beads made of various other materials may be utilized, and thus the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the above-listed examples.

Meanwhile, since the bead size (e.g., diameter) is associated with the liquid transport speed and the yield load of the wick, it may be important to appropriately determine the bead size. For example, as in the experimental results shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, as the bead diameter increases, the liquid transport speed of the wick increases whereas the yield load of the wick decreases. This is because, as the bead diameter increases, the pore size increases while the number of beads per unit volume decreases, causing the number of contact interfaces during sintering to decrease. Therefore, in order to achieve both the proper yield load and proper liquid transport speed of the wick, it may be important to appropriately determine the bead size.

In some embodiments, the bead diameter may be in a range of <NUM> to <NUM>. Preferably, the bead diameter may be in a range of <NUM> to <NUM> or <NUM> to <NUM>. More preferably, the bead diameter may be in a range of <NUM> to <NUM>, <NUM> to <NUM>, <NUM> to <NUM>, <NUM> to <NUM>, <NUM> to <NUM>, <NUM> to <NUM>, or <NUM> to <NUM>. Within such numerical ranges, a porous wick having an appropriate yield load may be manufactured, and the liquid transport speed of the porous wick may also be improved as compared to a wick based on a fiber bundle.

Also, in some embodiments, the diameter distribution of the plurality of beads forming the porous wick <NUM> may have a tolerance that is within <NUM>% of an average diameter. Preferably, the diameter distribution of the plurality of beads may have a tolerance that is within <NUM>%, <NUM>%, or <NUM> %. More preferably, the diameter distribution of the plurality of beads may have a tolerance that is within <NUM>%, <NUM>%, <NUM>%, <NUM>%, <NUM>%, or <NUM>%. Still more preferably, the diameter distribution of the plurality of beads may have a tolerance that is within <NUM>%, <NUM>%, or <NUM>%. Since it is not easy to continuously manufacture beads having the same diameter, the cost required to manufacture the porous wick <NUM> and the level of difficulty of manufacture may be significantly reduced within the above tolerances. Furthermore, in a case in which the plurality of beads having the above tolerances are packed to manufacture the porous wick, a contact area between the beads increases, and thus an effect of improving the yield load of the wick may also be achieved.

In addition, the bead size and/or bead packing structure may be determined also on the basis of viscosity of a target aerosol-generating substrate. This is because, in order to guarantee a proper liquid transport speed for an aerosol-generating substrate having a high viscosity, there is a need to increase the porosity of the wick. Here, the target aerosol-generating substrate may refer to a substrate to be stored in a liquid reservoir. In some embodiments, a tolerance of the bead size may also be adjusted on the basis of the viscosity of the target aerosol-generating substrate. For example, in a case in which the viscosity of the target aerosol-generating substrate is higher than or equal to a reference value, the tolerance of the bead size may be reduced. This is because, when the tolerance of the bead size becomes smaller, the pore size increases and thus the liquid transport speed may increase. In the opposite case, the tolerance of the bead size may be increased.

In a case in which the porous wick <NUM> is implemented using the bead assembly, the following various advantages may be obtained.

The first advantage is that the porous wick in which the pore size and pore distribution are uniform may be easily manufactured and the variation in the quality of the wick may be minimized. Also, since the porous wick is able to guarantee uniformity in the liquid transport speed and the amount of transported liquid, a burnt taste or a wick damage phenomenon may also be minimized.

The second advantage is that physical characteristics (e.g., porosity, pore size, pore distribution, yield load) of the porous wick may be easily controlled. Since the physical characteristics of the porous wick are closely associated with the liquid transport ability (e.g., transport speed, transport amount), being easy to control the physical characteristics of the porous wick means that the liquid transport ability of the wick may be controlled. For example, controllable factors such as the bead size, bead packing method, and/or bead packing structure may be adjusted to control the liquid transport ability of the porous wick.

Meanwhile, the vapor production (that is, amount of generated aerosol) of the aerosol generation device depends on performance (e.g., heating value) of the heating element and the liquid transport ability of the wick. Even when the performance of the heating element is excellent, the liquid may burn out due to instantaneous liquid depletion when the liquid transport ability of the wick is poor. Also, in a case in which the liquid transport ability of the wick is superior to the performance of the heating element, a liquid failing to be vaporized may remain on the surface of the wick and cause a liquid leakage phenomenon. Therefore, it is important that the liquid transport ability of the wick and the performance of the heating element are controlled to be balanced, but while it is easy to control the performance of the heating element, it is not easy to control the liquid transport ability of the wick. In this respect, due to allowing the liquid transport ability to be easily controlled, the porous wick implemented using the bead assembly may improve the vapor production most effectively.

The porous wick <NUM> based on the bead assembly according to some embodiments of the present disclosure has been described above with reference to <FIG>. Hereinafter, a combination structure of the porous wick <NUM> and the heating element <NUM> will be described with reference to <FIG>.

<FIG> illustrates the combination structure of the porous wick <NUM> and the heating element <NUM> according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Although <FIG> illustrates the case in which the heating element <NUM> consists of the heating pattern <NUM>, the connecting member <NUM>, and the terminal <NUM>, this is merely to provide convenience of understanding, and the heating element <NUM> may also be implemented in other forms.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the heating element <NUM>, i.e., the heating pattern <NUM> and the connecting member <NUM>, may be embedded at a predetermined depth d from a surface of the body of the porous wick <NUM>. Although <FIG> illustrates an example in which the heating element <NUM> is embedded in a lower portion of the body of the porous wick <NUM>, this may vary according to the structure, heating method, and the like of the vaporizer <NUM>.

In some embodiments, the heating element <NUM> may be embedded at a position that is deviated in a specific direction from an intermediate point of the body of the porous wick <NUM>. For example, as illustrated in <FIG> or <FIG>, when the liquid reservoir <NUM> or the airflow tube <NUM> is disposed in a direction upward from the porous wick <NUM>, the heating element <NUM> may be embedded at a position deviated in the opposite direction (e.g., in a direction downward from the porous wick <NUM> in the case of <FIG>). In such a case, since the aerosol may be generated through heating in a state in which the liquid is sufficiently absorbed through the porous wick <NUM>, the amount of generated aerosol may be significantly increased.

Meanwhile, since the amount of generated aerosol and the risk of damage to the wick vary according to the embedding depth d, it may be important to appropriately determine the embedding depth d. For example, as it can be seen from the experimental results below, the closer the embedded heating element <NUM> is to the surface of the porous wick <NUM>, there may be a larger amount of generated aerosol, but the risk of damage to the porous wick <NUM> may also increase.

In some embodiments, the embedding depth d may be in a range of <NUM> to <NUM>. Preferably, the embedding depth d may be in a range of <NUM> to <NUM>, <NUM> to <NUM>, <NUM> to <NUM>, or <NUM> to <NUM>. Alternatively, preferably, the embedding depth d may be in a range of <NUM> to <NUM>, <NUM> to <NUM>, <NUM> to <NUM>, <NUM> to <NUM>, or <NUM> to <NUM>. These numerical ranges are due to the experimental results which will be described below, and it was confirmed that, when the heating pattern <NUM> and the porous wick <NUM> are combined within these numerical ranges, a sufficient amount of aerosol is generated and the risk of damage to the wick is reduced.

Hereinafter, the numerical ranges of the embedding depth d and effects according thereto will be further described through experimental examples. However, the following examples are merely some of various examples, and thus the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

The configurations of examples relating to the porous wick <NUM> and the heating element <NUM> are as shown in Table <NUM> below, and experimental results relating to the amount of generated aerosol and the degree of wick damage are shown in Table <NUM> and <FIG> show the cases in which the embedding depth d is <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>, respectively, and illustrate a state of the wick after <NUM>,<NUM> puffs are performed.

As shown in Table <NUM> and <FIG>, it can be seen that the closer the heating element <NUM> was to the surface of the body of the porous wick <NUM>, there was a larger amount of generated aerosol, but the risk of damage to the porous wick <NUM> also increased. In particular, in the case in which the heating element <NUM> was attached to the surface of the porous wick <NUM> (that is, completely exposed to the surface) according to Example <NUM>, the heating element <NUM> was detached from the porous wick <NUM>, and carbonization of the liquid also occurred. This was due to weakening of adhesion to the porous wick <NUM> that was caused by thermal contraction/expansion of the heating element <NUM>, and it was confirmed that, at a point in time at which the adhesion weakened, the heating pattern was overheated and thus the carbonization of the liquid occurred.

Also, it can be seen that the deeper the heating element <NUM> was embedded to the body of the porous wick <NUM>, the smaller the amount of generated aerosol was. This is because the deeper the heating element <NUM> is embedded, the larger the quantity of heat required to heat surrounding portions of the porous wick <NUM>. Further, it was confirmed that, as the amount of generated aerosol decreased, the liquid transport was not smoothly performed, and thus the carbonization of the liquid occurred (refer to Example <NUM>).

The combination structure of the porous wick <NUM> and the heating element <NUM> has been described above with reference to <FIG>. Hereinafter, aerosol generation devices <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-<NUM> to which the vaporizer <NUM> according to an embodiment may be applied will be described with reference to <FIG>.

<FIG> are exemplary block diagrams illustrating the aerosol generation devices <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-<NUM>. Specifically, <FIG> illustrates a liquid-type aerosol generation device <NUM>-<NUM>, and <FIG> illustrate hybrid-type aerosol generation devices <NUM>-<NUM> and <NUM>-<NUM> that use a liquid and a cigarette together.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the aerosol generation device <NUM>-<NUM> may include a mouthpiece <NUM>, the vaporizer <NUM>, a battery <NUM>, and a controller <NUM>. However, this is merely a preferred embodiment for achieving the objectives of the present disclosure, and of course, some components may be added or omitted as necessary. Also, the components of the aerosol generation device <NUM>-<NUM> illustrated in <FIG> represent functional components that are functionally distinct, and the plurality of components may be implemented to be integrated with each other in an actual physical environment, or a single component may be implemented to be divided into a plurality of specific functional components. Hereinafter, each component of the aerosol generation device <NUM>-<NUM> will be described.

The mouthpiece <NUM> may be disposed at one end of the aerosol generation device <NUM>-<NUM> and come in contact with an oral region of a user so that the user may inhale an aerosol generated from the vaporizer <NUM>. In some embodiments, the mouthpiece <NUM> may be a component of the vaporizer <NUM>.

Next, the vaporizer <NUM> may vaporize an aerosol-generating substrate in a liquid state to generate an aerosol. In order to avoid repeated description, the description of the vaporizer <NUM> will be omitted.

Next, the battery <NUM> may supply power used to operate the aerosol generation device <NUM>-<NUM>. For example, the battery <NUM> may supply power to allow the heating element <NUM> of the vaporizer <NUM> to heat an aerosol-generating substrate and may supply power required for the controller <NUM> to operate.

Also, the battery <NUM> may supply power required to operate electrical components such as a display (not illustrated), a sensor (not illustrated), and a motor (not illustrated) which are installed in the aerosol generation device <NUM>-<NUM>.

Next, the controller <NUM> may control the overall operation of the aerosol generation device <NUM>-<NUM>. For example, the controller <NUM> may control the operation of the vaporizer <NUM> and the battery <NUM> and also control the operation of other components included in the aerosol generation device <NUM>-<NUM>. The controller <NUM> may control power supplied by the battery <NUM>, a heating temperature of the heating element <NUM> included in the vaporizer <NUM>, and the like. Also, the controller <NUM> may check a state of each component of the aerosol generation device <NUM>-<NUM> and determine whether the aerosol generation device <NUM>-<NUM> is in an operable state.

The controller <NUM> may be implemented by at least one processor. The processor may also be implemented with an array of a plurality of logic gates or implemented with a combination of a general-purpose microprocessor and a memory which stores a program that may be executed by the microprocessor. Also, those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains should understand that the controller <NUM> may also be implemented with other forms of hardware.

Meanwhile, in some embodiments, the aerosol generation device <NUM>-<NUM> may further include an input unit (not illustrated) to receive a user input. The input unit may be implemented with a switch or a button, but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In the present embodiment, the controller <NUM> may control the aerosol generation device <NUM>-<NUM> in response to a user input received through the input unit. For example, the controller <NUM> may control the aerosol generation device <NUM>-<NUM> to generate an aerosol as the user operates a switch or a button.

Hereinafter, the hybrid-type aerosol generation devices <NUM>-<NUM> and <NUM>-<NUM> will be briefly described with reference to <FIG>.

<FIG> illustrates the aerosol generation device <NUM>-<NUM> in which the vaporizer <NUM> and a cigarette <NUM> are arranged in parallel, and <FIG> illustrates the aerosol generation device <NUM>-<NUM> in which the vaporizer <NUM> and the cigarette <NUM> are arranged in series. However, the inner structures of the aerosol generation devices to which the vaporizer <NUM> according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is applied are not limited to those illustrated in <FIG>, and the arrangement of the components may be changed according to design methods.

In <FIG>, a heater <NUM> may be disposed around the cigarette <NUM> to heat the cigarette <NUM>. For example, the heater <NUM> may be an electric resistive heater but is not limited thereto. The heater <NUM> or a heating temperature of the heater <NUM> may be controlled by the controller <NUM>. The aerosol generated by the vaporizer <NUM> may pass through the cigarette <NUM> and be inhaled into the oral region of the user.

Various types of aerosol generation devices <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-<NUM> to which the vaporizer <NUM> according to some embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied have been described above with reference to <FIG>.

Claim 1:
A vaporizer (<NUM>) comprising:
a porous wick (<NUM>) configured to absorb an aerosol-generating substrate in a liquid state through a porous body; and
a heating element (<NUM>) which includes a heating pattern (<NUM>) having a planar form that is embedded in the porous body and which is configured to heat the absorbed aerosol-generating substrate through the heating pattern (<NUM>) to generate an aerosol,
wherein:
the heating element (<NUM>) further includes one or more terminals (<NUM>) electrically connected to the heating pattern (<NUM>) and a battery (<NUM>),
the one or more terminals (<NUM>) protrude from both side surfaces of the porous body of the porous wick (<NUM>), and characterised in that:
the one or more terminals (<NUM>) are folded to come in close contact with one side surface of the porous body.