Patent Description:
This application relates to the technical field of cigarette devices, and in particular, to an aerosol generation device and a heater.

During use of smoking objects such as a cigarette or a cigar, tobaccos are burnt to generate vapor. A product that releases compounds without burning has been tried to provide an alternative for the objects that burn the tobaccos. An example of the products is a heat-not-burn product, which releases compounds by heating the tobaccos rather than burning the tobaccos. An aerosol generating apparatus and heater are known from <CIT>.

The existing aerosol generation device uses a ceramic base body to heat a cigarette. Specifically, a heating wire is arranged in a ceramic tube. After the heating wire is energized, heat generated is conducted to the ceramic tube, and the ceramic tube further heats the cigarette. The aerosol generation device has the following problems: a poor heating effect of the ceramic base body, insufficient release of components in the cigarette, and poor inhaling experience of users.

This application provides an aerosol generation device and a heater, to resolve the problem of poor heating effect of a ceramic base body in the existing aerosol generation device.

According to an aspect, this application provides an aerosol generation device, including a chamber, a heater, and a core.

In an optional implementation, the first electrode and the second electrode each have a first end and a second end opposite to the first end; and
the first electrode and the second electrode both extend from the distal end of the base body to the proximal end, and the first end stops in the closed space to form a free end, and the second end is exposed outside the base body at the distal end of the base body.

In an optional implementation, a part of the first electrode and a part of the second electrode accommodated in the closed space are arranged substantially in parallel.

In an optional implementation, the part of the first electrode has at least one first surface facing the part of the second electrode, and the at least one first surface is constructed as a blade or as a rough surface; and/or
the part of the second electrode has at least one second surface facing the part of the first electrode, and the at least one second surface is constructed as a blade or as a rough surface.

In an optional implementation, a first end of the first electrode and a first end of the second electrode are both in the shape of a needle.

In an optional implementation, lengths of the part of the first electrode and the part of the second electrode are both between one-half and two-thirds of a length dimension of the base body.

In an optional implementation, the first electrode and the second electrode are both made of a high-temperature resistant metal material, and the high-temperature resistant metal material is selected from at least one of the following: tungsten, molybdenum, tantalum, niobium, vanadium, chromium, titanium, and zirconium.

In an optional implementation, the base body is made of a high-temperature resistant and transparent material to transfer the heat to the aerosol-forming substrate by conduction and/or radiation.

In an optional implementation, the high-temperature resistant and transparent material includes at least one of quartz, ceramic, and mica.

In an optional implementation, the working gas includes a rare gas with an air pressure in a range of <NUM> Pa to one atmosphere.

In an optional implementation, the aerosol generation device further includes a temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature of the heater, where the temperature sensor is held on the base body.

According to another aspect, this application provides a heater for an aerosol generation device, and the heater includes:.

Through the aerosol generation device and the heater provided by this application, a plasma is formed through ionization to generate heat to heat the aerosol-forming substrate. In this way, a cigarette can be effectively heated, so that components in the cigarette can be fully released, thereby improving inhalation experience of users.

One or more embodiments are exemplarily described with reference to the corresponding figures in the accompanying drawings, and the descriptions are not to be construed as limiting the embodiments. Elements in the accompanying drawings that have same reference numerals are represented as similar elements, and unless otherwise particularly stated, the figures in the accompanying drawings are not drawn to scale.

For ease of understanding of this application, this application is described below in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific implementations. It should be noted that when an element is expressed as "being fixed to "another element, the element may be directly on the another element, or one or more intermediate elements may exist between the element and the another element. When one element is expressed as "being connected to" another element, the element may be directly connected to the another element, or one or more intermediate elements may exist between the element and the another element. The terms "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "inner", "outer", and similar expressions used in this specification are merely used for an illustrative purpose.

Unless otherwise defined, meanings of all technical and scientific terms used in this specification are the same as that usually understood by a person skilled in the technical field to which this application belongs. The terms used in this specification of this application are merely intended to describe objectives of the specific implementations, and are not intended to limit this application. A term "and/or" used in this specification includes any or all combinations of one or more related listed items.

<FIG> and <FIG> show an aerosol generation device <NUM> according to an implementation of this application, and the device includes: a chamber <NUM>, a heater <NUM>, and a core <NUM>, and a circuit <NUM>. The chamber <NUM> is configured to receive an aerosol-forming substrate. It may be understood that the aerosol-forming substrate may be a part of an aerosol generating product <NUM>.

The aerosol-forming substrate is a substrate that can release volatile compounds forming an aerosol. The volatile compound may be released by heating the aerosol-forming substrate. The aerosol-forming substrate may be solid, liquid, or components including solid and liquid. The aerosol-forming substrate may be loaded onto a carrier or a support through adsorbing, coating, impregnating, or in other manners.

The aerosol-forming substrate may include nicotine. The aerosol-forming substrate may include tobaccos, for example, may include a tobacco-contained material including volatile tobacco-aroma compounds, and the volatile tobacco-aroma compounds are released from the aerosol-forming substrate when the aerosol-forming substrate is heated. Preferably, the preferred aerosol-forming substrate may include a homogeneous tobacco material. The aerosol-forming substrate may include at least one aerosol-forming agent, and the aerosol-forming agent may be any suitable known compound or a mixture of compounds. During use, the compound or the mixture of compounds facilitates to compact and stabilize formation of the aerosol and is substantially resistant to thermal degradation at an operating temperature of an aerosol-forming system. Suitable aerosol-forming agents are well known in the related art and include, but are not limited to: polyol, such as triethylene glycol, <NUM>, <NUM>-butanediol, and glycerol; polyol ester, such as glycerol acetate, glycerol diacetate, or glycerol triacetate; and fatty acid ester of monobasic carboxylic acid, dibasic carboxylic acid, or polybasic carboxylic acid, such as dimethyl dodecane dibasic ester and dimethyl tetradecane dibasic ester. Preferably, the aerosol forming agent is polyhydric alcohols or a mixture thereof, such as triethylene glycol, <NUM>,<NUM>-butanediol, or most preferably, glycerol.

The heater <NUM> is construed to be inserted into the aerosol-forming substrate received in the chamber <NUM>, to heat the aerosol-forming substrate received in the chamber <NUM>.

The core <NUM> supplies power for operating the aerosol generation device <NUM>. For example, the core <NUM> may supply power to heat the heater <NUM>. In addition, the core <NUM> may supply power for operating other components provided in the aerosol generation device <NUM>. The core <NUM> may be a rechargeable battery or a disposable battery.

The circuit <NUM> may control overall operations of the aerosol generation device <NUM>. The circuit <NUM> not only controls operations of the core <NUM> and the heater <NUM>, but also controls operations of other components in the aerosol generation device <NUM>. For example, the circuit <NUM> obtains temperature information of the heater <NUM> that is sensed by a temperature sensor <NUM>, and controls, based on the information, power supplied to the heater <NUM> by the core <NUM>.

<FIG> and <FIG> show a heater according to an implementation of this application. The heater <NUM> includes an elongated base body <NUM> and a conductive element. A part of the conductive element is accommodated inside the base body <NUM>, and another part of the conductive element extends from inside of the base body <NUM> to outside of the base body <NUM>.

In this example, the base body <NUM> has a proximal end <NUM>, a distal end <NUM>, and a closed space <NUM> formed inside the base body <NUM>.

The base body <NUM> extends longitudinally from the proximal end <NUM> to the distal end <NUM>, and is generally rod-shaped or columnar, preferably cylindrical. The proximal end <NUM> protrudes to be in a conical shape and is configured to be conveniently insert into the aerosol-forming substrate. The temperature sensor <NUM> is held on an outer surface of the base body <NUM>, and the holding manner is not limited here, and reference can be made to the prior art. For example, the temperature sensor can be fixed to the outer surface of the base body <NUM> by a high -temperature resistant adhesive material.

The base body <NUM> is made of a material with good thermal conductivity and high-temperature resistance. Preferably, the base body <NUM> is made of a high-temperature resistant and transparent material to transfer the heat to the aerosol-forming substrate by conduction and/or radiation. Specifically, the high-temperature resistant and transparent material includes but is not limited to quartz, ceramic, and mica. In this example, the base body <NUM> is made of a quartz material. The quartz material has low surface free energy, and residue does not easily adhere to an outer surface of the quartz glass, so that the quartz glass is easy to clean.

The closed space <NUM> is filled with a working gas. The working gas may be a mixed gas or a non-mixed gas. In this example, the working gas includes a rare gas with an air pressure in a range of <NUM> Pa to one atmosphere, for example, Neon (Ne), argon (Ar), and the like.

The conductive element includes a first electrode <NUM> and a second electrode <NUM> spaced apart from each other. The first electrode <NUM> and the second electrode <NUM> are both made of a high-temperature resistant metal material, and the high-temperature resistant metal material includes but is not limited to tungsten, molybdenum, tantalum, niobium, vanadium, chromium, titanium, zirconium, and the like.

The first electrode <NUM> and the second electrode <NUM> are both partially accommodated in the closed space <NUM> and extend from the closed space <NUM> to outside of the base body <NUM>. Specifically, the first electrode <NUM> and the second electrode <NUM> each have a first end and a second end opposite to the first end. The first electrode <NUM> and the second electrode <NUM> both extend from the distal end of the base body <NUM> to the proximal end, and the first end of the first electrode <NUM> and the first end of the second electrode <NUM> stops in the closed space <NUM> to form a free end. Both the second end of the first electrode <NUM> and the second end of the second electrode <NUM> are exposed outside the base body <NUM> at the distal end of the base body <NUM>.

The second end of the first electrode <NUM> and the second end of the second electrode <NUM> are configured to couple the core <NUM>. Under an action of electric power provided by the core <NUM>, an electric field is generated between the first electrode <NUM> and the second electrode <NUM>. The working gas filled in the closed space <NUM> can be ionized to form a plasma under an action of the electric field to generate heat, and then heat the aerosol-forming substrate by conduction and/or radiation.

Still referring to <FIG>, in order to increase an electric field strength between the first electrode <NUM> and the second electrode <NUM>, the first end of the first electrode <NUM> and the first end of the second electrode <NUM> are both in the shape of a needle. In this way, the charge at a needle tip can be particularly dense, the electric field strength in the vicinity thereof can be increased, and the working gas filled in the closed space <NUM> can be ionized more conveniently.

Further, length of the part of the first electrode <NUM> and the part of the second electrode <NUM> accommodated in the closed space <NUM> is between one-half and two-thirds of a length dimension of the base body <NUM>. The first electrode <NUM> is used as an example. A length of the part the first electrode <NUM> accommodated in the closed space <NUM> is h1, a length of the base body <NUM> is h2, where h1 is between about one-half and two-thirds of h2. In this way, when the working gas filled in the closed space <NUM> is ionized by a strong electric field at the needle tip, the heat is mainly concentrated at the proximal end of the base body <NUM>, and then the aerosol-forming substrate at the proximal end of the base body <NUM> is heated to improve heating rate and user experience.

Referring to <FIG>, in another example, a part of the first electrode <NUM> and a part of the second electrode <NUM> accommodated in the closed space <NUM> are arranged substantially in parallel. The part of the first electrode <NUM> and the part of the second electrode <NUM> arranged substantially in parallel facilitates generation of a substantially uniform electric field between the first electrode <NUM> and the second electrode <NUM>. The working gas filled in the closed space <NUM> can be ionized to form a plasma under an action of this uniform electric field to generate heat. Further, in this example, in order to increase the electric field strength between the first electrode <NUM> and the second electrode <NUM>, a surface 122a of part of the first electrode <NUM> facing part of the second electrode <NUM> is a blade, and a surface 123a of part of the second electrode <NUM> facing part of the first electrode <NUM> is also a blade. In this way, the working gas filled in the closed space <NUM> is rapidly ionized by a strong electric field between the blade-shaped surfaces. The number of surfaces 122a of the first electrode <NUM> or the surfaces 123a of the second electrode <NUM> is not limited here.

Referring to <FIG>, in still another example, a part of the first electrode <NUM> and a part of the second electrode <NUM> accommodated in the closed space <NUM> are arranged substantially in parallel. In order to increase the electric field strength between the first electrode <NUM> and the second electrode <NUM>, a surface 122b of part of the first electrode <NUM> facing part of the second electrode <NUM> is a rough surface, and a surface 123b of part of the second electrode <NUM> facing part of the first electrode <NUM> is also a rough surface. The rough surface may be an irregular rough surface, which may be formed by a conventional machining method, for example, prepared by mechanical polishing or chemical etching or laser ablation. In this way, the working gas filled in the closed space <NUM> is rapidly ionized by a strong electric field between the rough surfaces.

Claim 1:
A heater (<NUM>) for an aerosol generation device (<NUM>), characterized in comprising:
an elongated base body (<NUM>), having a proximal end (<NUM>), a distal end (<NUM>), and a closed space (<NUM>) formed inside the base body (<NUM>), wherein the closed space (<NUM>) is filled with a working gas; and
a first electrode (<NUM>) and a second electrode (<NUM>) spaced apart from each other, wherein the first electrode (<NUM>) and the second electrode (<NUM>) are both partially accommodated in the closed space (<NUM>) and extend from the closed space (<NUM>) to outside of the base body (<NUM>), and the first electrode (<NUM>) and the second electrode (<NUM>) are configured to receive electric power to generate an electric field between the first electrode (<NUM>) and the second electrode (<NUM>); and
the working gas is ionized to form a plasma under an action of the electric field to generate heat.