Patent Description:
People care more and more about their health. Damage of traditional tobacco to human body has been more and more noticed. Thus, electronic cigarettes have been created. An electronic cigarette has similar appearance and smell as a traditional cigarette, but usually does not contain harmful ingredients such as tar, harmful aerosol etc. Accordingly, damage of 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.

An electronic cigarette is usually composed of an atomizer and a battery assembly. In related art, the heating assembly of the atomizer of electronic cigarette usually consists of a fiber rope and a heating coil wrapping around the fiber rope. In a <CIT>, an electronic cigarette is disclosed and includes an atomizing element including a porous body. The porous body defines liquid tunnels and smoke tunnels and used as a liquid guiding member. The porous body is integrated.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an atomizer according to claim <NUM> and an electronic cigarette according to claim <NUM>.

Further preferred embodiments of the invention are provided in clams <NUM>-<NUM>.

In order to clearly explain the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure, 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.

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.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG> show the inner structure of an atomizer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The atomizer may include a shell <NUM> and a heating assembly <NUM>.

The shell <NUM> may define a smoke outlet <NUM>, a liquid cavity <NUM> and a atomizing chamber <NUM> separated from each other. The liquid cavity <NUM> may be capable of storing a fluid to be vaporized, e.g., liquid smoke. The smoke outlet <NUM> may communicate with environment outside of the shell <NUM>, such that a user of the atomizer may suck the smoke generated inside the shell <NUM> through the smoke outlet <NUM>.

The heating assembly <NUM> may be located inside the shell <NUM>. The heating assembly <NUM> may separate the smoke outlet <NUM> and the liquid cavity <NUM> from the atomizing chamber <NUM>. The heating assembly <NUM> may include a cover <NUM>, a liquid guiding member <NUM> and a heating component <NUM>.

Referring also to <FIG>, the cover <NUM> may be an integral structure. That is, the cover <NUM> may be a single piece. It may define a liquid tunnel <NUM> and a smoke tunnel <NUM>. The liquid tunnel <NUM> may communicate with the liquid cavity <NUM> and extend to the liquid guiding member <NUM>. It should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art, although two liquid tunnels <NUM> and one smoke tunnel <NUM> are illustrated in the figures, the number of the liquid tunnel <NUM> and the smoke tunnel <NUM> is not limited. For example, the number of the liquid tunnel <NUM> may be one, two, three or more. By setting multiple liquid tunnels <NUM>, fluid from the liquid tunnels <NUM> may be more evenly distributed on the surface of the liquid guiding member <NUM>, thereby avoiding overheat in a certain portion of the liquid guiding member <NUM>. The smoke outlet <NUM> may communicate with the atomizing chamber <NUM> via the smoke tunnel <NUM>. In some embodiments, the cross-section of the liquid tunnel <NUM> may have a non-circular configuration. For example, the cross-section of the liquid tunnel <NUM> may be elliptical, rectangular, triangular or have an irregular shape. In this way, the liquid film which may block the liquid tunnel <NUM> is not likely to occur.

The liquid guiding member <NUM> may be configured to transport the fluid from the liquid tunnel <NUM> to the atomizing chamber <NUM>, and to heat the fluid to generate smoke in the atomizing chamber <NUM>. The fluid from the liquid cavity <NUM> may pass through the liquid tunnel <NUM> and penetrate the liquid guiding member <NUM> under capillary action. During the penetration of the liquid guiding member <NUM>, the fluid may be heated by the liquid guiding member <NUM> (since the liquid guiding member <NUM> is heated by the heating component <NUM>) and be vaporized into smoke. Thus, smoke can be generated in the atomizing chamber <NUM>.

The heating component <NUM> may be connected with the liquid guiding member <NUM>. It may be utilized to heat the liquid guiding member <NUM> when powered. The heating component <NUM> may be a heating coating, a heating circuitry, a heating plate or any other suitable heating structure, which is not limited in the present disclosure.

According to the present disclosure, fluid stored in the liquid cavity <NUM> may arrive at the liquid guiding member <NUM> through the liquid tunnel <NUM>. Then the fluid may penetrate the liquid guiding member <NUM> and be vaporized by the liquid guiding member <NUM> to generate smoke in the atomizing chamber <NUM>. The smoke may then exit from the smoke tunnel <NUM> and the smoke outlet <NUM> which are interconnected together with the atomizing chamber <NUM> when a user uses the atomizer. The cover <NUM> of the atomizer is an integral structure, which may improve the sealing of the device and facilitate the installation of the device. The liquid tunnel <NUM> and the smoke tunnel <NUM> are both defined in the cover <NUM>, which may make the inner structure of the atomizer more impact.

The liquid guiding member <NUM> may be a porous body, a liquid guiding rope, a guiding tube without hole, and the like. In some embodiments, the liquid guiding member <NUM> may include porous ceramic. A porous ceramic may generally be formed by using sintering process with aggregate, binder and pore-forming material. The porous ceramic is now used for wide variety of industrial applications from filtration, absorption, catalysts, and catalyst supports to lightweight structural components. A lot of pores interconnected with each other exist in the porous ceramic such that the liquid guiding member <NUM> made of porous ceramic may be capable of transporting the fluid (or smoke) from one of its surfaces to another. In some embodiments, the liquid tunnel <NUM> may extend to a first surface <NUM> (show in <FIG>) of the liquid guiding member <NUM>, and a second surface <NUM> (shown in <FIG>) of the liquid guiding member <NUM> may be at least partially exposed in the atomizing chamber <NUM>. Thus, the liquid guiding member may be capable of transporting the fluid arriving at the first surface <NUM> to the second surface <NUM> and the atomizing chamber <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>, in some embodiments, the liquid guiding member <NUM> may define a groove <NUM> through the first surface <NUM> of the liquid guiding member <NUM>. That is, the groove <NUM> may be defined at a side of the liquid guiding member <NUM> which is close to the liquid tunnel <NUM>. The groove <NUM> may be interconnected with the liquid tunnel <NUM>. Optionally, the size of the groove <NUM> may gradually decrease along the thickness direction of the liquid guiding member <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. When fluid from the liquid cavity <NUM> arrives at the liquid guiding member <NUM>, the fluid may be temporarily stored in the groove <NUM>. Thus, the contact area between the fluid and the liquid guiding member <NUM> may be increased, thereby increasing the diffusion speed of the fluid in the liquid guiding member <NUM>. Furthermore, the implementation of the groove <NUM> may reduce the overall thickness of the liquid guiding member <NUM>, thus reducing the flow resistance of the liquid guiding member <NUM>.

In some embodiments, the cover <NUM> may cover the first surface <NUM> and one portion of the second surface <NUM> of the liquid guiding member <NUM>. In this situation, another portion of the second surface <NUM> of the liquid guiding member <NUM> may be exposed in the atomizing chamber <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>. Specifically, the cover <NUM> may define an accommodating space <NUM> (as shown in <FIG>) the opening of which faces towards the liquid guiding member <NUM>. The liquid guiding member <NUM> may be partially received in the accommodating space <NUM>. In this circumstance, a portion of the second surface <NUM> of the liquid guiding member <NUM> is covered by the side wall of the cover <NUM> while another portion is not. Fluid from the liquid cavity <NUM> (or smoke generated inside the liquid guiding member <NUM>) may exit from the uncovered portion of the second surface <NUM>.

In some embodiments, the heating assembly <NUM> may further include a sealing component <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>. The sealing component <NUM> may be engaged between the cover <NUM> and the liquid guiding member <NUM>. The sealing component <NUM> may define a through hole <NUM> extending from the liquid tunnel <NUM> to the first surface <NUM> of the liquid guiding member <NUM> such that the liquid tunnel <NUM> may still be interconnected with the first surface <NUM> of the liquid guiding member <NUM>. The size and shape of the through hole <NUM> may correspond to those of the liquid tunnel <NUM> or the groove <NUM>. Optionally, the sealing component <NUM> may be made of silicone. Since silicone may have high absorbability, high heat stability, steady chemical performance and high mechanical strength, the usage of silicone may make sure that the cover <NUM> and the liquid guiding member <NUM> are well sealed. The implementation of the sealing component <NUM> may prevent leakage between the cover <NUM> and the liquid guiding member <NUM>. Specifically, the sealing component <NUM> may prevent fluid from entering the atomizing chamber <NUM> without passing through the liquid guiding member <NUM>, and prevent smoke in the atomizing chamber <NUM> from coming back into the liquid tunnel <NUM> and the liquid cavity <NUM>.

In some embodiments, the first surface <NUM> may be the top surface of the liquid guiding member <NUM>, and the second surface <NUM> may be a side surface adjacent to the top surface of the liquid guiding member <NUM>. In this embodiment, the heating component <NUM> may be arranged on the bottom surface adjacent to the side surface (and opposite to the top surface) of the liquid guiding member <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, in some embodiments, the smoke tunnel <NUM> of the cover <NUM> may be divided into a first sub-tunnel <NUM> and a second sub-tunnel <NUM>. The first sub-tunnel <NUM> may be opened from the upper surface of the cover <NUM>, and communicate with the smoke outlet <NUM>. The second sub-tunnel <NUM> may be opened from the side surface of the cover <NUM>, and further communicate with the atomizing chamber <NUM>. The generated smoke may be allowed to enter the smoke tunnel <NUM> from the second sub-tunnel <NUM>, and further exit from the first sub-tunnel <NUM>. In some embodiments, the extending direction of the first sub-tunnel <NUM> may be substantially same as the extending direction of the smoke outlet <NUM>, and the extending direction of the second sub-tunnel <NUM> may be different from the extending direction of the first sub-tunnel <NUM>.

As further shown in <FIG>, the cover <NUM> may further include a first side surface 21a and a second side surface 21b opposite to the first side surface 21a. The second sub-tunnel <NUM> may extend through the cover <NUM> from the first side surface 21a to the second side surface 21b. Further, in some embodiments, as shown in <FIG>, the cover <NUM> may further include four inner walls 2122a connected end to end such that the second sub-tunnel <NUM> may be formed or surrounded by these four inner walls 2122a.

Optionally, the extending direction of the second sub-tunnel <NUM> may be substantially perpendicular to the extending direction of the first sub-tunnel <NUM>. In other words, the smoke tunnel <NUM> may be opened from the upper surface of the cover <NUM>, and further extend through the first side surface 21a of the cover <NUM> and the second side surface 21b. The gap between the side surface of the cover <NUM> and the inner surface of the shell <NUM> may form part of the atomizing chamber <NUM>. Since the extending directions of the first and second sub-tunnels <NUM> and <NUM> are not the same, the speed and the temperature of the smoke may be reduced in the smoke tunnel <NUM>. Thus, the smoke exiting from the smoke outlet <NUM> and sucked by the user of the atomizer may be reduced to a proper temperature.

Referring to <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>, in some embodiment, the heating assembly <NUM> may further include a chassis <NUM>. The chassis <NUM> may be engaged inside the shell <NUM>, and located at one side of the liquid guiding member <NUM> opposite to the first surface <NUM>. The chassis <NUM> may be utilized to support the liquid guiding member <NUM> and the cover <NUM>. For example, the chassis <NUM> and the cover <NUM> may both be engaged in the shell, and may cooperatively fix the liquid guiding member <NUM> therebetween. Thus, the heating assembly <NUM> is not allowed to move with respect to the shell <NUM>.

In some embodiments, the chassis <NUM> may include a bottom wall <NUM> and a side wall <NUM> connected together. The side wall <NUM> and the bottom wall <NUM> may cooperatively define an installation space <NUM> for receiving part of the liquid guiding member <NUM> and part of the cover <NUM>. In other words, when the cover <NUM>, the liquid guiding member <NUM> and the chassis <NUM> are assembled, part of the cover <NUM> and part of the liquid guiding member <NUM> may be located in the installation space <NUM> defined in the chassis <NUM>. In this circumstance, a portion of the installation space <NUM> is not occupied, and this portion of the installation space <NUM> is also part of the atomizing chamber <NUM> inside the shell <NUM>. Optionally, the side wall <NUM> of the chassis <NUM> and the cover <NUM> may be connected by clamping. Specifically, a slot <NUM> may be defined in the side wall <NUM> of the chassis <NUM>, and a clip <NUM> corresponding to the slot <NUM> may be formed on the outer surface of the cover <NUM>. The clip <NUM> matches the slot <NUM> such that the cover <NUM> may be fixed with the chassis <NUM>. It should be understood, the chassis <NUM> and the cover <NUM> may be assembled in other ways in different embodiments.

In some embodiments, the bottom wall <NUM> of the chassis <NUM> may define at least one air entering hole <NUM> extending therethrough. The air entering hole <NUM> may communicate with the installation space <NUM>. In other words, the air entering hole <NUM> may communicate with the atomizing chamber <NUM>. At the same time, the other end of the air entering hole <NUM> may be interconnected with an air pipe (not shown). For example, the air pipe may have an opening formed in the side wall, top wall or bottom wall of the vaporization device. Air entering from the air entering hole <NUM> may be mixed with smoke in the atomizing chamber <NUM>, and then exit from the smoke outlet <NUM>. By properly adjusting the size and shape of the air pipe and the air entering hole <NUM>, the ratio of the smoke to the air in the mixture generated may be controlled. Those of ordinary skill in the art should understand, the air entering hole and the air pipe may adopt any suitable arrangement, which is not limited in the present disclosure. For example, as shown in <FIG>, there may be set six air entering holes which are radially arranged.

In some embodiments, the diameter of the air entering hole(s) <NUM> may be no larger than <NUM>. Experiments show that as long as the diameter of the air entering hole <NUM> does not exceed <NUM>, fluid (if exists) leaking into the atomizing chamber <NUM> or formed by the condensation of smoke will not probably block the air entering hole <NUM>. Thus, the reliability of the atomizer may be improved.

In some embodiments, the bottom wall <NUM> may further define an installation hole <NUM>. The installation hole <NUM> may be utilized for the installation of an electrode. The electrode may be utilized to connect the heating component <NUM> with an external battery.

Referring to <FIG>, the atomizer may further include a battery assembly <NUM>. The battery assembly <NUM> may be disposed at and connected to one end of the shell <NUM> close to the heating component <NUM>. The battery assembly <NUM> may be utilized to provide power to the heating component <NUM>. Thus, the heating component <NUM> is capable of heating the liquid guiding member <NUM> when necessary.

In some embodiments, the shell <NUM> and the battery assembly <NUM> may be connected together by a magnet <NUM> disposed therebetween. The magnet <NUM> may connect the battery assembly <NUM> and the shell <NUM> with magnetic force.

As shown in <FIG>, the battery assembly <NUM> may include a battery <NUM> and an air flow controller <NUM>. The battery <NUM> may be utilized for powering the heating component <NUM> in the shell <NUM>. The air flow controller <NUM> may be set in the path between the air entering hole <NUM> and the outside environment. It is utilized to open the air flow path when the user uses the atomizer, and to close the air flow path when the user does not. Specifically, when a pressure drop is detected by the air flow controller <NUM>, the air flow controller <NUM> may determine that the user is using the atomizer and may accordingly open the air flow path. Thus, air may enter into the atomizing chamber <NUM>, be mixed with smoke and be provided to the user.

In another aspect, the present disclosure further provides an electronic cigarette. The electronic cigarette may include the atomizer of any embodiment described above. In operation, liquid smoke may be put in the liquid cavity <NUM>. When a user uses the electronic cigarette, the liquid smoke may pass through the liquid tunnel <NUM> and arrive at the liquid guiding member <NUM>, and then penetrate the liquid guiding member <NUM> under capillary action. During this process, the liquid smoke may be heated by the liquid guiding member <NUM> and the heating component <NUM> such that smoke may be generated in the atomizing chamber <NUM>. The smoke in the atomizing chamber <NUM> may exit from the smoke tunnel <NUM> and the smoke outlet <NUM> interconnected with the atomizing chamber <NUM>, and then be provided to the user. For simplicity and brevity, the structure of the electronic cigarette will not be repeated herein.

Claim 1:
An atomizer, comprising:
a shell (<NUM>) defining a smoke outlet (<NUM>), a liquid cavity (<NUM>) and an atomizing chamber (<NUM>), wherein the liquid cavity (<NUM>) is capable of storing a fluid to be vaporized, the smoke outlet (<NUM>) communicates with environment outside of the shell (<NUM>); and
a heating assembly (<NUM>) separating the smoke outlet (<NUM>) and the liquid cavity (<NUM>) from the atomizing chamber (<NUM>), and comprising a liquid guiding member (<NUM>), a cover (<NUM>), a heating component (<NUM>) and a sealing component (<NUM>) engaged between the cover (<NUM>) and the liquid guiding member (<NUM>);
wherein the cover (<NUM>) is an integral structure defining a liquid tunnel (<NUM>) and a smoke tunnel (<NUM>), the liquid tunnel (<NUM>) communicates with the liquid cavity (<NUM>) and extends to the first surface (<NUM>) of the liquid guiding member (<NUM>), the cover (<NUM>) defines an accommodating space (<NUM>), an opening of the accommodating space (<NUM>) faces towards the liquid guiding member (<NUM>), and the liquid guiding member (<NUM>) is partially received in the accommodating space (<NUM>), the cover (<NUM>) covers the first surface (<NUM>) of the liquid guiding member (<NUM>) and one portion of the second surface (<NUM>) of the liquid guiding member (<NUM>), another portion of the second surface (<NUM>) of the liquid guiding member (<NUM>) is exposed in the atomizing chamber (<NUM>);
the liquid guiding member (<NUM>) is configured to transport the fluid from the liquid tunnel (<NUM>) to the atomizing chamber (<NUM>), and to heat the fluid to generate smoke in the atomizing chamber (<NUM>);
the smoke outlet (<NUM>) communicates with the atomizing chamber (<NUM>) via the smoke tunnel (<NUM>), such that the generated smoke is allowed to exit from the smoke tunnel (<NUM>) and further enter the smoke outlet (<NUM>);
the heating component (<NUM>) is connected with the liquid guiding member (<NUM>), and is configured to heat the liquid guiding member (<NUM>); and
the sealing component (<NUM>) defines a through hole (<NUM>) extending from the liquid tunnel (<NUM>) to the first surface (<NUM>) of the liquid guiding member (<NUM>).