CN115399512A - Liquid storage device and electronic atomizer using same - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a liquid storage device and an electronic atomizer using the same. The liquid storage device can be detachably assembled and connected with the electronic atomizer. The liquid storage device includes a housing and a gravity valve enclosed within the housing. The gravity valve comprises an upper valve cover, a movable valve core and a lower valve cover, wherein the movable valve core is positioned between the upper valve cover and the lower valve cover, the upper valve cover is provided with a first liquid outlet hole communicated with the liquid cavity, and the lower valve cover is provided with a second liquid outlet hole and/or a third liquid outlet hole communicated with an outlet of the liquid storage device. Compared with the prior art, because the first liquid hole of shutoff when liquid storage device inverts of movable valve core, and the design in second liquid hole, third liquid hole can shield first liquid hole and movable valve core except that the bottom surface the part to avoid the user to disturb movable valve core's motion, realized preventing the purpose of artificially filling liquid to liquid storage device.

Description

Liquid storage device and electronic atomizer using same

Technical Field

The invention relates to a liquid storage device, in particular to a liquid storage device for preventing liquid from being filled manually and an electronic atomizer using the liquid storage device.

Background

Small disposable hard liquid storage devices are used in many products. When in use, the storage device is inversely arranged on the corresponding main body mechanism, and after a liquid outlet of the storage device is connected with the main body mechanism, the liquid flows out from the outlet of the container. For the purposes of anti-counterfeiting, quality control, etc., it is often required to employ a storage device that prevents self-filling of liquid. For example, in the international standard GB41700-2022, which was newly released in 2022, 4 months, the requirement of "preventing self-priming" is put forward in relation to the replaceable aerosol storage element (also called cartridge) of the electronic atomizer product (also called electronic cigarette). Meanwhile, in the wine and beverage industry, in order to deal with the counterfeit behavior of filling the empty bottle with the counterfeit wine, a plurality of anti-filling bottle mouth designs are provided.

Typically, to meet the "self-priming prevention" requirement, such liquid storage devices have used special outlet designs to affect the flow of liquid within the device. In different fields, the existing designs have various problems as follows.

The first problem is that: among the commercially available products in the field of electronic atomizers, products meeting the specification requirements need to be replaced together with a complex and expensive electric heating atomization element and an atomization agent storage bin in a fixed connection manner, so that the replacement cost is increased in use. And some products which do not meet the new requirements of the national standard cannot be sold after the national standard is effective due to the difficulty in design change. Enterprises need to invest huge resources to carry out production line reconstruction.

The second problem is that: in the related design of the wine and beverage industry, it is common practice to: when the bottle mouth with the one-way valve is used, the one-way valve can be opened only after the wine bottle is inclined to a certain angle, and then the liquid can be poured outwards. This limitation of the angle of inclination, while limiting the act of filling the fake wine by failing to fill it, leaves room for the electronic atomizer to operate in a user-friendly manner. Some patents use an internal spring to increase the tilt angle limitation, but in practice, the material of the spring is limited by food industry standards, and if an organic material is used, the expiration date of the material, i.e., the shelf life of the entire wine bottle, is limited. And the arrangement of the spring mechanism increases the complexity of the bottle mouth. And a delicate available interval needs to be found among the weight of the valve core, the spring force and the buoyancy of the valve core, so that the requirement on manufacturing precision is increased.

The third problem is that: many anti-fill designs for drink bottle mouths fail to allow for the user's insertion of items that interfere with the position of the check valve.

The fourth problem is that: various anti-backflow designs of the drink bottle nozzle are designed according to the current wine bottle caliber size. The same design is not applicable if it is scaled down for use in small-sized scenes, such as the aerosol storage bin of an electronic atomizer. On one hand, the reduction of the structural size can require extremely high manufacturing precision, on the other hand, after the size of the liquid channel is reduced, the influence caused by the viscosity and the surface tension of the liquid is prominent, the performance of the liquid flowing out through the long and narrow channel can be influenced, and the motion viscosity of the inner one-way valve core after being wetted is caused, so that the filling prevention reliability is reduced.

The fifth problem is that: the anti-filling design of the wine beverage bottle mouth is based on the general bottle mouth size specification and the operation scene of manually opening the bottle cap. In the field of electronic atomizers, various manufacturers have different shapes of interfaces between an atomizing agent storage bin and a battery handle, and various control structures for controlling the outflow speed of atomizing agent liquid are provided. Therefore, various designs of beverage bottle mouths cannot be directly applied to the field of electronic atomizers.

Disclosure of Invention

In light of the deficiencies of the prior art, one technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to prevent a person from self-filling a liquid storage device.

To this end, a first aspect of the present invention provides a liquid storage device capable of preventing a person from filling liquid by himself. The liquid storage device is internally provided with a gravity valve, and a valve core of the liquid storage device is preferably made of a non-metallic substance. The liquid outflow function during normal use is not influenced, and the opening and closing state of the valve core cannot be interfered by a user under the condition of not damaging the storage device, so that the liquid is prevented from being manually filled by the user. The gravity valve has the structural characteristics that the gravity valve can be suitable for various scenes such as electronic atomizers and drinks and beverages. The anti-filling function of the liquid storage device has no special requirements on the connection design of the outlet of the liquid storage device, and the liquid storage device can be widely adapted to various existing products.

In order to realize the functions, the invention adopts the specific technical scheme that:

a liquid storage device comprises a liquid storage device shell and a gravity valve packaged in the liquid storage device shell,

a liquid cavity for storing liquid is arranged in the shell of the liquid storage device,

the gravity valve comprises an upper valve cover, a movable valve core and a lower valve cover. For convenience of understanding, the terms "up" and "down" are used herein to designate the outlet of the liquid storage device as being oriented downward, when the outlet is oriented downward, as being oriented "upright" of the liquid storage device, when the outlet is oriented upward, as being oriented "upside down" of the liquid storage device, and when the outlet is oriented horizontally, as being oriented "horizontal" of the liquid storage device. The upper valve cover and the liquid storage device shell are relatively fixed, the lower valve cover and the upper valve cover are relatively fixed, a communicated valve inner cavity is formed between the upper valve cover and the lower valve cover, and the movable valve core is located in the valve inner cavity. The upper valve cover is provided with a first liquid outlet hole which is respectively communicated with the liquid cavity and the cavity in the valve. The movable valve core is positioned in the valve inner cavity between the first liquid outlet hole and the lower valve cover valve seat. The movable valve core blocks the first liquid outlet hole when the liquid storage device is inverted, the lower valve cover accommodates the movable valve core when the liquid storage device is upright, so that the movable valve core cannot leave the valve inner cavity,

the upper end of the lower valve cover can be provided with a lower valve cover valve seat which contains the movable valve core when the liquid storage device is rightly arranged,

the lower valve cover can be provided with a second liquid outlet hole which is respectively communicated with the valve inner cavity and the outlet of the liquid storage device. The liquid in the cavity in the valve can flow to the outlet of the liquid storage device through the second liquid outlet hole.

When the lower valve cover valve seat exists, a third liquid outlet hole which is respectively communicated with the valve inner cavity and the liquid storage device outlet can be arranged at the valve seat. The liquid in the cavity in the valve can flow to the outlet of the liquid storage device through the third liquid outlet hole.

Preferably, when the second liquid outlet hole and/or the third liquid outlet hole exist, the position and the shape of each hole have the following characteristics: the first liquid outlet hole is invisible from the outlet of each hole on the lowest surface of the lower valve cover through a visual line visible area formed by the lower valve cover and the lower valve cover when the lower valve cover is observed from the inside of each hole, and other surfaces except the bottom surface of the movable valve core are invisible. Therefore, a user is prevented from extending into the syringe needle or other articles from the hole to touch the top or the side surface of the movable valve core or the first liquid outlet hole, the movable valve core is prevented from being closed when the user interferes with the inversion of the liquid storage device, and the purpose of preventing the user from realizing self filling is finally realized.

Preferably, the lower valve cover only has the second liquid outlet hole, only has the third liquid outlet hole, or comprises the second liquid outlet hole and the third liquid outlet hole at the same time.

Preferably, the verticality of the channels in the second liquid outlet hole and the third liquid outlet hole can be changed to adjust the visual range of each hole.

Preferably, the shape of the channels of the second liquid outlet hole and the third liquid outlet hole can be changed by means of the thickness of the lower valve cover, and a bent channel is formed, so that the visual visible area of each hole is reduced or adjusted.

Preferably, a shielding structure may be provided at the upper surface and/or the lower surface of the lower valve cover to adjust the sight-visible area through the holes.

Preferably, one or more lower valve cover laminates may be added below the lower valve cover to provide an increase in the thickness of the lower valve cover to reduce the area of sight visibility through the apertures. The lower valve cover composite layer is provided with fourth liquid outlet holes, and the visual line visible regions from outlets below the fourth liquid outlet holes on the lower surface of the lower valve cover composite layer to openings above the second liquid outlet holes and openings above the third liquid outlet holes on the upper surface of the lower valve cover can be adjusted by adjusting the shapes, positions and channel verticality of the fourth liquid outlet holes, so that the first liquid outlet holes cannot be seen in the visual line visible region, and other surfaces of the movable valve core except the bottom surface cannot be seen. Lower valve cover compound layer gaps can be arranged between the lower valve cover and the lower valve cover compound layers and between the plurality of lower valve cover compound layers.

Preferably, a shielding structure is arranged on the upper surface and/or the lower surface of each lower valve cover composite layer to adjust a visual line visible region from a lower outlet of each fourth liquid outlet hole on the lower surface of the lower valve cover composite layer to an upper opening of the second liquid outlet hole and an upper opening of the third liquid outlet hole on the upper surface of the lower valve cover.

Preferably, the movable valve core has various shapes, and corresponding shape structures for accommodating the movable valve core are arranged on the upper valve cover and/or the lower valve cover. The movable valve core is divided into a cone shape, a spherical shape and a flat plate shape according to the shape of the upper surface. Wherein, in order to reduce the maloperation during the assembly, toper movable valve core can be upper and lower double-end toper, and hemisphere movable valve core can be complete spherical. In order to prevent the movable valve core from falling into the liquid cavity from the first liquid outlet hole, the maximum projection size of the movable valve core in any direction is larger than the maximum aperture of the first liquid outlet hole. When the third liquid outlet is arranged, in order to prevent the movable valve core from falling into the lower valve cavity from the third liquid outlet, the maximum projection size of the movable valve core in any direction is larger than the maximum aperture of the third liquid outlet. In order to avoid that the movable valve core is too large in displacement in the valve inner cavity and cannot effectively block or cover the first liquid outlet, the first liquid outlet and/or the second liquid outlet can be used for limiting the part, extending into the liquid outlet, of the conical and spherical movable valve core, a first limiting structure can be arranged on the first liquid outlet, and/or a second limiting structure can be arranged on the lower valve cover valve seat, wherein the second limiting structure comprises a mode that a third liquid outlet is arranged on the lower valve cover valve seat, and the conical, spherical and flat movable valve core is limited in movement in the horizontal direction. When the liquid storage device is rightly arranged, the lower valve cover and the valve seat or the second limiting structure accommodate the movable valve core and ensure that the second liquid outlet hole and/or the third liquid outlet hole are not completely blocked by the movable valve core at the same time; when the liquid storage device is inverted, the movable valve core can be tightly attached to the first liquid outlet hole or the first limiting structure to seal the first liquid outlet hole, and liquid is prevented from flowing into the liquid cavity from the cavity in the valve.

Preferably, the gravity valve is only provided with a single movable valve core, and the upper valve cover is provided with a single first liquid outlet hole.

Preferably, the gravity valve is only provided with a single movable valve core, the upper valve cover is provided with a plurality of first liquid outlet holes, and the plurality of first liquid outlet holes simultaneously correspond to the single movable valve core. When the liquid storage device is inverted, the movable valve core is attached to the first liquid outlet hole or the first limiting structure on the lower surface of the upper valve cover, and the single movable valve core simultaneously seals the plurality of first liquid outlet holes.

Preferably, the gravity valve may have a plurality of the movable valve cores, the upper valve cover is provided with a plurality of the first liquid outlet holes, and each of the first liquid outlet holes individually corresponds to one of the movable valve cores.

Preferably, in order to avoid the possibility that a user adjusts the inclination of the liquid storage device to find a state that the movable valve core is not tightly attached to the first liquid outlet hole so as to realize self-filling, a tapered surface is arranged on the movable valve core and/or the second limiting structure at a contact position of the movable valve core and/or the second limiting structure. When the liquid storage device is placed at an angle between horizontal and inverted, the movable valve core can be attached to the first liquid outlet hole tightly by means of gravity to form blockage.

Preferably, the lower valve cap may be fixedly connected to the upper valve cap.

Preferably, in order to realize the blocking effect of the valve core on the liquid outlet, the density of the valve core is larger than that of the stored liquid.

Preferably, the valve body is made of a material which is solid at room temperature and does not have ferromagnetism or ferrimagnetism, in order to avoid the influence of magnetic force induction on the position of the valve body by a user using a magnet.

Preferably, the liquid storage device is provided with a removable blocking cap for sealing the outlet of the liquid storage device, and the material of the blocking cap can be selected from silica gel.

Preferably, the gravity valve may be fixed in the outlet of the liquid storage device using a snap/adhesive/screw manner.

Preferably, the gravity valve can be fixed to the transition sleeve by using a clamping/bonding/screwing/integral forming method, and then the transition sleeve is fixed in or at the outlet of the liquid storage device.

Preferably, the gravity valve may be provided with a filling hole and a filling hole plugging plug, so that a manufacturer can fill the liquid after fixing the gravity valve to the liquid storage device, and plug the plugging plug after filling. The top of the plugging plug is provided with a conical surface, so that the plugging depth of the plugging plug is limited, and after the plugging plug is inserted to the limited position, the tail of the plugging plug is completely immersed into the gravity valve, so that a user cannot remove the plugging plug, the filling hole is prevented from being exposed, and the user can fill the plugging plug by himself.

The invention also relates to an electronic atomizer which comprises an air suction pipe and the liquid storage device, wherein the air suction pipe penetrates through the gravity valve, the upper valve cover is relatively fixed with the air suction pipe, and a corresponding gap for the movable valve core to move is arranged between the lower valve cover and the air suction pipe.

Compared with the prior art, the invention has the beneficial effects that: under the condition of not damaging the liquid storage device, firstly, when a user wants to fill liquid into the liquid cavity by himself, the movable valve core can block or shield the first liquid outlet hole on the valve cover on the gravity valve due to the action of gravity, so that the liquid cannot flow into the liquid cavity in the liquid storage device, and the aim of preventing the liquid from being filled by himself is fulfilled; secondly, the gravity valve provided by the invention has a simple structure, and can still effectively control the flow of liquid in a small-size application scene; thirdly, the technical scheme of the invention does not need to carry out great changes on the sealing design, the air passage design and the liquid path design of the outlet of the existing liquid storage device, can ensure that the replacement of the liquid storage device is independent of the main structure outside the outlet, can be widely applied to most of related liquid containers on the market, greatly reduces the use cost of users, and fills the market gap. In some embodiments of the present invention, because the aperture arrangement provides the noted visible range limitation, the user cannot reach the movable valve spool or the first exit orifice, and when the user places the fluid storage device in a horizontal or inverted position to attempt to fill the cavity in the valve, the movable valve spool blocks or shields the first exit orifice of the upper valve cover of the gravity valve, thereby preventing manual filling.

Drawings

Fig. 1A is an overall schematic view of a liquid storage device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 1B and 1C are schematic exploded views of the gravity valve shown in fig. 1A from different viewing angles.

FIG. 2A is a top view of the fluid storage device of FIG. 1A.

Fig. 2B isbase:Sub>A structural sectional view of the liquid storage device shown in fig. 2A in the directionbase:Sub>A-base:Sub>A in fig. 2A. All cross-sectional views below are in this cross-sectional position and direction of view.

Fig. 3A-3B, fig. 4A-4B, and fig. 5A-5B are respectively an exploded view and a sectional view of three gravity valves of the present invention with different shapes, in which the valve core can partially extend into the first liquid outlet for plugging, wherein fig. 3A-3B are the 2 nd embodiment, in which the valve core is a spherical valve core, fig. 4A-4B are the 3 rd embodiment, in which the valve core is a conical valve core, and fig. 5A-5B are the 4 th embodiment, in which the valve core is a double-headed conical valve core.

Fig. 6A-6B are an exploded view and a sectional view of the gravity valve according to embodiment 5 of the present invention, wherein the upper valve cover is provided with a first limiting structure.

Fig. 7A to 7B are respectively schematic structural exploded views in different view directions of a gravity valve according to embodiment 6 of the present invention, and fig. 7C is a cross-sectional structural view of the gravity valve, in which a single movable valve core is used to simultaneously cover and block a plurality of first liquid outlet holes, and a second limiting structure is disposed on a lower valve cover.

Fig. 8A-8B are an exploded view and a sectional view of the gravity valve according to embodiment 7 of the present invention, which uses a plurality of movable valve cores to simultaneously cover and close a plurality of first liquid outlet holes, and a second limiting structure is disposed on the lower valve cover. Its second limit structure contains conical surface characteristic, helps the movable valve core just can block up first liquid hole when liquid storage device is not totally inverted.

Fig. 9A is a schematic view of the gravity valve of the embodiment 7 at a limit angle at which filling is possible when the liquid storage device is tilted, and fig. 9B is a schematic view of the position of the movable valve element of the gravity valve of the embodiment 7 when the liquid storage device is in a landscape orientation.

Fig. 10 is a detail of the mating cone angles involved with the gravity valve of embodiment 7.

Fig. 11A-11B, 12A-12C, 13A-13C, and 14A-14B are schematic views of the 8 th, 9 th, 10 th, and 11 th embodiments of the gravity valve of the present invention, respectively. The principle of the valve is the same as that of the 7 th embodiment, but the detail characteristics of the valve are different, and the valve and the limiting effect of the second limiting structure are realized in different combinations in the moving process of the movable valve core. Wherein, the 8 th embodiment is 1 group of conical surface-conical surface limit; embodiment 9 employs 2 sets of matching, cone-cone and cone-edge respectively; the 10 th embodiment employs 2 sets of matching, edge-taper and taper-edge, respectively; embodiment 11 employs 1 set of edge-taper matches.

Fig. 15A-15B are schematic structural exploded views of the gravity valve according to the 12 th embodiment of the gravity valve of the present invention in different view directions, and fig. 15C is a cross-sectional structural view of the gravity valve. Which uses a single movable spool and applies the same cone limit principle as in embodiment 7. 1 group of limit matching is applied between the movable valve core and the second limit structure, and the movable valve core is a conical surface-conical surface.

Fig. 16A-16B are schematic exploded views of the gravity valve according to the embodiment 13 of the present invention, and fig. 16C is a sectional view of the gravity valve. It is similar to embodiment 12, using a single movable spool, and similar to embodiment 9, using 2 sets of limit matching between the movable spool and the second limit structure, conical surface-conical surface and spool conical surface-valve seat edge, respectively.

Fig. 17A to 17B and fig. 18A to 18B are respectively an exploded schematic view and a sectional view of the gravity valve according to the 14 th and 15 th embodiments of the gravity valve of the present invention. Wherein, the 14 th embodiment is an application demonstration (for example, an application to an electronic cigarette cartridge) when the liquid storage device passes through the air suction pipe structure at the center of the gravity valve on the basis of the 7 th embodiment; the 15 th embodiment is a similar variation to the 13 th embodiment (i.e., a suction tube structure passes through the center of the gravity valve).

Fig. 19A-19B are an exploded view and a cross-sectional view of the gravity valve of the embodiment 16 of the gravity valve of the present invention. It diminishes the lower valve gap of gravity valve on the basis of 2 nd embodiment, lug connection in the upper valve gap of gravity valve to carry on spacingly to the motion of activity valve element.

Fig. 20A-20B are an exploded view and a cross-sectional view of the gravity valve according to embodiment 17 of the present invention. On the basis of the embodiment 7, a shielding structure is arranged on the upper surface of the lower valve cover. And the visible area of the sight line from the lower part of the second liquid outlet hole does not relate to the movable valve core and the first liquid outlet hole, and lower valve cover compound layers adopted in the embodiments 1-16 are omitted.

Fig. 21A is a cross-sectional view of the gravity valve of embodiment 18 of the gravity valve of the present invention before the fill port is plugged, and fig. 21B is a cross-sectional view of the gravity valve of embodiment 18 after the fill port is plugged. Based on the embodiment 2, filling holes are arranged at proper corresponding positions on the upper valve cover, the lower valve cover and the lower valve cover compound layer of the gravity valve. And corresponding filling hole plugging bolts are arranged according to the specific size of the filling hole.

Fig. 22A-22B illustrate a 19 th embodiment of the gravity valve of the present invention. Fig. 22A is a structural sectional view before the filling hole is sealed, and fig. 22B is a structural sectional view after the filling hole is sealed. Similar to the 18 th embodiment, a shorter filler hole plugging plug is used. After plugging, only the filling hole of the valve cover on the gravity valve is plugged.

Figure 23 is a general schematic diagram of an embodiment of an electronic cigarette to which the gravity valve of the present invention is applied.

Figure 24 is an exploded view of an embodiment of an e-cigarette cartridge that utilizes the gravity valve of the present invention. In practical use, the blocking cover 300 used in transportation and storage is removed, and then the gas-liquid flow passage connecting piece 410 and the heating and atomizing device 420 are connected, so that the cigarette cartridge can be fixed on the battery handle 500 of the electronic cigarette and can be used.

Reference numerals indicate the same.

100-a liquid storage device housing; 101-a liquid chamber; 102-an air suction pipe; 200-gravity valve; 210-gravity valve upper valve cover; 211-a first outlet hole; 212-a first limit structure; 220-gravity valve movable valve core; 221-a valve core lower surface gap limiting structure; 230-gravity valve internal cavity; 240-gravity valve lower bonnet; 241-a second liquid outlet; 242-lower bonnet valve seat; 243-a second limit structure; 244-a third exit aperture; 245-a valve seat upper surface clearance limiting structure; 246-lower bonnet shielding structure; 250-lower valve cover multilayer; 251-a fourth liquid outlet hole; 252-lower bonnet multilayer clearance; 261-filling hole; 262-plugging the plug by the filling hole; 300-a blocking cap; 410-a gas liquid flow path divider; 420-an atomizing device; 500-electronic cigarette battery handle.

Detailed Description

The technical solution of the present invention is further illustrated by the following specific embodiments in combination with the accompanying drawings, which describe the embodiments by way of example only for the purpose of illustrating the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

In embodiment 1 of the present invention as shown in fig. 1A, there is provided a liquid storage device. Fig. 1B and 1C are exploded views of the gravity valve used in the device from two different viewing angles, i.e., from the top and the bottom.

As shown in fig. 2A and 2B, the gravity valve 200 is fixed to the inner wall of the liquid storage device housing 100, and the blocking cap 300 is positioned below the lower valve cover 250. Wherein the occluding cover 300 is detachable from the liquid storage device 100. Wherein the gravity valve 200 comprises an upper valve cap 210, a movable valve core 220, a lower valve cap 240, and a lower valve cap cladding 250. Wherein the upper valve cap 210, the lower valve cap 240, and the lower valve cover 250 of the gravity valve 200 are fixed relative to the liquid storage device housing 100. A communicated valve inner cavity 230 is arranged between the upper valve cover 210 and the lower valve cover 240, and a communicated lower valve cover gap 252 is arranged between the lower valve cover 240 and the lower valve cover 250. The movable valve core 220 is located in the valve inner cavity 230, and in this embodiment, the movable valve core 220 is spherical. The upper valve cover 210 is provided with a first liquid outlet hole 211 respectively communicated with the liquid cavity 101 and the valve inner cavity 230, and the movable valve core 220 can block the first liquid outlet hole 211 when the liquid storage device 100 is inverted; the movable valve element 220 is accommodated in the lower valve cover and valve seat 242 of the lower valve cover 240 when the liquid storage device 100 is in the upright position, so that the first liquid outlet hole 211 is not blocked. The lower end of the upper valve cover 210 is provided with a first limiting structure 212 for accommodating the movable valve element 220, the lower valve cover 240 is further provided with a second liquid outlet 241 respectively communicated with the valve inner cavity 230 and the lower valve cover multi-layer gap 252, and a third liquid outlet 244 respectively communicated with the valve inner cavity 230 and the lower valve cover multi-layer gap 252 is arranged in the lower valve cover valve seat 242. The lower valve cover composite layer 250 is provided with a fourth liquid outlet 251, and the fourth liquid outlet 251 is communicated with the lower valve cover composite layer gap 252 and the outlet of the liquid storage device. Understandably, the gravity valve 200 may omit the lower bonnet layer 250, or employ a greater number of lower bonnet layers 250.

Further, the visible channels formed from the lower surface holes of the fourth liquid outlet holes 251 to the upper surface holes of the third liquid outlet holes 244 and the visible channels formed from the lower surface holes of the fourth liquid outlet holes 251 to the upper surface holes of the second liquid outlet holes 241 are not visible above and around the surfaces of the first liquid outlet holes 211 and the movable valve core 220. In order to avoid the excessive displacement of the movable valve core 220 in the valve inner cavity 221 and the deviation from the corresponding first liquid outlet hole 211 when the liquid storage device is inverted, in this embodiment 1, a first limiting structure 212 is disposed on the lower surface of the upper valve cap 210, and is used to limit the moving range of the spherical movable valve core 220, so as to ensure that the spherical movable valve core 220 can block the first liquid outlet hole 211 when the liquid storage device is inverted.

The gravity valve used can be varied in shape from embodiment 1. Referring to fig. 3A-3B, 4A-4B, and 5A-5B, embodiments 2, 3, and 4 of the gravity valve of the present invention are shown, respectively. The movable valve core 220 of the 3 embodiments can extend into the first liquid outlet hole 211 of the upper valve cover 210 to be blocked when the liquid storage device 100 is inverted. In these 3 embodiments, the upper valve cover 210 has a plurality of first liquid outlets 211, each first liquid outlet 211 has a separate movable valve core 220, and each movable valve core 220 blocks the single first liquid outlet 211. The movable valve element 220 is a conical valve element or a spherical valve element, but is not limited thereto. In each case, according to actual needs, a first limiting structure may be added to the first liquid outlet hole 211 on the upper valve cover 210 and/or a second limiting structure 243 may be added to the lower valve cover 240 corresponding to the lower valve seat 242, and one function of the first limiting structure and the second limiting structure is to limit the movement of the movable valve element 220, so that the first liquid outlet hole 211 is blocked when the movable valve element 220 approaches the upper valve cover. In embodiment 2 of the ball valve core shown in fig. 3, in a manner similar to embodiment 1, the ball valve core partially protrudes into the opening of the upper bonnet, but the first limiting structure 212 is not provided, and only the second limiting structure 243 is provided; in embodiment 3 of the conical valve core shown in fig. 4A-4B, only the first limiting structure 212 is provided in a manner that the conical valve core partially extends into the opening of the upper valve cover, and the fourth liquid outlet 244 is not used in embodiment 3; as shown in fig. 5A-5B, in embodiment 4 of the double-ended conical valve core, compared with the one-way conical valve core shown in embodiment 3, the upper and lower ends of the valve core of embodiment 4 are the same in conical shape, so that the direction requirement during assembly can be reduced, and assembly errors can be avoided. Embodiment 4 also uses both the first restraint structure 212 and the second restraint structure 243.

The movable valve core 220 of the gravity valve of the 1 st, 2 nd, 3 rd and 4 th embodiments is in a shape capable of partially extending into the first liquid outlet hole 211, and the first liquid outlet hole 211 is blocked by extending into the first liquid outlet hole 211. Alternatively, the movable valve core 220 may also have other shapes, for example, the movable valve core does not extend into the first outlet hole 211, but only covers the lower surface of the first outlet hole 211, and the first outlet hole 211 is blocked by covering the surface of the first outlet hole 211 (i.e., the lower surface of the upper valve cover 210). As shown in fig. 6A-6B, embodiment 5 of the gravity valve of the present invention. The upper surface of the movable valve element 220 is a plane. Similar to the embodiments 1 to 4, the upper valve cover 210 of the embodiment 5 has a plurality of first liquid outlet holes 211, each first liquid outlet hole 211 has a corresponding movable valve core 220, and each movable valve core 220 seals the corresponding first liquid outlet hole 211. When the liquid storage device 100 is inverted, the movable valve core 220 covers the first liquid outlet hole 211 of the upper valve cover 210 to realize sealing. The movable valve core used for covering and blocking comprises a flat valve core, but is not limited to the flat valve core. The 5 th embodiment provides a first stopper 212 on the upper bonnet 210; a second limiting structure 243 can also be added to the lower valve cover 240 separately and correspondingly to the lower valve cover and valve seat 242 of the movable valve core 220, similarly to the 2 nd embodiment shown in fig. 3; it is also possible to provide both the first stop structure 212 and the second stop structure 243, similar to the 3 rd embodiment shown in fig. 5A-5B.

The 5 embodiments described above all use multiple movable spools. The present invention also encompasses the use of a single movable valve core 220 and corresponding multiple first fluid ports 211. Fig. 7A-7B show an embodiment 6 of the gravity valve of the present invention. The gravity valve 200 is provided with only a single movable valve core 220, the upper valve cover 210 is provided with a plurality of first liquid outlet holes 211, and when the liquid storage device 100 is inverted, the single movable valve core 220 simultaneously seals the plurality of first liquid outlet holes 211 on the upper valve cover 201. A single third outlet hole 244 and a second limiting structure 243 are formed on the lower valve cover 240. Because the second liquid outlet 241 is not provided, in order to ensure that the third liquid outlet 244 is not blocked by the movable valve element 220 when the liquid storage device 100 is in the upright position, a gap limiting structure 221 is provided on the lower surface of the movable valve element 220 in the figure, and the gap limiting structure may be provided on the upper surface of the valve seat 242 of the lower valve cover to become a gap limiting structure 245 on the upper surface of the valve seat, or a groove feature may be provided on the lower surface of the movable valve element 220 and/or the upper surface of the lower valve cover 240 instead.

In the above 6 embodiments, when the liquid storage device is inverted, that is, the outlet of the liquid storage device faces upward, or when the outlet faces downward and is smaller than a certain critical angle, that is, the liquid storage device is inclined and inverted at a small angle, the first liquid outlet hole 211 can be blocked by the movable valve element 220 based on gravity. If a user starts to incline and continuously increases the inclination from the upright position of the liquid storage device (i.e., the outlet is downward, and the movable valve core does not block the first liquid outlet hole at this time), until the outlet faces obliquely upward, but the included angle between the outlet and the position right above the outlet is still larger than a critical angle, that is, when the liquid storage device is inclined and inverted at a large angle, at this time, the movable valve core 220 may not be separated from the lower valve cover 240 or completely block the first liquid outlet hole 211, and at this time, the user may still perform a small amount of filling.

In order to further prevent the user from filling a small amount of liquid in the inclined upside-down state of the liquid storage device, the gravity valve provided in embodiment 7 of the present invention achieves the solution of blocking the first liquid outlet hole 211 even when the liquid storage device is horizontally placed or is inclined properly from the right position, by means of the guiding of the shape of the contact surface of the second limit structure 243 with the movable valve core 220, thereby preventing self-filling. Fig. 8A and 8B show a 7 th embodiment of the gravity valve according to the present invention. Similar to the 5 th embodiment of the gravity valve of the present invention. In addition to embodiment 5, the first stopper structure 212 is removed, and a second stopper structure 243 having a tapered surface as a guide surface that comes into contact with the movable valve element 220 to guide the movement of the movable valve element 220 and to block the first liquid outlet hole 210 when the movable valve element 220 approaches the upper valve cover 210 is provided. In this embodiment, the movable valve element 220 of embodiment 7 also has a tapered surface at the edge of the valve element that mates with the second stop structure 243. When a user attempts to tilt the liquid storage device to fill the liquid by himself, the clockwise rotation starting from the upright position shown in fig. 8B is taken as an example, and from this upright position angle, the liquid can be filled up to the volume inside the liquid chamber 101 below the plane shown by the broken line in fig. 9A only up to the angle shown in fig. 9A (when the projection line of the conical surface at the lowest in the drawing is horizontal, and the liquid storage device is still in the tilt upright position, but not yet rotated to the horizontal position). If the liquid is continuously filled at this angle, the gas in the lower bonnet composite gap 252 will be blocked and cannot be discharged, so that the gas in the valve inner cavity 230 cannot be discharged, and the gas transmitted to the liquid chamber 101 is also blocked and cannot be discharged. Due to the conservation of volume, when the internal gas cannot be discharged, the external liquid cannot enter. On the basis of fig. 9A, when the user further rotates the liquid storage device clockwise, because the contact conical surface of the movable valve element 220 and the second limiting structure 243 exceeds the horizontal plane at the bottom, the movable valve element 220 will start to slide in the downward right direction in the drawing under the action of gravity, and approach the upper valve cap 210 in the sliding process until finally adhering to the upper valve cap 210 and blocking the first liquid outlet hole 211. Taking the liquid storage device of fig. 9B in the horizontal position as an example, the movable valve element 220 covers the first liquid outlet hole 211, and the liquid cannot flow into the liquid chamber 101. It can be seen that when the liquid storage device is placed at an angle between the upright position and the transverse position, the movable valve element 220 is close to the upper valve cover 210 and blocks the first liquid outlet 211.

The description of the specific parameters and effects of the above 7 th embodiment is as follows: as shown in fig. 10, when the liquid storage device is in a right position (when the outlet is downward), an included angle between the conical surface of the second limiting structure 243 and the vertical direction is defined as θ 1, and an included angle between the movable valve element and the vertical direction is defined as θ 2. Preferably, the included angle θ 1 is different from the included angle θ 2, in which case, the tapered surface of the movable valve element 220 side in the contact position forms a preset included angle or gap with the tapered surface of the second limit structure 243 side, so that the movable valve element 220 can slide smoothly relative to the second limit structure 243 when the liquid storage device is properly inclined. Taking the larger of θ 1 and θ 2 as θ, if the two sides of the contact position are the tapered surface and the edge, respectively, the angle of the tapered surface is taken as θ, and when the entire liquid storage device rotates by θ, the movable valve element 220 reaches the critical state of just starting to slide. It is understood that the included angle θ 1 may be the same as the included angle θ 2.

In the embodiment 7, the movable valve core 220 and the corresponding second limit structure 243 can have various forms. As shown in fig. 11A to 11B, fig. 12A to 12C, fig. 13A to 13C, and fig. 14A to 14B, respectively, the 8 th, 9 th, 10 th, and 11 th embodiments of the gravity valve of the present invention are shown. Similar to the embodiment 7, the second limiting structure 243 and/or the movable valve element 220 are/is provided with a tapered surface, so that when the liquid storage device is inclined to a certain angle from the upright position, the movable valve element 220 can start to move towards the direction close to the upper valve cover 210, and can close and block the first liquid outlet hole 211 at least when the liquid storage device is transversely arranged. In embodiment 8, the movable valve element 220 of embodiment 7 is extended downward on the premise of keeping the smoothness of the peripheral conical surface, and the peripheral conical surface is still limited by matching the conical surface with the conical surface; embodiment 9 is that the upper part of the movable valve element 220 of embodiment 8 is enlarged and the peripheral conical surface is kept, so that the peripheral conical surface has stepped steps and is not smooth, wherein the periphery of the upper layer is still the matching limit of the conical surface and the conical surface, and the lower layer is the matching limit of the conical surface and the circular edge; the 10 th embodiment is that the peripheral conical surface feature of the upper layer of the movable valve core 220 of the 9 th embodiment is removed, and only the bottom conical surface feature is retained, wherein the upper layer and the lower layer are both matched and limited by 'conical surfaces and circular edges'; embodiment 11 is to remove the peripheral conical surface feature of the movable valve element 220 of embodiment 7, and in the process of tilting the liquid storage device, the guiding and pushing effect of the movable valve element 220 to the upper valve cover 210 is realized only by the conical surface of the second limit feature, and the periphery of the movable valve element is limited by matching the conical surface with the circular edge.

The tapered surface restricting and guiding effects of the plurality of movable valve elements 220 and the second restricting structure 243 in embodiments 7 to 11 can also be applied to the case of a single movable valve element 220 as in embodiment 6. Fig. 15A to 15C and fig. 16A to 16C show the 12 th and 13 th embodiments, respectively. The principle of the 12 th embodiment is the same as that of the 7 th embodiment, and the 12 th embodiment is a 'conical surface and conical surface' matching limit, and a gap limit structure 221 is arranged below the movable valve element 220; the principle of the 13 th embodiment is the same as that of the 9 th embodiment, the upper layer periphery of the movable valve core 220 is matched and limited by a conical surface and a conical surface, the lower layer of the movable valve core 220 is matched and limited by a conical surface and a circular edge, and a gap limiting structure 245 is arranged on the upper surface of the lower valve cover valve seat 242.

In some applications of liquid storage devices, such as electronic cigarette smoke reservoirs, i.e., cartridges, an air intake pipe extends longitudinally (from top to bottom) through the cartridge. The invention can still be applied in such a scenario. Fig. 17A to 17B and fig. 18A to 18B show the 14 th and 15 th embodiments, respectively, in which a plurality of movable valve elements 220 and a single movable valve element 220 are provided with one penetrating gas suction pipe structure 102 inside. Wherein, the upper valve cover 210 is fixed relative to the air suction pipe 102, and the lower valve cover 240 is still fixed relative to the upper valve cover. In the 15 th embodiment, the lower valve cover 240 and the suction pipe 102 have a corresponding clearance according to the movement requirement of the movable valve core 220, i.e. the aperture of the third liquid outlet hole 244 is properly larger than the outer diameter of the suction pipe 102.

In the embodiments 1 to 15, the lower bonnet 240 is stacked below the upper bonnet 210 in a shape matching the outer shape of the upper bonnet, and the lower bonnet 240 is fixed to the upper bonnet 210 by pressing the upper bonnet and the lower bonnet. In addition, the lower valve cover can also be directly connected below the upper valve cover. Fig. 19A to 19B show a 16 th embodiment of the present invention. The shape of the lower valve cap 240 is irrelevant to the shape of the upper valve cap, and the lower valve cap 240 is directly connected to the lower surface of the upper valve cap beside the first liquid outlet hole. The connecting structure simultaneously plays a role of the second limiting structure 243, and the gap on the connecting structure simultaneously plays a role of the second liquid outlet hole 241. The lower valve cover 240 shields the fourth liquid outlet hole 251, so that the required visual range of the sight line passing through the fourth liquid outlet hole 251 is limited.

As shown in fig. 20A to 20B, a 17 th embodiment of the present invention is shown. Which is similar to embodiment 7 of the present invention. In addition, on the basis of embodiment 7, by limiting the position and shape of the second liquid outlet hole 241 and providing the lower valve cover shielding structure 246 on the upper surface of the lower valve cover 240, the visible range from the lower orifice of the second liquid outlet hole 241 to the upper orifice of the second liquid outlet hole 241 does not include the top and the side surfaces of the first liquid outlet hole 211 and the movable valve core 220. Also, because the above-described design has achieved limitations with respect to the range of visibility of the line of sight, i.e., with respect to preventing self-priming by the user, the lower valve cover laminate 250 and associated structures attached thereto have been eliminated in this embodiment.

Fig. 21A to 21B show an 18 th embodiment of the present invention. Based on embodiment 2, filling holes 261 which can be communicated with a liquid cavity are arranged at appropriate corresponding positions on the upper valve cover, the lower valve cover and the lower valve cover compound layer of the gravity valve, and filling hole plugging bolts 262 are configured according to specific parameters of the filling holes. In the foregoing embodiments 1 to 17, manufacturers fill the liquid first and then install the gravity valve during production, and thus, in the process of installing the gravity valve, a loss of the filled liquid due to splashing may be caused. In embodiment 18, the manufacturer may first load the gravity valve 200 into the fluid storage device housing 100 and then fill the fluid through the fill port 261 to avoid spillage of the stored fluid during assembly of the gravity valve. After the liquid filling is completed, the disposable plugging plug 262 is inserted into the filling hole 261. Because the top of the plugging bolt 262 is conical, the plugging bolt and the filling hole 261 on the upper valve cover form wedge-shaped fastening, and meanwhile, the length of the plugging bolt 262 is adapted to the thickness of the gravity valve, the plugging bolt 262 is not exposed at the tail part outside the compound layer of the lower valve cover of the gravity valve, and a user can be prevented from taking down the plugging bolt. The design of the filler hole can be applied to the embodiments 1 to 17.

As shown in fig. 22A to 22B, a 19 th embodiment of the present invention is provided. Similar to example 18, the plug 262 used is relatively short and, after plugging, only seals off the filling opening 261 of the upper valve cover of the gravity valve. Because the plugging bolt 262 is shorter, the formed plugging bolt can be clamped and plugged in production, and plastic materials can be injected into the filling hole to form the plugging bolt after the plastic materials are cooled and shaped.

The liquid storage device provided by the invention can be suitable for an electronic atomizer. In this case, the liquid chamber provided in the liquid storage device housing of the liquid storage device is used to store the atomized liquid. Preferably, the cartridge of the electronic atomizer comprises an air suction pipe and the liquid storage device, the air suction pipe is accommodated in a shell of the liquid storage device and penetrates through the gravity valve, the upper valve cover is fixed relative to the air suction pipe, and a corresponding gap for the movable valve core to move is arranged between the lower valve cover and the air suction pipe.

More specifically, as shown in fig. 23 and 24, the liquid storage device 100 functions as a cartridge of the electronic atomizer, and the liquid chamber thereof functions as an oil storage chamber for storing the atomized liquid. The gravity valve 200 is located at the outlet of the oil reservoir to allow the atomized liquid to be supplied to the outside and to prevent the user from filling the reservoir by himself. Accordingly, the gas-liquid flow passage partition 410, along with the atomizing device 420, acts as a transition piece between the cartridge and the battery handle 500. The gas-liquid flow path divider 410 and the atomizing device 420 may be separated from the liquid storage device 100 to improve the reusability of the atomizing device 420. An air suction pipe (not shown) is received in the housing of the liquid storage device 100, penetrates the gravity valve 200, and is inserted into the gas-liquid flow path partition 410 so as to transmit atomized mist to a suction nozzle (i.e., the upper end of a cartridge). The atomizer 420 and the battery handle 500 can be used as reusable components, and the liquid storage device 100, the gas-liquid flow path divider 410, and the air intake tube can be used as a complete cartridge as a consumable product that can be prevented from being manually filled. Preferably, the cartridge is removably mounted to the battery handle 500 for easy replacement. Alternatively, the gas-liquid flow passage partition 410, the atomizing device 420, and the battery handle 500 may be provided as reusable components, in which case the liquid storage device 100 and the air intake duct are provided as a complete cartridge.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and various changes can be made within the knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the gist of the present invention. Furthermore, the embodiments of the present invention and the features of the embodiments may be combined with each other without conflict.

Claims (21)

1. A liquid storage device comprises a liquid storage device shell, wherein a liquid cavity for storing liquid is arranged in the liquid storage device shell, and the liquid storage device is characterized by also comprising a gravity valve arranged in the liquid storage device shell, wherein the gravity valve comprises an upper valve cover, a movable valve core and a lower valve cover,

wherein the upper valve cover is relatively fixed with the shell of the liquid storage device, the upper valve cover is relatively fixed with the lower valve cover, a valve inner cavity is arranged between the upper valve cover and the lower valve cover, the upper valve cover is provided with a first liquid outlet hole which is respectively communicated with the liquid cavity and the valve inner cavity, the movable valve core is positioned in the valve inner cavity between the first liquid outlet hole and the lower valve cover, the movable valve core blocks the first liquid outlet hole when the liquid storage device is inverted, and the movable valve core does not block the first liquid outlet hole when the liquid storage device is upright,

the lower valve cover is provided with a second liquid outlet hole communicated with the valve inner cavity and the outlet of the liquid storage device.

2. The fluid storage device as defined in claim 1, wherein said second exit aperture is configured to satisfy the following requirements: and in a visible region of a visual line formed by upward observation from the lower part of the lower valve cover through the second liquid outlet hole, the first liquid outlet hole is not visible and/or other surfaces of the movable valve core except the bottom surface are not visible.

3. The fluid storage device of claim 1, wherein a maximum projected dimension of the movable valve element in any direction is greater than a maximum aperture diameter of the first exit orifice.

4. The fluid storage device defined in claim 1, wherein the movable valve element blocks the first exit orifice by extending into the first exit orifice or by covering a lower surface of the upper valve cover.

5. The fluid storage device as defined in claim 1, wherein said lower valve cover has a lower valve cover seat disposed at an upper end thereof, said lower valve cover seat receiving said movable valve element when said fluid storage device is in a right position.

6. The fluid storage device as defined in claim 5, wherein said lower valve cover further provides a third exit opening at said lower valve cover valve seat communicating with said valve interior cavity and said fluid storage device outlet.

7. The fluid storage device of claim 6, wherein the third exit orifice is configured to satisfy the following requirement: and in a visual line visible area formed by upward observation from the third liquid outlet hole on the lowermost surface of the lower valve cover, the first liquid outlet hole cannot be seen and/or other surfaces of the movable valve core except the bottom surface cannot be seen.

8. The fluid storage device as defined in claim 1, wherein the lower valve cap is stacked below the upper valve cap or attached to a lower surface of the upper valve cap.

9. The fluid storage device of claim 1, wherein the upper valve cap and/or the lower valve cap is provided with a corresponding shape structure for receiving the movable valve cartridge.

10. The fluid storage device as defined in claim 1, wherein the upper valve cap is provided with a first limiting structure and/or the lower valve cap is provided with a second limiting structure for limiting the movement of the movable valve element, so that the movable valve element closes the first liquid outlet hole when approaching the upper valve cap.

11. The fluid storage device as defined in claim 10, wherein the first and/or second limiting structures allow the movable valve element to approach the upper valve cover and close the first exit opening when the fluid storage device is disposed at an angle between a normal position and a transverse position.

12. The fluid storage device as defined in claim 10, wherein the first and/or second limiting structure has a guiding surface contacting the movable valve element, and the guiding surface guides the movement of the movable valve element such that the movable valve element is close to the upper valve cover and blocks the first liquid outlet hole when the fluid storage device is placed at an angle between a normal position and a horizontal position.

13. The fluid storage device as defined in claim 10, wherein at the contact position of the movable valve element and the second position-limiting structure, a tapered surface is provided at the movable valve element side and/or the second position-limiting structure side of the contact position, so that the movable valve element abuts and blocks the first exit opening when the fluid storage device is placed at an angle between the upright position and the horizontal position.

14. The liquid storage device as claimed in claim 13, wherein at a contact position of the movable valve element with the second limit structure, a tapered surface on the movable valve element side at the contact position forms a predetermined angle or gap with a tapered surface on the second limit structure side.

15. The liquid storage device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the movable valve core is single, and the upper valve cover is provided with one or more first liquid outlet holes, wherein the first liquid outlet holes can be simultaneously blocked by the movable valve core.

16. The fluid storage device as defined in claim 1, wherein said movable valve core is plural, said upper valve cover is provided with a plurality of said first liquid outlet holes, each of said first liquid outlet holes individually corresponds to one of said movable valve cores and can be blocked by the corresponding movable valve core.

17. The liquid storage device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a gap limiting structure is arranged on the lower surface of the movable valve core and/or the valve seat of the lower valve cover, and the gap limiting structure is a protrusion or a groove.

18. The liquid storage device as claimed in claim 1, wherein one or more lower valve cover composite layers are disposed below the lower valve cover, a fourth liquid outlet hole is disposed on the lower valve cover composite layer, the fourth liquid outlet hole is configured such that the first liquid outlet hole and the other surface of the movable valve element except the bottom surface are not visible in a visible region of a visual line formed by upward observation from a lower outlet of the fourth liquid outlet hole on a lower surface of the lower valve cover composite layer, a lower valve cover composite layer gap is disposed between the lower valve cover and the lower valve cover composite layer and/or between a plurality of lower valve cover composite layers, and a shielding structure is disposed on an upper surface and/or a lower surface of the lower valve cover and/or the lower valve cover composite layer.

19. The fluid storage device as defined in claim 1 wherein said upper valve cover is provided with one or more filling ports in communication with said fluid chamber and said filling ports are sealed with a solid plug.

20. The fluid storage device of claim 1, wherein the movable valve element is a solid material at room temperature without ferromagnetism and ferrimagnetism, and the density of the material is greater than the density of the stored fluid.

21. An electronic atomizer comprising a suction tube and a liquid storage device according to any one of claims 1 to 20, said suction tube being housed within said liquid storage device housing and extending through said gravity valve, said upper valve cover being fixed relative to said suction tube.

Images