CN219353057U - Aerosol generating device - Google Patents

Abstract

The embodiment of the application discloses an aerosol-generating device, comprising: a receiving channel for receiving at least a portion of the aerosol product; a flexible member formed with a cantilever having at least a portion extending to the receiving channel, the cantilever being capable of being extruded by the aerosol product to deform; defining a receiving chamber having a wall facing the receiving channel, the flexible member further comprising a squeeze portion extending from at least a portion of the wall toward the receiving channel; the sensing element is electrically connected with the controller of the aerosol generating device and is used for sensing the deformation of the cantilever so as to generate a sensing signal and sending the sensing signal to the controller. By the mode, the detection sensitivity of the sensing element can be effectively improved, and then the automatic starting or closing of the aerosol generating device can be effectively realized.

Description

Aerosol generating device

[ field of technology ]

The embodiment of the application relates to the technical field of aerosols, in particular to an aerosol generating device.

[ background Art ]

Conventional tobacco products (e.g., cigarettes, cigars, etc.) burn tobacco during use to produce tobacco smoke, and products exist in the prior art that release compounds upon heating without burning to replace these conventional tobacco products.

An example of such a product is an aerosol-generating device, which is typically provided with a receiving channel for receiving an aerosol-product for use with the assembly, and a heating element for heating the aerosol-product to volatilize at least a portion of its active substance to produce a smoke, thereby replacing the smoke produced by the combustion of a conventional cigarette or cigar.

In order to facilitate the aerosol product to be contained in the aerosol generating device, the aerosol generating device can automatically start heating, the aerosol generating device is usually further provided with a deformation part and an induction element, a part of the deformation part stretches into the containing channel and forms the shape of the convex hull, the convex hull is extruded to deform when the aerosol product is contained in the containing channel, the induction element is used for inducing the deformation of the convex hull to generate an induction signal and transmitting the induction signal to the controller, and the controller controls the aerosol generating device to start heating according to the induction signal. However, in the process of implementing the embodiment of the present utility model, the inventor finds that the deformation of the convex hull is not obvious enough, so that the sensing element sometimes cannot sensitively detect the deformation of the convex hull, and further the aerosol generating device cannot implement automatic starting.

[ utility model ]

The embodiment of the application provides an aerosol generating device for improving the detection sensitivity of a sensing element.

An aerosol-generating device for heating an aerosol-article to produce an aerosol, the aerosol-generating device comprising:

a receiving channel for receiving at least a portion of the aerosol product;

a flexible member formed with a cantilever having at least a portion extending to the receiving channel, the cantilever being capable of being extruded by the aerosol product to deform;

the sensing element is electrically connected with the controller of the aerosol generating device and is used for sensing the deformation of the cantilever so as to generate a sensing signal and sending the sensing signal to the controller.

In one embodiment, the sensing element comprises a pressure sensing element.

In one embodiment, the flexible member is formed with a housing chamber for housing the sensing element, the housing chamber has a wall facing the housing channel, the cantilever extends from the wall into the housing channel, and the deformation of the cantilever drives the wall to deform, so that the deformation of the wall is sensed by the sensing element.

In one embodiment, the accommodating chamber has a first side wall and a second side wall which are oppositely arranged, the first side wall and the second side wall are distributed on two sides of the wall, and a certain gap is kept between the wall and the first side wall and between the wall and the second side wall.

In one embodiment, the cantilever has a width substantially the same as the width of the wall.

In one embodiment, the wall is located midway between the first and second side walls.

In one embodiment, the cantilever has a thickness greater than the thickness of the wall.

In one embodiment, the end of the cantilever arm extending into the receiving channel is formed with a bevel for providing guidance in the process of receiving the aerosol product in the receiving channel.

In one embodiment, the flexible member is provided with a clamping groove, and the aerosol-generating device further comprises a fixing frame extending in the aerosol-generating device in the longitudinal direction, wherein the fixing frame is provided with a clamping part, and the clamping part is clamped with the clamping groove.

In one embodiment, the aerosol-generating device further comprises a connector connected to the flexible member, the connector being formed with a through hole for the aerosol-product to pass through, the through hole being unblocked to form a gap through which the cantilever extends into the receiving channel.

In one embodiment, the hole wall of the through hole is formed with a clamping part for clamping the aerosol product.

In one embodiment, the connector and the flexible member are integrally formed.

In one embodiment, the connecting piece is a hard rubber piece, and the flexible piece is connected with the connecting piece through a fastening device.

The aerosol generating device provided by the above embodiment is provided with the cantilever, and due to the suspension arrangement of the cantilever, when the cantilever is extruded by an aerosol product, the cantilever is easier to deform, the deformation amount is larger, the sensing element is easier to trigger when the deformation amount of the cantilever is larger, that is to say, the sensing element can more sensitively detect the deformation of the cantilever, and then a sensing signal is generated and sent to the controller. The convex hull is deformed at present, because the convex hull is not suspended, the peripheries of the convex hulls are connected, so that when an aerosol product extrudes the convex hull, the convex hull is not easy to deform, or the deformation is very weak, and the induction element is not easy to detect the deformation of the convex hull, so that the detection sensitivity of the induction element is lower.

[ description of the drawings ]

One or more embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like references indicate similar elements, and in which the figures of the drawings are not to scale, unless expressly stated otherwise.

Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an aerosol-generating device according to an embodiment of the present application in one direction;

fig. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the aerosol-generating device of fig. 1 in one direction;

fig. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an aerosol-generating device according to another embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic perspective view of the flexible member of the aerosol-generating device of fig. 2 in one direction;

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of the flexure of FIG. 4 in another orientation;

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of the flexure of FIG. 4 in yet another orientation;

fig. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the flexure of fig. 4 in one direction.

[ detailed description ] of the utility model

In order to facilitate an understanding of the present application, the present application will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific examples. It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "fixed" to/affixed to "another element, it can be directly on the other element or one or more intervening elements may be present therebetween. When an element is referred to as being "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or one or more intervening elements may be present therebetween. The terms "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "inner", "outer" and the like are used in this specification for illustrative purposes only.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs. The terminology used in the description of the present application is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the application. The term "and/or" as used in this specification includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

In addition, the technical features described below in the different embodiments of the present application may be combined with each other as long as they do not collide with each other.

In the embodiments of the present application, the "mounting" includes welding, screwing, clamping, adhering, etc. to fix or limit a certain element or device to a specific position or place, where the element or device may be fixed at the specific position or place or may be movable within a limited range, and the element or device may be removable or not removable after being fixed at the specific position or place, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and the like, are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying a relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defining "a first" or "a second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more such feature. In the description of the present application, the meaning of "plurality" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless explicitly defined otherwise.

An embodiment of the present application provides an aerosol-generating device 100, as shown in fig. 1-2, the aerosol-generating device 100 includes a housing 10, a heating assembly 20, a fixing frame 30, a power supply unit 40 and a motherboard (not shown), the power supply unit 40 includes a chargeable or non-chargeable electric core, the motherboard is provided with a controller of the aerosol-generating device 100, and the power supply 40 and the motherboard are mounted on the fixing frame 30. The aerosol-generating device 100 is formed with a receiving channel 50, the receiving channel 50 is used for receiving an aerosol-generating product 200 used with the aerosol-generating device 100, when the aerosol-generating product 200 is received in the receiving channel 50, the heating assembly 20 heats the aerosol-generating product 200 so that the active substances in the aerosol-generating product 200 are volatilized by heating to generate aerosol, and a user can suck the aerosol on the aerosol-generating product 200.

The aerosol-generating article preferably employs a tobacco-containing material that releases volatile compounds from a matrix upon heating; or may be a non-tobacco material capable of being heated and thereafter adapted for electrical heating for smoking. The aerosol-generating article preferably employs a solid matrix, which may comprise one or more of powders, granules, shredded strips, ribbons or flakes of one or more of vanilla leaves, tobacco leaves, homogenized tobacco, expanded tobacco; alternatively, the solid substrate may contain additional volatile flavour compounds, either tobacco or non-tobacco, to be released when the substrate is heated. A suitable aerosol article 200 may be a cigarette internally filled with tobacco material.

The housing 10 has a first end 11 and a second end 12 arranged opposite in the longitudinal direction of the aerosol-generating device 100, the first end 11 being formed with a through hole 111, the through hole 111 providing access for the aerosol-product 200 into the receiving channel 50. The second end 12 forms an air inlet 121 for external air to enter the aerosol-generating device, external air entering the aerosol-generating device 100 through the air inlet 121 and further into the aerosol-product 200 as a user draws on the aerosol-product 200, carrying aerosol generated in the aerosol-product 200 and being conveyed to the user for inhalation by an internal airflow channel in the aerosol-product 200.

The first end 11 is further provided with a movable cover 13, the movable cover 13 being slidable between a first position, when slid to the first position, the movable cover 13 conceals the through-hole 111, at which time the aerosol-generating device 100 is not in use, and a second position, when slid to the second position, the movable cover 13 exposes the through-hole 111, at which time the aerosol-generating device 100 is in use. By providing the movable cover 13, dust in the air of the aerosol-generating device 100 can be prevented from entering the inside of the aerosol-generating device 100 through the through hole 111 when the aerosol-generating device 100 is not in use, and excessive dust accumulation can affect the lifetime and performance of the aerosol-generating device 100.

In some embodiments, with continued reference to fig. 2, the aerosol-generating device 100 may employ electromagnetic circumferential heating. Specifically, the heating assembly 20 includes a tubular body 21 and a coil 22 wound on an outer wall of the tubular body 21, the coil 22 is electrically connected to the main board 50, and when the aerosol product 200 is accommodated in the accommodating channel 50, a tobacco or non-tobacco filling section in the aerosol product 200 is located in the tubular body 21. The tubular body 21 is made of a material with conductive performance, when the controller controls the power supply unit 40 to supply alternating current to the coil 22, the coil 22 generates an alternating magnetic field under the action of the alternating current, and the alternating magnetic field passes through the heating body, so that eddy current is induced on the tubular body 21, the tubular body 21 can generate heat under the action of the eddy current, and the heat is transferred to the aerosol product 200 in the tubular body 21 from the circumferential direction. The material of the tubular body 21 may be any one of graphite, molybdenum, silicon carbide, stainless steel, niobium, aluminum, nickel, iron, copper, a nickel-containing compound, titanium, and a metal material composite. In some embodiments, to better induce eddy currents to increase heating efficiency, the material of the tubular body 21 is preferably or consists of a ferromagnetic material, such as ferrite iron, ferromagnetic alloys (e.g., ferromagnetic steel or stainless steel), ferromagnetic particles, and ferrite.

In some embodiments, the aerosol-generating device 100 may also employ resistive circumferential heating. Specifically, the heating assembly 20 includes a tubular body 21 and a metal heating mesh (not shown) wrapped on an outer wall of the tubular body 21, and the controller controls the metal heating mesh to generate heat when power is applied, and the heat is transferred to the tubular body 21, so that the heat is transferred from the tubular body 21 to the aerosol product 200 from the circumferential direction. At this time, the tubular body 21 is made of a high heat conductive material, so as to efficiently transfer the heat generated by the metal heating mesh to the aerosol product 200. The high thermal conductivity material may be a metal or a ceramic material, and the ceramic material may be any one of an oxide, nitride, carbide, boride, and the like.

Or in some embodiments, the aerosol-generating device 100 may also employ infrared heating. Specifically, an infrared electrothermal coating may be coated on the outer wall of the tubular body 21, and the infrared electrothermal coating is used for receiving electric power to generate heat, so as to generate infrared rays with a certain wavelength, for example, far infrared rays with a wavelength of 8 μm to 15 μm. When the wavelength of the infrared rays matches the absorption wavelength of the aerosol article 200, the energy of the infrared rays is easily absorbed by the aerosol article 200, thereby generating heat on the aerosol article 200.

Still or in some embodiments, as shown in fig. 3, the aerosol-generating device 100 may also employ electromagnetic or resistive central heating. Specifically, the heating element 20 is configured in an elongated shape having a needle-like spike, at least a portion of the heating element 20 extending within the receiving channel 50, the spike of the heating element 20 being inserted into the aerosol-product 200 for heating when the aerosol-product 200 is received within the receiving channel 50, thereby creating a central heating pattern. The heating component 20 can be a ceramic heating element, which is a heating element made by sintering and fixing an electrothermal body and ceramic at high temperature. Alternatively, the heating element 20 may be made of an electrically conductive material that is capable of being penetrated by a varying magnetic field to induce eddy currents, thereby generating heat under the influence of the eddy currents.

As shown in fig. 2, 4 and 5, the aerosol-generating device 100 further comprises a flexible member 70, wherein the flexible member 70 is made of a soft rubber material having elasticity and being easily deformed under the extrusion force, and a suitable material may be silica gel or rubber. The flexible member 70 is formed with a housing chamber 71, a sensing element 80 is housed in the housing chamber 71, the sensing element 80 is electrically connected with the controller, the housing chamber 71 has a wall 711 facing the housing channel 50, a cantilever 72 extends from the wall 711 toward the housing channel 50, and at least a portion of the cantilever 72 extends into the housing channel 50. Thus, when the aerosol product 200 is received in the receiving channel 50, the cantilever 72 is pressed by the aerosol product 200, the cantilever 72 moves away from the receiving channel 50 under the action of the pressing force, that is, deforms in a direction away from the receiving channel 50, and further drives the wall 711 to deform, and because the sensing element 80 is received in the receiving chamber 71, the sensing element 80 can sense the deformation of the wall 711 and generate a sensing signal, and send the sensing signal to the controller, and the controller can determine that the aerosol product 200 is received in the aerosol generating device 100 after receiving the sensing signal, so as to control the aerosol generating device 100 to start automatically, and at this time, the heating assembly 20 starts heating the aerosol product 200.

Similarly, when the aerosol-generating device 200 is removed from the aerosol-generating device 100, the aerosol-generating device 200 releases the extrusion of the cantilever 72, the cantilever 72 moves towards the direction close to the accommodating channel 50 under the action of the deformation restoring force, so that the cantilever 72 releases the extrusion of the wall 711, the wall 711 returns to the initial state under the action of the deformation restoring force, the sensing element 80 does not sense the deformation of the wall 711, the controller does not acquire the sensing signal sent by the sensing element 80, the controller further judges that the aerosol-generating device 200 has been removed from the aerosol-generating device, and the controller can control the aerosol-generating device 100 to be automatically turned off, and the heating assembly 20 stops heating at the moment.

It should be noted that, in other embodiments, the flexible member 70 may not have the accommodating chamber 71, and the sensing element 80 may be disposed adjacent to the cantilever 72, so long as the sensing element 80 can sense the deformation of the cantilever 72.

In this embodiment, since the cantilever 72 is suspended, it is connected to the flexible member 70 in only one direction, i.e., the cantilever 72 is connected to the wall 711 of the flexible member 70 only, and is not connected to the flexible member 70 in the other direction. Therefore, when the cantilever 72 is pressed by the aerosol product 200, the cantilever 72 is more easily deformed, so that the cantilever 72 has a larger deformation amount, and the sensing element 80 is more easily triggered by the larger deformation amount of the cantilever 72, that is, the sensing element 80 can more sensitively detect the deformation of the cantilever 72, and then generate a sensing signal to send to the controller. The convex hull is deformed at present, because the convex hull is not suspended, the peripheries of the convex hulls are connected, so that when the aerosol product 200 extrudes the convex hull, the convex hull is not easy to deform, or the deformation is very weak, the induction element is not easy to detect the deformation of the convex hull, and the detection sensitivity of the induction element is low.

In some embodiments, the sensing element 80 is a pressure sensing element, when the cantilever 72 is pressed to deform, the cantilever 72 drives the wall 711 to deform, the wall 711 deforms and transmits the deformation to the pressure sensing element, that is, the wall 711 applies a certain pressure to the pressure sensing element through deformation, so that the pressure sensing element senses the pressure change, the pressure sensing element converts the pressure change into a sensing signal and sends the sensing signal to the controller, and the controller can determine that the aerosol product 200 is contained in the aerosol generating device according to the sensing signal. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the sensing element 80 may be a position sensing element, where a preset distance is provided between the position sensing element and the wall 711 of the accommodating chamber 71, and when the cantilever 72 is pressed, the wall 711 is deformed, so that the wall 711 moves towards the position sensing element, and when the cantilever moves to the preset distance, the position sensing element is triggered and generates a sensing signal to send to the controller, and the controller determines that the aerosol-product 200 is accommodated in the aerosol-generating device according to the sensing signal, so as to control the aerosol-generating device to automatically start.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 4, the accommodating chamber 71 has a first side wall 712 and a second side wall 713 disposed opposite to each other, the first side wall 712 and the second side wall 713 being distributed on both sides of the wall 711, that is, the wall 711, the first side wall 712, and the second side wall 713 define the accommodating chamber 71, and the first side wall 712 and the second side wall 713 also define the accommodating chamber 71 extending in the lateral direction. The wall 711 and the first and second side walls 712 and 713 each have a certain gap 714, and the gaps 714 reduce the rigidity of the wall 711, so that the wall 711 is easier to deform when the cantilever 72 is pressed, and the deformation amplitude of the wall 711 is larger, so that the sensing element 80 is triggered better. Further in some embodiments, the wall 711 is positioned midway between the first side wall 712 and the second side wall 713, which is advantageous for triggering the sensing element 80 when the wall 711 is deformed.

Further in some embodiments, as shown in fig. 6, cantilever 72 extends from the edge of wall 711 such that the width of wall 711 is substantially the same as the width of cantilever 72, as shown by d1 and d2 in fig. 6, d1 being the width of cantilever 72 and d2 being the width of wall 711. In this way, the connection area between the cantilever 72 and the wall 711 is large enough to increase the rigidity of the cantilever 72, and when the cantilever 72 is extruded by the aerosol product 200, the cantilever 20 deforms in a direction away from the receiving channel 50, so that the wall 711 is better deformed, which is beneficial to triggering the sensing element 80. If the width d1 of the cantilever 72 is too small, the cantilever 72 is not well deformed by the driving wall 711 when pressed, thereby affecting the triggering of the sensing element 80.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 7, the end of the cantilever 72 extending to the accommodating channel 50 is provided with a slope 721, the slope 721 is towards the through hole 111, and when the aerosol product 200 enters the accommodating channel 50, on one hand, the aerosol product 200 abuts against the slope 721 of the cantilever 72, and the aerosol product 200 can smoothly continue to move towards the bottom of the accommodating channel 50 under the guidance of the slope 721; on the other hand, the aerosol product 200 can apply a force to the cantilever 72 in a lateral direction through the inclined surface 721, so that the cantilever 72 moves away from the receiving channel 50 to deform, and the cantilever 72 drives the wall 711 to deform.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 7, to facilitate the smooth deformation of the wall 711 when the cantilever 72 is pressed, the thickness d4 of the cantilever 72 is greater than the thickness d3 of the wall 711, that is, the rigidity of the cantilever 72 is greater than the rigidity of the wall 711, so that the wall 711 is more easily deformed under the pressing action of the cantilever 72.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 2 and 7, the fixing frame 30 is provided with a fastening portion 31, the flexible member 70 is provided with a slot 73 adapted to the fastening portion 31, and the fastening portion 31 is fastened in the slot 73. Since the flexible member 70 is made of a soft plastic material, the fastening portion 31 may be fastened in the fastening slot 73 by interference, so as to fix the flexible member 70 in the aerosol-generating device 100. In this embodiment, to increase the clamping area between the clamping portion 31 and the clamping groove 73, so that the flexible member 70 is fixed and is more rigid, the clamping groove 73 and the clamping portion 31 are both arc-shaped, and the arc-shaped clamping groove 73 and the clamping portion 31 can increase the clamping area between the clamping portion 31 and the clamping groove 73 in a limited space. Of course, in other embodiments, the clamping groove and the clamping groove may not be configured in an arc shape, for example, the flexible member 70 may be firmly fixed by separately providing a plurality of clamping grooves and clamping grooves to be clamped with each other.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 4, 5 and 7, the aerosol-generating device 100 further comprises a connector 90 connected to the flexible member 70, the connector 90 being formed with a through hole 91 through which the aerosol-product 200 passes, the through hole 91 being unblocked so as to form a gap 911 through which the cantilever 72 protrudes into the receiving channel 50.

In some embodiments, ribs 912 are formed around the inner wall of the through-hole 91, the ribs 912 acting as a gripping portion for gripping the aerosol product 200 as the aerosol product 200 passes through the through-hole 91, thereby allowing the aerosol product 200 to be securely received in the receiving channel 50. Alternatively, in other examples, the clamping portion may be a plurality of convex hulls (not shown) extending from the inner wall of the through hole 91, where the convex hulls are uniformly disposed around the inner wall of the through hole 91, so that the convex hulls form a clamping space, and when the aerosol product 200 passes through the through hole 91, the aerosol product 200 may be clamped by the convex hulls.

In some embodiments, the flexible member 70 and the connecting member 90 may be integrally formed, for example, the connecting member 90 may be a soft plastic member as the flexible member 70, thereby being manufactured by single-color injection molding; and if the connection member 70 is a hard plastic member, it may be manufactured by means of double-shot injection molding.

In some embodiments, the flexible member 70 and the connecting member 90 may be separate, for example, when the connecting member 90 is a hard plastic member, the flexible member 70 may be connected to the connecting member 90 by a fastening device, which may be an adhesive or other fastening means known to those skilled in the art.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are only for illustrating the technical solution of the present application, and are not limiting thereof; the technical features of the above embodiments or in the different embodiments may also be combined under the idea of the present application, the steps may be implemented in any order, and there are many other variations of the different aspects of the present application as described above, which are not provided in details for the sake of brevity; although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: the technical scheme described in the foregoing embodiments can be modified or some technical features thereof can be replaced by equivalents; such modifications and substitutions do not depart from the spirit of the corresponding technical solutions from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims (13)

1. An aerosol-generating device for heating an aerosol-article to produce an aerosol, the aerosol-generating device comprising:

a receiving channel for receiving at least a portion of the aerosol product;

a flexible member formed with a cantilever having at least a portion extending to the receiving channel, the cantilever being capable of being extruded by the aerosol product to deform;

the sensing element is electrically connected with the controller of the aerosol generating device and is used for sensing the deformation of the cantilever so as to generate a sensing signal and sending the sensing signal to the controller.

2. An aerosol-generating device according to claim 1, wherein the sensing element comprises a pressure sensing element.

3. An aerosol-generating device according to claim 1, wherein the flexible member defines a receiving cavity for receiving the sensing element, the receiving cavity having a wall facing the receiving channel, the cantilever extending from the wall into the receiving channel, the cantilever deforming to deform the wall to thereby sense deformation of the wall by the sensing element.

4. An aerosol-generating device according to claim 3, wherein the receiving chamber has first and second opposed side walls, the first and second side walls being disposed on opposite sides of the wall, the wall and the first and second side walls each maintaining a gap.

5. An aerosol-generating device according to claim 3, wherein the width of the cantilever is substantially the same as the width of the wall.

6. An aerosol-generating device according to claim 4, wherein the wall is located midway between the first and second side walls.

7. An aerosol-generating device according to claim 3, wherein the cantilever has a thickness greater than the thickness of the wall.

8. An aerosol-generating device according to claim 1, wherein the end of the cantilever arm extending into the receiving channel is formed with a chamfer for providing guidance in the process of receiving the aerosol-product in the receiving channel.

9. An aerosol-generating device according to claim 1, wherein the flexible member is provided with a clamping groove, the aerosol-generating device further comprising a holder extending in the aerosol-generating device in a longitudinal direction, the holder being provided with a snap-fit portion, the snap-fit portion being snapped into the clamping groove.

10. An aerosol-generating device according to claim 1, further comprising a connector connected to the flexible member, the connector being formed with a through-hole through which the aerosol-product passes, the through-hole being unblocked to form a gap through which the cantilever arm extends into the receiving channel.

11. An aerosol-generating device according to claim 10, wherein the walls of the through-holes are formed with a grip portion for gripping the aerosol-article.

12. An aerosol-generating device according to claim 10, wherein the connector and the flexible member are integrally formed.

13. An aerosol-generating device according to claim 10, wherein the connecting element is a stiff plastic element and the flexible element is connected to the connecting element by fastening means.