CN219613083U - Gas mist generating device and heater for gas mist generating device - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model provides an aerosol-generating device and a heater for the aerosol-generating device; wherein the aerosol-generating device comprises: a heating element for heating the aerosol-generating article; a first thermocouple wire electrically connected to a first location of the heating element; a second thermocouple wire electrically connected to a second location of the heating element; the material of the first thermocouple wire is the same as that of the second thermocouple wire, and the first position is different from the second position; circuitry is configured to determine a temperature of the heating element by acquiring a thermoelectric potential between the first thermocouple wire and the second thermocouple wire. The above aerosol-generating device, based on the law of homogeneous conductors of thermocouples, connects the first thermocouple wire and the second thermocouple wire of the same material respectively to different positions of the heating element to form thermocouples, so as to eliminate the contact potential of the thermocouples as much as possible, and is advantageous for improving the accuracy of temperature monitoring.

Description

Gas mist generating device and heater for gas mist generating device

Technical Field

The embodiment of the utility model relates to the technical field of aerosol generation, in particular to an aerosol generating device and a heater for the aerosol generating device.

Background

Smoking articles (e.g., cigarettes, cigars, etc.) burn tobacco during use to produce tobacco smoke. Attempts have been made to replace these tobacco-burning products by making products that release the compounds without burning.

An example of such a product is a heating device that releases a compound by heating rather than burning a material. For example, the material may be tobacco or other non-tobacco products that may or may not contain nicotine. Known heating devices heat tobacco or other non-tobacco products by a heater to produce an aerosol; and the heating device is used for forming a thermocouple for sensing the temperature of the heater by welding two thermocouple wires made of different materials on the heater.

Disclosure of Invention

One embodiment of the utility model provides an aerosol-generating device configured to heat an aerosol-generating article to generate an aerosol; comprising the following steps:

a heating element for heating the aerosol-generating article;

a first thermocouple wire electrically connected to a first location of the heating element;

a second thermocouple wire electrically connected to a second location of the heating element;

the first thermocouple wire is the same material as the second thermocouple wire, and the first location is different from the second location;

circuitry configured to determine a temperature of the heating element by acquiring a thermoelectric potential between the first thermocouple wire and the second thermocouple wire.

In some embodiments, the temperature of the first location is higher than the temperature of the second location when the heating element heats the aerosol-generating article.

In some embodiments, the temperature of the first location is at least 100 ℃ higher than the temperature of the second location when the heating element heats the aerosol-generating article.

In some embodiments, the distance of the first location from the second location is greater than or equal to 1/2 of the length of the heating element.

In some embodiments, the heating element includes first and second ends that are opposite in a longitudinal direction;

the heating element is arranged in a cylindrical shape extending between the first and second ends;

the first location is disposed proximate the first end or the first location is disposed proximate a longitudinal center of the heating element;

and/or, the second location is disposed proximate the second end.

In some embodiments, the electrical resistivity of the material of the first thermocouple wire and the material of the second thermocouple wire is less than 10 μΩ.

In some embodiments, the material of the first thermocouple wire and the material of the second thermocouple wire have a resistivity of between 1 and 8 μΩ.

In some embodiments, the first thermocouple wire and the second thermocouple wire are selected from at least one of nickel wire, copper wire, silver wire.

In some embodiments, the first thermocouple wire and the second thermocouple wire surface further comprise a metal plating.

In some embodiments, the length of the first thermocouple wire is greater than the length of the second thermocouple wire.

In some embodiments, the first thermocouple wire has a length of 25mm to 50mm;

and/or the length of the second thermocouple wire is 20-40 mm.

In some embodiments, the first thermocouple wire and the second thermocouple wire have a diameter of 0.1 to 0.5 mm.

In some embodiments, the heating element comprises at least one of a resistive heating element, an inductive heating element, or an infrared heating element.

In some embodiments, further comprising:

a first electrically conductive lead connected to a first end of the heating element;

a second electrically conductive lead connected to a second end of the heating element;

the circuit is arranged to power the heating element via the first and second conductive leads, thereby causing the heating element to generate heat.

In some embodiments, further comprising:

a chamber for receiving an aerosol-generating article;

a heater housing extending at least partially within the chamber for insertion into an aerosol-generating article; the heater housing defines a longitudinally extending cavity therein;

the heating element is received or held within the cavity and is thermally conductive with the heater housing; in use, the heater housing heats up by receiving heat from the heating element, which in turn heats up the aerosol-generating article.

Yet another embodiment of the present utility model also proposes a heater for an aerosol-generating device, comprising:

a heating element;

a first thermocouple wire electrically connected to a first location of the heating element;

a second thermocouple wire electrically connected to a second location of the heating element;

the material of the first thermocouple wire is the same as that of the second thermocouple wire; and the first position is different from the second position to form a thermocouple between the first thermocouple wire and the second thermocouple wire capable of sensing the temperature of the heating element so that in use the temperature of the heating element can be determined by detecting the thermoelectric potential between the first thermocouple wire and the second thermocouple wire.

The above aerosol-generating device, based on the law of homogeneous conductors of thermocouples, connects the first thermocouple wire and the second thermocouple wire of the same material respectively to different positions of the heating element to form thermocouples, so as to eliminate the contact potential of the thermocouples as much as possible, and is advantageous for improving the accuracy of temperature monitoring.

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 be taken in a limiting sense, unless otherwise indicated.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an aerosol-generating device according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of the heater of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the heater of FIG. 2 from one perspective;

FIG. 4 is a temperature field distribution diagram of a heater during heating in one embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of the thermoelectric principle of a thermocouple formed by two thermocouple wires;

FIG. 6 is a plot of the sampled thermoelectric voltage versus the temperature of the heating element in one embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of an aerosol-generating device of yet another embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a plot of sampled thermoelectric voltage versus temperature of a heating element in yet another embodiment.

Detailed Description

In order that the utility model may be readily understood, a more particular description thereof will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments that are illustrated in the appended drawings.

An embodiment of the present utility model proposes an aerosol-generating device, which may be constructed as shown in fig. 1, comprising:

a chamber having an opening 40; in use, the aerosol-generating article 1000 can be removably received within or removed from the chamber through the opening 40 of the chamber;

a heater 30 extending at least partially within the chamber, inserted into the aerosol-generating article 1000 when the aerosol-generating article 1000 is received within the chamber, for heating, such that the aerosol-generating article 1000 releases a plurality of volatile compounds, and such volatile compounds are formed by a heat treatment alone;

a battery cell 10 for supplying power;

a circuit 20 for conducting current between the cell 10 and the heater 30.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 1, the heater 30 is configured in the shape of a pin or rod or bar or column or plate extending at least partially within the chamber, which is advantageous for insertion into the aerosol-generating article 1000; meanwhile, the heater 30 may have a length of about 12 to 20mm and an outer diameter size of about 2 to 4 mm.

In one embodiment, the DC supply voltage provided by the battery 10 is in the range of about 2.5V to about 9.0V, and the amperage of the DC current that the battery 10 can provide is in the range of about 2.5A to about 20A.

Further in an alternative embodiment, the aerosol-generating article 1000 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 1000 preferably employs a solid matrix, which may comprise one or more of powders, granules, strips of fragments, or flakes of one or more of vanilla leaves, tobacco leaves, homogenized tobacco, expanded tobacco; alternatively, the solid matrix may contain additional volatile flavour compounds, either tobacco or non-tobacco, to be released upon heating.

And in some embodiments, when the aerosol-generating article 1000 portion is heated while received within the aerosol-generating device, the aerosol-generating article 1000 portion is exposed to the outside of the aerosol-generating device, e.g., the filter mouthpiece is located outside of the aerosol-generating device, for user-aspiration to be facilitated.

In embodiments, heater 30 may generally include a resistive heating element, as well as an auxiliary substrate to assist in resistive heating element fixation preparation, and the like. For example, in some embodiments, the resistive heating element is in the shape or form of a helical coil. Or in yet other embodiments, the resistive heating element is in the form of a conductive trace bonded to the substrate. Or in yet other embodiments the resistive heating element is in the shape of a sheet.

Or in some specific embodiments, heater 30 comprises a pin or sheet-like electrically insulating substrate, and a resistive heating element wrapped around or deposited or bonded on the electrically insulating substrate; in particular, the resistive heating element may comprise a resistive heating track, a resistive heating coating, or the like deposited on an electrically insulating substrate. The electrically insulating substrate may comprise a rigid ceramic, a surface insulating metal, or a flexible PI film, etc.

Or in still other embodiments heater 30 may also be tubular in shape configured to surround or define a chamber; in use, the heater 30 heats from the periphery of the aerosol-generating article 1000. For example, in some specific embodiments, the heater 30 may include:

a tubular electrically insulating substrate surrounding or defining a chamber;

a heating element formed or bonded on the electrically insulating substrate; and in this embodiment the heating element may comprise a resistive heating mesh, resistive heating coating or track, or the like, wound on an electrically insulating substrate. Or the heating element may also comprise an induction heating element capable of generating heat by penetration by a varying magnetic field; still alternatively, the heating element may also include an infrared heating element, such as an infrared emitting coating formed on an electrically insulating substrate of quartz material.

Further figures 2-3 show schematic views of a heater 30 of one particular embodiment; the heater 30 of this embodiment includes a free front end 311 and a rear end 312 that are opposed in the length direction; wherein the free front end 311 is tapered tip for insertion into the aerosol-generating article 1000; specifically, the heater 30 includes:

a housing 31 configured in the shape of a pin or a needle or a column or a bar; and the opposite ends of the housing 31 in the length direction define a free front end 311 and a distal end 312, respectively, which form the heater 30; and, a cavity 313 extending between free front end 311 and distal end 312 is provided within housing 31. Wherein cavity 313 forms an opening or mouth at end 312 to facilitate assembly of functional components therein.

In some embodiments, the housing 31 has a length of 12-20 mm; the housing 31 has an outer diameter of about 2.0 to 2.8mm and a wall thickness of about 0.1 to 0.3 mm; the inner diameter of the cavity of the housing 31 is about 1.5 to 2.1mm and the length of the cavity is about 12 to 18mm.

In an embodiment, the housing 31 is made of a thermally conductive material; and, the housing 31 may be insulating. The housing 31 includes, for example, ceramics, glass, surface insulating metal such as surface oxidized stainless steel, and the like. And, when the housing 31 includes a metal or an alloy, the housing 31 may include an aluminum alloy, a copper alloy, or stainless steel such as 430/420 stainless steel, 304 stainless steel, 321 stainless steel, or the like.

The housing 31 has a thermal conductivity of about 1 to 200W/m.k. Or in still other embodiments, the housing 31 may also be made of a material having more and higher thermal conductivity, such as a thermal conductivity of at least 40W/m.k, preferably or at least 100W/m.k; or in some embodiments, the thermal conductivity of the housing 31 is greater than 200W/m.k or higher. In some embodiments, the housing 31 comprises a metal suitable for the above high thermal conductivity, such as aluminum, copper, titanium, or alloys containing at least one of them, and the like.

And in some embodiments, the housing 31 includes only one part or portion. Or in still other variations, the housing 31 may comprise multiple pieces, or the housing 31 may be composed of multiple pieces together; for example, the housing 31 is spliced from a plurality of tubular or needle-like parts or portions.

And, the heater 30 includes:

the heating element 32 is received and held within the cavity 313 of the housing 31. The heating element 32 is configured as a conventional solenoid coil; in use, the heating element 32 has conductive leads 321 and 322 connected to each end; for example, the conductive lead 321 is connected to the end of the heating element 32 toward or near the free front end 311 by welding or the like, and the conductive lead 322 is connected to the end of the heating element 32 toward or near the tip 312 by welding or the like; in use, the heating element 32 is connected to the circuit 20 by the conductive leads 321 and 322, and current is directed across the heating element 32 by the conductive leads 321 and 322 to power the heating element 32. And in some embodiments, conductive leads 321 and/or 322 comprise conductive filaments of a low resistivity metal or alloy; for example, conductive leads 321 and/or 322 include conductive wires made of gold, copper, silver, nickel, or the like, or alloys thereof. And, conductive leads 321 and/or 322 are elongate filar leads; conductive leads 321 and/or conductive leads 322 extend at least partially beyond ends 312; and, conductive leads 321 and/or 322 have a diameter of about 0.1-0.5 mm.

And in some embodiments, conductive leads 321 and/or 322 may further comprise: a metal coating layer formed on the surface of the conductive wire; the coating layer may be formed by electroplating or the like. For example, in some embodiments, conductive leads 321 and/or 322 may be copper wire plated with nickel, copper wire plated with silver, nickel wire plated with silver, with nickel, etc., with at least one of silver plating, nickel plating, etc.; and in some embodiments, the thickness of the metal cladding is typically less than 0.1mm.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 2 and 3, the heating element 32 is fully assembled and held within the cavity 313 of the housing 31, and the heating element 32 and the housing 31 are thermally conductive to one another after assembly. And, the heating element 32 is insulated from the inner surface of the cavity 313 of the housing 31. And in this embodiment the housing 31 is capable of heating the aerosol-generating article 1000 by receiving resistive joule heat from the heating element 32.

And in an embodiment, the heating element 32 is a resistive heating coil capable of generating heat by resistive joule heat when a direct current flows through the heating element 32. In an alternative embodiment, the heating element 32 is fabricated from a metallic material, a metallic alloy, graphite, carbon, a conductive ceramic, or a cermet composite having suitable resistance. Suitable metals or alloy materials include at least one of nickel, cobalt, zirconium, titanium, nickel alloys, cobalt alloys, zirconium alloys, titanium alloys, nichrome, nickel-iron alloys, iron-chromium-aluminum alloys, iron-manganese-aluminum alloys, or stainless steel, among others.

Or in still other variations, the heating element 32 comprises an electrically conductive magnetic material operatively coupled to the circuit 20 by conductive leads 321 and 322 and configured to cause the heating element 32 of the electrically conductive magnetic material to generate heat due to resistive joule heating when an AC drive current provided by the circuit 20 is passed through the heating element 32. In this embodiment, the housing 31 is capable of heating the aerosol-generating article 1000 by receiving resistive joule heat from the heating element 32.

In some embodiments, the heating element 32 of electrically conductive magnetic material is, for example, a ferromagnetic or ferrimagnetic material. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the heating element 32 of the electrically conductive magnetic material may be made of at least one of ferromagnetic or ferrimagnetic materials: nickel cobalt iron alloys (such as, for example, kovar or iron nickel cobalt alloy 1), armoium iron, permalloy (such as, for example, permalloy C), or ferritic or martensitic stainless steels. Or in still other embodiments, the heating element 32 of electrically conductive magnetic material comprises a magnetic conductor material having a curie temperature of not less than 450 c, such as SUS430 grade stainless steel, SUS420 grade stainless steel, iron-aluminum alloy, iron-nickel alloy, and the like. The heating element 32 includes a ferritic stainless steel such as SUS430 grade stainless steel, SUS420 grade stainless steel.

In an embodiment, by passing an AC drive current through the heating element 32 instead of a dc drive current, the effective resistance of the conductive heating element 32, and thus the heating efficiency of the heating element 32, is significantly improved. Unlike direct current, AC current flows primarily at the "skin" of the electrical conductor, between the outer surface of the heating element 32 and a level called skin depth. The AC current density is greatest near the surface of the conductor and decreases with increasing depth in the conductor. As the frequency of the AC drive current increases, the skin depth decreases, which results in a decrease in the effective cross section of the heating element 32, thereby increasing the effective resistance of the heating element 32, which is advantageous for increasing the rate of temperature rise.

And in some embodiments, the cross-sectional shape of the wire material of the heating element 32 configured in the form of a solenoid is a shape other than a conventional circle in accordance with the embodiments shown in fig. 2 and 3. In the embodiment shown in fig. 2 and 3, the cross-section of the wire material of the heating element 32 has a dimension extending in the axial direction that is greater than the dimension extending in the radial direction, so that the cross-section of the wire material of the heating element 32 takes on a flat rectangular shape.

Briefly, the heating element 32 of the above construction is in the form of a wire material that is completely or at least flattened, as compared to a conventional helical coil formed from a circular cross-section wire. Thus, the wire material extends in the radial direction to a lesser extent. By this measure, the energy loss in the heating element 32 can be reduced. In particular, the transfer of heat generated by the heating element 32 radially towards the housing 31 may be facilitated.

And in some embodiments, the cross-section of the wire material of the heating element 32 has a dimension extending in the axial direction of between 0.5 and 2.0mm; for example, in some embodiments, the cross-section of the wire material of the heating element 32 has an axially extending dimension of between 0.8mm and 1.5mm. And the dimension of the radial extension of the cross section of the wire material of the heating element 32 is between 0.1 and 0.5mm; for example, in some embodiments, the cross-section of the wire material of the heating element 32 has a dimension extending in the radial direction of between 0.15mm and 0.3mm.

Or in still other variations, the wire material of the heating element 32 is circular in cross-section.

And in some embodiments, the heating element 32 may have about 6 to 18 turns and a length of about 8 to 15 mm. And the outer diameter of the heating element 32 is no more than 1.9mm at maximum, for example the outer diameter of the heating element 32 may be between 1.6 and 1.9mm.

And in some embodiments, the spacing between adjacent turns of the heating element 32 is constant; for example, in some embodiments, the spacing between adjacent turns of the heating element 32 is in the range of 0.025-0.3 mm; for example, in some embodiments, the spacing between adjacent turns of the heating element 32 is in the range of 0.05-0.15 mm. Or in still other embodiments, the spacing between adjacent turns of the heating element 32 is varied. Or in yet other embodiments, the adjacent turns of the heating element 32 have a varying spacing therebetween.

And in some embodiments the cross-section of the solenoid shaped heating element 32 may be generally circular. Or in still other embodiments the solenoid-shaped heating element 32 may be rectangular, oval, square, etc. in cross-section.

And in some embodiments, the outer diameter of the heating element 32 is slightly smaller than the diameter of the cavity 313, which is advantageous for fitting the heating element 32 into the cavity 313; the outer surface of the heating element 32 has a gap with the inner surface of the cavity 313. And in some embodiments, the gap may be between 0.025mm and 0.15mm; or in some embodiments, the gap between the outer surface of the heating element 32 and the inner surface of the housing 31 defining the cavity 313 may be between 0.025mm and 0.10mm.

And, with further reference to fig. 2, the heater 30 further comprises:

a base 34 at least partially surrounding or bonded to the housing 31; the base 34 is disposed substantially adjacent the end 312 and the aerosol-generating device allows the heater 30 to be stably mounted and secured within the device by clamping or holding the base 34. And, the base 34 is substantially shielded from the heating element 32; alternatively, the base 34 is substantially at the end of the heating element 32 near the tip 312. Or in still other embodiments, the base 34 is closer to the tip 312 than the heating element 32; or in still other embodiments, the pedestals 34 are offset from the heating elements 32 along the length of the heater 30; or in still other embodiments, the spacing between the base 34 and the heating element 32 along the length of the heater 30 is greater than 1mm.

In some embodiments, the base 34 is separately manufactured and then attached to the housing 31 by riveting or mechanical fastening. Or in yet other embodiments, the base 34 is molded from a moldable material around the housing 31. The base 34 is made of a moldable material such as an organic polymer, for example, PEEK, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyurethane, a polymeric resin, or the like, or a ceramic.

And in some embodiments, the cavity 313 of the housing 31 is also filled with a filler material, such as formed by injecting a slurry into a gap or gap between the housing 31 and the heating element 32, and curing. The filling material is formed by, for example, injecting a ceramic paste, a glass paste, an inorganic oxide paste, a nitride paste, or the like into the cavity 313 and filling up the gap between the housing 31 and the heating element 32, and then curing. The above slurry is usually a suspension formed by mixing the solid powder of each of the above filler materials with a solvent; for example, the ceramic slurry may be formed by mixing ceramic raw material powder with an organic solvent.

Or in still other embodiments, the filler material is thermally conductive; for example, the filler material comprises a metal oxide having excellent thermal conductivity (e.g., mgO, al ₂ O ₃ 、B ₂ O ₃ Etc.), metal nitride (Si ₃ N ₄ 、B ₃ N ₄ 、Al ₃ N ₄ Etc.), glass glaze with high temperature resistance or other high heat conduction composite ceramic materials can be used. Or in still other embodiments, the filler material comprises a glue, such as a glass glue, a resin glue, or the like; specifically, for example, a sodium silicate sol forming a glass cement is injected into the cavity 313 and then cured. Or in still other embodiments the filler material may also include a powder, such as a glass frit, ceramic frit, or the like.

Further FIG. 4 illustrates a temperature field profile of heater 30 as detected by thermal infrared imager FOTRIC616 during operation in one embodiment. In the heater 30 to be tested, the length of the housing 31 made of 304 stainless steel was 15mm, the outer diameter was 2.1mm, the length of the tapered tip was 2.5mm, the length of the cavity of the housing 31 was 13mm, and the inner diameter was 1.8mm; the heating element 32 of the spiral coil is made of stainless steel, the number of turns is 9, the length of the heating element 32 is 9.0+/-0.5 mm, the outer diameter is 1.6mm, the extension dimension of the wire material of the heating element 32 along the axial direction is 0.8mm, and the extension dimension along the radial direction is 0.2mm; the porous electric insulating substrate 313 is made of ceramic mixed by porous alumina, silica and boron oxide, the outer diameter of the tubular electric insulating substrate 31 is 1.4mm, the inner diameter is 0.5mm, and the length is equal to the length of the heating element 32; the flange 34 is made of PEEK and has a thickness of 3mm. Further referring to fig. 4, when the heater 30 is heated while being maintained at 350 c during the heating process, the high temperature region (340-350 c region) is closer to the free front end 311 and has a length D1 of about 4.5mm in the result of the temperature field distribution exhibited in the thermal infrared imager FOTRIC 616.

And further referring to fig. 2 and 3, the heater 30 further includes:

thermocouple wires 331 and 332 connected to both ends of the heating element 32, respectively; for example, thermocouple wire 331 is connected to an end of heating element 32 toward or near proximal end 311 by welding or the like, and thermocouple wire 332 is connected to an end of heating element 32 toward or near distal end 312 by welding or the like.

And in embodiments, thermocouple wire 331 and/or thermocouple wire 332 have a diameter of about 0.1-0.5 mm; alternatively, the thermocouple wires 331 and/or 332 have a diameter of 0.2 to 0.4 mm. For example, in one particular embodiment, thermocouple wire 331 and/or thermocouple wire 332 have a diameter of 0.3mm. Or in still other alternative embodiments, thermocouple wire 331 and thermocouple wire 332 have different diameters such that thermocouple wire 331 is thicker or thinner than thermocouple wire 332.

And in this embodiment, the thermocouple wires 331 and 332 are made of the same material; and thermocouple wires 331 and 332 are welded to different positions of the heating element 32, respectively, so as to form a thermocouple therebetween for sensing the temperature of the heating element 32.

In this embodiment, the thermocouple wires 331 and 332 made of the same material are connected to different positions of the heating element 32 for measuring temperature, and the modification scheme is based on three laws (middle conductor law, homogeneous conductor law, middle temperature law) of the thermocouple temperature measuring circuit.

Specifically, FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of a closed loop in which temperature measurements are typically formed by welding two galvanic wires; when closed by welding thermocouple wire 331 and thermocouple wire 332 at hot end T1 and cold end T0, respectively, the total thermal potential in the loop is calculated as: e=e ₃₃₂ +E _T1 -E ₃₃₁ -E _T0 The method comprises the steps of carrying out a first treatment on the surface of the Wherein: e (E) ₃₃₁ Is the thermoelectric potential between the thermocouple wire 331 at the hot end T1 and the cold end T0;

E ₃₃₂ is the thermoelectric potential between the thermocouple wire 332 at the hot end T1 and the cold end T0;

E _T1 is the contact potential of thermocouple wire 331 and thermocouple wire 332 at hot end T1;

E _T0 is the contact potential of thermocouple wire 331 and thermocouple wire 332 at the hot end T1.

Further, based on the law of the intermediate conductor of the thermocouple (the intermediate conductor is connected in the thermocouple circuit, and the introduction of the intermediate conductor has no effect on the total potential of the thermocouple circuit as long as the temperatures of the two ends of the intermediate conductor are the same, this is the law of the intermediate conductor), in the embodiment of fig. 2 and 3, the ends of the thermocouple wires 331 and 332 facing away from the heating element 32 are regarded as open circuits, and then the connection of the circuit 20 and the heating element 32 has no effect on the total thermal potential of the closed circuit by means of a thermocouple temperature measuring system connected to the circuit 20 respectively.

Further, based on the law of homogeneous conductors of thermocouples (a closed loop is formed by welding two ends of the same homogeneous material, no contact potential will be generated no matter how the cross section of the conductor is distributed and how the temperature is distributed, and a contact potential will be generated between two different homogeneous conductors due to the existence of a temperature gradient), the thermocouple wire 331 and the thermocouple wire 332 are made of the same material in the embodiment, the contact potential E is partially caused _T1 And contact potential E _T0 And (3) counteracting.

Further, based again on the intermediate temperature law of the thermocouple, the total thermal potential of the thermocouple loop with thermocouple wires 331 and 332 connected to the two ends of the heating element 32, respectively, may characterize the intermediate temperature across the heating element 32. The circuit 20 may then determine the temperature of the heating element 32 by sampling the voltage between the thermocouple wires 331 and 332.

In the above embodiment, based on the transformation of the three laws of the thermocouple temperature measuring circuit, the thermocouple wires 331 and 332 are made of the same material, and compared with the conventional thermocouples formed by welding two thermocouple wires of different materials on the heating element 32 (for example, the K-type thermocouples formed by nickel-chromium wires and nickel-silicon wires), the total thermal potential is mainly a thermoelectric potential, and the monotonicity and the linearity degree of the thermal potential and the temperature value of the heating element 32 are higher, so that the accuracy of detecting the heating element 32 is improved.

For example, in FIG. 6, a particular embodiment is shown in which the sampled potential of circuit 20 is amplified 10 with an operational amplifier ⁴ A plot of the multiplied potential value versus the actual temperature of the heating element 32; in the embodiment of fig. 6, thermocouple wires 331 and 332 are nickel wires having a diameter of 0.3mm. It can be seen from the graph of fig. 6 that the thermoelectric potential between thermocouple wires 331 and 332 of the same material is substantially monotonic and linear with the temperature of heating element 32 over a range of operating temperatures.

And further in embodiments, the electrical resistivity of the material used for thermocouple wire 331 and thermocouple wire 332 is less than 10 μΩ·cm; for example, the material of thermocouple wires 331 and 332 has a resistivity of 1 to 8 μΩ·cm. In some specific alternative implementations, thermocouple wires 331 and 332 may include low resistivity metallic materials such as nickel wires having a resistivity of 6.84 μΩ·cm, copper wires having a resistivity of 1.75 μΩ·cm, silver wires having a resistivity of 1.65 μΩ·cm, and the like; the voltage drop of the galvanic couple wire material such as nickel chromium, nickel silicon and the like can be eliminated greatly.

Or in still other embodiments thermocouple wires 331 and 332 may also be sprayed or deposited with a low resistivity coating on the surface. For example, thermocouple wires 331 and 332 may be silver plated with copper wires, nickel wires, etc.

And in an embodiment, thermocouple wire 331 is welded or the like to form a connection at a first connection location of heating element 32, and thermocouple wire 332 is welded or the like to form a connection at a second connection location of heating element 32; the first connection location and the second connection location must be located within different Wen Changou domains of the heating element 32, for example, as shown in fig. 4, the first connection location being the end of the heating element 32 toward or near the proximal end 311, being the high temperature region of the heating element 32; the first connection location is the end of the heating element 32 toward or near the tip 312, which is the low temperature region of the heating element 32. And in an embodiment, the temperature difference between the first connection location and the second connection location of the heating element 32 during operation is greater than 100 ℃; or more preferably, the temperature difference between the first and second connection locations of the heating element 32 during operation is greater than 200 c.

And in some embodiments, the distance between the first connection location and the second connection location is greater than or equal to 1/2 of the length of the heating element 32. For example, in an embodiment, the distance between the first connection location and the second connection location is greater than 5mm.

And in some embodiments, the length of thermocouple wire 331 is greater than the length of thermocouple wire 332; for example, in some specific embodiments, thermocouple wire 331 has a length of about 25mm to 50mm; and the thermocouple wire 332 has a length of about 20 to 40mm. Or in still other variations, the length of thermocouple wire 331 is substantially the same as the length of thermocouple wire 332.

For another example, fig. 7 shows a schematic view of an aerosol-generating device of yet another embodiment; the overall outer shape of the device in this embodiment is generally configured in a flat cylindrical shape, and the external member of the aerosol-generating device 100 includes:

a housing 10 having longitudinally opposed proximal and distal ends 110, 120; wherein, the liquid crystal display device comprises a liquid crystal display device,

the proximal end 110 is provided with an opening 111 through which opening 111 the aerosol-generating article 1000 may be received within the housing 10 to be heated or removed from the housing 10;

the distal end 120 is provided with an air inlet hole 121; the air intake holes 121 are used for allowing outside air to enter the housing 10 during the suction process;

a chamber for receiving or housing the aerosol-generating article 1000; in use, the aerosol-generating article 1000 may be removably received within the chamber through the opening 111;

an air passage 150 between the chamber and the air inlet 121; in turn, in use, the air channel 150 provides a channel path from the air inlet 121 into the chamber/aerosol-generating article 1000, as indicated by arrow R11 in fig. 1;

a battery cell 130 for supplying power; preferably, the battery cell 130 is a rechargeable battery cell 130 and can be charged by being connected to an external power source;

a circuit 140 disposed on a circuit board such as a PCB board or the like;

the heater 30 at least partially surrounds and defines a chamber, and when the aerosol-generating article 1000 is received within the housing 10, the heater 30 at least partially surrounds or encloses the aerosol-generating article 1000 and heats from the periphery of the aerosol-generating article 1000. And is at least partially received and retained within the heater 30 when the aerosol-generating article 1000 is received within the housing 10.

In this embodiment, the heater 30 is configured in a substantially elongated tubular shape; and the heater 30 may include:

at least one or more electrically insulating substrates 31, the electrically insulating substrates 31 being thermally conductive; and, electrically insulating substrate 31 at least partially surrounds or defines a chamber; in some implementations, the electrically insulating substrate 31 has a wall thickness of about 0.05-1 mm; and the electrically insulating substrate 31 has an inner diameter of about 5.0 to 8.0 mm; and the electrically insulating substrate 31 has a length of about 30 to 60 mm.

At least one or more heating elements 32 arranged around at least part of the electrically insulating substrate 31; the heating element 32 is a conventional solenoid coil, a resistive heating track, a resistive heating coating, a heating mesh wrapped around an electrically insulating substrate 31, an infrared emitting coating, an inductive metal layer, or the like; and in this implementation the heating element 32 has a length of about 30-60 mm.

And further, the heater 30 further includes:

thermocouple wire 331 and thermocouple wire 332, which are made of the same material, are connected to different locations on heating element 32, respectively, so as to form a thermocouple therebetween that can be used for temperature measurement. Thermocouple wires 331 are connected to a high temperature region of heating element 32 near the longitudinal center, and heating element 32 is connected to the end of heating element 32 near distal end 120.

For example, in FIG. 8, a particular embodiment of a circuit 140 sampling thermoelectric voltages between thermocouple wire 331 and thermocouple wire 332 is shownOperational amplifier amplification 10 ⁴ A plot of the multiplied potential value versus the actual temperature of the heating element 32; in the embodiment of fig. 8, thermocouple wires 331 and 332 are copper wires surface-plated with 0.3mm diameter. It can be seen from the graph of fig. 8 that the thermoelectric potential between thermocouple wires 331 and 332 of the same material is substantially monotonic and linear with the temperature of heating element 32 over a range of operating temperatures.

Or in still other variant embodiments, the thermocouple wires 331 and 332 are made of the same material, and can be selected from low-resistivity metal materials such as copper, silver, nickel, etc.; then in still other alternative embodiments thermocouple wires 331 and 332 can also replace conductive leads 321 and 322 to power heating element 32 when temperature measurement is not desired.

And, the circuit 140 can be configured to provide current to the heating element 32 through the thermocouple wires 331 and 332 to cause the heating element 32 to generate resistive joule heat to generate heat. And, the circuit 140 can be configured to terminate or stop providing current to the heating element 32 when a thermoelectric potential difference between the thermocouple wires 331 and 332 is obtained; and/or the circuit 140 can be configured to cause the acquisition of the thermal potential difference between the thermocouple wires 331 and 332 to occur at a different time than the supply of current to the heating element 32.

It should be noted that the description of the utility model and the accompanying drawings show preferred embodiments of the utility model, but are not limited to the embodiments described in the description, and further, that modifications or variations can be made by a person skilled in the art from the above description, and all such modifications and variations are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (15)

1. An aerosol-generating device configured to heat an aerosol-generating article to generate an aerosol; characterized by comprising the following steps:

a heating element for heating the aerosol-generating article;

a first thermocouple wire electrically connected to a first location of the heating element;

a second thermocouple wire electrically connected to a second location of the heating element;

the first thermocouple wire is the same material as the second thermocouple wire, and the first location is different from the second location;

circuitry configured to determine a temperature of the heating element by acquiring a thermoelectric potential between the first thermocouple wire and the second thermocouple wire.

2. An aerosol-generating device according to claim 1, wherein the temperature of the first location is higher than the temperature of the second location when the heating element heats the aerosol-generating article.

3. An aerosol-generating device according to claim 2, wherein the temperature of the first location is at least 100 ℃ higher than the temperature of the second location when the heating element heats the aerosol-generating article.

4. An aerosol-generating device according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the distance of the first location from the second location is greater than or equal to 1/2 of the length of the heating element.

5. An aerosol-generating device according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the heating element comprises first and second ends that are opposite in a longitudinal direction;

the heating element is arranged in a cylindrical shape extending between the first and second ends;

the first location is disposed proximate the first end or the first location is disposed proximate a longitudinal center of the heating element;

and/or, the second location is disposed proximate the second end.

6. An aerosol-generating device according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the electrical resistivity of the material of the first thermocouple wire and the material of the second thermocouple wire is less than 10 μΩ.cm.

7. An aerosol-generating device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the electrical resistivity of the material of the first thermocouple wire and the material of the second thermocouple wire is between 1 and 8 μΩ.cm.

8. An aerosol-generating device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the surfaces of the first thermocouple wire and the second thermocouple wire further comprise a metal coating.

9. An aerosol-generating device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the length of the first thermocouple wire is greater than the length of the second thermocouple wire.

10. The aerosol-generating device of claim 9, wherein the first thermocouple wire has a length of 25mm to 50mm;

and/or the length of the second thermocouple wire is 20-40 mm.

11. An aerosol-generating device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first thermocouple wire and the second thermocouple wire have a diameter of 0.1 to 0.5 mm.

12. An aerosol-generating device according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the heating element comprises at least one of a resistive heating element, an inductive heating element or an infrared heating element.

13. An aerosol-generating device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising:

a first electrically conductive lead connected to a first end of the heating element;

a second electrically conductive lead connected to a second end of the heating element;

the circuit is arranged to power the heating element via the first and second conductive leads, thereby causing the heating element to generate heat.

14. An aerosol-generating device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising:

a chamber for receiving an aerosol-generating article;

a heater housing extending at least partially within the chamber for insertion into an aerosol-generating article; the heater housing defines a longitudinally extending cavity therein;

the heating element is received or held within the cavity and is thermally conductive with the heater housing; in use, the heater housing heats up by receiving heat from the heating element, which in turn heats up the aerosol-generating article.

15. A heater for an aerosol-generating device, comprising:

a heating element;

a first thermocouple wire electrically connected to a first location of the heating element;

a second thermocouple wire electrically connected to a second location of the heating element;

the material of the first thermocouple wire is the same as that of the second thermocouple wire; and the first position is different from the second position to form a thermocouple between the first thermocouple wire and the second thermocouple wire capable of sensing the temperature of the heating element so that in use the temperature of the heating element can be determined by detecting the thermoelectric potential between the first thermocouple wire and the second thermocouple wire.