Aerosol Generator and Aerosol Generating Device Including the Same

The present disclosure relates to an aerosol generator and an aerosol generating device including the aerosol generator, and more particularly, to an aerosol generator including a structure that may change the properties of an aerosol generating material and an aerosol generating device including the aerosol generator.

Recently, the demand for alternative methods for overcoming the shortcomings of general cigarettes has increased.

For example, there is increasing demand for a system for generating aerosols by heating a cigarette or an aerosol generating material by using an aerosol generating device, rather than by burning cigarettes.

Accordingly, research into a heating-type aerosol generating device has been actively conducted.

In an aerosol generating device, it may be required to remove foreign substances, such as contaminants and impurities included in the stored aerosol generating material. Also, the flow rate or the properties, such as flavor, viscosity, and pH of an aerosol generating material, may be required to be changed.

An aerosol generating device may include a storage for storing an aerosol generating material and a generation portion for aerosolizing the aerosol generating material. However, it is difficult to remove foreign substances from an aerosol generating material and to change the properties or flow rate of the aerosol generating material.

One embodiment of the present disclosure provides an aerosol generator that may remove foreign substances from an aerosol generating material, and an aerosol generating device including the aerosol generator.

Another embodiment of the present disclosure provides an aerosol generator that may change the properties of an aerosol generating material by adding a certain material to the aerosol generating material, and an aerosol generating device including the aerosol generator.

Another embodiment of the present disclosure provides an aerosol generator that may decrease a flash point and/or an ignition point of an aerosol generating material, and an aerosol generating device including the aerosol generator.

Another embodiment of the present disclosure provides an aerosol generator that may reduce manufacturing costs required to change the properties of an aerosol generating material, and an aerosol generating device including the aerosol generator.

Objects to be achieved by the embodiments are not limited to the objects described above, and objects not described above may be clearly understood by those skilled in the art to which the embodiments belong from the specification and the attached drawings.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, an aerosol generating device includes an aerosol generator, which includes a storage configured to store an aerosol generating material, a transfer portion configured to perform at least one of a function of receiving the aerosol generating material from the storage and filtering out foreign substances from the aerosol generating material, and a function of adding, to the aerosol generating material, an additive material that changes properties of the aerosol generating material, and a generation portion configured to receive the aerosol generating material from the transfer portion and generate an aerosol, and a coupling portion coupled to the aerosol generator, and the aerosol generating device may transfer an aerosol generated by the aerosol generator to the outside.

The present disclosure is not limited to the above description and may include all matters that may be inferred by those skilled in the art throughout the present disclosure.

According to embodiments, an aerosol generator and an aerosol generating device including the aerosol generator may remove foreign substances from an aerosol generating material by including a transfer portion, which filters out the foreign substances from the aerosol generating material, between a storage and a generation portion.

According to embodiments, an aerosol generator and an aerosol generating device including the aerosol generator may change the properties of an aerosol generating material by including a transfer portion that adds an additive material, which changes the properties of the aerosol generating material, between a storage and a generation portion.

According to embodiments, an aerosol generator and an aerosol generating device including the aerosol generator may increase a flash point and/or an ignition point of an aerosol generating material by separating a material that may decrease the flash point and/or ignition point of the aerosol generating material from the aerosol generating material.

According to embodiments, an aerosol generator and an aerosol generating device including the aerosol generator may reduce manufacturing costs required to change the properties of an aerosol generating material by including a configuration in which at least one of a storage, a transfer portion, and a generation portion included in the aerosol generator may be replaced with another component.

Effects obtained by the technical idea of the present disclosure are not limited to the effects described above, and other effects which are not described may be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the descriptions below.

Regarding the terms in the various embodiments, the general terms which are currently and widely used are selected in consideration of functions of structural elements in the various embodiments of the present disclosure. However, meanings of the terms can be changed according to intention, a judicial precedence, the appearance of a new technology, and the like.

In addition, in certain cases, terms which can be arbitrarily selected by the applicant in particular cases. In such a case, the meaning of the terms will be described in detail at the corresponding portion in the description of the present disclosure.

Therefore, the terms used in the various embodiments of the present disclosure should be defined based on the meanings of the terms and the descriptions provided herein.

In addition, unless explicitly described to the contrary, the word “comprise” and variations such as “comprises” or “comprising” will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion of any other elements.

In addition, the terms “-er”, “-or”, and “module” described in the specification mean units for processing at least one function and operation and can be implemented by hardware components or software components and combinations thereof.

As used herein, hen an expression such as “at least any one” precedes arranged elements, it modifies all elements rather than each arranged element.

For example, the expression “at least any one of a, b, and c” should be construed to include a, b, c, or a and b, a and c, b and c, or a, b, and c.

In an embodiment, an aerosol generating device may be a device that generates aerosols by electrically heating a cigarette accommodated in an interior space thereof.

The aerosol generating device may include a heater.

In an embodiment, the heater may be an electro-resistive heater.

For example, the heater may include an electrically conductive track, and the heater may be heated when currents flow through the electrically conductive track.

The heater may include a tube-shaped heating element, a plate-shaped heating element, a needle-shaped heating element, or a rod-shaped heating element, and may heat the inside or outside of a cigarette according to the shape of a heating element.

A cigarette may include a tobacco rod and a filter rod.

The tobacco rod may be formed of sheets, strands, and tiny bits cut from a tobacco sheet.

Also, the tobacco rod may be surrounded by a heat conductive material.

For example, the heat conductive material may be, but is not limited to, a metal foil such as aluminum foil.

The filter rod may include a cellulose acetate filter.

The filter rod may include at least one segment.

For example, the filter rod may include a first segment configured to cool aerosols, and a second segment configured to filter a certain component in aerosols.

In another embodiment, the aerosol generating device may be a device that generates aerosols by using a cartridge containing an aerosol generating material.

The aerosol generating device may include a cartridge that contains an aerosol generating material, and a main body that supports the cartridge.

The cartridge may be detachably coupled to the main body, but is not limited thereto.

The cartridge may be integrally formed or assembled with the main body, and may also be fixed to the main body so as not to be detached from the main body by a user.

The cartridge may be mounted on the main body while accommodating an aerosol generating material therein.

However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. An aerosol generating material may also be injected into the cartridge while the cartridge is coupled to the main body.

The cartridge may contain an aerosol generating material in any one of various states, such as a liquid state, a solid state, a gaseous state, a gel state, or the like.

The aerosol generating material may include a liquid composition.

For example, the liquid composition may be a liquid including a tobacco-containing material having a volatile tobacco flavor component, or a liquid including a non-tobacco material.

The cartridge may be operated by an electrical signal or a wireless signal transmitted from the main body to perform a function of generating aerosols by converting the phase of an aerosol generating material inside the cartridge into a gaseous phase.

The aerosols may refer to a gas in which vaporized particles generated from an aerosol generating material are mixed with air.

In another embodiment, the aerosol generating device may generate aerosols by heating a liquid composition, and generated aerosols may be delivered to a user through a cigarette.

That is, the aerosols generated from the liquid composition may move along an airflow passage of the aerosol generating device, and the airflow passage may be configured to allow aerosols to be delivered to a user by passing through a cigarette.