Vaporization Device

The present application claims the benefit of Chinese Patent Application No. 202420695433.2 filed on Apr. 7, 2024, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

The present disclosure relates to the field of electronic vaporization, in particular to vaporization devices.

A critical component of a vaporization device is the vaporization assembly, which is capable of heating a vaporizable material to generate an aerosol. For a vaporization device utilizing a liquid vaporizable material, the vaporization assembly needs to be communicated with a liquid storage chamber while also connecting to both an aerosol release channel and an air intake channel. This configuration may allow the liquid vaporizable material to leak through the vaporization assembly. The risk of leakage becomes particularly significant during transportation of the device, where prolonged and intense jolts or vibrations may exacerbate the problem.

In some related technologies, a liquid storage cotton has been incorporated within the vaporization assembly to absorb a portion of the vaporizable material, thereby mitigating leakage. However, the absorption capacity of such cotton is limited, leaving residual leakage issues unresolved.

The present disclosure primarily addresses the technical problem of vaporizable material leakage susceptibility in vaporization devices.

According to a first aspect, a vaporization device is provided in the present disclosure.

The vaporization device may comprise:

In some embodiments, the linkage mechanism is configured as a single-actuation linkage mechanism; and opening of the liquid supply switch causes disengagement between the device switch and a movable valve core, thereby terminating operational linkage therebetween.

In some embodiments, the liquid supply switch comprises a valve core, the linkage mechanism comprises an elastic reset member connected to the valve core, the elastic reset member is configured to apply an actuation force to the valve core in a direction toward an open position;

In some embodiments, the device switch is provided with an engagement slot having a slot opening facing toward the valve core; the limiting feature comprises a limiting protrusion disposed on an outer circumferential surface of the valve core; and the engagement slot is arranged perpendicular to an axial direction of the valve core and configured to clamp onto the valve core while blocking the limiting protrusion.

In some embodiments, the vaporization device further comprises a liquid storage cup and a cup base, wherein: the liquid storage cup includes a cup base coupling port at one end; the cup base is sealingly engaged with the cup base coupling port; the liquid storage chamber is cooperatively enclosed by the liquid storage cup and the cup base; and the valve core is disposed on the cup base.

In some embodiments, the cup base is provided with a guide hole, the guide hole being coaxially arranged with the chamber connection hole; the valve core is movably arranged in the guide hole and comprises a sealing segment and a flow-through segment, wherein: the sealing segment is positioned at an end of the valve core adjacent to the liquid storage chamber, an outer circumferential surface of the sealing segment is provided with a sealing portion configured to sealingly engage with an inner wall of the chamber connection hole, when the valve core is opened, the sealing segment moves into the liquid storage chamber, and a gap is formed between an outer circumferential surface of the flow-through segment and a wall of the chamber connection hole, the gap being configured to permit passage of the vaporizable material through the chamber connection hole.

In some embodiments, the valve core comprises a hollow segment located at an end of the valve core distal from the liquid storage chamber; the elastic reset member is a compressed spring disposed within the hollow segment; and two ends of the compressed spring respectively abut against an inner end surface of the hollow segment and the device housing.

In some embodiments, the vaporization assembly comprises a liquid storage cotton, an inner sleeve, a liquid guiding cotton, and a heating element that are nested in sequence; wherein: the liquid storage cotton is configured to transport the vaporizable material from the liquid inlet to the heating element; the inner sleeve is interposed between the liquid storage cotton and the liquid guiding cotton; an outer circumferential surface of the liquid guiding cotton is provided with a protruding portion that extends through a wall of the inner sleeve to contact the liquid storage cotton; a central bore is arranged on the liquid guiding cotton; the heating element is arranged on a wall of the central bore; the heating element is configured to heat the vaporizable material to generate an aerosol;

In some embodiments, the vaporization device further comprises a liquid storage cup and a cup base, wherein: the liquid storage cup has a cup base coupling port at one end; the cup base is sealingly engaged with the cup base coupling port; the vaporization assembly comprises an outer sleeve inserted onto the cup base;

In some embodiments, the vaporization device further comprises an air intake channel; wherein the vaporization assembly comprises an air inlet that is in communication with the air inlet and is configured to allow suction airflow to enter the vaporization assembly;

The vaporization device of the present disclosure provides the following benefits:

In the vaporization device described above, the liquid storage chamber and the liquid supply chamber are separated by the isolation partition to form two distinct compartments. The liquid supply chamber is in fluid communication with the liquid inlet of the vaporization assembly, enabling the vaporizable material to enter the vaporization assembly for aerosol generation. The liquid storage chamber is configured to store the vaporizable material, and is connectable to/disconnectable from the liquid supply chamber through a liquid supply switch at the chamber connection hole disposed between the two chambers. When the liquid supply switch blocks the chamber connection hole, the vaporizable material in the liquid storage chamber is prevented from flowing into the vaporization assembly via the liquid supply chamber, thereby eliminating leakage from the vaporization assembly. Concurrently, the linkage mechanism operatively coupling the device switch and the liquid supply switch can automatically actuate the liquid supply switch to the open position when the device switch is actuated to an open state, without manual operation of the liquid supply switch. With this configuration, both leakage prevention and operational simplicity through coordinated actuation can be achieved.

The present disclosure will now be further described through specific embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. In different embodiments, similar components are labeled with related reference numerals. The following descriptions include numerous details to facilitate a clearer understanding of the present disclosure. However, those skilled in the art will readily recognize that some features may be omitted under specific circumstances or replaced by other components, materials, or methods. In certain instances, operations related to the invention are not explicitly illustrated or described in the specification. This omission is intentional to avoid obscuring the core aspects of the present disclosure with excessive detail. For brevity, it is unnecessary to exhaustively describe such operations, as a person skilled in the art can fully comprehend them based on the descriptions herein and general technical knowledge in the field.

Furthermore, the features, operations, or characteristics described in the specification may be combined in any suitable manner to form various embodiments. Similarly, the steps or actions in the method descriptions may be reordered or modified in ways that are obvious to those skilled in the art. The sequences outlined in the specification and drawings are provided solely to clearly describe specific embodiments and do not imply mandatory ordering unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Reference numerals assigned to components herein, such as “first,” “second,” and the like, are used solely to distinguish the described objects and imply no sequential or technical meaning. Additionally, the terms “connected” and “coupled,” as used herein, unless otherwise specified, include both direct and indirect connections or couplings.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, by configuring the liquid storage chamberand the liquid supply chamberwith a liquid supply switchat their fluid interface, the liquid supply switchcan control the flow of the vaporizable material from the liquid storage chamberto the liquid supply chamber. This configuration prevents unintended migration of the vaporizable material into the vaporization assemblyand subsequent leakage therefrom. Meanwhile, the linkage mechanism disposed between the device switchand the liquid supply switchcan concurrently actuates both the vaporization device and the liquid supply switchthrough the activation of the device switch, thereby eliminating the need for separate actuation of the liquid supply switch, as well as simplifying operational procedures.

A vaporization device in some embodiments according to the present disclosure is described below.

As shown in, in some embodiments, the vaporization device may include a device housingand may further include a liquid storage cup, a cup baseand a vaporization assemblythat are disposed within the device housing.

For clearer illustration of specific embodiments in the present disclosure, directional terms such as “upper,” “lower,” “left,” and “right” herein are defined based on the coordinate system shown in. It should be expressly noted that these directional terms are provided as an example to unambiguously clarify positional relationships between components. Such terminology shall not restrict the specific embodiments of the present disclosure to such configurations unless explicitly recited in the claims.

As shown in, the device housingincludes a mouthpiecedisposed at its upper portion. The mouthpieceincludes a central tubethat is capable of connecting to an aerosol discharge passageof the vaporization assembly, allowing a user to inhale vaporized materials through the mouthpiece. In some embodiments, the device housingmay include an upper housing, a middle housing, and a lower housingthat are arranged as separate components. The upper housingis formed with a bottom opening for assembling corresponding parts into the device housing; and the middle housingis connected to the bottom opening of the upper housing, and the lower housingis assembled onto the middle housing. The upper housing, middle housing, and lower housingcollectively form a complete device enclosure. It is noted that the device housingmay adopt other structural configurations in other embodiments.

In some embodiments, as shown in, a side surface of the device housingis provided with an observation window. The observation window allows the liquid storage cupto be exposed therethrough. The liquid storage cupmay be constructed from a transparent material to facilitate visual inspection of the remaining quantity of the vaporizable material.

The device housingfurther includes a power moduleand a circuit board moduledisposed therein. The power moduleis configured to supply power to the vaporization device, and the power modulemay be arranged spaced apart from the vaporization assemblyalong a left-right direction. The circuit board moduleis configured to control operational functions of the vaporization device, such as powering on/off the device and heating control of the vaporization assembly, and may be disposed below the middle housing. A lower end surface of the device housingis provided with a switch operation hole, an air vent, and a charging port. The switch operation holeallows an operation knobof the device switchto protrude therethrough for user operation. The air ventallows external air to enter the vaporization device to fulfill inhalation functionality. The charging portis configured to receive a charging plug and connect to a charging terminal on the circuit board module, thereby enabling charging of the power module.

schematically illustrate the structure of the device switch. The device switchmay include a plate-shaped main body. The plate-shaped main body can be slidably mounted along the left-right direction on the device housing, e.g., mounted within a sliding groove formed on a bottom surface of the middle housing. An upper side surface of the plate-shaped main body may be provided with a drive protrusion. The drive protrusionis formed with a groove configured to receive an operating lever of a corresponding toggle switch on the circuit board module, thereby achieving state switching of the toggle switch when the device switchis actuated. A lower side surface of the plate-shaped main body may be provided with a downwardly protruding operation knob. The operation knobfacilitates user actuation of the device switch.

In some embodiments, one end of the liquid storage cupis provided with a cup base coupling port. The cup baseis sealedly engaged with the cup base coupling port, such that the liquid storage cupand the cup basecooperatively define a liquid storage chamber. The liquid storage chamberis configured to store a vaporizable material.

The vaporization assembly is disposed within the liquid storage cup. In some specific embodiments, referring to, the vaporization assemblyincludes a liquid inlet. The liquid inletis configured to allow a vaporizable material to enter the vaporization assembly. The vaporization assemblyfurther comprises, sequentially arranged from an outer side to an inner side: an outer sleeve, liquid storage cotton, an inner sleeve, liquid guiding cotton, and a heating element.

Optionally, the outer sleevemay be a steel tube. The liquid inletis disposed on an outer circumferential surface of a lower end of the outer sleeve. The liquid storage cottonis configured to buffer flow of the vaporizable material and transport the vaporizable material from the liquid inletto the heating element. The liquid storage cottonhas a hollow structure forming a vertically penetrating channel. The inner sleeveis disposed within a hollow channel formed by the liquid storage cotton. A sealing member may be provided between the bottom of the inner sleeveand the bottom of the outer sleeve. The inner sleeveis configured to: prevent direct communication between the liquid storage cottonand the liquid guiding cottoninside the inner sleeve; block direct flow of the vaporizable material from the liquid storage cottoninto the hollow channel formed thereby, thereby preventing leakage; and simultaneously, provide positional fixation for the liquid storage cottonand the liquid guiding cotton. The liquid guiding cottonincludes a protruding portion. The protruding portionextends through a clearance notchprovided on a side wall of the inner sleeveand contacts the liquid storage cotton, thereby enabling vaporizable material impregnated in the liquid storage cottonto be gradually supplied to the liquid guiding cotton. The heating elementis configured to heat the vaporizable material to generate an aerosol. The structural form of the heating elementis not limited and may include, for example, a tubular heating plate, a thick-film heating tube, etc. The heating elementabuts against a wall of a central bore of the liquid guiding cotton, enabling heating of the vaporizable material at the liquid guiding cottonto generate the aerosol. The central hole enclosed by the heating elementconstitutes a vaporization channel. The heating elementis connected to the circuit board moduleand, under control of the circuit board module, is energized to generate heat, thereby heating the vaporizable material on the surrounding liquid storage cottonto form the aerosol. As a critical component in the field of vaporization devices, the structural form of the vaporization assemblymay reference related technologies, and the present application does not limit the specific structure of the vaporization assembly.

A vertically penetrating channel at a center of the vaporization assemblyforms the aerosol discharge channel, configured to discharge the aerosol generated by heating. The top of the vaporization assemblyis provided with an upper sealing seat, which is configured to communicate with the mouthpieceand seal a connection portion of the mouthpiece.

In some embodiments, along an axial direction of the aerosol discharge channel, the heating elementhas a first end and a second end. The first end is proximate to the liquid inlet, and the second end is distal to the liquid inlet. The heating elementis positioned closer to the second end. In some related solutions, the vaporization assemblyis disposed at the bottom of the liquid storage cup. A liquid level height of the vaporizable material within the liquid storage cupaffects a liquid supply speed of the vaporization assembly(hydraulic pressure P=ρgh, where ρ is density, g is gravitational acceleration, and h is the liquid level height), resulting in anomalies such as oil leakage or burnt cores during use. In the vaporization assemblyof the present disclosure, with the aforementioned arrangement structure, the heating elementis located in an upper region of the liquid storage cotton. The vaporizable material entering the liquid storage cottonfrom the liquid inletspreads upward through the liquid storage cottonvia capillary action to reach the heating element. This configuration eliminates the influence of the liquid level height within the liquid storage cupon the liquid supply speed of the vaporization assembly. When an internal pressure of the vaporization device exceeds an external ambient pressure (e.g., during air travel), this arrangement advantageously prevents the vaporizable material inside the liquid storage cupfrom being compressed into the liquid storage cottonand subsequently leaking from the vaporization assembly, thereby achieving superior overall leakage prevention performance.

The vaporization assemblyincludes an air inlet. The vaporization device is provided with an air intake channelin communication with the air inlet. The air inletis configured to allow a suction airflow to enter the vaporization assembly. In some specific embodiments, referring to, a bottom groove is provided on the bottom surface of the cup base. A lower sealing seatis disposed at the bottom of the bottom groove. The lower sealing seatsealingly engages with the bottom of the cup base, such that an air intake chamber is formed within the cup base. Concurrently, the lower sealing seatis provided with a downwardly extending tubular portion. A lower end of the tubular portion passes through the circuit board moduleand elastically abuts the device switch. The tubular portion is configured to communicate with a vent holeprovided on the device switch. When the device switchis actuated, it adjusts a communication area between the vent holeand the air intake channel, thereby regulating the airflow intake. It should be noted that the device switchin the present disclosure is intended to achieve electrical power connection and does not imply that activating the device switchsimultaneously generates aerosol. Additionally, airflow regulation may involve switching between closed and open states or adjusting between low and high ventilation rates. The air intake channelin communication with the air inletof the vaporization assemblyon the vaporization device may include a through-hole provided at the bottom of the cup base, an air intake chamber enclosed by the cup baseand the lower sealing seat, and a tubular portion on the lower sealing seat. Of course, in some other embodiments, depending on the specific structure of the vaporization assembly, the air intake channelmay be replaced with other configurations.

If the liquid storage chamberwere directly connected to the liquid inletof the vaporization assembly, the vaporizable material within the liquid storage chambermay excessively flow into the vaporization assembly, potentially causing leakage of the vaporizable material from the vaporization assembly. This leakage risk is particularly heightened during transportation of the vaporization device due to prolonged and intense vibrations. To prevent leakage in the vaporization assembly, the vaporization device further includes a liquid supply chamber. The liquid supply chamberis in communication with the liquid inlet. An isolation partition is disposed between the liquid storage chamberand the liquid supply chamber, and the isolation partition is provided with a chamber connection holefor fluidly coupling the liquid storage chamberand the liquid supply chamber. Concurrently, the vaporization device may include a liquid supply switch. The liquid supply switchis movably disposed at the chamber connection holeto open or seal the chamber connection hole.

In some embodiments, the liquid supply chamberis disposed within the cup base. Specifically, the cup baseis provided with a first base bodyand a second base bodyspaced apart along the orientation of the cup base coupling port. The liquid supply chamberis formed by a gap between the first base bodyand the second base body, wherein the first base bodyconstitutes the aforementioned isolation partition. An outer sleevepenetrates through the first base bodyand is plugged onto the second base body. A liquid intake section of the outer sleeveis positioned within the gap. A connecting bodyis provided between the first base bodyand the second base bodyof the cup base. The connecting bodyis disposed at positions near lateral sides on both left and right sides of the cup base, as well as at positions on both left and right sides of an insertion port of the cup basefor accommodating the outer sleeve, thereby achieving connection between the first base bodyand the second base body. The first base body, the second base body, and the connecting bodyof the cup basemay be integrally formed. Alternatively, at least one of them may be separately fabricated and assembled with other components. To ensure the sealing performance of the liquid supply chamber, in some embodiments, sealing rings (not shown in the figures) are respectively disposed on outer circumferential surfaces of the first base bodyand the second base body. The sealing rings are configured to sealingly engage with an inner wall of the liquid storage chamber.

In one embodiment, referring to, the liquid supply switchincludes a valve core. The cup baseis provided with a guide hole. The guide holeis coaxially arranged with the chamber connection hole. The valve coreis movably disposed within the guide hole. To achieve opening and sealing of the chamber connection hole, in some specific embodiments, the valve coreincludes a sealing segmentand a flow-through segment. The sealing segmentis located at an end of the valve coreproximal to the liquid storage chamber. A sealing portion is provided on an outer circumferential surface of the sealing segment, configured to seal against an inner wall of the chamber connection hole. When the valve coreis activated, the sealing segmententers the liquid storage chamber. A gap is formed between an outer circumferential surface of the flow-through segmentand a wall of the chamber connection hole, allowing the vaporizable material to pass through the chamber connection holevia the gap.

In some specific embodiments, a sealing ring groove is provided on the sealing portion of the valve core. The sealing ring groove is configured to accommodate a sealing ring to ensure sealing performance. Considering the flow rate and efficiency of the vaporizable material, the flow-through segmentof the valve coreis a columnar body with a cross-shaped cross-section. Longitudinal grooves are provided on the outer circumferential surface of the flow-through segmentalong an up-down (vertical) direction, enabling smooth passage of the vaporizable material. Of course, in other specific embodiments, the cross-sectional shape of the flow-through segmentmay adopt other configurations.

The movement direction of the valve coreduring opening is upward. When the valve coremoves upward until the sealing segmentdisengages from the chamber connection hole, the flow-through segmentestablishes fluid communication. In other embodiments, the valve coremay adopt alternative structures and may be actuated via downward movement for opening. For example, the valve coremay move downward until the sealing segmentpasses beyond the liquid supply chamber, thereby fully opening the chamber connection hole. For another example, the sealing segmentof the valve coremay employ an end-face sealing configuration, where an upper end face of the sealing segmentsealingly engages with a lower port edge of the chamber connection hole. In this case, downward movement of the valve coreopens the chamber connection hole.

To ensure the movement direction of the valve core, in some embodiments (refer to), the cup baseis provided with a hollow guide column. The hollow guide columnforms a guide hole. Guide slotsare respectively provided on front and rear sides of an outer circumferential surface of the hollow guide column. Guide blocksare disposed on front and rear sides of the valve core. The guide blocksare configured to engage with the guide slots. Of course, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the valve coremay adopt any guide structure to achieve movable assembly.

A linkage mechanism is provided between the device switchand the liquid supply switch. The linkage mechanism is configured to open the liquid supply switchwhen the device switchis switched to an activated state. In some embodiments, the linkage mechanism is a single-actuation linkage mechanism. When the liquid supply switchis opened, the linkage between the device switchand the movable valve coreis disengaged. Optionally, the linkage mechanism includes an elastic reset member. The elastic reset memberis connected to the valve coreand applies an actuation force to the valve corein a direction toward an open position. The movement direction of the valve coreis perpendicular to the movement direction of the device switch. The linkage mechanism includes a limiting featuredisposed on the valve core. When the device switchis in a closed state, the device switchblocks the limiting featureto restrict the valve core, under the action of the elastic reset member, from moving toward the open position. When the device switchis in the activated state, the device switchdisengages the limiting feature.

In some specific embodiment, the linkage mechanism includes an engagement slot disposed on the device switch. A slot opening of the engagement slot faces the valve core. The limiting featureis a limiting protrusion provided on an outer circumferential surface of the valve core. The limiting protrusions may be provided at front and rear positions, thereby facilitating balanced force distribution on the valve core. The engagement slot is configured to clamp onto the valve corein a direction perpendicular to an axial direction of the valve coreand block the limiting protrusions.

To facilitate installation of the elastic reset member, in some embodiments (refer to), the valve coreincludes a hollow segment. The hollow segment is located at an end of the valve coredistal to the liquid storage chamber. The elastic reset memberis a compressed spring disposed within the hollow segment. Two ends of the compressed spring respectively abut against an inner end surface of the hollow segment and the device housing. The device housingmay be provided with a positioning column. The compressed spring may be sleeved over the positioning column, thereby ensuring stability of the compressed spring and smooth actuation of the valve core.

It should be noted that, in other embodiments, the linkage mechanism may adopt alternative configurations, provided that it enables the liquid supply switchto open synchronously when the device switchis activated. Furthermore, the liquid supply switchmay be configured to open upon activation of the device switchand close upon deactivation thereof. For example, a pin hole may be provided on the valve core, and a pin may be disposed on the device switch. Insertion of the pin into the pin hole achieves positional restriction of the liquid supply switch. For another example, an upwardly inclined surface may be formed on the device switch. When the device switchis activated, the inclined surface upwardly drives the liquid supply switchto open. For yet another example, for a liquid supply switchconfigured to open via downward movement, a downwardly inclined surface may be formed on the device switch. Activation of the device switchcauses the inclined surface to downwardly drive the liquid supply switchto open. Additionally, in some embodiments, the elastic reset membermay be omitted under circumstances where the device switchis capable of directly driving movement of the liquid supply switch.

During transportation, as shown in, the device switchis positioned at the rightmost side in a closed state, and the liquid supply switchis positioned at the lowermost side also in a closed state. Under this configuration, the vaporizable material within the liquid storage chambercannot enter the liquid supply chamberor the vaporization assembly, effectively preventing leakage of the vaporizable material from the vaporization assembly. When a user activates the device switchfor the first time (refer to), the liquid supply switchsynchronously opens and remains in the open state via the linkage mechanism. Subsequent actuation of the device switchwill not affect the state of the liquid supply switch. The vaporizable material in the liquid storage chambercan flow into the liquid supply chamber, continuously supplying liquid to the liquid storage cotton. During the first activation of the device switch, the liquid storage cottoncontains no vaporizable material. To prevent users from initiating inhalation before the liquid storage cottonis fully impregnated with the vaporizable material (which could cause burning of the liquid storage cotton), a predetermined amount of vaporizable material may be preloaded in the liquid storage cotton. This allows users to avoid waiting for priming (i.e., impregnation of the liquid storage cotton) while eliminating the risk of burning.

The above descriptions employ specific embodiments to illustrate the present disclosure, which are provided solely to facilitate understanding of the present disclosure and are not to be construed as limiting its scope. Those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains may, guided by its principles, make various straightforward derivations, modifications, or substitutions.