SUPPORT APPLIED IN AN ELECTRONIC-CIGARETTE ROD, AND AN ELECTRONIC-CIGARETTE ROD HAVING THEREOF

Abstract

An electronic-cigarette rod includes a housing having an insertion opening and a support in the housing. The support includes a receiving cavity for receiving a sensor, an air inlet channel in communication with the receiving cavity, an airflow channel defined by an outer peripheral wall of the support and in air communication with an exterior of the support, and a first opening. The support further includes an end surface facing the insertion opening, the air inlet channel is located on a side of the receiving cavity close to the end surface. A first end of the first opening is in communication with the airflow channel, a second end of the first opening is in communication with the air inlet channel, and the air inlet channel is in air communication with the exterior of the support through the first opening and the airflow channel in that sequence.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part under 35 U.S.C. § 120 of international patent application PCT/CN2022/099142 filed Jun. 16, 2022, which claims priority to China Application No. 202121368014.0, having a filing date of Jun. 18, 2021, filed in China National Intellectual Property Administration, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporate by reference.

FIELD

The subject matter relates to a technical field of electronic cigarettes, and in particular to a support applied in an electronic-cigarette rod and an electronic-cigarette rod having the support.

BACKGROUND

In the related art, an electronic cigarette includes a cigarette rod, and the cigarette rod includes a support. An air inlet channel is defined by the support. A side of the air inlet channel facing an insertion port of a housing of the cigarette rod is not blocked. After the cigarette rod is used for a long time, when the cigarette cartridge leaks e-liquid or the mist accumulates into liquid, the e-liquid or the liquid will flow from the air inlet channel to the sensor, the air holes may be blocked by the e-liquid or the liquid, and/or the component may be damaged due to e-liquid immersion or the liquid immersion, resulting in insensitivity or loss of the e-cigarette function.

Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a support applied in an electronic-cigarette rod that helps prevent liquid and mist from flowing into the sensor of the electronic-cigarette through the air inlet channel. The present disclosure further provides an electronic-cigarette rod having the above support.

An embodiment of a support applied in an electronic-cigarette rod. The electronic-cigarette rod includes a housing having an insertion opening, and an entirety of the support is received in the housing. The support includes a receiving cavity for receiving a sensor, an air inlet channel in communication with the receiving cavity, an airflow channel defined by an outer peripheral wall of the support facing an inner sidewall of the housing, and a first opening defined by the outer peripheral wall of the support. The outer peripheral wall of the support is arranged around an axis of the support, and the airflow channel is in air communication with an exterior of the support. The support further includes an end surface facing the insertion opening, the air inlet channel is located on a side of the receiving cavity close to the end surface of the support. A first end of the first opening is in communication with the airflow channel, a second end of the first opening is in communication with the air inlet channel, and the air inlet channel is in air communication with the exterior of the support through the first opening and the airflow channel in that sequence.

An embodiment of an electronic-cigarette rod includes a housing and a support. The housing defines an air inlet hole and an insertion opening. The support is entirely received in the housing. The support includes a receiving cavity for receiving a sensor, an air inlet channel in communication with the receiving cavity, an airflow channel defined by an outer peripheral wall of the support facing an inner sidewall of the housing, and a first opening defined by the outer peripheral wall of the support. The outer peripheral wall of the support is arranged around an axis of the support, and the airflow channel is in air communication with an exterior of the support. The support further includes an end surface facing the insertion opening, the air inlet channel is located on a side of the receiving cavity close to the end surface of the support. A first end of the first opening is in communication with the airflow channel, a second end of the first opening is in communication with the air inlet channel, and the air inlet channel is in air communication with the exterior of the support through the first opening and the airflow channel in that sequence. The air inlet hole is in communication with the airflow channel.

Other aspects and embodiments of the present disclosure are also expected. The above summary and the following detailed description are not intended to limit the present disclosure to any particular embodiment, but are merely intended to describe some embodiments of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Implementations of the present disclosure will now be described, by way of embodiments, with reference to the attached figures.

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of an embodiment of an electronic-cigarette rod.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of an electronic-cigarette rod according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of an electronic-cigarette rod from another angle according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a partial enlarged view of an area A of the electronic-cigarette rod of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic view of an embodiment of a support according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a part of a support according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a partial enlarged view of an area B of the support of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a top view of an embodiment of a support according to the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below. Throughout the specification, the same or similar components and components having the same or similar functions are denoted by similar reference numerals. The embodiments described herein with respect to the drawings are illustrative, and are used for providing a basic understanding of the present application. The embodiments of the present application should not be interpreted as limitations to the present application.

The following description provides various embodiment or examples to implement different structures of the present application. Only specific components and configurations in the embodiment or examples are described below for simplicity. Of course, they are only examples and are not considered as limiting the scope of the present application. In addition, reference numerals have been repeated among different embodiments or examples to indicate corresponding or analogous members for simplicity, and are not intended to indicate the relationship among the different embodiments or examples discussed herein. In addition, the present application also provides examples of various specific processes and materials, but one having ordinary skill in the art will realize that other processes and materials may also be used.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 8, a support 100 applied in an electronic-cigarette rod 200 according to an embodiment of the present application is described.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 8, the electronic-cigarette rod 200 further includes a housing 201 having an insertion opening 203. The entire support 100 is inserted into the housing 201 through the insertion opening 203. The housing 201 further include an air inlet hole 202. The support 100 defines a receiving cavity 10 for a sensor 300. The sensor 300 is mounted in the receiving cavity 10. The support 100 further defines an air inlet channel 11 in communication with the receiving cavity 10 and an airflow channel 12 in air communication with an exterior of the support 100. The air inlet channel 11 is located on a side of the receiving cavity 10 close to an end surface 101 of the support 100 facing the insertion opening 203. The air inlet hole 202 is in communication with the airflow channel 12. The support 100 includes an outer peripheral wall 102 arranged around an axis Z and defining a first opening 15. One end of the first opening 15 is in communication with the airflow channel 12, the other end of the first opening 15 is in communication with the air inlet channel 11. The air inlet channel 11 is in air communication with the exterior of the support 100 through the first opening 15 and the airflow channel 12 in that sequence. In at least one embodiment, the airflow channel 12 may be an annular structure around the axis Z. In at least one embodiment, the airflow channel 12 may be recessed inwardly from the outer peripheral wall 102. It can be understood that the support 100 includes an annular airflow channel 12, the airflow channel 12 extends in a circumferential direction of the support 100, and a side of the air inlet channel 11 facing the insertion opening 203 is sealed. That is, the side of the air inlet channel 11 facing the insertion opening 203 is sealed, and the air inlet channel 11 is in communication with the airflow channel 12.

The electronic-cigarette rod 200 may be used as a partial structure of an electronic cigarette. When the user smokes the electronic cigarette, gas flows into the housing 201 from the air inlet hole 202 of the housing 201, and then the gas in the housing 201 flows into the air inlet channel 11 from the airflow channel 12 and the first opening 15, and finally the gas in the air inlet channel 11 flows into the receiving cavity 10. By sealing the side of the air inlet channel 11 facing the insertion opening 203, the electronic-cigarette rod 200 can prevent liquid (e-liquid) and mist from flowing into the air inlet channel 11 after long-term use. Therefore, the liquid (e-liquid) and the mist can be prevented from flowing into the receiving cavity 10, thereby preventing the components in the sensor 300 from being damaged by e-liquid/liquid immersion and preventing the airway of the sensor 300 from being blocked, which is beneficial to the normal operation of the sensor 300, that is, it is beneficial to ensure the working reliability of the sensor 300 and ensure the normal use of the electronic cigarette.

Since the support 100 includes the air inlet channel 11 and the side of the air inlet channel 11 facing the insertion opening 203 is sealed, the liquid and the mist can be prevented from flowing into the sensor 300 through the air inlet channel 11, thereby preventing the components in the sensor 300 from being damaged by e-liquid/liquid immersion and preventing the airway of the sensor 300 from being blocked, which is beneficial to ensure the normal use of the electronic cigarette.

The first opening 15 penetrates the outer peripheral wall 102 of the support 100 along a first direction X, the first direction X is defined as a depth direction of the first opening 15. The air inlet channel 11 is in communication with the receiving cavity 10 in a second direction Y, the second direction Y is defined as a depth direction of the air inlet channel 11. In at least one embodiment, the depth direction of the first opening 15 may be perpendicular to the depth direction of the air inlet channel 11, so that a corner can be formed at a connection between the first opening 15 and the air inlet channel 11, which is beneficial to prevent liquid (e-liquid) and mist from flowing into the air inlet channel 11 from the first opening 15.

In at least one embodiment, referring to FIGS. 3, 4, and 7, the air inlet channel 11 may penetrate the end surface 101 of the support 100 facing the insertion opening 203. The support 100 may further include a sealing element 14 for sealing an end of the air inlet channel 11 in the insertion opening 203. In at least one embodiment, a through hole 13 penetrates the end surface 101 of the support 100 and is in communication with the air inlet channel 11. In at least one embodiment, the through hole 13 may also be a part of the air inlet channel 11. The sealing element 14 seals the through hole 13. By providing the through hole 13, it is convenient to arrange the air inlet channel 11 inside the support 100, which is beneficial to improve the processing efficiency of the air inlet channel 11 and reduce the processing difficulty of the air inlet channel 11. By arranging the sealing element 14 to seal the through hole 13, it is helpful to prevent the liquid (e-liquid) and mist from flowing into the air inlet channel 11, thereby preventing the liquid (e-liquid) and the mist from flowing into the receiving cavity 10, preventing the components in the sensor 300 from being damaged by e-liquid/liquid immersion and preventing the airway of the sensor 300 from being blocked, which is beneficial to the normal operation of the electronic cigarette.

In at least one embodiment, referring to FIG. 7, the through hole 13 and the air inlet channel 11 may be coaxially arranged, that is, a central axis of the through hole 13 and a central axis of the air inlet channel 11 may be collinear, which facilitates the arrangement of the air inlet channel 11 inside the support 100, and which is conducive to further improving the processing efficiency of the air inlet channel 11 and reducing the processing difficulty of the air inlet channel 11, so that it is beneficial to improve the production efficiency of the support 100.

In at least one embodiment, referring to FIG. 4, the sealing element 14 may be interference fitted with the air inlet channel 11. In at least one embodiment, the sealing element 14 may be interference fitted with the through hole 13, which facilitates the sealing element 14 to be firmly installed in the through hole 13 and prevents the sealing element 14 from falling from the through hole 13, thereby preventing the liquid (e-liquid) and mist from flowing into the air inlet channel 11 and increasing the service life of the sensor 300. In at least one embodiment, the sealing element 14 may also be installed in the through hole 13 in other ways, as long as it achieves the same purpose as mentioned above.

In at least one embodiment, referring to FIGS. 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8, the support 100 may further include an air cavity 20 recessed inwardly from the end surface 101 of the support 100. The air cavity 20 and the receiving cavity 10 are spaced apart from each other, the air cavity 20 and the air inlet channel 11 are spaced apart from each other. The air cavity 20 is in communication with the airflow channel 12. During use of the electronic cigarette, the gas flows into the housing 201 from the air inlet hole 202 of the housing 201 and then flows into the airflow channel 12, and then the gas in the airflow channel 12 flows into the air cavity 20. It should be noted that the electronic cigarette further includes a cigarette cartridge, the cigarette cartridge is arranged in the housing 201 and located on a side of the support 100 close to the insertion opening 203. The gas flows into the cigarette cartridge from the air cavity 20, and the gas mixes with the e-liquid in the cigarette cartridge for combustion, which helps ensure the working reliability of the electronic cigarette.

In at least one embodiment, referring to FIGS. 2 and 4, the outer peripheral wall 102 of the support 100 may further define a second opening 16. one end of the second opening 16 is in communication with the airflow channel 12, and the other end of the second opening 16 is in communication with the air cavity 20, that is, the second opening 16 communicates with the airflow channel 12 and the air cavity 20, thereby realizing the communication between the air inlet channel 11 and the air cavity 20, so that the gas can flow into the air inlet channel 11 and the air cavity 20. In at least one embodiment, the first opening 15 and the second opening 16 may be spaced apart from each other and arranged facing each other. The airflow channel 12 is an annular channel surrounding the axis Z. The first opening 15 and the second opening 16 may respectively extend from a bottom surface 121 of the airflow channel 12 to the axis Z, that is, an extending direction of the first opening 15 and an extending direction of the second opening 16 are respectively perpendicular to the axis Z. The e-liquid and mist need to flow into the receiving cavity 10 through the second opening 16, the first opening 15, and the air inlet channel 11 in that sequence, so the separation of the first opening 15 and the second opening 16 is helpful to prevent the e-liquid and mist from entering the receiving cavity 10.

In at least one embodiment, an area of the end of the first opening 15 connecting the air inlet channel 11 and an area of the end the second opening 16 connecting the airflow channel 12 may be the same, which is beneficial to balance the amount of gas flowing into the air inlet channel 11 and the air cavity 20 respectively in a unit time, thereby helping to ensure the working performance of the electronic-cigarette rod 200.

In at least one embodiment, referring to FIGS. 4 and 7, an annular contacting rib 30 may be arranged on the outer peripheral wall 102 of the support 100. The contacting rib 30 is located on a side of the airflow channel 12 close to the end surface 101 of the support 100. The contacting rib 30 abuts against an inner surface of the housing 201 to seal a gap between the support 100 and the inner surface of the housing 201, which can prevent the e-liquid and mist from flowing into the airflow channel 12 from the gap between the support 100 and the inner surface of the housing 201, thereby further preventing the e-liquid and mist from flowing into the air inlet channel 11 from the first opening 15, and thus further preventing the e-liquid and mist from flowing to the sensor 300. In at least one embodiment, the contacting rib 30 may be connected to an outer peripheral edge of the end surface 101 of the support 100.

In at least one embodiment, referring to FIGS. 4 and 7, an annular groove 40 may be arranged on the outer peripheral wall 102 of the support 100. The groove 40 is used to receive a sealing ring 50. As shown in FIG. 4, the contacting rib 30 may be located on the side of the airflow channel 12 close to the end surface 101 of the support 100, and the groove 40 may be located on a side of the airflow channel 12 away from the end surface 101 of the support 100. The sealing ring 50 in the groove 40 abuts against the inner surface of the housing 201 to seal the gap between the support 100 and the inner surface of the housing 201, and the airflow channel 12 is located between the sealing ring 50 and the contacting rib 30, which can ensure that the gas in the airflow channel 12 only flows into the air inlet channel 11 and the air cavity 20.

Referring to FIGS. 2 to 7, when the user smokes the electronic cigarette, the gas outside the electronic cigarette flows into the airflow channel 12 from the air inlet hole 202 of the housing 201, the gas in the airflow channel 12 flows into the air inlet channel 11 from the first opening 15 and flows into the air cavity 20 from the second opening 16 at the same time. The gas in the air cavity 20 flows into the cigarette cartridge and mixes with the e-liquid in the cigarette cartridge for combustion. The gas in the air inlet channel 11 flows into the receiving cavity 10. When the sensor 300 in the receiving cavity 10 senses the gas flowing into the receiving cavity 10, the sensor 300 controls a circuit board of the electronic cigarette to send a signal to a heater of the cigarette cartridge, and the sensor 300 controls the heater to burn the e-liquid and the gas in the cigarette cartridge, thereby realizing the smoking function of the electronic cigarette.

In the description of the present application, the terms “one embodiment”, “some embodiments”, “illustrative embodiment”, “example”, “specific example”, or “some example” refer to the specific features, structures, materials, or features described in conjunction with the embodiments or examples included in at least one embodiment or example of this application. In this specification, the schematic expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same implementation or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described can be combined in an appropriate manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

Even though information and advantages of the present embodiments have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structures and functions of the present embodiments, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the present exemplary embodiments, to the full extent indicated by the plain meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.

Claims

1. A support applied in an electronic-cigarette rod, the electronic-cigarette rod comprising a housing having an insertion opening, an entirety of the support being received in the housing and comprising:

a receiving cavity for receiving a sensor;

an air inlet channel in communication with the receiving cavity;

an airflow channel defined by an outer peripheral wall of the support facing an inner sidewall of the housing, wherein the outer peripheral wall of the support is arranged around an axis of the support, the airflow channel is in air communication with an exterior of the support; and

a first opening defined by the outer peripheral wall of the support;

wherein the support further comprises an end surface facing the insertion opening, the air inlet channel is located on a side of the receiving cavity close to the end surface of the support, a first end of the first opening is in communication with the airflow channel, a second end of the first opening is in communication with the air inlet channel, and the air inlet channel is in air communication with the exterior of the support through the first opening and the airflow channel in that sequence.

2. The support of claim 1, wherein a depth direction of the first opening perpendicular to a depth direction of the air inlet channel.

3. The support of claim 1, wherein the air inlet channel penetrates the end surface of the support, the support further comprises a sealing element for sealing an end of the air inlet channel on the end surface of the support.

4. The support of claim 3, wherein the sealing element is interference fitted with the air inlet channel.

5. The support of claim 1, further comprising an air cavity, wherein the air cavity is recessed inwardly from the end surface of the support, and the air cavity is in communication with the airflow channel.

6. The support of claim 5, wherein a second opening is defined by the outer peripheral wall of the support, one end of the second opening is in communication with the airflow channel, and the other end of the second opening is in communication with the air cavity.

7. The support of claim 6, wherein the first opening and the second opening are spaced apart from each other and arranged facing each other.

8. The support of claim 6, wherein an area of the other end of the second opening in communication with the air cavity and an area of the second end of the first opening in communication with the air inlet channel are the same.

9. The support of claim 1, wherein an annular contacting rib is arranged on the outer peripheral wall of the support and around the axis of the support, the contacting rib is located on a side of the airflow channel close to the end surface of the support, and the contacting rib is used for abutting against the housing.

10. The support of claim 1, wherein an annular groove is arranged on the outer peripheral wall of the support and around the axis of the support, the support further comprises a sealing ring received in the groove, the sealing ring is used for abutting against the housing.

11. The support of claim 1, wherein the airflow channel is an annular structure around the axis of the support.

12. An electronic-cigarette rod comprising:

a housing defining an air inlet hole and an insertion opening;

a support entirely received in the housing, the support comprising: a receiving cavity for receiving a sensor; an air inlet channel in communication with the receiving cavity; an airflow channel defined by an outer peripheral wall of the support facing an inner sidewall of the housing, wherein the outer peripheral wall of the support is arranged around an axis of the support, the airflow channel is in air communication with an exterior of the support; and a first opening defined by the outer peripheral wall of the support; wherein the support further comprises an end surface facing the insertion opening, the air inlet channel is located on a side of the receiving cavity close to the end surface of the support, a first end of the first opening is in communication with the airflow channel, a second end of the first opening is in communication with the air inlet channel, and the air inlet channel is in air communication with the exterior of the support through the first opening and the airflow channel in that sequence, the air inlet hole is in communication with the airflow channel.

13. The electronic-cigarette rod of claim 12, wherein a depth direction of the first opening perpendicular to a depth direction of the air inlet channel.

14. The electronic-cigarette rod of claim 12, wherein the air inlet channel penetrates the end surface of the support, the support further comprises a sealing element for sealing an end of the air inlet channel on the end surface of the support.

15. The electronic-cigarette rod of claim 12, wherein the air cavity is recessed inwardly from the end surface of the support, and the air cavity is in communication with the airflow channel.

16. The electronic-cigarette rod of claim 15, wherein a second opening is defined by the outer peripheral wall of the support, one end of the second opening is in communication with the airflow channel, and the other end of the second opening is in communication with the air cavity.

17. The electronic-cigarette rod of claim 16, wherein the first opening and the second opening are spaced apart from each other and arranged facing each other.

18. The electronic-cigarette rod of claim 12, wherein an annular contacting rib is arranged on the outer peripheral wall of the support and around the axis of the support, the contacting rib is located on a side of the airflow channel close to the end surface of the support, and the contacting rib is used for abutting against the housing.

19. The electronic-cigarette rod of claim 12, wherein an annular groove is arranged on the outer peripheral wall of the support and around the axis of the support, the support further comprises a sealing ring received in the groove, the sealing ring is used for abutting against the housing.

20. The electronic-cigarette rod of claim 12, wherein the airflow channel is an annular structure around the axis of the support.