Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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CA 02900284 2015-08-05
HEATING ELEMENT, ELECTRONIC CIGARETTE, AND
METHOD FOR FORMING HEATING ELEMENT
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to technical field of smoking set, more
particularly to a heating element, an electronic cigarette using the heating
element
and a method for forming the heating element.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The heating element of an electronic cigarette comprises a heating portion and
a
connecting portion, the heating portion is generally made of high resistivity
alloy
heating components (such as nicochrome, aludirome and constantan alloy) and
the
heating portion for heating after electrified to atomize the cigarette fluid
so as to
generate smoking effect. The connecting portion of a heating element is used
for
being electrically connected to a driving circuit. The connecting portion is
generally made of copper conductor and can be connected to the heating portion
via welding or riveting. For example, figure 1 illustrates that heating
portion 1 and
connecting portion 2 are riveted, while figure 2 illustrates that heating
portion 1
and connecting portion 2 are welded. Besides, in the Chinese patent,
application
No. 201020280861.7, named "a heating device for electronic cigarette", the
heating wire (equaling the heating portion) and the conducting wire (equaling
the
connecting portion) are riveted together.
However, the aforementioned welding or riveting connection involves a
complicated processing of heating element, and an unstable resistance value of
the
heating element in mass production. Moreover, the welding position of the
heating
elements by welding is easy to be oxidized and the contact resistance value of
the
heating element's weld is comparatively high.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Aiming at the drawbacks of the heating element in the electronic cigarette in
the prior art of complex processing technique and unstable resistance, the
objective
of the present invention is to provide a heating element, an electronic
cigarette and
a method for forming the heating element.
To solve the technical problem, the invention provided a heating element,
comprising a heating portion and a connecting portion, the connecting portion
extends along two ends of the heating portion to form a first connecting end
and a
second connecting end, and the first connecting end and the second connecting
end
are respectively electrically connected to a driving circuit, wherein the
first
connecting end and the second connecting end are integrally formed with the
heating portion, the first connecting end and the second connecting end are
each
provided with a plating layer with low resistivity, covering on their outer
surfaces.
In the heating element of the present invention, the heating portion, the
first
connecting end and the second connecting end are made of alloy material, with
circular cross section, the first connecting end and the second connecting end
extend in axial direction along two ends of the heating portion respectively,
the
first connecting end and the second connecting end have the same extending
distance or different extending distances in axial direction and are set to be
located
on corresponding end of the heating portion with spiral shape, the plating
layer
extends outward in radical direction of the first connecting end and the
second
connecting end so as to form an even coverage of the plating layer on the
first
connecting end and the second connecting end, and the dimension of the cross
section between the heating portion and the first connecting end is equal to
that of
the cross section between the heating portion and the second connecting end.
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In the heating element of the invention, the heating portion, the first
connecting
end and the second connecting end are all in shape of strip with cross section
of
polygon and made of linear alloy material, the first connecting end and the
second
connecting end extend horizontally along two ends of the heating portion with
the
same extending distance or different extending distances and get mounted on to
the
corresponding end of the heating portion with spiral shape, the plating layer
extends outward in radical direction of the first connecting end and the
second
connecting end so as to form an even coverage of the plating layer, and the
dimension of the cross section between the heating portion and the first
connecting
end is equal to that of the cross section between the heating portion and the
second
connecting end.
In the heating element of the invention, the heating portion comprises one of
a
plurality of the alloys including nicochrome, economet, aludirome and
constantan
alloy.
In the heating element of the invention, the plating layer comprises one of
the
materials of gold, silver, cuprum or tin.
In the heating element of the invention, the plating layer is made of alloy
having low resistivity.
An electronic cigarette is also provided in the present invention, wherein the
heating element claimed in the invention is mounted in the atomizer chamber of
the electronic cigarette.
The invention also disclosed a method for forming the heating element,
comprising procedures as follows:
A. Integrated forming the heating portion and the connecting portion, the
connecting portion comprises a first connecting end and a second connecting
end,
both extending along two ends of the heating portion;
B. Plating a coating with low resistivity respectively on the outer surfaces
of
the first connecting end and the second connecting end;
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CA 02900284 2015-08-05
C. Connecting the first connecting end and the second connecting end with a
driving circuit respectively;
In the method for forming the heating element, the procedure a further
comprises:
Al Selecting alloy materials with high resistivity;
A2, Cutting the selected alloy materials into pieces;
A3, Dividing the cut alloy material pieces into areas including the heating
portion, the first connecting end and the second connecting end, with the
first
connecting end and the second connecting end set onto two ends of the heating
portion respectively.
In the method for forming the heating element, the procedure B further
comprises:
Bl. Electroplating the first connecting end and the second connecting end by
using materials with low resistivity, forming a plating layer with even
coverage on
outer surfaces of the first connecting end and the second connecting end;
B2. Curling the electroplated alloy material, making the heating portion in
spiral shape, and making the first connecting end and the second connecting
end
correspondingly set on two ends of the spiral heating portion respectively,
with the
distance between the first connecting end and the corresponding end of the
spiral
heating portion is equal to/or different from the distance between the second
connecting end and the corresponding end of the spiral heating portion.
Implementing the invention, following advantages may be obtained that, the
heating element of the invention is integrated designed without any complex
technique of welding or riveting. The plating layer is formed via
electroplating,
thus greatly improving the production efficiency of the electronic cigarette
and
saving the cost, and a stable resistance value gets obtained in the mass-
produced
heating elements, involving a consistency in mass production. Further because
the
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CA 02900284 2015-08-05
plating layer is formed by metal or alloy with low resistance, the connecting
portion of the heating element involves a fairly low resistance value.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of riveting connection between the heating
portion and the connecting portion in the prior art;
Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of welding connection between the heating
portion and the connecting portion in the prior art;
Figure 3 is a structural diagram for the heating element in a preferred
embodiment of the invention;
Figure 4 is a structural diagram of the heating element before curling;
Figure 5 is a structural diagram of the heating element before electroplating;
Figure 6 is a structural diagram in another embodiment of the invention;
Figure 7 is a structural diagram for the electronic cigarette in the
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to figure 3, the present invention provides a heating element 100
including a heating portion 110 and a connecting portion 120, the connecting
portion 120 extends along both ends of the heating portion 110 so as to form a
first
connecting end 121 and a second connecting end 122, the connecting portion 120
is electrically connected to a driving circuit (not shown) for transmitting
electrical
energy to the heating portion 110, and the heating portion 110 is for
atomizing
cigarette fluid after getting electrified. The first connecting end 121 and
the second
connecting end 122 respectively have a plating layer 123 covering around outer
surfaces of the connecting ends 111-122, and the plating layer 123 is formed
by
electroplating pure metal or low resistivity alloy having low resistivity.
CA 02900284 2015-08-05
In the present invention, the heating portion 110, the first connecting end
121
and the second connecting end 122 are integrative and made of the same high
resistivity alloy materials, for instance, nicochrome, economet, aludirome or
constantan alloy, such as constantan alloy 6J40 and Cr2ONi80.
In the present embodiment, all of the heating portion 110, the first
connecting
end 121 and the second connecting end 122 are filamentous, and preferably, are
made of wire stock of the same material. The heating portion 110 is curled to
be in
spiral shape, and the first connecting end 121 and the second connecting 122
end
are formed, extending at both ends of the heating portion 110.
Specifically, in the preferred embodiment of the heating element in the
invention, the heating portion 110, first connecting end 121 and second
connecting
end 122 are made of alloy materials and having circular cross section, wherein
the
first connecting end 121 and the second connecting end 122 extend along two
ends
of the heating portion 110 respectively in axially direction with an equal
extending
distances or different extending distances (there are two instance for the
aforementioned different distances: one is that the extending distance of the
first
connecting end 121 is larger than the extending distance of the second
connecting
end 122; the other is that the extending distance of the second connecting end
122
is larger than that of the first connecting end 121) and correspondingly are
set on
two ends of the spiral heating portion 110, the plating layer 123 extends
outwardly
in the radical direction of the first and second connecting ends 121-122 so as
to
form an even coverage of the plating layer 123, and the dimension of the cross
section between the heating portion 110 and the first connecting end 121 is
equal to
that of the cross section between the heating portion 110 and the second
connecting
end 122.
The plating layer 123 is formed by electroplating materials with low
resistivity, comprising low resistive metals such as gold, silver, copper and
tin, or
alloys such as colomony and lanthanum aluminium alloy, while in the present
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invention it is disclosed that the material shall have a resistivity less than
2.5 X
10-851. The resistance value of the connecting portion 120 is very low for the
plating layer 123 with low resistivity plated on the connecting portion 120.
Referring to figures 3-4, the plating layer 123 can be electroplated before
the
heating element 100 is curled. In the embodiment, the whole outer surface of
the
first connecting ends 121-122 are covered by the plating layer 123.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, outer surfaces of the first
connecting ends 121-122 are covered by the plating layer 123 evenly with the
same
thickness on both of the connecting ends 121-122. The welding position of the
plating layer 123 and the driving circuit (not shown) is not fixed, thus
advantageously making contact resistance between the connecting portion 120
and
the driving circuit steady, and even when the plating layer 123 is welded to
the
driving circuit at different positions, the contact resistance between the
connecting
portion 120 and the driving circuit is still maintained the same.
The shape of the heating element 100 is not limited in the invention that the
heating element 100 may be in shape of filament, flake or strip, or having
cross
section of circle, ellipse, polygon(including triangle and rectangle) or any
other
geometry shapes, as is shown in figure 6 that the heating element 100
comprises a
heating portion 110, first connecting end 121 and second connecting end 122,
all of
which are in flake structure, and the plating layer 123 is covered on the
first and
second connecting ends 121-122.
Further, in other embodiments of the heating element in the invention, the
heating portion 110, the first connecting end 121 and the second connecting
end
122 may be in shape of strip with a polygonal-shaped cross section (including
rectangle, triangle and hexagon) and made of alloy material, wherein, the
first
connecting end 121 and the second connecting end 122 extend horizontally along
two ends of the heating portion 110 respectively with the same extending
distance
or two different extending distances (there are two instance of the different
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extending distances: one is that the extending distance of the first
connecting end
121 is larger than that of the second connecting end 122, and the other is
that the
extending distance of the second connecting end 122 is larger than that of the
first
connecting end 121) and get mounted on to the corresponding end of the spiral
heating portion 110, the plating layer 123 extends outwardly around the outer
surfaces of the first and second connecting ends 121-122 so as to form an even
coverage of the plating layer 123, and the dimension of the cross section
between
the heating portion 110 and the first connecting end 121 is equal to that of
the cross
section between the heating portion 110 and the second connecting end 122.
The present invention also discloses an electronic cigarette using the heating
element 100 in the above-mentioned embodiments. Specifically, the electronic
cigarette comprises a cigarette holder 200, cigarette pipe 300 and the lamp
cap 310
mounted on one end of the cigarette pipe 300. A battery 320 is mounted in the
cigarette pipe 300. Other structure features of the electronic cigarette will
not be
discussed in this instance.
An atomizer chamber 210 is mounted in the cigarette holder 200 having a
cigarette holder cap 220 located on one end of it, and the heating element 100
is
mounted in the atomizer chamber 210, on the side facing toward cigarette
holder
cap 220, while the connecting portion 120 is mounted in the atomizer chamber
210
on the side facing the battery 310. Two ends of the connecting portion 120 are
respectively electrically and welded to get connected to the driving circuit.
The
driving circuit and the battery 310 are electrically connected. It is
comparatively
easy to weld the connecting portion 120 to other parts of the electronic
cigarette,
for the plating layer 123 covered on the connecting portion 120.
The invention also discloses a method for processing heating element in the
electronic cigarette, wherein the method comprises procedures as follows:
Integrated forming the heating portion 110 and the connecting portion 120,
wherein the connecting portion 120 comprises the first connecting end 121 and
the
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second connecting end 122, both of which extend along two ends of the heating
portion 110;
Plating a plating layer 123 with low resistivity respectively on outer
surfaces
of the first and second connecting ends 121-122;
Connecting the first and second connecting ends121-122 respectively to a
driving circuit of the electronic cigarette via welding, riveting or
connecting
terminals or fasteners, wherein the specific connecting ways belong to
customary
means in the art and the specified description won't be given accordingly.
Specifically, the method for processing the heating element in the electronic
cigarette shall be further explained in accordance with the preferred
embodiment of
the invention, the processing method comprising procedures as follows:
Si, selecting alloy materials with high resistivity, including nicochrome,
economet, aludirome and constantan alloy, most of which are standard wire
stock
in various shapes of filament or flake, for example, the alloy materials
possibly
being constantan alloy 6J40 or Cr2ONi80, etc;
S2, cutting the selected alloy materials, making the cut alloy material pieces
has the length equal to the length of the heating element 100 before curled,
as
shown in Figure 5;
S3, dividing the cut alloy material pieces into the heating portion 110, the
first
connecting end 121 and the second connecting end 122, electroplating a plating
layer 123 on the outer surfaces of the first connecting end 121 and the second
connecting end 122.
S4, curling the electroplated alloy material, making the heating portion 110
in
spiral shape, and making the first connecting end 121 and the second
connecting
end 122 correspondingly set on two ends of the spiral heating portion
respectively,
with the distance between the first connecting end 121 and the corresponding
end
of the spiral heating portion 110 equal to the distance between the second
connecting end 122 and the corresponding end of the spiral heating portion
110.
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S5, connecting the heating element 100 to a driving circuit of electronic
cigarette via welding or some other way.
When implementing the processing method of the heating element in the
present invention, the followed advantages can be obtained: the heating
element
100 comprises a stable resistance value and a consistency in mass production;
the
plating layer 123, first connecting end 121 and the second connecting end 122
are
integrated designed, without any complex technique of welding or riveting. The
plating layer 123 is formed via electroplating of fine metal or metal alloy of
low
resistivity, thus connecting portion 120 having extremely low a resistance
value.
Thanks to the plating layer 123 on the connecting portion 120, to weld the
connecting portion 120 with other parts (such as the driving circuit) of the
electronic cigarette gets comparatively easy. As electroplating belongs to
mature
processes, the processing of heating element in this invention may improve the
production efficiency of the electronic cigarette beltline and save the
productive
cost of electronic cigarette.
It should be understood for one skilled in the art that various changes and
modifications or alternation should made in accordance with aforementioned
description and should fall into the scope of the appended claims in the
present
invention.
