HOUSING ASSEMBLY AND AEROSOL GENERATING DEVICE

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 2024109647557, filed Jul. 17, 2024, entitled “AEROSOL GENERATING DEVICE”, and also claims priority to Chinese patent application No. 2024109868009, filed on Jul. 22, 2024, entitled “Electronic cigarettes with multi-faceted display”. In addition, this application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202421893806.3, filed Aug. 6, 2024, with the Chinese Patent Office entitled “FLEXIBLE DISPLAY ASSEMBLY AND VAPOUR MIST GENERATING DEVICE”. The application further claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 2024223940152, filed Sep. 30, 2024, entitled “HOUSING ASSEMBLY AND AEROSOL GENERATING DEVICE”. The disclosures of the applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

FIELD

The application relates to a housing assembly and an aerosol generating device.

BACKGROUND

An aerosol generation device is a kind of electronic equipment that can atomize the aerosol-forming substances such as stored cigarette oil, liquid medicine and other aerosol-forming substances into aerosols by means of electric heating. The aerosol generating devices currently available on the market usually include structures such as an atomizing core, an electric control components, the liquid storage cup. Among them, the liquid storage cup generally stores aerosol-forming substances, and the aerosol-forming substances in the liquid storage cup can be conducted to the atomizing core through capillary action or other means. In the process of the users using the aerosol generating device for inhalation, the electric control component provides electrical energy for the atomizing core, enabling the atomizing core to be energized to generate heat. The heat generated by the energizing of the atomizing core can be used to atomize the aerosol-forming substance conducted to the atomizing core into an aerosol that can be inhaled by the user.

With the continuous use of the aerosol generation device, the electricity quantity of the aerosol generation device and the amount of aerosol-forming substances will gradually decrease. In order to facilitate users to know the residual electricity quantity of the aerosol generation device and the residual amount of aerosol forming substances at any time and intuitively, the aerosol generating device is usually configured with a device that can display visual information such as the remaining power and the remaining amount of aerosol-forming material. Wherein, the type of display component may be a non-bendable rigid display component (such as a digital tube) or a bendable flexible display component (such as a flexible OLED screen, a flexible AMOLED screen, a flexible LCD screen, etc.). Compared with a rigid display component, a flexible display component can be bent, so that it can simultaneously cover the outer wall of the aerosol generation device at multiple different positions (as for simultaneously covering the front side wall, the left side wall and the rear side wall of the aerosol generation device), which enables the aerosol generating device to obtain a larger range of information displays and display more visual information for the user. Therefore, the application of the flexible display component in the field of electronic atomizing technology is gradually becoming a trend.

SUMMARY

The main object of this application is to provide a housing assembly and an aerosol generating device, aiming at solving the technical problems of poor mounting adaptability and poor mounting flexibility of a housing structure applied to the aerosol generating device in the related technology.

To accomplish the above, in a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a housing assembly applied to an aerosol generating device, the housing assembly comprising:

• • a body shell having opposed a first end portion and a second end portion along its height direction, the body shell being hollow through;
  • a top cover, fixedly mating with the first end portion; and,
  • a bottom cover, fixedly mating with the second end portion;
  • wherein the bottom cover, the top cover, and the body shell together define a mounting groove for mounting a flexible display module, the mounting groove being disposed between the top cover and the bottom cover and disposed 360 degrees around the body shell.

In a second aspect, embodiments of this application further provide an aerosol generating device, the aerosol generating device comprising a suction nozzle, a liquid storage cup, an atomizing core, an electronic control component, and a housing assembly as previously described, wherein:

• • the suction nozzle is attached to the top surface of the top cover;
  • the liquid storage cup is mounted on the inside of the housing assembly. The liquid storage cup is provided with an airflow channel and a storage chamber for storing aerosol-forming substances, one end of the airflow channel being connected to the suction nozzle and the other end being connected to the outside world;
  • the atomizing core is mounted in the airflow channel and is connected to the storage chamber;
  • the electrical control assembly is mounted within the housing assembly and is electrically connected to the atomizing core;

Compared to the prior art, this application has at least the following beneficial effects:

An embodiment of this application provides a housing assembly comprising a body shell, a top cover and a bottom cover. The top cover is fixedly fitted to a first end portion of the body shell. The bottom cover is fixedly fitted to a second end portion of the body shell. The top cover, the body shell, and the bottom cover are assembled together to define a mounting groove for mounting a flexible assembly. As the mounting groove is provided 360 degrees around the body shell, sufficient and flexible mounting space is provided for the flexible display module when the flexible display module is mounted in the circumferential direction of the housing assembly. Thus the housing assembly provided by the embodiments of this application can not only be adapted to the installation of the flexible display module of different lengths, but also flexibly adjust the mounting position of the flexible display module according to the actual mounting requirements. Compared to housing structures in the related art that can only accommodate flexible display assemblies of one length and one type of positional mounting needs, the housing assemblies provided by embodiments of this application have better mounting adaptability and mounting flexibility.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments or prior art of this application, the following will briefly introduction the accompanying drawings that need to used in the description of the embodiments or prior art. It is obvious that the accompanying drawings in the following description is only some of the embodiments of this application, and that other accompanying drawings may be obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the structures illustrated in these drawings without the expenditure of creative labour.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the housing assembly in an embodiment of this application in a first angle;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the structural decomposition of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a top view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of FIG. 3 along the A-A direction;

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged schematic diagram of FIG. 4 at B;

FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged schematic diagram of FIG. 4 at C;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the top cover in an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the bottom cover in an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the housing assembly in an embodiment of this application in a second angle;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of the structure of the housing assembly after the flexible display assembly has been mounted in the mounting groove;

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the flexible display assembly in an embodiment of this application after it is unfolded;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the aerosol generating device in an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional diagram of an aerosol generating device in an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 14 is a partially enlarged schematic diagram of FIG. 13 at D;

FIG. 15 is a partially enlarged schematic diagram at E in FIG. 13;

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram of a structural decomposition of an aerosol generating device in an embodiment of this application.

ATTACHMENT LABEL DESCRIPTION

• • 1—a body shell, 11—a first end portion, 110—a first snap hole, 111—a first slit, 12—a second end, 120—a second snap hole, 121—a second slit, 13—a reserved through-hole;
  • 2—a top cover, 20—a first groove, 21—a first annular inner cover portion, 211—a first edge portion, 2110—a first notch, 212—a second edge portion, 2120—a second notch, 22—a first outer cover portion, 220—a lanyard hole, 221—a top end surface, 23—a first snap fastener, 231—a first guiding wall surface, 232—a first limiting wall surface, 24—a protruding portion, 240—a cavity.
  • 3—a bottom cover, 30—a second groove, 31—a second annular inner cover portion, 311—a third edge portion, 3110—a third notch, 312—a fourth edge portion, 3120—a fourth notch, 32—a second outer cover portion, 320—a air inlet hole, 321—a bottom end face, 33—a second snap fastener, 331—a second guiding wall, 332—a second limiting wall;
  • 4—a suction nozzle; and
  • 5—a liquid storage cup, 51—a storage chamber, 52—a airflow channel, 53—a storage cotton;
  • 61—a atomizing core, 62—a plug.
  • 7—a electronic control assembly, 71—a battery, 72—a control circuit board.
  • 8—a flexible display assembly, 80—a locating hole, 81—a tail part, 82—a connector, 83—a light-emitting surface;
  • 9—a protective shell, 91—a first edge projection, 92—a second edge projection;
  • 10—a mounting groove.

The realization of the purpose of this application, functional features and advantages will be further described in conjunction with the embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this application and not all of them. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art without creative labour fall within the scope of protection of this application.

It is to be noted that if the embodiments of this application involve directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, back, top, bottom), the directional indication is only used to explain the relative positional relationship between the various parts and the movement in a particular attitude, etc., and if the particular attitude is changed, the directional indication will be changed accordingly.

Furthermore, in the description of the embodiments of this application, the terms ‘setting’, ‘mounting’, ‘connecting’, and the like are to be broadly construed unless otherwise expressly specified and limited. For example, it may be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or a one-piece connection; it may be a mechanical connection, or an electrical connection; it may be a direct connection, or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium. For a person of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms may be understood according to the specific circumstances.

In addition, if the embodiments of this application contain descriptions involving “first”, “second”, etc., the descriptions of “first”, “second”, etc. are used only for descriptive purposes, and are not to be construed as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. As a result, a feature defined as “first” or “second” may include at least one such feature, either explicitly or implicitly.

In addition, the technical solutions between the various embodiments may be combined with each other, but it must be based on the realization of the person of ordinary skill in the field. When the combination of technical solutions is contradictory or unattainable, it should be considered that the combination of such technical solutions does not exist, and is not within the scope of protection of this application.

Referring to FIGS. 1-11, an embodiment of this application provides a housing assembly that can be applied to an aerosol generating device. The housing assembly comprises a top cover 2, a bottom cover 3, and a hollow through body shell 1, the body shell 1 having a first end portion 11 and a second end portion 12 opposite to each other along its height direction, the top cover 2 being fixedly mated with the first end portion 11, the bottom cover 3 being fixedly mated with the second end portion 12. The bottom cover 3, the top cover 2, and the body shell 1 collectively define a mounting groove 10 for a flexible display assembly 8 to be installed. The mounting groove 10 is located between the top cover 2 and the bottom cover 3, and is provided 360 degrees around the body shell 1. It is to be noted here that, exemplarily, the height direction of the body shell 1 is the up and down direction of FIGS. 1, 2 and 4.

In this embodiment, it is to be noted that, in the specific implementation, the fixed fit between the top cover 2 and the first end portion 11 of the body shell 1 may be achieved by means of an interference fit, a snap connection, a threaded fit, etc., which may be based on the actual need. This embodiment does not make any specific limitations on the fixed fit between the top cover 2 and the body shell 1. Similarly, the bottom cover 3 and the second end 12 of the body shell 1 may be fixedly fitted with each other by means of interference fit, snap connection, threaded fit, etc., which may also be determined according to the actual needs. This embodiment does not make any specific limitations on the fixedly fitted means between the bottom cover 3 and the body shell 1.

In this embodiment, based on the above structural design, the top cover 2, the body shell 1, and the bottom cover 3 may collectively define a mounting groove 10 when assembled as a single unit. Because the mounting groove 10 is provided 360 degrees around the body shell 1 along the circumferential direction of the body shell, it is possible to provide sufficient and flexible mounting space for the flexible display assembly 8 when mounting the flexible display assembly 8 along the circumferential direction of the housing assembly. Thereby the housing assembly provided by this embodiment not only is capable of adapting to mounting the flexible display assemblies 8 of different lengths, but also is capable of flexibly adjusting the mounting position of the flexible display assembly 8 according to actual mounting needs.

For example, it is assumed that the body shell 1 has four outer side walls with different orientations, i.e., a front side wall, a rear side wall, a left side wall, and a right side wall. and it is currently necessary to mount a flexible display assembly 8 of a certain length in the mounting groove 10 of the housing assembly, and the length of the flexible display assembly is long enough to be able to cover any three of the four outer side walls at the same time. Then, When the flexible display assembly 8 is installed in the housing assembly provided in this embodiment, the flexible display assembly 8 can be selected to cover the front side wall, the left side wall, and the rear side wall of the body shell 1 at the same time, the flexible display assembly 8 can be selected to cover the front side wall, the right side wall, and the rear side wall of the body shell 1 at the same time, or the flexible display assembly 8 can be selected to cover the front side wall, the right side wall, and the left side wall of the body shell 1 at the same time. Therefore, the mounting position of the flexible display assembly 8 can be flexibly adjusted according to the actual mounting requirements. And even if the position mounting of the flexible display assembly 8 are temporarily changed, there is no need to replace the housing structure.

For example, it is assumed that there are two the flexible display assemblies 8 (defined as a first display assembly and a second display assembly, respectively) of different lengths. The first display assembly is long enough to be able to cover the four outer sidewalls of the body shell 1 at the same time, and the second display assembly is only long enough to be able to cover any three of the four outer sidewalls of the body shell 1 at the same time. When the first display assembly with a longer length is required to be mounted in the housing assembly provided in this embodiment, the flexible display assembly 8 can be installed to cover the front side wall, the rear side wall, the left side wall, and the right side wall of the body shell 1 at the same time. When it is necessary to mount the second display assembly with a shorter length to the housing assembly provided in this embodiment, the flexible display assembly 8 can be installed to cover any three of the four outer walls of the body shell 1 at the same time. In other words, the first display assembly and the second display assembly of different lengths can be mounted in the mounting groove 10 of the housing assembly, so that the housing assembly provided in this embodiment is compatible with the mounting of the flexible display assembly 8 of different lengths.

Further, in some optional embodiments of this application, a fixed fit between the top cover 2 and the first end portion 11 of the body shell 1 may be achieved by means of a snap connection. specifically, with reference to FIG. 2, FIGS. 4-5, and FIG. 7, the inner peripheral wall of the top cover 2 is provided with a first snap fastener 23. The side wall of the first end portion 11 is provided with a first snap hole 110. The top cover 2 is socked to the outer wall of the first end portion 11, and the first snap fastener 23 is snapped into the first snap hole 110, thereby enabling the top cover 2 and the body shell 1 to be securely fastened together. Among them, in the specific implementation, the number of the first snap fastener 23 and the first snap hole 110 may be one or more than one according to the actual needs, and this embodiment does not make any specific limitations in this regard.

Similarly, in some optional embodiments of this application, a fixed fit between the bottom cover 3 and the second end 12 of the body shell 1 may also be achieved by means of a snap-fit connection. Specifically, referring to FIG. 2, FIGS. 4-5 and FIG. 8, the inner peripheral wall of the bottom cover 3 is provided with a second snap fastener 33. The side wall of the second end portion 12 is provided with a second snap hole 120. The bottom cover 3 is socked to the outer wall of the second end portion 12, and the second snap fastener 33 is fastened to the second snap hole 120, thereby enabling the bottom cover 3 and the fuselage shell 1 to be securely fastened to one another. Wherein, in the specific implementation, the number of the second snap fastener 33 and the second snap hole 120 can be one or more according to the actual need, and this embodiment does not make any specific limitations in this regard.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 9-10 and FIGS. 12-13, it is contemplated that in some specific application scenarios where the housing assembly is applied to an aerosol generating device. In order to avoid the flexible display module 8 being exposed and reducing the overall aesthetics of the aerosol generating device, it is usually necessary to provide a hollow through protective shell 9 made of light-transparent material between the top cover 2 and the bottom cover 3 to enclose the flexible display module 8. During installation of the protective shell 9 and after completion of installation of the protective shell 9, there is a possibility that the protective shell 9 may move in a left-right direction or in a front-back direction along the housing assembly in response to external forces. When the protective shell 9 moves too much, the inner wall of the protective shell 9 may cause strong extrusion to the flexible display assembly 8, which may lead to local damage to the flexible display assembly 8. Based on these considerations, in order to reduce the risk of local damage to the flexible display assembly 8 during the installation of the protective shell 9 and after completion of the installation of the protective shell 9. Further structural optimization may be carried out for the casing assembly design as follows:

Referring to FIGS. 4-8 and FIGS. 12-15, in some optional embodiments of this application, the top cover 2 comprises a first annular inner cover portion 21 and a first outer cover portion 22 having a top end surface 221. One end of the first annular inner cover 21 portion is integrated with the inner wall of the first outer cover portion 22, and the other end is provided protruding from the interior of the first outer cover 22 in a direction away from the top end surface 221. The first snap fastener 23 is provided on the inner peripheral wall of the first annular inner cover portion 21. The first annular inner cover portion 21 is disposed on the outer wall of the first end portion 11; Furthermore, the bottom cover 3 comprises a second annular inner cover 31 and a second outer cover portion 32 having a bottom end surface 321. One end of the second annular inner cover portion 31 is connected to the inner wall of the second outer cover portion 32 as a integral part, and the other end of the second annular inner cover portion 3 is provided protruding from the inside of the second outer cover portion 32 in a direction away from the bottom end surface 321. The second snap fastener 33 is provided on the inner peripheral wall of the second annular inner cover portion 31, and the second annular inner cover portion 31 is socked to the outer wall of the second end portion 12. So set up, in some specific application scenarios of applying the housing assembly to the aerosol generating device, when carrying out the installation of the protective shell 9, the upper end of the protective shell 9 can be set on the outer peripheral wall of the first annular inner cover portion 21, and the lower end of the protective shell 9 can be set on the outer peripheral wall of the second annular inner cover 31 portion. On the one hand, the first annular inner cover portion 21 may limit the upper end of the protective shell 9, making it difficult for the upper end of the protective shell 9 to move substantially even when subjected to an external force. On the other hand, the second annular inner cover portion 31 may limit the lower end of the protective shell 9, making it difficult for the lower end of the protective shell 9 to move substantially even when subjected to an external force. In this way, it is difficult for the protective shell 9 to move in the left-right direction or the front-back direction of the housing assembly. During the installation of the protective shell 9 and after completion of the installation of the protective shell 9, it is possible to effectively reduce the risk of the flexible display assembly 8 being partially damaged as a result of strong extrusion of the flexible display assembly 8 due to the overly large movement of the protective shell 9.

Further, in some specific application scenarios where the housing assembly is applied to an aerosol generating device, in order to better limit the upper and lower ends of the protective shell 9, the top cover 2, the bottom cover 3 and the protective shell 9 may be structured as follows:

Specifically, with reference to FIGS. 4-8 and FIGS. 12-15, A first groove 20 is formed by a gap between an inner peripheral wall of an end of the first outer cover portion 22 back from the top end surface 221 and an outer peripheral wall of the first annular inner cover portion 21. A second groove 30 is formed by a gap between the inner peripheral wall of the end of the second outer cover portion 32 back from the bottom end surface 321 and the outer peripheral wall of the second annular inner cover portion 31. Accordingly, the protective shell 9 is provided with a first edge projection 91 adapted to the first groove 20 on an end face of the protective shell 9 proximate to the top cover 2. The first edge projection 91 is articulated with the inner wall of the protective shell 9. The protective shell 9 is provided with a second edge projection 92 adapted to the second groove 30 on a convex face of the protective shell 9 proximate to the end face of the bottom cover 3, and the second edge projection 92 is articulated with the inner wall of the protective shell 9.

Thus, in some specific application scenarios of applying the housing assembly to the aerosol generating device, when installing the protective shell 9, on the one hand, the upper end of the protective shell 9 can be set on the outer peripheral wall of the first annular inner cover portion 21 and the first edge projection 91 can be inserted in the first groove 20, so that the upper end of the protective shell 9 will be more difficult to move under the limiting effect of the first groove 20; On the other hand, the lower end of the protective shell 9 can be set on the outer peripheral wall of the second annular inner cover portion 31 and the second edge projection 92 can be inserted into the second groove 30, so that the lower end of the protective shell 9 will be more difficult to move under the limit effect of the second groove 30. In this way, it is more difficult for the protective shell 9 to move along the left-right direction or the front-back direction of the housing assembly.

Further, referring to FIGS. 4-5 and FIG. 7, in some optional embodiments of this application, the first annular inner cover portion 21 has a first edge portion 211 and a second edge portion 212 disposed at relatively spaced apart. The inner wall of the first edge portion 211 and the inner wall of the second edge portion 212 are each provided with at least one first snap fastener 23. At least two first snap holes 110 are provided on the side wall of the first end portion 11. The respective first snap fastener 23 is in one-to-one corresponding engagement with the respective first snap hole 110. So provided, increasing the number of the first snap fasteners 23 and the first snap holes 110, and optimizing the positional layout of the first snap fasteners 23 and the first snap holes 110, it is conducive to making the top cover 2 and the fuselage shell 1 more securely fastened together and less likely to detach from each other.

Further, referring to FIGS. 4-5 and FIG. 7, in some optional embodiments of this application, the first annular inner cover portion 21 has a first edge portion 211 and a second edge portion 212 disposed at relatively spaced apart. The inner wall of the first edge portion 211 and the inner wall of the second edge portion 212 are both provided with at least one first snap fastener 23. At least two first snap holes 110 are provided in the side wall of the first end portion 11. The respective first snap fastener 23 is snapped in one-to-one correspondence with the respective first snap hole 110. So provided, increasing the number of the first snap fasteners 23 and the first snap holes 110, and optimizing the positional layout of the first snap fasteners 23 and the first snap holes 110 are conducive to making the top cover 2 and the body shell 1 more securely fastened together and less likely to be detached from each other.

Similarly, referring to FIGS. 4, 6, and 8, in some optional embodiments of this application, the second annular inner cover portion 31 has a third edge portion 311 and a fourth edge portion 312 disposed at relatively spaced intervals. The inner wall of the third edge portion 311 and the inner wall of the fourth edge portion 312 are both provided with at least one second snap fastener 33. The side wall of the second end portion 12 is provided with at least two second snap holes 120. Each of the second snap fasteners 33 and each of the second snap holes 120 are one-to-one correspondingly fastened. So provided, increasing the number of the second snap fasteners 33 and the second snap holes 120, and optimizing the positional layout of the second snap fasteners 33 and the second snap holes 120 are conducive to making the bottom cover 3 and the body shell 1 more securely fastened together and less likely to be detached from each other.

Further, referring to FIG. 2 and FIGS. 4-5, in some optional embodiments of this application, each of the first snap fasteners 23 has a first limit wall surface 232 and a first guiding wall surface 231 disposed back-to-back with each other along a height direction of the housing assembly. The first limiting wall surface 232 is closer to the top end surface 221 than the first guiding wall surface 231. Both the first limiting wall surface 232 and the first guiding wall surface 231 are articulated with the inner wall of the first annular inner cover portion 21. The angle between the first limit wall surface 232 and the inner wall of the first annular inner cover 21 is a right angle or an acute angle, and the angle between the first guiding wall surface 231 and the inner wall of the first annular inner cover 21 is an obtuse angle. So provided, in the process of assembling the top cover 2 and the first end portion 11 of the fuselage shell 1 by means of a snap connection, on the one hand, when the first end portion 11 of the fuselage shell 1 squeezes the first guiding wall surface 231 of the first snap fastener 23 to a certain extent, the first guiding wall surface 231 is able to press against the first end portion 11 of the fuselage shell 1 to a certain extent due to the fact that the angle between the first guiding wall surface 231 and the inner wall of the first annular inner cover 21 is obtuse, and the first guiding wall surface 231 is therefore able to press the first guiding wall surface 231 of the first annular inner cover 1 to an obtuse angle. The first guiding wall surface 231 is able to guide the first end 11 of the fuselage shell 1, so that relative sliding between the first guiding wall surface 231 and the first end 11 of the fuselage shell 1 is able to occur more easily, thereby making it easier for the first snap fastener 23 to be stuck into the first snap hole 110, which is also conducive to making it easier for the top cover 2 and the fuselage shell 1 to be snapped together; on the other hand, when the first snap fastener 23 is stuck into the first snap hole 110, the first snap fastener 23 can be stuck into the first snap hole 110. On the other hand, when the first snap fastener 23 is snapped into the first snap hole 110, because the angle between the first limiting wall surface 232 and the inner wall of the first annular inner cover 21 is a right angle or an acute angle, the first limiting wall surface 232 is better able to resist against the aperture wall of the first snap hole 110 and is not prone to relative sliding, thus making it difficult for the first snap fastener 23 to be dislodged from the first snap hole 110 after it has been snapped into the first snap hole 110, i.e., facilitating the fastening of the top cover 2 to the body shell 1. In other words, it is favorable to make the top cover 2 and the body shell 1 more securely fastened together.

Similarly, referring to FIGS. 2, 4, 6, and 8, in some optional embodiments of this application, each of the second snaps 33 has a second limiting wall surface 332 and a second guiding wall surface 331 disposed back-to-back with each other along a height direction of the housing assembly, the second limiting wall surface 332 being closer to the bottom end surface 321 than the first guiding wall surface 231. Both the second limiting wall surface 332 and the second guiding wall surface 331 are integrated with the second annular inner cover portion 31. The angle between the second limit wall surface 332 and the inner wall of the second annular inner cover portion 31 is a right angle or an acute angle. The angle between the second guiding wall surface 331 and the inner wall of the second annular inner cover portion 31 is an obtuse angle. Thus provided, in the process of assembling the bottom cover 3 and the second end portion 12 of the body shell 1 together by means of a snap connection; on the one hand, it is favorable to make the bottom cover 3 and the fuselage shell 1 snap together more easily; on the other hand, it is favorable to make the bottom cover 3 and the fuselage shell 1 snap together more securely. It is to be noted that the structural principle of this embodiment is similar to that of the aforementioned embodiments (i.e., the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2 and 4-5), and will not be repeated herein.

Further, with reference to FIGS. 4-5 and FIG. 7, in some optional embodiments of this application, the top cover 2 is made of rigid plastic (in specific implementation, the top cover 2 may be injection molded by means of injection molding). The first edge portion 211 is provided with two spaced apart first notches 2110. The second edge portion 212 is provided with two spaced apart second notches 2120. A first snap fastener 23 is provided between the two first notches 2110. A first snap fastener 23 is provided between the two second notches 2120. So provided, in the process assembling the top cover 2 and the first end portion 12 of the body shell 1 by means of a snap connection, it is made possible that the portion of the first edge portion 211 where the first snap fastener 23 is provided and the portion of the second edge portion 212 where the first snap fastener 23 is provided so that the two first snap fasteners 23 are able to elastically deform more readily when compressed by the first end 12 of the body shell 1. Thereby the two first snap fasteners 23 can be more easily snapped into the two first snap holes 110. I.e., it is favourable to further enable the top cover 3 and the body shell 1 to be more easily snapped together.

Similarly, with reference to FIGS. 4, 6, and 8, in some optional embodiments of this application, the bottom cover 3 is made of a rigid plastic (in a specific implementation, the bottom cover 3 may be integrally injection moulded by means of injection moulding). The third edge portion 311 is provided with two spaced apart third notches 3110. The fourth edge portion 312 is provided with two spaced apart fourth notches 3120. A second snap 33 is provided between the two third notches 3110. A second snap 33 is provided between the two fourth notches 3120. So provided, in the process assembling the bottom cover 3 and the second end portion 12 of the body shell 1 by means of a snap connection, it is made possible that the portion of the third edge portion 311 where the second snap 33 is provided and the portion of the fourth edge portion 312 where the second snap 33 is provided so that the two second snaps 33 are able to elastically deform more readily when compressed by the second end 12 of the body shell 1. Thereby the two second snaps 33 can be more easily snapped into the two second snap holes 120. I.e., it is favourable to further enable the bottom cover 3 and the body shell 1 to be more easily snapped together.

Further, in the process of realizing the relevant embodiments of this application (including at least the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1-6), the applicant found that if the housing assembly is made by adopting the method of “first integrally molding the top cover 2 and the body shell 1 by injection molding, and then assembling the bottom cover 3 and the body shell 1 together by means of snap fastening connection”. Or alternatively, if the housing assembly is produced by the method of ‘integrally moulding the bottom cover 3 and the body shell 1 by injection moulding, and then assembling the top cover 2 and the body shell 1 by snap fastening’, the following problems will exist:

• • Firstly, in the process of integrally moulding the top cover 2 and the body shell 1 by injection moulding, or integrally molding the bottom cover 3 and the body shell 1, there will be a problem of difficult demolding, which leads to a high scrap rate, and thus increases the production cost of the shell assembly;
  • Secondly, the structural strength of the plastic body shell 1 is insufficient, resulting in a reduction in the overall drop resistance of the aerosol generator when the resulting housing assembly is applied to the aerosol generator device, making the aerosol generating device susceptible to the problem of ‘falling apart’ when the aerosol generating device is dropped;
  • Third, in some application scenarios for making an aerosol generating device, since only one end of the body shell 1 is open, it is not easy to flexibly assemble other parts of the aerosol generating device (e.g., the atomizing core 61, the liquid storage cup 5, the electronic control assembly 7, etc.) inside the shell assembly, which may reduce the ease of assembly of the aerosol generating device.

Based on the above findings, in some optional embodiments of this application, the body shell 1 is made of metal. The top cover 2 and the bottom cover 3 are all made of hard plastic. Thus, set up, in a first aspect, the single top cover 2, the single bottom cover 3 and the single body shell 1 are simpler and smaller as compared to the monolithic structure in which the top cover 2 and the body shell 1 are integrally moulded, or the monolithic structure in which the bottom cover 3 and the body shell 1 are integrally moulded. Therefore, when moulding the top cover 2 or the bottom cover 3 by injection moulding and when moulding the body shell 1 by die-casting or the like, the problem of difficulty in removing the mould will not occur, which is conducive to increasing the yield rate of the parts and thus conducive to lowering the production cost of the shell assembly.

In a secondly aspect, compared with the plastic body shell 1, the metal body shell 1 has higher structural strength, and is less prone to extrusion and deformation in the event of a fall. Even if the body shell 1 and the top cover 2 or the body shell 1 and the bottom cover 3 are fixed together by means of a snap connection, the corresponding snap is not prone to be dislodged from the corresponding snap holes. the overall drop resistance of the aerosol generating device can be effectively improved, so that when the aerosol generating device is dropped, it is less prone to the problem of ‘falling apart’.

In a third aspect, the top cover 2 is secured to the body shell 1 by a fixed-fit assembly, and the bottom cover 3 is also secured to the body shell 1 by a fixed-fit assembly, so that the housing assembly may have a high degree of assemblability. In some application scenarios where aerosol generating devices are made, both ends of the fuselage shell 1 are open before assembly of the body shell 1 with the bottom cover 3 and the top cover 2, respectively, into a housing assembly. Therefore, other parts of the aerosol generating device can be conveniently installed in the inside of the housing assembly, thereby improving the assembly convenience of the aerosol generating device.

In this embodiment, it should be noted that in specific implementation, the material of the body shell 1 may be iron, aluminum, aluminum alloy, zinc alloy, titanium alloy, stainless steel, magnesium alloy and other metal materials with certain structural strength. The material of the top cover 2 may be polycarbonate, polyformaldehyde, polypropylene, polyetherimide, ABS plastic PCTG plastics and other plastics with a certain hardness. The materials of the bottom cover 3 may be polycarbonate, polyformaldehyde, polypropylene, polyetherimide, ABS plastics, PCTG plastics and other plastics with a certain hardness. As long as it can meet the need of use, this embodiment does not make any specific restrictions on the specific materials of the fuselage shell 1, top cover 2 or bottom cover 3.

Further, referring to FIGS. 1 and 12, in some optional embodiments of this application, a lanyard hole 220 is provided on the outer wall of the top cover 2. So provided, it is convenient for a user to attach a lanyard at the lanyard hole 220 in order to improve the portability convenience of the aerosol generating device after the housing assembly provided in this embodiment is applied to the aerosol generating device.

Further, with reference to FIGS. 7 and 13, in some optional embodiments of this application, the top cover 2 is provided with a protruding portion 24 protruding from the inner wall of the side of the top cover 2 dorsal to the top end surface 221. The interior of the protruding portion 24 is hollowed out to form a cavity 240 connected to the lanyard hole 220, which can be used for accommodating a plug 62 of a type of a silicone plug, a rubber plug, or the like. So provided, in some application scenarios where the housing assembly provided in this embodiment is applied to an aerosol generating device, the plug 62 may be inserted into the cavity 240 to achieve blocking of the lanyard hole 220, so as to prevent a user from observing the interior of the housing assembly through the lanyard hole 220, which may affect the user's sense of view.

Further, in some application scenarios in which a housing assembly is applied to an aerosol generating device, in order to enable the flexible display assembly 8 to be quickly and neatly wrapped around the outer side wall of the body shell 1 during assembly to form the aerosol generating device, the body shell 1 and the flexible display assembly 8 may be structurally designed as follows:

Specifically, with reference to FIGS. 1-2, FIG. 11, and FIG. 16, in some optional embodiments of this application, a first slit 111 is provided on the side wall of the first end portion 11. The first slit 111 is penetrated the end face of the first end portion 11. A second slit 121 is provided on the side wall of the second end portion 12. The second slit 121 is penetrated the end face of the second end portion 12. The first slit 111 and the second slit 121 are located on the same side of the body shell 1 (optionally, the first slit 111 and the second slit 121 are located in the same linear direction); accordingly, a locating hole 80 is provided on each of the two side edges of the flexible display module 8 in its width direction. Thus, set up, in some application scenarios of assembling and forming an aerosol generating device comprising the flexible display assembly 8, when mounting the flexible display assembly 8, in some optional embodiments, one of the locating holes 80 of the flexible display assembly 8 can be aligned with the first slit 111 and the other locating hole 80 can be aligned with the second slit 121. Then the other parts of the flexible display assembly 8 can be adhered to the body shell 1. In this way, the flexible display assembly 8 can be quickly and neatly wrapped around the outer wall of the body shell 1. In other optional embodiments, a specially designed mounting jig may also be utilized to position the flexible display assembly 8 for mounting. Specifically, the mounting jig has two locating pins. When installing the flexible display assembly 8, one of the locating pins may be placed in the first slit 111 and one end of the locating pin can be exposed. The other locating pin is placed in the second slit 121 and one end of the locating pin may be set exposed. The other locating pin is placed in the second slit 121 and one end of the locating pin is provided exposed. Then one of the locating holes 80 of the flexible display assembly 8 is aligned with the first slit 111 and the corresponding positioning pin is passed through the locating hole 80. The other locating hole 80 is aligned with the second slit 121 and the corresponding positioning pin is passed through the corresponding locating hole 80. In this way, the limiting effect of the two locating pins makes it difficult for the flexible display assembly 8 to be tampered with both in the height direction of the body shell 1 and in the circumferential direction of the body shell 1, so that it is possible to facilitate fast and neat winding of the flexible display assembly 8 on the outer side wall of the body shell 1.

Further, considering that in some application scenarios in which an aerosol generating device comprising a flexible display assembly 8 is to be assembled, the flexible display assembly 8 usually has a tail part 81. A connector 82 for connecting a flexible row of wires is provided on the surface of the tail part 81. The electrical connection between the flexible display assembly 8 and the electrical control assembly 7 can be achieved by electrically connecting the two ends of the flexible row of wires to the connector 82 and the electrical control assembly 7 of the aerosol generating device, respectively, so that the electrical control assembly 7 can control the flexible display assembly 8 to display the visualization information. Based on this consideration, Based on this consideration, in some application scenarios of assembling an aerosol generating device comprising a flexible display assembly 8, in order to facilitate the electrical connection of the flexible display assembly 8, which is located on the outer side of the body shell 1, to the electronic control assembly 7, which is located on the inner side of the body shell 1, by means of a flexible row of wires, as shown in FIG. 4 and FIGS. 9-10, in some optional embodiments of this application, the side wall of the body shell 1 is provided with a reserved through-hole 13, which can be used for threading the flexible row of wires.

Correspondingly, referring to FIG. 12-FIG. 16, a embodiment of this application also provide an aerosol generating device. The aerosol generating device comprises a suction nozzle 4, a liquid storage cup 5, an atomizing core 61, an electronic control assembly 7, and a housing assembly (shown in FIGS. 1-9) in any of the above embodiments, wherein:

The suction nozzle 4 is connected to the top end surface 221 of the top cover 2. Wherein, in some optional embodiments, the suction nozzle 4 may be connected to the top end surface 221 of the top cover 2 by an assembly method such as a snap-on connection, a threaded connection, and so on. In other optional embodiments, the suction nozzle 4 may also be integrally molded with the top cover 2 by means of an injection moulding method. This embodiment do not impose any specific limitations thereon.

The liquid storage cup 5 is installed in the interior of the housing assembly. The interior of the liquid storage cup 5 is provided with an airflow channel 52 and a storage chamber 51 for storing aerosol-forming substances. One end of the airflow channel 52 is connected to the suction nozzle 4, and the other end is connected to the outside world. In particular, the bottom end surface 321 of the bottom cover 3 is provided with an air inlet hole 320, and the other end of the airflow channel 52 is connected to the outside world through the air inlet hole 320.

The atomizing core 61 is disposed in the airflow channel 52 so that the aerosol generated by the atomizing core 61 can be carried away by the suction airflow formed in the airflow channel 52 and discharged to the suction nozzle 4 for inhalation by the user. Furthermore, the atomizing core 61 is connected to the storage chamber 51 so that the atomizing core 61 can draw the aerosol-forming substance from the storage chamber 51 for heating and atomizing.

The electronic control assembly 7 is mounted inside the housing assembly and is electrically connected to the atomizing core 61. Specifically, the electronic control assembly 7 comprises a battery 71 and a control circuit board 72. The control circuit board 72 is electrically connected to the battery 71 and the atomizing core 61, respectively.

In this embodiment, based on the above structural design, when the user bites the suction nozzle 4 for suction, the suction airflow will be formed in the airflow channel 52. At the same time, the control circuit board 72 of the electronic control assembly 7 will control the atomizing core 61 to electrically generate heat to atomize the aerosol-forming material absorbed by the user into an aerosol, and the aerosol is ultimately discharged to the suction nozzle 4 for the user to inhale along with the suction airflow.

In this embodiment, it should be noted that, thanks to the improvement of the housing assembly described above, this embodiment provides the aerosol generating device with the same technical effect as the housing assembly described above, which will not be repeated herein.

Further, referring to FIGS. 10-11 and FIGS. 13-16, in some optional embodiments of this application, the aerosol generating device further comprises a flexible display assembly 8 for displaying the visual information. The flexible display assembly 8 is installed in the mounting groove 10 and can be electrically connected to the control circuit board 72 of the electronic control assembly 7 by means of a flexible row of wires. Furthermore, the flexible display assembly 8 may be fixed to the body shell 1 by means of adhesive bonding and cover at least two differently positioned outer side walls of the body shell 1 along its circumferential direction. The light-emitting surface 83 of the flexible display assembly 8 is provided with its back towards the body shell 1. It is added here that in some optional embodiments, the type of structure of the flexible display assembly 8 may be a flexible OLED screen, a flexible AMOLED screen, a flexible LCD screen, or electronic paper.

Further, referring to FIG. 13, in some optional embodiments of this application, in order to reduce the risk of dry burning and leakage of the aerosol generating device, a liquid storage cotton 53 may be provided in the storage chamber 51 of the liquid storage cup 5.

Further, referring to FIGS. 12-16, in some optional embodiments of this application, the aerosol generating device further comprises a protective shell 9 made of a light-transmitting material (e.g., acrylic, glass, polycarbonate, etc.). The protective shell 9 is hollow and through and is sandwiched between the top cover 2 and the bottom cover 3. The protective shell 9 is also provided to enclose the flexible display assembly 8.

In this embodiment, the setting of the protective shell 9 can ensure that the user can observe the visualization information displayed by the flexible display assembly 8 through it, and can also protect the flexible display assembly 8, preventing the flexible display assembly 8 from being damaged by the impact of external objects. The protective shell 9 can also avoid that the flexible display assembly 8 is exposed to affect the overall aesthetic appearance of the aerosol generating device.

In this embodiment, it is noted that, in some optional embodiments, an aerosol generating device comprising a protective shell 9 and a flexible display assembly 8 may be obtained by the following assembling:

Specifically, with reference to FIGS. 12-16, the relevant parts including the control circuit board 72 (referred to as the control module for convenience of illustration) may first be installed in the bottom cover 3, and the flexible display module 8 may be fixedly wrapped around the outer side wall of the body shell 1 along the circumferential direction of the body shell 1. Next, the bottom of the liquid storage cup 5 containing the atomizing core 61 and the liquid storage cotton 53 may be assembled with the control module and the electrode pins of the atomizing core 61 are electrically connected to the control circuit board 72. Then the battery 71 may be electrically connected to the control circuit board 72 by means of wires, and the battery 71 is set adjacent to the liquid storage cup 5. Then the lower end (i.e. the second end 12) of the body shell 1 is fixedly fitted to the second annular inner cover portion 31 of the bottom cover 3 by means of a snap-fit connection, so that both the liquid storage 5 and the battery 71 are located within the body shell 1. The flexible display assembly 8 may then be electrically connected to the control circuit board 72 by means of a flexible row of wires. The protective shell 9 is then suited to the periphery of the body shell 1 from the upper end of the body shell 1 (i.e., the first end portion 11) and such that the second edge projection 92 located at the lower end of the protective shell 9 is inserted into the second groove 30 of the bottom cover 3. Finally, the top cover 2, to which the suction nozzle 4 is attached, is fixedly fitted to the upper end of the body shell 1 by means of a snap fastener, and the first edge protrusion 91 located at the upper end of the protective shell 9 is inserted into the first groove 20 of the top cover 2. In this way, an aerosol generating device comprising the protective shell 9 and the flexible display assembly 8 can be assembled.

It is noted herein that other aspects of the housing assembly and the aerosol generating device disclosed in this application can be found in the prior art and will not be repeated herein.

The above is only a preferred embodiment of this application and is not intended to limit the patent scope of the application. Any equivalent structural transformations made under the concept of this application utilizing the contents of the specification of this application and the accompanying drawings, or directly/indirectly utilized in other related fields of technology, are all included in the scope of protection of this application.