Low-cost manufacturing method of atomization assembly and fixing and using method thereof

Description

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This application claims the benefit of priority from China Patent Application No. 2024113537009 filed on Sep. 26, 2024, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

Technical Field

The present invention belongs to the technical field of atomization assembly manufacturing and using methods, in particular to a low-cost manufacturing method of an atomization assembly and a fixing and using method thereof.

Background Art

The atomization assembly is a core component of the electronic cigarette, usually composed of a glass fiber tube, oil-guiding cotton, a heating mesh, and a center tube. The overall production process is as follows: first, taking the oil-guiding cotton as the base, and then placing the heating mesh on the oil-guiding cotton, and then placing the center tube on the heating mesh, and then bending the oil-guiding cotton along the outer circumference of the shaping tube, and finally inserting into the steel pipe together for fixing. The center tube needs to be pulled out during the subsequent assembly process.

It can be seen that there is no fixed structure between the heating mesh and the oil-guiding cotton in the above process, and the relative position is maintained only by friction. However, when the central tube is pulled out or subjected to strong impact, the heating mesh will shift, and even protrude from the oil-guiding cotton. These situations cannot be directly observed in the assembled finished products or semi-finished products, and need to be disassembled to know, which is quite inconvenient. If the offset parts are assembled together, some grease will remain on the heating mesh during the atomization process, and the part of the heating mesh protruding from the oil-guiding cotton will heat the remaining grease every time it works, so a burnt smell will be produced, which affects the user experience;

• • In addition, for disposable products, simplifying the structure has become an important means of saving costs. In the above process, it can be known that the main function of the steel pipe is to fix the position of the oil-guiding cotton and prevent the oil-guiding cotton from spreading. The present application aims to propose a fixing method without steel pipes to simplify the structure of disposable products.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a low-cost manufacturing method of an atomization assembly and a fixing and using method thereof to solve the problems raised in the above background art.

To achieve the above purpose, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

• • A low-cost manufacturing method of an atomization assembly, involving a mesh body, oil-guiding cotton, a jig, and a bending device;
  • Step 1, fixing feet are arranged on an upper side of the mesh body and conductive pins are arranged on a lower side thereof, a first slot for placing the oil-guiding cotton and the mesh body is arranged on the jig and a second slot for placing the fixing feet and the conductive pins is arranged on the jig, and a bending position is provided between the first slot and the second slot; placing the mesh body, the fixing feet, and the conductive pins in respective first slot and second slot, thereby forming a gap between a floor of the first slot and a bottom surface of the mesh body due to support from the fixing feet and the conductive pins, then placing the oil-guiding cotton above the mesh body;
  • Step 2, pressing the mesh body into the slots by the bending device, simultaneously, the fixing feet and the conductive pins are bent upwardly under action of the bending position; and
  • Step 3, a first horizontal pushing assembly and a second horizontal pushing assembly are respectively provided at positions of the bending device corresponding to the fixing feet and the conductive pins, moving the first horizontal pushing assembly horizontally to bend the upright fixing feet toward a surface of the oil-guiding cotton, after the first horizontal pushing assembly is returned, actuating the second horizontal pushing assembly to bend the upright conductive pins toward the surface of the oil-guiding cotton, bending the fixing feet and the conductive pins to form clamping positions on both sides of the oil-guiding cotton respectively, so as to fix the mesh body and the oil-guiding cotton.

Beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

The present invention provides parts produced by the above method, which can avoid the phenomenon of misalignment between the oil-guiding cotton and the mesh body during the subsequent installation steps. The relative position of the oil-guiding cotton and the mesh body is also fixed in disguise. However, in the final product of the present application, the design of the steel pipe is cancelled. The relative position of the mesh body and the oil-guiding cotton can also be fixed by arranging the fixing feet, which can play the same fixing effect and can also remain fixed when subjected to strong vibration, which avoids misalignment between the mesh body and the oil-guiding cotton that affects the atomization effect and user experience, and simplifies the steel pipe structure for disposable products, and greatly reduces costs.

In addition, the formed atomization assembly adopts a 360° all-around oil-guiding method, regardless of the oil-guiding structure in round, square or different forms, which prolongs the service life, facilitates assembly and production, makes full use of resources, reduces the residual oil rate, and saves costs.

As a further technical solution, after completing the bending of Step 3, reapplying pressure, the bending device, to the surface of the oil-guiding cotton to flatten the bent fixing feet and the conductive pins.

As a further technical solution, the at least one fixing foot is arranged on the upper side of the mesh body.

As a further technical solution, wherein Step 4 further comprises: removing bent parts from the jig, and transferring to a shaping device, wherein the shaping device comprises a shaping base, a shaping circular groove is arranged in the shaping base, a notch connected with the shaping circular groove is provided along a lengthwise direction of the shaping circular groove, an indenter is arranged above the shaping base, and the indenter is arranged to enter the shaping circular groove from the notch;

• • placing a shaping oil-guiding layer on the shaping base, wherein a length of the oil-guiding layer is slightly greater than that of the oil-guiding cotton, and then placing the assembled parts on the shaping oil-guiding layer, with the mesh body facing upwardly, and placing a central tube on the mesh body, wherein the central tube corresponds to the notch, pressing the central tube from the notch into the shaping circular groove by the indenter, simultaneously, squeezing the parts into the circular groove to form a cylinder, causing the two sides of the shaping oil-guiding layer to approach each other, and after the indenter is withdrawn, fixing the two close sides by ultrasonic welding or heat pressing.

As a further technical solution, the central tube and the parts are arranged off-axis. As a further technical solution, the indenter has ultrasonic welding or high-temperature hot melting function, and wherein after the indenter is withdrawn from the circular groove, activating the ultrasonic welding or high-temperature hot melting function at the indenter, and then the two sides of the shaping oil-guiding layer are fixed together by pressing down again.

A fixing and using method of an atomization assembly, involving an integrated cotton and the above-mentioned atomization assembly, wherein a channel is arranged in the integrated cotton, the channel is configured for a glass fiber tube to penetrate and placing the atomization assembly, the method comprising: placing the atomization assembly in the channel of the integrated cotton before stuffing the integrated cotton into a housing, such that it is squeezed and compressed by the housing, during which an outer side of the atomization assembly is squeezed by the integrated cotton, and friction is generated between an outer wall of the atomization assembly and a side wall of the channel at the same time of squeezing, so as to play a fixing role, and subsequently pulling out the center tube.

As a further technical solution, the fixing and using method of an atomization assembly further comprises the step of: penetrating the channel of the integrated cotton with the glass fiber tube as the integrated cotton is stuffed into the housing, so as to maintaining the shape of the channel.

As a further technical solution, the glass fiber tube is arranged to partially penetrate the integrated cotton.

As a further technical solution, a slit is provided on one side of the integrated cotton and extends to the channel.

Beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

The present invention adopts a fixing method different from that in the prior art, and steel pipes for fixing is not required, which not only simplifies the structure, facilitates the assembly, and has lower cost for disposable products.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will be described in detail in the subsequent specific embodiment section.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a structural diagram of a bending device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a structural diagram of a jig and horizontal pushing assemblies of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a first bending structural diagram of an atomization assembly of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a second bending structural diagram of the atomization assembly of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a structural diagram of a shaping device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a shaping process of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a structural diagram of the atomization assembly after shaping of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a use state diagram of the atomization assembly of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a force diagram of the atomization assembly of the present invention.

In the drawings: 11—oil-guiding cotton; 12—mesh body; 13—fixing foot; 14—conductive pin; 15—clamping position; 16—central tube; 17—oil-guiding layer; 21—integrated cotton; 22—channel; 23—slit; 3—bending device; 311—top pressure cylinder; 312—pressure block; 32—first horizontal pushing assembly; 33—second horizontal pushing assembly; 331—moving cylinder; 332—pressure block; 333—contact portion; 41—jig; 42—first slot; 43—second slot; 44—bending position; 5—shaping device; 51—shaping base; 52—shaping circular groove; 53—notch; and 54—indenter.

EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be described clearly and completely in combination with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention.

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 9;

• • The present invention aims to simplify the structure of the atomization assembly to simplify the parts used in the disposable electronic cigarette, thereby reducing the cost, which specifically involving a mesh body 12, oil-guiding cotton 11, a jig 41 and a bending device 3; in the traditional atomization assembly, there is no fixed relationship between the mesh body 12 and the oil-guiding cotton 11, but they are wrapped and fixed by a steel pipe. The steel pipe can be removed by the present method to achieve the fixing between the mesh body 12 and the oil-guiding cotton 11. With reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, the specific steps are as follows:
  • Step 1, fixing feet 13 are arranged on an upper side of the mesh body 12 and conductive pins 14 are arranged on a lower side thereof, wherein there are at least two conductive pins 14, a first slot 42 for placing the oil-guiding cotton 11 and the mesh body 12 is arranged on the jig 41, and a second slot 43 for placing the fixing feet 13 and the conductive pins 14 is arranged on the jig 41, and a bending position 44 is provided between the first slot 42 and the second slot 43; In the present embodiment, the mesh body 12 and the oil-guiding cotton 11 are both rectangular, a length of the oil-guiding cotton 11 is slightly larger than that of the mesh body 12, and the width is the same, a depth of the bending position 44 is the same as that of the first slot 42, and the mesh body 12, the fixing feet 13 and the conductive pins 14 are in a horizontally extended state in the initial state. It should be noted that the mesh body 12, the fixing feet 13 and the conductive pins 14 are in an integrally formed structure. First, respectively placing the mesh body 12, the fixing feet 13, and the conductive pins 14 in the first slot 42 and the second slot 43, a bottom depth of the second slot 43 is less than that of the first slot 42, that the fixing feet 13 and the conductive pins 14 can support the mesh body 12, so that a gap is formed between a bottom of the first slot 42 and a bottom surface of the mesh body 12, and the fixing feet 13 and the conductive pins 14 are arranged at the bending position 44 close to a connection position of the mesh body 12, then placing the oil-guiding cotton 11 above the mesh body 12. Preferably, in the flat state, the oil-guiding cotton 11 is adapted to the shape of the first slot 42 or its length is slightly smaller than that of the first slot 42;
  • Step 2, pressing the mesh body 12 into the slots by the bending device 3. Specifically, the bending device 3 comprises a support frame, a top pressure cylinder 311 is installed on the support frame, and pressure blocks 312 are provided at the output end of the cylinder, the size of the pressure block 312 is adapted to the first slot 42, applying pressure downwards to the oil-guiding cotton 11 by the pressure blocks 312. Since the shape of the pressure block 312 is adapted to the first slot 42 as much as possible, the oil-guiding cotton 11 can be fully contacted during the pressing process, so that the force is evenly applied, and the displacement is avoided;
  • When the mesh body 12 moves downward to the distance of the gap, the fixing feet 13 and the conductive pins 14 also have a tendency to move downward, but due to the different slot depths, the downward movement is limited. At this time, under the action of the bending position 44, the fixing feet 13 and the conductive pins 14 are bent upward;
  • Step 3, a first horizontal pushing assembly 32 and a second horizontal pushing assembly 33 are respectively provided at positions of the bending device 3 corresponding to the fixing feet 13 and the conductive pins 14, the first horizontal pushing assembly 32 and the second horizontal pushing assembly 33 have the same structure, comprising moving cylinders 331 and pressure blocks 332, contact portions 333 are provided below the pressure blocks 332, which can enter into the second slot 43 to slide, engaging with the fixing feet 13 and the conductive pins 14, and bend them during sliding. The first horizontal pushing assembly 3 is moved horizontally to bend the upright fixing feet 13 toward a surface of the oil-guiding cotton 11, after the first horizontal pushing assembly 32 is returned, the second horizontal pushing assembly 33 is actuated to bend the upright conductive pins 14 toward the surface of the oil-guiding cotton 11, the fixing feet 13 and the conductive pins 14 are bent to form clamping positions 15 on both sides of the oil-guiding cotton 11 respectively, so as to fix the mesh body 12 and the oil-guiding cotton 11.

The oil-guiding cotton (11) is wrapped by a heating sheet to form an integrated oil-guiding and heating device, which is conducive to the performance stability of the entire product and prevents dry burning.

Preferably, the fixing feet (13) are relatively short, which will not exceed the width of the oil-guiding cotton (11) after being bent, additionally, the fixing feet 13 are symmetrically arranged in two pieces, which can better clamp and fix the oil-guiding cotton 11. The conductive pins (14) are relatively long and, after being bent, enter the original second slot (43) where the fixing feet 13 are originally arranged. The length can be selected, and it is preferable to extend beyond the second slot 43 to facilitate easy removal of the entire parts.

It should be noted that, since the present invention adopts a fixing structure different from that of the prior art, the oil-guiding cotton 11 used in the present embodiment is relatively small in area, and is pre-cut to size before installation and fixing, namely, only one cutting step is required, which can save more materials. However, the oil-guiding cotton 11 in the prior art is relatively large in area, and undergoes primary cutting before assembly with a steel pipe and secondary cutting afterward, which results in more wasted material.

The parts produced by the above method can avoid the misalignment of the oil-guiding cotton 11 and the mesh body 12 during the subsequent installation steps. The relative position of the oil-guiding cotton 11 and the mesh body 12 is also fixed in disguise. However, in the final product of the present application, the design of the steel pipe is cancelled. The relative position of the mesh body 12 and the oil-guiding cotton 11 can also be fixed by arranging the fixing feet 13, which can play the same fixing effect and can also remain fixed when subjected to strong vibration, which avoids misalignment between the mesh body 12 and the oil-guiding cotton 11 that affects the atomization effect and user experience, and simplifies the steel pipe structure for disposable products, and greatly reduces costs.

Preferably, the mesh body 12 used in the present embodiment has a width of 5 mm to 12 mm and a length of 8 mm to 20 mm, and the oil-guiding cotton 11 has a width of 7.5 mm to 15 mm and a length of 12 mm to 25 mm.

In the present invention, after completing bending based on Step 3, the bending device 3 reapplies pressure to the surface of the oil-guiding cotton 11 to flatten the bent fixing feet 13 and the conductive pins 14. In the present embodiment, the conductive pins 14 pass through the surface of the mesh body 12, and the gap distance between the mesh body 12 and the bottom of the first slot 42 is equal to the distance of the mesh body 12 plus the thickness of the conductive pin 14, and the oil-guiding cotton 11 is relatively thin and compressible. After bending, the conductive pins 14 and the fixing feet 13 cannot be well attached to the back of the oil-guiding cotton 11. Therefore, through secondary compression, the fixing feet 13 and the conductive pins 14 can be tightly attached to the back of the oil-guiding cotton 11, which further improves the fixing effect.

With reference to FIGS. 5 to 7, based on all the above embodiments, there is Step 4, removing bent parts from the jig 41, and transferring to a shaping device 5, shaping the parts to meet the use requirements, wherein the shaping device 5 comprises a shaping base 51, a shaping circular groove 52 is arranged in the shaping base 51, a notch 53 connected with the shaping circular groove 52 is provided along an extending direction of the shaping circular groove 52, an indenter 54 is arranged above the shaping base 51, and the indenter 54 can enter the shaping circular groove 52 from the notch 53;

• • First, placing a shaping oil-guiding layer 17 at the position of the shaping base 51 corresponding to the notch 53, the oil-guiding layer in the present embodiment consists of 80% plasticized materials (e.g., PE, PP, PA, PI) and 20% other materials (e.g., cotton), which are mixed together, and then made by needle punching or melt blowing, or directly made by non-woven fabric, which can allow the smoke oil to pass through and enter the oil-guiding cotton 11, and can play a role in shaping and guiding oil, and can also play a role in supporting and maintaining the shape, wherein a length of the oil-guiding layer 17 is slightly greater than that of the oil-guiding cotton 11, and then placing the assembled parts on the shaping oil-guiding layer 17, with the mesh body 12 facing upward at this time, and placing a central tube 16 on the mesh body 12, wherein the central tube 16 corresponds to the notch 53, pressing the central tube 16 from the notch 53 into the shaping circular groove 52 by the indenter 54, simultaneously, squeezing the parts into the circular groove to deform and form a cylindrical shape, wherein two sides of the shaping oil-guiding layer 17 are close together, and after the indenter 54 is withdrawn, fixing the two close sides by ultrasonic welding or heat pressing. The oil-guiding layer 17 tightly wraps the fixing feet and the conductive pins of the bent portion on the outside, which further fixes the mesh body and the oil-guiding cotton together, and there will be no looseness, which is more stable.

Preferably, the shaping base 51 adopts a detachable structure design, so that the shaped atomization assembly can be taken out more conveniently. There are many ways to take out the atomization assembly, which are not limited to this.

After the center tube 16 and the parts are pressed into the shaping circular groove 52, the two sides of the part at the notch 53 are still in an expanded state, and the oil-guiding layer 17 will protrude a little from the part for hot pressing or ultrasonic fixing. Preferably, the center tube 16 and the part are placed off-axis, namely, the part is initially in a flat state, and the position of its center line is misaligned with the notch 53, and the center tube 16 corresponds to the notch 53. After being pressed into the shaping circular groove 52, one side of the part extends longer to the notch 53, namely, it forms an up-and-down state with the other side, which is more conducive to hot pressing or ultrasonic welding operations.

The formed atomization assembly adopts a 360° all-around oil-guiding method, regardless of the oil-guiding structure in round, square or different forms, which prolongs the service life, facilitates assembly and production, makes full use of resources, reduces the residual oil rate, and saves costs.

In the present embodiment, the indenter 54 has ultrasonic welding or high-temperature hot melting function, and after the indenter 54 is withdrawn from the circular groove, the ultrasonic welding or high-temperature hot melting function is activated, and then the two sides of the shaping oil-guiding layer 17 are fixed together by pressing down again.

The present invention further discloses a fixing method by the above-mentioned atomization assembly and the integrated cotton 21, with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, which specifically involving the integrated cotton 21 and the above-mentioned atomization assembly, wherein a channel 22 is arranged in the integrated cotton 21, the channel 22 is configured for a glass fiber tube to penetrate and placing the atomization assembly. Preferably, the end of the glass fiber tube contacts the end of the atomization assembly. The method comprises: placing the atomization assembly in the channel 22 of the integrated cotton 21 before stuffing the integrated cotton 21 into a housing such that it is squeezed and compressed by the housing, during which an outer side of the atomization assembly is squeezed by the integrated cotton 21, and friction is generated between an outer wall of the atomization assembly and a side wall of the channel 22 at the same time of squeezing, so as to play a fixing role, and then the center tube 16 is pulled out. In the present embodiment, the oil-guiding layer 17 has a harder texture and the integrated cotton 21 is softer. Therefore, after the center tube 16 is pulled out, the hollow airway can be well maintained when squeezed.

The method further comprises the step of: penetrating the channel 22 of the integrated cotton 21 with the glass fiber tube as the integrated cotton 21 is stuffed into the housing, so as to maintaining the shape of the channel 22. The glass fiber tube is arranged to partially penetrate the integrated cotton 21.

The present invention adopts a fixing method different from that in the prior art, and steel pipes for fixing is not required, which not only simplifies the structure, facilitates the assembly, and has lower cost for disposable products.

In order to more conveniently place the atomization assembly in the channel 22, in the present embodiment, a slit 23 is provided on one side of the integrated cotton 21 and extends to the channel 22, so that the integrated cotton 21 forms a structure that can be opened and closed. When the atomization assembly needs to be placed, the integrated cotton 21 is opened from the slit 23 to reveal enough space to place the atomization assembly therein, and then the integrated cotton 21 is released to allow it to automatically reset and close, and then the integrated cotton 21 is stuffed into the housing to form a squeezed state for the atomization assembly. Further, the oil-guiding cotton 11 is adapted to the shape of the channel 22, and an outer diameter of the oil-guiding cotton 11 is larger than the diameter of the channel 22, wherein what is referred to here is slightly larger, and only having the squeezing effect is sufficient. In another solution, a harder oil-guiding cloth is provided on an outer periphery of the oil-guiding cotton 11, and the mesh body 12 is supported internally and can effectively maintain its basic shape when squeezed by the integrated cotton 21.

It should be noted that since the no steel pipe design is adopted, other anti-leakage methods are adopted, and the present invention only mentions the fixing method between the integrated cotton 21 and the atomization assembly, and does not involve the subsequent finished product assemblies of the electronic cigarette, so there should be no unclear issues.

One of the solutions to prevent oil leakage in the final finished product is to utilize a silicone base to stabilize the atomization assembly, and protrude the silicone bracket into the glass fiber tube, which better prevents leakage and increases the storage of oil.

It is obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the details of the exemplary embodiments described above, and that the present invention can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential features of the present invention. Therefore, from any point of view, the embodiments should be regarded as exemplary and non-restrictive, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the above description, and it is intended that all changes falling within the meaning and scope of the equivalent elements of the claims be included in the present invention. Any figure mark in the claims should not be regarded as limiting the claims involved. In addition, it should be understood that although the specification is described in terms of implementation methods, not every implementation method contains only one independent technical solution. The narrative method of the specification is only for the sake of clarity. Those skilled in the art should regard the specification as a whole, and the technical solutions in each embodiment can also be appropriately combined to form other implementations that can be understood by those skilled in the art.