HEATER COMPRISING A PART MANUFACTURED BY ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

Abstract

A method of manufacturing a heater for an aerosol-generating device is provided, the method including: forming a heater body including a heater body frame and a heating element, the heater body defining at least a portion of a boundary of a heating chamber configured to receive an aerosol-generating article such that the heating element is configured to heat the heating chamber, at least part of the heater body frame being manufactured by additive manufacturing. A method of manufacturing an aerosol-generating device; and a heater; and an aerosol-generating device are also provided.

Claims

1.-14. (canceled)

15. A method of manufacturing a heater for an aerosol-generating device, the method comprising: forming a heater body comprising a heater body frame and a heating element, the heater body defining at least a portion of a boundary of a heating chamber configured to receive an aerosol-generating article such that the heating element is configured to heat the heating chamber, wherein at least part of the heater body frame is manufactured by additive manufacturing.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of forming the heater body further comprises manufacturing the heating element by manufacturing a heat generating layer using additive manufacturing, the heat generating layer defining a cavity delimited by an inner cavity wall and a cavity opening, so that the portion of the boundary of the heating chamber configured to receive the aerosol-generating article is defined by the inner cavity wall and the cavity opening.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of forming the heater body further comprises providing a heat conductive layer on the inner cavity wall.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of forming the heater body further comprises providing an insulating layer on a side of the heat generating layer opposite the inner cavity wall.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of forming the heater body further comprises manufacturing at least part of the heater body frame by additive manufacturing and manufacturing at least part of the heating element directly on the heater body frame by additive manufacturing.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the heater body frame forms an air channel having an air inlet and an air outlet, the air outlet being configured to allow heated aerosol to leave the heating chamber.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the heating element comprises a heat generating layer provided within the air channel and manufactured by additive manufacturing.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the heating element comprises a static heating structure manufactured by additive manufacturing and provided within the air channel.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the static heating structure comprises protrusions extending from an inner wall of the air channel.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein the heating element comprises a static heating structure manufactured by additive manufacturing and provided within the air channel.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the static heating structure comprises protrusions extending from an inner wall of the air channel.

26. The method of claim 15, wherein the portion of the boundary of the heating chamber configured to receive the aerosol-generating article has an undercut shape.

27. A method of manufacturing an aerosol-generating device, comprising: manufacturing a heater according to claim 15; providing a power supply system in electrical contact with the heating element; and providing a case and arranging the heater and the power supply system within the case.

28. A heater manufactured according to claim 15, the heater comprising: a heater body comprising a heater body frame and a heating element, the heater body defining at least portion of a boundary of a heating chamber configured to receive an aerosol-generating article such that the heating element is configured to heat the heating chamber, wherein at least part of the heater body frame is manufactured by additive manufacture.

29. The heater of claim 28, wherein the portion of the boundary of the heating chamber has an undercut shape.

30. An aerosol-generating device, comprising: the heater of claim 28; a power supply system in electrical contact with the heating element of the heater; and a case in which the heater and the power supply system are arranged.

31. A nontransitory computer-readable storage medium having a computer program thereon that when executed on electrical circuitry of an apparatus, causes the apparatus to perform the step of manufacturing, by additive manufacturing, at least part of the heater body frame according to claim 15.

Description

[0053] These and other features and advantages of the invention will become more evident in the light of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, given only by way of illustrative and non-limiting example, in reference to the attached figures:

[0054] FIG. 1 depicts a heater comprising a heating element in turn having a heat generating layer manufactured by additive manufacturing.

[0055] FIG. 2 illustrates a heater in which a heating element has been manufactured by additive manufacturing directly on a heater body frame.

[0056] In FIG. 3, a heater having a heater body frame manufactured by additive manufactured is depicted.

[0057] FIG. 4 shows a heater comprising an air channel and a heating element manufactured by additive manufacturing within the air channel.

[0058] FIG. 5 represents an aerosol-generating device comprising a heater having a part manufactured by additive manufacturing, a power supply system and a case in which the heater and the power supply system are arranged.

[0059] FIG. 1 depicts a heater 1 for an aerosol-generating device 100 whose method of manufacturing comprises forming a heater body which comprises a heater body frame 10 and a heating element 20 and wherein at least part of the heater body is manufactured by additive manufacturing. The heating element 20 of FIG. 1 is made by manufacturing a heat generating layer 21 using additive manufacturing.

[0060] The heater body of the heater 1 according to the invention defines at least portion of a boundary 31 of a heating chamber 30 for receiving an aerosol-generating article 200. The heating element 20 is configured to heat the heating chamber 30 when the heater 1 is in use so as to transfer heat to the aerosol-generating article 200 when the latter is within the heating chamber 30.

[0061] In the embodiment of FIG. 1, it is the heat generating layer 21 that defines such portion of the boundary 31. More particularly, the heat generating layer 21 creates, once it has been manufactured by additive manufacturing, a cavity 22 delimited by an inner cavity wall 23 and a cavity opening 24, such that the portion of the boundary 31 is defined by the inner cavity wall 23 and the cavity opening 24.

[0062] The resulting heating chamber 30 is not subjected to the manufacturing restrictions that normally reduces the efficiency or increases the cost in most heater bodies of the prior art. As is represented in FIG. 1, the shape of the portion of the boundary 31 of the heating chamber has an undercut shape in order to improve the transfer of heat within the heating chamber 30—such shape is an example of the flexibility of the method of the invention to create efficient heaters.

[0063] The method of FIG. 1 further comprises the provision of a heat conductive layer 25 on the inner cavity wall 23 and of an insulating layer 26 on the opposite side of the heat generating layer 21.

[0064] In the embodiment of FIG. 1, since the heat generating layer 21 is manufactured by additive manufacturing, this layer is used to define an undercut shape or any other complex efficient shape, so that the heater body frame 10 and, in some embodiments, the heat conductive layer 25 and the insulating layer 26 can be provided around the heat generating layer 21, adapting to its shape.

[0065] In the embodiment of FIG. 2, a heater body frame 10 is provided by any method. Additive manufacturing is advantageously used to directly manufacture, on a given surface of the heater body frame 10, a heating element 20 having the shape that is the most convenient for the thermal and design needs of the heater 1 in question. As an example, FIG. 2 depicts a heating element 20 defining a portion of the boundary 31 of a heating chamber 30 which has an undercut shape.

[0066] Likewise, in the embodiment of FIG. 3, it is the heater body frame 10 that is manufactured by additive manufacturing in order to give rise to an efficient heater 1. The heating element 20 might be directly coupled to a surface of the heater body frame 10, for example by providing a resistive coating 27 on such surface, as is depicted in FIG. 3 in dashed lines. Since the surface of the heater body frame 10 already has the shape chosen to achieve a better efficiency in terms of heat transfer or any other properties, the resistive coating 27 is a particularly suitable solution to easily provide a heating element without altering the efficient shape given by the heater body frame 10. The boundary 31 of the heating chamber 30 is delimited by the resistive coating 27 following the shape of the heater body frame 10. The entire heater body frame 10 can be manufactured by additive manufacturing or, alternatively, only the part that defines the shape of the heating chamber 30 may be manufactured by additive manufacturing.

[0067] The efficient heater body frame 10 of FIG. 3 might be designed to provide optimal heat dissipation from the heating element 20, by choosing the appropriate shape and materials for the additive manufacturing. For instance, the design may be configured to transfer heat from the heating element 20 to the outside of the heater 1 or to the area of the heater intended for being closer to a battery when the heater 1 is installed in an aerosol-generating device (see FIG. 5), so that the battery is kept at a desirable operating temperature.

[0068] In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the heater body frame 10 forms an air channel 40 having an air inlet 41 and an air outlet 42, the air outlet 42 being designed to allow heated aerosol 43 to leave the heating chamber 30. At least a portion of the boundary 31 of the heating chamber 30 is defined in this embodiment by inner walls of the heater body frame 10 that constitute the inner channel 40. That is, the air channel 40 forms, at least partially, the heating chamber 30.

[0069] In the depicted embodiment, additive manufacturing is employed to provide a heating element 20 comprising a heat generating layer 21 within the air channel 40. As an example, the heat generating layer 21 can be attached to the inner wall of the heater body frame 10. In the embodiment represented in FIG. 4, the heating element 20 further has a static heating structure 28 also manufactured by additive manufacturing. The static heating structure 28 of this example comprises fin-shaped protrusions, for which the precise shape, orientation, and offset is selected to provide optimum heat transfer. The fin-shaped protrusions are manufactured by additive manufacturing. This technique could also be used to manufacture additional parts of the heating element 20, such as dips or heat tunnels. The protrusions and any other heating element parts can be, in an embodiment, connected to each other.

[0070] In order to illustrate more clearly how the heater of FIG. 4 works, an aerosol-generating article 200 is depicted within the heating chamber 30. Fresh air 44 enters the air channel 40 through the air inlet 41 and is heated, mixed and stirred by the static heating structure 28 while guided towards the aerosol-generating article 22. The heat generating layer 21 supplies additional heat into the heating chamber 30, concretely to the region wherein the aerosol-generating article 200 is housed. The aerosol-generating article produces a heated aerosol 43 that mixes with the heated air flowing along the air channel 40 and leaves the air channel 40 through the air outlet 42.

[0071] FIG. 5 shows an aerosol-generating device 100 comprising a heater 1 manufactured according to any one of the above embodiments. An aerosol-generating article 200 is housed within the heating chamber 30 of the heater 1. When in use, a power supply system in electrical contact with the heating element 20 of the heater 1 provides energy to the heating element 20, which transfers heat to the aerosol-generating article 200 to produce the inhalable heated aerosol 43.

[0072] The power supply system of FIG. 5 comprises a battery 110, a control unit 115 and electrical connections 125 connecting the battery 110 and the control unit 115 with the heating element 20. The control unit 115 regulates the supply of electrical energy from the battery 110 to the heating element 20, so that the heating element 20 transfers heat to the heating chamber 30 when the aerosol-generating article is within the chamber and heat is needed to obtain the heated aerosol 43.

[0073] The control unit 115 and the electrical connections 125 may also benefit from additive manufacturing. As an example, the control unit 115 may comprise a printed circuit board (PCB) manufactured by additive manufacturing and the electrical circuits of the electrical connections can also be made by additive manufacturing. Advantageously, this can give rise to three-dimensional circuits or PCBs that can be adequate for certain aerosol-generating devices.

[0074] A case 105 houses the heater 1, the control unit 115, the battery 110 and the electrical connections 125, forming the external cover of the aerosol-generating device 100.