Electronic cigarette and method for identifying whether there is a match between a battery component and an atomizer component therein

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9769878-B2
Application number	US-201514657818-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 13, 2015
Priority date	Oct 17, 2013
Publication date	Sep 19, 2017
Grant date	Sep 19, 2017

Abstract

An electronic cigarette and a method for identifying whether there is a match between a battery assembly and an atomizer assembly therein are provided. The electronic cigarette comprises a laser identifying assembly, a battery assembly and an atomizer assembly. The laser identifying assembly includes an information portion, a laser transceiver and a controlling module, the information portion includes a group of grooves and bulges which represent a product information, the information portion is defined on one of the battery assembly and the atomizer assembly, the laser transceiver is mounted on the other of the battery assembly and the atomizer assembly; when the atomizer assembly is jointed with the battery assembly, the laser transceiver aims at the information portion, and the information portion reflects an original laser beam sent out by the laser transceiver back, then the controlling module determines whether the atomizer assembly is matched with the battery assembly.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic cigarette, comprising:
a battery assembly and an atomizer assembly rotatably connected with the battery assembly; wherein the electronic cigarette further comprises a laser identifying assembly, the laser identifying assembly includes an information portion on the atomizer assembly, a laser transceiver and a controlling module, the information portion includes a metal reflective layer, and the metal reflective layer is provided with a group of grooves and bulges which represent a product information, the group of grooves and bulges are substantially arranged in a circular arc shape;
wherein the laser transceiver is mounted on an end face of the battery assembly which is adjacent to the atomizer assembly, and the information portion is defined on an end face of the atomizer assembly which is adjacent to the battery assembly, and the atomizer assembly is inserted in the battery assembly; an insertion detecting device for detecting whether the atomizer assembly is inserted into the battery assembly is mounted on the battery assembly, and the controlling module is configured to control to turn on the laser transceiver when the insertion detecting device has detected that the atomizer assembly is inserted into the battery assembly;
wherein the atomizer assembly includes a heating wire electrically connected to the controlling module; the controlling module includes a microprocessor and a power source manage module;
when the atomizer assembly is rotated with respect to the battery assembly, the laser transceiver aims at the information portion, and the group of grooves and bulges of the information portion reflects an original laser beam sent out by the laser transceiver back to the laser transceiver successively, then the microprocessor determines whether the atomizer assembly is matched with the battery assembly according to the reflected laser beam received by the laser transceiver and controls power to the heating wire via the power source manage module to make the heating wire to heat and atomize a tobacco liquid.

2. The electronic cigarette according to claim 1 , wherein the electronic cigarette further comprises an alarm that is electrically connected to the controlling module; when the controlling module determines that the atomizer assembly is mismatched with the battery assembly, the controlling module will control the alarm to generate an alarming sound.

3. The electronic cigarette according to claim 1 , wherein the electronic cigarette further comprises a display screen that is electrically connected to the controlling module, and the controlling module is configured to display the result whether the atomizer assembly is matched with the battery assembly on the display screen.

4. The electronic cigarette according to claim 1 , wherein the controlling module further includes a decode module, and the decode module is configured to decode an electric signal transformed by the laser transceiver from the reflected laser beam and deliver a decoded data to the microprocessor.

5. The electronic cigarette according to claim 1 , wherein the information portion further includes a polymer sarking layer covered on the metal reflective layer.

6. The electronic cigarette according to claim 1 , wherein the product information comprises product type, in-and-out voltage, power, smoking frequency, name of supplier or manufacturer, and/or secret key.

7. An electronic cigarette, comprising:
a battery assembly and an atomizer assembly jointed with the battery assembly; wherein the electronic cigarette further comprises a laser identifying assembly, the laser identifying assembly includes an information portion on the atomizer assembly, a laser transceiver and a controlling module, the information portion includes a metal reflective layer, and the metal reflective layer is provided with a group of grooves and bulges which represent a product information; the laser transceiver is mounted on an inner side wall of one end of the battery assembly which is adjacent to the atomizer assembly, and the information portion is defined on an outer side wall of the atomizer assembly which is adjacent to the battery assembly;
wherein the atomizer assembly includes a heating wire electrically connected to the controlling module; the controlling module includes a microprocessor and a power source manage module;
when the atomizer assembly is jointed with the battery assembly, the laser transceiver aims at the information portion, and the information portion reflects an original laser beam sent out by the laser transceiver back to the laser transceiver, then the microprocessor determines whether the atomizer assembly is matched with the battery assembly according to the reflected laser beam received by the laser transceiver and controls power to the heating wire via the power source manage module to make the heating wire to heat and atomize a tobacco liquid.

8. The electronic cigarette according to claim 7 , wherein, the battery assembly is rotatably connected to the atomizer assembly, and the group of grooves and bulges are substantially arranged in a circular arc shape; when the atomizer assembly is rotated with respect to the battery assembly, the laser transceiver aims at and sends out an original laser beam to each groove and bulge in the circular arc shape successively, the group of grooves and bulges reflect the original laser beam sent out by the laser transceiver back to the laser transceiver successively.

9. The electronic cigarette according to claim 7 , wherein the atomizer assembly is buckled in the battery assembly, and the group of grooves and bulges are substantially arranged in a straight line shape that is parallel to a central axis of the battery assembly; when the atomizer assembly is axially inserted into the battery assembly, the group of grooves and bulges reflect the original laser beam sent out by the laser transceiver back to the laser transceiver successively.

10. The electronic cigarette according to claim 7 , wherein the controlling module further includes a decode module, and the decode module is configured to decode an electric signal transformed by the laser transceiver from the reflected laser beam and deliver a decoded data to the microprocessor;
wherein the information portion further includes a polymer sarking layer covered on the metal reflective layer; and
wherein the product information comprises product type, in-and-out voltage, power, smoking frequency, name of supplier or manufacturer, and/or secret key.

Assignees

• Huizhou Kimree Technology Co Ltd
• Huizhou Kimree Technology Co Ltd Shenzhen Branch

Inventors

• Xiang Zhiyong

Classifications

• A24F47/008

  Human Necessities · mapped topic

• G06K7/10861

  sensing of data fields affixed to objects or articles, e.g. coded labels (postal sorting B07C3/14, conveying articles B65G47/48) · CPC title

• H05B1/0252 Primary

  Domestic applications · CPC title

• A24F40/60

  Devices with integrated user interfaces · CPC title

• A24F40/53 Primary

  Monitoring, e.g. fault detection · CPC title