MEMS vaporizer
AssigneePOSIFA Microsytems, Inc.
InventorXiang Zheng Tu
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A MEMS vaporizer is described which can be used for electronic cigarettes. The vaporizer mainly composes: a silicon substrate, a micro-channel array, a membrane suspending over the micro-channel array and supported by the silicon substrate, a resistance heater and a resistance temperature sensor are disposed on the membrane. Since the vaporizer is a silicon-based integrated actuator which provides advantages including small size, compact structure, lower power consumption, lower cost, increased reliability, higher precision, and more environmental friendliness.
Claims25
A MEMS vaporizer comprising:
- a silicon substrate,
- a micro-channel array created in the silicon substrate,
- a membrane supported by the silicon substrate wherein at least a portion of the membrane suspends over the micro-channel array,
- a resistance heater disposed directly over one side portion of the membrane and situated adjacent to one end portion of the micro-channel array for thermal coupling to the micro-channel,
- a resistance temperature sensor disposed directly over the membrane and adjacent to the resistance heater,
- two cavities created in the silicon substrate and directly connected to two end exits of the micro-channel array respectively, wherein the two cavities are integrated to be a part of a vaporizer chip,
- a printed circuit board for housing the vaporizer chip,
- a reservoir for inserting the printed circuit board with the vaporizer chip therein so as to have one of the two cavities configured to connect with one end exit of the micro-channel array via a fluid communication,
- a liquid stored in the reservoir, and
- an air filter disposed directly on the reservoir wherein the air filter allows a volume of air entering the reservoir to be same as a volume of the liquid leaving the reservoir via the micro-channel array.
A micro-electro-mechanical-systems (“MEMS”) vaporizer comprising:
- a micro-channel created in a substrate, the micro-channel having with a first end and a second end;
- a membrane coupled to the substrate and a portion of the membrane situated from vicinity of the first end of the micro-channel to vicinity of the second end of the micro-channel;
- a resistance heater disposed on the membrane and situated adjacent to the first end of the micro-channel for thermal coupling between the resistance heater and the micro-channel;
- a resistance temperature sensor disposed over the membrane and adjacent to the resistance heater;
- a first cavity created in the substrate and directly coupled to the first end of the micro-channel;
- a second cavity created in the substrate and directly coupled to the second end of the micro-channel;
- and
- a reservoir coupled to the substrate and configured to couple to the second end of micro-channel for facilitating passage of fluid from the reservoir to the first cavity via the micro-channel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.