Electronic vaporiser system

• US 10,070,662 B2
• Filed: 09/01/2016
• Issued: 09/11/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AYR Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Beyond Twenty Ltd.
• Inventors: Gorilovsky, Dmitry
• Primary Examiner(s): Yaary, Eric
• Application Number:
  US15/253,917
• Publication Number:
  US 20170042232A1
• Time in Patent Office: 740 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A24B 15/167 in liquid or vaporisable form, e.g. liquid compositions for electronic cigarettes
• CPC Class Codes: A24F 15/015 with means for refilling of liquid inhalable precursors
• CPC Class Codes: A24F 40/10 Devices using liquid inhalable precursors
• CPC Class Codes: A24F 40/40 Constructional details, e.g. connection of cartridges and battery parts
• CPC Class Codes: A24F 40/53 Monitoring, e.g. fault detection
• CPC Class Codes: A24F 40/95 structurally associated with cases
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 11/042 electrical
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 15/06 Inhaling appliances shaped like cigars, cigarettes or pipes
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/13 with means for the detection of operative contact with patient, e.g. lip sensor
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/14 Detection of the presence or absence of a tube, a connector or a container in an apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/27 preventing use
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3331 Pressure; Flow
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3368 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3379 Masses, volumes, levels of fluids in reservoirs, flow rates
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3553 remote, e.g. between patient's home and doctor's office
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3561 local, e.g. within room or hospital
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3569 sublocal, e.g. between console and disposable
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3584 using modem, internet or bluetooth
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3592 using telemetric means, e.g. radio or optical transmission
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3653 by Joule effect, i.e. electric resistance
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/50 : with microprocessors or computers
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/583 : by visual feedback
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/60 : with identification means
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/8206 : battery-operated
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/8237 : Charging means
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2209/045 : for filling, e.g. for filling reservoirs
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2209/086 : Docking stations
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 3/04 : Methods of, or means for, filling the material into the containers or receptacles
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 25/005 : Side walls formed with an aperture or a movable portion arranged to allow removal or insertion of contents B65D5/16, B65D7/40 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 7/02 : for transferring liquids other than fuel or lubricants
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 43/046 : with piezoelectric drive
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 15/044 : spring-loaded
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 24/00 : Devices, e.g. valves, for venting or aerating enclosures equalising valves F16K17/00; arrangement or mounting in pipes or pipe systems F16L55/07; venting or aerating as an additional function of steam traps or like apparatus F16T; ventilation of rooms, vehicles, see the appropriate subclass, e.g. F24F
• CPC Class Codes: F22B 1/285 : the water being fed by a pump to the reservoirs
• CPC Class Codes: F22B 37/38 : Determining or indicating operating conditions in steam boilers, e.g. monitoring direction or rate of water flow through water tubes measuring or indicating instruments in general G01
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/041 : of a solid body
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/016 : After-sales
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 : using inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0042 : characterised by the mechanical construction
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0044 : specially adapted for holding portable devices containing batteries H02J7/0045 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0045 : concerning the insertion or the connection of the batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0063 : with circuits adapted for supplying loads from the battery
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/007 : Regulation of charging or discharging current or voltage
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/342 : The other DC source being a battery actively interacting with the first one, i.e. battery to battery charging with circuits for polarity protection H02J7/0034
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 : using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 : Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 1/0227 : Applications
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 1/0244 : Heating of fluids H05B1/0247 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 1/0297 : Heating of fluids for non specified applications
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 2203/021 : Heaters specially adapted for heating liquids
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 3/44 : heating conductor arranged within rods or tubes of insulating material
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 3/80 : Portable immersion heaters
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 30/00 : Adapting or protecting infrastructure or their operation

Abstract

An electronic cigarette vaporizer that includes a heating element, a power source and an electronics module that manages the delivery of power, current or voltage to the heating element; the electronics module controls or delivers pulses of power, current or voltage to the heating element, such as PWM (pulse width modulation) with a high frequency 1-10 KHz switching frequency. The duty cycle of the PWM can be approximately 90% when heating; and 1-10% duty during a preheat; and 0% when the vaporizer is idle.

Claims

1. An electronic cigarette vaporizer system that includes an electronic vaporizer, a heating element in the electronic vaporiser, a power source and an electronics module that manages the delivery of power, current or voltage to the heating element, in which the electronics module controls or delivers pulses of power, current or voltage to the heating element, in which the electronic vaporizer system includes (i) a user-replaceable, e-liquid cartridge that is attached to or integral with at least a part of the system but is not user-refillable and includes no heating element;

and (ii) an e-liquid reservoir that is separate from the user-replaceable e-liquid cartridge; and

(iii) an electric or electronic pump that is configured to withdraw e-liquid from the user-replaceable e-liquid cartridge and pump pressurized e-liquid to the e-liquid reservoir; and

(iv) a heating element that is not in the user-replaceable e-liquid cartridge but is instead in, or in e-liquid communication with, the e-liquid reservoir.

2. The electronic vaporizer system of claim 1 in which the pulses are made using PWM (pulse width modulation).

3. The electronic vaporiser of claim 2 in which pulses are delivered at switching frequency of 1-10 KHZ.

4. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 2 in which the duty cycle of the PWM is approximately 90% when heating.

5. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 2 in which the duty cycle of the PWM is approximately 1-10% duty during a preheat.

6. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 2 in which the duty cycle of the PWM is 0% when the vaporiser is idle.

7. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1 in which pulses extend the battery life of the vaporiser.

8. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1 in which power, current or voltage is controlled or shaped to minimize the production or release of potentially harmful substances by the vaporiser.

9. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1 in which the pulses control the temperature of the heating element to minimize the production or release of potentially harmful substances.

10. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 9 in which the heating element temperature is estimated from the resistance of the heating element.

11. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 2 in which PWM control is used to implement ‘

discrete’

mode vaping, to reduce the amount of vapour produced by the vaporiser, compared to a normal mode.

12. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 2 in which PWM control is used to implement ‘

power’

mode vaping to increase the amount of vapour produced by the vaporiser compared to a normal mode, whilst monitoring the heating element temperature of the vaporiser to ensure that excessively high temperatures, associated with undesirable compounds in the vapour, are not reached.

13. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1 in which the electronic vaporiser is a medicinally approved nicotine drug delivery system.

14. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1 in which the electronic vaporiser is the same approximate size as a cigarette and includes no control buttons.

15. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1 in which the electronic vaporiser is automatically activated when it detects that it has been withdrawn from a case that otherwise stores the vaporiser.

16. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1 in which the electronic vaporiser has a square or rectangular cross-section with rounded corners and includes a long PCB inserted lengthwise into the vaporiser.

17. The electronic vaporiser system of preceding claim 16 in which the electronic vaporiser has a squircle cross-section.

18. The electronic vaporiser of claim 1 in which the electronic vaporiser is only re-fillable from the user-replaceable closed, e-liquid cartridge.

19. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1 in which the electronic vaporizer that includes the heating element is refillable with e-liquid only when inserted, whole and intact and not dis-assembled, into a re-fill case that includes a fluid transfer mechanism to transfer e-liquid into the vaporiser from the user-replaceable closed, e-liquid cartridge.

20. The electronic vaporizer system of claim 1 including a case for storing the electronic vaporizer.

21. The electronic vaporizer system of claim 20 in which the case includes the electric or electronic pump.

22. The electronic vaporizer system of claim 1 in which the electronic vaporizer includes the electric or electronic pump and the user-replaceable cartridge is removably insertable or integral to the vaporizer.

23. The electronic vaporizer system of claim 1, further comprising a structure that is configured to enable excess air-pressure arising from the pressured e-liquid to escape from the e-liquid reservoir and that is non-porous to the pressurized e-liquid.

24. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1, in which the pump is in a desktop station.