Electronic vaporiser system

• US 10,201,181 B2
• Filed: 09/01/2016
• Issued: 02/12/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AYR Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Beyond Twenty Ltd.
• Inventors: Murison, Ian, Gorilovsky, Dmitry
• Primary Examiner(s): Yaary, Eric
• Application Number:
  US15/253,949
• Publication Number:
  US 20170048929A1
• Time in Patent Office: 894 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 vaporiser includes a heating element and a microcontroller; the microcontroller monitors or measures the airflow speed or pressure drop over an air-pressure sensor or other sensor and uses that as an input to control the power delivered to the heating element. The microcontroller can compensate for a very strong inhalation by applying more power during that inhalation as compared to a very light inhalation to ensure that the heating element is kept at its optimal heating temperature.

Claims

1. An electronic cigarette vaporiser system that includes an electronic vaporiser, a heating element in the electronic vaporiser, and a microcontroller;

in which the microcontroller monitors or measures the airflow speed or pressure drop over an air-pressure sensor or other sensor and uses that as an input to control the power delivered to the heating element;

in which the electronic vaporiser system includes (i) a user-replaceable, e-liquid cartridge, which 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

wherein the heating element that is in the electronic vaporiser is in, or in e-liquid communication with, the e-liquid reservoir.

2. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1 in which the microcontroller compensates for a very strong inhalation by applying more power during that inhalation as compared to a very light inhalation.

3. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1 in which the microcontroller controls the power to ensure that the heating element is kept at its optimal heating temperature.

4. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1 in which the vaporiser includes or co-operates with an electronics module that (i) detects characteristics of the resistance of the heating element and (ii) uses an inference of temperature derived from that resistance as a control input.

5. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 4 in which the temperature of the heating element is inferred from data stored in the electronics module that has been empirically obtained for a specific heating element design.

6. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 4 in which the electronics module applies multiple techniques designed to ensure the heating element is at its optimal heating temperature, including estimating heating element resistance, and weights the signals from each technique.

7. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 4 in which the electronics module controls the power delivered using the resistance measurement and does not calculate any derived temperature.

8. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 4 in which the electronics module controls the power delivered to the heating element to ensure that it is no higher than approximately 130°

C., plus an error tolerance.

9. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1 in which the electronic vaporiser system is an e-cigarette system.

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

11. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1 in which the electronic vaporiser is the same approximate size as a cigarette.

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. 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 vaporizer.

15. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1 in which the electronic vaporiser has a squircle cross-section.

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

17. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1 in which the electronic vaporiser 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.

18. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1 including a case for storing the electronic vaporiser.

19. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 18 in which the case includes the electric or electronic pump.

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