ELECTRONIC SMOKING ARTICLES

• US 20140261491A1
• Filed: 03/07/2014
• Published: 09/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC (Altria Group, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Altria Client Services, Inc. (Altria Group, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hawes, Eric
• Granted Patent: US 9,560,883 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 131/328
• CPC Class Codes: A24F 40/10 Devices using liquid inhalable precursors
• CPC Class Codes: A24F 40/46 Shape or structure of electric heating means
• CPC Class Codes: A24F 40/50 Control or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 9/037 comprising a wick
• CPC Class Codes: B23P 11/00 Connecting or disconnecting metal parts or objects by metal-working techniques not otherwise provided for connecting sheet metal or metal tubes, rods or profiles B21D39/00; riveting B21J; soldering, unsoldering, welding B23K; hand tools for connecting wire or strip B25B25/00; connecting metal parts by adhesives F16B11/00
• CPC Class Codes: C09D 11/52 Electrically conductive inks
• CPC Class Codes: H01C 17/075 by thin film techniques H01C17/20 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 1/0244 Heating of fluids H05B1/0247 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49083 Heater type
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49826 Assembling or joining

Abstract

An electronic smoking article, a method of manufacturing an electronic smoking article, and a method of achieving a smoking experience without combusting tobacco are disclosed. The electronic smoking article includes an authenticated first section, which includes an aerosol generation unit having at least one heater; an authenticated second section, which includes a power supply operable to apply voltage to the at least one heater for heating a liquid in at least a portion of the aerosol generation unit to form an aerosol; and a conductive ink circuit embedded within the first and second sections, and wherein the power supply and the aerosol generation unit are electrically connected upon joining the first and second sections, and wherein each of the first and second sections has a portion of the conductive ink circuit.

Claims

1. An electronic smoking article, the article comprising:

an authenticated first section, which includes an aerosol generation unit having at least one heater;

an authenticated second section, which includes a power supply operable to apply voltage to the at least one heater for heating a liquid in at least a portion of the aerosol generation unit to form an aerosol; and

a conductive ink circuit embedded within the first and second sections, and wherein the power supply and the aerosol generation unit are electrically connected upon joining the first and second sections, and wherein each of the first and second sections has a portion of the conductive ink circuit.

2. The smoking article of claim 1, further including control circuitry operable to control the supply of power to the heater, and wherein the conductive ink circuit enables the control circuitry to provide the supply of power to the at least one heater.

3. The smoking article of claim 1, wherein the conductive ink circuit forms an electrical connection between the supply of power and the at least one heater.

4. The smoking article of claim 1, wherein the aerosol generation unit comprises:

a liquid supply reservoir; and

a capillary wick for holding liquid received from the liquid reservoir, and wherein the at least one heater is operable to heat the capillary wick to a temperature sufficient to at least initially volatilize the liquid material contained within the capillary wick.

5. The smoking article of claim 1, wherein the aerosol generation unit includes:

a liquid supply reservoir; and

a capillary tube, the capillary tube having an inlet and an outlet, the inlet in communication with the outlet of the liquid supply reservoir, and wherein the at least one heater is operable to heat the capillary tube to a temperature sufficient to at least initially volatilize the liquid material contained within the capillary tube.

6. The smoking article of claim 1, comprising:

a mixing chamber downstream of the aerosol generation unit; and

at least one air inlet operable to deliver air drawn into the mixing chamber, the air being mixed with the volatilized liquid material in the mixing chamber to form an aerosol.

7. The smoking article of claim 1, wherein the first section and the second section each comprise an outer cylindrical housing extending in a longitudinal direction, and wherein each of the outer cylindrical housings has the portion of the conductive ink circuit embedded therein.

8. The smoking article of claim 1, comprising:

a liquid material contained within the liquid supply reservoir, which is supplied through an outlet of the supply reservoir to the aerosol generator.

9. The smoking article of claim 6, comprising:

a mouth end having at least one outlet, wherein the mouth end is in fluid communication with the mixing chamber so as to deliver an aerosol to a smoker.

10. The smoking article of claim 1, wherein the power supply includes a battery, and the at least one heater is connected to the battery by two spaced apart electrical contacts.

11. The smoking article of claim 1, wherein the at least one air inlet is located upstream of the capillary tube.

12. The smoking article of claim 1, wherein the first section comprises an aerosol generation portion and a liquid supply portion, which can be separated from one another, and wherein the conductive ink circuit is embedded within the aerosol generation portion and the liquid supply portion.

13. The smoking article of claim 12, wherein the power supply and the aerosol generation unit is activated only when sections of the conductive ink circuit are connected together by connecting the aerosol generation portion, the liquid supply portion and the second section, and wherein the aerosol generation portion, the liquid supply portion and the second section each has a portion of the conductive ink circuit and upon assembly thereof forms the conductive ink circuit.

14. A method of manufacturing an electronic smoking article, the method comprising:

embedding a first portion of a conduction ink circuit in an authenticated first section of an electronic smoking article, the first section including an aerosol generation unit having at least one heater; and

embedding a second portion of a conduction ink circuit in an authenticated second section, the second section including a power supply operable to apply voltage to the at least one heater for heating a liquid in at least a portion of the aerosol generation unit to form an aerosol.

15. The method of claim 14, comprising:

electrically connecting the power supply and the aerosol generation unit of the smoking article upon the formation of a completed conductive ink circuit between the first and second portions of the smoking article, and

enabling a processor within control circuitry to provide power from the power supply to the at least one heater upon the formation of the conductive ink circuit.

16. The method of claim 14, comprising:

embedding the first portion and the second portion of the conduction ink in an outer cylindrical housing of the first and second sections, and wherein each of the outer cylindrical housings has a portion of the conductive ink circuit embedded therein.

17. The method of claim 14, comprising:

embedding the first portion of the conductive ink circuit within an aerosol generation portion and a liquid supply portion of the first section of the smoking article; and

activating the power supply and the aerosol generation unit only when the conductive ink circuit is formed by connecting the aerosol generation portion, the liquid supply portion and the second section, and wherein the aerosol generation portion, the liquid supply portion and the second section each has a portion of the conductive ink circuit and upon assembly thereof forms the conductive circuit.

18. A method of achieving a smoking experience without combusting tobacco, the method comprising:

joining an authenticated first section of an electronic smoking article to an authenticated second section of the smoking article, the first section having a first portion of a conduction ink circuit and the second section having a second portion of a conduction ink circuit; and

electrically connecting a power supply and an aerosol generation unit of the smoking article upon the formation of a completed conductive ink circuit between the first and second portions of the smoking article, wherein the first section includes the aerosol generation unit having at least one heater and the second section includes a power supply operable to apply voltage to the at least one heater for heating a liquid in at least a portion of the aerosol generation unit to form an aerosol.

19. The method of claim 18, comprising:

supplying a liquid material from a liquid supply reservoir to the aerosol generation unit, the aerosol generation having a capillary wick; and

heating the capillary wick with the at least one heater to a temperature sufficient to at least initially volatilize the liquid material contained within the capillary wick.

20. The method of claim 18, comprising:

supplying a liquid material from a liquid supply reservoir to the aerosol generation unit, the aerosol generation unit having a capillary tube, the capillary tube having an inlet and an outlet, the inlet in communication with the outlet of the liquid supply reservoir, and

heating the capillary tube with the at least one heater to a temperature sufficient to at least initially volatilize the liquid material contained within the capillary tube.

21. The method of claim 18, comprising:

delivering the volatilized liquid material to a mixing chamber downstream of the aerosol generation unit; and

mixing the volatilized liquid material with air drawn into the mixing chamber to form an aerosol.

22. The method of claim 18, comprising:

supplying a liquid material contained within the liquid supply reservoir through an outlet of the supply reservoir to the aerosol generator.

23. The method of claim 22, comprising:

delivering the aerosol to a smoker via a mouth end, the mouth end having at least one outlet and is in fluid communication with the mixing chamber.

24. The method of claim 18, comprising:

embedding the first portion of the conductive ink circuit within an aerosol generation portion and a liquid supply portion of the first section of the smoking article; and

activating the power supply and the aerosol generation unit only when the conductive ink circuit is formed by connecting the aerosol generation portion, the liquid supply portion and the second section, and wherein the aerosol generation portion, the liquid supply portion and the second section each has a portion of the conductive ink circuit and upon assembly thereof forms the conductive circuit.

25. The method of claim 18, comprising:

pre-heating the at least one heater of the smoking article upon forming the conductive circuit.