RE-CHARGING PACK FOR AN E-CIGARETTE

• US 20170222468A1
• Filed: 07/23/2015
• Published: 08/03/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nicoventures Trading Ltd. (British American Tobacco PLC)
• Original Assignee: Nicoventures Holdings Limited (British American Tobacco PLC)
• Inventors: SCHENNUM, Steven Michael, MCKEON, Thomas Michael, NETTENSTROM, Matthew Joel, PEART, Justin Banker
• Granted Patent: US 10,236,708 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A24F 40/10 Devices using liquid inhalable precursors
• CPC Class Codes: A24F 40/65 Devices with integrated communication means, e.g. wireless communication means
• CPC Class Codes: A24F 40/90 Arrangements or methods specially adapted for charging batteries thereof
• CPC Class Codes: A24F 40/95 structurally associated with cases
• CPC Class Codes: A24F 9/16 Protective coverings or cases for pipes or parts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 25/10 Devices to locate articles in containers for protecting articles from mechanical damage B65D81/02
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 43/163 the container and the lid being made separately B65D43/161 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/44 Methods for charging or discharging circuits for charging H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/46 Accumulators structurally combined with charging apparatus circuits for charging H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2220/30 Batteries in portable systems, e.g. mobile phone, laptop
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00 Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0044 specially adapted for holding portable devices containing batteries H02J7/0045 takes precedence
• 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: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

Various embodiments provide a pack for holding and re-charging an e-cigarette. The pack includes a pack battery; a body portion including a tube for receiving an e-cigarette; a re-charging mechanism for re-charging the e-cigarette received into the tube using the pack battery, wherein the e-cigarette can be re-charged in the tube without disassembly of the e-cigarette; and a dual activation mechanism comprising two separate triggers for causing the re-charging mechanism to begin re-charging the e-cigarette received into the tube using the pack battery. The re-charging begins only in response to the direct activation by a user of both of the separate triggers.

Claims

1. A pack for holding and re-charging an e-cigarette, the pack comprising:

a pack battery;

a body portion including a tube for receiving an e-cigarette;

a re-charging mechanism for re-charging the e-cigarette received into the tube using the pack battery, wherein the e-cigarette can be re-charged in the tube without disassembly of the e-cigarette; and

a dual activation mechanism comprising two separate triggers for causing the re-charging mechanism to begin re-charging the e-cigarette received into the tube using the pack battery, wherein the re-charging begins only in response to direct activation by a user of both of the two separate triggers.

2. The pack of claim 1, wherein one of the two separate triggers comprises connecting the pack to an external power source or a user-activated switch on an exterior of the pack.

3. The pack of claim 1, wherein a first one of the two separate triggers is for a user to insert an e-cigarette into the tube.

4. The pack of claim 3, wherein activation of a second one of the two separate triggers causes a detection that the e-cigarette has been received into the tube.

5. The pack of claim 3, wherein the pack includes a wired connector at a base of the tube, and wherein the first one of the two separate triggers detects when the wired connector makes electrical contact with a corresponding connector at one end of the e-cigarette received into the tube.

6. The pack of claim 1, wherein the tube has an open end for inserting the e-cigarette for re-charging and a base end, wherein the base end acts to support an e-cigarette in the tube and includes electrical contacts for re-charging the e-cigarette within the tube.

7. The pack of claim 6, wherein the electrical contacts are configured to re-charge the e-cigarette via a tip end of the e-cigarette.

8. The pack of claim 7, wherein the pack includes a lid, and the lid when closed is configured to exert a pressure on the e-cigarette in a direction towards the base end of the tube, thereby helping to provide a more reliable electrical contact between the tip end of the e-cigarette and the electrical contacts at the base end of the tube.

9. The pack of claim 1, wherein the re-charging of the e-cigarette is performed by induction re-charging of the e-cigarette.

10. The pack of claim 1, wherein the pack further comprises a lid, which when open allows access to the tube for receiving or removing an e-cigarette, and when closed holds the e-cigarette in the pack, and wherein the second one of the two separate triggers comprises closing the lid.

11. The pack of claim 10, wherein the pack is further provided with a switch which is mechanically activated by closing the lid.

12. The pack of claim 2, wherein a second one of the two separate triggers comprises connecting the pack to an external power source.

13. The pack of claim 2, wherein a second one of the two separate triggers comprises a user-activated switch on the exterior of the pack.

14. The pack of claim 1, wherein the dual activation mechanism supports more than two triggers and is configured to activate in response to predetermined combinations of two triggers being received

15. The pack of claim 1, wherein the pack includes one or more lights for indicating whether the re-charging of the e-cigarette has been activated.

16. The pack of claim 1, wherein the re-charging begins only in response to the direct activation by a user of both of the two separate triggers and on condition that the pack battery has more than a certain level of charge.

17. A method of operating a pack for holding and re-charging an e-cigarette, the pack comprising a pack battery, a body portion including a tube for receiving an e-cigarette, a re-charging mechanism for re-charging the e-cigarette received into the tube using the pack battery, wherein the e-cigarette can be re-charged in the tube without disassembly of the e-cigarette and a dual activation mechanism comprising two separate triggers for causing the re-charging mechanism to begin re-charging the e-cigarette received into the tube using the pack battery, the method comprising:

detecting activation by a user of a first one of the two separate triggers;

detecting activation by a user of a second one of the two separate triggers; and

beginning re-charging of the e-cigarette in response to the detected activation of both of the two separate triggers.

18. (canceled)