阅读说明：本技术 用于个人蒸发器的电子液体输送系统 (Electronic liquid delivery system for personal vaporizer ) 是由 V·安吉里卡 R·罗杰斯 M·阿萨亚德 于 2019-06-18 设计创作，主要内容包括：本申请涉及用于个人蒸发器的电子液体输送系统。个人蒸发器具有在主体内部内的蒸发室、设置在蒸发室内的蒸发加热元件、从壳体壁中的一个或多个进气口到蒸发室的空气流动通道、以及从蒸发室到出口端口的蒸发混合物流动通道。个人蒸发器还具有液体贮存器和液体传输装置,以用于将可蒸发液体从液体贮存器传输到蒸发室。液体传输装置具有压电泵和从贮存器出口端口延伸的液体流动管道。压电泵可操作地连接到液体流动管道,以用于通过液体流动管道从贮存器抽吸可蒸发液体并通过喷嘴进入蒸发室,使得离开喷嘴的液体被蒸发加热表面加热。(The present application relates to electronic liquid delivery systems for personal vaporizers. The personal vaporizer has a vaporization chamber within the interior of the body, a vaporization heating element disposed within the vaporization chamber, an air flow passage from one or more air inlets in the housing wall to the vaporization chamber, and a vaporization mixture flow passage from the vaporization chamber to the outlet port. The personal vaporizer also has a liquid reservoir and a liquid transfer device for transferring vaporizable liquid from the liquid reservoir to the vaporization chamber. The liquid transfer device has a piezoelectric pump and a liquid flow conduit extending from the reservoir outlet port. A piezoelectric pump is operatively connected to the liquid flow conduit for drawing vaporizable liquid from the reservoir through the liquid flow conduit and into the vaporization chamber through the nozzle such that liquid exiting the nozzle is heated by the vaporization heating surface.)

1. A personal vaporizer, comprising:

an annular body defining a body interior;

an evaporation chamber within the body interior;

an evaporation heating element disposed within the evaporation chamber, the evaporation heating element having an evaporation heating surface;

an air flow passage from one or more air inlets in the housing wall to the evaporation chamber;

an evaporation mixture flow channel extending from the evaporation chamber to an outlet port;

a liquid reservoir configured to store a vaporizable liquid and having a reservoir outlet port;

a liquid transfer device for transferring vaporizable liquid from the liquid reservoir to the vaporization chamber, the liquid transfer device comprising:

a first liquid flow conduit extending from the reservoir outlet port, an

A piezoelectric pump operatively connected to the first liquid flow conduit for drawing the vaporizable liquid from the reservoir through the liquid flow conduit and into the vaporization chamber through a nozzle positioned adjacent to or in contact with the vaporization heating element such that liquid exiting the nozzle is heated by the vaporization heating surface.

2. The personal vaporizer of claim 1, further comprising:

a pump controller in electrical communication with the piezoelectric pump and configured to control the piezoelectric pump so as to maintain a desired flow rate of liquid through the nozzle.

3. The personal vaporizer of claim 2, wherein the desired flow rate is in a range of zero flow rate to a predetermined maximum flow rate.

4. The personal vaporizer of claim 1, wherein the liquid delivery device further comprises:

a preheat chamber having a preheat chamber outlet and a preheat chamber inlet in fluid communication with the first liquid flow conduit;

a second liquid flow conduit in fluid communication with the pre-heating chamber outlet and the piezoelectric pump for conveying the vaporizable liquid therebetween; and

a liquid preheating heating element disposed within the preheating chamber.

5. The personal vaporizer of claim 4, wherein the preheating chamber and the liquid preheating heating element are configured to heat the vaporizable liquid to a liquid temperature in the range of 75-90 ° F.

6. The personal vaporizer of claim 4, wherein the preheating chamber and the liquid preheating heating element are configured to heat the vaporizable liquid to a liquid temperature in the range of 78-82 ° F.

7. The personal vaporizer of claim 1, wherein the liquid delivery device further comprises:

a preheat chamber, at least a portion of the first liquid flow conduit disposed within the preheat chamber; and

at least one liquid preheat heating element disposed within said preheat chamber and adjacent to said at least a portion of said first liquid flow conduit.

8. The personal vaporizer of claim 7, wherein the at least one liquid preheat heating element comprises a coil heating element surrounding a perimeter of the at least a portion of the first liquid flow conduit.

9. The personal vaporizer of claim 8, wherein the at least one liquid preheat heating element is configured to heat vaporizable liquid flowing through the first liquid flow conduit to a liquid temperature in the range of 75-90 ° f.

10. The personal vaporizer of claim 8, wherein the at least one liquid preheat heating element is configured to heat vaporizable liquid flowing through the first liquid flow conduit to a liquid temperature in the range of 78-82 ° f.

11. A method of vaporizing a vaporizable liquid in a personal vaporizer having a liquid reservoir containing the vaporizable liquid, a vaporization chamber, and a vaporization heating element disposed within the vaporization chamber, the method comprising:

drawing the vaporizable liquid from the liquid reservoir using an internal pumping mechanism;

preheating the vaporizable liquid to a temperature within a predetermined temperature range by a first heating element;

passing the vaporizable liquid through a nozzle into the vaporization chamber adjacent to the vaporization heating element; and

the vaporizable liquid is heated above the vaporization temperature by a second heating element to produce a vapor product.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

mixing the vapor product with air drawn from outside the personal vaporizer to form an air-vapor mixture within the vaporization chamber; and

discharging the air-vapor mixture from the evaporation chamber.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the predetermined temperature range is 75-90 ° f.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the predetermined temperature range is 78-82 ° f.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the internal pumping mechanism is a piezoelectric pump.

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to micro-vaporizers, and more particularly to coreless liquid delivery systems for personal micro-vaporizers.

Background

A micro-evaporator is a device in which a vaporizable liquid (sometimes referred to as an "e-liquid") is drawn from a storage reservoir into a chamber where it is heated to a vaporization temperature by a heating element. The vaporized liquid is then drawn from the chamber or forced out of the chamber. In products such as electronic cigarettes (also known as electronic cigarettes or personal vaporizers), vaporized liquid is drawn from a chamber through a mouthpiece (mouthpiece) and inhaled by a user. In other products, the vaporized liquid is dispersed into the atmosphere.

A general purpose of devices using micro-evaporators is to dispense one or more active substances using an evaporated liquid. In an atmospheric dispenser, these substances may include materials such as deodorants, fragrances and insect repellents. In the case of personal vaporizers, the active substance typically includes a flavorant (i.e., a flavoring agent or material) and nicotine. The flavorant and nicotine levels can be selected to mimic the experience of smoking.

Disclosure of Invention

Drawings

The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a prior art personal vaporizer;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a personal vaporizer according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram representation of an evaporator system including liquid preheating according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a personal vaporizer according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a fluid transfer device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The invention will be described using examples and embodiments directed primarily to personal vaporizers. However, it should be understood that the method of the present invention is not limited to these applications and may be applied to any micro-evaporator apparatus.

Referring to fig. 1, a typical personal vaporizer 10 includes a cylindrical housing 20 having a distal end 21 and a proximal end 22. At its proximal end 22, the housing 20 is formed as a mouthpiece 24 having a passageway 26, the passageway 26 providing fluid communication between the atmosphere and an outlet chamber 27 inside the housing 20. The housing 20 also has one or more air holes 28 to allow air to flow from the atmosphere into an evaporation chamber 30 within the housing 20 when a relative vacuum is applied at the mouthpiece channel 26 (e.g., by inhalation by a device user). Air drawn through the air hole(s) 28 passes through a filter 70, the filter 70 separating the evaporation chamber 30 from the outlet chamber 27.

The personal vaporizer 10 also includes a fluid reservoir 40 in which a vaporizable liquid 42 is disposed. The fluid reservoir 40 may be configured as a simple tank having a liquid 42 disposed therein. In some embodiments, the reservoir 40 may be or include a contained, or non-contained, adsorbent, or adsorbent material or structure that holds the vaporizable liquid 42. The fluid transfer structure 50 is configured and positioned to contact the liquid 42 in the reservoir 40 and to draw the liquid 42 out of the reservoir 40 and into the evaporation chamber 30. The fluid transfer structure 50 may be further configured such that the extracted liquid 42 is brought into close proximity or contact with the heating element 60. Heating element 60 may be configured to heat the vaporizable liquid by any conductive, convective, and/or radiative heat transfer mechanism. In a typical evaporator, the heating element 60 is or includes a resistive element in the form of a coil. In some cases, the resistive element is contained within a thermally conductive housing.

The illustrative personal vaporizer 10 also includes a battery 80 for powering the heating element and control unit 90. It should be understood that the configuration and relative positioning of the components of the personal vaporizer 10 can vary widely, and that additional components (e.g., an airflow controller for regulating the flow of air through the orifice 28) can be included.

The vaporizable liquid 42 typically includes an active material or substance. As used herein, the term "active material" refers to any material that controllably alters or adds to the evaporation product of a device. Depending on the application, the active material may include, but is not limited to, botanical materials, minerals, deodorants, fragrances, insect repellants, medicaments, and disinfectants, as well as any materials or structures containing or incorporating any of the foregoing materials. In the specific example of a personal vaporizer, the active material can include a flavorant substance that enhances the flavor of the vaporizable liquid.

To use the personal vaporizer 10, the user activates the heating element 60 and draws air through the device via the mouthpiece. The vaporizable liquid 42 in the chamber 30 is heated to its vaporization point by the heating element 60. The generated vapor mixes with the air drawn in through the air holes 28 and the mixture is drawn through the filter 70 and the outlet chamber 27 and out through the nozzle passage 26.

The fluid transport structure 50 of the personal vaporizer 10 generally comprises a wick or collection of wicking materials for drawing the liquid 42 from the reservoir 40. When heated by the heating element 60, the flow potential through the wick is maintained by evaporation of liquid at the downstream end of the wick.

The use of wicking materials as a fluid transport mechanism has inherent limitations. Of particular interest in connection with the present invention is the inability to actively control the flow rate of the liquid and, therefore, the rate at which the liquid is delivered and vaporized within the vaporization chamber. The use of wicks also causes leakage problems, in part because the flow path from the reservoir is always open.

Attempts have been made to replace wicks with mechanical pumps and/or pressurized delivery mechanisms, but such mechanisms have their own limitations and may be too large or heavy to be used in personal vaporizers.

One aspect of the present invention solves this problem by using a Piezoelectric (PZE) pump as the fluid transfer mechanism. The piezoelectric pump is a compact diaphragm pump that can provide a continuous or variable flow rate. They have been used in a variety of applications where reliable metering of liquids and gases is required, including, for example, ink delivery systems in inkjet printers.

Referring to fig. 2, a personal vaporizer 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is similar in most respects to the personal vaporizer 10 of fig. 1. The vaporizer 100 includes a cylindrical housing 120 having a distal end 121 and a proximal end 122. At its proximal end 122, the housing 120 is formed as a mouthpiece 124 having a channel 126. The housing 120 also has one or more air holes 128 to allow air to flow from the atmosphere into the evaporation chamber 130, the evaporation chamber 130 being separable from the outlet chamber 127 by a filter 170. The personal vaporizer 100 also includes a fluid reservoir 140 in which a vaporizable liquid 142 is disposed. The fluid reservoir 140 may be configured as a simple canister or may be or include a contained, or non-contained, adsorbent, or adsorbent material or structure that holds the vaporizable liquid 142. In either case, the reservoir 140 has a proximal reservoir outlet port 144. A heating element 160 is positioned within the vaporization chamber 130. The personal vaporizer 100 also includes a battery 180 and a control unit 190.

The personal vaporizer 100 differs from the vaporizer 10 in that it has a fluid transfer structure 150, which fluid transfer structure 150 includes a PZE pump 154 and a conduit 152 extending proximally from the reservoir outlet port 144. The conduit 152 and PZE pump 154 are configured to draw the liquid 142 from the reservoir 140 and control the flow of the liquid 142' through the conduit 152. The conduit 152 terminates in a nozzle end 153, the nozzle end 153 being positioned in close proximity or contact with a heating element 160, the heating element 160 being configured to heat and vaporize the liquid 142 "exiting the nozzle end 153. As previously described, heating element 160 may be configured to heat vaporizable liquid 142 "by any conductive, convective, and/or radiative heat transfer mechanism. The nozzle end 153 may be configured to direct the liquid 142 "in a particular payout pattern to enhance evaporation performance.

The operation of the PZE pump 154 may be controlled by use of a controller 192, which controller 192 may be part of the control unit 190. The PZE pump 154 and controller 192 can be configured to control the flow rate of the liquid 142', and thus the amount of liquid 142 "delivered to the evaporation chamber 130. The PZE pump 154 may also be configured to selectively close the conduit 152 to prevent the liquid 142 from undesirably flowing from the reservoir 140. In some embodiments, the control unit 190 may be in communication with a user input device (not shown) that allows a user to input or select a desired liquid flow rate.

It should be understood that the configuration and relative positioning of the components of the personal vaporizer 100 can vary widely. In some embodiments, for example, the conduit 152 may include one or more flexible tubes, the use of which would allow for variable positioning of the outlet port 144.

The use of personal vaporizer 100 is substantially similar to the use of prior art vaporizer 10, except that activation of heating element 160 also activates pump 154 such that liquid 142 is drawn from reservoir 142 into vaporizing chamber 130, where liquid 142 is heated to its vaporization point by heating element 160. The generated vapor mixes with the air drawn in through the air holes 128 and the mixture is drawn through the filter 170 and the outlet chamber 127 and out through the nozzle passage 126. In some embodiments, an external switch or other user input device (not shown) in communication with the pump controller 192 may be manipulated by a user to change the flow rate of the liquid 142, which effectively changes the amount of evaporation of the liquid 142 "and the delivery rate of the active material in the inhaled evaporation product.

It has been found that the ability to controllably pump a vaporizable liquid can be significantly affected by its viscosity. In some applications, it may be desirable to reduce the viscosity of the vaporizable liquid to enhance its flow properties and to achieve a precise, repeatable delivery rate to the vaporization chamber. In many cases, this can be achieved by preheating the vaporizable liquid upstream of the micropump. Fig. 3 is a block diagram of a generic evaporator system 200 with a preheating device. As shown in the block diagram, a micro-pump 250, such as a PZE pump, is used to draw liquid from the reservoir 240 and into contact with the evaporation heating element 260 in the evaporation chamber 230. However, before the liquid passes through the pump 250, the liquid passes through a preheating chamber 255 where the liquid undergoes temperature regulation. By preheating, the liquid is brought to a selected temperature to produce a desired viscosity, which in turn is suitable for flow control of a precise metering of the liquid allowed to pass through pump 250 and into vaporization chamber 230. In some embodiments and for typical electronic liquids, the desired temperature may be in the range of 75-95 ° f. In particular embodiments, the desired temperature may be in the range of 78-82F and preferably about 80F. The preheat chamber 255, pump 250, and main heating element 260 are all controlled by a control module 292 of the main control unit 290 of the apparatus. Temperature control of preheat chamber 255 and heating element 260 may be accomplished by use of temperature regulating switch 294.

The system 200 may optionally include a user input device or apparatus 280 in electrical communication with a control unit 290. The user input device 280 can be configured to receive input from a user of the appliance related to the operation of the evaporator system 200. In particular, the user input device 280 may be arranged to receive a desired liquid flow rate, which may be communicated to the control module 292 of the pump 250. User input device 280 may be or include any mechanism for receiving input. In some embodiments, the input means may comprise a wireless communication module configured to receive user commands from a separate wireless communication device (e.g. a mobile phone, smart tablet or computer).

There are many possible configurations of personal evaporators that can be used to implement the preheating method of the present invention. Fig. 4 shows an illustrative embodiment of a personal vaporizer 300 incorporating the method. The vaporizer 300 includes a cylindrical housing 320 having a distal end 321 and a proximal end 322. At its proximal end 322, the housing 320 is formed as a suction nozzle 324 having a passageway 326. The housing 320 also has one or more air holes 328 to allow air to flow from the atmosphere into the evaporation chamber 330, which evaporation chamber 330 may be separated from the outlet chamber 327 by a filter 370. The personal vaporizer 300 also includes a fluid reservoir 340 having a vaporizable liquid 342 disposed therein. The fluid reservoir 340 may be configured as a simple canister, or may be or include a contained, or non-contained, adsorbent, or adsorbent material or structure that holds a vaporizable liquid 342. In either case, the reservoir 340 has a proximal reservoir outlet port 344. A heating element 360 is located within the vaporization chamber 330. The personal vaporizer 300 also includes a battery 380 and a control unit 390.

The personal vaporizer 300 has a fluid transfer device 350, which fluid transfer device 350 includes a pre-heating chamber 355 fluidly connected to a reservoir 340 by a first fluid conduit 351. The pre-heating chamber 355 is configured to allow liquid 342' to flow from inlet port 356 through chamber 355 and out through its downstream (proximal) outlet port 357. The fluid transfer structure 350 further includes a second conduit 352 and a PZE pump 354. A conduit 352 extends proximally from an outlet port 357 of the preheating chamber 355. The conduit 352 terminates in a nozzle end 353, the nozzle end 353 being positioned in close proximity or contact with a heating element 360, the heating element 360 being configured to heat and vaporize the liquid 342 ″ exiting the nozzle end 353. The PZE pump 354 is configured for pumping the liquid 342 from the reservoir 340 and through the pre-heating chamber 355, and for controlling the flow of the liquid 342' through the conduit 352 for delivery into the evaporation chamber 330. The PZE pump 354 may be controlled by a pump controller 392 within the control unit 390.

One or more preheat elements 359 are disposed within the preheat chamber. These preheat elements 359 may be similar to the main heating elements 360, but with a lower heating rate designed to raise the temperature of the liquid to a desired temperature to establish desired flow properties upstream of the PZE pump 354. The preheat element 359 can be configured to be in direct contact with or completely submerged within the vaporizable liquid 342' flowing through the preheat chamber.

Fig. 5 illustrates an alternative fluid transfer device 450 that may be used in the personal vaporizer 300. In this embodiment, the fluid transfer device 450 has a single fluid transfer conduit 452 extending from the reservoir outlet 344 and through the pre-heating chamber 455 to the PZE pump 454. Within the preheating chamber 455, a coiled heating element 459 is positioned around the conduit 452. The heating element 459 may be separate from, in contact with, or incorporated into the conduit 452, and the heating element 459 is configured to heat the liquid 342' passing through the conduit 452 in order to establish the desired flow properties upstream of the PZE pump. The PZE pump 453 and nozzle tip 453 are substantially similar to the PZE pump and nozzle tip of the previous embodiments.

Although the conduit 452 is shown as a straight tube passing through the preheating chamber 455, it should be understood that the conduit 452 may be configured to be curved to increase its length and thus increase the residence time of the liquid 342' within the preheating chamber 455.

In both of the above embodiments, the heating elements 359, 459 may be controlled by a controller element within the control unit 390 of the personal vaporizer 300. In all of the various embodiments of the present invention, the control of the various heating elements may include temperature sensors and/or temperature-regulated control elements. In the case of a heating element for preheating the vaporizable liquid, a temperature-regulating switch can be used to help reproducibly achieve a flow viscosity within desired limits and avoid excessive dilution of the liquid. Temperature-regulating switches may also be used for the main heating element to avoid overheating of the liquid, which could lead to the formation of undesirable compounds.

In all of the embodiments disclosed herein, including the prior art vaporizer 10 of fig. 1, the various heating elements (particularly those that may be in direct contact with the vaporizable liquid) may be replaced with elements formed of graphite/carbon fiber. An advantage of elements formed from such fibers is that they do not react or decompose at the high temperatures required to vaporize the vaporizable liquids used in the vaporizers of the invention. This is particularly important in personal vaporizers because it has little or no opportunity to contribute undesirable components (e.g., heavy metals) to the vaporization products of the device through interfacial thermal reactions or chemical leaching into the electronic liquid or vapor.

While exemplary embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the constructions disclosed herein. The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential attributes.