E-vapor device including at least one of a bayonet connector and a connector with a knurled pattern for forming a welded junction

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10398169-B2
Application number	US-201615190769-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 23, 2016
Priority date	Jun 25, 2015
Publication date	Sep 3, 2019
Grant date	Sep 3, 2019

Abstract

An e-vapor device may include a vaporizer assembly that is detachably coupled to a battery assembly via a connector. The connector may include a male connecting portion and a female connecting portion. The male connecting portion may include mating arms extending from a rim of the male connecting portion. The female connecting portion may include an inner surface and lugs on the inner surface. The mating arms of the male connecting portion are configured to engage the lugs of the female connecting portion so as to electrically couple the vaporizer assembly and the battery assembly. A knurled pattern may also be provided on an outer surface of the male connecting portion and/or female connecting portion so as to conformally interface with a reversed pattern on an inner surface of the vaporizer assembly and/or the battery assembly.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An e-vapor device comprising:
a vaporizer assembly configured to heat a pre-vapor formulation to generate a vapor;
a battery assembly configured to power the vaporizer assembly;
a male connecting portion secured to one of the vaporizer assembly and the battery assembly, the male connecting portion including a pair of mating arms extending from a rim of the male connecting portion, the pair of mating arms and the rim defining a pair of angled slots therebetween, a terminus of each of the pair of angled slots including an enlarged socket end; and
a female connecting portion secured to the other of the vaporizer assembly and the battery assembly, the female connecting portion including an inner surface and a pair of lugs on the inner surface, the female connecting portion configured to longitudinally and rotationally receive the pair of mating arms of the male connecting portion so as to engage each of the pair of lugs of the female connecting portion within the enlarged socket end of each of the pair of angled slots of the male connecting portion to electrically couple the vaporizer assembly and the battery assembly, at least one of the male connecting portion and the female connecting portion including a knurled pattern that conformally interfaces with a reversed pattern on a corresponding surface of at least one of the vaporizer assembly and the battery assembly.

2. The e-vapor device of claim 1 , wherein the knurled pattern and the reversed pattern form a welded junction that is configured to withstand a tensile force of at least 250 N.

3. The e-vapor device of claim 1 , wherein the knurled pattern has a higher melting point than the reversed pattern.

4. The e-vapor device of claim 1 , wherein the knurled pattern is in a form of at least one annular band that circumscribes a sidewall of at least one of the male connecting portion and the female connecting portion.

5. The e-vapor device of claim 1 , wherein the knurled pattern includes a first knurling, a second knurling, and a plain segment that spaces the first knurling away from the second knurling.

6. The e-vapor device of claim 1 , wherein the knurled pattern is made of a series of straight ridges.

7. The e-vapor device of claim 1 , wherein the knurled pattern includes between 40 to 60 teeth per inch (TPI) and has a depth between 0.2 to 0.4 mm.

8. A double bayonet connector for an e-vapor device, comprising:
a male connecting portion including a pair of mating arms extending from a rim of the male connecting portion, the pair of mating arms and the rim defining a pair of angled slots therebetween, a terminus of each of the pair of angled slots including an enlarged socket end; and
a female connecting portion including an inner surface and a pair of lugs on the inner surface, the female connecting portion configured to longitudinally and rotationally receive the pair of mating arms of the male connecting portion so as to engage each of the pair of lugs of the female connecting portion within the enlarged socket end of each of the pair of angled slots of the male connecting portion, each of the pair of angled slots including a vertical section and a horizontal section, the horizontal section including an entrance end with a first height and the enlarged socket end with a second height, the second height being greater than the first height, the first height of the entrance end of the horizontal section of each of the pair of angled slots of the male connecting portion being less than a height of the pair of lugs of the female connecting portion, and the second height of the enlarged socket end of the horizontal section of each of the pair of angled slots of the male connecting portion corresponding to a height of the pair of lugs of the female connecting portion.

9. The double bayonet connector of claim 8 , wherein at least one of the male connecting portion and the female connecting portion includes a knurled pattern on a surface thereof.

10. An e-vapor device comprising:
a body section including a vaporizer assembly and a battery assembly, the vaporizer assembly configured to heat a pre-vapor formulation to generate a vapor, the battery assembly configured to power the vaporizer assembly; and
a connector section secured to the body section via a welded junction, the welded junction including a knurled pattern on an outer surface of the connector section that conformally interfaces with a reversed pattern on an inner surface of the body section, the connector section including a male connecting portion and a female connecting portion, the male connecting portion including a pair of mating arms extending from a rim of the male connecting portion, the pair of mating arms and the rim defining a pair of angled slots therebetween, a terminus of each of the pair of angled slots including an enlarged socket end, the female connecting portion including an inner surface and a pair of lugs on the inner surface, the female connecting portion configured to longitudinally and rotationally receive the pair of mating arms of the male connecting portion so as to engage each of the pair of lugs of the female connecting portion within the enlarged socket end of each of the pair of angled slots of the male connecting portion to electrically couple the vaporizer assembly and the battery assembly, each of the pair of angled slots including a vertical section and a horizontal section, the horizontal section including an entrance end with a first height and the enlarged socket end with a second height, the second height being greater than the first height, the first height of the entrance end of the horizontal section of each of the pair of angled slots of the male connecting portion being less than a height of the pair of lugs of the female connecting portion, and the second height of the enlarged socket end of the horizontal section of each of the pair of angled slots of the male connecting portion corresponding to a height of the pair of lugs of the female connecting portion.

11. The e-vapor device of claim 10 , wherein the pair of mating arms of the male connecting portion are shaped to correspond to contours of the inner surface of the female connecting portion.

12. The e-vapor device of claim 10 , wherein the pair of mating arms are configured to undergo a resilient deformation from an original position to a flexed position that is away from a rim of the male connecting portion when the pair of lugs of the female connecting portion are being rotationally engaged with the pair of angled slots of the male connecting portion, and the pair of mating arms of the male connecting portion are configured to resiliently return to the original position when the pair of lugs of the female connecting portion are seated within the enlarged socket end of each of the pair of angled slots of the male connecting portion.

13. An e-vapor device comprising:
a body section including a vaporizer assembly and a battery assembly, the vaporizer assembly configured to heat a pre-vapor formulation to generate a vapor, the battery assembly configured to power the vaporizer assembly;
a connector section secured to the body section via a welded junction, the welded junction including a knurled pattern on an outer surface of the connector section that conformally interfaces with a reversed pattern on an inner surface of the body section, the connector section including a male connecting portion and a female connecting portion, the male connecting portion including a pair of mating arms extending from a rim of the male connecting portion, the pair of mating arms and the rim defining a pair of angled slots therebetween, a terminus of eac

Assignees

• Altria Client Services Llc

Inventors

• Nelson Gregory L
• Jordan Geoffrey Brandon
• Dendy Charles L
• Patil Bipin
• Sundberg Sean
• FLEENOR Jerome

Classifications

• H01R24/005

  requiring successive relative motions to complete the coupling, e.g. bayonet type · CPC title

• B29C66/742

  to metals or their alloys · CPC title

• H01R13/625

  Casing or ring with bayonet engagement · CPC title

• H01R2101/00

  One pole · CPC title

• B29C66/5221

  for forming coaxial connections, i.e. the tubular articles to be joined forming a zero angle relative to each other · CPC title