Electric cartridge for electronic cigarette and electronic cigarette

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10517328-B2
Application number	US-201615565564-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 13, 2016
Priority date	Apr 13, 2015
Publication date	Dec 31, 2019
Grant date	Dec 31, 2019

Abstract

An electric cartridge for an electronic cigarette including a piece of flexible substrate material including at least a flexible film which mounts an electrically conductive network in the form of an array and defining a plurality of resistive zones (pixels) and a plurality of power supply pins for supplying one or more electric currents and connected to the resistive zones. The resistive zones define heating means and are grouped into distinct modules. Each module corresponds to an uninterrupted portion of the electrically conductive network and includes at least one resistive zone and respective power supply pins. The electric cartridge includes a plurality of portions of aromatic substance positioned on at least one face of the piece of flexible material. Each portion is associated with a resistive zone and positioned in proximity to a heating surface of the respective resistive zone.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An electric cartridge for an electronic cigarette, comprising:
a piece of flexible substrate material comprising a flexible film which mounts an electrically conductive network in formed as an array and defining a plurality of resistive zones and a plurality of power supply pins for supplying one or more electric currents and connected to the plurality of resistive zones, wherein the electrically conductive network is positioned on a first face of the flexible film;
the plurality of resistive zones defining a heating device and being grouped into distinct modules, each of the distinct modules corresponding to an uninterrupted portion of the electrically conductive network and comprising a resistive zone of the plurality of resistive zones and respective ones of the plurality of power supply pins;
a plurality of portions of aromatic substance positioned on a second face of the flexible film, the second face being opposite the first face on the flexible film, each of the plurality of portions being associated with the resistive zone and positioned in proximity to a heating surface of the resistive zone;
wherein the flexible film is interposed between the electrically conductive network and the plurality of portions of aromatic substance, and
wherein the piece of flexible substrate material comprises a base sheet coupled to the flexible film on a side opposite to the plurality of portions of aromatic substance.

2. The electric cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein a first module of the distinct modules includes a first portion of aromatic substance of the plurality of portions of aromatic substance that is different from the a second portion of aromatic substance of the plurality of portions of aromatic substance that is included in a second, distinct module of the distinct modules.

3. The electric cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of portions of aromatic substance are obtained by a deposition head which sprays a composite containing the aromatic substance.

4. The electric cartridge according to claim 3 , wherein a portion of the plurality of portions of aromatic substance comprises two or more superposed or juxtaposed layers, each layer comprising a predetermined aromatic substance and made by one depositing pass.

5. The electric cartridge according to claim 1 , and further comprising one or more portions of a volatilizable substance suitable for releasing basic or carrier vapor.

6. The electric cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of resistive zones are arranged along a plurality of rows and columns obtained by at least one chosen from sequential and mirror-symmetric repetition of a group of modules of the plurality of resistive zones.

7. The electric cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein the piece of flexible substrate material is wound about a longitudinal axis and wherein the plurality of portions of aromatic substance are directed outwards relative to the longitudinal axis.

8. The electric cartridge according to claim 7 , wherein the wound piece of flexible substrate material forms a cylindrical surface or a plurality of superposed coils spaced from each other by supporting shoulders located on opposite, end sides of the piece of flexible substrate material.

9. The electric cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein the piece of flexible substrate material is folded in a concertina manner along fold lines delimiting respective panels of the concertina, the plurality of resistive zones being arranged along a plurality of columns, each column occupying a panel of the concertina.

10. The electric cartridge according to claim 9 , wherein the piece of flexible substrate material is wound about a longitudinal axis parallel to the fold lines, the panels of the concertina being grouped into pairs of parallel, juxtaposed panels at the face opposite to the plurality of portions of aromatic substance, the pairs of panels being arranged along directions radial to the longitudinal axis, at 120° from each other.

11. The electric cartridge according to claim 1 , and further comprising an inner core around which the piece of flexible substrate material is wound, the inner core comprising a plurality of electrical contacts adapted to feed at least one chosen from the power supply pins and a local processing unit configured to control a power supply of the distinct modules of the electrically conductive network as a function of a predetermined power supply program.

12. The electric cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein the base sheet comprises a fastening extension to which a filter of the electric cartridge is permanently fixed.

13. An electronic cigarette comprising:
a housing adapted to receive an electric cartridge according to claim 1 ,
an electrical power supply connected to a plurality of electric contacts adapted to power the power supply pins of the electric cartridge,
a local processing unit integrated in the electronic cigarette and configured to control the electric power supply of the modules of the electrically conductive network as a function of a predetermined power supply program.

14. The electronic cigarette according to claim 13 , wherein the local processing unit comprises a communication module configured to be placed in wireless or wired connection with a communication module of a remote processing unit.

15. The electronic cigarette according to claim 13 , and further comprising at least one chosen from a temperature sensor and a negative pressure sensor and wherein the local processing unit comprises a processing module configured to receive data from the at least one chosen from the temperature sensor and the negative pressure sensor and to control the electric power supply of the modules of the electrically conductive network as a function of the data.

16. The electronic cigarette according to claim 13 , wherein the housing is configured to define, in a use configuration of the electronic cigarette, air passage and distribution grooves which are adapted to be aligned with the plurality of portions of aromatic substance and in communication with air inlets leading to an end of the electronic cigarette.

17. The electronic cigarette according to claim 13 , wherein the housing has a main direction of extension coinciding with a direction of insertion of the electric cartridge into the electronic cigarette and a transversal cross section configured to define the distribution grooves which, in the use configuration of the electronic cigarette, are delimited by walls of the housing and by the electric cartridge.

18. The electronic cigarette according to claim 16 , wherein the housing comprises fixing cavities adapted to keep the electric cartridge in place in the use configuration of the electronic cigarette.

19. The electronic cigarette according to claim 13 and comprising an electric cartridge, wherein the electric power supply comprises a battery and wherein the housing comprises a plurality of radial portions, each adapted to receive a pair of panels of the electric cartridge in a use configuration of the electronic cigarette, the battery being positioned between two radial portions of the housing and extending along a main direction of extension of the electronic cigarette coinciding with a direction of insertion of the electric cartridge.

20. An electric cartridge for an electronic cigarette, comprising:
a piece of flexible substrate material comprising a flexible film which mounts an electrically conductive network in formed as an array and

Assignees

• Gd Spa

Inventors

• Polloni Roberto
• Eusepi Ivan
• Federici Luca

Classifications

• A61M15/06

  Inhaling appliances shaped like cigars, cigarettes or pipes · CPC title

• A24F47/008 Primary

  Human Necessities · mapped topic

• A24F40/57

  Temperature control · CPC title

• A24F40/53

  Monitoring, e.g. fault detection · CPC title

• A24F40/46 Primary

  Shape or structure of electric heating means · CPC title