Aerosol source for a vapor provision system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11653701-B2
Application number	US-201816497262-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 21, 2018
Priority date	Mar 24, 2017
Publication date	May 23, 2023
Grant date	May 23, 2023

Abstract

An aerosol source for an electronic vapor provision system includes a heating element; an atomizing chamber; a reservoir for holding free-flowing source liquid; and a porous wick extending from the atomizing chamber to the reservoir and comprising a heater portion in cooperation with the heating element within the atomizing chamber and at least one liquid collecting portion within the reservoir, the liquid collecting portion having a maximum cross-sectional parameter that is greater than an equivalent cross-sectional parameter of the heater portion.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An aerosol source for an electronic vapor provision system comprising:
a heating element;
an atomizing chamber;
a reservoir for holding free-flowing source liquid;
a porous wick extending from the atomizing chamber to the reservoir and comprising a heater portion in cooperation with the heating element within the atomizing chamber such that the heating element is external to the heater portion or disposed within the heater portion, and at least one liquid collecting portion within the reservoir, the at least one liquid collecting portion having a maximum cross-sectional area that is greater than a cross-sectional area of the heater portion,
wherein the heating element is formed as a wire and the porous wick is formed from a porous non-fiber-based material with integral interstitial pores.

2. The aerosol source according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one liquid collecting portion has at least one cross-sectional dimension that increases with distance from the heater portion to the maximum cross-sectional area over at least part of the at least one liquid collecting portion.

3. The aerosol source according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one liquid collecting portion has two cross-sectional dimensions that increase with distance from the heater portion to the maximum cross-sectional area over at least part of the at least one liquid collecting portion.

4. The aerosol source according to claim 1 , wherein the cross-sectional area of the heater portion is an average cross-sectional area over a length of the heater portion.

5. The aerosol source according to claim 1 , wherein the cross-sectional area of the heater portion is a cross-sectional area where the porous wick passes from the atomizing chamber to the reservoir.

6. The aerosol source according to claim 1 , wherein a ratio of the maximum cross-sectional area of the at least one liquid collecting portion to the cross-sectional area of the heater portion has a value greater than 1.

7. The aerosol source according to claim 6 , wherein the ratio is at least 3.

8. The aerosol source according to claim 6 , wherein the ratio is at least 1.25.

9. The aerosol source according to claim 1 , wherein the heater portion and the at least one liquid collecting portion are disposed linearly along a straight longitudinal axis of the porous wick orthogonal to the cross-sectional areas.

10. The aerosol source according to claim 6 , wherein the ratio is at least 5.

11. The aerosol source according to claim 1 , wherein the porous wick is formed from a porous ceramic material.

12. The aerosol source according to claim 1 , wherein the reservoir is annularly arranged around the atomizing chamber, and the porous wick comprises two liquid collecting portions extending into the reservoir at opposite sides of the atomizing chamber.

13. An atomizer for an electronic vapor provision system comprising:
a heating element; and
a porous wick comprising a heater portion in cooperation with the heating element such that the heating element is external to the heater portion or disposed within the heater portion, and at least one liquid collecting portion contiguous with the heater portion for placement in a reservoir of source liquid, the at least one liquid collecting portion having a maximum cross-sectional area that is greater than a cross-sectional area of the heater portion;
wherein the heating element is formed as a wire and the porous wick is formed from a porous non-fiber-based material with integral interstitial pores.

14. A wick for an atomizer of an electronic vapor provision system, made from porous non-fiber-based material with integral interstitial pores and comprising:
a heater portion for cooperation with a heating element formed as a wire such that the heating element is external to the heater portion or disposed within the heater portion; and
at least one liquid collecting portion contiguous with the heater portion for placement in a reservoir of source liquid, the at least one liquid collecting portion having a maximum cross sectional area that is greater than a cross-sectional area of the heater portion.

15. A cartomizer for an electronic vapor provision system comprising an aerosol source according to claim 1 .

16. An aerosol source for an electronic vapor provision system, comprising:
an atomizing chamber;
a reservoir for holding source liquid;
a wall separating the atomizing chamber and the reservoir and having at least one aperture therein;
an atomizer for vaporizing source liquid from the reservoir and comprising:
a heating element formed as a wire, and
a porous wick element to carry source liquid from the reservoir to the heating element, wherein the porous wick element is formed from a porous non-fiber-based material with integral interstitial pores and comprises:
a heater portion adjacent to the heating element such that the heating element is external to the heater portion or disposed within the heater portion, and
at least one liquid collecting portion joined to the heater portion by a neck, the heater portion disposed in the atomizing chamber, the at least one liquid collecting portion disposed in the reservoir, and the neck aligned with an aperture in the wall, wherein a cross-section of the neck in at least one dimension is less than a cross-section of the at least one liquid collecting portion in at least one dimension.

17. A cartomizer for an electronic vapor provision system comprising an atomizer according to claim 13 .

18. A cartomizer for an electronic vapor provision system comprising a wick according to claim 14 .

19. The aerosol source according to claim 6 , wherein the ratio is at least 1.5.

Assignees

• Nicoventures Trading Ltd

Inventors

• Simpson Alexander
• Angell Terry Lee

Classifications

• A24F40/10

  Devices using liquid inhalable precursors · CPC title

• A24F40/44 Primary

  Wicks · CPC title

• A24F40/46

  Shape or structure of electric heating means · CPC title

• A24F40/42

  Cartridges or containers for inhalable precursors · CPC title

• A24F40/485

  Valves; Apertures · CPC title