Electronic smoking article

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9918496-B2
Application number	US-201414333999-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 17, 2014
Priority date	Jul 24, 2013
Publication date	Mar 20, 2018
Grant date	Mar 20, 2018

Abstract

An electronic smoking article includes a reservoir containing a liquid material and having an outlet, a capillary having a capillary inlet and a capillary outlet, the capillary inlet of the capillary in communication with the outlet of the reservoir, a heater operable to heat the capillary to a temperature sufficient to at least initially volatilize liquid material contained within the capillary, and a shuttle valve between the outlet of the reservoir and the capillary inlet. The shuttle valve is operable to prevent release of liquid material from the reservoir when the shuttle valve is in a closed position and is operable to release liquid material from the reservoir when the shuttle valve is in an open position.

First claim

We claim:

1. An electronic smoking article comprising:
a reservoir containing a liquid material and having an outlet;
a capillary configured to receive the liquid material from the reservoir;
a heater operable to heat the capillary to a temperature sufficient to volatilize the liquid material received in the capillary; and
a shuttle valve between the outlet of the reservoir and a capillary inlet, the shuttle valve comprising a housing with a cavity; a plunger movable between a retracted position and an open position; and at least two spaced apart seals, the shuttle valve being operable to prevent release of the liquid material from the reservoir when the shuttle valve is in a retracted position and to release the liquid material from the reservoir to the capillary inlet when the shuttle valve is in an open position, the plunger sized and configured to fit within the cavity such that the liquid material can flow in a space between a wall of the plunger and a wall of the cavity and the at least two spaced apart seals are operable to prevent flow of the liquid material to the capillary inlet when the shuttle valve is in the retracted position.

2. The electronic smoking article of claim 1 , wherein the plunger and the housing establish a draw-back chamber when the plunger is in the retracted position, and an outlet of the shuttle valve communicates the capillary with the draw-back chamber when the plunger returns to the retracted position from the open position.

3. The electronic smoking article of claim 1 , wherein the capillary has an internal diameter of about 0.05 to 0.4 mm and a length of about 5 mm to about 72 mm.

4. The electronic smoking article of claim 1 , wherein the capillary comprises a stainless steel tube.

5. The electronic smoking article of claim 1 , further including an actuator integrally formed with the plunger, the actuator operable to move the plunger between the retracted position and the open position.

6. The electronic smoking article of claim 5 , further including an electrical switch operable to actuate the heater when the shuttle valve is in the open position.

7. The electronic smoking article of claim 5 , wherein the actuator extends through an opening in an outer casing of the electronic smoking article.

8. The electronic smoking article of claim 1 , wherein the cavity has a bottom portion formed of a deformable material.

9. The electronic smoking article of claim 1 , wherein the capillary has an internal diameter of about 0.05 to 0.4 mm and a length of about 10 mm to 60 mm.

10. An electronic smoking article comprising:
a reservoir containing a liquid material and having an outlet;
a capillary configured to receive the liquid material from the reservoir;
a heater operable to heat the capillary to a temperature sufficient to volatilize the liquid material received in the capillary;
a shuttle valve between the outlet of the reservoir and a capillary inlet, the shuttle valve comprising a housing with a cavity; a plunger movable between a retracted position and an open position; and at least two spaced apart seals, the shuttle valve being operable to prevent release of the liquid material from the reservoir when the shuttle valve is in a retracted position and to release the liquid material from the reservoir to the capillary inlet when the shuttle valve is in an open position; and
a sheath flow and aerosol promoter (SFAP) insert downstream of the capillary, the SFAP insert including an aerosol passage and a constriction and extending longitudinally between a mixing chamber and an aerosol formation chamber;
wherein the plunger and the housing establish a draw-back chamber when the plunger is in the retracted position, and an outlet of the shuttle valve communicates the capillary with the draw-back chamber when the plunger returns to the retracted position from the open position.

11. The electronic smoking article of claim 10 , wherein the electronic smoking article includes at least one air inlet in an outer casing, the at least one air inlet being superimposed with the SFAP insert, the mixing chamber is within an upstream portion of the SFAP insert and the SFAP insert includes a plurality of air holes in an upstream end thereof, the plurality of air holes operable to allow air to flow therethrough to the mixing chamber.

12. The electronic smoking article of claim 11 , wherein about 80% to about 95% of ambient air entering the at least one air inlet flows into the mixing chamber and about 5% to about 20% of the ambient air is sheath air that flows through longitudinally extending channels formed between longitudinally extending vanes on an outer surface of the SFAP insert and an inner surface of the outer casing of the electronic smoking article.

13. The electronic smoking article of claim 12 , wherein the sheath air flows into a growth cavity downstream of the SFAP insert, and the SFAP insert is operable to substantially prevent deposition of an aerosol on the inner surface of the outer casing so as to promote an increase in delivery rate of the aerosol.

14. The electronic smoking article of claim 10 , further comprising:
a power supply operable to apply voltage across the heater;
the mixing chamber downstream of the capillary; and
at least one air inlet operable to deliver ambient air into the mixing chamber, the ambient air being mixed with volatilized liquid material exiting the capillary into the mixing chamber to form an aerosol.

15. The electronic smoking article of claim 14 , wherein the power supply includes a battery.

16. The electronic smoking article of claim 15 , wherein the heater comprises a section of the capillary connected to the battery by two spaced apart electrical leads.

17. The electronic smoking article of claim 14 , further including control circuitry operable to control supply of power from the power supply to the heater.

18. The electronic smoking article of claim 17 , wherein the control circuitry further includes a heater activation light at an upstream end of the electronic smoking article, the heater activation light operable to light up when the heater is activated.

19. The electronic smoking article of claim 17 , wherein the electronic smoking article includes a first section, a second section, and a third section, and wherein the first section contains the capillary, the second section contains the power supply and the control circuitry, and the third section contains the reservoir.

20. The electronic smoking article of claim 19 , wherein the first section is reusable and the second section is replaceable.

21. The electronic smoking article of claim 10 , wherein the electronic smoking article includes at least one air inlet upstream of the SFAP insert, and the mixing chamber is upstream of the SFAP insert such that air flows through the at least one air inlet and into the mixing chamber.

22. A method of delivering liquid to an aerosolizer of an electronic smoking article, comprising:
controlling flow to an aerosolizer with a valve, said controlling flow including:
establishing communication of a reservoir with said aerosolizer while operating said aerosolizer; and
closing said communication, said closing including communicating said aerosolizer with a flow-back cavity separate of said reservoir,

whereby at least some residual liquid is drawn back from said aerosolizer upon said closing.

Assignees

• Altria Client Services Llc

Inventors

• Kane David B
• Schiff David R
• Gatta Tony
• Carrick Chris
• Albert Jonathan D

Classifications

• A24F47/008 Primary

  Human Necessities · mapped topic

• A24F40/485 Primary

  Valves; Apertures · CPC title

• A24F40/44

  Wicks · CPC title

• A24F40/10

  Devices using liquid inhalable precursors · CPC title