Patent Publication Number: US-10314332-B2

Title: Electronic vaping material container

Description:
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/832,582, filed Dec. 5, 2017, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/603,263, filed May 23, 2017, which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/987,851 filed Sep. 9, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,687,025, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 61/743,720 filed on Sep. 10, 2012. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to electronic cigarettes and vaporizers. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In an attempt to solve the problems of traditional smoking, electronic cigarettes and vaporizers have come to the forefront. These devices employ the use of a liquid, concentrate, or dry material inhalants that often comprise glycol ad-mixtures, wax-like substances, herbs, flowers, and other medicinal substances. In the conventional art, the inhalant is placed on or otherwise drawn to and over a metal heating element, such as a metal coil, which coil receives electrical energy from an on-board battery. The electrical energy is converted to heat, thereby heating and vaporizing the inhalant material brought in contact with the heating element. The resultant vapor, smoke, or other aerosol is then inhaled by way of a mouthpiece in fluid communication with an air channel disposed through the device. 
     It is often difficult or simply inconvenient to load a heating chamber of an electronic smoking device with the inhalant material. For example, in some known concentrate and/or dry material heating chambers, the inhalant material has to be manually inserted and/or manually placed onto the heating coils inside the chamber (sometimes known as “dabbing” or “dripping”). These chambers are small and present tight quarters that are difficult or impossible to access for cleaning and can gum up to ill effect. As a result of gumming up, the user often has to scrape or otherwise disturb the inside surfaces of the electronic smoking device to remove spent material and insert new material. 
     The performance degradation and convenience issues of known vaporizer systems need to be addressed in order to provide a reliable more user-friendly system. The Applicant herein provided a solution to these and other problems as set forth in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/832,582, filed Dec. 5, 2017, incorporated herein by reference, which described, among other things, a foil-sealed cup-like container with a closed bottom that is pre-filled or can be filled with inhalant material of any type. The cup device described in Applicant&#39;s previous filings offers convenience in delivery of inhalant material and also addressed safety concerns by preventing direct contact between an exposed coil and the inhalant material. 
     Recognizing that some users prefer the performance characteristics of at least some direct contact between the inhalant material and the heating element (coils), but disfavor the inconvenience of manual “dabbing” or scrapping techniques, the present invention contemplates various embodiments of an open-ended inhalant material container. Accordingly, the present invention is directed at enhancing the convenience, durability, and performance of vaporizer system components. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1A  is a perspective view of the material container. 
         FIG. 1B  is a perspective view of the material container with a seals disposed on the otherwise open top and open bottom thereof. 
         FIG. 1C  is a perspective view of the material container shown with vertical air flow channels. 
         FIG. 1D  is a perspective view of the material container shown with curved air flow channels. 
         FIG. 2A  is an exploded view showing the material container in use with an electronic smoking device. 
         FIG. 2B  is a cutaway assembled view showing the material container in use with an electronic smoking device. 
         FIG. 3A  is an exploded view showing the material container and a connector in use with an electronic smoking device. 
         FIG. 3B  is a cutaway assembled view showing the material container and a connector in use with an electronic smoking device. 
         FIG. 4A  is a perspective view of another embodiment of the material container. 
         FIG. 4B  is a top view of the material container shown in  FIG. 4A . 
         FIG. 5A  is a perspective view of yet another embodiment of the material container having a conical shape. 
         FIG. 5B  is a perspective view of yet another embodiment of the material container having a nozzle or funnel-type bottom feature. 
     
    
    
     It will be recognized that some or all of the Figures are schematic representations for purposes of illustration and do not necessarily depict the actual relative sizes or locations of the elements shown. The Figures are provided for the purpose of illustrating one or more embodiments of the invention with the explicit understanding that they will not be used to limit the scope or the meaning of the claims. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without some of these specific details. Throughout this description, the embodiments and examples shown should be considered as exemplars, rather than as limitations. That is, the following description provides examples, and the accompanying drawings show various examples for the purposes of illustration. However, these examples should not be construed in a limiting sense as they are merely intended to provide examples of the invention rather than to provide an exhaustive list of all possible implementations. 
     Specific embodiments of the invention will now be further described by the following, non-limiting examples which will serve to illustrate various features. The examples are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the invention may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the invention. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. In addition, reference throughout this specification to “some embodiments” or “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in some embodiments” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. 
     For purposes of this disclosure, the terms “electronic cigarette” and “vaporizer” are interchangeable and generally refer to an electronic device configured to heat a target inhalant material to be inhaled by the user by mouth. “Inhalant material” for purposes of this disclosure refers to any desired material to be heated and inhaled by way of the electronic cigarette or vaporizer. Such materials include, without limitation, liquids such as glycol-based solutions, semi-solid or solid concentrates such as oils, shatter, and waxes, and dry material such as tobacco, herbs, flowers, and aromatics. The term “vaping” refers generally to the act of using electronic cigarettes and vaporizers for the purposes of generating vapor, smoke, aerosol or other material to be inhaled for pleasure or for the delivery of medicaments or substances to the body; notably, the term is not limited to the act of generating or inhaling only vapor—it refers more broadly to the act of inhaling material by way of electronic devices, as opposed to traditional smoking implements such as cigarettes, pipes, cigars, and the like. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1A-1D  shown is an electronic vaping material container  10 . In some embodiments, the container  10  comprises a cylindrical tube-shaped housing  11  having open top  12  and an open bottom  13 . The container  10  delimits an internal storage area  14  wherein inhalant material may be placed. In some embodiments, a removable or frangible seal  16  covers and seals the otherwise open top  12  of the container  10  and another removable or frangible seal  16 ′ covers and seals the otherwise open bottom  13  of the container  10 . The seals  16  and  16 ′ may comprise a variety of materials such as paper, parchment, foil, or plastic and may be sealed to the container by heat-sealing methods or by an adhesive. 
     In some embodiments the internal storage area  14  is pre-filled with inhalant material and then the seals  16  and  16 ′ are applied to the open top  12  and open bottom  13 , respectively, so that the pre-filled container  10  can be handled and have a shelf life. In other embodiments, the container  10  is provided empty and without seals  16  and  16 ′ for the user to fill manually as desired. In some embodiments, the container  10  is provided with one of the seals  16  or  16 ′ pre-applied and the container  10  or a plurality thereof are disposed in a tray for filling by hand or by machine. Following filling with inhalant material, in some embodiments the second seal  16  or  16 ′ is then applied to seal the container  10  for transport and shelving. 
     In some embodiments, the container  10  includes one or more airflow channels  17  disposed on the exterior of the housing  11  or other appropriate and desired location on the container  10 . The channels  17  facilitate airflow on and around the container  10  during use. The channels  17  can vary in size, shape, quantity, and configuration. For example, as shown in  FIG. 1C , channels  17  comprise substantially vertical channeling or ribbing, disposed along the length of the housing  11  of the container  10 . In other embodiments, the channels  17  of the container  10  may comprise curved channeling, such as in  FIG. 1D , or may otherwise comprise a rippling or texturing of the surface of the housing  11 . The configuration of channels  17  is not limited to the examples shown in the figures as other designs are possible and equally suitable. The channels  17  may be formed through a molding process or may be generated by an etching, milling, or cutting process. Additionally, in some embodiments, ribbing or texturing may be applied to an interior aspect of the container  10  to promote airflow and to provide better adhesion for the inhalant material to be stored therein. 
     The container  10  is configured in various shapes and sizes to accommodate the geometry of the heating chamber of a target electronic smoking device. The housing  11  may vary in shape, size, and configuration and may be cylindrical, conical, square-shaped, and the like. For example,  FIG. 5A  shows a generally conical container  10 .  FIG. 5B  shows a generally cylindrical container  10  having a nozzle or funnel-type transition  13 ′ integrated into and extending from the open bottom  13  thereof. 
     In some embodiments, the container  10  comprises a heat-conductive but resilient material such as quartz, glass, silica-containing compositions, semi-precious gems, or any like-performing composition or combinations thereof. 
     The container  10  is designed to be an insertable and removable inhalant material container to be used with a variety of electronic smoking devices. With reference to  FIGS. 2A and 2B , shown is the container  10  in use with an exemplary electronic smoking device  800 . The configuration of smoking device  800  is for exemplary purposes only, but in this case comprises a “mini-type” vaporizer that includes a control section  801 , a heating chamber  802 , and a removable mouthpiece  803 . The control section  801  comprises a battery and chipset to control the device  800 . The heating chamber  802  is an open topped cup-like element and includes a heating element  804 , such as a coil or wire, disposed therein. In some embodiments, the heating chamber  802  is removably and threadingly engaged with the control section  801  to provide a physical and electrical connection. In some embodiments, the mouthpiece  803 , heating chamber  802  and/or the control section  801  include external apertures and internal air passages to allow for the passage of air through the system in order to draw vapor, smoke, or aerosol there-through. 
     Traditionally, in these types of units, the inhalant material is to be manually inserted (dabbed, dripped) into the heating chamber  802  such that it comes in direct contact with the heating element  804  and the inside of the heating chamber  802 . This manual insertion method is obviated by the more convenient and cleaner container  10 . Accordingly, the container  10  is configured and dimensioned to be inserted into and removably retained by the heating chamber  802 . In some embodiments, the container  10  fits securely inside the heating chamber  802  by way of an interference fit. The container is inserted such that open bottom  13  of the container  10  is on or adjacent to the heating element  804 . In some embodiments, after the container  10  is loaded into the heating chamber  802 , the mouthpiece  803  is disposed over the area surrounding the heating chamber  802  and container  10  and snaps onto or is otherwise secured to the control section  801 . The seals  16  and  16 ′, if provided, are removed from the container  10  or punctured or broken prior to insertion of the container  10  into the chamber  802 , or otherwise prior to closing the device. 
     In use, the user activates the device  800 , typically by a control button  805 , which applies electrical current to the heating element  804 , which generates heat. Heat generated by the heating element  804  passes through the container  10  and thereby heats the inhalant material held in the internal storage area  14 . The inhalant material in some cases will begin to excite within the container  10  and will turn into a vapor, smoke, or aerosol to be inhaled by the user through air passages within the device and out of the mouthpiece  803 . In some cases the inhalant material will fall downward onto the heating element  804 . When inhalation is applied by the user, air passes through the device  800  components (through the air passages structure therein) and through the channels  17  of the container  10  such that the vapor, smoke, or aerosol is released and pulled out of the open top  12  of the container  10  and through and out of the mouthpiece  803 . The vapor, smoke, or aerosol is intended to be delivered to the user&#39;s mouth for inhalation. Once the inhalant material has been exhausted from the container  10 , the container  10  can be removed and replaced for the next session. 
     Notably, the use of the container  10  controls the flow of inhalant material to the heating element  804  in order to improve performance and consistency and reduce the amount of residue building up on the heating element  804  and within the heating chamber  802 . The container  10  is easily replaced for the next use. The container  10  provides a more convenient means of providing inhalant material to the heating chamber  802  than traditional scraping or “dabbing” techniques. 
     In some embodiments, the container  10  is configured to be universally compatible with a wide variety of electronic smoking devices and the varied shape and configured heating chambers that such devices implement. Accordingly, the present invention contemplates several embodiments of connectors that can be attached to the container  10  to permit the container  10  to be inserted and retained by a variety of heating chambers and electronic smoking device components. The connectors comprise those connectors disclosed in Applicant&#39;s U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/832,582, filed Dec. 5, 2017, which application is incorporated herein by reference. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 3A and 3B , shown is the container  10  in use with an exemplary electronic smoking device  900 . The configuration smoking device  900  is for exemplary purposes only, but in this case comprises a modular type vaporizer that includes a control section  901 , a heating chamber  902 , and a mouthpiece  903 . The control section  901  comprises a battery and chipset to control the device  900 . The heating chamber  902  is a threaded cylindrical device and includes a heating element  904 , such as a coil or wire, disposed therein. In some embodiments, the heating chamber  902  is removably and threadingly engaged with the control section  901  to provide a physical and electrical connection. The control section  901  has a male threaded attachment point  906  that engages the internally or female threaded lower attachment point  907  of the chamber  902 . The opposite end of the chamber  902 , i.e. the upper portion, has an internally or female threaded attachment point  908 . In some embodiments, the mouthpiece  903 , heating chamber  902  and/or the control section  901  include external apertures and air passages to allow for the passage of air through the system in order to draw vapor, smoke, or aerosol there-through. 
     Traditionally, in these types of units, the inhalant material is to be manually inserted into the heating chamber  902 . In comparison to the mini-type device  800  shown in  FIGS. 2A and 2B , the heating chamber  902  of device  900  has a threaded attachment  908  that is traditionally arranged to threadingly receive and attach to the mouthpiece  903 , whereas in the device  800  in  FIG. 2A , the mouthpiece does not engage the chamber  802 , it is disposed over and around it. Accordingly, in order to install the container  10  into the heating chamber  902  and to permit the other components to attach properly, a connector  500  is employed. 
     The container  10  is configured and dimensioned to be inserted into the female-to-male threaded connector  500  or other like connectors (male-to-male, female-to-female), which connectors are described in detail in the incorporated-by-reference U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/832,582, filed Dec. 5, 2017. In some embodiments the container  10  is retained in the connector  500  by interference fit. Then the container-loaded connector  500  is inserted into the heating chamber  902  and the male threaded second end  502  is threaded into the female threaded upper attachment point  908  of the chamber  902 . Then the mouthpiece  903 , which is shown as having male threads  909 , is threaded into the female threaded first end  502  of the connector  500 . This configuration properly seats the container  10  into the heating chamber  902  with the bottom  13  thereof at or adjacent to the heating coil  904 . The seals  16  and  16 ′, if provided, are removed, broken, or punctured prior to or during the closing of the device. 
     In use, the user activates the device  900 , typically by a control button  905 , which applies electrical current to the heating element  904 , which generates heat. Heat generated by the heating element  904  passes through the container  10  and thereby heats the inhalant material held in the internal storage area  14 . The inhalant material then turns into a vapor, smoke, or aerosol to be inhaled by the user through air passages within the device and out of the mouthpiece. Notably, air passes through the device  900  components and through the channels  17  of the container  10  such that the vapor, smoke, or aerosol is released and pulled out of the container  10  and through and out of the mouthpiece  903 . Once the inhalant material has be exhausted from the container  10 , the container  10  can be unscrewed from the device  900 , removed from the connector  500 , and replaced for the next session. Notably, the use of the container  10  controls delivery of the inhalant material to the heating element  904  and within the heating chamber  902 . The container  10  is easily replaced for the next use. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 4A and 4B , shown is another embodiment of the material container  10 . In some embodiments, the container  10  comprises a cylindrical tube-shaped housing  11  having open top  12  and an open bottom  13 . Disposed inside the container is a partition  18  that divides the interior space of the container  10  to delimit an internal storage area  14  wherein inhalant material may be placed and an internal air passage  19 . In some embodiments, removable or frangible seal  16  covers and seals the otherwise open top  12  of the container  10  and another removable or frangible seal  16 ′ covers and seals the otherwise open bottom  13  of the container  10 . The seals  16  and  16 ′ may comprise a variety of materials such as paper, parchment, foil, or plastic and may be sealed to the container by heat-sealing methods or by an adhesive. 
     In some embodiments the internal storage area  14  is pre-filled with inhalant material and then the seals  16  and  16 ′ are applied to the open top  12  and open bottom  13 , respectively, so that the pre-filled container  10  can be handled and have a shelf life. In other embodiments, the container  10  is provided empty and without seals  16  and  16 ′ for the user to fill manually as desired. In some embodiments, the container  10  is provided with one of the seals  16  or  16 ′ pre-applied and the container  10  or a plurality thereof are disposed in a tray for filling by hand or by machine. Following filling with inhalant material, in some embodiments the second seal  16  or  16 ′ is then applied to seal the container  10  for transport and shelving. 
     The internal air passage  19  facilitates airflow through the container  10  and functions similarly to the channels  17  in other embodiments except that the air passes primarily through the container  10  instead of around the exterior thereof. The location and shape of the partition  18  can vary in order to alter the dimensions of the result internal storage area  14  and the internal air passage  19 . For example, as shown in  FIG. 4B , the partition  18  is offset from the centerline such that the internal storage area  14  is somewhat larger than the internal air passage  19 . It is appreciated that in this embodiment airflow primarily passes through the container  10  itself, namely through internal air passage  19 , rather than mostly around and about the outside of the container  10  as is the case with the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1A-1D , which include exteriorly-disposed channels  17 . In other embodiments, the partition  18  may configured as a concentric internally disposed cylinder inside the container  10  that is offset from the inner wall of the housing  11 , providing an air flow passage  19  concentric with the internal storage area  14 . Notwithstanding, these two features are not mutually exclusive in that a container  10  could include both the channels  17  and the internal air passage  19  for even greater airflow. 
     The container  10  shown in  FIGS. 4A-4B  is configured in various shapes and sizes to accommodate the geometry of the heating chamber of a target electronic smoking device. The housing  11  may vary in shape, size, and configuration and may be cylindrical, conical, square-shaped, and the like. The container  10  comprises a heat-conductive but resilient material such as quartz, glass, silica-containing compositions, semi-precious gems, or any like-performing composition or combinations thereof. The container  10  is designed to be an insertable and removable inhalant material container to be used with a variety of electronic smoking devices substantially as described and shown herein. To that end the container  10  here is equally compatible with the exemplary electronic smoking devices shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , which the airflow passing through internal air passage  19 . The container  10  shown in  FIGS. 4A-4B  can be used in conjunction with various electronic cigarettes and vaporizers including, by way of example only, those shown in  FIGS. 2A-2B and 3A-3B , with the airflow and vapor, smoke, or aerosol passing through the internal air passage  19 . 
       FIGS. 5A and 5B  depict exemplary embodiments of other embodiments of the container  10  having different geometry.  FIG. 5A  shows the container  10  have a generally conical shape along with the other features described herein.  FIG. 5B  shows the container  10  has generally cylindrical and tube-like except for a nozzle or funnel-shaped transition  13 ′ integrated with and extending from the open bottom  13 . This transition provides even more control for the passage of inhalant material out of the container  10  during use in conjunction with an electronic smoking device. These embodiments are used substantially in the same manner as described herein with respect to the other embodiments. 
     It is appreciated and understood that the container  10  controls and in some cases reduces direct contact between the inhalant material and the heating element of the target electronic smoking device, thereby reducing the potentially toxic reaction between the inhalation material and the heating element. The container  10  provides a substantial convenience advantage over the prior art in that the user no longer has to insert manually inhalant material into the cramped quarters of a traditional heating chamber; rather, the user can simply insert and remove on-demand the ready-to-use and easily handled container  10 . 
     It is to be noticed that the term “comprising,” used in the claims, should not be interpreted as being limitative to the means listed thereafter. Thus, the scope of the expression “a device comprising means A and B” should not be limited to devices consisting only of components A and B. It means that with respect to the present invention, the only relevant components of the device are A and B. Put differently, the terms “including”, “comprising” and variations thereof mean “including but not limited to”, unless expressly specified otherwise. Similarly, it is to be noticed that the term “coupled”, also used in the claims, should not be interpreted as being limitative to direct connections only. Thus, the scope of the expression “a device A coupled to a device B” should not be limited to devices or systems wherein an output of device A is directly connected to an input of device B. It means that there exists a path between an output of A and an input of B which may be a path including other devices or means. The enumerated listing of items does not imply that any or all of the items are mutually exclusive, unless expressly specified otherwise. The terms “a”, “an” and “the” mean “one or more”, unless expressly specified otherwise. Elements of the invention that are in communication with each other need not be in continuous communication with each other, unless expressly specified otherwise. In addition, elements of the invention that are in communication with each other may communicate directly or indirectly through one or more other elements or other intermediaries. 
     One skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be practiced by other than the above-described embodiments, which are presented in this description for purposes of illustration and not of limitation. The specification and drawings are not intended to limit the exclusionary scope of this patent document. It is noted that various equivalents for the particular embodiments discussed in this description may practice the invention as well. That is, while the present invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, permutations and variations will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, it is intended that the present invention embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations as fall within the scope of the appended claims. The fact that a product, process or method exhibits differences from one or more of the above-described exemplary embodiments does not mean that the product or process is outside the scope (literal scope and/or other legally-recognized scope) of the following claims.