Patent Description:
<CIT> discloses a hand-held personal vaporizer including a cylindrical housing, a vaporizer material disposed within the cylindrical housing and a vaporizer control module functionally coupled to the vaporizer and configured to control function of the vaporizer.

<CIT> discloses an electronic nicotine delivery device including a nicotine dosage sensor that determines an amount of nicotine consumed by a user based on the duration of inhalation.

<CIT> discloses an inhalation sensor for an alternative nicotine or THC delivery device having a diluted nicotine or THC solution. The inhalation sensor includes a processor and memory. The memory includes a solution profile including information indicative of the nicotine or THC concentration of the diluted nicotine or THC solution and a device profile including information indicative of the alternative nicotine or THC delivery device.

<CIT> discloses an electronic cigarette with an E-ink electronic paper display. The electronic E-ink display screen is arranged on an outer shell.

<CIT> discloses a method including an aerosol delivery device determining a characteristic of a user input to the aerosol delivery device.

Many smoking devices have been proposed through the years as improvements upon, or alternatives to, smoking products that require combusting tobacco for use. Many of those devices purportedly have been designed to provide the sensations associated with cigarette, cigar or pipe smoking, but without delivering considerable quantities of incomplete combustion and pyrolysis products that result from the burning of tobacco. To this end, there have been proposed numerous smoking products, flavor generators and medicinal inhalers that utilize electrical energy to vaporize or heat a volatile material, or attempt to provide the sensations of cigarette, cigar or pipe smoking without burning tobacco to a significant degree. See, for example, the various alternative smoking articles, aerosol delivery devices and heat generating sources set forth in the background art described in <CIT> and <CIT> See also, for example, the various types of smoking articles, aerosol delivery devices and electrically-powered heat generating sources referenced by brand name and commercial source in <CIT>. Additionally, various types of electrically powered aerosol and vapor delivery devices also have been proposed in <CIT> and <CIT>, as well as <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT>; and <CIT>.

The present disclosure relates to aerosol delivery devices, methods of forming such devices, and elements of such devices. In accordance with example implementations of the present disclosure, an aerosol delivery device is equipped with a flexible emissive display capable of present information such as an approximate remaining capacity of the device's power supply or aerosol precursor composition (e.g., in <NUM>-<NUM>% increments), which may provide a user sufficient feedback to anticipate the need to charge or replace the power supply or cartridge. The emissive display is a flexible solution that does not include glass or other fragile components, and may be more easily contoured to various device form factors. The emissive display may be low-cost and is moldable to various form factors of aerosol delivery devices. And the emissive display may be included on an aerosol delivery device or various of its components, such as its power supply or cartridge.

The present disclosure thus includes, without limitation, the following:
An apparatus comprising at least one housing equipped with a heating element and containing an aerosol precursor composition, the heating element being configured to activate and vaporize components of the aerosol precursor composition; and a flexible emissive display received on a surface of the at least one housing, wherein the flexible, emissive display is flexible so as to be moldable to a form factor of the surface of the at least one housing, the surface being non-planar, and controllable to present information of the aerosol delivery device, wherein the apparatus is an aerosol delivery device or a cartridge for an aerosol delivery device.

The apparatus of above, wherein the non-planar surface is substantially tubular in shape.

The apparatus of above, wherein the emissive display is controllable to present information that indicates an amount of aerosol precursor composition contained in or consumed from the at least one housing.

The apparatus of above, wherein the emissive display being controllable to present information includes being controllable to present an icon that represents the aerosol precursor composition and indicates the amount thereof contained in or consumed from the at least one housing.

The apparatus of above, wherein the heating element is connected or connectable with a power source, and the emissive display is controllable to present information that indicates an amount of charge contained in or consumed from the power source.

The apparatus of above, wherein the emissive display being controllable to present information includes being controllable to present an icon that represents the power source and indicates the amount of charge contained in or consumed therefrom.

The apparatus of above, wherein the emissive display being controllable to present information includes being controllable to present information that also indicates an amount of aerosol precursor composition contained in or consumed from the at least one housing.

The apparatus of above, wherein the emissive display being controllable to present information includes being controllable to present an icon that represents the power source and indicates the amount of charge contained in or consumed therefrom, and an icon that represents the aerosol precursor composition and indicates the amount thereof contained in or consumed from the at least one housing.

A control body coupled or coupleable with a cartridge that is equipped with a heating element and contains an aerosol precursor composition, the control body being coupled or coupleable with the cartridge to form an aerosol delivery device in which the heating element is configured to activate and vaporize components of the aerosol precursor composition, the control body comprising at least one housing; a flexible emissive display received on a surface of the at least one housing; and a control component contained within the at least one housing and configured to operate in an active mode in which the control body is coupled with the cartridge, the control component in the active mode being configured to control the heating element to activate and vaporize components of the aerosol precursor composition, the control component being further configured to control the emissive display to present information of the cartridge, control body or aerosol delivery device, wherein the flexible, emissive display is flexible so as to be moldable to a form factor of the surface of the at least one housing if the surface is non-planar.

The control body of above, wherein the non-planar surface is substantially tubular in shape.

The control body of above, wherein the control component is configured to control the emissive display to present information that indicates an amount of aerosol precursor composition contained in or consumed from the at least one housing.

The control body of above, wherein the control component being configured to control the emissive display includes being configured to control the emissive or electronic paper display to present an icon that represents the aerosol precursor composition and indicates the amount thereof contained in or consumed from the at least one housing.

The control body of above, wherein the heating element is connected or connectable with a power source, and the control component is configured to control the emissive display to present information that indicates an amount of charge contained in or consumed from the power source.

The control body of above, wherein the control component being configured to control the emissive display includes being configured to control the emissive or electronic paper display to present an icon that represents the power source and indicates the amount of charge contained in or consumed therefrom.

The control body of above, wherein the control component being configured to control the emissive display includes being configured to control the emissive display to present information that also indicates an amount of aerosol precursor composition contained in or consumed from the at least one housing.

The control body of above, wherein the control component being configured to control the emissive display includes being configured to control the emissive display to present an icon that represents the power source and indicates the amount of charge contained in or consumed therefrom, and an icon that represents the aerosol precursor composition and indicates the amount thereof contained in or consumed from the at least one housing.

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will be apparent from a reading of the following detailed description together with the accompanying drawings, which are briefly described below. This disclosure is intended to be read holistically such that any separable features or elements of the disclosure, in any of its aspects and example implementations, should be viewed as combinable, unless the context of the disclosure clearly dictates otherwise.

It will therefore be appreciated that this Brief Summary is provided merely for purposes of summarizing some example implementations so as to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosure. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the above described example implementations are merely examples and should not be construed to narrow the scope of the disclosure in any way Other example implementations, aspects and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of some described example implementations.

The present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to example implementations thereof. These example implementations are described so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Indeed, the disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the implementations set forth herein; rather, these implementations are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. As used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," "the" and the like include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

As described hereinafter, example implementations of the present disclosure relate to aerosol delivery systems. Aerosol delivery systems according to the present disclosure use electrical energy to heat a material (preferably without combusting the material to any significant degree) to form an inhalable substance; and components of such systems have the form of articles most preferably are sufficiently compact to be considered hand-held devices. That is, use of components of preferred aerosol delivery systems does not result in the production of smoke in the sense that aerosol results principally from byproducts of combustion or pyrolysis of tobacco, but rather, use of those preferred systems results in the production of vapors resulting from volatilization or vaporization of certain components incorporated therein. In some example implementations, components of aerosol delivery systems may be characterized as electronic cigarettes, and those electronic cigarettes most preferably incorporate tobacco and/or components derived from tobacco, and hence deliver tobacco derived components in aerosol form.

Aerosol generating pieces of certain preferred aerosol delivery systems may provide many of the sensations (e.g., inhalation and exhalation rituals, types of tastes or flavors, organoleptic effects, physical feel, use rituals, visual cues such as those provided by visible aerosol, and the like) of smoking a cigarette, cigar or pipe that is employed by lighting and burning tobacco (and hence inhaling tobacco smoke), without any substantial degree of combustion of any component thereof. For example, the user of an aerosol generating piece of the present disclosure can hold and use that piece much like a smoker employs a traditional type of smoking article, draw on one end of that piece for inhalation of aerosol produced by that piece, take or draw puffs at selected intervals of time, and the like.

Aerosol delivery systems of the present disclosure also can be characterized as being vapor-producing articles or medicament delivery articles. Thus, such articles or devices can be adapted so as to provide one or more substances (e.g., flavors and/or pharmaceutical active ingredients) in an inhalable form or state. For example, inhalable substances can be substantially in the form of a vapor (i.e., a substance that is in the gas phase at a temperature lower than its critical point). Alternatively, inhalable substances can be in the form of an aerosol (i.e., a suspension of fine solid particles or liquid droplets in a gas). For purposes of simplicity, the term "aerosol" as used herein is meant to include vapors, gases and aerosols of a form or type suitable for human inhalation, whether or not visible, and whether or not of a form that might be considered to be smoke-like.

Aerosol delivery systems of the present disclosure generally include a number of components provided within an outer body or shell, which may be referred to as a housing. The overall design of the outer body or shell can vary, and the format or configuration of the outer body that can define the overall size and shape of the aerosol delivery device can vary. Typically, an elongated body resembling the shape of a cigarette or cigar can be a formed from a single, unitary housing or the elongated housing can be formed of two or more separable bodies. For example, an aerosol delivery device can comprise an elongated shell or body that can be substantially tubular in shape and, as such, resemble the shape of a conventional cigarette or cigar. In one example, all of the components of the aerosol delivery device are contained within one housing. Alternatively, an aerosol delivery device can comprise two or more housings that are joined and are separable. For example, an aerosol delivery device can possess at one end a control body comprising a housing containing one or more reusable components (e.g., an accumulator such as a rechargeable battery, thin film solid state battery and/or capacitor, and various electronics for controlling the operation of that article), and at the other end and removably coupleable thereto, an outer body or shell containing a disposable portion (e.g., a disposable flavor-containing cartridge).

Aerosol delivery systems of the present disclosure most preferably comprise some combination of a power source (i.e., an electrical power source), at least one control component (e.g., means for actuating, controlling, regulating and ceasing power for heat generation, such as by controlling electrical current flow the power source to other components of the article - e.g., a microprocessor, individually or as part of a microcontroller), a heater or heat generation member (e.g., an electrical resistance heating element or other component, which alone or in combination with one or more further elements may be commonly referred to as an "atomizer"), an aerosol precursor composition (e.g., commonly a liquid capable of yielding an aerosol upon application of sufficient heat, such as ingredients commonly referred to as "smoke juice," "e-liquid" and "e-juice"), and a mouthend region or tip for allowing draw upon the aerosol delivery device for aerosol inhalation (e.g., a defined airflow path through the article such that aerosol generated can be withdrawn therefrom upon draw).

More specific formats, configurations and arrangements of components within the aerosol delivery systems of the present disclosure will be evident in light of the further disclosure provided hereinafter. Additionally, the selection and arrangement of various aerosol delivery system components can be appreciated upon consideration of the commercially available electronic aerosol delivery devices, such as those representative products referenced in background art section of the present disclosure.

In various examples, an aerosol delivery device can comprise a reservoir configured to retain the aerosol precursor composition. The reservoir particularly can be formed of a porous material (e.g., a fibrous material) and thus may be referred to as a porous substrate (e.g., a fibrous substrate).

A fibrous substrate useful as a reservoir in an aerosol delivery device can be a woven or nonwoven material formed of a plurality of fibers or filaments and can be formed of one or both of natural fibers and synthetic fibers. For example, a fibrous substrate may comprise a fiberglass material. In particular examples, a cellulose acetate material can be used. In other example implementations, a carbon material can be used. A reservoir may be substantially in the form of a container and may include a fibrous material included therein.

<FIG> illustrates a perspective view of an aerosol delivery device <NUM> including a cartridge <NUM> and a control body <NUM>, according to various example implementations of the present disclosure. In particular, <FIG> illustrates the control body and the cartridge coupled to one another. The control body and the cartridge may be detachably aligned in a functioning relationship. Various mechanisms may connect the cartridge to the control body to result in a threaded engagement, a press-fit engagement, an interference fit, a magnetic engagement or the like.

The aerosol delivery device <NUM> may be substantially rod-like or tubular (or cylindrically) shaped in some example implementations when the cartridge <NUM> and the control body <NUM> are in an assembled configuration. In other examples, further shapes and dimensions are encompassed - e.g., a rectangular or triangular cross-section, multifaceted shapes, or the like. The aerosol delivery device may also be substantially rectangular or rhomboidal in cross-section, which may lend itself to greater compatibility with a substantially flat or thin-film power source, such as a power source including a flat battery. The cartridge and control body may include separate, respective housings or outer bodies, which may be formed of any of a number of different materials. The housing may be formed of any suitable, structurally-sound material. In some examples, the housing may be formed of a metal or alloy, such as stainless steel, aluminum or the like. Other suitable materials include various plastics (e.g., polycarbonate), metal-plating over plastic, ceramics and the like.

In some example implementations, one or both of the control body <NUM> or the cartridge <NUM> of the aerosol delivery device <NUM> may be referred to as being disposable or as being reusable. For example, the control body may have a replaceable battery or a rechargeable battery and thus may be combined with any type of recharging technology, including connection to a typical alternating current electrical outlet, connection to a car charger (i.e., a cigarette lighter receptacle), connection to a computer, such as through a universal serial bus (USB) cable or connector, or connection to a photovoltaic cell (sometimes referred to as a solar cell) or solar panel of solar cells. Further, in some example implementations, the cartridge may comprise a single-use cartridge, as disclosed in <CIT>
In some example implementations, the aerosol delivery device <NUM> may include a flexible, emissive or electronic paper display <NUM> on and contoured to the housing of either or both the cartridge <NUM> or control body <NUM> (shown), whereas only the examples using a flexible emissive display are part of the claimed invention, and controllable to present information of the aerosol delivery device. In some examples, a touch-sensitive surface may overlay the emissive or electronic paper display to form a touchscreen. In these examples, the touchscreen may be configured to both present information of the aerosol delivery device, and receive input to the aerosol delivery device. According to the invention, the emissive or electronic paper display <NUM> is contoured to a non-planar surface of the housing of the cartridge <NUM> or control body <NUM>, such as a surface that is substantially tubular in shape. In the emissive or electronic paper display may be controllable by the control component to present information of the control body, cartridge or aerosol delivery device <NUM>. Examples of suitable emissive displays include those based on technologies such as amorphous silicon (a-Si), low-temperature a-Si, low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS), organic semiconductor processes, jet-printed electronics and the like. More specific examples of suitable emissive displays include a-Si thin-film transistor (TFT) displays, LTPS organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays, active matrix OLED (AMOLED) displays, and the like. Examples of suitable electronic paper displays include electronic paper or e-paper displays such as Gyricon displays, electrophoretic displays, microencapsulated electrophoretic displays, electro-wetting displays, electrofluidic displays, interferometric modulator displays, other bistable displays and the like.

<FIG> and <FIG> illustrate exploded views of respectively the cartridge <NUM> and control body <NUM> of <FIG>, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure in which the control body may include an emissive or electronic paper display <NUM>. The components illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG> are representative of the components that may be present in a cartridge and control body and are not intended to limit the scope of components that are encompassed by the present disclosure. It should also be understood that in other example implementations, the cartridge may include an emissive or electronic paper display in addition to or in lieu of the control body.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the cartridge <NUM> may include a base <NUM>, a control component terminal <NUM>, a (electronic) control component <NUM>, a flow director <NUM>, an atomizer <NUM>, a reservoir substrate <NUM>, an outer body <NUM>, a mouthpiece <NUM>, a label <NUM>, and first and second heating terminals 220a, 220b. The atomizer may include a liquid transport element <NUM> and a heating element <NUM> (sometimes referred to more simply as a heater). In some examples, the cartridge may additionally include a base shipping plug engaged with the base and/or a mouthpiece shipping plug engaged with the mouthpiece in order to protect the base and the mouthpiece and prevent entry of contaminants therein prior to use as disclosed, for example, in <CIT> In various configurations, this structure may be referred to as a tank; and accordingly, the terms "cartridge," "tank" and the like may be used interchangeably to refer to an outer body or other housing enclosing a reservoir (reservoir substrate) for aerosol precursor composition, and including a heating element.

The base <NUM> and mouthpiece <NUM> may be coupled to respectively first and second opposing ends of the outer body <NUM> to enclose the remaining components of the cartridge <NUM> therein. The base may be configured to engage the control body <NUM>. In some examples, the base may include anti-rotation features that substantially prevent relative rotation between the cartridge and the control body as disclosed in <CIT> The label <NUM> may at least partially surround one or more of the outer body, base or mouthpiece, and include information such as a product identifier thereon.

Various components may be received within the outer body <NUM> and positioned between the base <NUM> and the mouthpiece <NUM>. For example, the control component terminal <NUM>, the control component <NUM>, the flow director <NUM>, the atomizer <NUM>, and the reservoir substrate <NUM> may be retained within the outer body. The atomizer may include a first heating terminal 220a and a second heating terminal 220b, a liquid transport element <NUM> and a heating element <NUM>. In this regard, the reservoir substrate may be configured to hold an aerosol precursor composition, which is directed to the heating element via the liquid transport element, as described below.

The aerosol precursor composition, also referred to as a vapor precursor composition, may comprise a variety of components including, by way of example, a polyhydric alcohol (e.g., glycerin, propylene glycol or a mixture thereof), nicotine, tobacco, tobacco extract and/or flavorants. Representative types of aerosol precursor components and formulations also are set forth and characterized in <CIT> and <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT>; and <CIT>, as well as <CIT> Other aerosol precursors that may be employed include the aerosol precursors that have been incorporated in the VUSE® product by R. Reynolds Vapor Company, the BLU™ product by Imperial Tobacco Group PLC, the MISTIC MENTHOL product by Mistic Ecigs, and the VYPE product by CN Creative Ltd. Also desirable are the so-called "smoke juices" for electronic cigarettes that have been available from Johnson Creek Enterprises LLC.

The reservoir substrate <NUM> may include a plurality of layers of nonwoven fibers formed into the shape of a tube encircling the interior of the outer body <NUM> of the cartridge <NUM>. Liquid components, for example, can be sorptively retained by the reservoir substrate. The reservoir substrate is in fluid connection with the liquid transport element <NUM>. Thus, the liquid transport element may be configured to transport liquid from the reservoir substrate to the heating element <NUM> (e.g., via capillary action). Representative types of substrates, reservoirs or other components for supporting the aerosol precursor composition are described in <CIT> and <CIT>; <CIT>; and <CIT>.

As illustrated, the liquid transport element <NUM> may be configured to be in direct contact with the heating element <NUM>. Various wicking materials, and the configuration and operation of those wicking materials within certain types of aerosol delivery devices, are set forth in <CIT> A variety of the materials disclosed by the
foregoing documents may be incorporated into the present devices in various example implementations, and all of the foregoing disclosures are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

The heating element <NUM> may include a wire defining a plurality of coils wound about the liquid transport element <NUM>. In some examples, the heating element may be formed by winding the wire about the liquid transport element as described in <CIT> Further, in some examples, the wire may define a variable coil spacing, as described in <CIT> Various materials configured to produce heat when electrical current is applied therethrough may be employed to form the heating element. Example materials from which the wire coil may be formed include Kanthal (FeCrAl), Nichrome, Molybdenum disilicide (MoSi<NUM>), molybdenum silicide (MoSi), Molybdenum disilicide doped with Aluminum (Mo(Si,Al)<NUM>), graphite and graphite-based materials; and ceramic (e.g., a positive or negative temperature coefficient ceramic).

The first heating terminal 220a and the second heating terminal 220b (e.g., positive and negative terminals) at the opposing ends of the heating element <NUM> are configured to form an electrical connection with the control body <NUM> when the cartridge <NUM> is connected thereto. Further, when the control body is coupled to the cartridge, the control component <NUM> may form an electrical connection with the control body through the control component terminal. The control body may thus employ the control component to determine whether the cartridge is genuine and/or perform other functions. Examples of a suitable control component include one or more of each of a number of electronic components such as a microprocessor (individually or as part of a microcontroller), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or the like. Further, various examples of control components and functions performed thereby are described in <CIT>.

Various other details with respect to the cartridge <NUM> are described above are provided in <CIT>. Further, it should be understood that the cartridge may be assembled in a variety of manners and may include additional or fewer components which may be the same or different in other example implementations. For example, although the cartridge is generally described herein as including a reservoir substrate, in other examples, the cartridge may hold an aerosol precursor composition therein without the use of a reservoir substrate (e.g., through use of a container or vessel that stores the aerosol precursor composition or direct storage therein). In some examples, an aerosol precursor composition may be within a container or vessel that may also include a porous (e.g., fibrous) material therein. Further, in other examples, the aerosol precursor composition may be delivered to the atomizer via other mechanisms such as positive displacement mechanisms as disclosed in <CIT>, bubble jet heads as disclosed in <CIT>, and pressurized dispensers as disclosed in <CIT>, each to Brammer et al. Additionally, although usage of a coil heating element is generally discussed herein, in other
examples, the atomizer may include a microheater, one or more vaporization heating elements, and/or various atomizers as disclosed, for example, in <CIT>; <CIT>; and <CIT> and <CIT>.

Various components of an aerosol delivery device according to the present disclosure can be chosen from components described in the art and commercially available. Reference is made for example to the reservoir and heater system for controllable delivery of multiple aerosolizable materials in an electronic smoking article disclosed in <CIT>.

Note further that portions of the cartridge <NUM> illustrated in <FIG> are optional. In this regard, by way of example, the cartridge may not include the flow director <NUM>, the control component terminal <NUM>, and/or the control component <NUM> in some example implementations.

In another example, substantially the entirety of the cartridge <NUM> may be formed from one or more carbon materials, which may provide advantages in terms of biodegradability and absence of wires. In this regard, the heating element may include carbon foam, the reservoir may include carbonized fabric, and graphite may be employed to form an electrical connection with the battery and controller. An example of a suitable carbon-based cartridge is provided in <CIT>.

<FIG> illustrates an exploded view of the control body <NUM> of the aerosol delivery device <NUM> according to an example implementation of the present disclosure. As illustrated, in addition to the emissive or electronic paper display <NUM>, the control body may include a coupler <NUM>, an outer body <NUM>, a sealing member <NUM>, an adhesive member <NUM> (e.g., KAPTON® tape), a flow sensor <NUM> (e.g., a puff sensor or a pressure switch or sensor configured to detect a pressure drop or flow of air), a control component <NUM>, a spacer <NUM>, an electrical power source <NUM> (e.g., a battery, which may be rechargeable), a circuit board with an indicator <NUM> (e.g., a light emitting diode (LED)), a connector circuit <NUM>, and an end cap <NUM>. Examples of electrical power sources are described in <CIT>.

The aerosol delivery device <NUM> may incorporate a sensor or detector for control of supply of electric power to a heat generation element when aerosol generation is desired (e.g., upon draw during use). As such, for example, there is provided a manner or method for turning off the power supply to the heat generation element when the aerosol generating piece is not being drawn upon during use, and for turning on the power supply to actuate or trigger the generation of heat by the heat generation element during draw.

For example, with respect to the flow sensor <NUM>, representative current regulating components and other current controlling components including various microcontrollers, sensors, and switches for aerosol delivery devices are described in <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT><CIT>, and <CIT>; <CIT> and <CIT>; and <CIT> Additional representative types of sensing or detection mechanisms, structures, components, configurations, and general methods of operation thereof, are described in <CIT>; <CIT>; and <CIT>.

In one example, the indicator <NUM> may include one or more light emitting diodes. The indicator can be in communication with the control component <NUM> through the connector circuit <NUM> and illuminate, for example, during a user drawing on a cartridge (e.g., the cartridge <NUM>) coupled to the coupler <NUM>, as detected by the flow sensor <NUM>. The end cap <NUM> may be adapted to make visible the illumination provided thereunder by the indicator. Accordingly, the indicator may illuminate during use of the aerosol delivery device <NUM> to simulate the lit end of a smoking article. However, in other examples, the indicator can be provided in varying numbers and can take on different shapes and can even be an opening in the outer body (such as for release of sound when such indicators are present).

Various elements that may be included in the control body are described in U. Still further components can be utilized in the aerosol delivery device of the present disclosure. For example, <CIT> discloses indicators for smoking articles; <CIT> discloses piezoelectric sensors that can be associated with the mouth-end of a device to detect user lip activity associated with taking a draw and then trigger heating; <CIT> discloses a puff sensor for controlling energy flow into a heating load array in response to a pressure drop through a mouthpiece; <CIT> discloses receptacles in a smoking device that include an identifier that detects a non-uniformity in infrared transmissivity of an inserted component and a controller that executes a detection routine as the component is inserted into the receptacle; <CIT> describes a defined executable power cycle with multiple differential phases; <CIT> discloses photonic-optronic components; <CIT> discloses means for altering draw resistance through a smoking device; <CIT> discloses specific battery configurations for use in smoking devices; <CIT> discloses various charging systems for use with smoking devices; <CIT> discloses computer interfacing means for smoking devices to facilitate charging and allow computer control of the device; <CIT> discloses identification systems for smoking devices; and <CIT> discloses a fluid flow sensing system indicative of a puff in an aerosol generating system. Further examples of components related to electronic aerosol delivery articles and disclosing materials or components that may be used in the present article include <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT> and <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT> and <CIT>; <CIT> and <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT>; and <CIT>.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, during use, a user may draw on the mouthpiece <NUM> of the cartridge <NUM> of the aerosol delivery device <NUM>. This may pull air through an opening in the control body <NUM> or in the cartridge. For example, in one example, an opening may be defined between the coupler <NUM> and the outer body <NUM> of the control body, as described in <CIT> However, the flow of air may be received through other parts of the aerosol delivery device in other example implementations. As noted above, in some examples, the cartridge may include the flow director <NUM>. The flow director may be configured to direct the flow of air received from the control body <NUM> to the heating element <NUM> of the atomizer <NUM>.

A sensor in the aerosol delivery device <NUM> (e.g., the flow sensor <NUM> in the control body <NUM>) may sense the puff. When the puff is sensed, the control body <NUM> may direct current to the heating element <NUM> through a circuit including the first heating terminal 220a and the second heating terminal 220b. Accordingly, the heating element may vaporize the aerosol precursor composition directed to an aerosolization zone from the reservoir substrate <NUM> by the liquid transport element <NUM>. Thus, the mouthpiece <NUM> may allow passage of air and entrained vapor (i.e., the components of the aerosol precursor composition in an inhalable form) from the cartridge <NUM> to a consumer drawing thereon.

As noted above, in some examples, the control body <NUM> may include the indicator <NUM> (e.g., an LED), which may be configured to illuminate an end of the control body. For example, the indicator may illuminate the end cap <NUM> during use of the aerosol delivery device <NUM> to simulate the lit end of a smoking article. However, it may be desirable to illuminate other or additional portions of an aerosol delivery device. Further, it may be desirable to transmit light within the aerosol delivery device to one or more locations positioned distally from the light source such that the position of the light source may be selected to facilitate assembly of the control body and/or provide other advantages.

Again, the emissive or electronic paper display <NUM> of example implementations of the present disclosure may be controllable to present information of the aerosol delivery device <NUM>, whereas the implementations with electronic paper displays are not part of the claimed invention. This information may indicate, for example, an amount of aerosol precursor composition contained in or consumed from the cartridge <NUM> (e.g., reservoir substrate <NUM>), or an amount of charge contained in or consumed from the power source <NUM>. In some examples, this information may be presented in the form of icons. <FIG> illustrates information that may be presented by the emissive or electronic paper display <NUM>, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure. As shown, the emissive or electronic paper display may present icons <NUM>, <NUM> that represent respectively the aerosol precursor composition and power source <NUM>. The icon for the aerosol precursor composition may indicate the amount thereof contained in or consumed from the cartridge <NUM> (e.g., reservoir substrate <NUM>). Similarly, the icon for the power source may indicate an amount of charge contained in or consumed from the power source. As shown, each icon may be divided into a number of segments that represent incremental percentages (e.g., <NUM>-<NUM> %) of its respective consumable. The icon for the aerosol precursor composition may be divided into segments that represent an incremental amount of remaining aerosol precursor composition (contained in the cartridge). And the icon for the power source may be divided into segments that represent an incremental amount of remaining charge (contained in the power source).

The foregoing description of use of the article(s) can be applied to the various example implementations described herein through minor modifications, which can be apparent to the person of skill in the art in light of the further disclosure provided herein. The above description of use, however, is not intended to limit the use of the article but is provided to comply with all necessary requirements of disclosure of the present disclosure. Any of the elements shown in the article(s) illustrated in <FIG> or as otherwise described above may be included in an aerosol delivery device according to the present disclosure.

Claim 1:
An apparatus comprising:
at least one housing equipped with a heating element (<NUM>) and containing an aerosol precursor composition, the heating element (<NUM>) being configured to activate and vaporize components of the aerosol precursor composition; and
a flexible, emissive display (<NUM>) received on a surface of the at least one housing, and controllable to present information of an aerosol delivery device (<NUM>),
wherein the flexible, emissive display (<NUM>) is flexible so as to be moldable to a form factor of the surface of the at least one housing, the surface being non-planar, and
wherein the apparatus is an aerosol delivery device (<NUM>) or a cartridge (<NUM>) for an aerosol delivery device (<NUM>).