Patent Description:
Recently, electronic cigarettes have become popular as it provides an alternative to tobacco and cigar smoking. An electronic cigarette is a device that contains liquid containing nicotine that is then vaporized by the electronic cigarette to allow the user to have the sensation of smoking in public places and receive the nicotine buzz without the other harmful side effects of smoking a regular cigarette or cigar.

Most electronic cigarettes sold today have a tank that the user must manually refill the liquid in the tank. The liquid for the electronic cigarette is commonly known as eLiquid and contains nicotine and may also contain other ingredients including flavoring and the like. The manual filing of the liquid into the tank is messy and puts the user in contact with the messy/sticky, nicotine-containing eLiquid. While the eLiquid is not toxic as the normal level of exposure, a user must go undergo this manually refilling process frequently to use what is known as a top "open-tank" system. This manually refilling process invariably leaves residue on the fingers of the user and in the various tanks and battery systems that are part of the open-tank systems.

With these open-tank systems, the replacement of the atomizers (wicks and coils) when they burn out (about once per week) is complicated and requires practice or the assistance of a specialist. Further, for open-tank systems that have a tubular design ("tubular device designs"), the tubular device designs are clumsy, roll off of surfaces they are placed on and are not easily pocketable.

Most of these open-tank systems use an industry standard <NUM> connection to connect the tank containing the liquid to the mouthpiece. The standard <NUM> connection is a weak-point for attachment of tanks to the battery units. Furthermore, attaching the tank by screwing the tank onto the rest of the device is not the most efficient attachment method and the connection is easily broken if a user has a device in their pocket and sits on it, for example. In addition, this connection may leak liquid which can cause a significant mess such as when the electronic cigarette is stored in a bag during airline travel or when the electronic cigarette is being carried by the user.

In addition, the swapping of flavors of the eLiquid for open tank systems is difficult. Specifically, since a tank can only hold one flavored liquid at a time, a user must have several costly tanks to swap flavors or the user must dump out the old liquid, wash and clean the tank and then re-fill it. This means that being able to use various flavored eLiquid in an open-tank system is either costly or messy and time-consuming.

Some systems use a custom bottle that attaches to the bottom of the battery unit in order to avoid exposure by the user to the eLiquid. However, while this design makes it easier to swap flavors, these systems still require the user to manually replace atomizers.

<CIT> discloses an inhaler component for producing a steam/air mixture or/and condensation aerosol in an intermittent and inhalation-or pull-synchronous manner. The inhaler component disclosed in <CIT> includes a housing, a chamber arranged in said housing, an air inlet opening for the supply of air from the surroundings to the chamber; an electrical heating element for evaporating a portion of a liquid material, the steam produced mixing in the chamber with the air supplied through the air inlet opening, thereby producing the steam/air mixture or/and condensation aerosol; and a wick having a capillary structure, which wick forms a composite structure with the heating element and automatically supplies the heating element with fresh liquid material after evaporation. <CIT>, <CIT>, <CIT>, <CIT> and <CIT> disclose examples of electronic cigarette devices with replaceable cartridges holding liquid to be vaporized.

According to the invention, there is provided a device according to claim <NUM>.

The disclosure is particularly applicable to an electronic cigarette device having a disposable tank with the design set forth below and it is in this context that the disclosure will be described. It will be appreciated, however, that the device, method for manufacture and method of use has greater utility since the device may have other configurations that are within the scope of the disclosure, other methods for operations that are within the scope of the disclosure and the like so that the embodiments described below are merely illustrative of the teachings of the disclosure.

The electronic cigarette device may have one or more atomizers (e.g., wicks and heating element) built into a disposable tank with the eLiquid completely sealed out of the reach of the user that is a much more effective solution than anything currently available.

<FIG> are a top view, perspective left side back view, left side view, plan back view, right side view, perspective right side back view and a bottom view, respectively, of an embodiment of a disposable tank electronic cigarette device <NUM>. The device <NUM> has a housing <NUM> that is made of an appropriate material like plastic or metal. The housing houses various components of the device <NUM> and may be, for example, the size that is smaller than a deck of cards. A disposable tank <NUM> is removable attached to the housing. The disposable tank <NUM> may be made of the same material as the housing. The disposable tank <NUM> stores eLiquid that is vaporized by the device <NUM> as described below. The disposable tank <NUM> may be discarded when there the eLiquid within the tank <NUM> is exhausted or the user wants to change the type of eLiquid being vaporized. As described below in more detail, the tank includes the atomizing elements. Furthermore, the tank may have various different shapes and configurations. For the embodiment shown in <FIG>, the tank may have a hollow rectangular shape so that it can fit into the housing <NUM> and hold the eLiquid.

The disposable tank <NUM> may be a closed tank system in which the eLiquid is stored in a separate compartment from the housing <NUM> until the disposable tank <NUM> is connected to the housing <NUM> that includes the other components of the device <NUM>. The closed tank system means that the eLiquid stays separate from the heating element of the device <NUM> during transport. Furthermore, when the disposable tank <NUM> is removed from the housing <NUM>, the disposable tank <NUM> reseals itself so that the liquid does not leak.

The tank <NUM> has a mouthpiece portion <NUM>. The mouthpiece portion <NUM> may be located at various locations on the tank. In the embodiment shown in <FIG>, the mouthpiece is located adjacent a side of the tank. The housing <NUM> may have a user interface device <NUM>, such as a button, that permits the user to turn on or off the device <NUM>. In addition, the user interface device <NUM> may be depressed/activated to cause the atomizer element to activate and vaporize some of the eLiquid so that the user can inhale/suck in the vaporized eLiquid through the mouthpiece portion <NUM>. The user interface device <NUM>, in the embodiment shown in <FIG> may be located on top of the housing as shown in <FIG>, <FIG>, but the user interface device <NUM> may also be located on other parts of the housing.

In one embodiment, the user interface device <NUM> may be used to turn on the device, such as by depressing the user interface device <NUM> three times in rapid succession. The device <NUM> can also be turned off by using the same <NUM>-press sequence. After the device is in the "on" mode, a single press of the user interface device <NUM> may place the device <NUM> in a "fire" mode which means power will be transmitted through the <NUM> metal "posts" on the device in contact with the metal coil on the disposable tank when the tank is installed. This power to the coil is what will cause that element to heat up and thus vaporize the liquid being wicked from the tank. The release of the user interface device <NUM> may immediately stop current flow and stop vaporization.

The device <NUM> may also have a display screen <NUM> that may display various data about the device <NUM>. For example, in one embodiment, the display <NUM> may display the current wattage of the power being applied to the atomizer to vaporize the eLiquid and the battery power remaining for the device <NUM>. The display <NUM>, in the embodiment shown in <FIG> may be located on a side of the housing as shown in <FIG>, but the display <NUM> may also be located on other parts of the housing. The housing may also have a set of controls <NUM>, such as buttons, that allow the user to adjust the power level of the device. The set of controls <NUM>, when activated, send a signal to the device's software to regulate how much power flows to the tank's coil next time the main button is pressed to fire the device <NUM>. Each press either up or down sets a new upper limit to the wattage. A user will set the wattage level based on personal preference as each setting potentially change the flavor experience when using the device <NUM>. The set of controls <NUM>, in the embodiment shown in <FIG> may be located on a side of the housing as shown in <FIG>, but the set of controls <NUM> may also be located on other parts of the housing.

<FIG> is an exploded assembly diagram of the disposable tank electronic cigarette <NUM>. As shown, the housing <NUM> may further comprise a first outside portion <NUM>, a middle portion <NUM> and a second outside portion <NUM> that fit together to form the housing <NUM> that has a tank receptacle <NUM> once the housing is assembled for the disposable tank. The tank receptacle <NUM> may be opposite the display <NUM> and may receive a user-inserted disposable tank. The disposable tank <NUM> may be secured into place by a tank spring on one side and held on the bottom and other side by the tank connector. The tank connector also contains metal posts that pass through it and connect to the atomizer coil when the tank is inserted by the user.

The second outside portion may have one or more detents <NUM> that mate with the first outside portion <NUM> to connect the first outside portion <NUM>, the middle portion <NUM> and the second outside portion <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the assembled housing <NUM> may further have a battery <NUM> that provides power to the device <NUM> and a circuit board <NUM> that contains the electronics and wiring to provide power to each component, such as the atomizer element, the user interface features and the display and control each of these components. The circuit board <NUM> may, for example, have at least one microprocessor or microcontroller, memory and software that is stored in the memory and executed by the processor to manage the operations of the circuits in the device <NUM>.

<FIG> illustrates more details of the disposable tank of the disposable tank electronic cigarette. As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the disposable tank <NUM> may further comprise a tank body <NUM> that has the mouthpiece <NUM> and contains an eLiquid. The disposable tank <NUM> may further comprise an intermediate portion <NUM>, the atomizer element <NUM> (that may include a heater element and a wick element as described below in more detail) and a tank well portion <NUM> into which the atomizer element <NUM> is secured. The intermediate portion <NUM> may be made of silicone. The intermediate portion <NUM>, the atomizer portion <NUM> and the lower portion <NUM> are connected together. The intermediate portion <NUM>, the atomizer portion <NUM> and the tank well portion <NUM> ensure that the eLiquid does not leak from the tank, houses the atomizer portion <NUM> and routes and permits the eLiquid to come into contact with the atomizer portion <NUM> to vaporize the eLiquid. The eLiquid is released from the disposable tank <NUM> and can be vaporized when the disposable tank <NUM> is inserted into the housing <NUM>, for example. The intermediate portion <NUM>, the atomizer portion <NUM> and the tank well portion <NUM> may also provide a receptacle if any eLiquid leaks. In some embodiments, the tank <NUM> (and its parts) may be pre-assembled, pre-filled with eLiquid and sealed before coming in contact with the user. In one embodiment, the choice of tank body materials and atomizer components may be chosen assuming that the disposable tank will be discarded after about <NUM> hours of use for a normal user.

The tank body <NUM> may be made of a plastic polycarbonate-like material designed to hold various formulas of liquid safely while prevent leaking or cracking of the tank. The intermediate portion <NUM> that seals the atomizer portion <NUM>, the tank body <NUM> and the tank well <NUM> to each other may be made of silicone. The intermediate portion <NUM> may also contain a groove which holds the atomizer element <NUM>.

Returning to <FIG> and as shown in <FIG>, the housing <NUM> may further comprise one or more metal posts <NUM> and a bottom portion <NUM> into which the one or more posts <NUM> are connected. The housing may also have a metal strip <NUM> that is electrically connected to the one or more posts <NUM>. The one or more metal posts <NUM>, the bottom portion <NUM> and the strip <NUM> may be secured to the housing. The strip <NUM> may have an elbow region <NUM> (biased by a spring force of the metal away from the wall of the housing <NUM>) that sits against the housing when installed in the housing <NUM> and provides a snap fitting connection between the housing <NUM> and the disposable tank <NUM>. The elbow region <NUM> is not shown in <FIG>. For example, as shown in <FIG>, the assembled regions <NUM>-<NUM> may have one or more shoulder regions <NUM> into which the elbow region <NUM> may snap when the disposable tank <NUM> is installed in the housing.

As further shown in <FIG>, the bottom portion <NUM> may hold a set of upper posts <NUM> (on an upper side of the bottom portion <NUM>) that make contact with the atomizer element <NUM> (and provide electrical energy when activated) when the disposable tank <NUM> (that includes the atomizer element <NUM>) is installed in the housing. The bottom portion <NUM> may further comprise a positive terminal <NUM> and a negative terminal <NUM> on a bottom side of the bottom portion <NUM> that connect to the power source in the housing <NUM> and thus provides the connection from the power source to the set of upper posts <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the middle/central portion <NUM> may be made of plastic or metal and may act as the element to which various other elements of the housing are connected. To facilitate this, the central portion <NUM> may have an interior rack to which the other internal components are attached. For example, the interior rack may hold the power source, such as a battery, circuit boards and inductive charging receiver coil that allows the power source to be recharged using well known inductive coupling charging. On an interior-side of the device <NUM>, there may be the display <NUM> that may be an OLED display screen that may show the device current status and display the state of the various user-customizable settings. The display <NUM> may be viewed through the display lens on the side of the device. The first and second outside portion <NUM>, <NUM> may be side-panels that are both decorative and practical. The outside portions may help seal the device <NUM> from mild exposure to debris and the elements. In addition, the user can replace these panels with various aftermarket designs to suit their tastes.

The device <NUM> may be assembled in different manners that are within the scope of the disclosure. For example, the process to assemble the housing may include: a) internal rack is screwed into outer frame; b) circuit boards and buttons are inserted into the device and attached to the internal rack; c) display lens is inserted on the inside-side of the device and the display is placed inside the lens; d) battery is inserted onto the rack and connected to the circuit boards; e) inductive charging coil is attached to the charging circuits and the battery; f) tank connector with metal posts, and tank spring are screwed into the device frame; and g) metal posts are wired to the circuit boards for power. For example, the process of assembling the disposable tank <NUM> may include: a) atomizer element <NUM> may be fit into groves molded in the intermediate portion <NUM>; b) the tank body <NUM>, the intermediate portion <NUM> and the tank well <NUM> may be sandwiched together creating a water-tight seal; c) the tank may be permanently sealed around its outer edges using sonic welding. In some embodiments, the bottom of the tank well <NUM> may have an absorbent material to catch any excess fluid that may accidently escape the bottom of the intermediate portion <NUM>. This absorbent material may be cut such that the shape will not interfere with the pressure the Tank Connector creates when the User attaches the into the device.

<FIG> illustrate a perspective view of the disposable tank <NUM> being installed in the housing <NUM> and <FIG> illustrate a side view of the disposable tank <NUM> being installed in the housing <NUM>. <FIG> illustrate more details of the disposable tank <NUM> being installed in the housing <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, a disposable tank is being installed into the housing <NUM>. In <FIG>, the one or more metal posts <NUM>, the bottom portion <NUM> and the strip <NUM> are installed into the housing <NUM> and secured to the housing as shown in <FIG>. As shown in <FIG>, the housing <NUM> may have a shoulder region <NUM> that helps to retain the disposable tank <NUM> in the housing. As shown in <FIG> in detail C and detail D, when the disposable tank <NUM> is installed in the housing <NUM>, the shoulder region <NUM> interfaces with a portion of the disposable tank <NUM> and the spring biased elbow region <NUM> of the strip <NUM> may interface with the one or more shoulder regions <NUM> of the housing <NUM> to create a friction fit to hold the disposable tank <NUM> in the housing <NUM>. However, the friction fit may be overcome by a user applying force to remove the disposable tank <NUM>.

<FIG> and <FIG> illustrate a method <NUM> for inserting a disposable tank onto the electronic cigarette and a method <NUM> for removing a disposable tank from the electronic cigarette, respectively. As shown in <FIG>, the method <NUM> for inserting the disposable tank may include a user obtaining a disposable tank and removing any packaging (<NUM>. ) The user may then place the disposable tank into the tank receptacle of the housing (<NUM>). For example, the user may hook a bottom side corner of the tank on the shoulder region <NUM> and snaps the disposable tank into place. Alternatively, the user can drop the disposable tank straight onto the tank connector (the one or more metal posts <NUM>, the bottom portion <NUM> and the strip <NUM> are installed into the housing <NUM>) and snaps the disposable tank into place. In each case, the disposable tank <NUM> may be held in place by the appropriate level of force from the elbow <NUM> and the tank connector. Once the tank is inserted, pressure from the tank connector on the intermediate portion may start the flow of liquid into the atomizing chamber (<NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the method <NUM> may include a user applying a lateral force to the disposable tank (<NUM>) away from the housing. As a result of the force (that overcomes the force from the elbow <NUM> and the tank connector), the disposable tank may be released (<NUM>. ) When the disposable tank is released, the intermediate portion may return to its neutral position stopping the wicking of liquid into the vaporization chamber so that the removed tank is sealed (<NUM>. ) The user can then discard the tank and replace the tank with a new disposable tank.

<FIG> illustrates a mechanism for sealing and unsealing the disposable tank <NUM> that has the mouthpiece <NUM>. When the disposable tank <NUM> is installed in the housing, a post portion <NUM> of the intermediate portion <NUM> is pushed up by a raised portion of the bottom portion <NUM> as shown which allows the liquid in the tank to flow down and wet the wick of the atomizer <NUM>. Similarly, when the tank is detached from the housing <NUM>, the post portion <NUM> returns to its closed position so that the tank is sealed.

As shown in <FIG>, the tank well <NUM> may have a pooling reservoir and overflow tank <NUM>. In one embodiment, the pooling reservoir <NUM> may be at the bottom left directly opposite the mouthpiece to hold any excess liquid that was wicked from the other side of the tank, but not vaporized. This space prevents fluid from flowing into other areas of the tank our out through the air hole and in contact with the user. Since the tank is disposable, it is only designed to hold any excess that may accumulate from a normal <NUM>-hour use.

<FIG> illustrate more details of the intermediate portion <NUM> of the disposable tank. The intermediate portion <NUM> may have the terminals <NUM>, <NUM> on the underside, the post portion <NUM> and a groove <NUM>. Before a disposable tank <NUM> is attached to the housing <NUM>, the components of the tank create a positive seal to prevent liquid from leaving the upper tank before it is inserted into the housing <NUM>. The design of the tank's silicone part is such that as the tank is attached to the housing, it displaces the silicone inside the tank (by pressing on the post portion <NUM>) enough to start the liquid flow into the lower tank area containing the atomizing element <NUM>. The pressure from the main device on the silicone of the inserted tank also causes the silicone to expand to create a secondary seal at the bottom of the tank to prevent liquid from flowing from the bottom of the tank into the main device.

The tank can be removed from the housing at any time, for example when a user wishes to switch to a tank with a different flavored liquid. Immediate upon removal of the tank, the inner silicone part returns to its previous sealed position creating a seal for the liquid once again. The result is that liquid will only flow when the tank is fully inserted into a suitable base unit and not when the tank is separated as in during shipment or after a partially used tank is manually removed.

<FIG> illustrate more details of the intermediate portion <NUM> of the disposable tank with the atomizer portion <NUM>. The atomizer portion <NUM> has a wick element <NUM>. The wick element <NUM> may be U-shaped. The atomizer portion <NUM> also has a heating element <NUM> that may be located, for example, at the middle of the U-shaped wick. In one embodiment, the heating element <NUM> may further comprise a coil portion <NUM> that vaporizes the eLiquid, a first electrode <NUM> and a second electrode <NUM> at each end of the coil portion. As shown in <FIG>, when the atomizer portion <NUM> is placed into the intermediate portion <NUM>, each electrode <NUM>, <NUM> electrically connects to the terminals <NUM>, <NUM>. The terminals <NUM>, <NUM> are electrically connected to the power source so that the atomizer portion <NUM> is also directly connected to the power source. In one embodiment, the wick <NUM> may be made of silica, cotton or a ceramic material. Each electrode/wire <NUM>, <NUM> and the coil portion <NUM> may be made of nickel-chromium or other conductive metal. In another embodiment, the wick element <NUM> and the heating element <NUM> may be both made of a ceramic material that both wicks and heats the eLiquid. <FIG> illustrates details of the connection between the housing <NUM> and disposable tank <NUM> when the disposable tank <NUM> is installed in the housing <NUM>.

<FIG> show a side view and a cutaway view of the disposable tank electronic cigarette showing the airflow. As shown, air for the device enters an air input, travels downwards and interacts with the wick element <NUM> and the coil <NUM> that generate the vaporized liquid that is inhaled by the user through the mouthpiece portion <NUM>. The airflow shown in <FIG> reduces the likleyhood of condensation in the system.

<FIG> illustrates another example of the tank body <NUM>. The disposable tank <NUM> may further comprise a tank body <NUM> that has the mouthpiece <NUM> and contains an eLiquid. The disposable tank <NUM> may further comprise an intermediate portion <NUM>, the atomizer element <NUM> (that may include a heater element and a wick element as described below in more detail) and a tank well portion <NUM> into which the atomizer element <NUM> is secured. The intermediate portion <NUM> may be made of silicone. The intermediate portion <NUM>, the atomizer portion <NUM> and the lower portion <NUM> are connected together. The intermediate portion <NUM>, the atomizer portion <NUM> and the tank well portion <NUM> ensure that the eLiquid does not leak from the tank, houses the atomizer portion <NUM> and routes and permits the eLiquid to come into contact with the atomizer portion <NUM> to vaporize the eLiquid. The eLiquid is released from the disposable tank <NUM> and can be vaporized when the disposable tank <NUM> is inserted into the housing <NUM>, for example. The intermediate portion <NUM>, the atomizer portion <NUM> and the tank well portion <NUM> may also provide a receptacle if any eLiquid leaks. In some embodiments, the tank <NUM> (and its parts) may be pre-assembled, pre-filled with eLiquid and sealed before coming in contact with the user. In one embodiment, the choice of tank body materials and atomizer components may be chosen assuming that the disposable tank will be discarded after about <NUM> hours of use for a normal user.

<FIG> and <FIG> illustrates the assembly of the atomizer unit including the wick element <NUM> and the coil element <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the elements form an intergrated component that partially guides the liquid to be vaporized, retains the coil <NUM> and retains the coil adjacent to the heater element <NUM>.

The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has been described with reference to specific embodiments. However, the illustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the disclosure and its practical applications, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the disclosure and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

Claim 1:
An electronic cigarette device (<NUM>), comprising:
a housing (<NUM>) having a power source (<NUM>);
a disposable tank (<NUM>) capable of holding an electronic cigarette liquid;
the housing (<NUM>) having a tank receptacle (<NUM>) into which the disposable tank (<NUM>) is removably attachable; and
a connection mechanism (<NUM>, <NUM>) that is part of the disposable tank (<NUM>) and the tank receptacle (<NUM>) configured to securely connect the disposable tank (<NUM>) to the tank receptacle (<NUM>) and to provide power from the housing (<NUM>) to the disposable tank (<NUM>);
the disposable tank (<NUM>) comprising:
a heater element (<NUM>) that is connected to the power source (<NUM>) when the disposable tank (<NUM>) is attached to the housing (<NUM>);
a wick element (<NUM>) arranged to be wetted by the electronic cigarette liquid and heated by the heater element (<NUM>) to vaporize the electronic cigarette liquid;
an air input; and
a mouthpiece portion (<NUM>);
the disposable tank being configured with an airflow wherein air entering the air input can travel away from the mouthpiece portion (<NUM>), and then interacts with the heater element (<NUM>) and the wicking element (<NUM>) that generate the vaporized liquid for inhalation through the mouthpiece portion (<NUM>).