Patent Description:
Disposable vaporizers for delivering a vaping experience based on e-liquids are presently in the marketplace. These devices present a number of challenges for their providers, for example including:.

Two types of constructions currently on the market for disposable one-piece vaporizers with e-liquids are prevalent:.

In between the tube and the exterior of the liquid container, cotton is placed and liquid is filled into the space with the cotton. Thus, the liquid is sus-pended in the cotton, and both cotton and liquid form a reservoir. The cotton acts as a storage medium, but also as a wicking element to wick the liquid to the wick placed inside/through the vapor tube. Additionally, cotton wraps may be added to further seal or wick liquid towards the heating element. An example of this type of construction is illustrated in FIG.

It would be beneficial to develop a vaporizer cartridge that addresses the above-identified challenges. Published European patent application <CIT> discloses an electronic cigarette, the electronic cigarette comprises a heating member, a sensor assembly, and a cigarette holder having an air suction port in air communication with the air outside of the electronic cigarette, the sensor assembly comprises an inductive chamber, and a sensor arranged in the inductive chamber; the heating member is located outside of the inductive chamber, the inductive chamber has two ends, one end of the inductive chamber is an open end, the other end of the inductive chamber opposite to the open end is a sealed end, the open end of the inductive chamber is in air communication with the air suction port. Published International patent application <CIT> discloses an aerosol delivery device comprising a mouthpiece end ; an aerosol generation chamber in fluid communication with the mouthpiece end via a primary air channel, wherein the aerosol generation chamber comprises an aerosol source for generating an aerosol from a source material for inhalation by a user through the mouthpiece end during use; and a sensor for detecting when a user inhales on the mouthpiece end, wherein the sensor is in fluid communication with the mouthpiece end via a secondary air channel, and wherein the sensor is located further from the mouthpiece end than the aerosol source, and the secondary air channel bypasses the aerosol generation chamber.

The invention is defined by the independent claims to which reference is now made. Advantageous features are set out in the dependent claims.

A more complete understanding of the present disclosure may be realized by reference to the accompanying drawing in which:.

The following merely illustrates the principles of the disclosure. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements which, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the disclosure and are included within its spirit and scope.

Furthermore, all examples and conditional language recited herein are principally intended expressly to be only for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the principles of the disclosure and the concepts contributed by the inventor(s) to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions.

Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include both currently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in the future, i.e., any elements later developed that perform the same function, regardless of structure.

<FIG>, and the passages in the description referring thereto, illustrate an embodiment of the invention, as per independent claim <NUM>. The remaining figures and the relevant passages in the description belong to the present disclosure but do not form part of the invention. They represent background art that is useful for understanding the invention.

Unless otherwise explicitly specified herein, the drawings are not drawn to scale.

Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to a novel vaporizer-based inhalation device.

An exemplary device is illustrated in <FIG>. From the outside, the device has one continuous shell. The raised surface on the body of the device may be designed, for example, to have a matte finish with the rest of the plastic having a gloss finish. In operation, the user simply puts their lips around the mouthpiece and inhales in to activate the device through a pressure sensor.

Internal elements of the device are illustrated in <FIG>. To help reduce cost and increase fluid volume, the reservoir and vapor/PCB tubes <NUM> may preferably be formed as a single molded component. "PCB" stands for a Printed Circuit Board, and in this construction, may include a pressure sensor that detects the change in pressure upon a user's inhalation which triggers the activation of the electric current to the heating element and begins the vaporization process. The PCB's function includes but is not limited to regulating the power supply delivery to the heating element, be coupled to a lighting mechanism indicating activation, and may be connected to a vibration motor for tactile feedback when a certain time of inhalation or corresponding dose of a material is generated in an aerosol and inhaled by the user. This disclosure refers to a"PCB tube" as a tube that connects from the inhalation points to the PCB chamber and acts as an activator of the device. In contrast, the vapor tube acts as the tube carrying the aerosol to a user. It is advantageous to keep the PCB tubes and vapor tubes separate, as these serve separate functions, but also, minor leakage may affect the PCB adversely. If minor leakage were to cover the PCB, the PCB's pressure sensor may not activate upon a user's inhalation, rendering the device inoperable. However, embodiments of this design may also simply include a single tube that functions as both the airflow activation and the vapor tube if sealing and molded parts are tightly controlled, though an element of risk remains. The reservoir is closed off fluidically with the PCB and Wick housing <NUM> with the entire assembly locked into the outer shell <NUM> with an end cap <NUM>. The device has a battery <NUM>.

<FIG> illustrates a variety of battery technologies with different energy densities that may be usable in a device as described in this disclosure. Most batteries found in vaporizer devices are on the lower end of the energy density spectrum and often around <NUM> Wh/L, which means that for the space they occupy, they provide little power. Current batteries take up too much space, and smaller batteries with low energy density will likely be more expensive to produce and source. Thus, it is desired to use higher energy density batteries and also make the batteries smaller. Preferably, for the device described by the present disclosure, the battery <NUM> to be used is <NUM> wide, <NUM> deep, and <NUM> long Li-Mn battery. It has a capacity of <NUM> MaH leading to an energy density of approximately <NUM> Wh/L.

<FIG> further illustrates a molded reservoir and vapor/PCB tube component of a device according to aspects of the present disclosure. The vapor tubes travel along the entire length of the back spine of this part from the mouthpiece to the bottom of the reservoir. The open space alongside of these tubes in addition to the main cavity towards the bottom acts as the volume for the oil. The current design may preferably approximately <NUM> of oil. However, increasing the overall length by <NUM> could allow a <NUM> fill-volume. Conversely, decreasing the fill volume is possible by decreasing the height of the inserted reservoir, for instance, by needing space for additional hardware components such as a vibration motor, or to add more and/or stronger seals. In certain circumstances, a lower fill level may also be desired commercially if a commercially expensive oil (e.g. cannabis oils) are filled into the device. Embodiments of this design may take into account a variety of battery shapes (e.g. two smaller round shapes fit on the side of the reservoir) or a variety of outer shell aesthetic shapes (e.g. rounder, or rectangular, smaller, larger, thicker, thinner).

<FIG> and <FIG> illustrate a second type of molded reservoir and vapor/pcb tube component of a device according to aspects of the present disclosure, alone and as positioned in the outer shell. The device has a mouthpiece <NUM>, a body <NUM>, a battery <NUM>, moulded air tubes <NUM>, a moulded reservoir <NUM>, a PCB tube <NUM>, a vapor tube <NUM>, a user air inlet <NUM>, a pressure sensor <NUM> and a wick <NUM>. In this component, the space beside the tubes is not used for liquid storage. This embodiment incorporates the molded air cavities into the molded reservoir <NUM>. As in the first embodiment type described above, the air cavities are directly incorporated into the reservoir to help keep a solid seal between the fluid to vapor path. However, unlike the construction above, the pod is not molded in one, but the pod has a cap (as illustrated in <FIG>). Any embodiments that have more or separate parts, but satisfy the general construction, would be substantially equivalent and contemplated by the disclosure herein. The device internals to be fully assembled, with the last step being to encase them in the outer shell. Airflow is from the bottom through a baseplate <NUM>.

For the examples described above, the bottom of this inserted pod is open. <FIG> shows how the PCB and Wick housing <NUM> compresses against an O-ring <NUM> to create a face seal and seal off the bottom of the reservoir <NUM>. Additionally, as the O-ring <NUM> is compressed, it pushes against the inner walls of the shell to further seal the device. The PCB and Wick housing <NUM> has <NUM> ports where oil can flow to get in contact with the wicks. In addition to sealing the reservoir <NUM> fluidically, there is also a face seal to ensure that the vapor and PCB tubes are sealed to their specific compartments. The device has an end cap <NUM>.

Other anti-leaking mechanisms are in place in addition to the O-ring and the Tube Face Seal described above. In the embodiments shown in <FIG> with a cotton wick and a metal heating coil and <FIG> with ceramic, the sealing as well as the size, diameter and wicking capabilities of the wick can be optimized to reduce the risk of leaking into the chamber that is directly connected to the vapor tube. This chamber may sometimes be referred to as the heating chamber. In <FIG>, the device includes wick ports <NUM>, a vapor tube <NUM>, a PCB tube <NUM>, a tube face seal <NUM> and an air inlet <NUM>. In addition, the heating element is placed on an area with a cavity or depressed area. This cavity, as seen for example in <FIG> to the left of the air inlet <NUM> slot, can act as a reservoir to hold excess liquid should it leak from the wick. In addition, the following leaking prevention mechanisms may also be employed with the current construction. Cotton may be added either directly under the heating coil, beside the vapor tube <NUM>, or beside the air inlet <NUM>. Cotton can absorb excess liquid in addition to or instead of the leaking cavity. Another possibility would be to add a taller wall in between the air inlet <NUM> and the wick/coil, which would prevent excess liquid from seeping through the air inlet <NUM> or through the vapor tube <NUM>.

Furthermore, the sealing and fluid flow may also be adapted for ceramic coil materials as described in the following paragraphs, and an example illustrated in <FIG>. In the construction above, the wick ports <NUM> funnel liquid to the wick, and the wick and coil construction vaporize liquids into aerosols. With a ceramic heating element, the fluid flow would still include one or two liquid ports, but sealing would be adapted (including for example but not limited to a top seal, an o-ring between the top seal and the ceramic heating element, and a holding structure for the ceramic coil) and the sealing/connection to the vapor tube <NUM> would also be optimized for this configuration.

Oil from the reservoir falls into the cup of the ceramic coil. The coil is illustrated for example in <FIG>. Only the top face of the coil where the cup is located is open to the reservoir. The oil is absorbed by the ceramic, and the coil becomes saturated. When the device is activated, the coil heats up causing the saturated oil to vaporize. The lower half of the <NUM> outer walls of the cup and the bottom face of the ceramic coil are open to air. When the device is activated, air is pulled across the coil pulling the vaporized oil up and into the vapor tubes towards the mouthpiece of the device.

<FIG> show a side view illustrating how the ceramic coil can be fit into the base plate; one of the two air inlets is shown at the front of the figures. In the non-ceramic embodiments, one air inlet may preferably be used. In a ceramic embodiment, either one or two air inlets may preferably be used. Air inlets are the points where air can enter the heating chamber from outside the device, and mix with the generated aerosol, before it travels through the vapor tube to the user. It is described in more detail later. By way of example, a two air inlet ceramic embodiment is illustrated by <FIG> shows a bottom view of how the ceramic coil is fit into the device. <FIG> shows how the ceramic coil is fit from a cross sectional view, right above an area demarcated by raised walls, where excess fluid or condensation can be stored.

<FIG> shows a second embodiment of how liquid can be funneled into the ceramic heating element; in this embodiment, the ceramic coil would be placed underneath the vapor tube. Vapor generated at the top of the ceramic heating element, as well as vapor from the sides, can then travel through the vapor tube. These aspects are further illustrated by the elements of the wick and PCB housing shown in <FIG> shows a view of the device including the vapor tube <NUM>, the PCB tube <NUM>, the wick <NUM>, the coil <NUM>, a fill port <NUM>, and the PCB <NUM>.

For the Wick <NUM>/Coil <NUM> embodiments, once the fluid is in contact with the wick <NUM>, it is drawn along the wick <NUM> to the coil <NUM>. When the user inhales on the mouthpiece air flows through both the vapor <NUM> and the PCB tubes <NUM>. A pressure sensor on the PCB <NUM> detects the difference in pressure and triggers the device to allow power to the coil <NUM> causing it to heat up. This heat causes the oil in the wick <NUM> to evaporate. This evaporated liquid is drawn up the Vapor tube <NUM> to the user. <FIG> also shows the Fill Port <NUM>. This is where the reservoir is filled from. Once the fluid is injected into the reservoir from this port <NUM>, part of the end cap comes in to plug it and seal it off completely. It is important to note that while a vapor <NUM> and PCB tube <NUM> have advantages of separating the function for these tubes, and addressing problems such as leakage affecting the airflow, a further embodiment may use a joint (single) air tube for this purpose. The fill port <NUM> is used for filling liquid into the liquid reservoir. Upon completed filling, the bottom cap with the stopper is then inserted into the fill port <NUM>, and the device would be sealed.

An exemplary assembly process for the vaporizer as described in shown in <FIG> and <FIG>. In this process, in a first step <NUM>, the coil is assembled around the wick. In a second step <NUM>, thee wick/coil and the PCB are assembled into the wick/PCB housing. In a third step <NUM>, the assembly is turned over and the face seal is assembled into the wick/PCB housing. In a fourth step <NUM>, the o-ring is assembled around the base of the reservoir and the reservoir is placed on top of the wick/PCB housing. In a fifth step <NUM>, the battery is wired to the coil and the PCB. The wires should be long enough to place the battery above the reservoir cavity. In a sixth step <NUM>, the tube seal is placed on top of the vapor tubes. In a seventh step <NUM>, the entire assembly is slid into the outer shell until the wick/PCB housing snaps into the shell and secures the assembly in place. The wires are guised along the side of the reservoir and up the sides of the shell. In an eighth step <NUM>, the reservoir is filled with fluid using the fill port. In a ninth step <NUM>, the end cap is pushed into the bottom of the device. The plug goes into the fill port to the seal the reservoir. The end cap is a press fit into the shell, so it will be a snug fit, but should be pressed until it is flush with the bottom of the shell.

A number of alternate design constructions are contemplated by the present disclosure. For the molded reservoir and vapor tubes embodiment as illustrated by <FIG>, a risk is the long thin tubes that need to be molded. This is a long draw for such a small cavity. Alternatively, the tubes may be formed for example by insert molding twin metal hypo-tubes.

To maintain the outer form factor and to maximize the available fluid volume, most fluidic seals are preferably face seals. If the seals do not have enough compression, then they will leak. The compression comes from the wick/pcb housing snapping into the outer shell. To get to the point where it snaps in, the seals must compress and in turn they make a fluidic seal. However, if parts are out of spec, it is possible that there won't be enough compression which in turn causes the device to leak. Sealing optimizations may be performed during the manufacturing process such as adding additional seals or modifying the existing ones. The seal at the top of the device near the mouthpiece and the two seals at the bottom of the vapor/air tubes (as respectively illustrated for example in <FIG>) are examples of the face seals described in the paragraph above. They rely on compression to seal against the <NUM> bodies they sit between.

The following section further describes the ceramic heating coil embodiment as described earlier. As the ceramic coil is often used for higher viscosity liquids, and these liquids tend to be of higher commercial value and more expensive to the user, the user may want to track the fill level of the liquid as it is used. Further, a fill level will allow a user to track if the device was full at the point of purchase. These windows may be placed on either face of the device at any position (top, middle, bottom), or also only on one face of the device as illustrated for example in <FIG>. Natural light is effectively present as backlighting in the two face embodiments for improved fill level visibility. Alternatively or additionally, windows may be placed on the sides of the devices where the snaps reside, or may be created such that the snaps are integrated into the window. In other words, the snap on the side could push past the beginning of a window on a side, and then snap would extend out at the beginning of the window, effectively securing the insertable part from the bottom. These windows can be referred to as fill-level indication windows as well. Fill-level windows may further be used with other heating elements than ceramic coils, such as a traditional cotton/silica and kanthal, nichrome, or stainless steel. A variety of embodiments are shown below in <FIG>.

The fill level window embodiment illustrated in <FIG> also shows a vibration motor positioned on a PCB adjacent to a shelf surface of the reservoir. The vibration motor may be used for example to indicate to a user when a specific inhalation time has been reached or when a specific dose associated with the inhalation time, temperature, and material is reached. Other embodiments of this dosing indication may be achieved for example by sound or lighting features, in addition or instead of a vibration motor.

The images in <FIG> illustrate how a ceramic heating coil can be fit into the device while maintaining the general design and layout of the interior.

The image in <FIG> shows a cross section of a ceramic coil embodiment of the device. In this embodiment, the ceramic coil is placed at the bottom of the reservoir and allows the vaporization of the liquid. This embodiment has two air inlets, one towards the left and one towards the right. The size of air inlets may be increased or decreased; it is also possible to only make one air inlet larger and omit the second.

Most prior art devices utilize extra parts to connect the airflow from the mouth piece to the fluid. In addition to the extra cost that these extra parts require, they also add multiple new interfaces that present challenges relating to assembly and leakage.

An alternate design involves molding cavities into the outer shell that can serve as airflow tubes, fluid storage, or battery cavity. The internal construction such as the wick, coil materials, (or ceramic), PCB, battery, and other materials as earlier described, are easily adapted to fit the following constructions as well.

In <FIG>, it can be seen that the <NUM> air inlets <NUM> at the mouth piece are connected to molded cavities inside the outer shell. These cavities are created by molding internal walls. One of the air inlets <NUM> leads to a pressure sensor that activates the heating element. The second air inlet <NUM> leads to the wick so that when the heating element is activated, the vapor can travel directly up this tube. In addition to the airflow tubes, additional cavities may be created for fluid storage and the battery. Fluid in the fluid cavity is absorbed by the wick and then evaporated and passed up one of the air cavities. The <NUM> cavities are sealed off from the external environment and each other with the baseplate. <FIG> represent a few of many ways to achieve this. Note the images below use multiple air holes at the tapered mouthpiece; this is for illustrative purposes. Either a single air hole, or two or more air holes may be used.

A quartered embodiment uses a molded vapor tube, a molded PCB tube (as earlier described), a molded cavity used for liquid storage, and a molded cavity used for the battery slot. A variety of constructions and placements may be used, depending on the battery size and liquid fill volume that is required.

<FIG> depict the airflow through vapor and PCB tubes <NUM>. A similar construction could feasibly also be created by using a single tube for vapor and airflow activation, but these have risks as described above. Furthermore, the aesthetic choices of the airholes and the central aeshtetic pocket <NUM> may also be varied. For example, aesthetic airholes may be provided that may not necessarily perform a function, but are created for aesthetic symmetry.

<FIG> depict a fluid chamber <NUM>, a battery chamber <NUM>, the PCB tube <NUM>, and the vapor tube <NUM> molded into the outer shell to reduce parts required for assembly. It is noteworthy that for some of these constructions to work well, the wick housing may be configured so that the wick may only be in contact with the fluid from one rather than two sides.

<FIG> shows how the fluid cavity and the battery cavity can be situated in the design. The left image, labeled as fluid cavity, shows the volume in the interior occupied by the fluid, whereas the right image, shows the volume in the interior occupied by a battery.

<FIG> shows a bottom view and some of the components such as the PCB <NUM>, Wick <NUM>, and seals that are substantially equivalent to the constructions in the the Insertable Molded Reservoir shown again in <FIG>, but may be optimized to fit the specific layout of the chosen construction; the arrangements of the fill port <NUM> and the arrangements of the wick/coil/ceramic heating element may vary.

Further, in <FIG>, aspects of the airflow path can be observed. The user inhales and through the PCB tube <NUM> that leads to the the integrated PCB <NUM> and pressure sensor, a change in pressure is detected. This change in pressure recorded in the pressure sensor triggers the activation of the battery <NUM>. Subsequently, voltage is delivered to the coil <NUM>/wick <NUM> or (ceramic heating element not shown in the embodiment), to start the vaporization process. At the same time, the inhalation of the user through the vapor tube <NUM>, labeled above, moves air towards the user, and upon the start of the vaporization process, this air is supplemented with an inhalable aerosol generated from heating the liquid with the heating element. The air inlet <NUM>, not shown above but shown in <FIG>, serves as an air inlet to the heating chamber. The aerosol generated in the heating chamber then travels throught the vapor tube <NUM> to the user.

This construction is a further embodiment of molded tubes and a molded reservoir into the device. The device has a fluid chamber <NUM>. In this embodiment, the PCB <NUM> and vapor inlets are on the same side as show in <FIG>. As illustrated in <FIG>, a small barrier is created in this construction should excess liquid travel up the vapor tube, making it more difficult for the liquid to exit the vapor/inhalation hole. <FIG> shows air inlets <NUM> to both tube through one mouth piece inlet. Further, a pad of cotton may be fixed to the bottom of the central cavity shown in <FIG>, further catching excess liquid. Further, the vapor/inhalation hole may be moved further to the left, creating a greater barrier for liquid. <FIG> shows the internal construction; the PCB <NUM> and vapor tubes <NUM> are centrally anchored, with the fluid chamber <NUM> on the left and adjacent to the battery chamber <NUM> on the right.

<FIG> provide a view how the fluid chamber and battery chamber are oriented on the interior of the shell. The fluid cavity and battery cavity may be optimized in size for different fluid capacity and battery capacity requirements. The vapor and PCB tubes are adjacent central tubes <NUM>. <FIG> show illustrations of possible battery sizes and fill levels that can fit into the outer shell. The wick configuration, filling port, and sealing are further similar to the other constructions detailed in the invention disclosure above.

Similar to the Quartered embodiment and the Central Airflow Tubes embodiment, the Side Airflow Tubes embodiment takes advantage of molding components directly into the outer shell. A description of this layout is provided below. <FIG> show that the airflow and PCB tubes are situated on either the left or the right side, but are molded next to each other. The air inlets <NUM> for both air cavities are on the same mouthpiece inlet. In this embodiment, <NUM> aesthetic holes are created for symmetry but not for function. However, a central airhole can be used and a barrier for liquid can be created similar to <FIG>. A cross section view from the bottom is provided in <FIG>, which shows a battery/fluid chamber <NUM>, a PCB tube <NUM> and a vapor tube <NUM>.

For illustrative purposes, the finished design illustrated positions a separate battery <NUM> in an upper portion of the interior of the device and the fluid component <NUM> below. There are a variety of embodiments that may work for this construction, but also, it may be the case that the inserted fluid reservoir and the battery may change place (the fluid reservoir situated above the battery placement). This embodiment would have to take into account how filling is done, and filling may need to get done before the fluid reservoir is inserted. For the illustration, we used the battery <NUM> on top. <FIG> illustrates another construction that places the fluid reservoir on the top to take advantage of the odd geometry; while batteries could not be produced to fit this space, an insertable fluid reservoir could.

<FIG> illustrates one approach for doing this using an inserted pod with the battery situated on top/the side as done in the Insertable Molded Fluid Reservoir disclosure. Instead of the vapor and PCB tubes molded into the center of the fluid reservoir, the PCB tube and vapor tube are situated at the side of the shell. The PCB, wick, and filling port remain the same, though their layout may be optimized. <FIG> is similar to <FIG>, and serves as illustration of how the battery can fit at the top while the inserted reservoir or an inserted pod is fit on the bottom part of the shell.

One of the biggest challenges with molding the outer shell is dealing with the required draft to make the part moldable. Given that the mold tooling must reach very far up into the cavity to create these walls, the effects of draft become quite severe and greatly reduce the amount of space inside the cavity. This problem may be addressed by alternatively using insert molding. Note that this insert molding technique may be applied essentially to all direct-molded constructions detailed in this disclosure.

As shown in <FIG>, instead of creating a cavity using additional walls, a metal hypotube <NUM> is insert molded into the outer walls <NUM> of the device. Metal hypotubes <NUM> can be made from a variety of materials, such as stainless steel <NUM> or <NUM>. The extruded hypotube <NUM> does not require draft, and therefore can maintain a consistent wall thickness from top to bottom. This allows more space to be opened up throughout the inner cavity. The tubes <NUM> are then connected to a molded mouthpiece <NUM> to allow for airflow through the device. While the mouthpiece <NUM> shown in <FIG> appears to be a distinct component from the body <NUM>; it may either be molded together with the body <NUM>, or it may be molded separately and attached to the body <NUM> during assembly.

Another embodiment that avoids the difficulties associated with direct-molded tubes does this by creating a slot <NUM> in the outer wall of the shell, as illustrated for example in <FIG>. Since this slot <NUM> is not an additional wall, the draft that is required is the same draft being used for the outer shell to begin with. This allows the slot <NUM> to be created while minimizing the amount of internal space that it takes up. To then seal off the slot and create an airflow path, heat shrink may be placed over the shell, and heated to shrink down tightly and conform to the shell profile. Since the heat shrink is very thin it adds very little thickness to the device. Examples of industrial shrink wrap materials may include but are not limited to Polyolefin, Polyvinylidene, or a Silicone elastomer. The newly created airflow paths are then connected to paths in the mouthpiece to direct airflow through the slots <NUM> and to the user.

<FIG> provide and external and an internal view of how industrial shrink-wrapped devices may look, highlighting the airtight tubes created by this sealing process. Battery, reservoir, PCB, wick, can be used as detailed for the other embodiments. The mouthpiece would attach to the main body <NUM> using either snaps or a press fit. A light seal may be required to maintain an airway, however since we are only sealing against vapor at this point, the contact between the <NUM> parts may be enough. If a seal is required, a face seal utilizing the compression between the mouthpiece <NUM> and the body <NUM> would likely be used. Sealed slots <NUM> are connected to the moulded mouthpiece <NUM> for airflow.

Most components are rigid and are not flexible. When working in tight spaces like the inside of the outer shell, this becomes very difficult. Rigid walls and batteries make it hard to fit components around each other and utilize available space. Another approach consistent with aspects of the present disclosure and illustrated for example by <FIG>, utilizes flexible tubing in order to gain access to this space. The tubing can be routed around rigid objects such as reservoirs, batteries, and PCBs to make use of the available space. They are connected directly to the air inlet and provide a fluid path to either the pressure sensor or to the heating element, similar as the constructions detailed earlier in this disclosure. For the material of the flexible tubing, materials include but are not limited to silicone tubing.

<FIG> respectively show an exterior and an interior view of an flexible tubing embodiment; an outer shell <NUM>; flexible tubing <NUM>; a single air inlet <NUM> connected directly to the tubing <NUM>; battery and fluid reservoir constructions may be assembled in any fashion as detailed by way of example above. The filling port, PCB, wick/coil/ceramic constructions detailed earlier in this disclosure can also be used for this construction.

<FIG> illustrates a tilted baseplate <NUM> feature at the base of the fluid reservoir <NUM> that enables the device to use as much liquid as possible. Where other devices with a flat plate would have unused fluid leftover at the end, the tilted baseplate <NUM> works to ensure that all the fluid works its way to the wick <NUM>. This works because when the user picks up the device to inhale, gravity forces the fluid down the ramp and towards the wick.

Claim 1:
A vaporizer device for generating an inhalable aerosol, the device comprising:
a body (<NUM>) including a mouthpiece (<NUM>);
a reservoir (<NUM>) for storing an aerosolizable material;
a housing including a heating chamber including a heating element and a pressure sensor for controlling operation of the heating element;
a power source for powering the heating element and pressure sensor (<NUM>);
a vapor tube (<NUM>) extending from the mouthpiece to the heating chamber; and
a PCB tube (<NUM>) extending from the mouthpiece to the pressure sensor, wherein the vapor tube and PCB tube are integrally formed with the body;
characterized in that:
the body includes an interior chamber into which the reservoir and the housing are inserted; and
each of the vapor tube and the PCB tube comprise a metal hypotube (<NUM>).