BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to electronic cigarettes (or e-cigarettes), and more particularly to an e-liquid dispenser that holds the liquid that is atomized in the electronic cigarettes.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electronic cigarette, or e-cigarette or smokeless cigarette, is an electronic device that simulates the act of tobacco smoking by converting a liquid into an inhaled mist or aerosol having the physical sensation, appearance, and the flavor (and nicotine) of inhaled tobacco smoke, without the odor and health risks associated with the burning of tobacco in cigarettes. Lighting a traditional cigarette causes the tobacco to burn, releasing smoke that contains nicotine. The user breathes in the smoke to deliver nicotine to the lungs, as well as harmful chemicals, such as carbon dioxide and carcinogenic tar.
An electronic cigarette doesn't rely on this process of combustion of tobacco. Instead, it heats a liquid containing nicotine in varying concentrations and converts the liquid to a vapor or mist that the user inhales. Depending on the electronic cigarette, the user may simply inhale from the cartridge to begin the vaporization process that results in a vapor without the tar. An e-cigarette generally uses heat or ultrasonics to vaporize a propylene glycol- or glycerin-based liquid solution into a vapor for inhalation.
Electronic cigarettes generally comprise three essential components. A “cartridge” serves as a mouthpiece and usually doubles as a small reservoir that holds the liquid that is to be vaporized. An atomizer serves as the heating element responsible for vaporizing the liquid to provide the aerosol mist and the cartridge may be attached to the atomizer. If the cartridge and the atomizer are combined, the combination may be referred to as a “cartomizer.” A rechargeable battery unit powers the electronic cigarette and when the user inhales, the atomizer is activated and heats and vaporizes the liquid, which is then inhaled through the mouthpiece.
The contents of the liquid solution used to produce the aerosol mist in electronic cigarettes vary widely, but they commonly include distilled water and flavorings (e.g., tobacco smoke, menthol, mint, coffee, chocolate, etc.) in a propylene glycol or glycerin base. Nicotine may also be included in solutions in varying degrees intended to fulfill a nicotine replacement role, without the carcinogenic tar associated with tobacco smoke, but the liquid may also be nicotine free. This liquid solution may be referred to as an “e-liquid.”
After the e-liquid is depleted, the user may replace the cartridge if it is a pre-filled cartridge or purchase bottles of e-liquid and refill the cartridge himself. In the latter case, e-liquids of varying compositions may be purchased in small glass bottles, such as small 5 ml bottles of various sizes, such as 5 ml, 10 ml, 20 ml, and 30 ml, or even larger, that may be capped. In some bottles, the cap may include an eye dropper for dispensing the e-liquid into a cartridge or cartomizer.
As many consumers of e-cigarettes wish to experience the same sensations as tobacco smokers, a user may inhale the e-cigarette as he would a regular cigarette. As an example, some e-cigarettes include a light-emitting diode (LED) that lights up when the user inhales, giving the appearance of a flame at the end of the e-cigarette. Also, the e-cigarette may take the form of a cigarette in an old-fashioned holder and the smaller versions of e-cigarettes may take the form and shape of a traditional tobacco cigarette.
With more widespread use of e-cigarettes, there is now a need for an improved design of e-liquid dispensers that is more acceptable to these consumers of e-cigarettes.
SUMMARY
An e-liquid dispenser configured to contain and dispense e-liquids for use in e-cigarettes is described. In general, an e-liquid dispenser comprises an outer casing having a bottom housing and a pivotally-attached hinged lid, and a removable e-bottle used to contain and dispense the e-liquid. The e-bottle may be made of blow molded plastic and may include a raised portion on the front side of the e-bottle, where this raised portion matches an opening in the front or rear face of the bottom housing into which the e-bottle is inserted, allowing the e-bottle to be securely held in the bottom housing. The e-bottle may be removed by depressing the raised portion and pushing the e-bottle out of the bottom housing. The e-bottle may include a spout allowing the e-liquid to be dispensed from the e-bottle into an e-cigarette, as well as allowing refills of the e-bottle. The spout may be detachable and interchangeable or may be integrated into the e-bottle.
Other systems, methods, features and advantages of the invention will be or will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
The examples of the invention described below can be better understood with reference to the following figures. In the figures, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views.
FIG. 1 shows a front perspective view of an example implementation of an assembled e-liquid dispenser in accordance with the invention.
FIG. 2 shows a rear perspective view of the assembled e-liquid dispenser shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 shows a front elevation view of the assembled e-liquid dispenser shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 shows a rear elevation view of the assembled e-liquid dispenser shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 shows a left side elevation view of the assembled e-liquid dispenser shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 6 shows a right side elevation view of the assembled e-liquid dispenser shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 7 shows a top plan view of the assembled e-liquid dispenser shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 8 shows a bottom plan view of the assembled e-liquid dispenser shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 9 shows a front perspective view of an example implementation of an outer casing of an e-liquid dispenser in accordance with the invention with its hinged lid partially open.
FIG. 10 shows a rear perspective view of the outer casing of the e-liquid dispenser shown in FIG. 9.
FIG. 11 shows another rear perspective view of the outer casing of the e-liquid dispenser shown in FIG. 9.
FIG. 12 shows a front perspective view of an e-bottle in accordance with the invention.
FIG. 13 shows a rear perspective view of the e-bottle shown in FIG. 12.
FIG. 14 shows a left side elevation view of the e-bottle shown in FIG. 12.
FIG. 15 shows a right side view of the e-bottle shown in FIG. 12.
FIG. 16 shows a rear perspective view of another example implementation of an outer casing of an e-liquid dispenser in accordance with the invention with its hinged lid closed.
FIG. 17 shows a front exploded perspective view of the outer casing of the e-liquid dispenser shown in FIG. 16.
FIG. 18 shows a top exploded plan view of the outer casing of the e-liquid dispenser shown in FIG. 16.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In the following description of the preferred and various alternative embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration a specific embodiment in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and various structural changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.
FIG. 1 shows a front perspective view of an example implementation of an assembled e-liquid dispenser 100 in accordance with the invention. The e-liquid dispenser 100 comprises a bottom housing 102 and a hinged lid 104, which pivots around a hinge (see FIGS. 7 and 8) in order to cover the top of the bottom housing 102 when the e-liquid dispenser 100 is closed. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the hinged lid 104 for illustrative purposes appears as being made of a transparent material, such as poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) or acrylic glass, such as PLEXIGLAS® or ACRYLITE®, but may be made of any other suitable material, such as stainless steel, aluminum, chrome, various plastics and resins, and the like. Shown securely inserted into the bottom housing 102 is a refillable blow molded e-bottle 110 having a conical spout (see FIG. 3). The bottom housing 102 also may be made of various materials, including stainless steel, aluminum, polished chrome, and other metals and metal-alloys, as well as various types of plastics or resins.
FIG. 2 shows a rear perspective rear view of the assembled e-liquid dispenser 100 shown in FIG. 1 with the hinged lid 104 in a closed position over the bottom housing 102. Also shown in FIG. 2 is a circular opening 130 in a rear wall of the bottom housing 102 through which a circular raised portion 132 on the rear surface of the e-bottle 110 (see also FIGS. 10, 11, and 13) is projected. By pressing inwardly on this circular raised portion 132, the user of the e-liquid dispenser 100 can expel e-liquid out of the e-liquid dispenser 100. Also, this circular raised portion helps to retain the e-bottle 110 in the bottom housing 102, and by pressing on this circular raised portion and then pushing upward, the user is able to eject the e-bottle 110 from the bottom housing 102. Thus, an e-bottle in accordance with the invention provides a user of e-cigarettes a convenient container to hold and dispense his e-liquids using a “one handed operation” in contrast to a conventional e-bottle that requires two hands to open and expel the e-liquid.
Turning to FIGS. 3 and 4, a front elevation and rear elevation view, respectively, of the e-liquid dispenser 100 shown in FIG. 1 is shown with its hinged lid 104 closed. The hinged lid 104 may include an annular ring 120 positioned inside the hinged lid 104 such that the annular ring 120 is in a position to completely cover the spout 116 when the hinged lid 104 is fully closed. FIG. 4 shows a rear elevation view of the e-liquid dispenser 100 shown in FIG. 1 with its hinged lid 104 closed. In this view, circular raised portion 132 on the rear surface of the e-bottle 110 is shown as protruding through circular opening 130 of the bottom housing 102.
Turning to FIGS. 5 and 6, left side and right side elevation views, respectively, of the assembled e-liquid dispenser 100 shown in FIG. 1 are shown. In FIG. 5, the e-liquid dispenser 100 includes a bottom housing 102 and a hinged lid 104, with the e-bottle 110 shown securely inserted into bottom housing 102. The bottom housing 102 and the hinged lid 104 are pivotally attached by a hinge assembly 150, which is described in more detail below.
FIGS. 7 and 8 are a top plan view and a bottom plan view, respectively, of the assembled e-liquid dispenser 100 shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 7, the hinged lid 104 is shown with a first inner hinge barrel 152 and a second inner hinge barrel 154 that may be attached to an edge of the hinged lid 104. In FIG. 8, the bottom housing 102 is shown with a first outer hinge barrel 156 and a second outer hinge barrel 158 that may be attached to an edge of the bottom housing 102. The hinged lid 104 and the bottom housing 102 are pivotally connected by inserting a roll pin 166 (FIG. 8) through first outer hinge barrel 156, second outer hinge barrel 158, first inner hinge barrel 152, and second inner hinge barrel 154 such that roll pin 166 holds the hinged lid 104 and the bottom housing 102 together, while allowing the hinged lid 104 to rotate relative to the bottom housing 102.
The hinge assembly 150 (FIG. 5) may also include a torsion spring 160 (FIG. 7) and a lever 164 (see FIG. 10). Torsion spring 160 (FIG. 7) and lever 164 are configured such that lever 164 is spring biased to keep the hinged lid 104 of the e-liquid dispenser 100 closed or opened as the case may be, where the spring-biased pressure can be easily overcome by a user moving the hinged lid 104 to the desired position. Accordingly, the purpose of the hinged assembly 150 is to provide a slight spring tension to keep the hinged lid 104 in the closed position when closed and in the open position when open, such that the lid is retained in the closed position but may be easily opened and closed by the user as required. It is appreciated by those skilled in the art that while the hinge assembly 150 shown includes two pairs of hinge barrels, a torsion spring, and a lever, other implementations of a hinge assembly may include hinges having different configurations, such as three or five barrel hinges, hinges inside or outside the casing, leaf springs, coiled springs with plungers, cams, latches, and the like that will also exert pressure on the hinged lid when open and closed.
FIG. 9 shows a front perspective view of the bottom housing 102 and the hinged lid 104 of the e-liquid dispenser 100 of FIG. 1 with its hinged lid 104 partially open and FIG. 10 shows a rear perspective view of the same bottom housing 102 and hinged lid 104. In FIG. 10, the circular opening 130 in a rear wall of the bottom housing 102 is shown. Also shown is lever 164 that is spring biased by the torsion spring 160 to exert pressure on the hinged lid 104 to keep it in place when closed and when open.
FIG. 11 shows another rear perspective view of the bottom housing 102 and the hinged lid 104 of the e-liquid dispenser 100 of FIG. 1. Also shown in FIG. 11 is annular ring 120, which may be positioned inside a top surface of the hinged lid 104. A silicone sealing cap (not shown) may be inserted inside the annular ring 120 in order to help seal the contents of the e-bottle inserted inside the bottom housing 102. Also shown attached to an inside wall of the hinged lid 104 is latch 140, which keeps the hinged lid 104 closed when the latch 140 is held in place by insertion into notch 144 (FIG. 10).
Turning to FIGS. 12-15, various views of an example implementation of an e-bottle that is shown in FIG. 1 snugly secured in the bottom housing 102 that is covered the hinged lid 104. In general, e-bottle 110 may be made of blow molded plastic, which is a material that is flexible and can be formed in any desired shape using various blow molding processes. In FIG. 12, e-bottle 110 is shown with a spout 116 on a top wall of the e-bottle 110 with a cap 118 on top of the spout 116. It is appreciated by those skilled in the art that spout 116 may be integrated into the e-bottle 110 during the blow molding process or may be detachable and interchangeable, that is, may be removed by unscrewing the spout and replacing it with another threaded spout. Likewise, the cap 118 may be a snap-on cap attached to the spout by a plastic strip or may be a removable threaded cap.
In FIG. 13, the circular raised portion 132 on the rear surface of the e-bottle 110 is shown. In the assembled e-liquid dispenser 100 shown in FIG. 1, the bottom housing 102 has a circular opening 130 in the rear wall, where the diameter of the circular opening 130 is approximately the same as the outside diameter of the circular raised portion 132. This allows a user of an e-liquid dispenser in accordance with the invention to insert an e-bottle 110 into a bottom housing so that the circular raised portion 132 on will protrude through circular opening, thus securing the e-bottle 110 in the e-liquid dispenser. It is appreciated by those skilled in the art that the circular raised portion 132 may take shapes other than circles, such as triangles, squares, rectangles, pentagons, heptagons, hexagons, octagons, etc., so long as the opening in the base housing of the e-liquid dispenser has a like shape.
As for the shape and dimensions of an e-bottle, various embodiments of an e-bottle 110 may hold 5, 10, 15, 20, or 30 ml. of e-liquid, or any other volume desired by a manufacturer of an e-bottle. Such an e-bottle 110 as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15 may have a raised portion having a diameter 134 of approximately 1.50″ and a height 136 of the raised portion may be approximately 0.25″. Generally speaking, the raised portion 132 should have a height such that the e-bottle 110 is snugly held in the bottom housing 202 but may be removed when a user exerts upward pressure on the raised portion 132 of the e-bottle 110 to remove it from the bottom housing 202. Such an e-bottle would hold approximately 15 ml of e-liquid, and the spout 116 may be integrated into the e-bottle 110 or may be detachable and interchangeable with other types of spouts, such as a syringe top, a needle nose spout, a spout with attached cap, etc.
Turning to FIGS. 16-18, another example implementation of an outer casing 200 of an e-liquid dispenser in accordance with the invention is shown. The outer casing 200 comprises a hinged lid 204 and a bottom housing 202 that are pivotally connected by hinge assembly 250. In addition to the elements shown in FIGS. 7, 8, and 10, the hinge assembly 250 may include a child-resistant feature that prevents small children from opening the e-liquid dispenser.
Turning to FIGS. 17 and 18, the child-resistant feature may include a movable latch 252 that slides into channel 258, where spring 254 exerts a bias on the movable latch 252. When the hinged lid 204 is closed, movable latch 252 automatically snaps back into the “locked” position without any action by the user. Thereafter, the hinged lid 204 cannot be opened until the movable latch 252 is pushed inwards, thus preventing a small child from unintentionally or easily opening the e-liquid dispenser.
The foregoing description of one or more implementations has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not exhaustive and does not limit the claimed inventions to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above description or may be acquired from practicing the invention.
Patent Application
20160081391
