Patent Grant
11033055
The present application is a National Phase entry of PCT Application No. PCT/GB2016/051731, filed Jun. 10, 2016, which claims priority from GB Patent Application No. 1511358.2, filed Jun. 29, 2015, each of which is hereby fully incorporated herein by reference.
The present disclosure relates to electronic aerosol provision systems such as electronic nicotine delivery systems (e.g. e-cigarettes).
The control unit 20 and cartomizer 30 are detachable from one another by separating in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis LA, as shown in
As shown in
One end of the control unit 20 provides a connector 25B for joining the control unit 20 to the connector 25A of the cartomizer 30. The connectors 25A and 25B provide mechanical and electrical connectivity between the control unit 20 and the cartomizer 30. The connector 25B includes two electrical terminals, an outer contact 240 and an inner contact 250, which are separated by insulator 260. The connector 25A likewise includes an inner electrode 175 and an outer electrode 171, separated by insulator 172. When the cartomizer 30 is connected to the control unit 20, the inner electrode 175 and the outer electrode 171 of the cartomizer 30 engage the inner contact 250 and the outer contact 240, respectively, of the control unit 20. The inner contact 250 is mounted on a coil spring 255 so that the inner electrode 175 pushes against the inner contact 250 to compress the coil spring 255, thereby helping to ensure good electrical contact when the cartomizer 30 is connected to the control unit 20.
The cartomizer connector 25A is provided with two lugs or tabs 180A, 180B, which extend in opposite directions away from the longitudinal axis of the e-cigarette 10. These tabs are used to provide a bayonet fitting for connecting the cartomizer 30 to the control unit 20. It will be appreciated that other embodiments may use a different form of connection between the control unit 20 and the cartomizer 30, such as a snap fit or a screw connection.
As mentioned above, the cartomizer 30 is generally disposed of once the liquid reservoir 170 has been depleted, and a new cartomizer 30 is purchased and installed. In contrast, the control unit 20 is re-usable with a succession of cartomizers 30. Accordingly, it is particularly desirable to keep the cost of the cartomizer 30 relatively low. One approach to doing this has been to construct a three-part device, based on (i) a control unit, (ii) a vaporizer component, and (iii) a liquid reservoir. In this three-part device, only the final part, the liquid reservoir, is disposable, whereas the control unit and the vaporizer are both re-usable. However, having a three-part device can increase the complexity, both in terms of manufacture and user operation. Moreover, it can be difficult in such a three-part device to provide a wicking arrangement of the type shown in
Another approach is to make the cartomizer 30 re-fillable, so that it is no longer disposable. However, making a cartomizer 30 re-fillable brings potential problems, for example, a user may try to re-fill the cartomizer 30 with an inappropriate liquid (one not provided by the supplier of the e-cigarette 10). There is a risk that this inappropriate liquid may result in a low quality consumer experience, and/or may be potentially hazardous, whether by causing damage to the e-cigarette itself, or possibly by creating toxic vapors.
Accordingly, existing approaches for reducing the cost of a disposable component (or for avoiding the need for such a disposable component) have met with only limited success.
The invention is defined in the appended claims.
According to a first aspect of certain embodiments there is provided an inductive heating assembly for generating an aerosol from an aerosol precursor material in an aerosol provision system, the inductive heating assembly comprising: a susceptor; and a drive coil arranged to induce current flow in the susceptor to heat the susceptor and vaporize aerosol precursor material in proximity with a surface of the susceptor, and wherein the susceptor comprises regions of different susceptibility to induced current flow from the drive coil, such that when in use the surface of the susceptor in the regions of different susceptibility are heated to different temperatures by the current flow induced by the drive coil.
According to a second aspect of certain embodiments there is provided an aerosol provision system comprising an inductive heating assembly for generating an aerosol from an aerosol precursor material in an aerosol provision system, the inductive heating assembly comprising: a susceptor; and a drive coil arranged to induce current flow in the susceptor to heat the susceptor and vaporize aerosol precursor material in proximity with a surface of the susceptor, and wherein the susceptor comprises regions of different susceptibility to induced current flow from the drive coil, such that when in use the surface of the susceptor in the regions of different susceptibility are heated to different temperatures by the current flow induced by the drive coil.
According to a third aspect of certain embodiments there is provided a cartridge for use in an aerosol provision system comprising an inductive heating assembly, wherein the cartridge comprises a susceptor that comprises regions of different susceptibility to induced current flow from an external drive coil, such that when in use the surface of the susceptor in the regions of different susceptibility are heated to different temperatures by current flows induced by the external drive coil.
According to a fourth aspect of certain embodiments there is provided an inductive heating assembly means for generating an aerosol from an aerosol precursor material in an aerosol provision system, the inductive heating assembly means comprising: susceptor means; and induction means for inducing current flow in the susceptor means to heat the susceptor means and vaporize aerosol precursor material in proximity with a surface of the susceptor means, wherein the susceptor means comprises regions of different susceptibility to induced current flow from the induction means such that in use the surface of the susceptor means in the regions of different susceptibility are heated to different temperatures by the current flow induced by the induction means.
According to a fifth aspect of certain embodiments there is provided a method of generating an aerosol from an aerosol precursor material, the method comprising: providing an inductive heating assembly comprising a susceptor and a drive coil arranged to induce current flow in the susceptor, wherein the susceptor comprises regions of different susceptibility to induced current flow from the drive coil so the surface of the susceptor in the regions of different susceptibility are heated to different temperatures by current flows induced by the drive coil, and using the drive coil to induce currents in the susceptor to heat the susceptor and vaporize aerosol precursor material in proximity with a surface of the susceptor to generate the aerosol. It will be appreciated that features and aspects of the invention described above in relation to the first and other aspects of the invention are equally applicable to, and may be combined with, embodiments of the invention according to other aspects of the invention as appropriate, and not just in the specific combinations described above.
Embodiments of the disclosure will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Aspects and features of certain examples and embodiments are discussed/described herein. Some aspects and features of certain examples and embodiments may be implemented conventionally and these are not discussed/described in detail in the interests of brevity. It will thus be appreciated that aspects and features of apparatus and methods discussed herein which are not described in detail may be implemented in accordance with any conventional techniques for implementing such aspects and features.
As described above, the present disclosure relates to an aerosol provision system, such as an e-cigarette. Throughout the following description the term “e-cigarette” is sometimes used but this term may be used interchangeably with aerosol (vapor) provision system.
As shown in
The mouthpiece 435 is located at one end of the cartridge 430, while the opposite end of the e-cigarette 410 (with respect to the longitudinal axis) is denoted as the tip end 424. The end of the cartridge 430 which is longitudinally opposite to the mouthpiece 435 is denoted by reference numeral 431, while the end of the control unit 420 which is longitudinally opposite to the tip end 424 is denoted by reference numeral 421.
The cartridge 430 is able to engage with and disengage from the control unit 420 by movement along the longitudinal axis LA. More particularly, the end 431 of the cartridge 430 is able to engage with, and disengage from, the end 421 of the control unit 420. Accordingly, ends 421 and 431 will be referred to as the control unit engagement end and the cartridge engagement end, respectively.
The control unit 420 includes a battery 411 and a circuit board 415 to provide control functionality for the e-cigarette 410, e.g. by provision of a controller, processor, ASIC or similar form of control chip. The battery 411 is typically cylindrical in shape, and has a central axis that lies along, or at least close to, the longitudinal axis LA of the e-cigarette 410. In
The battery or cell 411 is generally re-chargeable, and one or more re-charging mechanisms may be supported. For example, a charging connection (not shown in
The control unit 420 includes a tube portion 440, which extends along the longitudinal axis LA away from the engagement end 421 of the control unit 420. The tube portion 440 is defined on the outside by outer wall 442, which may generally be part of the overall outer wall or housing of the control unit 420, and on the inside by inner wall 424. A cavity 426 is formed by inner wall 424 of the tube portion 440 and the engagement end 421 of the control unit 420. This cavity 426 is able to receive and accommodate at least part of a cartridge 430 as it engages with the control unit 420 (as shown in the top drawing of
The inner wall 424 and the outer wall 442 of the tube portion 440 define an annular space which is formed around the longitudinal axis LA. A (drive or work) coil 450 is located within this annular space, with the central axis of the coil 450 being substantially aligned with the longitudinal axis LA of the e-cigarette 410. The coil 450 is electrically connected to the battery 411 and circuit board 415, which provide power and control to the coil 450, so that in operation, the coil 450 is able to provide induction heating to the cartridge 430.
The cartridge 430 includes a reservoir 470 containing liquid formulation (typically including nicotine). The reservoir 470 comprises a substantially annular region of the cartridge 430, formed between an outer wall 476 of the cartridge 430, and an inner tube or wall 472 of the cartridge 430, both of which are substantially aligned with the longitudinal axis LA of the e-cigarette 410. The liquid formulation may be held free within the reservoir 470, or alternatively the reservoir 470 may incorporated in some structure or material, e.g. sponge, to help retain the liquid within the reservoir 470.
The outer wall 476 has a portion 476A of reduced cross-section. This allows this portion 476A of the cartridge 430 to be received into the cavity 426 in the control unit 420 in order to engage the cartridge 430 with the control unit 420. The remainder of the outer wall 476 has a greater cross-section in order to provide increased space within the reservoir 470, and also to provide a continuous outer surface for the e-cigarette 410—i.e. cartridge wall 476 is substantially flush with the outer wall 442 of the tube portion 440 of the control unit 420. However, it will be appreciated that other implementations of the e-cigarette 410 may have a more complex/structured outer surface (compared with the smooth outer surface shown in
The inside of the inner tube 472 defines a passageway 461 which extends, in a direction of airflow, from air inlet 461A (located at the end 431 of the cartridge 430 that engages the control unit 420) through to air outlet 461B, which is provided by the mouthpiece 435. Located within the central passageway 461, and hence within the airflow through the cartridge 430, are heater 455 and wick 454. As can be seen in
The heater 455 is made of a metallic material so as to permit use as a susceptor (or workpiece) in an induction heating assembly. More particularly, the induction heating assembly comprises the drive (work) coil 450, which produces a magnetic field having high frequency variations (when suitably powered and controlled by the battery 411 and controller on PCB 415). This magnetic field is strongest in the center of the coil 450, i.e. within cavity 426, where the heater 455 is located. The changing magnetic field induces eddy currents in the conductive heater 455, thereby causing resistive heating within the heater element 455. Note that the high frequency of the variations in magnetic field causes the eddy currents to be confined to the surface of the heater element 455 (via the skin effect), thereby increasing the effective resistance of the heater element 455, and hence the resulting heating effect.
Furthermore, the heater element 455 is generally selected to be a magnetic material having a high permeability, such as (ferrous) steel (rather than just a conductive material). In this case, the resistive losses due to eddy currents are supplemented by magnetic hysteresis losses (caused by repeated flipping of magnetic domains) to provide more efficient transfer of power from the drive coil 450 to the heater element 455.
The heater 455 is at least partly surrounded by wick 454. Wick 454 serves to transport liquid from the reservoir 470 onto the heater 455 for vaporization. The wick 454 may be made of any suitable material, for example, a heat-resistant, fibrous material and typically extends from the passageway 461 through holes in the inner tube 472 to gain access into the reservoir 470. The wick 454 is arranged to supply liquid to the heater 455 in a controlled manner, in that the wick 454 prevents the liquid leaking freely from the reservoir 470 into passageway 461 (this liquid retention may also be assisted by having a suitable material within the reservoir 470 itself). Instead, the wick 454 retains the liquid within the reservoir 470, and on the wick 454 itself, until the heater 455 is activated, whereupon the liquid held by the wick 454 is vaporized into the airflow, and hence travels along passageway 461 for exit via mouthpiece 435. The wick 454 then draws further liquid into itself from the reservoir 470, and the process repeats with subsequent vaporizations (and inhalations) until the cartridge 430 is depleted.
Although the wick 454 is shown in
The heater 455 may be substantially planar, and perpendicular to the central axis of the coil 450 and the longitudinal axis LA of the e-cigarette, since induction primarily occurs in this plane. Although
Although
The e-cigarette 410 may provide one or more routes to allow air to initially enter the gap 422. For example, there may be sufficient spacing between the outer wall 476A of the cartridge 430 and the inner wall 444 of tube portion 440 to allow air to travel into gap 422. Such spacing may arise naturally if the cartridge 430 is not a tight fit into the cavity 426. Alternatively one or more air channels may be provided as slight grooves along one or both of these walls 476A, 444 to support this airflow. Another possibility is for the housing of the control unit 420 to be provided with one or more holes, firstly to allow air to be drawn into the control unit 420, and then to pass from the control unit 420 into gap 422. For example, the holes for air intake into the control unit 420 might be positioned as indicated in
The e-cigarette 410 may be provided with one or more activation mechanisms for the induction heater assembly, i.e. to trigger operation of the drive coil 450 to heat the heating element 455. One possible activation mechanism is to provide a button 429 on the control unit 420, which a user may press to active the heater 455. This button 429 may be a mechanical device, a touch sensitive pad, a sliding control, etc. The heater 455 may stay activated for as long as the user continues to press or otherwise positively actuate the button 429, subject to a maximum activation time appropriate to a single puff of the e-cigarette 410 (typically a few seconds). If this maximum activation time is reached, the controller may automatically de-activate the induction heater 455 to prevent over-heating. The controller may also enforce a minimum interval (again, typically for a few seconds) between successive activations.
The induction heater assembly may also be activated by airflow caused by a user inhalation. In particular, the control unit 420 may be provided with an airflow sensor for detecting an airflow (or pressure drop) caused by an inhalation. The airflow sensor is then able to notify the controller of this detection, and the induction heater 455 is activated accordingly. The induction heater 455 may remain activated for as long as the airflow continues to be detected, subject again to a maximum activation time as above (and typically also a minimum interval between puffs).
Airflow actuation of the heater 455 may be used instead of providing button 429 (which could therefore be omitted), or alternatively the e-cigarette 410 may require dual activation in order to operate—i.e. both the detection of airflow and the pressing of button 429. This requirement for dual activation can help to provide a safeguard against unintended activation of the e-cigarette 410.
It will be appreciated that the use of an airflow sensor generally involves an airflow passing through the control unit 420 upon inhalation, which is amenable to detection (even if this airflow only provides part of the airflow that the user ultimately inhales). If no such airflow passes through the control unit 420 upon inhalation, then button 429 may be used for activation, although it might also be possible to provide an airflow sensor to detect an airflow passing across a surface of (rather than through) the control unit 420.
There are various ways in which the cartridge 430 may be retained within the control unit 420. For example, the inner wall 444 of the tube portion 440 of the control unit 420 and the outer wall of reduced cross-section 476A may each be provided with a screw thread (not shown in
In general terms, the attachment of the cartridge 430 to the control unit 420 for the e-cigarette 410 of
Furthermore, conventional resistive heating often utilizes a metallic heating coil surrounding a fibrous wick, however, it is relatively difficult to automate the manufacture of such a structure. In contrast, an inductive heating element 455 is typically based on some form of metallic disk (or other substantially planar component), which is an easier structure to integrate into an automated manufacturing process. This again helps to reduce the cost of production for the disposable cartridge 430.
Another benefit of inductive heating is that conventional e-cigarettes may use solder to bond power supply wires to a resistive heater coil. However, there is some concern that heat from the coil during operation of such an e-cigarette might volatize undesirable components from the solder, which would then be inhaled by a user. In contrast, there are no wires to bond to the inductive heater element 455, and hence the use of solder can be avoided within the cartridge 430. Also, a resistive heater coil as in a conventional e-cigarette generally comprises a wire of relatively small diameter (to increase the resistance and hence the heating effect). However, such a thin wire is relatively delicate and so may be susceptible to damage, whether through some mechanical mistreatment and/or potentially by local overheating and then melting. In contrast, a disk-shaped heater element 455 as used for induction heating is generally more robust against such damage.
In the e-cigarette 510 shown in
In addition, the e-cigarette 510 does not have a wick, but rather relies upon a porous heater element 555 to act both as the heating element (susceptor) and the wick to control the flow of liquid out of the reservoir 570. The porous heater element may be made, for example, of a material formed from sintering or otherwise bonding together steel fibers.
The heater element 555 is located at the end of the reservoir 570 opposite to the mouthpiece 535 of the cartridge 530, and may form some or all of the wall of the reservoir 570 chamber at this end. One face of the heater element 555 is in contact with the liquid in the reservoir 570, while the opposite face of the heater element 555 is exposed to an airflow region 538 which can be considered as part of air passageway 561. In particular, this airflow region 538 is located between the heater element 555 and the engagement end 531 of the cartridge 530.
When a user inhales on mouthpiece 435, air is drawn into the region 538 through the engagement end 531 of the cartridge 530 from gap 522 (in a similar manner to that described for the e-cigarette 410 of
In the e-cigarette 610 shown in
In the e-cigarette 610, the mouthpiece 635 may be regarded as part of the control unit 620. In particular, the mouthpiece 635 may be provided as a removable cap or lid, which can screw or clip onto and off the remainder of the control unit 620 (or any other appropriate fastening mechanism can be used). The mouthpiece cap 635 is removed from the rest of the control unit 635 to insert a new cartridge or to remove an old cartridge, and then fixed back onto the control unit for use of the e-cigarette 610.
The operation of the individual cartridges 630A, 630B in e-cigarette 610 is similar to the operation of cartridge 430 in e-cigarette 410, in that each cartridge 630A, 630B includes a wick 654A, 654B extending into the respective reservoir 670A, 670B. In addition, each cartridge 630A, 630B includes a heating element 655A, 655B, accommodated in a respective wick 654A, 654B, and may be energized by a respective coil 650A, 650B provided in the control unit 620. The heaters 655A, 655B vaporize liquid into a common passageway 661 that passes through both cartridges 630A, 630B and out through mouthpiece 635.
The different cartridges 630A, 630B may be used, for example, to provide different flavors for the e-cigarette 610. In addition, although the e-cigarette 610 is shown as accommodating two cartridges 630A, 630B, it will be appreciated that some devices may accommodate a larger number of cartridges. Furthermore, although cartridges 630A and 630B are the same size as one another, some devices may accommodate cartridges of differing size. For example, an e-cigarette may accommodate one larger cartridge having a nicotine-based liquid, and one or more small cartridges to provide flavor or other additives as desired.
In some cases, the e-cigarette 610 may be able to accommodate (and operate with) a variable number of cartridges. For example, there may be a spring or other resilient device mounted on control unit engagement end 621, which tries to extend along the longitudinal axis towards the mouthpiece 635. If one of the cartridges shown in
If an e-cigarette has multiple cartridges, one option is that these are all activated by a single coil that spans the longitudinal extent of all the cartridges. Alternatively, there may an individual coil 650A, 650B for each respective cartridge 630A, 630B, as illustrated in FIG. 6. A further possibility is that different portions of a single coil may be selectively energized to mimic (emulate) the presence of multiple coils.
If an e-cigarette does have multiple coils for respective cartridges (whether really separate coils, or emulated by different sections of a single larger coil), then activation of the e-cigarette (such as by detecting airflow from an inhalation and/or by a user pressing a button) may energize all coils. The e-cigarettes 410, 510, 610 however support selective activation of the multiple coils, whereby a user can choose or specify which coil(s) to activate. For example, e-cigarette 610 may have a mode or user setting in which in response to an activation, only coil 650A is energized, but not coil 650B. This would then produce a vapor based on the liquid formulation in coil 650A, but not coil 650B. This would allow a user greater flexibility in the operation of e-cigarette 610, in terms of the vapor provided for any given inhalation (but without a user having to physically remove or insert different cartridges just for that particular inhalation).
It will be appreciated that the various implementations of e-cigarette 410, 510 and 610 shown in
As shown in
The control unit 420 further includes a controller 715 (such as a processor or application specific integrated circuit, ASIC), which is linked to a pressure or airflow sensor 716. The controller 715 may activate the induction heating, as discussed in more detail below, in response to the sensor 716 detecting an airflow. In addition, the control unit 420 further includes a button 429, which may also be used to activate the induction heating, as described above.
The controller 715 may be implemented using one or more chips as appropriate. The operations of the controller 715 are generally controlled at least in part by software programs running on the controller 715. Such software programs may be stored in non-volatile memory, such as ROM, which can be integrated into the controller 715 itself, or provided as a separate component (not shown). The controller 715 may access the ROM to load and execute individual software programs as and when required.
The controller 715 controls the inductive heating of the e-cigarette by determining when the device is or is not properly activated—for example, whether an inhalation has been detected, and whether the maximum time period for an inhalation has not yet been exceeded. If the controller 715 determines that the e-cigarette is to be activated for vaping, the controller 715 arranges for the battery 411 to supply power to the inverter 712. The inverter 712 is configured to convert the DC output from the battery 411 into an alternating current signal, typically of relatively high frequency—e.g. 1 MHz (although other frequencies, such as 5 kHz, 20 kHz, 80 KHz, or 300 kHz, or any range defined by two such values, may be used instead). This AC signal is then passed from the inverter to the work coil 450, via suitable impedance matching (not shown in
The work coil 450 may be integrated into some form of resonant circuit, such as by combining in parallel with a capacitor (not shown in
In order to operate the induction heating assembly, two out of three of these outputs A, B, C are closed (to permit current flow), while the remaining output stays open (to prevent current flow). Closing outputs A and C activates both coils, and hence both heater elements 655A, 655B; closing A and B selectively activates just work coil 650A; and closing B and C activates just work coil 650B.
Although it is possible to treat work coils 650A and 650B just as a single overall coil (which is either on or off together), the ability to selectively energize either or both of work coils 650A and 650B, such as provided by the implementation of
Although the e-cigarette 610 of
In the configuration of
There are various ways in which the switching of
In some e-cigarettes, rather than direct (e.g. mechanical or physical) control of the switch configuration, the user may set the switch configuration via the comms/user interface 718 shown in
A further possibility is that the switch configuration may be set automatically. For example, e-cigarette 610 may prevent work coil 650A from being activated if a cartridge is not present in the illustrated location of cartridge 630A. In other words, if no such cartridge is present, then the work coil 650A may not be activated (thereby saving power, etc).
There are various mechanisms available for detecting whether or not a cartridge is present. For example, the control unit 620 may be provided with a switch which is mechanically operated by inserting a cartridge into the relevant position. If there is no cartridge in position, then the switch is set so that the corresponding work coil is not powered. Another approach would be for the control unit to have some optical or electrical facility for detecting whether or not a cartridge is inserted into a given position.
Note that in some devices, once a cartridge has been detected as in position, then the corresponding work coil is always available for activation—e.g. it is always activated in response to a puff (inhalation) detection. In other devices that support both automatic and user-controlled switch configuration, even if a cartridge has been detected as in position, a user setting (or such-like, as discussed above) may then determine whether or not the cartridge is available for activation on any given puff.
Although the control electronics of
In some e-cigarettes, the various work coils and their respective heater elements (whether implemented as separate work coils and/or heater elements, or as portions of a larger drive coil and/or susceptor) may all be substantially the same as one another, to provide a homogeneous configuration. Alternatively, a heterogeneous configuration may be utilized. For example, with reference to e-cigarette 610 as shown in
There are various ways of providing different operating characteristics (such as temperature) for different combinations of work coils and heater elements, and thereby produce a heterogeneous configuration as discussed above. For example, the physical parameters of the work coils and/or heater elements may be varied as appropriate—e.g. different sizes, geometry, materials, number of coil turns, etc. Additionally (or alternatively), the operating parameters of the work coils and/or heater elements may be varied, such as by having different AC frequencies and/or different supply currents for the work coils.
The example embodiments described above have primarily focused on examples in which the heating element (inductive susceptor) has a relatively uniform response to the magnetic fields generated by the inductive heater drive coil in terms of how currents are induced in the heating element. That is to say, the heating element is relatively homogenous, thereby giving rise to relatively uniform inductive heating in the heating element, and consequently a broadly uniform temperature across the surface of the heating element surface. However, in accordance with some example embodiments of the disclosure, the heating element may instead be configured so that different regions of the heating element respond differently to the inductive heating provided by the drive coil in terms of how much heat is generated in different regions of the heating element when the drive coil is active.
Thus, the aerosol provision system 300 comprises a control unit 302 and a cartridge 304 and may be generally based on any of the implementations described herein apart from having a heating element 310 with a spatially non-uniform response to inductive heating.
The control unit 302 comprises a drive coil 306 in addition to a power supply and control circuitry (not shown in
The cartridge 304 is received in a recess of the control unit 302 and comprises the vaporizer 305 comprising the heating element 310, a reservoir 312 containing a liquid formulation (source liquid) 314 from which the aerosol is to be generated by vaporization at the heating element 310, and a mouthpiece 308 through which aerosol may be inhaled when the system 300 is in use. The cartridge 304 has a wall configuration (generally shown with hatching in
Thus, the aerosol provision system 300 schematically represented in
The heating element 330 has a generally planar form, which in this example is flat. More particularly, the heating element 330 in the example of
The characteristic scale of the heating element 330 may be chosen according to the specific implementation at hand, for example having regard to the overall scale of the aerosol provision system 300 in which the heating element 330 is implemented and the desired rate of aerosol generation. For example, in one particular implementation the heating element 330 may have a diameter of around 10 mm and a thickness of around 1 mm. In other examples the heating element 330 may have a diameter in the range 3 mm to 20 mm and a thickness of around 0.1 mm to 5 mm.
The heating element 330 comprises a first region 331 and a second region 332 comprising materials having different electromagnetic characteristics, thereby providing regions of different susceptibility to induced current flow. The first region 331 is generally in the form of a circular disc forming the center of the heating element 330 and the second region 332 is generally in the form of a circular annulus surrounding the first region 331. The first and second regions may be bonded together or may be maintained in a press-fit arrangement. Alternatively, the first and second regions may not be attached to one another, but may be independently maintained in position, for example by virtue of both regions being embedded in a surrounding wadding/wicking material.
In the particular example represented in
The particular materials in any given implementation may be chosen having regard to the differences in susceptibility to induced current flow which are appropriate for providing the desired temperature variations across the heating element 330 when in use. The response of a particular heating element 330 configuration may be modeled or empirically tested during a design phase to help provide a heating element configuration having the desired operational characteristics, for example in terms of the different temperatures achieved during normal use and the arrangement of the regions over which the different temperatures occur (e.g., in terms of size and placement). In this regard, the desired operational characteristics, e.g. in terms the desired range of temperatures, may themselves be determined through modeling or empirical testing having regard to the characteristic and composition of the liquid formulation in use and the desired aerosol characteristics.
It will be appreciated the heating element 330 represented in
The heating element 340 again has a generally planar form, although unlike the example of
The orientation of the heating element 340 relative to magnetic fields generated by the drive coil when the heating element is in use in an aerosol provision system are such that the magnetic fields will be generally perpendicular to the plane of
Thus, the heating element 340 comprises locations where the plane of the heating element 340 presents different angles to the magnetic field generated by the drive coil 306. For example, referring in particular to
The different regions of the heating element 340 oriented at different angles to the magnetic field created by the drive coil 306 provide regions of different susceptibility to induced current flow, and therefore different degrees of heating. This follows from the underlying physics of inductive heating whereby the orientation of a planar heating element to the induction magnetic field affects the degree of inductive heating. More particularly, regions in which the magnetic field is generally perpendicular to the plane of the heating element 340 will have a greater degree of susceptibility to induced currents than regions in which the magnetic field is inclined relative to the plane of the heating element 340.
Thus, in the first region 341 the magnetic field is broadly perpendicular to the plane of the heating element 340 and so this region (which appears generally as a vertical stripe in the plan view of
The characteristic scale of the heating element 340 may again be chosen according to the specific implementation at hand, for example having regard to the overall scale of the aerosol provision system in which the heating element 340 is implemented and the desired rate of aerosol generation. For example, in one particular implementation the heating element 340 may have a diameter of around 10 mm and a thickness of around 1 mm. The undulations in the heating element 340 may be chosen to provide the heating element 340 with angles of inclination to the magnetic field from the drive coil 306 ranging from 90° (i.e. perpendicular) to around 10 degrees or so.
The particular range of angles of inclination for different regions of the heating element 340 to the magnetic field may be chosen having regard to the differences in susceptibility to induced current flow which are appropriate for providing the desired temperature variations (profile) across the heating element 340 when in use. The response of a particular heating element configuration (e.g., in terms of how the undulation geometry affects the heating element temperature profile) may be modeled or empirically tested during a design phase to help provide a heating element configuration having the desired operational characteristics, for example in terms of the different temperatures achieved during normal use and the spatial arrangement of the regions over which the different temperatures occur (e.g., in terms of size and placement).
The heating element 350 again has a generally planar form, which in this example is flat. More particularly, the heating element 350 in the example of
The characteristic scale of the heating element 350 may be chosen according to the specific implementation at hand, for example having regard to the overall scale of the aerosol provision system in which the heating element is implemented and the desired rate of aerosol generation. For example, in one particular implementation the heating element 350 may have a diameter of around 10 mm and a thickness of around 1 mm with the openings 354 having a characteristic size of around 2 mm. In other examples the heating element 330 may have a diameter in the range 3 mm to 20 mm and a thickness of around 0.1 mm to 5 mm, and the one or more openings 354 may have a characteristic size of around 10% to 30% of the diameter, but in some case may be smaller or larger.
The drive coil 306 in the configuration of
Thus, the heating element 350 comprises locations which are more susceptible to induced current flow because current is diverted by walls into these locations leading to higher current densities. For example, referring in particular to
The particular arrangement of openings 354 that provide the walls for disrupting otherwise azimuthal current flow may be chosen having regard to the differences in susceptibility to induced current flow across the heating element 350 which are appropriate for providing the desired temperature variations (profile) when in use. The response of a particular heating element configuration (e.g., in terms of how the openings affect the heating element temperature profile) may be modeled or empirically tested during a design phase to help provide a heating element configuration having the desired operational characteristics, for example in terms of the different temperatures achieved during normal use and the spatial arrangement of the regions over which the different temperatures occur (e.g., in terms of size and placement).
The heating element 360 again has a generally planar form. More particularly, the heating element 360 in the example of
The characteristic scale of the heating element 360 may be chosen according to the specific implementation at hand, for example having regard to the overall scale of the aerosol provision system in which the heating element 360 is implemented and the desired rate of aerosol generation. For example, in one particular implementation the heating element 360 may comprise five uniformly spaced points extending from 3 mm to 5 mm from a center of the heating element 360 (i.e. the respective points of the star may have a radial extent of around 2 mm). In other examples the protrusions (i.e. the points of the star in the example of
As discussed above, the drive coil 306 in the configuration of
Thus, the heating element 360 comprises locations which have different induced currents as current flows are disrupted by the walls. Thus, referring in particular to
In a manner similar to that described for the other example heating element configurations having locations with differing susceptibility to induced current flows (i.e. regions with different responses to the drive coil in terms of the amount of induced heating), the particular arrangement for the heating element's peripheral walls for disrupting the otherwise azimuthal current flow may be chosen having regard to the differences in susceptibility which are appropriate for providing the desired temperature variations (profile) when in use. The response of a particular heating element configuration (e.g., in terms of how the non-azimuthal walls affect the heating element temperature profile) may be modeled or empirically tested during a design phase to help provide a heating element configuration having the desired operational characteristics, for example in terms of the different temperatures achieved during normal use and the spatial arrangement of the regions over which the different temperatures occur (e.g., in terms of size and placement).
It will be appreciated broadly the same principle underlies the operation of the heating element 350 represented in
Thus, there has been described above a number of different ways in which a heating element in an inductive heating assembly of an aerosol provision system can be provided with regions of different susceptibility to induced current flows, and hence different degrees of heating, to provide a range of different temperatures across the heating element. As noted above, this can be desired in some scenarios to facilitate simultaneous vaporization of different components of a liquid formulation to be vaporized having different vaporization temperatures/characteristics.
It will be appreciated there are many variations to the approaches discussed above and many other ways of providing locations with different susceptibility to induced current flows.
For example, in some implementations the heating element may comprise regions having different electrical resistivity in order to provide different degrees of heating in the different regions. This may be provided by a heating element comprising different materials having different electrical resistivities. In another implementation, the heating element may comprise a material having different physical characteristics in different regions. For example, there may be regions of the heating element having different thicknesses in a direction parallel to the magnetic fields generated by the drive coil and/or regions of the heating element having different porosity.
In some examples, the heating element itself may be uniform, but the drive coil may be configured so the magnetic field generated when in use varies across the heating element such that different regions of the heating element in effect have different susceptibility to induced current flow because the magnetic field generated at the heating element when the drive coil is in use has different strengths in different locations.
It will further be appreciated that in accordance with various embodiments of the disclosure, a heating element having characteristics arranged to provide regions of different susceptibility to induced currents can be provided in conjunction with other vaporizer characteristics described herein, for example the heating element having different regions of susceptibility to induced currents may comprise a porous material arranged to wick liquid formulation from a source of liquid formulation by capillary action to replace liquid formulation vaporized by the heating element when in use and/or may be provided adjacent to a wicking element arranged to wick liquid formulation from a source of liquid formulation by capillary action to replace liquid formulation vaporized by the heating element when in use.
It will furthermore be appreciated that a heating element comprising regions having different susceptibility to induced currents is not restricted to use in aerosol provision systems of the kind described herein, but can be used more generally in an inductive heat assembly of any aerosol provision system. Accordingly, although various example embodiments described herein have focused on a two-part aerosol provision system comprising a re-useable control unit 302 and a replaceable cartridge 304, in other examples, a heating element having regions of different susceptibility may be used in an aerosol provision system that does not include a replaceable cartridge, but is a disposable system or a refillable system. Similarly, although the various example embodiments described herein have focused on an aerosol provision system in which the drive coil is provided in the reusable control unit 302 and the heating element is provided in the replaceable cartridge 304, in other implementations the drive coil may also be provided in the replaceable cartridge, with the control unit and cartridge having an appropriate electrical interface for coupling power to the drive coil.
It will further be appreciated that in some example implementations a heating element may incorporate features from more than one of the heating elements represented in
It will further be appreciated that whilst some the above-described embodiments of a susceptor (heating element) having regions that respond differently to an inductive heater drive coil have focused on an aerosol precursor material comprising a liquid formulation, heating elements in accordance with the principles described herein may also be used in association with other forms of aerosol precursor material, for example solid materials and gel materials.
Thus there has also been described an inductive heating assembly for generating an aerosol from an aerosol precursor material in an aerosol provision system, the inductive heating assembly comprising: a heating element; and a drive coil arranged to induce current flow in the heating element to heat the heating element and vaporize aerosol precursor material in proximity with a surface of the heating element, and wherein the heating element comprises regions of different susceptibility to induced current flow from the drive coil, such that when in use the surface of the heating element in the regions of different susceptibility are heated to different temperatures by the current flow induced by the drive coil.
The vaporizer assembly 500 of
The vaporizer 505 is a planar vaporizer in the sense of having a generally planar/sheet-like form. Thus, the vaporizer 505 comprises first and second opposing faces connected by a peripheral edge wherein the dimensions of the vaporizer 505 in the plane of the first and second faces, for example a length or width of the vaporizer 505 faces, is greater than the thickness of the vaporizer 505 (i.e. the separation between the first and second faces), for example by more than a factor of two, more than a factor of three, more than a factor of four, more than a factor of five, or more than a factor of 10. It will be appreciated that although the vaporizer 505 has a generally planar form, the vaporizer 505 does not necessarily have a flat planar form, but could include bends or undulations, for example of the kind shown for the heating element 340 in
For the sake of providing a concrete example, the vaporizer assembly 500 schematically represented in
The reservoir 502 for the source liquid (e-liquid) 504 is defined by a housing comprising a body portion (shown with hatching in
Thus, the vaporizer assembly 500 of
The configuration represented in
In the example of
Thus, in the example of
In configurations in which an aerosol provision system comprises multiple vaporizers, for example as shown in
In the example vaporizer assemblies 500, 510 represented in
Thus,
The vaporizer assembly 520 represented in
The vaporizer assembly 520 of
For the sake of providing a concrete example, the vaporizer 525 schematically represented in
The reservoir 522 for the source liquid (e-liquid) 524 is defined by a housing comprising a body portion (shown with hatching in
Thus, and as with the vaporizer assemblies of
The configuration represented in
In the example of
Thus, in the example of
Thus,
It will furthermore be appreciated that vaporizer assemblies of the kind shown in
It will further be appreciated that in accordance with some example implementations, the heating element of the example vaporizer assemblies discussed above with reference to
Thus, there has been described an aerosol provision system for generating an aerosol from a source liquid, the aerosol provision system comprising: a reservoir of source liquid; a planar vaporizer comprising a planar heating element, wherein the vaporizer is configured to draw source liquid from the reservoir to the vicinity of a vaporizing surface of the vaporizer through capillary action; and an induction heater coil operable to induce current flow in the heating element to inductively heat the heating element and so vaporize a portion of the source liquid in the vicinity of the vaporizing surface of the vaporizer. In some example the vaporizer further comprises a porous wadding/wicking material, e.g. an electrically non-conducting fibrous material at least partially surrounding the planar heating element (susceptor) and in contact with source liquid from the reservoir to provide, or at least contribute to, the function of drawing source liquid from the reservoir to the vicinity of the vaporizing surface of the vaporizer. In some examples the planar heating element (susceptor) may itself comprise a porous material so as to provide, or at least contribute to, the function of drawing source liquid from the reservoir to the vicinity of the vaporizing surface of the vaporizer.
In order to address various issues and advance the art, this disclosure shows by way of illustration various embodiments in which the claimed invention(s) may be practiced. The advantages and features of the disclosure are of a representative sample of embodiments only, and are not exhaustive and/or exclusive. They are presented only to assist in understanding and to teach the claimed invention(s). It is to be understood that advantages, embodiments, examples, functions, features, structures, and/or other aspects of the disclosure are not to be considered limitations on the disclosure as defined by the claims or limitations on equivalents to the claims, and that other embodiments may be utilized and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the claims. Various embodiments may suitably comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of, various combinations of the disclosed elements, components, features, parts, steps, means, etc. other than those specifically described herein, and it will thus be appreciated that features of the dependent claims may be combined with features of the independent claims in combinations other than those explicitly set out in the claims. The disclosure may include other inventions not presently claimed, but which may be claimed in future.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1511358 | Jun 2015 | GB | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/GB2016/051731 | 6/10/2016 | WO | 00 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2017/001819 | 1/5/2017 | WO | A |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5060671 | Counts | Oct 1991 | A |
| 5095921 | Losee | Mar 1992 | A |
| 5144962 | Counts | Sep 1992 | A |
| 5613505 | Campbell | Mar 1997 | A |
| 5726421 | Fleischhauer | Mar 1998 | A |
| 6040560 | Fleischhauer | Mar 2000 | A |
| 6053176 | Adams | Apr 2000 | A |
| 8910641 | Hon | Dec 2014 | B2 |
| 9609894 | Abramov | Apr 2017 | B2 |
| 9820512 | Mironov | Nov 2017 | B2 |
| 9980523 | Abramov | May 2018 | B2 |
| 9999256 | Abramov | Jun 2018 | B2 |
| 10015986 | Cadieux | Jul 2018 | B2 |
| 10219543 | Gill et al. | Mar 2019 | B2 |
| 10327473 | Mironov | Jun 2019 | B2 |
| 20020078951 | Nichols | Jun 2002 | A1 |
| 20020079309 | Cox | Jun 2002 | A1 |
| 20030033055 | McRae | Feb 2003 | A1 |
| 20030108342 | Sherwood | Jun 2003 | A1 |
| 20030136404 | Hindle | Jul 2003 | A1 |
| 20040079368 | Gupta | Apr 2004 | A1 |
| 20040149296 | Rostami | Aug 2004 | A1 |
| 20040149297 | Sharpe | Aug 2004 | A1 |
| 20040149737 | Sharpe | Aug 2004 | A1 |
| 20040223917 | Hindle | Nov 2004 | A1 |
| 20050025213 | Parks | Feb 2005 | A1 |
| 20070045288 | Nelson | Mar 2007 | A1 |
| 20070102013 | Adams | May 2007 | A1 |
| 20080149118 | Oglesby | Jun 2008 | A1 |
| 20080216828 | Wensley | Sep 2008 | A1 |
| 20090230117 | Fernando | Sep 2009 | A1 |
| 20090320863 | Fernando | Dec 2009 | A1 |
| 20100163063 | Fernando | Jul 2010 | A1 |
| 20110126848 | Zuber | Jun 2011 | A1 |
| 20110155718 | Greim | Jun 2011 | A1 |
| 20110226236 | Buchberger | Sep 2011 | A1 |
| 20110236002 | Oglesby | Sep 2011 | A1 |
| 20120234315 | Li | Sep 2012 | A1 |
| 20120234821 | Kazuhiko | Sep 2012 | A1 |
| 20120318882 | Abehasera | Dec 2012 | A1 |
| 20130146588 | Child | Jun 2013 | A1 |
| 20130192615 | Tucker | Aug 2013 | A1 |
| 20130220315 | Conley | Aug 2013 | A1 |
| 20130264335 | Uchida | Oct 2013 | A1 |
| 20130300350 | Xiang | Nov 2013 | A1 |
| 20130306064 | Thorens | Nov 2013 | A1 |
| 20130306065 | Thorens | Nov 2013 | A1 |
| 20130340750 | Thorens | Dec 2013 | A1 |
| 20140186015 | Breiwa | Jul 2014 | A1 |
| 20140202476 | Egoyants | Jul 2014 | A1 |
| 20140278250 | Smith | Sep 2014 | A1 |
| 20140299141 | Flick | Oct 2014 | A1 |
| 20140301721 | Ruscio | Oct 2014 | A1 |
| 20140305449 | Plojoux | Oct 2014 | A1 |
| 20140305454 | Rinker et al. | Oct 2014 | A1 |
| 20140334802 | Dubief | Nov 2014 | A1 |
| 20140338686 | Plojoux | Nov 2014 | A1 |
| 20140345606 | Talon | Nov 2014 | A1 |
| 20140346689 | Dubief | Nov 2014 | A1 |
| 20140360515 | Vasiliev | Dec 2014 | A1 |
| 20140366898 | Monsees | Dec 2014 | A1 |
| 20150068541 | Sears et al. | Mar 2015 | A1 |
| 20150128967 | Robinson | May 2015 | A1 |
| 20150216237 | Wensley | Aug 2015 | A1 |
| 20150245669 | Cadieux | Sep 2015 | A1 |
| 20150272222 | Spinka | Oct 2015 | A1 |
| 20160021934 | Cadieux | Jan 2016 | A1 |
| 20160120221 | Mironov | May 2016 | A1 |
| 20160255879 | Paprocki | Sep 2016 | A1 |
| 20160295921 | Mironov | Oct 2016 | A1 |
| 20170027233 | Mironov | Feb 2017 | A1 |
| 20170055583 | Blandino | Mar 2017 | A1 |
| 20170055584 | Blandino | Mar 2017 | A1 |
| 20170055585 | Fursa | Mar 2017 | A1 |
| 20170064996 | Mironov | Mar 2017 | A1 |
| 20170071250 | Mironov | Mar 2017 | A1 |
| 20170079325 | Mironov | Mar 2017 | A1 |
| 20170079330 | Mironov | Mar 2017 | A1 |
| 20170105452 | Mironov | Apr 2017 | A1 |
| 20170196273 | Qiu | Jul 2017 | A1 |
| 20170231276 | Mironov | Aug 2017 | A1 |
| 20180168227 | Fraser | Jun 2018 | A1 |
| 20180184712 | Fraser | Jul 2018 | A1 |
| 20180184713 | Mironov | Jul 2018 | A1 |
| 20180192700 | Fraser | Jul 2018 | A1 |
| 20180271171 | Abramov | Sep 2018 | A1 |
| 20180317554 | Kaufman | Nov 2018 | A1 |
| 20180317555 | Blandino | Nov 2018 | A1 |
| 20190142068 | Gill | May 2019 | A1 |
| 20190182909 | Fursa | Jun 2019 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 201076006 | Jun 2008 | CN |
| 101390659 | Mar 2009 | CN |
| 101606758 | Dec 2009 | CN |
| 202233006 | May 2012 | CN |
| 102861694 | Jan 2013 | CN |
| 103596458 | Feb 2014 | CN |
| 103689812 | Apr 2014 | CN |
| 103783673 | May 2014 | CN |
| 203618786 | Jun 2014 | CN |
| 203748673 | Jun 2014 | CN |
| 203748673 | Aug 2014 | CN |
| 104039033 | Sep 2014 | CN |
| 104095291 | Oct 2014 | CN |
| 203952439 | Nov 2014 | CN |
| 203969196 | Dec 2014 | CN |
| 203986113 | Dec 2014 | CN |
| 204032371 | Dec 2014 | CN |
| 104256899 | Jan 2015 | CN |
| 204091003 | Jan 2015 | CN |
| 204132397 | Feb 2015 | CN |
| 104382238 | Mar 2015 | CN |
| 104382239 | Mar 2015 | CN |
| 204273248 | Apr 2015 | CN |
| 204317506 | May 2015 | CN |
| 104720120 | Jun 2015 | CN |
| 104720121 | Jun 2015 | CN |
| 106455711 | Feb 2017 | CN |
| 19736 | May 2014 | EA |
| 0703735 | Jul 2005 | EP |
| 2327318 | Jun 2011 | EP |
| 2444112 | Apr 2012 | EP |
| 2609821 | Jul 2013 | EP |
| 3313212 | Apr 2019 | EP |
| 2504732 | Feb 2014 | GB |
| 2504732 | Jan 2015 | GB |
| 2516924 | Feb 2015 | GB |
| 2527597 | Dec 2015 | GB |
| H08511175 | Nov 1996 | JP |
| 2001509634 | Jul 2001 | JP |
| 2006059640 | Mar 2006 | JP |
| 2008511175 | Apr 2008 | JP |
| 2012506263 | Mar 2012 | JP |
| 2012529936 | Nov 2012 | JP |
| 2013507152 | Mar 2013 | JP |
| 2013511962 | Apr 2013 | JP |
| 2014511175 | May 2014 | JP |
| 2014521419 | Aug 2014 | JP |
| 2015504653 | Feb 2015 | JP |
| 2016524777 | Aug 2016 | JP |
| 2016526777 | Sep 2016 | JP |
| 2016532432 | Oct 2016 | JP |
| 2017506915 | Mar 2017 | JP |
| 6543357 | Jul 2019 | JP |
| 100385395 | Aug 2003 | KR |
| 1020120107914 | Oct 2012 | KR |
| 20130038957 | Apr 2013 | KR |
| 20130006714 | Nov 2013 | KR |
| 20140063506 | May 2014 | KR |
| 20150022407 | Mar 2015 | KR |
| 20160127793 | Nov 2016 | KR |
| 115629 | May 2012 | RU |
| 2450780 | May 2012 | RU |
| 2489948 | Aug 2013 | RU |
| 132954 | Oct 2013 | RU |
| 2509516 | Mar 2014 | RU |
| WO9409842 | May 1994 | WO |
| WO9527411 | Oct 1995 | WO |
| WO9639879 | Dec 1996 | WO |
| WO1998023171 | Jun 1998 | WO |
| WO9903308 | Jan 1999 | WO |
| WO-9933008 | Jul 1999 | WO |
| WO2014048745 | Apr 2003 | WO |
| WO2004068901 | Aug 2004 | WO |
| WO2007024130 | Mar 2007 | WO |
| WO-2008113420 | Sep 2008 | WO |
| WO2015082560 | Jun 2011 | WO |
| WO2012027350 | Mar 2012 | WO |
| WO2013083635 | Jun 2013 | WO |
| WO2013083638 | Jun 2013 | WO |
| WO2014023964 | Feb 2014 | WO |
| WO2014023967 | Feb 2014 | WO |
| WO2014139609 | Sep 2014 | WO |
| WO2014139611 | Sep 2014 | WO |
| WO2014140320 | Sep 2014 | WO |
| WO2014187763 | Nov 2014 | WO |
| WO2014201432 | Dec 2014 | WO |
| WO2015000974 | Jan 2015 | WO |
| WO2015077645 | May 2015 | WO |
| WO2015082649 | Jun 2015 | WO |
| WO2015082651 | Jun 2015 | WO |
| WO2015082652 | Jun 2015 | WO |
| WO2015131058 | Sep 2015 | WO |
| WO2015131058 | Sep 2015 | WO |
| WO2015150068 | Oct 2015 | WO |
| WO2015177043 | Nov 2015 | WO |
| WO2015177046 | Nov 2015 | WO |
| WO2015175568 | Nov 2015 | WO |
| WO2015177044 | Nov 2015 | WO |
| WO2015177253 | Nov 2015 | WO |
| WO2015177256 | Nov 2015 | WO |
| WO2015177264 | Nov 2015 | WO |
| WO2016090952 | Jun 2016 | WO |
| WO-2017001819 | Jan 2017 | WO |
| WO 2017072147 | May 2017 | WO |
| WO2017109448 | Jun 2017 | WO |
| WO-2017198876 | Nov 2017 | WO |
| Entry |
|---|
| Application and File History for U.S. Appl. No. 15/739,029, filed Dec. 21, 2017, Inventor: Fraser. |
| Application and File History for U.S. Appl. No. 15/739,037, filed Dec. 21, 2017, Inventor: Fraser. |
| Application and File History for U.S. Appl. No. 15/739,045, filed Dec. 21, 2017, Inventor: Fraser. |
| Evokevape, “Evoke—First Smart Vaporizer Powered by Induction”, indiegogo.com, available from: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/evoke-first-smart-vaporizer-powered-by-induction#/ © 2017. |
| GB Search Report, Application No. GB1511359.0, dated Nov. 23, 2015, 3 pages. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion, International Application No. PCT/GB2016/051766, dated Sep. 27, 2016, 11 pages. |
| International Preliminary Report on Patentability, International Application No. PCT/GB2016/051766, dated Sep. 29, 2017, 13 pages. |
| International Preliminary Report on Patentability, International Application No. PCT/GB2016/051731, dated Jan. 11, 2018, 7 pages. |
| Russian Decision to Grant, Application No. 2017145842, dated Aug. 29, 2018, 12 pages. |
| Korean Office Action, Application No. 10-2017-7037793, dated Dec. 25, 2018, 11 pages (24 pages with translation). X. |
| Japanese Office Action, Application No. 2017-568122, dated Jan. 22, 2019, 2 pages. |
| Bstedh, Apr. 5, 2011, “Induction heating”, “Induction heating”, [online], Available from: https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/threas/induction-heatting.186526/, [Accessed Nov. 16, 2015]. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion, Application No. PCT/GB2016/051730, dated Sep. 16, 2016, 13 pages. |
| International Preliminary Report on Patentability, Application No. PCT/GB2016/051730, dated May 23, 2017, 14 pages. |
| Great Britain Search Report, Application No. GB1511349.1, dated Nov. 23, 2015, 5 pages. |
| Korean Office Action, Application No. 10-2017-7037792, dated Dec. 25, 2018, 11 pages (24 pages with translation). |
| Japanese Office Action, Application No. 2017-568123, dated Jan. 30, 2019, 3 pages (6 pages with translation). |
| New Zealand First Examination Report, Application No. 738318, dated Sep. 19, 2018, 5 pages. |
| Korean Office Action, Application No. 10-2017-7037789, dated Dec. 25, 2018, 9 pages (18 pages with translation). |
| Great Britain Search Report, Application No. GB1511361.6, dated Nov. 23, 2015, 5 pages. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion, Application No. PCT/GB2016/051767, dated Sep. 21, 2017, 23 pages. |
| International Preliminary Report on Patentability, Application No. PCT/GB2016/051767, dated Apr. 18, 2018, 16 pages. |
| Second Written Opinion, Application No. PCT/GB2016/051767, dated Jan. 25, 2018, 5 pages. |
| Japanese Office Action, Application No. 2017-568124, dated Jan. 8, 2019, 3 pages (6 pages with translation). |
| Korean Office Action, Application No. 10-2017-7037791, dated Dec. 25, 2018, 11 pages (22 pages with translation). |
| Japanese Decision to Grant, Application No. 2017-568122, dated Apr. 23, 2019, 5 pages. |
| Japanese Decision to Grant, Application No. 2017-568256, dated Jun. 4, 2019 5 pages. |
| Korean Notice of Allowance, Application No. 10-2017-7037789, dated Jun. 27, 2019, 4 pages. |
| Russian Decision to Grant, Application No. 2019102061/12, dated Jun. 19, 2019, 12 pages. |
| Russian Office Action, Application No. 2019100154, dated Jul. 23, 2019, 11 pages. |
| Korean Office Action, Application No. 10-2019-7026720, dated Sep. 25, 2019, 17 pages. |
| Russian Decision to Grant, Application No. 2019125736, dated Nov. 27, 2019, 12 pages. |
| English Translation of Chinese Office Action, Application No. 201680038254X, dated Sep. 30, 2019, 5 pages. |
| Chinese Search Report, Application No. 201680038254X, dated Sep. 30, 2019, 2 pages. |
| Chinese Office Action and Search Report, Application No. 201680038351.9, dated Sep. 16, 2019, 12 pages. |
| Chinese Office Action and Search Report, Application No. 201680038309.7, dated Sep. 29, 2019, 25 pages. |
| Indian Examination Report, Application No. 201747046549, dated Feb. 14, 2020, 8 pages. |
| Indian Examination Report, Application No. 201747046550, dated Jan. 9, 2020, 6 pages. |
| Russian Decision to Grant, Application No. 2019125736, dated Nov. 17, 2019, 12 pages. |
| English Translation of Chinese First Office Action, Application No. 201680038254X, dated Sep. 30, 2019, 5 pages. |
| Korean Office Action, Application No. 10-2019-7026377, dated Mar. 27, 2020, 16 pages. |
| Brazilian Office Action, Application No. BR112017028541-0, dated Apr. 6, 2020, 4 pages. |
| Ron Schmitt, “Electromagnetics Explained: A Handbook for Vlfireless/RF, EMC, and High-Speed Electronics”, Newnes, Elsevier Science, pp. 55. |
| Stanislaw Grundas, Advances in Induction and Microwave Heating of Mineral and Organic Materials, Ed. Intech. |
| Japanese Office Action, Application No. 2019-088015, dated Apr. 28, 2020, 20 pages. |
| Notice of Opposition, Application No. 16729350.5, dated Jan. 24, 200, 77 pages. |
| Application and File History for U.S. Appl. No. 15/739,024, filed Dec. 21, 2017, Inventor: Fraser. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion for Application No. PCT/GB2016/051731, dated Sep. 20, 2016, 12 pages. |
| “LDC Target Design,” Texas Instruments, May 2017, 13 pages. |
| Notice of Allowance dated Apr. 18, 2019 for Japanese Application No. 2017-568122, 2 pages. |
| Office Action dated Jun. 19, 2019 for Russian Application No. 2019100154, 11 pages. |
| Office Action dated Jul. 21, 2020 for European Application No. 16729350.5 filed Apr. 17, 2019, 17 pages. |
| Search Report for Brazilian Patent Application No. 112017028541.0, dated Apr. 6, 2020, 4 pages. |
| Search Report dated Nov. 23, 2015 for Great Britain Application No. 1511358.2, 3 pages. |
| Submission in Opposition proceedings for the European Application No. EP16729350.5, filed Jul. 20, 2020, 17 pages. |
| Substantive Examination Report dated Oct. 25, 2019 for Malaysian Application No. PI2017704891, 2 pages. |
| Tipler P.A., et al., “Physics for Scientists and Engineers,” 2004, 5th edition, W.H. Freeman and Company, pp. 860, 863. |
| Zinn S., et al., “Elements of Induction Heating: Design, Control and Applications”, 1988, ASM International, Electric Power Research Institute, pp. 1, p. 245, 3 pages. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20180192700 A1 | Jul 2018 | US |
