Patent Grant
11432588
The present invention relates to the field of vaporization devices and, in particular, a nectar collector system with an induction heating assembly that avoids contact of vaporization products of a consumable.
In view of developments in technology and the law, vaporization devices and nectar collectors have become quite popular. Often, to function, a vaporization device heats a consumable and/or inhalable product such as an oil, a wax, a concentrate, or a combustible plant substance to create a vapor for a user to inhale. Heating liquid or wax consumables has become particularly popular since liquids and waxes may be more concentrated and/or specialized as compared to plant substances and because a quantity of wax or liquid may last longer than a similar quantity of plant substance.
In typical nectar collectors, a tip of a rod is dipped in a consumable (e.g., oil, wax, a concentrate, a combustible plant substance, etc.) and is heated. The heat causes the consumable to vaporize into a vaporization product. Typically, the vaporization products of the consumable mix with a flow of air and pass through a heating element. The vaporization products may be burned when it contacts the heating element impacting the taste or effect of the vaporization products on the user. Further, the heating element may corrode from contact with the vaporization products and/or air, and thus, reduce the useful life of the heating element.
In view of at least the aforementioned issues, a vaporization device having an arrangement that overcomes the above noted issues is desirable.
The present invention relates to a vaporization device that improves the life of a heating element and heating assembly powering and controlling the heating element by preventing a flow of fluid from contacting the heating assembly.
According to an example embodiment, a vaporization device includes a vaporization device having a pipe having an inlet and an outlet; a heating rod extending from a proximal end to a distal end and defining a fluid channel, the proximal end being configured to engage the inlet of the pipe, and the fluid channel extending through at least a portion of the heating rod; and a heating assembly including a coil concentric with at least an induction portion of the heating rod and one or more electrical components configured to deliver power to the coil so that the coil can heat the heating rod through induction heating.
In one form of the vaporization device, the heating assembly further including: a housing configured to support the power source, the pipe, and the heating rod.
According to another example embodiment, a method includes installing a heating rod in an inlet of a pipe; installing the heating rod and the pipe in an induction heating assembly having a coil such that at least a portion of the coil is concentric with the heating rod; conducting an electrical current through the coil; and inducing one or more currents in the heating rod via the electrical current conducted through the coil to Joule heat the heating rod.
In one form of the method, the method further includes contacting a consumable with the heated heating rod to generate vaporization products; and siphoning the vaporization products through the heating rod and the pipe.
In yet another example embodiment, a heating assembly for a vaporization device includes an induction coil configured to be concentric with at least a portion of a heating rod of a dip-style vaporization device; and one or more electrical components electrically coupled to the induction coil and configured to deliver power to the induction coil so that the induction coil can heat the heating rod through induction heating.
In one form of the a heating assembly, the heating assembly further includes a housing configured to support the one or more electrical components, a power source and a pipe.
To complete the description and in order to provide for a better understanding of the present invention, a set of drawings is provided. The drawings form an integral part of the description and illustrate an embodiment of the present invention, which should not be interpreted as restricting the scope of the invention, but just as an example of how the invention can be carried out. The drawings comprise the following figures:
The following description is not to be taken in a limiting sense but is given solely for the purpose of describing the broad principles of the invention. Embodiments of the invention will be described by way of example, with reference to the above-mentioned drawings showing elements and results according to the present invention.
Generally, a device and method for vaporizing a consumable as presented herein include a pipe, a nail or rod for contacting a consumable, and an induction heating assembly for heating the rod. During operation, the induction heating assembly heats the rod. The heated rod contacts the consumable, thereby heating and vaporizing the consumable. The vaporization products from the consumable are siphoned through the rod and/or pipe, avoiding the heating assembly (e.g., an induction coil and associated electronics) while flowing through the rod and/or pipe. That is, the heating assembly is separated from the flow of vapor product and air. Thus, the flow of vapor product and air bypasses the heating element (e.g., the induction coil). Consequently, the vapor products are not burned by the heating element while corrosion and material build-up of the induction coil is avoided.
Now referring to
Now referring to
Referring back to
As best shown in
However, embodiments are not limited to the depicted embodiment. In some implementations, an angle between the outer surface 214A and the contact surface 213A ranges from 20 degrees to 160 degrees. In some implementations, the controller housing 213 and power source housing 214 are portions of a unitary structure. Said another way, the controller housing 213 and power source housing 214 may be combined to define a single housing for receiving the one or more circuit boards 211, the electrical components 218, and the power source 216 as well as supporting the pipe 30 and the heating rod 10. The power source 216 may be a battery, or a socket for receiving power from an external source removably coupleable to the induction coil assembly 20. In some implementations, the one or more circuit boards 211 and plurality of electrical components may be replaced with one or more processors, printed circuit boards, semiconductors, substrates, and/or application specific integrated circuits configured to control the induction coil 200 and heating of the heating rod 10.
As depicted in
The pipe 30 is substantially cylindrical and includes an upstream or distal end 31 and a downstream or proximal end 32. The pipe 30 further includes an inlet 310 at the distal end 31, an outlet 320 at the proximal end 32, and a cylindrical wall 330 extending between the distal end 31 and proximal end 32. The inlet 310 has a frustoconical shape defined by an inlet surface 312. As best shown in
That all said, as best shown in
In the embodiment shown, the pipe 30 is a glass bubbler and further includes an inlet stem extending 314 from the inlet 310 into the cavity 332 and an outlet stem 322 extending upstream from the outlet 320 into the cavity 332. During use, the cavity 332 may be partially filled with water such that an outlet of the inlet stems 314 is below the water. Thus, when a suction is applied to the pipe 30, air and/or vapor products flows into the pipe 30 through the inlet 310, through the inlet stem 314, through the water the cavity 332, and out through the outlet stem 322 to the outlet 320. To reiterate, although a glass bubbler is shown in
Now referring to
During operation, a user may toggle a switch, button, or other user interface to heat the heating rod 10. Supply current from the power source 216 (e.g., direct current) is transformed or converted into a high-frequency, alternating current and delivered or transmitted to the induction coil 200 via the electrical components 218. The high-frequency, alternating current is conducted through induction coil 200 surrounding the induction portion 16 of the heating rod 10. The high-frequency, alternating current in the coil 200 induces one or more currents in the induction portion 16 of the heating rod 10. The induced one or more currents cause the induction portion 16 to heat due to the Ohmic resistance of the material of the heating rod 10. That is, the heating rod 10 is Joule heated in response to the high-frequency, alternating current flowing through the coil 200. The heat is conducted through the induction portion 16 to the heating portion 13. Once the heating portion 13 is heated to a desired temperature, the distal end 11 of the heating rod 10 contacts and heats a consumable 50 to be vaporized. Vaporization products 52 of the heated consumable 50 (and air) are siphoned into the channel inlet 18A and through the channel 18 of the heating rod 10, through the pipe inlet 310 and into the chamber 332. The vaporization products 52 are siphoned from the chamber 332 through the outlet 320 of the pipe 30.
A user may create suction for siphoning the vaporization products 52 through the vaporization device 1 by placing their mouth on the outlet 320 at the proximal end 32 of the pipe 30 and inhaling. The vaporization products 52 may be inhaled by a user.
Accordingly, the vaporization products travel through one or more internal channels of the vaporization device 1 without contacting the coil 200 (or electrical components 218 which control the coil 200) which heats the rod 10. Consequently, the vapor products 52 are not burned by the heating element (e.g., coil 200) and corrosion and/or material build-up of the heating assembly 20 are avoided.
While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail and with reference to specific embodiments thereof, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since it will be apparent that various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the inventions and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims. In addition, various features from one of the embodiments may be incorporated into another of the embodiments. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the disclosure as set forth in the following claims.
It is also to be understood that the vaporization device 1 described herein, or portions thereof, may be fabricated from any suitable material or combination of materials, such as plastic, foamed plastic, metal, supple natural or synthetic materials including, but not limited to, cotton, elastomers, polyester, plastic, rubber, derivatives thereof, and combinations thereof. Suitable plastics may include high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polystyrene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene, ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), or the like. Suitable foamed plastics may include expanded or extruded polystyrene, expanded or extruded polypropylene, EVA foam, derivatives thereof, and combinations thereof.
Reference may be made to the spatial relationships between various components and to the spatial orientation of various aspects of components as depicted in the attached drawings. However, as will be recognized by those skilled in the art after a complete reading of the present disclosure, the devices, components, members, apparatuses, etc. described herein may be positioned in any desired orientation. Thus, the use of terms such as “above”, “below”, “upper”, “lower”, “top”, “bottom”, “left,” “right,” “front,” “rear,” “side,” “height,” “length,” “width,” “interior,” “exterior,” “inner,” “outer” or other similar terms merely describe points of reference and do not limit the present invention to any particular orientation or configuration. When used to describe a range of dimensions and/or other characteristics (e.g., time, pressure, temperature, distance, etc.) of an element, operations, conditions, etc. the phrase “between X and Y” represents a range that includes X and Y.
Further, the term “exemplary” is used herein to describe an example or illustration. Any embodiment described herein as exemplary is not to be construed as a preferred or advantageous embodiment, but rather as one example or illustration of a possible embodiment.
Further, the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity, and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed.
When used herein, the term “comprises” and its derivations (such as “comprising”, “including,” “containing,” etc.) should not be understood in an excluding sense, that is, these terms should not be interpreted as excluding the possibility that what is described and defined may include further elements, steps, etc. Meanwhile, when used herein, the term “approximately” and terms of its family (such as “approximate”, etc.) should be understood as indicating values very near to those which accompany the aforementioned term. That is to say, a deviation within reasonable limits from an exact value should be accepted, because a skilled person in the art will understand that such a deviation from the values indicated is inevitable due to measurement inaccuracies, etc. The same applies to the similar terms, such as, but not limited to, “about,” “around,” and “substantially.”
As used herein, unless expressly stated to the contrary, use of the phrase “at least one of”, “one or more of”, “and/or”, and variations thereof are open-ended expressions that are both conjunctive and disjunctive in operation for any and all possible combination of the associated listed items. For example, each of the expressions “at least one of X, Y and Z”, “at least one of X, Y or Z”, “one or more of X, Y and Z”, “one or more of X, Y or Z” and “X, Y and/or Z” can mean any of the following: 1) X, but not Y and not Z; 2) Y, but not X and not Z; 3) Z, but not X and not Y; 4) X and Y, but not Z; 5) X and Z, but not Y; 6) Y and Z, but not X; or 7) X, Y, and Z. Further as referred to herein, “at least one of” and “one or more of” can be represented using the “(s)” nomenclature (e.g., one or more element(s)).
Additionally, unless expressly stated to the contrary, the terms “first”, “second”, “third”, etc., are intended to distinguish the particular nouns they modify (e.g., element, condition, node, module, activity, operation, etc.). Unless expressly stated to the contrary, the use of these terms is not intended to indicate any type of order, rank, importance, temporal sequence, or hierarchy of the modified noun. For example, “first X” and “second X” are intended to designate two “X” elements that are not necessarily limited by any order, rank, importance, temporal sequence, or hierarchy of the two elements.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20200236998 | Batista | Jul 2020 | A1 |
| Entry |
|---|
| SMOKEA® 14mm Titanium Replacement Nail for Nectar Collectors, https://smokea.com/products/smokea-14mm-titanium-replacement-nail-for-nectar-collectors?variant=31065816897, Aug. 30, 2021, 8 pages. |
| Yocan the One Nectar Collector and Wax Kit, https://www.yocanusa.com/products/the-one-nectar-and-wax-kit-by-yocan, Aug. 30, 2021, 11 pages. |
