Patent Grant
12256775
The present invention relates generally to the field of inhalation devices, and more particularly to methods and systems for inhalation devices comprising enhanced means for heat distribution, air flow for direct burn, vaporization of material in the inhalation device, and for leak prevention.
Currently there are many types of inhalation devices available for the vaporization and direct burning of herbs and other substances such as, but not limited to, wax and oil. A main difference between vaporizing and direct burning is that is during vaporization, the heating temperature is typically lower than in direct burning and usually the heated air travels through the substance being vaporize to melt the active ingredients. During vaporization, the heat source typically does not touch the substance, and if the heat source does touch the substance, the temperature of the heat source is usually not hot enough to enable combustion to occur. In a direct burning or smoking device, the heat source may directly touch the substance, and combustion often occurs. Current vaporizers and direct burning devices typically require the herbs to be grinded to a very fine state to allow for proper exposure to heat. It is believed that even when the herbs are grinded properly uneven heat distribution may occur due to a variety of factor such as, but not limited to, how the herbs were packed, the volume of herbs used, the shape of the burning surface, etc. These vaporizers and direct burning devices usually heat from the bottom, which may mean that only the lower layers of the herbs may be vaporized or burned.
By way of educational background, another aspect of the prior art generally useful to be aware of is that current vaporization or direct burn may often leave the vaporized or burned air very dry and hot, which may be unsuitable for prolong usage and may result in higher quantity of undesirable substance to be inhaled. Water filtration has been one of the oldest forms of the filtration system used during smoking to resolve both issues. It filters out the undesirable substances and cools and moisturizes the air that is being inhaled. Current solution for vaporization typically may include an add on mouthpiece that is filled with water to be attached to vaporizers and direct burning device. Such devices, especially in an electronic vaporizer setting may provide 1) a separate attachment, which requires separate protection during carrying, 2) may only be used after the separate attachments are assembled and each time has to be disassembled and 3) the assembled device with both water filtration and vaporizer may not be carriable, e.g., the user carrying it risks spilling out the water so typically dumps out the water after each use, then refills to setup again for later use.
As such, considering the foregoing, it may be appreciated that there continues to be a need for novel and improved devices and methods for vaping devices.
The foregoing needs are met, to a great extent, by the present invention, wherein in aspects of this invention, enhancements are provided to the existing model of vaping devices.
In an aspect, a vaping device can include:
In a related aspect, the device body can further include:
In another aspect, a vaping system can include:
In a related aspect, the plurality of vaporization modules can include:
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, certain embodiments of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof herein may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional embodiments of the invention that will be described below and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of embodiments in addition to those described and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. In addition, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein, as well as the abstract, are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Before describing the invention in detail, it should be observed that the present invention resides primarily in a novel and non-obvious combination of elements and process steps. So as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will readily be apparent to those skilled in the art, certain conventional elements and steps have been presented with lesser detail, while the drawings and specification describe in greater detail other elements and steps pertinent to understanding the invention.
The following embodiments are not intended to define limits as to the structure or method of the invention, but only to provide exemplary constructions. The embodiments are permissive rather than mandatory and illustrative rather than exhaustive.
In the following, we describe the structure of an embodiment of a vaping system 100 and a vaping device 110 with reference to
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In yet another related embodiment, the air flow passage 1118, 1718 can include a straight (as shown in
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In a further related embodiment, the heating selector 115 can be configured as a ring which encircles the device body 112, such that rotation of the ring changes a temperature setting for the vaporization chamber 422 and correspondingly changes a color of light emitted from the color light assembly.
In a related embodiment, the vaping device 110 can be configured as a direct burn inhalation device, and the substance 1624 can be dried herb 1624.
In a further related embodiment, as shown in
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In another related embodiment, the vaping device 110 can be configured as a vaporizing inhalation device, and the substance can be oil, wax or ointment.
In yet a related embodiment, the vaping device 110 can include an air duct configured to enable air to enter the vaporization chamber and to assist in the burning of the substance.
In yet a related embodiment, as shown in
In the present embodiment, heating element may be made of metal as metal typically provides effective heat conductivity. It is contemplated that a variety of other heat conducting materials may be used in some alternate embodiments including, without limitation, ceramic materials, porcelain, some natural stone, etc.
In the present embodiment, the heating element may be connected to a heat source such as, but not limited to, a battery 624, by which heat may be transferred to the heating element so that the heating element may be heated until glowing red to typically enable combustion of the substance within vaporization chamber 422.
Alternate embodiments may use various different means for heating the heating element such as, but not limited to, heating coils within the base and heating rod or by forming a heating coil into the shape of a flat base and vertically extending rod. Another contemplated embodiment includes but not limited to ball shape 360-degree heating via coils inside the heating element.
It is contemplated that a multiplicity of suitable designs may be used for the heating element to provide heat throughout the substance being burned other than a flat base and vertical rod. For example, without limitation, in some embodiments, the heating element may comprise a cone shape or a flat base with multiple vertical rods. Other embodiments may implement heating elements that provide heat from the bottom, middle, and also the top of the vaporization chamber. Yet other embodiments may comprise heating elements that provide heat from the bottom and/or the top of the burning compartment as well as around the outside surface of the vaporization chamber. These embodiments may or may not comprise one or more heating rods through the middle of the vaporization chamber. In one such embodiment the vaporization chamber may be implemented as a sphere in which the entire surface area may conduct heat to the substance being burned. Another embodiment could be of a circular ball shape compartment which the substance inside are receiving heat from all directions. What is to be considered is the structure of the material being vaporized or burned. If the substance is in liquid format, then perhaps it requires an enclosed compartment. Or if the substance consists of solid form which air holes would need to be designed in the burning compartment to allow for air flow.
During the inhalation process of any vaporizer or direct burning device, a user typically takes breaks between each inhalation. Current devices may not include means to trap the vapor or smoke after burning or vaporization and some vapor or smoke may escape during the process, particularly between inhalations. An aspect of the present embodiment is to trap the vapor or smoke in a sealed chamber 1118 to help eliminate waste. Some alternate embodiments may also comprise a valve near the mouthpiece to trap the smoke or vapor in the sealed chamber 1118 above the vaporizing or burning chamber that may remain between inhalations.
In the present embodiment, the vaporizing device 110 may comprise a water chamber 120 through which smoke or vapor may be filtered before inhalation. In an alternative embodiment, the smoke or vapor may be unfiltered. In the present embodiment, a one-way valve near the bottom of the water chamber 120 may help ensure that water does not escape through the bottom of water chamber 120 while still enabling smoke or vapor to pass from the vaporization chamber 422 to the water chamber 120 when a user is inhaling.
The one-way valve may enable the smoke or vapor to enter the water chamber 120 and substantially prevents the contents of the water chamber 120 from coming back down into the vaporization chamber 422.
Those skilled in the art will readily recognize, in light of and in accordance with the teachings of the present invention that a multiplicity of suitable alternate and additional features may be provided in some embodiments. For example, without limitation, some embodiments may comprise magnetic interchangeable chambers that may enable the inhalation device to be converted for different types of materials and substances or burning methods such as, but not limited to, dry herb direct burning, dry herb vaporization, heating or burning of wax in various forms, oil vaporization, ointment vaporization, etc. Some of these embodiments may comprise means for automatically detecting which chamber is installed to help determine the proper burning temperature. In some embodiments, the chamber may be configured to provide a metered inhalation device. Some embodiments may comprise a built-in grinder and dry herb storage area so that dry herbs may be stored in the device in larger pieces and, when needed, ground into smaller more easily burned pieces.
The vaporizing device 110 may include an airflow chamber 418, a water chamber (an outer transparent cylindrical cover) 120 encircling the airflow chamber 418, a lower portion 119 including a vaporization chamber 422, and a mouthpiece 124. The air flow chamber 418 may include water entry/filtered air exit port 438.
The air flow chamber may include two concentric tubes 542 and 544. The inner tube 542 may include the battery 624 to supply power to the vaporizing device 110.
The air flow chamber 418 may be divided into a plurality of compartments. In one exemplary embodiment, the air flow chamber 418 may be divided into six compartments using six dividers of which three dividers 546, 548, and 550 are shown in
During a typical working of the vaporizing device 110, external air may enter through the vaporization module 125. The air (mixed with the vapors of the herb or other material placed in the vaporization chamber 422) may then pass downward through the vaporization chamber 422, and the air may leave the vaporization chamber 422 pass upward through the one-way valve into the air flow chamber 418 through the air flow vent 536 that connects the tube one-way valve and the air flow chamber 418. The air follows the path 572 as shown in
Water 482 for filtration may be provided in the space between the water chamber 120 and the air flow chamber 418. The water 482 may enter the air flow chamber 418 through the water entry port 438 and may fill the space between dividers 550 and 548. As mentioned above the divider 548 is connected both to the top edge and the bottom edge of the air flow chamber 418. Accordingly, the air follows a path as described herein 572 above and the water follows path 574 and fills the space between dividers 548 and 550. It may be appreciated by a person with ordinary skill in the art, in light of and in accordance with the teachings of the present invention, that the amount of water 482 used for filtration may be such that it may be sufficient to enter through the water entry port 438 raise to a height to fill the space between the dividers 548 and 550 but not sufficient enough to follow the path and flow over and fill the gaps between dividers 550 and 552, i.e., not sufficient enough to follow the opposite path of the flow of air and reach the air entry port 536. Accordingly, in one embodiment, the flow of water used for filtration may be contained in the device 110 in a manner such that it may not leak out or spill into the vaporization chamber 422 through air entry port 536.
In the exemplary embodiment, shown in
It may be appreciated by a person with ordinary skill in the art, in light of and in accordance with the teachings of the present invention that if the vaporizing device 110, were to be intentionally turned upside down multiple number of times, in the exemplary embodiment described herein at least six times, it may be possible that a very small amount of water 482 may escape into the space between the rest of the dividers i.e., the dividers 550, 552, 556, 554, 546, and 548 and reach the air entry port 536. It may be appreciated by a person with ordinary skill in the art, in light of and in accordance with the teachings of the present invention that water 482 may leak or follow the path opposite to air only if the vaporizing device 110 may be accidentally or intentionally mishandled. i.e., for the water 482 to leak into vaporization chamber 422, the water 482 may need to travel up and down through the air flow path 572 in a direction opposite to the air flow path 572 through compartments multiple times. Since gravity may act to impel the water 482 to move in a downward direction, the water flow in a direction opposite to air flow may occur only if a user shakes the vaporizing 110 up and down or turns inhalation device upside down and then right side up multiple times. A user may not engage in such an activity during normal usage/working of the vaporizing device 110. Even if a user shakes or rotates the vaporizing device 110 up and down, the amount of water 482 that may travel through all the tunnels of air flow chamber 418 and reach the vaporization chamber 422 may be negligible. In certain instances, water may leak into the vaporization chamber 422 if a user may blow into the mouthpiece 124 instead of inhaling from the mouthpiece 124, which may not be considered as a normal usage of the vaporizing device 110.
In certain embodiments, the water chamber 120 containing the water 482 and the vaporization chamber 422 may be separate pieces that are fixed together. In the present embodiment, combustion or vaporization chamber 422 may be electronically heated to produce a heated gas from a substance being burned or vaporized in the vaporization chamber 422.
The mouthpiece 124 on top of air flow chamber 418 may seal and connect the upper edge 564 of the air flow chamber 418, thus forming the air flow path/passage 572 that allows the air to enter at air entry port 536 and move in a non-linear manner between channels formed between the dividers, before coming into contact with water 482 for filtration and exiting from the filtered air exit port 438.
It may be appreciated by a person with ordinary skill in the art, in light of and in accordance with the teachings of the present invention that the tunnels of the air passage in some alternate embodiments may implement different configurations that may minimize leakage, such as, but not limited to, spiral configurations, zigzag configurations, and stepped configurations.
Accordingly, in typical use of the vaporizing device 110, in one embodiment, a user may inhale through the mouthpiece 124. Air may flow into the vaporization chamber 422. The air is mixed with heated gas from the substance being heated in the vaporization chamber 422. A gas mixture comprising the air and heated gas may then enter the air flow chamber 418 through port 536 as described hereinabove. The air may then follow path 572 and travel through the compartments to port 438. The gas mixture may escape through the exit port 438 into the water 482 near the bottom of the water chamber 120 and travels through the water 482 for filtration. Then a user may inhale the gas mixture through mouthpiece 124.
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Here has thus been described a multitude of embodiments of the vaping system 100, the vaping device 110, and methods related thereto, which can be employed in numerous modes of usage.
The many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the detailed specification, and thus, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the invention, which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.
By way of example, and not limitation, the means for heat distribution described in the foregoing were principally directed to inhalation device implementations; however, similar techniques may instead be applied to potpourri or wax warmers used to provide fragrance, humidifiers, or medical vaporizers, which implementations of the present invention are contemplated as within the scope of the present invention.
Many such alternative configurations are readily apparent, and should be considered fully included in this specification and the claims appended hereto. Accordingly, since numerous modifications and variations will readily occur to those skilled in the art, the invention is not limited to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described, and thus, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.
This application is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 15/592,452, filed May 11, 2017, which is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. Provisional application Ser. No. 15/040,622, filed Feb. 10, 2016; both of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3889690 | Guarnieri | Jun 1975 | A |
| 20100275937 | Shakouri Moghadam | Nov 2010 | A1 |
| 20160353799 | Otto | Dec 2016 | A1 |
| 20160353800 | Di Carlo | Dec 2016 | A1 |
| 20170027224 | Volodarsky | Feb 2017 | A1 |
| 20170119057 | Liu | May 2017 | A1 |
| 20180317544 | Hagen | Nov 2018 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20210084967 A1 | Mar 2021 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 15592452 | May 2017 | US |
| Child | 17113649 | US | |
| Parent | 15040622 | Feb 2016 | US |
| Child | 15592452 | US |
