Patent Application
20240398001
The present disclosure relates to a reservoir for a refilling device, a device and method for refilling an article of an aerosol provision system, a nozzle for fluid dispensing, and a refillable article for an electronic aerosol provision system.
Electronic aerosol provision systems, which are often configured as so-called electronic cigarettes, can have a unitary format with all elements of the system in a common housing, or a multi-component format in which elements are distributed between two or more housings which can be coupled together to form the system. A common example of the latter format is a two-component system comprising a device and an article. The device typically contains an electrical power source for the system, such as a battery, and control electronics for operating elements in order to generate aerosol. The article, also referred to by terms including cartridge, cartomiser, consumable and clearomiser, typically contains a storage volume or area for holding a supply of aerosolizable material from which the aerosol is generated, plus an aerosol generator such as a heater operable to vaporize the aerosolizable material. A similar three-component system may include a separate mouthpiece that attaches to the article. In many designs, the article is designed to be disposable, in that it is intended to be detached from the device and thrown away when the aerosolizable material has been consumed. The user obtains a new article which has been prefilled with aerosolizable material by a manufacturer and attaches it to the device for use. The device, in contrast, is intended to be used with multiple consecutive articles, with a capability to recharge the battery to allow prolonged operation.
While disposable articles, which may be called consumables, are convenient for the user, they may be considered wasteful of natural resources and hence detrimental to the environment. An alternative design of article is therefore known which is configured to be refilled with aerosolizable material by the user. This reduces waste, and can reduce the cost of electronic cigarette usage for the user. The aerosolizable material may be provided in a bottle, for example, from which the user squeezes or drips a quantity of material into the article via a refilling orifice on the article. However, the act of refilling can be awkward and inconvenient, since the items are small and the volume of material involved is typically low. Alignment of the juncture between bottle and article can be difficult, with inaccuracies leading to spillage of the material. This is not only wasteful, but may also be dangerous. Aerosolizable material frequently contains liquid nicotine, which can be poisonous if it makes contact with the skin.
Therefore, refilling units or devices have been proposed, which are configured to receive a bottle or other reservoir of aerosolizable material plus a refillable cartridge, and to automate the transfer of the material from the former to the latter. Alternative, improved or enhanced features and designs for such refilling devices are therefore of interest.
According to a first aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a reservoir for use in a refilling device, the reservoir comprising: a fluid storage volume bounded by one or more side walls and an end wall; an outlet orifice in or near the end wall, configured to form, or engage with, a fluid conduit engagable with an inlet orifice of an article of an aerosol provision system to provide a fluid flow path from the fluid storage volume to a storage area in the article when the reservoir and the article are installed in the refilling device; and a moveable wall disposed opposite to the end wall to close the fluid storage volume, the movable wall configured to slide towards the end wall, and engagable with a pushing element of the refilling device operable to push the moveable wall towards the end wall in order to reduce a capacity of the fluid storage volume such that fluid in the fluid storage volume is moved through the outlet orifice to the fluid flow path in order to fill the storage area of the article.
According to a second aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a refilling device configured for refilling of an article of an aerosol provision system received in the refilling device with aerosol generating material from a reservoir, the refilling device comprising a reservoir according to the first aspect.
According to a third aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a method of refilling a storage area with fluid, the method comprising: dispensing fluid from a reservoir according to the first aspect into the storage area.
According to a fourth aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a refilling device for refilling an article from a reservoir, comprising: a reservoir interface for receiving a reservoir containing fluid, the reservoir having a moveable wall configured to be inwardly pushable to reduce a capacity of the reservoir and move fluid in the reservoir out of an outlet orifice of the reservoir; an article interface for receiving an article of an aerosol provision system having a storage area for fluid, such that a fluid flow path is formed between the outlet orifice of the reservoir and the storage area of the article; a motor; a plunger configured to be driven by the motor to provide linear movement comprising advancement of the plunger from a retracted position to engage with and inwardly push the moveable wall of a received reservoir, and retraction of the plunger away from the moveable wall; and a controller configured to control the motor to drive the plunger.
According to a fifth aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a method of refilling an article from a reservoir, comprising: forming a fluid flow path between an outlet orifice of the reservoir and an inlet orifice of the article, wherein the reservoir has a moveable wall configured to be inwardly pushable to reduce a capacity of the reservoir and move fluid out of the outlet orifice, and the article is an article of a vapor provision system having a storage area in fluid communication with the inlet orifice; and controlling a motor-driven plunger to inwardly push the moveable wall of the reservoir to move fluid out of the outlet orifice, along the fluid flow path and into the inlet orifice in order to fill the storage area of the article with fluid from the reservoir.
According to a sixth aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a kit comprising: a refilling device according to the fourth aspect; and an aerosol provision system comprising an article having a storage area for aerosol generating material and a device to which the article can be coupled to form the aerosol provision system, wherein the article is configured to be received in the article interface of the refilling device.
According to a seventh aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a nozzle for dispensing fluid, comprising: a tubular outer wall extending between a proximal end and a distal end and surrounding a nozzle volume; an inner wall dividing the nozzle volume into a fluid channel for the flow of fluid from the proximal end to the distal end, and a venting channel for the flow of air from the distal end towards the proximal end; the inner wall and the outer wall configured such that, at the distal end, the fluid channel extends beyond the venting channel.
According to a eighth aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a reservoir for storing fluid, the reservoir comprising a nozzle according to the seventh aspect for dispensing fluid from the reservoir.
According to a ninth aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a refilling device configured for refilling an article of an aerosol provision system received in the refilling device with aerosol-generating material from a reservoir, the refilling device comprising a reservoir according to the eighth aspect.
According to a tenth aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a nozzle for dispensing fluid, comprising: a tubular inner wall defining a fluid channel for the flow of fluid from a first end to a second end of the nozzle; and a tubular outer wall surrounding the inner wall and defining a venting channel for the flow of air from the second end towards the first end of the nozzle, the venting channel defined by an inner surface of the outer wall and an outer surface of the inner wall; wherein the inner wall is eccentrically located within the outer wall.
According to a eleventh aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a reservoir for storing fluid, the reservoir comprising a nozzle according to the tenth aspect for dispensing fluid from the reservoir. The reservoir may further comprise aerosol-generating material stored in the reservoir.
According to a twelfth aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a refilling device configured for refilling an article of an aerosol provision system received in the refilling device with aerosol-generating material from a reservoir, the refilling device comprising a reservoir according to the eleventh aspect.
According to a thirteenth aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a method of refilling a storage area with fluid, the method comprising: using a nozzle according to the seventh aspect or the tenth aspect to transfer fluid from a reservoir into the storage area.
According to a fourteenth aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided an article for an aerosol provision system, comprising: an outer housing comprising one or more walls including an inlet wall; a storage area for aerosol-generating material defined within the outer housing; an inlet orifice in fluid communication with an interior of the storage area by which aerosol-generating material can be added into the storage area; and a valve closing the inlet orifice; wherein the inlet orifice is located in the inlet wall of the outer housing and the valve is integrally formed with inlet orifice and the inlet wall.
According to a fifteenth aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided an aerosol provision system comprising an article according to the fourteenth aspect.
According to a sixteenth aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a wall for an article for an aerosol provision system, the wall configured to define at least part of an outer housing of the article, and comprising: an inlet orifice by which aerosol-generating material can be added into a storage area of the article; and a valve closing the inlet orifice; wherein the wall, the inlet orifice and the valve are integrally formed.
These and further aspects of the certain embodiments are set out in the appended independent and dependent claims. It will be appreciated that features of the dependent claims may be combined with each other and features of the independent claims in combinations other than those explicitly set out in the claims. Furthermore, the approach described herein is not restricted to specific embodiments such as set out below, but includes and contemplates any appropriate combinations of features presented herein. For example, a reservoir, a refilling device, or related methods, may be provided in accordance with approaches described herein which includes any one or more of the various features described below as appropriate.
Various embodiments of the invention will now be described in detail by way of example only with reference to the following 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 (but is not limited to) electronic aerosol or vapor provision systems, such as e-cigarettes. Throughout the following description the terms “e-cigarette” and “electronic cigarette” may sometimes be used; however, it will be appreciated these terms may be used interchangeably with aerosol (vapor) provision system or device. The systems are intended to generate an inhalable aerosol by vaporization of a substrate (aerosol-generating material) in the form of a liquid or gel which may or may not contain nicotine. Additionally, hybrid systems may comprise a liquid or gel substrate plus a solid substrate which is also heated. The solid substrate may be for example tobacco or other non-tobacco products, which may or may not contain nicotine. The terms “aerosol-generating material” and “aerosolizable material” as used herein are intended to refer to materials which can form an aerosol, either through the application of heat or some other means. The term “aerosol” may be used interchangeably with “vapor”.
As used herein, the terms “system” and “delivery system” are intended to encompass systems that deliver a substance to a user, and include non-combustible aerosol provision systems that release compounds from an aerosolizable material without combusting the aerosolizable material, such as electronic cigarettes, tobacco heating products, and hybrid systems to generate aerosol using a combination of aerosolizable materials, and articles comprising aerosolizable material and configured to be used within one of these non-combustible aerosol provision systems. According to the present disclosure, a “non-combustible” aerosol provision system is one where a constituent aerosol generating material of the aerosol provision system (or component thereof) is not combusted or burned in order to facilitate delivery to a user. In some embodiments, the delivery system is a non-combustible aerosol provision system, such as a powered non-combustible aerosol provision system. In some embodiments, the non-combustible aerosol provision system is an electronic cigarette, also known as a vaping device or electronic nicotine delivery (END) system, although it is noted that the presence of nicotine in the aerosol generating material is not a requirement. In some embodiments, the non-combustible aerosol provision system is a hybrid system to generate aerosol using a combination of aerosolizable materials, one or a plurality of which may be heated. Each of the aerosolizable materials may be, for example, in the form of a solid, liquid or gel and may or may not contain nicotine. In some embodiments, the hybrid system comprises a liquid or gel aerosol generating material and a solid aerosol generating material. The solid aerosol generating material may comprise, for example, tobacco or a non-tobacco product.
Typically, the non-combustible aerosol provision system may comprise a non-combustible aerosol provision device and an article (consumable) for use with the non-combustible aerosol provision device. However, it is envisaged that articles which themselves comprise a means for powering an aerosol generator or aerosol generating component may themselves form the non-combustible aerosol provision system. In some embodiments, the non-combustible aerosol provision device may comprise a power source and a controller. The power source may, for example, be an electric power source. In some embodiments, the article for use with the non-combustible aerosol provision device may comprise an aerosol generating material, an aerosol generating component (aerosol generator), an aerosol generating area, a mouthpiece, and/or an area for receiving and holding aerosol generating material.
In some systems the aerosol generating component or aerosol generator comprises a heater capable of interacting with the aerosolizable material so as to release one or more volatiles from the aerosolizable material to form an aerosol. However, the disclosure is not limited in this regard, and applies also to systems that use other approaches to form aerosol, such as a vibrating mesh.
In some embodiments, the article for use with the non-combustible aerosol provision device may comprise aerosolizable material or an area for receiving aerosolizable material. In some embodiments, the article for use with the non-combustible aerosol provision device may comprise a mouthpiece. The area for receiving aerosolizable material may be a storage area for storing aerosolizable material. For example, the storage area may be a reservoir. In some embodiments, the area for receiving aerosolizable material may be separate from, or combined with, an aerosol generating area.
As used herein, the term “component” may be used to refer to a part, section, unit, module, assembly or similar of an electronic cigarette or similar device that incorporates several smaller parts or elements, possibly within an exterior housing or wall. An aerosol provision system such as an electronic cigarette may be formed or built from one or more such components, such as an article and a device, and the components may be removably or separably connectable to one another, or may be permanently joined together during manufacture to define the whole system. The present disclosure is applicable to (but not limited to) systems comprising two components separably connectable to one another and configured, for example, as an article in the form of an aerosolizable material carrying component holding liquid or another aerosolizable material (alternatively referred to as a cartridge, cartomiser, pod or consumable), and a device having a battery or other power source for providing electrical power to operate an aerosol generating component or aerosol generator for creating vapor/aerosol from the aerosolizable material. A component may include more or fewer parts than those included in the examples.
In some examples, the present disclosure relates to aerosol provision systems and components thereof that utilise aerosolizable material in the form of a liquid or a gel which is held in a storage area such as a reservoir, tank, container or other receptacle comprised in the system, or absorbed onto a carrier substrate. An arrangement for delivering the material from the reservoir for the purpose of providing it to an aerosol generator for vapor/aerosol generation is included. The terms “liquid”, “gel”, “fluid”, “source liquid”, “source gel”, “source fluid” and the like may be used interchangeably with terms such as “aerosol-generating material”, “aerosolizable substrate material” and “substrate material” to refer to material that has a form capable of being stored and delivered in accordance with examples of the present disclosure.
The article 30 includes a storage area such as a reservoir 3 for containing a source liquid or other aerosol-generating material comprising a formulation such as liquid or gel from which an aerosol is to be generated, for example containing nicotine. As an example, the source liquid may comprise around 1% to 3% nicotine and 50% glycerol, with the remainder comprising roughly equal measures of water and propylene glycol, and possibly also comprising other components, such as flavourings. Nicotine-free source liquid may also be used, such as to deliver flavouring. A solid substrate (not illustrated), such as a portion of tobacco or other flavour element through which vapor generated from the liquid is passed, may also be included. The reservoir 3 may have the form of a storage tank, being a container or receptacle in which source liquid can be stored such that the liquid is free to move and flow within the confines of the tank. In other examples, the storage area may comprise absorbent material (either inside a tank or similar, or positioned within the outer housing of the article) that holds the aerosol generating material. For a consumable article, the reservoir 3 may be sealed after filling during manufacture so as to be disposable after the source liquid is consumed. However, the present disclosure is relevant to refillable articles that have an inlet port, orifice or other opening (not shown in
A heater and wick (or similar) combination, referred to herein as an aerosol generator 5, may sometimes be termed an atomiser or atomiser assembly, and the reservoir with its source liquid plus the atomiser may be collectively referred to as an aerosol source. Various designs are possible, in which the parts may be differently arranged compared with the highly schematic representation of
Returning to
The device 20 includes a power source such as cell or battery 7 (referred to hereinafter as a battery, and which may or may not be re-chargeable) to provide electrical power for electrical components of the e-cigarette 10, in particular to operate the heater 4. Additionally, there is a controller 8 such as a printed circuit board and/or other electronics or circuitry for generally controlling the e-cigarette. The controller may include a processor programmed with software, which may be modifiable by a user of the system. The control electronics/circuitry 8 operates the heater 4 using power from the battery 7 when vapor is required. At this time, the user inhales on the system 10 via the mouthpiece 35, and air A enters through one or more air inlets 9 in the wall of the device 20 (air inlets may alternatively or additionally be located in the article 30). When the heater 4 is operated, it vaporizes source liquid delivered from the reservoir 3 by the aerosol-generating material transfer component 6 to generate the aerosol by entrainment of the vapor into the air flowing through the system, and this is then inhaled by the user through the opening in the mouthpiece 35. The aerosol is carried from the aerosol generator 5 to the mouthpiece 35 along one or more air channels (not shown) that connect the air inlets 9 to the aerosol generator 5 to the air outlet when a user inhales on the mouthpiece 35.
More generally, the controller 8 is suitably configured/programmed to control the operation of the aerosol provision system to provide functionality in accordance with embodiments and examples of the disclosure as described further herein, as well as for providing conventional operating functions of the aerosol provision system in line with established techniques for controlling such devices. The controller 8 may be considered to logically comprise various sub-units/circuitry elements associated with different aspects of the aerosol provision system's operation in accordance with the principles described herein and other conventional operating aspects of aerosol provision systems, such as display driving circuitry for systems that may include a user display (such as an screen or indicator) and user input detections via one or more user actuable controls 12. It will be appreciated that the functionality of the controller 8 can be provided in various different ways, for example using one or more suitably programmed programmable computers and/or one or more suitably configured application-specific integrated circuits/circuitry/chips/chipsets configured to provide the desired functionality.
The device 20 and the article 30 are separate connectable parts detachable from one another by separation in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis, as indicated by the double-headed arrows in
The present disclosure relates to the refilling of a storage area for aerosol generating material in an aerosol provision system, whereby a user is enabled to conveniently provide a system with fresh aerosol generating material when a previous stored quantity has been used up. It is proposed that this be done automatically, by provision of apparatus which is termed herein a refilling device, refilling unit, refilling station, or simply dock. The refilling device is configured to receive an aerosol provision system, or more conveniently, the article from an aerosol provision system having a storage area which is empty or only partly full, plus a larger reservoir holding aerosol generating material. A fluid communication flow path is established between the reservoir and the storage area, and a controller in the refilling device controls a transfer mechanism or arrangement operable to move aerosol generating material along the flow path from the reservoir to the storage area. The transfer mechanism can be activated in response to user input of a refill request to the refilling device, or activation may be automatic in response to a particular state or condition of the refilling device detected by the controller. For example, if both an article and a reservoir are correctly positioned inside the refilling unit, refilling may be carried out. Once the storage area is replenished with a desired quantity of aerosol generating material (the storage area is filled or a user specified quantity of material has been transferred to the article, for example), the transfer mechanism is deactivated, and transfer ceases. Alternatively, the transfer mechanism may be configured to automatically dispense a fixed quantity of aerosol generating material in response to activation by the controller, such as the fixed quantity matching the capacity of the storage area.
The refilling device 50 may be referred to hereinafter for convenience as a “dock”. This term is applicable since a reservoir and an article are received or “docked” in the refilling device during use. The dock 50 comprises an outer housing 52. The dock 50 is expected to be useful for refilling of articles in the home or workplace (rather than being a portable device or a commercial device, although these options are not excluded). Therefore, the outer housing, made for example from metal, plastics or glass, may be designed to have an pleasing outward appearance such as to make it suitable for permanent and convenient access, such as on a shelf, desk, table or counter. It may be any size suitable for accommodating the various elements described herein, such as having dimensions between about 10 cm and 20 cm, although smaller or larger sizes may be preferred. Inside the housing 50 are defined two cavities or ports 54, 56. A first port 54 is shaped and dimensioned to receive and interface with a reservoir 40. The first or reservoir port 54 is configured to enable an interface between the reservoir 40 and the dock 50, so might alternatively be termed a reservoir interface. Primarily, the reservoir interface is for moving aerosol generating material out of the reservoir 40, but in some cases the interface may enable additional functions, such as electrical contacts and sensing capabilities for communication between the reservoir 40 and the dock 50 and determining characteristics and features of the reservoir 40.
The reservoir 40 comprises a wall or housing 41 that defines a storage space for holding aerosol generating material 42. The volume of the storage space is large enough to accommodate many or several times the storage area of an article intended to be refilled in the dock 50. A user can therefore purchase a filled reservoir of their preferred aerosol generating material (flavour, strength, brand, etc.), and use it to refill an article multiple times. A user could acquire several reservoirs 40 of different aerosol generating materials, so as to have a convenient choice available when refilling an article. The reservoir 40 includes an outlet orifice or opening 44 by which the aerosol generating material 42 can pass out of the reservoir 40. In the current context, the aerosol generating material 42 has a liquid form or a gel form, so may be considered as aerosol generating fluid. The term “fluid” may be used herein for convenience to refer to either a liquid or a gel material; where the term “liquid” is used herein, it should be similarly understood as referring to a liquid or a gel material, unless the context makes it clear that only liquid is intended.
A second port 56 defined inside the housing is shaped and dimensioned to receive and interface with an article 30. The second or article port 54 is configured to enable an interface between the article 30 and the dock 50, so might alternatively be termed an article interface. Primarily, the article interface is for receiving aerosol generating material into the article 30, but in some cases the interface may enable additional functions, such as electrical contacts and sensing capabilities for communication between the article 30 and the dock 50 and determining characteristics and features of the reservoir 30.
The article 30 itself comprises a wall or housing 31 that has within it (but possibly not occupying all the space within the wall 31) a storage area 3 for holding aerosol generating material. The volume of the storage area 3 is many or several times smaller than the volume of the reservoir 40, so that the article 30 can be refilled multiple times from a single reservoir 40. The article also includes an inlet orifice or opening 32 by which aerosol generating material can enter the storage area 3. Various other elements may be included within the article, as discussed above with regard to
The refilling device housing 52 also accommodates a fluid conduit 58, being a passage or flow path by which the reservoir 40 and the storage area 3 of the article 30 are placed in fluid communication, so that aerosol generating material can move from the reservoir 40 to the article 30 when both the reservoir 40 and the article 30 are correctly positioned in the dock 50. Placement of the reservoir 40 and the article 30 into the dock 30 locates and engages them such that the fluid conduit 58 is connected between the outlet orifice 44 of the reservoir 40 and the inlet orifice 32 of the article 30. Note that in some examples, all or part of the fluid conduit 58 may be formed by parts of the reservoir 40 and the article 30, so that the fluid conduit is created and defined only when the reservoir 40 and/or the article 30 are placed in the dock 30. In other cases, the fluid conduit 58 may be flow path defined within a body of the dock 52, to each end of which the respective orifices are engaged.
Access to the reservoir port 54 and the article port 56 can be by any convenient means. Apertures may be provided in the housing 52 of the dock 50, through which the reservoir 40 and the article 30 can be placed or pushed. Doors or the like may be included to cover the apertures, which might be required to be placed in a closed state to allow refilling to take place. Doors, hatches and other hinged coverings, or sliding access elements such as drawers or trays might include shaped tracks, slots or recesses to receive and hold the reservoir 40 or the article 30, which bring the reservoir 40 or the article 30 into proper alignment inside the housing when the door etc. is closed. These and other alternatives will be apparent to the skilled person, and do not affect the scope of the present disclosure.
The dock 50 also includes an aerosol generating material (“liquid” or “fluid”) transfer mechanism, arrangement, apparatus or means 53, operable to move or cause the movement of fluid out of the reservoir 40, along the conduit 58 and into the article 30. Various options are contemplated for the transfer mechanism 53.
A controller 55 is also included in the dock 50, which is operable to control components of the dock 50, in particular to generate and send control signals to operate the transfer mechanism. As noted, this may be in response to a user input, such as actuation of a button or switch (not shown) on the housing 52, or automatically in response to both the reservoir 40 and the article 30 being detected as present inside their respective ports 54, 56. The controller 55 may therefore be communication with contacts and/or sensors (not shown) at the ports 54, 56 in order to obtain data from the ports and/or the reservoir 40 and article 30 that can be used in the generation of control signals for operating the transfer mechanism 3. The controller 55 may comprise a microcontroller, a microprocessor, or any configuration of circuitry, hardware, firmware or software as preferred; various options will be apparent to the skilled person.
Finally, the dock 50 includes a power source 57 to provide electrical power for the controller 53, and any other electrical components that may be included in the dock, such as sensors, user inputs such as switches, buttons or touch panels, and display elements such as light emitting diodes and display screens to convey information about the dock's operation and status to the user. Also, the transfer mechanism may be electrically powered. In particular, electrical power may be provided to the transfer mechanism when it is required to operate. Since the dock may be for permanent location in a house or office, the power source 57 may comprise a socket for connection of an electrical mains cable to the dock 50, so that the dock 50 may be “plugged in”. Alternatively, the power source may comprise one or more batteries, which might be replicable or rechargeable, in which case a socket connection for a charging cable is included.
While the example of
A reservoir for a refilling device is described with reference to
Further details relating to the reservoir will now be described.
An option for removing fluid from the reservoir for transfer to the article is to pull the fluid out of the reservoir. Pulling can be achieved by a pumping arrangement associated with the outlet orifice, through which fluid is pulled. A peristaltic pump might be used, for example. However, pumping arrangements can be vulnerable to leakage. Typically a number of components are coupled together along and within the flow channel for the pumped fluid, so there can be several joints, and corresponding multiple potential weak points where leaks may arise. Also, the small scale of a typical article, and the corresponding only somewhat larger scale of a suitable reservoir (since a very large store of aerosol generating material may be undesirable for reasons including safety and shelf-life) can make a pump awkward to implement. An overall size for a refilling unit required to accommodate a pumping arrangement may be undesirably large.
Accordingly, the present disclosure proposes instead to push fluid from the reservoir. This can be implemented by configuring the reservoir to have a movable wall that slides inwardly into the reservoir's internal volume in order to reduce that volume and increase the pressure on fluid in the volume so that fluid is forced out of the reservoir's outlet orifice as the system attempts to equalise the internal pressure. The refilling device is provided with a pushing device, element or apparatus that can act on the moveable wall of a reservoir installed in the reservoir port of the refilling device to provide the required inward pushing when fluid dispensing to refill an article is required.
The reservoir 40 further comprises a moveable wall 63 which engages within the side walls 41 in order to close the fluid storage volume 45. The moveable wall 63 is configured to lie in a plane orthogonal to a longitudinal axis of the tubular shape formed by the side walls 41 (so, parallel to the transverse cross-section of the side wall(s) 41), and has a size and shape matching the internal cross-section of the side wall(s) 41 so as to fit closely, while being able to move within the side wall(s) 41 along the direction of the longitudinal axis. During movement, the edge(s) or perimeter of the moveable wall 63 slide over the inner surface of the side wall(s), maintaining contact therewith. The side wall(s) 41 therefore are parallel along the length of the reservoir 40. In order to reduce leakage of fluid 42 from out of the storage volume 45, the moveable wall 63 is configured for sealing around its perimeter. In the
An outlet orifice 44 is provided for the reservoir 40, by which fluid can exit the storage volume 45. In this example, the outlet orifice 44 is located in the end wall 43, but in general it should be remote from the movable wall in order to maximise the usable capacity of the storage volume 45, in other words, the capacity from which fluid can be expelled through the outlet orifice 44 by movement of the moveable wall 63. Accordingly, the outlet orifice could be located merely near to the end wall 43, such as in the side wall(s) 41 adjacent to the end wall 43.
The outlet orifice 44 is configured so as to be able to connect to or engage with the fluid conduit in a refilling device when the reservoir 40 is installed in the refilling device. In some cases, the outlet orifice itself can form the entirety of the fluid conduit, by being engagable directly with the inlet orifice of an article also installed in the refilling device. In other cases, the outlet orifice can connect to a tubing or pipework included within the refilling device that acts as the fluid conduit, and to which the outlet orifice of the article is also connectable. In any of these arrangements, when the outlet orifice and the inlet orifice are joined in this way, a fluid flow path is established from the storage volume of the reservoir to the storage area in the article, along which fluid can be moved in order to allow refilling of the article when its storage area has become depleted of aerosol generating material.
In
For the dispensing of fluid from the reservoir 40, the refilling device is configured to act on the moveable wall by providing a pressure or pushing force P directed towards the end wall 43 and the outlet orifice 44. This moves the moveable 63 wall inwardly by sliding over the inside of the side wall(s) 41, in other words towards the end wall 43. This reduces the size of the storage volume 45, so that fluid is pushed out of the outlet orifice 44. Fluid can then flow along the flow path of the fluid conduit and into the storage area of the connected article.
In order to achieve this, the refilling device comprises a fluid transfer mechanism 53 as discussed with regard to
In this example, the outlet orifice of the reservoir 40 has the form of a nozzle 60 and comprises the whole of the fluid conduit. This can be beneficial because there is no residual aerosol generating material left in the refilling device 50 when the reservoir is removed, as might occur for a fluid conduit comprised within the refilling device 50 to which the reservoir 40 is coupled. Hence, cross-contamination between different types of aerosol-generating material that might be held in consecutive reservoirs is avoided. The nozzle 60 is located centrally within the end wall of the reservoir; this can facilitate alignment of the nozzle 60 with the article 30. When a user requires the refilling of an article, the article 30 is placed by the user into the article port 56 of the refilling device 50. The article port 56 holds the article 30 such that the inlet orifice 32 of the article, which may be covered by a valve (not shown), is aligned with the distal end of the nozzle 60. The fluid flow path from reservoir 40 to article 30 is completed by relative movement between the article 30 and the reservoir 40, which inserts the distal end of the nozzle 60 into the inlet orifice 32, causing the valve to open. The movement, effected by movement of the article port 56 and/or the reservoir port 54, can be automatically provided by the refilling unit 50, electrically by use of one or more motors under control of the controller 55 in response to insertion of the article 30 into the article port 56, or mechanically by suitable hinging, folding and/or sliding parts that operate in conjunction with opening and closing of the door, tray or similar of the article port 56. Otherwise, a lever or similar operable by the user may be provided. The article 30 may be moved upwards towards the reservoir 40, the reservoir 40 may be moved downwards towards the article 30, or the reservoir 40 and the article 30 may both be moved. The refilling device is now ready to commence filling of the article 30.
Next, the relative movement between the article 30 and the reservoir 40 is reversed to uncouple the article from the fluid conduit. In this case, the nozzle 60 is withdrawn from the inlet aperture 32, the valve of which then closes to seal the storage area 3 against leaks. The user can then remove the refilled article 30 from article port 56, for reuse in an aerosol provision system. The reservoir 40 can be retained in the refilling device 50 for use in the next refilling action. If it has been emptied of aerosol generating material 42 by refilling the article 30, it can be removed and replace with a new full reservoir. Alternatively, it can be swapped with a reservoir holding a different type of aerosol generating material if the user likes to consume more than one type.
A function of the socket 48 is to provide some protection for the outlet orifice 44, particularly when it is formed as a nozzle 60. The nozzle will typically have small diameter, required by the typical scale of an article, such as 2 mm or less. Hence, it can be relatively delicate and easily damaged, and is vulnerable as it protrudes out of the end wall 43. Any damage could render it inoperable, or make alignment with the article difficult such as if it becomes bent. The socket 48 can afford protection from accidental bumps and knocks. This can be enhanced if the socket wall 46 extends further than the nozzle 60, so the nozzle 60 does not protrude out of the socket 48.
The socket 48 may additionally provide a function of receiving at least part of an article which is brought together with the reservoir 40 for refilling in the refilling device. The relative movement between the article and the reservoir to form the fluid flow path will insert the part of the article closest to the reservoir 40 into the socket 48. The presence of the socket wall 46 can guide the article towards the reservoir 40, to give and maintain correct alignment between the inlet orifice of the article and the outlet orifice of the reservoir 40. Also, it can inhibit the use of inappropriate or unauthorised pairings of reservoirs and articles, for improved safety. For these functions, the inner profile of the socket should correspond to the outer profile of the intended article. This can prevent an incorrectly shaped or sized article or improperly oriented article from being received into the socket, while a correctly shaped and/or sized and/or oriented article will be received and guided towards the position at which it is coupled for fluid transfer, in this example by insertion of the nozzle 60 into an inlet orifice of an article. To achieve this, the socket walls 46 may be inset from the side walls 41, for example if the article is narrower than the reservoir. Alternatively or additionally, the socket walls may have a different transverse cross-section of their inner and outer surfaces. The outwardly facing surface of the socket wall portions 46 may be inline with the outer surface of the side walls 41 to give a smooth exterior for the reservoir, while the inwardly facing surface of the socket wall portions 46 matches the cross section of the article. Also, the inner surface of the socket wall portions may slope outwardly with distance from the end wall so the socket 48 is wider at its mouth or open end. This can also aid in receiving the article and guiding it into alignment for connection to the fluid conduit.
Additionally, the inner surface of the socket wall portions 46 may be shaped to define one or more guiding elements which are configured to cooperate with shaping on an outer surface of the article. This can also assist in guiding the article into engagement with the fluid conduit during its insertion into the socket.
The reservoir 40 of
As a further optional feature, a reservoir with a nozzle may comprise a moveable mount 49 on which the nozzle is supported. Operation of the moveable mount extends and retracts the nozzle along the direction of its length or longitudinal axis as indicated by the dotted arrow in
The addition of fluid into the article during the refilling process can increase the pressure within the storage area of the article, pending the release, or venting, of air which is displaced by the added fluid. A dedicated venting path may be provided within the article itself, but it is proposed herein according to some examples, that where the reservoir includes a nozzle as the outlet orifice, venting is provided via the nozzle. This allows the single inlet orifice of the article to be used for both the ingress of fluid and the egress of air. To enable this, the nozzle can be configured to have two channels, both having an end at the distal end of the nozzle that reaches into the storage area of the article. The channels comprise a first channel, being a fluid channel that communicates with the interior of the storage volume of the reservoir to collect fluid and deliver it into the article, and a second channel, being a venting channel or air flow channel that collects air forced out of the storage area of the article by the incoming fluid and includes an air outlet for this air to escape or vent into the surrounding environment. This is typically the interior of the refilling device.
While the nozzle can be held in a dedicated mount attached to the end wall of the reservoir, it may instead conveniently be mounted within the end wall itself. The end wall can be formed to have a passage passing through it, in which the nozzle can be held. This allows the end wall to also be used to form part of the venting path provided by the venting channel of the nozzle.
A consequence of venting the article's storage area in this way is that fluid F can enter the venting channel 67 along with air A. The flow of air A can carry any such fluid along the length of the venting channel 67 until it is discharged through the outlet 67a into the venting chamber 68. Discharged fluid can collect around or near the outlet 67a as droplets or a deposit D, and cause partial or complete blockage of the outlet 67a. This can impede the venting, and cause a pressure increase within the article's storage area.
A device and method for refilling and article of an aerosol provision system is described with reference to
An option for removing fluid from the reservoir for transfer to the article is to pull the fluid out of the reservoir. Pulling can be achieved by a pumping arrangement associated with the outlet orifice, through which fluid is pulled. A peristaltic pump might be used, for example. However, pumping arrangements can be vulnerable to leakage. Typically a number of components are coupled together along and within the flow channel for the pumped fluid, so there can be several joints, and corresponding multiple potential weak points where leaks may arise. Also, the small scale of a typical article, and the corresponding only somewhat larger scale of a suitable reservoir (since a very large store of aerosol generating material may be undesirable for reasons including safety and shelf-life) can make a pump awkward to implement. An overall size for a refilling unit required to accommodate a pumping arrangement may be undesirably large.
Accordingly, the present disclosure proposes instead to push fluid from the reservoir. This can be implemented by configuring the reservoir to have a movable wall that slides inwardly into the reservoir's internal volume in order to reduce that volume and increase the pressure on fluid in the volume so that fluid is forced out of the reservoir's outlet orifice as the system attempts to equalise the internal pressure. The transfer mechanism of the refilling device is configured with a pushing device, element or apparatus that can act on the moveable wall of a reservoir installed in the reservoir port of the refilling device to provide the required inward pushing when fluid dispensing to refill an article is required.
For the dispensing of fluid from the reservoir 40, the refilling device is configured to act on the moveable wall by providing a pressure or pushing force P directed towards the end wall 43 and the outlet orifice 44. This moves the moveable 63 wall inwardly by sliding over the inside of the side wall(s) 41, in other words towards the end wall 43. This reduces the size of the storage volume 45, so that fluid is pushed out of the outlet orifice 44. Fluid can then flow along the flow path of the fluid conduit and into the storage area of the connected article.
In order to achieve this, the refilling device comprises a fluid transfer mechanism 53 as discussed with regard to
In this example, the outlet orifice of the reservoir 40 has the form of a nozzle 60 and comprises the whole of the fluid conduit. When a user requires the refilling of an article, the article 30 is placed by the user into the article port 56 of the refilling device 50. The article port 56 holds the article 30 such that the inlet orifice 32 of the article, which may be covered by a valve (not shown), is aligned with the distal end of the nozzle 60. The fluid flow path from reservoir 40 to article 30 is completed by relative movement between the article 30 and the reservoir 40, which inserts the distal end of the nozzle 60 into the inlet orifice 32, causing the valve to open. The movement, effected by movement of the article port 56 and/or the reservoir port 54, can be automatically provided by the refilling unit 50, electrically by use of one or more motors under control of the controller 55 in response to insertion of the article 30 into the article port 56, or mechanically by suitable hinging, folding and/or sliding parts that operate in conjunction with opening and closing of the door, tray or similar of the article port 56. Otherwise, a lever or similar operable by the user may be provided. The article 30 may be moved upwards towards the reservoir 40, the reservoir 40 may be moved downwards towards the article 30, or the reservoir 40 and the article 30 may both be moved. The refilling device is now ready to commence filling of the article 30.
Next, the relative movement between the article 30 and the reservoir 40 is reversed to uncouple the article from the fluid conduit. In this case, the nozzle 60 is withdrawn from the inlet aperture 32, the valve of which then closes to seal the storage area 3 against leaks. The user can then remove the refilled article 30 from article port 56, for reuse in an aerosol provision system. The reservoir 40 can be retained in the refilling device 50 for use in the next refilling action. If it has been emptied of aerosol generating material 42 by refilling the article 30, it can be removed and replace with a new full reservoir. Alternatively, it can be swapped with a reservoir holding a different type of aerosol generating material if the user likes to consume more than one type.
Further details relating to the refilling device and the transfer mechanism will now be described.
The transfer mechanism of the refilling device comprises a plunger for pushing the moveable wall of a reservoir installed in the refilling device. The plunger is driven by an electric motor, which is under control of the controller of the refilling device, and receives power from the power source in the refilling device. The controller acts to control the motor to move the plunger to engage with the moveable wall, push against the moveable wall to dispense fluid from the reservoir in a series of refilling actions, each being the refilling of an empty or partially empty article, and retract the plunger away from the removable wall after use. This is achieved by linear movement of the plunger, along a direction substantially orthogonal to the plane of the moveable wall, and parallel to the side walls of the reservoir in order to slide the moveable wall smoothly over the inner surface of the reservoir, towards the outlet orifice.
An example of an electric motor which may be used to produce the required linear motion of the plunger is a stepper motor, since these are available in a compact size suitable for incorporation into a refilling unit of the type described herein. A stepper motor is a brushless DC motor comprising a series of electromagnets arranged around a toothed rotor that can engage with the electromagnets as they are energised in turn, according to control signals from the controller of the refilling unit in the present case. The rotor is coupled to or configured as a lead screw, so that driving the motor turns the rotor and also the lead screw. This rotational movement can be converted to linear movement by use of a lead screw nut wound onto the threads of the lead screw. If the lead screw nut is coupled to a non-rotatable item, the turning of the lead screw causes the lead screw nut to wind up or down the lead screw as it follows the threads, thereby pulling or pushing the coupled item. In the present case, the coupled item comprises the plunger. Operation of the motor thereby can extend and retract the plunger towards or away from the moveable wall of the reservoir depending on the direction of rotation of the lead screw and rotor, which is governed by the order in which the electromagnetics are energised. Benefits of a stepper motor for the present purpose are that the degree of rotation and hence the amount of linear motion can be controlled very precisely, both by appropriate switching of the electromagnetics and by gearing of coupling between the rotor, the lead screw and the lead screw nut, and also that the components remain in position when the motor is switched off, so that the plunger can be retained in a retracted or extended position between uses. This can save time for repositioning that would be needed if the plunger was withdrawn from the reservoir after each refilling action, for example.
When an article is inserted into the refilling device, the controller recognizes that refilling is required. This can be by the use of sensors or detectors in the refilling unit, such as in the article interface, that can detect the presence of a correctly inserted article and communicate this to the controller, for example. More simply, the refilling device may comprise a switch, button or other user control or interface that the user actuates after inserting the article in the refilling device to indicate that a refilling action is wanted. In response, the controller sends one or more control signals to the motor to advance or extend the plunger 53a in the inward pushing direction to move fluid out of the reservoir 40 and into the article. This extending movement of the plunger 53a is continued until the controller recognizes that a required amount of fluid has been transferred into the article. This may be by the use of a sensor or detector in the article or in the article interface that can detect when the amount of fluid in the article reaches or exceeds a threshold or target level, for example corresponding to the article's storage area being full. The output of the sensor or detector is communicated to the controller, which responds by ceasing advancement of the plunger 53a. Determination of the fluid volume or level, and comparison with the threshold can be carried out locally by the sensor or detector or a chip in the article interface, which send a “stop” signal to the controller. Alternatively, the sensor or detector reading can be sent to the controller which performs the processing and determines when to stop moving the plunger 53a. These are useful arrangements that allow the user to refill an already partially full article. A less complex arrangement is one in which the controller is configured to cause the plunger 53a to move by a pre-set fixed extension amount, to dispense a fixed amount of fluid, which may correspond to the capacity of the article's storage area, for example. Once this pre-set movement is accomplished, the controller recognizes the refilling should stop, and ceases to advance the plunger 53a. Assuming that the motor is able to advance the plunger 53a at a fixed speed over its full range of travel, this can be achieved by the controller operating the motor for a fixed amount of time, for example. Other methods for stopping and starting the pushing of the moveable wall are not excluded, however.
At the end of a refilling action, the plunger 53a can usefully be left in its current extended position, engaged with the moveable wall 63. This places the plunger 53a in a new engaged position, immediately ready for a next refilling action, and saves time delays that would result if the plunger 53a was returned to its retracted position after every refilling action. However, it can be useful to retract the plunger 53a very slightly at the end of the pushing movement to achieve the new engaged position. This reduces pressure on the fluid in the reservoir that could otherwise result from a continued small force of the plunger 53a on the moveable wall 63 (if the moveable wall 63 is flexible, for example), and can cause any drips at the reservoir outlet orifice to be drawn back into the reservoir. This can reduce leakage.
The empty state of the reservoir may be determined in any convenient manner. For example, sensors or detectors in the reservoir interface or the reservoir itself may detect the level or volume of fluid in the reservoir and communicate this to the controller, from which an empty or near empty state can be calculated, in a similar manner to that proposed above for detecting liquid level in the article. Additionally, a threshold for approaching depletion of the reservoir, such as 25%, 20% or 10% of full reservoir capacity, can be monitored for, and used to trigger presentation of a user alert that a new reservoir will be needed soon. A sensor or detector may be operable to detect the height of the moveable wall 63 within the reservoir 40, so that an empty state is notified when the moveable wall reaches the base of the reservoir. In a further alternative, the lead screw, lead screw nut and plunger may be configured so that a maximum attainable extension of the plunger is provided which corresponds to an empty or near empty reservoir. For example there is a physical barrier to block the lead screw or the plunger from moving further, or the thread on the lead screw runs out. The motor will produce a current spike when the maximum extension is reached, as it attempts to drive the plunger past the end of the allowable movement; this can be detected by the controller and recognized at the empty reservoir state. Alternatively, the end wall 43 of the reservoir 40 may be used as the physical barrier, if pushing of the moveable wall against the end wall by the plunger is acceptable (for example, it will not disturb the position of the reservoir in its reservoir interface).
The parallel arrangement of
Also shown in
The provision of cut-out portions 85 allows the cavity 84 to be sufficiently deep in order to receive the article 30 such that its upper surface 33 is flush with the rim 83a of the cavity 84 when fully inserted, or alternatively sits below the rim 83a, or extends only a small way above it, as depicted. This helps to hold the article 30, which is typically a relatively small item, more firmly.
In use, the user uses the handle portion 82 to slide the drawer 80 open, which brings the cavity 84 into access, and allows the user to insert the article 30 into the cavity. The user than pushes the drawer 80 to its closed position, which places the article 30 in a position in or from which it can be coupled into the fluid flow path for refilling.
In this example the article interface also has associated with it at least one sensor or detector 86 which is in communication with the controller of the refilling device. A sensor or detector 86 may be configured to detect that an article 30 is present in the article interface 80, and optionally additionally that the article is correctly inserted (in a required orientation, for example), and/or that the drawer 80 has been returned to the closed position. The controller can determine from the output of the detector 86 that these conditions are met, accordingly recognize that an article is present and ready for refilling, and in response initiate processes required for producing a refilling action. In particular, the controller controls the transfer mechanism, which in the present examples is the control of the motor to advance the plunger to push the moveable wall and dispense fluid from the reservoir. Additionally other actions may be undertaken by the controller, such as the control of any movements needed to create the fluid conduit, such as bringing the reservoir and the article together for the insertion of a reservoir nozzle into the inlet orifice of the article.
Additionally or alternatively, one or more sensors or detectors 86 can be provided to monitor or measure the level or volume of fluid in the article, in order to enhance control of the refilling action by the controller, such as appropriate timing of the end of a refilling action when the article's storage area is full, as described above. Options for sensing or determining fluid level or volume include detecting the weight of the article, which will depend on the amount of fluid present, and optical detection involving directing a beam of light into the storage area and detecting transmitted or reflected light, which will vary according to the height of the fluid surface. A further option is to measure the capacitance across the article or the storage area. The capacitance will depend on how much fluid, or the presence/absence of fluid, is in the measurement region.
Note that any of the various features of the refilling device described with respect to
In general terms, the present disclosure provides a method of refilling an article by controlling a motor-driven plunger to move fluid from reservoir with an inwardly moveable wall to a storage area in an article coupled to the reservoir by a fluid flow path. Some more particular details of example of methods of this type will now be described.
However, if in step S4 the controller detects that the reservoir access door has been opened, this state is recognized as a likelihood that the user wants to remove the reservoir, for example to replace it with a reservoir holding different fluid, or to check some characteristic of the reservoir. If the user was to attempt removal of the reservoir while the plunger is engaged with it, the plunger and/or the reservoir could be damaged. To avoid this, the controller acts in response to the opened access door by retracting the plunger to the retract position, so the method proceeds directly to step S7. The user may then safely remove the reservoir in step S8.
The user may open the reservoir access door at any time during the lifetime of the reservoir, so the method can loop back from step S5 to step S4, so that the controller checks for opening of the access door over the time period during which refilling actions can be performed before the reservoir becomes empty.
Stepper motors have been described in detail herein as being suitable for driving a plunger in a refilling unit. However, other types of motor might be used instead, which are able to produce linear motion of the plunger either directly or by gearing and the like.
While a refilling device according to the present disclosure may be made available to the consumer separately from one or more models of aerosol provision system having aerosol generating material storage areas able to be filled using the refilling device, it may be convenient to make a complete refillable system available as a single group of items. Hence, a kit may be provided that includes a refilling device and an aerosol provision system with a refillable article of the appropriate format to fit into the refilling device. In an alternative arrangement, the aerosol provision system itself might be receivable into the refilling device for refilling of the storage area. The kit may also include one or more reservoirs pre-filled with aerosol generating material, although the reservoirs should also be available separately to increase longevity of the refilling system as a whole, and in order for the consumer to select between different types of aerosol generating material.
A nozzle for fluid dispensing is described with reference to
Further details relating to the fluid conduit will now be described. As noted above, the fluid conduit may be wholly or partly formed by parts of the reservoir 40 and the article 30. In particular, an example arrangement for the fluid conduit 58 is a nozzle by which fluid aerosol generating material is dispensed from the reservoir 40. The nozzle may be provided as an element of the dock, such that the outlet orifice of the reservoir is coupled to a first end of the nozzle when the reservoir is installed in the dock. Alternatively, the nozzle may be embodied as an integral part of the reservoir, to provide the outlet orifice. This associates the nozzle only with the particular reservoir and its contents, thereby avoiding any cross-contamination that may arise from using reservoirs of different aerosol-generating materials with the same nozzle. The nozzle is engaged into the inlet orifice of the article in order to enable fluid transfer from the reservoir into the article. The engagement may be achieved by movement of the article towards the reservoir, or vice versa, for example, when both have been installed in the dock.
During this act of refilling, fluid enters the empty or partly empty storage area and displaces the air therein. To avoid or reduce a pressure increase inside the storage area, the air should be allowed to escape. This is known as venting. It is undesirable for a large pressure increase to arise in the storage area, since the pressure can force fluid out of the storage area via the aerosol-generating material transfer component (wick or similar) towards the vapor generator, causing internal leakage within the article. This may be addressed by providing a vent in the wall of the storage area, but this will become a further point vulnerable to leakage.
Accordingly, the present disclosure proposes to allow both fluid in and air out via the article's inlet orifice and additionally via the nozzle. To achieve this, the nozzle is configured such that its outer wall, having a tubular shape and extending between the proximal end and the distal end, encloses two channels, a first channel being a fluid channel to carry fluid flowing from the reservoir, into the proximal end of the nozzle and out of the distal end of the nozzle into the article. The air displaced by the fluid in the storage area enters a second channel in the nozzle, the second channel being a venting channel to carry the air away from the article from the distal end of the nozzle towards the proximal end. In this way, pressure increases inside the storage area of the article can be reduced or avoided.
This dual nozzle arrangement of two channels, one for fluid flow and one for air flow, is implemented by dividing the volume inside an outer tube or wall (overall nozzle volume) into two channels by use of a dividing, inner, wall inside the outer wall. Various configurations of the inner wall are contemplated; some non-limiting examples are discussed below. The inner wall similarly extends between the proximal and distal ends of the nozzle, providing the flow channel and the venting channel as two parallel channels extending along the longitudinal direction of the nozzle.
The fluid channel 166 is arranged to extend beyond the venting channel 165, at the distal end 62. There is a length X, being the length by which the fluid channel 166 exceeds the length of the venting channel 165. In this example, this extension of the fluid channel 166 is achieved by configuring the inner wall 164 to be longer than the outer wall 163 at the distal end 62, so that the distal end of the inner wall 164 protrudes out of the distal end of the outer wall 163. The purpose of this arrangement is to spatially separate the fluid outlet from the air inlet. This reduces the chance of fluid entering or being drawn into the venting channel 165 and blocking or partially blocking it. Such a blockage impedes the venting capability of the nozzle 60, and allow pressure increases inside the article.
The nozzle has a transverse width W, being the exterior width (diameter in this case) of the outer wall 163. While this may be any size, as appropriate depending on the intended use of the nozzle 60, in the context of a refilling dock for e-cigarette pods, a width of up to about 2 mm is envisaged as being practical given the typical size of a pod, and feasible or desirable dimensions of a fluid inlet orifice for a pod. As a concrete example, W may have a value of 1.6 mm or 1.8 mm, for example. Accordingly, the nozzle width might be in the range of 1.5 mm to 2 mm. Wider nozzles are of course possible, for example in the range 1.5 mm to 2.5 mm or 1.5 mm to 3 mm.
A purpose of this arrangement is to increase transverse dimensions of the venting channel, which reduces the chance of blockage if fluid enters the venting channel. For the same inner width of the outer wall and outer width of the inner wall, the venting channel is made wider as its widest point, compared to the width of the annular venting channel which would be formed by a concentric position.
In nozzle designs comprising a tubular inner wall inside a tubular outer wall, any position of the inner wall relative to the outer wall may be used. An eccentric arrangement can be used to widen the venting channel and reduce the likelihood of blockage. A concentric arrangement may be preferred owing to its symmetry, which may ease alignment of the nozzle with the inlet orifice of an article.
Also, the nozzle need not be formed only from tubes or tubular walls of circular cross-sectional shape. Other shapes may be used as preferred, and the two walls need not be of the same shape. Curved shapes may be generally preferred as providing smoother fluid flow, but are not essential.
The inner wall may divide the nozzle volume into the two required channels in other ways than by being configured as a second tubular shaped, however. The volume may be partitioned simply by an inner wall that extends across the interior of the outer wall, attached at two different points around the inner perimeter of the outer wall.
A partitioning inner wall need not be straight or flat, however; other shapes may be used to divide the nozzle volume as desired.
While substantially equally sized flow and venting channels may be used, and may be suitable or preferred in some circumstances, a larger venting channel can be used to reduce blockage, as explained above. The sizes of the channels can be defined in terms of their transverse cross-sectional area. For a larger or wider venting channel, the transverse cross-sectional area of the venting channel is therefore larger than that of the fluid channel. Experiment has determined that a useful ratio is about 2:1, in other words, the cross-sectional area of the venting channel is about twice the cross-sectional area of the fluid channel. Considering the nozzle volume as a whole, the fluid channel and the venting channel respectively occupy about one-third and two-thirds of the volume and the total cross-sectional area. Values near this proportion may also be useful, for example so that the cross-sectional area of the venting channel may be in the range of about 1.5 to 2.5 times the cross-sectional area of the fluid channel. Other values are not excluded, however, and may be appropriate in some cases. The examples values given are useful for nozzles of the width noted above, of about 2 mm or less, for example.
The nozzle may be substantially straight, in that the cross-sectional shape and size remains constant along the length of the nozzle. Also, the ratio of the areas of the two channels may remain constant with length. Other arrangements may be used, however, such as a flaring nozzle shape which is wider at the proximal end and narrower at the distal end. The ratio between the channels might vary. For example, a proportionately larger venting channel at the distal end may aid in reducing blocking if any fluid is drawn in, while a proportionately larger fluid channel at the proximal end may aid in feeding fluid into the fluid channel from the reservoir.
In order for the air to escape from the venting channel, one or more apertures may be formed in the outer wall of the nozzle, that are in fluid communication with the venting channel. If the one or more apertures are positioned outside the article when the nozzle is inserted into the inlet orifice for refilling, the air is simply vented into the interior of the refilling dock. Depending on the connection or juncture configuration at the proximal end of the nozzle, a chamber may be provided in fluid communication with the venting channel (either by an aperture or by termination of the outer wall while the inner wall extends further) to receive the air, formed for example within a bung or socket that holds the proximal end within the reservoir. The chamber may then have an outlet.
As noted above, the fluid channel is configured to extend beyond the venting channel at the distal end of the nozzle. Experiments have been conducted to test the efficacy of different lengths of the extending part (this length being a length differential between the two channels). As discussed, the purpose of the extra length is to separate the fluid outlet and the air inlet to minimise blockage of the venting channel with fluid. This can be tested by measuring the pressure inside a space to which the fluid is dispensed, such as the storage area in an article. If the venting channel is fully effective, no pressure increase is observed. However, if the venting channel becomes obstructed, such as by fluid intake, the flow of air along the venting channel is impeded or stopped, and the pressure in the space increases as more incoming fluid is unable to displace air from the space.
In applications where small nozzle sizes are required or desirable, such as the example dimensions given above, a dual nozzle in accordance with the disclosure may conveniently be fabricated using three-dimensional printing. This may also be used for larger scale nozzles, but in such designs other fabrication techniques may be more straightforward than at smaller sizes, such as molding of plastics materials, or assembly of separate parts for the inner and outer walls.
Although the refilling of aerosol generating material storage areas of aerosol provision system and articles for aerosol provision systems have been cited as a particular use of nozzles as disclosed herein, including use in refilling devices, the concept is not so limited. Nozzles in accordance with the disclosure can be used in any circumstance where liquid is to be transferred into a substantially closed or airtight space so that air needs to be vented in order to avoid or reduce pressure increases.
A refillable article for an electronic aerosol provision system is described with reference to
Further details relating to the article will now be described.
Once the article has been filled or refilled with aerosol-generating material, it is important that the fluid be retained within the storage area other than the intended egress to feed the vapor generator of the aerosol provision system. Accordingly, the storage area should be configured for the minimisation of leakage. According to the present disclosure, this is addressed by the use of a valve for the inlet orifice of the article.
The outer housing 31 is formed from one or more walls, where the number of walls used to assemble the outer housing will be dictated by the design of the article. The article 30 has a somewhat elongate shape, with one end being a mouthpiece end 36. This outer housing slopes inwardly towards the mouthpiece end in order to form a comfortable shape for the mouthpiece. Side walls extend from the mouthpiece end towards a second end of the article 30, opposite to the mouthpiece end 36. Towards the second end, the side walls have a recessed portion 37 for insertion into a receiving socket at an end of a corresponding device in order to create an aerosol generating system. This is an example only, however, and the outer housing may be otherwise shaped.
The article 30 is closed at the second end by a wall 33. This wall 33 includes an inlet orifice 32 by which aerosol-generating material can be added to the storage area for refilling of the article 30. Hence, this wall can be considered as an inlet wall 22. The inlet orifice 32 is closed or covered by a valve 34 that inhibits the flow of fluid out of the storage area 3, and thus reduces leakage from the article 30. Note that in this example, the inlet orifice 32 is in the form of an aperture in the inlet wall 33. The valve 34 covers the aperture. Also, the valve 34 opens directly into the interior of the storage area 3.
Note also that in this example, the inlet wall 33 is at an opposite end of the article 30 to the mouthpiece end 36. To allow refilling, the mouthpiece end can be held in an article port in a refilling device, leaving the inlet wall exposed for connection with the fluid conduit. For example, the article port may receive the article with the mouthpiece end oriented downwardly, as in
Also shown are electrical contacts 35 for electrical connection of the article 30 to a device with which the article forms an aerosol provision system. Contacts will typically pass through the end wall of the outer housing 31, where in this case the end wall is also the inlet wall 33.
In this example, the inlet wall 33 comprises only the end wall of the outer housing 31. In such an arrangement, the remainder of the outer housing 31, namely the wall or surface at the mouthpiece end, and the side wall or walls or surfaces, might be formed as a single part, and the inlet wall used to close the article 30 once all required elements are installed in the article's interior. In other cases, the rest of the outer housing 31 might be formed from more than one separate wall or walls, which are joined together by welding, adhesive, snap-fit or similar. Also, the inlet wall 33 may define more than just one side or surface of the outer housing 31, and as a single part may extend further around the outer housing, such as by also forming all or part of one or more adjacent surfaces.
Regardless of the shape or location of the inlet wall 33, according to the present concept, the inlet orifice 32 and its associated valve 34 are integrally formed with the inlet wall 33. By integrally formed, it is meant that the various parts of formed as a single continuous element or component, rather than being formed from separate elements made individually and then joined together. This approach allows for speed of fabrication, since the assembly of parts into a larger component is eliminated. Also, the risk of leakage from the inlet orifice when the article is being used or stored is reduced, because there are no seams or joints between the valve and its surroundings, which might be vulnerable to leaks if improperly formed, or weakened by repeated use such as repeated engagement of the inlet orifice with the fluid conduit. Once formed, the inlet wall is installed with the other wall or walls to create the complete outer housing. The installation may be via a push-fit friction connection, where the inlet wall is formed as a plug that closes an otherwise open cavity defined by the other wall or walls, or may be affixed by adhesive, welding, a snap-fit connection, or any other method that will be apparent to the skilled person.
Any suitable fabrication technique can be used to make the integral valve and wall component. Plastics materials and natural or synthetic rubbers are suitable, and can be used conveniently in techniques including molding and three-dimensional printing. A particular example material is silicone. These type of flexible, resilient but deformable materials are suitable for forming into valves that can be opened by deformation under the pressure of the engaging end of the fluid conduit or nozzle when it is inserted into the inlet orifice, and which will return to its original closed configuration once the conduit end is withdrawn. Silicone can be used as it is suitable for self-sealing valves, in which one or more slits or cuts in the silicone can open to let the conduit end through, and close again once the conduit end is removed.
Examples of suitable types of valve that can be formed in this way, integrally with the inlet orifice and the inlet wall, are slit valves (comprising a single slit in a planar or curved membrane), cross-slit valves (comprising two intersecting slits in a planar or curved membrane or other shaped portion), dome valves (a domed portion having one or more slits or similar formed in it), duckbill valves, and flap valves. Other valve types are not excluded, however.
Furthermore, while an integrally formed valve offers the features noted above, other, separately formed valves might be used in a refillable pod that otherwise has one or more features described herein. The valve types mentioned already could be used, fabricated separately and later coupled into the inlet orifice. Also, valves comprising individual elements that preclude integral formation as one piece could be used, such as a ball valves, spring valves and poppet valves.
In the examples of
In this example, the inlet orifice is not merely a simple aperture in the inlet wall 33. Instead the inlet orifice 32 comprises a tubular inlet 39 extending from an aperture in the inlet wall inwardly into the interior of the article, in this case the interior of the storage area 3. The valve 34 is located at an end of the tubular inlet 39, being a distal end of the tubular inlet 39, remote from a proximal end of the tubular inlet 39 at the inlet wall 33. Proximal and distal are defined with respect to the direction of fluid flow during refilling. Hence, the valve 34 is inset or inwardly displaced with respect to the plane of the inlet wall 33 around the aperture of the inlet orifice 32 in the inlet wall 33. In use, the delivery end of the fluid conduit is inserted into the tubular inlet 39 and reaches down to the valve 34, where relative movement pushes the fluid conduit end through the valve 34 as before.
This inset location for the valve offers some protection against damage for the valve, and protection against the ingress of contaminants and foreign bodies that could otherwise enter the storage area. Also, the tubular inlet offers spatial guidance for the end of the fluid conduit as it approaches the valve. If the end of the fluid conduit is close in width to the interior width of the tubular inlet, lateral movement of the conduit end is reduced or prevented so that the end of the fluid conduit, which might be shaped for improved engagement with the valve, is properly aligned with the valve as it makes contact. Also, the tubular element can act as a fluid flow path as described with regard to
Given the relatively small scale of a typical article for an aerosol provision system, the length of the tubular inlet will not be great. For example, the length from the proximal end to the distal end (the inlet wall to the valve) may be in the range of 5 mm to 20 mm, or the range of 7 mm to 15 mm. Other lengths are not excluded, however. Further regarding dimensions, the tubular inlet (if included), the inlet orifice and the valve can be shaped to engage with an fluid conduit such as a nozzle which has a width in the range of 1.5 mm to 2.5 mm, or 1.5 mm to 3 mm, or 1.5 mm to 2 mm. For example, the width might be about 2 mm, or about 1.6 mm, or about 1.8 mm. Other widths are not excluded, however.
As described above, the article can be received in an article port or article interface in a refilling dock. In order for the article to be held firmly in place during insertion of the fluid conduit for refilling, the article port can comprise a recess shaped to correspond with the external profile of the article, and of sufficient depth to enclose the article over a large portion of its length, leaving the inlet wall exposed for refilling access. For example the recess may be between one half and the whole of the length of the article, along a dimension perpendicular to the inlet wall, might be received in a closely-fitting recess or cavity of the article port. Relative movement between the article and the fluid conduit along the same dimension brings the two into engagement for refilling.
As noted above, the inlet orifice may or may not be centrally located within the inlet wall. Where the article has some degree of rotational symmetry about an axis or dimension perpendicular to the inlet wall, for example its cross-section is circular or oval or square or rectangular, there will be more than one orientation in which the article can be inserted into the article port recess. If the inlet orifice is centrally disposed with respect to the inlet wall, this will not matter, and the fluid conduit will be in alignment with the inlet orifice for all possible orientations. However, if the inlet orifice is offset from the center of the inlet wall, for example located near to or next to the edge of the inlet wall, as in the
The location feature acts to break any rotational symmetry of the article that may otherwise exist for rotation of the article about an axis perpendicular to the inlet wall. In a transverse cross-section of the article substantially parallel to the inlet wall and in a plane that includes the location feature or features, the perimeter of the article, as defined by the external surface of the outer housing, has no rotational symmetry. Accordingly, if the cavity or recess of the article port or article interface is correspondingly shaped, with a recess or protrusion matching the protrusion or recess of the location feature, the article can only be inserted in a single orientation, which is selected to be the correct orientation to align the inlet orifice with the fluid conduit.
It is desirable that any location features do not intrude overly much on the overall external appearance or tactile feel of the article. Accordingly, they may be kept to a low profile. For example, a protruding surface feature may extend by, or have a height above the external surface of the article (defined by the outer housing) of not more than 1 mm. A recessed surface feature may have a depth below the external surface of not more than 1 mm. Larger sized location features may be acceptable in some designs, such as having a height or depth of less than 2 mm.
Location features as described may be provided in an article separately from a refilling wall with an integrally formed valve. For example, an article with a different configuration of refill valve may include location features, or location features may be useful in articles that lack refilling capability if alignment with a device or system of some kind is required.
The various embodiments described herein are presented only to assist in understanding and teaching the claimed features. These embodiments are provided as a representative sample of embodiments only, and are not exhaustive and/or exclusive. It is to be understood that advantages, embodiments, examples, functions, features, structures, and/or other aspects described herein are not to be considered limitations on the scope of the invention as defined by the claims or limitations on equivalents to the claims, and that other embodiments may be utilised and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the claimed invention. Various embodiments of the invention may suitably comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of, appropriate combinations of the disclosed elements, components, features, parts, steps, means, etc., other than those specifically described herein. In addition, this disclosure may include other inventions not presently claimed, but which may be claimed in future.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2112580.2 | Sep 2021 | GB | national |
| 2112581.0 | Sep 2021 | GB | national |
| 2112582.8 | Sep 2021 | GB | national |
| 2112583.6 | Sep 2021 | GB | national |
The present application is a National Phase entry of PCT Application PCT/GB2022/052178 filed Aug. 24, 2022, which claims priority to GB Application No. 2112580.2 filed Sep. 3, 2021, GB Application No. 2112581.0 filed Sep. 3, 2021, GB Application No. 2112582.8 filed Sep. 3, 2021 and GB Application No. 2112583.6 filed Sep. 3, 2021, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/GB2022/052178 | 8/24/2022 | WO |
