Patent Application
20170064994
The field of the invention is electronic vapor delivery devices and, specifically, the dispensers that are used to refill flavored liquid in the vapor delivery devices.
Electronic vapor forming devices are becoming more and more widely used by persons who puff the flavored vapor. Also known in one example as electronic cigarettes, these electronic vapor devices deliver to a user and allow a user to inhale a flavored vapor that is similar in some ways to a smoking experience. The user draws air through the electronic cigarette or electronic vapor device similar to a smoker drawing a puff of smoke from a cigarette. The electronic vapor device is actuated to form a vapor by heating a flavored vaporizer liquid.
A limiting factor in the use of electronic cigarettes or other vaporizer liquid devices is the amount of liquid that the device can hold. The more vaporizer liquid that can be stored in the device, then the more vapor can be formed over time during the use of the device. Disposable vaporizers such as e-cigarettes are engineered and loaded for a limited number of puffs by a user. However, there are other vaporizer devices that may be reloaded with vaporizer liquids so that the device can be reused without the limitation of an otherwise limited amount of vaporizer liquid being available. In these devices, a vaporizer liquid dispenser bottle may be carried by a user. When the device gets low on liquid, then the user can simply refill the device with the liquid from the dispenser bottle.
As the use of the vaporizers becomes larger, so also does the demand for different flavors of vaporizer liquids. These vaporizer liquids already include numerous different available flavors. Also, depending on the specific preference of a user with respect to the amount of nicotine that they prefer in a puff, different concentrations of nicotine are also available in the different flavors in the liquid refill dispensers. As a result, vapor retailers can carry a large number of different liquid refill dispensers to meet the flavor and nicotine demand and preferences of the user customers.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to overcome the foregoing drawbacks and provide a simple, liquid dispenser that has a customizable concentration of flavorings and/or nicotine.
In one example, a customizable vaporizer liquid dispenser includes a vaporizer liquid bottle having separate first and second chambers therein. A door is positioned between the two chambers, wherein the door is biased to a closed position but is operable by a user between open and closed positions with the closed position having a liquid seal between the two chambers and the open position having an opening between the two chambers and allowing liquid flow between the two chambers. The first chamber contains a liquid comprising a flavored vaporizing liquid. The second chamber contains a nicotine-containing liquid having a predetermined concentration of nicotine therein. The first chamber is adjacent to and in liquid communication with a reclosable dispensing spout of the vaporizer liquid bottle. The predetermined concentration of nicotine in the second chamber is a greater than a concentration of nicotine, if any, in the flavored vaporizing liquid in the first chamber. In another example, the vaporizer liquid bottle may include a plurality of second chambers. Each second chamber contains a liquid having a predetermined liquid concentration therein that is greater than the concentration of nicotine, if any, in the flavored vaporizing liquid in the first chamber. The flavored vaporizing liquid may comprise a concentration of nicotine, or alternatively, may comprise substantially no nicotine. The mixture of flavored vaporizing liquid and nicotine liquid in the vaporizer liquid bottle may range in nicotine content from about zero to five percent nicotine.
The second chamber may contain a different flavoring or a more concentrated flavoring as compared with the flavored liquid in the first chamber. The first and second liquids may be different concentrations of the same flavor, or alternatively, different concentrations of different flavors.
In another example, there is a valve between the first and second chambers described herein.
In another example, a customizable vaporizer liquid dispenser includes a vaporizer liquid bottle having first and second chambers therein. The first chamber contains a liquid comprising a first, flavorized vaporizing liquid, and the second chamber contains a second, nicotine-containing vaporizing liquid therein having a predetermined concentration of nicotine therein. The first chamber is adjacent to and in liquid communication with a reclosable dispensing spout of the vaporizer liquid bottle. The predetermined concentration of nicotine in the second vaporizing liquid is greater than the concentration of nicotine, if any, in the flavored vaporizing liquid in the first chamber. The first and second chambers are operable by a user between a first position where there is a liquid seal between the chambers and a second, open position that includes an opening between the two chambers and allowing liquid flow between them.
The dispenser described herein has multiple chambers within it. The first chamber is the largest volume chamber, typically, and it contains flavored liquid for use in a vaporizer. The dispenser further includes one or more second chambers that also contain a second liquid for use in a vaporizer. The second liquid, third or fourth liquid or more depending on the number of chambers, is available to a user in order to selectively mix that second liquid with the liquid in the first chamber. The second liquid may include predetermined amounts of nicotine. This amount of nicotine may be about zero to five percent nicotine, or alternatively about one to five percent. Alternatively, the second liquid may include different flavorings or amounts of flavoring to use in modifying the flavoring and/or amount of nicotine for use in a vaporizer.
The vaporizer liquid dispenser discussed herein is described with reference to examples of a dispenser in the attached Figures. Of course there are other shapes of the dispenser that are possible. Also, the dispenser may be shown for example in multiple sizes that contain multiple, alternative volumes of liquid contained therein.
The exploded view of the container 10 is shown in
In operation, a user turns the bottom portion 20 in a predetermined clockwise (or alternatively counterclockwise) direction to move a plunger upwardly from the bottom of the second chamber 22. This increases the pressure in the second chamber 22 and forces the second liquid 25 up through the stem 29 and out the valve 27 into the inside of the first chamber 14. In this way, the user can force as much or as little of the second liquid 25 into the first chamber 14 where there is the first liquid 15.
The bottle described herein can have multiple sizes and shapes. Those sizes/volumes of the bottle may correspond to a predetermined number of puffs in a liquid bottle. For instance, the approximate predetermined number of puffs may correspond to the approximate number of puffs in a carton of cigarettes. Alternatively, the number of puffs may be estimated to correspond to a certain amount of time of usage by a user, for instance a number of puffs to last a week or a month. At present, one size of dispenser bottle is 30 ml. Alternatively, the dispenser bottle could be about 10 to 120 ml in size. These volumes are describing the volume in the larger first chamber in the dispenser bottle.
The material that a dispenser bottle is made from is also variable. If it is intended that the bottle is a flexible squeeze bottle, then the material is a soft plastic. Alternatively, the bottle may be rigid where the liquid is simply poured out thereof. The bottle material may be opaque. Alternatively, the bottle material may be clear or translucent so that a user can observe the amount of liquid in the larger first chamber in the bottle. If the bottle is clear, then the user can also see the amount of liquid contained in the second chamber inside the larger chamber. The plastic material of the bottle must be relatively impermeable to protect from evaporation of the liquid out from the bottle. The impermeability should also prevent the ingress of oxygen or other air components that may spoil the flavored liquid inside. Importantly, the plastic must be able to contain the nicotine that is stored therein to keep it from migrating or otherwise escaping from the bottle. Suitable plastics include polyethylene, polyvinylchloride, polypropylene, polyester or coextrusions or laminates thereof.
The additive reservoir or smaller second chamber is sized to hold an amount of concentrated liquid depending on industry preferences and vaporizer use by a user. Typically, the second chamber size for a 30 ml bottle is about 10 ml. The size of the smaller second chamber may range from 1 to 10, or alternatively about 3 to 33 percent of the volume of the larger first chamber. The material that forms the second chamber must include significant barrier properties to seal and store the more concentrated nicotine therein. Preferably, the second chamber is made of a rigid material that allows for clean compression and flow of liquid out therefrom at the demand of the user.
The second chamber has a door or valve that seals and secures liquid within the second chamber. The door can be a simple door or flap that is either opened or closed. This would release all of the reservoir liquid into the larger chamber or, when closed, keep it sealed in the smaller second chamber. A valve, especially a one way valve, allows for more precise extrusion of the second liquid into the first chamber.
The actuating mechanism that is operated by a user to inject a concentrated liquid from the second chamber into the larger first chamber can be indexed with visual indicia to inform a user of the volume or amount of concentrated liquid injected into the larger chamber. For instance, a user may have a preference for an amount of nicotine in a liquid. The user may prefer certain nicotine amounts or concentrations. Alternatively, a user can be slowly declining their use of nicotine and may desire to decrease the amount of nicotine that they use over time. This user may use different bottles that a user has previously mixed or injected with less concentrate from bottle to bottle. The indicia or visual index on the second chamber allows for and enables the careful control of the amount of nicotine that is dispensed. The indicia may be the amount of nicotine in the concentrate, or alternatively may reflect the amount of nicotine in the resulting liquid after it is mixed with the concentrate.
As identified earlier, the nicotine concentration in a second chamber within the dispenser can range from about zero to five percent. Practically speaking, this nicotine concentration can be greater, but there must be strict safety features incorporated in the dispenser bottle if a higher concentration of nicotine was placed in the second chamber. There is an opportunity for abuse if the nicotine concentration becomes too large. Accordingly, it is believed that the high end of concentration around five percent is appropriate for most, foreseeable retailer consumer application.
In addition to being able to vary the amount of nicotine in the flavored liquid of the first chamber, a user can also deploy different concentrations of flavorings that are contained within the second chamber.
As especially shown in
In each of the examples described herein, there is a first chamber and one or more second chambers. There are differences between a liquid contained in the first chamber and the liquid contained in one or more second chambers. This difference is typically the concentration of a nicotine-containing vaporizing liquid or, alternatively, the concentration or flavor of a flavorized vaporizing liquid. Importantly, these first and one or more second chambers define a first position where there is a liquid seal between the chambers. That is, the liquids contained in the respective chambers are not able to intermix with each other. However, in each dispenser described herein, there is also a second, open position that includes an opening between the first chamber and one or more of the second chambers. In this second, open position, the access and circulation of the various liquids is enabled by multiple means described herein. These include a valve, a door, a puncturable capsule, or any other design which allows the user to selectively mix the liquids in the first and one or more second chambers.
Other embodiments of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification. It is intended that the specification and Figures be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.
