Charge control for aerosol delivery devices

Abstract

The present disclosure provides an aerosol delivery device. The aerosol delivery device includes one or more rechargeable batteries, a charging circuit system including an electrical connector configured to interconnect the one or more rechargeable batteries with a power source, and a sensor configured to detect an action of using the aerosol delivery device by a user and output a signal. The aerosol delivery device also includes a microprocessor coupled to the charging circuit system and the sensor, and the microprocessor is configured to control the aerosol delivery device in response to receiving a signal from the sensor to allow the user to smoke or puff when the aerosol delivery device is connected to a charger.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No. 16 / 537,784, filed on August 12, 2019, entitled “Charging Control for an Aerosol Delivery Device,” and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 769,296, filed on November 19, 2018, entitled “Management System for Control Functions in a Vaporization System,” and both applications are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to aerosol delivery devices such as smoking articles, and more particularly to aerosol delivery devices that can utilize electrically generated heat to generate an aerosol (e.g., smoking articles commonly referred to as electronic cigarettes). The smoking article can be configured to heat an aerosol precursor, which can contain a material made from or derived from tobacco or otherwise contain tobacco, which can form an inhalable substance for human consumption. Background Art

[0004] Representative products with many attributes similar to traditional types of cigarettes, cigars or pipes are already on the market: Philip Morris Incorporated's ALPHA by InnoVapor LLC TM 、JOYE 510 TM and M4 TM ; CIRRUS from White Cloud Cigarettes TM and FLING TM Fontem Ventures BV TM ; International Inc( COHITA TM 、COLIBRI TM ELITECLASSIC TM 、MAGNUM TM PHANTOM TM and SENSE TM; DUOPRO from Electronic Cigarettes, Inc. TM 、STORM TM AND VAPORKING TM ; EGAR of Egar Australia TM ; Joyetech's eGo-C TM and eGo-T TM ; ELUSION of Elusion UK Ltd (Elusion Limited Liability Company of the United Kingdom) TM ; Eonsmoke LLC FINBranding Group, LLC TM ; Green Smoke Inc.USA GREENARETTE of Greenarette LLC TM ;SMOKE HALLIGAN TM 、HENDU TM 、JET TM , MAXXQ TM PINK TM and PITBULL TM ; HEATBAR by Philip Morris International, Inc. TM ; HYDRO IMPERIAL from Crown7 TM and LXE TM ; LOGIC Technology's LOGIC TM and THE CUBAN TM ; Luciano Smokes Inc. Nicotek, LLC Sottera, Inc. and ONEJOY TM ; SS Choice LLC (SS Choice Limited Liability Company) NO.7TM ; PREMIUM ELECTRONIC CIGARETTE by PremiumEstore LLC TM ; RAPP E-MYSTICK of Ruyan America, Inc. TM ; RED DRAGON from Red Dragon Products, LLC TM ; Ruyan Group (Holdings) Ltd. Smoker Friendly International, LLC The Smart Smoking Electronic Cigarette Company Ltd.'s GREEN SMART SMOKE by Coastline Products LLC SMOKING EVERYWHERE by Smoking Everywhere, Inc. TM ; V2CIGS from VMR Products LLC TM ; VAPOR NINE of VaporNine LLC TM ; Vapor 4Life, Inc. VEPPO of E-CigaretteDirect, LLC TM ; RJReynolds Vapor Company Mistic Ecigs’ Mistic menthol products; CN Creative Ltd.’s Vype products; Philip Morris International, Inc.’s IQOS TM ; and British American Tobacco's GLOTM Still other electrically powered aerosol delivery devices and in particular those which have been characterized as so-called electronic cigarettes have been marketed under the following trade names: COOLER VISIONS TM ;DIRECT E-CIG TM ;DRAGONFLY TM ;EMIST TM ;EVERSMOKE TM ; HYBRID FLAME TM ;KNIGHT STICKS TM ; ROYAL BLUES TM ; and South Beach Smokey TM .

[0005] It is desirable to allow a user to vape while the aerosol delivery device is connected to a charger. Furthermore, in some cases, an aerosol delivery device may stop allowing puffing due to a low battery condition. Therefore, it is desirable to allow puffing to occur as long as the aerosol delivery device (with a depleted battery) is connected to a charger, even if the battery level has not yet recovered. Summary of the invention

[0006] The present disclosure relates to aerosol delivery devices, methods of forming such devices, and elements of such devices. The present disclosure may specifically relate to an aerosol delivery system configured to allow a user to vape an electronic cigarette while the aerosol delivery device is coupled to an external power source for charging. The present disclosure includes, but is not limited to, the following example implementations.

[0007] Some example implementations provide an aerosol delivery device, comprising:

[0008] A rechargeable battery or batteries; a charging circuit system comprising a configuration to interconnect the one or more rechargeable batteries to a power source; a sensor configured to detect an action of a user using the aerosol delivery device and output a signal; and a microprocessor coupled to the charging circuit system and the sensor, the microprocessor being configured in response to receiving the signal from the sensor to: determine a state indicating the presence of a path for current to flow from the power source through the electrical connector to the one or more rechargeable batteries; interrupt the path for current to flow from the power source through the electrical connector to the one or more rechargeable batteries; and activate the aerosol delivery device so that when the electrical connector is connected to the power source, power is delivered from the one or more rechargeable batteries to further elements of the aerosol delivery device in response to an action of a user using the aerosol delivery device to provide an output.

[0009] In some example implementations of the aerosol delivery device of any of the foregoing example implementations or any combination of any of the foregoing example implementations, the microprocessor configured to interrupt the path of electrical current includes a microprocessor configured to interrupt the path of electrical current using a switching circuit between the electrical connector and the one or more rechargeable batteries.

[0010] In some example implementations of the aerosol delivery device of any of the foregoing example implementations or any combination of any of the foregoing example implementations, the switching circuit includes a pair of metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) switches respectively coupled to the positive electrical connection and the negative electrical connection of the electrical connector, and the microprocessor configured to interrupt the path of electrical current includes a microprocessor configured to use the switching circuit to interrupt both the positive electrical connection and the negative electrical connection from the one or more rechargeable batteries.

[0011] In some example implementations of an aerosol delivery device of any of the foregoing example implementations or any combination of any of the foregoing example implementations, the switching circuit includes a pair of opto-isolator relays respectively coupled to the positive electrical connection and the negative electrical connection of the electrical connector, and the microprocessor configured to interrupt the path of electrical current includes a microprocessor configured to use the switching circuit to interrupt both the positive electrical connection and the negative electrical connection from the one or more rechargeable batteries.

[0012] In some example implementations of the aerosol delivery device of any of the foregoing example implementations or any combination of any of the foregoing example implementations, a switching circuit is coupled to one or both of the positive electrical connection and the negative electrical connection of the electrical connector, and a microprocessor configured to interrupt the path of electrical current includes a microprocessor configured to use the switching circuit to interrupt only one of the positive electrical connection and the negative electrical connection from the one or more rechargeable batteries.

[0013] In some example implementations of an aerosol delivery device of any of the foregoing example implementations or any combination of any of the foregoing example implementations, the switching circuit includes a MOSFET switch integrated with the charging circuit system and another switch external to the charging circuit system, and the microprocessor configured to interrupt the path of current includes a microprocessor configured to use the switching circuit to disconnect the electrical connector from the one or more rechargeable batteries.

[0014] In some example implementations of the aerosol delivery device of any of the foregoing example implementations or any combination of any of the foregoing example implementations, in response to detection by the sensor of completion of an action, the microprocessor is further configured to: determine that the electrical connector is connected to a power source; and reconnect the electrical connector to the rechargeable battery, and thereby reconnect the power source to the one or more rechargeable batteries to charge the one or more rechargeable batteries.

[0015] In some example implementations of the aerosol delivery device of any of the foregoing example implementations or any combination of any of the foregoing example implementations, the action includes a puffing action by a user.

[0016] In some example implementations of the aerosol delivery device of any of the foregoing example implementations or any combination of any of the foregoing example implementations, the further element includes a heating element configured to heat and thereby evaporate components of an aerosol precursor composition contained within a housing of the aerosol delivery device such that the output in response to an action using the aerosol delivery device is the formation of an aerosol.

[0017] In some example implementations of the aerosol delivery device of any of the foregoing example implementations or any combination of any of the foregoing example implementations, the aerosol precursor composition is a liquid, a solid, or a semisolid.

[0018] In some example implementations of the aerosol delivery device of any of the foregoing example implementations or any combination of any of the foregoing example implementations, the microprocessor is further configured to perform a comparison between the voltage of the one or more batteries and a voltage threshold of the one or more batteries to determine whether the voltage of the one or more batteries is above the voltage threshold; and wherein the microprocessor configured to activate the aerosol delivery device includes being configured to activate the aerosol delivery device based on the comparison.

[0019] In some example implementations of the aerosol delivery device of any of the foregoing example implementations or any combination of any of the foregoing example implementations, the microprocessor configured to perform the comparison includes being configured to: change a voltage threshold of the one or more batteries from a first value to a second value that is lower than the first value; and determine that the voltage of the one or more batteries is lower than the first value and higher than the second value.

[0020] Some example implementations provide an aerosol delivery device comprising: a rechargeable battery; a charging circuit system comprising a configuration to interconnect one or more rechargeable batteries to a power source; a sensor configured to detect an action of a user using the aerosol delivery device and output a signal; and a microprocessor coupled to the charging circuit system and the sensor, the microprocessor being configured in response to receiving the signal from the sensor to: determine that an electrical connector is connected to a power source; perform a comparison between a voltage of the one or more batteries and a voltage threshold of the one or more batteries to determine whether the voltage of the one or more batteries is higher than the voltage threshold; and based on the comparison, determine whether to allow activation of the aerosol delivery device, so that when the electrical connector is connected to the power source, power is delivered to further elements of the aerosol delivery device to provide an output in response to an action of the user using the aerosol delivery device.

[0021] In some example implementations of the aerosol delivery device of any of the foregoing example implementations or any combination of any of the foregoing example implementations, the microprocessor configured to perform the comparison includes being configured to: change a voltage threshold of the one or more batteries from a first value to a second value that is lower than the first value; and determine that the voltage of the one or more batteries is lower than the first value and higher than the second value; and wherein the microprocessor configured to determine whether to allow activation of the aerosol delivery device includes being configured to allow activation of the aerosol delivery device to perform an action.

[0022] In some example implementations of the aerosol delivery device of any of the foregoing example implementations or any combination of any of the foregoing example implementations, the first value is 3.5 volts and the second value is 3.3 volts or 3.4 volts.

[0023] In some example implementations of the aerosol delivery device of any of the foregoing example implementations or any combination of any of the foregoing example implementations, the microprocessor configured to perform the comparison includes being configured to determine that the voltage of the one or more batteries is less than a second value; and wherein the microprocessor configured to determine whether to allow activation of the aerosol delivery device includes being configured to not allow activation of the aerosol delivery device to perform the action.

[0024] In some example implementations of the aerosol delivery device of any of the foregoing example implementations or any combination of any of the foregoing example implementations, the action includes a puffing action by a user.

[0025] In some example implementations of the aerosol delivery device of any of the foregoing example implementations or any combination of any of the foregoing example implementations, the further element includes a heating element configured to heat and thereby evaporate components of the aerosol precursor composition contained within a housing of the aerosol delivery device.

[0026] In some example implementations of the aerosol delivery device of any of the foregoing example implementations or any combination of any of the foregoing example implementations, the aerosol precursor composition is a liquid, a solid, or a semisolid.

[0027] In some example implementations of the aerosol delivery device of any of the foregoing example implementations or any combination of any of the foregoing example implementations, in response to receiving the signal from the sensor, the microprocessor is further configured to: determine a state indicating the presence of a path for current from the power source through the electrical connector to the one or more rechargeable batteries; and interrupt the path for current from the power source through the electrical connector to the one or more rechargeable batteries.

[0028] By reading the following specific implementation together with the accompanying drawings briefly described below, these and other features, aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will be apparent. The present disclosure includes any combination of two, three, four or more features or elements set forth in the present disclosure, regardless of whether such features or elements are explicitly combined or otherwise referenced in the specific example implementation described herein. The present disclosure is intended to be read as a whole so that any separable feature or element of the present disclosure in its aspect and example implementation should be considered combinable, unless the context of the present disclosure clearly states otherwise.

[0029] Therefore, it will be understood that the present disclosure is provided only for the purpose of summarizing some example implementations in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the present disclosure. Therefore, it will be understood that the example implementations described above are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting the scope or spirit of the present disclosure in any way. Other example implementations, aspects, and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description made in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of some of the described example implementations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] Having thus described the present disclosure in the foregoing summary manner, reference is now made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and in which:

[0031] Figure 1 A control device for use in an aerosol delivery device or vaporization system of the present disclosure is shown according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0032] Figure 2 Shows Figure 1 A partial cross section of the control device is shown;

[0033] Figure 3 A cartridge for use in an aerosol delivery device or vaporization system of the present disclosure is shown according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0034] Figure 4 Shows Figure 3 A partial cross section of the barrel is shown;

[0035] Figure 5A , Figure 5B and Figure 5C An external connector and two chargers for use in an aerosol delivery device or vaporization system of the present disclosure are shown, respectively, according to example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0036] Figure 6 An exemplary embodiment according to the present disclosure is shown. Figure 1 Parts of the control device shown in;

[0037] 7(A), 7(B) and 7(C) show a schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 1 The switch circuit in the control device shown;

[0038] Figure 8 A flowchart showing a method of charging control according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure is shown; and

[0039] Fig. 9 A flow chart illustrating a method of charging control according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] The present disclosure will now be described more fully below with reference to example embodiments of the present disclosure. These example embodiments are described so that the present disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art. In fact, the present disclosure can be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. As used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular forms "a / an", "the" include plural references unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0041] As described below, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to aerosol delivery systems or vaporization systems, and these terms are used interchangeably herein. Aerosol delivery systems according to the present disclosure use electrical energy to heat materials (preferably without burning the materials to any significant extent and / or without significantly chemically changing the materials) to form inhalable substances; and the components of such systems are in the form of articles, most preferably being sufficiently compact as handheld devices. That is, the use of the components of the preferred aerosol delivery system does not result in the generation of smoke (i.e., byproducts from tobacco combustion or pyrolysis), but rather, the use of those preferred systems causes certain components combined therein to volatilize or evaporate to produce steam. In preferred embodiments, the components of the aerosol delivery system can be characterized as electronic cigarettes, and those electronic cigarettes most preferably contain tobacco and / or components derived from tobacco, and thus deliver components derived from tobacco in the form of aerosols.

[0042] The aerosol generating member of certain preferred aerosol delivery systems can provide many of the sensations of a cigarette, cigar, or pipe smoked by lighting and burning tobacco (and thereby inhaling tobacco smoke) (e.g., inhalation and exhalation gestures, types of taste or flavor, sensory effects, physical sensations, rituals of use, visual cues such as those provided by a visible aerosol, etc.), without any substantial degree of combustion of any of its components. For example, a user of the aerosol generating member of the present disclosure holds and uses the aerosol generating member like a smoker using a conventional type of smoking article, draws on one end of the aerosol generating member to inhale the aerosol produced by the aerosol generating member, and inhales or draws in smoke at selected time intervals, etc.

[0043] Aerosol delivery device of the present disclosure can also be characterized as steam generation goods or drug delivery goods.Therefore, such goods or equipment can be adapted to provide one or more materials (for example, flavoring agent and / or active pharmaceutical ingredient) in inhalable form or state.For example, inhalable material can be substantially in steam form (that is, material in gas phase at a temperature below critical point).Alternately, inhalable material can also be in aerosol form (that is, suspension (suspension) of fine solid particles or droplets in gas).For simplicity, no matter whether visible and no matter whether it may be regarded as a smoke-like form, the term "aerosol" used herein is intended to include steam, gas and aerosol suitable for the form or type of human inhalation.

[0044] The aerosol delivery devices of the present disclosure most preferably include some combination of the following components: a power source (i.e., a source of electrical power), at least one control component (e.g., for actuating, controlling, regulating, and stopping the power used to generate heat, such as by controlling the current flowing from the power source to other components of the article, such as a microcontroller or microprocessor), a heater or heat generating member (e.g., a resistive heating element or other component, which, alone or in combination with one or more other components, may generally be referred to as an "atomizer"), an aerosol precursor composition (e.g., a liquid that is generally capable of generating an aerosol when sufficient heat is applied, such as ingredients generally referred to as "smoke juice", "e-liquid", and "e-juice"), and a mouthpiece or mouthpiece area that allows suction on the aerosol delivery device to inhale the aerosol (e.g., a predefined air flow path through the article so that the generated aerosol can be drawn therefrom when suction is applied).

[0045] In view of the further disclosure provided below, more specific types, configurations and arrangements of components within the aerosol delivery system of the present disclosure will be apparent. In addition, the selection and arrangement of various aerosol delivery system components can be understood by considering commercially available electronic aerosol delivery devices (such as those representative products cited in the background technology section of this disclosure).

[0046] In one or more embodiments, the present disclosure relates to a vaporization system, which includes at least: an element for providing electrical power, an element for controlling the output and additional functional capabilities of the electrical power, and an element for forming steam using the electrical power. In one or more embodiments, the vaporization system can be formed by a control device and a cartridge.

[0047] Figure 1 An example embodiment of a control device 100 for use in an aerosol delivery device or vaporization system of the present disclosure is shown. The control device 100 includes a device housing 102 that defines a device outer wall 104, a device distal end 106, and a device proximal end 108. The device proximal end 108 includes an opening 110 that provides access to a device chamber 112 that is defined by a device inner frame 114.

[0048] With respect to the partial cross section showing the control device 100 Figure 2, the nature of the control device of various embodiments is more apparent. As seen therein, the control device 100 further includes a device battery 116 positioned within the device housing 102, and also includes a device external connection element 118. For example, the control device 100 may have replaceable or rechargeable batteries, solid-state batteries, thin-film solid-state batteries, rechargeable supercapacitors, etc., and may therefore be combined with any type of recharging technology, including such as connecting to a wall charger via a universal serial bus (USB) cable or connector (e.g., USB 2.0, 3.0, 3.1, USB Type-C), connecting to a vehicle power source (e.g., via a cigarette lighter socket, USB port, etc.), and connecting to a computer, connecting to a USB (e.g., USB 2.0, 3.0, 3.1, USB Type-C) connector (e.g., as may be implemented in a car, wall socket, electronic device, etc.), connecting to a solar panel connected to a photovoltaic cell (sometimes called a solar cell) or solar cell, a wireless charger such as a charger using inductive wireless charging (including, for example, wireless charging according to the Qi wireless charging standard from the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC)), or a wireless radio frequency (RF) based charger, connecting to an external battery array (multiple) such as a power bank for charging via a USB connector or a wireless charger. An example of an inductive wireless charging system is described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2017 / 0112196 to Sur et al., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0049] The device external connection element 118 of some embodiments is positioned at the distal end 106 of the device housing 102, but it should be understood that alternative locations of the device external connection element 118 are contemplated within the scope of the present disclosure. The device electrical connector 120 is positioned in the device chamber 112 and, as shown, is present in the side wall 114a of the device internal frame 114, which defines the boundary of the device chamber 112. However, it should be understood that the device electrical connector 120 may be positioned in the bottom wall 114b of the device internal frame 114. In addition, the device electrical connector 120 may be present at any position on the side wall 114a or the bottom wall 114b of the device internal frame 114. For example, the device electrical connector 120 can be positioned on the side wall 114a at a point between the proximal end 108 of the device housing 102 and the bottom wall 114b of the device internal frame 114. In addition, the device electrical connector 120 can be positioned between the midpoint of the side wall 114a and the proximal end 108 of the device housing 102 (i.e., in the upper half of the side wall). Alternatively, the device electrical connector 120 can be positioned between the midpoint of the side wall 114a and the bottom wall 114b of the device inner frame 114 (i.e., in the lower half of the side wall).

[0050] The various components of an aerosol delivery device according to the present disclosure may be selected from those described in the art and commercially available.Examples of batteries that may be used according to the present disclosure are described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2010 / 0028766 to Peckerar et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0051] As from Figure 2 Obviously, the device chamber 112 is separated from the device housing 102. In other words, the chamber is not just an internal space defined by the housing. On the contrary, the inner frame defining the chamber exists independently and separately from the housing. The opening of the chamber can coincide with the opening at the proximal end of the housing. Therefore, the inner frame can be a completely different element attached to the housing. Alternatively, the inner frame and the housing can be formed continuously. However, in either case, the side walls forming the inner frame exist inside the housing and are separated from the housing. However, it should be understood that if necessary, the device chamber 112 can be clearly defined by the device housing 102. In such an embodiment, the bottom wall 114b can extend between the walls forming the device housing 102 so as to define the bottom wall of the chamber defined by the bottom wall and the walls of the housing.

[0052] The device housing 102 may be formed of any suitable material, such as metal, plastic, ceramic, glass, etc. Preferably, the device inner frame 114 is formed of the same material as that used to form the device housing 102; however, different materials may be used.

[0053] The presently disclosed system may include a single control device. Such a single control device may be interchangeably connected to multiple cartridges to form multiple different vaporization systems. For example, the control device may be interchangeably connected to a first cartridge to form a first functional vaporization system having a first set of characteristics, and the control device may be interchangeably connected to a second cartridge to form a second functional vaporization system having a second set of different characteristics. Such a vaporization may include two different cartridges, three different cartridges, or even a larger number of different cartridges, all of which are interchangeable with the first control device.

[0054] The presently disclosed system may include a plurality of control devices (e.g., a first control device and a second control device and optionally a third control device or even a greater number of control devices). The plurality of control devices may be interchangeably connected with at least one cartridge to form a plurality of different vaporization systems. For example, a first control device may be interchangeably connected with a first cartridge to form a first functional vaporization system having a first set of characteristics, and a second control device may be interchangeably connected with the first cartridge to form a second functional vaporization system having a second set of different characteristics.

[0055] Figure 3An example embodiment of a cartridge 300 for use in an aerosol delivery device or vaporization system of the present disclosure is shown. The cartridge 300 includes a tank 301, which is defined by an outer tank wall 303, which includes a proximal end 305 and a closed distal end 307. Thus, the tank 301 is characterized in that the tank wall 303 is a side wall that is continuous around the tank, and the distal end 307 defines a bottom wall. The tank is configured to contain a liquid composition for vaporization, i.e., an e-liquid or an aerosol precursor composition, which can be configured as otherwise described herein. The cartridge 300 may further include a mouthpiece 309, which is defined by an outer mouthpiece wall 311, which includes a proximal end 313 having an outlet 315 and a distal end 317 that engages the proximal end 305 of the tank 301.

[0056] Figure 4 Further illustrated is cartridge 300.As seen therein, cartridge 300 further includes heater 319 and liquid delivery element 321, and liquid delivery element 321 extends between heater and liquid 323 contained in tank 301.Heater 319 and liquid delivery element 321 can be configured as separate elements connected by fluid, or can be configured as combination element.In addition, heater 319 and liquid delivery element 321 can be formed by any configuration described in addition herein.In various implementations, heating element can be arranged in various forms, such as in the form of foil, foam, grid, hollow ball, hemisphere, disc, spiral, fiber, wire, film, yarn, strip, belt or cylinder.Such heating element often includes metal material and is configured to generate heat due to the resistance associated with making electric current pass therethrough.Such resistance heating element can be positioned near liquid delivery element 321 and / or directly contact with liquid delivery element 321.Heating assembly or heating member can be located in control device 100 and / or cartridge 300. In various implementations, the liquid delivery element may include a component (e.g., a thermally conductive component) embedded in or otherwise as part of the liquid delivery element that may serve as a heating component or facilitate the function of the heating component. Some examples of various heating members and elements are described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,078,473 to Worm et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The cartridge 300 also includes one or more electrical contacts 325 configured to electrically connect the heater 319 to the battery 116 in the control device 100.

[0057] Liquid delivery element 321 can be formed by one or more materials configured for conveying liquid such as by capillary action. Liquid delivery element can be formed by, for example, fiber material (e.g., organic cotton, cellulose acetate, regenerated cellulose fabric, glass fiber), porous ceramic, porous carbon, graphite, porous glass, sintered glass beads, sintered ceramic beads, capillaries, etc. Therefore, liquid delivery element 321 can be any material containing an open-cell network (i.e., interconnected multiple holes so that fluid can flow from one hole to another hole through the element in multiple directions). As further discussed herein, some embodiments of the present disclosure may be particularly related to the use of non-fiber delivery elements. Therefore, fiber delivery elements can be explicitly excluded. Alternatively, a combination of fiber delivery elements and non-fiber delivery elements can be utilized. Representative types of substrates, reservoirs, or other components for supporting aerosol precursors are described in Newton's U.S. Patent No. 8,528,569; Chapman et al. U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014 / 0261487 and Davis et al. U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014 / 0059780; and Bless et al. U.S. Publication No. 2015 / 0216232, which are incorporated herein by reference. In addition, various wicking materials within certain types of electronic cigarettes and the configuration and operation of those wicking materials are described in Sears et al. U.S. Patent No. 8,910,640, which is incorporated herein by reference. In some embodiments, the liquid delivery element 321 can be partially or completely formed of a porous monolith such as a porous ceramic, porous glass, etc. Example monolithic materials suitable for use according to embodiments of the present disclosure are described, for example, in U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 14 / 988,109 filed on January 5, 2016 and U.S. Patent No. 2014 / 0123989 to LaMothe, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. The porous monolith may form a substantially solid core.

[0058] Various embodiments of materials configured to generate heat when an electric current is passed through them may be employed to form the heater 319. In some embodiments, the heater 319 may be a wire coil. Example materials from which the wire coil may be formed include Kanthal (FeCrAl), Nichrome, MoSi2, MoSi, MoSi2 doped with aluminum (Mo(Si,Al)2), titanium, platinum, silver, palladium, alloys of silver and palladium, graphite, and graphite-based materials (e.g., carbon-based foams and yarns). In further embodiments, the heater 319 may be formed of conductive ink, boron-doped silica, and / or ceramics (e.g., positive temperature coefficient ceramics or negative temperature coefficient ceramics). Other types of heaters may also be utilized, such as laser diodes or microheaters. The laser diode may be configured to deliver electromagnetic radiation at a specific wavelength or wavelength band that may be tuned for vaporization of an aerosol precursor composition and / or tuned for heating a liquid delivery element through which an aerosol precursor composition may be provided for vaporization. The laser diode may be particularly positioned to deliver electromagnetic radiation within the chamber, and the chamber may be configured as radiation capturing (e.g., black body or white body). Suitable microheaters are described in U.S. Patent No. 8,881,737 to Collett et al., which is incorporated herein by reference. For example, the microheater may include a substrate having a heater trace (e.g., a resistive material such as Ag, Pd, Ti, Pt, Pt / Ti, boron-doped silicon, or other metal or metal alloy) disposed thereon, which heater trace may be printed or otherwise applied to the substrate. A passivation layer (e.g., alumina or silicon dioxide) may be disposed over the heater trace. The heater 319 may be particularly configured to be substantially flat. Such a heater is described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2016 / 0345633 to DePiano et al., which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0059] The outer tank wall 303 may be configured to be at least partially transparent or translucent so that the liquid 323 contained therein is visible externally. Thus, the entire outer tank wall 303 may be transparent or translucent. Alternatively, only a single side of the outer tank wall 303 may be transparent or translucent, while the rest of the outer tank wall may be substantially opaque. In further embodiments, the outer tank wall 303 may be colored. The color may be configured so that the liquid 323 within the tank 301 is still visible, or the color may be configured so that the outer tank wall 303 is substantially opaque.

[0060] In one or more embodiments, the mouthpiece 309 of the cartridge 300 can be configured to engage with the canister 301. For example, Figure 3 and Figure 4As shown, the distal end 317 of the mouthpiece 309 may include an edge wall 330 that is at least partially embedded in the outer mouthpiece wall 311, and the edge wall may be configured to engage the interior of the proximal end 305 of the outer tank wall 303. The edge wall 330 may have a length of about 1 mm to about 20 mm, about 2 mm to about 18 mm, or about 5 mm to about 15 mm. The edge wall 330 may engage the outer tank wall 303 only via a friction fit, or the edge wall may be substantially permanently attached to the outer tank wall, such as by welding or gluing.

[0061] In some embodiments, the mouthpiece 309 may substantially define only an open interior space through which the formed steam may be combined with air to form an aerosol for output through the outlet 315 of the mouthpiece. In one or more embodiments, the mouthpiece 309 may include one or more further inner walls that may be arranged to define one or more compartments within the mouthpiece. For example, the mouthpiece may include an inner upper wall between the proximal end and the distal end of the mouthpiece, and also include an inner lower wall between the inner upper wall and the proximal end of the mouthpiece. More specifically, the mouthpiece 309 may include an inner upper wall 332 between the proximal end 313 and the distal end 317. Further, the mouthpiece 309 may include an inner lower wall 334 between the inner upper wall 332 and the distal end 317 of the mouthpiece.

[0062] Two or more walls in the mouthpiece may be configured to define a vaporization chamber in which a heater may be positioned. The outer mouthpiece wall 311, the inner upper wall 332, and the inner lower wall 334 may define a vaporization chamber 342 in which the heater 319 is positioned. One or more electrical contacts 325 may be positioned within a portion of the outer mouthpiece wall 311 defining the vaporization chamber 342; however, it should be understood that one or more electrical leads may extend from the heater 319 to one or more electrical contacts positioned at different portions of the outer mouthpiece wall or positioned in the outer tank wall 303. One or more walls of the mouthpiece may also include one or more openings for one or more further elements of the cartridge 300 to pass therethrough or for passage of the formed vapor / aerosol. For example, the inner upper wall 332 may include a steam opening 333 through which the steam formed in the vaporization chamber 342 may pass to the outlet 315. The vapor opening 333 in the inner upper wall 332 may be substantially centrally located therein and may be substantially aligned with the heater 319 along the longitudinal axis of the cartridge 300. As a further example, the inner lower wall 334 may include a wick hole 335 through which the liquid delivery element 321 (e.g., a wick) may pass between the heater 319 and the liquid 323 in the canister 301. The wick hole 335 in the inner lower wall 334 may be substantially centrally located therein and may be substantially aligned with the heater 319 along the longitudinal axis of the cartridge 300. If desired, a vaporization chamber may be defined by the lower portion of the canister 301.

[0063] Two or more walls in the mouthpiece may be configured to define a cooling chamber in which the formed aerosol may be allowed to expand and / or cool before passing through the outlet. Specifically, the outer mouthpiece wall 311 and the inner upper wall 332 define a cooling chamber 344 that receives the formed vapor / aerosol from the heater 319, in particular, from the vaporization chamber 342. In this way, the formed vapor / aerosol enters the cooling chamber 344 from the vaporization chamber 342 through the vapor opening 333.

[0064] If desired, the mouthpiece 309 may include one or more elements configured to reduce or prevent condensed liquid from leaking therefrom. For example, all or part of the interior of the outer mouthpiece wall 311 and / or the inner upper wall 332 defining the cooling chamber 344 may be formed of or include an absorbent or adsorbent material configured to retain liquid. Alternatively or additionally, all or part of the interior of the outer mouthpiece wall 311 and / or the inner upper wall 332 defining the cooling chamber 344 may be configured to direct liquid back to the vaporization chamber 342, such as by adding microchannels.

[0065] In one or more embodiments, the cartridge 300 is configured such that the outer mouthpiece wall 311 may include a flange positioned between the proximal end 313 and the distal end 317 of the outer mouthpiece wall 311. For example, the flange 350 may be present and may extend circumferentially from the outer mouthpiece wall 311 around substantially the entire mouthpiece 309. The distance that the flange 350 extends from the outer mouthpiece wall 311 may be substantially uniform around the entire circumference of the mouthpiece 309. In some embodiments, the distance that the flange 350 extends from the outer mouthpiece wall 311 may vary at one or more points around the circumference of the mouthpiece 309. The entire cartridge 300 or mouthpiece 309 may be defined relative to a longitudinal axis (L), a first transverse axis (T1) perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, and a second transverse axis (T2) perpendicular to the longitudinal axis and perpendicular to the first transverse axis. Thus, the entire cartridge 300 and / or mouthpiece 309 may be defined relative to an overall length along the longitudinal axis (L), an overall width along the first transverse axis (T1), and an overall depth along the second transverse axis (T2). The length may be greater than the width, which in turn may be greater than the depth. The flange 350 may extend a greater distance away from the outer mouthpiece wall 311 along the second transverse axis (T2) than along the first transverse axis (T1). Thus, in alternative embodiments, the total distance between the opposing outer edges of the flange 350 across the mouthpiece 309 along the first transverse axis (T1) may be greater than the total distance between the opposing edges of the flange across the mouthpiece along the second transverse axis (T2); the total distance between the opposing outer edges of the flange 350 across the mouthpiece 309 along the first transverse axis (T1) may be substantially equal to the total distance between the opposing edges of the flange across the mouthpiece along the second transverse axis (T2); or the total distance between the opposing outer edges of the flange 350 across the mouthpiece 309 along the first transverse axis (T1) may be less than the total distance between the opposing edges of the flange across the mouthpiece along the second transverse axis (T2). In a particular embodiment, the distance (d2) between the outer mouthpiece wall 311 and the outer edge of the flange 350 measured along the second transverse axis (T2) may be greater than the distance (d1) between the mouthpiece wall and the outer edge of the flange measured along the first transverse axis (T1). The distance (d1, d2) may in particular be measured at approximately the midpoint of each of the first transverse axis (T1) and the second transverse axis (T2).

[0066] The flange 350 can interact with a corresponding lip on the control device 100 to ensure proper connection of the cartridge 300 to the control device. Figure 1, the control device 100 may be configured such that the opening 110 at the proximal end 108 of the device comprises a recess having an inwardly protruding lip 121. Thus, the recess may comprise an edge wall 122 that is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the control device 100. The edge wall 122 extends downwardly from the proximal end 108 a short distance that may substantially correspond to the thickness of the flange 350 of the cartridge 300 and / or the thickness of further elements that may be present adjacent to the flange.

[0067] The flange 350 and / or the inwardly protruding lip 121 can be configured to bias the cartridge 300 to be connected to the control device 100. For example, a magnetic connection can be utilized. For example, the cartridge 300 can include a magnet 352 positioned adjacent to the bottom surface of the flange 350. The magnet 352 can extend substantially completely around the circumference of the mouthpiece 309, or the magnet 352 can be discontinuous so as to be configured as one or more discrete magnets. The magnet 352 can be adhered to the outer mouthpiece wall 311, can be adhered to the flange 350, or can be adhered to both the mouthpiece wall and the flange. The inwardly protruding lip 121 can be formed by a metal or other material to which the magnet 352 will be attracted by magnetic force. In a further embodiment, the magnet 352 can be positioned on the control device 100. Specifically, the magnet 352 can be adhered to the inwardly protruding lip 121. In such an embodiment, the flange 350 can be formed by a metal or other material to which the magnet 352 will be attracted by magnetic force. In further embodiments, magnet 352 may be present on cartridge 300 as well as control device 100. If desired, magnet 352 may be positioned at distal end 307 of tank wall 303 to interact with magnetic elements positioned within the device chamber and particularly on bottom wall 114b.

[0068] In some embodiments, the control device 100 may be configured such that at least a portion of the tank 301 is visible when the cartridge 300 is engaged with the device. As described above, at least a portion of the outer tank wall 303 may be configured to be at least partially transparent or translucent so that the liquid 323 contained therein is visible externally. Thus, the outer wall 104 of the control device 100 may be configured to include a window 135 through which the outer tank wall 303 and optionally any liquid 323 present in the tank 301 may be visible when the cartridge 300 is engaged with the control device 100. The window 135 may be configured as a cutout in the outer wall 104 of the control device 100, or the window 135 may be configured as a notch extending a distance from the proximal end 108 of the outer wall 104 of the control device 100 toward the distal end 106 of the device. In addition, the window 135 can be completely open, or the window can have a transparent member (e.g., glass or plastic) positioned in the opening defined by the window or covering the window on one or both of the inner and outer surfaces of the outer wall 104 of the control device 100.

[0069] In one or more embodiments, the control device 100 may include a light source 139 and at least one opening 137 through the outer wall 104 of the device, through which light from the light source is visible. The light source 139 may include, for example, one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs) capable of providing illumination of one or more colors. The light source 139 may be positioned directly on a printed circuit board (PCB) 141, on which further control components (e.g., a microcontroller and / or memory components) may be included. The opening 137 may be provided in any desired shape and may be particularly positioned near the distal end 106 of the control device 100. The opening 137 may be completely open, or may be filled, such as with a light-conducting material, or may be covered with a transparent or translucent member (e.g., glass or plastic) on one or both of the inner and outer surfaces of the outer wall 104 of the control device 100. The aerosol delivery device most preferably includes a control mechanism for controlling the amount of electrical power to the heating element during puffing. Representative types of electronic components, their structure and construction, their features, and general methods of operation thereof are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,735,217 to Gerth et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,947,874 to Brooks et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,148 to McCafferty et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,040,560 to Fleischhauer et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,040,314 to Nguyen et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 8,205,622 to Pan et al.; U.S. Patent Publication No. 2009 / 0230117 to Fernando et al., U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014 / 0060554 to Collet et al., and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014 / 0270727 to Ampolini et al.; and U.S. Publication No. 2015 / 0257445 to Henry et al., which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0070] The device may include air flow sensors, pressure sensors, etc. For example, Figure 2As shown, the control device 100 may include a sensor 143 on the PCB 141. For example, the configuration of the printed circuit board and the pressure sensor is described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2015 / 0245658 to Worm et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The sensor 143 may be positioned anywhere within the control device 100 so as to experience airflow and / or pressure changes that may indicate a draw on the device, and thereby cause the battery 116 to deliver power to the heater 319 in the cartridge 300. Alternatively, in the absence of an airflow sensor, the heater 319 may be manually activated, such as by a button. Other representative types of sensing or detection mechanisms, their structures and configurations, their components, and general methods of operation thereof are described in U.S. Patent No. 5,261,424 to Sprinkel, Jr., U.S. Patent No. 5,372,148 to McCafferty et al., and PCT WO 2010 / 003480 to Flick, which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0071] An input element may be included in the aerosol delivery device (and may replace or supplement an airflow sensor or pressure sensor). The input may be included to allow a user to control the functionality of the device and / or to output information to the user. Any component or combination of components may be used as an input for controlling the functionality of the device 100. For example, one or more buttons may be used, as described in U.S. Publication No. 2015 / 0245658 to Worm et al., which is incorporated herein by reference. Similarly, a touch screen may be used, as described in U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 14 / 643,626 filed by Sears et al. on March 10, 2015, which is incorporated herein by reference. As a further example, a component suitable for gesture recognition based on a specified movement of an aerosol delivery device may be used as an input. See U.S. Publication No. 2016 / 0158782 to Henry et al., which is incorporated herein by reference. As yet a further example, a capacitive sensor may be implemented on an aerosol delivery device to enable a user to provide input, such as by touching the surface of the device on which the capacitive sensor is implemented. In another example, a sensor capable of detecting motion associated with the device (e.g., an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a photoelectric proximity sensor, etc.) can be implemented on the aerosol delivery device to enable the user to provide input. Examples of suitable sensors are described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2018 / 0132528 to Sur et al. and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016 / 0158782 to Henry et al., which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0072] In some embodiments, the input may include a computer or computing device, such as a smart phone or tablet. In particular, the aerosol delivery device may be connected to a computer or other device, such as via the use of a USB cord or similar protocol. The aerosol delivery device may also communicate with a computer or other device used as an input via wireless communication. For example, see the system and method for controlling a device via a read request as described in U.S. Publication No. 2016 / 0007561 of Ampolini et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In such an embodiment, an APP or other computer program may be used in conjunction with a computer or other computing device to input control instructions to the aerosol delivery device, such control instructions including, for example, the ability to form an aerosol of a specific composition by selecting the nicotine content to be included or the content of further flavors.

[0073] Other indicators (e.g., tactile feedback components, audio feedback components, etc.) may be included in addition to or as an alternative to LEDs. Other representative types of components that produce visual cues or indicators, such as light emitting diode (LED) components, and their configuration and use are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,192 to Sprinkel et al., U.S. Pat. No. 8,499,766 to Newton, and U.S. Pat. No. 8,539,959 to Scatterday et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2015 / 0020825 to Galloway et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 2015 / 0216233 to Sears et al., which are incorporated herein by reference. It should be understood that not all of the elements shown are required. For example, LEDs may not be present, or different indicators (such as vibration indicators) may be used to replace LEDs. Similarly, a flow sensor may be replaced with a manual actuator (such as a button).

[0074] Figure 5A 1 shows an external connector for use in an aerosol delivery device or vaporization system of the present disclosure according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be understood that Figure 5AThe external connectors shown are provided as examples and not limitations. In this regard, aerosol delivery devices according to various embodiments may be used in conjunction with various external connectors having different shapes and form factors and / or mating interfaces. For example, depending on the shape / form factor of the aerosol delivery device, any corresponding mating interface implemented on the aerosol delivery device (e.g., such as, well 106a), the type and / or position of the device external connection element 118 available on the aerosol delivery device, and / or other factors may be utilized. In one or more embodiments, a vaporization system formed by any combination of one or more devices and one or more cartridges may further include an external connector 500 configured for electrical contact with the device external connection element 118. The external connector 500 may include a first connector end 503 and a second connector end 505 interconnected by a union 507, which may be, for example, an electrical cord of variable length. The first connector end 503 may be configured for electrical connection and optionally mechanical connection with the control device 100. In particular, the first connector end 503 may include an embedded wall 503a, which may be accommodated in a well present at the distal end 106 of the control device 100 (e.g., the well 106a at the distal end 106 of the control device 100). The external connector 500 may include a plurality of electrical pins 511 inside the embedded wall 503a, which are configured for charging connection and / or information transmission connection with the device external connection element 118. In some embodiments, the control device 100 may include a mechanical connector 119 adjacent to the device external connection element 118. The mechanical connector 119 may be a magnet or metal (or similar element) suitable for magnetic attraction to a magnet. Subsequently, the first connector end 503 may also include a mechanical connection element 513 positioned between the embedded wall 503a and the electrical pins 511. The mechanical connection element 513 may be a magnet or metal (or similar element) suitable for magnetic attraction to a magnet. The second connector end 505 may be configured for connection to a computer or similar electronic device or for connection to a power source. As shown, the second connector end 505 has a universal serial bus (USB) connection, however, a different connection may be provided and / or an adapter (e.g., a USB / AC adapter) may also be included. For example, an adapter including a USB connector at one end and a power cell connector at an opposite end is disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014 / 0261495 to Novak et al., which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0075] Figure 5B 2 shows an external connector for use in an aerosol delivery device or vaporization system of the present disclosure according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 5BAs shown, the charger 518 may include a charger base 520, contacts 521, and a connector end 522 having a USB connection. The charger 518 may be connected to a power source using a USB cable 523. Figure 5C A charger 530 for use in an aerosol delivery device or vaporization system of the present disclosure is shown according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The charger 530 may include a charger base 531 and contacts 532. The charger 530 may be connected to a power source using a cable 533. In some embodiments, the charger base 520 and / or 531 may be made of metal (e.g., aluminum) or a plastic material.

[0076] For the aerosol delivery system characterized as an electronic cigarette, the aerosol precursor composition most preferably includes tobacco or a component derived from tobacco. In one aspect, tobacco can be provided as a part or tobacco sheet of tobacco, such as finely ground, ground or powdered tobacco flakes. Tobacco particles, granules or other solid forms may be included, such as described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2015 / 0335070 of Sears et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. On the other hand, tobacco can be provided in the form of an extract, such as a spray-dried extract comprising many water-soluble components of tobacco. Alternatively, tobacco extracts may have the form of a relatively high nicotine content extract, which also includes a small amount of other extracted components derived from tobacco. On the other hand, components derived from tobacco can be provided in a relatively pure form, such as some flavorings derived from. On the one hand, a component derived from tobacco and which can be used in a highly purified or substantially pure form is nicotine (e.g., pharmaceutical grade nicotine).

[0077] Aerosol precursor compositions are also referred to as steam precursor compositions, and may include a variety of components, such as polyols (e.g., glycerol, propylene glycol, or mixtures thereof), nicotine, tobacco, tobacco extracts, and / or flavoring agents. Representative types of aerosol precursor components and formulations are also described and characterized in U.S. Patent No. 7,217,320 to Robinson et al. and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2013 / 0008457 to Zheng et al., U.S. Patent Publication No. 2013 / 0213417 to Chong et al., U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014 / 0060554 to Collett et al., U.S. Patent Publication No. 2015 / 0020823 to Lipowicz et al., and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2015 / 0020830 to Koller, and WO 2014 / 182736 to Bowen et al., the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. Other aerosol precursors that may be employed include those that have been incorporated into RJ Reynolds Vapor Company Products, Lorillard Technologies' BLU TM Aerosol precursors for the products, MISTIC MENTHOL products from Mistic Ecigs and VYPE products from CNCreative Ltd. So-called "tobacco juices" for electronic cigarettes available from Johnson Creek Enterprises LLC are also desirable. Still further exemplary aerosol precursor compositions are sold under the following brand names: BLACK NOTE, COSMIC FOG, THE MILKMAN E-LIQUID, FIVE PAWNS, THE VAPOR CHEF, VAPE WILD, BOOSTED, THE STEAM FACTORY, MECH SAUCE, CASEY JONES MAINLINE RESERVE, MITTEN VAPORS, DR. CRIMMY'S V-LIQUID, SMILEY E LIQUID, BEANTOWN VAPOR, CUTTWOOD, CYCLOPS VAPOR, SICBOY, GOOD LIFE VAPOR, TELEOS, PINUP VAPORS, SPACE JAM, MT. BAKER VAPOR, and JIMMY THE JUICE MAN.

[0078] The amount of aerosol precursor incorporated into the aerosol delivery system is such that the aerosol generating member provides acceptable sensory properties and desired performance characteristics. For example, it is highly preferred that a sufficient amount of aerosol-forming material (e.g., glycerol and / or propylene glycol) is employed to provide the generation of a visible mainstream aerosol that is similar in appearance to tobacco smoke in many respects. The amount of aerosol precursor in the aerosol generating system may depend on factors such as the number of puffs required per aerosol generating member. In one or more embodiments, an aerosol precursor composition of about 1 ml or more, about 2 ml or more, about 5 ml or more, or about 10 ml or more may be included.

[0079] Still other features, controls, or components that may be incorporated into the aerosol delivery systems of the present disclosure are described in Harris 5,967,148, Watkins et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,289, Counts et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,979, Fleischhauer et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,040,560, Hon U.S. Pat. No. 8,365,742, Fernando et al. U.S. Pat. No. 8,402,976, Fernando et al. U.S. Pat. No. 2010 / 0 No. 163063, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2013 / 0192623 to Tucker et al., U.S. Patent Publication No. 2013 / 0298905 to Leven et al., U.S. Patent Publication No. 2013 / 0180553 to Kim et al., U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014 / 0000638 to Sebastian et al., U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014 / 0261495 to Novak et al., and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014 / 0261408 to DePiano et al., which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0080] Figure 6 An exemplary embodiment according to the present disclosure is shown. Figure 1 Components of the control device 100 shown in FIG. As shown, the control device 100 includes a rechargeable battery 601. In some examples, the rechargeable battery 601 may correspond to Figure 2 The control device 100 also includes an electrical connector 602, such as a USB charging connector configured to interconnect the rechargeable battery 601 with a suitable power source. In some examples, the electrical connector 602 may correspond to the external connector 500, or more specifically, Figure 5A 602 can be connected to a rechargeable battery 601 via a USB charging circuit system 603. The electrical connector 602 and the USB charging circuit system 603 are included in the charging circuit system of the control device 100. The electrical connector 602 can be connected to a power source via a charger 604. In some examples, the charger 604 can include a wall transformer or a USB charging source or other sources as otherwise described herein. In some embodiments, the control device 100 may include multiple rechargeable batteries 601.

[0081] In some embodiments, the control device 100 can detect that the charger 604 is connected and start charging the rechargeable battery 601. When the electrical connector 602 is connected to the power source via the charger 604, if the user attempts to inhale a puff, the rechargeable battery 601 can be isolated from the power source. To achieve this, in some embodiments, the control device 100 includes a sensor 605, which is configured to detect the user's action of using the aerosol delivery device and output a signal indicating the detection of the action, which can be the user's puffing action. The control device 100 also includes a microprocessor 606, which is coupled to the charging circuit system including the USB charging circuit system 603, and the microprocessor 606 is coupled to the sensor 605.

[0082] In some embodiments, the microprocessor 606 is configured to determine a state of the aerosol delivery device in response to receiving a signal from the sensor 605, the state indicating that the passage of current from the power source through the electrical connector 602 to the rechargeable battery 601 occurs. The microprocessor 606 of some embodiments is configured to interrupt the passage of current from the power source through the electrical connector 602 to the rechargeable battery 601 in response to the determination. In some such embodiments, the microprocessor 606 is configured to interrupt the passage of current using a switch circuit 607 between the electrical connector 602 and the rechargeable battery. For example, the switch circuit 607 can be disconnected to disconnect the electrical connector 602 from the USB charging circuit system 603, and thereby disconnect the electrical connector 602 from the rechargeable battery 601.

[0083] In some embodiments, after the current from the power source to the rechargeable battery 601 is interrupted, the microprocessor 606 is configured to activate the aerosol delivery device. When the electrical connector 602 is connected to the power source, in response to the action of using the aerosol delivery device by the user, the aerosol delivery device is activated so that power is delivered from the rechargeable battery 601 to a further element of the aerosol delivery device to provide an output. In some embodiments, the further element includes a heating element configured to heat and thereby evaporate a component of the aerosol precursor composition contained within the housing of the aerosol delivery device. In this way, the output in response to the action of using the aerosol delivery device can be the formation of an aerosol for inhalation by the user. For example, the further element may correspond to Figure 4The heater 319 shown. Therefore, the action of using the device can be to spray smoke on the device, and the output in response to the spray of smoke on the device can be to form an aerosol for inhalation. In some embodiments, the aerosol precursor composition is a liquid, or a solid or a semi-solid. In a further embodiment, the further element may correspond to another functional component of the device, such as a feedback element (e.g., a vibration component or an illumination component or a sound component) configured to provide the state of the device. In this way, the power supply to the aerosol delivery device during the use of the device (e.g., when forming an aerosol and / or when performing other uses of the device) comes directly from the battery rather than from the power supply to which the electrical connector 602 is connected. In some embodiments, while the current from the power supply to the rechargeable battery 601 is interrupted, the microprocessor 606 is configured to activate the aerosol delivery device. In some embodiments, before the current from the power supply to the rechargeable battery 601 is interrupted, the microprocessor 606 is configured to activate the aerosol delivery device or initiate the activation of the aerosol delivery device.

[0084] The output in response to the action of using the aerosol delivery device can be any activity performed by the device that requires power to be delivered from the battery to further elements of the aerosol delivery device. As described above, the output can be an aerosol formed by delivering power from the battery to a heater that evaporates a liquid aerosol precursor composition. In some embodiments, the output can be an activation of a status indicator (e.g., a light, a tactile element, a sound element, a display, etc.) in response to the action of using the device (such as shaking the device or touching a capacitive sensor on the device) to provide an indication of the status of the device. In such an embodiment, the sensor may include a device configured to sense movement of the device (such as a gyroscope or similar element).

[0085] In some embodiments, the above operations may be implemented by the microprocessor 606. For example, the instructions for the above operations may be stored in a non-transient memory as a computer-readable program code. The microprocessor 606 may be configured to execute the computer-readable program code to implement the instructions for the above operations. The microprocessor 606 may be a plurality of processors, a multi-core processor, or some other type of processor, depending on the specific implementation. Further, the microprocessor 606 may be implemented using a plurality of heterogeneous processor systems, wherein the main processor is present on a single chip together with one or more secondary processors. As another illustrative example, the microprocessor 606 may be a symmetric multiprocessor system containing a plurality of processors of the same type. In yet another example, the microprocessor 606 may be embodied as or otherwise include one or more ASICs, FPGAs, etc. Therefore, although the microprocessor 606 is capable of executing a computer program to perform one or more functions, various examples of the microprocessor 606 may be capable of performing one or more functions without the help of a computer program. In either case, the microprocessor 606 may be appropriately programmed to perform functions or operations according to the example implementation of the present disclosure.

[0086] In some embodiments, since there is no current from the power source to the rechargeable battery 601, the heating element is powered only by the remaining power in the rechargeable battery 601, rather than by the power source. In this way, the control device 100 allows the user to smoke an electronic cigarette when the aerosol delivery device is connected to the charger 604, or more specifically, when the electrical connector 602 is connected to the charger 604.

[0087] Figure 7(A)-7(C) An exemplary embodiment according to the present disclosure is shown. Figure 1 The switch circuit 607 in the control device 100 shown. As shown in FIG. 7(A), in one embodiment, the switch circuit 607 includes a pair of metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) switches respectively coupled to the positive electrical connection and the negative electrical connection of the electrical connector 602. The microprocessor 606 of this embodiment is configured to use the switch circuit 607 to disconnect both the positive electrical connection and the negative electrical connection from the rechargeable battery 601. For example, the microprocessor 606 can control the opening of the two MOSFET switches.

[0088] As shown in Fig. 7(B), in another embodiment, the switch circuit 607 includes a pair of opto-isolator relays respectively coupled to the positive electrical connection and the negative electrical connection of the electrical connector 602. The microprocessor 606 of this embodiment is configured to disconnect both the positive electrical connection and the negative electrical connection from the rechargeable battery 601 using the switch circuit 607. For example, the microprocessor 606 can control the opening of the two opto-isolator relays.

[0089] As shown in FIG. 7(C), in another embodiment, the switch circuit 607 includes a MOSFET switch integrated with the charging circuit system 603 and another switch outside the charging circuit system 603. The microprocessor 606 of this embodiment is configured to disconnect the electrical connector 602 from the rechargeable battery 601 using the switch circuit 607. For example, the external switch may send an enable signal to the microprocessor 606, and the microprocessor 606 may control the opening of the MOSFET switch integrated with the charging circuit system 603 and the opening of the external switch based on the enable signal.

[0090] In a further example, the switch circuit 607 is coupled to one or both of the positive and negative electrical connections of the electrical connector 602. The microprocessor of this example is configured to disconnect only one of the positive and negative electrical connections from the rechargeable battery 601 using the switch circuit 607.

[0091] In some embodiments, after the current from the power source to the rechargeable battery 601 is interrupted, the sensor may detect that the user has completed an action such as a puffing action. In response to the completion of the action detected by the sensor 605, the microprocessor 606 of such an embodiment is configured to determine that the electrical connector 602 is still connected to the power source, although there is no current from the power source to the rechargeable battery 601. The microprocessor 606 is configured to reconnect the electrical connector 602 to the rechargeable battery 601, and thereby reconnect the power source to the rechargeable battery 601 to charge the rechargeable battery 601. For example, the microprocessor 606 can control the closing of the switch circuit 607 so that there is a path for the current from the power source through the electrical connector 602 to the rechargeable battery 601.

[0092] Figure 8 A flow chart showing a method 800 of charging control according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. As shown, in such an embodiment, at box 801, the microprocessor 606 can read the pressure sensor state of the sensor 605. At box 802, the microprocessor 606 of such an embodiment can determine whether a puffing action of a user is detected by the sensor 605 based on the output signal from the sensor 605. If a puffing action is not detected, the method 800 can return to box 801 so that the microprocessor 606 can continue to monitor the sensor state. On the other hand, if a puffing action is detected, the method 800 can proceed to box 803.

[0093] At box 803, the microprocessor 606 of such an embodiment may determine whether charging is enabled. If the microprocessor 606 can determine a state of the aerosol delivery device indicating that a path of current from the power source through the electrical connector 602 to the rechargeable battery 601 occurs, charging is enabled. If charging is enabled, the microprocessor 606 of such an embodiment may disable the charging connection to disconnect the path of current from the power source through the electrical connector 602 to the rechargeable battery 601, as explained above. After the path of the current is disconnected, the microprocessor 606 may control activation of a steam mechanism such as a heater 319 to allow puffing, as shown at box 805. On the other hand, if charging is not enabled, the microprocessor 606 of such an embodiment may directly activate the steam forming mechanism, as shown at box 805.

[0094] The microprocessor 606 of such an embodiment can continue to monitor the sensor state to read the pressure sensor state and determine whether the user has completed the puffing action, as shown at blocks 806 and 807, respectively. If the puffing action is completed, the microprocessor 606 of such an embodiment can determine whether the electrical connector 602 is still connected to the power source, although there is no current u from the power source to the rechargeable battery 601, as shown at block 808. If the charging source is still present, that is, the electrical connector 602 is still connected to the power source, the microprocessor 606 of such an embodiment can reconnect the electrical connector 6020 to the rechargeable battery 601 and thus reconnect the power source to the rechargeable battery 601 to charge the rechargeable battery 601, as shown at block 809.

[0095] A typical low battery threshold for a 3.7V electronic cigarette battery may be about 3.4V. Depending on the rest of the circuit and the steam / heating mechanism, the low battery threshold may vary between 3.3V and 3.5V. At this threshold, there is sufficient power for the microprocessor 606 to continue to operate, light up the LED, etc. However, high current intensity heating is suppressed in order to protect the battery cell from over-discharge. In one example, the battery threshold is set to 3.5V only when operating normally on the rechargeable battery 601. If the voltage of the rechargeable battery 601 is lower than 3.5V, the user cannot activate the heater 319 and give a low battery indication via an LED or other method. If the user establishes a charging connection between the aerosol delivery device and the charging device (e.g., charger 604) at this time, the rechargeable battery 601 may take an unacceptably long time to absorb enough charging current to rise above the 3.5V threshold and restore the microprocessor 606 to allow the puffing activity.

[0096] In some cases, it is desirable to allow puffing to occur as long as the aerosol delivery device (with a depleted battery) is connected to the charger, even if the battery level is still below the low battery threshold. Allowing puffing to occur as long as the aerosol delivery device (with a depleted battery) is connected to the charger can be achieved by having an anti-puff voltage threshold (e.g., a lower threshold) when operating on rechargeable batteries 601 while connected to charger 604 that is different from a single threshold that can be used when operating only on rechargeable batteries 601.

[0097] In some embodiments, when the charger 604 is connected to the electrical connector 602, the microprocessor 606 can lower the low battery threshold from 3.5V (e.g., to a voltage in the range of about 3.4V or about 3.3V) to allow the user to activate the heater when the electrical connector 602 is connected to a power source. In other embodiments, other different voltage thresholds can be used both before charging and when connected to the charger. In some embodiments, the value of the voltage threshold can be characterized and tuned to any combination of voltages depending on the charging and discharging curves of a particular battery manufacturer (such as curves suitable for a particular battery chemistry, battery capacity, etc.), the life or number of charge cycles of the battery, the microprocessor and heating circuit system, and / or the desired user experience.

[0098] In some embodiments, the control device 100 may include a rechargeable battery 601 and a supplementary energy storage element such as a supercapacitor or a supplementary battery. The supplementary energy storage element may provide power to the heating element to generate an aerosol sufficient for a predetermined number of puffs (e.g., 10 puffs) or a predetermined time period (e.g., 5 minutes). In such an embodiment, if the rechargeable battery 601 can provide enough power to the heating element to generate an aerosol for the user to puff, the supplementary energy storage element may not be used to provide power for the heating element. When the rechargeable battery 601 is connected to the charger 604 for charging, the microprocessor 606 may check the supplementary energy storage element. If the supplementary energy storage element can provide power to the heating element to generate an aerosol sufficient for a predetermined number of puffs or a predetermined time period, the microprocessor 606 may control the charger 604 to start charging the rechargeable battery 601. If the action of the user (for example, puff action) is detected during charging, and the rechargeable battery 601 has not yet recovered enough capacity to provide enough power to the heating element, the microprocessor 606 can activate the supplementary energy storage element to provide power to the heating element to generate enough aerosol for a predetermined number of puffs or a predetermined time period. The power provided by the supplementary energy storage element may depend on the recovery time of the rechargeable battery 601. The recovery time may be the time when the rechargeable battery 601 needs to be charged to provide enough power to the heating element to generate an aerosol for the user's puff. In such an embodiment, the rechargeable battery 601 and the supplementary energy storage element may have an isolated connection to the heating element. Therefore, when power is being provided to the heating element from the supplementary energy storage element, the rechargeable battery 601 may be charged at the same time.

[0099] Fig. 9 A flow chart showing a method 900 of charging control according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. As shown, in such an embodiment, at box 901, the microprocessor 606 can read the pressure sensor state of the sensor 605. At box 902, the microprocessor 606 of such an embodiment can determine whether a puffing action of a user is detected by the sensor 605 based on the output signal from the sensor 605. If a puffing action is not detected, the method 900 can return to box 901 so that the microprocessor 606 can continue to monitor the sensor state. On the other hand, if a puffing action is detected, the method 900 can proceed to box 903.

[0100] At block 903, the microprocessor 606 of such an embodiment may determine whether the voltage of the rechargeable battery 601 is above a battery threshold (such as 3.5V) when operating only on the rechargeable battery 601. If the voltage of the rechargeable battery 601 is above the battery threshold, the method 900 may proceed directly to block 906, where the microprocessor 606 may allow activation of the heater 319 in the aerosol delivery device to perform a puffing action. On the other hand, if the voltage of the rechargeable battery 601 is below the battery threshold, the method 900 may proceed to block 904.

[0101] At block 904, the microprocessor 606 of such an embodiment may determine whether the electrical connector 602 is connected to a power source via the charger 604. If not, the method 900 may proceed to block 907. Since the voltage of the rechargeable battery 601 is below the battery threshold and there is no charger connected to charge the rechargeable battery 601, the rechargeable battery 601 may be at a low battery level and the microprocessor 606 of such an embodiment may not allow activation of the heater 319 in the aerosol delivery device to perform the puffing action, as shown at block 907.

[0102] On the other hand, if at block 904, the microprocessor 606 of such an embodiment can determine that the electrical connector 602 is connected to a power source via the charger 604, the microprocessor 606 can change the voltage threshold of the rechargeable battery 601 from a higher value to a lower value, such as from about 3.5V to about 3.3V. When operating on the rechargeable battery 601 with the charger 604 connected, this lower value can be referred to as a charging threshold, which is lower than the battery threshold as described above. From block 904, the method 900 can proceed to block 905.

[0103] At block 905, the microprocessor 606 of such an embodiment may perform a comparison between the voltage of the rechargeable battery 601 and a charge threshold value (e.g., about 3.3V) of the rechargeable battery 601 to determine whether the voltage of the rechargeable battery 601 is above the charge threshold value. If the voltage of the rechargeable battery 601 is above the charge threshold value (but still below the battery threshold value of about 3.5V), the microprocessor 606 of such an embodiment may allow activation of the heater 319 in the aerosol delivery device to perform the puff action, as shown at block 906. On the other hand, if the voltage of the rechargeable battery 601 is below the charge threshold value, the microprocessor may not allow activation of the heater 319 in the aerosol delivery device to perform the puff action, as shown at block 907.

[0104] Method 800 and method 900 can be used together or separately. For example, if microprocessor 606 determines a state of the aerosol delivery device indicating that a path of current from the power source through electrical connector 602 to rechargeable battery 601 has occurred, microprocessor 606 can open switch circuit 607 to interrupt the path of the current and change the voltage threshold of rechargeable battery 601 from a higher value to a lower value to allow puffing to occur. In another example, when microprocessor 606 detects a puffing action and determines that electrical connector 602 is connected to a power source (switch circuit 607 can be open or closed), in response to the aerosol delivery device being connected to charger 604, microprocessor 606 can change the voltage threshold of rechargeable battery 601 from a higher value to a lower value to allow puffing to occur.

[0105] Many modifications and other embodiments of the present disclosure will occur to those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure belongs, having the benefit of the teachings presented in the preceding description and the associated drawings. It is therefore understood that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed herein, and modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, these terms are used only in a generic and descriptive sense and not for limiting purposes.

Claims

1. An aerosol delivery device comprising: a rechargeable battery having a first low battery threshold and a second low battery threshold, the second low battery threshold being less than the first low battery threshold; a charging circuit system including an electrical connector configured to interconnect the rechargeable battery with a power source; a sensor configured to detect an action of using the aerosol delivery device by a user and output a signal; as well as a microprocessor operatively coupled to the charging circuitry and the sensor, the microprocessor being configured in response to receiving the signal from the sensor to: determining a state indicative of a path of electrical current from the power source through the electrical connector to the rechargeable battery; In response to a state of the path indicative of electrical current from the power source to the rechargeable battery: determining a voltage of the rechargeable battery and comparing the voltage of the rechargeable battery to the first low battery threshold and the second low battery threshold; in response to the action of using the aerosol delivery device by the user and the voltage of the rechargeable battery being less than the first low-battery threshold but greater than the second low-battery threshold, activating the aerosol delivery device such that power is delivered from the rechargeable battery to a further element of the aerosol delivery device to provide the output; as well as In response to the voltage of the rechargeable battery being less than the second low battery threshold, the aerosol delivery device is deactivated such that power is not delivered from the rechargeable battery to the further element.

2. The aerosol delivery device according to claim 1, characterized in that The microprocessor is further configured to interrupt the path of the electrical current using a switch circuit between the electrical connector and the rechargeable battery.

3. The aerosol delivery device of claim 2, wherein: The switching circuit includes a pair of metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) switches respectively coupled to the positive electrical connection and the negative electrical connection of the electrical connector, and the microprocessor configured to interrupt the path of the current includes a microprocessor configured to use the switching circuit to interrupt both the positive electrical connection and the negative electrical connection from the rechargeable battery.

4. The aerosol delivery device of claim 2, wherein: The switching circuit includes a pair of opto-isolator relays respectively coupled to the positive electrical connection and the negative electrical connection of the electrical connector, and the microprocessor configured to interrupt the path of the current includes a microprocessor configured to use the switching circuit to interrupt both the positive electrical connection and the negative electrical connection from the rechargeable battery.

5. The aerosol delivery device of claim 2, wherein: The switching circuit is coupled to one or both of the positive electrical connection and the negative electrical connection of the electrical connector, and the microprocessor configured to interrupt the path of the electrical current includes being configured to use the switching circuit to interrupt only one of the positive electrical connection and the negative electrical connection from the rechargeable battery.

6. The aerosol delivery device of claim 2, wherein: The switching circuit includes a MOSFET switch integrated with the charging circuit system and another switch external to the charging circuit system, and the microprocessor configured to interrupt the path of the current includes a microprocessor configured to use the switching circuit to disconnect the electrical connector from the rechargeable battery.

7. The aerosol delivery device of claim 1, wherein: In response to the sensor detecting the completion of the action, the microprocessor is further configured to: determining that the electrical connector is connected to the power source; and Reconnecting the electrical connector, and thereby reconnecting the power source to the rechargeable battery, to charge the rechargeable battery.

8. The aerosol delivery device of claim 1, wherein: The action includes a smoking action of the user.

9. The aerosol delivery device of claim 1, wherein: The further element comprises a heating element configured for heating and thereby vaporizing components of an aerosol precursor composition contained within a housing of the aerosol delivery device such that the output in response to the action of using the aerosol delivery device is the formation of an aerosol.

10. The aerosol delivery device of claim 9, wherein: The aerosol precursor composition is included as a liquid, solid or semi-solid.

11. The aerosol delivery device of claim 1, wherein: The microprocessor is configured to: changing a voltage threshold of the battery from a first value to a second value lower than the first value; and It is determined that the voltage of the battery is lower than the first value and higher than the second value.

12. An aerosol delivery device comprising: Rechargeable batteries; a charging circuit system including an electrical connector configured to interconnect the rechargeable battery with a power source; a sensor configured to detect an action of using the aerosol delivery device by a user and output a signal; as well as a microprocessor coupled to the charging circuitry and the sensor, the microprocessor being configured in response to receiving the signal from the sensor to: determining that the electrical connector is connected to the power source; performing a comparison between the voltage of the battery and a voltage threshold of the battery to determine whether the voltage of the battery is higher than the voltage threshold; based on the voltage of the battery being lower than the voltage threshold, changing the voltage threshold of the battery from a first value to a second value lower than the first value; as well as Based on the voltage of the battery being lower than the first value and higher than the second value, it is determined whether to allow activation of the aerosol delivery device, so that when the electrical connector is connected to the power supply, power is delivered to further elements of the aerosol delivery device to provide output in response to the action of the user using the aerosol delivery device.

13. The aerosol delivery device of claim 12, wherein: The microprocessor configured to perform the comparison includes a microprocessor configured to: Determining whether to allow said activation of said aerosol delivery device comprises a microprocessor configured to allow said activation of said aerosol delivery device to perform said action.

14. The aerosol delivery device of claim 13, wherein: The first value is 3.5 volts and the second value is 3.3 volts or 3.4 volts.

15. The aerosol delivery device of claim 12, wherein: The microprocessor configured to perform the comparison includes being configured to determine that the voltage of the battery is below the second value; And wherein the microprocessor configured to determine whether to allow said activation of said aerosol delivery device includes being configured to not allow said activation of said aerosol delivery device to perform said action.

16. The aerosol delivery device of claim 12, wherein: The action includes a smoking action of the user.

17. The aerosol delivery device of claim 12, wherein: The further element comprises a heating element configured for heating and thereby vaporizing a component of an aerosol precursor composition contained within a housing of the aerosol delivery device.

18. The aerosol delivery device of claim 17, wherein: The aerosol precursor composition is liquid, solid or semi-solid.

19. The aerosol delivery device of claim 12, wherein: In response to receiving the signal from the sensor, the microprocessor is further configured to: determining a condition indicating the presence of a path for electrical current from the power source through the electrical connector to the rechargeable battery; as well as The path of the electrical current from the power source through the electrical connector to the rechargeable battery is interrupted.

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