Cartridges for evaporator units

Abstract

A cartridge for an evaporator device is provided. In an exemplary embodiment, the cartridge may include a primary reservoir, a secondary reservoir in fluid communication with the primary reservoir, and an evaporation chamber in communication with the secondary reservoir, wherein the evaporation chamber includes a first wicking element. The primary reservoir is configured to store a majority of the evaporable material when in a first pressure state, and is configured to discharge the evaporable material in response to an increase in head space when in a second pressure state. The secondary reservoir is configured to receive a first volume of evaporable material from the primary reservoir in a first pressure state and a second volume of evaporable material from the primary reservoir in a second pressure state, wherein the second volume is greater than the first volume. An evaporator device is also provided.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 755,895, filed on November 5, 2018, entitled “CARTRIDGE FOR AN EVAPORATOR DEVICE,” the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety to the extent permitted. Technical Field

[0003] The subject matter described herein relates to an evaporator apparatus including an evaporator cartridge. Background Art

[0004] A vaporizer device, which may also be referred to as a vaporizer, electronic vaporizer device, or e-vaporizer device, can be used to deliver an aerosol (e.g., a gas and / or condensed phase material suspended in a stationary or moving mass of air (or some other gaseous carrier)) containing one or more active ingredients, wherein delivery is achieved by inhalation of the aerosol by a user of the vaporizer device. For example, electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) include a class of battery-powered vaporizer devices that can be used to simulate the experience of smoking, but without burning tobacco or other substances. Vaporizer devices are becoming increasingly popular for both prescription medical uses to deliver medications and for the consumption of tobacco, nicotine, and other plant-based materials. Vaporizer devices can be portable, self-contained, and / or convenient to use.

[0005] When using a vaporizer device, a user inhales an aerosol, colloquially referred to as "vapor," which may be generated by a heating element that vaporizes (e.g., converts a liquid or solid at least partially into a vapor phase) a vaporizable material, which may be a liquid, solution, solid, paste, wax, and / or any other form that is compatible with a particular vaporizer device. The vaporizable material used with a vaporizer device may be disposed within a cartridge (e.g., a detachable component of a vaporizer device that contains the vaporizable material), which includes an outlet (e.g., a mouthpiece) for the user to inhale the aerosol.

[0006] To receive the inhalable aerosol generated by the vaporizer device, in some examples, the user may activate the vaporizer device by inhaling, pressing a button, and / or by some other method. Inhaling, as used herein, may refer to the user causing a volume of air to be drawn into the vaporizer device in a manner such that the vaporized vaporizable material combines with the volume of air to generate the inhalable aerosol.

[0007] The method of generating an inhalable aerosol from a vaporizable material by a vaporizer device involves heating the vaporizable material in a vaporization chamber (e.g., a heater chamber) to convert the vaporizable material into a gas (or vapor) phase. The vaporization chamber may refer to an area or volume in a vaporizer device in which a heat source (e.g., a conductive heat source, a convective heat source, and / or a radiant heat source) heats the vaporizable material to generate a mixture of air and vaporized material to form vapor for inhalation of the vaporizable material by a user of the vaporizer device.

[0008] The vaporizer device may be controlled by one or more controllers, electronic circuits (e.g., sensors, heating elements), and / or the like on the vaporizer device. The vaporizer device may also wirelessly communicate with an external controller (e.g., a computing device such as a smartphone).

[0009] In some embodiments, the evaporable material can be extracted from the accumulator and entered into the evaporation chamber by a wicking element (e.g., a wick). The evaporable material can be drawn into the evaporation chamber at least in part due to the capillary action provided by the wicking element when the wicking element pulls the evaporable material along the wicking element toward the evaporation chamber. However, when the evaporable material is extracted from the accumulator, the pressure in the accumulator is reduced, thereby generating a vacuum and resisting the capillary action. Then, the ambient air replaces the vacuum generated in the vacant space of the accumulator. It is worth noting that the cartridges that are often not used also include some air (e.g., bubbles), because the accumulators that are fully filled with the cartridges are still a manufacturing challenge.

[0010] The application of heat, manual pressure, or any type of negative pressure event (e.g., a pressure drop in the cabin) can cause the volume of air or bubbles in the cartridge hopper to expand as the ambient pressure becomes negative relative to the internal pressure. Disadvantageously, this pressure change can cause the vaporizable material to escape from the cartridge body where the opening exists. These undesirable leaks typically occur at the end of the cartridge hopper that is connected to the nozzle, or in the cavity area where the cartridge's electrical port is positioned to engage the power source.

[0011] Vaporizable material leaks are problematic because such leaks often interfere with the function and cleanliness of the vaporizer device (e.g., leaking vaporizable material blocks electrical ports or creates a mess that requires cleaning). Additionally, vaporizable material leaking from the cartridge can negatively impact the user experience by potentially contaminating or damaging other items or fabrics in the vicinity of the leaking cartridge. Leakage into portions of the cartridge or vaporizer device can also cause liquid vaporizable material to bypass the vaporization chamber, causing the user to experience an unpleasant sensation from inhaling the vaporizable material in liquid form.

[0012] Therefore, there is a need for an evaporator device and / or evaporator cartridge that addresses one or more of these issues. Summary of the invention

[0013] Aspects of the current subject matter relate to evaporator devices and cartridges for evaporator devices.

[0014] In some variations, one or more of the following features may optionally be included in any feasible combination.

[0015] In an exemplary embodiment, a cartridge is provided, the cartridge comprising a primary reservoir having a first pressure state and a second pressure state, a secondary reservoir in fluid communication with the primary reservoir, and an evaporation chamber in communication with the secondary reservoir. The primary reservoir is configured to store a majority of evaporable materials therein when in a first pressure state, and is configured to discharge the evaporable materials in response to an increase in head space when in a second pressure state. The secondary reservoir is formed by an absorbent material. The absorbent material is configured to receive a first volume of the evaporable material from the primary reservoir in a first pressure state, and to receive a second volume of the evaporable material from the primary reservoir in a second pressure state, wherein the second volume is greater than the first volume. The evaporation chamber comprises a first wicking element, the first wicking element being configured to draw the evaporable material from the secondary reservoir into the evaporation chamber for evaporation by a heating element.

[0016] In some embodiments, the second pressure state may be associated with a negative pressure event.

[0017] In some embodiments, under the first pressure state, the internal pressure of the primary reservoir may be less than or equal to the ambient pressure.

[0018] In some embodiments, in the second pressure state, the internal pressure of the reservoir may be greater than the ambient pressure.

[0019] In some embodiments, the cartridge may include a second wicking element extending from the primary reservoir to the secondary reservoir. The second wicking element may be configured to draw the vaporizable material from the primary reservoir into the secondary reservoir.

[0020] In some embodiments, a first volume of vaporizable material may flow from the primary reservoir to the secondary reservoir at a first flow rate. In such embodiments, a second volume of vaporizable material may flow from the primary reservoir to the secondary reservoir at a second flow rate greater than the first flow rate.

[0021] In another exemplary embodiment, a cartridge is provided, which includes a primary accumulator with internal pressure, a secondary accumulator formed by an absorbent material, a first wicking element extending between the primary accumulator and the secondary accumulator, and an evaporation chamber communicated with the secondary accumulator. The primary accumulator is configured to accommodate a majority of evaporable materials. The first wicking element is configured to draw the evaporable material from the primary accumulator into the secondary accumulator. The evaporation chamber includes a second wicking element, which is configured to draw the evaporable material from the secondary accumulator into the evaporation chamber to evaporate by a heating element. The absorbent material is configured to receive the evaporable material of the overflow volume discharged from the primary accumulator in response to the pressure difference generated between the ambient pressure outside the primary accumulator and the internal pressure of the primary accumulator.

[0022] In some embodiments, the pressure differential may be associated with a negative pressure event.

[0023] In some embodiments, before the pressure differential is generated, the internal pressure of the primary reservoir may be less than or equal to the ambient pressure. In other embodiments, when the pressure differential is generated, the ambient pressure may be less than the internal pressure of the primary reservoir.

[0024] In some embodiments, the second wicking element may be configured to draw the overflow volume of vaporizable material from the secondary reservoir into the vaporization chamber. In other embodiments, the first wicking element may be configured to draw at least a portion of the overflow volume of vaporizable material from the secondary reservoir back into the primary reservoir in response to a decrease in the pressure differential.

[0025] In some embodiments, the vaporization chamber may further include a third wicking element that may be configured to draw vaporizable material from the secondary reservoir into the vaporization chamber for vaporization by the heating element.

[0026] In another exemplary embodiment, an evaporator device is provided, the device comprising an evaporator body and a cartridge selectively coupled to the evaporator body and removable therefrom. The cartridge comprises a primary reservoir having a first pressure state and a second pressure state, a secondary reservoir fluidly connected to the primary reservoir, and an evaporation chamber connected to the secondary reservoir. The primary reservoir is configured to store a majority of evaporable materials therein when in a first pressure state, and is configured to discharge the evaporable materials in response to an increase in head space when in a second pressure state. The secondary reservoir is formed by an absorbent material. The absorbent material is configured to receive a first volume of evaporable materials from the primary reservoir under a first pressure state, and to receive a second volume of evaporable materials from the primary reservoir under a second pressure state, wherein the second volume is greater than the first volume. The evaporation chamber comprises a first wicking element, which is configured to draw the evaporable material from the primary reservoir chamber into the evaporation chamber to evaporate by a heating element.

[0027] The evaporator body can have a variety of configurations.In some embodiments, the evaporator body can include a power source.

[0028] In some embodiments, the second pressure state may be associated with a negative pressure event.

[0029] In some embodiments, under the first pressure state, the internal pressure of the primary reservoir may be less than or equal to the ambient pressure.

[0030] In some embodiments, in the second pressure state, the internal pressure of the reservoir may be greater than the ambient pressure.

[0031] In some embodiments, the cartridge may include a second wicking element extending from the primary reservoir to the secondary reservoir. The second wicking element may be configured to draw vaporizable material from the primary reservoir into the secondary reservoir.

[0032] In some embodiments, a first volume of vaporizable material may flow from the primary reservoir to the secondary reservoir at a first flow rate. In such embodiments, a second volume of vaporizable material may flow from the primary reservoir to the secondary reservoir at a second flow rate greater than the first flow rate.

[0033] The details of one or more variations of the subject matter described herein are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the following description. Other features and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become more apparent from the specification and drawings, as well as from the claims. The claims appended to the present invention are intended to define the scope of the protected subject matter. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate certain aspects of the subject matter disclosed herein and, together with the description, help explain some principles associated with the disclosed embodiments. In the drawings:

[0035] Figure 1A is a block diagram of an evaporator device;

[0036] Figure 1B is a top view of an embodiment of an evaporator device showing an evaporator cartridge separated from a body of the evaporator device;

[0037] Figure 1C yes Figure 1B A top view of an evaporator device showing an evaporator cartridge coupled to an evaporator device body;

[0038] Figure 1D yes Figure 1C A perspective view of an evaporator device;

[0039] Figure 1E yes Figure 1B A perspective view of an evaporator barrel;

[0040] Figure 1F yes Figure 1E Another perspective view of the evaporator barrel; and

[0041] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of another embodiment of an evaporator cartridge is shown.

[0042] Where practical, similar reference numerals indicate similar structures, features, or elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] Embodiments of the current subject matter include methods, devices, articles, and systems related to vaporizing one or more materials for inhalation by a user. Exemplary embodiments include vaporizer devices and systems including vaporizer devices. The term "vaporizer device" used in the following description and claims refers to a stand-alone device, a device including two or more detachable components (e.g., a vaporizer body including a battery and other hardware, and a cartridge including vaporizable materials), and / or the like. A "vaporizer system" as used herein may include one or more components, such as a vaporizer device. Examples of vaporizer devices consistent with embodiments of the current subject matter include electronic vaporizers, electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), and / or the like. Generally speaking, such vaporizer devices are handheld devices that heat (e.g., by convection, conduction, radiation, and / or some combination thereof) vaporizable materials to provide an inhalable dose of material.

[0044] The vaporizable material for use with the vaporizer device may be provided in a cartridge (e.g., a component of the vaporizer device containing the vaporizable material in a reservoir or other container) that can be refilled after being empty, or disposable so that a new cartridge containing additional vaporizable material of the same or different type can be used. The vaporizer device may be a cartridge-using vaporizer device, a cartridge-free vaporizer device, or a multi-use vaporizer device that can be used with or without a cartridge. For example, the vaporizer device may include a heating chamber (e.g., an oven or other area that heats the material via a heating element), configured to receive the vaporizable material directly into the heating chamber, and / or a reservoir for containing the vaporizable material, etc.

[0045] In some embodiments, the vaporizer device can be configured for use with a liquid vaporizable material (e.g., a carrier solution in which active and / or inactive ingredients are suspended or held in solution, or the vaporizable material itself in liquid form). The liquid vaporizable material can be capable of being completely vaporized. Alternatively, at least a portion of the liquid vaporizable material can remain after all of the material suitable for inhalation has been vaporized.

[0046] refer to Figure 1A, the vaporizer device 100 may include a power source 112 (e.g., a battery, which may be a rechargeable battery) and a controller 104 (e.g., a processor capable of executing logic, circuitry, etc.), the controller being used to control heat transfer to the atomizer 141 to convert the vaporizable material 102 from a condensed form (e.g., a liquid, a solution, a suspension, a portion of at least partially unprocessed plant material, etc.) to a vapor phase. The controller 104 may be part of one or more printed circuit boards (PCBs) consistent with certain embodiments of the current subject matter.

[0047] After converting the vaporizable material 102 to the vapor phase, at least some of the vaporizable material 102 in the vapor phase may condense to form particulate matter that at least partially locally equilibrates with the vapor phase as part of the aerosol, which may form part or all of the inhalable dose provided by the vaporizer device 100 during inhalation by a user or inhalation on the vaporizer device 100. It should be understood that the interaction between the vapor phase and the condensed phase in the aerosol produced by the vaporizer device 100 may be complex and dynamic due to factors such as ambient temperature, relative humidity, chemistry, flow conditions in the airflow path (inside the vaporizer device and in the airway of a human or other animal), and / or mixing of the vaporizable material 102 in the vapor or aerosol phase with other airflows, which may affect one or more physical parameters of the aerosol. In some vaporizer devices, particularly for vaporizer devices used to deliver volatile vaporizable materials, the inhalable dose is primarily present in the vapor phase (e.g., the formation of condensed phase particles may be very limited).

[0048] The atomizer 141 in the vaporizer device 100 may be configured to vaporize the vaporizable material 102. The vaporizable material 102 may be a liquid. Examples of vaporizable material 102 include pure liquids, suspensions, solutions, mixtures, etc. The atomizer 141 may include a wicking element (i.e., a wick) configured to deliver a certain amount of vaporizable material 102 to a portion of the atomizer 141 that includes a heating element ( Figure 1A not shown).

[0049] For example, the wicking element can be configured to draw vaporizable material 102 from a reservoir 140 configured to hold vaporizable material 102 so that the vaporizable material 102 can be vaporized by heat delivered from the heating element. The wicking element can also optionally allow air to enter the reservoir 140 and replace a volume of vaporizable material 102 that is removed. In some embodiments of the current subject matter, capillary action can pull the vaporizable material 102 into the wick for vaporization by the heating element, and air can be returned to the reservoir 140 through the wick to at least partially equalize the pressure in the reservoir 140. Other methods of allowing air to return to the reservoir 140 to equalize pressure are also within the scope of the current subject matter.

[0050] As used herein, the term "wick" or "wicking element" includes any material capable of inducing the movement of a fluid by capillary pressure.

[0051] The heating element may include one or more of a conductive heater, a radiant heater, and / or a convection heater. One type of heating element is a resistive heating element, which may include a material (e.g., a metal or alloy such as a nickel-chromium alloy, or a non-metallic resistor) that is constructed to dissipate electrical energy in the form of heat when an electric current passes through one or more resistive segments of the heating element. In some embodiments of the current subject matter, the atomizer 141 may include a heating element, which includes a resistive coil or other heating element, which is wound around the wicking element, positioned within the wicking element, integrated into the main shape of the wicking element, pressed into the wicking element in thermal contact with it, or otherwise arranged to transfer heat to the wicking element, so that the vaporizable material 102 drawn from the reservoir 140 by the wicking element is evaporated for subsequent inhalation by the user in a gas phase and / or condensed phase (e.g., aerosol particles or droplets). Other wicking element, heating element, and / or atomizer assembly configurations are also possible.

[0052] As the user inhales (i.e., draws, inhales, etc.) on the mouthpiece 130 of the vaporizer device 100, causing air to flow from the air inlet along an airflow path through the atomizer 141 (i.e., wicking element and heating element), the heating element can be activated. Optionally, air can flow from the air inlet to the air outlet in the mouthpiece 130 via one or more condensation areas or chambers. The incoming air moving along the airflow path passes over or through the atomizer 141, where the vaporizable material 102 in the vapor phase is entrained into the air. The heating element can be activated by a controller 104, which can optionally be part of the vaporizer body 110 discussed herein, so that current is passed from the power supply 112 through a circuit including a resistive heating element, which can optionally be part of the vaporizer cartridge 120 discussed herein. As described herein, entrained vapor-phase vaporizable material 102 may condense as it passes through the remaining airflow path, such that a respirable dose of vaporizable material 102 in aerosol form may be delivered from an air outlet (eg, mouthpiece 130) for inhalation by a user.

[0053] The heating element may be activated by automatically detecting an inhalation based on one or more signals generated by one or more sensors 113. The sensors 113 and the signals generated by the sensors 113 may include one or more of: one or more pressure sensors arranged to detect pressure relative to ambient pressure along the airflow path (or alternatively measure changes in absolute pressure), one or more motion sensors (e.g., accelerometers) of the vaporizer device 100, one or more flow sensors of the vaporizer device 100, a capacitive lip sensor of the vaporizer device 100, detecting user interaction with the vaporizer device 100 via one or more input devices 116 (e.g., buttons or other tactile controls of the vaporizer device 100), receiving signals from a computing device in communication with the vaporizer device 100, and / or determining via other methods that an inhalation is occurring or is about to occur.

[0054] As discussed herein, a vaporizer device 100 consistent with embodiments of the current subject matter can be configured to connect (e.g., wirelessly or via a wired connection) to a computing device (or optionally two or more devices) that communicates with the vaporizer device 100. To this end, the controller 104 can include communication hardware 105. The controller 104 can also include memory 108. The communication hardware 105 can include firmware and / or can be software controlled to execute one or more encryption protocols for communication.

[0055] The computing device may be a component of a vaporizer system that also includes the vaporizer device 100 and may include its own hardware for communication that may establish a wireless communication channel with the communication hardware 105 of the vaporizer device 100. For example, a computing device used as part of a vaporizer system may include a general-purpose computing device (e.g., a smartphone, a tablet, a personal computer, some other portable device such as a smart watch, etc.) that executes software to generate a user interface that enables a user to interact with the vaporizer device 100. In other embodiments of the current subject matter, such a device used as part of a vaporizer system may be a dedicated hardware, such as a remote control or other wireless or wired device with one or more physical or soft (i.e., configurable on a screen or other display device and selectable by a user interacting with a touch screen or some other input device, such as a mouse, a pointer, a trackball, a cursor button, etc.) interface controls. The vaporizer device 100 may also include one or more outputs 117 or devices for providing information to a user. For example, the output 117 may include one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs) configured to provide feedback to a user based on the state and / or operating mode of the vaporizer device 100.

[0056] In examples where the computing device provides a signal related to activation of the resistive heating element, or in other examples where the computing device is coupled to the vaporizer device 100 to implement various control or other functions, the computing device executes one or more sets of computer instructions to provide a user interface and underlying data processing. In one example, detection of user interaction with one or more user interface elements by the computing device may result in the computing device sending a signal to the vaporizer device 100 to activate the heating element to reach an operating temperature for generating an inhalable dose of vapor / aerosol. Other functions of the vaporizer device 100 may be controlled by user interaction with a user interface on a computing device in communication with the vaporizer device 100.

[0057] The temperature of the resistive heating element of the vaporizer device 100 can depend on a number of factors, including the amount of electrical power delivered to the resistive heating element and / or the duty cycle of the delivered electrical power, conductive heat transfer to other portions of the electronic vaporizer device 100 and / or to the environment, latent heat losses due to vaporization of the vaporizable material 102 from the wicking element and / or the atomizer 141 as a whole, and convective heat losses due to airflow (i.e., air as a whole passes through the heating element or atomizer 141 when a user inhales on the vaporizer device 100). As described herein, in order to reliably activate the heating element or heat the heating element to a desired temperature, in some embodiments of the current subject matter, the vaporizer device 100 can utilize a signal from a sensor 113 (e.g., a pressure sensor) to determine when a user is inhaling. The sensor 113 can be located in and / or can be connected (e.g., via a channel or other pathway) to an airflow path that includes an inlet through which air enters the vaporizer device 100 and an outlet through which a user inhales the generated vapor and / or aerosol, such that the sensor 113 experiences a change (e.g., a pressure change) while the air passes through the vaporizer device 100 from the inlet to the outlet. In some embodiments of the current subject matter, the heating element can be activated in association with an inhalation by the user, such as by automatically detecting an inhalation, or by the sensor 113 detecting a change in the airflow path (e.g., a pressure change).

[0058] The sensor 113 can be positioned on or coupled to the controller 104 (i.e., electrically or electronically connected via a physical or wireless connection) in order to accurately perform measurements and maintain the durability of the evaporator device 100, it is beneficial to provide a sufficiently resilient seal 127 to separate the airflow path from other portions of the evaporator device 100. The seal 127 can be a gasket that can be configured to at least partially surround the sensor 113 so that the connection of the sensor 113 to the internal circuit of the evaporator device 100 is separated from the portion of the sensor 113 that is exposed to the airflow path. In the example of a cartridge-based evaporator device, the seal 127 can also separate portions of one or more electrical connections between the evaporator body 110 and the evaporator cartridge 120. Such an arrangement of the seal 127 in the evaporator device 100 may help mitigate potentially damaging effects on evaporator components due to interactions with environmental factors (e.g., moisture in the vapor or liquid phase, other fluids such as the vaporizable material 102, etc.), and / or reduce the escape of air from a designated airflow path in the evaporator device 100. Unwanted air, liquid, or other fluid passing through and / or contacting the evaporator device 100 may cause various adverse consequences, such as altering pressure readings, and / or may cause unwanted materials (e.g., moisture, excess vaporizable material 102, etc.) to accumulate in components of the evaporator device 100, whereby a poor pressure signal may result, degradation of the sensor 113 or other components, and / or a shortened life of the evaporator device 100. Leakage of the seal 127 may also result in a user inhaling air that passes through components of the evaporator device 100 that contain or consist of materials that are not desirable to inhale.

[0059] In some embodiments, the vaporizer body 110 includes a controller 104, a power source 112 (e.g., a battery), one or more sensors 113, charging contacts (e.g., contacts for charging the power source 112), a seal 127, and a cartridge container 118, which is configured to receive a vaporizer cartridge 120 for connection to the vaporizer body 110 through one or more of a variety of attachment structures. In some examples, the vaporizer cartridge 120 includes a reservoir 140 for containing vaporizable material 102, and the mouthpiece 130 has an aerosol outlet for delivering an inhalable dose to a user. The vaporizer cartridge 120 may include an atomizer 141 having a wicking element and a heating element. Alternatively, one or both of the wicking element and the heating element may be part of the vaporizer body 110. In embodiments where any portion of the atomizer 141 (i.e., the heating element and / or the wicking element) is part of the evaporator body 110, the evaporator device 100 can be configured to supply vaporizable material 102 from a reservoir 140 in the evaporator cartridge 120 to one or more portions of the atomizer 141 included in the evaporator body 110.

[0060] In one embodiment of the vaporizer device 100, where the power source 112 is part of the vaporizer body 110 and the heating element is disposed in the vaporizer cartridge 120 and configured to couple with the vaporizer body 110, the vaporizer device 100 may include electrical connection features (e.g., means for completing an electrical circuit) for completing an electrical circuit including the controller 104 (e.g., a printed circuit board, a microcontroller, etc.), the power source 112, and the heating element (e.g., a heating element within the atomizer 141). These features may include one or more contacts (referred to herein as cartridge contacts 124a and 124b) located on the bottom surface of the vaporizer cartridge 120 and at least two contacts (referred to herein as container contacts 125a and 125b) disposed near the base of the cartridge container 118 of the vaporizer device 100, such that the cartridge contacts 124a and 124b and the container contacts 125a and 125b are electrically connected when the vaporizer cartridge 120 is inserted into and coupled with the cartridge container 118. The circuit completed by these electrical connections can deliver current to the heating element and can be further used for additional functions, such as measuring the resistance of the heating element to determine and / or control the temperature of the heating element based on the resistivity thermal coefficient of the heating element.

[0061] In some embodiments of the current subject matter, the cartridge contacts 124a and 124b and the container contacts 125a and 125b can be configured to be electrically connected in any of at least two orientations. In other words, one or more circuits required to operate the vaporizer device 100 can be completed by inserting the vaporizer cartridge 120 into the cartridge container 118 in a first rotational orientation (about the axis along which the vaporizer cartridge 120 is inserted into the cartridge container 118 of the vaporizer body 110) so that the cartridge contact 124a is electrically connected to the container contact 125a and the cartridge contact 124b is electrically connected to the container contact 125b. In addition, one or more circuits required to operate the vaporizer device 100 can be completed by inserting the vaporizer cartridge 120 into the cartridge container 118 in a second rotational orientation so that the cartridge contact 124a is electrically connected to the container contact 125b and the cartridge contact 124b is electrically connected to the container contact 125a.

[0062] For example, the vaporizer cartridge 120, or at least the insertable end 122 of the vaporizer cartridge 120, may be symmetrical when rotated 180° about an axis along which the vaporizer cartridge 120 is inserted into the cartridge container 118. In this configuration, the circuitry of the vaporizer device 100 may support the same operation regardless of which symmetrical orientation the vaporizer cartridge 120 appears in.

[0063] In one example of an attachment structure for coupling the evaporator cartridge 120 to the evaporator body 110, the evaporator body 110 includes one or more stoppers (e.g., depressions, protrusions, etc.) protruding inwardly from the inner surface of the cartridge container 118, additional material (e.g., metal, plastic, etc.) formed to include a portion extending into the cartridge container 118, etc. One or more outer surfaces of the evaporator cartridge 120 may include corresponding recesses ( Figure 1A 10 ), the recess may fit and / or otherwise snap onto such a stop or protrusion when the evaporator cartridge 120 is inserted into the cartridge receptacle 118 on the evaporator body 110. When the evaporator cartridge 120 and the evaporator body 110 are coupled (e.g., by inserting the evaporator cartridge 120 into the cartridge receptacle 118 of the evaporator body 110), the stop or protrusion of the evaporator body 110 may fit into and / or otherwise be retained within the recess of the evaporator cartridge 120 to secure the evaporator cartridge 120 in place during assembly. Such an assembly can provide sufficient support to hold the evaporator cartridge 120 in place to ensure good contact between the cartridge contacts 124a and 124b and the container contacts 125a and 125b, while allowing the evaporator cartridge 120 to be released from the evaporator body 110 when the user pulls the evaporator cartridge 120 with appropriate force to separate the evaporator cartridge 120 from the cartridge container 118.

[0064] In some embodiments, the evaporator cartridge 120, or at least the insertable end 122 of the evaporator cartridge 120 configured to be inserted into the cartridge container 118, can have a non-circular cross-section that is transverse to the axis along which the evaporator cartridge 120 is inserted into the cartridge container 118. For example, the non-circular cross-section can be approximately rectangular, approximately elliptical (i.e., having an approximately oval shape), non-rectangular but having two sets of parallel or approximately parallel opposing sides (i.e., having a parallelogram shape), or other shapes having at least second-order rotational symmetry. In this case, the approximate shape indicates that the basic similarity to the shape being described is obvious, but the sides of the shape in question do not have to be completely linear and the vertices do not have to be completely sharp. In any description of a non-circular cross-section mentioned herein, it is expected that two or any one of the sides or vertices of the cross-sectional shape are rounded shapes.

[0065] The cartridge contacts 124a and 124b and the container contacts 125a and 125b can take various forms. For example, one or both sets of contacts can include conductive pins, tabs, posts, receiving holes for the pins or posts, etc. Some types of contacts can include springs or other features to promote better physical and electrical contact between the contacts on the evaporator cartridge 120 and the evaporator body 110. The electrical contacts can optionally be gold plated and / or include other materials.

[0066] Figure 1B-1D One embodiment of an evaporator body 110 is illustrated having a cartridge receptacle 118 into which an evaporator cartridge 120 may be releasably inserted. Figure 1B and 1C A top view of the evaporator device 100 is shown, showing the evaporator cartridge 120 positioned for insertion and inserted into the evaporator body 110, respectively. Figure 1D The reservoir 140 of the evaporator cartridge 120 is shown to be formed in whole or in part of a translucent material, such that the level of the vaporizable material 102 can be seen from a window 132 (e.g., translucent material) along the evaporator cartridge 120. The evaporator cartridge 120 can be configured such that the window 132 can be seen when it is insertably received by the evaporator cartridge receptacle 118 of the evaporator body 110. For example, in one exemplary configuration, when the evaporator cartridge 120 is coupled to the cartridge receptacle 118, the window 132 can be disposed between the bottom edge of the nozzle 130 and the top edge of the evaporator body 110.

[0067] Figure 1E An example airflow path 134 is shown that is created during a user's inhalation of air on the evaporator device 100. The airflow path 134 can direct air to the evaporation chamber 150 contained in the wick housing (see Figure 1F ), where the air is combined with the inhalable aerosol to be delivered to the user via the mouthpiece 130, which can also be part of the vaporizer cartridge 120. For example, when the user inhales on the vaporizer device 100, the air can be on the outer surface of the vaporizer cartridge 120 (e.g., Figure 1D 132) and the inner surface of the cartridge container 118 on the vaporizer body 110. Air can then be drawn into the insertable end 122 of the vaporizer cartridge 120, through the vaporization chamber 150 including or containing the heating element and the wick, and out through the outlet 136 of the mouthpiece 130 to deliver the inhalable aerosol to the user.

[0068] like Figure 1E As shown, this structure causes air to flow downward around the insertable end 122 of the evaporator cartridge 120, enter the cartridge container 118, and then flow back in the opposite direction after passing around the insertable end 122 of the evaporator cartridge 120 (e.g., the end opposite to the end including the nozzle 130) as it enters the cartridge body toward the evaporation chamber 150. The airflow path 134 then passes through the interior of the evaporator cartridge 120, such as via one or more tubes or internal passages (e.g., Figure 1F128) and passes through one or more outlets (e.g., outlet 136) formed in the suction nozzle 130. The suction nozzle 130 can be a separable component of the evaporator cartridge 120, or can be integrally formed with one or more other components of the evaporator cartridge 120 (e.g., to form a unitary structure with the hopper 140 and / or the like).

[0069] Figure 1F Additional features that may be included in an evaporator cartridge 120 consistent with embodiments of the current subject matter are shown. For example, the evaporator cartridge 120 may include a plurality of cartridge contacts (e.g., cartridge contacts 124a, 124b) arranged on the insertable end 122. The cartridge contacts 124a, 124b may optionally each be part of a single metal sheet that forms a conductive structure (e.g., conductive structure 126) connected to one of the two ends of the resistive heating element. The conductive structure may optionally form an opposite side of the heating chamber and may act as a thermal barrier and / or heat sink to reduce heat transfer to the outer wall of the evaporator cartridge 120. Figure 1F Also shown is a sleeve 128 within the vaporizer cartridge 120 that defines a portion of an airflow path 134 between the heating chamber formed between the conductive structure 126 and the nozzle 130 .

[0070] As mentioned above, as the ambient pressure decreases relative to the internal pressure of the cartridge accumulator, the air volume in the cartridge accumulator with evaporable material and the resulting headspace expansion. Various events may cause the ambient pressure to decrease, such as heating, manual pressure, any type of negative pressure event (e.g., pressure drop in the cabin), etc. This pressure change may increase the headspace in the accumulator, thereby causing the evaporable material to overflow from any opening of the accumulator and leak to the environment or other parts of the accumulator. For example, these unwanted leaks typically occur at one end of the cartridge accumulator connected to the nozzle, or occur in the cavity area where the electrical port of the cartridge is positioned to engage with the power supply. In addition, this leak may also cause the user to inhale the air through the evaporator device component, which contains or is composed of materials that may not be desired to be inhaled. Various features and devices for improving or overcoming these problems are described below. For example, various features for suppressing the leakage of evaporable material to other parts of the evaporator device and / or from the evaporator device itself to the external environment are described herein. Avoiding leakage may provide advantages and improvements relative to existing methods, while also introducing additional benefits as described herein.

[0071] The evaporator cartridge described herein is configured to be able to substantially control, substantially limit, and substantially prevent the liquid or semi-liquid evaporable material contained in the cartridge accumulator from leaking in response to the reduction of the ambient pressure (e.g., due to a negative pressure event) relative to the internal pressure of the accumulator, thereby in response to the increase of the head space in the accumulator. The evaporator cartridge generally includes a primary accumulator and a secondary accumulator that are fluidly connected to each other. The primary accumulator is configured to store most of the evaporable material, and the secondary accumulator is configured to absorb the remaining evaporable material discharged from the primary accumulator in response to the pressure-related changes. As discussed in more detail below, the secondary accumulator is formed by an absorbent material, and the absorbent material is configured to absorb the first volume of evaporable material when the primary accumulator is in a first pressure state (e.g., when the ambient pressure outside the primary accumulator and the internal pressure of the primary accumulator are substantially equal), and when the primary accumulator is in a second pressure state (e.g., when the ambient pressure outside the accumulator is less than the internal pressure of the primary accumulator) absorb the second volume of evaporable material. Thus, when in the second pressure state, the remaining vaporizable material flows from the primary reservoir to the secondary reservoir. During the second pressure state, the remaining material is absorbed by the secondary reservoir and temporarily stored in the secondary reservoir, thereby substantially preventing any leakage thereof. At least a portion of the remaining material may then be withdrawn from the secondary reservoir to be evaporated by the heating element. Alternatively or additionally, when the pressure change weakens or ends, a portion of the remaining material may be withdrawn to the primary reservoir. Thus, the secondary reservoir acts as a temporary buffer, allowing the remaining vaporizable material to be reused, rather than leaking out of the evaporator cartridge or permanently remaining in the secondary reservoir. In addition, when the primary reservoir is in the first pressure state, the secondary reservoir allows the vaporizable material to flow through it, rather than being substantially diverted as when the primary reservoir is in the second pressure state.

[0072] Figure 2 An exemplary evaporator cartridge 200 is shown, which can be selectively coupled to an evaporator body (eg, Figures 1A-1D More specifically, the evaporator cartridge 200 includes a secondary reservoir 210 formed of an absorbent material configured to absorb excess (e.g., overflow volume) vaporizable material 212 that is expelled from the primary reservoir 202 when the head space 208 of the primary reservoir 202 increases in response to a pressure change event. For simplicity, certain components of the evaporator cartridge 200 are not shown.

[0073] As shown, the vaporizer cartridge 200 includes a primary reservoir 202, a secondary reservoir 210, a first wicking element 214 extending between the primary reservoir 202 and the secondary reservoir 210, a vaporization chamber 218, and a second wicking element 216 extending between the vaporization chamber 218 and the secondary reservoir 210. The primary reservoir 202 includes a majority of the vaporizable material 212 disposed therein. A headspace 208 (e.g., a volume of air) is located between the vaporizable material 212 and the top wall 204 of the primary reservoir 202. In some embodiments, ambient air can flow through the first wicking element 214 and / or other openings (e.g., Figure 2 The vent 206 shown in FIG. 2 enters and / or leaves the primary hopper 202. That is, the primary hopper 202 can be in communication with ambient air.

[0074] Although the primary hopper 202 can have a variety of shapes and configurations, Figure 2 As shown, the primary hopper 202 has a substantially rectangular shape. In other embodiments, the size and shape of the primary hopper 202 may be different, including any other possible shape. Therefore, the amount of vaporizable material 212 disposed therein depends at least in part on the size and shape of the primary hopper 202. In addition, depending on the amount of vaporizable material 212 and the size of the primary hopper 202, the head space 208 within the primary hopper 202 may vary. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that during the entire process of using the evaporator cartridge 200, when the vaporizable material 212 is withdrawn from the primary hopper 202, the head space 208 of the primary hopper 202 will increase, regardless of the pressure change event.

[0075] like Figure 2 As shown, the secondary reservoir 210 is in fluid communication with the primary reservoir 202 through the first wicking element 214. The first wicking element 214 can be any suitable material that allows the vaporizable material 212 to flow therethrough under capillary pressure. Non-limiting examples of suitable materials include one or more ceramics, one or more cottons (cotton), one or more polymers, etc. In one embodiment, the first wicking element 214 may include a metal. In another embodiment, the first wicking element 214 may be a grooved solid of a porous material. In some embodiments, the secondary reservoir 210 is in fluid communication with the primary reservoir 202 through two or more wicking elements.

[0076] Thus, the vaporizable material 212 can be drawn from the primary reservoir 202 and into the secondary reservoir 210 by the capillary action of the first wicking element 214. As discussed in more detail below, the secondary reservoir 210 is configured to receive and hold first and second volume increments of the vaporizable material 212 drawn and discharged from the primary reservoir 202, respectively, such that at a given pumping rate, the flow rate of the vaporizable material 212 remains substantially constant. Thus, the secondary reservoir 210 acts as a buffer to hold the remaining vaporizable material 212 discharged from the primary reservoir 202 at the second pressure state.

[0077] Although the secondary hopper 210 can have a variety of shapes, sizes, and configurations, Figure 2 As shown, the secondary reservoir 210 is substantially rectangular. Therefore, the amount of residual vaporizable material that the secondary reservoir 210 can temporarily retain depends at least in part on the shape and size of the secondary reservoir 210. In addition, the secondary reservoir 210 can be positioned in a variety of different positions relative to the primary reservoir 202, so the secondary reservoir 210 is not limited to Figure 2 The location shown in .

[0078] The secondary reservoir 210 is formed of an absorbent material. Therefore, the amount of residual vaporizable material that can be temporarily retained in the secondary reservoir 210 also depends on the absorptive properties of the absorbent material relative to the vaporizable material 212. The absorbent material can be any suitable material that is capable of performing a capillary action to allow the vaporizable material 212 to pass through and be injected. That is, the absorbent material has sufficient capillary driving force to allow the vaporizable material 212 to pass through and enter the vaporization chamber 218 at a desired time (for example, when a user inhales on the suction nozzle 213 connected to the vaporizer cartridge 200), while also being able to temporarily store any vaporizable material that is discharged from the primary reservoir 202 in response to an undesirable increase in the head space within the primary reservoir 202. Non-limiting examples of suitable absorbent materials include porous materials, fibrous materials, hook and loop materials, and the like. In some embodiments, the absorbent material is open to ambient air. Although in Figure 2 The suction nozzle 213 is shown in the figure, but those skilled in the art will understand that in other embodiments, the suction nozzle 213 can be omitted and the user can inhale directly on the cartridge at the outlet (e.g., outlet 219 of the evaporation chamber 218). For simplicity, certain components of the evaporator cartridge 200 are not shown.

[0079] As shown, secondary reservoir 210 is in communication with evaporation chamber 218 via second wicking element 216. Thus, vaporizable material 212 may be drawn through second wicking element 216 (e.g., by capillary action) and into evaporation chamber 218 to be vaporized by heating element 221, as described in more detail below.

[0080] While the absorbent material can have a variety of configurations, the absorbent material can be configured to have a consistent absorbency at a given pressure, or alternatively, to have a varying absorbency. In some embodiments, the absorbent material can include pores. The pores can form a substantially continuous network of openings throughout the absorbent material. In some embodiments, the pores can have the same size and / or shape. In other embodiments, the size and / or shape of the pores can vary. When varying the size and / or shape of the pores, the absorbent material can have a varying absorbency at a given pressure.

[0081] In use, when the primary reservoir 202 is in a first pressure state, a majority of the vaporizable material 212 is stored in the primary reservoir 202. For example, the first pressure state may exist when the ambient pressure is substantially equal to the internal pressure of the primary reservoir 202. In the first pressure state, a first volume of vaporizable material 212 is drawn from the primary reservoir 202 through the first wicking element 214 (e.g., by capillary action) and enters the secondary reservoir 210. Thereafter, the first volume is drawn from the secondary reservoir 210 through the second wicking element 216 (e.g., by capillary action) and enters the evaporation chamber 218 for evaporation. That is, in the first pressure state, the first volume flows from the primary reservoir 202 through the secondary reservoir 210 and into the evaporation chamber 218.

[0082] When a negative pressure event occurs, a pressure difference is generated between the ambient pressure outside the primary reservoir 202 and the internal pressure of the primary reservoir 202, thereby forcing the primary reservoir 202 to enter a second pressure state. For example, when the ambient pressure is less than the internal pressure of the primary reservoir 202, a second pressure state may exist. It should be noted that other events may also cause the primary reservoir 202 to be in a second pressure state (e.g., the ambient temperature changes relative to the temperature in the primary reservoir 202, or the deformation of the primary reservoir 202, the expansion of the evaporable material caused by temperature changes and / or absorption of water vapor, etc.). In this second pressure state, the second volume of evaporable material 212 greater than the first volume is forced to be discharged through the first wicking element 214 (e.g., due to the increase in the top space in the primary reservoir 202) and enter the secondary reservoir 210. Thereafter, a portion of the vaporizable material 212 is drawn from the secondary reservoir 210 through the second wicking element 216 and enters the vaporization chamber 218 for vaporization, while the remaining vaporizable material 212 (i.e., the incremental volume between the first volume and the second volume) is temporarily retained in the secondary reservoir 210. The remaining vaporizable material 212 can be drawn from the secondary reservoir 210 into the vaporization chamber 218 (e.g., when the user subsequently inhales on the nozzle 213) or returned to the primary reservoir 202 (e.g., when the negative pressure event weakens or ends).

[0083] Further Figure 2As shown, the evaporator cartridge 200 includes a heating element 221 disposed within the evaporation chamber 218. The heating element 221 is configured to evaporate at least a portion of the evaporable material extracted from the secondary reservoir 210 and enter the second wicking element 216 and thereby enter the evaporation chamber 218. The heating element 221 can be or include one or more of a conductive heater, a radiant heater, and a convection heater. As described above, one type of heating element is a resistive heating element, such as a resistive coil, the material of which is constructed or at least includes a material (e.g., a metal or alloy such as a nickel-chromium alloy, or a non-metallic resistor) that is configured to dissipate electrical energy in the form of heat when an electric current passes through one or more resistive segments of the heating element. As described above, Figure 2 As shown, the heating element 221 is in the form of a resistive coil.

[0084] In some embodiments, the vaporizer cartridge 200 includes two or more cartridge contacts, for example, a first cartridge contact 224a and a second cartridge contact 224b. The two or more cartridge contacts may be configured, for example, to couple with the container contacts 125a and 125b so as to form one or more electrical connections with the vaporizer body 110. The circuit completed by these electrical connections may allow current to be delivered to the heating element 221. The circuit may also be used as an additional function, for example, to measure the resistance of the heating element 221 so as to determine and / or control the temperature of the heating element 221 based on the resistivity thermal coefficient of the heating element 221.

[0085] Although the evaporation chamber 218 can have a variety of configurations, Figure 2 As shown, the evaporation chamber 218 is defined by two opposing side walls 218a, 218b and a bottom wall 218c extending therebetween. As shown, an airflow channel 220 extends through the evaporation chamber 218. The airflow channel 220 is configured to guide air (as shown by dashed arrows 222) through the evaporation chamber 218 so that the air 222 mixes with the evaporation material to form an aerosol (as shown by dashed arrows 226). The airflow channel 220 further guides the aerosol 226 through the evaporation chamber 218 into the mouthpiece 213 for inhalation by the user.

[0086] As shown, when the user inhales into the nozzle 213, air 222 enters the evaporation chamber 218 through the bottom wall 218c. Therefore, the bottom wall 218c is configured to allow airflow to easily pass through and enter the evaporation chamber 218. Although the bottom wall 218c can have a variety of configurations, the bottom wall 218c is perforated, such as Figure 2 The perforations may be of any suitable size to allow air to pass through the bottom wall 218c. In certain embodiments, the perforations may be sized to prevent the vaporizable material 212 and / or aerosol 226 present in the vaporization chamber 218 from passing through the bottom wall 218c, thereby preventing unwanted leakage into the vaporizer cartridge 200 and / or the vaporizer body (e.g., Figures 1A-1D The bottom wall 218c may include any suitable number of perforations, so the number of perforations is not limited to Figure 2 Alternatively or additionally, the bottom wall 218 c may be formed of an air-permeable material. Thus, the bottom wall 218 c serves as an air inlet for the evaporation chamber 218 .

[0087] The bottom wall 218c may also be configured to prevent air 222 within the evaporation chamber 218 from flowing through the evaporation chamber 218 back into or out of the evaporation chamber 218. That is, the bottom wall 218c may be configured as a one-way valve, thereby only allowing air 222 to pass through and enter the evaporation chamber 218. In some embodiments, any of the remaining walls of the evaporation chamber 218 may be perforated and / or formed of a breathable material to allow air to enter (or leave) the evaporation chamber 218 as desired.

[0088] In some embodiments, at least one wall of the evaporation chamber 218 may be formed of or coated with a hydrophobic material to prevent or reduce any condensation from accumulating within the evaporation chamber 218. Thus, when a user inhales on the mouthpiece 213, the aerosol 226 and any moisture that may be present in the air 222 may be carried through and out of the evaporation chamber 218.

[0089] Although the second wicking element 216 can be placed anywhere along the airflow channel 220, Figure 2 As shown, the second wicking element is located near the bottom wall 218c of the evaporation chamber 218. The second wicking element 216 can be any suitable material that allows the evaporable material 212 to flow under capillary pressure. For example, the second wicking element 216 can be formed by one or more ceramic materials, one or more cottons (cotton) or one or more polymers. Alternatively or additionally, the second wicking element 216 can be a composite of two or more materials, such as an inner material (e.g., graphite) surrounded by an outer material (e.g., a ceramic material). In one embodiment, the second wicking element 216 is a grooved solid of a porous material.

[0090] In some embodiments, the second wicking element 216 may be formed of a porous material including a conductive material. For example, the ceramic material of the second wicking element 216 may be doped to include resistive properties. Such doping of the wick material (e.g., ceramic) may increase the heating rate of the second wicking element, thereby increasing the evaporation rate of the vaporizable material 212.

[0091] Some embodiments may include a second wicking element 216 having a cross-section that varies along the length of the wicking element. For example, a portion of the second wicking element 216 that includes a smaller cross-section than another portion of the second wicking element 216 may, for example, result in greater resistance to energy flow, thereby allowing the vaporizable material 212 to evaporate and vaporize more quickly, such as to form an aerosol for inhalation by a user. In some embodiments, at least one of the cross-sectional size and density of the conductive material may vary along the length of the second wicking element to achieve varying results (e.g., evaporation rate, heating rate, etc.).

[0092] Although embodiments of the evaporator cartridge are discussed in the context of at least two wicking elements, alternative embodiments of the evaporator cartridge may use a single wick. For example, in some embodiments, an evaporator cartridge, such as evaporator cartridge 200 ( Figure 2 ), may include a single wicking element, such as first or second wicking elements 214, 216 ( Figure 2 ), from a primary storage device (e.g., primary storage device 202 ( Figure 2 )) extends through a secondary hopper (e.g., secondary hopper 210 ( Figure 2 )) and enters an evaporation chamber (e.g., evaporation chamber 218 ( Figure 2 )).

[0093] the term

[0094] For the purposes of describing and defining the present teachings, it should be noted that unless otherwise specified, the term "substantially" is used herein to represent the inherent degree of uncertainty attributable to any quantitative comparison, value, measurement, or other representation. The term "substantially" is also used herein to represent the degree by which a quantitative representation may vary from a stated reference without resulting in a change in the basic function of the subject matter at issue.

[0095] When a feature or element is referred to as being "on" another feature or another element in this article, it can be directly on another feature or element, or there can also be intermediate features and / or elements. On the contrary, when a feature or element is referred to as being "directly on" another feature or element, there are no intermediate features or elements. It should also be understood that when a feature or element is referred to as being "connected", "attached" or "coupled" to another feature or element, the feature or element can be directly connected, attached or coupled to another feature or element, or there can be intermediate features or elements. On the contrary, when a feature or element is referred to as being "directly connected", "directly attached" or "directly coupled" to another feature or element, there are no intermediate features or elements.

[0096] Although described or shown for one embodiment, the features and elements described or shown in this way may apply to other embodiments. It will also be understood by those skilled in the art that references to structures or features arranged "adjacent" another feature may have portions overlapping or located under the adjacent feature.

[0097] The terms used herein are for the purpose of describing particular embodiments and implementations only and are not intended to be limiting. For example, as used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0098] In the above description and claims, phrases such as "at least one of" or "one or more of" may appear after the conjunction list of an element or feature. The term "and / or" may also appear in the enumeration of two or more elements or features. Unless otherwise implicitly or explicitly contradictory to the context used, the phrase means any of the listed elements or features individually, or any combination of the listed elements or features with other recorded elements or features. For example, the phrases "at least one of A and B", "one or more of A and B", "A and / or B" mean "A alone", "B alone" or "A and B together" respectively. There is also a similar explanation for the enumeration of three or more items. For example, the phrases "at least one of A, B and C", "one or more of A, B and C", "A, B and / or C" each mean "A alone", "B alone", "C alone", "A and B together", "A and C together", "B and C together", or "A and B and C together". The term "based on" used above and in the claims means "based at least in part on", so that unrecorded features or elements are also allowed.

[0099] For ease of description, spatial relative terms such as "forward", "backward", "under ...", "below ...", "below", "above ...", "on", etc. may be used here to describe the relationship between an element or feature and another element or feature as shown in the figure. It should be understood that spatial relative terms are intended to include different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figure. For example, if the device in the figure is inverted, the elements described as being under or below other elements or features will be oriented to be above other elements or features. Therefore, the exemplary term "under ..." may include the orientations of "above ..." and "below ...". The device may be oriented in other ways (rotated 90 degrees or in other orientations), and the spatial relative descriptions used herein may be interpreted accordingly. Similarly, unless otherwise specifically indicated, the terms "upward", "downward", "vertical", "horizontal", etc. are used herein only for the purpose of explanation.

[0100] Although the terms "first" and "second" may be used herein to describe various features / elements (including steps), these features / elements are not limited by these terms unless the context indicates otherwise. These terms may be used to distinguish one feature / element from another feature / element. Therefore, without departing from the teachings provided herein, the first feature / element discussed below may be referred to as the second feature / element, and similarly, the second feature / element discussed below may be referred to as the first feature / element.

[0101] As used in this specification and claims, including as used in the examples, and unless otherwise expressly indicated, all numbers can be understood as words preceded by "about" or "approximately", even if the term does not appear explicitly. When describing a numerical value and / or position, the phrase "about" or "approximately" can be used to indicate that the numerical value and / or position described are within the reasonable expected range of the numerical value and / or position. For example, a numerical value may have a value (or range of values) of + / -0.1% of the stated value, a value (or range of values) of + / -1% of the stated value, a value (or range of values) of + / -2% of the stated value, a value (or range of values) of + / -5% of the stated value, a value (or range of values) of + / -10% of the stated value, etc. Any numerical value given herein should also be understood to include about the value or about the value, unless otherwise indicated by the context. For example, if the value "10" is disclosed, "about 10" is also disclosed. Any numerical range listed herein is intended to include all subranges contained in the numerical range. It is also understood that when a value is disclosed, "less than or equal to" the value, "greater than or equal to" the value, and possible ranges between the values ​​are also disclosed, as appropriately understood by those skilled in the art. For example, if the value "X" is disclosed, "less than or equal to X" and "greater than or equal to X" (e.g., in the case where X is a numerical value) are also disclosed. It is also understood that throughout this application, data is provided in a variety of different forms, and the data represents endpoints and starting points and ranges for any combination of data points. For example, if a specific data point "10" and a specific data point "15" are disclosed, it is understood that greater than, greater than or equal to, less than, less than or equal to, and equal to 10 and 15 are also considered disclosed, as well as between 10 and 15. It is also understood that each unit between two specific units is also disclosed. For example, if 10 and 15 are disclosed, 11, 12, 13, and 14 are also disclosed.

[0102] Although different illustrated embodiments are described above, any number of changes may be made to the different embodiments without departing from the teachings herein. For example, the order in which the various described method steps are implemented may often be changed in alternative embodiments, and in other alternative embodiments, one or more method steps may be skipped entirely. Optional features in different device and system embodiments may be included in some embodiments and not in other embodiments. Therefore, the above description is provided primarily for illustrative purposes and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims.

[0103] One or more aspects or features of the subject matter described herein may be implemented as follows: digital electronic circuits, integrated circuits, specially designed application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), computer hardware, firmware, software, and / or combinations thereof. These various aspects or features may include implementations using one or more computer programs that may be executed and / or interpreted on a programmable system that includes at least one programmable processor, at least one input device, and at least one output device, the programmable processor may be dedicated or general purpose, coupled to receive data and instructions from a storage system and to send data and instructions to the storage system. A programmable system or computing system may include a client and a server. The client and server are conventionally remote from each other and typically interact through a communication network. The connection between the client and the server is generated by means of computer programs running on respective computers and having a client-server relationship with each other.

[0104] These computer programs, which may also be referred to as "programs," "software," "software applications," "applications," "components," or "code," include machine instructions for a programmable processor and may be implemented in a high-level programming language, an object-oriented programming language, a functional programming language, a logic programming language, and / or an assembly / machine language. As used herein, the term "machine-readable medium" refers to any computer program product, device, and / or apparatus for providing machine instructions and / or data to a programmable processor, such as, for example, a disk, an optical disk, a memory, and a programmable logic device (PLD), including a machine-readable medium that receives machine instructions as a machine-readable signal. The term "machine-readable signal" refers to any signal for providing machine instructions and / or data to a programmable processor. A machine-readable medium may store such machine instructions non-temporarily, such as, for example, a non-temporary solid-state memory or a magnetic hard drive or any equivalent storage medium. A machine-readable medium may alternatively or additionally store such machine instructions in a temporary manner, such as, for example, a processor cache or other random access memory associated with one or more physical processor cores.

[0105] The examples and descriptions included herein show, by way of illustration and without limitation, specific embodiments in which the subject matter can be practiced. As mentioned, other embodiments may be used, and other embodiments may be derived from the specific embodiments described, so that structural and logical substitutions and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Such embodiments of the subject matter of the invention may be referred to herein individually or collectively by the term "invention", which reference is only for the sake of convenience, and if more than one invention is in fact disclosed, it is not intended to actively limit the scope of the present application to any single invention or inventive concept. Therefore, although specific embodiments are illustrated and described herein, any arrangement structure intended to achieve the same purpose may replace the specific embodiments shown. The present invention is intended to cover any and all modifications or variations of different embodiments. After reading the above description, the combination of the above embodiments and other embodiments not specifically described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The term "based on" used herein and in the claims means "based at least in part on", so that unrecorded features or elements are also allowed.

[0106] The subject matter described herein may be embodied in systems, devices, methods and / or articles, depending on the desired configuration. The embodiments described in the above description do not represent all embodiments consistent with the subject matter described herein. Instead, they are just some examples consistent with the relevant aspects of the subject matter. Although some variations are described in detail herein, other modifications or additions may be made. In particular, in addition to the features and / or changes described herein, further features and / or changes may be provided. For example, the embodiments described herein may point to various combinations and sub-combinations of the features disclosed herein and / or combinations and sub-combinations of several further disclosed features. In addition, the logic flows described in the accompanying drawings and / or described herein do not necessarily require the specific order or sequence shown to obtain the desired results. Other embodiments may be within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A cartridge for an evaporator device, the cartridge include: a primary reservoir having a first pressure state and a second pressure state, the primary reservoir being configured to store a majority of vaporizable material therein when in the first pressure state and being configured to discharge the vaporizable material in response to an increase in head space when in the second pressure state; a secondary reservoir in fluid communication with the primary reservoir, the secondary reservoir being formed of an absorbent material configured to receive a first volume of vaporizable material from the primary reservoir at a first pressure state and to receive a second volume of vaporizable material from the primary reservoir at a second pressure state, the second volume being greater than the first volume, wherein the secondary reservoir serves as a buffer for retaining the second volume of vaporizable material discharged from the primary reservoir at the second pressure state to prevent the second volume of vaporizable material from leaking out of the primary reservoir to the environment or other portions of the vaporizer device; and A vaporization chamber is in communication with the secondary reservoir and includes a first wicking element configured to draw the vaporizable material from the chamber of the secondary reservoir into the vaporization chamber for vaporization by the heating element.

2. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein the second pressure state is associated with a negative pressure event.

3. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein in the first pressure state, the internal pressure of the primary reservoir is less than or equal to ambient pressure.

4. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein in the second pressure state, an internal pressure of the reservoir is greater than ambient pressure.

5. The cartridge of claim 1, further comprising a second wicking element extending from the primary reservoir to the secondary reservoir, wherein the second wicking element is configured to draw the vaporizable material from the primary reservoir into the secondary reservoir.

6. The cartridge of claim 1 , wherein the first volume of vaporizable material flows from the primary reservoir to the secondary reservoir at a first flow rate, and wherein the second volume of vaporizable material flows from the primary reservoir to the secondary reservoir at a second flow rate greater than the first flow rate.

7. A cartridge for an evaporator device, the cartridge include: a primary reservoir configured to contain a majority of the vaporizable material, the primary reservoir having an internal pressure; a secondary reservoir formed of absorbent material; a first wicking element extending between the primary reservoir and the secondary reservoir, the first wicking element being configured to draw the vaporizable material from the primary reservoir into the secondary reservoir; and a vaporization chamber in communication with the secondary reservoir and comprising a second wicking element configured to draw the vaporizable material from the secondary reservoir into the vaporization chamber for vaporization by a heating element; wherein the absorbent material is configured to receive an overflow volume of vaporizable material that is expelled from the primary reservoir in response to a pressure differential created between an ambient pressure external to the primary reservoir and an internal pressure of the primary reservoir; and wherein the secondary reservoir serves as a buffer for retaining the overflow volume of vaporizable material discharged from the primary reservoir when the pressure differential is generated, thereby preventing the overflow volume of vaporizable material from leaking out of the primary reservoir to the environment or other parts of the evaporator device.

8. The cartridge of claim 7, wherein the second wicking element is configured to draw the overflow volume of vaporizable material from the secondary reservoir into the vaporization chamber.

9. The cartridge of claim 7, wherein the pressure differential is associated with a negative pressure event.

10. The cartridge of claim 7, wherein the internal pressure of the primary reservoir is less than or equal to ambient pressure before the pressure differential is generated.

11. The cartridge of claim 7, wherein when the pressure differential is created, the ambient pressure is less than the internal pressure of the primary reservoir.

12. The cartridge of claim 7, wherein the first wicking element is configured to draw at least a portion of the overflow volume of vaporizable material from the secondary reservoir back to the primary reservoir in response to a decrease in the pressure differential.

13. The cartridge of claim 7, wherein the vaporization chamber comprises a third wicking element configured to draw the vaporizable material from the secondary reservoir into the vaporization chamber for vaporization by the heating element.

14. An evaporator device, include: Evaporator body; and A cartridge selectively coupled to and removable from an evaporator body, the cartridge comprising: a primary reservoir having a first pressure state and a second pressure state, the primary reservoir being configured to store a majority of vaporizable material therein when in the first pressure state and being configured to discharge the vaporizable material in response to an increase in head space when in the second pressure state; a secondary reservoir in fluid communication with the primary reservoir, the secondary reservoir being formed of an absorbent material configured to receive a first volume of vaporizable material from the primary reservoir at a first pressure state, and to receive a second volume of vaporizable material from the primary reservoir at a second pressure state, the second volume being greater than the first volume, wherein the secondary reservoir serves as a buffer for retaining the second volume of vaporizable material discharged from the primary reservoir at the second pressure state to prevent the second volume of vaporizable material from leaking out of the primary reservoir to the environment or other portions of the evaporator device; and A vaporization chamber is in communication with the secondary reservoir and includes a first wicking element configured to draw the vaporizable material from the chamber of the secondary reservoir into the vaporization chamber for vaporization by a heating element.

15. The device of claim 14, wherein the evaporator body includes a power source.

16. The device of claim 14, wherein the second pressure state is associated with a negative pressure event.

17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein in the first pressure state, the internal pressure of the primary reservoir is less than or equal to ambient pressure.

18. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein in the second pressure state, the internal pressure of the reservoir is greater than the ambient pressure.

19. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising a second wicking element extending from the primary reservoir to the secondary reservoir, wherein the second wicking element is configured to draw the vaporizable material from the primary reservoir into the secondary reservoir.

20. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the first volume of vaporizable material flows from the primary reservoir into the secondary reservoir at a first flow rate, and wherein the second volume of vaporizable material flows from the primary reservoir into the secondary reservoir at a second flow rate greater than the first flow rate.

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