Heating but non-combustion evaporator based on material box

Abstract

An evaporator cartridge (220) configured to efficiently and effectively heat a non-liquid source substance including an evaporable material is described. The cartridge may include a heating element (250) including a resistive material (358) and may be configured to vaporize the vaporizable material by transferring heat to the vaporizable material. The cartridge may include cartridge contacts (224) in electrical communication with the resistive material. The cartridge contact may be configured to be coupled to an evaporator contact positioned proximate the cartridge coupling feature to allow electrical energy to be transferred from the evaporator device through the resistive material. The electrical energy may cause heating of the resistive material and the vaporizable material, resulting in the generation of an aerosol for inhalation by a user. Related systems, methods, and articles of manufacture are also described.

Description

[0001] This invention patent application is a divisional application of the Chinese invention patent application CN201980063094.8 (International Application No. PCT / US2019 / 044546) filed on July 31, 2019, entitled “Evaporator based on heating but not combustion of material box”.

[0002] Cross-references

[0003] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 712,919, filed on July 31, 2018, entitled “Cartridge-Based Heat Not Burn Vaporizer,” the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0004] The subject matter described herein relates to vaporizer devices, including systems for heating vaporizable materials to produce an inhalable aerosol / mist. Background Art

[0005] Vaporizer devices, including electronic vaporizer devices or electric vaporizer devices, allow a vapor containing one or more active ingredients to be delivered to a user by inhalation of the vapor. Electronic vaporizer devices are becoming increasingly popular, both for prescribed medical uses to deliver medications, and for consumption of tobacco and other plant-based smokeable materials, such as hemp, including solid (e.g., loose leaf) materials, solid / liquid (e.g., suspensions, liquid coatings) materials, wax extracts, and pre-filled pods (cartridges, packaged containers, etc.) of such materials. In particular, electronic vaporizer devices can be portable, self-contained, and convenient to use.

[0006] In some embodiments, a vaporizer cartridge configured to heat vaporizable material (e.g., tobacco leaves and / or plant material that is a portion of a tobacco leaf) requires a higher temperature in the internal tobacco region to achieve the minimum temperature required for vaporization. As a result, burning vaporizable material at these high peak temperatures can produce toxic byproducts (e.g., chemical elements or chemical compounds). Summary of the invention

[0007] Aspects of the current subject matter relate to a cartridge for a vaporizer device. In some embodiments, the cartridge may include a chamber configured to hold a non-liquid vaporizable material. The cartridge may include a heating element. The heating element may include a resistive material and may be configured to vaporize the vaporizable material by transferring heat to the vaporizable material, wherein at least a portion of the heating element may define a portion of the chamber and / or may be contained within the chamber.

[0008] The cartridge may include a cartridge contact in electrical communication with the resistive material. The cartridge contact may be configured to couple to a vaporizer contact positioned near the cartridge coupling feature / cartridge coupling structure to allow electrical energy to be transmitted from the vaporizer device through the resistive material. The electrical energy may cause heating of the resistive material and the vaporizable material, thereby causing the generation of an aerosol for inhalation by the user.

[0009] In some variations, one or more of the following features are optionally included in any feasible combination. The heating element may include a cartridge contact. The cartridge may include a thermally conductive resistive material sheet. The thermally conductive resistive material sheet may include at least one of a flexible material, a deformable material, and a rigid material. The thermally conductive resistive material sheet may include at least one perforation. The thermally conductive resistive material sheet may include at least one extension extending away from at least one of an upper surface of the thermally conductive resistive material sheet and a lower surface of the thermally conductive resistive material sheet.

[0010] The sheet of thermally conductive resistive material may include a first region having a first perforation density and a second region having a second perforation density that is greater than the first perforation density.

[0011] The heating element may include a non-conductive area. The heating element includes a flexible printed circuit, the flexible printed circuit includes a resistive material arranged on a flexible material, and the resistive material arranged on the wiring forms a plurality of series heaters. The plurality of series heaters may be arranged in parallel. The heating element may include a flexible material having a resistive material, and the resistive material extends along the length of the flexible material.

[0012] The cartridge may include a housing. The housing may include a non-conductive material and may contain at least a portion of the chamber. The vaporizable material may include nicotine.

[0013] In some embodiments, a system for generating an inhalable aerosol may include a cartridge. The cartridge may include a chamber configured to hold a non-liquid vaporizable material. The cartridge may include a heating element. The heating element may include a resistive material and may be configured to evaporate the vaporizable material by transferring heat to the vaporizable material, wherein at least a portion of the heating element may be defined as a portion of the chamber and / or may be contained within the chamber. The cartridge may include a cartridge contact electrically connected to the resistive material. The cartridge contact may be configured to couple to a vaporizer contact positioned near the cartridge coupling feature to allow electrical energy to be transmitted from the vaporizer device through the resistive material. The electrical energy may cause heating of the resistive material and the vaporizable material, thereby generating an aerosol for inhalation by the user.

[0014] The system may include a device body. The device body may include a cartridge receptacle for receiving the cartridge. The device body may include an evaporator contact configured to cooperate with the cartridge contact when the cartridge is inserted into the cartridge receptacle so as to provide a conductive path between a power source in the device body and a heating element of the cartridge.

[0015] In some embodiments, a method for generating an inhalable aerosol may include coupling a cartridge contact of a vaporizer cartridge to a vaporizer contact of a vaporizer device body so that a conductive path is provided between a power source in the device body and a heating element of the vaporizer cartridge. The conductive path may allow the power source to cause the resistive material of the heating element and the vaporizable material contained in the cartridge chamber to heat.

[0016] The method may include heating a heating element to vaporize the vaporizable material and form an aerosol for inhalation, wherein the heating element is defined as part of the chamber and / or may be contained within the chamber of the vaporizer cartridge.

[0017] The details of one or more variations of the subject matter described herein are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features and advantages of the subject matter described herein will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] 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 of the principles associated with the disclosed embodiments. In the drawings:

[0019] Figure 1 shows a block diagram of an evaporator consistent with an embodiment of the current subject matter;

[0020] Figure 2A shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a vaporizer cartridge including a heating element having a flexible sheet with narrow conductive traces extending along the sheet;

[0021] Figure 2B Shows Figure 2A An end view of a vaporizer cartridge showing a flexible sheet of a heating element wrapped around a non-liquid vaporizable material;

[0022] Figure 2C Shows Figure 2A A top view of an embodiment of a heating element showing a plurality of narrow conductive traces arranged in parallel to form six series heaters, with each series heater portion being in a horizontal orientation;

[0023] Figure 2D Shows Figure 2AA top view of an embodiment of a heating element showing a plurality of narrow conductive traces arranged in parallel to form six series heaters, with each series heater portion being in a vertical orientation;

[0024] Figure 3A shows a top perspective view of another embodiment of an evaporator cartridge including another embodiment of a heating element including a perforated conductive material having a differential resistive area;

[0025] Figure 3B Shows Figure 3A A top view of a heating element comprising a resistive region having a plurality of perforations;

[0026] Figure 4A shows a top perspective view of another embodiment of a vaporizer cartridge including another embodiment of a heating element in contact with a non-liquid vaporizable material;

[0027] Figure 4B Shows Figure 4A A top view of a heating element of an evaporator cartridge;

[0028] Figure 4C Shows Figure 4B a side view of a heating element having a sheet of non-liquid vaporizable material coupled to a top and a bottom of the heating element;

[0029] Figure 4D Shows Figure 4B A top view of another embodiment of a heating element comprising a slit extending along the length of the heating element and intersecting an end of the heating element;

[0030] Figure 4E Shows Figure 4D A perspective view of a heating element showing the heating element being folded at least along the slit;

[0031] Figure 4F Shows Figure 4B A perspective view of another embodiment of a heating element of the present invention, the heating element comprising at least one extension extending from the top and / or bottom of the heating element sheet;

[0032] Figure 4G Shows Figure 4F A top view of a heating element;

[0033] Figure 4H Shown for fixing Figure 4F Embodiments of a housing of a heating element and a vaporizer cartridge of non-liquid vaporizable material therein;

[0034] Figure 5Ashows a top perspective view of another embodiment of an evaporator cartridge including another embodiment of a heating element including an induction coil and a ferrous material;

[0035] Figure 5B Shows Figure 5A An end view of an evaporator cartridge showing ferrous material dispersed in a non-liquid evaporable material;

[0036] Figure 6 shows a side cross-sectional view of another embodiment of an evaporator cartridge including another embodiment of a heating element having a resistive foam structure;

[0037] Figure 7 Another embodiment of an evaporator cartridge is shown, the evaporator cartridge comprising another embodiment of a heating element having conductive plates separated by an insulating material and an at least partially conductive mixture;

[0038] Fig. 8A A perspective view of another embodiment of an evaporator cartridge is shown;

[0039] Figure 8B Shows Fig. 8A A schematic cross-sectional view of an evaporator cartridge;

[0040] Indeed, similar reference numerals indicate similar structures, features, or elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] Embodiments of the current subject matter include devices that involve vaporizing one or more materials for inhalation by a user, for example, various embodiments of vaporizer cartridges with various heating element embodiments, such as disposable cartridges, are described herein. Such vaporizer cartridges can be configured for use with non-liquid vaporizable materials such as loose leaf tobacco. Various heater element embodiments described herein can improve the heating efficiency and quality of vaporizable materials, such as heating vaporizable materials within an optimal heating range. The optimal heating range includes a sufficiently high temperature to vaporize the vaporizable material into an aerosol for inhalation, while also heating to a temperature below that at which harmful or potentially harmful byproducts are produced.

[0042] In some embodiments, the heating elements described herein can achieve an optimal heating range at a speed / rate that allows the user to have a pleasant experience (e.g., not having to wait a long time for the heating element to reach the optimal heating range). In some embodiments, an evaporator cartridge including such a heating element can be manufactured cost-effectively, making it economically feasible as a disposable cartridge. Various evaporator cartridges and heating elements including one or more of the above features are described in more detail below.

[0043] As described above, the vaporizable material used with the evaporator can optionally be disposed within a cartridge (e.g., a portion of the evaporator that holds the vaporizable material or a source material containing the vaporizable material in a containment device or other container and that can be refilled when empty, or a disposable new cartridge that facilitates holding additional vaporizable materials of the same or different types). The evaporator can be a cartridge-based evaporator, a cartridge-free evaporator, or a multi-purpose evaporator that can be used with or without a cartridge. For example, a multi-purpose evaporator can include a heating chamber (e.g., a roaster) that is configured to receive a source material containing the vaporizable material directly in the heating chamber and is also configured to receive an evaporator cartridge 120 or other replaceable device having a container, volume, etc., so as to at least partially hold an available amount of a source material that includes or contains the vaporizable material.

[0044] In various embodiments, a vaporizer can be configured for use with a solid vaporizable material, which may include plant material that emits some portion of the plant material as the vaporizable material (e.g., such that some portion of the plant material remains as waste after the vaporizable material is emitted for inhalation by a user) or alternatively can be the vaporizable material itself in solid form (e.g., a "wax"), such that all of the solid material can ultimately be vaporized for inhalation.

[0045] like Figure 1 As shown, the vaporizer 100 generally includes a power source 112 (e.g., a battery that can be a rechargeable battery) and a controller 104 (e.g., a processor, circuitry, etc. suitable for executing logic). The controller is used to control the heat transfer of the heating element to convert the vaporizable material from a condensed form (e.g., a solid, a liquid, a solution, a suspension, a portion of at least a portion of untreated plant material, etc.) to a vapor phase. The controller 104 can be part of one or more printed circuit boards (PCBs) consistent with certain embodiments of the current subject matter. In the current subject matter, the subject matter generally relates to an apparatus for generating an inhalable aerosol by heating a source material without burning the source material, the condensed form is generally a plant-based material, at least a portion of which is suitable for conversion to a vapor when the plant-based material is heated.

[0046] After converting the vaporizable material to the vapor phase, and depending on the type of vaporizer, the physical and chemical properties of the vaporizable material, and / or other factors, at least some of the vapor phase vaporizable material may condense to form particulate matter in at least partial local equilibrium with the vapor phase as part of the aerosol, which may form some or all of the inhalable dose provided by the vaporizer 100 for a given puff or draw on the vaporizer. It will be appreciated that the interaction between the vapor phase and the condensed phase in the aerosol produced by the vaporizer may be complex and dynamic, as factors such as ambient temperature, relative humidity, chemical composition, flow conditions (both inside the vaporizer and in the airways of a human or other animal) in the airflow path, mixing of vaporizable material in the vapor or aerosol phase with other airflows, etc. may affect one or more physical parameters of the aerosol. In some vaporizers, and particularly for vaporizers used to deliver more volatile vaporizable materials, the inhalable dose may be primarily present in the vapor phase (i.e., the formation of particles in condensed form may be very limited).

[0047] As described above, a vaporizer consistent with embodiments of the current subject matter may also or alternatively be configured to produce an inhalable dose of a vapor phase and / or aerosol vaporizable material by heating a non-liquid source material containing a vaporizable material, such as a solid vaporizable material or a plant material (e.g., a tobacco leaf and / or a portion of a tobacco leaf) containing a vaporizable material. In such a vaporizer, the heating element may be part of a roaster or other heating chamber, or otherwise incorporated into or in thermal contact with the wall of a roaster or other heating chamber, in which a non-liquid source material including or containing a vaporizable material is placed. Optionally, one or more heating elements may be used to heat air passing through or past the non-liquid source material to cause convective heating of the non-liquid vaporizable material. In other embodiments, one or more heating elements may be arranged in close contact with the plant material so that direct thermal conduction heating of the source material occurs within a mass of the source material (e.g., as opposed to merely by conduction inward from the roaster wall). Such a non-liquid vaporizable material may be used with a cartridge using a vaporizer or without a vaporizer.

[0048] The heating element may be or include one or more of a conductive heater, a radiant heater, and a convection heater. One type of heating element is a resistive heating element, which may be made of or at least include such a material (e.g., a metal or alloy, such as a nickel-chromium alloy or a non-metallic resistor), which is configured to consume electrical energy in the form of heat when an electric current passes through one or more resistance segments of the heating element. In some embodiments of the current theme, the atomizer may include a heating element, which includes such a resistance coil or other heating element, which is wrapped in a group of source materials (e.g., plant-based materials, such as tobacco) containing evaporable materials, arranged in this group of source materials, integrated into most of the shapes of this group of source materials, pressed into thermal contact with this group of source materials, or otherwise arranged to transfer heat to this group of source materials. In the present disclosure, "source material" generally refers to a part of a plant-based material (or a material plant material or other condensed phase of a material that can release evaporable materials without burning) containing evaporable materials converted into vapor and / or aerosols for inhalation. As further described below, other heating element and / or atomizer assembly configurations are also possible.

[0049] The heating element may be activated (e.g., a controller, optionally part of the vaporizer body as described below, may cause current to flow from a power source through a circuit including the resistive heating element, which circuit may optionally be part of the vaporizer cartridge as described below), in association with a user puffing (e.g., drawing, inhaling, etc.) on the vaporizer mouthpiece to cause air to flow from the air inlet, optionally through one or more condensation regions or chambers, along an airflow path through the heating element and an associated mass of source material, to an air outlet in the mouthpiece. Air entering along the airflow path traverses, passes through, etc., the heating element and source material, wherein vapor-phase vaporizable material is entrained into the air. As described above, the entrained vapor-phase vaporizable material condenses as it passes through the remainder of the airflow path, thereby enabling an inhalable dose of the vaporizable material in the form of an aerosol to be delivered from the air outlet (e.g., in the mouthpiece for the user to inhale).

[0050] Activation of the heating element may be achieved by automatic detection of a puff by one or more signals generated by one or more sensors 113, such as one or more pressure sensors arranged to detect pressure along an airflow path relative to ambient pressure (or optionally detect changes in absolute pressure), one or more motion sensors of the evaporator, one or more flow sensors of the evaporator, a capacitive lip sensor of the evaporator; receiving a signal from a computing device in communication with the evaporator in response to detection of a user interaction with one or more input devices 116 (e.g., a button or other tactile control device of the evaporator 100); and / or other methods for determining that a puff is occurring or is about to occur.

[0051] As described in the preceding paragraph, a vaporizer consistent with implementations of the current subject matter may be configured to be connected (e.g., wirelessly or by wired connection) to a computing device (or optionally two or more devices) in communication with the vaporizer. To this end, the controller 104 may include communication hardware 105. The controller 104 may also include a memory 108. The computing device may be a component of a vaporizer system that also includes the vaporizer 100, and may include its own communication hardware that may establish a wireless communication channel with the communication hardware 105 of the vaporizer 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 for enabling a user of the device to interact with the vaporizer. In other embodiments of the current subject matter, such a device used as part of a vaporizer system may be dedicated hardware, such as a remote control or other wireless or wired device with one or more physical or software (e.g., configurable on a screen or other display device and selectable by user interaction with a touch screen or other input device such as a mouse, a pointer, a trackball, a cursor button, etc.) interactive controls. The vaporizer may also include one or more output 117 features 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 status and / or operating mode of the vaporizer 100.

[0052] A computing device as part of the vaporizer system defined above may be used for any of one or more functions, such as controlling dosage (e.g., dosage monitoring, dosage setting, dosage limiting, user tracking, etc.), controlling a session (e.g., session monitoring, session setting, session limiting, user tracking, etc.), controlling nicotine delivery (e.g., switching between nicotine and non-nicotine vaporizable materials, adjusting nicotine delivery amount, etc.), obtaining location information (e.g., the location of other users, the location of a retailer / business location, vaporization location, relative or absolute location of the vaporizer itself, etc.), vaporizer personalization settings (e.g., naming the vaporizer, locking / password protecting the vaporizer, adjusting one or more parental controls, associating the vaporizer with a user group, registering the vaporizer with a manufacturer or warranty maintenance organization, etc.), engaging in social activities with other users (e.g., gaming, social media communications, interacting with one or more groups, etc.), etc. The terms "session," "session," "vaporizer session," or "aerosol session" are generally used to refer to a period of time dedicated to the use of a vaporizer. The period may include a time period, a number of doses, an amount of vaporizable material, and / or the like.

[0053] In embodiments where the computing device provides a signal associated with activation of the resistive heating element, or in other embodiments where the computing device is coupled to the vaporizer to implement various control or other functions, the computing device executes one or more computer instruction sets to provide a user interface and underlying data processing. In one embodiment, the computing device detects user interaction with one or more user interface elements, which may cause the computing device to signal the vaporizer 100 to activate the heating element, or to reach full operating temperature to produce an inhalable dose of vapor / aerosol. Other functions of the vaporizer may be controlled by user interaction with a user interface on a computing device in communication with the vaporizer.

[0054] The temperature of the resistive heating element of the vaporizer may depend on many 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 parts of the electronic vaporizer and / or the environment, latent heat losses due to evaporation of vaporizable material from the atomizer as a whole, and convective heat losses due to airflow (e.g., air moving through the heating element or atomizer as a whole when a user inhales on the electronic vaporizer). As described above, 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 may utilize a signal from a pressure sensor to determine when a user inhales. The pressure sensor may be positioned in an airflow path and / or may be connected (e.g., by a channel or other path) to an airflow path that connects an inlet of air entering the device and an outlet through which a user inhales the generated vapor and / or aerosol, such that the pressure sensor experiences a pressure change while the air passes from the air inlet through the vaporizer device to the air outlet. In some embodiments of the current subject matter, the heating element can be activated in association with a puff by a user, such as by automatically detecting a puff, such as by a pressure sensor detecting a pressure change in the airflow path.

[0055] In general, the pressure sensor (and any other sensor 113) can be positioned on the controller 104 (e.g., a printed circuit board assembly or other type of circuit board) or coupled to the controller 104 (e.g., electrically or electronically connected, physically connected or connected by wireless connection). In order to accurately measure and maintain the durability of the evaporator, it is advantageous to provide an elastic seal 121 to separate the airflow path from other parts of the evaporator. The seal 121 can be a gasket that can be configured to at least partially surround the pressure sensor so that the connection of the pressure sensor to the internal circuit of the evaporator is separated from a portion of the pressure sensor exposed to the airflow path. In an embodiment of an evaporator based on a cartridge, the seal 121 can also separate one or more electrically connected parts between the evaporator body 110 and the evaporator cartridge 120. This arrangement of the seal 121 in the evaporator 100 can help mitigate the potential destructive effects on the evaporator components caused by the interaction with environmental factors such as water in the vapor phase or liquid phase, other fluids such as evaporable materials, and / or reduce the air from the designed airflow path in the evaporator. Unwanted air, liquid, or other fluid passing through and / or contacting the evaporator circuit can cause various undesirable effects, such as altered pressure readings, and / or can cause undesirable substances such as moisture, vaporizable materials, etc. to accumulate in certain parts of the evaporator, where they may cause undesirable pressure signals, performance degradation of the pressure sensor or other components, and / or shorten the useful life of the evaporator. Leaks in seal 121 can also cause a user to inhale air that has already passed through a portion of the evaporator device that contains or is composed of materials that may not be desired to be inhaled.

[0056] A common type of vaporizer that has become popular recently includes a vaporizer body 110, which includes a controller 104, a power source 112 (e.g., a battery), one or more sensors 113, charging contacts, a seal 121, and a cartridge receptacle 118, which is configured to receive a vaporizer cartridge 120 to couple with the vaporizer body 110 through one or more of a variety of attachment structures. In some embodiments, the vaporizer cartridge 120 includes a mouthpiece for delivering an inhalable dose to a user. The vaporizer body 110 may include an atomizer having a heating element 150, or alternatively, the heating element 150 may be part of the vaporizer cartridge 120.

[0057] As described above, the current subject matter relates to a cartridge-based configuration for a vaporizer that produces an inhalable dose of a vaporizable material by heating a source substance. For example, a vaporizer cartridge 120 may include a mass of source substance that is processed and formed to be in direct contact with a portion of one or more resistive heating elements, and the vaporizer cartridge 120 may be configured to be mechanically and electrically coupled to a vaporizer body 110 that includes a processor, a power source 112, and electrical contacts for connecting to corresponding cartridge contacts 124 to complete an electrical circuit with the one or more resistive heating elements.

[0058] In the evaporator, the power source 112 is part of the evaporator body 110, the heating element 150 is disposed in the evaporator cartridge 120, the evaporator cartridge 120 is configured to be coupled to the evaporator body 110, and the evaporator 100 may include electrical connection features / electrical connection components (e.g., devices for completing a circuit) to complete the circuit connection, the circuit including the controller 104 (e.g., a printed circuit board, a microcontroller, etc.), the power source 112, and the heating element 150. The above features / components may include at least two contacts on one or more outer surfaces of the evaporator cartridge 120 (referred to herein as cartridge contacts 124) and at least two contacts disposed on the evaporator body 110, optionally disposed in the cartridge receptacle 118 of the evaporator (referred to herein as receptacle contacts 125), and when the evaporator cartridge 120 is inserted into and coupled to the cartridge receptacle 118, the cartridge contacts 124 and the receptacle contacts 125 are electrically connected. Other configurations where the evaporator cartridge 120 is coupled to the evaporator body 110 without being inserted into the cartridge receptacle 118 are also within the scope of the current subject matter. It will be understood that references herein to "receptacle contacts" may be more generally yet still configured to refer to contacts on the evaporator body 110 that are not contained in the cartridge receptacle 118, but are electrically connected to the cartridge contacts 124 of the evaporator cartridge when the evaporator cartridge 120 and the evaporator body 110 are coupled. The circuit completed by these electrical connections may allow current to be delivered to the resistive heating element 150, and may be further used for additional functions, such as for measuring the resistance of the resistive heating element 150, for determining and / or controlling the temperature of the resistive heating element 150 based on the thermal coefficient of resistivity of the resistive heating element 150, for identifying the cartridge based on one or more electrical characteristics of the resistive heating element 150 or other circuits of the evaporator cartridge 120, etc.

[0059] In some embodiments of the current subject matter, at least two cartridge contacts 124 and at least two receptacle contacts 125 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 evaporator can be completed by inserting the evaporator cartridge 120 into the cartridge receptacle 118 in a first rotational orientation (about the axis along which the end of the evaporator cartridge 120 with the cartridge is inserted into the cartridge receptacle 118 of the evaporator body 110), so that the first cartridge contacts of the at least two cartridge contacts 124 are electrically connected to the first receptacle contacts of the at least two receptacle contacts 125, and the second cartridge contacts of the at least two cartridge contacts 124 are electrically connected to the second receptacle contacts of the at least two receptacle contacts 125. In addition, one or more circuits required for the operation of the vaporizer can be completed by inserting the vaporizer cartridge 120 into the cartridge receptacle 118 in the second rotational orientation so that the first cartridge contacts of the at least two cartridge contacts 124 are electrically connected to the second receptacle contacts of the at least two receptacle contacts 125, and the second cartridge contacts of the at least two cartridge contacts 124 are electrically connected to the first receptacle contacts of the at least two receptacle contacts 125. The feature that the vaporizer cartridge 120 can be inserted upside down into the cartridge receptacle 118 of the vaporizer body 110 is further described below.

[0060] In one embodiment of an attachment structure for coupling the evaporator cartridge 120 to the evaporator body 110, the evaporator body 110 includes a detent (e.g., a dimple, a protrusion, etc.) protruding inwardly from the inner surface of the cartridge receptacle 118. One or more outer surfaces of the evaporator cartridge 120 may include corresponding grooves ( Figure 1 18 (not shown), when the end of the evaporator cartridge 120 is inserted into the cartridge receptacle 118, the corresponding grooves can be assembled and / or otherwise snapped onto these pawls. When the evaporator cartridge 120 and the evaporator body 110 are coupled (e.g., the end of the evaporator cartridge 120 is inserted into the cartridge receptacle 118 of the evaporator body 110), the pawls entering the evaporator body 110 can be assembled and / or otherwise retained in the grooves of the evaporator cartridge 120 to hold the evaporator cartridge 120 in place during assembly. Such a pawl-groove assembly can provide sufficient support to hold the evaporator cartridge 120 in place to ensure good contact between the at least two cartridge contacts 124 and the at least two receptacle contacts 125, while allowing the evaporator cartridge 120 to be released from the evaporator body 110 when the user acts on the evaporator cartridge 120 with a reasonable force to pull the evaporator cartridge 120 out of the cartridge receptacle 118. It will be appreciated that other configurations for coupling of the evaporator cartridge 120 and the evaporator body 110 are within the scope of the current subject matter, for example, as discussed in more detail below.

[0061] Further to the above discussion about the electrical connection between the evaporator cartridge 120 and the evaporator body 110 being reversible so that at least two rotational orientations of the evaporator cartridge 120 in the receptacle of the evaporator cartridge 120 are possible, in some evaporator devices, the shape of the evaporator cartridge 120, or at least the shape of the end of the evaporator cartridge 120 configured for insertion into the cartridge receptacle 118, may have at least second-order rotational symmetry, in other words, the evaporator cartridge 120, or at least the insertable end of the evaporator cartridge 120, may be symmetrical after being rotated 180° around the axis of the evaporator cartridge 120 when inserted into the cartridge receptacle 118. In this configuration, the circuitry of the evaporator device may support the same operation regardless of which symmetrical orientation of the evaporator cartridge 120 occurs.

[0062] In some embodiments, the evaporator cartridge 120 or at least the end of the evaporator cartridge 120 configured to be inserted into the evaporator cartridge 120 receptacle may have a non-circular cross-section transverse to the axis, and the evaporator cartridge 120 is inserted into the cartridge receptacle 118 along the axis. For example, the non-circular cross-section can be approximately rectangular, approximately elliptical (e.g., having an approximately elliptical shape), non-rectangular but having two sets of parallel or approximately parallel opposite sides (e.g., having a parallelogram shape) or other shapes with at least second-order rotational symmetry. In this article, it is obvious that approximately having a shape means that it is basically similar to the shape, but the sides of the shape in question do not have to be completely straight, and the vertices do not have to be completely sharp. The rounding of both or one of the edges or vertices of the cross-sectional shape is considered in the description of any non-circular cross-section referred to in this article.

[0063] The at least two cartridge contacts 124 and the at least two receptacle contacts 125 may take various forms. For example, one or both sets of contacts may include conductive pins, tabs, posts, receiving holes for pins or posts, etc. Some types of contacts may include springs or other push features to form better physical and electrical contact between the contacts on the evaporator cartridge 120 and the evaporator body 110. The electrical contacts may optionally be gold plated and / or may include other materials.

[0064] Various embodiments of a vaporizer cartridge 120 are described herein, which are configured to contain and vaporize one or more non-liquid source materials, such as loose leaf tobacco. In addition, such embodiments of the vaporizer cartridge may be disposable, so that it cannot be refilled after the vaporizable material is exhausted. Therefore, such a disposable vaporizer cartridge may require inexpensive materials and manufacturing to make it economically feasible. In addition, although it may be necessary to develop and manufacture a disposable vaporizer cartridge for vaporizing non-liquid source materials, it is also desirable to evaporate the vaporizable material efficiently and effectively. For example, when a user inhales on a vaporizer device, he generally prefers to quickly inhale the aerosol generated by the vaporizer device after engaging the vaporizer device (e.g., placing lips on a mouthpiece, pressing an activation button, etc.). In this way, the embodiments of the vaporizer cartridge disclosed herein can beneficially achieve efficient evaporation of vaporizable materials from a source material to achieve a desired user experience. In addition, the embodiments of the vaporizer cartridge 120 disclosed herein can advantageously provide sufficient thermal energy to the source material to cause the release of the vaporizable material, thereby producing an aerosol form of the vaporizable material for inhalation, while also limiting the heating to at least a sufficient level to reduce the generation of at least one harmful byproduct that the user does not want to inhale. To achieve the above objectives, various embodiments of the heating element are disclosed and described in detail below.

[0065] For example, various embodiments of a heating element are described herein, and the heating element is configured to heat within a desired temperature range, such as about 250 degrees Celsius or less. Such a temperature range can advantageously vaporize source materials, such as processed tobacco, and allow nicotine and volatile flavor compounds to be atomized and delivered to a user who inhales a related evaporation device. Such temperatures within this temperature range can also prevent the generation of at least one harmful or potentially harmful byproduct. In this way, at least one benefit of the heating assembly described herein includes an improvement in the quality of the aerosol inhaled by the user.

[0066] In addition, various embodiments of the heating elements described herein can efficiently heat to a temperature within a desired temperature range. This can allow the associated vaporizer device to provide a desired user experience when the user draws on the vaporizer device. Such efficient heating time can result in efficient power usage, such as battery power from the vaporizer device. In addition, various embodiments of the heating elements described herein can achieve such benefits without increasing the size of the vaporizer device. In some embodiments, the heating element can allow for a more compact vaporizer device than currently available devices. In addition, embodiments of the heating element can be developed and manufactured at a cost that allows the vaporizer cartridge to be disposable and economically feasible.

[0067] Embodiments of the heating element described below may include at least one thermally conductive material, such as carbon, carbon foam, metal foil aluminum foam, or a biodegradable polymer. The thermally conductive material may allow energy provided by the evaporator device to be transferred to the thermally conductive features / components (e.g., via the cartridge and evaporator device contacts), thereby causing a temperature increase along at least a portion of the thermally conductive component, such as for evaporating a vaporizable material from a source substance. The evaporator body 110 may include a controller 104 that may control the energy provided to the thermally conductive material to assist the heating element 150 in reaching a temperature within a desired temperature range.

[0068] In some embodiments, the vaporizer cartridge may include a housing 162 configured to house at least some of the vaporizable material 102 and / or the heating element 150 .

[0069] FIG. 2A to FIG. 2B An embodiment of an evaporator cartridge 220 is shown, which includes an embodiment of a heating element 250, which includes a flexible sheet with narrow conductive traces 252 extending along the flexible sheet. These narrow conductive traces 252 form a resistive heater, which can be arranged in series or in parallel. The narrow conductive traces 252 can be made of a conductive material, such as any conductive material described herein. The heating element 250 may include at least one cartridge contact 224, which is electrically connected to the narrow conductive traces. The cartridge contact 224 can be positioned so that when the evaporator cartridge 220 is coupled to the evaporator body, the cartridge contact 224 can be in contact with the receptacle contact 125 ( Figure 1 This can allow energy from the evaporator body to be transferred from the evaporator body to the narrow conductive trace 224 (through contact between the cartridge contact 224 and the receptacle contact 125), thereby allowing the narrow conductive trace 252 to reach a temperature within the desired temperature range.

[0070] In some embodiments, the flexible sheet can be wrapped around the non-liquid source material 202, such as multiple pieces of tobacco, such as Figure 2B . In such a configuration, the heating element 250 can both define a chamber configured to contain the source material 202 and be contained within the chamber. This can increase the contact between the source material 202 and the heating element 150, thereby allowing the heating element 150 to efficiently heat and evaporate the vaporizable material from the source material 202. In addition, in such a configuration, the thermal gradient across the source material 202 can be minimized (e.g., less than or equal to the width of the tobacco sheet). This can allow the heating element 150 to heat to a temperature within a desired temperature range while also efficiently evaporating an acceptable portion (ideally but not necessarily all or substantially all) of the vaporizable material in the source material 202 contained within the chamber.

[0071] Figure 2Cand 2D An embodiment of a narrow conductive trace 252 of a heating element 150 is shown. Figure 2C and 2D As shown, the narrow conductive trace 252 may include a plurality of parallel series heaters, such as six parallel series heaters. Figure 2C As shown, each series heater can be arranged in a horizontal orientation and / or a vertical orientation, such as Figure 2D As shown. For example, the horizontal orientation can provide a series resistance of approximately 2.18 ohms at 25°C, a series resistance of 4.09 ohms at 250°C, and a total heater resistance of approximately 0.363 ohms at 25°C and a total heater resistance of 0.682 ohms at 250°C. For example, in the vertical orientation, the series resistance at 25°C is approximately 2.14 ohms, the series resistance at 250°C is approximately 4.02 ohms, the total heater resistance at 25°C is approximately 0.357 ohms, and the total heater resistance at 250°C is approximately 0.670 ohms. Other configurations of narrow conductive traces are within the scope of the disclosure herein. Figure 2C Shows Figure 2A The heating element 150 has narrow conductive traces 252 that form six serial heaters side by side, with each serial heater portion being in a horizontal orientation.

[0072] Figure 3A-3B Another embodiment of an evaporator cartridge 320 is shown, which includes a heating element 350 ( Figure 3B ), which allows the evaporator cartridge 320 to include at least some of the benefits described herein, including cost-effective manufacturing, fast heat-up times, evaporation temperatures within a desired temperature range, etc.

[0073] like Figure 3BAs shown, the heating element 350 includes a resistive region 354 made of a conductive material, such as a conductive foil material that has been treated to increase its resistance in a desired portion of the conductive foil (e.g., by perforating, changing the thickness or other dimensions of the conductive cross-section, etc.). In some embodiments, a first portion of the resistive region 354 may include a non-conductive material backing 356 (e.g., a paper material), and a second portion of the resistive region 354 may include a resistive material 358 that does not have the non-conductive material backing 356. In addition, and as described above, the second portion may include a plurality of perforations 360 that may create resistance along the otherwise more conductive material of the second portion. The perforations 360 may have any number of various shapes and sizes and be arranged in one or more of a variety of configurations. In addition, the resistive second portion may be a conductive material that includes more than one region having different densities of perforations 360 or other physical modifications, thereby creating different regions of resistance. Such different regions of resistance may affect the temperature reached when the resistive portion is heated (e.g., allowing current to propagate along). As Figure 3A and 3B As shown, a portion of the heating element 350 may include only non-conductive material, such as a portion of the heating element 350 that may be allowed to come into contact with a user and thus may benefit from not being heated. Other configurations are also within the scope of the present disclosure, such as a heating element having one or more regions that include conductive material without perforations, such as for forming cartridge contacts that may mate with vaporizer contacts to allow current to pass from the vaporizer device to the heating element to heat the heating element.

[0074] like Figure 3A As shown, the heating element 350 can be wrapped around the source material 302, such as a non-liquid source material (e.g., one or more pieces of tobacco). In such a configuration, the heating element 350 can define a chamber configured to accommodate the source material 302, or can be contained in the cartridge chamber. This can increase the contact between the source material 302 and the heating element 350, thereby allowing the heating element 350 to efficiently heat and evaporate the vaporizable material from the source material 302. In addition, in such a configuration, the thermal gradient across the source material 302 can be reduced (e.g., less than or equal to the width of the tobacco sheet). This can allow the heating element 350 to heat to a temperature within the desired temperature range while also efficiently evaporating an acceptable portion (ideally but not necessarily all or substantially all) of the vaporizable material in the source material contained in the chamber.

[0075] Figures 4A-4E Another embodiment of an evaporator cartridge 420 is shown, which includes another embodiment of a heating element 450 (e.g., in Figure 4B), which allows the evaporator cartridge 420 to include at least some of the benefits described herein, including cost-effective manufacturing, fast heat-up times, evaporation temperatures within a desired temperature range, etc.

[0076] like Figure 4A As shown, the vaporizer cartridge 420 may include a housing 462 having an opening 464 for receiving the heating element 450 and the source material 402. The housing 462 may include a non-conductive material, and the heating element 450 may include a sheet 448 made of a thermally conductive material. Figure 4B As shown, the sheet 448 may include a plurality of perforations 460 that may affect the electrical resistance along the sheet 448. In addition, the sheet may include at least one side extension that forms a cartridge contact 424 that may mate with and extend through a through hole 428 along the housing 462. Such a side extension that forms a cartridge contact 424 may be positioned to mate with a receptacle contact along a corresponding evaporator body, thereby allowing current to flow from the evaporator body to the heating element 450, which in turn allows the heating element 450 to heat to a temperature within a desired temperature range.

[0077] like Figure 4C As shown, the heating element 450 may include at least one flat surface in which the source material 402 can directly match, thereby providing efficient heat transfer between the heating element 450 and the source material 402 (e.g., one or more pieces of tobacco). In addition, in this configuration, the thermal gradient across the source material 402 can be minimized (e.g., less than or equal to the width of the tobacco sheet). This can allow the heating element 450 to heat to a temperature within a desired temperature range while also efficiently vaporizing all or substantially all of the vaporizable material within the source material 402 contained within the chamber. Other variations and / or features of the heating element 450 may be included, such as folding the heating element 450 in half (e.g., Figure 4E ) and the cartridge contact 424 extends from the distal end and / or includes an etched conductive sheet 406 that is long and thin enough to produce a resistance sufficient to achieve rapid and efficient heating of the heating element 450 to a desired heating range (e.g., as Figure 4D shown).

[0078] In some embodiments, Figure 4F and 4G As shown, one or more extensions 468 may extend from the upper and / or lower surfaces of the conductive sheet 448. The extensions 468 may be formed when the perforations 460 are formed (e.g., by stamping the conductive sheet). The extensions 468 may provide additional surface area that may be more integrated with the source material 402, for example, compared to a planar heating element that does not include the extensions. Figure 4HAs shown, some embodiments of the housing 462 may include a clamshell configuration such that the heating element 450 (eg, Figures 4A-4G Any of the embodiments of the heating element shown in ) can be captured in the housing 462 together with at least two tobacco sheets, the two tobacco sheets being positioned on opposite sides of the heating element 450. This can provide a compact configuration with efficient assembly.

[0079] Figure 5A-5B Another embodiment of the evaporator cartridge 520 is shown, which includes another embodiment of a heating element 550, which has an induction coil and a ferrous material 570. For example, the induction coil can be wrapped around the source material, such as directly wrapped around a piece of the source material. In addition, the ferrous material 570 can be mixed with the source material and can be heated due to the interaction of the ferrous material with the electric field and / or magnetic field generated by the current flowing through the induction coil. The ferrous material intermixed with the source material can allow a more uniform heat distribution along the source material and / or in the source material, thereby reducing the thermal gradient along the source material. This can allow the source material to be heated to a temperature within the desired temperature range under the interaction of the field generated by the induction coil, thereby efficiently evaporating the evaporable material from the source material.

[0080] Figure 6 A side cross-sectional view of another embodiment of an evaporator cartridge 620 is shown, which includes another embodiment of a heating element 650 having a thermally conductive (but resistive) foaming structure 672. For example, a source material can be placed in the thermally conductive foaming structure 672 (e.g., in the holes of the open-cell thermally conductive foaming structure). An electric current can be passed through the thermally conductive foaming structure 672, thereby uniformly heating the source material due to the resistive heating of the thermally conductive foaming structure 672, such as heating at a temperature within a desired temperature range. In some embodiments, the thermally conductive foaming structure 672 can be made of a reticulated carbon foam, an aluminum foam, etc. Other foaming structures are also within the scope disclosed herein.

[0081] Figure 7 Another embodiment of an evaporator cartridge 720 is shown, which includes another embodiment of a heating element 750 having a conductive plate 774 separated by a non-conductive insulating material 776. The conductive plate 774 and the insulating material 776 can define a chamber configured to contain a source substance 702. The heating element 750 can further include an at least partially conductive mixture 778, which can be included in the source substance 702, thereby creating a volume resistor in the source substance 702. The conductive plate 774 can function to conduct electricity and act as a cartridge contact that mates with a receptacle contact of the evaporator body coupled to the evaporator cartridge 720.

[0082] Any of the heating elements described herein may include contacts (eg, cartridge contacts) or may be in electrical communication with contacts to allow electrical energy to be transferred from an evaporator body to which the evaporator is coupled and thereby allow the heating element temperature to increase.

[0083] In order to evaporate the vaporizable material from the source substance without having to heat above a desired temperature range, a counter-flow heat exchanger may be implemented in the evaporator cartridge or evaporator device. For example, an evaporator cartridge including a counter-flow heat exchanger is described in more detail below.

[0084] FIG. 8A to FIG. 8B Another embodiment of an evaporator cartridge 820 is shown, which includes another embodiment of a heating element 850. Fig. 8A As shown, the thermally conductive material may surround the outer periphery of the external source material passage 880. The external source material passage 880 may include an annular (donut-shaped) profile with an internal through hole defining an internal source material passage 882. Figure 8B As shown, the internal source substance channel 882 can be open at a distal end 884, and the external source substance channel 880 can include an opening at the distal end 884. The internal and external source substance channels can be at least partially filled with source substances. The airflow path 886 can extend between the opening to the external source substance channel 880, along at least a portion of the source substance channel, through the proximal end 888 of the internal source substance channel 882, along the internal source substance channel 882 and out of the distal opening of the source substance channel, as shown. Figure 8B As shown. This can allow airflow (e.g., caused by a user drawing on the vaporizer device) flowing along the outer source material channel 880 to be heated by the thermally conductive material surrounding the outer periphery of the source material channel. In this way, when the heated airflow later flows along the inner source material channel 882, the heated airflow can increase the temperature of the source material located along the inner source material channel 882. This helps to increase the speed at which the source material contained in the inner source material channel is heated to a desired temperature (e.g., within a desired temperature range) and reduce the temperature gradient throughout the source material.

[0085] At least some advantages of the concept may include a reduction in peak temperature along the source material, the peak temperature being greater than the desired temperature range. Thus, this may result in evaporating the vaporizable material from the source material while at least reducing the generation of harmful byproducts. Additionally, since there is no direct contact between the source material and the evaporator device, maintenance requirements (e.g., cleaning, etc.) of the evaporator device may be minimized.

[0086] Although the heating elements and airflow channels are described herein as being included in an evaporator cartridge, any one or more portions of the heating elements and airflow channels described herein may be included in an evaporator device configured to be reusable and durable.

[0087] the term

[0088] When a feature or element is referred to herein as being "on" another feature or element, it may be directly on the other feature or element, or intervening features and / or elements may also be present. Conversely, when a feature or element is referred to as being "directly on" another feature or element, there are no intervening 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, it may be directly connected, attached, or coupled to the other feature or element, or there may be intervening features or elements. Conversely, 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 intervening features or elements.

[0089] Although described or shown with respect to a given embodiment, the features and elements described or shown in this manner may apply to other embodiments. It will also be understood by those skilled in the art that reference to a structure or feature disposed "adjacent" to another feature may have a portion that overlaps or is located below the adjacent feature.

[0090] The terms used herein are only used to describe specific embodiments and the purposes achieved, and are not restrictive. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, for example, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" as used herein are intended to also include plural forms. It will be further understood that when used in this specification, the terms "include" and / or "comprise" specify that the features, steps, operations, elements and / or devices exist, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, devices and / or groups thereof. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more associated listed items and can be abbreviated as " / ".

[0091] In the above description and claims, phrases such as "at least one" or "one or more of..." may appear followed by a joint list of elements or features. The term "and / or" may also appear in a list of two or more elements or features. Unless otherwise implicitly or explicitly contradicted by the context in which it is used, such phrases are intended to represent any listed element or feature alone, or any listed element or feature in combination with any other listed element or feature. For example, the phrases "at least one of A and B", "one or more of A and B", and "A and / or B" are each intended to represent "single A, single B, or A and B together". Similar explanations also apply to lists including three or more items. For example, the phrases "at least one of A, B, and C", "one or more of A, B, and C", and "A, B, and / or C" are each intended to represent "single A, single B, single C, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, or A and B and C together". The use of the term "based on" on or in the claim means "based at least in part", so that uncited features or elements are also allowed.

[0092] For ease of description, spatial relative terms such as "forward", "backward", "down", "below", "up", "above" may be used herein to describe the relationship between an element or feature and other elements or features as shown in the figure. It should be understood that, in addition to the orientation shown in the figure, spatial relative terms are intended to include different orientations of the device in use or operation. For example, if the device in the figure is reversed, the element described as being "under" or "below" other elements or features will be "oriented" "above" other elements or features. Therefore, the exemplary term "under..." may include both upper and lower orientations. The device may be oriented / oriented in other ways (rotated 90 degrees or in other orientations / orientations), and the spatial relative descriptors used herein are interpreted accordingly. Similarly, unless otherwise expressly stated, the terms "upward", "downward", "vertical", "horizontal", etc. are used herein only for the purpose of explanation.

[0093] Unless the context indicates otherwise, although the terms "first" and "second" may be used herein to describe various features / elements (including steps), these features / elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms can be used to distinguish one feature / element from another feature / element. Thus, the first feature / element discussed below can be referred to as the second feature / element, and similarly, the second feature / element discussed below can be referred to as the first feature / element without departing from the teachings provided herein.

[0094] As used in this specification and claims, including as used in the examples and unless otherwise explicitly stated, all numbers can be read as beginning with the word "about" or "approximately", even if the term is not explicitly stated to appear. The phrase "about" or "approximately" can be used when describing the amplitude and / or position to indicate that the value and / or position described is within a reasonable expected value and / or position range. For example, the numerical value can be the value (or range of values) + / -0.1%, the value (or range of values) + / -1%, the value (or range of values) + / -2%, the value (or range of values) + / -5%, the value (or range of values) + / -10%, etc. Unless the context indicates otherwise, any numerical value given herein should also be understood to include about or approximately the value. For example, if the value "10" is disclosed, "about 10" is also disclosed. Any numerical range cited herein is intended to include all sub-ranges contained therein. It should also be understood that, as appropriately understood by those skilled in the art, when a value is disclosed, "less than or equal to the value", "greater than or equal to the value" and the possible range between the values ​​are also disclosed. For example, if a value "X" is disclosed, then "less than or equal to X" and "greater than or equal to X" (e.g., where X is a numerical value) are also disclosed. It should also be understood that throughout the application, data is provided in a variety of different formats and that the data represents a range of ending and starting points and any combination of data points. For example, if a specific data point "10" and a specific data point "15" are disclosed, it should be understood that greater than, greater than or equal to, less than, less than or equal to, and equal to 10 and 15, and between 10 and 15 are also considered disclosed. It should also be understood that every unit between two specific units is also disclosed. For example, if 10 and 15 are disclosed, then 11, 12, 13, and 14 are also disclosed.

[0095] Although various illustrative embodiments are described above, any changes may be made to the various embodiments without departing from the teachings herein. For example, the order in which the various described method steps are performed may often be changed in alternative embodiments, and in other alternative embodiments, one or more method steps may be skipped entirely. Optional features implemented by various devices and systems may be included in some embodiments and not included in other embodiments. Therefore, the foregoing description is provided primarily for exemplary purposes and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims.

[0096] One or more aspects or features of the subject matter described herein can be implemented in 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 can include implementations in one or more computer programs that are executable and / or interpretable on a programmable system, the programmable system including at least one programmable processor, which can be dedicated or general, coupled to receive data from a storage system, at least one input device, and at least one output device and send data and instructions to the storage system, at least one input device, and at least one output device. A programmable system or computing system can include a client and a server. The client and the server are usually far away from each other and usually interact through a communication network. The relationship between the client and the server is generated by means of a computer program that runs on a corresponding computer and has a client-server relationship with each other.

[0097] These computer programs, which may also be referred to as programs, software, software applications, applications, devices or codes, include machine instructions for programmable processors and may be implemented in high-level procedural languages, object-oriented programming languages, functional programming languages, logic programming languages ​​and / or assembly / machine languages. As used herein, the term "machine-readable medium" refers to any computer program product, device and / or device for providing machine instructions and / or data to a programmable processor, such as a disk, an optical disk, a memory and a programmable logic device (PLD), including a machine-readable medium that receives machine instructions as machine-readable signals. 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 a non-transient 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 transient manner, such as a processor cache or other random access memory associated with one or more physical processor cores.

[0098] The examples and descriptions included herein show specific embodiments in which the subject matter can be practiced by way of illustration and not limitation. As described above, other embodiments can be utilized and derived therefrom so that structural and logical replacements and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Such embodiments of the subject matter of the present invention may be referred to herein individually or collectively by the term "invention", and if more than one invention is in fact disclosed, it is not intended that the scope of the present application be voluntarily limited to any single invention or inventive concept but merely for convenience. Therefore, although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, any arrangement calculated to achieve the same purpose may replace the specific embodiments shown. The present disclosure is intended to cover any and all modifications or changes of various implementations. After reading the above description, the combination of the above-mentioned embodiments and other embodiments not specifically described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A material box for an evaporator device, the material box comprising: a chamber configured to contain a non-liquid vaporizable material; a heating element comprising a resistive material and configured to cause vaporization of the vaporizable material by transferring heat to the vaporizable material, wherein at least a portion of the heating element defines a portion of the chamber and / or is contained within the chamber; A cartridge contact is in electrical communication with the resistive material, the cartridge contact being configured to couple with a vaporizer contact, the vaporizer contact being positioned proximate a cartridge coupling feature for allowing electrical energy to be transferred from the vaporizer device through the resistive material, the electrical energy causing heating of the resistive material and vaporizable material to result in generation of an aerosol for inhalation by a user.

2. The material box according to claim 1, wherein: The heating element includes the cartridge contact.

3. The material box according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein: The heating element comprises a sheet of thermally conductive resistive material.

4. The material box according to claim 3, wherein: The thermally conductive resistor material sheet includes at least one of a flexible material, a deformable material and a rigid material.

5. The material box according to any one of claims 3 to 4, wherein: The sheet of thermally conductive resistive material includes at least one perforation.

6. The material box according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein: The thermally conductive resistive material sheet further includes at least one extension portion extending away from at least one of an upper surface of the thermally conductive resistive material sheet and a lower surface of the thermally conductive resistive material sheet.

7. The material box according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein: The sheet of thermally conductive resistive material includes a first region having a first perforation density and a second region having a second perforation density, the second perforation density being greater than the first perforation density.

8. The material box according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein: The heating element includes a non-conductive region.

9. The material box according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein: The heating element comprises a flexible printed circuit comprising a resistive material arranged in a wiring arrangement on a flexible material, and wherein the arranged resistive material forms a plurality of serially connected heaters.

10. The material box according to claim 9, wherein: The plurality of serially connected heaters are positioned side by side.

11. The cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising a housing comprising a non-conductive material and accommodating at least a portion of the chamber.

12. The material box according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein: The heating element includes a flexible material and the resistive material extends along a length of the flexible material.

13. The material box according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein: The vaporizable material includes nicotine.

14. A system for generating an inhalable aerosol, comprising: A material box, comprising: a chamber configured to contain a non-liquid vaporizable material; a heating element comprising a resistive material and configured to vaporize the vaporizable material by transferring heat to the vaporizable material, wherein at least a portion of the heating element defines a portion of the chamber and / or is contained within the chamber; and a cartridge contact in electrical communication with the resistive material, the cartridge contact being configured to couple with a vaporizer contact, the vaporizer contact being positioned proximate a cartridge coupling feature for allowing electrical energy to pass from the vaporizer device through the resistive material, the electrical energy causing heating of the resistive material and vaporizable material to result in generation of an aerosol for inhalation by a user; and The device body comprises: a cartridge receptacle for receiving the cartridge; and The vaporizer contacts are configured to cooperate with the cartridge contacts when the cartridge is inserted into the cartridge container to provide a conductive path between a power source in the device body and a heating element of the cartridge.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein: The heating element includes the cartridge contact.

16. The system according to any one of claims 14-15, wherein: The heating element comprises a sheet of thermally conductive resistive material.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein: The thermally conductive resistor material sheet includes at least one of a flexible material, a deformable material and a rigid material.

18. The system according to any one of claims 16-17, wherein: The sheet of thermally conductive resistive material includes at least one perforation.

19. The system according to any one of claims 16 to 18, wherein: The thermally conductive resistive material sheet further includes at least one extension portion extending away from at least one of an upper surface of the thermally conductive resistive material sheet and a lower surface of the thermally conductive resistive material sheet.

20. The system according to any one of claims 16 to 19, wherein: The sheet of thermally conductive resistive material includes a first region having a first perforation density and a second region having a second perforation density, the second perforation density being greater than the first perforation density.

21. The system according to any one of claims 14 to 20, wherein: The heating element includes a non-conductive region.

22. The system according to any one of claims 14 to 21, wherein: The heating element comprises a flexible printed circuit comprising a resistive material arranged in a wiring arrangement on a flexible material, and wherein the arranged resistive material forms a plurality of serially connected heaters.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein: The plurality of serially connected heaters are positioned side by side.

24. The system according to any one of claims 14 to 23, characterized in that: Also included is a housing comprising a non-conductive material and housing at least a portion of the chamber.

25. The system according to any one of claims 14 to 24, wherein: The heating element includes a flexible material and the resistive material extends along a length of the flexible material.

26. The system according to any one of claims 14 to 25, wherein: The vaporizable material includes nicotine.

27. A method for generating an inhalable aerosol, the method comprising: coupling cartridge contacts of a vaporizer cartridge with vaporizer contacts of a vaporizer device body to provide a conductive path between a power source of the vaporizer device body and a heating element of the vaporizer cartridge, the conductive path allowing the power source to cause heating of the resistive material of the heating element and vaporizable material contained in the chamber of the vaporizer cartridge; and The heating element is heated to vaporize the vaporizable material and form an aerosol for inhalation, wherein the heating element defines at least a portion of a chamber and / or is contained within the chamber of a vaporizer cartridge.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein: The heating element includes the cartridge contact.

29. The method according to any one of claims 27-28, wherein: The heating element comprises a sheet of thermally conductive resistive material.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein: The thermally conductive resistor material sheet includes at least one of a flexible material, a deformable material and a rigid material.

31. The method according to any one of claims 29-30, wherein: The sheet of thermally conductive resistive material includes at least one perforation.

32. The method according to any one of claims 29 to 31, wherein: The thermally conductive resistive material sheet further includes at least one extension portion extending away from at least one of an upper surface of the thermally conductive resistive material sheet and a lower surface of the thermally conductive resistive material sheet.

33. The method according to any one of claims 29 to 32, wherein: The sheet of thermally conductive resistive material includes a first region having a first perforation density and a second region having a second perforation density, the second perforation density being greater than the first perforation density.

34. The method according to any one of claims 27 to 33, wherein: The heating element includes a non-conductive region.

35. The method according to any one of claims 27 to 34, wherein: The heating element comprises a flexible printed circuit comprising a resistive material arranged in a wiring arrangement on a flexible material, and wherein the arranged resistive material forms a plurality of serially connected heaters.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein: The plurality of serially connected heaters are positioned side by side.

37. The method according to any one of claims 27 to 36, wherein: The heating element includes a flexible material and the resistive material extends along a length of the flexible material.

38. A heating element for a cartridge, comprising a resistive region, wherein: The resistive region has a first portion implemented as a non-conductive material backing and a second portion made of a resistive material without the non-conductive material backing, and the second portion contains a plurality of perforations that create resistance along the otherwise more conductive material of the second portion.

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