Evaporable material insert for evaporator device

Abstract

An evaporation device (100) is described that includes an evaporator body (110) that includes an evaporable material insert container (118) configured to receive an evaporable material insert (120, 220, 320, 420) including an evaporable material, the evaporable material insert may include an evaporable material component (222) configured to receive the evaporable material insert (120, 220, 320, 420), and the evaporable material component (222) is configured to receive the evaporable material insert (120, 220, 320, 420). The vaporizable material component includes a vaporizable material, such as a non-liquid vaporizable material. Various embodiments of a vaporizable material component are described, including one or more features for preventing airflow from entering and / or passing through the vaporizable material component and for enabling efficient and effective heating of the vaporizable material and formation of inhalable aerosols. Related systems, methods, and articles of manufacture are also described.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional of patent application number 202080056415.4 (International Application Number PCT / US2020 / 045382) filed August 7, 2020, having the title “Vaporizable Material Cartridge for Vaporizer Devices.” Cross Reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) to U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 62 / 884,668, filed August 8, 2019, entitled “Vaporizable Material Cartridge for Vaporizer Devices,” the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The subject matter described herein relates to various embodiments of vaporizable material cartridges for use with vaporizer devices. BACKGROUND

[0004] Vaporizer devices (also referred to as vapes, electronic vaporizer devices, or e-vaporizer devices) can be used to deliver an aerosol (e.g., a vapor phase and / or condensed phase material suspended in a stationary or moving air mass or some other gas carrier) containing one or more active ingredients by inhalation of the aerosol by a user of the device. For example, electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) include a class of vaporizer devices that are powered by a battery and can be used to simulate the experience of smoking. Vaporizers are becoming increasingly popular for both prescription medical use, for delivery of pharmaceuticals, and for consumption of tobacco, nicotine, and other plant-based materials. Vaporizer devices can be portable, standalone, and / or convenient to use.

[0005] In use of a vaporizer device, a user inhales an aerosol, colloquially referred to as “vapor,” that can be generated from a vaporizable material that can be vaporized (e.g., by causing the vaporizable material to at least partially transition to a gas phase) by a heating element, which can be a liquid, a solution, a solid, a paste, a wax, and / or any other form that is compatible for use with a particular vaporizer device. Further, the vaporizable material used with a vaporizer can be provided within a vaporizer cartridge, which can be a separable portion of a vaporizer device that contains the vaporizable material, having an outlet (e.g., a mouthpiece) through which the aerosol generated from vaporization of the vaporizable material is delivered to a user.

[0006] To receive the inhalable aerosol generated by a vaporizer device, in certain examples, a user can activate the vaporizer device by drawing on it, pressing a button, and / or by some other method. As used herein, drawing on can refer to a user inhaling in a manner such that a volume of air is drawn into the vaporizer device such that, when the vaporized vaporizable material is combined with the volume of air, an inhalable aerosol is produced.

[0007] Methods of a vaporizer device to generate an inhalable aerosol from a vaporizable material include heating the vaporizable material in a vaporization chamber (e.g., a heater chamber) to cause the vaporizable material to transition to a gas (or vapor) phase. A vaporization chamber can refer to a region or volume within a vaporizer device where a heat source (e.g., a conductive, convective, and / or radiative heat source) causes heating of a vaporizable material to generate a mixture of air and vaporized material to form a vapor for inhalation of the vaporizable material by a user of the vaporizer device.

[0008] In some embodiments, a vaporizer cartridge configured for heating solid vaporizable material (e.g., botanical material, such as tobacco and / or a portion of tobacco) can require higher temperatures for the inner tobacco region to reach a minimum temperature required for vaporization. As a result, combustion of the solid vaporizable material at these peak temperatures can produce undesirable byproducts (e.g., chemical elements or chemical compounds).

[0009] Vaporizer devices can be categorized into two classes, vaporizer devices that heat by conduction and vaporizer devices that heat by convection. For example, conductive-based vaporizer devices can be configured to vaporize liquid vaporizable material using a heating element that contacts the liquid vaporizable material. As a result, the liquid vaporizable material can contaminate the heating element, which can compromise the performance of the vaporizer device. Some vaporizers can incorporate the heating element into a disposable portion (e.g., a cartridge) of the vaporizer device, such that the heating element can be replaced with each new cartridge, which can limit but not eliminate heating element contamination. However, this can increase manufacturing labor and costs associated with the disposable portion. Additionally, due to the low thermal conductivity of certain vaporizable materials (e.g., botanical material, such as tobacco), it can be difficult to achieve uniform heating of the vaporizable material in current conductive-based vaporizers.

[0010] Some vaporizable materials include botanical material, such as tobacco, and can have a low thermal conductivity, thus making it difficult to heat uniformly. Additionally, such vaporizable materials can include many air pockets that limit the penetration of heat through the vaporizable material. As a result, current vaporizer devices can attempt to overcome this heating difficulty by overheating the vaporizable material near the heater and underheating the vaporizable material away from the heater. This non-uniform heating can result in unsatisfactory vapor production, unpleasant odors from overheated tobacco, and / or increased release of harmful or potentially harmful chemicals.

[0011] Other vaporizer devices can include a heating element in a reusable or durable portion of the vaporizer device, such that the heating element is configured to be reused during the life of the vaporizer device. However, the heater in such vaporizer devices can typically fail and require cleaning. SUMMARY

[0012] Aspects of the current subject matter relate to a system for producing an inhalable aerosol that can include a vaporizable material cartridge for use with a vaporizer device to form an inhalable aerosol.

[0013] In one aspect, the vaporizable material cartridge can include a housing including an inlet and an outlet and a vaporizable material component. The vaporizable material component can include a vaporizable material that forms a portion of the inhalable aerosol as a result of heating the vaporizable material component. The vaporizable material component can extend within the housing between the inlet and the outlet. The vaporizable material component can also include an airflow pathway that extends along the vaporizable material component and can be at least partially defined by a wall of the vaporizable material component. The wall of the vaporizable material component can prevent air traveling along the airflow pathway from traveling into the vaporizable material component. Additionally, the wall can allow the inhalable aerosol to form in the airflow pathway and travel through the outlet for inhalation by a user.

[0014] In some variations, one or more of the following features can optionally be included in any workable combination. In some embodiments, the airflow pathway can extend through the vaporizable material component such that the wall defines the airflow path. In some embodiments, the vaporizable material cartridge can also include a heating element that extends along the vaporizable material component. The vaporizable material component can be positioned between the heating element and the airflow pathway. In some embodiments, the heating element can extend through and along a longitudinal axis of the vaporizable material component.

[0015] In some embodiments, the vaporizable material component can include a cylindrical shape. In some embodiments, the vaporizable material component can include a flattened shape. The vaporizable material component can be formed from a vaporizable material and a guar gum material. The vaporizable material component can be formed from a vaporizable material and a hectorite material. The vaporizable material can include a tobacco material. The tobacco material can include tobacco powder. The housing can be formed from a paper material. The housing can include a heating element for heating the vaporizable material component. The vaporizable material component can include thermally conductive particles that directly contact the vaporizable material and are contained within the vaporizable material component. The thermally conductive particles can be formed from a metallic material. In some embodiments, the thermal conductivity of the vaporizable material component can include a range from about 0.2 W / mK to about 0.6 W / mK.

[0016] In another aspect, a system for generating an inhalable aerosol can include a vaporizable material insert and a vaporizer device. The vaporizable material insert can include a housing and a vaporizable material component, the housing including an inlet and an outlet. The vaporizable material component can include a vaporizable material that forms a portion of the inhalable aerosol as a result of heating the vaporizable material component. The vaporizable material component can extend within the housing between the inlet and the outlet. The vaporizable material component can also include an airflow pathway that extends along the vaporizable material component and can be at least partially defined by a wall of the vaporizable material component. The wall of the vaporizable material component can prevent air traveling along the airflow pathway from traveling into the vaporizable material component. Additionally, the wall can allow the inhalable aerosol to form in the airflow pathway and travel through the outlet for inhalation by a user.

[0017] In some embodiments of the system, the vaporizer device can include a vaporizable material insert receptacle configured to receive the vaporizable material insert. The vaporizer device can also include a power source to provide power to the heating element to heat the vaporizable material insert and form the inhalable aerosol.

[0018] In some variations, one or more of the following features can optionally be included in any workable combination. In some embodiments, the vaporizer device can include a heating element. In some embodiments, the vaporizable material insert can include a heating element. The vaporizable material insert receptacle can provide a sliding fit with the vaporizable material insert. The vaporizable material component can be formed of a vaporizable material and a guar material. The vaporizable material component can be formed of a vaporizable material and a hectorite material. The vaporizable material can include a tobacco material. The tobacco material can include tobacco powder.

[0019] In another related aspect of the current subject matter, a method includes receiving a vaporizable material insert into a compartment of a vaporizer device. In some embodiments, the vaporizable material insert can include a housing and a vaporizable material component, the housing including an inlet and an outlet. The vaporizable material component can include a vaporizable material that forms a portion of the inhalable aerosol as a result of heating the vaporizable material component. The vaporizable material component can extend within the housing between the inlet and the outlet. The vaporizable material component can also include an airflow pathway that extends along the vaporizable material component and can be at least partially defined by a wall of the vaporizable material component. The wall of the vaporizable material component can prevent air traveling along the airflow pathway from traveling into the vaporizable material component. Additionally, the wall can allow the inhalable aerosol to form in the airflow pathway and travel through the outlet for inhalation by a user. The method can also include activating a heating element configured to heat the vaporizable material component of the vaporizable material insert and form the inhalable aerosol as a result of the heated vaporizable material component.

[0020] 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. The claims of this disclosure are intended to define the scope of protected subject matter. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0021] 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 implementations. In the drawings: Figure 1 depicts a block diagram showing an example of a vaporizer device consistent with implementations of the current subject matter; Figure 2A depicts a perspective view of an embodiment of a vaporizable material insert that can be used with a vaporizer device of Figure 1 ; Figure 2B depicts a cross-sectional view of a vaporizable material insert of Figure 2A inserted into an embodiment of a vaporizable material insert receptacle of a vaporizer device; Figure 3A depicts a perspective view of another embodiment of a vaporizable material insert that can be used with a vaporizer device of Figure 1 ; Figure 3B depicts a cross-sectional view of a vaporizable material insert of Figure 3A inserted into an embodiment of a vaporizable material insert receptacle of a vaporizer device; Figure 4A depicts a perspective view of another embodiment of a vaporizable material insert that can be used with a vaporizer device of Figure 1 ; Figure 4B depicts a perspective view of a vaporizable material insert of Figure 4A inserted into an embodiment of a vaporizable material insert receptacle of a vaporizer device.

[0022] When actualizing the figures, like reference numerals indicate like structures, features or elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] Embodiments of the present subject include apparatuses and methods relating to evaporating one or more evaporable materials for inhalation by a user. For example, various embodiments of evaporable material inserts for use with evaporator devices are described herein. In some embodiments, the evaporable material insert includes an evaporable material component formed of one or more materials, including the evaporable material. The evaporable material component can be configured to prevent airflow through the evaporable material component and to achieve efficient and effective heat conduction. For example, the evaporable material component may be free of or contain a minimal amount of cavitation, thereby allowing the evaporable material component to efficiently and effectively heat the evaporable material of the evaporable material component.

[0024] In some embodiments, the evaporable material insert can be configured such that the evaporable material component can be placed in direct contact with and / or adjacent to the heating element to allow efficient and effective heat transfer from the heating element to the evaporable material component. Therefore, the evaporable material insert described herein can be heated more efficiently and requires relatively less power to heat and evaporate the evaporable material compared to some currently available evaporable material inserts. Other benefits are described herein and are within the scope of this disclosure. Various embodiments of evaporable material inserts having evaporable material components, and embodiments of evaporator devices configured for heating the evaporable material insert, are described in more detail below.

[0025] As used in the following description and claims, the term "evaporator device" refers to any of the following: a stand-alone device, a device comprising two or more separable components (e.g., an evaporator body including a battery and other hardware, and a cartridge or insert including evaporable material). As used herein, "evaporator system" may include one or more components, such as an evaporator device. Examples of evaporator devices consistent with embodiments of the present subject include electronic evaporators, electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), etc. Typically, such evaporator devices are handheld devices that heat (e.g., by convection, conduction, radiation, and / or some combination thereof) evaporable material to deliver an inhalable dose of the material.

[0026] The evaporable material used with the evaporator may optionally be disposed within an evaporable material insert or cartridge (e.g., a portion of the evaporator containing the evaporable material), which can be refilled when empty or is disposable, allowing the use of new cartridges containing additional evaporable materials of the same or different types. The evaporator device may be an evaporator device using a cartridge, an evaporator device without a cartridge, or a multipurpose evaporator device capable of being used with or without a cartridge. Some cartridge embodiments may include an evaporable material insert. For example, embodiments of the evaporable material insert may be made at least partially of a non-liquid evaporable material. Thus, some embodiments of the evaporator device may be configured to receive an evaporable material insert, which is at least partially made of one or more evaporable materials, for heating and forming an inhalable aerosol, as will be described in more detail below. In some embodiments, the evaporator device may include a heating chamber or compartment (e.g., an evaporable material insert container) configured to receive and heat the evaporable material insert directly therein to form an inhalable aerosol.

[0027] In some embodiments, the evaporator device may be configured for use with liquid evaporable materials (e.g., a carrier solution in which active and / or inactive ingredients are suspended or retained in solution, or the evaporable material itself in liquid form) and / or non-liquid evaporable materials (e.g., pastes, waxes, gels, solids, plant materials, etc.). Non-liquid evaporable materials may include plant materials in which a portion of the plant material is discharged as evaporable material (e.g., a portion of the plant material is retained as waste after the material has evaporated for inhalation by the user), or optionally, the evaporable material itself in solid form, such that all solid material can ultimately evaporate for inhalation. Liquid evaporable materials are similarly capable of complete evaporation, or may include a portion of liquid material retained after all inhalable material has evaporated.

[0028] Figure 1 A block diagram illustrating an example of an evaporator device 100 consistent with an embodiment of the present subject is shown. (Reference) Figure 1 The evaporator 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, circuitry, etc. capable of performing logic). The controller 104 is used to control heat transfer from the heating element 141 to convert the evaporable material 102 of the evaporable material insert 120 from a condensed form (e.g., a solid, liquid, solution, suspension, at least a portion of unprocessed plant material, etc.) into a gaseous phase. The controller 104 may be part of one or more printed circuit boards (PCBs) consistent with certain embodiments of the present subject.

[0029] After the evaporable material 102 is converted into a gaseous phase, at least some of the gaseous evaporable material 102 can condense to form particulate matter in at least partial local equilibrium with the gaseous phase as part of an aerosol. This can be achieved by a user inhaling or drawing air into the evaporator device 100, forming some or all of the inhalable dose provided by the evaporator device 100. Due to factors such as ambient temperature, relative humidity, chemical properties, flow conditions in the airflow path (inside the evaporator and in the airways of humans or other animals), and / or the mixing of the gaseous or aerosol phase of the evaporable material 102 with other airflows, it should be understood that the interaction between the gaseous and condensed phases in the aerosol produced by the evaporator device 100 can be complex and dynamic, potentially affecting one or more physical parameters of the aerosol. In some evaporator devices, particularly those configured to deliver volatile evaporable materials, the inhalable dose may be primarily in the gaseous phase (e.g., the formation of condensed phase particles may be very limited).

[0030] Heating element 141 may include one or more of a conductive heater, a radiant heater, and / or a convection heater. One type of heating element is a resistance heating element, which may include a material (such as a metal or alloy, e.g., a nickel-chromium alloy, or a non-metallic resistor) configured to dissipate electrical energy in the form of heat when current passes through one or more resistive segments of the heating element. In some embodiments of the present subject matter, heating element 141 (e.g., a resistance heating element, etc.) is configured to generate heat for evaporating evaporable material 102 to produce an inhalable dose of evaporable material 102. As described above, evaporable material 102 may be liquid or non-liquid (or a combination of liquid and non-liquid). For example, heating element 141 may be wound around evaporable material 102, positioned within evaporable material 102, integrated into a block-shaped evaporable material 102, pressed in and in thermal contact with evaporable material 102, or otherwise arranged to deliver heat to evaporable material 102 for evaporation for subsequent inhalation by a user as a gaseous and / or condensed phase (e.g., aerosol particles or droplets).

[0031] In some embodiments, the evaporable material 102 may be a non-liquid evaporable material, including, for example, solid materials (e.g., gels, waxes, etc.) or plant materials (e.g., tobacco leaves and / or portions thereof). When the evaporable material 102 is a non-liquid evaporable material, the heating element 141 may be part of the wall of a heating chamber or compartment (e.g., evaporable material insert container 118), or otherwise incorporated into or in thermal contact with the wall of a heating chamber or compartment in which the evaporable material insert 120 is placed. Alternatively, the heating element 141 may be used to heat air passing through or through the evaporable material insert 120 to induce convective heating of the evaporable material 102 of the evaporable material insert 120. In other examples, the heating element 141 may be configured to be in close contact with the evaporable material 102 such that direct conductive heating of the evaporable material 102 of the evaporable material insert 120 occurs within the mass of the evaporable material 102, rather than solely through conduction from the wall of the heating chamber (e.g., an oven, etc.). In some embodiments, the heating element 141 may be part of the evaporator body 110 (e.g., part of a durable or reusable portion of the evaporator 100), such as Figure 1 As shown. In some embodiments, the heating element 141 may be part of the evaporable material insert 120 (e.g., part of a disposable portion of the evaporator 100). For example, the evaporable material insert 120 may include one or more evaporable material contacts that cooperate with one or more evaporator body contacts (e.g., positioned along the evaporable material insert container 118) to provide a conductive path between the power supply 112 of the evaporator body 110 and the heating element 141 of the evaporable material insert 120.

[0032] Heating element 141 can be activated in association with a user inhaling (e.g., suction, inhalation, etc.) at the end of the evaporator device 100 and / or at the mouthpiece, causing air to flow from the air inlet along the airflow path to help form an inhalable aerosol that can be delivered through the air outlet in the mouthpiece. The incoming air moving along the airflow path moves over or through heating element 141 and / or evaporable material 102, where the gaseous evaporable material 102 is entrained into the air. Heating element 141 can be activated via controller 104, which may optionally be part of evaporator body 110 as discussed herein, such that current flows from power source 112 through a circuit including heating element 141, which may be part of evaporator body 110. As described herein, the entrained gaseous evaporable material 102 can condense as it passes through the remainder of the airflow path, allowing an inhalable dose of evaporable material 102 in aerosol form to be delivered from the air outlet (e.g., the mouthpiece) for the user to inhale.

[0033] Activation of the heating element 141 can be caused by automatic detection of suction based on one or more signals generated by one or more sensors 113. The sensors 113 and the signals generated by the sensors 113 can include one or more of the following: one or more pressure sensors that detect pressure along the airflow path relative to ambient pressure (or optionally measure changes in absolute pressure); one or more motion sensors (e.g., accelerometers) of the evaporator device 100; one or more flow sensors of the evaporator device 100; a capacitive lip sensor of the evaporator device 100; detection of user interaction with the evaporator device 100 via one or more input devices 116 (e.g., buttons or other tactile controls of the evaporator device 100); receiving signals from a computing device communicating with the evaporator device 100; and / or determining by other means that suction is occurring or about to occur.

[0034] As discussed herein, the evaporator device 100, consistent with embodiments of the present subject, can be configured to connect (e.g., wirelessly or via a wired connection) to a computing device (or optionally two or more devices) communicating with the evaporator device 100. For this purpose, the controller 104 may include communication hardware 105. The controller 104 may also include memory 108. The communication hardware 105 may include firmware and / or may be software-controlled to execute one or more encryption protocols for communication.

[0035] The computing device may be a component of the evaporator system, which also includes the evaporator device 100, and may include its own communication hardware, which can establish a wireless communication channel with the communication hardware 105 of the evaporator device 100. For example, the computing device used as part of the evaporator system may include a general-purpose computing device (such as a smartphone, tablet, personal computer, or some other portable device such as a smartwatch) that executes software to generate a user interface, enabling the user to interact with the evaporator device 100. In other embodiments of the present subject matter, such a device used as part of the evaporator system may be dedicated hardware, such as a remote control or other wireless or wired device, having one or more physical or software (e.g., configurable on a screen or other display device and selectable via user interaction with a touch-sensitive screen or some other input device such as a mouse, pointer, trackball, cursor button, etc.) interface controls. The evaporator device 100 may also include one or more outputs 117 or devices for providing information to the user. For example, output 117 may include one or more light-emitting diodes (LEDs) configured to provide feedback to the user based on the status and / or operating mode of the evaporator device 100.

[0036] In examples where the computing device provides signals related to the activation of the heating element, or in other examples where the computing device is coupled to the evaporator device 100 to implement various control or other functions, the computing device executes one or more computer instruction sets to provide a user interface and low-level data processing. In one example, the computing device detecting user interaction with one or more user interface elements may cause the computing device to send a signal to the evaporator device 100 to activate the heating element to reach the operating temperature for generating an inhalable dose of vapor / aerosol. Other functions of the evaporator device 100 can be controlled through user interaction with a user interface on the computing device communicating with the evaporator device 100.

[0037] The temperature of the heating element 141 of the evaporator device 100 can depend on several factors, including the amount of electrical energy delivered to the heating element 141 and / or the duty cycle of the delivered electrical energy, conductive heat transfer to other parts of the evaporator device 100 and / or to the environment, latent heat loss due to the evaporation of the evaporable material 102, and convective heat loss due to airflow (e.g., air moving across the heating element 141 when a user inhales onto the evaporator device 100). As described herein, in order to reliably activate the heating element 141 or heat it to a desired temperature, in some embodiments of the present subject matter, the evaporator device 100 may utilize signals from a sensor 113 (e.g., a pressure sensor) to determine when a user inhales. Sensor 113 may be positioned in and / or connected (e.g., via a channel or other path) to an airflow path (which includes an inlet for air to enter the evaporator unit 100 and an outlet for the vapor and / or aerosol inhaled by the user) such that sensor 113 experiences changes (e.g., pressure changes) as air passes through the evaporator unit 100 from the air inlet to the air outlet. In some embodiments of the present subject matter, heating element 141 may be activated in association with the user's suction, for example by automatically detecting suction, or by sensor 113 detecting changes (e.g., pressure changes) in the airflow path.

[0038] Sensor 113 may be positioned on or coupled (e.g., electrically or electronically, or physically or wirelessly) to controller 104 (e.g., a printed circuit board assembly or other type of circuit board). For accurate measurements and to maintain the durability of the evaporator unit 100, it is beneficial to provide a seal that is sufficiently flexible to separate the airflow path from other parts of the evaporator unit 100. The seal may be a gasket configured to at least partially surround sensor 113, such that the connection of sensor 113 to the internal circuitry of the evaporator unit 100 is separated from the portion of sensor 113 exposed to the airflow path. This arrangement of the seal within the evaporator unit 100 can help mitigate potentially damaging effects on evaporator components due to interactions with environmental factors (e.g., water in the vapor or liquid phase) and / or reduce air escape from designated airflow paths within the evaporator unit 100. Undesirable air, liquid, or other fluids passing through and / or contacting the circuitry of the evaporator unit 100 may cause various undesirable effects, such as altered pressure readings, and / or may cause unwanted materials (e.g., moisture, faulty portions of the evaporable material 102, etc.) to accumulate in components of the evaporator unit 100, where they may cause poor pressure signals, degradation of sensor 113 or other components, and / or shortened lifespan of the evaporator unit 100. Leaks in the seals may also cause a user to inhale air that has already passed through the evaporator unit 100, which contains or is composed of materials that are not intended to be inhaled.

[0039] In the evaporator, power supply 112 is part of evaporator body 110 and heating element 141 is disposed in evaporable material insert 120 (the evaporable material insert is configured to be coupled to evaporator body 110). Evaporable material insert 120 and evaporator 100 may include electrical connection features (e.g., electrical contacts) for completing circuitry, including controller 104 (e.g., printed circuit board, microcontroller, etc.), power supply 112, and heating element 141. The circuitry completed by these electrical connections allows current to be delivered to heating element 141 (e.g., resistance heating element) and may also be used for additional functions, such as measuring the resistance of the resistance heating element to determine and / or control the temperature of the resistance heating element based on the thermal coefficient of its resistivity.

[0040] In some embodiments, the evaporable material insert container 118 may include all or part of a heating element 141 (e.g., a heating coil, a resistance heating element, etc.) configured to heat the evaporable material insert 120 received in the evaporable material insert container 118, such as for forming an inhalable aerosol. For example, the evaporable material insert container 118 may include a metal sheath and a resistance heater configured to receive the evaporable material insert 120. Various embodiments of the evaporable material insert 120 are described herein for use with various evaporator bodies 110 and evaporable material insert containers 118 to form an inhalable aerosol.

[0041] In some embodiments, the evaporable material insert 120 may be configured to be inserted into the evaporable material insert container 118, such as by forming a sliding fit between the outer surface of the evaporable material insert 120 and one or more inner walls of the evaporable material insert container 118. For example, the evaporable material insert 120 may have the same or similar shape as the evaporable material insert container 118. In some embodiments, the evaporable material insert 120 may include a circular cross-section and / or a cylindrical shape. In some embodiments, the evaporable material insert 120 may have a non-circular cross-section transverse to an axis, wherein the evaporable material insert 120 is inserted into the evaporable material insert container 118 along said axis. For example, the non-circular cross-section may be approximately rectangular, approximately elliptical (e.g., having an approximately oval shape), non-rectangular but having two sets of parallel or approximately parallel opposite sides (e.g., having a parallelogram shape), or other shapes having at least second-order rotational symmetry. In this document, "approximate shape" implies a basic similarity to the shape described, but the sides of the shape in question need not be perfectly linear, and the vertices need not be perfectly sharp. In any description of a non-circular cross section mentioned herein, rounding of either or both of the edges or vertices of the cross-sectional shape is envisioned.

[0042] In some embodiments, at least one of the inner walls forming one or more of the evaporable material insert container 118 may include a heating element 141 and / or include a thermally conductive material. For example, a configuration in which the evaporable material insert 120 forms a sliding fit and / or close contact with the evaporable material insert container 118 can allow efficient heat transfer between the heating element 141 and the evaporable material insert 120, resulting in efficient and effective heating of the evaporable material 102 of the evaporable material insert 120.

[0043] Furthermore, the evaporable material insert 120 may include a compressed and / or high-density configuration of the non-liquid evaporable material 102, which can further contribute to the efficient and effective heating and evaporation of the evaporable material 102. For example, the evaporable material 102 in a compressed and / or high-density configuration may include a minimal amount of air or cavitation within the evaporable material 102, thereby improving the efficiency and effectiveness of heat transfer along the evaporable material 102. Such a configuration can allow for reduced power consumption, at least because less heating power is required to effectively heat and evaporate the evaporable material 102. Additionally, a lower heating temperature can be used to heat the evaporable material 102, at least because the heating efficiency of the evaporable material 102 is improved, which can also reduce power consumption and the formation of harmful byproducts caused by heating the evaporable material at higher temperatures. Various embodiments of the evaporable material insert 120, comprising evaporable materials formed in a compressed and / or high-density configuration for achieving at least some of the aforementioned benefits, are described herein.

[0044] Figures 2A-2B An embodiment of an evaporable material insert 220 is shown, which can be inserted into the container of the evaporator body 110 (e.g., Figure 1 In the evaporable material insert container 118), it is used for heating and forming an inhalable aerosol. For example... Figure 2A As shown, the evaporable material insert 220 may include a housing 260 having an internal chamber extending between an inlet 262 and an outlet 264. The evaporable material insert 220 may include an evaporable material component 222, which is at least partially housed within the housing 260 and extends between the inlet 262 and the outlet 264. Figure 2A As shown, the evaporable material insert 220 may include an airflow passage 252 extending through the evaporable material component 222, such as extending along the longitudinal axis of the evaporable material component 222. Thus, the inner wall of the evaporable material component 222 may define the airflow passage 252.

[0045] like Figure 2A As shown, the evaporable material insert 220 may have a cylindrical shape; however, the evaporable material insert 220 (including the evaporable material component 222, the housing 260, and the airflow channel 252) may include one or more of various shapes and sizes without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Furthermore, although Figure 2AThe evaporable material insert 220 shown herein is described as including a housing 260, but the evaporable material insert 220 and any evaporable material insert described herein may not include a housing 260. For example, the outer wall of the evaporable material component 222 may form the outer wall of the evaporable material insert 220. In some embodiments, the housing 260 may help to contain the evaporable material component 222 and reduce or prevent contact between the evaporable material component 222 and the evaporable material insert container 118, such as to reduce contamination of the evaporable material insert container 118.

[0046] The housing 260 may be made of a variety of materials, including one or more of thermally conductive materials, insulating materials, biodegradable materials, evaporable materials, and non-evaporable materials. For example, in some embodiments, the housing 260 may be formed of paper or paper-like materials.

[0047] In some embodiments, the evaporable material component 222 comprises one or more evaporable materials, such as non-liquid evaporable materials (e.g., tobacco materials), for evaporation and formation of an inhalable aerosol. The evaporable material component 222 may be dense and substantially free of cavitation. Additionally, the evaporable material component 222 may prevent airflow from entering and / or flowing through it. Thus, the evaporable material component 222 may have a higher thermal conductivity compared to some currently available evaporable material inserts and non-liquid evaporable materials. For example, in some embodiments, the thermal conductivity of the evaporable material component 222 may have a range from approximately 0.05 W / mK to approximately 1 W / mK, such as approximately 0.2 W / mK to approximately 0.6 W / mK.

[0048] In some embodiments, the evaporable material component 222 may include one or more of guar gum, lithium saponite, and non-liquid evaporable materials in powder form. For example, during manufacturing, the evaporable material component 222 may be formed in a mold or extruded. For example, the evaporable material component 222 may be formed by extruding a mixture of tobacco powder and guar gum. In some embodiments, the evaporable material component 222 may be formed by pressing a mixture of tobacco and lithium saponite into a mold. This evaporable material component 222 formation may have higher density and higher thermal conductivity compared to at least some non-liquid evaporable materials and evaporable material inserts.

[0049] In some embodiments, the evaporable material component 222 may include thermally conductive particles contained in the evaporable material mixture and within the evaporable material component 222 during the manufacturing process. The thermally conductive particles may be in direct contact with the evaporable material 102 of the evaporable material component 222, such as allowing induction heating and / or conductive heating of the evaporable material 102 to form an inhalable aerosol.

[0050] For example, during use of the evaporable material insert 220, the evaporable material insert 220 can be inserted into the evaporable material insert container 118 such that the evaporable material component 222 is positioned adjacent to and / or in contact with a heating element positioned along the evaporable material insert container 118. For example, the housing 260 of the evaporable material insert 220 can contact the heating element 141 and allow heat to be transferred through the housing 260 to heat the evaporable material component 222. The evaporable material component 222 can be heated by the heating element to a temperature (e.g., approximately 250 degrees Celsius) that causes at least a portion of the evaporable material 102 contained in the evaporable material component 222 to evaporate. The evaporation of the evaporable material 102 can result in the formation of an inhalable aerosol in the airflow passage 252, which can then travel along the airflow passage 252 for inhalation by a user. As described above, the evaporable material component 222 prevents air from entering, thereby increasing the thermal conductivity along the evaporable material component 222 to achieve efficient and effective evaporation of the evaporable material 102 in the evaporable material component 222. This increased thermal conductivity along the evaporable material component 222 (e.g., compared to some other evaporable material inserts) enables improved heating along the evaporable material component 222, such as more uniform heating and reduced or eliminated overheating of the evaporable material component 222. This improved heating can reduce waste in the evaporable material component 222 (e.g., reduce or eliminate ineffectively heated portions of the evaporable material component 222) and reduce the formation of harmful byproducts (e.g., due to overheating of the evaporable material component 222). Other embodiments of the evaporable material insert 220 are included within the scope of this disclosure, as described below.

[0051] In some embodiments, the housing 260 of the evaporable material insert 220 may include a heating element 141. For example, the heating element 141 may be coupled to the evaporable material component 222 (e.g., the housing 260 may include or be replaced by the heating element 141). Thus, the evaporable material component 222 may be positioned between and in contact with the heating element 141 and the airflow passage 252. In such embodiments, the evaporable material insert 220 may include one or more electrical contacts that engage with corresponding contacts along the evaporable material insert container 118 to allow power to be supplied from the power source of the evaporator body to the heating element 141 of the evaporable material insert 220. Thus, upon activation of the power source (e.g., ... Figure 1When the power supply 112 is available, the heating element 141 can directly heat the evaporable material component 222 to form an inhalable aerosol in the airflow passage 252, which can then travel along the airflow passage 252 for inhalation by the user. The heating element 141 may include any or more of various features, such as a resistance heating element, a thermally conductive material, etc. The heating element 141 may be positioned along one or more surfaces of the evaporable material component 222 for heating the evaporable material component 222 and forming an inhalable aerosol.

[0052] Figures 3A-3B Another embodiment of the evaporable material insert 320 is shown, including a housing 260, an evaporable material component 222, and a heating element 141. Figures 3A-3B The evaporable material component 222, housing 260, and heating element 141 of the evaporable material insert 320 may include the aforementioned, such as those described above. Figures 2A-2B Any one or more features and functions of the evaporable material insert 220. For example... Figure 3A As shown, the heating element 141 can extend through the evaporable material component 222, such that the evaporable material component 222 wraps around the heating element 141. Figure 3B As shown, the heating element 141 may include one or more electrical contacts 350 configured to engage with corresponding contacts along the evaporable material insert container 118 to allow power to be transferred from the evaporator body (e.g., Figure 1 The power supply for the evaporator body 110 (e.g., Figure 1 A power source 112 is supplied to the heating element 141. Thus, when the power source 112 is activated, the heating element 141 can directly heat the evaporable material component 222 to form an inhalable aerosol in the airflow passage 352, which can then travel along the airflow passage 352 for inhalation by the user. In this embodiment, where the heating element 141 is part of the evaporable material insert 320, the heating element 141 can be discarded after use along with any remaining portion of the evaporable material insert 320.

[0053] like Figure 3B As shown, the airflow passage 352 can extend along the outer wall of the evaporable material component 222, such as between the outer wall of the evaporable material component 222 and the inner wall of the evaporable material insert container 118. Thus, the airflow passage 352 can be formed when the evaporable material insert 320 is inserted into the evaporable material insert container 118, and may not extend through the evaporable material insert 320. In some embodiments and as shown... Figure 3AAs shown, the evaporable material insert 320 may include a housing 260 wrapped around the outer wall of the evaporable material component 222. Thus, the housing 260 may be formed of a material that allows the evaporating components of the evaporable material 102 to pass through the housing 260, thereby allowing the formation of an inhalable aerosol in the airflow passage 352.

[0054] Figures 4A-4B Another embodiment of the evaporable material insert 420 is shown, which includes an evaporable material component 222 and a heating element 141. Figures 4A-4B The evaporable material component 222 and heating element 141 of the evaporable material insert 420 may include the aforementioned, such as those described above. Figures 2A-3B Any one or more features and functions of the evaporable material inserts 220 and 320. For example... Figure 4A As shown, the evaporable material component 222 may have a flat structure, wherein the heating element 141 is positioned along a first side of the evaporable material component 222. The heating element 141 may be in direct contact with the evaporable material component 222. In some embodiments, the evaporable material insert 420 may include a housing 260 extending around one or more portions of the evaporable material insert 420, such as around the evaporable material component 222 and / or the heating element 141. The heating element 141 may include one or more electrical contacts (e.g., such as...). Figure 3B The electrical contacts 350 are configured to engage with corresponding contacts along the evaporable material insert container 118 to allow power to be supplied from the power source of the evaporator body to the heating element 141. Thus, when the power is activated, the heating element 141 can directly heat the evaporable material component 222 to form an inhalable aerosol in the airflow passage 352, which can then travel along the airflow passage 452 for inhalation by the user.

[0055] like Figure 4B As shown, the airflow passage 452 may extend along a second side of the evaporable material component 222 (e.g., opposite to the first side of the evaporable material component 222), such as extending between the second side of the evaporable material component 222 and the inner wall of the evaporable material insert container 118. Thus, the airflow passage 352 may be formed when the evaporable material insert 420 is inserted into the evaporable material insert container 118, and may not extend through the evaporable material insert 420. In this embodiment, where the heating element 141 is part of the evaporable material insert 420, the heating element 141 may be discarded after use along with any remaining portion of the evaporable material insert 420.

[0056] Other embodiments of evaporable material inserts are also within the scope of this disclosure. For example, some embodiments of evaporable material inserts may include evaporable material components comprising non-liquid evaporable materials. Furthermore, some evaporable material inserts may lack airflow passages and heating elements. Thus, evaporable material inserts may consist only of evaporable material components or only of evaporable material components and a housing. This embodiment of the evaporable material insert may rely on an evaporator to include at least a portion of the heating element and airflow passage to allow the formation of an inhalable aerosol for user inhalation.

[0057] Terminology 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 there may be intermediate features and / or elements present. Conversely, when a feature or element is referred to as being “directly on” another feature or element, there are no intermediate features or elements present. 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 may be directly connected, attached, or coupled to the other feature or element, or there may be intermediate features or elements present. 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 intermediate features or elements present.

[0058] Although described or illustrated with respect to one embodiment, the features and elements so described or illustrated may be applied to other embodiments. Those skilled in the art will also understand that references to structures or features arranged "adjacent" to another feature may have overlapping portions or be located below the adjacent feature.

[0059] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments and implementations only and is not intended to be limiting. For example, as used herein, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are also intended to include the plural forms. It will also be understood that when the terms “comprising” and / or “including” are used in this specification, they mean the presence of the stated features, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items and may be omitted as “ / ”.

[0060] In the foregoing description and claims, phrases such as “at least one of” or “one or more of” may appear after the conjunction list of elements or features. The term “and / or” may also appear in a list of two or more elements or features. Unless otherwise implied or explicitly contradicted by the context in which it is used, the phrase means any of the listed elements or features individually, or any of the listed elements or features in combination with any additionally recited elements or features. For example, the phrases “at least one of A and B,” “one or more of A and B,” and “A and / or B” respectively mean “A alone,” “B alone,” or “A and B together.” A similar interpretation applies to lists containing 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” each mean “A alone,” “B alone,” “C alone,” “A and B together,” “A and C together,” “B and C together,” or “A, B, and C together.” The term “based on” as used in the foregoing and claims means “at least partially based on,” thus allowing for the inclusion of features or elements not explicitly recited.

[0061] For ease of description, spatial relative terms such as “forward,” “backward,” “below,” “under,” “down,” “above,” “above,” etc., are used herein to describe the relationship between one element or feature and another element or feature as shown in the figures. It should be understood that spatial relative terms are intended to include not only the orientation depicted in the figures but also different orientations of the device in use or operation. For example, if the device in the figures is inverted, an element described as being below or under other elements or features would be oriented above those elements or features. Thus, the exemplary term “below” can include orientations of “above” and “below.” The device may be oriented in other ways (rotated 90 degrees or otherwise), and the spatial relative descriptions used herein may be interpreted accordingly. Similarly, unless otherwise specifically indicated, the terms “up,” “down,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” etc., are used herein solely for illustrative purposes.

[0062] Although the terms “first” and “second” may be used herein to describe various features / elements (including steps), these features / elements will not be limited by these terms unless the context otherwise indicates. These terms may be used to distinguish one feature / element from another. Thus, without departing from the teachings presented 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.

[0063] As used herein and in the claims, including as in the examples, and unless otherwise expressly indicated, all figures are to be understood as words preceded by "about" or "approximately," even if the term is not explicitly stated. When describing numerical values ​​and / or locations, the phrases "about" or "approximately" may be used to indicate that the described numerical value and / or location is within a reasonably expected range of the numerical value and / or location. 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 that value or approximately that value, unless the context otherwise indicates. For example, if the value "10" is disclosed, "about 10" is also disclosed. Any numerical ranges listed herein are intended to include all subranges contained within said 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 properly understood by those skilled in the art. For example, if the value "X" is disclosed, then "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, as well as ranges for any combination of data points. For example, if a particular data point "10" and a particular 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, along with ranges between 10 and 15, are also considered disclosed. It is also understood that each unit between two particular units is also disclosed. For example, if 10 and 15 are disclosed, then 11, 12, 13, and 14 are also disclosed.

[0064] Although different illustrated embodiments have been described above, various changes may be made to the different embodiments without departing from the teachings herein. For example, the order in which the various 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 in different apparatus and system embodiments may be included in some embodiments but not in others. Therefore, the above description is provided primarily for illustrative purposes and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims.

[0065] One or more aspects or features of the subject matter described herein can be implemented as: digital electronic circuits, integrated circuits, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) of special design, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), computer hardware, firmware, software, and / or combinations thereof. These different aspects or features may include implementations employing one or more computer programs that can be executed and / or interpreted on a programmable system, the programmable system including at least one programmable processor, at least one input device, and at least one output device, the programmable processor being either dedicated or general-purpose, coupled to receive data and instructions from and transmit data and instructions to the storage system. The programmable system or computing system may include clients and servers. Clients and servers are conventionally geographically separated and typically interact via a communication network. The connection between clients and servers arises by means of computer programs running on respective computers and by the client-server relationship between them.

[0066] These computer programs, also referred to as “programs,” “software,” “software applications,” “applications,” “components,” or “code,” include machine instructions for programmable processors and can be implemented in high-level programming 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 apparatus for providing machine instructions and / or data to a programmable processor, such as, for example, disks, optical disks, memories, and programmable logic devices (PLDs), including machine-readable media that receive machine instructions as machine-readable signals. The term “machine-readable signal” refers to any signal used to provide machine instructions and / or data to a programmable processor. Machine-readable media may store such machine instructions non-transitory, such as, for example, non-transitory solid-state memory or magnetic hard disk drives or any equivalent storage medium. Machine-readable media may alternatively or additionally store such machine instructions transiently, such as, for example, a processor cache or other random access memory associated with one or more physical processor cores.

[0067] The examples and descriptions included herein illustrate, 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, such that structural and logical substitutions and changes can be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Such embodiments of the inventive subject matter may be referred to herein by the term "invention" alone or collectively, for convenience only, and if more than one invention is disclosed, it is not intended to actively limit the scope of this application to any single invention or inventive concept. Therefore, although specific embodiments are illustrated and described herein, any arrangement or structure intended to achieve the same purpose may replace the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to cover any and all modifications or variations of the different embodiments. After reading the above description, combinations of the above embodiments and other embodiments not specifically described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. An evaporable material insert for use with an evaporator device to form an inhalable aerosol, the evaporable material insert comprising: A shell made of paper material; as well as A vaporizable material component, at least partially disposed within the housing, the vaporizable material component comprising a vaporizable material and a thermally conductive material, the thermally conductive material being in contact with the vaporizable material to allow induction heating of the vaporizable material to form the inhalable aerosol, the vaporizable material comprising tobacco material.

2. The evaporable material insert according to claim 1, wherein, The evaporable material insert includes cylindrical, approximately rectangular, approximately elliptical, parallelogram, or other shapes with at least second-order rotational symmetry.

3. The evaporable material insert according to claim 1, further comprising a heating element extending along the evaporable material component.

4. The evaporable material insert according to claim 3, wherein the heating element passes through and extends along the longitudinal axis of the evaporable material component.

5. The evaporable material insert according to claim 1, wherein the tobacco material comprises a portion of a tobacco leaf.

6. The evaporable material insert of claim 1, wherein the housing includes a heating element configured for heating the evaporable material component.

7. The evaporable material insert according to claim 1, wherein, The thermally conductive material includes thermally conductive particles that are in direct contact with the evaporable material.

8. The evaporable material insert according to claim 1, wherein, The thermally conductive material is formed of a metallic material.

9. A system for generating inhalable aerosols, the system comprising: Evaporable material insert, the evaporable material insert comprising: A shell made of paper material, and A vaporizable material component, at least partially disposed within the housing, comprising a vaporizable material and a thermally conductive material, the thermally conductive material contacting the vaporizable material to allow induction heating of the vaporizable material to form the inhalable aerosol, the vaporizable material comprising tobacco material; and An evaporator device, the evaporator device including an evaporable material insert container configured to receive the evaporable material insert.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the evaporable material insert container provides a sliding fit with the evaporable material insert.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the tobacco material comprises a portion of a tobacco leaf.

12. The system according to claim 9, wherein, The evaporable material insert includes cylindrical, approximately rectangular, approximately elliptical, parallelogram, or other shapes with at least second-order rotational symmetry.

13. The system according to claim 9, wherein, The evaporable material insert container includes cylindrical, approximately rectangular, approximately elliptical, parallelogram, or other shapes with at least second-order rotational symmetry.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the thermally conductive material comprises thermally conductive particles in direct contact with the evaporable material.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein the thermally conductive material is formed of a metallic material.

16. The system of claim 9, wherein the evaporable body includes a heating element.

17. An evaporable material insert for use with an evaporator device to form an inhalable aerosol, the evaporable material insert comprising: Evaporable material component, the evaporable material component comprising: An evaporable material and a thermally conductive material, wherein the thermally conductive material is in contact with the evaporable material to allow induction heating of the evaporable material to form the inhalable aerosol. The evaporable material insert does not include a housing, and the outer wall of the evaporable material component forms the outer wall of the evaporable material insert.

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