E-vaping Filter with Infused Interstices for Airflow Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
E-vaping devices lack an effective filter solution that efficiently incorporates consumable substances like nicotine and flavorants while maintaining airflow and resistance-to-draw characteristics.
Innovation Solution
A filter design featuring crimped or folded filter material with infused consumable substances, housed in a containing structure that allows airflow and includes a flow restriction section, ensuring a controlled resistance-to-draw and fluid communication with a reservoir for nicotine and flavorants.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a filter material is used to filter vapor in an e-vaping device, then harmful factors are reduced, but airflow resistance increases excessively
Solution Approach 1:
The filter material is divided into multiple segments or layers with varying porosity and filtration capabilities. This segmentation allows the vapor to pass through less restrictive layers while harmful substances are captured in more dense layers, reducing overall airflow resistance while maintaining filtration effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the filter material are designed with different properties - areas with higher porosity for airflow and areas with higher density for filtration. This local quality variation allows the filter to provide effective harmful substance removal in specific zones while maintaining low resistance in airflow-critical zones.
2Adaptability or versatility
If consumable substances like nicotine and flavorants are incorporated into the filter, then product functionality is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The consumable substances (nicotine and flavorants) are combined with the filter material into a single integrated component. This merging eliminates the need for separate reservoirs, delivery mechanisms, and filtration systems, thereby improving product functionality while reducing manufacturing complexity compared to multi-component designs.
Solution Approach 2:
The filter material serves multiple functions simultaneously: filtration of harmful substances, delivery of consumable substances (nicotine and flavorants), and structural support. This multi-functionality improves product versatility while simplifying the overall device architecture and manufacturing process.
3Speed
If the filter material is crimped or folded to create interstices, then airflow is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The crimping and folding patterns are designed to be flexible and adaptive rather than rigid. The interstices are created through dynamic forming processes that allow for variations in material properties and environmental conditions, reducing the stringency of manufacturing precision requirements while maintaining effective airflow channels.
Solution Approach 2:
The dimensions, spacing, and geometry of the crimped or folded interstices are optimized within acceptable tolerance ranges. By adjusting parameters such as interstice width, length, and distribution density, the design achieves effective airflow without requiring extreme manufacturing precision, balancing performance with manufacturability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The filter effectively imparts flavor and nicotine to vapor while maintaining a desired resistance-to-draw, enhancing the vaping experience with controlled airflow and substance delivery.
Implementation Method 1
a filter material, the one or more portions defining interstices running through a longitudinal length of the contained filter material, the interstices being configured to allow an airflow to pass through
Implementation Method 2
at least one first consumable substance infused within the filter material
Implementation Method 3
the at least one first consumable substance including at least one of nicotine, at least one first flavorant, a pre-vapor formulation
Data Source
AI summary
The method includes forming a filter material sheet, containing the filter material sheet to form a contained filter material, the containing including, folding the filter material sheet to create a plurality of folds along a width of the filter material sheet, gathering the filter material sheet to form the contained filter material, the plurality of folds in the filter material sheet forming interstices running through a longitudinal length of the contained filter material, the interstices being configured to allow an airflow to pass through the longitudinal length of the contained filter material, and infusing the filter material sheet with at least one first consumable substance, the at least one first consumable substance being one of nicotine, at least one first flavorant, a pre-vapor formulation, a combination thereof, or a sub-combination thereof.