RU2795133C2 - Electronic vaping device - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: smoking products.

SUBSTANCE: electronic device (100) for vaping contains a cartridge (110) and a power supply assembly (170). The cartridge (110) comprises a reservoir body (101) at least partially forming a reservoir, wherein the reservoir is configured to hold the finished composition for evaporation, and the evaporator assembly (140) configured to draw the finished composition for evaporation from the reservoir and heat the drawn ready composition for evaporation with formation of steam. The power supply assembly (170) is configured to energize the cartridge (110) to initiate vaporization of the evaporator assembly (140). The power supply assembly comprises a power supply configured to supply power; connecting element (181, 196) interface, made with the possibility of electrical connection of the power supply unit with the evaporator assembly; a light emitting device (188-1, 188-2) configured to emit light; and a light guide structure (190-1, 190-2) having a proximal end and a distal end.

EFFECT: possibility of identifying the properties of the cartridge based on the determination of the value of a particular instance of information associated with the cartridge.

34 cl, 16 dwg

Description

The present invention relates to electronic vaping devices, electronic vaping devices and/or non-flammable vaping devices.

The electronic vaping device contains a heating element that vaporizes the finished vaping composition to generate "steam", sometimes referred to herein as "steam generated".

The electronic vaping device includes a power supply, such as a rechargeable battery, housed in the device. The battery is electrically connected to the steam generator so that the heating element in it is heated to a temperature sufficient to convert the finished composition for evaporation into generated steam. The generated vapor exits the electronic vaping device through a release assembly that includes an outlet.

According to some exemplary embodiments, an electronic vaping device may include a cartridge and power supply assembly. The cartridge may comprise a reservoir body at least partially forming a reservoir, wherein the reservoir is configured to hold the finished vaporization composition, and an evaporator assembly configured to draw the finished vaporization composition from the reservoir and heat the drawn in finished vaporization composition to form steam. The power supply assembly may be configured to supply power, including to the cartridge, to initiate vapor production by the evaporator assembly. The power supply assembly may include a power supply capable of supplying power, a coupling element configured to electrically connect the power supply to the evaporator assembly, a light emitting device configured to emit light, and a light guide structure having a proximal end and a distal end , and the proximal end is located next to the light emitting device, the far end passes through the connecting element interface. The light guide structure may be configured to transmit emitted light from the near end of the light guide structure to the far end of the light guide structure, such that the light guide structure is configured to emit transmitted light into the cartridge reservoir body to cause at least a portion of the transmitted light to be emitted by at least a portion of the cartridge. into the external environment.

The light guide structure may be configured to emit transmitted light into the cartridge reservoir via the reservoir body to illuminate the ready volatilization composition held in the reservoir to the outside environment.

The tank body may be configured to transmit transmitted light through the inside of the tank body to radiate to the outside via at least a portion of the tank body that is not covered by the power supply assembly body.

At least a portion of the reservoir body may be transparent to visible light.

A portion of the reservoir body may be transparent to visible light in a direction that is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the cartridge.

The light emitting device may be configured to emit light having a selected set of light properties from a plurality of light property sets.

The electronic vaping device may further comprise a control circuit configured to identify a property of a cartridge associated with the cartridge and control a light emitting device to emit light having a property of light associated with the identified property of the cartridge.

The control circuit may be configured to identify a property of the cartridge based on determining the value of a particular instance of information associated with the cartridge.

The particular instance of information associated with the cartridge may be a particular electrical resistance associated with the cartridge.

The power supply assembly and the cartridge may be releasably connected to each other.

The electronic vaping device may further comprise one or more magnets configured to be magnetically connected to each other by the power supply assembly and the cartridge.

One or more magnets may be included in the power supply assembly.

One or more magnets may be included in the power supply assembly connector.

One or more magnets may be included in the cartridge.

The power supply may be a rechargeable battery.

According to some illustrative embodiments, a power supply assembly for an electronic vaping device may include a power supply configured to supply power, a coupling connector configured to connect with a cartridge to enable the electronic vaping device to generate vapor, a light emitting device configured with a light emitting capability, and a light guide structure having a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end being adjacent to the light emitting device, the distal end passing through the interface connector. The cartridge may include a reservoir body at least partially defining a reservoir holding a ready-to-flash composition, and a vaporizer assembly configured to heat the ready-to-flash composition drawn from the reservoir to generate steam. The interface connector may be configured to electrically connect the power supply to the evaporator assembly. The light guide structure may be configured to transmit emitted light from the near end of the light guide structure to the far end of the light guide structure, such that the light guide structure is configured to emit transmitted light into the cartridge reservoir body to cause at least a portion of the transmitted light to be emitted by at least a portion of the cartridge. into the external environment.

The light guide structure may be configured to emit transmitted light into the cartridge reservoir via the reservoir body to illuminate the ready volatilization composition held in the reservoir to the outside environment.

The tank body can be configured to transmit the transmitted light through the inside of the tank body for radiation to the external environment by means of at least a part of the tank body that is transparent, not covered by the power supply assembly body, or both transparent and not covered by the body.

The light emitting device may be configured to emit light having a selected set of light properties from a plurality of light property sets.

The power unit assembly may further comprise a control circuit configured to identify a property of a cartridge associated with the cartridge and control a light emitting device to emit light having a property of light associated with the identified property of the cartridge.

The control circuit may be configured to identify a property of the cartridge based on determining the value of a particular instance of information associated with the cartridge.

The particular instance of information associated with the cartridge may be a particular electrical resistance associated with the cartridge.

The power supply assembly may further comprise one or more magnets configured to be magnetically coupled to the cartridge power supply assembly.

One or more magnets may be included in the power supply assembly.

One or more magnets may be included in the power supply assembly connector.

One or more magnets may be included in the cartridge.

According to some exemplary embodiments, a method for operating an electronic vaping device may include identifying a particular set of cartridge properties associated with a cartridge coupled to a power supply assembly based on determining a particular instance of information associated with the cartridge, wherein the cartridge comprises a reservoir body of at least partially forming a reservoir holding the finished vaporization composition, and an evaporator assembly configured to generate steam by heating the finished vaporization composition drawn from the reservoir. The method may include controlling a light emitting device to emit light having a particular set of light properties associated with the identified particular set of cartridge properties, such that light is transmitted through the light guide structure and radiated into the cartridge reservoir body to initiate the emission of at least a portion of the transmitted light of at least one part of the cartridge into the environment.

The identification may include determining that the value of a particular particular information instance associated with the cartridge matches the value of a particular stored information instance from a plurality of stored information instances in the database, the particular stored information instance being associated with a stored set of light properties. Controlling the light emitting device may include identifying a stored light property set associated with a particular stored instance of information, since the particular light property set is associated with the identified cartridge specific property set.

The particular instance of the information may be a particular resistance associated with the cartridge.

The plurality of stored information stored in the database may comprise a plurality of stored resistances, and the value of a particular stored information may be a value in the form of a value of a particular stored resistance from the plurality of stored resistances.

The method may further include connecting the power supply assembly to the cartridge such that one or more magnets magnetically couple the power supply assembly to the cartridge.

One or more magnets may be included in the power supply assembly.

One or more magnets may be included in the power supply assembly connector.

One or more magnets may be included in the cartridge.

According to some exemplary embodiments, an electronic vaping device may include a cartridge and power supply assembly. The cartridge may comprise a reservoir body, at least partially forming a reservoir, wherein the reservoir is configured to hold the finished composition for evaporation, and the evaporator assembly, configured to draw the finished composition for evaporation from the reservoir and heat the drawn-in finished composition for evaporation with the formation of steam. The power supply assembly may be configured to supply power, including to the cartridge, to initiate vapor production by the evaporator assembly. The power supply assembly may include a power supply capable of supplying power, a coupling element configured to electrically connect the power supply to the evaporator assembly, a light emitting device configured to emit light, and a light guide structure having a proximal end and a distal end , wherein the proximal end is adjacent to the light emitting device, the distal end passes through the interface connector. The light guide structure may be configured to transmit emitted light from the near end of the light guide structure to the far end of the light guide structure, such that the light guide structure is configured to emit transmitted light into the cartridge to cause at least a portion of the transmitted light to be emitted by at least a portion of the cartridge to the outer Wednesday.

The light emitting device may be configured to emit light having a selected set of light properties from a plurality of light property sets.

The electronic vaping device may further comprise a control circuit configured to identify a property of a cartridge associated with the cartridge and control a light emitting device to emit light having a property of light associated with the identified property of the cartridge.

The control circuit may be configured to identify a property of the cartridge based on determining the value of a particular instance of information associated with the cartridge.

The particular instance of information associated with the cartridge may be a particular electrical resistance associated with the cartridge.

The power supply assembly and the cartridge may be releasably connected to each other.

The electronic vaping device may further comprise one or more magnets configured to be magnetically connected to each other by the power supply assembly and the cartridge.

One or more magnets may be included in the power supply assembly.

One or more magnets may be included in the power supply assembly connector.

One or more magnets may be included in the cartridge.

The power supply may be a rechargeable battery.

According to some illustrative embodiments, a power supply assembly for an electronic vaping device may include a power supply configured to supply power, a coupling connector configured to connect with a cartridge to enable the electronic vaping device to generate vapor, a light emitting device configured with light emitting capability, and a light guide structure having a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end being adjacent to the light emitting device, the distal end passing through the coupling connector. The cartridge may include a reservoir body at least partially defining a reservoir holding a ready-to-flash composition, and a vaporizer assembly configured to heat the ready-to-flash composition drawn from the reservoir to generate steam. The interface connector may be configured to electrically connect the power supply to the evaporator assembly. The light guide structure may be configured to transmit emitted light from the near end of the light guide structure to the far end of the light guide structure, such that the light guide structure is configured to emit transmitted light into the cartridge to cause at least a portion of the transmitted light to be emitted by at least a portion of the cartridge to the outer Wednesday.

The light emitting device may be configured to emit light having a selected set of light properties from a plurality of light property sets.

The power unit assembly may further comprise a control circuit configured to identify a property of a cartridge associated with the cartridge and control a light emitting device to emit light having a property of light associated with the identified property of the cartridge.

The control circuit may be configured to identify a property of the cartridge based on determining the value of a particular instance of information associated with the cartridge.

The particular instance of information associated with the cartridge may be a particular electrical resistance associated with the cartridge.

The power supply assembly may further comprise one or more magnets configured to be magnetically coupled to the cartridge power supply assembly.

One or more magnets may be included in the power supply assembly.

One or more magnets may be included in the power supply assembly connector.

One or more magnets may be included in the cartridge.

Various features and advantages of the non-limiting embodiments herein may become more apparent upon consideration of the detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings are for illustrative purposes only and should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the claims. The accompanying graphics are not to be taken to scale unless expressly stated. For clarity, the various sizes of the graphics may have been enlarged.

In FIG. 1A is a side view of an electronic vaping device according to some exemplary embodiments;

in fig. 1B is a longitudinal sectional view along line IB-IB' of the electronic vaping device shown in FIG. 1A according to some exemplary embodiments;

in fig. 1C is a longitudinal sectional view along line IB-IB' of the electronic vaping device shown in FIG. 1A, in an exploded state according to some exemplary embodiments;

in fig. 1D is a longitudinal sectional view of the end of an electronic vaping device according to some exemplary embodiments;

in fig. 1E is a longitudinal sectional view of the end of an electronic vaping device according to some exemplary embodiments;

in fig. 1F is a perspective view of an electronic vaping device according to some exemplary embodiments;

in fig. 1G is a side view of the electronic vaping device shown in FIG. 1F, according to some exemplary embodiments;

in fig. 1H is a longitudinal sectional view along the line IH-IH' of the electronic vaping device shown in FIG. 1F, according to some exemplary embodiments;

in fig. 1I is a side view of an electronic vaping device according to some exemplary embodiments;

in fig. 1J is a sectional view of the electronic vaping device shown in FIG. 1I, which is taken along the section line IJ-IJ', according to some exemplary embodiments;

in fig. 1K is an exploded view of the electronic vaping device shown in FIG. 1I, according to some exemplary embodiments;

in fig. 1L is a side view of an electronic vaping device cartridge according to some exemplary embodiments;

in fig. 1M is a sectional view of the cartridge shown in FIG. 1L, which is taken along the IM-IM' section line, according to some exemplary embodiments;

in fig. 1N is an exploded view of the cartridge shown in FIG. 1L, according to some exemplary embodiments;

in fig. 2 is a schematic view of an electronic vaping device according to some exemplary embodiments; And

in fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating operations that may be performed according to some illustrative embodiments.

Some detailed illustrative embodiments are disclosed herein. However, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are provided solely for the purpose of describing illustrative embodiments. However, the exemplary embodiments may be implemented in many alternative forms and should not be construed as being limited to the exemplary embodiments set forth herein.

Accordingly, since the illustrative embodiments may have various modifications and alternative forms, their illustrative embodiments are shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that there is no intention to limit the illustrative embodiments to the specific forms disclosed, but rather, the illustrative embodiments are to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives thereof. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout the description of the figures.

It should be understood that if an element or layer is designated as "located on", "connected to", "adjacent to", "associated with" or "covering" another element or layer, it may be directly located on, connected to, adjacent to, associated with or may cover another element or layer, or space may be present between elements or layers, or intermediate elements or layers may be present. Conversely, if an element is designated as "directly located on", "directly connected to", or "directly connected to" another element or layer, then there are no intermediate spaces, elements or layers. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout the description. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the related listed elements.

It should be understood that while the terms "first", "second", "third", etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, region, layer, or section from another region, layer, or section. Therefore, the first element, region, layer, or section described below may be referred to as the second element, region, layer, or section without departing from the teachings of the illustrative embodiments.

The terms of relative spatial location (for example, "below", "under", "bottom", "above", "upper", etc.) may be used in this document for the purpose of simplifying the description to describe the relationship of one element or feature to others. elements or features as illustrated in the figures. It should be understood that the terms of relative spatial arrangement are intended to cover various orientations of the device during use or operation, in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is upside down, then the elements described as located "under" or "below" other elements or details, will be oriented "above" other elements or details. Therefore, the term "under" can cover the orientation both above and below. The device may be oriented differently (rotated 90 degrees or positioned in other orientations), and definitions of relative spatial location used herein are interpreted accordingly.

The terminology used herein is only intended to describe various illustrative embodiments and is not intended to limit the illustrative embodiments. In the context of this document, the singular forms are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the terms "comprises", "comprising", "comprises" and/or "comprising" when used in the present description indicate the presence of the specified features, integers, steps, operations, elements and/or components, but not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and/or groups thereof.

Exemplary embodiments are described herein with reference to the cross-sectional illustrations, which are schematic representations of exemplary embodiments. Thus, differences from the forms of the illustrations are to be expected. Therefore, the exemplary embodiments should not be construed as being limited to the shapes of the regions illustrated herein, but should contain deviations in form.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meanings as they are commonly understood by a person skilled in the art to which the illustrative embodiments relate. It should also be understood that terms, including those defined in common dictionaries, should be interpreted as having the meaning appropriate to their meaning in the context of the relevant technical field, and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless explicitly defined. in this document.

When the terms "approximately" or "substantially" are used in this specification in conjunction with a numerical value, the corresponding numerical value is intended to include an error of more or less than 10 percent of the stated numerical value. The expression "no more" includes numeric values from zero to the expressed upper limit and all values in between. When you specify ranges, the range includes all values within its range. Moreover, when using the words "generally" and "substantially" in conjunction with geometric shapes, it is understood that precision in geometric shape is not required, but such freedom in terms of shape is within the scope of this disclosure. Although the tubular elements in exemplary embodiments may be cylindrical, tubular shapes with other cross sections such as square, rectangular, oval, triangular, and others are contemplated.

As used herein, "vapour" is any substance generated or emitted from any electronic vaping device according to any of the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein.

In FIG. 1A is a side view of an electronic vaping device 100 according to some exemplary embodiments. In FIG. 1B is a longitudinal sectional view along the line IB-IB' of the electronic vaping device 100 shown in FIG. 1A according to some illustrative embodiments. In FIG. 1C is an exploded view of the electronic vaping device 100 shown in FIG. 1A according to some illustrative embodiments. In FIG. 1D is a longitudinal sectional view of the distal end of an electronic vaping device according to some exemplary embodiments. In FIG. 1E is a longitudinal sectional view of the distal end of an electronic vaping device according to some exemplary embodiments. In FIG. 1F is a perspective view of an electronic vaping device according to some exemplary embodiments. In FIG. 1G is a side view of the electronic vaping device shown in FIG. 1F, according to some exemplary embodiments. In FIG. 1H is a longitudinal sectional view along the line IH-IH' of the electronic vaping device shown in FIG. 1F, according to some exemplary embodiments. In FIG. 1I is a side view of an electronic vaping device according to some exemplary embodiments. In FIG. 1J is a sectional view of the electronic vaping device shown in FIG. 1I, which is taken along the section line IJ-IJ', according to some illustrative embodiments. In FIG. 1K is an exploded view of the electronic vaping device shown in FIG. 1I, according to some exemplary embodiments. In FIG. 1L is a side view of an electronic vaping device cartridge according to some exemplary embodiments. In FIG. 1M is a sectional view of the cartridge shown in FIG. 1L which is taken along the IM-IM' section line, according to some exemplary embodiments. In FIG. 1N is an exploded view of the cartridge shown in FIG. 1L, according to some exemplary embodiments.

In some exemplary embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1A-1C, an electronic vaping device (electronic vaping device) 100 may include a replaceable cartridge (or first section) 110, sometimes referred to herein as an "e-vaping tank", and a reusable battery section 170 (or second section, also referred to herein as a power supply assembly) that can be connected to each other at the respective interface connectors 181, 196 to enable the vaping electronic device 100 to generate steam. Cartridge 110 includes a reservoir 120 holding a ready-to-flash composition and a vaporizer assembly 140 configured to heat the ready-to-flash composition drawn from the tank 120 to generate steam. Power supply assembly 170 includes power supply 172 and, when connected to cartridge 110, is configured to supply power to vaporizer assembly 140 to enable vaporizer assembly 140 to generate steam.

Referring again to FIG. 1A-1C, the power supply assembly 170 and the cartridge 110 may be connected to each other via respective interface connectors 181, 196 to form an electronic vaping device 100. As shown in FIG. 1C, the connector 181 may include a connector 180, a connector structure 184, an inner surface 192 of the body 101, one or more magnets 186-1, 186-2, an inner surface 185 of the connector structure 184, and/or an outer surface 189 of the connector structure 184. As further shown in FIG. 1C, interface connector 196 may include interface element 149, tank body 112, and/or steam generator assembly 130. Interface connectors 181, 196 may be releasably connected to each other, thus power supply assembly 170 and cartridge 110 are made with the possibility of detachable connection with each other. It should be understood that each mating connector (also referred to herein as a connector) of the connectors 181, 196 can represent any type of mating element, including a tight fit, snap fit, clip, bayonet connector, slip fit, box fit, alignment fit. , threaded connector, magnet, lock or any other type of connection and / or combinations thereof. In the exemplary embodiments shown in FIG. 1B-1C, respective inlets 182, 132 extend through respective interface connectors 181, 196 to allow air to be drawn into the cartridge 110 from the external environment ("environment"). In some exemplary embodiments, air is drawn in through the interior of power supply assembly 170. In some exemplary embodiments, inlet 182 and/or inlet 178 may be omitted from electronic vaping device 100, and electronic vaping device 100 may include an inlet 173 that extends through at least a portion of cartridge 110 and/or at least a portion of power supply assembly 170 so as to be in fluid communication with inlet 132. For example, inlet 173 may extend through power supply assembly 170 from an external environment to the cavity 187. The inlet 173 may be part of the connecting element 181 interface, may pass through the part of the housing 101, which is removed from the power supply 172 with respect to the control circuit, and/or part of the cartridge 110. The sensor 174 may be located in communication along fluid with an inlet 173, for example, the sensor 174 may at least partially form a cavity 187. In some illustrative embodiments, the connection of the connector 196 of the interface of the cartridge 110 with the connector 181 of the interface of the power supply assembly 170 includes the connection of the element 149 of the interface of the connector 196 pairing with the element 180 pairing of the connecting element 181 pairing.

As shown in FIG. 1A-1C, cartridge 110 may include a reservoir body 112 at least partially defining reservoir 120, a steam generator assembly 130, and an outlet assembly 114. As illustrated herein, steam generator assembly 130 is shown protruding from reservoir 120, but illustrative embodiments are not limited to this: in some illustrative embodiments, the end of steam generator assembly 130 that is remote from outlet 118 is flush or substantially flush with (e.g., flush within manufacturing and/or material tolerances) with the end of the tank body 112 that is remote from the outlet 118, the end of the steam generator assembly 130 that is adjacent to the outlet 118 is flush or substantially flush with the end of the tank body 112 that is adjacent to the outlet 118, and/or the steam generator assembly 130 may be entirely or partially within the space occupied by the tank body 112. In some exemplary embodiments, the steam generator assembly 130 may wholly or partially form an inner tubular member of the reservoir body 112, wholly or partially defining the reservoir 120 between the outer walls of the component 130 and the inner walls of the component 112.

In some exemplary embodiments, including the exemplary embodiments shown in at least FIG. 1L-1N, a separate body that is separate from the tank body 112 may form the steam generator assembly 130 and may be directly or indirectly connected to the tank body 112. In some exemplary embodiments, including the exemplary embodiments shown in at least FIG. 1L-1N, one or more transfer packings 145-1, 145-2 may extend through both a portion of the tank body 112 and a portion of a separate body of the steam generator assembly 130. In some exemplary embodiments, the steam generator assembly 130 may be stationary. connected to the body 112 of the tank. In other exemplary embodiments, the steam generator assembly 130 may be removed from and/or detachably coupled to the reservoir body 112. In some illustrative embodiments, one or more seals and/or gaskets may be located between the connected housings.

Cartridge 110 may include a structural element (also referred to herein as inner tube 122) located within a space at least partially defined by reservoir body 112. The reservoir body 112 and inner tube 122 may each be configured to at least partially form reservoir 120. For example, as shown in FIG. 1B-1C, the inner surface of the reservoir body 112 may define the outer boundary of the reservoir 120. In another example, as shown, the outer surface of the inner tube 122 may form the inner boundary of the reservoir 120. As shown, the reservoir 120 may be formed as the space between the outer surface of the inner tube 122 and the inner surface of the tank body 112. In some exemplary embodiments, the steam generator assembly 130 may be wholly or partially formed part of the inner tube 122.

In some illustrative embodiments, the closure structure 198 may be connected to the ends of the reservoir body 112 and the inner tube 122 that are adjacent to the outlet 118, and thus provide the closure of the reservoir 120. As shown, the closure structure 198 may be further connected to outlet 114, and the closure structure 198 may include a slot 198a extending through it and configured to provide fluid communication between the interior of the inner tube 122 (eg, channel 124) and the channel 116 of the outlet 114. In some exemplary embodiments, the closure structure 198 may be fixedly connected to the outlet assembly 114 and/or the reservoir body 112. In some exemplary embodiments, the closure structure 198 may be detachably coupled to the release assembly 114, allowing the release assembly 114 to be connected to or detached from the rest of the electronic vaping device 100 without further opening the reservoir 120. In some exemplary embodiments, the housing 112 reservoir and inner tube 122 may be part of a single entity (ie, they may be part of the same entity). In some exemplary embodiments, the reservoir body 112 and the closure structure 198 may be part of a single unit. In some exemplary embodiments, inner tube 122 and closure structure 198 may be part of a single unit. In some illustrative embodiments, the closure structure 198, the reservoir body 112, and/or the inner tube 122 may be separate parts connected to each other, or parts of a single whole.

In further exemplary embodiments, the closure structure 198 and the release assembly 114 may be part of a single unit. In further exemplary embodiments, the closure structure 198 and the reservoir body 112 may be part of a single unit. In other words, the closure structure 198 may simply be part of the outlet assembly 114 or the reservoir body 112, or they may all be part of a single entity. In still other exemplary embodiments, the outlet assembly 114, the closure structure 198, the reservoir body 112, and/or the inner tube 122 may be separate parts connected to each other, or parts of a single unit.

As shown at least in FIG. 1H and 1I-1N, the closure structure 198 may include a protruding structure 198b that is configured to engage with a particular portion of the body 112 that is complementary in size and shape to the protruding structure 198b, thus the closure structure 198 is configured to couple to the tank body 112 with a particular alignment that corresponds to the protruding structure 198b engaged with the complementary portion of the reservoir body 112.

The inner surface of the inner tube 122 at least partially defines the channel 124. As shown in FIG. 1B-1C, inner tube 122 may extend through at least one end of reservoir body 112 such that conduit 124 is in fluid communication with vaporizer assembly 140 within the interior of steam generator assembly 130, inlet 132, and outlet 118. .

Referring again to FIG. 1B-1C, the steam generator assembly 130 includes a evaporator assembly 140 configured to draw in a ready-to-flash composition from a reservoir 120 and heat the drawn-in ready-to-flash composition to generate steam. Evaporator assembly 140 may include one or more transfer packings 145-1, 145-2 that extend through at least one structure that at least partially defines reservoir 120. In some illustrative embodiments, transfer packings 145-1 and 145- 2 may also pass through at least one structure that at least partially forms the steam generator assembly 130. In some illustrative embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1B-1C, the steam generator assembly 130 includes transfer packings 145-1 and 145-2 that extend through the end portion 115 of the reservoir body 112, with the end portion 115 of the reservoir body 112 at least partially forming the end of the reservoir 120 and/or the end of the generator. pair assembly 130, thus transfer packings 145-1 and 145-2 are in fluid communication with reservoir 120. Transfer packings 145-1 and 145-2 are each configured to draw a ready volatilization composition from reservoir 120 at their respective ends , which are located inside the tank, and through the interior of the respective transfer packings 145-1 and 145-2 to their respective opposite ends. In some exemplary embodiments, including the exemplary embodiments shown in at least FIG. 1B-1C, transfer pads 145-1 and 145-2 may be cylindrical, but it should be understood that other shapes and sizes of transfer pads 145-1 and 145-2 may be possible. For example, the transmission pads may be flat and/or may have other cross-sectional shapes such as square, rectangular, oval, triangular, irregular, etc., and/or combinations thereof. Each transfer packing may also have a different shape. In some illustrative embodiments, one or more of the transfer pads may be cylindrical, such that one or more transfer pads are approximately 2.5 millimeters in diameter and approximately 4.0 millimeters high. Any other sizes may be used depending on the application. In some exemplary embodiments, one or more of the transfer pads may at least partially comprise polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene (PP), a mixture of PET and PP, or the like. contain at least partially") of any materials that have the ability to transfer the finished composition for evaporation from one position to another, either due to capillary forces or due to other mechanisms. In some exemplary embodiments, only one transfer pad may be used, or more than two transfer pads may be used.

The evaporator assembly 140 further comprises a distributing interface element 144 (e.g., a "wick") and a heating element 142. The distributing interface element 144 is in contact with the respective ends of one or more transfer packings 145-1, 145-2, thus a ready composition for evaporation drawn from the reservoir 120 by one or more transfer packings may be drawn through one or more transfer packings to the distributing element 144 interface. Thus, the distributing interface 144 may draw the ready vaporization composition from the reservoir 120 via one or more transfer packings 145-1, 145-2 (as mentioned above, fewer or more transfer packings may be used). The heating element 142 is configured to generate heat that heats the ready vaporization composition drawn into the interface distributor 144 from the reservoir 120 by means of one or more transfer packings. In some illustrative embodiments, the implementation of the heating element 142 is in contact with the distributing element 144 interface. In some illustrative embodiments, the implementation of the heating element is isolated from direct contact with the distributing element 144 interface. In some exemplary embodiments, the one or more transfer packings and the distributing interface may be separate parts that contact each other, or may be part of a single unit. In some illustrative embodiments, the implementation of the heating element 142 may be located on one side of the distributing element 144 interface (for example, may at least partially cover it). In some illustrative embodiments, the implementation of the heating element 142 may be on each side of the opposite sides of the distributing element 144 interface (for example, may at least partially cover them). In some exemplary embodiments, the heating element 142 may at least partially extend around (eg, may at least partially wrap around) the spreading interface element.

In some exemplary embodiments, steam generator assembly 130 includes circuit 148 and interface 149 that is configured to couple to interface 180 of power supply assembly 170. Interface 149 is configured to electrically couple evaporator assembly 140 and circuit 148 to the unit. power supply assembly 170 through the element 180 pairing of the power supply assembly 170.

In some exemplary embodiments, including the exemplary embodiments shown in at least FIG. 1B-1C, interior 134 of steam generator assembly 130 is at least partially formed by the same reservoir body 112 that at least partially defines reservoir 120. In some illustrative embodiments, interior 134 of steam generator assembly 130 is at least partially formed a body different from the tank body 112, so that the tank body 112 does not even at least partially form the interior 134 of the steam generator assembly 130.

Interface 149 includes an inlet 132 that extends through interface 149 and may at least partially extend through circuit 148 such that vaporizer assembly 140 within interior space 134 of steam generator assembly 130 is in fluid communication with the exterior of the cartridge. 110 through inlet 132. As shown in FIG. 1B-1C, the end of the inner tube 122 may be in fluid communication with the interior 134 of the steam generator assembly 130 and thus may be in fluid communication with the evaporator assembly 140 located within the steam generator assembly 130. Air entering cartridge 110 through inlet 132 may flow through interior 134 of vapor generator assembly 130 in fluid communication with vaporizer assembly 140 and flow into passage 124 defined by inner tube 122.

Let us turn to Fig. 1B-1C, the electronic vaping device 100 includes electrical paths 146-1 and 146-2 that can electrically connect the heating element 142 to the interface element 149, which allows the heating element 142 to be electrically connected to the power supply 172 due to the fact that the element 149 Cartridge interface 110 is connected to interface 180 of power supply assembly 170. Electrical paths 146-1 and 146-2 may include one or more electrical connectors.

If and/or when interfaces 149 and 180 are connected to each other, one or more electrical circuits ("paths") through cartridge 110 and power supply assembly 170 may be created ("closed"). assembly 140, electrical paths 146-1 and 146-2, circuit 148, interface 149, interface 180, control circuit 176, power supply 172, sensor 174, light source 177 (e.g., a light emitting diode (“LED”)), and /or one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2. As further described herein, the light source 177 and/or one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 are configured to emit light having one or more selected properties ("light properties") from a plurality of properties (e.g., selected a color from a plurality of colors, a selected brightness from a plurality of brightness levels, a selected mode from a plurality of modes, a selected duration from a plurality of durations, some combination thereof, or the like).

Referring now to the outlet assembly 114 as shown in FIG. 1B-1C, outlet assembly 114 includes a conduit 116 extending through it to create outlet opening 118. In exemplary embodiments in which the closure structure 198 is simply part of the outlet assembly 114 or part of the reservoir body 112, or in which the closure structure 198 is omitted from cartridge 110, outlet assembly 114 may be coupled at its end to reservoir body 112 and/or inner tube 122 to connect channel 116 to inner tube 122 to allow vapor to flow through channel 124 of inner tube 122 to channel 116 and to outlet 118 In exemplary embodiments in which the closure structure 198 is a separate piece located between the outlet assembly 114 and the reservoir body 112, the outlet assembly 114 may be connected to the closure structure 198 at the end of the closure structure 198 and the closure structure 198 will be connected at the opposite end with tank body 112 and/or inner tube 122 to allow steam to flow through components 124, 198a and 116 to outlet 118.

Considering further the cartridge 110 as a whole, in view of the above, the cartridge 110 may be configured to receive air flow into the vapor generator assembly 130 through the inlet 132, generate steam in the evaporator assembly 140, ensure that the generated vapor is captured in the air flow passing through internal space 134 of steam generator assembly 130, directing the flow of air with generated steam into channel 124 from steam generator assembly 130, and directing the flow of air with generated steam so that it continuously flows through channel 124 and channel 116 (and through component 198a, if the component 198 is a separate piece located between the components 112 and 114) to the outside through the outlet 118.

In some exemplary embodiments, some or all of the reservoir body 112 (such as portions 113, 119, and/or 115, for example) is transparent to visible light. In some exemplary embodiments, for example, in response to insertion of cartridge 110 into power supply assembly 170 such that cartridge 110 is connected to power supply assembly 170, portion 113 of reservoir body 112 is transparent to visible light and remains visible from outside the electronic device 100 for soaring, and may be approximately 25 percent of the body 112 of the tank. In some exemplary embodiments, such an externally visible portion 113 of the attached cartridge 110 may have a total area of approximately 200 square millimeters. Part 113 may use different sizes, shapes, or proportions depending on the desired effect. In some exemplary embodiments, the release assembly 114 (and/or the closure structure 198 if separate) may be opaque to visible light. In some exemplary embodiments, the release assembly 114 (and/or the closure structure 198 if separate) may be transparent to visible light. In some illustrative embodiments, as described above, the release assembly 114, the closure structure 198, and/or the container body 112 may be part of a single unit so that they together form a single, continuous instance of a material (eg, clear plastic). In some exemplary embodiments, inner tube 122 may be integral with ("as one piece with") reservoir body 112, such that at least reservoir body 112 and inner tube 122 together form a separate, continuous instance of material (e.g., transparent plastic). In some illustrative embodiments, the reservoir body 112 extends continuously around at least a portion of the steam generator assembly 130 and may at least partially define (for example, in combination with interface 149) the outer boundary of the steam generator assembly 130 and thus its interior space 134. In some illustrative embodiments, the steam generator assembly 130 and/or tank body 112 may be part of a single unit, so that they together form a single, continuous instance of material (eg, transparent plastic).

As shown in FIG. 1B-1E, the steam generator assembly 130 may protrude from the proximal end of the tank, such that the outer boundary of the steam generator assembly 130, in addition to the interface 149, together at least partially form a protruding type interface 196. As further shown in FIG. 1B-1E, the reservoir body 112 may include a tapered portion 119 configured to be received in at least a portion of the cavity of the power supply assembly 170, such that at least a portion of the reservoir 120 contained in the reservoir body 112 is configured to be received in a portion cavity of the power supply assembly 170. Portion 113 of reservoir body 112 can be configured to be uncovered by body 101 of power supply assembly 170 when cartridge 110 is connected to power supply assembly 170 (part 113 is also shown in FIG. 1A and FIG. .1F-1G). As shown in FIG. 1B-1E and FIG. 1F-1G, portion 113 of reservoir body 112 may protrude perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of cartridge 110 relative to tapered portion 119 of reservoir housing 112, thus tapered portion 119 can be inserted into a cavity 193 defined by an inner surface 192 of housing 101 of power supply assembly 170 , and the insertion into the cavity 193 of the protruding portion 113 of the reservoir body 112 may be limited by the body 101. one piece 113 on the top or bottom side of the electronic vaping device 100 (as shown in Fig. 1F and 1G), there may be two pieces 113 on opposite sides of the electronic vaping device (as shown in Fig. 1C), there may be multiple parts 113 at various positions of the reservoir body 112, some combination thereof, or the like. In some exemplary embodiments, portion 113 may be a portion that extends continuously around the reservoir body 112 (eg, around the entire circumference of the reservoir body 112).

As described further below and as shown in FIG. 1D-1E, portion 113 of reservoir body 112 may be configured to direct light from the interior of cartridge 110 (e.g., light transmitted through the interior of reservoir body 112 and/or light directed from the interior of reservoir 120) to the outside. In some exemplary embodiments, portion 113 of reservoir body 112 may be configured to direct light from the interior of cartridge 110 such that light is emitted from cartridge 110 (e.g., through portion 113 of reservoir body 112) such that an outer viewing angle of said light from outer The space of electronic vaping device 100 is an angle of approximately 45 degrees from an axis that runs perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of cartridge 110. External viewing angles may be at least in part dependent on external (eg, ambient) lighting conditions. For example, outside viewing angles may be angles greater than about 45 degrees, including in response to ambient light conditions corresponding to a relatively dark environment (e.g., night time), and outside viewing angles may be angles that are less than about 45 degrees. degrees, including in response to ambient light conditions corresponding to a relatively bright environment (for example, in response to illuminating the vaping electronic device 100 with direct sunlight). As mentioned herein, the external environment may be the environment.

As further described below, in some exemplary embodiments, the tank body 112 may be configured to transmit light through the interior of the tank body 112; in some illustrative embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1D-1E, tank body 112 may receive light at end portion 115 of tank body 112, and light may be transmitted through the interior of tank body 112 from end portion 115 to at least part 113 thereof, for example, based on internal reflection and/or refraction of light between the surfaces of the tank body 112, through the ready composition for evaporation inside the body 112, etc.

Referring again to FIG. 1A-1C, a power supply assembly 170 according to some exemplary embodiments includes a longitudinally extending housing 101, a sensor 174 responsive to air drawn into the power supply assembly 170 through an inlet 173 extending through the housing 101 into an interior space 175 an external power supply assembly 170, a power supply 172, a control circuit 176, a light source 177, one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2, one or more light guide structures 190-1, 190-2, and a connector 181 conjugation. As shown in FIG. 1C, housing 101 may at least partially (eg, in combination with at least control circuitry 176) form interior space 175 of power supply assembly 170. In FIG. 1B-1C show that the sensor 174 is located in the internal space 175, but it should be understood that in some illustrative embodiments, the implementation of the sensor 174 may be located between the control circuit 176 and the cavity 193. In other words, between the sensor 174 and the power supply 172 may be located barrier (eg, control circuit 176).

As further described below, the power supply assembly 170 is configured to couple to the cartridge 110 to provide vapor generation to the resulting electronic vaping device 100 based on the electrical connection of the power supply 172 to the vaporizer assembly 140 to allow the power supply 172 to supply power to the evaporator assembly 140, which allows the heating element 142 of the evaporator assembly 140 to generate heat to vaporize the ready-to-evaporate composition drawn into the interface distributor 144 from the reservoir 120 through the transfer packings 145-1 and 145-2 and the interface distributor 144, to form generated steam.

As shown in FIG. 1B-1C, in some illustrative embodiments, in addition to the housing 101 containing the inlet 173, each of the control circuit 176 and interface 180 connected thereto contains a respective inlet 178 and 182. The inlets 178 and 182 are aligned with each other. with each other and are in fluid communication with both the interior space 175 of the housing 101 and the cavity 187 which is configured to receive the steam generator assembly 130 which contains the inlet 132. As a result, due to the fact that the cartridge 110 connected to power supply assembly 170, inlets 173, 178, and 182 of power supply assembly 170 are in fluid communication with inlet 132 of cartridge 110 and thus in fluid communication with outlet 118. Thus, when air is drawn in through the outlet 118 from the inside of the cartridge 110, air can be drawn into the inside 175 from the outside through the inlet 173, and air can be drawn in from the inside 175 into the inside of the steam generator assembly 130 through the inlets 178 , 182, and 132. This air may then be expelled from the electronic vaping device 100 from the vapor generator assembly 130 via channels 124 and 116, which air may contain vapor generated by the vaporizer assembly 140.

As shown at least in FIG. 1B and 1C, the inlet 173 may extend through the portion of the housing 101 that is adjacent to the power supply 172 with respect to the control circuit 176, thus the inlet 173 extends from the outside environment into an interior space 175 that is at least partially defined by the housing 101 and control circuitry 176, and thus inlet 173 is in fluid communication with interior space 175 and interior space 175 is in fluid communication with cavities through at least inlet openings 178 and 182. In some illustrative embodiments, inlet 173 may extend through a portion of housing 101 that is remote from power supply 172 with respect to the control circuit, thus control circuit 176 is located between inlet 173 and interior 175, and additional inlets 178 and 182 may be omitted ("eliminated") in power supply assembly 170, thus interior space 175 is partially and/or completely isolated from fluid communication with inlet 173. For example, inlet 173 may be included in interface connector 181 and may be isolated from interior space 175 and at least the power supply unit 172 contained therein through at least the control circuit 176 .

In some exemplary embodiments, inlet 173 is included in cartridge 110 instead of power supply assembly 170. For example, inlet 173 may be included in interface connector 196.

In some exemplary embodiments, the inlet 173 is included in and/or formed by both coupling members 181 and 196. For example, each of the connecting elements 196 and 181 interface may contain one or more parts, the shape of the design of which allows at least partially to form an inlet, and one or more parts of both connecting elements 196 and 181 interface can together form an inlet 173 (for example, in the form of a gap formed between the parts of the coupling members 181 and 196) when the cartridge 110 and the power supply assembly 170 are connected to each other by connecting the coupling members 181 and 196.

Power supply 172 may be a rechargeable battery. The rechargeable battery can be powered by solar energy. Power supply 172 may be a lithium ion battery or one of its variants, such as a lithium ion polymer battery. The power supply 172 may be a nickel metal hydride battery, a nickel cadmium battery, a lithium manganese battery, a lithium cobalt battery, or a fuel cell. The electronic vaping device 100 can be used by an adult vaper until the power in the power supply 172 is depleted or the minimum voltage cutoff level is reached. In addition, power supply 172 may be rechargeable and may include circuitry configured to allow the battery to be recharged by an external charger and/or external light. To recharge the electronic vaping device 100, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) charger or other suitable connector or charger assembly may be used. Upon completion of the connection between cartridge 110 and power supply assembly 170, power supply 172 may be electrically connected to heater element 142 of vaporizer assembly 140 by activating sensor 174.

In some exemplary embodiments, sensor 174 may be one or more of a pressure sensor, a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) sensor, etc. In some exemplary embodiments, sensor 174 may be any type of sensor capable of measuring air pressure drop. In some examples, sensor 174 may be configured to sense a drop in air pressure and initiate voltage from power supply 172 to heating element 142 of evaporator assembly 140. In addition, inlet 173 may be located adjacent sensor 174, so sensor 174 can detect airflow indicative of vapor being drawn through the far end of the electronic vaping device 100 from the inlet 173. The sensor 174 may activate the power supply 172. It should be understood that sensor 174 may not be adjacent to inlet 173, but sensor 174 may be configured to be in fluid communication with inlet 173. In some exemplary embodiments, sensor 174 may activate light source 177 and/or one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2.

As shown at least in FIG. 1B and 1C, sensor 174 may be located in interior space 175 that is at least partially formed by housing 101 and control circuitry 176, and thus sensor 174 may be in fluid communication with inlet 173 that extends from the outside environment. environment to interior space 175. In some exemplary embodiments, for example, in which inlet 173 may extend through a portion of housing 101 that is remote from power supply 172 with respect to control circuitry, such that control circuitry 176 is located between inlet 173 and interior space 175 , and additional inlets 178 and 182 may not be present ("eliminated") in power supply assembly 170, control circuitry 176 may additionally be located between sensor 174 and interior 175 such that sensor 174 is in fluid communication with inlet opening 173 and sensor 174 is partially or completely isolated from being in fluid communication with interior space 175 by at least a control circuit 176 .

In some exemplary embodiments, sensor 174 may also or alternatively be configured to generate an output indicative of the amount and/or direction of air flow (flowing through evaporator assembly 140), wherein control circuit 176 receives the output of sensor 174 and determines whether whether the direction of the airflow indicates retraction at the outlet 118 (as opposed to the air entering the electronic vaping device 100 through the outlet 118), and/or whether the amount of airflow exceeds a threshold value. In response to one or more of these conditions, control circuit 176 may selectively electrically connect power supply 172 to cartridge 110 and vaporizer assembly 140, thereby activating both cartridge 110 and vaporizer assembly 140. In some exemplary embodiments, sensor 174 may generate an output signal indicative of a pressure drop within the housing of the electronic vaping device 100, after which the control circuit 176 activates the cartridge 110 and vaporizer assembly 140 in response. Electronic Smoke Apparatus, filed July 7, 2015, and U.S. Patent 9,072,321 titled "Electronic Smoke", issued July 7, 2015, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Let us turn to Fig. 1B-1C, in some illustrative embodiments, power supply assembly 170 may include a light source 177 that is configured to glow when heating element 142 is activated (for example, by power supply 172 actively energizing cartridge 110). Light source 177 may comprise a light emitting diode (LED). As shown, the light source 177 may pass through a portion of the housing 101 (at the side of the housing 101, at the end of the housing 101, some combination thereof, or the like). A light source 177 may be connected to a control circuit 176 .

In some exemplary embodiments, the control circuit 176 may include a time period limitation element. In some exemplary embodiments, the control circuit 176 may include a manually operated switch for an adult vaper to initiate heating. The period of time for applying electric current to the heating element 142 of the vaporizer assembly 140 may be set or pre-set depending on the amount of ready-to-evaporate composition to be vaporized. In some exemplary embodiments, sensor 174 may detect a drop in pressure and control circuit 176 may energize heating element 142 as long as heater activation conditions are met. Such conditions may include one or more sensors 174 detecting a pressure drop that at least meets a threshold value, a control circuit 176 determining that the direction of air flow in fluid communication with sensor 174 indicates a puff at exhaust assembly 114 (e.g., flow through the outlet 114 towards the outer space of the electronic vaping device 100 from the channel 116), as opposed to purge (for example, the flow through the outlet 114 from the outer space of the electronic vaping device 100 towards the channel 116), and/or the amount of puff (eg, flow rate, volumetric flow rate, mass flow rate, some combination of these, etc.) exceeds a threshold level. As described herein, sensor 174's detection of a pressure drop, including detection of a pressure drop with a specific amount, should be understood to include that sensor 174 generates sensor data that, when processed by another element (e.g., control circuit 176), provides determining by another element a pressure drop, including determining that a pressure drop of a particular amount occurs.

In some illustrative embodiments, the control circuit 176 may be configured to energize the heating element 142 for as long as the puff on the release assembly 114 is detected as being currently in progress (e.g., for as long as the sensor 174 continues to detect a drop). pressure, which at least corresponds to the threshold value associated with the implementation of the puff on the node 114 release). In some exemplary embodiments, control circuitry 176 may be configured to selectively suspend power to heating element 142 even if a puff on exhaust assembly 114 is detected as being currently in progress in response to a determination that a particular threshold has been reached. Such a particular threshold may be a certain threshold puff duration on the exhaust assembly 114 and/or a certain threshold temperature of one or more parts of the electronic vaping device 100.

In one example, control circuit 176 may control energizing light source 177 such that light source 177 emits light based on a determination that power must be applied to heating element 142 to initiate steam generation and/or a determination that one or more monitored properties of the electronic vaping device at least meet one or more thresholds and/or are within one or more ranges.

Referring again to at least FIG. 1B and 1D-1E, in some illustrative embodiments, the control circuit 176 is configured to control the power supply from the power supply 172 to one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 to initiate the emission of light 189-1, 189-2 by one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2.

In some illustrative embodiments, the control circuit 176 may, after determining that steam is to be generated based on data received from the sensor 174, control the supply of power to both the heating element 142 and one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188- 2, simultaneously or in accordance with the control sequence. As described herein, the control circuit 176 may control the energization of one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 to cause the one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 to emit light 189-1, 189-2. having one or more specific properties that correspond to one or more specific properties of the cartridge 110. The control circuit 176 may cause the emission of light 189-1, 189-2 by one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 for one or more specific periods of time ("durations").

In some illustrative embodiments, the control circuit 176 may control the supply of power to both the heating element 142 and one or more of the light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2, simultaneously or in accordance with a control sequence, in response to a determination that the cartridge 110 and power supply assembly 170 are connected to each other (e.g., based on a determination that an electrical circuit containing power supply 172 and heating element 142 is closed (e.g., "made")), and/or in response to one or more than other definitions. For example, the control circuit 176 may cause one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 to emit light for a specific period of time after the cartridge 110 and power supply assembly 170 are connected to each other. In another example, control circuit 176 may further cause one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 to emit light for as long as power supply 172 is determined to supply at least a threshold amount of power and/or it is determined that in it stores at least a threshold amount of power. In response to determining that power supply 172 is supplying less than a threshold amount of power and/or that it is storing less than a threshold amount of power, control circuit 176 may cause one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 to emit light with reduced brightness. . In other words, the control circuit 176 may be configured to cause the one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 to emit light at a brightness that is at least partially proportional to the amount of power stored in and/or supplied by the power supply 172.

To control the power supply to the heating element 142 and/or the light source 177 and/or one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2, the control circuit 176 may execute one or more instances of computer executable program code. The control circuit 176 may include a processor and a storage device. The storage device may be a computer-readable storage medium that stores computer-executable code.

The control circuit 176 may include a processing circuit including, but not limited to, a processor, a central processing unit (CPU), a controller, an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a digital signal processor, a microcomputer, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a single-chip system (SoC) , programmable logic element, microprocessor or any other device capable of responding to commands and executing them in a certain way. In some exemplary embodiments, control circuit 176 may be at least one of an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) and/or an application chip.

The control circuit 176 may be configured as a dedicated machine by executing a computer-readable program code stored in a storage device. The program code may comprise a program or computer readable instructions, program elements, program modules, data files, data structures, and/or the like, which may be implemented by one or more hardware devices, such as one or more variations of the control circuits 176 mentioned above. Program code examples include both native code generated by a compiler and higher level code that is executed using an interpreter.

The control circuit 176 may include one or more storage devices. The one or more storage devices may be tangible or non-volatile computer-readable storage media such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), non-volatile mass storage device (such as a disk drive), solid state device (e.g., flash drive). NAND memory) and/or any other similar data storage mechanism that can store and write data. One or more storage devices may be configured to store computer programs, program code, instructions, or some combination thereof, for one or more operating systems and/or for implementing the exemplary embodiments described herein. Computer programs, program code, instructions, or some combination thereof may also be downloaded from a separate computer-readable storage medium to one or more storage devices and/or one or more computer processing devices utilizing a drive mechanism or capable of data transfer. Such a separate computer-readable storage medium may include a USB flash drive, a flash drive, a Blu-ray/DVD/CD-ROM drive, a memory card, or any other computer-readable storage media. Computer programs, program code, instructions, or some combination thereof, may be downloaded to one or more storage devices and/or one or more computer processing devices from a remote storage device via a network interface rather than via a local computer-readable storage medium. Additionally, computer programs, program code, instructions, or some combination thereof may be downloaded to one or more storage devices and/or one or more processors from a remote computing system that is configured to transfer and/or distribute computer programs, program code, instructions, or some combination of them over the network. The remote computing system may transmit and/or distribute computer programs, program code, instructions, or some combination thereof, via a wired interface, an air interface, and/or any other similar medium. Computer programs, program code, instructions, or some combination thereof, may be transferred between the control circuit 176 and the remote computing system via any wireless transmission method, including a Near Field Communication (NFC) link, a wireless network link, and/or a dynamic wireless network link. The remote computing system may include a smartphone. The remote computing system may include a tablet.

The control circuit 176 may be a dedicated machine configured to execute computer executable code to control the power supply to the heating element 142, the light source 177, and/or one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2.

In some illustrative embodiments, and as shown in FIG. 1B-1E, the interface connector 181 may be configured to couple to the cartridge 110 to enable vapor generation by the electronic vaping device 100, and may be configured to electrically couple the power pack 172 to the vaporizer assembly 140 of the cartridge 110. The interface connector 181 power supply assembly 170 may include an interface structure 184 and an interface element 180. The interface structure 184 includes an outer surface 189 that extends transversely to the longitudinal axis of the power supply assembly 170 and forms the end of the cavity 193, and further comprises an internal surface 185 that extends coaxially with the longitudinal axis of the power supply assembly 170 and at least partially forms the side ends. cavities 187. As described further below with reference to FIG. 2, the interface element 180 comprises a set of electrical contacts configured to connect to corresponding electrical contacts of the cartridge 110 interface element 149 to electrically connect the power supply assembly 170 to the cartridge 110, for example, to electrically connect the power supply 172 to at least the evaporator assembly. 140.

Interface structure 184 in some exemplary embodiments is configured to physically align cartridge 110 with power supply assembly 170 such that cartridge 110 interface 149 is aligned with interface 180 of power supply assembly 170, and thus the electrical contacts of the element The 149 interfaces are aligned to connect to the electrical contacts of the interface element 180 when the cartridge 110 is connected to the power supply assembly 170.

In some illustrative embodiments, the interface connector 181 defines one or more cavities 193, 187 into which at least a portion of the cartridge 110 can be inserted to connect the cartridge 110 to the power supply assembly 170, such that the interface 149 of the cartridge 110 is aligned with the element. 180 pairing and is sent to connect with it. As described above, the interface structure 184 may comprise one or more surfaces 185, 189 at least partially defining one or more cavities 187, 193 configured to receive at least a portion of the cartridge 110 for aligning the interface element 180 of the coupling element 181 with the interface element 149 of the interface connector 196 of the cartridge 110 when the cartridge 110 is connected to the power supply assembly 170. The interface structure 184 can be further configured to hold the cartridge 110 in place in connection with the power supply assembly 170.

As shown in FIG. 1C, interface structure 184 may include an inner surface 185 at least partially defining a cavity 187 configured to receive a portion of cartridge 110. As shown in FIG. 1B-1C, interface 180 and inner surface 185 may co-form an open-ended cavity 187 configured to receive protruding vapor generator assembly 130 of cartridge 110 such that interface 149 at the proximal end of vapor generator assembly 130 is inserted into the cavity. 187 is guided and aligned in it by the inner surface 185 of the interface structure 184, thus the interface element 149 is guided to the connection with the interface element 180.

In some exemplary embodiments, each of the connector 196 interface of the cartridge 110 and the connector 181 interface of the power supply assembly 170 is shaped such that the cartridge 110 is configured to connect to the power supply assembly 170 in a variety of different orientations, due to the fact that each of the connecting element 196 interface of the cartridge 110 and the connecting element 181 interface of the power supply assembly 170 has n-fold rotational symmetry, where "n" is a positive integer that is equal to or greater than 1. For example, the connecting element 196 interface, containing interface element 149 may have 2-fold rotational symmetry, and the connecting element 181 interface containing the interface element 180 may also have 2-fold rotational symmetry, thus the connecting element 196 interface can be configured to connect with the connecting element 181 interface in two separate orientations that are offset and rotated relative to each other along the longitudinal axis of the vaping electronic device 100 by 180 degrees. In other words, cartridge 110 may not be bound to a single insertion direction, but instead may be configured to be inserted into power supply assembly 170 such that interface 149 is electrically coupled to interface 180 along a plurality of separate insertion directions. Accordingly, the ease of use and/or performance of the electronic vaping device 100 can be improved because the likelihood of cartridge 110 and power supply assembly 170 being incorrectly connected to each other, as well as the potential for damage to cartridge 110 and/or power supply assembly 170, can be reduced.

Referring again to FIG. 1C, the power supply assembly 170 may include an inner surface 192 of the housing 101 that is open on the outlet side, wherein the inner surface 192 and the outer surface 189 of the interface structure 184 may jointly form an open ended cavity 193 into which at least a portion of the reservoir may be inserted. 120 of cartridge 110 to align and guide cartridge 110 into connection with power supply assembly 170.

In some exemplary embodiments, interface 180 may be flush with or protruding from outer surface 189 of interface structure 184 such that there is no cavity 187. Similarly, vapor generator assembly 130 may not protrude from the proximal end of reservoir 120 of cartridge 110. Thus, cartridge 110 may be aligned with power supply assembly 170 such that interface 149 aligns and is guided into connection with interface 180 via open internals. surfaces 192 of body 101. In some exemplary embodiments, outer surface 189 of interface structure 184 may be flush with or substantially flush with the end of body 101 such that at least cavity 193 is eliminated.

In some illustrative embodiments, the coupling element 181 may include one or more magnets 186-1, 186-2, configured to be magnetically connected to the power supply assembly 170 with the cartridge 110. In some illustrative embodiments, one or more magnets 186- 1, 186-2 may be coupled to interface structure 184, and one or more magnets 186-1, 186-2 may be configured to couple to cartridge 110 by magnetically attracting cartridge 110 to one or more magnets 186-1, 186 -2. For example, the end portion of the cartridge 110, which may include the end portion 115 of the reservoir body 112, may contain a material configured to be magnetically attracted to one or more magnets 186-1, 186-2. For example, in some exemplary embodiments, end portion 115 of tank body 112 may comprise one or more magnetic plates, including one or more magnetic steel plates, that are magnetically attracted to and/or connected by magnetic forces to one or more corresponding magnets 186-1, 186-2. The end portion 115 may comprise a single magnetic plate, such as with an opening to receive the inner tube 122, or a plurality of magnetic plates, such as individual magnetic steel plates on opposite sides of the steam generator assembly 130, which may be configured to be magnetically attracted to and/or or magnetically connected to individual respective magnets 186-1 and 186-1 when the cartridge 110 is inserted into one or more cavities 193, 187 of the power supply assembly 170. As a result, when the end portion 115 of the reservoir body 112 moves closer to the outer surface 189 of the interface structure 184, including, for example, when the end portion 115 is inserted into one or more cavities 193, 187 of the power supply assembly 170, the cartridge 110 can be magnetically engaged with the interface structure 184 due to the magnetic attraction between end portion 115 of reservoir body 112 and one or more magnets 186-1, 186-2. One or more magnets 186-1, 186-2 can then magnetically hold the cartridge 110 in place with respect to the power supply assembly 170, in addition to or as an alternative to one or more sets of cartridge 110 and power supply assembly 170 interfaces. engaged with each other when cartridge 110 and power supply assembly 170 are connected to each other. Although an example has been described in which the end portion 115 includes a material that is magnetically attracted to a magnet, in some illustrative embodiments, other portions of the cartridge 110 may also or alternatively include a material that can be attracted to a magnet by magnetic forces. In addition, although a two-magnet example has been described, other exemplary embodiments may use one magnet or more than two magnets.

In some illustrative embodiments, one or more magnets 186-1, 186-2 may be included in the cartridge 110 (e.g., placed at least partially within the reservoir body 112), in addition to or as an alternative to the power supply assembly 170 containing one or more magnets 186-1, 186-2 in the coupling element 181 (for example, in the construction 184 interface). In some exemplary embodiments, the power supply assembly 170 may include a material configured to be magnetically attracted to a magnet.

As shown in FIG. 1B-1E, in some exemplary embodiments, power supply assembly 170 includes one or more light guide structures 190-1, 190-2 that extend from individual respective light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 (e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs) ) and through at least part of the connecting element 181 interface. As shown in FIG. 1D-1E, the light guide structures 190-1 and 190-2 are configured to receive at their respective near ends the light 189-1, 189-2 emitted by the respective near light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2. Each light guide structure 190-1 and 190-2 is configured to transmit received light 189-1, 189-2 from the end of the light guide structure 190-1 and 190-2 to the opposite end of the light guide structure 190-1 and 190-2. As a result, the light guide structures 190-1 and 190-2 are configured to transmit light 189-1, 189-2 emitted from the light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 to emit from the respective ends of the light guide structures 190-1 and 190-2, as shown at least in FIG. 1D-1E.

As shown in FIG. 1C-1E, in some exemplary embodiments, each light guide structure 190-1 and 190-2 extends through the interface structure 184 of the interface connector 181 such that the ends of the light guide structures 190-1 and 190-2 are exposed on the side of the outer surface 189 of the structure 184. conjugation. In some exemplary embodiments, the ends of one or more of the light guide structures 190-1 and 190-2 may be flush ("in-plane") or substantially flush (e.g., flush within manufacturing and/or material tolerances) with an outer surface 189 design 184 pairing of the connecting element 181 pairing.

Referring again to FIG. 1B-1E, in some exemplary embodiments, the cartridge 110 is configured to include a reservoir body 112 having at least a portion, such as an end portion 115 of the reservoir body 112, that is transparent to light 189-1, 189-2 and may be exposed to the end of the light guide structures 190-1 and 190-2 when the cartridge 110 is connected to the power supply assembly 170. As a result, when the cartridge 110 is connected to the power supply assembly 170, the light guide structures 190-1 and 190-2 are configured to emitting light 189-1, 189-2, which is transmitted from the light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 (for example, configured to transmit light 189-1, 189-2) to one or more parts of the cartridge 110 (for example, one or over end portions 115 of reservoir body 112), through at least a portion of reservoir body 112 and through at least a portion of the interior of cartridge 110, as well as into the exterior of the cartridge, such as through transparent portion 113. Thus, one or more light guide structures 190-1, 190-2 are configured to emit transmitted light 189-1, 189-2 into the interior of cartridge 110 that is coupled to power supply assembly 170. In some exemplary embodiments, only one light emitting device and one light guide structure may be used. , or more than two light emitting devices and more than two light guide structures may be used. As mentioned herein, an element that is described as "transparent" to light, including visible light, may include an element that is completely transparent to some or all of visible light, an element that is partially transparent (e.g., "translucent") for some or all of the visible light, some combination of them, or the like.

As shown in FIG. 1D, in some illustrative embodiments, the end portion of the cartridge 110 (e.g., the end portion 115 of the reservoir body 112) may be configured to direct light 189-1, 189-2 obtained from the ends of the light guide structures 190-1 and 190-2 through said end portions 115 and into the interior of the tank 120 as directional lights 191-1 and 191-2. The directional light 191-1 and 191-2 can interact with (e.g., illuminate) one or more parts of the interior of the tank 120, including the ready-to-evaporate composition held within the interior of the tank 120. Based on interaction with one or more parts tank 120, the directional light 191-1 and 191-2 may be diffused by one or more parts to create diffuse light 197-1 and 197-2. As shown in FIG. 1D, ambient light 197-1 and 197-2 may be directed through one or more specific portions of cartridge 110, such as one or more portions 113 of reservoir body 112, that are exposed on the side of body 101 when cartridge 110 is coupled to power supply assembly 170. , to radiate to the outside, and thus to provide externally observable visual illumination of at least a portion of the interior of reservoir 120, including illumination of the ready vaporization composition held in reservoir 120. Thus, in some exemplary embodiments, one or more of the light guide structures 190-1, 190-2 may emit the transmitted light 189-1, 189-2 into the cartridge reservoir 120 through the reservoir body 112 to illuminate the volatilized composition held in the reservoir 120 to the outside.

As shown in FIG. 1E, in some exemplary embodiments, cartridge end 110 may be configured to direct light 189-1, 189-2 toward at least a portion of inner surface 192 by reflecting as transmitted light 195-1 and 195-2. The transmitted light 195-1 and 195-2 may further be directed by reflection to at least the open portion 113 of the tank body 112 such that the transmitted light 195-1 and 195-2 may be emitted from the open portion 113 of the tank body 112 to the outside in as emitted light 199-1 and 199-2, so as to provide externally observable visual illumination of at least a portion of the tank body 112.

In some exemplary embodiments, the exemplary embodiments shown in FIG. 1D and 1E. In some exemplary embodiments, cartridge 110 is configured to provide both diffuse light 197-1 and 197-2 and emitted light 199-1 and 199-2 by partially directing light 189-1, 189-2 into the interior the space of the tank 120, for scattering by the ready vaporization composition held therein, and which is additionally directed through one or more parts 113 of the tank body 112, and additionally due to the partial direction of the light 189-1, 189-2 transmitted by reflections to its open parts 113.

In the context of this document, the term "flavor" is used to describe a compound or combination of compounds that can provide a pleasant taste and/or aroma to an adult vaper. In some exemplary embodiments, the flavorant is configured to interact with at least one adult vaper's sensitive receptors. The flavorant may be configured to interact with the sensing receptor via orthonasal stimulation, retronasal stimulation, or both. The flavorant may contain one or more volatile flavoring agents.

The at least one flavor may include one or more of a natural flavor or an artificial ("synthetic") flavor. At least one flavor may contain one or more plant extract materials. In some exemplary embodiments, at least one flavor is one or more of tobacco flavor, menthol, wintergreen, peppermint, herbal flavor, fruit flavor, nut flavor, liquor flavor, any other flavor, or any of them. combinations. In some exemplary embodiments, the flavor is contained in the plant material. The plant material may comprise material from one or more plants. The plant material may comprise one or more of herbs, spices, fruits, roots, leaves, grasses, or the like. For example, the plant material may include an orange peel material, a bison material, or both. In another example, the plant material may contain tobacco-based material. In some illustrative embodiments, the flavor that is a tobacco flavor contains a synthetic material, a plant extract material, or both. The plant extract material contained in the tobacco flavor may be an extract from one or more tobacco materials.

In some exemplary embodiments, tank body 101 and tank body 112 may have a generally oval cross section. In some exemplary embodiments, tank body 101 and tank body 112 may have a generally rectangular cross section. In some exemplary embodiments, tank body 101 and tank body 112 may have a generally rectangular cross-section with rounded corners. In some exemplary embodiments, tank body 101 and tank body 112 may have a generally cylindrical cross section. In some exemplary embodiments, housings 101 and 112 may have a generally polygonal cross section. In some exemplary embodiments, housings 101 and 112 may have a generally triangular cross section. Any other type of cross-sectional shape may be used, and one or both housings may have different cross-sectional shapes along the housing. In addition, the housings 101 and 112 may have the same or different cross-sectional shape, or the same or different size.

In some exemplary embodiments, the reservoir housing 101 and reservoir housing 112 may be a single tube containing both cartridge 110 and power supply assembly 170, and the entire electronic vaping device 100 may be disposable.

A vaporizable formulation, as described herein, is a material or combination of materials that can be converted to vapor. Any type of ready-made evaporation composition can be used. For example, the vaporizable formulation may be a liquid, solid, and/or gel formulation, including, but not limited to, water, granules, solvents, active ingredients, ethanol, herbal extracts, natural or artificial flavors, and/or emollients. vaporizers such as glycerol, glycerol, propylene glycol, some combinations thereof, or the like. In further embodiments, the vaporization formulation may include those described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0020823 to Lipowicz et al. ., filed July 16, 2014, and US Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0313275 to Anderson et al., filed January 21, 2015, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

The finished vaping composition may or may not contain nicotine. The finished composition for evaporation may contain one or more tobacco flavoring substances or any other flavoring substances. The finished vaporizing composition may contain one or more flavors that are separate from the one or more tobacco flavors.

In some illustrative embodiments, the finished vaping composition that contains nicotine may also contain one or more acids. One or more of the acids may be one or more of pyruvic acid, formic acid, oxalic acid, glycolic acid, acetic acid, isovaleric acid, valeric acid, propionic acid, octanoic acid, lactic acid, levulinic acid, sorbic acid, malic acid. , tartaric acid, succinic acid, citric acid, benzoic acid, oleic acid, aconitic acid, butyric acid, cinnamic acid, capric acid, 3,7-dimethyl-6-octanoic acid, 1-glutamic acid, heptanoic acid, caproic acid, 3-caproic acid, trans-2-caproic acid, isobutyric acid, lauric acid, 2-methylbutanoic acid, 2-methylvaleric acid, myristic acid, nonanoic acid, palmitic acid, 4-pentenoic acid, phenylacetic acid, 3-phenylpropionic acid, hydrochloric acid, phosphoric acid, sulfuric acid, or any combination thereof.

Reservoir 120, in some exemplary embodiments, may contain a storage medium that may hold the finished vaporization composition. The storage medium may be a fibrous material containing at least one of cotton, polyethylene, polyester, viscose, or any combination thereof. The fibers may have a diameter in the range of about 6 microns to about 15 microns (eg, about 8 microns to about 12 microns, or about 9 microns to about 11 microns), but other ranges may be used. The storage medium may be a sintered, porous or foamed material. In addition, the fibers may be sized to be respirable and may have a cross section that is Y-shaped, cruciform, clover-shaped, or any other suitable shape. If and/or when the reservoir 120 contains a storage medium, the propagation of light through the reservoir 120 may be at least partially limited. In some illustrative embodiments, reservoir 120 may include a container that does not have any storage medium and contains only the ready composition for vaporization. As has been described, at least a portion of the light can be directed through the flash composition held in reservoir 120 and exit to the outside through reservoir body 112 (e.g., based on light scattering by flash composition in reservoir 120), thus the ready composition for evaporation, held in the tank 120, is illuminated for external observation.

In some exemplary embodiments, the reservoir 120 may be sized and configured to hold a sufficient amount of vaping composition so that the electronic vaping device 100 can be configured to vape for at least about 1000 seconds. The electronic vaping device 100 may be configured to ensure that each vaping session lasts a maximum of approximately 10 seconds. Other configurations with longer or shorter durations may be used.

The distributing element 144 interface in some illustrative embodiments, the implementation may contain a wick. The distributing element 144 interface may contain threads (or fibers), having the ability to retract the finished composition for evaporation. For example, the distributing interface element 144 may be a wick, which is a bundle of glass (or ceramic) filaments, a bundle including a group of windings of glass filaments, etc., all arrangements of which may be capable of drawing in the finished composition for evaporation by capillary actions using intermediate distances between threads. The threads may be generally aligned in a direction perpendicular (transverse) to the longitudinal axis of the electronic vaping device 100. Any other capillary materials or arrangements may be used. As shown in FIG. 1B-1C, 1H and 2, the wick may comprise a rectangular or substantially rectangular sheet of capillary material.

In some illustrative embodiments, the implementation of the distributing element 144 interface may contain any suitable material or combination of materials, also referred to herein as capillary materials. Examples of suitable materials may be, but are not limited to, glass, ceramic or graphite based materials. The distributing interface element 144 may be characterized by any suitable capillary retraction action to accommodate ready-to-evaporate formulations having different physical properties such as density, viscosity, surface tension, and vapor pressure.

In some exemplary embodiments, heating element 142 may include a wire element. The wire element may be a metal wire. In some illustrative embodiments, the implementation of the wire element can be isolated from direct contact with the distributing element 144 interface. In some illustrative embodiments, the implementation of the heating element 142 may be in direct contact with the distributing element 144 interface. In some exemplary embodiments, heating element 142 may comprise a metal heating element, a non-metallic heating element, and/or a bayonet heating element. In some illustrative embodiments, the implementation of the heating element 142 may be located on one side of the distributing element 144 interface (for example, may at least partially cover it). In some illustrative embodiments, the implementation of the heating element 142 may be on each side of the opposite sides of the distributing element 144 interface (for example, may at least partially cover them). In some exemplary embodiments, the heating element 142 may at least partially extend around (eg, may at least partially wrap around) the spreading interface element.

In some exemplary embodiments, heating element 142 includes a stamped structure, a cut structure, an etched structure, some combination thereof, or the like. The etched structure may be a chemically etched structure, a laser etched structure, a mechanically etched structure, some combination thereof, or the like.

Heating element 142 according to one exemplary embodiment may at least partially comprise any suitable electrically resistive materials. Examples of suitable electrically resistive materials may include, but are not limited to, titanium, zirconium, tantalum, platinum group metals, etc. Examples of suitable metal alloys include, but are not limited to, stainless steel, nickel, cobalt, chromium, aluminium-titanium zirconium, hafnium, niobium, molybdenum, tantalum, tungsten, tin, gallium, manganese and iron-containing alloys, superalloys based on nickel, iron, cobalt, stainless steel, etc. For example, the heating element 142 may be formed from nickel aluminide, a material with a layer of aluminum oxide on the surface, iron aluminide and / or other composite materials, and the electrically resistive material may optionally be embedded in, encapsulated in or coated with the insulating material, or vice versa, depending on the energy transfer kinetics and the required external physical chemical properties. Heating element 142 may comprise at least one material selected from the group consisting of stainless steel, copper, copper alloys, chromium-nickel alloys, superalloys, and combinations thereof. In some illustrative embodiments, the implementation of the heating element 142 may be formed from chromium-nickel alloys or iron-chromium alloys. In some exemplary embodiments, heating element 142 may be a ceramic heater having an electrically resistive layer on its outer surface.

In some illustrative embodiments, the implementation of the heating element 142 may heat the finished composition for evaporation in the distributing element 144 interface to form generated steam due to thermal conductivity. In some exemplary embodiments, heat from heating element 142 may be transferred to the finished vaping composition via a heat conduction element, or heating element 142 may transfer heat to incoming ambient air that is drawn in through electronic vaping device 100 during vaping, which in turn , heats the finished composition for evaporation by means of convection.

It should be understood that, in some illustrative embodiments, instead of using a distributing interface 144, the evaporator assembly 140 may include a heating element 142, which is a porous material that contains a resistive heater formed from a high electrical resistance material capable of rapidly generating heat.

In FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a portion of an electronic vaping device according to some exemplary embodiments. As shown in FIG. 2 and as further described above with reference to FIG. 1A-1E, in some exemplary embodiments, cartridge 110 includes a vapor generator assembly 130, including interface 149, circuit 148, and vaporizer assembly 140, as well as electrical paths 146-1 and 146-2. As shown below, in some illustrative embodiments, the power supply assembly 170 includes a control circuit 176, light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2, light guide structures 190-1 and 190-2, and an interface connector 181 containing an interface structure 184 and an element 180 pairing.

In some exemplary embodiments, evaporator assembly 140 includes a heating element 142 and a distribution interface 144, with heating element 142 further connected at opposite ends to electrical paths 146-1 and 146-2. The interface element 149 comprises, in some illustrative embodiments, electrical contacts 206-1-206-2, each of which is configured to connect to a corresponding electrical contact (described further below) of the interface element 180 of the power supply assembly 170 for electrically connecting the heating element 142 with power supply assembly 170. In the specific illustrative embodiments shown in FIG. 2, circuit 148 includes contacts 202-1 and 202-2, which are connected to electrical paths 146-1 and 146-2, respectively. Contacts 202-1 and 202-2 are electrically connected to contacts 206-1 and 206-2, respectively, via respective electrical paths 205-1-205-2. It should be understood that in some illustrative embodiments, at least some of the above elements may be omitted. For example, contacts 202-1 and 202-2 and paths 205-1 and 205-2 can be omitted, so electrical paths 146-1 and 146-2 are directly connected to the respective contacts 206-1 and 206-2.

Additionally, in some exemplary embodiments, interface 180 includes electrical contacts 208-1 and 208-2 that are configured to connect to electrical contacts 206-1 and 206-2, respectively, when interfaces 149 and 180 are connected to each other. As shown further in FIG. 2, electrical contacts 208-1 and 208-2 are configured to be connected to contacts 242-1 and 242-2 of control circuit 176 via respective electrical paths. The contact 242-1 may be configured to be substantially or selectively controlled by the control circuit 176 to be powered from the power supply 172 . Pin 242-2 may be connected to electrical ground (for example, pin 242-2 may be grounded).

Therefore, control circuit 176 can be configured to energize heating element 142 when cartridge 110 is connected to power supply assembly 170 based on providing and/or selectively providing power (e.g., voltage) from power supply 172 to an electrical contact. 242-1, thus creating an electrical circuit from power supply 172 through terminals 208-1 and 206-1 to heating element 142 and back to grounded electrical terminal 242-2 through terminals 206-2 and 208-2. The control circuit 176 may selectively power or suspend power to the evaporator assembly 140 to selectively power or suspend the vapor generation of the vaping electronics 100 based on selective power or suspend power from the power supply 172 to electrical contact 242-1. It should be understood that in some illustrative embodiments, at least some of the above elements may be omitted. For example, pins 208-1 and 208-2 and the paths shown may be omitted, so pins 206-1 and 206-2 are directly connected to respective pins 242-1 and 242-2.

Additionally, in some exemplary embodiments, circuit 148 may include a cartridge identification circuit 210 that includes resistor 216, electrical contacts 212-1 and 212-2, and electrical paths 214-1 and 214-2 connecting opposite ends of resistor 216 to separate, respective electrical contacts. 212-1 and 212-2. In some exemplary embodiments, resistor 216 may be replaced and/or supplemented with one or more various additional and/or alternative elements, including one or more additional resistors. In some exemplary embodiments, resistor 216 has a particular resistance value ("resistance").

In some exemplary embodiments, different "types" of cartridges 110 (e.g., cartridges 110 having different properties, containing different vape formulations with different flavors or ingredients) may have different identification circuits 210 containing different resistors 216 with different specific resistance values.

In some exemplary embodiments, a particular cartridge 110 may include an identification chain 210 that stores information, also referred to herein as a particular instance of information, associated with a particular cartridge 110, where the particular instance of information indicates (e.g., associated with, contains, etc.) ) at least one particular value. Identification circuit 210, and hence cartridge 110, may be configured to communicate at least a portion (eg, value) of a particular instance of information to power supply assembly 170, and power supply assembly 170 may be configured to process (eg, " definitions") at least the meaning of a particular instance of information.

In the context of this document, the value of an information instance may be a specific alphanumeric value, a specific code, some combination of these, or the like, or any other information.

In some exemplary embodiments, a given cartridge 110 may include an identification circuit 210 that contains a storage device that stores information having at least a value that is uniquely associated with a particular "type" of cartridge with which a given cartridge 110 is associated, a particular "type » vaping composition in cartridge 110, information related to the amount of evaporative composition in cartridge 110, information relating to how long the cartridge has been used, or any other type of information associated with cartridge 110, or combinations thereof. The storage device may be, for example, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), but it should be understood that various known storage devices may be included in the identification circuit 210. The identification circuit 210 may include a storage device in addition to or alternatively to the resistor 216. Accordingly, although in FIG. 2, an identification circuit 210 can be illustrated that includes a resistor 216, it should be understood that in some exemplary embodiments, the identification circuit 210 may not include a resistor 216 and may include a storage device configured to store at least a particular instance of information (e.g., its value), which is associated with the cartridge 110, which contains the circuit 210 identification.

In some exemplary embodiments, the value of a particular instance of information associated with cartridge 110 may include a particular resistance value associated with cartridge 110 (e.g., a particular resistance value of resistor 216 of identification circuit 210 of cartridge 110), and therefore is not associated with other types of cartridges. 110. In some illustrative embodiments, a particular instance of information associated with a cartridge 110 may include a particular value stored in the storage device of the identification circuit 210, which, in particular, is associated with a particular type of cartridge 110 and, therefore, is not associated with other types of cartridges. 110.

Referring again to the power supply assembly 170, in some exemplary embodiments, interface 180 includes electrical contacts 222-1 and 222-2 that are configured to connect to electrical contacts 212-1 and 212-2 of cartridge 110 when the power supply is in assembly 170 is connected to the cartridge 110. The control circuit 176 further comprises an electrical contact 244-1, which is electrically connected to the electrical contact 222-1 via an electrical path 232, and the control circuit 176 is configured to selectively apply power from the power supply 172 to the electrical contact 244 -1, so power can be supplied from the power supply 172 to the cartridge identification circuit 210 through the electrical contact 244-1, path 232, contact 222-1, and contact 212-1. It should be understood that in some illustrative embodiments, at least some of the above elements may be omitted. For example, pins 222-1 and 222-2 and one or more of the paths may be omitted.

Some illustrative embodiments may include a voltage divider circuit that includes electrical contact 222-2 in interface element 180, electrical contacts 244-2 and 244-3 in control circuit 176, electrical paths 234-1-234-3, resistor 238, and a circuit 210 identification. As shown in FIG. 2, electrical contact 244-2 is electrically connected to electrical contact 222-2 via path 234-1 and 234-2. Additionally, electrical contact 244-2 may be grounded, electrically connected to electrical ground, or the like. Additionally, resistor 238 is connected in series with paths 234-3 and 234-1 between branch node 236 and electrical contact 244-3. Therefore, electrical contacts 244-2 and 244-3 are electrically connected to electrical contact 222-2 in parallel through node 236 and path 234-1.

In some illustrative embodiments, the control circuit 176 may be configured to apply voltage to the contact 244-1 and hence to the identification circuit 210 of the connected cartridge 110 via the connected contacts 212-1 and 222-1. The control circuit 176 may control the power supply 172 to apply an "input voltage" (V _in ) to pin 244-1. The control circuit 176 may further be configured to detect the power supply voltage received at terminal 244-3 from identification circuit 210 via connected terminals 212-2 and 222-2. The control circuit 176 may measure the "output voltage" (V _out ) at pin 244-3.

It should be understood that in some illustrative embodiments, identification circuit 210, paths 234-1-234-3 and 232, resistor 238, node 236, and contacts 222-1-222-2 and 244-1-244-3 may collectively comprise a voltage divider circuit based on power supply assembly 170 connected to cartridge 110. Accordingly, the electrical resistance (“resistance value”) of resistor 238 may be known to control circuit 176, for example, based on the resistance value of resistor 238 stored in a database accessible to control circuits 176.

In some exemplary embodiments, one or more resistors 216, 238 may be supplemented and/or replaced by one or more elements, including one or more impedance modules (eg, one or more resistors and/or capacitors).

In some exemplary embodiments, at least resistor 238 may be omitted. The control circuit 176 may be configured to be communicatively coupled to the identification circuit 210 via one or more instances of the circuit based on the cartridge 110 coupled to the power supply assembly 170, thus the control circuit 176 may be configured to access the storage device. contained in the identification circuit 210 in response to determining that the power supply assembly 170 is connected to the cartridge 110 (for example, in response to determining that the electrical circuit passing through the power supply assembly 170 and cartridge 110 is closed as a result of connecting the power supply assembly 170 to the cartridge 110). The control circuit 176 may be configured to process one or more information instances available from the identification circuit 210 to identify (“determine”) one or more values of one or more specific information instances associated with the cartridge 110. In some illustrative embodiments, a particular the resistance value of the resistor 216 of the identification circuit 210 may be referred to as the value of the particular instance of information associated with the cartridge 110 in which the identification circuit 210 is contained, and therefore it should be understood that the operations performed by the control circuit 176 based on the determined resistance value of the resistor 216 as described herein, may be performed in a similar manner with respect to any specific value of any particular instance of information available from the identification chain 210.

Referring specifically to exemplary embodiments in which identification circuit 210 comprises resistor 216 and the value of a particular instance of information associated with cartridge 110 is a particular resistance value of resistor 216, in some exemplary embodiments, control circuit 176 may be configured to determine a resistance value. resistor 216 based on initiating energization of identification circuit 210 via terminal 244-1, applying V _in to terminal 244-1, measuring V _out at terminal 244-3, and determining the resistance value of resistor 216 by applying known and/or measured values in one or the more well-known voltage divider equations. For example, in the exemplary embodiments shown in FIG. 2, where the resistance value of resistor 238, which is known to the control circuit 176, is herein referred to as R ₂ , the resistance value of resistor 216 can be calculated ("determined") as R ₁ using the control circuit 176 through the following equation (1), where the resistances electrical contacts 222-1 and 222-2, electrical contacts 212-1 and 212-2, electrical contacts 244-1-244-3 and paths 214-1-214-2, 232 and 234-1-234-4 are presumably very small:

(1)

(1)

It should be understood that the resistance value (R ₁ ) of the resistor 216 can be calculated, while the resistance of the electrical contacts 222-1 and 222-2, electrical contacts 212-1 and 212-2, electrical contacts 244-1-244-3 and paths 214-1-214-2, 232 and 234-1-234-4 are known or calculated by the control circuit 176 according to well-known methods for calculating an unknown resistance value in a voltage divider (eg, a resistive divider).

When the resistances of electrical contacts 222-1 and 222-2, electrical contacts 212-1 and 212-2, electrical contacts 244-1-244-3 and paths 214-1-214-2, 232 and 234-1-234-3 are not expected to be very small in the aggregate, the resistance value that is calculated (“determined”) as R ₁ by the control circuit 176 in Equation 1 may also be a specific resistance value that is particularly associated with a particular cartridge 110 connected to the block power supply assembly 170. In other words, the resistance value that is calculated (“determined”) as R ₁ by control circuit 176 in equation 1 may be the sum of all circuit resistances between terminals 244-1 and 244-2 (for example, excluding path resistances 234-3 and resistor 238), including all circuit resistances in cartridge 110.

In the context of this document, the value of the resistance (R ₁ ) of the resistor 216 may be referred to as the "certain resistance value" of the cartridge 110. In the context of this document, the value of a particular instance of data available from the identification circuit 210 for the control circuit 176 may be referred to as the particular value of a particular instance of information of the cartridge 110 As described herein, the particular value of a particular instance of cartridge 110 information may contain information indicating a particular value (eg, a particular alphanumeric value, a particular code, some combination thereof, or the like, or any other information). The determined value of a particular information instance may be a particular resistance value, thus the value of a particular information instance may be a particular resistance value.

In some exemplary embodiments, the control circuit 176 may, based on determining the determined value of a particular instance of cartridge 110 information, including, for example, the determined resistance value of cartridge 110, access an available database (e.g., an “index”) that may be stored in a storage device, which may be contained in power supply assembly 170 and may be communicatively coupled to and/or contained in control circuit 176 to determine whether a particular value of a particular instance of information (e.g., a particular resistance value) 1) value, which is within a specific range of stored values (e.g., a specific range of resistance values) that is associated with determining that the power supply assembly 170 is connected to the authenticated cartridge 110, and/or 2) whether it matches or substantially matches the value a stored instance of information (eg, a stored resistance value) contained in a content element from a set of content elements in an accessible database. In the context of this document, an information instance value (eg, a resistance value) that is defined as "substantially the same" as a value of another information instance (eg, a different resistance value) may be a value (eg, a resistance value) within a specific value difference (for example, resistance values) of another piece of information. For example, a certain resistance value that is within a range of 10 percent difference from another resistance value (eg, including 90 percent to 110 percent of the stored value) may be determined to be substantially the same as the other resistance value. Additionally, in the context of this document, a value and/or instance of information that "matches or substantially matches" another value and/or instance of information may be referred to as "corresponding" to another value and/or instance of information.

In some exemplary embodiments, the control circuit 176, based on identifying a stored instance of information (eg, a resistance) in a database having a value that corresponds to a certain value of a particular instance of information (eg, a resistance value), may process a particular database content item in which contains an identified instance of information (eg, resistance) to identify one or more specific cartridge property values ("cartridge properties") that are contained in a particular content element. Such one or more specific cartridge properties contained in a content element may be understood herein to be "associated" with an identified instance of information (eg, resistance) also contained in the content element based on inclusion in the common database content element.

Because one or more specific cartridge properties (also referred to herein as a “cartridge specific property set”) are identified based on a certain instance of information (for example, a resistance value, also referred to herein as a specific electrical resistance, associated with the cartridge 110 that is connected to the unit assembly 170), the specific cartridge properties identified can be understood to be associated with the cartridge 110. Therefore, since one or more specific cartridge properties associated with the cartridge 110 are identified based on determining that a certain instance of information (e.g., a resistance value) corresponds specific stored instance of information (e.g., a resistance value) that is itself associated with one or more specific cartridge properties, it should be understood that the control circuit 176 identifies a specific set of cartridge properties associated with the cartridge 110 coupled to the power supply assembly 170, based on the definition of a particular instance of information (eg, electrical resistance (eg, R ₁ )) that is associated with the cartridge 110.

In some illustrative embodiments, based on the identification of a specific set of one or more cartridge properties associated with an identified information instance having a value corresponding to the value of a specific information instance (for example, based on the identification of a specific set of cartridge properties associated with cartridge 110 connected to the block assembly 170), the control circuit 176 may control the supply of power to one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 to cause the one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 to emit light 189-1, 189-2 having a specific (“selected”) set of one or more light properties (e.g., color, brightness, mode, duration, etc.) (in some exemplary embodiments, power may also or alternatively be applied to light source 177 to initiate the emission of light by a light source 177 having a particular set of one or more light properties). For example, a specific set of cartridge properties that is identified as associated with cartridge 110 may contain a specific set of light properties. Each individual cartridge property set in the accessible database (which may be associated with individual respective stored instance information values) may contain and/or be associated with individual respective light property sets. Based on the identification of the specific set of properties of the cartridge associated with the cartridge 110, the control circuit 176 can therefore identify the specific set of properties of light from the set of properties of light that is associated with the cartridge 110.

Control circuit 176 may control one or more specific properties of light 189-1, 189-2 emitted by one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 in accordance with a specific set of light properties contained in the identified specific cartridge property set associated with cartridge 110, and/or associated with it, the thus emitted light 189-1, 189-2 conveys information based on one or more specific properties of the emitted light 189-1, 189-2. Since the specific properties of the emitted light 189-1, 189-2 are included in and/or associated with the cartridge 110, the emitted light can therefore convey information associated with the specific cartridge 110 according to the specific properties of the light.

Therefore, in some exemplary embodiments based on the initiation of emission by one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2, lights 189-1, 189-2 (as mentioned above, 177 may also or alternatively be used), which has one or more specific light properties associated with (corresponding to) a particular cartridge 110 connected to the power supply assembly 170, the control circuit 176 may cause the electronic vaping device 100 to transmit to an adult vaper observing at least a portion of the electronic vaping device 100 (e.g., part 113 of reservoir body 112 exposed by body 101), information indicating one or more properties of cartridge 110 coupled to power supply assembly 170, including a specific "type" of cartridge 110. In the context of this document, specifying a specific "type" of a particular cartridge 110 may refer to indicating that the cartridge 110 is associated with one or more specific properties of the cartridge, including, for example, the identification of one or more flavors held in the reservoir 120 of the cartridge 110.

In some illustrative embodiments, one or more specific properties of the light may include the color temperature of the emitted light, and/or the brightness of the emitted light 189-1, 189-2, and/or the amount of time ("time elapsed") when the light 189-1 , 189-2 emits one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2.

It should be understood that light emitted from the electronic vaping device 100, such as light 197-1, 197-2, 199-1, and/or 199-2, as shown in FIG. 1D and/or FIG. 1E may have common or substantially common (eg, common within manufacturing and/or material tolerances) properties (eg, color, brightness, duration, and/or mode) like light 189-1, 189-2.

In some illustrative embodiments, the control circuit 176 may be configured to identify a particular set of cartridge properties associated with cartridge 110 based on determining the value of a particular instance of information associated with the cartridge and control one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 for emitting light 189-1, 189-2 having a specific set of light properties associated with the identified specific set of cartridge properties. Identifying a particular set of cartridge properties may include determining that the value of a particular particular information instance associated with the cartridge 110 corresponds to the value of a particular stored information instance from a plurality of stored information instances in the database, wherein the particular stored information instance is associated with the stored light property set, and controlling one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 may include identifying the stored light property set associated with the particular stored instance of information as the particular light property set associated with the identified particular cartridge property set.

In some exemplary embodiments, different types of cartridges 110 may be associated with different cartridge properties, such as vaporizing formulations having different respective properties (eg, different flavors and/or ingredients). Different types of cartridges 110 can be distinguished by the presence of identification circuits 210 containing storage devices storing different instances of information and/or containing resistors 216 having different respective resistances. For example, a cartridge 110 having a first flavor vapor composition ready in reservoir 120 may have a first resistance resistor 216 and/or a storage device storing a first instance of information with a first value; and a cartridge 110 having a different second flavor in the reservoir 120 ready to vaporize may have a resistor 216 with a second different resistance and/or a storage device storing a second instance of information with a second different value. In some illustrative embodiments, where a certain instance of information contains a certain resistance value of the cartridge 110, the determined resistance value may be determined based on the application of a voltage divider circuit and may therefore be based on the resistance value of the resistor in the cartridge 110. Based on identification and/or reception values of a specific instance of information of the cartridge 110 connected to the power supply assembly 170, the control circuit 176 can be configured to provide a specific indication (with light having one or more specific sets of properties of light that is emitted as light 189-1, 189- 2 by one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2) of one or more specific properties of a particular cartridge 110 to which power supply assembly 170 is connected. As a result, in some exemplary embodiments, electronic vaping device 100 is configured to provide an adult vaper visually observable lighting, which further provides one or more instances of visually observable information associated with the electronic device for vaping 100, for example, indicating one or more specific properties associated with the cartridge 110, the finished vaporization composition held therein, the amount of energy, stored in the power supply 172, some combination of this, or the like based on one or more specific properties of the emitted light, including illumination. In some exemplary embodiments, properties of light emitted from one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 and/or light emitted from electronic vaping device 100 may include, for example, and without limitation, color, brightness, duration, light mode, etc. and/or a combination of these.

In some exemplary embodiments, cartridge 110 may include an identification circuit 210 that includes a storage device storing information indicative of a particular set of light properties associated with cartridge 110. In some exemplary embodiments, control circuit 176 may be configured to identify a particular set of light properties. , indicated by the information stored in the storage device of the identification circuit 210, for example, based on the identification circuit 210 electrically connected to the control circuit 176. The control circuit 176 may be further configured to, in response to identifying a specific set of light properties indicated by information stored in the storage device of the identification circuit 210, control one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 to emit light 189-1, 189-2 having an identified specific set of light properties. In some exemplary embodiments, based on a control circuit 176 configured to control one or more light emitting devices 188, 188-2 to emit light 189-1, 189-2 having a specific set of light properties, based on the identification of the specific set of light properties on based on processing the information stored in the storage device contained in the identification circuit 210 of the cartridge 110, the control circuit 176 may be configured to control one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 to emit light 189-1, 189-2 having a specific set of light properties, without accessing any databases and/or lookup tables.

In some exemplary embodiments, cartridge 110 may include an identification circuit 210 that includes a storage device storing information indicative of a specific power supply property set associated with cartridge 110, wherein the specific power supply property set is associated with power that, when applied to the light emitting device, initiates emission. a light emitting device of light having a specific set of light properties. In some illustrative embodiments, the control circuit 176 may be configured to identify a particular set of power properties indicated by information stored in the identification circuit 210 storage device, for example, based on the identification circuit 210 electrically coupled to the control circuit 176. The control circuit 176 may be further configured to, in response to identifying a specific power supply property set indicated by information stored in the identification circuit 210 storage device, supply power having the specific power supply property set to one or more light emitting devices to initiate emission by one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 of light 189-1, 189-2 having an associated particular set of light properties. In some illustrative embodiments, based on the control circuit 176 configured to supply power having a specific set of power properties to one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 based on the identification of the specific set of power properties based on processing information stored in storage device contained in the identification circuit 210 of the cartridge 110, the control circuit 176 may be configured to control one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 to emit light 189-1, 189-2 having a particular set of light properties, without accessing any databases and/or lookup tables.

Additionally, in some illustrative embodiments, the control circuit 176 may be configured to cause the light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 to emit light 189-1, 189-2 having one or more specific properties of light (e.g., a specific and/or selected set of properties of light), based on a value received from the cartridge 110, and/or based on identifying that the value of a specific information instance of the cartridge 110 corresponds to the value of the information instance contained in a particular content element in the set of content elements in the available database, and further selectively providing power from the power supply 172 to the vaporizer assembly 140, so that the electronic vaping device 100 can selectively apply power to the vaporizer assembly 140 based on the sensor data received from the sensor 174 and processed in the control circuit 176. Therefore, by initiating emission from the light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 of light 189-1, 189-2 having specific properties, and therefore initiating emission from the cartridge 110 to the external environment of light having the same or essentially same properties, the electronic vaping device 100 provides an externally observable visual indication that the power supply assembly 170 has confirmed the authentication of the cartridge 110 and selectively provided vapor generation by the electronic vaping device 100. Therefore, the adult vaper's interaction with the electronic vaping device 100 is improved based on providing the adult vaper with useful information indicating the operating status of the electronic vaping device, such as whether selective vapor generation is enabled and/or one or more properties of the connected cartridge 110 (e.g., flavoring substance, etc.).

In some illustrative embodiments, the database accessed contains content items containing particular instances of information, and related cartridge properties and/or light properties can be found in a lookup table. The lookup table may contain a set of content elements associated with individual respective instances of information and its values (eg, resistance values in some exemplary embodiments). Each content element in the content element set may further be associated with a specific cartridge type 110 and may further be associated with specific information containing one or more specific cartridge properties, one or more specific light properties, etc. associated with a particular cartridge type. 110. For example, each content item may have one or more cartridge properties, including one or more specific properties of light to be emitted by one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 to provide a visible indication of the "type" of cartridge 110 connected to the power supply. assembly 170, one or more power properties for supplying one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 to cause one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 to emit light 189-1, 189-2 having one or more specific properties of light, some combination of them, or the like.

In some exemplary embodiments, the lookup table may be stored in a storage device. The memory may be contained in the control circuit 176, may be separate from the control circuit 176, within or outside the electronic vaping device 100, but connected in a communicative manner with the control circuit 176, such that the control circuit 176 may access information contained in the memory. device.

In some illustrative embodiments, the set of content items in the lookup table includes one or more specific cartridge properties associated with particular instances of information, and their values (eg, resistance values) can be generated according to well known experimental techniques. For example, a database of content items associated with individual cartridge types 110, where each content item includes one or more cartridge properties associated with a particular individual cartridge type, may be generated initially, and the values of particular instances of information (eg, resistance values) may be added to the appropriate lookup table content elements based, for each specific cartridge type, connecting the cartridge 110 of the specific cartridge type to the power supply assembly 170, determining the value of the instance information available from the cartridge 110 (e.g., measuring the resistance R ₂ of the resistor 238 through any well known method of determining the resistance value of a resistor, applying V _in to pin 244-1, measuring V _out at pin 244-3, and determining the resistance value R ₁ of resistor 216 by one or more well-known voltage divider calculations, such as equation (1), as presented above). The resistance value R ₁ of resistor 216, experimentally measured when a particular known cartridge type 110 is connected to power supply assembly 170, can be added to a particular lookup table content item that is specifically associated with a particular known cartridge type 110 (e.g., contains information related in particular to a particular known type of cartridge 110). This process can be repeated for every different cartridge type that is contained in the lookup table, such that each content element in the set of content elements in the lookup table contains a particular experimentally determined instance information value (e.g., resistance value) associated with a particular cartridge type 110 (and , therefore, one or more particular cartridge properties are associated with a particular cartridge type 110).

In some exemplary embodiments, the lookup table contains a set of content items each containing a different specific resistance value and each different type of cartridge 110 includes an identification circuit 210 with a specific resistor 216 having a specific resistance value and each resistance value in each content item of the set lookup table content items can be set based on experimentally measuring the resistance value of resistor 216 in each different type of cartridge 110 and adding that resistance value to the lookup table content item associated with that particular cartridge type 110.

In some exemplary embodiments, control circuitry 176 may selectively provide power from power supply 172 to vaporizer assembly 140 of connected cartridge 110 based on a determination that a certain instance of information associated with connected cartridge 110 corresponds to a content element information instance of a content item set in reference table. The control circuit 176 can selectively provide power from the power supply 172 to the vaporizer assembly 140 of the connected cartridge 110 based on a determination that a particular information instance associated with the cartridge 110 corresponds to a particular stored information instance from a plurality of stored information instances in the database.

In some exemplary embodiments, in response to a determination that the value of a certain information instance (eg, the resistance value of resistor 216) does not match any value of any information instances (eg, resistance values) of any content elements of the content element set, the control circuit 176 may suspend or maintain the suspension of the power supply from the power supply 172 to the terminal 242-1 while suspending or maintaining the suspension of vapor generation of the vaping electronic device 100 based on a determination that the cartridge 110 is an unauthenticated cartridge and/or is not contained in the set of specific cartridge types associated with the set of content items in the lookup table. The control circuit 176 may further cause the one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 to emit light 189-1, 189-2 having one or more specific properties (e.g., a specific set of properties) based on determining that the cartridge 110 represents an unauthenticated cartridge (eg, the determined resistance value associated with the cartridge 110 does not match the stored resistance values from the set of stored resistance values in the database).

In some exemplary embodiments, the lookup table may contain content elements identifying one or more values of one or more instances of information associated with unauthenticated cartridge types 110 and associated cartridge properties. The control circuit 176, having the specific information instance value of the non-authenticated cartridge 110 has a specific value, can access a look-up table and identify that the specific information instance value is within the range of information instance values stored in the content element associated with the non-authenticated cartridges 110. Scheme 176 the control may then identify one or more properties of the cartridge contained in the same content element (for example, associated with the identified range of values of information instances in the content element), and may control one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 to cause one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 to emit light 189-1, 189-2 having one or more specific properties (eg, color, brightness, mode, duration, etc.) to provide an indication of whether that the non-authenticated cartridge 110 is connected to the power supply assembly 170, and therefore the vapor generation of the electronic vaping device 100 is selectively suspended.

In some exemplary embodiments, the lookup table may contain content elements identifying one or more values of one or more instances of information associated with authenticated cartridge types 110 and associated cartridge properties. For example, the control circuit 176 having a certain resistance value of the resistor 216 of the non-authenticated cartridge 110 can access a look-up table and identify that the determined resistance value is outside the range of resistance values stored in the content element associated with the authenticated cartridges 110. The control circuit 176 may then control one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 to cause one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 to emit light 189-1, 189-2 having one or more specific properties (e.g., color , brightness, mode, duration, etc.) to provide an indication that the power supply assembly 170 is not connected to the authenticated cartridge 110, and therefore the vapor generation of the vaping electronic device 100 is selectively suspended.

In some exemplary embodiments, control circuit 176 may further cause one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 to emit light 189-1, 189-2 having one or more specific properties (e.g., a specific set of properties) based on a determination that the specific value of the particular instance of information associated with the cartridge 110 is within the specific range of values associated with the authenticated cartridges, but does not match any of the stored values of the set of stored values in the database).

In some illustrative embodiments, the control circuit 176 may be configured to selectively suspend the emission of one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 based on one or more specific definitions. For example, control circuit 176 may be configured to determine the amount of flash composition held in reservoir 120. In some illustrative embodiments, control circuit 176 may be configured to determine the amount of flash composition held in reservoir 120 based on processing ("analysis") of the voltage difference between terminals 242-1 and 242-2, when an electrical signal is applied to terminal 242-1 and received from the evaporator assembly 140 via terminal 242-2. The control circuit 176 may selectively stop the one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 from emitting light based on a determination that the amount of ready vaporization compound held in the reservoir 120 is less than a threshold amount. The control circuit 176 may also selectively suspend light emission from one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 based on a determination that a certain value of a particular piece of information associated with the cartridge 110 is outside a particular range of values.

In some exemplary embodiments, control circuit 176 may be configured to control one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 to adjust the brightness of light 189-1, 189-2 emitted by one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188- 2, based on a certain amount and/or proportion of the ready vaporization composition held in the reservoir 120. For example, the control circuit 176 may be configured to initiate the emission of one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 of the light 189-1, 189 -2, having a brightness that is proportional to the amount of ready-to-flash composition held in tank 120 and/or to the fraction of tank 120 occupied by the ready-to-flash composition.

In some exemplary embodiments, control circuit 176 may be configured to control one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 to adjust the brightness of light 189-1, 189-2 emitted by one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188- 2 based on the determined amount of power stored in the power supply 172. For example, the control circuit 176 may be configured to cause the one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 to emit light 189-1, 189-2 having a brightness that is proportional to the amount of power stored in the power supply 172.

In FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating operations that may be performed according to some illustrative embodiments. The operations shown in Fig. 3 may be implemented at least in part by one or more illustrative embodiments of electronic vaping device 100 contained herein, including illustrative embodiments of control circuit 176.

In operation S302, at least an instance of the control circuit 176 of the power supply assembly 170 may determine whether the power supply assembly 170 is connected at the interface connector 181 to the cartridge 110 to enable the cartridge 110 to generate steam based on the power supplied by the power supply assembly 170 Such a determination may include a determination of whether at least one electrical circuit has been established through the control circuit 176 and at least a portion of the cartridge 110. Such determination may include an electrical supply (eg, from a power supply 172) to one or more electrical contacts of the circuit 176 control circuit (eg, terminal 244-1 in FIG. 2) and determining whether an electrical signal is being received at one or more other electrical contacts of control circuit 176 (eg, terminal 244-3 in FIG. 2).

In step S304, in response to making the determination in step S302 that the power supply assembly 170 is connected to the cartridge 110, the control circuit 176 may supply an electrical signal to one or more pins of the control circuit 176 (for example, pin 244-1 in FIG. 2 ) and can detect an electrical response received at one or more pins of control circuit 176 (eg, pin 244-3 in FIG. 2). Such a received electrical signal may be considered to have propagated through identification circuit 210 of cartridge 110, wherein identification circuit 210 may have a specific associated resistance value (e.g., based on the presence of one or more specific resistors 216 having one or more specific resistance values).

In step S306, control circuit 176 may process the received electrical signal to determine the value of a particular piece of information (eg, a resistance value) associated with cartridge 110. The determination may include comparing the received electrical signal with an initially applied electrical signal, as described above with reference to FIG. 2.

In operation S308, a determination is made as to whether the value determined in operation S306 is within a specific range of values of the information instances associated with the authenticated cartridges 110. The specific range (also referred to herein as "allowable range" and/or "authenticated range ”) may be stored in a storage device such as an accessible database. The available database may contain a lookup table. Values of information instances (eg, resistance values) associated with the allowable range may be determined and added to the database through well-known experimental techniques to create a database content element indicating values (eg, resistance values) within the allowable range and/or values (for example, resistance values) outside the allowable range.

In response to determining that the value of a particular instance of information is outside a particular range, as shown in operation S310, the control circuit 176 may cause the vaping electronics 100 to generate an error indication to indicate that the power supply assembly 170 is not connected to authenticated cartridge 110, and therefore the vapor generation of the evaporator assembly 140 remains suspended. Such an error indication may be generated based on the control circuit 176 controlling one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 and/or light source 177 to emit light having one or more specific properties (e.g., color, brightness, duration , mode, etc. and/or combinations thereof) to provide an "error" indication. The control circuit 176 may determine one or more specific properties of the emitted light associated with the "error" indication based on accessing a look-up table to determine one or more properties of light associated with a certain value, identifying one or more properties of light based on the indicated access (whereby one or more light properties associated with a particular value in the lookup table are light properties associated with an error indication) and control one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 and/or light source 177 to emitting light having one or more specific properties.

In step S316, in response to determining that the specific information instance specific value associated with the connected cartridge 110 is determined in step S308 as a value (for example, a resistance value) that is within the above specific range of values associated with the authenticated cartridges 110, the control circuit 176 may further process the determined value to determine if the value matches or substantially matches the information instance value stored in an accessible database to which the control circuit 176 has access.

In response, as shown in steps S310 and S318, a determination is made that a certain value of a particular information instance associated with the cartridge does not match or substantially does not match any stored information instance values, the control circuit 176 may cause the electronic device to generate 100 for hover error indication. As shown in FIG. 3, the error indication may be the aforementioned error indication in operation S310, thus the error indication may be provided in operation S310 based on either the determined value is outside the specific range of values, or it is within the specific range, but does not match, or substantially does not match, any information instance values stored in an accessible database.

In some exemplary embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3 in operation S318, the control circuit 176 may respond to determining that the determined value does not match or substantially does not match any of the values stored in the available database by causing the vaping electronics 100 to generate an error indication to indicate whether that the power supply assembly 170 is not connected to the authenticated cartridge 110, and therefore steam generation remains suspended, and the error indication provided in operation S318 is different from the error indication provided in operation S310. Such an error indication may be generated based on the control circuit 176 controlling one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 and/or light source 177 to emit light having one or more specific properties (e.g., color, brightness, duration , mode, etc., and/or combinations thereof) that are at least partially different from one or more specific properties that may be emitted by one or more light emitting devices in operation S310. Similar to operation S310, the control circuit 176 may determine one or more specific light properties associated with the "error" indication provided in operation S318 based on accessing a look-up table to determine one or more light properties associated with a particular value, identifying one or more light properties based on specified access (wherein one or more light properties associated with a certain value in the lookup table are light properties associated with an indication of an error) and control of one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 and/or a light source 177 for emitting light having one or more specific light properties.

In operation S320, in response to determining that the content item in the available database contains an information instance value that matches or substantially matches the determined value of the particular information instance (for example, a resistance value) in operation S316, the control circuit 176 processes the identified content item a database for identifying a set of cartridge properties (e.g., one or more power properties to supply to the light emitting device and/or heating element 142 of cartridge 110; one or more specific light properties (e.g., color, brightness, mode, duration, etc.) and/or combinations thereof) to be emitted by a light emitting device, some combination thereof, or the like) that are associated with a content element (eg, associated with a matching or substantially matching information instance value stored in a database). In other words, in operation S320, a specific set of cartridge properties associated with the cartridge may be identified based on determining the value of the specific cartridge associated information instance (S306), and the identification may include determining that the value of the specific information instance associated with the cartridge, corresponds to the value of the specific stored information instance of the stored information instance value set in the database (if the condition in S316 is met), wherein the specific stored information instance is associated with the stored light property set.

In operation S322, the control circuit 176 applies the identified one or more specific properties of the cartridge to control one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 to emit light 189-1, 189-2 having one or more specific properties. When one or more specific properties of the cartridge include power supply properties for supplying power to the light emitting device to cause the light emitting device to emit light having specific properties, the operation in block S322 may include a control circuit 176 supplying power to the light emitting device in accordance with the specified properties. When one or more specific properties of the cartridge include the properties of light to be emitted by the light emitting device, the operation in block S322 may include a control circuit 176 determining one or more power supply properties to supply to cause the light emitting device to emit light having the properties of light, and additionally supplying said power supply A that has one or more specified properties.

In some illustrative embodiments, the information instance in step S306 contains information indicating a specific set of power supply properties to be supplied to the light emitting device to cause the light emitting device to emit light having one or more specific properties, wherein the value determined in step S306 may be the specific power supply property set values, steps S308, S316, and/or S320 may be omitted, and in step S322, the control circuit 176 may respond to the determination in step S306 by supplying power having the specific power supply property set to one or more light emitting devices 188- 1, 188-2 to cause one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 to emit light 189-1, 189-2 having a specific set of light properties that is associated with a specific set of power supply properties.

In some exemplary embodiments, the instance of information in step S306 contains information indicating a specific set of light properties, wherein the value determined in step S306 may be values of the specific set of light properties, steps S308, S316, and/or S320 may be omitted, and in step S322, the control circuit 176 may respond to the determination in step S306 by supplying power having a certain specific set of power supply properties to one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 to initiate the emission of one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188 -2 light 189-1, 189-2 having a specific set of light properties. The control circuit 176 may be configured to convert certain light property set values to power supply specific property set values to be supplied to one or more light emitting devices 188-1, 188-2 in operation S322 without accessing the database and/or lookup table. .

In step S324, the control circuit 176 initiates a “ready to heat” state, wherein the power supply to the heating element 142 of the connected cartridge 110 through a specific set of electrical contacts is selectively provided by the control circuit 176 based on the determination in step S316. As a result, upon subsequent receipt of signals from the sensor 174 indicative of air being drawn through the vaping electronic device 100, the control circuit 176 may responsively supply power to the heating element 142 based at least in part on selectively providing power supply and/or power supply having one or more properties determined based on the identified set of cartridge properties to the heating element 142. Conversely, if the operation S324 is not performed, for example in response to determining that the determined value is outside the above specific range (if the condition in S308 is not met ) or does not match or substantially does not match any of the values stored in the available database (if the condition in S316 is not met), the power supply from the power supply 172 to the heating element 142 may be selectively suspended, thus the control circuit 176 may selectively withheld from energizing the heating element even if signals indicative of a puff from the electronic vaping device 100 are received on the control circuit 176 from the sensor 174.

In some exemplary embodiments, the instance of the information in step S306 and/or the cartridge properties identified in step S320 comprise information identifying the power supply properties to be supplied to the heating element 142 of the cartridge 110, and upon receipt of signals from the sensor 174 indicative of air being drawn through the electronic the vaping device 100, the control circuit 176 may supply power having power supply properties to the heating element 142 in response.

Illustrative embodiments have been disclosed herein, however, it should be understood that other variations are possible. Such variations are not to be considered as departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, and all such modifications, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.

Claims (58)

1. A method for operating an electronic vaping device, the method comprising: identifying a particular set of cartridge properties associated with the cartridge connected to the power supply assembly based on determining the particular instance of information associated with the cartridge, wherein the cartridge comprises a reservoir body at least partially forming a reservoir holding a ready composition for vaporization, and a vaporizer in assembly, configured to generate steam by heating the finished composition for evaporation drawn from the tank, controlling a light emitting device to emit light having a particular set of light properties associated with the identified particular set of cartridge properties such that light is transmitted through the light guide structure and radiated into the cartridge reservoir body to initiate the emission of at least a portion of the transmitted light of at least one part of the cartridge to the outside. 2. The method according to p. 1, characterized in that: identifying includes determining that the value of a particular particular information instance associated with the cartridge corresponds to a value of a particular stored information instance from a plurality of stored information instances in a database, the particular stored information instance being associated with a stored set of light properties; And controlling the light emitting device includes identifying a stored light property set associated with a specific stored instance of information, since the specific light property set is associated with the identified specific cartridge property set. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the particular instance of the information is the particular resistance associated with the cartridge. 4. The method according to p. 3, characterized in that: the plurality of stored instances of information stored in the database contains a plurality of stored resistances; And the value of a specific stored instance of information is a value in the form of a value of a specific stored resistance from a plurality of stored resistances. 5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising connecting the power supply assembly to the cartridge such that one or more magnets magnetically connect the power supply assembly to the cartridge. 6. Method according to claim 5, characterized in that one or more magnets are included in the power supply assembly. 7. Method according to claim 6, characterized in that one or more magnets are included in the connecting element of the interface of the power supply assembly. 8. Method according to claim 5, characterized in that one or more magnets are included in the cartridge. 9. An electronic vaping device, comprising: cartridge, wherein the cartridge contains: a reservoir body at least partially defining the reservoir, wherein the reservoir is configured to hold the finished vaporization composition, and an evaporator assembly configured to draw in the finished vaporization composition from the tank and heat the drawn in finished vaporization composition to form vapor; And a power supply assembly configured to supply power, including to the cartridge, to initiate the formation of vapor by the evaporator assembly, the power supply assembly comprising: a power supply configured to supply power; a coupling element configured to electrically connect the power supply to the evaporator assembly; a light emitting device configured to emit light; And a light guide structure having a proximal end and a far end, wherein the proximal end is adjacent to the light emitting device, the distal end extends through the interface connector, and the light guide structure is configured to transmit emitted light from the proximal end of the light guide structure to the distal end of the light guide structure, thus the light guide structure is configured to emit the transmitted light into the cartridge to initiate the emission of at least a portion of the transmitted light by at least a portion of the cartridge into the external environment, wherein the electronic vaping device further comprises a control circuit configured to: identifying a cartridge property associated with the cartridge, and controlling the light emitting device to emit light having a light property associated with the identified cartridge property. 10. An electronic vaping device according to claim 9, characterized in that the light emitting device is configured to emit light having a selected set of light properties from a plurality of light property sets. 11. An electronic vaping device according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the control circuit is configured to identify a property of the cartridge based on determining the value of a particular instance of information associated with the cartridge. 12. An electronic vaping device according to claim 11, wherein the particular instance of information associated with the cartridge is a particular electrical resistance associated with the cartridge. 13. An electronic vaping device according to any one of paragraphs. 9-12, characterized in that the power supply assembly and the cartridge are made with the possibility of detachable connection with each other. 14. An electronic vaping device according to claim 13, further comprising one or more magnets configured to be magnetically connected to each other by the power supply assembly and the cartridge. 15. Electronic vaping device according to claim 14, characterized in that one or more magnets are included in the power supply assembly. 16. An electronic vaping device according to claim 15, characterized in that one or more magnets are included in the connecting element of the interface of the power supply assembly. 17. Electronic vaping device according to claim 14, characterized in that one or more magnets are included in the cartridge. 18. An electronic vaping device according to any one of paragraphs. 9-17, characterized in that the power supply is a rechargeable battery. 19. An electronic vaping device according to any one of paragraphs. 9-18, characterized in that the light guide structure is configured to transmit the emitted light into the cartridge reservoir body. 20. An electronic vaping device according to claim 19, characterized in that the light guide structure is configured to emit transmitted light into the cartridge reservoir via the reservoir body to illuminate the finished vaping composition held in the reservoir to the outside environment. 21. An electronic device for vaping according to claim 19 or 20, characterized in that the tank body is configured to transmit transmitted light through the interior of the tank body for radiation to the external environment through at least a part of the tank body that is not covered by the power supply body in collection. 22. An electronic vaping device according to any one of paragraphs. 19-21, characterized in that at least part of the reservoir body is transparent to visible light. 23. An electronic vaping device according to claim 22, wherein the reservoir body portion is transparent to visible light in a direction that is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the cartridge. 24. Power supply assembly for an electronic device for vaping, and the power supply assembly contains: a power supply configured to supply power; a coupling element configured to be connected to the cartridge to enable the electronic vaping device to generate vapor, wherein the cartridge comprises a reservoir body at least partially forming a reservoir holding the finished composition for vaporization, and an evaporator assembly configured to heat the finished composition for evaporating drawn from the reservoir to generate steam, wherein the interface connector is configured to electrically connect the power supply to the evaporator assembly; a light emitting device configured to emit light; And a light guide structure having a proximal end and a distal end, wherein the proximal end is adjacent to the light emitting device, the distal end extends through the interface connector, and the light guide structure is configured to transmit emitted light from the proximal end of the light guide structure to the distal end of the light guide structure, thus the light guide structure is configured to emit the transmitted light into the cartridge to initiate the emission of at least a portion of the transmitted light by at least a portion of the cartridge into the external environment, wherein the power supply assembly further comprises a control circuit configured to: identifying a property of the cartridge associated with the cartridge; And controlling the light emitting device to emit light having a light property associated with the identified cartridge property. 25. The power supply assembly of claim 24, wherein the light emitting device is configured to emit light having a selected set of light properties from a plurality of light property sets. 26. The power supply assembly of claim 24, wherein the control circuitry is configured to identify a property of the cartridge based on determining the value of a particular instance of information associated with the cartridge. 27. The power supply assembly of claim 26, wherein the particular instance of information associated with the cartridge is the particular electrical resistance associated with the cartridge. 28. Power supply assembly according to any one of paragraphs. 24-27, characterized in that it additionally contains one or more magnets configured to be connected by means of magnetic forces to the power supply assembly with the cartridge. 29. Power supply assembly according to claim 28, characterized in that one or more magnets are included in the power supply assembly. 30. Power supply assembly according to claim 29, characterized in that one or more magnets are included in the connecting element of the power supply assembly. 31. Power supply assembly according to claim 28, characterized in that one or more magnets are included in the cartridge. 32. Power supply assembly according to any one of paragraphs. 24-31, characterized in that the light guide structure is configured to emit transmitted light into the cartridge reservoir body. 33. The power supply assembly of claim. 32, characterized in that the light guide structure is configured to emit transmitted light into the cartridge reservoir via the reservoir body to illuminate the ready vaporization composition held in the reservoir to the outside environment. 34. The power supply assembly according to claim 32 or 33, characterized in that the tank body is configured to transmit transmitted light through the interior of the tank body for radiation to the external environment through at least a part of the tank body, which is transparent, not covered by the block body power supply assembly or both transparent and not covered by the housing.

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