CN117915798A

CN117915798A - Reservoir for refill device, device and method for refilling article of aerosol supply system, nozzle for fluid dispensing and refillable article for electronic aerosol supply system

Info

Publication number: CN117915798A
Application number: CN202280059713.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 史蒂芬·杰克逊; 伊恩·缪里森; 瑞安·科金
Original assignee: Nicoventures Trading Ltd
Current assignee: Nicoventures Trading Ltd
Priority date: 2021-09-03
Filing date: 2022-08-24
Publication date: 2024-04-19
Also published as: GB202112580D0

Abstract

A reservoir for use in a refill device, comprising: a fluid storage volume bounded by an end wall and one or more side walls; an outlet aperture in or adjacent the end wall, the outlet aperture configured to form or engage with a fluid conduit engageable with an inlet aperture of an article of the aerosol supply system to provide a fluid flow path from the fluid storage volume to a storage region in the article when the reservoir and article are installed in the refill device; and a movable wall disposed opposite the end wall to enclose the fluid storage volume, the movable wall being configured to slide toward the end wall and being engageable with a pushing element of the refill device, the pushing element being operable to push the movable wall toward the end wall so as to reduce the volume of the fluid storage volume such that fluid in the fluid storage volume moves through the outlet aperture to the fluid flow path so as to fill the storage area of the product.

Description

Reservoir for refill device, device and method for refilling article of aerosol supply system, nozzle for fluid dispensing and refillable article for electronic aerosol supply system

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a reservoir for a refill device, a device and method for refilling an article of an aerosol supply system, a nozzle for fluid dispensing, and a refillable article for an electronic aerosol supply system.

Background

An electronic aerosol provision system, typically configured as a so-called electronic cigarette, may have a unitary form in which all elements of the system are in a common housing or may have a multipart form in which the elements are distributed among two or more housings that may be coupled together to form the system. A common embodiment of the latter form is a two-part system comprising the device and the article. The device typically contains a power source (e.g., a battery) for the system and control electronics for operating the elements to generate the aerosol. Articles, also referred to in terms as comprising cartridges, atomizers, consumables and cleaning agents, typically comprise a storage volume or region for containing a supply of an aerosolizable material from which an aerosol is generated plus an aerosol generator, for example a heater operable to vaporize the aerosolizable material. A similar three-component system may include a separate mouthpiece attached to the article. In many designs, the article is designed to be disposable, with the aerosolizable material being detached from the device and discarded as it has been consumed. The user obtains a new article that has been pre-filled with an aerosolizable material by the manufacturer and attaches it to the device for use. Instead, the device is intended for use with multiple continuous articles, with the ability to recharge the battery to allow for extended operation.

While disposable articles, which may be referred to as consumables, are convenient for the user, they may be considered wasteful of natural resources and thus harmful to the environment. Thus, an alternative design of an article is known that is configured to be refilled by a user with an aerosolizable material. This reduces waste and may reduce the cost of using the electronic cigarette for the user. The aerosolizable material can be disposed in a bottle, for example, from which the user squeezes or drops a quantity of material into the article via a refill orifice on the article. However, the act of refilling can be awkward and inconvenient, as the article is small and the volume of material involved is typically small. Alignment of the junction between the bottle and the article can be difficult and imprecision can lead to spillage of the material. This is not only wasteful, but can be dangerous. The aerosolizable material typically comprises liquid nicotine, which may be toxic if it is in contact with the skin.

Thus, refill units or devices have been proposed that are configured to receive a bottle or other reservoir of aerosolizable material and a refillable cartridge, and automate the transfer of material from the former to the latter. Accordingly, alternative, improved or enhanced features and designs of such refill devices are of interest.

Disclosure of Invention

According to a first aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a reservoir for use in a refill device, the reservoir comprising: a fluid storage volume bounded by one or more side walls and end walls; an outlet aperture in or near the end wall configured to form or engage with a fluid conduit engageable with an inlet aperture of an article of the aerosol supply system to provide a fluid flow path from the fluid storage volume to a storage region in the article when the reservoir and article are installed in the refill device; and a movable wall disposed opposite the end wall to enclose the fluid storage volume, the movable wall being configured to slide toward the end wall and being engageable with a pushing element of the refill device, the pushing element being operable to push the movable wall toward the end wall so as to reduce the volume of the fluid storage volume such that fluid in the fluid storage volume moves through the outlet aperture to the fluid flow path so as to fill the storage area of the product.

According to a second aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a refill device configured to refill an article of an aerosol supply system received in the refill device with aerosol generating material from a reservoir, the refill device comprising a reservoir according to the first aspect.

According to a third aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a method of refilling a storage region with a fluid, the method comprising dispensing fluid from a reservoir according to the first aspect into the storage region.

According to a fourth aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a refill device for refilling an article from a reservoir, the refill device comprising: a reservoir interface for receiving a reservoir containing a fluid, the reservoir having a movable wall configured to be pushed inwardly to reduce the volume of the reservoir and move the fluid in the reservoir out of an outlet orifice of the reservoir; an article interface for receiving an article of an aerosol supply system having a storage region for a fluid such that a fluid flow path is formed between an outlet orifice of the reservoir and the storage region of the article; a motor; a plunger configured to be driven by the motor to provide a linear motion comprising advancement of the plunger from a retracted position to engage a movable wall of a received reservoir and urge the movable wall inwardly, the linear motion further comprising retraction of the plunger away from the movable wall; and a controller configured to control the motor to drive the plunger.

According to a fifth aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a method of refilling an article from a reservoir, the method comprising: forming a fluid flow path between an outlet orifice of the reservoir and an inlet orifice of the article, wherein the reservoir has a moveable wall configured to be pushed inwardly to reduce the volume of the reservoir and move fluid out of the outlet orifice, and the article is an article of manufacture of a vapor supply system having a storage area in fluid communication with the inlet orifice; and controlling the motor-driven plunger to push the movable wall of the reservoir inwardly to cause fluid to flow from the outlet orifice, along the fluid flow path and into the inlet orifice to fill the storage area of the product with fluid from the reservoir.

According to a sixth aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a kit comprising: the refill device according to the fourth aspect; and an aerosol provision system comprising an article having a storage region for aerosol generating material and a device to which the article is coupleable to form the aerosol provision system, wherein the article is configured to be received in an article interface of a refill device.

According to a seventh aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a nozzle for dispensing a fluid, the nozzle comprising: a tubular outer wall extending between the proximal and distal ends and surrounding the nozzle volume; an inner wall dividing the nozzle volume into a fluid passage for fluid flow from the proximal end to the distal end and a vent passage for air flow from the distal end towards the proximal end; the inner and outer walls are configured such that the fluid channel extends beyond the vent channel at the distal end.

According to an eighth aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a reservoir for storing a fluid, the reservoir comprising a nozzle for dispensing fluid from the reservoir according to the seventh aspect.

According to a ninth aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a refill device configured to refill an article of an aerosol provision system received in the refill device with aerosol generating material from a reservoir, the refill device comprising a reservoir according to the eighth aspect.

According to a tenth aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a nozzle for dispensing a fluid, the nozzle comprising: a tubular inner wall defining a fluid passage for fluid flow from a first end to a second end of the nozzle; and a tubular outer wall surrounding the inner wall and defining a vent passage for air flow from the second end toward the first end of the nozzle, the vent passage being defined by an inner surface of the outer wall and an outer surface of the inner wall; wherein the inner wall is eccentrically located within the outer wall.

According to an eleventh aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a reservoir for storing a fluid, the reservoir comprising a nozzle according to the tenth aspect for dispensing a fluid from the reservoir. The reservoir may also include an aerosol-generating material stored in the reservoir.

According to a twelfth aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a refill device configured to refill an article of an aerosol provision system received in the refill device with aerosol generating material from a reservoir, the refill device comprising a reservoir according to the eleventh aspect.

According to a thirteenth aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a method of refilling a storage region with a fluid, the method comprising transferring fluid from a reservoir into the storage region using a nozzle according to the seventh or tenth aspect.

According to a fourteenth aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided an article for an aerosol provision system, the article comprising: a housing comprising one or more walls, the one or more walls comprising an inlet wall; a storage region for aerosol-generating material and defined within the housing; an inlet orifice in fluid communication with the interior of the storage region through which aerosol-generating material may be added to the storage region; and a valve closing the inlet orifice; wherein the inlet aperture is located in the inlet wall of the housing and the valve is integrally formed with the inlet aperture and the inlet wall.

According to a fifteenth aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided an aerosol provision system comprising an article according to the fourteenth aspect.

According to a sixteenth aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a wall for an article of manufacture of an aerosol supply system, the wall configured to define at least a portion of a housing of the article of manufacture, and the wall comprising: an inlet aperture through which aerosol-generating material may be added to the storage region of the article; and a valve closing the inlet orifice; wherein the wall, the inlet orifice and the valve are integrally formed.

These and other aspects of certain embodiments are set out in the accompanying independent and dependent claims. It is to be understood that the features of the dependent claims may be combined with each other and that the features of the independent claims may be combined in other combinations than explicitly set forth in the claims. Furthermore, the methods described herein are not limited to the specific embodiments set forth below, for example, but rather include and contemplate any suitable combination of features presented herein. For example, a reservoir, refill device, or related method may be provided according to the methods described herein, including any one or more of the various features described appropriately below.

Drawings

Various embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail, by way of example only, with reference to the following drawings, in which:

fig. 1 shows a simplified schematic cross-section of an exemplary electronic aerosol provision system to which embodiments of the present disclosure are applicable;

FIG. 2 illustrates a simplified schematic diagram of a refill device in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

Fig. 3 shows a simplified schematic cross-sectional view of a reservoir of an article of a refill aerosol supply system according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

Fig. 4 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of an exemplary reservoir according to a first described invention of the present disclosure, and for use in a refill device according to a second described invention embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4A shows a schematic partial cross-sectional view of another exemplary reservoir according to the first described invention of the present disclosure, with a different sealing arrangement than the embodiment of FIG. 4;

Fig. 5A and 5B show schematic views of a refill device in which a reservoir according to an embodiment of the first described invention of the present disclosure is installed before and after refilling an article from the reservoir, respectively, which is also another exemplary refill device according to the second described invention of the present disclosure before and after refilling an article from the reservoir when both are installed in the refill device;

FIG. 6 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of another exemplary reservoir according to the first described invention of the present disclosure, additionally including a receptacle for an article to be refilled;

FIG. 7 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the exemplary reservoir of FIG. 6 with an article inserted into a receptacle;

FIG. 8 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of an end wall and outlet orifice nozzle for a reservoir according to a first described invention of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of an end wall and outlet orifice nozzle for a reservoir according to the first described invention of the present disclosure;

10A, 10B and 10C illustrate simplified schematic diagrams of a first exemplary motor-driven plunger fluid delivery mechanism suitable for use in a refill device according to the second described invention of the present disclosure, with the plunger in a different position;

FIG. 11 shows a simplified schematic diagram of a second exemplary motor-driven plunger fluid delivery mechanism suitable for use in a refill device in accordance with the second described invention of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 shows a simplified schematic side view of an exemplary article interface suitable for use in a refill device according to the second described invention of the present disclosure;

fig. 13 shows a simplified schematic front view of an exemplary refill device according to a second described invention of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 shows a flowchart of steps in a first exemplary method for refilling an article from a reservoir according to a second described invention of the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 shows a flowchart of steps in a second exemplary method for refilling an article from a reservoir according to a second described invention of the present disclosure;

FIG. 16 shows a flow chart of steps in a third exemplary method for refilling an article from a reservoir according to the second described invention of the present disclosure;

17A and 17B show a simplified longitudinal cross-sectional view and a transverse cross-sectional view, respectively, of a first embodiment of a nozzle according to a third described invention of the present disclosure;

fig. 18A and 18B show simplified longitudinal and transverse cross-sectional views, respectively, of a second embodiment of a nozzle according to a third described invention of the present disclosure;

FIG. 19 shows a simplified transverse cross-sectional view of a third embodiment of a nozzle according to a third described invention of the present disclosure;

FIG. 20 shows a simplified transverse cross-sectional view of a fourth embodiment of a nozzle according to a third described invention of the present disclosure;

21A and 21B show simplified transverse cross-sectional views of fifth and sixth embodiments of a nozzle according to a third described invention of the present disclosure;

FIG. 22 shows a bar graph of experimental measurements of pressure measured during refilling of an article using an exemplary nozzle according to the third described invention of the present disclosure;

FIG. 23 shows a scatter plot of experimental measurements of pressure measured during refilling of an article using an exemplary nozzle according to the third described invention of the present disclosure;

FIG. 24 shows a simplified schematic cross-sectional view of a first exemplary article of manufacture according to another descriptive invention of the present disclosure;

25A and 25B show simplified schematic cross-sectional views of a second exemplary article according to a fourth described invention of the present disclosure immediately prior to and during refilling with a refill device, respectively;

FIG. 26 shows a simplified schematic cross-sectional view of a third exemplary article according to a fourth described invention of the present disclosure;

FIG. 27 shows a simplified schematic cross-sectional view of a fourth exemplary article according to a fourth described invention of the present disclosure;

FIG. 28 shows a diagram of an exemplary refill inlet wall for an article of manufacture according to a fourth described invention of the present disclosure;

FIG. 29 illustrates an exterior perspective view of a portion of a housing of an exemplary article having locating features according to a fourth described invention of the present disclosure; and

Fig. 30 shows a transverse cross-sectional view of an exemplary housing for an article having locating features according to a fourth described invention of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Aspects and features of certain embodiments and implementations are discussed/described herein. Some aspects and features of certain embodiments and implementations may be conventionally implemented and, for brevity, are not discussed in detail. Thus, it will be appreciated that aspects and features of the apparatus and methods discussed herein, which are not described in detail, may be implemented in accordance with any conventional technique for implementing these aspects and features.

As described above, the present disclosure relates to (but is not limited to) an electronic aerosol or vapor supply system, such as an electronic cigarette. In the following description, the terms "electronic cigarette" and "electronic cigarette" may be used at times; however, it will be understood that these terms may be used interchangeably with aerosol (vapor) supply system or device. The system is intended to generate an inhalable aerosol by evaporation of a substrate (aerosol generating material) in liquid or gel form, which may or may not contain nicotine. Additionally, the mixing system may include a liquid or gel substrate plus a solid substrate that is also heated. The solid substrate may be, for example, tobacco or other non-tobacco product, which may or may not contain nicotine. The terms "aerosol-generating material" and "aerosolizable material" as used herein are intended to refer to materials that can form an aerosol by the application of heat or some other means. The term "aerosol" may be used interchangeably with "vapor".

As used herein, the terms "system" and "delivery system" are intended to encompass systems that deliver a substance to a user and include non-combustible aerosol provision systems that release a compound from an aerosolizable material without burning the aerosolizable material, such as electronic cigarettes, tobacco heating products, and hybrid systems that use a combination of aerosolizable materials to generate an aerosol, as well as articles that include an aerosolizable material and are configured for use within one of these non-combustible aerosol provision systems. According to the present disclosure, a "non-combustible" aerosol supply system is an aerosol supply system in which the constituent aerosol-generating materials of the aerosol supply system (or components thereof) do not burn or ignite in order to facilitate delivery to a user. In some embodiments, the delivery system is a non-combustible sol supply system, such as a powered non-combustible sol supply system. In some embodiments, the non-combustible aerosol supply system is an electronic cigarette, also known as a vapor smoke device or Electronic Nicotine Delivery (END) system, but it should be noted that the presence of nicotine in the aerosol generating material is not required. In some embodiments, the non-combustible aerosol supply system is a hybrid system that uses a combination of aerosolizable materials to generate an aerosol, wherein one or more of the aerosolizable materials may be heated. Each of the aerosolizable materials may be, for example, in the form of a solid, liquid, or gel, and may or may not contain nicotine. In some embodiments, the mixing system comprises a liquid or gel aerosol-generating material and a solid aerosol-generating material. The solid aerosol-generating material may comprise, for example, a tobacco or non-tobacco product.

In general, a non-combustible sol supply system may include a non-combustible sol supply device and an article (consumable) for use with the non-combustible sol supply device. However, it is envisaged that the article itself comprising means for powering the aerosol generator or aerosol generating component may itself form the non-combustible aerosol supply system. In some embodiments, the non-combustible sol supply device may include a power source and a controller. The power source may be, for example, an electrical power source. In some embodiments, an article for use with a non-combustible aerosol supply device may include an aerosol-generating material, an aerosol-generating component (aerosol generator), an aerosol-generating region, a mouthpiece, and/or a region for receiving and retaining the aerosol-generating material.

In some systems, the aerosol-generating component or aerosol generator comprises a heater that is capable of interacting with the aerosolizable material to release one or more volatiles from the aerosolizable material to form an aerosol. However, the present disclosure is not limited in this regard and is also applicable to systems that use other methods to form aerosols, such as vibrating screens.

In some embodiments, an article for use with a non-combustible aerosol supply device may include an aerosolizable material or a region for receiving an aerosolizable material. In some embodiments, an article for use with a non-combustible sol supply device may include a mouthpiece. The region for receiving the aerosolizable material may be a storage region for storing the aerosolizable material. For example, the storage area may be a reservoir. In some embodiments, the region for receiving the aerosolizable material may be separate from or combined with the aerosol-generating region.

As used herein, the term "component" may be used to refer to a part, segment, unit, module, assembly, or the like of an electronic cigarette or similar device that incorporates several smaller parts or elements that may be located within a housing or wall. An aerosol supply system (e.g., an e-cigarette) may be formed or constructed from one or more such components (e.g., articles and devices), and the components may be removably or detachably connected to one another, or may be permanently joined together during manufacture to define the overall system. The present disclosure is applicable to, but is not limited to, systems comprising two components that are detachably connected to each other and are, for example, configured to carry an aerosolizable material of a liquid-containing component or another article in the form of an aerosolizable material (otherwise known as a cartridge, atomizer, pouch (pod), or consumable), and devices having a battery or other power source for providing power to operate an aerosol-generating component or an aerosol generator for generating vapor/aerosol from the aerosolizable material. The components may include more or fewer parts than those included in the embodiments.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure relates to aerosol supply systems and components thereof that utilize an aerosolizable material in liquid or gel form that is held in a storage region such as a reservoir, canister, container, or other receptacle included in the system, or absorbed onto a carrier substrate. Comprising means for delivering material from a reservoir for providing it to an aerosol generator for generating a vapour/aerosol. The terms "liquid," "gel," "fluid," "source liquid," "source gel," "source fluid," and the like may be used interchangeably with terms such as "aerosol-generating material," "aerosolizable base material," and "base material" to refer to materials having a form capable of being stored and transported in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 1 is a highly schematic illustration (not to scale) of a general exemplary electronic aerosol/vapor supply system, such as an electronic cigarette 10, presented for the purpose of illustrating the relationship between various portions of a typical system and explaining the general principles of operation. It should be noted that the present disclosure is not limited to systems configured in this manner, and features may be modified in accordance with various alternatives and definitions described above and/or apparent to the skilled artisan. The electronic cigarette 10 has a generally elongated shape extending along a longitudinal axis indicated by a dashed line in this embodiment and includes two main components, namely a device 20 (control or power component, segment or unit), and an article or consumable 30 (cartridge assembly or segment, sometimes referred to as a cartomizer, transparent cartomizer or capsule) that carries aerosol-generating material and operates to generate vapor/aerosol.

The article 30 comprises a storage area, such as a reservoir 3, for containing a source liquid or other aerosol-generating material comprising a formulation, such as a liquid or gel, from which an aerosol is to be generated, e.g. comprising nicotine. As an example, the source liquid may include about 1% to 3% nicotine and 50% glycerin, with the remainder including approximately equal amounts of water and propylene glycol, and possibly other ingredients, such as flavoring agents. Nicotine-free source liquids, for example for delivering flavoring agents, may also be used. A solid substrate (not shown), such as a portion of tobacco or other flavor element, through which vapor generated from the liquid passes may also be included. The reservoir 3 may have the form of a storage tank as a container or reservoir in which the source liquid may be stored such that the liquid is free to move and flow within the confines of the tank. In other embodiments, the storage region may comprise an absorbent material (within a canister or the like, or positioned within the outer shell of the article) that holds the aerosol-generating material. For consumable articles, the reservoir 3 may be sealed after filling during manufacture so as to be disposable after consumption of the source liquid. However, the present disclosure relates to a refillable article having an inlet port, orifice or other opening (not shown in fig. 1) through which new source liquid may be added to enable reuse of the article 30. The article 30 further comprises an aerosol generator 5, which in this embodiment comprises an aerosol generating component, which may be in the form of an electric heating element or heater 4, and an aerosol generating material delivery component 6. The heater 4 is located outside the reservoir 3 and is operable to generate an aerosol by heating to evaporate the source liquid. The aerosol-generating material delivery means 6 is a delivery or delivery device configured to deliver aerosol-generating material from the reservoir 3 to the heater 4. In some embodiments, it may have the form of a core or other porous element. The wick 6 may have one or more portions located within the reservoir 3 or otherwise in fluid communication with the liquid in the reservoir 3 so as to be able to absorb the source liquid and transport it by wicking or capillary action to other portions of the wick 6 adjacent to or in contact with the heater 4. This liquid is thereby heated and evaporated, and replacement liquid is drawn from the reservoir 3 via continuous capillary action to be transferred through the wick 6 to the heater 4. The wick may be considered a conduit between the reservoir 3 and the heater 4 that conveys or conveys liquid from the reservoir to the heater. In some designs, the heater 4 and aerosol-generating material delivery component 6 are monolithic or monolithic and are formed of the same material that can be used for both liquid delivery and heating, such as a porous and electrically conductive material. In still other cases, the aerosol-generating material delivery component may not operate by capillary action, for example by a device comprising one or more valves through which liquid may leave the reservoir 3 and pass onto the heater 4.

The combination of the heater and the wick (or the like), referred to herein as the aerosol generator 5, may sometimes be referred to as a nebulizer or nebulizer assembly, and the reservoir with the source liquid plus the nebulizer may be referred to collectively as an aerosol source. Various designs are possible, wherein these parts may be arranged differently compared to the highly schematic representation of fig. 1. For example, as described above, the wick 6 may be a completely separate element from the heater 4, or the heater 4 may be constructed porous and capable of directly performing at least a portion of the wicking function (e.g., a metal mesh). In this embodiment the system is an electronic system and the heater 4 may comprise one or more electrical heating elements operating by ohmic/resistive (joule) heating, but induction heating may also be used, in which case the heater comprises a susceptor in an induction heating apparatus. This type of heater may be configured in accordance with the embodiments and implementations described in more detail below. Thus, in general, in this context, a nebulizer or aerosol generator may be considered to be one or more elements that perform the function of a vapor generating element capable of generating vapor by heating a liquid (or other aerosol generating material) delivered thereto and a liquid transporting or conveying element capable of transporting or conveying liquid from a reservoir or similar reservoir to the vapor generating element by wicking or capillary forces, or the like. The aerosol generator is typically housed in an article 30 of the aerosol-generating system, as shown in fig. 1, but in some embodiments at least a heater portion may be housed in the device 20. Embodiments of the present disclosure are applicable to all and any such constructions consistent with the examples and descriptions herein.

Returning to fig. 1, the article 30 also includes a mouthpiece or mouthpiece portion 35 having an opening or air outlet through which a user may inhale the aerosol generated by the heater 4.

The device 20 includes a power source, such as a battery or battery pack 7 (hereinafter referred to as a battery pack, and which may or may not be rechargeable), to provide power to the electrical components of the e-cigarette 10, particularly for operating the heater 4. In addition, there is a controller 8, such as a printed circuit board and/or other electronics or circuitry, for controlling the e-cigarette as a whole. The controller may include a processor programmed with software that can be modified by a user of the system. When vapor is required, the control electronics/circuitry 8 uses power from the battery 7 to operate the heater 4. At this point, the user inhales on the system 10 via the mouthpiece 35, and air a enters through one or more air inlets 9 in the wall of the device 20 (which may alternatively or additionally be located in the article 30). When the heater 4 is operated, it evaporates the source liquid delivered from the reservoir 3 by the aerosol-generating material delivery component 6 to generate an aerosol by entraining vapour into the air flowing through the system, and this is then inhaled by the user through the opening in the mouthpiece 35. When a user inhales on the mouthpiece 35, aerosol is carried from the aerosol generator 5 to the mouthpiece 35 along one or more air channels (not shown) connecting the air inlet 9 to the aerosol generator 5.

More generally, the controller 8 is suitably configured/programmed to control operation of the aerosol supply system to provide functionality in accordance with the implementations and embodiments of the present disclosure as further described herein, as well as for providing conventional operational functionality of the aerosol supply system in accordance with established techniques for controlling such devices. The controller 8may be considered to logically include various sub-units/circuit elements associated with different aspects of operation of the aerosol supply system in accordance with the principles described herein, as well as other conventional operational aspects of the aerosol supply system, such as display drive circuitry for a system that may include a user display (e.g., a screen or indicator) and user input detection via one or more user-actuatable controls 12. It will be appreciated that the functionality of the controller 8may be provided in a variety of different ways, for example using one or more suitably programmed programmable computers and/or one or more suitably configured application specific integrated circuits/chips/chipsets configured to provide the desired functionality.

The device 20 and the article 30 are separate connectable parts that can be disconnected from each other by separation in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis, as indicated by the double headed arrow in fig. 1. When the system 10 is in use, the components 20, 30 are joined together by cooperating engagement elements 21, 31 (e.g., screws or bayonet fittings) that provide a mechanical, and in some cases an electrical, connection between the device 20 and the article 30. If the heater 4 is operated by ohmic heating, an electrical connection is required so that when the heater 4 is connected to the battery 5, an electric current can pass through the heater 4. In systems using induction heating, electrical connections may be omitted if the parts requiring electrical power are not located in the article 30. An induction work coil may be housed in the device 20 and powered by the battery 5, and the article 30 and device 20 are shaped such that when connected, the heater 4 is suitably exposed to the flux generated by the coil so as to generate an electrical current in the material of the heater. The design of fig. 1 is merely an example apparatus, and various parts and features may be distributed differently between apparatus 20 and article 30, and may include other components and elements. The two segments may be joined together end-to-end in a longitudinal configuration as in fig. 1 or in a different configuration such as a parallel side-by-side arrangement. The system may or may not be generally cylindrical and/or have a generally longitudinal shape. Either or both of the segments or components may be intended to be disposed of and replaced when depleted, or intended for multiple uses through actions such as refilling the reservoir and recharging the battery. In other embodiments, the system 10 may be unitary in that portions of the device 20 and the article 30 are included in a single housing and cannot be separated. The implementations and embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to any of these configurations and other configurations as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

The present disclosure relates to refilling a storage area for aerosol-generating material in an aerosol-supply system, thereby enabling a user to conveniently provide fresh aerosol-generating material to the system when a previously stored quantity has been used up. It is suggested that this is done automatically by providing a device referred to herein as a refill device, refill unit, refill station or simply as a docking station. The refill device is configured to receive an aerosol supply system, or more conveniently, an article from an aerosol supply system having an empty or only partially full storage area, plus a larger reservoir containing aerosol generating material. A fluid communication flow path is established between the reservoir and the storage region, and a controller in the refill device controls a transport mechanism or apparatus operable to move aerosol-generating material along the flow path from the reservoir to the storage region. The delivery mechanism may be activated in response to a refill request entered by a user into the refill device, or may be activated automatically in response to a particular state or condition of the refill device detected by the controller. For example, if both the article and the reservoir are properly positioned within the refill unit, refilling may be performed. Once the storage area is replenished with a desired amount of aerosol-generating material (e.g., the storage area is filled or a user-specified amount of material has been delivered to the article), the delivery mechanism is deactivated and delivery is stopped. Or the delivery mechanism may be configured to automatically dispense a fixed amount of aerosol-generating material in response to activation of the controller, for example a fixed amount that matches the capacity of the storage region.

Fig. 2 shows a highly schematic representation of an exemplary refill device. The refill device is shown in simplified form only to illustrate the various elements and their interrelationships. More specific features of one or more elements involved in the present disclosure will be described in more detail below.

For convenience, the refill device 50 may be referred to hereinafter as a "docking station". This term applies because the reservoir and the article are received or "docked" in the refill device during use. The docking station 50 includes a housing 52. The docking station 50 is contemplated to be useful for refilling articles in the home or workplace (rather than a portable or commercial device, although these options are not precluded). Thus, a housing made of, for example, metal, plastic or glass may be designed to have a pleasing appearance in order to make it suitable for permanent and convenient access, for example on a shelf, table, counter or counter. It may be any size suitable for accommodating the various elements described herein, for example having a size between about 10cm and 20cm, although smaller or larger sizes may be preferred. Two chambers or ports 54, 56 are defined within the housing 50. The first port 54 is shaped and sized to receive and connect with the reservoir 40. The first port or reservoir port 54 is configured to enable an interface between the reservoir 40 and the docking station 50 and may therefore alternatively be referred to as a reservoir interface. Mainly, the reservoir interface is used to move aerosol generating material out of the reservoir 40, but in some cases the interface may enable additional functions, such as electrical contact and sensing capabilities, for communication between the reservoir 40 and the docking station 50 and determining characteristics and features of the reservoir 40.

The reservoir 40 comprises a wall or housing 41 defining a storage space for holding an aerosol-generating material 42. The volume of the storage space is large enough to accommodate many or several times the storage area of the article to be refilled in the docking station 50. Thus, users can purchase their preferred filled reservoirs of aerosol-generating material (flavour, intensity, brand, etc.) and refill the article multiple times with it. Several reservoirs 40 of different aerosol generating materials are available to the user in order to have a convenient choice available when refilling the article. The reservoir 40 includes an outlet orifice or opening 44 through which the aerosol-generating material 42 may flow from the reservoir 40. In the present case, the aerosol-generating material 42 has a liquid form or a gel form and may therefore be considered an aerosol-generating fluid. For convenience, the term "fluid" may be used herein to refer to a liquid or gel material; where the term "liquid" is used herein, it is similarly understood to refer to a liquid or gel material unless the context clearly indicates that it is intended to be liquid only.

A second port 56 defined in the housing is shaped and dimensioned to receive and connect with the article 30. The second or article port 54 is configured to enable connection between the article 30 and the docking station 50 and may therefore alternatively be referred to as an article interface. Mainly, the article interface is used to receive aerosol-generating material into the article 30, but in some cases the interface may enable additional functions, such as electrical contact and sensing capabilities for communication between the article 30 and the docking station 50, as well as determining characteristics and features of the reservoir 30.

The article 30 itself comprises a wall or housing 31 having a storage area 3 therein for holding aerosol-generating material (but may not occupy all of the space within the wall 31). The volume of the storage area 3 is many or several times smaller than the volume of the reservoir 40 so that the article 30 can be refilled multiple times from a single reservoir 40. The article further comprises an inlet aperture or opening 32 through which the aerosol-generating material may enter the storage region 3. Various other elements may be included within the article, as discussed above with respect to fig. 1. For convenience, the article 30 may be referred to hereinafter as a pouch 30.

The refill device housing 52 also houses a fluid conduit 58 that is a channel or flow path through which the reservoir 40 and the storage region 3 of the article 30 are in fluid communication such that when both the reservoir 40 and the article 30 are properly positioned in the docking station 50, aerosol generating material may move from the reservoir 40 to the article 30. The reservoir 40 and the article 30 are placed into the docking station 30 so that they are positioned and engaged such that the fluid conduit 58 is connected between the outlet aperture 44 of the reservoir 40 and the inlet aperture 32 of the article 30. It should be noted that in some embodiments, all or part of the fluid conduit 58 may be formed by portions of the reservoir 40 and the article 30 such that the fluid conduit is only created and defined when the reservoir 40 and/or the article 30 is placed in the docking station 30. In other cases, the fluid conduit 58 may be a flow path defined within the body of the docking station 52 with a respective orifice coupled to each end thereof.

The reservoir port 54 and the product port 56 may be accessed by any convenient means. An aperture may be provided in the housing 52 of the docking station 50 through which the reservoir 40 and the article 30 may be placed or pushed. A door or the like may be included to cover the aperture, which may need to be placed in a closed state to allow refilling. The door, hatch, and other hinged covers, or sliding access elements (e.g., drawers or trays) may include shaped rails, slots, or recesses to receive and retain the reservoir 40 or article 30, which properly aligns the reservoir 40 or article 30 within the housing when the door or the like is closed. These and other alternatives will be apparent to those skilled in the art and do not affect the scope of the disclosure.

The docking station 50 also includes an aerosol-generating material ("liquid" or "fluid") delivery mechanism, arrangement, apparatus or device 53 operable to move or cause fluid to move out of the reservoir 40, along the conduit 58 and into the article 30. Various options for the transfer mechanism 53 are contemplated.

Also included in the docking station 50 is a controller 55 operable to control the components of the docking station 50, in particular to generate and send control signals to operate the transport mechanism. As described above, this may be in response to user input, such as actuation of a button or switch (not shown) on the housing 52, or automatically in response to both the reservoir 40 and the article 30 being detected as being present within their respective ports 54, 56. The controller 55 may thus communicate with contacts and/or sensors (not shown) at the ports 54, 56 to obtain data from the ports and/or the reservoir 40 and the article 30, which may be used to generate control signals for operating the transport mechanism 3. The controller 55 may comprise a microcontroller, microprocessor, or any preferred circuit, hardware, firmware, or software configuration; various alternatives will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Finally, the docking station 50 includes a power supply 57 to provide power to the controller 53 and any other electrical components that may be included in the docking station, such as sensors, user inputs (e.g., switches, buttons, or touch panels), and display elements (e.g., light emitting diodes) and a display screen to convey information to a user regarding the operation and status of the docking station. Moreover, the transfer mechanism may be motorized. In particular, when operation is required, power may be supplied to the transfer mechanism. Since the docking station may be used in a permanent location in a house or office, the power supply 57 may include a socket for connecting a power cable to the docking station 50 so that the docking station 50 may be "plugged in". Or the power supply may comprise one or more batteries, which may be replicable or rechargeable, in which case a socket connection for a charging cable is included.

While the embodiment of fig. 2 relates to refilling of an article that has been separated from its aerosol-generating system device, other embodiments may be configured such that the entirety of the aerosol-generating system may be received in the refill device for refilling its aerosol-generating material storage area.

Reservoir for refill device

A reservoir for a refill device is described with reference to figures 1 and 2 above and figures 3 to 9 referred to below.

Further details regarding the reservoir will now be described.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic view of an article arranged for refilling from a reservoir, wherein both the reservoir and the article are received in a suitable interface in a refill docking station (not shown). The reservoir 40 containing the aerosol-generating fluid 42 has a nozzle 60 arranged as its outlet orifice. The nozzle 60 serves as a fluid conduit as shown in fig. 2. In this embodiment, the nozzle has a tubular elongated shape and extends from a first end 61 to a second or distal end 62 remote from the reservoir 40, which serves as a fluid dispensing point or fluid outlet for the nozzle. The fluid is held in the reservoir by a valve (not shown), for example at or near the proximal end 61, which opens when delivery of fluid to the article begins. In other cases, the surface tension may be sufficient to hold the fluid, for example if the orifice of the nozzle is small enough. The distal end 62 is inserted into the inlet aperture 32 of the article 30 and in this embodiment extends directly into the storage area 3 of the article 30. In other embodiments, there may be a pipe, a pipe system or some other fluid flow path connecting the inlet orifice 32 to the interior of the storage area 3. In use, the aerosol-generating material 42 is moved from the proximal end 61 out of the reservoir 40 to the distal end 62 along a fluid path defined by the nozzle 60 (acting as a fluid conduit) using the fluid transfer mechanism of the docking station, where it reaches the fluid outlet of the nozzle and flows into the storage region 3 in order to refill the article 30 with aerosol-generating material.

Fig. 3 shows only an embodiment arrangement, and the outlet orifice of the reservoir may be configured differently from the nozzle, as described above, the fluid conduit allowing the refill of the article using the refill docking station may or may not include the reservoir and portions of the article. However, typically, the outlet aperture of the reservoir is configured to function as a fluid conduit or to engage with a fluid conduit such that fluid from the reservoir may be ejected from the fluid conduit and into a storage region of the article. Depending on the arrangement used, engagement with the fluid conduit or direct engagement with the article may be achieved by relative movement between the reservoir and the end of the fluid conduit, or by relative movement between the reservoir and the article once the article has been inserted into the article port of the refill docking station. The reservoir and article are placed in the docking station in proper alignment such that relative movement toward each other engages therebetween and creates the desired fluid flow path.

The option for removing fluid from the reservoir for delivery to the article is to pull the fluid from the reservoir. Pulling may be achieved by a pumping device associated with the outlet orifice through which the fluid is pulled. For example, peristaltic pumps may be used. However, the pumping device may be prone to leakage. Typically, multiple components are coupled together along and within a flow channel for pumping fluid, so there may be several joints, and a corresponding number of potential weaknesses that may occur for leakage. Moreover, the small scale of typical articles and the corresponding only slightly larger scale of suitable reservoirs (as a very large amount of aerosol-generating material may be undesirable for reasons including safety and shelf life) may make the pump difficult to implement. The overall size of the refill unit required to accommodate the pumping device may be undesirably large.

Thus, the present disclosure proposes to push fluid from the reservoir instead. This may be achieved by configuring the reservoir with a moveable wall that slides inwardly into the interior volume of the reservoir so as to reduce the volume and increase the pressure on the fluid in the volume so that the fluid is forced out of the outlet orifice of the reservoir when the system attempts to equalize the internal pressure. The refill device is provided with a pushing means, element or device which can act on a movable wall of a reservoir mounted in a reservoir port of the refill device to provide the required inward pushing when fluid dispensing is required to refill the product.

Fig. 4 shows a schematic simplified cross-sectional view through a first exemplary reservoir configured in this way. The reservoir 40 comprises a housing in the form of one or more side walls 41 and an end wall 43 closing one end of the space defined by the side walls 41. The side wall 41 and the end wall 43 thereby define a fluid storage volume 45 having a volume within it for storing fluid (in this case aerosol generating material 42). The side wall 41 may be considered a single side wall if the cross-sectional shape (cross-section through the side wall parallel to the end wall) is circular or oval, or is generally curved and has no corners. If other shapes are used, such as square or rectangular, the side walls may be considered as a plurality of side walls, each side wall being flat and connected to adjacent walls at the corners/edges of the reservoir 40. Regardless of its shape, the side and end walls may be conveniently formed as a single piece; this avoids the risk of leakage that may occur if the separate parts are joined together. The one-piece construction may also be stronger and more durable and thus more suitable to withstand increases in fluid pressure during fluid dispensing. This portion of the reservoir 40 (the side and end walls 41, 43 defining the fluid storage volume) may be formed of a plastics material, for example by moulding or three-dimensional printing, but other materials and manufacturing techniques are not excluded.

The reservoir 40 further comprises a movable wall 63 which engages within the side wall 41 so as to enclose the fluid storage volume 45. The movable wall 63 is configured to lie in a plane orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the tubular shape formed by the side wall 41 (and thus parallel to the cross section of the side wall 41) and has a size and shape matching the internal cross section of the side wall 41 so as to closely fit while being movable within the side wall 41 in the direction of the longitudinal axis. During movement, the edge or perimeter of the movable wall 63 slides over the inner surface of the side wall, maintaining contact with the side wall. Thus, the side walls 41 are parallel along the length of the reservoir 40. To reduce leakage of fluid 42 from storage space 45, movable wall 63 is configured to seal around its perimeter. In the embodiment of fig. 4, this is achieved by forming one or more flanges 64 (in this case two flanges) which protrude from the movable wall edge and are pressed against the side walls when the movable wall 63 is mounted. For example, the movable wall may be formed of a suitable compressible material, such as natural or synthetic rubber, or a plastic material having similar properties. This will allow the flange 64 to be integrally formed with the movable wall 63, for example by moulding or three-dimensional printing, for ease of manufacture. It should be noted that a circular cross-section may be most appropriate with respect to providing a high quality seal between the movable wall 63 and the side wall, with a corresponding circular movable wall 63.

The reservoir 40 is provided with an outlet orifice 44 through which fluid can leave the storage volume 45. In this embodiment, the outlet aperture 44 is located in the end wall 43, but generally it should be remote from the movable wall in order to maximize the available capacity of the storage volume 45, in other words the capacity through which the moving fluid passing through the movable wall 63 can be expelled through the outlet aperture 44. Thus, the outlet aperture may be located only in the vicinity of the end wall 43, for example in the side wall 41 adjacent to the end wall 43.

The outlet aperture 44 is configured to be connectable to or engaged with a fluid conduit in a refill device when the reservoir 40 is installed in the refill device. In some cases, the outlet orifice itself may form the entire fluid conduit by direct engagement with the inlet orifice of the article also installed in the refill device. In other cases, the outlet orifice may be connected to a tube or tube system included in the refill device, which serves as a fluid conduit, and the outlet orifice of the article may also be connected to the tube or tube system. In any of these devices, when the outlet aperture and the inlet aperture are joined in this way, a fluid flow path is established from the storage volume of the reservoir to a storage region in the article along which fluid can move so as to allow refilling of the article when the storage region of the article has been depleted of aerosol-generating material.

In fig. 4, the outlet orifice 44 is simply shown as having a small opening around the collar; in general, the collar portion may be sized and shaped to be adapted to connect to a separate fluid conduit or to provide the fluid conduit itself, such as an elongated collar portion formed as a nozzle.

To dispense fluid from the reservoir 40, the refill device is configured to act on the movable wall by providing a pressure or pushing force P directed towards the end wall 43 and the outlet orifice 44. This moves the movable wall 63 inwardly by sliding over the interior of the side wall 41, in other words, toward the end wall 43. This reduces the size of the storage space 45 so that fluid is pushed out of the outlet orifice 44. The fluid may then flow along the flow path of the fluid conduit and into the storage area of the connected article.

To achieve this, the refill device comprises a fluid delivery mechanism 53 as discussed in relation to fig. 2. The transfer mechanism 53 may comprise a plunger, piston or similar pressure or force applying element that abuts the movable wall outside the storage volume to urge the movable wall in a desired direction towards the end wall. Depending on the structure of the transfer mechanism, the movable wall 63 may have an outer surface (which faces outwardly away from the storage volume 45) shaped to receive and/or engage or mate with an end of the transfer mechanism. In other cases, a planar surface may be sufficient and any need for alignment between the reservoir and the fluid transfer mechanism is avoided.

Fig. 4A shows a schematic cross-sectional view of an edge portion of a movable wall according to another embodiment. In this case, the seal between the movable wall 63 and the side wall 41 is provided by using a separate seal or sealing element 65 provided for the movable wall 63, instead of the integrally formed seal provided by the flange in fig. 4. For example, the seal 65 may comprise an O-ring of rubber or plastic material secured around the perimeter of the movable wall. This arrangement allows the moveable wall and the seal to be formed of different materials, which may be useful if a flexible material is not preferred for the entire moveable wall. For example, flexing of the movable wall under the force exerted by the transfer mechanism may be undesirable, for example if it causes the sealing properties of the integral flange to be compromised.

Fig. 5A shows a schematic view of an exemplary refill device 50 that is configured for a refill action, but prior to the refill action. The reservoir 40 is installed in the refill device 50 by being placed into the reservoir port 54 by a user. The reservoir 40 has a vertical orientation with the movable wall at the top and the outlet orifice at the bottom in the end wall. This allows gravity to assist in the removal of fluid from the reservoir. When the reservoir is in this position, the plunger 53a of the fluid transfer mechanism 53 is movable into contact with the movable wall 63 of the reservoir 40. The plunger 53a may be driven by, for example, a motor configured to move the plunger 53a in a vertical direction such that it may advance toward the movable wall 63 and retract away from the movable wall 63, and also to push the movable wall 63 toward the end wall of the reservoir.

In this embodiment, the outlet orifice of the reservoir 40 is in the form of a nozzle 60 and comprises the entire fluid conduit. This may be beneficial because when the reservoir is removed, no remaining aerosol generating material remains in the refill device 50, as may occur with fluid conduits included within the refill device 50 to which the reservoir 40 is coupled. Thus, cross-contamination between different types of aerosol-generating materials that may remain in the continuous reservoir is avoided. The nozzle 60 is centrally located within the end wall of the reservoir; this may facilitate alignment of the nozzle 60 with the article 30. When a user desires to refill the product, the product 30 is placed by the user into the product port 56 of the refill device 50. The product port 56 holds the product 30 such that the product inlet orifice 32 (which may be covered by a valve (not shown)) is aligned with the distal end of the nozzle 60. The fluid flow path from the reservoir 40 to the article 30 is accomplished by relative movement between the article 30 and the reservoir 40, which inserts the distal end of the nozzle 60 into the inlet orifice 32, causing the valve to open. The movement effected by movement of the product port 56 and/or the reservoir port 54 may be provided automatically by the refill unit 50, in response to insertion of the product 30 into the product port 56, either electrically through use of one or more motors under control of the controller 55, or mechanically through suitable hinged, folded and/or sliding parts operating in conjunction with opening and closing of a door, tray or the like of the product port 56. Otherwise, a lever or the like operable by the user may be provided. The article 30 may move upward toward the reservoir 40, the reservoir 40 may move downward toward the article 30, or both the reservoir 40 and the article 30 may move. The refill device is now ready to begin filling the product 30.

Fig. 5B shows the refill device 50 after a portion of the aerosol-generating material 42 has been dispensed into the article 30. Once the refill device 50 is configured for refilling as shown in fig. 5A, the controller 55 generates control signals to operate the fluid transfer mechanism 53. In the present embodiment, this is controlled by a motor such as a stepping motor (not shown) coupled to the plunger 53a to move the plunger 53 downward, thereby pushing and moving the movable wall 63 as indicated by an arrow. This pushes some of the fluid 42 into and along the nozzle 60, expelling it from the nozzle into the storage area 3 of the article 30. Once the desired amount of fluid 42 has been delivered from the reservoir 40 to the article 30, the controller 55 stops controlling the plunger to advance downwardly without further pushing and moving the movable wall, and fluid delivery stops. For example, the transfer may be stopped after the plunger has traveled a predetermined distance known to correspond to the capacity of the storage area 3 of the product. Or the amount of fluid that has been moved may be detected or inferred by the controller from measurements made on the article or reservoir so that the transfer may be stopped once enough fluid has been moved, for example when the storage area of the article is determined to be full.

The relative movement between the article 30 and the reservoir 40 is then reversed to disengage the article from the fluid conduit. In this case, the nozzle 60 is withdrawn from the inlet orifice 32, and its valve is then closed to seal the storage area 3 from leakage. The user may then remove the refilled article 30 from the article port 56 for reuse in the aerosol supply system. The reservoir 40 may be held in the refill device 50 for the next refill action. If the aerosol-generating material 42 is evacuated by refilling the article 30, it may be removed and replaced with a new full reservoir. Or if the user prefers to consume more than one type of aerosol-generating material, it may be exchanged with a reservoir holding a different type of aerosol-generating material.

Fig. 6 shows a schematic longitudinal cross-section of another exemplary reservoir. As in the embodiment shown in fig. 5A and 5B, the reservoir 40 has a nozzle 60 as an outlet orifice. However, in this embodiment, the nozzle 60 is offset from the center of the end wall 43 toward one side of the end wall 43. This may be aligned with a similarly offset inlet aperture in the article, which may require the inlet aperture to accommodate other portions of the article, for example. Otherwise, the reservoir 40 is similar to the reservoirs in fig. 4, 5A and 5B, and similar parts will not be described again. However, the difference is that the reservoir in fig. 6 additionally comprises a socket 48 formed at the outlet orifice end of the reservoir 40. The receptacle 48 is a cavity or recess having an outer surface of the end wall 43 as a base or closed end thereof. Formed by one or more socket wall portions 46 extending in an outward direction from the end wall 43, thus away from the movable wall 63, and forming a socket wall around the nozzle 60 (or other form of outlet orifice). The socket wall portion 46 may be continuous (and thus a single portion) or may include more than one spaced apart portions to create a gapped socket wall. In this embodiment, the socket wall portion 46 extends in line with the side wall 41 of the reservoir 40 (which is an extension of the side wall) such that the exterior of the reservoir is smooth and continuous; the reservoir has a constant width. This may make it less complicated to refill the reservoir port in the docking station, for example. In other cases, a portion or all of the socket wall may be inserted from the edge of the end wall 43 to provide a stepped profile to the reservoir.

The function of the receptacle 48 is to provide some protection for the outlet orifice 44, particularly when it is formed as a nozzle 60. The nozzle will typically have a small diameter, e.g. 2mm or less, as required for the typical dimensions of the article. Therefore, it may be relatively fragile and easily damaged, and easily damaged due to its protrusion from the end wall 43. Any damage may render it inoperable or make alignment with the article difficult, for example if it becomes curved. The socket 48 may provide protection from accidental bumps and impacts. This may be enhanced if socket wall 46 extends farther than nozzle 60 so that nozzle 60 does not protrude beyond socket 48.

The receptacle 48 may additionally provide the function of receiving at least a portion of an article that is to be refilled with the reservoir 40 in a refill device. Relative movement between the article and the reservoir to create a fluid flow path will insert the portion of the article closest to the reservoir 40 into the receptacle 48. The presence of the socket wall 46 may direct the product towards the reservoir 40 to give and maintain the correct alignment between the inlet aperture of the product and the outlet aperture of the reservoir 40. Moreover, it may deter improper or unauthorized pairing of the reservoir and article for increased security. To achieve these functions, the inner contour of the socket should correspond to the outer contour of the intended article. This may prevent an incorrectly shaped or sized article or an incorrectly oriented article from being received into the receptacle, while the correctly shaped and/or sized and/or oriented article is to be received and directed to its position coupled for fluid transfer, in this embodiment by inserting the nozzle 60 into the inlet orifice of the article. To achieve this, socket wall 46 may be inserted from side wall 41, for example if the article is narrower than the reservoir. Alternatively or additionally, the socket wall may have different cross-sections of its inner and outer surfaces. The outward facing surface of the socket wall portion 46 may be aligned with the outer surface of the side wall 41 to provide a smooth exterior to the reservoir, while the inward facing surface of the socket wall portion 46 matches the cross-section of the article. Moreover, the inner surface of the socket wall portion may slope outwardly with distance from the end wall, so that the socket 48 is wider at its mouth or open end. This may also help to receive the article and guide it into alignment for connection to the fluid conduit.

Additionally, the inner surface of the socket wall portion 46 may be shaped to define one or more guide elements configured to cooperate with the shaping on the outer surface of the article. This may also help guide the article into engagement with the fluid conduit during insertion of the article into the receptacle.

Fig. 7 shows the reservoir 40 of fig. 6 with the article 30 held in the article port 56, inserted into the receptacle 48 of the reservoir 40 and coupled with the nozzle 60 of the reservoir in preparation for refilling. The reservoir 40 is similarly held in a reservoir port (not shown). The article 30 has been inserted into the receptacle 48 by upward movement of the article port 56 to transport the article 30 toward the reservoir 40.

The reservoir 40 of fig. 6 and 7 also includes a window 47, which is a transparent portion disposed in the sidewall 41 of the reservoir (although it may be located elsewhere). This allows the user to see into the storage volume 45 of the reservoir 40 to see how much aerosol-generating material remains. Thus, the time at which the reservoir will need to be replaced can be determined. Or at least the side wall 41 of the reservoir 40 may be entirely made of a transparent material to allow for easy viewing of the interior of the storage volume 45. This option may allow for simpler manufacturing, but in some cases, a window design may be preferred because it allows for opaque portions of the outer surface of the reservoir to be used for labeling (e.g., instructions or branding) and tinting.

As another optional feature, the reservoir with the nozzle may include a movable mount 49 on which the nozzle is supported. Operation of the movable mount causes the nozzle to extend and retract along its length or longitudinal axis, as indicated by the dashed arrow in fig. 6, so that the nozzle can be inserted into and retracted from the inlet orifice of the article. This provides an alternative to various methods for effecting relative movement of the article and the reservoir in order to couple and create a fluid flow path. The mount 48 may be operated by a device in the reservoir or a device in the refill device under the control of a controller in the refill device.

Adding fluid to the article during the refill process may increase the pressure within the storage area of the article until the air displaced by the added fluid is released or displaced. The dedicated venting path may be provided within the article itself, but according to some embodiments it is proposed herein that in case the reservoir comprises a nozzle as outlet orifice, venting is provided via the nozzle. This allows a single inlet orifice of the article for the ingress of fluid and the egress of air. To achieve this, the nozzle may be configured with two channels, both of which have an end at the distal end of the nozzle that reaches into the storage area of the article. These channels include a first channel, which is a fluid channel that communicates with the interior of the storage volume of the reservoir to collect fluid and deliver it into the article, and a second channel, which is a vent channel or air flow channel that collects air pressed out of the storage area of the article by the incoming fluid, and includes an air outlet for this air to escape or vent into the surrounding environment. This is typically the interior of the refill device.

While the nozzle may be held in a dedicated mount attached to the end wall of the reservoir, it may alternatively be conveniently mounted within the end wall itself. The end wall may be formed with a passage therethrough in which the nozzle may be retained. This allows the end wall to also serve to form part of the vent path provided by the vent passage of the nozzle.

Fig. 8 shows a schematic cross section through an embodiment of the reservoir end wall and the mounted nozzle. The end wall 43 has a passage 43a therethrough between the storage volume 45 and the outside. Retained in the channel 43a is a nozzle 60 configured for dual flow of fluid and air. The bore of the nozzle 60 is divided into two channels. A fluid passage 66 for the outward flow of fluid F extends from the reservoir volume 45 to the distal end (not shown) of the nozzle 60, and a vent passage 67 for the inward flow of air a extends from the distal end of the nozzle 60 towards the reservoir. The two channels are only schematically represented in fig. 8 as extending side by side; the exact configuration is not critical to this embodiment. A plenum 68 is formed in the end wall 43, which is a hollow or void in the material forming the end wall 43, adjacent to the nozzle channel 43a. The vent channel 67 has an outlet 67a positioned in airflow communication with the vent chamber 68 such that air a forced up the vent channel 67 may be discharged into the vent chamber 68. The plenum 68 is provided with an outlet or outlet 68a in the side of the end wall 43, but may be otherwise positioned. Thus, air pushed out of the storage area in the filled article can be discharged to the outside, thereby reducing pressure increase in the storage area. This is important to achieve efficient refilling. If the pressure in the storage area increases, the inflow of fluid will be prevented, which slows down the refill process.

As a result of venting the storage area of the article in this way, fluid F may enter the venting channel 67 with air a. The flow of air a may carry any such fluid along the length of vent channel 67 until it exits through outlet 67a into vent chamber 68. The expelled fluid may accumulate as droplets or deposits D around or near the outlet 67a and cause partial or complete blockage of the outlet 67 a. This can interfere with venting and result in increased pressure within the storage area of the article.

Fig. 9 shows a schematic cross section through a second embodiment of the reservoir end wall modified compared to the embodiment of fig. 8 to solve the problem of fluid in the vent chamber. In contrast to the end wall of fig. 8, the embodiment of fig. 9 includes a plenum 68 having a floor angled downwardly away from the outlet 67a of the plenum channel 67 (in the orientation depicted, wherein the reservoir is vertical as in fig. 4, the end wall is at the bottom or lowermost, and the movable wall is at the top). More generally, the plenum 68 may be described as being shaped such that any fluid that reaches the plenum 68 via the plenum channel 67 and its outlet 67a flows away from the outlet 67a due to gravity. This allows any droplet D to move away from outlet 67a so that it does not become clogged with fluid. Fig. 9 additionally shows an upwardly extending lip 70 at the bottom of the plenum outlet 68a, wherein the downward slope of the floor 69 is interrupted to completely block the flow of liquid droplets D from the plenum. In this way, any fluid drawn from the storage area of the product may collect in the vent chamber 68 away from the vent passage outlet 67a to avoid clogging and also remain outside the interior of the refill device.

Apparatus and method for refilling an article of an aerosol supply system

An apparatus and method for refilling an article of an aerosol supply system is described with reference to fig. 1 and 2 above and fig. 3,4, 5A, 5B and 10A to 16 below.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic view of an article arranged for refilling from a reservoir, wherein both the reservoir and the article are received in a suitable interface in a refill docking station (not shown). The reservoir 40 containing the aerosol-generating fluid 42 has a nozzle 60 arranged as its outlet orifice. The nozzle 60 serves as a fluid conduit as shown in fig. 2. In this embodiment, the nozzle has a tubular elongated shape and extends from a first end 61 to a second or distal end 62 remote from the reservoir 40, which serves as a fluid dispensing point or fluid outlet for the nozzle. The fluid is held in the reservoir by a valve (not shown), for example, at or near the proximal end 61, which opens when delivery of fluid to the article begins. In other cases, the surface tension may be sufficient to hold the fluid, for example if the orifice of the nozzle is small enough. The distal end 62 is inserted into the inlet aperture 32 of the article 30 and in this embodiment extends directly into the storage area 3 of the article 30. In other embodiments, there may be a pipe, a pipe system or some other fluid flow path connecting the inlet orifice 32 to the interior of the storage area 3. In use, the aerosol-generating material 42 is moved from the proximal end 61 out of the reservoir 40 to the distal end 62, using the fluid transfer mechanism of the docking station, along the fluid channel defined by the nozzle 60 (acting as a fluid conduit), where it reaches the fluid outlet of the nozzle and flows into the storage region 3 in order to refill the article 30 with aerosol-generating material.

Fig. 3 shows only an embodiment arrangement, and the outlet orifice of the reservoir may be configured differently from the nozzle, as described above, the fluid conduit allowing refilling of the article using the refill docking station may or may not include portions of the reservoir and article. However, typically, the outlet aperture of the reservoir is configured to function as a fluid conduit or to engage with a fluid conduit such that fluid from the reservoir may be ejected from the fluid conduit and into a storage region of the article. Depending on the arrangement used, engagement with the fluid conduit or direct engagement with the article may be achieved by relative movement between the reservoir and the end of the fluid conduit, or by relative movement between the reservoir and the article once the article has been inserted into the article port of the refill docking station. The reservoir and article are placed in the docking station in proper alignment such that relative movement toward each other engages therebetween and creates the desired fluid flow path. The refill docking station may be configured to sense when the reservoir and article are in place and properly installed in preparation for refilling.

The option of removing fluid from the reservoir for delivery to the article is to pull the fluid from the reservoir. Pulling may be achieved by a pumping device associated with the outlet orifice through which the fluid is pulled. For example, peristaltic pumps may be used. However, the pumping device may be prone to leakage. Typically, multiple components are coupled together along and within a flow channel for pumping fluid, so there may be several joints, and a corresponding number of potential weaknesses that may occur for leakage. Moreover, small-scale typical articles and corresponding only slightly larger scale suitable reservoirs (as a very large amount of aerosol-generating material may be undesirable for reasons including safety and shelf life) may make the pump difficult to implement. The overall size of the refill unit required to accommodate the pumping device may be undesirably large.

Thus, the present disclosure proposes to push fluid from the reservoir instead. This may be achieved by configuring the reservoir with a moveable wall that slides inwardly into the interior volume of the reservoir so as to reduce the volume and increase the pressure on the fluid in the volume so that the fluid is forced out of the outlet orifice of the reservoir when the system attempts to equalize the internal pressure. The delivery mechanism of the refill device is configured with a pushing device, element or apparatus that can act on the movable wall of a reservoir mounted in a reservoir port of the refill device to provide the desired inward pushing when fluid dispensing is required to refill the product.

Fig. 4 shows a schematic simplified cross-sectional view through an exemplary reservoir configured in this way. The reservoir 40 comprises a housing in the form of one or more side walls 41, and an end wall 43 closing one end of the space defined by the side walls 41, such that the side walls 41 and end wall 43 define a fluid storage volume 45 for storing the aerosol-generating material 42. The reservoir 40 further comprises a movable wall 63 which engages within the side wall 41 so as to enclose the fluid storage volume 45. The movable wall 63 is configured to lie in a plane orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the tubular shape formed by the side wall 41 (and thus parallel to the cross section of the side wall 41) and has a size and shape matching the internal cross section of the side wall 41 so as to be a tight fit while being movable within the side wall 41 in the direction of the longitudinal axis. During movement, the edge or perimeter of the movable wall 63 slides over the inner surface of the side wall, maintaining contact therewith. Thus, the side walls 41 are parallel along the length of the reservoir 40. To reduce leakage of fluid 42 from storage space 45, movable wall 63 is configured to seal around its perimeter; one or more flanges 64 protrude from the edge of the movable wall and are pressed against the side walls when the movable wall 63 is mounted. An outlet orifice 44, such as a nozzle in the embodiment of fig. 3, is located in the end wall 43 through which fluid can leave the storage space 45.

To achieve this, the refill device includes a fluid transfer mechanism 53 as discussed with respect to fig. 2. The transfer mechanism 53 may comprise a plunger, piston or similar pressure or force applying element that abuts the movable wall outside the storage volume to urge the movable wall in a desired direction towards the end wall. Depending on the structure of the transfer mechanism, the movable wall 63 may have an outer surface (which faces outwardly away from the storage space 45) that is shaped to receive and/or engage or mate with an end of the transfer mechanism. In other cases, a planar surface may be sufficient and avoid any need for precise alignment between the reservoir and the fluid transfer mechanism.

Fig. 5A shows a schematic view of an exemplary refill device 50 that is configured for a refill action, but prior to the refill action. The reservoir 40 is installed in the refill device 50 by being placed into the reservoir port 54 by a user. The reservoir 40 has a vertical orientation with the movable wall at the top and the outlet orifice at the bottom in the end wall. This allows gravity to assist in the removal of fluid from the reservoir. When the reservoir is in this position, the plunger 53a of the fluid transfer mechanism 53 may be moved into contact with the movable wall 63 of the reservoir 40, as shown. The plunger 53a is driven by a motor (not shown here, but described further below) configured to move the plunger 53a in a vertical direction such that it can advance toward the movable wall 63 and retract away from the movable wall 63, and also push the movable wall 63 toward the end wall of the reservoir 40.

In this embodiment, the outlet orifice of the reservoir 40 is in the form of a nozzle 60 and comprises the entire fluid conduit. When a user desires to refill the product, the product 30 is placed by the user into the product port 56 of the refill device 50. The product port 56 holds the product 30 such that the product inlet orifice 32 (which may be covered by a valve (not shown)) is aligned with the distal end of the nozzle 60. The fluid flow path from the reservoir 40 to the article 30 is accomplished by relative movement between the article 30 and the reservoir 40, which inserts the distal end of the nozzle 60 into the inlet orifice 32, causing the valve to open. The movement effected by movement of the product port 56 and/or the reservoir port 54 may be provided automatically by the refill unit 50, in response to insertion of the product 30 into the product port 56, either electrically through the use of one or more motors under the control of the controller 55, or mechanically through suitable hinged, folded and/or sliding parts operating in conjunction with opening and closing of the door, tray or the like of the product port 56. Otherwise, a lever or the like operable by the user may be provided. The article 30 may move upward toward the reservoir 40, the reservoir 40 may move downward toward the article 30, or both the reservoir 40 and the article 30 may move. The refill device is now ready to begin filling the product 30.

Fig. 5B shows the refill device 50 after a portion of the aerosol-generating material 42 has been dispensed into the article 30. Once the refill device 50 is configured for refilling as in fig. 5A, the controller 55 generates control signals to operate the fluid transfer mechanism 53 to control a motor, such as a stepper motor (not shown), coupled to the plunger 53a to move the plunger 53 downward to push and move the movable wall 63 as indicated by the arrow. This pushes some of the fluid 42 into the nozzle 60 and along the nozzle 60, from where it is expelled into the storage area 3 of the article 30. Once the desired amount of fluid 42 has been delivered from the reservoir 40 to the article 30, the controller 55 stops controlling the plunger to advance downwardly without further pushing and moving the movable wall, and fluid delivery stops. For example, the transfer may be stopped after the plunger has traveled a predetermined distance known to correspond to the capacity of the storage area 3 of the product. Or the amount of fluid that has been moved may be detected or inferred by the controller from measurements made on the article or reservoir so that the transfer may be stopped once enough fluid has been moved, for example when the storage area of the article is determined to be full.

Further details regarding the refill device and the delivery mechanism will now be described.

The delivery mechanism of the refill device comprises a plunger for pushing against a movable wall of a reservoir mounted in the refill device. The plunger is driven by a motor which is under the control of a controller of the refill device and receives power from a power source in the refill device. The controller is for controlling the motor to move the plunger into engagement with the movable wall, pushing the movable wall to dispense fluid from the reservoir in a series of refill actions, each refill action being a refill of empty or partially empty product, and retracting the plunger away from the movable wall after use. This is achieved by the plunger being linearly moved in a direction substantially orthogonal to the plane of the movable wall and parallel to the side walls of the reservoir so as to slide the movable wall smoothly over the inner surface of the reservoir towards the outlet orifice.

One example of a motor that may be used to produce the desired linear movement of the plunger is a stepper motor, as these stepper motors may be adapted to achieve compact sizes incorporated into refill units of the type described herein. The stepper motor is a brushless dc motor comprising a series of electromagnets arranged around a toothed rotor, in this case engageable with the electromagnets when the electromagnets are energized in sequence in accordance with a control signal from the controller of the refill unit. The rotor is coupled to or configured as a lead screw such that the drive motor rotates the rotor and the lead screw. This rotational motion can be converted to linear motion by using a lead screw nut that is wound around the threads of the lead screw. If the lead screw nut is coupled to a non-rotatable item, rotation of the lead screw causes the lead screw nut to wind up or down the lead screw as it follows the threads, pulling or pushing the coupled item. In this case, the coupled article comprises a plunger. Thus, operation of the motor may extend and retract the plunger toward or away from the movable wall of the reservoir, depending on the direction of rotation of the lead screw and rotor, which is determined by the order in which the electromagnets are energized. The advantage of a stepper motor for this purpose is that by properly switching the electromagnet and by the coupled transmission between the rotor, the lead screw and the lead screw nut, the degree of rotation and thus the amount of linear movement can be controlled very precisely, and when the motor is off, the components remain in place so that the plunger can be held in a retracted or extended position between uses. This may save time for repositioning, for example, if the plunger is withdrawn from the reservoir after each refill action.

Fig. 10A shows a simplified schematic of an embodiment of a motor driven plunger transfer mechanism. Consistent with the above description, the transfer mechanism 53 includes a plunger 53a that is (in this embodiment directly) coupled to a lead screw nut 71 that is engaged on a lead screw 170. Lead screw 170 is rotated to the rotor to which lead screw 170 is coupled by being driven by a stepper motor under the control of a controller in a refill device that sends a control signal to the stepper motor when movement of the plunger is required (see fig. 5A). The control functions of the motor and controller are generally indicated at 72. The plunger 53a is arranged in a refill device (not shown) so as to be aligned with the moveable wall 63 of the reservoir 40 received in the reservoir interface of the refill device so as to be urged parallel to the reservoir wall as described above. In the depicted orientation, the reservoir 40 is positioned vertically with the movable wall 63 uppermost and the plunger 53a above the reservoir 40. Thus, the linear movement of the plunger 53a generated by the operation of the motor is toward and away from the movable wall (extension and retraction of the plunger 53 a). Reservoir 40, plunger 53a, and its coupling to lead screw 170 via lead screw nut 71 are positioned relative to one another such that plunger 53a and the lead screw are in line with one another. The direction of movement of plunger 53a is coaxial with the longitudinal axis of lead screw 170. This allows for a simple coupling between the lead screw nut 71 and the plunger 53 a. In order to reduce the amount of space required in this direction, and thus the height of the refill unit, plunger 53a is configured to be hollow, as shown in fig. 10A, and to surround and fit over lead screw 170, which is inserted into the hollow core of plunger 53 a. However, this is not necessary, and the plunger 53a may be simply disposed below the screw 170.

Fig. 10A shows the plunger in a retracted position in which the transfer mechanism is effectively stationary and disengaged from the reservoir. The plunger 53a is withdrawn or retracted from its position ready to push against the reservoir moveable wall for fluid dispensing. This allows a user to insert or remove the reservoir into or from the reservoir interface of the refill device without being obstructed by the presence of the plunger 53 a. In fig. 10A, the reservoir 40 is mounted in the refill device ready for use and the plunger 53a is in a retracted position in which it is spaced from the moveable wall 63.

Fig. 10B shows the same components as fig. 10A, but with plunger 53a in a next position including the engaged position. In this position, plunger 53a is engaged with movable wall 63 in preparation for pushing. For example, after the reservoir 40 has been inserted into the refill device, the controller may control the motor to move the plunger 53a from the retracted position to the engaged position. This avoids a delay when a refill action is required, as the plunger can immediately begin pushing to dispense fluid without the need to move from the retracted position to the engaged position. Or if additional time added to the duration of the refill action is acceptable, movement from the retracted position to the engaged position by extending the plunger may be achieved as a first stage in the first refill action after the reservoir is installed. In the engaged position, the end of plunger 53a is in contact with or in close proximity to movable wall 63 such that further extension causes inward movement of movable wall 63 to push fluid out of reservoir 40. Any contact with the movable wall 63 should be slight and minimal so that the fluid in the reservoir 40 is not under pressure, which may force fluid out of the reservoir 40 out of the refill action, resulting in leakage. The movable wall 63 may be shaped to mate with an end of the plunger 53a, such as by forming a recess or socket on its outer surface into which the plunger end is inserted. Or in this regard the outer surface may be substantially planar, flat or featureless.

When the article is inserted into the refill device, the controller recognizes that refill is required. This may be achieved by using a sensor or detector in the refill unit, for example in the article interface, which may detect the presence of a properly inserted article and communicate it to, for example, a controller. More simply, the refill device may include a switch, button, or other user control or interface that the user actuates after inserting the article into the refill device to indicate that a refill action is desired. In response, the controller sends one or more control signals to the motor to advance or extend the plunger 53a in an inward pushing direction to move fluid out of the reservoir 40 and into the article. This extension movement of plunger 53a continues until the controller recognizes that the desired amount of fluid has been delivered into the article. This may be accomplished by using a sensor or detector in the article or in the article interface that can detect when the amount of fluid in the article meets or exceeds a threshold or target level, e.g., corresponding to the storage area of the article being full. The output of the sensor or detector is communicated to the controller, which responds by stopping the advancement of the plunger 53a. The determination of the fluid volume or level, and the comparison to the threshold value, may be performed locally by a sensor or detector or chip in the article interface, which sends a "stop" signal to the controller. Alternatively, the sensor or detector readings may be sent to a controller that performs the process and determines when to stop moving plunger 53a. These are useful arrangements that allow a user to refill an already partially filled article. A less complex arrangement is one in which the controller is configured to cause the plunger 53a to move a preset fixed extension to dispense a fixed amount of fluid, which may correspond to the capacity of the storage area of the article, for example. Once this preset movement is completed, the controller recognizes that refill should stop and stops advancing plunger 53a. Assuming that the motor is able to advance the plunger 53a at a fixed speed throughout its range of travel, this can be accomplished by, for example, the controller operating the motor for a fixed amount of time. However, other methods for stopping and starting pushing the movable wall are not excluded.

At the end of the refill action, the plunger 53a may usefully remain in its current extended position, engaging the movable wall 63. This places the plunger 53a in a new engaged position, ready for the next refill action immediately, and saves the time delay that would result if the plunger 53a were returned to its retracted position after each refill action. However, it may be useful to retract the plunger 53a very slightly at the end of the pushing movement to achieve a new engaged position. This reduces the pressure on the fluid in the reservoir which might otherwise be generated by a sustained small force of the plunger 53a on the movable wall 63 (e.g. if the movable wall 63 is flexible) and may cause any droplets at the outlet orifice of the reservoir to be sucked back into the reservoir. This may reduce leakage.

Fig. 10C again shows the same components, but with plunger 53a in an intermediate extended position that it has reached after several consecutive refill actions, during each of which it is further advanced from the retracted position, pushing the movable wall progressively inwards and decreasing the volume of reservoir 40 more at a time to dispense fluid. As depicted, approximately half of the initial amount of fluid in reservoir 40 has been dispensed. Continued forward advancement of the plunger 53a may continue in a continuous refill action until the movable wall reaches the base of the reservoir, the volume of the reservoir has been reduced to zero or nearly zero, and the reservoir has been emptied, nearly emptied, or substantially emptied. This position of the movable wall 63 is shown in phantom in fig. 10C. The controller is configured to recognize when the reservoir 40 has been emptied and, in response, control the motor in the opposite direction to pull the plunger 53A away from the movable wall and back to its retracted position (fig. 10A). So that the empty reservoir 40 is disengaged from the plunger and can be removed from the refill device and replaced with a new full or partially full reservoir when desired by the user. The refill device may be configured to communicate an empty reservoir condition to the user, for example via a message on the user display or illumination of a light external to the refill unit.

The empty state of the reservoir may be determined in any convenient manner. For example, a sensor or detector in the reservoir interface or the reservoir itself may detect the level or volume of fluid in the reservoir and communicate this to a controller from which an empty or nearly empty state may be calculated in a manner similar to that set forth above for detecting the level of fluid in the article. In addition, a threshold of near depletion of the reservoir, such as 25%, 20% or 10% of the total reservoir capacity, may be monitored and used to trigger the presentation of a user alert that a new reservoir will be needed soon. The sensor or detector may operate to detect the height of the movable wall 63 within the reservoir 40 such that an empty condition is notified when the movable wall reaches the base of the reservoir. In another alternative, the lead screw, lead screw nut and plunger may be configured such that a maximum achievable extension of the plunger is provided, which corresponds to an empty or nearly empty reservoir. For example, there are physical barriers to prevent further movement of the screw or plunger, or the threads on the screw run out. When maximum extension is reached, the motor will produce a current spike as it attempts to drive the plunger past the end that is allowed to move; this may be detected by the controller and identified in an empty reservoir state. Or if it is acceptable for the plunger to push the movable wall against the end wall (e.g., it will not interfere with the position of the reservoir in its reservoir interface), the end wall 43 of the reservoir 40 may act as a physical barrier.

Fig. 11 shows a simplified schematic of another embodiment of a motor driven plunger transfer mechanism. The various components shown in the embodiment of fig. 10A-10C are included and will not be described in further detail. However, these components are arranged differently with respect to each other. In particular, reservoir 40 is not received directly below the refill device and in line with lead screw 170, but is offset to one side. Plunger 53a is aligned with and acts upon movable wall 63 of reservoir 40 as previously described, but is also laterally offset from lead screw 170 for proper alignment. Plunger 53a is arranged such that its direction of linear movement along line P (up and down in the depicted orientation) is parallel to longitudinal axis L of lead screw 170, as opposed to the coaxial arrangement of fig. 10A. To achieve this, the plunger 53a is coupled to the lead screw nut 71 via an arm or plate 73 extending laterally from the lead screw nut, the arm or plate being orthogonal to the lead screw axis L. This enables the plunger 53a to be displaced from the lead screw 70 to give the desired parallel configuration. The arm 73 may be a separate element connected to the lead screw nut 71 and the plunger 53a, or the lead screw nut 71 itself may be shaped to provide the arm 73 as an integral part.

The parallel arrangement of fig. 11 allows for a side-by-side arrangement of lead screw 170 and plunger 53a plus reservoir 40, which is useful for reducing the overall height required for the component as a whole, which in turn may reduce the overall external dimensions required for the refill device.

Additional optional features of the reservoir 40 are also shown in fig. 11, which include a fixed outer wall 146 extending between the side walls 41 to enclose the reservoir 40 outside of the movable wall 63. The fixed wall 146 has an aperture 147 therein through which the plunger 53a passes to engage the movable wall 63. The fixed wall 146 thus largely covers the movable wall 53a and may protect it from accidental pushing (and, to some extent, intentional tampering, depending on the size of the aperture 147) that may occur during transport or when the user manipulates the reservoir 40, which could result in accidental discharge of fluid from the outlet orifice of the reservoir. Thereby reducing leakage and spillage.

Fig. 12 shows a schematic side view of an exemplary article interface that may be included in a refill device as disclosed herein. The product interface 56 is in the form of a sliding drawer or tray 80 that is slidably mounted in a suitable opening in a refill device (not shown). The drawer 80 has a front wall 81 which closes the opening of the refill device when the drawer 80 is in the closed position, being pushed into the refill device. The front wall 81 is provided with a handle portion 82 by which a user can grasp the drawer 80 in order to pull it into an open position extending from the refill device and push it into its closed position within the refill device, as indicated by the double arrow in fig. 12. The handle portion 82 may take any useful form apparent to those skilled in the art, including a protrusion, recess, or aperture. Mounted in drawer 80 is a cavity 84 in the form of a cup or recess into which a user inserts the article 30 when the article 30 needs refilling. The cavity 84 is defined by a boundary wall 83 upstanding from the base of the drawer 81, the inner surface of which conforms to the outer size and shape of the article 30 so that the article is firmly and securely held when inserted. This aids in alignment and guidance of the article 30 with the fluid conduit when the article 30 and the reservoir are brought together in the refill device to form a fluid flow path for refilling. To facilitate a tight fit of the article 30 into and out of the cavity 84, a cutout portion 85 is provided in the boundary wall 83 extending downwardly from the upper edge or rim 83a of the cavity 84. When inserting the article 30 into the article interface 56 or removing from the article interface 56, a user may access their fingers through the cutout portion 85 to grasp and hold the article 30. Conveniently, a pair of cut-out portions 85 (only one shown) are provided, which are disposed on opposite sides of the cavity 84, to facilitate gripping of the article with the thumb and index finger.

The provision of the cutout portion 85 allows the cavity 84 to be deep enough to receive the article 30 such that its upper surface 33 is flush with the rim 83a of the cavity 84 when fully inserted, or alternatively below the rim 83a, or extends only a small distance above it, as depicted. This helps to more securely hold the article 30, which is typically a relatively small item.

In use, a user slides drawer 80 open using handle portion 82, which allows cavity 84 to be accessed and allows the user to insert article 30 into the cavity. The user then pushes drawer 80 to its closed position, which places product 30 in a position where it can be coupled into the fluid flow path for refilling.

In this embodiment, the article interface also has associated therewith at least one sensor or detector 86 that communicates with the controller of the refill device. The sensor or detector 86 may be configured to detect the presence of the article 30 in the article interface 80, and optionally additionally detect that the article is properly inserted (e.g., in a desired orientation), and/or that the drawer 80 has returned to the closed position. The controller may determine from the output of the detector 86 that these conditions are met, identify the presence of the article and prepare for refilling accordingly, and initiate the process required to produce the refill action in response. In particular, the controller controls the transfer mechanism, which in this embodiment is the controller of the motor, to advance the plunger to push the movable wall and dispense fluid from the reservoir. In addition, the controller may take other actions, such as controlling any movement required to create the fluid conduit, such as bringing the reservoir and the article together to insert the reservoir nozzle into the inlet orifice of the article.

Additionally or alternatively, one or more sensors or detectors 86 may be provided to monitor or measure the level or volume of fluid in the article in order to enhance control of the refill action by the controller, such as when the storage area of the article is full, the end of the refill action is appropriately timed, as described above. The choice for sensing or determining the fluid level or volume includes detecting the weight of the article, which will depend on the amount of fluid present, and optical detection, which involves directing a light beam into a storage area and detecting transmitted or reflected light, which will vary depending on the height of the fluid surface. Another option is to measure the capacitance on the article or storage area. The capacitance will depend on how much fluid or with/without fluid is in the measurement area.

Fig. 13 shows a schematic exterior front view of another exemplary refill device 50. The refill device has an article interface 56 and a reservoir interface 54 as previously described. The product interface includes a sliding drawer having a front wall 81 with a handle portion 82, as in the embodiment of fig. 12. The reservoir interface 54 is similarly configured as a sliding drawer having a front wall 91 and a handle portion 92. Once opened, the drawer allows access to a cavity, recess or the like into which a user may place or insert the reservoir before closing the drawer to position the reservoir with the refill device. In addition, the front wall 91 of the reservoir interface includes a viewing aperture 93 through which a user can view the level of fluid present in the reservoir. To achieve this, the reservoir should include a transparent portion or window in its side wall to allow visual inspection of the interior of the reservoir, or the entire side wall may be made of a transparent material. The viewing aperture 93 may be an opening in the front wall 91 that is polished with a transparent material such as glass or plastic, or may be a simple aperture. Moreover, it may be located elsewhere on the housing 52 of the refill device; any convenient location for user access may be used and this location gives a line of sight to the appropriate portion of the reservoir. Moreover, the viewing aperture 93 may be used for a user to quickly determine whether the reservoir is currently installed in the refill device. This function does not require any transparent part in the reservoir. Both viewing functions may be used to supplement other automated processes to convey the same information to the user, such as a message or symbol on the user's display, or to illuminate an indicator light in response to a detector output received by the controller. Or it may be used to implement a visual inspection in this manner instead of automatically displaying such information in order to simplify the refill device.

It should be noted that any of the various features of the refill device described with reference to fig. 12 and 13 may be included in any refill device alone or in any combination of two or more features. It may also be used in refill devices having a delivery mechanism other than the motor driven plunger to pull fluid from the reservoir as a pump device rather than push it out with the plunger. Features associated with the product interface and the reservoir interface may also be implemented in an interface configuration other than the sliding drawer apparatus.

In general terms, the present disclosure provides a method of refilling an article by controlling a motor-driven plunger to move fluid from a reservoir having an inwardly movable wall to a storage area in the article coupled to the reservoir by a fluid flow path. Some more specific details of embodiments of this type of method will now be described.

Fig. 14 shows a flow chart of steps in a first exemplary method. In a first step S1, a user inserts a reservoir with a movable wall into a docking station or refill device. In a second step S2, the controller of the refill device performs an automatic check to determine that the reservoir has been inserted and is present and available for refilling. After it has been appreciated that the reservoir is present, the controller sends appropriate control signals to the motor to control the motor such that the motor moves the plunger in the forward direction to engage the plunger with the movable wall of the reservoir. The refill device is now in a condition in which it is immediately ready to refill the article inserted therein. When the plunger is in the engaged position, the controller monitors the status of an access door, hatch, or the like that allows access to a reservoir interface in which the reservoir is held within the refill device. In a next step S4, the controller determines at any given time whether the access door has been opened. If not, the door remains closed and the refill device may be considered to be still in a state ready for refill. The method proceeds to step S5, wherein the controller controls the motor to advance the plunger one or more times to perform one or more refill actions in response to inserting an empty article into the refill device. The refill action may continue until all of the fluid in the reservoir is exhausted. Then in step S6, the controller detects that the reservoir is empty and is no longer available for a refill action. In response, the controller controls the motor to retract the plunger such that the plunger disengages from the moveable wall of the reservoir and the reservoir itself by moving back in the opposite direction to its initial retracted position. Then, in step S8, the user can remove the reservoir from the docking station by opening the access door to reach the empty reservoir.

However, if the controller detects in step S4 that the reservoir access door has been opened, this state is identified as a possibility that the user would like to remove the reservoir, e.g. replace it with a reservoir holding a different fluid, or check some characteristic of the reservoir. If a user attempts to remove the reservoir while the plunger is engaged with the reservoir, the plunger and/or the reservoir may be damaged. To avoid this, the controller acts in response to the open access door by retracting the plunger to the retracted position, so the method proceeds directly to step S7. Then, the user may safely remove the reservoir in step S8.

The user may open the reservoir access door at any time during the lifetime of the reservoir, so the method may loop from step S5 back to step S4, such that the controller checks for an opening of the access door for a period of time during which a refill action may be performed before the reservoir becomes empty.

Fig. 15 shows a flow chart of steps in a second exemplary method. The method includes more possible details about the refill action of step S5 in the method of fig. 14. In a first step S10, the article or capsule is inserted into a refill device or docking station ready to perform a refill action (for example by steps S1-S3 of the method of fig. 14 having been performed). In a second step S11, the controller of the refill device performs an automatic check to determine that the product is present and has been correctly inserted for refilling. After identifying the presence of the article, in step S12, the controller sends appropriate control signals to the relevant portions of the refill device to engage the article and the reservoir to form a desired fluid flow path therebetween. The product is then properly positioned for refilling and the reservoir and plunger are filled for the refill action. In a next step S3, the controller sends a control signal to the motor to control the motor such that it moves the plunger in the forward direction to push the movable wall of the reservoir inwards to dispense fluid from the reservoir into the product, thereby effecting a refill action. When dispensing in step S13, the controller monitors the amount of fluid in the product in step S14, wherein the amount increases during the refill action. In a next step S15, the controller tests whether the product is full, for example by comparing the current fluid quantity determined in step S14 with a preset maximum or target quantity. If the controller determines no, the article is not full and the method returns to step S14 to continue dispensing fluid. If the controller determines yes in step S15, the article is full, the method proceeds to step S16, where the controller controls the motor to stop the advance of the plunger. In a next optional step S17, the controller controls the motor to retract the plunger slightly to relieve the fluid pressure inside the reservoir so that any fluid droplets at the outlet of the reservoir are drawn back into the reservoir. In step S18, the article is disengaged from the reservoir in the reverse of step S12. Finally, the user may remove the article from the refill device in step S19.

Fig. 16 shows a flow chart of steps in a third exemplary method that provides a simplified refill action that may be performed in a refill device having fewer components and actions. As with the method of fig. 15, the method begins with the user inserting an article or pouch into a refill device or docking station in step S20. In step S21, the article and the reservoir are joined together to form a desired fluid flow path therebetween, with the result that the article is properly positioned for refilling. In a next step S22, the controller sends a control signal to the motor to control the motor such that it moves the plunger in the forward direction to push the movable wall of the reservoir inwardly to dispense fluid from the reservoir into the product, thereby effecting a refill action. In step S23, dispensing continues until the desired amount of fluid has been dispensed into the article. This may be accomplished by detecting that the fluid in the article has reached a particular level, for example, corresponding to the storage area being full, in response to which a "stop" signal is sent to the controller by the detector or sensor. Or the plunger may be operated for a specific time or distance to match a desired amount of fluid dispensed from the reservoir, such as an amount matching the storage area capacity of the product. Then in step S24, the plunger stops further advance to stop the dispensing of fluid. In step S25, the article and the reservoir are disengaged in the reverse direction of step S21. Finally, the user may remove the article from the refill device in step S26.

The stepper motor has been described in detail herein as being adapted to drive a plunger in a refill unit. However, other types of motors may alternatively be used, which are capable of producing linear movement of the plunger, either directly or through a transmission or the like.

While a refill device according to the present disclosure may be used by a consumer separately from one or more models of an aerosol supply system having an aerosol-generating material storage area that can be filled using the refill device, it may be convenient to make the complete refillable system available as a single set of items. Thus, a kit may be provided comprising a refill device and an aerosol supply system having a suitable form of refillable article to fit into the refill device. In an alternative arrangement, the aerosol supply system itself may be received in a refill device for refilling the storage region. The kit may also include one or more reservoirs pre-filled with aerosol-generating material, although the reservoirs should also be individually usable to increase the lifetime of the refill system as a whole and to facilitate consumer selection between different types of aerosol-generating material.

Nozzle for fluid dispensing

A nozzle for fluid dispensing is described with reference to fig. 1 and 2 described above and fig. 3 and 17A to 23 described below.

Further details regarding the fluid conduit will now be described. As described above, the fluid conduit may be formed in whole or in part by the reservoir 40 and portions of the article 30. In particular, an embodiment arrangement of the fluid conduit 58 is a nozzle through which the fluid aerosol-generating material is dispensed from the reservoir 40. The nozzle may be provided as an element of the docking station such that when the reservoir is mounted in the docking station, the outlet orifice of the reservoir is coupled to the first end of the nozzle. Or the nozzle may be implemented as an integral part of the reservoir to provide the outlet orifice. This associates the nozzle with only a specific reservoir and its contents, thereby avoiding any cross-contamination that may be caused by using reservoirs of different aerosol-generating materials with the same nozzle. The nozzle engages into an inlet orifice of the article to enable fluid to be transferred from the reservoir into the article. For example, when both the article and the reservoir have been mounted in the docking station, engagement may be achieved by movement of the article towards the reservoir, and vice versa.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic view of a nozzle arranged to function as a fluid conduit. The reservoir 40 containing the aerosol-generating fluid 42 has a nozzle 60 arranged as its outlet orifice, a first or proximal end 61 of the nozzle 60 being adjacent the reservoir 40. The nozzle may be integrally formed with the reservoir by moulding of plastics material or 3D printing, for example. This ensures a leak-free connection between the nozzle 60 and the housing 41 of the reservoir 40. Or the two parts may be formed separately and then joined together, for example by welding, adhesive, screw or push fit coupling or other means. The nozzle has a tubular elongate shape and extends from a first end 61 to a second or distal end 62 remote from the reservoir 40, which serves as a fluid dispensing point. The fluid is held in the reservoir by a valve (not shown), for example at or near the proximal end 61, which opens when delivery of fluid to the article begins. In other cases, the surface tension may be sufficient to hold the fluid, for example if the orifice of the nozzle is small enough. The distal end 62 is inserted into the inlet aperture 32 of the article 30 and in this embodiment extends directly into the storage area 3 of the article 30. In other embodiments, there may be a pipe, a pipe system or some other fluid flow path connecting the inlet orifice 32 to the interior of the storage area 3. In use, the aerosol-generating material 42 is moved from the proximal end 61 out of the reservoir 40 to the distal end 62 along a fluid path defined by the nozzle 60 (acting as a fluid conduit) using the fluid transfer mechanism of the docking station, where it reaches the fluid outlet of the nozzle and flows into the storage region 3 in order to refill the article 30 with aerosol-generating material.

During such a refill action, fluid enters an empty or partially empty storage area and displaces air therein. To avoid or reduce pressure increases in the storage area, air should be allowed to escape. This is known as ventilation. A large pressure increase in the storage area is not desirable, as the pressure may force the fluid out of the storage area towards the vapor generator via the aerosol-generating material delivery component (core or the like), resulting in internal leakage within the article. This can be solved by providing ventilation holes in the wall of the storage area, but this will be another point of easy leakage.

Thus, the present disclosure proposes to allow fluid to enter and exit via the inlet orifice of the article and additionally via the nozzle. To achieve this, the nozzle is configured such that it has a tubular shape and an outer wall extending between a proximal end and a distal end encloses two channels, the first channel being a fluid channel to carry fluid flowing from the reservoir into the proximal end of the nozzle and out of the distal end of the nozzle into the article. The air displaced by the fluid in the reservoir region enters a second channel in the nozzle, which is a vent channel, to carry air away from the article from the distal end toward the proximal end of the nozzle. In this way, pressure increases within the storage area of the article may be reduced or avoided.

Such a double nozzle arrangement of two channels (one for fluid flow and one for air flow) is achieved by using a separate inner wall within the outer wall to divide the volume within the outer tube or wall (total nozzle volume) into two channels. Consider various configurations of the inner wall; some non-limiting embodiments are discussed below. The inner wall similarly extends between the proximal and distal ends of the nozzle, thereby providing the flow channel and the vent channel as two parallel channels extending in the longitudinal direction of the nozzle.

Fig. 17A shows a schematic longitudinal section through a first exemplary dual nozzle 60. As previously described, the nozzle 60 has a proximal end (reservoir end) 61 and a distal end (product end) 62. Proximal end 61 is integral with or coupled to a reservoir (not shown) by any suitable means, including an intermediate coupling element (not shown). The nozzle 60 includes a tubular outer wall 163 and in this embodiment has a circular cross-sectional shape. The inner space defined by the outer wall 163, which can be seen as a nozzle volume, contains an inner wall 164 in its interior, which in this embodiment is also tubular with a circular cross section. The inner wall 164 is disposed within the outer wall 163 so as to be positioned concentric with the outer wall 163. In other words, the longitudinal axes of the two tubular walls 163, 164 are coincident. More generally, the inner wall 164 is coaxial with the outer wall 163. The space inside the inner wall 164 is defined by the inner surface of the inner wall 164, providing a fluid flow channel 166 along which fluid F flows from the proximal end 61 to the distal end 62, where it is ejected from the nozzle 60 into a storage area of an article (not shown). The space between the inner wall 164 and the outer wall 163 is defined by the inner surface of the outer wall 163 and the outer surface of the inner wall 164, providing a vent passageway 165. Air a enters the vent channel 165 at the distal end and flows proximally therealong.

The fluid channel 166 is arranged to extend beyond the vent channel 165 at the distal end 62. There is a length X, which is the length of the fluid channel 166 beyond the vent channel 165. In this embodiment, this extension of fluid channel 166 is achieved by configuring inner wall 164 to be longer than outer wall 163 at distal end 62 such that the distal end of inner wall 164 protrudes beyond the distal end of outer wall 163. The purpose of this arrangement is to spatially separate the fluid outlet from the air inlet. This reduces the chance of fluid entering or being drawn into the vent channel 165 and blocking or partially blocking it. Such blockage impedes the venting ability of the nozzle 60 and allows the pressure inside the article to increase.

Fig. 17B shows a schematic diagram of a cross-section of the nozzle of fig. 17A. The coaxial position of the inner wall 164 within the outer wall 163 is seen, as well as the circular cross-section of the walls 163, 164. The vent passage 165 includes an annular space formed between the inner wall 164 and the outer wall 163.

The nozzle has a lateral width W, which is the outer width (in this case the diameter) of the outer wall 163. While this may be of any size, depending on the intended use of the nozzle 60, in the case of a refill docking station for an e-pouch, a width of up to about 2mm is contemplated as practical, given the typical size of the pouch and the feasible or desired size of the fluid inlet aperture of the pouch. As a specific example, W may have a value of 1.6mm or 1.8mm, for example. Thus, the nozzle width may be in the range of 1.5mm to 2 mm. Of course, wider nozzles are also possible, for example in the range 1.5mm to 2.5mm or 1.5mm to 3 mm.

Fig. 18A shows a schematic longitudinal section of another exemplary dual nozzle 60. This embodiment differs from the embodiment of fig. 17A in the location of the inner wall 164. As in the embodiment of fig. 17A, both the inner wall 164 and the outer wall 163 have circular cross sections. However, the inner wall 164 is not coaxial with the outer wall 163, but is offset from the central longitudinal axis of the outer wall 163 (and thus the entire nozzle 60) indicated by the dashed line. In contrast to the concentric arrangement in fig. 17A and 17B, this arrangement may be referred to as eccentric. Fig. 18B shows a transverse cross-sectional view of the nozzle 60. The inner wall 164 is placed on one side of the outer wall 164 so as to be in contact with the inner surface of the outer wall 164. This allows the vent passage 165, again defined between the inner wall 163 and the outer wall 164, to have a crescent shape rather than a prior annular shape.

The purpose of this arrangement is to increase the lateral dimension of the vent channel, which reduces the chance of clogging if fluid enters the vent channel. For the same inner width of the outer wall and outer width of the inner wall, the vent channel is wider at its widest point compared to the width of the annular vent channel formed by the concentric locations.

Fig. 19 shows a transverse cross-sectional view of another exemplary dual nozzle with an eccentrically positioned inner wall 164. In this case, the inner wall 164 is offset from the central longitudinal axis of the nozzle 60, as in the embodiment of fig. 18A and 18B, but still separated from the inner surface of the outer wall 163. With a position intermediate to the positions in the embodiment of fig. 17B and 18B. Thus, the vent channel 165 has an irregular annular shape, has a non-constant width, but increases slightly relative to a concentric arrangement.

In nozzle designs that include a tubular inner wall inside a tubular outer wall, any position of the inner wall relative to the outer wall may be used. The eccentric arrangement may be used to widen the vent passage and reduce the likelihood of clogging. Due to its symmetry, a concentric arrangement may be preferred, which may allow easy alignment of the nozzle with the inlet orifice of the article.

Furthermore, the nozzle need not be formed solely of a tube or tubular wall of circular cross-sectional shape. Preferably, other shapes may be used and the two walls need not have the same shape. A curved shape may generally be preferred as it provides a smoother fluid flow, but is not required.

Fig. 20 shows a transverse cross-sectional view of another exemplary dual nozzle defined by two tubular walls. In this case, the outer wall 163 has an oval or elliptical shape, and the inner wall 164 is circular. This configuration may also be used to increase the width of the vent channel 165 to reduce clogging. However, other shapes are not excluded.

However, the inner wall may divide the nozzle volume into two desired passages in other ways than being configured in the second tubular shape. The volume may simply be separated by an inner wall extending across the interior of the outer wall, attached at two different points around the inner periphery of the outer wall.

Fig. 21A shows a transverse cross-sectional view of a first exemplary nozzle having a dividing inner wall. The nozzle 60 includes an outer wall 163 of circular cross-section and a straight inner wall 164 and extends over the nozzle volume without passing through the central axis. In effect, the inner wall 164 is a chord of the circle defined by the outer wall 163 and divides the nozzle volume into two segments, one on either side of the inner wall 164. Thus, two channels 165, 166 are provided, each defined by one side of the inner wall 164 and a portion of the inner surface of the outer wall 163. The inner wall 163 is off-center so that the channels 165, 166 are of different sizes. The larger channels 165 may be allocated as vent channels because their larger width will help reduce clogging, as described above. The location of the inner wall 164 may be selected to set the relative dimensions of the passages 165, 166 as desired. In some cases, it may be desirable for the straight inner wall 164 to be aligned along the diameter of the outer wall 163 (or along other intermediate dividing lines of the outer wall 163 if the outer wall 163 is not circular) to give two channels of equal cross-sectional area.

However, the dividing inner wall need not be straight or flat; other shapes may be used to divide the nozzle volume as desired.

Fig. 21B shows a transverse cross-sectional view of a second exemplary nozzle with a dividing inner wall. The nozzle 60 includes an outer wall 163 of circular cross-section and an inner wall 164 that curves between two points where it contacts the inner surface of the outer wall 163. The amount of curvature may be selected as desired; the relatively tight curvature as in fig. 21B will create an approximately circular cross-sectional space inside the curve, similar to the eccentric inner tubular wall of fig. 17B. This may be preferable for smoother fluid flow in the fluid channel 166. As in the previous embodiment, the inner wall may be shaped and positioned so as to divide the nozzle volume into two unequal-sized passages, a larger of which may be allocated as the vent passage 165.

While substantially equal sized flow and vent passages may be used, and may be suitable or preferred in some cases, larger vent passages may be used to reduce clogging, as described above. The size of the channel may be defined in terms of its cross-sectional area. Thus, for larger or wider vent channels, the cross-sectional area of the vent channel is greater than the cross-sectional area of the fluid channel. Experiments have determined that a useful ratio is about 2:1, in other words, the cross-sectional area of the vent channel is about twice the cross-sectional area of the fluid channel. Considering the nozzle volume as a whole, the fluid channel and the vent channel occupy approximately one third and two thirds of the volume and total cross-sectional area, respectively. Values approaching this ratio may also be useful, for example, so that the cross-sectional area of the vent channel may be in the range of about 1.5 to 2.5 times the cross-sectional area of the fluid channel. However, other values are not excluded and may be appropriate in some cases. The example values given can be used for nozzles having the widths described above, for example, about 2mm or less.

The nozzle may be substantially straight because the cross-sectional shape and size remains constant along the length of the nozzle. Also, the area ratio of the two channels may remain constant over the length. However, other arrangements may be used, such as a flare nozzle shape that is wider at the proximal end and narrower at the distal end. The ratio between the channels may vary. For example, if any fluid is inhaled, a proportionally larger vent channel at the distal end may help reduce clogging, while a proportionally larger fluid channel at the proximal end may help feed fluid from the reservoir into the fluid channel.

To allow air to escape from the vent passage, one or more holes may be formed in the outer wall of the nozzle, the one or more holes being in fluid communication with the vent passage. If the one or more apertures are positioned outside of the article when the nozzle is inserted into the inlet aperture for refilling, air is simply vented into the interior of the refill docking station. Depending on the connection or coupling configuration at the proximal end of the nozzle, a chamber (either through the orifice or through the terminal end of the outer wall, with the inner wall extending further) may be provided in fluid communication with the vent passageway to receive air, such as formed within a plug or socket that retains the proximal end within the reservoir. The chamber may then have an outlet.

As described above, the fluid channel is configured to extend beyond the vent channel at the distal end of the nozzle. Experiments have been performed to test the efficacy of extensions of different lengths (this length is the difference in length between the two channels). As discussed, the purpose of the extra length is to separate the fluid outlet and the air inlet to minimize the likelihood of the vent channel being blocked by fluid. This can be tested by measuring the pressure in the space to which the fluid is dispensed, such as a storage area in the article. If the vent channel is fully effective, no pressure increase is observed. However, if the vent passage becomes blocked, e.g., by fluid inhalation, the flow of air along the vent passage is prevented or stopped and the pressure in the space increases as more incoming fluid is unable to expel air from the space.

Fig. 22 shows a bar graph of some experimental measurements performed to test this feature. Nozzles having various length differences were manufactured, which had a concentric circular configuration as in fig. 17B, and an outer diameter of between 1.5mm and 2 mm. The length difference is the extension X of the fluid channel beyond the vent channel, as shown in fig. 17A. Nozzles with zero length difference (x=0) experience a blockage sufficient to cause a significant pressure increase of about 1kPa, as shown in fig. 22. At an X value of 3mm, the observed pressure increase is significantly reduced to about 0.3kPa, indicating that this size expansion is very beneficial. Further increases in length until x=4.5 mm, no measurable pressure increase was produced, results were also observed at longer lengths (7 mm and 12 mm). Thus, it can be concluded that the length difference is beneficial for improving the performance of the ventilation channel. A length of 3mm or greater provides a useful effect, and a length of 4.5mm or greater may reduce or eliminate pressure increases.

Fig. 23 shows a graph of further experimental measurements of pressure during refilling. In this case, the nozzle has a length difference, and is configured to have an eccentrically positioned inner wall as shown in fig. 18B. The outer diameter is between 1.5mm and 2 mm. As can be seen from this graph, the pressure increase remains substantially zero throughout the refill process, indicating good venting performance through the vent channel.

In applications where small nozzle sizes are needed or desired, such as the example sizes given above, dual nozzles according to the present disclosure may be conveniently manufactured using three-dimensional printing. This may also be used for larger scale nozzles, but in this design other manufacturing techniques may be simpler than in smaller sizes, such as moulding of plastics material, or assembly of separate parts for the inner and outer walls.

While aerosol-generating material storage areas of aerosol-supply systems and refills for articles of aerosol-supply systems have been cited as particular uses of the nozzles as disclosed herein, including use in refill devices, the concept is not so limited. The nozzle according to the present disclosure may be used in any situation in which a liquid is to be delivered into a substantially closed or airtight space, such that air needs to be evacuated in order to avoid or reduce pressure increases.

Refillable article for an electronic aerosol supply system

A refillable article for use in an electronic aerosol delivery system is described with reference to figures 1 and 2 above and figures 3 and 24 to 30 below.

Further details regarding the article will now be described.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic view of an article arranged for refilling from a reservoir, wherein both the reservoir and the article are received in a suitable interface in a refill docking station (not shown). The reservoir 40 containing the aerosol-generating fluid 42 has a nozzle 60 arranged as its outlet orifice. The nozzle 60 serves as a fluid conduit as shown in fig. 2. In this embodiment, the nozzle has a tubular elongated shape and extends from a first end 61 to a second or distal end 62 remote from the reservoir 40, which serves as a fluid dispensing point. The fluid is held in the reservoir by a valve (not shown), for example at or near the proximal end 61, which opens when delivery of fluid to the article begins. In other cases, the surface tension may be sufficient to hold the fluid, for example if the orifice of the nozzle is small enough. The distal end 62 is inserted into the inlet aperture 32 of the article 30 and in this embodiment extends directly into the storage area 3 of the article 30. In other embodiments, there may be a pipe, a pipe system or some other fluid flow path connecting the inlet orifice 32 to the interior of the storage area 3. In use, the aerosol-generating material 42 is moved from the proximal end 61 out of the reservoir 40 to the distal end 62 along a fluid channel defined by the nozzle 60 (acting as a fluid conduit) using the fluid transfer mechanism of the docking station, where it reaches the fluid outlet of the nozzle and flows into the storage region 3 in order to refill the article 30 with aerosol-generating material.

Fig. 3 shows only an embodiment arrangement, and the outlet orifice of the reservoir may be configured differently than the nozzle, and as described above, the fluid conduit that allows for refilling of the article using the refill docking station may or may not include portions of the reservoir and article. However, typically, the inlet aperture of the article is configured to engage with the fluid conduit such that fluid from the reservoir may be ejected from the fluid conduit and into the storage region of the article. Once the article has been inserted into the article port of the refill docking station, engagement with the fluid conduit may be achieved by relative movement between the article and the end of the fluid conduit (e.g., the distal end of the nozzle).

Once the article has been filled or refilled with aerosol-generating material, it is important that the fluid remains within the storage area and not intended to leave the vapor generator to supply the aerosol supply system. Thus, the storage area should be configured to minimize leakage. According to the present disclosure, this is solved by using a valve for the inlet orifice of the article.

Fig. 24 shows a schematic cross-sectional view (not to scale) of an exemplary article. The article 30 is defined by a housing 31 that defines the exterior shape of the article 30 and forms an interior space for housing various elements and parts of the article 30, such as discussed above with reference to fig. 1. In connection with the present concept, a storage area 3 for holding a fluid aerosol-generating material 42 is shown. Other parts not relevant to the concept are not shown for simplicity. The storage area 3 is shown as a simple cylindrical or cubical can, but again for simplicity the storage area 3 may have virtually any shape, depending on the nature of the other parts within the article and the size and shape of the article.

The housing 31 is formed of one or more walls, wherein the number of walls used to assemble the housing will be determined by the design of the article. The article 30 has a somewhat elongated shape with a mouthpiece end 36 at one end. The outer shell is inclined inwardly toward the mouthpiece end to form a comfortable shape for the mouthpiece. The sidewall extends from the mouthpiece end toward a second end of the article 30 opposite the mouthpiece end 36. Towards the second end, the side wall has a recessed portion 37 for insertion into a receiving socket at the end of the corresponding device for producing an aerosol-generating system. However, this is just one embodiment, and the housing may be shaped in other ways.

The article 30 is closed at a second end by a wall 33. This wall 33 comprises an inlet aperture 32 through which aerosol-generating material can be added to the storage area to refill the article 30. Thus, this wall may be considered as the inlet wall 22. The inlet orifice 32 is closed or covered by a valve 34 which prevents fluid from flowing out of the storage area 3 and thus reduces leakage from the article 30. It should be noted that in this embodiment, the inlet orifice 32 is in the form of a hole in the inlet wall 33. The valve 34 covers the aperture. Furthermore, the valve 34 opens directly into the interior of the storage area 3.

It should also be noted that in this embodiment, the inlet wall 33 is located at an end of the article 30 opposite the mouthpiece end 36. To allow for refilling, the mouthpiece end may be held in an article port in the refill device, exposing the inlet wall for connection with a fluid conduit. For example, the product port may receive a product with the mouthpiece end oriented downward, as shown in fig. 24, such that the inlet wall faces upward for refilling. This may be useful for some internal configurations of the article, such as a particular vapor generator, or a combination of vapor generator and storage area. Moreover, placing the inlet aperture in the wall of the article opposite the mouthpiece will typically be able to cover the article when it is coupled to the device. Thus, contamination is prevented from being tampered with or accidentally entering the storage area. However, the concept is not limited in this manner and the inlet aperture and associated inlet wall may be otherwise positioned as part of the housing 31.

Also shown are electrical contacts 35 for electrically connecting the article 30 to a device with which the article forms an aerosol supply system. The contacts will typically pass through the end wall of the housing 31, in which case the end wall is also the inlet wall 33.

In this embodiment, the inlet wall 33 comprises only the end wall of the housing 31. In this arrangement, the remainder of the housing 31, i.e., the wall or surface at the mouthpiece end, and the side wall or surface, may be formed as a single piece, and the inlet wall is used to enclose the article 30 once all of the required elements are installed in the interior of the article. In other cases, the remainder of the housing 31 may be formed of more than one separate wall that are joined together by welding, adhesive, snap-fit, or the like. Moreover, the inlet wall 33 may define more than one side or surface of the housing 31 and may further extend around the housing as a single piece, such as by forming all or a portion of one or more adjacent surfaces as well.

Regardless of the shape or position of the inlet wall 33, according to the present concept, the inlet orifice 32 and its associated valve 34 are integrally formed with the inlet wall 33. By integrally formed, it is meant that the individual parts are formed as a single continuous element or component, rather than being formed from separate elements that are separately manufactured and then joined together. This approach allows for manufacturing speeds since assembly of parts into larger parts is eliminated. Moreover, the risk of leakage from the inlet orifice when the article is used or stored is reduced, as there is no seam or joint between the valve and its surroundings, which may be prone to leakage if formed incorrectly, or weakened by repeated use, e.g. repeated engagement of the inlet orifice with the fluid conduit. Once formed, the inlet wall is installed with the other walls to create a complete enclosure. The mounting may be via a push-fit friction connection, wherein the inlet wall is formed as a plug that closes an additional open cavity defined by the other wall, or may be secured by adhesive, welding, a snap-fit connection, or any other method apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.

Any suitable manufacturing technique may be used to manufacture the integral valve and wall member. Plastic materials and natural or synthetic rubbers are suitable and may be conveniently used in techniques including moulding and three-dimensional printing. One particular example material is silicone. These types of flexible, resilient but deformable materials are adapted to form a valve that can be opened by deformation under pressure of the engaging end of the fluid conduit or nozzle when it is inserted into the inlet orifice, and will return to its original closed configuration once the conduit end is withdrawn. Silicone may be used because it is suitable for self-sealing valves, wherein one or more slits or cuts in the silicone may be opened to allow passage of the catheter end and closed again once the catheter end is removed.

Examples of suitable types of valves that may be integrally formed with the inlet orifice and inlet wall in this manner are slit valves (including a single slit in a planar or curved membrane), cross slit valves (including two intersecting slits in a planar or curved membrane or other shaped portion), dome valves (dome portion with one or more slits or the like formed therein), duckbill valves, and flap valves. However, other valve types are not excluded.

Furthermore, while the integrally formed valve provides the features described above, other separately formed valves may also be used in a refillable cartridge that additionally has one or more of the features described herein. The valve types already mentioned can be used alone, manufactured and subsequently coupled into the inlet orifice. Moreover, valves comprising separate elements that eliminate the need for being integrally formed as one piece, such as ball valves, spring valves, and poppet valves, may also be used.

Fig. 25A shows a simplified schematic cross-sectional view of an exemplary article 30, which for simplicity is shown as a simple rectangular box (for clarity, all elements of the article are independent of the refill device in question). Before fully engaging within the refill device or docking station, the article 30 having the valve 34 integral with the inlet wall 33 as previously described is aligned with the fluid delivery end or distal end of the fluid conduit 58, such as the nozzle 60 of the reservoir in fig. 3. At which point valve 34 is closed. Then, relative movement, indicated by the double arrow, occurs between the article 30 and the fluid conduit 58 to engage the end of the fluid conduit with the inlet orifice 32. The conduit end enters the inlet orifice 32 and pushes the valve 34 into its open position. This relative movement may be, for example, upward movement of the article 30 toward the fluid conduit 58, automated by the refill device, such as motorized movement, or as a result of cooperating mechanically movable parts that operate when the user closes a hatch, door, tray, or the like of the refill device that provides access to the article port, or the user moves an arm or lever. Or the fluid conduit 58 may be moved toward the article 30.

Fig. 25B shows the article 30 engaged with the fluid conduit 58 such that the end of the conduit has entered the inlet orifice 32 and opened the valve 34. The fluid conduit 58 now reaches directly into the storage region 3 of the article 30 such that the fluid F flowing along the conduit 58 exits from the conduit end and flows into the storage region, thereby refilling the article 30 with aerosol-generating material.

In the embodiments of fig. 24 and 25A/5B, the inlet orifice is a hole in the inlet wall such that the valve closing the inlet orifice is located substantially in the same plane as the inlet wall. Moreover, the inlet orifice and the valve are arranged such that the valve is open or directly opens into the storage area. However, this is not necessary. As mentioned above, the storage region may have any shape and configuration depending on the design and operation of the aerosol supply system, and the arrangement of the inlet wall shown so far that effectively forms a boundary wall of the storage region (or directly covers the storage region) may not be suitable. In this case, the storage area may be located away from the inlet wall.

Fig. 26 shows a simplified schematic cross-sectional view of another exemplary article 30, as previously described, a rectangular box containing a storage area 3. Also as previously described, the inlet wall 33 is an end wall of the article 30, shown with its mouthpiece end 36 down. The difference with the previous embodiment is that in this case the inlet aperture 32 is centrally located in the inlet wall 33 compared to the offset position shown before. The storage area 3 is arranged on one side of the interior of the article 30, spaced apart from the inlet wall 33. In order for the fluid injected or delivered through the valve 34 to reach the storage area, a fluid flow path 38 is provided through the interior of the article 30 connecting the inlet orifice 32 to the inlet 141 of the storage area 3. The fluid flow path may comprise a tube or pipe, or a hole formed through or between solid elements within the article, and may be in any direction desired between the inlet orifice 32 and the storage area inlet 41, in relation to intermediate elements and components in the article 30.

Fig. 27 shows a simplified schematic cross-sectional view of another exemplary article 30. In this embodiment we return to the storage area 3 offset from the inlet aperture 32 and bounded by the inlet wall 33. However, specific features specific to this embodiment may also be combined with a central inlet aperture and/or differently positioned storage areas.

In this embodiment, the inlet aperture is not simply a simple hole in the inlet wall 33. Instead, the inlet aperture 32 comprises a tubular inlet 39 extending inwardly from a hole in the inlet wall into the interior of the article, in this case the interior of the storage area 3. The valve 34 is located at one end of the tubular inlet 39, which is the distal end of the tubular inlet 39, distal to the proximal end of the tubular inlet 39 at the inlet wall 33. The proximal and distal ends are defined relative to the direction of fluid flow during refill. Thus, the valve 34 is inserted or displaced inwardly relative to the plane of the inlet wall 33 around the bore of the inlet aperture 32 in the inlet wall 33. In use, the delivery end of the fluid conduit is inserted into the tubular inlet 39 and down to the valve 34 where relative movement pushes the end of the fluid conduit through the valve 34 as previously described.

This inserted position of the valve provides some protection against damage to the valve and entry of contaminants and foreign matter that might otherwise enter the storage area. Moreover, the tubular inlet provides spatial guidance for the end of the fluid conduit as it approaches the valve. If the end of the fluid conduit is close in width to the interior width of the tubular inlet, lateral movement of the end of the conduit is reduced or prevented so that the end of the fluid conduit is properly aligned with the valve when it contacts, which end may be shaped for improved engagement with the valve. Moreover, if the storage area is separate from the inlet wall, the tubular element may be used as a fluid flow path as described with respect to fig. 25. For example, the valve may be located at the inlet to the storage area. To facilitate insertion of the fluid conduit into the tubular inlet, the fluid conduit may have a circular outer cross-section and the tubular inlet may have a circular inner cross-section.

Given the relatively small size of typical articles for aerosol supply systems, the length of the tubular inlet will not be significant. For example, the length from the proximal end to the distal end (inlet wall to valve) may be in the range of 5mm to 20mm, or in the range of 7mm to 15 mm. However, other lengths are not excluded. Further regarding size, the tubular inlet (if included), inlet orifice, and valve may be shaped to engage with a fluid conduit (e.g., a nozzle) having a width in the range of 1.5mm to 2.5mm, or 1.5mm to 3mm, or 1.5mm to 2 mm. For example, the width may be about 2mm, or about 1.6mm, or about 1.8mm. However, other widths are not precluded.

Fig. 28 shows a diagram of an inlet wall according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The inlet wall 33 is formed of silicone by moulding and is in an inverted position compared to the embodiments of the previous figures. The inlet wall 33 is intended to be an end wall of an article having a rectangular cross-sectional shape with rounded corners. This corresponds to the overall shape of the aerosol supply system which is a flat elongate shape rather than cylindrical. The inlet wall 33 includes an end face 33a forming the outer surface of the article, and a flange 33b perpendicular to the end face 33a that allows the inlet wall 33 to be slotted into and engaged with the open end of the remainder of the article housing. The flange may provide a reliable watertight seal between the inlet wall and the surrounding housing, thereby closing the storage area if desired, or otherwise providing a leak-proof joint. In this embodiment, the inlet aperture is offset at one end of the rectangular shape of the inlet wall 33. The offset arrangement of the inlet aperture spaced from the centre of the inlet wall may be adapted to keep the refill facility separate from or fitted around other components such as electrical contacts (see figure 24). The inlet orifice has the form as in the embodiment of fig. 7, including a tubular inlet 39 at the distal end of which is located an integrally formed valve 34. Valve 34 is a cross slit valve; four arms of the cross can be seen.

As described above, the article may be received in an article port or article interface in the refill docking station. In order to securely hold the article in place during insertion of the fluid conduit for refilling, the article port may include a recess shaped to correspond to the outer contour of the article and having a depth sufficient to encompass the article over a substantial portion of its length, exposing the inlet wall for refilling access. For example, the recess may be between half and all of the article length, along a dimension perpendicular to the inlet wall, may be received in a tight fitting recess or cavity of the article port. Relative movement between the article and the fluid conduit along the same dimension causes the two to engage for refilling.

As described above, the inlet aperture may or may not be centrally located within the inlet wall. In the case of an article having a degree of rotational symmetry about an axis or dimension perpendicular to the inlet wall, for example a circular or elliptical or square or rectangular cross-section, there will be more than one orientation in which the article may be inserted into the article port recess. This would not matter if the inlet aperture were centrally located with respect to the inlet wall, and the fluid conduit would be aligned with the inlet aperture for all possible orientations. However, if the inlet orifice is offset from the center of the inlet wall, e.g., near or on the edge of the inlet wall, as in the embodiment of fig. 28, the fluid conduit and inlet orifice will be aligned for only one orientation of the article in the article port recess. To prevent the user from erroneously inserting the article, which would not allow refilling and may damage either or both of the article and the refill device, it is proposed to provide the outer shell of the article with one or more locating features that force the article to be properly inserted and oriented into the refill device.

Fig. 29 shows a perspective view of an exemplary housing for an article. The housing is partial, forms the side surface 45 and mouthpiece end surface 36 of the article, and is configured to receive the inlet wall of fig. 28 into its open end (shown uppermost) so as to enclose the interior of the article and form a complete housing. Positioning features 146 are provided on the outer surface of the side walls of the housing 31. In this embodiment, the locating feature 146 is configured as a small protrusion extending from a surface of the housing, but it may alternatively comprise a recess such as a groove or slot. In other words, the locating features are surface features that may be convex or concave. More than one locating feature may be provided, although only one is necessary to achieve the desired effect. The protrusions and recesses may be incorporated into the same article.

The locating feature serves to disrupt any rotational symmetry of the article that might otherwise exist about an axis perpendicular to the inlet wall. In a cross-section of the article substantially parallel to the inlet wall and in a plane including the locating feature, the perimeter of the article defined by the outer surface of the housing has no rotational symmetry. Thus, if the cavity or recess of the article port or article interface is shaped accordingly, with the recess or protrusion matching the protrusion or recess of the locating feature, the article may only be inserted in a single orientation that is selected as the correct orientation to align the inlet orifice with the fluid conduit.

Fig. 30 shows a schematic transverse cross-section through an exemplary housing of the article. The cross-section is parallel to the plane of the inlet wall, perpendicular to the axis normal to the inlet wall, and in the case of the embodiment of fig. 29, perpendicular to the axis between the inlet wall and the mouthpiece end. The housing 31 has a protruding locating feature 146a similar to the locating feature 146 of the embodiment of fig. 9, and a recessed locating feature 146b, which in this embodiment is located on the opposite side of the perimeter defined by the outer wall 31, but may be omitted elsewhere or entirely.

It is desirable that any location feature does not have an excessive impact on the overall appearance or feel of the article. Thus, it can be kept low profile. For example, the protruding surface features may extend no more than 1mm beyond the outer surface of the article (defined by the housing) or have a height no more than 1mm above the outer surface of the article. The recessed surface features may have a depth of no more than 1mm below the outer surface. In some designs, larger sized locating features may be acceptable, for example having a height or depth of less than 2 mm.

The locating feature as described above may be provided in the article separate from the refill wall with a one-piece valve. For example, articles having differently configured refill valves may include locating features, or if alignment with some type of device or system is desired, locating features may be useful in articles lacking refill capability.

The various embodiments described herein are presented only to aid in understanding and teaching the claimed features. These embodiments are provided as representative examples of embodiments only, and are not exhaustive and/or exclusive. It is to be understood that the advantages, embodiments, examples, functions, features, structures and/or other aspects described herein are not to be considered limitations on the scope of the invention as defined by the claims or limitations on equivalents to the claims, and that other embodiments may be utilized and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as claimed. Various embodiments of the invention may suitably comprise, consist essentially of, or consist of the appropriate combination of the disclosed elements, components, features, parts, steps, means, etc. other than those specifically described herein. In addition, the present disclosure may include other inventions not presently claimed but which may be claimed in the future.

Claims

1. A reservoir for use in a refill device, the reservoir comprising:

A fluid storage volume bounded by an end wall and one or more side walls;

An outlet aperture in or adjacent the end wall, the outlet aperture being configured to form or engage with a fluid conduit engageable with an inlet aperture of an article of an aerosol supply system to provide a fluid flow path from the fluid storage volume to a storage region in the article when the reservoir and the article are installed in the refill device; and

A movable wall disposed opposite the end wall to enclose the fluid storage volume, the movable wall being configured to be slidable toward the end wall and engageable with a pushing element of the refill device, the pushing element being operable to push the movable wall toward the end wall to reduce the volume of the fluid storage volume such that fluid in the fluid storage volume moves through the outlet orifice to the fluid flow path to fill the storage region of the article.

2. The reservoir of claim 1, wherein the end wall and the one or more side walls define a cylindrical fluid storage volume and the movable wall is circular.

3. The reservoir of claim 1 or 2, wherein the outlet aperture is within the end wall.

4. The reservoir of any of the preceding claims, wherein the outlet orifice comprises a nozzle extending from the end wall.

5. The reservoir of claim 4, wherein the nozzle forms the fluid conduit and has a distal end distal from the end wall, the distal end configured to engage with the inlet orifice of the article.

6. The reservoir of claim 4 or 5, wherein the nozzle comprises a vent channel configured to communicate air from the storage region displaced by fluid filling the storage region.

7. The reservoir of claim 6, comprising a vent chamber within the end wall, the vent chamber in fluid communication with an outlet of the vent channel.

8. The reservoir of claim 7, wherein the vent chamber is shaped such that any fluid drawn along the vent channel and into the vent chamber flows under gravity away from the outlet of the vent channel.

9. The reservoir of claim 8, wherein the reservoir is configured to be mounted in the refill device with the end wall lowermost, and the vent chamber has a floor that slopes downwardly away from the outlet of the vent channel when the reservoir is in this orientation.

10. The reservoir of any of claims 3-9, further comprising at least one receptacle wall portion extending from the end wall around the outlet aperture and defining a receptacle in which the article is wholly or partially received for engagement with the fluid conduit.

11. The reservoir of claim 10, comprising one or more guide elements on an inner surface of the at least one socket wall portion, the guide elements configured to mate with a shape on an outer surface of the article to guide the article into engagement with the fluid conduit.

12. The reservoir of claim 10 or 11, wherein the at least one socket wall portion extends beyond a distal end of the outlet aperture.

13. The reservoir of any of claims 1-12, wherein the one or more sidewalls are made of a transparent material such that an interior of the fluid storage volume is viewable from an exterior of the reservoir.

14. The reservoir of any of claims 1 to 12, comprising a window of transparent material in the one or more side walls to allow viewing of the interior of the fluid storage volume.

15. The reservoir of any of the preceding claims, wherein the movable wall comprises a sealing element at a perimeter of the movable wall, the sealing element contacting an inner surface of the one or more side walls.

16. The reservoir of claim 15, wherein the sealing element comprises a flange integrally formed with the movable wall.

17. The reservoir of claim 15, wherein the sealing element is a separate component that fits onto or around the movable wall.

18. A reservoir according to any preceding claim, further comprising an aerosol generating material in the fluid storage volume.

19. A refill device configured to refill an article of an aerosol provision system received therein with aerosol generating material from a reservoir, the refill device comprising a reservoir according to any one of claims 1 to 18.

20. A method of refilling a storage area with a fluid, the method comprising:

dispensing fluid from a reservoir according to any one of claims 1 to 18 into the storage region.

21. A method according to claim 20, wherein the storage region is within an article of an aerosol provision system and the fluid comprises an aerosol generating material.

22. A refill device for refilling an article from a reservoir, comprising:

a reservoir interface for receiving a reservoir containing a fluid, the reservoir having a movable wall configured to be pushed inwardly to reduce the volume of the reservoir and move the fluid in the reservoir out of an outlet orifice of the reservoir;

An article interface for receiving an article of an aerosol supply system, the article having a storage area for a fluid such that a fluid flow path is formed between the outlet orifice of the reservoir and the storage area of the article;

A motor;

A plunger configured to be driven by the motor to provide a linear motion comprising advancing the plunger from a retracted position to engage the movable wall of the received reservoir and push the movable wall inwardly, the linear motion further comprising retracting the plunger away from the movable wall; and

And a controller configured to control the motor to drive the plunger.

23. The refill device of claim 22 wherein the motor comprises a stepper motor having a lead screw and a lead screw nut, the plunger being coupled to the lead screw nut such that rotation of the lead screw produces linear movement of the plunger.

24. The refill device of claim 22, wherein the linear movement of the plunger is in a direction that is coaxial with a longitudinal axis of the lead screw.

25. The refill device of claim 22, wherein the linear movement of the plunger is in a direction parallel to a longitudinal axis of the lead screw.

26. The refill device of any one of claims 22 to 25, wherein the controller is configured to identify when a reservoir is received in the reservoir interface and to control the motor to advance the plunger into engagement with the moveable wall.

27. The refill device of any one of claims 22 to 26, wherein the controller is configured to identify when an article is received in the article interface and to control the motor to advance the plunger to push the movable wall inwardly to move fluid out of the reservoir and into the article along the fluid flow path.

28. The refill device of claim 27, wherein the refill device comprises a sensor configured to sense an amount of fluid in the article and provide an indication of the sensed amount of fluid to the controller, and wherein the controller is further configured to control the motor to stop or prevent advancement of the plunger, engaging the plunger with the moveable wall, in response to an indication that the sensed amount of fluid is at or above a predetermined threshold.

29. The refill device of claim 28, wherein the controller is further configured to, after controlling the motor to stop advancement of the plunger, control the motor to retract the plunger from engagement with the movable wall to reduce pressure on the fluid in the reservoir such that fluid stops moving out of the outlet orifice.

30. The refill device of any one of claims 22 to 29, wherein the refill device is configured to move one or both of an article received in the article interface and a reservoir received in the reservoir interface towards each other to form the fluid flow path.

31. The refill device of claim 30, wherein the controller is configured to identify when a reservoir is received in the reservoir interface and an article is received in the article interface, and in response, to control the refill device to move the article and/or the reservoir to form the fluid flow path.

32. The refill device of any one of claims 22 to 31, wherein the controller is configured to identify when the reservoir has been emptied of fluid and to control the motor to retract the plunger to the retracted position.

33. The refill device of any one of claims 22 to 32, wherein the refill device comprises an access cover openable to allow insertion or removal of a reservoir into or from the reservoir interface, and the controller is configured to identify the access cover as open and, in response, control the motor to retract the plunger to the retracted position to allow insertion or removal of a reservoir.

34. The refill device of any one of claims 22 to 33, wherein the product interface comprises a cavity for holding a product, the cavity having a boundary wall with oppositely disposed cut-out portions through which the product can be gripped during insertion and removal of the product into and from the product interface.

35. The refill device of claim 34, wherein the cavity is shaped to hold an article during refill, wherein a mouthpiece end of the article faces downward and the other end of the article has an upwardly facing inlet aperture for refill.

36. The refill device of any one of claims 22 to 35, wherein the refill device comprises a housing comprising an aperture through which a user can view the amount of fluid received in a reservoir in the reservoir interface or the presence of a reservoir received in the reservoir aperture.

37. A method of refilling an article from a reservoir, comprising:

forming a fluid flow path between an outlet orifice of the reservoir and an inlet orifice of the article, wherein the reservoir has a movable wall configured to be pushed inwardly to reduce the volume of the reservoir and move fluid out of the outlet orifice, and the article is an article of a vapor supply system having a storage area in fluid communication with the inlet orifice; and

A motor-driven plunger is controlled to push the movable wall of the reservoir inwardly to displace fluid from the outlet orifice, along the fluid flow path and into the inlet orifice to fill the storage area of the article with fluid from the reservoir.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein forming the fluid flow path comprises placing the reservoir and the article into a reservoir interface and an article interface in a refill device comprising the plunger driven by a motor and a controller configured to control a motor in the refill device to drive the plunger.

39. The method of claim 38, further comprising controlling the motor to advance the plunger into engagement with the movable wall in response to the controller identifying that the reservoir has been placed in the reservoir interface.

40. The method of claim 38 or 39, further comprising controlling the motor to advance the plunger to push the movable wall inwardly in response to the controller identifying that the article has been placed in the article interface.

41. The method of claim 40, further comprising controlling the motor to stop or prevent advancement of the plunger in response to an indication that an amount of fluid in the article received by the controller is at or above a predetermined threshold.

42. The method of claim 41, further comprising controlling the motor to retract the plunger from engagement with the movable wall after stopping advancement of the plunger to reduce pressure on the fluid in the reservoir such that fluid ceases to move out of the outlet orifice.

43. The method of any one of claims 38 to 42, further comprising moving the article and/or the reservoir to form the fluid flow path in response to identifying that the reservoir has been placed in the reservoir interface and the article has been placed in the article interface.

44. The method of any one of claims 38 to 43, further comprising controlling the motor to retract the plunger to a retracted position away from the moveable wall in response to identifying that the reservoir has been emptied of fluid.

45. A kit, comprising:

the refill device of any one of claims 22 to 36; and

An aerosol provision system comprising an article having a storage region for aerosol generating material and a device to which the article is coupleable to form the aerosol provision system, wherein the article is configured to be received in the article interface of the refill device.

46. The kit of claim 45, further comprising one or more reservoirs containing a fluid, wherein fluid is an aerosol generating material for use in the aerosol supply system, wherein one or more of the reservoirs is configured to be received in the reservoir interface of the refill device.

47. A nozzle for dispensing a fluid, comprising:

a tubular outer wall extending between the proximal and distal ends and surrounding the nozzle volume;

An inner wall dividing the nozzle volume into a fluid passage for fluid flow from the proximal end to the distal end and a vent passage for air flow from the distal end toward the proximal end;

the inner wall and the outer wall are configured such that the fluid channel extends beyond the vent channel at the distal end.

48. The nozzle of claim 47 wherein said outer wall has a width of 2mm or less and said fluid passage extends at least 3mm beyond said vent passage.

49. The nozzle of claim 47 or 48 wherein said fluid passageway extends at least 4.5mm beyond said vent passageway.

50. The nozzle of any one of claims 47 to 49 wherein said inner wall is tubular, said fluid passage is defined by an inner surface of said inner wall, and said vent passage is defined by an outer surface of said inner wall and an inner surface of said outer wall.

51. The nozzle of claim 50 wherein said inner wall is substantially coaxial with said outer wall.

52. The nozzle of claim 50 wherein said inner wall is offset from a longitudinal axis of said outer wall.

53. The nozzle of claim 52 wherein said inner wall is in contact with said inner surface of said outer wall.

54. The nozzle of any one of claims 50 to 53 wherein one or both of said inner wall and said outer wall have a substantially circular cross-sectional shape.

55. The nozzle of any one of claims 47 to 49 wherein the inner wall extends across the nozzle volume.

56. The nozzle of claim 55 wherein said inner wall is straight.

57. The nozzle of claim 55 wherein said inner wall is curved.

58. The nozzle of any one of claims 47 to 57 wherein, in a cross-section of the nozzle, the area of the vent passage is greater than the area of the fluid passage.

59. The nozzle of claim 58 wherein an area of said vent passage is in the range of 1.5 to 2.5 times an area of said fluid passage.

60. The nozzle of claim 58 wherein said vent passage has an area substantially twice the area of said fluid passage.

61. The nozzle of any one of claims 58 to 60 wherein a ratio of an area of said vent channel to an area of said fluid channel is substantially constant along a length of said nozzle.

62. The nozzle of any one of claims 47 to 61 comprising at least one aperture in said outer wall, said aperture providing an outlet for air flowing in said vent passage.

63. The nozzle of any one of claims 47 to 62, wherein the nozzle is manufactured using three-dimensional printing.

64. A reservoir for storing a fluid, the reservoir comprising a nozzle according to any one of claims 47 to 63 for dispensing fluid from the reservoir.

65. A reservoir according to claim 64, further comprising an aerosol-generating material stored in the reservoir.

66. A refill device configured to refill an article of an aerosol provision system received therein with aerosol generating material from a reservoir, the refill device comprising a reservoir according to claim 64 or 65.

67. A nozzle for dispensing a fluid, comprising:

a tubular inner wall defining a fluid passage for fluid flow from a first end to a second end of the nozzle; and

A tubular outer wall surrounding the inner wall and defining a vent passage for air flow from the second end toward the first end of the nozzle, the vent passage defined by an inner surface of the outer wall and an outer surface of the inner wall;

wherein the inner wall is eccentrically located within the outer wall.

68. A method of refilling a storage area with a fluid, the method comprising:

Delivering fluid from a reservoir into the storage area using a nozzle according to any one of claims 47 to 63 or claim 67.

69. A method according to claim 68, wherein the storage area is within an article of the aerosol provision system and the fluid comprises an aerosol generating material.

70. An article for an aerosol provision system, comprising:

A housing comprising one or more walls, one or more of said walls comprising an inlet wall;

A storage region for aerosol-generating material and defined within the housing;

An inlet orifice in fluid communication with the interior of the storage region through which aerosol-generating material can be added to the storage region; and

A valve closing the inlet orifice; wherein the method comprises the steps of

The inlet aperture is located in the inlet wall of the housing, and the valve is integrally formed with the inlet aperture and the inlet wall.

71. The article of claim 70, wherein the inlet wall is an end wall of the article opposite the mouth end of the article.

72. The article of claim 70 or 71, wherein the inlet wall forms one or more sides of the housing.

73. The article of any one of claims 70-72, wherein the inlet aperture comprises a hole in the inlet wall.

74. The article of any of claims 70-72, wherein the inlet orifice comprises a tubular inlet extending inwardly from the inlet wall toward an interior of the article, the valve being located at a distal end of the tubular inlet remote from the inlet wall.

75. The article of claim 74, wherein the length of the tubular inlet is between the inlet wall and the valve and in the range of 5mm to 20 mm.

76. The article of any one of claims 70 to 75, wherein the valve opens directly into the interior of the storage region.

77. The article of any one of claims 70-75, further comprising a fluid flow path between the valve and an interior of the storage region.

78. The article of any one of claims 70-77, wherein the inlet wall, the inlet orifice, and the valve are integrally formed as a molded component.

79. The article of any one of claims 70-77, wherein the inlet wall, the inlet orifice, and the valve are integrally formed as a three-dimensional printed component.

80. The article of any one of claims 70-79, wherein the inlet wall, inlet orifice, and valve are integrally formed from silicone.

81. The article of any one of claims 70-80, wherein the valve comprises a self-sealing valve.

82. The article of any one of claims 70 to 81, wherein the valve comprises a slit valve, a cross slit valve, a dome valve, or a flap valve.

83. The article of any one of claims 70-82, wherein the inlet aperture is positioned substantially centrally within the inlet wall.

84. The article of any one of claims 70 to 83, wherein the inlet aperture is offset from a center of the inlet wall.

85. The article of any one of claims 70-84, further comprising at least one surface feature on the housing that leaves an outer surface of the article free of rotational symmetry with respect to an axis perpendicular to the inlet wall.

86. The article of claim 85, wherein the at least one surface feature is at least one protrusion or at least one recess.

87. The article of claim 85 or 86, wherein the at least one surface feature has a height or depth of 1mm or less above or below the outer surface.

88. An aerosol provision system comprising an article according to any one of claims 70 to 87.

89. A wall of an article for an aerosol supply system, the wall configured to define at least a portion of a housing of the article, and the wall comprising:

An inlet orifice through which aerosol-generating material can be added to the storage region of the article; and

A valve closing the inlet orifice; wherein the method comprises the steps of

The wall, the inlet orifice and the valve are integrally formed.