EP4274440A1

EP4274440A1 - Aerosol generation device with means for limiting the size of droplets

Info

Publication number: EP4274440A1
Application number: EP21844786.0A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Alec WRIGHT; Andrew Robert John ROGAN
Original assignee: JT International SA
Current assignee: JT International SA
Priority date: 2021-01-08
Filing date: 2021-12-30
Publication date: 2023-11-15
Also published as: WO2022148702A1

Abstract

The invention relates to an aerosol generation device, in particular an aerosol generation device for providing an aerosol comprising: means for receiving and heating a consumable liquid to generate an aerosol; and means for limiting the size of droplets of the aerosol which are provided to the user drawing on the mouthpiece, comprising an air flow channel through which the aerosol flows towards the user when the user draws on the mouthpiece, and comprising at least one passage with an adjustable through area.

Description

Aerosol Generation Device with Means for Limiting the Size of

Droplets

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention is directed to an aerosol generation device. More specifically, the present invention is directed to an aerosol generation device with an aerosol generation portion, and a means for limiting the size of droplets, wherein the means for limiting the size of droplets comprises a first air flow channel configured to change its through area in accordance with an air flow through the air flow channel.

BACKGROUND

An aerosol generation device, or E-cigarette, is now a mainstream product to simulate a traditional tobacco cigarette. There are many types of aerosol generation devices, and the one which still has tobacco or volatile substrate inside is one of the most popular types. By heating but not burning the consumable, this one type of the aerosol generation device does not release the by-products of combustion such as tar and carbon monoxide. The operation method of the aerosol generation device is to contain an aerosol generation carrier inside and to heat it, but not to its burning point. There is also another type of E-cigarette, the operation method of which is to evaporate liquid to form smoke. Especially the E-cigarette operating with liquid is continuously growing in popularity.

The E-cigarettes operating with liquid are usually arranged with a heating element and a liquid container, wherein when the user draws on the mouthpiece, liquid is moved from the liquid container towards the heating element, where the liquid is vaporized. When the user performs large puffs, the vaping liquid can accumulate at the heating element and oversaturate the heating element, so that not all of the liquid gets vaporized. This can lead to large droplets of vaporizing liquid being ejected in the air stream towards the user and result in the user to inhale hot liquid instead of vapor, which might create an unpleasant experience. Therefore, there is the desire to either prevent the oversaturation at the heating element or to limit the size of droplets to prevent large droplets of liquid from being inhaled by the user, creating an unpleasant smoking experience. Furthermore, there is a desire to encourage the user to take gentler (low air flow velocity) puffs. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a smoking article for an aerosol generation device, which solves some of or all of the above problems.

A 1st embodiment of the invention is directed to an aerosol generation device for providing an aerosol to a user drawing on a mouthpiece of the device, comprising means for receiving and heating a consumable liquid to generate an aerosol and means for limiting the size of droplets of the aerosol which are provided to the user drawing on the mouthpiece, comprising an air flow channel through which the aerosol flows towards the user when the user draws on the mouthpiece, and comprising at least one passage with an adjustable through area, preferably, wherein the at least one passage is configured to adjust the through area when the user draws on the device.

It should be noted that generally a low inhaling resistance is desired by users of aerosol generation devices. With the above arrangement, the through area of the air flow channel of the device can be adjusted to control the inhaling resistance of the aerosol generation device. For example, when the through area of the air flow channel is reduced, the inhaling resistance increases, and it becomes harder for a user to perform a puff. On the contrary, when the through area of the air flow device is increased, the inhaling resistance decreases, allowing for easier puffs. As users tend to reduce their puff size when the inhaling resistance is large, by controlling the inhaling resistance, the size of the puff performed by the user can be controlled indirectly. According to a 2nd embodiment, in the 1st embodiment, the passage with an adjustable through area is configured to change the size of its trough area in accordance with an air flow velocity through the air flow channel.

According to the above, the air flow velocity through the air flow channel may control the through area of the air flow channel. In one example, the through area of the air flow channel may increase when a large puff is performed, decreasing the inhaling resistance to allow the user to perform even larger puffs. Generally speaking, the stronger a user draws on a mouthpiece, the more the inhaling resistance is noticed. Therefore, it is particularly desired to have a low inhaling resistance when large puffs are performed. The above example allows for calibrating an inhaling resistance for normal sized puffs, and when a large puff is performed, reduces said resistance to allow for large puffs. This may be a desired application for aerosol generation devices with large liquid containers and high-performance heating elements.

However, most aerosol generation device do not provide such a high-performance heating element to allow for such an application. Most aerosol generation devices comprise of a heating element that can be oversaturated when the puff (the air flow velocity respectively) is too large. Therefore, in another example, the through area of the air flow channel may decrease when a large puff is performed and thereby increases the inhaling resistance. Thus, as high inhaling resistances are unpleasant for the user, the user is encouraged to limit the size of puffs he performs.

According to a 3rd embodiment, in any one of the preceding embodiments, the air flow velocity is detected by a sensor; and the means for limiting the size of droplets changes its through area in accordance with a sensor output.

With this arrangement, a sensor may measure the air flow velocity through the air flow channel, and based on the air flow velocity trigger one of the actions (reducing or enlarging the through area of the air flow channel) described in the context of the second embodiment. According to a 4th embodiment, in any one of the preceding embodiments, the through area of the means for limiting the size of droplets is configured such that with increasing air flow velocity through the air flow channel, the through area of the air flow channel decreases, and with decreasing air flow velocity through the air flow channel, the through area of the air flow channel increases. With this arrangement, the through area may vary according to the amount of aerosol being drawn from the aerosol generation device. The aerosol generation device generally provides a heating element providing a constant heat. A general problem is that large puffs with high air flow velocities might drag too much liquid from the liquid containers and oversaturate the heating element. This can lead to liquid, instead of aerosol, being inhaled by the user. In one example, the above-mentioned arrangement allows to reduce the air flow channel when a large puff is performed, limiting the drag at the liquid container, counteracting the above described effect. Additionally, when a small puff is performed, the through area may return to its original size, allowing for unrestricted puffs as generally desired by users and thus encouraging the user to take gentler puffs.

According to a 5th embodiment, in any one of the preceding embodiments, the aerosol generation device further comprises a threshold setting means configured to set a threshold level for the air flow velocity, and when the air flow velocity is above the threshold level, the means for limiting the size of droplets decreases its through area.

This arrangement allows to set the air flow velocity where too much vaporizing liquid gets dragged out of the liquid containers, which results in liquid accumulating at the heating element, as a threshold level. Thus, when the air flow velocity is equal to or higher than that threshold level, an action is triggered by the means for limiting the size of droplets which counteracts the oversaturation of liquid at the heating element. Furthermore, in another example, when the air flow velocity is below the threshold level, the means for limiting the size of droplets may trigger an increase of the through area of the air flow channel. According to a 6th embodiment, in any one of the preceding embodiments, the means for limiting the size of droplets comprises a plug which is attached to a retaining element, such as a spring.

According to a 7th embodiment, in any one of the preceding embodiments, the plug has a circular surface. According to an 8th embodiment, in any one of the preceding embodiments, the retaining element is configured to contract when the air flow velocity through the air flow channel increases, and expand when the air flow velocity through the air flow channel decreases.

The plug attached to the retaining element controls the through area of the air flow channel. The above arrangements allow to configure a retaining element so that the change of the through area, which is performed by contracting or relaxing the retaining element, is performed according to the characteristics of the retaining element. For example, the stiffness of the spring may control how much a retaining element contracts when the air flow pressure forces it to contract. In particular, a retaining element with a large stiffness coefficient allows for high air flow velocities before contraction is performed, and a low stiffness coefficient allows for low air flow velocities to already perform a contraction. Furthermore, a large stiffness coefficient allows for an earlier relaxation of the retaining element when compared to a smaller stiffness coefficient.

According to a 9th embodiment, in any one of the preceding embodiments, the means for limiting the size of droplets is comprised within a removable cartridge containing a smoking liquid, or preferably within an air flow passage in communication with the aerosol generation portion, or more preferably within the aerosol generation portion of the aerosol generation device.

As space is generally very limited within a handheld device, the above embodiment allows for placing the means for limiting the size of droplets at a wide range of locations, facilitating a suitable implementation of the present invention.

According to a 10th embodiment, in the first embodiment, the aerosol generation device further comprises an input section, and means for detecting a user input at the input section, wherein the means for limiting the size of droplets is configured to change its through area in accordance with a user input detected at the means for detecting a user input.

The above arrangement allows for a manual adjustment of the through area of the air flow channel (and thus of the inhalation resistance). In one example, the user may change the through area of the means for limiting the size of droplets as desired by performing a user input at the input section. In particular, even though the means for limiting the size of droplets, in one example, may be configured to prevent vaporizing liquid from being inhaled at the cost of an increasing inhaling resistance, a user might value inhalation resistance over inhaling liquid and might want to override the configuration of the means for limiting the size of droplets and manually control the inhaling resistance. According to an 11th embodiment, in any one of the preceding embodiments, the means for limiting the size of droplets that is configured to change its through area forms part of a nozzle.

According to a 12th embodiment, in any one of the preceding embodiments, the means for limiting the size of droplets is configured to reduce the size of droplets having a diameter larger than the through area of the air flow channel to a diameter similar to the through area, preferably smaller than the through area. According to a 13th embodiment, in any one of the preceding embodiments, the means for limiting the size of droplets is a homogenizer valve.

With the above arrangements, reducing the through area results in restricting the size of droplets allowed to go through the air flow channel. Furthermore, the shear forces acting onto large droplets increases with the air flow and with a decrease in the through area of the air flow channel, resulting in breaking larger droplets, and therefore reducing the risk of inhaling smoking liquid.

Preferred embodiments are now described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1: is an explosion cross-sectional view of the aerosol generation device;

Figure 2: is a cross-sectional view of the cartridge;

Figure 3a: is a cross-sectional view of the mount in lateral direction of the aerosol generation device Figure 3b: is a cross-sectional view of the mount in longitudinal direction of the aerosol generation device

Figure 4: is a cross-sectional view of the means for limiting the size of droplets in a contracted state;

Figure 5: is a cross-sectional view of the means for limiting the size of droplets in a relaxed state.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described hereinafter with reference to the drawings.

As used herein, the term “aerosol generation device” or “electronic cigarette” may include an electronic cigarette configured to deliver an aerosol to a user, including an aerosol for smoking. In the description of the present invention, the terms “performing a puff’ or “inhaling” refer to a user drawing on a mouthpiece of an aerosol generation device, thus inhaling the aerosol. The terms “small puff’, “low velocity puff’ or “normal puff’ all refer to average puffs performed by a user when smoking a cigarette or E-cigarette. The terms “large puff’ and “high velocity puff’ refer to inhaling significantly larger amounts of aerosol within one puff and/or inhaling the aerosol with more pressure through a significantly stronger suction at the mouthpiece when compared to a “normal/small puff’.

Figure 1 shows an exploded schematic view of an aerosol generation device too comprising a main housing no, a mouthpiece 130 and a cartridge 120 according to an exemplary embodiment. The aerosol generation device 100 has an elongated shape, preferably a substantially cuboid shape. The cartridge 120, which is inserted in (or attached to) the device 100, comprises an aerosol generation portion 150, a means for limiting the size of droplets 200 and a consumable container (not shown) containing the consumable, which is in the form of a liquid. The liquid can be inhaled by a user drawing at the mouthpiece 130 with the power support of the device 100. The liquid typically comprises an aerosol-forming substance, such as glycerin or propylene glycol that creates the vapor. Other common substances in the liquid are nicotine and various flavorings. The main housing 110 acts as the housing of the device 100. The main housing 110 comprises a cavity to receive the cartridge 120 at one end, and a chassis therein (not shown). A cartridge socket integrated with the internal chassis is configured to hold and electronically connect or heat the cartridge 120 at the cavity end. The electric power is transmitted from a preferably LiPo battery through a PCBA to the cartridge socket, which are all electrically connected with each other. The LiPo battery can be charged through a USB port. The PCBA, the LiPo battery, the USB port are mounted together on the inner chassis and comprised by the outer casing 110.

Figure 2 shows a partial, cross-sectional view of the cartridge 120, with details of the means for limiting the size of droplets 200 and of the aerosol generation portion 150 as indicated in Figure 1. The aerosol generation portion 150 comprises a heating element 140, an aerosol generation chamber 151, formed and surrounded by an outer surface 152, and a consumable container 160. The heating element 140 may comprise a wick and coil which is heated by a current provided from the PCBA or directly from the LiPo battery and is positioned at the back of the cartridge 120. When the user draws on the mouthpiece 130, an area of low pressure is formed in the aerosol generation chamber 151. The low pressure sucks the liquid from the consumable container 160 towards the heating element 140, where the consumable is vaporized, creating the aerosol. From there, the aerosol flows through the aerosol generation chamber 151 towards the user.

When the user performs a large puff (or high velocity puff), a large area of particular low pressure is formed in the aerosol generation chamber 151, resulting in large amounts of consumable being sucked out of the consumable containers 160 towards the heating element 140. As a result, the consumable may accumulate at the heating element 140, resulting in some of the consumable not being vaporized. Thus, large un vaporized amounts of consumable (such as vaporizing liquid) can flow towards the user.

This is a commonly known issue for aerosol generation devices. For this reason, the present invention introduces means for limiting the size of droplets 200 to the aerosol generation device too.

The means for limiting the size of droplets 200 comprises, according to an exemplary embodiment, a first air flow channel 211, a second air flow channel 212, a retaining element 230, a plug 220 and a mount 240. The retaining element 230, which is able to expand or contract in the longitudinal direction of the retaining element 230 is firmly attached to a plug 220 on one side in longitudinal direction and to a mount 240 on the other side in longitudinal direction. In one example, the plug 220 provides a conical frustum shaped portion and has a first circular surface 221, which is part of the conical frustum shaped portion, with a first diameter, orientated towards the end of the device too and a second circular surface 222, which is part of the conical shaped portion, with a second diameter, orientated towards the front of the device, wherein the first diameter is larger than the second diameter. The plug 220 is firmly attached to the retaining element 230 and moves with the retaining element 230 when the retaining element 230 contracts or expands.

The first air flow channel 211 is formed by the plug 220. A first side surface 201, which is arranged at an angle between o ⁰ to 90 °, preferably between 10⁰ and 80 °, more preferred between 30⁰ and 50 °, to the outer surface 152, decreases the through area of the aerosol generation chamber. The second air flow channel 212 is formed by the second side surface 202, the mount 240 of the retaining element 230 and the plug 240. The second side surface 202 is parallel to the outer surface 152 of the aerosol generation chamber 151, wherein the through area of the second air flow channel 212 is smaller than the through area of the aerosol generation chamber 151.

In one example, the first circular surface 221 of the plug 220 has a larger diameter than the through area of the second air flow channel 212, and the second circular surface 222 of the plug 220 has a larger diameter than the retaining element 230 and the mount

240. The mount 240 extends in the center of the second air flow channel 212 in longitudinal direction and is firmly attached to the second side surface 202 either by directly connecting to the second side surface 202 or via a fixing element 241 connected to the second side surface and the mount 240, such that the connecting parts or the fixing element 241 do not increase the inhaling resistance significantly.

Exemplary embodiments of fixing elements 241 are shown in Figures 3a and 3b, wherein Figure 3a is a cross-sectional view of example fixing elements 241 in lateral direction of the second air flow channel 212 and Figure 3b is a cross-sectional view of an example fixing element 241 in longitudinal direction of the second air flow channel 212. It is important to mention that the shape of the fixing elements 241 of Figures 3a and 3b is only exemplary and not bound to a specific geometrical form, as long as they are configured to enable the mount 240 to serve as an attachment element for the retaining element 230. In an additional embodiment of the aerosol generation device too, the retaining element 230 may be directly connected to the second side surface 202 of the second air flow channel 212, so that the mount 240 might not be required at all.

Furthermore, the geometry of the plug 220 as described above is only exemplary, and it may also have a cylindrical shape, a conical shape, a spherical shape, a plate-like or tabular shape, a cuboid shape, a hemispherical shape, a rod-like shape, a ring shape, a tetrahedral shape, a pentagonal pyramid shape or similar geometrical forms or combinations thereof. Generally speaking, the plug 220 is not bound to a specific geometrical form, as long as it solves the functional purpose of reducing the through area of the adjacent air flow channel.

The geometry of the through area of the air flow channels 211 and 212 in longitudinal direction may be of a circular shape, a squared shape, a rounded rectangle shape, an elliptic shape, a rhomboid shape, a triangular shape, a pentagonal shape, a hexagonal shape, an octagonal shape, or similar geometrical forms or combinations thereof. Generally speaking, the air flow channels 211, 212 are not bound to a specific geometrical form, as long as they solve the functional purpose of allowing the aerosol to lO flow in longitudinal direction from the aerosol generation portion (or the means for limiting the size of droplets respectively) towards the user.

Figure 4 shows a detailed cross-sectional view of the means for limiting the size of droplets when a large puff as described above is performed. When large puffs are performed, the air flow velocity (or aerosol flow velocity) in the air flow channels 211 and 212 increases. Since both circular surfaces 221 and 222 of the plug 220 have a larger diameter than the through area of the second air flow channel 212, an increase in air flow velocity in the second air flow channel 212 forms an area of low pressure at the second circular surface 222 of the plug 220, which is oriented towards to the front of the device. As a result, according to an exemplary embodiment, the low pressure drags the plug 220 towards the front of the device, forcing the retaining element 230 into a contracted state 232, thus reducing the through area of the first air flow channel 211, which is formed by the plug 220 and the first side surface 201.

By decreasing the through area of the first air flow channel 211, the maximum size of droplets of consumable such as vaporizing liquid able to flow through the first air flow channel 211 is limited to the size of the through area of the air flow channel 211. Furthermore, the shear forces forced onto the droplets increase with an increased air flow velocity and a reduced through area, resulting in breaking larger droplets into smaller droplets. In addition, the reduction of the through area of the first air flow channel 211 increases the air flow resistance for the user (inhaling resistance) and makes it harder to draw large amounts of air out of the aerosol generation chamber 151. As users of aerosol generation devices tend to reduce suction when the inhaling resistance increases, the above reduction of the through area of the first air flow channel 211 also results in smaller puffs being performed by the user. Therefore, smaller amounts of air are drawn towards the user, and thus the pressure in the aerosol generation chamber 151 increases (the internal pressure is normalized, i.e. returns towards atmospheric pressure), reducing the amount of liquid being sucked towards the heating element 140 and decreasing the (over-)saturation of consumable at the heating element 140. A large inhaling resistance is generally regarded as an unpleasant experience for the user. Therefore, reducing the through area of the first air flow channel 211 as described above encourages the user to perform puffs that are within a certain range of air flow velocity where the reduction of the through area is not yet significant for the inhaling resistance.

However, it is preferable that the inhaling resistance remains low when a puff is performed that does not oversaturate the heating element 140. For that reason, the plug 220 is attached on a retaining element 230 which returns to the relaxed state 231 as shown in Figure 5 when a low velocity puff is performed. The speed of relaxation and amount of deformation depends on the spring force of the retaining element 230. In this embodiment, the retaining element 230 contracts gradually according to the air flow velocity. Therefore, also the through area of the first air flow channel 211 changes gradually according to the air flow velocity.

Large spring forces of the retaining element 230 allow for large puffs, as higher air flow velocities through the air flow channels 211 and 212 are required to contract the retaining element 230, and also relaxation occurs earlier. In contrast, small spring forces result in a more sensitive behavior of the retaining element 230, leading to a stronger restriction of air flow velocity through the air flow channels 211 and 212, thus allowing only for smaller puffs. Therefore, it is possible to design and provide a specific smoking behavior (inhaling resistance) for the aerosol generation device too by configuring the spring force of the retaining element 230 so that the retaining element 230 behaves as desired in accordance with the size of the puffs performed by the user. Although the aerosol generation device too according to the present embodiment has been described above, the above embodiment is merely an example, and, for example, the following modifications may be made:

In the above embodiment, the contraction and relaxation of the retaining element 230 occurred automatically based on the spring force of the retaining element 230 and the air flow velocity through the air flow channels 211 and 212. In another embodiment, the means for limiting the size of droplets 200 may further comprise a sensor for detecting the air flow velocity and a means for controlling the contraction of the retaining element 230. The means for controlling the contraction of the retaining element 230 may be controlled by the PCBA and trigger the contraction of the retaining element 230 mechanically, magnetically or electrically.

In the above embodiment, the contraction of the retaining element 230 is triggered by the PCBA and a sensor input. In another embodiment, the main housing 110 of the aerosol generation device too may comprise a touch interface configured to detect a user input which sends a signal to the PCBA, controlling the contraction of the retaining element 230. This allows the user to manipulate and control the vapor inhaling resistance as desired. Furthermore, this allows to control the amount of aerosol being generated at the heating element 140. According to another embodiment, the PCBA or the user may set an air flow velocity threshold value. In this embodiment, the retaining element 230 either contracts as soon as the air flow velocity reaches said threshold or contracts continuously as described in previous embodiments until it reaches the threshold and then contracts by an additional amount as configured. With this embodiment, it is possible to set a desired maximum air flow velocity for puffs performed by the user, either by the manufacturer in advance or the user manually.

In the above described embodiments, the means for limiting the size of droplets was placed within the capsule 110. In other embodiments, the means for limiting the size of droplets 200 may be placed between the liquid tank 160 and the heating element 140 to reduce the size of droplets before they reach the heating element 140, in the aerosol generation chamber 151, in an air flow channel towards the mouthpiece 130, or any other position the aerosol passes during smoking operation.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS USED too aerosol generating device 110 main housing

102 cartridge 130 mouthpiece 140 heating element 150 aerosol generation portion 151 aerosol generation chamber

152 outer surface 160 consumable container

200 means for limiting the size of droplets

201 first side surface 202 second side surface

211 first air flow channel

212 second air flow channel 220 plug 221 first circular surface 222 second circular surface 230 retaining element 231 extended state

232 contracted state

240 mount

241 fixing element

Claims

1. An aerosol generation device for providing an aerosol to a user drawing on a mouthpiece of the device, comprising: means for receiving and heating a consumable liquid to generate an aerosol; and means for limiting the size of droplets of the aerosol which are provided to the user drawing on the mouthpiece, comprising an air flow channel through which the aerosol flows towards the user when the user draws on the mouthpiece, and comprising at least one passage with an adjustable through area, wherein the at least one passage is configured to adjust the through area when the user draws on the device.

2. The aerosol generation device of claim l, wherein the passage with an adjustable through area is configured to change the size of its trough area in accordance with the velocity of the air flow through the air flow channel.

3. The aerosol generation device of the preceding claim, wherein the air flow velocity is detected by a sensor; and the means for limiting the size of droplets changes its through area in accordance with a sensor output.

4. The aerosol generation device of any of the preceding claims, wherein the through area of the means for limiting the size of droplets is configured such that with increasing air flow velocity through the air flow channel, the through area of the air flow channel decreases, and with decreasing air flow velocity through the air flow channel, the through area of the air flow channel increases. 5· The aerosol generation device of any of the preceding claims further comprises a threshold setting means configured to set a threshold level for the air flow velocity, and when the air flow velocity is above the threshold level, the means for limiting the size of droplets decreases its through area.

6. The aerosol generation device of any of the preceding claims, wherein the means for limiting the size of droplets comprises a plug which is attached to a retaining element, such as a spring.

7. The aerosol generation device of the preceding claim, wherein the plug has a circular surface.

8. The aerosol generation device of any of the preceding claims, wherein the retaining element is configured to contract when the air flow velocity through the air flow channel increases, and expand when the air flow velocity through the air flow channel decreases.

9. The aerosol generation device of any of the preceding claims, wherein the means for limiting the size of droplets is comprised within a removable cartridge containing a smoking liquid, or preferably within an air flow passage in communication with the aerosol generation portion or more preferably within the aerosol generation portion of the aerosol generation device. to. The aerosol generation device of claim l, further comprises an input section, and means for detecting a user input at the input section, wherein the means for limiting the size of droplets is configured to change its through area in accordance with a user input detected at the means for detecting a user input. 11. The aerosol generation device of any of the preceding claims, wherein the means for limiting the size of droplets that is configured to change its through area forms part of a nozzle.

12. The aerosol generation device of any of the preceding claims, wherein the means for limiting the size of droplets is configured to reduce the size of droplets having a diameter larger than the through area of the air flow channel to a diameter similar to the through area, preferably smaller than the through area.

13. The aerosol generation device of any of the preceding claims, wherein the means for limiting the size of droplets is a homogenizer valve.