US20210378314A1

US20210378314A1 - Electronic vaping apparatus, cartridge therefor and method for vaporizing a vaporizable substance using the same

Info

Publication number: US20210378314A1
Application number: US17/334,849
Authority: US
Inventors: Minkyu Choi
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2020-06-04
Filing date: 2021-05-31
Publication date: 2021-12-09
Also published as: CA3120077A1

Abstract

There is provided an electronic vaping apparatus comprising: a cartridge including: a substance container for receiving a vaporizable substance; a heater in thermal communication with the substance container for heating the vaporizable substance; a cartridge electrical connector operatively coupled to the heater; an identifier for providing an indication of a type of vaporizable substance receivable in the substance container; and an apparatus body including: an electrical power supply; a cartridge receiver for removably receiving the cartridge, the cartridge receiver including a body electrical connector operatively coupled to the electrical power supply, the at least one body electrical connector being couplable to the cartridge electrical connector to form a closed electrical circuit between the electrical power supply and the heater; a controller operatively connected to the electrical power supply for controlling power provided from the electrical power supply to the heater according to a desired heating condition corresponding to the type of vaporizable substance receivable in the substance container based on a detection of the identifier of the cartridge.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The technical field generally relates to electronic vaping apparatuses, to cartridges for electronic vaping apparatuses and to methods for using vaping devices.

BACKGROUND

Electronic vaping apparatuses, also known as e-vaping devices, vaporizers or vapes, are used to vaporize a vaporizable substance for inhalation by a user. An electronic vaping apparatus typically comprises a heater configured to heat the vaporizable substance to a temperature below its combustion temperature.
Different types of vaporizable substances may be vaporized using an electronic vaping apparatus. Types of vaporizable substances may include dry herb, solid concentrate or liquid concentrate, for example.
Each type of vaporizable substance may require or benefit from being heated according to certain heating conditions.
Moreover, each type of vaporizable substance may require the electronic vaping apparatus to be configured according to a specific configuration. For example, liquid concentrate may need to be contained in a pre-filled or refillable closed container which could be removably connected to the electronic vaping apparatus, while dry herbs may be receivable in a receptacle which may be accessible to the user such that the user may manually refill the receptacle as needed.
Unfortunately, most existing electronic vaping apparatuses are only configured to receive and vaporize a single type of vaporizable material. The electronic vaping device may therefore not be configured for properly receiving other types of vaporizable materials or for properly heating other types of vaporizable material.
Some “multi-use” or “multi-purpose” vaporizers which could be used to vaporize more than one type of vaporizable substance have been proposed. Unfortunately, these multi-use vaporizers may be complex to manufacture or to use, or may need to be reconfigured manually when switching from one type of vaporizable substance to another.

SUMMARY

According to one aspect, there is provided an electronic vaping apparatus comprising: a cartridge including: a substance container for receiving a vaporizable substance; a heater in thermal communication with the substance container for heating the vaporizable substance; a cartridge electrical connector operatively coupled to the heater; an identifier for providing an indication of a type of vaporizable substance receivable in the substance container; and an apparatus body including: an electrical power supply; a cartridge receiver for removably receiving the cartridge, the cartridge receiver including a body electrical connector operatively coupled to the electrical power supply, the at least one body electrical connector being couplable to the cartridge electrical connector to form a closed electrical circuit between the electrical power supply and the heater; a controller operatively connected to the electrical power supply for controlling power provided from the electrical power supply to the heater according to a desired heating condition corresponding to the type of vaporizable substance receivable in the substance container based on a detection of the identifier of the cartridge.
In at least one embodiment, the identifier includes at least one of a configuration of the cartridge electrical connector and an electrical resistance value of the heater.
In at least one embodiment, the at least one cartridge connector includes first and second electrodes spaced from each other by a predetermined distance in accordance with the type of vaporizable substance receivable in the substance container.
In at least one embodiment, the at least one body electrical connector includes at least two connecting pins extending towards the cartridge.
In at least one embodiment, the at least two connecting pins include a first end pin, a second end pin spaced from the first end pin and a central pin located between the first and second end pins.
In at least one embodiment, the cartridge electrical connector includes a first electrode, a pin receiving recess spaced from the first electrode and a second electrode located between the first electrode and the pin receiving recess, the first and second electrodes and the pin receiving recess being disposed such that when the cartridge is received in the cartridge receiver, the first end pin contacts the first electrode, the central pin contacts the second electrode and the second end pin is received in the pin receiving recess, thereby forming a closed electrical circuit between the electrical power supply and the heater through the first end pin and the central end pin.
In at least one embodiment, the cartridge is a dry herb cartridge configured for receiving the vaporizable substance in a dry herb form.
In at least one embodiment, the controller is configured for detecting that the closed electrical circuit is formed through the first end pin and the central end pin, and for controlling provision of electrical power to the heater to heat the vaporizable substance according to a corresponding heating condition.
In at least one embodiment, the cartridge electrical connector includes a first electrode, a second electrode spaced from the first electrode and a pin receiving recess located between the first and second electrodes, the first and second electrodes and the pin receiving recess being disposed such that when the cartridge is received in the cartridge receiver, the first end pin contacts the first electrode, the second end pin contacts the second electrode and the central pin is received in the pin receiving recess, thereby forming a closed electrical circuit between the electrical power supply and the heater through the first end pin and the second end pin.
In at least one embodiment, the controller is further configured for: detecting an electrical resistance value of the heater; determining a type of vaporizable substance receivable in the substance container based on the detected electrical resistance value of the heater; controlling provision of electrical power to the heater to heat the vaporizable substance according to a corresponding heating condition.
According to another aspect, there is also provided a cartridge for an electronic vaping apparatus, the cartridge comprising: a substance container for receiving a vaporizable substance; a heater in thermal communication with the substance container for heating the vaporizable substance; a cartridge electrical connector operatively coupled to the heater, the cartridge electrical connector including first and second electrodes; and an identifier for providing an indication of a type of vaporizable substance receivable in the substance container, the identifier including at least one of an electrical resistance value of the heater and a position of the first and second electrodes.
According to yet another aspect, there is also provided a method for vaporizing a vaporizable substance, the method comprising: providing an electronic vaping apparatus comprising: a cartridge including a substance container for receiving a vaporizable substance, a heater in thermal communication with the substance container for heating the vaporizable substance and an identifier for providing an indication of a type of vaporizable substance receivable in the substance container; and an apparatus body including an electrical power supply and a cartridge receiver for removably receiving the cartridge such that the electrical power supply is operatively coupled to the heater; detecting the identifier of the cartridge; based on the detected identifier, controlling provision of electrical power from the electrical power source to the heater to heat the vaporizable substance at a predetermined heating condition.
In at least one embodiment, detecting the identifier of the cartridge includes detecting a configuration of a cartridge electrical connector operatively couplable to a body electrical connector to form a closed electrical circuit between the heater and the electrical power supply.
In at least one embodiment, detecting the identifier of the cartridge includes detecting an electrical resistance value of the heater.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a front elevation view of an electronic vaping apparatus, in accordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 1B is another front elevation view of the electronic vaping apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1A, with the mouthpiece removed and the cartridge moved away from the apparatus body;

FIGS. 2A to 2F are various exterior views of the electronic vaping apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the electronic vaping apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a control circuit board for the electronic vaping apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1A, showing a body connector extending therefrom;

FIG. 5A is a bottom perspective view of a dry herb cartridge for the electronic vaping apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 5B is a lateral cross-section view of the dry herb cartridge illustrated in FIG. 5A;

FIG. 5C is a longitudinal cross-section view of the dry herb cartridge illustrated in FIG. 5A;

FIG. 6A is a bottom perspective view of a solid concentrate cartridge for the electronic vaping apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 6B is a lateral cross-section view of the solid concentrate cartridge illustrated in FIG. 6A;

FIG. 6C is a longitudinal cross-section view of the solid concentrate cartridge illustrated in FIG. 6A;

FIG. 7A is a bottom perspective view of a liquid concentrate cartridge for the electronic vaping apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 7B is a lateral cross-section view of the liquid concentrate cartridge illustrated in FIG. 7A;

FIG. 7C is a longitudinal cross-section view of the liquid concentrate cartridge illustrated in FIG. 7A;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a method for vaporizing a vaporizable substance, in accordance with one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It will be appreciated that, for simplicity and clarity of illustration, where considered appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements or steps. In addition, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the exemplary embodiments described herein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art, that the embodiments described herein may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the embodiments described herein. Furthermore, this description is not to be considered as limiting the scope of the embodiments described herein in any way but rather as merely describing the implementation of the various embodiments described herein.
For the sake of simplicity and clarity, namely so as to not unduly burden the figures with several references numbers, not all figures contain references to all the components and features, and references to some components and features may be found in only one figure, and components and features of the present disclosure which are illustrated in other figures can be easily inferred therefrom. The embodiments, geometrical configurations, materials mentioned and/or dimensions shown in the figures are optional, and are given for exemplification purposes only.
Moreover, it will be appreciated that positional descriptions such as “above”, “below”, “top”, “bottom”, “forward”, “rearward” “left”, “right” and the like should, unless otherwise indicated, be taken in the context of the figures and correspond to the position and orientation in the electronic vaping apparatus and corresponding parts when being used. Positional descriptions should not be considered limiting.
Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, there is shown an electronic vaping apparatus 100, in accordance with one embodiment.
In the illustrated embodiment, the electronic vaping apparatus 100 includes a apparatus body 200 and a cartridge 300 removably connectable to the apparatus body 200. The cartridge 300 is configured to receive and heat a vaporizable substance and the apparatus body 200 is configured to power the cartridge 300 to vaporize the vaporizable substance, which can then be inhaled by a user.
In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4, the cartridge 300 is a dry herb cartridge for vaporizing a vaporizable substance such as marijuana, tobacco or the like, in dry herb form. Alternatively, the cartridge 300 could be a solid concentrate cartridge for vaporizing a vaporizable substance in solid concentrate form, or a liquid concentrate cartridge for vaporizing a vaporizable substance in liquid concentrate form.
In the illustrated embodiment, the cartridge 300 is interchangeable with other cartridges configured for vaporizing a similar type of vaporizable substance or configured for vaporizing a different type of vaporizable substance.
The apparatus body 200 is further configured for automatically detecting the type of cartridge connected to the apparatus body 200 and to power the cartridge in accordance with a detected type of cartridge. More specifically, the apparatus body 200 could be configured to power the cartridge 300 so as to heat the vaporizable substance to a first predetermined temperature when detecting that a cartridge configured to receive and heat a vaporizable substance in a solid concentrate form is connected to the apparatus body 200. The apparatus body 200 could further be configured to power the cartridge 300 so as to heat the vaporizable substance to a second predetermined temperature different from the first predetermined temperature when detecting that a cartridge configured to receive and heat a vaporizable substance in a dry herb form is connected to the apparatus body 200.
In the illustrated embodiment, the apparatus body 200 includes a housing 202, a cartridge receiver 204 facing outwardly from the housing 202 for receiving the cartridge 300, an electrical power supply 206 housed in the housing 202 and operatively coupled to the cartridge receiver 204 for powering the cartridge 300 received in the cartridge receiver 204 through the cartridge receiver 204, and a controller 250 operatively connected to the electrical power supply 206 for controlling the powering of the cartridge 300 by the electrical power supply 206.
In the illustrated embodiment, the housing 202 is elongated and extends between a proximal housing end 208 and a distal housing end 210. The housing 202 further includes a generally planar front panel 212, a curved rear panel 214, a proximal end panel 216 located at the proximal housing end 208 and a distal end panel 218 located at the distal housing end 210. As best shown in FIG. 3, the proximal and distal end panels 216, 218 are substantially parallel to each other and extend substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the housing 202.
In the illustrated embodiment, the distal end panel 218 is further integrally formed with the front panel 212, but alternatively, the distal end panel 218 could be integrally formed with the rear panel 214 or be distinct from the front and rear panels 212, 214.
Still in the illustrated embodiment, the apparatus body 200 further includes an elongated guiding member 220 extending away from the proximal housing end 208. Specifically, the guiding member 220 includes a curved guiding sidewall 222 which defines a guiding channel 224 for slidably guiding the cartridge towards the apparatus body 200. In the illustrated embodiment, the guiding channel 224 has a substantially obround cross-section and the cartridge 300 has a corresponding substantially obround cross-section to prevent rotation or lateral movement of the cartridge 300 once the cartridge 300 is engaged in the guiding channel 224.
In the illustrated embodiment, the curved guiding sidewall 222 is integrally formed with the curved rear panel 214 of the housing and defines an extension of the rear panel 214 away from the housing 202. Alternatively, the guiding sidewall 222 could be provided as a separate component.
In the illustrated embodiment, the power supply 206 includes a battery 226 which is received within the housing 202. Specifically, the battery 226 is rechargeable and can be operatively connected via a charging port 228 to a power source such as an electrical grid, an external battery or the like to be recharged. Alternatively, the battery 226 could include one or more disposable batteries.
Still in the illustrated embodiment, the controller 250 includes a printed circuit board assembly or PCBA 252 housed in the housing 202. The PCBA includes at least one processor and could also include a memory, a communication unit and/or any other appropriate component.
The cartridge receiver 204 further includes a body electrical connector 230 operatively coupled to the electrical power supply 206 via the controller 250. Specifically, the body electrical connector 230 extends through the proximal end panel 216 such that it faces the cartridge 300 when the cartridge 300 is received in the cartridge receiver 204. In the illustrated embodiment, the body electrical connector 230 includes a plurality of connecting pins 254 mounted to the PCBA and extending away from the PCBA towards the proximal housing end 208. As best shown in FIG. 1B, the connecting pins 254 further extend though the proximal end panel 216 to as to be contactable by the cartridge 300 when the cartridge 300 is received in the cartridge receiver 204. This allows the connecting pins 254 to form a closed electrical circuit between the electrical power supply 206 and the cartridge 300 when the cartridge 300 abuts the proximal end panel 216, as will be explained further below.
In the illustrated embodiment, the connecting pins 254 all extend in a common plane and include a first end pin 256, a second end pin 258 spaced apart from the first end pin 256 and a central pin 260 located between the first and second end pins 256, 258, as best shown in FIG. 4. Alternatively, the connecting pins 254 could include more or less than three pins and the pins 254 could be positioned differently relative to each other.
In the illustrated embodiment, the apparatus body 200 further includes a pair of body magnets 232 located on either side of the connecting pins 254. The body magnets 232 are configured to interact with the cartridge 300 to substantially hold the cartridge 300 received in the cartridge receiver 204 against the proximal end panel 216 of the housing 202, as will be explained further below.
Now turning to FIGS. 3 and 5A to 5C, the cartridge 300 is configured to receive and heat a certain type of vaporizable substance. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 5A to 5C, the cartridge 300 is a dry herb cartridge configured for receiving and heating a vaporizable substance in a dry herb form to allow a user to inhale the vaporized substance.
In this embodiment, the cartridge 300 includes an outer casing 302, a substance container 304 located within the outer casing 302 for receiving the vaporizable substance and a heater 306 operatively connected to the substance container 304 to heat the vaporizable substance received in the substance container 304.
The outer casing 302 has a proximal casing end 308 and a distal casing end 310. When the cartridge 300 is received in the cartridge receiver 204, the proximal casing end 308 is disposed towards the proximal end panel 216 of the housing 202 and the distal casing end 310 is disposed away from the proximal end panel 216.
In the illustrated embodiment, the outer casing 302 includes a base portion 312 located at the proximal casing end 308 and housing the substance container 304, and a mouthpiece portion 314 located at the distal casing end 310. The mouthpiece portion 314 includes an inhaling opening 316 and is sized and shaped to engage the user's mouth such that the user may inhale the vaporized substance through the inhaling opening 316. Still in the illustrated embodiment, the mouthpiece portion 314 is removable from the base portion 312 to allow access to the substance container 304 received in the base portion 312. This enables the user to manually refill the substance container 304 once the vaporizable substance has been depleted.
In the illustrated embodiment, the substance container 304 defines a heater 306, and more specifically a convection oven heater, which produces heat and transfers the produced heat to the vaporizable substance received in the substance container 304. Specifically, the substance container 304 includes a perforated bottom wall 316 and a sidewall 318 extending away from the bottom wall 308 towards the mouthpiece portion 314. The bottom wall 316 and the sidewall 318 are made from a thermally conductive material such as ceramic, steel or the like, and are operatively connected to a cartridge electrical connector 350, either directly or through a conductive member such as a metallic wire or the like which extends on or within the bottom wall 316 and/or the sidewall 318. As will be further explained below, the cartridge electrical connector 350 allows the heater 306 to be operatively connected to the electrical power supply 206 when the cartridge 300 is received in the cartridge receiver 204 to allow the heater 306 to produce heat via resistive or resistance heating.
In the illustrated embodiment, the perforated bottom wall 316 is slightly spaced away from the proximal casing end 308. In this configuration, the heater 306 can heat air below between the bottom wall 316 and the heater 306 and air within the sidewall 318 to heat the vaporizable substance received in the substance container 304 by convection or by a mix of convection, conduction and/or thermal radiation through the bottom wall 316 and the sidewall 318.
In the illustrated embodiment, the substance container 304 further includes a layer of insulating material 320 disposed around the sidewall 318 to reduce or prevent thermal losses outwardly through the sidewall 318. Alternatively, the substance container 304 may not include a layer of insulating material.
In an alternative embodiment, the heater 306 could be provided as a separate component distinct from the substance container 304 but thermally coupled to the substance container 304 to produce heat and transfer the produced heat to the substance container 304 by conduction, convection or thermal radiation.
It will be understood that the above heater configurations are merely provided as examples and that in other embodiments, the heater 306 can have various alternative configurations that a skilled person would deem suitable for use with the present apparatus 100.
In the illustrated embodiment, the cartridge electrical connector 350 is located at the proximal casing end 308 and is exposed to contact the body electrical connector 230 when the proximal casing end 308 abuts the proximal housing end 208.
In the illustrated embodiment, the cartridge electrical connector 350 includes first and second electrodes 352 a, 352 b positioned so as to contact two of the three connecting pins 254 of the body electrical connector 230. The electrical connector 350 further includes a pin receiving recess 354 for receiving the third one or the three connecting pins 254. Since in the illustrated embodiment, the three connecting pins 254 are disposed in a common plane and are therefore aligned in a single row, the first and second electrodes 352 and the pin receiving recess 354 are also disposed in a single row.
It will be understood that in this configuration, the first and second electrodes 352 a, 352 b form a closed electrical circuit between the heater 206 and the electrical power supply 206 while the third pin is not used.
It will further be appreciated that the positioning of the first and second electrodes 352 a, 352 b and of the pin receiving recess 354 relative to the connecting pins 254 may define an identifier of the cartridge 300 which could allow the controller 250 to identify a type of vaporizable material which can be vaporized by this cartridge 300 and to control the electrical power provided to the heater 306 accordingly.
For example, in the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 5A to 5C wherein the cartridge 300 is configured for receiving and vaporizing a vaporizable substance in a dry herb form, the first electrode 352 a is spaced from the pin receiving recess 354 and the second electrode 352 b is located between the first electrode 352 a and the pin receiving recess 354. In this configuration, the first and second electrodes 352 a, 352 b are configured for contacting the first end pin 256 and the central pin 260 of the body electrical connector 230. When the cartridge 300 is connected to the apparatus body 200, the controller 250 may be configured to detect that the closed electrical circuit between the heater 306 and the electrical power source 206 is formed through the first end pin 256 and the central pin 260. The controller 250 may then control provision of the electrical power to the heater 306 according to a predetermined scheme or a predetermined heating condition associated with the heating of vaporizable substance in dry herb form.
In one embodiment, the controller may be configured to control the provision of electrical power to the heater 306 to allow the heater 306 to heat the vaporizable substance in dry herb form to a temperature of between 170 degrees C. and 190 degrees C., or more specifically to a temperature of about 180 degrees C.
It will be understood that in this configuration, the electrodes 352 a, 352 b therefore have both the role of forming a closed electrical circuit with the connecting pins 354 and of providing an indication of the type of vaporizable substance vaporizable in the cartridge 300 by their location relative to the connecting pins 354. This therefore eliminates the need to provide an additional identifier to allow the controller 250 to detect the type of vaporizable substance vaporizable in the cartridge 300.
In the illustrated embodiment, the cartridge 300 further includes a pair of cartridge magnets 360 located at the proximal casing end 308 on either ends of the first and second electrodes 352 a, 352 b and the pin receiving recess 354. The cartridge magnets 360 are positioned so as to be aligned and contact the body magnets 232 to interact with the body magnets 232 to substantially hold the cartridge 300 received in the cartridge receiver 204 against the proximal end panel 216 of the housing 202. Alternatively, instead of cartridge magnets, the cartridge 300 could comprise pieces of ferromagnetic material positioned so as to be aligned with the body magnets 232. In another embodiment, the entire outer casing 302 could even be made of a ferromagnetic material.
Now turning to FIGS. 6A to 6C, there is shown a cartridge 400 for use with the electronic vaping apparatus 100, in accordance with another embodiment. In this embodiment, the cartridge 400 is adapted to heat and vaporize a vaporizable substance in solid concentrate form. Similarly to the cartridge 300, the cartridge 400 includes an outer casing 402, a substance container 404 located within the outer casing 402 and a heater 406 operatively connected to the substance container 404 to heat the vaporizable substance received in the substance container 404.
The outer casing 402 has a proximal casing end 408 and a distal casing end 410. The casing 402 further includes a base portion 412 located at the proximal casing end 408 and housing the substance container 404, and a mouthpiece portion 314′ located at the distal casing end 410 and removably connectable to the base portion 412. In one embodiment, the mouthpiece portion 314′ for use with the cartridge 400 could be the same mouthpiece portion 314 used with the cartridge 300. For example, when the user wishes to switch from the cartridge 300 to the other cartridge 400, the user would simply remove the mouthpiece portion 314 from the base portion 312 and connect the mouthpiece portion 314 to the base portion 412 to form the new cartridge 400.
In this embodiment, the heater 406 includes a conduction plate 440 located in the substance container 404 and extending substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the cartridge 400. The conduction plate 440 is adapted to receive the vaporizable substance such that heat may be transmitted to the vaporizable substance through the conduction plate 440 mainly by conduction.
The cartridge 400 further includes a cartridge electrical connector 450 located at the proximal casing end 408. The cartridge electrical connector 450 includes first and second electrodes 452 a, 452 b operatively connected to the conduction plate 440 and a pin receiving recess 454. The first and second electrodes 452 a, 452 b and the pin receiving recess 354 are disposed in a single row and are positioned so as to be aligned with the three connecting pins 254 when the cartridge 400 is connected to the apparatus body 200.
Similarly to the cartridge 300, the position of the first and second electrodes 452 a, 452 b defines at least partially an identifier of the cartridge which allows the controller 250 to detect that the cartridge 400 is configured for receiving and vaporizing a vaporizable substance in a solid concentrate form. More specifically, in this embodiment, the first and second electrodes 452 a, 452 b are spaced from each other and the pin receiving recess 454 is located between the first and second electrodes 452 a, 452 b. In this configuration, the first and second electrodes 452 a, 452 b are therefore positioned to respectively contact the first and second end pins 256, 258 of the body electrical connector 230 and the pin receiving recess 454 is positioned to receive the central pin 260.
In one embodiment, in addition to the position of the first and second electrodes 452 a, 452 b relative to the connecting pins 254, the identifier of the cartridge 400 may further include an additional characteristic of the cartridge 400 which, in combination with the position of the first and second electrodes 452 a, 452 b, will allow the controller 250 to identify the type of the cartridge 400. For example, the identifier of the cartridge 400 may include an electrical resistance value of the heater 406. Specifically, the controller 250 may first detect that the closed electrical circuit is formed between the heater 406 and the electrical power supply 206 through the first and second end pins 256, 258. The controller 250 may then determine the electrical resistance of the heater 406 and compare the determined electrical resistance to a predetermined threshold value. In one embodiment, a determined electrical resistance equal to or below the predetermined threshold value would provide an indication that the cartridge 400 is configured for vaporizing a vaporizable substance in solid concentrate form. For example, the electrical resistance of the heater 406 could be less than about 1.0 ohm, e.g. could be about 0.9 ohm, 0.8 ohm, 0.7 ohm or less. In this example, the predetermined threshold value could be about 1.0 ohm, such that the controller 250 may determine that the cartridge connected to the apparatus body 200 is a cartridge 400 configured for vaporizing a vaporizable substance in solid concentrate form when the electrical resistance of the cartridge's heater 406 is determined to be less than 1.0 ohm. Alternatively, the predetermined threshold value could be less or more than about 1.0 ohm. In another embodiment, a determined electrical resistance equal to or above the predetermined threshold value would provide an indication that the cartridge 400 is configured for vaporizing a vaporizable substance in solid concentrate form. In yet another embodiment, the controller 250 could instead be configured to determine that the cartridge connected to the apparatus body 200 is a cartridge 400 configured for vaporizing a vaporizable substance in solid concentrate form when the determined electrical resistance of the heater 406 is within a predetermined electrical resistance range defined between upper and lower threshold electrical resistance values.
In one embodiment, the controller 250 may be configured to control the provision of electrical power to the heater 406 to allow the heater 406 to heat the vaporizable substance in solid concentrate form to a temperature of between 160 degrees C. and 180 degrees C., or more specifically to a temperature of about 170 degrees C.
Now turning to FIGS. 7A to 7B, there is shown a cartridge 500 for use with the electronic vaping apparatus 100, in accordance with another embodiment. In this embodiment, the cartridge 500 is adapted to heat and vaporize a vaporizable substance in liquid concentrate form. Similarly to the cartridges 300 and 400, the cartridge 500 includes an outer casing 502, a substance container 504 located within the outer casing 502 and a heater 506 operatively connected to the substance container 504 to heat the vaporizable substance received in the substance container 504.
The outer casing 502 has a proximal casing end 508 and a distal casing end 510. Unlike cartridges 300 and 400, the outer casing 502 is made from a single piece. The substance container 504 can be refilled through a refilling opening 512 located at the proximal casing end 508, and once vaporized, the vaporized substance can be inhaled through an inhalation opening 514 located at the a distal casing end 510.
In this embodiment, the heater 506 includes a heating coil 520, such as a ceramic coil, which is disposed coaxially within a substantially tubular chimney 521 extending through the substance container 504. Specifically, the substance container 504 includes a substance receiving chamber 523 in which the vaporizable substance is received and stored until vaporized. The chimney 521 is in fluid communication with the substance receiving cavity 523 to allow vaporizable substance to enter the chimney 521 where it can be vaporized by the heating coil 520.
The cartridge 500 further includes a cartridge electrical connector 550 located at the proximal casing end 508. Similarly to the cartridges 300 and 400, the cartridge electrical connector 550 includes first and second electrodes 552 a, 552 b and a pin receiving recess 554 which are all disposed in a single row. In the illustrated embodiment, the first and second electrodes 552 a, 552 b and the pin receiving recess 554 are disposed in generally the same position as the first and second electrodes 452 a, 452 b and the pin receiving recess 454 of the cartridge 400. Specifically, the first and second electrodes 552 a, 552 b are spaced apart from each other and the pin receiving recess 554 is located between the first and second electrodes 552 a, 552 b. In this configuration, the first and second electrodes 552 a, 552 b are therefore positioned to respectively contact the first and second end pins 256, 258 of the body electrical connector 230 and the pin receiving recess 554 is positioned to receive the central pin 260.
This position of the first and second electrodes 552 a, 552 b and the pin receiving recess 554 define at least partially an identifier which can allow the controller 250 to automatically determine the type of vaporizable substance which may be vaporized in the cartridge 500.
Still similarly to the cartridge 400, the identifier of the cartridge 500 may further include an additional characteristic of the cartridge 500 which, in combination with the position of the first and second electrodes 552 a, 552 b, will allow the controller 250 to identify the type of the cartridge 500. Specifically, the additional characteristic of the cartridge 500 may includes an electrical resistance value of the heater 506. Specifically, the controller 250 may first detect that the closed electrical circuit is formed between the heater 506 and the electrical power supply 206 through the first and second end pins 256, 258. The controller 250 may then determine the electrical resistance of the heater 506 and compare the determined electrical resistance to a predetermined threshold value. A determined electrical resistance above the predetermined threshold value would provide an indication that the cartridge 500 is configured for vaporizing a vaporizable substance in liquid concentrate form. For example, the electrical resistance of the heater 506 could be greater than about 1.0 ohm, e.g. could be about 2.0 ohm, 3.0 ohm, 4.0 ohm or greater. In this example, the predetermined threshold value could be about 1.0 ohm, such that the controller 250 may determine that the cartridge connected to the apparatus body 200 is a cartridge 500 configured for vaporizing a vaporizable substance in liquid concentrate form when the electrical resistance of the cartridge's heater 506 is determined to be greater than 1.0 ohm. Alternatively, the predetermined threshold value could be less or more than about 1.0 ohm. In another embodiment, a determined electrical resistance equal to or below the predetermined threshold value would provide an indication that the cartridge 500 is configured for vaporizing a vaporizable substance in liquid concentrate form. In yet another embodiment, the controller 250 could instead be configured to determine that the cartridge connected to the apparatus body 200 is a cartridge 500 configured for vaporizing a vaporizable substance in liquid concentrate form when the determined electrical resistance of the heater 506 is within a predetermined electrical resistance range defined between upper and lower threshold electrical resistance values.
In one embodiment, the controller may be configured to provide between 6 and 8 W of electrical power, or more specifically about 7 W of electrical power, to the heater 506 of the liquid concentrate cartridge 500.
It will therefore be understood that the present electronic vaping apparatus 100 may be used to vaporize multiple types of vaporizable substances, namely vaporizable material in dry herb form, in a solid concentrate form and in liquid concentrate form, by simply interchanging the cartridge connected to the apparatus body 200 to the corresponding cartridge. Moreover, since the controller 250 is configured to automatically detect the identifier of the cartridge and to adjust provision of power to the heater to heat the vaporizable substance according to a desired heating condition—such as a desired heating temperature—the present apparatus 100 eliminates the need for the user to manually reconfigure the apparatus 100 depending on the type of vaporizable substance being vaporized.
It will also be appreciated that the present electronic vaping apparatus 100 eliminates the need for a user to acquire, carry and/or use three distinct vaping apparatuses to inhale vaporized substances in dry herb, solid concentrate and liquid concentrate form. Instead, the apparatus 100 could be provided as a kit for inhaling a vaporizable substance, and the kit could include a single apparatus body 202 and the three cartridges 300, 400, 500 which could be used interchangeably with the apparatus body 202 depending on whether the substance to be vaporized is in dry herb, solid concentrate and liquid concentrate form. Alternatively, the kit could include the apparatus body 202 and only one or two of the cartridges 300, 400 or 500, in which case the user may subsequently acquire the remaining cartridges 300, 400 or 500 as desired. In this embodiment, if the kit is provided with the dry herb and solid concentrates cartridges 300, 400 as described above, the kit could include a single mouthpiece portion 314 which could be interchangeably used with the dry herb and solid concentrates cartridges 300, 400.
Turning to FIG. 8, there is shown a method 600 for vaporizing a vaporizable substance, in accordance with one embodiment. According to 602, the method 600 first comprises providing an electronic vaping apparatus including a cartridge and an apparatus body, such as the electronic vaping apparatus 100 described above.
According to 604, the method 600 further comprises detecting an identifier of the cartridge indicative of a type of vaporizable substance receivable in the substance container.
According to 606, the method 600 further comprises, based on the detected identifier, controlling provision of electrical power from the electrical power source to the heater to heat the vaporizable material at a predetermined heating condition.
In the illustrated embodiment, the controller 250 may further be configurable in a boost mode in which power provision to the heater is increased to increase heating of the vaporizable material. Specifically, the controller 250 may be operatively connected to a push button extending through the housing 202 such that pressing or holding down the push button triggers the boost mode.
The controller 250 may be configured such that when the controller 250 determines that the cartridge 300 connected to the apparatus body 200 is for vaporizing dry herb and the boost mode is activated, electrical power is provided to the heater 306 to heat the vaporizable substance to a temperature of between 190 degrees C. and 210 degrees C., or more specifically to a temperature of about 200 degrees C.
The controller 250 may further be configured such that when the controller 250 determines that the cartridge 400 connected to the apparatus body 200 is for vaporizing solid concentrate and the boost mode is activated, electrical power is provided to the heater 406 to heat the vaporizable substance to a temperature of between 180 degrees C. and 200 degrees C., or more specifically to a temperature of about 190 degrees C.
The controller 250 may further be configured such that when the controller 250 determines that the cartridge 500 connected to the apparatus body 200 is for vaporizing liquid concentrate and the boost mode is activated, the controller 250 controls provision of power from the electrical power supply 206 such that between 7 and 9 W of electrical power, or more specifically about 8 W of electrical power, is provided to the heater 506 to heat the vaporizable substance.
It will be understood that the above embodiments are presented as examples only and that various alternatives could be considered. For example, although specific identifiers were described for each type of cartridge, different identifiers could be used.
In one embodiment, the position of the electrodes on the cartridge relative to the connecting pins may be different than described above. In another embodiment, instead of comprising three connecting pins, the body electrical connector could instead comprise four or more pins. In another embodiment, the identifier of the cartridge may include any combination of the position of the electrodes and the electrical resistance value of the heater that a skilled person would consider to be suitable.
In another embodiment, the identifier may not comprise the position of the electrodes, and could only comprise the electrical resistance value of each heater. In this embodiment, the electrodes could be positioned at the same position in each cartridge and the electrical resistance value measured by the controller could be compared to a first or lower threshold value and a second or upper threshold value higher than the lower threshold value. A detected electrical resistance value above the upper threshold value may be indicative of a cartridge for vaporizing a first type of vaporizable material, a detected electrical resistance value between the lower and upper threshold values may be indicative of a cartridge for vaporizing a second type of vaporizable material, and a detected electrical resistance value below the lower threshold value may be indicative of a cartridge for vaporizing a third type of vaporizable material. For example, the heater 406 of the solid concentrate cartridge 400 could have an electrical resistance value of less than about 1.0 ohm, e.g. of about 0.9 ohm, 0.8 ohm, 0.7 ohm or less, the heater 506 of the liquid concentrate cartridge 500 could have an electrical resistance value equal to or greater than about 2.0 ohm, e.g. of about 2.0 ohm, 3.0 ohm, 4.0 ohm or greater, and the heater 306 of the dry herb cartridge 300 could have an electrical resistance value between about 1.0 ohm and 2.0 ohm, e.g. of about 1.6 ohm, 1.7 ohm or 1.8 ohm. In this example, the lower threshold value may be about 1.0 ohm and the upper threshold value may be about 2.0 ohm, such determining that the electrical resistance value of the heater is below 1.0 ohm provides an indication that the cartridge connected to the apparatus body 200 is a solid concentrate cartridge 400, determining that the electrical resistance value of the heater is between 1.0 ohm and 2.0 ohm provides an indication that the cartridge connected to the apparatus body 200 is a dry herb cartridge 300 and determining that the electrical resistance value of the heater is equal to or above 2.0 ohm provides an indication that the cartridge connected to the apparatus body 200 is a liquid concentrate cartridge 500.
In yet another embodiment, the identifier may not comprise the position of the first and second electrodes of the cartridge. Instead, the identifier may be distinct from the electrodes and may include any types of identifier including, but not limited to, an RFID tag, a bar code, a QR code or the like, and the apparatus body may include a corresponding reader to determine the type of vaporizable material contained in the cartridge based on the identifier.
While the above description provides examples of the embodiments, it will be appreciated that some features and/or functions of the described embodiments are susceptible to modification without departing from the spirit and principles of operation of the described embodiments. Accordingly, what has been described above has been intended to be illustrative and non-limiting and it will be understood by persons skilled in the art that other variants and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims appended hereto.

Claims

1. An electronic vaping apparatus comprising:

a cartridge including:

a substance container for receiving a vaporizable substance;

a heater in thermal communication with the substance container for heating the vaporizable substance;

a cartridge electrical connector operatively coupled to the heater;

an identifier for providing an indication of a type of vaporizable substance receivable in the substance container; and

an apparatus body including:

an electrical power supply;

a cartridge receiver for removably receiving the cartridge, the cartridge receiver including a body electrical connector operatively coupled to the electrical power supply, the at least one body electrical connector being couplable to the cartridge electrical connector to form a closed electrical circuit between the electrical power supply and the heater;

a controller operatively connected to the electrical power supply for controlling power provided from the electrical power supply to the heater according to a desired heating condition corresponding to the type of vaporizable substance receivable in the substance container based on a detection of the identifier of the cartridge.

2. The electronic vaping apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the identifier includes at least one of a configuration of the cartridge electrical connector and an electrical resistance value of the heater.

3. The electronic vaping apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the at least one cartridge connector includes first and second electrodes spaced from each other by a predetermined distance in accordance with the type of vaporizable substance receivable in the substance container.

4. The electronic vaping apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one body electrical connector includes at least two connecting pins extending towards the cartridge.

5. The electronic vaping apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the at least two connecting pins include a first end pin, a second end pin spaced from the first end pin and a central pin located between the first and second end pins.

6. The electronic vaping apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the cartridge electrical connector includes a first electrode, a pin receiving recess spaced from the first electrode and a second electrode located between the first electrode and the pin receiving recess, the first and second electrodes and the pin receiving recess being disposed such that when the cartridge is received in the cartridge receiver, the first end pin contacts the first electrode, the central pin contacts the second electrode and the second end pin is received in the pin receiving recess, thereby forming a closed electrical circuit between the electrical power supply and the heater through the first end pin and the central end pin.

7. The electronic vaping apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the cartridge is a dry herb cartridge configured for receiving the vaporizable substance in a dry herb form.

8. The electronic vaping apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the controller is configured for detecting that the closed electrical circuit is formed through the first end pin and the central end pin, and for controlling provision of electrical power to the heater to heat the vaporizable substance according to a corresponding heating condition.

9. The electronic vaping apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the cartridge electrical connector includes a first electrode, a second electrode spaced from the first electrode and a pin receiving recess located between the first and second electrodes, the first and second electrodes and the pin receiving recess being disposed such that when the cartridge is received in the cartridge receiver, the first end pin contacts the first electrode, the second end pin contacts the second electrode and the central pin is received in the pin receiving recess, thereby forming a closed electrical circuit between the electrical power supply and the heater through the first end pin and the second end pin.

10. The electronic vaping apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the controller is further configured for:

detecting an electrical resistance value of the heater;

determining a type of vaporizable substance receivable in the substance container based on the detected electrical resistance value of the heater;

controlling provision of electrical power to the heater to heat the vaporizable substance according to a corresponding heating condition.

11. A cartridge for an electronic vaping apparatus, the cartridge comprising:

a substance container for receiving a vaporizable substance;

a cartridge electrical connector operatively coupled to the heater, the cartridge electrical connector including first and second electrodes; and

an identifier for providing an indication of a type of vaporizable substance receivable in the substance container, the identifier including at least one of an electrical resistance value of the heater and a position of the first and second electrodes.

12. A method for vaporizing a vaporizable substance, the method comprising:

providing an electronic vaping apparatus comprising:

a cartridge including a substance container for receiving a vaporizable substance, a heater in thermal communication with the substance container for heating the vaporizable substance and an identifier for providing an indication of a type of vaporizable substance receivable in the substance container; and

an apparatus body including an electrical power supply and a cartridge receiver for removably receiving the cartridge such that the electrical power supply is operatively coupled to the heater;

detecting the identifier of the cartridge;

based on the detected identifier, controlling provision of electrical power from the electrical power source to the heater to heat the vaporizable substance at a predetermined heating condition.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein detecting the identifier of the cartridge includes detecting a configuration of a cartridge electrical connector operatively couplable to a body electrical connector to form a closed electrical circuit between the heater and the electrical power supply.

14. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein detecting the identifier of the cartridge includes detecting an electrical resistance value of the heater.