U.S. patent application number 14/464368 was filed with the patent office on 2016-01-14 for electronic cigarettes having refillable top and replaceable heating element.
The applicant listed for this patent is Xiaochun Zhu. Invention is credited to Xiaochun Zhu.
Application Number | 20160007654 14/464368 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 55063479 |
Filed Date | 2016-01-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160007654 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Zhu; Xiaochun |
January 14, 2016 |
ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES HAVING REFILLABLE TOP AND REPLACEABLE HEATING
ELEMENT
Abstract
The present invention relates to an e-cigarette. The e-cigarette
includes: a connecting assembly, a removable mouth piece, an
e-liquid tank, a vaporizing assembly, and a rotatable vaporizer
tube. The connecting assembly includes: a mouth piece connector, a
connecting ring, an e-liquid injection plate, and one or more
e-liquid injection holes. Removable mouth piece has a mouth piece
plug to be inserted into the mouth piece connector. The e-liquid
tank has an e-liquid tank separation plate for dividing e-liquid
tank into an upper e-liquid chamber and a lower e-liquid chamber.
E-liquid tank is connected to the connecting assembly. Vaporizing
assembly is detachably connected to a lower end of e-liquid tank.
Rotatable vaporizer tube is disposed on e-liquid tank separation
plate. The rotatable vaporizer tube is insertably connected to the
mouth piece 1 through the connecting assembly. The rotatable
vaporizer tube is also connected to an air exhaust of the
vaporizing assembly.
Inventors: |
Zhu; Xiaochun; (Shenzhen,
CN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Zhu; Xiaochun |
Shenzhen |
|
CN |
|
|
Family ID: |
55063479 |
Appl. No.: |
14/464368 |
Filed: |
August 20, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
PCT/CN2014/081816 |
Jul 8, 2014 |
|
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14464368 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
131/328 ;
131/329 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A24F 47/008 20130101;
A61M 2209/045 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A24F 47/00 20060101
A24F047/00 |
Claims
1. An electronic cigarette, comprising: a connecting assembly; a
removable mouth piece having an upper end, an opposite, lower end,
and a mouth piece plug at the lower end; an e-liquid tank having an
upper end and an opposite, lower end, an e-liquid tank separation
plate configured to separate the e-liquid tank into an upper
e-liquid chamber and a lower e-liquid chamber; a vaporizing
assembly detachably connected to the lower end of the e-liquid
tank; a rotatable vaporizer tube located on top of the e-liquid
tank separation plate, wherein the rotatable vaporizer tube having
an upper end insertably connected to the mouth piece through the
connecting assembly, and an opposite, lower end connected to an air
exhaust of the vaporizing assembly.
2. The electronic cigarette of claim 1, wherein the connecting
assembly comprises: an open lower end, and an opposite upper end,
wherein the open lower end of the connecting assembly is connected
to the upper end of the e-liquid tank; a mouth piece connector
having an upper end, and an opposite, lower end, wherein the upper
end is detachably connected to the mouth piece plug of the mouth
piece; and a connecting ring having an upper end, and an opposite,
lower end, and an e-liquid injection plate with one or more
e-liquid injection holes, wherein the upper end is screwably and
sealably connected to the lower end of the mouth piece connector,
and the lower end is insertably connected to the upper end of the
e-liquid tank.
3. The electronic cigarette of claim 2, wherein the e-liquid tank
may be refilled by removing the removable mouth piece, and
injecting e-liquid into the upper e-liquid chamber of the e-liquid
tank through the one or more e-liquid injection holes of the
connecting assembly.
4. The electronic cigarette of claim 2, wherein the mouth piece
connector comprises a pressure ring disposed at the lower end of
the mouth piece connector; a first protrusion ring disposed at
center of the e-liquid injection plate; and a first sealing ring
disposed between the first protrusion ring and the pressure ring
for sealing the space between the first protrusion ring and the
pressure ring, wherein each of the pressure ring, the first
protrusion ring, and the first sealing ring has a center through
hole adapted for accommodating the rotatable vaporizer tube, and
the through holes of the pressure ring, the first protrusion ring,
and the first sealing ring are coaxial.
5. The electronic cigarette of claim 2, wherein the mouth piece
plug of the mouth piece comprises: a circular sealing groove and a
mouth piece seal ring configured to seal an insertable connection
between the mouth piece and the mouth piece connector.
6. The electronic cigarette of claim 2, wherein the e-liquid tank
separation plate comprises one or more e-liquid release holes
configured to release e-liquid from the upper e-liquid chamber of
the e-liquid tank to the lower e-liquid chamber of the e-liquid
tank, wherein the one or more e-liquid release holes are evenly and
symmetrically distributed on the e-liquid tank separation plate
around the central axis of the rotatable vaporizer tube.
7. The electronic cigarette of claim 6, wherein the mouth piece
comprises a polygon mouth piece hole, and the upper end of the
rotatable vaporizer tube has a polygon connecting tube having the
same polygon shape and the polygon connecting tube is snugly-fitted
inside of the polygon mouth piece hole such that the rotatable
vaporizer tube can be rotated by rotating the mouth piece.
8. The electronic cigarette of claim 7, wherein the polygon shape
comprises a triangle, a quadrilateral, a pentagon, a hexagon, a
heptagon, an octagon, a nonagon, a decagon, a dodecagon, and an
n-gon.
9. The electronic cigarette of claim 7, wherein the rotatable
vaporizer tube on the e-liquid tank separation plate comprises one
or more e-liquid stoppers disposed symmetrically around the axis of
the rotatable vaporizer tube, each of the e-liquid stoppers
corresponds to one of the e-liquid release holes on the e-liquid
tank separation plate, and the e-liquid tank separation plate
comprises one or more e-liquid stop protrusions, each of the of the
e-liquid stop protrusions corresponds to one of the e-liquid
release holes, such that when the rotatable vaporizer tube is
rotated to an "on" position, the e-liquid in the upper e-liquid
chamber is released to the lower e-liquid chamber, when the
rotatable vaporizer tube is rotated to an "off" position, the
e-liquid in the upper e-liquid chamber is not released to the lower
e-liquid chamber, and when the rotatable vaporizer tube is rotated
to a position between the "on" position and the "off" position, the
amount of the e-liquid released from the upper e-liquid chamber to
the lower e-liquid chamber is controlled by a user.
10. The electronic cigarette of claim 9, wherein the e-liquid tank
separation plate comprises a second protrusion ring, and the
rotatable vaporizer tube comprises a sleeve disposed outside of the
second protrusion ring, and sealed by a sealing gasket 8.
11. The electronic cigarette of claim 10, wherein the rotatable
vaporizer tube further comprises: a spring sleeved outside of the
rotatable vaporizer tube, wherein the spring has an upper end
connected to the connecting assembly, and an opposite, lower end
connected to the sleeve; and a metal tube sleeved outside of the
spring.
12. The electronic cigarette of claim 11, wherein the spring is
installed pressurized such that the resilient force of the spring
acts on the e-liquid chamber separator to seal the e-liquid release
holes when the rotatable vaporizer tube is turned to the "off"
position.
13. The electronic cigarette of claim 12, wherein each of the
e-liquid chamber separator comprises a second sealing element1 for
providing additional sealing between the e-liquid chamber separator
and the e-liquid tank separation plate.
14. The electronic cigarette of claim 1, wherein the vaporizing
assembly comprises: one or more e-liquid media for receiving
e-liquid from the lower e-liquid chamber; one or more heating
wires, each of the heating wires has a positive terminal, and a
negative terminal for vaporizing the received e-liquid in the
e-liquid media; a DC power source connector screwably connected to
an external DC power source, wherein the DC power source connector
comprises a positive terminal connected to each of the positive
terminals of the heating wires, and a negative terminal connected
to each of the negative terminals of the heating wires; and an
insulation layer disposed between the positive terminal and the
negative terminal to insulate the positive terminal and the
negative terminal.
15. The electronic cigarette of claim 13, wherein the e-liquid
media comprise at least one of cotton, organic cotton, ceramic bar,
polypropylene fiber, terylen fiber, and nylon fiber.
16. A method of using a refillable e-cigarette, comprising one or
more of following operations: filling the refillable e-cigarette
with e-liquid; connecting a DC power supply to a DC power source
connector of the e-cigarette; rotating a mouth piece to allow the
e-liquid in an upper e-liquid chamber to flow to a lower e-liquid
chamber and soak one or more of e-liquid media; turning on the DC
power supply to energize one or more heating wires of a vaporizing
assembly and to vaporize the e-liquid soaked in the e-liquid media;
and sucking the vaporized e-liquid from the mouth piece.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the operation of filling the
refillable e-cigarette with e-liquid comprising one or more of
following operations: removing a mouth piece connector from the
e-cigarette; and injecting e-liquid into the upper e-liquid chamber
through one or more e-liquid injection holes on a connecting
assembly of the e-cigarette.
18. The method of claim 16, wherein the operation of turning the
mouth piece comprising: rotating the mouth piece in one direction
to allow the e-liquid in the upper e-liquid chamber to flow to the
lower e-liquid chamber; and rotating the mouth piece in an opposite
direction to stop the e-liquid flow.
19. The method of claim 16, wherein the operation of turning the
mouth piece comprising: rotating the mouth piece in one direction
to increase the e-liquid flow from the upper e-liquid chamber to
the lower e-liquid chamber; and rotating the mouth piece in an
opposite direction to decrease the e-liquid flow.
20. The method of claim 16, further comprising an operation of
replacing a vaporizing assembly by unscrewing the vaporizing
assembly from a lower end of the e-cigarette, and screwing on a new
replacement vaporizing assembly.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of International Patent
Application No. PCT/CN2014/081816, filed with the State
Intellectual Property Office of China on Jul. 8, 2014, entitled
"Electronic Cigarette Having Refillable Top and Replaceable Heating
Elements", by Xiaochun ZHU, the disclosures of which are
incorporated herein in their entireties by reference.
[0002] Some references, if any, which may include patents, patent
applications and various publications, may be cited and discussed
in the description of this invention. The citation and/or
discussion of such references, if any, is provided merely to
clarify the description of the present invention and is not an
admission that any such reference is "prior art" to the invention
described herein. All references listed, cited and/or discussed in
this specification are incorporated herein by reference in their
entireties and to the same extent as if each reference was
individually incorporated by reference.
FIELD
[0003] The present invention generally relates to the field of
electronic cigarette (or e-cigarette), and more particularly to
electronic cigarettes having refillable top and replaceable heating
element, and methods of using the electronic cigarettes having
refillable top and replaceable heating element.
BACKGROUND
[0004] The background description provided herein is for the
purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work
of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in
this background section, as well as aspects of the description that
may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are
neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the
present disclosure.
[0005] It is well known that smoking cigarette is harmful to
smoker's health. The active ingredient in a cigarette is mainly
nicotine. During smoking, nicotine, along with tar aerosol droplets
produced in the cigarette burning, are breathed into the alveolus
and absorbed quickly by the smoker. Once nicotine is absorbed into
the blood of the smoker, nicotine then produces its effect on the
receptors of the smoker's central nervous system, causing the
smoker relax and enjoy an inebriety similar to that produced by an
exhilarant.
[0006] The electronic cigarette is sometimes referred as electronic
vaporing device, personal vaporizer (PV), or electronic nicotine
delivery system (ENDS). It is a battery-powered device which
simulates tobacco smoking. It generally uses a heating element that
vaporizes a liquid solution (e-liquid). Some solutions contain a
mixture of nicotine and a variety of flavorings, while others
release a flavored vapor without nicotine. Many are designed to
simulate smoking experience, such as cigarette smoking or cigar
smoking. Some of them are made with similar appearance, while
others are made considerably different in appearance.
[0007] Conventionally, the e-liquid in the e-cigarette is stored in
an e-liquid supplying reservoir at the bottom of the e-cigarette.
The e-liquid supplying reservoir contains various types of fibers
such as cotton, polypropylene fiber, terylene fiber, or nylon
filer. The e-liquid is soaked in these fibers and the liquid
solution is passed through these fibers to a heating element to be
vaporized. The e-liquid is vaporized on the heating element with
fibers. Although it is possible to achieve the transfer of e-liquid
through the fiber, but when these fibers are used, it is difficult
to the control the quantity of the e-liquid passed through the
fiber, as well as the quantity and speed of e-liquid vaporization,
resulting poor tastes, and e-liquid waste. In addition, e-liquid
supplying reservoir is usually located at the bottom of the
e-cigarette, and in order to pour the e-liquid to soak the fibers,
the e-cigarette has to be turned upside down such that its
mouthpiece is facing down, causing e-liquid leakage through the
heating element. Such leakage causes pollution and it is not
healthy and sanitary.
[0008] There are two type of e-cigarette: disposable e-cigarette,
and refillable e-cigarette. Disposable e-cigarette is manufactured
with certain amount of e-liquid in the product. When the e-liquid
packed in the disposable e-cigarette is used up, it is no longer
usable. The disposable e-cigarette is not refillable. On the other
hand, when the e-liquid in e-liquid tank is used up, the user can
refill the e-liquid so the entire e-cigarette is reusable. However,
currently, the refill process is cumbersome, and difficult. With
conventional fiber filled e-liquid tank, the fiber and the e-liquid
in the e-liquid tank may leak out. The contact between the heating
element and the e-liquid in the tank is not optimum such that a
portion of the heat from the heating element is wasted, and the
vaporization efficiency is low.
[0009] Therefore, heretofore unaddressed needs exist in the art to
address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.
SUMMARY
[0010] In one aspect, the present invention relates to an
electronic cigarette. In certain embodiments, the electronic
cigarette includes: a connecting assembly, a removable mouth piece,
an e-liquid tank, a vaporizing assembly, and a rotatable vaporizer
tube. The connecting assembly has an upper end, an open lower end,
a mouth piece connector and a connection ring. The mouth piece
connector has an upper end, and an opposite, lower end. The
connecting ring has an upper end, and an opposite, lower end, and
an e-liquid injection plate with one or more e-liquid injection
holes. The upper end is screwably and sealably connected to the
lower end of the mouth piece connector. The removable mouth piece
has an upper end, an opposite, lower end, and a mouth piece plug at
the lower end of the removable mouth piece. The upper end is
detachably connected to the mouth piece plug of the mouth piece.
The e-liquid tank has an upper end and an opposite, lower end, an
e-liquid tank separation plate configured to separate the e-liquid
tank into an upper e-liquid chamber and a lower e-liquid chamber.
The upper end of the e-liquid tank is insertably connected to the
open lower end of the connecting assembly. The vaporizing assembly
is detachably connected to the lower end of the e-liquid tank. The
rotatable vaporizer tube is placed on top of the e-liquid tank
separation plate. The rotatable vaporizer tube has an upper end
insertably connected to the mouth piece through the connecting
assembly, and an opposite, lower end connected to an air exhaust of
the vaporizing assembly.
[0011] In certain embodiments, the e-liquid tank may be refilled by
removing the removable mouth piece, and injecting e-liquid into the
upper e-liquid chamber of the e-liquid tank through the one or more
e-liquid injection holes of the connecting assembly. The mouth
piece connector includes: a pressure ring, a first protrusion ring,
and a first sealing ring. The pressure ring is disposed at the
lower end of the mouth piece connector. The first protrusion ring
is disposed at center of the e-liquid injection plate. The first
sealing ring is placed between the first protrusion ring and the
pressure ring for sealing the space between the first protrusion
ring and the pressure ring. Each of the pressure ring, the first
protrusion ring, and the first sealing ring has a center through
hole adapted for accommodating the rotatable vaporizer tube. In
certain embodiments, the through holes of the pressure ring, the
first protrusion ring, and the first sealing ring are coaxial.
[0012] In certain embodiments, the mouth piece plug of the mouth
piece has a circular sealing groove and a mouth piece seal ring.
The mouth piece seal ring is configured to seal an insertable
connection between the mouth piece and the mouth piece connector.
The e-liquid tank separation plate includes one or more e-liquid
release holes. These e-liquid release holes are configured to
release e-liquid from the upper e-liquid chamber of the e-liquid
tank to the lower e-liquid chamber of the e-liquid tank. These
e-liquid release holes are evenly and symmetrically distributed on
the e-liquid tank separation plate around the central axis of the
rotatable vaporizer tube.
[0013] In certain embodiments, the mouth piece has a polygon shaped
mouth piece hole. The upper end of the rotatable vaporizer tube has
a polygon connecting tube having the same polygon shape and the
polygon connecting tube is snugly-fitted inside of the polygon
shaped mouth piece hole such that the rotatable vaporizer tube can
be rotated by rotating the mouth piece. The polygon shape can be
one of a triangle, a quadrilateral, a pentagon, a hexagon, a
heptagon, an octagon, a nonagon, a decagon, a dodecagon, and an
n-gon.
[0014] In certain embodiments, the rotatable vaporizer tube on the
e-liquid tank separation plate has one or more e-liquid stoppers
disposed symmetrically around the axis of the rotatable vaporizer
tube, and each of the e-liquid stoppers corresponds to one of the
e-liquid release holes on the e-liquid tank separation plate. The
e-liquid tank separation plate has one or more e-liquid stop
protrusions, and each of the of the e-liquid stop protrusions
corresponds to one of the e-liquid release holes as well, such that
a user can turn on the e-liquid flow, turn off the e-liquid flow,
and control the amount of e-liquid flow. When the rotatable
vaporizer tube is rotated to an "on" position, the e-liquid in the
upper e-liquid chamber is released to the lower e-liquid chamber.
When the rotatable vaporizer tube is rotated to an "off" position,
the e-liquid in the upper e-liquid chamber is not released to the
lower e-liquid chamber. When the rotatable vaporizer tube is
rotated to a position between the "on" position and the "off"
position, the amount of the e-liquid released from the upper
e-liquid chamber to the lower e-liquid chamber is controlled by the
user.
[0015] In certain embodiments, the e-liquid tank separation plate
also includes a second protrusion ring. The rotatable vaporizer
tube includes a sleeve. The sleeve is placed outside of the second
protrusion ring, and sealed by a sealing gasket. The rotatable
vaporizer tube also includes: a spring, and a metal tube. The
spring is sleeved outside of the rotatable vaporizer tube. The
spring has an upper end connected to the connecting assembly, and
an opposite, lower end connected to the sleeve. The metal tube is
sleeved outside of the spring. The spring is installed pressurized
such that the resilient force of the spring acts on the e-liquid
chamber separator to seal the e-liquid release holes when the
rotatable vaporizer tube is turned to the "off" position. In
certain embodiment, each of the e-liquid chamber separator has a
second sealing element1 for providing additional sealing between
the e-liquid chamber separator and the e-liquid tank separation
plate.
[0016] In certain embodiments, the vaporizing assembly has: one or
more e-liquid media, one or more heating wires, a DC power source
connector, and an insulation layer. The one or more e-liquid media
receive e-liquid from the lower e-liquid chamber. Each of the one
or more heating wires has a positive terminal, and a negative
terminal for connecting to a DC power source, heating and
vaporizing the received e-liquid in the e-liquid media. The DC
power source connector is screwably connected to a DC power source.
The DC power source connector has a positive terminal, and a
negative terminal. The positive terminal is electrically connected
to each of the positive terminals of the one or more heating wires.
The negative terminal is electrically connected to each of the
negative terminals of the one or more heating wires. The insulation
layer is placed between the positive terminal and the negative
terminal to insulate the positive terminal and the negative
terminal. The e-liquid media is made of at least one of cotton,
organic cotton, ceramic bar, polypropylene fiber, terylen fiber,
and nylon fiber.
[0017] In another aspect, the present invention relates to a method
of using a refillable e-cigarette. In certain embodiments, the
method includes one or more of following operations: filling the
refillable e-cigarette with e-liquid, connecting a DC power supply
to a DC power source connector of the e-cigarette, rotating a mouth
piece to allow the e-liquid in an upper e-liquid chamber to flow to
a lower e-liquid chamber and soak one or more of e-liquid media,
turning on the DC power supply to energize one or more heating
wires and to vaporize the e-liquid soaked in the one or more of
e-liquid media, and sucking the vaporized e-liquid from the mouth
piece. The operation of filling the refillable e-cigarette with
e-liquid may include one or more of these operations: removing a
mouth piece from the e-cigarette, and injecting e-liquid into the
upper e-liquid chamber through one or more e-liquid injection holes
on a connection assembly of the e-cigarette. The operation of
turning the mouth piece includes the operations of: rotating the
mouth piece in one direction to allow the e-liquid in the upper
e-liquid chamber to flow to the lower e-liquid chamber, and
rotating the mouth piece in an opposite direction to stop the
e-liquid flow. The operation of turning the mouth piece also
includes an operation of rotating the mouth piece one direction to
increase the e-liquid flow from the upper e-liquid chamber to the
lower e-liquid chamber, and rotating the mouth piece in an opposite
direction to decrease the e-liquid flow.
[0018] In certain embodiments, the method of using the refillable
e-cigarette includes an operation of replacing a vaporizer assembly
of the e-cigarette by unscrewing the vaporizing assembly from a
lower end of the e-cigarette and screwing on a new replacement
vaporizing assembly.
[0019] These and other aspects of the present invention will become
apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment
taken in conjunction with the following drawings, although
variations and modifications therein may be effected without
departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the
invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] The accompanying drawings illustrate one or more embodiments
of the invention and, together with the written description, serve
to explain the principles of the invention. Wherever possible, the
same reference numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer to
the same or like elements of an embodiment. The drawings do not
limit the present invention to the specific embodiments disclosed
and described herein. The drawings are not necessarily to scale,
emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the
principles of the invention, and wherein:
[0021] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an e-cigarette having
refillable top and replaceable heating element according to certain
embodiments of the present invention;
[0022] FIG. 2 shows a perspective cross sectional view of the
e-cigarette according to one embodiment of the present
invention;
[0023] FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of an e-liquid tank
separator of the e-cigarette according to one embodiment of the
present invention;
[0024] FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a rotatable vaporizer
tube of the e-cigarette according to one embodiment of the present
invention;
[0025] FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of a connecting ring of the
e-cigarette according to one embodiment of the present invention;
and
[0026] FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of a mouth piece of the
e-cigarette according to another embodiment of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0027] The present invention will now be described more fully
hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which
exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention
may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be
construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather,
these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be
thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the
invention to those skilled in the art. Like reference numerals
refer to like elements throughout.
[0028] It will be understood that when an element is referred to as
being "on" another element, it can be directly on the other element
or intervening elements may be present therebetween. In contrast,
when an element is referred to as being "directly on" another
element, there are no intervening elements present. As used herein,
the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more
of the associated listed items.
[0029] It will be understood that, although the terms first,
second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various
elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these
elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be
limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish
one element, component, region, layer or section from another
element, component, region, layer or section. Thus, a first
element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could
be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section
without departing from the teachings of the present invention.
[0030] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing
particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of
the invention. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and
"the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood
that the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising," or "includes"
and/or "including" or "has" and/or "having" when used herein,
specify the presence of stated features, regions, integers, steps,
operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the
presence or addition of one or more other features, regions,
integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups
thereof.
[0031] Furthermore, relative terms, such as "lower" or "bottom",
"upper" or "top," and "front" or "back" may be used herein to
describe one element's relationship to another element as
illustrated in the Figures. It will be understood that relative
terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the
device in addition to the orientation depicted in the Figures. For
example, if the device in one of the figures is turned over,
elements described as being on the "lower" side of other elements
would then be oriented on "upper" sides of the other elements. The
exemplary term "lower", can therefore, encompasses both an
orientation of "lower" and "upper," depending of the particular
orientation of the figure. Similarly, if the device in one of the
figures is turned over, elements described as "below" or "beneath"
other elements would then be oriented "above" the other elements.
The exemplary terms "below" or "beneath" can, therefore, encompass
both an orientation of above and below.
[0032] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and
scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly
understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this
invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such
as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be
interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their
meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present
disclosure, and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly
formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
[0033] As used herein, "around", "about" or "approximately" shall
generally mean within 20 percent, preferably within 10 percent, and
more preferably within 5 percent of a given value or range.
Numerical quantities given herein are approximates, meaning that
the term "around", "about" or "approximately" can be inferred if
not expressly stated.
[0034] Many specific details are provided in the following
descriptions to make the present invention be fully understood, but
the present invention may also be implemented by using other
manners different from those described herein, so that the present
invention is not limited by the specific embodiments disclosed in
the following.
[0035] The description will be made as to the embodiments of the
present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings
FIGS. 1 through 6. FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an
e-cigarette 100 having refillable top and replaceable heating
element according to certain embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 2 shows a perspective cross sectional view of the e-cigarette
100 shown in FIG. 1. FIGS. 3-6 show perspective views of an
e-liquid tank separator 31, a rotatable vaporizer tube 7, a
connecting ring 22, and a mouth piece 1 of the e-cigarette 100
according to certain embodiments of the present invention.
[0036] In accordance with the purposes of this invention, as
embodied and broadly described herein, this invention, in one
aspect, relates to an electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) having
refillable top and replaceable heating element.
[0037] Referring to FIGS. 1-3, in certain embodiments, the
e-cigarette 100 includes: a removable mouth piece 1, a connecting
assembly 2, an e-liquid tank 3, and a vaporizing assembly 4, as
shown from the top to bottom in FIG. 1. The connecting assembly 2
has an upper end, an open lower end, a mouth piece connector 21 and
a connection ring 22. The connecting ring 22 is shown in FIG. 5,
and has an upper end, and an opposite, lower end, and an e-liquid
injection plate 23 having one or more e-liquid injection holes 24.
In the center of the connection ring 22, the connecting ring 22 has
a first protrusion ring 27. The mouth piece connector 21 has an
upper end, and an opposite, lower end. The upper end of the mouth
piece connector 21 is screwably and sealably connected to the lower
end of the mouth piece connector 21. The removable mouth piece 1
has an upper end, an opposite, lower end, and a mouth piece plug 11
at the lower end of the removable mouth piece 1. The upper end of
the mouth piece connector 21 is detachably connected to the mouth
piece plug 11 of the mouth piece 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the
e-liquid tank 3 has an upper end and an opposite, lower end, an
e-liquid tank separation plate 31 configured to separate the
e-liquid tank 3 into an upper e-liquid chamber 5 and a lower
e-liquid chamber 6. The upper end of the e-liquid tank 3 is
insertably connected to the open lower end of the connecting
assembly 2. The vaporizing assembly 4 is detachably connected to
the lower end of the e-liquid tank 3. A rotatable vaporizer tube 7
is placed on top of the e-liquid tank separation plate 31. The
rotatable vaporizer tube 7 has an upper end insertably connected to
the mouth piece 1 through the connecting assembly 2, and an
opposite, lower end connected to an air exhaust of the vaporizing
assembly 4.
[0038] In certain embodiments, the e-liquid tank separation plate
31 is shown in FIG. 3, and also includes, one or more e-liquid
release holes 32, and one or more e-liquid stop protrusions 33, and
a second protrusion ring 34 at the center. These e-liquid release
holes 32 are configured to release e-liquid from the upper e-liquid
chamber 5 of the e-liquid tank 3 to the lower e-liquid chamber 6 of
the e-liquid tank 3. These e-liquid release holes 32 are evenly and
symmetrically distributed on the e-liquid tank separation plate 31
around the central axis of the rotatable vaporizer tube 7. In
certain embodiments, the number of e-liquid release holes 32 and
the number of the e-liquid stop protrusions 33 are equal. The
rotatable vaporizer tube 7 includes a sleeve 73, and one or more
e-liquid chamber separators 71, disposed symmetrically around the
axis of the of the e-liquid tank separation plate 31, and each of
the e-liquid stoppers 71 corresponds to one of the e-liquid release
holes 32 on the e-liquid tank separation plate 31. The number of
the e-liquid chamber separators 71 is the same as the e-liquid
release holes 32 and the e-liquid stop protrusions 33. Each of the
e-liquid chamber separators 71 is used to cover each of
corresponding e-liquid release holes 32, and stopped by each of
corresponding e-liquid stop protrusions 33. The e-liquid stop
protrusions 33 are used to stop the e-liquid chamber separators 71
from rotating further when the e-liquid release holes 32 are
covered and the e-liquid is not releases from the upper e-liquid
chamber 5 to the lower e-liquid chamber 6. The sleeve 73 is placed
outside of the second protrusion ring 34, and sealed by a sealing
gasket 8. As shown in FIG. 4, the rotatable vaporizer tube 7 also
includes: a spring 9, and a metal tube 10. The spring 9 is sleeved
outside of the rotatable vaporizer tube 7. The spring 9 has an
upper end connected to the connecting assembly 2, and an opposite,
lower end connected to the sleeve 73. The metal tube 10 is sleeved
outside of the spring 9. The spring 9 is installed pressurized such
that the resilient force of the spring 9 acts on the e-liquid
chamber separator 71 to seal the e-liquid release holes 32 when the
rotatable vaporizer tube 7 is turned to the "off" position. In
certain embodiment, each of the e-liquid chamber separators 71 has
a second sealing element 711 for providing additional sealing
between the e-liquid chamber separator 71 and the e-liquid tank
separation plate 31.
[0039] Referring now to FIG. 6, in certain embodiments, the mouth
piece plug 11 of the mouth piece 1 has a circular sealing groove
and a mouth piece seal ring 12. The mouth piece seal ring 12 is
configured to seal an insertable connection between the mouth piece
1 and the mouth piece connector 21. In certain embodiments, the
mouth piece 1 has a polygon mouth piece hole 13. The upper end of
the rotatable vaporizer tube 7 has a polygon connecting tube 72
having the same polygon shape as shown in FIG. The polygon
connecting tube 72 is snugly-fitted inside of the polygon mouth
piece hole 13 such that the rotatable vaporizer tube 7 can be
rotated by rotating the mouth piece 1. The polygon shape can be one
of a triangle, a quadrilateral, a pentagon, a hexagon, a heptagon,
an octagon, a nonagon, a decagon, a dodecagon, and an n-gon.
[0040] In certain embodiments, the e-liquid tank 3 may be refilled
by removing the removable mouth piece 1, and injecting e-liquid
into the upper e-liquid chamber 5 of the e-liquid tank 3 through
the one or more e-liquid injection holes 24 of the connecting
assembly 2. In order to speed up the e-liquid refill process, the
e-cigarette 100 may have multiple e-liquid injection holes 24. When
multiple e-liquid injection holes 24 configuration is used, the
e-liquid injection holes 24 are symmetrically distributed around
the axis of the rotatable vaporizer tube 7. As shown in FIG. 2, and
FIG. 5, in order to prevent the e-liquid from leaking through the
connecting assembly 2, the mouth piece connector 21 includes: a
pressure ring 25, a first protrusion ring 27, and a first sealing
ring 26. The pressure ring 25 is disposed at the lower end of the
mouth piece connector 21. The first protrusion ring 27 is disposed
at center of the e-liquid injection plate 23. The first sealing
ring 26 is placed between the first protrusion ring 27 and the
pressure ring 25 for sealing the space between the first protrusion
ring 27 and the pressure ring 25. Each of the pressure ring 25, the
first protrusion ring 27, and the first sealing ring 26 has a
center through hole adapted for accommodating the rotatable
vaporizer tube 7. In certain embodiments, the through holes of the
pressure ring 25, the first protrusion ring 27, and the first
sealing ring 26 are coaxial.
[0041] When the rotatable vaporizer tube 7 is rotated to an "on"
position, the e-liquid in the upper e-liquid chamber 5 is released
to the lower e-liquid chamber 6 through the e-liquid release holes
32. When the rotatable vaporizer tube 7 is rotated to an "off"
position, the e-liquid in the upper e-liquid chamber 5 flow is
stopped by the e-liquid chamber separators 71. When the rotatable
vaporizer tube 7 is rotated to a position between the "on" position
and the "off" position, the amount of the e-liquid released from
the upper e-liquid chamber 5 to the lower e-liquid chamber 6 may be
preciselly controlled by the user.
[0042] In certain embodiments, the vaporizing assembly 4 has: one
or more e-liquid media 41, one or more heating wires 42, a DC power
source connector 43, and an insulation layer 45. The one or more
e-liquid media 41 receive e-liquid from the lower e-liquid chamber
6. Each of the one or more heating wires 42 has a positive
terminal, and a negative terminal for connecting to a DC power
source, heating and vaporizing the received e-liquid in the
e-liquid media 41. The DC power source connector 43 is screwably
connected to a DC power source. The DC power source connector 43
has a positive terminal 44, and a negative terminal 43. The
positive terminal 44 is electrically connected to each of the
positive terminals of the one or more heating wires 42. The
negative terminal 43 is electrically connected to each of the
negative terminals of the one or more heating wires 42. The
insulation layer 45 is placed between the positive terminal 44 and
the negative terminal 43 to insulate the positive terminal 44 and
the negative terminal 43. The e-liquid media 41 is made of at least
one of cotton, organic cotton, ceramic bar, polypropylene fiber,
terylen fiber, and nylon fiber.
[0043] In certain embodiments, when a user wants to smoke the
e-cigarette 100, the user rotates the rotatable vaporizer tube 7 by
rotating the mouth piece 1 to allow the e-liquid in the upper
e-liquid chamber 5 to flow to the lower e-liquid chamber 6 through
the e-liquid release holes 32. The quantity of the e-liquid
released to the lower e-liquid chamber 6 can be precisely
controlled by turning the mouth piece 1. When the vaporizing
assembly 4 is energized by connecting the vaporizing assembly 4 to
the DC power supply, the vaporizing assembly 4 vaporizes the
e-liquid soaked in the e-liquid media 41. The suction by the user
at the mouth piece 1 brings out the vaporized e-liquid from the
vaporizing assembly 4, through the rotatable vaporizing tube 7.
[0044] In certain embodiments, when the e-liquid in the e-liquid
tank 3 is used up, the user can remove the mouth piece connector 21
together with the mouth piece 1, and injects e-liquid into the
upper e-liquid chamber 5 through the e-liquid injection holes 24.
When the vaporizing assembly 4 is damaged or broken, the entire
vaporizing assembly 4 can be replaced simply by unscrewing the
vaporizing assembly 4 from the bottom of the e-cigarette 100 and
replacing another new vaporizing assembly 4 on the e-cigarette
100.
[0045] In another aspect, the present invention relates to a method
of using a refillable e-cigarette 100. In certain embodiments, the
method includes one or more of following operations: [0046] (a)
filling the refillable e-cigarette 100 with e-liquid; [0047] (b)
connecting a DC power supply to a DC power source connector 43 of
the e-cigarette 100; [0048] (c) rotating a mouth piece 1 to allow
the e-liquid in an upper e-liquid chamber 5 to flow to a lower
e-liquid chamber 6 of the e-liquid tank 3 and soak one or more of
e-liquid media 41; [0049] (d) turning on the DC power supply to
energize one or more heating wires 42 of a vaporizing assembly 4
and to vaporize the e-liquid soaked in the one or more of e-liquid
media 41; and [0050] (e) sucking the vaporized e-liquid from the
mouth piece 1.
[0051] In certain embodiments, the operation of filling the
refillable e-cigarette 100 with e-liquid may include one or more of
these operations: [0052] (a) removing a mouth piece connector 21
with the mouth piece 1 attached from the e-cigarette 100; and
[0053] (b) injecting e-liquid into the upper e-liquid chamber 5
through one or more e-liquid injection holes 24 on a connecting
ring 22 of a connection assembly 2 of the e-cigarette 100.
[0054] In certain embodiments, the operation of turning the mouth
piece 1 includes the operations of: [0055] (a) rotating the mouth
piece 1 in one direction to allow the e-liquid in the upper
e-liquid chamber 5 to flow to the lower e-liquid chamber 6 through
one or more e-liquid release holes 32; and [0056] (b) rotating the
mouth piece 1 in an opposite direction to stop the e-liquid
flow.
[0057] In certain embodiments, the operation of turning the mouth
piece 1 also includes one or more following operations: [0058] (a)
rotating the mouth piece 1 in one direction to increase the
e-liquid flow from the upper e-liquid chamber 5 to the lower
e-liquid chamber 6; and [0059] (b) rotating the mouth piece 1 in an
opposite direction to decrease the e-liquid flow.
[0060] In certain embodiments, the method of using the refillable
e-cigarette 100 includes an operation of replacing a vaporizer
assembly 4 of the e-cigarette 100 by unscrewing the vaporizing
assembly 4 from a lower end of the e-cigarette 100 and screwing on
a new replacement vaporizing assembly 4.
[0061] The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of
the invention has been presented only for the purposes of
illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive
or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many
modifications and variations are possible in light of the above
teaching.
[0062] The embodiments were chosen and described in order to
explain the principles of the invention and their practical
application so as to activate others skilled in the art to utilize
the invention and various embodiments and with various
modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in
the art to which the present invention pertains without departing
from its spirit and scope. Accordingly, the scope of the present
invention is defined by the appended claims, the foregoing
description and the exemplary embodiments described therein, and
accompanying drawings.
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