EP-4738988-A2 - HEATER AND LIQUID TRANSPORT FOR AN AEROSOL DELIVERY SYSTEM

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an aerosol delivery device. In some implementations, the aerosol delivery device may comprise a control device and a cartridge having a mouthpiece portion and a tank portion with respective proximal and distal ends, the tank portion being configured to contain a liquid composition, and the cartridge further including a liquid transport element and an atomizing member. At least a portion of the liquid transport element may be positioned proximate the atomizing member, and at least a portion of the atomizing member may be positioned proximate the distal end of the mouthpiece portion. In other implementations, at least a portion of the atomizing member may be positioned above the proximal end of the tank portion. In still other implementations, at least a portion of the atomizing member may be positioned between the proximal end of the tank portion and the distal end of the tank portion.

Inventors

• NOVAK, CHARLES JACOB
• NETTENSTROM, Matthew Joel
• SCHENNUM, STEVEN MICHAEL
• MCKEON, THOMAS MICHAEL
• BURCHMAN, Zachary Hy

Assignees

• RAI Strategic Holdings, Inc.

Dates

Publication Date

20260506

Application Date

20191011

Claims (15)

1. An aerosol delivery device comprising: a control device that includes an outer housing defining an outer wall and having a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end of the control device defining a cartridge receiving chamber, the control device further including a power source and a control component; and a cartridge that includes a mouthpiece portion and a tank portion, the mouthpiece portion and the tank portion having respective proximal and distal ends, the tank portion being configured to contain a liquid composition, the cartridge further including an atomizing member and a liquid transport element, wherein a portion of the cartridge is configured to be removably coupled with the cartridge receiving chamber of the control device, wherein at least a portion of the liquid transport element is located proximate the atomizing member, wherein the atomizing member is configured to vaporize the liquid composition to generate an aerosol, and wherein at least a portion of the atomizing member is positioned above the proximal end of the tank portion, wherein the atomizing member comprises a heating member, wherein the heating member comprises a flat heating member, and wherein when installed in the cartridge, the heating member has a bowed shape.
2. The aerosol delivery device of claim 1, wherein the cartridge further includes a collar portion disposed between the mouthpiece portion and the tank portion.
3. The aerosol delivery device of claim 2, wherein the heating member is located at least partially within the collar portion.
4. The aerosol delivery device of claim 3, further comprising a hood feature positioned proximate the heating member, wherein the hood feature is located at least partially within the mouthpiece portion.
5. The aerosol delivery device of claim 1, wherein the heating member is configured to heat the liquid composition to generate the aerosol.
6. The aerosol delivery device of claim 5, wherein at least a portion of the heating member is positioned between the distal end of the mouthpiece portion and the proximal end of the tank portion.
7. The aerosol delivery device of claim 5, wherein the cartridge further includes a collar portion disposed between the mouthpiece portion and the tank portion, and wherein at least a portion of the heating member is located within the collar portion.
8. The aerosol delivery device of claim 5, wherein the heating member is positioned proximate the distal end of the tank portion.
9. The aerosol delivery device of claim 1, the cartridge further including a second liquid transport element, and wherein the second liquid transport element is configured to transport liquid to the first liquid transport element.
10. The aerosol delivery device of claim 9, wherein the second liquid transport element defines a longitudinal portion that intersects a curved transverse portion, and wherein a length of the longitudinal portion of the second liquid transport element is longer than a length of the transverse portion.
11. The aerosol delivery device of claim 10, further comprising a curved hood feature, wherein the curvature of the hood feature opposes the curvature of the heating member.
12. The aerosol delivery device of claim 9, wherein the second liquid transport element defines a longitudinal portion that intersects a curved transverse portion, and wherein a length of the transverse portion of the second liquid transport element is longer than a length of the longitudinal portion.
13. The aerosol delivery device of claim 12, further comprising a curved hood feature, wherein the curvature of the hood feature opposes the curvature of the heater.
14. The aerosol delivery device of claim 11, wherein at least a portion of the curved hood feature is located above the heating element.
15. The aerosol delivery device of claim 13, wherein at least a portion of the curved hood feature is located above the heating element.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to, and the benefit of, U.S. Patent Application No. 16/598,505, titled Heater and Liquid Transport for an Aerosol Delivery System, filed on October 10, 2019, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/744,978, titled Aerosol Forming Device, filed on October 12, 2018, each of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. TECHNOLOGY FIELD The present disclosure relates to aerosol delivery devices such as smoking articles, and more particularly to aerosol delivery devices that may utilize electrical power for the production of aerosol (e.g., smoking articles commonly referred to as electronic cigarettes). The smoking articles may be configured to vaporize an aerosol precursor, which may incorporate materials that may be made or derived from tobacco or otherwise incorporate tobacco, the precursor being capable of forming an inhalable substance for human consumption. BACKGROUND Many smoking devices have been proposed through the years as improvements upon, or alternatives to, smoking products that require combusting tobacco for use. Many of those devices purportedly have been designed to provide the sensations associated with cigarette, cigar, or pipe smoking, but without delivering considerable quantities of incomplete combustion and pyrolysis products that result from the burning of tobacco. To this end, there have been proposed numerous smoking products, flavor generators, and medicinal inhalers that utilize electrical energy to vaporize or heat a volatile material, or attempt to provide the sensations of cigarette, cigar, or pipe smoking without burning tobacco to a significant degree. See, for example, the various alternative smoking articles, aerosol delivery devices, and heat generating sources set forth in the background art described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,726,320 to Robinson et al., U.S. App. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2013/0255702 to Griffith Jr. et al., and U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2014/0096781 to Sears et al., which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. See also, for example, the various types of smoking articles, aerosol delivery devices, and electrically powered heat generating sources referenced by brand name and commercial source in U.S. Pat. App. Ser. No. 14/170,838 to Bless et al., filed February 3, 2014, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. It would be desirable to provide an aerosol delivery device with advantageous usability features. BRIEF SUMMARY The present disclosure relates to aerosol delivery devices, methods of forming such devices, and elements of such devices. The disclosure particularly relates to an aerosol delivery device. In this regard, various embodiments of the disclosure provide an aerosol delivery device with advantageous usability features. The present disclosure includes, without limitation, the following example implementations: Example Implementation 1: An aerosol delivery device comprising a control device that includes an outer housing defining an outer wall and having a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end of the control device defining a cartridge receiving chamber, the control device further including a power source and a control component, and a cartridge that includes a mouthpiece portion and a tank portion, the mouthpiece portion and the tank portion having respective proximal and distal ends, the tank portion being configured to contain a liquid composition, the cartridge further including an atomizing member and a liquid transport element, wherein a portion of the cartridge is configured to be removably coupled with the cartridge receiving chamber of the control device, wherein at least a portion of the liquid transport element is located proximate the atomizing member, wherein the atomizing member is configured to vaporize the liquid composition to generate an aerosol, and wherein at least a portion of the atomizing member is positioned above the proximal end of the tank portion.Example Implementation 2: The aerosol delivery device of any preceding example implementation, or any combination of any preceding example implementations, wherein the atomizing member comprises a heating member, and wherein the heating member is configured to heat the liquid composition to generate the aerosol.Example Implementation 3: The aerosol delivery device of any preceding example implementation, or any combination of any preceding example implementations, the cartridge further including a second liquid transport element, and wherein the second liquid transport element is configured to transport liquid to the first liquid transport element.Example Implementation 4: The aerosol delivery device of any preceding example implementation, or any combination of any preceding example implementations, wherein at least a portion of the heating member is positioned between the distal end of the mouthpiece portion and the proximal end of the tank portion.Examp