US-12622464-B2 - Electronic cigarette device with temperature-activated battery vent port

US12622464B2US 12622464 B2US12622464 B2US 12622464B2US-12622464-B2

Abstract

An e-cigarette device includes a housing configured to hold a battery, a vent port arranged in the housing, and a safety valve means arranged on the vent port, wherein the safety valve means is configured to open and/or close the vent port partially and/or completely depending on the temperature within the housing. As the vent port opens automatically when the temperature of the battery exceeds a certain value, the potential danger of an explosion caused by an increase of pressure inside the housing due to a malfunction of the battery can be avoided.

Inventors

Andrew Robert John ROGAN
Alec Wright

Assignees

JT INTERNATIONAL SA

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20210716
Priority Date: 20200807

Claims (20)

1 . An electronic cigarette device comprising: a housing separate from and configured to hold a battery, a vent port arranged on the housing, and a safety valve arranged on the vent port, wherein the safety valve is configured to open and/or close the vent port partially and/or completely depending on a temperature within the housing.
2 . The electronic cigarette device according to claim 1 , wherein the safety valve is configured to at least partially close the vent port by taking a first shape during normal conditions when the temperature is below a threshold value and to at least partially open the vent port by taking a second shape when the temperature exceeds said threshold value.
3 . The electronic cigarette device according to claim 2 , wherein the safety valve is configured to take back the first shape when the temperature falls below the threshold value so as to partially or completely close the vent port.
4 . The electronic cigarette device according to claim 2 , wherein the threshold value lies between 59° C. and 74° C.
5 . The electronic cigarette device according to claim 1 , wherein the safety valve has a reaction time of less than 100 ms to fully open.
6 . The electronic cigarette device according to claim 1 , wherein the safety valve includes at least a shape memory alloy element containing a shape memory alloy.
7 . The electronic cigarette device according to claim 6 , wherein the shape memory alloy element contains a blend of 45Ni-50Ti-5Cu.
8 . The electronic cigarette device according to claim 6 , wherein the safety valve includes at least an elastic seal.
9 . The electronic cigarette device according to claim 2 , wherein the safety valve is at least partially configured to bend, straighten, contract, expand, harden, soften, melt or decompose when the threshold value is exceeded.
10 . The electronic cigarette device according to claim 8 , wherein the shape memory alloy element has a circular or semi-circular shape and is attached to the elastic seal and configured to straighten partially when heated, thereby increasing a diameter of the circular or semi-circular shape, pushing the elastic seal radially apart and increasing a diameter of a valve opening.
11 . The electronic cigarette device according to claim 8 , wherein the shape memory alloy element has a curved shape and is attached to the elastic seal of a first piece of the safety valve and configured to straighten partially when heated, thereby separating said first piece at least partially from a second piece of the safety valve and creating and/or increasing a valve opening.
12 . The electronic cigarette device according to claim 6 , wherein the shape memory alloy element has a longitudinal shape and is configured to bend when heated, thereby partially lifting the safety valve up from the vent port and creating and/or increasing a valve opening.
13 . The electronic cigarette device according to claim 6 , wherein the shape memory alloy element has a longitudinal shape and is attached to a first piece of the safety valve and configured to contract when heated, thereby separating said first piece from a second piece of the safety valve and creating and/or increasing a valve opening.
14 . The electronic cigarette device according to claim 8 , wherein the elastic seal is made of silicone.
15 . An electronic cigarette device comprising: a housing configured to hold a battery and configured to be directly grasped by a user in use of the electronic cigarette device, a vent port arranged in the housing, and a safety valve arranged on the vent port, wherein the safety valve is configured to open and/or close the vent port partially and/or completely depending on a temperature within the housing.
16 . The electronic cigarette device according to claim 15 , wherein the safety valve is configured to at least partially close the vent port by taking a first shape during normal conditions when the temperature is below a threshold value and to at least partially open the vent port by taking a second shape when the temperature exceeds said threshold value.
17 . The electronic cigarette device according to claim 16 , wherein the safety valve is configured to take back the first shape when the temperature falls below the threshold value so as to partially or completely close the vent port.
18 . The electronic cigarette device according to claim 15 , wherein the safety valve includes at least a shape memory alloy element containing a shape memory alloy.
19 . The electronic cigarette device according to claim 18 , The electronic cigarette device according to claim 6 , wherein the safety valve includes at least an elastic seal.
20 . The electronic cigarette device according to claim 15 , wherein the safety valve is at least partially configured to bend, straighten, contract, expand, harden, soften, melt or decompose when the threshold value is exceeded.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a national phase entry under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No. PCT/EP2021/069968, filed on Jul. 16, 2021, published in English, which claims priority from European Application No. 20190033.9, filed on Aug. 7, 2020, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The invention relates to an electronic cigarette device. TECHNICAL BACKGROUND In recent years, there is a tendency among consumers to replace conventional cigarettes by electronic cigarette devices, which are essentially used in a manner similar to that of conventional cigarettes. In particular, a cartomizer at a first end of the device is contacted by the lips in order to inhale the aerosol. Such devices are usually powered by a battery installed inside the housing. To protect the battery from external influences like dirt, dust or humidity, the housing should be hermetically sealed from the outside. However, in some rare cases, it has happened that the battery overheats and emits high pressure gases, which can result in an explosion if the pressure inside the housing cannot be released. Therefore, in order to improve the safety of the device, means to relieve such pressure should be provided. A battery pack for e-cigarettes with a safety valve for pressure relief in case of a malfunction of the battery is for example disclosed in CN 107 432 498. As the safety valve opens only when the pressure inside the battery pack increases, there is still a danger of explosion in case the pressure builds up very quickly. A battery monitoring and protection system that is not applied to e-cigarettes and features, inter alia, a safety exhaust valve with a shape memory alloy (SMA) sheet is disclosed in CN 108 091 805. As long as the temperature is below a certain value, the SMA sheet blocks the vent hole. When it exceeds said value, the SMA sheet deforms and opens the vent hole. A battery cell module with a similar safety valve is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,231,237 B2. The use of SMAs in a large variety of applications is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,607,402 B2, inter alia for creating a path through a shell wall of a drug delivery device in order to release a substance into the human body. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above, it is an object underlying the invention to provide an electronic cigarette device with a sealed battery compartment and means to securely relief the pressure in case the battery overheats (“thermal event”). This object is solved by means of the subject-matter of claim 1. Preferred embodiments are described in the further claims. Accordingly, the invention refers to an electronic cigarette device comprising a housing configured to hold a battery, a vent port arranged in the housing, and a safety valve means arranged on the vent port, wherein the safety valve means is configured to open and/or close the vent port partially and/or completely depending on the temperature within the housing. As the valve opens automatically when the temperature of the battery exceeds a certain value, the potential danger of an explosion caused by an increase of pressure inside the housing from a malfunction of the battery can be reduced. As batteries heat up before emitting gases, the valve opens even before pressure can build up inside the housing. Pressure-controlled valves, on the other hand, open only after a certain pressure has built up inside the housing, which can be dangerous, especially when the pressure builds up very quickly. The safety valve means is preferably configured to close the vent port by taking a first shape during normal conditions (below a temperature threshold) and to open the vent port by taking a second shape when the temperature exceeds a threshold. A valve means that opens the vent port by changing its shape in case of a thermal event is a reliable, cost-efficient and easy to implement means of a temperature-controlled safety valve. Preferably, the safety valve means is further configured to take back its first shape when the temperature falls below the threshold value so as to partially or completely close the vent port. It is advantageous that the valve means, after the thermal event has stopped and the battery has cooled down, can close the vent port again to prevent the user from being exposed to potentially toxic residues remaining in the housing. The threshold temperature value lies preferably between 59° C. and 74° C. A threshold value in this temperature range has proven to reliably indicate a thermal event of the battery and to cause a transformation of the SMA in order to open the vent port. It is further preferred that the safety valve means has a reaction time of less than 100 ms to fully open. A short reaction time of the valve means increases the safety of the electronic cigarette device since pressure can build up quickly inside the housing in case of a thermal event, which can be avoided if th