Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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RESERVOIR FOR USE IN ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES AND ELECTRONIC PENS
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention deals with reservoirs for use in electronic cigarettes and
electronic
pens. More particularly, the reservoir of the present invention incorporates a
convex
catch basin for its bottom wall which, when combined with a dual wick design,
ensures
that all product is directed to the wicks for maximized use of the inhalant
product within
the reservoir. Therefore, regardless of how much or how little oil/liquid
inhalant remains
in the reservoir, or the relative position thereof, it is always being
directed toward the
wicks so there is no unusable space in the reservoir where product can collect
and be
wasted.
BACKGROUND
Heretofore reservoirs of this type are known to have incorporated a
substantially
centralized single siphon wick which allows inhalant product to be left in the
tank which
is unable to be wicked to the vaporizing area. Also, a single wicking point or
wick
increases the likelihood of failure if the wick should become clogged or
degraded.
Further, the prior art reservoirs all have a substantially, flat inside base
or bottom wall
with a wick about 7 cm higher than the base. What this means is that when the
wick has
vaporized the e-liquid inhalant product it can contact, there will typically
always be a
little product left at the bottom, below the wick which cannot be contacted by
the wick
and burned. When the wick becomes dried out and is burned, it produce an
undesirable
burned taste as it is not be able to burn all the remaining e-liquid inhalant
product, and
creates waste and means money lost for the buyer.
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The proposed reservoir or tank of the present invention includes a convex
shaped bottom wall. The material of the bottom is smooth so that the e-liquid
inhalant
product easily travels down to the outer bottom edge of the central convex
shaped
bottom wall to at least one of the dual wicks with which the bottom is in
contact. The
dual wicks delivers the e-liquid inhalant product to a vaporization chamber,
and the
convex shape of the bottom provides that substantially all of the e-liquid
inhalant
product will all be used, without any substantial waste and therefore
substantially no
money lost for the buyer. Moreover, the dual ended wick stays wet so that a
burned
taste is not produced.
lo
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention there is provided a reservoir for inhalant product
used
in electronic cigarettes and electronic pens which incorporates a bottom wall
convex
catch basin that, combined with a dual wick design, ensures that substantially
all the
inhalant product is directed to at least one of the dual wicks for maximized
use of the
inhalant product held therewithin. Therefore, regardless of how much or how
little
oil/liquid inhalant product is in the reservoir, it is always being directed
toward at least
one of the dual wicks so there is substantially no unusable space in the
reservoir where
inhalant product can collect and become waste.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 shows a prior art single wick reservoir for an electronic cigarette
and
electronic pens, including a mouthpiece thereof;
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Figure 2 shows a longitudinal exterior view of the reservoir made in
accordance
with the teachings of the present invention; and
Figure 3 shows a longitudinal cross sectional view of the reservoir of Figure
2
including the convex bottom wall catch basin with dual wicks of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
The following detailed embodiments presented herein are for illustrative
purposes. That is, these detailed embodiments are intended to be exemplary of
the
present invention for the purposes of providing and aiding a person skilled in
the
pertinent art to readily understand how to make and use of the present
invention.
Accordingly, the detailed discussion herein of one or more embodiments is not
intended, nor is to be construed, to limit the metes and bounds of the patent
protection
afforded the present invention, in which the scope of patent protection is
intended to be
defined by the claims and equivalents thereof. Therefore, embodiments not
specifically
addressed herein, such as adaptations, variations, modifications, and
equivalent
arrangements, should be and are considered to be implicitly disclosed by the
illustrative
embodiments and claims described herein and therefore fall within the scope of
the
present invention.
Further, it should be understood that, although steps of various claimed
methods
may be shown and described as being in a sequence or temporal order, the steps
of
any such method are not limited to being carried out in any particular
sequence or
order, absent an indication otherwise. That is, the claimed method steps are
considered
capable of being carried out in any sequential combination or permutation
order while
still falling within the scope of the present invention.
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Additionally, it is important to note that each term used herein refers to
that which
a person skilled in the relevant art would understand such term to mean based
on the
contextual use of such term herein. To the extent that the meaning of a term
used
herein, as understood by the person skilled in the relevant art based on the
contextual
use of such term, differs in any way from any particular dictionary definition
of such
term, it is intended that the meaning of the term as understood by the person
skilled in
the relevant art should prevail.
In a standard prior art cartridge or reservoir 1, a wick 2 is usually a one-
piece
siphon wick, which sticks up through the middle of the tank or reservoir 1, as
shown in
Figure 1. This one-piece siphon wick 2 creates two primary functionality
issues. First,
there is approximately 5 millimeters of space where inhalant product can
collect
underneath the wick 2 which leads to a significant portion of the product
remaining
unused and unusable in the reservoir 1. This is especially true for thicker
oil inhalant
products, which tend to collect along the bottom of the reservoir 1 near a
silicone spacer
(not shown) and cannot be moved to the wick 2 unless the reservoir 1 is heated
and
tilted, and even then there is no way to get all of the collected oil product
to the wick
2. Secondly, because there is only a single pathway from the top of the wick 2
through
the silicone component and into the vaporization coil, any overload of the
wick's
capacity or degradation of the wick 2 material due to plant matter and/or
essential fatty
acids in the plant oil creates a product failure either through leaking or
through loss of
functionality of the wicking process, which leads to no oil being delivered to
the
vaporization element. This creates the very common "burnt" or "metallic" taste
which is
produced by such single wick reservoirs 1.
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In the present embodiment of an inhalant reservoir 10 presented here, and
which
is shown from its exterior in Figure 2, the issues noted in the prior art have
been
addressed through the design of a molded, convex or conical silicone bottom
wall catch
basin 12 and a dual wick 14, 16 design. The convex or conical smooth bottom
wall 12
ensures that all oil inhalant product (not shown) is funneled to at least one
of the two
wicks 14, 16 in the cartridge or reservoir 10, regardless of how much or how
little oil
inhalant product (not shown) is in the reservoir 10. In one embodiment, the
basin 12 is
made of silicone. Additionally, the dual-wick 14, 16 configuration allows for
controlled
saturation of the vaporization element, preventing both the overload or the
drying out of
the wick 14, 16 along the vaporization element 20 (Figure 3). This not only
prevents the
burned or metallic taste from occurring, it also prevents the degradation of
the wicks
which may cause cartridge or reservoir 10 failure. In some embodiments, the
wick 14,
16 is a glass fiber wick with a vaporization element 20 externally wrapped
around the
wick 14, 16. An example of such an embodiment with an externally wrapped
vaporization element 20 may be seen in Figure 3. In another embodiment, the
wick 14,
16 may be a glass fiber wick with a vaporization element 20 embedded in the
wick 14,
16. In yet another embodiment, the wick 14, 16 may be a ceramic wick with a
vaporization element 20 externally wrapped around the wick 14, 16. An example
of
such an embodiment with an externally wrapped vaporization element 20 may be
seen
in Figure 3. In another embodiment, the wick 14, 16 may be a ceramic wick with
a
vaporization element 20 embedded in the wick 14, 16.
As best illustrated in Figure 3, the present embodiment of the inhalant
cartridge
10 of the present invention incorporates all the structures known by those
skilled in the
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art and so will not be addressed here. Only the modifications to the prior art
are
described herein and it will be understood that such modifications may be
applied to any
cartridge/tank style reservoir, making then modifications substantially
universal. Again,
in Figure 3, it will be seen that the bottom wall has been modified to
comprise a molded,
convex or conical silicone bottom wall catch basin 12. Also, two wicks 14 and
16 extend
along edges of the basin 12 at opposite positions along a circumference of the
basin 12,
each being diametrically opposite to the other. This configuration allows for
the inhalant
product in the reservoir 10 to be in contact with at least one of the dual
wicks 14, 16
regardless of how much or how little product is in the reservoir 10 and
regardless of
what position the reservoir 10 is maintained. As stated above, the
modifications prevent
a burned taste from occurring and prevent degradation of the wicks 14, 16
which may
cause failure of the reservoir 10. As discussed above, the wick 14, 16 may be
a glass
fiber wick with a vaporization element 20 externally wrapped around the wick
14, 16 as
can be seen in Figure 3. The wick 14, 16 may also be a glass fiber wick with a
vaporization element 20 embedded in the wick 14, 16 in another embodiment. In
yet
another embodiment, the wick 14, 16 may be a ceramic wick with a vaporization
element 20 externally wrapped around the wick 14, 16 as can be seen in Figure
3. In
another embodiment, the wick 14, 16 may be a ceramic wick with a vaporization
element 20 embedded in the wick 14, 16.
As described above, the inhalant cartridge 10 provides a number of advantages,
some of which have been described above and others of which are inherent in
the
invention. Also, modifications may be proposed without departing from the
teachings
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herein. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is only to be limited as
necessitated by
the accompanying claims.
As to the manner of usage and operation of the present invention, the same
should be apparent from the above description. Accordingly, no further
discussion
relating to the manner of usage and operation will be provided.
While embodiments of the device have been described in detail, it should be
apparent that modifications and variations thereto are possible, all of which
fall within
the true spirit and scope of the invention. With respect to the above
description then, it
is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of
the
invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and
manner of
operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent to one skilled in the
art, and
all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and
described in the
specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.
Throughout this specification, unless the context requires otherwise, the word
"comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising" or the term
"includes" or
variations, thereof, or the term "having" or variations thereof will be
understood to imply
the inclusion of a stated element or integer or group of elements or integers
but not the
exclusion of any other element or integer or group of elements or integers. In
this
regard, in construing the claim scope, an embodiment where one or more
features is
added to any of the claims is to be regarded as within the scope of the
invention given
that the essential features of the invention as claimed are included in such
an
embodiment.
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Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention described herein
is
susceptible to variations and modifications other than those specifically
described. It is
to be understood that the invention includes all such variations and
modifications that
fall within its spirit and scope. The invention also includes all of the
steps, features,
.. compositions and compounds referred to or indicated in this specification,
individually or
collectively, and any and all combinations of any two or more of said steps or
features.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles
of the
invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily
occur to those
skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact
construction and
lo operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable
modifications and
equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.
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