Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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REFILLING DEVICE WITH VENTING NOZZLE, AND REFILLING APPARATUS
Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a refilling device with a venting nozzle,
and also to
an apparatus for refilling a reservoir of an electronic aerosol provision
system and more
specifically to the design of an apparatus for refilling a reservoir of an
electronic aerosol
provision system.
Background
Electronic aerosol provision systems, which are often configured as so-called
electronic
cigarettes, can have a unitary format with all elements of the system in a
common housing,
or a multi-component format in which elements are distributed between two or
more
housings which can be coupled together to form the system. A common example of
the latter
format is a two-component system comprising a device and an article. The
device typically
contains an electrical power source for the system, such as a battery, and
control electronics
for operating elements in order to generate aerosol. The article, also
referred to by terms
including cartridge, cartomiser, consumable and clearomiser, typically
contains a storage
volume or area for holding a supply of aerosolisable material from which the
aerosol is
generated, plus, or in some instances, an aerosol generator such as a heater
operable to
vaporise the aerosolisable material. A similar three-component system may
include a
separate mouthpiece that attaches to the article. In many designs, the article
is designed to
be disposable, in that it is intended to be detached from the device and
thrown away when
the aerosolisable material has been consumed. The user obtains a new article
which has
been prefilled with aerosolisable material by a manufacturer and attaches it
to the device for
use. The device, in contrast, is intended to be used with multiple consecutive
articles, with a
capability to recharge the battery to allow prolonged operation.
While disposable articles, which may be called consumables, are convenient for
the
user, they may be considered wasteful of natural resources and hence
detrimental to the
environment. An alternative design of article is therefore known which is
configured to be
refilled with aerosolisable material by the user. This reduces waste, and can
reduce the cost
of electronic cigarette usage for the user. The aerosolisable material may be
provided in a
bottle, for example, from which the user squeezes or drips a quantity of
material into the
article via a refilling orifice on the article. However, the act of refilling
can be awkward and
inconvenient, since the items are small and the volume of material involved is
typically low.
Alignment of the juncture between bottle and article can be difficult, with
inaccuracies
leading to spillage of the material. This is not only wasteful, but may also
be dangerous.
Aerosolisable material frequently contains liquid nicotine, which can be
poisonous if it makes
contact with the skin.
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Therefore, refilling units or devices have been proposed, which are configured
to
receive a bottle or other reservoir of aerosolisable material plus a
refillable cartridge, and to
automate the transfer of the material from the former to the latter.
Alternative, improved or
enhanced features and designs for such refilling devices are therefore of
interest.
Summary
According to a first aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is
provided
a refilling device for filling an article from a reservoir, comprising: an
article interface for
receiving an article of an aerosol provision system, the article having a
storage area for fluid;
and a venting nozzle configured to engage with an article received in the
article interface for
egress of air from the storage area during filling of the storage area with
fluid, the venting
nozzle comprising a channel for outward flow of air from the storage area, the
channel
having a cross-sectional area orthogonal to the direction of outward airflow
which increases
with distance from an air inlet of the channel over a tapered portion of the
channel extending
from the air inlet.
According to a second aspect of certain embodiments there is provided an
aerosol-
generating material storage container for storing aerosol-generating material
and configured
to engage with a refilling device configured to refill an article with aerosol-
generating
material, the container including a storage area for storing the aerosol-
generating material; a
valve arrangement in communication with the storage area, the valve
arrangement
comprising: a spigot including a first opening and a second opening coupled
together via a
flow channel for the passage of aerosol-generating material; a valve housing
arranged to
receive the spigot such that the spigot is movable relative to the valve
housing, wherein the
spigot is movable between a first position in which the first opening is
blocked by the valve
housing and a second position in which the storage area is in fluid
communication with the
environment external to the aerosol-generating material storage container via
the flow
channel.
According to a third aspect of certain embodiments there is provided a
refilling device
for refilling an article for use with an aerosol provision device with aerosol-
generating
material, the refilling device including a transfer mechanism for causing
aerosol-generating
material from a refill reservoir to be transferred from the refill reservoir
to an aerosol-
generating material storage area of an article; a spigot actuation mechanism
configured to
actuate a spigot of a valve arrangement of an aerosol-generating material
storage container
for storing aerosol-generating material; and a nozzle arranged to allow the
aerosol-
generating material to be transferred by the nozzle to the article via the
valve arrangement of
the aerosol-generating material storage container, wherein the refilling
device is configured
to cause the spigot actuation mechanism to move relative to the refilling
device such that the
spigot actuation mechanism, when engaged with the valve arrangement of the
aerosol-
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generating material storage container, is configured to cause the valve
arrangement to open
or close as a result of the movement of the spigot actuation mechanism.
According to a fourth aspect of certain embodiments there is provided a method
for
refilling an article for use with an aerosol provision device with aerosol-
generating material
from a refill reservoir using a refilling device, one or both of the article
and the refill reservoir
comprising a storage area for storing the aerosol-generating material, and a
valve
arrangement in communication with the storage area, the valve arrangement
comprising a
spigot including a first opening and a second opening coupled together via a
flow channel for
the passage of aerosol-generating material and a valve housing arranged to
receive the
spigot such that the spigot is movable relative to the valve housing, the
method including
engaging a spigot actuation mechanism of the refilling device to the spigot of
the valve
arrangement; moving the spigot from a first position in which the first
opening is blocked by
the valve housing and a second position in which the first opening is in fluid
communication
with the environment external to the aerosol-generating material storage
container via the
flow channel; performing refilling of the article by transferring aerosol-
generating material
from the refill reservoir to the storage area of the article using a transfer
mechanism of the
refilling device, the aerosol-generating material being transferred through a
nozzle of the
refilling device and through the flow channel of the valve arrangement.
According to a fifth aspect of certain embodiments there is provided an
aerosol-
generating material storage container for storing aerosol-generating material
and configured
to engage with a refilling means configured to refill an article with aerosol-
generating
material, the container comprising: storage means for storing the aerosol-
generating
material; valve means in communication with the storage means, the valve means
comprising: spigot means including a first opening and a second opening
coupled together
via a flow channel for the passage of aerosol-generating material; valve
housing means
arranged to receive the spigot means such that the spigot means is movable
relative to the
valve housing means, wherein the spigot means is movable between a first
position in which
the first opening is blocked by the valve housing means and a second position
in which the
storage means is in fluid communication with the environment external to the
aerosol-
generating material storage container via the flow channel.
According to a sixth aspect of certain embodiments there is provided refilling
means
for refilling an article for use with an aerosol provision device with aerosol-
generating
material, the refilling means comprising: transfer means for causing aerosol-
generating
material from a refill reservoir to be transferred from the refill reservoir
to an aerosol-
generating material storage means of an article; spigot actuation means
configured to
actuate spigot means of valve means of an aerosol-generating material storage
container for
storing aerosol-generating material; and nozzle means arranged to allow the
aerosol-
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generating material to be transferred by the nozzle means to the article via
the valve means
of the aerosol-generating material storage container, wherein the refilling
means is
configured to cause the spigot actuation means to move relative to the
refilling means such
that the spigot actuation means, when engaged with the valve means of the
aerosol-
generating material storage container, is configured to cause the valve means
to open or
close as a result of the movement of the spigot actuation means.
These and further aspects of the certain embodiments are set out in the
appended
independent and dependent claims. It will be appreciated that features of the
dependent
claims may be combined with each other and features of the independent claims
in
combinations other than those explicitly set out in the claims. Furthermore,
the approach
described herein is not restricted to specific embodiments such as set out
below, but
includes and contemplates any appropriate combinations of features presented
herein. For
example, a refilling device and/or a refilling apparatus may be provided in
accordance with
approaches described herein which includes any one or more of the various
features
described below as appropriate.
Brief description of the drawings
Various embodiments of the invention will now be described in detail by way of
example only with reference to the following drawings in which:
Figure 1 shows a simplified schematic cross-section through an example
electronic
aerosol provision system to which embodiments of the present disclosure are
applicable;
Figure 2 shows a simplified schematic representation of a refilling device in
which
embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;
Figure 3 shows a simplified schematic cross-sectional representation of an
example
of an article of an aerosol provision system engaged for refilling in a
refilling device with
venting via a venting nozzle according to an example of the disclosure;
Figures 4 to 9 show schematic longitudinal cross-sectional views of venting
nozzles
according to various examples of the disclosure;
Figures 10 and 11 show a simplified schematic cross-sectional representation
of
example articles engaged for refilling in a refilling device with venting via
a venting nozzle
according to further examples of the disclosure;
Figure 12 shows a simplified, schematic cross-sectional view of a nozzle
arrangement including a nozzle and an article having a valve arrangement
comprising a
spigot configured to be moved by the nozzle from a first, closed position to a
second open
position for refilling of the article according to an example of the
disclosure;
Figure 13 schematically shows the valve arrangement of the article shown in
Figure
12 in exploded form, and more particularly, showing the valve housing and the
spigot in
more detail;
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Figures 14A and 14B schematically show respective views of valve arrangement
of
the article in an open position (Figure 14A) and a closed position (Figure
14B), where each
of Figures 14A and 14B show the valve arrangement in a side-on view (lower
part of the
Figures) and a cross-sectional side-on view (upper part of the Figures) in
accordance with
aspects of the present disclosure;
Figures 15A to 150 schematically show three snapshots of relative motion of
the
engagement ring of the spigot and the recessed portion of the valve housing to
explain the
principle of a single input motion causing both a rotational and axial
movement of the spigot.
Figure 15A shows the relative positions of the engagement ring and recessed
portion when
the spigot is in the closed position, Figure 15C shows the relative positions
of the
engagement ring and recessed portion when the spigot is in the open position,
and Figure
15B shows the relative positions of the engagement ring and recessed portion
when the
spigot is half way between the closed position and the open position;
Figure 16 shows an example method for refilling the article of the present
disclosure
using a corresponding refilling device of the present disclosure;
Figures 17A and 17B schematically show respective views of valve arrangement
of
the refill reservoir in an open position (Figure 17A) and a closed position
(Figure 17B), where
each of Figures 17A and 17B show the valve arrangement in a side-on view
(lower part of
the Figures) and a cross-sectional side-on view (upper part of the Figures) in
accordance
with aspects of the present disclosure; and
Figure 18 schematically shows an alternative configuration of the valve
arrangement
in an open position whereby a separate nozzle for supplying aerosol-generating
material to
an article and a spigot actuation mechanism for actuating the spigot of the
valve
arrangement are provided in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
Detailed description
Aspects and features of certain examples and embodiments are discussed /
described herein. Some aspects and features of certain examples and
embodiments may be
implemented conventionally and these are not discussed / described in detail
in the interests
of brevity. It will thus be appreciated that aspects and features of apparatus
and methods
discussed herein which are not described in detail may be implemented in
accordance with
any conventional techniques for implementing such aspects and features.
As described above, the present disclosure relates to (but is not limited to)
electronic
aerosol or vapour provision systems, such as e-cigarettes. Throughout the
following
description the terms "e-cigarette" and "electronic cigarette" may sometimes
be used;
however, it will be appreciated these terms may be used interchangeably with
aerosol
(vapour) provision system or device. The systems are intended to generate an
inhalable
aerosol by vaporisation of a substrate (aerosol-generating material) in the
form of a liquid or
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gel which may or may not contain nicotine. Additionally, hybrid systems may
comprise a
liquid or gel substrate plus a solid substrate which is also heated. The solid
substrate may be
for example tobacco or other non-tobacco products, which may or may not
contain nicotine.
The terms "aerosol-generating material" and "aerosolisable material" as used
herein (where
these terms may be used interchangeably) are intended to refer to materials
which can form
an aerosol, either through the application of heat or some other means. The
term "aerosol"
may be used interchangeably with "vapour".
As used herein, the terms "system" and "delivery system" are intended to
encompass
systems that deliver a substance to a user, and include non-combustible
aerosol provision
systems that release compounds from an aerosolisable material without
combusting the
aerosolisable material, such as electronic cigarettes, tobacco heating
products, and hybrid
systems to generate aerosol using a combination of aerosolisable materials,
and articles
comprising aerosolisable material and configured to be used within one of
these non-
combustible aerosol provision systems. According to the present disclosure, a
"non-
combustible" aerosol provision system is one where a constituent aerosol
generating
material of the aerosol provision system (or component thereof) is not
combusted or burned
in order to facilitate delivery to a user. In some embodiments, the delivery
system is a non-
combustible aerosol provision system, such as a powered non-combustible
aerosol provision
system. In some embodiments, the non-combustible aerosol provision system is
an
electronic cigarette, also known as a vaping device or electronic nicotine
delivery (END)
system, although it is noted that the presence of nicotine in the aerosol
generating material
is not a requirement. In some embodiments, the non-combustible aerosol
provision system
is an aerosol-generating material heating system, also known as a heat-not-
burn system.
An example of such a system is a tobacco heating system. In some embodiments,
the non-
combustible aerosol provision system is a hybrid system to generate aerosol
using a
combination of aerosolisable materials, one or a plurality of which may be
heated. Each of
the aerosolisable materials may be, for example, in the form of a solid,
liquid or gel and may
or may not contain nicotine. In some embodiments, the hybrid system comprises
a liquid or
gel aerosol generating material and a solid aerosol generating material. The
solid aerosol
generating material may comprise, for example, tobacco or a non-tobacco
product.
Typically, the non-combustible aerosol provision system may comprise a non-
combustible aerosol provision device and an article (consumable) for use with
the non-
combustible aerosol provision device. In some embodiments, the disclosure
relates to
consumables comprising aerosol-generating material and configured to be used
with non-
combustible aerosol provision devices. These consumables are sometimes
referred to as
articles throughout the disclosure. However, it is envisaged that articles
which themselves
comprise a means for powering an aerosol generator or aerosol generating
component may
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themselves form the non-combustible aerosol provision system. In some
embodiments, the
non-combustible aerosol provision device may comprise a power source and a
controller.
The power source may, for example, be an electric power source. In some
embodiments,
the article for use with the non-combustible aerosol provision device may
comprise an
aerosol generating material, an aerosol generating component (aerosol
generator), an
aerosol generating area, a mouthpiece, and/or an area for receiving and
holding aerosol
generating material.
In some systems the aerosol generating component or aerosol generator
comprises
a heater capable of interacting with the aerosolisable material so as to
release one or more
volatiles from the aerosolisable material to form an aerosol. However, the
disclosure is not
limited in this regard, and applies also to systems that use other approaches
to form aerosol,
such as a vibrating mesh.
In some embodiments, articles for use with the non-combustible aerosol
provision
device may comprise aerosolisable material or an area for receiving
aerosolisable material.
In some embodiments, the article for use with the non-combustible aerosol
provision device
may comprise a mouthpiece. The area for receiving aerosol-generating material
may be a
storage area for storing aerosol-generating material. In the present
disclosure, articles have
a storage area for fluid, such as a storage area for receiving and storing
aerosolisable
material. For example, the storage area may be a reservoir which may store a
liquid aerosol-
generating material. In some embodiments, the storage area for receiving
aerosolisable
material may be separate from, or combined with, an aerosol generating area
(which is an
area at which the aerosol is generated). In some embodiments, the article for
use with the
non-combustible aerosol provision device may comprise a filter and/or an
aerosol-modifying
agent through which generated aerosol is passed before being delivered to the
user.
As used herein, the term "component" may be used to refer to a part, section,
unit,
module, assembly or similar of an electronic cigarette or similar device that
incorporates
several smaller parts or elements, possibly within an exterior housing or
wall. An aerosol
provision system such as an electronic cigarette may be formed or built from
one or more
such components, such as an article and a device, and the components may be
removably
or separably connectable to one another, or may be permanently joined together
during
manufacture to define the whole system. The present disclosure is applicable
to (but not
limited to) systems comprising two components separably connectable to one
another and
configured, for example, as an article in the form of an aerosolisable
material carrying
component holding liquid or another aerosolisable material (alternatively
referred to as a
cartridge, cartomiser, pod or consumable), and a device having a battery or
other power
source for providing electrical power to operate an aerosol generating
component or aerosol
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generator for creating vapour/aerosol from the aerosolisable material. A
component may
include more or fewer parts than those included in the examples.
The present disclosure relates to aerosol provision systems and components
thereof
that utilise aerosolisable material in the form of a liquid or a gel (fluid)
which is held in a
storage area such as a reservoir, tank, container or other receptacle
comprised in the
system, or absorbed onto a carrier substrate. An arrangement for delivering
the
aerosolisable material from the reservoir or aerosolisable material storage
area for the
purpose of providing it to an aerosol generator for vapour / aerosol
generation is included.
The terms "liquid", "gel", "solid" "fluid", "source liquid", "source gel",
"source fluid" and the like
may be used interchangeably with terms such as "aerosol-generating material",
"aerosolisable material", "aerosolisable substrate material" and "substrate
material" to refer
to material that has a form capable of being stored and delivered in
accordance with
examples of the present disclosure.
As used herein, "aerosol-generating material" is a material that is capable of
generating aerosol, for example when heated, irradiated or energized in any
other way.
Aerosol-generating material may, for example, be in the form of a solid,
liquid or gel which
may or may not contain an active substance and/or flavourants. In some
embodiments, the
aerosol-generating material may comprise an "amorphous solid", which may
alternatively be
referred to as a "monolithic solid" (i.e. non-fibrous). In some embodiments,
the amorphous
solid may be a dried gel. The amorphous solid is a solid material that may
retain some fluid,
such as liquid, within it. In some embodiments, the aerosol-generating
material may for
example comprise from about 50wt%, 60wt% or 70wt% of amorphous solid, to about
90wt%,
95wt% or 100wt% of amorphous solid. In some embodiments, the aerosol-
generating
material may comprise one or more active constituents, one or more flavours,
one or more
aerosol-former materials, and/or one or more other functional materials. The
active
substance as used herein may be a physiologically active material, which is a
material
intended to achieve or enhance a physiological response. The active substance
may for
example be selected from nutraceuticals, nootropics, psychoactives. The active
substance
may be naturally occurring or synthetically obtained. The active substance may
comprise for
example nicotine, caffeine, taurine, theine, vitamins such as B6 or B12 or C,
melatonin,
cannabinoids, or constituents, derivatives, or combinations thereof. The
active substance
may comprise one or more constituents, derivatives or extracts of tobacco,
cannabis or
another botanical. As used herein, the terms "flavour" and "flavourant" refer
to materials
which, where local regulations permit, may be used to create a desired taste,
aroma or other
somatosensorial sensation in a product for adult consumers. They may include
naturally
occurring flavour materials, botanicals, extracts of botanicals, synthetically
obtained
materials, or combinations thereof. The aerosol-former material may comprise
one or more
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constituents capable of forming an aerosol. In some embodiments, the aerosol-
former
material may comprise one or more of glycerol, propylene glycol, diethylene
glycol,
triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, 1,3-butylene glycol, erythritol,
meso-Erythritol, ethyl
vanillate, ethyl laurate, a diethyl suberate, triethyl citrate, triacetin, a
diacetin mixture, benzyl
benzoate, benzyl phenyl acetate, tributyrin, lauryl acetate, lauric acid,
myristic acid, and
propylene carbonate. The one or more other functional materials may comprise
one or more
of pH regulators, colouring agents, preservatives, binders, fillers,
stabilizers, and/or
antioxidants.
Figure 1 is a highly schematic diagram (not to scale) of a generic example
electronic
aerosol/vapour provision system such as an e-cigarette 10, presented for the
purpose of
showing the relationship between the various parts of a typical system and
explaining the
general principles of operation. Note that the present disclosure is not
limited to a system
configured in this way, and features may be modified in accordance with the
various
alternatives and definitions described above and/or apparent to the skilled
person. The e-
cigarette 10 has a generally elongate shape in this example, extending along a
longitudinal
axis indicated by a dashed line, and comprises two main components, namely an
aerosol
provision device, or simply device, 20 (control or power component, section or
unit), and an
article or consumable 30 (cartridge assembly or section, sometimes referred to
as a
cartomiser, clearomiser or pod) carrying aerosol-generating material and
operable or
operating to generate vapour/aerosol. In the following description, the
aerosol provision
system 10 is configured to generate aerosol from a liquid aerosol-generating
material
(source liquid), and the foregoing disclosure will explain the principles of
the present
disclosure using this example. However, the present disclosure is not limited
to aerosolising
a liquid aerosol-generating material, and features may be modified in
accordance with the
various alternatives and definitions described above and/or apparent to the
skilled person in
order to aerosolise different aerosol-generating materials, e.g., solid
aerosol-generating
materials or gel aerosol-generating materials as described above.
The article 30 includes a storage area such as a reservoir 3 for containing a
source
liquid or other aerosol-generating material comprising a formulation such as
liquid or gel
from which an aerosol is to be generated, for example containing nicotine. As
an example,
the source liquid may comprise around 1% to 3% nicotine and 50% glycerol, with
the
remainder comprising roughly equal measures of water and propylene glycol, and
possibly
also comprising other components, such as flavourings. Nicotine-free source
liquid may also
be used, such as to deliver flavouring. In some embodiments, a solid substrate
(not
illustrated), such as a portion of tobacco or other flavour imparting element
through which
vapour generated from the liquid is passed, may also be included. The
reservoir 3 may have
the form of a storage tank, being a container or receptacle in which source
liquid can be
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stored such that the liquid is free to move and flow within the confines of
the tank. In other
examples, the storage area may comprise absorbent material (either inside a
tank or similar,
or positioned within the outer housing of the article) that holds the aerosol
generating
material. For a consumable article, the reservoir 3 may be sealed after
filling during
manufacture so as to be disposable after the source liquid is consumed.
However, the
present disclosure is relevant to refillable articles that have an inlet port,
orifice or other
opening (not shown in Figure 1) through which new source liquid can be added
to enable
reuse of the article 30. The article 30 also comprises an aerosol generator 5,
comprising in
this example an aerosol generating component, which may have the form of an
electrically
powered heating element or heater 4 and an aerosol-generating material
transfer component
6 (designed to transfer aerosol-generating material from the aerosol-
generating material
storage area to the aerosol generator). The heater 4 is located externally of
the reservoir 3
and is operable to generate the aerosol by vaporisation of the source liquid
by heating. The
aerosol-generating material transfer component 6 is a transfer or delivery
arrangement
configured to deliver aerosol-generating material from the reservoir 3 to the
heater 4. In
some examples, it may have the form of a wick or other porous element. A wick
6 may have
one or more parts located inside the reservoir 3, or otherwise be in fluid
communication with
liquid in the reservoir 3, so as to be able to absorb source liquid and
transfer it by wicking or
capillary action to other parts of the wick 6 that are adjacent or in contact
with the heater 4.
The wick may be formed of any suitable material which can cause wicking of the
liquid, such
as glass fibres or cotton fibres. This wicked liquid is thereby heated and
vaporised, and
replacement liquid drawn, via continuous capillary action, from the reservoir
3 for transfer to
the heater 4 by the wick 6. The wick may be thought of as a conduit between
the reservoir 3
and the heater 4 that delivers or transfers liquid from the reservoir to the
heater. In some
designs and implementations, the heater 4 and the aerosol-generating material
transfer
component 6 are unitary or monolithic, and formed from a same material that is
able to be
used for both liquid transfer and heating, such as a material which is both
porous and
conductive. In still other cases, the aerosol-generating material transfer
component may
operate other than by capillary action, such as by comprising an arrangement
of one or more
valves by which liquid may exit the reservoir 3 and be passed onto the heater
4.
A heater and wick (or similar) combination, referred to herein as an aerosol
generator
5, may sometimes be termed an atomiser or atomiser assembly, and the reservoir
with its
source liquid plus the atomiser may be collectively referred to as an aerosol
source. Various
designs are possible, in which the parts may be differently arranged compared
with the
highly schematic representation of Figure 1. For example, and as mentioned
above, the wick
6 may be an entirely separate element from the heater 4, or the heater 4 may
be configured
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to be porous and able to perform at least part of the wicking function
directly (a metallic
mesh, for example).
In the present example, the system is an electronic system, and the heater 4
may
comprise one or more electrical heating elements that operate by
ohmic/resistive (Joule)
heating, although inductive heating may also be used, in which case the heater
comprises a
susceptor in an induction heating arrangement. The article 30 may comprise
electrical
contacts (not shown) at an interface of the article 30 which electrically
engage to electrical
contacts (not shown) at an interface of the aerosol provision device 20.
Electrical energy can
therefore be transferred to the heater 4 via the electrical contacts from the
aerosol provision
device 20 to cause heating of the heater 4. In other examples, the heater 4
may be
inductively heated, in which case the heater comprises a susceptor in an
induction heating
arrangement which may comprise a suitable drive coil through which an
alternating electrical
current is passed. A heater of this type could be configured in line with the
examples and
embodiments described in more detail below.
In general, therefore, an atomiser or aerosol generator, in the present
context, can be
considered as one or more elements that implement the functionality of an
aerosol or
vapour-generating element able to generate vapour by heating source liquid (or
other
aerosol-generating material) delivered to it, and a liquid transport or
delivery element able to
deliver or transport liquid from a reservoir or similar liquid store to the
vapour-generating
element by a wicking action / capillary force or otherwise. An aerosol
generator is typically
housed in an article 30 of an aerosol generating system, as in Figure 1, but
in some
examples, at least the heater part may be housed in the device 20. Embodiments
of the
disclosure are applicable to all and any such configurations which are
consistent with the
examples and description herein.
Returning to Figure 1, the article 30 also includes a mouthpiece or mouthpiece
portion 35 having an opening or air outlet through which a user may inhale the
aerosol
generated by the heater 4.
The aerosol provision device 20 includes a power source such as cell or
battery 7
(referred to hereinafter as a battery, and which may or may not be re-
chargeable) to provide
electrical power for electrical components of the aerosol provision system (e-
cigarette) 10, in
particular to operate the heater 4. Additionally, there is control circuitry
or a controller 8 such
as a printed circuit board and/or other electronics or circuitry for generally
controlling the
aerosol provision system (e-cigarette) 10. The control circuitry or controller
8 may include a
processor programmed with software, which may be modifiable by a user of the
system. The
control electronics/circuitry/controller 8, in one aspect, operates the heater
4 using power
from the battery 7 when vapour is required. At this time, the user inhales on
the system 10
via the mouthpiece 35, and air A enters through one or more air inlets 9 in
the wall of the
11
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device 20 (air inlets may alternatively or additionally be located in the
article 30). When the
heater 4 is operated, it vaporises source liquid delivered from the reservoir
3 by the aerosol-
generating material transfer component 6 to generate the aerosol by
entrainment of the
vapour into the air flowing through the system, and this is then inhaled by
the user through
the opening in the mouthpiece 35. The aerosol is carried from the aerosol
generator 5 to the
mouthpiece 35 along one or more air channels (not shown) that connect the air
inlets 9 to
the aerosol generator 5 to the air outlet when a user inhales on the
mouthpiece 35.
More generally, the control circuitry or controller 8 is suitably configured /
programmed to control the operation of the aerosol provision system 10 to
provide
conventional operating functions of the aerosol provision system in line with
established
techniques for controlling such devices, as well as any specific functionality
described as
part of the foregoing disclosure and/or in accordance with embodiments and
examples of the
disclosure as described further herein. The control circuitry or controller 8
may be
considered to logically comprise various sub-units / circuitry elements
associated with
different aspects of the aerosol provision system's operation in accordance
with the
principles described herein and other conventional operating aspects of
aerosol provision
systems, such as display driving circuitry for systems that may include a user
display (such
as an screen or indicator) and user input detections via one or more user
actuable controls
12. It will be appreciated that the functionality of the control circuit or
controller 8 can be
provided in various different ways, for example using one or more suitably
programmed
programmable computers and/or one or more suitably configured application-
specific
integrated circuits / circuitry / chips / chipsets configured to provide the
desired functionality.
The device 20 and the article 30 are separate connectable parts detachable
from one
another by separation in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis, as
indicated by the
double-headed arrows in Figure 1. The components 20, 30 are joined together
when the
system 10 is in use by cooperating engagement elements 21, 31 (for example, a
screw or
bayonet fitting) which provide mechanical and in some cases electrical
connectivity between
the device 20 and the article 30. Electrical connectivity is required if the
heater 4 operates by
ohmic heating, so that current can be passed through the heater 4 when it is
connected to
the battery 5. In systems that use inductive heating, electrical connectivity
can be omitted if
no parts requiring electrical power are located in the article 30. An
inductive work coil can be
housed in the device 20 and supplied with power from the battery 5, and the
article 30 and
the device 20 shaped so that when they are connected, there is an appropriate
exposure of
the heater 4 to flux generated by the coil for the purpose of generating
current flow in the
material of the heater. The Figure 1 design is merely an example arrangement,
and the
various parts and features may be differently distributed between the device
20 and the
article 30, and other components and elements may be included. The two
sections may
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connect together end-to-end in a longitudinal configuration as in Figure 1, or
in a different
configuration such as a parallel, side-by-side arrangement. The system may or
may not be
generally cylindrical and/or have a generally longitudinal shape. Either or
both sections or
components may be intended to be disposed of and replaced when exhausted, or
be
intended for multiple uses enabled by actions such as refilling the reservoir
and recharging
the battery. In other examples, the system 10 may be unitary, in that the
parts of the device
20 and the article 30 are comprised in a single housing and cannot be
separated.
Embodiments and examples of the present disclosure are applicable to any of
these
configurations and other configurations of which the skilled person will be
aware.
The present disclosure relates to the refilling of a storage area for aerosol
generating
material in an aerosol provision system, whereby a user is enabled to
conveniently provide a
system with fresh aerosol generating material when a previous stored quantity
has been
used up. The aerosol generating material may be a liquid, or possibly a gel,
and may
generally be referred to as a fluid, where in the present context this term is
not intended to
encompass gases, in particular air. It is proposed that the replenishment of
the aerosol
generating material be done automatically, by provision of apparatus which is
termed herein
a refilling device, refilling unit, refilling station, or simply dock. The
refilling device is
configured to receive an aerosol provision system, or more conveniently, the
article from an
aerosol provision system having a storage area which is empty or only partly
full, plus a
larger reservoir holding aerosol generating material. A fluid communication
flow path is
established between the larger reservoir and the storage area, and a
controller in the refilling
device controls a transfer mechanism or arrangement operable to move aerosol
generating
material along the flow path from the larger reservoir in the refilling device
to the storage
area. The transfer mechanism can be activated in response to user input of a
refill request to
the refilling device, or activation may be automatic in response to a
particular state or
condition of the refilling device detected by the controller. For example, if
both an article and
a larger reservoir are correctly positioned inside or otherwise couple to the
refilling unit,
refilling may be carried out. Once the storage area is replenished with a
desired quantity of
aerosol generating material (the storage area is filled or a user specified
quantity of material
has been transferred to the article, for example), the transfer mechanism is
deactivated, and
transfer ceases. Alternatively, the transfer mechanism may be configured to
automatically
dispense a fixed quantity of aerosol generating material in response to
activation by the
controller, such as fixed quantity matching the capacity of the storage area.
The transfer of
the aerosol generating material by the refilling device may be termed a
refilling action or a
filling action.
Figure 2 shows a highly schematic representation of an example refilling
device. The
refilling device is shown in a simplified form only, to illustrate various
elements and their
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relationship to one another. More particular features of one or more of the
elements with
which the present disclosure is concerned will be described in more detail
below.
The refilling device 50 will be referred to hereinafter for convenience as a
"dock". This
term is applicable since a reservoir and an article are received or "docked"
in the refilling
device during use. The dock 50 comprises an outer housing 52. The dock 50 is
expected to
be useful for refilling of articles in the home or workplace (rather than
being a portable device
or a commercial device, although these options are not excluded). Therefore,
the outer
housing, made for example from metal, plastics or glass, may be designed to
have an
pleasing outward appearance such as to make it suitable for permanent and
convenient
access, such as on a shelf, desk, table or counter. It may be any size
suitable for
accommodating the various elements described herein, such as having dimensions
between
about 10 cm and 20 cm, although smaller or larger sizes may be preferred.
Inside the
housing 50 are defined two cavities or ports 54, 56. A first port 54 is shaped
and
dimensioned to receive and interface with a refill reservoir 40. The first or
refill reservoir port
54 is configured to enable an interface between the refill reservoir 40 and
the dock 50, so
might alternatively be termed a refill reservoir interface. Primarily, the
refill reservoir interface
is for moving aerosol generating material out of the refill reservoir 40, but
as described
below, in some cases the interface may enable additional functions, such as
electrical
contacts and sensing capabilities for communication between the refill
reservoir 40 and the
dock 50 and determining characteristics and features of the refill reservoir
40.
The refill reservoir 40 comprises a wall or housing 41 that defines a storage
space for
holding aerosol generating material 42. The volume of the storage space is
large enough to
accommodate many or several times the storage area / reservoir 3 of an article
30 intended
to be refilled in the dock 50. A user can therefore purchase a filled
reservoir 40 of their
preferred aerosol generating material (flavour, strength, brand, etc.), and
use it to refill an
article 30 multiple times. A user could acquire several reservoirs 40 of
different aerosol
generating materials, so as to have a convenient choice available when
refilling an article.
The refill reservoir 40 includes an outlet orifice or opening 44 by which the
aerosol
generating material 42 can pass out of the refill reservoir 40. In the current
context, the
aerosol generating material 42 has a liquid form or a gel form, so may be
considered as
aerosol generating fluid. The term "fluid" may be used herein for convenience
to refer to
either a liquid or a gel material; where the term "liquid" is used herein, it
should be similarly
understood as referring to a liquid or a gel material, unless the context
makes it clear that
only liquid is intended.
A second port 56, which may be defined inside the housing, is shaped and
dimensioned to receive and interface with the article 30. The second or
article port 56 is
configured to enable an interface between the article 30 and the dock 50, so
might
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alternatively be termed an article interface. Primarily, the article interface
is for receiving
aerosol generating material into the article 30, but in some cases the
interface may enable
additional functions, such as electrical contacts and sensing capabilities for
communication
between the article 30 and the dock 50 and determining characteristics and
features of the
article 30.
The article 30 itself comprises a wall or housing 31 that has within it (but
possibly not
occupying all the space within the wall 31) a storage area 3 for holding
aerosol generating
material. The volume of the storage area 3 is many or several times smaller
than the volume
of the refill reservoir 40, so that the article 30 can be refilled multiple
times from a single refill
reservoir 40. The article also includes an inlet orifice or opening 32 by
which aerosol
generating material can enter the storage area 3. Various other elements may
be included
with the article 30, as discussed above with regard to Figure 1. For
convenience, the article
30 may be referred to hereinafter as a pod 30.
The housing also accommodates a fluid conduit 58, being a passage or flow path
by
which the reservoir 40 and the storage area 3 of the article 30 are placed in
fluid
communication, so that aerosol generating material can move from the refill
reservoir 40 to
the article 30 when both the refill reservoir 40 and the article 30 are
correctly positioned in
the dock 50. Placement of the refill reservoir 40 and the article 30 into the
dock 30 locates
and engages them such that the fluid conduit 58 is connected between the
outlet orifice 44
of the reservoir 40 and the inlet orifice 32 of the article 30. Note that in
some examples, all or
part of the fluid conduit 58 may be formed by parts of the refill reservoir 40
and the article 30,
so that the fluid conduit is created and defined only when the refill
reservoir 40 and/or the
article 30 are placed in the dock 30. In other cases, the fluid conduit 58 may
be a flow path
defined within the housing 52 of the dock 50, to each end of which the
respective orifices are
engaged.
Access to the reservoir port 54 and the article port 56 can be by any
convenient
means. Apertures may be provided in the housing 52 of the dock 50, through
which the refill
reservoir 40 and the article 30 can be placed or pushed. The refill reservoir
40 and/or the
article 30 may be completely contained within the respective apertures or may
partially be
contained such that a portion of the refill reservoir 40 and/or the article 30
protrude from the
respective ports 54, 56. In some instances, doors or the like may be included
to cover the
apertures to prevent dust or other contaminants from entering the apertures.
VVhen the refill;
reservoir 40 and/or the article 30 are completely contained in the ports 54,
56, the doors of
the like might be required to be placed in a closed state to allow refilling
to take place. Doors,
hatches and other hinged coverings, or sliding access elements such as drawers
or trays,
might include shaped tracks, slots or recesses to receive and hold the
reservoir 40 or the
article 30, which bring the reservoir 40 or the article 30 into proper
alignment inside the
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housing when the door etc. is closed. Alternatively, the housing of the dock
50 may be
shaped so as to include recessed portions into which the article 30 or refill
reservoir 40 may
be inserted. These and other alternatives will be apparent to the skilled
person, and do not
affect the scope of the present disclosure.
The dock 50 also includes an aerosol generating material ("liquid" or "fluid")
transfer
mechanism, arrangement, apparatus or means 53, operable to move or cause the
movement of fluid out of the refill reservoir 40, along the conduit 58 and
into the article 30.
Various options are contemplated for the transfer mechanism 53. By way of an
example, the
transfer mechanism 53 may comprise a fluid pump, such as a peristaltic pump.
The
peristaltic pump may be arranged to rotate and compress parts of the conduit
58 to force
source liquid along the length of the conduit towards the inlet orifice 32 of
the article 30 in
accordance with the conventional techniques for operating a peristaltic pump.
A controller 55 is also included in the dock 50, which is operable to control
components of the dock 50, in particular to generate and send control signals
to operate the
transfer mechanism 53. As noted, this may be in response to a user input, such
as actuation
of a button or switch (not shown) on the housing 52, or automatically in
response to both the
refill reservoir 40 and the article 30 being detected as present inside their
respective ports
54, 56. The controller 55 may therefore be communication with contacts and/or
sensors (not
shown) at the ports 54, 56 in order to obtain data from the ports and/or the
refill reservoir 40
and article 30 that can be used in the generation of control signals for
operating the transfer
mechanism 53. The controller 55 may comprise a microcontroller, a
microprocessor, or any
configuration of circuitry, hardware, firmware or software as preferred;
various options will be
apparent to the skilled person.
Finally, the dock 50 includes a power source 57 to provide electrical power
for the
controller 53, and any other electrical components that may be included in the
dock, such as
sensors, user inputs such as switches, buttons or touch panels, and, if
present, display
elements such as light emitting diodes and/or display screens to convey
information about
the dock's operation and status to the user. Also, the transfer mechanism may
be electrically
powered. Since the dock may be for permanent location in a house or office,
the power
source 57 may comprise a socket for connection of an electrical mains cable to
the dock 50,
so that the dock 50 may be "plugged in" to mains electricity. Any suitable
electrical converter
to convert mains electricity to a suitable operational supply of electricity
to the dock 50 may
be provided, either on the mains cable or within the dock 50. Alternatively,
the power source
57 may comprise one or more batteries, which might be replaceable or
rechargeable, and in
the latter case the dock 50 may also comprise a socket connection for a
charging cable
adapted to recharge the battery or batteries while housed in the dock.
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REFILLING DEVICE WITH VENTING NOZZLE
A refilling device with a venting nozzle is described with reference to
Figures 1 and 2
mentioned above and Figures 3 to 11 mentioned below.
Further details relating to the fluid conduit will now be described. As noted
above, the
fluid conduit may be wholly or partly formed by parts of the refill reservoir
40 (hereafter also
simply "reservoir" 40) and the article 30. In particular, an example
arrangement for the fluid
conduit 58 is a fluid nozzle or hollow needle providing a fluid flow channel
by which fluid
aerosol generating material dispensed from the reservoir 40 is delivered into
the storage
area 3 of the article 30. The fluid nozzle may be provided as an element of
the dock, such
that the outlet orifice of the reservoir is coupled to a first end of the
fluid nozzle when the
reservoir is installed in the dock. Alternatively, the fluid nozzle may be
embodied as an
integral part of the reservoir, to provide the outlet orifice. This associates
the fluid nozzle only
with the particular reservoir and its contents, thereby avoiding any cross-
contamination that
may arise from using reservoirs of different aerosol-generating materials with
the same fluid
nozzle. Intermediate arrangements are also possible, with part of the fluid
nozzle being
integral with the reservoir, and configured to engage with part of the fluid
nozzle provided as
an element of the dock 50. In all configurations, the fluid nozzle is engaged
into the inlet
orifice 32 of the article 30 in order to enable fluid transfer from the
reservoir into the article.
The engagement may be achieved by relative movement of the article 30 and the
reservoir
40 towards one another, for example, when both have been installed in the dock
50.
In order to prevent leakage of fluid from an article when the article is in
use, the inlet
orifice 32 of an article 30 is configured to be sealed when the article is not
being refilled, but
able to receive the fluid nozzle of the fluid conduit 58 when refilling is
required. Any form of
suitable valve or membrane can be used which can close the inlet orifice in a
leak-proof,
fluid-tight manner when not in use, open to receive a fluid outlet end of the
fluid nozzle for
refilling, and close again when the fluid nozzle is withdrawn after filling.
Typically, the inlet
orifice, which may comprise a septa valve, for example, will fit tightly or
fairly tightly around
the outer surface of the engaged fluid nozzle. As fluid is delivered into the
storage area 3 of
the article 30, pressure inside the storage area 3 will increase as the fluid
displaces air
already in the storage area 3. This pressure increase is undesirable since it
may cause leaks
or impede the ingress of the further fluid into the storage area 3.
Accordingly, a venting
arrangement is provided to allow the escape of the displace air from the
storage area 3, to
allow pressure to remain substantially constant inside the storage area 3 and
enable smooth
refilling via uninterrupted inflow of fluid.
Figure 3 shows a simplified schematic cross-sectional side view on an example
article engaged for refilling in a refilling device (not shown). The article
30 has a storage area
3 as previously described, for holding fluid 33 delivered by the refiling
device. The article
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also has an inlet orifice 32 also as previously described, which is in fluid
communication with
the storage area 3, such as leading directly into the storage area 3 as in the
depicted
example. A fluid nozzle 34 has a fluid outlet end 34a that penetrates the
inlet orifice 32, and
hence protrudes into the storage area 3. The fluid nozzle 34 leads from the
reservoir of the
refilling device (also not shown), being all or part of the fluid conduit
(indicated by the dashed
lines), such that fluid F can flow from the reservoir along a fluid flow
channel defined in the
fluid nozzle 34, out of the fluid outlet end 34a of the fluid nozzle 34 and
into the storage area
3.
To enable venting of air out of the storage area 3 during refilling, the
article 30 is
additionally provided with a venting orifice 63, which, in common with the
inlet orifice 32 is
configured to be sealed when the article 30 is not being sealed, in order to
prevent or inhibit
leakage. Any form of suitable valve or membrane can be used to close the
venting orifice 63
in a leak-proof, fluid-tight manner when not in use. For example, the venting
orifice 63 may
be covered by or comprise a septa valve or a self-healing membrane.
When the article 30 is received in the refilling dock for refilling, and is
engaged with
the fluid nozzle 34, engagement is also made with a venting nozzle or hollow
needle 60. The
venting nozzle 60 is an element of the refilling dock, and is positioned for
alignment with the
venting office 63 of an article in the article interface of the refilling
dock. The venting nozzle
60 has an air inlet end 60a which penetrates the venting orifice 63 so as to
be in air flow
communication with the interior of the storage area 3 of the article 30 (such
as by extending
directly into the storage area 3 as depicted), and an air outlet end 60b
located away from the
article 30. A channel 61 is defined through the venting nozzle 60 from the air
inlet end 60a to
the air outlet end 60b. The air outlet end 60b may be located at any
convenient position
internally or externally of the refilling dock, so that the venting nozzle 60,
when engaged with
the article 30 provides, via the channel 61, a pathway for the outward flow of
air A from the
interior of the storage area 3, into the venting nozzle 60 by the air inlet
end 60a, along the
channel 61, and out through the air outlet end 60b into the surrounding
environment. Hence,
as the amount of fluid 33 in the storage area 3 increases during filling, air
which is displaced
by the fluid can enter the venting nozzle and be directed out of the storage
area 3, thereby
avoiding an increase of pressure inside the storage area 3.
The article 30, and the fluid nozzle 34 and venting nozzle 60, can be brought
into
engagement when the article 30 is placed into the refilling dock by movement
of the article
30 towards the nozzles 34, 60, of by movement of the nozzles 34, 60 towards
the article 30,
or by both movements, as indicated by the arrows E in Figure 3. The
mechanism(s) for
achieving the movement may be any convenient arrangement, and are outside the
scope of
the present disclosure. The relative movement acts to force the fluid outlet
end 34a of the
fluid nozzle 34 against the inlet orifice 32 and then to penetrate the inlet
orifice 32 and enter
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the storage area 3, and similarly to force the air inlet end 60a of the
venting nozzle 60
against the venting orifice 63 and then to penetrate the venting orifice 63
and enter the
storage area 3. Where movement of the nozzles 34, 60 is utilised for
engagement, the
nozzles 34, 60 may be moved separately, or together. For example, they may be
held in a
same nozzle element, such as a mounting block in or on which both nozzles are
mounted or
otherwise held (or integrally formed), and which itself is comprised in the
refilling device.
Hence, the nozzle element engages with the article 30 to engage the two
nozzles 34, 60 with
their respective orifices 32, 63 in the article 30. Similarly, a common nozzle
element may
secure both nozzles 34, 60 in a fixed position, for engagement by movement of
the article 30
towards the nozzle element.
Referring further to Figure 3, it will be seen that in this example, the
venting orifice 63
is located on the article 3 to as to be in a surface or wall 31 of the article
3 which is
uppermost when the article 3 is received in the article interface, and the
venting nozzle 60
has a linear geometry (the channel 611s straight) and is oriented vertically
above the article
30. In other words, the longitudinal axis of the channel 61 is vertical.
Hence, relative vertical
movement E engages the venting nozzle 60 and the article 30. This
configuration places the
air inlet end 60a of the venting nozzle 60 above the surface 33a of fluid 33
in the storage
area 3 when the storage area 3 is not full.
During filling the surface 33a of the fluid 33 rises and approaches the air
inlet end
60a of the venting nozzle 60, and may reach or pass the air inlet end 60a.
During filling also,
the fluid may splash as it flows out from the fluid outlet end 34a of the
fluid nozzle. Also, the
refilling dock may be moved, knocked or jolted during refilling or while the
article 30 is in the
article interface, causing disruption of the fluid surface 33a. Accordingly,
there are various
ways by which fluid may come into contact with the air inlet end of the
venting nozzle 60.
The venting nozzle is narrow, in order to be compatible with the relatively
small size of
storage areas in articles for aerosol provision systems. The channel 61 of the
nozzle 60 is
therefore also narrow. Accordingly, the channel 61 may become clogged or
blocked with
fluid that comes into contact with the air inlet end, surface tension holding
the fluid inside the
channel 61. This can impede or block the egress of air out of the storage
area, so that
venting is reduced or removed. The vertical orientation of the venting nozzle
61 can help to
address this, by enabling gravity to act on any fluid in the channel 61 in a
direction that will
carry the fluid downwards and out through the air flow inlet 60a.
Also, the narrowness of the channel 61 may provide a capillary force that
pulls any
fluid present at the air inlet end 60a into the channel 61, and fluid present
in the channel 61
further up the channel. Hence, fluid may undesirably track along the channel
61. This will
block or impede air flow along the channel, diminishing or preventing the
outward flow of air
and venting, and allowing pressure to increase inside the storage area 3.
Also, if the fluid is
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able to travel the full length of the channel 61 it will eventually exit the
venting nozzle 60
through the air outlet end 60b and be leaked, either inside the refilling dock
or outside,
depending on the arrangement of the venting nozzle 60.
Clearly any and all of these events is undesirable. Accordingly, it is
proposed to
address this issue by configuring the channel 61 of the venting nozzle 60 to
have a taper
which increases with distance from the air inlet end 60a of the venting nozzle
60. In other
words, the bore of the venting nozzle 60, as defined by the channel 61, gets
larger along the
length of the outward air flow direction.
Other benefits can be provided by a venting nozzle with a tapered bore. The
taper
allows the air outlet end of the venting nozzle to be wider (have a larger
cross section) which
gives a reduced pressure drop across the nozzle and consequently aids in
reducing
pressurisation within the storage area during filling. The tapered bore can be
conveniently
reflected in the outer shape of the venting nozzle, allowing the air inlet end
to be narrow with
a tapering outer profile. This can enhance the sealing effect of the valve or
membrane in the
venting orifice around the inserted venting nozzle, since the valve/membrane
can press
more tightly around the outside of the venting nozzle. Also, a narrower air
inlet end requires
a smaller opening for the venting nozzle to pass through the venting orifice,
so the longevity
of the valve or membrane is enhanced. These factors are particularly relevant
where a septa
seal is used.
Note that in the following Figures showing various example venting nozzles,
the taper
may be exaggerated for clarity, and the nozzles are not necessarily shown to
scale.
Figure 4 shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view (so, a side view) of a
first example
of a tapered venting nozzle. The venting nozzle 60 is formed from a tubular
side wall 62
which surrounds a hollow space forming a through channel 61 for outward air
flow along the
nozzle.. As previously described, the venting nozzle 60 has an air inlet end
60a at a first end
of the channel 61, shown as the lower end in this vertically oriented
depiction, and an air
outlet end 60b at an opposite, second end of the channel 61, shown as the
upper end. The
channel 61 therefore extends from the air inlet end 60a to the air outlet end
60b, and vented
air flows outwardly along the channel 61 from air inlet to air outlet in the
direction A.
The channel 61 is straight, and has a cross-sectional area, which can be
defined in a
plane orthogonal to the direction of air flow and hence orthogonal to a
longitudinal axis of the
channel 61. At or towards the air inlet end 60a, in a plane i, the channel has
a circular cross-
sectional area Ai, as shown on Figure 4. At or towards the air outlet end 60b,
in a plane ii,
the channel 61 has a circular cross-sectional area Aii, which is larger than
the area Ai at the
inlet end. Hence, the cross-sectional area of the channel 61 increases with
distance from the
air inlet end.
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The increased cross-sectional area provides a larger bore inside the venting
nozzle.
This reduces capillary forces, thereby reducing the ability of the venting
nozzle 60 to pull any
stray liquid that may enter the channel 61 along the channel 61. The larger
bore towards the
outlet end 60b of the channel 61 causes the capillary force to reduce with
distance along
venting nozzle 60, thereby further decreasing the chance that liquid will be
able to track all
along the venting nozzle 60 to escape from the air outlet end 60b. The tapered
configuration
is beneficial for providing this reduced capillary power compared to a non-
tapered but wider
nozzle, because the air inlet end 60a can be maintained at a small width, for
improved
compatibility with the limited area available for the venting orifice on an
article which
necessarily has a relatively small size itself, and to facilitate penetration
of the air inlet end
60a through the venting orifice when the article and the venting nozzle are
engaged
together.
In the example of Figure 4, the side wall 62 is straight, and slopes outwardly
along
the full length of the venting nozzle 60. The outward slope provides the
increasing internal
cross-section, and since the slope extends over the length of the venting
nozzle, the whole
of the venting nozzle is tapered. The straight side wall 62 provides a linear
increase in cross-
sectional area. Also, the slope is continuous, providing a continuous,
unbroken increase in
the cross-sectional area. This gives a smooth interior surface for the channel
61 (the venting
nozzle is smooth-bored), without corners, bumps or discontinuities to which
unwanted liquid
may cling. We can define a tapered portion T, starting at the air inlet end
60a, and over
which the taper extends, in other words, over which the cross-sectional area
of the channel
61 increases. In this example, the tapered portion T extends, from a narrow
end to a wide
end, over the complete or entire length of the venting nozzle 60 (defined as
the distance
between the air inlet end 60a and the air outlet end 60b). This configuration
may be
appropriate for a relatively shallow taper (where the rate of increase of the
cross-sectional
area is low), and/or if the overall length of the venting nozzle 60 is not
great. These factors
mean that the area and hence width of the venting nozzle 60 does not become
too large at
the air outlet end, which may be inconvenient for accommodating the nozzle in
some
designs of refilling device.
Figure 5 shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a second example of a
tapered
venting nozzle. In this example, the tapered portion T extends over part of
the length of the
venting nozzle 61 only. As before, the tapered portion T starts at the air
inlet end 60a, where
in the plane i the channel 61 has a cross-sectional area Ai. The tapered
portion T extends
along the venting nozzle 60 to an intermediate point before the air outlet end
60b. In the
plane ii at this intermediate point, the end of the tapered portion T, the
channel has a cross-
sectional area Aii which is larger than the area Ai at the ait inlet end 60a.
The side wall 62 is
again straight and outwardly sloping over the tapered portion T, giving a
linear increase of
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cross-sectional area. Following the tapered portion T, so, beyond the end of
the tapered
portion T, the side wall 62 continuous straight but ceases to slope outwardly.
Hence, the
cross-sectional area of the channel 61 is not further increased, but remains
constant, and
the cross-sectional area in the plane iii at the air outlet end 60b is also
Aii, equal to the area
at the wide end of the tapered portion T. This configuration, in which the
tapered portion is
confined towards the air inlet end 60a of the venting nozzle 60, may be useful
in limiting the
largest width of the venting nozzle 60 (at the wide end of the tapered portion
T) if a deep
taper (large rate of increase of cross-sectional area with length) and/or a
long venting nozzle
60 is required, either of which can allow the cross-sectional area to increase
to an
inappropriately or inconveniently large value if the taper is extended along
the full length of
the venting nozzle 60.
Accordingly, the size of the tapered portion T relative to the total length of
the venting
nozzle 60, which equals the total length of the channel 61, can be selected
according to the
required length and width/area requirements for the venting nozzle, for
example for
compatibility with particular designs and configurations of both the article
and the refilling
device.
Figure 6 shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a third example of a
tapered
venting nozzle. In this example, the side wall 62 of the venting nozzle 60
slopes outwards as
before in order to provide the increasing cross-sectional area that defines
the tapered
channel 61. However, the side wall 62 is not straight, but rather is curved,
sloping outward at
an increasing rate with distance from the air inlet end 60a. Hence, the cross-
sectional area
of the channel 61 increases nonlinearly over the tapered portion T (which in
this example
extends over the whole of venting nozzle length), and in particular increases
at an increasing
rate with distance from the air inlet end 60a. This longitudinal curvature of
the side wall 62
can be employed to achieve further tailoring of the venting nozzle shape. For
example, the
gradual increase in area/width at and near the air inlet end 60a allows a
narrower nozzle to
facilitate piercing or penetration of the venting orifice while still allowing
a large area/width
further up to discourage the travel of fluid towards the air outlet end 60b.
Figure 7 shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a fourth example of a
tapered
venting nozzle. In common with the Figure 6 example, the outwardly sloping
side wall 62 of
the venting nozzle 60 over the tapered portion T is curved. In this example,
however, the
side wall 62 slopes outwardly at a decreasing rate, and on reaching a zero
outward slope at
the end of the tapered portion, continues without further slope straight to
the air outlet end
60b. Hence, the cross-sectional area of the channel 61 increases nonlinearly
and at a
decreasing rate with distance from the air inlet end 60a. In this way, a
relatively rapid
increase in bore area can be achieved close to the air inlet end 60a to
minimise the intake
and tracking of fluid into and up the channel 60, but without the area
continuing to increase
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over the length of the tapered portion T to an inconveniently large size. The
non-tapered
portion between the tapered portion T and the air outlet end 60b can be
included to continue
the channel 61 and make the venting nozzle 60 as long as might be required, or
omitted if an
appropriate length is achieved when or before the outward slope of the side
wall 62
decreases to zero.
In the examples of Figures 4 and 5, the channel 61 had a circular cross-
section. This
is not essential however, and other cross-sectional shapes can be used. Shapes
with
corners, discontinuities and irregularities may not be preferred because fluid
may cling to the
inside surface of the channel more readily, but such shapes are not excluded.
However,
curved and smooth shapes provide a smoother surface for the channel interior
which may
impede liquid from tracking along the venting nozzle. For example, the cross-
sectional shape
may be oval. Moreover, the cross-sectional shape need not be constant along
the length of
the venting nozzle.
Figure 8 shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a fifth example of a
tapered
venting nozzle. Similarly to the Figure 4 example, the side wall 62 is
outwardly sloping and
straight, giving a cross-sectional area that increases linearly, with the
tapered portion T
extending over the full length of the venting nozzle 60. In this example,
however, the cross-
sectional area Ai in the plane i at the air inlet end 60a is circular, while
the cross sectional
area Aii in the plane ii at the air outlet end 60b, larger than the area Ai as
before, has an oval
shape. The side wall 62 may be formed so that the transition between the two
shapes is
smooth, to avoid irregularities in the inside surface of the channel 61.
Conversely, the
venting nozzle 60 may start with an oval shape at the air inlet end 60a and
change to a
circular shape at the air outlet end 60b. Other shapes may also be used. The
use of different
shapes at either end, or alternatively for a intermediate portion, may
facilitate cooperation
and integration of the venting nozzle with the article and the refilling dock.
Also shown in
Figure 8 is the length LT of the tapered portion T, being the same as the
length LC of the
channel 61 and the venting nozzle 60.
Figure 9 shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a sixth example of a
tapered
venting nozzle. Similarly to the Figure 5 example, the side wall 62 is
initially outwardly
sloping and straight, giving a cross-sectional area that increases linearly
over a tapered
portion T that extends only part of the length of the venting nozzle 60. In
this example,
however, the cross-sectional area Ai in the plane i at the air inlet end 60a
and the cross
sectional area Aii in the plane ii at the air outlet end 60b, larger than the
area Ai as before,
both have an oval shape. Hence, the cross-sectional shape of the channel 61 is
constant
with length, and changes only in size. Other shapes may also be used in a
similar way. Also
shown in Figure 9 is the length LT of the tapered portion T, being less than
the length LC of
the channel 61 and the venting nozzle 60.
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Regarding dimensions, the width of the channel and indeed the outside width of
the
venting nozzle will typically be small, in order to engage with a small size
of venting orifice
on a small article. For example, the cross-sectional area of the channel at
the air inlet end
may have a maximum width in the range of about 1.5 mm to 3 mm (bearing in mind
that the
channel may have a non-circular cross-section and may therefore have more than
one width
size, including a maximum width). However, the width may be smaller than this,
such as
between 0.5 and 1.5 mm, or larger than 3 mm. A specific example is a venting
nozzle with a
circular bore having an internal diameter at the air inlet end of about 0.8
mm.
The taper, as noted, may be shallow or deep, depending on the length of the
tapered
portion and the width or area to which it is desired to increase the cross-
section of the
channel. For example, the cross-sectional area at the far end of the tapered
portion remote
from the air inlet end, in other words, the cross-sectional area to which the
channel
increases over the tapered portion, may have a maximum width in the range of
about 1.8
mm to 4 mm. A narrower maximum channel bore may be used instead, however, such
as in
the range of 1.5 mm to 2.5 mm or 1 mm to 2 mm, or a wider maximum such as in
the range
of 2.5 mm to 5 mm. The venting nozzle may alternatively be described as a
hollow needle,
with the channel bore dimension being defined in terms of needle gauge, where
a higher
value of needle gauge corresponds to a narrower channel diameter. For example
the
maximum channel diameter may be in the range of 12 gauge to 32 gauge.
Alternatively, a generally narrow but still tapering channel bore may be
preferred, for
example if space for the venting nozzle is limited but the effect of the taper
is still desired.
For example, the maximum width of the cross-sectional area of the tapered
portion may not
exceed 2 mm, or not exceed 3 mm.
As noted, the taper may be shallow or steep, defined by the rate at which the
side
wall of the venting nozzle sloped outward and at which the cross-sectional
area increases.
For example, the cross-sectional area may increase over the length of the
tapered portion by
100% or less, or by more than 100%. For a particularly shallow taper, the
cross-sectional
area may increase over the length of the tapered portion by 50% or less.
The length of the venting nozzle, and hence of the channel, may be selected as
appropriate for fitting with the internal design of the refilling device, and
the location at which
it is desired for the vented air to be discharged into the environment. For
example, the
channel may have a length in the range of 6 mm to 40 mm, although shorter or
longer
nozzles are not excluded. As described, the tapered portion may be the same
length as the
venting nozzle or may be shorter. Accordingly, the tapered portion may also
have a length in
the range of 6 mm to 40 mm, or may fall within a range of shorter values, such
as between 3
mm and 38 mm. For a tapered portion shorter than the nozzle, as in the
examples of
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Figures 5 ands 9, the length LT of the tapered portion may be in range of 50%
to 95% of the
length LC of the channel. Proportionally shorter tapered portions may also be
used.
As discussed earlier, a vertically oriented venting nozzle offers the aid of
gravity in
inhibiting fluid from tracking along the venting nozzle. However, the venting
nozzle may be
oriented differently, so long as the air inlet end is located towards to the
top of the storage
area of an article received in the article interface so that the storage area
can be completely
or near completely filled with fluid before the fluid level reaches the air
inlet end. The tapered
shaped will still provide a reduced capillary force to inhibit fluid movement
along the venting
nozzle channel.
Figure 10 shows a simplified schematic representation of an example tapered
venting nozzle 60 engaged with an article 30, and oriented within the
refilling device (not
shown) so that the straight channel 61 is arranged with its longitudinal axis
horizontal.
Similarly, in this example this fluid nozzle 34 is also arranged horizontally,
with the venting
orifice 63 and the inlet orifice 32 of the article 30 on a same wall 31 of the
article 30 so that
the two nozzles 34, 60 can be side by side and parallel. This facilitates
engagement of the
article 30 with the nozzles 34, 60, since relative movement E can be effected
along a single
direction.
Figure 11 shows a simplified schematic representation of a tapered venting
nozzle 60
engaged with an article 30 according to another example arrangement. In this
example, the
venting nozzle 60 is arranged vertically for both gravity and reduced
capillary action, while
the fluid nozzle 34 is arranged horizontally. Relative movement E along two
directions will be
required to achieve engagement of the article 30 with the nozzles 34, 60 Note
that for any
relative arrangement of the two nozzles, the article may be received in the
article interface
so as to be positioned in the refilling device for filling with a generally
vertical orientation of
its longitudinal axis (such as in Figures 3 and 11) or a generally horizontal
orientation (such
as in Figure 10).
Although the refilling of aerosol generating material storage areas of aerosol
provision system and articles for aerosol provision systems have been cited as
a particular
use of nozzles as disclosed herein, including use in refilling devices, the
concept is not so
limited. Nozzles in accordance with the disclosure can be used in any
circumstance where
liquid is to be transferred into a substantially closed or airtight space so
that air needs to be
vented in order to avoid or reduce pressure increases.
REFILLING APPARATUS
A refilling apparatus is described with reference to Figures 1 and 2 mentioned
above
and Figures 12 to 18 mentioned below.
As noted above, the fluid conduit 58 is arranged so as to be in fluid
communication
with the reservoir 40 and the article 30 to allow source liquid to be
transferred to the storage
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area of the article 30. The article 30 is suitably configured to be able to be
refilled by the
dock 50, e.g., via inlet orifice 32. However, the article 30 is arranged so as
to, on the one
hand, provide a relatively easy engagement between the fluid conduit 58 (or
other
component(s) linked to the fluid conduit 58) so as to facilitate refilling of
the article 30, and on
the other hand, is arranged so as to prevent or reduce source liquid exiting
the article 30 (for
example, when the (full) article 30 is transitioned between the dock 50 and
the aerosol
provision device after the dock 50 has refilled the article 30 with source
liquid). Accordingly,
further details regarding the article 30 and the fluid conduit 58 and dock 50
are described
herein.
In accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, refilling of the article
30 is
achieved via a nozzle configured to engage with and actuate a spigot located
within the
opening 32 of the article 30. The spigot forms a part of a valve arrangement
of the article 30
and further includes a part of the housing of the article 30 which is
configured to receive the
spigot. The spigot is configured to move between a first position in which an
outlet opening
of the spigot is blocked by the housing of the article 30 / valve arrangement,
and a second
position in which the outlet opening of the spigot is in fluid communication
with the reservoir
3 of the article 30. When the nozzle is coupled to the spigot and the spigot
is in the second
position, aerosol-generating material from the refill reservoir 40 is
transferred from the refill
reservoir 40 via the fluid conduit 58 through a hollow passage in the spigot
and into the
reservoir 3 to cause the reservoir 3 to be refilled with aerosol-generating
material. The above
valve arrangement is able to be reliably moved between the first position and
the second
position to provide a relatively easy and simple automated refilling process
when used
together with a suitable dock 50 having the required actuation mechanism. The
valve
arrangement is able to be used multiple times to enable multiple refilling
operations of the
article 30 by virtue of the fact that relatively little (if any) damage or
wearing is caused by
actuating the valve arrangement.
Figure 12 is a highly schematic representation of certain components of Figure
2
shown in more detail. Certain other aspects of Figure 2 have been omitted for
clarity from
Figure 12. Figure 12 broadly shows article 30 of Figure 2 in addition to
nozzle arrangement
160 (not shown in Figure 2).
As seen in Figure 12, the article 30 includes article housing 31, valve
housing which
comprises a collar 33 of the housing 31 of the article 30 and provides an
opening 32 into the
reservoir 3, and a spigot 170 located within the collar 33 / opening 32 and
arranged to
substantially fill the opening 32. The nozzle arrangement 160 comprises a
nozzle 161
coupled to a nozzle head 162 (which in turn is coupled to the fluid conduit
58) via a coupling
element 163, and a motor 164 coupled to the nozzle 61.
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The article 30 comprises a valve arrangement which is formed of both the
spigot 170
and the collar 33 of the housing 31 of the article 30. In the described
implementation, the
spigot 170 and collar 33 have a substantially cylindrical shape. The collar 33
may be thought
of as a cylindrical, hollow tubular structure formed in, and protruding from,
the edges of
article housing 31. The central hollow section of the collar 33 forms the
opening 32 through
which access to the reservoir 3 is facilitated. The spigot 170 has at least a
section which is
correspondingly cylindrically shaped and dimensioned such that the outer
surface of the
section of the spigot fits snugly against the central hollow section of the
collar 33 but that
also permits movement of the spigot 170 within the collar 33. The spigot 170
is permitted to
move, when suitably actuated by the nozzle 161 of nozzle arrangement 160,
within the collar
33 between a first position in which an outlet opening within the spigot 170
is blocked or
substantially blocked by the collar 33 and a second position in which the
outlet opening
within the spigot 170 is not blocked by the collar 33 and subsequently in
fluid communication
with the reservoir 3 of the article 30. In addition, it should be appreciated
that in the open
position, the storage area / reservoir 3 of the article 30 is in fluid
communication with the
external environment outside of the article 30 (i.e., outside of the housing
31 defining the
article).
The spigot 170 and collar 33 may be formed of any suitable materials, for
example a
plastics material or a metal material. The collar 33 may be formed from the
same material as
the article housing 31. In some implementations, the collar 33 may be formed
separately
from the article housing 31 and subsequently joined to the article housing 31
through a
suitable attachment technique, such as adhesive or ultrasonic welding,
although other
suitable techniques may be used depending on the material of the collar 33 and
article
housing 31. In other implementations, the collar 33 may be integrally formed
with the article
housing 31, e.g., via a suitable moulding technique. The spigot 170 may be
formed of a
material which may have low abrasion in respect of the material used to form
the collar 33,
so as to reduce wear of the collar 33 / spigot 170 when the spigot 170 is
moved within the
collar 33.
The valve arrangement of Figure 12 will now be described in more detail with
reference to Figures 13, 14A and 14B. Figure 13 schematically shows the
components of the
valve arrangement in exploded form. Figure 13 shows the collar 33 and spigot
170 in a side-
on cross-sectional view, in addition to a top down view of the proximal end
171 of the spigot
170. Figures 14A and 14B respectively and schematically show the valve
arrangement in an
open position (in which the outlet opening of the spigot 170 is in fluid
communication with the
reservoir 3 of the article 30) and a closed position (in which the outlet
opening of the spigot
170 is substantially blocked by the collar 33). Figures 14A and 14B also
respectively show a
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side-on view of the spigot 170 and collar 33 (lower part of Figures 14A and
14B) and a side-
on cross-sectional view of the spigot 170 and collar 33 (upper part of Figures
14A and 14B).
As can be seen in Figures 13, 14A and 14B, the collar 33 is formed of a
substantially
cylindrical tube having a central hollow passage. The collar 33 is open at
both ends and is
sized to receive the spigot 170 (or at least a part thereof) as described
above. As seen in
Figure 14B, the collar 33 has an approximately 4 mm sized external diameter
and a 2 mm
sized internal diameter (thus having a wall thickness of around 1 mm). The
collar 33 is
approximately 5 to 6 mm in length. It should be appreciated that the collar 33
may have
different sizes / dimensions in other implementations and the values given
above are given
so as to provide a concrete example of the present disclosure. The collar 33
is shown, in
some views, as being coupled to or forming part of the housing 31, as
discussed above.
When the collar 33 is to be coupled to the housing 31, the housing 31
comprises an opening
sized to match the outer diameter of the collar 33 (that is, 4 mm in the
current example). The
central passage of the hollow cylinder, perhaps best seen in Figures 14A and
14B, forms the
opening 32 discussed above.
The collar 33 further comprises first openings 331 and second openings 332.
More
specifically, the collar comprises two first openings 331 arranged either side
of the central
passage of the collar 33, and two second openings 332 also arranged either
side of the
central passage of the collar 33. As will be discussed in more detail below,
the first openings
331 are provided to allow aerosol-generating material (e.g., source liquid) to
pass from the
spigot 170 to the reservoir 3, while the second openings 332 are provided to
allow air or
other fluids from exiting the reservoir 3 when refilling occurs. The first
openings 331 may
therefore be referred to as outlet openings of the valve housing / collar 33
or aerosol-
generating material outlet openings of the valve housing / collar 33, while
the second
openings 332 may be referred to as inlet openings of the valve housing /
collar 33 or as air
inlet openings of the valve housing / collar 33. It should be appreciated that
while two first
openings 331 and two second openings 332 are shown, in other implementations a
fewer or
greater number of first openings 331 and second openings 332 may be provided,
and the
number of first openings 331 need not be the same as the number of second
openings 332.
In some implementations, only a single first opening 331 and a single second
opening 332
may be provided in the collar 33.
With reference to Figure 13 in particular, the spigot 170 includes a proximal
end 171
and a distal end 172. The proximal end 171 is referred to as the proximal end
171 by virtue
of the fact that this end engages with the corresponding nozzle 161 of the
nozzle
arrangement 160. The proximal end 171 comprises a corresponding nozzle
engagement
feature, which in this example is a recessed portion 171a in the proximal end
171 of the
spigot 170 which is correspondingly shaped to the end of the nozzle 161 of the
nozzle
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arrangement 160. In Figure 4, the recessed portion 171a has a shape
corresponding to a
combination of a cross and an approximate square shape. As will be discussed
below, the
spigot 170 is designed to rotate in the cylindrical collar 33 about the
longitudinal axis of the
collar 33 by actuating the nozzle 161, and therefore the nozzle engagement
feature of the
spigot 170 has a plurality of surfaces which are substantially normal to the
direction of
rotation. However, shapes other than that shown in Figure 13 may be suitable
for performing
the same function, which will be readily apparent to the skilled person. The
nozzle 161 has a
correspondingly shaped engagement feature for engaging with the recessed
portion 171a.
Moreover, in other implementations, the nozzle engagement feature may be any
suitable
feature which is able to engage with the nozzle 161 and facilitate the desired
movement of
the spigot 170. For example, the engagement feature of the spigot 170 may be a
protrusion
(rather than a recess) and the nozzle 161 may include a correspondingly shaped
recess for
receiving the protrusion. In other implementations, the engagement between the
spigot and
nozzle may be via the nozzle engaging with the outer surface/edge of the
spigot 170 using a
screw-thread or a gripped arrangement, for example.
As described, the spigot 170 includes a generally cylindrically shaped
section, shown
generally by the reference sign 173, designed to fit within the cylindrical
passage of the
collar 33. In the example shown in Figures 13 to 14B, the spigot has a
diameter of around 2
mm to correspondingly fit within the cylindrical opening of the collar 33.
However, as above,
it should be appreciated that this value provides a concrete example of the
diameter of the
cylindrical section 173 of the spigot 170, and the spigot 170 may have
different diameters in
different applications. Above the cylindrical section 173 (i.e., closer to the
proximal end 171)
is provided flange 174 and an engagement ring 175. The flange 174 and
engagement ring
175 have a greater diameter than the cylindrical section 173 and therefore are
sized such
that they do not pass through the cylindrical passage of the collar 33. For
example, the
flange 174 may have a diameter of around 3 to 3.5 mm in the described example,
although
this is provided as an example only and may be different in other
implementations. In other
words, when the distal end 172 of the spigot 170 is passed through the
cylindrical passage
of the collar 33, at least the flange 174 remains visible and forms a part of
the outer surface
of the assembled article 30. In the closed position of the spigot 170, the
flange 174 abuts the
surface of the collar 33 / housing 31 of the article 30. Although not shown,
the flange 174
may include a resilient sealing member which is provided between the flange
174 and the
housing 31 / collar 33, which may be slightly compressed against the housing
31 / collar 33
by the flange 174 when the spigot 170 is in the closed position. This may
provide an
additional seal to prevent contaminants (e.g., dust) from entering the collar
33 / reservoir 3.
To keep the spigot 170 in place within the collar 33 once installed, an
element with a
diameter larger than the diameter of the cylindrical section 173 (e.g.,
greater than 2 mm) can
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be attached at the distal end 172 of the spigot 170. In the present
implementation, the spigot
170 includes a recess 172a for receiving an 0-ring or similar resilient,
elastic material
(generally referred to as biasing element 180), where the 0-ring 180 sits in
the recess 172a
and extends with a diameter greater than the diameter of the cylindrical
section 173 of the
spigot 170. In other implementations, a more rigid element, such as a plastic
or metal disk
(e.g., a washer), or clip or pin, for example, may be attached or otherwise
engaged with the
end of the spigot 170 to prevent the spigot 170 being withdrawn from the
collar 33. In the
example shown in Figures 13 to 14B, the spigot has a total length of around 7
mm (see
Figure 14B), but it should be appreciated that the spigot 170 may have
different lengths in
lo different implementations.
The spigot 170 further comprises an aerosol-generating material flow channel
176
(seen best in Figures 1A and 14B). The aerosol-generating material flow
channel 176
extends along the central longitudinal axis of the spigot 170 from an inlet
opening 176a at
the proximal end 171 of the spigot 170 to, in the described implementation,
two outlet
openings 176b positioned close to the distal end 172 of the spigot 170. The
inlet opening
176a can be seen in Figure 13 and is positioned at the centre of the recessed
portion 171a.
When the nozzle 161 engages with the recessed portion 171a, an opening in the
nozzle 161
aligns with the inlet opening 176a of the spigot 170. Thus, more generally,
the engagement
feature (e.g., recessed portion 171a) may provide an additional function of
helping to align
the opening in the nozzle 161 with the inlet opening 176a of the spigot 170.
As discussed
above, aerosol-generating material (e.g., source liquid) can be provided to
the article 30 via
the nozzle 161, and in particular, source liquid can be passed from the
opening of the nozzle
161 into the inlet opening 176a of the spigot 170. The source liquid passes
along the flow
channel 176 towards the outlet opening(s) 176b. The flow channel 176 is sized
so as to
enable the aerosol-generating material, e.g., source liquid, to flow along the
flow channel
176 when driven by the transfer mechanism 53 of the dock 50. In the present
example, the
flow channel 176 is designed to facilitate the transfer of source liquid and
has a diameter of
around 1 mm, although this value is an example only and other diameters /
dimensions for
the flow channel 176 are possible in other implementations. The flow channel
176 is shown
in Figures 14A and 14B as extending along the central longitudinal axis of the
spigot 170 but
it should be appreciated that in some implementations, the flow channel 176
may extend
parallel to, but off-centre from, the longitudinal axis of the spigot 170. In
general terms, the
spigot 170 includes a flow channel 176 which is formed within the spigot 170 ¨
that is, the
flow channel 176 is a hollow flow channel running within the spigot 170 and
enclosed by the
spigot 170 in the radial direction of the flow channel. Additionally, while it
has been shown
and described above that the cross-sectional shape of the flow channel 176 is
broadly
circular, the flow channel may take any cross-sectional shape accordingly.
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As seen in Figure 14A, the flow channel 176 splits into two branches,
extending in
opposite directions and forming a "T" shape. Each of the two branches of the
flow channel
176 extend to respective outlet openings 176b formed in the outer surface of
the spigot 176.
The number of outlet openings 176b of the flow channel 176 typically
corresponds to the
number of first openings 331 in the collar 33. For instance, in the described
implementation,
each of the two outlet openings 176b can be simultaneously fluidly connected
to each of the
two first openings 331 in the collar 33. However, it is not necessary that the
number of
openings 331 in the collar 33 matches the number of outlet openings 176b in
the spigot 170,
and there may be a fewer or greater number of outlet openings 176b to first
openings 331.
In addition to the flow channel 176, the spigot 170 is provided with a groove,
track, or
cut-out 177a in a part of the outer surface of the spigot 170, which forms a
part of an air
channel 177. In Figure 4, a groove 177a is shown in a part of the outer
surface of the spigot
170, with the groove running partway along the length of the cylindrical
section 173 of the
spigot 170 and over engagement ring 175. In this regard, the groove 177a
extends from the
proximal end 171 of the spigot 170 in the direction of the distal end 172 of
the spigot 170,
but does not extend the full length of the spigot 170. As seen in Figure 13,
the groove 177a
stops prior to the outlet opening 176b in the spigot 170.
When the spigot 170 is assembled with the collar 33, an air channel 177 is
provided.
More particularly, as shown in Figure 14A, an air channel 177 may exist from
the second
openings 332 in the collar 33, along to the groove 177a formed in the spigot
170, and up to
the engagement ring 175. Broadly speaking, the groove 177a creates a gap
between a
section of the spigot 170 and the collar 33 and when this gap is fluidly
connected to a
second opening 332 and is open to the environment at the engagement ring 175 /
proximal
end 171 of the spigot 170, then air is able to flow from the second opening
332 (which,
coincidentally, is provided in fluid communication with the reservoir 3)
through the gap and
out to the environment external to the valve arrangement of the article 30. In
this regard,
when the transfer mechanism 53 is operated to transfer aerosol-generating
material to the
reservoir 3 of the article 30, additional material (having a certain volume)
is provided to the
reservoir 3 which, typically, may have a predefined volume. In the event that
air, for
example, is unable to escape from the reservoir 3 (or is unable to escape at a
rate that is
equal to or greater than the rate of mass transfer of the aerosol-generating
material into the
reservoir 3), then the amount of overall material within the reservoir 3
subsequently
increases during refilling. This subsequently increases the pressure in the
reservoir 3 which
may cause unwanted effects, such as but not limited to, leakage of aerosol-
generating
material between various joins/components of the article 30 that otherwise
aerosol-
generating material would be unable to pass through, increased stress on any
sealing
components within the article 30, and/or increased stress on components of the
nozzle
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arrangement 160 or transfer mechanism 53. Thus, providing the valve
arrangement of the
article 30 with a mechanism to allow air to exit the reservoir 3 during
refilling of the reservoir
3 with aerosol-generating material, can be advantageous.
Finally, the spigot 170 includes the engagement ring 175 referenced earlier.
The
engagement ring 175 in the present example is a ring-shaped element that
extends around
the upper part of the spigot 170 and provides a surface or edge to the spigot
170 that
comprises a row of saw-shaped teeth extending around the circumference of the
spigot 170
(and as mentioned previously, at a diameter greater than the cylindrical
section 173). The
engagement ring 175 may be separately formed from the spigot 170 and attached,
or may
be integrally formed with the spigot 170. The saw-shaped teeth are provided
such that the
teeth are orientated in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the spigot
170. In other words,
the saw-tooth shaped teeth point in a direction parallel to the longitudinal
axis of the spigot
170. This arrangement is shown best in Figure 13. The collar 33 comprises a
corresponding
recessed portion 333 at the upper side of the collar 33 (that is, the side of
the collar 33
orientated away from the reservoir 3). The recessed portion 333 is sized so as
to receive the
engagement ring 175 when the spigot 170 is placed within the collar 33. The
recessed
portion 333 also comprises a complementary saw-tooth shaped profile, that can
engage with
the saw-tooth shaped profile of the engagement ring 175. Accordingly, the saw-
tooth shaped
teeth of the recessed portion 333 are orientated in the opposite direction
along the
longitudinal axis of the collar 33 / spigot 170.
Operation of the valve arrangement is now explained, primarily with reference
to
Figures 14A and 14B.
Figure 14B shows the valve arrangement in a closed configuration. In this
configuration, the spigot 170 is said to be in a first position or closed
position in which the
outlet openings 176b of the spigot 170 are not fluidly coupled to the first
openings 331 in the
collar 33. As the first openings 331 are fluidly coupled to the reservoir 3 of
the article 30, it
follows that, in the closed position, the outlet openings 176b are also not
fluidly coupled to
the reservoir 3. Therefore, aerosol-generating material (source liquid) which
is passed along
the flow channel 176 is blocked from entering the reservoir 3. In fact, as
seen in Figure 14B,
the opening 176b is blocked by the inner surface of the collar 33, and this
prevents any
source liquid (as well as any other material, such as dust or dirt) from
passing into the
reservoir 3 via the inlet opening 176a. Equally, in this configuration, source
liquid is
prevented from exiting the reservoir 3 in the event that source liquid starts
to flow along the
first openings 331 (e.g., should the article 30 be inverted).
In addition, when the spigot 170 is in the first position or closed position,
the groove
177a is not fluidly coupled to the second openings 332. Instead, as seen in
Figure 14B, the
second openings 332 are blocked by the outer surface of the cylindrical
section 173 of the
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spigot 170. Because the cylindrical section 173 of the spigot 170 is snug
against the inside
of the collar 33, any air entering the second openings 332 is substantially
prevented from
flowing between the outer surface of the cylindrical section 173 of the spigot
170 and the
inner surface of the collar 33. Equally, in this configuration, source liquid
is prevented from
exiting the reservoir 3 in the event that source liquid starts to flow along
the second openings
332 (e.g., should the article 30 be inverted). Furthermore, when the spigot is
in the closed
position, the saw-tooth shape teeth of the engagement ring 175 and the
recessed portion
333 are fully engaged with one another, effectively forming a seal between the
spigot 170
and the collar 33. Such a seal can help reduce the chance of contaminants such
as dust or
dirt from passing between the spigot 170 and the collar 33, or along the
groove 177a, and
into the reservoir 3.
Thus, when the spigot 170 is in the first or closed position, the valve
arrangement of
the article 30 is substantially closed and aerosol-generating material (source
liquid) is
prevented or restricted from exiting the article 30 via the valve arrangement.
The valve
arrangement may be biased to the closed position using a suitable biasing
element 180. In
the embodiment shown in Figures 14A and 14B, the spigot 170 is biased closed
using 0-ring
180. With reference to Figure 14B, the 0-ring 180 is positioned in the recess
172a at the
distal end 172 of the spigot 170 (where the 0-ring 180 is installed after the
spigot 170 has
been inserted in the collar 33). The 0-ring 180 has a thickness in the
longitudinal direction of
the spigot 170 such that the upper surface of the 0-ring 180 abuts the lower
surface of the
collar 33 (as seen in Figure 14B). In particular implementations, the 0-ring
180 may be sized
such that it is under a slight compression when installed in recess 172a (that
is, the 0-ring
may be compressed against the lower surface of the collar 33), which may
ensure the spigot
170 is biased to the closed position as well as helping to ensure the 0-ring
is retained in the
recess 172a. Accordingly, under the application of no additional force, the 0-
ring 180 is in its
most relaxed state when the spigot 170 is biased to the closed position. The
closed position
of the valve arrangement / spigot 170 is therefore the natural position of the
valve
arrangement / spigot 170 and is likely the position that the valve arrangement
/ spigot 170
will be in for the majority of the valve arrangement's expected lifetime. The
article 30
accordingly is biased such that aerosol-generating material will not be able
to exit the article
30 via the valve arrangement in the closed position and therefore the article
30 can be
handled by a user safe in the knowledge that aerosol-generating material is
prevented or
substantially prevented from leaking out of the valve arrangement (for
example, when the
user attaches a refilled article 30 to the aerosol provision device 20 or even
during normal
use of the aerosol provision device 20).
In order to enable refilling of the article 30, the valve arrangement / spigot
170 is
moved to the second position or open position. Figure 14A shows the valve
arrangement /
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spigot 170 in the open position. In the open position, the outlet openings
176b of the spigot
170 are arranged to fluidly couple to the first openings 331 in the collar 33.
This in turn
ensures the outlet openings 176b of the spigot 170 are coupled to the
reservoir 3 of the
article 30 by virtue of the fact the first openings 331 are fluidly coupled to
the reservoir 3 of
the article 30. More generally, it can be seen that the reservoir 3 is now
also fluidly coupled
to the external environment outside of the article 30 by virtue of the flow
channel 176 and
inlet opening 176a. Any aerosol-generating material (source liquid) which is
passed to the
inlet opening 176a of the flow channel 176 is able to flow along the flow
channel 176,
through the outlet openings 176b of the spigot 170, through the first openings
331 of the
collar 33 and finally to the reservoir 3 of the article 30. Figure 14A depicts
the path of the
aerosol-generating material travelling from inlet opening 176a to exiting the
first openings
331 using the red arrows.
In addition, when the spigot 170 is in the second position or open position,
the groove
177a is now fluidly coupled to the second openings 332, and thus to the
reservoir 3 by virtue
of the fact that second openings 332 are fluidly coupled to the reservoir 3.
In addition, when
the spigot 170 is in the open position, the engagement ring 175 and the
recessed portion
333 are moved such that the respective saw-tooth shaped teeth are no longer
completely
engaged (that is, there exists a gap between the respective teeth of the
engagement ring
175 and the recessed portion 333). This gap effectively fluidly connects to
the groove 177a.
Accordingly, the gap between the teeth of the recessed portion 333 and
engagement ring
175 act as the outlet of the air channel 177. Accordingly, when the valve
arrangement /
spigot 170 is in the open position, air is permitted to flow from the
reservoir 3 through the
second openings 332, along groove 177a, and out through the gap between the
teeth of the
recessed portion 333 and engagement ring 175 to the environment external to
the valve
arrangement / article 30. In this way, air is able to vented from the
reservoir 3 during a
refilling process. Figure 5A depicts the path of the air travelling from
second openings 332 to
exiting valve arrangement using the blue arrows.
As can be seen in Figure 14A, the first openings 331 (through which aerosol-
generating material enters the reservoir 3) are positioned at a different
location in the
direction of the longitudinal axis of the collar 33 or spigot 170 as compared
to the second
openings 332 which allow air to exit the reservoir 3. More specifically, the
first openings 331
are positioned below the second openings 332, in Figure 5A. In this regard,
aerosol-
generating material entering the reservoir 3 flows away from the first
openings 331. The
article 30 is broadly configured so that the valve arrangement is orientated
at the top of the
article 30 during refilling and the aerosol-generating material therefore flow
downwards
under the influence of gravity to the side of the article opposite the side
comprising the valve
arrangement. Such a configuration may be referred to as a "top-filled article"
where the
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article is filled via the top surface of the article, relative to the
direction of gravity. In such top-
filled configurations, providing the first openings 331 further along the
collar 33 than the
second openings 332 means it becomes difficult for aerosol-generating material
exiting the
first openings 331 to subsequently enter the second openings 332 and escape to
the
external environment along air channel 177 (as any aerosol-generating material
effectively
has to flow against gravity to be able to enter the second openings 332).
However, it should
be appreciated that the present disclosure is not limited to "top-filled
articles" and so called
"bottom-filled articles" may be employed in which the article 30 is oriented
in the article port
56 such that, in the direction in which gravity acts, the surface of the
housing of the article 30
including the valve arrangement is positioned after the opposing surface of
the housing of
the article 30. In this configuration, the valve arrangement may be configured
such that the
second openings 332 are positioned further along the longitudinal axis of the
collar 33 /
spigot 70 that the first openings 331.
In order to move from the first position to the second position, the spigot
170 is both
rotated (about the longitudinal axis of the spigot 170 / collar 33, which
coincidentally are
aligned when the spigot 170 is installed in the collar 33) and moved in a
direction parallel to
the longitudinal axis of the spigot 170 / collar 33. More particularly, in the
present example of
Figures 14A and 14B, when the spigot 170 is rotated about the longitudinal
axis of the spigot
170 (e.g., by the nozzle arrangement 160, described later), the engagement
ring 175 rotates
relative to the collar 33. This relative rotation movement between the
engagement ring 175
and the collar 33 causes sliding of the saw-tooth shaped profiles of the
engagement ring 175
and the collar 33 relative to one another. As the saw-tooth shaped profiles of
the
engagement ring 175 and the collar 33 rotate relative to one another, the
spigot 170 is
forced to move in the axial direction, thus separating the engagement ring 175
from the
recessed portion 333, effectively causing the spigot 170 to rise from the
collar 33.
Figures 15A to 15C highly schematically illustrate different states of the
engagement
ring 175 with respect to the recessed portion 333 when the engagement ring 175
is moved in
a direction M which corresponds to the direction of rotation of the spigot
170. Figures 15A to
15C omit many details of the article 30 and the spigot 170, and are intended
solely to explain
the principles of the engagement ring 175 and recessed portion 333. Figures
15Aa to 15C
also show the profiles of the recessed portion 333 and engagement ring 175 in
a linear
manner, although it should be understood the same principles apply to the
profiles when
positioned around about axis.
Figure 15A schematically shows the engagement ring 175 and recessed portion
333
when the spigot 170 is in a closed position. As can be seen the respective
teeth of the saw-
toothed shaped profiles of the engagement ring 175 and recessed portion 333
engage such
that there is little to no gap between the teeth (although this gap is
exaggerated in Figure
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15A for illustrative reasons). When a force causing movement in the direction
M is applied to
the engagement ring 175 / spigot 170, the engagement ring 175 begins to slide
relative to
the recessed portion 333. Figure 15B shows the engagement ring 175 relative to
the
recessed portion 333 after some movement of the engagement ring 175 relative
to the
recessed portion 333, while Figure 15C shows the engagement ring 175 relative
to the
recessed portion 333 after further movement of the engagement ring 175
relative to the
recessed portion 333 as compared to Figure 15B. As the engagement ring 175
slides
relative to the recessed portion 333 in the direction M, the engagement ring
175 (and thus
spigot 170) is moved in a direction perpendicular to the movement M by virtue
of the angle of
the respective teeth relative to the direction M. As seen in Figures 15B and
15C, this causes
the engagement ring 175 and recessed portion 333 to separate and subsequently
cause the
spigot 170 to move upwards from the collar 33.
Figure 15C represents the engagement ring 175 and recessed portion 333 when
the
spigot 170 is in the open position. Hence, rotating the spigot 170 by the
appropriate amount
causes the spigot 170 to move to the open position. As seen in Figure 15C, the
amount the
engagement ring 175 is required to move before the spigot 170 is in the open
position may
not be quite enough to cause the points of the respective teeth to align ¨
rather, as shown in
Figure 15C, there may be some overlap Ov of the profiles. Moving the
engagement ring 175
so that the points of the respective saw-tooth profiles are touching can make
the
arrangement more unstable or difficult to maintain in the open position (as
slight movement
in the direction M can cause the spigot 170 to rapidly move back to the closed
position).
Providing the overlap Ov allows the open position to be stably maintained and
may also
accommodate for tolerances in the actual rotational movement applied to the
spigot 170.
As discussed, not only is the spigot 170 rotated relative to the collar 33,
but the
spigot 170 is moved in the axial direction of the rotation (that is along the
longitudinal axis of
the spigot 170). VVith reference to Figure 14A, as the spigot 70 is lifted
from the collar 33, the
0-ring 180 is subsequently compressed against the surface of the collar 33
that abuts the 0-
ring 180. Assuming the spigot 170 is able to be held in the open position,
then the 0-ring
180 is compressed and naturally wants to relax back to the uncompressed state
corresponding to the closed position of the spigot 170 / valve arrangement.
Therefore, when
the spigot 170 is no longer held in the open position, the compressed 0-ring
180 causes the
engagement ring 175 to move back to the state shown in Figure 15A. In some
implementations, the spigot 170 may simply be released from the open position
(that is, any
mechanism that is preventing further movement is released / removed so that
the spigot 170
is free to move in a direction opposite to the direction M shown in Figures
15A to 15C.
Alternatively, an additional movement in the direction M may deliberately be
applied to the
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spigot 170 (e.g., once refilling is complete) such that the engagement ring
175 is moved to
suddenly snap into the position shown in Figure 15A.
Hence, by applying a rotational force to the spigot 170, the spigot 170 can be
moved
from the closed position to the open position. Additionally, due to the
arrangement of the
engagement ring 175 with the recessed portion 333, a rotational force applied
to the spigot
170 can cause not only the spigot 170 to rotate about the longitudinal axis of
the spigot 170
but also to move in the axial direction of the spigot 170. This dual motion
can be beneficial.
In one regard, the required motion to align the outlet openings 176b and
groove 177a of the
spigot with the openings 331 and openings 332 is greater than, for example,
moving the
spigot 170 in either the rotation or axial directions. This provides a
relatively longer and more
tortuous path for any aerosol-generating material (source liquid) to travel
should there be
some minor leakage or imperfections in the sizes / tolerances of the
components of the valve
arrangement when in the closed position. That is, although the valve
arrangement is
designed so as not to allow aerosol generating material to exit the reservoir
3 through the
vale arrangement, in instances where a small amount of aerosol-generating
material does
leak at parts of the valve arrangement, it becomes more difficult for the
aerosol-generating
material to leave the valve arrangement. In addition, providing the axial
movement of the
spigot 170 provides a relatively simple mechanism for biasing the spigot to
the closed
position. Further, the valve arrangement is also visibly different when in the
open position or
the closed position (in the open position the spigot protrudes from the
surface of the collar 33
/ article 30). This may be particularly helpful to allow a user to visual
recognise when the
valve arrangement is in the open position, for example, when after refilling
and the article 30
is ready for removal from the dock 50 the valve arrangement does not close
properly. The
user can take the necessary action after identifying the valve arrangement is
not closed
properly, e.g., pressing/rotating the spigot 170 or finding a replacement
article 30.
Hence, it has been described that the article 30 comprises a valve arrangement
having a rotatable spigot 170 configured to rotate from a closed position in
which the outlet
openings 176b are blocked by the collar 33 and an open position in which the
outlet
openings 176 are in fluid communication with the reservoir 3 of the article
30.
Referring back to Figure 12, the dock 50, and more specifically the nozzle
arrangement 160 for engaging with the valve arrangement of the article 30
described above
is now explained in more detail.
Figure 12 shows the nozzle arrangement 160 comprising a nozzle 161. The nozzle
161 is coupled to a nozzle head 162. The nozzle head 162 acts as a base / body
for the
nozzle arrangement 160 to which other components, such as the nozzle 161, are
attached.
As can be seen in Figure 12, the nozzle head 162 includes a coupling element
163 which is
designed to fluidly coupled together the nozzle 161 with the fluid conduit 58
(which is fluidly
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connected to the refill reservoir 40). The nozzle 161 includes an aerosol-
generating material
flow channel 161a, provided along the central axis of the nozzle 161. The
coupling element
163, in one respect, is configured to fluidly connect the fluid conduit 58
with the aerosol-
generating material flow channel 161a, such that aerosol-generating material
passed along
the fluid conduit 58 from the refill reservoir 40 by operation of the transfer
mechanism 53 is
able to flow along the aerosol-generating material flow channel 161a and out
of the end of
the nozzle 161.
As described above, the spigot 170 of the valve arrangement of the article 30
is
configured to be rotated from the closed position to the open position.
Accordingly, in the
described implementations, the nozzle 161 is configured to couple to the
nozzle head 162
such that the nozzle 161 is able to rotate about its longitudinal axis. In
Figure 12, this is
shown by the arrow labelled B. The nozzle 161 is coupled to the nozzle head
162 in any
suitable way that enables the nozzle 161 to rotate about its longitudinal
axis. In some
implementations, the coupling element 163 may include a bearing, the outer
surface / side of
which is held fixed relative to the nozzle head 162 and the inner surface of
which supports
the nozzle 161. In other implementations, the coupling element 163 may be
permitted to be
coupled to the nozzle head 162 in such a way that the coupling element 163, or
a part
thereof, rotates relative to the nozzle head 162. The nozzle arrangement 160
further
comprises a motor 164, such as a stepper motor, or other mechanism for driving
the rotation
of the nozzle 161. The motor 164 is coupled to suitable gearing or other drive
mechanism
which is correspondingly coupled to the nozzle 161, or element that is
subsequently coupled
to the nozzle 161, for driving the rotation of the nozzle 161. In some
implementations, the
nozzle 161 may comprise a gear extending radially around the proximal end of
the nozzle
161. The gear may mesh with a gear located in the nozzle head 162 driven by
the motor.
However, it should be appreciated that any suitable mechanism for driving the
rotation of the
nozzle 161 may be employed in accordance with the principles of the present
disclosure. In
Figure 12, the motor 164 is shown as being in the nozzle head 162, but in
other
implementations the motor 164 may be provided separately to the nozzle head
162 and
subsequently coupled to the nozzle 161 accordingly.
The coupling element 163 may be any suitable coupling element providing fluid
connection between the fluid conduit 58 and the nozzle 161 and/or facilitating
rotational
movement of the nozzle 161. The coupling element 163 may be or comprise a
clamp or the
like, where the fluid conduit 58 and/or nozzle 161 comprise flanges that are
clamped into
position by the coupling element 163. The coupling element 163 may instead
comprise a
screw-thread where the respective ends of the nozzle 161 and fluid conduit 58
comprise
corresponding threads that allow the nozzle 161 and fluid conduit 58 to be
screwed into the
nozzle head 162. Any suitable connection mechanism may be employed in
accordance with
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the implementation at hand. The coupling element 163 may also comprise
suitable sealing
elements (not shown) such as 0-rings to provide, e.g., a fluid tight seal when
either or both
of the fluid conduit 58 and nozzle 161 are coupled to the nozzle head 162.
While it is shown
that the coupling element 163 is position inside the nozzle head 162, in other
implementations, respective coupling elements 163 may be provided for each of
the fluid
conduit 58 and nozzle 161, e.g., on the surface of the nozzle head 162,
whereby the nozzle
head 162 comprises an internal pathway coupling the respective coupling
elements 163.
Although not shown, the nozzle head 162 is coupled to a suitable movement
mechanism, which is able to translate the nozzle head 162 (and hence nozzle
161) towards
and away from the article 30 located in the article port 56 of the dock 50
under suitable
control by the controller 55. This movement is generally shown by arrow A in
Figure 12.
When the article 30 is not engaged with the article port 56, the nozzle head
162 may
be located in a first position in which the nozzle 161 is kept away from the
article port 56 (for
example, the nozzle head 162 may be retracted in the dock 50). When the
article 30 is
located in the article port 56 and when the controller 55 determines it is
appropriate to refill
the article 30 (e.g., either automatically based on the presence of the
article 30 in the article
port 56 or based on receiving a suitable instruction from the user of the dock
50 to begin
refilling), the controller 55 causes the nozzle head 162 to move towards the
article 30 in the
article port 56 via the movement mechanism. More specifically, the nozzle head
162 is
moved towards the article 30 such that the nozzle 161 engages with the
recessed portion
171a of the proximal end 171 of the spigot 170. The nozzle 161 has a distal
end which is
correspondingly shaped to fit within the recessed portion 171a. The movement
mechanism
may continue to move the nozzle head 162 toward the article 30 until the
nozzle 161 is
appropriately located within the recessed portion 171a of the spigot 170 of
the article 30.
When the nozzle head 162 is positioned as above, this is referred to as a
second position of
the nozzle head 162. The movement mechanism may be controlled to substantially
stop
movement of the nozzle head 162 when the nozzle head 162 is located in the
second
position.
The nozzle head 162 may be configured to apply a certain force to the proximal
end
171 of the spigot 170, so as to maintain constant engagement with the proximal
end 171 /
recessed portion 171a of the spigot 170. This may be for two reasons: firstly,
to help ensure
the flow channel 161a of the nozzle 161 fluidly engages with the inlet opening
176a of the
spigot 170 so that aerosol-generating material may be reliably transferred to
the inlet
opening 176a of the spigot when the transfer mechanism 53 is activated; and
secondly, to
help ensure engagement between the nozzle and spigot is maintained for driving
the rotation
of the spigot 170.
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When the nozzle head 162 has been moved such that the nozzle 161 is engaged
with the recessed portion 171a of the article 30, the controller 55 of the
dock 50 is configured
to rotate the nozzle 161 by a suitable amount to move the spigot 170 from the
closed
position to the open position. During this movement, as discussed above, the
spigot 170
rises from the rest of the valve arrangement / article 30. At this time, the
nozzle head 162
may be configured to move in the direction away from the article 30 to
accommodate the rise
of the spigot 170. For example, the nozzle head 162 may comprise a sensor to
sense the
force applied to the spigot 170 by the nozzle 161. The nozzle head 162 may be
configured
to apply a constant amount of force in the axial direction (that is, the
direction indicated by
arrow A). When the spigot 170 starts rising as a result of the rotational
motion, the force
applied by the nozzle 161 to the spigot 170 increases and thus the nozzle head
162 may be
configured to move away from the article 30 so as to maintain a constant force
applied to the
spigot 170. In alternative implementations, the nozzle 161 may be configured
to retreat into
the nozzle head 162 as the spigot 170 starts to rise. It should be appreciated
that any
suitable mechanism for accommodating the rise of the spigot 170 may be
implemented in
accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.
Although it has been described above that the nozzle head 162 is configured to
move
towards the article 30, in other implementations, additionally, or
alternatively, the article port
56 may be configured with a suitable movement mechanism to cause the article
port 56 (and
article 30 when installed in the article port 56) to move towards the nozzle
arrangement 60
and nozzle 161. The same principles apply as described above in these
alternative
implementations. In more general terms, the dock 50 is configured to cause
relative
movement of the nozzle arrangement and/or article between the first position
and the
second position.
Additionally, while it has been described above that the nozzle 161 rotates
relative to
the nozzle head 162, in other implementations, the rotation of the nozzle 161
may be
effected by rotating the entire nozzle head 162 about the axis of the nozzle
161. In these
implementations, the nozzle 161 may be effectively statically mounted with
respect to the
nozzle head 162. Additionally or alternatively, the article port 56 may be
configured to rotate
the article 30 relative to the nozzle 161 or nozzle head 162 in other
implementations.
The operation of the dock 50 for refilling the article 30 will now be
explained with
reference to Figure 16. Figure 16 shows an example method for aiding to
explain the
principles of operation of the dock 50 to cause refilling of an article 30.
The method starts at step Si where the article 30 is engaged with the article
port 56.
As described above, this may include the article 30 being coupled to the
article port 56 or
may include the device 20 including the article 30 both being coupled to the
article port 56.
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Once at least the article 30 is engaged with the article port 56, at step S2,
the
controller 55 receives instructions to refill the article 30. As described
above, these
instructions may be received by the controller 55 either as a result of a user
input, e.g.,
obtained via a user input mechanism such as a button on the dock 50 or via a
remote device
communicate coupled to the dock 50 (e.g., a smartphone), or automatically as a
result of the
dock 50 determining that the article 30 is appropriately coupled to the
article port 56.
Optionally, and although not shown, there may be an additional step before,
after or
during step S2, which may include the controller 55 determining whether
refilling is required,
e.g., if the article 30 is already considered to have a sufficient amount of
aerosol-generating
material therein, then the controller 55 may determine that refilling is not
required. The
controller 55 may make this determination based on measuring or otherwise
being informed
of the amount of aerosol-generating material in the article 30. If refilling
is not required, then
the controller 55 may cause a suitable indication to be provided to the user.
In response to receiving the instructions at step S2, the controller 55 of the
dock 50 is
configured to cause relative movement of the nozzle arrangement toward the
article 30 at
step S3. As described above, the mechanism for causing relative movement is
not
particularly limited, but in all cases provides relative movement of the
nozzle 161 towards the
spigot 170 from a first position of the nozzle head 162 in which nozzle 161 is
not engaged
with the recessed portion 171a of the spigot 170 to a second position in which
the nozzle
161 is engaged with the spigot 170 of the article 30 located in the article
port 56.
Once the nozzle 161 is located in the second position, the controller 55 is
configured
to cause rotation of the spigot 170 from the first, closed position to the
second open position
at step S4. The controller 55 may know in advance or be able to determine how
to
appropriately control the motor 164 for rotating the nozzle 161 to
subsequently rotate the
spigot 170. For instance, the dock 50 may be calibrated in advance such that
the controller
55 is programmed to supply a voltage for a fixed duration to the motor 164 to
rotate the
spigot 170 to the open position. During this step, as described above, the
spigot 170 rises
relative to the rest of the article 30 and the nozzle head 162 / nozzle 161 /
article port 56 may
be configured to accommodate the rise in the spigot 170 by moving
appropriately.
At step S5, the controller 55 is configured to cause the spigot 170 to be
maintained in
the second, open position. This step may be inherent depending on the
mechanism used to
rotate the spigot 170, or it may be a step that requires active control (e.g.,
ensuring the
nozzle 161 maintains a certain level of force applied to the spigot 170 to
prevent the (now
compressed) 0-ring 180 from causing the spigot 170 to return to the closed
position).
Once the spigot 170 is maintained in the second, open position at step S5, the
controller 55 is configured to cause the transfer mechanism 53 to start
transfer of the aerosol
generating material, e.g., source liquid, from the refill reservoir 40 to the
reservoir 3 of the
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article 30 at step S6. More specifically, once the transfer mechanism 53 is
operated, source
liquid is transferred (e.g., pumped) from the refill reservoir 40 along the
conduit 58 via the
transfer (e.g., pumping) action of the transfer mechanism 53. The source
liquid travels along
the conduit 58, to the connecting element 163 of the nozzle arrangement 160,
through flow
channel 161a of the nozzle 161 and out of the opening of the nozzle 161 into
the inlet
opening 176a of the spigot 170. The aerosol-generating material / source
liquid then flows
through flow channel 176, outlet openings 176b, first openings 331 and finally
to the
reservoir 3 of the article 30.
At step S7, the controller 55 is configured to determine when refilling has
completed
and subsequently cause the transfer mechanism 53 to stop transferring aerosol-
generating
material to the reservoir 3 of the article 30. As discussed previously, this
may include
measuring a parameter of the article 30 which is indicative of the amount of
aerosol-
generating material, for example, a capacitance or the like using a suitable
sensor, or by
determining that a predetermined amount of aerosol-generating material has
been
transferred to the reservoir 3 of the article 30, e.g., by measuring the flow
of aerosol-
generating material to the reservoir 3.
Once refilling has been stopped at step S7, in some implementations, the
controller
55 causes the nozzle 161 to be moved away from the article 30 and out of
engagement with
the spigot 170 at step S8. This is performed by relatively moving the nozzle
arrangement
160 and the article 30 away from one another (along the direction A of Figure
3). Again, this
may be performed by moving the nozzle arrangement while keeping the article
static, by
moving the article while keeping the nozzle arrangement static, or by moving
both the nozzle
arrangement and article. Step S8 may be performed after or simultaneously with
step S7,
although this may depend on the properties of the material being transferred
by the dock 50.
For instance, there may be a delay between steps S7 and S8 to allow for any
residual
aerosol-generating material held in the nozzle 161 when the transfer mechanism
53 has
stopped to pass into the reservoir 3, if this is found to occur for certain
aerosol-generating
materials.
As the nozzle 161 is moved away from the spigot 170 of the article 30 at step
S8, the
compressed 0-ring 180 is able to begin returning to its natural state, and
subsequently
cause the rotation of the spigot 170 back to the closed position. Hence, when
the nozzle 161
is moved away from the article, the valve arrangement reverts back to its
closed position and
the article is now ready to be removed from the article port 56.
At either of steps S7 and S8, the controller 55 may be configured to cause an
indication to be provided to a user signifying that refilling is complete and
/ or that the nozzle
arrangement 160 and article 30 have been successfully decoupled (that is, are
returned from
the second position to the first position). The indication may be provided
through a suitable
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mechanism on the dock 50 (such as an LED or other suitable indicator) or
through a remote
device communicatively coupled to the dock 50 (such as a smartphone). Once the
indicator
has been provided to the user, the user may decide to remove the article 30
from the article
port 56 and is then free to use the article 30 with the device 20 for the
purposes of
generating aerosol for inhalation.
It should be appreciated that at step S8, in some implementations, rather than
simply
moving the nozzle 161 away from the article 30, the nozzle 161 may be rotated
further to
cause the spigot 170 to actively move to the first position prior to moving
the nozzle 161
away from the article 30, as described above.
Although the above has broadly described a valve arrangement comprising a
spigot
170 which is able to move both in a rotational manner around a longitudinal
axis of the spigot
170 and in a linear manner along the longitudinal axis of the spigot 170, it
should be
understood that in other implementations, only one of rotational and
longitudinal movement
may be required to move the spigot from a closed position to an open position.
For example,
the valve housing and spigot may be configured such that the open position is
achieved by
pushing or pulling the spigot in the axial direction of the spigot.
Alternatively, the valve
housing and spigot may be configured such that the open position is achieved
by rotating
the spigot about the longitudinal axis of the spigot.
It has been described above that the valve arrangement is configured to allow
air to
exit or escape the reservoir 3 of the article 30 when the nozzle 161 is
operated to transfer
aerosol-generating material (e.g., source liquid) to the reservoir 3 of the
article 30. However,
this may not be required for every implementation of the article 30. For
example, in some
cases, air may be able to escape from the reservoir 3 through joins in the
housing or
between the collar 33 and the spigot 170 or the collar 33 and the housing.
Thus, if air is
otherwise able to escape from the reservoir 3 or is able to escape at a rate
that is equal to or
greater than the rate of mass transfer of the aerosol-generating material into
the reservoir 3,
then the openings 332 (and correspondingly the groove 177a and air channel
177) may not
be required.
Although the channel 177 has been referred to herein as an air channel 177,
suitable
for transporting air from the reservoir 3 to outside the valve arrangement,
the air channel 177
may also be configured for transporting other gasses or fluids which may need
to be
evacuated from the reservoir 3 during a refilling operation.
Although it has been described above that the refilling device / dock 50 is
provided to
transfer source liquid from a refill reservoir 40 to an article 30, as
discussed, other
implementations may use other aerosol-generating materials (such as solids,
e.g., tobacco).
The principles of the present disclosure apply equally to other types of
aerosol-generating
material, and suitable refill reservoirs 40 and articles 30 for storing /
holding the aerosol-
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generating materials, and a suitable transfer mechanism 53, may accordingly be
employed
by the skilled person for such implementations.
Moreover, the above has focused on implementations in which the article 30
comprises the valve arrangement which is formed of both the spigot 170 and the
collar 33 of
the housing 31 of the article 30. However, the principles of the present
disclosure are not
limited to articles 30 but may also be applied to other aerosol-generating
material storage
containers, and in particular to refill reservoirs 40.
Figures 17A and 17B schematically show a valve arrangement provided in respect
of
the refill reservoir 40. Figures 17A and 17B will be understood from Figures
14A and 14B
respectively, and, much like with Figures 14A and 14B, parts of the refill
reservoir 40 are
omitted for clarity.
Figures 147A and 17B show a valve arrangement which is formed of both the
spigot
170 and the collar 44 of the housing 41 of the refill reservoir 40. The
housing 41 defines a
storage space (or storage area) for holding aerosol-generating material 42.
The spigot 170
and collar 44 is substantially the same as spigot 170 and collar 33 of Figures
14A and 14B,
and thus a detailed discussion will be omitted here for conciseness. Only
differences with
respect to Figures 17A and 17B will be described herein.
The collar 44 comprises first openings 441 and second openings 442. More
specifically, the collar comprises two first openings 441 arranged either side
of the central
passage of the collar 44, and two second openings 442 also arranged either
side of the
central passage of the collar 44. As will be discussed in more detail below,
the first openings
441 are provided to allow aerosol-generating material (e.g., source liquid) to
pass from
storage area of the refill reservoir (not shown) to the spigot 170, while the
second openings
442 are provided to allow air or other fluids to enter the storage area of the
refill reservoir 40
when the refill reservoir 40 is used to refill the article 30. The first
openings 441 may
therefore be referred to as inlet openings of the valve housing / collar 44 or
aerosol-
generating material inlet openings of the valve housing / collar 44, while the
second
openings 442 may be referred to as outlet openings of the valve housing /
collar 44 or as air
outlet openings of the valve housing / collar 44. As with the collar 33 of the
article 30, the
collar 44 provides a substantially hollow tubular portion defining an opening
46 of the
housing 41 of refill reservoir 40, and is sized to receive the spigot 170 in
the hollow tubular
portion / opening 46 of the housing 41 of the refill reservoir 40.
The structure of the valve arrangement of the refill reservoir 40 (as shown in
Figure
17A and 17B) is substantially the same as the structure of the valve
arrangement of the
article 30 (shown in Figures 13, 14A, and 14B). However, a difference here is
that the refill
reservoir 40 is to be used to refill the article 30 and thus aerosol-
generating material is to exit
the storage area of the refill reservoir 40 to be able to pass to the storage
area (reservoir 3)
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of the article 30. Accordingly, in use, the respective materials (aerosol-
generating material or
air / gas) are configured to flow in the opposite directions when used with
the valve
arrangement of the refill reservoir 40 as compared to the valve arrangement of
the article 30.
That is, in one respect, when the spigot 170 is in the open position (as in
Figure 17A)
the aerosol-generating material stored in the storage area of the refill
reservoir 40 enters the
spigot 170 through the inlet openings 441 of the collar 44, and exits the
spigot via the
opening 176a of the spigot (after passing through the aerosol-generating
material flow
channel). This is shown by the red arrows in Figure 17A. The opening 176a of
the spigot 170
may therefore be referred to as the aerosol-generating material outlet opening
176a of the
spigot, while the opening 176b may be referred to as the aerosol-generating
material inlet
opening 176b (in contrast to the naming of the openings in Figures 13, 14A and
14B).
Additionally, in another respect, when the spigot 170 is in the open position
(as in
Figure 17A), air (or other gasses / fluids) are able to enter the storage area
of the refill
reservoir 40 by entering through the recessed portion 443 (which may be
substantially
similar to recessed portion 333), passing along air channel 177 / groove 177a,
and through
the collar 44 via outlet openings 442.
The refilling device / dock 50 may comprise a nozzle arrangement (such as
nozzle
arrangement 160) which is configured to engage with the spigot 170 (for
example, with the
recessed portion 171a). The transfer mechanism 53 may be arranged to cause the
aerosol-
generating material to exit the refill reservoir 40 (e.g., via the openings
441 and 176a). For
example, the transfer mechanism 53 may apply a suction or pumping action which
causes
the aerosol-generating material in the storage area of the refill reservoir 40
to be sucked up
into the flow passage 176 of the spigot 170. In this regard, the openings 441
may be coupled
to respective hollow tubes that extend from the or each opening 441 towards
the bottom of
the refill reservoir 40 to provide a passage which the aerosol-generating
material may pass
along under application of a suitable suction force. Other ways of
transferring the aerosol-
generating material may be utilised, however. When aerosol-generating material
is
transferred from the storage area of the refill reservoir 40, the pressure in
the refill reservoir
may decrease (due to the extraction of material), and thus air (or other
gasses) from outside
the refill reservoir may enter the storage area of the refill reservoir 40 via
the recessed
portion 443, air channel 177 and outlet openings 442, thus causing the
pressure within the
storage area of the refill reservoir to become more equalised.
Thus, broadly, the refill reservoir 40 comprises a storage area for storing
the aerosol-
generating material and a valve arrangement in communication with the storage
area, the
valve arrangement comprising a spigot 170 including an inlet opening 176b and
an outlet
opening 176a coupled together via a flow channel 176 for the passage of
aerosol-generating
material and a valve housing 44 arranged to receive the spigot 170 such that
the spigot is
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movable relative to the valve housing 44. VVhen refilling, using a refilling
device, an article 30
for use with an aerosol provision device with aerosol-generating material from
the refill
reservoir 40, the following steps may be performed: Firstly, a nozzle of the
refilling device
fluidly coupled to the article 30 is engaged with the spigot 170 of the valve
arrangement of
the refill reservoir 40. Secondly, the nozzle of refilling device causes the
spigot 170 to move
from a first position in which the inlet opening 176b is blocked by the valve
housing 44 and a
second position in which the inlet opening 176b is in fluid communication with
the storage
area of the refill reservoir. Thirdly, refilling of the article 30 is
performed by transferring
aerosol-generating material from the storage area of the refill reservoir 40
to the article 30
using the transfer mechanism 53, wherein the aerosol-generating material is
transferred
from the outlet opening 176a of the spigot 170 to the nozzle engaged with the
spigot 170.
Thus, more generally, the principles of the present disclosure apply to
aerosol-
generating material storage containers (such as the article 30 and/or refill
reservoir 40)
comprising a valve arrangement which may take the form of a spigot and a
collar. The valve
arrangement may be utilised to allow aerosol-generating material to exit or
enter a storage
area to which the valve arrangement is able to fluidly couple to (e.g., to
allow aerosol-
generating material to enter the storage area of the article 30 or to allow
aerosol-generating
material to exit the storage area of the refill reservoir 40).
Additionally, it should be understood that the refilling device / dock 50 may
be
configured to accommodate at least one, or both, of the article 30 and refill
reservoir 40
comprising a valve arrangement including a movable spigot 170. In this regard,
the refilling
device / dock 50 may comprise a first nozzle for engaging with the valve
arrangement of the
article 30 and / or a second nozzle for engaging with the valve arrangement of
refill reservoir
40. The first nozzle may be fluidly connected to the second nozzle, e.g., via
suitable tubing,
such that aerosol-generating material may enter the second nozzle to be
transferred to, and
exit from, the first nozzle via the transfer mechanism 53. It should be
appreciated that if the
valve arrangement comprising the movable spigot is not used for either of the
article 30 or
refill reservoir 40, an alternative coupling mechanism for fluidly coupling
the refill reservoir to
the article 30 may be implemented.
Furthermore, it should also be appreciated that while the above has described,
generally, that the valve arrangement of the article 30 permits aerosol-
generating material to
enter the storage area of the article 30, and that the valve arrangement of
the refill reservoir
permits aerosol-generating material to leave the refill reservoir 40, the flow
of aerosol-
generating material may be reversed for either the article 30 and/or the
refill reservoir 40.
That is, aerosol-generating material may be extracted / removed from the
article 30 (e.g., in
the event the article 30 is overfilled) or aerosol-generating material may be
inserted into the
refill reservoir 40 (e.g., in the event the refill reservoir is to be
refilled). It should be
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understood the valve arrangements described above are suitable for
accommodating flow of
aerosol-generating material and/or air / gasses in either direction (as seen
in respect of
Figures 14A and 17A).
In addition, the above disclosure has focused on embodiments in which the
spigot
170 is configured to engage with the nozzle 161 for both transferring aerosol-
generating
material to/from the article 30 or refill reservoir 40 and actuating the
spigot 170 to cause the
spigot to move between the first and second positions. That is to say, the
nozzle 161 /
nozzle arrangement 160 has the dual function of actuating the spigot and
supplying aerosol-
generating material to / from the aerosol-generating material storage
container. However, in
other embodiments, each of these functions may be provided by separate
mechanisms.
Figure 18 is a schematic representation of an article 930 including a valve
arrangement comprising a spigot 970 provided in a collar 933 of the housing
931 of the
article 930 such that it plugs an opening 932 of the article 930.
The article 930 is similar to article 30 described above; however, the article
930
comprises an aerosol-generating material passage 934 formed in the housing 931
and
communicating with an inlet opening 9331 of the collar 933 and an air passage
935 formed
in the housing 931 and communicating with an outlet opening 9332 of the collar
933.
The aerosol-generating material passage 934 is configured in such a way as to
engage with a nozzle 961 of a refilling device 50. For example, the housing
931 of the article
930 may comprise a suitable engagement mechanism (not shown) for allowing the
nozzle
961 to fluidly couple with the aerosol-generating material passage 934. The
nozzle 961 is
fluidly coupled to the aerosol-generating material passage 934 to allow
aerosol-generating
material to pass from the refill reservoir 40 into the passage 934 and to the
inlet opening
9331 of the collar 930 (and ultimately to the storage area of the article
930).
The air passage 935 is optionally provided in the collar 933 to allow air or
other fluids
to exit the reservoir of the article 930 when refilling of the article 930
occurs, in a similar
manner to as described above with respect to article 30.
Both the aerosol-generating material passage 934 and the air passage 935 are
provided as passages formed in the housing 931 that communicate with the
respective
openings of the collar 933. As will be described below, the openings of the
collar 933
communicate with respective openings of the spigot 970 to allow either aerosol-
generating
material to enter/exit the storage area of the article 930 and/or air to
exit/enter the storage
area of the article 930.
Turning now to the spigot, the spigot 970 is similar to the spigot 70
described
previously. Like spigot 70, spigot 970 comprises a proximal end 971, a distal
end 972, an
aerosol-generating material flow channel 976 and an air passage 977.
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The proximal end 971 comprises a corresponding engagement feature, which like
above, may comprise a recessed portion 971a in the proximal end 971 of the
spigot 970.
However, unlike the engagement feature 171a of spigot 170, the engagement
feature 971a
is configured to engage with a spigot actuation mechanism 990 of the refill
device 50. The
spigot actuation mechanism 990 may comprise e.g., a rotatable and/or
longitudinally
moveable member that is able to engage with the engagement feature 971a to
actuate the
spigot 970 between a first position and a second position, much like the
nozzle 161 of the
nozzle arrangement 160. The recessed portion 971a may take any of the shapes
described
above in respect of the recessed portion 171a, and equally the spigot
actuation mechanism
990 may take any of the shapes described above with respect to the nozzle 161.
However,
unlike the spigot 170, the engagement mechanism 971a does not comprise or is
in the
vicinity of an opening (such as opening 176a). More specifically, the surface
of the spigot
that comprises the engagement feature 971a does not include an opening in the
spigot 970
which is coupled to the aerosol-generating material flow channel 976. Rather,
as can be
seen from Figure 18, the aerosol-generating material flow passage 976 is
coupled to an
opening 976b which is in communication with the opening 9331 of the collar 933
(when the
spigot 970 is in the open position). The opening 976b is provided in / on a
side surface of the
spigot 970, much like the opening 76h of spigot 170. The opening 976b acts as
an inlet
opening when in communication with the opening 9331 of the collar to allow
aerosol-
generating material to pass from the aerosol-generating material passage 934
to the
aerosol-generating material flow channel 976 of the spigot 970. As can be seen
in Figure 18,
the distal end 972 of the spigot 970 comprises an opening 976a which acts as
an aerosol-
generating material outlet opening to allow aerosol-generating material in the
aerosol ¨
generating material flow channel 976 to exit the flow channel 976 and pass
into the storage
area of the article 930.
Hence, what is described is similar to the above scenario with the spigot 170
but
some of the main differences are that, firstly, the inlet opening 976b of the
spigot 970, which
allows aerosol-generating material to be passed to the flow channel 976, is
arranged such
that it can be opened and closed by virtue of its relative positioning with
respect to the
opening 9331 of the collar 933 of the valve arrangement based on the position
of the spigot
970, and secondly, the inlet opening 976b is positioned at a different
location than the
engagement feature 971a for engaging with the mechanism that actuates the
spigot
between the open and closed positions, Le., the spigot actuation mechanism
990.
When the spigot 970 is in the closed position, the spigot 970 is positioned
relative to
the collar 933 such that the inlet opening 976h does not align with the inlet
opening 9331 of
the collar 933 (in other words, the collar 933 blocks the inlet opening 976b).
This is the
opposite scenario to spigot 170, whereby it is the outlet opening 176b that is
blocked by the
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collar 33 in the closed position. In the arrangement of Figure 18, the outlet
opening 976a is
always in fluid communication with the reservoir of the article 970; however,
it should be
appreciated that in other embodiments the outlet opening 976a may be arranged
such that it
can be blocked by the collar 933 (e.g., by adopting a similar construction as
shown in Figure
14A or 14B, with the flow channel 976 being arranged in a T-shape and engaging
with
further openings on the collar 933).
In much the same way as spigot 170, when the spigot 970 is in the open
position,
aerosol generating material enters the flow channel 976 via the opening 976b
from the
aerosol-generating material passage 934 and opening 9331 of the article 930,
passes along
the flow channel 976 and out of the outlet 976a provided at the distal end 972
of the spigot
970 and into the reservoir of the article 970. This is shown by the red arrows
in Figure 18.
Figure 18 also shows the spigot 970 includes a recess 971a for receiving an 0-
ring
or similar resilient, elastic material (generally referred to as biasing
element 180), where the
0-ring 180 sits in the recess 971a and extends with a diameter greater than
the diameter of
the spigot 970. The biasing element 180 in this example is provided at the
proximate end
971 of the spigot 970 (as opposed to the distal end as shown in Figures 14A
and 14B), but
essentially acts in the same way to bias the spigot to the closed position
(that is, when the
spigot 970 is rotated and pushed downwards, the biasing element 180 compresses
such that
when that force is removed, i.e., by removing the spigot actuation mechanism
990, the
spigot 970 is forced to the closed position. However, in other
implementations, the biasing
element 180 may be located at the distal end 972 of the spigot 970 e.g., in a
similar
configuration to Figures 14A and 14B whereby further openings are provided to
allow air (or
other fluids) to enter the channel 977 through the collar 933.
The valve arrangement also comprises an optional pathway 977 for allowing air
to
escape the storage area of the article 970, e.g., during refilling. The spigot
970 is provided
with a groove, track, or cut-out 977a in a part of the outer surface of the
spigot 970, which
forms a part of an air channel 977, much like groove 77a of Figures 13, 14A,
and 14B. The
air channel 977 extends from the openings 9332 provided between the spigot 970
and the
collar 933 (in much the same way as shown in Figures 13, 14A, and 14B with
engagement
ring 175 in the collar 33), along the groove 977a formed in the spigot 970,
and up to the
outlet opening 9332. Air is then able to pass through the outlet opening 9332
in the collar
933, along the air passage 935 of the article 930 and to the external
environment of the
article 930. This is shown by the blue arrows in Figure 18.
In this regard, it should be appreciated that the Figure 18 shows the spigot
970 in the
open position, and when the spigot 970 is provided in the closed position, the
spigot 970
sealing engages with the collar 933 at the distal end 972 to close off
openings 9333, and/or
the groove 977a may be moved out of alignment with the outlet opening 9332,
thereby
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closing off the channel 977 and preventing air (or other fluids) from escaping
/ entering the
storage area of the article 930.
As with the arrangement in Figure 14A and 14B, when an air flow channel 977 is
provided, the air channel 977 is arranged such that at least one end of the
air channel 977 is
able to be closed when the spigot is in the closed position to prevent air (or
other fluids) from
entering / exiting the reservoir of the article.
Thus, the example of Figure 18 shows an alternative arrangement of the valve
arrangement for an article in which separate mechanism are provided to actuate
the spigot
970 of the valve arrangement and supply aerosol-generating material to the
article 930. In
the event that separate mechanism are provided, the refilling device 50 is
provided with
suitable separate mechanism to engage with the article 930. As described
above, this
includes a nozzle 961 (which may be engaged to a suitable nozzle arrangement,
similar to
nozzle arrangement 160) and a spigot actuation mechanism 990. Each of these
mechanisms may be controlled individually (that is to say, each may be engaged
with the
respective portions of the article 930 individually and operated to supply
material and/or
actuate the spigot individually). However, like above, the spigot 970 should
be moved to the
open position before aerosol generating material is supplied to the article
930.
The above construction of the valve arrangement of Figure 18 is given by way
of
example only, and other constructions abiding to the principles described
above are
contemplated.
The arrangement of Figure 18 has been described with respect to an article
930.
However, the valve arrangement may be applied to a refill reservoir 40 (in a
similar way as
described in Figure 17A and 17B) with the direction of flow of the aerosol-
generating
material and air (or other fluid) being reversed. Hence, more generally, the
valve
arrangement of Figure 18 is applicable to an aerosol-generating material
storage container.
In accordance with the principles of the present disclosure, the spigot is
movable
between a first position in which one of the openings of the aerosol-
generating material flow
channel is blocked by the valve housing / collar and a second position in
which the storage
area is in fluid communication with the environment external to the aerosol-
generating
material storage container via the flow channel. More generally, in the case
of an article 30,
930, either: when the spigot is in the closed position, the outlet opening
176b of the aerosol-
generating material flow channel 176 is blocked by the valve housing, and when
the spigot is
in the open position the outlet opening 176b is in fluid communication with
the storage area;
or when the spigot is in the closed position at least the inlet opening 976b
of the aerosol-
generating material flow channel 976 is blocked by the valve housing, and when
the spigot is
in the open position the inlet opening 976b is in fluid communication with the
environment
external to the aerosol-generating material storage container, wherein in
either case the
CA 03238435 2024-5- 16
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aerosol-generating material storage container is configured such that aerosol-
generating
material is able to pass through the inlet opening and to the storage area via
the outlet
opening when the spigot is in the second position. In the case of a refill
reservoir 40, either
when the spigot is in the closed position at least the inlet opening 176b is
blocked by the
valve housing, and when the spigot is in the open position the inlet opening
176b is in fluid
communication with the storage area; or when the spigot is in the closed
position at least the
outlet opening 976b is blocked by the valve housing, and when the spigot is in
the open
position the outlet opening 976b is in fluid communication with the
environment external to
the aerosol-generating material storage container, wherein in either case the
aerosol-
generating material storage container is configured such that aerosol-
generating material is
able to pass through the outlet opening from the storage area via the inlet
opening when the
spigot is in the open position.
Hence, it has been described an aerosol-generating material storage container
for
storing aerosol-generating material and configured to engage with a refilling
device
configured to refill an article with aerosol-generating material, the
container comprising: a
storage area for storing the aerosol-generating material; a valve arrangement
in
communication with the storage area, the valve arrangement comprising: a
spigot including
a first opening and a second opening coupled together via a flow channel for
the passage of
aerosol-generating material; a valve housing arranged to receive the spigot
such that the
spigot is movable relative to the valve housing, wherein the spigot is movable
between a first
position in which the first opening is blocked by the valve housing and a
second position in
which the storage area is in fluid communication with the environment external
to the
aerosol-generating material storage container via the flow channel. Also
described is a
refilling device and a method.
The various embodiments described herein are presented only to assist in
understanding and teaching the claimed features. These embodiments are
provided as a
representative sample of embodiments only, and are not exhaustive and/or
exclusive. It is
to be understood that advantages, embodiments, examples, functions, features,
structures,
and/or other aspects described herein are not to be considered limitations on
the scope of
the invention as defined by the claims or limitations on equivalents to the
claims, and that
other embodiments may be utilised and modifications may be made without
departing from
the scope of the claimed invention. Various embodiments of the invention may
suitably
comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of, appropriate combinations of
the disclosed
elements, components, features, parts, steps, means, etc., other than those
specifically
described herein. In addition, this disclosure may include other inventions
not presently
claimed, but which may be claimed in future.
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