# US 11,896,055 B2 · Electronic aerosol provision systems > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,896,055 B2 - Document ID: US11896055B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/247,894 - Filed: 2020-12-29 - Published: 2021-08-12 - Granted: 2024-02-13 - Earliest claimed: 2015-06-29 - Assignees: Nicoventures Trading Limited - Applicants: Nicoventures Trading Limited - Inventors: Rory Fraser; Colin Dickens; Siddhartha Jain - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11896055B2 ## CPC - A24F 40/465: specially adapted for induction heating - A24B 15/167: in liquid or vaporisable form, e.g. liquid compositions for electronic cigarettes - A24F 40/44: Wicks - A24F 40/46: Shape or structure of electric heating means - H05B 3/46: heating conductor mounted on insulating base - A24F 40/10: Devices using liquid inhalable precursors - H05B 2203/021: Heaters specially adapted for heating liquids - A24F: SMOKERS' REQUISITES; MATCH BOXES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES (inhaling appliances for medical purposes, shaped like cigars, cigarettes or pipes A61M15/06) - A24B: MANUFACTURE OR PREPARATION OF TOBACCO FOR SMOKING OR CHEWING; TOBACCO; SNUFF - H05B: ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL ## Abstract An aerosol provision system for generating an aerosol from a source liquid, the aerosol provision system including: a reservoir of source liquid; a planar vaporizer comprising a planar heating element, wherein the vaporizer is configured to draw source liquid from the reservoir to the vicinity of a vaporizing surface of the vaporizer through capillary action; and an induction heater coil operable to induce current flow in the heating element to inductively heat the heating element and so vaporize a portion of the source liquid in the vicinity of the vaporizing surface of the vaporizer. In some example the vaporizer further comprises a porous wadding/wicking material, e.g. an electrically non-conducting fibrous material at least partially surrounding the planar heating element (susceptor) and in contact with source liquid from the reservoir to provide, or at least contribute to, the function of drawing source liquid from the reservoir to the vicinity of the vaporizing surface of the vaporizer. In some examples the planar heating element (susceptor) may itself include a porous material so as to provide, or at least contribute to, the function of drawing source liquid from the reservoir to the vicinity of the vaporizing surface of the vaporizer. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An aerosol provision system for generating an aerosol from a source liquid, the aerosol provision system comprising: a reservoir of source liquid; a planar vaporizer comprising a planar heating element, wherein the vaporizer is configured to draw source liquid from the reservoir to a vicinity of a vaporizing surface of the vaporizer through capillary action; and an induction heater coil operable to induce current flow in the heating element to inductively heat the heating element and so vaporize a portion of the source liquid in the vicinity of the vaporizing surface of the vaporizer, wherein at least one of the vaporizer or the heating element comprising the vaporizer is in the form of a planar annulus. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The aerosol provision system of claim 1, wherein the vaporizer further comprises porous material at least partially surrounding the heating element. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The aerosol provision system of claim 2, wherein the porous material comprises a fibrous material. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The aerosol provision system of claim 2, wherein the porous material is arranged to draw the source liquid from the reservoir to the vicinity of the vaporizing surface of the vaporizer through capillary action. ### Claim 5 (depends on 2) The aerosol provision system of claim 2, wherein the porous material is arranged to absorb the source liquid that has been drawn from the reservoir to the vicinity of the vaporizing surface of the vaporizer so as to store the source liquid in the vicinity of the vaporizing surface of the vaporizer for subsequent vaporization. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The aerosol provision system of claim 1, wherein the heating element comprises a porous electrically conductive material, and wherein the heating element is arranged to draw the source liquid from the reservoir to the vicinity of the vaporizing surface of the vaporizer through capillary action. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The aerosol provision system of claim 1, wherein the vaporizer comprises first and second opposing faces connected by a peripheral edge, and wherein the vaporizing surface of the vaporizer comprises at least a portion of at least one of the first and second faces. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The aerosol provision system of claim 7, wherein the vaporizing surface of the vaporizer comprises at least a portion of the first face of the vaporizer, and wherein the source liquid is drawn from the reservoir to the vicinity of the vaporizing surface through contact with the second face of the vaporizer. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The aerosol provision system of claim 7, wherein the vaporizing surface of the vaporizer comprises at least a portion of each of the first and second faces of the vaporizer, and wherein the source liquid is drawn from the reservoir to the vicinity of the vaporizing surface through contact with at least a portion of the peripheral edge of the vaporizer. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The aerosol provision system of claim 1, wherein the vaporizer defines a wall of the reservoir of the source liquid. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The aerosol provision system of claim 10, wherein the vaporizing surface of the vaporizer is on a side of the vaporizer facing away from the reservoir of the source liquid. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The aerosol provision system of claim 1, wherein the aerosol provision system comprises an airflow path along which air is drawn when a user inhales on the aerosol provision system, and wherein the airflow path passes through a passageway through the vaporizer. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The aerosol provision system of claim 1, further comprising a further planar vaporizer comprising a further planar heating element, wherein the further vaporizer is configured to draw the source liquid from the reservoir to the vicinity of a vaporizing surface of the further vaporizer through capillary action. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The aerosol provision system of claim 13, wherein the induction heater coil is further operable to induce current flow in the further heating element to inductively heat the further heating element and so vaporize a portion of the source liquid in the vicinity of the vaporizing surface of the further vaporizer, or, wherein the aerosol provision system comprises a further induction heater coil operable independently of a first-mentioned induction heater coil to induce current flow in the further heating element to inductively heat the further heating element and so vaporize the portion of the source liquid in the vicinity of the vaporizing surface of the further vaporizer. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) The aerosol provision system of claim 13, wherein the vaporizer and the further vaporizer are separated along a longitudinal axis of the aerosol provision system. ### Claim 16 (depends on 13) The aerosol provision system of claim 13, wherein the vaporizer defines a wall of the reservoir of source liquid and the further vaporizer defines a further wall of the reservoir of the source liquid. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The aerosol provision system of claim 16, wherein the vaporizer and the further vaporizer respectively define walls at opposing ends of the reservoir. ### Claim 18 A cartridge for use in an aerosol provision system for generating an aerosol from a source liquid, the cartridge comprising: a reservoir of source liquid; a planar vaporizer comprising a planar heating element, wherein the vaporizer is configured to draw source liquid from the reservoir to the vicinity of a vaporizing surface of the vaporizer through capillary action, and wherein the heating element is susceptible to induced current flow from an induction heater coil of the aerosol provision system to inductively heat the heating element and so vaporize a portion of the source liquid in the vicinity of the vaporizing surface of the vaporizer, wherein at least one of the vaporizer or the heating element comprising the vaporizer is in the form of a planar annulus. ### Claim 19 A method of generating an aerosol from a source liquid, the method comprising: providing a reservoir of source liquid and a planar vaporizer comprising a planar heating element, wherein the vaporizer draws source liquid from the reservoir to the vicinity of a vaporizing surface of the vaporizer by capillary action; and driving an induction heater coil to induce current flow in the heating element to inductively heat the heating element and so vaporize a portion of the source liquid in the vicinity of the vaporizing surface of the vaporizer, wherein at least one of the vaporizer or the heating element is in the form of a planar annulus.