Electronic smoking article with alternative air flow paths

An electronic smoking article capable of providing a cigarette experience without combusting tobacco, comprising:

• a reusable portion housing a power source and circuitry;
• a cartomizer portion housing a cartomizer, which includes:
• a reservoir;
• and
• a heater and wick arrangement in communication with the reservoir including liquid material and operative to volatilize liquid material to produce an aerosol;
• a condensation chamber in communication with an outlet on a downstream end of the air flow channel;
• and
• a mouth-end insert;
• and
• a connector configured to connect the reusable portion to the cartomizer portion, and wherein the connector has a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart slots, which is in fluid communication with one or more cartomizer holes, and wherein the one or more cartomizer holes are configured to provide a source of air flow to the heater and wick arrangement of the cartomizer, and wherein a combined air flow area of the plurality of circumferentially spaced apart slots is greater than a combined cross-sectional area of the one or more cartomizer holes.

An electronic smoking article capable of providing a cigarette experience without combusting tobacco, comprising:

• a reusable portion housing a power source and circuitry;
• a cartomizer portion housing a cartomizer, which includes:
• a reservoir;
• and
• a heater and wick arrangement in communication with the reservoir including liquid material and operative to volatilize liquid material to produce an aerosol;
• a condensation chamber in communication with an outlet on a downstream end of the air flow channel;
• and
• a mouth-end insert;
• and
• at least one vent hole positioned in the reusable portion of the electronic smoking article between a downstream end of the power source and the cartomizer portion, and wherein the at least one vent hole is in fluid communication with a flow control insert located on an upstream end of an air flow channel of the cartomizer, the flow control insert having at least one cartomizer inlet configured to control an amount of air flow to the cartomizer, and wherein an air flow area of the at least one vent hole is greater than an air flow area of the at least one cartomizer inlet.

A method of controlling resistance-to-draw of an electronic smoking article, which includes a reusable portion and a cartomizer portion, the method comprising:

• supplying an air flow from one or more inlets in an outer cylindrical housing of the electronic smoking article to a cartomizer via a cartomizer inlet having a fixed diameter configured to control a resistance-to-draw of the electronic smoking article and wherein the cartomizer inlet is located inside the outer cylindrical housing of the electronic smoking article, and wherein a combined air flow area of the one or more inlets in the outer housing of the electronic smoking article is greater than a cross-sectional area of the cartomizer inlet;
• heating a liquid material from a reservoir to form an aerosol in a central air channel;
• combining the at least initially volatilized liquid material with the air flow from the cartomizer inlet;
• and
• condensing the saturated vapor within the condensation chamber in communication with the air flow channel to form the aerosol.