Electronic vaping device and vapor generating apparatus
AssigneeAltria Client Services LLC
InventorLoi Ying LIU
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A flavored vapor generator (100, 200, 300, 400) used for an electronic smoking apparatus (10) comprises a housing; a liquid retention material (155, 255) which is filled, soaked or immersed with a flavored liquid and received inside the housing; an electric heater (150, 350, 450) for heating the liquid retention material (155, 255) to generate flavored vapor; and a sensor (156, 356, 456) for monitoring soaking or wetness conditions of the liquid retention material (155, 255) and providing signals for determining whether the flavored liquid in the liquid retention material (155, 255) is exhausted or almost exhausted.
Claims20
A vapor generating apparatus comprising:
- a liquid reservoir configured to store a liquid;
- a first heater arranged in the liquid reservoir, the first heater configured to heat the liquid to generate a vapor;
- a second heater arranged in the liquid reservoir, the second heater configured to heat the liquid to generate a vapor;
- and
- an electronic controller configured to detect depletion of the liquid in the liquid reservoir based on an electrical resistance between the first heater and the second heater.
A vapor generating apparatus comprising:
- a liquid reservoir configured to store a liquid;
- a heater arranged in the liquid reservoir, the heater configured to heat the liquid to generate a vapor;
- a sensor arranged in the liquid reservoir, the sensor configured to heat the liquid to generate a vapor;
- and
- an electronic controller configured to
- measure resistance at respective first terminals of the sensor to determine saturation conditions of the liquid reservoir,
- determine whether the liquid retained in the liquid reservoir is at or above an operational threshold value based on the measured resistance,
- detect depletion of the liquid in the liquid reservoir based on whether the liquid in the liquid reservoir is at or above the operational threshold value, and
- control power output to at least one of the heater or the sensor to generate the vapor based on the depletion of the liquid in the liquid reservoir.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.