Vaporizer

Abstract

A vaporizer can include a body, an air inlet for airflow into the body, an air outlet for airflow out of the body and a chamber disposed fluidically between the inlet and the outlet. The chamber can be configured to hold a porous body having fluid disposed therein. The porous body can be removable. A vaporizer can include a heater disposed in the chamber for heating and removably holding the porous body. The heater can be fluidically insulated and can be structurally supported by one or more electrical conductors.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A vaporizer, comprising:
 a body;   an air inlet for airflow into the body;   an air outlet for airflow out of the body; and   a chamber disposed fluidically between the inlet and the outlet;   wherein the chamber is configured to hold a porous body having fluid disposed therein.   
     
     
         2 . The vaporizer of  claim 1 , further comprising a cup disposed at least partially within the chamber. 
     
     
         3 . The vaporizer of  claim 2 , wherein the cup comprises one or more openings fluidically disposed within an airflow path between the air inlet and the air outlet. 
     
     
         4 . The vaporizer of  claim 1 , further comprising one or more retainers configured to limit movement of a porous body in one or more directions. 
     
     
         5 . The vaporizer of  claim 4 , further comprising a cup disposed at least partially within the chamber and wherein at least one of the one or more retainers extends radially inwardly from an interior surface of the cup. 
     
     
         6 . The vaporizer of  claim 4 , wherein at least one of the one or more retainers is configured to optionally contact at least a portion of a porous body when a porous body is disposed in the chamber. 
     
     
         7 . The vaporizer of  claim 1 , further comprising a heater disposed at least partially within the chamber. 
     
     
         8 . The vaporizer of  claim 7 , wherein the heater has a bottom surface and the chamber has a bottom interior surface, and further comprising a gap between the bottom surface of the heater and the bottom interior surface of the chamber. 
     
     
         9 . The vaporizer of  claim 7 , wherein at least a portion of the heater is configured to directly contact at least a portion of a porous body. 
     
     
         10 . The vaporizer of  claim 7 , wherein at least a portion of the gap is an air gap. 
     
     
         11 . The vaporizer of  claim 9 , wherein the heater comprises a top surface configured to support a porous body. 
     
     
         12 . The vaporizer of  claim 7 , wherein the heater comprises a ceramic disk having electrically resistive material disposed thereon or therein. 
     
     
         13 . The vaporizer of  claim 7 , further comprising one or more electrical conductors coupled to the heater and wherein the heater is at least partially structurally supported by at least one of the one or more electrical conductors. 
     
     
         14 . The vaporizer of  claim 7 , further comprising one or more electrical conductors coupled to the heater and wherein the heater is fluidically insulated from all vaporizer components other than the one or more electrical conductors. 
     
     
         15 . The vaporizer of  claim 7 , further comprising one or more electrical conductors coupled to the heater and wherein the heater is configured to not touch any portion of the chamber. 
     
     
         16 . The vaporizer of  claim 2 , further comprising a heater disposed at least partially within the cup. 
     
     
         17 . The vaporizer of  claim 16 , wherein the heater has a bottom surface and the cup has a bottom interior surface, and further comprising a gap between the bottom surface of the heater and the bottom interior surface of the cup. 
     
     
         18 . The vaporizer of  claim 16 , further comprising one or more electrical conductors coupled to the heater and wherein the heater is at least partially structurally supported by at least one of the one or more electrical conductors. 
     
     
         19 . The vaporizer of  claim 16 , further comprising one or more electrical conductors coupled to the heater and wherein the heater is fluidically insulated from all vaporizer components other than the one or more electrical conductors. 
     
     
         20 . The vaporizer of  claim 16 , further comprising one or more electrical conductors coupled to the heater and wherein the heater is configured to not touch any portion of the cup.