Vaporizer for an Electronic Cigarette

Abstract

A vaporizer for an electronic cigarette is fluidically connectable to a liquid store and electrically connectable to a power supply unit in the electronic cigarette. The vaporizer comprises at least one heating element connectable to the power supply unit, an absorbing structure comprising at least one channel configured to receive liquid from the liquid store and conduct the liquid to the at least one heating element, and a pair of electrical contacts. Each electrical contact is arranged about the sides of the at least one channel. The electrical contacts are connectable to an electrical control circuitry when arranged in the electronic cigarette, and the electrical contacts are configured to establish a closed circuit and enable a supply of power to the at least one heating element only when liquid is present in the at least one channel.

1 . A vaporizer for an electronic cigarette, the vaporizer being fluidically connectable to a liquid store and electrically connectable to a power supply unit in the electronic cigarette, the vaporizer comprising:
 at least one heating element being connectable to the power supply unit,   an absorbing structure comprising at least one channel configured to receive liquid from the liquid store and conduct the liquid to the at least one heating element, and   a pair of electrical contacts, each electrical contact of the pair of electrical contacts being arranged adjacent to a respective side of said at least one channel,   wherein the electrical contacts of the pair of electrical contacts are connectable to an electrical control circuitry when arranged in the electronic cigarette, and   wherein the electrical contacts are configured to establish a closed circuit and enable a supply of power to the at least one heating element only when the liquid is present in the at least one channel.   
     
     
         2 . The vaporizer according to  claim 1 , wherein each electrical contact of the pair of electrical contacts is located in a respective wall of the at least one channel. 
     
     
         3 . The vaporizer according to  claim 2 , wherein the electrical contacts are positioned at an end of the at least one channel. 
     
     
         4 . The vaporizer according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one channel is open in a direction perpendicular to a capillary flow direction within the at least one channel. 
     
     
         5 . The vaporizer according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one channel is a microfluidic channel and wherein the absorbing structure comprises a plurality of microfluidic channels. 
     
     
         6 . The vaporizer according to  claim 5 , wherein the microfluidic channel of each of the at least one channel are formed is defined by a network of channel structures. 
     
     
         7 . The vaporizer according to  claim 6 , wherein the microfluidic channel of each of the at least one channel comprises a plurality of protrusions. 
     
     
         8 . The vaporizer according to any one of the preceding  claim 1 , wherein the absorbing structure is a planar substrate on which the at least one channel and the at least one heating element are arranged. 
     
     
         9 . The vaporizer according to  claim 1 , wherein the vaporizer further comprising a supply conduit configured to connect to a liquid transfer element and draw the liquid by capillary action into the at least one channel. 
     
     
         10 . The vaporizer according to  claim 9 , wherein the absorbing structure is divided into a plurality of segments, and wherein each segment of the plurality of segments comprises a respective channel of the at least one channel thermally coupled to a respective heating element of the at least one heating element, and wherein each of the channels has a first end connected to the supply conduit. 
     
     
         11 . The vaporizer according to  claim 10 , wherein only a single channel is defined in each segment of the absorbing surface structure. 
     
     
         12 . The vaporizer according to any one of the preceding  claim 1 , wherein the at least one channel has an elongated structure. 
     
     
         13 . An electronic cigarette comprising the vaporizer according to  claim 1 , wherein the electronic cigarette further comprises the power supply unit and the electrical control circuitry, wherein at least a first channel of the at least one channel is thermally coupled to a respective at least a first heating element of the at least one heating element, and wherein the at least a first heating element is controllable by the electrical control circuitry such that the power is supplied from the power supply unit to the at least a first heating element only when the liquid is present in the at least a first channel to which the respective at least a first heating element is thermally coupled. 
     
     
         14 . The electronic cigarette according to  claim 13 , wherein the electrical control circuitry further comprises at least one switch, wherein each of the at least one switch is configured to sense whether the liquid is present in a corresponding channel of the at least one channel and to selectively activate a respective one of the at least one heating element thermally coupled to that corresponding channel. 
     
     
         15 . The electronic cigarette according to  claim 14 ,
 wherein each of the at least one switch is configured to sense a change in capacitance or resistance due to an amount of the liquid present in the corresponding channel in order to determine that the liquid is present in the corresponding channel.   
     
     
         16 . The electronic cigarette according to  claim 15 , wherein the vaporizer comprises a plurality of the at least one channel and a plurality of the at least one heating element, and wherein each of the plurality of heating elements is individually controllable by the electrical control circuitry. 
     
     
         17 . The vaporizer according to  claim 2 , wherein each electrical contact of the pair of electrical contacts is located on opposing sides of the at least one channel in a horizontal plane. 
     
     
         18 . The vaporizer according to  claim 12 , wherein the at least one channel follows a serpentine path.