Electronic vaping device with pre-heater

Abstract

Provided is an electronic vaping device that includes a heating element configured to convert a portion of a liquid into a vapor by elevating a temperature of the liquid. An airflow passage is defined by the vaping device to channel a stream of a fluid including air, or a combination of air and vapor, adjacent to the heating element as a result of a user inhaling through a mouthpiece. The stream of fluid flowing through the airflow passage entrains the vapor and transports the vapor toward the mouthpiece. A pre-heater is arranged upstream of the heating element to pre-heat at least a portion of the fluid to a pre-heated temperature. The pre-heated temperature is greater than an ambient temperature of the air that is introduced to the pre-heater. A controller independently controls the heating element and the pre-heater.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An electronic vaping device comprising:
 a heating element configured to convert a portion of a liquid into a vapor by elevating a temperature of the liquid, wherein the liquid comprises at least a first chemical constituent to be included in the vapor;   an airflow passage through which air flows adjacent to the heating element as a result of a user inhaling through a mouthpiece, wherein the air flows through the airflow passage to entrain the vapor and transport the vapor away from the heating element and toward the mouthpiece;   a pre-heater arranged to pre-heat the air to a pre-heated temperature as the air is being drawn toward a location where the air is to be introduced to the vapor, wherein the pre-heated temperature is greater than an ambient temperature of the air that is introduced to the pre-heater; and   a controller that independently controls the heating element and the pre-heater.   
     
     
         2 . The electronic vaping device of  claim 1  further comprising a temperature sensor for sensing the pre-heated temperature of the air at an upstream location along the airflow passage, before the air reaches a location where the air is introduced to the vapor, wherein the temperature sensor is operably connected to the controller to transmit the sensed pre-heat temperature to the controller as feedback. 
     
     
         3 . The electronic vaping device of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a vaporizer comprising a power source that supplies electric energy to the heating element, wherein the controller is provided to the vaporizer, and an atomizer that is separable from the vaporizer and comprises a reservoir that stores the liquid in fluid communication with the heating element, wherein the heating element is provided to the atomizer. 
 
     
     
         4 . The electronic vaping device of  claim 3 , wherein the pre-heater comprises a second heating element that is provided to the vaporizer. 
     
     
         5 . The electronic vaping device of  claim 4 , wherein the vaporizer comprises an air inlet port through which the air is drawn from an ambient environment of the vaporizer to be heated by the second heating element before the heated air, at the pre-heated temperature, is introduced to a portion of the airflow passage defined by the atomizer. 
     
     
         6 . The electronic vaping device of  claim 3  further comprising an airflow sensor forming a portion of the vaporizer. 
     
     
         7 . The electronic vaping device of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is operable to control a gas fraction of the first chemical constituent included in the vapor independently of at least one of: (i) a mass of the liquid that is converted into the vapor during a puff, and (ii) a temperature of the vapor entrained in the air exiting the mouthpiece. 
     
     
         8 . The electronic vaping device of  claim 1  further comprising a user interface in communication with the controller to receive input from a user and transmit a corresponding signal to the controller, wherein the user interface comprises one or more input devices that allow the user to enter at least two user-defined settings selected from a group consisting of: (i) a power setting defining a user-desired quantity of electric power to be supplied to the heating element by a power source, (ii) a temperature setting defining a user-desired temperature of the air entraining the vapor that is to exit the mouthpiece, and (iii) a gas fraction setting defining a user-desired gas fraction of the first chemical constituent in the vapor. 
     
     
         9 . The electronic vaping device of  claim 8 , wherein the controller is operable to control operation of the heating element and the pre-heater to independently implement each of the user-defined settings. 
     
     
         10 . The electronic vaping device of  claim 9 , wherein the controller controls operation of the heating element independently of the pre-heater. 
     
     
         11 . The electronic vaping device of  claim 1 , wherein the pre-heater comprises a second heating element, and wherein the second heating element comprises as at least one of: (i) a formed wire, (ii) a conductive open-cell foam material, (iii) a foil or a flat plate metal heater, and (iv) a conductive mesh. 
     
     
         12 . The electronic vaping device of  claim 11 , wherein the second heating element comprises the conductive open-cell foam material, and the conductive open-cell foam material is formed from a material selected from the group consisting of: a metal, a metal-alloy, a carbon fiber material, a carbon material, a ceramic material, and a plastic material. 
     
     
         13 . The electronic vaping device of  claim 1 , wherein the heating element comprises a plurality of heat generating structures that are collectively controlled as a group to convert the portion of the liquid into the vapor. 
     
     
         14 . The electronic vaping device of  claim 1 , wherein the pre-heater comprises a plurality of heat generating structures that are collectively controlled as a group to heat the air. 
     
     
         15 . The electronic vaping device of  claim 1  further comprising a user interface in communication with the controller to receive input from a user and transmit a corresponding signal to the controller, wherein the user interface comprises an input device that allows the user to enter a user-desired operating temperature of the pre-heater. 
     
     
         16 . The electronic vaping device of  claim 1  further comprising a user interface in communication with the controller to receive input from a user that causes the controller to save information about operation of the vaping device during a puff in a computer-readable medium, and receive an instruction to reproduce the puff using the saved information. 
     
     
         17 . The electronic vaping device of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to determine a bulk vapor outlet temperature and adjust a temperature of the pre-heater to maintain the bulk vapor outlet temperature in response to changes to a temperature of the heating element. 
     
     
         18 . The electronic vaping device of  claim 17 , wherein the controller is further configured to adjust a quantity setting defining a quantity of the first chemical constituent in the vapor according to a schedule. 
     
     
         19 . The electronic vaping device of  claim 1  further comprising a sensor that senses a first quality that suggests a puff is imminent and transmits a first signal to the controller, wherein the controller activates the pre-heater before activating the heating element in response to receiving the first signal. 
     
     
         20 . The electronic vaping device of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a sensor that senses a first quality that suggests a puff is imminent and transmits a first signal to the controller; and 
 a secondary sensor that senses a second quality, different from the first quality, that also suggests the puff is imminent, and transmits a second signal to the controller, wherein
 the controller activates the pre-heater before activating the heating element in response to receiving both the first signal and the second signal.