Electronic smoking article

Abstract

An electronic smoking article or electronic vaping article includes a reservoir containing a liquid material and having an outlet, a capillary having a capillary inlet and a capillary outlet, the capillary inlet of the capillary in communication with the outlet of the reservoir, a heater operable to heat the capillary to a temperature sufficient to at least initially volatilize liquid material contained within the capillary, and a shuttle valve between the outlet of the reservoir and the capillary inlet. The shuttle valve is operable to prevent release of liquid material from the reservoir when the shuttle valve is in a closed position and is operable to release liquid material from the reservoir when the shuttle valve is in an open position.

1 . An electronic vaping article comprising:
 a capillary structure configured to receive and vaporize liquid material from a reservoir;   a valve including a plunger, and an annular space surrounding the plunger, the annular space in fluid communication with the reservoir; and   a sheath flow insert downstream from the capillary structure.   
     
     
         2 . The electronic vaping article of  claim 1 , wherein the sheath flow insert is configured to receive a first portion of incoming ambient air along an external surface of the sheath flow insert via a plurality of channels and configured to receive a second portion of the incoming ambient air through an interior of the sheath flow insert. 
     
     
         3 . The electronic vaping article of  claim 1 , wherein the sheath flow insert defines a mixing chamber and a constriction section therein. 
     
     
         4 . The electronic vaping article of  claim 3 , further comprising:
 an outer housing defining at least one air inlet upstream from and in fluidic communication with the mixing chamber of the sheath flow insert.   
     
     
         5 . The electronic vaping article of  claim 3 , further comprising:
 an outer housing defining at least one air inlet superimposed with the sheath flow insert,   wherein the sheath flow insert further defines a plurality of air holes in fluidic communication with the at least one air inlet of the outer housing and the mixing chamber of the sheath flow insert.   
     
     
         6 . The electronic vaping article of  claim 3 , wherein about 80% to about 95% of incoming ambient air flows into the mixing chamber and about 5% to about 20% of the incoming ambient air flows through a plurality of channels of the sheath flow insert. 
     
     
         7 . The electronic vaping article of  claim 3 , further comprising:
 a mouth-end insert downstream from the sheath flow insert, the mouth-end insert and the sheath flow insert defining a growth cavity therebetween.   
     
     
         8 . The electronic vaping article of  claim 1 , wherein the reservoir is configured to store the liquid material. 
     
     
         9 . The electronic vaping article of  claim 1 , wherein the valve is configured to:
 switch between a closed position and an open position, and   release the liquid material from the annular space surrounding the plunger to the capillary structure when in the open position.   
     
     
         10 . The electronic vaping article of  claim 1 , wherein the capillary structure has an internal diameter of about 0.05 to 0.4 mm and a length of about 5 mm to about 72 mm. 
     
     
         11 . The electronic vaping article of  claim 1 , wherein the capillary structure includes a metallic tube. 
     
     
         12 . The electronic vaping article of  claim 1 , wherein the capillary structure includes a non-metallic tube with a heater in thermal contact with the non-metallic tube. 
     
     
         13 . The electronic vaping article of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a power supply configured to apply a voltage to the capillary structure to vaporize the liquid material.   
     
     
         14 . The electronic vaping article of  claim 13 , wherein the power supply includes a battery. 
     
     
         15 . The electronic vaping article of  claim 14 , wherein the battery is connected to the capillary structure by two electrical leads. 
     
     
         16 . The electronic vaping article of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 control circuitry configured to control the voltage from the power supply to the capillary structure.   
     
     
         17 . The electronic vaping article of  claim 16 , wherein the control circuitry is configured to heat the capillary structure while the liquid material is being released from the reservoir.