E-Liquid Delivery Control for Aerosol Devices

Abstract

A device includes a liquid conduit in fluid communication or configured to be brought into fluid communication with a vaporization area, the vaporization area being in thermal communication or configured to be brought into thermal communication with a heater configured to heat an oleaginous, oily or fatty aerosol liquid to generate an aerosol, the conduit being configured to receive the oleaginous, oily or fatty aerosol liquid and to direct the oleaginous, oily or fatty aerosol generating liquid to the vaporization area; and a valve arranged in the liquid conduit configured to selectively control the flow of the oleaginous, oily or fatty aerosol generating liquid to the vaporization area, the valve including an oleophobic surface and a first electrode configured to supply a voltage to the oleophobic surface, wherein the oleophobic surface is configured such that it becomes less oleophobic with an increase in the voltage.

1 . A device comprising:
 a liquid conduit in fluid communication or configured to be brought into fluid communication with a vaporization area, wherein the vaporization area is in thermal communication or configured to be brought into thermal communication with a heater configured to heat an oleaginous, oily or fatty aerosol liquid to generate an aerosol, wherein the liquid conduit is configured to receive the oleaginous, oily or fatty aerosol liquid and to direct the oleaginous, oily or fatty aerosol generating liquid to the vaporization area; and   a valve arranged in the liquid conduit configured to selectively control the flow of the oleaginous, oily or fatty aerosol generating liquid to the vaporization area, the valve comprising:
 an oleophobic surface; and 
 a first electrode configured to supply a voltage to the oleophobic surface, 
 wherein the oleophobic surface is configured such that the oleophobic becomes less oleophobic with an increase in the voltage. 
   
     
     
         2 . The device according to  claim 1 , wherein the liquid is stopped or repelled at the valve when an amount of supplied voltage is below a threshold value, and directed to the vaporization area when an amount of supplied voltage is above the threshold value. 
     
     
         3 . The device according to  claim 1 , wherein the oleophobic surface forms part of the first electrode. 
     
     
         4 . The device according to  claim 1 , wherein the oleophobic surface comprises one or more of a fluoropolymer, a nanopattern, nanofibers, poly (2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate), PTFEMA, or a 3D structural graphene foam. 
     
     
         5 . The device according to  claim 1 , wherein the liquid conduit comprises a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface, wherein the first surface and the second surface are located on either sides of the liquid conduit parallel to the flow direction of the liquid conduit,
 and wherein at least one of the oleophobic surface or the first electrode extends all the way from the first surface to the second surface.   
     
     
         6 . The device according to  claim 1 , wherein the oleophobic surface is formed by a mesh. 
     
     
         7 . The device according to  claim 1 , wherein the liquid conduit is a micro-channel or a capillary conduit. 
     
     
         8 . The device according to  claim 1 , further comprising a second electrode configured to provide a potential difference between the first and the second electrodes, wherein the second electrode is arranged in an upstream position relative to the first electrode and configured to be in contact with the aerosol generating liquid. 
     
     
         9 . The device according to  claim 1 , further comprising a liquid reservoir storing the oleaginous, oily or fatty aerosol liquid in fluid communication with the liquid conduit, and configured to provide the oleaginous, oily or fatty aerosol liquid to the liquid conduit. 
     
     
         10 . The device according to  claim 1 , wherein the liquid conduit comprises a plurality of liquid conduits, each of the plurality of liquid conduits comprising a valve as defined in  claim 1 , or
 wherein the vaporization area is in fluid communication with the plurality of liquid conduits.   
     
     
         11 . The device according to  claim 1 , wherein the control of the flow is configured so that the oleaginous, oily or fatty aerosol generating liquid is directed towards the vaporization area when the heater is activated and the oleaginous, oily or fatty aerosol generating liquid is stopped or repelled when the heater is deactivated, or vice versa. 
     
     
         12 . The device according to  claim 1 , further comprising the heater. 
     
     
         13 . The device according to  claim 1 , further comprising a sensor configured to detect if a user is drawing on a mouthpiece of the device, wherein the valve is configured to be controlled based on the detection. 
     
     
         14 . The device according to  claim 1 , wherein the device is an exchangeable cartridge. 
     
     
         15 . An aerosol generating system comprising:
 a device according to claim  14 ; and   an aerosol generating unit comprising:
 a housing comprising a mouthpiece, configured to receive the device, and 
 a power source configured to supply a current to the heater and a voltage to the electrode. 
   
     
     
         16 . The device according to  claim 7 , wherein the liquid conduit has a cross-section area of at least 0.01 mm 2  and at most 0.5 mm 2 .