Electronic vaporiser system
The invention is an electronic cigarette vaporizer system operable in a ‘discrete’ mode to reduce the amount of vapor produced by a vaporizer that forms part of the system, compared to a normal mode. The ‘discrete’ mode causes the vapor produced to be less visible or noticeable, compared to a normal mode.
1. An electronic cigarette vaporiser system operable in a ‘discrete’ mode to reduce the amount of vapour produced by a vaporiser that forms part of the system, compared to a normal mode; in which the electronic vaporiser system includes
(i) a user-replaceable, e-liquid cartridge, which is not user-refillable and includes no heating element;
(ii) an e-liquid reservoir that is separate from the user-replaceable e-liquid cartridge;
(iii) an electric or electronic pump that is configured to withdraw e-liquid from the user-replaceable e-liquid cartridge and pump pressurised e-liquid to the e-liquid reservoir; and
(iv) a heating element that is not in the user-replaceable e-liquid cartridge but is instead in, or in e-liquid communication with, the e-liquid reservoir.
2. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1 in which the ‘discrete’ mode causes the vapour produced to be less visible or noticeable, compared to a normal mode.
3. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1 in which the system includes a button or sensor that, if selected or activated, alters the operation of the vaporiser in such a way as to decrease the vapour produced compared to a normal mode.
4. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 3 in which the button or sensor is part of the vaporiser, or a case for the vaporiser, or a connected application running on a connected smartphone or other device.
5. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1 in which the ‘discrete’ mode involves reducing the power delivered to or used by an atomising or heating unit compared to a normal mode.
6. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 5 in which the atomising or heating unit is powered using a pulsed signal and the duty cycle of the pulsed signal is varied to decrease the power, compared to a normal mode.
7. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 6 in which the pulsed signal is a PWM (pulse width modulated) signal.
8. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1 in which the ‘discrete’ mode involves increasing the VG (vegetable glycerin) proportion compared to PG (propylene glycol) in the e-liquid being vaporised, compared to a normal mode.
9. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1 in which the ‘discrete’ mode involves altering the frequency or duty cycle or other operational parameters of a piezo-electric, thermal bubble jet or ultrasonic atomiser, compared to a normal mode.
10. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1 in which the ‘discrete’ mode involves reducing the maximum temperature of a heating element in the atomizing unit, compared to a normal mode.
11. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 10 in which a microcontroller in the vaporiser monitors the temperature of the heating element.
12. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1 in which the electronic vaporiser system is an e-cigarette system.
13. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1 in which the electronic vaporiser system is a medicinally approved nicotine drug delivery system.
14. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1 in which the vaporiser is the same approximate size as a cigarette, and that vaporiser includes no ‘discrete’ mode button, or any other kind of control button.
15. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1 in which the electronic vaporiser has a square or rectangular cross-section with rounded corners and includes a long PCB inserted lengthwise into the vaporiser.
16. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1 in which the electronic vaporiser is filled from the user-replaceable e-liquid cartridge.
17. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1 in which the electronic vaporiser includes the heating element, wherein the electronic vaporiser is refillable with e-liquid only when inserted, whole and intact and not dis-assembled, into a re-fill case that includes a fluid transfer mechanism to transfer e-liquid into the vaporiser.
18. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1 in which the electronic vaporiser includes lights that illuminate to indicate the amount of e-liquid consumed, and these lights are dimmed or turned off if the vaporiser is in ‘discrete’ mode.
19. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1 including a case for storing the electronic vaporiser.
20. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 19 in which the case includes the electric or electronic pump.
21. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1 in which the electronic vaporiser includes the electric or electronic pump and the user-replaceable cartridge is removably insertable or integral to the vaporiser.
22. The electronic vaporiser system of claim 1 in which the electronic vaporiser includes a structure that is configured to enable excess air-pressure arising from the pressurised e-liquid to escape from the e-liquid reservoir and that is non-porous to the pressurised e-liquid.