On-demand, portable convection vaporizer
View Patent ↗On-demand, hand-held vaporizer that operates primarily by convection. The vaporizer is configured to permit very rapid (e.g., within a few seconds) heating of air drawn through an oven chamber to a predetermined or selectable vaporizing temperature to vaporize a material (e.g., loose leaf plant material, etc.) that is held in the oven chamber. The vaporizer provides efficient transfer of air being heated as well as rapid delivery of vaporizable material to a user.
1. A vaporizer comprising:
a vaporizer body comprising an outer housing;
a structural housing component configured to fit within the outer housing;
a heater contained within the structural housing component, the heater having at least one opening through which air is passed and heated;
an oven chamber configured to hold a vaporizable material to be heated by the air heated by the heater, causing the vaporizable material to at least partially vaporize into the heated air, the oven chamber contained within the structural housing component;
a controller coupled to the heater, the controller contained within the structural housing component and configured to cause the heater to heat to a temperature; and
a mouthpiece coupled to an end of the vaporizer body, the mouthpiece configured to deliver the heated air and vaporized material;
wherein at least one internal side channel is formed between and extends along a length of an outer side wall of the structural housing component and an inner side wall of the outer housing between the oven chamber and the mouthpiece;
wherein the at least one internal side channel forms at least one cooling pathway for the heated air and vaporized material to travel to the mouthpiece.
2. The vaporizer of claim 1 , further comprising an inlet air opening formed through a portion of the outer housing through which the air enters into the vaporizer body upon a user drawing on the mouthpiece.
3. The vaporizer of claim 2 , further comprising a pressure sensor configured to detect an airflow of the air, wherein the pressure sensor is coupled to the controller and transmits a signal thereto upon the detection of the airflow.
4. The vaporizer of claim 3 , wherein the signal causes the controller to heat the heater.
5. The vaporizer of claim 1 , wherein the heater comprises an elongate tube comprising a notched region at at least some point along a length of the elongate tube.
6. The vaporizer of claim 1 , wherein the oven chamber comprises side walls having a surface area, and wherein a majority of the surface area of the side walls of the oven chamber are surrounded by an air gap.
7. The vaporizer of claim 1 , further comprising a screen at a bottom portion of the oven chamber, wherein the screen comprises a plurality of perforations to allow the heated air to pass to the oven chamber.
8. The vaporizer of claim 7 , wherein the screen is electrically isolated from the oven chamber, and wherein the controller is further configured to determine a temperature of the screen from a measured resistance along a length of the screen.
9. The vaporizer of claim 7 , wherein the controller is further configured to determine a temperature of the screen from a measured voltage across the screen and the oven chamber.
10. The vaporizer of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to determine an air temperature of the heated air as a function of one or more of a heater temperature, flow rate, and time.
11. The vaporizer of claim 1 , further comprising one or more thermocouple sensors between the heater and the oven chamber, the one or more thermocouple sensors configured to sense an air temperature of the heated air and provide temperature input to the controller.
12. The vaporizer of claim 1 , wherein the controller comprises a microcontroller coupled to measurement circuitry;
wherein the measurement circuitry measures a heater temperature of the heater.
13. The vaporizer of claim 12 , wherein the measurement circuitry comprises a two-point measurement circuit.
14. The vaporizer of claim 12 , wherein the measurement circuitry comprises a four-point measurement circuit.
15. The vaporizer of claim 12 , wherein the microcontroller is configured to control energy applied to the heater based on a heater temperature and an air temperature of the heated air between the heater and the oven chamber.
16. The vaporizer of claim 1 , wherein the mouthpiece is at a first end of the outer housing and the oven chamber is at a second end of the outer housing opposite the first end.
17. The vaporizer of claim 1 , wherein the mouthpiece and the oven chamber are adjacent one another.
18. The vaporizer of claim 1 , wherein the heater is suspended within the vaporizer body.
19. The vaporizer of claim 1 , wherein the heater and the at least one opening cause turbulent air flow as the air is passed over and through the heater.
20. The vaporizer of claim 1 , wherein vaporizer operation begins when airflow caused by a user using the mouthpiece is detected.
21. A vaporizer comprising:
a vaporizer body comprising an outer housing and an inner structural housing component contained within the outer housing and defining a cavity;
an air inlet extending through a portion of the outer housing and into the cavity of the inner structural housing component, through which air enters into the cavity;
a heater having one or more openings through which the air is passed, the heater and the one or more openings generating turbulence in the air as the air is passed over and through the heater for heating;
an oven chamber within the cavity of the inner structural housing component and in which a vaporizable material is held configured to be heated by the air heated by the heater, causing the vaporizable material to vaporize into the heated air;
a controller coupled to the heater and configured to cause the heater to heat to a predetermined temperature upon air flow to the heater being detected; and
a mouthpiece coupled to the outer housing and configured to deliver the heated air and vaporized material;
wherein at least one internal side channel is formed between and extends along a length of an outer side wall of the structural housing component and an inner side wall of the outer housing between the oven chamber and the mouthpiece;
wherein the at least one internal side channel forms at least one cooling pathway for the heated air and vaporized material to travel to the mouthpiece.
22. A method of operating a vaporizer, the method comprising:
sensing a draw on a mouthpiece of the vaporizer;
applying energy to a heater of the vaporizer;
monitoring an air temperature of heated air from the heater;
limiting an oven temperature of an oven chamber by modifying the energy applied to the heater; and
regulating a heater temperature of the heater to control the heater temperature in response to changes in resistance of the heater;
wherein the vaporizer comprises:
a vaporizer body comprising an outer housing;
a structural housing component configured to fit within the outer housing; and
a controller contained with the structural housing component;
wherein the heater is contained within the structural housing component and is coupled to the controller, the heater having at least one opening through which air is passed and heated;
wherein the oven chamber is contained within the structural housing component, the oven chamber configured to hold a vaporizable material to be heated by the air heated by the heater, causing the vaporizable material to at least partially vaporize into the heated air;
wherein the mouthpiece is coupled to the vaporizer body and is configured to deliver the heated air and vaporized material;
wherein at least one internal side channel is formed between and extends along a length of an outer side wall of the structural housing component and an inner side wall of the outer housing between the oven chamber and the mouthpiece;
wherein the at least one internal side channel forms at least one cooling pathway for the heated air and vaporized material to travel to the mouthpiece; and
wherein the controller is configured to perform at least the sensing, applying, monitoring, limiting, and regulating operations.
23. The method of claim 22 , wherein the draw on the mouthpiece is detected by the controller from a sensed pressure drop of ambient air within a cavity of the vaporizer.
24. The method of claim 22 , wherein the air temperature of the heated air is measured from one or more thermocouple sensors between the heater and the oven chamber.
25. The method of claim 22 , wherein regulating the heater temperature comprises determining a target resistance set point of the heater and regulating the heater temperature so as not to exceed a predetermined threshold.
26. The method of claim 22 , further comprising determining the heater temperature of the heater from a four-point measurement.
27. The method of claim 22 , further comprising adjusting the energy applied to the heater in response to the four-point measurement by adjusting one or more of a frequency and a duty cycle of the energy applied to the heater.
28. The method of claim 27 , wherein adjusting the energy applied to the heater is in response to the air temperature of the air between the heater and the oven chamber of the vaporizer.
29. A vaporizer comprising:
a vaporizer body comprising an outer housing;
a heater within the outer housing, the heater configured to disturb a flow of air and heat the air flowing in a region of the heater;
an oven chamber fluidly coupled to the heater, the oven chamber configured to hold a vaporizable material to be heated by the air heated by the heater, causing the vaporizable material to vaporize into the heated air, wherein walls of the oven chamber are surrounded by an air gap; and
a mouthpiece coupled to the vaporizer body and configured to deliver the heated air and vaporized material.
30. The vaporizer of claim 29 , further comprising a channel region to further distribute the flow of, and cool, the heated air and vaporized material as the heated air and the vaporized material travel within the outer housing to the mouthpiece.
31. The vaporizer of claim 29 , further comprising a controller coupled to the heater and configured to cause the heater to heat to a predetermined temperature.
32. The vaporizer of claim 29 , further comprising an inlet air opening formed through a portion of the outer housing through which the air enters into the vaporizer body upon a user drawing on the mouthpiece.
33. The vaporizer of claim 29 , wherein the heater comprises an elongate tube comprising a notched region along its length.