Granted Patent B2

US 12,245,632 · App. 16/227,354 · Granted Mar 11, 2025

Inventors: Ali Rostami (Glen Allen, VA); Christopher S. Tucker (Midlothian, VA); David Kane (Richmond, VA); Peter Lipowicz (Midlothian, VA); Georgios Karles (Richmond, VA); Gerd Kobal (Sandy Hook, VA); Yezdi Pithawalla (Midlothian, VA)

Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC

A24F40/44A24F40/30A24F40/40A24F40/42A24F40/46A24F40/10

Abstract

Claims (33)

1. A cartridge for an e-vaping device, the cartridge comprising:

a housing extending in a longitudinal direction;

a plurality of reservoirs positioned within the housing, the plurality of reservoirs extending in the longitudinal direction and configured to hold different pre-vapor formulations;

a dispensing interface coupled to the plurality of reservoirs, the dispensing interface including a plurality of separate wicks coupled together, the plurality of separate wicks each including absorbent material; and

a heater coupled to the dispensing interface,

wherein the dispensing interface includes

a trunk that is a portion of the dispensing interface that includes coupled portions of the plurality of separate wicks and is surrounded by the heater, and

a plurality of separate roots that include non-coupled portions of the plurality of separate wicks extending away from the trunk, the plurality of separate roots extending in the longitudinal direction into separate, respective reservoirs of the plurality of reservoirs, such that the dispensing interface is configured to draw the different pre-vapor formulations from the plurality of reservoirs into the trunk via the plurality of separate roots,

wherein the heater is configured to heat separate portions of the trunk at different rates simultaneously based on applying different magnitudes of heat to different portions of the trunk simultaneously,

wherein the trunk includes one of

the coupled portions of the plurality of separate wicks overlapping each other in the longitudinal direction, or

the coupled portions of the plurality of separate wicks including respective end surfaces of the plurality of separate wicks, the respective end surfaces of the plurality of separate wicks facing each other in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction.

2. The cartridge of claim 1 , wherein the heater is a wire coil winding around the trunk, the wire coil including separate portions coupled to separate portions of the trunk, the separate portions of the wire coil having different spacings, the separate portions of the wire coil configured to provide different magnitudes of heat to the different portions of the trunk simultaneously based on the different spacings of the separate portions of the wire coil.

3. The cartridge of claim 1 , wherein

the heater includes a plurality of separate heating elements, each separate heating element being coupled to a separate portion of the trunk, each separate heating element configured to generate a different magnitude of heat.

4. The cartridge of claim 1 , further comprising:

a constrictor coupled to at least one root of the dispensing interface, the constrictor being configured to adjustably control a rate of transport at which the at least one root draws at least one pre-vapor formulation based on adjustably constricting a diameter of at least a portion of the at least one root to adjust a porosity of the portion of the at least one root.

5. The cartridge of claim 1 , wherein the separate roots include different porosities.

6. The cartridge of claim 1 , wherein the different pre-vapor formulations include different viscosities at a common temperature.

7. The cartridge of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of separate wicks include different wicking materials, respectively.

8. The cartridge of claim 1 , further comprising:

a divider assembly configured to partition at least two separate wicks of the plurality of separate wicks from direct contact with each other, the divider assembly being configured to mitigate pre-vaporization mixing of separate pre-vapor formulations drawn to the trunk via the at least two separate wicks.

9. The cartridge of claim 8 , wherein

the trunk includes the coupled portions of the plurality of separate wicks overlapping each other in the longitudinal direction, and

the divider assembly is between side surfaces of the plurality of separate wicks in the longitudinal direction and extends in parallel to the plurality of separate wicks at the trunk.

10. An e-vaping device comprising:

the cartridge of claim 1 ; and

a power supply section configured to selectively supply power to the cartridge.

11. The e-vaping device of claim 10 , wherein

the power supply section includes a rechargeable battery, the power supply section being removably coupled to the cartridge.

12. The cartridge of claim 8 , wherein

the trunk includes the coupled portions of the plurality of separate wicks including the respective end surfaces of the plurality of separate wicks facing each other in the direction transverse to the longitudinal direction, and

the divider assembly is between the respective end surfaces of the plurality of separate wicks in the direction transverse to the longitudinal direction and extends transverse to the coupled portions of the plurality of separate wicks at the trunk.

Continuity (2)

References Cited (400)