Beyond Twenty Ltd.

Ayr Ltd.

Dmitry Gorilovsky

Ian Murison

Stephen Marsh

An electronic cigarette vaporizer includes a heating element and a microcontroller; the microcontroller monitors or measures electrical characteristics of the heating element and uses that to automatically identify the type of heating element and as a control input. The microcontroller automatically applies different heating parameter controls to the heating element, including optimal and maximum operating temperature, depending on the type of heating element that is identified.

Electronic vaporiser system

An electronic vaporiser system including a vaporiser () and a single piezo-electric pump () that both withdraws e-liquid from a cartridge or chamber () and also pumps controlled amounts of e-liquid for atomizing in the vaporizer ().

An electronic cigarette vaporizer that includes a heating element and further includes or co-operates with an electronics module that (i) detects characteristics of the resistance of the heating element and (ii) uses an inference of temperature derived from that resistance as a control input. The temperature of the heating element may be inferred from data stored in the electronics module that has been empirically obtained for a specific heating element design. The electronics module controls the power delivered to the heating element to ensure that it is no higher than approximately 130&#xb0; C., plus an error tolerance.

An electronic cigarette vaporizer includes a heating element, an air pressure sensor and a microcontroller; the microcontroller stores, processes or determines the extent of each inhalation using signals from the air pressure sensor. The microcontroller can calculate the approximate e-liquid consumption from the extent of each inhalation or provide data that enables an external processor to calculate approximate e-liquid consumption. The extent of an inhalation is a function of one or more of: duration; peak flow rate; average flow rate.

An electronic cigarette vaporizer system including a cartridge designed to provide a liquid or other substance for the electronic vaporizer system, the cartridge including a chip that stores data related to the batch number of the substance stored in the cartridge, and the cartridge being adapted to be inserted into or form an integral part of the electronic vaporizer system. The electronic vaporizer system reads the data from the chip and compares that data with stored data and, depending on the result of that comparison, either prevents or permits use of that substance.

An electronic cigarette vaporiser includes a heating element and a microcontroller; the microcontroller monitors or measures the airflow speed or pressure drop over an air-pressure sensor or other sensor and uses that as an input to control the power delivered to the heating element. The microcontroller can compensate for a very strong inhalation by applying more power during that inhalation as compared to a very light inhalation to ensure that the heating element is kept at its optimal heating temperature.

An electronic cigarette vaporizer that includes a heating element and further includes or co-operates with an electronics module that (i) detects characteristics of the delivery of power, current or voltage to the heating element and (ii) determines if those characteristics are associated with degradation of the heating element. A characteristic that is associated with degradation of the heating element is an increase or other change in the heating element resistance. The heating element resistance can be established by the electronics module sending a test current through the heating element that is sufficient to enable a measurement of resistance to be made.

An electronic cigarette vaporizer includes a heating element for heating an e-liquid and a microcontroller; the microcontroller determines the type and/or characteristics of the e-liquid being used and uses that as an input to automatically control the power delivered to the heating element to heat the e-liquid in a manner suitable for that specific type of e-liquid, or e-liquid with those characteristics. The e-liquid can be supplied from a cartridge and that cartridge then includes a record of the type of e-liquid stored in the cartridge and/or its characteristics and the microcontroller reads that record or is provided data from that record. A variable for the type of e-liquid and/or its characteristics is the water content of the e-liquid.

A electronic cigarette vaporizer that includes a mechanical valve that is (i) pushed up from its seat to enable automatic filling of the vaporizer with e-liquid from a fluid transfer mechanism and (ii) returns to seal against its seat at other times when the vaporizer is being vaped or inhaled from (e.g. when filling is complete).

An e-liquid cartridge designed to provide e-liquid for an electronic cigarette vaporizer system, the cartridge including a chip that stores and outputs (i) a unique identity for the cartridge and/or (ii) data defining the e-liquid stored in the cartridge, and the cartridge being adapted to be inserted into or form an integral part of the electronic vaporizer system. The data stored and output by the chip defines one or more of: flavor, nicotine strength, manufacturing batch number, date of manufacture, date of filling, tax data, quantity of e-liquid stored in the cartridge.

An electronic cigarette vaporizer includes a heating element and a microcontroller; the microcontroller monitors or measures external or ambient temperature and uses that as a control input. The control input automatically controls the power delivered to the heating element to ensure that the heating element operates at its optimal temperature. Where ambient temperatures are monitored or measured as very cold, then the power to the heating element is automatically increased to compensate.

An electronic cigarette vaporizer that includes an IMU (inertial measurement unit). The IMU enables the vaporizer to detect when it is being lifted up and out of a case in which it has been stored so that it can change state. The change of state can be to turn on and to start heating an atomizing element. Data from the IMU may also enable the vaporizer to tell if it is not being used and so can power down.

An electronic cigarette vaporizer that includes a heating element, a power source and an electronics module that manages the delivery of power, current or voltage to the heating element; the electronics module controls or delivers pulses of power, current or voltage to the heating element, such as PWM (pulse width modulation) with a high frequency 1-10 KHz switching frequency. The duty cycle of the PWM can be approximately 90% when heating; and 1-10% duty during a preheat; and 0% when the vaporizer is idle.

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London, United Kingdom

Dmitry Gorilovsky