Cartridge having partition member and heater and inhaler including same

Inventors

Watanabe, Tomoichi • Matsumoto, Hirofumi • Nakano, Takuma • OISHI, Kei

Assignees

Japan Tobacco Inc

Abstract

To provide an inhaler cartridge and an inhaler including a novel structure. Provided is a cartridge for an inhaler. The cartridge includes: a housing including an accommodation space capable of accommodating a liquid, an air flow passage, and a partition member partitioning the accommodation space and the air flow passage in a longitudinal direction; and a heater configured to be capable of heating the liquid and arranged in the air flow passage. The partition member includes an opening opened in a transverse direction to bring the accommodation space into communication with the air flow passage. The opening includes an upstream-side opening edge and a downstream-side opening edge. The partition member includes an upstream-side end and a downstream-side end. A distance between the upstream-side opening edge and the upstream-side end is smaller than a distance between the downstream-side opening edge and the downstream-side end.

Core Innovation

An inhaler cartridge includes a housing with a tank for accommodating a liquid, a partition member in the housing, a heater, and a liquid holding member. The partition member has a liquid supply port and a recess portion to receive the liquid holding member, and the liquid holding member receives liquid from the tank through the liquid supply port and transports the liquid towards the heater.

The cover member connected to the housing includes an air inlet port, and the cover member and the housing form an air flow passage. The heater and the liquid holding member are contained within an interior of the housing, and the liquid holding member is positioned such that air flow within the air flow passage impinges at least one surface of the liquid holding member.

In further disclosed embodiments, the liquid supply port comprises two or more openings in the partition member. The liquid holding member is arranged so a first surface is in contact with the heater and a second surface receives the liquid from the tank through the liquid supply port, and a length of the first surface of the liquid holding member is greater than a distance between the first surface and the second surface.

A related configuration further includes a mouthpiece having an opening, with the mouthpiece connected to the housing. The cover member, the housing, and a first surface of the liquid holding member form an air flow passage configured to direct air from the air inlet port to the opening of the mouthpiece, and the liquid holding member is positioned such that air flow within the air flow passage impinges the first surface of the liquid holding member.

Claims Coverage

The partial content provides four independent claims. Across these claims, the inventive features focus on an inhaler cartridge architecture that couples a liquid holding member and heater within a housing, supplies liquid via a partition member liquid supply port including multi-opening configurations, and arranges an air flow passage such that airflow impinges a surface of the liquid holding member, including configurations that route air to a mouthpiece opening.

Across the independent claims, the disclosed cartridge architecture combines a liquid holding member and a heater within a housing, supplies liquid from a tank through a partition member liquid supply port including multi-opening supply ports, and forms air flow passage structures that cause air to impinge at least one surface of the liquid holding member. Additional independent features include opposing heater-contacting and tank-receiving surfaces, a disclosed geometric constraint relating surface length and spacing, and an embodiment where the air flow passage directs air to a mouthpiece opening.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications

No documented applications found