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.

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.

Oil tanker and or ore/oil carrier can take more good fuel oil consumption through cargo oil handling by usage of electric motor driven system instead of steam turbine driven cargo pump system. Its merit is about 20%.

An electronic cigarette vaporiser that is the same approximate size as a cigarette and has a square or rectangular cross-section with rounded corners and includes a long PCB inserted lengthwise into the vaporiser. The PBC is not mounted at the mid-point of the cross-section, but at a different position closer to a major face of the vaporiser to permit more room for a rechargeable battery. The cross-section is a squircle.

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.

A method of driving a solenoid pump of the type comprising a metal shuttle urged by a solenoid against a spring with the spring providing the force for the pumping stroke of the shuttle is disclosed. The method comprises applying a periodic driving voltage to the solenoid. Each period of the driving voltage comprises a first portion during which the driving voltage increases from a minimum voltage to a maximum voltage to compress the spring, a second portion during which the driving voltage decreases from the maximum voltage to the minimum voltage to release the spring, and a third portion during which the driving voltage is maintained at the minimum voltage. The duration of the second portion is substantially less than the duration of the first portion and may be substantially instantaneous. The driving voltage increases from the minimum voltage to the maximum voltage substantially linearly during the first portion, such that the driving voltage has a sawtooth waveform.

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 system includes a case and a vaporizer that is stored in the case; the system includes a non-contact sensor that detects release or withdrawal of the vaporizer from the case. When withdrawal of the vaporizer is detected, then the vaporizer electronic circuitry changes state, e.g. to a ready mode, or a pre-heating mode in which an inhalation detector is activated or to a heating mode, where an atomizing unit in the vaporizer is at least partly activated so that the vaporizer is fully heated when the first inhalation is taken.

A fluid control device includes a pump and an external structure. The pump includes an actuator, a top portion opposed to the actuator such that a gap is disposed therebetween in the thickness direction, and a side wall plate extending from the top portion in the thickness direction and supporting a vibration member. The actuator includes the plate-like vibration member and a piezoelectric element configured to cause the vibration member to vibrate in the thickness direction. The top portion includes a projection portion and a fixation portion projecting beyond the side wall plate in an outward direction perpendicular to the thickness direction. The top portion is fixed to an external structure outside the projection portion.