Simulated cigarette

Abstract

A simulated cigarette having a generally cylindrical cigarette like housing with a main axis, the housing containing a reservoir of a pressurised inhalable composition. The reservoir has a reservoir outlet at one end which is selectively closed by an outlet valve. The simulated cigarette further comprises a tube with a through bore extending along a substantial portion of the reservoir from the vicinity of the reservoir outlet such that composition flows into a tube bore inlet and along the tube bore to the reservoir outlet. The tube inlet end is retained such that the axis passes through the inlet end and so that the tube bore inlet is positioned in the axial sense in the central 50% of the volume of the reservoir.

Claims

1. A simulated cigarette having a generally cylinder-shaped cylindrical cigarette like housing with a main axis corresponding to a cylindrical axis of the cylinder shape, the housing containing a reservoir of a pressurized pressurised inhalable composition extending along a substantial portion of the housing, the reservoir having a reservoir outlet at one end which is selectively closed by an outlet valve, the outlet valve being operable to allow the composition to flow from the reservoir outlet to an inhalation outlet at the outlet end of the device; wherein the simulated cigarette further comprises a tube with a through bore extending along a substantial portion of the reservoir from the vicinity of the reservoir outlet such that composition flows into a tube bore inlet and along the tube bore to the reservoir outlet, a tube inlet end being retained such that the main axis passes through the inlet end and so that the tube bore inlet is positioned in the axial sense in the central 50% of the volume of the reservoir.

2. A simulated cigarette as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tube bore inlet is positioned in the central 30% and preferably the central 20% of the volume of the reservoir.

3. A simulated cigarette as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tube bore inlet is in the half of the volume furthest from the outlet.

4. A simulated cigarette as claimed in claim 1, wherein, the reservoir is refillable and has a refill valve at a refill end opposite to the outlet end.

5. A simulated cigarette as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outlet valve is a breath operated valve.

6. A simulated cigarette as claimed in claim 5, wherein the outlet valve is biased closed by a resilient member and is supported by a flexible diaphragm, and an air flow path is provided through the cigarette such that suction on the outlet end causes the air flow to create a pressure on the diaphragm sufficient to lift the outlet valve against the action of the resilient member and open the outlet valve.

7. A simulated cigarette as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inhalable composition comprises nicotine and a propellant.

8. A simulated cigarette as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tube extends for at least 60% of the length of the cigarette.

9. A simulated cigarette as claimed in claim 1, wherein the internal diameter of the bore is less than 1 mm.

10. A simulated cigarette having a generally cylinder-shaped cylindrical cigarette like housing with a main axis corresponding to a cylindrical axis of the cylinder shape, the housing containing a reservoir of a pressurized pressurised inhalable composition extending along a substantial portion of the housing, the reservoir having a reservoir outlet at one end which is selectively closed by an outlet valve, the outlet valve being operable to allow the composition to flow from the reservoir outlet to an inhalation outlet at the outlet end of the device; wherein the simulated cigarette further comprises a tube with a through bore extending along a substantial portion of the reservoir from the vicinity of the reservoir outlet such that composition flows into a tube bore inlet and along the tube bore to the reservoir outlet, a tube inlet end being retained such that the axis passes through the inlet end and so that the tube bore inlet is positioned in the axial sense in the central 50% of the volume of the reservoir, and wherein the tube is a flexible tube and a support is provided to retain the inlet end in position.

Description

(1) An example of a simulated cigarette in accordance with the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is an axial cross section through the simulated cigarette;

(3) FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 in a tip-down configuration;

(4) FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIGS. 1 and 2 in a tip-up configuration;

(5) FIG. 4 is an axial cross section showing the right hand portion of FIG. 1 in greater detail; and

(6) FIG. 5 is an end view of the tube support.

(7) The basic arrangement of the simulated cigarette is as described in WO2011/107737. Thus, the simulated cigarette has a generally cylindrical shape and is approximately the size of a cigarette. It has a housing 1 with an outlet end 2 and a refill end 3 with a reservoir 4 occupying the majority of the internal space. At the outlet end 2 is an outlet valve 5 with a valve element 6 in the form of a tooth which pinches a resilient tube 7 in order to close the tube. The outlet valve 5 further comprises a vane which cooperates with a diaphragm 8 to open the valve element 6 against the action of a spring 9 when a user sucks on the outlet end 2 as described in WO2011/107737 and in greater detail in WO 2014/033438.

(8) At the opposite end of the reservoir 4 is the refill valve element 10 which is essentially a check valve which is openable against the action of a second spring 11. This is the subject of co-pending application 1305486.1. The second spring 11 and refill valve element 10 are retained in a cage 12 which has a number of openings 13 such that the space within the cage 13 forms part of the reservoir 4.

(9) Also within the reservoir 4 is a flexible tube 20 with an internal bore 21. The bore 21 has an outlet 22 located adjacent to the end of the resilient tube 7 and can be placed against or is sealed to the wall 23 of the reservoir 23 in the vicinity of the outlet end so that the composition can only reach the outlet valve 5 via the bore 21. As is apparent from the drawings, it can be either the side wall or the end wall of the tube 20 that seal with the wall 23 if the reservoir or the end of the tube 7, but it is preferably both. It will also be apparent from the drawings that the right hand side of the resilient tube 7 between the valve element 6 and the tube 20 is also a part of the reservoir.

(10) At the inlet end 25 of the tube 20, the bore 21 has an inlet 26 which is supported by a support 30 so that the inlet end 25, and preferably the inlet 26 of the bore 21 is on the main axis X of the housing 1 as shown in FIG. 4.

(11) The support 30 abuts against the valve cage 12 at the end of the support 30 closest to the refill end 3. The support 30 and valve cage 12 may be made as a single component. At the opposite end, the support 30 has a conical face 31 facing towards the outlet end 2. The outer diameter 32 of this end has a diameter corresponding to the internal diameter 33 of the reservoir 4 at this point so that the support 30 is an interference fit within the reservoir 4. Four openings 34 as shown in FIG. 5 allow the liquid in the reservoir to freely pass the support 30 to gain access to the inlet 26.

(12) To assemble the cigarette, the tube 20 is inserted into the reservoir 4 until it reaches the position show in FIG. 1 in which the outlet 22 seals with the wall 23. The support 30 is then inserted from the same end and the conical face 31 picks up the inlet end 25 and guides it into a central region as shown in the drawings. The conical region 31 extends into a cylindrical region 35 which maintains the inlet end 25 of the tube 20 in the central region. The end of the tube may be tightly held in this position, or may be free to move a small amount which is immaterial to its ability to function. Even if it is tightly held, the openings 34 allow liquid in the reservoir to reach the inlet 26 of the bore 21.

(13) It will be appreciated from the drawings and from the above explanation that the shape of the reservoir 4 is complex. The right hand portion has a generally cylindrical configuration occupying the majority of the diameter of the device while the left hand portion of the reservoir may just be the internal bore 21 of the tube, or there may be a portion of the reservoir on either side of this tube. Further, in the right hand portion, the volume of the reservoir is reduced by the inlet end portion of the tube 20, the support 30, the valve cage 12, the second spring 11 and the portion of the refill valve element 10 which is within the reservoir. Thus, while the volume of the reservoir 4 can be determined by measuring these components, it may be simpler to determine this experimentally.

(14) The operation of the device will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

(15) When a user sucks on the outlet end 2, the outlet valve 5 opens as previously described. Provided that the inlet 26 of the bore 21 is below the level L of the liquid in the reservoir, the liquid will travel along the bore 21 and will be atomised downstream of the outlet valve element 6 to create a plume for inhalation. FIGS. 1 to 3 show the centroid C of a body of liquid filling the reservoir 4. The inlet 26 of the bore 21 is in the vicinity of the centroid. In this specific example shown in FIG. 1, it is displaced by 1.3 mm from the centroid C towards the refill end 3. In the horizontal orientation shown in FIG. 1, all of the liquid above the level L which represents approximately 50% of the total liquid in the reservoir can be inhaled from the cigarette. When the cigarette is in the tip-down configuration shown in FIG. 2, as the inlet 26 is displaced from the centroid C as described above, slightly more liquid is available than it is in FIG. 1. Conversely, in the tip-up configuration, slightly less liquid is available for inhalation. In a different arrangement, the inlet 26 is at the centroid C, so that there is essentially no variation in dispensing between the three positions. The current preference is for a slight displacement of the inlet 26 towards the refill end from the centroid C as shown as this causes slightly more liquid to be dispensed in the more common tip-down orientation.

(16) Once the cigarette reaches the liquid level position L shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 with the reservoir approximately half full, no further liquid can be inhaled and the cigarette is then refilled via the refill valve 10.