The present invention relates to a pod for use in a vaporiser, for inhaling (vaping) vapours of a liquid, which liquid may for example contain nicotine or nicotine derivatives.

Vaping devices now predominantly fall into one of two categories. The first category comprises vaping devices which are generally intended to be completely reusable and are commonly referred to as vape kits. These are normally relatively large in size and have both a relatively large battery and reservoir for a liquid to be vaporised, which reservoir is usually arranged to be refilled. Also the heating element and wick are not intended to be disposable items and subsequently these may fail and need to be periodically replaced. Thus these“vape kits” may be considered as more of an enthusiasts or professional device and they are relatively expensive.

The second category of vaping device comprises more simple and less expensive devices. These usually have a reusable casing holding a battery, which casing is arranged to receive a separate disposable pod at an upper end, which pod is pushed into the top of the casing. Electrical contacts on the pod, for energising a heating element in the pod, then make contact with the electrical contacts in the casing. These contacts are switchably connected to the battery within the casing.

With this second category of vaping devices, the pod is intended to be disposable together with the wick and heating element, which form part of the pod. The pod may be selected from one of a number of interchangeable pods containing liquids of different strengths or flavours.

The pod normally has a central chimney extending from an upstream opening in the bottom of the pod to a downstream opening in the top of the pod, which downstream opening is in the form of a mouthpiece through which mouthpiece air can be sucked from the upstream opening at the bottom of the pod through the chimney. The chimney is normally surrounded by a reservoir of the liquid to be vaporised, with a wick, typically of cotton, silica or ceramic extending across the bottom portion of the chimney and through a hole in the wall of the chimney to the reservoir. The heating element, which is normally in the form of a coil wrapped around the wick, is connected to contacts on the bottom of the pod which make contact with the contacts in the casing, to enable the coil to be energised to vaporise the liquid in the wick for inhaling through the mouthpiece. This type of vaping device is popular due to its ease of use and compactness.

The present invention is particularly, but not exclusively, applicable to pods and vaporising devices employing a pod of the above type. It is also applicable to refillable and non-refillable, disposable pods. The invention aims to provide an improved pod for a vaporiser and an improved vaporiser employing such a pod.

According to the present invention there is provided a replaceable pod for use with a vaporiser, the pod being intended to be used in a vaporiser with the pod in a generally upright configuration, the pod having a top and a bottom and comprising: a housing; a reservoir for a liquid to be vaporised; a chimney extending within the housing through which air may be drawn through the pod from an upstream opening of the pod to a downstream opening of the pod; a wick for receiving liquid from the reservoir, the wick extending through a wall of the chimney and into fluid contact with liquid in the reservoir; and a heating element for heating liquid in the wick to vaporise it and create vapour in the chimney, wherein the upstream opening and the downstream opening are both located in the top of the pod above the level of a bottom of the chimney when the pod is in an upright position.

Employing the present invention enables the advantages of having a relatively inexpensive pod, while avoiding the tendency of some pods to leak liquid through the opening at the bottom of the chimney. This is because with the present invention an air intake passage may be provided through the pod, avoiding the need for an opening at the bottom of the chimney. This permits the bottom of the chimney below the wick to effectively become a closed sump.

In normal use, it would not be expected for the level of leakage into the chimney to be sufficient to cause the level of liquid collected to rise to the level of the heating element in the chimney or to restrict the airflow into the chimney.

However if this should occur that liquid would either be evaporated once it exceeded a certain level, due to its close proximity to the heating element or, if it resulted in an unpleasant user experience, the user could at that time opt to replace that particular disposable pod.

The wick and the heating element are preferably located at, or towards, the bottom of the chimney, with a passage associated with the upstream opening connecting the bottom of the chimney to the upstream opening. This provides a way of raising the upstream inlet whilst still employing a chimney which extends to the bottom of the pod, spacing the user as far as is practicable from the heating element. Thus, preferably the chimney is vertical and extends from or toward the bottom of the pod to the top of the pod where it exits through the downstream opening of the pod.

The upstream and downstream openings both being located in the top of the pod will minimise the possibility of liquid leaking from the pod through either of the upstream or downstream openings. This is particularly the case where the upstream and downstream openings are the only openings into the chimney other than an opening, or openings, into the reservoir for the wick.

The top of the pod will normally be relatively small, so that it would not normally be possible to have both the upstream (inlet) opening and the

downstream (outlet) opening in the top surface, because sucking on the top surface of the pod would result in a user sucking simultaneously on both the upstream and downstream openings. However, a main body of a vapouriser for use with the pod can be arranged to either shield the upstream opening, connect to the upstream opening and provide a passage outside of the region a user will suck on and/or to provide a passage for connecting to the downstream opening, to avoid the need for a user to suck on the top surface of the pod.

Preferably the upper portion of the housing of the pod is formed as a one piece single homogenous moulding which forms the upstream opening, the chimney, the reservoir and a passage passing from the upstream opening to the bottom of the chimney. This provides a way of incorporating an additional passage without the need for many, if any, additional components, with the one piece moulding of the top portion minimising the number of potential seals required and thus the potential for a leak.

Advantageously the housing of the pod is clear or translucent and the reservoir is directly formed by said housing, whereby liquid in the reservoir is visible through the housing. This enables a user to easily determine when a pod will shortly need to be replaced.

The pod may have two upstream openings on respective opposite sides of the housing of the pod, or equally spaced from opposite sides of the housing of the pod, the upstream openings being of different sizes and being arranged to restrict the flow of air being drawn through the pod to a different extent. Such an

arrangement may permit the way in which the pod is mounted in the main body of a vaporiser to determine the restriction to air being drawn through a mouthpiece of the vaporiser.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a vaporiser comprising a main body arranged to receive a pod as described above, the pod being arranged to be received in the vaporiser and to be replaceable by a user, without the use of tools. Such a vaporiser preferably has a main body with a lower portion and an upper portion between which the pod is received, wherein the pod has the upstream opening located on an upper face of the pod, which is shielded by the upper portion of the main body. This ensures the upstream opening is hidden from sight for aesthetic purposes and cannot accidentally become covered by the user holding the vaporiser. It also makes it less likely that the upstream opening will become blocked by the ingress of dirt or that foreign particles will be drawn into it.

According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided vaporiser kit comprising a plurality of different interchangeable main bodies for use with a common pod of the type described above.

Several embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying figures, of which:

Figure 1 A is an elevation of a front edge of a vaporiser with a pod in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 1 B is a side elevation of the vaporiser of Figure 1 A;

Figure 2 is a first perspective view of the vaporiser of Figures 1 A and 1 B with the pod removed;

Figure 3 is a second perspective view of the vaporiser of Figures 1 A and 1 B with the pod removed;

Figure 4 is a top perspective view of a pod of the vaporiser of Figures 1 A and 1 B;

Figure 5 is a bottom perspective view of the pod of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is the bottom perspective view corresponding to Figure 5 but with the base portion of the pod removed;

Figure 7 is a top perspective view of the base portion removed from the pod shown in Figure 6;

Figure 8 is an exploded view showing the components of the pod of Figure

4;

Figure 9 is a cross-section through the pod of Figure 4;

Figure 10 is a side elevation through the main body of the vaporiser of Figure 2, but with the position of an inner chimney passage shown; Figures 11 A and 11 B are a front edge elevation and a side elevation respectively of an alternative embodiment of a vaporiser, with a pod in accordance with the present invention, which is a side loading pod;

Figure 12 is a bottom perspective view of the pod of the vaporiser of Figures 11 A and 11 B; and

Figure 13 is a top perspective view of the pod of Figure 12.

Referring now to Figures 1A and 1 B, here there is illustrated a vaporiser, indicated generally as 1. This comprises a main body 2 for receiving a pod 3, the main body having a mouthpiece 4 screwed into it, by which a user may inhale vapours generated in the vaporiser 1.

Figures 2 and 3 show the main body 2 with the pod 3 removed. In Figure 2 there can be seen a switch 5 for activating the vaporiser and a port 6 for receiving a connector to charge the vaporiser 1. Also seen from Figure 2, in the region where the pod 3 is received in the main body 1 , there is a pair of rails 7 for engaging with a bottom surface of the pod 3 pod and a pair of sprung loaded electrical contact pins 8, for contacting a corresponding pair of electrical contacts on the bottom surface of the pod 3.

Referring now to Figure 3, in the region where the pod 3 is received in the main body 2, there is seen: a pair of slots 9 for engaging with a top surface of the pod 3, a seal 10 for sealing an upstream opening (described below) on the pod 3; a sprung loaded pin 11 for retaining the pod 3 in place in the main body 2; and a chimney extension portion 12, with a peripheral seal 13, for engaging with a chimney (described below) in the pod 3.

Referring now to Figures 4 and 5, these respectively show top and bottom views of the pod 3 of Figures 1 A and 1 B. The pod 3 comprises a one piece homogeneous moulded clear top portion 14 (seen in Figure 6) with a base portion 15 (shown in Figure 7) extending across a bottom edge of the top portion 14. The top portion 14 and the base portion 15 house a number of further components, as described below with reference to Figures 8 and 9.

Returning to Figure 4, an upper face of the top portion 14 is shaped so as to define a pair of rails 17 for engaging corresponding slots 9 in the main body, seen in Figure 3. Also formed in the upper face 16 of the pod 3 is an opening 18, which is a downstream opening for air exiting a chimney 40 formed in the top portion 14 of the pod 3, which chimney 40 is described below with reference to Figure 9.

The upper face 16 of the top portion 14 has two recesses 19 and 20, a respective one of which (depending on the orientation of the pod 3) will engage with the spring loaded pin 11 of Figure 3, to retain the pod 3 in position within the main body 2.

Extending through the upper face 16 of the top portion 14 of the pod 3 is a small opening 21 and a slightly larger opening 22. Through either of these openings 21 or 22, air may be drawn into the pod, by air being drawn through the pod and out of the downstream opening 18. The seal 10, shown in Figure 3, is arranged to seal with and therefore close one of these opening 21 or 22, depending on which way round the pod 3 is received in the main body 2.

Referring now to Figure 5, this shows a bottom view of the pod 3 and particularly a lower face 23 of the base portion 15 of the pod 3. This has a pair of slots 24 formed in it which engage with the rails 7 of the main body 2, shown in Figure 2, to permit the pod 3 to slide into the main body 2. Also in the lower face 23 are positioned two electrical contacts 25, for connecting with the corresponding electrical contacts 8 of Figure 2.

Referring now to Figure 6, this perspective view from below the top portion 14 of the pod 3, with the base portion 15 removed, reveals one of two partition walls 26 and 27 (27 can be seen from Figure 9) which extend from the position seen in Figure 6 to the top of the top portion 14. (The other partition wall 27, not seen in Figure 6, is identical but is opposed to the partition wall 26).

Referring now to Figure 7, this shows a top perspective view of base portion 15 of the pod 3, with the top portion 14 removed. This is a one piece moulding and seals with a bottom edge of the top portion 14. As represented by pairs of arrows 28 and 29, air may pass through respective passages 30 and 31 formed in the base portion 14, from peripheral outer regions of the base portion 15 to an inner region 32. The purpose of these passages 30 and 31 will become apparent from the description below of Figures 9 and 10.

Referring first to Figure 8, this shows the top portion 14 and base portion 15, previously described with reference to Figures 6 and 7 respectively. The additional components shown comprise the contacts 25, seen in Figure 5, a seal 33 for sealing the base portion 15 with a lower edge of the top portion 14, seals 34 for sealing respective ones of the contacts 25 in the base portion 15, a further seal 35 for extending across the top of and sealing with the top of the base portion 15, a ceramic wick 36, a coiled heating element 37 wound on the wick 36, a holder 38 for the wick 36 and a further seal 39 for sealing the top of the holder 38 with the bottom of the chimney 40, as shown in the Figure 9 cross-section of the assembled components.

When the pod 3 is assembled, as shown in Figure 9, the chimney 40 and partition walls 26 and 27, together with the seal 35, form an annular reservoir 41 about the chimney 40, which reservoir 41 is filled with a liquid 42 to be vaporised. The partition walls 26 and 27 also define respective passages 26a and 27a which connect respective openings 21 and 22 in the upper face 16 with respective passages 30 and 31 in the base portion 15 of the pod 3.

The liquid 42 is in contact with the wick 22, which extends into the reservoir 41. This liquid in the wick is heated by the heating element 37, in order to vaporise it. The heating element is operated by the switch 5 shown in Figure 2 and provides electrical energy from a battery within the main body to the contacts 8 of Figure 2, which are in electrical contact with the contacts 25 in the base portion 15.

With reference to Figure 10, there is shown in broken line the position of the chimney extension portion 12 running through an upper portion of the main body 2. When the pod 3 (not shown) is inserted in the main body 3, the seal 13 about the chimney extension portion 12, engages and seals with the upper face 16 of the pod 3 about the downstream opening 18 from the pod 3. The inclined chimney extension portion 12 thus connects the chimney 40 within the pod 3 with the mouthpiece 4, so that drawing air by inhaling at the mouthpiece 4 draws air and vapour generated in the chimney 40, up the chimney to the mouthpiece. This air is replenished by air being drawn in to one of the openings 21 or 22 formed in the upper face 16 of the top portion 14 of the pod 3 and through respective passages 26a, 30 and 27a, 31 respectively, as represented by the respective arrows 43 of Figure 9. Flowever, only one of the openings 21 or 22 will be open, for the other will be closed by the seal 10, of Figure 3. Thus, the flow of air will be restricted by the size of the one of the openings, either 21 or 22, depending with which orientation the pod 3 is inserted into the main body 2. Thus, a user may select, by inserting the pod in a particular orientation, the amount of vapour that will be drawn through the pod for a given inhaling force.

A significant advantage of the openings 21 and 22 being in the upper face 16 of the pod 3 and connected to the base of the chimney 40 via passages 26a, 30 and 27a, 31 respectively, is that any liquid that leaks from the wick 36 will be collected at the bottom of the chimney 40 and in the passages 30 and 31 , rather than leaking directly out of the bottom of the chimney 40, as would be the case with a conventional pod design, where the liquid were then leak over the main body of the vaporiser and over the battery contacts.

Referring now to Figures 11 A and 11 B, here there is disclosed a main body of a second embodiment of a vaporiser in accordance with the present invention. This is essentially the same as the vaporiser previously described, except here the main body 44 is arranged to accept a pod 45 from the side. The pod 45, shown in the perspective bottom view of Figure 12 and the perspective top view of Figure 13, is identical to the pod 3 previously described in all aspects, except that on the upper face 16 of the pod 45 four short protrusions 46 have replaced the two longer protrusions 17 of Figure 4. Also on the bottom surface of the pod 45 the pair of recesses 24 running lengthwise along the lower face 23 have been supplemented by a pair of additional recesses 47, extending transversely across the lower face 23. This enables the pod 45 of Figures 12 and 13 to be received in the main body 2 of the Figure 3 embodiment, by sliding the pod 45 in from an end face, in the same manner as the pod 3 may slide into the main body 2. Flowever it also enables the pod 45 to be received into the main body 44, shown in Figure 11 B, by sliding it in sideways through the side face. Flere the four protrusions 46 on the top face of the pod 45 engage with upper transverse slots 48, seen in Figure 11 B on the main body, whilst the transverse recesses 47, on the lower face 23 of the pod 45, engage with the two transverse rails 49 of the main body 44, that are also shown in Figure 11 B.

With the pods 3 and 45 previously described the rate of inhaling is modified by arranging that one of the openings 21 or 22 restricts the flow, with the desired opening selected by inserting the pod 3 or 45 in the desired orientation.

In a further alternative embodiment, described below with reference to Figures 14 to 18, the same affect is achieved by having a single opening in a pod arranged to connect to one or more restrictive opening or passages in a main body.

Many modifications are possible to the embodiments disclosed in particular, although in the embodiments illustrated the pod may be inserted with one of two possible orientations, it will be appreciated that more than two different orientations are possible. For example, if the pod is square it may be inserted in one of four possible orientations and may then have four openings of difference sizes, to restrict the flow through the pod. Alternatively, the pod could be arranged to only be inserted with one orientation and to only have one upstream opening, without the ability to restrict the flow by different amounts. Thus the present invention has been described above by way of example only with reference to the accompanying figures and various modifications may be made which fall within the scope of the invention, as defined by the following claims.