Patents by Inventor Ben BRIGHT

Ben BRIGHT has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20230204019
    Abstract: An aerosol-generating system may include a liquid storage portion configured to hold liquid aerosol-forming substrate, a vaporizer including a heating element with an internal passage at least partially defined by a surface of the heating element, and a micro pump configured to deliver liquid aerosol-forming substrate from the liquid storage portion to the internal passage of the heating element, such that the vaporizer is configured to heat the delivered liquid aerosol-forming substrate at the internal passage to a temperature sufficient to volatilize at least a part of the delivered liquid aerosol-forming substrate. The micro pump may be configured to deliver a particular amount of liquid aerosol-forming substrate to the internal passage based on the micro pump performing an individual pump cycle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 6, 2023
    Publication date: June 29, 2023
    Applicant: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Shaun PHILLIPS, Bruce Renfrew, Ben Mazur, Ben Bright, Rui Nuno Batista
  • Patent number: 11608818
    Abstract: An aerosol-generating system may include a liquid storage portion configured to hold liquid aerosol-forming substrate, a vaporizer including a heating element with an internal passage at least partially defined by a surface of the heating element, and a micro pump configured to deliver liquid aerosol-forming substrate from the liquid storage portion to the internal passage of the heating element, such that the vaporizer is configured to heat the delivered liquid aerosol-forming substrate at the internal passage to a temperature sufficient to volatilize at least a part of the delivered liquid aerosol-forming substrate. The micro pump may be configured to deliver a particular amount of liquid aerosol-forming substrate to the internal passage based on the micro pump performing an individual pump cycle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2023
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Shaun Phillips, Bruce Renfrew, Ben Mazur, Ben Bright, Rui Nuno Batista
  • Publication number: 20220322491
    Abstract: An electrically operated aerosol-generating system may include a reservoir configured to hold a liquid aerosol-forming substrate, an atomizer assembly configured to vaporize the liquid aerosol-forming substrate to form an aerosol, and a pump configured to convey the liquid aerosol-forming substrate from the reservoir to the atomizer assembly. The reservoir may include a substantially rigid housing and an inlet valve that is configured to allow air into the reservoir based on a pressure difference between an interior of the housing and an exterior of the housing exceeding a threshold pressure difference. This improves the reliability and efficiency of delivery of liquid to the wick. The system may further include a robust reservoir that is configured to at least partially mitigate liquid leakage between the reservoir interior and the reservoir exterior.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 10, 2022
    Publication date: October 6, 2022
    Applicant: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Ben BRIGHT, Ben MAZUR
  • Patent number: 11388780
    Abstract: An electrically operated aerosol-generating system may include a reservoir configured to hold a liquid aerosol-forming substrate, an atomizer assembly configured to vaporize the liquid aerosol-forming substrate to form an aerosol, and a pump configured to convey the liquid aerosol-forming substrate from the reservoir to the atomizer assembly. The reservoir may include a substantially rigid housing and an inlet valve that is configured to allow air into the reservoir based on a pressure difference between an interior of the housing and an exterior of the housing exceeding a threshold pressure difference. This improves the reliability and efficiency of delivery of liquid to the wick. The system may further include a robust reservoir that is configured to at least partially mitigate liquid leakage between the reservoir interior and the reservoir exterior.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2022
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Ben Bright, Ben Mazur
  • Publication number: 20190373957
    Abstract: An electrically operated aerosol-generating system may include a reservoir configured to hold a liquid aerosol-forming substrate, an atomizer assembly configured to vaporize the liquid aerosol-forming substrate to form an aerosol, and a pump configured to convey the liquid aerosol-forming substrate from the reservoir to the atomizer assembly. The reservoir may include a substantially rigid housing and an inlet valve that is configured to allow air into the reservoir based on a pressure difference between an interior of the housing and an exterior of the housing exceeding a threshold pressure difference. This improves the reliability and efficiency of delivery of liquid to the wick. The system may further include a robust reservoir that is configured to at least partially mitigate liquid leakage between the reservoir interior and the reservoir exterior.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 21, 2019
    Publication date: December 12, 2019
    Applicant: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Ben BRIGHT, Ben Mazur
  • Publication number: 20190350266
    Abstract: An aerosol-generating system may include a liquid storage portion configured to hold liquid aerosol-forming substrate, a vaporizer including a heating element with an internal passage at least partially defined by a surface of the heating element, and a micro pump configured to deliver liquid aerosol-forming substrate from the liquid storage portion to the internal passage of the heating element, such that the vaporizer is configured to heat the delivered liquid aerosol-forming substrate at the internal passage to a temperature sufficient to volatilize at least a part of the delivered liquid aerosol-forming substrate. The micro pump may be configured to deliver a particular amount of liquid aerosol-forming substrate to the internal passage based on the micro pump performing an individual pump cycle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 31, 2019
    Publication date: November 21, 2019
    Applicant: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Shaun PHILLIPS, Bruce RENFREW, Ben MAZUR, Ben BRIGHT, Rui Nuno BATISTA
  • Patent number: 10412996
    Abstract: An electrically operated aerosol-generating system may include a reservoir configured to hold a liquid aerosol-forming substrate, an atomizer assembly configured to vaporize the liquid aerosol-forming substrate to form an aerosol, and a pump configured to convey the liquid aerosol-forming substrate from the reservoir to the atomizer assembly. The reservoir may include a substantially rigid housing and an inlet valve that is configured to allow air into the reservoir based on a pressure difference between an interior of the housing and an exterior of the housing exceeding a threshold pressure difference. This improves the reliability and efficiency of delivery of liquid to the wick. The system may further include a robust reservoir that is configured to at least partially mitigate liquid leakage between the reservoir interior and the reservoir exterior.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2019
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Ben Bright, Ben Mazur
  • Patent number: 10398174
    Abstract: An aerosol-generating system may include a liquid storage portion configured to hold liquid aerosol-forming substrate, a vaporizer including a heating element with an internal passage at least partially defined by a surface of the heating element, and a micro pump configured to deliver liquid aerosol-forming substrate from the liquid storage portion to the internal passage of the heating element, such that the vaporizer is configured to heat the delivered liquid aerosol-forming substrate at the internal passage to a temperature sufficient to volatilize at least a part of the delivered liquid aerosol-forming substrate. The micro pump may be configured to deliver a particular amount of liquid aerosol-forming substrate to the internal passage based on the micro pump performing an individual pump cycle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2019
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Shaun Phillips, Bruce Renfrew, Ben Mazur, Ben Bright, Rui Nuno Batista
  • Publication number: 20170172212
    Abstract: An aerosol-generating system may include a liquid storage portion configured to hold liquid aerosol-forming substrate, a vaporizer including a heating element with an internal passage at least partially defined by a surface of the heating element, and a micro pump configured to deliver liquid aerosol-forming substrate from the liquid storage portion to the internal passage of the heating element, such that the vaporizer is configured to heat the delivered liquid aerosol-forming substrate at the internal passage to a temperature sufficient to volatilize at least a part of the delivered liquid aerosol-forming substrate. The micro pump may be configured to deliver a particular amount of liquid aerosol-forming substrate to the internal passage based on the micro pump performing an individual pump cycle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 22, 2016
    Publication date: June 22, 2017
    Inventors: Shaun PHILLIPS, Bruce RENFREW, Ben MAZUR, Ben BRIGHT, Rui Nuno BATISTA
  • Publication number: 20170172210
    Abstract: An electrically operated aerosol-generating system may include a reservoir configured to hold a liquid aerosol-forming substrate, an atomizer assembly configured to vaporize the liquid aerosol-forming substrate to form an aerosol, and a pump configured to convey the liquid aerosol-forming substrate from the reservoir to the atomizer assembly. The reservoir may include a substantially rigid housing and an inlet valve that is configured to allow air into the reservoir based on a pressure difference between an interior of the housing and an exterior of the housing exceeding a threshold pressure difference. This improves the reliability and efficiency of delivery of liquid to the wick. The system may further include a robust reservoir that is configured to at least partially mitigate liquid leakage between the reservoir interior and the reservoir exterior.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 22, 2016
    Publication date: June 22, 2017
    Inventors: Ben BRIGHT, Ben Mazur