Cartomizer for an Aerosol Generating Device with Fins

Abstract

A cartomizer for an aerosol generating device, includes a container for holding at least one reservoir configured to contain a vaporizable material; a vaporizing chamber fluidly connected to a mouth end by a vapor passage; a liquid transport element, extending from inside the at least one reservoir to inside the vaporizing chamber to convey the vaporizable material from the reservoir to the inside of the vaporizing chamber; and an air inlet arranged to supply the vaporizing chamber with air in use; wherein the liquid transport element is separated from at least one part of the at least one reservoir by at least one compartmenting wall arranged for creating at least one chamber, in particular at least one capillary chamber, communicating by a liquid restriction passage formed in the compartmenting wall of the chamber and wherein at least a portion of the liquid transport element extends in the chamber.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE

Any features essential to the European patent applications titled “CARTOMIZER FOR AN AEROSOL GENERATING DEVICE WITH LEAKAGE PREVENTION and “CARTOMIZER FOR AN AEROSOL GENERATING DEVICE WITH COMBINED ELECTRICAL AND MAGNETIC CONTACTS” all filed Sep. 4, 2020 having application numbers 20 194 597.9 and 20 194 595.3, as well as the corresponding PCT applications all filed Sep. 1, 2021, such as the claims thereof, and/or contained therein and corresponding to and/or relating to features of the present application are incorporated herein by this reference and can be combined with feature combinations disclosed herein in order to provide an improved aerosol generating device, and protection may be sought for the resulting feature combinations.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a cartomizer for an aerosol generating device, in particular an electronic cigarette or vaporizer, with a liquid flow control system, in particular cartomizer fins.

TECHNICAL BACKGROUND

Aerosol generating devices, such as electronic cigarettes or “e-cigarettes” as they are also known, have gained in popularity over the past ten years as an alternative to traditional smoking articles, like cigarettes, cigars, and cigarillos. Developments in the design and configuration of such aerosol generating devices or vaporizer devices are on-going to improve their performance and their reliability, as well as their ease of production and their production costs.

Conventional aerosol generating devices usually include a heater powered by an electrical power source and a liquid reservoir containing flavoured liquid (vaporizable material) that can be volatized using the heater and transferred to a user of the aerosol generating device in an airflow, which is preferably guided through a mouthpiece of the device.

In order to provide a convenient way for a user to load the vaporizable material into the aerosol generating device and to avoid the need for the user to handle the vaporizable material (liquid) directly, thereby reducing the likelihood of spillage and waste, conventionally capsules are provided. In this way, the integrity, safety and quality of the vaporizable material can also be assured, because it is loaded into the shell or container during manufacture to form a pre-manufactured capsule. Correct dosing of the vaporizable material is also assured.

Moreover, in order to avoid that the heating element is worn out over time, the heating element is often provided within the capsule, thereby forming a so called “cartomizer”. As the heating element (heater) is provided with the cartomizer, it is each time the cartomizer (capsule) is replaced, hence, there is no reduction in performance over time.

However, since in general a liquid transport element, in particular a wick, is used to transport the vaporizable material to the heater, in particular a coil that is wound around the wick, it is unavoidable that vaporizable material (liquid) leaks from the reservoir via the liquid transport element into the vaporization chamber and thereby into the air path of the cartomizer. Hence, it is desirable that leakage is minimized from the cartomizer, in order to avoid that leaked vaporizable material or liquid affects either the device or consumer. This can be approached in two directions, namely by preventing leakage around or from the liquid transport element to occur and secondly retaining leakage within the cartomizer.

US 2019/0223508 A1 is related to a liquid storage tank of an electronic vapor provision device having one or more boundary walls defining an interior volume of the tank for accommodating source liquid to be vaporized in the electronic vapor provision device and one or more baffles, each baffle protruding from an inner surface of the boundary wall into the interior volume to impede a flow of source liquid between portions of the interior volume between which the baffle is located. Even though this arrangement hinders the flow of liquid in the reservoir, the stored liquid is directly fed to the wick, hence, only slows down the flow inside the reservoir but the baffles do not contribute to the prevention of leakage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above, there is the desire to provide a cartomizer for an aerosol generating device, in particular an electronic cigarette or vaporizer, capable of controlling liquid flow from at least one reservoir accommodating vaporizable material or liquid to a liquid transport element of the cartomizer, thereby reducing or eliminating leakage of vaporizable material or liquid from the liquid transport element, even under changing situations like differing usage and storage angles. Hence, capable of ensuring that leaked vaporizable material or liquid does not affect either the device or consumer.

This aim may be achieved by a cartomizer as defined in claim 1. Embodiments may be found in the dependent claims, the following description and the accompanying drawings.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, provided there is a cartomizer for an aerosol generating device, in particular an electronic cigarette or vaporizer, the cartomizer including: a container for holding at least one reservoir configured to contain a vaporizable material or a liquid, a vaporizing chamber fluidly connected to a mouth end by a vapor passage, a liquid transport element, in particular a porous capillary member, extending from inside the at least one reservoir to inside the vaporizing chamber in order to convey the vaporizable material from the reservoir to the inside of the vaporizing chamber and an air inlet arranged to supply the vaporizing chamber with (ambient) air in use, wherein the liquid transport element is at least partially separated from at least one part of the reservoir by at least one compartmenting wall arranged for creating at least one chamber, in particular at least one capillary chamber, communicating by a liquid restriction passage formed in the at least one compartmenting wall, in particular upstream compartmenting wall, of the chamber and wherein at least a portion of the liquid transport element extends in the chamber.

Hence, a cartomizer for an aerosol generating device is provided, capable of reducing the likelihood that vaporizable material or liquid, leaking from the liquid transport element or a heater of the cartomizer reaches the outside of the cartomizer. Thereby, ensuring that leaked vaporizable material or liquid is prevented from affecting the device or a user of the device.

To provide a consistent customer experience, vaporizable material or liquid needs to be delivered to a heater (or a wick) in a consistent manner under various situations including pressure/temperature fluctuations, low fluid levels of the vaporizable material within the cartomizer and differing usage and storage angles. Hence, it is desirable that on one hand a constant flow of vaporizable material or liquid is delivered to the heater or wick, while leakage from the liquid transport element or wick is minimized. As the cartomizer of the present invention is provided with a chamber, in particular at least one capillary chamber or at least one baffle chamber, that is separated from the reservoir storing the vaporizable material or liquid, a flow barrier between the wick and the main fluid reservoir is realized, controlling the flow of vaporizable material or liquid to the liquid transport element.

According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the cartomizer may further include a first sealing forming a first holder, in particular a bottom holder, of the liquid transport element, wherein an upper surface of the first sealing preferably forms a downstream compartmenting wall of the chamber, in particular of the lowermost arranged chamber, in case the cartomizer is provided with several chambers.

Moreover, in some embodiments of the present invention, the cartomizer may include at least n compartmenting walls forming at least n-1 chambers, each upstream compartmenting wall(s) comprising at least one (liquid) restriction passage, wherein n is comprised between 2 and 10.

In some embodiments, the n compartmenting walls and the n-1 chambers may be aligned side by side in an axial direction of the cartomizer.

As regards the “axial direction of the cartomizer”, said direction defines in the present application in general a longitudinal direction of the cartomizer. However, as the shape of the cartomizer may vary, the “axial direction of the cartomizer” also refers to a direction in which the air flows in general through the cartomizer, namely from the air inlet of the cartomizer to the mouth end of the cartomizer, which is configured to come into contact with the lips of a user during use of the aerosol generating device.

According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the at least one compartmenting wall or at least some of the n compartmenting walls may have at least two, preferably more than two, restriction passages that are preferably symmetrically distributed at the circumference of the compartmenting wall.

Furthermore, the liquid transport element may be rod-shaped and longitudinally separated by at least one compartmenting wall, which is preferably a second sealing. The term “separated” defines here in the context of the present invention that the compartmenting wall separates the area surrounding the liquid transport element into two independent spaces.

Moreover, the compartmenting wall may form in this way two successive chambers, in particular capillary chambers.

In some embodiments, the liquid transport element, in particular the porous capillary member (wick), may extend in at least two different successive chambers, in particular into the two successive chambers formed by the compartmenting wall which corresponds to the second sealing.

Furthermore, the distance between the compartmenting walls forms or defines a thickness of the chamber(s), in particular of the capillary chambers, of no more than 2 mm, preferably no more than 1 mm. In other words, a distance between the compartmenting walls arranged next to each other is not greater than 2 mm, preferably not greater than 1 mm.

By defining the distance between adjacent compartmenting walls, in other words the thickness of the chambers, in particularly of the capillary chambers, to lie within the above ranges, a capillary acting on the liquid temporarily stored in the capillary chamber can be ensured and adjusted precisely, making it possible to control the flow of liquid with high precision. Yet, because of the capillary action within the capillary chambers, retained liquid within the chambers will prevent drying out of the wick even in extreme situations like low fluid levels or extreme cartomizer angles. Moreover, air bubbles will be allowed as the capillary action will flow fluid around the bubble. Finally, as the quantity of liquid in each chamber is very small but remains constant irrespective of the gravity or orientation of the cartomizer, a constant flow of vaporizable material or liquid can be ensured.

Moreover, in some embodiments, the restriction passage, in particular a width of the restriction passage, is no more than 1.5 mm, preferably no more than 1 mm, and/or a maximum opening surface area of the restriction passage may be no more than 1.8 mm², preferably no more than 0.8 mm².

According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the at least one restriction passage may be configured to be closed by a check valve such as a one-way valve.

Moreover, the at least one restriction passage may have a tapered profile with the smallest cross-section being at the vaporizing chamber side of the compartmenting wall.

Additionally, the compartmenting walls may be formed as fins provided about a central holder.

Moreover, the central holder, in particular the compartmenting walls or the fins, may abut against an outer body or shell of the container, thereby sealing the capillary chambers against the container limiting the possible flow path of the vaporizable material or liquid to the restriction passage(s). The number of elements is also reduced and the assembling of the device simplified.

According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the central holder may be arranged for holding at least partially the liquid transport element.

Furthermore, in some embodiments, the central holder may form a third sealing, in particular a sealing around at least a portion of the liquid transport element.

Additionally, the compartmenting walls, the central holder, the first sealing and/or the second sealing may be made of an elastomeric or silicone material.

In some embodiments, the first sealing and the central holder, in particular the third sealing, may form at least partially the vaporizing chamber.

Additionally, the container, shell or outside casing of the cartomizer may be formed of a rigid material, in particular a rigid thermoplastic material, glass or metal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the present invention and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a sectional view of a conventional aerosol generating device having a housing consisting of a control body and a tank;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic sectional view of the interior of a cartomizer for an aerosol generating device according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic sectional view of a detail of the device shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic sectional view of a detail of the device shown in FIG. 2 when inserted into an aerosol generating device;

FIG. 5 shows a schematic spatial view of the interior of a cartomizer for an aerosol generating device according to a second embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 shows a schematic spatial view of a whole aerosol generating device including the cartomizer according to the present invention without the outside casing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be explained with reference to the drawings. It will be apparent to those skilled in the field of aerosol generating devices from this disclosure that the following description of the embodiments is provided for illustration only and not for the purpose of limiting the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. Features of the embodiments described below can also be used to further characterize the device defined in the claims.

Modifications of features can be combined to form further embodiments. Features described in individual embodiments can be provided in a single embodiment if they are not incompatible. Likewise, features described in a single embodiment can be provided in several embodiments individually or in any suitable sub-combination. As used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an”, “the” and the like include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

The same reference numerals listed in different figures refer to identical, corresponding or functionally similar elements.

As described hereinafter, example implementations of the present disclosure relate to cartomizers for aerosol generating devices or aerosol delivery devices. Aerosol generating devices according to the present invention use electrical energy to heat a material (preferably without combusting the material to any significant degree and/or without significant chemical alteration of the material) to form an inhalable substance or vapor; and components of such device have the form of articles that most preferably are sufficiently compact to be considered hand-held devices. That is, use of components of preferred aerosol generating devices does not result in the production of smoke in the sense that aerosol results principally from by-products of combustion or pyrolysis of tobacco, but rather, use of those devices preferably results in the production of vapors resulting from volatilization or vaporization of certain components incorporated therein.

In some example implementations, components of aerosol generating devices may be characterized as electronic cigarettes, and those electronic cigarettes preferably incorporate aerosolisable liquid (e.g. propylene glycol, polyhydric alcohol), tobacco and/or tobacco materials derived at least partially from tobacco, and hence deliver tobacco derived components in aerosol or vapor form to a user. In more detail, aerosol generating devices within the meaning of the present invention may transport the volatilized particles in an airflow through the aerosol generating device, in particular through the cartomizer, to a user of the device, the user of the device being able to activate or deactivate the generation of aerosol and to control the duration, velocity and volume of the airflow by means of puffing or inhaling action.

FIG. 1 illustrates a known aerosol generating or delivery device 200 including a control body 202 and a tank 204. As shown in FIG. 1, the control body 202 can be formed of a control body shell 206 that can include a control component 208 (e.g., a printed circuit board (PCB), an integrated circuit, a memory component, a microprocessor, individually or as part of a micro-controller, and the like), a flow sensor 210, a battery 212, and one or more light-emitting diodes (LEDs) 214, and such components can be variably aligned. Moreover, the tank 204 can be formed of a tank shell 216 enclosing a reservoir 218 that is in fluid communication with a liquid transport element 220 adapted to wick or otherwise transport an aerosol precursor composition stored in the reservoir housing to a heater 222 (sometimes referred to as a heating element). A valve may be positioned between the reservoir and heater and configured to control an amount of aerosol precursor composition passed or delivered from the reservoir to the heater. The known device is provided with a mouthpiece 224 having an opening defined therein and which may be coupled to the tank shell 216 to allow for egress of formed aerosol from the tank 204. The shown device 200, in particular the control body 202 and the tank 204, include a coupler 230 having a cavity 232 therein. A base 228 of the tank is adapted to engage the coupler and includes a projection 234 to fit within the cavity.

Aerosol generating devices of the present invention generally include a number of components provided within an outer body or shell, which may be referred to as an outside casing or housing. The overall design of the outside casing can vary, and the format or configuration of the outside casing that can define the overall size and shape of the aerosol generating device can vary. For some aerosol generating devices, an elongated body resembling the shape of a cigarette or cigar can be formed from a single, unitary housing, or the elongated housing can be formed of two or more separable bodies. For example, an aerosol generating device can include an elongated shell or body (outside casing) that can be substantially tubular in shape and, as such, resemble the shape of conventional cigarettes or cigars. In one implementation, all of the components of the aerosol generating device are contained within a single housing. Alternatively, an aerosol delivery device can comprise two or more housings that are joined and are separable.

Aerosol generating devices of the present invention can be formed of an outside casing or shell that is not substantially tubular in shape but may be formed to substantially greater transversal dimensions. The outside casing or shell can be configured to include a mouthpiece and/or may be configured to receive a separate shell (e.g. a cartridge, a tank) that can include consumable elements, such as a liquid aerosol former, and can include a vaporizer.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic sectional view of the interior of a cartomizer 1 for an aerosol generating device 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As can be taken from FIG. 2, the cartomizer 1 is generally a container 10 or cartridge that can be at least partially inserted into a receiving cavity of an aerosol generating device and that provides the functionalities of generating an aerosol or vapor from a vaporizable material or liquid stored therein. For example, a cartomizer can be a pre-manufactured and pre-filled cartridge that comprises at least one reservoir 11 for containing the vaporizable material or liquid from which the aerosol or vapor can be generated. For the purpose of generating said aerosol or vapor, the cartomizer 1 may further comprise a heater which is arranged to heat at least a fraction of the vaporizable material or liquid so as to vaporize an amount of it for, in turn, generating the aerosol or vapor. The heater may comprise any one of and/or a combination of a wire, a resistive element, a coil, and a susceptor being heatable by induction. The cartomizer 1 further comprises an air conduct and/or a mouthpiece (mouth end) 13 so as to allow a user to inhale the generated aerosol, preferably as a mixture with air from the environment.

In the shown embodiment the heater is formed by a wire that is wound around a liquid transport element 15, in particular a capillary-type wick such as a bundle of cotton filaments, and located within a vaporizing chamber 12. It should further be mentioned that the vaporizing chamber 12 is fluidly connected to the mouth end 13, in particular an opening provided in the mouth end 13, via a vapor passage 14. In other words, vapor generated by the heater can be provided via the vapor passage 14 and the opening in the mouth end 13 to a user. In the shown embodiment the cartomizer 1 is only provided with one reservoir 11 which surrounds the vapor passage 14, the heater and the liquid transport element 15. Both ends of the wick 15 reach into the reservoir 11, in particular into the vaporizable material stored inside the reservoir 11, on opposing sides and thereby convey, wick or otherwise transport the vaporizable material from the reservoir 11 to the heater which is positioned inside the vaporizing chamber 12.

As also can be seen in FIG. 2, the cartomizer 1 is provided with an air inlet 16 which is arranged on the bottom, in particular in a bottom holder 17, of the container 10. The air inlet 16 is configured to supply the vaporizing chamber 12 with ambient air, which is sucked into the vaporizing chamber 12 during use of the aerosol generating device 100.

FIG. 2 also shows that the cartomizer 1 is provided with a first sealing 21 forming a first holder, in particular a bottom holder, which is provided below the reservoir 11 and the wick 15 to hold or fix the liquid transport element 15 within the vaporizing chamber 12. An upper surface of the first sealing 21 forms a compartmenting wall 18, in particular a downstream compartmenting wall, which is arranged to form together with a further compartmenting wall 17, in particular an upstream compartmenting wall, a capillary chamber 30. As can be taken from FIG. 2, the upstream compartmenting wall 17 forms part of a central holder 23 which is partially arranged around the vapor passage 14 and holds at least partially the liquid transport element 15. It should also be noted that the central holder 23 forms a third sealing that is provided around the liquid transport element 15 and forms together with the first sealing 21 at least partially the vaporizing chamber 12.

As also can be taken from FIG. 2 (and shown in more detail in FIG. 3), the central holder 23 includes three compartmenting walls 17, 19 and 20 which are formed as fins that abut against an outer body of the container 10, in particular an inside surface of the outer body. As the compartmenting walls or fins are made of an elastomeric or silicone material, they are able to circumferentially seal a contact surface between the compartmenting walls or fins and the inside surfaces of the outer body. In this way, the three compartmenting walls 17, 19 and 20 together with the upper surface 18 (downstream compartmenting wall) of the first sealing 21 form three capillary chambers 30, 31 and 32. Hence, the liquid transport element 15 becomes separated from the reservoir 11, thereby, avoiding that the majority of vaporizable material or liquid stored in the reservoir 11 comes in direct contact with the liquid transport element 15. Instead, the vaporizable material or liquid stored in the reservoir 11 needs to flow from the reservoir 11 through a liquid restriction passage 24, which is provided in the compartmenting wall 20, into the uppermost capillary chamber 32 and from there via the second uppermost capillary chamber 31 into the lowermost capillary chamber 30, into which the two ends of the liquid transport element 15 extend. Also, the compartmenting walls 19 and 17 are provided with at least one liquid restriction passage 24. Yet, as the vaporizing material or liquid stored in the reservoir flows from the reservoir 11, which is arranged above the liquid transport element 15, downward to the liquid transport element 15, the upper compartmenting wall of a capillary chamber is called upstream compartmenting wall and the lower compartmenting wall of a capillary chamber is called downstream compartmenting wall.

Moreover, FIG. 3 shows a schematic sectional view of a detail of the cartomizer shown in FIG. 2. As can be taken from FIG. 3, the liquid transport element 15, in particular the wick, has a shape of a rod and is encapsulated by a compartmenting wall 22 that forms a second sealing and separates the lowermost capillary chamber 30 into two capillary chambers 30A and 30B. Hence, the liquid transport element 15 or porous capillary member extends into two separate capillary chambers 30A, 30B which are arranged side by side.

As FIG. 3 also shows, the capillary chambers 30A, 30B, 31 and 32 have a rather small thickness, which increases the capillary effect of the chambers. Moreover, in order to restrict the flow of vaporizable material or liquid from the reservoir 11 to the liquid transport element 15, the size of the restriction passages 24 is chosen rather small, particularly smaller than 1.5 mm.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic sectional view of a detail of the cartomizer 1 shown in FIG. 2 when inserted into an aerosol generating device 100. It should also be noted that the aerosol generating device 100 is provided with electrical contacts 105 such as “pogo pins” that are configured to contact electrical connectors 18 of the cartomizer 1 in order to provide the heater of the cartomizer 1 with electrical power. As FIG. 4 also shows, the electrical connectors 18 also contact magnets 104 which are provided within an inner frame 102 of the aerosol generating device 100. Yet, in order to provide the wire of the heater with electrical power, the cartomizer 1 is further provided with lead wires 40 that electrically connect the wire with the electrical connectors 18.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic spatial view of the interior of a cartomizer 1 for an aerosol generating device 100 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As can be taken from FIG. 5, the cartomizer 1 according to the second embodiment corresponds in its general structure to the cartomizer of the first embodiment. Meaning, the cartomizer 1 also includes a container 10, a vaporizing chamber 12, a liquid transport element 15, in particular a wick, and an air inlet 16. However, instead of the capillary chambers 30, 31, 32 the cartomizer 1 of the second embodiment is only provided with one chamber 33, in particular a baffle chamber. Meaning, the third sealing or central holder 23 provides only one compartmenting wall 17 that forms the baffle chamber 33 between the compartmenting wall 17 and the first sealing 21, thereby separating the wick 15 from the reservoir 11.

It should also be noted that the compartmenting wall 17 or the central holder 23 is provided preferably with at least two restriction passages 24 that are symmetrically distributed at the circumference of the compartmenting wall 17. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, four restriction passages 24 are visible. In the shown embodiment the restriction passages 24 are formed by a straight through-hole, however, the restriction passages 24 can also have a tapered form or profile with the smallest cross-section being formed at the vaporizing chamber side or downstream side of the compartmenting wall 17.

Moreover, in order to avoid backflow of the vaporizing material from the baffle chamber 33 to the reservoir 11, the restriction passages 24 can be provided with a check valve (not shown) such as a one-way valve, only allowing a flow from the reservoir 11 into the baffle chamber 33.

By providing the above described baffle chamber 33, it can be avoided that the wick 15 protrudes directly into the (main) reservoir 11. Hence, instead of a direct feeding of the wick 15 the baffle chamber 33 is feed from the (main) reservoir 11 such that fluid flow between the two chambers is controlled, in particular by the size and number of the restriction passages 24, to prevent either significant fluid flow (e.g. if the cartomizer 1 is inverted). Moreover, the baffle chamber 33 retains liquid around the wick in almost any orientation as long as it is allowed at some point to be laced in a vertical orientation thus ensuring liquid is available to the wick up until the point of complete exhaustion.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic spatial view of a whole aerosol generating device 100 including the cartomizer according to the present invention, where only the outside casing of the aerosol generating device is not shown for illustrating purposes. The shown aerosol generating device 100 includes a mouthpiece which is part of the cartomizer 1 for guiding the generated vapor to a user, the cartomizer 1, a battery 101, a sealing arrangement 103 and an inner frame 102 for holding the battery 101 inside the device 100. It should also be noted that the aerosol generating device 100 has an elongated shape, in which a receiving cavity for the cartomizer 1, a power supply device, in particular the battery 101, and a main electronic circuit board are arranged in this order from a first, proximal end (mouth end) to a second, distal end. Consequently, the power supply device, in particular battery 101, is located at approximately the center of the device 100, so that it is particularly well balanced.

REFERENCE LIST

1 Cartomizer

10 Container (Shell)

11 Reservoir

12 Vaporizing chamber

13 Mouth end

14 Vapor passage

15 Liquid transport element (Wick)

16 Air inlet

17 Compartmenting wall (upstream)

18 Compartmenting wall (downstream)

19 (Further) Compartmenting wall

20 (Uppermost) Compartmenting wall

21 First sealing (First holder)

22 Second sealing (Compartmenting wall)

23 Third sealing (Central holder)

24 Restriction passage(s)

30 Capillary chamber (lowermost)

31 Capillary chamber (middle)

32 Capillary chamber (uppermost)

33 Baffle chamber

40 Lead Wires

100 Aerosol generating device

101 Battery

102 Inner frame

103 Sealing arrangement

104 Magnets

105 Electrical contacts

Claims

1. A cartomizer for an aerosol generating device, the cartomizer comprising:

a container for holding at least one reservoir configured to contain a vaporizable material;

a vaporizing chamber fluidly connected to a mouth end by a vapor passage;

a liquid transport element extending from inside the at least one reservoir to inside the vaporizing chamber in order to convey the vaporizable material from the reservoir to the inside of the vaporizing chamber; and

an air inlet arranged to supply the vaporizing chamber with air in use;

wherein the liquid transport element is separated from at least one part of the at least one reservoir by at least one compartmenting wall arranged for creating at least one capillary chamber communicating by a liquid restriction passage formed in one of the at least one first compartmenting wall of the at least one capillary chamber and wherein at least a portion of the liquid transport element extends in the capillary chamber.

2. The cartomizer according to claim 1, further comprising a first sealing forming a first holder of the liquid transport element, wherein an upper surface of the first sealing forms a downstream one of the at least one compartmenting wall of the at least one capillary chamber.

3. The cartomizer according to claim 1, the at least one first compartmenting wall comprises at least n first compartmenting walls forming at least n-1 chambers; each of then first compartmenting walls comprising at least one liquid restriction passage; wherein n is between 2 and 10.

4. The cartomizer according to claim 3, wherein the at least one first compartmenting wall or at least some of the n first compartmenting walls have at least two restriction passages symmetrically distributed at the circumference of one of the at least one first compartmenting wall.

5. The cartomizer according to claim 2, wherein the liquid transport element is rod-shaped and is longitudinally separated by at least one second compartmenting wall forming a second sealing, wherein the at least one second compartmenting wall forms two successive ones of the at least one capillary chamber.

6. The cartomizer according to claim 5, wherein the liquid transport element extends in at least two different successive chambers.

7. The cartomizer according to claim 5, wherein the distance between two of the first and second compartmenting walls forms a thickness of one of the at least one capillary chamber.

8. The cartomizer according to claim 1, wherein the liquid restriction passage is no more than 1.5 mm, and/or a maximum opening surface area of the liquid restriction passage is no more than 1.8 mm2.

9. The cartomizer according to claim 1, wherein

the liquid restriction passage is configured to be closed by a check valve, and/or

the liquid restriction passage has a tapered profile with the smallest cross-section at the vaporizing chamber side.

10. The cartomizer according to claim 5, further comprising a central holder, wherein the first compartmenting walls are formed as fins provided about the central holder.

11. The cartomizer according to claim 10, wherein the central holder abuts against an outer body or shell of the container.

12. The cartomizer according to claim 10, wherein the central holder is arranged for holding at least partially the liquid transport element.

13. The cartomizer according to claim 10, wherein the central holder forms a third sealing around at least a portion of the liquid transport element.

14. The cartomizer according to claim 10, wherein the first and second compartmenting walls, the central holder, the first sealing and/or the second sealing is/are made of elastomeric or silicone material.

15. The cartomizer according to 13,

wherein the first sealing and the central holder form at least partially the vaporizing chamber.

16. The cartomizer according to claim 1, wherein the liquid transport element comprises a porous capillary member.

17. The cartomizer according to claim 9 wherein the check valve comprises a one way valve.

18. The cartomizer according to claim 11, wherein the fins of the central holder abut against the outer body or shell of the container.