US 12,295,414 B2
Smoking substitute apparatus
Benjamin Illidge, Liverpool (GB); Benjamin Astbury, Liverpool (GB); and Nikhil Aggarwal, Liverpool (GB)
Assigned to Imperial Tobacco Limited, Bristol (GB)
Filed by Imperial Tobacco Limited, Bristol (GB)
Filed on Mar. 14, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/694,047.
Application 17/694,047 is a continuation of application No. PCT/EP2020/076280, filed on Sep. 21, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 19198572 (EP), filed on Sep. 20, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0192259 A1, Jun. 23, 2022
Int. Cl. A24F 40/10 (2020.01); A24F 40/44 (2020.01); A24F 40/465 (2020.01); A24F 40/485 (2020.01)
CPC A24F 40/10 (2020.01) [A24F 40/44 (2020.01); A24F 40/465 (2020.01); A24F 40/485 (2020.01)] 15 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A smoking substitute apparatus comprising:
a housing having a longitudinal axis;
an air inlet and an air outlet;
a vaporization chamber; and
a vaporization chamber inlet,
wherein the air inlet and the air outlet are in fluid communication with each other through an air flow channel extending between the air inlet and the air outlet, the air flow channel passing through the vaporization chamber inlet and the vaporization chamber;
wherein the vaporization chamber inlet is configured to receive air flow from a first direction and to change a direction of air flow to a second direction to be in fluid communication with the vaporization chamber through an axial aperture, the second direction being different to the first direction, and wherein the vaporization chamber inlet is configured to graduate a rate of change of air flow direction from the first direction to the second direction,
wherein:
at least part of a perimeter of an upstream edge of the axial aperture is filleted so as to reduce turbulence of the air flow as compared to air flow resulting from the perimeter of the upstream edge of the axial aperture being sharp; and
a heater is provided in the vaporization chamber, extending orthogonally to the longitudinal axis of the housing, wherein a wick extends orthogonally to the longitudinal axis of the housing and the heater is wound around the wick.