Electronic cigarette with visible liquid container

Abstract

A liquid storage portion for an aerosol-generating system includes a container configured to hold a liquid aerosol-forming substrate. The container has an opening for dispensing the liquid aerosol-forming substrate, and includes at least one transparent wall portion, such that the liquid level in the container can be visually monitored by the vaper. The container is further configured such that the liquid aerosol-forming substrate is held in a contiguous volume area of the container. The aerosol-forming substrate in the contiguous volume is confined near the dispensing opening of the container without regard to the orientation of the liquid storage portion.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A liquid storage portion for an aerosol-generating system, the liquid storage portion comprising:
 a container configured to hold a liquid aerosol-forming substrate, the container having a dispensing opening configured to dispense the liquid aerosol-forming substrate, the container including,   at least one transparent wall portion, such that a level of the aerosol-forming substrate in the container can be monitored, the container configured such that the liquid aerosol-forming substrate is stored in a contiguous volume area of the container, the liquid aerosol-forming substrate in the contiguous volume being confined near the dispensing opening of the container without regard to orientation of the liquid storage portion.   
     
     
         2 . The liquid storage portion of  claim 1 , wherein the container comprises:
 a section having a width dimension such that the liquid aerosol-forming substrate is held by capillary forces in the contiguous volume area.   
     
     
         3 . The liquid storage portion of  claim 1 , wherein the container is generally rectangular or cylindrical in shape, and wherein at least one section of the container has a width dimension such that the liquid aerosol-forming substrate is held by capillary forces in the contiguous volume area. 
     
     
         4 . The liquid storage portion of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one section of the container has a width dimension of below about 2 millimeters. 
     
     
         5 . The liquid storage portion of  claim 1 , wherein the container comprises:
 one or more capillary channels extending from the dispensing opening.   
     
     
         6 . The liquid storage portion of  claim 1 , wherein the container comprises:
 a single capillary channel defining a serpentine liquid path extending from the dispensing opening of the container.   
     
     
         7 . The liquid storage portion of  claim 6 , wherein the single capillary channel comprises:
 enlarged pockets distributed over a length of the capillary channel.   
     
     
         8 . An aerosol-generating system comprising:
 a housing; and   a liquid storage portion in the housing, the liquid storage portion including,   a container configured to hold a liquid aerosol-forming substrate, the container having a dispensing opening configured to dispense the liquid aerosol-forming substrate, the container including,
 at least one transparent wall portion, such that a level of the aerosol-forming substrate in the container can be monitored, the container configured such that the liquid aerosol-forming substrate is stored in a contiguous volume area of the container, the liquid aerosol-forming substrate in the contiguous volume being confined near the dispensing opening of the container without regard to orientation of the liquid storage portion. 
   
     
     
         9 . The aerosol-generating system of  claim 8 , wherein the housing comprises a transparent portion. 
     
     
         10 . The aerosol-generating system of  claim 9 , wherein at least one of the transparent portion of the housing and the transparent portion of the container comprises a scale. 
     
     
         11 . The aerosol-generating system of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 magnification areas configured to facilitate reading of a fill level of the liquid aerosol-forming substrate in the container.