Airflow Management for Vaporizer Device

Abstract

A vaporization device includes a cartridge having a reservoir that holds a vaporizable material, a heating element, and a wicking element that can draw the vaporizable material to the heating element to be vaporized. The wicking element can include two ends in contact with the reservoir. The cartridge can include an airflow control feature for controlling airflow in the cartridge.

1 .- 21 . (canceled) 
     
     
         22 . A cartridge for a vaporizer device, the cartridge comprising:
 a reservoir chamber configured to contain a liquid vaporizable material;   a wicking element configured to draw the liquid vaporizable material from the reservoir chamber to be vaporized by a heating element; and   an airflow passageway and a fluid passageway extending between the reservoir chamber and the airflow passageway, the fluid passageway being configured such that a surface tension of the liquid vaporizable material prevents passage of the liquid vaporizable material through the fluid passageway when the reservoir pressure is approximately the same as a second pressure along the airflow passageway and further configured to allow the surface tension of the liquid vaporizable material to be disrupted when the reservoir pressure is less than the second pressure along the airflow passageway thereby allowing a volume of air to pass through the airflow control feature and into the reservoir chamber.   
     
     
         23 . The cartridge of  claim 22 , further comprising a venting material extending over an opening of the fluid passageway. 
     
     
         24 . The cartridge of  claim 22 , further comprising a pressure sensor configured to sense a pressure along the airflow passageway. 
     
     
         25 . The cartridge of  claim 22 , further comprising a secondary passageway configured to draw air through a part of the cartridge, the secondary passageway configured to merge with the airflow passageway downstream from the wicking element. 
     
     
         26 . The cartridge of  claim 22 , further comprising a pressure-sensing passageway that extends between an outlet of the cartridge and a pressure sensor, the pressure-sensing passageway being separate from the airflow passageway. 
     
     
         27 . The cartridge of  claim 22 , further comprising an inlet positioned along a first side of the cartridge and an outlet positioned along a second side of the cartridge, the airflow passageway extending between the inlet and the outlet, the inlet and the outlet being positioned along the first side and second side, respectively, such that the inlet and the outlet are open when the cartridge is inserted in a vaporizer device body in a first position and are closed when the cartridge is inserted in the vaporizer device body in a second position. 
     
     
         28 . The cartridge of  claim 22 , wherein the wicking element has a flat configuration with at least one pair of opposing sides that extend parallel to each other.