Smoking substitute apparatus

Abstract

A smoking substitute apparatus for generating an aerosol, comprising: an aerosol generation chamber containing an aerosol generator being operable to generate an aerosol from an aerosol precursor, the aerosol generation chamber having a chamber outlet and at least one chamber inlet, air flowing in use from said at least one chamber inlet into the aerosol generation chamber towards the chamber outlet to entrain generated aerosol for inhalation by a user drawing on the apparatus; wherein, when the apparatus is oriented upright, said at least one chamber inlet is positioned higher than the position of the aerosol generator and configured so that substantially all of the airflow entering the aerosol generation chamber is directed away from the aerosol generator.

1 . A smoking substitute apparatus for generating an aerosol, comprising:
 an aerosol generation chamber containing an aerosol generator being operable to generate an aerosol from an aerosol precursor, the aerosol generation chamber having a chamber outlet and at least one chamber inlet, air flowing in use from said at least one chamber inlet into the aerosol generation chamber towards the chamber outlet to entrain generated aerosol for inhalation by a user drawing on the apparatus;   wherein, when the apparatus is oriented upright, said at least one chamber inlet is positioned higher than the position of the aerosol generator and configured so that substantially all of the airflow entering the aerosol generation chamber is directed away from the aerosol generator.   
     
     
         2 . The smoking substitute apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a housing containing the aerosol generation chamber, wherein one or more electrical contacts are provided on a first end of the housing and electrically connected with the aerosol generator, and wherein the one or more electrical contacts are configured to engage with corresponding electrical terminals on a main body of a smoking substitute system. 
     
     
         3 . The smoking substitute apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the one or more electrical contacts have an electrically conductive surface which extends substantially orthogonally to a longitudinal axis of the housing. 
     
     
         4 . The smoking substitute apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a housing containing the aerosol generation chamber, wherein one or more electrical contacts are provided on a sidewall of the housing and electrically connected with the aerosol generator, wherein the one or more electrical contacts are configured to engage with corresponding electrical terminals on a main body of a smoking substitute system. 
     
     
         5 . The smoking substitute apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein the one or more electrical contacts have an electrically conductive surface which is substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the housing. 
     
     
         6 . The smoking substitute apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the one or more electrical contacts are provided on an external surface of the housing. 
     
     
         7 . The smoking substitute apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the one or more electrical contacts are resiliently movable for effecting a secure electrical connection with the corresponding electrical terminals on the main body. 
     
     
         8 . The smoking substitute apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein, when the apparatus is oriented upright, the aerosol generation chamber is sealed against air flow into or out of the chamber in a region level with and below the position of the aerosol generator. 
     
     
         9 . The smoking substitute apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein air flows in use along an air flow path between the chamber inlet and the chamber outlet, and wherein the aerosol generator is arranged to be spaced from the air flow path. 
     
     
         10 . The smoking substitute apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the aerosol precursor comprises a liquid aerosol precursor, and wherein the aerosol generator comprises a heater configured to generate the aerosol by vaporizing the liquid aerosol precursor. 
     
     
         11 . The smoking substitute apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the chamber inlet is formed on a sidewall of the aerosol generation chamber at a position in between the aerosol generator and the chamber outlet. 
     
     
         12 . The smoking substitute apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the smoking substitute apparatus is configured to generate an aerosol having a droplet size, d 50 , of at least 1 μm. 
     
     
         13 . A smoking substitute system for generating an aerosol, comprising:
 i) a smoking substitute apparatus for generating an aerosol, comprising:
 an aerosol generation chamber containing an aerosol generator being operable to generate an aerosol from an aerosol precursor, the aerosol generation chamber having a chamber outlet and at least one chamber inlet, air flowing in use from said at least one chamber inlet into the aerosol generation chamber towards the chamber outlet to entrain generated aerosol for inhalation by a user drawing on the apparatus; 
 wherein, when the apparatus is oriented upright, said at least one chamber inlet is positioned higher than the position of the aerosol generator and configured so that substantially all of the airflow entering the aerosol generation chamber is directed away from the aerosol generator; and 
   ii) a main body configured to engage with the smoking substitute apparatus; wherein the main body comprises a controller and a power source configured to energize the aerosol generator.   
     
     
         14 . The smoking substitute system of  claim 13 , wherein the smoking substitute apparatus further comprises a housing containing the aerosol generation chamber, wherein one or more electrical contacts are provided on a sidewall of the housing and electrically connected with the aerosol generator, wherein the one or more electrical contacts are configured to engage with corresponding electrical terminals on a main body of a smoking substitute system, wherein the main body comprises corresponding electrical terminals configured to engage with the one or more electrical contacts by a sliding fit. 
     
     
         15 . A method of using a smoking substitute apparatus, the smoking substitute apparatus comprising:
 an aerosol generation chamber containing an aerosol generator being operable to generate an aerosol from an aerosol precursor, the aerosol generation chamber having a chamber outlet and at least one chamber inlet, air flowing in use from said at least one chamber inlet into the aerosol generation chamber towards the chamber outlet to entrain generated aerosol for inhalation by a user drawing on the apparatus;   wherein, when the apparatus is oriented upright, said at least one chamber inlet is positioned higher than the position of the aerosol generator and configured so that substantially all of the airflow entering the aerosol generation chamber is directed away from the aerosol generator,   the method comprising:   i) generating an aerosol with the aerosol generator;   ii) drawing on the apparatus to cause an air flow to enter the aerosol generation chamber and entrain the generated aerosol.