Smoking substitute apparatus

Abstract

A smoking substitute apparatus is disclosed, comprising a housing comprising a base portion, a mouthpiece portion, and one or more walls extending longitudinally from the base portion towards the mouthpiece portion. An air inlet is formed in a wall of the housing and spaced longitudinally from the base portion. An outlet is formed in the mouthpiece portion. An airflow path extends from the air inlet to the outlet, the airflow path comprising a first portion downstream of the air inlet and extending longitudinally towards the base portion of the housing, and a transversely extending second portion that is downstream of the first portion. The apparatus has a vaporizer comprising a wick and a heating element for heating a heatable portion of the wick. The heatable portion of the wick is elongated in a direction substantially parallel to the direction of airflow in the second portion of the airflow path.

1 . A smoking substitute apparatus comprising:
 a housing comprising a base portion, a mouthpiece portion, and one or more walls extending longitudinally from the base portion towards the mouthpiece portion;   an air inlet formed in a wall of the housing and spaced longitudinally from the base portion;   an outlet formed in the mouthpiece portion;   an airflow path extending from the air inlet to the outlet, the airflow path comprising a first portion downstream of the air inlet and extending longitudinally towards the base portion of the housing, and a transversely extending second portion that is downstream of the first portion; and   a vaporizer comprising a wick and a heating element for heating a heatable portion of the wick, the heatable portion of the wick being elongated in a direction substantially parallel to the direction of airflow in the second portion of the airflow path.   
     
     
         2 . A smoking substitute apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein the air inlet is longitudinally spaced from the base portion of the housing by a distance that is greater than 8 mm. 
     
     
         3 . A smoking substitute apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein the airflow path comprises a third portion extending longitudinally from the second portion to the outlet 
     
     
         4 . A smoking substitute apparatus according to  claim 3  wherein the second portion of the airflow path is substantially perpendicular to the first and/or third portions of the airflow path. 
     
     
         5 . A smoking substitute apparatus according to  claim 3  wherein a bypass air inlet is provided into the third portion of the airflow path. 
     
     
         6 . A smoking substitute apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein the airflow path is generally U-shaped 
     
     
         7 . A smoking substitute apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein the second portion of the airflow path has a length that is longer than the length of the heatable portion of the wick. 
     
     
         8 . A smoking substitute apparatus according to  claim 3  wherein the apparatus comprises a tank for housing an aerosol precursor disposed between the first and the third portions of the airflow path. 
     
     
         9 . A smoking substitute apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein the housing comprises a width, a length and a depth, the depth being smaller than each of the width and the length and the heatable portion of the wick being oriented in the direction of the width of the housing. 
     
     
         10 . A smoking substitute system comprising a base unit and a smoking substitute apparatus, wherein the smoking substitute apparatus is removably engageable with the base unit and wherein the smoking substitute apparatus comprises:
 a housing comprising a base portion, a mouthpiece portion, and one or more walls extending longitudinally from the base portion towards the mouthpiece portion;   an air inlet formed in a wall of the housing and spaced longitudinally from the base portion;   an outlet formed in the mouthpiece portion;   an airflow path extending from the air inlet to the outlet, the airflow path comprising a first portion downstream of the air inlet and extending longitudinally towards the base portion of the housing, and a transversely extending second portion that is downstream of the first portion; and   a vaporizer comprising a wick and a heating element for heating a heatable portion of the wick, the heatable portion of the wick being elongated in a direction substantially parallel to the direction of airflow in the second portion of the airflow path.   
     
     
         11 . A method of using a smoking substitute apparatus to generate an aerosol, the smoking substitute apparatus comprising:
 a housing comprising a base portion, a mouthpiece portion, and one or more walls extending longitudinally from the base portion towards the mouthpiece portion;   an air inlet formed in a wall of the housing and spaced longitudinally from the base portion;   an outlet formed in the mouthpiece portion;   an airflow path extending from the air inlet to the outlet, the airflow path comprising a first portion downstream of the air inlet and extending longitudinally towards the base portion of the housing, and a transversely extending second portion that is downstream of the first portion; and   a vaporizer comprising a wick and a heating element for heating a heatable portion of the wick, the heatable portion of the wick being elongated in a direction substantially parallel to the direction of airflow in the second portion of the airflow path.