Electronic cigarette and method of assembling electronic cigarette

{
  "publication_number": "US10201188B2",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B2",
  "title": "Electronic cigarette and method of assembling electronic cigarette",
  "abstract": "Disclosed is an electronic cigarette including a battery connector and a vaporizer connector, wherein the battery connector comprises two recessed L-shaped grooves, and the vaporizer connector comprises two symmetrically-arranged protrusions. After the battery connector has been twist-lock connected with the vaporizer connector, the L-shaped grooves of the battery connector tightly engage with the protrusions of the vaporizer connector, positive and negative electrodes of a battery assembly are electrically connected to two electrodes of a vaporizer electrode assembly.",
  "claims": [
    "1. An electronic cigarette comprising a battery assembly and a vaporizer assembly abutting the battery assembly, characterized in that a battery connector at a connecting end of the battery assembly and a vaporizer connector at a connecting end of the vaporizer assembly are connected via a twist lock joint, an electrode of the battery connector is electrically connected to an electrode of the vaporizer connector; the battery connector is consisted of a tube body and a protruding platform formed on one end of the tube body and having a cross-sectional area smaller than the tube body, wherein a circular cavity is provided at the center of the protruding platform, two recessed L-shaped grooves are radially and symmetrically formed in an inner wall of the circular cavity, a through hole is opened at a bottom of the circular cavity, positive and negative electrodes of the battery assembly are protruded out from the through hole, an outer wall of the protruding platform has a protrusion for snap fitting with a corresponding protrusion formed at an inner wall of one end of an outer tube of the vaporizer assembly; the vaporizer connector comprises a tube body and a circular protruding platform formed on one end of the tube body and having a cross-sectional area smaller than the tube body, two symmetrically-arranged protrusions protrude radially outward from an outer wall of the circular protruding platform, a center of the circular protruding platform is provided with a vaporizer electrode assembly comprising two electrodes; after the battery connector has been twist-lock connected with the vaporizer connector, the circular cavity of the battery connector exactly receives the circular protruding platform of the vaporizer connector, the L-shaped grooves of the battery connector tightly engage with the protrusions of the vaporizer connector, the positive and negative electrodes of the battery assembly are electrically connected to the two electrodes of the vaporizer electrode assembly; the vaporizer electrode assembly is consisted of a column-shaped electrode fixer inserted into a central through hole of the circular protruding platform, a rod-like electrode having a protruding ring at one end thereof and inserted into a central through hole of the column-shaped electrode fixer, and a semi-annular electrode or a full-annular electrode inserted into an annular cavity recessed along an outer circumference of the central through hole of the electrode fixer.",
    "2. The electronic cigarette of claim 1, characterized in that the L-shaped groove is consisted of a vertical groove and an arc-shaped groove starting from a bottom half of the vertical groove and extending along a portion of the circumference of the inner wall of the circular cavity, wherein a height of the arc-shaped groove is slightly and gradually decreased.",
    "3. The electronic cigarette of claim 2, characterized in that a lug is protruded downward from a top edge of the arc-shaped groove for locking purpose.",
    "4. The electronic cigarette of claim 3, characterized in that the protrusion of the vaporizer connector has a concave portion configured to engage with the lug at the top edge of the arc-shaped groove.",
    "5. The electronic cigarette of claim 1, characterized in that the positive and negative electrodes of the battery assembly are rod-like and retractable electrodes.",
    "6. The electronic cigarette of claim 1, characterized in that the battery assembly, the vaporizer assembly and the outer tube of the vaporizer assembly all have non-circular cross sections.",
    "7. The electronic cigarette of claim 6, characterized in that the non-circular cross section is oval cross section.",
    "8. The electronic cigarette of claim 7, characterized in that an angle between the major axis X of an oval end surface of an oval protruding platform of the battery connector and a straight line between two midpoints of two vertical grooves of the symmetrically-arranged L-shaped grooves is an acute angle."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "The present invention relates to an electronic cigarette and a method of assembling an electronic cigarette.\n\nA vaporizer assembly and a battery assembly of an existing electronic cigarette having a non-circular cross section are usually connected via a nested structure, other connecting structures are neither user-friendly nor convenient for the assembly and disassembly of the components of an electronic cigarette having a non-circular cross section.\n\nThe present invention aims to provide an electronic cigarette comprising a vaporizer assembly and a battery assembly connected via a twist lock joint. Such twist lock joint is very convenient for the assembly and disassembly of components of an electronic cigarette having a non-circular cross section. Another object of the present invention is to provide a convenient method of assembling an electronic cigarette.\n\nA technical solution of the present invention is an electronic cigarette comprising a battery assembly and a vaporizer assembly abutting the battery assembly, wherein a battery connector at a connecting end of the battery assembly and a vaporizer connector at a connecting end of the vaporizer assembly are connected via a twist lock joint, an electrode of the battery connector is electrically connected to an electrode of the vaporizer connector; the battery connector is consisted of a tube body and a protruding platform formed on one end of the tube body and having a cross-sectional area smaller than the tube body ...",
  "cpc": [
    "A61M 15/06",
    "A24F 40/40",
    "A24F 47/00",
    "A24F 47/008",
    "F16B 7/20",
    "H01M 2/1055",
    "H01M 2220/30",
    "H01M 50/213",
    "Y02E 60/10"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "A24F 40/40",
    "A61M 15/06",
    "F16B 7/20",
    "H01M 2/10"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Guangrong Lin"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2015-03-20",
  "publication_date": "2019-02-12",
  "grant_date": "2019-02-12",
  "priority_date": "2014-04-16",
  "application_number": "US-201515303745-A",
  "family_id": "51673576",
  "cited_by_count": 19,
  "citations": [
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}