Two new cartridge designs I have thought of...

[rlorange]

I have reposted this thread from General Discussions:

Just thinking that the design of the carts is really poor and basically the same for most ecigs (exception being the cartrige/atomizer combined).

I have some ideas for new cart designs which I think is a long overdue upgrade that the manufacturers have overlooked so far. Messy open cartriges with liquid ozzing out is not good from the point of view of the Authorities and the delivery to the atomizer is not very satisfactory.

I think any new cartridge design should screw into the back of the atomizer and/or seal so that there is no leakage. The atomizer should have dedicated holes on it rear side for vapour release separate to the wick opening.

Idea 1.

-rubber capped cart/reservoir with a mouthpiece end that screws off for refilling, no wool inside.

-central sharp hollow needle protruding from the atomiser which 'pierces' this rubber cap thus sealing the connection with atomizer. hollow needle prtrudes into liquid filled cart, is preforated along its length with holes and is filled with the metal wool wick so the cart will supply liquid on-demand at the ideal rate no matter what level is in the cart.

-separate holes explelling vapour from the atomizer.

Idea 2.

- cart screws onto the back of the atomizer and is sealed with an o-ring.

-tiny single hole in the middle of a rubber membrane sealing the end of the cart pushed up againts a flat circular metal mesh wick. This hole only delivers liquid under pressure.

- The back end of the cart has a syringe type sealed plunger which is geared up to a Rotating mouthpiece. So by roating a lightly ratcheted mputhpiece the plunger delivers a measured dose of liquid to the wick via the tiny hole under pressure thus acting like a valve.

-This design is sealed, refillable and replicates the 'drip method' but without the dripping!

I hope people can visualise this from my description. I would love to make an illustralion if I can find the time...

[kinabaloo]

Interesting ideas. I have long thought that the cartridge should be on the other side of the atomiser from the mouthpiece, between the atomiser and battery.

[MoonMan]

I forsee problems with rubber being in close proximity to the atomizer.

[rlorange]

I think the rubber will be fine. Modern silicone rubbers generally resist high temperatures. RTV silicone can resist temperatures higher than 250 degrees Celsius.

I there has to be better way to provide a measured and continuous dose of liquid to the atomizer right to the end of a cart.

The Authorities will never like the idea of open bottles of poison being dripped into these things and getting in the mouth etc.

[cucurucho]

Interesting ideas indeed. A couple of things to consider:

For idea 1: If the liquid is loose in the cartridge, how would you ensure that the needle is constantly submersed in liquid while the device is being rotated around every which way? Would the perforated edges suck in air when the cartridge is running out of juice?

Idea 2: There would still have to be a way to get power from the battery to the atomiser. If the power were to pass through the cart somehow, this would probably drastically increase the cost of manufacturing the carts.

[Spikey]

If carts were silicone sealed they would not be refillable. I am not sure how I would feel about that. Increasing the cost of carts and then not being able to refill them? Hmmm... but I do like the ideas and you are certainly right.. there HAS to be a better way.

[kinabaloo]

If the cart is 'behind' the atomiser (the other side from the mouthpiece) it could hold much more juice, and make a dropper button possible - small button pushes on a new rubber part of the inner juice container, squeezing out one drop into the atomiser.

When e-cigs are looked at, the cartridge of deadly toxin (as they see it) being right next to the mouth and with a barely obstructed path for the liquid to get from cart to mouth will not go down well ! Better start now a redesign.

rlorange - I have some other thread talked about making cartridges work as droppers rather than using the existing wad of material to soak through to the metal wick - this is just too unreliable (good, not good, suddenly ok again, oh hold on ...). I have also looked at the possibility of a miniture press pump with simple valve, the ones used in liquid soap bottles and smaller ones on scent bottles. A little smaller and calculated for one push gives one drop (or perhaps 2), possibly as a mist via a nozzle.

One drop is kindof one cig / one 5 minute vape snack. Making a cart behave like the much loved dripping method also avoids cart filling burn. The best of dripping without needing to take off the cart/mouthpiece each time

We are going to need a clever bit of design if we are going to fit any idea into the width of a 901

[rlorange]

Hello everyone! good feedback... I think I must have described it wrong Idea 2 still has the cart in the normal place just a different way to deliver the juice to the atomizer via a "dial".

So to clarify: Idea 2: The cart has some sort of plunger in back of it which is 'dialed in' by simple turning of the mouthpiece. So the cart has to be screwed into the front of the atomizer to keep it secure.

The plunger would screw into the back of the cart via some sort of thread when the mouthpiece is turned. The e-liquid under pressure would force through some sort of simple valve which I envisage as a silicone rubber membrane with a tiny hole in it which is pressed up against an atomizer wick which is circular instead of a protruding loop. So dialing in the plunger forces a prescribed ammount of juice through a tiny hole in a slicone membrane pressed up against the atomiser wick!

Hope this description helps. I think this idea would be very simple and effective and the cart could still be refilled by removing the plunger from the back.

[jmcclimo2003]

It seems like this problem has already been solved by the highlighter industry. Look at one of the newer "liquid highlighters." They have probably 10 mL of free liquid in a reservoir. A wick goes from that reservoir through a very constrictive plastic orifice and ends in the v-point we use to write with. You can highlight a whole page without stopping and the ink keeps up, so wicking speed is plenty fast for our purposes. I'm sure their wick is better than the ones currently in our cartridges, and I've never had one leak on me so the liquid is pretty secure in the reservoir.

This would entice the manufacturers I think because the cartridges would be almost impossible to refill at home, but if there's several mL in there, would we really care.

[Maxwell_Edison]

I have a newbie question, this looks like a good place to ask (rather than starting a new thread). With the 901 e-cig, approximately how many cigarettes do you get from one cartridge (without juicing or anything). Or to ask another way: one cartridge = (?) analogs.