ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 19 -- United States Patent no. 12,254,728, issued on March 18.
"Cartridge-accepting device with an authentication circuit" was invented by Stephen S. Milt (Winchester, Mass.), Loucinda C. Bistany (Methuen, Mass.), William D. Hargett (Chelmsford, Mass.) and Robert S. Mawrey (Ashland, Mass.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A self-authenticating cartridge-accepting device includes a cartridge receptacle adapted to accept a cartridge containing vaporizable material, a battery, a vaporization circuit electrically connected to the battery, the vaporization circuit configured to provide power from the battery to a heating element, wherein the heating element is configured to vap...