Patents by Inventor Takeshi Akao

Takeshi Akao has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11271481
    Abstract: An inhalation component generating device includes: a power supply; a load group including a load configured to evaporate or atomize an inhalation component source by power from the power supply; an adjusting unit configured to adjust a value or waveform of voltage to be applied to the load; and a control circuit configured to be able to acquire a voltage value of the power supply. The control circuit performs: a process (a1) of acquiring a closed circuit voltage value of the power supply in a closed circuit state in which the power supply and the load group are electrically connected; and a process (a2) of controlling the adjusting unit based on the closed circuit voltage value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignee: JAPAN TOBACCO INC.
    Inventors: Kazuma Mizuguchi, Takeshi Akao, Hajime Fujita
  • Publication number: 20220015446
    Abstract: This inhalation component generation device comprises: a load which vaporizes or atomizes an inhalation component source using power from a power supply; and a control unit. The control unit comprises: a voltage sensor which uses a predefined correlation to convert the analog voltage value of a power supply to a digital voltage value and outputs the digital voltage value; and a power control unit which controls the supply of power from the power supply to the load on the basis of the digital voltage value. The control unit is configured to be capable of calibrating the correlation on the basis of changes in the digital voltage value or the analog voltage value obtained during charging of the power supply.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2021
    Publication date: January 20, 2022
    Applicant: JAPAN TOBACCO INC.
    Inventors: Takeshi AKAO, Hajime FUJITA, Manabu YAMADA
  • Patent number: 11223077
    Abstract: A power supply unit for an aerosol inhaler includes: a power supply able to discharge power to a load for generating an aerosol from an aerosol source; and a control unit configured to perform a plurality of types of processes for diagnosing a state of the power supply. The plurality of types of processes are different in at least one of time which is required to obtain a result of diagnosis and information which is used to obtain a result of diagnosis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2022
    Assignee: JAPAN TOBACCO INC.
    Inventors: Takeshi Akao, Manabu Yamada, Hajime Fujita
  • Publication number: 20220000186
    Abstract: A power supply unit is for an inhalation device and is controlled so as to flexibly respond to the detection of a temperature anomaly in the controller. A power supply unit is provided to an inhalation device and includes; a battery; a controller that controls the charging operation of the battery as well as the discharging operation f the battery when the source of an inhalation component is vaporized or atomized; and a temperature measurer that measures the temperature of the controller. The controller causes the temperature measurer to measure the temperature of the controller in a first cycle during the charging operation and in a second cycle during the discharging operation, and assesses the temperature state of the power supply unit in accordance with the measurement results.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 22, 2021
    Publication date: January 6, 2022
    Applicant: Japan Tobacco Inc.
    Inventor: Takeshi AKAO
  • Publication number: 20210391737
    Abstract: A power supply unit for an aerosol inhaler includes: a case; a power supply that discharges power to a load for generating an aerosol from an aerosol generation source; a discharging terminal that connects the load to the power supply; a charging terminal that connects the power supply to an external power supply and is separated from the discharging terminal; a temperature measuring unit that measures temperature of the power supply; and a control device that controls an effective value of a first charging current to a value smaller than an effective value of a second charging current. The first charging current is supplied to the power supply when a measurement value of the temperature measuring unit is equal to or higher than a first threshold and the second charging current is supplied to the power supply when the measurement value is lower than the first threshold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 26, 2021
    Publication date: December 16, 2021
    Applicant: JAPAN TOBACCO INC.
    Inventor: Takeshi Akao
  • Publication number: 20210360970
    Abstract: A mechanism capable of specifying the arrangement of a flavor component generating base material in a suction device includes a retention part having an internal space; a pressure sensor for detecting a pressure applied to the inner wall of the retention part; and a control unit for specifying the arrangement of a flavor component generation base material in the internal space of the retention part on the basis of the detection result from the pressure sensor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 10, 2021
    Publication date: November 25, 2021
    Applicant: Japan Tobacco Inc.
    Inventors: Manabu TAKEUCHI, Takeshi AKAO, Yasuhiro ONO, Takashi FUJIKI, Takuma NAKANO, Masayuki TSUJI, Ryoji FUJITA, Kazutoshi SERITA, Hiroshi TEZUKA
  • Publication number: 20210360976
    Abstract: To provide a mechanism that makes it possible to further improve the quality of the inhalation experience provided by a flavor component generation device, a flavor component generation control device for controlling a flavor component generation device includes an attachment section that has detachably attached thereto an element configured so as to consume stored contents and thereby contribute to the generation of a gas to which a flavor component is added. The flavor component generation control device includes a controller that controls processing in which, for each of a plurality of the elements that have been attached to the attachment section in the past, identification information for the element is associated with a parameter indicating the consumption amount of the contents consumed in generation of the gas to which the flavor component is added. The result is stored in a storage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 6, 2021
    Publication date: November 25, 2021
    Applicant: Japan Tobacco Inc.
    Inventors: Manabu TAKEUCHI, Takeshi AKAO, Yasuhiro ONO, Takashi FUJIKI, Takuma NAKANO, Masayuki TSUJI, Ryoji FUJITA, Kazutoshi SERITA, Hiroshi TEZUKA
  • Patent number: 11166493
    Abstract: Control device for aerosol inhalation device includes operational amplifier for performing output according to voltage applied to load for heating aerosol source and having correlation between temperature and electrical resistance value, control unit for performing processing based on the voltage according to the output, diode having anode electrically connected to one of inverting input terminal and noninverting input terminal, and circuit for electrically connecting power supply and the load. The circuit is formed by first region, and second region in which maximum voltage is lower than that in the first region, or applied voltage is lower than that to the first region. Of the inverting input terminal and the noninverting input terminal, terminal to which the anode of the diode is electrically connected is electrically connected to the first region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2021
    Assignee: JAPAN TOBACCO INC.
    Inventors: Kazuma Mizuguchi, Takeshi Akao
  • Patent number: 11160312
    Abstract: Provided is an aerosol generating device that can accurately detect the shortage or exhaustion of an aerosol source at low cost. The aerosol generating device includes: a reservoir that stores an aerosol source or an aerosol base that holds an aerosol source; a load that atomizes the aerosol source with heat generated by using power supplied from a power source; a sensor that outputs a value related to the temperature of the load; and a control unit configured to determine the occurrence of exhaustion of the aerosol source in the reservoir or the aerosol base on the basis of the cooling velocity derived from the output value of the sensor in a cooling process after the load has been heated to a temperature higher than or equal to a temperature at which the aerosol source can be atomized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2021
    Assignee: JAPAN TOBACCO INC.
    Inventors: Takeshi Akao, Kazuma Mizuguchi, Hajime Fujita
  • Patent number: 11160311
    Abstract: This inhalation component generation device comprises: a load which vaporizes or atomizes an inhalation component source using power from a power supply; and a control unit. The control unit comprises: a voltage sensor which uses a predefined correlation to convert the analog voltage value of a power supply to a digital voltage value and outputs the digital voltage value; and a power control unit which controls the supply of power from the power supply to the load on the basis of the digital voltage value. The control unit is configured to be capable of calibrating the correlation on the basis of changes in the digital voltage value or the analog voltage value obtained during charging of the power supply.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2021
    Assignee: JAPAN TOBACCO INC.
    Inventors: Takeshi Akao, Hajime Fujita, Manabu Yamada
  • Patent number: 11140922
    Abstract: To provide a control device for an aerosol inhalator capable of determining a residual amount of an aerosol source without being influenced by changes in temperature of a heater due to inhalation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: JAPAN TOBACCO INC.
    Inventors: Kazuma Mizuguchi, Takeshi Akao, Takuma Nakano, Masayuki Tsuji, Hajime Fujita
  • Patent number: 11133692
    Abstract: A power supply unit for an aerosol inhaler includes: a power supply able to discharge power to a load for generating an aerosol from an aerosol generation source; a temperature measuring unit configured to measure temperature of the power supply; and a control device configured to control first power or a first amount of power to be supplied to the power supply in a case where a measurement value of the temperature measuring unit is equal to or higher than a first threshold, to a value smaller than second power or a second amount of power to be supplied to the power supply in a case where the measurement value is lower than the first threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: JAPAN TOBACCO INC.
    Inventor: Takeshi Akao
  • Patent number: 11116256
    Abstract: An inhalation device controller includes a holder that holds an atomizer including a heater for atomizing an aerosol source, and a processor. Upon detecting an atomization request, the processor executes first determination processing of determining a remaining amount of the aerosol source in the atomizer using a first algorithm, and upon detecting an atomization request after the execution of the first determination processing, executes second determination processing of determining presence/absence of the aerosol source in the atomizer using a second algorithm. Even if it is determined by the first determination processing that the remaining amount is larger than 0, if aerosol source absence is determined by the second determination processing, the processor outputs the aerosol source absence as a final determination result, and inhibits a supply of power to the heater.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2021
    Assignee: JAPAN TOBACCO INC.
    Inventors: Noritoshi Fujita, Takeshi Akao
  • Publication number: 20210249878
    Abstract: A power supply unit for an aerosol inhaler includes: a power supply that is able to discharge power to a load for generating an aerosol from an aerosol generation source; and a control unit that is configured to control at least one of charging and discharging of the power supply such that the power supply does not become one or both of a fully charged state and a discharging termination state.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 27, 2021
    Publication date: August 12, 2021
    Applicant: JAPAN TOBACCO INC.
    Inventors: Manabu YAMADA, Takeshi AKAO
  • Publication number: 20210249877
    Abstract: A power supply unit for an aerosol inhaler includes: a power supply that is able to discharge power to a load for generating an aerosol from an aerosol generation source; and a control unit that is configured to control at least one of charging and discharging of the power supply such that the power supply does not become one or both of a fully charged state and a discharging termination state.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 27, 2021
    Publication date: August 12, 2021
    Applicant: JAPAN TOBACCO INC.
    Inventors: Manabu YAMADA, Takeshi AKAO
  • Patent number: 11083226
    Abstract: The inhalation component generation device comprises: a load that vaporizes or atomizes an inhalation component source by electric power from an electric power source; a controller that obtains a value representing a remaining amount of the electric power source, and obtains an operation requesting signal to the load and generates an instruction for operating the load; and a user interface. The controller is configured to cause the user interface to perform a second notification when the value representing the remaining amount of the electric power source is less than a first threshold value and equal to or greater than a second threshold value that is less than the first threshold value, and cause the user interface to perform a third notification when the value representing the remaining amount of the electric power source is less than the second threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2021
    Assignee: JAPAN TOBACCO INC.
    Inventors: Manabu Yamada, Manabu Takeuchi, Takeshi Akao, Takuma Nakano, Hajime Fujita
  • Publication number: 20210242702
    Abstract: A power supply unit for an aerosol inhaler includes: a power supply able to discharge power to a load for generating an aerosol from an aerosol source; a connector able to be electrically connected to an external power supply; and a control device. The power supply unit further includes: a conductor which electrically connects the connector and the control device; a capacitor provided between the connector and the control device so as to be connected in parallel with the control device; a first circuit board on which the connector is provided; a second circuit board which is apart from the first circuit board and on which the capacitor and the control device are provided; and a conductive member which electrically connects the first circuit board and the second circuit board.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 19, 2021
    Publication date: August 5, 2021
    Inventor: Takeshi Akao
  • Publication number: 20210235767
    Abstract: In order to detect the occurrence of malfunction in a sensor, this power supply unit is provided with a microphone condenser which detects an aerosol generation request, a PTC thermistor which outputs a value which changes depending on electric change in the microphone condenser, and a control portion which, on the basis of the value outputted by the PTC thermistor, detects whether the microphone condenser is in a normal state or an abnormal state.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 21, 2021
    Publication date: August 5, 2021
    Applicant: JAPAN TOBACCO INC.
    Inventors: Takeshi AKAO, Manabu YAMADA, Hiroshi TEZUKA
  • Publication number: 20210235768
    Abstract: In order to detect the occurrence of malfunctions in a sensor, this power supply unit is provided with a sensor unit which detects an aerosol generation request, and a control portion which, on the basis of an output value from the sensor unit which has detected an aerosol generation request, detects whether the sensor unit is in a normal state or an abnormal state.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 21, 2021
    Publication date: August 5, 2021
    Applicant: JAPAN TOBACCO INC.
    Inventors: Takeshi AKAO, Manabu YAMADA, Hiroshi TEZUKA
  • Publication number: 20210234390
    Abstract: A power supply unit for an aerosol inhaler includes: a power supply able to discharge power to a load for generating an aerosol from an aerosol source; a connector able to be electrically connected to an external power supply; a control device configured to control at least one of charging and discharging of the power supply or configured to be able to convert power which is input from the connector into charging power for the power supply; and a zener diode provided between the connector and the control device so as to be connected in parallel with the control device. A maximum value of zener voltage of the zener diode is lower than a maximum operation guarantee voltage of the control device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 14, 2021
    Publication date: July 29, 2021
    Applicant: JAPAN TOBACCO INC.
    Inventor: Takeshi Akao