AEROSOL GENERATING DEVICE

Abstract

An aerosol generating device includes a first cartridge including a delivery hole for delivering an aerosol generated from the first material, a second cartridge including chambers for accommodating a second material passing an aerosol delivered from the first cartridge therethrough and is capable of changing a relative position of the first cartridge with regard to the second cartridge, a drive device for changing the relative position of the first cartridge and the second cartridge, and a controller for changing the relative position of the first cartridge with regard to the second cartridge so that at least one of the plurality of chambers passes the aerosol therethrough when a previously determined condition is satisfied.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

One or more embodiments of the present disclosure relate to an aerosol generating device, and more particularly, to an aerosol generating device configured to automatically adjust relative positions of a first cartridge and a second cartridge.

BACKGROUND ART

Recently, there is an increasing demand for an aerosol generating device that generates aerosol based on a non-combustion method without combustion of tobacco. For example, an aerosol generating device may deliver aerosol to the distal airway of a user by generating aerosol with a non-combustion method or by generating aerosol from aerosol generating material and having the aerosol pass through a flavor medium before outputting from the aerosol generating device.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

Technical Problem

The embodiments provide an aerosol generating device that is easy to user and carry. In addition, the embodiments provide an aerosol generating device for generating an aerosol of high quality that may satisfy various needs of consumers.

Solution to Problem

One or more embodiments of the present disclosure provide an aerosol generating device that may solve various problems of the related art.

Technical goals to be achieved by embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the above-described goals, and goals that are not mentioned will be clearly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art from the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

An aerosol generating device according to an embodiment includes a first cartridge configured to accommodate a first material therein and including a delivery hole configured to deliver an aerosol generated from the first material, a second cartridge including a plurality of chambers for accommodating a second material through which the aerosol delivered from the first cartridge passes and is discharged to the outside, wherein a relative position of the first cartridge with regard to the second cartridge is changeable so that at least one of the plurality of chambers corresponds to the delivery hole, a drive device configured to change the relative position of the first cartridge with regard to the second cartridge by moving at least one of the first cartridge and the second cartridge, and a controller configured to change the relative position of the first cartridge with regard to the second cartridge to cause the aerosol to pass through the at least one of the plurality of chambers by operating the drive device when a previously determined condition is achieved.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

An aerosol generating device according to the above-described embodiment may be easily carried and used because a first cartridge accommodating a first material and a second cartridge accommodating a second material may be handled as one integrated device.

In addition, even when a first cartridge of an aerosol generating device is designed to include a large amount of a first material, the relative positions of a first cartridge and a second cartridge may be automatically changed by a drive device to select chambers used for supplying an aerosol, and the effect of replacing the second cartridge including the second material with a new second material may be obtained without replacing the second cartridge including the second material.

In addition, because the relative positions of a first cartridge and a second cartridge may be adjusted to select chambers used for supplying an aerosol, the effect of replacing a cartridge for a medium with a new medium may be obtained without replacing the cartridge for the medium.

In addition, chambers of the second cartridge may include different types of the second materials so that a user may select one of the chambers to select a desired second material, and thus, the user may freely enjoy aerosols with various flavors.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an aerosol generating device according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a separate state of some components of the aerosol generating device according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the aerosol generating device according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a connection relationship between some components of the aerosol generating device according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view schematically showing some components of an aerosol generating device according to another embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing one operation state of the aerosol generating device according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a transverse cross-sectional view showing another operation state of the aerosol generating device according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view schematically showing some components of an aerosol generating device according to another embodiment; and

FIG. 9 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a method of generating an aerosol performed by an aerosol generating device according to the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 8.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

An aerosol generating device according to an embodiment includes: a first cartridge configured to accommodate a first material therein and including a delivery hole configured to deliver an aerosol generated from the first material; a second cartridge including a plurality of chambers for accommodating a second material through which the aerosol delivered from the first cartridge passes and is discharged to the outside, wherein a relative position of the first cartridge with regard to the second cartridge is changeable so that at least one of the plurality of chambers corresponds to the delivery hole; a drive device configured to change the relative position of the first cartridge with regard to the second cartridge by moving at least one of the first cartridge and the second cartridge; and a controller configured to change the relative position of the first cartridge with regard to the second cartridge to cause the aerosol to pass through the at least one of the plurality of chambers by operating the drive device when a previously determined condition is satisfied.

The first cartridge may further include a heater configured to perform a heating operation to heat the first material, and the previously determined condition for the controller to operate the drive device includes a cumulative time of the heating operation of the heater for generating the aerosol, or a combination of the cumulative time of the heating operation of the heater and a heating temperature of the heater.

The aerosol generating device may further include: a puff sensor configured to detect a change in fluid pressure or flow amount due to a flow of a fluid flowing inside the aerosol generating device, wherein the previously determined condition for the controller to operate the drive device includes any one or any combination of a number of puff operations determined based on a signal detected by the puff sensor and a cumulative time of the puff operations.

The aerosol generating device may further include: a heater configured to perform a heating operation to heat the first material of the first cartridge; and an input device configured to generate an input signal by receiving an input operation of a user for starting the heating operation of the heater, wherein the previously determined condition for the controller to operate the drive device includes a usage time determined based on the input signal of the input device.

The first cartridge may include a plurality of reservoirs partitioned to each include the first material, and a plurality of delivery holes that are arranged to correspond to the plurality of reservoirs, respectively. The relative position of the first cartridge with respect to the second cartridge is changed so that a position of the at least one of the plurality of chambers corresponds to a position of any one of the plurality of delivery holes.

Any one of the first cartridge and the second cartridge is rotatably coupled to another one of the first cartridge and the second cartridge, and the drive device is further configured to rotate any one of the first cartridge and the second cartridge.

Any one of the first cartridge and the second cartridge is coupled to another one of the first cartridge and the second cartridge to be movable linearly, and the drive device is further configured to linearly move any one of the first cartridge and the second cartridge.

The aerosol generating device may further include an information generator configured to notify a notification for a change in position of the plurality of chambers.

The controller may be further configured to change the relative position of the first cartridge with respect to the second cartridge so that a position of one of the plurality of chambers is aligned with a position of the delivery hole.

The controller may be further configured to change the relative position of the first cartridge with respect to the second cartridge so that adjacent chambers of the plurality of chambers overlap the delivery hole at a same time.

The aerosol generating device may further include: an aerosol generating assembly that includes the first cartridge and the second cartridge that are integrally coupled, and a case that may include an accommodation passage that accommodates the aerosol generating assembly.

The aerosol generating assembly may further include a heater installed in the first cartridge to heat the first material, and the case further includes an electric terminal connected to the heater to supply power.

The case may further include a heater for heating the first material supplied from the second cartridge of the aerosol generating assembly accommodated in the accommodation passage.

MODE FOR THE INVENTION

With respect to the terms used to describe the various embodiments of the present disclosure, general terms which are currently and widely used are selected in consideration of functions of structural elements in the various embodiments of the present disclosure. However, the meaning of the terms can be provided according to intention, a judicial precedence, the appearance of a new technology, and the like. In addition, in certain cases, a term which is not commonly used can be selected. In such a case, the meaning of the term will be described in detail at the corresponding portion in the description of the present disclosure. Therefore, the terms used to describe the various embodiments of the present disclosure should be defined based on the meaning of the terms and the descriptions provided herein.

In addition, unless explicitly described to the contrary, the word “comprise” and variations such as “comprises” or “comprising” will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion of any other elements. In addition, the terms “-er”, “-or”, and “module” described in the specification mean units for processing at least one function and operation and can be implemented by hardware components or software components and combinations thereof.

As used herein, expressions such as “at least one of,” when preceding a list of elements, modify the entire list of elements and do not modify the individual elements of the list. For example, the expression, “at least one of a, b, and c,” should be understood as including only a, only b, only c, both a and b, both a and c, both b and c, or all of a, b, and c.

If one component or layer is mentioned to be “over,” “above,” “connected to,” or “combined with” another component or layer, the one component or layer is arranged to be over, above, connected to, or combined with the other component or layer with or without an intervening component(s) or layer(s). In contrast, if one component or layer is mentioned to be “directly over,” “directly above,” “directly connected to,” or “directly combined with” another component or layer, there is no additional components or layers between the components or layers. In the disclosure, the same reference numbers may indicate the same components.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which non-limiting example embodiments of the present disclosure are shown such that one of ordinary skill in the art may easily work the present disclosure. Embodiments of the present disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the example embodiments set forth herein.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an aerosol generating device according to an embodiment, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a separate state of some components of the aerosol generating device according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the aerosol generating device according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

The aerosol generating device according to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 may supply an aerosol to a user by heating an aerosol generating material with a heater that operates by using electricity, an inductive magnetic field, or ultrasonic waves, and thereby generating the aerosol.

Referring to FIG. 3, the aerosol generating device includes a first cartridge 10 accommodating a first material 12 and including a delivery hole 11 for delivering an aerosol generated from the first material 12, and a second cartridge 20 including a plurality of chambers 21 for accommodating a second material 22 through which the aerosol delivered from the first cartridge 10 passes and is discharged to the outside of the aerosol generating device.

The first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 are integrated with each other to form an aerosol generating assembly 5 to be handled as a single component.

The aerosol generating device may include a case 7 including an accommodation passage 7a capable of accommodating the aerosol generating assembly 5. The case 7 may include a display device 7f for transmitting information to a user and a display lamp 7d for transmitting a notification related to an operating state of the aerosol generating device to the user, wherein the display device 7f and the display lamp 7d are arranged on an outer surface of the case 7. The display device 7f and the display lamp 7d may be examples of information generators that may notify various types of notifications to the user, and an information generator may be in the form of, for example, a speaker or a vibration generator.

In addition, the case 7 may include an input device 95 that may be manipulated by the user and generates a user input signal by detecting the user's manipulation.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 through 3, the case 7 may have an approximately rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the aerosol generating assembly 5 may have a cylindrical shape that extends long in an axial direction. However, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the shapes of the case 7 and the aerosol generating assembly 5 as shown in FIGS. 1 through 3. For example, the case 7 may have other shapes such as a cylindrical shape that extends long in the axial direction, a cylindrical shape having an elliptical cross-section, a flat cylindrical shape, a regular cube, and a rectangular parallelepiped. In addition, the aerosol generating assembly 5 may have other shapes such as a rectangular parallelepiped shape a regular cube, and the like.

The first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 may be coupled to each other so that the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 may be changed. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 through 3, the second cartridge 20 rotates relative to the first cartridge 10 so that the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 may be changed. The first cartridge 10 may have a cylindrical shape as a whole and include a position fixing surface 10s which is at least partially formed differently from the extension direction of the cylindrical surface.

The accommodation passage 7a of the case 7 may be formed as a hollow cylindrical path that extends long to accommodate the aerosol generating assembly 5. A position maintenance surface 7s may be formed on at least a portion of the accommodation passage 7a to be different from the extension direction of the cylindrical surface of an inner wall surface of the accommodation passage 7a so as to have a shape corresponding to the position fixing surface 10s of the first cartridge 10.

When the aerosol generating assembly 5 is inserted into the accommodation passage 7a of the case 7, the position maintenance surface 7s comes into contact with the position fixing surface 10s, and accordingly, the position of the first cartridge 10 may be stably maintained with respect to the case 7. That is, when the second cartridge 20 rotates with respect to the first cartridge 10, the positing fixing surface 10s of the first cartridge 10 is supported by the position maintenance surface 7s so that a state in which the first cartridge 10 does not rotate but is fixed to the case 7, may be stably maintained.

In addition, when the aerosol generating assembly 5 is inserted into the accommodation passage 7a of the case 7, the position maintenance surface 7s and the position fixing surface 10s may align the relative position of an axial center of the aerosol generating assembly 5 with respect to an axial center of the accommodation passage 7a. That is, (the angular position of) the position fixing surface 10s of the first cartridge 10 and (the angular position of) the position maintenance surface 7s of the accommodation passage 7a of the aerosol generating assembly 5 need to correspond to each other so that the aerosol generating assembly 5 may be inserted into the accommodation passage 7a of the case 7.

The case 7 may include an electrical terminal 50d that is arranged at an end of the accommodation passage 7a and supplies electricity to the first cartridge 10. When the aerosol generating assembly 5 is aligned with respect to the accommodation passage 7a so that the position fixing surface 10s of the first cartridge 10 and the position maintenance surface 7s of the accommodation passage 7a of the aerosol generating assembly 5 correspond to each other, the electrical terminal 50d may be accurately and electrically connected to the first cartridge 10.

Embodiments are not limited by the coupling structure of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20, and the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 may be rotatably coupled to each other by using various coupling structures. For example, the first cartridge 10 may rotate with respect to the second cartridge 20 in a state in which the position of the second cartridge 20 is fixedly maintained at the case 7 by modifying the structure of the aerosol generating assembly 5 shown in FIGS. 1 through 3. Alternatively, each of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 may rotate so that the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 may be changed.

The case 7 may include an atomizer 50a that generates the aerosol, and the first cartridge 10 may deliver the aerosol that is generated from the atomizer 50a, to the second cartridge 20.

The first cartridge 10 may accommodate the first material 12 therein. The first material 12 may be, for example, a liquid or gel material. The first material 12 may be maintained in a liquid state by being impregnated with a porous material such as a sponge or cotton inside the first cartridge 10.

The first material 12 may be a liquid material and may include, for example, a tobacco-containing material or a non-tobacco material including a volatile tobacco flavor component.

The first material 12 may include, for example, water, a solvent, ethanol, plant extract, spices, flavorings, or a vitamin mixture.

The spices of the first material 12 may include menthol, peppermint, spearmint, and various fruit-flavored ingredients, but are not limited thereto. The flavorings may include ingredients capable of providing various flavors or tastes to a user.

Vitamin mixtures of the first material 12 may be a mixture of at least one of vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin C, and vitamin E, but are not limited thereto.

Also, the first material 12 may include an aerosol forming substance, such as glycerin and propylene glycol.

The atomizer 50a for generating an aerosol by heating the first material 12 of the first cartridge 10 and a controller 70 may be mounted under the accommodation passage 7a in the case 7. The controller 70 may include a battery for supplying power to the atomizer 50a, a control chip or a control circuit board for controlling an operation of the atomizer 50a, and so on.

The atomizer 50a may include a wick 52 that absorbs the first material 12 from the first cartridge 10 and holds the first material 12, a heater 51 that is wound around the wick 52 or is in contact with the wick 52 or is arranged adjacent to the wick 52 to generate an aerosol by heating the first material 12, and an aerosol generating chamber 50c that surrounds the heater 51 to generate an atmosphere for generating an aerosol.

The atomizer 50a may generate an aerosol by converting a phase of an aerosol generating material into a gaseous phase. The aerosol may refer to a gas in which vaporized particles generated from an aerosol generating material are mixed with air.

The heater 51 may be an electrically resistive heating element that generates heat with power supplied from the controller 70. The atomizer 50a includes an electrically resistive heating element, but the embodiments are not limited by a configuration of the atomizer 50a. The atomizer 50a may also generate an aerosol by, for example, an ultrasonic method or an induction heating method.

The first cartridge 10 may include the delivery hole 11 that extends in an extension direction of the first cartridge 10 and delivers an aerosol. The aerosol generating chamber 50c may deliver the aerosol generated by the heater 51 to the delivery hole 11 of the first cartridge 10. Accordingly, the aerosol supplied from the aerosol generating chamber 50c may be delivered to the second cartridge 20 through the delivery hole 11 of the first cartridge 10.

The second cartridge 20 may be disposed to rotate with respect to the first cartridge 10 and include a plurality of chambers 21 which are sequentially positioned along the rotation direction of the second cartridge 20, and a second material 22, which is accommodated in each of the plurality of chambers 21 and through which the aerosol passes.

The second material 22 may be in a solid state, and may include, for example, a powder or a granule which is a collection of small-sized particles.

The second material 22 may include, for example, a tobacco-containing material including a volatile tobacco flavor component, or may include any one component of additives such as flavors, a wetting agent, and/or organic acid, a flavored material such as menthol or a moisturizer, plant extract, spices, flavorings, and a vitamin mixture, or a mixture of these ingredients.

The spices of the second material 22 may include menthol, peppermint, spearmint, and various fruit-flavored ingredients, but are not limited thereto.

The spices of the second material 22 may include menthol, peppermint, spearmint, and various fruit-flavored ingredients, but are not limited thereto. The flavorings of the second material 22 may include ingredients capable of providing various flavors or tastes to the user.

The second cartridge 20 may include a plurality of chambers 21 sequentially arranged to be spaced apart from each other in a rotation direction of the second cartridge 20. The plurality of chambers 21 may be partitioned independently from each other by a partition wall.

FIG. 2 shows three chambers 21, but the embodiments are not limited in the number of chambers 21, and the number of chambers 21 may be 2, 4, or more.

Referring to FIG. 3, the first cartridge 10 may include a rotation shaft 40 protruding upward. The rotation shaft 40 may protrude from the first cartridge 10 and extend upward, and the second cartridge 20 may be rotatably coupled to the rotation shaft 40.

A mouthpiece 26 including an outlet 26e for discharging an aerosol passing through the second material 22 of at least one of the chambers 21 to the outside may be coupled to an upper portion of the second cartridge 20. A top plate 27 that covers upper end portions of the chambers 21 may be arranged on the chambers 21. The upper plate 27 may include upper through-holes 27p through which an aerosol passes.

A flow guide 29 may be coupled to an upper end portion of the rotation shaft 40 protruding from an upper surface of the upper plate 27. The flow guide 29 may be arranged inside the mouthpiece 26 to guide a flow of an aerosol passing through the second material 22 of the plurality of chambers 21 to the outlet 26e of the mouthpiece 26. The flow guide 29 may include a plurality of wings corresponding to the plurality of chambers 21, respectively.

At least one of the plurality of chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20 may correspond to the delivery hole 11 of the first cartridge 10 by changing relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 in a state in which the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 are coupled to each other. Accordingly, an aerosol discharged from the delivery hole 11 of the first cartridge 10 may pass through the second material 22 accommodated in the chamber, among the plurality of chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20, which corresponds to the delivery hole 11. While the aerosol passes through the second material 22, a property of the aerosol may change.

The aerosol generating device may further include a drive device 60 for generating a drive force to move at least one of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20. Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, the drive device 60 includes a motor 61 that is arranged inside the case 7 and is operated by an electrical signal and a gear 62 that transfers the drive force of the motor 61 to the second cartridge 20. A gear surface 20g may be provided outside the second cartridge 20 to extend in a rotation direction of the second cartridge 20.

When the aerosol generating assembly 5 is mounted on the case 7, the gear surface 20g of the second cartridge 20 may be coupled to the gear 62. When an electrical signal from the controller 70 is applied to the motor 61 of the drive device 60, a shaft of the motor 61 rotates, and thereby, a drive force of the motor 61 may be transferred to the gear surface 20g of the second cartridge 20. Accordingly, the drive device 60 may rotate the second cartridge 20 with respect to the first cartridge 10.

The embodiments are not limited to the configuration of the drive device 60 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, and for example, the drive device 60 may be connected to the first cartridge 10 to rotate the first cartridge 10. In addition, the gear 62 of the drive device 60 may be replaced with various power transmission elements such as a belt, a sprocket, and the like.

Here, an operation state that the position of at least one of the plurality of chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20 corresponds to the position of the delivery hole 11 of the first cartridge 10, may include all of the state where the position of any one of the plurality of chambers 21 corresponds to the position of the delivery hole 11 of the first cartridge 10 and the state where the positions of two adjacent chambers 21 of the plurality of chambers 21 correspond to the position of the delivery hole 11 of the first cartridge 10.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the second cartridge 20 includes a first mark 91 provided on an outer surface thereof. The second cartridge 20 may include the plurality of chambers 21 therein, and the first mark 91 of the second cartridge 20 are formed at positions corresponding to the respective chambers 21.

The first cartridge 10 may include a second mark 92 that is arranged on an outer surface of the first cartridge 10 and may be used as a reference position for the first mark 91 of the second cartridge 20. Accordingly, by matching the first mark 91 of the second cartridge 20 and the second mark 92 of the first cartridge 10 each other, a position of at least one of the plurality of chambers 21 may be aligned with the delivery hole 11 of the first cartridge 10 for discharging an aerosol.

Also, the user may check the positions of the first mark 91 of the second cartridge 20 and the second mark 92 of the first cartridge 10 to identify information of a chamber (also referred to as “a current usage chamber”) through which the aerosol currently passes, among the chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20.

A signal generator 97 may be disposed between the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20, and may indicate a type of the second material 22 included in the chamber through which the aerosol currently passes, among the plurality of chambers 21, according to the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20.

The signal generator 97 may include a transmitter 97a arranged in the second cartridge 20 and a receiver 97b arranged in the first cartridge 10 to detect the transmitter 97a. The embodiments are not limited to arrangements or the number of the transmitter 97a and the receiver 97b, and for example, the transmitter 97a may also be arranged in the first cartridge 10, and the receiver 97b may also be arranged in the second cartridge 20.

The transmitter 97a and the receiver 97b of the signal generator 97 may include, for example, any one or any combination of an optical sensor such as a photo coupler, a magnetic sensor for detecting a magnetic force by using a Hall effect, an electrical resistance sensor for detecting a change in electrical resistance.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, a puff sensor 79p is arranged on a path along which an aerosol flows in the case 7. The puff sensor 79p may detect a flow phenomenon of an aerosol generated according to the user's aerosol inhalation operation. The puff sensor 79p may be connected to the delivery hole 11, for example, to detect fluctuations in pressure of fluid, i.e., a fluid including the aerosol flowing through the delivery hole 11 or flow rate according to the flow of air, and generate a signal. The puff sensor 79p may be arranged in a pressure sensing hole 79s connected to the delivery hole 11.

When using the aerosol generating device described above, an aerosol may flow from the first cartridge 10 to the plurality of chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20, and then may pass through the second material 22 accommodated in the plurality of chambers 21. The second material 22 may impart flavors to an aerosol. The aerosol that passes through the second material 22 and includes sufficient flavors may pass through the upper through hole 27p of the upper plate 27 disposed at an upper portion of the chambers 21 and then may be discharged to the outside of the aerosol generating device through the mouthpiece 26.

When a previously determined condition is achieved, the controller 70 may operate the drive device 60, thereby changing the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 so that at least one of the chambers 21 may pass through the aerosol delivered from the first cartridge 10. That is, the second material 22 included in the chambers 21 of the second chamber 20 has a pre-set usage time in relation to an operation of passing the aerosol, and when an actual usage time used to perform the operation of passing the aerosol through the second material 22 reaches the pre-set usage time, the positions of the chambers through which the aerosol passes, need to be changed.

The controller 70 may change a relative position of the second cartridge 20 with respect to the first cartridge 10, thereby selecting another chamber 21 or an adjacent chamber 21 among the plurality of chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20 to allow an aerosol to pass therethrough.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a connection relationship between some components of the aerosol generating device according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

The controller 70 shown in FIG. 4 may be implemented by any one or any combination of a circuit board arranged inside the case 7 shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a semiconductor chip attached to the circuit board, software installed on the semiconductor chip or the circuit board, a processor, a microprocessor, and a control processing unit (CPU).

The controller 70 includes an atomization controller 71 for controlling the atomizer 50a to control the amount, a temperature, or so on of aerosols to be generated; a sensor controller (including a sensing data receiver) 74 for receiving a signal from a sensor, which detects a change in a rotational position of the second cartridge 20 for the first cartridge 10, such as, a temperature sensor 79t that detects a temperature associated with the atomizer, a puff sensor 79p that detects a change in pressure or speed of air generated when a user inhales an aerosol, or a signal generator 97 shown in FIG. 2 detecting the rotation position of the second cartridge 20 with respect to the first cartridge 10; an information controller 75 for controlling an information generator 96 that provides information a notification to a user; a user input receiver 76 for receiving a user input signal from the input device 95, which is a user input device, such as, a button, a touch screen, an input button that detects an input operation of a user; an input/output controller 73 for exchanging data with a storage (e.g., a memory) 78 that includes or stores information on a type of a first material in the first cartridge 10 or a second material in the second cartridge 20, a temperature profile for controlling an operation temperature of the atomizer, information on a user, and so on; a medium determiner 72 for determining a type of a medium currently being used based on a signal received from the signal generator 97; and a drive controller 77 for controlling an operation of the drive device 60.

The controller 70 described above may start or stop an operation of the atomizer by detecting an inhalation of a user. In addition, the controller 70 may determine the type of the medium currently being used based on the signal received from the signal generator 97 and control an operation temperature or an operation time of the atomizer to be suitable for the type of medium.

The controller 70 may operate the drive device 60 when a previously determined condition is achieved. The previously determined condition for changing the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 as the controller 70 operates the drive device 60 may include a cumulative time of a heating operation in which a heater generates heat to generate an aerosol, or a combination of the cumulative time of the heating operation of the heater and a heating temperature of the heater.

When the previously determined condition is achieved, the controller 70 may first generate a notification for notifying that relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 need to be changed through the information generator 96. When a user identifies the notification and operates the input device 95, the controller 70 may operate the drive device 60 based on an input signal received from the input device 95 to change the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second the cartridge 20.

When the previously determined condition includes a cumulative time of a heating operation of a heater, the controller 70 may calculate the amount of electrical currents or the amount of power supplied to the heater by the atomization controller 71 or may calculate the cumulative time of the heating operation of the heater by summing the amount of times that the electrical current is supplied to the heater. For example, in a case in which a time at which flavors may be imparted to an aerosol while the aerosol passes through the second material 22 included in one of the chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20 is previously determined as n minutes, when the cumulative time of the heating operation of the heater reaches the n minutes, the controller 70 may determine that use of the chamber through which an aerosol passes has to be terminated and change the relative position of the second cartridge 20 with respect to the first cartridge 10, and thus, it is possible to select a new chamber for passing the aerosol therethrough from among the chambers 21.

The heating operation of the heater may include a main heating operation of generating heat at a temperature sufficient to vaporize the first material of the first cartridge 10, and a preliminary heating operation of generating heat in a temperature range lower than a temperature range corresponding to the main heating operation. The heating operation of the heater included in the previously determined condition for the controller 70 to operate the drive device 60 may be the main heating operation.

When the previously determined condition includes a combination of the cumulative time of the heating operation of the heater and the heating temperature of the heater, the previously determined conditions may be more useful when the heating operation of the heater includes the main heating operation and the preliminary heating operation. For example, in a case in which a time during which the second material 22 included in one of the chambers 21 can pass an aerosol therethrough and impart flavors to the aerosol is previously determined as n minutes, the controller 70 may calculate a cumulative time of the heating operation of the heater only when the heating temperature of the heater reaches a temperature corresponding to the main heating operation.

The previously determined condition for the controller 70 to operate the drive device 60 to change relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 may include any one or any combination of the number of puff operations determined based on a signal detected by the puff sensor 79p and the cumulative times of the puff operations. When an intensity of the signal detected by the puff sensor 79p exceeds a previously determined threshold, the controller 70 may determine that an effective inhalation operation has been performed by a user, thereby calculating the number of puff operations.

When the previously determined condition includes the number of puff operations, the controller 70 may calculate the number of puff operations performed for the chamber through which an aerosol currently passes, among the chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20, based on the signal generated from the puff sensor 79p. In this case, the controller 70 may simply calculate the number of puff operations based on the signal of the puff sensor 79p by ignoring the cumulative time of the puff operations in which a user continuously performs an inhalation operation of inhaling an aerosol.

For example, in a case in which the number of puff operations in which flavor is imparted to an aerosol while the aerosol passes through the second material 22 included in one of the chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20 is previously determined as m, when the number of puff operations reaches m, the controller 70 may determine that use of the chamber for passing the aerosol therethrough has to be terminated and change the relative position of the second cartridge 20 with respect to the first cartridge 10, and thus, it is possible to select a new chamber through which the aerosol passes from among the chambers 21.

The controller 70 may determine a position changing time of the second cartridge 20 for selecting a new chamber based on the use environment of the aerosol generating device or an inhalation habit of a user. To this end, a previously determined condition may include a cumulative time of the puff operations or a combination of the number of puff operations and the cumulative time of the puff operations.

The operation when the previously determined condition includes the combination of the number of puff operations and the cumulative time of the puff operations may be as follows. For example, in a case in which the number of puff operations that impart flavors to an aerosol that passes through the second material 22 of a current usage chamber (among the plurality of the chambers 21), is set to m, and the cumulative time of the puff operations is set to p minutes, as the previously determined condition for selecting a new chamber, the controller 70 may determine to stop using the current usage chamber, when both a first condition that the number of puff operations reaches m times and a second condition that the cumulative time of puff operations reaches p minutes are satisfied. Accordingly, even when the number of puff operations reaches m times based on a signal from the puff sensor 79p, when the cumulative time of the puff operations does not reach the p minutes, the controller 70 may maintain the position of the chamber through which an aerosol currently passes until the cumulative time of the puff operations reaches the p minutes, and thereby, the number of puff operations may reach (m+x) times. As a new way of changing the operation conditions, even when only one of the condition for the number of puff operations to reach m and the condition for the cumulative time of puff operation to reach the P minutes are satisfied, it may be determined that the controller 70 should terminate the use of the chamber through which an aerosol currently passes.

A previously determined condition for the controller 70 to operate the drive device 60 to change relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 may include a usage time determined based on an input signal generated when the input device 95 receives an input of a user.

If the previously determined condition includes the usage time determined based on the input signal of the input device 95, the previously determined condition may be more useful when the user may directly start an operation of a heater. For example, according to the aerosol generating device, when a user operates the input device 95 for the purpose of satisfying a user's taste or improving convenience, a heater of the atomizer may not perform a separate preheating operation but the heater may be immediately activated, and thus, a function of performing the main heating operation at high speed may be provided. In this case, the previously determined condition includes a usage time determined based on an input signal of the input device 95, and when the usage time when the atomizer operates according to a users operation reaches the previously determined reference usage time, the controller 70 may determine to terminate the use of the current usage chamber and change relative position of the second cartridge 20 with respect to the first cartridge 10, and thereby, a new chamber through which an aerosol passes may be selected from among the chambers 21.

The previously determined condition for the controller 70 to operate the drive device 60 to change the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 may include any one or any combination of the number of puff operations determined based on a signal detected by the puff sensor 79p and the cumulative time of the puff operations. When an intensity of the signal detected by the puff sensor 79p exceeds a previously determined threshold, the controller 70 may determine that an effective inhalation operation is performed by a user, thereby calculating the number of puff operations.

In the above description, characters such as m, n, p, and x which indicate a time or number of times may refer to integers, real numbers, or a length of time.

The previously determined condition for the controller 70 to operate the drive device 60 to change the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 may include a selection condition that at least one of the chambers 21 is selected to be used, based on an input signal generated when the input device 95 receives an input of a user.

The chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20 may contain the second material 22 having different types of media or different particle sizes, and the controller 70 causes the display lamp 7d to emit light, change a luminous color, or display information on the display device 7f, thereby providing information on the second material 22 included in the chamber currently aligned in the delivery hole 11 of the first cartridge 10, among the plurality of chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20.

When a user operates the input device 95 and selects a desired chamber from among the chambers 21, the controller 70 may determine that the selection condition for a user to select at least one of the chambers 21 is satisfied based on an input signal from the input device 95, thereby changing the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20.

When using the aerosol generating device described above, a user rotates the second cartridge 20 relative to the first cartridge 10 before mounting the aerosol generating assembly 5 on the case 7 so that at least one of the chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20 is placed at a position corresponding to the delivery hole 11 of the first cartridge 10, and thus, a rotational position of the second cartridge 20 may be adjusted. After adjusting the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20, the user may be able to mount the aerosol generating assembly 5 on the case 7.

It is possible to modify this operating method. In another embodiment, the user may be allowed to mount the aerosol generating assembly 5 on the case 7 without needing to adjust the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20. For example, the drive device 60 built in the case 7 automatically rotates the second cartridge 20 to automatically adjust the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 to an initial position for generating an aerosol. The ‘initial position’ may be a position at which a position of any one of the chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20 corresponds to a position of the delivery hole 11.

In a state in which a position of at least one of the chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20 corresponds to the position of the delivery hole 11 of the first cartridge 10, a user may inhale an aerosol through the mouthpiece 26.

The aerosol generating assembly 5 of the aerosol generating device may be handled as a single device in which the first cartridge 10 for accommodating the first material 12 and the second cartridge 20 for accommodating the second material 22 are integrated with each other, thereby being easily carried and used.

In addition, even if the first cartridge 10 of the aerosol generating device is designed to include a large amount of the first material 12, the second cartridge 20 may be automatically rotated by the drive device 60 to select the chambers 21 to be used for supplying an aerosol, and thus, it is possible to obtain an effect of replacing the second material 22 with a new material without replacing the second cartridge including the second material 22.

In addition, the chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20 may include different types of second materials 22. For example, even when the chambers 21 includes the second material 22 having different particle sizes or different flavor properties, the controller 70 may identify an usage chamber, among the chambers 21, currently in use to pass the aerosol by being aligned to correspond to the delivery hole 11 based on a signal generated by the signal generator 97. Because information on the usage chamber identified by the controller 70 and information on the second material 22 included in the usage chamber may be provided to a user, the user may select a desired second material 22 by selecting one of the chambers 21, thereby freely enjoying aerosols with various flavors.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view schematically showing some components of an aerosol generating device according to another embodiment.

In the aerosol generating device according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, an aerosol generating assembly 5 may include a first cartridge 10 and a second cartridge 20 rotatably coupled to the first cartridge 10. A drive device 60 may be installed in the first cartridge 10, and as the drive device 60 rotates the second cartridge 20, a relative position of the second cartridge 20 with respect to the first cartridge 10 may be changed.

The first cartridge 10 may include a plurality of reservoirs partitioned to accommodate the first materials 12, respectively, and a plurality of delivery holes 11 arranged to correspond to the plurality of reservoirs. In the aerosol generating device according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, although the first cartridge 10 includes two reservoirs and two delivery holes 11, embodiments are not limited to the configuration of the first cartridge 10, and the number of reservoirs and the number of delivery holes 11 may be variously changed.

Aerosols generated when the first materials 12 accommodated in the plurality of reservoirs may be delivered to the second cartridge 20 through the plurality of delivery holes 11 of the first cartridge 10. When an aerosol is generated in the first cartridge 10, the first materials 12 of all the reservoirs of the first cartridge 10 may be vaporized at the same time, and if necessary, the first material 12 accommodated in only one of the plurality of reservoirs may be vaporized or a part of the plurality of reservoirs may be vaporized.

The second cartridge 20 may include a plurality of chambers 21 for accommodating the second material 22 through which the aerosol delivered from the first cartridge 10 passes and is discharged to the outside. The first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 may be integrated with each other and integrally coupled to each other to be handled as one part, thereby forming the aerosol generating assembly 5.

FIG. 6 is a transverse cross-sectional view showing an operation state of the aerosol generating device according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 5.

The second cartridge 20 may be rotated by a drive device so that the relative position of the second cartridge 20 with respect to the first cartridge 10 may be changed. As shown in FIG. 6, a rotational position of the second cartridge 20 with respect to the first cartridge 10 may be aligned so that a position of one of the chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20 may correspond to a position of one of the delivery holes 11. In the aligned state shown in FIG. 6, one of the chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20 may pass an aerosol delivered from one of the delivery holes 11 of the first cartridge 10 therethrough, thereby changing characteristics of an aerosol.

FIG. 7 is a transverse cross-sectional view showing another operation state of the aerosol generating device according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 5.

When the relative position of the second cartridge 20 with respect to the first cartridge 10 is changed by rotating the second cartridge 20 with the drive device, the rotational position of the second cartridge 20 with respect to the first cartridge 10 may be aligned so that positions of the adjacent chambers 21 may correspond to the position of one of the delivery holes 11 as shown in FIG. 7.

In FIG. 7, each of two adjacent chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20 may be arranged to overlap a region corresponding to half of one of the delivery holes 11. The embodiments are not limited to the alignment position of the second cartridge 20, and a rotational position of the second cartridge 20 with respect to the first cartridge 10 may be aligned so that areas in which two adjacent chambers 21 overlap the delivery holes 11 may be different from each other.

For example, when a life span associated with a function of passing an aerosol through the second material 22 contained in one of the two adjacent chambers 21 reaches 20%, one of the two adjacent chambers 21 may be arranged to overlap an area corresponding to approximately 80% of the delivery hole 11, and the other of the two adjacent chambers 21 may be arranged to overlap an area corresponding to approximately 20% of the delivery hole 11.

For example, when a life span associated with a function of passing an aerosol through the second material 22 contained in one of the two adjacent chambers 21 reaches 60%, one of the two adjacent chambers 21 may be arranged to overlap an area corresponding to approximately 40% of the delivery hole 11, and the other of the two adjacent chambers 21 may be arranged to overlap an area corresponding to approximately 60% of the delivery hole 11.

In addition, when a life span associated with a function of passing an aerosol through the second material 22 contained in one of the two adjacent chambers 21 reaches 80%, one the two adjacent chambers 21 may be arranged to overlap an area corresponding to approximately 20% of the delivery hole 11, and the other of the two adjacent chambers 21 may be arranged to overlap an area corresponding to approximately 80% of the delivery hole 11.

As described above, the life span associated with the function of passing aerosols through the second materials 22 contained in the chambers 21 may be considered to determine a previously determined condition used to change the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 by using the controller.

In addition, as described above, when the second cartridge 20 is rotated based on the life span of the second material 22 of the chambers 21 to change the area where the adjacent chambers 21 overlap the delivery holes 11, the second cartridge 20 may be intermittently moved according to a change of time or the second cartridge 20 may be continuously moved according to a change of time.

As shown in FIG. 7, according to a method in which a position is changed so that the adjacent chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20 overlap one of the delivery holes 11, while the second cartridge 20 rotates about the first cartridge 10, the first cartridge 10 generates an aerosol and continuously maintain an operation of allowing the aerosol to flow without stopping the operation of delivering the aerosol to the second cartridge 10.

In addition, by changing the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20, a chamber through which an aerosol passes may be sequentially selected from among the plurality of chambers 21. When the second cartridge 20 rotates by selecting a chamber through which the aerosol passes from among the plurality of chambers 21, the position of the previous chamber through which the aerosol currently passes may not immediately depart from the delivery hole 11, and an operation of passing the aerosol through the previous chamber and a subsequent chamber simultaneously, which are subsequently aligned with the position of the delivery hole 11 due to the rotational motion of the second cartridge 20 may be performed.

According to this operation method, while the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 are changed, characteristics such as a temperature, humidity, and flavor of an aerosol delivered to a user are not rapidly changed, and thus, the aerosol may be supplied steadily and stably.

In addition, when the plurality of chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20 include the second materials 22 with different characteristics, the aerosol may pass through the adjacent chambers so that the characteristics such as ingredients and flavors of the aerosol may be changed so that various types of aerosols may be provided to the user.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view schematically showing some components of an aerosol generating device according to another embodiment.

The aerosol generating device according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 includes a first cartridge 10 that includes reservoirs 10a and 10b each being independently partitioned to accommodate a first material, a second cartridge 20 coupled to the first cartridge 10 to be movable linearly or laterally, and a drive device 60 that linearly or laterally moves the second cartridge 20.

The first cartridge 10 may include passages 11p and 11q for delivering an aerosol generated by being vaporized from the first material accommodated in each of the reservoirs 10a and 10b and delivery holes 11 formed in an end of each of the passages 11p and 11q.

The first cartridge 10 may include a linear guide 10t that surrounds upper portions of the delivery holes 11 and extends linearly, and the second cartridge 20 may include a rail 201 slidably coupled to the linear guide 10t. The second cartridge 20 may move linearly in an extension direction of the linear guide 10t of the first cartridge 10. The second cartridge 20 may include a main body 20t that is plate-shaped and that extends long along the extension direction of the linear guide 10t, and a plurality of chambers 20a, 20b, and 20c which are sequentially arranged to be spaced apart along the extension direction of the main body 20t.

In FIG. 8, two reservoirs 10a and 10b are arranged, and three chambers 20a, 20b, and 20c are arranged. However, the number of reservoirs and the number of chambers may be variously changed.

The aerosol generating device may include a drive device 60 that generates a drive force to move at least one of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20. The drive device 60 may include a motor 61 operated by an electrical signal and a gear 62 that transmits the drive force of the motor 61 to the second cartridge 20. A gear surface 20g may be provided on one side of the main body 20t of the second cartridge 20.

In FIG. 8, although the drive device 60 is illustrated as an electric motor that generates a rotational force for rotating the gear 62, the embodiments are not limited by a type of the drive device 60. For example, the drive device 60 may include a permanent magnet linearly arranged, a linear motor positioned to correspond to the permanent magnet and including an electromagnet having an electric coil, or a cylinder using the pressure of a fluid.

As the second cartridge 20 moves linearly, a position of any one of the chambers 20a, 20b, and 20c of the second cartridge 20 may be aligned to correspond to a position of any one of the delivery holes 11. In addition, the position of one group among the chambers 20a, 20b, and 20c of the second cartridge 20 may be aligned to correspond to a position of one of the two delivery holes 11, and at the same time, the position of another group among the chambers 20a, 20b, and 20c may be aligned to correspond to the position of the other one of the two delivery holes 11.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart schematically showing a method of generating an aerosol performed by the aerosol generating device according to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 8.

The method of generating an aerosol according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 9 includes operation S100 of detecting an inhalation of a user, operation S110 of determining that the inhalation is detected and starting an aerosol supply operation, and operation S120 of detecting a rotational position of a second cartridge with respect to a first cartridge, operation S130 of determining whether or not a signal of the detected rotational position of the second cartridge is normal (e.g., whether the amplitude of the signal or the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the signal of the detected rotation position of the second cartridge is greater than a preset threshold value), operation S131 of adjusting the rotational position of the second cartridge when the signal of the rotational position is not normal, operation S140 of determining a type of a medium currently used for supplying an aerosol based on the signal of the rotational position of the second cartridge (e.g. a type of a second material) when the signal of the rotational position of the second cartridge is normal, operation S150 of determining at least one of a target temperature for an operation of an atomizer and a heating profile for controlling a heating operation of the atomizer, based on the determined type of medium, operation S160 of operating the atomizer based on the target temperature or the heating profile, operation S170 of detecting a current temperature and comparing the detected temperature with the target temperature, operation S180 of determining whether or not a previously determined condition is achieved, and when the condition is achieved, operation S190 of changing relative positions of the first cartridge and the second cartridge.

The previously determined condition for changing the relative positions of the first cartridge and the second cartridge may include a cumulative time of a heating operation that a heater generates heat to generate an aerosol, or a combination of the cumulative time of the heating operation of the heater and a heating temperature of the heater.

Alternatively, the previously determined condition for changing the relative positions of the first cartridge and the second cartridge may include any one or any combination of the number of puff operations determined based on a signal detected by a puff sensor and a cumulative time of a puff operation.

Alternatively, the previously determined condition for changing the relative positions of the first cartridge and the second cartridge may include a usage time determined based on an input signal generated when an input device receives an input of a user.

In operation S190 of changing the relative positions of the first cartridge and the second cartridge, an usage chamber, among the chambers of the second cartridge, through which the aerosol currently passes may be replaced so that the position of a subsequent chamber may be changed into a position corresponding to a delivery hole of the first cartridge. Operation S190 of changing the relative positions of the first cartridge and the second cartridge may be automatically performed by a drive device operated by a controller.

Operation S190 of changing the relative positions of the first cartridge and the second cartridge may include an operation of notifying a user of needs to change positions of chambers when the previously determined condition is achieved, an operation of receiving an input signal which is generated when the user operates an input device, and an operation of changing a position of at least one of the first cartridge and the second cartridge by operating the drive device based on the received input operation.

When the relative positions of the first cartridge and the second cartridge are changed, the usage chamber immediately depart from the position corresponding to the delivery hole, and the subsequent chamber may be aligned with the delivery hole, and then an aerosol may pass through the subsequent chamber as a new usage chamber, or the usage chamber and the subsequent chamber may perform an operation of passing the aerosol temporarily together, and as time passes, only the subsequent chamber may perform the operation of passing the aerosol as the new usage chamber.

After operation S190 of changing the relative positions of the first cartridge and the second cartridge, the process may return to operation S100 of detecting an inhalation of a user, and the above-described operations may be repeatedly performed.

Even when a first cartridge of an aerosol generating device is designed to accommodate a large amount of a first material, a second cartridge may be automatically rotated by a drive device to select chambers used for supplying an aerosol, and thus, it is possible to obtain an effect of replacing a second material with a new second material without replacing the second cartridge including the second material.

In addition, chambers of the second cartridge may include different types of the second materials so that a user may select one of the chambers to select a desired second material, and thus, the user may freely enjoy aerosols with various flavors.

Those of ordinary skill in the art related to the present embodiments may understand that various changes in form and details can be made therein without departing from the scope of the characteristics of the present disclosure. The disclosed methods should be considered in a descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The embodiments of the present disclosure relate to an aerosol generating device which may be conveniently carried and used because the relative positions of a first cartridge and a second cartridge are automatically adjusted.

Claims

1. An aerosol generating device comprising:

a first cartridge configured to accommodate a first material therein and comprising a delivery hole configured to deliver an aerosol generated from the first material;

a second cartridge comprising a plurality of chambers for accommodating a second material through which the aerosol delivered from the first cartridge passes and is discharged to the outside, wherein a relative position of the first cartridge with regard to the second cartridge is changeable so that at least one of the plurality of chambers corresponds to the delivery hole;

a drive device configured to change the relative position of the first cartridge with regard to the second cartridge by moving at least one of the first cartridge and the second cartridge; and

a controller configured to change the relative position of the first cartridge with regard to the second cartridge to cause the aerosol to pass through the at least one of the plurality of chambers by operating the drive device when a previously determined condition is satisfied.

2. The aerosol generating device of claim 1, wherein the first cartridge further comprises a heater configured to perform a heating operation to heat the first material, and the previously determined condition for the controller to operate the drive device comprises a cumulative time of the heating operation of the heater for generating the aerosol, or a combination of the cumulative time of the heating operation of the heater and a heating temperature of the heater.

3. The aerosol generating device of claim 1, further comprising:

a puff sensor configured to detect a change in fluid pressure or flow amount due to a flow of a fluid flowing inside the aerosol generating device,

wherein the previously determined condition for the controller to operate the drive device comprises any one or any combination of a number of puff operations determined based on a signal detected by the puff sensor and a cumulative time of the puff operations.

4. The aerosol generating device of claim 1, further comprising:

a heater configured to perform a heating operation to heat the first material of the first cartridge; and

an input device configured to generate an input signal by receiving an input operation of a user for starting the heating operation of the heater,

wherein the previously determined condition for the controller to operate the drive device comprises a usage time determined based on the input signal of the input device.

5. The aerosol generating device of claim 1, wherein the first cartridge comprises a plurality of reservoirs partitioned to each comprise the first material, and a plurality of delivery holes that are arranged to correspond to the plurality of reservoirs, respectively, and

wherein the relative position of the first cartridge with respect to the second cartridge is changed so that a position of the at least one of the plurality of chambers corresponds to a position of any one of the plurality of delivery holes.

6. The aerosol generating device of claim 1, wherein any one of the first cartridge and the second cartridge is rotatably coupled to another one of the first cartridge and the second cartridge, and the drive device is further configured to rotate any one of the first cartridge and the second cartridge.

7. The aerosol generating device of claim 1, wherein any one of the first cartridge and the second cartridge is coupled to another one of the first cartridge and the second cartridge to be movable linearly, and the drive device is further configured to linearly move any one of the first cartridge and the second cartridge.

8. The aerosol generating device of claim 1, further comprising an information generator configured to notify a notification for a change in position of the plurality of chambers.

9. The aerosol generating device of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to change the relative position of the first cartridge with respect to the second cartridge so that a position of one of the plurality of chambers is aligned with a position of the delivery hole.

10. The aerosol generating device of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to change the relative position of the first cartridge with respect to the second cartridge so that adjacent chambers of the plurality of chambers overlap the delivery hole at a same time.

11. The aerosol generating device of claim 1, further comprising:

an aerosol generating assembly that comprises the first cartridge and the second cartridge that are integrally coupled, and

a case that comprises an accommodation passage that accommodates the aerosol generating assembly.

12. The aerosol generating device of claim 11, wherein the aerosol generating assembly further comprises a heater installed in the first cartridge to heat the first material, and the case further comprises an electric terminal connected to the heater to supply power.

13. The aerosol generating device of claim 11, wherein the case further comprises a heater for heating the first material supplied from the second cartridge of the aerosol generating assembly accommodated in the accommodation passage.