ARTICLE FOR AN AEROSOL PROVISION SYSTEM
An article for an aerosol provision system comprises an aerosol generator, article control circuitry and one or more connectors electrically coupled to the aerosol generator and the article control circuitry. In use, the article control circuitry and the aerosol generator receive electrical power via the one or more connectors.
The present application is a National Phase entry of PCT Application No. PCT/GB2021/052737, filed Oct. 22, 2021, which claims priority from GB Application No. 2016760.7, filed Oct. 22, 2020, and GB Application No. 2019002.1, filed Dec. 2, 2020, and GB Application No. 2113502.5, filed Sep. 22, 2021, each of which is hereby fully incorporated herein by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELDThe present disclosure relates to an article for an aerosol provision system and an aerosol provision system comprising the article.
BACKGROUNDElectronic aerosol provision systems such as electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) generally contain an aerosol-generating material, such as a reservoir of a source liquid containing a formulation, typically including nicotine, or a solid material such as a tobacco-based product, from which an aerosol is generated for inhalation by a user, for example through heat vaporization. Thus, an aerosol provision system will typically comprise an aerosol generator, e.g. a heating element, arranged to aerosolize a portion of aerosol-generating material to generate an aerosol in an aerosol generation region of an air channel through the aerosol provision system. As a user inhales on the device and electrical power is supplied to the aerosol generator, air is drawn into the device through one or more inlet holes and along the air channel to the aerosol generation region, where the air mixes with the vaporized aerosol generator and forms a condensation aerosol. The air drawn through the aerosol generation region continues along the air channel to a mouthpiece, carrying some of the aerosol with it, and out through the mouthpiece for inhalation by the user.
It is common for aerosol provision systems to comprise a modular assembly, often having two main functional parts, namely an aerosol provision device and an article. Typically, the article will comprise the consumable aerosol-generating material and the aerosol generator (heating element), while the aerosol provision device part will comprise longer-life items, such as a rechargeable battery, device control circuitry, and user interface features. The aerosol provision device may also be referred to as a reusable part or battery section and the article may also be referred to as a consumable, disposable/replaceable part, cartridge or cartomizer.
The aerosol provision device and article are mechanically coupled together at an interface for use, for example using a screw thread, bayonet, latched or friction fit fixing. When the aerosol-generating material in an article has been exhausted, or the user wishes to switch to a different article having a different aerosol-generating material, the article may be removed from the aerosol provision device and a replacement article may be attached to the device in its place. Alternatively, some articles are configured such that, after the aerosol-generating material in the article has been exhausted, the article can be refilled with more aerosol-generating material, thereby allowing the article to be reused. In this example, the user is able to refill the article using a separate reservoir of aerosol-generating material. The aerosol-generating material used to refill the article may be the same or different to the previous aerosol-generating material in the article, thereby allowing the user to change to a different aerosol-generating material without purchasing a new article.
Refilling the article with aerosol-generating material extends the life of the article as its use is no longer limited by the volume or amount of aerosol-generating material that the article can hold. As a result, the use of the article may be limited by other factors, such as the life of individual components within the article. Continuous use of the article may therefore result in degradation or fault developing in components within the article. The article may therefore become less reliable, the operation of the article less predictable or the article may stop working entirely, each of which has a negative impact on the user experience.
Various approaches are described herein which seek to help address or mitigate some of the issues discussed above.
SUMMARYIn accordance with some embodiments described herein, there is provided an article for an aerosol provision system comprising an aerosol generator, article control circuitry and one or more connectors electrically coupled to the aerosol generator and the article control circuitry. In use, the article control circuitry and the aerosol generator receive electrical power via the one or more connectors.
The aerosol generator and article control circuitry can be electrically connected in parallel.
A pull-down resistor may be provided to modify the voltage of the electrical power supplied to the article control circuitry.
In use, data can be transferred, using the connectors, between the article control circuitry and a device coupled to the article.
There may also be one or more data connectors electrically coupled to the article control circuitry. In use, data is transferred, using the connectors, between the article control circuitry and a device coupled to the connectors and the data connectors.
A switch may be provided, and the article control circuitry can be configured to control electrical power supplied to the aerosol generator by actuating the switch. The article control circuitry can be configured to actuate the switch based on a value of a counter stored in memory of the article control circuitry. The switch can be in series with the aerosol generator, and the switch can be integrated into the article control circuitry.
In accordance with some embodiments described herein, there is provided an aerosol provision system comprising the article described herein. The aerosol provision system can comprise an aerosol provision device.
In accordance with some embodiments described herein, there is provided a method of controlling an article for an aerosol provision system comprising receiving electrical power from a device coupled to the article via one or more connectors, and controlling electrical power supplied to the aerosol generator via the one or more connectors and controlling data transfer between the article and device in response to an inhalation on the aerosol provision system by a user of the aerosol provision system.
There is also provided a computer readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a processor, performs the above method.
These aspects and other aspects will be apparent from the following detailed description. In this regard, particular sections of the description are not to be read in isolation from other sections.
Embodiments of the disclosure will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Aspects and features of certain examples and embodiments are discussed/described herein. Some aspects and features of certain examples and embodiments may be implemented conventionally and these are not discussed/described in detail in the interests of brevity. It will thus be appreciated that aspects and features of articles and systems discussed herein which are not described in detail may be implemented in accordance with any conventional techniques for implementing such aspects and features.
The present disclosure relates to aerosol provision systems, which may also be referred to as aerosol provision systems, such as e-cigarettes. Throughout the following description the term “e-cigarette” or “electronic cigarette” may sometimes be used, but it will be appreciated this term may be used interchangeably with aerosol provision system and electronic aerosol provision system.
As noted above, aerosol provision systems (e-cigarettes) often comprise a modular assembly including both a reusable part (aerosol provision device) and a replaceable (disposable) or refillable cartridge part, referred to as an article. Systems conforming to this type of two-part modular configuration may generally be referred to as two-part systems or devices. It is also common for electronic cigarettes to have a generally elongate shape. For the sake of providing a concrete example, certain embodiments of the disclosure described herein comprise this kind of generally elongate two-part system employing refillable cartridges. However, it will be appreciated the underlying principles described herein may equally be adopted for other electronic cigarette configurations, for example modular systems comprising more than two parts, as devices conforming to other overall shapes, for example based on so-called box-mod high performance devices that typically have a more boxy shape.
As described above, the present disclosure relates to (but it not limited to) articles of aerosol provision systems, such as e-cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.
The article 30 comprises or consists of aerosol-generating material 32, part or all of which is intended to be consumed during use by a user. An article 30 may comprise one or more other components, such as an aerosol-generating material storage area 39, an aerosol-generating material transfer component 37, an aerosol generation area, a housing, a wrapper, a mouthpiece 35, a filter and/or an aerosol-modifying agent.
An article 30 may also comprise an aerosol generator 36, such as a heating element, that emits heat to cause the aerosol-generating material 32 to generate aerosol in use. The aerosol generator 36 may, for example, comprise combustible material, a material heatable by electrical conduction, or a susceptor. It should be noted that it is possible for the aerosol generator 36 to be part of the aerosol provision device 20 and the article 30 then may comprise the aerosol-generating material storage area 39 for the aerosol-generating material 32 such that, when the article 30 is coupled with the aerosol provision device 20, the aerosol-generating material 32 can be transferred to the aerosol generator 36 in the aerosol provision device 20.
Aerosol-generating material is a material that is capable of generating aerosol, for example when heated, irradiated or energized in any other way. The aerosol-generating material 32 may, for example, be in the form of a solid, liquid or gel which may or may not contain an active substance and/or flavorants. In some embodiments, the aerosol-generating material 32 may comprise an “amorphous solid”, which may alternatively be referred to as a “monolithic solid” (i.e., non-fibrous). In some embodiments, the amorphous solid may be a dried gel. The amorphous solid is a solid material that may retain some fluid, such as liquid, within it. In some embodiments, the aerosol-generating material 32 may for example comprise from about 50 wt %, 60 wt % or of amorphous solid, to about 90 wt %, 95 wt % or 100 wt % of amorphous solid.
The aerosol-generating material comprises one or more ingredients, such as one or more active substances and/or flavorants, one or more aerosol-former materials, and optionally one or more other functional materials such as pH regulators, coloring agents, preservatives, binders, fillers, stabilizers, and/or antioxidants.
The active substance as used herein may be a physiologically active material, which is a material intended to achieve or enhance a physiological response. The active substance may for example be selected from nutraceuticals, nootropics, and psychoactives. The active substance may be naturally occurring or synthetically obtained. The active substance may comprise for example nicotine, caffeine, taurine, thiene, vitamins such as B6 or B12 or C, melatonin, cannabinoids, or constituents, derivatives, or combinations thereof. The active substance may comprise one or more constituents, derivatives or extracts of tobacco, cannabis or another botanical.
In some embodiments, the active substance comprises nicotine. In some embodiments, the active substance comprises caffeine, melatonin, or vitamin B12.
The aerosol provision device 20 includes a power source 14, such as a battery, configured to supply electrical power to the aerosol generator 36. The power source 14 in this example is rechargeable and may be of a conventional type, for example of the kind normally used in electronic cigarettes and other applications requiring provision of relatively high currents over relatively short periods. The battery 14 may be recharged through the charging port (not illustrated), which may, for example, comprise a USB connector.
The aerosol provision device 20 includes device control circuitry 28 configured to control the operation of the aerosol provision system 10 and provide conventional operating functions in line with the established techniques for controlling aerosol provision systems such as electronic cigarettes. The device control circuitry (processor circuitry) 28 may be considered to logically comprise various sub-units/circuitry elements associated with different aspects of the electronic cigarette's operation. For example, depending on the functionality provided in different implementations, the device control circuitry 28 may comprise power source control circuitry for controlling the supply of electrical power from the power source 14 to the aerosol generator 36, user programming circuitry for establishing configuration settings (e.g. user-defined power settings) in response to user input, as well as other functional units/circuitry associated functionality in accordance with the principles described herein and conventional operating aspects of electronic cigarettes. It will be appreciated the functionality of the device control circuitry 28 can be provided in various different ways, for example using one or more suitably programmed programmable computer(s) and/or one or more suitably configured application-specific integrated circuit(s)/circuitry/chip(s)/chipset(s) configured to provide the desired functionality.
The aerosol provision device 20 includes one or more air inlets 21. In use, as a user inhales on the mouthpiece 35, air is drawn into the aerosol provision device 20 through the air inlets 21 and along an air channel 23 to the aerosol generator 36, where the air mixes with the vaporized aerosol-generating material 32 and forms a condensation aerosol. The air drawn through the aerosol generator 36 continues along the air channel 23 to a mouthpiece 35, carrying some of the aerosol with it, and out through the mouthpiece 35 for inhalation by the user. Alternatively, the one or more air inlets 21 may be included on the article 30, such that the air channel 23 is entirely contained within the article 30.
By way of a concrete example, the article 30 comprises a housing (formed, e.g., from a plastics material), an aerosol-generating material storage area 39 formed within the housing for containing the aerosol-generating material 32 (which in this example may be a liquid which may or may not contain nicotine), an aerosol-generating material transfer component 37 (which in this example is a wick formed of e.g., glass or cotton fibers, or a ceramic material configured to transport the liquid from the reservoir using capillary action), an aerosol-generating area containing the aerosol generator 36, and a mouthpiece 35. Although not shown, a filter and/or aerosol modifying agent (such as a flavor imparting material) may be located in, or in proximity to, the mouthpiece 35. The aerosol generator 36 of this example comprises a heater element formed from an electrically resistive material (such as NiCr8020) spirally wrapped around the aerosol-generating material transfer component 37, and located in the air channel 23. The area around the heating element and wick combination is the aerosol-generating area of the article 30.
The article 30 illustrated in
The refilling orifice 34 and/or the refilling tube 33 may be sealable, for example with a cap or one-way valve, in order to ensure that aerosol-generating material 32 does not leak out of the refilling orifice 34. Although the refilling orifice 34 is illustrated in
The article 30 illustrated in
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The article control circuitry 38 can be configured to keep the switch 310 open by default, such that electrical power is only transferred to the aerosol generator 36 in response to the article control circuitry 38 actuating (closing) the switch 310. In this case, when the article 30 is connected to a device, such as the aerosol provision device 20 or a refilling device, only the article control circuitry 38 initially receives electrical power; the aerosol generator 36 will only receive electrical power when the article control circuitry 38 actuates the switch 310. This ensures that the aerosol generator 36 is not inadvertently actuated as soon as electrical power is received at the connectors 31a, 31b.
The article control circuitry 38 can be configured to actuate the switch 310 based on a value of a counter stored in the memory of the article control circuitry 38. In other words, the switch is actuated by article control circuitry 38 such that whether or not electrical power is supplied to the aerosol generator 36 is dependent on the value of the counter. For example, value of the counter can indicate the number of inhalations (or puffs) performed on the article 30 forming part of the aerosol provision system 10 by the user of the aerosol provision system 10. This may also correspond to the number of activations of the aerosol generator 36; in other words, the number of times power was supplied to the aerosol generator 36, since the aerosol generator 36 is activated each time a user performs an inhalation on the aerosol provision system 10 in order to generate an aerosol for delivery to the user. The article control circuitry 38 can then be configured to update the value of the counter in response to an inhalation on the aerosol provision system 10 by a user of the aerosol provision system 10. The value of the counter may be updated by incrementing or decrementing the value of the counter depending on the exact implementation of the counter, for example by a value of one for each inhalation performed by the user. A user may perform multiple inhalations within a short period of time, and the article control circuitry 38 may be configured to update the value of the counter periodically (for example every 10 seconds, every minute, 5 minutes, or 10 minutes) to reflect the number of inhalations performed in that time period, rather than updating the counter in response to each inhalation.
The article control circuitry 38 can be configured to actuate (open) the switch 310 to prevent electrical power from being supplied to the aerosol generator 36 based on a comparison between the value of the counter and an inhalation limit, where in the inhalation limit represents the point at which the article 30 needs to be refilled. The article control circuitry 38 can then prevent electrical power from being supplied to the aerosol generator 36 by keeping the switch 310 open until the article 30 (more specifically the aerosol-generating material storage area 39) has been refilled with aerosol-generating material 32. This prevents electrical power from being supplied to the aerosol generator 36 when there is little or no aerosol-generating material 32 in the aerosol-generating material storage area 39, which could cause the aerosol generator 36 to dry out (as there is no aerosol-generating material 32 present to aerosolize) and/or cause the aerosol generator 36 to overheat, which could in turn cause damage to the aerosol generator 36 or other components of the article 30 and aerosol generation system 10.
In response to the article 30 being refilled with aerosol-generating material 32, the article control circuitry 38 can be configured to reset or update the value of the counter (for example to zero) to indicate that the article 30 has been refilled with aerosol-generating material 32. Accordingly, the next time the article control circuitry 38 compares the value of the counter to the inhalation limit (for example in response to an inhalation on the aerosol provision system 10 by a user of the aerosol provision system 10), the article control circuitry 38 can enable the supply of electrical power to the aerosol generator 36 by actuating (closing) the switch 310.
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The article control circuitry 38 can be configured to actuate the switch 310 such that data is only transferred to and from the article control circuitry 38 when the switch is open (and electrical power being transferred to the aerosol generator 36 is prevented). This means that the operation of the aerosol generator 36 is not adversely affected by fluctuations in the input voltage as a result of data being transferred to and from the article control circuitry 38.
For example, when the article 30 is coupled to the aerosol provision device 20, the article control circuitry 38 can actuate the switch to ensure that data is only transferred between the article control circuitry 38 and the device control circuitry 28 when activation of the aerosol generator 36 is not required (in other words, when a user is not inhaling on the aerosol provision system 10). The device control circuitry 28 and/or the article control circuitry 38 may be configured to detect an inhalation on the aerosol provision system 10. The device control circuitry 28 and/or the article control circuitry 38 can then send an indication to the other control circuitry to stop the transfer of data. In response to stopping the transfer of data, the article control circuitry 38 can then be configured to actuate (close) the switch 310 to allow electrical power to be provided to the aerosol generator 36. Similarly, in response to detecting the end of an inhalation (by the device control circuitry 28 and/or the article control circuitry 38), the article control circuitry 38 can be configured to actuate (open) the switch 310 to prevent electrical power being provided to the aerosol generator 36, then provide an indication to the device control circuitry 28 to indicate that data transfer between the article control circuitry 38 and the device control circuitry 28 can commence again. Alternatively, there may be a switch on the data line 320 that the article control circuitry 38 is configured to actuated in order to enable or prevent data transfer (by closing or opening the switch, respectively).
Equally, when the article 30 is coupled to a refilling device (used to fill/refill the aerosol-generating material storage area 39 with aerosol-generating material 32), inhalations are not performed on the mouthpiece 35 of the article 30 by the user, and therefore aerosol generation is not required. Accordingly, electrical power does not need to be transferred to the aerosol generator 36 when the article 30 is coupled to a refilling device. The article control circuitry 38 can therefore be configured to keep the switch 310 open when the article 30 is coupled to the refilling device, thereby preventing electrical power from being transferred to the aerosol generator 36. For example, in response to receiving electrical power from the refilling device via the connectors 31a, 31b, the article control circuitry 38 can be configured to determine that the article 30 has been coupled to the refilling device, for example by transferring data to and from the refilling device using the data wire 320. In response to determining that the article 30 has been coupled to the refilling device, the article control circuitry 38 can then be configured to keep the switch open, such the aerosol generator 36 does not received electrical power when the article 30 has been coupled to the refilling device.
Having separate data connectors 31c, 31d for transferring data between the article control circuitry 38 and a device coupled to the article 30 means that the input voltage at the input connector 31a for supplying electrical power to the aerosol generator 36 and the article control circuitry 38 is not altered or fluctuated when data is transferred to and from the article control circuitry 38. This allows a constant voltage to be supplied to the aerosol generator 36 and the article control circuitry 38 at the same time as transferring data between the article control circuitry 38. For example, when the article 30 is coupled to the aerosol provision device 20, data can be transferred between the article control circuitry 38 and the device control circuitry 28 via the data connectors 31c, 31d at the same time as the aerosol generator 36 is activated via the connectors 31a, 31b, such as during an inhalation on the mouthpiece 35 by a user of the aerosol provision system 10.
As described above, when the article 30 is connected to a refilling device, electrical power does not need to be supplied to the aerosol generator 36. For the articles 30 illustrated in
As described above, the article control circuitry 38 may comprise integrated circuit(s)/circuitry/chip(s)/chipset(s) configured to provide the functionality described herein. The article control circuitry 38 illustrated in
The article 30 illustrated in
The article 30 illustrated in
As described above, the present disclosure relates to (but it not limited to) an article 30 for an aerosol provision system 10 comprising an aerosol generator 36, article control circuitry 38 and one or more connectors 31a, 31b electrically coupled to the aerosol generator 36 and the article control circuitry 38. In use, the article control circuitry 38 and the aerosol generator 36 receive electrical power via the one or more connectors 31a, 31b.
The methods 700, 800, 900 illustrated in
Thus, there has been described an article 30 for an aerosol provision system 10, a method of controlling an article for an aerosol provision system and an aerosol provision system 10 comprising the article 30.
The various embodiments described herein are presented only to assist in understanding and teaching the claimed features. These embodiments are provided as a representative sample of embodiments only, and are not exhaustive and/or exclusive. It is to be understood that advantages, embodiments, examples, functions, features, structures, and/or other aspects described herein are not to be considered limitations on the scope of the disclosure as defined by the claims or limitations on equivalents to the claims, and that other embodiments may be utilized and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of that which is claimed. Various embodiments of the disclosure may suitably comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of, appropriate combinations of the disclosed elements, components, features, parts, steps, means, etc., other than those specifically described herein. In addition, this disclosure may include other inventions not presently claimed, but which may be claimed in future.
Claims
1. An article for an aerosol provision system comprising:
- an aerosol generator;
- article control circuitry; and
- one or more connectors electrically coupled to the aerosol generator and the article control circuitry,
- wherein, in use, the article control circuitry and the aerosol generator receive electrical power via the one or more connectors.
2. The article of claim 1, wherein the aerosol generator and the article control circuitry are electrically connected in parallel.
3. The article of claim 1, further comprising a pull-down resistor to modify a voltage of the electrical power supplied to the article control circuitry.
4. The article of claim 1, wherein, in use, data is transferred, using the one or more connectors, between the article control circuitry and a device coupled to the article.
5. The article of claim 1, further comprising one or more data connectors electrically coupled to the article control circuitry,
- wherein, in use, data is transferred, using at least one of the one or more connectors or the one or more data connectors, between the article control circuitry and a device coupled to at least one of the one or more connectors or the one or more data connectors.
6. The article of claim 1, further comprising a switch, wherein the article control circuitry is configured to control the electrical power supplied to the aerosol generator by actuating the switch.
7. The article of claim 6, wherein the article control circuitry is configured to actuate the switch based on a value of a counter stored in memory of the article control circuitry.
8. The article of claim 6, wherein the switch is in series with the aerosol generator.
9. The article of claim 6, wherein the switch is integrated into the article control circuitry.
10. An aerosol provision system comprising the article of claim 1.
11. The aerosol provision system of claim 10, further comprising an aerosol provision device.
12. A method of controlling an article for an aerosol provision system comprising:
- receiving electrical power from a device coupled to the article via one or more connectors; and
- controlling the electrical power supplied to the aerosol generator via the one or more connectors and controlling data transfer between the article and the device in response to an inhalation on the aerosol provision system by a user of the aerosol provision system.
13. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method of controlling an aerosol generator of an article for an aerosol provision system comprising:
- receiving electrical power from a device coupled to the article via one or more connectors;
- controlling the electrical power supplied to the aerosol generator via the one or more connectors and controlling data transfer between the article and the device in response to an inhalation on the aerosol provision system by a user of the aerosol provision system.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 22, 2021
Publication Date: Jan 4, 2024
Inventors: Howard ROTHWELL (London), Mohammed L-AMIN (London)
Application Number: 18/250,119