CN117729860A

CN117729860A - Aerosol generating device and method of operating the same

Info

Publication number: CN117729860A
Application number: CN202380012783.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 权宁范; 林宪一; 金东星; 金龙焕; 张锡水
Original assignee: KT&G Corp
Current assignee: KT&G Corp
Priority date: 2022-04-18
Filing date: 2023-04-03
Publication date: 2024-03-19

Abstract

The aerosol-generating device comprises: a heater configured to heat the aerosol-generating article; a gas sensor configured to sense a concentration of a specific gas; and a controller configured to control the supply of electric power to the heater, wherein the controller is configured to determine any one temperature profile from the plurality of temperature profiles based on the sensed value of the gas sensor.

Description

Aerosol generating device and method of operating the same

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to an aerosol-generating device and a method of operating the same.

Background

Recently, there has been an increase in the need for alternative methods to overcome the disadvantages of conventional cigarettes. For example, there is an increasing need for systems that generate aerosols by heating cigarettes or aerosol-generating substances using aerosol-generating devices, rather than by burning cigarettes. Accordingly, research into a heating type aerosol-generating device has been actively conducted.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical problem

Controlling the heating of the aerosol-generating article or the temperature of the aerosol-generating device is the most important key function of the aerosol-generating device.

Existing aerosol-generating devices heat the aerosol-generating article irrespective of the actual degree of heating of the aerosol-generating article or the actual temperature of the aerosol-generating article. Taking an induction heating type aerosol-generating device as an example, an existing aerosol-generating device measures the temperature of a base constituting a heater in a direct or indirect manner and controls heating of an aerosol-generating article by estimating the temperature of the aerosol-generating article based on the measured temperature of the base.

The aerosol-generating device disclosed herein provides a uniform smoking experience to a user by measuring the concentration of a particular gas generated when the aerosol-generating article is heated and controlling the heating of the aerosol-generating article based on the measured concentration of the particular gas.

The technical problems to be solved by the embodiments are not limited to the above-described problems, and the problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art to which the embodiments belong from the specification and the attached drawings.

Solution to the problem

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, an aerosol-generating device comprises: a heater configured to heat the aerosol-generating article; a gas sensor configured to sense a concentration of a specific gas; and a controller configured to control the supply of electric power to the heater, wherein the controller is configured to determine any one temperature profile from the plurality of temperature profiles based on the sensed value of the gas sensor.

Advantageous effects of the invention

The aerosol-generating device disclosed herein may sense the concentration of a particular gas generated when the aerosol-generating article is heated. Furthermore, the aerosol-generating device may identify the aerosol-generating article based on the sensed concentration of the particular gas. In addition, the aerosol-generating device may determine any one of a plurality of temperature profiles based on the sensed concentration of the particular gas. In addition, the aerosol-generating device may provide a user with a uniform smoking sensation by fine-tuning the determined temperature profile based on the sensed concentration values of the particular gas.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an aerosol-generating device according to an embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing components of an aerosol-generating device according to an embodiment.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of some components of an aerosol-generating device according to an embodiment.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing a process of moving air in the aerosol-generating device shown in fig. 3 according to a sucking action of a user.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method of determining a temperature profile according to an embodiment.

Fig. 6 and 7 are graphs showing temperature curves of an aerosol-generating device according to an embodiment.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method of adjusting a temperature profile according to an embodiment.

Fig. 9 is a block diagram of an aerosol-generating device according to an embodiment.

Detailed Description

Best mode for carrying out the invention

The aerosol-generating device of the present disclosure has the following embodiments.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method of controlling operation of an aerosol-generating device comprises: initiating a heating operation of a heater configured to heat the aerosol-generating article; sensing a concentration of a specific gas of the aerosol-generating device; and determining any one of the plurality of temperature profiles based on the sensed value.

Detailed Description

With respect to terms in the various embodiments, general terms currently in wide use are selected in consideration of the functions of structural elements in the various embodiments of the present disclosure. However, the meaning of these terms may vary depending on the intent, judicial cases, the advent of new technology, and the like. In addition, in certain instances, the applicant may choose terms arbitrarily in a particular instance. In this case, the meaning of the terms will be described in detail at corresponding portions in the description of the present disclosure. Thus, terms used in various embodiments of the present disclosure should be defined based on meanings of the terms and descriptions provided herein.

In addition, unless explicitly described to the contrary, the term "comprising" and variations such as "comprises" or "comprising" will be understood to mean inclusion of the stated element but not the exclusion of any other element. In addition, the terms "-member", "-member" and "module" described in the application document refer to a unit for processing at least one function and operation, and may be implemented by hardware components or software components, and combinations thereof.

As used herein, when an expression such as "at least any one of" is located after an element of an arrangement, that expression modifies all of the elements rather than every element of the arrangement. For example, the expression "at least any one of a, b and c" should be interpreted as: including a, including b, including c, or including a and b, including a and c, including b and c, or including a, b and c.

In an embodiment, the aerosol-generating device may be a device that generates an aerosol by electrically heating a cigarette housed in an interior space of the aerosol-generating device.

The aerosol-generating device may comprise a heater. In an embodiment, the heater may be a resistive heater. For example, the heater may include a conductive trace, and the heater may be heated when current flows through the conductive trace.

The heater may include a tubular heating element, a plate-like heating element, a needle-like heating element, or a rod-like heating element, and may heat the inside or outside of the cigarette according to the shape of the heating element.

Cigarettes may include tobacco rods and filter rods. The tobacco rod may be formed from pieces, filaments and micro-fragments cut from tobacco sheets. Furthermore, the tobacco rod may be surrounded by a thermally conductive material. For example, the thermally conductive material may be, but is not limited to, a metal foil, such as aluminum foil.

The filter rod may comprise a cellulose acetate filter. The filter rod may comprise at least one segment. For example, the filter rod may comprise: a first section configured to cool the aerosol; and a second section configured to filter specific components in the aerosol.

In another embodiment, the aerosol-generating device may be a device for generating an aerosol by using a cartridge containing an aerosol-generating substance.

The aerosol-generating device may comprise: a cartridge containing an aerosol-generating substance; and a body supporting the cartridge. The cartridge may be detachably coupled to the body, but is not limited thereto. The cartridge may be integrally formed with the body or assembled with the body, and the cartridge may also be secured to the body without being detached from the body by the user. The cartridge may be mounted on the body at the same time as the aerosol-generating substance is contained. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Aerosol-generating substances may also be injected into the cartridge when the cartridge is coupled to the body.

The cartridge may contain the aerosol-generating substance in any of a variety of states such as liquid, solid, gaseous, gel. The aerosol-generating substance may comprise a liquid composition. For example, the liquid composition may be: a tobacco material-containing liquid comprising volatile tobacco flavor components; or a liquid comprising a non-tobacco material.

The cartridge may be operated by an electrical or wireless signal transmitted from the body to perform the function of generating an aerosol by converting the phase of the aerosol-generating substance within the cartridge into a gas phase. An aerosol may refer to a gas in which vaporized particles generated from an aerosol-generating substance are mixed with air.

In another embodiment, the aerosol-generating device may generate an aerosol by heating the liquid composition, and the generated aerosol may be delivered to a user by a cigarette. In other words, the aerosol generated from the liquid composition may move along the airflow path of the aerosol-generating device, and the airflow path may be configured to allow the aerosol to be delivered to the user by passing through the cigarette.

In another embodiment, the aerosol-generating device may be a device that generates an aerosol from an aerosol-generating substance by using an ultrasonic vibration method. At this time, the ultrasonic vibration method may refer to a method of generating an aerosol by converting an aerosol-generating substance into an aerosol using ultrasonic vibration generated by a vibrator.

The aerosol-generating device may comprise a vibrator and the short-period vibration is generated by the vibrator to convert the aerosol-generating substance into an aerosol. The vibration generated by the vibrator may be ultrasonic vibration, and the frequency band of the ultrasonic vibration may be in a frequency band of about 100kHz to about 3.5MHz, but is not limited thereto.

The aerosol-generating device may further comprise a core for absorbing the aerosol-generating substance. For example, the core may be arranged to surround at least one region of the vibrator, or may be arranged to be in contact with at least one region of the vibrator.

When a voltage (e.g., an alternating voltage) is applied to the vibrator, heat and/or ultrasonic vibration may be generated by the vibrator, and the heat and/or ultrasonic vibration generated by the vibrator may be transferred to the aerosol-generating substance absorbed in the core. The aerosol-generating substance absorbed in the core may be converted into a gas phase by heat and/or ultrasonic vibrations transferred from the vibrator, and thus an aerosol may be generated.

For example, the viscosity of the aerosol-generating substance absorbed in the core may be reduced by heat generated by the vibrator, and when the aerosol-generating substance having the reduced viscosity is granulated by ultrasonic vibration generated by the vibrator, aerosol may be generated, but is not limited thereto.

In another embodiment, the aerosol-generating device is a device for generating an aerosol by heating an aerosol-generating article housed in the aerosol-generating device by an induction heating method.

The aerosol-generating device may comprise a base and a coil. In an embodiment, the coil may apply a magnetic field to the base. When power is supplied to the coil from the aerosol-generating device, a magnetic field may be formed within the coil. In an embodiment, the susceptor may be a magnetic body that generates heat by an external magnetic field. When the base is positioned within the coil and a magnetic field is applied to the base, the base generates heat to heat the aerosol-generating article. Additionally, optionally, the base may be positioned within the aerosol-generating article.

In another embodiment, the aerosol-generating device may further comprise a carrier.

The aerosol-generating device may form a system with a separate carrier. For example, the cradle may charge a battery of the aerosol-generating device. Alternatively, the heater may be heated when the carrier and the aerosol-generating device are coupled to each other.

Hereinafter, the present disclosure will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are shown so that those having ordinary skill in the art may readily implement the present disclosure. The present disclosure may be embodied in a form capable of being embodied in the aerosol-generating device of the various embodiments described above, or the present disclosure may be embodied in a variety of different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to fig. 1, an aerosol-generating device 10 according to an embodiment may comprise a housing 100 into which an aerosol-generating article 20 may be inserted.

The housing 100 may form the overall appearance of the aerosol-generating device 10, and the housing 100 may comprise an interior space (or arrangement space) in which components of the aerosol-generating device 10 may be arranged. Fig. 1 shows an embodiment in which the housing 100 has a cross section formed in a semicircular shape as a whole, but the shape of the housing 100 is not limited thereto. According to an embodiment (not shown), the case 100 may be formed in a cylindrical shape as a whole, or the case 100 may be formed in a polygonal column shape (e.g., a triangular column shape or a quadrangular column shape).

The means for generating an aerosol by heating the aerosol-generating article 20 inserted into the housing 100 and the means for detecting a user's sucking action may be arranged in the inner space of the housing 100, and a detailed description thereof will be given below.

The housing 100 may comprise an opening 100h through which the aerosol-generating article 20 may be inserted into the housing 100. At least a portion of the aerosol-generating article 20 may be inserted or housed in the housing 100 through the opening 100 h.

The aerosol-generating article 20 inserted or housed in the housing 100 may be heated within the housing 100 and, thus, an aerosol may be generated. The aerosol generated within the housing 100 may be expelled through the inserted aerosol-generating article 20 and/or the space between the aerosol-generating article 20 and the opening 100h to the outside of the aerosol-generating device 10 and the user may inhale the expelled aerosol.

The aerosol-generating device 10 may further comprise a display D on which visual information is displayed.

The display D may be arranged such that at least a portion of the area of the display D is exposed to the outside of the housing 100, and the aerosol-generating device 10 may provide various types of visual information to the user through the display D.

For example, the aerosol-generating device 10 may provide information via the display D regarding whether a user's pumping action has occurred and/or regarding the number of puffs remaining in the inserted aerosol-generating article 20. In addition, the aerosol-generating device 10 may provide information related to the identified aerosol-generating article 20 via the display D. However, providing information via the display D is merely an example, and the information provided via the display D is not limited to the above-described embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing components of an aerosol-generating device according to an embodiment. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the aerosol-generating device 10 shown in fig. 1 as seen in the direction A-A'.

Referring to fig. 2, an aerosol-generating device 10 (e.g., the aerosol-generating device 10 of fig. 1) according to an embodiment may include a housing 100 (e.g., the housing 100 of fig. 1), a heater assembly 200, an airflow channel 300, a first sensor 401, and a second sensor 402.

The housing 100 may form the overall appearance of the aerosol-generating device 10, and the housing 100 may comprise an interior space in which components of the aerosol-generating device 10 may be arranged. For example, the heater assembly 200, the air flow channel 300, the first sensor 401, and the second sensor 402 may be disposed in the inner space of the case 100, but are not limited thereto.

The housing 100 may comprise an opening 100h, and at least a portion of the aerosol-generating article 20 may be inserted (or housed) in the housing 100 through the opening 100 h. Although fig. 2 shows an embodiment in which the opening 100h is formed in one region of the housing 100 facing in the +z direction, the arrangement structure of the opening 100h is not limited to the illustrated embodiment.

The heater assembly 200 may be located in the inner space of the case 100, and the heater assembly 200 may heat the aerosol-generating article 20 inserted into the case 100 through the opening 100h to generate an aerosol.

The heater assembly 200 may include: a receiving space 200i for receiving at least a portion of the aerosol-generating article 20 inserted into the housing 100 through the opening 100 h; and a heater (not shown) for generating heat when supplied with power. At least one region of the aerosol-generating article 20 accommodated in the accommodation space 200i may be heated by a heater, and vaporized particles generated by heating the aerosol-generating article 20 may be mixed with air introduced into the inner space of the housing 100 through the opening 100h to generate an aerosol.

The heater of the heater assembly 200 may comprise an induction heater. For example, the heater may include: a coil (or a conductive coil) for generating an alternating magnetic field when supplied with electric power; and a base for generating heat by an alternating magnetic field generated by the coil. The base may be arranged to surround at least a portion of the outer circumferential surface of the aerosol-generating article 20 inserted into the housing 100, and the base may heat the inserted aerosol-generating article 20.

The heater of the heater assembly 200 may comprise a resistive heater. For example, the heater may comprise a film heater arranged to surround at least a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the aerosol-generating article 20 inserted into the housing 100. The film heater may include conductive traces and when an electrical current flows through the conductive traces, the film heater may generate heat and heat the aerosol-generating article 20 inserted into the housing 100.

The heater of the heater assembly 200 may include at least one of a pin-type heater, a rod-type heater, and a tube-type heater capable of heating the interior of the aerosol-generating article 20 inserted into the housing 100. The above-described heater may, for example, be inserted into at least one region of the aerosol-generating article 20 and heat the interior of the aerosol-generating article 20.

The heater is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the embodiments of the heater may be changed in the case where the heater may heat the aerosol-generating article 20 to a predetermined temperature of the aerosol-generating article 20. In the present disclosure, the predetermined temperature may refer to a temperature at which an aerosol-generating substance included in the aerosol-generating article 20 may be heated to generate an aerosol. The predetermined temperature may be a preset temperature in the aerosol-generating device 10, but the corresponding temperature may be changed by the type of aerosol-generating device 10 and/or by operation of the user.

The airflow channel 300 may be located between the housing 100 and the heater assembly 200 and in the interior space of the housing 100, and the airflow channel 300 may fluidly communicate (fluidly connect) the exterior of the aerosol-generating device 10 with the receiving space 200i of the heater assembly 200.

When the air flow passage 300 is spaced apart from the heater assembly 200, the air flow passage 300 may be arranged to connect an air inlet 300i formed in one region (e.g., one region in the +z direction) of the housing 100 to an air outlet 300e formed in the receiving space 200i of the heater assembly 200. For example, the air flow channel 300 may be formed in a substantially U-shape while being spaced apart from the heater assembly 200, and the air flow channel 300 may be arranged to surround the heater assembly 200, but the shape of the air flow channel 300 is not limited to the foregoing embodiment.

Due to the arrangement of the air flow channel 300 described above, the outside of the aerosol-generating device 10 may be in fluid communication with the inside of the receiving space 200 i. Accordingly, air (hereinafter, referred to as outside air) outside the aerosol-generating device 10 may be introduced into the airflow channel 300 through the air inlet 300i, and then may travel along the airflow channel 300 and move into the accommodating space 200i through the air outlet 300 e.

The air flow channel 300 may be disposed to be spaced apart from the receiving space 200i of the heater assembly 200 by a predetermined distance d, and thus, the temperature and/or pressure of the air flow channel 300 may not be affected by heat generated from the heater of the heater assembly 200.

The first sensor 401 may be disposed adjacent to the air flow channel 300 spaced apart from the receiving space 200i of the heater assembly 200 by a predetermined distance d. The first sensor 401 may detect a temperature change or a pressure change of the air flow channel 300 according to a user's pumping action to detect the user's pumping action.

The first sensor 401 may include a pressure sensor for detecting a pressure change, and may detect a pressure change of the air flow channel 300 according to a pumping action of a user via the pressure sensor. In another example, the first sensor 401 may include a temperature sensor for detecting a temperature change, and the temperature change of the air flow channel 300 according to the user's pumping action may be detected via the temperature sensor.

The first sensor 401 may include both a pressure sensor and a temperature sensor, and may detect both a pressure change and a temperature change of the air flow channel 300 according to a user's pumping action.

The second sensor 402 may be disposed in the receiving space 200i of the heater assembly 200. The second sensor 402 may be spaced apart from the aerosol-generating article 20 by a predetermined distance and disposed within the receiving space 200i of the heater assembly 200. The aerosol-generating article 20 may be heated by the heater assembly 200 to generate an aerosol, and the second sensor 402 may be disposed within the receiving space 200i of the heater assembly 200 and sense the concentration of a particular gas of the aerosol. The arrangement of the second sensor 402 is not limited to the embodiment shown in fig. 1 to 4, and the second sensor 402 may be arranged at any of the following positions within the aerosol-generating device 10: at any of the locations, the second sensor 402 may sense the concentration of a particular gas of the aerosol generated by the aerosol-generating article 20.

The aerosol-generating device 10 may further comprise a controller 410 and a battery 420.

The controller 410 may control the overall operation of the aerosol-generating device 10. In an example, the controller 410 may be electrically or operatively connected to the heater of the heater assembly 200 to control the operation of the heater.

The controller 410 may be electrically or operatively connected to the first sensor 401 to detect the user's pumping action based on the pressure or temperature changes of the airflow channel 300 detected by the first sensor 401.

In this disclosure, the expression "operatively connected" may indicate that the components are connected to each other to transmit signals, optical signals and/or magnetic signals to each other via wireless communication and/or to receive signals, optical signals and/or magnetic signals from each other via wireless communication, and the corresponding expressions may be used in the same sense below.

The controller 410 may be electrically or operatively connected to the second sensor 402 to control the operation of the heater assembly 200 based on the concentration of the particular gas sensed by the second sensor 402.

The controller 410 may be disposed or mounted on a printed circuit board (not shown) located in the inner space of the case 100, and the controller 410 may be electrically or operatively connected to the heater and/or the first sensor 401 via an electrical connection unit (cable, C-clip, flexible Printed Circuit Board (FPCB), etc.) for connecting the printed circuit board, the heater of the heater assembly 200, and/or the first sensor 401 to each other. However, the arrangement structure of the controller 410 is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the arrangement structure of the controller 410 may be changed according to the embodiment.

The battery 420 may supply the electrical power required for operation of the aerosol-generating device 10. For example, the battery 420 may supply power to the heater to heat the heater of the heater assembly 200. As another example, the battery 420 may supply power required for operation of the controller 410, or may supply power required for operation of the first sensor 401 and the second sensor 402.

Hereinafter, the detailed structure of the heater assembly 200 of the aerosol-generating device 10 and the movement of air according to the pumping action of the user will be described in detail with reference to fig. 3 and 4.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of some components of an aerosol-generating device according to an embodiment. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating in detail the heater assembly 200 of the aerosol-generating device 10 of fig. 2.

Referring to fig. 1 and 3, an aerosol-generating device 10 according to an embodiment may include a housing 100, a heater assembly 200, an airflow channel 300, a first sensor 401, and a second sensor 402. At least one of the components of the aerosol-generating device 10 according to the embodiment may be identical or similar to at least one of the components of the aerosol-generating device 10 illustrated in fig. 2, and the same description of the at least one component will be omitted below.

The heater assembly 200 may be located in the inner space of the case 100, and the heater assembly 200 may include: a receiving space 200i for receiving the aerosol-generating article 20 inserted into the inner space of the housing 100 through the opening 100 h; and a heater 210 for heating the aerosol-generating article 20 accommodated in the accommodation space 200i, the heater 210 being configured to heat the aerosol-generating article.

According to an embodiment, the heater 210 may include a coil 211 and a base 212, and the heater 210 may heat at least one region of the aerosol-generating article 20 accommodated in the accommodating space 200i by using an induction heating method.

The coil 211 may be disposed to surround an outer circumferential surface of the base 212, and the coil 211 may be supplied with power by a battery (e.g., the battery 420 of fig. 2) to generate an alternating magnetic field.

The base 212 may be arranged to surround at least a portion of the outer circumferential surface of the aerosol-generating article 20 accommodated in the accommodation space 200i, and may heat the aerosol-generating article 20 accommodated in the accommodation space 200 i. For example, the susceptor 212 may heat the aerosol-generating article 20 accommodated in the accommodating space 200i by generating heat by means of an alternating magnetic field generated by the coil 211.

However, the embodiment of the heater 210 is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and according to an embodiment, the heater 210 may include a resistive heater capable of heating the inside and/or the outside of the aerosol-generating article 20 accommodated in the accommodating space 200 i.

The heater assembly 200 may also include an insulating structure 220 for sealing the heater 210.

The insulating structure 220 may be arranged around the heater 210 and may seal the heater 210 to prevent liquid droplets generated during an aerosol-generating process by the heater 210 from leaking to the outside of the heater assembly 200 and thus may prevent components of the aerosol-generating device 10 from malfunctioning or being damaged by the liquid droplets.

In addition, the heat insulation structure 220 may seal the heater 210 to prevent heat generated from the heater 210 from being transferred to the outer circumferential surface of the case 100, and thus may prevent high temperature from being transferred to the body (e.g., palm) of a user holding the case 100 even when the temperature of the heater 210 is maintained at a high temperature.

The insulating structure 220 may include: a first structure 221, the first structure 221 being arranged to surround one region (e.g., a lower region and a side region) of the outer circumferential surface of the heater 210; and a second structure 222, the second structure 222 being located at a tip end portion of the first structure 221 and covering other regions (e.g., a top region) of the outer circumferential surface of the heater 210. The heater 210 may be located in an inner space formed by the first structure 221 and the second structure 222, and the first structure 221 and the second structure 222 may seal the heater 210 located in the inner space.

The second structure 222 may be coupled to at least one region of the top end portion of the first structure 221, but is not limited thereto. In an embodiment (not shown), the first structure 221 and the second structure 222 may be integrally formed.

Although the air flow channel 300 is spaced apart from the heater assembly 200, the air flow channel 300 may be arranged such that the outside of the aerosol-generating device 10 is in fluid communication with the receiving space 200i of the heater assembly 200, and thus, the air flow channel 300 may operate as a flow path through which outside air flows into the receiving space 200 i.

The air flow passage 300 may be arranged to connect an air inlet 300i formed in one region of the housing 100 to an air outlet 300e formed in the receiving space 200i of the heater assembly 200. Here, the air outlet 300e may be formed through at least one region of the heater assembly 200 such that the inside of the receiving space 200i may be connected to the air flow channel 300.

The external air may be introduced into the receiving space 200i through the air flow passage 300. The external air introduced into the accommodating space 200i may be mixed with the vaporized particles generated when the aerosol-generating article 20 is heated by the heater 210, and thus, the aerosol may be generated.

The first sensor 401 may be disposed adjacent to the air flow channel 300 to detect a temperature change or a pressure change of the air flow channel 300. For example, the first sensor 401 may be located in a channel branched from the heater assembly 200 at a point in the air flow channel 300, and may detect a temperature change or a pressure change of the air flow channel 300 due to a pumping action of a user, but the arrangement structure of the first sensor 401 is not limited to the above-described embodiment.

The first sensor 401 may include a pressure sensor to detect a pressure variation amount of the air flow channel 300 according to a pumping action of a user, but is not limited thereto. In an example, the first sensor 401 may further include a temperature sensor to detect a temperature variation amount of the air flow channel 300 according to a user's pumping action.

Information regarding the amount of change in temperature or the amount of change in pressure of the airflow channel 300 detected by the first sensor 401 may be transmitted to a processor (e.g., the controller 410 of fig. 2), and the processor may detect whether a pumping action of the user occurs based on the amount of change in temperature or the amount of change in pressure of the airflow channel 300 detected by the first sensor 401.

The air flow channel 300 may be spaced apart from the receiving space 200i of the heater assembly 200 by a predetermined distance (e.g., a predetermined distance d in fig. 2) such that the temperature and/or pressure within the air flow channel 300 is not changed by heat generated from the heater 210.

The second sensor 402 may include a gas sensor sensitive to a specific gas, and the second sensor 402 may sense a specific gas component of the aerosol existing in the accommodating space 200i of the heater assembly 200.

The gas sensor according to the embodiment may be a semiconductor gas sensor. The gas sensor is an N-type semiconductor gas sensor, and in particular, the gas sensor is a tin oxide gas sensor. The N-type semiconductor sensor reduces the resistance of the N-type semiconductor sensor in the presence of a reducing gas such as carbon monoxide (CO) or ammonia. In addition, the N-type semiconductor sensor increases the resistance of the N-type semiconductor sensor in the presence of an oxidizing gas such as oxygen, nitric Oxide (NO), or nitrogen dioxide (NO 2). P-type semiconductor gas sensors may also be used. The P-type semiconductor gas sensor operates in an opposite manner to the N-type semiconductor gas sensor, and thus, the P-type semiconductor gas sensor increases the resistance of the P-type semiconductor gas sensor in the presence of the reducing gas, and the P-type semiconductor gas sensor decreases the resistance of the P-type semiconductor gas sensor in the presence of the oxidizing gas. The second sensor 402 may sense the concentration of a specific gas by analyzing the degree of decrease in resistance.

The gas sensor according to an embodiment may be an optical gas sensor. The optical gas sensor may include: a light emitting device that emits light; a light receiving device that receives light; and an optical waveguide located between the light emitting device and the light receiving device to provide a path through which light travels. The light emitting device may emit infrared rays. The light receiving device may receive infrared rays. Light emitted from the light emitting device may travel through the light guide and reach the light receiving device. Gaseous materials have the property of strongly absorbing light of a specific wavelength for each material. The gas present in the optical waveguide strongly absorbs light having a specific wavelength for each material, and thus, the light absorption spectrum sensed by the light receiving device varies according to the type of gas present in the optical waveguide. The gas sensor may sense the concentration of a specific gas by analyzing the light absorption spectrum sensed by the light receiving device. In an embodiment, the heater assembly 200 may form one surface of an optical waveguide. In detail, the base 212 constituting the heater assembly 200 may be formed of metal, and one surface of the optical waveguide may be formed to provide a path through which light emitted from the light emitting device travels.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing a process of moving air in the aerosol-generating device 10 shown in fig. 3 according to a user's sucking action. The aerosol-generating device 10 shown in fig. 4 may be substantially identical or similar to the aerosol-generating device 10 of fig. 3, and the same description of the aerosol-generating device 10 shown in fig. 4 will be omitted below.

Referring to fig. 1 and 4, the aerosol-generating device 10 according to the embodiment may detect a pressure change or a temperature change of the air flow channel 300 via the first sensor 401, and may detect a pumping action of a user based on the detected pressure change or temperature change of the air flow channel 300.

When a user contacts the aerosol-generating article 20 with the mouth and performs a sucking action, a pressure difference is generated between the outside of the aerosol-generating device 10 and the inner space of the housing 100, and thus, outside air may flow into the housing 100 through the air inlet 300 i. The external air introduced into the housing 100 may travel along the air flow passage 300 and reach the air outlet 300e, and the external air reaching the air outlet 300e may flow into the accommodating space 200i of the heater assembly 200 through the air outlet 300 e.

Here, the external air introduced into the accommodating space 200i may be mixed with the vaporized particles generated when the aerosol-generating article 20 is heated, and thus an aerosol may be generated, and the user may inhale the aerosol generated in the accommodating space 200i through a suction action. The second sensor 402 may sense a specific gas of the aerosol existing in the accommodating space 200 i.

Referring to fig. 1 to 5, the controller 410 may determine a temperature profile for the heater 210. The temperature profile for the heater 210 refers to a series of information recorded over time regarding a method of controlling the temperature of the heater 210. The controller 410 reads at least one temperature profile from among a plurality of temperature profiles stored in a memory (not shown), and then controls power supplied to the heater 210 according to the read temperature profile. When the power supplied to the heater 210 is properly controlled, the flavor of the generated aerosol may vary according to a temperature profile of the heating applied to the heater 210. For example, a user may experience a soft or mellow smoking sensation according to a temperature profile when smoking using the aerosol-generating device.

The user may insert various types of aerosol-generating articles 20 into the aerosol-generating device. The aerosol-generating device according to the embodiment may identify the aerosol-generating article 20 inserted into the aerosol-generating device and may control the operation of the heater 210 by determining an optimal temperature profile based on the identification.

Different aerosol-generating articles 20 may comprise different aerosol-generating substances. In addition, different aerosol-generating articles 20 may have different composition ratios of the aerosol-generating substance. The aerosol-generating article 20 may comprise different flavour components for respective types.

The controller 410 may identify the aerosol-generating article 20 inserted into the aerosol-generating device by using a look-up table stored in a memory. The look-up table includes data indicative of one or more concentrations, and each concentration value is associated with data for identifying the aerosol-generating article 20. Further, the lookup table may include data indicative of one or more concentrations, and each concentration value may be associated with a temperature profile. In detail, the lookup table stored in the memory may include information about the accumulated gas concentration expected value to be described below. The temperature profile may include a plurality of time periods. For example, the temperature profile may include a warm-up period and a smoking period.

In operation S510, the second sensor 402 of the aerosol-generating device senses a concentration of gas within the aerosol-generating device. In detail, the second sensor 402 may sense a specific gas component of the aerosol existing in the accommodating space 200i of the heater assembly 200.

In operation S520, the controller 410 of the aerosol-generating device may accumulate the sensed gas concentration for a first period of time based on the sensed value received from the second sensor 402. The first period may be a period before the end of the warm-up period. In other words, in operation S520, the controller 410 may calculate the accumulated value of the specific gas component of the aerosol generated by the aerosol-generating article 20 inserted into the aerosol-generating device in a certain period before the end of the warm-up period.

In operation S530, the controller 410 of the aerosol-generating device may identify the aerosol-generating article 20 inserted into the aerosol-generating device by comparing the accumulated gas concentration with a look-up table stored in a memory. In addition, the controller 410 may determine any one temperature profile from among a plurality of temperature profiles stored in the memory by comparing the accumulated gas concentration with a lookup table stored in the memory. Accordingly, the controller 410 may control the operation of the heater by determining an optimal temperature profile for the identified aerosol-generating article 20.

In fig. 6 and 7, the horizontal axis indicates a time axis, the left vertical axis indicates temperature, and the right vertical axis indicates accumulated gas concentration.

Curves 610 and 710 are curves indicating the heating temperature of the heater, curves 620 and 720 indicate cumulative gas concentration expected values, and curves 630 and 730 indicate cumulative gas concentration sensed values.

The temperature profile may include a plurality of time periods. For example, the temperature profile may be divided into a warm-up period and a smoking period, the period before t1 indicating the warm-up period, and the period after t1 indicating the smoking period.

In the warm-up period, the temperature of the heater may be increased from the room temperature to a target temperature Tg1, the target temperature Tg1 being a temperature at which the aerosol-generating substance is easily vaporized. In the warm-up period, the temperature of the heater may be lowered by a certain range after reaching the target temperature Tg 1.

During the smoking period, a sufficient amount of aerosol-generating substance may be vaporized from the aerosol-generating article 20 to provide a rich smoking experience to the user. The temperature of the heater may be reduced stepwise during the smoking period. For example, the smoking period may include a holding period in which the temperature of the heater is maintained for a certain time, and a lowering period in which the temperature of the heater is lowered for a certain range. In the smoking period, the temperature of the heater may be gradually or stepwise reduced according to a combination of the holding period and the reducing period.

As described above, in the aerosol-generating device according to the embodiment, the controller 410 controls the operation of the heater by identifying the aerosol-generating article 20 inserted into the aerosol-generating device and determining an optimal temperature profile.

The temperature profile may be designed based on the concentration of a particular gas of the aerosol. The flavor of an aerosol or the smoking experience of an aerosol may be determined based on the concentration of a particular gas of the aerosol. The concentration of the particular gas of the aerosol may be determined from the heating state of the aerosol-generating article 20. The concentration of a particular gas that can deliver the optimal flavour or smoking sensation to the user can be experimentally derived and an optimal temperature profile can be designed that reflects the heating state of the aerosol-generating article that is capable of achieving the concentration of the particular gas.

However, even when the temperature of the heater is precisely controlled according to a temperature profile, the heating state of the aerosol-generating article 20 may vary according to the humidity of the aerosol-generating article 20 and humidity and temperature conditions outside the aerosol-generating device, and thus, the concentration of the specific gas of the actually generated aerosol may be different from the concentration of the specific gas under experimental conditions.

In fig. 6 and 7, curves 620 and 720 indicate cumulative gas concentration values (hereinafter, cumulative gas concentration expected values) that occur under experimental conditions when temperature curves are designed. In other words, the temperature curves shown for curves 610 and 710 may be temperature curves designed based on the cumulative expected values of the gas concentration of curves 620 and 720, and the temperature curves shown for curves 610 and 710 may provide the user with the best smoking experience when the heating state of the aerosol-generating article 20 matches curve 620. Each of the plurality of temperature profiles stored in the memory includes information related to the accumulated expected value of gas concentration. The curves 630 and 730 indicate cumulative gas concentration values (hereinafter, cumulative gas concentration sensing values) calculated by accumulating values sensed by the second sensor 402 in an actual smoking environment.

Fig. 6 shows: at time point t1, the accumulated gas concentration sensing value is higher than the accumulated gas concentration expected value. The above-described differences may occur when the humidity of the aerosol-generating article 20 is low or the external temperature of the aerosol-generating device is high, compared to experimental conditions when designing the temperature profile.

The heating state of the aerosol-generating article 20 needs to be matched to the curve 620 to provide the user with an optimal smoking experience and, therefore, fine tuning of the temperature curve is required.

The controller 410 may fine tune the determined temperature profile based on the difference between the accumulated gas concentration sensing value of the profile 630 and the accumulated gas concentration expected value of the profile 620. In detail, as shown in fig. 6, when the accumulated gas concentration sensing value is higher than the accumulated gas concentration expected value, i.e., when the difference between the accumulated gas concentration sensing value of the curve 630 and the accumulated gas concentration expected value of the curve 620 is a positive number, the controller 410 needs to further reduce the degree of heating of the aerosol-generating article 20.

As an embodiment of a method of further reducing the degree of heating of the aerosol-generating article 20, the controller 410 may adjust the target temperature in the second period (t 1 to t 2) after the first period to be lower than the preset target temperature Tg 2. Alternatively, the controller 410 may adjust the second period after the first period to be shorter than the preset period by adjusting the time point t2 to be advanced. Alternatively, the target temperature in the second period after the first period may be lowered more than the preset target temperature Tg2, and the second period may be adjusted to be shorter than the preset period.

By fine tuning the temperature profile as described above, the difference between the cumulative gas concentration sensing value of the profile 630 and the cumulative gas concentration expected value of the profile 620 may be gradually reduced and the user may be provided with an optimal smoking experience.

In an embodiment different from the embodiment of fig. 6, fig. 7 shows: at time point t1, the accumulated gas concentration sensing value is lower than the accumulated gas concentration expected value. The above-mentioned difference may occur when the humidity of the aerosol-generating article 20 is high or the external temperature of the aerosol-generating device is low, compared to experimental conditions when designing the temperature profile.

Similar to the illustration in fig. 6, the curve 710 indicating the heated state of the aerosol-generating article 20 needs to match the curve 720 to provide the user with an optimal smoking experience, and therefore, a fine tuning of the temperature curve is required.

The controller 410 may fine tune the determined temperature profile based on the difference between the accumulated gas concentration sensing value of the profile 730 and the accumulated gas concentration expected value of the profile 720. In detail, as shown in fig. 7, when the accumulated gas concentration sensing value is lower than the accumulated gas concentration expected value, i.e., when the difference between the accumulated gas concentration sensing value of the curve 730 and the accumulated gas concentration expected value of the curve 720 is negative, the controller 410 needs to further increase the degree of heating of the aerosol-generating article 20.

As an embodiment of a method of further increasing the degree of heating of the aerosol-generating article 20, the controller 410 may adjust the target temperature in the second period (t 1 to t 2) after the first period to be higher than the preset target temperature Tg 2. Alternatively, the controller 410 may adjust the second period after the first period to be longer than the preset period by adjusting the time point t2 to be a delay. Alternatively, the target temperature in the second period after the first period may be adjusted to be higher than the preset target temperature Tg2, and the second period may be adjusted to be longer than the preset period.

By fine tuning the temperature profile as described above, the difference between the cumulative gas concentration sensing value of the profile 730 and the cumulative gas concentration expected value of the profile 720 may be gradually reduced and the user may be provided with an optimal smoking experience.

In operation S810, the controller 410 of the aerosol-generating device may accumulate the sensed gas concentration for a first period of time based on the sensed value received from the second sensor 402. The first period may be a period immediately before the end of the warm-up period. In other words, in operation S520, the accumulated value of the specific gas component of the aerosol generated by the aerosol-generating article 20 inserted into the aerosol-generating device may be calculated in a certain period before the end of the warm-up period.

In operations S820 and S830, the controller 410 of the aerosol-generating device compares the accumulated gas concentration (accumulated gas concentration sensing value in fig. 6 and 7) with the accumulated gas concentration expected value stored in the memory. As a result of the comparison, when the accumulated gas concentration sensing value and the accumulated gas concentration expected value are different from each other, that is, when there is a difference between the accumulated gas concentration sensing value and the accumulated gas concentration expected value, the controller 410 fine-adjusts the temperature profile based on the difference between the accumulated gas concentration sensing value and the accumulated gas concentration expected value in operation S840.

The method of fine tuning the temperature profile is the same as described with reference to fig. 6 and 7 and will therefore be omitted.

Fig. 9 is a block diagram of an aerosol-generating device 900 according to another embodiment.

The aerosol-generating device 900 may comprise a controller 910, a sensing unit 920, an output unit 930, a battery 940, a heater 950, a user input unit 960, a memory 970 and a communication unit 980. However, the internal structure of the aerosol-generating device 900 is not limited to that shown in fig. 9. In other words, depending on the design of the aerosol-generating device 900, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that some of the components shown in fig. 9 may be omitted or new components may be added.

The sensing unit 920 may sense a state of the aerosol-generating device 900 and a state around the aerosol-generating device 900 and transmit the sensed information to the controller 910. Based on the sensed information, the controller 910 may control the aerosol-generating device 900 to perform various functions, such as controlling operation of the heater 950, restricting smoking, determining whether an aerosol-generating article (e.g., cigarette, cartridge, etc.) is inserted, displaying a notification, etc.

The sensing unit 920 may include at least one of a temperature sensor 922, an insertion detection sensor 924, a suction sensor 926, and a gas sensor 928, but is not limited thereto.

The temperature sensor 922 may sense the temperature at which the heater 950 (or aerosol-generating substance) is heated. The aerosol-generating device 900 may comprise a separate temperature sensor for sensing the temperature of the heater 950, or the heater 950 may serve as the temperature sensor. Alternatively, a temperature sensor 922 may also be disposed around the battery 940 to monitor the temperature of the battery 940.

The insertion detection sensor 924 may sense insertion and/or removal of the aerosol-generating article. For example, the insertion detection sensor 924 may include at least one of a film sensor, a pressure sensor, an optical sensor, a resistive sensor, a capacitive sensor, an inductive sensor, and an infrared sensor, and the insertion detection sensor 924 may sense a signal change according to insertion and/or removal of the aerosol-generating article.

Suction sensor 926 may sense the user's suction based on various physical changes in the airflow channel or path. For example, the puff sensor 926 may sense a user's puff based on any one of a temperature change, a flow change, a voltage change, and a pressure change.

The gas sensor 928 may sense the concentration of a particular gas of an aerosol present in the aerosol-generating device 900. The gas sensor 928 may be a semiconductor gas sensor or an optical gas sensor.

The sensing unit 920 may include at least one of a temperature/humidity sensor, an atmospheric pressure sensor, a magnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, a position sensor (e.g., global Positioning System (GPS)), a proximity sensor, and a red, green, and blue (RGB) sensor (illuminance sensor), in addition to the above-described temperature sensor 922, insertion detection sensor 924, suction sensor 926, and gas sensor 928. Since the function of each sensor can be intuitively inferred from the names of the sensors by those of ordinary skill in the art, detailed descriptions of the sensors may be omitted.

The output unit 930 may output information about the state of the aerosol-generating device 900 and provide the information to a user. The output unit 930 may include at least one of a display unit 932, a haptic unit 934, and a sound output unit 936, but is not limited thereto. When the display unit 932 and the touch panel are layered to form a touch screen, the display unit 932 may also function as an input device in addition to an output device.

The display unit 932 may visually provide information to the user about the aerosol-generating device 900. For example, the information about the aerosol-generating device 900 may refer to various information such as a charge/discharge state of the battery 940 of the aerosol-generating device 900, a warm-up state of the heater 950, an insertion/removal state of the aerosol-generating article, or a state in which the use of the aerosol-generating device 900 is limited (e.g., an abnormal object is sensed), etc., and the display unit 932 may output the information to the outside. The display unit 932 may be, for example, a liquid crystal display panel (LCD), an Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display panel, or the like. In addition, the display unit 932 may be in the form of a Light Emitting Diode (LED) light emitting device.

The haptic unit 934 may provide information about the aerosol-generating device 900 to the user in a haptic manner by converting an electrical signal into a mechanical or electrical stimulus. For example, haptic unit 934 may include a motor, a piezoelectric element, or an electro-stimulation device.

The sound output unit 936 may audibly provide information to the user regarding the aerosol-generating device 900. For example, the sound output unit 936 may convert an electrical signal into a sound signal and output the sound signal to the outside.

The battery 940 may supply electrical power for operation of the aerosol-generating device 900. The battery 940 may supply power so that the heater 950 may be heated. In addition, the battery 940 may supply power required for operation of other components in the aerosol-generating device 900 (e.g., the sensing unit 920, the output unit 930, the user input unit 960, the memory 970, and the communication unit 980). The battery 940 may be a rechargeable battery or a disposable battery. For example, the battery 940 may be a lithium polymer (LiPoly) battery, but is not limited thereto.

The heater 950 may receive power from the battery 940 to heat the aerosol-generating substance. Although not shown in fig. 9, the aerosol-generating device 900 may further include a power conversion circuit (e.g., a Direct Current (DC)/DC converter) that converts power of the battery 940 and supplies the converted power to the heater 950. Further, when the aerosol-generating device 900 generates an aerosol in an induction heating method, the aerosol-generating device 900 may further comprise a DC/Alternating Current (AC) that converts DC power of the battery 940 into AC power.

The controller 910, the sensing unit 920, the output unit 930, the user input unit 960, the memory 970, and the communication unit 980 may all receive power from the battery 940 to perform functions. Although not shown in fig. 9, the aerosol-generating device 900 may further include a power conversion circuit that converts power of the battery 940 to supply power to the respective components, such as a Low Dropout (LDO) circuit or a voltage regulation circuit.

In embodiments, the heater 950 may be formed of any suitable resistive material. For example, suitable resistive materials may be metals or metal alloys including, but not limited to, titanium, zirconium, tantalum, platinum, nickel, cobalt, chromium, hafnium, niobium, molybdenum, tungsten, tin, gallium, manganese, iron, copper, stainless steel, nichrome, and the like. In addition, the heater 950 may be implemented by a metal wire, a metal plate on which conductive traces are arranged, a ceramic heating element, or the like, but is not limited thereto.

In another embodiment, the heater 950 may be an induction heating type heater. For example, the heater 950 may include a base that heats the aerosol-generating substance by generating heat by means of a magnetic field applied by a coil.

The user input unit 960 may receive information input from a user or may output information to a user. For example, the user input unit 960 may include a keypad, a dome switch, a touch pad (e.g., a contact capacitive method, a piezoresistive film method, an infrared sensing method, a surface ultrasonic conduction method, an integral tension measuring method, a piezoelectric effect method, etc.), a wheel switch, etc., but is not limited thereto. In addition, although not shown in fig. 9, the aerosol-generating device 900 may further include a connection interface, such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, and the aerosol-generating device 900 may be connected to other external devices through the connection interface, such as a USB interface, to transmit and receive information or charge the battery 940.

The memory 970 is a hardware component that stores various types of data processed in the aerosol-generating device 900, and may store data processed by the controller 910 and data to be processed. The memory 970 may include at least one storage medium of a flash memory type memory, a hard disk type memory, a multimedia card micro memory, a card type memory (e.g., a Secure Digital (SD) or extreme digital (XD) memory, etc.), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), a Read Only Memory (ROM), an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), a Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM), a magnetic memory, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk. The memory 970 may store operating time, maximum number of puffs, current number of puffs, at least one temperature profile, data regarding a user's smoking pattern, etc. of the aerosol-generating device 900.

In an embodiment, memory 970 may store a lookup table. The look-up table includes data indicative of one or more concentrations, and each concentration value is associated with data for identifying the aerosol-generating article. Additionally, the lookup table may include data indicative of one or more concentrations, and each concentration value may be associated with a temperature profile. The look-up table may include information regarding the accumulated expected gas concentration values.

The communication unit 980 may include at least one component for communicating with another electronic device. For example, the communication unit 980 may include a short-range wireless communication unit 982 and a wireless communication unit 984.

The short-range wireless communication unit 982 may include, but is not limited to, a bluetooth communication unit, a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication unit, a near field communication unit, a Wireless LAN (WLAN) (Wi-Fi) communication unit, a Zigbee communication unit, an infrared data protocol (IrDA) communication unit, a Wi-Fi direct (WFD) communication unit, an Ultra Wideband (UWB) communication unit, an ant+ communication unit, and the like.

The wireless communication unit 984 may include, but is not limited to, a cellular network communication unit, an internet communication unit, a computer network (e.g., a Local Area Network (LAN) or Wide Area Network (WAN)) communication unit, and the like. The wireless communication unit 984 may also identify and authenticate the aerosol-generating device 900 within the communication network by using subscription user information, such as an international mobile subscription user identifier (IMSI).

The controller 910 may control the overall operation of the aerosol-generating device 900. In an embodiment, the controller 910 may include at least one processor. A processor may be implemented as an array of multiple logic gates, or as a combination of a general purpose microprocessor and a memory storing a program executable by the microprocessor. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that a processor may be implemented in other forms of hardware.

The controller 910 may control the temperature of the heater 950 by controlling the supply of power from the battery 940 to the heater 950. For example, the controller 910 may control the power supply by controlling the switching of the switching element between the battery 940 and the heater 950. In another example, the direct heating circuit may also control the supply of power to the heater 950 according to a control command of the controller 910.

The controller 910 may analyze the result sensed by the sensing unit 920 and control a subsequent process to be performed. For example, the controller 910 may control the power supplied to the heater 950 to start or end the operation of the heater 950 based on the result sensed by the sensing unit 920. In another example, the controller 910 may control the amount of power supplied to the heater 950 and the time of power supply based on the result sensed by the sensing unit 920 so that the heater 950 may be heated to a specific temperature or maintained at an appropriate temperature.

The controller 910 may control the output unit 930 based on the result sensed by the sensing unit 920. For example, when the number of puffs counted by the puff sensor 926 reaches a preset number, the controller 910 may inform the user that the aerosol-generating device 900 is about to terminate through at least one of the display unit 932, the haptic unit 934, and the sound output unit 936.

In an embodiment, the controller 910 may control the power supply time and/or the power supply with respect to the heater 950 according to the status of the aerosol-generating article (e.g., the aerosol-generating article 20 of fig. 1) sensed by the sensing unit 920. For example, when the aerosol-generating article 20 is too wet, the controller 910 may increase the warm-up time compared to when the aerosol-generating article 20 is in a normal state by controlling the power supply time with respect to the induction coil (e.g., the induction coil 211 of fig. 3).

In an embodiment, the controller 910 may accumulate the sensed gas concentration for a first period of time based on the sensed value received from the gas sensor 928. The controller 910 may identify an aerosol-generating article inserted into the aerosol-generating device 900 by comparing the accumulated gas concentration to a look-up table stored in memory. In addition, the controller 910 may determine any one temperature profile from among a plurality of temperature profiles stored in the memory by comparing the accumulated gas concentration with a lookup table stored in the memory.

In an embodiment, the controller 910 may adjust the determined temperature profile based on the sensed values of the gas sensor 928. In detail, the controller 910 may adjust the determined temperature profile in proportion to a difference between the accumulated gas concentration value and a preset accumulated gas concentration expected value.

One embodiment may also be implemented in the form of a computer-readable recording medium including instructions executable by a computer, such as program modules, being able to be executed by the computer. Computer readable recording media can be any available media that can be accessed by the computer and includes volatile media, nonvolatile media, removable media, and non-removable media. Further, the computer-readable recording medium may include both a computer storage medium and a communication medium. Computer storage media includes all of the volatile, nonvolatile, removable, and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. Communication media typically embodies computer readable instructions, data structures, other data in a modulated data signal such as a program module or other transport mechanism and includes any information delivery media.

The above description of the embodiments is merely an example, and it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various modifications and equivalents of the above embodiments may be made. The scope of the disclosure should, therefore, be defined by the appended claims, and all differences within the scope equivalent to the scope described in the claims will be construed as being included in the protection scope defined by the claims.

Claims

1. An aerosol-generating device, the aerosol-generating device comprising:

a heater configured to heat an aerosol-generating article;

a gas sensor configured to sense a concentration of a specific gas; and

a controller configured to control the supply of electric power to the heater,

wherein the controller is configured to determine any one of a plurality of temperature profiles based on the sensed value of the gas sensor.

2. An aerosol-generating device according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to: accumulating the concentration of the specific gas sensed by the gas sensor for a first period of time; and determining any one of the plurality of temperature profiles based on the value of the accumulated concentration of the specific gas.

3. An aerosol-generating device according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to adjust the determined temperature profile based on sensed values of the gas sensor.

4. An aerosol-generating device according to claim 3, wherein the controller is configured to: accumulating the concentration of the specific gas sensed by the gas sensor for a first period of time; and adjusting the determined temperature profile based on a difference between the value of the accumulated concentration of the specific gas and a preset expected value of the accumulated gas concentration.

5. An aerosol-generating device according to claim 4, wherein the controller is configured to: when the difference is a positive number, the target temperature in a second period after the first period is adjusted to be lower than a preset target temperature in proportion to the difference.

6. An aerosol-generating device according to claim 4, wherein the controller is configured to: and when the difference is a positive number, adjusting a second period after the first period to be shorter than a preset period.

7. An aerosol-generating device according to claim 4, wherein the controller is configured to: when the difference is negative, the target temperature in a second period after the first period is adjusted to be higher than a preset target temperature in proportion to the difference.

8. An aerosol-generating device according to claim 4, wherein the controller is configured to: and when the difference is negative, adjusting a second period after the first period to be longer than a preset period.

9. An aerosol-generating device according to claim 1, wherein the gas sensor comprises:

a light emitting device configured to emit light;

A light receiving device configured to receive the light; and

an optical waveguide located between the light emitting device and the light receiving device, and configured to allow the light to travel through the optical waveguide and to allow the specific gas to be injected into the optical waveguide.

10. An aerosol-generating device according to claim 9, wherein the heater comprises:

a coil configured to generate an alternating magnetic field; and

a susceptor configured to heat an aerosol-generating article inserted into a receiving space by generating heat by means of the alternating magnetic field generated by the coil, wherein the susceptor is configured to form one surface of the optical waveguide.

11. A method of controlling operation of an aerosol-generating device, the method comprising:

initiating a heating operation of a heater configured to heat the aerosol-generating article;

sensing a concentration of a specific gas of the aerosol-generating device; and

any one of a plurality of temperature profiles is determined based on the sensed values.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising: accumulating the concentration of the specific gas for a first period of time; and adjusting the determined temperature profile based on a difference between the value of the accumulated concentration of the specific gas and a preset expected value of the accumulated gas concentration.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein when the difference is a positive number, a target temperature in a second period after the first period is adjusted to be lower than a preset target temperature in proportion to the difference.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein a second period of time after the first period of time is adjusted to be shorter than a preset period of time when the difference is positive.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein when the difference is negative, the target temperature of the second period after the first period is adjusted to be higher than a preset target temperature in proportion to the difference.