CN118076257A - Aerosol generating device - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for an aerosol-generating device, wherein the device comprises a heating device for heating an aerosol substrate, a power supply, a first switching element for controlling the supply of power from the power supply to the heating device, and a second switching element for decoupling the heating device from the power supply, wherein the heating device, the first switching element and the second switching element are arranged in series between terminals of the power supply. The method includes detecting a fault in the device by: controlling one of the first switching element and the second switching element to be on and the other of the first switching element and the second switching element to be off during a first period; and determining whether at least one observable event occurs during the first period of time, the at least one observable event indicating that an amount of power is being delivered to the heating device. If it is determined that the at least one observable event occurred during the first period of time, a fault is detected in the other one of the first switching element and the second switching element. A computer program, a controller for an aerosol-generating device and an aerosol-generating device are disclosed.

Description

Aerosol generating device

Technical Field

Example aspects herein relate to generating aerosols from consumables, and in particular to a method for an aerosol-generating device, a computer program, a controller for an aerosol-generating device, and an aerosol-generating device.

Background

Devices for heating or warming an aerosolizable substance to produce an aerosol are known. For example, aerosol generating devices of known types, such as atomizers, vaporizers, electronic cigarettes (electronic cigarette), electronic cigarettes (e-cigarette), and simulated cigarettes (cigalike), etc., are used to heat aerosol-forming substances as devices in which the risk of conventional tobacco products is reduced or modified.

Common devices with reduced risk or modified risk are heated matrix aerosol generating devices or heated non-burning devices. Devices of this type produce aerosols or vapors by heating an aerosol substrate, typically comprising moist tobacco leaves or other suitable aerosolizable materials. Heating but not burning or burning the aerosol substrate releases an aerosol that includes the ingredients sought by the user but does not include toxic carcinogenic byproducts of combustion and burning.

Typically, the aerosolizable substance is provided in an aerosol matrix included in the consumable, and when the consumable is coupled to the device, the device can heat or warm the matrix to generate the aerosol.

Disclosure of Invention

In the aerosol-generating device, power is supplied from a power source in the aerosol-generating device to the heating device to heat the aerosolizable substance. The aerosol generating device controls the power supply using a first switching element arranged in series with the heating device between terminals of the power supply.

However, the switching element may malfunction, which may cause the heating device to uncontrollably heat. In order to improve safety, the second switching element is arranged in series with the first switching element and the heating device between the terminals of the power supply. Thus, if the failure causes the first switching element to fail to interrupt the current flow (e.g., if the first switching element fails because of being in a short-circuited state), the second switching element may be used to decouple the heating device from the power source and interrupt the power supply.

During normal use of the aerosol-generating device, the second switching element is controlled to allow the supply of electrical power. Thus, if the failure results in the second switching element not being controllable to interrupt the power supply (e.g. it fails due to being in a short-circuited state), the safety of the aerosol-generating device may be compromised, which increases the risk of damaging the aerosol-generating device and/or injuring the user of the aerosol-generating device. In addition, such a malfunction may not be detected, as it will not prevent the aerosol generating device from heating the aerosolizable substance.

Therefore, it is necessary to detect whether or not a malfunction occurs in the aerosol generating device, particularly in one of these switching elements, in order to improve safety.

According to a first example aspect disclosed herein, there is provided a method for an aerosol-generating device, wherein the device comprises a heating device for heating an aerosol substrate, a power source, a first switching element for controlling the supply of power from the power source to the heating device, and a second switching element for decoupling the heating device from the power source, wherein the heating device, the first switching element and the second switching element are arranged in series between terminals of the power source, the method comprising detecting a fault in the device by: controlling one of the first switching element and the second switching element to be on and the other of the first switching element and the second switching element to be off during a first period; and determining whether at least one observable event occurs during the first period of time, the at least one observable event indicating that an amount of power is being transferred to the heating device, wherein if it is determined that the at least one observable event occurs during the first period of time, a fault is detected in the other one of the first switching element and the second switching element.

Therefore, it is possible to detect whether or not a malfunction occurs in one of the switching elements, thereby avoiding deterioration of control of the power supply to the heating device.

Preferably, the detecting comprises: controlling the one of the first switching element and the second switching element to be off and controlling the other of the first switching element and the second switching element to be on during a second period different from the first period; and determining whether the at least one observable event occurred during the second period of time. In this case, if it is determined that the at least one observable event occurs during the second period of time, a fault is detected in the one of the first switching element and the second switching element.

Therefore, it is possible to detect whether or not a failure occurs in any one of these switching elements.

Preferably, the method comprises disabling the heating means when a fault is detected.

Preferably, the at least one observable event includes an increase in temperature of the heating device.

Preferably, the method comprises: measuring a temperature of the heating device prior to the first time period; and if the measured temperature is below a predetermined threshold, performing the detection.

Thus, at least one observable indicating that a certain amount of power is transferred to the heating device may be more easily detected.

Preferably, the at least one observable event includes detecting current flowing from the power source to the heating device.

Preferably, the method is performed upon detecting that the device is coupled to a power supply.

Preferably, the method is performed upon detection of the start of use of the device.

According to a second example aspect disclosed herein, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform a method according to the first example aspect described above.

According to a third example aspect disclosed herein, there is provided a controller for an aerosol-generating device, the controller being arranged, in use, to perform a method according to the first example aspect described above.

According to a fourth example aspect disclosed herein, there is provided an aerosol-generating device comprising a controller according to the third example aspect, a heating device for heating an aerosol substrate, a power supply, a first switching element for controlling the supply of power from the power supply to the heating device, and a second switching element for decoupling the heating device from the power supply, wherein the heating device, the first switching element and the second switching element are arranged in series between terminals of the power supply.

Drawings

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are intended to better understand the concept of the present invention but should not be considered as limiting the invention, in which:

fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of electrical components of an aerosol-generating device according to an example embodiment;

Fig. 2 shows an example of a method for an aerosol-generating device according to an example embodiment;

fig. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of electrical components of the aerosol-generating device according to the second example embodiment;

Fig. 4 shows an example of a method for an aerosol-generating device according to a second example embodiment;

Fig. 5 shows an example of a method for an aerosol-generating device according to an example embodiment.

Detailed Description

Although example embodiments will be described below, it will be evident that various modifications may be made to these example embodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention. The following description and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

In the following description and the annexed drawings, numerous details are set forth in order to provide an understanding of the various illustrative embodiments. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without these details.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of electrical components of an aerosol-generating device 10 according to an example embodiment.

In the example shown in fig. 1, the aerosol-generating device 10 includes a controller 100, a heating device 110, a first switching element 120, a second switching element 130, a power supply 140, and a charging device 150.

As will be explained in more detail below, the controller 100 is arranged to control the state of the first switching element 120 and the state of the second switching element 130 to control the supply of electrical power to the heating device 110.

The power supply 140 is arranged for supplying power to other components of the aerosol-generating device 10 including the controller 100 and the heating device 110.

In the example shown in fig. 1, the power supply 140 includes a battery 142 (e.g., a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery, a nickel metal hybrid battery, or a non-rechargeable battery) and a battery protection circuit 144. However, it will be appreciated that the battery protection circuit 144 may be omitted in some cases (e.g., where the battery does not require a protection circuit), or the power source 140 may instead be a connector that may be coupled to a power source external to the aerosol-generating device 10 (e.g., a mains power source, a DC 5V power source, etc.) and transfer power from an external source to the components of the aerosol-generating device 10.

The charging device 150 is for supplying power from a power source electrically coupled to the aerosol-generating device to recharge the battery 142. However, it will be appreciated that the charging device 150 may also be omitted in cases where the power source 140 does not include a rechargeable element (e.g., the battery 142 is not rechargeable or omitted).

In the example shown in fig. 1, the charging device 150 includes a connector 152 coupleable to an external power supply and a charging IC 154 for controlling the supply of power from the external power supply to the battery 142, optionally including a transformer for transforming the voltage/current characteristics of the power supplied by the external power supply.

The heating device 110 is arranged for receiving a consumable and for heating the consumable using power supplied from the power source 140 to generate an aerosol. The consumable may be any consumable that contains an aerosolizable substance (e.g., in an aerosol matrix) to produce an aerosol when heated, as the invention is not limited in this respect. As non-limiting examples, the consumable may be designed for single use (i.e., should be heated only once to produce an aerosol matrix) or multiple use, and the consumable may have various forms, designs, shapes, packages, types, flavors, and the like.

In some examples, the consumable may include an aerosol matrix comprising an aerosolizable substance. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the aerosol substrate may be any aerosol substrate used to generate an aerosol, as the invention is not limited in this respect. As non-limiting examples, the aerosol matrix may be provided in different kinds as a solid or paste type material in the form of shreds, pellets, powders, granules, bars or flakes, optionally in combination of these. Likewise, the aerosol matrix may comprise a fluid (e.g., a liquid or gel). The aerosol matrix may include tobacco, for example, in dry or cured form, with additional ingredients in some cases for flavoring or to create a smoother or otherwise more pleasing experience. Depending on the material contained in the aerosol matrix, the consumable may be defined as a tobacco rod, or the aerosol matrix may be defined as a flavor-releasing medium. In some examples, aerosol substrates such as tobacco may be treated with a vaporization agent. The vaporization agent may improve vapor generation from the aerosol matrix. For example, the vaporizing agent may include a polyol (e.g., glycerol) or a glycol (e.g., propylene glycol). In some cases, the aerosol matrix may be free of tobacco or even nicotine, but may contain naturally or artificially derived ingredients for flavoring, volatilizing, improving smoothness, and/or providing other pleasing effects. The aerosol substrate (e.g., tobacco) may comprise one or more humectants, such as glycol(s), for retaining moisture.

The heating device 110 includes a heater for converting electric power received from a power source into heat energy to heat the consumable and a temperature sensor for sensing the temperature of the heating device 110. The heater may be any type of heater, such as a conduction-based or convection-based heater (e.g., a combination of coil, and core), as the invention is not limited to a particular type of heater. The temperature sensed by the temperature sensor is obtained by the controller 100 as indicated by the arrow in fig. 1.

In some examples, the heating device 110 may include additional elements such as a converter (e.g., a boost circuit) for converting power received from the power source 140 into power suitable for heating the aerosol substrate.

The first switching element 120 and the second switching element 130 are arranged in series with the heating device 110 between terminals of the power supply 140. The heating device 110, the first switching element 120 and the second switching element 130 are considered to be connected in series between the terminals of the power supply 140, as they form part of the same current loop. In some cases, the current loop may include other elements, such as the battery protection circuit 144 shown in fig. 1.

In the example shown in fig. 1, the first switching element 120 and the second switching element 130 are MOSFETs.

The first switching element 120 and the second switching element 130 may each be a transistor, such as a Field Effect Transistor (FET) (e.g., si MOSFET, gaN MOSFET, siC MOSFET, etc.), a Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT), an Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT), a thyristor, or other known types of switching elements. The first switching element 120 and the second switching element 130 may be of the same type, or they may be of different types of switching elements.

Although fig. 1 shows the heating device 110, the first switching element 120, and the second switching element 130 arranged between terminals of the power supply in this order, the order shown in fig. 1 is merely exemplary and may vary. For example, the heating device 110 may be placed between the first switching element 120 and the second switching element 130, both the first switching element 120 and the second switching element 130 may be placed before the heating device 110 (i.e., closer to the terminal of the power supply labeled +a), the second switching element 130 may be placed before the first switching element 120, etc.

The controller 100 may include one or more processors (e.g., single/multi-core CPU(s), microprocessor(s), etc.), one or more working memories (e.g., random access memory, RAM, flash memory, etc.), and one or more non-volatile instruction stores (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically Erasable PROM (EEPROM), flash memory, etc.) that store computer-readable instructions in the instruction store(s) whereby the processor(s) execute the computer-readable instructions to control the states of the first switching element 120 and the second switching element 130. In other examples, the controller may be implemented partially or entirely as a hardware component such as an integrated circuit system (IC).

Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the controller 100 may include one or more units or modules to perform various operations.

In an example, the controller 100 may include a microcontroller MCU and a separate hardware monitoring circuit. In this example, the MCU is arranged to control the state of the first switching element 120 and the second switching element 130 to control the temperature of the heating device 110, and the hardware monitoring circuit is arranged to disable the first switching element 120 and/or the second switching element 130 if a fault is detected in the aerosol generating device 10.

In the example shown in fig. 1, the controller 100 is a microcontroller MCU.

As described above, the controller 100 is arranged to control the state of the first switching element 120 and the state of the second switching element 130 to control the supply of electric power to the heating device 110. Specifically, the controller 100 (or a signal generator included in or controlled by the controller 100) generates a control signal to turn the first switching element 120 on or off, as indicated by an arrow in fig. 1. In the present disclosure, a switching element is considered to be on when current is allowed to flow through the switching element, and is considered to be off when current is prevented from flowing through the switching element. Similarly, the controller 100 generates a control signal to turn the second switching element on or off, as indicated by the arrow in fig. 1.

In the example of fig. 1, the control signal generated by the controller 100 is applied to the gate of the first switching element 120 and the gate of the second switching element 130.

If either the first switching element 120 or the second switching element 130 is off (or both switching elements are off), the current loop is interrupted and no current can flow through the heating device 110. Accordingly, the controller 100 may control whether to supply power to the heating device 110 by controlling the states of the first and second switching elements 120 and 130.

A user desiring to generate an aerosol from a consumable may initiate heating of the consumable to obtain the aerosol, for example, by operating/manipulating an aerosol generating device or, for example, a button/switch provided on the aerosol generating device. This indicates the start of the aerosol generation link. Accordingly, the controller 100 controls the temperature of the heating device 110 to a desired temperature at which an aerosol is generated from the aerosolizable substance (e.g., by evaporation, sublimation, etc.). As a non-limiting example, the desired temperature may be a temperature in the range of 200-250 ℃.

In the example of fig. 1, the controller 100 generates a control signal to maintain the second switching element 130 in a conductive state, thereby enabling power to be supplied to the heating device 110. The controller 100 obtains the sensed temperature of the heating device 110 from the temperature sensor. The controller 100 implements a control loop (e.g., PID (proportional, integral, derivative), PI, or P control loop) using the sensed temperature and the desired temperature of the heating device 110 to generate a pulse width modulated PWM signal for controlling the state of the first switching element 120 and bringing (and maintaining) the heating device 110 to the desired temperature.

Further details of the control loop and the control of the first switching element 120, which are known to a person skilled in the art, are omitted for the sake of brevity. However, it should be understood that the controller is not limited to using a PID control loop and/or controlling the switching element with a PWM signal, but may use any other type of control loop or any other type of signal for controlling the switching element.

When the controller 100 determines that the heating device 110 should not be heated any more (e.g., at the end of an aerosol-generating session, such as when the user stops using the aerosol-generating device 10, the aerosolizable substance is depleted, etc.), the controller controls the first switching element 120 and the second switching element 130 to an off state, thereby allowing the heating device 110 to cool.

A method for detecting a malfunction in an aerosol generating device according to an exemplary embodiment will now be described.

Referring now to fig. 2, at step S102, the controller 100 generates a control signal to turn off the first switching element 120 and turn off the second switching element 130.

At step S104, the controller 100 obtains a first temperature value T1 of the heating device 110 from the temperature sensor.

At step S106, the controller 100 determines whether the first temperature value T1 is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold. The threshold may be set to a value that ensures that an increase in temperature may be detected within a particular time period (e.g., the first time period or the second time period described below). For example, the threshold may be set to 50 ℃ or 100 ℃.

If the first temperature value T1 is not equal to or lower than the threshold value (step S106: NO), the controller 100 returns to step S104 to retrieve the temperature value T1. Alternatively, the controller 100 may wait a predetermined amount of time before obtaining the temperature value T1 again to allow the temperature of the heating device 110 to decrease.

On the other hand, if the first temperature value T1 is equal to or lower than the threshold value (step S106: yes), the method proceeds to step S108.

Although the process of step S106 has been described with respect to an example in which the controller 100 determines whether the first temperature value T1 is equal to or lower than the threshold value, the controller 100 may alternatively be arranged to determine whether the first temperature value T1 is strictly lower than (i.e. not equal to) the threshold value.

At step S108, the controller 100 controls the first switching element 120 to be on and controls the second switching element 130 to be off during the first period.

In case there is a fault that keeps the second switching element 130 in an on state or in a short-circuit state in which the current through the switching element cannot be interrupted, electric power will be supplied to the heating device 110, and the temperature of the heating device 110 will rise during the first period.

In some cases, the length of the first period of time may be set to allow for an increase in the detected temperature, which may depend on the measured first temperature value T1, the characteristics of the heating device 110, the characteristics of the power supplied by the power supply, the temperature threshold, the characteristics of the temperature sensor, etc.

At step S110, the controller 100 waits for the first period of time to elapse. For example, the controller 100 may trigger a timer equal to the first period of time when the first switching element 120 is controlled to be on and the second switching element 130 is controlled to be off, and the controller 100 may wait for the timer to expire.

When the first period of time has elapsed, the controller proceeds to step S112.

At step S112, the controller 100 obtains a second temperature value T2 of the heating device 110 from the temperature sensor. Then, the controller 100 proceeds to step S114.

At step S114, the controller 100 determines whether the second temperature value T2 is higher than the first temperature value T1.

The second temperature value T2 being higher than the first temperature value T1 is an example of an observable event (temperature rise) that occurs during the first period of time and that indicates that a certain amount of power is being transferred to the heating device 110.

In some cases, the controller 100 may be arranged to determine whether the second temperature value T2 is higher than the first temperature value T1 by at least a predetermined amount. For example at least 3 ℃ higher or by an amount corresponding to at least 5% of the value T1. Therefore, when the temperature increases due to other factors (e.g., environmental factors, inaccuracy of the temperature sensor, etc.), the controller 100 may be less likely to erroneously determine that the second switching element 130 is turned on or shorted.

If the controller 100 determines that the second temperature value T2 is higher than the first temperature value T1 (step S114: yes), the controller 100 proceeds to step S116.

At step S116, the controller 100 detects a failure in the second switching element 130 that renders the second switching element conductive or in a short-circuited state, and proceeds to step S118.

At step S118, the controller 100 disables the heating device 110, and the process ends.

For example, the controller 100 may generate a signal for disconnecting the heating device 110 from the power source 140, or the controller 100 may cause the heating device 110 to be bypassed (e.g., through a shunt resistor in parallel with the heating device 110) such that no power is supplied to the heating device 110.

In some cases, the controller 100 may also generate a notification to the user to indicate a malfunction in the aerosol-generating device 10 and/or that the heating device 110 is disabled. For example, where the aerosol-generating device 10 includes a display screen, the controller 100 may cause the display screen to display a message informing a user of the aerosol-generating device that the consumable does not have the desired moisture content. However, it will be appreciated that other means of informing the user may be used instead of or in addition to the display of the message, such as tactile feedback, other visual feedback (e.g. via LEDs located on the aerosol-generating device 10), audio feedback.

If, at step S114, the controller 100 determines that the second temperature value T2 is not higher than the first temperature value T1 (step S114: NO), the controller 100 proceeds to step S120.

At step S120, the controller 100 controls the first switching element 120 to be turned off and controls the second switching element 130 to be turned on during the second period.

As explained above in connection with step S108, if there is a fault that keeps the first switching element 120 in the on state or in the short-circuited state, the temperature of the heating device 110 will rise during the second period.

As with the first period, in some cases, the second period may be set based on the second temperature value T2, the characteristics of the heating device 110, the characteristics of the power supplied by the power supply, the temperature threshold, and the like. The length of the second period of time may be the same as the length of the first period of time, but this is not required.

After step S120, the controller 100 proceeds to step S122.

At step S122, the controller 100 waits for the second period of time to elapse. The procedure at this step is the same as that described in step S110 for the first period. Then, the controller 100 proceeds to step S124.

At step S124, the controller 100 obtains a third temperature value T3 of the heating device 110 from the temperature sensor, and then proceeds to step S126.

At step S126, the controller 100 determines whether the third temperature value T3 is higher than the second temperature value T2.

As explained in connection with step S114, in some cases the controller 100 may be arranged to determine whether the third temperature value T3 is higher than the second temperature value T2 by at least a predetermined amount (which may be the same as the predetermined amount in step S114 or may be a different predetermined amount).

In some cases, instead of comparing the second temperature value T2 and the third temperature value T3, the controller 100 may instead determine whether the third temperature value T3 is greater than the first temperature value T1, because it has been determined (in step S114) that the second temperature value T2 is equal to (or at least not greater than) the first temperature value T1.

If the controller 100 determines that the third temperature value T3 is higher than the second temperature value T2 (step S126: yes), the controller 100 proceeds to step S128.

At step S128, the controller 100 determines that a temperature increase occurs during a second period of time, which is an example of an observable event that indicates that a certain amount of power is being transferred to the heating device 110. Accordingly, the controller 100 detects a fault in the first switching element 120, which causes the first switching element 120 to be turned on or in a short-circuited state. Then, the controller 100 proceeds to step S118.

On the other hand, if the controller 100 determines that the third temperature value T3 is not higher than the second temperature value T2 (step S126: no), the process ends, because this indicates that no fault has been detected that renders the first switching element 120 conductive or in a short-circuited state.

Accordingly, by performing the method of the exemplary embodiment, the controller 100 may detect whether a fault occurs in the first switching element 120 and/or the second switching element 130.

An example of an aerosol-generating device according to a second example embodiment will now be described.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of electrical components of the aerosol-generating device 10 according to a second example embodiment.

For brevity, descriptions of electrical components 110-150 will be omitted herein, as these components have been described in connection with fig. 2.

In the example shown in fig. 3, the aerosol-generating device 10 comprises a current measuring device 160 for measuring the current supplied to the heating device 110. The current measuring device 160 includes a shunt resistor 162 placed in series with the heating device 110. The current measuring device 160 further comprises a current measuring element 164 connected in parallel with the shunt resistor 162, the current measuring element 164 being arranged for detecting whether a current flows through the shunt resistor 162.

In the example shown in fig. 3, the controller 10 is arranged for obtaining a voltage value measured across the shunt resistor 162 by the current measuring element 164. Thus, if a non-zero voltage is measured across shunt resistor 162, controller 100 may detect that current is flowing through shunt resistor 162.

Since the shunt resistor 162 is connected in series with the heating device 110, if it is detected that a current flows through the shunt resistor 162, the controller 100 may determine that a certain amount of power is transferred to the heating device. Thus, the flow of current through shunt resistor 162 is an example of an observable event that indicates that an amount of power is being transferred from power source 140 to heating device 110.

A method for detecting a malfunction in an aerosol generating device according to a second exemplary embodiment will now be described with reference to fig. 4.

For brevity, descriptions of steps S108, S116, S118, S120, and S128 will be omitted herein, as these steps have been described in connection with fig. 2.

As shown in fig. 4, steps S102 to S106 are omitted, and the process starts from step S108. The controller controls the first switching element 120 to be on and the second switching element 130 to be off during the first period.

In the second example embodiment, there is no need to detect an increase in temperature, and therefore the first period of time may be set shorter than that in the first example embodiment. Thus, the method may be performed faster and/or using less energy.

After step S108, the controller proceeds to step S210, in which the controller 100 obtains a first voltage value V1 across the shunt resistor 162. Then, the controller 100 proceeds to step S212.

At step S212, the controller 100 determines whether the first voltage value V1 is equal to zero.

If the controller 100 determines that the first voltage value V1 is not equal to zero (step S212: no), the controller 100 determines that current is flowing through the shunt resistor 162, and thus power is supplied to the heating device 110. The controller thus proceeds to step S116 in which the controller detects a fault in the second switching element 130 that keeps the second switching element 130 on or in a short circuit.

On the other hand, if the controller 100 determines that the first voltage value V1 is equal to zero (step S212: yes), the controller proceeds to step S120.

In some cases, the controller 100 may be arranged for determining whether the first voltage value V1 has a magnitude (or absolute value) that is greater than a predetermined voltage value. Thus, if, for example, a non-zero voltage is inaccurately detected across shunt resistor 162, controller 100 may be less likely to erroneously detect a fault in second switching element 130.

For example, the controller 100 may be arranged for determining whether the first voltage value V1 is greater than 0.3V (or lower than-0.3V), but the voltage value is provided purely as a non-limiting example.

At step S120, the controller 100 controls the first switching element 120 to be turned off and controls the second switching element 130 to be turned on during the second period. As with the first period, the second period in the second example embodiment may be set shorter than the second period in the first example embodiment.

After step S120, the controller 100 proceeds to step S222, in which the controller 100 obtains a second voltage value V2 across the shunt resistor 162.

At step S224, the controller 100 determines whether the second voltage value V2 is equal to zero.

As explained in connection with step S212, in some cases, the controller 100 may be arranged to determine whether the second voltage value V2 has a magnitude that is greater than a predetermined voltage value (which may be the same as the predetermined voltage value in step S212 or may be a different predetermined voltage value), thereby reducing the risk of the controller 100 erroneously detecting a fault.

If the controller 100 determines that the second voltage value V2 is not equal to zero (S224: no), the controller 100 proceeds to step S128 in which the controller detects a fault in the first switching element 120.

If the controller 100 determines that the second voltage value V2 is equal to zero (S224: yes), the process ends, as this indicates that no fault is detected in the first switching element 120.

From the above description, it will be appreciated that certain example embodiments perform a method for an aerosol-generating device comprising a heating device for heating an aerosol substrate, a power source, a first switching element for controlling a supply of power from the power source to the heating device, and a second switching element for decoupling the heating device from the power source, wherein the heating device, the first switching element, and the second switching element are arranged in series between terminals of the power source.

Referring to fig. 5, the aerosol-generating device controls one of the first and second switching elements to be on and the other of the first and second switching elements to be off during a first period of time at step S502.

At step S504, the aerosol-generating device determines whether at least one observable event occurs during a first period of time, the at least one observable event indicating that an amount of power is being delivered to the heating device.

If it is determined that the at least one observable event occurred during the first period of time, at step S508, the aerosol-generating device detects a fault in the other one of the first and second switching elements.

Each of the methods described above with reference to fig. 2, 4, or 5 may be performed at different timing(s), such as when a predetermined event occurs.

As a first example, each of these methods may be performed upon detecting that the aerosol-generating device 10 is coupled to an external power supply (e.g., when the external power supply is coupled to the charging device 150). Thus, the method can be performed while reducing any influence on the user on the assumption that the aerosol-generating device 10 is coupled to an external power supply when not in use.

As a second example, each of these methods may be performed before the consumable is heated upon detecting that the consumable is inserted into the heating device 110 or upon starting to use the aerosol generating device (i.e., the aerosol generating session is started). In these cases, when the aerosol-generating device is unsafe (or less safe), the method may reduce the risk of the heating device being heated, thereby reducing the risk of failure when the element(s) of the device are hot, which may reduce the risk of injury and/or damage.

As a third example, each of these methods may be performed after the heating device 110 is turned off to cool at the end of the usage/aerosol generation session. Thus, the method may allow detecting a fault in one or both of the switching elements caused by a previous heating of the heating device 110. In addition, the predetermined event in the third example is unlikely to delay heating of the heating device 110 and the consumable, and thus will reduce the impact on the user-friendliness of the aerosol-generating device 10.

Modifications and variations

Many modifications and variations of the above-described exemplary embodiments are possible.

For example, some of the steps illustrated in fig. 2 or fig. 4 may be omitted.

Specifically, in the case where the method shown in fig. 2 is performed when it is known that the temperature of the heating device 110 is below the threshold value (for example, if the method is performed when a consumable is inserted, the aerosol-generating device is turned on, or the aerosol-generating device has not been used for at least a predetermined amount of time), steps S102 and S104 may be omitted.

In some cases, the first switching element 120 and/or the second switching element 130 may already be in a desired state, such that the term "controlling the switching element to be on" or off will mean that the controller 100 keeps the switching element in that state.

In the above description, the first switching element 120 is controlled using the PWM signal to regulate the temperature of the heating device 110, and the second switching element 130 is maintained in the on state to enable the supply of power to the heating device 110. However, it will be appreciated that the first switching element 120 and the second switching element 130 may be interchangeable and that the first switching element 120 may be maintained in an on state while the second switching element 130 is controlled using the PWM signal to regulate the temperature of the heating device 110.

The methods shown in fig. 2 and 4 both illustrate examples in which the first switching element 120 is turned on during a first period of time and turned off during a second period of time (and vice versa for the second switching element 130). However, the opposite case is also possible, wherein the controller 100 controls the first switching element 120 to be off and the second switching element 130 to be on during the first period (meaning that a fault in the first switching element 120 is to be detected in step S116), and controls the first switching element 120 to be on and the second switching element 130 to be off during the second period (meaning that a fault in the second switching element 130 is to be detected in step S128).

The methods shown in fig. 2 and 4 both illustrate such an example: if a fault is detected in either the first switching element 120 or the second switching element 130, the heating device 110 is disabled in step S118. However, if a fault is detected in one or both of these switching elements, the controller 100 may alternatively be arranged to allow use of the consumable and to inform the user of the fault to prompt the user to repair or replace the aerosol generating device 10.

In the method shown in fig. 2 and 4, detection of a fault in one of the switching elements (at step S116) will end the process without checking whether a fault has occurred in the other of the switching elements. Alternatively, the controller 100 may be arranged to proceed with the step of checking another one of the switching elements after step S116 or after step S118, i.e. steps S120 to S128 of fig. 2 or steps S120, S222, S224 and S128 of fig. 4.

Although a specific configuration of the aerosol-generating device 10 having the current measurement device 160 has been described above, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to this specific arrangement and that different configurations of the current measurement device 160 and/or different placements of the current measurement device 160 in the circuit shown in fig. 3 are possible. For example, a current measuring device (having the same or different configuration) may be placed between the first switching element 120 and the second switching element 130.

Of course, those skilled in the art will recognize that modifications other than those described above may be made.

In particular, it will be appreciated that the above-described example embodiments may be combined.

For example, the controller 100 may be arranged to perform steps S112 and S114 of fig. 2 and steps S210 and S212 of fig. 4 in parallel or sequentially. Accordingly, the controller 100 may be arranged to detect a failure of the second switching element 130 in step S116 based on the determination in step S114, the determination in step S212, or both. Similarly, the controller 100 may be arranged to perform steps S124 and S126 of fig. 2 and steps S222 and S224 of fig. 4 in parallel or sequentially, and detect a fault in step S128 based on the determination in step S126, the determination in step S224, or both.

Although in the above method the detection of the fault is based on a single comparison (e.g. based on a single comparison of the temperature at step S114 or step S126, or based on a single comparison of the measured voltage at step S212 or step S224), the controller may be arranged to perform a plurality of comparisons and to detect the fault only when the plurality of comparisons indicate that a fault has occurred in the switching element. For example, the controller 100 may obtain temperature values at a plurality of times during the first time period and/or during the second time period, and if the plurality of values indicate that the temperature continues to rise, the controller 100 may detect a fault. As another example, the controller 100 may obtain the value of the voltage across the shunt resistor 162 at a plurality of times during the first time period and/or during the second time period, and if the plurality of voltage values are not equal to zero, the controller 100 may detect a fault.

The software embodiments of the examples presented herein may be provided as a computer program or software, such as one or more programs having instructions or sequences of instructions, that are included or stored in an article of manufacture, such as a machine-accessible or machine-readable medium, instruction store, or computer-readable storage, each of which may be non-transitory in one example embodiment. The program or instructions on the non-transitory machine-accessible medium, machine-readable medium, instruction store, or computer-readable storage may be used to program a computer system or other electronic device. The techniques described herein are not limited to any software configuration. They may find applicability in any computing or processing environment. The terms "computer-readable", "machine-accessible medium", "machine-readable medium", "instruction storage" and "computer-readable storage device" as used herein shall include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding or transmitting instructions or sequences of instructions for execution by the machine, computer or computer processor and that cause the machine/computer processor to perform any one of the methods described herein. Moreover, it is common in the art to refer to software in one form or another (e.g., procedure, process, application, module, unit, logic, etc.) as taking an action or causing a result. Such expressions are merely a shorthand way of stating the execution of the software by a processing system cause the processor to perform an action of produce a result.

Some embodiments may also be implemented by the preparation of application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or by interconnecting an appropriate network of conventional component circuits.

Some embodiments include a computer program product. The computer program product may be one or more storage media, instruction storage(s), or storage device(s) having instructions stored thereon or therein that can be used to control or cause a computer or computer processor to perform any of the programs of the example embodiments described herein. The storage medium/instruction store/memory device may include, for example, but is not limited to, an optical disk, ROM, RAM, EPROM, EEPROM, DRAM, VRAM, flash memory card, magnetic card, optical card, nanosystem, molecular memory integrated circuit, RAID, remote data storage device/archival/warehousing, and/or any other type of device suitable for storing instructions and/or data.

Some implementations stored on any one of the one or more computer-readable media, instruction storage(s), or storage device(s) include hardware for controlling the aerosol-generating device and software for enabling the aerosol-generating device or microprocessor to operate in accordance with the example embodiments described herein. Such software may include, but is not limited to, device drivers, operating systems, and user applications. Finally, as noted above, such computer readable medium or storage device(s) further include software for performing example aspects of the present invention.

The programming and/or software of the aerosol-generating device includes software modules for implementing the procedures described herein. In some example embodiments herein, the modules include software, but in other example embodiments herein, the modules include hardware or a combination of hardware and software.

While various example embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example, and not limitation. It will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s) that various changes in form and detail may be made therein. Thus, the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.

Further, the purpose of the abstract is to enable the patent office and the general public, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is not intended to limit the scope of the example embodiments presented herein in any way. It should also be understood that any program set forth in the claims need not be executed in the order presented.

While this specification contains many specifics of particular embodiments, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular embodiments described herein. Certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Furthermore, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features of a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.

In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Furthermore, the separation of various components in the embodiments described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all embodiments.

Having now described a few illustrative embodiments and examples, it is evident that the foregoing is illustrative and not limiting, and has been presented by way of example. In particular, although many of the examples presented herein relate to a particular combination of device or software elements, these elements may be combined in other ways to achieve the same objectives. Acts, elements and features discussed only in connection with one embodiment are not intended to be excluded from other embodiments or similar roles in an embodiment.

The apparatus described herein may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its characteristics. The scope of the devices described herein is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

List of reference numerals

10: Aerosol generating device

100: Controller (e.g. MCU)

110: Heating device

120: First switching element (e.g. MOSFET)

130: Second switching element (e.g. MOSFET)

140: Power supply

142: Battery cell

144: Battery protection circuit

150: Charging device

152: Connector (e.g. USB connector)

154: Charging IC

160: Current measuring device

162: Shunt resistor

164: Current measuring element

Claims (12)

1. A method for an aerosol-generating device, wherein the device comprises a heating device for heating an aerosol substrate, a power supply, a first switching element for controlling the supply of power from the power supply to the heating device, and a second switching element for decoupling the heating device from the power supply, wherein the heating device, the first switching element and the second switching element are arranged in series between terminals of the power supply,

The method includes detecting a fault in the device by:

Controlling one of the first switching element and the second switching element to be on and the other of the first switching element and the second switching element to be off during a first period of time, and

Determining whether at least one observable event occurs during the first period of time, the at least one observable event indicating that an amount of power is being delivered to the heating device,

Wherein if it is determined that the at least one observable event occurred during the first period of time, a fault is detected in the other of the first switching element and the second switching element.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting comprises:

Controlling the one of the first switching element and the second switching element to be off and the other of the first switching element and the second switching element to be on during a second period different from the first period, and

Determining whether the at least one observable event occurred during the second period of time,

Wherein if it is determined that the at least one observable event occurred during the second period of time, a fault is detected in the one of the first switching element and the second switching element.

3. The method of claim 1 or claim 2, further comprising disabling the heating device upon detection of a fault.

4. The method of any one of claims 1-3, wherein the at least one observable event includes an increase in temperature of the heating device.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

Measuring the temperature of the heating device prior to the first period of time, and

If the measured temperature is below a predetermined threshold, the detection is performed.

6. The method of any one of claims 1-5, wherein the at least one observable event includes detecting current flowing from the power source to the heating device.

7. The method of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the method is performed upon detecting that the device is coupled to a power supply.

8. The method of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the method is performed upon detecting a decrease in temperature of the heating device, the decrease in temperature being indicative of end of use of the device.

9. The method of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the method is performed upon detection of the start of use of the device.

10. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. A controller for an aerosol-generating device, the controller being arranged to perform the method according to any of claims 1 to 9 in use.

12. An aerosol-generating device comprising:

the controller according to claim 11,

A heating device for heating the aerosol matrix,

The power supply is provided with a power supply,

A first switching element for controlling the supply of electric power from the power source to the heating device, and

And a second switching element for decoupling the heating device from the power supply, wherein the heating device, the first switching element and the second switching element are arranged in series between terminals of the power supply.