EA042586B1 - DEVICE FOR LOCATION OF CONSUMABLES GENERATING AEROSOL - Google Patents

Description

A system is described comprising a smartphone 2 and an electronic cigarette 4. The smartphone 2 includes a GPS receiver 26 that can determine location. Smartphone 2 can communicate via network 30 with a retailer information server 34 that stores information regarding retailers of aerosol generating supplies, including at least the location of retailers. Smartphone 2 is configured to determine multiple distances between a location associated with smartphone 2 and corresponding retailer locations. The smartphone 2 may display a map containing a pointer 36 for the user's location and symbols 38, 40 corresponding to the location of suitable retailers. This can help the user of the smartphone 2 locate aerosol-generating supplies retailers.

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for improving the ease with which a user can locate aerosol generating consumables for use in an aerosol generating device such as an electronic cigarette.

Electronic cigarettes and other aerosol generating devices are gaining popularity among consumers. Unlike conventionally consumed cigarettes, e-cigarettes are supposed to be refillable and reusable. Users need to periodically purchase consumables that generate aerosol. One goal in the art is to assist users in locating retailers who can provide suitable aerosol generating supplies.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a system is provided, comprising: a location module configured to determine a location associated with a user's electronic device; a data storage unit configured to store information regarding retailers of the aerosol generating consumables, said information including at least the location of the retailers; and a processor configured to determine a plurality of distances between a location associated with the user's electronic device and the respective retailer locations, and generate commands to display information related to at least one of the retailers if the at least one retailer trade is within a predefined location area associated with the user's electronic device.

Thus, information regarding retailers and their respective locations relative to the user can be displayed. The user may thus be assisted in locating an aerosol-generating consumables retailer. The displayed information preferably relates to the nearest retailer or retailers in relation to the location associated with the user's electronic device. In one embodiment, the predefined area may be increased if no retailers are found, or if the number of retailers is less than a predefined value. Thus, there may be a first predefined area and a second predefined area.

Preferably, the information stored regarding retailers includes whether the retailers have multiple types of aerosol generating consumable and the processor is preferably configured to determine the first type of consumable associated with the user's electronic device and select the retailers. , which have the first type of consumable. Thus, information about retailers can only be displayed if they have the first type of consumable. The first type consumable item associated with the consumer can be determined based on the information in the account associated with the consumer. Alternatively, the first type of consumable may be determined dynamically.

The system may include an aerosol generating device configured to communicate with a user's electronic device. The user's electronic device may, for example, be a mobile phone, tablet or personal computer. The guess about the user's location may be based on the location of the user's electronic device. The aerosol generating device may be connected to the user's electronic device using a connecting cable or a wireless protocol such as Bluetooth®.

The processor may be configured to determine the first type of consumable based on the properties of the aerosol generating device. The user's electronic device may have access to a local or remote database that records the type of consumable for the aerosol generating device based on its model or serial number. The properties of the aerosol generating device may be determined by the processor based on the features of the communication exchange.

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The processor may be configured to determine the first type of consumable based on data (e.g., the serial number of the aerosol generating device and/or the serial number of the consumable used by said device) transmitted between the user electronic device and the aerosol generating device. That is, if an attached aerosol generating device needs a particular type of consumable, this can be detected so that only suitable retailers are displayed on the display screen.

If the processor is able to detect multiple types of aerosol generating device, this can be detected and retailers can be displayed for all possible types of consumable.

The location module preferably includes a location sensor in the user's electronic device. For example, a location sensor may include a GNSS receiver in a user's electronic device that can be used to determine location. The location sensor may also determine location using cellular location, Wi-Fi, or dead reckoning techniques.

The system may include a user electronic device that may include a display screen for displaying information related to at least one retailer. The information displayed may include the location of the retailer and information about the available type of aerosol generating consumable.

The stored information regarding retailers may include inventory information of several types of aerosol generating consumable, and the processor may be configured to determine the first type of consumable associated with the user's electronic device and select retailers who have on-hand stock of the first type of consumable.

The system may include a display screen configured to display location information related to at least one retailer. Preferably, retailers are displayed on the map in conjunction with a location associated with the user's electronic device that matches the user's intended location.

A navigation module may be provided to generate navigation commands from a location associated with the user's electronic device to the location of at least one retailer, and the processor may be configured to generate commands to display the navigation commands. The navigation module may be provided on a server owned by a third party.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method is provided, including: determining a location associated with a user's electronic device; retrieving from the database information relating to retailers of aerosol generating supplies, the retrieved information including at least the location of the retailers; determining multiple distances between a location associated with the user's electronic device and corresponding retailer locations; and displaying information related to at least one of the retailers on a display screen of the user's electronic device if the at least one retailer is located within a predetermined location area associated with the user's electronic device. The method may implement any feature of the previous aspect.

The retrieved information regarding retailers preferably includes whether the retailers have multiple types of aerosol generating consumable, and the method preferably includes determining a first type of consumable associated with the user's electronic device and selecting retailers that have the first type of consumable.

The method preferably includes determining the first type of consumable based on data transmitted between the user's electronic device and the aerosol generating device.

The retrieved information preferably includes inventory information of several types of aerosol generating consumable. The method preferably includes determining a first type of consumable associated with the user's electronic device and selecting retailers who have the first type of consumable in stock.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a computer readable storage medium is provided having executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the steps of the method as defined in the previous aspect.

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The following describes, by way of example, embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings in which:

in fig. 1 is a schematic view of a smartphone in communication with an electronic cigarette and a communication network according to an embodiment of the present invention;

in fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating steps that can be performed according to an embodiment of the present invention;

in fig. 3 is a schematic view of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

in fig. 4 shows another schematic view of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention; and in FIG. 5 shows another schematic view of a smartphone in communication with a network and an electronic cigarette according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Before describing several embodiments of the system, it should be understood that the system is not limited to the design features or method steps set forth in the following description. Those skilled in the art having the right to use the present invention will appreciate that the system may have other embodiments and may be applied or performed in a variety of ways.

In the context of the present invention, the term aerosol generating device or electronic cigarette can include a smoking apparatus designed to deliver an aerosol to a user, including a smoking aerosol. An aerosol for smoking may refer to an aerosol with a particle size of 0.5 to 7 microns. The particle size may be less than 10 or 7 microns. The apparatus may be portable. The term portable may refer to an apparatus intended to be used by being held in the user's hand.

As used herein, the term processor or processing resource may refer to one or more processing units, including an ASIC, microcontroller, FPGA, microprocessor, digital signal processor (DSP) facility, state machine, or other suitable components. The processor may include a computer program such as computer readable instructions stored in memory and/or programmable logic.

In FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a smart phone 2 and an electronic cigarette 4. The electronic cigarette 4, which is an aerosol generating device, includes a battery 6 and a reservoir 8 for storing a vaporized liquid from which an aerosol is generated. The vaporized liquid in the reservoir 8 may be supplied to the atomizer 10 powered by the battery 6. The air inlets 12 are provided in the body of the electronic cigarette, and the airflow can be generated by inhalation by the user through the mouthpiece 14. The airflow can draw air into the air inlets 12 and through the atomizer 10 so that the user can inhale the air which contains the vaporized liquid from the tank 8.

The reservoir 8 may contain a sensor (not shown) to determine the amount of liquid being evaporated. Thus, the electronic cigarette 4 can generate an alert if the amount of liquid vaporized falls below a threshold value.

Alternative aerosol generating devices may be provided that are not based on a vaporizable liquid. In one example, an aerosol generating device may be provided with capsules containing conventional tobacco. These capsules can be heated without burning the tobacco to release vapors that may be entrained out of the capsule in the air stream.

These aerosol generating devices have in common that they require an aerosol generating consumable in use. Once used up, the aerosol generating consumable can be replenished. This can be achieved by refilling a storage compartment, such as a reservoir, with a suitable aerosol generating consumable. The aerosol generating consumable may be stored in any desired physical state; solid or liquid physical states are currently preferred, but gaseous aerosol generating consumables are also possible. The aerosol generating consumable may also be provided as a disposable and replaceable unit. In one example, the aerosol generating consumable may be a disposable cartomizer unit that has a vaporizable liquid reservoir and an integral atomizer. Other examples of disposable and replaceable units include a tobacco (or other aerosol forming) capsule or rod.

The electronic cigarette 4 includes a communication interface 16, such as a Bluetooth® transmitter, which can be used to establish a communicative interaction with a corresponding Bluetooth transmitter 24 in the smartphone 2. The smartphone 2 also includes electronic equipment for wireless communication with the network 30 based on cellular technology and Wi-Fi. fi.

Smartphone 2 includes a GPS receiver 26 that can track geographic location. GPS signals are generally only received outdoors, and Smartphone 2 is capable of locating using alternate methods when GPS signals are

- 3 042586 not available. A few examples of alternative methods include Wi-Fi location, dead reckoning, and cellular location. The smartphone 2 is also provided with a data storage unit 28 .

The smartphone 2 is communicatively connected to the network 30. The map and navigation server 32 and the retailer information server 34 can be accessed by the smartphone 2 via the network 30.

In FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating steps that can be performed according to an embodiment of the present invention. In another example, the initiation of the steps may occur when the user operates his smartphone 2 to select the nearest store icon corresponding to the mobile application. In another example, the steps may be triggered upon determining that the volume of volatilized liquid in reservoir 8 has fallen below a threshold, or the total amount of consumables on hand is below a threshold. At step 50 in FIG. 2 provides for the smartphone 2 to determine the location using the GPS receiver 26. The location of the smartphone 2 can be considered to correspond to the user's location.

In step 52, the processor in the smartphone 2 performs a determination of the type of aerosol generating consumable required. The aerosol generating consumable may correspond to the type or brand of liquid to be vaporized, or the type or brand of capsule for use in one of the aforementioned devices according to the embodiments. In the first example, the smartphone 2 is configured to store detailed data in the data storage unit 28 relating to any electronic cigarettes 4 with which a communication connection has been established. In step 52, the processor may retrieve information about the electronic cigarettes 4 that have been attached, such as the model, serial number, and type of aerosol generating consumable currently in use. The processor can retrieve details related to multiple electronic cigarettes 4 as stored in the magazine type memory if more than one device has been attached to the smartphone 2. The processor can retrieve details related to 5-20 most recent connected electronic cigarettes 4. In the second example, the user can manually enter information about his electronic cigarette 4 and/or his preferred aerosol generating consumable into the smartphone 2. In the third example, the aerosol generating consumable is identified based on the user account or user profile stored on the smartphone 2. The user account or user profile may be accessed as part of or through a mobile application running on the smartphone 2. The second and third examples may be implemented using electronic cigarettes without a communication interface. In these examples, the processor may identify the type or types of consumable associated with the user.

At step 54, the smartphone 2 retrieves information about the retailers that have the type of consumable identified at step 52. This is achieved by sending a request to the server 34 about the retailers. The retailer information server 34 receives the request from the smartphone 2 and checks against an internal database to determine a list of retailers that can provide a suitable consumable. The database contains various detailed data about retailers, including their name and location. In some embodiments, the database stored on the retailer information server 34 may be saved or downloaded to the smartphone 2. This may allow the smartphone 2 to determine information regarding retailers that can provide a suitable consumable even when a communication connection is not available, or to avoid repeated requests to the server 34 for retailer information.

At an optional step 56, the retailer information server 34 may determine the on-hand inventory information for the list of retailers. It can be determined based on the stock information on the retailer information server 34 . The retailer information server 34 may poll individual retailers periodically to update the on-hand inventory information to keep the information up to date. Retailers' current inventory may be updated based on the quantity of consumables shipped and sales of said consumables to customers.

At step 58, the smartphone 2 may determine distances to the respective retailers based on the location of the smartphone 2 determined at step 50 and information stored on the retailer information server 34 regarding the location of the retailers. Step 58 may alternatively be performed at the retailer information server 34 if the smartphone 2 transmits its location with the request at step 52. Step 58 may be performed using known geometric techniques based on the coordinates of the smartphone 2 and the retailer.

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In step 60, the smartphone 2 may determine if the number of retailers identified within the first location-based radius of the smartphone 2 exceeds a predetermined threshold. In one example, the first radius may be 1 km and the predetermined threshold may be a single retailer. If no retailers are found within 1 km of the smartphone's location, the radius may be increased to 2 km at step 62. Thereafter, further analysis may be performed at step 60 to determine if one or more retailers can be found in within such an extended search radius. The search radius may be incrementally increased until at least one retailer is found. Thus, it is initially preferable to display information about retailers in the immediate vicinity of the user's location, but only if enough retailers are found within that area. If there are not enough retailers in the immediate vicinity, the radius expands outward until a sufficient number of retailers can be provided. Also, the gradual expansion of the radius leads to a low probability of overloading the user with data on a large number of retailers.

In step 64, the smartphone 2 displays the map on the display screen 22 . An example map is shown on the smartphone display screen 22 in FIG. 1. The center of the map may be located, as shown, at the location of the smartphone 2 marked by the pointer 36. The map data may be downloaded from the map and navigation server 32. The map also contains characters 38, 40 for two aerosol-generating supplies retailers. In this example, retailers are identified in step 54 as retailers having the type of aerosol generating consumable being used by the user. At step 56, retailers may be further screened to include only those retailers who have a suitable supply on hand.

Symbols 38, 40 are selectable as displayed on the display screen 22. Symbols 38, 40 may be displayed with indicative characters to represent consumables that the retailer has on hand. For example, a character size of 38, 40 could indicate the amount of consumables on hand at the respective retailer. At step 66, the user may select one of the symbols 38, 40. The request is then transmitted by the smartphone 2 to the map and navigation server 32 to generate navigation commands from the location of the smartphone 2 to the location of a suitable retailer. The map and navigation server 32 may then generate travel commands based on the selectable transport mode for the appropriate location. These steps can help the smartphone user identify the location of the retailer of the desired aerosol generating consumable.

As explained above, at step 52, the processor may obtain details of the most recently joined electronic cigarettes 4, and may determine several compatible consumable types. In this example, at step 54, smartphone 2 can retrieve information about retailers that have at least one of the compatible consumables. In step 64 symbols for retailers may be displayed on a map on display screen 22 . Symbols may be displayed as signs that provide information about the type(s) of supplies available for purchase from the appropriate retailer. Thus, symbols can be included for retailers if they supply at least one of the consumables. The user can examine the symbols on the map to determine which retailer has available stock of each consumable.

Processing steps performed on one functional unit may alternatively be performed on another functional unit. Thus, the processing steps performed on the smartphone 2 can be carried out on the retailer information server 34 or the map and navigation server 32, and vice versa. It is also possible to divide the execution of individual processing steps between different functional units.

In FIG. 3 shows an exemplary embodiment of a system according to the present invention comprising a smartphone 2 in a system 100 based on two parts: a client layer system 102 and a server layer system 104. The client layer system 102 includes a smartphone 2 including a GPS receiver, the smartphone 2 having a mobile application. The mobile application allows the user to register, verify age, enter credentials, login, or perform user queries on the server-level system 104, such as online shopping, or queries to locate outlets on the retailer information server 34. The mobile application is adapted to store in the smartphone data store 28 or send to the network 30 the geographical locations of one or more electronic cigarettes 4, while the user can use the mobile application to determine

- 5 042586 location of a particular electronic cigarette. The geographic location is based on determining the longitude and latitude coordinates of the electronic cigarette after the trigger event occurs, and the detailed time and location data is sent to the data store, the map and navigation server 32, or the network 30. The mobile application can also store the geographic location of the smartphone 2 , intended to be sent to the system 104 server level. The user may also send information to the server layer system 104 via an internet application or a web application.

The server layer system 104 receives user information, user requests, and specific electronic cigarette information from the client layer system 102 to the application service 106 . Server level system 104 includes the following.

Administration tool 108 and administrative web application 110: these components represent the administrative part of the server-level system 104. They perform roles, permissions, user management system configuration, and administration actions regarding certain system functions, and the administrative web application 110 queries the Active directory 112 to implement the user authentication mechanism through a single login.

Active directory 112: This component checks user or customer actions, including: registration, authorization, online purchases, and the action to locate the nearest outlet. The Active directory 112 is used to manage the client base through the administrative web application 110 and the API (Application Program Interface) application 114 based on Cloud directory technology and identity management services. Active directory 112 combines basic directory services, advanced identity management, and application access control.

API application 114: The API application contains all the APIs identified by the back-end system 104 and API 116 e-commerce requests. determining the location of the nearest outlet. Users, or clients, access the server-level system 104 through the API application 114 . To access the API application 114, the mobile application needs an access token from the Active directory 112.

Transactional database 118: The transactional database may be, for example, a Structured Query Language, SQL, or similar type database that is read from or written to by the administrative web application 110 and the API application 114. The transactional database contains information from the entire back-end system. A project or SQL project is created for each part of the database, containing all the necessary scripts to create tables, functions, and stored procedures. The transactional database is divided into three schemas: administrative schema, application schema, and security schema.

Anonymous database 120: This component, which may be based on SQL, contains only statistical information without any information about the user. From the transactional database 118 copy data that does not contain any information about the user, and the process is performed by the component 122 WebJobs. Data depersonalization is a type of information processing whose purpose is to protect privacy. Anonymized database 120 contains a specific set of anonymized data related to vaping activities and will be available for reporting. Personally identifiable information will be removed from the dataset, thus preserving the anonymity of the people the data describes. There are no references to users in the impersonal data array.

Component 122 WebJobs: This component contains two WebJobs containing C# codes. One WebJob component is used to copy data from the transactional database 118 to the impersonal database 120. Another WebJob component is implemented to delete data from the transactional database 118 every six months or according to another predetermined period of time.

The server layer system 104 is structured into different layers, in which each layer has a role to facilitate communication between the client layer system 102 and the server layer system 104. This approach exposes some of the core functionality as a service for use in custom or client applications (e.g. those using Android and iOS), which helps to minimize the impact of adding new APIs or new business logic to the system as a whole. In services provided to a user mobile application, layers separate data processing logic, business logic, application programming interface (API), and administration tools.

In FIG. 4 shows a representation of a layered application 200 that may be implemented in a server layer system 104 (shown in FIG. 3) according to an embodiment of the present invention. Each layer contributes to establishing a message between the user or client and the databases and APIs.

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The levels are described in more detail below.

Web application layer 202: The web application layer (or presentation layer) 202 is a developed web application that implements a presentation layer for administration. This application is session-aware, scalable, also saves APIs for e-commerce and mobile clients, iOS and Android, and requests between the back-end application and clients.

API level 204: This level is a separate project created to manage the API, a client stateless application on the server to make requests between the Ecommerce API and mobile clients, iOS and Android, and communication between the server level application and clients.

This layer will send and receive data from the domain logic layer. The API layer 204 contains routes to the server layer, and ways to connect to the domain logic layer 206 using domain logic models and API versioning.

Domain logic layer 206: The domain logic layer 206 is designed to separate the business logic from the rest of the server layer. At this level, a generic repository, domain logic models, and a dependency injection mechanism are used. The domain logic layer contains the business logic layer 208 and the data model layer 210 .

Data access layer 212: The role of the data access layer 212 is to retrieve data from the database, create models for tables from the databases. This layer facilitates the connection of the server layer application to the database through the use of Entity framework technology, data access layer models (create from code/database), and database context.

Database layer 214: The database layer 214 is divided into two different layers: the transactional database layer 216 and the impersonal database layer 218. Both levels are projects that can be based on SQL and designed to create the tables, functions, and stored procedures needed to receive data from the database. Anonymized database layer 218 is designed to store various statistics such as number of puffs, frequency of cigarette use, but without storing personal data about the user in this table. The role of the transactional database layer 216 is to create tables, functions, and stored procedures to store administration data such as activities, firmware version, localization version, and application data such as capsule, device, user, and vaping activities of the user.

In FIG. 5 shows a schematic representation of a connection between a network 30 via a server 32, a smartphone 2, and several electronic cigarette devices according to an embodiment of the present invention. The smartphone 2 and any connected electronic cigarette devices may reside in the client layer system 102 (shown in FIG. 3) and the network 30 provides communication between the client layer system 102 and the server layer system 104 (shown in FIG. 3). The network 30 may scan for electronic cigarette devices to establish a connection to the network. The control signal is sent to the mobile application on the smartphone 2, which then scans for all available electronic cigarette devices 4A, 4B, 4C available to the user. The electronic cigarette devices 4A, 4B, 4C are connected to the smartphone 2 via Bluetooth®. The mobile application displays a list of available devices for the user to select a device from the list, and then the application sends information related to the selected device over the network 30.

Once the connection is established, the network 30 may communicate with the electronic cigarette device 4B through the mobile application on the smartphone 2. The mobile application may read data from or write data to the cigarette device 4B, and the network may notify the mobile application when change, such as the need to replace / change the capsule or the low battery in the device.

There are the following additional features or services.

Authentication: At this stage, it is necessary to obtain device information such as device id, device MAC address, capsule information, and establish communication with the device. This process is performed by using characteristics for reading, writing and notifying.

Pod Information: This service is used to read information about the pod, such as the number of puffs remaining, the amount of nicotine not used, etc. The PWA application can read the pod information and can receive notifications from the e-cigarette device when the pod is replaced.

Device Information: This service is used to read device information using the read characteristic.

Device Settings: This service is used to change device settings (standby, maximum puff time) and to apply features such as device search, device reboot, device reset using write characteristics.

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Claims (9)

Event information: This service is used to receive notifications from the device to the network when a malfunction occurs (software overload, no steam, hardware overheating). Wireless communication method: This service is used to update the firmware of an electronic cigarette device via a network based on recording and notification characteristics. Hover: This service is used to obtain information about when the user has performed a hover action. Thus, the network receives a notification when a user smokes by obtaining the smoking time, temperature, and fluid information by using notification and recording functions/characteristics. If the internet connection is lost, the connection between the mobile app and the 4B device can function normally, and the 4B device information is stored in the smartphone data storage 2. Local storage is a storage with a read-only property that allows the mobile application to access the data storage 28 on smartphone 2 from the mobile application. Web storage is the default storage (via domain and protocol). Unlike cookies and session storage, local storage does not have an expiration date (data can be stored until deleted). For example, if information about puffs or events cannot be sent due to lack of internet connection, the information or data is stored in the data storage of the smartphone, and then when the internet connection is restored, it is sent over the network or to the server-level system. The same approach applies to device information (id, MAC address, serial code, name, Bluetooth® version, temperature, capsule information), i.e. store temporary values, which must then be sent to the server-level system. CLAIM 1. A system for locating retailers, comprising: a location module configured to determine a location associated with a user's electronic device; an aerosol generating device configured to communicate with the user's electronic device; a data storage unit configured to store information regarding retailers of aerosol generating consumables and including at least the location of the retailers, wherein the stored information regarding the retailers includes whether the retailers have trade in several types of consumables that generate aerosol; and a processor configured to: determining a first type of consumable associated with the user's electronic device based on data transmitted between the user's electronic device and the aerosol generating device; selection of retailers who have the first type of consumable; determining a plurality of distances between a location associated with the user's electronic device and respective retailers' locations within a first predetermined distance, wherein the processor is also configured to increase the first predetermined distance to a second predetermined distance if the number of retailers is within a first predetermined distance is less than a predetermined threshold, and generating commands for displaying information related to at least one of the retailers on the display of the user's electronic device if at least one retailer is within the first predetermined distance, or a second predetermined distance from a location associated with the user's electronic device. 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to determine the first type of consumable based on the properties of the aerosol generating device. 3. The system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the location module comprises a location sensor in the user's electronic device. 4. The system according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a user electronic device that includes a display for displaying information related to at least one retailer. 5. The system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the stored information relating to retailers includes information on several types of on-hand stock. - 8 042586 of an aerosol generating consumable, wherein the processor is configured to determine the first type of consumable associated with the user's electronic device and select retailers who have the first type of consumable in stock. 6. The system according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a display capable of displaying location information related to at least one retailer. 7. The system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a navigation module configured to generate navigation commands from a location associated with the user's electronic device to the location of at least one retailer, the processor being configured to generate commands to display navigation commands. 8. Method for determining the location of retailers, including: determining the location associated with the user's electronic device; transferring data between the user's electronic device and the aerosol generating device; determining a first type of consumable based on the data transmitted between the user's electronic device and the aerosol generating device; extracting from the database information regarding retailers of aerosol generating supplies, the extracted information including at least the location of the retailers, and also includes information about whether the retailers have multiple types of aerosol generating supplies; determining a first type of consumable associated with the user's electronic device based on data transmitted between the user's electronic device and the aerosol generating device; selection of retailers who have the first type of consumable; determining a plurality of distances between a location associated with the user's electronic device and respective retailer locations within a first predetermined distance; increasing the first predetermined distance to the second predetermined distance if the number of retailers within the first predetermined distance is less than a predetermined threshold; and generating commands for displaying information related to at least one of the retailers on a display of the user's electronic device if at least one retailer is within a first predetermined distance or a second predetermined distance from a location associated with the electronic user device. 9. A computer-readable storage medium containing a program code containing executable instructions that, when executed by the processor of the computing device, perform the operations of the method according to claim 8. -