EP4185145A1 - Aerosol generation device, electronic assembly comprising such a device and associated charging base - Google Patents

Aerosol generation device, electronic assembly comprising such a device and associated charging base

Info

Publication number
EP4185145A1
EP4185145A1 EP21742449.8A EP21742449A EP4185145A1 EP 4185145 A1 EP4185145 A1 EP 4185145A1 EP 21742449 A EP21742449 A EP 21742449A EP 4185145 A1 EP4185145 A1 EP 4185145A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
battery
charging
aerosol generation
generation device
charge level
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP21742449.8A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Inventor
Pier Paolo MONTICONE
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
JT International SA
Original Assignee
JT International SA
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by JT International SA filed Critical JT International SA
Publication of EP4185145A1 publication Critical patent/EP4185145A1/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
    • H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
    • H02J7/00—Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
    • H02J7/007—Regulation of charging or discharging current or voltage
    • H02J7/00712—Regulation of charging or discharging current or voltage the cycle being controlled or terminated in response to electric parameters
    • H02J7/00714—Regulation of charging or discharging current or voltage the cycle being controlled or terminated in response to electric parameters in response to battery charging or discharging current
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
    • A24F—SMOKERS' REQUISITES; MATCH BOXES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES
    • A24F40/00—Electrically operated smoking devices; Component parts thereof; Manufacture thereof; Maintenance or testing thereof; Charging means specially adapted therefor
    • A24F40/90—Arrangements or methods specially adapted for charging batteries thereof
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
    • H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
    • H02J7/00—Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
    • H02J7/007—Regulation of charging or discharging current or voltage
    • H02J7/00712—Regulation of charging or discharging current or voltage the cycle being controlled or terminated in response to electric parameters
    • H02J7/007182—Regulation of charging or discharging current or voltage the cycle being controlled or terminated in response to electric parameters in response to battery voltage
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E60/00—Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
    • Y02E60/10—Energy storage using batteries

Definitions

  • Aerosol generation device electronic assembly comprising such a device and associated charging base
  • the present invention concerns an aerosol generation device.
  • the present invention concerns also an electronic assembly comprising such a device and an associated charging base.
  • aerosol generation devices comprise a storage portion for storing an aerosol forming precursor, which can comprise for example a liquid or a solid.
  • a heating system is formed of one or more electrically activated resistive heating elements arranged to heat said precursor to generate the aerosol.
  • the aerosol is released into a flow path extending between an inlet and outlet of the device.
  • the outlet may be arranged as a mouthpiece, through which a user inhales for delivery of the aerosol.
  • the precursor is stored in a removable cartridge.
  • the cartridge can be easily removed and replaced.
  • a screw- threaded connection can for example be used.
  • the heating system is powered by a battery presenting generally a rechargeable battery, as for example a lithium-ion battery.
  • the power from the battery is usually controlled by a microcontroller basing for example on heating system characteristics like for example the resistance of the heating coil.
  • the aerosol generation device can communicate the charge level of its battery to an external device.
  • an external device may be for example a docking station used to charge the battery.
  • a special data link that allows data transmission between the external device and the aerosol generation device is established.
  • the data link may be implemented by adding to a pair of contacts used to charge the battery, a data transmission contact. Additionally, in order to ensure the data processing on each side, it is generally necessary to add a microcontroller in both external device and aerosol generation device.
  • One of the aims of the invention is to provide the functionality of an aerosol generation device to transmit its charge level to an external device without increasing the complexity and manufacturing cost.
  • the invention relates to an aerosol generation device comprising:
  • a power circuitry configured to connect the aerosol generation device to an external direct current source
  • a battery charging circuitry configured to connect the rechargeable battery and the power circuitry, determine a battery charge level and control the current provided by the power circuitry to charge the battery according to a predetermined charging profile; wherein the predetermined charging profile presents a bijective function defining a unique current value for each battery charge level.
  • an external device may determine the charge level of the aerosol generation device at each moment of its charging by measuring the current consumed by the aerosol generation device and associating this measurement to a charge level according to a known charging profile. Therefore, there is no need to provide a special data transmission link between the devices and a dedicated microcontroller at least in the aerosol generation devices. Thus, it is possible to keep the structure of both devices relatively simple and avoid increasing the manufacturing costs. Additionally, in case of a wire connection between the devices, a simple pair of electric wires without additional data wire is sufficient.
  • the charging profile presents a continuous or a stair function. According to some embodiments, the charging profile presents a decreasing function from an initial current value corresponding to a depleted charge level.
  • said function decreases linearly from the initial current value to a predetermined current value corresponding to at least a half battery charge level.
  • the charging profile presents a function of charging time or battery charge level.
  • the power circuitry comprises only two electric contacts able to transmit only a power supply from the external current source to the battery charging circuitry.
  • the invention also relates to an electronic assembly comprising:
  • a charging base configured to provide a direct current to the power circuitry of the aerosol generation device.
  • the charging base is configured to determine at each instant the current consumed by the battery charging circuitry.
  • the charging base is further configured to store the charging profile of the aerosol generation device and to determine at each instant the battery charge level using the charging profile and the current consumed by the battery charging circuitry. Thanks to these features, the charging base can determine the charge level of the battery of the aerosol generation device using the predetermined charging profile.
  • the charging base comprises a user interface configured to indicate the determined battery charge level.
  • the charging level can be communicated to a user.
  • the charging base is further configured to determine the maximal capacity of the battery using the charging profile.
  • the user can determine if the battery is fully charged.
  • the charging base further comprises a shunt resistance and analog/digital converter mounted on the shunt resistance for determining at each instant the current consumed by the battery charging circuitry.
  • the charging base is connected to the aerosol generation device only by a one-directional power link.
  • the power link is a wire link or a wireless link.
  • the invention also relates to a charging base configured to provide a direct current to a power circuitry of an aerosol generation device, the charging base comprising:
  • an analog/digital converter able to determine at each instant the current consumed by a battery charging circuitry to charge a battery of the aerosol generation device
  • a level converter able to store a charging profile used by the charging circuitry to charge the battery and using this charging profile, to determine the charge level of the battery; wherein the predetermined charging profile presents a bijective function defining a unique current value for each battery charge level.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an electronic assembly according to a first embodiment of the invention, the assembly comprising an aerosol generation device and a charging base;
  • FIGS. 2 and 3 are schematic views of a charging profile used by the aerosol generation device of Figure 1 to charge its battery;
  • FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing in more detail the charging base of Figure 1 ;
  • FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing power circuities of an electronic assembly according to a second embodiment of the invention.
  • the term “aerosol generation device” or “device” may include a vaping device to deliver an aerosol to a user, including an aerosol for vaping, by means of aerosol generating unit (e.g. an aerosol generating element which generates vapor which condenses into an aerosol before delivery to an outlet of the device at, for example, a mouthpiece, for inhalation by a user).
  • the device may be portable. “Portable” may refer to the device being for use when held by a user.
  • the device may be adapted to generate a variable amount of aerosol, e.g. by activating a heater system for a variable amount of time (as opposed to a metered dose of aerosol), which can be controlled by a trigger.
  • the trigger may be user activated, such as a vaping button and/or inhalation sensor.
  • the inhalation sensor may be sensitive to the strength of inhalation as well as the duration of inhalation to enable a variable amount of vapor to be provided (so as to mimic the effect of smoking a conventional combustible smoking article such as a cigarette, cigar or pipe, etc.).
  • the device may include a temperature regulation control to drive the temperature of the heater and/or the heated aerosol generating substance (aerosol pre-cursor) to a specified target temperature and thereafter to maintain the temperature at the target temperature that enables efficient generation of aerosol.
  • aerosol may include a suspension of precursor as one or more of: solid particles; liquid droplets; gas. Said suspension may be in a gas including air. Aerosol herein may generally refer to/include a vapor. Aerosol may include one or more components of the precursor.
  • the term “aerosol-forming precursor” or “precursor” or “aerosolforming substance” or “substance” may refer to one or more of a: liquid; solid; gel; mousse; foam or other substances.
  • the precursor may be processable by the heating system of the device to form an aerosol as defined herein.
  • the precursor may comprise one or more of: nicotine; caffeine or other active components.
  • the active component may be carried with a carrier, which may be a liquid.
  • the carrier may include propylene glycol or glycerine.
  • a flavoring may also be present. The flavoring may include Ethylvanillin (vanilla), menthol, Isoamyl acetate (banana oil) or similar.
  • a solid aerosol forming substance may be in the form of a rod, which contains processed tobacco material, a crimped sheet or oriented strips of reconstituted tobacco (RTB).
  • an electronic assembly 10 comprises an aerosol generation device 12 and a charging base 14.
  • the aerosol generation device 12 comprises a power block 22 designed to power the device 12 and a plurality of internal components configured to carry out different functionalities of the device 12.
  • Said internal components comprise notably a heating system, a payload compartment, a controller, a plurality of sensors, etc. These internal components are known per se and will not be described in further detail.
  • the power block 22 comprises a rechargeable battery 24, a power circuitry 26 and a battery charging circuitry 28.
  • the rechargeable battery 24 is for example a lithium-ion battery with a predetermined maximal capacity Q.
  • the battery 24 is rechargeable from at least a depleted charge level to a maximal charge level.
  • the maximal charge level corresponds to a full-charged state of the battery, i.e. the state when its maximal capacity Q is fully used to store power.
  • the depleted charge level corresponds to a minimal-charged state of the battery, i.e. the state when it is not able to power an external device. In the minimal- charged state, the battery stores some charges that allows the battery reaching without damaging.
  • the charge level of the battery 24 can be expressed by a continuous variable able to take any value comprised between the depleted charge level and the maximal charge level.
  • the term “any value” should be understood as any real number from said interval with a numeric approximation normally used in the field.
  • the charge level can be expressed by a discrete variable able to take any value from a fixed number of values comprised between the depleted charge level and the maximal charge level. For example, it is possible to define 5 charge levels with linear discretization, each level presenting 20% accuracy. The discretization could also be non-linear, e.g. the levels might be 90%, 50%, 20%, 5%, depending from what are the important levels for the user to be aware about.
  • the power circuitry 26 is configured to connect the power block 22 to an external direct current source such as the charging base 14 by establishing a power link between the block 22 and the base 14.
  • the power circuitry 26 comprises a pair of contacts able to establish a wire link with the charging base 14.
  • the pair of contacts may be integrated into a plug or a slot designed to cooperate with the corresponding element of the charging base 14 to transmit the power supply from the charging base 14 to the power block 22.
  • the battery charging circuitry 28 is configured to connect the rechargeable battery 24 and the power circuitry 28.
  • the battery charging circuitry 28 comprises an integrated circuit (IC) able to determine a battery charge level and control the current provided by the power circuitry 26 to charge the battery 24 according to a predetermined charging profile.
  • the battery charging circuitry 28 is able to impose to the battery 24 a current value determined from the charge level of the battery 24, according to the charging profile.
  • the predetermined charging profile presents a bijective function defining a unique current value for each battery charge level.
  • the charging profile can be formed by a continuous function or a stair (discrete) function of the battery charge level.
  • the charging profile defines a unique current value for each battery charge level which is defined by a continuous variable.
  • the charging profile defines a unique current value for each battery charge level which is defined by a discrete variable.
  • the charging profile presents a decreasing function from an initial current value corresponding to the depleted charge level of the battery 24.
  • This function may for example decrease linearly from the initial current value to a predetermined current value corresponding to at least a half battery charge level.
  • the charging profile can be formed by a continuous function or a stair function of the charging time. In this case, it is considered that the battery charge level increases with the charging time according to a known correspondence profile.
  • FIG. 2 shows the current function l(t) over the charging time t.
  • the instant tO of zero charging time corresponds to the depleted charge level
  • the instant t1 corresponds to at least a half battery charge level
  • the instant t2 corresponds to the maximal charge level.
  • the function l(t) decreases linearly from tO to t1 and then non-linearly from t1 to t2.
  • the non-linear decreasing is for example an exponential or polynomial decreasing. This part of the curve can for example be the result of controlling the topping of the charging in voltage instead of in current.
  • the charging base 14 is for example a docket station able to receive the aerosol generation device 12 in order to charge it.
  • the charging base 14 is connected to an external power source which is for example an alternative current source.
  • the charging base 14 is connected to a generic power source, as for example a USB plug.
  • the charging base 14 comprises a power circuitry 36, a shunt resistance 38, an analog/digital converter 40, a level converter 42 and a user interface 44.
  • the power circuitry 36 is complementary to the power circuitry 26 of the aerosol generation device 12.
  • the power circuitry 36 of the charging base 14 makes it possible to establish a power link with the power circuitry 26 of the device which is, according to the first embodiment of the invention, a wire link.
  • the power circuitry 26 comprises a pair of contacts which are designed to be in contact with the corresponding pair of contacts of the aerosol generation device 12 to charge it.
  • the pair of contacts of the power circuitry 36 may be integrated into a plug or a slot designed to cooperate with the corresponding element of the aerosol generation device 12.
  • the shunt resistance 38 presents a resistance of a known value, for example 100 mO which is connected between the external power source and the power circuitry 36.
  • the analog/digital converter 40 is mounted on the shunt resistance 40 and is able to determine at each instant the current consumed by the battery charging circuitry 28 by measuring the voltage on both sides of the shunt resistance 36.
  • the level converter 42 is able to store the charging profile used by the battery charging circuitry 28 to charge the battery 24.
  • the charging profile can be a curve representing a function of one variable over another variable (thus presenting corresponding relationship), or a table storing corresponding relationship between two or more variables.
  • the table can comprise two columns, respectively for current values and corresponding charging values. In case of discretization in 5 levels, the table would be 2X5 cells.
  • the level converter 42 is able to determine the charge level of the battery 24.
  • the profile presents a one-to-one corresponding relationship (i.e. biunivoque/bijective function) between current and charge level
  • the charge level is determined directly from the current determined by the convertor 40.
  • the level converter 42 is first able to determine the charging time and then, using the correspondence profile presenting function of capacity over time, the level converter 42 is then able to determine the charge level.
  • the function of current and said correspondence profile are strictly monotone functions over time as it can been seen on Figure 3.
  • l(t) designates the function of current and Q(t) the correspondence profile. According to this example, the user can be informed not only of the battery charge level but as well on the timing remaining to complete the charging.
  • the level converter 42 is also able to determine the maximal capacity Q of the battery 24. This capacity Q may be determined by determining the area under the function of current according to the charging profile.
  • the level converter 42 may be implemented as an integrated circuit (IC).
  • the user interface 44 is formed by an indicator or a display arranged for example on a housing of the charging base 14 and able to indicate to the user the charging level determined by the level converter 42. In some embodiments, the user interface 44 may also indicate the charging time or/and the remaining charging time using the corresponding data from the level converter 42. In some embodiments, the user interface 44 may also indicate to the user the maximal capacity Q of the battery 24. According to some other embodiments, the user interface 44 presents a communication interface with a user device like for example a smartphone. In this case, the user interface 44 may transmit to the user device the data determined by the level converter 42 and thus possible for the user device to provide indication on charging process of the aerosol generation device.
  • the aerosol generation device 12 is configured to establish communication link, either wired or wireless link (e.g., Bluetooth), with the user device such as a smartphone.
  • the user device can be used to update firmware (including the charging profile) of the aerosol generation device 12 and the charging base 14 after communication is established.
  • firmware including the charging profile
  • the charging profiles respectively stored at aerosol generation device 12 and charging base 14 can be updated and synchronized to improve the accuracy.
  • the update can be for example realized for an aging battery or in case of battery changing.
  • the operation of the electronic assembly 10 will now be explained.
  • a power link is established between the power circuitries 26, 36 of both devices.
  • the power link is the unique link established between charging base 14 and the device 12.
  • the battery charging circuitry 28 determines the actual charge level of the battery 24 and controls the current provided by the power circuitry 26 according to the charging profile taken from the point corresponding to the actual charge level.
  • the analog/digital converter 40 determines the current consumed by the battery charging circuitry 28.
  • the level converter 42 determines the charge level of the battery and transmits it to the user interface 44.
  • the user interface 44 may thus indicate the charge level to the user. When the charging is completed, the user interface 44 may for example indicate the maximal capacity Q of the battery.
  • An electric assembly according to a second embodiment of the invention comprises also an aerosol generation device and a charging base similar to the aerosol generation device 12 and the charging base 14 explained above.
  • the unique difference of this embodiment of the invention consists in the power circuitries used by these devices to establish the power link.
  • the power circuitry 126, 136 used respectively by the charging base and the aerosol generation device according to the second embodiment of the invention are able to establish a wireless power link.
  • These power circuitries 126, 136 are schematically illustrated on Figure 5 where the power circuitry 126 is called transmitter and the power circuitry 136 is called receiver.
  • the power circuitry 136 integrated into the charging base comprises a primary coil 141 , a DC-AC power stage 142 connected to the primary coil 141 , a front-end DC-DC stage 143 connected to an external power source via a shunt resistance and a controller 145 able to control the operation of the DC-AC power stage 142 and the front-end DC-DC stage 143 in order to generate a magnetic field on the primary coil 141.
  • the power circuitry 126 integrated into the aerosol generation device comprises a secondary coil 151 , a rectification unit 152 connected to the secondary coil 151 , a V/l regulator 153 connected to the battery charging circuitry of the aerosol generation device and a controller 155 able to control the operation of the rectification unit 152 and the V/l regulator 153 in order to generate a direct current for the battery charging circuitry from the current generated by the secondary coil 151 further to magnetic interaction with the primary coil 141 .

Abstract

The present invention concerns an aerosol generation device (12) comprising a rechargeable battery (24) of a predetermined maximal capacity, a power circuitry (26; 126) configured to connect the aerosol generation device (12) to an external direct current source and a battery charging circuitry (28) configured to connect the rechargeable battery (24) and the power circuitry (26), determine a battery charge level and control the current provided by the power circuitry (26) to charge the battery (24) according to a predetermined charging profile. The predetermined charging profile presents a bijective function defining a unique current value for each battery charge level.

Description

Aerosol generation device, electronic assembly comprising such a device and associated charging base
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention concerns an aerosol generation device.
The present invention concerns also an electronic assembly comprising such a device and an associated charging base.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Different types of aerosol generation devices are already known in the art. Generally, such devices comprise a storage portion for storing an aerosol forming precursor, which can comprise for example a liquid or a solid. A heating system is formed of one or more electrically activated resistive heating elements arranged to heat said precursor to generate the aerosol. The aerosol is released into a flow path extending between an inlet and outlet of the device. The outlet may be arranged as a mouthpiece, through which a user inhales for delivery of the aerosol.
In some aerosol generation devices, the precursor is stored in a removable cartridge. Thus, when the precursor is consumed, the cartridge can be easily removed and replaced. In order to attach the removable cartridge to the device body, a screw- threaded connection can for example be used.
The heating system is powered by a battery presenting generally a rechargeable battery, as for example a lithium-ion battery. The power from the battery is usually controlled by a microcontroller basing for example on heating system characteristics like for example the resistance of the heating coil.
In some cases, the aerosol generation device can communicate the charge level of its battery to an external device. Such an external device may be for example a docking station used to charge the battery. In these cases, a special data link that allows data transmission between the external device and the aerosol generation device is established. The data link may be implemented by adding to a pair of contacts used to charge the battery, a data transmission contact. Additionally, in order to ensure the data processing on each side, it is generally necessary to add a microcontroller in both external device and aerosol generation device.
Therefore, transmitting the charge level from the aerosol generation device to an external device makes the structure of both devices more complex and increases their manufacturing costs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One of the aims of the invention is to provide the functionality of an aerosol generation device to transmit its charge level to an external device without increasing the complexity and manufacturing cost.
For this purpose, the invention relates to an aerosol generation device comprising:
- a rechargeable battery of a predetermined maximal capacity;
- a power circuitry configured to connect the aerosol generation device to an external direct current source;
- a battery charging circuitry configured to connect the rechargeable battery and the power circuitry, determine a battery charge level and control the current provided by the power circuitry to charge the battery according to a predetermined charging profile; wherein the predetermined charging profile presents a bijective function defining a unique current value for each battery charge level.
Thanks to these features, an external device may determine the charge level of the aerosol generation device at each moment of its charging by measuring the current consumed by the aerosol generation device and associating this measurement to a charge level according to a known charging profile. Therefore, there is no need to provide a special data transmission link between the devices and a dedicated microcontroller at least in the aerosol generation devices. Thus, it is possible to keep the structure of both devices relatively simple and avoid increasing the manufacturing costs. Additionally, in case of a wire connection between the devices, a simple pair of electric wires without additional data wire is sufficient.
According to some embodiments, the charging profile presents a continuous or a stair function. According to some embodiments, the charging profile presents a decreasing function from an initial current value corresponding to a depleted charge level.
According to some embodiments, said function decreases linearly from the initial current value to a predetermined current value corresponding to at least a half battery charge level.
Thanks to these features, it is possible to use a charging profile to charge efficiently the battery and determine the battery charge level by an external device.
According to some embodiments, the charging profile presents a function of charging time or battery charge level.
Thanks to these features, it is possible to determine the charge level directly from the charging profile or by using this profile and a predetermined correspondence profile between the charge level and the charging time.
According to some embodiments, the power circuitry comprises only two electric contacts able to transmit only a power supply from the external current source to the battery charging circuitry.
Thanks to these features, it is possible to simplify the structure of the aerosol generation device.
The invention also relates to an electronic assembly comprising:
- an aerosol generation device as defined above;
- a charging base configured to provide a direct current to the power circuitry of the aerosol generation device.
According to some embodiments, the charging base is configured to determine at each instant the current consumed by the battery charging circuitry.
According to some embodiments, the charging base is further configured to store the charging profile of the aerosol generation device and to determine at each instant the battery charge level using the charging profile and the current consumed by the battery charging circuitry. Thanks to these features, the charging base can determine the charge level of the battery of the aerosol generation device using the predetermined charging profile.
According to some embodiments, the charging base comprises a user interface configured to indicate the determined battery charge level.
Thanks to these features, the charging level can be communicated to a user.
According to some embodiments, the charging base is further configured to determine the maximal capacity of the battery using the charging profile.
Thanks to these features, the user can determine if the battery is fully charged.
According to some embodiments, the charging base further comprises a shunt resistance and analog/digital converter mounted on the shunt resistance for determining at each instant the current consumed by the battery charging circuitry.
Thanks to these features, it is possible to determine at each instant the current consumed by the battery charging circuitry.
According to some embodiments, the charging base is connected to the aerosol generation device only by a one-directional power link.
According to some embodiments, the power link is a wire link or a wireless link.
Thanks to these features, it is possible to simplify the structure of both charging base and aerosol generation device.
The invention also relates to a charging base configured to provide a direct current to a power circuitry of an aerosol generation device, the charging base comprising:
- an analog/digital converter able to determine at each instant the current consumed by a battery charging circuitry to charge a battery of the aerosol generation device;
- a level converter able to store a charging profile used by the charging circuitry to charge the battery and using this charging profile, to determine the charge level of the battery; wherein the predetermined charging profile presents a bijective function defining a unique current value for each battery charge level.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention and its advantages will be better understood upon reading the following description, which is given solely by way of non-limiting example and which is made with reference to the appended drawings, in which:
- Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing an electronic assembly according to a first embodiment of the invention, the assembly comprising an aerosol generation device and a charging base;
- Figures 2 and 3 are schematic views of a charging profile used by the aerosol generation device of Figure 1 to charge its battery;
- Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing in more detail the charging base of Figure 1 ; and
- Figure 5 is a schematic diagram showing power circuities of an electronic assembly according to a second embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Before describing the invention, it is to be understood that it is not limited to the details of construction set forth in the following description. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the present disclosure that the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various ways.
As used herein, the term “aerosol generation device” or “device” may include a vaping device to deliver an aerosol to a user, including an aerosol for vaping, by means of aerosol generating unit (e.g. an aerosol generating element which generates vapor which condenses into an aerosol before delivery to an outlet of the device at, for example, a mouthpiece, for inhalation by a user). The device may be portable. “Portable” may refer to the device being for use when held by a user. The device may be adapted to generate a variable amount of aerosol, e.g. by activating a heater system for a variable amount of time (as opposed to a metered dose of aerosol), which can be controlled by a trigger. The trigger may be user activated, such as a vaping button and/or inhalation sensor. The inhalation sensor may be sensitive to the strength of inhalation as well as the duration of inhalation to enable a variable amount of vapor to be provided (so as to mimic the effect of smoking a conventional combustible smoking article such as a cigarette, cigar or pipe, etc.). The device may include a temperature regulation control to drive the temperature of the heater and/or the heated aerosol generating substance (aerosol pre-cursor) to a specified target temperature and thereafter to maintain the temperature at the target temperature that enables efficient generation of aerosol.
As used herein, the term “aerosol” may include a suspension of precursor as one or more of: solid particles; liquid droplets; gas. Said suspension may be in a gas including air. Aerosol herein may generally refer to/include a vapor. Aerosol may include one or more components of the precursor.
As used herein, the term “aerosol-forming precursor” or “precursor” or “aerosolforming substance” or “substance” may refer to one or more of a: liquid; solid; gel; mousse; foam or other substances. The precursor may be processable by the heating system of the device to form an aerosol as defined herein. The precursor may comprise one or more of: nicotine; caffeine or other active components. The active component may be carried with a carrier, which may be a liquid. The carrier may include propylene glycol or glycerine. A flavoring may also be present. The flavoring may include Ethylvanillin (vanilla), menthol, Isoamyl acetate (banana oil) or similar. A solid aerosol forming substance may be in the form of a rod, which contains processed tobacco material, a crimped sheet or oriented strips of reconstituted tobacco (RTB).
FIRST EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
Referring to Figure 1 , an electronic assembly 10 comprises an aerosol generation device 12 and a charging base 14.
The aerosol generation device 12 comprises a power block 22 designed to power the device 12 and a plurality of internal components configured to carry out different functionalities of the device 12. Said internal components comprise notably a heating system, a payload compartment, a controller, a plurality of sensors, etc. These internal components are known per se and will not be described in further detail. The power block 22 comprises a rechargeable battery 24, a power circuitry 26 and a battery charging circuitry 28.
The rechargeable battery 24 is for example a lithium-ion battery with a predetermined maximal capacity Q. The battery 24 is rechargeable from at least a depleted charge level to a maximal charge level. The maximal charge level corresponds to a full-charged state of the battery, i.e. the state when its maximal capacity Q is fully used to store power. The depleted charge level corresponds to a minimal-charged state of the battery, i.e. the state when it is not able to power an external device. In the minimal- charged state, the battery stores some charges that allows the battery reaching without damaging.
According to one embodiment of the invention, the charge level of the battery 24 can be expressed by a continuous variable able to take any value comprised between the depleted charge level and the maximal charge level. In this case, the term “any value” should be understood as any real number from said interval with a numeric approximation normally used in the field. According to another embodiment of the invention, the charge level can be expressed by a discrete variable able to take any value from a fixed number of values comprised between the depleted charge level and the maximal charge level. For example, it is possible to define 5 charge levels with linear discretization, each level presenting 20% accuracy. The discretization could also be non-linear, e.g. the levels might be 90%, 50%, 20%, 5%, depending from what are the important levels for the user to be aware about.
The power circuitry 26 is configured to connect the power block 22 to an external direct current source such as the charging base 14 by establishing a power link between the block 22 and the base 14. According to the first embodiment of the invention, the power circuitry 26 comprises a pair of contacts able to establish a wire link with the charging base 14. Particularly, according to different examples of implementation, the pair of contacts may be integrated into a plug or a slot designed to cooperate with the corresponding element of the charging base 14 to transmit the power supply from the charging base 14 to the power block 22.
The battery charging circuitry 28 is configured to connect the rechargeable battery 24 and the power circuitry 28. For this purpose, the battery charging circuitry 28 comprises an integrated circuit (IC) able to determine a battery charge level and control the current provided by the power circuitry 26 to charge the battery 24 according to a predetermined charging profile. Particularly, the battery charging circuitry 28 is able to impose to the battery 24 a current value determined from the charge level of the battery 24, according to the charging profile. According to the invention, the predetermined charging profile presents a bijective function defining a unique current value for each battery charge level.
The charging profile can be formed by a continuous function or a stair (discrete) function of the battery charge level. In the first case, the charging profile defines a unique current value for each battery charge level which is defined by a continuous variable. In the second case, the charging profile defines a unique current value for each battery charge level which is defined by a discrete variable.
In some embodiments, the charging profile presents a decreasing function from an initial current value corresponding to the depleted charge level of the battery 24. This function may for example decrease linearly from the initial current value to a predetermined current value corresponding to at least a half battery charge level.
Instead of the battery charge level, the charging profile can be formed by a continuous function or a stair function of the charging time. In this case, it is considered that the battery charge level increases with the charging time according to a known correspondence profile.
An example of a charging profile according to the invention is showed on Figure 2. Particularly, Figure 2 shows the current function l(t) over the charging time t. On this figure, the instant tO of zero charging time corresponds to the depleted charge level, the instant t1 corresponds to at least a half battery charge level and the instant t2 corresponds to the maximal charge level. Hence, the function l(t) decreases linearly from tO to t1 and then non-linearly from t1 to t2. The non-linear decreasing is for example an exponential or polynomial decreasing. This part of the curve can for example be the result of controlling the topping of the charging in voltage instead of in current.
The charging base 14 is for example a docket station able to receive the aerosol generation device 12 in order to charge it. The charging base 14 is connected to an external power source which is for example an alternative current source. According to another embodiment, the charging base 14 is connected to a generic power source, as for example a USB plug.
Referring to Figure 4, the charging base 14 comprises a power circuitry 36, a shunt resistance 38, an analog/digital converter 40, a level converter 42 and a user interface 44. The power circuitry 36 is complementary to the power circuitry 26 of the aerosol generation device 12. Particularly, the power circuitry 36 of the charging base 14 makes it possible to establish a power link with the power circuitry 26 of the device which is, according to the first embodiment of the invention, a wire link. Thus, according to this embodiment, the power circuitry 26 comprises a pair of contacts which are designed to be in contact with the corresponding pair of contacts of the aerosol generation device 12 to charge it. According to different examples of implementation, the pair of contacts of the power circuitry 36 may be integrated into a plug or a slot designed to cooperate with the corresponding element of the aerosol generation device 12.
The shunt resistance 38 presents a resistance of a known value, for example 100 mO which is connected between the external power source and the power circuitry 36. The analog/digital converter 40 is mounted on the shunt resistance 40 and is able to determine at each instant the current consumed by the battery charging circuitry 28 by measuring the voltage on both sides of the shunt resistance 36. Particularly, the current l(t) at each instant t may be determined by using the expression V(t)=RI(t) where V(t) is said voltage at instant t and R is the value of the resistance 38.
The level converter 42 is able to store the charging profile used by the battery charging circuitry 28 to charge the battery 24. The charging profile can be a curve representing a function of one variable over another variable (thus presenting corresponding relationship), or a table storing corresponding relationship between two or more variables. In this last case, the table can comprise two columns, respectively for current values and corresponding charging values. In case of discretization in 5 levels, the table would be 2X5 cells.
Using the charging profile and the current determined by the analog/digital converter 40, the level converter 42 is able to determine the charge level of the battery 24. In the case where the profile presents a one-to-one corresponding relationship (i.e. biunivoque/bijective function) between current and charge level, the charge level is determined directly from the current determined by the convertor 40. In case where the profile presents the function of current over time, the level converter 42 is first able to determine the charging time and then, using the correspondence profile presenting function of capacity over time, the level converter 42 is then able to determine the charge level. In this case, the function of current and said correspondence profile are strictly monotone functions over time as it can been seen on Figure 3. On this figure, l(t) designates the function of current and Q(t) the correspondence profile. According to this example, the user can be informed not only of the battery charge level but as well on the timing remaining to complete the charging.
Using the charging profile, the level converter 42 is also able to determine the maximal capacity Q of the battery 24. This capacity Q may be determined by determining the area under the function of current according to the charging profile. The level converter 42 may be implemented as an integrated circuit (IC).
According to one embodiment of the invention, the user interface 44 is formed by an indicator or a display arranged for example on a housing of the charging base 14 and able to indicate to the user the charging level determined by the level converter 42. In some embodiments, the user interface 44 may also indicate the charging time or/and the remaining charging time using the corresponding data from the level converter 42. In some embodiments, the user interface 44 may also indicate to the user the maximal capacity Q of the battery 24. According to some other embodiments, the user interface 44 presents a communication interface with a user device like for example a smartphone. In this case, the user interface 44 may transmit to the user device the data determined by the level converter 42 and thus possible for the user device to provide indication on charging process of the aerosol generation device.
In another embodiment, the aerosol generation device 12 is configured to establish communication link, either wired or wireless link (e.g., Bluetooth), with the user device such as a smartphone. The user device can be used to update firmware (including the charging profile) of the aerosol generation device 12 and the charging base 14 after communication is established. As such, the charging profiles respectively stored at aerosol generation device 12 and charging base 14 can be updated and synchronized to improve the accuracy. The update can be for example realized for an aging battery or in case of battery changing. The operation of the electronic assembly 10 will now be explained. When the aerosol generation device 12 is connected to the charging base 14, a power link is established between the power circuitries 26, 36 of both devices. Advantageously according to the invention, the power link is the unique link established between charging base 14 and the device 12. The battery charging circuitry 28 determines the actual charge level of the battery 24 and controls the current provided by the power circuitry 26 according to the charging profile taken from the point corresponding to the actual charge level. The analog/digital converter 40 determines the current consumed by the battery charging circuitry 28. Using this data and the charging profile, the level converter 42 determines the charge level of the battery and transmits it to the user interface 44. The user interface 44 may thus indicate the charge level to the user. When the charging is completed, the user interface 44 may for example indicate the maximal capacity Q of the battery.
SECOND EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
An electric assembly according to a second embodiment of the invention comprises also an aerosol generation device and a charging base similar to the aerosol generation device 12 and the charging base 14 explained above. The unique difference of this embodiment of the invention consists in the power circuitries used by these devices to establish the power link.
Particularly, the power circuitry 126, 136 used respectively by the charging base and the aerosol generation device according to the second embodiment of the invention are able to establish a wireless power link. These power circuitries 126, 136 are schematically illustrated on Figure 5 where the power circuitry 126 is called transmitter and the power circuitry 136 is called receiver.
Referring to this Figure 5, the power circuitry 136 integrated into the charging base comprises a primary coil 141 , a DC-AC power stage 142 connected to the primary coil 141 , a front-end DC-DC stage 143 connected to an external power source via a shunt resistance and a controller 145 able to control the operation of the DC-AC power stage 142 and the front-end DC-DC stage 143 in order to generate a magnetic field on the primary coil 141. The power circuitry 126 integrated into the aerosol generation device comprises a secondary coil 151 , a rectification unit 152 connected to the secondary coil 151 , a V/l regulator 153 connected to the battery charging circuitry of the aerosol generation device and a controller 155 able to control the operation of the rectification unit 152 and the V/l regulator 153 in order to generate a direct current for the battery charging circuitry from the current generated by the secondary coil 151 further to magnetic interaction with the primary coil 141 .
The operation of the electronic assembly according to the second embodiment of the invention is similar to the operation of the electronic assembly according to the first embodiment of the invention explained above.

Claims

1 . An aerosol generation device (12) comprising:
- a rechargeable battery (24) of a predetermined maximal capacity;
- a power circuitry (26; 126) configured to connect the aerosol generation device (12) to an external direct current source;
- a battery charging circuitry (28) configured to connect the rechargeable battery (24) and the power circuitry (26; 126), determine a battery charge level and control the current provided by the power circuitry (26; 126) to charge the battery (24) according to a predetermined charging profile; wherein the predetermined charging profile presents a bijective function defining a unique current value for each battery charge level, from an initial current value corresponding to a depleted charge level.
2. The aerosol generation device (12) according to claim 1 , wherein the charging profile presents a continuous or a stair function.
3. The aerosol generation device (12) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the charging profile presents a decreasing function.
4. The aerosol generation device (12) according to claim 3, wherein said function decreases linearly from the initial current value to a predetermined current value corresponding to at least a half battery charge level.
5. The aerosol generation device (12) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the charging profile presents a function of charging time or battery charge level.
6. The aerosol generation (12) device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the power circuitry (26) comprises only two electric contacts able to transmit only a power supply from the external current source to the battery charging circuitry (28).
7. An electronic assembly (10) comprising:
- an aerosol generation device (12) according to any one of the preceding claims;
- a charging base (14) configured to provide a direct current to the power circuitry (26; 126) of the aerosol generation device (12).
8. The electronic assembly (10) according to claim 7, wherein the charging base (14) is configured to determine at each instant the current consumed by the battery charging circuitry (28).
9. The electronic assembly (10) according to claim 8, wherein the charging base (14) is further configured to store the charging profile of the aerosol generation device (12) and to determine at each instant the battery charge level using the charging profile and the current consumed by the battery charging circuitry (28).
10. The electronic assembly (10) according to claim 9, wherein the charging base (14) comprises a user interface (44) configured to indicate the determined battery charge level.
11. The electronic assembly (10) according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the charging base (14) is further configured to determine the maximal capacity of the battery using the charging profile.
12. The electronic assembly (10) according to any one of claims 8 to 11 , wherein the charging base (14) further comprises a shunt resistance (38) and analog/digital converter (40) mounted on the shunt resistance (38) for determining at each instant the current consumed by the battery charging circuitry (28).
13. The electronic assembly (10) according to any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein the charging base (14) is connected to the aerosol generation device (12) only by a one- directional power link.
14. The electronic assembly (10) according to claim 13, wherein the power link is a wire link or a wireless link.
15. A charging base (14) configured to provide a direct current to a power circuitry (26; 126) of an aerosol generation device (12), the charging base (14) comprising:
- an analog/digital converter (40) able to determine at each instant the current consumed by a battery charging circuitry (28) to charge a battery (24) of the aerosol generation device (12); - a level converter (42) able to store a charging profile used by the charging circuitry to charge the battery (24) and using this charging profile, to determine the charge level of the battery (24); wherein the predetermined charging profile presents a bijective function defining a unique current value for each battery charge level, from an initial current value corresponding to a depleted charge level.
16. The charging base according to claim 15 wherein the level converter (42) is configured to determine the charge level of the battery (24) based on the current consumed by the battery charging circuitry (28).
EP21742449.8A 2020-07-21 2021-07-20 Aerosol generation device, electronic assembly comprising such a device and associated charging base Withdrawn EP4185145A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP20186952 2020-07-21
PCT/EP2021/070282 WO2022018090A1 (en) 2020-07-21 2021-07-20 Aerosol generation device, electronic assembly comprising such a device and associated charging base

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP2701268A1 (en) * 2012-08-24 2014-02-26 Philip Morris Products S.A. Portable electronic system including charging device and method of charging a secondary battery
WO2015011570A2 (en) * 2013-07-23 2015-01-29 Sis Resources, Ltd. Charger for an electronic cigarette
DE102014206112A1 (en) * 2014-04-01 2015-10-01 Robert Bosch Gmbh Method for monitoring a state of charge or a charging or discharging current of an accumulator
TWI687021B (en) * 2014-10-28 2020-03-01 瑞士商菲利浦莫里斯製品股份有限公司 Adaptive battery charging method, charging device, computer program and computer readable storage medium
CA3060459C (en) * 2019-10-28 2020-10-13 Japan Tobacco Inc. Power supply unit for aerosol inhaler, and control method and control program of the same

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