EP4648630A1

EP4648630A1 - Apparatus and method for liquid sensing in refillable articles for electronic aerosol provision systems

Info

Publication number: EP4648630A1
Application number: EP24701035.8A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Joseph Peter Sutton
Original assignee: Nicoventures Trading Ltd
Current assignee: Nicoventures Trading Ltd
Priority date: 2023-01-13
Filing date: 2024-01-09
Publication date: 2025-11-19
Also published as: GB202300547D0; WO2024149981A1

Abstract

A refilling device for refilling an article from a reservoir comprises an article interface for receiving an article of an aerosol provision system, the article having a storage area for fluid; an image sensor configured to capture images of the storage area of an article received in the article interface; and a controller configured to generate control signals for controlling a refilling action of the refilling device in which fluid is moved along a fluid flow path from a reservoir received in a reservoir interface in the refilling device to the storage area of the article received in the article interface, in dependence on one or more images received from the image sensor.

Description

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR LIQUID SENSING IN REFILLABLE ARTICLES FOR ELECTRONIC AEROSOL PROVISION SYSTEMS Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to apparatus and methods for liquid sensing in refillable articles for electronic aerosol provision systems.

Background

Electronic aerosol provision systems, which are often configured as so-called electronic cigarettes, can have a unitary format with all elements of the system in a common housing, or a multi-component format in which elements are distributed between two or more housings which can be coupled together to form the system. A common example of the latter format is a two-component system comprising a device and an article. The device typically contains an electrical power source for the system, such as a battery, and control electronics for operating elements in order to generate aerosol. The article, also referred to by terms including cartridge, cartomiser, consumable and clearomiser, typically contains a storage volume or area for holding a supply of aerosolisable material from which the aerosol is generated, plus an aerosol generator such as a heater operable to vaporise the aerosolisable material. A similar three-component system may include a separate mouthpiece that attaches to the article. In many designs, the article is designed to be disposable, in that it is intended to be detached from the device and thrown away when the aerosolisable material has been consumed. The user obtains a new article which has been prefilled with aerosolisable material by a manufacturer and attaches it to the device for use. The device, in contrast, is intended to be used with multiple consecutive articles, with a capability to recharge the battery to allow prolonged operation.

While disposable articles, which may be called consumables, are convenient for the user, they may be considered wasteful of natural resources and hence detrimental to the environment. An alternative design of article is therefore known, which is configured to be refilled with aerosolisable material by the user. This reduces waste, and can reduce the cost of electronic cigarette usage for the user. The aerosolisable material may be provided in a bottle, for example, from which the user squeezes or drips a quantity of material into the article via a refilling orifice on the article. However, the act of refilling can be awkward and inconvenient, since the items are small and the volume of material involved is typically low. Alignment of the juncture between bottle and article can be difficult, with inaccuracies leading to spillage of the material. This is not only wasteful, but may also be dangerous. Aerosolisable material frequently contains liquid nicotine, which can be poisonous if it makes contact with the skin.

Therefore, refilling units or devices have been proposed, which are configured to receive a bottle or other reservoir of aerosolisable material plus a refillable cartridge, and to automate the transfer of the material from the former to the latter. Alternative, improved or enhanced features and designs for such refilling devices are therefore of interest.

Summary

According to a first aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a refilling device for refilling an article from a reservoir, comprising: an article interface for receiving an article of an aerosol provision system, the article having a storage area for fluid; an image sensor configured to capture images of the storage area of an article received in the article interface; and a controller configured to generate control signals for controlling a refilling action of the refilling device in which fluid is moved along a fluid flow path from a reservoir received in a reservoir interface in the refilling device to the storage area of the article received in the article interface, in dependence on one or more images received from the image sensor.

According to a second aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a refilling system comprising a refilling device according to the first aspect; and an article of an aerosol provision system, the article having a storage area for fluid and comprising walls at least part of which are transmissive to light detectable by the image sensor such that recorded images of the storage area show an interior of the storage area.

According to a third aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a method for refilling a storage area in an article of an aerosol provision system, the method comprising: placing the article in an article interface of a refilling device; capturing at least an initial image of the storage area; ; and controlling a refilling action of the refilling device to move fluid from a reservoir in the refilling device into the storage area, in dependence on at least the initial image of the storage area.

These and further aspects of the certain embodiments are set out in the appended independent and dependent claims. It will be appreciated that features of the dependent claims may be combined with each other and features of the independent claims in combinations other than those explicitly set out in the claims. Furthermore, the approach described herein is not restricted to specific embodiments such as set out below, but includes and contemplates any appropriate combinations of features presented herein. For example, apparatus and methods for liquid sensing in refillable articles for electronic aerosol provision systems may be provided in accordance with approaches described herein which includes any one or more of the various features described below as appropriate.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Various embodiments of the invention will now be described in detail by way of example only with reference to the following drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a simplified schematic cross-section through an example electronic aerosol provision system in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented; Figure 2 shows a simplified schematic representation of a refilling device to which embodiments of the present disclosure area applicable;

Figure 3 shows a schematic representation of a first example of an image-based liquid level sensing arrangement according to the present disclosure;

Figure 4 shows a schematic representation of a further example of a image-based liquid level sensing arrangement according to the present disclosure;

Figure 5 shows a schematic representation of a another example of a image-based liquid level sensing arrangement according to the present disclosure;

Figure 6 shows a schematic representation of an example image captured using an image-based liquid level sensing arrangement according to the present disclosure;

Figure 7 shows a schematic representation of an example series of images captured using an image-based liquid level sensing arrangement according to the present disclosure; and

Figure 8 shows a flow chart of steps in a method of image-based liquid level sensing according to an example of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Aspects and features of certain examples and embodiments are discussed I described herein. Some aspects and features of certain examples and embodiments may be implemented conventionally and these are not discussed I described in detail in the interests of brevity. It will thus be appreciated that aspects and features of apparatus and methods discussed herein which are not described in detail may be implemented in accordance with any conventional techniques for implementing such aspects and features.

As described above, the present disclosure relates to (but is not limited to) electronic aerosol or vapour provision systems, such as e-cigarettes. Throughout the following description the terms “e-cigarette” and “electronic cigarette” may sometimes be used; however, it will be appreciated these terms may be used interchangeably with aerosol (vapour) provision system or device. The systems are intended to generate an inhalable aerosol by vaporisation of a substrate (aerosol-generating material) in the form of a liquid or gel which may or may not contain nicotine. Additionally, hybrid systems may comprise a liquid or gel substrate plus a solid substrate which is also heated. The solid substrate may be for example tobacco or other non-tobacco products, which may or may not contain nicotine. The terms “aerosol-generating material” and “aerosolisable material” as used herein are intended to refer to materials which can form an aerosol, either through the application of heat or some other means. The term “aerosol” may be used interchangeably with “vapour”.

As used herein, the terms “system” and “delivery system” are intended to encompass systems that deliver a substance to a user, and include non-combustible aerosol provision systems that release compounds from an aerosolisable material without combusting the aerosolisable material, such as electronic cigarettes, tobacco heating products, and hybrid systems to generate aerosol using a combination of aerosolisable materials, and articles comprising aerosolisable material and configured to be used within one of these noncombustible aerosol provision systems. According to the present disclosure, a “noncombustible” aerosol provision system is one where a constituent aerosol generating material of the aerosol provision system (or component thereof) is not combusted or burned in order to facilitate delivery to a user. In some embodiments, the delivery system is a non-combustible aerosol provision system, such as a powered non-combustible aerosol provision system. In some embodiments, the non-combustible aerosol provision system is an electronic cigarette, also known as a vaping device or electronic nicotine delivery (END) system, although it is noted that the presence of nicotine in the aerosol generating material is not a requirement. In some embodiments, the non-combustible aerosol provision system is a hybrid system to generate aerosol using a combination of aerosolisable materials, one or a plurality of which may be heated. Each of the aerosolisable materials may be, for example, in the form of a solid, liquid or gel and may or may not contain nicotine. In some embodiments, the hybrid system comprises a liquid or gel aerosol generating material and a solid aerosol generating material. The solid aerosol generating material may comprise, for example, tobacco or a non-tobacco product.

Typically, the non-combustible aerosol provision system may comprise a non- combustible aerosol provision device and an article (consumable) for use with the non- combustible aerosol provision device. However, it is envisaged that articles which themselves comprise a means for powering an aerosol generator or aerosol generating component may themselves form the non-combustible aerosol provision system. In some embodiments, the non-combustible aerosol provision device may comprise a power source and a controller. The power source may, for example, be an electric power source. In some embodiments, the article for use with the non-combustible aerosol provision device may comprise an aerosol generating material, an aerosol generating component (aerosol generator), an aerosol generating area, a mouthpiece, and/or an area for receiving and holding aerosol generating material.

In some systems the aerosol generating component or aerosol generator comprises a heater capable of interacting with the aerosolisable material so as to release one or more volatiles from the aerosolisable material to form an aerosol. However, the disclosure is not limited in this regard, and applies also to systems that use other approaches to form aerosol, such as a vibrating mesh.

In some embodiments, the article for use with the non-combustible aerosol provision device may comprise aerosolisable material or an area for receiving aerosolisable material. In some embodiments, the article for use with the non-combustible aerosol provision device may comprise a mouthpiece. The area for receiving aerosolisable material may be a storage area for storing aerosolisable material. For example, the storage area may be a reservoir. In some embodiments, the area for receiving aerosolisable material may be separate from, or combined with, an aerosol generating area.

As used herein, the term “component” may be used to refer to a part, section, unit, module, assembly or similar of an electronic cigarette or similar device that incorporates several smaller parts or elements, possibly within an exterior housing or wall. An aerosol provision system such as an electronic cigarette may be formed or built from one or more such components, such as an article and a device, and the components may be removably or separably connectable to one another, or may be permanently joined together during manufacture to define the whole system. The present disclosure is applicable to (but not limited to) systems comprising two components separably connectable to one another and configured, for example, as an article in the form of an aerosolisable material carrying component holding liquid or another aerosolisable material (alternatively referred to as a cartridge, cartomiser, pod or consumable), and a device having a battery or other power source for providing electrical power to operate an aerosol generating component or aerosol generator for creating vapour/aerosol from the aerosolisable material. A component may include more or fewer parts than those included in the examples.

The present disclosure relates to aerosol provision systems and components thereof that utilise aerosolisable material in the form of a liquid or a gel which is held in a storage area such as a reservoir, tank, container or other receptacle comprised in the system, or absorbed onto a carrier substrate. An arrangement for delivering the material from the reservoir for the purpose of providing it to an aerosol generator for vapour / aerosol generation is included. The terms “liquid”, “gel”, “fluid”, “source liquid”, “source gel”, “source fluid” and the like may be used interchangeably with terms such as “aerosol-generating material”, “aerosolisable substrate material” and “substrate material” to refer to material that has a form capable of being stored and delivered in accordance with examples of the present disclosure.

Figure 1 is a highly schematic diagram (not to scale) of a generic example electronic aerosol/vapour provision system such as an e-cigarette 10, presented for the purpose of showing the relationship between the various parts of a typical system and explaining the general principles of operation. Note that the present disclosure is not limited to a system configured in this way, and features may be modified in accordance with the various alternatives and definitions described above and/or apparent to the skilled person. The e- cigarette 10 has a generally elongate shape in this example, extending along a longitudinal axis indicated by a dashed line, and comprises two main components, namely a device 20 (control or power component, section or unit), and an article or consumable 30 (cartridge assembly or section, sometimes referred to as a cartomiser, clearomiser or pod) carrying aerosol-generating material and operating to generate vapour/aerosol.

The article 30 includes a storage area such as a reservoir 3 for containing a source liquid or other aerosol-generating material comprising a formulation such as liquid or gel from which an aerosol is to be generated, for example containing nicotine. As an example, the source liquid may comprise around 1 % to 3% nicotine and 50% glycerol, with the remainder comprising roughly equal measures of water and propylene glycol, and possibly also comprising other components, such as flavourings. Nicotine-free source liquid may also be used, such as to deliver flavouring. A solid substrate (not illustrated), such as a portion of tobacco or other flavour element through which vapour generated from the liquid is passed, may also be included. The reservoir 3 may have the form of a storage tank, being a container or receptacle in which source liquid can be stored such that the liquid is free to move and flow within the confines of the tank. In other examples, the storage area may comprise absorbent material (either inside a tank or similar, or positioned within the outer housing of the article) that holds the aerosol generating material. For a consumable article, the reservoir 3 may be sealed after filling during manufacture so as to be disposable after the source liquid is consumed. However, the present disclosure is relevant to refillable articles that have an inlet port, orifice or other opening (not shown in Figure 1) through which new source liquid can be added to enable reuse of the article 30. The article 30 also comprises an aerosol generator 5, comprising in this example an aerosol generating component, which may have the form of an electrically powered heating element or heater 4 and an aerosol-generating material transfer component 6. The heater 4 is located externally of the reservoir 3 and is operable to generate the aerosol by vaporisation of the source liquid by heating. The aerosol-generating material transfer component 6 is a transfer or delivery arrangement configured to deliver aerosolgenerating material from the reservoir 3 to the heater 4. In some examples, it may have the form of a wick or other porous element. A wick 6 may have one or more parts located inside the reservoir 3, or otherwise be in fluid communication with liquid in the reservoir 3, so as to be able to absorb source liquid and transfer it by wicking or capillary action to other parts of the wick 6 that are adjacent or in contact with the heater 4. This liquid is thereby heated and vaporised, and replacement liquid drawn, via continuous capillary action, from the reservoir 3 for transfer to the heater 4 by the wick 6. The wick may be thought of as a conduit between the reservoir s and the heater 4 that delivers or transfers liquid from the reservoir to the heater. In some designs, the heater 4 and the aerosol-generating material transfer component 6 are unitary or monolithic, and formed from a same material that is able to be used for both liquid transfer and heating, such as a material which is both porous and conductive. In still other cases, the aerosol-generating material transfer component may operate other than by capillary action, such as by comprising an arrangement of one or more valves by which liquid may exit the reservoir 3 and be passed onto the heater 4.

A heater and wick (or similar) combination, referred to herein as an aerosol generator 5, may sometimes be termed an atomiser or atomiser assembly, and the reservoir with its source liquid plus the atomiser may be collectively referred to as an aerosol source. Various designs are possible, in which the parts may be differently arranged compared with the highly schematic representation of Figure 1 . For example, and as mentioned above, the wick 6 may be an entirely separate element from the heater 4, or the heater 4 may be configured to be porous and able to perform at least part of the wicking function directly (a metallic mesh, for example). In the present example, the system is an electronic system, and the heater 4 may comprise one or more electrical heating elements that operate by ohmic/resistive (Joule) heating, although inductive heating may also be used, in which case the heater comprises a susceptor in an induction heating arrangement. A heater of this type could be configured in line with the examples and embodiments described in more detail below. In general, therefore, an atomiser or aerosol generator, in the present context, can be considered as one or more elements that implement the functionality of a vapour-generating element able to generate vapour by heating source liquid (or other aerosol-generating material) delivered to it, and a liquid transport or delivery element able to deliver or transport liquid from a reservoir or similar liquid store to the vapour-generating element by a wicking action I capillary force or otherwise. An aerosol generator is typically housed in an article 30 of an aerosol generating system, as in Figure 1 , but in some examples, at least the heater part may be housed in the device 20. Embodiments of the disclosure are applicable to all and any such configurations which are consistent with the examples and description herein.

Returning to Figure 1 , the article 30 also includes a mouthpiece or mouthpiece portion 35 having an opening or air outlet through which a user may inhale the aerosol generated by the heater 4.

The device 20 includes a power source such as cell or battery 7 (referred to hereinafter as a battery, and which may or may not be re-chargeable) to provide electrical power for electrical components of the e-cigarette 10, in particular to operate the heater 4. Additionally, there is a controller 8 such as a printed circuit board and/or other electronics or circuitry for generally controlling the e-cigarette. The controller may include a processor programmed with software, which may be modifiable by a user of the system. The control electronics/circuitry 8 operates the heater 4 using power from the battery 7 when vapour is required. At this time, the user inhales on the system 10 via the mouthpiece 35, and air A enters through one or more air inlets 9 in the wall of the device 20 (air inlets may alternatively or additionally be located in the article 30). When the heater 4 is operated, it vaporises source liquid delivered from the reservoir 3 by the aerosol-generating material transfer component 6 to generate the aerosol by entrainment of the vapour into the air flowing through the system, and this is then inhaled by the user through the opening in the mouthpiece 35. The aerosol is carried from the aerosol generator 5 to the mouthpiece 35 along one or more air channels (not shown) that connect the air inlets 9 to the aerosol generator 5 to the air outlet when a user inhales on the mouthpiece 35.

More generally, the controller 8 is suitably configured I programmed to control the operation of the aerosol provision system to provide functionality in accordance with embodiments and examples of the disclosure as described further herein, as well as for providing conventional operating functions of the aerosol provision system in line with established techniques for controlling such devices. The controller 8 may be considered to logically comprise various sub-units I circuitry elements associated with different aspects of the aerosol provision system’s operation in accordance with the principles described herein and other conventional operating aspects of aerosol provision systems, such as display driving circuitry for systems that may include a user display (such as an screen or indicator) and user input detections via one or more user actuable controls 12. It will be appreciated that the functionality of the controller 8 can be provided in various different ways, for example using one or more suitably programmed programmable computers and/or one or more suitably configured application-specific integrated circuits I circuitry I chips I chipsets configured to provide the desired functionality.

The device 20 and the article 30 are separate connectable parts detachable from one another by separation in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis, as indicated by the doubleheaded arrows in Figure 1. The components 20, 30 are joined together when the system 10 is in use by cooperating engagement elements 21 , 31 (for example, a screw or bayonet fitting) which provide mechanical and in some cases electrical connectivity between the device 20 and the article 30. Electrical connectivity is required if the heater 4 operates by ohmic heating, so that current can be passed through the heater 4 when it is connected to the battery 5. In systems that use inductive heating, electrical connectivity can be omitted if no parts requiring electrical power are located in the article 30. An inductive work coil can be housed in the device 20 and supplied with power from the battery 5, and the article 30 and the device 20 shaped so that when they are connected, there is an appropriate exposure of the heater 4 to flux generated by the coil for the purpose of generating current flow in the material of the heater. The Figure 1 design is merely an example arrangement, and the various parts and features may be differently distributed between the device 20 and the article 30, and other components and elements may be included. The two sections may connect together end-to- end in a longitudinal configuration as in Figure 1 , or in a different configuration such as a parallel, side-by-side arrangement. The system may or may not be generally cylindrical and/or have a generally longitudinal shape. Either or both sections or components may be intended to be disposed of and replaced when exhausted, or be intended for multiple uses enabled by actions such as refilling the reservoir and recharging the battery. In other examples, the system 10 may be unitary, in that the parts of the device 20 and the article 30 are comprised in a single housing and cannot be separated. Embodiments and examples of the present disclosure are applicable to any of these configurations and other configurations of which the skilled person will be aware, but are most generally concerned with configurations comprising an article with a refillable storage area

The present disclosure relates to the refilling of a storage area for aerosol generating material in an aerosol provision system, whereby a user is enabled to conveniently provide a system with fresh aerosol generating material when a previous stored quantity has been used up. It is proposed that this be done automatically, by provision of apparatus which is termed herein a refilling device, refilling unit, refilling station, or simply dock. The refilling device is configured to receive an aerosol provision system, or more conveniently, the article from an aerosol provision system, having a storage area which is empty or only partly full, plus a larger reservoir holding aerosol generating material. A fluid communication flow path is established between the reservoir and the storage area, and a controller in the refilling device controls a transfer mechanism or arrangement operable to move aerosol generating material along the flow path from the reservoir to the storage area. The transfer mechanism can be activated in response to user input of a refill request to the refilling device, or activation may be automatic in response to a particular state or condition of the refilling device detected by the controller. For example, if both an article and a reservoir are correctly positioned inside the refilling unit, refilling may be carried out. Once the storage area is replenished with a desired quantity of aerosol generating material (the storage area is filled or a user specified quantity of material has been transferred to the article, for example), the transfer mechanism is deactivated, and transfer ceases. Alternatively, the transfer mechanism may be configured to automatically dispense a fixed quantity of aerosol generating material in response to activation by the controller, such as a fixed quantity matching the capacity of the storage area.

Figure 2 shows a highly schematic representation of an example refilling device. The refilling device is shown in a simplified form only, to illustrate various elements and their relationship to one another. More particular features of one or more of the elements with which the present disclosure is concerned will be described in more detail below.

The refilling device 50 may be referred to hereinafter for convenience as a “dock”. This term is applicable since a reservoir and an article are received or “docked” in the refilling device during use. The dock 50 comprises an outer housing 52. The dock 50 is expected to be useful for refilling of articles in the home or workplace (rather than being a portable device or a commercial device, although these options are not excluded). Therefore, the outer housing, made for example from metal, plastics or glass, may be designed to have an pleasing outward appearance such as to make it suitable for permanent and convenient access, such as on a shelf, desk, table or counter. It may be any size suitable for accommodating the various elements described herein, such as having dimensions between about 10 cm and 20 cm, although smaller or larger sizes may be preferred. Inside the housing 50 are defined two cavities or ports 54, 56. A first port 54 is shaped and dimensioned to receive and interface with a reservoir 40. The first or reservoir port 54 is configured to enable an interface between the reservoir 40 and the dock 50, so might alternatively be termed a reservoir interface. Primarily, the reservoir interface is for moving aerosol generating material out of the reservoir 40, but in some cases the interface may enable additional functions, such as electrical contacts and sensing capabilities for communication between the reservoir 40 and the dock 50 and determining characteristics and features of the reservoir 40.

The reservoir 40 comprises a wall or housing 41 that defines a storage space for holding aerosol generating material 42. The volume of the storage space is large enough to accommodate many or several times the storage area of an article intended to be refilled in the dock 50. A user can therefore purchase a filled reservoir of their preferred aerosol generating material (flavour, strength, brand, etc.), and use it to refill an article multiple times. A user could acquire several reservoirs 40 of different aerosol generating materials, so as to have a convenient choice available when refilling an article. The reservoir 40 includes an outlet orifice or opening 44 by which the aerosol generating material 42 can pass out of the reservoir 40. In the current context, the aerosol generating material 42 has a liquid form or a gel form, so may be considered as aerosol generating fluid. The term “fluid” may be used herein for convenience to refer to either a liquid or a gel material; where the term “liquid” is used herein, it should be similarly understood as referring to a liquid or a gel material, unless the context makes it clear that only liquid is intended.

A second port 56 defined inside the housing is shaped and dimensioned to receive and interface with an article 30. The second or article port 54 is configured to enable an interface between the article 30 and the dock 50, so might alternatively be termed an article interface. The article interface 56 is for receiving aerosol generating material into the article 30, and according to the present examples, the article interface enables additional functions, such as electrical contacts and sensing capabilities for communication between the article 30 and the dock 50 and determining characteristics and features of the article 30. In particular, the article interface 56 has associated with it an imaging-based sensing or detecting system 59 (indicated highly schematically only in Figure 2) which may be interrogated by a controller 55 in the refilling dock 50 in order to obtain information about fluid in a storage area of the article 30 when received in the article interface 56.

The article 30 itself comprises a wall or housing 31 that has within it (but possibly not occupying all the space within the wall 31) a storage area 3 for holding aerosol generating material. The volume of the storage area 3 is many or several times smaller than the volume of the reservoir 40, so that the article 30 can be refilled multiple times from a single reservoir 40. The article also includes an inlet orifice or opening 32 by which aerosol generating material can enter the storage area 3. Various other elements may be included in the article, as discussed above with regard to Figure 1. For convenience, the article 30 may be referred to hereinafter as a pod 30.

The housing 52 of the dock also accommodates a fluid conduit 58, being a passage or flow path by which the reservoir 40 and the storage area 3 of the article 30 are placed in fluid communication, so that aerosol generating material can move from the reservoir 40 to the article 30 when both the reservoir 40 and the article 30 are correctly positioned in the dock 50. Placement of the reservoir 40 and the article 30 into the dock 50 locates and engages them such that the fluid conduit 58 is connected between the outlet orifice 44 of the reservoir 40 and the inlet orifice 32 of the article 30. Note that in some examples, all or part of the fluid conduit 58 may be formed by parts of the reservoir 40 and the article 30, so that the fluid conduit is created and defined only when the reservoir 40 and/or the article 30 are placed in the dock 30. In other cases, the fluid conduit 58 may be a flow path defined within a body of the dock 52, to each end of which the respective orifices are engaged.

Access to the reservoir port 54 and the article port 56 can be by any convenient means. Apertures may be provided in the housing 52 of the dock 50, through which the reservoir 40 and the article 30 can be placed or pushed. Doors or the like may be included to cover the apertures, which might be required to be placed in a closed state to allow refilling to take place. Doors, hatches and other hinged coverings, or sliding access elements such as drawers or trays might include shaped tracks, slots or recesses to receive and hold the reservoir 40 or the article 30, which bring the reservoir 40 or the article 30 into proper alignment inside the housing when the door etc. is closed. These and other alternatives will be apparent to the skilled person, and do not affect the scope of the present disclosure.

The dock 50 also includes an aerosol generating material (“liquid” or “fluid”) transfer mechanism, arrangement, apparatus or means 53, operable to move or cause the movement of fluid out of the reservoir 40, along the conduit 58 and into the article 30. Various options are contemplated for the transfer mechanism 53.

As already noted, a controller 55 is also included in the dock 50. This is operable to control components of the dock 50, in particular to generate and send control signals to operate the transfer mechanism. As noted, this may be in response to a user input, such as actuation of a button or switch (not shown) on the housing 52, or automatically in response to both the reservoir 40 and the article 30 being detected as present inside their respective ports 54, 56. The controller 55 may therefore be in communication with contacts and/or sensors (such as the sensing system 59, but otherwise not shown) at the ports 54, 56 in order to obtain data from the ports and/or the reservoir 40 and article 30 that can be used in the generation of control signals for operating the transfer mechanism 53. The controller 55 may comprise a microcontroller, a microprocessor, or any configuration of circuitry, hardware, firmware or software as preferred; various options will be apparent to the skilled person.

Finally, the dock 50 includes a power source 57 to provide electrical power for the controller 53, and any other electrical components that may be included in the dock, such as sensors, user inputs such as switches, buttons or touch panels, and display elements such as light emitting diodes and display screens to convey information about the dock’s operation and status to the user. Also, the transfer mechanism may be electrically powered. Since the dock may be for permanent location in a house or office, the power source 57 may comprise a socket for connection of an electrical mains cable to the dock 50, so that the dock 50 may be “plugged in”. Alternatively, the power source may comprise one or more batteries, which might be replaceable or rechargeable, in which case a socket connection for a charging cable can be included.

Further details relating to the control of the refilling will now be described.

As noted above, the refilling process is governed by the controller of the refilling device, and includes the generation and sending of control signals to the transfer mechanism to cause it to manage the movement of fluid from the reservoir into the article. This can be performed so as to dispense a fixed amount of fluid that corresponds to the known capacity of the article’s storage area or a known required amount of fluid, after which operation of the transfer mechanism ceases. Alternatively, and in some situations more usefully, cessation of the fluid dispensing can be implemented in response to ascertainment, determination or detection of a fluid level or amount in the article. The controller is configured to recognise when the storage area has become full, or otherwise filled to a required level, and to cause the transfer mechanism to stop transferring fluid in response. This allows an article to be refilled safely without spilling or pressure build-up in the storage area, regardless of an amount of fluid present in the article at the start of the refilling process. Articles can hence be topped up as well as completely or partially refilled from empty.

In the present disclosure, it is proposed to use an image-based fluid detecting or sensing system, apparatus or arrangement to detect and/or record images of the storage area of an article received in a refilling device, from which information about fluid in the storage area, in particular information about full or empty the storage area is (which we might think of as a “fill status” of the article) such as a level of fluid or an amount or volume of fluid in the storage area, can be obtained or ascertained. The term “image” takes its usual meaning in the context of image recording using electronic equipment, namely a captured two-dimensional pattern of light intensity variation corresponding to the appearance of an item viewed by the equipment, typically formatted as an array of pixel values. The fill status amount of fluid obtainable from an image may include a level of fluid in the storage area (the location of the upper surface of the fluid, either absolute or relative to one or more features of the storage area or the article such as top and bottom walls of the storage area or level markers on a side wall of the storage area); the presence or absence of fluid in the storage area; the proportion or percentage of full capacity represented by a current quantity of fluid, including the corresponding proportion of the capacity which is empty; or a quantified amount or volume of fluid in the storage area. Also, other information about the fluid may be determined, such as a type or sort or composition of the fluid. Further, information about the article itself may be determined, such as the presence or absence of the article in the refilling device, so that a refilling action can be enabled in response to an article being inserted into the article interface, for an automated refilling procedure and to prevent accidental initiation of a refilling action when an article is not present, for example.

Image-based sensing offers a range of benefits. The required components can be small in size and standard parts can be used, giving a compact and economic fill status sensing system which is attractive for use in a consumer refilling device. Alternative sensing systems may utilise capacitance measurements of the liquid storage area (since the capacitance will vary depending on the amount of fluid which is present). However, contaminants such as surface dirt or moisture on the outside of the article can interfere with capacitance measurements to give a false result, as can surface damage or abrasion of the article which is a likely outcome for refillable/reusable articles with a long lifespan. Imagebased sensing is more immune to such occurrences, however, and therefore can provide a more robust, reliable and accurate determination of fluid amounts.

It is proposed that the images be obtained using an image sensor configured (by being placed in a suitable optical relationship for the passage of light from the storage area to the image sensor) to capture and/or record images of the storage area of an article which is received in the article interface of the refilling device. The images are assessed or analysed in order to obtain or ascertain, from one or more of the images, information about the article and its storage area, in particular including the fill status of the article, for example a level or an amount of fluid in the storage area, or a simple designation of the article as “empty” or “full” or some intermediate “partially full” state. The fill status can then be used in the generation of control signals for controlling a refilling action of the refilling device. In other words, the refilling action is controlled in dependence on one or more images captured by the image sensor. The fill status information can be provided to the controller discussed above that controls the transfer mechanism to perform refilling actions to transfer fluid to the article from a separate controller that receives and handles images from the image sensor, and may also control operation of the image sensor. In other configurations, a single controller can both receive and handle the images and generate the control signals for the refilling action. For simplicity in the following description, a single controller will be presented as performing the various relevant actions, but in all cases, the actions may be divided between two or more controllers as desired.

The image sensor detects light arising from the storage area in order to obtain the image, in the usual manner, where the light may have interacted with the interior of the storage area by transmission, reflection or scattering. The light may originate from one or more dedicated optical sources comprised in the refilling device and arranged to illuminate the storage area, or may be general ambient light impinging on the storage area from the environment. The controller may operate the image sensor and any optical sources to obtain images as and when required, which may be intermittent or at periodic intervals, or may be continuous throughout a refilling action. The former reduces the computational burden since less image analysis is required, and may be implemented with a simple image sensor designed only for “stills” image capture, while the latter can produce a more continuous determination of fluid level (depending on the rate at which the image is used for the determination) for increased accuracy and better resolution of the precise amount of fluid which is present and hence finer control of the refilling action.

Figure 3 shows a highly schematic and not to scale representation of an example image-based liquid sensing arrangement according to a first example. The arrangement is comprised within a refilling device such as the example of Figure 2, but the majority of the refilling device components are omitted for clarity. Shown, though, is the article interface 56, represented generally by a dotted line to indicate that its boundaries may be located otherwise than shown with relation to the various parts of the sensing arrangement. However, the article interface comprises and defines a space within the refilling device into which an article 30 to be refilled is inserted, placed or otherwise received. The article 30 has a liquid or fluid storage area 3 in which aerosol generating material is stored. The article 30 has an outer wall or housing 31 which may also be provide one or more walls defining the storage area 3, as illustrated, but in other designs, the storage area 3 is bounded by additional walls inside the housing 31. In order to enable the image sensing proposed herein, the walls/housing 31 of the article, and additionally the walls of the storage area 3 if these are different from the housing 31 are at least partly or partially transmissive to light which can be detected by the sensing arrangement, in order for an interior of the storage area, where the aerosol generating material is held, to be visible to the sensing arrangement. The term “at least partly or partially transmissive” includes the possibilities of the walls or walls being made wholly of material which is transmissive to the detectable light, or being made partly of such material to provide one or more windows though which the interior of the storage area 3 can be observed. The term also covers the option that the transmissive material has a high transmissivity to the light (say, at least 80% or at least 90% transmission), so that it is effectively transparent for the light, giving maximum visibility of the storage area interior for a given light intensity, and also the option that the transmissive material is only partially transmissive to the light (say less than 80%). This alternative may, for example, require a higher intensity of light for effective imaging of the storage area interior, but may be preferred to achieve a desired outward appearance for the article.

The liquid sensing arrangement comprises an image sensor 60, being a two- dimensional optical detector array such as a CCD (charge coupled device) sensor or an activepixel sensor (CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) sensor)), configured to convert incident photons into electrical current on a pixel-wise basis in the usual manner, and thereby capture images of the storage area 3 of an article 30 in the article interface 56. The image sensor 60 is arranged so that its imaging direction I, essentially the viewing direction of the image sensor 60, is directed towards the article 30. The image sensor 60 has a field of view FOV in the usual manner, being the area from which it is able to receive incoming photons and hence obtain an image. Usefully, the FOV is sized so that it includes or encompasses the whole of the storage area 30 as seen along the imaging direction. This option is represented in Figure 3. In other words the entirety of the side of the storage area 3 which faces towards the image sensor 60 is within the FOV of the image sensor 60. This allows images captured by the image sensor 60 to show all of the storage area, so that the fill status (level or amount of fluid) therein can be most accurately assessed from the images. However, useful results can be obtained with a smaller FOV. For example, the FOV may cover a vertical slice of the side view of the storage area 3 of the received article 30, extending over the height of the storage area 3 so that the level of any fluid in the storage area 3 always appears in a image, while parts of the storage area extending in the horizontal area are excluded (since the fluid level will be the same in this direction so that a wider image does not necessarily convey any additional information about the fluid level). A smaller FOV can reduce image capture time, increase image capture rate and reduce image analysis time and computational expense.

In order for the image sensor 60 to be able to capture images of the storage area 3, it is necessary to illuminate the storage area with light that interacts with the interior of the storage area in order to pick up information about the quantity of fluid therein before reaching the image sensor 60. The interaction may be with the walls of the storage area 3 and will be with any fluid in the storage area. The interaction may be the transmission T of light 62 originating from a source 62a on the opposite side of the storage area 3 from the image sensor 60 straight though the storage area from, the source 62a to the image sensor 60. This is a back-lighting arrangement. The interaction may be the reflection R of light 62 originating from a source 62c on a same side of the storage area 3 as the image sensor 60, the reflection being from the interior of the storage area 3 and directing the light towards the image sensor 60. The interaction may be the scattering S of light 62 originating from a source 62b at a side of storage area 3 away from the image sensor 60, the scattering being from fluid within the storage area 3 some of which will be along a direction towards the image sensor 60. Any one, two or all three interactions may be employed, depending on the convenience of the each of the required locations for the sources 62a, 62b, 62c, and the efficacy of the various interactions. For example, a fluid which is reasonably non-transmissive to the light may image well in transmission, giving a high contrast between the fluid-filled portion of the storage area and the empty region above. A fluid of a particular consistency may contain many scattering centres and hence direct a lot of scattered light towards the image sensor 60, or may be efficient at reflecting.

One or more sources 62a, 62b, 62c may be included, with more than one source being employed to enable more than one type of interaction, or for additional illumination for a single interaction. The source or sources may be dedicated optical sources capable of generating light and emitting the light towards the storage area 3 to illuminate it. For example, light emitting diodes may be used, although other optical sources such a bulbs are not excluded. The optical source(s) 62a, 62b, 62c may be located on the walls of the article interface 56, as shown in Figure 3, such as being mounted on the walls or positioned in recesses in the walls in order not to impinge on the space for accommodating the article 30. Alternatively, the optical source(s) 62a, 62b, 62c may be located elsewhere in the refilling device, remote from the article interface 30, if this is more convenient. The walls may be provided with apertures, windows or openings through which the light can pass from the optical source(s) 62a, 62b, 62c to reach the storage area 3 (or the article interface can be defined by frame rather than walls, which inherently has openings for light passage). Alternatively, an optical fibre can be employed to carry light from an optical source 62a, 62b, 62c to the article interface, having a emitting end situated to direct light into the article interface 56.

Alternatively, dedicated optical sources may be omitted, and ambient light from the environment around the refilling device used to illuminate the storage area 3. This arrangement removes the need for optical sources and may therefore be less costly, reduce power consumption (beneficial in a battery-operated refilling device, for example) and require less space inside the refilling device. However, it is then necessary to include one or more suitably located openings, apertures or windows in the housing of the refilling device in addition to those in the article interface 56 in order for light from outside the refilling device to reach the interior of the storage area. Also, the variability of ambient light may be less preferable than the constant light intensity that can be achieved with dedicated optical sources, the latter giving greater consistency between captured images and hence possibly enabling more straightforward and accurate image analysis. As a further alternative, the refilling device can be configured to allow ambient light illumination, and one or more optical sources can be additionally provided for use when ambient light levels are too low for good image sensing, for example to save energy during daylight hours but enable liquid level sensing via the optical sensors during darkness hours.

Ambient light will typically have a broad spectral range, typically white light or nearwhite light. This can be used to provide full-colour imaging if considered useful. If one or more dedicated optical sources are used, these may be configured to emit light having a broadband spectrum in the visible bandwidth (white light or daylight emulation, for example) to enable fullcolour imaging. However, fill status and fluid level information can be determined from nonfull colour images also (including monochrome images), so dedicated optical sources may instead be configured to emit light with a narrow bandwidth only (narrowband spectrum), in effect light of a single colour (wavelength). This can simplify and cheapen both the optical source, and also the image sensor, which need not be configured for broadband detection (detection of photons across a wide spectral range). Narrowband emission may be at a wavelength or wavelengths in the visible spectrum. Alternatively, non-visible wavelengths may be used, for example infrared light. This option increases the range of materials available for the walls of the storage area, since visible transmission is no longer required, some materials having a higher transmissivity of infrared than visible. In summary, however, the image sensor should be configured for good detection efficiency at the wavelength(s) of light which are emitted by the optical sources, or for broadband detection where ambient lighting is used.

Returning to Figure 3, the image sensor 60 produces an electrical output 64 representing the detected and captured images of the storage area 3, which is sent to the controller 55 (or a separate controller as mentioned above) via a connection 66. The controller 55 receives the images as the electrical output 64, processes it to produce usable image data in the usual way, and in addition assesses or analyses one or more images in order to ascertain from the images a fill status for the article such as a level or an amount of fluid which is present in the storage area. Then, the ascertained level and/or amount or more than one ascertained level and/or amount is used by the controller 55 to generate control signals 68 which are communicated to the transfer mechanism 53 to operate the transfer mechanism to perform a refilling (or simply filling) action of the refilling device to move fluid along the fluid flow path 58 from the reservoir 40 to the storage area 3 of the article 30. Hence, control signals 68 for the refilling action are determined based on images of the storage area 3 of the received article captured by the image sensor 60. In particular, a refilling action can be initiated in response to the fluid level or amount being determined to be less than a required level or amount in the storage area (for example, the storage area holds less fluid than its maximum storage capacity), and the refilling action can subsequently be stopped in response to the fluid level or amount being determined to be at or in excess of the required amount (for example, the storage area now holds its maximum storage capacity of fluid). The controller may continuously or intermittently monitor the fluid level or amount from successive/subsequent images in order to determine when the required level or amount has been achieved and control cessation of the refilling action at the appropriate time.

In Figure 3, the image sensor 30 is shown as being located to directly receive light from the storage area. However, it may be more convenient or practical to locate the image sensor 30 within the refilling device in a position in which there is no optical line-of sight to the image sensor 30 from the storage area 3. Accordingly, in some example, one or more mirrors may placed in the optical path from the storage area to direct the light along a different path towards the image sensor.

Figure 4 shows a highly simplified schematic representation of a further example of a image-based sensing arrangement. In this example, a mirror 70 is placed to collect light 62 propagating from the article 30 after interaction with the storage area 3, and redirect it at an angle to the original propagation direction, along the imaging direction of the image sensor 60. In addition, a lens 72 is included to focus the light 62 onto the image sensor 60. Focusing the light allows the image sensor 60 to be placed closer to the storage area 3 without reducing the FOV of the image sensor 60 so that the required portion of the storage area can still be imaged with a imaging system that occupies less space.

Figure 5 shows a further example, in which the lens 72 is placed in the optical path before the mirror 70. More than one mirror and/or more than one lens may be used as required to achieve a desired optical path and a desired focus/FOV. The system may include mirrors only or lenses only. Focussing may also be achieved by use of curved mirrors, rather than the planar mirrors shown in Figures 4 and 5.

The controller may be configured to assess, analyse or otherwise handle captured images from the image sensor to determine a fill status of the storage area of the article in any convenient manner. For controlling refilling, the aim is to obtain an indication of fluid quantity in the storage area so that filling can be implemented or not as required in order to achieve a desired quantity of fluid in the storage area. The method used to ascertain the fill status is not critical to this control of the refilling, so that any suitable approach may be used. As a first example, artificial intelligence/machine learning may be used. In order to achieve this, the controller is provided with a training set of images for which the corresponding fill status is known, which may be in terms of an actual fluid level or a fluid amount, or a categorisation of ranges of levels or amounts as “full”, “empty” or some intermediate state, for example. From the training set, the controller learns to recognise images for possible fill statuses, including an empty storage area with no fluid, so that when presented with a new image outside of the training set (such as a newly captured image of an article received in the refilling device to be refilled), the controller is able to ascertain the level, amount or other fill status of fluid in the imaged storage area by recognising correspondence with the known images from the training set. This is in accordance with standard machine learning processes. For refilling device configurations in which there is a high consistency between images, a smaller training set may be suitable and provide sufficient accuracy. For example, if the source of light is a dedicated optical source with a fixed spectral output, and the article interface is configured to hold the article tightly at a consistent position and orientation, there will a high consistency of images, with the main variable being the level of the fluid surface within the storage area. If a lower image consistency is likely, a larger training set may be required in order for the controller to learn to ascertain fluid amounts from a wider range of images. This may arise if ambient lighting is used, which will vary throughout the day, or if the article interface receives the article with some freedom of movement or of orientation.

Another example of image analysis is image processing. The controller may be configured to extract one or more parameters from an image and calculate, deduce or otherwise determine the fill status from the parameters. For example, the size of the area of the image which is occupied by pixels which show fluid can be calculated (by eliminating pixels with values that do not correspond to the appearance of fluid, and counting the remaining pixels, for example), and used to calculate or look up the corresponding amount of fluid which would produce that area size in the image. This requires consistent positioning of the article in the article interface so that the storage area is always imaged at the same size. Alternatively, pixels that show the surface of the fluid can be identified, and their distance from the top or the bottom of the image or of the storage area in the image calculated so that the depth of fluid within the storage area is known, and the corresponding amount can be calculated or looked up, or the location of the fluid surface relative to the top or bottom of the storage area or the top or bottom of the image can be used directly as an indicator of the level of the fluid. These approaches may require consistent positioning of the article in the article interface so that the storage area is always imaged at the same size, although if there are known markers appearing in the image, the controller may perform scaling to address this issue. Markers might be provided on the exterior of the article, within the imaged area, for this purpose, and or as fixed points relative to which fluid level or depth can be ascertained. For example, a fluid level below an “empty” marker towards the bottom the storage area may be categorised as an empty article which may be refilled, and a fluid level above a “full” marker may be categorised as a full article for which refilling should be stopped or not carried out. A single marker at a desired fluid level for a filled article may enable the same approach.

Figure 6 shows a schematic representation of an example image obtained with the image sensor of an image-based liquid level sensing arrangement, for use and analysis by the controller of a refilling device. The image 75 shows a storage area 3 containing fluid 34 (in reality other parts of the article will likely be visible too). At the time of the image capture, the storage area contains a small amount of fluid 34, to a fill level LC (for current level), which is the position of the current surface of the fluid. The controller determines from the image the current fluid amount in the storage area, which may be represented by the position of the surface relative to the base or top of the storage area or to a marker on the side wall of the storage area (not shown) (level of fluid), or the actual volume of fluid which corresponds to the surface having that position. The controller has information regarding a required level or amount of fluid 34 in the storage area 3. This may be, for example, a maximum amount of fluid 34 that the storage area can accommodate, which is represented in the Figure 6 by a dotted line fluid surface at a level LF (for final level or full level). If we assume that the image 75 is an initial image from an article newly inserted into the article interface, the controller can ascertain that the current fill level LC is less than the full level LF (since the appearance and/or fluid level position of a full storage area in an image will be known), and determine therefore that some filling of the storage area is needed.

As a next step, the controller can send a control signal to the fluid transfer mechanism for a refilling action to start. Fluid is then moved from the reservoir into the storage area, and the current fluid level rises as the amount of fluid in the storage area increases. In some examples, the controller continues to operate the sensing arrangement to obtain more images (at intervals or continuously), and assesses or analyses the images to determine the position of the current fill level LC as the refilling action proceeds. When the fluid amount has increased for the storage area to be full, the controller recognises that the current fill level LC coincides with (or is higher than) the full level LF, and turns the refilling action off by sending a suitable control signal to the fluid transfer mechanism.

In other examples, after identifying that filling is required, the controller can be configured to determine or calculate a difference AL between the current fill level LC and the full level LF, and calculate the amount of fluid which is required to bring the current fill level LC up to the full level LF in order to refill the storage area. If the rate at which the fluid transfer mechanism moves fluid into the storage area is known, the time taken to deliver the required amount of fluid can be determined by the controller, and the controller can operate the fluid transfer mechanism for the appropriate amount of time only, switching it off at the end of that time period. A second image of the storage area could be captured at that point, from which the controller can check that refilling has taken place successfully by determining if the current fill level matches the full level LF. This latter option is computationally less intensive than continuous monitoring of the fluid amount since it can be effected with just the initial image when the article is received by the article interface. However, if there is variability in the fluid transfer rate, or some error in operation of the fluid transfer mechanism during the refilling action, the required final fill level may not be correctly achieved (under-filling or over-filling may occur). Hence, continuous or periodic monitoring may be preferred, although the capture of a final check image as mentioned above may mitigate some issues at least. Figure 7 shows a series of schematic representations of images captured by the image sensor during a refilling action. At an initial time to when the article has been placed in the article interface, an initial image 75a is captured, from which it is determined that the fluid amount is very low, with a current fill level LCO near the bottom of the storage area. The controller commences a refilling action by controlling the fluid transfer mechanism. Successive images 75b, 75c and 75d are captured, in each of which the fluid level can be seen to have risen to a current level LC1 at time t1 , LC2 at time t2 and LC3 at time t3. Finally, at time tF, the storage area is full, and the current fluid level LC is determined to match the required full or final level LF, and fluid transfer into the storage area is ceased.

In a further alternative, the refilling device may comprise a user display on the exterior of the refilling device to which the images captured by the image sensor are passed for display. If continuous or rapidly repeated imaging is conveyed to the display, the user can visually inspect the current level of fluid in the storage area. If the refilling device also comprises a user input, such as a button or a touch control on the display, which operates to allow the fluid transfer mechanism to be switched off, the user can stop the movement of fluid into the storage area (cease the refilling action) when the fluid amount has reached a level currently desired by the user, rather than the controller controlling the fluid transfer mechanism to stop operating. In this way the user can fill the storage area to any desired amount, which may be less than full. The user input may also enable the fluid transfer mechanism to be turned on so that refilling can be carried out in response to user assessment that more fluid is required in the storage area. Refilling is thereby enabled to be “on-demand” for a user.

A further option is for the controller to be configured to recognise from an image whether or not an article and hence a storage area is present in the article interface. This can prevent accidental or erroneous operation of the fluid transfer mechanism.

Another feature can be implemented if some degree of colour imaging is implemented. If the refilling device is configured to only allow refilling with a certain type or types of aerosol forming material which have a spectral characteristic such as a colour which is known to the controller, refilling can be prevented or aborted if it is detected that an incorrect colour of aerosol generating material is entering the storage area. This can be used to prevent the use of unauthorised aerosol generating material which the manufacturer of the refilling device and the aerosol provision system deems inappropriate, for safety reasons or to comply with legal restrictions, for example. Similar spectral analysis of the aerosol generating material can be used to report the type to the user by way of a user display, if different types of aerosol generating material are given different colours.

Figure 8 shows a flow chart of steps in an example method according to the present disclosure. In a first step S1 , an article of an aerosol provision system with a storage area for aerosol generating fluid is placed in the article interface of a refilling device. In a second step 52, an initial image of the storage area is captured, plus successive images if desired (where the image capture may be continuous (video image) or a series of still images). In a third step

53, the captured image(s) are used to ascertain a fill status of the storage area, for example a level or an amount of fluid in the storage area is determined from the captured image or images. In the fourth step S4, a refilling action to transfer fluid into the storage area from a reservoir in the refilling device is performed, controlled based on or in dependence on the image or images, for example based on fluid amounts determined from the image(s).

As noted, the nature of the approach taken to obtain fill status information of an article from the images may be immaterial, so that the images may be used or handled in any convenient manner. Therefore, in an example, a refilling device for refilling an article from a reservoir may be summarised as comprising an article interface for receiving an article of an aerosol provision system, the article having a storage area for fluid; an image sensor configured to capture images of the storage area of an article received in the article interface; and a controller configured to generate control signals for controlling a refilling action of the refilling device in which fluid is moved along a fluid flow path from a reservoir received in a reservoir interface in the refilling device to the storage area of the article received in the article interface, in dependence on one or more images received from the image sensor.

In another example, a more specific approach may be taken with handling the images, in which the controller determines an amount or level of fluid in the storage area from the images. This determined information may then be used to for generating refilling action control signals, but may also have other uses. Hence, in another example, a refilling device for refilling an article from a reservoir may be summarised as comprising an article interface for receiving an article of an aerosol provision system, the article having a storage area for fluid; an image sensor configured to capture images of the storage area of an article received in the article interface; and a controller configured to receive the images from the image sensor and analyse the images to determine from one or more images a level or an amount of fluid in the storage area.

The various embodiments described herein are presented only to assist in understanding and teaching the claimed features. These embodiments are provided as a representative sample of embodiments only, and are not exhaustive and/or exclusive. It is to be understood that advantages, embodiments, examples, functions, features, structures, and/or other aspects described herein are not to be considered limitations on the scope of the invention as defined by the claims or limitations on equivalents to the claims, and that other embodiments may be utilised and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the claimed invention. Various embodiments of the invention may suitably comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of, appropriate combinations of the disclosed elements, components, features, parts, steps, means, etc., other than those specifically described herein. In addition, this disclosure may include other inventions not presently claimed, but which may be claimed in future.

Claims

1. A refilling device for refilling an article from a reservoir, comprising: an article interface for receiving an article of an aerosol provision system, the article having a storage area for fluid; an image sensor configured to capture images of the storage area of an article received in the article interface; and a controller configured to generate control signals for controlling a refilling action of the refilling device in which fluid is moved along a fluid flow path from a reservoir received in a reservoir interface in the refilling device to the storage area of the article received in the article interface, in dependence on one or more images received from the image sensor.

2. A refilling device according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to generate the control signals in dependence on at least one level of fluid shown in the one or more images and/or on at least one amount of fluid determined from the one or more images.

3. A refilling device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the controller is configured to receive the one or more images from the image sensor and ascertain from the one or more images at least one of a level of fluid in the storage area and an amount of fluid in the storage area for use in generating the control signals.

4. A refilling device according to claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the level of fluid and/or the amount of fluid is ascertained from the one or more images using machine learning.

5. A refilling device according to claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the level of fluid and/or the amount of fluid is ascertained from the one or more images using image processing.

6. A refilling device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the controller is further configured to monitor the level or amount of fluid from images captured and received during the refilling action, and control the refilling action to cease when a required level or amount of fluid is present in the storage area.

7. A refilling device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the controller is further configured to determine a difference between a level or an amount of fluid when an article is first received in the article interface and a required level or amount of fluid for the article, and control the refilling action to move fluid corresponding to the difference to the storage area.

8. A refilling device according to claim 1 , wherein the refilling device further comprises a user display, and a user input for controlling the refilling action, the refilling device configured to send the captured images to the user display during the refilling action, and the user input configured to control the refilling to cease when operated by the user.

9. A refilling device according to any preceding claim, wherein the image sensor has a field of view which encompasses all of the storage area as viewed along an imaging direction of the image sensor.

10. A refilling device according to any preceding claim, further comprising one or more lenses which focus light from the storage area onto the image sensor.

11. A refilling device according to any preceding claim, further comprising one or more mirrors which direct and/or focus light from the storage area onto the image sensor.

12. A refilling device according to any preceding claim, further comprising one or more optical sources configured to emit light for illuminating the storage area, the light being detected by the image sensor after interaction with the storage area.

13. A refilling device according to claim 12, wherein the one or more optical sources are located relative to the image sensor such that the image sensor detects light which has been transmitted through the storage area.

14. A refilling device according to claim 12 or claim 13, wherein the one or more optical sources are located relative to the image sensor such that the image sensor detects light which has been reflected from the storage area and any fluid therein.

15. A refilling device according to claim 12, claim 13 or claim 14, wherein the one or more optical sources are located relative to the image sensor such that the image sensor detects light which has been scattered from the storage area and any fluid therein.

16. A refilling device according to any one of claims 11 to 15, wherein the one or more optical sources comprise one or more light emitting diodes.

17. A refilling device according to any one of claims 11 to 16, wherein the one or more optical sources are configured to emit a broadband spectrum of visible light.

18. A refilling device according to any one of claims 11 to 16, wherein the one or more optical sources are configured to emit a narrowband spectrum of light.

19. A refilling device according to any one of claims 11 to 16, wherein the one or more optical sources are configured to emit infrared light.

20. A refilling device according to any preceding claim, further comprising one or more apertures by which ambient light can illuminate the storage area and be detected by the image sensor after interaction with the storage area.

21 . A refilling device according to claim 17 or claim 20, wherein the controller is further configured to determine a characteristic of fluid in the storage area from spectral analysis of the one or more images.

22. A refilling device according to any preceding claim, wherein the article interface is for receiving an article comprising walls at least part of which are transmissive to light detectable by the image sensor, such that recorded images of the storage area show an interior of the storage area.

23. A refilling system comprising: a refilling device according to any one of claims 1 to 22; and an article of an aerosol provision system, the article having a storage area for fluid and comprising walls at least part of which are transmissive to light detectable by the image sensor such that recorded images of the storage area show an interior of the storage area.

24. A method for refilling a storage area in an article of an aerosol provision system, the method comprising: placing the article in an article interface of a refilling device; capturing at least an initial image of the storage area; controlling a refilling action of the refilling device to move fluid from a reservoir in the refilling device into the storage area, in dependence on at least the initial image of the storage area.