EP4676252A1

EP4676252A1 - Article for aerosol provision device

Info

Publication number: EP4676252A1
Application number: EP24712913.3A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Mohammed Al-Amin
Original assignee: Nicoventures Trading Ltd
Current assignee: Nicoventures Trading Ltd
Priority date: 2023-03-08
Filing date: 2024-03-08
Publication date: 2026-01-14
Also published as: CN121038633A; WO2024184654A1; GB202303344D0

Abstract

Provided is an article 30 for an aerosol provision device (20), the article having a storage area 3 for storing an aerosol-generating material for generating an aerosol for user inhalation. The article includes control circuitry (80) comprising an input terminal (IN) and an output terminal (OUT), wherein the input terminal and output terminal are adapted to provide electrical power to the control circuity. The control circuitry is configured to perform a first operation in response to receiving an electrical power having a characteristic of a first value and to perform a second operation in response to receiving an electrical power having a characteristic of a second value, where the first value and the second value are different from one another. Also provided is an aerosol provision device (20) for use with the article, a refilling unit 50 for refilling the storage area of the article, and a method for interacting with control circuitry provided on an article.

Description

ARTICLE FOR AEROSOL PROVISION DEVICE

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to articles for use with an aerosol provision system, particularly refillable articles, and apparatuses for refilling a reservoir of an article. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to determining the operational lifetime of an article. 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 aerosol-generating material from which the aerosol is generated, and in some instances an aerosol generator such as a heater operable to vaporise the aerosol-generating 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 aerosol-generating material has been consumed. The user obtains a new article which has been prefilled with aerosol-generating 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 aerosol-generating material by the user. This reduces waste, and can reduce the cost of electronic cigarette usage for the user. The aerosol-generating 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. Aerosol-generating 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 aerosol-generating 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.

Additionally, cartridges (refillable or otherwise) may be prone to damage or producing off-tastes in the generated aerosol when the cartridge is close to depletion or is depleted. Improved or enhanced techniques for determining that an article is approaching an depleted state are therefore of interest.

Summary

According to a first aspect of certain embodiments there is provided an article for an aerosol provision device, the article having a storage area for storing an aerosol-generating material for generating an aerosol for user inhalation, the article including: control circuitry comprising an input terminal and an output terminal, wherein the input terminal and output terminal are adapted to provide electrical power to the control circuity. The control circuitry is configured to perform a first operation in response to receiving an electrical power having a characteristic of a first value and to perform a second operation in response to receiving an electrical power having a characteristic of a second value, where the first value and the second value are different from one another.

According to a second aspect of certain embodiments there is provided an aerosol provision device for use with the article of the first aspect, wherein the aerosol provision device comprises electrical terminals configured to electrically couple with the input terminal and the output terminal of the control circuitry when engaged with the article, and wherein the aerosol provision device is configured to supply an electrical power having a characteristic of the first value to the article.

According to a third aspect of certain embodiments there is provided a refilling unit, for refilling the storage area of the article of the first aspect with aerosol-generating material from a refill reservoir containing the aerosol-generating material. The refilling unit includes an article receiving port for receiving the article, the article receiving port comprising electrical terminals configured to electrically couple with the input terminal and the output terminal of the control circuitry when engaged with the article; and refilling unit control circuitry configured to supply an electrical power having a characteristic of the second value to the article when received in the article port.

According to a fourth aspect of certain embodiments there is provided a method for interacting with control circuitry provided on an article for use with an aerosol provision device, the article comprising a storage area for storing an aerosol-generating material for generating an aerosol for user inhalation, the method including applying electrical power to the input terminal of the control circuitry of the article, the electrical power being at either a first value or a second value, causing the control circuitry to perform a first operation if the electrical power is at the first value or causing the control circuitry to perform a second operation if the electrical power is at the second value. The first value and the second value are different from one another.

According to a fifth aspect of certain embodiments there is provided an article for aerosol provision means, the article comprising storage means for storing an aerosolgenerating material for generating an aerosol for user inhalation, the article comprising: control means comprising an input means and an output means, wherein the input means and output means are adapted to provide electrical power to the control means, wherein the control means is configured to perform a first operation in response to receiving an electrical power having a characteristic of a first value and to perform a second operation in response to receiving an electrical power having a characteristic of a second value, where the first value and the second value are different from one another.

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.

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 to which embodiments of the present disclosure are applicable;

Figure 2 shows a simplified schematic representation of a refilling device in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

Figure 3 schematically shows example circuitry for an article according to a first aspect of the present disclosure, wherein a controller is provided for performing a first or second operation based on the value of a characteristic of the power supplied to the circuitry;

Figure 4 shows an example method for operating the circuitry of Figure 3, in accordance with the present disclosure;

Figure 5 schematically shows example circuitry for an article according to a second aspect of the present disclosure, wherein the controller is provided with a third terminal;

Figure 6 shows a variation of the method of Figure 4 for operating the circuitry of Figure 5, in accordance with the present disclosure; and

Figure 7 shows a further variation of the method of Figure 4 for operating the circuitry of Figure 3 or 5, wherein the circuitry is provided in a locked state when the article is empty and is able to transition to an operational state.

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 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 aerosol-generating material without combusting the aerosol-generating material, such as electronic cigarettes, tobacco heating products, and hybrid systems to generate aerosol using a combination of aerosol-generating materials, and articles comprising aerosol-generating material and configured to be used within one of these non-combustible aerosol provision systems.

According to the present disclosure, a “non-combustible” 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 of at least one substance of the aerosol-generating material 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. 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. In some embodiments, the non-combustible aerosol provision system is an aerosol-generating material heating system, also known as a heat-not- burn system. An example of such a system is a tobacco heating system. In some embodiments, the non-combustible aerosol provision system is a hybrid system to generate aerosol using a combination of aerosol-generating materials, one or a plurality of which may be heated. Each of the aerosol-generating 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 nontobacco 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. In some embodiments, the disclosure relates to consumables comprising aerosol-generating material and configured to be used with non- combustible aerosol provision devices. These consumables are sometimes referred to as articles throughout the disclosure. 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 aerosolgenerating material, an aerosol-generating component (aerosol generator), an aerosolgenerating 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 aerosol-generating material so as to release one or more volatiles from the aerosol-generating 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 aerosol-generating material or an area for receiving aerosol-generating material. In some embodiments, the article for use with the non-combustible aerosol provision device may comprise a mouthpiece. The area for receiving aerosol-generating material may be a storage area for storing aerosol-generating material. For example, the storage area may be a reservoir which may store a liquid aerosol-generating material. In some embodiments, the area for receiving aerosol-generating material may be separate from, or combined with, an aerosol generating area (which is an area at which the aerosol is generated). In some embodiments, the article for use with the non-combustible aerosol provision device may comprise a filter and/or an aerosol-modifying agent through which generated aerosol is passed before being delivered to the user.

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 aerosol-generating material carrying component holding liquid or another aerosol-generating 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 aerosol-generating material. A component may include more or fewer parts than those included in the examples.

In some examples, the present disclosure relates to aerosol provision systems and components thereof that utilise aerosol-generating material in the form of a liquid, gel or a solid which is held in an aerosol-generating material 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 aerosol-generating material from the aerosol-generating material storage area for the purpose of providing it to an aerosol generator for vapour I aerosol generation is included. The terms “liquid”, “gel”, “solid”, “fluid”, “source liquid”, “source gel”, “source fluid” and the like may be used interchangeably with terms such as “aerosolgenerating 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.

As used herein, “aerosol-generating material” (or “aerosolisable material”) is a material that is capable of generating aerosol, for example when heated, irradiated or energized in any other way. The term “aerosol” may be used interchangeably with “vapour”. Aerosol-generating material may, for example, be in the form of a solid, liquid or gel which may or may not contain an active substance and/or flavourants. In some embodiments, the aerosol-generating material may comprise an “amorphous solid”, which may alternatively be referred to as a “monolithic solid” (i.e. non-fibrous). In some embodiments, the amorphous solid may be a dried gel. The amorphous solid is a solid material that may retain some fluid, such as liquid, within it. In some embodiments, the aerosol-generating material may for example comprise from about 50wt%, 60wt% or 70wt% of amorphous solid, to about 90wt%, 95wt% or 100wt% of amorphous solid. In some embodiments, the aerosol-generating material may comprise one or more active constituents, one or more flavours, one or more aerosol-former materials, and/or one or more other functional materials. The active substance as used herein may be a physiologically active material, which is a material intended to achieve or enhance a physiological response. The active substance may for example be selected from nutraceuticals, nootropics, psychoactives. The active substance may be naturally occurring or synthetically obtained. The active substance may comprise for example nicotine, caffeine, taurine, theine, vitamins such as B6 or B12 or C, melatonin, cannabinoids, or constituents, derivatives, or combinations thereof. The active substance may comprise one or more constituents, derivatives or extracts of tobacco, cannabis or another botanical. As used herein, the terms "flavour" and "flavourant" refer to materials which, where local regulations permit, may be used to create a desired taste, aroma or other somatosensorial sensation in a product for adult consumers. They may include naturally occurring flavour materials, botanicals, extracts of botanicals, synthetically obtained materials, or combinations thereof. The aerosolformer material may comprise one or more constituents capable of forming an aerosol. In some embodiments, the aerosol-former material may comprise one or more of glycerol, propylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, 1 ,3-butylene glycol, erythritol, meso-Erythritol, ethyl vanillate, ethyl laurate, a diethyl suberate, triethyl citrate, triacetin, a diacetin mixture, benzyl benzoate, benzyl phenyl acetate, tributyrin, lauryl acetate, lauric acid, myristic acid, and propylene carbonate. The one or more other functional materials may comprise one or more of pH regulators, colouring agents, preservatives, binders, fillers, stabilizers, and/or antioxidants.

Figure 1 is a highly schematic diagram (not to scale) of an example electronic aerosol/vapour provision system 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 aerosol provision system 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 an aerosol provision 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 operable to generate vapour/aerosol. In the following description, the aerosol provision system 10 is configured to generate aerosol from a liquid aerosol-generating material (source liquid), and the foregoing disclosure will explain the principles of the present disclosure using this example. However, the present disclosure is not limited to aerosolising a liquid aerosol-generating material, and features may be modified in accordance with the various alternatives and definitions described above and/or apparent to the skilled person in order to aerosolise different aerosol-generating materials, e.g., solid aerosol-generating materials or gel aerosolgenerating materials as described above.

The article 30 includes a reservoir 3 (as an example of an aerosol-generating material storage area) for containing a source liquid 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. In some embodiments, a solid substrate (not illustrated), such as a portion of tobacco or other flavour imparting 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 reservoir 3 may comprise absorbent material (either inside a tank or similar, or positioned within the outer housing of the article) that substantially 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, which in this example has the form of an electrically powered heating element or heater 4 and an aerosol-generating material transfer element 6 designed to transfer aerosol-generating material from the reservoir 3 to the aerosol generator. 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 element 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. The wick may be formed of any suitable material which can cause wicking of the liquid, such as glass fibres or cotton fibres. This wicked liquid is thereby heated and vaporised, and replacement liquid is drawn, via continuous capillary action, from the reservoir 3 for transfer to the heater 4 by the wick 6. The wick 6 may be thought of as a conduit between the reservoir 3 and the heater 4 that delivers or transfers liquid from the reservoir to the heater. In some implementations, the heater 4 and the aerosol-generating material transfer element 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 element 6 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 3 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. The article 30 may comprise electrical contacts (not shown) at an interface of the article 30 which electrically engage to electrical contacts (not shown) at an interface of the aerosol provision device 20. Electrical energy can therefore be transferred to the heater 4 via the electrical contacts from the aerosol provision device 20 to cause heating of the heater 4. In other examples, the heater 4 may be inductively heated, in which case the heater comprises a susceptor in an induction heating arrangement (which may comprise a suitable drive coil, e.g., located in the aerosol provision device 20, and through which an alternating electrical current is passed).

In general, therefore, an aerosol generator in the present context can be considered as one or more elements that implement the functionality of an aerosol-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 aerosol provision device 20 includes a power source such as a 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 aerosol provision system 10, in particular to operate the heater 4. Additionally, there is control circuitry 8 such as a printed circuit board and/or other electronics or circuitry for generally controlling the aerosol provision system 10. The control circuitry 8 may include a processor programmed with software, which may be modifiable by a user of the system. The control circuitry 8, in one aspect, 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 control circuitry 8 is suitably configured I programmed to control the operation of the aerosol provision system 10 to provide conventional operating functions of the aerosol provision system in line with established techniques for controlling such devices, as well as any specific functionality described as part of the foregoing disclosure. The control circuitry 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 actuatable controls 12. It will be appreciated that the functionality of the control circuitry 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 may be present 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 I drive 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.

It should be appreciated 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.

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 an aerosol-generating material 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 larger 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 larger reservoir in the refilling device 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 larger reservoir are correctly positioned inside or otherwise coupled to 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 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 will 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 a 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 refill reservoir 40. The first or refill reservoir port 54 is configured to enable an interface between the refill reservoir 40 and the dock 50, so might alternatively be termed a refill reservoir interface. Primarily, the refill reservoir interface is for moving aerosol-generating material out of the refill reservoir 40, but as described below, in some cases the interface may enable additional functions, such as electrical contacts and sensing capabilities for communication between the refill reservoir 40 and the dock 50 and determining characteristics and features of the refill reservoir 40.

The refill 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 I reservoir 3 of an article 30 intended to be refilled in the dock 50. A user can therefore purchase a filled reservoir 40 of their preferred aerosol generating material (flavour, strength, brand, etc.), and use it to refill an article 30 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 refill reservoir 40 includes an outlet orifice or opening 44 by which the aerosol generating material 42 can pass out of the refill reservoir 40. The outlet orifice 44 may include any suitable cap, valve, semipermeable membrane, septum, etc. to allow aerosol-generating material to selectively exit the refill reservoir 40 through the orifice 44.

A second port 56 is shaped and dimensioned to receive and interface with an article 30. The second or article port 56 is configured to enable an interface between the article 30 and the dock 50, so might alternatively be termed an article interface. Primarily, the article interface is for receiving aerosol-generating material into the article 30, but in some cases the interface may enable 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 reservoir 30.

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 refill reservoir 40, so that the article 30 can be refilled multiple times from a single refill reservoir 40. The article 30 also includes an inlet orifice or opening 32 by which aerosolgenerating material can enter the storage area 3. The inlet orifice 32 may include any suitable cap, valve, semipermeable membrane, septum, etc. to allow aerosol-generating material to selectively enter the article 30 through the orifice 32. Various other elements may be included with the article 30, as discussed above with regard to Figure 1.

The housing 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 refill reservoir 40 to the article 30 when both the refill reservoir 40 and the article 30 are correctly positioned in the dock 50. Placement of the refill 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 refill reservoir 40 and the article 30, so that the fluid conduit is created and defined only when the refill reservoir 40 and/or the article 30 are placed in the dock 50. In other cases, the fluid conduit 58 may be a flow path defined within the housing 52 of the dock 50, 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 refill reservoir 40 and the article 30 can be placed or pushed. The refill reservoir 40 and/or the article 30 may be completely contained within the respective apertures or may partially be contained such that a portion of the refill reservoir 40 and/or the article 30 protrude from the respective ports 54, 56. In some instances, doors or the like may be included to cover the apertures to prevent dust or other contaminants from entering the apertures. When the refill reservoir 40 and/or the article 30 are completely contained in the ports 54, 56, the doors or the like might require to be placed in 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 refill reservoir 40 or the article 30, which bring the refill reservoir 40 or the article 30 into proper alignment inside the housing 52 when the door, etc. is closed. Alternatively, the housing of the dock 50 may be shaped so as to include recessed portions into which the article 30 or refill reservoir 40 may be inserted. 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 transfer mechanism, arrangement, or apparatus 53, operable to move or cause the movement of fluid out of the refill reservoir 40, along the conduit 58 and into the article 30. Various options are contemplated for the transfer mechanism 53, but by way of an example, the refill reservoir 40 may comprise a collapsible or movable wall (e.g., a plunger) such that the volume of the refill reservoir can be adjusted (reduced) and the aerosol-generating material transfer mechanism 53 comprises a suitable push rod or the like for actuating the collapsible or movable wall of the refill reservoir 40 to supply aerosol-generating material along the conduit 58. In other implementations, the transfer mechanism 53 may comprise a fluid pump, such as a peristaltic pump. The peristaltic pump may be arranged to rotate and compress parts of the conduit 58 to force source liquid along the length of the conduit towards the inlet orifice 32 of the article 30 in accordance with the conventional techniques for operating a peristaltic pump.

A controller 55 is also included in the dock 50, which is operable to control components of the dock 50, in particular to generate and send control signals to operate the transfer mechanism 53. 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 refill 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 (not shown) at the ports 54, 56 in order to obtain data from the ports and/or the refill 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 55, 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, if present, display elements such as light emitting diodes and/or display screens to convey information about the dock’s operation and status to the user. In addition, the transfer mechanism 53 may be electrically powered. Since the dock 50 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” to mains electricity. Any suitable electrical converter to convert mains electricity to a suitable operational supply of electricity to the dock 50 may be provided, either on the mains cable or within the dock 50. Alternatively, the power source 57 may comprise one or more batteries, which might be replaceable or rechargeable, and in the latter case the dock 50 may also comprise a socket connection for a charging cable adapted to recharge the battery or batteries while housed in the dock.

As noted above, the fluid conduit 58 is arranged so as to be in fluid communication with the reservoir 40 and the article 30 to allow source liquid to be transferred to the storage area of the article 30. The article 30 is suitably configured to be able to be refilled by the dock 50, e.g., via inlet opening 32. However, the article 30 is arranged so as to, on the one hand, provide a relatively easy engagement between the fluid conduit 58 (or other component(s) linked to the fluid conduit 58) so as to facilitate refilling of the article 30, and on the other hand, is arranged so as to prevent or reduce source liquid exiting the article 30 (for example, when the (full) article 30 is transitioned between the dock 50 and the aerosol provision device after the dock 50 has refilled the article 30 with source liquid). The article 30 comprises a reservoir 3 having a defined volume, meaning that there is a finite amount of aerosol-generating material that can be stored in the reservoir 3. As the article 30 is used (that is, as the aerosol generator 5 is activated) a certain amount of the aerosol-generating material in the reservoir 3 is used up. After a certain number of uses, the reservoir 3 is depleted and subsequently is able to refilled via the dock 50, as described above. Thus, it should be appreciated that the article 30 is capable of being used multiple times.

However, when the aerosol-generating material in the reservoir 3 is low or in a depleted state, subsequent activation of the aerosol generator 5 may cause damage to components of the article 30. For example, in implementations where the aerosol generator 5 comprises a heater 4 and a wick 6, the wick 6 may be relatively drier when the amount of aerosolgenerating material in the reservoir 3 is lower or depleted as compared to a normal state in which there is sufficient aerosol-generating material in the reservoir 3. Accordingly, activation of the heater 4 in the low or depleted state may cause burning of the wick 6 and/or damage to the heater 4 (e.g., caused by overheating). In addition or alternatively, a user’s experience using the article in the low or depleted state may be less than satisfactory as the aerosolgenerating material itself may be heated to an extent to cause burnt or off-tastes. Therefore, it may be advantageous to implement monitoring of the usage of the article 30 which may be subsequently used to limit usage of the aerosol generator 5 in the event the usage reaches or surpasses a threshold.

In order to track the usage of a particular article 30, the article 30 is provided with a data containing element 30a, schematically shown in Figure 2. The data containing element 30a is configured to store data corresponding to usage of the article 30. In the described implementation, the data containing element 30a is configured to store a value representing a counter. As will be described in more detail below, the value representing a counter is configured to increment (or decrement, depending on how the counter is initially configured) each time the aerosol generator 5 is used (and in particular, each time power is supplied to the aerosol generator 5). The value representing a counter may be incremented (or decremented) by one each time the aerosol generator 5 is used, or the increment (or decrement) may be proportional to the use of the aerosol generator 5 (e.g., the value may be incremented by an amount that is dependent on the duration of activation of the aerosol generator 5, for example).

The data containing element 30a of the article 30 may be any suitable data containing element 30a which is at least capable of storing the aforementioned data corresponding to usage of the article 30. The data containing element 30a may be an electronically writable/readable memory (such as a microchip or the like) that contains the aforementioned data for the article 30, for example in the form of a numerical value which can be electronically written/read. The electronically writable/readable memory may be any suitable form of memory, such as electronically read-write memory (RWM), although other types of suitable memory may be used depending on the application at hand. The electronically writeable/readable memory in this implementation is non-volatile, as the article 30 is not continuously coupled to a power source (e.g., the power source 53 located in the dock 50 or the power source 7 located in the device 20). However, in other implementations, the electronically writeable/readable memory may be volatile or semi-volatile, in which case the article 30 may require its own power source which may lead to increased costs and increased material wastage when the article 30 is disposed of (e.g., when the article 30 is depleted).

It should be appreciated that in other implementations, the data containing element 30a may contain other data associated with the article 30 which may be read and/or written as appropriate. For example, the data containing element 30a may comprise manufacture information (e.g., batch numbers, date of manufacture, location of manufacture, etc.), data regarding the aerosol-generating material used with the article 30 (which may be a flavour and/or strength of the aerosol-generating material, and which may be written at the time of first filling the article 30) or additional data regarding the usage of the article 30 such as the number of times the article 30 has been refilled or the amount of aerosol-generating material that has been transferred to the article 30 over the lifetime of the article 30. In the latter case, such usage information may be provided to help reduce the chances of damage occurring to article 30 resulting from continued use of the components of the article 30 beyond their expected usage lifetimes (e.g., in other words, to limit the amount of refilling operations the article 30 is subjected to maintain article 30 integrity over a number of uses).

However, for the purposes of this discussion, we will focus on the data containing element 30a containing a value representing a counter, as described above.

The data containing element 30a may be electronically written/read by coupling electrical contacts (not shown) on the article 30 with electrical contacts (not shown) in the article port 56. The (not shown) electrical contacts in the article port 56 are coupled to a data writer/reader 56a provided in the dock 50. When the article 30 is positioned in the article port 56, an electrical connection is formed between the article 30 and the writer/reader 56a in the article port 56. The function of the writer/reader 56a will be explained in more detail below but, broadly speaking, the writer/reader 56a is configured to either write data to the data containing element 30a of the article 30 and, optionally, read data from the data containing element 30a, depending on whether or not the data containing element 30a contains data which may be read, as described above. The writer/reader 56a is controlled by the controller 55 of the dock 50 to either write data to the data containing element 30a or to receive data from the data containing element 30a (that may subsequently be passed to the controller 55).

Alternatively, it should be appreciated that the data containing element 30a may be electronically written/read using any suitable wireless technology, such as RFID or NFC. The article 30 may be provided with suitable hardware (e.g., an antenna, power converted, etc.) to enable such writing or reading by a suitable wireless writer/reader 56a.

It should be appreciated that while the above has described an electronically writeable/readable memory constituting the data containing element 30a, and an associated writer/reader 56a in the dock 50, in other implementations, the data containing element 30a may be an electronically writeable memory and the dock 50 may optionally instead comprise a writer 56a (instead of writer/reader 56a). It should be appreciated that depending on the particular implementation at hand, suitable memories and writers may be employed accordingly.

As described above, the article 30 has a reservoir 3 of a finite volume. Using the data containing element 30a that is configured to store a value representing a counter, the data containing element 30a (along with any additional circuitry as appropriate) can be used to provide some control over the use of the article 30 (and in particular the aerosol generator 5) so as to avoid instances where the aerosol generator 5 is activated when the reservoir 3 is in a low or a depleted state. As noted above, the article 30 is intended to be refilled, so the value representing a counter should be resettable during or after a refilling operation so that the article 30 may subsequently be used again once refilled. Additionally, although the article 30 is refillable, the article 30 likely has a defined lifetime of use and therefore is designed to be disposable (although not as regularly as more conventional cartridges/cartomisers). With this in mind, the article 30 includes circuitry for controlling the operation of the aerosol generator 5, where the circuitry comprises the data containing element 30a. In addition, in some implementations, the circuitry is designed to be low-cost and relatively simple.

Figure 3 is a highly schematic drawing of the electronics of an article 30 in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure. The electronics of the article 30 are shown highly schematically and it should be appreciated that certain features of the electronics are omitted for ease of discussion.

The electronics of the article 30 include control circuitry 80 (or herein sometimes referred to as circuitry 80), shown broadly by the dashed-line in Figure 3, and an aerosol generator 5 connected in parallel with one another. An input terminal (IN) and an output terminal (OUT) are shown in Figure 3 whereby the input and output terminals are adapted for receiving electrical power from a corresponding power source. In some implementations, the input and output terminals IN, OUT may provide an electrical connection to corresponding electrical contacts (not shown) at an interface of the aerosol provision device 20 of Figure 1 or to corresponding electrical contacts (not shown) of the dock 50 when the article 30 is located in the article port 56. Alternatively, in implementations where the power source is a wireless power source as discussed above, the input and output terminals IN, OUT may be suitably coupled to circuitry configured to receive the wireless power signal, e.g., from the aerosol provision device 20 and/or dock 50.

The circuitry 80 comprises a controller 81 , which may for example be a microcontroller. In the implementation described, the controller 81 comprises a control element 82 and the data containing element 30a. The control element 82 and data containing element 30a are shown as parts or components of the controller 81 , for example different hardware or software modules of the controller 81 , However, in other implementations, the control element 82 may be provided separately from the data containing element 30a, for example as different components, with the two then coupled to one another. The circuitry 80 further comprises wiring coupling a voltage supply pin, VCC, of the microcontroller 81 to the input terminal IN and corresponding wiring coupling an output pin O of the controller 81 to the output terminal OUT. The electronics further comprises the aerosol generator 5 coupled between the input terminal IN and output terminal OUT via switch 86, which is coupled by wiring to a control pin C of the controller 81.

Figure 4 is an example method of use of the article 30 and the circuitry 80 of Figure 3. The operation of the circuitry 80 of the article 30 is described herein below with reference to both Figures 3 and 4.

The article 30 is intended for use with both the aerosol provision device 20 (for the purposes of generating aerosol to be delivered to a user) and the dock 50 (for the purposes of refilling the article 30 once the reservoir is low or depleted). As will be explained in more detail below, when the article 30 is coupled to the aerosol provision device 20 and when the article 30 is coupled to the dock 50, the article 30 is configured to receive power from a corresponding power source (of the device 20 or dock 50). Thus, the method of Figure 4 starts with step S1 where power (from one of the aerosol provision device 20 or the dock 50) is supplied to the article 30, and more particularly to the input terminal IN of the circuitry 80 of the article 30.

When electrical power is supplied to the input terminal IN, on the basis of Figure 3, it can be seen that power is supplied to various locations. Firstly, the electrical power is supplied to the power supply pin VCC of the controller 81. Although not shown, any suitable voltage regulators or other components configured to regulate the electrical power such that it is able to be received by the controller 81 at an appropriate level (i.e. , at a suitable current or voltage) may be provided, if required and/or if not already provided by the controller 81. In any case, the controller 81 is provided with power suitable for operating the controller 81 when power is provided to the input terminal IN of the article 30. Secondly, when electrical power is supplied to the input terminal IN, the electrical power is also supplied to the input pin I of the controller 81. The controller 81 (or more specifically the control element 82 of the controller 81) is configured to perform different operations depending upon the value of a characteristic of the supplied power. In the described implementation, the characteristic is the voltage of the supplied power, although it should be appreciated that in other implementations, different characteristics of the supplied power may be used additionally or alternatively. The controller 81 is therefore capable of identifying the value of the characteristic (e.g., voltage) of the power supplied to the input terminal IN of the article 30 and perform different operations depending on the value of the characteristic. In particular, the controller 81 is configured to perform a first operation in response to receiving an electrical power having a characteristic of a first value and to perform a second operation in response to receiving an electrical power having a characteristic of a second value, where the first value and the second value are different from one another.

When the article 30 is coupled to the aerosol provision device 20 (i.e., to form the aerosol provision system 10), a user may interact with the aerosol provision system 10 to cause aerosol to be generated. This may be through pushing a button on the aerosol provision device 20 that provides electrical power to the input terminal IN of the article 30, or through a suitable puff sensor, e.g., implemented in the aerosol provision device 20, which is configured to supply electrical power to the input terminal IN in response to a user inhaling on the aerosol provision system 10.

When the user interacts with the aerosol provision system 10 in this way, the electrical power that is supplied to the article 30 is sufficient for causing the aerosol generator 5 of the article 30 to generate aerosol from the aerosol-generating material in the reservoir 3 of the article 30. In the case of the aerosol generator 5 being a heater 4 (and wick 6), conventional heaters 4, such as a coil of NiChrome wire, may have an electrical resistance on the order of between 1 to 2 Ohms (although it should be appreciated that heaters having different resistances, i.e., greater than 2 Ohm or less than 1 Ohm, are also possible). Such heaters used in conventional aerosol provision systems may be supplied with power on the order of 10 to 20 Watts, for example, to generate aerosol. This means that the typical voltages of the power supplied to the heater 4 for the purposes of generating aerosol are on the order of between 3 to 7 volts. In some implementations, the voltages of electrical power that is supplied to the aerosol generator 5 (and in particular a heater 4) for the purposes of generating aerosol may be selected from the group comprising: 3 to 7 volts, 3.5 to 6.5 volts, 4 to 6 volts, and 4.5 to 5.5 volts. It should be appreciated that the above values are given as example values, and that depending on the aerosol generator 5 employed the corresponding voltage values I power values may be different. However, it should also be appreciated that for any given aerosol generator 5 there is likely a value of the power (and hence a voltage value) below which aerosol generation is either not possible or is possible at a suboptimal level.

The aerosol provision device 20 may include control circuitry (such as control circuitry 8) that is capable of supplying a certain power, with a certain voltage, to the input terminal IN of the article 30. It should be appreciated that the power I voltage may be selectable (e.g., by a user) from a range of possible values, where the different values may impact the aerosol generation process (e.g., a lower power/voltage may provide relatively lower amounts of aerosol compared to a higher power/voltage). In other implementations, the power/voltage supplied may be fixed.

In response to receiving power at the input pin of the controller 81 , the controller 81 is configured to determine whether to perform a first operation or a second operation on the basis of the value of the characteristic (e.g., voltage) of the supplied power. As seen in Figure 4, at step S2, the controller 81 is configured to determine whether the supplied power has a characteristic value (e.g., voltage) that is equal to or exceeds a first (voltage) threshold.

In the described implementation, the controller 81 (or control element 82) is configured to compare the received voltage at the input pin I with a voltage threshold. The voltage threshold is set in part based on the voltage values that are expected to be received from the aerosol generating device 20 when the user interacts with the aerosol provision system 10 in a manner to generate aerosol. The voltage threshold is set to be lower than the voltage values that are expected to be received from the aerosol provision system 20. For example, if the expected voltage value from the aerosol provision system 20 is 5 V, the threshold voltage may be set at e.g., 3 V. Accordingly, it is expected that when the aerosol provision device 20 provides power to the input terminal IN of the article 30, the controller 81 determines that the voltage at the input pin I is greater than the voltage threshold. That is to say, when power is supplied by the aerosol provision device 20, the controller 81 determines that the supplied power has a characteristic (voltage) value greater than the first (voltage) threshold. Therefore, in this scenario, step S2 is answered in the affirmative and the method proceeds to step S3. The controller 81 is subsequently configured to perform a first operation (described below). The first operation comprises a number of steps, but is broadly related to activating the aerosol generator 5 (i.e., usage of the article 30) and recording the usage of the article 30. The controller 81 may be provided with any suitable circuitry and/or any suitable software which is capable of comparing the received power (which a characteristic value) to a corresponding threshold; for example, using components such as one or more comparators, or one or more logic gates or the like.

At step S3, the control element 82 is configured to retrieve the value representative of the counter from the data containing element 30a. The control element 82 subsequently compares the value representative of the counter to a counter threshold which may be stored in the control element 82 or the in data containing element 30a. Depending on how the counter is configured to operate, the counter threshold is configured accordingly. For example, in some implementations, a value (e.g., such as 200) is set as the counter threshold. The value representative of the counter is configured to start from zero in such implementations and is incremented by one each time power is provided to the aerosol generator 5. Alternatively, the counter threshold may be set to zero and the value representative of the counter may initially start at 200 and is decremented by one each time power is provided to the aerosol generator 5. Regardless of how the counter threshold and values representative of the counter are configured, the control element 82 determines whether the value representative of the counter reaches or surpasses the counter threshold.

If the value representative of the counter does not reach or surpass the threshold, i.e., step S3 is answered NO, then the control element 82 is configured to apply control signal (specifically a gate voltage) via the control pin C of the controller 81 to the switch 86, to close the switch 86, at step S4. The switch 86 is shown in Figure 3 as a MOSFET and thus is capable of being controlled by application of a gate voltage to close the switch (or turn on the switch). However, it should be appreciated that other switches may be used in other implementations. With the switch 86 controlled to be closed, the supplied power is capable of passing to the aerosol generator 5. Accordingly, as the power is at a level sufficient to cause the aerosol generator 5 to generate aerosol, aerosol is generated when the switch 86 is closed.

Either simultaneously, or after step S4 is completed, the method proceeds to step S5 where the controller 81 1 control element 82 is configured to cause the value representative of the counter to be incremented (or decremented) and the new value representative of the counter to be stored in the data containing element 30a. As noted above, the increment or decrement may be by one or by some value that is dependent on or proportional to the activation of the aerosol generator 5 (e.g., the duration of activation). In the latter case, the controller 81 may be provided with suitable circuitry, such as a timer, or data may be received by the controller 81 from the aerosol provision device 20 (for example, via a not-shown data terminal).

After step S5, the power provided by the aerosol provision device 20 is subsequently stopped (e.g., once the user finishes pushing the button or inhaling) and the method proceeds back to step S1 to await for the next instance of power being applied to the input terminal IN of the article 30.

Referring back to step S3, if the value representative of the counter does reach or surpass the threshold, i.e., step S3 is answered YES, which is representative of the article 30 being the low or depleted state, then the control element 82 is configured to not apply the control signal to the switch 86, thereby keeping the switch 86 open and preventing power from being applied to the aerosol generator 5 (step S6 of Figure 4). That is, the aerosol generator 5 is prevented from activating even in the event that power is supplied to the input terminal IN of the article 30. In this way, based on the user’s usage of the article 30 (which in the described example is based on the number of times the aerosol generator 5 is activated), the aerosol generator 5 can be prevented from being activated when the reservoir 3 is low or in the depleted state. In response to the article 30 not generating aerosol for inhalation, the user is required to perform a refilling operation on the article 30 in order to continue using the article 30.

As noted, the article 30 is intended to be refilled with aerosol-generating material from the dock 50. Accordingly, when the article 30 is in the low or depleted state, the user may place the article 30 in the article port 56 of the dock 50. When the article 30 is placed in the dock 50, a connection (which may be wired or wireless as described above) is formed between the input terminal IN and output terminal OUT of the article 30 with the writer/reader 56a of the dock 50.

Assuming the value representative of the counter is at or surpasses the threshold (i.e., the article 30 is in the low or depleted state), once the article 30 has been refilled, without any further interaction with the circuitry 80 of the article 30, the article 30 still operates as though the value representative of the counter is at or surpasses the threshold.

In accordance with the principles of the present disclosure, the dock 50 is configured to supply an electrical power having a characteristic (e.g., voltage) of a second value. In particular, the second (voltage) value is set to be lower than the first (voltage) value (of the power provided by the aerosol provision device 20). In response to receiving the electrical power having a characteristic of a second value, the controller 81 of the circuitry 80 of the article 30 is configured to perform a second operation. That is, based on the value of the characteristic of the supplied power, the controller 81 is configured to perform either a first operation or a second operation.

With reference back to step S2 of Figure 4, the controller 81 is configured to determine whether the supplied power has a characteristic value (e.g., voltage) that is equal to or exceeds the first (voltage) threshold. The power supplied by the dock 50 is such that the characteristic (e.g., voltage) is set to be below the first (voltage) threshold. Therefore, it should be understood that the first (voltage) threshold is set to a value between the characteristic value (voltage) of the power supplied by the aerosol provision device 20 and the characteristic value (voltage) of the power supplied by the dock 50. Using the example above, if the expected voltage value of the power supplied from the aerosol provision system 20 is 5 V and the threshold voltage is set at 3 V, then the voltage value of the power supplied by the dock 50 may be set to e.g., 2 V. More generally, the voltage value of the power supplied by the dock 50 is selected from the group comprising: 0.5 to 4 volts, 1 to 3.5 volts, 1 .5 to 3 volts, and 2 to 2.5 volts.

In some implementations, the power supplied by the dock 50 has a characteristic value (e.g., voltage) that is constant (or approximately constant) throughout the application of the power to the article 30 by the dock 50. However, in other implementations, it may be desired to provide additional power or a power signal with a greater characteristic (voltage) value, e.g., to ensure that sufficient power is received at the VCC pin of the controller 81 for controlling each and/or multiple operations of the controller 81 . In this regard, the power supplied by the dock 50 may be variable such that, initially, e.g., for a period of a tens or hundreds of milliseconds, the power supplied by the dock 50 has a characteristic value (e.g., voltage) that is below the first (voltage) threshold, but that thereafter the power supplied by the dock 50 has a characteristic value (e.g., voltage) that is equal to or exceeds the first (voltage) threshold. In such cases, the controller 81 is configured to recognise the lower (voltage) value initially and initiate the second operation. While the second operation is being performed, the controller 81 may disable the first operation and/or prevent switch 86 from activating. For example, a timer may be started when the second operation is initiated which causes the controller 81 to suspend the first operation even if the characteristic (voltage) value surpasses the first threshold and to causes switch 86 to remain open for a predetermined period (which may be set to correspond to the duration of a refilling operation).

In the described implementation, the controller 81 is configured to compare the received voltage at the input pin I with the first (voltage) threshold, as before. When the power is supplied by the dock 50, because the value of the characteristic (voltage) of the power supplied by the dock 50 is lower that the first (voltage) threshold, the controller 81 determines that the voltage at the input pin I is less than the voltage threshold. Therefore, in this scenario, step S2 is answered in the negative and the method proceeds to step S7.

In response to determining the voltage at the input pin I is less than the voltage threshold, the controller 81 is configured to perform a second operation, which in this implementation, involves resetting the value representative of the counter. For example, the value representative of the counter is reset to a starting value (e.g., 200 or zero). The method then proceeds back to step S1 to await for the next instance of power being applied to the input terminal IN of the article 30.

Hence, in this manner, the data within the data containing element 30a (and in particular, the value representative of a counter) is able to be manipulated (i.e., incremented, decremented or reset) based on the value of the characteristic (e.g., voltage) of the electrical power applied to the input terminal IN of the article 30 (and in particular to the circuitry 80).

It should be understood that the circuitry 80 depicted in Figure 3 is provided for the purposes of explaining the principles of the present disclosure. Additional and/or alternative components may be provided to the circuitry 80 in practical implementations. Thus, the skilled person will be aware of other configurations of the circuitry 80 which are capable of achieving the same effect.

More generally, the present disclosure provides control circuitry 80 of an article 30 where the control circuitry 80 comprises an input terminal IN and an output terminal OUT. The input terminal IN and output terminal OUT are adapted to provide electrical power to the control circuity 80. Put another way, the input and output terminals IN, OUT are used to create a circuit with a power source (for example, the power source of the aerosol provision device 20 or of the dock 50). In a general sense, the control circuitry 80 is configured to perform a first operation in response to receiving an electrical power having a characteristic of a first value and to perform a second operation in response to receiving an electrical power having a characteristic of a second value, where the first value and the second value are different from one another. In the described implementation, when the control circuitry 80 receives electrical power having a voltage (as a characteristic of the electrical power) of a first value, the control circuitry 80 is configured to increment (or decrement) the value representative of a counter (as well as optionally provide power to the aerosol generator 5, if the counter threshold is not exceeded). Conversely, when the control circuitry 80 receives electrical power having a voltage (as a characteristic of the electrical power) of a second value (where the second value is less than the first value), the control circuitry 80 is configured to reset the value representative of a counter.

However, it should be appreciated that the principles of the present disclosure are not limited to performing an increment/decrement of a counter as a first operation and a reset of the counter as a second operation. For example, the control circuitry 80 may be configured to perform alternative operations as the first operation or second operation. For example, in some implementations, it may be desired to record information (e.g., in the data containing element 30a) regarding the user’s use of the aerosol provision system 10. For example, the control circuitry 80 may be provided with a clock or the like, and in response to receiving an electrical power having a voltage of a first value, the control circuitry 80 is configured to record the time or date at which that power was received. Conversely, when the control circuitry 80 receives electrical power having a voltage of a second value, which may indicate the article 30 is engaged with the dock 50, the control circuitry 80 may be configured to transmit the recorded data (for example, on a data terminal). Different functions/operations may be implemented as desired and in dependence on the application at hand. However, fundamentally, the control circuitry 80 of the article is configured to perform different operations when receiving electrical power having different characteristics (e.g., voltages).

In the described implementation, the control circuitry 80 is configured to store information or data indicative of the usage of the article 30 for generating aerosol, e.g., in the data containing element 30a of the article 30. In the described implementation, the data indicative of usage is a value representative of a counter. However, it should be appreciated that other data indicative of usage may be stored; for example, the time/date of usage, the duration of usage, etc. Equally, in the described implementation, the first operation is related to recording usage of the article 30, while the second operation is related to resetting the usage of the article 30. That is to say, the first and second operations are operations relating to the data indicative of usage of the article 30.

In the described implementation, the control circuitry 80 comprises a value representative of a counter stored in the data containing element 30a. However, it should be appreciated that other variations of providing a counter may be implemented in other implementations. For example, circuitry that acts as a digital counter may instead be employed. More generally, in some implementations, the control circuitry 80 comprises a counter, and the counter is configured to be incremented (or decremented) each time the aerosol generator 5 is activated. In such implementations, when the control circuitry 80 receives electrical power having a voltage (as a characteristic of the electrical power) of a first value, the control circuitry 80 is configured to increment (or decrement) the counter (e.g., by a value of one). Conversely, when the control circuitry 80 receives electrical power having a voltage (as a characteristic of the electrical power) of a second value (where the second value is less than the first value), the control circuitry 80 is configured to reset the counter. The counter may be reset to starting value, where the starting value may be set in dependence on the amount of aerosol-generating material that is in the reservoir 3 of the article 30 (e.g., after a refilling operation).

In the described implementation, the article 30 includes an aerosol generator 5. The electrical power having a voltage (as a characteristic of the electrical power) of a first value supplied to the article 30 is set so as to enable aerosol to be generated from activating the aerosol generator 5. Thus, in part, the first value is set in dependence on the type of aerosol generator 5 and the type of aerosol-generating material to be aerosolised, such that when electrical power is supplied with the first value, aerosol is able to be generated accordingly. It should be appreciated that in some implementations, the electrical power itself may be varied and consequently the given characteristic of the electrical power may vary within a range. That is to say, the first value may lie within a range. However, the range is set such that a first value lying anywhere within that range is sufficient to cause aerosolisation of the aerosol-generating material via the aerosol generator 5. This may enable a variable power to be applied to the aerosol generator 5 for controlling the degree of aerosolisation. In this regard, it should also be appreciated that the second value is subsequently set to be lower than the lowest value of the possible range of values for the first value.

In the described implementation, the circuitry 80 comprises a separate input to the controller 81 for providing power to the controller 81 (i.e. , the VCC input) and a separate input to the controller 81 for receiving a signal indicative of the activation of the aerosol generator 5 (i.e., the I pin). However, it should be appreciated that in other implementations, the controller 81 may be provided with a single pin (e.g., the VCC pin) for performing both functions. In this regard, the controller 81 may have any suitable components therein which are capable of directing a received voltage signal on the VCC pin for both providing a power to the controller 81 (e.g., via routing through a suitable internal voltage regulator of the controller 81) and providing a signal to circuitry internal to the controller 81 capable of determining the magnitude or level of the voltage signal (as described above).

In addition, it should be appreciated that there may be other components of the circuitry

80 not shown in Figure 3. For example, in some implementations, there may be a third terminal coupled to a data pin of the controller 81.

Figure 5 is a highly schematic drawing of the electronics of an article 30 in accordance with a further aspect of the present disclosure. Figure 5 will be understood from Figure 3. Indeed, like components in Figure 5 are presented with the same reference signs as in Figure 3 and a discussion of these components is not repeated here. Instead only the differences are described.

Figure 5 shows the electronics of the article 30 comprising a third terminal, a data terminal, which is electrically coupled to a data pin D of the controller 81. The data pin D may be suitable for providing and/or receiving data (e.g., to/from the dock 50). Applying a voltage between the third terminal DATA and the output terminal OUT of the article 30 may allow information to be communicated to the controller 81 and/or from the controller 81. Put another way, the third terminal DATA and the output terminal OUT may act as a data communication channel to support communications between the controller 55 of the dock 50 and the controller

81 of the article 30 according to any suitable protocol. It should be appreciated that the dock 50 (and potentially in some implementations, the aerosol generating device 20) is provided with a corresponding terminal for connection (either wired or wirelessly) with the third terminal DATA of the circuitry 80.

Figure 6 shows an example modification to the method of Figure 4 taking into account the third terminal of the circuitry 80 shown in Figure 5.

In Figure 6, when step S2 is answered in the negative (that is, the supplied power has a characteristic (e.g., voltage) lower than the first (voltage) threshold), the method proceeds to step S8. At step S8, the controller 81 determines whether the supplied power has a characteristic (e.g., voltage) value that exceeds a second (voltage) threshold.

In this regard, in this implementation, the dock 50 is configured to supply power having either a second (voltage) value or a third (voltage) value, where the third (voltage) value is lower than the second (voltage) value. Accordingly, the second (voltage) threshold is set to be between the second and third (voltage) values. At step S8, if the characteristics (voltage) value of the supplied power is greater than the second (voltage) threshold, then the method proceeds to step S7 as before and the value representative of the counter is reset. However, if the characteristics (voltage) value of the supplied power is less than the second (voltage) threshold, then the method proceeds to step S9. At step S9, the controller 81 is configured to initiate data communication with the dock 50. For example, this may include switching on the data pin D of the controller 81 , or transmitting a handshake or acknowledgement message to the controller 55 of the dock 50, such that the dock 50 may then begin communicating with the controller 81. Alternatively, the controller 81 may transmit data to the controller 55.

In some implementations, the dock 50 may permit a partial refill of the reservoir 3 of the article 30. That is to say, the reservoir 3 may be filled to e.g., 75% or 50% capacity. In such cases, it is inappropriate to reset the value representative of a counter to the initial value (e.g., zero or 200) as this would potentially allow the article 30 to be used once the reservoir 3 is depleted. Therefore, using the third terminal I data pin D of the controller 81 , the dock 50 may communicate a value indicative of the amount of aerosol-generating material transferred to the reservoir 3 during a refilling operation and/or of a measured amount of aerosolgenerating material in the reservoir 3 after a refilling operation. Consequently, the control element 82 on receipt of this data, and when the dock 50 subsequently supplies a power having a voltage between the first and second voltage thresholds, is configured to set the value representative of a counter to a suitable value (e.g., 100 when the reservoir is 50% full) or to set the counter threshold to a suitable value. Accordingly, in this way, the article 30 may be refilled by a variable amount yet still retain the ability to cease activation of the aerosol generator 5 when the reservoir 3 is in a low or depleted state.

More broadly, the control circuitry 80 may be configured to perform a third operation in response to receiving an electrical power having a characteristic (e.g., voltage) of a third value. Although the third operation described above includes a data read operation, it should be appreciated that in other implementations, different operations may instead be implemented.

The article 30 is configured to refillable as described above. From the perspective of user, the article 30 may be bought or otherwise obtained in a filled state. In such an example, the data containing element 30a may be programmed to have the value representative of a counter start at the appropriate value, e.g., 200, corresponding to a full reservoir 3. Alternatively, the article 30 may be provided in an empty state. In some implementations, the value representative of a counter may be set at the threshold, such that when the (empty) article 30 is attached to the aerosol provision device 20, the article 30 is unable to be used. Subsequently, the article 30 is coupled with the dock 50, the value representing the counter is reset during or after a refilling operation as described above.

However, in some implementations, it may be desirable to distinguish between an empty article 30 (that has never been filled) and a depleted article 30 (which has been filled but is now depleted). For example, a depleted article 30 will likely have residual aerosol generating material in the reservoir 3 or around the aerosol generator 5, whereas an empty article 30 will not. This may mean that the empty article 30 is capable of taking on more aerosol-generating material or utilises a different (lower) threshold to account for the residual amount of aerosol-generating material that is absent (that is, if X ml of liquid is supplied to the depleted article, actually there is X+Aml of liquid in the article to be used with a threshold e.g., of 200 activations; for the empty article, a reduction in the threshold equivalent to Ami may be required to ensure there is the same amount of residual liquid remaining when this article is then depleted).

In such implementations, the control circuitry 80 is configured to be in a first (locked) state after manufacture of the article 30, wherein the first (locked) state is a state corresponding to an empty and unused article 30. In some implementations, the first state may be implemented by setting the value representative of the counter to a certain value indicative of the fact the article 30 is empty and unused. For instance, the value representative of the counter may be set to a value which is unobtainable in normal use of the article 30, e.g., a value of -1 or a value of say 400 where the value corresponding to a full article 30 is set to be 200. In some implementations, it should be appreciated that when step S3 is implemented, the controller 81 determines that the counter threshold is not surpassed (e.g., a YES at step S3) and the switch 86 is unable to be activated even in the presence of a power having the first voltage value. In other implementations, the controller 81 (or data containing element 30a) may contain a flag which is present when the circuitry 80 is in the locked state and that is checked prior to activating the switch 86, and if the flag is present, this may indicate that the circuitry 80 is still in the locked state and the switch 86 cannot be activated. In either case, the control circuitry 80 is configured to prevent generation of aerosol in response to receiving an electrical power having a characteristic (voltage) of a first value when in the first (locked) state.

Figure 7 shows an example modification to the method of Figure 4 taking into account the change in state of the circuitry 80.

Bearing in mind the above, when the empty article 30 is coupled to the dock 50, a power having the second (voltage) value is applied to the terminals of the article 30 (i.e., step S2 is answered NO). In Figure 7, step S10 is positioned between step S2 and S7. At step S10, the controller 81 is configured to obtain the value representative of the counter from the data containing element 30a, and determine whether the value representative of the counter indicates the article 30 is empty (or in other words, indicates that the circuitry 80 is in the first (locked) state). Alternatively, step S10 may instead include the controller 81 assessing weather the aforementioned flag is present or not.

If at step S10 the controller 81 determines that the value representative of the counter does not indicate the article 30 is empty (or that the flag is present), then the method proceeds to step S7, as before. However, if at step S10 the controller 81 determines that the value representative of the counter does indicate the article 30 is empty (or that the flag is present), then the method proceeds to step S11. At step S11 , the circuitry 80 is transitioned into the second (operational) state. In instances where the value representative of the counter is set to a value indicative of the article being empty, then in response to receiving electrical power having a characteristic (voltage) of a second value, the control circuitry 80 I controller 81 is configured to reset the counter to a starting value. Starting value in this context means a value at which the counter is normally configured to start from for the purposes of recording usage. As noted above, the counter in the locked state may be set to value that is unobtainable in normal usage, either through being set to a negative number or being set too high for the expected usage of the article. Alternatively, in instances where the flag is present, transitioning to the operational state may involve the controller 81 simply clearing the flag from the data containing element 30a.

It should be appreciated that the method of Figure 6 and the method of Figure 7 may be combined; that is, for example, step S10 of Figure 7 may be provided between steps S2 and S8 of Figure 6, whereby if step S10 is answered in the negative, the method proceeds to step S8, and if step S10 is answered in the affirmative, the method proceeds to step S11 .

It should be appreciated from above that while Figure 3 has been described in the context of the controller 81 being configured with suitable hardware and/or software to determine whether the received power has a characteristic (voltage) of a first or second (or third) value, in other implementations, the circuitry 80 is provided with hardware external to the circuitry 80 configured to provide a similar functionality. The skilled person will be aware of hardware components which may be arranged to achieve the aforementioned functionality.

It should be appreciated that above has described examples of the circuitry 80 configured to perform a second operation that includes resetting of the value representative of a counter in response to receiving the power having a characteristic (voltage) value of a second value (lower than the first value). However, it should be appreciated that the principles of the present disclosure are not limited to such second operations. For example, in some instances, when the controller 81 determines that the power having a characteristic (voltage) value of a second value is received, the controller 81 may perform a second operation which includes establishing a data connection with the dock 50 (for example, suitable for using the DATA pin and DATA terminal for communicating data to/from the dock 50). For instance, the controller 81 may be configured to initiate a communications protocol (such as a handshake process) with the controller 55 of the dock 50. As part of the communications with the dock 50, the dock 50 may be configured to provide a signal to the controller 81 which causes the controller 81 to reset the value of the counter. However, it should be understood that in some implementations, the dock 50 may perform other functions when the article 30 is installed in the article port 56 aside from refilling - for example, the dock 50 may cause reprogramming of the controller 81 of the article 30, collect analytical data, etc. Thus, more broadly, it should be understood that when the controller 81 receives the power having a characteristic value that is of a second value, the controller 81 is configured to perform a second operation, which may or may not include resetting of a value representative of a counter stored within the data containing element 30a.

Hence, it has been described an article for an aerosol provision device, the article having a storage area for storing an aerosol-generating material for generating an aerosol for user inhalation. The article includes control circuitry comprising an input terminal and an output terminal, wherein the input terminal and output terminal are adapted to provide electrical power to the control circuity. The control circuitry is configured to perform a first operation in response to receiving an electrical power having a characteristic of a first value and to perform a second operation in response to receiving an electrical power having a characteristic of a second value, where the first value and the second value are different from one another. Also described is an aerosol provision device for use with the article, a refilling unit for refilling the storage area of the article, and a method for interacting with control circuitry provided on an article.

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. An article for an aerosol provision device, the article comprising a storage area for storing an aerosol-generating material for generating an aerosol for user inhalation, the article comprising: control circuitry comprising an input terminal and an output terminal, wherein the input terminal and output terminal are adapted to provide electrical power to the control circuity, wherein the control circuitry is configured to perform a first operation in response to receiving an electrical power having a characteristic of a first value and to perform a second operation in response to receiving an electrical power having a characteristic of a second value, where the first value and the second value are different from one another.

2. The article of claim 1, wherein the control circuitry is configured to store information indicative of the usage of the article for generating aerosol, and wherein the first operation and second operation are operations relating to information indicative of usage of the article.

3. The article of any preceding claim, wherein the control circuitry comprises a counter, the counter configured to increment or decrement by one each time the aerosol generator is activated.

4. The article of claim 3, wherein, the control circuitry is configured to increment or decrement the counter by one as the first operation when receiving electrical power having a characteristic of the first value.

5. The article of any of claims 3 to 4, wherein, the control circuitry is configured to reset the counter to a starting value as the second operation when receiving electrical power having a characteristic of the second value.

6. The article of any of the preceding claims, wherein the electrical power having a characteristic of the first value includes the electrical power having a first voltage value and the electrical power having a characteristic of the second value includes the electrical power having a second voltage value.

7. The article of claim 6, wherein the first voltage value is a voltage selected from the group comprising: 3 to 7 volts, 3.5 to 6.5 volts, 4 to 6 volts, and 4.5 to 5.5 volts.

8. The article of any of claims 6 to 7, wherein the first voltage value is a value greater than a predetermined threshold.

9. The article of any of claims 6 to 8, wherein the second voltage value is a voltage selected from the group comprising: 0.5 to 4 volts, 1 to 3.5 volts, 1.5 to 3 volts, and 2 to 2.5 volts.

10. The article of any of claims 6 to 9, wherein the second voltage value is a value less than a, or the, predetermined threshold.

11. The article of any of the preceding claims, wherein the article comprises an aerosol generator configured to generate aerosol from aerosol-generating material in the storage area of the article, wherein aerosol generator is configured to generate aerosol from the aerosol-generating material when receiving the electrical power having a characteristic of a first value.

12. The article of any of the preceding claims, wherein the control circuitry is configured to be in a first state after manufacture of the article, and wherein in response to receiving an electrical power having a characteristic of a second value, the control circuitry is configured to enter a second state.

13. The article of claim 12, wherein the first state is a state corresponding to empty and unused article.

14. The article of any of claims 12 to 13, wherein the article comprises a, or the, counter, and wherein the counter is set to a value indicative of an empty and unused article, and wherein, in response to receiving an electrical power having a characteristic of a second value, the control circuitry is configured to reset the counter to a starting value.

15. The article of any of claims 12 to 14, wherein, when the control circuitry is in the first state after manufacture of the article, the control circuitry is configured to prevent generation of aerosol from the aerosol-generating material in response to receiving an electrical power having a characteristic of a first value.

16. The article of any of the preceding claims, wherein the control circuitry is configured to perform a third operation in response to receiving an electrical power having a characteristic of a third value.

17. The article of claim 16, wherein the third operation includes a read operation, wherein the control circuitry is configured to read data stored in a memory of the control circuitry and output the read data on the output terminal.

18. An aerosol provision device for use with the article of any of claims 1 to 17, wherein the aerosol provision device comprises electrical terminals configured to electrically couple with the input terminal and the output terminal of the control circuitry when engaged with the article, and wherein the aerosol provision device is configured to supply an electrical power having a characteristic of the first value to the article.

19. The aerosol provision device of claim 18, wherein the electrical power having a characteristic of the first value is set at a level so as to cause an aerosol generator in the article to generate aerosol.

20. A refilling unit, for refilling the storage area of the article of any of claims 1 to 17 with aerosol-generating material from a refill reservoir containing the aerosol-generating material, wherein the refilling unit comprises: an article receiving port for receiving the article, the article receiving port comprising electrical terminals configured to electrically couple with the input terminal and the output terminal of the control circuitry when engaged with the article; and refilling unit control circuitry configured to supply an electrical power having a characteristic of the second value to the article when received in the article port.

21. A method for interacting with control circuitry provided on an article for use with an aerosol provision device, the article comprising a storage area for storing an aerosolgenerating material for generating an aerosol for user inhalation, the method comprising: applying electrical power to the input terminal of the control circuitry of the article, the electrical power being at either a first value or a second value, causing the control circuitry to perform a first operation if the electrical power is at the first value or causing the control circuitry to perform a second operation if the electrical power is at the second value, wherein the first value and the second value are different from one another.

22. An article for aerosol provision means, the article comprising storage means for storing an aerosol-generating material for generating an aerosol for user inhalation, the article comprising: control means comprising an input means and an output means, wherein the input means and output means are adapted to provide electrical power to the control means, wherein the control means is configured to perform a first operation in response to receiving an electrical power having a characteristic of a first value and to perform a second operation in response to receiving an electrical power having a characteristic of a second value, where the first value and the second value are different from one another.