KR20240021381A - Aerosol generating device - Google Patents

Abstract

The embodiment relates to an aerosol-generating device, and in particular to an aerosol-generating device that adjusts a preset reference heating operation time according to the length of pause between puffs by the user.
The aerosol generating device as an embodiment includes a heating unit that heats the heating space into which the aerosol-forming article is inserted, a power supply unit that supplies power to and turns off the power to the heating unit by a control signal from the processor, and a reference duty value according to the temperature profile. It includes a processor that controls the heating operation of the heating unit during the standard heating operation time by applying a control signal including a power supply, and changes the standard heating operation time according to the length of the pause time between the current puff and the next puff.

Description

Aerosol generating device {AEROSOL GENERATING DEVICE}

The embodiment relates to an aerosol-generating device, and in particular to an aerosol-generating device that adjusts a preset reference heating operation time according to the length of pause between puffs by the user.

Inhalation of hedonic substances, commonly referred to as smoking, can be achieved by inhaling fine particles in the air, i.e. aerosols. Previously, cigarette-type tobacco was almost the only means of inhaling these substances, but recently, electronic cigarettes have become another means. Electronic cigarettes vaporize the inhaled material into vapor by applying heat or ultrasonic waves to a cartridge containing the inhaled material in liquid form to generate fine particles, making it completely different from conventional cigarettes that produce smoke by combustion. , it has the advantage of being able to prevent the generation of various harmful substances that may occur due to combustion.

In addition, in response to the demands of consumers who prefer regular cigarettes in the form of cigarettes, electronic cigarettes that have the filter part of a regular cigarette and the shape of a cigarette part are also being proposed. This electronic cigarette uses the inhaled substances contained in the cigarette part as electronic cigarettes. It has a configuration in which the user inhales it through a filter unit that has the same configuration as a regular cigarette while vaporizing it with a heater. In this electronic cigarette, unlike conventional cigarettes, which have a cigarette compartment filled with dry tobacco leaves, the electronic cigarette is filled with paper impregnated with an inhalation substance or buried on the surface. When an electronic cigarette is placed in a holder and a heater inside the holder is heated to vaporize the inhaled substance inside the cigarette unit, the user can inhale the vaporized inhaled substance through the filter unit.

An aerosol-generating device such as a conventional electronic cigarette performs a heating operation only during a preset standard heating operation time, even when the interval between puffs due to the user's inhalation is long, that is, when a user smokes at a relatively slow speed. As a result, there is a problem in that a relatively small number of puffs are provided to the user.

The purpose of the embodiment is to provide an aerosol generating device that adjusts a preset reference heating operation time according to the length of pause between puffs by the user.

The aerosol generating device as an embodiment includes a heating unit that heats the heating space into which the aerosol-forming article is inserted, a power supply unit that supplies power to and turns off the power to the heating unit by a control signal from the processor, and a reference duty value according to the temperature profile. It includes a processor that controls the heating operation of the heating unit during the standard heating operation time by applying a control signal including a power supply, and changes the standard heating operation time according to the length of the pause time between the current puff and the next puff.

Additionally, if the next puff is not generated during the standard extension determination time from the time of generation of the current puff, the processor preferably corrects the heating operation time by adding the extension time to the standard heating operation time.

In addition, it is desirable that the current puff generation point or pause time is in a state of maintaining the temperature of the heating space or decreasing the temperature.

In addition, the aerosol generating device is equipped with a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the heating space or heating unit and applies the temperature detection value to the processor, and the processor changes the reference duty value according to the temperature detection value from the temperature sensor to change the changed duty value. It is desirable to apply a control signal containing to the power supply.

Additionally, it is desirable for the processor to determine the occurrence of the current puff or the next puff using the size of the changed duty value.

Additionally, if the changed duty value exceeds the reference duty value and is longer than the reference puff determination time, the processor preferably determines that the current puff or the next puff has been generated.

Additionally, it is desirable for the processor to vary the reference heating operation time only a preset number of times.

The embodiment adjusts the preset heating operation time according to the length of rest time between puffs by the user, providing a more sufficient heating operation time even when a user with a relatively slow smoking speed smokes, thereby reducing the user's smoking time. There is an effect that can be secured.

1 is a control configuration diagram of an aerosol generating device according to an embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments are described in detail through the drawings. However, this is not intended to be limiting to specific embodiments, and the described embodiments should be understood to include various modifications, equivalents, and/or alternatives of the embodiments. In connection with the description of the drawings, similar reference numbers may be used for similar components.

In this document, expressions such as “have,” “may have,” “includes,” or “may include” refer to the existence of the corresponding feature (e.g., a numerical value, function, operation, or component such as a part). , and does not rule out the existence of additional features.

In this document, expressions such as “A or B,” “at least one of A or/and B,” or “one or more of A or/and B” may include all possible combinations of the items listed together. . For example, “A or B”, “at least one of A and B”, or “at least one of A or B” (1) includes at least one A, (2) includes at least one B, or (3) it may refer to all cases including both at least one A and at least one B.

As used herein, expressions such as "first", "second", "first", or "second" may describe various elements in any order and/or importance, and may refer to one element as another. It is only used to distinguish from components and does not limit the components. For example, a first user device and a second user device may represent different user devices regardless of order or importance. For example, a first component may be renamed a second component without departing from the scope of rights described in this document, and similarly, the second component may also be renamed to the first component.

A component (e.g., a first component) is “(operatively or communicatively) coupled with/to” another component (e.g., a second component). When referred to as being “connected to,” it should be understood that any component may be directly connected to the other component or may be connected through another component (e.g., a third component). On the other hand, when a component (e.g., a first component) is said to be “directly connected” or “directly connected” to another component (e.g., a second component), It may be understood that no other component (e.g., a third component) exists between other components.

The expression “configured to” used in this document may mean, for example, “suitable for,” “having the capacity to,” or “having the capacity to.” It can be used interchangeably with ", "designed to," "adapted to," "made to," or "capable of." The term “configured (or set) to” may not necessarily mean “specifically designed to” in hardware. Instead, in some contexts, the expression “a device configured to” may mean that the device is “capable of” working with other devices or components. For example, the phrase "processor configured (or set) to perform A, B, and C" refers to a processor dedicated to performing the operations (e.g., an embedded processor), or executing one or more software programs stored on a memory device. By doing so, it may mean a general-purpose processor (eg, CPU or application processor) capable of performing the corresponding operations.

Terms used in this document are merely used to describe specific embodiments and may not be intended to limit the scope of other embodiments. Singular expressions may include plural expressions, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, may have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the technical field described in this document. Among the terms used in this document, terms defined in general dictionaries may be interpreted to have the same or similar meaning as the meaning they have in the context of related technology, and unless clearly defined in this document, they may be interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal sense. It is not interpreted. In some cases, even terms defined in this document cannot be interpreted to exclude embodiments of this document.

In the present invention, the aerosol-forming article includes a filter unit having a series of laminated structures, a cooling unit, and an aerosol-forming base layer (e.g., at least one of cut paste, flavoring, nicotine, VG (vegetable glycerin), PG (propylene glycol), etc. It is composed of substances containing the above. Aerosol-forming articles include conventional electronic cigarettes, filters, and the like.

The aerosol generating device according to the present invention includes a case that is open at the top and has a cylindrical (cylindrical, square cylinder) insertion space, a heater pipe that is mounted in the insertion space of the case and has a hollow heating space, and is mounted on the case and has a heater. It is configured to include a heating unit mounted on the inner or outer surface of the pipe and/or the heating space. The case has an airflow path that communicates the bottom or side of the insertion space and the heating space with the external space. The aerosol-forming article is inserted into or separated from the heating space and the insertion space, and when the user inhales (puffs) the aerosol-forming article, external air flows into the insertion space and the heating space through the airflow pass and is generated in the aerosol-forming article. The resulting aerosol is discharged to the outside through the aerosol-forming article.

An induction heating method or a resistance heating method may be applied to a heating device including a heater pipe and a heating unit. When the induction heating method is applied, the heater pipe is a susceptor, the heating unit consists of an induction heating coil, and the power supply unit applies alternating current power to the heating unit. Additionally, when a resistance heating method is applied, the heating unit may be composed of a film heater or the like.

Additionally, the heater pipe may be a plurality of sub-pipes (susceptors) that are separated from each other and have a vertically stacked structure, and the heating unit may be a plurality of heating units (induction heating coils) electrically spaced apart from each other on the outside of each sub-pipe. This embodiment is implemented as a heating device composed of a plurality of sub-pipes and a plurality of heating units.

In addition to the above mechanical configuration, the aerosol generating device includes a control configuration as shown in FIG. 1 below.

1 is a control configuration diagram of an aerosol generating device according to an embodiment. The aerosol generating device 200 includes an input unit 210 that acquires input from the user (e.g., power on/off, heating mode selection input, heating operation (start) input, etc.) and applies it to the processor 290. , information (e.g., inhalable state, start of heating operation, end of heating operation, end of aerosol discharge function, extension of heating operation time, etc.) is received from the processor 290 visually, audibly, or A display unit 220 that displays tactilely (e.g., an LED or LCD element, a speaker, a vibration motor, etc.), a power unit 230 that supplies power (e.g., a rechargeable battery, etc.), and a processor 290 ), a power supply unit 240 (e.g., FET switch, inverter element, etc.), and first and second heating units 242 and 244 that generate heat energy by power applied from the power supply unit 240 to heat the upper and lower sides of the heating space, respectively. , first and second temperatures corresponding to the temperatures of the first and second heating units 242 and 244, respectively, by being in direct contact with each other or spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval. A temperature sensor 250 applies a sensed value to the processor 290, and a power supply unit 240 controls the above-described components to generate a control signal according to the first and second temperature sensed values from the temperature sensor 250. ) is applied to perform the aerosol generation function by the heating operation of the first and second heating units 242 and 244 for a preset reference heating operation time, but depending on the length of the pause time, which is the interval between puffs by the user, Therefore, it is configured to include a processor 290 that varies the standard heating operation time. However, the input unit 210, the display unit 220, the power unit 230, the power supply unit 240, etc. correspond to technologies naturally recognized by a person skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains, and their detailed description is omitted. .

The first and second heating units 242 and 244 include a resistive element (e.g., in the form of a film or coil) that generates resistance heating when power is applied, and an induction coil for performing induction heating. It can be implemented as: In the case of induction heating, the first sub-pipe is inductively heated by the first heater 242 to heat the upper side of the heating space, and the second sub-pipe is inductively heated by the second heater 244 to heat the lower side of the heating space. A heater pipe including two sub-pipes is provided. The power supply unit 240 may be provided with at least one inverter element to supply alternating current power to the induction coil.

The temperature sensor 250 is in direct contact with the first heating unit 242 or the first sub-pipe, and the second heating unit 244 or the second sub-pipe, such as a well-known temperature sensor or thermal wire, or is exposed to infrared rays. It can also be implemented as a non-contact detection sensor such as ultraviolet rays or ultraviolet rays.

In this embodiment, the reference heating operation time includes a plurality of heating sections, and the temperature profile is applied to the first heating unit 242 for heating to each target temperature and a target temperature in each of the plurality of heating sections. It includes first reference duty values (duty ratio) and second reference duty values (duty ratio) applied to the second heating unit 244. The plurality of heating sections may be the same time or may be different times from each other. Table 1 below is an example of a plurality of heating sections and first and second reference duty values.

heating section One 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 First reference duty value 45 18 16 16 0 0 0 0 Second standard duty value 0 0 0 0 10 10 18 15

In Table 1, the unit of the first and second reference duty values is %, and the standard heating operation time consists of heating section 1 to heating section 8. In heating sections 1 to 4, only the heating operation by the first heating unit 242 is performed (i.e., the second heating unit 244 is in a heating stop state), and in heating sections 5 to 8, the heating operation is performed by the second heating section 242. Only the heating operation by the heating unit 244 is performed (that is, the first heating unit 242 is in a heating stop state). Based on each duty value, heating section 1 is a preheating section and is a temperature rising section, heating section 2 to heating section 4 is a temperature falling section or temperature maintaining section, and heating section 5 is a temperature rising section in the second heating section 244. The section where heating begins is a temperature increase section, heating section 6 is a temperature maintenance section, heating section 7 is a temperature increase section due to an increase in duty value, and heating section 8 is a temperature drop section or temperature maintenance section. Heating sections 1 to 8 may be included in any one of a temperature increase section, a temperature drop section, or a temperature maintenance section. Additionally, as described above, the processor 290 may determine the temperature state (temperature rise, temperature fall, temperature maintenance) of each heating section using the temperature profile, and the first and second signals from the temperature sensor 250. 2 The temperature status of each heating section can also be determined using temperature detection values.

After the aerosol-forming article is inserted into the heating space, the processor 290 controls the power supply unit 240 according to a pre-stored temperature profile to perform a heating operation of each of the first and second heating units 242 and 244. It performs the aerosol generating function. That is, the processor 290 applies a control signal including first and second reference duty values corresponding to the target temperature of each heating section to the power supply unit 240, and the power supply unit 240 responds to the applied control signal. Accordingly, power (AC power or DC power) is applied to the first and second heating units 242 and 244, respectively.

During the heating operation after performing the preheating operation of heating section 1, the processor 290 detects that when the user inhales the aerosol-forming article, air with a temperature lower than that of the heating space flows in through the airflow path, and the temperature sensor 250 The first and second temperature detection values decrease. In order to restore this lowered temperature detection value to the target temperature of each heating section, the processor 290 generates a control signal with a first or second duty value higher than the first or second reference duty value and transmits the power supply ( 240) and perform the authorization process.

As described above, the processor 290 uses the process of generating a control signal including a first or second duty value higher than the first or second reference duty value, that is, using the magnitude of the first or second duty value. Thus, the user's puff (or the occurrence of a puff) can be detected or determined. In this embodiment, the processor 290 determines that a puff has been generated by the user when the time exceeding the first or second reference duty value of each heating section is longer than or equal to the reference puff determination time (e.g., 300 ms). judge. For example, in heating section 3, when the processor 290 applies a control signal including a first duty value of 18% greater than the first reference duty value to the power supply unit 240 for more than the reference puff determination time. , it can be determined that the user's puff has occurred.

While performing the aerosol generating function, the processor 290 determines the user's puff, and stores the time or number of occurrences of the determined puff. Additionally, the processor 290 calculates the length of the pause time, which is the interval between puffs, using a built-in timer, etc. In this embodiment, if any one of the pause times exceeds the standard extension determination time (for example, 30 seconds), the processor 290 performs the first and second heating operations only during the preset reference heating operation time. By operating the heating units 242 and 244, the number of puffs may be relatively small for the user, so a heating time addition function is performed to correct the heating operation time by adding the extended time to the standard heating operation time. . The processor 290 performs correction for the standard heating operation time only a preset number of times (for example, once) to prevent the heating operation time from excessively increasing.

The process by which the processor 290 performs the above heating time addition function is as follows. When the processor 290 determines that the next puff has not been generated during the standard extension determination time from when the current puff is generated, the processor 290 determines that the pause time between the current puff and the next puff exceeds the standard extension determination time, and heats the Perform correction of operating time.

However, in this determination process, the processor 290, as described above, in the temperature rise section, the duty value applied to the power supply unit 240 may be greater than the first and second reference duty values, so this temperature rise The heating time addition function described above is not performed using the time of occurrence of the puff generated in the section. Alternatively, the processor 290 may not perform the above-described heating time addition function even if the temperature rise period is not in the current puff, but the pause time until the next puff is generated is included in the temperature rise period.

The processor 290 causes the first or second heating units 242 and 244 to perform a heating operation during the corrected heating operation time. The extension time is added after heating section 8 in Table 1, and the processor 290 operates the second heating unit 244 with a duty value that is the same as or a different duty value from the second reference duty value in heating section 8. ) can perform a heating operation.

In addition to the puff detection or determination method using the change in duty value, the processor 290 performs a puff detection method using a change in pressure detected by a pressure (reduced pressure) sensor, a puff detection method using a change in temperature, etc. , it can also be used to detect or determine the occurrence of puffs and perform the heating time additional function described above.

In this embodiment, the heating unit is comprised of the first and second heating units 242 and 244, but may be comprised of one heating unit or three or more heating units.

At least a portion of the device (e.g., processor or functions thereof) or method (e.g., operations) according to various embodiments is stored in a computer-readable storage media, for example, in the form of a program module. Can be implemented as stored instructions. When the instruction is executed by a processor, the one or more processors may perform the function corresponding to the instruction. A computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, memory.

Computer-readable recording media include hard disks, floppy disks, magnetic media (e.g. magnetic tape), optical media (e.g. CD-ROM, DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), magnetic media) It may include magnetic media (e.g., a floptical disk), hardware devices (e.g., ROM, RAM, or flash memory, etc.), etc. Additionally, program instructions may include information such as those generated by the compiler. It may include not only machine language code but also high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter, etc. The above-described hardware device may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of various embodiments, The same goes for the station.

The processor or functions provided by the processor according to various embodiments may include at least one of the above-described components, some of them may be omitted, or other additional components may be included. Operations performed by modules, program modules, or other components according to various embodiments may be executed sequentially, in parallel, iteratively, or in a heuristic manner. Additionally, some operations may be executed in a different order, omitted, or other operations may be added.

As explained above, it is not limited to the specific preferred embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made by anyone skilled in the art without departing from the gist of the claims. Of course, such changes are within the scope of the claims.

210: input unit 220: display unit
242: first heating unit 244: second heating unit

Claims (7)

a heating unit that heats a heating space into which an aerosol-forming article is inserted;
a power supply unit that supplies power to and turns off power to the heating unit according to a control signal from the processor;
A control signal containing a reference duty value according to the temperature profile is applied to the power supply to control the heating operation of the heating unit during the standard heating operation time, but the standard heating operation time is variable depending on the length of the pause time between the current puff and the next puff. An aerosol generating device comprising a processor. According to claim 1,
If the next puff is not generated during the standard extension determination time from the time of generation of the current puff, the processor corrects the heating operation time by adding the extension time to the standard heating operation time. According to claim 1,
An aerosol generating device characterized in that the current puff generation point or pause time is in a state of maintaining the temperature of the heating space or decreasing the temperature. According to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The aerosol generating device includes a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the heating space or heating unit and applies the temperature detection value to the processor,
An aerosol generating device, wherein the processor changes the reference duty value according to the temperature detection value from the temperature sensor and applies a control signal including the changed duty value to the power supply. According to claim 4,
An aerosol generating device wherein the processor determines the generation of the current puff or the next puff using the size of the variable duty value. According to claim 5,
An aerosol generating device, wherein the processor determines that the current puff or the next puff has been generated when the variable duty value exceeds the reference duty value and is longer than the reference puff determination time. According to claim 1,
An aerosol generating device wherein the processor varies the standard heating operation time only a preset number of times.