WO2023118787A1 - Dispositifs de fourniture d'aérosol - Google Patents

Dispositifs de fourniture d'aérosol Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2023118787A1
WO2023118787A1 PCT/GB2022/053149 GB2022053149W WO2023118787A1 WO 2023118787 A1 WO2023118787 A1 WO 2023118787A1 GB 2022053149 W GB2022053149 W GB 2022053149W WO 2023118787 A1 WO2023118787 A1 WO 2023118787A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
aerosol provision
provision device
signal
aerosol
property
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/GB2022/053149
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Robert KERSEY
Darryl BAKER
Roberto Pellegrini
Najeeb YOUNOSSI
Chris YIN
Alessio LEONCINI
Original Assignee
Nicoventures Trading Limited
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Nicoventures Trading Limited filed Critical Nicoventures Trading Limited
Publication of WO2023118787A1 publication Critical patent/WO2023118787A1/fr

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Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
    • A24F—SMOKERS' REQUISITES; MATCH BOXES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES
    • A24F40/00—Electrically operated smoking devices; Component parts thereof; Manufacture thereof; Maintenance or testing thereof; Charging means specially adapted therefor
    • A24F40/50—Control or monitoring
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
    • A24F—SMOKERS' REQUISITES; MATCH BOXES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES
    • A24F40/00—Electrically operated smoking devices; Component parts thereof; Manufacture thereof; Maintenance or testing thereof; Charging means specially adapted therefor
    • A24F40/65—Devices with integrated communication means, e.g. wireless communication means

Definitions

  • the present disclosure relates to aerosol provision devices.
  • Aerosol provision systems such as electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) generally contain a aerosol generating material, such as a reservoir of a source liquid, which may contain an active substance and / or a flavour, from which an aerosol or vapour is generated for inhalation by a user, for example through heat vaporisation.
  • a aerosol provision system will typically comprise a aerosol generation chamber containing an aerosol generator, e.g. a heating element, arranged to vaporise or aerosolise a portion of precursor material to generate a vapour or aerosol in the aerosol generation chamber.
  • Some electronic cigarettes may also include a flavour element in the airflow path through the device to impart additional flavours.
  • Such devices may sometimes be referred to as hybrid devices, and the flavour element may, for example, include a portion of tobacco arranged in the air flow path between the aerosol generation chamber and the mouthpiece such that aerosol I condensation aerosol drawn through the device passes through the portion of tobacco before exiting the mouthpiece for user inhalation.
  • Aerosol generating devices may be operable in one or more of a plurality of operating modes, with each operating mode corresponding to one or more functions provided by the aerosol provision device.
  • An aerosol provision device may further be provided with data transfer functionality to enable the transfer of data between the aerosol provision device and at least one external electronic device, via an appropriate wired or wireless communication interface.
  • An aerosol provision device with such data connectivity functionality may be considered to exist within a device ecosystem or environment in which data may be shared with the aerosol provision device by external devices, and external devices may share data with the aerosol provision device. The inventors have recognised that different sets of functions providable by an aerosol provision device may be considered particularly appropriate for a particular context of the aerosol provision device.
  • the context may comprise, for example, information about the type of aerosol delivery device, information about the user of the device, and information about the location of the device.
  • the inventors have further recognised that aspects of functionality available when an aerosol delivery device is configured with data connectivity functionality for use in a device ecosystem may be used to support the selection of context-appropriate functions.
  • an aerosol provision device operable in a plurality of operating modes
  • the aerosol provision device comprising: control circuitry configured to control accessibility of the plurality of operating modes of the aerosol provision device; a signal module configured to receive signals from a secure source, wherein the control circuitry is configured to update an accessibility of at least one of the plurality of operating modes of the aerosol provision device based on reception of a signal from a secure source indicating an accessibility of at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device.
  • a computing device for indicating to an aerosol provision device an accessibility of an operating mode of the aerosol provision device, wherein the computing device is configured to: transmit a first signal to a secure source, indicating a property of an aerosol provision device; receive, from the secure source, a second signal comprising a payload indicating an accessibility of at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device; and provide, in response to receiving the second signal, a third signal to the aerosol provision device; wherein the third signal comprises information derived from the payload, indicating an accessibility of the least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device.
  • a secure source for indicating to an aerosol provision device an accessibility of at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device, the secure source comprising: a signal module configured to receive signalling indicating at least one property of the aerosol provision device, and to transmit signalling indicating an accessibility of at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device; and control circuitry; wherein the secure source is configured to: receive, at the signal module, signalling from an aerosol provision device or a computing device indicating at least one property of the aerosol provision device; determine, at the control circuitry, based on the at least one property of the aerosol provision device, an accessibility of at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device; generate, at the control circuitry, a payload indicating the accessibility of the at least one operating mode; and transmit, via the signal module, signalling comprising the payload.
  • an aerosol provision arrangement comprising: an aerosol provision device operable in a plurality of operating modes; wherein the aerosol provision device comprises control circuitry configured to control accessibility of one or more of the plurality of operating modes of the aerosol provision device; and a signal module configured to receive signals from a computing device; wherein the aerosol provision arrangement further comprises a computing device configured to transmit signals to the aerosol provision device; wherein the computing device is further configured to transmit a first signal to a secure source, indicating a property of the aerosol provision device; wherein the computing device is further configured to receive from the secure source, in response to transmitting the first signal, a second signal comprising a payload indicating an accessibility of at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device; and wherein the computing device is further configured to transmit to the aerosol provision device, in response to receiving the second signal, a third signal comprising information derived from the payload, indicating an accessibility of at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device; wherein the control circuit
  • an aerosol provision environment comprising: an aerosol provision arrangement, the aerosol provision arrangement comprising: an aerosol provision device operable in a plurality of operating modes; wherein the aerosol provision device comprises control circuitry configured to control accessibility of one or more of the plurality of operating modes of the aerosol provision device; and a signal reception module configured to receive signals from a computing device; wherein the aerosol provision arrangement further comprises a computing device configured to transmit signals to the aerosol provision device; wherein the computing device is configured to transmit a first signal to a secure source, indicating a property of the aerosol provision device; and the computing device is further configured to receive from the secure source a second signal comprising a payload indicating an accessibility of at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device; wherein the aerosol provision environment further comprises a secure source configured to transmit signals to and receive signals from the computing device; wherein the secure source is configured to transmit to the computing device, in response to receiving the first signal, the second signal comprising the payload; the computing
  • a method of operating an aerosol provision device comprising: receiving at a signal module of the aerosol provision device, signalling from a secure source indicating an accessibility of an operating mode of the aerosol provision device; and controlling control circuitry of the aerosol provision device to update an accessibility of at least one of a plurality of operating modes of the aerosol provision device based on the signalling received from the secure source.
  • a method of operating a computing device to indicate to an aerosol provision device an accessibility of at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device comprising; transmitting a first signal to a secure source, indicating a property of an aerosol provision device; receiving, from the secure source, a second signal comprising a payload indicating an accessibility of at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device; and providing, in response to receiving the second signal, a third signal to the aerosol provision device; wherein the third signal comprises information derived from the payload, indicating an accessibility of at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device.
  • a method of operating a secure source for indicating to an aerosol provision device an accessibility of at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device comprising: receiving, via a signal module of the secure source, signalling from an aerosol provision device or a computing device indicating at least one property of the aerosol provision device; controlling control circuitry of the secure source to determine an accessibility of at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device, based on the at least one property of the aerosol provision device; controlling control circuitry of the secure source to generate a payload indicating the accessibility of the at least one operating mode; and transmitting, via the signal module, a second signal comprising the payload.
  • a method of updating an accessibility of at least one of a plurality of operating modes of an aerosol provision device which is operable in a plurality of operating modes; the method comprising: transmitting a first signal from a computing device to a secure source, the first signal indicating a property of the aerosol provision device; receiving, by the computing device, from the secure source, a second signal comprising a payload indicating an accessibility of at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device; transmitting a third signal from the computing device to the aerosol provision device, wherein the third signal comprises information derived from the payload, indicating an accessibility of at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device; and changing, by control circuitry of the aerosol provision device, an accessibility of the at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device based on reception of the first signal.
  • a method of updating an accessibility of at least one of a plurality of operating modes of an aerosol provision device operable in a plurality of operating modes, in an aerosol provision environment comprising the aerosol provision device, a computing device, and a secure source comprising: transmitting, from the computing device to the secure source, a first signal indicating a property of the aerosol provision device; generating, at the secure source, a payload indicating an accessibility of at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device; transmitting, from the secure source to the computing device, a second signal comprising the payload; transmitting, from the computing device to the aerosol provision device, and in response to receiving the second signal, a third signal comprising information derived from the payload, indicating an accessibility of at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device, changing, by control circuitry of the aerosol provision device, an accessibility of the at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device based on reception of the first signal.
  • Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an aerosol delivery system in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.
  • Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a data communication environment, in which an aerosol delivery system is configured to transmit and receive data to and from one or more external devices comprising at least one computing device and / or a secure source.
  • Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an approach for signalling between a secure source and an aerosol provision device to indicate an accessibility of at least one operating mode of an aerosol provision device.
  • Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an approach for signalling between a secure source, a computing device, and an aerosol provision device, to indicate an accessibility of at least one operating mode of an aerosol provision device.
  • Figure 5 is a flowchart detailing aspects of operation of an aerosol provision device.
  • Figure 6 is a flowchart detailing aspects of operation of a computing device.
  • Figure 7 is a flowchart detailing aspects of operation of a secure source.
  • Figure 8 is a flowchart detailing aspects of operation of an aerosol provision arrangement.
  • Figure 9 is a flowchart detailing aspects of operation of an aerosol provision environment.
  • aerosol delivery devices such as nebulisers or e-cigarettes.
  • e-cigarette or “electronic cigarette” may sometimes be used, but it will be appreciated this term may be used interchangeably with aerosol delivery system I device and electronic aerosol delivery system I device.
  • aerosol provision device may be used interchangeably with these terms herein, to denote a device arranged to provide aerosol for provision to a user.
  • aerosol and vapour, and related terms such as “vaporise”, “volatilise” and “aerosolise”
  • vapour delivery systems such as nebulisers or e-cigarettes.
  • Aerosol provision devices e.g. e-cigarettes
  • a modular assembly including both a reusable part and a replaceable (disposable) cartridge part.
  • the replaceable cartridge part will comprise the aerosol generating material and the vaporiser and the reusable part will comprise the power supply (e.g. rechargeable power source) and control circuitry.
  • the power supply e.g. rechargeable power source
  • the reusable device part will often comprise a user interface for receiving user input and displaying operating status characteristics
  • the replaceable cartridge part in some cases comprises a temperature sensor for helping to control temperature.
  • Cartridges are electrically and mechanically coupled to a control unit for use, for example using a screw thread, bayonet, or magnetic coupling with appropriately arranged electrical contacts.
  • a cartridge may be removed from the control unit and a replacement cartridge attached in its place.
  • Devices conforming to this type of two-part modular configuration may generally be referred to as two-part devices.
  • aerosol provision devices it is common for aerosol provision devices to have a generally elongate shape.
  • certain embodiments of the disclosure described herein will be taken to comprise this kind of generally elongate two-part device employing disposable cartridges.
  • the underlying principles described herein may equally be adopted for different aerosol provision device configurations, for example singlepart devices or modular devices comprising more than two parts, refillable devices and singleuse disposable devices, as well as devices conforming to other overall shapes, for example based on so-called box-mod high performance devices that typically have a more boxy shape.
  • certain embodiments of the disclosure are based on aerosol provision devices which are operationally configured to provide functionality in accordance with the principles described herein and the constructional aspects of the aerosol provision devices configured to provide the functionality in accordance with certain embodiments of the disclosure is not of primary significance.
  • FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view through an example aerosol provision device 1 in accordance with certain embodiments of the disclosure.
  • the aerosol provision device 1 comprises two main components, namely a reusable part 2 and a replaceable I disposable cartridge part 4.
  • a reusable part 2 and the cartridge part 4 are releasably coupled together at an interface 6.
  • the cartridge part may be removed from the reusable part and a replacement cartridge part attached to the reusable part in its place.
  • the interface 6 provides a structural, electrical and airflow path connection between the two parts and may be established in accordance with conventional techniques, for example based around a screw thread, magnetic or bayonet fixing with appropriately arranged electrical contacts and openings for establishing the electrical connection and airflow path between the two parts as appropriate.
  • the specific manner by which the cartridge part 4 mechanically mounts to the reusable part 2 is not significant to the principles described herein, but for the sake of a concrete example is assumed here to comprise a magnetic coupling (not represented in Figure 1). It will also be appreciated the interface 6 in some implementations may not support an electrical and I or airflow path connection between the respective parts.
  • an aerosol generator may be provided in the reusable part 2 rather than in the cartridge part 4, or the transfer of electrical power from the reusable part 2 to the cartridge part 4 may be wireless (e.g. based on electromagnetic induction), so that an electrical connection between the reusable part and the cartridge part is not needed.
  • the airflow through the electronic cigarette might not go through the reusable part so that an airflow path connection between the reusable part and the cartridge part is not needed.
  • a portion of the airflow path may be defined at the interface between portions of reusable part 2 and cartridge part 4 when these are coupled together for use.
  • the cartridge part 4 may in accordance with certain embodiments of the disclosure be broadly conventional.
  • the cartridge part 4 comprises a cartridge housing 42 formed of a plastics material.
  • the cartridge housing 42 supports other components of the cartridge part and provides the mechanical interface 6 with the reusable part 2.
  • the cartridge housing is generally circularly symmetric about a longitudinal axis along which the cartridge part couples to the reusable part 2.
  • the cartridge part has a length of around 4 cm and a diameter of around 1.5 cm.
  • the specific geometry, and more generally the overall shapes and materials used, may be different in different implementations.
  • Aerosol-generating material is a material that is capable of generating aerosol, for example when heated, irradiated or energized in any other way. 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 plant material such as tobacco. 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.
  • 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.
  • the aerosol-generating material may comprise one or more active substances and/or flavours, one or more aerosol-former materials, and optionally one or more other functional material.
  • the aerosol-former material may comprise one or more constituents capable of forming an aerosol.
  • the aerosol-former material may comprise one or more of glycerine (e.g.
  • the one or more other functional materials may comprise one or more of pH regulators, colouring agents, preservatives, binders, fillers, stabilizers, and/or antioxidants.
  • the aerosol-generating material may be present on or in a support, to form a substrate.
  • the support may, for example, be or comprise paper, card, paperboard, cardboard, reconstituted material, a plastics material, a ceramic material, a composite material, glass, a metal, or a metal alloy.
  • One or more active constituents may comprise one or more physiologically and/or olfactory active constituents which are included in the aerosolisable material in order to achieve a physiological and/or olfactory response in the user.
  • the active constituent is a physiologically active constituent and may be selected from nicotine, nicotine salts (e.g. nicotine ditartrate/nicotine bitartrate), nicotine-free tobacco substitutes, other alkaloids such as caffeine, cannabinoids, or mixtures thereof.
  • Cannabinoids are a class of natural or synthetic chemical compounds which act on cannabinoid receptors (i.e. , CB1 and CB2) in cells that repress neurotransmitter release in the brain.
  • Cannabinoids Two of the most important cannabinoids are tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD).
  • Cannabinoids may be naturally occurring (Phytocannabinoids) from plants such as cannabis, (endocannabinoids) from animals, and artificially manufactured (Synthetic cannabinoids).
  • Cannabinoids are cyclic molecules exhibiting particular properties such as the ability to easily cross the blood-brain barrier, weak toxicity, and few side effects.
  • Cannabis species express at least 85 different phytocannabinoids, and are divided into subclasses, including cannabigerols, cannabichromenes, cannabidiols, tetrahydrocannabinols, cannabinols and cannabinodiols, and other cannabinoids, such as cannabigerol (CBG), cannabichromene (CBC), cannabidiol (CBD), tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabinol (CBN) and cannabinodiol (CBDL), cannabicyclol (CBL), cannabivarin (CBV), tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), cannabidivarin (CBDV), cannabichromevarin (CBCV), cannabigerovarin (CBGV), cannabigerol monomethyl ether (CBGM), cannabinerolic acid, canna
  • a reservoir 44 configured to store a supply of liquid aerosol generating material.
  • the liquid reservoir 44 has an annular shape with an outer wall defined by the cartridge housing 42 and an inner wall that defines an airflow path 52 through the cartridge part 4.
  • the reservoir 44 is closed at each end with end walls to contain the aerosol generating material.
  • the reservoir 44 may be formed in accordance with conventional techniques, for example it may comprise a plastics material and be integrally moulded with the cartridge housing 42.
  • the cartridge part further comprises an aerosol generator 48 located towards an end of the reservoir 44 opposite to the mouthpiece outlet 50.
  • An aerosol generator is an apparatus configured to cause aerosol to be generated from the aerosol-generating material.
  • the aerosol generator is a heater configured to subject the aerosol-generating material to heat energy, so as to release one or more volatiles from the aerosol-generating material to form an aerosol.
  • the aerosol generator is configured to cause an aerosol to be generated from the aerosol-generating material without heating.
  • the aerosol generator may be configured to subject the aerosol-generating material to one or more of vibration, increased pressure, or electrostatic energy.
  • the aerosol generator may be in either of the reusable part 2 or the cartridge part 4.
  • the aerosol generator 48 e.g. a heater
  • the cartridge may comprise a portion of aerosol generating material
  • an aerosol generator 48 comprising a heater is at least partially inserted into or at least partially surrounds the portion of aerosol generating material as the cartridge 4 is engaged with the reusable part 2.
  • a wick 46 in contact with a heater 48 extends transversely across the cartridge airflow path 52 with its ends extending into the reservoir 44 of a liquid aerosol generating material through openings in the inner wall of the reservoir 44.
  • the openings in the inner wall of the reservoir are sized to broadly match the dimensions of the wick 46 to provide a reasonable seal against leakage from the liquid reservoir into the cartridge airflow path without unduly compressing the wick, which may be detrimental to its fluid transfer performance.
  • the wick 46 and heater 48 are arranged in the cartridge airflow path 52 such that a region of the cartridge airflow path 52 around the wick 46 and heater 48 in effect defines a vaporisation region for the cartridge part 4.
  • Aerosol generating material in the reservoir 44 infiltrates the wick 46 through the ends of the wick extending into the reservoir 44 and is drawn along the wick by surface tension I capillary action (i.e. wicking).
  • the heater 48 in this example comprises an electrically resistive wire coiled around the wick 46.
  • the heater 48 comprises a nickel chrome alloy (Cr20Ni80) wire and the wick 46 comprises a glass fibre bundle, but it will be appreciated the specific aerosol generator configuration is not significant to the principles described herein.
  • electrical power may be supplied to the heater 48 to vaporise an amount of aerosol generating material (aerosol generating material) drawn to the vicinity of the heater 48 by the wick 46. Vaporised aerosol generating material may then become entrained in air drawn along the cartridge airflow path from the vaporisation region towards the mouthpiece outlet 50 for user inhalation.
  • aerosol generating material aerosol generating material
  • the rate at which aerosol generating material is vaporised by the vaporiser (heater) 48 will depend on the amount (level) of power supplied to the heater 48.
  • electrical power can be applied to the heater to selectively generate aerosol from the aerosol generating material in the cartridge part 4, and furthermore, the rate of aerosol generation can be changed by changing the amount of power supplied to the heater 48, for example through pulse width and/or frequency modulation techniques.
  • the reusable part 2 comprises an outer housing 12 having with an opening that defines an air inlet 28 for the e-cigarette, a power source 26 (for example a battery) for providing operating power for the electronic cigarette, control circuitry I controller 22 for controlling and monitoring the operation of the electronic cigarette, a first user input button 14, a second user input button 16, and a visual display 24.
  • a power source 26 for example a battery
  • the outer housing 12 may be formed, for example, from a plastics or metallic material and in this example has a circular cross section generally conforming to the shape and size of the cartridge part 4 so as to provide a smooth transition between the two parts at the interface 6.
  • the reusable part has a length of around 8 cm so the overall length of the e- cigarette when the cartridge part and reusable part are coupled together is around 12 cm.
  • the overall shape and scale of an electronic cigarette implementing an embodiment of the disclosure is not significant to the principles described herein.
  • the air inlet 28 connects to an airflow path 51 through the reusable part 2.
  • the reusable part airflow path 51 in turn connects to the cartridge airflow path 52 across the interface 6 when the reusable part 2 and cartridge part 4 are connected together.
  • air is drawn in through the air inlet 28, along the reusable part airflow path 51 , across the interface 6, through the aerosol generation region in the vicinity of the aerosol generator 48 (where vaporised aerosol generating material becomes entrained in the air flow), along the cartridge airflow path 52, and out through the mouthpiece opening 50 for user inhalation.
  • the power source 26 in this example is rechargeable and may be of a conventional type, for example of the kind normally used in electronic cigarettes and other applications requiring provision of relatively high currents over relatively short periods.
  • the power source 26 may be recharged through a charging connector in the reusable part housing 12, for example a USB connector.
  • First and second user input buttons 14, 16 may be provided, which in this example are conventional mechanical buttons, for example comprising a spring mounted component which may be pressed by a user to establish an electrical contact.
  • the input buttons may be considered input devices for detecting user input and the specific manner in which the buttons are implemented is not significant.
  • the buttons may be assigned to functions such as switching the aerosol provision device 1 on and off, and adjusting user settings such as a power to be supplied from the power source 26 to an aerosol generator 48.
  • the inclusion of user input buttons is optional, and in some embodiments buttons may not be included.
  • a display 24 may be provided to give a user with a visual indication of various characteristics associated with the aerosol provision device, for example current power setting information, remaining power source power, and so forth.
  • the display may be implemented in various ways.
  • the display 24 comprises a conventional pixilated LCD screen that may be driven to display the desired information in accordance with conventional techniques.
  • the display may comprise one or more discrete indicators, for example LEDs, that are arranged to display the desired information, for example through particular colours and I or flash sequences. More generally, the manner in which the display is provided and information is displayed to a user using the display is not significant to the principles described herein.
  • some embodiments may not include a visual display and may include other means for providing a user with information relating to operating characteristics of the aerosol provision device, for example using audio signalling, or may not include any means for providing a user with information relating to operating characteristics of the aerosol provision device.
  • a controller 22 is suitably configured I programmed to control the operation of the aerosol provision device to provide functionality in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure as described further herein, as well as for providing conventional operating functions of the aerosol provision device in line with the established techniques for controlling such devices.
  • the controller (processor circuitry) 22 may be considered to logically comprise various sub- units I circuitry elements associated with different aspects of the operation of the aerosol delivery system 1.
  • the controller 22 comprises power supply control circuitry for controlling the supply of power from the power source 26 to the aerosol generator 48 in response to user input, user programming circuitry 20 for establishing configuration settings (e.g.
  • controller 22 can be provided in various different ways, for example using one or more suitably programmed programmable computer(s) and I or one or more suitably configured application-specific integrated circuit(s) I circuitry I chip(s) I chipset(s) configured to provide the desired functionality.
  • the functionality of the controller 22 is described further herein.
  • the controller 22 may comprise an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or microcontroller, for controlling the aerosol provision device.
  • the microcontroller or ASIC may include a CPU or micro-processor.
  • the operations of a CPU and other electronic components are generally controlled at least in part by software programs running on the CPU (or other component).
  • software programs may be stored in non-volatile memory, such as ROM, which can be integrated into the microcontroller itself, or provided as a separate component.
  • the CPU may access the ROM to load and execute individual software programs as and when required.
  • the controller 22 comprises a signal I signalling I data communications module configured to support one- or two-way communication of data between the aerosol provision device and one or more external entities, such as a secure source and I or computing device.
  • the signal module only supports data reception, and in other embodiments, the signal module supports both data reception and transmission.
  • the signal module may support data communication according to any wired or wireless data communication protocol known to the skilled person, examples of which are discussed further herein.
  • Reusable part 2 comprises an airflow sensor 30 which is electrically connected to the controller 22.
  • the airflow sensor 30 comprises a so-called “puff sensor”, in that the airflow sensor 30 is used to detect when a user is puffing on the device.
  • the airflow sensor comprises a switch in an electrical path providing electrical power from the power source 26 to the aerosol generator 48.
  • the airflow sensor 30 generally comprises a pressure sensor configured to close the switch when subjected to an particular range of pressures, enabling current to flow from the power source 26 to the aerosol generator 48 once the pressure in the vicinity of the airflow sensor 30 drops below a threshold value.
  • the threshold value can be set to a value determined by experimentation to correspond to a characteristic value associated with the initiation of a user puff.
  • the airflow sensor 30 is connected to the controller 22, and the controller distributes electrical power from the power source 26 to the aerosol generator 48 in dependence of a signal received from the airflow sensor 30 by the controller 22.
  • the specific manner in which the signal output from the airflow sensor 30 (which may comprise a measure of capacitance, resistance or other characteristic of the airflow sensor, made by the controller 22) is used by the controller 22 to control the supply of power from the power source 26 to the aerosol generator 48 can be carried out in accordance with any approach known to the skilled person.
  • the airflow sensor 30 is mounted to a printed circuit board
  • the airflow sensor 30 may comprise any sensor which is configured to determine a characteristic of airflow in an airflow path 51 disposed between air inlet 28 and mouthpiece opening 50, for example a pressure sensor or transducer (for example a membrane or solid-state pressure sensor), a combined temperature and pressure sensor, or a microphone (for example an electret-type microphone), which is sensitive to changes in air pressure, including acoustical signals.
  • a pressure sensor or transducer for example a membrane or solid-state pressure sensor
  • a combined temperature and pressure sensor for example a combined temperature and pressure sensor
  • a microphone for example an electret-type microphone
  • the sensor cavity 32 which comprises the interior space defined by one or more chamber walls 34.
  • the sensor cavity 32 may also be referred to herein as a sensor chamber 32 (these terms may be used interchangeably), and comprises a region internal to one or more chamber walls 34 in which an airflow sensor 30 can be fully or partially situated.
  • the airflow sensor 30 is mounted to a printed circuit board (PCB) 31 , which comprises one of the chamber walls of a sensor housing comprising the sensor chamber I cavity 32.
  • PCB printed circuit board
  • a deformable membrane is disposed across an opening communicating between the sensor cavity 32 containing the sensor 30, and a portion of the airflow path disposed between air inlet 28 and mouthpiece opening 50. The deformable membrane covers the opening, and is attached to one or more of the chamber walls according to approaches described further herein.
  • the aerosol provision device 1 comprises a signal module configured to enable a data connection to be established with one or more further electronic devices, including at least a secure source (as described further herein), and in some embodiments, including a computing device (as described further herein), to enable data transfer (i.e. reception, and optionally transmission) between the aerosol provision device 1 and the one or more further electronic device(s).
  • the signal module is integrated into controller 22, and in other embodiments it is implemented separately (comprising, for example, separate application-specific integrated circuit(s) I circuitry I chip(s) I chipset(s)).
  • the signal module may comprise a separate module to the controller 22 which, while connected to controller 22, provides dedicated data transfer functionality for the aerosol provision device.
  • the communication circuitry is configured to support communication between the aerosol provision device 1 and one or more further electronic devices, for example a secure source, and / or a computing device, over a wireless interface.
  • the communication circuitry may be configured to support wireless communications between the aerosol provision device 1 and other computing devices, such as a case, a dock, a smartphone or PC, a base station supporting cellular communications, a relay node providing an onward connection to a base station, a wearable device, or any other portable or fixed device which supports wireless communications.
  • Wireless communications between the aerosol provision device 1 and a further electronic device may be configured according to known data transfer protocols such as BluetoothTM, Bluetooth Low EnergyTM (BLE), ZigBeeTM, WiFiTM, Wifi DirectTM, GSM, 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, LTE, NFC, or RFID. More generally, it will be appreciated that any wireless networking protocol can in principle be used to support wireless communication between the aerosol provision device 1 and further electronic devices.
  • the communication circuitry is configured to support communication between the aerosol provision device 1 and one or more further electronic devices, for example a secure source, and / or a computing device, as described further herein, over a wired interface. This may be instead of or in addition to the configuration for wireless communications set out above.
  • the communication circuitry may comprise any suitable interface for wired data connection, such as LISB-C, micro-USB or Thunderbolt interfaces. More generally, it will be appreciated the communication circuitry may comprise any wired communication interface which enables the transfer of data, according to, for example, a packet data transfer protocol, and may comprise pin or contact pad arrangements configured to engage cooperating pins or contact pads on a dock, case, cable, or other external device which can be connected to the aerosol provision device 1 .
  • the aerosol provision device 1 may operate within a wider provision environment, comprising a computing device, which may comprise, for example, one or more of a smartphone 100, a dock 200 (e.g. a storage I charging case or home refill and/or charging station), a personal computer (PC) 300, or a wearable device 400 (e.g. a smart watch).
  • a combination of an aerosol provision device and a computing device may be referred to herein as an aerosol provision arrangement.
  • the provision environment further comprises a secure source, such as a server 1000 (where communications between the server 1000 and the aerosol provision device 1 , or any of the computing devices, may be supported over an internet or other packet data connection 500).
  • a packet data connection is used to support communications between an aerosol provision device 1 , or a computing device as described herein, and a server 1000
  • the protocol and supporting network infrastructure may be configured according to any wired or wireless data communication approach known to the skilled person, and may comprise any of the wireless or wired data connection protocols described further herein, and associated infrastructure.
  • a computing device and I or secure server comprised in the environment may communicate with the aerosol provision device 1 , either directly (as shown with solid arrows) or indirectly (shown with dashed arrows).
  • the computing devices shown in Figure 2 e.g. smartphone 100, dock 200 (e.g. a storage I charging case or home refill and/or charging station), personal computer (PC) 300, and wearable device 400 (e.g.
  • a smartwatch may be considered to act as data relays interposed on a logical data link between the aerosol provision device 1 and the secure source, which in some embodiments comprises server 1000.
  • Each of the secure source and computing devices comprise signal modules configured to support at least one of the data connection protocols described further herein.
  • a computing device carries out the functions of a secure source, and the aspects of data communication comprised in the present disclosure all take place over a data communication link between an aerosol provision device 1 , and a secure source comprising a computing device (e.g. any of smartphone 100, dock 200, personal computer (PC) 300, and wearable device 400, or another computing device known to the skilled person, may comprise functionality of a server 1000 described further herein).
  • a computing device e.g. any of smartphone 100, dock 200, personal computer (PC) 300, and wearable device 400, or another computing device known to the skilled person, may comprise functionality of a server 1000 described further herein).
  • aerosol provision arrangement will be understood to refer to an arrangement comprising an aerosol provision device and a computing device
  • aerosol provision environment will be understood to refer to an environment comprising an aerosol provision device, a computing device, and a secure source.
  • An example aerosol provision device 1 such as an e-cigarette may communicate directly with one or more other classes of computing device in a wider aerosol provision arrangement I environment, including but not limited to a smartphone 100, a dock 200 (e.g. a recharging case or home refill and/or charging station), a personal computer (PC) 300, or a wearable device 400 (e.g. a smart watch), or any other computing device known to the skilled person.
  • the aerosol provision device 1 is configured to connect to a secure source, such as a server 1000, or a computing device acting as a secure source.
  • a smartphone 100 may comprise communication circuitry I signal modules for wired or wireless data transmission similar to that set out further herein in relation to the aerosol provision device 1 , supporting whichever wireless or wired data communication protocol is used for communications between said devices.
  • a smartphone 100 may comprise communication circuitry I signal modules for wired or wireless data transmission similar to that set out further herein in relation to the aerosol provision device 1 , supporting whichever wireless or wired data communication protocol is used for communications between said devices.
  • a dock 200 e.g. a home refill and/or charging station
  • PC personal computer
  • a wearable device 400 e.g.
  • a smartwatch or a server 1000 may be equipped with communication circuitry / a signal module, comprising a BluetoothTM, Bluetooth Low EnergyTM (BLE), ZigBeeTM, WiFiTM, Wifi DirectTM, GSM, 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, LTE, NFC, RFID or other wireless transmission module, and / or a wired interface such as LISB-C, micro-USB, Thunderbolt or other wired interface.
  • Communication circuitry I a signal module of the aerosol provision device 1 (implemented as a single module or separate modules) enables the controller 22 of the aerosol provision device 1 to communicate data (e.g. packets of data) with different ones of the further classes of device (e.g. computing devices I secure source) using different wired and I or wireless data transmission protocols described herein.
  • Either of an aerosol provision device 1 and computing device in an aerosol provision arrangement may communicate directly or indirectly with a secure source (such as a server I back-end 1000) via a network such as the internet 500 or other suitable packet data protocol known to the skilled person.
  • the secure source may in some embodiments be referred to as a ‘remote secure source’, to indicate that the secure source is physically as opposed to only logically distinct from the aerosol provision device.
  • the functionality of the secure source may be carried out by a computing device, and thus the secure source may not in all embodiments be remote to the computing device.
  • secure source may generally be considered to refer to an entity which is configured to provide data, for example a data payload, to an aerosol provision device (hence ‘source’), either directly, or via a relaying computing device.
  • source an aerosol provision device
  • secure may generally be considered to refer to the fact that the secure source typically encrypts data to be transmitted (though this is not essential), for example according to a payload signing procedure using a public I private key encryption protocol known to the skilled person. In such a protocol, data payloads I packets generated by a first entity are signed or otherwise encrypted using a cryptographic key, prior to transmission to a second entity.
  • the second entity decrypts each encrypted data payload I packet using a corresponding, linked cryptographic key, located at the second entity, to retrieve the data comprised in the payload I packet.
  • the functions of a secure source in the present disclosure are typically carried out by a server I cloud entity I back-end operated by the manufacturer I supplier of the aerosol provision device, or by an operator contracted by one of these parties to provide such a service.
  • the secure source is characterised by not being under the control of a user of the aerosol provision device.
  • the secure source may comprise a computing device (e.g.
  • a smartphone 100, a dock 200, a personal computer (PC) 300, or a wearable device 400 configured to provide a payload to an aerosol provision device using a secure data transmission protocol. Whilst such a device may belong to the user of the aerosol provision device, and I or aspects of its operation may be under the user’s control, where a computing device used by a user comprises the secure source, the functionality relating to provision of a payload to the aerosol provision device will in general not be accessible to the user (i.e. this functionality may be provided by an encrypted or otherwise secured software routine which cannot be straightforwardly modified or reverse-engineered by the user). Security of this kind may be implemented using approaches known to the skilled person, for example, those used to secure proprietary firmware I software routines and processes on a smartphone or personal computer against modification or reverse-engineering by a user.
  • the aerosol provision device 1 may establish communication with the secure source directly, using one of the wireless communication protocols described further herein to communicate with a communication node I transceiver infrastructure (such as a ‘base station’ or ‘evolved node-B’ in 3GPP LTE terminology) which provides connectivity with the server 1000 (e.g. over a backhaul communication link between a base station and the server 1000).
  • a communication node I transceiver infrastructure such as a ‘base station’ or ‘evolved node-B’ in 3GPP LTE terminology
  • the aerosol provision device 1 may establish communication with the server 1000 via another computing device in the delivery system 1 , for example using a wired or wireless communication protocol to communicate with a smartphone 100, a dock/ case 200, a personal computer (PC) 300, or a wearable device 400 which then communicates with the server 1000 (for example, via the internet 500).
  • the signal module of the aerosol provision device 1 only supports uni-directional data reception, and a computing device may support communication on a
  • the other computing devices in an aerosol delivery arrangement I environment may also communicate indirectly with a secure source I back-end I cloud entity I server 1000 via a relay device (which may be a further computing device as described herein), either to fulfil an aspect of their own functionality, or on behalf of the aerosol delivery system 1 (for example as a relay or co-processing unit).
  • the computing devices may also transfer data with each other, either directly or indirectly via any of the wired or wireless communication protocols set out further herein.
  • a given first and second device of a provision arrangement I environment e.g. an aerosol provision device, computing device, and / or a device comprising a secure source
  • the unconnected state may also be referred to as an idle state, and in such a state a given first device may not be detectable by other second devices (i.e. the first device is not transmitting any signalling enabling its existence and I or identity to be determined), or it may be available for establishing a connection with a second device (i.e. it may be advertising its existence I identity using beacon I advertisement signalling).
  • the first and second devices are configured such that data may be transferred from the first to the second device (e.g. ‘uplink’ transmission) and / or transferred from the second to the first device (e.g. ‘downlink’ transmission).
  • establishment of a data connection between a first and second device may be considered to comprise the establishment of any state wherein the two devices can exchange data, regardless of the direction of data transfer.
  • Non-limiting examples of connected states are the establishment of an RRC connected state according to the Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard, or a bonded I paired state according to the Bluetooth or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) standards.
  • LTE Long Term Evolution
  • BLE Bluetooth Low Energy
  • a first device for example, an aerosol provision device 1
  • a second device for example, a computing device
  • the first and second devices exchange messaging to establish information relating to the data transfer protocol to be used for exchanging data (for example comprising coding and encryption parameters to be used when exchanging data packets).
  • the first and second devices transfer data over an air interface established in accordance with an agreed data transfer protocol. This data transmission may be bi- or uni-directional.
  • the data communication process for wired communications may be broadly similar with the difference that data is transmitted over a wired interface as opposed to a wireless interface. Further aspects of implementation for establishment of wireless and wired communications may be found in the standard documents for communication protocols such as those listed further herein.
  • references herein to functionality of a controller 22 of an aerosol provision device in terms of monitoring usage of the aerosol provision device, storing usage data I operational data and I or log data, or establishing parameters for controlling operation of the aerosol provision device on the basis of such usage data, may be ‘offloaded’ to a processor or controller associated with an external computing device having a wired or wireless data connection to the aerosol provision device, as shown schematically in Figure 2, and described in the accompanying text.
  • resulting parameters determined for control of the aerosol provision device may, as appropriate, be transmitted back to the aerosol provision device over a wired or wireless data connection.
  • An aerosol provision arrangement and I or environment may be used to support functions of an aerosol provision device, which may generally be referred to as ‘connected’ functions, in that they relate to the transmission of data between the aerosol provision device and other connected devices (e.g. one or more computing devices, and I or secure source).
  • Such an arrangement may be considered advantageous for enhancing aspects of the operation of an aerosol provision device.
  • an aerosol provision device enabled to receive data from external devices may be able to receive firmware updates or updated control parameters (e.g. relating to generating of aerosol) from a computing device and I or secure source.
  • Determination of suitable control parameters may entail significant processing overheads (for example, where control parameters are determined using Al I machine learning approaches), which are more efficiently carried out on computing devices I systems with higher processing capability than is characteristically provided on an aerosol provision device, where low-energy operation (for extended battery life) and reduced complexity (for cost reduction) are generally considered advantageous.
  • a computing device (such as a smartphone) may also be used as a control interface for an aerosol provision device, which may be particularly advantageous where motivations exist to keep input devices and I or display interfaces on an aerosol provision device to a minimum, for example to reduce complexity and I or cost.
  • a mobile application (“APP”) running on a computing device may support what are in effect offloaded or relayed control and I or display functions for an aerosol provision device which has a direct or indirect (e.g. relayed) data connection with the computing device according to approaches described further herein.
  • the aerosol provision device may, via its signal module, transmit data to a computing device (e.g. data based on monitoring by controller 22 of usage of the device, in terms of, for example, duration, number, and I or frequency of puffs), and the computing device may process this data and display metrics relating to usage of the aerosol provision device to the user via the APP.
  • a user may select control functions via the APP, such as a level of power (e.g.
  • the controller 22 applies the relevant changes (e.g. by adjusting the power settings used to control the heater, or by updating the firmware of the controller 22, or other control circuitry of the aerosol provision device).
  • an APP running on a computing device may be used for any other aspects of control and display relating to an aerosol provision device, in particular, functions relating to the provision of aerosol provision device property information to a secure source, and provision of a payload from a secure source to an aerosol provision device, according to embodiments of the disclosure described in further detail herein.
  • an aerosol provision arrangement I environment of the kind described herein it may be advantageous to provide enhanced functionality, for example providing enhanced security features, and I or enhanced user experience via provision of updates and / or features in dependence on characteristics (which may be termed properties) of an aerosol provision device and / or a user of the aerosol provision device .
  • characteristics which may be termed properties
  • aerosol provision devices potentially having different device characteristics, are provided to different types I classes of user, who may be in different contexts (e.g. geographical location), for whom different operating modes of an aerosol provision device, providing different functions, may be considered most suitable.
  • an aerosol provision device is operable in a plurality of operating modes.
  • each operating mode corresponds to I is associated with one or more functions I aspects of functionality providable by the aerosol provision device.
  • the controller of the aerosol provision device may be configured to operate in accordance with none, one, some, or all of the operating modes.
  • the aerosol provision device may comprise an operating mode (which may also be referred to herein as a ‘service’) relating to data connectivity, under which are one or more functions (which may also be referred to herein as ‘characteristics’) relating to one or more data connectivity protocols as described further herein (e.g. transmission and reception of data, encryption protocols, and log file /data creation).
  • the aerosol provision device further comprises an aerosol generation mode, under which are one or more functions relating to generation of aerosol (e.g. functions relating respectively to a level of power to supply to an atomiser, a maximum duration of power supply during a single puff, and modulation of power in dependence on detected airflow rate).
  • functions relating to generation of aerosol e.g. functions relating respectively to a level of power to supply to an atomiser, a maximum duration of power supply during a single puff, and modulation of power in dependence on detected airflow rate.
  • functions relating to generation of aerosol e.g. functions relating respectively to a level of power to supply to an atomiser, a maximum duration of power supply during a single puff, and modulation of power in dependence on detected airflow rate.
  • any of the operating modes may comprise at least one function relating to the collection of operational data by the aerosol provision device, or storage on a memory element of the aerosol provision device of operational data transmitted to the aerosol provision device by a computing device.
  • Such operational data may comprise puff data, which typically comprises information determined by controller 22 on the basis of monitoring a supply of power to the atomiser, and I or receiving signals from a puff sensor, with the puff data comprising one or more of puff duration, puff frequency, puff power, puff strength, and interpuff spacing, for a plurality of puffs).
  • Such operational data may additionally or alternatively comprise log data associated with one or more routines or processes associated with the operation of the aerosol provision device (e.g. software or firmware routines running on controller 22), or of an associated computing device in an aerosol provision arrangement.
  • log data may comprise metadata, error logs, and other data relating to device behaviour, and may in some embodiments related to operation of a data connectivity protocol.
  • the log data may comprise information about connections established with one or more computing devices and I or secure servers (e.g. connection start and end times, connection duration, device identifiers, classes of information transmitted I received, errors in reception I transmission of data packets, public or private keys used for encryption I decryption of data, and any other data known to the skilled person, in dependence on the specific data connectivity protocol used).
  • the log data may comprise any data known to the skilled person relating to data communication with an external device via one or more of BluetoothTM, Bluetooth Low EnergyTM, ZigbeeTM, Wireless USB, Near-Field Communication (NFC), Wi-FiTM, USBTM, a serial port, and FireWireTM.
  • the controller 22 of an aerosol provision device is configured to set I change I update the accessibility of at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device.
  • accessibility it will be understood that each operating mode has at least an accessible and a non-accessible state.
  • the functions associated with said operating mode may be implemented by the controller 22 to provide corresponding functionality to the aerosol provision device.
  • the functions relating to said operating mode are not implemented I not implementable by the controller 22, and the corresponding functionality is not provided by the aerosol provision device.
  • a certain operating mode may in principle be ‘providable’ by the aerosol provision device, in that the device can be configured to provide the related functions (e.g. via the presence of appropriate firmware I software implementing control of said functions on the aerosol provision device), the actual accessibility to the user of the functions relating to the operating mode (i.e. whether the user can access said functions) is dependent on whether the controller determines the operating mode to be in the accessible or non-accessible state.
  • Non- accessible operating modes may be considered to have their functions locked or barred from use.
  • the means by which the operating mode accessibility is changed I updated I set is by the controller is described in further detail herein.
  • an aerosol provision device When initially supplied to the user, an aerosol provision device according to the present disclosure will in general have an initial I default I factory accessibility configured for each operating mode. For example, all operating modes may be set to non-accessible, and the device may in effect have none of its providable functions available for use by the user. In such embodiments, changing of some or all of the operating modes to the accessible state may be dependent on the user of the device completing an age verification I post-sale authorisation procedure. For example, the user may have to input certain identifying information to an APP running on a computing device (e.g.
  • the computing device and the aerosol provision device may establish a data connection, over which a payload is written to a memory element of the aerosol provision device, the payload indicating that one or more operating modes may be set to be accessible.
  • the controller 22 of the aerosol provision device may parse the payload (which may require decryption using a public key located at the aerosol provision device) and set I update I change the indicated operating modes to be accessible.
  • a subset of the plurality of operating modes may initially be set to be accessible, and the remaining operating modes set to non-accessible, or all operating modes may be set to be accessible. What may be considered significant is that the aerosol provision device as initially provided to the user has an initial configuration of operating mode accessibilities.
  • control circuitry is configured to control accessibility of one or more of the plurality of operating modes of the aerosol provision device.
  • the controller 22 is configured to be able to set or change an accessibility of said operating mode, based on reception of a signal from a secure source or computing device (the details of this signalling are further described herein).
  • the accessibility or non-accessibility of operating modes will be controlled by state variables comprised in firmware I software used to provide the functionality of the aerosol provision device.
  • a particular operating mode is to be either enabled or disabled, accessible or non-accessible (e.g. by enabling or disabling routines associated with the functions of said operating mode).
  • a single-bit flag or other state variable stored on a memory element (e.g. a register) of the aerosol provision device may be associated with each operating mode, whereby an accessible state is indicated with T and a non-accessible state is indicated with ‘O’.
  • Switching accessibility in this manner may be considered to be quickly reversible, in that setting a flag associated with a given operating mode to ‘O’, indicating the operating mode is to be non-accessible, does not modify any of the software I firmware used to implement the functions associated with the operating mode.
  • the controller 22 can render the operating mode accessible again, without having to receive any software / firmware updates from an external source to reinstate the associated functionality (e.g. by reinstalling code relating to implementation of functions associated with the operating mode).
  • a less-readily reversible form of accessibility state update I change may be used, in which the controller 22 changes the accessibility of an operating mode to non- accessible by deletion of portions of software I firmware (e.g. routines) relating to implementation of functions associated with the operating mode. This may be considered to provide additional security to the rendering of operating states non-accessible on the aerosol provision device, by virtue of the increased difficulty of a user to reinstate accessibility to non- accessible operating modes.
  • software I firmware e.g. routines
  • the controller 22 is configured to delete operational data associated with any operating mode whose accessibility is to be set to non-accessible.
  • Operational data will be understood to be data which will generally not comprise software I firmware routines supporting functions associated with the operating mode, but rather comprise data collected by the aerosol provision device or an associated computing device and I or secure source, which is collected as part of implementing or otherwise supporting the functions associated with the operating mode.
  • an operating mode relating to usage tracking may comprise one or more functions, such as, for example: a puff logging function which records and stores puff data; a location tracking function which records geographic locations of the aerosol provision device; and a biometric sensing function which records information such as user heart rate, skin temperature, grip strength, or other information available via biometric sensing approaches known in the art.
  • This information may be generated at the aerosol provision device, and I or may be received from an external device, such as a computing device or secure source.
  • the controller 22 in this embodiment further locates and deletes I overwrites any data stored on memory of the aerosol provision device which has been generated in the course of operation of the puff logging function, location tracking function, or biometric sensing function. Such data may also be deleted from associated devices (e.g. one or more computing devices, or a secure server).
  • associated devices e.g. one or more computing devices, or a secure server.
  • operational data are non-limiting, and the functionality of deleting operational data as part of setting operating mode accessibility may be applied in respect of any kind of operational data, such as, for example, log data as described further herein (e.g. relating to one or more wireless connectivity functions - e.g. BLE connectivity functions - associated with a data connectivity operating mode).
  • log data e.g. relating to one or more wireless connectivity functions - e.g. BLE connectivity functions - associated with a data connectivity operating mode.
  • Such a scheme may be considered particularly advantageous where the operational data comprises data relating to a user of the aerosol provision
  • the determination by a controller of an aerosol provision device of which operating modes to set I change I update to the accessible or non-accessible state is determined in the present disclosure on the basis of one or more signals received from a secure source.
  • the secure source (the operation of which is described in further detail herein) indicates, implicitly or explicitly, that at least one operating mode should be rendered accessible or non-accessible by the controller 22.
  • the signal module of the aerosol provision device is configured to receive a signal (or a plurality of signals) transmitted directly or indirectly from a secure source, which indicate at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device which is to be set to be non-accessible.
  • this indication will be implemented using what is referred to herein as an ‘explicit disable, implicit enable’ scheme.
  • this scheme one or more operating modes are explicitly identified in a data structure of a payload comprised in one or more signals received by the signal module of the aerosol provision device from a secure source.
  • the controller of the aerosol provision device parses the payload to determine which (if any) operating modes are explicitly indicated. Parsing the payload may comprise an initial step of decrypting the payload, which may have been signed at the secure source using a private key, using a corresponding public key located at the aerosol provision device.
  • the controller On identifying any explicitly indicated operating modes, the controller sets the state of said operating modes (which may be a single mode, a subset of modes, or all modes) to be non-accessible. Any operating modes which are not explicitly indicated (and which are thus considered ‘implicitly’ indicated) are set to be accessible by the aerosol provision device.
  • a closely related scheme may alternatively be implemented, referred to herein as an ‘explicit enable, implicit disable’ scheme, under which the controller 22 sets the accessibility of any explicitly indicated modes in the received payload to be accessible, and sets the accessibility of any operating modes not explicitly indicated to be non-accessible.
  • references to ‘changing’, ‘setting’, and ‘updating’ of an operating mode to a given accessibility state (i.e. either accessible or non-accessible) by a controller of an aerosol provision device will be understood to mean that the operating mode ends up in the given state after controller has implemented the changing, setting, or updating.
  • the controller 22 may determine on the basis of a received signal that an operating state should be changed I set I updated to be non-accessible. If the controller 22 determines said operating mode is already in the non-accessible state, then no change of state is effected, because the intended state is already present.
  • the signal received by the signal module of the aerosol provision device may explicitly indicate operating modes in any manner known to the skilled person.
  • every possible operating mode for the aerosol provision device may be associated with a unique identifier (e.g. a UIIID), wherein the presence of the UIIID in a received payload is taken to comprise an explicit indication of the identified operating mode, and the absence of the UIIID is taken to comprise an implicit indication of the non-identified operating mode (e.g. all non-explicitly indicated operating modes are implicitly identified).
  • An aerosol provision device further comprises one or more associated device properties.
  • a device property will be understood to be any identifiable aspect of device design, arrangement, configuration, or operation, or of the temporal or geographical context of the device, its manufacture, sale, or use.
  • Device properties may generally be subdivided into two classes, namely ‘intrinsic’ device properties, and ‘contextual’ device properties.
  • intrasic it will be understood that these properties relate to physically interrogable structures or configurations of the aerosol provision device, and I or the characteristics of software or firmware of the aerosol provision device, and I or non-transitory identifying information such as manufacturer, or the date, time, or place of manufacture or purchase.
  • Non-limiting examples of intrinsic device properties include a serial number, model version, manufacturer, design arrangement, component list, firmware version, software version, or board revision identifier for the aerosol provision device.
  • Contextual it will be understood these properties may change depending on the location of the device or a user of the device (i.e. they are related to factors outside of the physical device and its associated software / firmware).
  • Non-limiting examples of contextual device properties include one or more current I historic locations of the aerosol provision device, a trust level of a user of the aerosol provision device, and an operating state of the aerosol provision device, as well as the age, sex, nationality, and other identifying information relating to the user.
  • Information identifying any of the above device properties may be stored on a memory element comprised in the aerosol provision device, and I or may be stored on a memory element of a computing device (e.g. on a smartphone configured to establish a data connection with the aerosol provision device), and I or may be stored at a secure source.
  • intrinsic properties such as the firmware version of the aerosol provision device will generally be stored in a data structure comprised in firmware of the aerosol provision device, but an intrinsic property such as a serial number or model version may not be stored on the aerosol provision device, but may be input to an APP of a computing device which is configured to form a data connection with the aerosol provision device.
  • the contextual property of location may be stored on the aerosol provision device (for example, if the aerosol provision device comprises a GPS tracking module), but may alternatively be determined I tracked by an APP running on a computing device comprising a smartphone or other device which has GPS capabilities.
  • any contextual or intrinsic property of the aerosol provision device may be stored on either of the aerosol provision device, and / or a computing device, and / or a secure server, and this information may be preconfigured (e.g. coded into the firmware of the controller 22, or the software of the APP), or may be input by a user, or may be generated via a process running on one or both of the aerosol provision device or the APP of a computing device (e.g. trust level or location may be regularly updated based on usage of an APP by a user).
  • Device property information may be encrypted, for example using an encryption scheme which uses private and public key encryption to secure the information such that only an entity in possession of one of the keys can decrypt and read / utilise the device property information.
  • the aerosol provision device is configured with a signal module (which may also be referred to as a data connection module, or communication circuitry), the operation of which has been described herein.
  • the signal module may be a receive-only module, or may comprise both transmit and receive functionality, enabling bi-directional data transfer between the aerosol provision device and a computing device and I or secure source, as described further herein.
  • the signal module may either receive, or receive and transmit, data via signalling using a wireless or wired data communication protocol, such as, but not limited to, BluetoothTM, Bluetooth Low EnergyTM, ZigbeeTM, Wireless USB, Near-Field Communication (NFC), Wi-FiTM, USBTM, a serial port, and FireWireTM.
  • a wireless or wired data communication protocol such as, but not limited to, BluetoothTM, Bluetooth Low EnergyTM, ZigbeeTM, Wireless USB, Near-Field Communication (NFC), Wi-FiTM, USBTM, a serial port, and FireWireTM.
  • the signal module is configured with functionality to transmit signals a computing device and I or secure source
  • the signal module is configured to transmit signalling which either identifies or explicitly comprises information about one or more device properties of the aerosol provision device.
  • a signal may be transmitted to a secure source and / or a computing device which either explicitly encodes an identification of one or more intrinsic an I or contextual device properties, for example, by providing a packet of data which comprises an identifier corresponding to a particular device property type and value (e.g. a value of a firmware version or serial number of the aerosol provision device).
  • the signal may comprise a value which forms part of an index, wherein respective values in the index denote different device properties.
  • the data comprised in the signal may be signed using a cryptographic key (e.g.
  • signalling (which may comprise one or more signals) comprising the device property information is broadcast to external devices, for example, in the form of a periodic beacon signal, such that any computing device or secure source in signalling range and supporting the data connection protocol can receive the signalling, and decode the device property information if a suitable key is present at the entity.
  • a signal comprising device property information is transmitted by the aerosol provision device in response to an explicit request signal received from a computing device I secure source, which may comprise signal transmitted as part of a pairing I bonding procedure.
  • the request signal may be signed using a private key, and the device property information may only be transmitted if the request signal is verified using a public key located at the aerosol provision device.
  • the specific device properties transmitted may be selected based on a list of property types identified in a request signal, or may be set in manufacture (e.g. a list of device properties to indicate may be identified in the firmware of the aerosol provision device).
  • the specific device properties requested via a request signal, or indicated based on a firmware configuration comprise an indication that the aerosol provision device supports operating modes involving the collection of operational data (e.g. puff data) by the aerosol provision device, and I or the collection of log data by the aerosol provision device.
  • the signal module may indicate all, none, or any subset, of the different device properties which are stored locally to the aerosol provision device.
  • Device properties may comprise operating modes.
  • a secure source is provided.
  • the secure source is generally configured to transmit signals to and receive signals from a computing device as described further herein, which computing device is configured to transmit signals to (and optionally receive signals from) an aerosol provision device.
  • the secure source functionality is provided by a computing device as described herein, and a separate secure source and computing device are not provided as part of the aerosol provision environment.
  • ‘secure source’ is a logical definition, based around functionality rather than a specific apparatus used to provide said functionality. Accordingly, whilst in many embodiments, the secure source is implemented via what is commonly referred to as a back-end, server, and I or cloud entity, this is not essential to the present disclosure.
  • the secure source is configured to receive signals comprising data indicating one or more device properties of an aerosol provision device. As described further herein, these signals may be directly received from the signal module of an aerosol provision device, and I or may be received from a computing device (for example, a smartphone configured to transmit signals to, and optionally receive signals from, an aerosol provision device). What is significant is that the secure source receives signals comprising data indicating one or more device properties (e.g. intrinsic and I or contextual properties) associated with an aerosol provision device.
  • a data packet or payload comprising device property information will be encrypted, being signed with a public key located at the aerosol provision device or computing device, from which the signalling comprising the data is received.
  • a corresponding private key based at the secure source is used to decrypt the packet I payload and retrieve the data, with the data being parsed to identify the one or more device properties of the aerosol provision device.
  • the secure source determines at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device which is to be indicated as being either accessible or non-accessible.
  • a full list of operating modes supported by the aerosol provision device may be determined by cross-referencing device property information against a database which matches device properties to a list of operating modes. For instance, a device property received by the secure source may identify a model version, serial number, or firmware version of an aerosol provision device.
  • the secure source is operated by or under contract from a manufacturer of the aerosol provision device, and a database accessible at the secure source is populated with data linking these properties to a list of supported operating modes.
  • the aerosol provision device may return a first list of operating modes
  • the aerosol provision device is determined to be a model ‘B’ device
  • querying the database may return a second list of operating modes.
  • intrinsic device property information is used to identify, at the secure source, a list of supported operating modes for a given aerosol provision device.
  • the device property information may comprise explicit indication of one or more operating modes, such that a step of determining one or more operating modes is not required.
  • the secure source determines which operating modes are to be set as accessible and I or non-accessible at the aerosol provision device. This determination is made on the basis of device property information, which in many embodiments comprises contextual device property information determined on the basis of signalling received from an aerosol provision device and I or computing device. For example, contextual information may identify a current location of the aerosol provision device (or a user of the aerosol provision device), or a trust level of the aerosol provision device (or a user of the aerosol provision device).
  • a trust level will be understood to comprise a value, relative to a predefined index, indicating a degree to which a user of an aerosol provision device is known to I trusted by I authenticated by, an entity with a stakeholding in an aerosol provision arrangement or environment according to the present disclosure.
  • an entity may comprise a developer or licensee of an APP running on a computing device used to control aspects of behaviour of an aerosol provision device, and / or a manufacturer or distributor of the aerosol provision device, and I or an operator of the secure source.
  • the same entity fulfils each of these roles.
  • a trust level assigned to an aerosol provision device and I or its user may be determined on the basis of, for example:
  • a user who has provided authenticating information may be assigned a higher trust level, and / or their device may be assigned a higher trust level.
  • a degree to which the user has engaged with an e-commerce platform for purchase of articles and accessories for use with the aerosol provision system e.g. consumable cartridges.
  • a user who has purchased more articles and I or accessories for their aerosol provision device may be assigned a higher trust level, and I or their device may be assigned a higher trust level.
  • the secure source may query a database using at least one device property, and return a list of operating modes and associated accessibility states which are to be assigned to the operating modes, based on the at least one device property.
  • the database may comprise a list of operating modes, each of which is associated with one or more intrinsic device properties, for example an identifier of each of one or more types of aerosol provision device which supports said operating mode.
  • cross referencing an intrinsic device property against the list of operating modes returns a list of operating modes which are supported by a device comprising said intrinsic device property.
  • Each operating mode in the list may be further associated with one or more contextual device properties and associated criteria under which the operating mode is to be accessible or non- accessible, based on the value of said property.
  • cross referencing one or more contextual device properties against a list of operating modes for an identified device type returns an allowed / permitted accessibility state for each of the operating modes.
  • Table 1 shows a highly simplified and schematic example of a data structure which may be used at a secure source to reference device property information against operating mode accessibility, in order to determine a list of supported operating modes for an identified aerosol provision device, and respective accessibility states for said operating modes.
  • Table 1 a list of four operating modes is provided (for example, based on a master list of operating modes for all aerosol provision devices of all types supported in an aerosol provision environment).
  • the operating mode list comprises: a ‘data connectivity’ mode, comprising functions allowing communication of data between an aerosol provision device (e.g.
  • an ‘aerosol generation’ mode comprising functions related to generation of aerosol
  • a ‘usage tracking’ mode comprising functions relating to monitoring of user puffs, and I or device location, and I or recording of biometric information
  • an ‘indications’ mode comprising functions relating to provision of haptic, and I or visual, and I or audible indications by an aerosol provision device.
  • Columns 2 and 3 of T able 1 indicate using binary flags whether each of these operating modes is supported by each of a type ‘A’ aerosol provision device, and a type ‘B’ aerosol provision device, operable in the aerosol provision environment.
  • Table 1 indicates an accessibility state based on values each of three contextual properties, namely user age (column 4), user I device location (column 5), and user I device trust level (column 6).
  • all operating modes are configured to be accessible if a user is > 18, the data connectivity and usage tracking modes are to be accessible in any country except Canada (CA), and the data connectivity and usage tracking modes are to be accessible only if the trust level of the user I device has a value of 6 or above, on an index of 0 - 10.
  • CA country except Canada
  • signalling received by the secure source from an aerosol provision device and I or computing device indicates the signalling relates to a Type A device (e.g.
  • contextual device property information comprised in signalling received from a computing device indicates that the Type A aerosol provision device has a 21 year old user, that the device is in the UK, and that the device has a trust level of 7.
  • the user returns an ON for all operating modes on the user age criterion, returns an ON for all operating modes on the location criterion, and returns an ON for all operating modes on the trust level criterion.
  • a logical AND between these three ON values for each operating mode returns an ON for all operating modes, indicating that all operating modes should be set to be accessible at the aerosol provision device.
  • the target accessibility of the data connectivity and usage tracking modes would be set to OFF.
  • Table 1 example is illustrative, and that any device properties described herein may be used in any combination to determine an accessibility of at least one operating mode of an aerosol provision device.
  • the secure source Having determined a set of operating modes and associated target accessibility states, the secure source generates a data payload indicating one or more operating modes whose accessibilities are to be set I updated I changed by the aerosol provision device.
  • the aerosol provision environment is configured to operate on an ‘explicit disable, implicit enable’ scheme as described further herein, the secure source prepares a payload which explicitly contains identifiers of any operating mode determined to have a target accessibility of ‘non- accessible’ (i.e. those indicated as ON in the Table 1 example above).
  • the payload may comprise any data structure known to the skilled person, and may for example use any notation protocol in which identifiers of one or more operating mode can be explicitly indicated, for example using a predefined unique identifier string or code with a defined association with each respective operating mode, the association being predefined in an aerosol provision arrangement I environment in which the approach is to be used (for example in manufacture or by reconfiguration signalling transmitted between entities such as a secure source, computing device, and aerosol provision device, as described further herein) .
  • the payload and / or a data structure comprising the payload may be encrypted, for example, by signing with a private key located at the secure source.
  • a receiving entity e.g. computing device and I or aerosol provision device
  • the encrypted or unencrypted payload is then transmitted via signalling to an aerosol provision device, either directly, or via a computing device acting as an intermediary I relay device between the secure source and the aerosol provision device.
  • the functions of the secure source may be provided by a computing device (e.g.
  • the secure source transmits the payload directly to the aerosol provision device (or via another device acting as a conventional relay).
  • the secure source (which will generally in such embodiments comprise a secure server I back-end I cloud server) transmits the payload to a computing device.
  • a secure source comprising a server (e.g. server 1000 shown in Figure 2) may transmit the payload to a computing device comprising a smartphone, using a packet data transfer protocol according to the 4G or 5G standards. The computing device may then transfer the payload, or information extracted from the payload, on to the aerosol provision device using the same or a different data connection protocol as described herein.
  • the payload transmitted from the secure source to a computing device exhaustively lists supported operating modes of the aerosol provision device (e.g. determined by the secure source on the basis of intrinsic device property information) and their respective target accessibility states (e.g. determined by the secure source on the basis of contextual property information), and the computing device converts this information into a simplified payload which explicitly identifies only accessible or non-accessible modes (depending on whether an explicit enable I implicit disable scheme or an explicit disable I implicit enable scheme is to be used).
  • the payload may be modified I simplified by the computing device (e.g.
  • the computing device may use any combination of data connection protocols to communicate respectively with a secure source and an aerosol provision device, with these protocols being selected from a list including, but not limited to, BluetoothTM, Bluetooth Low EnergyTM, ZigbeeTM, Wireless USB, Near-Field Communication (NFC), WiFiTM, USBTM, a serial port, FireWireTM, GSM, 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, or LTE.
  • a suitable processor such as a CPU, GPU, or ASIC, and / or a chipset supporting general computing functionality, as is known to the skilled person
  • the computing device may use any combination of data connection protocols to communicate respectively with a secure source and an aerosol provision device, with these protocols being selected from a list including, but not limited to, BluetoothTM, Bluetooth Low EnergyTM, ZigbeeTM, Wireless USB, Near-Field Communication (NFC), WiFiTM, USBTM, a serial port, FireWireTM, GSM, 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, or LTE.
  • the data connection between the computing device and the aerosol provision device may advantageously be supported by a protocol which supports reduced-complexity I low-energy device configurations, and may, for example, use BLE, or machine-type-communication (MTC) protocols supported by the 3GPP LTE standards.
  • a protocol which supports reduced-complexity I low-energy device configurations and may, for example, use BLE, or machine-type-communication (MTC) protocols supported by the 3GPP LTE standards.
  • the computing device (which may comprise a secure source) may split a payload comprising explicit operating mode indication(s) into a plurality of smaller subunits I blocks I chunks I payloads I packets, which may be transmitted to the aerosol provision device and reassembled at the aerosol provision device to reconstruct the payload.
  • This scheme may use acknowledgement I non-acknowledgement (ACK I NACK) signalling from the signal module of the aerosol provision device in order to ensure that subunits of the payload which are not successfully received (e.g. due to interference on an air interface between the computing device and aerosol provision device) are retransmitted by the computing device until they are successfully received.
  • ACK I NACK acknowledgement I non-acknowledgement
  • Such a scheme may be considered advantageous in being supportable by data transfer protocols (in particular energy-efficient data transfer protocols) with small packet / maximum data element sizes, in which the maximum packet size may be smaller than the size of a payload transmitted from a secure source to the computing device, or generated at a computing device comprising a secure source.
  • data transfer protocols in particular energy-efficient data transfer protocols
  • the maximum packet size may be smaller than the size of a payload transmitted from a secure source to the computing device, or generated at a computing device comprising a secure source.
  • different combinations of contextual and I or implicit device property information provided to a secure source by an aerosol provision device and / or a computing device, may be used to determine any one or more of a plurality of operating modes and associated accessibility for each of the one or more operating modes to be indicated to a computing device and I or aerosol provision device.
  • the secure source may receive only intrinsic device property information, only contextual property information, or both intrinsic and contextual property information, and may receive this information from an aerosol provision device alone, a computing device alone, or may receive some information from a computing device and some information from an aerosol provision device.
  • either contextual or intrinsic device property information may already be present at the secure source, and it is not necessary for the secure source to receive this information from a computing device or aerosol provision device.
  • only a single model of aerosol provision device may be placed on the market by a manufacturer in a particular region.
  • the secure source may be provided with information about at least one intrinsic property of this aerosol provision device, and upon receiving contextual property information (for example, relating to a characteristic of a user of the device) the secure source determines the preconfigured intrinsic property information applies to the device associated with said user, this being implicit from the fact only one model of aerosol provision device has been made available to users.
  • intrinsic and I or contextual device properties may be input to a sales terminal (e.g. a computing device) in a retail outlet, or may be input during a user registration I authentication process supported by an APP on a computing device, which is transmitted to the secure source to be stored in a database accessible to the secure source.
  • the secure source may use this information to identify further intrinsic I contextual device property information associated with the device I user to which the received information relates.
  • contextual device property information is received by the secure source, from which the age of a user is identified.
  • the age may be explicitly indicated in the contextual information, or may be referenced by the secure source on the basis of the contextual information.
  • the secure source may set an accessibility of one or more heating modes for consumables I cartridges I articles for the aerosol provision device.
  • the aerosol provision device may use cartridge recognition (as known to the skilled person), using, for example, reading of a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag on the consumable, to determine a type of consumable, and in particular a type of active substance (e.g.
  • RFID radio frequency identification
  • the secure source may set one or more heating modes (or other operating modes described herein) for the aerosol provision device. For example, if the user is below a certain age (which in embodiments corresponds to a legal age for consumption of the particular active substance in the jurisdiction in which the aerosol provision device is located), the secure source may indicate via the payload that operating modes enabling aerosol generation from consumables containing the active substance should be set to a non-accessible state. It will be appreciated the example of user age is only one possibility for a type of contextual device property information, and any other contextual device property information described herein may be used.
  • contextual device property information is received by the secure source or determined at the secure source, from which the secure source determines to transmit operating mode information which takes the form of an update to software or firmware used by the control circuitry I controller of the aerosol provision device and I or computing device, to enable new functions or change the way existing functions of the relevant device are implemented.
  • the secure source may push software I firmware updates to the aerosol provision device and I or computing device based on contextual device property information.
  • the contextual device property information may comprise an indication that a predefined period of time (for example a predefined number of days, weeks, or months) have elapsed since a payload comprising such an update was last transmitted.
  • any contextual or intrinsic device property information described herein may be used to determine such an update should be transmitted.
  • Contextual device property information may also be received by the secure source or determined at the secure source, indicating that a new model I variant of aerosol provision device or consumable for an aerosol provision device is on the market and available to consumers.
  • the update provided in a payload by the secure source on the basis of this information may comprise an indication of one or more operating modes relating to use of the new aerosol provision device model or consumable variant (e.g. setting to be accessible one ore more operating modes comprising functions relevant for control of the aerosol provision device, or use of the consumable (e.g. enabling one or more heating profiles which are relevant to a new aerosol provision device model and I or consumable type).
  • a payload indicating accessibility of one or more operating modes for a computing device and I or aerosol provision device may relate to any operating mode described herein, and that the payload may comprise a firmware or software update providing new functionality for supporting the operating mode, which was not previously supported by the relevant device.
  • the payload indicates an accessibility of one or more operating modes for whom software I firmware to support such functionality is already present on the device (e.g. from manufacture, or from a previous update).
  • intrinsic device property information and contextual device property information is received by the secure source or determined at the secure source, from which the secure source determines to transmit an indication of one or more operating modes and an associated accessibility.
  • the contextual device property information comprises an explicit or implicit indication that the device or a user of the device is associated with a user account.
  • the secure source determines whether one or more operating modes of a computing device and I or aerosol provision device (which may be established based on identifying the device type using intrinsic device property information as described further herein) should have their accessibility set to accessible or non-accessible based on information associated with the identified user account.
  • the user may use an e-commerce platform (enabled for example via an APP running on a computing device such as a smartphone) to purchase certain services, with the information about which services have been purchased being associated with the user account in a database accessible by the secure source.
  • the secure source may reference the database to determine which operating modes should be accessible based on whether a user has purchased particular services via the e-commerce platform.
  • Such services may relate to any aspect of functionality of a computing device or aerosol provision device as described further herein.
  • a user may use an e-commerce platform to purchase an enhanced aerosol generation mode service.
  • the secure source may receive an indication of intrinsic device property information (for example a serial number of an aerosol provision device) through which a user account can be uniquely identified (e.g.
  • the secure source may receive contextual device property information such as a unique identifier of a user from an APP running on a computing device. Having identified the user account and the associated aerosol provision device, the secure source references the database indicating what services have been enabled for the user I device, based on purchases through the e-commerce platform. From this information, the secure source determines at least one operating mode and associated accessibility to indicate to the aerosol provision device, and / ora computing device associated with the aerosol provision device (e.g. a smartphone associated with the same user), and indicates this information via a payload as described further herein.
  • contextual device property information such as a unique identifier of a user from an APP running on a computing device.
  • FIG 4 schematically shows an aerosol provision environment according to embodiments of the present disclosure, comprising an aerosol provision device and a secure source.
  • a physically distinct secure source and computing device are not provided, and it may be considered that the secure source function is provided by a computing device, or that a secure source comprising, for example, a server 1000 as shown schematically in Figure 2, is configured to communicate directly with an aerosol provision device, without using a computing device as an intermediary I relay entity.
  • the aerosol provision device and secure source are configured to communicate with one another over a data connection interface established using a wired or wireless data connection protocol as described further herein.
  • a controller of the aerosol provision device may determine one or more device properties to transmit to the secure source, according to approaches set our further herein.
  • a set of device properties to send may be preconfigured in the firmware of the aerosol provision device, and may be transmitted in a broadcast manner, or may be transmitted in response to an explicit request signal from the secure source, instructing the aerosol provision device to provide device property information.
  • the aerosol provision device may authenticate the signal by using a public key to verify the secure source signed the data comprised in the signal using a corresponding private key.
  • the device property information is transmitted to the secure source. The information may be signed by the aerosol provision device using a public key.
  • the secure source uses device property information to generate a payload indicating an accessibility of at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device.
  • the operating mode(s) and associated accessibility for each mode may be determined using any approach set out herein, and may be based on device property information received from the aerosol provision device, a computing device, and I or otherwise known at the secure source (e.g. where the secure source comprises a computing device such as a smartphone running an APP via which device property information can be input or otherwise inferred).
  • the secure source may predict a list of operating modes based not on device property information received from any external device I entity, but based on a prediction of what aerosol provision devices and I or users may be operational in an aerosol provision environment.
  • the payload is transmitted to the aerosol provision device, either directly, or via an intermediary device (e.g. a computing device or base station) acting as a relay for the signal.
  • the payload may be transmitted using any data communication protocol set out herein, supported by the secure source (or a transmitter hardware entity connected to the secure source over a backhaul connection) and the aerosol provision device (or a computing device which will act as a relay between the secure source and the aerosol provision device).
  • the controller of the aerosol provision device parses the received payload, and obtains information comprised in the payload indicating the accessibility of at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device. Based on this information, the controller changes I updates I sets the accessibility of the at least one operating mode (e.g. using an explicit disable I implicit enable scheme, or an explicit enable I implicit disable scheme).
  • FIG. 5 schematically shows a further aerosol provision environment according to embodiments of the present disclosure, comprising an aerosol provision device, a computing device, and a secure source.
  • transfer of data between a computing device and an aerosol provision device is implemented via a data connection implemented in accordance with the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) standard.
  • BLE Bluetooth Low Energy
  • This protocol may comprise a generic attribute profile (GATT) which provides a framework for exchange of data between the computing device and the aerosol provision device.
  • GATT defines how data is transferred between these devices over a BLE air interface once a paired connection is established (as described further herein).
  • the computing device may be considered to be a GATT server entity, and the aerosol provision device is a GATT client entity.
  • GATT transactions between the computing device and the aerosol provision device are based on a hierarchical structure of services with nested characteristics associated with each service. Each service and characteristic is identified by a unique identifier (UUID), and has defined properties and security as detailed in Table 2 below.
  • UUID unique identifier
  • Each one of the aerosol provision device and computing device may communicate over the BLE air interface by performing write I indicate operations to characteristics of the other one of the aerosol provision device and computing device.
  • a secure source and computing device are configured to establish a data connection interface according to any wired or wireless protocol described further herein.
  • the connection may be established based on techniques for establishing data connections known to the skilled person, and establishment may be initiated by signalling transmitted from one of the secure source and computing device to the other of the secure source and computing device, when the one of the secure source and computing device determines it has data I signalling to transmit to the other one of the secure source and computing device.
  • the computing device and aerosol provision device are configured to establish a data connection interface according to any wired or wireless protocol described further herein, and establishment may be initiated in the same manner as just described in relation to the data connection between the secure source and computing device.
  • the data connection between the computing device and aerosol provision device is configured to use a BLE interface, configured in accordance with a GATT protocol.
  • the computing device signals to the aerosol provision device that the aerosol provision device is to provide an indication of at least one device property. This may comprise the computing device writing a code to a challenge characteristic at the aerosol provision device.
  • the aerosol provision device may provide an indication of at least one device property of the aerosol provision device. This may comprise the aerosol provision device, in response to computing device writing a code to the challenge characteristic, generating a random challenge response for transmission to the computing device.
  • the aerosol provision device indicates the indication of at least one device property to the computing device, for example, by indicating a challenge response characteristic to the computing device.
  • the computing device generates a device property message to be transmitted to the secure source. This may comprise forwarding an indication from the aerosol provision device (e.g. a challenge response) without modification, or may comprise parsing a message comprising the indication (e.g. challenge response data) and reformatting it into a different data structure I message format for transmission. This may particularly be the case where the data transmission protocol used to transfer data between the aerosol provision device and the computing device is different to that used to transfer the computing device and the secure source, and uses a different packet data protocol.
  • the computing device may insert additional indications of one or more device properties into the device property message which are not derived from signals received from the aerosol provision device (e.g. where a signal module of the aerosol provision device does not comprise a transmit capability).
  • an indication of a device property (e.g. challenge response data), for example, in the form of a device property message, is transmitted to the secure source.
  • the secure source determines, based on at least one device property indicated by the device property message, an accessibility of at least one operating mode (e.g. using database querying approaches set out further herein), and writes an indication of an accessibility (e.g. a target accessibility) of the at least one operating mode to a payload for transmission to the computing device.
  • the payload is configured using JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) and may be referred to as a JSON payload.
  • JSON JavaScript Object Notation
  • the payload may explicitly indicate none, one, or more than one operating mode, with the accessibility of any indicated operating mode(s) being interpreted at a computing device and I or aerosol provision device as accessible or non-accessible, in dependence on whether the entities comprising the aerosol provision environment are configured (e.g. by standard, in manufacturing, or via control signalling) to operate according to an explicit disable I implicit enable scheme or an explicit enable I implicit disable scheme.
  • the payload may optionally be signed using a private key located at the secure source, and may further comprise information from a signal received from the computing device and I or aerosol provision device (e.g. an identifier) such that the computing device and I or aerosol provision device receiving the signalling comprising the payload can identify it is the intended recipient of the signalling.
  • step U7 signalling comprising the payload is transmitted to the computing device, over a data connection between the secure source and the computing device.
  • the computing device having received the signalling comprising the payload, may optionally parse the payload and split its contents into a plurality of subunits I blocks I chunks, for separate transmission to the aerosol provision device.
  • the computing device may use a public key to decrypt the payload, extract the information contained within about accessibility of at least one operating mode, and repackage this information into one or more messages (e.g. a subunit / block / chunk of data) for transmission to the aerosol provision device.
  • each subunit comprises 20 bytes of data.
  • the computing device may relay the payload to the aerosol provision device without descrypting, parsing, or repackaging the data comprised within.
  • the computing device may transmits signalling to the aerosol provision device over a data connection, to write data to a characteristic to the aerosol provision device, indicating an intention to start transmission of payload data. This may comprise writing version data to a version characteristic at the aerosol provision device.
  • the aerosol provision device may, in response to receiving signalling indicating an intention to start transmission of payload data, transmit signalling to the computing device comprising an indication the aerosol provision device is ready to receive payload data. This may comprise indicating a start flag to a control characteristic of the computing device.
  • the computing device may transmits signalling to the aerosol provision device over a data connection to write payload data to the aerosol provision device, comprising an indication of an accessibility of at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device.
  • This process may comprise the transmission of separate subunits (e.g. 20 byte subunits) of the total payload, with ACK I NACK signalling being exchanged between the computing device and the aerosol provision device (in a manner analogous to a HARQ protocol in a telecommunications context) to ensure all subunits are successfully received at the aerosol provision device.
  • the computing device may explicitly indicate when the payload data has been successfully transmitted, for example, by writing a transfer flag to a control characteristic of the aerosol provision device.
  • the aerosol provision device determines from the received payload the accessibility of at least one operating mode indicated in the payload (e.g. explicitly or implicitly, according to approaches set out further herein). This may comprise reassembling the payload from a plurality of received subunits, and may comprise decrypting the payload using a public key located at the aerosol provision device.
  • the controller 12 of the aerosol provision device sets I changes I updates the accessibility of at least one operating mode based on the indication comprised in the payload.
  • the aerosol provision device may indicate to the computing device that transfer of the payload was successful, and I or that changing I updating I setting of the indicated operating characteristic(s) has been successfully completed. This may comprise the aerosol provision device indicating a success flag to a control characteristic of the computing device.
  • Figures 5 to 9 show schematically examples of approaches in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • Figure 5 shows schematically a method of operating an aerosol provision device in which:
  • a first step Q1 signalling is received at a signal module of an aerosol provision device from a secure source indicating an accessibility of an operating mode of the aerosol provision device;
  • control circuitry of the aerosol provision device is controlled to update an accessibility of at least one of a plurality of operating modes of the aerosol provision device based on the signalling received from the secure source.
  • Figure 6 shows schematically a method of operating an aerosol provision device in which:
  • a first signal is transmitted to a secure source, indicating a property of an aerosol provision device
  • a second signal is received from the secure source, comprising a payload indicating an accessibility of at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device;
  • a third signal is provided to the aerosol provision device in response to receiving the second signal; wherein the third signal comprises information derived from the payload, indicating an accessibility of at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device.
  • Figure 7 shows schematically a method of operating a computing device in which:
  • a first step S1 signalling is received from an aerosol provision device or a computing device indicating at least one property of an aerosol provision device;
  • control circuitry of the secure source is controlled to determine an accessibility of at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device, based on the at least one property of the aerosol provision device;
  • control circuitry of the secure source is controlled to generate a payload indicating the accessibility of the at least one operating mode
  • a second signal comprising the payload is transmitted via the signal module of the secure source.
  • Figure 8 shows schematically a method of operating an aerosol provision arrangement in which: • In a first step V1 , a first signal is transmitted from a computing device to a secure source, the first signal indicating a property of an aerosol provision device;
  • a second signal is received, at the computing device, from the secure source, the second signal comprising a payload indicating an accessibility of at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device;
  • a third signal is transmitted from the computing device to the aerosol provision device, wherein the third signal comprises information derived from the payload, indicating an accessibility of at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device;
  • a fourth step V4 an accessibility of the at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device is changed by control circuitry of the aerosol provision device based on reception of the first signal.
  • Figure 9 shows schematically a method of operating an aerosol provision environment in which:
  • a first signal is transmitted, from a computing device to a secure source, the first signal indicating a property of an aerosol provision device;
  • a payload is generated at the secure source, the payload indicating an accessibility of at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device;
  • a second signal is transmitted from the secure source to the computing device, the second signal comprising the payload;
  • a third signal is transmitted, from the computing device to the aerosol provision device, and in response to receiving the second signal, the third signal comprising information derived from the payload, indicating an accessibility of at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device;
  • a fifth step W5 an accessibility of the at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device is changed by control circuitry of the aerosol provision device based on reception of the first signal.
  • an aerosol provision device a computing device, a secure source, an aerosol provision arrangement, and an aerosol provision environment according to the present disclosure. It will be appreciated certain modifications may be made to these apparatuses and their operating without departing from the approaches described herein. For example, where at least one operating mode of the aerosol provision device is updated to be accessible or non-accessible, on the basis of a signal received from a secure source, the accessibility may also be applied to one or more corresponding operating modes of a computing device in an aerosol provision arrangement or environment.
  • control circuitry of the computing device may be configured to update an accessibility of the at least one corresponding operating mode of the computing device.
  • some operating modes may comprise functionality at both of an aerosol provision device and a computing device configured to establish a data connection.
  • an operating mode relating to usage tracking at the aerosol provision device may have a corresponding mode at a connected computing device which comprises functions relating to receiving, storing, modifying, and I or transmitting usage data from the aerosol delivery device.
  • Device property information transmitted by a computing device to a secure source may comprise information about one or more intrinsic or contextual properties of the computing device, and the secure source may transmit a signal to the computing device indicating an accessibility of an operating mode of the computing device, with control circuitry of the computing device updating the accessibility of the indicated operating mode on the basis of the signal, in the same manner as described herein for updating of an operating mode at an aerosol provision device on the basis of an indication from a secure source.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Containers And Packaging Bodies Having A Special Means To Remove Contents (AREA)
  • Nozzles (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne un dispositif de fourniture d'aérosol pouvant fonctionner dans une pluralité de modes de fonctionnement, le dispositif de fourniture d'aérosol comprenant : un circuit d'attaque conçu pour commander l'accessibilité de la pluralité de modes de fonctionnement du dispositif de fourniture d'aérosol ; un module de signal configuré pour recevoir des signaux provenant d'une source sécurisée, le circuit d'attaque étant configuré pour mettre à jour une accessibilité d'au moins un mode de fonctionnement de la pluralité de modes de fonctionnement du dispositif de fourniture d'aérosol sur la base de la réception d'un signal provenant d'une source sécurisée indiquant une accessibilité d'au moins un mode de fonctionnement du dispositif de fourniture d'aérosol.
PCT/GB2022/053149 2021-12-22 2022-12-09 Dispositifs de fourniture d'aérosol WO2023118787A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

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GB202118791 2021-12-22
GB2118791.9 2021-12-22

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WO2023118787A1 true WO2023118787A1 (fr) 2023-06-29

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Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20150320116A1 (en) * 2014-05-12 2015-11-12 Loto Labs, Inc. Vaporizer device
US20180177231A1 (en) * 2016-12-27 2018-06-28 GoFire, LLC System and method for managing concentrate usage of a user
US20190272359A1 (en) * 2017-03-15 2019-09-05 Canopy Growth Corporation System and method for an improved personal vaporization device
US10806178B1 (en) * 2019-08-06 2020-10-20 Shenzhen GOODIX Technology Co., Ltd. Bio-traceable electronic consumable device
US20210015158A1 (en) * 2018-03-29 2021-01-21 Nicoventures Trading Limited A control device for an electronic aerosol provision system
EP3838024A1 (fr) * 2019-12-20 2021-06-23 Nerudia Limited Système et procédé de gestion d'un dispositif de substitution du tabac

Patent Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20150320116A1 (en) * 2014-05-12 2015-11-12 Loto Labs, Inc. Vaporizer device
US20180177231A1 (en) * 2016-12-27 2018-06-28 GoFire, LLC System and method for managing concentrate usage of a user
US20190272359A1 (en) * 2017-03-15 2019-09-05 Canopy Growth Corporation System and method for an improved personal vaporization device
US20210015158A1 (en) * 2018-03-29 2021-01-21 Nicoventures Trading Limited A control device for an electronic aerosol provision system
US10806178B1 (en) * 2019-08-06 2020-10-20 Shenzhen GOODIX Technology Co., Ltd. Bio-traceable electronic consumable device
EP3838024A1 (fr) * 2019-12-20 2021-06-23 Nerudia Limited Système et procédé de gestion d'un dispositif de substitution du tabac

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