WO2023175322A1

WO2023175322A1 - Refilling device and method

Info

Publication number: WO2023175322A1
Application number: PCT/GB2023/050604
Authority: WO
Inventors: Paul TOLLERFIELD; Sally BELL
Original assignee: Nicoventures Trading Limited
Priority date: 2022-03-17
Filing date: 2023-03-15
Publication date: 2023-09-21
Also published as: GB202203690D0

Abstract

A refilling device for an article of an aerosol provision system comprises an article interface configured to receive the article, a disassembly module and refilling control circuitry. The refilling control circuitry is configured to control the disassembly module to disassemble the article into one or more components in response to determining the article is expired.

Description

REFILLING DEVICE AND METHOD

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a refilling device for an article of an aerosol provision system and a method of operating a refilling device for an article of an aerosol provision system.

BACKGROUND

Electronic aerosol provision systems such as electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) generally contain an aerosol-generating material, such as a reservoir of a source liquid containing a formulation, typically including nicotine, or a solid material such as a tobaccobased product, from which an aerosol is generated for inhalation by a user, for example through heat vaporisation. Thus, an aerosol provision system will typically comprise an aerosol generator, e.g. a heating element, arranged to aerosolise a portion of aerosolgenerating material to generate an aerosol in an aerosol generation region of an air channel through the aerosol provision system. As a user inhales on the device and electrical power is supplied to the aerosol generator, air is drawn into the device through one or more inlet holes and along the air channel to the aerosol generation region, where the air mixes with the vaporised aerosol generator and forms a condensation aerosol. The air drawn through the aerosol generation region continues along the air channel to a mouthpiece, carrying some of the aerosol with it, and out through the mouthpiece for inhalation by the user.

It is common for aerosol provision systems to comprise a modular assembly, often having two main functional parts, namely an aerosol provision device and an article. Typically the article will comprise the consumable aerosol-generating material and the aerosol generator (heating element), while the aerosol provision device part will comprise longer-life items, such as a rechargeable battery, device control circuitry and user interface features. The aerosol provision device may also be referred to as a reusable part or battery section and the article may also be referred to as a consumable, disposable/replaceable part, cartridge or cartomiser.

The aerosol provision device and article are mechanically coupled together at an interface for use, for example using a screw thread, bayonet, latched or friction fit fixing. When the aerosol-generating material in an article has been exhausted, or the user wishes to switch to a different article having a different aerosol-generating material, the article may be removed from the aerosol provision device and a replacement article may be attached to the device in its place. Alternatively, some articles are configured such that, after the aerosol-generating material in the article has been exhausted, the article can be refilled with more aerosol-generating material, thereby allowing the article to be reused. In this example, the user is able to refill the article using a separate reservoir of aerosol-generating material. The aerosol-generating material used to refill the article may be the same or different to the previous aerosol-generating material in the article, thereby allowing the user to change to a different aerosol-generating material without purchasing a new article.

Refilling the article with aerosol-generating material extends the life of the article as its use is no longer limited by the volume or amount of aerosol-generating material that the article can hold. As a result, the use of the article may be limited by other factors, such as the life of individual components within the article. Continuous use of the article may therefore result in degradation or fault developing in components within the article. The article may therefore become less reliable, the operation of the article less predictable or the article may stop working entirely, each of which has a negative impact on the user experience. The user also needs to be able to safely dispose of and recycle the article when it has reached the end of its usable life.

Various approaches are described herein which seek to help address or mitigate some of the issues discussed above.

SUMMARY

The disclosure is defined in the appended claims.

In accordance with some embodiments described herein, there is provided a refilling device for an article of an aerosol provision system comprising an article interface configured to receive the article, a disassembly module, and refilling control circuitry configured to control the disassembly module to disassemble the article into one or more components in response to determining the article is expired.

The refilling device can also comprise a cleaning module, and wherein the refilling control circuitry configured to control the cleaning module to clean the article and/or the one or more components of the article in response to determining the article is expired.

The refilling control circuitry can be configured to determine the article is expired by reading data stored on the article.

The refilling control circuitry can be configured to cause a notification to be provided to the user in response to determining the article is expired. The refilling control circuitry can be configured to control the disassembly module to disassemble the article in response to a user input.

In accordance with some embodiments described herein, there is provided a method operating a refilling device for an article of an aerosol provision system. The method comprises receiving an article for an aerosol provision system and controlling a disassemble module to disassemble the article into one or more components in response to determining the article is expired. There is also provided a computer readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a processor, performs the above method.

These aspects and other aspects will be apparent from the following detailed description. In this regard, particular sections of the description are not to be read in isolation from other sections.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an aerosol provision system;

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an example article for use in the aerosol provision system illustrated in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an example refilling device and a reservoir for refilling the article illustrated in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a system including the refilling device;

Figure 5 is a flow chart of a method of operating a refilling device for an article of an aerosol provision system;

Figure 6 is a flow chart of a method of operating a refilling device for an article of an aerosol provision system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

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

The present disclosure relates to aerosol provision systems, which may also be referred to as vapour provision systems, such as e-cigarettes. Throughout the following description the term “e-cigarette” or “electronic cigarette” may sometimes be used, but it will be appreciated this term may be used interchangeably with aerosol provision system and electronic aerosol provision system.

As noted above, aerosol provision systems (e-cigarettes) often comprise a modular assembly including both a reusable part (aerosol provision device) and a replaceable (disposable) or refillable cartridge part, referred to as an article. Systems conforming to this type of two-part modular configuration may generally be referred to as two-part systems or devices. It is also common for electronic cigarettes to have a generally elongate shape. For the sake of providing a concrete example, certain embodiments of the disclosure described herein comprise this kind of generally elongate two-part system employing refillable cartridges. However, it will be appreciated the underlying principles described herein may equally be adopted for other electronic cigarette configurations, for example modular systems comprising more than two parts, 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, or even systems comprising one art where the aerosol provision device and article are integrally formed with one another.

As described above, the present disclosure relates to (but it not limited to) refilling devices for articles of aerosol provision systems, such as e-cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

Figure 1 is a highly schematic diagram (not to scale) of an example aerosol provision system 10, such as an e-cigarette, to which embodiments are applicable. The aerosol provision system 10 has a generally cylindrical shape, extending along a longitudinal or y axis as indicated by the axes (although aspects of the invention are applicable to e- cigarettes configured in other shapes and arrangements), and comprises two main components, namely an aerosol provision device 20 and an article 30.

The article 30 comprises or consists of aerosol-generating material 32, part or all of which is intended to be consumed during use by a user. An article 30 may comprise one or more other components, such as an aerosol-generating material storage area 39, an aerosol-generating material transfer component 37, an aerosol generation area, a housing, a wrapper, a mouthpiece 35, a filter and/or an aerosol-modifying agent.

An article 30 may also comprise an aerosol generator 36, such as a heating element, that emits heat to cause the aerosol-generating material 32 to generate aerosol in use. The aerosol generator 36 may, for example, comprise combustible material, a material heatable by electrical conduction, or a susceptor. It should be noted that it is possible for the aerosol generator 36 to be part of the aerosol provision device 20 and the article 30 then may comprise the aerosol-generating material storage area 39 for the aerosol-generating material 32 such that, when the article 30 is coupled with the aerosol provision device 20, the aerosol-generating material 32 can be transferred to the aerosol generator 36 in the aerosol provision device 20. It should be appreciated that the aerosol generator 36 may encompass an aerosol generator other than a heater. More generally, an aerosol generator is an apparatus configured to cause aerosol to be generated from the aerosol-generating material. In some other embodiments, the aerosol generator is configured to cause an aerosol to be generated from the aerosol-generating material without heating. For example, the aerosol generator may be configured to subject the aerosol-generating material to one or more of vibration, increased pressure, or electrostatic energy. Aerosol-generating material is a material that is capable of generating aerosol, for example when heated, irradiated or energized in any other way. The aerosol-generating material 32 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 aerosolgenerating material 32 may comprise an “amorphous solid”, which may alternatively be referred to as a “monolithic solid” (i.e. non-fibrous). In some embodiments, the amorphous solid may be a dried gel. The amorphous solid is a solid material that may retain some fluid, such as liquid, within it. In some embodiments, the aerosol-generating material 32 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 comprises one or more ingredients, such as one or more active substances and/or flavourants, one or more aerosol-former materials, and optionally one or more other functional materials such as pH regulators, colouring agents, preservatives, binders, fillers, stabilizers, and/or antioxidants.

The active substance as used herein may be a physiologically active material, which is a material intended to achieve or enhance a physiological response. The active substance may for example be selected from nutraceuticals, nootropics, and psychoactives. The active substance may be naturally occurring or synthetically obtained. The active substance may comprise for example nicotine, caffeine, taurine, theine, vitamins such as B6 or B12 or C, melatonin, cannabinoids, or constituents, derivatives, or combinations thereof. The active substance may comprise one or more constituents, derivatives or extracts of tobacco, cannabis or another botanical.

In some embodiments, the active substance comprises nicotine. In some embodiments, the active substance comprises caffeine, melatonin or vitamin B12.

The aerosol provision device 20 includes a power source 14, such as a battery, configured to supply electrical power to the aerosol generator 36. The power source 14 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 battery 14 may be recharged through the charging port (not illustrated), which may, for example, comprise a USB connector.

The aerosol provision device 20 includes device control circuitry 28 configured to control the operation of the aerosol provision system 10 and provide conventional operating functions in line with the established techniques for controlling aerosol provision systems such as electronic cigarettes. The device control circuitry (processor circuitry) 28 may be considered to logically comprise various sub-units/circuitry elements associated with different aspects of the electronic cigarette's operation. For example, depending on the functionality provided in different implementations, the device control circuitry 28 may comprise power source control circuitry for controlling the supply of electrical power from the power source 14 to the aerosol generator 36, user programming circuitry for establishing configuration settings (e.g. user-defined power settings) in response to user input, as well as other functional units/circuitry associated functionality in accordance with the principles described herein and conventional operating aspects of electronic cigarettes. It will be appreciated the functionality of the device control circuitry 28 can be provided in various different ways, for example using one or more suitably programmed programmable computer(s) and/or one or more suitably configured application-specific integrated circuit(s)/circuitry/chip(s)/chipset(s) configured to provide the desired functionality.

The aerosol provision device 20 includes one or more air inlets 21. In use, as a user inhales on the mouthpiece 35, air is drawn into the aerosol provision device 20 through the air inlets 21 and along an air channel 23 to the aerosol generator 36, where the air mixes with the vaporised aerosol-generating material 32 and forms a condensation aerosol. The air drawn through the aerosol generator 36 continues along the air channel 23 to a mouthpiece 35, carrying some of the aerosol with it, and out through the mouthpiece 35 for inhalation by the user. Alternatively, the one or more air inlets 21 may be included on the article 30, such that the air channel 23 is entirely contained within the article 30.

By way of a concrete example, the article 30 comprises a housing (formed, e.g., from a plastics material), an aerosol-generating material storage area 39 formed within the housing for containing the aerosol-generating material 32 (which in this example may be a liquid which may or may not contain nicotine), an aerosol-generating material transfer component 37 (which in this example is a wick formed of e.g., glass or cotton fibres, or a ceramic material configured to transport the liquid from the reservoir using capillary action), an aerosol-generating area containing the aerosol generator 36, and a mouthpiece 35. Although not shown, a filter and/or aerosol modifying agent (such as a flavour imparting material) may be located in, or in proximity to, the mouthpiece 35. The aerosol generator 36 of this example comprises a heater element formed from an electrically resistive material (such as NiCr8020) spirally wrapped around the aerosol-generating material transfer component 37, and located in the air channel 23. The area around the heating element and wick combination is the aerosol-generating area of the article 30.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an example article 30 for use in the aerosol provision system 10 illustrated in Figure 1 , where the same reference signs have been used for like elements between the article 30 illustrated in Figure 1 and the article 30 illustrated in Figure 2. As per the article 30 illustrated in Figure 1, the article 30 illustrated in Figure 2 includes an aerosol-generating material storage area 39 for storing an aerosol-generating material 32, an aerosol-generating material transfer component 37, an aerosol generation area containing an aerosol generator 36, and a mouthpiece 35. The article 30 illustrated in Figure 2 is configured to be refilled and reused. In other words, the aerosol-generating material storage area 39 of the article 30 illustrated in Figure 2 can be refilled with aerosol-generating material 32 once some or all of the aerosolgenerating material 32 contained in the aerosol-generating material storage area 39 has been exhausted or depleted. To facilitate the refilling or replenishment of aerosol-generating material 32, the article 30 has a refilling tube 33 extending between the aerosol-generating material storage area 39 and the exterior or an outer surface of the housing of the article 30, thereby creating a refilling orifice 34. Aerosol-generating material 32 can then be inserted into the aerosol-generating material storage area 39 via the refilling orifice 34 and refilling tube 33. It will be appreciated, however, that such a configuration of a refilling tube 33 and a refilling orifice 34 is not essential, and the article 30 may comprise any other suitable means of facilitating the refilling of the aerosol-generating material storage area 39 with aerosol generating material 32.

The refilling orifice 34 and/or the refilling tube 33 may be sealable, for example with a cap or one-way valve, in order to ensure that aerosol-generating material 32 does not leak out of the refilling orifice 34. Although the refilling orifice 34 is illustrated in Figure 2 as being on the same end or surface of the article 30 as the air channel 23 and interface with the aerosol provision device 20, this is not essential. The refilling orifice 34 may be located at the end of the article 30 comprising the mouthpiece 35, for example proximate to the outlet of the air channel 23 on the mouthpiece 35, such that the refilling tube 33 extends between the end of the article 30 comprising the mouthpiece 35 and the aerosol-generating material storage area 39. In this case, the article 30 does not necessarily need to be separated from the aerosol-generating device 20 in order to refill the article 30 with aerosol-generating material 32, as the refilling orifice 34 is not obstructed by the aerosol-generating device 20 when the article 30 is coupled with the aerosol provision device 20.

The article 30 illustrated in Figure 2 also comprises article control circuitry 38 configured to control the operation of the article 30 and store parameters and/or data associated with the article 30. The parameters associated with the article 30 may include, for example, a serial number and/or stock keeping unit (SKU) for the article 30 or other means of identifying the article 30 and/or the type of the article 30, a date of manufacture and/or expiry of the article 30, an indication of the number of times the article 30 has been refilled, the capacity of the aerosol-generating material storage area 39 and/or the amount of aerosol-generating material remaining in the aerosol-generating material storage area 39. As described above in relation to the device control circuitry 28, the article control circuitry 38 can be provided in various different ways, for example using one or more suitably programmed programmable computer(s) and/or one or more suitably configured applicationspecific integrated circuit(s)/circuitry/chip(s)/chipset(s) configured to provide the desired functionality. For example, the article control circuitry 38 may comprise a microcontroller unit (MCU) or a system on chip (SoC).

The article 30 illustrated in Figure 2 also comprises one or more connectors 31, such as contact electrodes, connected via electrical wiring to the aerosol generator 36 and the article control circuitry 38. In use, the article 30 is coupled to the aerosol-generating device 20 and the connectors 31 mate with connectors on the aerosol-generating device, thereby allowing electrical power and electrical current to be supplied from the battery 14 of the aerosol-generating device 20 to the aerosol generator 36 and the article control circuitry 38.

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a refilling device 40 for an article of an aerosol provision system, such as the article 30 illustrated in Figure 2, and a reservoir 50. The reservoir 50 is a disposable/replaceable part which contains aerosol-generating material 52. The refilling device 40 facilitates the transfer of the aerosol-generating material 52 from the reservoir 50 to the article 30 in order to refill or replenish the aerosol-generating material storage area 39 of the article 30 with aerosol-generating material. The article 30 can then be reused as part of the aerosol provision system 10 described above, whilst the reservoir 50 can be disposed of when the aerosol-generating material 52 within the reservoir 50 has been depleted. This allows a single article 30 to be refilled using multiple reservoirs, thereby increasing the number of uses of a single article 30.

The refilling device 40 comprises an article interface 42 configured to receive the article 30. The article interface 42 may comprise a slot, tray, opening or aperture on the refilling device 40 into or onto which the article 30 is placed or coupled. Alternatively the article interface 42 may comprise a lead or other cable which is attachable or otherwise connectable to the article 30. Although one article interface 42 is illustrated in Figure 3, the refilling device 40 may comprise more than one article interface 42, for example three, five or ten, depending on the specific design of the refilling device 40. In this case, two or more of the article interfaces 42 may be different such that the refilling device 40 is capable of receiving different types of article, or two or more of the article interfaces 42 may be the same such that the refilling device 40 is capable of receiving multiple articles of the same type.

The refilling device 40 also comprises one or more reservoir interfaces 46 configured to receive a reservoir 50. In the same fashion as described above in relation to the article interface 42, each of the reservoir interfaces 46 may comprise a slot, tray, opening or aperture on the refilling device 40 into or onto which the reservoir 50 is placed or coupled. Alternatively, each reservoir interface 46 may comprise a lead or other cable which is attachable or otherwise connectable to the reservoir 50. Although two reservoir interfaces 46 are illustrated in Figure 3, this is not essential and the refilling device 40 may comprise fewer or more reservoir interfaces 46, for example one, three, five or ten, depending on the specific design of the refilling device 40.

The refilling device 40 also comprises refilling control circuitry 48 configured to control the operation of the refilling device 40. As described above in relation to the device control circuitry 28, the refilling control circuitry 48 can be provided in various different ways, for example using one or more suitably programmed programmable computer(s) and/or one or more suitably configured application-specific integrated circuit(s)/circuitry/chip(s)/chipset(s) configured to provide the desired functionality. For example, the refilling control circuitry 48 may comprise a microcontroller unit (MCU) or a system on chip (SoC).

Although not illustrated, the refilling device 40 may also comprise a power source, such as a battery, configured to supply electrical power to the components of the refilling device 40. Alternatively, the power source may be an external power supply, such as a mains electricity supply or an external battery pack, to which the refilling device 40 can be coupled, attached or otherwise connected.

As described above, the reservoir 50 comprises aerosol-generating material 52 for transferring, by the refilling device 40, to the article 30 in order to refill or replenish the aerosol-generating material 32 in the aerosol-generating material storage area 39 of the article 30.

The reservoir 50 illustrated in Figure 3 also comprises reservoir control circuitry 58 configured to control the reservoir 50 and store parameters and/or data associated with the reservoir 50. The parameters associated with the reservoir 50 may include, for example data indicative of an amount of aerosol-generating material 52 stored in the reservoir 50, data relating to the aerosol-generating material 52 stored in the reservoir 50, such as one or more ingredients, the concentration and/or amount of the ingredients and/or one or more flavourants within the aerosol-generating material 52. The data may also comprise an identifier, such as a serial number and/or SKU for the reservoir 50 or other means of identifying the reservoir 50 and/or the type of the reservoir 50, and a date of manufacture and/or expiry of the reservoir 50. As described above in relation to the device control circuitry 28, the reservoir control circuitry 58 can be provided in various different ways, for example using one or more suitably programmed programmable computer(s) and/or one or more suitably configured application-specific integrated circuit(s)/circuitry/chip(s)/chipset(s) configured to provide the desired functionality. For example, the reservoir control circuitry 58 may comprise a microcontroller unit (MCU) or a system on chip (SoC). Alternatively, the reservoir control circuitry 58 may comprise a code printed onto the reservoir, such as a barcode or QR code, or an NFC chip or other form of passive tag. The refilling device 40 illustrated in Figure 3 also comprises one or more connectors 41 , such as contact electrodes, connected via electrical wiring to the refilling control circuitry 48 and the power source (not illustrated). The connectors 41 are located proximate to or as part of the article interface 42. This facilitates communication between the refilling control circuitry 48 and the article control circuitry 38; the connectors 31 on the article 30 mate with the connectors 41 on the refilling device 40 when the article 30 is received by the article interface 42, thereby allowing power to be supplied from the refilling device 40 to the article control circuitry 38 and electrical signals to be transferred between the refilling control circuitry 48 and the article control circuitry 38. The connectors 41 may be arranged relative to the article interface 42 in a pattern and position matching/mirroring the connectors 31 on the article 30 in order to facilitate the mating of the connectors 31 on the article 30 and the connectors 41 on the refilling device 40 when the article 30 is received by the article interface 42.

In the same fashion, the refilling device 40 illustrated in Figure 3 also comprises one or more connectors 47, such as contact electrodes, located proximate to or as part of each of the reservoir interfaces 46 and connected via electrical wiring to the refilling control circuitry 48 and the power source (not illustrated). The connectors 47 mate with the connectors 51 on the reservoir 50 when the reservoir 50 is received by the reservoir interface 46, thereby allowing power to be supplied from the refilling device 40 to the reservoir control circuitry 58 and electrical signals to be transferred between the refilling control circuitry 48 and the reservoir control circuitry 58. The connectors 47 may be arranged relative to the reservoir interface 46 in a pattern and position matching/mirroring the connectors 51 on the reservoir 50 in order to facilitate the mating of the connectors 51 on the reservoir 50 and the connectors 47 on the refilling device 40 when a reservoir 50 is received by one of the reservoir interfaces 46.

Although the connectors 31 , 41 , 47, 51 are described herein as physical electrical connectors between the article, the refilling device and the reservoir, in an alternative implementation one or more of the electrical connections between the respective components may be a wireless connection, such as NFC, RFID, or inductive coupling.

The refilling device 40 illustrated in Figure 3 also comprises a refilling outlet 44 located proximate to or as part of the article interface 42, a refilling inlet 45 located proximate to or as part of each of the reservoir interfaces 46, and a duct 43 connecting each refilling inlet 45 to the refilling outlet 44. The refilling outlet 44 is configured to mate with the refilling orifice 34 on the article 30 when the article is received by the article interface 42, and each refilling inlet 45 is configured to mate with a reservoir outlet 55 when a reservoir 50 is received by the corresponding reservoir interface 46. The duct 43 is configured to facilitate the transfer of aerosol-generating material 52 from each of the refilling inlets 45 to the refilling outlet 44, thereby providing a transfer path for aerosol-generating material 52 from the reservoir 50 through the refilling device 40 and into the article 30.

Although the refilling outlet 44 is illustrated in Figure 3 as being on the same end or surface of the article interface 42 as the connectors 41, this is not essential. The refilling outlet 44 may be located anywhere proximate to or in the article interface 42 relative to the connectors 41 in order for the refilling outlet 44 to mate with the refilling orifice 34 on the article 30 whilst the connectors 41 on the refilling device 40 mate with the connectors 31 on the article 30 when the article 30 is received by the article interface 30. Similarly, the refilling inlet 45 may be located anywhere proximate to or in each reservoir interface 46 relative to the connectors 47 in order for the refilling inlet 45 to mate with the reservoir outlet 55 on the reservoir 50 whilst the connectors 47 on the refilling device 40 mate with the connectors 51 on the reservoir 50 when a reservoir 50 is received by a reservoir interface 46.

Further, as described above, the refilling device 40 may be configured to receive different types, designs or configuration of article 30 using the same article interface 42. In this case, there may be multiple configurations of connectors 41 and/or refilling outlets 44 proximate to or in the article interface 42 in order to facilitate the same article interface 42 receiving different types, designs or configurations of article 30. Equally, there may be multiple configurations of connectors 47 and/or refilling inlets 45 proximate to or in each reservoir interface 46 in order to facilitate the same reservoir interface 46 receiving different types, designs or configurations of reservoir 50. Alternatively or in addition, the configuration of connectors 47 and/or refilling inlets 45 proximate to or in the one or more of the reservoir interfaces 46 may be different such that different reservoir types are received by different reservoir interfaces 46 of the same refilling device 40.

One or more of the refilling outlet 44, the refilling inlets 45, the reservoir outlet 55 and the duct 43 may also include a means of controlling the rate and/or direction of transfer of the aerosol-generating material 52, for example a ball valve, needle valve or diaphragm to control the rate of transfer and/or a one way valve such as a check valve or non-return valve to control the direction of transfer. For example, a one way valve may be located at or proximate to each of the refilling outlet 44, the refilling inlets 45 and the reservoir outlets 55 to ensure that aerosol-generating material 52 can only be transferred from the reservoir 50 to the refilling device 40 and from the refilling device 40 to the article 30, whilst a single ball valve or diaphragm may be located on or in the duct 43 of the refilling device 40 in order to control the flow rate of aerosol-generating material 52 from the reservoir 50 through the refilling device 40 and into the article 30. Equally, a ball valve or diaphragm may be located proximate to each refilling inlet 45 in order to independently control the rate of transfer of aerosol-generating material 52 into each of the refilling inlets 45 or from each of the refilling inlets 45 into the duct 43. For example, this allows the refilling control circuitry 48 to prevent a first aerosol-generating material 52 being transferred from a first reservoir 50 whilst a second aerosol-generating material 52 is being transferred from a second reservoir 50 to the article 30. This also allows the refilling control circuitry 48 to facilitate the transfer the first aerosol-generating material 52 from the first reservoir 50 and the second aerosol-generating material 52 from the second reservoir 50 simultaneously to the article 30, but at different transfer rates, thereby creating an aerosol-generating material 32 in the article 30 containing a mixture of the first aerosol-generating material 52 and the second aerosol-generating material 52 at different concentrations.

The refilling device 40 illustrated in Figure 3 also optionally comprises a device interface 49 configured to receive the aerosol provision device 20 in order to supply electrical power from the refilling device 40 to the aerosol provision device 20. This electrical power can be used, for example, to recharge the power source or battery 14 of the aerosol provision device 20 and to facilitate the transfer of electrical signals between the refilling control circuitry 48 and the device control circuitry 28. This allows the user to use the refilling device 40 as a means of charging the aerosol provision device 20 whilst the article 30 is being replenished with aerosol-generating material 32, thereby reducing the number of associated devices needed to operate and maintain the aerosol provision system 10. The device interface 49 may be a wired interface, such as using electrical connectors as described above, or a wireless interface such as inductive or capacitive coupling. The device interface 49 may also be configured to the transfer of data between the refilling control circuitry 48 and the device control circuitry 28. The refilling control circuitry 48 may be configured to read data from the aerosol provision device 20 and/or write data to the aerosol provision device 20, for example to perform a software update, thereby installing an updated version of software onto the device control circuitry 28.

As set out above, the refilling device 40 facilitates the transfer of aerosol-generating material 52 from the reservoir 50 to the article 30 in order to refill or replenish the article 30 so that it can be reused as part of the aerosol provision system 10. By way of a concrete example, when a reservoir 50 is received by one of the reservoir interfaces 47, the connectors 47 located proximate to or in the corresponding reservoir interface 46 mate with the connectors 51 on the reservoir 50 and the refilling inlet 45 located proximate to or in the corresponding reservoir interface 46 mates with the reservoir outlet 55. When an article 30 is received by the article interface 42, the connectors 41 located proximate to or in the article interface 42 mate with the connectors 31 on the article 30 and the refilling outlet 45 mates with the refilling orifice 34 on the device 30. The refilling control circuitry 48 is then configured to facilitate the transfer of aerosol-generating material 52 from the reservoir 50 to the article 30 by facilitating the transfer of aerosol-generating material 52 from the reservoir 50 into the duct 42 of the refilling device 40 via the reservoir outlet 51 and the refilling inlet 45, and from the duct 42 of the refilling device 40 into the aerosol-generating material storage area 39 of the article 30 via the refilling outlet 44, the refilling orifice 34 and the refilling tube 33.

In the examples where the refiling device 40 has a plurality of reservoir interfaces 46, the refilling control circuitry 48 is configured to selectively facilitate the transfer of aerosolgenerating material 52 from a reservoir 50 received by one of the reservoir interfaces 46, for example in response to a determination that only one of the reservoir interfaces 46 has received a reservoir 50, or in response to a selection of a particular reservoir 50 from which aerosol-generating material 52 should be transferred, for example a user input or a determination based on one or more parameters of each of the reservoirs 50 stored on the respective reservoir control circuitry 58. In this case, the refilling control circuitry 48 is configured to receive, from a user of the refilling device 40, a selection of one or more reservoir interfaces 46 and selectively facilitate the transfer of aerosol-generating material 52, from each reservoir 50 connected to one of the one or more selected reservoir interfaces

46, to the article 30 when the article 30 is coupled to the refilling device. In other words, the refilling control circuitry 48 is configured to only transfer aerosol-generating material 52 from a reservoir 50 connected to a selected reservoir interface 46, and prevent aerosolgenerating material 52 from being transferred from any other reservoir 50 connected to the refilling device 40.

Although not illustrated, in some examples, the refilling device 40 can comprise a tank, container or other such receptacle for storing aerosol-generating material 52 received from the reservoir 50, for example when a reservoir 50 is received by the reservoir interface 46 without an article 30 being received by the article interface 42, thereby allowing the reservoir 50 to be disconnected from the reservoir interface 46 before an article 30 is received by the article interface 42. In this case, the aerosol-generating material 52 is stored in the receptacle of the refilling device 40 until such a time that it can be transferred to an article 30 received by the article interface 42. In this case, control circuitry 48 of the refilling device 40 is configured to facilitate the transfer of aerosol-generating material 52 from the reservoir 50 to the receptacle, and subsequently and separately to facilitate the transfer of the aerosol-generating material 52 from the receptacle to the article 42.

The receptacle of the refilling device 40 can also be used to facilitate the mixing of aerosol-generating material 52 before it is transferred to the article 30. For example, if a first reservoir interface 46 receives a first reservoir 50 containing a first aerosol-generating material 52 and a second reservoir interface 46 receives a second reservoir 50 containing a second aerosol-generating material 52, then the refilling control circuitry 48 can be configured to facilitate the transfer of the first aerosol-generating material 52 from the first reservoir 50 into the receptacle, and facilitate the transfer of the second aerosol-generating material 52 from the second reservoir 50 into the receptacle. The first aerosol-generating material 52 and the second aerosol-generating material 52 can then be mixed in the receptacle, and the mixture of the first aerosol-generating material 52 and the second aerosol-generating material 52 transferred to the article 30.

As described above, the refilling device 40 comprises an article interface 42 configured to receive the article 30. The refilling control circuitry 48 may be configured to detect that an article 30 has been received by the article interface 42, for example by detecting the mating of one or more of the article connectors 31 with the refilling device connectors 41 or the refilling orifice 34 with the refilling outlet 44 or by detecting when a securing latch, catch or other attachment means of the article interface 42 has been engaged or through the use of a sensing means such as a light sensor or pressure sensor.

In response to the article 30 being received by the refilling device 40, for example by the article interface 42, the refilling control circuitry 48 is configured to read data from the article 30. For example, the data may be stored on the article control circuitry 38, and the refilling control circuitry 48 is configured to read the data stored on the article control circuitry 38 in response to the article 30 being received by the article interface 42, for example in response to the refilling control circuitry 48 detecting that the article 30 has been received by the article interface 42 as described above.

The refilling control circuitry 48 is configured to determine whether the data read from the article 30 indicates that the article is expired. In other words, the refilling control circuitry 48 is configured to determine the article is expired by reading the data stored on the article. The article 30 is considered to be expired when a usable life of the article 30 has been reached or exceeded, indicating that the article 30 should no longer be used and should be replaced. In other words, refilling control circuitry 48 is configured to determine whether the article 30 has reached the end of its usable life. The usable life of the article 30 is defined or set based on a number of factors, such as the degradation and reliability of components within the article 30, such as the aerosol generator 36 and aerosol-generating material transfer component 37. The usable life of the article 30 is therefore defined or set in order to ensure safe, reliable and consistent operation of the article 30, and that the article 30 is replaced before the article 30 adversely impacts the operation of the aerosol provision system 10.

The refilling control circuitry 48 may be configured to determine whether a data field or flag is stored on the article 30, or whether the value of a particular data field or flag indicates that the article 30 is expired. For example, a flag or data field may be a binary value, where “0” indicates the article is not expired and “1” indicates the article 30 is expired, or the flag or data field may be a Boolean or logical operator, where “false” indicates the article 30 is not expired and “true” indicates the article 30 is expired. The refilling control circuitry 48 is configured to determine based on the value of this data whether the article has expired or not.

In some examples, the data comprises an identifier for the article 30, such as a serial number or other means of identifying the article 30. In this example, determining that the data indicates that the article 30 has expired can comprise comparing the identifier to a list of identifiers for expired articles. In other words, the identifier for each article that has expired is stored in a list. The refilling control circuitry 48 is then configured to compare the identifier for the article 30 to the list of identifiers in order to determine whether the identifier for the article 30 is present in the list, thereby indicating that the article 30 is expired. The list of identifiers may be stored on the refilling device 40, for example in memory of the refilling control circuitry 48, or on a remote data store 70 described below with reference to Figure 4. In the latter example, the refilling control circuitry 48 is configured to communicate with the remote data store 70 in order to compare the identifier to a list of identifiers for expired articles.

The data can comprise a counter, where the value of the counter indicates the number of times the article 30 has been refilled. For example, the counter may be stored on the article control circuitry 38, and the refilling control circuitry 48 is configured to read the value of the counter stored on the article control circuitry 38 in response to the article 30 being received by the article interface 42, for example in response to the refilling control circuitry 48 detecting that the article 30 has been received by the article interface 42 as described above. The value of the counter is indicative of the number of times the article 30 has been refilled with aerosol-generating material 32. In some examples, the value of the counter represents the numbers of times the article has been refilled and is incremented each time the article is refilled. For example, the value of the counter may be zero when the article 30 is first manufactured and used (i.e. when the article is new), and the value of the counter incremented by one each time the article 30 is refilled with aerosol-generating material 32 until the value of the counter exceeds or equals the number of times the article 30 is designed or intended to be refilled in its usable life, such as 10, 50 or 100. Alternatively, when the article 30 is first manufactured and used (i.e. when the article is new), the value of the counter equals the number of times the article 30 is designed or intended to be refilled in its usable life. The value of the counter is then decremented by one each time the article 30 is refilled with aerosol-generating material 32 until the value of the counter equal zero.

In some examples, the value of the counter represents the amount of aerosolgenerating material 32 that has been transferred into the article 30 by the refilling device 40 or the amount of aerosol-generating material 32 used by the article 30 during operation of the aerosol provision system 10. For example, the value of the counter may be zero when the article 30 is first manufactured and used (ie when the article is new), and the value of the counter incremented by a number representative of the amount of aerosol-generating material 32 transferred into the article 30 by the refilling device 40 during a refill. In other words, if 10ml of aerosol-generating material 52 is transferred from a reservoir 50 to the article 30 by the refilling device 40 during a refill, the value of the counter is incremented by 10. The counter is then incremented by a number representative of the amount of aerosolgenerating material 52 transferred to the article 30 by the refilling device 40 during each refill until the value of the counter exceeds or equals the total amount of aerosol-generating material the article 30 is designed or intended to be refilled with in its usable life, such as 100ml, 500ml or 1000ml. Alternatively, when the article 30 is first manufactured and used (ie when the article is new), the value of the counter equals the total amount of aerosolgenerating material the article 30 is designed or intended to be refilled with in its usable life. The value of the counter is then decremented by a number representative of the amount of aerosol-generating material 32 transferred into the article 30 by the refilling device 40 during each refill until the value of the counter is less than or equals zero.

The refilling control circuitry 48 can determine whether the article 30 has expired by comparing the value of the counter stored on the article 30 to a refill limit. The refill limit is configured such that it is representative of the usable life of the article 30, and the article 30 is determined to be expired when the refill limit is met or passed. In the examples described above where the counter is incremented when aerosol-generating material 52 is transferred from the reservoir 50 to the article 30, it is determined that the article 30 is expired when the value of the counter is equal to or exceeds the refill limit, where in the refill limit represents the number of times the article 30 is designed or intended to be refilled during its usable life, such as 10, 50 or 100, or the total amount of aerosol-generating material 32 the article 30 is designed or intended to be refilled with in its usable life, such as 100ml, 500ml or 1000ml, depending on the whether the value of the counter represents the number of times the article 30 has been refilled or the total amount of aerosol-generating material 32 the article 30 has refilled with. In the examples described above where the counter is decremented when aerosol-generating material 52 is transferred from the reservoir 50 to the article 30, the refill limit is zero. In other words, it is determined that the article 30 is expired when the value of the counter is equal to or less than zero (the refill limit). The refill limit may be stored on the refiling device 40, for example as part of the refilling control circuitry 48, or on the article 30, for example as part of the article control circuitry 38. In the latter case, the refilling control circuitry 48 is configured to read the refill limit from article 30 in response to the article 30 being received by the article interface 42.

As illustrated in Figure 3, the refilling device 40 also comprises a disassembly module 421. In response to the determining that the article 30 is expired, the refilling control circuitry 48 is configured to control the disassembly module 421 to disassemble the article into one or more components. As illustrated in Figure 3, the disassembly module 421 may be located proximate to the article interface 42, or the disassembly module 421 may form a part of the article interface 42. In both cases, the disassembly module 421 is configured to disassemble the article 30 into one or more components whilst the article 30 is received by the article interface 42. In other words, the article 30 remains in, on or otherwise connected to the article interface 42 as the article 30 is disassembled by the disassembly module 421. Alternatively, the article 30 may be moved from the article interface 42 to the disassembly module 421 such that the article is disassembled whilst the article 30 is located in the disassembly module 421. In this case, one or more of the disassembly module 421 and article interface 42 may comprise a track, arm, claw or other transport component configured to move the article 30 from the article interface 42 to the disassembly module 421.

The disassembly module 421 is configured to perform one or more disassembly operations in order to disassemble the article 30 into one or more components. In other words, the disassembly module 421 is configured to separate, divide or otherwise break up the article 30 into one or more pieces or components such that each component can be recycled or otherwise disposed of separately. Using the article illustrated in Figure 2 as an example, the disassembly module 421 can perform one or more disassembly operations in order to disassemble the article 30 into separate components, such as the article control circuitry 38, the aerosol generator 36, the connectors 31 , the aerosol generating material storage area 39, and the mouthpiece 35. The components of the article 30 may comprise one or more of the features of the article 30 illustrated in Figure 2. For example, the refilling orifice 34, refilling tube 33 and the aerosol generating material storage area 39 may form a single component, whilst the air channel 23 and mouthpiece 35 may form another single component.

The article 30 may be configured to co-operate with the disassembly module 421 in order to allow the disassembly module 421 to disassemble the article 30 into the one or more components. For example, the components of the article 30 may be constructed with frangible, perforated or otherwise breakable connectors between components such that the disassembly module 421 can easily separate components of the article 30 from each other. In other words, the article 30 is configured to minimise the force required by the disassembly module 421 in order to disassemble the article 30. In other examples, the components and/or parts of the housing may be releasably attached to one another, e.g., via a screw thread connection and the disassembly module 421 may be configured to relatively rotate certain components or parts of the housing to separate the respective elements.

The disassembly module 421 can comprise one or more holders configured to hold portions or components of the article 30 as disassembly operations are being performed. The holders may comprise claws, grippers, suction cups or any other form of device that can hold the portions or components of the article 30 with sufficient force as the disassembly operations are being performed. Each holder is coupled to a motor, jack, piston or other form of motion device configured to move the holder. Each disassembly operation comprises the relative motion of one or more holders relative to another one or more holders in order for a force to be applied to the article 30 to cause one or more components to become disassembled, detached or otherwise removed from the rest of the article 30. For example, again referring to Figure 2, the first holder can be connected to the mouthpiece 35 such that the first holder holds the mouthpiece 35 and a second holder can be connected to the housing of the article 30 proximate to the connectors 31. The first holder can then be moved away from the second holder whilst the second holder remains stationary, thereby applying a force to the mouthpiece 35 and causing the mouthpiece 35 to become separated from the article 30. The first holder can then be connected to another component of the article 30, for example the aerosol generating material storage area 39, and the process repeated until each component of the article 30 is separated from the housing of the article 30. Alternatively, the first holder and the second holder can be moved in opposite directions, applying a force to the mouthpiece 35 and the housing of the article 30. This may cause the mouthpiece 35, air channel 23 and the aerosol generator 36 to be removed by the first holder, and the housing of the article 30 removed by the second holder. The second holder can then release the housing of the article 30 and hold the aerosol generator 36 and the process repeated to separate the aerosol generator 36 from the mouthpiece 35. It will therefore be appreciated that the one or more holders can be used to hold portions or components of the article 30 as disassembly operations are performed in order to disassemble the article 30 into the one or more components.

As each component is disassembled from the article 30, or once the disassembly operations are completed, the disassembly module 421 can be configured to collect or group the components of the article 30 such that the components or groups of components can be disposed of by the user. For example, the disassembly module 421 may comprise an outlet into which each component or group of components can be deposited by the disassembly module 421 as the component is disassembled from the article 30. The user can then collect the component or group components from the outlet in order to dispose of them. The components may be grouped by the disassembly module 421 based on the materials each component is made out of or a property of each component. For example, one group of components may comprise components made of the same or similar material, whilst another group of components may comprise each electrical component of the article 30.

In response to the determining that the article 30 is expired, the refilling control circuitry 48 can also be configured to prevent the transfer of aerosol-generating material 52 from the reservoir 50 to the article 30. This also ensures that an expired article 30 cannot be refilled again by the refilling device 40. The transfer of aerosol-generating material 52 may be prevented by disabling one or more pumps or other flow control devices within the refilling device 40, or by preventing the actuating of one or more valves within the refilling device 40. The refilling control circuitry 48 may also be configured to cause a notification to be provided to the user in response to determining that the article 30 is expired. For example, an LED on the refilling device 40 may be illuminated or activated, an audio notification may be played on a speaker on the refilling device 40, or the article 30 may be disconnected or otherwise removed from the article interface 42 by the refilling control circuitry 48.

In response to determining that the article has not expired, the refilling control circuitry 48 can be configured to facilitate the transfer of aerosol-generating material 52 from a reservoir 50 coupled to the refilling device 40 to the article 30. As described above, the reservoir 50 may be coupled to the refilling device 40 using a reservoir interface 46. The transfer of aerosol-generating material 52 from a reservoir 50 coupled to the refilling device 40 to the article 30 is facilitating by the refilling control circuitry 48 as described above. For example, the refilling control-circuitry 48 may be configured to only facilitate the transfer of aerosol-generating material 52 when both the article 30 is received by the article interface 42 and a reservoir 50 is coupled to the refilling device 40. The refilling control circuitry 48 may be configured to facilitate the transfer of aerosol-generating material 52 in response to a user input, for example by the user pressing a button on the refilling device 40 or by the user providing an input on a touch-screen display on the refilling device 40. Where there are a plurality of reservoirs 50 connected to the refilling device 40 as described above, the user input may represent a selection of one of the reservoirs from which aerosol-generating material 52 should be transferred, or a selection of more than one of the reservoirs in the case where the aerosol-generating material 52 transferred to the article 30 is a mixture of aerosol-generating material from more than one of the reservoirs.

As illustrated in Figure 3, the refilling device 40 also comprises a cleaning module 422. In response to the determining that the article 30 is expired, the refilling control circuitry 48 can be configured to control the cleaning module 422 to clean the article and/or the one or more components of the article. As it will be appreciated, it may not be possible to completely deplete the article 30 of aerosol generating material 32, such that there may be a small amount of aerosol-generating material 32 and/or liquid remaining in the article 30, such as in the aerosol-generating material storage area 39, when the article 30 is determined to be expired. The cleaning module 422 can be configured to wash, rinse, flush or otherwise remove any remaining aerosol-generating material 32 and/or liquid from the article 30 such that the article 30 is substantially emptied of aerosol-generating material 30, and therefore considered to be clean. The refilling control circuitry 48 can be configured to control the cleaning module 422 and the disassembly module 421 such that the article 30 is cleaned before it is disassembled, disassembled before it is cleaned, or cleaned and disassembled concurrently (i.e. simultaneously). For example, the refilling control circuitry 48 can be configured to first control the cleaning module 422 to clean the article 30. In response to the cleaning module 422 completing the cleaning of the article 30, the refilling control circuit 48 can then be configured to control the disassembly module 421 to disassemble the article 30. In another case, the refilling control circuitry 48 can be configured to first control the disassembly module 421 to disassemble the article 30. In response to the disassembly module 421 completing the disassembly of the article 30, the refilling control circuitry 48 can be configured to control the cleaning module 422 to clean the article 30. In another case, the refilling control circuitry 48 can be configured to control the cleaning module 422 and the disassembly module 421 such that the article 30 is cleaned and disassembled concurrently.

As illustrated in Figure 3, the cleaning module 422 may be located proximate to the article interface 42, or the cleaning module 422 may form a part of the article interface 42. In both cases, the cleaning module 422 is configured to clean the article 30 whilst the article 30 is received by the article interface 42. In other words, the article 30 remains in, on or otherwise connected to the article interface 42 as the article 30 is cleaned by the cleaning module 422. Alternatively, the article 30 may be moved from the article interface 42 to the cleaning module 422 such that the article is cleaned whilst the article 30 is located in the cleaning module 422. In this case, one or more of the cleaning module 422 and article interface 42 may comprise a track, arm, claw or other transport component configured to move the article 30 from the article interface 42 to the cleaning module 422. The article interface 42, the cleaning module 422 and the refilling module 421 may be arranged in series such that the article 30 is moved from the article interface 42 to the cleaning module 422 to be cleaned, and then from the cleaning module 422 to the disassembly module 421 to be disassembled (or from the article interface 42 to the disassembly module 421 to be disassembled, and then from the disassembly module 421 to the cleaning module 422 to be cleaned).

The cleaning module 422 can comprise one or more fluid tanks configured to hold a volume of fluid used to clean the article, with each of the one or more tanks connected to a cleaning module outlet via tubing. The cleaning module outlet is can be fluidly linked or otherwise coupled to the article interface 42 such that the fluid in each of the one more tanks can flow from the fluid tank into the article 30 whilst the article 30 is located in on or otherwise connected to the article interface 42. The cleaning module outlet can be fluidly linked to the refilling outlet 44 such that the fluid can be transferred from the fluid tanks into the refilling orifice 34 of the article via the refilling outlet 44. Alternatively or in addition, the cleaning module outlet can be fluidly linked to different parts of the article interface 42 such that the fluid can be transferred from the fluid tanks into one or more of the air channel 23 and the mouthpiece 35 of the article 30.

In the case as described above where the article 30 is transferred to the cleaning module 422 for cleaning, the cleaning module outlet is configured to fluidly link or otherwise couple to the article 30 in order for the fluid in the fluid tanks to be transferred to the article 30. The cleaning module outlet can be configured to fluidly link or otherwise couple to one or more of the refilling orifice 34, the air channel 23 and the mouthpiece 35 of the article 30.

The cleaning module 422 can comprise one or more pumps or other flow control devices, and/or one or more valves in order to facilitate the transfer of fluid from the fluid tanks to the article 30. The fluid may be a liquid or gas. For example the fluid may be a water-based liquid and detergent, or the fluid may be air or another gas. In the latter case, cleaning module 422 can be configured to transfer the air or gas from the fluid tanks to the article 30 at sufficient pressure in order to remove any aerosol generating material and/or liquid from the article 30.

Each of the fluid tanks may hold a different fluid, for example one tank holding water and another tank holding a detergent or cleaning agent. Cleaning module 422 can then be configured to facilitate the transfer of a fluid from one of the tanks to the article 30, then facilitate the transfer of a fluid from a different tank to the article 30 in order to clean the article 30. For example, water may be transferred from a first tank to the article, then a detergent or cleaning agent transferred from a second tank to the article, followed by water being transferred from the first tank to the article. Alternatively, the cleaning module 422 can be configured to facilitate the transfer of fluid from a plurality of tanks to the article 30 simultaneously. For example, the cleaning module 422 can be configured to facilitate the transfer of water from a first tank and concentrated detergent from a second tank simultaneously such that the water and concentrated detergent are mixed to create a diluted solution of detergent for transfer to the article 30.

As it will be appreciated, not all of the components of the article 30 will require cleaning. For example, the article control circuitry 38 and the one or more connectors 31 may not require cleaning, whilst the components of the article 30 that are in a fluid path or otherwise wetted with fluid during normal use, such as the aerosol generator 36, refilling tube 33 and air channel 23, will require cleaning.

In the case above where the article 30 is cleaned before it is disassembled, the cleaning module 422 can be configured to transfer fluid from the one or more fluid tanks to the article 30 such that the components of the article 30 that are in a fluid path are cleaned. For example, fluid can be transferred into the article 30 through the refilling orifice 34 where it flows into the aerosol generating material storage area 39 via the refilling tube 33. The cleaning module 422 can be configured to transfer the fluid at sufficient pressure and/or flowrate that the fluid can then flow to the aerosol generator 36 via the aerosol-generating material transfer component 37, and then along the air channel 23 to the mouthpiece 35. Alternatively, or in addition, the cleaning module 422 can be configured to transfer fluid along the air channel 23 (for example from the inlet proximate to the connectors 31 as illustrated in Figure 2 to the mouthpiece 35) such that the fluid flows through the aerosol generator 36. The cleaning module 422 can also be configured to transfer the fluid into the aerosol generating material storage area 39 via the refilling orifice 34 and the refilling tube 33, and allow the fluid to drain back out of the refilling orifice 34, or the cleaning module 422 can be configured to suck or otherwise draw the fluid back out of the aerosol generating material storage area 39 via the refilling orifice 34 and the refilling tube 33.

It will be appreciated that, in normal use, a liquid flows along the refilling tube 33 and into the aerosol generating material storage area 39, whilst a gas flows along the air channel 23. The cleaning module 422 can be configured to use a liquid to clean the aerosol generating material storage area 39 and a gas to clean the air channel 23. For example, the cleaning module 422 can be configured to clean the aerosol generating material storage area 39 by transferring a liquid from one of the fluid tanks into the aerosol generating material storage area 39 via the refilling orifice 34 and the refilling tube 33 and draw the liquid back out of the aerosol generating material storage area 39 via the refilling orifice 34 and the refilling tube 33. The cleaning module 422 can then be configured to clean the air channel 23 by transferring a gas from one of the fluid tanks into the inlet proximate to the connectors 31 as illustrated in Figure 2, such that the gas flows along the air channel 23, through the aerosol generator 36, and out of the article 30 via the mouthpiece 35.

The cleaning module 422 can also comprise one or more drains for disposing of the fluid from the one or more tanks after the fluid has been used to clean the article 30 and/or a waste disposal tank or receptacle for receiving and storing used fluid used to clean the article 30.

As described above, the article 30 may be cleaned after it has been disassembled. In this case, the cleaning module 422 can be configured to clean each component of the article 30 individually, and/or clean a subset of the components of the article 30. As described above, not all of the components of the articles 30 will require cleaning. The cleaning module 422 can therefore be configured to only clean the components that are in a fluid path or otherwise wetted with a fluid during normal use. The cleaning module 422 can be configured to transfer fluid from one of the fluid tanks into each of the components of the article 30 that require cleaning.

As described above, the article 30 can also be cleaned and disassembled simultaneously. For example, the cleaning module 422 can be configured to transfer fluid to the aerosol generating material storage area 39 via the refilling orifice 34 and the refilling tube 33 and/or the air channel 23 as described above whilst the disassembly module 421 is performing a disassembly operation, such as removing the housing of the article 30, and/or removing a component of the article 30 that does not require cleaning, such as the article control circuitry 38. Alternatively, the disassembly module 421 can be configured to perform a disassembly operation, then the cleaning module 422 configured to clean a component of the article 30, before the disassembly module 421 performs the next disassembly operation. For example, the disassembly module 421 can be configured to only perform each disassembly operation in response to receiving confirmation from the cleaning module 422 that either the component to be removed in the next disassembly operation either does not require cleaning or has been cleaned. The disassembly module 421 therefore only disassembles components that have been cleaned or do not require cleaning. In this way, the disassembly module 421 and the cleaning module 400 co-operate to ensure that the article 30 is cleaned and disassembled simultaneously.

Figure 4 illustrates a system 400 comprising the refilling device 40, a remote data store 70, and a remote device 60, each of which is communicatively coupled. The remote data store 70 may be a physical server or a virtualized infrastructure such as cloud storage. The remote device 60 may include any suitable electronic device that can be communicatively coupled to the remote data store 70 and the refilling device 40. For example, the remote device 60 may include a mobile device (such as a smartphone), a PDA, a personal computer, laptop, tablet, smartwatch, etc.

The remote data store 70 is configured to communicate with the refilling device 40 and the remote device 60 using a wireless communication protocol, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or using a cellular network. The communication means used between the remote data store 70 and the refilling device 40 between the remote data store 70 and the remote device 60 may be the same or may be different. As illustrated in Figure 4, the refilling device 40 may be configured to only communicate with the remote device 60 via the remote data store 70, or the refilling device 40 may be configured to also communicate directly with the remote device 60.

In some examples a notification is provided to the user in response to determining that the article 30 is expired. For example, a different LED, or a different colour of LED, such as a red coloured LED, may be activated on the refilling device in order to indicate to the user that the article 30 is expired. Alternatively, a message or symbol may be displayed on a display screen of the refilling device 40 in order to indicate to the user that article 30 has expired and should be replaced. The notification may be provided to the user in response to determining that an article 30 received by the article interface 42 the article 30 is expired and/or in response to determining that the article 30 is expired based on the comparison between the updated value of the counter and the refill limit.

In a similar fashion, the refilling control circuitry 48 may also be configured to provide a notification to the user based on one or more of the data indicative of the amount of aerosol-generating material 52 stored in the reservoir 50, the data indicative of the amount of aerosol-generating material 32 stored in the article 30 and/or in response to determining that the article 30 is not authentic. For example, the notification may provide an indication of the amount of aerosol-generating material 32 remaining in the article 30, either as an absolute value or relative to the capacity of the aerosol-generating material storage area 39, and/or an indication of the amount of aerosol-generating material 52 remaining in the reservoir 50, either as an absolute value or relative to the capacity of the reservoir 50.

In each case, notifications from the refilling control circuitry 48 to the user may be provided on the refilling device 40, for example by activating one or more indicator lights, such as the LEDs described above, emitting a sound from a speaker, displaying a message on a display screen on the refilling device 40 or activating a haptic notification means on the refilling device 40. Alternatively or in addition, notifications from the refilling control circuitry 48 can be provided on an application on the remote device 60. In this case, the refilling control circuitry 48 is configured to communicate with the remote device 60 such that the notification is provided to the user on the remote device 60, such as on an application installed on the remote device 60. As described above, this may be achieved by the refilling control circuity 48 sending data to the remote data store 70, and the remote device 60 receiving the data from the remote data store 70. For example, the notification can be provided on the remote device by displaying a message or symbol on a display screen on the remote device 60, activating an indicator light on the remote device 40, emitting a sound from a speaker on the remote device 60 or activating a haptic notification means on the remote device 60. As will be appreciated, the notification can be provided to the user by any suitable conveying or indication means.

As set out above, the refilling control circuitry 48 is configured to control the disassembly module 421 to disassemble the article into one or more components. In some cases, the refilling control circuitry 48 is configured to control the disassembly module to disassemble the article into one or more components in response to user input. The user input may be received on the refilling device 40, for example by the user pressing a button on the refilling device 40 or by the user providing an input on a touch-screen display on the refilling device 40. Alternatively or in addition, the user input may be received on the remote device 60, for example by the user pressing a button on the remote device 60, or by the user providing input on a touch-screen display on the remote device 60. The user input may be received in response to the notification provided to the user as described above. For example, in response to determining that the article is expired, the refilling control circuitry 48 can be configured to provide a notification to the user, wherein the notification indicates to the user that the article is expired. The user can then provide a user input, and in response to receiving this input, the control circuitry is configured to control the disassembly module 421 to disassemble the article 30. The notification to the user may ask the user if they wish for the article 30 to be disassembled and/or cleaned as described above, and the user input can indicate whether the user wishes for the article 30 to be disassemble and/or cleaned. In this case, the refilling control circuitry 48 is only configured to control the disassembly module 421 to disassemble the article 30 and/or control the cleaning module 422 to clean the article 30 in response to the user input indicating that the article 30 is to be disassembled and/or cleaned respectively. If the user input indicates that the article 30 is not to be disassembled or cleaned, the refilling control circuitry 48 does not control the disassembly module 421 or the cleaning module 422 to disassembly and clean the article 30, respectively. In this case, the user is then able to remove the expired article from the article interface 42. This allows the user to control the actions taken by the refilling control circuitry 48; for example, the user may wish for the article 30 to be cleaned but not disassembled, the article 30 to be cleaned and disassembled or for no action to be taken.

Figure 5 is a flow chart of a method 500 of operating a refilling device 40 for an article 30 of an aerosol provision system 10, for example performed by the refilling control circuitry 48. The method begins at step 510, where an article 30 for an aerosol provision system 10 is received, for example by the article interface 42. At step 520, it is determined if the article 30 is expired. If it is determined that the article is not expired, the method ends. Otherwise, if it is determined at step 520 that the article 30 is expired, a disassembly module 421 is controlled to disassemble the article 30 into one or more components. The method then ends.

Figure 6 is a flow chart of a further method 600 of operating a refilling device 40 for an article 30 of an aerosol provision system 10, for example performed by the refilling control circuitry 48. The method begins at step 610, where it is detected that an article 30 has been received by the refilling device 40, for example by an article interface 42. At step 620, data is read from the article 30. At step 630, it is determined whether the data read from the article 30 indicates the article 30 is expired. If it is determined at step 630 that the article 30 is not expired the method continues to step 635, where the transfer of aerosol-generating material 52 from a reservoir 50 to the article 30 is facilitated. The method then ends. If it is determined at step 630 that the article 30 is expired the method continues to step 640, where a notification is provided to the user indicating that the article 30 is expired. At step 650, a user input is received. At step 660, it is determined whether the user input indicates that the article 30 is to be cleaned. If it is determined at step 660 that the article 30 is to be cleaned, the method continues to step 670, where a cleaning module 422 is controlled to clean the article 30. The method then proceeds to step 680. If it is determined at step 660 that the article 30 is not to be cleaned, the method proceeds straight to step 680. At step 680, it is determined whether the user input indicates that the article 30 is to be disassembled. If it is determined at step 680 that the article 30 is to be disassembled, the method continues to step 690, where a disassembly module 421 is controlled to disassemble the article 30 into one more components. The method then ends. If it is determined at step 680 that the article 30 is not to be disassembled, the method ends. It will be appreciated that steps 680 and 690 may be performed before steps 660 and 670, such that the article is disassembled before the article is cleaned, or steps 660 to 690 may be performed concurrently such that the article 30 is cleaned and disassembly simultaneously/concurrently as described above.

The methods 500, 600 illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 may be stored as instructions on a computer readable storage medium, such that when the instructions are executed by a processor, the methods 500, 600 described above are performed. The computer readable storage medium may be non-transitory.

As described above, the present disclosure relates to (but it not limited to) a refilling device 40 for an article 30 of an aerosol provision system 10. The refilling device 40 comprises an article interface 42 configured to receive the article 30, a disassembly module 421 and refilling control circuitry 48. The refilling control circuitry 48 is configured to control the disassembly module 421 to disassemble the article 30 into one or more components in response to determining the article 30 is expired.

Thus, there has been described a refilling device for an article of an aerosol provision system and a method of operating a refilling device for an article of an aerosol provision system.

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

Claims

1. A refilling device for an article of an aerosol provision system comprising: an article interface configured to receive the article; a disassembly module; and refilling control circuitry configured to control the disassembly module to disassemble the article into one or more components in response to determining the article is expired.

2. The refilling device of claim 1 , further comprising a cleaning module, and wherein the refilling control circuitry configured to control the cleaning module to clean the article and/or the one or more components of the article in response to determining the article is expired.

3. The refilling device of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the refilling control circuitry is configured to determine the article is expired by reading data stored on the article.

4. The refilling device of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the refilling control circuitry is configured to cause a notification to be provided to the user in response to determining the article is expired.

5. The refilling device of claim 4, wherein the refilling control circuitry is configured to control the disassembly module to disassemble the article in response to a user input.

6. A method of operating a refilling device for an article of an aerosol provision system comprising: receiving an article for an aerosol provision system; and controlling a disassemble module to disassemble the article into one or more components in response to determining the article is expired.

7. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed, perform a method comprising: receiving an article for an aerosol provision system; and controlling a disassemble module to disassemble the article into one or more components in response to determining the article is expired.