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
  • A24F40/10—Devices using liquid inhalable precursors
• • 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
  • A24F40/51—Arrangement of sensors
• • 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
  • A24F40/53—Monitoring, e.g. fault detection
• • 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
  • A24F40/57—Temperature control
• • 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 invention relates to a method, an apparatus, and a program for providing a heating profile for use in an aerosol generating device.
• Non-combustion aerosol generating devices such as electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products, are known that atomize an aerosol source with a heater and deliver the resulting aerosol to the user. Because the heater is heated by power stored in a battery, it is necessary to appropriately control the heating profile and battery power consumption.
• a heating profile is known in which the temperature reaches a maximum temperature after heating starts and then gradually decreases.
• the temperature is maintained for a predetermined time, but since the amount of aerosol provided to the user decreases as the remaining amount of the aerosol source decreases, a heating profile is adopted in which the temperature is maintained for a predetermined time and then increased again to improve the quality of the aerosol provided.
• Patent Document 1 describes the selection of an appropriate heating profile depending on the type of cigarette.
• Patent Document 1 only an appropriate heating profile is selected depending on the type of cigarette. Furthermore, in Patent Document 1, it is unclear what specific information is meant by the type of cigarette, but for example, even cigarettes with the same product name can have different smoking experiences depending on the flavor, such as menthol or flavored. Furthermore, users may seek different smoking experiences depending on their own preferences or the situation they find themselves in at the time. Therefore, if the heating profile could be changed to change the smoking experience depending on the user's preferences or the situation they find themselves in, the quality of the aerosol inhaled could be changed, allowing the user to have a higher quality experience. However, Patent Document 1 does not mention this idea at all.
• the present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method for providing an appropriate heating profile depending on the flavor of the aerosol source, the user's preferences, or the user's situation.
• a method executed by a computer device comprising: a profile storage unit that stores a plurality of profiles for controlling a heat treatment in an aerosol generating device that generates an aerosol, in association with brand information including information indicating the brand of an aerosol source that is the subject of the heat treatment in the aerosol generating device and the flavor of the brand; and an extraction condition information storage unit that stores extraction condition information that is information dependent on a user of the aerosol generating device and is information for extracting at least one profile from the plurality of profiles, the profile storage unit further stores the plurality of profiles in association with the extraction condition information, and the method includes a step of extracting at least one profile applicable to the aerosol generating device from the plurality of profiles based on the brand information and the extraction condition information stored in the extraction condition information storage unit.
• the extraction condition information may be information related to the time when the user uses the aerosol generating device.
• the extraction condition information may be inhalation tendency information related to the user's inhalation tendency of the aerosol generating device.
• the extraction condition information may be attribute information related to the user's personal data.
• the extraction condition information may be information related to the location where the user uses the aerosol generating device.
• the extraction condition information may be preference information regarding the user's preferences.
• the extraction condition information may be information that depends on the user at the time the user uses the aerosol generating device.
• the method may further include a step of receiving the extraction condition information from outside the computer device.
• the method may further include a step of outputting a list of the at least one profile extracted in the step of extracting the at least one profile.
• a computer device that provides a profile for controlling a heat treatment in an aerosol generating device that generates an aerosol
• the computer device comprising: a profile storage unit that stores a plurality of the profiles in association with brand information including information indicating the brand of the aerosol source that is the subject of the heat treatment in the aerosol generating device and the flavor of the brand; and an extraction condition information storage unit that stores extraction condition information that is information dependent on a user of the aerosol generating device and is information for extracting at least one profile from the plurality of profiles, the profile storage unit further comprising a profile extraction unit that stores the plurality of profiles in association with the extraction condition information and extracts at least one profile applicable to the aerosol generating device from the plurality of profiles based on the brand information and the extraction condition information stored in the extraction condition information storage unit.
• a program for causing a computer device to execute the above method is provided.
• the present invention provides a mechanism that can further improve the quality of the user experience when using an aerosol generating device by recommending an appropriate heating profile depending on the flavor of the aerosol source, the user's preferences, or the user's situation.
• FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a heating profile providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention
• 1 is a diagram illustrating a first configuration example of an aerosol generating device according to an embodiment of the present invention
• FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a second configuration example of an aerosol generating device according to one embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional block diagram of a server device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of suction tendency information.
• FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of attribute information.
• FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of preference information.
• FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in a profile storage unit of a server device according to an embodiment of the present invention
• FIG. 13 is a diagram showing another example of information stored in a profile storage unit of a server device according to an embodiment of the present invention
• FIG. 13 is a diagram showing another example of information stored in a profile storage unit of a server device according to an embodiment of the present invention
• FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a server device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a processing flow of a heating profile providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a detailed processing flow of step S2.
• FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a heating profile providing system according to this embodiment.
• the heating profile providing system 1 can be configured to include an aerosol generating device 100, an external device 200, and a server device 300.
• the aerosol generating device 100 is a device for inhaling the generated aerosol, such as an electronic cigarette or a heated cigarette.
• the aerosol generating device 100 may also be a so-called RRP (Reduced-Risk Product).
• the external device 200 is a user device that is expected to be used mainly by a user of the aerosol generating device 100.
• the external device 200 may be configured as a general computer device, but is more preferably a portable computer device such as a smartphone, a feature phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a notebook computer, or a tablet computer.
• the external device 200 may be a stationary computer device such as a desktop computer.
• the aerosol generating device 100 and the external device 200 can transmit and receive data to each other by wired or wireless communication technology.
• the server device 300 is a computer device that can communicate with the external device 200 by wired or wireless communication technology.
• the server device 300 also transmits and receives data related to the external device 200 and the aerosol generating device 100. (Configuration of the aerosol generating device)
• FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram showing a first example of the configuration of an aerosol generating device.
• the aerosol generating device 100A includes a power supply unit 110, a cartridge 120, and a flavoring cartridge 130.
• the power supply unit 110 includes a power supply section 111A, a sensor section 112A, a notification section 113A, a memory section 114A, a communication section 115A, and a control section 116A.
• the cartridge 120 includes a heating section 121A, a liquid guide section 122, and a liquid storage section 123.
• the flavoring cartridge 130 includes a flavor source 131, and a mouthpiece 124.
• An air flow path 180 is formed in the cartridge 120 and the flavoring cartridge 130.
• the cartridge 120 and the flavoring cartridge 130 are also called "refills.”
• one of the refills 120 and 130 is provided with a two-dimensional code such as a QR code (registered trademark) that indicates brand information including the brand of the refill and the flavor of that brand (however, the two-dimensional code is merely an example and is not limited to this.
• the brand information of the refill may be represented by letters, figures, colors, etc.).
• the power supply unit 111A stores power.
• the power supply unit 111A supplies power to each component of the aerosol generating device 100A under the control of the control unit 116A.
• the power supply unit 111A may be configured, for example, by a rechargeable battery such as a lithium ion secondary battery.
• the sensor unit 112A acquires various information related to the aerosol generating device 100A.
• the sensor unit 112A includes a reading sensor for reading two-dimensional codes attached to the refills 120, 130 attached to the aerosol generating device 100A.
• the sensor unit 112A may include a pressure sensor such as a microphone capacitor, a flow rate sensor, or a temperature sensor, and may be capable of acquiring values associated with inhalation by the user.
• the sensor unit 112A may also include an input device such as a button or switch that accepts information input from the user.
• the notification unit 113A notifies the user of information.
• the notification unit 113A may include, for example, a light-emitting device that emits light, a display device that displays an image, a sound output device that outputs sound, or a vibration device that vibrates.
• the memory unit 114A stores various information for the operation of the aerosol generating device 100A.
• the memory unit 114A may be configured, for example, with a non-volatile storage medium such as a flash memory.
• the memory unit 114A may include a volatile memory that provides a working area for control by the control unit 116A.
• the memory unit 114A may store one or more heating profiles, which are control sequences (for example, information that specifies the time series progression of the target temperature of the heating unit 121A) that include control of a target temperature, which is a target value for the temperature of the heating unit 121A.
• the communication unit 115A includes a communication interface (including a communication module) that complies with Bluetooth (registered trademark) or a specific LPWA (Low Power Wide Area) wireless communication standard, or a wireless communication standard having similar restrictions. As such a communication standard, Sigfox, LoRA-WAN, etc. may be adopted. Furthermore, the communication unit 115A may be a communication interface that is capable of performing communication that complies with any wired or wireless communication standard. As such a communication standard, for example, Wi-Fi (registered trademark) etc. may be adopted.
• the control unit 116A functions as an arithmetic processing unit and a control unit, and controls the overall operation of the aerosol generating device 100A according to various programs.
• the control unit 116A can be realized, for example, by an electronic circuit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a microprocessor.
• the liquid storage unit 123 stores the aerosol source.
• the aerosol source is atomized to generate an aerosol.
• the aerosol source is, for example, a liquid such as a polyhydric alcohol, such as glycerin or propylene glycol, or water.
• the aerosol source is assumed to contain flavor components derived from tobacco, but it can also be realized if it contains flavor components derived from non-tobacco.
• the liquid guide section 122 guides and holds the aerosol source, which is a liquid stored in the liquid storage section 123, from the liquid storage section 123.
• the liquid guide section 122 is, for example, a wick formed by twisting a fiber material such as glass fiber or a porous material such as porous ceramic. In this case, the aerosol source stored in the liquid storage section 123 is guided by the capillary effect of the wick.
• the heating unit 121A generates an aerosol by heating the aerosol source and atomizing the aerosol source.
• the heating unit 121A is configured as a coil and is wound around the liquid guide unit 122.
• the heating unit 121A generates heat, the aerosol source held in the liquid guide unit 122 is heated and atomized, and an aerosol is generated.
• the heating unit 121A generates heat when power is supplied from the power supply unit 111A.
• the heating unit 121A is controlled according to a heating profile.
• the sensor unit 112A detects either or both of the user starting inhalation and the input of predetermined information
• power may be supplied to the heating unit 121A.
• the sensor unit 112A detects either or both of the user stopping inhalation and the input of predetermined information
• power supply to the heating unit 121A may be stopped.
• the flavor source 131 is a component for imparting flavor components to the aerosol.
• the flavor source 131 of this embodiment is assumed to contain flavor components derived from tobacco, but it can also be realized if it contains flavor components derived from non-tobacco.
• the air flow path 180 is a flow path for air inhaled by the user.
• the air flow path 180 has a tubular structure with an air inlet hole 181, which is an entrance of air into the air flow path 180, and an air outlet hole 182, which is an exit of air from the air flow path 180, at both ends.
• the liquid guide section 122 is arranged on the upstream side (the side closer to the air inlet hole 181), and the flavor source 131 is arranged on the downstream side (the side closer to the air outlet hole 182).
• the air flowing in from the air inlet hole 181 as the user inhales is mixed with the aerosol generated by the heating section 121A, and as shown by the arrow 190, is transported through the flavor source 131 to the air outlet hole 182.
• the flavor components contained in the flavor source 131 are imparted to the aerosol.
• the mouthpiece 124 is a member that is held by the user when inhaling.
• An air outlet hole 182 is arranged in the mouthpiece 124.
• the configuration of the aerosol generating device 100A is not limited to the above, and various configurations such as those exemplified below are possible.
• the aerosol generating device 100A may not include the flavoring cartridge 130.
• the cartridge 120 is provided with the mouthpiece 124.
• the means for atomizing the aerosol source is not limited to heating by the heating unit 121 A.
• the means for atomizing the aerosol source may be induction heating.
• FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram showing a second configuration example of an aerosol generating device.
• the aerosol generating device 100B according to this configuration example includes a power supply unit 111B, a sensor unit 112B, a notification unit 113B, a memory unit 114B, a communication unit 115B, a control unit 116B, a heating unit 121B, a holding unit 140, and a heat insulating unit 144.
• Each of the power supply unit 111B, the sensor unit 112B, the notification unit 113B, the memory unit 114B, the communication unit 115B, and the control unit 116B is substantially identical to the corresponding components included in the aerosol generating device 100A according to the first configuration example.
• the holding part 140 has an internal space 141 and holds the stick-shaped substrate 150 while accommodating a part of the stick-shaped substrate 150 in the internal space 141.
• the stick-shaped substrate 150 is also an example of a "refill".
• the holding part 140 has an opening 142 that connects the internal space 141 to the outside, and holds the stick-shaped substrate 150 inserted into the internal space 141 through the opening 142.
• the holding part 140 is a cylindrical body with the opening 142 and the bottom part 143 as the bottom surface, and defines the columnar internal space 141.
• the holding part 140 also has the function of defining a flow path for air to be supplied to the stick-shaped substrate 150.
• An air inlet hole which is the entrance of air to such a flow path, is arranged in the bottom part 143, for example.
• an air outlet hole which is the exit of air from such a flow path, is the opening 142.
• the stick-type substrate 150 includes a substrate portion 151 and a suction mouth portion 152.
• the substrate portion 151 includes an aerosol source.
• the aerosol source may be solid or liquid.
• the stick-type substrate 150 is provided with a two-dimensional code such as a QR code indicating the brand information of the stick-type substrate 150.
• a two-dimensional code such as a QR code indicating the brand information of the stick-type substrate 150.
• the sensor portion 112B reads the two-dimensional code to detect the brand information of the stick-type substrate 150.
• the two-dimensional code is merely an example and is not intended to be limiting.
• the brand information of the stick-shaped substrate 150 may be expressed by characters, figures, colors, etc.
• the heating section 121B has a configuration similar to that of the heating section 121A according to the first configuration example. However, in the example shown in FIG. 2B, the heating section 121B is configured in a film shape and is arranged so as to cover the outer periphery of the holding section 140. When the heating section 121B generates heat, the substrate section 151 of the stick-shaped substrate 150 is heated from the outer periphery, and an aerosol is generated. In this embodiment, the heating section 121B is controlled according to one or more heating profiles that can be stored in the memory section 114B.
• the heat insulating section 144 prevents heat transfer from the heating section 121B to other components.
• the heat insulating section 144 is made of a vacuum heat insulating material, an aerogel heat insulating material, or the like.
• the configuration of the aerosol generating device 100B is not limited to the above, and various configurations such as those exemplified below are possible.
• the heating unit 121B may be configured in a blade shape and disposed so as to protrude from the bottom 143 of the holding unit 140 into the internal space 141. In that case, the blade-shaped heating unit 121B is inserted into the substrate 151 of the stick-shaped substrate 150 and heats the substrate 151 of the stick-shaped substrate 150 from the inside. As another example, the heating unit 121B may be disposed so as to cover the bottom 143 of the holding unit 140. Furthermore, the heating unit 121B may be configured as a combination of two or more of a first heating unit that covers the outer periphery of the holding unit 140, a blade-shaped second heating unit, and a third heating unit that covers the bottom 143 of the holding unit 140.
• the holding part 140 may include an opening and closing mechanism such as a hinge that opens and closes a part of the outer shell that forms the internal space 141.
• the holding part 140 may open and close the outer shell to clamp the stick-shaped substrate 150 inserted into the internal space 141.
• the heating part 121B may be provided at the clamping location in the holding part 140, and may heat the stick-shaped substrate 150 while pressing it.
• the means for atomizing the aerosol source is not limited to heating by the heating unit 121B.
• the means for atomizing the aerosol source may be induction heating. (Server device functional block)
• FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a functional block diagram of a server device 300 according to this embodiment.
• the server device 300 of this example may include a data receiving unit 302, an extraction condition information storage unit 304, a log information accumulation unit 306, a profile storage unit 308, a recommended program storage unit 310, a profile extraction unit 312, and a data transmission unit 314.
• the heating profile is information for controlling the heating process by the heating unit 121 in the aerosol generating device 100. In the following description, the heating profile is simply referred to as a "profile.”
• the data receiving unit 302 receives various data from the external device 200 by wired or wireless communication.
• the data receiving unit 302 receives brand information, which is information indicating the brand and flavor of the brand of the refills 120 and 130 or stick-shaped substrate 150 (hereinafter, these are referred to as "aerosol source 120, etc.") to be subjected to heating treatment by the heating unit 121 of the aerosol generating device 100, via the external device 200. More specifically, the "brand" corresponds to the product name of the aerosol source 120, etc.
• the "flavor of the brand” indicates a classification such as taste, flavor, taste, etc., and can correspond to classifications such as “regular”, “menthol”, “flavor-based”, “fruity”, “sweet” for each brand, as well as the flavors (tastes) of various foods and drinks (in the explanation of this embodiment, for the sake of simplicity, it is assumed that there are three types of flavors: “regular”, “menthol”, and “flavor-based”).
• the sensor unit 112 can read the brand information from a two-dimensional code such as a QR code attached to the aerosol source 120 or the like.
• the read brand information is then output from the communication unit 115 to the external device 200.
• the external device 200 transmits the received brand information to the server device 300.
• the aerosol generating device 100 and the server device 300 are capable of direct communication, the brand information may be transmitted directly to the server device 300 without going through the external device 200.
• the data receiving unit 302 may also receive other information from the external device 200.
• the data receiving unit 302 of this embodiment receives user log information from the aerosol generating device 100 via the external device 200, including the number of inhalations (per use of the aerosol generating device 100), the inhalation time (per inhalation), the inhalation interval, the brand information of the inhaled aerosol source, and the profile used. Note that this information may be received directly from the aerosol generating device 100 without going through the external device 200. Also, this information may be transmitted from the aerosol generating device 100 to the external device 200 whenever the aerosol generating device 100 and the external device 200 are connected via Bluetooth communication.
• the external device 200 may transmit the log information to the server device 300 each time it receives the log information from the aerosol generating device 100 or at a predetermined timing. The received log information is stored in a log information storage unit 306, which will be described later.
• the data receiving unit 302 of this embodiment can receive from the external device 200 time zone information indicating the current time (at the time of inhalation) of the external device 200, or the situation (scene) at the time of inhalation such as working hours, break times, and meal times (breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinking party), or location information such as GPS (Global Positioning System) information.
• a questionnaire can be conducted for the user of the aerosol generating device 100 on a dedicated application or website running on the external device 200 regarding the user's physical condition at the time of inhalation and the desired inhalation comfort. The user's responses to the questionnaire are transmitted from the external device 200 to the server device 300.
• the user is prompted to input personal data (attribute information) such as the user's gender, age, place of residence (or the main location, region, place name, etc. where the aerosol generating device 100 is used), favorite brand and flavor, etc., in advance using a dedicated application or website.
• personal data attribute information
• the external device 200 transmits the input personal data to the server device 300.
• the extraction condition information storage unit 304 stores extraction condition information, which is information that depends on the user of the aerosol generating device 100 and is used to extract at least one profile.
• the extraction condition information is information that can become an extraction condition when the profile extraction unit 312 of the server device 300 extracts a profile to be recommended to the aerosol generating device 100, as described below.
• the extraction condition information includes at least brand information.
• the extraction condition information is, for example, information related to the time when the user of the aerosol generating device 100 uses the aerosol generating device 100.
• the information related to time is, for example, the time period when the user (aerosol generating device 100) inhales, or time period information that indicates the situation (scene) at the time of inhalation, such as "work hours”, “break time”, and “meal time” ("breakfast”, “lunch”, “dinner”, “drinking party”, etc.).
• the time period when the user (aerosol generating device 100) inhales may be determined by the aerosol generating device 100, or the time period when input is received from the external device 200 or the time period specified by the external device 200 may be considered to be the time period when the user (aerosol generating device 100) inhales.
• the server device 300 may receive time data from the aerosol generating device 100 or the external device 200, and the time period may be determined by the server device 300.
• the server device 300 has an internal clock, the time when the brand information is received from the external device 200 may be regarded as the time when the aerosol generating device 100 inhales, and the time period may be determined from this time.
• the server device 300 may determine the time period in advance, such as “morning” being 6 to 10:00, “afternoon” being 10 to 17:00, “night” being 17:00 to 24:00, “midnight” being 0 to 6:00, etc., and the server device 300 may determine the time period from the time data output by the aerosol generating device 100 or the external device 200, or the time when the server device 300 receives the brand information.
• the server device 300 may predefine each situation, for example, “working hours” from 9:00 to 18:00, “break time” from 15:00 to 16:00, “break” from 7:00 to 8:00, “lunch” from 12:00 to 13:00, “dinner” from 19:00 to 20:00, etc., and the server device 300 may determine the situation during inhalation from the time data output by the aerosol generating device 100 or the external device 200, or the time when the server device 300 receives the brand information. Alternatively, the user may input the situation at the time of starting inhalation using a dedicated application or website on the external device 200.
• the extraction condition information is, for example, suction tendency information regarding the suction tendency of the aerosol generating device 100 of the user of the aerosol generating device 100.
• the suction tendency information is information including, for example, the number of suctions (per use of the aerosol generating device 100), the length of the suction time (per suction), the length of the suction interval, the brand information of the aerosol source mainly suctioned, and the profile mainly used.
• FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of suction tendency information.
• "device” means the aerosol generating device 100 used by each user.
• the aerosol generating device 100 used by each user may be registered in advance by the user using a dedicated application or website. In the example of FIG.
• the suction tendency information is the number of suctions, the length of the suction time, the length of the suction interval, the brand information of the aerosol source mainly suctioned (main suction brand), and the profile mainly used (main usage profile) of each user (of each aerosol generating device 100).
• the number of inhalations is represented by three values, "high”, “standard”, and “low”
• the length of the inhalation time is represented by three values, “long”, “standard”, and “short”
• the length of the inhalation interval is represented by three values, "long", “standard”, and “short”.
• the user X uses “device A”, and the number of inhalations per use of the aerosol generating device 100 is “high”, the inhalation time is “long”, the inhalation interval is “short”, the main inhalation brand is “brand 1 menthol”, and the main usage profile is "profile B”.
• the user and the aerosol generating device 100 are associated one-to-one, but one user may be associated with multiple aerosol generating devices 100. In that case, the information illustrated in FIG. 4 may be stored as data for each of multiple devices associated with one user.
• the inhalation tendency information as shown in FIG. 4 can be determined by the following method. That is, log information including the number of inhalations, etc. is accumulated in the memory unit 114 of the aerosol generating device 100 each time the user inhales, and the log information is transmitted from the aerosol generating device 100 to the external device 200 when the aerosol generating device 100 and the external device 200 are connected via Bluetooth communication. In addition, the log information is transmitted from the external device 200 to the server device 300. The server device 300 stores the received log information in the log information accumulation unit 306.
• the server device 300 calculates the average value per number of uses of the aerosol generating device 100 for each of the number of suctions, the suction time, and the suction interval from the log information, and determines whether each average value is greater than a predetermined first threshold, equal to or less than a second threshold that is smaller than the first threshold, or between the first threshold and the second threshold, and determines whether the number of suctions is large or small as "large”, “small", or “standard”, whether the suction time is long or short as “long”, “short”, or “standard”, and whether the suction interval is long or short as “long", “short”, or “standard”. Note that this method of determining the number of suctions, etc.
• the server device 300 counts the brand information of the aerosol source that was inhaled and the profile used from the log information, and determines the largest counts of each as the brand information of the aerosol source that was mainly inhaled (main suction brand) and the profile that was mainly used (main usage profile).
• the processes in the server device 300 may be executed in the external device 200, and the results of the processes, such as the number of inhalations, the length of the inhalation time, the length of the inhalation interval, the brand information of the aerosol source that was mainly inhaled, and inhalation tendency information including the profile that was mainly used, may be transmitted from the external device 200 to the server device 300.
• the extraction condition information is, for example, attribute information related to the personal data of the user of the aerosol generating device 100.
• the attribute information is, for example, the above-mentioned information such as the user's gender, age, place of residence (or the main place, region, place name, etc. where the aerosol generating device 100 is used), favorite brand and flavor, etc.
• FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of attribute information. In this example, for each aerosol generating device 100 used by each user, gender, age, region (place of residence), average temperature (of the region), policy participation history, physical condition, and stimuli are shown.
• the gender, age, region, average temperature (of the region), and policy participation history may be input by the user in advance (for example, when using the aerosol generating device 100 for the first time) using a dedicated application or website on the external device 200.
• the server device 300 may obtain the average temperature for the region by referring to public data from a public institution, etc.
• the policy participation history is the user's participation history in policies that the operator of the server device 300 has previously implemented for the aerosol generating device 100.
• Such user history information is generally held by the operator of the server device 300, and may be input by the operator into the server device 300.
• the extraction condition information is, for example, information related to the location where the user of the aerosol generating device 100 uses the aerosol generating device 100.
• the user's place of residence such as the "area (residence)" illustrated in FIG. 5, may be considered to be the location where the aerosol generating device 100 is used.
• the user may be prompted to input information via a dedicated application or website on the external device 200, or GPS information that the external device 200 can acquire may be automatically output to the server device 300.
• the extraction condition information is, for example, preference information relating to the preferences of the user of the aerosol generating device 100.
• FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of preference information relating to user preferences.
• clothing, (favorite) food, wallpaper (screen), and personality test are shown for each user (each aerosol generating device 100).
• Such data may be input by the user in advance (for example, when using the aerosol generating device 100 for the first time) via a dedicated application or website on the external device 200. Furthermore, such data may be changeable by the user at any time.
• the extraction condition information is information that depends on the user of the aerosol generating device 100 at the time the user uses the aerosol generating device 100.
• the extraction condition information may particularly include, for example, the above-mentioned time zone information, region, physical condition, and stimulation.
• the log information accumulation unit 306 stores the log information received by the data receiving unit 302 .
• the profile storage unit 308 stores at least one profile in association with brand information including information indicating the brand of the aerosol source and the flavor of the brand.
• FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the profile storage unit 308.
• a recommended profile that is recommended for use is associated with each combination of brand and flavor, which is brand information.
• the recommended profile may be set by the operator of the server device 300.
• information such as that shown in FIG. 7 may exist for each user of the aerosol generating device 100.
• the profile that has been selected most frequently for each brand information from the log information of the user of the aerosol generating device 100 may be set as the recommended profile.
• the recommended profile may be the profile that is most frequently used by other users registered in the server device 300. Note that in this example, one recommended profile is set for one brand information, but multiple recommended profiles may be set for one brand information.
• the profile may also be stored in the profile storage unit 308 in association with other information.
• FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another example of information stored in the profile storage unit 308.
• a recommended profile that recommends use for each of the three stimulation values ("strong,” “medium,” and “weak") is associated with each combination of "brand” and "flavor,” which are brand information.
• the method of setting the recommended profile is the same as that shown in FIG. 7.
• FIG. 9 is a diagram showing another example of information stored in the profile storage unit 308.
• a recommended profile is associated that is recommended for use with all combinations of the number of inhalations, the length of the inhalation time, and the length of the inhalation interval.
• the method for setting the recommended profile is the same as in FIG. 7.
• the recommended program storage unit 310 stores one or more recommended programs to be executed in the profile extraction unit 312 described later to extract a profile.
• the recommended program storage unit 310 stores four recommended programs A to D.
• the recommended program A is a program for extracting a profile to be recommended according to brand information acquired from the aerosol generating device 100. At this time, the profile to be recommended may be extracted according to the brand included in the brand information, or the profile to be recommended may be extracted according to the flavor included in the brand information.
• the recommended program B is a program for extracting a profile to be recommended according to the brand information and time zone information acquired from the aerosol generating device 100.
• the recommended program C is a program for extracting a profile to be recommended according to the brand information and the inhalation tendency information acquired from the aerosol generating device 100.
• the recommended program D is a program for extracting a profile to be recommended according to the brand information, the inhalation tendency information, and the attribute information acquired from the aerosol generating device 100.
• the programs A to D are executed in the profile extraction unit 312 described later to extract a recommended profile. Note that programs A to D are merely examples.
• the profile extraction unit 312 extracts at least one profile applicable to the aerosol generating device 100 according to information extracted from the aerosol generating device 100, including at least brand information.
• the profile extraction unit 312 also extracts at least one profile applicable to the aerosol generating device 100 from the brand information and extraction condition information.
• the profile extraction unit 312 extracts a profile applicable to the aerosol generation device 100 from at least one profile stored in the profile storage unit 308 using each of the recommended programs A to D. Furthermore, the profile extraction unit 312 deletes and prioritizes duplicate profiles from the set of profiles extracted by each recommended program. A list of the final set of profiles after these processes is transmitted from the data transmission unit 314, which will be described later, to the external device 200.
• An example of a method for extracting a profile using each of the recommended programs A to D will be described below. In the following description, a case will be described as an example in which the data reception unit 302 receives brand information indicating that the brand is "brand 1" and the flavor is "regular" from the aerosol generation device 100. (Extracting a profile using recommended program A)
• the recommendation program A is a program for extracting a profile to be recommended according to brand information.
• the profile extraction unit 312 of this embodiment refers to the information in FIG. 7 and extracts "profile A" associated with brand information in which the brand is "brand 1" and the flavor is "regular”. At this time, the profile extraction unit 312 may extract profile A and profile B in which the brand is "brand 1". However, this is merely an example. From the log information of the user of the aerosol generating device 100, the profile that is most frequently selected when the brand is "brand 1" and the flavor is "regular” may be extracted. The more the user's log information is accumulated, the more the profile that matches the user's preferences is extracted.
• the profile that is most frequently selected when the brand is "brand 1" and the flavor is "regular” may be extracted. In this way, a generally popular profile can be suggested to the user.
• the recommendation program B is a program for extracting a profile to be recommended according to brand information and time zone information.
• the time zone information is "morning”.
• a setting is made in advance as to whether a profile with a strong stimulation or a weak stimulation is recommended depending on each time zone.
• a profile with a "strong” stimulation is extracted when the time zone is "morning”.
• the profile extraction unit 312 refers to the information in FIG. 8 and extracts a profile B in which the brand is "brand 1", the flavor is "regular”, and the stimulation is "strong".
• this is merely an example.
• a recommended profile may be associated with each combination of the brand information and the time zone.
• the profile that was selected most frequently in the morning time zone may be extracted from the log information of the user of the aerosol generating device 100. The more the user's log information is accumulated, the more the profile that matches the user's preferences is extracted.
• the profile that was most frequently selected in the morning hours in the aggregated results of other people's log information may be extracted. This allows profiles that are generally popular in the morning hours to be suggested to the user. Note that a profile may be extracted by combining some or all of these extraction methods.
• the recommendation program C is a program for extracting a profile to be recommended according to brand information and inhalation tendency information.
• the profile extraction unit 312 refers to the information in FIG. 4 and acquires the number of inhalations, the inhalation time, and the inhalation interval associated with the aerosol generating device 100 (user) that output the brand information.
• the profile extraction unit 312 refers to the information in FIG.
• the recommendation program D is a program for extracting a profile to be recommended according to brand information, inhalation tendency information, and attribute information.
• the profile extraction unit 312 refers to the information in FIG. 4 and acquires the number of inhalations, inhalation time, and inhalation interval (inhalation tendency information) associated with the aerosol generating device 100 (user) that transmitted the brand information.
• the profile extraction unit 312 refers to the information in FIG. 5 and acquires information (attribute information) associated with the aerosol generating device 100 (user) that output the brand information, such as gender, age, region (place of residence), average temperature (of the region), policy participation history, physical condition, and stimulation.
• the profile extraction unit 312 of this embodiment extracts a profile selected by another user whose similarity to the acquired brand information, inhalation tendency information, and attribute information is higher than a predetermined threshold value as a recommended profile.
• the threshold value of similarity may be raised and a recommended profile may be extracted again.
• other indicators such as a popularity ranking of profiles may also be taken into account so that a more popular profile is extracted.
• the profile extraction unit 312 may also refer to the preference information in FIG. 6 to extract profiles selected by other users who have a high degree of similarity including the preference information, or may further extract profiles by taking into account other indices such as popularity rankings. Note that the consumer preference information and attribute information used in the extraction of profiles by the recommendation program D may be a part of the above.
• the profile extraction unit 312 of this embodiment extracts one or more recommended profiles using the recommended programs A to D as described above. It then deletes duplicate profiles from the extracted profiles, prioritizes them, and generates a final list of recommended profiles.
• the data transmission unit 314 transmits various data to the external device 200 by wired or wireless communication.
• the data transmission unit 314 outputs a list of one or more recommended profiles extracted by the profile extraction unit 312 to the external device 200.
• the external device 200 outputs the list of one or more profiles transmitted from the data transmission unit 314 so that the user can recognize it, for example by displaying it on the display device of the external device 200, and accepts an input operation from the user specifying which profile to use in the aerosol generating device 100 via an input interface such as a touch panel.
• the external device 200 searches whether the profile specified by the user is included in the list of downloaded profiles, which the aerosol generating device 100 holds in the storage unit 114, and if it is not included in the list, transmits information to the server device 300 requesting data of the profile.
• the server device 300 transmits data of the profile requested by the external device to the external device 200 via the data transmission unit 314.
• the external device 200 outputs the profile data transmitted from the server device 300 to the aerosol generating device 100.
• the aerosol generating device 100 stores the profile data transmitted from the external device 200 in the storage unit 114, and the control unit 116 uses the profile to control the heating process by the heating unit 121.
• the method of downloading a profile to the aerosol generating device 100 is not limited to this method.
• the server device 300 may be configured to output a list of one or more profiles extracted by the profile extraction unit 312 directly to the aerosol generating device 100 without going through the external device 200. Then, a user input for selecting a profile to be used in the aerosol generating device 100 may be accepted via an input device such as a button or a switch, and if data of the selected profile is not stored in the storage unit 114, the data may be downloaded from the server device 300 to execute heating control. (Hardware configuration of server device)
• the server device 300 can be realized by a hardware configuration similar to that of a general computer device.
• FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the server device 300.
• the computer device 400 shown in FIG. 10 includes, as an example, a processor 401, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 402, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 403, an internal hard disk device 404, a removable memory 405 such as an external hard disk device, a CD, a DVD, a USB memory, a memory stick, or an SD card, an input/output user interface (keyboard, mouse, touch panel, speaker, microphone, LED (light emitting diode), etc.) 406 for a user to input and output data to and from the computer device 400, a wired/wireless communication interface 407 capable of communicating with other computer devices, and a display 408.
• the processor 401 can be realized by electronic circuits such as a CPU and a microprocessor.
• the RAM 402, ROM 403, hard disk drive 404, and removable memory 405, or a combination of these, may constitute the extraction condition information storage unit 304, log information accumulation unit 306, profile storage unit 308, and recommended program storage unit 310 described above.
• the communication interface 407 may constitute the data receiving unit 302 and data transmitting unit 314 described above.
• the functions of the server device 300 according to the present embodiment described above may be realized, for example, by the processor 401 reading out the programs and data required for processing stored in storage areas such as the hard disk drive 404, ROM 403, and removable memory 405 into memory areas such as the RAM 403 as appropriate and executing them.
• the profile extraction unit 312 may execute the recommended profile extraction process by the processor 401 sequentially reading out the program data of the recommended programs A to D and data to be processed stored in storage areas such as the hard disk drive 404, ROM 403, and removable memory 405 into the RAM 403 and processing them.
• the server device 300 is illustrated as one computer device 400, but may be configured with two or more computer devices.
• the hardware configuration shown in FIG. 10 is merely an example and is not limiting.
• the various programs that execute the various functions of the server device 300 of this embodiment can be stored in part or in whole on a computer-readable medium, or downloaded via a wired or wireless communication network, etc. (Processing flow of heating profile providing system)
• FIGS. 11 and 12 are diagrams showing an example of a processing flow of the heating profile providing system 1.
• FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a main processing flow.
• FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a detailed processing flow of step S2 in FIG. 11.
• the server device 300 acquires the brand information output from the aerosol generating device 100 via the external device 200.
• the server device 300 also acquires or determines various information related to the user of the aerosol generating device 100, such as time zone information, inhalation tendency information, attribute information, and preference information.
• the server device 300 also appropriately acquires and accumulates log information of registered users, including other users, in advance.
• step S2 the server device 300 determines a recommended profile for the aerosol generating device 100 based on various information such as time zone information, inhalation tendency information, attribute information, and preference information acquired or determined in step S1, and recommended programs A to D, and outputs a list of the recommended profiles to the external device 200 (details of the processing of step S2 are described in FIG. 12).
• step S3 the external device 200 accepts a user operation to select a profile to be applied to the aerosol generating device 100 from the list of recommended profiles.
• step S4 the external device 200 determines whether the profile selected by the user operation in S3 has already been downloaded to the aerosol generating device 100.
• step S5 the external device 200 requests the server device 300 for profile data that has not been downloaded to the aerosol generating device 100, and downloads the profile data from the server device 300. The downloaded profile data is transmitted to the aerosol generating device 100.
• step S6 the aerosol generating device 100 receives profile data from the external device 200 and applies the profile to the heating process of the aerosol source 120, etc.
• FIG. 12 is a flow diagram showing an example of the details of the processing in step S2.
• the server device 300 extracts a recommended profile using recommended program A.
• the server device 300 extracts a recommended profile using recommended program B.
• the server device 300 extracts a recommended profile using recommended program C.
• the server device 300 extracts a recommended profile using recommended program D.
• step S25 the server device 300 organizes the recommended profiles extracted in steps S21 to S24. Specifically, the server device 300 deletes duplicated recommended profiles from the one or more recommended profiles extracted in steps S21 to S24, prioritizes the profiles, and generates a final list of recommended profiles.
• step S26 the server device 300 transmits the list of recommended profiles generated in step S25 to the external device 200. (Modification)
• the sensor unit 112 of the aerosol generating device 100 includes a two-dimensional code reading sensor and reads the brand from the QR code attached to the refill 120, 130 or the stick-shaped substrate 150, but the external device 200 may read the brand.
• the aerosol generating device 100 only photographs the QR code attached to the refill 120, 130 or the stick-shaped substrate 150, and transmits the image of the photographed QR code to the external device 200.
• the external device 200 receives the image of the QR code, it may photograph the image with an imaging device provided in the external device 200, read the brand information of the refill 120, 130 or the stick-shaped substrate 150 from the QR code, and transmit the brand information to the server device 300.
• an appropriate profile can be recommended to the user depending on the flavor of the aerosol source heated in the aerosol generating device 100. Furthermore, a more appropriate profile can be recommended to the user depending on the user's preferences, the user's inhalation situation, etc.
• a method implemented by a computer device comprising: The computer device comprises: a profile storage unit that stores a plurality of profiles for controlling a heat treatment in an aerosol generating device that generates an aerosol, in association with brand information including information indicating a brand of an aerosol source that is to be subjected to the heat treatment in the aerosol generating device and a flavor of the brand; an extraction condition information storage unit that stores extraction condition information, which is information dependent on a user of the aerosol generating device and is information for extracting at least one profile from the plurality of profiles; Equipped with The profile storage unit further stores the plurality of profiles and the extraction condition information in association with each other,
• the method comprises: A method comprising: extracting at least one profile applicable to the aerosol generating device from among the multiple profiles based on the brand information and the extraction condition information stored in the extraction condition information storage unit.
• the extraction condition information is information related to the time the user uses the aerosol generating device.
• the extraction condition information is inhalation tendency information relating to the user's inhalation tendency of the aerosol generating device.
• the extraction condition information is attribute information related to personal data of the user.
• the extraction condition information is information related to the location where the user uses the aerosol generating device.
• the extraction condition information is preference information regarding the user's preferences.
• a computer device for providing a profile for controlling a heating process in an aerosol generating device for generating an aerosol comprising: a profile storage unit that stores the plurality of profiles in association with brand information including information indicating a brand of an aerosol source to be subjected to the heat treatment in the aerosol generating device and a flavor of the brand; an extraction condition information storage unit that stores extraction condition information, which is information dependent on a user of the aerosol generating device and is information for extracting at least one profile from the plurality of profiles; Equipped with The profile storage unit further stores the plurality of profiles and the extraction condition information in association with each other, a profile extraction unit that extracts at least one profile applicable to the aerosol generation device from among the multiple profiles based on the brand information and the extraction condition information stored in the extraction condition information storage unit;
• the computer device further comprising: (11) A program for causing a computer device to execute the method according to any one of (1) to (9).
• 100...aerosol generating device 110...power supply unit, 111...power supply section, 112...sensor section, 113...notification section, 114...storage section, 115...communication section, 116...control section, 117...detection section, 120...refill, cartridge, aerosol source, 121...heating section, 122...liquid guide section, 123...liquid storage section, 124...mouthpiece, 130...flavoring cartridge, 131...flavoring source, 140...holding section, 141...internal space, 142...opening, 143...bottom section, 144...insulating section, 150...stick-shaped substrate, 151...substrate section, 152...mouthpiece section, 180 ...Air flow path, 181...Air inlet hole, 182...Air outlet hole, 190...Arrow, 200...External device, 300...Server device, 302...Data receiving unit, 304...Extraction condition information storage unit, 306...Log information accumulation unit, 308...Profile storage unit, 310...Recommended program storage

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• 2022
  • 2022-12-09 EP EP22967886.7A patent/EP4631376A1/en active Pending
  • 2022-12-09 JP JP2024562531A patent/JPWO2024122040A1/ja active Pending
  • 2022-12-09 KR KR1020257021660A patent/KR20250116700A/ko active Pending
  • 2022-12-09 WO PCT/JP2022/045397 patent/WO2024122040A1/ja not_active Ceased

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