The present application claims priority to the Chinese Patent Application No. 202010323376.1, filed on Apr. 22, 2020 and entitled “AEROSOL GENERATION APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD THEREFOR”, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Embodiments of the present application relate to the technical field of smoking sets, and in particular relate to an aerosol generation apparatus and a control method therefor.
Articles (such as cigarettes, cigars, etc.) burn tobacco during use to produce tobacco smoke. Attempts have been made to provide alternatives to these articles that burn tobacco by making products that release compounds without burning. Examples of such products are so-called heat-not-burn products, also known as tobacco heating products or tobacco heating devices, which release compounds by heating a material without burning the material. For example, the material may be tobacco or other non-tobacco products or a combination, such as a blended mixture which may or may not contain nicotine.
Application Publication No. CN110545682A discloses an aerosol generation device and method providing adaptive feedback based on smoking recognition, where a retainer uses a flow sensor and a temperature sensor to detect smoking of a user, and output is stopped when the number of remaining smokable times is below a critical value and the number of remaining smokable times is 0.
This solution has the problems that the costs of the sensors are high, and the size of a corresponding printed circuit board is large, which is not beneficial to product miniaturization.
Embodiments of the present application provide an aerosol generation apparatus and a control method therefor, and aim to solve the problem of using a sensor to detect smoking of a user in the existing aerosol generation apparatus.
A first aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a control method for an aerosol generation apparatus, where the aerosol generation apparatus includes a heater for heating an aerosol generation substrate to generate an aerosol, and the method includes:
detecting whether a user smokes according to a real-time voltage value and a preset voltage threshold of the heater; and
A second aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides an aerosol generation apparatus. The aerosol generation apparatus includes a heater and a controller, and the controller is configured to execute the control method for an aerosol generation apparatus according to the first aspect.
A third aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium, where the computer-readable storage medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the aerosol generation apparatus, cause the aerosol generation apparatus to execute the method as described above.
A fourth aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a computer program product, where the computer program product includes a computer program stored on a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium, and the computer program includes program instructions that, when executed by an aerosol generation apparatus, cause the aerosol generation apparatus to execute the method as described above.
According to the control method for an aerosol generation apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present application, whether the user smokes is detected by means of the real-time voltage value and the preset voltage threshold of the heater, and then the smoking duration is calculated. On one hand, smoking of the user is detected without a flow sensor and a temperature sensor, which reduces the cost; and on the other hand, the size of a printed circuit board is reduced, which facilitates product miniaturization.
One or more embodiments are illustrated by pictures in the corresponding accompanying drawings, which are not intended to limit the embodiments, in which elements having the same reference numerals represent similar elements, and the figures of the accompanying drawings are not intended to constitute a scale limitation unless specifically stated otherwise.
To facilitate the understanding of the present application, the present application will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific implementation. It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being “fixed to” another element, it can be directly on the other element or one or more intervening elements may be present therebetween. When an element is referred to as being “connected” to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or one or more intervening elements may be present therebetween. As used herein, the terms “upper,” “lower,” “left,” “right,” “inner,” “outer,” and the like are for illustrative purposes only.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the technical field to which this application belongs. The terms used in the specification of the present application is for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and is not used to limit the present application. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of associated listed items.
As shown in
Only elements, related to the present embodiment, of the aerosol generation apparatus 10 are shown in
The battery 101 provides electric power for operating the aerosol generation apparatus 10. For example, the battery 101 can supply electric power to heat the heater 103 and can supply electric power needed to operate the controller 102. In addition, the battery 101 can supply electric power needed to operate other elements provided in the aerosol generation apparatus 10.
The battery 101 may be, but is not limited to, a lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery. For example, the battery 101 may be a lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) battery or a lithium titanate battery. The battery 101 may be a rechargeable battery or a disposable battery.
When a cigarette is inserted into the aerosol generation apparatus 10, the aerosol generation apparatus 10 heats the heater 103 by the electric power supplied by the battery 101. The heater 103 raises the temperature of an aerosol generation substrate in the cigarette to generate an aerosol. The generated aerosol is delivered to a user via a filter tip section of the cigarette for smoking. However, the aerosol generation apparatus 10 can also heat the heater 103 even if the cigarette is not inserted into the aerosol generation apparatus 10.
The heater 103 may be in a central heating manner (being in contact with the aerosol generation substrate by the periphery of a heating body or heating unit) or in a peripheral heating manner (the heating body or the heating unit wrapping the aerosol generation substrate), or the heater 103 may heat the aerosol generation substrate by means of one or more of thermal conduction, electromagnetic induction, chemical reaction, infrared action, resonance, photoelectric conversion, and photothermal conversion to generate the aerosol for smoking.
The controller 102 can control the overall operation of the aerosol generation apparatus 10. In detail, the controller 102 not only controls the operation of the battery 101 and the heater 103, but also controls the operation of other elements in the aerosol generation apparatus 10. In addition, the controller 102 can determine whether the aerosol generation apparatus 10 can be operated by checking the status of the elements of the aerosol generation apparatus 10.
The controller 102 includes at least one processor. The processor may include a logic gate array, or may include a combination of a general purpose microprocessor and a memory storing a program executable in the microprocessor. In addition, those skilled in the art should understand that the controller 102 may include another type of hardware.
For example, the controller 102 can control the operation of the heater 103. The controller 102 can control the amount of the electric power supplied to the heater 130 and the time for which the electric power is continuously supplied to the heater 103 such that the heater 103 is heated to a predetermined temperature or maintained at an appropriate temperature. In addition, the controller 102 can check the status of the battery 101 (e.g., the remaining power of the battery 101) and, if necessary, can generate a notification signal.
In addition, the controller 102 can check whether the user smokes and smoking duration, and can control the smoking duration. In addition, the controller 102 can check the time for continuous operation of the aerosol generation apparatus 10.
The aerosol generation apparatus 10 may include general elements in addition to the battery 101, the controller 102 and the heater 103.
For example, the aerosol generation apparatus 10 may include a display for outputting visual information or a motor for outputting tactile information. For example, when the display is included in the aerosol generation apparatus 10, the controller 102 can send information regarding the status of the aerosol generation apparatus 10 (e.g., whether the aerosol generation apparatus 10 can be used), information regarding the heater 103 (e.g., pre-heating start, pre-heating in progress, or pre-heating complete), information regarding the battery 101 (e.g., the remaining power of the battery 101, whether the battery 101 can be used), information regarding reset of the aerosol generation apparatus 10 (e.g., reset time, reset in progress, or reset complete), information regarding cleaning of the aerosol generation apparatus 10 (e.g., cleaning time, need to clean, cleaning in progress, or cleaning complete), information regarding charging of the aerosol generation apparatus 10 (e.g., need to charge, charging in progress, or charging complete), information regarding smoking (e.g., the number of smoking times and smoking end notification), or information regarding safety (e.g., use time) to the user. Alternatively, when the aerosol generation apparatus 10 includes the motor, the controller 102 can generate a vibration signal by using the motor and can send the information described above to the user.
In addition, the aerosol generation apparatus 10 may include at least one input device (e.g., a key) used by the user to control functions of the aerosol generation apparatus 10. For example, the user can perform various functions by using the input device of the aerosol generation apparatus 10. The desired function among the plurality of functions of the aerosol generation apparatus 10 can be performed by adjusting the number of times the user presses the input device (e.g., once or twice) or the time the user continues to press the input device (e.g., 0.1 s or 0.2 s). As the user operates the input device, the aerosol generation apparatus 10 can perform the function of heating the heater 103, the function of adjusting the temperature of the heater 103, the function of cleaning a space into which the cigarette is inserted, the function of checking whether the aerosol generation apparatus 10 can be operated, the function of displaying the remaining power (available electric power) of the battery 101, and the function of resetting the aerosol generation apparatus 10. However, the functions of the aerosol generation apparatus 10 are not limited thereto.
As shown in
The tobacco section 22 includes an aerosol generation substrate. The aerosol generation substrate is a substrate capable of releasing volatile compounds that can form an aerosol, and the volatile compounds can be released by heating the aerosol generation substrate.
The aerosol generation substrate may be a solid aerosol generation substrate. Alternatively, the aerosol generation substrate may include solid and liquid components. The aerosol generation substrate may include a tobacco-containing material containing volatile compounds with a tobacco flavor which are released from the substrate upon heating. Alternatively, the aerosol generation substrate may include a non-tobacco material. The aerosol generation substrate may further include an aerosol generation substance. Examples of suitable aerosol generation substances are glycerine and propylene glycol.
The aerosol produced by heating the tobacco section 22 is delivered to the user via the filter tip section 21, and the filter tip section 21 may be a cellulose acetate filter tip. The filter tip section 21 can be sprayed with flavoring liquid to provide fragrance, or separate fibers coated with the flavoring liquid can be inserted into the filter tip section 21 to improve the durability of the flavor delivered to the user. The filter tip section 21 may also have a capsule of a spherical or cylindrical shape, which may contain the contents of flavoring substances.
Only the components, related to the present embodiment, of the cigarette 20 are shown in
As shown in
In the heating phase, the temperature of the heater 103 is increased from an initial temperature T0 (or an ambient temperature) to a maximum temperature T1. Generally, T1 may be 200° C.-400° C.
In the heat preservation phase, the temperature of the heater 103 is maintained at the preset target temperature T1 for a period of time, such that the aerosol generation substrate is sufficiently preheated to improve the smoking feeling of the user.
The duration of the heating phase is t0-t1, the duration of the heat preservation phase is t1-t2, and t0-t2 is preheating time of the heater 103. Generally, the preheating time of the heater 103 is 5 s to 30 s.
In the smoking phase, the temperature of the heater 103 drops from the maximum temperature to a target temperature T2, and the target temperature T2 is the best temperature at which the aerosol is generated by the aerosol generation substrate. In this phase, the temperature of the heater 103 is generally maintained at the target temperature T2 or fluctuates above and below the target temperature T2, and t2-t3 is the retaining time.
It should be noted that the heating curve of the heater 103 is not limited to the situation in
As shown in
Specifically, the real-time voltage value of the heater 103 can be detected by a voltage detection module (not shown in figure), and the controller 102 detects whether the user smokes according to the preset voltage threshold after acquiring the real-time voltage value of the heater 103 detected by the voltage detection module.
In this example, the preset voltage threshold may be an experimental value or empirical value. For the aerosol generation apparatus 10 having a single battery, the preset voltage threshold may be 1.5 V-2.5 V.
In an example, the step of detecting whether a user smokes according to a real-time voltage value and a preset voltage threshold of a heater includes:
if the real-time voltage value is greater than or equal to the preset voltage threshold, determining that the user smokes, and otherwise, determining that the user does not smoke.
In this example, the real-time voltage value of the heater 103 detected by the voltage detection module is compared with the preset voltage threshold to determine whether the user smokes.
In another example, the step of detecting whether a user smokes according to a real-time voltage value and a preset voltage threshold of a heater includes:
calculating an average voltage value in a preset time period according to the real-time voltage value; and
if the average voltage value is greater than or equal to the preset voltage threshold, determining that the user smokes, and otherwise, determining that the user does not smoke.
In this example, an effective voltage value of the heater 103, i.e., the average voltage value in the preset time period, is calculated according to the real-time voltage value of the heater 103 detected by the voltage detection module; and then, the effective voltage value of the heater 103 is then compared with the preset voltage threshold to determine whether the user smokes. Compared with the previous examples, this detection method is more accurate.
In step S12, when it is detected that the user smokes, the controller 102 calculates smoking duration when the real-time voltage value is greater than or equal to the preset voltage threshold.
Specifically, when it is detected in step S11 that the user smokes, the duration when the real-time voltage value of the heater 103 is greater than or equal to the preset voltage threshold can be recorded, where the duration is the smoking duration of this smoking of the user.
In an example, the method further includes:
calculating the sum of all smoking duration when the user smokes according to the smoking duration when the real-time voltage value is greater than or equal to the preset voltage threshold; and
if the sum of all the smoking duration is close to a first preset duration threshold, or the sum of all the smoking duration is greater than or equal to the first preset duration threshold, controlling the heater to stop heating.
In this example, the first preset duration threshold is 180 s to 300 s.
In this example, smoking duration of one-time smoking of the user is calculated in step S12, and then the sum of all the smoking durations when the user smokes is calculated.
If the sum of all the smoking duration is greater than or equal to the first preset duration threshold, the heater 103 is controlled to stop heating.
If the sum of all the smoking duration is close to the first preset duration threshold, the heater 103 is controlled to stop heating. “Close to” means that the remaining smoking duration is less than the smoking duration of one-time smoking of the user, and even if the user smokes, user experience is reduced due to an insufficient amount of smoke, such that the heater 103 can be controlled to stop heating in advance.
In an example, the method further includes:
after controlling the heater to enter a smoking phase, executing the step of detecting whether a user smokes according to a real-time voltage value and a preset voltage threshold of a heater.
In this example, it can be seen from the foregoing content and
In an example, the method further includes:
when it is detected that the user does not smoke, calculating duration when the user does not smoke; and
controlling the temperature of the heater to be reduced from a preset target temperature in the smoking phase to a first preset temperature if the duration when the user does not smoke is greater than or equal to a second preset duration threshold.
In this example, the duration when the user does not smoke is determined according to the duration when the real-time voltage value is less than the preset voltage threshold.
In this example, the temperature of the heater 103 is controlled to drop from the preset target temperature T2 in the smoking phase to the first preset temperature if it is detected that the user does not smoke in the smoking phase.
In an example, the method further includes:
controlling the temperature of the heater to rise from the first preset temperature to a second preset temperature when it is detected that the user smokes, where the second preset temperature is greater than the preset target temperature.
In this example, after the temperature of the heater 103 is controlled to drop from the preset target temperature T2 in the smoking phase to the first preset temperature, if it is detected that the user smokes, the temperature of the heater 103 is controlled to rise from the first preset temperature to the second preset temperature, where the second preset temperature is greater than the preset target temperature T2.
To better illustrate the present embodiment, the control process of the aerosol generation apparatus 10 is explained below in combination with
As shown in
As shown in
The controller 102 acquires the real-time voltage value of the heater 103 detected by the voltage detection module and calculates an effective voltage value of the heater 103 (step S32).
The controller 102 compares the effective voltage value of the heater 103 with a preset voltage threshold to determine whether the user smokes (step S33).
Specifically, as shown in
If the effective voltage value of the heater 103 is greater than or equal to the preset voltage threshold, i.e. the user smokes, the smoking duration when the real-time voltage value is greater than or equal to the preset voltage threshold is calculated (step S34); and otherwise, the controller 102 continues to acquire the real-time voltage value of the heater 103 detected by the voltage detection module and calculates the effective voltage value of the heater 103 (step S35).
As shown in
The controller 102 calculates the sum of all the smoking duration when the user smokes (step S36).
The controller 102 compares the sum of all the smoking duration with a preset duration threshold (step S37).
If the sum of all the smoking duration is greater than or equal to the preset duration threshold, the heater 103 is controlled to stop heating (step S38); and otherwise, the controller 102 continues to calculate the sum of all the smoking duration when the user smokes (step S39).
one or more processors 810 and a memory 820, and one processor 810 is taken as an example in
The processor 810 and the memory 820 can be connected by a bus or in other ways, and connection by a bus is taken as an example in
The memory 820, as a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium, can be configured to store non-volatile software programs, non-volatile computer-executable programs and modules, such as program instructions/modules corresponding to the control method for an aerosol generation apparatus in embodiments of the present application. The processor 810 performs various functional applications and data processing of a server by running non-volatile software programs, instructions and modules stored in the memory 820, that is, implementing the control method for an aerosol generation apparatus according to the method embodiment described above.
The memory 820 may include a program storage region and a data storage region, where the program storage region can store an operating system, and an application program needed by at least one function; and the data storage region can store data created from the use of the aerosol generation apparatus or the like. In addition, the memory 820 may include a high-speed random access memory and may further include a non-volatile memory, e.g., at least one magnetic disk storage device, flash memory device, or another non-volatile solid-state memory device. In some embodiments, the memory 820 may optionally include memories located remotely with respect to the processor 810, and these remote memories can be connected to the aerosol generation apparatus via a network. Examples of the above network include, but are not limited to, the Internet, an intranet, a local area network, a mobile communication network, and combinations thereof.
The one or more modules are stored in the memory 820 and, when executed by the one or more processors 810, execute the control method for an aerosol generation apparatus according to any method embodiment described above, e.g., executing the method steps S11 and S12 in
The product can execute the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, and has functional modules and beneficial effects corresponding to method execution. For technical details which are not described in detail in this embodiment, refer to the method provided in the embodiment of the present application.
An embodiment of the present application provides a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium, where the computer-readable storage medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, e.g., one processor 810 in
The apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative, where the units illustrated as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, may be located in one place, or may also be distributed over a plurality of network units. A part or all of the modules can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of the embodiment.
From the above description of the embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art can clearly understand that the various embodiments can be implemented by means of software and a general purpose hardware platform, and certainly can also be implemented by means of hardware. Those of ordinary skill in the art may understand that all or a part of procedures in the methods described above can be accomplished by instructing associated hardware by a computer program, can be stored in the computer-readable storage medium, and when executed, may include the flow of each method embodiment described above. The storage medium may be a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), or the like.
It should be noted that preferred embodiments of the present application are given in the specification and accompanying drawings thereof, but the present application can be embodied in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described in the specification, and these embodiments are not intended as additional limitations on the present application. These embodiments are provided for the purpose of achieving a more thorough and complete understanding of the disclosure of the present application. Furthermore, the above technical features continue to be combined with each other to form various embodiments not listed above, all of which are considered to be within the scope of the specification of the present application. Furthermore, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that modifications or variations may be made in light of the above description, and all such modifications and variations should fall within the scope of the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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202010323376.1 | Apr 2020 | CN | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/CN2021/088973 | 4/22/2021 | WO |