Patent Application
20250098781
The present invention relates to an aerosol provision arrangement, an aerosol provision device, a method of providing an aerosol in an aerosol provision arrangement, and an aerosol provision means.
Aerosol provision systems are known. Common systems use heaters which are activated by a user to create an aerosol by an aerosol provision device from an aerosol generating material which is then inhaled by the user. The device may be activated by a user at the push of a button or merely by the act of inhalation. Modern systems can use consumable elements containing the aerosol generating material. It can be desirable for the manufacturer to enable control over the activation of the systems. This may avoid the activation of the system in undesirable circumstances.
The present invention is directed toward solving some of the above problems.
Aspects of the invention are defined in the accompanying claims.
In accordance with some embodiments described herein, there is provided an aerosol provision arrangement comprising: an aerosol provision device comprising control circuitry for controlling an activation state of the aerosol provision device; and, a biometric detector arranged to detect a property associated with a user of the aerosol provision device and provide a signal to the control circuitry, wherein the control circuitry is arranged to change an activation state of the aerosol provision device upon receiving a signal from the biometric detector associated with an authorised user, and wherein the biometric detector uses nodal point identification.
Such an arrangement is able to ensure that unauthorised users are prevented from using the arrangement while authorised users are enabled to use the arrangement. The security and control over the usage of the device is therefore improved.
In accordance with some embodiments described herein, there is provided an aerosol provision device comprising: control circuitry for controlling an activation state of the aerosol provision device; and, a biometric detector arranged to detect a property associated with a user of the aerosol provision device and provide a signal to the control circuitry, wherein the control circuitry is arranged to change an activation state of the aerosol provision device upon receiving a signal from the biometric detector associated with an authorised user, and wherein the biometric detector uses nodal point identification.
In accordance with some embodiments described herein, there is provided a method of providing an aerosol from an aerosol provision arrangement, the method comprising: sending, by a biometric detector, a signal associated with an authorised user; receiving, by control circuitry of an aerosol provision device, the signal; changing, by the control circuitry, an activation state of the aerosol provision device from a default activation state to an operating state.
In accordance with some embodiments described herein, there is provided aerosol provision means comprising: an aerosol provision device comprising control means for controlling an activation state of the aerosol provision device; and, a biometric detecting means arranged to detect a property associated with a user of the aerosol provision device and provide a signal to the control means, wherein the control means is arranged to change an activation state of the aerosol provision device upon receiving a signal from the biometric detecting means associated with an authorised user, and wherein the biometric detecting means uses nodal point identification.
The present teachings will now be described by way of example only with reference to the following figures:
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments are shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description of the specific embodiments are not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed. On the contrary, the invention covers all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.
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 apparatus and methods 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 aerosol 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/device and electronic aerosol provision system/device. Furthermore, and as is common in the technical field, the terms “aerosol” and “vapour”, and related terms such as “vaporise”, “volatilise” and “aerosolise”, may generally be used interchangeably.
The aerosol provision device 110 in the example shown in
As such, in one use scenario, a user 130 uses the biometric detector 120 to send an authentication signal to the aerosol provision device 110 to enable activation of the aerosol provision device 110. The aerosol provision device 110 may be in a default activation state prior to any use by a user 130. This default activation state may be a non-operating state. In this example, a user may not operate the aerosol provision device 110 until authentication has occurred via the biometric detector 120.
The biometric detector 120 may have control circuitry 122 for receiving data from the user 130, processing the data against a memory or the like, providing a signal to the control circuitry 112 of the aerosol provision device 100.
In the example where the processing of the data is performed on the biometric detector 120, the signal from the biometric detector 120 may be a signal informing the aerosol provision device 110 to either enable activation (if the user is an authorised user) or prevent activation (if the user is not an authorised user). The processing may take the form of comparing the data from the user (the identified nodal points) against a database of identified nodal points of registered and authenticated users. If there is a match, the signal 140 indicates the user is authorised and the device 110 is to function. If there is not a match, the biometric detector 120 may request the user to try again and/or send a signal to the aerosol provision device 110 that the user is not authorised.
In the example where the processing of the data is performed on the aerosol provision device 110, the signal from the biometric detector 120 may be a signal relating to the data from the user 130 and the processing of the signal against a memory or the like, may be performed by the control circuitry 112 of the aerosol provision device 110. In this instance, once the processing is performed and the user 130 identified as either an authorised or an unauthorised user, the control circuitry 112 may send a signal to the heater 116 to either enable use of the aerosol provision device 110, if the user is authorised, or not, if the user is unauthorised.
The default activation state of the aerosol provision device 110 may be a non-operating state. In this instance, if the user 130 is not an authorised user, upon receipt of a signal from the biometric detector 120, the control circuitry 112 may not send a signal to the heater 116 as there is no change in state of the aerosol provision device 110.
The activation states of the aerosol provision device 110 may, broadly, be considered as operating or non-operating states. Signals provided by the biometric detector 120 may be received by the control circuitry 112 and ultimately result in changing the aerosol provision device 110 from one state to another.
In an operating state, elements of the aerosol provision device 110 used to generate an aerosol (such as an atomiser, heater or the like) may be activated. The specific activation of the device 110 may require an additional input which may be inhalation on the device, pressing a button on the device or the like, alternatively the device 110 may automatically generate aerosol by the heater 116 upon receiving a signal from the control circuitry 112.
In a non-operating state, elements of the aerosol provision device 110 used to generate an aerosol (such as an atomiser, heater or the like) may not be activated. In this example, inhaling on the device or pressing a button makes no impact on the heater or atomiser 116 etc.
The term “operating state” may refer to a number of states in which the device 110 can be operated. Similarly the term “non-operating state” may refer to a number of states in which the device 110 cannot be operated.
Referring now to
The second user 250 may attempt to use the aerosol provision device 210. The biometric detector 220 detects a property of the second user 250 using nodal point identification and provides a signal 240 to the control circuitry 212 of the aerosol provision device 210. If the user 250 is not authorised, the control circuitry may prevent the aerosol provision device 210 from being activated. This may involve leaving the aerosol provision device 210 in a non-operating state (if the device 210 was already in a non-operating state) or changing the state of the aerosol provision device 210 from operating to non-operating.
In the event that the first user 230 is an authorised user and the second user 250 is unauthorised, the operating state changes of the aerosol provision device 210 may be as described below.
Initially the device 210 is in a default activation state, which is a non-operating state. The first user 230 may use the biometric detector 220 to change the state of the device 210 to an operating state and subsequently use the device 210. After the first user 230 has finished using, or deemed to have finished using, the device 210, such as after a smoking session, number of puffs, or after a predetermined period of time or the like, the device 210 may reset to a non-operating state. In this way, the user 230 may need to change the state of the device 210 to an operating state before a further use session. Such an arrangement increases the safety of the device 210 by preventing an unauthorised user using the device 210 after an authorised user has changed the state of the device 210 to an operating state and finished their smoking session.
When the unauthorised second user 250 attempts to access the device 210, the biometric detector 220 provides a signal 260 to the control circuitry 212. The control circuitry 212 may maintain the device 210 in a non-operating state, such that the second user 250 is prevented from operating the device 210. Alternatively, the control circuitry 212 may, upon identifying the user 250 as an unauthorised user attempting to use the device 210, change the state of the device 210 to a locked state. A locked state may be a form of non operating state wherein, before the device 210 can be used to provide an aerosol, an authorised user 230 must be detected by the biometric detector 220 to override the locked state. A locked state may require a further level of identification of an authorised user 230 to enable the locked state to be changed to an unlocked operating state. This may be in the form of a password, passkey, alphanumerical sequence or the like. The use of such a locked state provides an indication to the authorised user 230 than an attempt has been made to use the device 210 by an unauthorised user 250.
The term “activation state” as used herein includes operating and non-operating states. An operating state may be a state in which the device can be used. Other, more specific, operating states may dictate the performance of the device, such as selecting the heating mechanisms used, the heating profile used, the aerosol generating material used, etc. Such operating states may be associated with specific users. In this way, upon recognition of authorised user 1, corresponding heating mechanism 1 is used to provide heating profile 1 on aerosol generating medium 1. Upon recognition of authorised user 2, corresponding heating mechanism 2 is used to provide heating profile 2 on aerosol generating medium 2. In this way, different users can have their personalised aerosol provided upon recognition of that user.
Non-operating states may be a state in which the device cannot be used. Other, more specific, non-operating states include the default non-operating state, which can be changed by biometric recognition of an authorised user by the arrangement. Other non-operating states, such as a locked state, may require more than the satisfying of one criteria by a user (e.g. one biometric detection) to change the device to an operating state. This may assist in preventing the hacking of a device and can inform an authorised user of attempted accesses by unauthorised users. This arrangement therefore improves the overall protection provided by the arrangement.
Nodal point identification enables recognition of a user by virtue of the location of identifiable nodes on an image. This may be used to provide a facial recognition system. Such nodal points may be the locations of the eyes, with the distance between the eyes being used to provide an identifying feature of a user. Nodal points may be locations around a chin to identify the jaw shape of a user. Nodal points may be the edges of the forehead and the distance between these, and the outer locations of the face, used to identify face shape of a user. Nodal point identification can be used to recognise the face of a user. This can therefore provide a biometric detection mechanism with which to allow access to an aerosol provision device.
The biometric detector in the examples described herein may be a face scanner. The biometric detector may alternatively be a projector scanner.
If an authorised user is detected 322, the device is changed to being in an operating state 324. As described above, this operating state may be associated with the user to provide a personalised aerosol. As such, the heater or atomiser is operated for a predetermined heating profile on predetermined aerosol generating medium to provide a personalised user aerosol to a user 326. After the user has ended their session, which may be indicated to the device by the user by pressing a button or after a given period of time or after a predetermined number of puffs, the use session is ended or deemed to have ended 328. After this, the device is returned to the default state 329 as in step 302. As such, use of the device disclosed herein can be protected against unauthorised use and unauthorised users.
The biometric detector may be part of an external device such as a smartphone or tablet or the like. The biometric detector and the aerosol provision device may interact via an application on the smartphone or tablet or the like. The aerosol provision device may be accessed the biometric detecting capability of one or more smartphones or tablets. The use of only one smartphone increases the prevention of unauthorised users accessing the aerosol provision device, as such unauthorised users would need both the aerosol provision device and the device on which the biometric detector was stored.
Alternatively, the biometric detector may be part of the aerosol provision device. This provides a more compact solution for a user.
In a particular example, the device disclosed herein may operate with a flavour pod which is replaceable in the device. The flavour may be any of tobacco and glycol and may include extracts (e.g., licorice, hydrangea, Japanese white bark magnolia leaf, chamomile, fenugreek, clove, menthol, Japanese mint, aniseed, cinnamon, herb, wintergreen, cherry, berry, peach, apple, Drambuie, bourbon, scotch, whiskey, spearmint, peppermint, lavender, cardamon, celery, cascarilla, nutmeg, sandalwood, bergamot, geranium, honey essence, rose oil, vanilla, lemon oil, orange oil, cassia, caraway, cognac, jasmine, ylang-ylang, sage, fennel, piment, ginger, anise, coriander, coffee, or a mint oil from any species of the genus Mentha), flavour enhancers, bitterness receptor site blockers, sensorial receptor site activators or stimulators, sugars and/or sugar substitutes (e.g., sucralose, acesulfame potassium, aspartame, saccharine, cyclamates, lactose, sucrose, glucose, fructose, sorbitol, or mannitol), and other additives such as charcoal, chlorophyll, minerals, botanicals, or breath freshening agents. They may be imitation, synthetic or natural ingredients or blends thereof.
When combined with an aerosol generating medium, the aerosol provision device as disclosed herein may be referred to as an aerosol provision system.
Thus there has been described an aerosol provision arrangement comprising: an aerosol provision device comprising control circuitry for controlling an activation state of the aerosol provision device; and, a biometric detector arranged to detect a property associated with a user of the aerosol provision device and provide a signal to the control circuitry, wherein the control circuitry is arranged to change an activation state of the aerosol provision device upon receiving a signal from the biometric detector associated with an authorised user, and wherein the biometric detector uses nodal point identification.
The aerosol provision system may be used in a tobacco industry product, for example a non-combustible aerosol provision system.
In one embodiment, the tobacco industry product comprises one or more components of a non-combustible aerosol provision system, such as a heater and an aerosolizable substrate.
In one embodiment, the aerosol provision system is an electronic cigarette also known as a vaping device.
In one embodiment the electronic cigarette comprises a heater, a power supply capable of supplying power to the heater, an aerosolizable substrate such as a liquid or gel, a housing and optionally a mouthpiece.
In one embodiment the aerosolizable substrate is contained in or on a substrate container. In one embodiment the substrate container is combined with or comprises the heater.
In one embodiment, the tobacco industry product is a heating product which releases one or more compounds by heating, but not burning, a substrate material. The substrate material is an aerosolizable material which may be for example tobacco or other non-tobacco products, which may or may not contain nicotine. In one embodiment, the heating device product is a tobacco heating product.
In one embodiment, the heating product is an electronic device.
In one embodiment, the tobacco heating product comprises a heater, a power supply capable of supplying power to the heater, an aerosolizable substrate such as a solid or gel material.
In one embodiment the heating product is a non-electronic article.
In one embodiment the heating product comprises an aerosolizable substrate such as a solid or gel material, and a heat source which is capable of supplying heat energy to the aerosolizable substrate without any electronic means, such as by burning a combustion material, such as charcoal.
In one embodiment the heating product also comprises a filter capable of filtering the aerosol generated by heating the aerosolizable substrate.
In some embodiments the aerosolizable substrate material may comprise an aerosol or aerosol generating agent or a humectant, such as glycerol, propylene glycol, triacetin or diethylene glycol.
In one embodiment, the tobacco industry product is a hybrid system to generate aerosol by heating, but not burning, a combination of substrate materials. The substrate materials may comprise for example solid, liquid or gel which may or may not contain nicotine. In one embodiment, the hybrid system comprises a liquid or gel substrate and a solid substrate. The solid substrate may be for example tobacco or other non-tobacco products, which may or may not contain nicotine. In one embodiment, the hybrid system comprises a liquid or gel substrate and tobacco.
In order to address various issues and advance the art, the entirety of this disclosure shows by way of illustration various embodiments in which the claimed invention(s) may be practiced and provide for a superior electronic aerosol provision system. The advantages and features of the disclosure are of a representative sample of embodiments only, and are not exhaustive and/or exclusive. They are presented only to assist in understanding and teach the claimed features. It is to be understood that advantages, embodiments, examples, functions, features, structures, and/or other aspects of the disclosure are not to be considered limitations on the disclosure 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 and/or spirit of the disclosure. Various embodiments may suitably comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of, various combinations of the disclosed elements, components, features, parts, steps, means, etc. In addition, the disclosure includes other inventions not presently claimed, but which may be claimed in future.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2200783.5 | Jan 2022 | GB | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/GB2023/050101 | 1/19/2023 | WO |
