Patent Application
20230148678
The present invention relates to an electrical system. In particular, the electrical system is used within an aerosol generating device.
Aerosol generating devices, such as electronic cigarettes, often include an electrical system with a battery for supplying power to a heating element. Within such systems, a known issue is that the battery may enter a state of deep discharge. For example, when a lithium-ion battery cell enters a state of deep discharge, internal degradations known as copper electrode dissolution may occur within the battery cell and short circuits may be created between cell electrodes. When such a battery is recharged, the cell is liable to overheating and thermal runaway, which can potentially pose a safety hazard.
There are many other battery conditions which carry potential safety risks and the operation of batteries displaying such conditions should generally be avoided.
An object of the present invention is to improve the safety of electrical systems including a battery within aerosol generating devices.
According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided an aerosol generating device comprising an electrical system, the electrical system comprising: a battery; and a control circuitry, wherein the control circuitry is configured to monitor a status of the battery during a discharge operation of the battery and set a flag if a fault in the battery is detected, the flag indicating that the battery is not in an operating condition, wherein the control circuitry is configured to check the flag when the electrical system is connected to an external power supply, wherein the control circuitry is configured to enable charging of the battery based on the flag, wherein the battery and the control circuitry are connectable to the external power supply via a first electrical path and a second electrical path respectively such that power can be independently supplied to the battery and the control circuitry, and wherein the electrical system is configured to supply power to the control circuitry from the external power supply via the second electrical path when the electrical system is connected to the external power supply, such that the flag can be checked without charging the battery.
In this way, it is possible to prevent a damaged or otherwise degraded battery from being charged, thereby improving the safety of an electrical system.
Existing strategies for responding to battery faults involve monitoring the charging curve of a battery to detect deep discharge or other hazardous battery conditions. However, such strategies will only detect a fault after charging of the cell has commenced. Thus, it is possible that power has already been supplied to a battery that has an internal short circuit or other fault. In the present invention, the control circuitry monitors the battery during discharge operation, for example when powering a heating element during a vaping operation of an aerosol generating device, and sets a flag within the control circuitry if a fault is detected. When the electrical system is subsequently connected to an external power supply with the intention of charging the aerosol generating device, the control circuitry checks the flag and only enables charging of the battery if the flag is present. As a result, charging of the battery is prevented from commencing if there is a fault in the battery, thereby ensuring that a battery in a hazardous condition does not receive any electrical power.
Moreover, the configuration of the electrical system is such that the control circuitry can be powered to check the flag without also supplying power to a possibly defective battery. In comparison, within known electrical systems, and in particular for aerosol generating devices, supplying power to the control circuitry also begins the charging process and it would not be possible to check the flag without also supplying power to a potentially hazardous battery.
Detecting a fault in the battery may comprise measuring the voltage of the battery with respect to time. A fault may be determined to have occurred when the voltage falls below a threshold voltage. In one example, for a lithium-ion battery, 3.0V may be a typical voltage at which the battery is considered to be discharged, 2.8V may be a typical threshold below which the battery is considered to have a fault, and 2.5V may be a typical voltage at which the battery has internal cell damage which cannot be recovered. However, the skilled person will appreciate that the threshold voltage will vary according to the type of battery and specific cell chemistry.
Alternatively, or additionally, detecting a fault in the battery may comprise monitoring the temperature of the battery. If the temperature of the battery exceeds a threshold temperature, the battery may be determined to have a fault. The skilled person will appreciate that the threshold temperature will vary according to the type of battery and the cell chemistry.
Preferably, the electrical system further comprises a battery charger circuitry, wherein the control circuitry is configured to send a signal to the battery charger circuitry based on the flag, the signal indicating that charging is enabled, and wherein the battery charger circuitry is configured to charge the battery when the signal indicating that charging is enabled is received from the control circuitry. In this way, the use of a battery charger circuitry ensures that power is efficiently and reliably supplied to the battery, whilst the signal receipt requirement ensures that power is not supplied to a damaged or degraded battery.
Preferably, charging the battery comprises supplying power to the battery along the first electrical path.
Preferably, the control circuitry is configured to modify the flag upon detecting that the battery has been replaced. In this way, a new battery that is not in a potentially dangerous operating condition is not prevented from being charged.
Preferably, the electrical system further comprises a voltage regulator for supplying power to the control circuitry. A voltage regulator has the ability to generate and maintain a constant current or voltage output.
In one example, the electrical system may be connectable to the external power supply by a USB connection. In particular, the voltage regulator and the battery charger circuitry may be connectable to the external power supply by the USB connection.
Preferably, the electrical system is configured to supply power to the control circuitry from the battery when the electrical system is not connected to the external power supply.
Preferably, the electrical system further comprises a heating element, and the control circuitry is configured to switch off power supply from the battery to the heating element when a fault is detected in the battery. In this way, continued operation of a damaged or otherwise degraded battery is avoided.
Preferably, the control circuitry is configured to switch off power supply from the battery to the heating element when the electrical system is connected to the external power supply.
Preferably, the electrical system further comprises a fuse, wherein the control circuitry is configured to activate the fuse when the fault detected in the battery is deemed to be non-recoverable, and wherein activating the fuse irreversibly disables charging of the battery.
Preferably, the control circuitry is further configured to activate the fuse when a threshold amount of time has elapsed since the flag was set and the fault in the battery is detected as still existing.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of operating an aerosol generating device comprising an electrical system, the method comprising: monitoring, using a control circuitry, the status of a battery in the electrical system during a discharge operation of the battery; in response to detecting a fault in the battery, setting a flag indicating that the battery is not in an operating condition, wherein the battery and the control circuitry are connectable to an external power supply by a first electrical path and a second electrical path respectively such that power can be independently supplied to the control circuitry and the battery; in response to detecting that the electrical system has been connected to the external power supply, supplying power from the external power supply via the second electrical path to check the flag without charging the battery; and enabling charging of the battery based on the flag.
Preferably, the method further comprises sending a signal from the control circuitry to a battery charger circuitry indicating that charging is enabled; and in response to receiving the signal indicating that charging is enabled, charging the battery.
Preferably, the method further comprises clearing the flag upon detecting that the battery has been replaced.
Preferably, the method further comprises: supplying power to the control circuitry from the battery when the electrical system is not connected to the external power supply.
Preferably, the method further comprises: providing a heating element in the electrical system; switching off power supply to the heating element when a fault is detected in the battery; and/or switching off power supply from the battery to the heating element when the electrical system is connected to the external supply.
Preferably, the method further comprises: activating, using the control circuitry, a fuse in the electrical system when the fault detected in the battery is deemed to be non-recoverable, wherein activating the fuse irreversibly disables charging of the battery.
Preferably, the method further comprises: in response to detecting that a threshold amount of time has elapsed since the flag was set and that the fault in the battery still exists, activating, using the control circuitry, the fuse.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium comprising executable instructions which, when executed on a computer or processor in an aerosol generating device comprising an electrical system, cause the computer or processor to undertake steps comprising: monitoring, using a control circuitry, the status of a battery in the electrical system during a discharge operation of the battery; in response to detecting a fault in the battery, setting a flag indicating that the battery is not in an operating condition, wherein the battery and the control circuitry are connectable to an external power supply by a first electrical path and a second electrical path respectively such that power can be independently supplied to the control circuitry and the battery; in response to detecting that the electrical system has been connected to the external power supply, supplying power from the external power supply via the second electrical path to check the flag without charging the battery; and enabling charging of the battery based on the flag.
Embodiments of the invention are now described, by way of example, with reference to the drawings, in which:
In use, when the electrical system 2 is connected via the power connector 10 to an external power supply, the battery charging circuitry 8 delivers electrical power to wake up the control circuitry 6. However, as the battery 4 and the control circuitry 6 are connected in parallel and powered directly by the battery charging circuitry 8, the battery 4 also receives electrical power and begins charging. Hence, utilising any function of the control circuitry 6 also results in the battery 4 receiving electrical power.
The USB connector 28 is connectable to an external power supply. The skilled person will appreciate that the USB connector 28 may be substituted for another suitable form of power connector, such as any AC power plug for connecting to primary alternating current (AC) power supply in a building, or any DC power plug for supplying direct current (DC) power.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
In use, the voltage regulator 30 either receives power from the external power supply (via the USB connector 28), or from the battery 22. The voltage regulator 30 can then supply electricity to the control circuitry 24 to wake up and power the control circuitry 24. The voltage regulator 30 is configured to power the control circuitry 24 with power from the USB connector 28 when the electrical system 20 is connected to the external power supply (i.e. power is supplied along the second electrical path 38), and configured to power the control circuitry 24 with power from the battery 22 otherwise (i.e. power is supplied along the third electrical path 39).
The voltage regulator 30 has the ability to generate and maintain a constant current or voltage output. It will be appreciated that, in alternative examples, the voltage regulator 30 may instead comprise a switch or other mechanism that allows the supply of electrical current to be controlled and/or regulated and directed along different electrical paths.
In this example, the control circuitry 24 is a microcontroller unit (MCU) and is used to control operation of the electrical system 20. The MCU includes one or more CPUs (processor cores) along with memory and programmable input/output peripherals. In other examples, the control circuitry 24 may comprise a separate microprocessor, memory, and input/output devices.
The control circuitry 24 is configured to monitor the status of the battery 22 during a discharge operation of the battery 22 and control one or more aspects of the electrical system based on the status of the battery 22. The term ‘discharge operation’ of the battery refers to the situation wherein the battery 22 is being used as power source to supply power to an electrical load or electrical component within the electrical system 20. Monitoring the status of the battery 22 may comprise monitoring one or more properties or characteristics of the battery 22, such as temperature, voltage or current, in order to detect a fault or abnormality within the battery 22.
For example, a fault may result from the battery 22 entering into a state of deep discharge leading to internal degradations of the battery, e.g. a short circuit. This may be detected by measuring the battery 22 voltage with respect to time, and determining when the voltage falls below a threshold voltage. The threshold voltage will vary according to the type of battery and specific cell chemistry. However, as an example, for a lithium-ion battery, 3.0V may be a typical voltage at which the battery is considered to be discharged, 2.8V may be a typical threshold below which the battery is considered to have a fault, and 2.5V may be a typical voltage at which the battery has internal cell damage which cannot be recovered. This internal damage is often referred to as copper (foil) dissolution.
A fault condition may also be determined by monitoring the temperature of the battery 22. A temperature sensor 27 may be used to measure the temperature of the battery. If the battery is operating abnormally, the temperature is likely to be high. Thus, if the temperature is detected to exceed a threshold temperature, the battery 22 may be determined to have a fault. Again, the threshold temperature will vary according to the type of battery and the cell chemistry.
A further example of detecting a fault may comprise detecting a battery capacity loss. Capacity loss (or capacity fading) is a phenomenon observed during rechargeable battery usage where the amount of charge a battery can deliver at the rated voltage decreases with use. For example, when the battery capacity fade exceeds approximately 60%-70%, the battery may be considered to be too aged/damaged, and thus considered to have a fault.
In this case, the electrical system 20 is situated within an aerosol generating device, and the discharge operation refers to an aerosol generating operation (or vaping operation) wherein the battery 22 is providing power to the heating element 32. However, the skilled person will appreciate that the electrical system 20 may be used within alternative devices, and the heating element 32 may be substituted for other electrical components.
The control circuitry 24 is configured to set a flag in a data storage portion 25 of the control circuitry 23 when a fault is detected in the operating status of the battery 22. The data storage portion 25 may comprise volatile or non-volatile memory, or may comprise long-term storage. The flag provides an indication that a fault has been detected and that the battery 22 is not in an operating condition.
In this example, the flag is a form of status register set in an EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory) of the MCU 24 and records the condition of a calculation performed by the MCU 24. Typically, a flag is defined as a 1 bit data in EEPROM; however, the number of bits may be increased to indicate the specific type of fault that has been detected.
The control circuitry 24 may also be configured to open the switch 34 when a fault is detected in the battery 22, thereby cutting off the supply of electricity to the heating element 32 and improving the safety of the aerosol generating device.
In one example, the electrical system 20 may further comprise a data line connecting the control circuitry 24 to the electrical system 20 which is configured to provide voltage information to the control circuitry 24.
In order to charge the battery 22, the electrical system 20 of the aerosol generating device may be connected to an external power supply by the USB connector 28. The voltage regulator 30 receives power from the USB connector 28 and generates a CC (constant current) output which is used to wake up the control circuitry 24 by the supply of electricity along the second electrical path 38. As the battery 22 is connected to the USB connector 28 by the first electrical path 36, which is separate to the second electrical path 38, the control circuitry 24 can be powered without also charging the battery 22.
In response to being powered up by the voltage regulator 30 when connected to an external power supply, the control circuitry 22 is configured to check the flag. If the flag is present, the control circuitry 24 will not enable charging of the battery 22. If the flag is cleared or not present, the control circuitry 24 will enable charging of the battery 22.
Enabling charging of the battery 22 comprises sending a signal to the battery charging circuitry 26, wherein the signal indicates that charging of the battery 22 is enabled. The battery charging circuitry 26 is configured to only charge the battery 22 when the charging enabled signal has been received from the control circuitry 24. Charging of the battery 22 comprises supplying power along the first electrical path 36 to the battery 22. The battery charging circuitry 26 will not charge the battery 22 if a signal has not been received. Hence, the configuration ensures that the charging process cannot begin if the battery 22 has a detected fault, thereby improving the safety of the aerosol generating device. This method of operation is facilitated by the separate electrical paths 36, 38 for the battery 22 and control circuitry 24 respectively which allow the control circuitry 24 to be powered to check the flag without also charging the battery 22.
In this example, the battery charging circuitry 26 is a battery charger IC (integrated circuit).
For other general purposes, the control circuitry 24 may be configured to switch off power supply from the battery 22 to the heating element 32 when the electrical system 20 is connected to an external power source through the USB connector 28. This may be achieved by opening the switch 34. Moreover, the control circuitry 24 may be configured to clear the flag if the control circuitry 24 detects that the battery 22 has been replaced.
Referring to
At step 42, the control circuitry 24 monitors the status of the battery 22. For example, the control circuitry 24 may monitor the battery 22 voltage over time in order to detect a deep discharge state. If no fault is detected, the monitoring and vaping operation continues.
If a fault is detected, the switch 34 is opened and the supply of power from the battery 22 to the heating element 32 is stopped so that the aerosol generating device ends its vaping operation. In addition, at step 46, the control circuitry 24 sets a flag in the control circuitry 24 which indicates that the battery 22 is not in an operating condition.
Referring to
Upon being connected to an external power supply, at step 50, a CC output is generated by the voltage regulator 30 and supplied to the control circuitry 24 along the second electrical path 38. As the first electrical path 36 and the second electrical path 38 comprises separate conductions paths, the control circuitry 24 can be woken and powered without supplying power to the battery 22.
At step 52, when the control circuitry 24 has been woken, the control circuitry 24 checks the flag.
If the flag is cleared or not present, the method continues at step 54 and charging of the battery 22 is enabled. At step 56, the control circuitry 24 sends a signal to the battery charging circuitry 26 indicating that charging of the battery 22 is enabled. At step 58, when the battery charging circuitry 26 receives the signal indicating that charging is enabled, the battery charging circuitry 26 proceeds to charge the battery 22 by supplying the power along the first electrical path 36.
Alternatively, if the flag is not cleared at step 52, the method continues at step 60 and charging of the battery is not enabled 60.
Nonetheless, the skilled person will appreciate that the omitted features, such as the heating element 32, may be used in conjunction with the additional features of this embodiment.
The electrical system 70 differs from the previous embodiment in that the electrical system 70 further comprises a fuse 72 for disabling charging of the battery 22. The fuse 72 is present in addition to the previously described flag that may be set in the control circuitry 24 for disabling charging of the battery 22. That is, the electrical system 70 utilises both hardware and software means for disabling charging of the battery 22 when a fault is detected in the battery 22.
In particular, the previously described flag mechanism provides a first level of protection for preventing charging of the battery 22 when a fault is detected in the battery 22, wherein the fault is caused by a battery condition that is deemed as being (potentially) recoverable. The fuse 72 provides a second level of protection for preventing charging of the battery 22 when a fault is detected in the battery 22, wherein the fault is caused by a battery condition that is deemed as not being recoverable.
Example damages to the battery 22 that may be deemed as non-recoverable include internal short circuits. For example, as previously discussed, short circuits may result from the battery 22 entering into a state of deep discharge leading to internal degradations of the battery 22. This may be detected by measuring the battery 22 voltage with respect to time, and determining when the voltage falls below a threshold voltage. Another indication of permanent, non-recoverable damage is the detection of voltage drops during the charging process. Such voltage drops indicate that the battery 22 has internal short-circuits.
On the other hand, an example of damage to the battery 22 that may be deemed as recoverable are capacity losses due to lithium plating. Lithium plating occurs under strenuous or sub-optimal charging conditions. Such losses of capacity may be recovered by preventing operation of the battery 22 for a period of time, e.g. several days, or performing one or more charging cycles and monitoring the capacity evolution over time. However, under some circumstances, capacity losses due to lithium plating may not be recoverable, for example if the internal damages are too severe.
In this embodiment of the invention, if a non-recoverable fault condition of the battery 22 is detected, such as the defection of voltage drops during charging or the detection that the battery 22 has entered a state of deep-discharge, the fuse 72 is activated by the control circuitry 24 such that charging of the battery 22 is permanently disabled.
Otherwise, if a fault condition of the battery 22 is detected that is not deemed to be non-recoverable, e.g. a capacity loss of the battery 22 is detected wherein the capacity loss is above a threshold amount, the electrical system 70 operates according to the previously described embodiment. That is, a flag is set indicating that the battery 22 is not in an operating condition, thereby preventing charging of the battery 22 whilst the flag is present.
However, after a period of time has elapsed, if the fault condition is detected to still exist the damage to the battery 22 may be deemed as being non-recoverable. In this case, the fuse 72 is activated by the control circuitry 24 such that charging of the battery 22 is permanently disabled. For example, the fuse 72 may be activated if, after a threshold amount of time has elapsed, the capacity of the battery 22 remains below a threshold capacity, e.g. less than 50 to 40% of nominal capacity. The control circuitry 24 may comprise a timer configured to monitor the elapsed time or, alternatively or additionally, the control circuitry 24 may estimate the elapsed time by monitoring the voltage evolution of the battery 22.
As will be appreciated by the skilled person, the fuse 72 is a physical component that is configured to break if the current exceeds a predetermined level. For example, the fuse 72 may consist of a strip of wire that is configured to melt above the predetermined level of current. In particular, the fuse 72 may comprise a copper track with a narrower central portion, as illustrated in
In the specific implementation of the electrical circuit 70 illustrated in
When a fault is detected in the battery 22 that is deemed as being non-recoverable, or a threshold amount of time has elapsed since a flag has been set, the control circuitry 24 is configured to send a signal along the I/O line 74 to turn the transistor “ON” such that a maximum current flows through the fuse 72. In this way, the fuse 72 is blown (i.e. activated) and the enable line 78, which is connected to the transistor 76 via a portion of the fuse 72, provides a control signal (e.g. set to high) to the charging circuitry 26 which permanently disables charging of the battery 22.
Of course, the skilled person will appreciate the specific configuration of the electrical system 70 including the fuse 72 illustrated in
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20170908.6 | Apr 2020 | WO | international |
The present application is a national phase entry under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No. PCT/EP2021/059564, filed Apr. 13, 2021, published in English, which claims priority to European Application No. 20170908.6 filed Apr. 22, 2020, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2021/059564 | 4/13/2021 | WO |
