Patent Application
20240324694
The present invention relates to a power supply unit for an aerosol generating device.
JP2019-527558A discloses an aerosol delivery device including a housing defining a reservoir configured to hold an aerosol precursor composition; a power supply accommodated inside the housing; a heating element configured to control to vaporize components of the aerosol precursor composition; and a boost converter between an electrical load including the heating element and the power supply.
US2014/0299137A discloses an electronic cigarette device including a power converter disposed inside a housing; and a power supply disposed inside the housing and configured to indirectly supply electric power to the power converter at least.
Since an aerosol generating device is provided with a heater, temperature control of the heater is an important issue.
An object of the present invention is to provide a power supply unit for an aerosol generating device in which a temperature of a heater can be controlled with high accuracy.
A power supply unit for an aerosol generating device according to an aspect of the present invention includes a power supply; a heater configured to heat a flavor source for flavoring an aerosol; a first thermistor whose resistance value changes according to a temperature of the heater; a second thermistor whose resistance value changes according to the temperature of the heater and which is different from the first thermistor; a controller configured to control, based on the temperature of the heater obtained based on the resistance value of the second thermistor, supply of power from the power supply to the heater such that the temperature of the heater converges to a target temperature; and a protection circuit configured to stop the supply of power from the power supply to the heater when the temperature of the heater obtained based on the resistance value of the first thermistor is equal to or higher than a first threshold.
Hereinafter, a power supply unit for an aerosol generating device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. First, an aerosol generating device including the power supply unit of the present embodiment will be described with reference to
An aerosol generating device 200 is a device for generating flavored aerosol without combustion and inhaling the generated aerosol. The aerosol generating device 200 preferably has a size that fits in hands, and for example, as shown in
Referring also to
The power supply unit 100 includes an internal unit 2A and a case 3a, and at least a part of the internal unit 2A is accommodated in the case 3a.
The case 3a includes a first case 3A and a second case 3B that are detachable in the left-right direction (thickness direction), the first case 3A and the second case 3B are assembled in the left-right direction (thickness direction), thereby forming a front surface, a rear surface, a left surface, and a right surface of the power supply unit 100. Specifically, the first case 3A is supported on a left surface of a chassis 50 to be described later in the internal unit 2A, the second case 3B is supported on a right surface of the chassis 50, and the internal unit 2A is accommodated in the case 3. A capsule holder 4A is provided on a front side on the upper surface of the power supply unit 100. The capsule holder 4A is provided with an opening portion 4a that is opened upward. The capsule holder 4A is configured such that the second cartridge 120 can be inserted through the opening portion 4a. On the second cartridge 120, a mouth piece 130 is detachably provided.
The upper surface of the power supply unit 100 is formed by an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) cover 5a disposed behind the opening portion 4a, and the lower surface of the power supply unit 100 is formed by a pivotable lower lid 7a and a lower cover 8a provided with a charging terminal 1.
An inclined surface inclined downward toward the rear is provided between the upper surface and the rear surface of the power supply unit 100. The inclined surface is provided with an operation unit operable by a user. The operation unit of the present embodiment is a button-type switch BT, but may be implemented by a touch panel or the like. The operation unit is used to start/shut off/operate a micro controller unit (MCU) 6 and various sensors, which will be described later, based on a use intention of the user.
The charging terminal 1 accessible from the lower cover 8a is configured to be electrically connected to an external power supply (not shown) capable of supplying electric power to the power supply unit 100 to charge a power supply ba provided in a battery pack BP. The charging terminal 1 is, for example, a receptacle into which a mating plug can be inserted. As the charging terminal 1, a receptacle into which various USB terminals or the like can be inserted can be used. As an example, in the present embodiment, the charging terminal 1 is a USB Type-C receptacle.
The charging terminal 1 may include, for example, a power receiving coil, and may be configured to receive, in a non-contact manner, electric power transmitted from the external power supply. In this case, a method for wireless power transfer (WPT) may be of an electromagnetic induction type, a magnetic resonance type, or a combination of the electromagnetic induction type and the magnetic resonance type. As another example, the charging terminal 1 may be connectable to various USB terminals or the like, and may include the above-described power receiving coil.
As shown in
As shown in
The first cartridge 110 is inserted into the cartridge holding portion 51 from below in a state where the lower lid 7a is opened. When the lower lid 7a is closed in a state where the first cartridge 110 is inserted, the first cartridge 110 is accommodated in the cartridge holding portion 51. The capsule holder 4A is attached to an upper portion of the cartridge holding portion 51. In the cartridge holding portion 51, a vertically long through hole is provided on a front side, and a remaining amount of an aerosol source of the first cartridge 110 and light of a light emitting diode (LED) 21D to be described later can be visually observed through a remaining amount confirmation window 3w provided at a joint of the first case 3A and the second case 3B. The first cartridge 110 will be described later.
The battery pack BP is disposed in the battery holding portion 52. The battery pack BP includes the power supply ba and a power supply thermistor for detecting a temperature of the power supply ba. The power supply ba is a chargeable secondary battery, an electric double-layer capacitor, or the like, and is preferably a lithium ion secondary battery. An electrolyte of the power supply ba may be constituted by one or a combination of a gel electrolyte, an electrolytic solution, a solid electrolyte, and an ionic liquid.
A vibration motor 13 is disposed in the motor holding portion 54. An inhalation sensor 15 to be described later, which provides an output in response to an inhalation operation (puff operation) of the user, is disposed in the sensor holding portion 55.
As shown in
The heating unit 60 may be an element capable of heating the second cartridge 120. Examples of the element include a resistance heating element, a ceramic heater, and an induction-heating-type heater. As the resistance heating element, for example, a heating element having a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) characteristic in which an electrical resistance value increases as the temperature increases is preferably used. Alternatively, a heating element having a negative temperature coefficient (NTC) characteristic in which the electrical resistance value decreases as the temperature increases may be used. The heating unit 60 has a function of defining a flow path of air to be supplied to the second cartridge 120 and a function of heating the second cartridge 120.
The notification unit notifies various kinds of information such as a charging state of the power supply ba, a remaining amount of the first cartridge 110, and a remaining amount of the second cartridge 120. The notification unit of the present embodiment includes the LED 21D and the vibration motor 13. The notification unit may be implemented by a light emitting element such as the LED 21D, a vibration element such as the vibration motor 13, or a sound output element. The notification unit may be a combination of two or more elements among the light emitting element, the vibration element, and the sound output element.
The various sensors include the inhalation sensor 15 that detects the puff operation (inhalation operation) of the user, a heater temperature sensor that detects a temperature of the sheet heater HTR, and the like.
The inhalation sensor 15 includes, for example, a capacitor microphone, a pressure sensor, and a flow rate sensor. A plurality of inhalation sensors 15 may be disposed apart from each other, and the puff operation may be detected based on a difference between output values of the inhalation sensors 15. The heater temperature sensor includes a first thermistor th1 and a second thermistor th2. The first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 are preferably in contact with or close to the sheet heater HTR. When the sheet heater HTR has the PTC characteristic or the NTC characteristic, the sheet heater HTR may be used for the heater temperature sensor. The heater temperature sensor includes two thermistors, but may include one thermistor.
The circuit unit 70 includes four rigid circuit substrates, three flexible printed circuits (FPCs), a plurality of integrated circuits (ICs), and a plurality of elements. The four circuit substrates include a main substrate 20, a puff sensor substrate 21, a pogo pin substrate 22, and an OLED substrate 26. The three FPCs include a main FPC 23, a heater FPC 24, and an OLED FPC 25.
The main substrate 20 is disposed between the battery pack BP and a rear surface of the case 3a (the rear surface of the power supply unit 100) such that an element mounting surface faces the front-rear direction. The main substrate 20 is configured by laminating a plurality of layers (six layers in the present embodiment) of substrates, and electronic components (elements) such as the MCU 6 and a charging IC 3 are mounted thereon.
As to be described later in detail with reference to
The charging IC 3 is an IC that performs charging control of the power supply ba by the electric power received via the charging terminal 1, and supplies the electric power of the power supply ba to the electronic components and the like on the main substrate 20.
The main substrate 20 will be described more specifically with reference to
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
A left side of the battery pack BP held by the battery holding portion 52 is exposed from the battery holding portion 52 due to the half-cylindrical battery holding portion 52. As shown in
Among the three FPCs, the main FPC 23 is routed closest to battery pack BP, the OLED FPC 25 is routed to partially overlap the main FPC 23, and further the heater FPC 24 is routed to overlap the OLED FPC 25. That is, the heater FPC 24 to which the largest electric power is supplied among the three FPCs is routed to be farthest from the battery pack BP. The main FPC 23 has a developed shape of a substantially cross shape, and is folded rearward at a position overlapping the heater FPC 24. That is, the main FPC 23 is a folded wiring. Although the folded portion of the main FPC 23 is likely to float in the left-right direction, the heater FPC 24 and the OLED FPC 25 overlap this portion, thereby preventing such floating. The switch BT is directly mounted on the main FPC 23 without using a rigid substrate or the like.
The OLED FPC 25 has one end connected to the OLED connector 20C of the main substrate 20 and the other end connected to the OLED substrate 26.
The main FPC 23 connects the main connector 20A of the main substrate 20, the switch BT of the operation unit, a connector 21B of the puff sensor substrate 21, and the input-side contact points P1 to P3 of the pogo pin substrate 22.
The heater FPC 24 has one end connected to the heater connector 20B of the main substrate 20, and the other end integrally formed with the sheet heater HTR.
The first cartridge 110 includes, inside a cylindrical cartridge case 111, a reservoir that stores an aerosol source, an electrical load that atomizes the aerosol source, a wick that draws the aerosol source from the reservoir to the load, and an aerosol flow path through which aerosol generated by atomization of the aerosol source flows toward the second cartridge 120. The aerosol source contains a liquid such as glycerin, propylene glycol, or water. The load is a heating element that heats, without combustion, the aerosol source by electric power supplied from the power supply ba via the pogo pins p1 to p3 of the pogo pin substrate 22, and is implemented by, for example, a heating wire (coil) wound at a predetermined pitch. The load atomizes the aerosol source by heating the aerosol source. As the load, a heating resistor, a ceramic heater, an induction-heating-type heater, and the like may be used. Hereinafter, the load provided in the first cartridge 110 is also referred to as a liquid heater.
The aerosol flow path is connected to the second cartridge 120 via a flow path forming member 19 (see
The second cartridge 120 stores a flavor source. When the second cartridge 120 is heated by the sheet heater HTR, the flavor source is heated. The second cartridge 120 flavors the aerosol when the aerosol generated by atomizing the aerosol source by the liquid heater passes through the flavor source. As a raw material piece constituting the flavor source, it is possible to use a molded product obtained by molding a shredded tobacco or a tobacco raw material into granules. The flavor source may be formed of plants other than tobacco (for example, mint, Chinese medicine, and herb). The flavor source may contain a fragrance such as menthol.
The aerosol generating device 200 can generate flavored aerosol using the aerosol source and the flavor source. That is, the aerosol source and the flavor source constitute an aerosol generating source that generates the flavored aerosol.
The aerosol generation source in the aerosol generating device 200 is a portion to be replaced and used by the user. In this portion, for example, one first cartridge 110 and one or a plurality of (for example, five) second cartridges 120 are provided as one set to the user. The battery pack BP can be repeatedly charged and discharged as long as the power supply ba is not significantly deteriorated. Accordingly, in the aerosol generating device 200, a replacement frequency of the power supply unit 100 or the battery pack BP is lowest, a replacement frequency of the first cartridge 110 is second lowest, and a replacement frequency of the second cartridge 120 is highest. The first cartridge 110 and the second cartridge 120 may be integrated into one cartridge. Instead of the flavor source, a chemical agent or the like may be added to the aerosol source.
In the aerosol generating device 200 configured as described above, air flowing in from an air intake port (not shown) provided in the case 3a or the internal unit 2A passes near the load of the first cartridge 110. The load atomizes the aerosol source drawn from the reservoir by the wick. The aerosol generated by atomization flows through the aerosol flow path together with the air flowing in from the intake port, and is supplied to the second cartridge 120 via the flow path forming member 19. The aerosol supplied to the second cartridge 120 is flavored when passing through the flavor source, and is supplied to an inhalation port 131 of the mouth piece 130.
Hereinafter, the connectors mounted on the main substrate 20 supported by the chassis 50 will be described in detail.
A connector of the main FPC 23, a connector of the heater FPC 24, a connector of the OLED FPC 25, and the lead wire 16 are respectively inserted rightward into the main connector 20A, the heater connector 20B, the OLED connector 20C, and the battery connector 20D which are mounted on the front surface 201 of the main substrate 20 shown in
Thus, the four connectors (the OLED connector 20C, the heater connector 20B, the main connector 20A, and the battery connector 20D) to which the wirings (FPC and the lead wire) are constantly connected and the debug connector 20E and the charging terminal 1 to which the wirings (the connection cable and the USB cable) are connected only when necessary are mounted on different element mounting surfaces of the main substrate 20. Therefore, routing of the wirings connected to the four connectors is facilitated. In particular, as described above, by making the insertion directions of the wirings with respect to the four connectors the same, routing of the wirings is further facilitated, and a design for reducing an extra space or the like is facilitated, so that the power supply unit 100 can be reduced in size.
In addition, the insertion directions of the wirings with respect to the four connectors mounted on the front surface 201 are common to the right direction. Meanwhile, the insertion direction of the wiring with respect to the debug connector 20E mounted on the back surface 202 is a direction different from (specifically, opposite to) those of the four connectors. Accordingly, when the connection cable is inserted into the debug connector 20E, the connection cable can be prevented from interfering with the wirings inserted into the four connectors. The insertion direction of the wiring with respect to the charging terminal 1 is a direction different from the insertion direction of the wiring with respect to the debug connector 20E (specifically, a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction). Accordingly, even when the connection cable is inserted into the debug connector 20E and the USB cable is connected to the charging terminal 1, interference between the two cables can be prevented.
Further, the connection cable can be inserted into and removed from the debug connector 20E by detaching only the second case 3B of the case 3a from the chassis 50. In other words, the connection cable can be inserted into and removed from the debug connector 20E even when the first case 3A of the case 3a is attached. In a state where only the second case 3B of the case 3a is detached from the chassis 50 (a state where the first case 3A is attached), the four connectors and the wirings connected thereto are not exposed. As a result, a person can be prevented from touching the four connectors on the front surface 201 and the wirings connected thereto when the connection cable for the debug connector 20E is inserted and removed.
As shown in
Next, a holding mechanism of the inhalation sensor 15 in the case 3a will be described in detail.
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The inhalation sensor 15 is mounted on the back surface 215 of the first portion 211. Three through holes 15B penetrating in the thickness direction are formed in the first portion 211. The terminal group 15A of the inhalation sensor 15 is inserted into the through holes 15B from a back surface 215 side. The puff sensor substrate 21 is provided with a puff sensor connector 21A, which will be described later, electrically connected to the connector 21B, and the terminal group 15A of the inhalation sensor 15 inserted through the through holes 15B is electrically connected to the puff sensor connector 21A. An output signal of the inhalation sensor 15 is input to the MCU 6 via the puff sensor connector 21A, the connector 21B, and the main FPC 23 connected to the connector 21B. As shown in
As shown in
The sensor holding portion 55 has a curved shape corresponding to a curved shape of an outer peripheral surface of the substantially cylindrical cartridge holding portion 51. That is, when viewed from above, the sensor holding portion 55 has a shape along the peripheral direction of the cartridge holding portion 51. By forming the sensor holding portion 55 in such a curved shape, a region inside the case 3a can be effectively used, which can contribute to the reduction in size of the power supply unit 100.
As shown in
When the inhalation sensor 15 mounted on the puff sensor substrate 21 is press-fitted into the through hole 552A, an inner peripheral surface of the lower portion 552 abuts against the side surface 153 of the inhalation sensor 15, and the inhalation sensor 15 and the puff sensor substrate 21 are supported by the sensor holding portion 55 as shown in
As described above, the side surface 153 of the inhalation sensor 15 has a portion protruding outward from the puff sensor substrate 21. Therefore, after the inhalation sensor 15 is mounted on the puff sensor substrate 21, the inhalation sensor 15 can be easily press-fitted into the through hole 552A by gripping the side surface 153. Therefore, during manufacturing of the power supply unit 100, a risk of touching sensitive components such as the movable electrode 152 and the fixed electrode 151 of the inhalation sensor 15 with a finger or the like is reduced, and a failure of the inhalation sensor 15 can be prevented.
As shown in
As shown in
The sensor holding portion 55 is disposed such that a radial direction of the through hole 552A (a direction along a plane orthogonal to a direction in which the through hole 552A extends) intersects two directions (the short direction and the thickness direction in the example of the drawing) among the longitudinal direction (the upper-lower direction), the short direction (the front-rear direction), and the thickness direction (the left-right direction) of the power supply unit 100. For example, when it is assumed that the sensor holding portion 55 is fixed to a rear surface of the cartridge holding portion 51 such that the short direction coincides with the left-right direction and the longitudinal direction coincides with the upper-lower direction, the front-rear direction intersects the radial direction of the through hole 552A, but both the upper-lower direction and the thickness direction are parallel to the radial direction of the through hole 552A. In such a configuration, a thickness (a length in the left-right direction) and a width (a length in the front-rear direction) of the internal unit 2A increase. In contrast, according to the configuration of the present embodiment in which the sensor holding portion 55 is fixed to the obliquely left rear surface of the cartridge holding portion 51, the thickness and the width of the internal unit 2A can be reduced, and thus the power supply unit 100 can be reduced in size.
Further, for example, it is assumed that the aerosol generating device 200 has an elongated tubular shape as a whole, and the capsule holder 4A, the cartridge holding portion 51, and the battery pack BP are linearly arranged. In this case, for example, when it is assumed that the sensor holding portion 55 is fixed to a left surface of the cartridge holding portion 51 such that the short direction coincides with the front-rear direction and the longitudinal direction coincides with the upper-lower direction, the thickness direction intersects the radial direction of the through hole 552A, but both the upper-lower direction and the front-rear direction are parallel to the radial direction of the through hole 552A. In such a configuration, the thickness and width of the internal unit 2A increase. In contrast, according to the configuration of the present embodiment in which the sensor holding portion 55 is fixed to the obliquely left rear surface of the cartridge holding portion 51, the thickness and the width of the internal unit 2A can be reduced, and thus the power supply unit 100 can be reduced in size.
On the front surface 214 of the puff sensor substrate 21, the connector 21B electrically connected to the puff sensor connector 21A and a vibration motor connector 21C to be described later; a varistor V serving as a protective component for protecting other electric components mounted on the puff sensor substrate 21 or the MCU 6 from a signal output from the output terminal of the inhalation sensor 15; and a capacitor C2 serving as a protective component for protecting the inhalation sensor 15 from power input to the power supply terminal of the inhalation sensor 15 are mounted. No IC other than the inhalation sensor 15 is mounted on the puff sensor substrate 21. As described above, since the puff sensor substrate 21 does not include an IC that can be a noise generation source other than the inhalation sensor 15, the inhalation sensor 15 can be stably operated.
As shown in
As described above, the inhalation sensor 15 supported by the chassis 50 inside the case 3a is not exposed to the outside when the first case 3A is not detached from the chassis 50. In other words, the inhalation sensor 15 is exposed to the outside only when the first case 3A is detached from the chassis 50. Since the inhalation sensor 15 is not exposed to the outside, for example, when only the second case 3B is detached from the chassis 50 and the debug connector 20E is used, an advantage that the inhalation sensor 15 is less likely to fail can be obtained.
A wiring indicated by a thick solid line in
The main substrate 20 is provided with, as main ICs which are electronic components in each of which a plurality of circuit elements are formed into a chip, a protection IC 2; the charging IC 3; a low dropout (LDO) regulator (hereinafter, referred to as LDO) 4; a booster circuit 5 implemented by a DC/DC converter; the MCU 6; a load switch (hereinafter, referred to as LSW) 7 configured by combining a capacitor, a resistor, a transistor, and the like; a multiplexer 8; a flip-flop (hereinafter, referred to as FF) 9; an AND gate (simply referred to as “AND” in
The main substrate 20 is further provided with switches Q1 to Q9 each implemented by a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET), resistors R1 to R12, RA, and RB each a having fixed electric resistance value, a capacitor C1, a capacitor C2, the varistor V, a reactor L3 connected to the charging IC 3, a reactor L5 connected to the booster circuit 5, and a reactor L11 connected to the booster circuit 11. Each of the switch Q3, the switch Q4, the switch Q7, the switch Q8, and the switch Q9 is implemented by an N-channel MOSFET. Each of the switch Q1, the switch Q2, the switch Q5, and the switch Q6 is implemented by a P-channel MOSFET. Each of the switches Q1 to Q8 is switched between an ON state and an OFF state by controlling a potential of the gate terminal by the MCU 6.
In
In
The battery connector 20D (see a vicinity of a left center part in
The OLED connector 20C (see a vicinity of a lower left part in
The terminal VCC_R of the OLED connector 20C is connected to a drive voltage supply terminal of the OLED panel 17 by the OLED FPC 25. The terminal VDD of the OLED connector 20C is connected to a power supply terminal of a control IC for controlling the OLED panel 17 by the OLED FPC 25. A voltage to be supplied to the drive voltage supply terminal of the OLED panel 17 is, for example, about 15 V, which is higher than a voltage to be supplied to the power supply terminal of the control IC of the OLED panel 17. The terminal VSS of the OLED connector 20C is connected, by the OLED FPC 25, to respective ground terminals of the OLED panel 17 and the control IC of the OLED panel 17. The terminal RSTB of the OLED connector 20C is connected, by the OLED FPC 25, to a terminal for restarting the control IC of the OLED panel 17.
The signal line SL connected to the communication terminal T3 of the OLED connector 20C is also connected to a communication terminal T3 of the charging IC 3. Through the signal line SL, the MCU 6 can communicate with the charging IC 3 and the control IC of the OLED panel 17. The signal line SL is used for serial communication, and a plurality of signal lines such as a data line for data transmission and a clock line for synchronization are actually required. It should be noted that, in
The debug connector 20E (see a vicinity of a lower left part in
The main connector 20A (see a vicinity of a right center part in
The terminal HT1 (P1) of the main connector 20A is connected, by the main FPC 23, to the input-side contact point P1 connected to the pogo pin p1. The terminal HT1 (P2) of the main connector 20A is connected, by the main FPC 23, to the input-side contact point P2 connected to the pogo pin p2. The terminal HT1 (P3) of the main connector 20A is connected, by the main FPC 23, to the input-side contact point P3 connected to the pogo pin p3. The terminal KEY of the main connector 20A is connected, by a wiring of the main FPC 23, to one end of the switch BT mounted on the main FPC 23. The other end of the switch BT is connected to a ground line of the main FPC 23.
The heater connector 20B (see a vicinity of an upper right part in
The puff sensor connector 21A connected to the terminal group 15A of the inhalation sensor 15, the connector 21B connected to the main FPC 23, the vibration motor connector 21C connected to the vibration motor 13, the LED 21D, the varistor V, and the capacitor C2 are mounted on the puff sensor substrate 21 (see a vicinity of a lower center part in
The connector 21B of the puff sensor substrate 21 includes terminals (a terminal PUFF, a terminal LED, a terminal VIB, a terminal VOTG, a terminal VMCU, and a terminal GND) connected by wirings formed on the main FPC 23 to the terminal PUFF, the terminal LED, the terminal VIB, the terminal VOTG, the terminal VMCU, and the terminal GND of the main connector 20A respectively. As described above, the main FPC 23 is provided with the switch BT connected between the terminal KEY of the main connector 20A and the ground line. When the switch BT is pressed down, the terminal KEY is connected to the ground line of the main FPC 23, and a potential of the terminal KEY gets to a ground potential. On the other hand, in a state where the switch BT is not pressed down, the terminal KEY is not connected to the ground line of the main FPC 23, and the potential of the terminal KEY is undefined.
The puff sensor connector 21A of the puff sensor substrate 21 includes a terminal GATE connected to the output terminal of the inhalation sensor 15, a terminal GND connected to the ground terminal of the inhalation sensor 15, and a terminal VDD connected to the power supply terminal of the inhalation sensor 15. The terminal GATE of the puff sensor connector 21A is connected to the terminal PUFF of the connector 21B. The terminal VDD of the puff sensor connector 21A is connected to the terminal VMCU of the connector 21B. The terminal GND of the puff sensor connector 21A is connected to the terminal GND of the connector 21B. One end of the varistor V is connected to a connection line between the terminal GATE of the puff sensor connector 21A and the terminal PUFF of the connector 21B, and the other end of the varistor V is connected to the ground line. Even when a large voltage is input to the terminal GATE from an inhalation sensor 15 side, the varistor V can prevent the voltage from being input to other components of the puff sensor substrate 21 or the MCU 6. One end of the capacitor C2 is connected to a connection line between the terminal VDD of the puff sensor connector 21A and the terminal VMCU of the connector 21B, and the other end of the capacitor C2 is connected to the ground line. Even when an unstable voltage is input to the terminal VDD of the puff sensor connector 21A from a main substrate 20 side via the capacitor C2, a voltage smoothed by the capacitor C2 can be input to the inhalation sensor 15.
The vibration motor connector 21C of the puff sensor substrate 21 includes a positive terminal connected to the terminal VIB of the connector 21B and a negative terminal connected to the ground line. The vibration motor 13 is connected to the positive terminal and the negative terminal.
The LED 21D of the puff sensor substrate 21 has an anode connected to the terminal VOTG of the connector 21B and a cathode connected to the terminal LED of the connector 21B.
The charging terminal 1 on an upper left part in
The protection IC 2 adjusts the USB voltage VUSB input to the input terminal VIN, and outputs a bus voltage VBUS of a predetermined value (hereinafter, for example, 5.0 V) from an output terminal OUT. The charging IC 3, a voltage dividing circuit implemented by a series circuit including a resistor R1 and a resistor R2, and a switch Q7 are connected in parallel to the output terminal OUT of the protection IC 2. Specifically, the output terminal OUT of the protection IC 2 is connected to one end of the resistor R2 constituting the voltage dividing circuit, an input terminal VBUS of the charging IC 3, and the drain terminal of the switch Q7 whose gate terminal is connected to a terminal P21 of the MCU 6 and whose source terminal is connected to the ground line. One end of the resistor R1 is connected to the other end of the resistor R2, and the other end of the resistor R1 is connected to the ground line. A node connecting the resistor R1 and the resistor R2 is connected to a terminal P2 of the MCU 6. The protection IC 2 outputs the bus voltage VBUS from the output terminal OUT in a state where a low level signal is input from the MCU 6 to a negative logic enable terminal CE(
The charging IC 3 has a charging function of charging the power supply ba based on the bus voltage VBUS input to the input terminal VBUS. The charging IC 3 acquires a charging current and a charging voltage of the power supply ba by a detection terminal SNS, and performs a charging control on the power supply ba (a control on supply of power from the charging terminal BAT to the power supply ba) based on the charging current and the charging voltage. Further, the charging IC 3 acquires temperature information of the power supply ba, that is acquired by the MCU 6 from the electric power supply thermistor th3 via the terminal P25, from the MCU 6 by serial communication using the signal line SL, and uses the temperature information for the charging control.
The charging IC 3 has a first function of generating a system power supply voltage VSYS from a voltage (hereinafter, referred to as a power supply voltage VBAT) of the power supply ba input to the charging terminal BAT and outputting the system power supply voltage VSYS from an output terminal SYS, a second function of generating the system power supply voltage VSYS from the bus voltage VBUS input to the input terminal VBUS and outputting the system power supply voltage VSYS from the output terminal SYS, and a third function of outputting, from a booster output terminal RN, an OTG voltage VOTG (for example, a voltage of 5 V) obtained by boosting the power supply voltage VBAT input to the charging terminal BAT. The second function is enabled only in a state where the USB connection is established. As described above, the system power supply voltage VSYS and the OTG voltage VOTG are in a normal state where the power supply ba can supply electric power to the charging IC 3, and if the charging IC 3 is operating normally, output from the charging IC 3 is constantly possible.
One end of the reactor L3 is connected to a switching terminal SW of the charging IC 3. The other end of the reactor L3 is connected to the output terminal SYS of the charging IC 3. The charging IC 3 includes a negative logic enable terminal CE(
The charging IC 3 further includes a negative logic terminal QON(
The LDO 4, the booster circuit 5, and the booster circuit 11 are connected in parallel to the output terminal SYS of the charging IC 3. Specifically, the output terminal SYS of the charging IC 3 is connected to a control terminal CTL and an input terminal IN of the LDO 4, an input terminal VIN of the booster circuit 5, and an input terminal VIN of the booster circuit 11. The OTG voltage VOTG output from the booster output terminal RN of the charging IC 3 is supplied to the anode of the LED 21D via the terminal VOTG of the main connector 20A and the terminal VOTG of the connector 21B. A cathode of the LED 21D is connected to ground via the terminal LED of the connector 21B, the terminal LED of the main connector 20A, and the switch Q8. Therefore, by the MCU 6 performing an ON/OFF control of the switch Q8, a lighting control on the LED 21D using the OTG voltage VOTG can be performed.
The booster circuit 5 includes a switching terminal SW, a positive logic enable terminal EN connected to a terminal P26 of the MCU 6, an output terminal VOUT, and a terminal GND. One end of the reactor L5 is connected to the switching terminal SW of the booster circuit 5. The other end of the reactor L5 is connected to the input terminal VIN of the booster circuit 5. The booster circuit 5 performs an ON/OFF control of a built-in transistor connected to the switching terminal SW, thereby boosting a voltage input to the switching terminal SW via the reactor L5 and outputting the boosted voltage from the output terminal VOUT. An OLED voltage VOLED output from the output terminal VOUT of the booster circuit 5 is a sufficiently high voltage suitable for driving the OLED panel 17, and is a voltage of 15 V as an example. The input terminal VIN of the booster circuit 5 constitutes a high-potential-side power supply terminal of the booster circuit 5. The booster circuit 5 outputs the OLED voltage VOLED when a signal input from the terminal P26 of the MCU 6 to the enable terminal EN gets to a high level, and stops outputting the OLED voltage VOLED when the signal input from the terminal P26 of the MCU 6 to the enable terminal EN gets to a low level. In this manner, the OLED panel 17 is driven and controlled by the MCU 6.
The booster circuit 11 includes an input terminal VIN, a switching terminal SW, an output terminal VOUT, a positive logic enable terminal EN, and a terminal GND. One end of the reactor L11 is connected to the switching terminal SW of the booster circuit 11. The other end of the reactor L11 is connected to the input terminal VIN of the booster circuit 11. The booster circuit 11 performs an ON/OFF control of a built-in transistor connected to the switching terminal SW, thereby boosting a voltage input to the switching terminal SW via the reactor L11 and outputting the boosted voltage from the output terminal VOUT. A heating voltage VHEAT output from the output terminal VOUT of the booster circuit 11 is, for example, a voltage of 4 V. The input terminal VIN of the booster circuit 11 constitutes a high-potential-side power supply terminal of the booster circuit 11. The booster circuit 11 outputs the heating voltage VHEAT when a signal input from an output terminal Y of the AND gate 10 to be described later to the enable terminal EN gets to a high level, and stops outputting the heating voltage VHEAT when the signal input to the enable terminal EN gets to a low level.
The capacitor C1, a voltage dividing circuit implemented by a series circuit including a resistor R7 and a resistor R6, the multiplexer 8, the switch Q1, the switch Q2, and the switch Q5 are connected in parallel to the output terminal VOUT of the booster circuit 11. Specifically, the output terminal VOUT of the booster circuit 11 is connected to one end of the capacitor C1 the other end of which is connected to the ground line; an input terminal of the voltage dividing circuit including the resistor R6 connected to the ground line and the resistor R7 connected in series to the resistor R6 (a terminal opposite to a resistor R6 side of the resistor R7); a terminal VCC of the multiplexer 8; a source terminal of the switch Q1; a source terminal of the switch Q2; and a source terminal of the switch Q5.
A resistor RA having an electric resistance value Ra is connected in parallel to the switch Q1. A resistor RB having an electric resistance value Rb is connected in parallel to the switch Q2.
The multiplexer 8 includes an input terminal B0, an input terminal B1, an output terminal A, and a select terminal SE. The multiplexer 8 switches between a state where the input terminal B0 and the output terminal A are connected and a state where the input terminal B1 and the output terminal A are connected according to a control signal input from a terminal P15 of the MCU 6 to the select terminal SE.
The input terminal B0 of the multiplexer 8 is connected to a line connecting the switch Q1 and the terminal HT1 (P1). The input terminal B1 of the multiplexer 8 is connected to a line connecting the switch Q2 and the terminal HT1 (P2). The output terminal A of the multiplexer 8 is connected to a noninverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP1. An inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP1 is connected to a node connecting the resistor R7 and the resistor R6. An output terminal of the operational amplifier OP1 is connected to a terminal P14 of the MCU 6.
In a state where a signal input to the control terminal CTL is at a high level (in other words, a state where the system power supply voltage VSYS is output from the output terminal SYS of the charging IC 3), the LDO 4 converts a voltage input to the input terminal VIN (that is, the system power supply voltage VSYS) and outputs the obtained voltage as a system power supply voltage VMCU from the output terminal OUT. The system power supply voltage VSYS is a value in a range of 3.5 V to 4.2 V as an example, and the system power supply voltage VMCU is 3.1 V as an example.
The control IC of the OLED panel 17, the MCU 6, the LSW 7, the inhalation sensor 15, a series circuit including the resistor R3, the resistor R4, and the switch BT, and the debug connector 20E are connected in parallel to the output terminal OUT of the LDO 4. Specifically, the output terminal OUT of the LDO 4 is connected to the terminal VDD of the OLED connector 20C, a power supply terminal VDD of the MCU 6, an input terminal VIN of the LSW 7, one end (a node N1 in the drawing) of the resistor R5 the other end of which is connected to a terminal VMCU of the main connector 20A, an input end (the node N1 in the drawing) of the voltage dividing circuit including the resistor R4 and the resistor R3, and the terminal VMCU of the debug connector 20E.
Further, the output terminal OUT of the LDO 4 is connected to a source terminal of the switch Q6 whose gate terminal is connected to a terminal P4 of the MCU 6. A terminal VCC of the AND gate 10, a terminal VCC of the FF 9, one end of a resistor R11, one end of a resistor R12, a positive power supply terminal of the operational amplifier OP2, one end of a resistor R8, one end of a resistor R9, and a positive power supply terminal of the operational amplifier OP1 are connected in parallel to a drain terminal of the switch Q6.
The other end of the resistor R12 is connected to the second thermistor terminal TH2, and a series circuit including the resistor R12 and the second thermistor th2 connected to the second thermistor terminal TH2 constitutes a voltage dividing circuit to which the system power supply voltage VMCU is applied. An output of the voltage dividing circuit corresponds to an electric resistance value (in other words, a temperature) of the second thermistor th2, and is input to the terminal P8 of the MCU 6. Thus, the MCU 6 can acquire the temperature of the second thermistor th2. In the present embodiment, as the second thermistor th2, a thermistor having the NTC characteristic in which the resistance value decreases as the temperature increases is used, but a thermistor having the PTC characteristic in which the resistance value increases as the temperature increases may be used.
One end of a resistor R10 is connected to the other end of the resistor R9, and the other end of the resistor R10 is connected to the ground line. A series circuit including the resistor R9 and the resistor R10 constitutes a voltage dividing circuit to which the system power supply voltage VMCU is applied. An output of the voltage dividing circuit is connected to an inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP2, and a fixed voltage value is input to the inverting input terminal. The other end of the resistor R8 is connected to a noninverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP2.
The other end of the resistor R8 is further connected to the first thermistor terminal TH1 and a terminal P9 of the MCU 6. A series circuit including the resistor R8 and the first thermistor th1 connected to the first thermistor terminal TH1 constitutes a voltage dividing circuit to which the system power supply voltage VMCU is applied. An output of the voltage dividing circuit corresponds to an electric resistance value (in other words, a temperature) of the first thermistor th1, and is input to the terminal P9 of the MCU 6. Accordingly, the MCU 6 can acquire the temperature of the first thermistor th1 (in other words, a temperature of the sheet heater HTR). Further, an output of the voltage dividing circuit is also input to the noninverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP2. In the present embodiment, as the first thermistor th1, a thermistor having the NTC characteristic in which the resistance value decreases as the temperature increases is used. Therefore, an output of the operational amplifier OP2 gets to a low level when the temperature of the first thermistor th1 (the temperature of the sheet heater HTR) increases and the temperature is equal to or higher than a threshold THD1. In other words, as long as the temperature of the first thermistor th1 (the temperature of the sheet heater HTR) is in a normal range, the output of the operational amplifier OP2 is at a high level.
In a case where a thermistor having the PTC characteristic in which the resistance value increases as the temperature increases is used as the first thermistor th1, an output of the voltage dividing circuit including the first thermistor th1 and the resistor R8 may be connected to the inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP2, and an output of the voltage dividing circuit including the resistor R9 and the resistor R10 may be connected to the noninverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP2. In this case, when the temperature of the first thermistor th1 (the temperature of the sheet heater HTR) increases and the temperature is equal to or higher than the threshold THD1, the output of the operational amplifier OP2 also gets to a low level.
An output terminal of the operational amplifier OP2 is connected to an input terminal D of the FF 9. The other end of the resistor R11 and a negative logic clear terminal CLR(
The FF 9 has a clock terminal CLK, the clock terminal CLK is connected to a terminal P7 of the MCU 6. The FF 9 has an output terminal Q, and the output terminal Q is connected to an input terminal B of the AND gate 10. In a state where a clock signal is input from the MCU 6 to the clock terminal CLK and a high level signal is input to the clear terminal CLR(
An input terminal A of the AND gate 10 is connected to a terminal P6 of the MCU 6. The output terminal Y of the AND gate 10 is connected to a positive logic enable terminal EN of the booster circuit 11. The AND gate 10 outputs a high level signal from the output terminal Y only in a state where both the signal input to the input terminal A and the signal input to the input terminal B are at a high level.
When a control signal is input to a control terminal CTL from a terminal P10 of the MCU 6, the LSW 7 outputs, from the output terminal OUT, the system power supply voltage VMCU input to the input terminal VIN. The output terminal OUT of the LSW 7 is connected to the vibration motor 13 via the terminal VIB of the main substrate 20 and the terminal VIB of the puff sensor substrate 21. Therefore, when the MCU 6 inputs the control signal to the LSW 7, the vibration motor 13 can be operated using the system power supply voltage VMCU.
The power supply unit 100 has, as operation modes, a sleep mode in which power saving is achieved, a standby mode in which transition from the sleep mode is possible, and a heating mode in which transition from the standby mode is possible (a mode in which the liquid heater or the sheet heater HTR performs heating and aerosol is generated). When a specific operation (for example, a long-press operation) on the switch BT is detected in the sleep mode, the MCU 6 switches the operation mode to the standby mode. When a specific operation (for example, a short-press operation) on the switch BT is detected in the standby mode, the MCU 6 switches the operation mode to the heating mode.
When transitioning to the heating mode, the MCU 6 controls the switch Q6 shown in
When the booster circuit 11 starts outputting the heating voltage VHEAT, as shown in
The MCU 6 performs a control to connect the input terminal B0 and the output terminal A of the multiplexer 8 in a state where only the switch Q4 among the switches Q1 to Q4 is controlled to an ON state. In this state, when it is assumed that an electric resistance value between the terminal HT1 (P1) and the terminal HT1 (P2) is Rx, a divided voltage value=VHEAT*{Rx/(Ra +Rx)} is input to the noninverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP1. In the operational amplifier OP1, the voltage input to the noninverting input terminal is compared with the value of the divided voltage value when the liquid heater is connected between the terminal HT1 (P1) and the terminal HT1 (P2), and if the difference is small, the output of the operational amplifier OP1 gets to a low level. Therefore, when the output of the operational amplifier OP1 gets to a low level, the MCU 6 determines that the liquid heater is connected between the terminal HT1 (P1) and the terminal HT1 (P2).
When the output of the operational amplifier OP1 gets to a high level in the first step, the MCU 6 performs a control to connect the input terminal B0 and the output terminal A of the multiplexer 8 in a state where only the switch Q3 among the switches Q1 to Q4 is controlled to an ON state. In this state, when the liquid heater is connected between the terminal HT1 (P1) and the terminal HT1 (P3), the output of the operational amplifier OP1 gets to a low level. Therefore, when the output of the operational amplifier OP1 gets to a low level, the MCU 6 determines that the liquid heater is connected between the terminal HT1 (P1) and the terminal HT1 (P3).
When the output of the operational amplifier OP1 gets to a high level in the second step, the MCU 6 performs a control to connect the input terminal B1 and the output terminal A of the multiplexer 8 in a state where only the switch Q3 among the switches Q1 to Q4 is controlled to an ON state. In this state, when the liquid heater is connected between the terminal HT1 (P2) and the terminal HT1 (P3), the output of the operational amplifier OP1 gets to a low level. Therefore, when the output of the operational amplifier OP1 gets to a low level, the MCU 6 determines that the liquid heater is connected between the terminal HT1 (P2) and the terminal HT1 (P3).
When the output of the operational amplifier OP1 does not get to a low level in any of the first step to the third step, the MCU 6 issues an error notification.
When a level of the output of the inhalation sensor 15 is changed to a value corresponding to the inhalation performed by the user in a state where the determination processing is finished, the MCU 6 starts the heating control of the sheet heater HTR and the liquid heater. Specifically, the MCU 6 performs the heating control of the sheet heater HTR by performing an ON/OFF control (for example, a PWM control or a PFM control) of the switch Q5 shown in
In addition, when the liquid heater is connected between the terminal HT1 (P1) and the terminal HT1 (P2), the MCU 6 performs the heating control of the liquid heater by controlling the switch Q4 to an ON state, controlling the switch Q2 and the switch Q3 to an OFF state, and performing an ON/OFF control (for example, the PWM control or the PFM control) on the switch Q1 among the switches Q1 to Q4 shown in
As shown in
Further, in the present embodiment, the puff sensor substrate 21 on which the inhalation sensor 15 is mounted, and the main substrate 20 on which the MCU 6 which tends to be a noise source is mounted are disposed to be physically separated from each other. As a result, the inhalation sensor 15 that is constantly operated can be more stably operated. The switch BT, which tends to be an entrance of noise such as electrostatic electricity, is not mounted on the puff sensor substrate 21, and the switch BT is directly mounted on the main FPC 23. This also makes it possible to more stably operate the inhalation sensor 15 that is constantly operated. Further, since the switch BT is mounted on the flexible main FPC 23, a distance between the switch BT and the inhalation sensor 15 can be easily increased.
Here, attention is focused on the LED 21D and the vibration motor 13 which are loads that receive supply of power from the power supply ba. When vibrating, the vibration motor 13 may generate a counter-electromotive force (a reverse current flowing from a low potential side to a high potential side). In the present embodiment, a switch used for controlling the power supply to the vibration motor 13 is not a simple switch but the high-performance LSW 7 having a backflow prevention function. Accordingly, the counter-electromotive force and the reverse current generated in the vibration motor 13 can be prevented from being input to the MCU 6, and durability of the MCU 6 is improved.
Meanwhile, the LED 21D is driven at an operating voltage (specifically, the OTG voltage VOTG) larger than an operating voltage (specifically, the system power supply voltage VMCU) of the vibration motor 13, although there is no concern of the counter-electromotive force. This is because it is necessary to increase the operating voltage in order to increase luminance of the LED 21D. In the present embodiment, the switch Q8 for controlling power supply to the LED 21D is connected to a low potential side of the main connector 20A. Accordingly, even when the switch Q8 is short-circuited, the OTG voltage VOTG larger than the system power supply voltage VMCU can be prevented from being input from the switch Q8 to the MCU 6. As described above, since the switch Q8 is provided on the low potential side, the OTG voltage VOTG can be set to a high value without being limited by the system power supply voltage VMCU, and the luminance of the LED 21D can be effectively increased.
Here, attention is focused on the sheet heater HTR and the liquid heater which are loads that receive supply of power from the power supply ba. Since the liquid heater needs to atomize the aerosol source, it is required to supply a large amount of electric power per unit time. Meanwhile, since the sheet heater HTR only needs to be supplied with electric power to an extent that an amount of the flavor released from the flavor source is improved, the electric power required to be supplied per unit time is not larger than that of the liquid heater. Therefore, the switches Q1 to Q4 for controlling power supply to the liquid heater are more likely to be short-circuited than the switch Q5 for controlling power supply to the sheet heater HTR.
In the present embodiment, with respect to the liquid heater, the switch Q1 and the switch Q2 are connected to a high potential side (in other words, between the liquid heater and the power supply ba), and the switch Q3 and the switch Q4 are connected to a low potential side (in other words, between the liquid heater and the ground). Accordingly, even when one of a switch in the switch Q1 and the switch Q2 which is connected to the liquid heater and a switch in the switch Q3 and the switch Q4 which is connected to the liquid heater is short-circuited, a short-circuit current of the one switch can be prevented from being continuously supplied to the liquid heater by controlling the other switch to an OFF state. Thereby, safety of the power supply unit 100 can be improved. An electric resistance value Ra of the resistor RA connected in parallel to the switch Q1 and an electric resistance value Rb of the resistor RB connected in parallel to the switch Q2 are sufficiently high values. That is, it should be noted that the short-circuited current passing through the resistor RA and the resistor RB is not supplied to the liquid heater.
In the present embodiment, only the switch Q5 is connected to a high potential side with respect to the sheet heater HTR (in other words, between the sheet heater HTR and the power supply ba). As described above, since the switch Q5 is unlikely to be short-circuited, safety can be ensured even without providing another switch between the sheet heater HTR and the ground. The temperature of the sheet heater HTR is controlled by a protection circuit to be described later so as not to become excessively high. Therefore, even if the switch Q5 is short-circuited, the sheet heater HTR can be prevented from being continuously heated due to a function of the protection circuit. From this viewpoint, safety can also be ensured even without providing another switch between the sheet heater HTR and the ground. As described above, since only one switch connected to the sheet heater HTR is used, the number of components of the power supply unit 100 can be reduced, and a manufacturing cost of the power supply unit 100 can be reduced.
In the power supply unit 100, in the heating mode, electric resistance values of the resistor R8, the resistor R9, and the resistor R10 are determined such that the output of the operational amplifier OP2 gets to a low level when the temperature of the first thermistor th1 is equal to or higher than the threshold THD1. When the temperature of the first thermistor th1 is equal to or higher than the threshold THD1 and the output of the operational amplifier OP2 gets to a low level, a low level signal is input to the clear terminal CLR(
When the control on supply of power from the MCU 6 to the sheet heater HTR functions normally, the temperature of the first thermistor th1 is not equal to or higher than the threshold THD1 in principle. That is, when the temperature of the first thermistor th1 is equal to or higher than the threshold THD1, it means that there is a high possibility that some failure occurs in the circuit (specifically, the switch Q5) that supplies electric power to the sheet heater HTR or the MCU 6.
In the present embodiment, a low level signal output from the operational amplifier OP2 does not control the MCU 6 and the switch Q5, but controls the booster circuit 11 that outputs the heating voltage VHEAT, so as to stop the heating of the sheet heater HTR. As described above, since the output signal of the operational amplifier OP2 is input to the booster circuit 11 capable of reliably stopping the supply of power to the sheet heater HTR, safety when the sheet heater HTR reaches a high temperature can be enhanced. For example, when the temperature of the first thermistor th1 is equal to or higher than the threshold THD1 due to freezing of the MCU 6 or short-circuiting of the switch Q5, the MCU 6 or the switch Q5 cannot be controlled. Even in such a case, by inputting a low level signal from the operational amplifier OP2 to the enable terminal EN of the booster circuit 11, the supply of power to the sheet heater HTR can be reliably stopped.
Further, as a method of stopping the output of the heating voltage VHEAT from the booster circuit 11, a method of inputting a high level signal to the enable terminal CE(
In order to return the output of the FF 9 to a high level, it is necessary for the MCU 6 to re-input a clock signal to the clock terminal CLK of the FF 9 (in other words, restart the FF 9). That is, even if the temperature of the first thermistor th1 returns to less than the threshold THD1 after the output from the booster circuit 11 is stopped, the output from the booster circuit 11 is not resumed unless the MCU 6 performs the restart processing of the FF 9.
It is assumed that a cause of the temperature of the first thermistor th1 becoming equal to or higher than the threshold THD1 is freezing of the MCU 6. In this case, a high level signal is continuously input to the input terminal A of the AND gate 10, and a clock signal is continuously input to the FF 9. Although details will be described later, the aerosol generating device 200 is provided with a restart circuit RBT (see
As described above, the MCU 6 controls the resuming of the output from the booster circuit 11 (controls the resuming of the output after an intention of the user is reflected), and thereby the heating of the sheet heater HTR can be prevented from being resumed against the intention of the user and safety and convenience can be improved.
As described above, the AND gate 10, the FF 9, and the operational amplifier OP2 constitute a protection circuit for stopping supply of power to the sheet heater HTR to protect the sheet heater HTR when the sheet heater HTR reaches a high temperature. The protection circuit can autonomously stop the output from the booster circuit 11 according to the temperature of the first thermistor th1 instead of receiving a command for enabling the booster circuit 11 from the MCU 6, in other words, even when a high level signal is input to the input terminal A of the AND gate 10 and a clock signal is input to the clock terminal CLK of the FF 9. Accordingly, even when an obstacle such as freezing occurs in the MCU 6, an emergency stop of the heating of the sheet heater HTR or the liquid heater can be executed, and thus safety of the aerosol generating device 200 can be improved.
When it is determined that the temperature of the second thermistor th2 acquired based on the signal input to the terminal P8 is equal to or higher than a threshold THD2 (this value is smaller than the threshold THD1), the MCU 6 sets the signal input to the input terminal A of the AND gate 10 to a low level. Accordingly, the output of the AND gate 10 gets to a low level, and the booster circuit 11 stops outputting the heating voltage VHEAT. As described above, when the MCU 6 is operating normally, the output from the booster circuit 11 can also be stopped by a command from the MCU 6. Accordingly, for example, even when the first thermistor th1 is not operating normally, the output from the booster circuit 11 can be stopped in response to a command from the MCU 6 to improve safety. The threshold THD2 is smaller than the threshold THD1. Therefore, if the MCU 6 is operating normally, when the temperature of the sheet heater HTR is high, the MCU 6 can stop the output from the booster circuit 11 before the protection circuit, and the safety can be further improved.
In the present embodiment, the MCU 6 can acquire the temperature of the first thermistor th1 from the signal input to the terminal P9. Therefore, the MCU 6 determines whether the temperature of the second thermistor th2 can be normally acquired and when the temperature of the second thermistor th2 cannot be normally acquired, the MCU 6 preferably controls the heating of the sheet heater HTR based on the temperature of the first thermistor th1 such that the temperature of the sheet heater HTR converges to the target temperature. Accordingly, even when some abnormality occurs in the second thermistor th2, the heating control of the sheet heater HTR can be executed using the first thermistor th1. Whether the temperature of the second thermistor th2 can be normally acquired can be determined by determining whether the signal input to the terminal P8 indicates an abnormal value or whether the signal can be acquired.
However, basically, the MCU 6 executes the heating control of the sheet heater HTR based on the temperature of the second thermistor th2. Therefore, the second thermistor th2 is preferably disposed at a position where the temperature of the sheet heater HTR can be reflected more accurately. Meanwhile, the first thermistor th1 is mainly used to stop the output from the booster circuit 11 by the protection circuit when the sheet heater HTR reaches a high temperature. Therefore, in order to reliably detect a high temperature state of the sheet heater HTR, the first thermistor th1 is preferably disposed at a position where the sheet heater HTR is likely to reach a high temperature. A detailed configuration of the heater FPC 24 on which the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 are mounted will be described later.
In the above-described protection circuit, the FF 9 is not essential and may be omitted.
In the above-described protection circuit, both the FF 9 and the AND gate 10 may be omitted.
The heater FPC 24 includes a winding region 24A which is wound around and fixed to an outer peripheral surface 61S of the heat transfer tube 61 formed of a tubular member, a connector region 24B which is inserted into the heater connector 20B of the main substrate 20, and a coupling region 24C which couples the winding region 24A and the connector region 24B.
The winding region 24A includes a thermistor mounting region 240A in which the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 are mounted, a heater region 240B in which a conductive pattern Ph constituting the sheet heater HTR is formed, and an intermediate region 240C between the thermistor mounting region 240A and the heater region 240B. As described above, since the sheet heater HTR, the first thermistor th1, and the second thermistor th2 are mounted on the same FPC, a simple structure can be achieved as compared with a case where the sheet heater HTR and the thermistors are provided on different substrates, and the power supply unit 100 can be reduced in cost and size.
As shown in
As shown in
As described above, since the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 are disposed adjacently in the axial direction of the heat transfer tube 61, a width of the thermistor mounting region 240A in the axial direction can be increased as compared with a configuration in which the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 are disposed adjacently in a peripheral direction of the heat transfer tube 61. Since the longitudinal directions of the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 coincide with the axial direction of the heat transfer tube 61, the width of the thermistor mounting region 240A in the axial direction can be increased as compared with a configuration in which the longitudinal directions of the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 are orthogonal to the axial direction of the heat transfer tube 61. Accordingly, durability of the heater FPC 24 can be improved.
As long as the longitudinal directions of the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 are not orthogonal to the axial direction of the heat transfer tube 61, an effect that the width of the thermistor mounting region 240A in the axial direction can be increased is obtained.
The second thermistor th2 is disposed at a position closer to a center of the sheet heater HTR in the axial direction of the heat transfer tube 61 (the same as a short direction of the sheet heater HTR and the upper-lower direction of the power supply unit 100) than the first thermistor th1 is. That is, a shortest distance between the center of the sheet heater HTR and the second thermistor th2 in the axial direction of the heat transfer tube 61 (an upper-lower direction in
Further, the second thermistor th2 is disposed closer to the flow path forming member 19 than the first thermistor th1 in the upper-lower direction of the power supply unit 100 is. That is, a shortest distance between the second thermistor th2 and the flow path forming member 19 is shorter than a shortest distance between the first thermistor th1 and the flow path forming member 19. In a case where the flow path forming member 19 is made of a material having a high heat insulating property such as silicone, the temperature of the second thermistor th2 closer to the flow path forming member 19 exhibits a lower value than the temperature of the first thermistor th1 because the heat is absorbed by the flow path forming member 19. In the present embodiment, since the heating control of the sheet heater HTR is executed by using the second thermistor th2 having such a relatively low temperature, an effect that the temperature of the sheet heater HTR is less likely to reach a high temperature can be obtained. Meanwhile, the temperature of the first thermistor th1 exhibits a higher value than the temperature of the second thermistor th2 due to a distance from the flow path forming member 19. That is, in a case where the sheet heater HTR is excessively heated, the first thermistor th1 reaches a high temperature state reflecting the temperature earlier. Therefore, when the sheet heater HTR reaches a high temperature, the protection circuit can be quickly operated, and the safety can be improved.
As shown in an enlarged view at a lower center part of
One end of a conductive pattern 242 implemented by one conductive wire is connected to the terminal T1. The other end of the conductive pattern 242 is connected to one end of a conductive pattern Ph implemented by one conductive wire. One end of a conductive pattern 241 implemented by one conductive wire is connected to the other end of the conductive pattern Ph. The other end of the conductive pattern 241 is connected to the terminal T5.
One end of a conductive pattern 243 implemented by one conductive wire is connected to the terminal T2. The other end of the conductive pattern 243 is connected to the terminal T11. One end of a conductive pattern 245 implemented by one conductive wire is connected to the terminal T4. The other end of the conductive pattern 245 is connected to the terminal T14. One end of a conductive pattern 244 implemented by one conductive wire is connected to the terminal T3. A terminal T12 and a terminal T13 are connected in parallel to the other end of the conductive pattern 244. The conductive patterns of the heater FPC 24 are insulated from each other. In
In the heater FPC 24, the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 share the conductive pattern 244 for connection to the ground. Accordingly, as compared with a case where conductive patterns for connecting the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 to the ground are provided, the wiring of the heater FPC 24 can be simplified and the manufacturing cost of the power supply unit 100 can be reduced. Widths of the conductive pattern 241 and the conductive pattern 242 connected to the conductive pattern Ph can be made as larger as possible in the limited heater FPC 24. Accordingly, parasitic resistance of the conductive pattern 241 and the conductive pattern 242 can be reduced, and thus electric power can be more efficiently supplied to the sheet heater HTR.
In the heater FPC 24, the conductive pattern 244 for connecting the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 to the ground and the conductive pattern 241 for connecting the conductive pattern Ph to the ground are separately provided. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 from being affected by a fluctuation in a potential of the conductive pattern 241 connected to the conductive pattern Ph. Therefore, the accuracy of the control using the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 can be improved, and the safety of the power supply unit 100 can be improved. A conductive pattern for connecting the first thermistor th1 to the ground and a conductive pattern for connecting the second thermistor th2 to the ground may be separately provided in the heater FPC 24, and any one of the two conductive patterns may be connected to the terminal T5. With the configuration, the accuracy of control using either one of the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 can also be improved.
First, an operation when the MCU 6 is restarted without using the debug connector 20E will be described.
The resistor R3 and the resistor R4 have such resistance values that an output of the voltage dividing circuit including the resistor R3 and the resistor R4 gets to a high level in a state where the switch BT is not pressed down. Since a high level signal is input to the terminal QON(
The resistor R3 and the resistor R4 have such resistance values that an output of the voltage dividing circuit including the resistor R3 and the resistor R4 gets to a low level in a state where the switch BT is pressed down. In other words, the resistor R3 and the resistor R4 have such resistance values that a value obtained by dividing the system power supply voltage VMCU gets to a low level. Since a low level signal is input to the terminal QON(
Further, a low level signal is input to the gate terminal of the switch Q7. Therefore, when the USB connection is established (when the bus voltage VBUS is output from the charging IC 3), the switch Q7 gets to an OFF state, and as a result, the potential of the gate terminal of the switch Q9 gets to a high level (bus voltage VBUS), and the switch Q9 gets to an ON state. When the switch Q9 gets to an ON state, the potential of the terminal P27 of the MCU 6 gets to a low level (ground level). When the switch BT is continuously pressed down for a predetermined time, a low level signal is input to the terminal P27 of the MCU 6 for a predetermined time, and thus the MCU 6 executes the restart processing. When the press-down of the switch BT ends, the charging IC 3 resumes the output of the system power supply voltage VSYS, so that the system power supply voltage VMCU is input to the terminal VDD of the MCU 6 which is stopped, and the MCU 6 is started up.
When the MCU 6 is restarted using the debug connector 20E, the USB connection is performed, and then an external device is connected to the debug connector 20E. In this state, if the switch BT is not pressed, the switch Q9 gets to an OFF state, and thus the potential of the terminal P27 of the MCU 6 depends on an input from the external device. Therefore, when an operator operates the external device to input a low-level restart signal to the terminal NRST, the restart signal is continuously input to the terminal P27 for a predetermined time. By receiving the restart signal, the MCU 6 executes the restart processing.
According to the restart circuit RBT shown in
Further, according to the restart circuit RBT shown in
In the restart circuit RBT shown in
In the restart circuit RBT shown in
In the restart circuit RBT shown in
In the restart circuit RBT shown in
In the restart circuit RBT shown in
In the restart circuit RBT shown in
In the circuit shown in
In the present description, at least the following matters are described. In parentheses, corresponding constituent components and the like in the above-mentioned embodiment are indicated, but the present invention is not limited thereto.
According to (1), since a thermistor for controlling heating of the heater and a thermistor for stopping the heating of the heater are separately provided, a temperature control of the heater such as a heating control of the heater and emergency stop of the heating of the heater can be performed with high precision by using appropriate thermistors for the respective controls.
According to (2), even when an obstacle such as freezing occurs in the controller, an emergency stop of the heating of the heater can be executed, and thus safety of the aerosol generating device is improved.
According to (3), double safety measures using the controller and the protection circuit can be provided. In addition, as long as an obstacle such as freezing does not occur, the protection from the controller works first, so that the protection from the controller having excellent controllability can be preferentially applied while reliably preventing overheating of the heater.
According to (4), the controller can perform a control using not only the second thermistor but also the first thermistor, thereby enabling the aerosol generating device to have higher functionality.
According to (5), even when some abnormality occurs in the second thermistor, the heating control of the heater can be executed using the first thermistor, so that durability of the aerosol generating device is improved.
According to (6), since the circuit configuration of the power supply unit can be simplified, a cost of the power supply unit can be reduced.
According to (7), since the second thermistor disposed closer to the center of the heater is less susceptible to an air cooling effect than the first thermistor, an accurate temperature of the heater can be reflected. Since the heating control on the heater is executed using such a second thermistor, accuracy of the heating control on the heater is improved.
According to (8), heat at a location where a temperature is measured by the second thermistor is more likely to be transferred to the pedestal than heat at a location where the temperature is measured by the first thermistor. That is, the second thermistor exhibits a lower temperature than the first thermistor. Since the heating control on the heater is executed using such a second thermistor, the heater is less likely to reach a high temperature.
According to (9), since the protection circuit functions using the first thermistor which tends to reach a high temperature, the protection circuit can function more quickly than a case of using the second thermistor, and safety of the power supply unit is improved.
According to (10), as compared with a case where the heater and a plurality of thermistors are provided on different substrates, the structure can be simplified, and thus a cost and size of the power supply unit can be reduced.
According to (11), not only the flavor source can be heated with high efficiency by the heater formed on the flexible circuit substrate, but also the heating pattern and the thermistor can be disposed close to each other. Therefore, the resistance value of the thermistor is a value more accurately corresponding to the temperature of the heating pattern. Accordingly, accuracy of the heating control on the heater can be improved while improving generation efficiency of the aerosol.
According to (12), as compared with a case where two thermistors having the same position in axial direction of the tubular member are mounted on the flexible circuit substrate, the wiring on the flexible circuit substrate is not complicated and a width in the axial direction of the portion where the two thermistors are mounted can be increased, and thus a cost of the flexible circuit substrate can be reduced while making it less likely to be damaged.
According to (13), as compared with a case where the longitudinal direction of the thermistor is orthogonal to the axial direction of the tubular member, the width in the axial direction of the portion where the two thermistors are mounted can be increased, and thus the flexible circuit substrate can be made less likely to be damaged.
According to (14), as compared with a case where the GND pattern is provided for each of the two thermistors, the wiring of the flexible circuit substrate can be simplified and a manufacturing cost of the power supply unit can be reduced.
A potential of the second GND pattern connected to the heating pattern may fluctuate. According to (15), safety of the control of the power supply unit is improved by connecting the thermistor to the first GND pattern whose potential is easily stabilized by being insulated from such a pattern.
This application is a continuation of International Patent Application No. PCT/JP2021/045602 filed on Dec. 10, 2021, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/JP2021/045602 | Dec 2021 | WO |
| Child | 18736575 | US |
