CN114096170A

CN114096170A - Aerosol generation device

Info

Publication number: CN114096170A
Application number: CN202180004464.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李宗燮; 金愍奎; 李源暻; 曹柄盛
Original assignee: KT&G Corp
Current assignee: KT&G Corp
Priority date: 2020-05-25
Filing date: 2021-05-18
Publication date: 2022-02-25
Anticipated expiration: 2041-05-18
Also published as: CA3139698C; PL3955757T3; JP7684348B2; WO2021241932A1; CN114096170B; EP3955757B1; EP3955757A1; EP3955757A4; CA3139698A1; UA129109C2; JP2022539303A; ES3010341T3; KR102493437B1; US20230354890A1; JP2023116715A; JP7299355B2; KR20210145430A

Abstract

An aerosol generating device, the aerosol generating device comprises: a first cartridge, the first cartridge including a delivery hole for conveying aerosol generated by a first material; a second cartridge, the second cartridge The cartridge includes a chamber for accommodating the second material and can change the relative position of the first cartridge relative to the second cartridge, and the aerosol delivered from the first cartridge passes through the second material; a driving device, the driving device for changing the relative position of the first cartridge relative to the second cartridge; and a controller for changing the relative position of the first cartridge relative to the second cartridge so that when the predetermined condition is satisfied, The aerosol passes through at least one of the plurality of chambers.

Description

Aerosol generating device

Technical Field

One or more embodiments of the present disclosure relate to aerosol-generating devices, and more particularly, to aerosol-generating devices configured to automatically adjust the relative positions of a first cartridge and a second cartridge.

Background

Recently, there has been an increasing demand for aerosol-generating devices that generate aerosols based on non-burning methods rather than burning cigarettes. For example, the aerosol-generating device may deliver the aerosol to the user's distal airway by generating the aerosol using a non-combustion method, or the aerosol-generating device may deliver the aerosol to the user's distal airway by generating the aerosol from an aerosol-generating substance and passing the aerosol through a flavoured medium prior to output from the aerosol-generating device.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical problem

Embodiments provide an aerosol-generating device that is easy to use and carry. Furthermore, embodiments provide an aerosol-generating device for generating high quality aerosols that may meet various needs of consumers.

Technical scheme

One or more embodiments of the present disclosure provide an aerosol-generating device that may address various problems of the related art.

Technical objects to be achieved by the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the above objects, and objects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art from the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

An aerosol-generating device according to an embodiment comprises: a first cartridge configured to receive a first material therein and comprising a delivery aperture configured to deliver an aerosol generated by the first material; a second cartridge including a plurality of chambers for accommodating a second material through which the aerosol transported from the first cartridge passes and is discharged to the outside, wherein a relative position of the first cartridge with respect to the second cartridge is changeable such that at least one chamber of the plurality of chambers corresponds to the transport hole; a drive device configured to change a relative position of the first cartridge with respect to the second cartridge by moving at least one of the first cartridge and the second cartridge; and a controller configured to: when the predetermined condition is achieved, the relative position of the first cartridge with respect to the second cartridge is changed by operating the drive means to cause the aerosol to pass through at least one of the plurality of chambers.

Technical effects

The aerosol-generating device according to the above embodiments may be easily carried and used as the first cartridge containing the first material and the second cartridge containing the second material may be operated as one integrated device.

Furthermore, even when a first cartridge of the aerosol-generating device is designed to comprise a large amount of a first material, the relative position of the first cartridge and a second cartridge can be automatically changed by the drive device to select a chamber for supplying the aerosol, and the effect of replacing the second cartridge comprising the second material with a new second material can be obtained without replacing the second cartridge comprising the second material.

In addition, since the relative positions of the first cartridge and the second cartridge can be adjusted to select the chamber for supplying aerosol, the effect of replacing the cartridge for the medium with a new medium can be obtained without replacing the cartridge for the medium.

Furthermore, the chambers of the second cartridge may comprise different types of second materials, so that a user may select one of the chambers to select a desired second material, and thus, the user may freely enjoy aerosols having various flavors.

Drawings

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an aerosol-generating device according to an embodiment;

figure 2 is a perspective view illustrating a separated state of some components of the aerosol-generating device according to the embodiment shown in figure 1;

figure 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of an aerosol-generating device according to the embodiment shown in figure 1;

figure 4 is a block diagram schematically illustrating the connection relationships between some components of the aerosol-generating device according to the embodiment shown in figure 1;

figure 5 is a perspective view schematically illustrating some components of an aerosol-generating device according to another embodiment;

figure 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating one state of operation of the aerosol-generating device according to the embodiment illustrated in figure 5;

figure 7 is a transverse cross-sectional view illustrating another state of operation of the aerosol-generating device according to the embodiment shown in figure 5;

figure 8 is a perspective view schematically illustrating some components of an aerosol-generating device according to another embodiment; and

fig. 9 is a flow chart schematically illustrating a method of generating an aerosol performed by the aerosol-generating device according to the embodiment shown in fig. 1 to 8.

Detailed Description

Best mode

An aerosol-generating device according to an embodiment comprises: a first cartridge configured to receive a first material therein and comprising a delivery aperture configured to deliver an aerosol generated by the first material; a second cartridge including a plurality of chambers for accommodating a second material through which the aerosol transported from the first cartridge passes and is discharged to the outside, wherein a relative position of the first cartridge with respect to the second cartridge is changeable such that at least one chamber of the plurality of chambers corresponds to the transport hole; a drive device configured to change a relative position of the first cartridge with respect to the second cartridge by moving at least one of the first cartridge and the second cartridge; and a controller configured to: the relative position of the first cartridge with respect to the second cartridge is changed by operating the drive means to cause the aerosol to pass through at least one of the plurality of chambers when a predetermined condition is met.

The first cartridge may further include a heater configured to perform a heating operation to heat the first material, and the predetermined conditions for the controller to operate the driving device include: a cumulative time of a heating operation of the heater for generating the aerosol, or a combination of the cumulative time of the heating operation of the heater and a heating temperature of the heater.

The aerosol-generating device may further comprise: a puff sensor configured to: detecting a change in fluid pressure or flow due to a flow of fluid flowing within the aerosol-generating device, wherein the predetermined condition for the controller to operate the drive means comprises any one or any combination of a number of puffs determined based on the signal detected by the puff sensor and a cumulative time of the puffs.

The aerosol-generating device may further comprise: a heater configured to perform a heating operation to heat a first material of a first cartridge; and an input device configured to generate an input signal for starting a heating operation of the heater by receiving an input operation of a user, wherein the predetermined condition for causing the controller to operate the driving device includes a use time determined based on the input signal of the input device.

The first cartridge may include: a plurality of reservoirs partitioned such that each reservoir comprises a first material; and a plurality of delivery holes arranged to correspond to the plurality of reservoirs, respectively. The relative position of the first cartridge with respect to the second cartridge is changed such that the position of at least one of the plurality of chambers corresponds to the position of any of the plurality of delivery holes.

Either one of the first cartridge and the second cartridge is rotatably coupled to the other one of the first cartridge and the second cartridge, and the drive device is further configured to rotate either one of the first cartridge and the second cartridge.

Either one of the first cartridge and the second cartridge is coupled to the other one of the first cartridge and the second cartridge to be linearly movable, and the drive device is further configured to linearly move either one of the first cartridge and the second cartridge.

The aerosol-generating device may further comprise an information generator configured to notify a notification for changing the position of the plurality of chambers.

The controller may also be configured to change the relative position of the first cartridge with respect to the second cartridge such that the position of one of the plurality of chambers is aligned with the position of the delivery orifice.

The controller may be further configured to: the relative position of the first cartridge with respect to the second cartridge is changed such that adjacent ones of the plurality of chambers simultaneously overlap the transfer port.

The aerosol-generating device may further comprise an aerosol-generating assembly comprising integrally coupled first and second cartridges, and a housing comprising a receiving channel receiving the aerosol-generating assembly.

The aerosol-generating assembly may further comprise a heater mounted in the first cartridge to heat the first material, and the housing further comprises electrical terminals connected to the heater to supply electrical power.

The housing further comprises a heater for heating the first material supplied from the second cartridge of the aerosol-generating assembly housed in the receiving channel.

Means for carrying out the invention

In terms of terms used to describe various embodiments of the present disclosure, general terms that are currently widely used are selected in consideration of functions of structural elements in various embodiments of the present disclosure. However, the meanings of these terms may be changed according to intentions, judicial cases, the emergence of new technologies, and the like. Further, in some cases, terms that are not commonly used may be selected. In this case, the meanings of the terms will be described in detail at corresponding parts in the detailed description of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the terms used to describe the various embodiments of the present disclosure should be defined based on the meanings of the terms as well as the descriptions provided herein.

Furthermore, unless explicitly described to the contrary, the terms "comprising" and variations such as "comprises" and "comprising," will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion of any other elements. In addition, the terms "-device", "-section" and "module" described in the specification refer to a unit for processing at least one of functions and operations, and may be implemented by hardware components or software components, and a combination thereof.

As used herein, expressions such as "at least one of … …" when preceding a list of elements modifies the entire list of elements without modifying each element in the list. For example, the expression "at least one of a, b and c" is understood to mean: including only a, only b, only c, both a and b, both a and c, both b and c, or all of a, b, and c.

If one element or layer is referred to as being "on," "over," "connected to," or "coupled with" another element or layer, the one element or layer is configured to be positioned on, connected to, or coupled with the other element or layer and with or without intermediate element(s) or intermediate layer(s). In contrast, if a component or layer is referred to as being "directly on," "directly connected to" or "directly engaged with" another component or layer, there are no other components or layers present between the components or layers. In the present disclosure, like reference numerals may denote like parts.

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which non-limiting exemplary embodiments of the disclosure are shown, so that those skilled in the art can readily practice the disclosure. Embodiments of the present disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the example embodiments set forth herein.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an aerosol-generating device according to an embodiment, fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a separated state of some components of the aerosol-generating device according to the embodiment shown in fig. 1, and fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the aerosol-generating device according to the embodiment shown in fig. 1.

Aerosol-generating devices according to the embodiments shown in figures 1 to 3 may supply an aerosol to a user by heating an aerosol-generating substance using a heater, which operates using electricity, an induced magnetic field or ultrasound, and thereby generating an aerosol.

Referring to fig. 3, the aerosol-generating device may comprise: a first cartridge 10, the first cartridge 10 containing a first material 12 and comprising a delivery orifice 11 for delivering an aerosol generated by the first material 12; and a second cartridge 20, the second cartridge 20 comprising a plurality of chambers 21 for housing a second material 22, the aerosol delivered from the first cartridge 10 passing through the second material 22 and being discharged to the exterior of the aerosol-generating device.

The first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 are joined to each other to form the aerosol-generating assembly 5 which is operated as a single component.

The aerosol-generating device may comprise a housing 7, the housing 7 comprising a receiving channel 7a capable of receiving the aerosol-generating assembly 5. The housing 7 may comprise a display means 7f for sending information to the user and a display light 7d for sending a notification to the user regarding the operational status of the aerosol-generating device, wherein the display means 7f and the display light 7d are arranged on an outer surface of the housing 7. The display device 7f and the display lamp 7d may be examples of an information generator that can notify various types of notifications to a user, and the information generator may be in the form of a speaker or a vibration generator, for example.

Furthermore, the housing 7 may comprise an input device 95, the input device 95 being manipulable by a user and generating a user input signal by detecting the manipulation by the user.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 1 to 3, the housing 7 may have a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the aerosol-generating assembly 5 may have a cylindrical shape that extends long in the axial direction. However, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the shape of the housing 7 and the shape of the aerosol-generating assembly 5 shown in fig. 1 to 3. For example, the housing 7 may have other shapes such as a cylindrical shape extending long in the axial direction, a cylindrical shape having an elliptical cross section, a flat cylindrical shape, a regular cube, and a rectangular parallelepiped. Furthermore, the aerosol-generating component 5 may have other shapes, such as a rectangular parallelepiped shape, a regular cube, etc.

The first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 may be coupled to each other such that the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 may be changed. In the embodiment shown in fig. 1-3, the second cartridge 20 is rotated relative to the first cartridge 10 so that the relative position of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 can be changed. The first cartridge 10 may have a cylindrical shape as a whole and include a position fixing surface 10s, the position fixing surface 10s being formed at least partially differently from the extending direction of the cylindrical surface.

The receiving channel 7a of the housing 7 may be formed as a hollow cylindrical path that extends long to receive the aerosol-generating assembly 5. The position retaining surface 7s may be formed on at least a part of the accommodating passage 7a so as to be different from the extending direction of the cylindrical surface of the inner wall surface of the accommodating passage 7a, thereby having a shape corresponding to the position fixing surface 10s of the first cartridge 10.

When the aerosol-generating assembly 5 is inserted into the receiving passage 7a of the housing 7, the position retaining surface 7s and the position fixing surface 10s contact each other, and therefore, the position of the first cartridge 10 can be stably retained with respect to the housing 7. That is, when the second cartridge 20 rotates relative to the first cartridge 10, the position fixing surface 10s of the first cartridge 10 is supported by the position retaining surface 7s, so that the state in which the first cartridge 10 is not rotated but fixed to the housing 7 can be stably maintained.

Furthermore, the position retaining surface 7s and the position fixing surface 10s may align the relative position of the axial centre of the aerosol-generating component 5 with respect to the axial centre of the receiving channel 7a when the aerosol-generating component 5 is inserted into the receiving channel 7a of the housing 7. That is, (the angular position of) the position fixing surface 10s of the first cartridge 10 and (the angular position of) the position retaining surface 7s of the receiving channel 7a of the aerosol-generating component 5 need to correspond to each other so that the aerosol-generating component 5 can be inserted into the receiving channel 7a of the housing 7.

The housing 7 may comprise an electrical terminal 50d, the electrical terminal 50d being arranged at the end of the receiving channel 7a and supplying the first cartridge 10 with electricity. When the aerosol-generating assembly 5 is aligned relative to the receiving channel 7a such that the position fixing surface 10s of the first cartridge 10 and the position retaining surface 7s of the receiving channel 7a of the aerosol-generating assembly 5 correspond to each other, the electrical terminal 50d may be accurately electrically connected to the first cartridge 10.

The embodiment is not limited to the coupling structure of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20, and the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 may be rotatably coupled to each other by using various coupling structures. For example, by modifying the structure of the aerosol-generating assembly 5 shown in fig. 1 to 3, the first cartridge 10 may be rotated relative to the second cartridge 20 in a state where the second cartridge 20 is held stationary at the housing 7. Alternatively, each of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 may be rotated so that the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 may be changed.

The housing 7 may include an atomizer 50a that generates aerosol, and the first cartridge 10 may deliver aerosol generated by the atomizer 50a to the second cartridge 20.

The first cartridge 10 may house a first material 12. The first material 12 may be, for example, a liquid or gel material. The first material 12 may be maintained in a liquid state by impregnation with a porous material, such as sponge or cotton, located inside the first cartridge 10.

The first material 12 may be a liquid material and may comprise, for example, a non-tobacco material containing a tobacco material or including a volatile tobacco flavor component.

The first material 12 may include, for example, water, solvents, ethanol, plant extracts, flavors, fragrances, or vitamin mixtures.

The flavoring of the first material 12 may include, but is not limited to, menthol, peppermint, spearmint, and various fruit flavor components. The flavoring agent may include ingredients that provide various flavors or tastes to the user.

The vitamin mixture of the first material 12 may be a mixture of at least one of vitamin a, vitamin B, vitamin C, and vitamin E, but is not limited thereto.

In addition, the first material 12 may include aerosol forming substances, such as glycerin and propylene glycol.

A controller 70 and an atomizer 50a for generating aerosol by heating the first material 12 of the first cartridge 10 may be mounted below the receiving channel 7a in the housing 7. The controller 70 may include a battery for supplying power to the atomizer 50a, a control chip or control circuit board for controlling the operation of the atomizer 50a, and the like.

The atomizer 50a may include: a core 52 that absorbs the first material 12 from the first cartridge 10 and retains the first material 12; a heater 51 wound around the wick 52, or in contact with the wick 52, or arranged adjacent to the wick 52, to generate an aerosol by heating the first material 12; and an aerosol-generating chamber 50c, the aerosol-generating chamber 50c surrounding the heater 51 to create an atmosphere for generating an aerosol.

The nebulizer 50a may generate an aerosol by converting the phase of the aerosol generating substance into a gas phase. Aerosol may refer to a gas in which vaporized particles generated from an aerosol-generating substance are mixed with air.

The heater 51 may be a resistive heating element that generates heat by power supplied by the controller 70. The atomizer 50a includes a resistive heating element. However, the embodiment is not limited to the configuration of the atomizer 50 a. The atomizer 50a may also generate aerosol by, for example, an ultrasonic method or an induction heating method.

The first cartridge 10 may comprise a delivery orifice 11, the delivery orifice 11 extending in the extension direction of the first cartridge 10 and delivering the aerosol. The aerosol-generating chamber 50c may deliver aerosol generated by the heater 51 to the delivery orifice 11 of the first cartridge 10. Thus, the aerosol supplied from the aerosol-generating chamber 50c may be delivered to the second cartridge 20 through the delivery aperture 11 of the first cartridge 10.

The second cartridge 20 may be arranged to rotate relative to the first cartridge 10, and the second cartridge 20 comprises: a plurality of chambers 21, the plurality of chambers 21 being sequentially positioned along a rotation direction of the second cartridge 20; and a second material 22, the second material 22 being housed in each of the plurality of chambers 21 and the aerosol passing through the second material 22.

The second material 22 may be in a solid state and may include, for example, a powder or granules, which is a collection of small-sized particles.

The second material 22 may comprise, for example, a tobacco-containing material containing volatile tobacco flavor components, or may comprise additives such as flavorants, humectants and/or organic acids, flavor-bearing materials such as menthol or humectants, botanical extracts, flavorants, scents, and any or a mixture of vitamin mixtures.

The flavoring of the second material 22 may include menthol, peppermint, spearmint, and various fruit flavor components, but is not limited thereto.

The flavoring of the second material 22 may include menthol, peppermint, spearmint, and various fruit flavor components, but is not limited thereto. The flavoring agent of the second material 22 may include ingredients that provide various flavors or tastes to the user.

The second cartridge 20 may include a plurality of chambers 21, the plurality of chambers 21 being sequentially arranged to be separated from each other in the rotational direction of the second cartridge 20. The plurality of chambers 21 may be partitioned independently from each other by partition walls.

Fig. 2 shows three chambers 21, but the embodiment is not limited to the number of chambers 21, and the number of chambers 21 may be 2, 4, or more.

Referring to fig. 3, the first cartridge 10 may include a rotation shaft 40 protruding upward. The rotating shaft 40 may protrude from the first cartridge 10 and extend upward, and the second cartridge 20 may be rotatably coupled to the rotating shaft 40.

A mouthpiece 26 including an outlet 26e for discharging aerosol of the second material 22 passing through at least one of the chambers 21 to the outside may be coupled to an upper portion of the second cartridge 20. A ceiling 27 covering an upper end portion of the chamber 21 may be disposed on the chamber 21. The upper plate 27 may include upper through holes 27p through which aerosol passes.

The flow guide 29 may be coupled to an upper end of the rotation shaft 40 protruding from the upper surface of the upper plate 27. A flow guide 29 may be provided inside the mouthpiece 26 to guide the aerosol of the second material 22 passing through the plurality of chambers 21 to the outlet 26e of the mouthpiece 26. The flow guide 29 may include a plurality of wings corresponding to the plurality of chambers 21, respectively.

In a state where the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 are coupled to each other, at least one of the plurality of chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20 may be made to correspond to the delivery hole 11 of the first cartridge 10 by changing the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20. Thus, the aerosol discharged from the delivery orifice 11 of the first cartridge 10 may pass through a chamber corresponding to the delivery orifice 11 of the plurality of chambers housed in the second cartridge 20. The characteristics of the aerosol may change as it passes through the second material 22.

The aerosol-generating device may further comprise a drive device 60 for generating a driving force to move at least one of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20. Referring to fig. 1 to 3, the driving device 60 includes: a motor 61 arranged inside the housing 7 and operated by an electric signal; and a gear 62 that transmits the driving force of the motor 61 to the second cartridge 20. The gear surface 20g may be disposed on the exterior of the second cartridge 20 to extend in the direction of rotation of the second cartridge 20.

The gear surface 20g of the second cartridge 20 may be coupled to the gear 62 when the aerosol-generating assembly 5 is mounted on the housing 7. When an electrical signal from the controller 70 is applied to the motor 61 of the drive device 60, the shaft of the motor 61 rotates, and thereby, the driving force of the motor 61 may be transmitted to the gear surface 20g of the second cartridge 20. Thus, the drive 60 may rotate the second cartridge 20 relative to the first cartridge 10.

The embodiments are not limited to the configuration of the drive 60 shown in fig. 1-3, and for example, the drive 60 may be connected to the first cartridge 10 to rotate the first cartridge 10. Further, the gear 62 of the driving device 60 may be replaced with various power transmission elements such as a belt, a sprocket, and the like.

Here, the operating state in which the position of at least one of the plurality of chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20 corresponds to the position of the delivery orifice 11 of the first cartridge 10 may include all of the following states: the states include a state in which the position of any one of the plurality of chambers 21 corresponds to the position of the delivery hole 11 of the first cartridge 10 and a state in which the positions of two adjacent ones of the plurality of chambers 21 correspond to the position of the delivery hole 11 of the first cartridge 10.

Referring to fig. 1 and 2, the second cartridge 20 includes a first indicia 91 disposed on an outer surface of the second cartridge 20. The second cartridge 20 may include a plurality of chambers 21, and the first indicia 91 of the second cartridge 20 are formed at locations corresponding to the respective chambers.

The first cartridge 10 may include a second indicia 92, the second indicia 92 being disposed at an outer surface of the first cartridge 10 and may serve as a reference location for the first indicia 91 of the second cartridge 20. Thus, by matching the first marking 91 of the second cartridge 20 and the second marking 92 of the first cartridge 10 to each other, the position of at least one of the plurality of chambers 21 may be aligned with the position of the delivery orifice 11 of the first cartridge 10 for discharging aerosol.

In addition, the user can check the position of the first marking 91 of the second cartridge 20 and the position of the second marking 92 of the first cartridge 10 to identify information of the chamber 21 of the second cartridge 20 through which the aerosol currently passes (also referred to as the "currently used chamber").

The signal generator 97 may be disposed between the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20, and the signal generator 97 may indicate the type of the second material 22 in the chamber through which the aerosol currently passes, included in the plurality of chambers 21, according to the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20.

The signal generator 97 may include a transmitter 97a disposed in the second cartridge 20 and a receiver 97b disposed in the first cartridge 10 to detect the transmitter 97 a. The embodiment is not limited to the arrangement or number of the transmitters 97a and the receivers 97b, and for example, the transmitters 97a may also be arranged in the first cartridge 10, and the receivers 97b may also be arranged in the second cartridge 20.

The transmitter 97a and the receiver 97b of the signal generator 97 may include, for example, any one or any combination of an optical sensor such as a photo coupler, a magnetic sensor for detecting magnetic force by using hall effect, a resistance sensor for detecting a change in resistance.

Referring to fig. 1 and 3, the puff sensor 79p is disposed on a path along which the aerosol flows in the housing 7. The suction sensor 79p may detect a flow phenomenon of aerosol generated according to an aerosol inhalation operation of a user. The suction sensor 79p may be connected to the delivery hole 11 to detect, for example, pressure fluctuations of the fluid, i.e., including the fluid flowing through the delivery hole 11, or a flow rate according to the flow of air, and generate a signal. The suction sensor 79p may be disposed in a pressure sensing hole 79s connected to the delivery hole 11.

When using the aerosol-generating device described above, aerosol may flow from the first cartridge 10 to the plurality of chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20 and may then pass through the second material 22 contained in the plurality of chambers 21. The second material 22 can impart a scent to the aerosol. The aerosol passing through the second material 22 and containing sufficient flavour may pass through the upper through holes 27p of the upper plate 27 provided at the upper portion of the chamber 21 and may then be discharged to the exterior of the aerosol-generating device through the mouthpiece 26.

When the previously determined condition is reached, the controller 70 may operate the drive 60 to change the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 such that at least one of the chambers 21 may be traversed by aerosol delivered from the first cartridge 10. That is, the second material 22 included in the chamber 21 of the second chamber 20 has a preset use time associated with the operation of passing the aerosol, and when the actual use time for performing the operation of passing the aerosol through the second material 22 reaches the preset use time, the position of the chamber through which the aerosol passes needs to be changed.

The controller 70 may change the relative position of the second cartridge 20 with respect to the first cartridge 10 to select another chamber 21 of the plurality of chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20 or an adjacent chamber 21 to allow aerosol to pass through.

Figure 4 is a block diagram schematically illustrating the connection relationships between some components of the aerosol-generating device according to the embodiment shown in figure 1.

The controller 70 shown in fig. 4 may be implemented by any one of a circuit board arranged inside the housing 7 shown in fig. 1 and 3, a semiconductor chip attached to the circuit board, software installed on the semiconductor chip or the circuit board, a processor, a microprocessor, and a Control Processing Unit (CPU).

The controller 70 includes: an atomization controller 71, the atomization controller 71 being configured to control the atomizer 50a to control the amount or temperature, etc. of aerosol to be generated; a sensor controller 74 (including a sensing data receiver), the sensor controller 74 for receiving signals from sensors that detect changes in the rotational position of the second cartridge 20 relative to the first cartridge 10, such as: a temperature sensor 79t that detects a temperature associated with the nebulizer, a puff sensor 79p that detects a change in pressure or velocity of air produced when a user inhales an aerosol, or a signal generator 97 shown in fig. 2, the signal generator 97 detecting a rotational position of the second cartridge 20 relative to the first cartridge 10; an information controller 75, the information controller 75 is used for controlling the information generator 96, and the information generator 96 provides information and notice for the user; a user input receiver 76, the user input receiver 76 being used for receiving a user input signal from an input device 95, the input device 95 being a user input device, such as a button, a touch screen or an input button for detecting an input operation of a user; an input/output controller 73, the input/output controller 73 for exchanging data with a memory (e.g., memory) 78, the memory 78 including or storing information relating to the type of first material in the first cartridge 10 or the second material in the second cartridge 20, a temperature profile for controlling the operating temperature of the nebulizer, information relating to a user, etc.; a medium determiner 72 for determining the type of the medium currently being used based on the signal received from the signal generator 97; and a drive controller 77, the drive controller 77 being for controlling the operation of the drive device 60.

The controller 70 may initiate or terminate operation of the nebulizer by detecting inhalation by the user. Further, the controller 70 may determine the type of media currently being used based on the signal received from the signal generator 97 and control the operating temperature or operating time of the nebulizer to be adapted to the type of media.

The controller 70 may operate the driving device 60 when a predetermined condition is reached. The predetermined conditions for changing the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 when the controller 70 operates the drive device 60 may include: a cumulative time of a heating operation in which the heater generates heat to generate the aerosol; alternatively, the cumulative time of the heating operation of the heater is combined with the heating temperature of the heater.

When the predetermined condition is reached, the controller 70 may first generate a notification through the information generator 96 for notifying that the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 need to be changed. When the user recognizes the notification and operates the input device 95, the controller 70 may operate the drive device 60 to change the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 based on the input signal received from the input device 95.

When the predetermined condition includes the cumulative time of the heating operation of the heater, the controller 70 may calculate the amount of current or the amount of power supplied to the heater by the atomization controller 71, or the controller 70 may calculate the cumulative time of the heating operation of the heater by adding the amounts of time during which current is supplied to the heater. For example, in the case where the time during which the fragrance may be imparted to the aerosol as it passes through the second material 22 included in one of the chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20 is predetermined to be n minutes, when the cumulative time of the heating operation of the heater reaches n minutes, the controller 70 may determine: it is necessary to terminate the use of the chamber through which the aerosol passes and to change the relative position of the second cartridge 20 with respect to the first cartridge 10 and, therefore, a new chamber through which the aerosol passes can be selected from the chambers 21.

The heating operation of the heater may include: a primary heating operation that generates heat at a sufficient temperature to vaporize the first material of the first cartridge 10; and a preheating operation of generating heat in a temperature range lower than a temperature corresponding to the main heating operation. The heating operation of the heater included in the predetermined condition for causing the controller 70 to operate the driving device 60 may be a main heating operation.

When the predetermined condition includes a combination of the cumulative time of the heating operation of the heater and the heating temperature of the heater, the predetermined condition may be more useful when the heating operation of the heater includes a main heating operation and a preheating operation. For example, in the case where the time during which the second material 22 included in one of the chambers 21 can pass aerosol and can impart fragrance to the aerosol is predetermined to be n minutes, the controller 70 may calculate the cumulative time of the heating operation of the heater only when the heating temperature of the heater reaches a temperature corresponding to the main heating operation.

The predetermined conditions for causing the controller 70 to operate the drive device 60 to change the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 may include any one or any combination of the number of puffs and the cumulative time of the puffs determined based on the signal detected by the puff sensor 79 p. When the intensity of the signal detected by the suction sensor 79p exceeds a predetermined threshold, the controller 70 may determine that the user has performed an effective inhalation operation, thereby counting the number of suction operations.

When the predetermined condition includes the number of smoking operations, the controller 70 may calculate the number of smoking operations performed by the chamber through which the aerosol currently passes in the chamber 21 of the second cartridge 20 based on the signal generated by the puff sensor 79 p. In this case, the controller 70 may calculate the number of suctioning operations based only on the signal of the suction sensor 79p by ignoring the accumulated time of the suctioning operations in which the user continuously performs the suctioning operation of suctioning the aerosol.

For example, in the case where the number of times of the smoking operation in which the fragrance is imparted to the aerosol as the aerosol passes through the second material 22 included in one of the chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20 is predetermined as m, when the number of times of the smoking operation reaches m, the controller 70 may determine: it is necessary to terminate the use of the chamber through which the aerosol passes and to change the relative position of the second cartridge 20 with respect to the first cartridge 10 and, therefore, a new chamber through which the aerosol passes can be selected from the chambers 21.

The controller 70 may determine the position change time of the second cartridge 20 for selecting a new chamber based on the usage environment of the aerosol-generating device or the inhalation habits of the user. For this, the predetermined condition may include the cumulative time of the pumping operation, or a combination of the number of pumping operations and the cumulative time of the pumping operation.

The operation when the predetermined condition includes the combination of the number of times of the suctioning operation and the cumulative time of the suctioning operation may be as follows. For example, in the case where the number of times of the pumping operation that imparts fragrance to the aerosol passing through the second material 22 in the currently used chamber (of the plurality of chambers 21) is set to m and the cumulative time of the pumping operation is set to p minutes, the controller 70 may determine, according to the predetermined conditions for selecting a new chamber: when both the first condition that the number of times of the pumping operations reaches m times and the second condition that the cumulative time of the pumping operations reaches p minutes are satisfied, the use of the currently used chamber is stopped. Therefore, even when the number of pumping operations reaches m times based on a signal from the pumping sensor 79p, the controller 70 may maintain the position of the chamber through which the aerosol currently passes until the cumulative time of pumping operations reaches p minutes, when the cumulative time of pumping operations does not reach p minutes, and thus, the number of pumping operations may reach (m + x) times. As a new way of changing the operating conditions, it may be determined that the controller 70 should terminate the use of the chamber through which the aerosol currently passes, even when only one of the condition that the number of times for the pumping operation reaches m and the condition that the cumulative time for the pumping operation reaches p minutes is satisfied.

The predetermined conditions for causing the controller 70 to operate the drive device 60 to change the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 may include a usage time determined based on an input signal generated when the input device 95 receives a user input.

In the case where the predetermined condition includes a use time determined based on an input signal of the input device 95, the predetermined condition may be more useful when the user can directly start the operation of the heater. For example, according to the aerosol-generating device, when the user operates the input device 95 for the purpose of satisfying the user's taste or improving convenience, the heater of the atomizer may not perform a separate preheating operation but the heater may be immediately activated, and thus, a function of performing a main heating operation at high speed may be provided. In this case, the predetermined condition includes a usage time determined based on an input signal of the input device 95, and when the usage time in the case where the nebulizer is operated according to the operation of the user reaches a predetermined reference usage time, the controller 70 may determine to terminate the usage of the currently used chamber and change the relative position of the second cartridge 20 with respect to the first cartridge 10, and thereby may select a new chamber from the chambers 21 through which the aerosol passes.

The predetermined conditions for causing the controller 70 to operate the drive device 60 to change the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 may include any one or any combination of the number of puffs and the cumulative time of the puffs determined based on the signal detected by the puff sensor 79 p. When the intensity of the signal detected by the suction sensor 79p exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the controller 70 may determine that the user has performed an effective inhalation operation, thereby counting the number of suction operations.

In the above description, characters representing time or times such as m, n, p, and x may refer to integers, real numbers, or time lengths.

The predetermined conditions for causing the controller 70 to operate the drive device 60 to change the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 may include a selection condition that selects at least one of the chambers 21 for use based on an input signal generated when the input device 95 receives a user input.

The chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20 may contain second materials 22 having different types of media or different particle sizes, and the controller 70 causes the display light 7d to illuminate, change the color of the emissions, or display information on the display device 7f to provide information about the second material 22 included in the chamber of the plurality of chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20 that is currently aligned with the delivery aperture 11 of the first cartridge 10.

When the user operates the input device 95 and selects a desired chamber from the chambers 21, the controller 70 may determine that: a selection condition for the user to select at least one of the chambers 21 based on an input signal from the input device 95 is satisfied, thereby changing the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20.

When using the aerosol-generating device described above, the user rotates the second cartridge 20 relative to the first cartridge 10 prior to mounting the aerosol-generating assembly 5 on the housing 7, thereby placing at least one of the chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20 at a position corresponding to the delivery orifice 11 of the first cartridge 10 and, as a result, the rotational position of the second cartridge 20 may be adjusted. After adjusting the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20, the user can mount the aerosol-generating assembly 5 on the housing 7.

This method of operation may be modified. In another embodiment, a user may be allowed to mount the aerosol-generating assembly 5 on the housing 7 without adjusting the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20. For example, the drive device 60 built into the housing 7 automatically rotates the second cartridge 20 to automatically adjust the relative position of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 to an initial position for generating aerosol. The "initial position" may be the following position: in this position, the position of any of the chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20 corresponds to the position of the delivery orifice 11.

In a state where the position of at least one of the chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20 corresponds to the position of the delivery orifice 11 of the first cartridge 10, the user can inhale aerosol through the mouthpiece 26.

The aerosol-generating assembly 5 of the aerosol-generating device may be operated as a single device in which the first cartridge 10 for containing the first material 12 and the second cartridge 20 for containing the second material 22 are joined to one another for ease of carrying and use.

Furthermore, even in case the first cartridge 10 of the aerosol-generating device is designed to comprise a large amount of the first material 12, the second cartridge 20 may be automatically rotated by the drive device 60 to select the chamber 21 to be used for supplying the aerosol, and thus the effect of replacing the second material 22 with a new material may be obtained without replacing the second cartridge comprising the second material 22.

Furthermore, the chamber 21 of the second cartridge 20 may comprise a different type of second material 22. For example, even when the chamber 21 includes the second material 22 having a different particle size or a different fragrance property, the controller 70 may identify the use chamber currently used for the aerosol to pass through in the chamber 21 by aligning the use chamber to correspond to the delivery hole 11 based on the signal generated by the signal generator 97. Since information on the use chambers identified by the controller 70 and information on the second materials 22 included in the use chambers can be provided to the user, the user can freely enjoy aerosols having various fragrances by selecting one of the chambers 21 to select a desired second material 22.

Figure 5 is a perspective view schematically illustrating some components of an aerosol-generating device according to another embodiment.

In an aerosol-generating device according to the embodiment shown in fig. 5, the aerosol-generating assembly 5 may comprise a first cartridge 10 and a second cartridge 20 rotatably coupled to the first cartridge 10. The drive 60 may be mounted in the first cartridge 10 and the relative position of the second cartridge 20 with respect to the first cartridge 10 may be changed when the drive 60 rotates the second cartridge 20.

The first cartridge 10 may include: a plurality of reservoirs partitioned to contain the first material 12, respectively; and a plurality of delivery holes 11, the plurality of delivery holes 11 being arranged to correspond to the plurality of reservoirs. In the aerosol-generating device according to the embodiment shown in fig. 5, although the first cartridge 10 includes two reservoirs and two delivery holes 11, the embodiment is not limited to the configuration of the first cartridge 10, and the number of reservoirs and the number of delivery holes 11 may be variously changed.

The aerosol generated when the first material 12 is contained in the plurality of reservoirs may be delivered to the second cartridge 20 through the plurality of delivery apertures 11 of the first cartridge 10. When aerosol is generated in the first cartridge 10, the first material 12 of all reservoirs of the first cartridge 10 may be vaporized simultaneously, and if desired, the first material 12 contained in only one of the plurality of reservoirs may be vaporized, or the first material 12 contained in a portion of the plurality of reservoirs may be vaporized.

The second cartridge 20 may include a plurality of chambers 21 for containing a second material 22, and the aerosol transported from the first cartridge 10 passes through the second material 22 and is discharged to the outside. The first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 may be joined to each other and integrally coupled to each other to be operated as one component, thereby forming the aerosol-generating assembly 5.

Figure 6 is a transverse cross-sectional view illustrating an operational state of the aerosol-generating device according to the embodiment illustrated in figure 5.

The second cartridge 20 may be rotated by a drive device so that the relative position of the second cartridge 20 with respect to the first cartridge 10 may be changed. As shown in fig. 6, the rotational position of the second cartridge 20 relative to the first cartridge 10 may be aligned such that: the position of one of the chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20 may correspond to the position of one of the delivery holes 11. In the aligned state shown in fig. 6, one of the chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20 may be passed through by the aerosol delivered from one of the delivery apertures 11 of the first cartridge 10, thereby altering the characteristics of the aerosol.

Figure 7 is a transverse cross-sectional view of another operating state of the aerosol-generating device according to the embodiment shown in figure 5.

When the relative position of the second cartridge 20 with respect to the first cartridge 10 is changed by rotating the second cartridge 20 using the drive device, as shown in fig. 7, the rotational position of the second cartridge 20 with respect to the first cartridge 10 may be aligned such that: the position of the adjacent chamber 21 may correspond to the position of one of the delivery holes 11.

In fig. 7, each of the two adjacent chambers of the second cartridge 20 may be arranged to overlap with: said area corresponds to half of one of the delivery holes 11. Embodiments are not limited to the aligned position of the second cartridge 20, and the rotational position of the second cartridge 20 relative to the first cartridge 10 may be aligned such that: the areas overlapping the delivery orifice 11 in two adjacent chambers 21 may be different from each other.

For example, when the lifetime associated with the function of the aerosol passing through the second material 22 contained in one of the two adjacent chambers 21 reaches 20%, the one of the two adjacent chambers 21 may be arranged to overlap with: said area corresponds to about 80% of the delivery orifice 11, while the other of the two adjacent chambers 21 can be arranged so as to overlap: said area corresponds to about 20% of the delivery orifice 11.

For example, when the lifetime associated with the function of the aerosol passing through the second material 22 contained in one of the two adjacent chambers 21 reaches 60%, the one of the two adjacent chambers 21 may be arranged to overlap with: said area corresponds to about 40% of the delivery orifice 11, while the other of the two adjacent chambers 21 can be arranged so as to overlap: said area corresponds to about 60% of the delivery orifice 11.

Further, when the lifetime associated with the function of the aerosol passing through the second material 22 contained in one of the adjacent two chambers 21 reaches 80%, the one of the adjacent two chambers 21 may be arranged to overlap with: said area corresponds to about 20% of the delivery orifice 11, while the other of the two adjacent chambers 21 can be arranged so as to overlap: said area corresponds to about 80% of the delivery orifice 11.

As described above, the predetermined conditions for changing the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 by using the controller may be determined in consideration of the lifetime associated with the function of the aerosol supply through the second material 22 contained in the chamber 21, as described above.

Further, as described above, when the second cartridge 20 is rotated based on the life of the second material 22 of the chamber 21 to change the area where the adjacent chamber 21 overlaps with the transfer hole 11, the second cartridge 20 may be intermittently moved according to the change in time, or the second cartridge 20 may be continuously moved according to the change in time.

As shown in fig. 7, according to the method in which the position is changed such that the adjacent chamber 21 of the second cartridge 20 overlaps with one of the delivery holes 11, the first cartridge 10 generates aerosol as the second cartridge 20 rotates around the first cartridge 10 and continues to maintain the operation of allowing the aerosol to flow without stopping the operation of delivering the aerosol to the second cartridge 10.

Furthermore, by varying the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20, the chambers through which the aerosol passes can be sequentially selected from a plurality of chambers 21. When the second cartridge 20 is rotated by selecting a chamber through which the aerosol passes from the plurality of chambers 21, the position of the previous chamber through which the aerosol currently passes does not immediately disengage from the delivery orifice 11, and an operation of passing the aerosol through the previous chamber and the subsequent chamber, which is then aligned with the position of the delivery orifice 11 due to the rotational movement of the second cartridge 20, can be performed.

According to this operation method, when the relative positions of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20 are changed, the characteristics of the aerosol delivered to the user, such as temperature, humidity, and flavor, do not change rapidly, so that the aerosol can be supplied smoothly and stably.

Furthermore, when the plurality of chambers 21 of the second cartridge 20 each include a second material 22 having different characteristics, the aerosol may pass through adjacent chambers so that characteristics of the aerosol, such as composition and flavor, may be varied, thereby providing various types of aerosols to the user.

Figure 8 is a perspective view schematically illustrating some components of an aerosol-generating device according to another embodiment.

An aerosol-generating device according to the embodiment shown in fig. 8 may comprise: a first cartridge 10, the first cartridge 10 comprising

reservoirs

10a and 10b separated independently of each other to contain a first material; a second cartridge 20 coupled to the first cartridge 10 to be linearly or laterally movable; and a drive 60, the drive 60 moving the second cartridge 20 linearly or laterally.

The first cartridge 10 may include:

passages

11p and 11q, the

passages

11p and 11q being for conveying aerosol generated by vaporizing the first material contained in each of the

reservoirs

10a and 10 b; and a delivery hole 11 formed in an end portion of each of the

channels

11p and 11 q.

The first cartridge 10 may include a linear guide 10t surrounding an upper portion of the delivery hole 11 and extending linearly, and the second cartridge 20 may include a rail 20l slidably coupled to the linear guide 10 t. The second cartridge 20 is linearly movable along the extending direction of the linear guide 10t of the first cartridge 10. The second cartridge 20 may include: a main body 20t, the main body 20t being plate-shaped and extending long along an extending direction of the linear guide 10 t; and a plurality of

chambers

20a, 20b, and 20c, the plurality of

chambers

20a, 20b, and 20c being sequentially arranged to be separated from each other along an extending direction of the main body 20 t.

In fig. 8, two

reservoirs

10a and 10b are arranged, and three

chambers

20a, 20b, and 20c are arranged. However, the number of reservoirs and the number of chambers may be varied differently.

The aerosol-generating device may comprise a drive device 60, the drive device 60 generating a driving force to move at least one of the first cartridge 10 and the second cartridge 20. The drive means 60 may comprise a motor 61 operated by an electrical signal and a gear 62 which transmits the driving force of the motor 61 to the second cartridge 20. A gear surface 20g may be provided on one side of the body 20t of the second cartridge 20.

In fig. 8, although the driving device 60 is illustrated as an electric motor for generating a rotational force for rotating the gear 62, the embodiment is not limited to the type of the driving device 60. For example, the driving device 60 may include: a linearly arranged permanent magnet; a linear motor positioned to correspond to the permanent magnet and including an electromagnet having an electric coil; or a cylinder using fluid pressure.

As the second cartridge 20 moves linearly, the position of any of the

chambers

20a, 20b, and 20c of the second cartridge 20 may be aligned to correspond to the position of any of the transfer ports 11. Furthermore, the position of one of the

chambers

20a, 20b and 20c of the second cartridge 20 may be aligned to correspond to the position of one of the two delivery holes 11, and at the same time, the position of the other of the

chambers

20a, 20b and 20c may be aligned to correspond to the position of the other of the two delivery holes 11.

Fig. 9 is a flow chart schematically illustrating a method of generating an aerosol by an aerosol-generating device according to the embodiment illustrated in fig. 1 to 8.

A method of generating an aerosol according to the embodiment shown in fig. 9 may include: an operation S100 of detecting inhalation of the user; an operation S110 of determining that an inhalation operation is detected and starting an aerosol supply operation; an operation S120 of detecting a rotational position of the second cartridge with respect to the first cartridge; an operation of determining whether the detected signal of the rotational position of the second cartridge is normal (e.g., whether the amplitude of the detected signal of the rotational position of the second cartridge or the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the signal is greater than a preset threshold) S130; an operation S131 of adjusting the rotation position of the second cartridge when the signal of the rotation position is abnormal; an operation S140 of determining a type of media currently used for supplying aerosol based on the signal of the rotational position of the second cartridge (e.g., the type of the second material) when the signal of the rotational position of the second cartridge is normal; an operation S150 of determining at least one of a target temperature for operation of the atomizer and a heating profile for controlling a heating operation of the atomizer based on the determined type of media; an operation S160 of operating the atomizer based on the target temperature or the heating profile; an operation S170 of detecting a current temperature and comparing the detected temperature with a target temperature; operation S180 of determining whether a predetermined condition is reached; and an operation S190 of changing the relative positions of the first cartridge and the second cartridge when the condition is reached.

The predetermined conditions for changing the relative position of the first cartridge and the second cartridge may include: a cumulative time of a heating operation in which the heater generates heat to generate the aerosol; or a combination of the cumulative time of the heating operation of the heater and the heating temperature of the heater.

Alternatively, the predetermined condition for changing the relative position of the first cartridge and the second cartridge may include any one or any combination of the number of puff operations and the cumulative time of puff operations determined based on the signal detected by the puff sensor.

Alternatively, the predetermined condition for changing the relative position of the first cartridge and the second cartridge may comprise a time of use determined based on an input signal generated when the input device receives the user's input.

In operation S190 of changing the relative positions of the first cartridge and the second cartridge, the use chamber in the chamber of the second cartridge through which the aerosol currently passes may be replaced so that the position of the subsequent chamber may be changed to a position corresponding to the delivery hole of the first cartridge. The operation S190 of changing the relative positions of the first cartridge and the second cartridge may be automatically performed by a driving device operated by the controller.

The operation S190 of changing the relative positions of the first cartridge and the second cartridge may include: when a predetermined condition is reached, notifying a user of an operation requiring a change in the position of the chamber, an operation of receiving an input signal generated when the user operates the input device, and an operation of changing the position of at least one of the first cartridge and the second cartridge by operating the driving device based on the received input operation.

When the relative positions of the first cartridge and the second cartridge are changed, the usage chamber may be immediately detached from the position corresponding to the delivery hole, and the subsequent chamber may be aligned with the delivery hole, and then the aerosol may pass through the subsequent chamber as a new usage chamber, or the usage chamber and the subsequent chamber may temporarily perform the operation of aerosol passing together, and only the subsequent chamber may perform the operation of aerosol passing through as a new usage chamber with the passage of time.

After operation S190 of changing the relative positions of the first cartridge and the second cartridge, the process may return to operation S100 of detecting the inhalation of the user, and the above-described operations may be repeatedly performed.

Even when the first cartridge of the aerosol-generating device is designed to accommodate a large amount of the first material, the second cartridge may be automatically rotated by the drive device to select a chamber for supplying the aerosol, and thus, the effect of replacing the second material with a new second material may be obtained without replacing the second cartridge comprising the second material.

It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art having regard to this embodiment, that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of the features of the present disclosure. The disclosed methods are to be considered merely illustrative and not restrictive.

Industrial applicability

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to an aerosol-generating device that may be portable and practical because the relative positions of a first cartridge and a second cartridge may be automatically adjusted.

Claims

1. An aerosol generating device, the aerosol generating device comprising:

a first cartridge configured to receive a first material in the first cartridge, and the first cartridge includes a delivery hole configured to deliver the first material from the first cartridge Material-generated aerosols;

a second cartridge that includes a plurality of chambers for accommodating a second material through which the aerosol delivered from the first cartridge passes through the second material and is discharged to the outside, Wherein, the relative position of the first cartridge relative to the second cartridge can be changed, so that at least one chamber in the plurality of chambers corresponds to the delivery hole;

a drive device configured to change the relative position of the first cartridge relative to the second cartridge by moving at least one of the first cartridge and the second cartridge location; and

a controller configured to change the relative position of the first cartridge with respect to the second cartridge by operating the drive device when a predetermined condition is satisfied, to The aerosol is passed through the at least one chamber of the plurality of chambers.

2. The aerosol generating device of claim 1, wherein the first cartridge further comprises a heater configured to perform a heating operation to heat the first material and to cause the first material to be heated. The predetermined condition under which the controller operates the driving device includes: the accumulated time of the heating operation of the heater for generating the aerosol, or the heating of the heater A combination of the cumulative time of operation and the heating temperature of the heater.

3. The aerosol generating device of claim 1, further comprising:

a suction sensor configured to detect a change in fluid pressure or flow rate due to the flow of fluid flowing within the aerosol-generating device,

Wherein, the predetermined condition for causing the controller to operate the drive device includes: the number of suction operations determined based on the signal detected by the suction sensor, and the suction Either or any combination of the cumulative time of the suction operation.

4. The aerosol generating device of claim 1, further comprising:

a heater configured to perform a heating operation to heat the first material of the first cartridge; and

an input device configured to generate an input signal for initiating the heating operation of the heater by receiving an input operation from a user,

Wherein, the predetermined condition for causing the controller to operate the drive device includes a usage time determined based on the input signal of the input device.

5. The aerosol generating device of claim 1, wherein the first cartridge comprises a plurality of reservoirs, the plurality of reservoirs being separated such that each reservoir comprises the first material ; and a plurality of delivery holes arranged to respectively correspond to the plurality of reservoirs, and

Wherein, the relative position of the first cartridge relative to the second cartridge is changed, so that the position of the at least one chamber in the plurality of chambers is the same as any one of the plurality of delivery holes The positions of the delivery holes correspond.

6. The aerosol-generating device of claim 1, wherein any one of the first cartridge and the second cartridge is rotatably coupled to the first cartridge and the second cartridge The other of the second cartridges, and the drive device are further configured to rotate either of the first cartridge and the second cartridge.

7. The aerosol-generating device of claim 1, wherein any one of the first cartridge and the second cartridge is coupled into the first cartridge and the second cartridge The other of the pods can be moved linearly, and the driving device is further configured to linearly move any one of the first cartridge and the second cartridge.

8. The aerosol-generating device of claim 1, further comprising an information generator configured to notify a notification for changing the positions of the plurality of chambers.

9. The aerosol generating device of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to: change the relative position of the first cartridge relative to the second cartridge such that the plurality of cartridges are The location of one of the chambers is aligned with the location of the delivery holes.

10. The aerosol generating device of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to: change the relative position of the first cartridge relative to the second cartridge such that the plurality of cartridges Adjacent ones of the chambers overlap the delivery holes at the same time.

11. The aerosol generating device of claim 1, further comprising:

an aerosol-generating assembly including the first cartridge and the second cartridge that are integrally coupled, and

a housing, the housing including a receiving channel for receiving the aerosol-generating component.

12. The aerosol generating device of claim 11, wherein the aerosol generating assembly further comprises a heater installed in the first cartridge to heat the first material, And the housing further includes electrical terminals connected to the heater to supply power.

13. The aerosol-generating device of claim 11, wherein the housing further comprises a heater for controlling the aerosol-generating component from the aerosol-generating assembly accommodated in the accommodating channel The first material supplied by the second cartridge is heated.