WO2023006420A1

WO2023006420A1 - Interactive aerosol provision system

Info

Publication number: WO2023006420A1
Application number: PCT/EP2022/069536
Authority: WO
Inventors: Patrick MOLONEY
Original assignee: Nicoventures Trading Ltd
Current assignee: Nicoventures Trading Ltd
Priority date: 2021-07-29
Filing date: 2022-07-13
Publication date: 2023-02-02
Anticipated expiration: 2024-01-29
Also published as: US20240315355A1; KR20240027081A; CO2024000661A2; JP7737540B2; IL310240A; AU2022319813A1; JP2024530117A; CA3226641A1; CN117715549A; GB202110917D0; MX2024001346A; EP4376649A1

Abstract

An aerosol delivery system comprises an aerosol delivery device, a wireless signal receiver configured to receive wireless communications signals, an identification processor configured to store characterising data for identifying recurrent received wireless communications signals, a correlation processor configured to correlate user behaviour with identified recurrent wireless communications signals received within a predetermined window of time relative to the user behaviour, and a control processor configured to alter one or more operational parameters of the aerosol delivery device that relate to a particular user behaviour when one or more wireless communications signals previously correlated with that user behaviour by the correlation processor are subsequently received by the wireless signal receiver and identified by the identification processor.

Description

INTERACTIVE AEROSOL PROVISION SYSTEM

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an interactive aerosol provision system.

Background

The "background" description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description which may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly or impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.

Aerosol provision systems are popular with users as they enable the delivery of active ingredients (such as nicotine) to the user in a convenient manner and on demand.

As an example of an aerosol provision system, electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) generally contain a reservoir of a source liquid containing a formulation, typically including nicotine, from which an aerosol is generated, e.g. through heat vaporisation. An aerosol source for an aerosol provision system may thus comprise a heater having a heating element arranged to receive source liquid from the reservoir, for example through wicking / capillary action. Other source materials may be similarly heated to create an aerosol, such as botanical matter, or a gel comprising an active ingredient and/or flavouring. Hence more generally, the e-cigarette may be thought of as comprising or receiving a payload for heat vaporisation.

While a user inhales on the device, electrical power is supplied to the heating element to vaporise the aerosol source (a portion of the payload) in the vicinity of the heating element, to generate an aerosol for inhalation by the user. Such devices are usually provided with one or more air inlet holes located away from a mouthpiece end of the system. When a user sucks on a mouthpiece connected to the mouthpiece end of the system, air is drawn in through the inlet holes and past the aerosol source. There is a flow path connecting between the aerosol source and an opening in the mouthpiece so that air drawn past the aerosol source continues along the flow path to the mouthpiece opening, carrying some of the aerosol from the aerosol source with it. The aerosol-carrying air exits the aerosol provision system through the mouthpiece opening for inhalation by the user.

Usually an electric current is supplied to the heater when a user is drawing/ puffing on the device. Typically, the electric current is supplied to the heater, e.g. resistance heating element, in response to either the activation of an airflow sensor along the flow path as the user inhales/draw/puffs or in response to the activation of a button by the user. The heat generated by the heating element is used to vaporise a formulation. The released vapour mixes with air drawn through the device by the puffing consumer and forms an aerosol. Alternatively or in addition, the heating element is used to heat but typically not burn a botanical such as tobacco, to release active ingredients thereof as a vapour / aerosol.

The secure, efficient and/or timely operation of such an aerosol provision system can benefit from responding appropriately to how the user interacts with it.

It is in this context that the present invention arises.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Various aspects and features of the present invention are defined in the appended claims and within the text of the accompanying description.

In a first aspect, an aerosol delivery system is provided in accordance with claim 1.

In another aspect, a method of operation of an aerosol delivery system is provided in accordance with claim 14.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the disclosure and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a delivery device in accordance with embodiments of the description.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a body of a delivery device in accordance with embodiments of the description.

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a cartomiser of a delivery device in accordance with embodiments of the description.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a body of a delivery device in accordance with embodiments of the description.

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a delivery ecosystem in accordance with embodiments of the description.

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of a delivery device in accordance with embodiments of the description.

Figure 7 is a flow diagram of a method of operation of an aerosol delivery system in accordance with embodiments of the description.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

An interactive aerosol provision system is disclosed. In the following description, a number of specific details are presented in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent, however, to a person skilled in the art that these specific details need not be employed to practice embodiments of the present disclosure. Conversely, specific details known to the person skilled in the art are omitted for the purposes of clarity where appropriate.

The term 'interactive aerosol provision system', or similarly 'delivery device' may encompass systems that deliver a least one substance to a user, and include non-combustible aerosol provision systems that release compounds from an aerosol-generating material without combusting the aerosol-generating material, such as electronic cigarettes, tobacco heating products, and hybrid systems to generate aerosol using a combination of aerosol-generating materials; and aerosol-free delivery systems that deliver the at least one substance to a user orally, nasally, transdermally or in another way without forming an aerosol, including but not limited to, lozenges, gums, patches, articles comprising inhalable powders, and oral products such as oral tobacco which includes snus or moist snuff, wherein the at least one substance may or may not comprise nicotine.

The substance to be delivered may be an aerosol-generating material or a material that is not intended to be aerosolised. As appropriate, either material may comprise one or more active constituents, one or more flavours, one or more aerosol-former materials, and/or one or more other functional materials. Currently, the most common example of such a delivery device or aerosol provision system (e.g. a non combustible aerosol provision system) is an electronic vapour provision system (EVPS), such as an e- cigarette. Throughout the following description the term "e-cigarette" is sometimes used but this term may be used interchangeably with delivery device or aerosol provision system except where stated otherwise or where context indicates otherwise. Similarly the terms 'vapour' and 'aerosol' are referred to equivalently herein.

Generally, the electronic vapour / aerosol provision system may be an electronic cigarette, also known as a vaping device or electronic nicotine delivery device (END), although it is noted that the presence of nicotine in the aerosol-generating (e.g. aerosolisable) material is not a requirement. In some embodiments, a non-combustible aerosol provision system is a tobacco heating system, also known as a heat-not-burn system. An example of such a system is a tobacco heating system. In some embodiments, the non-combustible aerosol provision system is a hybrid system to generate aerosol using a combination of aerosol-generating materials, one or a plurality of which may be heated. Each of the aerosol-generating materials may be, for example, in the form of a solid, liquid or gel and may or may not contain nicotine. In some embodiments, the hybrid system comprises a liquid or gel aerosol generating material and a solid aerosol-generating material. The solid aerosol-generating material may comprise, for example, tobacco or a non-tobacco product. Meanwhile in some embodiments, the non combustible aerosol provision system generates a vapour / aerosol from one or more such aerosol generating materials.

Typically, the non-combustible aerosol provision system may comprise a non-combustible aerosol provision device and an article (otherwise referred to as a consumable) for use with the non combustible aerosol provision system. However, it is envisaged that articles which themselves comprise a means for powering an aerosol generating component (e.g. an aerosol generator such as a heater, vibrating mesh or the like) may themselves form the non-combustible aerosol provision system. In one embodiment, the non-combustible aerosol provision device may comprise a power source and a controller. The power source may be an electric power source or an exothermic power source. In one embodiment, the exothermic power source comprises a carbon substrate which may be energised so as to distribute power in the form of heat to an aerosolisable material or heat transfer material in proximity to the exothermic power source. In one embodiment, the power source, such as an exothermic power source, is provided in the article so as to form the non-combustible aerosol provision. In one embodiment, the article for use with the non-combustible aerosol provision device may comprise an aerosolisable material.

In some embodiments, the aerosol generating component is a heater capable of interacting with the aerosolisable material so as to release one or more volatiles from the aerosolisable material to form an aerosol. In one embodiment, the aerosol generating component is capable of generating an aerosol from the aerosolisable material without heating. For example, the aerosol generating component may be capable of generating an aerosol from the aerosolisable material without applying heat thereto, for example via one or more of vibrational, mechanical, pressurisation or electrostatic means.

In some embodiments, the aerosolisable material may comprise an active material, an aerosol forming material and optionally one or more functional materials. The active material may comprise nicotine (optionally contained in tobacco or a tobacco derivative) or one or more other non-olfactory physiologically active materials. A non-olfactory physiologically active material is a material which is included in the aerosolisable material in order to achieve a physiological response other than olfactory perception. The aerosol forming material may comprise one or more of glycerine, glycerol, propylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, 1,3-butylene glycol, erythritol, meso- Erythritol, ethyl vanillate, ethyl laurate, a diethyl suberate, triethyl citrate, triacetin, a diacetin mixture, benzyl benzoate, benzyl phenyl acetate, tributyrin, lauryl acetate, lauric acid, myristic acid, and propylene carbonate. The one or more functional materials may comprise one or more of flavours, carriers, pH regulators, stabilizers, and/or antioxidants.

In some embodiments, the article for use with the non-combustible aerosol provision device may comprise aerosolisable material or an area for receiving aerosolisable material. In one embodiment, the article for use with the non-combustible aerosol provision device may comprise a mouthpiece. The area for receiving aerosolisable material may be a storage area for storing aerosolisable material. For example, the storage area may be a reservoir. In one embodiment, the area for receiving aerosolisable material may be separate from, or combined with, an aerosol generating area.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views, Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a vapour / aerosol provision system such as an e-cigarette 10 (not to scale), providing a non-limiting example of a delivery device in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

The e-cigarette has a generally cylindrical shape, extending along a longitudinal axis indicated by dashed line LA, and comprises two main components, namely a body 20 and a cartomiser 30. The cartomiser includes an internal chamber containing a reservoir of a payload such as for example a liquid comprising nicotine, a vaporiser (such as a heater), and a mouthpiece 35. References to 'nicotine' hereafter will be understood to be merely an example and can be substituted with any suitable active ingredient. References to 'liquid' as a payload hereafter will be understood to be merely an example and can be substituted with any suitable payload such as botanical matter (for example tobacco that is to be heated rather than burned), or a gel comprising an active ingredient and/or flavouring. The reservoir may be a foam matrix or any other structure for retaining the liquid until such time that it is required to be delivered to the vaporiser. In the case of a liquid / flowing payload, the vaporiser is for vaporising the liquid, and the cartomiser 30 may further include a wick or similar facility to transport a small amount of liquid from the reservoir to a vaporising location on or adjacent the vaporiser. In the following, a heater is used as a specific example of a vaporiser. However, it will be appreciated that other forms of vaporiser (for example, those which utilise ultrasonic waves) could also be used and it will also be appreciated that the type of vaporiser used may also depend on the type of payload to be vaporised.

The body 20 includes a re-chargeable cell or battery to provide power to the e-cigarette 10 and a circuit board for generally controlling the e-cigarette. When the heater receives power from the battery, as controlled by the circuit board, the heater vaporises the liquid and this vapour is then inhaled by a user through the mouthpiece 35. In some specific embodiments the body is further provided with a manual activation device 265, e.g. a button, switch, or touch sensor located on the outside of the body.

The body 20 and cartomiser 30 may be detachable from one another by separating in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis LA, as shown in Figure 1, but are joined together when the device 10 is in use by a connection, indicated schematically in Figure 1 as 25A and 25B, to provide mechanical and electrical connectivity between the body 20 and the cartomiser 30. The electrical connector 25B on the body 20 that is used to connect to the cartomiser 30 also serves as a socket for connecting a charging device (not shown) when the body 20 is detached from the cartomiser 30. The other end of the charging device may be plugged into a USB socket to re-charge the cell in the body 20 of the e-cigarette 10. In other implementations, a cable may be provided for direct connection between the electrical connector 25B on the body 20 and a USB socket.

The e-cigarette 10 is provided with one or more holes (not shown in Figure 1) for air inlets. These holes connect to an air passage through the e-cigarette 10 to the mouthpiece 35. When a user inhales through the mouthpiece 35, air is drawn into this air passage through the one or more air inlet holes, which are suitably located on the outside of the e-cigarette. When the heater is activated to vaporise the nicotine from the cartridge, the airflow passes through, and combines with, the generated vapour, and this combination of airflow and generated vapour then passes out of the mouthpiece 35 to be inhaled by a user. Except in single-use devices, the cartomiser 30 may be detached from the body 20 and disposed of when the supply of liquid is exhausted (and replaced with another cartomiser if so desired).

It will be appreciated that the e-cigarette 10 shown in Figure 1 is presented by way of example, and various other implementations can be adopted. For example, in some embodiments, the cartomiser 30 is provided as two separable components, namely a cartridge comprising the liquid reservoir and mouthpiece (which can be replaced when the liquid from the reservoir is exhausted), and a vaporiser comprising a heater (which is generally retained). As another example, the charging facility may connect to an additional or alternative power source, such as a car cigarette lighter.

Figure 2 is a schematic (simplified) diagram of the body 20 of the e-cigarette 10 of Figure 1 in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. Figure 2 can generally be regarded as a cross- section in a plane through the longitudinal axis LA of the e-cigarette 10. Note that various components and details of the body, e.g. such as wiring and more complex shaping, have been omitted from Figure 2 for reasons of clarity.

The body 20 includes a battery or cell 210 for powering the e-cigarette 10 in response to a user activation of the device. Additionally, the body 20 includes a control unit 205, for example a chip such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or microcontroller, for controlling the e-cigarette 10. The microcontroller or ASIC includes a CPU or micro-processor. The operations of the CPU and other electronic components are generally controlled at least in part by software programs running on the CPU (or other component). Such software programs may be stored in non-volatile memory, such as ROM, which can be integrated into the microcontroller itself, or provided as a separate component. The CPU may access the ROM to load and execute individual software programs as and when required. The microcontroller also contains appropriate communications interfaces (and control software) for communicating as appropriate with other devices in the body 10.

The body 20 further includes a cap 225 to seal and protect the far (distal) end of the e-cigarette 10. Typically there is an air inlet hole provided in or adjacent to the cap 225 to allow air to enter the body 20 when a user inhales on the mouthpiece 35. The control unit or ASIC may be positioned alongside or at one end of the battery 210. In some embodiments, the ASIC is attached to a sensor unit 215 to detect an inhalation on mouthpiece 35 (or alternatively the sensor unit 215 may be provided on the ASIC itself). An air path is provided from the air inlet through the e-cigarette, past the airflow sensor 215 and the heater (in the vaporiser or cartomiser 30), to the mouthpiece 35. Thus when a user inhales on the mouthpiece of the e-cigarette, the CPU detects such inhalation based on information from the airflow sensor 215. At the opposite end of the body 20 from the cap 225 is the connector 25B for joining the body 20 to the cartomiser 30. The connector 25B provides mechanical and electrical connectivity between the body 20 and the cartomiser 30. The connector 25B includes a body connector 240, which is metallic (silver- plated in some embodiments) to serve as one terminal for electrical connection (positive or negative) to the cartomiser 30. The connector 25B further includes an electrical contact 250 to provide a second terminal for electrical connection to the cartomiser 30 of opposite polarity to the first terminal, namely body connector 240. The electrical contact 250 is mounted on a coil spring 255. When the body20 is attached to the cartomiser 30, the connector 25A on the cartomiser 30 pushes against the electrical contact 250 in such a manner as to compress the coil spring in an axial direction, i.e. in a direction parallel to (co-aligned with) the longitudinal axis LA. In view of the resilient nature of the spring 255, this compression biases the spring 255 to expand, which has the effect of pushing the electrical contact 250 firmly against connector 25A of the cartomiser 30, thereby helping to ensure good electrical connectivity between the body 20 and the cartomiser 30. The body connector 240 and the electrical contact 250 are separated by a trestle 260, which is made of a non-conductor (such as plastic) to provide good insulation between the two electrical terminals. The trestle 260 is shaped to assist with the mutual mechanical engagement of connectors 25A and 25B.

As mentioned above, a button 265, which represents a form of manual activation device 265, may be located on the outer housing of the body 20. The button 265 may be implemented using any appropriate mechanism which is operable to be manually activated by the user - for example, as a mechanical button or switch, a capacitive or resistive touch sensor, and so on. It will also be appreciated that the manual activation device 265 may be located on the outer housing of the cartomiser 30, rather than the outer housing of the body 20, in which case, the manual activation device 265 may be attached to the ASIC via the connections 25A, 25B. The button 265 might also be located at the end of the body 20, in place of (or in addition to) cap 225.

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the cartomiser 30 of the e-cigarette 10 of Figure 1 in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. Figure 3 can generally be regarded as a cross-section in a plane through the longitudinal axis LA of the e-cigarette 10. Note that various components and details of the cartomiser 30, such as wiring and more complex shaping, have been omitted from Figure 3 for reasons of clarity.

The cartomiser 30 includes an air passage 355 extending along the central (longitudinal) axis of the cartomiser 30 from the mouthpiece 35 to the connector 25A for joining the cartomiser 30 to the body 20. A reservoir of liquid 360 is provided around the air passage 335. This reservoir 360 may be implemented, for example, by providing cotton or foam soaked in liquid. The cartomiser 30 also includes a heater 365 for heating liquid from reservoir 360 to generate vapour to flow through air passage 355 and out through mouthpiece 35 in response to a user inhaling on the e-cigarette 10. The heater 365 is powered through lines 366 and 367, which are in turn connected to opposing polarities (positive and negative, or vice versa) of the battery 210 of the main body 20 via connector 25A (the details of the wiring between the power lines 366 and 367 and connector 25A are omitted from Figure 3).

The connector 25A includes an inner electrode 375, which may be silver-plated or made of some other suitable metal or conducting material. When the cartomiser 30 is connected to the body 20, the inner electrode 375 contacts the electrical contact 250 of the body 20 to provide a first electrical path between the cartomiser 30 and the body 20. In particular, as the connectors 25A and 25B are engaged, the inner electrode 375 pushes against the electrical contact 250 so as to compress the coil spring 255, thereby helping to ensure good electrical contact between the inner electrode 375 and the electrical contact 250.

The inner electrode 375 is surrounded by an insulating ring 372, which may be made of plastic, rubber, silicone, or any other suitable material. The insulating ring is surrounded by the cartomiser connector 370, which may be silver-plated or made of some other suitable metal or conducting material. When the cartomiser 30 is connected to the body 20, the cartomiser connector 370 contacts the body connector 240 of the body 20 to provide a second electrical path between the cartomiser 30 and the body 20. In other words, the inner electrode 375 and the cartomiser connector 370 serve as positive and negative terminals (or vice versa) for supplying power from the battery 210 in the body 20 to the heater 365 in the cartomiser 30 via supply lines 366 and 367 as appropriate.

The cartomiser connector 370 is provided with two lugs or tabs 380A, 380B, which extend in opposite directions away from the longitudinal axis of the e-cigarette 10. These tabs are used to provide a bayonet fitting in conjunction with the body connector 240 for connecting the cartomiser 30 to the body 20. This bayonet fitting provides a secure and robust connection between the cartomiser 30 and the body 20, so that the cartomiser and body are held in a fixed position relative to one another, with minimal wobble or flexing, and the likelihood of any accidental disconnection is very small. At the same time, the bayonet fitting provides simple and rapid connection and disconnection by an insertion followed by a rotation for connection, and a rotation (in the reverse direction) followed by withdrawal for disconnection. It will be appreciated that other embodiments may use a different form of connection between the body 20 and the cartomiser 30, such as a snap fit or a screw connection.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of certain details of the connector 25B at the end of the body 20 in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure (but omitting for clarity most of the internal structure of the connector as shown in Figure 2, such as trestle 260). In particular, Figure 4 shows the external housing 201 of the body 20, which generally has the form of a cylindrical tube. This external housing 201 may comprise, for example, an inner tube of metal with an outer covering of paper or similar. The external housing 201 may also comprise the manual activation device 265 (not shown in Figure 4) so that the manual activation device 265 is easily accessible to the user.

The body connector 240 extends from this external housing 201 of the body 20. The body connector 240 as shown in Figure 4 comprises two main portions, a shaft portion 241 in the shape of a hollow cylindrical tube, which is sized to fit just inside the external housing 201 of the body 20, and a lip portion 242 which is directed in a radially outward direction, away from the main longitudinal axis (LA) of the e- cigarette. Surrounding the shaft portion 241 of the body connector 240, where the shaft portion does not overlap with the external housing 201, is a collar or sleeve 290, which is again in a shape of a cylindrical tube. The collar 290 is retained between the lip portion 242 of the body connector 240 and the external housing 201 of the body, which together prevent movement of the collar 290 in an axial direction (i.e. parallel to axis LA). However, collar 290 is free to rotate around the shaft portion 241 (and hence also axis LA).

As mentioned above, the cap 225 is provided with an air inlet hole to allow air to flow when a user inhales on the mouthpiece 35. However, in some embodiments the majority of air that enters the device when a user inhales flows through collar 290 and body connector 240 as indicated by the two arrows in Figure 4. Referring now to Figure 5, the e-cigarette 10 (or more generally any delivery device as described elsewhere herein) may operate within a wider delivery ecosystem 1. Within the wider delivery ecosystem, a number of devices may communicate with each other, either directly (shown with solid arrows) or indirectly (shown with dashed arrows).

In Figure 5, as an example delivery device an e-cigarette 10 may communicate directly with one or more other classes of device (for example using Bluetooth ^® or Wifi Direct ^®), including but not limited to a smartphone 100, a dock 200 (e.g. a home refill and/or charging station), a vending machine 300, or a wearable 400. As noted above, these devices may cooperate in any suitable configuration to form a delivery system.

Alternatively or in addition the delivery device, such as for example the e-cigarette 10, may communicate indirectly with one or more of these classes of device via a network such as the internet 500, for example using Wifi ^®, near field communication, a wired link or an integral mobile data scheme. Again, as noted above, in this manner these devices may cooperate in any suitable configuration to form a delivery system.

Alternatively or in addition the delivery device, such as for example the e-cigarette 10, may communicate indirectly with a server 1000 via a network such as the internet 500, either itself for example by using Wifi, or via another device in the delivery ecosystem, for example using Bluetooth ^® or Wifi Direct ^® to communicate with a smartphone 100, a dock 200, a vending machine 300, or a wearable 400 that then communicates with the server to either relay the e-cigarette's communications, or report upon its communications with the e-cigarette 10. The smartphone, dock, or other device within the delivery ecosystem, such as a point of sale system / vending machine, may hence optionally act as a hub for one or more delivery devices that only have short range transmission capabilities. Such a hub may thus extend the battery life of a delivery device that does not need to maintain an ongoing WiFi^® or mobile data link. It will also be appreciated that different types of data may be transmitted with different levels of priority; for example data relating to the user feedback system (such as user factor data or feedback action data, as discussed herein) may be transmitted with a higher priority than more general usage statistics, or similarly some user factor data relating to more short-term variables (such as current physiological data) may be transmitted with a higher priority than user factor data relating to longer-term variables (such as current weather, or day of the week). A non-limiting example transmission scheme allowing higher and lower priority transmission is LoRaWAN.

Meanwhile, the other classes of device in the ecosystem such as the smartphone, dock, vending machine (or any other point of sale system) and/or wearable may also communicate indirectly with the server 1000 via a network such as the internet 500, either to fulfil an aspect of their own functionality, or on behalf of the delivery system (for example as a relay or co-processing unit). These devices may also communicate with each other, either directly or indirectly.

It will be appreciated that the delivery ecosystem may comprise multiple delivery devices (10), for example because the user owns multiple devices (for example so as to easily switch between different active ingredients or flavourings), or because multiple users share the same delivery ecosystem, at least in part (for example cohabiting users may share a charging dock, but have their own phones or wearables). Optionally such devices may similarly communicate directly or indirectly with each other, and/or with devices within the shared delivery ecosystem and/or the server. Turning now to Figure 6, in which features similar to those of Figure 1 are similarly numbered, then an aerosol delivery device may comprise at least one wireless receiver 610 configured to receive wireless communications signals. This may comprise a Bluetooth ^® or Wifi ^® receiver operable for communication with a companion device, e.g. a closely associated device within the delivery ecosystem, such as the charging hub, or indeed the user's phone or smartwatch or the like.

Alternatively, the receiver may be the same receiver as above when operated in a different mode, or may be a separate receiver.

Alternatively or in addition to the at least one wireless receiver 610 on the aerosol delivery device, optionally at least one such wireless receiver 610 may be provided on a companion device within the delivery ecosystem, typically being one that would also accompany the user, such as their phone or smartwatch.

It will therefore be appreciated that an aerosol delivery system (e.g. an aerosol delivery device optionally together with and operating in conjunction with one or more other devices within the delivery ecosystem, such as a phone or smartwatch), can receive wireless communication signals for use as follows.

Accordingly, in embodiments of the present description an aerosol delivery system 1 comprises an aerosol delivery device 10, and a wireless signal receiver 610 configured to receive wireless communications signals.

It also comprises an identification processor (e.g. control unit 205) configured (for example by suitable software instructions) to store characterising data for identifying recurrent received wireless communications signals.

Similarly, it also comprises a correlation processor (e.g. control unit 205) configured (for example by suitable software instructions) to correlate user behaviour with identified recurrent wireless communications signals received within a predetermined window of time relative to the user behaviour; and a control processor (e.g. control unit 205) configured (for example by suitable software instructions) to alter one or more operational parameters of the aerosol delivery device that relate to a particular user behaviour when one or more wireless communications signals previously correlated with that user behaviour by the correlation processor are subsequently received by the wireless signal receiver and identified by the identification processor.

It will be appreciated therefore that the aerosol delivery system correlates recurring signals in the wireless environment with user behaviour (for example in terms of interaction with and/or use of the delivery device), so that if one or more such signals are encountered again, the system can alter one or more aspects of its functionality in preparation for the expected correlated user behaviour, making the system more responsive to the user and more intuitive to use.

Optionally, in addition to the aerosol delivery device itself, the aerosol delivery system may comprise a companion device, such as the users mobile phone or smartwatch, or any other device of the wider delivery ecosystem, such as a docking port.

In this case, then optionally the companion device may comprise the wireless signal receiver (in this case, typically in addition to a wireless transceiver used to communicate with the aerosol delivery device itself, or such a transceiver operating an alternative mode). Similarly the companion device may comprise one or more of the identification processor, correlation processor, and the control processor, or the roles of any of these may be shared to any suitable extent between the aerosol delivery device and the companion device.

Hence for example the correlation processor, which may have to perform cross correlation between a stored sample of a wireless signal and a received wireless signal, or access identification or other meta data within a wireless signal, may be based on the user's mobile phone, which is likely to have a larger battery and more powerful processor than the delivery device itself.

Similarly the wireless signal receiver (which may in fact comprise a suite of different wireless signal receivers) may be capable of receiving a wider number of types of wireless signal on a mobile phone than on the delivery device, or put another way the delivery device can be simpler (for example only using low-energy Bluetooth) if it is able to take advantage of an existing broad range of wireless reception capabilities of a companion device such as a mobile phone.

The range of wireless capabilities, in either case, may for example comprise one or more of Wi-Fi ^®, Bluetooth ^®, a near field transmission (for example such as is used in contactless payment systems, key- cards and the like), an induction charger (such as is used for wireless charging), a radio frequency identification transmission (e.g. as found at shop security barriers), a digital enhanced cordless telecommunication (e.g. a cordless phone signal), and a picocell (e.g. an in-building mobile cell).

Similarly the wireless capabilities may optionally include conventional cellular signals. These may be readily detected by a companion device such as a phone, but may also be detected by a suitable delivery device, for example one equipped with a wireless data modem for the purposes of communicating with one or more remote services (such as may be provided by server 1000).

For a given wireless communication signal, the characterising data may include address data extracted from received wireless communications signals (for example Wi-Fi access point data, Bluetooth beacon or handshake data, and the like). Similarly, it may include a transmission protocol of one or more received wireless communications signals (for example from a DECT phone or an induction charger), a frequency (e.g. a carrier frequency such as 2.4 GHz or 5GHz) of one or more received wireless communications signals; and a version of one or more received wireless communications signals.

Similarly environmental effects on the wireless signals themselves may form characterising data; for example the relative signal strength of one or more received wireless communication signals can be indicative of the layout of a the current wireless environment and the users position within it. Similarly, the delay propagation properties of one or more received whilst in the communication signals (for example multiple reception paths due to reflections) can be indicative of this environment. In particular, such reflections may be indicative of whether the device is indoors or outdoors (as may any other of the characterising data, such as for example the presence of a particular device like a wireless printer, which may be expected to be indoors); hence optionally the control processor may be configured to estimate the aerosol delivery devices indoors or outdoors based on the received wireless communication signals, and alter one of more operational parameters of the aerosol delivery device in response.

Optionally the identification processor and/or the correlation processor may discount characterising signals that appear commonplace throughout the day or at multiple locations, as these are unlikely to strongly correlate with specific behaviours. For example whilst detecting an induction charger may indicate the user is preparing to stop use of the delivery device and thus behave in a certain way, Bluetooth signals per se may be ubiquitous and thus not strongly correlate with any particular behaviour of the user. By contrast, specific devices identified by their Bluetooth signals may indeed have a strong correlation with behaviour; for example a wireless speaker at home may strongly correlate with the user preparing to relax and use their delivery device, whilst a wireless printer at work may strongly correlate with the user not interacting with their delivery device at all.

Hence consequently the wireless communications signals may comprise signals from previously associated devices (e.g. devices that broadcast their identity as part of their wireless communication signals and may thus be identified again), and the control processor may be configured to alter operation of the aerosol delivery device in one of the presence or absence of one or more such previously associated devices. This clearly may be implemented in the manner described previously, i.e. using the correlation processor by virtue of a clear and strong correlation between the associated device and a user behaviour. Alternatively or in addition, a rule may be recorded by or for the control processor to simply implement the relevant alteration(s) to one or more operational parameters if the associated device is detected.

Such a rule may be recorded if the correlation between the presence of the associated device and the user behaviour reaches a threshold level. The control processor may then refer to its rule list first to determine whether and how to make any alterations in response to detected wireless communication signals, and only if a rule is not available, revert to use of the correlation processor.

The correlation processor itself may comprise any suitable correlation scheme. A common example of a correlation scheme is a machine learning system such as a neural network. Generally, a suitable correlation scheme would take as inputs characterising data as described elsewhere in for identifying recurrent received wireless communications signals, and take as targets user behaviour, either as directly sensed by the delivery device or other devices within the delivery ecosystem (for example detecting touch or changes in orientation of the device which may be a precursor to use), or by proxy in terms of changes to operational parameters of the aerosol delivery device caused by those user behaviours (for example when puffing on the delivery device, altering its settings, or interacting with the Ul, or similar).

In practice the inputs and targets may be contemporaneous, or may be separated by up to a predetermined period of time, such as ± 1, 5 or 10 minutes.

Subsequently when characteristic data of wireless communication signals is input to the correlation scheme, it will output values corresponding to the expected targets. These may be used either directly to change one or more operational parameters (where the correlation system was trained on such operational parameters as described above), or may be used to classify the user behaviour, and change one or more operational parameters in response to that classified user behaviour.

As noted elsewhere herein, optionally the location of a wireless signal may be significant to correlating with a user behaviour, either in terms of an absolute location, or in terms of whether the wireless signal is associated with one place.

Accordingly, optionally the aerosol delivery system may comprise a location determination unit, such as for example a GPS location unit as may be found on a companion device such as the mobile phone, but which may also be incorporated into an aerosol delivery device. As noted elsewhere herein, the resulting location information may be used to determine whether given characterising data of the wireless communication signals is ubiquitous or rare, and hence whether it may be of a low or high correlation significance for the purposes of deciding whether or not to alter operational parameters of the aerosol delivery device if that characterising data re-occurs.

Clearly also optionally resulting location information can be used in conjunction with the characterising data to make the wireless communication signal effectively of a higher correlation significance at that location.

Also optionally the control processor may be configured to associate received wireless communications signals with one or more determined locations, and such only associate one or more user behaviours / usages of the aerosol delivery device with a determined location. Hence for example if the user activates their wireless speaker at home on a regular basis, but not always, then the system may associate certain behaviours of the user with turning on the wireless speaker, but optionally also associate those certain behaviours are the user with the same location as the wireless speaker, even if the wire speaker does not get turned on.

It will be appreciated that a similar multipart correlation may be implemented between characterising data of wireless communication signals and time and/or date.

Where a location determination unit is available, then optionally the aerosol delivery system configured to alter one or more operational parameters of the aerosol delivery system in response to a newly determined location.

In this case, the operational parameters may relate to defaulting to a general sleep mode or standby mode, or a default readiness mode, given that in a new location it may be expected that no as-yet correlating wireless communication signals will be present. Alternatively or in addition, the operational parameters may relate to the situational awareness of the aerosol delivery system and in particular the reception of wireless communication signals; for example optionally the gain for one or more modes of wireless reception may be increased to increase sensitivity to wireless signals, or a polling signal may be transmitted to prompt the transmission of signals from nearby devices.

Similarly the aerosol delivery system and may be configured to alter one or more operational parameters of the aerosol delivery system in response to a newly encountered wireless environment. In other words, where a wireless signal or combination of wireless signals is new, and there is not a clear existing correlation between the signal or signals and a user behaviour or changing parameter (for example if the output of the correlator does not strongly indicate a user behaviour or parameter change in response to the detected signals), for example above a predetermined threshold), then similarly the system may revert to a default sleep mode or standby mode, or a default readiness mode, and/or may similarly alter the situational awareness of the aerosol delivery system for example to interrogate the new wireless communication signals (e.g. reply to a polling or handshake signal to obtain an identification, or increase the gain when receiving a wireless communication signal in order to improve that signal).

In response to one or more recurrent received wireless communications signals or one or more sets thereof, the control processor may optionally be operable to set a first activity state or a second activity state. The first activity state may be associated with current or anticipated disengagement with the aerosol delivery device by the user, whilst the second activity state may be associated with current or anticipated engagement with the aerosol activity device by the user, optionally of a specific type. These states may be thought of as respective groupings of one or more settings for one or more operational parameters of the aerosol delivery system.

Hence generally, when compared to the second activity state, the first activity state has one or more of a lower power requirement, fewer active functions, a lower power setting for one or more functions, and an alternative function to one for the second activity state (e.g. typically a lower power alternative, and/or a less intrusive function, such as a quieter alert).

For example, the first activity state may include one or more selected from the list consisting of display of a first set of information; display of a first level of detail of information; a lower duty cycle or lower power data transmission; a lower duty cycle or lower power pre-heating; a lower duty cycle or lower power lighting; and a lower duty cycle or lower power situational awareness, where 'lower' is lower than in the second state. By contrast, for example second activity state may include one or more selected from the list consisting of display of a second set of information (being separate to or a superset of a first set of information); display of second higher level of detail of information; a higher duty cycle or higher power data transmission; a higher duty cycle or higher power heating; a higher duty cycle or higher power lighting; and a higher duty cycle or higher power situational awareness, where 'higher' is higher than in the first state.

Hence optionally the first activity state can be characterised as one or more of a lower power state, a lower situational awareness state, a lower notification (e.g. to the user or companion devices) state, a lower wakefulness state, a lower Ul information state, a quieter state, a cooler state, and the like, compared to the second state.

In the above examples a lower situational awareness state may mean a slower duty cycle for a wireless scan, or less complex data analysis by the identification process or correlation processor, and the like.

Meanwhile first and second sets of information and levels of detail of information can relate to information relevant to the different states and the likely level of engagement of the user with the device at that time.

Hence for example in the first state the delivery device could appear to be off entirely, or may only display (or periodically report to a companion device) the state of its battery and payload (e.g. e-liquid level), for example without a backlight. Meanwhile in the second state it could backlight the display, include other and more detailed information in the Ul such as the current payload flavour or strength, a current operation mode, and optionally pre-heat the heater to a pre-vaporisation temperature and indicate when this is achieved. Alternatively, an action such as pre-heating the heater (which uses a comparatively large amount of power) may only be performed as part of a third state where the user has begun to directly physically interact with the delivery device, optionally in a manner characteristic of imminent use. Optionally where such a third state is included, functions in the second state may include active sensing for indicators of the third state.

Hence optionally the first state may be characterised as a dormant or standby state, the second state as an awake or ready state, and an optional third state as a ready or pre-use state.

The functions differentiated by the first and second states may vary depending on the specific delivery device and/or any companion device; the strength of correlation between received wireless communication signals and a user behaviour and/or operational parameters; the type of user behaviour and/or operational parameters associated with a received wireless communication signal, and the like.

Hence for example a user behaviour that corresponds to toying with the aerosol delivery device may prompt one type of second activity state in which a user interface of the delivery device is backlit and more information is provided, whilst a user behaviour that comprises usage of the aerosol delivery device may prompt another type of second activity state which involves preheating the heater.

Referring now also to figure 7, a corresponding method of operation of an aerosol delivery system comprises the steps of: receiving s710 wireless communications signals; storing s720 characterising data for identifying recurrent received wireless communications signals; correlating s730 user behaviour with identified recurrent wireless communications signals received within a predetermined window of time relative to the user behaviour (e.g. usage); and altering s740 one or more operational parameters of the aerosol delivery device that relate to a particular user behaviour when one or more wireless communications signals previously correlated with that user behaviour are subsequently received by the wireless signal receiver and identified.

It will be apparent to a person skilled in the art that variations in the above method corresponding to operation of the various embodiments of the apparatus as described and claimed herein are considered within the scope of the present invention.

Conversely, it will be appreciated that such methods may be carried out on conventional hardware suitably adapted as applicable by software instruction or by the inclusion or substitution of dedicated hardware, an example thereof being the delivery device of Figures 2 and 6, with control unit 205 (and alternatively or in addition one more processors within the wider delivery ecosystem) operating under suitable software instruction.

Thus the required adaptation to existing parts of a conventional equivalent device may be implemented in the form of a computer program product comprising processor implementable instructions stored on a non-transitory machine-readable medium such as a floppy disk, optical disk, hard disk, solid state disk, PROM, RAM, flash memory or any combination of these or other storage media, or realised in hardware as an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) or an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or other configurable circuit suitable to use in adapting the conventional equivalent device. Separately, such a computer program may be transmitted via data signals on a network such as an Ethernet, a wireless network, the Internet, or any combination of these or other networks.

The foregoing discussion discloses and describes merely exemplary embodiments of the present invention. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. Accordingly, the disclosure of the present invention is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting of the scope of the invention, as well as other claims. The disclosure, including any readily discernible variants of the teachings herein, defines, in part, the scope of the foregoing claim terminology such that no inventive subject matter is dedicated to the public.

Claims

1. An aerosol delivery system, comprising: an aerosol delivery device; a wireless signal receiver configured to receive wireless communications signals; an identification processor configured to store characterising data for identifying recurrent received wireless communications signals; a correlation processor configured to correlate user behaviour with identified recurrent wireless communications signals received within a predetermined window of time relative to the user behaviour; and a control processor configured to alter one or more operational parameters of the aerosol delivery device that relate to a particular user behaviour when one or more wireless communications signals previously correlated with that user behaviour by the correlation processor are subsequently received by the wireless signal receiver and identified by the identification processor.

2. The aerosol delivery system of claim 1, comprising a companion device.

3. The aerosol delivery system of claim 2, in which the companion device comprises one or more selected from the list consisting of: i. the wireless signal receiver; ii. the identification processor; iii. the correlation processor; and iv. the control processor.

4. The aerosol delivery system of any preceding claim, in which: the wireless communications signals comprise short range signals of one or more selected from the list consisting of: i. Wi-Fi ^®; ii. Bluetooth ^®; iii. a near field transmission; iv. an induction charger; v. a radio frequency identification transmission vi. a digital enhanced cordless telecommunication; and vii. a picocell.

5. The aerosol delivery system of any preceding claim, in which: the wireless communications signals include cellular signals.

6. The aerosol delivery system of any preceding claim, in which: characterising data includes one or more selected from the list consisting of: i. identification or address data extracted from received wireless communications signals; ii. a transmission protocol of one or more received wireless communications signals; iii. a frequency of one or more received wireless communications signals; and iv. a version of one or more received wireless communications signals.

7. The aerosol delivery system of any preceding claim, in which: the wireless communications signals comprise signals from previously associated devices; and the control processor is configured to alter operation of the aerosol delivery device in one of the presence or absence of one or more such previously associated devices.

8. The aerosol delivery system of any preceding claim, in which: characterising data includes one or more selected from the list consisting of: i. relative signal strength of one or more received wireless communications signals; and ii. delay or propagation properties of one or more received wireless communications signals.

9. The aerosol delivery system of any preceding claim, comprising: a location determination unit; and the control processor is configured to associate received wireless communications signals with one or more determined locations, and associate one or more user behaviours of the aerosol delivery device with a determined location.

10. The aerosol delivery system of claim 9 in which: the control processor is configured to alter one or more operational parameters of the aerosol delivery system in response to a newly determined location.

11. The aerosol delivery system of any preceding claim, in which: the control processor is configured to estimate if the aerosol delivery device is indoors or outdoors based on received wireless communications signals, and to alter one or more operational parameters of the aerosol delivery device in response.

12. The aerosol delivery system of any preceding claim, in which: in response to one or more recurrent received wireless communications signals or one or more sets thereof, the control processor is operable to set a first activity state that may include one or more selected from the list consisting of: i. display of a first set of information; ii. display of a first level of detail of information; iii. a lower duty cycle or lower power data transmission; iv. a lower duty cycle or lower power pre-heating; v. a lower duty cycle or lower power lighting; and vi. a lower duty cycle or lower power situational awareness.

13. The aerosol delivery system of any preceding claim, in which: in response to one or more recurrent received wireless communications signals or one or more sets thereof, the control processor is operable to set a second activity state that may include one or more selected from the list consisting of: i. display of a second set of information (being separate to or a superset of a first set of information); ii. display of second higher level of detail of information; iii. a higher duty cycle or higher power data transmission; iv. a higher duty cycle or higher power heating; v. a higher duty cycle or higher power lighting; and vi. a higher duty cycle or higher power situational awareness.

14. The aerosol delivery system of any preceding claim, in which: the user behaviour comprises usage of the aerosol delivery device.

15. A method of operation of an aerosol delivery system, comprising the steps of: receiving wireless communications signals; storing characterising data for identifying recurrent received wireless communications signals; correlating user behaviour with identified recurrent wireless communications signals received within a predetermined window of time relative to the user behaviour; and altering one or more operational parameters of the aerosol delivery device that relate to a particular user behaviour when one or more wireless communications signals previously correlated with that user behaviour are subsequently received by the wireless signal receiver and identified.

16. A computer program comprising computer executable instructions adapted to cause a computer system to perform the method of claim 15.