WO2024260931A1

WO2024260931A1 - An aerosol generation device

Info

Publication number: WO2024260931A1
Application number: PCT/EP2024/066838
Authority: WO
Inventors: Alec WRIGHT; Eduardo Jose GARCIA GARCIA
Original assignee: JT International SA
Current assignee: JT International SA
Priority date: 2023-06-22
Filing date: 2024-06-17
Publication date: 2024-12-26
Anticipated expiration: 2025-12-22
Also published as: KR20250168607A

Abstract

There is provided an aerosol generation device for receiving an aerosol generation consumable and providing electric power to said aerosol generation consumable, the aerosol generation device comprising: an electrode arrangement comprising a first set of electrodes and a common second electrode, wherein each of the first set of electrodes is configured to electrically couple with and provide electric power to selected discrete sections of aerosol generation consumable, wherein the common second electrode is configured to electrically couple with all of the sections of aerosol generation consumable; and a controller configured to selectively control electric power supply to one or more of the first set of electrodes such that electric power can be selectively provided to individual electrodes of the first set of electrodes independently.

Description

An Aerosol Generation Device

The present disclosure relates to an aerosol generation device, an aerosol generation consumable for use with the aerosol generation device, a system including an aerosol generation device and aerosol generation consumable and a method of generating an aerosol.

Background

Various devices and systems are available that heat aerosol precursor material to release aerosol/vapour for inhalation, rather than relying on burning the material. However, such devices require a heater to be part of the device and hence the device requires adequate insulation to prevent a user from being exposed to the high heater temperatures, which leads to additional complexity and cost in the device.

A challenge associated with heating aerosol precursor material rather than burning it is that there is an increased time to generate the aerosol from the aerosol precursor material. A further challenge is that once the aerosol precursor material is heated to the volatilisation temperature, aerosol may be continuously generated even when a user is not inhaling, thereby wasting energy and the aerosol precursor material.

Some traditional aerosol generation devices use resistive heaters to generate aerosol from aerosol generation consumable. However, resistive heaters require a good thermal contact between the heater and the aerosol generation consumable to be heated in order to generate a sufficient amount of aerosol. As such, relatively large resistive heaters are required that have a relatively large contact area between the resistive heater and the aerosol generation consumable. Further, resistive heaters will often require cleaning.

It is challenging to provide aerosol to a user on demand, without occasionally unnecessarily providing energy. In addition, it is difficult to avoid burning the aerosol precursor material.

It is the object of the invention to overcome at least one of the above referenced problems, or to provide an alternative solution. Summary

According to the present disclosure there is an aerosol generation device for receiving an aerosol generation consumable and providing electric power to said aerosol generation consumable, the aerosol generation device comprising: an electrode arrangement comprising a first set of electrodes and a common second electrode, wherein each of the first set of electrodes is configured to electrically couple with and provide electric power to selected discrete sections of aerosol generation consumable, wherein the common second electrode is configured to electrically couple with all of the sections of aerosol generation consumable; and a controller configured to selectively control electric power supply to one or more of the first set of electrodes such that electric power can be selectively provided to individual electrodes of the first set of electrodes independently.

In this arrangement, the aerosol generation device is configured to selectively provide electric power to selected discrete sections of aerosol generation consumable. This is very energy efficient as energy is not wasted unnecessarily as energy is only provided to the selected section(s) of aerosol generation consumable. Given the nature of the aerosol generation consumable receiving electric power to generate aerosol, it means that aerosol can be generated more efficiently and heat up times of the aerosol precursor material is reduced. In addition, as a common second electrode is provided fewer connections are required within the aerosol generation device which decreases the complexity of the system and the system require fewer components.

In some examples the aerosol generation device is configured to apply electric power to the common second electrode. In other examples, the common second electrode is a grounded element and held at 0V.

The first set of electrodes may be arranged in an array. The array provides a simple arrangement to enable discrete sections of aerosol generation consumable to be provided with electric power.

In one example, the array is substantially planar. In this arrangement, the aerosol generation consumable may also include discrete sections arranged in a planar array. This provides a simple arrangement for providing electrical contact between the aerosol generation consumable and the first set of electrodes. In one example, the first set of electrodes are arranged around a central axis. In this example, the aerosol generation consumable sections would be arranged around a central axis too. Providing a first set of electrodes around a central axis means is an efficient use of space within the device. In addition, providing this arrangement would also mean that it would be easier to exchange the aerosol generation consumable as it wouldn’t matter which orientation the aerosol generation consumable was inserted within the device. In addition, aerosol flow would be more efficient as there would be less “dead spots” for condensation to collect in the device.

The first set of electrodes may be arranged in a cylindrical manner. This again offers an efficient space solution within the aerosol generation device.

In one example, the controller is configured to provide electrical power to the first set of electrodes in a sequential manner. In other words, the aerosol generation consumable discrete sections may be provided with electric power individually in order or in pairs in order or in other sequential arrangements.

The controller may be configured to provide electrical power to each of the first set of electrodes in turn. This configuration means that each discrete section of aerosol generation consumable will be provided with electrical power, in turn.

At least two of the first set of electrodes may be configured to be electrically powered simultaneously. For example, there may be pairs of first set of electrodes may be provided with electric power in turn.

In one example, the controller is configured to provide electric power to one or more of the first set of electrodes upon receipt of an activation input. The controller may be configured to stop providing electric power to the one or more of the first set of electrodes once the input is no longer applied. For example, the input may be a puff sensor and electric power is configured to be provided for a duration of a puff by a user and cease once the puff stops. The input may also be a button press by a user. The controller may be configured to track the number of activation inputs after a new consumable has been inserted in the aerosol generation device. The controller may then use this information to determine which of the first electrodes to activate when a further activation input is detected. In one example, there is provided an aerosol generation consumable comprising a plurality of discrete sections for use in the aerosol generation device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each of the plurality of discrete sections comprising comprises solid aerosol precursor material and one or more electrical conductors located therein. The plurality of discrete sections enables individual sections of the aerosol generation consumable to be provided with electric power.

In one example, each of the discrete sections have a mass of between 10mg and 100mg, more preferably 20mg. This weight of discrete section combined with the aerosol generation consumable having one or more electrical conductors therein means that aerosol can be very quickly and efficiently generated. Each discrete section may be configured to be provided with electric power only once.

In one example, there is provided an aerosol generation system comprising: the aerosol generation device; and the aerosol generation consumable.

In one example, there is provided a method for providing electric power to an aerosol generation consumable, comprising: selectively providing electric power to one or more of a first set of electrodes of an aerosol generation device to selectively provide electrical power to one or more discrete sections of an aerosol generation consumable, wherein each of the discrete sections of the aerosol generation consumable are electrically coupled to a common second electrode. The selection may be based on the number of activation inputs received after a consumable has been inserted into the aerosol generation device.

The electrical power may be provided to the first set of electrodes in a sequential manner. At least two of the first set of electrodes may be configured to be electrically powered simultaneously.

In one example there is provided an aerosol generation system including an aerosol generation consumable and an aerosol generation device for receiving the aerosol generation consumable and providing electric power to said aerosol generation consumable, the aerosol generation device comprising: an electrode arrangement comprising a first set of electrodes, wherein each of the first set of electrodes is configured to electrically couple with and provide electric power to selected discrete sections of aerosol generation consumable; and a controller configured to selectively control electric power supply to one or more of the first set of electrodes such that electric power can be selectively provided to individual electrodes of the first set of electrodes independently.

Different combinations of the above referenced features may be combined together in various combinations.

Brief Description of the

Examples of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an aerosol generation device;

Figure 2A shows a schematic cross-sectional view of an aerosol generation consumable section;

Figure 2B shows a schematic cross-sectional view of an aerosol generation consumable section;

Figure 2C shows a schematic cross-sectional view of an aerosol generation consumable section;

Figure 3A shows an aerosol generation consumable comprising a plurality of discrete sections in a planar array.

Figure 3B shows an example of a first set of electrodes overlaid on the consumable;

Figure 3C shows an example of a common second electrode overlaid on the consumable;

Figure 4 shows a schematic cross-section of the aerosol generation system showing the aerosol generation device with aerosol generation consumable received therein; and

Figure 5 shows a second schematic example of the aerosol generation system including an aerosol generation device and aerosol generation consumable. Detailed Description

As used herein, the term “aerosol precursor material”, “vapour precursor material” or “vaporizable material” are used synonymously and refer to a solid material or semi-solid material that releases aerosol when heated. The aerosol precursor material is a solid material or semi-solid material and may comprise nicotine and/or tobacco and a vaporising agent. The aerosol precursor material is configured to release an aerosol when heated or otherwise mechanically stimulated (such as by vibrations). Tobacco may take the form of various materials such as shredded tobacco, granulated tobacco, tobacco leaf and/or reconstituted tobacco. Nicotine may be in the form of nicotine salts. Suitable vaporising agents include: a polyol such as sorbitol, glycerol, and glycols like propylene glycol or triethylene glycol; a non-polyol such as monohydric alcohols, acids such as lactic acid, glycerol derivatives, esters such as triacetin, triethylene glycol diacetate, triethyl citrate, glycerin or vegetable glycerin.

An aerosol generation device is configured to aerosolise an aerosol precursor material without combustion in order to facilitate delivery of an aerosol to a user. Furthermore, and as is common in the technical field, the terms “vapour” and “aerosol”, and related terms such as “vaporize”, “volatilize” and “aerosolise”, may generally be used interchangeably.

As used herein, the term “aerosol generation device” is synonymous with “aerosol generating device” or “device”. The device may be portable. “Portable” may refer to the device being for use when held by a user. The device may be adapted to generate a variable amount of aerosol, which can be controlled by a user input.

The aerosol generation device is configured to work with an aerosol generation consumable that includes one or more electrical conductors therein. The presence of the one or more electrical conductors within the aerosol generation consumable means that aerosol may be generated more efficiently and faster when compared to traditional external heaters.

Surprisingly, providing a “conductive” aerosol generation consumable comprising one or electrical conductors within aerosol precursor material means that the overall size of a consumable can be reduced and the consumables themselves may be stored within the device. Within this context, individual aerosol consumables may be individually activated. In other words, there may be a plurality of electrodes that are configured to individually couple with a respective individual sections of aerosol generation consumable.

Figure 1 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a first example of an aerosol generation device 100.

The aerosol generation device 100 includes a first set of electrodes 102. The first set of electrodes includes a plurality of distinct electrodes that are separately controlled. An electrode of the first set is configured to apply electric power to an individual section of aerosol generation consumable received in the aerosol generation device 100 as will be described in more detail below.

The aerosol generation device 100 includes a common second electrode 104 configured to electrically couple with all of the sections of aerosol generation consumable 150 and provide electrical power to all of the sections of the aerosol generation consumable.

The aerosol generation device 100 also includes a controller (also known as a controller) 106 that is configured to selectively control electric power supply to one or more of the first set of electrodes 102 such that electric power can be selectively provided to individual electrodes of the first set of electrodes 102 independently.

In one example, the aerosol generation device 100 includes a chamber 108 in which one or more aerosol generation consumable sections 150 may be received. In examples, and as shown in Figure 1 , the chamber 108 is configured to receive a plurality of aerosol generation consumable sections 150. In one example the chamber 108 is split into distinct sub-chambers. Each sub-chamber may be substantially electrically isolated from the other sub-chamber. That is to say that electric power applied by one of the first set of electrodes to an aerosol generation consumable section in a first subchamber would not also provide electrical power to an aerosol generation consumable section in an adjacent sub-chamber.

Figure 2A, 2B and 2C shows an example of an aerosol generation consumable section 150 for use with the aerosol generation device 100. The aerosol generation consumable 150 includes an aerosol precursor material 152 and one or more electrical conductors 154. The aerosol precursor material may be a solid aerosol precursor material or a semi-solid aerosol precursor material. That is the aerosol precursor material is not configured to flow in an unheated state. The aerosol precursor material 152 is configured to release an aerosol when heated.

The one or more electrical conductors 154 are configured to conduct electricity received from the aerosol generation device 100as described above. The size and arrangement of the one or more electrical conductors 154 is set such that as an electric power is passed through them, the temperature of the electrical conductors 154 increases to heat the aerosol precursor material. In other words, the aerosol precursor material 152 includes one or more electrical conductors 154 at least partially embedded within it to conduct electricity. The one or more electrical conductors 154 may comprise a plurality of discrete electrical conductors distributed throughout the aerosol precursor material 152. The aerosol generation consumable 150 can be considered to be a conductive aerosol generation consumable. Providing one or more electrical conductors 154 within aerosol precursor material 152 significantly reduces the time taken for aerosol to be generated for a user, in use.

The one or more electrical conductors 154 may be present in a one or more dedicated heating layers, as shown in Figure 2A. The one or more dedicated heating layers may be regions in which there is a high level of electrical conductors or a relatively higher level of conduction due to the nature or number of electrical conductors 154.

In other examples, as shown in Figure 2B, electrical conductors 154 are distributed throughout the aerosol precursor material 152.

The one or more electrical conductors 154 may be present in particulate form in the aerosol precursor material 152 (note that figures 2A and 2B are schematic examples and not shown to scale). The one or more electrical conductors 154 may take the form of graphite or charcoal particles. The material may take the form of powder, loose or agglomerated particles. It is also conceivable to use other conductive materials which are approved in particular at least in the tobacco industry or food industry.

Figure 2C shows a schematic cross section of an aerosol generation consumable 150 between one of the first set of electrodes 102 and the common second electrode 104. The aerosol generation consumable 150 is configured to electrically connect the electrodes 102, 104 that it is located between. As described above, the electrodes 102, 104 are part of the aerosol generation device 100. Providing electric power to at least one electrode 102, 104 is used interchangeably with providing electrical power to the aerosol generation consumable 150.

The aerosol generation consumable sections 150 may include one or more electrical contacts (not shown) configured to electrically couple to the electrodes 102, 104 of said aerosol generation device 100. In other examples, the consumable 150 does not include electrical contacts that are distinct from the one or more electrical conductors 154 (e.g., the one or more electrical conductors may be electrically coupled directly with the electrodes themselves).

In examples, the aerosol generation consumable 150 has a relatively small thickness relative to its width. The aerosol generation consumable 150 may be substantially discshaped and/or have a rounded periphery. The first set of electrodes of the aerosol generation device may be configured to abut a first face of the aerosol generation consumable 150 and the common second electrode 104 may be configured to abut a second, opposing face of the aerosol generation consumable 150. The first set of electrodes are configured to be separated by the common second electrode by the thickness of the consumable. In one example, a plurality of aerosol generation consumables may be provided in a stacked configuration. The plurality of aerosol generation consumables may be electrically insulating from one another, for example through the use of electrical insulators being located between adjacent aerosol generation consumables.

Each of the aerosol generation consumable sections 150 may have a weight of between 10mg and 100mg such that aerosol is generated for a single inhalation action only. In other words, each aerosol generation consumable section is configured to be used up after a single puff (also known as an inhalation action) from a user.

As shown in Figure 3A, the aerosol generation consumable 150 includes multiple aerosol generation sections 150a, 150b, 150c, 150d, 150e etc. Note that for conciseness, only sections 150a, 150b, 150c, 150d, 150e are provided with reference numerals, but the other sections could be labelled 150f, 150g, and so on. In some examples, the different sections may include different aerosol precursor material 152 or different materials that are designed to generate different aerosol for the user. For example, a first section may include menthol (or the like) and a second section may not. In addition, the different sections may have different sizes and so may be configured to provide a different user experience.

These multiple sections 150a, b, c, d, e may each be configured to contact a different one of the first set of electrodes 102, but all sections are configured to contact a common second electrode 104. In this arrangement, each section may be individually activated by the electrodes in contact with that section.

In Figure 3A, the aerosol generation consumable sections 150a, b, c, d, e are arranged in an array, but other arrangement are envisaged. The array in figure 3A is a planar array in which the sections are arranged in a grid. As described above, each section may be electrically isolated from the other sections such that it can be individually activated.

Figure 3B shows a schematic example of the first set of electrodes 102 overlaid on the aerosol generation consumable sections 150. As shown in Figure 3B, one of the first set of electrodes 102 is configured to contact one aerosol generation section 150 in use. For example, a first electrode 102a from the first set of electrodes 102 is configured to contact and provide electric power to the first aerosol generation section 150a and a second electrode 102b of the first set of electrodes 102 is configured to provide electric power to the second aerosol generation section 102b. For conciseness, only the first three electrodes 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, 102e have been provided with reference signs, but other electrodes of the first set of electrodes could be labelled 102f, 102g and so on.

Figure 3C shows a schematic example of the common second electrode 104 overlaid on the aerosol generation consumable sections 150. In this example, the common second electrode 104 would be configured to abut the other side of the aerosol generation consumable 150 to the first set of electrodes 102. As shown in Figure 3C, the common second electrode 104 is configured to contact or abut all of the sections of aerosol generation consumable 150 in use. Providing this arrangement reduces the complexity of the device as fewer electrical connections are required compared with there being multiple second electrodes. In one example, the common second electrode 104 is arranged in such a way that there is one or more airflow paths between each aerosol consumable section 150 and a mouthpiece 110 of the aerosol generation device 100.

Each of the first electrodes 102 are configured to be in direct contact with a different aerosol generation consumable section 150, in use. The common second electrode is configured to be in direct contact with all of the aerosol generation consumables 150, in use. In one example, the first set of electrodes 102 are spaced apart from the second common electrode 104 by a predetermined distance. Preferably the predetermined distance is substantially similar to a thickness of the aerosol generation consumable 150. Figure 4 shows a schematic example of an aerosol generation system 300 including an aerosol generation device 100 in which the aerosol generation consumable sections 150 a to e are located between individual respective electrodes of the first set of electrodes 102 and the common second electrode 104.

The first set of electrodes 102 may be coupled with the controller 106 (also known as control circuitry). The common second electrode 104 may also be coupled with the controller 106. The controller 106 and other aspects of the aerosol generation device 100 may be powered by a battery (not shown). The aerosol generation device 100 may also include a controller 106 (or control circuitry) for electronic management of the aerosol generation device 100. The controller 106 may include a PCB or the like (not shown). The controller 106 is configured to control the first set of electrodes 102 and the common second electrode and hence the amount of electric power provided to the aerosol generation consumable 150, for example, by controlling the amount of electric power provided to the first set of electrodes 102. In some examples, the common second electrode 104 is simply connected to a grounded element (or is a grounded element itself) and so electric power may be applied to the first set of electrodes only to complete the circuit and provide an electric current through the aerosol generation consumable section 150. The first set of electrodes 102 is arranged to provide a different electrode potential to the common second electrode 104, in order to control the amount of electric power provided to the aerosol generation consumable 150. The common second electrode would be held at one electrode potential, but in some examples, electrodes of the first set of electrodes 102 may be provided with different electric potential. In other words, one of the first set of electrodes may be at a first electric potential and another one of the first set of electrodes may be provided with a second electric potential. One electrode potential could be zero, or ground.

The controller 106 may be configured to receive data from various sensors/inputs and control the operation of the aerosol generation device 100 based on the received data.

The aerosol generation device 100 may include a mouthpiece 110 through which a user draws on the aerosol generation device 100 to inhale generated aerosol. The mouthpiece 110 may include a vent or channel that is connected to a region close to the aerosol generation consumable 150 for passage of any generated aerosol from the aerosol generation consumable 100, during use. For example, the channel may extend between an opening in the mouthpiece 110 and the chamber 108 in which the aerosol generation consumable 150 is receivable. The mouthpiece 110 is arranged such it may be received in a user’s mouth in use. The mouthpiece may be coupled to the chamber 108 via a hinge 112 or the like.

In one example, the aerosol generation device 100 includes an activation input sensor (not shown). The activation input sensor may be a button, a touchpad, or the like for sensing a user’s input such as a tap or swipe. In other examples, the activation input sensor comprises a puff sensor (also known as an inhalation sensor) to determine if a user in inhaling on the device. The activation input sensor may also be configured to determine when the user stops inhaling on the device 100.

The aerosol generation device 100 may include a power supply (not shown) such as a battery. The power supply may provide the aerosol generation device 100 with electrical energy providing a voltage in range of 1 V and 8 V. In a preferred embodiment the voltage source is a lithium-ion battery delivering a value of 3.7 V. Such a voltage source is particularly advantageous for a modern aerosol generation device in view of rechargeability.

Figure 5 shows an exploded view of another arrangement of the aerosol generation device 200. The aerosol generation device 200 shown in Figure 2 has the same components as described above in relation to figured 1 to 4, except for the following. Reference signs have been incremented by 100 to refer to similar elements. In this example, the first set of electrodes 202a to 202e are provided in a substantially circular arrangement and the common second electrode 204 is also provided in a circular arrangement. The aerosol generation consumable sections 250a to 250e are each arranged between adjacent electrodes of the first set of electrodes 202. Note that for conciseness only electrodes 202a to 202e of the first set of electrodes 202 have been provided with reference signs, but reference signs could have been provided for the other first electrodes (e.g., 202f, 202g and so on). In addition, for conciseness, only sections 250a, 250b, 250c, 250d, 250e are provided with reference numerals, but the other sections could be labelled 250f, 250g, and so on.

When the consumable 250 is provided to the aerosol generation device 200, each consumable section will be position between an electrode of the first set of electrodes 202 and the common second electrode 204. In other words, in this arrangement then device 100 may operate in the same manner as described above in relation to aerosol generation device 100.

In this example, the first set of electrodes 202 may be considered to be arranged around a central axis, which, in use, may correspond to a longitudinal axis of the aerosol generation device 200. The first set of electrodes 202 may be considered to be arranged in a cylindrical manner. In other examples the first set of electrodes 202 are considered to be arranged in a conical manner around the central axis.

In operation of the aerosol generation device 100, 200, the controller 106 may be configured to provide electrical power to the first set of electrodes 202 in a sequential manner. For example, each discrete section 150a to 150e of aerosol generation consumable may be activated individually and sequentially in order. In one example, the controller 106 is configured to provide electrical power to each of the first set of electrodes in turn. That is to say that each discrete section is activated individually in sequence.

The sequence may include providing electrical power to multiple electrodes of the first set of electrodes 102 at the same time. In other words, more than one discrete section of the aerosol generation consumable 150 may be activated simultaneously. For example, the aerosol generation sections may be activated in pairs at the same time or different combinations of the discrete sections may be activated simultaneously. In the example of more than one of the first set of electrodes being activated simultaneously, there may still be a sequential pattern of activation. For example, a first pair of the first set of electrodes may be activated first and then a second pair of the second set of electrodes may be activated second etc. By “activated”, it is intended to mean that electrical power is provided.

In one example, the controller 106 is configured to provide electric power to one or more of the first set of electrodes 102 upon receipt of an input. For example, the input may include the detection of a puff from a puff sensor or the like. That is to say that the electric power is provided one or more of the first set of electrodes 102 after a puff has been detected. Due to the nature of the electrical conductors 154 being present in the aerosol precursor material 152, then aerosol is produced much quicker compared to traditional methods. As such, the aerosol generation device is able to produce aerosol on demand and so a puff sensor is particularly beneficial. Other inputs could be used too, for example a button press of the aerosol generation device 100 by a user may be used.

In one example, the controller receives an indication that the activation signal is no longer applied. For example, the signal of the puff sensor may indicate that the user is no longer inhaling or the signal from the button may indicate that the button is no longer being pressed (or a predetermined time has elapsed from the initial button press). The controller 106 may then determine that the discrete section has been used due to electrical power being applied to the associated electrode from the first set of electrodes 102. The controller 106 may record or store the number of activation signals it has received after a consumable has been received and select the electrode from the first set of electrodes to provide electric power based on the number of activation signals. For example, after the consumable 150 has been received in the aerosol generation device, upon receipt of the first activation signal a first electrode of the first set of electrodes is provided with electrical power. When the first activation signal is ceased, then the electrical power is stopped being provided to the first electrode. Upon receipt of the second activation signal, then electrical power may be provided to the second of the first set of electrodes and so on. Various sequences/combinations of providing electrical power to the first set of electrodes and the second electrode are envisaged. The desired sequence could be input by a user into the aerosol generation device or provided to the aerosol generation device via a Bluetooth connection or the like.

The device 100 is configured such that the same discrete section of aerosol will not be activated twice (i.e., electrical power will not be provided to the same discrete section on two separate occasions). In one example, prior to electric power being provided to one of the first set of electrodes, a resistance measurement (or equivalent measurement that could be used to determine the resistance) may be made of the discrete section of aerosol generation consumable. As “used” discrete sections of aerosol generation consumable have a higher resistance than unused sections, this resistance measurement may be used as a secondary check to ensure that the same discrete section is not provided with electricity more than once, which would lead to an unsatisfactory user experience. In other words, the aerosol generation device may be configured to determine a measurement indicative of resistance of a discrete section of aerosol generation consumable. The controller 106 is configured to select an electrode of the first set of electrodes to provide electric power based on the measurement.

As described above, the aerosol generation consumable 100 comprises a plurality of discrete sections 150a, 150b etc. Each of the discrete sections 150a, 150b etc. is configured to electrically couple with one of the first set of electrodes 102 and all of the discrete sections 150a, 150b etc. are configured to electrically couple with the common second electrode 104.

Each of the discrete sections 150a, 150b, etc. may have a mass of between 10mg and 100mg, more preferably approximately 20mg. As described above, the mass of this arrangement means that a user may experience an “e-vapour” style experience. That is to say that the user may generate aerosol almost instantly on demand with little wait time. In other words, a user may simply draw on the aerosol generation device 100 and at least one of the first set of electrodes 102 will be provided with electrical power so as to provide electrical power to at least one discrete section of aerosol generation consumable. There is no need for the aerosol generation consumable to be held at a first temperature as the discrete sections have a low enough mass for them to generate sufficient aerosol upon the application of the electrical power.

In one example, the discrete sections 150a, 150b, etc. are arranged in an array. For example, they may be arranged in a grid like arrangement (e.g., a planar array). In other examples the discrete sections 150a, 150b etc. may be arranged around a central axis (for example in a circular array or a conical array). Adjacent discrete sections of aerosol generation consumable 150a, 150b etc. are electrical insulated from each other to prevent electrical power applied to a first discrete section 150a being applied to a second discrete section 150b.

An aerosol generation system includes both the aerosol generation device 100 and the aerosol generation consumable 150.

There is also provided a method of generating an aerosol. The method includes providing electric power to an aerosol generation consumable by selectively providing electric power to one or more of a first set of electrodes 102 of an aerosol generation device 100 to selectively provide electrical power to a one or more discrete sections of an aerosol generation consumable. Each of the discrete sections of the aerosol generation consumable are electrically coupled to a common second electrode 104. Electrical power may also be provided to the common second electrode 104. A controller 106 may be configured to control the electrical power provided to the first set of electrodes and the common second electrode.

The electrical power may be provided to the first set of electrodes 102 in a sequential manner. In some examples, at least two of the first set of electrodes are configured to be electrically powered simultaneously.

Although preferred embodiments have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications might be made without departing from the scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims and as described above.

Claims

1 . An aerosol generation device for receiving an aerosol generation consumable and providing electric power to said aerosol generation consumable, the aerosol generation device comprising: an electrode arrangement comprising a first set of electrodes and a common second electrode, wherein each of the first set of electrodes is configured to electrically couple with and provide electric power to selected discrete sections of aerosol generation consumable, wherein the common second electrode is configured to electrically couple with all of the sections of aerosol generation consumable; and a controller configured to selectively control electric power supply to one or more of the first set of electrodes such that electric power can be selectively provided to individual electrodes of the first set of electrodes independently.

2. The aerosol generation device according to claim 1 , wherein the first set of electrodes are arranged in an array.

3. The aerosol generation device according to claim 2, wherein the array is substantially planar.

4. The aerosol generation device according to any one of claims 1 or 2, wherein the first set of electrodes are arranged around a central axis.

5. The aerosol generation device according to claim 4, wherein the first set of electrodes are arranged in a cylindrical manner.

6. The aerosol generation device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the controller is configured to provide electrical power to the first set of electrodes in a sequential manner.

7. The aerosol generation device according to claim 6, wherein the controller is configured to provide electrical power to each of the first set of electrodes in turn.

8. The aerosol generation device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least two of the first set of electrodes are configured to be electrically powered simultaneously.

9. The aerosol generation device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the controller is configured to provide electric power to one or more of the first set of electrodes upon receipt of an activation input.

10. An aerosol generation consumable comprising a plurality of discrete sections for use in the aerosol generation device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each of the plurality of discrete sections comprising comprises solid aerosol precursor material and one or more electrical conductors located therein.

11. The aerosol generation consumable according to claim 10, wherein each of the discrete sections have a mass of between 10mg and 100mg.

12. An aerosol generation system comprising: the aerosol generation device according to any one of claims 1 to 9; and the aerosol generation consumable according to claim 10 or 11.

13. A method for providing electric power to an aerosol generation consumable, comprising: selectively providing electric power to one or more of a first set of electrodes of an aerosol generation device to selectively provide electrical power to one or more discrete sections of an aerosol generation consumable, wherein each of the discrete sections of the aerosol generation consumable are electrically coupled to a common second electrode.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the electrical power is provided to the first set of electrodes in a sequential manner.

15. The method according to claims 13 or 14, wherein at least two of the first set of electrodes are configured to be electrically powered simultaneously.