WO2025238335A1

WO2025238335A1 - Aerosol provision system and its information identification control circuit, cartridge, control method

Info

Publication number: WO2025238335A1
Application number: PCT/GB2025/050950
Authority: WO
Inventors: Zehua JIANG; Jianglong LI
Original assignee: Nicoventures Trading Ltd
Current assignee: Nicoventures Trading Ltd
Priority date: 2024-05-11
Filing date: 2025-05-02
Publication date: 2025-11-20
Anticipated expiration: 2026-11-11
Also published as: CN120918407A

Abstract

The embodiments of the present application disclose an aerosol provision system, an information identification control circuit, cartridge, and control method therefor. The information identification control circuit comprises: a first circuit comprising a first identification resistor and a first capacitor connected in series; a second circuit comprising a first control switch and a heating element connected in series; when the first capacitor is charging, the first control switch is open; when the first capacitor is fully charged, the first control switch is closed, and the heating element starts heating. Through the embodiments of this application, the technical effect of achieving low cost while enabling information identification without compromising the heating efficiency of the system is realized.

Description

Aerosol provision system and its information identification control circuit, cartridge, control method

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of aerosol provision technology, and more particularly relates to an aerosol provision system and its information identification control circuit, cartridge, control method.

Technical Background

In the electronic cigarette industry, an aerosol provision system is configured to generate aerosol from an aerosol-generating substrate (e.g., tobacco-containing or tobacco leaf-based substrate) for user inhalation. When using the aerosol provision system, it is necessary to obtain relevant system information, such as the flavor of the cartridge, to output optimal system control solutions tailored to different information. To enable information identification in aerosol provision systems, conventional solutions involve incorporating special chips containing identification data or excessive additional components into the system. These approaches result in prohibitively high costs and may reduce heating efficiency due to the added chips and excessive components.

Summary

The present application aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art. In accordance with some embodiments described herein, there is provided an aerosol provision system and its information identification control circuit, a cartridge, a control method, achieving the technical effect of low-cost information identification without compromising the system's heating efficiency.

In accordance with a first aspect, there is provided an information identification control circuit, comprising: a first circuit comprising a first identification resistor and a first capacitor connected in series; and a second circuit comprising a first control switch and a heating element connected in series. When the first capacitor is charging, the first control switch is open. When the first capacitor is fully charged, the first control switch closes, the heating element starts heating.

In embodiments of the or any of the above information identification control circuit, the first circuit is connected in parallel with the second circuit, and both ends of the second circuit and the first circuit share a first electrical connection terminal and a second electrical connection terminal.

In embodiments of the or any of the above information identification control circuit, the first capacitor can be detected for charging voltage thereof through the first electrical connection terminal or the second electrical connection terminal to obtain the resistance value of the first identification resistor.

In embodiments of the or any of the above information identification control circuit, the resistance value of the first identification resistor corresponds to the information of the aerosol provision system.

In embodiments of the or any of the above information identification control circuit, the circuit further comprises a third circuit, both ends of the third circuit are respectively connected to the first electrical connection terminal and the second electrical connection terminal; the third circuit comprises a second identification resistor and a second capacitor connected in series. When the first circuit is conducting, the third circuit is open. When the third circuit is conducting, the first circuit is open.

In embodiments of the or any of the above information identification control circuit, the first circuit comprises a first unidirectional conducting circuit, the first unidirectional conducting circuit is connected in series with the first identification resistor; the third circuit comprises a second unidirectional conducting circuit, the second unidirectional conducting circuit is connected in series with the second identification resistor. When the first electrical connection terminal is connected to a positive voltage, the first unidirectional conducting circuit closes, the first circuit closes to charge the first capacitor. When the second electrical connection terminal is connected to a positive voltage, the second unidirectional conducting circuit closes, the third circuit closes to charge the second capacitor.

In embodiments of the or any of the above information identification control circuit, the second capacitor can be detected for charging voltage thereof through the first electrical connection terminal or the second electrical connection terminal to obtain the resistance value of the second identification resistor.

In embodiments of the or any of the above information identification control circuit, the resistance value of the second identification resistor is the same as the resistance value of the first identification resistor.

In embodiments of the or any of the above information identification control circuit, the circuit further comprises a fourth circuit; the fourth circuit comprises a second control switch, the second control switch is respectively connected to the third circuit, the second electrical connection terminal and the heating element. When the second capacitor is charging, the second control switch is open. When the second capacitor is fully charged, the second control switch closes, the heating element starts heating.

In accordance with a second aspect, there is provided a cartridge for an aerosol provision system, comprising the information identification control circuit according to any one of the embodiments in the first aspect.

In accordance with a third aspect, there is provided an aerosol provision system, comprising: a chamber containing an aerosol-generating material; an information identification control circuit according to any one of the embodiments in the first aspect or the cartridge described in the second aspect; and a heating element configured to heat the aerosol-generating material to generate an aerosol.

In accordance with a fourth aspect, there is provided a heating control method for an aerosol provision system, based on the aerosol provision system according to the third aspect; the method comprises: obtaining the resistance value of an identification resistor in the system to obtain corresponding information; and controlling the heating of the heating element based on the information.

In embodiments of the or any of the above heating control method for an aerosol provision system, obtaining the resistance value of an identification resistor in the system to obtain corresponding information comprises: charging the capacitor connected in series with the identification resistor, and obtaining the charging time and charging voltage of the capacitor; and obtaining the resistance value of the identification resistor based on the charging time and charging voltage of the capacitor.

In embodiments of the or any of the above heating control method for an aerosol provision system, obtaining the resistance value of the identification resistor based on the charging time and charging voltage of the capacitor comprises: obtaining the charging voltage of the capacitor at a first preset time, wherein the first preset time is less than the time taken for the capacitor to fully charge; obtaining the resistance value of the identification resistor based on calculating the first preset time and the corresponding charging voltage; or, obtaining the time taken for the capacitor to fully charge; obtaining the resistance value of the identification resistor based on calculating the time taken for the capacitor to fully charge and the full charge voltage.

In embodiments of the or any of the above heating control method for an aerosol provision system, the method further comprises: initiating charging the capacitor to obtain the resistance value of the identification resistor in response to the detecting that a user starts to puff on the system.

In embodiments of the or any of the above heating control method for an aerosol provision system, the method further comprises: initiate heating of the heating element at a second preset time, wherein the second preset time is greater than the time taken for the capacitor to fully charge.

In embodiments of the or any of the above heating control method for an aerosol provision system, the information comprises one or more of the following: flavors of the cartridge, an identification code and authentication information.

In accordance with a fifth aspect, there is provided an electronic device. It comprises a memory, one or more processors, and one or more applications, wherein the one or more applications are stored in the memory, and the one or more applications are configured such that when invoked by the one or more processors, enable the one or more processors to execute the method according to any one of the embodiments in the fourth aspect.

In accordance with a sixth aspect, there is provided a computer readable storage medium. It stores multiple program codes, which are suitable for loading and running by a processor to execute the method according to any one of the embodiments in the fourth aspect.

One or more technical solutions of the present application achieve at least one or more of the following beneficial effects:

In the implementation of the technical solutions of the present application, compared to conventional approaches that rely on adding special chips or excessive components to enable system information identification, this application employs a circuit comprising series-connected identification resistors and capacitors. This achieves low-cost identification and acquisition of system-related information through the identification resistors. Moreover, since the heating element initiates heating only after the series- connected capacitor is fully charged, the circuit containing the identification resistor and capacitor does not consume power supply voltage after heating begins, thereby not affecting the system's heating efficiency.

Additional aspects and advantages of the present application will be partially described in the following explanation, partially become apparent from the following description, or may be understood through practice of the present application.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Referring to the accompanying drawings, the disclosure of the present application will become more understandable. Those skilled in the art can easily understand that these drawings are only for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present application. Moreover, similar numbers in the figures are used to represent similar components, wherein:

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an information identification control circuit for an aerosol provision system according to one embodiment of the present application (singlepath identification resistor configuration);

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an information identification control circuit for an aerosol provision system according to one embodiment of the present application (dualpath identification resistor configuration);

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an information identification control circuit for an aerosol provision system according to one embodiment of the present application (dual- path heating element control configuration);

Figure 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a cartridge for an aerosol provision system according to one embodiment of the present application;

Figure 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a device-side configuration for an aerosol provision system according to one embodiment of the present application;

Figure 6 is a flowchart showing main procedural steps of a heating control method for an aerosol provision system according to one embodiment of the present application;

Figure 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a capacitor charging process according to one embodiment of the present application; and

Figure 8 is a schematic diagram showing implementation steps of a heating control method for an aerosol provision system according to one embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The following describes some embodiments of the present application with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that these embodiments are only for explaining the technical principles of the present application and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present application.

As used herein, the term "delivery system" is intended to encompass systems that deliver at least one substance to a user in use, and includes: combustible aerosol provision systems, such as cigarettes, cigarillos, cigars, and tobacco for pipes or for roll-your-own or for make-your-own cigarettes (whether based on tobacco, tobacco derivatives, expanded tobacco, reconstituted tobacco, tobacco substitutes or other smokable material); non-combustible aerosol provision systems that release compounds from an aerosolgenerating 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.

According to the present disclosure, a "combustible" aerosol provision system is one where a constituent aerosol-generating material of the aerosol provision system (or component thereof) is combusted or burned during use in order to facilitate delivery of at least one substance to a user. In some embodiments, the delivery system is a combustible aerosol provision system, such as a system selected from the group consisting of a cigarette, a cigarillo and a cigar.

In some embodiments, the disclosure relates to a component for use in a combustible aerosol provision system, such as a filter, a filter rod, a filter segment, a tobacco rod, a spill, an aerosol-modifying agent release component such as a capsule, a thread, or a bead, or a paper such as a plug wrap, a tipping paper or a cigarette paper.

According to the present disclosure, a "non-combustible" aerosol provision system is one where a constituent aerosol-generating material of the aerosol provision system (or component thereof) is not combusted or burned in order to facilitate delivery of at least one substance to a user.

In some embodiments, the delivery system is a non-combustible aerosol provision system, such as a powered non-combustible aerosol provision system.

In some embodiments, the non-combustible aerosol provision system is an electronic cigarette, also known as a vaping device or electronic nicotine delivery system (END), although it is noted that the presence of nicotine in the aerosol-generating material is not a requirement.

In some embodiments, the non-combustible aerosol provision system is an aerosolgenerating material 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.

Typically, the non-combustible aerosol provision system may comprise a non- combustible aerosol provision device and a consumable for use with the non-combustible aerosol provision device.

In some embodiments, the disclosure relates to consumables comprising aerosolgenerating material and configured to be used with non-combustible aerosol provision devices. These consumables are sometimes referred to as articles throughout the disclosure.

In some embodiments, the non-combustible aerosol provision system, such as a non- combustible aerosol provision device thereof, may comprise a power source and a controller. The power source may, for example, be an electric power source or an exothermic power source. In some embodiments, the exothermic power source comprises a carbon substrate which may be energised so as to distribute power in the form of heat to an aerosol-generating material or to a heat transfer material in proximity to the exothermic power source.

In some embodiments, the non-combustible aerosol provision system may comprise an area for receiving the consumable, an aerosol generator, an aerosol generation area, a housing, a mouthpiece, a filter and/or an aerosol-modifying agent.

In some embodiments, the consumable for use with the non-combustible aerosol provision device may comprise aerosol-generating material, an aerosol-generating material storage area, an aerosol-generating material transfer component, an aerosol generator, an aerosol generation area, a housing, a wrapper, a filter, a mouthpiece, and/or an aerosol-modifying agent.

In some embodiments, the delivery system is an aerosol-free delivery system that delivers 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.

In some embodiments, 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 aerosolformer materials, and/or one or more other functional materials.

In some embodiments, the substance to be delivered comprises an active substance. The active substance as used herein may be a physiologically active material, which is a material intended to achieve or enhance a physiological response. The active substance may for example be selected from nutraceuticals, nootropics, psychoactives. The active substance may be naturally occurring or synthetically obtained. The active substance may comprise for example nicotine, caffeine, taurine, theine, vitamins such as B6 or B12 or C, melatonin, cannabinoids, or constituents, derivatives, or combinations thereof. The active substance may comprise one or more constituents, derivatives or extracts of tobacco, cannabis or another botanical.

In some embodiments, the active substance comprises nicotine. In some embodiments, the active substance comprises caffeine, melatonin or vitamin B12.

As noted herein, the active substance may comprise one or more constituents, derivatives or extracts of cannabis, such as one or more cannabinoids or terpenes.

As noted herein, the active substance may comprise or be derived from one or more botanicals or constituents, derivatives or extracts thereof. As used herein, the term "botanical" includes any material derived from plants including, but not limited to, extracts, leaves, bark, fibres, stems, roots, seeds, flowers, fruits, pollen, husk, shells or the like. Alternatively, the material may comprise an active compound naturally existing in a botanical, obtained synthetically. The material may be in the form of liquid, gas, solid, powder, dust, crushed particles, granules, pellets, shreds, strips, sheets, or the like.

Example botanicals are tobacco, eucalyptus, star anise, hemp, cocoa, cannabis, fennel, lemongrass, peppermint, spearmint, rooibos, chamomile, flax, ginger, ginkgo biloba, hazel, hibiscus, laurel, licorice (liquorice), matcha, mate, orange skin, papaya, rose, sage, tea such as green tea or black tea, thyme, clove, cinnamon, coffee, aniseed (anise), basil, bay leaves, cardamom, coriander, cumin, nutmeg, oregano, paprika, rosemary, saffron, lavender, lemon peel, mint, juniper, elderflower, vanilla, Wintergreen, beefsteak plant, curcuma, turmeric, sandalwood, cilantro, bergamot, orange blossom, myrtle, cassis, valerian, pimento, mace, damien, marjoram, olive, lemon balm, lemon basil, chive, carvi, verbena, tarragon, geranium, mulberry, ginseng, theanine, theacrine, maca, ashwagandha, damiana, guarana, chlorophyll, baobab or any combination thereof. The mint may be chosen from the following mint varieties: Mentha Arventis, Mentha c.v., Mentha niliaca, Mentha piperita, Mentha piperita citrata c.v., Mentha piperita c.v, Mentha spicata crispa, Mentha cardifolia, Memtha longifolia, Mentha suaveolens variegata, Mentha pulegium, Mentha spicata c.v. and Mentha suaveolens.

In some embodiments, the active substance comprises or is derived from one or more botanicals or constituents, derivatives or extracts thereof and the botanical is tobacco. In some embodiments, the active substance comprises or derived from one or more botanicals or constituents, derivatives or extracts thereof and the botanical is selected from eucalyptus, star anise, cocoa and hemp.

In some embodiments, the active substance comprises or derived from one or more botanicals or constituents, derivatives or extracts thereof and the botanical is selected from rooibos and fennel.

In some embodiments, the substance to be delivered comprises a flavour. As used herein, the terms "flavour" and "flavourant" refer to materials which, where local regulations permit, may be used to create a desired taste, aroma or other somatosensorial sensation in a product for adult consumers. They may include naturally occurring flavour materials, botanicals, extracts of botanicals, synthetically obtained materials, or combinations thereof (e.g., tobacco, cannabis, licorice (liquorice), hydrangea, eugenol, Japanese white bark magnolia leaf, chamomile, fenugreek, clove, maple, matcha, menthol, Japanese mint, aniseed (anise), cinnamon, turmeric, Indian spices, Asian spices, herb, Wintergreen, cherry, berry, red berry, cranberry, peach, apple, orange, mango, clementine, lemon, lime, tropical fruit, papaya, rhubarb, grape, durian, dragon fruit, cucumber, blueberry, mulberry, citrus fruits, Drambuie, bourbon, scotch, whiskey, gin, tequila, rum, spearmint, peppermint, lavender, aloe vera, cardamom, celery, cascarilla, nutmeg, sandalwood, bergamot, geranium, khat, naswar, betel, shisha, pine, honey essence, rose oil, vanilla, lemon oil, orange oil, orange blossom, cherry blossom, cassia, caraway, cognac, jasmine, ylang-ylang, sage, fennel, wasabi, piment, ginger, coriander, coffee, hemp, a mint oil from any species of the genus Mentha, eucalyptus, star anise, cocoa, lemongrass, rooibos, flax, ginkgo biloba, hazel, hibiscus, laurel, mate, orange skin, rose, tea such as green tea or black tea, thyme, juniper, elderflower, basil, bay leaves, cumin, oregano, paprika, rosemary, saffron, lemon peel, mint, beefsteak plant, curcuma, cilantro, myrtle, cassis, valerian, pimento, mace, damien, marjoram, olive, lemon balm, lemon basil, chive, carvi, verbena, tarragon, limonene, thymol, camphene), flavour enhancers, bitterness receptor site blockers, sensorial receptor site activators or stimulators, sugars and/or sugar substitutes (e.g., sucralose, acesulfame potassium, aspartame, saccharine, cyclamates, lactose, sucrose, glucose, fructose, sorbitol, or mannitol), and other additives such as charcoal, chlorophyll, minerals, botanicals, or breath freshening agents. They may be imitation, synthetic or natural ingredients or blends thereof. They may be in any suitable form, for example, liquid such as an oil, solid such as a powder, or gas.

In some embodiments, the flavour comprises menthol, spearmint and/or peppermint. In some embodiments, the flavour comprises flavour components of cucumber, blueberry, citrus fruits and/or redberry. In some embodiments, the flavour comprises eugenol. In some embodiments, the flavour comprises flavour components extracted from tobacco. In some embodiments, the flavour comprises flavour components extracted from cannabis.

In some embodiments, the flavour may comprise a sensate, which is intended to achieve a somatosensorial sensation which are usually chemically induced and perceived by the stimulation of the fifth cranial nerve (trigeminal nerve), in addition to or in place of aroma or taste nerves, and these may include agents providing heating, cooling, tingling, numbing effect. A suitable heat effect agent may be, but is not limited to, vanillyl ethyl ether and a suitable cooling agent may be, but not limited to eucolyptol, WS-3.

Aerosol-generating material is a material that is capable of generating aerosol, for example when heated, irradiated or energized in any other way. Aerosol-generating material may, for example, be in the form of a solid, liquid or gel which may or may not contain an active substance and/or flavourants. In some embodiments, the aerosolgenerating material may comprise an "amorphous solid", which may alternatively be referred to as a"monolithic solid" (i.e. non-fibrous). In some embodiments, the amorphous solid may be a dried gel. The amorphous solid is a solid material that may retain some fluid, such as liquid, within it. In some embodiments, the aerosol-generating material may for example comprise from about 50wt%, 60wt% or 70wt% of amorphous solid, to about 90wt%, 95wt% or 100wt% of amorphous solid. The aerosol-generating material may comprise one or more active substances and/or flavours, one or more aerosol-former materials, and optionally one or more other functional material.

The aerosol-former material may comprise one or more constituents capable of forming an aerosol. In some embodiments, the aerosol-former material may comprise one or more of 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 other functional materials may comprise one or more of pH regulators, colouring agents, preservatives, binders, fillers, stabilizers, and/or antioxidants.

The material may be present on or in a support, to form a substrate. The support may, for example, be or comprise paper, card, paperboard, cardboard, reconstituted material, a plastics material, a ceramic material, a composite material, glass, a metal, or a metal alloy. In some embodiments, the support comprises a susceptor. In some embodiments, the susceptor is embedded within the material. In some alternative embodiments, the susceptor is on one or either side of the material.

A consumable is an article comprising or consisting of aerosol-generating material, part or all of which is intended to be consumed during use by a user. A consumable may comprise one or more other components, such as an aerosol-generating material storage area, an aerosol-generating material transfer component, an aerosol generation area, a housing, a wrapper, a mouthpiece, a filter and/or an aerosol-modifying agent. A consumable may also comprise an aerosol generator, such as a heater, that emits heat to cause the aerosol-generating material to generate aerosol in use. The heater may, for example, comprise combustible material, a material heatable by electrical conduction, or a susceptor.

A susceptor is a material that is heatable by penetration with a varying magnetic field, such as an alternating magnetic field. The susceptor may be an electrically-conductive material, so that penetration thereof with a varying magnetic field causes induction heating of the heating material. The heating material may be magnetic material, so that penetration thereof with a varying magnetic field causes magnetic hysteresis heating of the heating material. The susceptor may be both electrically-conductive and magnetic, so that the susceptor is heatable by both heating mechanisms. The device that is configured to generate the varying magnetic field is referred to as a magnetic field generator, herein.

An aerosol-modifying agent is a substance, typically located downstream of the aerosol generation area, that is configured to modify the aerosol generated, for example by changing the taste, flavour, acidity or another characteristic of the aerosol. The aerosolmodifying agent may be provided in an aerosol-modifying agent release component, that is operable to selectively release the aerosol-modifying agent. The aerosol-modifying agent may, for example, be an additive or a sorbent. The aerosol-modifying agent may, for example, comprise one or more of a flavourant, a colourant, water, and a carbon adsorbent. The aerosol-modifying agent may, for example, be a solid, a liquid, or a gel. The aerosolmodifying agent may be in powder, thread or granule form. The aerosol-modifying agent may be free from filtration material.

An aerosol generator is an apparatus configured to cause aerosol to be generated from the aerosol-generating material. In some embodiments, the aerosol generator is a heater configured to subject the aerosol-generating material to heat energy, so as to release one or more volatiles from the aerosol-generating material to form an aerosol. In some embodiments, the aerosol generator is configured to cause an aerosol to be generated from the aerosol-generating material without heating. For example, the aerosol generator may be configured to subject the aerosol-generating material to one or more of vibration, increased pressure, or electrostatic energy.

The present disclosure relates to aerosol delivery systems (which may also be referred to as vapour delivery systems) such as nebulisers or e-cigarettes. Throughout the following description the term "e-cigarette" or "electronic cigarette" may sometimes be used, but it will be appreciated this term may be used interchangeably with aerosol delivery system I device and electronic aerosol delivery system I device. Furthermore, and as is common in the technical field, the terms "aerosol" and "vapour", and related terms such as "vaporise", "volatilise" and "aerosolise", may generally be used interchangeably.

Aerosol delivery systems (e-cigarettes) often, though not always, comprise a modular assembly comprising a reusable device part and a replaceable (disposable/consumable) cartridge part. Often, the replaceable cartridge part will comprise the aerosol-generating material and the vaporiser (which may collectively be called a "cartomizer") and the reusable device part will comprise the power provision (e.g. rechargeable power source) and control circuitry. It will be appreciated these different parts may comprise further elements depending on functionality. For example, the reusable device part will often comprise a user interface for receiving user input and displaying operating status characteristics, and the replaceable cartridge device part in some cases comprises a temperature sensor for helping to control temperature. Cartridges are electrically and mechanically coupled to the control unit for use, for example using a screw thread, bayonet, or magnetic coupling with appropriately arranged electrical contacts. When the aerosolgenerating material in a cartridge is exhausted, or the user wishes to switch to a different cartridge having a different aerosol-generating material, the cartridge may be removed from the reusable part and a replacement cartridge attached in its place. Systems and devices conforming to this type of two-part modular configuration may generally be referred to as two-part systems/devices.

It is common for electronic cigarettes to have a generally elongate shape. For the sake of providing a concrete example, certain embodiments of the disclosure will be taken to comprise this kind of generally elongate two-part system employing disposable cartridges. However, it will be appreciated that the underlying principles described herein may equally be adopted for different configurations, for example single-part systems or modular systems comprising more than two parts, refillable devices and single-use disposables, as well as other overall shapes, for example based on so-called box-mod high performance devices that typically have a boxier shape. More generally, it will be appreciated certain embodiments of the disclosure are based on aerosol delivery systems which are operationally configured to provide functionality in accordance with the principles described herein and the constructional aspects of systems configured to provide the functionality in accordance with certain embodiments of the disclosure is not of primary significance.

As described in the background section, conventional methods for obtaining information about aerosol provision systems require adding special chips or excessive components to the system, resulting in high costs and reduced heating efficiency. For example, when a circuit remains continuously conductive and powered, it consumes part of the system's supply voltage, thereby affecting heating efficiency. To address this, the present application proposes an information identification control circuit for aerosol provision systems that enables identification of relevant system information at low cost without compromising heating efficiency, allowing for optimal system control based on the identified information.

Specifically, the information identification control circuit for an aerosol provision system comprises a first circuit and a second circuit. The first circuit includes a first identification resistor and a first capacitor connected in series, while the second circuit includes a first control switch and a heating element connected in series. The operational relationship between the circuits is as follows: when the first capacitor is charging, the first control switch remains open; when the first capacitor reaches full charge, the first control switch closes, activating the heating element. The application achieves system information identification through the identification resistor while ensuring that the series-connected capacitor circuit does not consume supply voltage after the heating element activates, thus maintaining heating efficiency. Compared to solutions requiring special chips and excessive components, this application only requires resistors, capacitors, and control switch circuits, offering both cost-effectiveness and superior performance. In one embodiment, referring to FIG. 1 , in the information identification control circuit, the first circuit is connected in parallel with the second circuit. Both ends of the second circuit and the first circuit share the first electrical connection terminal 100 and the second electrical connection terminal 200. The first control switch is connected between the first identification resistor and the first capacitor connected in series in the first circuit. Thus, when the first capacitor is fully charged, the first control switch is turned on, that is, the first control switch is closed, and the second circuit forms a closed circuit, thereby starting the heating element. Since the first control switch is turned on after the first capacitor is fully charged, at this time, the first circuit is equivalent to being open-circuited and does not consume the supply voltage from the first electrical connection terminal 100 or the second electrical connection terminal 200, thus having no impact on the heating efficiency of the heating element. Further, the charging voltage of the first capacitor can be detected through the first electrical connection terminal 100 or the second electrical connection terminal 200 to obtain the resistance value of the first identification resistor. For example, in a circuit where a resistor and a capacitor are connected in series, knowing the initial voltage and the full charge voltage of the capacitor, as well as the charging voltage at a certain moment, the resistance value of the series resistor can be calculated. Through this example, the resistance value of the resistor can be obtained with only two power supply terminals. It should be understood that the resistance value of the resistor can also be obtained through other methods, such as adding a chip to directly obtain the resistance value of the resistor through the voltage and current of the resistor. The structure of the control circuit in this example is not a limitation on the method of obtaining the resistance value of the resistor.

In one embodiment, referring to FIG. 2, the information identification control circuit further includes a third circuit. Both ends of the third circuit are respectively connected to the first electrical connection terminal 100 and the second electrical connection terminal 200; the third circuit includes a second identification resistor and a second capacitor connected in series; when the first circuit is conducting, the third circuit is open-circuited; when the third circuit is conducting, the first circuit is open-circuited, that is, the first circuit and the third circuit have opposite conducting directions. Therefore, whether the first electrical connection terminal 100 or the second electrical connection terminal 200 is connected to a voltage and the other end is grounded, the capacitor in the corresponding circuit can be charged, and the resistance value of the identification resistor in the corresponding circuit can be obtained, so as to obtain the corresponding information. Specifically, the first circuit further includes a first unidirectional conducting circuit, and the first unidirectional conducting circuit is connected in series with the first identification resistor; the third circuit includes a second unidirectional conducting circuit, and the second unidirectional conducting circuit is connected in series with the second identification resistor; through the design of the unidirectional conducting circuit, when the first electrical connection terminal 100 is connected to a positive voltage and the second electrical connection terminal 200 is grounded, the first unidirectional conducting circuit is turned on to charge the first capacitor, and the resistance value of the first identification resistor can be obtained through the charging voltage of the first capacitor; when the second electrical connection terminal 200 is connected to a positive voltage and the first connection terminal 100 is grounded, the second unidirectional conducting circuit is turned on to charge the second capacitor, and the resistance value of the second identification resistor can be obtained through the charging voltage of the second capacitor. In the application, the first unidirectional conducting circuit and the second unidirectional conducting circuit can be diodes. It should be noted that when the first circuit is conducting, the heating element can be started after the first capacitor is fully charged, without affecting the heating efficiency of the system. When the third circuit is conducting, the resistance value of the second resistor can only be obtained by measuring the supply voltage of the second capacitor through the second electrical connection terminal 200, and the heating element cannot be started. After the resistance value of the second identification resistor is identified and calculated, the connection directions of the voltages connected to the first electrical connection terminal 100 and the second electrical connection terminal 200 can be reversed, so as to start the heating element after obtaining the resistance value of the first identification resistor. Further, the resistance value of the second identification resistor can be the same as that of the first identification resistor, serving as an identification resistor with the same information in the other power supply direction; the resistance value of the second identification resistor can also be different from that of the first identification resistor, so that different types of system information can be obtained from different circuits.

In one embodiment, referring to FIG. 3, the information identification control circuit further includes a fourth circuit; the fourth circuit includes a second control switch, and the second control switch is respectively connected to the third circuit, the second electrical connection terminal 200 and the heating element; specifically, the second control switch is connected between the second capacitor and the second identification resistor to achieve that when the second capacitor is charging, the second control switch is open; when the second capacitor is fully charged, the second control switch is closed, and the heating element starts heating. Based on this circuit, whether the first electrical connection terminal 100 or the second electrical connection terminal 200 is connected to a positive voltage, the resistance value of the internal identification resistor can be measured through the capacitor. At the same time, when the capacitor is fully charged, the corresponding control switch can be turned on and the heating element can be started, and no matter which circuit with an identification resistor can be turned on and used, it will not affect the heating efficiency of the system.

In the above embodiments, the resistance values of the first identification resistor and the second identification resistor correspond to the information of the aerosol provision system. In the present application, the information of the aerosol provision system includes but is not limited to the flavors of the cartridge, the ID of the system, authentication information, etc.; the first control switch and the second control switch can be MOS transistors. The entire information identification control circuit does not require a special chip, and only capacitors, resistors and switch elements are needed to achieve the identification of information without affecting the heating system of the system.

It should be understood that FIGS. 1-3 are only circuit principle structure diagrams, and are not intended to convey the specific structures and element arrangements of each circuit. Other circuit architectures or related peripheral circuit designs with the same functions according to actual needs should also be within the protection scope of the present application.

Further, the present application provides a cartridge for an aerosol provision system, which includes the information identification control circuit as described above.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the first electrical connection terminal 100 is the first power supply pin of the cartridge, and the second electrical connection terminal 200 is the second power supply pin of the cartridge. The resistance value of the identification resistor in the cartridge can be obtained through the two power supply pins, so as to obtain the information of the cartridge, for example, the flavors of the cartridge, so as to output the optimal power to control the heating element according to the flavors of the cartridge. Further, no matter which power supply pin of the cartridge is connected to a positive voltage, a circuit with an identification resistor and a capacitor can be activated to obtain the information of the cartridge without affecting the heating efficiency of the heating element. The specific structure and principle of the information identification control circuit in the cartridge are as described in the above example of the information identification control circuit, and the repeated parts will not be described again.

Further, the present application provides an aerosol provision system, which comprises: a chamber for accommodating an aerosol - generating material; the information identification control circuit as described above or the cartridge as described above; and a heating element configured to heat the aerosol - generating material to generate an aerosol.

In one embodiment, the system includes the cartridge as described above and a reusable device end with a power source that is connected to the cartridge. As shown in FIG. 5, the device end includes a control circuit, a power source, and a third power supply pin 300 and a fourth power supply pin 400 connected to the cartridge. The device end also includes a measurement control circuit and a heating control circuit. When measuring the voltage of the power supply pins, the control circuit controls the measurement control circuit to turn on and start. The supply voltage of the third power supply pin 300 is collected and returned to the control circuit for calculating the resistance value of the identification resistor. When the device end controls the heating to start, the control circuit turns on the heating control circuit to control the heating of the cartridge through the third power supply pin 300. It should be understood that since both power supply pins in the cartridge are connected to a conducting identification resistor circuit, whether the first power supply pin is connected to the third power supply pin 300 or the second power supply pin is connected to the third power supply pin 300, the resistance value of the corresponding identification resistor in the cartridge can be obtained. That is, the cartridge can be inserted into the device end from any direction. The specific circuit structure and principle in the cartridge are as described in the above example of the information identification control circuit, and the repeated parts will not be described again.

Further, the present application provides a heating control method for an aerosol provision system, which is based on the aerosol provision system as described above. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the method mainly includes the following steps:

S101 : Obtain the resistance value of the identification resistor in the aerosol provision system to get the corresponding information;

S102: Control the heating of the heating element according to the information.

In one embodiment, regarding the resistance value of the identification resistor: Charge the capacitor connected in series with the identification resistor, and obtain the charging time and charging voltage of the capacitor; Obtain the resistance value of the identification resistor according to the charging time and charging voltage of the capacitor. Specifically, the resistance value of the identification resistor can be obtained through the following calculation formula:

Where V0 is the initial voltage of the capacitor, V1 is the full - charge voltage of the capacitor, Vt is the voltage of the capacitor at time t, C is the capacitance value of the capacitor, and R is the resistance value of the identification resistor.

According to the above formula, when the capacitance value, the initial voltage, and the fully - charge voltage of the capacitor are known, only the voltage value at the corresponding time needs to be measured to obtain the resistance value of the identification resistor; or directly obtain the time when the capacitor is fully charged to obtain the resistance value of the identification resistor. As shown in FIG. 7, which is a graph of the relationship between time and voltage during the capacitor charging process. Since the resistance values of the identification resistors are different, the time for the same capacitor to be fully charged is also different. Therefore, a fixed time, such as time TI , can be set to measure the charging voltage at that time. The corresponding resistance value of the identification resistor can be obtained through the charging voltage at that time, and the resistance value of the identification resistor can also be obtained through the corresponding time at the moment of full charge, so as to obtain the information corresponding to the identification resistor. The information corresponding to the identification resistor can be the flavor of the cartridge, the identification code, or the authentication information. In this example, the device end can calculate the resistance value of the identification resistor and then obtain the flavor of the cartridge. Different flavors require different heating powers. The control circuit outputs the optimal power according to the flavor of the cartridge to control the heating element for heating, thus enhancing the user experience. For example, as measured in FIG. 7, the identification resistors are 1.00, 1.20, and 1.40 respectively, and their corresponding relationships with the flavors of the cartridge are shown in the following Table 1 :

In one embodiment, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8, when detecting that the user starts to puff on the aerosol provision system, the capacitor can start to be charged to obtain the resistance value of the identification resistor. Specifically, when the user starts to puff, the measurement control circuit of the device end is turned on, and the capacitor at the cartridge end starts to be charged. During the charging process, the voltage of the power supply pin is measured to calculate the resistance value of the corresponding identification resistor. When the capacitor is fully charged, the control switch is turned on, the heating element is connected, and the heating control of the device end is turned on and connected to control the heating element to heat according to the heating control output by the device end to generate an aerosol. It should be noted that since the device end needs to obtain the resistance value of the identification resistor first and output the heating control scheme according to the information corresponding to the resistance value, the time when the heating element starts to heat needs to be greater than the time when the capacitor is fully charged, such as time T2 in FIG. 7.

Further, the present application also provides an electronic device, which comprises a memory, one or more processors, and one or more applications. The one or more applications are stored in the memory. When the one or more applications are invoked by the one or more processors, the one or more processors are enabled to execute the method described in any of the above technical solutions.

The electronic device in the embodiment of the present application mainly comprises a memory and a processor. The memory can be configured to store a program for executing the heating control method of the aerosol provision system in the above - mentioned method embodiment. The processor can be configured to execute the program in the memory. The program includes, but is not limited to, the program for executing the heating control method of the aerosol provision system in the above - mentioned method embodiment. For the convenience of description, only the parts related to the embodiment of the present application are shown. For the specific technical details not disclosed, please refer to the method part of the embodiment of the present application.

In the embodiment of the present application, the electronic device can be a control device formed by various electronic components. In some possible embodiments, the electronic device can include multiple storage devices and multiple processors. The program for executing the heating control method of the aerosol provision system in the above - mentioned method embodiment can be divided into multiple sub - programs. Each sub - program can be loaded and run by the processor to execute different steps of the heating control method of the aerosol provision system in the above - mentioned method embodiment. Specifically, each sub - program can be stored in different memories respectively. Each processor can be configured to execute the programs in one or more memories to jointly implement the heating control method of the aerosol provision system in the above - mentioned method embodiment. That is, each processor executes different steps of the heating control method of the aerosol provision system in the above - mentioned method embodiment respectively to jointly implement the heating control method of the aerosol provision system in the above - mentioned method embodiment.

The above - mentioned electronic device is used to execute the embodiment of the heating control method of the aerosol provision system shown in FIG. 6. Their technical principles, the technical problems solved, and the technical effects produced are similar. Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working process and relevant descriptions of the electronic device can refer to the content described in the embodiment of the heating control method of the aerosol provision system, and will not be repeated here.

Those skilled in the art can understand that all or part of the processes in the method of the above - mentioned embodiment of the present application can also be completed by instructing relevant hardware through a computer program. The computer program can be stored in a computer - readable storage medium. When the computer program is executed by the processor, the steps of the above - mentioned method embodiments can be realized. The computer program includes computer program code, which can be in the form of source code, object code, executable file, or some intermediate forms. The computer - readable storage medium can include any entity or device, medium, USB flash drive, mobile hard disk, magnetic disk, optical disk, computer memory, read - only memory, random - access memory, electrical carrier signal, telecommunication signal, and software distribution medium that can carry the computer program code. It should be noted that the content contained in the computer - readable storage medium can be appropriately increased or decreased according to the requirements of legislation and patent practice in the jurisdiction. For example, in some jurisdictions, according to legislation and patent practice, the computer - readable storage medium does not include electrical carrier signals and telecommunication signals.

Further, the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium. In an embodiment of the computer-readable storage medium according to the present application, the computer-readable storage medium can be configured to store a program for executing the heating control method of the aerosol provision system in the above method embodiment. This program can be loaded and run by the processor to implement the heating control method of the above aerosol provision system. For ease of explanation, only the parts relevant to the embodiment of the present application are shown. For specific technical details not disclosed, please refer to the method part of the embodiment of the present application. The computer-readable storage medium can be a storage device formed by various electronic devices. Optionally, the computer-readable storage medium in the embodiment of the present application is a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium.

Further, it should be understood that since the setting of each module is merely for explaining the functional modules of the device of the present application, the physical devices corresponding to these modules can be the processor itself, or a part of the software in the processor, a part of the hardware, or a part of the combination of software and hardware. Therefore, the number of modules in the figure is merely illustrative. Those skilled in the art can understand that each module in the system can be adaptively split or combined. Such splitting or combining of specific modules will not cause the technical solution to deviate from the principle of the present application. Therefore, the technical solutions after splitting or combining will all fall within the protection scope of the present application. It should be understood that each part of the present application may be implemented by hardware, software, firmware or combinations thereof. In the above implementations, multiple steps or methods may be implemented with software or firmware stored in memory and executed by an appropriate instruction execution system. For example, if it is implemented by hardware, as in another implementation, it can be implemented by any one of the following technologies known in the art or combinations thereof: discrete logic circuits with logic gate circuits for implementing logic functions for data signal, special integrated circuits with appropriate combined logic gate circuits, programmable gate arrays (PGAs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), etc.

In the description of this specification, the referential terminology "an embodiment," "some embodiments," "example," "specific example," or "some examples" means that specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described in connection with the embodiment or example are comprised in at least one embodiment or example of the present application. In this specification, the indicative expression of the above terms does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the described specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable way in any one or more embodiments or examples.

Moreover, the terms "first," "second," etc., are used merely for descriptive purposes and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the quantity of the indicated technical features. Thus, the characteristics defined as "first," "second," etc., may explicitly or implicitly comprise at least one such characteristic. In the description of the present application, the term "multiple" means at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise specifically defined.

In the present application, unless explicitly defined and limited, terms such as "mounting," "connecting," "connection," "fixing," etc., should be understood broadly. For instance, the connection can be a fixed connection or a detachable connection, or integrated; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediary medium, it can be the internal communication of two components or the interaction between two components, unless explicitly defined otherwise. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meanings of these terms in the context of the application based on the circumstances.

Although the embodiments of the application have been shown and described above, it should be understood that the above-described embodiments are exemplary and should not be considered as limiting the application. Those skilled in the art within the scope of the application can make variations, modifications, replacements, and variations to the above-described embodiments.

Claims

1. An information identification control circuit for an aerosol provision system, comprising: a first circuit, comprising a first identification resistor and a first capacitor connected in series; a second circuit, comprising a first control switch and a heating element connected in series; when the first capacitor is charging, the first control switch is open; when the first capacitor is fully charged, the first control switch is closed, the heating element starts heating.

2. The information identification control circuit according to claim 1 , wherein the first circuit is connected in parallel with the second circuit, and both ends of the second circuit and the first circuit share a first electrical connection terminal and a second electrical connection terminal.

3. The information identification control circuit according to claim 2, wherein the first capacitor can be detected for charging voltage thereof through the first electrical connection terminal or the second electrical connection terminal to obtain the resistance value of the first identification resistor.

4. The information identification control circuit according to claim 3, wherein the resistance value of the first identification resistor corresponds to the information of the aerosol provision system.

5. The information identification control circuit according to claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein the circuit further comprises a third circuit, both ends of the third circuit are respectively connected to the first electrical connection terminal and the second electrical connection terminal; the third circuit comprises a second identification resistor and a second capacitor connected in series; when the first circuit is conducting, the third circuit is open; when the third circuit is conducting, the first circuit is open.

6. The information identification control circuit according to claim 5, wherein the first circuit comprises a first unidirectional conducting circuit, the first unidirectional conducting circuit is connected in series with the first identification resistor; the third circuit comprises a second unidirectional conducting circuit, the second unidirectional conducting circuit is connected in series with the second identification resistor; when the first electrical connection terminal is connected to a positive voltage, the first unidirectional conducting circuit closes, the first circuit closes to charge the first capacitor; when the second electrical connection terminal is connected to a positive voltage, the second unidirectional conducting circuit closes, the third circuit closes to charge the second capacitor.

7. The information identification control circuit according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the second capacitor can be detected for charging voltage thereof through the first electrical connection terminal or the second electrical connection terminal to obtain the resistance value of the second identification resistor.

8. The information identification control circuit according to claim 5, 6 or 7, wherein the resistance value of the second identification resistor is the same as the resistance value of the first identification resistor.

9. The information identification control circuit according to any one of claims 5-8, wherein the circuit further comprises a fourth circuit; the fourth circuit comprises a second control switch, the second control switch is respectively connected to the third circuit, the second electrical connection terminal and the heating element; when the second capacitor is charging, the second control switch is open; when the second capacitor is fully charged, the second control switch is closed, the heating element starts heating.

10. A cartridge for an aerosol provision system, comprising the information identification control circuit according to any of claims 1 -9.

11. An aerosol provision system, comprising: a chamber containing an aerosol-generating material; the information identification control circuit according to any of claims 1-9 or a cartridge according to claim 10; a heating element, configured to heat the aerosol-generating material to generate an aerosol.

12. A heating control method for an aerosol provision system, wherein based on the aerosol provision system according to claim 11 ; the method comprises: obtaining the resistance value of an identification resistor in the system to obtain corresponding information; controlling heating of the heating element based on the information.

13. The heating control method according to claim 12, wherein obtaining the resistance value of an identification resistor in the system to obtain corresponding information comprises: charging the capacitor connected in series with the identification resistor, and obtaining the charging time and charging voltage of the capacitor; obtaining the resistance value of the identification resistor based on the charging time and charging voltage of the capacitor.

14. The heating control method according to claim 13, wherein obtaining the resistance value of the identification resistor based on the charging time and charging voltage of the capacitor comprises: obtaining the charging voltage of the capacitor at a first preset time, wherein the first preset time is less than the time taken for the capacitor to fully charge; obtaining the resistance value of the identification resistor based on calculating the first preset time and the corresponding charging voltage; or obtaining the time taken for the capacitor to fully charge; obtaining the resistance value of the identification resistor based on calculating the time taken for the capacitor to fully charge and the full charge voltage.

15. The heating control method according to claim 13, wherein the method further comprises: in response to the detecting that a user starts to puff on the system, initiating charging the capacitor to obtain the resistance value of the identification resistor.

16. The heating control method according to any of claims 13-15, wherein the method further comprises: initiate heating of the heating element at a second preset time, wherein the second preset time is greater than the time taken for the capacitor to fully charge.

17. The heating control method according to any of claims 12-16, wherein the information comprises one or more of the following: flavors of the cartridge, an identification code and authentication information.

18. An electronic device comprising a memory, one or more processors and one or more applications, wherein the one or more applications are stored in the memory and the one or more applications are configured such that when invoked by the one or more processors, enable the one or more processors to execute the method according to any of claims 12-17.

19. A computer readable storage medium storing program code suitable for loading and running by a processor to execute the method according to any of claims 12-17.