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EP-4736685-A1 - AEROSOL GENERATION DEVICE

EP4736685A1EP 4736685 A1EP4736685 A1EP 4736685A1EP-4736685-A1

Abstract

An aerosol-generating device comprising a heating unit for heating an aerosol source, a first temperature sensor for measuring a temperature change at a measurement site associated with the heating by the heating unit, a first AD conversion circuit for converting an output voltage of the first temperature sensor into digital data, a second temperature sensor for measuring a temperature change of the heating unit, and a second AD conversion circuit for converting an output voltage of the second temperature sensor into digital data, wherein the first AD conversion circuit has a higher conversion accuracy than the second AD conversion circuit, and the second AD conversion circuit has a faster conversion speed than the first AD conversion circuit.

Inventors

  • AOYAMA, Tatsunari
  • MINATO, JUNJI
  • UCHIBORI, Tomoya

Assignees

  • Japan Tobacco Inc.

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20230629

Claims (9)

  1. An aerosol-generating device comprising a heating unit for heating an aerosol source, a first temperature sensor for measuring a temperature change at a measurement site associated with the heating by the heating unit, a first AD conversion circuit for converting an output voltage of the first temperature sensor into digital data, a second temperature sensor for measuring a temperature change of the heating unit, and a second AD conversion circuit for converting an output voltage of the second temperature sensor into digital data, wherein the first AD conversion circuit has a higher conversion accuracy than the second AD conversion circuit, and the second AD conversion circuit has a faster conversion speed than the first AD conversion circuit.
  2. The aerosol-generating device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first AD conversion circuit is a sigma-delta type AD conversion circuit, and the second AD conversion circuit is a successive approximation type or pipeline type AD conversion circuit.
  3. The aerosol-generating device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the first temperature sensor operates with a reference voltage of the first AD conversion circuit as an operating power supply.
  4. The aerosol-generating device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first temperature sensor has a non-linear temperature characteristic.
  5. The aerosol-generating device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first temperature sensor measures a temperature around an enclosure or the heating unit, and the second temperature sensor measures a temperature change of the heating unit based on a control sequence.
  6. The aerosol-generating device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first temperature sensor measures a temperature around an enclosure or the heating unit, and the second temperature sensor measures a temperature of the aerosol source.
  7. The aerosol-generating device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, including a first constant voltage circuit for generating a reference voltage for the first AD conversion circuit, and a second constant voltage circuit for generating an operating power supply for a memory that records an operation log, wherein the potential of the operating power supply of the memory and the potential of the reference voltage are the same.
  8. The aerosol-generating device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the aerosol source is a solid.
  9. The aerosol-generating device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the aerosol source is a liquid.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an aerosol-generating device. [Background Art] Aerosol-generating devices, which are portable electronic appliances, are equipped with various electronic components. For example, aerosol-generating devices are equipped with an MCU (= Micro Controller Unit), a memory, an AD (= Analog to Digital) conversion circuit, a sensor, a heater for heating, and an LED (= Light-Emitting Diode). Incidentally, a plurality of AD conversion circuits are installed for each voltage value and signal value to be converted. CITATION LIST PATENT LITERATURE PTL 1: CN 211882197 UPTL2: CN 108802606 APTL 3: CN 209563498 U SUMMARY OF INVENTION TECHNICAL PROBLEM Successive approximation type AD conversion circuits, which are general-purpose AD conversion circuits, are used in aerosol-generating devices. Successive approximation-type AD conversion circuits are known as AD conversion circuits that have a good balance of conversion speed and conversion accuracy. Now, in the case of an aerosol-generating device having a heating source for heating an aerosol source, conversion speed is important for temperature control of the heating unit itself, and conversion accuracy is important for monitoring the temperature around the heating unit. The present disclosure takes account of the abovementioned problems, and provides an aerosol-generating device having both a high speed of controlling the temperature of the heating unit and a high accuracy of detecting the temperature of a measurement site. SOLUTION TO PROBLEM As one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an aerosol-generating device comprising a heating unit for heating an aerosol source, a first temperature sensor for measuring a temperature change at a measurement site associated with the heating by the heating unit, a first AD conversion circuit for converting an output voltage of the first temperature sensor into digital data, a second temperature sensor for measuring a temperature change of the heating unit, and a second AD conversion circuit for converting an output voltage of the second temperature sensor into digital data, wherein the first AD conversion circuit has a higher conversion accuracy than the second AD conversion circuit, and the second AD conversion circuit has a faster conversion speed than the first AD conversion circuit. A sigma-delta type AD conversion circuit may be used as the first AD conversion circuit as referred to here, and a successive approximation type or pipeline type AD conversion circuit may be used as the second AD conversion circuit. In addition, the first temperature sensor may operate with a reference voltage of the first AD conversion circuit as an operating power supply. The first temperature sensor may have a non-linear temperature characteristic. The first temperature sensor may measure a temperature around an enclosure or the heating unit, and the second temperature sensor may measure a temperature change of the heating unit based on a control sequence. The first temperature sensor may measure a temperature around an enclosure or the heating unit, and the second temperature sensor may measure a temperature of the aerosol source. A first constant voltage circuit for generating a reference voltage for the first AD conversion circuit, and a second constant voltage circuit for generating an operating power supply for a memory that records an operation log may additional be provided. It should be noted that, in this case, the potential of the operating power supply of the memory and the potential of the reference voltage are the same. The aerosol source may be a solid. The aerosol source may be a liquid. ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION According to one aspect of the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an aerosol-generating device having both a high speed of controlling the temperature of the heating unit and a high accuracy of detecting the temperature of a measurement site. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a diagram in which a front face side of an aerosol-generating device is viewed from diagonally above.Fig. 2 is a diagram in which the front face side of the aerosol-generating device is viewed from diagonally below.Fig. 3 is a diagram in which a main body device with a front panel removed is viewed from the front.Fig. 4 is a diagram schematically showing the internal configuration of the main body device.Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a heating profile for use when the aerosol source is a solid.Fig. 6 is a diagram schematically showing an electronic circuit used in Embodiment 1.Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating the internal configuration of an MCU and connection relationships with peripheral circuits.Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a heating profile for use when the aerosol source is a liquid. DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Embodiments relating to the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings,