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JP-2026076239-A - Differential pressure sensor for aerosol delivery device

JP2026076239AJP 2026076239 AJP2026076239 AJP 2026076239AJP-2026076239-A

Abstract

[Problem] To provide an improved electronic device for an aerosol delivery device that can expand the usefulness of the device. [Solution] The aerosol delivery device includes at least one housing, a heating element, a sensor, and a microprocessor coupled to the heating element and the sensor. The at least one housing surrounds a reservoir configured to hold an aerosol precursor composition. The sensor generates a measurement of the differential pressure between the ambient atmospheric pressure and the pressure caused by the airflow through at least a portion of the aerosol delivery device. The sensor also converts the measurement of the differential pressure into a corresponding electrical signal. The microprocessor receives the corresponding electrical signal and operates in active mode only when the differential pressure is at least a threshold differential pressure. In active mode, the microprocessor controls the heating element to activate and vaporize the components of the aerosol precursor composition. [Selection Diagram] Figure 2

Inventors

  • ラジェッシュ・サー

Assignees

  • アール・エイ・アイ・ストラテジック・ホールディングス・インコーポレイテッド

Dates

Publication Date
20260511
Application Date
20260120
Priority Date
20170919

Claims (12)

  1. Aerosol delivery device, A housing comprising at least one surrounding a reservoir configured to hold an aerosol precursor composition, Heating elements, A sensor configured to generate a measurement of the differential pressure between ambient atmospheric pressure and the pressure caused by the airflow passing through at least a portion of an aerosol delivery device, and configured to convert the measurement of the differential pressure into a corresponding electrical signal, Aerosol delivery device comprising a heating element and a microprocessor connected to a sensor, the microprocessor being configured to receive a corresponding electrical signal and to operate in active mode only when the differential pressure is at least a threshold differential pressure, and the microprocessor in active mode is configured to control the heating element to activate and vaporize components of an aerosol precursor composition.
  2. The aerosol delivery apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is a micro-electromechanical system-based (MEMS-based) sensor.
  3. The aerosol delivery apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is a multidirectional electromechanical pressure sensor configured to generate differential pressure measurements based on pressure applied to the sensor in different directions.
  4. The aerosol delivery device according to claim 1, wherein the sensor and microprocessor are potted in a waterproof material to make the sensor and microprocessor waterproof or resistant to water, an aerosol precursor composition, or vaporized components of an aerosol precursor composition.
  5. The aerosol delivery device according to claim 1, wherein the microprocessor responds to electrical signals from a sensor having only a predetermined frequency, thereby preventing electrical signals from external devices of other frequencies from operating the microprocessor in active mode.
  6. The sensor can operate in a selectable frequency mode from multiple frequency modes, and the microprocessor is configured to select and control the sensor's frequency mode. The aerosol delivery device according to claim 1, wherein the multiple frequency modes include a first frequency mode and a second frequency mode, the first frequency mode being at a higher frequency, having lower power consumption by the sensor and lower resolution of the measurement, with respect to the second frequency mode being at a lower frequency, having higher power consumption by the sensor and higher resolution of the measurement.
  7. A control body connected to or connectable to a cartridge for forming an aerosol delivery device, the cartridge comprising a reservoir configured to hold an aerosol precursor composition and equipped with a heating element controllable to activate and vaporize components of the aerosol precursor composition, the control body, The housing, and inside the housing, A sensor configured to generate a measurement of the differential pressure between ambient atmospheric pressure and the pressure caused by the airflow passing through at least a portion of the control body, and configured to convert the measurement of the differential pressure into a corresponding electrical signal, A control body comprising a microprocessor connected to a heating element and a sensor when the control body is connected to a cartridge, wherein the microprocessor is configured to receive a corresponding electrical signal and to operate in active mode only when the differential pressure is at least a threshold differential pressure, and the microprocessor in active mode is configured to control the heating element to activate and vaporize the components of the aerosol precursor composition.
  8. The control unit according to claim 7, wherein the sensor is a micro-electromechanical system-based (MEMS-based) sensor.
  9. The control body according to claim 7, wherein the sensor is a multidirectional electromechanical pressure sensor configured to generate differential pressure measurements based on pressure applied to the sensor in different directions.
  10. The control body according to claim 7, wherein the sensor and microprocessor are potted in a waterproof material to make the sensor and microprocessor waterproof or resistant to water, an aerosol precursor composition, or vaporized components of an aerosol precursor composition.
  11. The control body according to claim 7, wherein the microprocessor responds to an electrical signal having only a predetermined frequency from a corresponding electrical signal from a sensor, thereby preventing electrical signals from external devices of other frequencies from operating the microprocessor in active mode.
  12. The sensor can operate in a selectable frequency mode from multiple frequency modes, and the microprocessor is configured to select and control the sensor's frequency mode. The control body according to claim 7, wherein the multiple frequency modes include a first frequency mode and a second frequency mode, the first frequency mode being at a higher frequency, having lower power consumption by the sensor and lower resolution of the measurement, with respect to the second frequency mode being at a lower frequency, having higher power consumption by the sensor and higher resolution of the measurement.

Description

This disclosure relates to an aerosol delivery device, such as a smoking article, and more specifically, to an aerosol delivery device (e.g., a smoking article commonly known as an e-cigarette) that may utilize electrically generated heat for aerosol generation. The smoking article may be configured to heat an aerosol precursor that may be manufactured from tobacco, derived from tobacco, or otherwise incorporate tobacco, and the precursor may form an inhalable substance for human ingestion. Over the years, numerous devices have been proposed as improvements or alternatives to smoking products that require the combustion of tobacco for use. Many of these devices, so to speak, provide a sensation associated with smoking cigarettes, cigars, or pipes, but are designed not to deliver a substantial amount of incomplete combustion and pyrolysis products resulting from the combustion of tobacco. For this purpose, many alternative smoking products, flavor generators, and medicinal inhalers have been proposed that utilize electrical energy to vaporize or heat volatile materials or provide the sensation of smoking cigarettes, cigars, or pipes without significantly burning tobacco. For example, see U.S. Patent No. 8,881,737 by Collett et al., Griffith Jr., both incorporated herein by reference. See the various alternative smoking articles, aerosol delivery devices, and heat sources described in the background art of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0255702 by Sebastian et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0000638 by Sears et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0096781 by Ampolini et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0096782 by Davis et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0059780 by Davis et al., and U.S. Patent Application No. 15/222,615 filed on 28 July 2016. Furthermore, please refer to the various embodiments of the product and heating configuration described in the background art sections of U.S. Patent No. 5,388,594 by Counts et al. and U.S. Patent No. 8,079,371 by Robinson et al., which are incorporated by reference. U.S. Patent No. 8,881,737U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0255702U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0000638U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0096781U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0096782U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0059780U.S. Patent No. 5,388,594U.S. Patent No. 8,079,371 This shows a side view of an aerosol delivery device, including a cartridge connected to a control unit, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.These are partial cutaway views of aerosol delivery devices according to various exemplary embodiments. This disclosure is described further and more fully below with reference to its exemplary embodiments. These exemplary embodiments are described so as to ensure that this disclosure is thorough and complete, and so as to fully convey the scope of this disclosure to those skilled in the art. In fact, this disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so as to satisfy the applicable legal requirements of this disclosure. The singular nouns "a," "an," "the," etc., used herein and in the appended claims, include plural nouns unless otherwise explicitly indicated in the context. As described below, exemplary embodiments of this disclosure relate to aerosol delivery devices. Aerosol delivery devices according to this disclosure use electrical energy to heat a material (preferably without significant combustion of the material) to form an inhalable substance. Components of such systems are most preferably in the form of articles small enough to be considered handheld devices. That is, since the aerosol is primarily derived from the byproducts of the combustion or thermal decomposition of tobacco, using preferred aerosol delivery device components does not produce smoke; rather, using these preferred systems results in the production of vapor due to the volatilization or vaporization of certain components incorporated therein. In some exemplary embodiments, components of the aerosol delivery device may be characterized as e-cigarettes, which most preferably incorporate tobacco and/or tobacco-derived components, thereby delivering tobacco-derived components in aerosol form. A particular preferred aerosol-generating component of an aerosol delivery device can produce a number of sensations of smoking a cigarette, cigar, or pipe (e.g., the form of inhalation and exhalation, the type of taste or flavor, the sensory stimulation effect, the physical feel, the form of use, the visual stimulation such as that produced by a visible aerosol) without any of its components substantially burning. For example, a user of the aerosol-generating component of this disclosure can hold and use the component in the same way a smoker uses