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RU-2861732-C2 - AEROSOL GENERATING DEVICE HAVING TEMPERATURE-BASED CONTROL

RU2861732C2RU 2861732 C2RU2861732 C2RU 2861732C2RU-2861732-C2

Abstract

FIELD: aerosols. SUBSTANCE: invention relates to the field of aerosol generating devices which allow multiple use sessions. The controller regulates the power supply to the electric heater during a second period of time based on the initial temperature of the electric heater and the rate of temperature increase determined during a first period of time. EFFECT: selection of a suitable heating profile for the aerosol-forming substrate is achieved in that the aerosol generating device comprising a cavity for receiving the substrate, an electric heater and a power supply, also comprises a controller which controls the power supply to the electric heater during a first and a second period of time, wherein the controller determines the initial temperature of the electric heater and the rate of temperature increase during the first period of time by determining the time for the temperature of the electric heater to increase from a first set temperature to a second set temperature. 15 cl, 6 dwg

Inventors

  • APETREI BIRZA, Cristina
  • BOLOGNA, MATTEO
  • COLOTTE, Guillaume
  • DUCROS, Maxime Georges
  • ISCHI, Gregori
  • MARIACHER, Eric
  • STANKOVIKJ, Filip
  • STEFFEN, Fabrice
  • Uthurry, Jerome

Dates

Publication Date
20260508
Application Date
20221212
Priority Date
20211215

Claims (20)

  1. 1. An aerosol generating device comprising:
  2. cavity for placing an aerosol-forming substrate;
  3. an electric heater for heating the aerosol-forming substrate when the substrate is placed in the cavity;
  4. power supply; and
  5. a controller configured to control the supply of power from the power supply to the electric heater during a first period of time and a second period of time after the first period of time,
  6. wherein the controller is configured to determine the initial temperature of the electric heater and the rate of increase of the temperature of the electric heater during the first period of time by determining the time required to increase the temperature of the electric heater from the first predetermined temperature to the second predetermined temperature during the first period of time, and
  7. wherein the controller is configured to regulate the supply of power from the power supply unit to the electric heater during the second period of time based on the initial temperature of the electric heater and based on the determined rate of increase in the temperature of the electric heater during the first period of time.
  8. 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to supply power from the power supply to the electric heater in accordance with the first or second heating profile for a second period of time based on the initial temperature of the electric heater and based on the determined rate of increase in temperature of the electric heater during the first period of time.
  9. 3. A device according to any of the preceding paragraphs, wherein the controller is configured to determine the initial temperature of the electric heater, wherein the controller is further configured to supply power from the power supply to the electric heater in accordance with the last used heating profile when the initial temperature of the electric heater exceeds a predetermined temperature threshold.
  10. 4. The device according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the controller is configured to determine the initial temperature of the electric heater, wherein the controller is configured to supply power from the power supply to the electric heater in accordance with the first or second heating profile for a second period of time based on a determined rate of increase in the temperature of the electric heater for the first period of time, if the initial temperature of the electric heater is below a predetermined temperature threshold.
  11. 5. The device of claim 4, wherein the controller is configured to supply power from the power supply to the electric heater in accordance with the first heating profile during a second period of time when the determined time is greater than the first threshold.
  12. 6. The device of claim 4, wherein the controller is configured to supply power from the power supply to the electric heater in accordance with the second heating profile during a second period of time, when the determined time is less than the first threshold, wherein during the second heating profile, more heating power is supplied to the electric heater than during the first heating profile.
  13. 7. The device according to any one of paragraphs 4-6, in which the controller is configured to prevent the supply of power from the power supply to the electric heater during a second period of time, when the determined time is less than a second threshold, wherein the second threshold is less than the first threshold.
  14. 8. A device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the controller is configured to determine an ambient temperature, wherein the controller is configured to supply power from the power supply to the electric heater in accordance with the second heating profile when the determined ambient temperature is below the ambient temperature threshold.
  15. 9. The device according to claim 8, further comprising a temperature sensor for measuring the ambient temperature, wherein the controller is configured to determine the ambient temperature based on a signal from the temperature sensor.
  16. 10. A device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the electric heater comprises a resistive heating element, and wherein the controller is configured to determine the temperature of the resistive heating element based on the resistance of the resistive heating element.
  17. 11. An aerosol generating system comprising:
  18. a device according to any of the preceding paragraphs;
  19. an aerosol generating article containing an aerosol-forming substrate.
  20. 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the aerosol-forming substrate comprises tobacco.

Description

The present invention relates to an aerosol-generating device (for generating an aerosol), comprising a controller adapted to control the power supply to an electric heater based on a determined temperature of the electric heater. The present invention also relates to an aerosol-generating system (for generating an aerosol), comprising the aerosol-generating device. The present invention also relates to a method for controlling the aerosol-generating device. One type of aerosol-generating system is an electrically controlled aerosol-generating system. Known hand-held electrically controlled aerosol-generating systems typically comprise an aerosol-generating device containing a battery, electronic control circuitry, and an electric heater for heating an aerosol-generating article designed specifically for use with the aerosol-generating device. The aerosol-generating article comprises an aerosol-generating substrate. In some examples, the aerosol-generating substrate is in the form of a rod, such as a tobacco rod, and an electric heater contained within the aerosol-generating device is inserted into the aerosol-generating substrate when the smoking article is inserted into the aerosol-generating device. Typically, an aerosol-generating device is configured to generate heat using an electric heater according to a predetermined heating profile. However, variations in the aerosol-generating substrate can result in undesirable variations during use. For example, in high-humidity environments, the aerosol-generating substrate may have a high water content. Since water is converted into aerosol at typical operating temperatures for aerosol-generating devices, a high water content can result in the user perceiving the aerosol temperature as undesirably high. Furthermore, high water content can reduce the rate of temperature increase at the beginning of a use session. Therefore, this rate of temperature increase value can be used to determine whether the aerosol-forming substrate has normal or high water content. The controller is designed to regulate the power supply to the electric heater based on the determined rate of temperature increase. It has been observed that during normal use of an aerosol generating device, situations arise in which the rate of temperature increase alone may not be sufficient to draw reliable conclusions regarding the water content of the aerosol generating substrate. Aerosol-generating devices can provide users with two or more use sessions without recharging their built-in power supply. It is recognized that aerosol-generating devices that allow multiple use sessions may pose new challenges in ensuring consistent aerosol generation throughout the entire operating cycle. It would be desirable to provide an aerosol generating device that reduces or overcomes at least some of the disadvantages of known aerosol generating devices. It would be desirable to provide an aerosol generating device that would allow more reliable inferences to be made regarding the water content of the aerosol-forming substrate so that an appropriate heating profile could be selected. In addition, it would be desirable to provide an aerosol generating device that would allow the selection of an appropriate heating profile, in particular for aerosol generating devices that provide multiple use sessions without the need for intermediate recharging. According to an embodiment of the present invention, an aerosol-generating device is provided, comprising a cavity for housing an aerosol-forming substrate, and an electric heater adapted to heat the aerosol-forming substrate when the aerosol-forming substrate is placed in the cavity. The aerosol-generating device also comprises a power supply unit and a controller adapted to control the supply of power from the power supply unit to the electric heater during a first period of time and a second period of time following the first period of time. The controller is adapted to determine the rate of increase of the temperature of the electric heater during the first period of time by determining the time required to increase the temperature of the electric heater from the first predetermined temperature (set) to the second predetermined (set) temperature during the first period of time. The controller is designed to determine the initial temperature of the electric heater. The controller is also adapted to regulate the supply of power from the power supply to the electric heater during a second period of time based on the initial temperature of the electric heater and based on the determined rate of increase in the temperature of the electric heater during the first period of time. A predetermined rate of temperature increase may indicate the water content of the aerosol-forming substrate located in the cavity. A relatively low predetermined rate of temperature increase may indicate a relatively high water content. A relatively high predetermined rate of temperature increase m