US-12622468-B2 - Aerosol generating device and method of unlocking the same

US12622468B2US 12622468 B2US12622468 B2US 12622468B2US-12622468-B2

Abstract

An aerosol generating device includes a housing, a battery disposed in the housing and configured to supply power, an aerosol generator configured to receive the power from the battery and activate aerosol generation, a biometric information obtainer exposed to an outside of the housing and configured to obtain biometric information of a user, and a controller configured to perform authentication of the user based on the biometric information and activate the aerosol generator based on a result of the authentication.

Inventors

Wonkyeong LEE
Paul Joon SUNWOO
Min Kyu Kim
Soung Ho JU

Assignees

KT&G CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20230210
Priority Date: 20220330

Claims (12)

1 . An aerosol generating device with a locking function, the aerosol generating device comprising: a housing; a battery disposed in the housing and configured to supply power; an aerosol generator configured to receive the power from the battery and activate aerosol generation; a biometric information obtainer exposed to an outside of the housing and configured to obtain biometric information of a user; and a controller configured to perform authentication of the user based on the biometric information and activate the aerosol generator based on a result of the authentication through an authentication procedure of at least two phases, wherein the controller is configured to perform a primary authentication phase of determining whether the user is a genuine user by a user terminal and a secondary authentication phase of determining whether the user is the genuine user through the biometric information, and wherein, whether the genuine user is an adult is verified through an adult authentication application on the user terminal and a result of an adult authentication performed by the user terminal is transmitted to the aerosol generating device, and biometric information data of the genuine user is registered in the aerosol generating device by the biometric information obtainer, when the genuine user is verified to be the adult.
2 . The aerosol generating device of claim 1 , further comprising: a communication unit configured to enable a communication with the user terminal.
3 . The aerosol generating device of claim 2 , wherein in the primary authentication phase, adult verification of the user is performed through an authorized adult authentication application on the user terminal.
4 . The aerosol generating device of claim 2 , wherein in the primary authentication phase, user authentication is performed based on the biometric information of the user obtained by the user terminal.
5 . The aerosol generating device of claim 1 , further comprising: a communication unit configured to enable interoperation between the controller and the user terminal, wherein the controller is configured to perform the primary authentication phase of determining whether the aerosol generator is activatable based on location information of the user terminal and the secondary authentication phase of determining whether the user is the genuine user through the biometric information.
6 . The aerosol generating device of claim 5 , wherein the controller is configured to perform the primary authentication phase by determining whether the user is in a smoking area based on the location information of the user terminal.
7 . The aerosol generating device of claim 6 , wherein the controller is configured to provide information on smoking areas around the user based on the location information of the user terminal.
8 . The aerosol generating device of claim 1 , wherein the biometric information obtainer comprises at least one of a fingerprint recognition sensor, an iris recognition sensor, a vein recognition sensor, or a lip pattern recognition sensor.
9 . A method of unlocking an aerosol generating device, the method comprising: registering biometric information data of a genuine user in the aerosol generating device; obtaining biometric information of a user through a biometric information obtainer provided in the aerosol generating device; determining whether the user is the genuine user based on the obtained biometric information; and unlocking the aerosol generating device when the user is determined to be the genuine user, wherein the registering of the biometric information data of the genuine user in the aerosol generating device comprises: verifying whether the genuine user is an adult through an adult verification application on a user terminal; transmitting a result of the verifying to the aerosol generating device; and registering the biometric information data of the genuine user in the aerosol generating device obtained by the biometric information obtainer, when the genuine user is verified to be the adult.
10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the determining comprises: a primary authentication phase of determining whether the user is the genuine user by the user terminal; and a secondary authentication phase of determining whether the user is the genuine user through a comparison between the obtained biometric information and the registered biometric information.
11 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the determining comprises: a primary authentication phase of determining whether the aerosol generating device is activatable based on location information of the user terminal; and a secondary authentication phase of determining whether the user is the genuine user through a comparison between the obtained biometric information and the registered biometric information.
12 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the biometric information comprises at least one of a fingerprint, an iris, a vein, or a lip pattern of the user.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a National Stage of International Application No. PCT/KR2023/001973 filed Feb. 10, 2023, claiming priority based on Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0039339 filed Mar. 30, 2022. TECHNICAL FIELD The following embodiments relate to an aerosol generating device. BACKGROUND ART With an increasing demand for aerosol generating devices, functions related to aerosol generating devices are continuously being developed. For example, an aerosol delivery device and a system for evaluation of personal health condition are disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2309201. DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Technical Problem An aerosol generating device according to an embodiment may be activated only by an authenticated genuine user. An aerosol generating device according to an embodiment may guarantee the use by a genuine user through two-phase authentication. An aerosol generating device according to an embodiment may additionally verify whether a user is in a smoking area where the aerosol generating device is allowed to use based on current location information of the user. Solution to Problem According to an embodiment, an aerosol generating device includes a housing, a battery disposed in the housing and configured to supply power, an aerosol generator configured to receive the power from the battery and activate aerosol generation, a biometric information obtainer exposed to an outside of the housing and configured to obtain biometric information of a user, and a controller configured to perform authentication of the user based on the biometric information and activate the aerosol generator based on a result of the authentication. In an embodiment, the aerosol generating device may further include a communication unit configured to enable a communication with a user terminal, wherein the controller may be configured to perform a primary authentication phase of determining whether the user is a genuine user by the user terminal and a secondary authentication phase of determining whether the user is a genuine user through the biometric information. In the primary authentication phase, adult verification of the user may be performed through an authorized adult authentication application on the user terminal. In the primary authentication phase, user authentication may be performed based on biometric information of the user obtained by the user terminal. In an embodiment, the aerosol generating device may further include a communication unit configured to enable interoperation between the controller and a user terminal, wherein the controller may be configured to perform a primary authentication phase of determining whether the aerosol generator is activatable based on location information of the user terminal and a secondary authentication phase of determining whether the user is a genuine user through the biometric information. The controller may be configured to perform the primary authentication phase by determining whether the user is in a smoking area based on the location information of the user terminal. The controller may be configured to provide information on smoking areas around the user based on the location information of the user terminal. In an embodiment, the biometric information obtainer may include at least one of a fingerprint recognition sensor, an iris recognition sensor, a vein recognition sensor, and a lip pattern recognition sensor. According to an embodiment, a method of unlocking an aerosol generating device includes registering biometric information data of a genuine user in the aerosol generating device, obtaining biometric information of a user through a biometric information obtainer provided in the aerosol generating device, determining whether the user is the genuine user based on the obtained biometric information, and unlocking the aerosol generating device when the user is determined to be the genuine user. In an embodiment, the registering of the biometric information data of the genuine user in the aerosol generating device may include verifying whether the genuine user is an adult through an adult verification application on a user terminal, transmitting a result of the verifying to the aerosol generating device, and registering the biometric information data of the genuine user in the aerosol generating device obtained by the biometric information obtainer, when the genuine user is verified to be an adult. In an embodiment, the determining may include a primary authentication phase of determining whether the user is the genuine user by a user terminal, and a secondary authentication phase of determining whether the user is the genuine user through a comparison between the obtained biometric information and the registered biometric information. In an embodiment, the determining may include a primary authentication phase of determining whether the aerosol generating device is activatable based on location information of