Patent Publication Number: US-2023138171-A1

Title: Aerosol generation apparatus and control method therefor

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application claims priority to the Chinese Patent Application No. 202010232894.2, filed on Mar. 28, 2020 and entitled “AEROSOL GENERATION APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD THEREFOR”, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present application relates to the technical field of smoking sets, and in particular relates to an aerosol generation apparatus and a control method therefor. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Articles (such as cigarettes, cigars, etc.) burn tobacco during use to produce tobacco smoke. Attempts have been made to provide alternatives to these articles that burn tobacco by making products that release compounds without burning. Examples of such products are so-called heat-not-burn products, also known as tobacco heating products or tobacco heating devices, which release compounds by heating a material without burning the material. For example, the material may be tobacco or other non-tobacco products or a combination, such as a blended mixture which may or may not contain nicotine. 
     When a user smokes, a heater needing to be started to heat an aerosol generation substrate from an ambient temperature to an aerosol generation temperature that can form evaporant. The aerosol generation temperature is generally 200° C.-400° C. In order to make the user experience better and inhale the aerosol immediately or in time, it is necessary to reach the aerosol generation temperature from the ambient temperature within a short time, and power requirements for heating and power supply components are very high, which may cause some problems. 
     Taking a heating rod of a key-activated resistive heater of a certain brand as an example, when the user does not insert a cigarette into the heating rod, if a key is pressed or the key is touched by mistake, the heating rod starts the resistive heater for heating. In this case, the resistive heater is in a high temperature working state, there is no cigarette in the heating rod to conduct heat therefor, and a heating component is in a dry-burning state, which is easy to damage the heating component, resulting in a significant reduction in the service life of the heating rod. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present application provides an aerosol generation apparatus and a control method therefor, and aims to solve the problem about how to perform dry-burning detection on the aerosol generation apparatus. 
     A first aspect of the present application provides a control method for an aerosol generation apparatus, where the aerosol generation apparatus includes a heater for heating an aerosol generation substrate to generate an aerosol, and the method includes: 
     determining total energy generated by heating of the heater within a preset time, and performing dry-burning detection according to the total energy generated by heating of the heater within the preset time, where the preset time is greater than or equal to duration when the temperature of the heater rises from an initial temperature to a preset target temperature. 
     A second aspect of the present application provides an aerosol generation apparatus. The aerosol generation apparatus includes a heater and a controller, and the controller is configured to execute the control method for an aerosol generation apparatus according to the first aspect. 
     According to the control method for an aerosol generation apparatus provided by the present application, the problem of damage to a heating component when the heater is in a dry-burning state while a cigarette is not inserted into the aerosol generation apparatus is avoided. Therefore, user experience is improved. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       One or more embodiments are illustrated by pictures in the corresponding accompanying drawings, which are not intended to limit the embodiments, in which elements having the same reference numerals represent similar elements, and the figures of the accompanying drawings are not intended to constitute a scale limitation unless specifically stated otherwise. 
         FIG.  1    is a schematic structural diagram of an aerosol generation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application; 
         FIG.  2    is a schematic structural diagram of a cigarette according to an embodiment of the present application; 
         FIG.  3    is a schematic diagram of a preheating curve of a heater according to an embodiment of the present application; 
         FIG.  4    is a schematic flowchart of a control method for an aerosol generation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application; 
         FIG.  5    is another schematic flowchart of a control method for an aerosol generation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application; and 
         FIG.  6    is a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of a controller according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     To facilitate the understanding of the present application, the present application will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific implementation. It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being “fixed to” another element, it can be directly on the other element or one or more intervening elements may be present therebetween. When an element is referred to as being “connected” to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or one or more intervening elements may be present therebetween. As used herein, the terms “upper,” “lower,” “left,” “right,” “inner,” “outer,” and the like are for illustrative purposes only. 
     Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the technical field to which this application belongs. The terms used in the specification of the present application is for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and is not used to limit the present application. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of associated listed items. 
       FIG.  1    is a schematic structural diagram of an aerosol generation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. 
     As shown in  FIG.  1   , the aerosol generation apparatus  10  includes a battery,  101 , a controller  102  and a heater  103 . In addition, the aerosol generation apparatus  10  has an interior space defined by a housing, and an aerosol generation article (e.g., a cigarette) can be inserted into the interior space of the aerosol generation apparatus  10 . 
     Only elements, related to the present embodiment, of the aerosol generation apparatus  10  are shown in  FIG.  1   . Accordingly, it should be understood by those skilled in the art related to this embodiment that the aerosol generation apparatus  10  may further include general elements in addition to those shown in  FIG.  1   . 
     The battery  101  supplies electric power for operating the aerosol generation apparatus  10 . For example, the battery  101  can supply electric power to heat the heater  103  and can supply electric power needed to operate the controller  102 . In addition, the battery  101  can supply electric power needed by a display, a sensor, a motor and the like provided in the aerosol generation apparatus  10 . 
     The battery  101  may be, but is not limited to, a lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery. For example, the battery  101  may be a lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) battery or a lithium titanate battery. The battery  101  may be a rechargeable battery or a disposable battery. 
     When a cigarette is inserted into the aerosol generation apparatus  10 , the aerosol generation apparatus  10  heats the heater  103  by the electric power supplied by the battery  101 . The heater  103  raises the temperature of an aerosol generation substrate in the cigarette to generate an aerosol. The generated aerosol is delivered to a user via a filter tip section of the cigarette for smoking. However, the aerosol generation apparatus  10  can also heat the heater  103  even if the cigarette is not inserted into the aerosol generation apparatus  10 . 
     The heater  103  may be in a central heating manner (being in contact with the aerosol generation substrate by the periphery of a heating body or heating unit) or in a peripheral heating manner (the heating body or the heating unit wrapping the aerosol generation substrate), or the heater  103  may heat the aerosol generation substrate by means of one or more of thermal conduction, electromagnetic induction, chemical reaction, infrared action, resonance, photoelectric conversion, and photothermal conversion to generate the aerosol for smoking. 
     The controller  102  can control the overall operation of the aerosol generation apparatus  10 . In detail, the controller  102  not only controls the operation of the battery  101  and the heater  103 , but also controls the operation of other elements in the aerosol generation apparatus  10 . In addition, the controller  102  can determine whether the aerosol generation apparatus  10  can be operated by checking the status of the elements of the aerosol generation apparatus  10 . 
     The controller  102  includes at least one processor. The processor may include a logic gate array, or may include a combination of a general purpose microprocessor and a memory storing a program executable in the microprocessor. In addition, those skilled in the art should understand that the controller  102  may include another type of hardware. 
     For example, the controller  102  can control the operation of the heater  103 . The controller  102  can control the amount of the electric power supplied to the heater  130  and the time for which the electric power is continuously supplied to the heater  103  such that the heater  103  is heated to a predetermined temperature or maintained at an appropriate temperature. In addition, the controller  102  can check the status of the battery  101  (e.g., the remaining power of the battery  101 ) and, if necessary, can generate a notification signal. 
     In addition, the controller  102  can check whether the user smokes and smoking intensity, and can count the number of smoked cigarettes. In addition, the controller  102  can check the time for continuous operation of the aerosol generation apparatus  10 . 
     The aerosol generation apparatus  10  may include general elements in addition to the battery  101 , the controller  102  and the heater  103 . 
     For example, the aerosol generation apparatus  10  may include a display for outputting visual information or a motor for outputting tactile information. For example, when the display is included in the aerosol generation apparatus  10 , the controller  102  can send information regarding the status of the aerosol generation apparatus  10  (e.g., whether the aerosol generation apparatus  10  can be used), information regarding the heater  103  (e.g., preheating start, preheating in progress, or preheating complete), information regarding the battery  101  (e.g., the remaining power of the battery  101 , whether the battery  101  can be used), information regarding reset of the aerosol generation apparatus  10  (e.g., reset time, reset in progress, or reset complete), information regarding cleaning of the aerosol generation apparatus  10  (e.g., cleaning time, need to clean, cleaning in progress, or cleaning complete), information regarding charging of the aerosol generation apparatus  10  (e.g., need to charge, charging in progress, or charging complete), information regarding smoking (e.g., the number of smoking times and smoking end notification), or information regarding safety (e.g., use time) to the user. Alternatively, when the aerosol generation apparatus  10  includes the motor, the controller  102  can generate a vibration signal by using the motor and can send the information described above to the user. 
     In addition, the aerosol generation apparatus  10  may include at least one input device (e.g., a key) used by the user to control functions of the aerosol generation apparatus  10 . For example, the user can perform various functions by using the input device of the aerosol generation apparatus  10 . The desired function among the plurality of functions of the aerosol generation apparatus  10  can be performed by adjusting the number of times the user presses the input device (e.g., once or twice) or the time the user continues to press the input device (e.g., 0.1 s or 0.2 s). As the user operates the input device, the aerosol generation apparatus  10  can perform the function of heating the heater  103 , the function of adjusting the temperature of the heater  103 , the function of cleaning a space into which the cigarette is inserted, the function of checking whether the aerosol generation apparatus  10  can be operated, the function of displaying the remaining power (available electric power) of the battery  101 , and the function of resetting the aerosol generation apparatus  10 . However, the functions of the aerosol generation apparatus  10  are not limited thereto. 
       FIG.  2    is a schematic structural diagram of a cigarette according to an embodiment of the present application. 
     As shown in  FIG.  2   , a cigarette  20  includes a filter tip section  21  and a tobacco section  22 . 
     The tobacco section  22  includes an aerosol generation substrate. The aerosol generation substrate is a substrate capable of releasing volatile compounds that can form an aerosol, and the volatile compounds can be released by heating the aerosol generation substrate. 
     The aerosol generation substrate may be a solid aerosol generation substrate. Alternatively, the aerosol generation substrate may include solid and liquid components. The aerosol generation substrate may include a tobacco-containing material containing volatile compounds with a tobacco flavor which are released from the substrate upon heating. Alternatively, the aerosol generation substrate may include a non-tobacco material. The aerosol generation substrate may further include an aerosol generation substance. Examples of suitable aerosol generation substances are glycerine and propylene glycol. 
     The aerosol produced by heating the tobacco section  22  is delivered to the user via the filter tip section  21 , and the filter tip section  21  may be a cellulose acetate filter tip. The filter tip section  21  can be sprayed with flavoring liquid to provide fragrance, or separate fibers coated with the flavoring liquid can be inserted into the filter tip section  21  to improve the durability of the flavor delivered to the user. The filter tip section  21  may also have a capsule of a spherical or cylindrical shape, which may contain the contents of flavoring substances. 
     Only the components, related to the present embodiment, of the cigarette  20  are shown in  FIG.  2   . Accordingly, those skilled in the art related to this embodiment should understand that the cigarette  20  may further include general components in addition to those shown in  FIG.  2   , e.g., a cooling section for cooling the aerosol produced by heating the tobacco section  22 , such that the user can inhale the aerosol cooled to a suitable temperature. 
       FIG.  3    is a schematic diagram of a preheating curve of a heater according to an embodiment of the present application. 
     As shown in  FIG.  3   , a temperature curve of the heater  103  over time includes a heating phase and a heat preservation phase. 
     In the heating phase, the temperature of the heater  103  is raised from an initial temperature T0 (or an ambient temperature) to a preset target temperature T1. The preset target temperature T1 is set such that the desired volatile compounds vaporize from the aerosol generation substrate, and undesired compounds with higher vaporization temperatures do not vaporize. Generally, the preset target temperature T1 may be 200° C.-400° C. 
     In the heat preservation phase, the temperature of the heater  103  is maintained at the preset target temperature T1 for a period of time, such that the aerosol generation substrate is sufficiently preheated and the smoking feeling of the user is improved. 
     The duration of the heating phase is t0-t1, the duration of the heat preservation phase is t1-t2, and t0-t2 is a preheating time of the heater  103 . Generally, the preheating time of the heater  103  is 5 s to 30 s. 
     It should be noted that  FIG.  3    only shows a schematic diagram of a temperature curve related to this embodiment. Those skilled in the art should understand that, generally, after the heat preservation phase, the heater  103  is in the smoking phase, that is, the user can smoke the aerosol generated by heating of the aerosol generation apparatus  10 . In this phase, the temperature of the heater  103  is maintained within a certain preset temperature range or at a certain preset temperature for a period of time. 
       FIG.  4    is a schematic flowchart of a control method for an aerosol generation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. 
     As shown in  FIG.  4   , in step S 11 , a controller  102  determines total energy generated by heating of a heater  103  within a preset time. 
     The preset time may be determined according to a preheating time of the heater  103 . As shown in  FIG.  3   , the preset time is greater than or equal to duration t0-t1 when the temperature of the heater  103  rises from an initial temperature to a preset target temperature. 
     Furthermore, the preset time is less than or equal to the preheating time t0-t2 of the heater  103 . 
     The preset time is capable of being divided into one or more heating time periods according to heating power of the heater  103 . The controller  102  determines energy generated by heating of the heater  103  within each heating time period according to the heating power of the heater  103  corresponding to each heating time period within the preset time, and then obtains the total energy generated by heating of the heater  103  within the preset time according to the energy generated by heating of the heater  103  within each heating time period. 
     As an example, if the preset time is the preheating time t0-t2 of the heater  103 , in the heating phase t0-t1 of the heater  103 , the controller  102  controls the heating power (assuming the power is constant) supplied by a battery  101  to the heater  103  to be W1; and in the heat preservation phase t1-t2 of the heater  103 , the controller  102  controls the heating power (assuming the power is constant) supplied by the battery  101  to the heater  103  to be W2. The energy generated by heating of the heater  103  in the heating phase t0-t1 is Q1=W1*(t1−t0), and the energy generated by heating of the heater  103  in the heat preservation phase t1-t2 is Q2=W2*(t2−t1). Therefore, the total energy generated by heating of the heater  103  within the preset time is Q3=Q1+Q2. 
     In step S 12 , the controller  102  performs dry-burning detection according to the total energy generated by heating of the heater  103  within the preset time. 
     Specifically, the controller  102  compares the total energy generated by heating of the heater  103  within the preset time with a preset energy threshold, if the total energy generated by heating of the heater  103  within the preset time is less than the preset energy threshold, determines that dry-burning occurs; and otherwise, determines that no dry-burning occurs. 
     The preset energy threshold may be an experimental value or empirical value. For example, the heater  103  is used to preheat a cigarette  20  of a certain type, and the total energy Qn generated by the heater  103  heating such type of cigarette  20  within the preheating time t0-t2 is tested, and after several tests, an average value is obtained to serve as the preset energy threshold. 
     When it is determined that dry-burning occurs, the controller  102  controls the heater  103  to stop heating, so as to prevent the heater  103  from being in a dry-burning state all the time, resulting in damage to the heater  103 . Furthermore, the user can be prompted that the heater  103  is in the dry-burning state by means of an indicator lamp or vibration. 
     When it is determined that no dry-burning occurs, the controller  102  controls the heater  103  to continue to perform the next phase, e.g., completing the heat preservation phase, entering a smoking phase, and so on. 
       FIG.  5    is another schematic flowchart of a control method for an aerosol generation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. 
     As shown in  FIG.  5   , in step S 21 , in a heating phase t0-t1, a controller  102  controls a heater  103  to perform heating with first heating power. 
     In this step, the controller  102  controls the heater  103  to perform heating with constant heating power, and the first heating power may be the maximum heating power supplied by a battery  101  to the heater  103  under the control of the controller  102 . 
     Generally, during the heating process of the heater  103 , a resistance value of the heater  103  may change with the change of temperature, resulting in that the heating power supplied to the heater  103  also changes. Therefore, furthermore, the controller  102  can also control the heater  103  to perform heating with the constant heating power by the following steps: 
     determining a real-time resistance of the heater  103 ; determining a real-time voltage supplied to the heater  103  according to the real-time resistance of the heater  103  and the first heating power; and adjusting a voltage supplied to the heater  103  to the real-time voltage. 
     Specifically, if the real-time resistance of the heater  103  is R1 and the first heating power is W1, the real-time voltage U 1 =√{square root over (W1×R1)} supplied to the heater  103  can be calculated by formula: W=U 2 /R, and then the voltage supplied to the heater  103  is adjusted to the real-time voltage U 1 . 
     The real-time resistance of the heater  103  can be determined by measuring the voltage applied to the heater  103  and the current flowing through the heater  103 . 
     In step S 21 , in the heat preservation phase t1-t2, the controller  102  controls the heater  103  to perform heating with second heating power, and linearly adjusts the second heating power according to a preset target temperature T1, where the second heating power is less than the first heating power. 
     Specifically, the controller  102  determines the real-time resistance of the heater  103 , and determines a real-time temperature of the heater  103  according to the real-time resistance of the heater  103 . When the real-time temperature of the heater  103  is less than the preset target temperature T1, the second heating power is linearly increased according to a first preset step value. When the real-time temperature of the heater  103  is greater than the preset target temperature T1, the second heating power is linearly decreased according to a second preset step value. 
     During the heating process of the heater  103 , the resistance value of the heater  103  changes with the change of temperature. The resistance value and temperature of the heating unit  101  can form a corresponding relationship between the resistance value and the temperature, and different temperatures correspond to different resistances. Therefore, the real-time temperature of the heater  103  can be determined by determining the real-time resistance of the heater  103 . 
     Optionally, the first preset step value and the second preset step value may be the same. 
     It should be noted that, similar to  FIG.  3   ,  FIG.  5    only shows the schematic flowchart of the control method for an aerosol generation apparatus related to this embodiment. Those skilled in the art should understand that, generally, after the heat preservation phase, the heater  103  is in the smoking phase, that is, the user can smoke the aerosol generated by heating of the aerosol generation apparatus  10 . In this phase, the controller  102  controls the temperature of the heater  103  to be maintained within a certain preset temperature range or at a certain preset temperature for a period of time. 
     To better illustrate the present embodiment, the control process of the aerosol generation apparatus is explained below: 
     After the aerosol generation apparatus  10  starts for preheating, the controller  102  controls the heater  103  to enter the heating phase. Specifically, the controller  102  can control the heater  103  to perform heating with the constant heating power of 6 W. During the heating process of the heater  103 , the resistance value of the heater  103  may change with the change of temperature, resulting in that the heating power supplied to the heater  103  also changes. Therefore, the controller  102  determines the real-time resistance of the heater  103 , determines the real-time voltage supplied to the heater  103  according to the real-time resistance of the heater  103  and the constant heating power of 6 W, and adjusts the voltage supplied to the heater  103  to the real-time voltage. 
     When the heater  103  is controlled to be heated to 350° C. (or 340° C.-360° C.), the controller  102  controls the heater  103  to enter the heat preservation phase. Specifically, the controller  102  controls the heater  103  to perform heating with power less than the constant heating power of 6 W, for example, the heating power of 4 W. At the same time, the controller  102  determines the real-time resistance of the heater  103 , and determines the real-time temperature of the heater  103  according to the real-time resistance of the heater  103 . When the real-time temperature of the heater  103  is less than 350° C., the heating power of 4 W is linearly increased according to the preset step value of 0.05 W, that is, the controller  102  controls the heater  103  to perform heating with the power of 4.05 W, so as to reduce the temperature of the heater  103  and maintain the same at 350° C. When the real-time temperature of the heater  103  is greater than 350° C., the heating power of 4 W is linearly decreased according to the preset step value of 0.05 W, that is, the controller  102  controls the heater  103  to perform heating with the power of 3.95 W, so as to raise the temperature of the heater  103  and maintain the same at 350° C. 
     The above preheating time is generally 20 s. After preheating ends, the controller  102  determines the total energy generated by heating of the heater  103  within the preheating time, and compares the total energy generated by heating of the heater  103  within the preheating time with a preset energy threshold, if the total energy generated by heating of the heater  103  within the preset time is less than the preset energy threshold, determines that dry-burning occurs; and otherwise, determines that no dry-burning occurs. 
     When it is determined that dry-burning occurs, the controller  102  controls the heater  103  to stop heating, so as to prevent the heater  103  from being in a dry-burning state all the time, resulting in damage to the heater  103 . Furthermore, the user can be prompted that the heater  103  is in the dry-burning state by means of an indicator lamp or vibration. 
     When it is determined that no dry-burning occurs, the controller  102  controls the heater  103  to entering a smoking phase, and prompts the user to smoke. 
       FIG.  6    is a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of a controller  102  according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in  FIG.  6   , the controller  102  includes one or more processors  1021  and a memory  1022 . One processor  1021  is taken as an example in  FIG.  6   . 
     The processor  1021  and the memory  1022  can be connected by a bus or in other ways, and connection by a bus is taken as an example in  FIG.  6   . 
     The memory  1022 , as a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium, can be configured to store non-volatile software programs, non-volatile computer-executable programs and modules, such as program instructions/modules corresponding to the control method for an aerosol generation apparatus in embodiments of the present invention. The processor  1021  executes the control method for an aerosol generation apparatus and data processing according to the above various embodiments by running non-volatile software programs, instructions and modules stored in the memory  1022 . 
     The memory  1022  may include a high-speed random access memory and may further include a non-volatile memory, e.g., at least one magnetic disk storage device, flash memory device, or other non-volatile solid-state memory device. In some embodiments, the memory  1022  may optionally include memories located remotely with respect to the processor  1021 , and these remote memories can be connected to the processor  1021  via a network. Examples of the above network include, but are not limited to, the Internet, an intranet, a local area network, a mobile communication network, and combinations thereof. 
     The program instructions/modules are stored in the memory  1022 , and when executed by the one or more processors  1021 , execute the control method for an aerosol generation apparatus according to any of the above method embodiments, for example, so as to execute the control method for an aerosol generation apparatus and data processing according to each embodiment. 
     An embodiment of the present invention provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, where the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium stores computer-executable instructions that cause an electronic device to execute the control method for an aerosol generation apparatus according to any one described above. 
     An embodiment of the present invention provides a computer program product, where the computer program product includes a computer program stored on a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium, and the computer program includes program instructions that, when executed by an electronic device, cause the electronic device to execute the control method for an aerosol generation apparatus according to any one described above. 
     The apparatus or device embodiments described above are merely illustrative, where the unit modules illustrated as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as unit modules may or may not be physical units, that is, may be located in one place, or may also be distributed over a plurality of network units. A part or all of the modules can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of the embodiment. 
     From the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the various embodiments can be implemented by means of software and a general purpose hardware platform, and certainly can also be implemented by means of hardware. Based on this understanding, the above technical solutions or the parts that make contributions to related technologies can be embodied in the form of software products, and the computer software products may be stored in computer-readable storage media, such as ROM/RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk, etc., including several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to perform the methods described in various embodiments or some parts of the embodiments. 
     It should be noted that preferred embodiments of the present application are given in the specification and accompanying drawings thereof, but the present application can be embodied in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described in the specification, and these embodiments are not intended as additional limitations on the present application. These embodiments are provided for the purpose of achieving a more thorough and complete understanding of the disclosure of the present application. Furthermore, the above technical features continue to be combined with each other to form various embodiments not listed above, all of which are considered to be within the scope of the specification of the present application. Furthermore, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that modifications or variations may be made in light of the above description, and all such modifications and variations should fall within the scope of the appended claims.