Patent Description:
Recently, there is an increasing need demand for an alternative to traditional cigarettes. For example, many people use an aerosol-generating device that generates an aerosol by heating an aerosol-generating material, instead of smoking combustive cigarettes.

<CIT>relates to an aerosol generating system comprising: a storage portion for storing an aerosol-forming substrate, an aerosol generating element for generating an aerosol from the aerosol-forming substrate, control circuitry in communication with the storage portion, and disabling means within the storage portion for rendering the storage portion inoperable in the aerosol generating system in response to a disable signal from the control circuitry.

When a user continuously smokes a plurality of cigarettes using an aerosol-generating device, the aerosol-generating device may become overheated as the temperature inside the aerosol-generating device is excessively increased. If an additional heating operation is performed even when the aerosol-generating device is overheated, the hardware components inside the aerosol-generating device may be damaged, or safety problems may occur. Therefore, when the aerosol-generating device is in an overheated state, it is necessary to prevent an additional heating operation.

However, in an aerosol-generating device that automatically performs a heating operation without any external input when the insertion of a cigarette is detected, even if the heating operation is prevented because the aerosol-generating device is in an overheated state, it may be difficult for the user to know whether the problem is the cigarette or the aerosol-generating device. Accordingly, the user may mistakenly believe that the heating operation is not performed due to the cigarette problem, and discard a non-defective cigarette. In addition, even if the user is aware that the heating operation is not performed due to the problem with the aerosol-generating device, in order to smoke, a cumbersome action such as extracting the cigarette and then inserting it back into the aerosol-generating device or pressing a button again may be additionally required by the user.

Various embodiments are solutions for improving the above-described problems, and intended to provide an aerosol-generating device automatically performing a heating operation. The technical solution to be achieved by the present disclosure is not limited to the technical solutions as described above, and other technical solutions may be inferred from the following embodiments.

The present disclosure can provide an aerosol-generating device. In detail, the aerosol-generating device according to the present disclosure determines whether the aerosol-generating device is in an overheated state based on temperatures measured by the temperature sensor when a cigarette is inserted into the accommodation space. In addition, when it is determined that the aerosol-generating device is in an overheated state, the aerosol-generating device may suspend the start of a heating operation, and then automatically perform the heating operation of a heater when the overheated state is finished.

As described above, when it is determined that the aerosol-generating device is in an overheated state, the aerosol-generating device according to the present disclosure may wait until the overheated state is finished, and then automatically perform a heating operation using the heater when the overheated state is finished. Therefore, additional actions for smoking are not required by the user to resume smoking, and user convenience can be increased. In addition, when it is determined that the aerosol-generating device according to the present disclosure is in an overheated state, the aerosol-generating device may display a notification that the heating operation is suspended and will be started after a while. Accordingly, the user may not perform unnecessary actions such as extracting and reinserting the cigarette or pressing a button again to smoke.

In addition, the aerosol-generating device according to the present disclosure may measure temperatures at least two locations inside the aerosol-generating device, and may determine whether the aerosol-generating device is in an overheated state by synthesizing information on the measured temperatures. For example, the aerosol-generating device may determine whether the aerosol-generating device is in an overheated state based on temperatures measured by a first thermistor placed adjacent to the front or rear of a battery and a second thermistor placed between the heater and the battery. Thus, it can be more accurately determined whether the aerosol-producing device is in an overheated state.

An aerosol-generating device according to an embodiment may include a cigarette insertion detection sensor configured to detect insertion of a cigarette into an accommodation space of the aerosol-generating device; a heater configured to heat the cigarette inserted in the accommodation space; at least one temperature sensor configured to measure temperatures of at least two locations inside the aerosol-generating device; and a controller configured to determine whether the aerosol-generating device is in an overheated state based on the temperatures measured by the at least one temperature sensor when the insertion of the cigarette is detected by the cigarette insertion detection sensor, and control the heater to suspend a heating operation until the overheated state is finished based on the overheated state being detected.

The controller may determine whether the overheated state is finished based on temperatures measured by the temperature sensor, and automatically perform the heating operation even without an external input when it is determined that the overheated state is finished.

The controller may determine that the aerosol-generating device is in the overheated state when the total or weighted total of temperatures measured by the temperature sensor is greater than or equal to a preset threshold.

The controller may automatically perform the heating operation when it is determined that the aerosol-generating device is not in an overheated state.

The controller may output a notification that the heating operation is suspended for a while when it is determined that the aerosol-generating device is in an overheated state.

The aerosol-generating device may further include a battery for supplying power to the heater, and the temperature sensor may include a first thermistor placed adjacent to the front or rear surface of the battery and a second thermistor placed between the heater and the battery.

The temperature sensor may further include at least one of a temperature sensor placed adjacent to the heater and a temperature/humidity sensor placed near a lower surface of the battery.

The cigarette insertion detection sensor may include an inductive sensor configured to detect a change in a magnetic field generated when the cigarette is inserted into the accommodation space, and the heater may include an induction coil configured to generate an alternating magnetic field and a susceptor heated by the alternating magnetic field.

An aerosol-generating device according to another embodiment may include a heater configured to heat a cigarette inserted in an accommodation space of the aerosol-generating device; a battery placed under the heater and configured to supply power to the heater; a first thermistor placed adjacent to a front surface or a rear surface of the battery; a second thermistor placed between the heater and the battery; and a printed circuit board (PCB) configured to determine whether the aerosol-generating device is in an overheated state based on temperatures measured by the first thermistor and the second thermistor, and suspend a heating operation of the heater until the overheated state is finished based on the overheated state being detected.

The first thermistor may be placed adjacent to the center of a front or rear surface of the battery, and be electrically connected to a protection circuit module (PCM) placed on an upper surface of the battery.

At least one portion of the PCB may extend between the heater and the battery, and the second thermistor may be placed adjacent to the at least one portion of the PCB.

An aerosol-generating device according to another embodiment may include a heater configured to heat a cigarette inserted in an accommodation space of the aerosol-generating device; a battery placed under the heater and configured to supply power to the heater; a first thermistor placed adjacent to a front surface or a rear surface of the battery; a second thermistor placed between the heater and the battery; a temperature sensor placed adjacent to the heater; a temperature/humidity sensor placed adjacent to a lower surface of the battery; and a printed circuit board (PCB) configured to: determine whether the aerosol-generating device is in an overheated state based on temperatures measured by at least two of the first thermistor, the second thermistor, the temperature sensor, and the temperature/humidity sensor, and suspend a heating operation of the heater until the overheated state is finished based on the overheated state being detected.

Hereinafter, the term "cigarette" may refer to a cigarette-type aerosol-generating article, which contains an aerosol-generating material.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating an aerosol generation system according to an embodiment.

Referring to <FIG>, the aerosol-generating system may include an aerosol-generating device <NUM> and a cigarette <NUM>. The aerosol-generating device <NUM> may include an accommodation space into which the cigarette <NUM> is inserted, and may generate an aerosol by heating the cigarette <NUM> inserted into the accommodation space. The cigarette <NUM> is a kind of aerosol-generating article, and may include an aerosol-generating material. In <FIG>, for convenience of explanation, the aerosol-generating device <NUM> is shown to be used together with the cigarette <NUM>, but this is only an example. The aerosol-generating device <NUM> may be used together with any suitable aerosol-generating article other than a cigarette <NUM>.

The aerosol-generating device <NUM> may include a battery <NUM>, a controller <NUM>, a susceptor <NUM>, an induction coil <NUM>, and a cigarette insertion detection sensor <NUM>. However, the internal structure of the aerosol-generating device <NUM> is not limited to that shown in <FIG>. Depending on the design of the aerosol-generating device <NUM>, it may be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art related to the present embodiment that some of components shown in <FIG> may be omitted or an additional component may be added.

The battery <NUM> supplies power used to operate the aerosol-generating device <NUM>. For example, the battery <NUM> may supply power so that the induction coil <NUM> may generate an alternating magnetic field. In addition, the battery <NUM> may supply power required for the operation of other hardware components included in the aerosol-generating device <NUM>, for example, various sensors, a user interface, a memory, and the controller <NUM>. The battery <NUM> may be a rechargeable battery or a disposable battery. For example, the battery <NUM> may be a lithium polymer (LiPoly) battery, but is not limited thereto.

The controller <NUM> is hardware that controls the overall operation of the aerosol-generating device <NUM>. For example, the controller <NUM> controls the operation of the battery <NUM>, the susceptor <NUM>, the induction coil <NUM>, the cigarette insertion detection sensor <NUM>, and other components included in the aerosol-generating device <NUM>. In addition, the controller <NUM> may determine whether the aerosol-generating device <NUM> is in an operable state by checking the states of each of the components of the aerosol-generating device <NUM>.

The controller <NUM> includes at least one processor. In addition, it may be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the processor may be implemented with other types of hardware.

The susceptor <NUM> may include a material that is heated when the alternating magnetic field is applied. For example, the susceptor <NUM> may include metal or carbon. The susceptor <NUM> may include at least one of ferrite, ferromagnetic alloy, stainless steel, and aluminum (Al). In addition, the susceptor <NUM> may include at least one of ceramics such as graphite, molybdenum, silicon carbide, niobium, nickel alloy, metal film, zirconia, etc., transition metals such as nickel (Ni) or cobalt (Co), and metalloids such as boron (B) or phosphorus (P). However, it is not limited thereto.

In one example, the susceptor <NUM> may be tubular or cylindrical, and may be placed to surround the accommodation space into which the cigarette <NUM> is inserted. When the cigarette <NUM> is inserted into the accommodation space of the aerosol-generating device <NUM>, the susceptor <NUM> may be placed to surround the cigarette <NUM>. Therefore, the temperature of the aerosol-generating material in the cigarette <NUM> may be increased by heat transferred from the external susceptor <NUM>.

The induction coil <NUM> may generate the alternating magnetic field as power is supplied from the battery <NUM>. The alternating magnetic field generated by the induction coil <NUM> may be applied to the susceptor <NUM>, and accordingly, the susceptor <NUM> may be heated. Power supplied to the induction coil <NUM> may be adjusted under the control of the controller <NUM>, and a temperature at which the susceptor <NUM> is heated may be properly maintained.

The cigarette insertion detection sensor <NUM> may detect whether the cigarette <NUM> is inserted into the accommodation space of the aerosol-generating device <NUM>. In one example, the cigarette <NUM> may include a metal material such as aluminum, and the cigarette insertion detection sensor <NUM> may be an inductive sensor that detects a change in the magnetic field generated as the cigarette <NUM> is inserted into the accommodation space. However, it is not necessarily limited thereto. The cigarette insertion detection sensor <NUM> may be an optical sensor, a temperature sensor, or a resistance sensor.

When detecting the insertion of the cigarette, the controller <NUM> may automatically perform a heating operation without an additional external input. For example, the controller <NUM> may control the battery <NUM> to supply power to the induction coil <NUM> when detecting that the cigarette <NUM> has been inserted by using the cigarette insertion detection sensor <NUM>. As the alternating magnetic field is generated by the induction coil <NUM>, the susceptor <NUM> may be heated. Accordingly, the cigarette <NUM> placed inside the susceptor <NUM> may be heated, and an aerosol may be generated.

The aerosol-generating device <NUM> may further include general-purpose components in addition to the battery <NUM>, the controller <NUM>, the susceptor <NUM>, the induction coil <NUM>, and the cigarette insertion detection sensor <NUM>. For example, the aerosol-generating device <NUM> may further include other sensors (e.g., a temperature sensor, a puff sensor, etc.), a user interface, and a memory in addition to the cigarette insertion sensor <NUM>.

The user interface may provide information on the state of the aerosol-generating device <NUM> to the user. The user interface may include a display or a lamp for outputting visual information, a motor for outputting tactile information, a speaker for outputting sound information, and input/output (I/O) interfacing means (e.g., a button or a touch screen) for receiving information input from the user or outputting information to the user. In addition, the user interface may include various interfacing means such as terminals for performing data communication or receiving charging power and a communication interfacing module for performing wireless communication (e.g., WI-FI, WI-FI Direct, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Near-Field Communication (NFC), etc.) with an external device.

According to embodiments, the aerosol-generating device <NUM> may include only some of the various user interface examples illustrated above. Also, the aerosol-generating device <NUM> may include various combinations of the above-described user interface examples. For example, the aerosol-generating device <NUM> may include a touch screen display capable of receiving a user input while outputting visual information on the front side. The touch screen display may include a fingerprint sensor, and user authentication may be performed by the fingerprint sensor.

The memory is hardware that stores various types of data processed in the aerosol-generating device <NUM>. The memory may store data processed and data to be processed by the controller <NUM>. The memory may be implemented in various types such as random access memory (RAM) including dynamic random access memory (DRAM) or/and static random access memory (SRAM), read-only memory (ROM), and electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). The memory may store an operation time of the aerosol-generating device <NUM>, a maximum number of puffs, a current number of puffs, at least one temperature profile, and data on a user's smoking pattern.

<FIG> is a block diagram showing the configuration of an aerosol-generating device according to an embodiment.

Referring to <FIG>, an aerosol-generating device <NUM> may include a cigarette insertion detection sensor <NUM>, a heater <NUM>, a temperature sensor <NUM>, and a controller <NUM>. In the aerosol-generating device <NUM> shown in <FIG>, components related to one embodiment are shown. Accordingly, it may be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art related to the present embodiment that other components may be further included in the aerosol-generating device <NUM> in addition to the components shown in <FIG>. Meanwhile, the cigarette insertion detection sensor <NUM> and the controller <NUM> of <FIG> may respectively correspond to the cigarette insertion detection sensor <NUM> and the controller <NUM> of <FIG>. Therefore, redundant descriptions are omitted.

The cigarette insertion detection sensor <NUM> may detect whether a cigarette is inserted into the accommodation space of the aerosol-generating device <NUM>. In one example, the cigarette insertion detection sensor <NUM> may include an inductive sensor that detects a change in a magnetic field generated as the cigarette is inserted into the accommodation space. In this case, the cigarette may include a material that may be detected by an inductive sensor, for example, a metal. In addition, the cigarette insertion detection sensor <NUM> may identify the type of metal included in the cigarette, and may check the genuineness or type of the cigarette based on the identified metal type.

The heater <NUM> may refer to a hardware configuration for heating the cigarette inserted in the accommodation space of the aerosol-generating device <NUM>. The heater <NUM> may heat the cigarette using an induction heating method. For example, the heater <NUM> may include an induction coil for generating an alternating magnetic field and a susceptor heated by the alternating magnetic field. Because the induction coil and the susceptor included in the heater <NUM> correspond to the susceptor <NUM> and the induction coil <NUM> of <FIG>, respectively, redundant descriptions are omitted.

The temperature sensor <NUM> may measure temperatures of at least two locations inside the aerosol-generating device <NUM>. For example, the temperature sensor <NUM> includes a first thermistor placed adjacent to the front or rear of the battery for supplying power to the heater <NUM> and a second thermistor placed between the heater <NUM> and the battery. In addition, the temperature sensor <NUM> may further include at least one of a temperature sensor placed adjacent to the heater <NUM> and a temperature/ humidity sensor placed near a lower surface of the battery. A detailed arrangements of the thermistor or the temperature sensor included in the temperature sensor <NUM> will be described in more detail below with reference to <FIG> and <FIG>.

When the cigarette inserted into the accommodation space is detected by the cigarette insertion detection sensor <NUM>, the controller <NUM> may determine whether the aerosol-generating device <NUM> is in an overheated state based on the temperatures measured by the temperature sensor <NUM>. The overheated state may refer to a state in which hardware components inside the aerosol-generating device <NUM> are expected to be damaged or a safety problem is expected to occur by an additional heating operation. In one example, when the user continuously smokes a plurality of cigarettes using the aerosol-generating device <NUM>, the aerosol-generating device <NUM> may become overheated as the temperature inside the aerosol-generating device <NUM> increases excessively.

The controller <NUM> may measure temperatures of at least two locations inside the aerosol-generating device <NUM> using the temperature sensor <NUM>, and determine whether the aerosol-generating device <NUM> is in an overheated state based on the measured temperatures. Therefore, it may be more accurately determined whether the aerosol-generating device <NUM> is in an overheated state. There may be various ways in which the controller <NUM> analyzes the measured temperatures. For example, when the total or weighted total of temperatures measured by the temperature sensor <NUM> is equal to or greater than a preset threshold, the controller <NUM> may determine that the aerosol-generating device <NUM> is in an overheated state. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. As another example, the controller <NUM> may determine that the aerosol-generating device <NUM> is in an overheated state when the lowest temperature among the temperatures measured by the temperature sensor <NUM> is equal to or higher than a preset threshold.

When it is determined that the aerosol-generating device <NUM> is in an overheated state, the controller <NUM> may wait until the overheated state is cleared and then automatically perform a heating operation using the heater <NUM>. When it is determined that the aerosol-generating device <NUM> is in an overheated state, the controller <NUM> may determine whether the overheated state is cleared based on the temperatures measured by the temperature sensor <NUM>. For example, the controller <NUM> may continuously monitor the temperatures measured by the temperature sensor <NUM> at a preset period, and determine whether the overheating condition is finished based on the monitored temperatures.

When it is determined that the overheated state has ended, the controller <NUM> may automatically perform the heating operation without an external input. In this way, when it is determined that the aerosol-generating device <NUM> is in an overheated state, the controller <NUM> may wait until the overheated state is finished, and then automatically start a heating operation using the heater <NUM> when the overheated state is finished. Therefore, an additional operation for smoking is not required by the user, and user convenience may be increased.

In addition, when it is determined that the controller <NUM> is in an overheated state, the controller <NUM> may output a notification that the heating operation is suspended and will be started after a while. Accordingly, the user need not perform unnecessary actions to smoke, such as extracting and reinserting the cigarette or pressing a button again. Meanwhile, the notification may be provided to the user through a touch screen display provided in the aerosol-generating device <NUM>, but is not limited thereto.

In addition, when the overheated state of the aerosol-generating device <NUM> is finished, the controller <NUM> may provide a notification to the user that the heating operation is available. In an example, the controller <NUM> may predict a time taken until the overheated state is finished based on the temperatures measured by the temperature sensor <NUM> and display the predicted time. When it is determined that the aerosol-generating device <NUM> is not in an overheated state, the controller <NUM> may automatically perform a heating operation even if there is no external input.

<FIG> is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating an aerosol-generating device according to an embodiment.

Referring to <FIG>, a method of operating the aerosol-generating device includes steps processed in a time series by the aerosol-generating device <NUM> or the aerosol-generating device <NUM> shown in <FIG>. Accordingly, it may be seen that the descriptions given above with respect to the aerosol-generating device <NUM> or the aerosol-generating device <NUM> of <FIG> are also applied to the operating method of the aerosol-generating device of <FIG>, even though descriptions are omitted below.

In step <NUM>, the aerosol-generating device may determine whether the cigarette is inserted into the accommodation space of a main body. When the aerosol-generating device determines that the cigarette has not been inserted into the accommodation space of the main body, the aerosol-generating device may wait until the cigarette is inserted into the accommodation space of the main body. For example, the aerosol-generating device may repeatedly perform step <NUM> according to a preset period, and may perform step <NUM> once based on a change generated due to the insertion of a cigarette. When it is determined that the cigarette is inserted into the accommodation space of the main body, the aerosol-generating device may perform step <NUM>.

In step <NUM>, the aerosol-generating device may determine whether the aerosol-generating device is in an overheated state. When it is determined that the aerosol-generating device is not in an overheated state, the aerosol-generating device may perform step <NUM>. When it is determined that the aerosol-generating device is overheated, the aerosol-generating device may perform step <NUM>.

In step <NUM>, the aerosol-generating device may perform a heating operation. The aerosol-generating device may automatically perform the heating operation even if there is no additional external input.

In step <NUM>, the aerosol-generating device may wait without performing a heating operation. For example, the aerosol-generating device may wait for a heating operation until the overheated state of the aerosol-generating device is finished.

In step <NUM>, the aerosol-generating device may continuously monitor whether the aerosol-generating device is in an overheated state. When it is determined that the aerosol-generating device is still overheated, the aerosol-generating device may continue to wait for a heating operation (step <NUM>). Meanwhile, when it is determined that the overheated state of the aerosol-generating device is finished, the aerosol-generating device may perform a heating operation (step <NUM>).

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating arrangements of temperature sensors according to an embodiment.

<FIG> schematically shows a cross-sectional view of an aerosol-generating device <NUM> viewed from the side. In the present embodiment, although it is shown that a heater <NUM> is placed on the upper side of a battery <NUM> and the long portion of a PCB <NUM> is placed to face the front surface of the battery <NUM>, the positional relationship of the components may be different depending on the viewpoint of looking at the aerosol-generating device <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, the aerosol-generating device <NUM> may include the heater <NUM>, the battery <NUM>, a protection circuit module (PCM) <NUM>, a first thermistor <NUM>, a second thermistor <NUM>, and the printed circuit board (PCB) <NUM> The aerosol-generating device <NUM> in <FIG> only shows some components particularly related to the present embodiment. Accordingly, it may be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art related to the present embodiment that other components may be further included in the aerosol-generating device <NUM> in addition to the components shown in <FIG>.

The heater <NUM> is a component for heating the cigarette inserted in the accommodation space of the aerosol-generating device <NUM>. Because the heater <NUM> of <FIG> corresponds to the heater <NUM> of <FIG>, redundant descriptions are omitted. The heater <NUM> may include a plurality of hardware components (e.g., a susceptor and an induction coil), although it is illustrated as a single block in <FIG> for convenience of description.

The battery <NUM> supplies power to the heater <NUM>, and may be placed so that the upper surface of the battery <NUM> faces the lower side of the heater <NUM>. Although not shown in <FIG>, the battery <NUM> and the heater <NUM> may be electrically connected. The battery <NUM> may be connected to the heater <NUM> through the PCB <NUM> or may be directly connected to the heater <NUM>.

The PCM <NUM> may be placed adjacent to the upper surface of the battery <NUM>. The PCM <NUM> is a circuit for protecting the battery <NUM> and may prevent overcharging and over discharging of the battery <NUM>. In addition, the PCM <NUM> may prevent an overcurrent from flowing through the battery <NUM> and may cut off electric connections when a short circuit occurs in a circuit connected to the battery <NUM>.

The first thermistor <NUM> is a resistor having an electrical resistance value that changes sensitively according to a temperature change, and may be used to sense a temperature. The first thermistor <NUM> may be electrically connected to the PCM <NUM> placed on the upper surface of the battery <NUM>, and information measured by the first thermistor <NUM> may be transmitted to the PCB <NUM> through the PCM <NUM>.

Meanwhile, the first thermistor <NUM> may be placed adjacent to the front surface or rear surface of the battery <NUM>. For example, as shown in <FIG>, the first thermistor <NUM> may be placed adjacent to the rear surface of the battery <NUM>. The first thermistor <NUM> may be placed adjacent to the center of the front surface or rear surface of the battery <NUM>. The central portion of the front surface or rear surface of the battery <NUM> corresponds to a portion having the highest temperature in the battery <NUM>, and thus corresponds to a portion that most affects damage or explosion of the battery <NUM>. The aerosol-generating device <NUM> according to the present disclosure may measure the temperature of a portion that most affects damage or explosion of the battery <NUM> using the first thermistor <NUM>, and may determine whether the aerosol-generating device <NUM> is in an overheated state based on the measured temperature.

The second thermistor <NUM> may be placed between the heater <NUM> and the battery <NUM>. Because the portion between the heater <NUM> and the battery <NUM> corresponds to the portion with the highest temperature in the aerosol-generating device <NUM>, its temperature may be used in determining the overall overheated state of the aerosol-generating device <NUM>. Meanwhile, at least a portion of the PCB <NUM> extends between the heater <NUM> and the battery <NUM>, and the second thermistor <NUM> may be disposed adjacent to the portion of the PCB <NUM> extending between the heater <NUM> and the battery <NUM>.

The PCB <NUM> is a component corresponding to the controller <NUM> of <FIG> or the controller <NUM> of <FIG>, and may determine whether the aerosol-generating device <NUM> is in an overheated state based on the temperatures measured by the first thermistor <NUM> and the second thermistor <NUM>. When it is determined that the aerosol-generating device <NUM> is in an overheated state, the PCB <NUM> may wait until the overheated state is finished and then automatically start a heating operation using the heater <NUM>.

In this way, the aerosol-generating device <NUM> according to the present disclosure may measure temperatures of at least two locations inside the aerosol-generating device <NUM>, and determine whether the aerosol-generating device <NUM> is in an overheated state based on the measured temperatures. Accordingly, it may be more accurately determined whether the aerosol-generating device <NUM> is in an overheated state, and damage to hardware components inside the aerosol-generating device <NUM> or safety problems may be effectively prevented based on this determination.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating arrangements of temperature sensors according to another embodiment.

Referring to <FIG>, an aerosol-generating device <NUM> includes a heater <NUM>, a battery <NUM>, a PCM <NUM>, a first thermistor <NUM>, a second thermistor <NUM>, and may further include a temperature sensor <NUM> and a temperature/humidity sensor <NUM>. The heater <NUM>, the battery <NUM>, the PCM <NUM>, the first thermistor <NUM>, the second thermistor <NUM> and the PCB <NUM> of <FIG> correspond to the heater <NUM> and the battery <NUM>, the PCM <NUM>, the first thermistor <NUM>, the second thermistor <NUM>, and the PCB <NUM> of <FIG>, respectively. Therefore, redundant descriptions are omitted.

The temperature sensor <NUM> may be placed adjacent to the heater <NUM> to directly or indirectly measure the temperature of the heater <NUM>. The heater <NUM> is a part that most affects the cigarette inserted in the aerosol-generating device <NUM>, and the characteristics of the aerosol generated by the cigarette may be changed depending on the temperature of the heater <NUM>. The aerosol-generating device <NUM> according to the present embodiment may determine whether the aerosol-generating device <NUM> is in an overheated state based on the temperature of the heater <NUM> measured using the temperature sensor <NUM>. In an embodiment, the aerosol-generating device <NUM> may determine that it is in an overheated state if damage to the aerosol-generating device <NUM> is not expected but degradation of the characteristics of the aerosol generated from the cigarette is expected by additional heating operation.

The temperature/humidity sensor <NUM> may be placed near the lower surface of the battery <NUM> to measure temperature or humidity. The vicinity of the lower surface of the battery <NUM> is an area that is least affected by the heater <NUM>, and may correspond to an area in which the temperature of the housing constituting the exterior of the aerosol-generating device <NUM> is reflected. The aerosol-generating device <NUM> according to the present embodiment may determine whether the aerosol-generating device <NUM> is in an overheated state based on a temperature near the lower surface of the battery <NUM> measured using the temperature/humidity sensor <NUM>. Accordingly, the aerosol-generating device <NUM> may determine that it is in an overheated state if the temperature of the housing of the aerosol-generating device <NUM> is excessively high.

The PCB <NUM> may determine whether the aerosol-generating device <NUM> is in an overheated state based on the temperatures measured by at least two of the first thermistor <NUM>, the second thermistor <NUM>, the temperature sensor <NUM>, and the temperature/humidity sensor <NUM>. As described above, the aerosol-generating device <NUM> according to the present disclosure may determine an overheated state by comprehensively considering the possibility of damage to hardware components inside the aerosol-generating device <NUM>, characteristics of the aerosol generated from the cigarette, the possibility of occurrence of safety problems due to heat transferred to the housing, and the like, and accordingly, the aerosol-generating device <NUM> may be maintained in an optimal state.

At least one of the components, elements, modules or units (collectively "components" in this paragraph) represented by a block in the drawings may be embodied as various numbers of hardware, software and/or firmware structures that execute respective functions described above, according to an exemplary embodiment. For example, at least one of these components may use a direct circuit structure, such as a memory, a processor, a logic circuit, a look-up table, etc. that may execute the respective functions through controls of one or more microprocessors or other control apparatuses. Also, at least one of these components may be specifically embodied by a module, a program, or a part of code, which contains one or more executable instructions for performing specified logic functions, and executed by one or more microprocessors or other control apparatuses. Further, at least one of these components may include or may be implemented by a processor such as a central processing unit (CPU) that performs the respective functions, a microprocessor, or the like. Two or more of these components may be combined into one single component which performs all operations or functions of the combined two or more components. Also, at least part of functions of at least one of these components may be performed by another of these components. Further, although a bus is not illustrated in the above block diagrams, communication between the components may be performed through the bus. Functional aspects of the above exemplary embodiments may be implemented in algorithms that execute on one or more processors. Furthermore, the components represented by a block or processing steps may employ any number of related art techniques for electronics configuration, signal processing and/or control, data processing and the like.

Claim 1:
An aerosol-generating device (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) comprising:
a cigarette insertion detection sensor (<NUM>, <NUM>) configured to detect insertion of a cigarette (<NUM>) into an accommodation space of the aerosol-generating device (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>);
a heater (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) configured to heat the cigarette (<NUM>) inserted in the accommodation space;
at least one temperature sensor (<NUM>, <NUM>) configured to measure temperatures of at least two locations inside the aerosol-generating device (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>); and
a controller (<NUM>, <NUM>) configured to determine whether the aerosol-generating device (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) is in an overheated state based on the temperatures measured by the at least one temperature sensor (<NUM>, <NUM>) when the insertion of the cigarette (<NUM>) is detected by the cigarette insertion detection sensor (<NUM>, <NUM>), and control the heater (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) to suspend a heating operation until the overheated state is finished based on the overheated state being detected.