Patent Description:
Recently, the demand for an alternative to traditional cigarettes has increased. For example, there is increasing demand for an aerosol generating device that generates an aerosol by heating an aerosol generating material in cigarettes without combustion. Accordingly, studies on a heating-type cigarette and a heating-type aerosol generating device have been actively conducted.

<CIT> relates to an aerosol generating device which comprises a heater for heating a cigarette received in a receiving space; a battery that supplies power to the heater; a puff sensor that senses a user's suction of the aerosol generated as the cigarette is received in the receiving space and heated by the heater; and a control unit for determining the number of times of suction of the user by counting the suction of the user sensed by the puff sensor and controlling the temperature of the heater to a predetermined temperature corresponding to the determined number of times of suction.

Other aerosol generating devices of the prior art are described in <CIT> or <CIT>.

As the number of puffs on an aerosol-generating product increases, the amount of tobacco components or flavor components (e.g., nicotine) included in an aerosol generated from the aerosol-generating product may gradually decrease. In this case, as the amount of nicotine transferred in each puff may differ, thereby reducing the smoking satisfaction of the user.

Thus, the present disclosure provides an aerosol-generating device capable of providing a uniform amount of transferred nicotine by controlling power variably according to the number of puffs.

The technical problems of the present disclosure are not limited to the above-described description, and other technical problems may be derived from the embodiments to be described hereinafter.

According to the present invention as defined in claim <NUM>, there is provided an aerosol-generating device which includes a heater configured to heat an aerosol-generating material, a puff detection sensor configured to detect puffs of a user, a battery configured to supply power to the heater, and a controller configured to: based on a new puff being detected by the puff detection sensor, count a number of accumulated puffs including the new puff, determine a puff section corresponding to the number of accumulated puffs from among a plurality of puff sections which are divided according to the number of accumulated puffs, and control the power supplied to the heater based on a power range preset for the determined puff section.

The present invention, as defined in claim <NUM>, provides an aerosol-generating device. In detail, the aerosol-generating device may variably control the power according to a puff section corresponding to the number of accumulated puffs. Accordingly, the aerosol-generating device may provide a uniform amount of transferred nicotine to a user. Effects of the present disclosure are not limited to those stated above, and various effects may be included in the present specification.

With respect to the terms used to describe in the various embodiments, the general terms which are currently and widely used are selected in consideration of functions of structural elements in the various embodiments of the present disclosure. However, meanings of the terms can be changed according to intention, a judicial precedence, the appearance of a new technology, and the like.

In addition, the terms "-er," "-or," and "module" described in the specification mean units for processing at least one function and/or operation and can be implemented by hardware components or software components and combinations thereof.

<FIG> illustrates a structure of an aerosol-generating device according to an embodiment.

Referring to <FIG>, the aerosol-generating device <NUM> may include a controller <NUM>, a battery <NUM>, a vaporizer <NUM>, and a medium part <NUM>.

The aerosol-generating device <NUM> of <FIG> includes components related to the present embodiment. Therefore, it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the aerosol-generating device <NUM> may further include other general-purpose components in addition to the components shown in <FIG>. Also, an internal structure of the aerosol-generating device <NUM> is not limited to the illustration of <FIG>. In other words, depending on a design of the aerosol-generating device <NUM>, arrangements of the controller <NUM>, the battery <NUM>, the vaporizer <NUM>, and the medium part <NUM> may change.

The aerosol-generating device <NUM> of <FIG> provides an aerosol to a user and may generate an aerosol by using a resistance heating method, an induction heating method, or an ultrasonic vibration method.

In detail, the controller <NUM> may control not only operations of the battery <NUM>, and the vaporizer <NUM>, but also operations of other components included in the aerosol generating device <NUM>.

The controller <NUM> can be implemented as an array of a plurality of logic gates or can be implemented as a combination of a general-purpose microprocessor and a memory in which a program executable in the microprocessor is stored.

For example, the battery <NUM> may supply power to heat the vaporizer <NUM>. As another example, the battery <NUM> may supply power for operating the controller <NUM>.

The vaporizer <NUM> may generate an aerosol by converting a phase of a liquid composition into a gaseous phase. The aerosol may refer to a gas in which vaporized particles generated from a liquid composition are mixed with air.

For example, the vaporizer <NUM> may include a liquid storage, a liquid delivery element, and a heating element (i.e., a heater), but it is not limited thereto.

The liquid composition may be a material in a liquid state or a gel state. The liquid composition may remain impregnated with a porous material such as a sponge or cotton inside the liquid storage.

The liquid storage may be formed to be detachable from the vaporizer <NUM>. Alternatively, the liquid storage may be formed integrally with the vaporizer <NUM>. In this case, the vaporizer <NUM> may be detachable from the aerosol-generating device <NUM>.

In addition, the heating element may include a conductive filament such as nichrome wire and may be positioned in contact with or adjacent to the liquid delivery element, or may be wound around the liquid delivery element. The heating element may be surrounded by the liquid storage.

However, one or more embodiments are not limited thereto. The vaporizer <NUM> may generate an aerosol by using, for example, an ultrasonic vibration method or an induction heating method.

The vaporizer <NUM> may be referred to as a cartridge, a cartomizer, or an atomizer, but is not limited thereto.

The vaporizer <NUM> may be rotatably coupled to the medium part <NUM>. For example, while the vaporizer <NUM> is fixed, a plurality of chambers of the medium part <NUM> may rotate relative to the vaporizer <NUM>.

The vaporizer <NUM> may be in fluid communication with one of the chambers. For example, the aerosol generated from the vaporizer <NUM> may pass through only one chamber that is in fluid communication with the vaporizer <NUM> from among the chambers.

The vaporizer <NUM> may include an outlet extending in a lengthwise direction of the aerosol-generating device <NUM> and transmitting therethrough the aerosol to the medium part <NUM>. The vaporizer <NUM> may transmit the aerosol generated by the heating element to the outlet. Therefore, the aerosol generated from the vaporizer <NUM> is transmitted to the medium part <NUM> through the outlet.

As relative locations of the chambers of the medium part <NUM> with respect to the vaporizer <NUM> are changed while the vaporizer <NUM> is coupled to the medium part <NUM>, one of the chambers of the medium part <NUM> may be aligned with the outlet of the vaporizer <NUM>. Therefore, the aerosol emitted through the outlet of the vaporizer <NUM> may pass through a tobacco material accommodated in the chamber aligned with the outlet.

The medium part <NUM> may include the chambers, and the chambers may be separated by partition walls. Each chamber may accommodate the tobacco material such that the aerosol to pass through the tobacco material when the corresponding chamber is aligned with the outlet.

The tobacco material may be variously formed. For example, the tobacco material may be formed as a sheet or a strand. The tobacco material may be formed of tiny bits cut from a tobacco sheet. As another example, the tobacco material may be made in the form of granules or capsules.

The medium part <NUM> may be rotated relative to the vaporizer <NUM> and may include the chambers sequentially arranged in a rotation direction. The chambers may be separated from each other in the rotation direction of the medium part <NUM>.

The medium part <NUM> may include a plurality of chambers, and the number of the chambers are not limited. For example, the medium part <NUM> may have a cylindrical shape and may include four chambers that are formed by partitioning the inner space of the medium part <NUM> into four. The medium part <NUM> may be rotated in a clockwise direction or a counterclockwise direction with respect to the lengthwise axis of the aerosol-generating device <NUM>, and as the medium part <NUM> is rotated, relative locations of the chambers relative to the vaporizer <NUM> may be changed.

The aerosol-generating device <NUM> may include a rotator <NUM>, and the rotator <NUM> may include a dial <NUM>, a dial gear <NUM>, and a medium part gear <NUM>.

The dial <NUM> may be rotated by a user action. To this end, part of the dial <NUM> may exposed the outside of the aerosol-generating device <NUM>. The dial <NUM> may engage with the dial gear <NUM>, and thus, the rotation may be transmitted.

The medium part gear <NUM> may surround the medium part <NUM> such that the medium part <NUM> rotates along with the medium part gear <NUM>. For example, when a user rotates the dial <NUM>, the rotation force may be transferred to the medium part gear <NUM> through the dial gear <NUM>, and the medium part <NUM> may be rotated by the medium part gear <NUM>.

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

Referring to <FIG>, an aerosol-generating device <NUM> may include a controller <NUM>, a battery <NUM>, a heater <NUM>, and a puff detection sensor <NUM>. Because the controller <NUM> and the battery <NUM> correspond to the controller <NUM> and the battery <NUM> of <FIG>, respectively, descriptions thereof will not be repeated.

The puff detection sensor <NUM> may detect puffs of the user. For example, the puff detection sensor <NUM> may detect a puff by detecting a change in an air flow inside the aerosol-generating device <NUM> according to the puff of the user. The puff detection sensor <NUM> may be a pressure sensor, but is not limited thereto.

The controller <NUM> may count the number of accumulated puffs based on the puffs of the user that are detected by the puff detection sensor <NUM>. For example, the controller <NUM> may set the maximum number of accumulated puffs to be <NUM> for each of the chambers included in a medium part (e.g., the medium part <NUM> of <FIG>). The controller <NUM> may count puffs until the number of accumulated puffs reaches <NUM> that is the maximum number of accumulated puffs. The above-mentioned number is merely an example, and the maximum number is not limited thereto. According to the number or types of tobacco materials included in each chamber, the maximum number of accumulated puffs may vary.

Also, the controller <NUM> may output a notification after the number of accumulated puffs reaches the maximum number of accumulated puffs. For example, after the number of accumulated puffs reaches the maximum number of accumulated puffs, the controller <NUM> may output, through a display (not shown), a message to guide rotation of a dial (e.g., the dial <NUM> of <FIG>). As another example, the controller <NUM> may output a notification vibration through a vibration motor (not shown) after the number of accumulated puffs reaches the maximum number of accumulated puffs. In an embodiment, when the medium part <NUM> is rotated by a user (e.g., the rotation of the dial <NUM>), the controller <NUM> may reset the number of accumulated puffs.

The controller <NUM> may store the number of accumulated puffs in a memory (not shown). For example, when the counted number of accumulated puffs reaches <NUM>, the controller <NUM> may store, in the memory, data indicating that the number of accumulated puffs is <NUM>. Then, when a new puff is detected by the puff detection sensor <NUM>, the controller <NUM> may determine that the detected puff is the 21th puff based on the data stored in the memory.

A plurality of puff sections (i.e., smoking stages) may be predetermined by dividing the maximum number of accumulated puffs. Different power ranges may be applied to the puff sections. That is, power supplied to the heater <NUM> may be controlled differently based on the number of accumulated puffs including the current puff (i.e., a puff that is still in progress). The controller <NUM> may determine a current puff section based on the number of accumulated puffs, and variably control the power supplied to the heater <NUM> according to a power range preset for the determined puff section.

In an embodiment, the puff sections may indicate sections having different power ranges and may be obtained by dividing the maximum number of accumulated puffs by designated puff intervals. The designated puff intervals may or may not be uniform.

For example, when the maximum number of accumulated puffs is <NUM>, and when the maximum number of accumulated puffs is divided by ten intervals, the puff sections may include a first puff section including 1st puff to 10th puff, a second puff section including 11th puff to 20th puff, a third puff section including 21st puff to 30th puff, a fourth puff section including 31st puff to 40th puff, and a fifth puff section including 41st puff to 50th puff. In this case, when the number of accumulated puffs counted is <NUM> (i.e., the current puff is the 34th puff), the current puff section may correspond to the fourth puff section.

The power control by the controller <NUM> according to the different power ranges is to supply high power to the heater <NUM> in accordance with an increase in the number of accumulated puffs. This is because a tobacco material included in the medium part is repeatedly used as the number of accumulated puffs increases. If the tobacco material included in the medium part is repeatedly used by constant power, the transfer amount of tobacco components or flavor components may gradually decrease over time. In this respect, according to an embodiment, the controller <NUM> may control the power based on the different power ranges to provide the user with the uniform transfer amount of tobacco components or flavor components. An embodiment in which power supplied to a heater is variably controlled according to the puff sections will be described below in detail with reference to <FIG>.

The controller <NUM> may variably control the power supplied to the heater <NUM>, according to a puff duration. For example, the controller <NUM> may decrease the power supplied to the heater <NUM> as the puff duration increases.

The power decrease by the controller <NUM> according to the increase in the puff duration is to maintain an appropriate heating temperature. The controller <NUM> may control relatively high power to be supplied when a puff starts such that the heater <NUM> which has been cooled off may instantaneously increase a heating temperature to a target temperature. However, after the heating temperature reaches the target temperature, the controller <NUM> may decrease the power to maintain the target temperature or decrease the heating temperature in an appropriate heating temperature range.

In an embodiment, the controller <NUM> may stop the power supply when the puff duration is equal to or greater than a threshold duration. Otherwise, if the controller <NUM> keeps supplying the power through the puff duration, the aerosol-generating device <NUM> may fail to uniformly provide the user with the tobacco components or the flavor components in each puff. Also, when the power is continuously supplied even when the puff duration is equal to or greater than the threshold duration, the heating temperature of the heater <NUM> may be out of an appropriate heating temperature range, and thus, the heater <NUM> may be overheated. As a result, and misuse/abuse of the aerosol-generating device <NUM> or failures resulting from the overheating of the aerosol-generating device <NUM> may be prevented. An embodiment in which the power supplied to the heater is variably controlled according to the puff duration will be described in detail with reference to <FIG>.

The controller <NUM> may variably control the power supplied to the heater <NUM>, based on intervals between puffs. For example, when a puff of the user is detected after a threshold time has passed from the previous puff (e.g., from when the start or the end of the previous puff was detected), the controller <NUM> may determine that a new puff series is starting and set the power to be relatively high. On the other hand, when a puff of the user is detected before the threshold time is passed from the previous puff, the controller <NUM> may determine that the current puff is part of a consecutive puffs (i.e., a series of puffs) and set the power as preset power.

The controller <NUM> may determine whether the heating temperature of the heater <NUM> is higher than the threshold temperature. When the heating temperature of the heater <NUM> is higher than the threshold temperature, the controller <NUM> may control the power supplied to the heater <NUM> accordingly. For example, when the heating temperature of the heater <NUM> is higher than a threshold temperature (e.g., <NUM>), the controller <NUM> may decrease the power supplied to the heater <NUM> by about <NUM> % to about <NUM> %. In more detail, the controller <NUM> may decrease the power supplied to the heater <NUM> by about <NUM> % to about <NUM> %.

The determination as to whether the heating temperature is higher than the threshold temperature is made by the controller <NUM> to prevent the aerosol-generating device <NUM> from being overheated and emitting heat to the outside. For example, the heating temperature of the heater <NUM> may be out of an appropriate heating temperature range because of malfunction of the heater <NUM> or errors in a device for controlling a heating operation. In this case, the controller <NUM> may prevent the aerosol-generating device <NUM> from being overheated or emitting heat to the outside by decreasing the power or stopping the power supply.

The controller <NUM> may control the heating temperature of the heater <NUM> by variably controlling the power supplied to the heater <NUM>. For example, when the controller <NUM> increases the power supplied to the heater <NUM> (e.g., from <NUM> W to <NUM> W) by the battery <NUM>, the heating temperature of the heater <NUM> may increase (e.g., from <NUM> to <NUM>). When the controller <NUM> decreases the power supplied to the heater <NUM> through the battery <NUM>, the heating temperature of the heater <NUM> may decrease.

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

Referring to <FIG>, in operation <NUM>, a controller (e.g., the controller <NUM> of <FIG>) of an aerosol-generating device (e.g., the aerosol-generating device <NUM> of <FIG>) may count the number of accumulated puffs based on puffs of the user detected by a puff detection sensor (e.g., the puff detection sensor <NUM> of <FIG>).

In operation <NUM>, the controller may determine whether the counted number of accumulated puffs including the current puff (i.e., newly detected puff) is included in a first puff section. For example, if the number of accumulated puffs in the first puff section is <NUM> to <NUM>, and the number of accumulated puffs is <NUM> (i.e., the current puff is the 7th puff), the controller may determine that the number of accumulated puffs is included in the first puff section. As another example, when the number of accumulated puffs is <NUM>, the controller may determine that the number of accumulated puffs is not included in the first puff section.

When determining that the number of accumulated puffs is included in the first puff section, the controller may proceed to operation <NUM>, and when the number of accumulated puffs is not included in the first puff section, the controller may proceed to operation <NUM>.

In operation <NUM>, the controller may determine whether the number of puffs counted during the current puff section (i.e., first puff section) is equal to or greater than a threshold puff number. For example, when the number of accumulated puffs in the first puff section is <NUM> to <NUM>, the threshold puff number in the first puff section may be <NUM>. In this case, when the number of puffs counted during the first puff section is <NUM>, the controller may determine that the number of puffs counted during the first puff section is equal to or greater than the threshold puff number. On the other hand, if the number of puffs counted during the first puff section is <NUM>, the controller may determine that the number of puffs counted during the first puff section is less than the threshold puff number. According to embodiments, the threshold puff number may or may not be uniform for the puff sections.

When the number of accumulated puffs counted during the first puff section is less than the threshold puff number, the controller may proceed to operation <NUM>, and when the number of puffs counted during the first puff section is equal to or greater than the threshold puff number, the controller may proceed to operation <NUM>.

In operation <NUM>, the controller may determine whether the threshold time has passed from the previous puff (e.g., from when the start or the end of the previous puff is detected). When the threshold time has passed from the previous puff, the controller may proceed to operation <NUM>, and when the threshold time has not passed from the previous puff, the controller may proceed to operation <NUM>.

In operation <NUM>, the controller may determine whether the number of accumulated puffs is included in a second puff section. The second puff section may include a greater number of accumulated puffs than the first puff section. For example, the number of accumulated puffs belonging to the second puff section may be <NUM> to <NUM>. In this case, if the number of accumulated puffs is <NUM>, the controller may determine that the number of accumulated puffs is included in the second puff section.

If the number of accumulated puffs is included in the second puff section, the controller may proceed to operation <NUM>. If the number of accumulated puffs is not included in the second puff section, the controller may return to operation <NUM> or wait.

Although <FIG> illustrates only the first puff section and the second puff section for convenience of explanation, one or more embodiments are not limited thereto. That is, although the maximum number of accumulated puffs is <NUM> in the embodiment of <FIG>, embodiments are not limited thereto. For example, in another embodiment, the maximum number of accumulated puffs may be <NUM>. In this case, when the puff sections are divided in identical intervals as in <FIG>, the puff sections may include a first puff section including 1st to 10th puffs, a second puff section including 11th to 20th puffs, a third puff section including 21st to 30th puffs, a fourth puff section including 31st to 40th puffs, and a fifth puff section including 41st to 50th puffs. In this case, if the number of accumulated puffs is not included in the first to fifth puff sections, the controller may return to operation <NUM> or wait. Also, intervals for dividing the puff sections are not limited to <NUM> and may vary according to a design.

In operation <NUM>, the controller may set the power supplied to a heater (e.g., the heater <NUM> of <FIG>) to a first power value. For example, when the number of accumulated puffs counted during the first puff section is less than the threshold puff number, the controller may set the power to the first power value. As another example, even if the number of puffs counted during the first puff section is equal to or greater than the threshold puff number, when the current puff is detected after the threshold time has passed from the previous puff, the controller may set the power to the first power value.

In operation <NUM>, the controller may set the power supplied to the heater to a second power value less than the first power value. For example, when the number of puffs counted during the first puff section is equal to or greater than the threshold puff number and the threshold time has not passed from the previous puff, the controller may set the power to the second power value less than the first power value.

In operation <NUM>, the controller may set the power supplied to the heater to a third power value greater than the first power value. In this case, assuming that the second puff section includes a greater number of accumulated puffs than the first puff section, the controller may set the power to the third power value greater than the first power value. Accordingly, the aerosol-generating device (e.g., the aerosol-generating device <NUM> of <FIG>) may prevent the transfer amount of nicotine from decreasing according to the accumulation of the user's puffs. That is, the aerosol-generating device <NUM> may provide the user with the uniform transfer amount of nicotine.

<FIG> is a graph showing power ranges in puff sections, according to an embodiment.

Referring to <FIG>, the number of accumulated puffs including the current puff may be included in any one of the puff sections. For example, the puff sections may be divided into a first puff section <NUM>, a second puff section <NUM>, and a third puff section <NUM>. However, the illustration of <FIG> is for the convenience of explanation, and the number of puff sections is not limited thereto.

The puff sections may have different power ranges. For example, the first puff section <NUM> including 1st to 10th puffs may correspond to a first power range (e.g., from about <NUM> W to about <NUM> W), the second puff section <NUM> including 11th to 20th puffs may correspond to a second power range (e.g., from about <NUM> W to about <NUM> W), and the third puff section <NUM> including 21th to 30th puffs may correspond to a third power range (e.g., from about <NUM> W to about <NUM> W). In an embodiment, a maximum value of the first power range corresponding to the first puff section <NUM> may be less than a minimum value of the second power range corresponding to the second puff section <NUM>. A maximum value of the second power range corresponding to the second puff section <NUM> may be less than a minimum value of the third power range corresponding to the third puff section <NUM>.

In an embodiment, a power value in one puff section may abruptly decrease within a power range corresponding to the puff section as the number of accumulated puffs increases. For example, a power value corresponding to a portion of the first puff section <NUM> may be about <NUM> W, and a power value corresponding to other portions of the first puff section <NUM> may be about <NUM> W. In another embodiment, the power value may gradually decrease in a power range corresponding to at least a portion of the puff section. For example, a power value corresponding to a portion of the first puff section <NUM> may gradually decrease from about <NUM> W to about <NUM> W, and a power value corresponding to other portions of the first puff section <NUM> may be about <NUM> W.

<FIG> illustrates that each of the first puff section <NUM>, the second puff section <NUM>, and the third puff section <NUM> has two power values for convenience of explanation, but one or more embodiments are not limited thereto. In another embodiment, the first puff section <NUM> may include at least three power values. The power value corresponding to a portion of the first puff section <NUM> may be about <NUM> W, a power value corresponding to another portion of the first puff section <NUM> may be about <NUM> W, and a power value corresponding to the other portions of the first puff section <NUM> may be about <NUM> W.

<FIG> illustrate various examples in which an aerosol-generating device variably controls power.

Referring to <FIG>, when a new puff series starts at time point <NUM> (i.e., the current puff is detected after a threshold time has passed from the previous puff), the number of accumulated puffs is included in the first puff section <NUM> and the number of puffs counted during the current puff section (i.e., first puff section <NUM>) is less than a threshold puff number. In this case, a controller (e.g., the controller <NUM> of <FIG>) may set power supplied to a heater (e.g., the heater <NUM> of <FIG>) to a first power value. Then, when the number of puffs counted during the current puff section (i.e., the first puff section <NUM>) is equal to or greater than the threshold puff number, the controller may decrease the power supplied to the heater from the first power value to the second power value. Also, if the puff series ends at time point <NUM>, which still belongs to the first puff section <NUM>, the controller may maintain the second power value until the puff series ends.

Referring to <FIG>, when a new puff series starts at time point <NUM> in the first puff section <NUM>, the number of puffs counted during the current puff section (i.e., the first puff section <NUM>) is less than the threshold puff number. In this case, the controller (e.g., the controller <NUM> of <FIG>) may control the power according to a "power value set for each puff section.

On the other hand, if the number of puffs counted during the first puff section <NUM> is equal to or greater than the threshold puff number, the controller may control the power according to a "power value according to a puff point. " That is, as shown in <FIG>, even if the number of puffs counted during the first puff section <NUM> is equal to or greater than the threshold puff number, the power may be set to the first power value, not to the second power value. This is because, if the heater is heated according to the second power value when the new puff series starts at time point <NUM>, the heater may not be sufficiently heated, and the user may not have a satisfactory smoking sensation.

Then, when a certain period of time has passed, the controller may decrease the power supplied to the heater from the first power value to the second power value. The controller may maintain the second power value until the puff series ends at time point <NUM> in the first puff section <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, when the new puff series starts at time point <NUM> in the first puff section <NUM> and the number of puffs counted during the current puff section (i.e., the first puff section <NUM>) is equal to or greater than the threshold puff number, the controller may set the power supplied to the heater to the first power value. Then, after a certain period of time has passed, the controller may decrease the power supplied to the heater from the first power value to the second power value.

As shown in <FIG>, the puff series that started at time point <NUM> in the first puff section <NUM> ends at time point <NUM> in the second puff section <NUM>. In this case, according to the "power value set for each puff section," the power supplied to the heater may be set to a certain high value when the second puff section <NUM> started, and decrease the power to the third value when the number of puffs counted during the second puff section <NUM> reaches the threshold puff number. However, as shown in <FIG>, the controller may set the power supplied to the heater to a third power value that is a minimum value of the power range corresponding to the second puff section <NUM>, while the number of puffs counted during the second puff section <NUM> is less than the threshold puff number. That is, when a puff section is changed from the first puff section <NUM> to the second puff section <NUM> during continuous smoking, the controller may set the power to the third power value that is the minimum value of the power range corresponding to the second puff section <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, when a first puff series starts at time point <NUM> in the first puff section <NUM>, the number of puffs counted during the first puff section <NUM> is less than the threshold puff number. In this case, the controller may set the power supplied to the heater to the first power value. Then, when the number of puffs counted during the first puff section <NUM> is equal to or greater than the threshold puff number, the controller may decrease the power supplied to the heater from the first power value to the second power value. Also, the controller may maintain the second power value until the first puff series ends at time point <NUM> in the first puff section <NUM>.

When the second puff series starts at time point <NUM> before a threshold time (e.g., <NUM> seconds) passes from the time point <NUM> (i.e., from when the first puff series ends), the controller may set the power supplied to the heater to the second power value. In this case, the controller may determine that the second puff series is continuous smoking and thus may set the power supplied to the heater to the second power value. In other words, although the terms "first puff series" and "second puff series" are used for convenience of description in <FIG>, the first puff series and the second puff series belong to the same puff series.

In another embodiment, when a medium part (e.g., the medium part <NUM> of <FIG>) is rotated according to the user action, the controller may reset the number of accumulated puffs. Accordingly, the controller may return to an initial point of the first puff section <NUM> and may set the power supplied to the heater to the first power value. However, when the medium part is rotated according to the user action within the threshold time after the time point <NUM> when the first puff series ends, the controller may set the power supplied to the heater to the second power value.

As shown in<FIG>, when a puff section is changed from the first puff section <NUM> to the second puff section <NUM> during the second puff series starts, the controller may set the power to the third power value that is the minimum value of the power range corresponding to the second puff section <NUM>.

Next, when the second puff series starts at time point <NUM> after the threshold time has passed from time point <NUM> (i.e., from when the first puff series ends), the controller may set the power supplied to the heater to the first power value. In this case, the controller may determine that the second puff series is a new smoking series and may set the power supplied to the heater to the first power value.

In another embodiment, when the medium part (e.g., the medium part <NUM> of <FIG>) is rotated according to the user action, the controller may reset the number of accumulated puffs. Accordingly, the controller may return to the initial point of the first puff section <NUM> and may set the power supplied to the heater to the first power value. That is, when the medium part is rotated according to the user action after the threshold time has passed from time point <NUM> (i.e., from when the first puff series ends), the controller may set the power supplied to the heater to the first power value. Then, after a certain period of time has passed, the controller may decrease the power supplied to the heater from the first power value to the second power value.

As shown in <FIG>, when a puff section is changed from the first puff section <NUM> to the second puff section <NUM> during the second puff series, the controller may set the power to the third power value that is the minimum value of the power range corresponding to the second puff section <NUM>.

For the convenience of explanation, <FIG> and <FIG> only illustrate that the power is set to the first power value or the second power value depending on whether the threshold time has passed from time points <NUM> and <NUM> when the first puff series ends. However, one or more embodiments are not limited thereto. In another embodiment, if the amount of time which has passed after the first puff series ended is greater than a first threshold time and smaller than a second threshold time, the controller may set the power supplied to the heater to a value between the first power value and the second power value.

For example, when the second puff series starts before a first threshold time (e.g., <NUM> seconds) has passed from when the first puff series ended, the controller may set the power supplied to the heater to a first power value (e.g., <NUM> W). In this case, when the second puff series starts after a second threshold time (e.g., <NUM> seconds) has passed from when the first puff series ended, the controller may set the power supplied to the heater to a second power value (e.g., <NUM> W). Also, if the second puff series starts after a first threshold time (e.g., <NUM> seconds) has passed but before the second threshold time (e.g., <NUM> seconds) has passed from when the first puff series ended, the controller may set the power supplied to the heater to a value (e.g., <NUM> W) between the first power value and the second power value.

Referring to <FIG>, in operation <NUM>, a controller (e.g., the controller <NUM> of <FIG>) of an aerosol-generating device (e.g., the aerosol-generating device <NUM> of <FIG>) may identify a puff duration detected by a puff detection sensor (e.g., the puff detection sensor <NUM> of <FIG>).

In operation <NUM>, the controller may determine whether the detected puff duration is greater than a first threshold duration. For example, when the first puff duration is one second and the puff duration detected by the puff detection sensor is <NUM> seconds, the controller may determine that the puff duration is greater than the first threshold duration.

When the detected puff duration is greater than the first threshold duration, the controller may proceed to operation <NUM>, and when the detected puff duration is not greater than the first threshold duration, the controller may return to operation <NUM> or wait.

In operation <NUM>, the controller may determine whether the detected puff duration is greater than a second threshold duration. For example, when the second threshold duration is <NUM> seconds and the puff duration detected by the puff detection sensor is <NUM> seconds, the controller may determine that the puff duration is not greater than the second threshold duration.

Claim 1:
An aerosol-generating device (<NUM>, <NUM>) comprising:
a heater (<NUM>) configured to heat an aerosol-generating material;
a puff detection sensor (<NUM>) configured to detect puffs of a user;
a battery (<NUM>, <NUM>) configured to supply power to the heater (<NUM>); and
a controller (<NUM>, <NUM>) configured to:
based on a new puff being detected by the puff detection sensor (<NUM>), count a number of accumulated puffs including the new puff,
determine a puff section type (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) corresponding to the number of accumulated puffs, from among a plurality of puff section types (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) which are divided according to the number of accumulated puffs, and
control the power supplied to the heater (<NUM>) based on a power range preset for the determined puff section type (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>),
wherein when a first puff series starts within a first puff section (<NUM>), the number of puffs counted during the first puff section (<NUM>) is less than a threshold puff number, the controller (<NUM>, <NUM>) is configured to set the power supplied to the heater (<NUM>) to a first power value; and
when a second puff series starts after a threshold time has passed from when the first puff series ends, the controller (<NUM>, <NUM>) is configured to set the power supplied to the heater (<NUM>) to the first value.