Electronic aerosol supply system
阅读说明:本技术 电子气溶胶供给系统 (Electronic aerosol supply system ) 是由 帕特里克·莫洛尼 赫尔穆特·布赫贝格尔 于 2018-06-06 设计创作,主要内容包括:一种电子蒸汽供给系统,包括:汽化器,该汽化器用于使液体汽化以由电子蒸汽供给系统的使用者抽吸;电源,该电源用于向汽化器供电以响应于使用者启用该装置而使液体汽化;控制单元,该控制单元被配置成:估算使用者的预期启用持续时间,并向汽化器供电一短于使用者的启用持续时间的时间段。(An electronic vapour provision system comprising: a vaporizer for vaporizing liquid for aspiration by a user of the electronic vapour provision system; a power source for powering the vaporizer to vaporize the liquid in response to a user activating the device; a control unit configured to: an expected activation duration of the user is estimated and the vaporizer is powered for a period of time that is shorter than the activation duration of the user.)
1. An electronic vapour provision system comprising:
a vaporizer for vaporizing liquid for inhalation by a user of the electronic vapour provision system;
a power source for powering the vaporizer to vaporize the liquid in response to a user activating the device;
a control unit configured to:
i) estimating an expected activation duration for the user;
ii) providing power to the vaporizer for a period of time that is shorter than the user's estimated expected activation duration.
2. The electronic vapour provision system of claim 1, wherein user activation of the device is by one item selected from the list comprising:
i. suction through the electronic vapour provision system;
pressing a button; and
interacting with a touch sensor.
3. The electronic vapour provision system of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the period of time is 0.05 to 0.5 seconds shorter than the estimated expected activation duration of the user.
4. The electronic vapour provision system of claim 3, wherein the time period is less than 0.3 seconds of the user's estimated expected activation duration.
5. The electronic vapour provision system of any preceding claim, wherein the control unit comprises a CPU.
6. The electronic vapour provision system of any preceding claim, wherein the control unit employs machine learning software to learn the expected activation duration of a user.
7. The electronic vapour provision system of any preceding claim, wherein the control unit learns the expected activation duration of a user by: i) measuring a predetermined number of previously enabled activation durations for a given user, and ii) calculating an average activation duration for the user based on the measurements.
8. The electronic vapour provision system of claim 7, wherein the average activation duration for a user is calculated using one item selected from the list comprising:
i. at most the last 100 activations; and
at most the last 10 activations.
9. The electronic vapour provision system of any preceding claim, wherein the control unit is further configured to: resuming power to the vaporizer for a second period of time if the user activates the device for a duration that exceeds the expected activation duration of the user, the second period of time ending when the user ceases activating the device.
10. The electronic vapour provision system of claim 9, wherein the control unit is powered at a lower level during the second period of time.
11. The electronic vapour provision system of claim 9, wherein the control unit provides a power pulse during the second time period.
12. The electronic vapour provision system of claims 1-8, wherein the control unit is further configured to cause the vaporiser to be powered at a lower power level for a second period of time immediately following the end of the first period of time, the second period of time ending when a user ceases to activate the device.
13. The electronic vapour provision system of claims 1-8, wherein the control unit is further configured to cause power to be supplied to the vaporiser in pulses for a second period of time immediately following the end of the first period of time, the second period of time ending when a user ceases to activate the device.
14. The electronic vapour provision system of any preceding claim, further comprising a sensor for detecting airflow through the electronic vapour provision system as a result of user suction, wherein the sensor provides a means for a user to activate the device.
15. The electronic vapour provision system of claims 1-13, further comprising a manual activation device, wherein the manual activation device provides a means for a user to activate the device, the manual activation device comprising one item selected from the list comprising:
i. a button; and
a touch sensor.
16. The electronic vapour provision system of any preceding claim, wherein the vaporiser is a heater powered by power from the power supply to heat the liquid and thereby vaporise the liquid for inhalation by a user.
17. The electronic vapour provision system of any preceding claim, wherein the liquid comprises nicotine.
18. A method of operating an electronic vapour provision system comprising a vaporiser for vaporising liquid for inhalation by a user of the electronic vapour provision system; wherein the electronic vapour provision system comprises a power source for supplying power to the vaporiser to vaporise the liquid in response to a user activating the device, the method comprising:
i) causing the control unit to estimate an expected activation duration of the user;
ii) causing the control unit to power the vaporizer for a period of time that is shorter than the user's estimated expected activation duration.
Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to electronic aerosol delivery systems, such as nicotine delivery systems (e.g., electronic cigarettes, etc.).
Background
Electronic aerosol provision systems, such as electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), typically contain a reservoir of a source liquid containing a formulation, typically including nicotine, from which an aerosol is generated, e.g. by thermal vaporization. Thus, an aerosol source for an aerosol provision system may comprise a heater having a heating element arranged to receive source liquid from a reservoir, for example by wicking/capillary action. When a user draws on the device, power is supplied to the heating element to vaporize the source liquid in the vicinity of the heating element, thereby generating an aerosol for the user to draw. Such devices are typically provided with one or more air inlet holes remote from the mouthpiece end of the system. When a user sucks on a mouthpiece attached to the mouthpiece end of the system, air is drawn through the air inlet holes and past the aerosol source. A flow path exists between the aerosol source and the opening in the mouthpiece such that air drawn past the aerosol source continues along the flow path to the mouthpiece opening, thereby entraining some of the aerosol from the aerosol source. The aerosol-laden air exits the aerosol provision system through a mouthpiece opening for inhalation by a user.
Typically, when a user inhales/inhales on the device, an electric current is supplied to the heater. Typically, the current is supplied to a heater, e.g., a resistive heating element, in response to an airflow sensor along the flow path being activated when the user inhales/draws, or in response to a user-activated button. The heat generated by the heating element is used to vaporize the formulation. The released vapor mixes with air drawn through the device by the consuming consumer and forms an aerosol. When the user has finished inhaling (airflow drop/pressure drop), the flow or pressure sensor will deactivate the electric heater by cutting off the current. At that point in time, the heater is still at an elevated temperature that is capable of vaporizing a portion of the liquid. The heat of this continued vaporization is derived from the heat capacity of the heater itself. Subsequently, the heater is cooled. The vaporization process will stop when the heater temperature falls below the boiling point of the more volatile formulation components (e.g., water, propylene glycol). The vapor released during the sustained vaporization phase after deactivation is not delivered to the consumer because no more air is flowing through the device. Instead, the vapor condenses on the inner walls of the device, causing potential problems (e.g., clogging). The heat of vaporization released by the heater during the sustained vaporization phase can also be considered as energy loss. Energy is lost due to the heat of condensation, which in turn heats the structural components of the device. This problem is exacerbated in devices having larger heater elements.
Various approaches are described that attempt to help solve some of these problems.
Disclosure of Invention
According to a first aspect of certain embodiments, there is provided an electronic vapour provision system comprising: a vaporizer for vaporizing liquid for aspiration by a user of the electronic vapour provision system; a power source for powering the vaporizer to vaporize the liquid in response to a user activating the device; and a control unit configured to first learn an expected inhalation duration of the user and second power the vaporizer for a period of time shorter than the expected inhalation duration of the user.
The control unit continuously measures the duration of inhalation for a given user and calculates the desired duration of inhalation for that user. After the user activates the device, the control unit supplies current to the heater for a total period of time slightly shorter than the expected duration of the puff (e.g., 0.05-0.5 seconds shorter). Thus, the consumer is most likely still inhaling the device when the current supply has been cut off. As a result, the vapor released during the continuous vaporization phase after deactivation (i.e., when no power is supplied to the heater but still has sufficient temperature to vaporize the liquid) can be used to form an aerosol that can be drawn by the consumer. The steam fraction and the energy used to release it are no longer considered to be lost. In this way, energy efficiency and the number of puffs for a given battery capacity can be improved.
It will be appreciated that the features and aspects of the invention described above in connection with the first and other aspects of the invention are equally applicable to, and where appropriate may be combined with, embodiments of the invention according to other aspects of the invention, not just the specific combinations described above.
Drawings
Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
figure 1 is a schematic (exploded) view of an electronic vapour provision system, such as an electronic cigarette, according to some embodiments of the invention.
Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a body of the electronic cigarette of figure 1, according to some embodiments of the invention.
Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a vaporizer portion of the electronic cigarette of figure 1, according to some embodiments of the invention.
Figure 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating certain aspects of one end of the body portion of the e-cigarette of figure 1, according to some embodiments of the invention.
Figure 5 is a schematic flow diagram illustrating certain aspects of the operation of the e-cigarette of figure 1 according to some embodiments of the invention.
Figure 6 is a schematic flow diagram illustrating certain aspects of the operation of the electronic cigarette of figure 1 according to some other embodiments of the invention.
Detailed Description
Various aspects and features of certain examples and embodiments are discussed/described herein. Some aspects and features of certain examples and embodiments may be routinely implemented and, for the sake of brevity, are not discussed/described in detail. It will thus be appreciated that aspects and features of the apparatus and methods discussed herein, which have not been described in detail, may be implemented in accordance with any conventional technique for implementing such aspects and features.
As mentioned above, the present disclosure relates to an aerosol provision system, such as an e-cigarette. Throughout the following description, the term "e-cigarette" is sometimes used, but the term may be used interchangeably with aerosol (vapour) delivery systems.
Figure 1 is a schematic diagram (not to scale) of an electronic vapour provision system, such as an
The
As shown in fig. 1, the
The
It should be understood that the e-cigarette 10 shown in figure 1 is given as an example, and that various other embodiments may be employed. For example, in some embodiments, the
Figure 2 is a schematic diagram (simplified diagram) of the
The
The control unit is operable to learn an expected inhalation duration of the user and to cause the period of time for which power is supplied to the vaporizer to be shorter than the expected inhalation duration of the user. In this way, the control unit is operable to measure the length of time the user activates the device (i.e. the duration of inhalation). Further, the control unit can store the length of time for successive puffs in a memory associated with the ASIC. The control unit may analyze the pumping information using a CPU executing a software program.
In some embodiments, the CPU analyzes the puff information to learn the average puff duration for the user by calculating the cumulative total duration of all puffs and dividing it by the total number of puffs. In one embodiment, the total number of puffs may be limited to a certain number of puffs N, e.g. at most the last 100 puffs or at most the last 10 puffs. In this way, the e-cigarette can be considered to be responsive to changes in usage behavior. It will be appreciated that for a "new" device, the user will take a limited number of puffs, which may be less than the total number typically used to calculate the average. For such devices, the total number of sips taken will be used to calculate the average value, and the number will be less than the limit. Alternatively, given that the memory can be used in a first-in-first-out configuration (i.e., a round robin configuration) to store the last N suction durations, N instances of the average suction duration that are preloaded at the time of manufacture can be provided to the memory so that the system does not have to do other operations at the time of initial use. Over time, these preloaded values will be replaced by user measurements. In other embodiments, the control unit learns the expected duration of inhalation by the user by employing machine learning. The CPU may operate to use certain software to analyze the inhalation information and identify trends in user usage behavior. This may also be better in response to changes in the user's needs.
As described above, the control unit is operable to cause the power to be supplied to the vaporizer for a period of time shorter than the expected duration of inhalation by the user. Thus, when the current supply has been cut off, the user is most likely still inhaling the device. When the current supply has been switched off, the heater is maintained at a sufficient temperature to continue vaporizing the liquid for a short period of time. By switching off the power supply while the user is still inhaling the device, the vapour released during the continuous vaporisation phase (i.e. when the heater is not powered but still has a temperature sufficient to vaporise the liquid) can be used to form a user-smokable aerosol. The steam fraction and the energy used to release it are no longer considered losses. In this way, energy efficiency and the number of puffs can be improved for a given battery capacity. The power to the heater is turned off after it has been activated for a time slightly shorter than the learned duration of the user's inhalation. In some embodiments, the heater is powered for a time period 0.05 to 0.5 seconds less than the intended user inhalation duration. In one embodiment, the heater is powered for a time 0.3 seconds less than the intended user's puff duration. More generally, the manufacturer of the device may measure the time it takes for the heating element to fall below the vaporization temperature of the payload liquid and use that time (or a suitable approximation thereof) as the advanced switch-off time. In case different available payloads have different vaporisation temperatures, the lowest temperature may optionally be selected (longest lead time), or alternatively the device may be adapted to identify the type of payload and select a suitable switch-off time.
The
A
As mentioned above, a
Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the
The
The
The
Fig. 4 is a schematic view of certain details of the
The
As described above, the
Fig. 5 shows a flow chart illustrating a process performed by a control unit for controlling the operation of an electronic vapour provision system according to some embodiments of the present invention.
The process starts at step 500. At
The process then moves to step 520 where it is determined whether the device is still enabled by the user, i.e., if the user is still pumping, then a button is pressed or a touch sensor is interacted with as appropriate. If it is determined at
After
In one embodiment, the first time period is 0.3 seconds less than the expected duration of inhalation by the user. Desirably, 0.3 seconds represents a threshold time when the user cannot detect that the heater has been turned off prematurely. For example, for an expected 3 second puff duration, the first time period would be 2.7 seconds. If the user presses the enable button for 2.9 seconds, 0.2 seconds of energy can be saved. The vaporized liquid will be pumped at this point in a short period of time and under the influence of the thermal inertia of the heater, without wasting any power. Furthermore, since less liquid is vaporised as the heater temperature decreases, there is less additional vaporisation which then condenses on the inner walls of the device once the user stops drawing.
Thus, as can be seen from fig. 5, power is provided to the vaporizer for a period of time slightly shorter than the user's intended duration of inhalation, unless the user prematurely stops inhalation after a time much shorter than the intended duration of inhalation. Generally, the vaporizer remains activated to vaporize the liquid until the desired time so that the user does not perceive a degradation. This mechanism is hidden from the user and, therefore, does not require the user to perform some action with respect to the use of the device; for example,
However, in some cases, the embodiment detailed in FIG. 5 may provide an unsatisfactory user experience. If the actual user puff duration greatly exceeds the estimated (expected) user puff duration, the user may feel a significant performance loss during the final stages of the puff. To overcome this problem, some embodiments of the apparatus are further configured to resume powering the vaporizer for a second period of time in response to a longer puff than expected.
Fig. 6 shows a flow chart illustrating a process performed by a control unit for controlling the operation of an electronic vapour provision system, wherein the system is further configured to resume power supply to the vaporiser in response to a longer puff than expected, according to some embodiments of the invention.
The process starts at step 600. At
The process then moves to step 620 where it is determined whether the device is still enabled by the user. If it is determined at step 620 that the device is still enabled, the process moves to step 625. At
After step 630, the control unit may stop the timer immediately at step 635, such that the measured time corresponds to the length of time that the device has been enabled. Alternatively, after step 640, power to the vaporizer has been stopped, but the user is still activating the device, i.e., is still inhaling. Thus, step 645 queries whether the user has stopped activating the device. If the user does not activate the device, the control unit proceeds to step 635 and the timer is stopped so that the measured time corresponds to the length of time the device has been activated. If the user is still activating the device, the control unit proceeds to step 650 and the control unit inquires whether the current time is greater than the expected duration of inhalation. If the current time is not longer, the system loops back to step 645. However, if the current time is longer, the system proceeds to step 655 and the control unit will resume power to the vaporizer. At
Different embodiments may employ different approaches to power management of the heater. The embodiment of fig. 6 powers the heater for a first period of time that is slightly shorter than the expected duration of inhalation, and then, if the user activates the device for more than the expected duration of inhalation, powers the heater back for a second period of time. In one embodiment, it may be advantageous to resume powering the heater for a second period of time at a lower power level, thereby reducing the successive vaporization phases after the user deactivates the device. In an alternative embodiment, the power may be pulsed repeatedly during the second period while the user continues to activate the device. For equal time periods, the aggregate energy provided by the pulses will be significantly less than the aggregate energy provided by the power level of the first time period. In any of these embodiments, the energy usage is reduced, increasing the number of puffs that can be achieved per cell, while also ensuring that the performance of the device is not significantly degraded. In addition, by reducing the length of the continuous vaporization phase, there is less condensation of vapor on the inner walls of the device. In some embodiments, after the first time period, the control unit may not completely stop powering the heater, but may immediately begin applying pulsed power to the heater within the second time period or may immediately power the heater at a lower power. The thermal inertia of the heater will slowly decrease; however, this does not occur as quickly as turning off the heater, and therefore, if the user activates the device for more than the expected time, they are less likely to notice the performance degradation.
As previously mentioned, some embodiments may employ an implementation of the
In some embodiments, the
A similar approach may also be employed when the
In another example, if the
The
In an alternative embodiment, an airflow sensor may be implemented in the device so that a user can activate the device and cause the control unit to power the vaporizer to vaporize liquid by drawing on the device. In these embodiments, user activation of the airflow sensor facilitates user activation of the device to begin the process described above, such as the processes of fig. 5 and 6. The
Thus, it should be understood that "activation" and "deactivation" may be equivalently considered as separate actions (such as pressing a button or turning on and then off), or the start and pause of a single action (such as pumping, pressing a button, or interacting with a touch sensor).
Advantageously, the above embodiments are used to reduce the energy supplied to the heater during each puff. Thus, for a given battery capacity, this may increase the number of puffs, or there may be an opportunity to reduce the battery capacity of the device. Reducing the length of the continuous vaporization stage also reduces unwanted condensation on the internal walls of the apparatus, improves the draw count for a given volume of liquid, and can also help mitigate the build up of carbonyl groups that can occur when the heater is on but there is no gas flow in the apparatus.
Thus, there has been described an electronic vapour provision system comprising: a vaporizer for vaporizing liquid for aspiration by a user of the electronic vapour provision system; a power source for supplying power to the vaporizer to vaporize the liquid in response to a user activating the device; and a control unit configured to: i) estimating an expected activation duration for the user; ii) providing power to the vaporizer for a period of time that is shorter than the activation duration of the user. Variations of this system have been similarly described, as outlined herein. Also, a method of operating an electronic vapour provision system has been described, the electronic vapour provision system comprising a vaporiser for vaporising liquid for inhalation by a user of the electronic vapour provision system; wherein the electronic vapour provision system comprises a power supply for supplying power to the vaporiser to vaporise the liquid in response to a user activating the device, the method comprising:
i) causing the control unit to estimate an expected activation duration of the user; and
ii) causing the control unit to energize the vaporizer for a period of time that is shorter than the user activation duration. Variations of this method have been similarly described, as outlined herein.
Although the above embodiments have in some respects focused on some specific example aerosol delivery systems, it will be appreciated that the same principles may be applied to aerosol delivery systems using other technologies. That is, the particular manner in which various aspects of the aerosol provision system function is not directly relevant to the underlying principles of the examples described herein.
To solve the various problems and advance the art, this disclosure shows by way of illustration various embodiments in which the claimed invention may be practiced. The advantages and features of the present disclosure are merely representative of embodiments and are not exhaustive and/or exclusive. They are used only to aid in understanding and teaching the claimed invention. It is to be understood that advantages, embodiments, examples, functions, features, structures, and/or other aspects of the disclosure are not to be considered limitations on the disclosure as defined by the claims or limitations on equivalents to the claims, and that other embodiments may be used and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the claims. Various embodiments may suitably comprise, consist essentially of, or consist of various combinations of the disclosed elements, components, features, parts, steps, means, etc. in addition to those specifically described herein, and it is therefore to be understood that features of the dependent claims may be combined with features of the independent claims in combinations other than those explicitly set out in the claims. The present disclosure may include other inventions not presently claimed, but which may be claimed in the future.
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