Method of configuring aerosol-generating device to receive and identify consumable

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12193518-B2
Application number	US-202117535055-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 24, 2021
Priority date	Sep 8, 2017
Publication date	Jan 14, 2025
Grant date	Jan 14, 2025

Abstract

The method includes first arranging pairs of conductors on an aerosol-generating device, and second arranging conductive portions in a physical pattern on a consumable, the physical pattern being configured to electrically connect to at least one first subset of the pairs of conductors to complete at least one first circuit, of a plurality of circuits, that identifies the consumable, the plurality of circuits including the conductive portions and the pairs of conductors.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of configuring an aerosol-generating device, comprising:
establishing the aerosol-generating device and a consumable, the aerosol-generating device having a first contact zone and the consumable having a second contact zone;
first arranging pairs of conductors along a first longitudinal length of the first contact zone;
second arranging conductive portions in a physical pattern along a second longitudinal length of the second contact zone; and
configuring the aerosol-generating device to receive the consumable such that the second contact zone aligns with the first contact zone to cause the physical pattern to be electrically connected to at least one first subset of the pairs of conductors to complete at least one first circuit, of a plurality of circuits, to identify the consumable, the plurality of circuits including the conductive portions and the pairs of conductors.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the establishing establishes such that a substrate is included within the consumable.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the establishing establishes such that a nicotine-containing material is within the substrate.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the configuring further configures the aerosol-generating device by
operatively arranging electrical circuitry within the aerosol-generating device, the electrical circuitry including at least one processor, wherein the operatively arranging arranges the electrical circuitry to be electrically connected to the pairs of conductors such that the at least one processor identifies the at least one first circuit that is completed to identify the consumable when the consumable is received by the aerosol-generating device.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the operatively arranging further arranges the at least one processor to cause the electrical circuitry to
apply a voltage to a first conductor of each of the pairs of conductors,
ground a second conductor of each of the pairs of conductors, and
detect the completion of the at least one first circuit by determining a change of an electrical state of the at least one first circuit during the applying of the voltage.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the operatively arranging arranges the at least one processor to cause the electrical circuitry to detect the completion of the at least one first circuit by measuring a resistance to identify the consumable.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the operatively arranging arranges the electrical circuitry to include one or more resistance elements between at least some of the pairs of conductors.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the operatively arranging arranges the electrical circuitry such that each of the one or more resistance elements is bypassed when a respective one of the at least one first circuit is completed.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the operatively arranging arranges the electrical circuitry such that the one or more resistance elements includes a plurality of resistance elements that are coupled in series, each one of the plurality of resistance elements extending from a first node to a second node and being associated with a respective one of the plurality of circuits.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the operatively arranging arranges the electrical circuitry to apply a first voltage to the first node and measure a second voltage at the second node for each respective one of the pairs of conductors to determine which of the plurality of circuits are completed when the consumable is received by the aerosol-generating device.

11. The method of claim 6 , wherein the operatively arranging arranges the electrical circuitry to include resistance elements between at least some of the pairs of conductors, each of the resistance elements having a unique resistance that is known.

12. The method of claim 4 , wherein the operatively arranging arranges such that the at least one processor causes the electrical circuitry to change one or more operating characteristics of the aerosol-generating device based on the identified consumable.

13. The method of claim 4 , wherein the operatively arranging arranges the at least one processor to communicate the identified consumable to a user interface device.

14. The method of claim 4 , wherein the operatively arranging arranges the electrical circuitry to determine information about the consumable based on the consumable that has been identified.

15. The method of claim 4 , wherein the operatively arranging arranges the at least one processor to determine information about the consumable based on the consumable that has been identified, the information including one or more of manufacturing information, an expiration date, or a location of manufacture.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the configuring configures such that the aerosol-generating device
defines one or more connection elements in an interface, the one or more connection elements corresponding to a shape of the consumable to position the second contact zone in a single position with respect to the first contact zone when the consumable is received by the interface.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein
the first arranging arranges the pairs of conductors to be separated from each other by a first distance, each of the pairs of conductors including a first conductor and a second conductor, the first conductor and the second conductor of each of the pairs of conductors being separated by a second distance, and
the second arranging arranges each of the conductive portions to have a third longitudinal length that is a third distance, the third distance being greater than or equal to a sum of a first length, a second length and a third length, the first length being equal to twice the second distance, the second length being equal to the first distance and the third length being a width of three conductors, of the pairs of conductors.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein
the establishing establishes such that a heating element in the aerosol-generating device is configured to heat a substrate of the consumable to generate an aerosol, and
the configuring configures such that a power source in the aerosol-generating device is to be operably couplable to the heating element to provide power to the heating element via the pairs of conductors when the consumable is received by the aerosol-generating device.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the configuring configures the power source to be selectively electrically coupled to a first conductor of each of the pairs of conductors.

20. The method of claim 1 , wherein the configuring further configures the aerosol-generating device by
operatively arranging electrical circuitry within the aerosol-generating device, the electrical circuitry including at least one processor,
wherein the operatively arranging arranges the at least one processor to cause the electrical circuitry to
successively electrically couple a power source to a first conductor of each of the pairs of conductors to apply a first voltage to the first conductor of each of the pairs of conductors, and
determine the completion of the at least one first circuit when the consumable is received by the aerosol-generating device and the first voltage is applied, the determining of the completion of the at least one first circuit including the electrical circuitry detecting a change of an electrical state of the at least one first circuit during the applying of the first voltage.

Assignees

• Altria Client Services Llc

Inventors

• Bilat Stephane

Classifications

• H01R31/08

  Short-circuiting members for bridging contacts in a counterpart · CPC title

• G01N27/12

  of a solid body in dependence upon absorption of a fluid; of a solid body in dependence upon reaction with a fluid {, for detecting components in the fluid} · CPC title

• A24B15/167 Primary

  in liquid or vaporisable form, e.g. liquid compositions for electronic cigarettes · CPC title

• H05K7/02

  Arrangements of circuit components or wiring on supporting structure · CPC title

• A24F40/40 Primary

  Constructional details, e.g. connection of cartridges and battery parts · CPC title