Aerosol-generating system with liquid aerosol-forming substrate identification

1 . An aerosol-generating system comprising:

a liquid storage portion configured to hold a liquid aerosol-forming substrate, the storage portion in contact with a wick;

a first electrode;

a second electrode spaced from the first electrode, at least a portion of the liquid storage portion being arranged between the first electrode and the second electrode, the portion of the liquid storage portion arranged between the first electrode and the second electrode contains the liquid aerosol-forming substrate when the liquid aerosol-forming substrate is held in the storage portion, the first electrode being arranged to circumscribe an entirety of a surface of the liquid storage portion at a first point, and the second electrode being arranged to circumscribe the entirety of the surface of the liquid storage portion at a second point, the first point and the second point are longitudinally spaced apart; and

a control system configured to measure an electrical quantity of the liquid aerosol-forming substrate held within the liquid storage portion between the first electrode and the second electrode, and, in response to the measured electrical quantity of the liquid aerosol-forming substrate being within a range of reference of a plurality of range of references, identify the liquid aerosol-forming substrate held in the storage portion as corresponding to an approved producer.

2 . The aerosol-generating system according to claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to identify the liquid aerosol-forming substrate held in the liquid storage portion by comparing the measured electrical quantity to reference electrical quantity information stored in the control system.

3 . The aerosol-generating system according to claim 1 , further comprising:

an aerosol-generator configured to receive the liquid aerosol-forming substrate from the liquid storage portion, and

wherein the control system is further configured to control operation of the aerosol-generator based on the determined identity of the liquid aerosol-forming substrate held in the liquid storage portion.

4 . The aerosol-generating system according to claim 1 , wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are on a platform of electrically insulating material.

5 . The aerosol-generating system according to claim 1 , further comprising:

an aerosol-generator including one or more aerosol-generating elements, the one or more aerosol-generating elements including a heater, a vibratable element, an ultrasonic transducer, or any combination thereof, and

wherein at least one of the aerosol-generating elements includes at least one of the first electrode and the second electrode.

6 . The aerosol-generating system according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a power supply configured to supply the first electrode and the second electrode with a measurement signal.

7 . The aerosol-generating system according to claim 1 , wherein the electrical quantity to be measured by the control system is impedance between the first electrode and the second electrode.

8 . The aerosol-generating system according to claim 1 , wherein the electrical quantity to be measured by the control system is resistance between the first electrode and the second electrode.

9 . The aerosol-generating system according to claim 1 , wherein the electrical quantity to be measured by the control system is capacitance between the first electrode and the second electrode.

10 . The aerosol-generating system according to claim 1 , wherein the system further comprises:

a cartridge including the liquid storage portion, and

a main unit including the control system, the main unit configured to removably receive the cartridge, and the first electrode and the second electrode arranged such that a portion of the liquid storage portion of the cartridge is between the first electrode and the second electrode when the cartridge is received by the main unit.

11 . The aerosol-generating system according to claim 10 , wherein the cartridge comprises the first electrode and the second electrode.

12 . The aerosol-generating system according to claim 10 , wherein the main unit comprises the first electrode and the second electrode.

13 . The aerosol-generating system according to claim 10 , wherein the cartridge includes one of the first electrode and the second electrode, and the main unit comprises another one of the first electrode and the second electrode.

14 . A method of identifying a liquid aerosol-forming substrate held in a liquid storage portion of an aerosol-generating system, the method comprising:

measuring an electrical quantity of the liquid aerosol-forming substrate held in the liquid storage portion between a first electrode and a second electrode, wherein a portion of a storage portion contains the aerosol-forming substrate between the first electrode and the second electrode, the first electrode being arranged to circumscribe an entirety of a surface of the liquid storage portion at a first point, the second electrode being arranged to circumscribe the entirety of the surface of the liquid storage portion at a second point, the first point and the second point are longitudinally spaced apart, and the liquid storage portion is in contact with a wick; and

in response to the measured electrical quantity being within a range of reference of a plurality of range of references, identifying the liquid aerosol-forming substrate held in the liquid storage portion as corresponding to an approved producer.

15 . The aerosol-generating system according to claim 1 , wherein a carrier material is included in the liquid storage portion, and the first electrode and the second electrode are in direct contact with the carrier material.

16 . The aerosol-generating system according to claim 1 , wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are in direct contact with the liquid aerosol-generating substrate.