Granted Patent B2

US 12,295,419 · App. 17/549,436 · Granted May 13, 2025

Inventors: Oliver Talbot (Liverpool, GB); Daniel Fard (Liverpool, GB); Kaikai Liu (Liverpool, GB)

Assignee: Imperial Tobacco Limited

A24F40/51A24F40/53A24F40/90

Abstract

Claims (45)

1. A smoking substitute device comprising a body, wherein the body houses a power source, and an auxiliary component, wherein:

the body includes a coupling portion arranged to receive a consumable;

the body is selectively operable in a shipping mode and an active mode;

in the active mode, the power source is configured to supply power to the auxiliary component; and

in the shipping mode, the power source is restricted from supplying power to the auxiliary component and the smoking substitute device is configured to prevent or restrict smoking substitute action; and the body is configured to transition from the shipping mode to the active mode upon detection of a transition condition, wherein the transition condition comprises at least two of the following criteria:

a consumable received in the coupling portion;

actuating a button of the smoking substitute device; and

connection of a charging interface to the smoking substitute device.

2. The smoking substitute device of claim 1 , wherein the coupling portion is configured to electrically couple with the consumable and/or mechanically couple with the consumable.

3. The smoking substitute device of claim 1 , wherein the body is configured to monitor an electrical property the coupling portion to detect whether or not a consumable is received in the coupling portion.

4. The smoking substitute device of claim 1 , wherein the transition condition comprises:

the consumable received in the coupling portion; and actuating the button of the smoking substitute device.

5. The smoking substitute device of claim 1 , wherein, in the shipping mode, a power supply from the power source to the auxiliary component is prevented.

6. The smoking substitute device of claim 1 , wherein the body houses an airflow sensor for detecting airflow through the body, wherein the airflow sensor is positioned in an airflow channel extending through the body of the smoking substitute device.

7. The smoking substitute device of claim 1 , wherein the body houses an airflow sensor for detecting airflow through the body, wherein the wherein the body is configured to transition from the active mode to the shipping mode if the airflow sensor does not detect a flow of air through the body for a predetermined period of time.

8. The smoking substitute device of claim 1 , wherein the active mode includes a first sub-mode, in which power is supplied to the consumable.

9. The smoking substitute device of claim 1 , wherein the active mode includes a second sub-mode in which power is supplied to the auxiliary device but not to the consumable.

10. The smoking substitute device of claim 7 , wherein the body houses an airflow sensor for detecting airflow through the body and is configured to:

detect whether or not a consumable is received in the coupling portion;

upon detecting that a consumable is received in the coupling portion, transition from the active mode to the shipping mode if the airflow sensor detects no flow of air through the main body after a first predetermined period of time; and

upon detecting that a consumable is not received in the coupling portion, transition from the active mode to the shipping mode if the airflow sensor detects no flow of air through the main body after a second predetermined period of time.

11. The smoking substitute device of claim 10 , wherein the first predetermined period of time is longer than the second predetermined period of time.

12. A computer-implemented method for controlling a smoking substitute device that comprises a body, wherein the body houses a power source, and an auxiliary component, wherein the method comprises:

configuring the smoking substitute device in a shipping mode, in which the power source is restricted from supplying power to the auxiliary component and the smoking substitute device is configured to prevent or restrict smoking substitute action; and

transitioning from the shipping mode to an active mode upon detection of a transition condition, wherein, in the active mode the power source is configured to supply power to the auxiliary component, wherein the transition condition comprises at least two of:

a consumable received in a coupling portion of the body;

actuating a button of the smoking substitute device; and

connection of a charging interface to the smoking substitute device.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12 , wherein the transition condition comprises: a consumable received in a coupling portion of the body; and actuating a button of the smoking substitute device, wherein the method further comprises:

detecting, by a control unit in the body, whether or not a consumable is received in the coupling portion;

detecting whether or not the button of the smoking substitute device has been actuated; and

upon detection of the transition condition, issuing, by the control unit, a control instruction that causes the body to transition from the shipping mode to the active mode.

14. A computer-implemented method for controlling a smoking substitute device that comprises a body, wherein the body houses a power source, and an auxiliary component, wherein the method comprises:

configuring the smoking substitute device in an active mode, in which the power source is configured to supply power to the auxiliary component;

detecting, by a control unit in the body, whether or not a consumable is received in a coupling portion of the body;

upon detecting that a consumable is received in the coupling portion, transitioning from the active mode to a shipping mode after a first predetermined period of time; and

upon detecting that a consumable is not received in the coupling portion, transitioning from the active mode to the shipping mode after a second predetermined period of time,

wherein, in the shipping mode, the power source is restricted from supplying power to the auxiliary component.

15. An apparatus, comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable medium containing computer-readable instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to

configure a smoking substitute device in a shipping mode in which a power source is restricted from supplying power to an auxiliary component and the smoking substitute device is configured to prevent or restrict smoking substitute action, the smoking substitute device comprising a body, wherein the body houses the power source, and the auxiliary component; and

transition from the shipping mode to an active mode upon detection of a transition condition, wherein, in the active mode the power source is configured to supply power to the auxiliary component, wherein the transition condition comprises at least two of:

a consumable received in a coupling portion of the body;

actuating a button of the smoking substitute device; and

connection of a charging interface to the smoking substitute device.

Assignments (4)

Priority Claims (3)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (35)