Granted Patent B2

US 12,438,383 · App. 17/947,588 · Granted Oct 7, 2025

Inventors: Zack W. Blackmon (Richmond, VA); Thomas Tran (Richmond, VA); Terry Bache (Richmond, VA); Jarrett Keen (Richmond, VA); Niall Gallagher (Richmond, VA); Yannick Hourmand (Haslingfield, GB); Guillaume Michel (Cambridge, GB); Rangaraj S. Sundar (Midlothian, VA); Raymond W. Lau (Glen Allen, VA); Eric Hawes (Midlothian, VA)

Assignee: ALTRIA CLIENT SERVICES LLC

H02J7/0036H02J7/00032H02J7/0047H02J7/00712

Abstract

Claims (33)

1. A charging system for an aerosol-generating device configured to receive a capsule, the charging system comprising:

a processor; and

a memory in communication with the processor and configured to store instructions, the instructions defining at least one of a disable mode, an intra-session mode, or an inter-session mode;

the processor being configured to execute the instructions to cause the charging system to:

detect when the aerosol-generating device is connected to a charging device;

activate a power source charger in response to the connection to the charging device;

identify a selected mode of the at least one of the disable mode, the intra-session mode, or the inter-session mode;

enable or disable a heater of the capsule dependent upon the selected mode;

if the heater is enabled, display a first display indicating the connection of the charging device;

if the heater is enabled, detect if a session of the aerosol-generating device is ongoing; and

if the session is ongoing, enable or suspend charging in response to the identification of the selected mode.

2. The charging system of claim 1 , wherein the selected mode is the disabled mode, and the processor is configured to execute the instructions to cause the charging system to:

disable the heater; and

display a second icon indicating an active charging state.

3. The charging system of claim 1 , wherein when no session is ongoing, the processor is configured to execute the instructions to cause the charging system to enable charging, and to display a second display indicating a charge state.

4. The charging system of claim 1 , wherein the selected mode is the intra-session mode, and the processor is configured to execute the instructions to cause the charging system to enable the charging, and to display a second display indicating a capsule session progress.

5. The charging system of claim 1 , wherein the selected mode is the inter-session mode, and the processor is configured to execute the instructions to cause the charging system to suspend the charging, and to display a second display indicating a capsule session progress.

6. The charging system of claim 5 , wherein the processor is configured to execute the instructions to cause the charging system to suspend the charging by reducing a charging current to 0 mA.

7. The charging system of claim 1 , wherein the first display is a lightning bolt icon.

8. The charging system of claim 7 , wherein the first display is disposed above a second icon.

9. The charging system of claim 8 , wherein the second icon is a capsule session progress indicator.

10. The charging system of claim 8 , wherein the second icon is a charge state icon.

11. The charging system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to execute the instructions to further cause the charging system to:

determine if the capsule is present;

if the capsule is present the selected mode is identified; and

if the capsule is not present, display, on a user interface, a second display indicating charge state.

12. The charging system of claim 11 , wherein the processor is configured to execute the instructions to cause the charging system to send one or more signals to the user interface, the one or more signals indicating the that a capsule is absent and prompting the user interface to display the second display.

13. The charging system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to execute the instructions to cause the charging system to obtain one or more signals from a charger detection, the one or more signals indicating that the aerosol-generating device has been connected to the charging device.

14. The charging system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to execute the instructions to cause the charging system to send one or more signals to a heating engine control to enable or disable the heater.

15. The charging system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to execute the instructions to cause the charging system to obtain one or more signals from a control button, the one or more signals indicating that a user has switched the device off causing the session to end.

16. The charging system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to execute the instructions to cause the charging system to obtain one or more signals from a control button, the one or more signals indicating that a user has switched the device on causing the session to begin.

17. The charging system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to execute the instructions to cause a charging system to send one or more signals to a user interface, the one or more signals indicating the charging state and prompting the user interface to display a second display.

18. The charging system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to execute the instructions to cause the charging system to activate the power source charge if the charging system obtains one or more signals from a power source monitoring system, the one or more signals indicating that the power source is not fully charged.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (237)