Granted Patent E1

US 50,963 · App. 17/897,831 · Granted Jul 21, 2026

Inventors: Oleg Mironov (Neuchatel, CH); Ihar Nikolaevich Zinovik (Peseux, CH); Jerome Christian Courbat (Neuchatel, CH); Tony Reevell (London, GB)

Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC

H05B3/44A24F40/40A24F40/50H05B1/0244A24F40/10H05B2203/021

Abstract

Claims (48)

1 . An aerosol-generating system comprising:

a storage portion configured to hold an aerosol-forming substrate;

a first electrode;

a second electrode spaced from the first electrode, a portion of the storage portion being arranged between the first electrode and the second electrode; and

a control system configured to,

measure an electrical quantity of the portion of the storage portion between the first electrode and the second electrode,

determine a rate of change of the measured electrical quantity of the portion of the storage portion, and

detect a draw on the aerosol-generating system based on the rate of change of the measured electrical quantity of the portion of the storage portion.

2 . The aerosol-generating system according to claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to apply an oscillating measurement signal to the first electrode and the second electrode.

3 . The aerosol-generating system according to claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to detect the draw when the rate of change of the measured electrical quantity exceeds a threshold.

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

an aerosol-generator configured to receive aerosol-forming substrate from the storage portion.

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

an aerosol-generator, wherein the control system is configured to supply power to the aerosol-generator on detection of the draw.

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

7 . The aerosol-generating system according to claim 1 , wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are interdigitated.

8 . The aerosol-generating system according, to claim 1 , wherein the aerosol-generating system further comprises an aerosol-generator comprising one or more aerosol-generating elements, and wherein at least one of the aerosol-generating elements comprises the first electrode, the second electrode, or both the first electrode and the second electrode.

9 . The aerosol-generating system according to claim 1 , wherein the measured electrical quantity is impedance between the fast electrode and the second electrode.

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

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

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

a cartridge including,

the storage portion; and

a main unit including,

the control system.

13 . The aerosol-generating system according to claim 12 , wherein the main unit is configured to removably receive the cartridge, and the first electrode and the second electrode are arranged such that a portion of the storage portion of the cartridge is arranged between the first electrode and the second electrode when the cartridge is received by the main unit.

14 . The aerosol-generating system according to claim 12 , wherein the cartridge comprises,

the first electrode, and

the second electrode.

15 . The aerosol -generating system according to claim 12 , wherein the main unit comprises,

the first electrode, and

the second electrode.

16 . The aerosol-generating system according to claim 12 , wherein the cartridge comprises,

one of the first electrode or the second electrode, and the main unit comprises,

another one of the first electrode or the second electrode.

17 . The aerosol-generating system according to claim 1 , wherein the first electrode comprises a first arcuate metal plate, and the second electrode comprises a second arcuate metal plate.

18 . The aerosol-generating system according to claim 1 , wherein the first electrode comprises a first metal ring, and the second electrode comprises a second metal ring.

19 . The aerosol-generating system according to claim 2 , wherein the oscillating measurement signal has a frequency of less than 10 MHz.

20 . A main unit for an aerosol-generating system comprising:

least one of a first electrode and a second electrode; and

a control system configured to:

measure an electrical quantity of a storage portion between the first electrode and the second electrode, the storage portion configured to store an aerosol-forming substrate,

determining a rate a change of the measured electrical quantity of the storage portion, and

detect a draw on the aerosol-generating system based on the rate of change of the measured electrical quantity of the storage portion.

21 . A method of detecting a draw on an aerosol-generating system, the method comprising:

measuring an electrical quantity or a portion of a storage portion between a first electrode and a second electrode, the portion of the storage portion configured to store an aerosol-forming substrate between the first electrode and the second electrode;

determining a rate of change of the measured electrical quantity of the portion of the storage portion; and

detecting a draw on the aerosol-generating system based on the rate of change of the measured electrical quantity of the portion of the storage portion.

Priority Claims (1)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (245)