Aerosol generating device and method of operating the same
An aerosol generating device includes a vibrator configured to vibrate to generate an aerosol from an aerosol generating material, a controller configured to control the vibrator to vibrate at a target vibration speed, and a feedback circuit configured to detect an electrical signal representing a frequency response of the vibrator that changes according to an operating environment of the vibrator and output a feedback signal based on the detected electrical signal, and the controller may adjust the vibration speed of the vibrator based on the feedback signal output from the feedback circuit.
1 . An aerosol generating device comprising:
a vibrator configured to vibrate at different vibration speeds according to a frequency of a supply voltage to generate an aerosol from an aerosol generating material;
a feedback circuit configured to detect an electrical signal representing a frequency response of the vibrator that changes according to an operating environment of the vibrator, and output a feedback signal based on the detected electrical signal;
a controller configured to adjust, in response to a change in the frequency response of the vibrator, the frequency of the supply voltage based on the feedback signal such that the vibrator vibrates at a target vibration speed to generate the aerosol from the aerosol generating material;
a battery;
a converter configured to convert a first direct current (DC) voltage supplied from the battery to a second DC voltage; and
a transistor configured to generate the supply voltage for the vibrator by performing an on-off operation on the second DC voltage according to a frequency of a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal output from the controller,
wherein the feedback circuit includes a first connection terminal connected to the converter and a second connection terminal connected to the transistor, and outputs a voltage proportional to a voltage difference between the first connection terminal and the second connection terminal as the electrical signal.
2 . The aerosol generating device of claim 1 , wherein the electrical signal changes according to a temperature of the vibrator.
3 . The aerosol generating device of claim 2 , wherein the temperature of the vibrator rises by vibration of the vibrator.
4 . The aerosol generating device of claim 1 ,
wherein the feedback circuit outputs the feedback signal by amplifying the voltage proportional to the voltage difference between the first connection terminal and the second connection terminal.
5 . The aerosol generating device of claim 1 ,
wherein a resistor is connected between the converter and the transistor in series, and
wherein the feedback circuit detects the electrical signal based on at least one of a voltage across the resistor and a current flowing through the resistor.
6 . The aerosol generating device of claim 1 , wherein the controller provides an operating voltage to the feedback circuit to output the feedback signal when the target vibration speed is a first vibration speed for generating the aerosol, and stops supplying the operating voltage to the feedback circuit when the target vibration speed is a second vibration speed for preheating the aerosol generating material.
7 . The aerosol generating device of claim 1 , wherein the controller adjusts the frequency of the supply voltage based on a predetermined correlation between the feedback signal and the frequency of the supply voltage.