Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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AEROSOL PROVISION SYSTEMS
Field
The present disclosure relates to aerosol provision systems such as nicotine
delivery
systems (e.g. electronic cigarettes and the like).
Background
Aerosol provision systems such as electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes)
generally contain a
vapour precursor material, such as a reservoir of a source liquid containing a
formulation,
typically including nicotine, or a solid material such as a tobacco-based
product, from which
a vapour is generated for inhalation by a user, for example through heat
vaporisation. Thus,
an aerosol provision system will typically comprise a vapour generation
chamber containing
a vaporiser, e.g. a heating element, arranged to vaporise a portion of
precursor material to
generate a vapour in the vapour generation chamber. As a user inhales on the
device and
electrical power is supplied to the vaporiser, air is drawn into the device
through inlet holes
and into the vapour generation chamber where the air mixes with the vaporised
precursor
material and forms a condensation aerosol. There is a flow path between the
vapour
generation chamber and an opening in the mouthpiece so the incoming air drawn
through
the vapour generation chamber continues along the flow path to the mouthpiece
opening,
carrying some of the vapour / condensation aerosol with it, and out through
the mouthpiece
opening for inhalation by the user. Some electronic cigarettes may also
include a flavour
element in the flow path through the device to impart additional flavours.
Such devices may
sometimes be referred to as hybrid devices and the flavour element may, for
example,
include a portion of tobacco arranged in the air path between the vapour
generation
chamber and the mouthpiece so that vapour / condensation aerosol drawn through
the
devices passes through the portion of tobacco before inhalation by the user.
Aerosol provision systems frequently have a user interface comprising one or
more buttons
and a display. The buttons may be used for receiving user input, for example
to activate
vapour generation or configure user-selectable settings. The display may be
used to provide
a user with information about various operating aspects of the system (e.g. a
power setting,
battery charge level, a menu of user-selectable settings). Buttons may, for
example,
comprise conventional mechanical buttons / switches and a display may, for
example,
comprise one or more discrete lights, such as LEDs, or a display screen. The
user input and
display aspects for known aerosol provision systems are typically implemented
separately
on a housing for the aerosol provision system. Some users may consider this
arrangement
to be sub-optimal because they may find it distracting to have to switch their
attention
between the input buttons and the display when they are interacting with the
device through
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the user interface. One approach to seek to help address this issue is to
provide the
functionality of the input buttons and display together using a touch-
sensitive display screen,
for example of the type commonly used on mobile telephones. However, touch-
sensitive
display screens (touch screens) can be relatively complex, expensive and prone
to damage,
whereas aerosol provision systems are often relatively low cost devices having
simple user
interface requirements and sometimes subject to robust handling. This can mean
conventional touch-sensitive display screens are not suitable for some aerosol
provision
systems.
Various approaches are described herein which seek to help address or mitigate
some of
lo .. the issues discussed above.
Summary
According to a first aspect of certain embodiments there is provided an
aerosol provision
system comprising a display module configured to display information relating
to the aerosol
provision system in a display region of a surface of the aerosol provision
system; and a user
input module comprising measurement circuitry, e.g., capacitance measurement
circuitry,
coupled to a plurality of sensor elements located around the display region to
provide a
plurality of sensing regions for detecting the presence of an object over the
surface of the
aerosol provision system around the display region.
According to another aspect of certain embodiments there is provided aerosol
provision
means comprising: display means configured to display information relating to
the aerosol
provision means in a display region of a surface of the aerosol provision
means; and user
input means comprising measurement means, e.g., capacitance measurement means,
coupled to a plurality of sensor element means located around the display
region to provide
a plurality of sensing regions for detecting the presence of an object over
the surface of the
.. aerosol provision means around the display region.
It will be appreciated that features and aspects of the disclosure summarised
above and
described further herein in relation to the first and other aspects of the
disclosure are equally
applicable to, and may be combined with, embodiments of the disclosure
according to other
aspects of the disclosure as appropriate, and not just in the specific
combinations described
herein.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only,
with reference
to the accompanying drawings, in which:
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Figure 1 represents in highly schematic cross-section an aerosol provision
system in
accordance with certain embodiments of the disclosure;
Figures 2 and 3 are schematic perspective views representing different example
outer
appearances for the aerosol provision system of Figure 1 in accordance with
certain
embodiments of the disclosure; and
Figures 4 to 11 are schematic views of a surface of the aerosol provision
system of Figure 1
representing different user input gestures that may be detected with a user
interface of the
aerosol provision system in accordance with certain embodiments of the
disclosure.
Detailed Description
Aspects and features of certain examples and embodiments are discussed /
described
herein. Some aspects and features of certain examples and embodiments may be
implemented conventionally and these are not discussed / described in detail
in the interests
of brevity. It will thus be appreciated that aspects and features of apparatus
and methods
discussed herein which are not described in detail may be implemented in
accordance with
any conventional techniques for implementing such aspects and features.
The present disclosure relates to aerosol provision systems, which may also be
referred to
as aerosol provision systems, such as e-cigarettes, including hybrid devices.
Throughout the
following description the term "e-cigarette" or "electronic cigarette" may
sometimes be used,
but it will be appreciated this term may be used interchangeably with aerosol
provision
system / device and electronic aerosol provision system / device. Furthermore,
and as is
common in the technical field, the terms "vapour" and "aerosol", and related
terms such as
"vaporise", "volatilise" and "aerosolise", may generally be used
interchangeably.
Aerosol provision systems (e-cigarettes) often, though not always, comprise a
modular
assembly including both a reusable part and a replaceable (disposable)
cartridge part. Often
the replaceable cartridge part will comprise the vapour precursor material and
the vaporiser
and the reusable part will comprise the power supply (e.g. rechargeable
battery), user
interface and control circuitry. However, it will be appreciated these
different parts may also
comprise further elements depending on functionality.
For modular devices a cartridge and control unit are electrically and
mechanically coupled
together for use, for example using a screw thread, latching or bayonet fixing
with
appropriately engaging electrical contacts. When the vapour precursor material
in a cartridge
is exhausted, or the user wishes to switch to a different cartridge having a
different vapour
precursor material, a cartridge may be removed from the control unit and a
replacement
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cartridge attached in its place. Devices conforming to this type of two-part
modular
configuration may generally be referred to as two-part devices or multi-part
devices.
It is relatively common for electronic cigarettes, including multi-part
devices, to have a
generally box-like control unit with a replaceable cartridge or refillable
liquid reservoir
protruding from a top surface of the control unit. For the sake of providing a
concrete
example, certain embodiments of the disclosure described herein will be taken
to conform to
this general configuration and to use disposable cartridges. However, it will
be appreciated
the underlying principles described herein may equally be adopted for other
electronic
cigarette configurations, for example single-part devices or modular devices
comprising
more than two parts, refillable devices and single-use disposable devices, as
well as devices
conforming to other overall shapes, for example devices having a more elongate
/ cylindrical
appearance or other overall shape. More generally, it will be appreciated
certain
embodiments of the disclosure are based on electronic cigarettes that are
configured to
provide user interface functionality in accordance with the principles
described herein, and
the construction and functionality of other aspects of the electronic
cigarette are not of
primary significance to the principles described herein and may be implemented
in
accordance with conventional techniques.
Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view through an example e-cigarette 1 in
accordance with
certain embodiments of the disclosure. The e-cigarette 1 comprises two main
components,
namely a reusable part / control unit 2 and a replaceable / disposable
cartridge part 4. In
normal use the reusable part 2 and the cartridge part 4 are releasably coupled
together at an
interface 6. When the cartridge part is exhausted or the user simply wishes to
switch to a
different cartridge part, the cartridge part may be removed from the reusable
part (control
unit) and a replacement cartridge part attached to the reusable part in its
place. The
interface 6 provides a structural, electrical and air path connection between
the two parts
and may be established in accordance with conventional techniques, for example
based
around a screw thread, latch mechanism, or bayonet fixing with appropriately
arranged
electrical contacts and openings for establishing the electrical connection
and air path
between the two parts as appropriate. The specific manner by which the
cartridge part 4
.. mechanically mounts to the reusable part 2 is not significant to the
principles described
herein, but for the sake of a concrete example is assumed here to comprise a
threaded
connection (not shown in the figures). It will also be appreciated the
interface 6 in some
implementations may not support an electrical connection between the
respective parts. For
example, in some implementations a vaporiser may be provided in the reusable
part rather
than in the cartridge part, or the transfer of electrical power from the
reusable part to the
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cartridge part may be wireless (e.g. based on electromagnetic induction), so
that an
electrical connection between the reusable part and the cartridge part is not
needed.
The cartridge part 4 may in accordance with certain embodiments of the
disclosure be
conventional. In Figure 1, the cartridge part 4 comprises a cartridge housing
42 formed of a
plastics material. The cartridge housing 42 supports other components of the
cartridge part
and provides the mechanical interface 6 with the reusable part 2. The
cartridge housing is
generally circularly symmetric about a longitudinal axis along which the
cartridge part
couples to the reusable part / control unit 2. In this example the cartridge
part has a length of
around 4 cm and a diameter of around 1.5 cm. However, it will be appreciated
the specific
.. geometry, and more generally the overall shapes and materials used, may be
different in
different implementations.
Within the cartridge housing 42 is a reservoir 44 that contains liquid vapour
precursor
material. The liquid vapour precursor material may be conventional, and may be
referred to
as e-liquid. The liquid reservoir 44 in this example has an annular shape with
an outer wall
defined by the cartridge housing 42 and an inner wall that defines an air path
52 through the
cartridge part 4 to a mouthpiece outlet 50. The reservoir 44 is closed at each
end with end
walls to contain the e-liquid. The reservoir 44 may be formed in accordance
with
conventional techniques, for example it may comprise a plastics material and
be integrally
moulded with the cartridge housing 42.
The cartridge part further comprises a wick 46 and a heater (vaporiser) 48
located towards
an end of the reservoir nearest to the interface 6 and furthest from the
mouthpiece outlet 50.
In this example the wick 46 extends transversely across the cartridge air path
52 with its
ends extending into the reservoir 44 of e-liquid through openings in the inner
wall of the
reservoir 44. The openings in the inner wall of the reservoir are sized to
broadly match the
dimensions of the wick 46 to provide a reasonable seal against leakage from
the liquid
reservoir into the cartridge air path without unduly compressing the wick,
which may be
detrimental to its fluid transfer performance.
The wick 46 and heater 48 are arranged in the cartridge air path 52 such that
a region of the
cartridge air path 52 around the wick 46 and heater 48 in effect defines a
vaporisation region
for the cartridge part. E-liquid in the reservoir 44 infiltrates the wick 46
through the ends of
the wick extending into the reservoir 44 and is drawn along the wick by
surface tension /
capillary action (i.e. wicking). The heater 48 in this example comprises an
electrically
resistive wire coiled around the wick 46. In this example the heater 48
comprises a nickel
chrome alloy (Cr20Ni80) wire and the wick 46 comprises a glass fibre bundle,
but it will be
appreciated the specific vaporiser configuration is not significant to the
principles described
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herein. In use electrical power may be supplied to the heater 48 to vaporise
an amount of e-
liquid (vapour precursor material) drawn to the vicinity of the heater 48 by
the wick 46.
Vaporised e-liquid may then become entrained in air drawn along the cartridge
air path and
out the mouthpiece outlet 50 for user inhalation.
The rate at which e-liquid is vaporised by the vaporiser (heater) 48 will
depend on the
amount (level) of power supplied to the heater 48 during use, among other
factors. Thus
electrical power can be applied to the heater to selectively generate vapour
from the e-liquid
in the cartridge part 4, and furthermore, the rate of vapour generation can be
changed by
changing the amount of power supplied to the heater 48, for example through
pulse width
and / or frequency modulation techniques.
The reusable part (control unit) 2 comprises an outer housing 12 with an
opening that
defines an air inlet 28 for the e-cigarette 1, a battery 26 for providing
operating power for the
electronic cigarette, control circuitry 20 for controlling and monitoring the
operation of the
electronic cigarette, an array of touch sensitive elements (sensor elements)
16A, 16B, 160,
16B arranged around a display 24 (which together provide a user interface 8
for the
electronic cigarette as discussed further herein), and an inhalation sensor
(puff detector) 14,
which in this example comprises a pressure sensor located in a pressure sensor
chamber
18.
The outer housing 12 may be formed, for example, from a plastics or metallic
material and in
.. this example has a generally rectangular cross-section in the plane of
Figure 1. Overall the
outer housing in this example has a generally rectangular box-like shape, with
a width
(horizontal direction in the orientation of Figure 1) of around 4cm, a height
(vertical direction
in Figure 1) of around 8 cm, and a thickness (perpendicular to plane of Figure
1) of around 2
cm. However, and as already noted, it will be appreciated that the overall
shape and scale of
an electronic cigarette implementing an embodiment of the disclosure is not
significant to the
user interface functionality described herein.
The air inlet 28 connects to an air path 30 through the reusable part 2. The
reusable part air
path 30 in turn connects to the cartridge air path 52 across the interface 6
when the reusable
part 2 and cartridge part 4 are connected together. The pressure sensor
chamber 18
containing the pressure sensor 14 is in fluid communication with the air path
30 in the
reusable part 2 (i.e. the pressure sensor chamber 18 branches off from the air
path 30 in the
reusable part 2). Thus, when a user inhales on the mouthpiece opening 50,
there is a drop in
pressure in the pressure sensor chamber 18 that may be detected by the
pressure sensor
14 to trigger activation of the vaporiser. At the same time air is drawn in
through the air inlet
28, along the reusable part air path 30, across the interface 6, through the
vapour generation
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region in the vicinity of the vaporiser 48 (where vaporised e-liquid becomes
entrained in the
air flow), along the cartridge air path 52, and out through the mouthpiece
opening 50 for user
inhalation.
The battery 26 in this example is rechargeable and may be of a conventional
type, for
example of the kind normally used in electronic cigarettes and other
applications requiring
provision of relatively high currents over relatively short periods. The
battery 26 may be
recharged through a charging connector 22 in the reusable part housing 12, for
example a
connector conforming to a USB format.
The control circuitry 20 is suitably configured / programmed to control the
operation of the
electronic cigarette to provide functionality in accordance with embodiments
of the disclosure
as described further herein, as well as for providing conventional operating
functions of the
electronic cigarette in line with the established techniques for controlling
such devices. The
control circuitry (processor circuitry) 20 may be considered to logically
comprise various sub-
units / circuitry elements associated with different aspects of the electronic
cigarette's
operation, such as display driving circuitry for the display 24 and user input
measurement
and processing circuitry for the touch sensitive elements 16. More
particularly, the control
circuitry 20 in accordance with certain embodiments of the disclosure
incorporates
capacitance measurement circuitry arranged to make capacitance measurements
associated with respective ones of the touch sensitive elements 16. The
control circuitry 20
further comprises processing circuitry configured to process these capacitance
measurements to identify changes that are indicative of an object, e.g. a
user's finger,
coming into proximity with any of the touch sensitive elements 16 (i.e. into a
sensing region
for any of the touch sensitive elements). In general the capacitance
measurement circuitry
within the control circuitry 20 and the associated touch sensitive elements
(sensor elements)
16A, 16B, 160, 16B may be based on any conventional capacitance-based
proximity
sensing techniques. In this regard, a significant aspect of certain
embodiments of the
disclosure is the spatial arrangement of the touch sensitive regions
associated with the touch
sensitive elements 16 relative to the display 24, rather than the specific
capacitive touch
sensing technology used for sensing the presence of an object in the touch
sensitive
regions. It will be appreciated the functionality of the control circuitry 20
can be provided in
various different ways, for example using one or more suitably programmed
programmable
computer(s) and / or one or more suitably configured application-specific
integrated circuit(s)
/ circuitry / chip(s) / chipset(s) configured to provide the desired
functionality. For example,
although the control circuitry may be considered to logically comprise various
sub-units /
.. circuitry elements associated with different aspects of the electronic
cigarette's operation,
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these different elements of the circuitry may be provided by a single suitably
programmed
general purpose computer.
The display 24 is provided to give a user with a visual indication of various
characteristics
associated with the electronic cigarette, for example current power setting
information,
remaining battery power, selectable menu options, and so forth. The display
may be
implemented in various ways. In this example the display 24 comprises a
conventional
pixilated LED screen, e.g. an OLED screen defining a display region for the
electronic
cigarette. The LED screen is driven by the control circuitry 20 to display
desired information
in accordance with conventional techniques. In other implementations the
display may
comprise one or more discrete indicators, for example LEDs, that are arranged
in a display
region to display the desired information, for example through particular
colours and / or
flash sequence. More generally, the technology on which the display is based
and the and
manner in which information is displayed to a user using the display is not
significant to the
principles described herein, rather what is significant in accordance with
certain
embodiments is that the electronic cigarette (aerosol provision system) 1
comprises a
display module configured to display information relating to the aerosol
provision system in a
display region 24 of a surface of the aerosol provision system.
The plurality of sensor elements 16 comprises conductive areas, e.g.
electrodes on a printed
circuit board or an inner surface of the housing 12, arranged at different
azimuthal locations
around the display 24. In the example of Figure 1 there are four sensor
elements located in
different quadrants of the surface of the aerosol provision system around the
display 24. In
particular, for the orientation represented in Figure 1 there is a first
sensor element 16A
located above the display 24, a second sensor element 16B located to the right
of the
display 24, a third sensor element 160 located below the display 24, and a
fourth sensor
element 16D located to left of the display 24. Thus the respective sensor
elements in this
example are adjacent / next to the display 24 on various different / opposite
sides of the
display (e.g. top and bottom sides and left and right sides). In this regard
it will be
appreciated reference herein to the sensor elements being located adjacent /
next to the
display refers to their relative positions as viewed in projection in the
plane of the surface of
the electronic cigarette containing the user interface 8. In practice the
sensor elements
themselves will be located below the outer surface of the electronic cigarette
- i.e. the sensor
elements and display may not be in exactly the same plane. In the example of
Figure 1 the
sensor elements have a generally arcuate shape with respect to the centre of
the display,
but in other examples the sensor elements may have different shapes, e.g.
circular, square.
or rectangular / bar shapes.
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As noted above the electronic cigarette in the example of Figure 1 comprises
capacitance
measurement circuitry coupled to sensor elements 16 located around, but not in
front of or
behind, the display region 24 so as to provide a plurality of sensing regions
for detecting the
presence of an object over the surface of the aerosol provision system around
the display
region. The capacitance measurement circuitry and the sensor elements may
together be
considered to comprise a user input module for the electronic cigarette.
Each sensor area may in some examples comprise a single electrode and the
capacitance
measurement circuitry may be configured to measure the free-space / self-
capacitance of
this single electrode. The free-space / self-capacitance of the electrode is
affected by the
presence of nearby objects, and so this may be used to detect the presence of
a user's
finger in the vicinity of the sensor element (i.e. within a sensing region
associated with the
sensor element). In other implementations each sensor area may comprise a pair
of
adjacent electrodes and the capacitance measurement circuitry may be
configured to
measure a degree of capacitive coupling between them. The degree of capacitive
coupling
between adjacent electrodes is affected by the presence of nearby objects, and
so this may
also be used to detect the presence of a user's finger, or other object, in
the vicinity of the
sensor element (i.e. within a sensing region associated with the sensor
element).
However, as already noted, the specific capacitive sensing technology
underlying the
operation of the user input module for detecting the presence of nearby
objects is not in itself
of primary significance. What is more significant for certain embodiments of
the disclosure is
how the sensor elements are arranged around the display to provide the user
with the
impression of sensitivity to touch over the display without the display itself
being a touch
sensitive display due to how the sensing regions associated with the senor
elements are
arranged around the display region in the surface of the electronic cigarette.
It will be
appreciated the sensing region associated with a given sensor element will
generally extend
over a volume of space around the sensor element. That is to say, an object
may be
capacitively sensed using a sensor element without the object physically
touching the sensor
element or even being centred directly over the sensor element. In that
regard, it will be
appreciated the sensing regions associated with the respective sensor elements
may extend
beyond the areal extent of the sensor elements themselves across the surface
of the aerosol
provision system so that in some cases the sensing regions for different
sensor elements
may to some degree overlap one another and may also extend to some degree over
the
display itself. As is well-established in the field of capacitive sensing, the
extent of a sensing
region for a sensor element (i.e. the space in which an object may be detected
around the
sensor element) will depend on factors such as the geometry of the sensor
element, the
arrangement of any adjacent guard electrodes and the sensitivity of the
capacitance
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measurement circuitry and its detection threshold. For the example represented
in Figure 1 it
is assumed the sensitivity for the user input module to a typical user's
finger is configured so
the respective sensing regions for the different sensor elements broadly
border one another
within the surface of the aerosol provision system and allow the finger to be
detected at or a
few millimetres above the surface of the aerosol provision system around the
region defined
by the display 24.
In accordance with certain embodiments of the disclosure the detection
sensitivity for the
user input module is configured to allow the presence of a user's finger in
the vicinity of the
display 24 to be detected and to establish an indication of where a user's
finger is located
around the display 24 from the capacitance measurements. For example, the user
input
module may be configured to simply determine the finger is located somewhere
in whichever
quadrant around the display is associated with the sensor element showing the
greatest
change in capacitance, or it may be configured to seek to establish a more
refined position
for the finger from the relative changes in capacitance measured for different
sensor
elements using interpolation. In accordance with the example implementation
represented in
Figure 1 it is assumed the user input module is configured to simply determine
which sensor
element is associated with the greatest change in capacitance when a user's
finger is
detected by the user input module and to provide an indication of which sensor
element that
is. That is to say, the user input module is configured to simply indicate
whether a detected
object is considered to be detected by the first sensor element 16A arranged
above the
display 24, the second sensor element 16B arranged to the right of the
display, the third
sensor element 160 arranged below the display, or the fourth sensor element
16D arranged
to the left of the display.
Figures 2 and 3 are schematic perspective views representing different example
outer
.. appearances for the aerosol provision system of Figure 1 in accordance with
certain
embodiments of the disclosure. In the example of Figure 2 the outer surface is
provided with
indicia 116A, 116B, 1160, 116D to indicate the location of the corresponding
sensor
elements 16A, 16B, 160, 16D behind the surface of the housing 12 around the
display 24.
The indicia may, for example, comprise visual indications, for example
provided by paint or
labelling applied to the surface of the electronic cigarette, and / or a
tactile indication, for
example a difference in surface texture and / or a recessed or raised portion
of the surface of
the electronic cigarette at the appropriate locations.
As explained above, in accordance with certain embodiments of the disclosure
the user input
module is configured to determine where an object is located in a touch
sensitive region of
the surface of the electronic cigarette around the display 24. Thus, by
monitoring changes in
the determined location for an object in the vicinity of the display 24, the
user input module is
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further able to determine how a user's finger moves around the display, i.e.
to recognise
user input gestures. Thus in accordance with certain embodiments of the
disclosure, the
user interface of the electronic cigarette may be configured to determine when
an object
moves between the sensing regions in accordance with one of a set of
predefined
sequences. Different ones of the predefined sequences may be associated with
different
user inputs to control various operating aspects of the aerosol provision
system, i.e. to
perform various actions (in principle there may be only one predefined
sequence in the set of
predefined sequences so that the user interface is in effect responsive to
only one gesture).
Thus when the user input module determines an object has moved between
different
sensing areas associated with different sensor elements in a particular
sequence
(corresponding to a particular gesture), this sequence may be compared with
the set of
predefined sequences to seek a match. If there is a match, the control
circuitry of the
electronic cigarette may interpret the user's gesture as an indication the
user wishes to
control a corresponding operating aspects of the aerosol provision system and
respond
accordingly by undertaking the corresponding action. If there is no match the
control circuitry
may take no action, or may indicate gesture is not recognised, for example by
flashing the
display.
Figures 4 to 11 are schematically plan views of the surface of the electronic
cigarette 1
represented in Figures 1 to 3 which are overlain by grey arrows indicating
various example
user input gestures (i.e. example tracks for a user's finger to follow to
provide user input).
Figure 4 represents a user input gesture in which a user swipes their finger
over the display
from top to bottom. With this gesture the user input module will report a
sequence of
locations as follows: Step 1: No object detected (i.e. before the user starts
the gesture); Step
2: Object detected by first sensor element 16A (i.e. when user initially
places their finger
above the display in the sensing region associated with sensor element 16A);
Step 3: Object
detected by third sensor element 160 (i.e. when user has moved their finger
from the
sensing region associated with sensor element 16A to below the display in the
sensing
region associated with sensor element 160); Step 4: No object detected (i.e.
the gesture is
complete and the user has removed their finger from the surface).
This sequence may be conveniently represented in short form as: [start - 16A -
16C - finish].
In accordance with certain embodiments of the disclosure, the electronic
cigarette is
configured to compare this sequence with a set of predefined sequences, and if
there is a
match (i.e. if the gesture of a user swiping down over the display is defined
to correspond
with a particular predefined action), the control circuitry of the electronic
cigarette may
implement the action accordingly. For example, the set of predefined sequences
may
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include this sequence and it may be associated with a scroll down motion with
respect to a
menu displayed on the screen. Thus, on recognising the user has performed this
gesture,
the control circuitry may cause the display to scroll down through the menu
displayed on the
screen.
Figures 5 to 11 are similar to, and will be understood from, Figure 4, but
represent different
other gestures that may be associated with different user inputs, for example
as set out in
the following table.
Gesture Predefined Example action
sequence
Figure 4 Swipe down start - 16A - 160 - Scroll down in a menu of
options
over the display finish on the display
Figure 5 Swipe up over start - 160- 16A - Scroll up in a menu of
options on
the display finish the display
Figure 6 Swipe right over start - 16D - 16B - Select a menu option on
the
the display finish display
Figure 7 Swipe left over start - 16B - 16D - Step back a layer in
a menu
the display finish hierarchy
Figure 8 Clockwise start -16B - 160 - Increase the value of a
user-
around the 16D - 16A - 16B selectable parameter on the
display finish display
Figure 9 Anti-clockwise start -16D - 160- Decrease the value of a
user-
around the 16B - 16A - 16D selectable parameter on the
display finish display
Figure 10 Complicated start - 16A - 160 - Switching the aerosol
provision
path 1 over the 16D - 16B - finish system to a locked state
display
Figure 11 Complicated start - 16A - 160 - Switching the aerosol
provision
path 2 over the 16B - 16A - finish system to an un locked
state
display
It will be appreciated these are merely some example predefined sequences
corresponding
to some example gestures and example corresponding actions that may be
implemented in
accordance with various embodiments of the disclosure. More generally, it will
be
appreciated the specific gestures which the user input module is configured to
recognise,
and the corresponding actions to be performed, may be different for different
implementations. Furthermore, and in accordance with the know principles of
user interface
functionality, it will also be appreciated different gestures may be
associated with different
actions in different contexts. For example, the gestures represented in
Figures 8 and 9 may
be associated with increasing and decreasing the value of different
parameters, for example
an operating power or voltage for the electronic cigarette or a display
brightness level,
depending on which of these parameters has been selected from a menu of
parameters that
may be adjusted, e.g. using gestures such as those represented in Figures 4, 5
and 6 to
navigate the menus to select the desired parameter to adjust.
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In one implementation each of the sensor elements 16 may be associated with a
different
index number, for example sensor element 16A may be associated with index "1",
sensor
element 16B may be associated with index "2", sensor element 160 may be
associated with
index "3", and sensor element 16D may be associated with index "4". The
processor circuitry
20 may then be configured to generate a sequence of index numbers
corresponding to a
sequence in which different sensor areas are determined to be touched by a
user, and to
see if this sequence matches a corresponding gesture (e.g. the sequence 1, 2,
3, 4
corresponding to a clockwise rotation). When determining if a gesture is
detected, the
processing circuitry may be configured to break a sequence (i.e. restart
monitoring for a
match) if there is a gap of a predetermined period between a pair of
sequential touches. That
is to say, there may be a requirement for the touches in a sequence to occur
within a
predefined period of time of a previous touch, for example 25 ms, for this to
be considered
part of a sequence that may correspond with a predefined gesture. It will of
course be
appreciated different time periods may be used, for example a time period less
than 100
milliseconds, for example less than 80 milliseconds, for example less than 60
milliseconds,
for example less than 40 milliseconds.
Thus in accordance with certain embodiments of the disclosure, control
circuitry of an
aerosol provision system may be configured to control an operating aspect of
the aerosol
provision system (i.e. to perform a control action) in response to determining
an object has
moved among the sensing regions around the display in accordance with one of a
set of one
or more predefined sequences. The set of predefined sequences may comprise a
plurality of
different predefined sequences associated with different operating aspects
(control actions)
for the aerosol provision system. For example, the control actions associated
with different
gestures may comprise one or more of: selecting a menu option displayed on the
display;
scrolling through different menu options displayed on the display; changing a
setting for a
menu option displayed on the display; adjusting a value of an operating
parameter for the
aerosol provision system; switching the aerosol provision system to a locked
state; switching
the aerosol provision system to an unlocked state; switching the aerosol
provision system to
an off state; switching the aerosol provision system to a standby state; and
activating vapour
generation by the aerosol provision system.
At least one of the predefined sequences / gestures may correspond with an
object moving
along a path from a sensing region on one side of the display to a sensing
region on an
opposite side of the display (e.g. as in the examples of Figures 4 to 7).
These type of
gestures may be associated with navigating a menu structure, for example, or
to activate
vapour generation, for example in a device that does not have an inhalation /
puff sensor for
automatically triggering activation of the vaporiser.
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At least one of the predefined sequences / gestures may correspond with an
object moving
along a curved path through at least three sensing regions around the display
region (e.g. as
in the examples of Figures 8 and 9). These type of gestures may be associated
with
increasing or decreasing a value for an operating parameter for the electronic
cigarette, for
.. example.
At least one of the predefined sequences / gestures may correspond with an
object moving
along a relatively complicated path, for example through at least four sensing
regions in a
predefined order and / or moving along a path that includes a plurality of
discrete changes in
direction. These type of more complicated gestures may be associated with
transitioning the
electronic cigarette between operating states, for example between an off and
an on /
standby state or between a locked state and an unlocked state (e.g. to prevent
operation by
somebody who is unaware of the predefined sequence / gesture required to
unlock the
device).
Some or all of the predefined sequences / gestures and corresponding actions
may be user
programmable.
It will be appreciated the above-described embodiments have focused on only
some
example implementations and there are many modifications and variations that
may be
adopted in other example implementations. For example, whereas the above-
described
embodiments have focused on an implementation incorporating four sensor
elements, in
other examples there may be fewer sensor elements, for example only two
sensors with one
on either side of the display, or there may be a greater number of sensor
elements, for
example to able to help distinguish similar gestures.
While the above-described embodiments have in some respects focussed on some
specific
example aerosol provision systems, it will be appreciated the same principles
can be applied
for aerosol provision systems using other technologies. That is to say, the
specific manner in
which various aspects of the aerosol provision system function are not
directly relevant to
the principles underlying the examples described herein.
For example, whereas the above-described embodiments have primarily focused on
devices
having an electrical heater based vaporiser for heating a liquid vapour
precursor material,
the same principles may be adopted in accordance with vaporisers based on
other
technologies, for example piezoelectric vibrator based vaporisers or optical
heating
vaporisers, and also devices based on other aerosol precursor materials, for
example solid
materials, such as plant derived materials, such as tobacco derivative
materials, or other
forms of vapour precursor materials, such as gel, paste or foam based vapour
precursor
materials.
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Furthermore, and as already noted, it will be appreciated the above-described
approaches
for providing a user interface of an aerosol provision system may be
implemented in aerosol
provision systems having a different overall construction to that represented
in Figure 1. For
example, the same principles may be adopted in an electronic cigarette which
does not
comprise a two-part modular construction, but which instead comprises a single-
part device,
for example a disposable (i.e. non-rechargeable and non-refillable) device.
Furthermore, in
some implementations of a modular device, the arrangement of components may be
different. For example, in some implementations the control unit may also
comprise the
vaporiser with a replaceable cartridge providing a source of vapour precursor
material for the
lo vaporiser to use to generate vapour.
Thus there has been described an aerosol provision system comprising a display
module
configured to display information relating to the aerosol provision system in
a display region
of a surface of the aerosol provision system; and a user input module
comprising
capacitance measurement circuitry coupled to a plurality of sensor elements
located around
the display region to provide a plurality of sensing regions for detecting the
presence of an
object over the surface of the aerosol provision system around the display
region.
It will be appreciated that whereas some of the above-described embodiments
have focused
on implementations using capacitive touch sensing techniques, the same
principles may be
applied using other touch-sensing technologies, for example resistance-based
touch sensing
and / or induction-based touch-sensing techniques using established techniques
for sensing
touch in accordance with the relevant technology. That is to say, in
accordance with certain
embodiments of the disclosure, the specific technology underlying the touch
sensing function
may not in itself be of primary significance, but rather what is more
significant is the spatial
arrangement of sensing areas around a display region, as discussed herein.
In order to address various issues and advance the art, this disclosure shows
by way of
illustration various embodiments in which the claimed invention(s) may be
practiced. The
advantages and features of the disclosure are of a representative sample of
embodiments
only, and are not exhaustive and / or exclusive. They are presented only to
assist in
understanding and to teach the claimed invention(s). It is to be understood
that advantages,
embodiments, examples, functions, features, structures, and / or other aspects
of the
disclosure are not to be considered limitations on the disclosure as defined
by the claims or
limitations on equivalents to the claims, and that other embodiments may be
utilised and
modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the claims.
Various
embodiments may suitably comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of,
various
combinations of the disclosed elements, components, features, parts, steps,
means, etc.
other than those specifically described herein, and it will thus be
appreciated that features of
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the dependent claims may be combined with features of the independent claims
in combinations
other than those explicitly set out in the claims. The disclosure may include
other inventions not
presently claimed, but which may be claimed in future.
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