Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
WO 2023/006416
PCT/EP2022/069532
INTERACTIVE AEROSOL PROVISION SYSTEM
Technical Field
The present invention relates to an interactive aerosol provision system.
Background
The "background" description provided herein is for the purpose of generally
presenting the context of
the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is
described in this background
section, as well as aspects of the description which may not otherwise qualify
as prior art at the time of
filing, are neither expressly or impliedly admitted as prior art against the
present disclosure.
Aerosol provision systems are popular with users as they enable the delivery
of active ingredients (such
as nicotine) to the user in a convenient manner and on demand.
As an example of an aerosol provision system, electronic cigarettes (e-
cigarettes) generally contain a
reservoir of a source liquid containing a formulation, typically including
nicotine, from which an aerosol
is generated, e.g. through heat vaporisation. An aerosol source for an aerosol
provision system may thus
comprise a heater having a heating element arranged to receive source liquid
from the reservoir, for
example through wicking / capillary action. Other source materials may be
similarly heated to create an
aerosol, such as botanical matter, or a gel comprising an active ingredient
and/or flavouring. Hence
more generally, the e-cigarette may be thought of as comprising or receiving a
payload for heat
vaporisation.
While a user inhales on the device, electrical power is supplied to the
heating element to vaporise the
aerosol source (a portion of the payload) in the vicinity of the heating
element, to generate an aerosol
for inhalation by the user. Such devices are usually provided with one or more
air inlet holes located
away from a mouthpiece end of the system. When a user sucks on a mouthpiece
connected to the
mouthpiece end of the system, air is drawn in through the inlet holes and past
the aerosol source. There
is a flow path connecting between the aerosol source and an opening in the
mouthpiece so that air
drawn past the aerosol source continues along the flow path to the mouthpiece
opening, carrying some
of the aerosol from the aerosol source with it. The aerosol-carrying air exits
the aerosol provision system
through the mouthpiece opening for inhalation by the user.
Usually an electric current is supplied to the heater when a user is drawing/
puffing on the device.
Typically, the electric current is supplied to the heater, e.g. resistance
heating element, in response to
either the activation of an airflow sensor along the flow path as the user
inhales/draw/puffs or in
response to the activation of a button by the user. The heat generated by the
heating element is used to
vaporise a formulation. The released vapour mixes with air drawn through the
device by the puffing
consumer and forms an aerosol. Alternatively or in addition, the heating
element is used to heat but
typically not burn a botanical such as tobacco, to release active ingredients
thereof as a vapour /
aerosol.
The secure, efficient and/or timely operation of such an aerosol provision
system can benefit from
responding appropriately to how the user interacts with it.
It is in this context that the present invention arises.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
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2
Various aspects and features of the present invention are defined in the
appended claims and within the
text of the accompanying description.
In a first aspect, an aerosol delivery system is provided in accordance with
claim 1.
In another aspect, a method of control for an aerosol delivery system is
provided in accordance with
claim 16.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A more complete appreciation of the disclosure and many of the attendant
advantages thereof will be
readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the
following detailed
description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings,
wherein:
-
Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a delivery device in accordance with
embodiments of the
description.
- Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a body of a delivery device in
accordance with embodiments
of the description.
- Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a cartomiser of a delivery device in
accordance with
embodiments of the description.
- Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a body of a delivery device in
accordance with embodiments
of the description.
- Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a delivery ecosystem in accordance
with embodiments of the
description.
-
Figure 6 is a flow diagram of a method of control of an aerosol deliver system
in accordance
with embodiments of the description.
DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
An interactive aerosol provision system is disclosed. In the following
description, a number of specific
details are presented in order to provide a thorough understanding of the
embodiments of the present
disclosure. It will be apparent, however, to a person skilled in the art that
these specific details need not
be employed to practice embodiments of the present disclosure. Conversely,
specific details known to
the person skilled in the art are omitted for the purposes of clarity where
appropriate.
The term 'interactive aerosol provision system', or similarly 'delivery
device' may encompass systems
that deliver a least one substance to a user, and include non-combustible
aerosol provision systems that
release compounds from an aerosol-generating material without combusting the
aerosol-generating
material, such as electronic cigarettes, tobacco heating products, and hybrid
systems to generate
aerosol using a combination of aerosol-generating materials; and aerosol-free
delivery systems that
deliver the at least one substance to a user orally, nasally, transdermally or
in another way without
forming an aerosol, including but not limited to, lozenges, gums, patches,
articles comprising inhalable
powders, and oral products such as oral tobacco which includes snus or moist
snuff, wherein the at least
one substance may or may not comprise nicotine.
The substance to be delivered may be an aerosol-generating material or a
material that is not intended
to be aerosolised. As appropriate, either material may comprise one or more
active constituents, one or
more flavours, one or more aerosol-former materials, and/or one or more other
functional materials.
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3
Currently, the most common example of such a delivery device or aerosol
provision system (e.g. a non-
combustible aerosol provision system) is an electronic vapour provision system
(EVPS), such as an e-
cigarette. Throughout the following description the term "e-cigarette" is
sometimes used but this term
may be used interchangeably with delivery device or aerosol provision system
except where stated
otherwise or where context indicates otherwise. Similarly the terms 'vapour'
and 'aerosol' are referred
to equivalently herein.
Generally, the electronic vapour / aerosol provision system may be an
electronic cigarette, also known
as a vaping device or electronic nicotine delivery device (END), although it
is noted that the presence of
nicotine in the aerosol-generating (e.g. aerosolisable) material is not a
requirement. In some
embodiments, a non-combustible aerosol provision system is a tobacco heating
system, also known as a
heat-not-burn system. An example of such a system is a tobacco heating system.
In some embodiments,
the non-combustible aerosol provision system is a hybrid system to generate
aerosol using a
combination of aerosol-generating materials, one or a plurality of which may
be heated. Each of the
aerosol-generating materials may be, for example, in the form of a solid,
liquid or gel and may or may
not contain nicotine. In some embodiments, the hybrid system comprises a
liquid or gel aerosol-
generating material and a solid aerosol-generating material. The solid aerosol-
generating material may
comprise, for example, tobacco or a non-tobacco product. Meanwhile in some
embodiments, the non-
combustible aerosol provision system generates a vapour / aerosol from one or
more such aerosol-
generating materials.
Typically, the non-combustible aerosol provision system may comprise a non-
combustible aerosol
provision device and an article (otherwise referred to as a consumable) for
use with the non-
combustible aerosol provision system. However, it is envisaged that articles
which themselves comprise
a means for powering an aerosol generating component (e.g. an aerosol
generator such as a heater,
vibrating mesh or the like) may themselves form the non-combustible aerosol
provision system. In one
embodiment, the non-combustible aerosol provision device may comprise a power
source and a
controller. The power source may be an electric power source or an exothermic
power source. In one
embodiment, the exothermic power source comprises a carbon substrate which may
be energised so as
to distribute power in the form of heat to an aerosolisable material or heat
transfer material in
proximity to the exothermic power source. In one embodiment, the power source,
such as an
exothermic power source, is provided in the article so as to form the non-
combustible aerosol provision.
In one embodiment, the article for use with the non-combustible aerosol
provision device may comprise
an aerosolisable material.
In some embodiments, the aerosol generating component is a heater capable of
interacting with the
aerosolisable material so as to release one or more volatiles from the
aerosolisable material to form an
aerosol. In one embodiment, the aerosol generating component is capable of
generating an aerosol
from the aerosolisable material without heating. For example, the aerosol
generating component may
be capable of generating an aerosol from the aerosolisable material without
applying heat thereto, for
example via one or more of vibrational, mechanical, pressurisation or
electrostatic means.
In some embodiments, the aerosolisable material may comprise an active
material, an aerosol forming
material and optionally one or more functional materials. The active material
may comprise nicotine
(optionally contained in tobacco or a tobacco derivative) or one or more other
non-olfactory
physiologically active materials. A non-olfactory physiologically active
material is a material which is
included in the aerosolisable material in order to achieve a physiological
response other than olfactory
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4
perception. The aerosol forming material may comprise one or more of
glycerine, glycerol, propylene
glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, 1,3-
butylene glycol, erythritol, meso-
Erythritol, ethyl vanillate, ethyl laurate, a diethyl suberate, triethyl
citrate, triacetin, a diacetin mixture,
benzyl benzoate, benzyl phenyl acetate, tributyrin, lauryl acetate, lauric
acid, myristic acid, and
propylene carbonate. The one or more functional materials may comprise one or
more of flavours,
carriers, pH regulators, stabilizers, and/or antioxidants.
In some embodiments, the article for use with the non-combustible aerosol
provision device may
comprise aerosolisable material or an area for receiving aerosolisable
material. In one embodiment, the
article for use with the non-combustible aerosol provision device may comprise
a mouthpiece. The area
for receiving aerosolisable material may be a storage area for storing
aerosolisable material. For
example, the storage area may be a reservoir. In one embodiment, the area for
receiving aerosolisable
material may be separate from, or combined with, an aerosol generating area.
Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate
identical or corresponding
parts throughout the several views, Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a
vapour / aerosol provision
system such as an e-cigarette 10 (not to scale), providing a non-limiting
example of a delivery device in
accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.
The e-cigarette has a generally cylindrical shape, extending along a
longitudinal axis indicated by dashed
line LA, and comprises two main components, namely a body 20 and a cartomiser
30. The cartomiser
includes an internal chamber containing a reservoir of a payload such as for
example a liquid comprising
nicotine, a vaporiser (such as a heater), and a mouthpiece 35. References to
'nicotine' hereafter will be
understood to be merely an example and can be substituted with any suitable
active ingredient.
References to 'liquid' as a payload hereafter will be understood to be merely
an example and can be
substituted with any suitable payload such as botanical matter (for example
tobacco that is to be heated
rather than burned), or a gel comprising an active ingredient and/or
flavouring. The reservoir may be a
foam matrix or any other structure for retaining the liquid until such time
that it is required to be
delivered to the vaporiser. In the case of a liquid / flowing payload, the
vaporiser is for vaporising the
liquid, and the cartomiser 30 may further include a wick or similar facility
to transport a small amount of
liquid from the reservoir to a vaporising location on or adjacent the
vaporiser. In the following, a heater
is used as a specific example of a vaporiser. However, it will be appreciated
that other forms of vaporiser
(for example, those which utilise ultrasonic waves) could also be used and it
will also be appreciated
that the type of vaporiser used may also depend on the type of payload to be
vaporised.
The body 20 includes a re-chargeable cell or battery to provide power to the e-
cigarette 10 and a circuit
board for generally controlling the e-cigarette. When the heater receives
power from the battery, as
controlled by the circuit board, the heater vaporises the liquid and this
vapour is then inhaled by a user
through the mouthpiece 35. In some specific embodiments the body is further
provided with a manual
activation device 265, e.g. a button, switch, or touch sensor located on the
outside of the body.
The body 20 and cartomiser 30 may be detachable from one another by separating
in a direction parallel
to the longitudinal axis LA, as shown in Figure 1, but are joined together
when the device 10 is in use by
a connection, indicated schematically in Figure 1 as 25A and 25B, to provide
mechanical and electrical
connectivity between the body 20 and the cartomiser 30. The electrical
connector 25B on the body 20
that is used to connect to the cartomiser 30 also serves as a socket for
connecting a charging device (not
shown) when the body 20 is detached from the cartomiser 30. The other end of
the charging device
may be plugged into a USB socket to re-charge the cell in the body 20 of the e-
cigarette 10. In other
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implementations, a cable may be provided for direct connection between the
electrical connector 25B
on the body 20 and a USB socket.
The e-cigarette 10 is provided with one or more holes (not shown in Figure 1)
for air inlets. These holes
connect to an air passage through the e-cigarette 10 to the mouthpiece 35.
When a user inhales
5 through the mouthpiece 35, air is drawn into this air passage through the
one or more air inlet holes,
which are suitably located on the outside of the e-cigarette. When the heater
is activated to vaporise
the nicotine from the cartridge, the airflow passes through, and combines
with, the generated vapour,
and this combination of airflow and generated vapour then passes out of the
mouthpiece 35 to be
inhaled by a user. Except in single-use devices, the cartomiser 30 may be
detached from the body 20
and disposed of when the supply of liquid is exhausted (and replaced with
another cartomiser if so
desired).
It will be appreciated that the e-cigarette 10 shown in Figure 1 is presented
by way of example, and
various other implementations can be adopted. For example, in some
embodiments, the cartomiser 30
is provided as two separable components, namely a cartridge comprising the
liquid reservoir and
mouthpiece (which can be replaced when the liquid from the reservoir is
exhausted), and a vaporiser
comprising a heater (which is generally retained). As another example, the
charging facility may connect
to an additional or alternative power source, such as a car cigarette lighter.
Figure 2 is a schematic (simplified) diagram of the body 20 of the e-cigarette
10 of Figure 1 in
accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. Figure 2 can generally be
regarded as a cross-
section in a plane through the longitudinal axis LA of the e-cigarette 10.
Note that various components
and details of the body, e.g. such as wiring and more complex shaping, have
been omitted from Figure 2
for reasons of clarity.
The body 20 includes a battery or cell 210 for powering the e-cigarette 10 in
response to a user
activation of the device. Additionally, the body 20 includes a control unit
205, for example a chip such as
an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or microcontroller, for
controlling the e-cigarette 10. The
microcontroller or ASIC includes a CPU or micro-processor. The operations of
the CPU and other
electronic components are generally controlled at least in part by software
programs running on the
CPU (or other component). Such software programs may be stored in non-volatile
memory, such as
ROM, which can be integrated into the microcontroller itself, or provided as a
separate component. The
CPU may access the ROM to load and execute individual software programs as and
when required. The
microcontroller also contains appropriate communications interfaces (and
control software) for
communicating as appropriate with other devices in the body 10.
The body 20 further includes a cap 225 to seal and protect the far (distal)
end of the e-cigarette 10.
Typically there is an air inlet hole provided in or adjacent to the cap 225 to
allow air to enter the body 20
when a user inhales on the mouthpiece 35. The control unit or ASIC may be
positioned alongside or at
one end of the battery 210. In some embodiments, the ASIC is attached to a
sensor unit 215 to detect
an inhalation on mouthpiece 35 (or alternatively the sensor unit 215 may be
provided on the ASIC itself).
An air path is provided from the air inlet through the e-cigarette, past the
airflow sensor 215 and the
heater (in the vaporiser or cartomiser 30), to the mouthpiece 35. Thus when a
user inhales on the
mouthpiece of the e-cigarette, the CPU detects such inhalation based on
information from the airflow
sensor 215.
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At the opposite end of the body 20 from the cap 225 is the connector 256 for
joining the body 20 to the
cartomiser 30. The connector 25B provides mechanical and electrical
connectivity between the body 20
and the cartomiser 30. The connector 25B includes a body connector 240, which
is metallic (silver-
plated in some embodiments) to serve as one terminal for electrical connection
(positive or negative) to
the cartomiser 30. The connector 25B further includes an electrical contact
250 to provide a second
terminal for electrical connection to the cartomiser 30 of opposite polarity
to the first terminal, namely
body connector 240. The electrical contact 250 is mounted on a coil spring
255. When the body20 is
attached to the cartomiser 30, the connector 25A on the cartomiser 30 pushes
against the electrical
contact 250 in such a manner as to compress the coil spring in an axial
direction, i.e. in a direction
parallel to (co-aligned with) the longitudinal axis LA. In view of the
resilient nature of the spring 255,
this compression biases the spring 255 to expand, which has the effect of
pushing the electrical contact
250 firmly against connector 25A of the cartomiser 30, thereby helping to
ensure good electrical
connectivity between the body 20 and the cartomiser 30. The body connector 240
and the electrical
contact 250 are separated by a trestle 260, which is made of a non-conductor
(such as plastic) to
provide good insulation between the two electrical terminals. The trestle 260
is shaped to assist with
the mutual mechanical engagement of connectors 25A and 2513.
As mentioned above, a button 265, which represents a form of manual activation
device 265, may be
located on the outer housing of the body 20. The button 265 may be implemented
using any
appropriate mechanism which is operable to be manually activated by the user ¨
for example, as a
mechanical button or switch, a capacitive or resistive touch sensor, and so
on. It will also be appreciated
that the manual activation device 265 may be located on the outer housing of
the cartomiser 30, rather
than the outer housing of the body 20, in which case, the manual activation
device 265 may be attached
to the ASIC via the connections 25A, 25B. The button 265 might also be located
at the end of the body
20, in place of (or in addition to) cap 225.
Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the cartomiser 30 of the e-cigarette 10 of
Figure 1 in accordance with
some embodiments of the disclosure. Figure 3 can generally be regarded as a
cross-section in a plane
through the longitudinal axis LA of the e-cigarette 10. Note that various
components and details of the
cartomiser 30, such as wiring and more complex shaping, have been omitted from
Figure 3 for reasons
of clarity.
The cartomiser 30 includes an air passage 355 extending along the central
(longitudinal) axis of the
cartomiser 30 from the mouthpiece 35 to the connector 25A for joining the
cartomiser 30 to the body
20. A reservoir of liquid 360 is provided around the air passage 335. This
reservoir 360 may be
implemented, for example, by providing cotton or foam soaked in liquid. The
cartomiser 30 also
includes a heater 365 for heating liquid from reservoir 360 to generate vapour
to flow through air
passage 355 and out through mouthpiece 35 in response to a user inhaling on
the e-cigarette 10. The
heater 365 is powered through lines 366 and 367, which are in turn connected
to opposing polarities
(positive and negative, or vice versa) of the battery 210 of the main body 20
via connector 25A (the
details of the wiring between the power lines 366 and 367 and connector 25A
are omitted from Figure
3).
The connector 25A includes an inner electrode 375, which may be silver-plated
or made of some other
suitable metal or conducting material. When the cartomiser 30 is connected to
the body 20, the inner
electrode 375 contacts the electrical contact 250 of the body 20 to provide a
first electrical path
between the cartomiser 30 and the body 20. In particular, as the connectors
25A and 25B are engaged,
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the inner electrode 375 pushes against the electrical contact 250 so as to
compress the coil spring 255,
thereby helping to ensure good electrical contact between the inner electrode
375 and the electrical
contact 250.
The inner electrode 375 is surrounded by an insulating ring 372, which may be
made of plastic, rubber,
silicone, or any other suitable material. The insulating ring is surrounded by
the cartomiser connector
370, which may be silver-plated or made of some other suitable metal or
conducting material. When
the cartomiser 30 is connected to the body 20, the cartomiser connector 370
contacts the body
connector 240 of the body 20 to provide a second electrical path between the
cartomiser 30 and the
body 20. In other words, the inner electrode 375 and the cartomiser connector
370 serve as positive and
negative terminals (or vice versa) for supplying power from the battery 210 in
the body 20 to the heater
365 in the cartomiser 30 via supply lines 366 and 367 as appropriate.
The cartomiser connector 370 is provided with two lugs or tabs 380A, 380B,
which extend in opposite
directions away from the longitudinal axis of the e-cigarette 10. These tabs
are used to provide a
bayonet fitting in conjunction with the body connector 240 for connecting the
cartomiser 30 to the body
20. This bayonet fitting provides a secure and robust connection between the
cartomiser 30 and the
body 20, so that the cartomiser and body are held in a fixed position relative
to one another, with
minimal wobble or flexing, and the likelihood of any accidental disconnection
is very small. At the same
time, the bayonet fitting provides simple and rapid connection and
disconnection by an insertion
followed by a rotation for connection, and a rotation (in the reverse
direction) followed by withdrawal
for disconnection. It will be appreciated that other embodiments may use a
different form of
connection between the body 20 and the cartomiser 30, such as a snap fit or a
screw connection.
Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of certain details of the connector 258 at the
end of the body 20 in
accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure (but omitting for clarity
most of the internal
structure of the connector as shown in Figure 2, such as trestle 260). In
particular, Figure 4 shows the
external housing 201 of the body 20, which generally has the form of a
cylindrical tube. This external
housing 201 may comprise, for example, an inner tube of metal with an outer
covering of paper or
similar. The external housing 201 may also comprise the manual activation
device 265 (not shown in
Figure 4) so that the manual activation device 265 is easily accessible to the
user.
The body connector 240 extends from this external housing 201 of the body 20.
The body connector
240 as shown in Figure 4 comprises two main portions, a shaft portion 241 in
the shape of a hollow
cylindrical tube, which is sized to fit just inside the external housing 201
of the body 20, and a lip portion
242 which is directed in a radially outward direction, away from the main
longitudinal axis (LA) of the e-
cigarette. Surrounding the shaft portion 241 of the body connector 240, where
the shaft portion does
not overlap with the external housing 201, is a collar or sleeve 290, which is
again in a shape of a
cylindrical tube. The collar 290 is retained between the lip portion 242 of
the body connector 240 and
the external housing 201 of the body, which together prevent movement of the
collar 290 in an axial
direction (i.e. parallel to axis LA). However, collar 290 is free to rotate
around the shaft portion 241 (and
hence also axis LA).
As mentioned above, the cap 225 is provided with an air inlet hole to allow
air to flow when a user
inhales on the mouthpiece 35. However, in some embodiments the majority of air
that enters the
device when a user inhales flows through collar 290 and body connector 240 as
indicated by the two
arrows in Figure 4.
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Referring now to Figure 5, the e-cigarette 10 (or more generally any delivery
device as described
elsewhere herein) may operate within a wider delivery ecosystem 1. Within the
wider delivery
ecosystem, a number of devices may communicate with each other, either
directly (shown with solid
arrows) or indirectly (shown with dashed arrows).
In Figure 5, as an example delivery device an e-cigarette 10 may communicate
directly with one or more
other classes of device (for example using Bluetooth or Wifi Direct 6),
including but not limited to a
smartphone 100, a dock 200 (e.g. a home refill and/or charging station), a
vending machine 300, or a
wearable 400. As noted above, these devices may cooperate in any suitable
configuration to form a
delivery system.
Alternatively or in addition the delivery device, such as for example the e-
cigarette 10, may
communicate indirectly with one or more of these classes of device via a
network such as the internet
500, for example using Wifi , near field communication, a wired link or an
integral mobile data scheme.
Again, as noted above, in this manner these devices may cooperate in any
suitable configuration to form
a delivery system.
Alternatively or in addition the delivery device, such as for example the e-
cigarette 10, may
communicate indirectly with a server 1000 via a network such as the internet
500, either itself for
example by using Wifi, or via another device in the delivery ecosystem, for
example using Bluetooth or
Wifi Direct to communicate with a smartphone 100, a dock 200, a vending
machine 300, or a wearable
400 that then communicates with the server to either relay the e-cigarette's
communications, or report
upon its communications with the e-cigarette 10. The smartphone, dock, or
other device within the
delivery ecosystem, such as a point of sale system / vending machine, may
hence optionally act as a hub
for one or more delivery devices that only have short range transmission
capabilities. Such a hub may
thus extend the battery life of a delivery device that does not need to
maintain an ongoing WiFi or
mobile data link. It will also be appreciated that different types of data may
be transmitted with
different levels of priority; for example data relating to the user feedback
system (such as user factor
data or feedback action data, as discussed herein) may be transmitted with a
higher priority than more
general usage statistics, or similarly some user factor data relating to more
short-term variables (such as
current physiological data) may be transmitted with a higher priority than
user factor data relating to
longer-term variables (such as current weather, or day of the week). A non-
limiting example
transmission scheme allowing higher and lower priority transmission is
LoRaWAN.
Meanwhile, the other classes of device in the ecosystem such as the
smartphone, dock, vending
machine (or any other point of sale system) and/or wearable may also
communicate indirectly with the
server 1000 via a network such as the internet 500, either to fulfil an aspect
of their own functionality,
or on behalf of the delivery system (for example as a relay or co-processing
unit). These devices may
also communicate with each other, either directly or indirectly.
It will be appreciated that the delivery ecosystem may comprise multiple
delivery devices (10), for
example because the user owns multiple devices (for example so as to easily
switch between different
active ingredients or flavourings), or because multiple users share the same
delivery ecosystem, at least
in part (for example cohabiting users may share a charging dock, but have
their own phones or
wearables). Optionally such devices may similarly communicate directly or
indirectly with each other,
and/or with devices within the shared delivery ecosystem and/or the server.
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In embodiments of the present description, a user may wish to change the
composition of the aerosol
that they inhale, making the change either directly via a user interface, or
indirectly via a managed
program such as a nicotine reduction program or similar that may successively
reduce the concentration
of active ingredient(s) over time, for example over a period of days, weeks,
or months. Alternatively or
in addition they may wish to transition to a different payload that enables or
provides a different
concentration or mix of components, or transition from the delivery properties
of an old device to a new
device. Other causes and sources of changes to the composition of the aerosol
may also be envisaged by
the skilled person.
Typically such a change in aerosol composition is independent of any change in
volume or mass of
vapour generated, so that for an identical puff, an identical volume or mass
of vapour is generated, but
with a lower concentration of active ingredient(s) such as nicotine. Hence in
general the alteration to
the composition of the delivered aerosol does not substantially affect the
overall aerosol mass delivery
rate.
It is assumed herein that it is desirable for such changes to have an
imperceptible or minor subjective
effect for the user, so that for example they find their vaping action to
still be satisfying as the
concentration of active ingredient becomes progressively less, for example
down to a target
concentration.
An indication that the changes have had a material subjective effect for the
user, whether conscious or
unconscious, is if the user changes their average puff characteristics. Hence
for example if the user
(whether or not they realise it) is feeling less satisfied with their
inhalation of a lower concentration
puff, they are likely to start to puff for longer and/or with a greater
intensity.
Such a transition within the user's puffing trend is thus indicative that the
latest change made to the
concentration of active ingredients was too large, and should be at least
partially reversed to constitute
a smaller step, or fully reversed to re-normalise the user before trying again
with a smaller change.
Accordingly the aerosol delivery system 1, comprising an aerosol delivery
device 10, may also comprise a
puff characterisation processor (for example control unit 205) configured (for
example by suitable
software instruction) to estimate an average of a puff characteristic by a
user of the aerosol delivery
device for a plurality of puffs. As noted elsewhere herein, the puff
characteristic may comprise one or
more selected from the list consisting of puff duration, and puff intensity.
These characteristics may be
measured for example using the airflow sensor 215, by the puff
characterisation processor.
The system may also comprise a control processor (again for example control
unit 205) configured (for
example by suitable software instruction) to alter a composition of an aerosol
delivered to the user by
the delivery device.
The aerosol delivery system may comprise a companion device from the delivery
ecosystem, such as the
users mobile phone 100. Hence optionally the companion device may comprise one
or more selected
from the list consisting of the puff characterisation processor and the
control processor, or functionality
of one or both of these processors may be shared between the companion device
and another
processor within the delivery ecosystem, such as the control unit of the
delivery device.
The puff characterisation processor may be configured to detect any change in
an estimated average
puff characteristic after the composition of the aerosol has been altered, and
the control processor may
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be configured to - if such a change exceeds a predetermined first threshold -
at least partially reverse
the alteration to the composition of the aerosol.
In this way the aerosol delivery system can characterise at least a first puff
characteristic the user and
implement one or more incremental changes in the composition of the delivered
aerosol, evaluate
5 whether this results in more than the threshold change in the puff
characteristic, and if so then at least
partially reverse the extent of the change made.
The average of a puff characteristic can be a rolling average, and can be
based on the last N the puffs, or
the puffs within the preceding predetermined time period (e.g. 1 hour, or 1
day). Optionally a plurality
of averages can be maintained corresponding to different circumstances; for
example an average can be
10 maintained for use in the mornings and/or evenings versus use during
office hours, used during
weekdays versus weekends, and/or use at different locations, recognising that
other factors than the
concentration of active ingredients within the aerosol may affect puff
characteristics; generating
averages for these different circumstances helps to normalise for the
contribution of these different
influences.
The average of a puff characteristic can also comprise a short-term and long-
term rolling average or
period. For example a pair of rolling averages based on the last N and M puffs
where N> M; this may
enable the short term rolling average to detect a change in an estimated
average puff characteristic
more quickly and hence enable the system to act to at least partially reverse
the alteration to the
composition of the aerosol more quickly as well.
The threshold for detecting a change in puff characteristic may optionally be
adaptive; for example it
may be a function of a variance in the puff characteristic associated with the
average puff characteristic.
Hence for example when compiling an average based on the last N puffs, the
variance for those N puffs
may also be computed. Hence for users whose puff inhalation duration or
intensity are relatively
invariant, the threshold may be relatively sensitive, whereas for users who
are highly variable in any
case the threshold may be very insensitive, possibly to the extent that the
system effectively does not
implement the corrective steps for users where it is not practical to detect
changes in behaviour.
As noted elsewhere herein, common sources of variability such as changes in
behaviour due to time of
day or location can be removed by compiling separate statistics for these
respective conditions, thus
improving the likely sensitivity of the system.
It will be appreciated that the average and optionally variance for historical
puffs may be temporarily
held for a short period of time after changes have been made, so that any
differences in puff
characteristics after the change do not start to contribute to the reference
average.
Hence for example the average and variance for the last N puffs prior to a
change (or the puffs in the
predetermined period prior to the change) may be retained, whilst a separate
average (and optionally
variance) for the last N or M (where M<N) puffs, either initially spanning the
change or only after the
change may be used for the purposes of comparison; hence the change in an
estimated average puff
characteristic may be the change between the retained average prior to the
change, and a separately
computed average spanning or only after the change.
Hence for example a first rolling average based on the last N puffs prior to a
change in composition can
be used as the reference average, and then either a second rolling average can
be cloned from it to
continue with the last N puffs as these continue after the change in
composition, or a second rolling
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average can be cloned from it to continue with the last M puffs (M<N) as these
continue after the
change in composition, or a second rolling average can start based on the
puffs after the change in
composition, optionally also including a predetermined number from beforehand
to bootstrap the
average.
If the puff characterisation processor determines that there is no significant
change (i.e. any change
remains below the threshold for a predetermined period of time), then the data
from the latter average
can be combined with or replace the retained earlier average so that the
current puff characteristic from
the user remain up-to-date. Alternatively however, the original average may be
used as an ongoing
benchmark, so that successive small changes in average puff characteristic
below the threshold do not
add up over time to mask a significant actual change in puff characteristic
that has built up with respect
to the original. Alternatively or in addition, the original average may be
updated using a much longer
rolling average, for example equating to usage over multiple composition
changes, so that the influence
of individual small step changes in puff characteristic are less.
If the change in an estimated average puff characteristic after the
composition of the aerosol has been
altered exceeds the predetermined first threshold, then as noted elsewhere
herein this implies that the
change has been too large and has had a material effect on the behaviour of
the user (whether
conscious or unconscious) and so the control processor is configured to at
least partially reverse the
alteration of the composition of the aerosol.
This reversal may for example comprise changing the composition 100% back to
the prior composition,
or 75%, 50% or 25%, as an example of four possible steps. Other ranges such as
a set of three steps or
five steps are clearly also conceivable.
Optionally the degree of reversal may be calculated or selected responsive to
the degree of change in
the estimated average puff characteristic; hence for example if the change
equals or just exceeds the
first threshold, the reversal may be 33%, whereas if the change exceeds the
first threshold by a
predetermined first additional threshold amount, the reversal may be 66% and
if the change exceeds
the first threshold by a predetermined second additional threshold amount, the
reversal may be 100%.
Alternatively the first change threshold could represent a minimum or 0%
reverse threshold and a
second higher change threshold could represent a maximum 100% reverse
threshold, and the amount
reversal is then determined by where the actual change lies with respect to
these thresholds. The
relationship between these thresholds and the amount of reversal may be linear
or non-linear.
Optionally, the aerosol delivery system is configured to evaluate a change in
average puff characteristic
corresponding to the at least partial reversal of the alteration to the
composition of the aerosol. That is
to say, the at least partial reversal can be treated like another change in
composition, and a
corresponding change in average puff characteristics can be evaluated to see
whether and to what
extent the user has changed back to their previous average puff
characteristics in response to the
reversal.
Hence for example if the system partially reversed a change in composition by
40%, but subsequently
the users average puff characteristic only reverted 80% of the way back to the
original, then the aerosol
delivery system may change the reversal to 50%, in the expectation that this
will cause the user's
average puff characteristic to revert 100% of the way back to the original.
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In a case where the user exhibits a form of behavioural hysteresis, it may be
that the reversal needs to
be greater than 100% to revert back to the previous average puff
characteristic. Hence in effect in this
case the overall direction of change is slightly backwards, but enables a
resetting of the user's behaviour
for a subsequent and more cautious change of composition.
The degree to which the users average puff characteristic is expected to
revert back in response to a
reversal in the change of composition can be predetermined; whilst 100% may be
preferred, a lower
degree reversal may be acceptable such as 80, 75, 60, or 50%. Hence optionally
the aerosol delivery
system may be configured to alter a degree of partial reversal if the changed
average puff characteristic
is not within a predetermined second threshold of the original average puff
characteristic.
The aerosol delivery system may optionally model a relationship between the
alteration to the
composition of the aerosol and average puff characteristic. At its most crude,
this may be a gradient
(e.g. a dy/dx line) modelling how a change in composition corresponds to a
change in puff characteristic.
To a second approximation, separate gradients may be determined for the
initial change, and any
reversals, to capture whether there is any difference in responsiveness when
the change occurs in
different directions. To a greater approximation, any suitable statistical
model or models may be used to
determine the relationship between a change in composition and a change in
puff characteristic.
Where more than one puff characteristic is evaluated (for example duration and
intensity), then
separate averages, and separate optional models, may be used; or a combined
average (for example
after normalisation of the respective averages) and single optional model may
be used.
Similarly, different models may be generated for different circumstances, such
as work days and
evenings, weekdays and weekends, and based upon location, to compensate for
other influences on
puff characteristic, as discussed elsewhere herein.
With such a model or models, the aerosol delivery system may be configured to
predict an alteration to
the composition of the aerosol that will keep the average puff characteristic
within the first threshold,
based on the modelled relationship.
In other words, given a gradient or other model of how a change in composition
corresponds to a
change in puff characteristic, a change in composition can be selected that
can be expected to
correspond to a change in puff characteristic that is less than the first
threshold, and optionally by less
than a safety margin below the first threshold.
Consequently, the aerosol delivery system can learn what changes in
composition are likely to avoid
causing a threshold change in puff characteristic that would necessitate at
least a partial reversal in the
changing composition according to the techniques herein, using such a model or
models.
Such a model may also be provided for example from a remote repository such as
a central server. This
model may be an actual model for the user derived from the user's usage of a
different delivery device,
such as a previous delivery device, or where the user has more than one
currently. This bootstraps the
predictive capabilities of the aerosol delivery system. Alternatively or in
addition such a model may be
based upon data obtained for one or more other users with similar
physiological properties to the
current user, such as one or more of age, gender, weight, height, BMI, etc.,
as the pharmacological
response of similar individuals to changes in composition are likely to also
be similar and hence their
changes in puff characteristics in response to changes in composition are also
likely to be similar.
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It will be appreciated that the aerosol delivery system may also share its own
modelled relationship(s)
with such a remote repository. Where appropriate it may also share
physiological properties of the
current user, or these may already be known to the remote repository for
example as part of a prior
user registration process.
Whilst the description has so far referred to changes in composition of active
ingredient and in
particular nicotine, it is not limited to this. Rather, alterations in
composition include changes to
concentration of one or more selected from the list consisting of one or more
active ingredients, one or
more flavourings, and one or more cloud/opacity agents.
It will also be appreciated that the alteration in composition could include a
change to a mix of active
ingredients, for example a ratio of protonated and non-protonated nicotine,
even if the overall
concentration of total active ingredients remains the same.
Turning now to figure 6, a method of control for an aerosol delivery system
comprising an aerosol
delivery device comprises the following steps.
Firstly, a puff characterisation step s610 of estimating an average of a puff
characteristic by a user of the
aerosol delivery device for a plurality of puffs, for example implemented by
the puff characterisation
processor, as described elsewhere herein.
Secondly, a control step s620 of comprising altering a composition of an
aerosol delivered to the user by
the delivery device, for example implemented by the control processor, as
described elsewhere herein.
Thirdly, a detection step s630 of detecting any change in an estimated average
puff characteristic after
the composition of the aerosol has been altered, for example implemented by
the puff characterisation
processor, as described elsewhere herein.
And fourthly, a reversal step s640 of, if such a change exceeds a
predetermined first threshold, at least
partially reversing the alteration to the composition of the aerosol, for
example implemented by the
control processor, as described elsewhere herein.
It will be apparent to a person skilled in the art that variations in the
above method corresponding to
operation of the various embodiments of the apparatus as described and claimed
herein are considered
within the scope of the present invention.
It will also be appreciated that the above methods may be carried out on
conventional hardware
suitably adapted as applicable by software instruction or by the inclusion or
substitution of dedicated
hardware. Examples of such conventional hardware include the control unit 205,
and/or a CPU of the
companion device (e.g. phone 100) or other device of the delivery ecosystem
operating under suitable
software instruction to implement the functionality of the puff
characterisation processor and control
processor as described elsewhere herein.
Thus the required adaptation to existing parts of a conventional equivalent
device may be implemented
in the form of a computer program product comprising processor implementable
instructions stored on
a non-transitory machine-readable medium such as a floppy disk, optical disk,
hard disk, solid state disk,
PROM, RAM, flash memory or any combination of these or other storage media, or
realised in hardware
as an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) or an FPGA (field
programmable gate array) or other
configurable circuit suitable to use in adapting the conventional equivalent
device. Separately, such a
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computer program may be transmitted via data signals on a network such as an
Ethernet, a wireless
network, the Internet, or any combination of these or other networks.
The foregoing discussion discloses and describes merely exemplary embodiments
of the present
invention. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the present
invention may be embodied in
other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential
characteristics thereof. Accordingly,
the disclosure of the present invention is intended to be illustrative, but
not limiting of the scope of the
invention, as well as other claims. The disclosure, including any readily
discernible variants of the
teachings herein, defines, in part, the scope of the foregoing claim
terminology such that no inventive
subject matter is dedicated to the public.
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