Tool capable of dynamically configuring parameters of electronic cigarette

Abstract

The invention provides a tool capable of dynamically configuring parameters of an electronic cigarette, and relates to the technical field of electronic cigarettes, the tool comprises an external equipment body, the outer end face of the external equipment body is provided with a display part and a touch control part, and a micro-control unit is installed in the external equipment body. One end of the external equipment body is provided with a communication connector matched with an electronic cigarette charging interface, and the communication connector is connected to the electronic cigarette charging interface and then realizes half-duplex communication through two signal lines; the external equipment can be connected to the interface on the electronic cigarette body to perform data communication and send the parameter setting instruction when needed, meanwhile, the charging interface of the electronic cigarette body can be reused, the cost is saved, and an interface can be independently formed in the electronic cigarette body.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of electronic cigarettes, and in particular to a tool for dynamically configuring electronic cigarette parameters. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid development of the e-cigarette market, atomizing e-cigarettes and heat-not-burn e-cigarettes have become common tobacco products for many smokers, which have greatly improved the smoking experience. These products produce aerosols or smoke by heating liquid substances or tobacco, avoiding the tar and harmful particles caused by the open flame of traditional tobacco. In order to better meet user needs, the design of e-cigarettes usually provides a variety of parameter adjustment functions, including dynamic adjustment of power and single smoking time through touch screen, buttons or Bluetooth. However, these additional functional accessories will significantly increase the cost of e-cigarettes, resulting in higher retail prices, which is not a good thing for consumers.

[0003] To solve this problem, e-cigarette manufacturers usually need to minimize costs while ensuring user experience. This means that the structural design of e-cigarettes should be as simple as possible and reduce unnecessary accessories. In addition to the necessary shell, mouthpiece, battery, cartridge, solution board and charging port, they are usually not equipped with complex input devices such as buttons or touch screens, nor are they equipped with digital tubes or displays. Although such a simplified design solves the cost problem, it also brings a challenge: the parameters preset before the device leaves the factory cannot meet the needs of all users. For example, some users like a high-power experience, while others prefer a low-power experience. Therefore, how to strike a balance between maintaining high performance and low cost of e-cigarettes has become a technical problem that needs to be solved urgently. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to solve the shortcomings of the existing technology and design an external device (hereinafter referred to as external device) that can dynamically adjust the parameters of the electronic cigarette. When needed, it can be connected to the electronic cigarette body to modify the parameters of the electronic cigarette.

[0005] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0006] A tool for dynamically configuring electronic cigarette parameters includes an external device body, the outer end surface of which is equipped with a display unit and a touch unit, a microcontroller unit installed inside the external device body, and a communication connector adapted to the electronic cigarette charging interface at one end of the external device body. After the communication connector is connected to the electronic cigarette charging interface, half-duplex communication is achieved through two signal lines.

[0007] Furthermore, the display unit is a digital tube or LCD display screen.

[0008] Furthermore, the touch portion is a button or a touch screen.

[0009] Furthermore, the touch portion may have no less than four buttons, including but not limited to a power button, an up button, a down button, and a confirmation button. When a touch screen is used, only one physical button, the power button, may be retained, and the other buttons may be implemented through the touch screen.

[0010] Furthermore, the external device body is also equipped with a battery for power supply and an interface is provided for charging.

[0011] Furthermore, the micro control unit is used to read existing parameters of the electronic cigarette body, set new parameters of the electronic cigarette, and send the new parameters to the electronic cigarette body.

[0012] Furthermore, the communication connector is a Type-C connector.

[0013] Furthermore, the communication connector provides two pins, TXA and RXA, while the electronic cigarette charging interface also provides two pins, TXB and RXB. The wires of the two sets of pins are respectively connected to the micro control unit and the electronic cigarette control terminal.

[0014] Furthermore, the external device body 1 can also use other communication connectors different from Type-C, and can use protocols including but not limited to serial port, SPI and I2C to communicate with the electronic cigarette body control terminal.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0016] Convenient connection and communication: When needed, the external device can be connected to the interface on the electronic cigarette body for data communication and send parameter setting instructions. At the same time, the charging interface of the electronic cigarette body can be reused to save costs. An interface can also be opened separately on the electronic cigarette body.

[0017] Flexible communication methods: In view of the fact that the MCU in the electronic cigarette body does not support communication protocols such as serial port, SPI, I2C, etc., a private protocol is designed, and only a small number of general pins are used to complete communication, reducing communication costs and technical difficulties. After the MCU of the electronic cigarette body receives the parameters of the external device, it can operate according to the new parameters to meet the personalized needs of different users for electronic cigarette parameters; in view of the fact that the MCU in the electronic cigarette body supports communication protocols such as serial port, SPI, I2C, etc., multiple protocols such as serial port, SPI, I2C, etc. can also be selected to communicate with the electronic cigarette body. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 A schematic block diagram of the structure of a tool for dynamically configuring electronic cigarette parameters provided by the present invention;

[0019] Figure 2A schematic diagram of the communication between a tool for dynamically configuring electronic cigarette parameters and the electronic cigarette provided by the present invention;

[0020] Figure 3 A handshake flow chart of the tool for dynamically configuring electronic cigarette parameters and the electronic cigarette provided by the present invention;

[0021] Figure 4 This is a tool for dynamically configuring electronic cigarette parameters and a parameter modification flow chart of the electronic cigarette body provided by the present invention.

[0022] Legend: 1. External device body; 2. Display unit; 3. Touch unit; 4. Microcontroller unit; 5. Communication connector; 6. Battery. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0024] To facilitate understanding of the present invention, the present invention will be described more comprehensively below with reference to relevant references, and several embodiments of the present invention are given. However, the present invention can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. On the contrary, the purpose of providing these embodiments is to make the disclosure of the present invention more thorough and comprehensive.

[0025] It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed on" another element, it may be directly on the other element or there may be a central element. When an element is considered to be "connected to" another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or there may be a central element at the same time. The terms "vertical", "horizontal", "left", "right" and similar expressions used in this article are for illustrative purposes only.

[0026] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. The terms used in the specification of the present invention are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. The term "and / or" used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the related listed items.

[0027] Example 1

[0028] like Figure 1-2As shown, the present invention provides a technical solution: a tool that can dynamically configure electronic cigarette parameters, including an external device body 1, the outer end surface of the external device body 1 is equipped with a display part 2 and a touch part 3, a micro control unit 4 is installed inside the external device body 1, and one end of the external device body 1 is provided with a communication connector 5 adapted to the electronic cigarette charging interface. After the communication connector 5 is connected to the electronic cigarette charging interface, half-duplex communication is realized through two signal lines.

[0029] The micro control unit 4 is used to read the existing parameters of the electronic cigarette body, set new parameters of the electronic cigarette, and send the new parameters to the electronic cigarette body;

[0030] The external device body 1 is also equipped with a battery 6 for supplying power to the external device body 1, and an interface is provided for charging;

[0031] The display part 2 uses a digital tube or LCD display screen to display the parameters transmitted from the electronic cigarette body and the newly set electronic cigarette parameters. It can also be used to display the parameters of the external device itself, such as the battery voltage of the external device itself. From a cost perspective, a digital tube is preferred.

[0032] The touch part 3 uses buttons or a touch screen to provide the user with a parameter setting input method. From a cost perspective, buttons are preferred. The more buttons there are, the higher the cost, but the easier it is for the user to set the parameters.

[0033] If buttons are selected, the number of buttons selected by the touch portion 3 is not less than four, including but not limited to a power button, an up button, a down button, and a confirmation button;

[0034] Based on the above, the operation method of the external device body 1 through the touch part 3 is as follows:

[0035] Take 4 buttons as an example to describe the working mode of the plug-in device. These 4 buttons are: power button, up button, down button, and confirm button.

[0036] Power button: Press and hold for 3 seconds to turn on the device, and press and hold for 3 seconds to turn off the device. The specific duration can be adjusted according to the manufacturer's needs, such as adjusting it to a 4-second press to turn on and off the device. Short press to switch the parameter type. For example, after turning on the device, the default parameter currently adjusted is the smoking power. Short press the power button to switch to a new parameter, such as the smoking time.

[0037] Up button: used to increase the value of the current parameter. For example, if the current parameter is smoking power, then pressing the up button will increase the smoking power value by 1 unit. Here, 1 unit can be set to 0.5W or 1W. The specific value can be adjusted according to the manufacturer's requirements.

[0038] Down minus key: The function is similar to the up plus key, except that the value is adjusted in the opposite direction;

[0039] Confirm button: After setting the parameter value, you can press the confirm button to send the new parameter value to the electronic cigarette body.

[0040] If a touch screen is selected, only one button, the power button, can be retained, and the functions of other buttons can be realized on the touch screen.

[0041] Furthermore, in order to save costs, the number of buttons can be reduced, but the user's operating experience will be slightly more complicated. Here, taking the three buttons of the power button, the up button, and the down button as an example, after removing the confirmation button, the confirmation and sending function can be achieved by long pressing the power button. For example, long pressing the power button for 2 seconds can realize the confirmation and sending function. Note that the duration here should not conflict with the power on and off time.

[0042] It should be noted that in order to save costs, the charging interface of the electronic cigarette body is reused to communicate with the external device. Currently in the field of electronic cigarettes, the charging interface is usually Type-C USB, so the communication interface between the external device and the electronic cigarette body is preferably Type-C USB.

[0043] like Figure 2 As shown, the communication connector 5 of the external device body 1 provides two pins, TX A and RX A At the same time, the electronic cigarette charging interface also provides two pins TX B and RX B The wires of the two sets of pins are respectively connected to the micro control unit 4 and the electronic cigarette control terminal, and a private communication protocol is used for communication.

[0044] The external device body 1 can also use other communication connectors different from Type-C, and can use protocols including but not limited to serial port, SPI and I2C to communicate with the electronic cigarette body control terminal;

[0045] Based on the above communication options, the following takes the private protocol communication between the plug-in device and the electronic cigarette body as an example to illustrate the hardware connection between the two. In order to reduce complexity, two signal lines are generally used for half-duplex communication. The following example describes the communication process: The plug-in device body 1 (here referred to as the plug-in device A) provides two pins TX A RX A The electronic cigarette body provides two pins TX B RX B , the two sets of pins are connected to each other through wires.

[0046] like Figure 3 As shown, the handshake process between the two devices is as follows:

[0047] First step: After the external device A is started, it is in low power consumption state. After connecting with the electronic cigarette body B in starting state, the external device A will receive a hardware triggered level change, and then it will be woken up and start monitoring the pin TX A Sending device searching instruction

[0048] Of course, the electronic cigarette body B in low power consumption state can also be woken up after connecting with the external device A. In other words, if both devices are in low power consumption state, they can wake up each other after connecting.

[0049] Second step: After the electronic cigarette body B is started, it is connected with the external device A in starting state. The electronic cigarette body B will receive a hardware triggered level change, and then it will start monitoring the pin RX B 's input through interruption. Once there is input signal, it will be received and verified. After successful verification, it will reply to the external device A. The handshake is completed.

[0050] In addition, if the verification of B fails, it can choose not to reply, of course, it can also choose to request A to resend the command. For the sake of simplicity, it can usually choose not to reply, but A can determine to resend the command by timeout judgment. That is, A will resend the command if it cannot receive the reply of B within the specified time. In the judgment of whether the external device A is timeout, the number of retransmission times can be set, such as 3 times. Once the electronic cigarette body B does not reply after 3 times of retransmission, the sending can be stopped.

[0051] In summary, as shown in Figure 4 , when the handshake of the external device A and the electronic cigarette body B is completed:

[0052] The parameter setting process of the two devices is as follows:

[0053] First step: The user selects the appropriate parameter type on the external device A.

[0054] Second step: The external device A sends parameter reading instruction.

[0055] Third step: The electronic cigarette body B receives the instruction and returns the current parameter value.

[0056] Fourth step: The user modifies the parameter value on the external device A and clicks to confirm sending.

[0057] Fifth step: The electronic cigarette body B receives the new parameter value and returns the receipt.

[0058] In order to expand the application scenario, a parameter type reading instruction can be added. That is, after the external device A sends this instruction, the electronic cigarette body B returns the parameter types it supports.

[0059] Furthermore, if further cost savings are needed, a single line can be used for communication between the external device A and the electronic cigarette body B. When one party sends data, the other party is in a waiting state to receive. Then the direction is reversed, the other party sends data, and this party receives the data.

[0060] The design of the instructions between the two can be designed according to the actual situation. Here is a reference suggestion:

[0061] Command Name Format illustrate Device Search External device A sends: 0x55 0xAA 0x0A 0x09 Electronic cigarette body B responds: 0x55 0xAA 0x0A0x09 0x55 indicates the frame header, 0xAA indicates a non-specific numerical instruction type, 0x0A indicates device search, and 0x09 indicates the lower eight bits of the checksum of the previous byte. Parameter reading External device A sends: 0x55 0x15 0x0A 0x74 Electronic cigarette body B responds: 0x55 0x15 0x0A0x74 0x55 is the frame header, 0x15 indicates the voltage read command, 0x0A has no special meaning, and 0x74 indicates the lower eight bits of the checksum of the previous byte. Parameter settings External device A sends: 0x55 0x1A 0x25 0x94 Electronic cigarette body B responds: 0x55 0x1A 0x25 0x94 0x55 is the frame header, 0x1A indicates the voltage setting command, 0x25 indicates the voltage parameter value (decimal value 37 indicates 3.7V voltage value), and 0x94 indicates the lower eight bits of the checksum of the previous byte. Parameter type reading External device A sends: 0x55 0xAA 0x0B 0x0A Electronic cigarette body B responds: 0x55 0x78 0x350x02 For issuing commands: 0x55 indicates the frame header, 0xAA indicates a non-specific numerical command type, 0x0B indicates parameter type reading, and 0x0A indicates the lower eight bits of the checksum of the previous byte. For data reply: 0x55 indicates the frame header, and the 16 bits of 0x78 and 0x35 can be used to indicate 16 parameter types. If a bit is 1, it means that this parameter type is supported, otherwise it does not support this parameter type. 0x02 indicates the lower eight bits of the checksum of the previous byte.

[0062] Example 2

[0063] In order to facilitate the modification of parameters, a Bluetooth chip can be installed on the external device to communicate with the mobile phone. The external device only needs a power button, no other buttons, no digital tube or display screen. The application software on the mobile phone can communicate with the external device via Bluetooth to view in real time which parameter types the electronic cigarette body supports and dynamically modify the parameters on the electronic cigarette body; in addition, the external device can communicate with the mobile phone through the USB interface, audio port or other wired interface, or communicate with the mobile phone through WiFi. The details are similar to the Bluetooth communication method, thereby realizing the linkage between the external device and the mobile phone.

[0064] The usage scenarios of the plug-in device of the present invention are:

[0065] Scenario 1: An e-cigarette assembly factory uses external devices to modify the parameters of certain batches of e-cigarettes based on different customers, channels, or consumer groups;

[0066] Scenario 2: When selling e-cigarettes or providing after-sales service, retailers use plug-in devices to modify the parameters of e-cigarettes according to consumer preferences;

[0067] Scenario 3: A consumer purchases an external device and uses it to dynamically modify parameters for an e-cigarette that supports the corresponding protocol;

[0068] Scenario 4: During the development phase, customers can use external devices to confirm the default curing parameters of the e-cigarette body to improve R&D efficiency.

[0069] While embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions, and variations may be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, and that the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A tool for dynamically configuring electronic cigarette parameters, characterized by: The invention comprises an external device body (1), wherein the external end surface of the external device body (1) is provided with a display unit (2) and a touch unit (3), a micro control unit (4) is installed inside the external device body (1), and one end of the external device body (1) is provided with a communication connector (5) adapted to the electronic cigarette charging interface, and after the communication connector (5) is connected to the electronic cigarette charging interface, half-duplex communication is achieved through two signal lines.

2. A tool for dynamically configuring electronic cigarette parameters according to claim 1, characterized in that: The display unit (2) is a digital tube or LCD display screen.

3. The tool for dynamically configuring electronic cigarette parameters according to claim 1, characterized in that: The touch control part (3) is a button or a touch screen.

4. A tool for dynamically configuring electronic cigarette parameters according to claim 3, characterized in that: The touch control portion (3) has at least four buttons, including but not limited to a power button, an up button, a down button, and a confirmation button; The touch control part (3) is a touch screen, and has one button which is a power button.

5. The tool for dynamically configuring electronic cigarette parameters according to claim 1, characterized in that: The external device body (1) is also equipped with a battery (6) for power supply and an interface for charging.

6. The tool for dynamically configuring electronic cigarette parameters according to claim 1, characterized in that: The micro control unit (4) is used to read existing parameters of the electronic cigarette body, set new parameters of the electronic cigarette, and send the new parameters to the electronic cigarette body.

7. The tool for dynamically configuring electronic cigarette parameters according to claim 1, characterized in that: The communication connector (5) is a Type-C connector.

8. The tool for dynamically configuring electronic cigarette parameters according to claim 1, characterized in that: The communication connector (5) provides two pins, TX A and RX A At the same time, the electronic cigarette charging interface also provides two pins TX B and RX B The wires of the two sets of pins are connected to the micro control unit (4) and the electronic cigarette control terminal respectively.

9. The tool for dynamically configuring electronic cigarette parameters according to claim 1, characterized in that: The external device body (1) can also use other communication connectors different from Type-C, and can use protocols including but not limited to serial port, SPI and I2C to communicate with the electronic cigarette body control terminal.

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