Aerosol generating device and control method thereof

Abstract

The invention discloses an aerosol generating device and a control method thereof. The aerosol generating device comprises a heater; the battery cell is used for providing power for the heater; the detection circuit is used for detecting the current value of the battery cell in a charging or discharging state; the control unit is configured to obtain the initial electric quantity of the battery cell at the first time; the current value detected by the detection circuit is obtained at the second time, and the change value of the electric quantity of the battery cell is calculated through the ampere-hour integral method; determining the electric quantity of the battery cell in the second time according to the initial electric quantity of the battery cell and the change value of the electric quantity of the battery cell; the voltage fluctuation range of the battery cell in the second time is larger than that of the battery cell in the first time. The change value of the electric quantity of the battery cell is estimated by adopting the ampere-hour integral method at the second time with a relatively large voltage fluctuation range, and the electric quantity of the battery cell at the second time is determined by combining the initial electric quantity corresponding to the first time with a relatively small voltage fluctuation range; the electric quantity estimation accuracy is improved, and effective management of the battery cell is facilitated.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of aerosol generation, and in particular to an aerosol generating device and a control method thereof. BACKGROUND

[0002] As an example, there is an aerosol generating device that generates aerosol for a user to smoke by heating, rather than burning, a solid aerosol-forming substrate, such as a tobacco rod. As another example, there is another aerosol generating device that generates aerosol for a user to smoke by heating a liquid aerosol-forming substrate, such as e-liquid.

[0003] In the above-mentioned device, an electric cell is usually provided for providing power, and the electric quantity of the electric cell is usually affected by factors such as open circuit voltage, charge and discharge current size, temperature, self-discharge, etc. However, the current electric quantity estimation method of the electric cell has low precision and large error, which is not conducive to the effective management of the electric cell. For example, in the low electric quantity area of the electric cell, the electric cell voltage changes greatly, and if the electric quantity estimation error is large, the voltage of the aerosol generating device will be instantaneously pulled down to the cut-off voltage after working, or even trigger the protection value of the electric cell PCM (Protection Circuit Module), causing a false death phenomenon. Also, for example, in the process of charging and discharging the electric cell, the electric cell voltage may have a problem of virtual high and low, resulting in a large electric quantity deviation. The current electric quantity estimation method of the electric cell is prone to cause inaccurate display, affecting the judgment of the endurance. SUMMARY

[0004] The present application aims to provide an aerosol generating device and a control method thereof to accurately estimate the electric quantity of the electric cell, thereby facilitating the effective management of the electric cell.

[0005] According to an aspect of the present application, an aerosol generating device is provided, comprising:

[0006] a heater configured to heat an aerosol-forming substrate to generate an aerosol;

[0007] an electric cell configured to provide power for the heater;

[0008] a detection circuit configured to detect a current value of the electric cell in a charging or discharging state;

[0009] a control unit configured to obtain an initial electric quantity of the electric cell at a first time, obtain the current value detected by the detection circuit at a second time, calculate a change value of the electric quantity of the electric cell by adopting an ampere-hour integration method, and determine the electric quantity of the electric cell at the second time according to the initial electric quantity of the electric cell and the change value of the electric quantity of the electric cell.

[0010] wherein a voltage fluctuation range of the electric cell at the second time is greater than a voltage fluctuation range of the electric cell at the first time.

[0011] According to another aspect of the present application, a method for controlling an aerosol generating device is provided.

[0012] The aerosol generating device comprises a heater for heating an aerosol-forming substrate to generate an aerosol, a battery cell for providing power to the heater, and a detection circuit for detecting a current value of the battery cell in a charging or discharging state;

[0013] The control method includes:

[0014] Obtaining the initial power of the battery cell at the first opportunity;

[0015] Obtaining the current value detected by the detection circuit at a second time, and calculating the change value of the battery cell power by using an ampere-hour integration method; wherein the voltage fluctuation range of the battery cell at the second time is greater than the voltage fluctuation range of the battery cell at the first time;

[0016] The power of the battery cell at the second time is determined according to the initial power of the battery cell and the change value of the power of the battery cell.

[0017] The aerosol generating device and control method provided in the present application use the ampere-hour integration method to estimate the change in the battery cell power at the second time when the voltage fluctuation range is larger, and combine the initial power corresponding to the first time when the voltage fluctuation range is smaller, so as to determine the power of the battery cell at the second time; thereby improving the accuracy of power estimation and facilitating the effective management of the battery cell. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] One or more embodiments are exemplarily illustrated by pictures in the corresponding drawings. These exemplifications do not constitute limitations on the embodiments. Elements with the same reference numerals in the drawings are represented as similar elements. Unless otherwise stated, the figures in the drawings do not constitute proportional limitations.

[0019] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of the aerosol generating device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0020] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of another aerosol generating device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0021] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a detection circuit provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0022] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the relationship between open circuit voltage and power provided in the embodiment of the present application;

[0023] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of battery voltage provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0024] Figure 6 is a control method flowchart of an aerosol generating device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0025] Figure 7 is a control process schematic diagram of an aerosol generating device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0026] Figure 8 is an electric quantity display schematic diagram provided by an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and superiorities of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the following will be combined with the accompanying drawings for a clear and complete description of the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are some but not all of the embodiments of the present application. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art without creative work fall within the protection scope of the present application.

[0028] The technical features involved in each of the embodiments of the present application described below can be combined with each other as long as there is no conflict.

[0029] According to an embodiment of the present application, an aerosol generating device is provided. As shown in Figure 1 The aerosol generating device comprises:

[0030] A chamber A, in which an aerosol generating article 40 is removably received. The aerosol generating article 40 contains a solid aerosol-forming substrate capable of being heated to generate a smokeable aerosol.

[0031] A heater 10 configured to heat the solid aerosol-forming substrate in the aerosol generating article 40 to generate an aerosol. In the example shown in the figure, the heater 10 is inserted into the aerosol generating article 40 for heating when the aerosol generating article 40 is received in the chamber A, i.e., the so-called center heating or internal heating. In other examples, the heater 10 can heat around at least part of the aerosol generating article 40, i.e., the so-called circumferential heating or peripheral heating.

[0032] An electric core 20 for providing electric power to the heater 10 and other components of the aerosol generating device.

[0033] A circuit 30 disposed between the electric core 20 and the heater 10. The circuit 30 comprises a control unit. The control unit is in the form of an MCU (Micro Controller Unit) or an application-specific integrated chip, etc., for controlling the aerosol generating device.

[0034] Figure 2 Another aerosol generating device provided according to an embodiment of the present application includes an aerosol generating device 50 and a power supply assembly 60, wherein the aerosol generating device 50 is detachably connected to the power supply assembly 60. In other examples, the aerosol generating device 50 and the power supply assembly 60 are non-detachably connected, that is, integrally formed.

[0035] The atomizer 50 includes a liquid storage chamber for storing a liquid aerosol-forming substrate and a heater 51. Heater 51, powered by power supplied by a power supply assembly 60, heats the liquid aerosol-forming substrate to form an inhalable aerosol. In this example, heater 51 comprises a resistive material. Resistive materials include, but are not limited to, semiconductors, carbon, graphite, metals, metal alloys, and composite materials composed of ceramic and metal materials.

[0036] The aerosol generating device may further include a liquid transfer unit. The liquid transfer unit may be made of cotton fiber, metal fiber, ceramic fiber, glass fiber, porous ceramic, etc., and may transfer the liquid aerosol-forming matrix stored in the liquid storage chamber to the heater 51 through capillary action.

[0037] The power supply assembly 60 includes a battery cell 61 and a circuit 62 .

[0038] The battery cell 61 provides power for operating the aerosol generating device and can be a rechargeable battery cell or a disposable battery cell.

[0039] The circuit 62 comprises a control unit that can control the overall operation of the aerosol generating device. The circuit 62 controls not only the operation of the battery cell 61 and the heater 51, but also the operation of other components in the aerosol generating device.

[0040] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the detection circuit provided by the embodiment of the present application. Figure 3 As shown, the detection circuit is used to detect the voltage of the battery cell. Specifically, the detection circuit includes a voltage divider circuit formed by connecting a resistor R20 and a resistor R24 ​​in series. One end of the voltage divider circuit (shown as OUT+ in the figure) is electrically connected to the positive electrode of the battery cell, the other end of the voltage divider circuit is grounded, and the output end of the voltage divider circuit (the connection point of the resistor R20 and the resistor R24) is connected to the port of the control unit, such as the ADC sampling port. In a further implementation, the detection circuit also includes a filter circuit for filtering the voltage divider signal of the voltage divider circuit. The filter circuit includes a filter capacitor C11.

[0041] In a further embodiment, another detection circuit is further included to detect the current value of the battery cell in the charging or discharging state. The detection circuit can refer to the existing technology and is not limited in this application.

[0042] Based on the above aerosol generating device, in an example, the control unit is configured to obtain an initial power of the battery at a first time; obtain a current value detected by the detection circuit at a second time, to calculate a change value of the battery power by using the ampere-hour integration method; determine the power of the battery at the second time according to the initial power of the battery and the change value of the battery power; and wherein the voltage fluctuation range of the battery at the second time is greater than the voltage fluctuation range of the battery at the first time.

[0043] The first time includes at least one of the following:

[0044] The time when the aerosol generating device is woken up, the time when the battery is in a non-charging state, or the time when the heater is in a non-heating state.

[0045] In an example, the control unit is configured to determine whether the interval time between the first time and the second time is greater than a preset time threshold; if the interval time between the first time and the second time is greater than the preset time threshold, detect the voltage of the battery to estimate the initial power of the battery by using the open circuit voltage method; and if the interval time between the first time and the second time is not greater than the preset time threshold, use the pre-existing power value as the initial power of the battery.

[0046] Taking the time when the aerosol generating device is woken up as an example, when the aerosol generating device is woken up, it is determined whether the interval time between the time when the aerosol generating device is woken up and the second time is greater than a preset time threshold; if the interval time between the time when the aerosol generating device is woken up and the second time is greater than the preset time threshold, the voltage of the battery is detected to estimate the initial power of the battery by using the open circuit voltage method; and if the interval time between the time when the aerosol generating device is woken up and the second time is not greater than the preset time threshold, the pre-existing power value is used as the initial power of the battery.

[0047] In an example, the control unit is configured to determine the initial power of the battery according to the voltage of the battery and a pre-fitted open circuit voltage-power relationship curve or a pre-constructed power query table.

[0048] In specific implementation, the relationship curve between open circuit voltage and power can be obtained based on experimental data. For example, first, the battery cell is fully charged and left to stand for a period of time a, where time a needs to be tested and determined for different battery cells and different charge and discharge current sizes, to ensure that the battery cell terminal voltage remains in a stable voltage range after time a; then discharge at a constant current of 0.5C to release 5% of the capacity, and then let it stand for a period of time a after the discharge is completed; repeat the above discharge steps until the battery cell voltage is lower than the cut-off voltage during the discharge process. Finally, the above data can be fitted by the least squares method, and single-segment or multi-segment linear fitting can be selected to obtain the relationship curve between open circuit voltage (OCV) and power (SOC), such as Figure 4 shown.

[0049] In a specific implementation, when constructing a power query table, the power can be intervals of 5%. During the query process, the interval voltage is first found, and then the corresponding power is calculated by interpolation.

[0050] In one example, the voltage fluctuation range of the battery cell at the first time is between 0 and 20 mV, or between 0 and 15 mV, or between 0 and 12 mV, or between 0 and 10 mV, or between 0 and 8 mV, or between 0 and 5 mV.

[0051] like Figure 5 As shown in the figure, t1 is the time period when the battery cell is in the charging state, and t2 is the time period when the heater is in the heating state. In the interval t1 or t2, the voltage fluctuation range is much larger than that in other intervals. For example, in the interval t2, the voltage fluctuation range can reach up to 0.2V. With such a large voltage fluctuation range, if the aforementioned open circuit voltage method is used to estimate the battery cell's power, the result obtained is not accurate. In the interval where the t1 time period and the t2 time period are located, since the voltage fluctuation range is between 0 and 20 millivolts, the aforementioned open circuit voltage method is used to estimate the battery cell's power, and the result obtained is relatively accurate.

[0052] In one example, the control unit is configured to estimate the change in the battery cell charge by using the following formula:

[0053] Where ΔC is the change in battery cell capacity, I k is the current per unit time granularity, and t is the time granularity.

[0054] For example, in the interval t1 or t2, the voltage fluctuation range is relatively large, and the result obtained by estimating the power of the battery cell by using the above formula is relatively accurate.

[0055] In one example, a storage unit is further included, for storing the power of the battery cell at a second time.

[0056] The storage unit can be integrated in the control unit or independent of the control unit. As described above, if the interval between the time when the aerosol generating device is woken up and the second time is not greater than a preset time threshold, the stored power of the battery at the second time can be used as the initial power of the battery.

[0057] In an example, the control method further comprises displaying the power of the battery at the second time.

[0058] The control unit is configured to control the display module to display the power of the battery at the second time.

[0059] According to another embodiment of the present application, a control method of an aerosol generating device is provided. The aerosol generating device can refer to the foregoing embodiments. The control method comprises:

[0060] Step S11, obtaining the initial power of the battery at a first time;

[0061] Step S12, obtaining the current value detected by the detection circuit at a second time to calculate the change value of the power of the battery by using the ampere-hour integration method; wherein the voltage fluctuation range of the battery at the second time is greater than the voltage fluctuation range of the battery at the first time;

[0062] Step S13, determining the power of the battery at the second time according to the initial power of the battery and the change value of the power of the battery.

[0063] In an example, the control method further comprises displaying the power of the battery at the second time.

[0064] The control unit is configured to control the display module to display the power of the battery at the second time.

[0065] In an example, the control unit is configured to determine whether the interval between the first time and the second time is greater than a preset time threshold; if the interval between the first time and the second time is greater than the preset time threshold, the voltage of the battery is detected to estimate the initial power of the battery by using the open circuit voltage method; if the interval between the first time and the second time is not greater than the preset time threshold, a pre-existing power value is used as the initial power of the battery.

[0066] In an example, the first time comprises at least one of:

[0067] The time when the aerosol generating device is woken up, the time when the battery is in a non-charging state, or the time when the heater is in a non-heating state.

[0068] In one example, the control unit is configured to determine the initial power of the battery cell according to the voltage of the battery cell and a pre-fitted open circuit voltage and power relationship curve or a pre-built power query table.

[0069] In one example, the voltage fluctuation range of the battery cell at the first time is between 0 and 20 millivolts.

[0070] In one example, the second time includes at least one of the following:

[0071] The time or time period when the battery cell is in a charging state, and the time or time period when the heater is in a heating state.

[0072] In one example, the control unit is configured to estimate the change in the battery cell charge by using the following formula:

[0073] Where ΔC is the change in battery cell capacity, I k is the current per unit time granularity, and t is the time granularity.

[0074] In one example, a storage unit is further included, for storing the power of the battery cell at a second time.

[0075] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of the control process of the aerosol generating device provided in the embodiment of the present application. Figure 7 As shown, including:

[0076] Step S21: The aerosol generating device is awakened. For example, the aerosol generating device is awakened from a low power consumption state.

[0077] Step S22: Determine whether the time interval between the aerosol generating device being awakened and the last time the battery cell was in a charging state or the heater was in a heating state is greater than a preset time threshold a. If so, proceed to step S23; otherwise, proceed to step S24.

[0078] Step S23: Detect the cell voltage and obtain the current charge C according to the relationship curve between open circuit voltage and charge or the charge query table (i.e., estimate the initial charge of the cell using the open circuit voltage method). 开启 .

[0079] Step S24: the stored electricity C 存 As the current power C 开启 .

[0080] Step S25: During heating or charging, detect the cell current and calculate the charge change value ΔC by the ampere-hour integration method.

[0081] Step S26: Real-time update of the power level C of the aerosol generating device实时 = C 开启 + ΔC. The real-time updated power of the aerosol generating device can be referred to as the blue line shown in FIG. 6. Figure 8 The orange line in FIG. 6 is the power estimated by the existing method. In comparison, the accuracy of the power of the battery cell estimated by the present method is higher, and the problem of false display and influence on the judgment of the endurance will not occur, which is beneficial to the effective management of the battery cell. Figure 8

[0082] Step S27, after heating or charging is completed, the latest C 实时 is updated to C 存 .

[0083] Finally, it should be noted that the above examples are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, and are not limited thereto; under the idea of the present application, the technical features in the above examples or different embodiments can also be combined, the steps can be implemented in any order, and there are many other changes of different aspects of the present application as described above, which are not provided in detail for simplicity; although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing examples, those skilled in the art should understand that: it can still modify the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing examples, or make equivalent replacement for part of the technical features; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.​

Claims

1. An aerosol-generating device, characterized by, The method comprises: a heater for heating an aerosol-forming substrate to generate an aerosol; an electric core for providing power for the heater; a detection circuit for detecting a current value of the electric core in a charging or discharging state; an initial electric quantity of the electric core is acquired at a first time; a current value detected by the detection circuit is acquired at a second time, so as to calculate a change value of the electric quantity of the electric core by using an ampere-hour integration method; and an electric quantity of the electric core at the second time is determined according to the initial electric quantity of the electric core and the change value of the electric quantity of the electric core. The voltage fluctuation range of the electric core at the second time is greater than the voltage fluctuation range of the electric core at the first time.

2. The control method according to claim 1, characterized by, The method further comprises a display module; the control unit is configured to control the display module to display the electric quantity of the electric core at the second time.

3. The control method according to claim 1, characterized by, The first time comprises at least one of: a time when the aerosol-generating device is woken up, a time period when the electric core is in a non-charging state, or a time when the heater is in a non-heating state.

4. The control method according to claim 1, characterized by, The control unit is configured to determine whether the interval time between the first time and the second time is greater than a preset time threshold; if the interval time between the first time and the second time is greater than the preset time threshold, the voltage of the electric core is detected to estimate the initial electric quantity of the electric core by using an open-circuit voltage method; and if the interval time between the first time and the second time is not greater than the preset time threshold, a pre-existing electric quantity value is taken as the initial electric quantity of the electric core.

5. The control method according to claim 4, characterized by The control unit is configured to determine the initial electric quantity of the electric core according to the voltage of the electric core and a pre-fitted open-circuit voltage and electric quantity relationship curve or a pre-constructed electric quantity query table.

6. The control method according to claim 1, characterized by, The voltage fluctuation range of the electric core at the first time is between 0 and 20 millivolts.

7. The control method according to claim 1, characterized by, The second time comprises at least one of: a time when the electric core is in a charging state, or a time period when the heater is in a heating state.

8. The control method according to claim 1, characterized by, The control unit is configured to estimate the change value of the electric quantity of the electric core by using the following formula: where AC is the change in the charge of the cell, I is the current, and t is the time. k is the current of the particle size per unit time, and t is the time granularity.

9. The control method according to claim 1, characterized by, The method further comprises a storage unit for storing the electric quantity of the electric core at the second time. 10.A control method of an aerosol generating device, the control method comprising: The aerosol-generating device comprises a heater for heating an aerosol-forming substrate to generate an aerosol, an electric core for providing power for the heater, and a detection circuit for detecting a current value of the electric core in a charging or discharging state; The control method comprises: acquiring an initial electric quantity of the electric core at a first time; acquiring a current value detected by the detection circuit at a second time, so as to calculate a change value of the electric quantity of the electric core by using an ampere-hour integration method; wherein the voltage fluctuation range of the electric core at the second time is greater than the voltage fluctuation range of the electric core at the first time; determining an electric quantity of the electric core at the second time according to the initial electric quantity of the electric core and the change value of the electric quantity of the electric core.

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